This and That Newsletter
A Weekly Publication

www.OklahomaHistory.net

Vol 16  Issue 783      Circulation 5,000       January 26, 2012

PO Box 2

Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

email address:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net

580-657-8616


Jill and I were in Gainesville Texas last Saturday just messing around. We strayed from our norm and instead of seeking out a good hamburger, stopped in at the Smokehouse II for a BBQ sandwich. The $3.98 BBQ sandwich was delicious and packed with sliced beef.  The order of french fries was $2.98 but WAY more then enough for two people.... fresh cut too, not frozen. The sauce was great and the 1960s rock and roll music playing in the background really set the mood for a great noon time lunch. Wait staff was great too, came by several times to see if we needed refills on our drinks.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/Smokehouse012112.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/SmokehouseInside.jpg

Here's a closeup of the BBQ sandwich.  The pic does not do justice on the amount of sliced beef, it was a lot.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/SmokehouseBBQcloseup.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/SmokehouseFries012112.jpg

Smokehouse II is located in a strip mall across from the Gainesville Walmart Supercenter (south side of Highway 82)

Speaking of eating places, here's a few of Ardmore's in 1967

Anastasio's Pizza, 60 Broadlawn Center
Barrett's Cafeteria, Little Building
Beau's Steak House, 32 M SW
Bill and Barb's, 1225 N Washington
Black Saddle Restaurant, 2625 N Commerce
Bob Restaurant, Highway 77 South
Brewster's Drive In, 708 Lake Murray Drive
Chuck Wagon BBQ, 1420 Highway 199 East
Corral Restaurant, 1611 N Commerce
Diary Freeze, 425 W Broadway
Doc's Pig Stand, 100 14th NE
Dug's Grill, 227 W Main
Edens Fine Foods, 205 W Main
El Palacio Restaurant, 914 S Commerce
Firemen's Lunch, 14 South Washington
Jay's Drive In, 1111 W Main
Ken's Dairy Queen, 311 N Washington
Ken's Drive In, Highway 199
Kirby's Cafe, 1002 S Commerce
Latza Inn 1400 White Street SE
Patton's Cafe, 314 E Main
Pick's Hot Tamales, 513 South Washington
Ponder's Drive In, N Commerce
Priddy's Cafe, 321 W Main
Rio Rancho Restaurant, 1212 S Commerce
Smokehouse, 22 South Commerce
Sonic Drive In, 1101 Grand
Tastee Freeze, 1004 Grand
Tower Restaurant, 209 N Commerce
Uncle Beau's Steakhouse, 32 M SW
Williams Arcade Cafe, 309 E Main

Below is a link to live Cams of a bald eagle and her nest north of Stillwater, Oklahoma. She has 3 eggs, and one egg hatched January 24th and other egg hatched today. Still 1 egg left in the nest to hatch. There are actually 2 webcams, one on the nest with egglets near of Stillwater, and another webcam pointed on a nest near Vian in eastern Oklahoma. I've noticed that sometimes the cams are not working, and I think it might have to do with too many people trying to access the cam at one time through the Internet. But when you do get in, the streaming video is great.

http://www.suttoncenter.org/pages/live_eagle_camera

From This and That newsletter archives of January 23, 1999:
An old eyesore on the second floor of the courthouse was repaired last Monday. It took a welding truck and the talents of local welder Brian McDaniel to turn a broken piece of the cast iron railing on the second floor, back into a piece of beautiful artwork. Cast iron is not easy to weld, but Brian made it look so easy. In the 1973 movie Dillinger this one part shows Melvin Purvis and another G-Man walking down the stairs inside the Carter County Courthouse (50 minutes into the movie). If you look above their heads at the second floor railing, you will see where several of the cast iron rails are broke and missing. That means these rails were broken before 1973, but how long before I havn't found out yet. Here is a pic I took of Brian McDaniel repairing the 2nd floor railing.
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/ttphotos3b/courtweld99.jpg
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What many people do not know is they offer train rides at Hugo, Oklahoma depot several times a week during the summer season. One time it may take you south into Texas and then back. Another day the train will travel up north of Hugo for a few miles and back. Each trip is on the average a half day of fun. (NOTE: The Hugo Heritage Railroad was sold and CLOSED DOWN in 2002).
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I guess some of you are wondering why I have shown pics from time to time of bells? Well, there is a method to my madness. I am planning to make a webpage soon where people can visit and see these Oklahoma bells.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html

Q. "Initial Point," a stone marker from which all post-Civil War surveys of Oklahoma were made, is located a mile south of what old fortification near present-day Davis?
A.  Fort Arbuckle

Q.  Close to 20 years ago a movie was filmed in Oklahoma and the scene below was etched in people's minds across the country of the location in Oklahoma. What was the name of the movie and where was this location?
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/OklahomaMovie.jpg
A. (answer in next week's T&T)

Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/gasprices.html

Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....

"I was raised in Graham, OK just East of Clemscott. My grandfather owned and operated Wooldrige grocery until he died in 1974. It was truly a general store. He sold anything from groceries to cattle feed, tires school supplies, clothes, dishes, guns ,ammunition, pocket knives.... If he didn't have in stock he would pull out his catalogs and would get it overnight or a couple of days. We were talking about Clemscott and could only remember what little we were told when we were kids. I think in it's heyday, it was a rather large community. That was in the early oilfield booms in the early 1900's. We thought if anyone could, you could tell us more about the town of Clemscott." -Richard Davis


Any fans of AMC's Breaking Bad might recognize the Dog House from the drug-selling montage in "Crazy Handful of Nothin", Season 1. Later, Jesse buys his gun here in "737", Season 2."
"Hi Butch, You asked about families from Cornish ,my youngest sons fathers father Earl Freeman was born in Cornish in 1904 in a half dug out, His father William Freeman was from Montague Co Texas and was born 1872 in Tennessee. He married Minnie Bell Taylor daughter of William W Taylor.  And Sarah Schooling from Montague they had 7 children, Jewel, Dewey, Cecil, Earl, Orville, Weldon, and Norma. William Freeman died in his sleep in Wilson Ok in 1957, he was also a Indian agent and raised cotton 12 miles south of Cornish and on the school board at Union Hill. The only Cornish story that the family has heard is how the red clay of the dug out stained little Earls diapers permanently red. I cant even imagine how the large family managed to stay alive in a dug out, I'm sure they didn't for long ."  -Linda Long
"Carol had some questions about the jail and a Tobacco Shop in Sulphur. She might be interested in this website and in contacting the museum in regard to her questions. Museum hours and phone number are listed on the website. We have DVDs for sale showing Sulphur in the 1950s."
http://www.ahsmc.org/index.htm
"Hello Butch, Being old oil field trash for as long as I can remember. This came to mind. My Dad worked for Phillips Petroleum Company from 1927 to 1962. In 1939, I think, we were living in Kansas and Dad was working for Phillips He was invited to attend "Uncle Frank's" 66th" birthday in Bartlesville, Ok. I don't know how they made arrangements but they went. And had a very good time. They brought back lots of memorabilia, which my niece, in Texas, still has. There was a Gold coin, with his face on one side "Unk Frank" in an Indian war bonnet, a lots of paper invitations to partys during the two day event. And a big parade. There was a photograph, of all who attended. She still has this photograph as well. And my Dad is in it. If you have never been to the Woolarac Museum near Bartlesville, I highly recommend it. Not only does it show how this man reached wealth in Oklahoma, but shows how we was so associated with the Indian tribes. And how much he donated to their being and welfare. And also the Boys Scouts of America. I will always remember him as "Uncle Frank"."
-Kenneth@ Wilson

http://www.woolaroc.org/
 

"Hi Butch, Can you remember the first movie you ever saw? I cant, but I can remember my first unforgettable movie. My first movie had to have ben Sleeping Beauty or the Wizard of Oz probably in Peabody Ks. Circa 1939. But My most unforgettable movie came a few years later, in Maud, Oklahoma. 1946.  "My Darlin Clementine" Henry Fonda and Linda Darnell. We were living in Pop City, Okla. a few miles from Maud. And on Saturday, Dad would take us to Maud to buy groceries and stay late to see a movie. And that particular night was My Darlin Clementine. What a movie Walter Brennan and all the of the actors Victor Mature, Tim Holt. Hope this conjures up some memories for you as well."  -Kenneth in Wilison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCSTMWix3g
RAIN TIP: In the event you are driving in heavy rain, try your POLARIZED SUNGLASSES, and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain.
"Butch, now you know how Crazy Corner got its name. When I was working in Ada at RSKERL, $92,000 was appropriated to do something about the intersection but nothing was ever done. I have seen intersections like this one in OKC and other places and they have traffic lights. A college student working at the lab told me that if we old folks (I was about 60 then) didn?t go quickly when it was our turn, then the younger ones were going to go. I am surprised that there are no more wrecks there than they have. I soon found that the people in Ada cannot read, they are color blind and very impatient. A police officer asked me how I liked living in Ada. I told him that I really liked it except for one thing. He said ?the drivers.? That?s right. A young friend from Montana and I were talking on the phone and he asked me the same question and I told him there was only one thing I didn?t like. He said ?traffic and drivers.? So it is pretty well known that it is not the best place to drive. But I love Ada and enjoyed living there in spite of the drivers. And you can?t beat Hamburger King?s hamburgers." -Frances
Auction Saturday February 4, 2012 at Ardmore, Oklahoma. 60 years of accumulations.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/Auction020412.jpg


Museum Memories
Compiled by Melinda Taylor
November 10, 1916
MILES OF SHADE TREES TO BE PLANTED
Civil Engineer to Stake Streets Work will be Done Immediately - Civic League Directs
   In addition to broad thoroughfares brilliantly lighted, good sidewalks, paved streets, brick business houses, refineries, factories, etc., there is nothing which will attract the visitor within our gates and cause them more favorable comment and arouse our citizenship to build more beautiful homes than shade trees.
   At a meeting of the Civic League recently, plans were perfected whereby a civil engineer will be employed to run a straight line survey throughout our main thoroughfares and set stakes an regulation distance from the sidewalk, preparatory to the tree planting campaign which is about to be begun by these estimable ladies.  This is a work in which every resident and non-resident property owner in New Wilson should be deeply interested and forthwith join hands in its culmination.  If you expect to live here your home will be more homelike.  If you are a speculator your property will be double increased in value and that too at a cost insignificant.
   The majority of those ordering trees so far, have chosen the hackberry and black locust; both of which thrive and do well in this climate.  The time is now at hand.  November is the best month in which to plant. We would suggest that everybody get busy.

We have new exhibits! Come see! Visit us online at www.wilsonhistoricalmuseum.org Wilson Historical Museum Hours: Tues., Thurs., Fri., Sat. 10:00 a.m.4:00 p.m.



"Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili."  -the dying words of frontiersman Kit Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n371aaf4iA

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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