This and That
Newsletter
A Weekly Publication
Vol 16 Issue 797 Circulation 5,000 May 3, 2012
PO Box 2
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
email address: butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net
580-657-8616
We stopped in at the Wilson Historical museum last Saturday. I don't think we had been there since it opened in 2005, and it is better than ever. So neat and clean, with so much of Wilson, Oklahoma history packed into a small place. It is really easy to find being right on Main Street and catty corner from the Wilson Police Department. Here are some pics I took during our visit.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812a.jpg
My mother wouldn't use anything but Faultless Starch and Mrs Stewart's Blueing
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812b.jpg
These next few pics are the volumes and volumes of research material all bound in 3 ring binders. Tons of info at one's fingertips.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812c.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812d.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812g.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812i.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812j.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812k.jpg
Here is an old safe and bank teller's window from the local bank.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812e.jpg
Wilsonites Otto Powel, Bud Ballew and Looney Rooney
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812f.jpg
Overall view inside the museum
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/WilsonHistoricalMuseum042812h.jpg
While at the Wilson museum one photograph really caught my eye. It was of Lonnie Rooney. Lonnie was born in Davis, Oklahoma as Ronnie Looney, and one time when he was young, an announcer called his name out Lonnie Rooney, and all the old rodeo hands back then just knew him by that name. He later changed his name to that, and the rest is history. Rooney was a deputy sheriff in 1943, and county commissioner from 1947 to 1958. As a side note, when Gene Autry owned his Flying A Ranch at Gene Autry, Oklahoma he was so busy making movies and singing, he fired Loonie Rooney as foreman of his ranch. Somehow somebody manage to steal all of Autry's horses, his dozens of prize saddles, trophies, and awards from his ranch (which would have taken several trucks and several days to accomplish) and no one was ever charged with the theft. Foreman Lonnie Rooney said he never saw anything. Gene Autry suspected Rooney, but the sheriff never filed charges. After that experience, Gene Autry pretty much abandoned Oklahoma.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/LonnieRooney.jpg
Just a block north and then a couple blocks west of the museum (at 5th and Ash) in the front yard of an old house is the handiwork of a budding Wilson artist. He just started his wood carvings 5 months ago on a whim, but so far his works have been turning out ok. He said he has always finished what he starts, and people are appreciative of his carvings. He told me if he has a picture to look at, he can carve it.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/McCabeArtWork042812a.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/McCabeArtWork042812b.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/McCabeArtWork042812c.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/McCabeArtWork042812d.jpg
Here is a pic of the artist himself, Fred McCabe (in straw hat).
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/FredMcCabe042812.jpg
1896 Killing At Pushmataha Courthouse: The Langston
City Herald dated 16 May 1896 reported that a full-blooded Choctaw, Charles
Homes, was legally shot at Pushmataha court house grounds thirty miles west of
Antlers, Wednesday, in May of 1896., for the murder of Charles Kiotubby, his
son-in-law.
At 1:53, in 1896, Homes was led out of the court house, where religious services
had been held, and placed on a box before the court house five paces from the
court house door. He was blindfolded and two deputy sheriffs stood on either
side holding his hands. Deputy Sheriff Bob Jackson did the shooting, standing
just inside the court house door. Jackson missed the mark placed over the
victim's heart, striking two inches beneath. The murderer lived for ten minutes
suffering great agony. Homes' wife was present but did not seem to be affected
to any great extent.
I used to have one of these, the word's smallest can opener developed in WWII but somehow though the years I've lost it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38_can_opener
Will Hamilton out southwest of Lone Grove found the Giant Redheaded Centipede in his yard. This thing was huge. About 9 inches when first killed. Bites are reported to be painful and will cause swelling at the bite site. The legs of this species can leave tiny pin-pricks in the skin, and each leg contains venom that can be dropped into each wound. This can cause inflammation and irritation. Although a bite to an adult human is usually very painful and may cause severe swelling, chills, fever, and weakness, it is unlikely to be fatal.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/RedheadedCentipede042912.jpg
http://mobugs.blogspot.com/2011/12/giant-red-headed-centipede.html
I stopped at the Eastside Cafe at North Washington and 11th street for a hamburger the other day. It was cooked the old fashion way, toasted buns and all. Was a great burger, and for a really good deal, after 2:00pm weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday you get a free drink and fries with any sandwich!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/EastsideCafe050112.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/EastsideCafeFree.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/EastsideCafeInside.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/EastsideCafeBurger.jpg
I talked about us getting some Okie Dirt on March 16th from the Ardmore Waste Water Management Plant for the garden and other areas around the house. Jill's garden and plants have really been thriving on that Okie Dirt compost. Let's see, she has planted: tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, and peppers. She has some seeds for other plants, but hasn't got them planted yet. I'll be getting another load of Okie Dirt in a week or two.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/JillsGarden042912.jpg
For those of you who do not know what Okie Dirt is in these parts, here is a good write-up from The Daily Ardmoreite
http://www.ardmoreite.com/x844640437/Yard-waste-sludge-make-potent-mix
A word to the wise, if you live in Southern Oklahoma snakes are everywhere. I can not tell you how many people have been posting on Facebook all the snakes they have been killing in this area. Please keep an eye out for any snakes.
From This and That newsletter archives of May 1, 1999:
In the seventies this strange looking
truck, called a Cab-Under, stopped at Ponder's Restaurant here in Ardmore. It
looked like the forerunner of the army's Humdy vehicle. Guess it never really
worked out.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/CabUnderRig1.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/CabUnderRig2.jpg
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In western Oklahoma in Washita County is Cordell, Oklahoma. The courthouse there
is one of three in Oklahoma that has a clock in the dome. This is a pic of the
dome in 1913, one year before they installed the clock. In 1954 they removed the
original clock and replaced it with an electric type.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/wash1913.jpg
The dome as it is
today..... with its clock.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/cordell1.jpg
The original
clock has been put on display in the lobby of the courthouse in Cordell, thanks
to the efforts of ex-county commissioner there Alfred Miller.
----------------------------------------------------
"Here's a 1905 Shuttle Service for women, to deliver them to King's Lake for the
4th of July festivities in Ardmore. Men are (L to R) Charles Fraley, lumberman
and contractor who built the original 4 grade schools, the Confederate Home, and
for whom Fraley Park is named; Dr. Julius Herman Peterman, a homeopathic
physician; Henry T. Hunt, planing mill owner and father of Herman Hunt,
grandfather of the 5 Hunt boys. The horse is Dolly. That road went down to a big
house where the King Family lived. The road went past their house to the lake."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/shuttle1905.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/maps/KingLakeMap.jpg
----------------------------------------------------
"Butch, you're right -- back in 1999 we talked about King's Lake, and I sent you
the old family photo of the shuttle for women to the 4th of July picnic there.
You identified me as a relative of
Dr. J. J. Boyd
living in Florida. You're half right: I'm a grandson of Dr. Boyd, but I live in
Nashville, Tennessee, not Florida. During my childhood, at least once each
summer the pumper from the downtown fire station came barreling down Third Ave
NE. I knew it was heading for King's Lake and that another boy had drowned out
there. That was the truck that carried the pulmotor. I often jumped on my bike
and headed out there, but it was all over by the time I got there. The sight was
chilling to a boy. Access to the lake was a narrow dirt road off Third Ave, past
the huge, empty white house, and on down to the tree and brush-lined lake. I
hated the place." --- Lorenz Boyd
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/photos/Pulmotor.jpg
----------------------------------------------------
Q. This popular state park boasts beautiful sheer-walls
along with gorgeous and peaceful retreat areas accessible virtually year-round.
Wagons along the California Road left ruts and markings, still visible today.
This park is located south of the community of Hinton, Oklahoma.
A. Red Rock Canyon State Park
Follow up: "Butch, I did some checking. There was no significant travel way that would be called the "California Road" until after the California gold strike in 1849. That would place it well after the emigrant trails through Nebraska and points west. Most of this traffic was not families going west, but gold seekers. I've found no mention of a road into the canyon until about 1934, but it is only 1/2 mile south of Hinton so some may have walked or rode horses into the canyon from a camp near Hinton. I still believe the author of that article on the Oklahoma Tourist Bureau site was making stuff up. I can find numerous references to it being a stop along the California Road, but the canyon runs north and south and I find it difficult to understand why folks traveling west would spend half a day descending into the canyon and then climbing out the next morning. Have you been there? That's a pretty steep winding road even today. All the other emigrant trails have turned into present day routes. No road ran into that canyon until civic club members blasted a road into it in the 1930's." -Larry
Q. Weakened by torrential rains in 1906, the trestle
bridge over the Cimarron River south of this town collapsed, plunging the
locomotive and all but two sleeping cars into the rain-swollen river. The engine
is still submerged in quicksand next to the steel bridge that replaced the
washed out structure. What is the name of the town formerly known as Red Fork
Station along the Chisholm Trail?
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.....
"Dear Mr. Bridges: I'd be surprised if were a meteorite. It doesn't have a fusion crust. It has the shape of a stream cobble. From the sawn face it looks like a fine-grained igneous rock."
Randy Korotev
Research Professor
Washington University in Saint Louis
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/MexicoMysteryRock033112.jpg
"The pictured item is called a tejolote which goes with a molcajete to grind corn or other seeds. Basically it's a rather flat mortar and pestle. The shape of both are formed from use. They normally look for a harder rock for the tejolote so it doesn't wear as rapidly and a flat sandstone for the molcajete so it will wear in faster. One can often feel a bit of grit in tortillas or tamales made from corn ground in one. There's an old saying that a boy does not become a man until he has eaten a molcajete, referring to the sand worn off during grinding. Being harder, the stone like in the photo lasts through several bottoms which are thrown away when they break." -Jim Foreman
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/MexicoMysteryRock033112.jpg
"Butch: Your 4/26 This & That made reference to the November 27, 1868 "Battle of the Washita River." This was in reality a massacre of innocent Cheyenne Indians who were peaceably camped along the great stream. George Custer and his 7th Cavalry attacked them without warning, slaughtering men, women and children. An effort has been ongoing for years to change the descriptive name of the killing to "Massacre at the Washita." -james clark, Ardmore
See how you do in placing the states of the United States Of America on the map. All you do is look at the top of the page and drag' n' drop the state to where it belongs. [Smart map, varies the order of the states' placement with each new try!] It is not easy mostly because placing a state in the precise location when it as yet has no boundaries in place is a bit tricky! No half credit for close ...
http://jimspages.com:80/States.htm
"I just wanted to let everyone know that Washington Theatre is kicking off the summer with a great concert featuring Music from the 60?s by STILL SURFIN. If you like the Beach Boys Music and interested in wholesome, family, fun entertainment check out their website http://www.StillSurfin.com or call 580 223-5821 for more information."
Rosemary Fisher
Washington Theatre, Ardmore, Oklahoma
580 223-582
"Hey Butch, Here's a pix of my 1951 license. Not as old as yours But I like it." -Jerry Landrum
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/OKtag1951.jpg
Springer Volunteer Fire Department Annual Fundraiser Saturday, May 19, 2012 ? start 6:00 PM. BBQ, auction and dance so bring a lawn chair and ENJOY!
"I?m searching for any kind of info on a branch of my family who migrated to Oklahoma from South Carolina in the first half of the 20th century. The name was Howard, and I understand that some land owned by them was bursting with oil. Someone died, and there was a nation-wide search for some of the heirs, who were descended from some of ?my people? here in Greenville County, SC. An attorney from Ardmore came to this area in 1960 or ?61, trying to identify some heirs. Any help or info is appreciated!"
Nancy Taylor
Greenville, SC
nancyt43@att.net
OKC - Fallen Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers to Be Honored: The morning of May 18th Oklahoma will take time out to honor the over seven hundred law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma both before and after statehood. The names of six officers will be engraved before the 44th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officer?s Memorial Service to be conducted at 10 A.M. that morning and they will be dedicated during
the service.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/LEmemorial051812.doc
"I trying to find any pictures of Benjamin "Ben" Carter my great great grandfather. Carter County was named after Captain Ben W. Carter, a Cherokee Indian who married and settled among the Chickasaws and whose son Charles D. Carter has represented the district including Carter County in congress ever since statehood." -Daniel Black
Hundreds of thousands may lose internet in July.
http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-thousands-may-lose-internet-july-181324701--finance.html
The Pensacola Dam of course is in Oklahoma, not Florida.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola_Dam
"Hello. My friends are wondering if anyone knows the directions to raccoon cave and wild woman's cave in the Arbuckles. Thank you." -Justin
An Ardmoreite donated a flag pole to the Confederate section of Rosehill Cemetery here in Ardmore last month. In doing some googling, I found on http://www.blogoklahoma.us a statement that reads: "Confederates maintained camps nearby along the Middle Boggy River in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory (Atoka, Oklahoma). Some died of disease and were buried on the grounds where the museum now exists. It is the only designated Confederate Cemetery in the state of Oklahoma." I wondered who designated the one in Atoka a Confederate Cemetery, and the only one in Oklahoma? Maybe someone can tell us more?
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos12a/ConfederateCemeteryArdmoreOK.jpg
Ode To A Mule by Ken Curtis (Festus of Gunsmoke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo696R-yrn8&feature=related
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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