A Glimpse Into The Past
Three Shot, One Killed, Two Wounded, Alleged Result of Family Row
Saturday April 13, 1918 – The Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore, Oklahoma
W. B. Bentley, a carpenter, who lived at 315 Fourth avenue northwest, was shot about 10 o’clock last night at his home and died at 3 o’clock this morning at the Hardy Sanitarium. His wife and her daughter by a former marriage, Mrs. Leonard Brown, are in the sanitarium seriously wounded.
A call came to the police station about 10 o’clock last night and Officers Johnson and Fenley responded. They found Bentley at the corner of Fourth avenue and C street northwest, he having walked there, a distance of a block, after being shot. At the house they found Mrs. Bentley and Mrs. Brown both wounded. All the parties were taken to the sanitarium.
Dr. Walter Hardy said this morning that Bentley was shot in the abdomen four times there being 15 punctures in the intestines. His left arm had been broken by a bullet. Across his breast there was a scalping wound and one entering the side and penetrating the left flank.
Mrs. Bentley’s left arm was broken and she was also shot in the right hip the bullet entering the abdominal cavity. Mrs. Brown’s left arm was broken by a bullet and one passed through her right knee cap.
Robert Hensley sent in a couple of interesting photos for this issue. It’s the D. E. Allen buggy and wagon shop photo from The Ardmoreite Oct 2, 1900.
Now that I am 300 feet into the County, Carter County District 3 is re-doing the road that runs in front of my property. It was a really rough road when Lone Grove took care of it. The County is doing a great job and will really be nice when it’s finished.
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Above is Stratford, Oklahoma’s railway depot – formerly on the Oklahoma Central Railroad. It was the very LAST Oklahoma Central structure as far as I know, and, for a time was used as Stratford’s Town Hall. But they quit maintaining the historic building – and somebody took it and left it out in a pasture where it has pretty well fallen apart. 🙁 -Tom Elmore
HAM Talk By Butch Bridges KC5JVT – Allstar node # 58735 – Echolink # 101960
The Arbuckle 97 Net is held every Sunday night a 8pm. Hope to hear more licensed HAMs in this area checking in.
Tech Corner
Finally got my “new” Mini Lenovo ThinkCenter PC up and running. Been a hair pulling ordeal. First I used Clonezilla (freeware) to copy all (340 Gigs with 29,000 photos) from my old PC (a full size Dell PC) to the new one. Worked fine but did not copy a number of my installed programs. So I bit the bullet and paid $30 for the utility program PCMOVER from Walmart website. I already had the transfer cable, so only downloaded the program file to my old PC and installed it. It took 7 hours to transfer everything to my new PC as my old transfer cable was 2.0 not 3.0 USB to USB. But ALL of my data AND installed PROGRAMs did transfer and worked! Its really nice. Anyway all is working and my new PC is great and it’s fast!
Below is from my newsletter archives dated
August 28, 2008 – Issue 605
I received a request this week asking if anyone knows where the old Fox townsite was located before the town was moved to where it is today. If you know, send in an email.
Fox is a small community in Carter County, Oklahoma. The post office was established January 25, 1894. It was named for Frank M. Fox of the Chickasaw Nation. It is best known as a racially integrated school and producer of several H.S. championship football teams, particularly in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and this may be the driving force behind an upcoming motion picture release. Captains 1979-80: O. Young, J. Payne, S. Black. –Wikipedia
Tom Miller wrote in this week asking if anyone remembers the old Estes Store near Turner Falls on Highway 77. If you remember the details, send me an email.
The Daily Ardmoreite, August 1924 – For some time protest as been going up from local motorist, over the price charged for gasoline in Ardmore, compared with other places. The Chamber of Commerce took the matter up recently to see why the condition existed. The Secretary has findings which lead him to believe prices will be adjusted to a more equitable basis within the next few days.
“Dear Butch: I found your name and website as I was searching for information regarding the American Flyers Airline crash of April 22, 1966. I was suppose to get on the plane in Monterey, CA (Fort Ord), and fly east to Fort Gordon, GA. I had orders but was not listed on the planes manifest. They tried to get me added to the manifest since I had orders to leave, but was not allowed to board the plane. All the friends that I had made through boot camp and wireman school were killed in that crash. I have had to deal with the fact that I lived and was not on the plane. I am trying to put closure to this memory.
There are days when I wonder why I was not allowed onto the plane. I was driven back to Fort Ord, and housed in an empty barrack for the night, to fly out the next morning. My wife came and picked me up and we went to eat before taking me back to the barracks.
We decided to stop by my wife’s sister to let them know that I wasn’t allowed on the plane, only to find them grieving for me. They then informed me that my parents needed to be notified that I hadn’t been allowed to board the plane. When we arrived at my parent’s home, about 20 miles away, we found my family gathered trying to comfort my parents. It was joyous news for them, but I felt a real loss for the friends I’d lost.
I’ve struggled all these years, wondering “what if..”
Thanks again for helping me find some closure to this very traumatic experience. I also appreciate what you’ve done to memorialize the many lives lost in this tragic accident. -Nickolas Saldivar, Sacramento
“Re Pepsi jingle: A color(!) trailer (advertising film, like today’s commercials) played in movie houses during the previews. It’s my recollection that it went “…twice as much AND for a nickel too.” -Wes Leatherock
However I liked Pepsi better than Coke or Royal Crown. The Nehi Big Red was popular as well as the Grapette. Dr. Pepper was around also. It was a good time, except for the war.
P.S. The old Coke formula (back in the 30’s) is still bottled in Mexico, and tastes like Coke did in the ’30’s. It was on sale in Cosco’s here in Plano Texas. I was sent weekly by Bicycle to get a case of something, carried the returns and box case to the bottler, and brought back full bottles. Also was the family barefoot boy on bicycle (24″) banker, making the weekly deposits. Also the 10 cent Sat. Movies, Swimming at Whittington Park, I lived in NW on 8th & B. Oh and the Watermelons, Yellow Meated from Thackerville, Ice Cream and Fishing in Murray and Texhoma, Hickory Creek, Kingston, several other places.” -Jim Renfro
However I liked Pepsi better than Coke or Royal Crown. The Nehi Big Red was popular as well as the Grapette. Dr. Pepper was around also. It was a good time, except for the war. .
PS The old Coke formula (back in the 30’s) is still bottled in Mexico, and tastes like Coke did in the ’30’s. It was on sale in Cosco’s here in Plano Texas. I was sent weekly by Bicycle to get a case of something, carried the returns and box case to the bottler, and brought back full bottles. Also was the family barefoot boy on bicycle (24″) banker, making the weekly deposits. Also the 10 cent Sat. Movies, Swimming at Whittington Park, I lived in NW on 8th & B. Oh and the Watermelons, Yellow Meated from Thackerville, Ice Cream and Fishing in Murray and Texhoma, Hickory Creek, Kingston, several other places.” -Jim Renfro
Hi Butch, I thought you and your readers might enjoy reading the following information on Jeff Warthen aka Worthen who was in law enforcement in the Mannsville area in 1908. I am also sending copies of a couple of old tintypes I was told show him on the left with prisoners whose names are unknown to me. I have doubts about the second picture being a prisoner but notice that he has his arm through both men’s arm perhaps to show control. Jeff Warthen was born in 1861 and raised in the Collin County, Texas area before moving as an adult to Durwood, IT. His parents were William S. and Mrs. Letty Mae Wilkins Warthen. It is not know how many years Jeff worked in the field of law enforcement but I found several stories concerning his career. Deputy Sheriff, Jeff Warthen?s many adventures pursuing criminals were recorded in the Mannsville News. The following articles were taken from a four month period in 1908. Jeff was living with his daughter in Cotton Co., OK in 1920 and listed as a retired Sheriff. I was born in Marietta; graduated from Ringling High School; and lived in Ardmore in the 1960s, so I love to read about the area I grew up in. And thus enjoy your T&T. Thank you for all your efforts.” -Barbara Warthen Wallace
Vol. 4 #27 Jan 10, 1908
Deputy Sheriff Jeff Worthen, County commissioner V. A. Fine, I. N. Russel, J. K. Stallings, and City Marshall Flowers were among the county capital visitors the first of the week.
Vol. 4, Jan 17, 1908
Den of Thieves
The Community across the river north-west of here has been badly infested with horse thieves and in the past 10 days several animals have been stolen. The people have become considerably worked up over the condition of affairs and are banding themselves together to assist the officers in putting a stop to these depredations. One man saw a fellow leading a horse from his lot and shot striking the fellow in the leg. This so scared the fellow that he ran off leaving the horse he rode there on as well as the one he was stealing. This proved to be a sixteen-year old boy. The boy went home and told the whole thing. His brother went over after their horse and the officers went after the other parties. One man have been arrested and placed under bond, and the officers feel hopeful that they will be able to land the whole bunch. Deputy Sheriff Worthen, with a deputy from Tishomingo and the constable from Norton spent Tuesday and b?.y all of Tuesday night after the —- but there being so many of them and so many harboring them that it made it a difficult task to locate them, but the people are determined that they shall be routed and they will have to move their quarters or trouble is marked as their doom.
Vol. 4 Friday Jan 31, 1908
It is peculiarly interesting to the admirers of good government to note how our officers are enforcing the laws of this new commonwealth. Our deputy sheriff, Jeff Worthen, succeeded last week in locating G. W. Farris, who had jumped his bond for mistreating his step-daughter and failed to appear for trial. His bondsmen asked our deputy sheriff to assist them in locating him. Mr. Worthen wired to five places and he had been in four of them but was gone. A message reached Fort Smith, Ark., two days before the victim arrived and he was apprehended as soon as he landed in the city. Deputy Worthen left here last Thursday for Fort Smith, returning Saturday night with his man.
Deputy Worthen also succeeded Tuesday of this week in capturing another one of the men accused of horse stealing across the river north of town. This man?s name is Griffin and it was supposed to have been his overcoat the boy had on when he was shot while taking out a stolen horse. Mr. Worthen turned his man over to Sheriff Simmons who lodged him in jail to await bond. Three men were landed in the county bastille in 5 or 10 minutes that day.
Vol. 4 March 30, 1908
Murder Trial
The worse case that has had the attention of our courts since statehood is now in the district court in this County. Two years ago last January a very foul murder was committed in the Kemp pasture in the northern part of the county. A man named Gregory was arrested charged with the murder. He turned stats evidence and was released. He implicated a boy named Chas. Parker and a young man named Eulin Mullins. These parties have been in jail at Ardmore for about 18 months until Wednesday they were carried to Tishomingo for trial.
The boy plead guilty and on account of being only a boy at the time of the crime he was only given 6 years imprisonment at hard labor. The one charged with being the real murder is now on trial.
Failing to secure a full jury Wednesday, Deputy Sheriff Worthen was sent up here Wednesday evening for a special venire and went back yesterday morning with the following twelve citizens from whom to select the remaining 5: Dr. J. H. Voris, W. M. Ward, W. S. Sears, J. R. Green, T. J. White, C. A. Michuson, J. A. Cook, D. P. Rich, C. M. Ritchey, A. G. Stilley, T. K. Stallings and Jno. H. Smith.
Vol. 4, April 1908
Deputy Sheriff Worthen went to Tishomingo today.
Vol. 4 Friday April 3, 1908
Constable Ed Harwell and Deputy Sheriff Worthen went across the river last Sunday and arrested Thomas Middleton on a charge of pistol ?totin? and brought him before Justice Collins where he gave bond for his appearance before the Justice court tomorrow
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/WarthenAndPrisoner1.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/WorthenAndPrisoner2.jpg
A dollar is a dollar
and a dime is a dime
we’d sing another chorus
but we haven’t got the time.
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma
580-490-6823
https://oklahomahistory.net