I’ve had a couple of readers do some research on Charles A. Hewitt, the founder of Hewitt, Oklahoma in western Carter county and they came to the following conclusion:
Born October 30, 1857
Died April 4, 1926 at the age of 67
Burial is in the Okemah, Oklahoma cemetery
35.444200, -96.298600
Find-A-Grave of Charles A. Hewitt.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101149183/charles-a-hewitt
Hewitt was established as a post office from November 29, 1889 to August 31, 1923. Named for Charles A. Hewitt, sawmill and gin operator. Mindy Taylor is the present mayor of Hewitt. lol You can contact Mindy at the Wilson Historical Museum. https://www.wilsonhistoricalmuseum.org/
Location of Hewitt, Oklahoma on map
I read on another Facebook Post how Ardmore’s Button’s Auto Electric had helped a lady with car battery problems. They cleaned her battery posts instead of selling her new ones as someone else suggested, and Button’s did not charge her. I was reminded of a memory I had with Mr. Button back in the early 1980s.
From my March 10, 2001 newsletter: “Back in the early 1980s we had a snow fall in the Ardmore area. I probably shouldn’t have even been on the streets, but decided to go to the old Safeway Supermarket on North Commerce and pick up some things. When I left the store, an elderly white-haired man was in the parking lot trying to get his car started (He was George Cecil Button 1909-1994). I thought to myself, at his age he shouldn’t even be out in this kind of weather. Anyway, I went over to help. I had jumper cables in my car, so I jump-started his dead battery. I closed the hood on his car and went around to the passenger side, he had the door open. He said, “I’m Cecil Button and I own Button’s Auto Electric and I want to thank you for helping me. I’m also a Gideon.” He opened his glove compartment, and pulled out a little bible. He said, “here son, I want you to have this”. I never meet Mr. Button again. But I still have that little Gideon bible.
I went by Button’s Auto Electric to see if they had a picture of the founder of the company, Cecil Button, but they didn’t. You know me, I thought they should have one hanging on the wall in the business. Anyway, I see on his grave marker “Husband of Lucile Button”. If anyone knows of any family members of Cecil who might have a photo of Cecil, let me know.
Find-A-Grave for Cecil Button
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16263450/george-cecil-button
The Ezy-Way Grocery store was in the SW corner of South Washington and Stanley street. Later it was a Pak-A-Sak grocery
Sept 7, 2006 – Bob Farrington sent in the above great piece of Ardmore history, a couple of photographs of the old EzyWay convenience story that was located where the present day Animal Health Center is today. You can tell in the pic the store was originally half as big as it is today… with the west side being the original, and a wing added to the east later. Here is the email Bob Farrington sent: “Hi a couple of things come to mind and usually a couple is about all I can handle! First was the Animal Health Center which you mentioned. Lets go back further on that, to 1947 when it was E-Z Way food store. I was there! Wayne Payne and Wig Yeats were there along with myself. There has been some added since the original, on the left. We used to really get a work-out on Sunday’s especially when people going to the lake would stop for last minute items, including pop and watermelons. On right hand side of picture we had a large walk-in cooler where we always had chilled watermelons and customers would go in and select their choice! Wonder if there are still any people around who used to stop there?
The Mailbag
Q. I came across your list of grocery stores in Healdton. Back in the 1920’s through the 1950’s my grandfather had a grocery store in Healdton called Healdton Cash and Carry. I see you have it listed as Emmitt Gauntt Grocery and then Gauntt & Worsham Grocery and Market. Does any of your readers know where it was located in Healdton?
A. The Healdton Herald office (11204 Oklahoma 76, Healdton) has been located right where it was (John Gelder was first publisher I knew. He lived across the street from us and we went to church together when I was pre-school) Gaunttʻs grocery was at the corner of Texas and 4th and would eventually be Teelʻs. Richard Mac Gauntt and George and I used to play together. They lived on the house next to the corner of Texas and 5th where the Hintonʻs lived for a while. I don’t remember when it was Gauntt and Worsham. -Judy Roberts
HAM Radio Talk KC5JVT via EchoLink
All’s quite on the HAM front. Last evening I talked to an interesting HAM operator by the name of Tom Bridges. I don’t know if we are kin. He’s been a HAM for 70 years. Now that’s a long time. I know he’s seen a lot of changes over the years in HAM radio technology.
276. 9/20/23 8:00pm W7LN Tom Bridges in Richmond, MO
https://www.qrz.com/db/W7LN
Below is from my Vol 4 Issue 179 September 23, 2000 newsletter:
This week I received an interesting call from Los Angeles. A lady was looking for the old counter checks and check books from the 1950s and 1960s. She found her way to my website because I do have some interesting pics of several counter checks on my Home Page.
It reminded me of a story my mother told me years ago about the old First National bank on Main Street here in Ardmore. It seemed like in the 20s the “in thing” for the men to do was stand in front of the banks and swap stories. His two daughters, my mother Louise and her sister Marie, were teens in the 1920s and the two figured out if they asked their dad, Stanley Carmon, for money when he was standing in front of the bank with all his friends, that he would give them some. He didn’t want to refuse them money and look bad in front of all his friends there standing in front of the bank. But Louise and Marie knew they were going to get a whooping from their dad when they got home, but it was worth it in their opinion. Boy, that’s getting spending money the hard way.
Sept 2000 – I took a train ride last saturday, my first since the 1960s. I needed to attend a meeting in Ft Worth, so I opted to ride the Heartland Flyer from Ardmore to Ft Worth last Saturday. My one-way ticket was only $13, a real bargain in my opinion for the 100 mile trip!
I boarded the train at the Ardmore Depot, found myself an empty seat, and waited for the lady to come by collecting the train fare. In about five minutes we were heading south!
We made good time during the first half of the trip, arriving in Gainesville, Texas in about 40 minutes. This is about the same time it would take to travel by car from Ardmore to Gainesville.
I knew the schedule said the trip would take 2 and one-half hours, a longer ride then by automobile. The extra time came into play the closer we got to Ft Worth because of all the crossings. I was looking out my window when we crossed the Red River that separates Oklahoma from Texas and the train Conductor said the river had been renamed Red Creek. He was referring to the severe drought this whole area was in. I did notice how dry it was everywhere, the grass dead and brown from the lack of rain.
About 25 miles north of Ft Worth we were going through the little town of Justin, Texas. Justin is the home of the Justin Boot Company and to make those cowboy boots requires a number of large buildings in Justin. I owned Justin boots when I was a teen, they are nice boots, but I never realized they were made just 75 miles south of Ardmore.
Even taking into account all the crossings going in to Ft Worth, we made the station 15 minutes a ahead of schedule. My cousin, Carol Jean Cole and her daughter Laura was waiting to pick me up and take me to my meeting at the Holiday Inn in Arlington, a Dallas suburb. But before we got to the Holiday Inn, they treated me to some of that delicious Colter BBQ. I don’t think I have ever eaten Texas BBQ that wasn’t delicious!
Below a pic of the inside of the Ft Worth Station. That’s my cousin Carol and her daughter Laura in the center.
On the west side of the station was the Tram booth. A person can ride the trams to dozens and dozens of attractions all day long til 11pm for only 5 bucks! I wanted to take that ride, but had to get to my meeting.
This week I received a poem from Melba Wallace here in Ardmore. She wrote about the American Flyers Memorial and that 1966 plane crash.
We recently had some nice ceiling fans installed at the courthouse. They have black blades and look elegant against the white marble walls. There are two on the 2nd floor and two on the 3rd floor.
CASA on the 4th floor of the courthouse was able to acquire the most beautiful chairs for their office the other day. The red chairs Those chairs must be the most beautiful in the complex!
“Jerry Royall (1940-2005) sent me a copy of your last edition that mentioned “Oklahoma Heritage,” a book written by my partner and myself. We appreciate the compliment. Thought you might want to know that there are also 1989 and 1995 editions of that volume. A new one comes out next year that will be called “Oklahoma Adventure.” I think some of these are available at the Ardmore libraries or they can be purchased from Thompson’s School Book Depository in Oklahoma City. Thanks for the “plug.” It’s great to run into someone who actually cares about the history of the region and who likes to get it right. I’d love to receive your newsletter. -Sharon Cooper Calhoun Please send it to me at skcalhoun@yahoo.com
We’ve had some bad fires here in Oklahoma this week. One was just north of Ardmore in the Arbuckle Mountains and another bad one near Guthrie, Oklahoma. They were brought under control in a couple days.
“According to the book “Oklahoma Place Names” by George H. Shirk -1974 Pg.257 WILLIS, In Marshall County, 15 miles south of Madill. Post office established March 15, 1886. Named for Britt Willis, long-time local resident. WILLIS Marshall County Section 6 Township 8 S Range 5 E”
“The hotel above where Montgomery Wards used to be on Main was called the Marquette Hotel at 222 1/2 West Main. The Ford Hotel was located at 117 North Washington Street about half-way between 2nd Avenue Northwest and Broadway. It was just south of the old bicycle shop across the street from The Daily Ardmoreite office when they were on Washington Street.”
“Had to put in a couple words about the Marquette Hotel. It was our home from 1945 to 1947. I mentioned before, my dad bought it as a back up plan in case his tile business didn’t make it. The hotel had 22 rooms and the maid was Ethel Macon who took care of all the bed making and cleaning. She was an attractive black lady that became quite close to our family. My mother had no experience in running a hotel but, she did. No man and woman got past my mother unless they were husband and wife and you better be convincing. It was truly a no ‘hanky panky’ hotel. The Ardmore Indians baseball team use to stay at the hotel. Otto Utt was the manager, Ralph Blair was a pitcher that had a fabulous ‘knuckle ball’, the catchers’ last name was Guglielmo or something like that. Red Sollars, I believe played shortstop. Red later married Bob Barnet’s daughter. Barnet Plumbing Company was in business for years in Ardmore and later Red bought the company and changed it’s name to Sollars Plumbing. Puny Sparger use to announce at all the ballgames. He kept the crowd pretty well entertained. Puny’s wife, Julia Sparger taught English Literature at Ardmore High school for years.” -Dale Young
“To change and to change for the better are two different things.”
Old German Proverb
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, OK
580-490-6823