The Henry Baum Sr. family were among the first settlers to Ardmore in the 1890s. Henry was offered a position with the "Iron Store", one of the earliest businesses in Ardmore. Henry was living in Gainesville, Texas and accept the offer. Henry eventually became the store manager for Westheimer and Daube department store. In 1915 he opened his own store, Henry Baum & Company, a ladies department store. In 1919 Mr. Baum married Regina Blank in Ardmore. I remember Regina and her son, Henry Baum Jr., when I worked at the ambulance service in Ardmore as I had to take Regina back and forth to the hospital several times from her home off Sunset in the SW. Later, after Regina passed away, I transported Henry Baum Jr. to the hospital a number of times. Over a period of several years I got to know the Baums fairly well, and enjoyed talking to them in their home. Below is a photograph from Ardmore's early days, and you can see on the side of the building at East Main and Mill street the Baum Ladies To Wear store.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/ArdmoreStreetScene1925.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/mtzion/BAUM_Regina.JPG
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/mtzion/BAUM_Henry_Dan_Jr.JPG
This is a 1930 photograph of a Healdton, Oklahoma oil field camp. I've read in other accounts where people had to be tough to live in the oil fields back in those days. Many of the roughnecks came from Pennsylvania after those oil fields started to decline, in search of work in the newly established oil fields of Oklahoma.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/HeadtonOilCamp1913.jpg
Many boys, included me, had to have a bb gun as soon as we could talk our parents into buying us one. I had a Daisy air gun and I thought I was a big game hunter. But until this week I did not know that air rifles goes back a lot further then just the 1800s. The Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark on their expedition (1804-1806) from St Louis to the Pacific coast. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUI
Video demonstration of shooting the Girandoni air rifle.
Below is a paver I sandblasted this week.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/RalphCourtneyPaver.jpg
I finished up my 7 day trial pack of TruVision lose weight program last Sunday afternoon and it did just what I was hoping it would do, helping me get rid of this gut. I just started my 30 day TruWeight pack yesterday, so I'm hoping over the next month to see more drop in pounds. I created the webpage below to track my results. I will be updating the webpage on the progress I make following the TruVision Health program. Several asked about signing up and selling TruVision for some income. Yes, if you think that is for you, I would encourage you to sign up in my downline. Just give me a holler and we'll get you started.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/truvision.html
http://butch.truvisionhealth.com/
I have sold out twice the past week of TruVision trial packs, but I have much more in stock now, so give me a shout if you want to try the $20 7-day Trail Pack.
Q. In 2004 the world's
largest McDonalds was located in what Oklahoma town?
A. Vinita, Oklahoma in far NE Oklahoma.
Q. What does the color blue on
the Oklahoma state flag represent?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of January 17, 1998:
Several people have told me my father R.V.
"Battleship" Bridges hosted his own 30 minute broadcast everyday, Monday through
Friday back in the 1930s. I'm not sure how long he sang and played his guitar on
Ardmore's KVSO radio broadcasts but it was for quite some time. Old timers here
said he sure could sing and play. I can't even carry a tune in a 5 gallon
bucket, much less play an instrument! Here is a pic of my dad with his guitar in
1936.
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/ttphotos/rvguitar2.jpg
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".... thank you for the newletter..... I
left Healdton in 1958 and did 30 plus years in the U. S. Coast Guard. We are
living in Juneau, Alaska as this is home now.... appreciate so many things in
"This & That" which are fond memories of growing up in Carter County."
----------------------------------------------------
"You think you are confused? Try 14
different license plate formats for cars; or 21 different telephone area codes
(two of which are only 2 miles away, but which require us to dial long
distance!) or over 6 million local residents, 45% of whom speak little or no
English" -California
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Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/index.aspx?mss=152754
Non-ethanol gas (pure gas) stations in the Ardmore area.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/puregas.html
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
"Butch, I recently stopped at the Curio Shop on Hwy 77 and the overlook for Turner Falls. I've been there hundreds of times as lots of others have over the years to look through the telescopes at the falls and shoot photos of the falls from that great vantage point.
I had never taken the time to walk down around the bottom of the old water tower and beneath the restrooms but while looking down that area something caught my eye. I can't see very well anymore and couldn't make out what it was so I walked down a little trail to check it out.
I've attached some photos I shot from down there. The thing that caught my eye turned out to be a large pile of old rusted cans. No telling how many years they have been there. A lot of them were old steel beer cans but even more were what reminded me of old steel brake fluid can as shown in the photos. I can understand why old beer cans would be there, for obvious reasons, but brake fluid cans? Maybe they were beer cans also but I don't remember seeing steel beer cans with the cone shaped top. Any ideas about this?
One shot is a wide angle pano I made from about three overlapping shots to get the full scope of the number of old cans. The other shots show the cans in the foreground with the falls in the background and one shot from inside the rock structure that supports the lookout closest to the old water tower.
Maybe someone can help solve the mystery of the cans, what kind they are and why so many in that spot. For some reason it reminded me of one of my all time favorite movies "The Jerk" with Steve Martin and his famous hilarious quote: "He hates those cans!" If you don't remember that part you need to watch the movie again. LOL" -C. Dwane Stevens
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsCurio01.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsCurio03.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsCurio02.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsCurio04.jpg
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsCurio05.jpg
Additional info: Here is a photo when the curio shop was a Skelly service station back in the 1930s.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/turnerfalls/TurnerFallsGasStation.jpg
"Hey Butch, I was reading an old Wilson paper, 1923 which had a mention of Aylesworth prison in Marshall County. Found a few things of interest on the subject. I wonder if there was a list of inmates or any pics? I haven't seen the Marshall County Book."
I stand corrected. According to Google, Oklahoma voted to repeal prohibition on April 7, 1959. They proved Will Rogers wrong when he said ?Oklahomans will always vote dry as long as they can stagger to the polls.? -Royce
"Prohibition was repealed when Oklahomans were no longer able to stagger to the polls." -Don
?Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like.? -Will Rogers
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
PO Box 2
Lone Grove, Oklahoma 73443
Follow me on the TruVision lose weight program
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/truvision.html
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Bells of Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells:
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
Bill Hamm's Cemetery Database
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/carter/cartercm.htm
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://cartercountyOK.us/
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