This and That Newsletter
www.OklahomaHistory.net
Vol 22  Issue 1,144     Circulation 5,000      December 27, 2018
Ardmore, Oklahoma
My permanent email address:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
580-490-6823

Charles Albert Milner (1862 to 1932) originally from Grayville, Illinois married Alma Viroqua Myers (1870 to 1952) of Nevada, Missouri in Ardmore, Indian Territory in February 1894, they had one son Charles Albert Milner Jr (1900 to 1971). The family home is still standing on the corner of E and 9th Avenue Northwest.

Mr. Milner was co-owner of the Chickasaw Furniture Company. The family were members of St Philip's Episcopal church and Miss Milner was a charter member of St Philip's Guild, the first women's organization at the church. The son, Charles Albert Jr., later known to his friends as Charley attended Ardmore high school and graduated from Oklahoma University in 1923. After graduation he married Ruth Randol, another native Ardmoreite and former classmate and they lived for a while in Wichita, Kansas and Cisco, Texas while Charles work as a geologist for Derby Oil Company. He later returned to Ardmore and was engaged in consulting work with Dr. W.C. Tomlinson during which time he was instrumental in furnishing information for the road signs explaining the geologic formations in the Arbuckle Mountains.  -Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers book 1983

December 1983
Carter county residents awakened to a winter wonderland on Friday December 16th as 5 to 6 inches of snow fell overnight.

December 1983
Lone Grove Trustees approved a donation to the City from the Sullivan family to be used as a park. The property is slightly less than 5 acres on Fruit Street two blocks north of Highway 70. The board authorized the mayor to execute a letter to the Sullivan family thanking them and accepting the gift.

Q.  What draws 6,000 people a day to this small town with a population of 3,500?
A.  In the small town of Pawhuska where only 3,500 residents reside, there’s a new place on the block that’s attracting over 6,000 visitors to town every day. The Pioneer Woman Mercantile just opened in late 2016 and it’s already our new favorite place. It’s located in Downtown Pawhuska in a restored brick building and has everything from gifts and home decor to food and pastries. CLICK HERE

Q.  Where in Oklahoma can one find a forest with 500 year old trees?
A.  Answer in next week's newsletter

Here's a paver I sandblasted the other day. Two different fonts, turned out nice.

http://oklahomahistory.net/bricks/ShirleyParkerPaver.jpg

Below is from This and That newsletter archives of December 28, 2006

Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s the Ardmore post office was looking for a new location to build a new post office. According to a picture I have from The Daily Ardmoreite the first runner up was a home at the SW corner of 1st and C Street SW which belonged to the Randols (across the street west from Craddock Funeral Home property). This is the same Randols who owned the famous Randol Hotel on Ardmore's Main Street and for which there is a historical marker placed next door to Ray's Office Supply. Anyway, my great aunt, Eva Carmon, married Robert Randol and it was the site of his home at 1st and C Street the post office was looking at to build on. But as we know, the location was finally decided to be at 1st and B SW. Here is a picture of the Randol home place and the newspaper clipping.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/RandolHouseArdmore.jpg
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Doug Williams sent in some photos this week of what is left of the old Coolbranch School house north of Ratliff City, Oklahoma in far NW Carter county. The only thing visible now is the school's concrete storm cellar.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos6a/CoolbranchSchool6a.jpg
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"I was a junior member of the Ardmore Ham Radio Club in the late 40s. Meetings were held in Charles Dibrell's radio shop that was on C NW just north of 8th Ave. His parents lived in the house at the NW corner of 8th and B. It was quite a variety of guys. In addition to Charlie there were Harve Pretty of OG&E and his brother William Pretty, DDS, Maynard Reavis the druggist, Jack Gant who was in oil, and a younger fellow who had been a radio operator in the service who loved to copy code. That was amusing was the guy copying the code usually typed it while some of the older guys would just listen and chuckle when they heard something funny. At one of these meetings I saw my first live TV, on a set that Charlie had built from scratch, including winding some high frequency transformers. The only major problem he had was he installed the deflection yoke on the neck of the picture tube wrong, so the picture was upside-down. This turned out to be easily fixed by repositioning the yoke. I've probably bored you enough. I ran across Charlie's memorial page on your website and it brought back some old, old memories. Keep up the good work." -Charles McCollum
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Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....

Thanks for the history of Ravia. My father's family, the Merrills, moved there on the train from Kansas in 1906 and my grandfather became a partner with his friend Mr. Houston in a hardware/lumber business. He was on the committee to petition for the county seat to be there when statehood became a reality. Of course Tishomingo was chosen as the county seat of Johnston County. My mom's family, the Maberry's, moved there from the Kingston area. My parents met in Ravia and the rest is my history! Houston later joined the Hudsons in Ardmore to become Hudson Houston Lumber Company where my father worked as a manager in Durant, Ardmore, and Wynnewood.  -R. Helms
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Merry Christmas from Kauai Hawaii
Thank you, Butch for your weekly letter reminding me of beautiful Ardmore and the beautiful people there. No one could ask for a more perfect place to grow up. When you write about your childhood with your grandparents on 3rd Street Northeast near Hunt's Grocery I feel I am there again at my wonderful grandparents William and Mary Worley's home at 718 3rd NE. I took my first wild scary bike ride down that street past your grandparents. I bet you knew my wonderful Uncle and Aunt, David and Fern Worley in the same neighborhood. I will be 90 in March and have traveled many miles from my unforgettable childhood in Oklahoma where I still have family and friends. Wishing you and your family a healthy happy New Year!  -Patty Cude Parker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBNzkFbeuec
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Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow,
The year is going, let him go,
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

2018 is quickly coming to a close. I have enjoyed all the good times we've had here each week and looking forward to 2019. It always saddens me to close out another year of T&Ts with the loss of some friends who started the year with us but did not end the year with us.  The names on my screen are much more than just an email address, but friendships brought together here each week like one big family. So. from Jill and I, Happy New Year everyone!

See everyone next year!

Butch and Jill Bridges

"Friends Make Life Worth Living"
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Oklahoma Bells: http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm's Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
American Flyers Memorial Fund - Administration Webpage
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/crash66.html
Official American Flyers Memorial Website
http://www.brightok.net/~wwwafm
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Base Website
http://www.brightok.net/~gsimmons
Mirror Site of the Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/airbase/
Carter County Government Website
http://cartercountyok.us


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