I thought for my birthday last Sunday I would get lucky
and find some Warwicks' in the small, rural community of Warwick,
Oklahoma, in Lincoln County.
I didn't find any Warwicks, but I did find a
bunch of Hurst families who had built a Hurst Park in the middle of their
community.
The reasons Warwick
fascinates me is because Warwick is one of my surnames. BUT... after
visiting and searching the Oklahoma Historical Society for information
concerning Warwick, Oklahoma, I found that Warwick was named after the
country in England and NOT after one of my ancestors.
According to the 1988 Lincoln County, Oklahoma
history book, Part 1, page 257... the small, rural community of Warwick,
Oklahoma originated from the East half and Southwest quarter of Section
17-T14N-R3 EIM (East Indian Meridian), Territory of Oklahoma with agriculture
as a family income and cotton as their cash crop..
On the westside of Warwick you make a north turn off of Route 66.
It follows a 25mph road along a creek on a worn blacktop road through the
trees and across a railroad track into a residential area hidden amongst
the trees.
All that remains now are
residences, empty businesses and the Warwick school building built by
WPA back in the 1940s and consolidated with Wellston in 1968.
On the east end of Warwick
on Route 66 you pass under a railroad bridge and come to a brick business
building with hints of Route 66 history printed on it's exterior.
Today the population of Warwick is approximately 160. The
approximate number of families is 75. The amount of land area in Warwick
is 7.099 sq. kilometers. The distance from Warwick to Washington DC is
1155 statute miles. The distance to the Oklahoma state capital is 32 statute
miles. (Statute miles are "as the crow flies") Warwick is
positioned 35.68 degrees north of the equator and 96.99 degrees west of
the prime meridian.
I have placed more history
of Lincoln
County
and Warwick,
Oklahoma
on my OkieLegacy web site for
your information of this small, rural community SE of Wellston and west of
Chandler, Oklahoma.
Oakie's Column...
This newsletter may be running a bit late tonight
as I try to organize my thoughts & facts for this issue. Sometimes
I get so much I want to say and not enough time to get it all in.
Last weekend I did take in the Shawnee Expo Center
Horse Show on Saturday.
AND... as you know, Sunday, February 25th was my birthday. I thank
you all for the birthday wishes and cards you all sent. Y'all made my birthday a
special day.
Sunday, we woke up with the intention of eating a birthday dinner
at an "Old German Restaurant" on SE 29th (hwy 62) & Indian Meridian Road,
in the town of Woods, near Choctaw, Oklahoma, north of I40.
We did find the "Old German Restaurant"
BUT... it was NOT open on Sunday. It is only open on weekdays and Saturdays
from 11-2 and 5-9. AND... My mouth and appetite was watering for some
German cuisine, too.
Oh well! We eventually headed east on hwy 62 and connected
with hwy 177 north up towards Route 66 and Warwick, Oklahoma to get some
Oklahoma ghostown pictures to add to our collection.
After Warwick we headed east on Route 66 to Chandler,
Oklahoma and ate at Granny's Kitchen in downtown Chandler.
I saw these great burma-shave signs along the way
to/from Davenport, Oklahoma. The string of four signs along the road side
of Route 66 read as follows, "Cruising along --- My Honey and me ---
On Route 66 --- That's the place to be --- OK Davenport OK"
Have you any Route 66 stories or signs you
would like to share? Send them along this way.
-- Linda - "Oakie"
The End of February...
On Wednesday, February 28th, 6.8 earthquakes marked
the end of February in the NW around Seattle, Washington up into Vancouver,
Canada and as far south as Salt Lake City, Utah.
Meanwhile
back in Oklahoma the NW parts were getting sleet/snow mixture while the
southern and central parts were getting rain and ice.
It
was only Tuesday, February 27th, that I spotted a gaggle of geese honking their way north across the skys of Alfalfa
County, in Northwest Oklahoma. That can't mean but one thing... Spring is just around
the corner, huh?
All that rumbling on Wednesday, brought in a cloudy,
cool, calm March.
What was the first day of March like in your area
of the world?
Mailbag & Links....
"Hello -- Recently I was told I have two
great-uncles who arrived from Manchester, England, as adults with their
father (who later returned to Manchester) and were successful
in oil. Their name may have been Cameron or King but possibly not
since my grandfather may have simply used the name King. If they
did well enough as a team to be noted somewhere in Oklahoma history I
might be able to learn more about my grandfather, who left Manchester
in 1899 to join the army. By then the father (my great-great-grandfather)
was again living in Manchester. Was there a central area to which,
or period of time in the 1800s, when a big influx of people came to Oklahoma
because of oil? Thank you for any direction you can give me." -- Marilyn
King, mmaeking@aol.com
"I live about two miles from where my gr-gr-gr-uncle
Jonathan Coombs Conover is buried. Could you give me birth and death
dates for Peter and Melinda (Pierce) Conover. Also birth and death
dates for Henry Clay Paris. I would like the names of Henry C. and
Sarah F. Paris' children with their birth, marriage and death dates.
I am researching Conover's. If there is anything I can help you
with let me know." Eileen Keithley,
eileenrk@casscomm.com
"Happy Birthday with
all the trimmings!! Raining here, but we were promised sleet and freezing
goo, so I have no complaint. Love your weekly journal. Lots of effort.
New format is nice." -- Joel and Lanie
"Hi, Linda! Happy
Birthday!!
Concerning your pet
peeve of telemarketers — New York has passed a law establishing a
state registry for those who do not wish to receive such calls.
If you have your name in by 1 April, or thereafter, the telemarketers
must check the list and if they call you after 1 May (30 days' notice
after you register or after 1 April), they are subject to a $2000 fine
for each offense! I hope it works! My pet peeve is attempts
by radio and TV shows to "dumb down" the audience by seeking appeal to
a lowest common appeal rather than to stimulate thought and constructive
action. Too many "formula" shows of shooting, kidnapping, greedy
winnings, and mushy romance. Oh well— as long as the dollar is the
ultimate criterion..." -- Joel
"Linda,Your e-zine came to me through a friend.
I enjoyed reading it and saw the AmeriCorp guys on the Today Show. You
can purchase a piece of software called Dazzle or VideoSphinx. Either
will allow you to convert the analog video tape into digital. I think
Dazzle will work better to edit out the commercials. Hope this helps."
Oakie's
Heart To Heart 
