Above is a drawing by Ardmoreite Ludwig Isenberg (1925-2005)
Below is the Pate Grocery store that was located just north of C street and Lake Murray Drive, Ardmore. 1950s
Below is info on the old Willis, Oklahoma airport
“Here’s a little bit of History that you won’t learn in school, if you have lived here for many years like I have decades you know! Time covers things up and big corporate build on farm, did you know in Willis Oklahoma in an old Cotton peanut field right beside 377 where the mega star is now used to be an airstrip. Prime example of losing farmland and what used to be here, used to you could see the old Willis school behind the graveyard but the timber has grown up so bad now you can’t see nothing just wondering if it’s still standing. And back in the booming times the old broken bit and I remember three other bars at that time on the east side of the road but I can’t remember the names of them. Then where Blackbeard Marine is the Nesmiths had a little convenience store there we farm peanuts back behind it, then you had Cryerville they had a little convenience store and a little barber shop there and if you want to go over to Powell and Chick Brown Hill was another little convenience store want to go past the fire station there and Powell was another little convenience store, woman that run it was named LaRue and she had two boys named Arthur and Mitchell I can’t remember their last name. Just before you got to the bridge there where the Rushings are my dad and them had a farm right there when he was a young kid. Just a little coffee talk here on this Saturday morning.” -Jimmy Bishop, Enos, Oklahoma
Jimmy… my dad was a pilot, and I flew in and out of that grass strip several times when we flew down to see Delmas and Lou. That strip was on Delmas’s property. Delmas even put a windsock on a pole on his driveway for pilots to see wind direction. It was a great place to land and take off except for all the gopher mounds. That made for a rough ride. Sort of like several thousands of feet of rumble strips. Thanks for the trip down memory land. I would love to turn back the hands of time and go back to that spot. It saddens me seeing that casino there instead of the Northcutt spread. -Gary Henry
The landing strip was on Delmas Northcutt’s property. The old Willis schoolhouse closed and consolidated with Kingston in the early 60’s. The building was used for community gatherings, hootnannies and domino tournaments. It later burned and there is only the foundation and steps, and maybe a cellar remaining. I’ll attach a photo from the Corp of Engineers showing the view from the New Willis Cemetery back when they had just moved the graves from the old cemetery on the river. You can see the schoolhouse (if you zoom in) in the distance on the right side about halfway down from the top. -Brenda Reeves
Jimmy, I grew up with that airstrip in my front yard. I took off and landed there many times. My dad and his friends flew from there as did many crop-dusters. -Lynn Northcutt Vega, Springfield, Virginia (Delmas Northcutt’s daughter)
Delmas Northcutt obituary- https://www.wattsfuneralhome.com/obituary/delmas-northcutt
Below is a drawing of Fort Arbuckle west of Davis, Oklahoma
With the nicer weather I sandblast these 5 pavers that will go in the walkway of the Marshall County Courthouse in Madill. They turned out nice
HAM Talk By Butch Bridges KC5JVT
Allstar node # 58735 – Echolink # 101960 – HamsOverIP # 103010
They Arbuckle 97 Net is held every Sunday night at 8:00pm. You do not have to belong to any formal HAM group, any licensed HAM is welcome to check-in.
Some mail from this week’s MAILBAG…..
Just to let you know I drove by the old Pruitt and Harp produce co building across the street south of the old train in the Depot park Saturday morning and looked up at the top windows and you can see the roof timbers collapsed inside the building all thru the top floor into lower floors. Hopefully the timbers won’t break thru the outer walls and collapse the building. I also saw the same thing at the Old Mulkey Hotel by the old Ardmore High School You can see thru a window on the top floor where part of the roof collapsed. Looks like more old Ardmore history will soon be gone.
Another great read, especially the mention of Small’s Bakery. Pa Bridges took Ed and me there for donuts after Dad’s Funeral Service in 1949. Great memory, thanks Cuz. -Ralph Ford
Below is from my newsletter archives
March 1998 issue
DOUGHERTY, OKLAHOMA NOW HAS A TOWN HALL
by Joe D. Jordan
The Town of Dougherty, Oklahoma (Population 273) has never officially had a town hall, for the last 4 or 5 years they have been using the old school building that was abandoned. Before that the town clerk used an army surplus communications trailer for the office, and before that, all records and transactions were kept and handled in whomever was town clerk’s home.
In 1997 they applied for a $55,000.00 Southern Oklahoma Development Association/Oklahoma Department of Commerce grant for a new Town hall and it was awarded in the fall of that year. Construction was completed March 23 1998. The building is complete with a meeting room capable of holding approximately 90 people, a full kitchen, handicap accessible rest rooms, a Mayors/Clerks Office, Dept. Public Works Office, and the Fire Chiefs office. This 1600 square foot facility was designed By Joe D. Jordan the Public Works Manager and meets all Federal and State Codes, and by cutting out the middle men (architects/engineers ) we were able to use all of the money for material and construction expenses, and build a building the whole community can be proud of.
When it was decided where to build the Town Hall everyone in the community was pleased to hear it was going to be built next to the old town jail, which was built around 1920 it is a 1 room 1 cell jail made of natural sandstone, the jailhouse will remain standing and is in the process of being partially repaired.
Dougherty, Oklahoma is in the Arbuckle Mountains, about 25 miles north of Ardmore, OK (south of Davis, Oklahoma).
CLAUD SMITH HONORED
About couple months ago I mentioned in my T&T that an attorney named Claud H. Smith, 92 years young, still practiced in Ardmore. He is probably the oldest still practicing attorney in the United States. On Friday, March 13, 1998 at 3:30pm the Carter County Bar Association honored Mr. Smith with a reception and ceremony at the courthouse. There were a large turn-out of friends and acquaintances, and it was a fitting tribute to a man who everyone has admired down through the years.
ROBERT DENNEY DIES
On March 16, 1998 former Sheriff William Robert Denney succumbed to a long illness here in Ardmore. Denney was in law enforcement 38 years, 20 of them as Sheriff (1970-1990). I remember Denney so well…. a man whose word was his bond, respected by so many. In 1973 Denney authorized me a two-way radio to put in my car since I worked for the ambulance service. In 1975 he commissioned me as Reserve Deputy Sheriff (there was only three other reserves at that time.) I have so many good memories of Denney, memories that will last a lifetime. I can remember in the late 1980s an Oklahoma City television station coming to Ardmore to interview him. He held the honor of being re-elected to office more times then any other sheriff in Oklahoma. Denney was a small man in stature, but he was a giant in this county. He will be missed.
Making Lye Soap Like Great-Grandma
by Dave Ross, Ranchman’s Lye Soap
First we start with the trimmings from our steaks and render out the tallow in big pots. Second we boil the fat with water to take out any impurities i.e. membranes, meat, smell and particles. Then we weigh out 30 pounds of purified tallow and heat it up to the right temperature. We mix lye with water and wait for it to cool down. When everything is at the right temperature we slowly drizzle the lye water into the fat, stirring it all the time. Stirring has to be at just the right speed. If it is stirred to fast it will curdle or too slow it will separate. Also the outside temperature affects how long we need to stir. Sometime I have had to stir for 4 hours or as little as 45 minutes. When the soap is thick enough to make the paddle stand up, it is poured into three large pans and leveled out. In fifteen to thirty minutes we cut it into bars while it is still soft. The next day the soap is put into racks to cure for two weeks. During curing it will shrink some and it will continue to shrink more after that . This is why some of the labels are loose even though we put them on tight.
Working with hot grease and lye is dangerous and we always keep vinegar on hand to splash on our skin in case of contact with lye. Rubber gloves are a must as well as safety glasses. Our manufacturing facility is improving all the time, and we can’t wait for the safety shower and eye wash stand to get here in the mail.
Long ago the settlers made their soap from lard when they killed a pig. Our soap, being made from beef fat, is a little harder but it works just as good. The settlers would make their own lye by saving up hardwood ash from their cookstove or fireplace and put it in a hollowed log angled down towards their soap kettle. The log had a drip hole on the bottom and when they needed lye they poured water on the ashes and seeping through lye water came out the drip hole into their kettle. Their soap was not as white and pretty as mine. Some old timers don’t think my soap is as good because it’s too white and doesn’t smell as bad. Grey and smelly aren’t a requirement for good lye soap.
January 1998 – In January some new help came to the schools in Oklahoma. All schools in the state can apply for 1 to 5 phones lines paid for to allow calls to the school through an 800 number. It is to make sure students who do not live with the same exchange do not have to make a long distance call to reach the school. Also the schools in Oklahoma can get one free phone line for internet connection. This is to assure every school in the state is able to provide to its students at least one phone line for accessing the internet.
January 1998 – DJ Al Hamilton of KVSO radio here in Ardmore placed an interesting old photo on their website. It is a band standing out in front of the radio station in 1935. The band member on the left has an old “washboard” for an instrument. The radio station was located at Chickasaw Blvd and Northwest Avenue.
You can tell the washboard has been modified with long legs so the user can stand and still play the washboard.
Mad as a Hatter
Real meaning: In the 17th and 18th centuries, hatters made felt hats with mercury, which lead to all kinds of side effects
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
580-490-6823
https://oklahomahistory.net