This and That
Newsletter
A Weekly Publication
Vol 14 Issue 686 Circulation 5,000 March 18, 2010
PO Box 2
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
email address: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
580-657-8616
I was over on E Street SW this week where I lived some 35 years of my adult life (before we moved to Lone Grove), and noticed the old Byron Drew home is having some remodeling done outside, mainly the sidewalks being replaced. We have talked about Byron Drew on several occasions in past issues, he was the father of Walter Drew, whose bronze statue located at Rose Hill Cemetery and posted in past newsletters.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos/drew2.jpg
I have walked and/or driven by the old Byron Drew home 1,000s of times starting in 1972 when I first moved from 3rd NE to the SW, but didn't know until recently this home was built by Byron Drew around the turn of the century. The home was later owned by Harold and Gladys Wallace. I found in the Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers book the following along with two photos of the old Drew home:
Harold Moore Wallace was born March 15, 1883 in Terrell, Texas. He was the son of Samuel and Mary Virginia More Wallace, and their only child. He came to Ardmore with his mother and step-father, Byron Drew, in 1898. His own father died while he was very young. Harold, as a young man, was in the banking banking business, but in later years, he was active in oil interests. He was always interested in athletics and was a fine boxer in his early manhood.
In 1905 Harold married Alice Moore, daughter of W. R. Moore also of Ardmore. Alice died at an early age during the flue epidemic.
In 1937 Harold married Gladys Labbait Wallace. Their home is located at 403 F Street SW. This home is a classic of Southern architecture, with large Tuscan columns, and has been maintained in excellent condition. It is one of the older large homes in Ardmore, and been featured in many articles, and most recently was listed in the book, Oklahoma Homes, Past and Present. The home was originally built by Harold's step-father, Bryon V. Drew, around the turn of the century. Harold was a lover of animals and was active in the Lake Murray Field Trial Association. He had outstanding bird dogs, and won many trophies through the years. Two of his better know dogs were Oklahoma Zev, and Wallace's Jake. Harold died in 1962 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Gladys is a collector of antiques, and has made frequent additions to the furniture and glass collections in the home. The cut glass pieces are museum items and are perhaps the finest collection in the Southwest.
Gladys was born November 24, 1903 in Ardmore, Indian Territory. Her ancestry is listed in this book under John Churchill Layton and Armel Labbait. She has entertained much in her home through the years and is known for her beautiful table arrangements. Her rose gardens are an inspiration to all who pass the home, where she has lived the past 45 years. She is the owner of a very historic flag, carried by John G. Moore (her mother-in-law's father) when he was the flag bearer in the battle of San Jacinto for General Sam Houston. It has thirty-one stars, and several holes where it has been pierced by bullets.
Gladys has two sisters, Louise Labbait, who lives adjacent to her, and Ave Sutton (see Neville Sutton this book). She has one brother, John Goodwin Labbait, who died in Ardmore in 1967. Harold and Gladys have two daughters, Marlene and Patricia. Gladys is an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
This first photo of the Drew home I scanned from the 1983 Indian Territory and Carter County Pioneers book and shows 2 photographs during 2 different periods.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceHome.jpg
View of home.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceHome031610a.jpg
A second view of the home.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceHome031610b.jpg
This is looking at the back of the old Byron Drew homeplace.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/WallaceDrewHome031710a.jpg
As you can see in this pic I snapped this week, the sidewalk is being replaced by Ron Johnson Concrete.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceSidewalk031610a.jpg
This is an interesting tree growing in the front yard. I remember in 1972 when I'd walk by the home, the first thing I noticed was one of the limbs from the tree had turned down, and another limb growing from out of the ground. The owners at that time had a concrete bench near the tree I guess they would sit on and enjoy the view under the huge tree.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceTree031610.jpg
You can still read the word DREW in the two concrete columns in front by the sidewalk.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/ByronDrewColumn.jpg
This is the old hitching post out if from of the Drew homeplace.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DrewWallaceHitchingPost.jpg
And lastly, I made a short video clip of the Drew homeplace from the street. I even panned around full circle, and hope no one gets dizzy from it, as I tried to go slow.
http://drop.io/oklahomahistory
The next 3 photographs are what I'd call mystery photos. They were supposedly taken by Mac MacGaillard along with a bunch more the T&T Reader has in her possession. This first one is a group of men digging or excavating something. Maybe someone knows more???
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010a.jpg
This next mystery photo has Tishomingo 1974 hand written on the back (supposedly Mac MacGalliard's writing). Its of a man looking at some artifacts or prehistoric bones??
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010b.jpg
And maybe some dyed-in-the-wool history buff will recognize the person in this photo, assumed to be taken in Ardmore or surrounding area. An outlaw??
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/MysteryPhoto2010c.jpg
This is a clipping from the Bethlehem Times newspaper of 1894 on Bill Dalton's death.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/BillDaltonDead_1894.jpg
Several of you wrote in the past few days, and the consensus is there is no way the cactus in this picture postcard could be growing near Afton, Oklahoma. One reader assume someone just took the Afton label and stuck it to the postcard. (More in the Mailbag below.)
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/BuffaloRanchAftonOK.jpg
The Carter County Courthouse was in full swing Wednesday for St Patrick's Day.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/ErinGoBrath031710.jpg
Got my moped up and running. I've rode it every evening since last Saturday, seems to be fine so far.
Anybody have any an egg cartons they don't want, or several red plastic Folgers coffee containers?
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Q. What was Oklahoma's
first highway?
A.
U.S. Highway 77
Q. When did Coronado pass
through Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's issue)
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Butch, In 2001 I was in the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth visiting with a man from Louisiana whose name was Sandy Pinkard. He told me a story about when he lived in the building above the saloon in the seventys. It seems he had came in from a night of drinking and decided to write a letter to his ex wife. The next morning when he reread what he had penned the night before he decided that what he had written was to good to send to his ex. He had written "Your The Reason God Made Oklahoma" that was recorded by David Frizzel and Shelley West in 1981."Nights are gettin' colder here in Cherokee County there's a blue norther passin' through
I remember green eyes and a rancher's daughter but remember is all that I do
Losin' you left a purty good cowboy, with nothin' to hold on to.
"Dear Butch and Jill, Our thanks to Mr. Roy for sharing the lovely picture of his wife, our thoughts and prayers are with him in the coming days. I am at the library as we can't get a signal at home. We have a laptop set up so we are going to have to get a server. Enjoy coming here as usually meet someone new. Enjoyed the pictures of the chicken and eggs. Our brother Thurman sent us eight dozen for our 50th wedding anniversary last week. There were 22 family and friends came to Baton Rouge, from Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia for the festivities. Also the lovely picture of the deer in the snow. Thank you!" fjsmathers@aol.com
"Butch, There is a photo of Monte Reger like yours on this website: http://www.longhornmuseum.com/BobcatTwister.htm
I found out it was on a penny postcard for Harper County, OK http://www.usgwarchives.org/ok/ppcs-ok.html
Also, an article called Regers He Might on this document:
http://www.aqha.com/magazines/aqhj/content/2006content/06august/unsungheroes.pdf
I also found this about Monte Reger on http://www.crquarterhorses.com/aboutus.html
Apparently, the OQHYA has a Monte Reger Sportsmanship Award. Hope you get some good information from these sites."
William Davis
Corinth, TX by Moore, OK
"Butch, the Berryhills operated a tin shop continuously in this building from 1903 to 1992... no spaghetti shop ever operated in this building." -Tim Longest
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos10a/DeepFordSulphurOK.jpg
"Butch, There really was a ?Buffalo Ranch? in Afton, OK. I was raised up in SE Kansas and my dad used to take us down there on a day trip when we were kids to eat buffalo burgers and look at the live buffalo in the corrals in back of the restaurant. It was mainly a tourist trap but that was before Will Rogers Turnpike was completed and US 66 was the highway everyone used. That was over 57 yrs ago when we were going there. I?ll bet my family has some pictures from back then but I wouldn?t know where to start looking. I went by the place it used to be and I believe some of the buildings are still there but of course it?s called something else now." -John Moore, Ardmore
Best Chicken Breeds for Backyard Flocks
Q. Where can I buy fresh eggs? I buy 10 dozen at a time on a regular
basis.
A. At Pink, Oklahoma (east of Norman) from Teresa Franklin. She has 150
hens and always has fresh eggs on hand.
franklinasinben@yahoo.com
"There is a place on highway going to tishomingo there by Ravia that has a sign out fresh eggs, is on the south side just before you get to Pettijohn Springs road." -Allen Young
"I have http://www.TinyChapel.com for sale if anyone's interested. I would transfer the name at no charge to a church or civic group." -Jimmie D. Martin
From a Distance by Bette Midler - 1991
From a distance the world looks blue and green,
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight
From a distance, there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
It's the voice of every man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5_YAj9lCQc
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a
minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ardmorecriterion.com/
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/
Ardmore School Criterions
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com
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