This and That
Newsletter
A Weekly Publication
Vol 15 Issue 763 Circulation 5,000 September 8, 2011
PO Box 2
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
email address: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
580-657-8616
Mr. Harry Godfry Stong, a son of Tennessee, who was a federal office holder in that state for a number of years, is now an adopted son of Indian Territory, and has made Ardmore his home since 1894. He is the proprietor of the Wine Press Store, has a vineyard of three acres in connection, and manufactures grape cider, grape vinegar and church wine which he sells wholesale and retail. He possess a marvelous devotion to business, and for his family, for whom he has built a lovely home near his store, in the northeast part of Ardmore. He made the initial step in this county in the growth of grapes and the manufacture of ciders, etc, and has established an immense business which has increased from year to year. The close of this season witnesses by far the most prosperous year since the business was established. A line of groceries is also carried in connection, and every business transaction is on the only safe basis- cash. (Copied as printed from the Good Times edition of The Daily Ardmoreite, 1899.)
July 2002 T&T: Here is a photo of a building erected in 1912 on East Main street across the street from Daube's Department Store. The building is named the Stong Building, 106 East Main (old Texhoma Office Supply, and was owned by the widow of Harry G. Stong (1861-1912), Retta Small Stong (1873-1937). Mr. Stong began here in Ardmore growing a wine vineyard north of "G" and 5th NE. In 1903 Harry Stong moved his family to their new home at 630 McLish SW, which at that time, he owned the whole block. Mr. Harry Stong died in 1912 of typhoid Fever. His wife, Retta Stong, was a sister to John Small, the bakery man.
July 1999 T&T: "The name of the place you mentioned in your column was called" WIT'S END" located at 106 1/2 East Main St. - They specialized in Gifts & Stationery manufacturing. The business was operated by two very capable business Ladies - their names were Lynn Gruwell & Mabel R. Stong. They were still in business when I came back to Ardmore in 1950. Yes, they were indeed ahead of their time because they indeed produced wonderful printed novelties. To me that was not a long time ago - it seems like only yesterday."
Harry Stong in later years heard of gold hid by outlaws in Criner Hills southwest of Ardmore and set out to find it. He drank from a polluted water well and died of typhoid fever in 1912 at age 51. There is a couple of pages on the Stong family history in Sally Gray's 2006 book, Territory Town: The Ardmore Story.
Photo of the Stong Building at 106 East Main as it stands today
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/StongBldg090811.jpg
I've nearly got all the parts I need to test my Hydrogen generator to increase the gas mileage on my old Chevy pickup. Should be ready to fire it up this weekend!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/goinggreen.html
It's dry everywhere in Oklahoma and Texas. A reader sent in a pic he took this week of Little Niagara Falls in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area at Sulphur. No water coming over those rocks. We need rain so badly.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/LittleNiagara090311.jpg
Fiesta Oklahoma will be in Downtown
Ardmore on Saturday September 10th. There will be fun for everyone and all ages
will enjoy the food and unique shopping booths, as well as a very nice
children?s play area with moon bounces and wall climbing. Live music will play
from 12:00 pm until 9:00 pm from 2 stages (one on Main Street and Caddo, and
another under the Marketplace on Broadway covered pavilion. Vendor Booth space
is limited and going fast. Those interested can call the Ardmore Main Street
Authority, or visit the website at
http://www.fiestaoklahoma.com
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/FiestaOklahomaPressRelease2011.pdf
Jennifer J. Crosby
Ardmore Main Street Authority
In another day I should have all the parts I need to start generating hydrogen into the carb as a test to increase the mileage in my old Chevy pickup. I've really enjoyed the last few weeks learning how hydrogen induced into the carburetor can increase the miles per gallon.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/goinggreen.html
Speaking of going green, I never cease to be
amazed at the ingenuity of man from simple, unthought-of before ideas. This guy
in the Philippines is recycling one litter plastic bottles into solar lights for
homes with little or no electricity. I can see this being used in barns and
sheds in this country as skylights to put light in those places that would
otherwise be dark. I'd used 50 year silicone caulk to make sure they stay water
tight from the elements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBWi3NtND68&sns=em
U.S. drought monitor
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
From This and That newsletter archives of
September 5, 1998:
In 1927 there was one ice cream plant here in Ardmore. It's the old Colvert
Dairy building at South Washington and Stanley Street. One thing interesting
about this photo, is they whitewashed the little trees around the building, AND
the telephone pole!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos11a/ColvertDairy1927.jpg
Q. What is Oklahoma's
official state country and western song?
A: Faded Love by
Bob Wills and his father
John
Wills
Q. What is the largest
county in Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's newsletter)
Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
The 18th Annual Murray County Antique Tractor and Implement Assoc. Show will be September 16, 17 and 18, 2011 in Sulphur at the showgrounds. 7 miles North of Sulphur on Hwy 177 then 3/4 mile East on Tractor Road. Watch for signs. $3.00 per person ? Under 16 and Over 60 ? FREE $5.00 registration fee for ATV and golf carts. There will be: WHEAT THRESHING, HAY BAILING, CORN SHELLING, SMALL GAS ENGINES, TRACTOR GAMES, ARTS & CRAFTS, TRACTOR PULLS, WOOD SAWING, TRACTOR RODEO, COTTON & PEANUT DISPLAYS, BROOM MAKING, KIDDIE TRACTOR PULLS, VENDORS, SWAP MEET, CONSIGNMENT AUCTION, BLACKSMITHS and much more!
http://www.arbuckletourism.com/MCATIA/
"I'm looking for someone in the Ardmore area who can restore (re-silver) a very old mirror. Perhaps a reader can lead me to the right person. If anyone knows where I can get this done, please e-mail me. Thanks." okiekit@hotmail.com
"Hi Butch, A thing on TV reminded me of Bull Durham, a little bag of tobacco. I think it cost a nickel on the 1930s when cigarettes were 15 cents. Bull Durham fit in a shirt pocket and came with a little pack of cigarette papers It was a very common sight to see a man rolling a cigarette. Some with skill could roll with one hand - a real benefit on horseback.
I wasn't a kid smoker. We did try smoking corn silks and grapevine but it was so repulsive that nobody got a habit - and real tobacco was too expensive. I never smoked till right after the War, as an "accredited business man" (actually and airplane mechanic) had access to the US Army PX where cigarettes were 50 cents a carton. You had a PX card that restricted you to two cartons a week. They had a few other things controlled that way, Hershey bars for instance, that were often used as barter in the black market. Most of mine went there too but I did smoke some. I guess I never got the habit because in 1982 I decided to quit and I quit. None since.
I don't think I've seen anyone roll a cigarette in 50 years. Probably just as well Bull Durham and 'roll your own' didn't survive the shift into today's frantic life style." -Bob McCrory
"Oh my, how I wish Ohio was a little closer to Oklahoma. I don't think they know what fried pies are up here! They sound so yummy! Someone please eat a peach one for me & maybe a chocolate one too." -Marilyn Roder
"Butch, there is a show on TV called Handfishing. It is on the
Discovery channel I think. They take people that have never noodled and teach
them how. I think there are 6 or 8 people each week. I only saw part of it last
night."
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/hillbilly-handfishin/
"Would someone please supply details of the Jefferson school reunion. The Ardmoreite article is blocked and for those of us far far away this newsletter is our only source of information. Look forward to posting each week and enjoy it so much." JerryBrownOk@aol.com
RE: Jefferson School Reunion- "I LOVE this idea!!! I attended from 1964 (2nd Grade with Mrs. Sherman) through 1969 (6th Grade with Homer Tipps). When did Washington stop being an elementary school & strictly just the 4-year old program & Kindergarten? My son went there from 82-84 for the 4-year old & Kindergarten programs. What year did it burn?" -Kathi G., Fayetteville, Arkansas
"Butch, when I was a kid we swam alot at the "Old Beach" at Lake Murray, by where the old softball field was. I can remember 1 day some guys rolling the trash barrells that where there out into the water to about 6-7 feet deep and standing them up and using them to dive off of." -Bryan
THE FLANARYS OF CARTER COUNTY HISTORY & GENEALOGY
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/1920379/7c4ad5af48e731cabe1a1ab7a8dff711525c0565
The Davis News- 100 YEARS AGO: (09/07/2011)
The State Fair of Oklahoma displayed one of the largest blocks of zinc and ore lead ever to be exhibited. It was taken from the Scott Braden company camp, 10 miles west of Davis. Called "resin jack," it was blasted out of an immense ledge about 10 feet from the surface by Col. S.W. Wood, a mining engineer from Denver, Colo. A petition to remove the county commissioners was being circulated. Editor Fay Crossett speculated it was the result of the controversy over the location of the county courthouse and the (Sulphur) town fight which had existed for some time.
R.L. Plunkett of Coffeyville, Kan., proposed to drill for oil and gas near Davis. He also said he would build a 10- to 20-ton ice plant if he were given suitable property. He also named a price he would pay for 100 feet frontage on Main Street west of the hotel property and would immediately erect a brick business block.
The Ramsey patent shears, of which Prof. Clemmons and Mrs. Anna B. Ramsey were sole owners of the patent, were on the market. The shears were patented by Ramsey on Aug. 16, 1910, and are "ball bearing, making them easy to use, and are provided with a thumb screw by means of which they are easily adjusted to fine and coarse cloth and to take up looseness," editor Fay Crossett wrote.
Four new brick buildings adjoining the Grayson Hotel were promised by a developer. "They will take the place of the old wagon yard and will be quite an addition to the west end of Main Street," editor Fay Crossett reported.
W.W. Knapp, the blacksmith, bought a farm three miles south of Davis and moved his family there. B. Wolf advertized a hot air home heater.
Museum Memories
Compiled by Melinda Taylor
The Wilson News
November 24, 1916
COTTON RECEIPTS ABOVE LAST YEAR
Not A Good Year, Yet Wilson Will Market 6,000 Bales or Around $500,000 Worth.
Not only has Wilson been topping the market above all other towns in Southern Oklahoma this season, but she is shipping more cotton than any other one point. $500,000 being paid out for the fleecy staple and over $120,000 for seed is just one of the big money propositions which Wilson enjoys, hence the outside world may readily understand why so many big mercantile establishments are here and why others are seekingt this location almost daily.
Last season the yard receipts were around 3500 bales with 1500 more bought in seed and hauled in from inland towns.
Wednesday of this week the yard receipts had reached 3570 bales, 1650 bought in seed and wagoned in from other points, not weighed here, with probably 1500 more bales in the fields and in the hands of thrifty farmers who intend to hold for 20 cts. and better.
Fairly New Wilson has proven an astonishing cotton market and stands in line to challenge the world for a competitor of her age and size. provided crop conditions are equal. Take into consideration that we have not had one-fifth of a crop this year; give us a two-third crop throughout our vast trade radius and John Ringling's railroad could not move it for two years.
Visit us online at www.wilsonhistoricalmuseum.org . Wilson Museum Hours: Tues., Thurs., Fri., Sat. - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Faded Love by Bob Wills
As I look at the letters that you wrote to me,
It's you that I am thinking of.
As I read the lines that to me were so sweet,
I remember our faded love.
I miss you, Darling, more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above.
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love.
As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had,
As I watch the mating of the dove,
It was in the springtime when you said goodbye.
I remember our faded love.
I miss you, Darling, more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above.
With every heartbeat, I still think of you
And remember our faded love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YxYfrPaAZ4
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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