Decades ago Ernest D. Martin (1921-2010) told me about a water well he and his friend dug by hand in the NE corner of Meridian and Myall Road south of Lone Grove. He was a young man when they dug, probably around the late 1930s or early 40s. He said it sure was cold and wet in that big opening as they dug down, while standing in it. Most of the time the water well is covered by grass (empty lot), but recently someone mowed that corner lot. There it is, just like Ernest described it to me, plain as day. I been told the well is 35 feet deep. Ernest told me his friend Dan Heartsill Sr., 1921-2004, was the owner of the property at that time.
Below is a photo of Mac’s Wholesale in Ardmore when it was located at A NE and 2nd. For decades they sold goods to nearly all the ma and pa grocery stores and some of the bigger stores too in Ardmore.
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
I was wondering if any of the readers go back to when
Kress was a big part of Ardmore. I am 97 now, but still remember the thrill of strolling through Kress as a kid. I thought it was such a great place and must have everything in the world for sale. Even a glassed in part across the back wall full of fish of many colors and shapes. It seemed the candy case was a mile long and had every kind of candy you could wish for. They had a small scale, with a tiny metal bowl and scoop, and when I made my choice of where my nickle would go, which was usually jelly beans, she would fill the scoop and slowly drop them in the container until my nickels worth was obtained. It was a great store and I’m sure many readers have memories of going there too. -Elisabeth egwahoo27@gmail.com
A GOOD ONE FOR T&T: The Tom Miller Hay Story (as told by Frank Johnson): “I had a truck load of Sudan hay & had stopped to get gas in Roff OK with Tom & some ole boy asked Tom what kind of hay we was hauling & Tom told him that the guy that sold me the hay was named Johnson & that my name was also Johnson so Tom assumed that it must be Johnson-grass hay….” lol -Steve Miller
There is something I was thinking about today, it may be kind of an odd question but I thought I would ask you to see what you think. Do you know anybody that has pictures of lone Grove elementary School back in like the ’80s and ’90s? Like inside the school and the old elementary playground? It would be really neat to see that. Obviously that’s where I went to school haha. -Roy roydsnelson@gmail.com
HAM Talk By Butch Bridges KC5JVT – Allstar node # 58735 – Echolink # 101960
Below is from my newsletter archives dated
September 4, 2008 – Issue 606
Last week in the Mailbag was an inquiry as to the ‘old’ townsite of Fox, Oklahoma. The reader had heard there was a original Fox townsite, at a different location as to where Fox is today. Carter county resident Nelda Keck was born and raised at Fox, Oklahoma as were all her siblings, attending school at Fox up until graduation. Nelda called me this week to answer the question about the old Fox townsite since she had done extensive research on the old Fox not long ago for the Oklahoma Historical Society. Before 1923 Fox was located 1 mile north, 3/10th mile east, and then about 1/4 mile south of the present day Fox. It was situated on 27.5 acres according to the plat submitted to the Department of Interior in Washington DC and on record at the County Clerks Office. That ‘first’ Fox was located along the banks of Caddo Creek that runs through that Section of the county, and was moved in 1923 to the location we know it today. Fox was named after Frank Fox. Thanks Nelda for sharing this piece of Carter county history.
To repeat myself from last week’s newsletter, I am always amazed at what my T&T Readers share. A reader called me this week to say he stumbled across a piece of railroad history, and its not even close to the railroad tracks. Well, at least today its not, but back 60 or more years ago, it was located right next to the tracks. The Ringling spur ran west along what we call Grand Avenue today. At 4th and F Street NW (336 F NW) is the old bunk house where the railroad crew slept. This is a pretty dinky little house, to be a house, and that is what caught the T&T Reader’s attention this week, so he asked the owners about it. That is when he learned Effie Sparks used to live in the house, but before that, it was a RR bunk house. The RR crew stayed up stairs on the 2nd floor. There is even a picture of young Effie Sparks standing in front of the wood stove on the 2nd floor, trying to keep warm many many winters ago.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/RRBunkhouse8a.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/RRBunkhouse8b.jpg
And to think I worked just a few hundred feet south of the old bunk house for 14 years when I worked at the ambulance service and had never heard of this piece of history. I knew the railroad came through there, in fact, that is how the ambulance service became owner of the property where it is located today.
Back around 1975 the ambulance service’s board of directors was looking for a spot to build a new ambulance office since the Adventist Hospital wanted to tear down the old SOAS office on the south side of the hospital. The SOAS board had looked at a number of places in Ardmore when City Commissioner Weldon Harris (and SOAS board member) mentioned the property on Grand Avenue at the SOAS board meeting. Weldon told them the City acquired the property from the railroad when the right-of-way and track was removed and had just been ‘sitting’ on the property all these years. Weldon said the City had no plans for the property at 517 Grand and if the ambulance service wanted it to build a new office, then it would be made available. The rest is history.
I ran across this old business card of Berryhill Tin Shop. The sheet metal business was located at #24 South Mill Street. Many of the stores in the downtown area had tin ceilings made by Berryhill, including the ceiling at my grandparents, Carmon Lumber Company on 3rd NE. The tin ceilings were the high fashion of the day back 100 years ago.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/BerryhillTinShopCard.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/BerryhillTinShop.jpg
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/BerryhillTinShop2.jpg
A reader sent in a couple photos this week. This first one was taken right after the Ardmore fire of 1895 that nearly wiped out the downtown area. Ardmore didn’t have an organized fire department at that time (only bucket brigades), but soon after the disaster, a true fire department was started.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/ArdmoreFireAfter1895.jpg
This second photo was taken years later, in 1928, of Main Street in downtown Ardmore. On the right (north side of the street) I see, Kress department store, The Palace Theater, and the Ritz Theater. On the south side of Main I see the OG&E building where people paid their electric bills. Then on to the west I see Rawlins furniture store.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/ArdmoreMain1928.jpg
In 1907 A. Bledsoe Rawlins came to Ardmore, Indian Territory, and established a second hand store. He later started the Rawlins Furniture Store. His wife Ida, was tragically killed in a buggy accident. A. Bledsoe Rawlins later married Henryetta Younger, who was a sister to Cole Younger. There were no children by this marriage. A. Bledsoe died in 1935. Meredith Rawlins, the son of Philip A. Rawlins, was born in 1910 in Lancaster, Dallas County, Texas. The Rawlins family home at Lancaster was built by the family in 1854 and is the oldest home in Dallas county, to be continuously owned by the family who built it. It has been listed among the National Registry of historic homes. Meredith lives in Ardmore with his wife Geraldine, a well known and loved music teacher in the Ardmore school system for many years. She has led most of the important choral groups in Ardmore and directed the First Methodist Church Choir for many years. Meredith continued to operate the family furniture store in Ardmore until it was sold in 1959. Meredith and Geraldine have one daughter, Shirley Rawlins Hatfield Dibrell. Shirley is the organist at the St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Ardmore. -from the Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers Book 1983
This is a photo I took of the entrance to the old Rawlins store at 120 West Main.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/Rawlins08a.jpg
And this a view from the middle of the street. Today its the Clothes Box.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/Rawlins08b.jpg
Dwane Stevens sent in a couple neat photos the other day. One was of the old Super Dog on Lake Murray Drive back in 1949. I see behind the establishment a Tyler and Simpson truck making a delivery. We know the business today as Burger Ranch.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/SuperDog1949.jpg
And this photo is a group picture taken at Rexroat school in 1925.
https://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/RexroatSchool1925b.jpg
Roy Kendrick at Perry, Oklahoma sent in an interesting link this week. The website has a cost of living calculator for comparing 2 cities in the U.S. Jill has been trying to talk her twin sister June in California to move to Ardmore. Since Ardmore is on the list, it shows her and her husband could take a 49.2% cut in income, and still maintain the same standard of living here in Ardmore as they do now in CA. Something to think about, eh? Get to packing June, and move to Okieland.
What is interesting is the fact that someone may be thinking about moving to another city where they get a bigger salary, but when you do the comparison, you find that many times you are actually taking a pay cut, so do the math before moving. Here is the link to the cost of living calculator. Ardmore is on the list of cities.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp
“I do remember Mrs. Dorothy Osborn very well. She taught English IV and Speech at Ardmore High School a couple of years in the 60’s before they moved to Colorado. She was a fine lady and such a wonderful teacher. I have heard she taught some back in the 50’s at the High School, and I wonder how many remember her?” -J James
A bad workman blames his tools
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore, Oklahoma
580-490-6823
https://oklahomahistory.net