This and That Newsletter
Vol 12 Issue 580 Circulation 5,000 March 6, 2008
Ardmore, Oklahoma
email address: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
Toll Free Number in Oklahoma: 580-215-4333
It's Thursday evening and I'm sitting here typing on the T&T and watching the snow come down, howbeit not much, in south central Oklahoma. The snow is barely falling this evening, and most of the snow is only seen on the grassy areas. We were lucky here in Carter county, because I see on the news in the Sherman area snows is really piled up, the evening traffic is at a crawl in north Texas. Snow is beautiful to see but I had just as soon not have it.
But last Monday when we had a couple inches of snow, Jill and I were looking out the front door that evening and saw 2 rabbits run across our front yard. One had really long ears, so I'm assuming it was a jack rabbit. It was just a couple days earlier I was doing some work near the road and startled a rabbit, he took off in a hurry heading east, so maybe we got a rabbit family living on our property. Needless to say we are loving every minute out here living south of Lone Grove.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/Snow030308a.jpgNow that we live in the country I decided to put up the rain gauge. Last Sunday we received 2 and 1/10ths inches of rain and did we need the rain south of Lone Grove, dry dry dry was the situation.
Last month I was talking to Herman Kirkwood in Oklahoma City about his upcoming Oklahoma Outlaws Lawmen History conference to be held in Ardmore. If I remember right (I will call Herman again) Herman said the free conference is to take place near the end of April. Herman as me to help find a meeting place in Ardmore that will hold about 30 or 40 people that Saturday (preferably at no cost, so I need to get busy and find one. The history conference is free to all who attend. If you've never been to one of Herman's conferences, you've miss out on a wealth of Oklahoma history, from several speakers he gathers to help from all over the country. I'll let every know more on the upcoming conference in the next T&T.
http://www.okolha.net/
Doug and Sheryl Williams' son Devin has been youtubing lately. He has produced two youtube.com presentations that I know of, doing movie reviews. Devin's latest is a review on the movie, There Will Be Blood starring Daniel Day-Lewis.http://youtube.com/watch?v=E5eq3vdeGq4
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Butch, I along with my older Brother went from ADA to Lindsey and spent a week there in 1946 Working the broomcorn harvest I went so I could earn money to buy school clothes for myself 1946/1947 school year. One thing I remember was my brother telling me not to put my hand into the pile of seeds as it got so hot as to cook an egg hard I did not want to go back next year. I also remember a story my father told about him taking a crew out there in 1930 to get work. The farmer where they found work told the crew not to use the well in the yard that there was a cistern down by the field where they could get water. When the crew got water that evening for their cooking they found that the supposed water was really peach brandy seems that the farmer had took a load of peaches to market and when he did not like the price he brought them home and dumped them into the cistern and forgot about them. Needless to say when he found out about what had happened he told the crew to use the well water and leave the cistern alone." -Paskell
"Hello Butch, In response to the inquiry from Bobbi Van about Oil Springs cemetery. If I am not mistaken Oil Springs located on Oil Creek north of Baum (Nickel Hill) and east of highway 177 was a gathering place for the locals in years "way" past where they would picnic, swim etc. There is (was) a cemetery there as well. The cemetery is located on the Goddard Ranch and I have no idea if a person could get access to it or not. It would be interesting to see if there are any legible head stones there. Maybe cousin Doug Williams will make that one of his "quests"." -Roy Barnes, Purcell Oklahoma
"I still receive request from various persons from time to time requesting pictures of the AFA Memorial etc. and would like to send them a link if you still have these pictures available." -Lee H. Hilton III, AFA Flight Engineer 1965-1972 leehhiltoniii@bellsouth.nethttp://www.oklahomahistory.net/americanflyers/
"Butch you really got my attention in a hurry this week. I was working at Ardmore Tire when Freeman's Restaurant blew up. Not real sure about the year but 1980 would be real close. The explosion almost sucked the North wall out of the tire store and even took out some windows across the street at KFC Restaurant. The second picture is me standing in front of the store wondering who in the heck was gonna clean that mess up. The pic of the square dancers in the Civic Auditorium also brought back some good memories. Carolyn and I were there that night dancing with our many friends from all over the state. The building had a wood floor at that time which made it one of the better places for a square dance. Keep up the good work with T & T , we love it. I know You, Jill, and the rooster are enjoying your new home." -Don Lewis
"Butch there was a hotel at Oil springs. It was on the land that is now Hickory Creek wildlife refuge. If my memory is right it was owned by some of the Love family." -DeWayne
Are you aware that in 2009, all television sets will have to be digital in order to watch TV? I didn’t until I saw a commercial about it, but as soon as I heard, I went to hunt down some answers!
I have all sorts of questions about it. For starters, will my TV automatically convert or do I need a converter box? How do I tell if I need a box? Where do I get one? Well, this Web site will give you those answers, plus much more! You’ll find navigation along the gray strip near the top of the page. The sections are:
What is DTV? – Here you'll not only learn what DTV is, but you will also learn what analog is, what equipment you need, what the transition is and more.
Why the switch? – Here you will learn why they are switching from analog signals to digital signals, as well as, what the benefits of DTV are.
Who’s affected? – This is where you will learn if you need a converter and if you do, what your options are.
How do I switch? – This section goes over the options you read about in the previous section more thoroughly.
Converter Box Details – Here you will learn when and where you can buy a converter, how and when to get a coupon to defray the cost, how to tell if you need a converter box and more. Note: Pay special attention to the red graphic on the left side of the page. That will take you to the page you need to apply for a converter box coupon.
Choosing an Antenna – This section talks more about antennas, what kind you need, how they may change and it points you to a Web site where you can get even more answers.
Time seems to fly so fast these days, so it's a good idea to get a head start on sorting all of this out. That way, when February 2009 rolls around, you’re not in for a big shock or without a television! -Scott Bumgarner
http://www.dtvanswers.com/
"Butch thanks for all your hard and hungry work, If you are ever up El Reno way try the Three Onion Burger joints, just a block from each other and all do a good business. Also thanks for making me burger hungry at 1 in the morning." -Truman Lewis in OKChttp://www.oklahomahistory.net/hamburgers.html
Butch- Many friends and veterans attended the military funeral rites, March 4th, for Michael "Pokey" Phillips, 19, a 2006 graduate of Ardmore High School. He was serving with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed February 24 by a Muslim-built roadside bomb. Major General Sholar and a military team conducted the Army's good-by to the young soldier. He was awarded a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart posthumously. The Patriot Guard Riders with their American flags and motorcycles gave patriotic support and made sure the KFKs (Kooks from Kansas) did not disrupt the service. gsimmons@brightok.netObit http://ardmoreite.com/stories/030308/obits_50340.shtml
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PhillipsPatriotRiders030408a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PhillipsPatriotRiders030408b.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PhillipsPatriotRiders030408c.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos8a/PhillipsPatriotRiders030408d.jpg
The old clock on main street in Marlow, Oklahoma was similar to an old town square. A place that everyone in town knew and could locate. The clock was sitting on the street corner in front of one of the banks in town. It extended about 10 plus feet high. It may have looked taller to a 14 year old kid. "Meet me down at the clock" did not need directions to anyone who lived in Marlow. If memory serves, it was the property of the State National Bank. It was a fixture for many years and when they built a new bank they moved it to the new location across the street. There were two banks in town in those days and I banked there from age 14 (borrowed money to buy two sheep for Future Farmers of America) to 40 something although I lived in four different states during that time. Good credit and a forgiving banker.
That banker, one of the officers, Mr. Ira Green, to the best of my knowledge, worked there most of his life His forgiving nature finally got me through college at the age of 30. His son's name shows up occasionally in the Duncan News even today. Memories that are good and somehow become better with age. -wally
W. E. (Wally) Glasscock
Richmond, VA.
wallg@comcast.net
"Dear Butch, I have enjoyed your T&T for several years, especially the pictures of places I remember when I lived in Carter County many years ago. Now that I have published my fourth novel, Legacy of Deception, I’d like to offer your readers a special on my books. They can find this special on my web site." - Voncille Shipleyhttp://www.voncilleshipley.com/
"For the barrel racers - Robin Hoffman's Silver Cup Futurity is going on at Hardy Murphy Coliseum this weekend. The place is packed!! Tim Lynch has done a fabulous job in building and promoting HMC. They have added a new 200 stall barn and will be adding a 300'x150' covered warm-up pen. That will bring the total of covered arenas to three and barns to 9. You can visit the HMC website at www.hardymurphycoliseum.bravehost.com for a list of their events. The Jud Little Barrel Bash will be held in September if you want to come visit us and do a little competing - you are always welcome!"
The Wilson News
1-6-1916
Organized a Brass Band
"There will be music in the air"
Last Tuesday night a crowd of the young men of our city gathered at the Christian barber shop to organize a city band. There were 17 enrolled at once, and several more are anxious to take part.
A petition was got up and taken around to every business man in town or, if it has missed some, don't worry, the boys will call in due time.
A liberal amount is expected from every business man in town, for a band cannot be started on an "open air" boost. It must have money to go with the boost.
Every business man or local residence in our city will agree that it is one of the best moves that can be made to build the reputation of our town, and have a town a stranger is always glad to have the opportunity to call in.
Quite a few have contributed already to this organization and several are waiting and ready. Three men contributed $30.00 in 5 minutes after the petition was drawn up.
This is one part a town cannot do without, if the interested ones ever expect to have a live town, which no doubt everyone does, a good band will pull more than any other organization a town can have.
1-6-1916
String Band Serenades
A string band surprised Earnest Horton who was accidentally shot in the foot Christmas, with a "Serenade" Tuesday night, which seemed to be appreciated very much by Earnest and others who were present at his home. The band played several pieces at the window near his bed. The one he seemed to enjoy most was entitled "Sympathy". The band consisted of a violin, mandolin and guitar.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
-Robert FrostSee everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
Oklahoma Bells: http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
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 schools, past and present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
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