This and That Newsletter
A Weekly Publication

www.OklahomaHistory.net

Vol 19  Issue 961      Circulation 5,000       June 25, 2015

PO Box 2

Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402

email address:  butchbridges@oklahomahistory.net

580-490-6823


This afternoon at 4:30pm I left my employment at the courthouse and entered the world of the retiree. Yesterday, Wednesday June 24th my co-workers and friends threw a retirement party for me in the Annex Building next door to the courthouse. There was a real good turnout and everyone enjoyed the fellowship and fun during those 2 hours. I appreciate everyone that came by with well-wishes. It feels good knowing I don't have to punch that clock anymore. I have some photos to share from the retirement party but have not had time to work them up and place on my website. I will have those photos in next week's newsletter. Below is a link to a couple pictures Carter County Commissioner's Executive Secretary, Lori Prewitt, took yesterday afternoon.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/BridgesAndMcReynolds2015.jpg

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/ButchAndCake062415.jpg

There was a really nice write-up in The Daily Ardmoreite this week about my retirement.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/ButchBridges062315.jpg

A sink hole developed the other day on the north side of the First Bank & Trust of Ardmore (north parking lot). Workers found in the sink hole red bricks of what looked like a wall, and some steps of some kind. The hole keeps filling up with water. I know back in the 1950s and before there was an artesian well in the basement of the bank (old Hotel Ardmore) and I wonder if the water is coming from that stream that fed the well in the basement.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/FirstBankSinkHole062215.jpg

Southern Oklahoma has lost a number of county bridges the past month with all the heavy rains and flooding. Someone asked about the old Tishomingo Bridge at the south edge of town. It was replaced in 1981 after a heavy flood with a new concrete bridge. I dug out this photo of the swinging bridge that I had fun on back in the 70s.

http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/SwingingBridgeTish.jpg

I had a request from a friend who is searching for a buckeye tree she saw years ago, pretty sure south of Lone Grove. If  you know of such a tree, let me know.

A couple of pavers I sandblasted this week.

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/SteveTerryPaver.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bricks/MattiePaver.jpg

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/MattiePaverInstalled.jpg

I'm still trying to break below that 177 pound plateau I reached over a month ago. Still happy with the overall effects of TruVision. If anyone wants to try it, give me a holler. "I'll meet you at the Walmart mailbox!" Join us and check it all out at the link below.

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

http://butch.truvisionhealth.com/

My Okie Power Saver does more than just save on the electric bill.
Did I mention the Okie Power Saver serves as a surge protector? Yep, that too. Not only does it recycle energy to save you money, but also doubles as a surge protector to shield your motors & appliances against power surges and brownouts. The Power Saver is installed either at your electrical panel or directly to a large motor such as an air conditioner. Because its very design causes the electricity to be recycled back into your system, you require less energy from your electric company.
When it comes to protecting the big ticket motors/appliances in your home or business, do you rely on these inexpensive power strips? Or, do you go for something that specifically was designed to protect your Central A/C, heat pump, pool pump, refrigerator, etc. Just 1 power surge is all it takes to lose thousands of dollars, so the protection is worth the investment.
When it?s thousands of dollars on the line, our Power Saver can protect your expensive equipment AND make it run more efficiently.

http://www.OKiePowerSaver.com

Q.  What percentage of Oklahoma is made up of forests?
A.  Approximately 28 percent of the land is forested.

Q.  True or False: Oklahoma has more manmade lakes than any other state.
A.  (answer in next week's T&T)

From This and That newsletter archives of June 23, 2001:

A piece of history came down in Lone Grove this week. Around statehood, 1907, there was a school north of Lone Grove by the name of Deese school. Many years ago it was moved, or part of it was moved to the south side of the highway just east of Brock Road and Highway 70 in Lone Grove. The present owners built a new log home just on the west side of this 100 year old piece of history and this week bulldozed the old school building down.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/DeeseSchoolDemolition2001.jpg

The strange thing is prior tenants in this building turned-into-a-house claimed to hear strange noises in the night, along with other strange phenomenon. The people who lived just to the east of the house, said years ago they saw the then owner dig a big hole behind the house. Nothing strange about that, except they owner did the digging during the nighttime, then turned right around and covered it up. Something strange there. Oh well, its all history now.
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In November 1913 the swinging bridge was dedicated in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. I remember going over it in the 1970s and by pushing on and off the brakes, I will able to rock the bridge. Boy, the dumb things when we're young, risking our very lives. The swinging bridge became only a memory on October 13, 1981 when water from torrential rains washed it away.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/SwingingBridgeTish.jpg
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The day I decided to go to the Maxwell-Wood cemetery at Dornick Hills when I had a couple of strange things happen. I was beginning to think someone or something didn't want me to go. First, just before I travelled out there, I was eating some saltine crackers. I got to looking and every one of those saltine crackers had 13 holes in the surface. hahaha
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/cracker13.jpg

Then after arriving at the Country Club, and enroute to the cemetery in the golf cart, we came upon an obstruction in our path. Almost like a sign from the other side... STOP. Just a few hundred yards from the cemetery entrance was a big tree limb across the path, so we had to walk to rest of the way in.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/MaxwellCemeteryTree.jpg

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A friend who lives in the adjoining county just south of Ardmore in Love County told me this week they have been invaded by giant grasshoppers, millions of them. She said it only took those hungry grasshoppers two days to completely strip their garden. I guess the grasshoppers will be in the Ardmore area in a few days.
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"It was not called the Mill Tax. It was the beginning of the sales tax in Oklahoma. Prices were very low during the depression, and the sales tax rate was also very low, so mills were provided so you wouldn't be drastically overcharged by having to pay a penny on the purchase of a five-cent candy bar, or alternatively so the state wouldn't lose all the tax on small purchases."

"As the tax rate rose, and prices rose, the need for one-mill and five-mill pieces (a tenth of a cent and half a cent) became kind of silly and most people and merchants stopped fooling with them; they more or less died a natural death, although I don't know when or if they ever officially were removed from the law."

"The sales tax did not have anything to do with Social Security, which was a federal program. The sales tax (originally only the state could levy the sales tax) was earmarked for "Old Age Pensions," and other welfare-type functions. It was common to speak of paying the mills "for the old folks.""
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"Western Iron Works closed it's foundry operations on it's 75th anniversary, Sept. 1998. The product line was sold to East Jordan Iron Works, Inc. of Michigan."
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/WesternIronWorks.jpg
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"I remember those electric blade razors. Haven't heard of one in a long time. I notice however that about Christmas time every year Panasonic runs adds on TV about their Electric blade razor, watch for it or e-mail them. Now, do you want to know the secret to a really close shave and not have to have a nervous gadget vibrating around on your face and especially with a hang-over. I may not have the spelling right but that you can find out. Wally World in the Women's department has the Neutrogena Soap (check spelling). Next pick up the latest Schick Chromium double blades. Now search around until you find Old Spice Shaving lather in the instant can type thing. Wash your face as normal but with the soap described earlier but DO NOT RINSE OFF. Put on the Old Spice shave cream and get a shave that is good for 12 hours or more and will leave your face as smooth as a fresh picked watermelon. You follow how I told you too and you will not find a better shave, guaranteed."
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Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....

"Hi Butch, Thought you and your readers might be interested to know that an article about the floods made the "Nation & World" section of the 19 June issue of the Northwest Florida Daily News. There's a large picture of a flooded Turner Falls....an awesome sight. You have truly arrived if you're mentioned on one of the few pages of our local "Mullet Wrapper".  -Barry Flanary, Wilson Alum
Hi Butch, Here's wishing you a wonderful and happy retirement. Of course you have to know that there is a down side. Just think, you will never have a day off. Mondays are just like weekends and forget holidays off from work, there aren't any. Someone asked me on my last day at work what I was going to do and I answered, "Nothing and I do not plan to start that until noon". Another good answer, "Just go home and not come back". Seriously, the last one is not true, you will want to visit the people that you worked with once in a while and I bet you will be so busy that the, not until noon, will not fit you either. I am glad that we will still get your T&T. Thanks for all of the memories that you have given us over the years.  Happy Trails."   -Roy Miller
"Butch, Congratulations on your retirement! I worked all my life and now I am retired for the rest of it. I like retirement best! I loved my job, but don't miss being in harm's way. Have a happy retirement."  -Rome Ingle, Broken Arrow, OK.
"Wish I could drop in to the retirement shindig next week. I'll be tied up in court over here in Bryan county that day. However, I want to wish you the very best in retirement! I've been a T&T follower from almost the very beginning and look forward to many more years of T&T! Hoping you will have time for more adventures around Oklahoma, history, burgers, bells, true crime stories... you know, this and that. Good luck and congratulations."   -David Cathey
Hi Butch, we have something in common, first a pre-congratulations on retirement. You're gonna do just fine & be so busy after a few weeks wonder how you ever found time before to work for a living. I retired in 1980 & been an observer on the retiree scene since. Some people don't do well, those who put their feet up & watch sports on TV, most of them expire within 5 years. Another observation is we spend our working lives within some kind of structured environment depending on what we did --- a boss we reported to, our business routine, Naval Regulations, planting & harvest, etc. & when we quit it & retire it's all gone. Those of us who had a busy life outside their work-life, such as a major hobby, a sideline business, engaging social activities, do well by continuing & expanding that or similar theme. Others seem to feel abandoned & either join the TV watchers or try to find an activity to fill the void in their lives.

Case histories -- Two members of my graduating class, scholars, US Navy, Annapolis, retired as Captains. One expanded on his naval technical knowledge & founded a business & a new different life. The other went the other way, failing at every attempt & passing 20 years ago. ME? No scholar, highschool grad, started cleaning airplane parts, kept myself busy in all directions, retired from same company at VP level after 37 years & now at 91 still doing as much of my thing as old age permits.

I'm prompted to say good luck, but mostly we make out own luck. Just keep doing what you like to & more of it."  -Bob McCrory
July 4th Fireworks celebration at Lake Murray.
http://chickasawcountry.com/events/view/lake-murray-fireworks-display
"Butch, I noticed the reference in last week's T&T newsletter to Joe Richie. I am not the one who sent the inquiry in 2001 but I knew Joe very well. We were both in the 45th Inf Div OK NG together during the 1960s and shared many experiences. He lived and or taught school in Kingston, Tishomingo, Madill, etc at various times in his life and is presently buried in the Fort Sill National Cemetery.

Joe was born in Poland and was a victim of WWII, losing both parents to the Nazi death camps. He literally escaped through a vent in a railroad boxcar leaving his parents behind to meet their horrific fate. He used to tell me how his life was the model for the Dondi cartoon strip since he was picked up as an orphan in Poland by an American army unit and more or less adopted. At the war?s end he was smuggled aboard a military transport bound for New York City in a duffle bag and was not discovered until the ship was well out to sea and could not turn back. Upon reaching NYC he was temporarily turned over to a Catholic orphanage until he was formally adopted by one of the soldiers in the unit who happened to be from Kingston.

He was a veteran of the Korean War and in addition, was later authorized to wear the shoulder patch of the unit that adopted him during WWII even though he was but a child. He was a kind and considerate man and I think of him often."  -Towana
Butch you made the Tulsa news!
http://m.newson6.com/story.aspx?story=29362082&catId=112042
The Daily Ardmoreite - February 7, 1971
submitted by Melinda Taylor

Indian Cook Book

Visiting around the Chickasaw Library at Broadlawn the other day I found a rare cookbook, an "Oklahoma Indian Cook Book, The Best Indian Recipes from the Best Indian State." They told me it belongs to Mrs. J. G. Alexander of Sulphur, and it was brought to the library - only for showing, not giving - by Mrs. Vera C. Jack, also of Sulphur.
With my interest in cooking an in Indian dishes, I scanned the book immediately. It was prepared by "Mae Wadley Abbott, Choctaw Roll Number 7559," and was published at Tulsa. It was illustrated by the famous Indian artist, the late Acee Blue Eagle. Mrs. Abbott wrote in a Foreword when the book was published in 1957, "As an American Indian Woman, I have realized that Indian foods, like the mystic, ceremonial and religious phases of the Red Man, are fast disappearing into the past. Since food did constitute a very important part in the background of the Indian history of this American continent, I became desirous to record some of the best Indian recipes."
She did, 57 of them in this book, and many of them are the oldest I have seen. All are concerned with native Indian foods such as corn, meat, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, wild greens, wild fruits and nuts, acorns, etc. Included are recipes for Indian corn bread, bean bread, parched corn, chestnut bread, pashofa, ta-fulla, acorn mush, dried fish, water litly seeds, shuck bread, fry bread, squaw bread, steamed squash, wild potatoes, and some with Indian names such as pokek-koyl-yokee, bofpo, bota cupposa, stomp-she, tanfula and tonshla-bona.
Thanks Mrs. Alexander and Mrs. Jack for affording us a look at this cookbook.

Wilson Historical Museum Hours: Tues., Thurs., Fri., Sat., 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. or visit us online. We have thousands of obituaries!!

http://www.oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos15a/IndianCookBookAbbott1957.jpg



The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.

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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