The other day I decided to download a free floor planner program to my computer. I wanted to draw a floor plan of Ardmore’s old Washington Elementary school on 5th & G Street NE back in the 1960s. Well, the program was complicated and I really didn’t remember much about how the school was laid out all those years later. But Luther Wooley came to my rescue and hand drew me a drawing from his recollections of the school. He remembered 100 times more about it than I did. Anyway, below is the drawing he sent in. Very detailed. I’ll still try to draw it up on my new floor planner program later.
If you can add anything to the drawing, please send me an email.
KTEN Television did a newsbrief this week on the State Treasurers Office in OKC and the 1.3 Billion Dollars in Oklahoma of unclaimed property waiting for the rightful owners to claim. I been preaching this since October 2000 and how people should check for their name and their kin’s names on the State’s website. With only 2 ladies working the Unclaimed Property Office, the odds are 1.3 billion to one they will be contacting YOU. I am thankful for the several thousand I’ve contacted about their unclaimed insurance and that they have received their money, but its really up to you to do the searching. The link to their website is below.
Below is the link is to the state’s unclaimed property website.
Below is the list I have tried to keep of people I’ve tried to contact or work with. Several thousand have filed and already received their money from the State Treasurers office. Great! I’m just going to keep on trucking along trying to let people know about their unclaimed insurance in OKC.
https://oklahomahistory.net/unclaimed-property-in-oklahoma/
C. R. Anthony Company, Main Street Ardmore. 1950s
The above picture is an aerial view of the Chickasaw Bank Museum inTishomingo, Oklahoma and home of the Johnston County Historical Society.
https://www.chickasawcountry.com/arts-history-culture/chickasaw-bank-museum
In this area we have had lots of rain the past week or so. This is our front yard on May 22nd.
And this is Turner Falls after the rains, gushing water from the floods.
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Hi Butch, While down the rabbit hole on the web on some research, I came across this film posted on YouTube of some folks riding the combine in the mixed train on the Ringling Oklahoma line. Thought you might find it interesting. -George Pretty
Additonal note: At the very start of the video you will see my neighbor’s, Avery Senter (1893-1973), red truck he drove to the depot to retrieve the mailbags from the train and take to the old Ardmore post office (North Washington & West Broadway). He made the trip each time the passenger train stopped in Ardmore (twice a day). Several times he took me with him to get the mail, an experience I will never forget!
BUTCH : Yep, as a young lad I remember well the water bags hanging on
the car grill in front of the radiator. These were made of canvas and
were used for emergency water when crossing the desert by auto. My
pappy also had one of those tube shaped air coolers that hung on the
door window of the Packard. The squirrel cage fan turned when the car
was in motion sucking air across the wet matting covering the intake
vents. The matting was kept wet from the water reservoir across the
elongated bottom of the tube cooler. The moist air was a much
welcomed guest during those hot summer arid days of 1950s Oklahoma.
-Steve Miller (like the band)
HAM Talk By Butch Bridges KC5JVT – Allstar node # 58735
12 HAMs checked in last Sunday night at 8:00pm. Check-ins are every Sunday night at 8:00pm. Any licensed HAM radio operator is welcome to check in to the 970 Net.
Below is from my newsletter archives dated
June 19, 2008 – Issue 595
Jill and I stopped in at the new Buddy’s Drive-In for a burger last week. It is located just east of North Washington on Sam Noble Parkway. Even tho the meat could have been cooked just a tad more, it was a delicious burger. There was small pieces of onion mixed in with the meat, making it like a fried onion burger, but better. The owner Crystal is at the counter in the photo below.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuddysInside061508.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuddysOutside061508.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuddysBurger061508.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BuddysBurgerPlace.jpg
Bill Uhles at Sulphur mailed Jill some Castor Bean Seeds this week for planting. I have never heard of them myself, but from reading on the Net I can tell they are interesting plants. They can grow to 12 feet high, so we can use them as a privacy fence out by the road. Not that we really need a privacy fence, since we have a thick growth of trees on 2 sides of our property, including the front. But they do contain 50% oil…. so maybe we need them commercially planted for the oil. I can hardly wait to see them in full bloom. Here is a scan I did of the seeds (some call the seeds ‘petrified dog ticks’ ).
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CastorBeans061708.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/CastorBeanPlant111608.jpg
Ardmoreite Tonya Rangel gave me some old photos she found in a shoe box this week. In the box was a 1968 Graduation Program for Ardmore Junior High. I have scanned the four pages below. I recognize a lot of names!
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AJrHS1968a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AJrHS1968b.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AJrHS1968c.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/AJrHS1968d.jpg
Another picture Tonya sent in was a postcard of the Lake Murray Inn. By looking at the cars parked in front, I’d say around 1939 to 1941. The Inn was located about where the Lake Murray Lodge is now, so I would guess it predates the Lodge. What makes me smile is the sign on the building, “Honk for Service”. Now that IS a thing of the past. It is hard to find a single service station left in Carter county (maybe the whole U.S), only self-service filling stations left . There is only a handful of stations left in Ardmore where you can even still get air (without paying for it). Boy, times have changed.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/LakeMurrayInn8a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/LakeMurrayInn8b.jpg
“Butch- The 9-hole golf course on the base was a course for military personnel, their wives, family and friends. It was located north of the hospital area and was built through donations of material, labor and money by civilians and military personnel. No base funds were involved in the building of the course. Several years after the base closed, the course was leased from the City of Ardmore by two or more civilians employed elsewhere as an additional income source. The following information was copied from the Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Base website.
After the base closed, the course was leased from the City of Ardmore by two or more civilians employed elsewhere as an additional income source.
The Ardmore Army Air Field website is the years of work by Gary Simmons (1932-2022)
https://home.brightok.net/~gsimmons/
“I used to caddy on that course for Sam Clendenin for the total of .75 cents for 18 holes about 3 hours worth of work. But Sam would have a pull cart so it was easy and he would buy me a pop after every 9 holes. I think that the steel bridge is still there that was between hole #8 and #9 fairway.” -Doug
“Butch I know I visit with you a few times a week but will answer the request about the 9 hole golf course at the Ardmore Airbase. I returned from a tour in Korea during the “Police Action” as the politicians called it in late 1953. My first assignment after a 30 day furlough was Ardmore, Airbase Ardmore, Oklahoma. My gosh I thought I had come to the end of the real world but soon got use to the Okie customs. Back to the golf course, it was located north and east of the main gate and went quite a distance east almost to the flight line. When we were assigned extra duty it would be to help tend to the course-water, rake sand traps, pick up cigarette butts and general care, it was a well kept course and I can remember those who played it said it was very good. I believe at the time I was there it was used by military personal only. The building that I worked in (communications) was at the far north end of the course and in it we had an old BC-610 transmitter and receivers which we maintained and serviced for those air force personal who used it, it was the local MARS station (Ham Radio).” -Richard “Rick” Feiler
“Greetings Butch, If you happen to go through Thackerville around lunch time, stop at the Front Porch Caf?. Angie Melton has the best hamburger in Love County. I?m not qualified to judge ?All of Southern Oklahoma? (yet) but I?d bet it would be a strong contender. She also has an excellent chicken-fried steak that has a good steak-to-plate ratio. Order the small unless you have a powerful hunger.” -Willis
‘You Are My Sunshine’ was written and originally recorded by Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana in 1940. In 1941 Gene Autry would push it even further up the charts with his rendition
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You’ll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don’t take my sunshine away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nw-4TOo20Y
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma