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Tillman County Fair, 1953

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Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

September 7, 2009

County Fair in 1953 was ‘Biggest,’ ‘Best’ Ever

The Tillman County Fair is always a special event, but in decades past it was a production that attracted and involved most citizens from throughout the county. The 1953 Tillman County Free Fair was advertised at that time as the biggest and best ever.

The county fair in those days was held at the Frederick Municipal Airport southeast of Frederick. Plans were underway that year to construct the Tillman County Fair Barn on South 8th Street which would become home to the county fair in future years, but in 1953 and the years preceding it, the county fair was held on the grounds of the former Frederick Army Airfield.

The 1953 fair ran for four days – Tuesday, Sept. 8, through Friday, Sept. 11, and folks from Frederick and communities throughout the county were encouraged to attend every day! The fair was organized and hosted jointly by the Tillman County Free Fair Board and the Frederick Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

During the run of the fair, the Frederick Chamber and Frederick merchants put up special decorations downtown and Frederick businesses ran special fair sales and promotions.

As a prelude to the county fair, during the preceding week community fairs were held at Grandfield and Tipton with parades and the start of competitive showing.

A September 1953 article in the Frederick Leader described the fair as follows: “The greatest Tillman County Free Fair in history will unfold Tuesday for a four-day run at the municipal airport grounds near Frederick, and by Friday night all attendance records for the annual exposition are sure to fall. The outstanding entertainment and recreation program for all time has been arranged to back up fine exhibits in all competitive departments of the Fair.”

Young people from throughout the county brought livestock and poultry for judging, and young and old alike entered their best crops, baked goods, canning, sewing projects, floriculture, and crafts. The event was a genuine Tillman County exposition.

All available commercial exhibit spaces for the fair were booked in advance. Many county businesses and organizations had exhibits, drawings, and items for sale at the fair, and the event showcased the latest models of farm equipment, in addition to new Chevrolets, Fords, Chryslers, and all other kinds of automobiles.

Numerous politicians visited the county fair, but the key speaker at the fair on Wednesday afternoon was Sixth District U.S. Congressman Victor Wickersham. Wickersham, from Mangum, discussed national issues and legislation that related to rural Oklahoma.

Huge draws at the county fair were performances of four high school bands: the Frederick High School Bombers, the Tipton High School Tigers, the Grandfield High School Bearcats, and the Boyd High School Wildcats.

The Leader said of the bands, “Directors of the four fine bands have been serving a dual need since start of rehearsals this fall – preparing for opening of football season and special work on a series of concert numbers for the Fair appearance. Each of the four bands will give generous concerts at their scheduled appearances and their attraction will add to the already promised crowds preparing to throng the exposition area.”

A wide variety of contests and demonstrations were slated at the fair. They included boys hot rod races, girls doll dress contests, amateur talent contests, demonstrations by the Frederick Fire Department and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and a thrill show by the Motor Maniacs.

Each evening of the fair featured special entertainment. Tuesday night’s performers were Dixie Boy Jordan and the Stamps Ozark Quartet.

Wednesday evening’s entertainment was the George Niccols Magic Show.

Thursday evening there was a big square dance with Billy Mitchell and his band.

On Friday evening the fair concluded with a giant fireworks display.

Registration for prizes was a huge attraction. The 1953 prize list was billed as the biggest ever, with $225 worth of groceries to be given on the first three nights, with “thousands of dollars worth of premiums on tap for Friday night.”

Frederick’s Fire Department held a raffle for a 21-inch television set – a major prize in 1953.

The John S. Kerr Post of the American Legion gave away a pony.

The most exciting part of the fair for young people was a fair carnival. The Big State Carnival, a large, established traveling carnival, was contracted to operate during all four days of the fair on the airport’s concrete, “all-weather midway.” The carnival featured rides, games, cotton candy, bright lights, and lots of fun.

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Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society’s board of directors. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

#County Fair #1950s

Early Photos

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Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

October 1, 2009

Ligon House, 1905

The Robert Leonard Ligon home was located at 123 North 12th Street in Frederick. Pictured in 1905 are Mr. Ligon, Alice Waggoner Ligon, Anne Ligon (later Mrs. H.T. Harrison), and Ernest Mayfield Ligon. Many years later, the property was purchased by A.S. Minter who moved his farm home to the location. The original Ligon home was kept on the property, but turned 180 degrees to face the alley. Its new address was 212 E. Floral. In 2010 the property was purchased by Frederick's First Baptist Church and both the Ligon house and the Minter house were torn down.

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Grand Avenue

This is a postcard photo, dated 1914, that shows a colorized, enhanced version of the 200 block of West Grand Avenue. The First National Bank (now BancFirst) was located at 200 West Grand in the building that is now City of Frederick offices. The Wide-a-Wake Variety Store was located at that time in a building where the city’s drive-through is now located. The building’s exterior received a major update in the 1950s, giving it a completely different look from its original. Colorized, enhanced postcards like this one were very popular in the decade after 1910. This postcard was printed and sold by the Wide-a-Wake.

Simpson Brothers Livery

This old photo was labeled on back, “Livery Stable, across from (current) Post Office.” The photo is undated, but would have been very early. In a 1919 Frederick directory, this address was listed as maintenance and warehouse for the Ozier Automobile Company.

Davidson Threshing Machine 1921

This unnamed wheat threshing crew worked near Davidson in 1921.

Red River Bridge 1920s (two photos, above and below)

These two photos show the first roadway bridge that crossed the Red River south of Davidson. The wooden bridge was built sometime after 1916 and was damaged or washed out several times before being replaced in the 1930s by a concrete bridge. The bridge crossing was part of the coast-to-coast Lee National Highway in the 1920s. These photos were taken by Clifton Fine Photographer, Vernon.

Photos Capture Life in Early Tillman County

Photos of early Tillman County are fascinating because many of them picture a different way of life. Many of the old photos show familiar landmarks, but with unfamiliar surroundings.

The fascinating pictures with this week’s column, for instance, show numerous pieces of the area’s past.

The Tillman County Historical Society is always looking for old photos that show life in the area “the way it was.”

If you have historic photos that we can scan for archive at the museum, bring your old photos by the Pioneer Townsite any weekday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and leave them with Frances Goodknight. Make sure that your name and contact information is with the photos, and when they have been scanned we will get them back to you or call you to pick them up.

Of course, we will also accept photos for donation.

We will not scan regular family photos or snapshots, but we do have an interest in scanning historic photos that capture pieces of the area’s history. That could include sites or buildings, events, farm scenes, school activities, church or club activities, etc.

Or, if you have already scanned digital copies of historic photos, we would like to have copies. Load your digital copies of historic photos onto a CD and leave them at the Townsite.

I often scan old photos for historical society archives, and the most frustrating thing about that process is finding great photos that are not labeled. Too often there is no way to know the location of great old buildings, the context of historic scenes, or the names of people in pictures.

My advice to everyone is to write photo descriptions, dates, and names of individuals on the back of photos using a good, non-smearing pen (such as a fine-point Sharpie) or pencil. It’s an important project. Do not put off doing it.

With the wide availability of scanners, many people are scanning their own pictures and it is a great way to preserve and distribute them to family and friends. Too often, though, the pictures are scanned without context.

For that reason, I keep a photo key and I suggest that others do that, too. I assign a number in the name of every photo along with a one- or two-word name. I then keep a written key in a separate computer text file (or it could be on written paper form) that corresponds with the photo number and name, and which contains all of my notes about the photo, including anything that was written on back of the original. It’s an easy way to maintain context for the scanned photos.

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Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society Board. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

#Wide-A-Wake #Threshing Machine #Simpson Livery #Scanning Photos #Red River #Ligon #Bridge

Tillman County Memorial Hospital

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Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

October 6, 2009

Architect's 1953 Drawing of Proposed Tillman County Memorial Hospital

Memorial Hospital Plans Announced in 1953

For more than half a century, one of the most important buildings in the lives of Tillman County residents has been Memorial Hospital on East Josephine in Frederick.

The building was in its early stages in 1953 when Tillman County Commissions and the hospital board worked together to approve its plans as designed by Oklahoma City architect Walter T. Vahlberg and to accept bids for construction.

The new hospital would replace the then-hospital building at 9th and Floral in Frederick (which now houses the Department of Human Services).

In August and September 1953 Frederick newspapers published the architect’s rendering of the modern new hospital, and told of the planned building’s wonderful features. The hospital would be constructed during 1954 and would be a $500,000 project.

County commissioners in 1953 were S.D. Jackson, Fred Stevens, and H.T. Caroll. Members of the hospital board were B.W. Kent, Wade Watson, Amos Ridings, Billy Gist, and Merle Crawford.

On August 31, 1953, the Frederick Leader described the planned hospital as follows:

“Tillman County Memorial Hospital will be of fireproof construction throughout, built of tile walls, buff brick exterior and plastered walls and ceiling with steel roof beams. All windows will be of aluminum, reducing exterior painting to a few minor decorative pieces.

“The structure will have refrigerated air-conditioning throughout, including all patient, surgical, emergency, office, nurse, lobby, corridor and other rooms except for the boiler room, laundry and kitchen.

“Each room will be served by a separate telephone through a central PBX switchboard. Incandescent lighting is included throughout the building.”

“Among other modern features is its central oxygen room, in which all oxygen will be stored with supplies piped to each patient room, the surgery and emergency wing.

“Included in plans, and the specifications, are spacious concrete drives for ambulance and patient service.

“A cafeteria is included as part of the central kitchen layout, accessible for patient and personnel service. Large stock rooms and storage areas are incorporated into the building.”

“All interior walls, except the furnace room, will be plastered, or finished with ceramic or natural glazed tile surfacing. All floors are to be some flexible tile finish.”

“One wing will house the County Health Unit, providing one of the most modern centers of its kind in the nation.”

The new hospital opened in 1955, and serves as the basic building for the hospital that exists today.

During the years since, it has been remodeled numerous times; expanded with addition of patient, clinic, and nursing home wings; and reconfigured to better serve patients and the public.

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Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society’s board of directors. He can be contacted by email at jawynn @cableone.net.

#Hospital #City of Frederick #1950s

Frederick Directory, 1964

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

October 13, 2009

City Directory Reflects 1964 Frederick

The Tillman County Historical Society maintains numerous city directories from throughout Frederick’s history as part of its permanent collection. The directories list city businesses, industries and residents, and can provide a wealth of historical information.

One of the historical society’s directories is from 1964, a time that many of us remember when Frederick was a larger and busier place.

Population of Frederick in 1964 was estimated at 6,300 people and growing.

Agriculture was the major economic force in 1964, but the city’s industrial park was also the site of four major industries which produced a weekly payroll of more than $35,000. City businesses had reported growth in sales for several years.

Frederick industries in 1964 were the following:

Brantley Helicopter, manufacturer of a two-seat helicopter that had worldwide sales.

Centra Leather Goods of Oklahoma, one of the three largest companies of its type in the U.S. The company annually used more than 3.25 million feet of leather, producing many items which included purses, wallets, and key cases.

Betsy Bra Company, the nation’s second largest manufacturers of brassieres.

Century Granite Company, the largest granite plant in Oklahoma and 10th largest in the U.S.

The Coake-Quam Feed Lots, located on Highway 5 east of Frederick was the largest custom-feed operation in Oklahoma with a capacity of 15,000 head. The feedlot cattle consumed more feed than was raised in Tillman County and the operation used ten times more water than the City of Frederick.

All city water was provided from wells of 50-foot depth.

Frederick business was thriving in 1964.

Downtown Frederick featured four department stores – C.R. Anthony at 100 W. Grand; Norwood’s, 107 W. Grand; J.C. Penney, 110 N. Main; and Perkins-Timberlake at 124 W. Grand.

Ladies could also buy clothing at the Gay Shop, 106 W. Grand; Marks, 208 W. Grand; The Blue Moon Dress Shop, 115 W. Grand; or the Orchid Shop, 216 W. Grand. Menswear could be purchased from Rex E. Curtis and Son, 125 W. Grand.

For cleaning clothes, Frederick had four dry cleaning establishments in 1964 and four laundries.

If one needed a haircut 45 years ago, there were eight barbershops and 15 beauty shops.

Downtown Frederick also included five drug stores in 1964 – Bumpas Drug, 128 W. Grand; The Corner Drug, 201 W. Grand; Crescent Drug, 113 W. Grand; Langston- McFall Drug, 305 W. Grand; and Seay’s Drug, 103 N. Main.

Frederick had 20 grocery stores in 1964, including Dobbs Grocery and Saveway Grocery on W. Grand; Faulconer’s Grocery, Hamilton Grocery-Moeller Market, and Southside Cash Market on Main; Frederick Food Store, Mitchell’s Food Mart, and Greenfield Foods on Gladstone. United Supermarket had recently moved into its current site on North Main from its previous location at 221 South Main.

The city featured 20 restaurants. They included Ballard’s Dairy Mart, 610 E. Gladstone; Burns Dairy Diner, 1001 S. Main; Courts Café, 217 S. Main; Curtis Café, 211 W. Grand; Dobson Drive-In Shellyburger, 427 S. Main; the Hamburger Inn, 121 S. 9th; Hattie’s Café, 700 S. Main; Mitchell’s Restaurant, 1118 S. Main; Sallie’s Café, 112 W. Floral; and the Wagon Wheel Drive-In, 1201 S. Main.

Six doctors served Frederick citizens in 1964. Doctors were Dr. Curtis Allen, Dr. Polk Fry, Dr. Jack Honaker, Dr. Joe Horton, Dr. Roger Johnson, and Dr. George Tallant. The doctors saw patients in two medical clinics – Frederick Clinic at 125 N. 9th and the Medical Surgical Clinic at 1405 N. 12th.

A new wing on the west side of Tillman County Memorial Hospital on E. Josephine had expanded hospital capacity to 65 patients.

Persons who needed medical transport to the hospital were served by ambulance services that were operated by local funeral homes – Dalton-McLellan Funeral Home at 401 N. 9th or Gish Funeral Home, 111 N. 11th.

Three dentists served Frederick – Dr. B.E. Clark, Dr. J.H. Holloman, and Dr. Jack Smith.

Eight attorneys practiced law in Frederick.

Other notable differences in 1964 Frederick? At least ten downtown businesses sold home appliances.

Automobiles could be purchased from any of six new car dealerships. In addition to the dealerships, seven businesses sold auto parts. The 1964 directory listed 12 auto service stations and numerous independent mechanics.

There were six farm implement dealers.

For building or remodeling, the 1964 city directory listed 11 contractors and five painters.

Lodging establishments included the Copa Motel, 1003 S. Main; the Westward Ho Motel, 1117 S. Main; the Down Town Motel, 211 S. Main; and the Hereford Hotel, 127 S. 9th.

Telephone service was provided by Southwestern States Telephone Company. All telephone numbers were five-digit, preceded by “ED” for “Edison”.

Twenty-three churches were located in Frederick in 1964.

#Downtown Frederick #1960s

Frisco Depot is Historic Building

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

October 27, 2009

The Methodist minister and his wife gather with the church congregation at the Frisco Depot after a revival meeting in earlyday Frederick.

Workers are pictured in the Frisco Depot office in 1903.

Founding of Frederick Tied to Frisco Depot

The Frisco Depot is the most historic building in Frederick.

The depot stands today at North 8th and Floral in Pioneer Park, but it was the decision in 1902 by the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (The BES Line, later the Frisco) to locate the depot at its original site that established the town of Frederick.

After the area was opened to settlement by land lottery in August 1901, two potential towns battled for the townsite – Gosnell and Hazel. Gosnell was a site that was promoted by Rev. S.M. Gosnell. Hazel, located one half mile south of Grand Avenue, was developed and promoted by John Mounts.

The town that secured the railroad depot would be the town that survived.

Gosnell secured the depot and the town site’s future by making a deal with Charles Hunter, manager of the BES Line’s townsite company, giving him half the lots in the original town of Gosnell for the agreement to establish a depot here. The depot was built in 1902. The town’s lots were platted on September 30, 1902, and on January 1, 1903, the town’s name was officially changed from Gosnell to Frederick in honor or Frederick Van Blarcom, the son of a railroad official.

The depot was built in 1902 at 400 West Grand Avenue, just west of the railroad tracks. All buildings constructed in Frederick at that time were wood frame and the depot was no exception. Brick buildings would come later.

The Frederick depot was never an ornate or pretentious building, but was built for service and efficiency. Throughout Frederick’s early decades it was a hive of activity, with trains, people, freight coming and going every day.

When President Theodore Roosevelt visited Frederick in April 1905, he disembarked from his private rail car at the depot.

Eventually, as train shipping became less important to Frederick and passenger service was discontinued, the old depot was closed and fell into disrepair.

In 1987, though, the Frederick Historical Society moved the depot two blocks from its original site to its current location at the Pioneer Townsite Museum. It was not an easy move. To transport the large building, it was cut into three sections and carefully relocated, one section at a time. At its new location, the historic building was restored and brick that surrounded the building at its original location was also relocated to the current site.

Today, the historic 107-year-old building has a new life. At the museum, the building provides educational insight into early transportation in the area and a time when most people and freight came to Frederick by rail.

Pioneer Townsite manager Jimmy Espinosa and an unidentified worker add finishing touches to the depot reproduction that will be raffled by the Tillman County Historical Society as a 2009 holiday fundraiser.

The Frisco Depot is one of the most popular attractions at the Pioneer Townsite.

For that reason, it is appropriate that the depot is the subject of the Tillman County Historical Society’s 2009 Christmas reproduction building raffle. Museum Director Jimmy Espinosa and inmates from the Frederick Work Release Center at Weaver began work on the project several months ago. The result is an amazing scale reproduction of the Frisco Depot’s main section, complete with deep-set eaves and bay windows. Twenty feet in length, the reproduction building is a reduced-scale version of the original depot.

The Christmas reproduction building is always important fundraising project for the historical society, but this year it is more important than ever because funding is much-needed to offset state budget cuts for operation of the local museum.

The building will be given away in a drawing that will be held on KYBE’s “Town and Country” on December 23. Raffle tickets are $5 each and may be purchased at Frederick Hardware, BancFirst, First National Bank, Tillco Supply, or Box, Inc. Tickets may also be purchased at the Pioneer Townsite, the Frederick Chamber office, or from any historical society board member.

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Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society’s board of directors. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected]

#Methodist Church #Fundraising Raffle #Frisco Depot #Early Frederick

Early Homes were Half-Dugouts

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

November 3, 2009

The Victor E. Smith Family is pictured in 1903 at their homestead which featured their first home, a half-dugout.

In 1907 the Cooks built a new wood and plaster house at their homestead. The old half-dugout is pictured behind the new house.

By the 1940s, the Cook homestead included trees and landscaping.

In 1962 the 1907 Cook home was moved to Frederick at 915 North 11th.

Half-Dugouts were Home to Early Settlers

When the area was opened to settlement in August 1901, few people were able to build homes right away and most were forced to make the best living arrangements that they could. That often meant living in tents, wagons, or even old railroad cars. For most, though, the first homes in the territory were half-dugouts – homes that were half dirt cellars with crude wooden upper structures.

Eventually most families were able to build real homes. One particularly fascinating photo in the Tillman County Historical Society’s archives that is the Victor E. Cook home near Frederick. The picture, taken in 1907, shows the proud family and their dog on the front porch of their wonderful new farm home, with their old half-dugout (their previous home) in the background.

Mr. Cook had come to Oklahoma Territory in 1901, won a stake in the land lottery on August 6, 1901, homesteaded the farm, and built the half-dugout in 1902 before sending to Indiana for his family to join him.

In the Tillman County History Book, Vol. I, one of the Cook daughters, Clara Mildred Cook Smith, wrote a long fascinating account of the family’s early life on their homestead. Concerning the dugout, she wrote, “Lumber for the half-dugout had to be brought overland from Quanah, Texas, fording North Fork of Red River. Papa had to get his mail at Yelldell in Greer County. During the winter Papa lived in a tent while building the half-dugout. Two wells were hand dug, using a bucket, rope, and windlass to pull out the dirt. One well was 65 feet deep; ours was 72 feet, but the water was ‘gyppy’ which caused us all to have dysentery.”

In 1902 Mrs. Cook and the five Cook children came by train to join their husband and father in Oklahoma Territory, bringing furniture and personal goods with them. The family lived in the half-dugout for five years. Mrs. Cook’s mother also lived with them.

“The inside of the half-dugout was something else,” Mrs. Smith wrote. “– a cot bed, dirt floor, dirt walls half-way up, cracker box cupboards, homemade table, a two-burner gasoline oil stove, and a tool chest. We put our ingrain carpet on the dirt floor and placed what furniture we could around the walls; Our ruby red glass hanging lamp hung from a rafter above the table. The Victor E. Cook family of eight was home at last for the next five years. The tent was my parents’ bedroom for the first year. It blew down once too often.

“Foot-wide boards were placed through the center of the rafters under the roof for a sleeping place for two boys and two girls. The boys climbed on a chair, then climbed on the head of Grandma’s bed, and then pulled themselves through the rafters with their arms, like monkeys, to get to their room. I made a stairway with a length of 1 x 4 with a few pieces of 2 x 2 nailed across it for steps. One end was placed on the dirt ledge back of a cupboard the same height. Hazel (my sister) and I would climb on a chair then the cupboard and go to our room sideways.”

“There was building paper on the board walls. We could hear centipedes with their many feet and a stinger on each one, scratching under the paper at night. We had big black ants, scorpions, mice and snakes. One was right at my head on the ledge back of the cookstove forking its tongue at me as I started to put a cake in the oven. Chinch bugs came in the lumber at no extra cost. When they got in our beds, they were called bed bugs.”

Mrs. Smith’s detailed account in the 1976 Tillman County History Vol. I goes on to tell in detail about schools, education, farming, hard work and social life in the new Territory. It is located on pages 145-148 of the book.

“After we had saved enough money from picking four- and five-cent cotton, Papa had a nice plastered house built in 1907. The lumber cost less than $500, and the finished house less than $1,000.“

The historical society has several photos of the Cook home over the years.

The 1907 Cook family farmhouse was moved to Frederick in 1962 to 915 North 11th, and Mrs. Smith, by then a widow, continued to make her home there. In 1972, at the City of Frederick’s Founder’s Day celebration, Clara Mildred Cook Smith was honored for living in Tillman County for the longest period of time without moving (1902-1972). She died in 1985 at age 96.

The Cook house remained at 915 North 11th for many years but has now been torn down.

#Victor Cook Family #Half-Dugout #Clara Mildred Cook Smith

Downtown Frederick in the '60s

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

November 10, 2009

100 Block of Frederick's West Grand Avenue in the 1960s

200 Block of Frederick's West Grand Avenue in the 1960s

Photos Capture Downtown Frederick in 1960s

Many of us remember downtown Frederick as a place that was quite different in the past than it is today.

Two pictures in the historical society’s archives capture Frederick’s downtown during the 1960s. Both photos were taken by the late Madge Cohea Dombrowski who, along with her sister Norene Cohea Armour, took pictures of Frederick and Tillman County for decades as the owners of Cohea Studio.

Businesses on the north side of the 200 block of West Grand, as captured in the photo, included Langston’s Drug Store, Cassidy Finance, Curtis Café, McHugh Sporting Goods, Brown’s Appliance Store, and Frederick Hardware.

Langston’s Drug, a longtime Frederick drug store, was actually Langston-McFall Drug. Howard and Ruth Langston were the original owners. Jack and Nadine McFall became partners in the operation in about 1954.

The building at 207 West Grand that is currently occupied by KYBE/KTAT Radio appears to be empty and under renovation when the photo was taken. In the 1960s, the station was KTAT-AM only. Before moving to 207 West Grand, the station was located in the Hotel Frederick.

Curtis Café was a Frederick institution that was operated by the Curtis family beginning in 1917. It was a popular Frederick restaurant for 70 years.

Note that downtown Frederick still used parking meters in the 1960s and that many of the downtown businesses had TV antennas mounted on the roof of their business. Cable television would not come to Frederick until 1976.

Out of camera range at right of the photo (and not pictured) were Oklahoma Tire and Supply and the Corner Drug Store.

The photo of the 100 block of West Grand, taken on a Sunday when the streets were empty, captures offices of the Tillman County Farm Bureau (located at the corner of 9th and Grand), Rex E. Curtis and Son Menswear, Sam Dennis’ barber shop, State Farm Insurance, the Montgomery Ward catalogue store, Crescent Drug Store, and Norwoods Department Store.

To the right and out of camera range was the Dillingham Building which included Hughes Jewelry Store.

From the photographer’s position on the south side of the street, the overhanging Bumpas Drug Store sign is barely captured in the picture.

Norwood family had operated stores in Tillman County since 1903, establishing the Frederick store in 1941. It was closed in 1971.

The Montgomery Ward catalogue store was operated in the 1960s by the Gebert family and was a busy place. The Montgomery Ward building had originally housed the OKLA Theater, one of three Frederick movie theaters.

#Downtown Frederick #1960s

Bell from First Baptist Church

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

November 17, 2009

The First Baptist Church, 11th and Grand, was destroyed in a 1931 fire.

The church bell, broken during its fall in the 1931 fire, is displayed at the Pioneer Townsite Museum.

Church Bell is Relic from Frederick’s Past

One of the most prominent, distinctive buildings in Frederick’s early years was the First Baptist Church at 11th and Grand.

Built in 1908, the red brick building featured a four-story bell tower. Although it was much smaller than the current church, it was one of the most beautiful, impressive buildings in the community.

In many photos of early Frederick, the church’s tall bell tower is an identifying landmark. It sat squarely at the corner of North 11th and Grand, with its main entrance at the bottom level of the tall bell tower.

The brick building was actually the church’s second home. The church was organized in 1901 just a few weeks after the area was opened to settlement and a white wood-frame building was erected at 11th and Grand in January 1902.

As brick became available, though, the congregation replaced the small wooden structure with the large, more permanent building which was completed in March 1908 at a cost of $15,000.

The building featured arched stained-glass windows and its tower housed a large cast-iron bell. An early photo at the Pioneer Townsite shows the bell being hoisted into the tower using horses. No doubt, the bell’s ringing was a familiar sound to the folks of Frederick in its early years.

The red-brick building served the First Baptist Church congregation until it was destroyed in a major fire on January 19, 1931.

After the fire, the rubble was razed and the current church was built at the site.

Decades later, though, the original bell from the 1908 church building was found on the church grounds where it had been discarded and buried. It was given to the Tillman County Historical Museum in 1983.

The bell that was housed in the 1908 church’s grand bell tower today rests on the grounds of the Pioneer Townsite Museum. Its top section is broken, likely from the heat of the fire and the fall from the top of the tower. It sits on the ground at the Townsite, just west of the AME church building. Although it sits in plain sight and is easily recognized as a damaged bell, few visitors to the museum know it’s past or its historical significance.

It survives as a relic of life in early Frederick.

#Fire #Bell #Baptist Church #1930s

Early Outlaw Camp Rumored

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

December 1, 2009

Site near Manitou may have been early outlaw camp

Could a site in Tillman County have been a hideout for outlaws? Early rumor and lots of speculation make it a possibility.

The following story about early rumors of a pre-statehood outlaw campsite in the area of today’s Lake Frederick was published in the Frederick Leader on December 13, 1961:

“A bullet-riddled tree at a dugout in a creek bank and an old Dutch oven… these are the props for a dramatic story of Tillman County’s early days in the Manitou community.

“The creek is located five miles east of Manitou and the particular point of interest which involved a small island on the base line. In 1932, the land was known as the George Wyatt farm.

The island consisted of three or four acres surrounded by water – when rains filled the branchings of the creek.

The creek comes down from the west, branching northeast and southeast. And still another creek connects the two branchings a little further down, forming the island. Three tall trees and hills aid in forming a fortress wall and three goodsized branches account for the doors.

“In the banks of the creeks on two sides, which are approximately eight feet high – are four large dugouts, which were at one time partially boarded up with rude timbers.

“’They say’ this was once the refuge of the famous James boys when every other place was too hot for them.

“Other outlaws were reported to have found it an ideal hideout as well.

“Old utensils which must have been used by the men for cooking, and old gun parts have been found in the caves. One appears to have been used as a stable.

“Very real evidence of a battle said to have taken place there many years ago still remained in the early 1930s. In the center of the island was an old tree stump, with bullet holes and even bullets still embedded in the wood. A depression near the stump was made by excavators hunting for discharged shells. It was there that some pieces of gold were uncovered.

“Wyatt says he once dug up an old Dutch oven, which he discovered when the ring on its lid became visible above ground. The bottom had rusted away. Might it have been a pirate chest?

“Gold is heavy and sinks gradually through the years. Perhaps it was once hidden in the old Dutch oven.”

#Outlaws #Manitou #Lake Frederick

The Wide-A-Wake

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

December 15, 2009

The Wide-A-Wake Store in Frederick, Christmas 1918

Wide-A-Wake was Christmas-Central in Early Frederick

In Tillman County’s early days, Christmas must have been an especially wonderful holiday.

Although money was tight for most area residents and luxuries were few, the prospect of store-bought candy, simple Christmas gifts, or baskets of apples or oranges were rare holiday treats, and every community in the new county contained stores and businesses where Christmas treats could be purchased.

Frederick had many dry-good, hardware, and mercantile stores where simple traditional Christmas shopping could be done, but one of the most popular was the Wide-A-Wake variety store.

The Wide-A-Wake was purchased by the Tomlinson family in 1911 and, according to the Tillman County History Vol. I, was located then at Main and Grand. Shortly thereafter, though, the Tomlinsons moved the Wide-A-Wake to the 200 block of West Grand into the building where the City of Frederick’s drive-though is now located. Eventually the Tomlinson family purchased buildings on the west and south sides of that location and expanded the business.

According to the Tillman County History, though, for a brief time in 1918, the Wide-A-Wake was located in the 100 block of West Grand in the building that now houses Sweet Magnolia’s Antique Mall.

The Tillman County archives photo of the Wide-A-Wake shown above, taken at Christmastime in about 1918, appears to be at the Sweet Magnolia’s location.

It pictures Christmas merchandise on the sidewalk in front of the store. Red wagons imprinted with "Wide-A-Wake" on the sides and wooden buckets of Christmas fruit and candies are ready for sale to holiday shoppers.

A large sign with a picture of Santa reads "Christmas Toys, Holiday Goods, for Sale Here." Another sign reads "We Have a Doll for Every Child in Tillman Co." A third sign reads "Remember the Loved Ones at Home. They Haven't Forgotten You."

A close look at the photo shows that snow has accumulated in the street in front of the display.

The Tomlinson business remained a Frederick institution until the 1970s.

In the mid-1930s, the family changed the name of the business from the Wide-A-Wake to Tomlinson and Son”

The Tomlinson family was part owner of the national TG&Y chain of stores (“T” standing for Tomlinson) and in the 1960s the Tomlinson store in Frederick became a TG&Y, which it remained until its closing.

#Wide-A-Wake #Store #Early Frederick #Christmas

Telephone Book, 1931

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

January 12, 2010, January 19, 2010, and January 26, 2010

Add from 1931 telephone book.

1931 Telephone Book Reflects Life in County

The Tillman County Historical Society maintains a number of early documents in its permanent collection, including some residential directories and telephone books.

One such book is the Southwest Telephone Company’s telephone book from December 1931. The book contains telephone numbers for telephone “subscribers” in Frederick, Davidson, Hollister, Loveland, Manitou, and Manitou, but was only 22 pages in size – small by today’s standards because not every business or family had a telephone in 1931.

What’s more, in addition to telephone listings the 22 pages included advertising, a business directory, telephone policies, rates, and explanation and samples of long-distance charges.

Telephone numbers of that era varied in length and type. Most were two-, three-, or four-digit numbers. Others contained as many as seven numbers and letters.

For Frederick residents, telephone service cost $2.00 per month. Business costs were $3.50.

Costs for residents of area towns were as follows: Davidson and Hollister, $2.50 business, $1.50 residence; Loveland, $2.25 business, $1.75 residence; Manitou, $3.00 business, $2.00 residence.

Long distance telephone calls were always placed through operators and were not cheap.

Costs for long distance varied greatly, not only by distance of the call and time talked, but by type and time of the call. A regular call from Frederick to Amarillo, Texas, for instance, cost $1.00 during the day, 80 cents during the evening after 7:00 p.m., and 55 cents at night between 8:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.

Person-to-person calls to Amarillo cost $1.25, regardless of the time. All long distance calls were placed through an operator.

According to the directory, long distance calls could be placed to “almost any telephone in the United States, as well as to telephones in many cities in Canada, Cuba, Europe and Mexico.”

How should the telephone be answered in 1931? The directory provides the following instructions: “Time will be saved if you immediately give your number or name, as ‘6342’, ‘4-9013W’, or ‘Jones Department Store.’ This informs the person calling that the desired connection is established. Please answer the telephone promptly. Courtesy to the calling party requires it.”

Cover advertisers for the 1931 book were Gish Furniture and Undertaking Company (Dependable Ambulance Service), 111 North 11th Street; First National Bank, Frederick (Capital, $100,000; Resources, $1,000,000, “A Friendly Bank”; McLellan Funeral Home (‘Superior Ambulance Service’, ‘To serve humanity better’), 9th Street and Floral Avenue; Murrell Motor Co. (Chevrolet); M System Store (‘Groceries for Particular People’); The Security State Bank (‘Cordial, Friendly, Banking Service’), 201 West Grand; and Victory Service Station, Blanton and Fondren (Firestone tires and tubes).

Inside banner advertisers included the following: Morris Supreme Ham and Bacon, S.M. Briscoe salesman; Coca-Cola (Order by the case); Corner Drug Store; S&W Electric Company (Atwater Kent ‘Screen Grid’ radio and Brown Mule Battery service); Scott New and Second Hand Furniture and Hardware, 109 North 9th Street; Spangler’s Tin Shop, Tinning and Roofing; Frederick Hardware Co.; and Frederick Clinic Hospital, 121 North 9th Street (O.G. Bacon, MD, and Roy Fisher, BS and MD (Complete X-Ray equipment).

1931 Telephone Book

Listed Many County Businesses

@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Not every Tillman County business had a telephone in 1931. Those businesses in Frederick, Davidson, Hollister, Loveland, and Manitou that DID have telephones were listed in the Southwest Telephone Company’s business directory. NOTE: Grandfield and Tipton were not included in the book’s listings.

This week, the column looks at some of the business categories from the 1931 directory. Most listings note business category, town (Frk, Dvd, Hol, Lvd, Mtu); address, building or general location; and simple-digit telephone number. It’s a pretty interesting look at the business world from 1931. This listing will continue in next week’s column.

1931 Business Listings

Apartments: Thurmond Rooms, 304 ½ W. Grand, Fdk 403; Wessel Apartments, 125 N. 11th, Fdk 131

Associations: Chamber of Commerce, Fdk 320; Retail Merchants Assn, W. Grand, Fdk 211

Attorneys: Christian R.L., Eberlee Blg, Fdk 292; Hussey & Chaney, W. Grand, Fdk 657; Mounts & Chamberlain, Mounts Bldg, Fdk 270; Wilson & Roe, Commerce Bldg., Fdk 296

Automobile Business: Cooter Motor Co., 114 S. 10th, Fdk 330; Ford Motor Co., S. 9th, Fdk 307; Hood Motor Co., Dvd 33; Krause, A.H., W. Dahlia, Fdk 508; McNeely Motor Co., 117 S. 9th, Fdk 586; Murrell Motor Co., 520 W. Grand, Fdk 584

Automobile Service Business: Motor Supply, 116 S. 9th, Fdk 581

Bakers: Ansleys Bakery, 117 N. 10th, Fdk 132; City Bakery, Dvd 115; Home Bakery, 108 N. 10th, Fdk 21

Banks: Bank of Hollister, Hol 25; Bank of Manitou, Mtu 44; First Natl Bank, 200 W. Grand, Fdk 127; First State Bank, Dvd 7; Natl Bank of Commerce, 101 W. Grand, Fdk 11; Security State Bank, 201 W. Grand, Fdk 24

Barber Shops: City Barber Shop, W. Grand, Fdk 116; City Barber Shop, Mtu 43; Hotel Barber Shop, Main & Grand, Fdk 11; Sandersons Shop, E. Grand, Fdk 24

Battery Business: Davidson Battery & Electric Co., Dvd 117; Exide Batteries, Gene Pruitt Mgr, 316 W. Grand, Fdk 394; Frederick Battery & Electric, 308 W. Grand, Fdk 478; Kimes & Pruitt, 316 W. Grand, Fdk 394

Beauty Parlors: Mi Lady Beauty Shop, W. Grand, Fdk 130; Miss Frederick Beauty Shop, W. Grand, Fdk 395

Bottlers: Coca-Cola Co., 300 S. 9th, Fdk 135

Building & Loan Associations: McHugh George, Wide-A-Wake Bldg, Fdk 466

Bus Stations: Union Bus Station, Fdk 15

Cafes: Campbell Café, 125 S. 9th, Fdk 14; City Café, 108 N. Main, Fdk 700; Curtis Joe, W. Grand, Fdk 280; Liberty Café, 109 S. 9th, Fdk 231; Lucky Seven Café, 108 S. 10th, Fdk 52

Carpenter Business: Jones & Loftis, 206 S. 9th, Fdk 709

Chiropractors: Hartwig Ora, 104 N. 10th, Fdk 417; Mannon E. 113 ½ N. 10th, Fdk 321; Wolfe C.C., 115 ½ S. 9th, Fdk 35

Churches: Baptist Church, 215 N. 11th, Fdk 619; Christian Church, 201 E. Gladstone, Fdk 609J; Methodist Church, E. Grand Ave., Fdk 243J; Presbyterian Church, N. 11th, Fdk 430

Clinics: Frederick Clinic, 121 N. 9th, Fdk 247

Clothing Business: Julia Shop, W. Grand, Fdk 165; Nuf-Sed Tailor Shop, W. Grand, Fdk 398; Orchid Shop, Inc., 216 W. Grand, Fdk 159

Confectioners: Candyland, Main & Grand, Fdk 315

Construction: Frederick Construction, 105 W. Grand, Fdk 199

Cotton Business: Roby Cotton Co., 119 S. 8th, Fdk 582: Simmons Gin Co., Fdk 341

Cotton Compresses: Frederick Compresses, S. 4th, Fdk 203; Traders Compress, Fdk 314

Cotton Ginners: Baker Gin Co., Mtu 20; Chickasha Gin Co., Mtu 41; Davidson Gin Co., Dvd 62; Farmers Co-operative, S. 7th, Fdk 73; Farmers Co-operative Gin, Fdk 73; Farmer Gin Co., Dvd 65; Farmers Gin Co., Fdk 63; Farmers Gin Co., Mtu 50; Farmers Gin Co., Lvd 2; Farmers Gin Co., Hol 31; Frederick Seed Farm Gin, Fdk 88; Hollister Gin Co, Hol 39; Kilgore Gin, 6th and Grand, Fdk 708; Mitchell gin Co, South 5th, Fdk 230; Reed Gin Co., Dvd 140; Robinson Gin Co., Fdk 704; Simmons Gin Co., Dvd 57; Simmons Gin Co., W. Grand, Fdk 170; Tillman County Gin Co., Dvd 137; William & Fry Gin, S. 7th, Fdk 310

Cotton Oil Mills: Frederick Oil Mill, S. 5th, Fdk 95

Dentists: Ball C.B., SW Tel Co Bldg, Fdk 134; Longwell W.L., First Nat Bnk Bldg, Fdk 451; Rogers J.J., 402 ½ W. Grand, Fdk 348

Druggists: Corner Drug Co., 127 W. Grand, Fdk 9 & 10; Corner Drug Store, Lvd 3; Crescent Drug Co., 113 W. Grand, Fdk 16 & 238; Hollister Drug Co., Hol 12F2; Langston Drug Co., 205 W. Grand, Fdk 448; Miley Drug Co., Mtu 40; Place Drug Store, Dvd 40; Red Front Drug, 128 W. Grand, Fdk 2; Red Front Drug Co, 127 W. Grand, Fdk 3

Dry Good Business: Anthony C.R. Co, Fdk 258; Curreathers & Smith, 107 W. Grand, Fdk 65; Fair Store, Dvd 120; Liebman A Store, 219 W. Grand, Fdk 293; Norwood G.G., Dvd 1; Penney J.C., E. Grand Ave., Fdk 606; Stone, C.E. Co, Fdk 702; Strange Dry Goods, 108 W. Grand, Fdk 445; Thomas Slayton & Brush, Dvd 138; Tylers Bootery, 304 W. Grand, Fdk 240

Electrical Equipment: Jack’s Electric Shop, 110 N. 10th, Fdk 310

Express Companies: Amer. Railway Express, 310 W. Grand, Fdk 229

Feed Business: McFall Feed Store, 520 W. Grand, Fdk 67

Filling Stations: Bowman Service Station, 301 N. 1st, Fdk 17; Burns Filling Station, Lvd 20; Cities Service Oil Co Filling Station, Fdk 750; City Service, 100 S. 8th, Fdk 423; Coleman & West Filling Station, Dvd 31; Continental Oil Co., S. 9th, Fdk 235; Eason Oil Co., 5th & Grand, Fdk 183; Farmers Filling Station, 127 N. Main, Fdk 555; Frederick Ser Sta, 123 S. 8th, Fdk 541; Golays Filling Station, Mtu 17; Hayter Serv Sta, Fdk 786; Hollister Service Station, Hol 24; Jackson Filling Station, Dvd 80; Kemp & Shouse Filling Station, W. Grand, Fdk 491; Lee Hi Service Station, 222 N. 15th, Fdk 120; Magnolia Service Station, 13th and Gladstone, Fdk 200; Marathon Service Station, 501 W. Grand, Fdk 698; Panhandle Ref Co No 2, 12th & Grand, Fdk 580; Panhandle Refining Co No 3, W. Grand, Fdk 503; Phillips Petroleum Co., 216 N. 10th, Fdk 666; Quick Service Filling Station, Dvd 91; Reasor Filling Station, Dvd 55; Rock Service Station, Mtu 54; Rock Service Sta, Fdk 808; Southside Service Co., 503 S. 15th, Fdk 391; Star Service Station, 201 S. 9th, Fdk 235; Star Service Station, Hol 28; Texas Oil Co., 200 S. 9th, Fdk 441J; Victory Service Station, E. Grand, Fdk 547

Florists: Frederick Florist, 700 S. 12th, Fdk 602

Funeral Directors: Gish Funeral Home, 205 N. 11th, Fdk 91; McLellen Funeral Home, 122 N. 9th, Fdk 121

Furniture Business: Duncan Furniture Co., 112 N. Main, Fdk 411; Frederick Furniture Co., N. Main, Fdk 277; Gish Furniture Co., 110 E. Grand, Fdk 91: Russell S.E. Store, 108 S. 9th, Fdk 520: Scott Furniture Co., 109 N. 9th, Fdk 601

Garages: Higgins Garage, 801 W. Grand, Fdk 47; Hollister Garage, Hol 21F2; Manitou Motor Co., Mtu 28; Prestidge & Newman, W. Grand, Fdk 378; Wade & Young Garage, 110 S. 8th, Fdk 472

Gas Company: Community Gas Co., 119 N. 9th, Fdk 290

Government Offices, City: Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, 10th and Dahlia, Fdk 320; City Supt Office, High School Bldg, 200 S. 12th, Fdk 276; Retail Merchants Assn., Mount Bldg., Fdk 211

Grain Business: Cope & Brantly, Hol 22; Farmers Co-op Grain Co., 200 S. 7th, Fdk 523; Northwestern Elevator Co., 300 S. 8th, Fdk 480; Northwestern Elevator Co, Mtu 46

Grocers: Bell Bros Grocery, Dvd 14; Blue Front Groc., 115 N. 10th, Fdk 174; Blue Front Groc No. 2, W. Grand, Fdk 306; Brannons Market, Mtu 42; Brittain B.G. Store, Hol 11; Brown Cash Groc, 118 S. 9th, Fdk 84; Bryan J. W. Groc, Lvd 33; Glen J.G., 521 W. Dahlia, Fdk 418 Black; Gross & Son, W. Grand, Fdk 8 & 59; Harmison Groc, W. Grand, Fdk 189; Lauback Groc, Mtu 22; Lautherback Groc, Mtu 49; Litton Groc, Fdk 260; Loveland Cash Store, Lvd 25; M System Store, 119 W. Grand, Frd 18; Massie-Bryan Groc Co., Dvd 30; McElroy Groc, Dvd 16; Overton Frank Groc., 218 W. Grand; Payne Groc, W. Grand, Fdk 19; Piggly-Wiggly Market, 121 N. 10th, Fdk 216; Raley Groc, W. Grand, Fdk 450 & 460; Sanitary Market, 100 N. 10th, Fdk 54; Thorne W.H. Groc, Dvd 23; White House Groc, Fdk 34; Witts Store Groc, Fdk 71; Wooten Wholesale Groc, W. Calla, Fdk 486

Hotels: Hotel Frederick, Main & Grand, Fdk 800; New Campbell Hotel, 127 S. 9th, Fdk 27

Ice Business: Southwestern Light and Power, 112 W. Astor, Fdk 222

Ice Cream Business: Southwest Utility Co., 120 W. Astor, Fdk 163

Insurance Business: Ames & McFall, Bank of Commerce Bldg., Fdk 195; Gamblin E.U., 108 N. 9th, Fdk 39; Johnson J.C., 108 N. 9th, Fdk 70; Mathis & Eady, 302 W. Gand, Fdk 193; McHugh George, Wide-a-Wake Bldg., Fdk 466; Meeks & Meeks, Meeks Bldg, Fdk 373; Moss & Emmons, 204 ½ W. Grand, Fdk 211

Jewelers: Dillingham C.H., 109 W. Grand, Fdk 64

Laundries: Frederick Laundry, 603 S. 10th, Fdk 60

Lodges: Amer Legion, S. 10th, Fdk 658; Masonic Hall, W. Grand, Fdk 137; Odd Fellows Hall, W. Grand, Fdk 85

Lumber Business: Caldwell Nuckles, 200 S. 8th, Fdk 196; Cameron Lumber Co., 313 W. Grand, Fdk 26; Cameron Lumber Co., Mtu 36; Dascomb-Daniels, Hol 15: Dascomb-Daniels, Dvd 20Dascombe-Daniels, 201 N. 8th, Fdk 30; Rounds & Porter, 226 S. 8th, Fdk 610

Meat Business: Crow Meat Market, W. Grand, Fdk 495; Sanitary Market, 100 N. 10th, Fdk 13; Waller Meat Market, Dvd 53; White House Market, 110 W. Grand, Fdk 36

Newspaper Business: Frederick Leader, 304 W. Grand, Fdk 66; Frederick Press, 117 N. 9th, Fdk 22

Office Supply: Mary Ann Shop, 308 W. Grand, Fdk 141

Oil Companies: Consumers Oil Co., W. Grand, Fdk 8; Phillips Petroleum Co., Warehouse, Fdk 666J; Sinclair Oil Co., 1st & Grand, Fdk 660; Transcontinental Oil Co., W. Grand, Fdk 698

Photographers: Porter G.E., 110 S. 9th, Fdk 87

Physicians & Surgeons, M.D.: Bacon O.G., N. 9th, Fdk 247; Caldwell Alvin B., Dvd 54; Fisher Roy, N. 9th, Fdrk 247; Mackeller M.M., Lvd 21; Osborne J.D., 214 ½ W. Grand, Fdk 102; Reynolds J.C., 102 ½ W. Grand, Fdk 604; Wilson & Roberts, Dodson Bldg., Fdk 471

Piano Business: Culp Music Co., E. Grand Ave., Fdk 305

Plumbers: Shout Plumbing Shop, 318 W. Grand, Fdk 1; Zumwalt Plumbing Shop, 118 N. 9th, Fdk 179

Printers: Peerless Printery, 110 N. 10th, Fdk 295

Produce Business: Frederick Produce, 202 S. 8th, Fdk 204; Knaust Produce, 112 N. 8th, Fdk 133; Wilson & Co., 219 N. 8th, Fdk 76

Radio Business (sales): S & W Radio and Electric Shop, 114 N. 10th, Fdk 701

Railroad Companies: Frisco Railroad Co., Dvd 3; Frisco Railroad Co., Mtu 15; Frisco Railroad Co., Fdk 20; MK&T Railroad Co., Lvd 1; MK&T Railroad Co., Hol 23; MK&T Railroad Co., Fdk 62

Real Estate Business: Bates J.A., Mounts Bldg., 653; Copeland J.L., Fdk 86; Ray R.O. Real Estate & Loans, Fdk 190

Refrigerator Business: Norman C.K., N. 10th, Fdk 138

Sand Business: Holloman A.H., W. Grand, Fdk 4002

Schools, Public: Colored School, Fdk 751; Davidson High School, Dvd 100; Frederick High School, 200 S. 12th, Fdk 185; Hollister High School, Hol 48; Junior High School, 100 S. 12th, Fdk 285; Loveland High School, Lvd 17; North Ward School, N. 12th, Fdk 392; South Ward School, S. 12th, Fdk 308; West Ward School, N. 3rd, Fdk 347

Seed Business: Allen Seed Co., 118 N. 9th, Fdk 245

Shoe Business: Tylers Booterie, 304 W. Grand, Fdk 240

Shoe Repairers: Quality Shoe Shop, 111 N. 9th, Fdk 593

Tailors: Brandy’s Tailor Shop, 110 S. 9th, Fdk 89; Hotel Tailor Shop, Fdk 500; Nuf Sed No 2, E. Grand, Fdk 500; Nuf-Sed Tailor Shop, 207 W. Grand, Fdk 528; Tiptop Tailor Shop, Dvd 76; Uptown Tailors, Grand, Fdk 94

Telegraph: Western Union, 106 N. 9th, Fdk 43

Telephone: Southwest Telephone Co., 12000

Theatres: Grand Theatre, 113 W. Grand, Fdk 361: Midwest Theatre, Fdk 98; Ramona Theatre, 124 S. 9th, Fdk 265; Ritz Theatre, Dvd 105

Tinners: Sprangler’s Tin Shop, 205 S. 8th, Fdk 241

Tire Business: Night & Day Service Station, Fdk 786

Transfer Companies: Baird Roland Transfer Co., N. 9th, Fdk 45; Stewart R.E., W. Grand, Fdk 248

Variety Stores: Tyson Variety Store, Dvd 153; Wide-A-Wake, 204 W. Grand, Fdk 250

Warehouses: The Texas Oil Co., W. Dahlia, Fdk 441

Welding: Cook Welding Shop, 213 S. 8th, Fdk 399

#Telephone Book #Manitou #Loveland #Hollister #Early Frederick #Davidson #1931

Frederick Named for Frederic Van Blarcom

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

February 9, 2010

Search for Frederick’s Namesake

Had Disappointing Outcome

To entice the Blackwell, Enid, and Southwestern (BES) Railroad to place their new depot in the town of Gosnell instead of the rival town of Hazel, in 1902 Gosnell’s leaders offered to rename their town “Frederick” after Frederic VanBlarcom, the only son of a BES official.

Charles Hunter, agent for the BES Townsite company, agreed. The depot (now located at the Pioneer Townsite Museum) was built at Gosnell and in September 1902, Gosnell became Frederick.

Whatever happened to Frederic VanBlarcom? As Frederickans prepared for the national Bicentennial celebration in 1976, they conducted a search for Frederick’s namesake or his descendants.

In a February 1977 article for the Sunday Oklahoman’s Parade Magazine, Carolyn Watson Maxwell Tharp wrote a fascinating account of the search. Part of Carolyn’s 1977 article follows:

“All hopes of locating Van Blarcom were centered on letters which were written explaining the group’s search for the town’s namesake and sent to Frisco railroad offices (BES became the Frisco in 1907), newspapers in St. Louis were the Van Blarcoms were known to live in 1902, the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, and two widely-circulated railroad magazines. Any leads would be appreciated, the letters said.

“John McGuire, news editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, upon receipt of the letter was intrigued and challenged by the project and began a search of his own through the volumes of old newspapers in the Post-Dispatch’s morgue. He found what he was looking for in a July, 1031, issue of the paper, but the story he read in an obituary was far different from that anticipated by the history buffs in Frederick, Oklahoma.

“Frederic Van Blarcom (whose first name was spelled without the final ‘k’ in the newspaper accounts) was born in 1886, the only child of Jacob C. and Mary G. Van Blarcom. His childhood was pampered by adoring parents and the luxuries afforded by his father’s position as president of the St. Louis’ National Bank of Commerce and director of the Blackwell, Enid, and Southwestern Railway. The Van Blarcom home was a mansion located at prestigious 1 Westmoreland Place.

“As a youngster Frederic exhibited some personality traits which concerned his parents, but these for the most part were explained away as characteristic of adolescence and the general behavior of young men in his social set.

“Van Blarcom, who was attending Washington University in St. Louis in 1908, was greatly affected by his father’s death that year. Leaving the university before graduation, he started on a strange odyssey that ended only with his death 23 years later.

“He worked first in a car factory and later in an aircraft factory, but in 1912, because of his erratic behavior following an illness, was placed in a sanitarium. He escaped from there and wandered through the country, eventually enlisting in the United States Navy and being sent to the Philippines.

“(It was during this time that E.H. Shelton, pioneer Tillman County schoolteacher and then representative in the Oklahoma legislature, met Van Blarcom in Oklahoma City. Shelton was staying at the Kinkaid Hotel when a stranger approached him one morning and said he had been told Shelton lived in Frederick. Van Blarcom introduced himself and then related his story to Shelton, who recalls, ‘He was a pathetic man. It was as if he was burdened and had to have someone listen to his tale and believe a town had been named after him.’)

“Van Blarcom, upon his return from the Philippines, was placed in a Washington Naval hospital but escaped once again, this time going to England where he joined the British army and saw service in France.

“A war injury forced his return to St. Louis in 1920 where, once more, he was placed in an institution. A probate court jury in April, 1920, declared him of unsound mind, and he was placed in the city sanitarium. He paid the city $50 a month for room and board and was permitted to be at large during the day, staying in a hotel room downtown.

“Van Blarcom fought in the courts for entire freedom, and after two adverse decisions, he obtained a jury verdict in March, 1922, that declared he was of sound mind. With this decision he gained an inheritance of $1,000 a month from his mother’s estate. She had died in 1921. (His father’s estate had been so encumbered as to have little net value.)

“Within a month after his release from the sanitarium, Van Blarcom married Maxine Coppas of Sedalia, Mo., but two years later he had his wife arrested on a charge of bigamy. The charge was later dropped when he failed to appear as witness in the case.

“Frederic Van Blarcom died of a cerebral embolism seven years later in his apartment in the Gaylord Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. Nothing was known of his life after he left St. Louis in 1924. Since he was childless at his death, the remainder of his mother’s estate, about $270,000, went to Washington University designated as the Van Blarcom Scholarship and Fellowship Fund. Frederic’s body was cremated on July 30, 1031.”

“In Pioneer Park [now the Pioneer Townsite Museum] stands a flagpole given to the town in 1962 by the Frisco railroad. Inscribed on the granite base is the story of the part the railroad played in Gosnell’s victory over Hazel and the naming of Frederick. Perhaps, too, it stands in this small southwest Oklahoma town as a remembrance of a tragic man from St. Louis who was proud that the town was named after him.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Carolyn Tharp was one of the founding members of the Tillman County Historical Society and wrote extensively in the late 1970s and early 1980s about Tillman County History. She currently lives in Norman.

#Frederick Namesake #Frederic Van Blarcom

Grandfield Rumors of Spanish Tombstone

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

February 16, 2010

Early Newspapers Reported Discovery

of 1542 Spanish Tombstone

When early railroad builders laid tracks across the raw Territorial prairie, they often dug deep into the Oklahoma soil. In 1907, the rail builders reportedly unearthed a centuries-old Spanish explorer’s tombstone.

The tombstone dated 1542 was dug up near present-day Grandfield in August 1907. The unusual discovery was reported in the Frederick Enterprise and the Temple Tribune.

On August 22, 1907, the Temple Tribune stated, in part:

“On the right of way near Eschiti (later Grandfield) a party of scraper drivers unearthed a historic tombstone that appears to have been set in a graveyard that once existed here. The stone is carved into a diamond shape and consists of a granite base to which is cemented a triangular marble with a vortex pointing upwards. The base is about 10 inches high, six inches wide and three feet long, and the marble about two feet square, the diamond outline of the entire piece being perfected by a triangular composition of cement and adamantine substance attached to the bottom of the granite and holding the entire piece in upright position.

“On the front of the marble slab is an inscription printed in indiscernible Spanish, above the inscription being the name Don Juan Valerez El Padre, Madrid Senor de la Bonito Senorito. Beneath is the date 1542.”

The report stated the tombstone was found “about 10 feet beneath the surface and has been taken to Fort Worth for safekeeping by the railroad company.”

Over the years, numerous researchers and Grandfield historians have tried to track down the stone, apparently without success. No one knows the location or fate of the historic stone that was taken away for “safekeeping”.

According to a Sunday Lawton Constitution article by Paul McClung in February 1975, officials of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad responded to a 1966 query about the stone, saying that they had no record of any kind “of the uncovering of a tombstone in the vicinity of Grandfield, Oklahoma, or anyplace else in the old Indian territory.”

Who was Don Juan Valerez and what brought him to the place that would later be Tillman County? That remains a mystery.

Valerez was obviously a member of an early Spanish expedition, although it has been impossible to identify the exact group.

In 1541 the Spanish explorer Coronado led a group of men through the Great Plains in search of the rumored seven cities of gold. Most researchers believe that Coronado passed through the Oklahoma panhandle area but not through this part of Oklahoma. No Don Juan Valerez was listed on Coronado’s muster roll.

There were several Spanish expeditions in this area, though.

In 1541 another famous Spanish explorer, Hernando DeSoto, entered present-day Oklahoma from the east, but is not believed to have reached this part of Oklahoma. The DeSoto expedition encountered conflict with Indians and only half of his original band of 620 eventually reached Mexico. DeSoto himself died during the expedition in 1542.

A more likely explanation for Valerez to be in our area was a 1542 expedition led by Louis de Moscoso. The Moscoso group was a band of 300 men which wandered lost with no horses in the present-day north Texas area. The Moscoso group is thought to have reached the present site of Wichita Falls on the Wichita River in summer 1542.

Who was Don Juan Valerez? What happened to his tombstone? We will likely never know.

#Spanish Tombstone #Grandfield

Hobo Claim was Early Frederick Mystery

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

February 23, 2010

1932 Holloman Letter Provides Account of Area History

The western part of Tillman County was opened by land lottery in August 1901. After sixty days, land that was unclaimed or abandoned was put up for claim again.

One piece of land that became known as the “hobo quarter” was the 160 acres that would eventually join the new town of Frederick on the south. This property would later become the southwest part of Frederick. The man who originally claimed the property was known as Hobo, but he suddenly disappeared causing many rumors about what happened to him.

The next claim on the property was made by Ira J. Holloman who would become a prominent figure in early-day Frederick.

By 1932, Holloman had left Frederick and was living in Pasadena, California, when R.H. Wessel, editor and publisher of The Frederick Press, asked him to recount his memories of Frederick’s early years. The letter, published in the Press in 1932, is a fascinating picture of how things were done in the newly opened territory.

The 1932 letter from Ira J. Holloman follows:

“At the time of the opening of the Comanche reservation in 1901, I was with the Waggoner ranch at Electra, Texas. As you recall, Mr. Waggoner had leased from the government the western portion of the reservation for ranch purposes but was later given notice to remove all cattle in a given length of time. I was given the task of helping with the big round-up. Some of the cattle were shipped to market, some returned to the Texas side, and the remainder drifted east into what was later known as the Big Pasture.

“After this job was completed, I returned to my duties on the ranch at Electra. This was the nearest railway point to the land opening from the Texas side, and people by the hundreds came to cross into the ‘Promised Land.’ A sudden demand for transportation in the territory developed. Mr. Waggoner, seeing an opportunity and need for a stage line to transport these home-seekers, propositioned me to put in a stage from Electra, Texas, to Lawton, Oklahoma, and other major points. I then made a counter proposition: if he would furnish the necessary capital, I would operate same and divide the profits with him. To my surprise, he accepted so quickly I was bewildered, but went right on with the deal.

“He asked me to select teams as I wanted from hundreds of fine horses – which I did – and the next day I made a trip to Fort Worth and purchased a carload, six in number, of the latest type yellow-wheeled Studebaker stage coaches, the capacity of each being 12 to 16 passengers. Mr. Waggoner owned a harness shop, and we fitted out six of the finest turnouts you would chance to see and were soon operating a stage line transporting people into the new Oklahoma Territory.”

“All this time the BES line railroad company, known now as the Frisco, was building their new road from Vernon, Texas, toward the Red River. We made arrangements with Dan Healy, one of the first construction conductors, to sell tickets from Vernon to any part of Oklahoma. Here we met the train, as the bridge was not yet completed. We forded the river with four horses hitched to one coach, as it was very treacherous with quicksand. The white dry sand from the river channel to the main land was so deep that many times these four fine horses could not draw the load through the sand, and we were forced to unload some of our passengers. After a time, hay was spread over the sand making the footing better.

“It was during this time that I learned through the Waggoner cowboys, who were friends of mine, of what was known as the ‘hobo claim’ and, as I recall the story, this so-called hobo had filed on what later became my homestead. He filed under the name of Robert Lawson, which proved later to be an assumed name. This information came to me from the cowboys at Suttle Camp, one of Mr. Waggoner’s cow-camps where the hobo stayed for a time (This was located just west of Frederick where the lake is now located. There were also a fine spring and a dugout there where Johnny Williams, the Vernon sheriff, shot it out with a band of outlaws in the early days.) I never met Lawson, but learned he had filed on land previously to this under his own name which was Thomas, but I do not recall the initials. When he filed under the name Lawson, he gave as his address Elgin, Illinois, and his occupation as watchmaker, writer and artist. The name ‘Hobo’ was given him by reason of his filing at Lawton by map before seeing the land and making the 50 miles out to the land by foot.

“It was said on arriving his earthly possessions were a dog, gun and frying pan. I learned from the cowboys he was a real ‘artist’ when it came to dealing from the bottom. As the story goes, he loved his ‘rock and rye’ and, as they could have no luck when playing the various games of chance with him, they proceeded to frame him by making it possible for him to imbibe too much White Mule. While under the influence, he told his past life and how he was putting it over on the government by filing under an assumed name. After sleeping this off, he realized he had talked too much and became frightened and told the boys he was ‘on his way and they could have his claim.’ They, like the rest of us who had been in that part of the country so long, could not visualize the land ever being of any value, and only because of Waggoner’s insistence and learning of a possible townsite being located there did I file on the contest claim. At this time living there were only I.E. Stout and family, D.B. Pearson and family, S.N. Gosnell and family and R.L. Gosnell who was not married at the time.

“The night before the last day for filing on abandoned claims, I drove to Lawton, taking with me W.S. McCurdy and two husky cowboys from the Waggoner Ranch for witnesses and assistance. I was all set to file on the “Hobo Claim” as well as several others, as we had all been camping on the claim long before time for filing under the impression we could hold it by prior settlement. I went to the land office in the afternoon before the filing was to take place the next morning. As soon as the doors were closed at 5 p.m., I mounted the steps and took my seat on the doorsill and remained there through the night and until the doors were opened at 9 in the morning. McCurdy acted as ‘best man’ serving me with hot coffee and sandwiches throughout the night.

“The crowds began to gather, and by midnight there were several hundred in line for this and other claims. Mr. Greenwade, who was after my claim, stood next in line to me. We had both been camping on the claim with several others. He was a large man, weighing 200 or more, and I then weighed about 135. McCurdy, seeing the situation, placed one of the cowboys next in line to Greenwade and kept the other cowboy in reserve for any emergency, as he (Greenwade) was trying to crowd me off the doorsill, which was three or four feet off the ground. It was understood the cowboy was to tackle Greenwade if he undertook to unseat me. We were all armed and ready for anything, but thanks to Providence, we came through without a scratch.

“Next morning there was a free-for-all down the line when the door was opened at 9 a.m. I had some advantage as I was holding the doorknob and felt the key slip in the lock. I gave the cowboy the signal. He threw his arms around Greenwade and went to the ground with him while I went in for the first filing.

“On my return to the claim, encouraged by my successful filing, I erected a more permanent camp and built corrals for my horses, using this for headquarters for the stage transportation. During this time the government townsite of Hazel was platted on the south of my claim and the BES line townsite was on the north, later known as Frederick.

“During the rivalry of the two towns there was effected in 1902 a compromise in which the Hazel townsite was moved to Frederick, and Mr. Waggoner and I were given two lots, corner Eighth and Grand, where we erected the old frame building and continued to operate until the railroad moved on northward and at which time the stage line was discontinued.

“I opened a farm loan and real estate office and Frisco immigration agent office. This brings us down to the opening of the Big Pasture (in 1906) when I turned my efforts to locating claims for new homeseekers, establishing camp at Panther Springs. Feeling the need for more modern transportation, I purchased what I believe to be the first automobile that came to Frederick and used same to transport my homeseekers to the Panther Springs camp.”

“Yours very truly, Ira J. Holloman”

#Holloman #Hobo Quarter #Early Frederick

Rural Telephone Co-op

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

March 2, 2010

Mr. and Mrs. Walter "Jack" Duncan, Jr., have donated rural telephone line records and climbing gear to the Tillman County Historical Society for Pioneer Townsite Museum.

Museum Receives Telephone Line Records

Depending on where they lived, having a telephone has not always been easy or even possible for Tillman County residents. Since the 1920s town folks could get telephone service, but until the mid-1950s the telephone company did not provide telephone lines in the country. Prior to that time, rural residents had to build and maintain their own lines.

For that reason, in some parts of rural Tillman County telephone line co-ops existed. The people who lived in those areas owned and maintained their own telephone lines. They met each year to elect officers and paid annual dues to cover the costs of maintaining the line.

Jack and Claudine Duncan, who have lived in the same home west of Frederick for 71 years, recently donated several items to the Pioneer Townsite Museum from the Richland telephone line cooperative. The Richland phone line cooperative began in about 1930 and served the Duncan home. The donated items include a co-op record book from 1949 to 1957, the co-op’s bank records from the 1950s, as well as a belt and climbing shin plates that were used to climb telephone poles to make repairs.

The Richland co-op’s line extended from the Southwestern States Telephone Company’s Frederick service to homes within five or so miles west of Frederick. Households from west of Frederick that were listed in the co-op’s 1949-1957 records are as follows: R.L. Sanders, Walter Reed, Frank Schultz, Walter Duncan, Walter “Jack” Duncan, Jr., Ralph Keith, Henry McCord, Sidney Allen, R.W. Smith, J.J. Alexander, John Schultz, Carl Gant, Otto Ebeck, D.A. Conway, Robert Duncan; Johnnie Avriette, Mr. Kimble, Clifford Schultz, Hubert Hagy, and Herman Vosburgh.

Co-op members met each December to set the co-op’s line rates for the coming year, to elect a president and vice president, and to name a lineman for the year. It was the volunteer lineman’s job to fix the telephone lines when there were problems. That involved splicing or stringing lines and setting new poles.

Annual dues for the telephone co-op between 1949 and 1956 varied from $9 to $14 a year. The money was used to pay a monthly fee to the Southwestern States Telephone Company in Frederick and varied from year to year depending on the line repair needs that existed. Line subscribers were sometimes levied extra dues during the year when expenses ran higher than expected.

When the line co-op existed, the rural telephones were still box-like apparatuses that hung on the wall, with a crank on one side and a snout-like extension in front in which to talk.

All telephone subscribers who lived on the line were part of a “party line”. Instead of traditional telephone numbers, each subscriber had a code of longs and shorts and recognized by the ring when the call was for them. Unfortunately, though, every ring sounded on the phone of every subscriber on the line, so that whenever a call was received everyone on the line knew and would often listen in.

In the January 1977 edition of Prairie Lore, R.M. Lowe of Snyder wrote about the party line, “it was a vital pipeline for news and gossip between farm homes across the new land of Oklahoma.” He went on to say that “listening in had its merits. For instance, if you couldn’t recall a name or place when talking to a friend, some obliging listener would supply it by whispering, ‘It was so and so’. Then you’d reply, ‘That’s right, thanks a lot,’ and go on with your conversation.”

Whenever something important or newsworthy happened, the phone would sound five long rings to alert telephone subscribers on the line that there was big news.

Jack Duncan remembers a time in the 1930s when he stood on the porch at his father’s house and watched a terrible storm build in the west and move to the north. A while later, the phone sounded the five-crank emergency ring to let folks on the phone line know that the town of Headrick had been struck by a terrible tornado.

Members of the Richland telephone line co-op gathered for their final meeting on January 3, 1957, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Schultz. At that meeting the co-op members voted to disband because Southwestern States Telephone Company was taking over responsibility for the rural lines and most people were “getting on dial”, signing up for the modern new dial telephones.

#Telephone #Co-op

Early Telephone System

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

March 16, 2010

Area’s First Telephone System Installed in 1902

When was the first telephone system installed in Frederick? Amazingly, it was right after the town was organized in 1902.

That is according to an article about the Frederick Telephone Company that was printed in a 1916 Frederick Leader industrial edition.

The telephone had been invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. Bell Telephone Company was organized in 1877 and by 1878 was serving 10,000 accounts – all in big cities in the Northeast. Telephone service grew rapidly after that, but Bell Telephone maintained a near monopoly and had no real interest in serving rural areas.

When Bell telephone patents expired in the 1890s, though, it freed companies all over the country, including rural areas, to build telephone systems.

The 1916 Leader article said that the first telephone system in Frederick was installed in 1902 by Bellamy and Shaw, and was later purchased by J.E. White. In 1906, E.J. Boase bought half interest in the company from White, and purchased the other half in 1907. Boase was owner of the company when the 1916 article was written. Excerpts from the 1916 article follow:

“Coming here in the fall of 1906, from the farm, with the small capital of $6,000 and practically no experience in the telephone business, Mr. E.J. Boase has, with the help of his competent assistants, built up a corporation with assets of something like $60,000, in that comparatively short time, and is today furnishing to over 1,000 subscribers a quality of telephone service unsurpassed in Oklahoma or any other place.

“When Mr. Boase left the farm in 1906, to take charge of the straggling pretense of a telephone system attempting to supply service for the prairie shack town of Frederick, a number of this farmer neighbors wisely shook their heads and predicted dire things at his rashness in venturing into a line of business in which he was without practical experience, but with patient application, careful attention to details, courteous treatment of everyone with whom he came in contact and by figuratively and actually “living with the business,” he soon had it on a basis that put the glooms on the run, and nowhere can be found a more complete and up-to-date plant, or more courteous and efficient employees than those of the Frederick Telephone Company.

“Besides being a conspicuous example of the man who cares for his own business, Mr. Boase is one of the most public spirited and progressive of Frederick’s business men and one of the city’s best and most effective boosters. He is always among the first in any enterprise for the upbuilding of the city, and with a heart as tender as a mother’s, no worthy object of charity appeals to him in vain.

“In line with the city’s industrial development, Mr. Boase has only recently completely overhauled the telephone system of the city, practically rebuilding it throughout, installing a big Kellogg switchboard of a common battery type, and doing away with the old out of date system by which the subscriber had to “crank” to get central.”

“So far as the city’s needs at present are concerned the Frederick Telephone company is meeting them fully, and it is safe to predict that with the future growth and development of Frederick, the company will continue to meet any and all demands that may be necessary. Frederick and Tillman County may well feel proud and take satisfaction in the possession of such a business institution as the Frederick Telephone Company.”

E.J. Boase died in September 1935 and is buried in the Frederick Cemetery.

#Telephone

Early Newspaper Items

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

September 22, 2009

Early Newspapers Chronicled Life

When this part of Oklahoma Territory was opened for settlement in August 1901 people came to establish new lives. From the earliest days, Frederick newspapers have chronicled marriages, births, deaths, and social events in communities throughout the area.

A new book called “Tillman County Personals: Abstracts from Frederick, OK Newspapers, May 1902-June 1911” compiles brief notices from the area’s first decade after settlement as printed in The Hazel Enterprise and The Frederick Enterprise (forerunners of The Frederick Press) and The Frederick Free Press (an early newspaper that ceased publication on December 26, 1903).

The newspaper abstracts were assembled for book form by Linda Norman Garrison and printed by the Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society. The 194-page paperback book can be ordered from the SWOKGS at P.O. Box 148, Lawton, OK 73502, for $25 plus $3 postage.

The book is fascinating reading. It notes happy events such as parties and church gatherings, along with references to births and marriages, mixed in with details about sicknesses and deaths. The book’s entries are random – not every issue of every newspaper is referenced, nor is every newspaper item included.

The book does contain an index of names for easy searching.

The following abstracts from the book tell interesting information about development of the area. Unless otherwise noted, the following items are from the Frederick Enterprise.

June 4, 1902: “D.B. Pearson is just about as proud a man as walks the streets of Frederick. The first baby born in the town put in an appearance Tuesday morning at 9:45, is a girl and weighed just 10 pounds. The town will present the little Miss with a nice house and lot.”

June 11, 1902: “The new Bank of Commerce in Frederick threw open its doors to the public Monday and announced ready for business, with Judge R.S. Kelly, of Vernon, Texas, as cashier. W.T. Waggoner is president of the bank and L. G. Hawkins, the cashier of the Waggoner National Bank of Vernon, is vice president.”

June 20, 1902: “The town of Frederick is located thirty miles northeast of Vernon, Tex., on the Bes Line railroad and fifty miles southwest of Lawton, in one of the richest farming sections in the Territory of Oklahoma. The town is not quite six months old and has a population of about 500, and is rapidly increasing, while the business interests are represented by large stocks of merchandise of every kind.”

December 12, 1902: “Tuesday afternoon the stationery for the First State Bank of Frederick finally arrived and the next morning at 9 o’clock the doors of that bank were swung open to the public. The first business transacted at the bank was Monday morning when R.H. Wessel transferred his deposit from a Lawton bank to this institution.”

Jan. 2, 1903: “Yesterday the post office department dropped the name Gosnell and began calling this town Frederick. The city now stands upon two quarter sections which were filed on by Robert Gosnell and Miss Ollie Gosnell. The strange thing is that they are not relatives. The east quarter belonged to Robert and the west to Ollie, now Mrs. Stevens. The father of Miss Gosnell, Rev. S.M. Gosnell, started the present town. The house he erected on his daughter’s claim was the first house built west of Lawton. It was put up a year ago last August. Mr. Gosnell got up a petition for a post office, became the postmaster, and the town was named Gosnell in his honor.”

Jan. 9, 1903: “Probably the greatest deal transacted in the new country occurred in this city Wednesday morning when Chas. E. Hunter sold one half of the Bes line’s townsite interest in Frederick to J.L. Lair for $15,000.”

Mar. 20, 1903: “After the services Sunday evening of Rev. Ralph J. Lamb, that evangelist organized a Presbyterian church at this place with sixteen charter members.”

May 2, 1903, The Frederick Free Press: “On this page we print the first authentic picture of the first child born in Frederick. Fredoline Pearson, the daughter of D.B. and Sallie Pearson. She was born June 3rd, 1902, within a hundred feet of the first store building in the city and at that time there was not to exceed fifty people here. Dr. Lawthorne was the only physician, and the following persons had pitched their tents here at that time and began business. Harris & James, W.S. McCurdy and D.B. Pearson and Seth Gettys, in the grocery line; Ligon & McHugh and C.T. Herring, in the lumber business; Wood Bros. and R.C. Neal, hardware; J.A. Wiley and Prophit & Good had restaurants; Prince & Co. drug store; Spidle and Killough, Finley & Hampton and R.J. Cato, in the saloon business; Ira Holloman had a livery stable, and the Gosnell hotel had just been erected; While Waters & Hancock were the only real estate men on the present town site.”

May 30, 1903, The Frederick Free Press: “The name of Texawa station has been changed to Davidson, and a petition has been filed to make the post office name correspond.”

July 15, 1904: “The first automobile that was ever rode into Frederick was on the streets last Sunday night when Station Agent Livisy, of Mountain Park visited this place in company with L.A. Scholer.”

August 19, 1904: “At 11:20 last night fire broke out in the Red Store on South Main street and in a few minutes three of Frederick’s most substantial firms were wiped out of existence with a total loss of about $20,000. Losers in the fire are: Red Store, dry goods, W.W. Rogers and E.E. Rogers, props., building belonged to J.L. Lair; the Bell Store, W.A. Stinson and Edison Carter, props., building belonged to J.L. Lair; small building belonging to Dr. Lawhorn containing a quantity of salt belonging to L.J. Massie & Co.”

May 5, 1905: “J.R. Abernathy has been appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal. This appointment came to Mr. Abernathy unsolicited. His headquarters will be at this place. He is the only U.S. Marshal in Comanche county.”

#Tragedies #Deaths #Births #Abstracts

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