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Duchess Dozing Domain

Alva, Oklahoma - I did not get to see my horse pal, Nugget, but doesn't he look great grazing out at Clark's West Ranch? And what about that little Dun filly, Maggie, and her 2010 filly colt. NW Okie put more photos of her horses along with Clark's Longhorns, on her Facebook photo album.

Since we have been back in NW Oklahoma the temperatures have dropped from the three-digits of 108 down to the two-digit range in the high 90s. Thank goodness! But I am ready to get back to the cool mountains and wildlife of the Rockies! I hear that one of the three bears has taken over and no "Goldielocks" is around!

NW Okie and David took a couple of ATVs out to Eagle Chief Ranch last week to check out a few things out West of Alva, Oklahoma. You can read NW Okie's ramblings on the prairie for the rest of the story.

NW Okie found another mural in Alva, Oklahoma, on the north and west wall of the Woods County courthouse. It shows a painting of the Old Courthouse with towns folks and a politician stumping on the downtown square of Alva.

Speaking of Woods County's courthouse, we know that Alva's fountain, pond and dragonhead drinking fountain were located on the westside of the old Woods County courthouse in downtown Alva, Oklahoma. We know the dragonhead drinking fountain is now in Albuquerque, New Mexico in a private courtyard. BUT where is the towering, three-tiered fountain that once graced our courthouse park?

Good NIght and Good Luck! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Monsoon & Bears Make the Scene In SW Colorado

Bayfield, Colorado - If it is not deer eating the beans and parsley, it is the other wildlife, such as this young bear that was spotted checking the bird feeders at 6:45 in the evening the other day. We are told that beating on the door did not scare off this young bear.

The picture of the bear pulling down the feeder through the glass door did not turn out well. So the photographer opened the door to get the next picture, but the sound of the door opening chased the bear up the tree. Finally, they snapped this photo above of the young bear peeking from behind the tree out front.

The photographer tried throwing a tennis ball at him, but missed by about 3-yards. They said and I quote, "I could swear he (bear) laughed."

The bear finally ran off to the north, but when 9:00p.m. came around so did the bear. This time trying to open the front glass door.

As they reported to me, "I banged on it (door) and he (bear) ran away. Tomorrow morning, I am gathering the seed feeders up, putting them away for awhile. This bear is a little too aggressive and unafraid to be ignored. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NW Okie's Rambling On the Prairie

Alva, Oklahoma - Around mid-week we took a couple of 4x4 ATVs out west to some of our land called the Eagle Chief Ranch to explore and get to some places we could not get to with our Tundra pickup.

By the time we got out there it was about 9:30a.m. We drove the prairie type of grassland range for about 3 hours from north to south and west to east when 12:30p.m. warming rays were coming down upon us. The only real trouble we had was when David had a hard time figuring out the reverse gear on the ATV he was riding, as seen in the photo on the right. I know it had a reverse because our youngest son had backed it onto the trailer earlier.

We did run across some big deer tracks in the northern part of Eagle Chief Ranch and saw a fish jump in the little pond in the southern part.

It was good to see lots of native grasses (short and tall) thriving and the little ponds overflowing their spillways. It has been good for the pasture to lay fallow for these past few years. It has not been grazed for awhile. It really looks good!

Besides riding the prairie grasslands out west of Alva, in northwest Oklahoma, we checked out our horses (Nugget, Maggie and her filly colt) grazing on Clarks West Ranch about 11 or 12 miles north of Waynoka. They are looking fantastic! My palomino, Nugget, came up to me in the pasture and let me rub on his ears, neck and face. The Dun mare, Maggie, was a little stand-offish, but that was understandable because she had a 2010 filly at her side.

We found our paint horse, Doquoti, out at Clark's East Ranch grazing with some other horses. Doquoti seemed to remember us and came up to us to check us out, also. Maybe next month I shall have another little paint colt out of Doquoti.

On another note, I miss the wildlife of the Rockies and I miss sculpturing on my Eagle Totem! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

The Old Courthouse

Alva, Oklahoma - Do any of you Northwest Oklahomans remember the Old Woods county courthouse that existed from 1904 to 1957?

In Alva's early years, the courthouse lawn was a beehive of activity including circus parades, political speeches and 4th of July celebrations. In 1957, the old courthouse was condemned by the fire marshal and torn down. It was replaced by the existing courthouse that stands today.

The courthouse mural seen on the North and west wall shows a view of the old courthouse and townsfolks gathered, listening to the politician making his stump speech on the left. This mural was painted by Robbie Pierce and Don Prechtel, in 2009. It was based on a 1940 painting by Lester Raymer. It is just one of many murals that the Alva Mural Society has sponsored to help make the Alva community, the county seat of Woods county, Oklahoma, one of the mural cities in northwest Oklahoma.

If you traveled back in time to 28 September 1906 when Oklahoma Territory was politicking for statehood, you might have found one of your ancestors in the crowd of hundreds of town folks, gathered on the courthouse square to hear William Jennings Bryan praising the proposed constitution by declaring it "One of the great documents of modern times."

The image on the left is an old penny postcard of the old courthouse that I especially love. it is black and white, showing a big crowd of towns folks gathered on the courthouse lawn to listen to William Jennings Bryan as he stumps Alva, Oklahoma Territory on the courthouse steps, 28 September 1906. Were your ancestors there that day? Were you a young child in that crowd of towns folks?

William Jennings Bryan drew a large crowd on the west Courthouse lawn when he stumped the state to urge the adoption of the proposed State Constitution and to gain support for the Democratic ticket of 1907. He praised the proposed constitution by declaring it "One of the great documents of modern times" and assured his audience that it was "The best Constitution today of any state in the Union."

Do you have any memories of the inside or outside of the old Woods County courthouse. There is only one memory of mine that comes into view and that is climbing the stairs of the courthouse and attending a brownie scout meeting.

Others remember the penny peanut machine outside the offices in the hall on the first floor above the firehouse garage where the trucks were stored. They say you could put your penny in the slot, pull the slot to the very top of the star, then push it back, and you could empty the machine with a penny.

Others have mentioned memories of the brass spittoons and about riding their bikes through the courthouse square. What are your memories? We would love to hear them! View/Write Comments (count 2)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Woods County Courthouse Fountain

Alva, Oklahoma - We did a quick search back through all the information that the "OkieLegacy" has gathered over the last eleven or twelve years and put up on our Woods County pages. We had completely forgot about the fountain story with the 2x4 lumber pressed into thewrought iron fence spikes around the fountain on the west side of the square.

As the story goes, the Woods County Courthouse fountain had this 2x4 lumber pressed into the points on the top of the wrought iron fence to keep children from hurting themselves.

It all began when two young boys were playing near the fountain way back in earlier times when the fountain existed. One boy (Kenneth Baker) had pushed another boy (Warner), causing Warner to fall over the points on the top of the wrought iron fence. Warner was punctured in the mid-section and died. We are not quite sure of the year. Can anyone help us with the rest of the story and tell us the year that happened? View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son James VI.

1701 - Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac establishes Fort Ponchartrain for France at present-day Detroit, Michigan.

1897 - African-American soldiers of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps arrive in St. Louis, Missouri., after completing a 40-day bike ride from Missoula, Montana.

1974 - The Supreme Court rules that President Richard Nixon must surrender the Watergate tapes. View/Write Comments (count 1)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NWOSU's Old Science Hall

Alva, Oklahoma - Northwestern's old Science Hall has seen many changes in its lifetime. It started out as the second building after the Castle on the Hill as built. The only building with any remnants of the towers and crenellations in the design of a castle.

By 1905, the Normal School (Castle on the Hill) had outgrown its quarters and the legislature appropriated $50,000 for the erection of the new Science Hall. The Science Hall, the second building to be built on campus, was completed in 1907.

The architect incorporated the "Castle on the Hill's" towers and crenellations into the design of this structure which was built of red brick with algonite trim. It housed the departments of Biology, Physical Science, Manual Training, and Pedagogy, as well as the Training School, Library, and the Natural History Museum.

When Carter Hall was built in 1936, this building became the Fine Arts Building, housing the music department. What is it today? View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe