October 27, 1914
The Daily Ardmoreite
Don’t Fail To Hear The Marine Band
The finest military band in the world, supported by the people of the United States – Monday afternoon
And exceptional opportunity to hear the finest military band in the United States will be afforded the people of Ardmore and vicinity on Monday afternoon November 2nd when the Marine band arrives from the national capital to give a concert at Robison’s Opera House at 232 West Main (C Street amd West Main). Seating 1,000.
Jacob Robison (1872-1948), Proprietor
Below is a picture of the old Robison Opra House as it looks today.
Kloski Opra House #13 East Main. Abraham Kloski, Propreitor
From the Mailbag
Morton’s was initially bought by Frito Lay in the 1970’s, the Dallas plant was acquired by Borden’s, and became known as Borden’s Snack Foods. Their old plant in Dallas near Love Field was one of my customers in the late 1980’s, closing around 1990-1991. The plant was remodeled and converted to other uses in the 1990’s, is still standing today on Denton Drive just south of Mockingbird Lane. -Jerry Jones
I’m a faithful follower of your newsletter because much of my family lived in and around Ardmore. When my grandmother, Myrtle Stufflebeam Richerson lived in a retirement home in Ardmore, Mrs. Jean Edwards was there as well. Mrs Edwards was a quadriplegic painter and made some truly lovely pieces by holding the brush in her mouth. I have just recently moved my mother, Shirley Fowler Dry, into my home and she had one of Mrs Edward’s paintings! It’s a sweet little Brown Jug. I know you have written about Mrs Edwards before but I wanted to share her story again. She was such a fine lady. -Susan Barraza
From my Oct 2010 newsletter: “Butch, my mother Jean Adams lives across the street from where Jean Edwards lived at the nursing home on 13th ave and A street N.W. Jean Edwards had two children, Mike who lives in Healdton, OK and David in Loco, OK. My mom always found time to go and see Jean and took her many meals when she could, and sometimes she had me deliver them to Jean. Even though Jean Edwards was a quadriplegic, she always had a kind work to say, I never once heard her say anything negative regarding the condition or circumstances that put her in the state she had to endure to live. She was a wonderful person and is sadly missed.” -Harvey Adams
Speakin’ of outhouses, your outhouse flashbacks reminded me of my
aunt’s outhouse on the farm in Illinois. It was a ”two-hole” complete with Monkey-Ward catalogs, Saturday Evening Posts, and corn cobs. If you had a ”two-holer”, you were in ”tall cotton” ! She even had running water in the kitchen > the water-pumper came up through the big kitchen sink. The kitchen was built around that water pump. I believe your ‘ol buddy Don still has an outhouse on his ”spread” off D street.
This brings to mind an Ardmore history moment: I sure miss the ‘ol boy who used to have the corner outdoor yard business at Moore & Commerce. His name escapes me. Seems like it was Ray. his mom lived over the way close to Stanley. He was told that he could have that corner as long as he wanted. But, alas, that did not last. It is now an Italian restaurant. He used to make and sell outhouse shaped tool sheds, complete with the crescent moon cutout in the door. They were very popular. He also sold concrete birdbaths and yard sculptures. He would also install goldfish ponds for folks. Remember the old gas station that he used for an office and to sell interesting ‘what-nots’ out of ? That old gas station was an Ardmore landmark. Hated to see it go. I remember as a young lad, draining the gas pump hoses into my gas tank on my Cushman scooter during my early Sunday morning paper route. This required holding the hoses high in the air while depressing the nozzle. Most folks don’t know that this corner has a natural underground spring. As a result, the work bay area of the old gas station would often flood way back in the day. When the yard improvement business was there that fine gent had tapped into this spring, turning that corner into an oasis. I would often go there just to soak it all in while having a cold drink on a summer day. Sad to see it all gone now in the name of ”progress”…….. -Steve
NOTE: Below is a link to a picture I took in Dec 2007 of Ray Dewberry’s Backyard Store at South Commerce and Moore Streeet where the present day Casa Del Mare Italian Kitchen is located.
https://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/RaysBackyardCo.jpg
Ray decided to remove a wall behind a window in his building. When it did, he found inside that wall a couple dozen old artifacts. Some of the things included was a couple Phillips 66 Lapel Pins, business cards, some picture postcards, a couple of booklets they used to record gas and oil purchases that were put on credit and other items. There was even a handwritten letter from a man in California begging Clayton Cude for money, since the man moved to that state in search of a job but it was not turning out as he hoped. Also a great find behind the wall was a photograph of the filling station back in the 1920s. A real piece of Ardmore history.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/CudeFillingStation.jpg
This is a pic I took of the wall. Its actually a window which was boarded up and had shelving in front of it. Ray thinks the items may have fallen off the shelving behind and down the wall, and just stayed there all these years.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/CudeWindow.jpg
About 50 feet north of Ray’s store is the railroad track. When Clayton Cude was owner, just on the north side of the tracks was Clayton’s Tavern. So Clayton owned both establishments back in those days. Clayton passed the filling station on to his son-in-law, Bob Shirey, and that is who I remember as filling station’s owner around 1970.
Below is the front of Clayton Cude’s business card touting 36 brands of motor oil.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/CudeBusinessCard1.jpg
Ray decided to remove a wall behind a window in his building. When it did, he found inside that wall a couple dozen old artifacts. Some of the things included was a couple Phillips 66 Lapel Pins, business cards, some picture postcards, a couple of booklets they used to record gas and oil purchases that were put on credit and other items. There was even a handwritten letter from a man in California begging Clayton Cude for money, since the man moved to that state in search of a job but it was not turning out as he hoped. Also a great find behind the wall was a photograph of the filling station back in the 1920s. A real piece of Ardmore history.
Below is the front of Clayton Cude’s business card touting 36 brands of motor oil.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/CudeBusinessCard1.jpg
About 50 feet north of Ray’s store is the railroad track. When Clayton Cude was owner, just on the north side of the tracks was Clayton’s Tavern. So Clayton owned both establishments back in those days. Clayton passed the filling station on to his son-in-law, Bob Shirey, and that is who I remember as filling station’s owner around 1970.
Mr. Cude had a saying, actually 4 of them, written on the back of his business card.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/CudeBusinessCard2.jpg
One of the items Ray found tucked away in the wall was a 1989 Program for the Ardmore Raceway north of Ardmore. The next two scans will bring back many memories when you read the names listed in the Program.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/ArdmoreRacewayNames1989a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos7a/ArdmoreRacewayNames1989b.jpg
We still have the bird bath we bought from Ray back in 2007.
CLASSEN CIRCLE, OKLAHOMA CITY – 1950
HAM Talk by KC5JVT via Echolink
Joe Keith KF5S is a area HAM living just south of the Red River near Sadler, Texas and made a youtube video on the Yaesu YA-30 Folded Dipole Antenna. Here it is in his own words.
“I did a video about the Yaesu folded dipole antenna and posted it to my YouTube channel. That video has been viewed over 1,000 times in just 3 days… I have gained a few subscribers, now up to 63. For those of you that have not seen the video about the Yaesu YA-30 folded dipole antenna… Here is the link …”
There were 10 check-ins to the Net last Sunday. So we are gaining a little, slowly. I hope some of you HAMs check in at 8:00pm this Sunday. Blow the dust off that microphone and come on in!
Below is from my newsletter dated
February 24, 2001 – Issue 202
A piece of history fell in Ardmore this week. The east wall of the old Martin and Fedler Drug Store at Main and Caddo came tumbling down. My friend Ernest Martin snapped this picture of it just a couple of hours after the wall fell. This all happened about noon on Friday March 3rd.
A couple weeks ago I spoke about the Wishing Well in Cornish, Oklahoma. Its located right on Main Street, probably since around 1900, maybe before. Cornish was established February 22, 1899. The townspeople had to fill the well in with dirt/sand some years back, because kids were throwing dogs and cats in the well. Shame we can’t have a piece of history without pranksters. Since that write-up I’ve learned the real Mayor of Cornish has invited me out to see him…. I’m going to make that trip when the weather clears up. I’ve also been told a movement is underway to get a sign put up saying, “Welcome To Cornish, Oklahoma”.
I’ve learned there is a bell in the belfry of the Springer, Oklahoma First Methodist Church, they ring it every Sunday morning! Got to see if I can get a pic of that one too!
“We really enjoy your This and That every week, and I have passed it on to several friends. The Springer Methodist Church has a bell and ring it every Sunday morning before 9:00 services. Also, several weeks you were talking about photography studios in Ardmore, but no one mentioned the Fonville brothers. Howard Fonville had a studio about where John Williams studio is now on the south side of main street and Pete Fonville’s was located on the north side of main street near the old Ritz theater. Keep up the good work.”
Ever heard of Tribbey, Oklahoma? Tribbey is about 20 miles SW of Shawnee, Oklahoma in SW Pottawatomie county. They have this beautiful bell. This is a 1999 photo a friend took for me. He hasn’t taken a picture of a bell for me lately, I may have to hold up his check this month. hahaha. I’m going to ring that bell in Tribbey someday!
About 2 or 3 weeks ago, Ardmore was invaded by birds, namely grackles. They invade each year by the thousands. When its bad, the City of Ardmore puts out “cannons” to scare them off, or at least try to scare them away. These cannon blasts started in my part of town at 6:30pm Saturday night the 24th. Boy, every few seconds that cannon went off, and is it loud! And this has been going on, every evening, all week.
I knew my Grandfather Stanley Carmon built the Stanley Building in Hobart, Oklahoma around 1930. But it was not named after my grandfather, but it was called the Stanley Furniture Store in Hobart. What I didn’t know until this week was he built the Methodist church in Hobart too, around 1926 or 1927 to information from my cousin, Bobbye Gay Carmon Hobbs, in Houston.
I was looking through my stuff the other day and found a unique little wooden vial. It is a sewing machine needle holder made by Singer Company. The handwritten date on it is 1925. Its even got some neat looking needles in it! This has got to be a collectors’s piece! I can’t even remember where it came from, except from my teenage years.
“Hi Butch: The person seeking information on A. D. Wilkinson, printer and writer, might be interested to know: the subject was a man due some respect for his intrepidness. I did not know A. D. Wilkinson but was acquainted with his daughter Gwen Simmons (an accomplished poet), now deceased. He has a granddaughter (Carolyn Simmons) who lived in Oklahoma City at last report and a grandson (Milton Simmons) in Arizona (Tucson, I think). -Bennie Winters
“I was really excited reading about the drip gas in last week’s newsletter, and looking at those great pictures. I have lived in the oilfield all of my life, and have seen such arrangements, but never had seen the pictures of any of the drip recovery devices. During the depression, I often rode with guys that were running their cars on drip gas. I did not understand how and where they got it, at first, but as your informant said it was powerful and smelly. I remember a good friend that was burned to death when filling his car with drip and it exploded. He was an inveterate smoker, and probably had a cigarette in his mouth. Even with gas at 15 cents a gallon, during the depression a tankful of drip was a big saving.
“In response to the letter concerning Drip Gas, Having grown up in the oilfields in, near, and around Healdton and Velma, I have personally burned many gallon. I used it in several vehicles. but it burned best in a 1947 V-8 ford and a 1952 V-8 Studebaker. There was two sources of supply. One being the device described, and the other being a cross country natural gas pipe line. The change in temperature caused it to condense into the low places in the pipe line and it was retrieved from a valve put there to get rid of it. You would also get some water along with the gas and had to let it settle to bottom before putting it in the car and it still would give trouble. Some of it stunk pretty bad and some of it not so bad, but the price was right.”
“My Aunt has asked me to search the web for “Raleigh Salve”, I see one of your readers in the April, May, June 2000 taliked about it.
“Dear Mr. Bridges, I have spent much of the past hour enjoying your Bells of Oklahoma website. What a project! In December ’99, the bell from the defunct Asher, Oklahoma Methodist Church (now owned by Bob and Erma Brockett) was shipped to our home in California. Since that time we have been trying to research its age and origin. By going through your photographs, we think that the bell beside the First Baptist Church in Grandfield looks just like ours, a 24″ x 32″, very likely a CS Bell Co. product. But, we have no way of finding out for sure. Asher First Methodist, organized by F. M. Forston, Dixie Hazlewood, the Umphenhours, M. W. James, the Snoots, Rawlings and others.
My dad, R.V. Bridges’ brother, Donald Bridges, lived in La Palma, California. Donald passed away last Tuesday, Feb 27th. He was 95 years old (1928-2024). There were 7 of those Bridges’ boys (Donald was the youngest), now all passed away.
Donald was dedicate to the service to his country in the U.S. Army. Below is something he shared with me years ago of just one experience in his 30 years of service. He asked that I not disclose the information below until after his death.
By Donald Bridges
In the spring of 1952, Special Agent Neill D. Benson (1933-2006) and I, members of the 116th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment, MDW, Washington, D.C., were assigned to provide in-close personal security to General Dwight Eisenhower for three weeks prior to his retirement from the military, which was effected so that he might campaign for President of the United States. We carried under our coats in shoulder holsters the standard CIC weapon; the snub-nose 2” barrel .38 Detective Special. We met the General each morning at his hotel and accompanied him as he visited various officials at the Pentagon, at Congress and at the White House. On many occasions, there would be only the General, two or three dignitaries, and Agent Benson and I riding an elevator or walking the corridors of a government building. Lunch was a hit-or-miss affair, and on one occasion Benson and I ate in the kitchen of the Pentagon while the General dined in a formal room with others. The schedule of the General was never given to us, so it was sometimes a matter of guessing where he might go next. For example, one day we found ourselves at the Rose Garden of the White House, where accolades were bestowed upon the General. At the end of the activities each day, Agent Benson and I would assure that the General was safely at his hotel and “put him to bed.” The last day we were two steps behind the General as he arrived at the East entrance to the Pentagon, and as the band began to play, we stopped to watch him get additional awards and his “walking papers” for official retirement. We escorted the General, now “Mr.” Eisenhower, back to his hotel and were extremely happy to turn over the personal security responsibility to the Secret Service. At no time during those three weeks did the General greet Agent Benson or me, or even acknowledge that we were present. I never expected him to throw his arms around us or do anything so rash as to kiss us, but I thought that at least he might have once said “hello” or nod his head to acknowledge our presence.
In June 1960, I had the honor once again to provide personal security for then President Eisenhower. The locale was Seoul, Korea, only two months following student riots that protested an illegal election of Korean President Sigmund Rhee and declaration of Martial Law. Students had also demonstrated in Tokyo, so plans were cancelled for the President to stop in Japan, which allowed one extra day for him to visit the Panmunjon Peace Talk area at the 38th parallel. The plan, coordinated by Clarence H. Bennett, was to provide two CIC Agents in each of three security vehicles in the Seoul parade. Agent Gerald D. Foster was assigned to drive the lead car accompanied by Lawrence C. Linn; Robert L. Hengtgen to drive on the left flank accompanied by James G. Reynolds; and I to drive on the right flank of the President’s limousine, accompanied by Lars J. Larsen, Jr. Two Secret Service Agents were to be in the back seat of each security vehicle. The night prior to arrival of the President, we practiced driving the route with the Secret Service Agents after the midnight curfew. The next morning we met the President’s helicopter as it arrived from Kimpo Air Base at the golf course of Eighth Army Headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul. Things went smoothly until we reached the central train station area, where we were met by an estimated one million people. They crowded into the streets attempting to see the President close-up and our entourage was forced into a single file. Each security vehicle kept ramming bumpers in an effort to keep together. Miraculously, no legs got caught between the bumpers. The designated route was around South Gate to the American Embassy, where another one to two million spectators was gathered. For the first time in history, Secret Service changed the in-progress route to the Ambassador’s residence in order to avoid the larger crowd at the Embassy. The next day, two tae kwon do experts from the Korean police were seated in each of the three security vehicles and Secret Service Agents walked surrounding the Presidential limousine along the main parade route. However, the word was out: “spectators stay on the sidewalk!” And they did, except for one woman who stepped out to throw a rose onto the open vehicle of the President. In 1962 when President Kennedy was assassinated, I thought how easy it would have been to have something similar happen in Korea.
Well, once again Eisenhower did not speak to me. However, U.E. Baughman, Chief of Secret Service, wrote a nice letter of commendation through the CO, 308th CIC Detachment to the CIC Agents who had participated in the activities, and gave each a medallion from a US Mint, about the size of a silver dollar, inscribed on the face “With appreciation from” above the signature Dwight D. Eisenhower. On the reverse, the inscription reads “Korea…June 1960.” I had my own name inscribed on the face above the inscriptions.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” –Abraham Lincoln
See everyone next Thursday!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma
580-490-6823
