When I worked for the ambulance service here about 1980 a lady was taking her EMT training with us. She lived in Love county. Her parents owned a Chinese restaurant east of Marietta, Oklahoma. About once a week she would bring us Chinese food from her parents restaurant. The restaurant was called the Hickory Creek Resort Restaurant or more commonly “The Chinaman’s”. Boy you talk about some good eating! With Kaylene Jeong taking her training in Ardmore was a plus for us who worked at the ambulance service! Wish the restaurant was still open. The Jeong family were owners of the establishment. Last I heard their daughter was a paramedic in Ft Worth. Opening date for the Chinaman’s was 1955.
The building was razed years ago and now the only thing left of the popular restaurant is the concrete steps.
D&H Nursing Home on 3rd Northeast was brand new in 1963. I remember the old 2-story D&H nursing home that was located behind this new one in the above photo. It had an emergency side chute from the 2nd floor to the ground in case of fire.
A recent grave marker I made. Turned out beautiful.
HAM Radio Talk
I’ve been toying this week with a digital HAM program called Allstar. Its like the Echolink system I’ve been using to talk to HAM friends worldwide but a little different.
https://www.allstarlink.org/
- 3/01/23 3:00pm 2E0IPS Ian in Skipton, England
https://www.qrz.com/db/2E0IPS - 3/03/23 6:15am DS1RTB Steve in South Korea
https://www.qrz.com/db/DS1RTB - 3/03/23 7:15am MM7TDI Norman in Scotland
https://www.qrz.com/db/MM7TDI - 3/04/23 9:30am KI5MTJ Mark in Brownfield, TX
https://www.qrz.com/db/KI5MTJ - 3/05/23 4:40pm KN6YLD Thomas in Valencia, CA
https://www.qrz.com/db/KN6YLD - 3/05/23 8:35pm WA3VHL Glenn in Allentown, PA
https://www.qrz.com/db/WA3VHL - 03/08/23 7:25am JM1IQR Jimmy in Tokyo, Japan
https://www.qrz.com/db/JM1IQR - 03/09/23 11:15am M3GCA Alan in Sheffield, England
https://www.qrz.com/db/M3GCA
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG….
Ardmore tornado Main Street and South Washington Street 1956. -photos submitted by Robert Hensley
BOLO BOLO BOLO
Tuesday 3/07/23 south Lone Grove area – “There’s a vehicle with Texas tag pulling down our driveway. A man said he was with Verizon checking signal. This is second time in two weeks we asked him to leave.”
Below is from my Vol 4, Issue 151 March 11, 2000 newsletter:
We been moving right along on the memorial marker for those 83 who died in the 1966 airplane crash northwest of Ardmore. John Kastner, ranch foreman for Goddard’s Ranch where the plane crashed, was kind enough to show me the crash site this week. As I walked around on that mountain side, I felt as if I were walking on sacred ground. I could almost feel all those souls right there with me, and the tragedy that took place that rainy Friday night. I took some pics of the crash area. -Butch Bridges
A couple weeks ago I mentioned the round barn northwest of Ardmore on the Merrick Ranch. I heard it was moved here in the 40s from the Military Depot at McAlister, Oklahoma. The pic shows the south side of the round barn, it looks pretty good. But the north side is all caved in and rotten.
“Go out D street N.W to 9th Avenue (Ardmore) and you will find a little park located between 9th & 10th avenues. There is a plaque that was placed there by the Oklahoma Methodist Historical Society in 1964 which states, “Hargrove College 1895-1914” “A Methodist college once stood here, begun by the City of Ardmore it was given to the Indian Mission Conference of the Methodist Church, named in honor of Bishop Robert K. Hargrove. In 1907 the school burned but was rebuilt north of the city. It exerted a vital religious & educational influence throughout the area.” I don’t know where it was rebuilt but when I was growing up on 12th. Ave the entire block north of the little park, which would be all the area between 10th & 11th. N.W stood vacant.No houses appeared on that block for many years – I was told that the land was a part of the Hargrove College campus. You may find a history of the school in Paul Frame’s History of Ardmore.”
“Hi, Butch. I was wondering if you know anything about the “pony boys” who were part of the Pony Express and delivered the mail. I recently learned that my great grandfather, Robert Lincoln “Link” Armstrong, was a pony boy and was the first one to deliver the mail to Ardmore. I do not know when that was but he moved to the Baum, Oklahoma area in the 1870’s or 80’s and died in the summer of 1933, so that gives us somewhat of a time-table. Anyway, I am researching the Pony Express and will send you what I find about the “pony boys”…I did not know that the mail carriers for the Express were called that. Interesting, huh? If any of your readers have any info, maybe they could let you know.”
“I agree with you about the book “Song Unsung” by Elizabeth Long (Libbie Wells Chapman). It is (in my opinion, also) full of a lot of unnecessary foul-language and rambles about so much that it makes it difficult to understand what the author is trying to convey. I had planned to buy it, since I knew the author, but checked it out from the library first. Glad I did. Money well-saved.”
When I was at the Goddard Ranch north of Dickson there was this one lonely grave by Highway 177. It is where an Oklahoma Game Ranger wanted to be buried by the name of L.D. “Dude” Rickey. He was born in 1877 and died in 1939. He was a game ranger from 1935 to 1937. Does anyone know more about this man Rickey? Here’s a photo I took of his grave. He is the only one buried there, except for his horse by the name of Little Joe (1939-1971).
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53304318/lewis-denver-rickey
““Friends are born, not made.” -Henry Adams
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, OK
580-490-6823