Oakie's NW Corner...
Last weekend was Freedom's Biggest Open Rodeo & Old Cowhand
Reunion in Northwest Oklahoma. That was where you could find this
NW Okie... BUT NOT on horseback, though! Duchess wouldn't let me
embarrass myself like that!
Speaking of Freedom... With it's rustic western Main Street, Freedom's
Annual Rodeo, Old Cowhand Reunion, Cimarron Cowboy Monument and
many other historical points of interest help preserve its western
heritage over a period of time when most towns have placed an accent
on modernization.
 BUT...
Not Freedom! Each third week in August of every year, citizens dress
their parts when out-of-towners merge on the Main Street and the
Cobb Gang comes to town for the early afternoon Great Bank Robbery
and Shootout. The characters involved in the shootout ain't paid
professionals and do not employ high dollar directors or stage settings.
They are the local townspeople who volunteer "just for the
fun of it!" Even the real banker, Wes Nixon, can be seen dressed
in western attire and defending the towns local bank.
As always... the good guys ride into town in the neck of time
for a blazin', gun-battle on the Main Street of Freedom while on-lookers
use their imaginations to witness the shootout of the gun-totin'
misfits and the good guys who ride into this quaint little Northwest
Oklahoma Cowtown for their annual, staged Robbery and Shootout.
 Who
is left standing and caught in the middle of the shootout? None
other than one lone town drunk that seems to meander through the
crowd of misfits, dodging flying bullets from both sides with grace
and luck. How does he do it? Is he numb to the pain of what is going
on around him? Perhaps the days end will find him in a more sobering
stature.
 Meanwhile,
the posse can be seen shootin' from behind bales of hay stacked
on the south side of the street and some of the Cobb Gang bodies
strung in the middle of the street. BUT wait! There is one Cobb
Gang still shootin' from behind the water trough!
Who is that spirited bank teller coming out of the bank? It is
Wes Nixon dressed in period clothing of the old time bank tellers
and totin' his trusty shotgun to rid the town of the last Cobb bank
robber... BANG! You can see more 2003 Freedom Rodeo and Shootout
Photos at Oakie's
Webshots - Freedom
Rodeo 2003 Album. Click the following links to check out the
2003
Old Cowhand - Arlo Darr and History
of the Cimarron Cowboy Association.
 Freedom's
1st Honored Pioneer Rancher... In 1956, Mrs. Lucy Welty Snapp
was chosen to be the honored Pioneer Rancher of the Freedom Rodeo
celebration. Lucy and her husband Bunk started their ranching operation
on a site east of Freedom, and Lucy worked on the range right along
with Bunk throughout their lifetime. Bunk and two sons Frank and
Jim preceded Lucy in death. During the years following their deaths
Lucy and her daughter Helen managed the ranch. Helen later married
Levi London and they continued with much the same operation as Bunk
and Lucy had established. A daughter, Vilene, and a son, Jim, were
born and reared there. At the time of Lucy's death in 1974, she
was 96 years of age. Since that time Helen has continued to keep
the Bar-S Brand of her parents. Today the original ranch is intact
and is managed by Lucy's grandson, Jim London. He along with his
wife, Deb, his son Levi, and daughter Randus, live in the same house
where Lucy and Bunk began their ranching.
On to Northeastern Oklahoma... Is there something hidden
in Blue Canyon, in Nowata County, near Childers? One of our readers
is searching for an old map that lists the ghosttowns around Nowata
and Washington Counties. If you have any clues or information, contact
Tony in Mailbag Corner below ... or ... Contact Linda at paristimes@earthlink.net.
Thanks!
And Finally... just wanted to say a word about this New
"SoBig.f" virus that is sending out thousands of emails
with attachments and in the message body saying something like "Please
see the attached file for details". DO NOT OPEN these attachments
as they contain a virus which will do the usual thing of getting
the names from your address book then sending everyone emails as
if they were from you or others in your address book. Keep your
antivirus program updated. My Norton Antivirus Firewall seems to
catch these nasty intrusions before they do harm. Hope you keep
your anitvirus software updated weekly.
See you all next weekend as these Dog Days of Summer and August
wind down. Hopefully, afterwards we will get a chance for some much
needed rain for the farmers, ranchers and to cool things down a
bit as September and Fall are just around the corner. Keep those
Okie Legacy and memories coming this way. We couldn't do this without
you! Thanks for your precious time!
~~ Linda "oaKie" &
Duchess ~~
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Munson Hatchery
A little history of the Munson Hatchery...
it was started by Frank Munson in 1928 on the south side of the
square in the area of 415 Barnes where the Shaefer Radio &
TV used to be. As his business began to grow, he moved the hatchery
one more time to a newly built location on the southeast corner
of 7th and Choctaw.
Those who had been in the employ
of Munson Hatchery were Clarence Perkins, Addie Jackson, Ava Sawyer,
Joan Hadley, Ed Schaefer, Estele Richardson, Doris Hada, Arlene
(?), Rose Engle, Faye Summers, Louise Curtis, Julia Parsons, Alvin
McDowell, Winnie Darling, Imogene Curry Wares, Warren Wares, Pearl
Erikson, Aubery Hook, Bud Kilmer, Pauline Hada Zehr, Elizabeth
Tiberghien and Gladys Herman.
Munson Hatchery was sold in the
early 1960's by Mrs. Munson, because Mr. Munson had died in the
mid 1950's in California while visiting and was buried there.
Bert Reed purchased the building and later sold it to the Moose
Lodge.
Mr. Munson also had an automobile
dealership in Alva at one time known as Munson and McNeally. They
sold Hudson and Essex automobiles. It was located where the Downtown
Mall is today.
Sandie Olson (Waynoka Historical Society) is looking
for the heirs of Mrs. Frank Munson. If you know of someone who
might help find the heirs of Mrs. Frank Munson, please contact
Sandie Olson - E-mail: sandieo@pldi.net
Menu:
c/o The PubCo - PO Box 619, Bayfield, CO 81122
Copyrighted © 2009 by WWWPubCo & OkieLegacy. All Rights Reserved. |
Mailbag & Links Corner....
1917
NSN Ranger - Seniors... The Class officers were President,
Louis G. Wilke; Vice-President, George McClure; Treasurer, Frank Hess;
Secretary, Isaac Julian; Reporter, J. C. Hoffsommer; Marshal, E. A.
Sandefur. The Class of 1917 Seniors of Northwestern State Normal,
in Alva, Oklahoma... Rosa Fellible, Ruby Skeen, J. C. Fellible, George
McClure, Glenn McGill, Bert Raney, Carlos McGill, Foster Stockwell,
Hilda Rank, Belle Chestnut, Nora Eutsler, Mitchall Osborne, Ersel
Arnote, Mona Morton, Dennis Biggers, E. A. Sandefur, Edith Reeg, Della
Brunstetter, Lorine Floid, Carrie Phillips, Irene Woodmansee, Ada
Titus, Bess Davis, Harry Soliday, Chester Duncan, Mabel Dyer-Cameron,
Elizabeth Springer, Bernice Fitzgerald, Cleo Lewellen, Ben Rackley,
Ethal France, Marie McElhiney, Elbert Marlatt, Katherine Serviss,
Nina Marie Hopper, Edna Talbot, Verda Dale, Nonnie Weiser, Earl Shelly,
Mabel Willis, Wilbur Wilcox, Lottie Anderson, Jennie Smith, Onita
Martin, Nell Searcy, Fern Williams, Ross Burns, Mabel Hobbie, J. C.
Hoffsommer, Louis Wilke, Ulo Mae Curtis, Joyce Patterson, Ellavede
Lambert, Emma Donaldson, Pearl Boling, Isaac Julian, Jess Sears, Buelah
Hoffsommer, Elizabeth Hollen, Zella Gilbert, Jessie Hoefer, Ethel
Utterback, Z. B. Freeman, Ruth Ranck, Ruth Moyer, Esther Delzell,
Roscoe Grimm, Bess McCormick, Mercedes Moyer, Audrey Bainum, Rosa
Adam, Velmarae Dunn. Stay tuned for the Class of 1918 Seniors next
week.
 J.
F. Standiford... "You asked about that photo by Standiford...
at the bottom, as it said 'Muskogee, Indian Territory' on it.
My guess is the railroad dollars built it and it was a hotel. Actually,
I have a couple of other ones [here, in my collection, in the original]
See, why Standiford is interesting is [if you look closely at his
work] he was an exceptional photographer. The bio below will fill
you in a little and I have included the citation from the book this
is from. Let me know if you would like the scans of the few cabinet
cards I actually own [they are all portraits] and I will send them
to you. Apparently his children kept the business going, as in the
1920's and '30s there are many real photo post cards from Kansas and
Oklahoma marked 'Standiford'. I especially like this photograph by
him, of the Mission
School: from the Denver museum --- this one really says a
lot. I own the individual portrait he did of her. There is a bio
of her in this website. So, anyway, this is as good as I can explain
this man to you. Not sure if you know about itinerant photographers
of the 19th Century, so not sure how much I need to explain. Standiford
was and is a Star of the firmament. Biographical Sketches...
Indian
Territory Its Chiefs, Legislators and Leading Men by H.F.
& E. S. O'Beirne -- Standiford, J. F. (pp. 202, 204) Biographical
Index - J. F. Standiford is a native of West Virginia, part of his
life having been spent in Illinois and Kansas. He came to Muskogee,
Indian Territory, in the spring of 1878, and there erected his art
gallery and residence, engravings of which will be found in the grouped
illustration. Mr. Standiford is the only licensed photographer in
the Indian Territory, and has, without comparison, the neatest and
best equipped gallery in the nation. He is ably assisted in his work
by his wife and sister, the latter doing all the negative retouching,
etc. A novel feature in the finishing department is a revolving printing
room, a most complete addition to his gallery, and wholly an invention
of his own, there being not another of its kind in existence. Another
original device --- his own recent invention --- is an ingenious electric
retouching apparatus, which is novel and useful. Mr. Standiford is,
unquestionably, one of the finest photographic artists in the Southwest.
A large number of the best engravings in this volume have been made
from photographs taken by J. F. Standiford. " -- eric
OKC Memorial - Special Slideshow... "I so enjoy reading
your ezine each week. My husband and I were passing through Oklahoma
last week on vacation and stopped to visit the National Memorial in
Oklahoma City. We were very moved by this place and I created a
Special Slideshow page for my pictures if anyone would like to
see. Keep up the good work." -- PJH - Email: pam@heckyeah.net
Davis-Humes... "Woods
County Message Board Post: Searching for descendants of Oliver
Davis, 1838-1911, and Martha L. Summers, 1845-?, through their daughter
Emeline 'Emma,' c1865-? who married John F. Humes, c1860-?, in Sedgwick
County, KS 19 May 1887, and moved to Woods County, OK by 1895. I am
a direct descendant of Oliver's older brother, Chesterfield Davis,
both of whom were the sons of Greenwood Davis, 1805-1866, born in
KY and lived in Clark County, IL. Would like to hear from any descendants."
-- Allen W. Davis - Email: davisaw1939@cox.net
The
Gerloff's... "Was just surfing the web and googled Henry
Gerloff which was my grandfather's name and can across your web
site. My grandfather was also a very kind and gentle man." --
Darlene Glessman E-mail: glesbar@telusplanet
Looking for Historian in Beaver Area... "You have a terrific
website. I found it by looking at my own name in the aol search. I'm
NOT the Harry Faus referred to in the messages. I descended from Amos
Hibbs who settled with his family in Beaver County when it was known
as Cimarron Territory. His Son, Samuel Robert Hibbs is my maternal
grandfather. Mom (Julia Hibbs) was born south of Beaver in Beaver
County. Most of our family has passed on. Mom died last September
in Gage, OK at age 91. It was her desire that I prepare a family history.
It now goes back to 1630 England. The first Hibbs came to America
in 1676. The early chapters are covered pretty well, but the period
between the Cival War and 1930 are sketchy at best. It would be nice
if a historian from the Beaver area could help with missing details.
I live in California now, and have no connections remaining in Oklahoma.
Thanks to you and anyone who can help." -- Harry Faus E-mail:
h2faus@cs.com
McKinney Family of Marlow... "Born in Marlow, 1934, migrated
to California in 1934. Okie roots go back to 1900, when Grandpa Frank
Jennings crossed the Red River from Alvarado, TX with his passel of
kids and a pregnant young wife. Ma's birth made front page news in
Marlow Review, December 21,1914. That was the day Grandma Ina Shipman
Jennings caught her clothes on fire while fixing to light a fire under
the wash kettle. Ma was birthed while Grandma's gown was still smoldering,
right there in front of God and all of her neighbors. It seems the
store keeper mistakenly filled the coal oil can with gasoline. So
it goes. In California, where I grew up, 'Okie' was a pejorative epithet.
So I disowned my birthplace, Marlow in Stephens County, where my grand
parents settled after rebuilding trestles on the KATY and Rock Island
lines washed out by floods in North Texas and in Paul's Valley, I.T.
Since shortly before mother's death in 1990, however, I have been
learning a lot about the Territory and the State by reading back issues
of the MARLOW REVIEW. You have one of the most interesting sites on
this web. I shall be back often when time permits. It makes me proud
to refer to myself as an 'Okie.' I recommend to you and your readers
this website: www.koreanwar.org.
Semper Fi." -- Ron McKinney - Email: mckinney@tampabay.rr.com
Korean War Project...
"Remembering Korean War Veterans - KMAG - And The DMZ War 1945
- 2003. Click Here For Pledge Drive - You Keep The Korean War Project
Online - The Korean War Project Is Free To All Visitors - But Our
Members and Donors - Keep Us Online Since 1995 - Korean War Veterans
Memorial Photo - Freedom."
Recent Pictures in OkieLegacy... " I
was quite taken by some of the pictures that have appeared in your
last two issues of OkieLegacy. The first is a picture of a
baseball game that I am assuming was played before 1910. It appears
to show a collision between a baserunner and a catcher on the baseline
between first and third. I have seen several 'live' shots of very
early baseball games, but they are always taken during some lull in
the action and usually depict the entire field. This appears to be
a close-up of real action and as such is the oldest true baseball
action shot I have ever seen. I don't know but what Cooperstown
might be interested in this shot! Based on your other pictures, I'm
guessing that the Palace Fountain was in Guthrie. Cooperstown is in
upper New York state and it is the home of the National Baseball Hall
of Fame. (A fabulous place to visit if you're a baseball fan!)
The second is the shot of what appears to be a Ford tri-motor or similarly-configured
airplane at the Wichita airport in 1930. What strikes me about this
picture is the team of horses shown in the background. They appear
to be in harness and under the control of a driver, but they are not
pulling anything. I wonder if they were used to pull airplanes into
position on the runway. If so, it is certainly a great combination
shot of early and modern travel in cooperation!
And third but not necessarily last, the picture
of the 1931 Ranger football schedule. I note that the home games are
scheduled to take place under the lights. Northwestern had one of
the earliest lighted fields in Oklahoma, and as a matter of fact I
believe they took part in the first night game ever played in the
Sooner State. I think the year was 1929 and the game was played at
Stillwater against Oklahoma A&M (Now Oklahoma State University).
I knew coach W. D. Newby quite well (he was still around when I did
my undergraduate and graduate work at NW in the late fifties and early
sixties.) Also, I think it's quite probable that my father, E. M.
Barker, was the printer who produced that schedule.
As to the eighth grade picture, I can provide a few more names: First
row, center picture is Judy Horn; 2nd row, center picture is Sammie
Fite; 3rd Row, 2nd pic is Dennis ? (if I remember I'll let
you know later!); 3rd row, 4th pic might be Marna Rose, but
not sure; and 4th row, 6th pic is Dana Glasgow. Also, "Jean Milton"
is actually Jean Melton, and the Marcum girl's name is Marilyn. Hope
this helps or jogs someone else's memory. Keep up your great work!"
-- Jim
Searching Frank Munson Heirs... "I'm searching for heirs
of Mrs. Frank Munson. I believe the Munson's had a hatchery in Alva.
Thanks for your help. My email address is sandieo@pldi.net."
-- Sandie
NE Blackout... "Wow, what a time we had. We live in Cleveland,
OH and when the blackout hit it was immense. We were watching TV at
4:10 PM on Friday, August 15th when it hit. Everything went dead as
if there had been an accident and someone hit a major power pole.
We turned on our small battery radio and started listening to the
news. Since I am from Alva, OK, this was some big news, having our
power gone. We didn't really realize how much we depend on the electricity
for: TV, radio, computers, cooking, phones, and lights (boy was that
a trip).
We have our water pumped to our suburb because
we live on a hill. Those who lost water, because it was all gone,
had to boil their water for at least 4 minutes until Sunday at 10
P.M. Those who didn't lose water had to boil their water for 3 minutes
until the next day 'til about 2 P.M. Gas stations shut down and only
about 1% could be found here and there so as people ran out of gas,
they were stuck as well as their car, wherever they were. It looked
like the long lines we had when the gas shortage was on. Batteries,
candles, and ice became a priceless commodity. We even paid $1.50
for a bag of ice shavings off the inside of the ice chest at one store.
Talk about greed.
Most people took the problem in stride. It
was funny to look out our front window and see nothing but pitch black
at night. The street lights and neighbors lawn lamps usually shine
a bright hello for those out late. An occasional car going by was
the only light that broke the darkness. We didn't open our refrigerators
because we didn't know how long they would be shut down. By A.M. the
next morning, we were lucky to get our power back. The Illuminating
Company worked hard and fast to recover people from the darkness.
After it was all over and Sunday was upon us, we talked with others
and found that some small communities like Akron, OH had their power
all the time (never lost it) so people were shopping over there for
batteries and such.
We had people trapped in elevators and were
rescued by firemen who climbed down on top of elevators and brought
people through the top opening in an elevator. One woman had to climb
4 flights of stairs in one hospital to get some baby formula that
she was out of. She said it was a long walk up and down carrying her
baby, her purse, and the stroller with the diaper bag.
Large amusement parks were shut down so long
lines of cars trying to get in caused a commotion of a 'parking lot'
to and from the entrances. People, all of the sudden couldn't get
hotel rooms because hotel owners felt it unsafe to let people try
and find rooms in the dark and maneuver in them so people slept outside
on the sidewalk all night that normally wouldn't have. Now many people
are signing up for help in the food that was lost when the refrigerators
and freezers went out of commission.
I wonder if that gave them a better outlook
on the homeless????? Sorry to make this so long but there was so much
that happened. Life has so many things handed out to us, that are
not normal, that if you can 'go with the flow' it's really not so
bad." -- Genevieve (Jenni) (Cook) Latza - Email: gwc4445@msn.com
 1937
Lamont Dog Tax... "This is a dog tag from Lamont, Grant Co.,
OK in 1937, the year I was born. That year my grandparents, Clarence
McCary and Hazel Martin, both of whom had roots in Woods Co., OK.,
moved to from their farm to nearby Lamont for a while. My parents
were living in the old house on the farm during that period. This
was the first house I ever lived in. My uncle swears that the old
house was so drafty that one had to hold his hand over the match used
to light the wood stove in the kitchen during the Winter, to keep
the wind from blowing it out. It is amazing that a tiny town like
Lamont would have a tax on dogs back in those days. I would give a
thousand to one odds that this is the only one still existing…
and I don’t gamble. The dog’s name was Pal, and he was a
collie who lived 18 years." -- Charlie Cook in Louisiana Bayou
Country.
Goldbug Alumnus... "Hey everybody! Just messing around
and found this site. It's great to see some familiar names. I am living
in Wichita,Ks. Married 7 years now and have three kids: Briana almost
13, Levi almost 6, and Chloe 6mo. I'm a stay at home mom now and loving
it. It was great to see some of you at the 2000 reunion. Looking forward
to the next one! Would love to hear from anyone." -- Amber Dooley
Nice E-mail: berber42671@aol.com
Gwin Surnames
& Coat of Arms... "I found this page while searching
for my surname coat of arms. I am originally from Indiana, daughter
of Joseph William, and granddaughter of William Joseph Gwin. I believe
our history is so far researched back to the Civil War, but still
looking for more info. We are from the Indianapolis area recently,
but trace back to at least southern Indiana so far. Any info would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the image." -- Kathryn Gwin
- E-mail: kateg3@comcast.net
IOOF Childrens Home - Carmen, Oklahoma... "I enjoyed looking
at all the pictures of the IOOF
Childrens Home. My father was a resident there in the early 1900's.
His name was Homer Wolcott. He would have really enjoyed see those
old pictures. He is deceased now (Dec. 1993) IOOF Childrens Home in
Carmen, Okla." -- Bernice Hanes - E-mail: bhanes@junct.com
Freedom, Oklahoma... "Just popped in to tell you my hubby
and I went toFreedom, Oklahoma to enjoy ourselves. It was okay until
we decide to eat at Longbranch Cafe. They were open, but they did
not come to our table even after 10 to 15 min. They were talking.
People come a long way to that... you need some one to work there."
-- Lady - Email: ladycake79@hotmail.com
Blue Canyon Treasure in Nowata County... "I am looking
for references to Blue Canyon, in Nowata County. I am looking for
a map as old as possible showing ghostowns in Nowata and Washington
Counties. I live close to Pawhuska now, but I have reason to beleive
there is something of interest hidden in Blue Canyon its close to
Childers... I think." -- Tony - Email: Tonyandyasmine@wmconnect.com
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