The Okie Legacy

Vol. 2, Issue 61 -- 3 June 2000

The Crooked Bridge

Up in northwest Oklahoma less than a mile off of state hwy 14, about 9 miles north of Waynoka, Oklahoma there is what we call the "Crooked Bridge" road. The road goes straight and leads you through a tunnel of trees; a "S-curve" that ends with an old rickety, wooden bridge angled to the northeast and the red clay, sandy road continuing east to the small rural community of Avard, Oklahoma.

I suppose many of us have many stories to tell of that crooked bridge. This is one of my recollection of the rickety old bridge and the old Troll who lived underneath and rattled the bridge whenever anyone made the crossing to the other side.

As a very young girl, I always imagined that some sort of Troll lived under that bridge. Why else did it rattle so every time Grandma would venture over it to check her land and cattle. Back in the mid-1950s when she would come upon the old bridge -- before she would travel across it in her '57 blue Chevy (or was it a '56 Chevy), I vaguely remember wanting to get out of the car and walk across the bridge. Grandma would follow shortly thereafter in her Chevy. I really don't remember if I ever did get out, though! Too much water under the bridge so to speak!

The bridge is just barely standing after the last few rains. Last Thursday night (May 25th) about 11:30 for about 2-1/2 hours the northwest part of the state around Woods County got pounded with winds and 5 to 7 inches of rain. The next rain came the 1st of June (Thursday of this week). Another cool front came through and dumped some more heavy, cool rains in Woods County. This time just before wheat harvest.

The rain on the 25th of May turned the usually quiet Eagle Chief Creek into a raging bull as it seemed to wash everything out over it banks from highway 14 all the way southeast to Hopeton and beyond. It even damaged the bridge just north of Hopeton.

I'm told by some folks in Waynoka that the "Tinman" was caught getting his feet wet as he stood out in front of the ranch house located 10 miles north of Waynoka on hwy 14. The Eagle Chief waters reached up into the front yard; into the orchard south of the house and also filled the ditches on either side of the highway.

If you travel south on hwy 14, take a left turn off of the highway onto a red clay, sandy road approximately 9 miles north of Waynoka (a mile north of the Avard blacktop road). You will have to turn around and come back the way you came to get back to civilization and the highway.

Anyway... Follow the country road east just past the tunnel of trees where it starts its S-curve and meets up with the crooked bridge. This is where you begin to see where Eagle Chief Creek really got upset, angry and uplifted metal fence posts with the five-wire fencing still intact. It lifted them out of the ground with some big old trees and swept them across the road and down the creek.

The northeast side of the bridge now has a huge washed-out, gapping hole where there once stood a Sign, "weight limit 6 tons". It is now impassable for a car and/or pickup to travel across. The Clarks and friends worked diligently rigging a makeshift ramp for their 4-wheeler ATV out of a 2x4 piece of wood that they retrieved from the bottom of the creek. They used their chain saw and cut it into three pieces to lay across the gapping hole left by the torrent flood of rain rushing down Eagle Chief Creek to the southeast.

The Creek took out about 1/4 mile of our fence that began just east of the bridge on the northside of the road. The neighbors to the west on both sides of the road have NO fence along that road near the creek. The landowner that owns the land just west of us has miles of fencing to replace as of the last time I looked.

Eagle Chief Creek bridge is way over its weight limit now. I hear tell that the county commissioners up in the northwest neck of the Woods do NOT have a high priority for fixing country bridges and roads for ranchers who need to get through to check their cattle on the otherside. I'm still trying to figure out how to move in my doublewide modular home for my "Ranchette" across this rickety old bridge. Perhaps I need to hire a helicopter and lift the modular home into my "fields of clover" on the other side. LOL (laughing Out loud)

On the northside of the bridge a huge barkless old tree has graceful wedged itself sideways along the whole northside of bridge with the trees curved features adding a decorative and interesting addition to the bracing on the northside of bridge.

It has been awhile since Eagle Chief Creek raged like this. I would love to know exactly how old that bridge was. Some of us assume it was built before the 1940s or earlier. It must have been overdue for the Eagle Chief to show itself, its weakness and its rage. The week before the rains was the week I took the pictures of our "Fields of Clover" without any mishaps or detours. NOW... It's NOT the case! You park, walk or ride an ATV 4-wheeler to the other side of the rickety crooked bridge.

As to my horses... Cindy & Okie are doing great on the other side of Woods County. They have been turned onto grass pasture at the east ranch with a beautiful Roan Stallion this past week. I haven't had much of a chance to observe her except from a distance as she flirts & flitters around in the pasture of grass and hay with her Stallion friend. Oh! What wonderful things are upon the horizon for next Spring.

OAKIE's LINKS & MAILBAG

UPDATED ON ALVA's THIRD MURAL -- I have some updated pictures of Alva's 3rd mural after they got the third panel in place at 5th & Barnes, Alva, Oklahoma. This picture was taken 27 May 2000. image/alva5thBarnes.jpg
image/alvamural3.jpg

FREEDOM MURAL - On the westside of the Longbranch Cafe you can view a painting depicting the Freedom Rodeo's "Posting of Colors". Other murals are in the planning stages. -- OkieLegacy/image/freedommural.jpg

On Memorial Day I made my memorial day jaunts to the Alva Cemetery (Woods County) and the Orion Cemetery (north of Chester, Major County, Oklahoma) and got a few shots of family markers. I will be putting the Orion Cemetery up later in the week, but here are some grave markers for some of my McGills' and Warwicks' located in the Alva Cemetery, Woods County, Oklahoma:

- W.P. McGill & wife Isabella grave markers
OkieLegacy/image/mcgill_wpisabella.jpg

- W. J. "Bill" McGill grave marker
OkieLegacy/image/mcgill_wj.jpg

- Robert Lee McGill grave marker
OkieLegacy/image/mcgill_robtlee1.jpg

- Augustus & Mary McGill Vinson grave markers
OkieLegacy/image/mcgill_vinson.jpg

- Robert Lee Warwick's grave marker
OkieLegacy/image/warwick_robtlee.jpg

- Constance Estelle Warwick McGill's grave marker
OkieLegacy/image/warwick_constancemcgill.jpg

- John R. Warwick & Signora Belle Guinn Warwick's grave marker
OkieLegacy/image/warwick_johnsignora.jpg

25 May 2000 - A thunderstorm & small tornado that damaged the Green Valley community building west of Carmen, Oklahoma between the hours of 11:30pm and 2am, Thursday night. Huge Elm trees were uprooted like weeds and lay on their side on the north side of the highway. On the south side it looked like someone had taken a giant weed eater and chopped the tops out of the trees. The parsonage on the southeast corner of highway now has a big hole in its roof.
OkieLegacy/image/25may00GValley1.jpg
OkieLegacy/image/25maybigelm.jpg

"I love hearing about Oklahoma from you so much that I am trying to figure out how I can work it into my schedule to visit. Oklahoma that is--and you too, but I won't just "drop by". :) A coworker had to come out there last fall while I was on medical leave. He helps to approve day care centers and he was in the Indian Day Care Centers in your area. I was so jealous of him, but he brought me back some souvenirs of his trip. He KNOWS I am passionate about my Indian roots. If you know of any Indian Guinn's that might would be willing to help share some history it would sure be appreciated. Love your newsletter--Keep it coming! Today I attended the Carlisle 2000 Powwow to honor the Carlisle Indian Students. I got to meet Scott Momaday and got his autograph. Jim Thorpe's daughter was there also, but unfortunately I did not get to meet her. It rained all day, but was worth the trip."

NEW DATABASES AT ROOTSWEB. Four new free and fully searchabledatabases were added to RootsWeb during the past week.

o TEXAS BIRTH SUMMARY RECORDS Records (1950-1995) has 11,974,269 records with 308,979 surnames
userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/birth/summary/search.cgi

o TEXAS BIRTH RECORDS, PART 2 (1926-1949) has 3,211,268 records with 164,733 surnames. This set has more information, including the parents' names.
userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/birth/general/search.cgi

o TEXAS MARRIAGE RECORDS (1966-1995) contains 5,269,009 records
userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/marriage/search.cgi

o TEXAS DIVORCE RECORDS (1968-1997) contains 2,543,376
userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/divorce/search.cgi

OK! Who wants to do an oil painting or watercolor of the scene from my Fair Valley? Is this a beautiful picture, or what! Someone told me it was a beautiful picture. I guess I need to get out my paint brushes and give them a dustin', huh?
/image/fvwest23may.jpg

GOLDBUG REUNION 2000 UPDATES --
"Linda -- Three more items to add to the list of meetings:
1) The classes of 1958-1962 are invited to a social on Friday, June 30. It will be at the VFW and will start at 8:00 p.m. and go on until the last lie is told.

2) The "official" class meeting for the class of '60 will be on Saturday, July 1 at 6:00 p.m. at J. and B. Restaurant on south Highway 281. There will be a class photo, dinner, and class meeting. Contact Sherry Howell Rock at nwaero@pldi.net.

3)The class of 1956 will be meeting at Pat Meyers at 10 AM July 1.

Thanks for your help in getting out the word about these meetings. Mark, AHS '60"

This time of year you will see the small rural communities coming alive with harvesters and combine crews. This is the case in northwest Oklahoma. I overheard a few farmers talking in the coffee shop the beginning of this week about the wheat harvest and how it looked like the northwestern parts of Oklahoma would probably be harvesting in seven to ten days. That is if Mother Nature behaves herself.

They have already started cutting around Kingfisher, Central Oklahoma and a small community called Ashley. Friday the northwestern Oklahoma rural communities began buzzing with harvesting crews. Combines were parked on the edge of wheat fields waiting for the sun to come out. By 6pm Friday the clouds began parting and allowing the sun to shine just before dusk around 8pm.

Mother Nature likes to rain on harvesters and Arts Festivals this time of year. That is what else is going on this weekend (June 3rd) in Northwest Oklahoma. Alva is having its annual Nestcatunga Arts Festival on their downtown square (If Mother Nature cooperates!). Maybe I will see some of you northwest Okies this weekend.

QUOTE/POEM OF THE WEEK

Does anyone out there know when and/or who said this popular saying in the '60s? "If you set something free and it returns to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was."

 

See You All Next Weekend!
Linda "Oakie", NW Okie Columnist

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