My 2005 Newsletter Revisited – September 22, 2005
On September 22, 2005 I stopped by the Burger Ranch at 708 E Lake Murray Drive to try a Super Dog On A Stick. Many of you will remember this is the first location of Ponder’s Superdog back in the early 1950s. Here is a picture of the Ponders Superdog on Lake Murray Drive.
So, Saturday afternoon late I picked up a Super Dog On A Stick ($1.25 plus tax) and headed home with it. It tasted just like the Super Dogs I bought as a teen in the 60s at the old Superdog at 819 North Commerce and 9th NW (where the Grandy’s Restaurant is located today). That batter on the Super Dog is not corn meal. You can buy corn dogs everywhere, but they are not the same as the Super Dog On A Stick with a special flour batter. Here is a pic of that tasty delight I bought.After eating that Super Dog I noticed a phone number printed on the white wrapper it came in. Being the curious type, I went to google.com and did a search for that phone number. It showed a Martin Donley of Lubbock, Texas. So you know me, curiosity got the best of me. So Sunday afternoon late I called the number and a voice answered with “Hello”. I told her I was in Ardmore, Oklahoma and was wondering about this phone number and the Super Dog. She asked, “What do you want to know?” lol.
I had the most delightful conversation with this lady who is now 94 years young! She explained the history of the Super Dog On A Stick I was familiar with at Ponder’s back in the 1960s. Here is the story as Mrs Margaret Donley explained it to me:
Back around 1945 there was a man in Lubbock, Texas by the last name Barnes (Margaret could not remember his first name, been too long she said) who was owner the company Super Dog On A Stick. In those days Margaret’s sister, Mary Jo, was married to Martin Donley and they lived in Lubbock. Mr. and Mrs. Donley bought out Mr. Barnes’ Super Dog On A Stick company from Mr Barnes around 1946 and Martin Donley started selling franchises for his newly acquired business. Mr Donley made lots of trips through Ardmore, stopping at Ponder’s Super Dog delivering his special flour product to make that tasty Super Dogs On A Stick to his franchise customers up and down the highways.
As the years past Margaret’s husband died leaving her a widow. Soon Margaret’s sister, Mary Jo, died also leaving Martin Donley a widower. As Cupid works his magic in strange ways sometimes, Margaret married Martin, becoming the new Mrs Donley. After Martin’s death a few years ago, Margaret inherited the Super Dog On A Stick as the sole owner. At age 94 she still sells the Super Dogs to her franchise like the Burger Ranch here in Ardmore. As I talked to Margaret last Sunday I could tell she is sharp as a tack, so don’t any of you get any bright ideas like a lady in Michigan did a while back. Margaret said the lady called the number printed on the Super Dog wrapper wanting to buy some of the specially blended flour that makes the Super Dog so delicious. Margaret said she’s sorry, but she only sells to her franchise owners.
Back in 1953 a Super Dog was 15 cents as noted on Ponder’s paper menu.
And in the 1960s Ponder’s Super Dog Menu-Matics the Super Dog was 30 cents.
The Super Dog on Lake Murray Drive was No 2.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/superdogc.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos5a/SuperDogOnStick5a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/superdogd.jpg
Sadly, Mrs. Donley pass away in Lubbock, Texas in 2012 at age 100.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83358497/margaret-donley
In the early 1970s Cliff Easley (for the 2nd time)) came to work at the ambulance service. I worked a lot of 24 hour shifts with Cliff during the 2 years he worked there. Cliff was a WWII vet whose plane was shot down in Germany, he spent over a year in a German POW camp. His family owned a 1,200 acre ranch west of Marietta. I was doing some research in the newspaper archives and ran across an interesting picture of Cliff’s dad and the contraption he invented to get the mail at the road and bring up to the house.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos22a/EasleyMaibox031558.jpg
For years before my retirement from the Carter County Courthouse, thanks to Judge Tom Walker, we’d all celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Around 7am that morning Judge Walker would call to have us come get a banner to post on the courthouse front lawn.
Everyone driving by or walking in, knew there would be a celebration of sorts at 3pm in his court room on the 3rd floor to recognize St Patrick. Employees from all over the courthouse offices would attend the 3pm event, even a few non-employees snuck in for the treats and drinks. lol
But there was one treat he had that I did not partake in. Some kind of GREEN drink (no not green beer). lolMy Ancestry DNA says my ancestors are made up of 29% Scotland and 8% Irish, I had fun in the celebration anyway!
Oh the good old days.Oh, that Irin Go Brath banner below means….. well that depends on what Irishman you’re talking to. lol
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/ErinGoBrath031710.jpg
The conversion of my 26 year old HTML website to my new WordPress website is coming along nicely. The link below is a temporary link but you can get an idea how it will look. Most of the individual newsletters has converted to WordPress.
http://new.oklahomahistory.net/newsletter-archive/
I want to thank the 61 people below who helped make my GoFundME campaign a success.
Broken Bolt, Larry Johnson, Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous, Larry Gandy, Laura Atchley, Bevin Parker-Evans, Edmond Pope, Jennifer Harvey, Emil H Levine, Cheri Clark, Roger Hughes, Pete Ihde, Shirley Barrick, L Vada Aitken, Anonymous, Carrol Evans, William Ford, Eva Taylor, Jerry Summy, Anonymous, Debra Griffin, David Willingham, Charles Walker, Monroe Cameron, Matthew Hoage, Anonymous, Edwina Wooten, Linda Lathum, Lydia Dulaney, Anonymous, Carol Hunter, Anonymous, David Bridges, Anonymous, Lee A Bullard, Robin Gray, Kristi Johnson Wedge, Ann Whitchurch, Stephanie Jordan, Elizabeth Aldridge, Marthanna Donald, Darla Herndon, Carole Geurin, Candace Gregory, Robin Ezell, Brandy Black, Patricia Downing, Bob Hargis, Amanda Lawson, Sarah Stephenson, Christopher Cox, Lenora Cunningtubby, Les Gilliam, Beth Tucker, Earlene Chandler, Richard Cravens, Max Brown, Bob Gates and the McAlister Cemetery Association.
The link below will give an up-to-date accounting of the donations received and spent so far. Just scroll to the bottom of the webpage.
https://oklahomahistory.net/gofundme
Still finding people in Oklahoma with unclaimed money. We’re now over the $1,834,000 dollars. Sometimes progress is slow locating people or their kin with unclaimed insurance money at the State Treasurers office in OKC but we keep trying.
How long has it been since you checked your name or a family member’s name? Its easy to do a search at the Oklahoma State Treasurer link below. I think every state in the union has a unclaimed property website through the respective state treasures website.
https://apps.ok.gov/unclaimed/If you have Facebook, I created a new Page called Southern Oklahoma Unclaimed Insurance Money. The only Post that will go on that page are names and towns of people we are looking for with unclaimed money;
https://www.facebook.com/South-Central-Oklahoma-Unclaimed-Insurance-Money-114246471027358
Q. What was Oklahoma’s first highway?
A. U.S. Highway 77Q. When did Coronado pass through Oklahoma?
A. Answer in next week’s newsletterSome mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Three postcards of Sulphur Oklahoma in 1910. -Robert Hensley
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos22a/SulphurOkla1910.jpg
———————————————————-
Two things caught my eye in this week’s newsletter. The Caperton and Fields families were good friends of my mom and dad’s families in Ravia, the Merrills and Maberrys. Gene Autry also worked at the Frisco train station for a short time with my uncle, John Maberry He learned to use the telegraph machine there. I also remember the railroad bridge that was out in 1957. I had a summer job to go to in Colorado and planned to ride the train to Kansas, then change to one going to Denver. My folks had to take me to Wichita Falls to catch a train there which went directly to Denver. I rode all night and didn’t sleep a wink since it was my first time to travel alone! -R. Helms
———————————————————-
———————————————————-Below is from This and That newsletter archives of March 18, 2010
The next 3 photographs are what I’d call mystery photos. They were supposedly taken by Mac MacGaillard along with a bunch more the T&T Reader has in her possession. This first one is a group of men digging or excavating something. Maybe someone knows more???https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010a.jpg
—————————————————–
This next mystery photo has Tishomingo 1974 hand written on the back (supposedly Mac MacGalliard’s writing). Its of a man looking at some artifacts or prehistoric bones??
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010b.jpg
—————————————————–
And maybe some dyed-in-the-wool history buff will recognize the person in this photo, assumed to be taken in Ardmore or surrounding area. An outlaw??
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010c.jpg
—————————————————–
2010: The Carter County Courthouse was in full swing Wednesday for St Patrick’s Day.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/ErinGoBrath031710.jpg
—————————————————–
—————————————————–For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way: Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.” —Irish blessing.
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
“Friends Make Life Worth Living”Ardmore, Oklahoma
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
https://oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Oklahoma Bells: https://oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm’s Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
American Flyers Memorial Fund – Administration Webpage
https://oklahomahistory.net/crash66.html
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
https://oklahomahistory.net/airbase/
Carter County Government Website
http://cartercountyok.us
All previous issues of This & That can be found on my Website’s archives.
Feel free to forward this free newsletter. Mailouts: over 1,300.
To be removed from my T&T mailings, just send me an email.
I do not sell, trade or give my mailing list to anyone for any reason.