FLOYD RANDOLPH ANNOUNCES AS CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY SHERIFF other candidates: Walter Day, Billy Hensley, N.J. Craighead, Houston Cox, Enoch Watterson, Willis Tennyson
Floyd Randolph was sheriff 1935-1943
“Mr Randolph had his saddle shop in the SW corner of Myall and South Commerce. We met the school bus there. He would let us stay inside during bad weather. He also encouraged us to use his leather scraps and tools to make designs. He also gave me (9 yrs old) his daughter’s show shirts that had sequins and felt like silk. He was the nicest man!” -Brenda Reed
Note: Randolph’s Saddle Shop later became B&C Saddle Shop, Bud Stewart, owner. Below is a picture after Bud Stewart took over the business. The building was torn down in 2007.
Speaking of sheriffs, I’ve been looking for decades for a picture of Howard Johnson and Jack Powledge when they were sheriffs of Carter County. Through my research I had found pictures of all the others since statehood (1907) but these two eluded me. Yesterday I found the last two, Johnson and Powledge. They can now be added to our new Sheriff D.J. Long’s Carter County Sheriffs Office website history section along with the others.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24144950/james-winston-powledge
The town of Roff, Oklahoma was named after John T. Roff.
Mail from the Mailbag
“Mr Randolph had his saddle shop in the SW corner of Myall and South Commerce. We met the school bus there. He would let us stay inside during bad weather. He also encouraged us to use his leather scraps and tools to make designs. He also gave me (9 yrs old) his daughter’s show shirts that had sequins and felt like silk. He was the nicest man!” -Brenda Reed
HAM Talk by Butch Bridges KC5JVT – Allstar node # 58735
I have to say for the last couple of weeks my new Allstar node #58735 through a Raspberry Pi-3 and AixRpt app running on my laptop, has had nary a hiccup. All thanks to Roger in WV (KE8LCM) and Mike in PA (KB3KAV) who helped me. I would have never got it running without them.
Another HAM friend in Indiana, E.C. (KD9VTE) pointed me to a comprehensive weather website. It has dozens of overlays to look at, from radar to rain to snow to temps, and so forth, and all for FREE. Its called windy.com If you’re into weather info, check it out.
https://www.windy.com/
If you are a licensed local area HAM, and your rig can reach our transmitter in the Arbuckle mountains near Turner Falls, you are welcome to check-in on Sunday nights at 8:00pm to our Arbuckle 97 Net.
I also check in nearly daily at Noon Central Time to the Boredom Breaker Net in Claremore, Oklahoma. It lasts about 2 hours and there are HAMs from all over the country and overseas who check-in averaging about 50 each day. Yesterday there were 76 check-ins to the Boredom Breaker Net.
RCWA Repeater: FM frequency 147.090 positive offset (+.600) PL=88.5 (Allstar node 49562; Echolink N5XQK-R; YSF XLXOKL A; Dstar XLXOKL A; DMR TGIF 49562; Hamshack Hotline 94002.)
The RCWA AllStar node (49562) and Echolink (N5XQK-R) are linked in 24 hours a everyday.
Below is from my newsletter archives dated
February 14, 2008 – Issue 577
Ardmoreite Bert Powers (1908 – 1987) was in the first group of Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers to take to the highways back on July 18, 1937. Eighty-four men commenced patrol on Oklahoma highways that day.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108817212/c-bert-powers
Several times a day our neighbors two dogs come over to visit. Jill even placed a basket on the front porch for them to sleep in. They are precious dogs, so lovable. Here is a pic I took of them both in the basket. My camera setting was a little off for night time, but you can see them both. Since I dont know their names, I just call them Pete and Repeat.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PeteAndRepeat020908.jpg
“Butch, This is a pic of the “contraption” as I call it, that sits east of the Wilson Historical Museum. This was used in one of Wilson’s early day lumber yards to make window and door frames.”
Update on planer: George Pinches gave it to Frank Schaaf so it is no longer on the east side of the Wilson museum.
LINDSAY SWEEPS THE WORLD. From the 1920s to the 1970s, Lindsay in Garvin County OK was known as the broomcorn capital with the promotional slogan: “Lindsay Sweeps the World”. The sandy, rich soil along Rush Creek is ideal for broomcorn, but broomcorn is too labor intensive for today’s USA economy: harvesting broomcorn requires human handling at least 10 times, 17 times by the estimates of some.
“Butch, my husband grew up on 2nd Ave. S.E. and worked for OGE for 41 years– retiring 21 years ago so he knows a little about the building on 2nd Ave. He says that at one time it was a small generator and it could not keep up with the needs of a growing town so it was shut down many years ago and at one time OGE used the building for storage before it was turned over to the city. He can remember almost everything from 85 years ago, he is my living history reference.” -Charlene Gilliam
The Daily Ardmoreite 6-22-44
DICK’S VISIT RECALLS WORK
He Is Credited With Building Ardmore as City’s First Mayor
R. W. Dick, an early day lawyer of Ardmore, was here Thursday from his home in Oklahoma City. He was Ardmore’s first active mayor. He built the city lake and put in the water works, built sewer lines, paved streets, took up the board walks and put down concrete. The wide sidewalks on West Main were of his building. He made an entirely new city of Ardmore. When statehood came Governor Haskell appointed him superintendent of the Oklahoma penitentiary. He built the penitentiary at McAlester and moved the state’s prisoners from Fort Leavenworth where they were in a federal prison. When that work was finished he moved to Oklahoma City. He made successful ventures in oil in the state of Louisiana and owns valuable real estate in Oklahoma City. He lost Mrs. Dick only a few years ago. Mrs. Dick was active in the Christian church, in the Ladies of the Leaf and in the Orio club. The people are reminded that human nature does not change. While Bob Dick, without money to start with, bought the city water reservoir and made a city out of a mudhole, he was fought bitterly at every step he took and was assailed viciously in the press. However this paper was always his friend.
The Wilson News submitted by Mindy Taylor
8-4-1915
Electric Lights for Wirt
W. E. Gupton has about completed arrangements for installing an electric lighting plant in the booming hustling oil city of Wirt. Mr. Gupton has already secured contracts, we understand for over 500 lights, and will probably have his light plant in operation within the next thirty days. In addition to operating the light plant, Mr. Gupton will conduct a general machine and blacksmith repair shop at Wirt. Mr. Gupton comes to Wirt from Oil City, but is originally from Central Kentucky.
12-16-1915
Makes Raid on Wirt
Last Sunday Charley Jones made a raid on the gamblers and bootleggers of Ragtown, brought in eight men and $180 in cash which he secured from the tables. Mr. Jones stated that he only visited a few places as the rest of them were wise before he could get to them. This is the first time Mr. Jones has done any extensive reading by himself, but he says that the boot-leggers and gamblers had better look out. It looks like he means business. A Challenge Judge Wiseman has made a state wide challenge that he is the champion soup eater of this state, and wishes to challenge any man, woman, or child except Jim White or J. E. Oxley to a soup eating contest, it is said that every time the Judge goes to Ragtown that he eats a bowl of soup for every 30 minutes spent in that city. Old maids are barred from this contest.
Correction: In the Jan. 12, 2006 Museum Memories column I noted that the Post Office had moved from the Dr. Darling building to the Ballew Drug Store location in 1925. This was taken from a history of the post office as I had no newspaper articles to show when the move was made. I have been corrected by several Readers, but have been waiting to make the correction until a date for the move can be found. If someone knows when the P. O. was moved to the Ballew Drug Store location, please send me a note. -Melinda Taylor
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. -Robert Frost
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
580-490-6823
https://oklahomahistory.net