Okie's NW Corner

It has been beautiful weather around the NW parts earlier this week until Friday, 9 April 2004, when a cool front and showers brought approximately 1/2 inch of rain in our NW corner -- with promises of more cool, wet stuff to follow this weekend. Southern & Central parts were hit with tornado warnings and hail. We spent most of the weekend vaccinating horses and getting ready to vaccinate more horses next week. It may be a bit cooler, wetter this weekend, though, for all those Easter bunnies, bonnets and parades.

Speaking of Easter... do you remember or have any memories of Easter parades in your neck of the woods? Were there Easter Bonnets on parade or just picnics in the park with egg hunts by the children? Do you remember the lyrics to that famous Irving Berlin song, Easter Parade? (See lyrics towards the bottom of Oakie's NW Corner). My Easter bonnett is a tan/red, embroidered farm cap that my friends brought me back from the Shawnee Horse Sale last weekend. It is tan with a red bill and a horse embroidered on the front and reads, "Wagner Quarterhorses, Alva, OK."

Besides getting a refresher course at Parelli's Horsemanship - 2-day seminar last weekend (saturday & Sunday, 3 & 4th April 2004) at OKC State Fair Arena last weekend -- We saw our OSU Cowboys barely get beat by 2 points when Georgia Tech advanced to the Final Two at San Antonio, Texas. BUT... Monday, Connecticut Yukons wiped out Georgia Tech... I am told. I missed that game because we were working horses and updating our horse database with new horses/ 2004 colts. We did get re-motivated to begin working on our own horses again this Spring, though. Now... If we can just find enough hours in the day to try out some of the things we learned/re-learned.

New Mural Skeletons Poppin' up in Alva...

Alva is in the process of beginning another mural (Castle on the Hill) at 5th & Oklahoma Blvd. with local artists, Jim Richey, Warren Little and Rod Dunkin. They began by outlining the design for the Castle on the Hill mural at the corner of Fifth Street and Oklahoma Boulevard. Notice the flagpole on one of the east towers. Other murals are in the making for Alva. You can read Alva Review Courier article - Mural Skeletin Drawn, 5 April 2004, by Helen Barrett for more information about this mural and others waiting to be painted in this neck of the Woods county. The Alva Mural Society is also looking for new members and funding for more murals in the process. More photos to come as progress advances on the murals.

Murals of Buffalo, Oklahoma...

Alva is not the only Northwest Oklahoma community that has murals gracing the walls of it's buildings. If you travel 50-some miles west of Alva towards the panhandle, you will come to the small rural community of Buffalo, Oklahoma. On highway 64, heading west on their main street through town you will find this mural painted on the eastside of this downtown building (Clark's Flowers) on the south side of the street.

I received some interesting snail-mail this week. One was more information and copy of photos about Elm Flat District #58 - Elm Flat Christian Church. I do not have the photos scanned yet, but will get to them in the near future. Elm Flat District #58 was organized 3 May 1894. Before statehood in 1907,"M" county comprised the present Woods, Major, and Alfalfa counties. After statehood, Alfalfa county re-numbered all their districts, Major county retained all the previous numbers and Woods county has a mixture of retained and re-numbered districts. Especially re-numbered are the districts acquired from that portion of Woodward "N" county north of the Cimarron River. The map, taken from the 1906 Old Woods County Atlas - Twp23-R12WIM, shows the original boundaries for the three school districts of Elm Flat, Ruby, and the Colored school which existed until desegration. By that time there were few colored children living in either #58 or #155. The colored families were enumerated in District #58 although they did not attend Elm Flat school. This map will give the families in the district as of 1906. To date the name for Dist. 155 other than "Colored School" is not known.

The other snail-mail message was a copy of a photo of an old Home Comfort Range that someone sent to me. You can see the old photo of the early 1870s Home Comfort Range in the Mailbag Corner below.

With Easter just around the corner... Duchess, Ruff and all of us here in the NW corner of Oklahoma would like to wish Y'all a Happy Easter, Rebirth of Spring, April Showers for May Flowers and Lilacs blooming and spreading their fragrance throughout the neighborhood. We hope to hear/share more of your Okie Legacies here in the weeks ahead. Here's the lyrics to the Easter Parade - by Irving Berlin that we promised you...

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.
I'll be all in clover and when they look you over,
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.
On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us,
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet,
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.

See you all next weekend.
~~ Linda "oaKie" & Duchess ~~

1906 Woods County Atlas Books Available...

Sandie Olson with the Waynoka Historical Society says, "We have fewer than 10 copies of the reprint of the 1906 Woods County Atlas, which covers Woods, Major and Alfalfa Counties, left at the Museum Gift Shop in Waynoka. It's a wonderful coffee table book, and so useful. If anyone is interested in the Atlas, they could Email: sandieo@pldi.net , or call at 580-824-5871."
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NW OkieLegacy's 1906 Township Maps...

You can try this link for our NW OkieLegacy Webshots Album for the 1906 Woods County Township Maps. After you get to our NW OkieLegacy Webshots, just click on the 1906 Woods "M" County Township maps. I have just added T23-R12WIM -- T28-R16WIM -- T29-R13WIM to the list.
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Rootsweb - Woods County Site...

"Go to the Woods County site on Rootsweb and scroll down to Township maps." -- Woods County, Oklahoma OKGenWeb
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Home Comfort Range...

Here is a copy of a photo of our Home Comfort Range. It has clearly been used for many years! Thank you for the information about the models & years." -- Linda Zang
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Section 25-Township 28N-Range 20 WIM...

"I am looking for Section 25, Twp 28N, Range 20 West of the Indian Meridian. Does anyone have access to that township map?" -- Kent - Email: ktpinegar@netscape.net
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Township 28-Range 19WIM...

"Thanks for your message on Township 28, Patterson. I will be looking for the copy of Township 28N-Range 19W-Section 10. It certainly will be appreciated." -- Edgar View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Looking for Mary Louise, Martha & other Doolin Children...

"I read your OkieLegacy every week and really enjoy it.   Especially, when I see a name I recognize.   A Martha Doolin commented in this week's copy and I recall her sister was a classmate of ours (AHS Class of '66)... Mary Louise Doolin.   They lived fairly close to our family, and had several children.   John B. was an attorney as I recall.  Katy Doolin was John's wife.  Do you have the email address of Martha or any of the family?  I would love to contact them to say hello and share remembrances.  Would it be permissible to mention in your EZINE that classmates would appreciate information on the whereabouts of Mary Louise Doolin or any of the Doolin children?  Thanks, Linda, so much for your help." -- Sherry (Harris) Tanner, Colleyville, TX - Email: tannergal@comcast.net View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Looking for List of Oklahoma Ghost Towns...

"I am looking for the lists of all names of ghostowns on Oklahoma. Could you give or send just all names of ghostowns not information? Thanks." -- Chris

[ Editor's Note: We found a list of Oklahoma ghost towns at - Rootsweb's Oklahoma Ghost Town Lists - Just Click on the book with the letter the town name starts with. The entire database is also in a PKZIPW format sorted by County, Town - OKTOWNS.ZIP at Rootsweb's website. These lists were mostly created by scanning the book "Town and Place Locations, " published by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. After scanning, Optical Character Resolution (OCR) was employed to render the image files into textural data files. Here are some other maps that Rootsweb has at their site - Oklahoma County Maps in TIFF format - Definition of Legal Land Descriptions in the United States] View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Vada Paris & OkieLegacy Website...

"I haven't read a whole lot of this... but wanted to let you know how I came to find this page. My dad passed away back in August of 2003.  Since then I have learned of many family members I had either forgotten about or were just recently mentioned to me. My Uncle put together some pictures for my sisters and I. I chose to take them to the office today and share with some of my co-workers.  On one of the pictures, my Uncle had printed the name of the town, which is Hopeton, Oklahoma.  
       One of my co-workers became very excited as she remembered going there often as a child since her father was from Hopeton (or a town close to there). She and I talked some -- then I told her I could inquire to my Aunt and Uncle and a friend of the family, R. Cobb, about her family if she would just write it down.  Not only did she write down her grandparents names, but that of her father and his brothers and sisters. I passed this information onto my Aunt, Uncle and Mr. Cobb, after I got home from work. The first thing they all suggested was to go to your web page:  http://okielegacy.org/.
It's amazing how quickly I was able to find out things for my co-worker. You see, the list of names she gave me to inquire on are her grandparents, Ernest & Mary Barbara Paris.  Her father, Kenneth Paris who passed away in 1954, and his brothers & sisters, Sammie, EJ, Alvin, Zella (which she remembers referring to as Aunt Jim), Vada, Vernie, Leslie, & Geneva. WOW!!
       My Uncle also gave me the information of back when he, my Aunt and my dad were kids, during the war, they lived across from the Armory.  Alvin Paris lived on the corner in a big 2-story house.  And had three sons, one of which is my Uncles age.  Small, small world in which we live in. This is all just so overwhelming to me, as it brings back memories of my childhood days in Hopeton, Carmen, Dacoma, Alva, and Watonga, Oklahoma years.
       My dad, Gail Monroe Henry.  My Uncle is Marvin Henry. My Grandparents are 'Slim' & Ethel Henry who lived in Alva.  But I spent every summer with them, which took me to the Alabaster Caverns by Freedom -- to my Great-Grandparents in Watonga -- Roman Nose Park -- to Hopeton to visit the grocery store (which to me was huge) -- to the Bank in Hopeton (which I thought was the only place that had 1/2 dollars and silver dollars, because my g'pa would always come out with a handful for the grandkids) -- to a Dacoma farm belong to my Uncle Sam & Aunt Helen VanMeters -- on Labor Day weekend we had a Martin Ffamily Reunion at Boiling Springs. 
       The Martin Genealogy, can be found on my Uncle's web page. At the bottom, click on the Oklahoma flag. Down toward the bottom of that is the family roots, both the Henry's from Tennessee and the Martin's from Oklahoma. There's also some neat pictures from the bakery in Alva where my Grandpa Henry worked as well as some other pictures of Alva.
       I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunities I had as a child and have so many wonderful memories of that great Oklahoma dirt! Would love to know if there are any KEFFER's left in Carmen. Thanks for the reply and a chance to go down memory lane. Thank you for this wonderful page!" -- Christy - Email: ccoulton@cox.net View/Write Comments (count 1)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Ashable Alonzo McGill Descendants...

"I am the great-granddaughter of Ashable Alonzo McGill and my mother is the granddaughter of Ashable Alonzo McGill. We would like more information on him if you are able to help us that would be great. My mother's name is Dewey McGill Brafford and she lives in Sweetwater,Texas - [(325) 236-6942]. Maybe my mom can help you out on some of the information that you are looking for an maybe you can help her out on some of the information that she is looking for, too. Thanks." -- Great-Granddaughter Norma Ivie - Email: ladyoftherose@sbcglobal.net OSU vs Georgia Tech - Basketball Final Four... "Now since OSU failed to hog-tie Georgia Tech, why not join us in rooting for Tech to 'whup' the Yankees from Connecticut?" -- Jim Bennett - Greenville, SC "A displaced Georgian!"

[Editor's Note: I did route for Georgia Tech, BUT.... Lo and Behold! Those Connecticut Yukons did the whuppin' down in San Antonio, Texas.]

Whittet's Make Another Connection...

"I am the son of Blend Whittet, who was the son of Van C. Whittet and Elsie Roberts. I am in search of information on my family history as I know only what I listed. I did see an article by -- Doris (Whittet) Guntrum that is very interesting, I would like to find her, as she is my cousin.

"I was searching for information on my Grandfather Van Whittet - when I saw this article (below). I am interested in meeting the author as Blend was my father. My name is Van Whittet - named after my grandfather.

I am really trying to trace my family tree and hit a dead end at Van. I feel Doris may be a big help to me. Have her email me at whittet@writeme.com. I will surely reply. I am not the person who was looking for Blend, as I know where he is buried -- as I buried him. I am, however, also interested in finding Timothy the author of the small article a few years ago. I am also going to subscribe to your online news here as it is interesting and helpful. Thank you very much. Because of you I have finally got the missing links in my family tree. I really appreciate it. I look forward to Okie legacy I enjoy reading the articles. Thank you." -- Van K. Whittet - Email: whittet@writeme.com

[Freedom, Whittet and Grace Ward Smith... "Linda. I do enjoy the newsletter, coming from Freedom, I especially enjoyed the rodeo news. The old cowhand this year is my niece's Father-in-law, and I remember him well. About a year ago there was an item in the newsletter from someone looking for his father, Blend Whittet. Blend was my first cousin, I send an Email to his @home.com, but have heard nothing. @home went out of business at about that time, so perhaps my message wasn't received. I found a couple of pictures of Blend and his father Van Whittet (my fathers brother). Hopefully they still subscribe to your wonderful publication. I spent a lot of time in Alva during the late l930's and early l940's. One of my Aunts was Florence Ward. She and her husband Cliff owned property on Flynn Ave, in the same block as the mortuary. They had apartments that they rented out. Her daughter Grace Smith worked with the Chamber of Commerce, and I believe bacame Mayor of Alva at one time. My aunts on my mother's side were Marge Ridgway, married to Skeet, and had sons Max and Curt. The other Aunt was Gladys Updegraff. Thanks so much for all the news." -- Doris (Whittet) Guntrum"] View/Write Comments (count 2)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

OkieLegacy - Vol III, Iss. 50...

Whittet Family Inquiry... "Hi! I have been doing research on my family for awhile including a recent trip to Scotland. My family and I spent 16 days in November in Scotland. It was beautiful! There are Whittet's living in and around Perth and there is a street called Whittet Drive in Elgin, Scotland! My father's name was Blend Cleek Whittet and his father's name was Van Whittet. Do you have any information on them? I never knew my father or his family - he left my mother when I was a few months old. My father (Van) died in Colorado about 10 years ago and he was born around 1927. His parents, family were from Alva, Oklahoma." -- badbiker@home.com

[Editor's Note: @Home.com has since gone through a name change since this Issue of the OkieLegacy was sent out. It was changed to Cox.com. So... We do not know if badbiker@home.com is a good email address. If anyone out there knows the correct email for this person, please contact us. Thanks!]
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WWII POW Camp Gruber...

"Is there a museum of the WWII POW Camps in the Muskogee area?  My Father was part of the 46th Division in WWII. After his tour of duty in Africa, Italy and France he was stationed at Camp Gruber German POW Camp.  They are visiting and thought they may visit if we could locate a WWII POW Camp in the Muskogee area.  Do you know of anything like this?  Thank you in advance for your response." -- Connie Creel - Email: cmakeup@cox.net View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

The Muse Area & Big Office...

" I was surfing the net and came across a site OkieLegacy - PineValley. This article is written about the area in which I grew up. This area is where my father and my fathers family lived for many years. Muse is a small community located in Southeastern Oklahoma, in LeFlore County.  The article is discussing life in a town called Pine Valley which was located approxametly 1 mile from where Muse is located now.  I moved back from Texas in 1993 and rented a home. As it turned out, the home was once used as the main office for the lumber mill that was referred too in this article. It is a very old home. It has a concrete room in it. I was told it was used as a safe when it was used by the lumber company. My grandfather worked at this mill when he was a young man. If I remember correctly, he worked as a plainer. I read this article and found it very interesting.  I found it fascinating that the small rural area I live in used to be such a thriving place.  I lost my grandfather in 1994.  He used to tell me lots of stories about growning up in this area. I really enjoyed this writing. I live in the Muse area. In fact I live at one time in the 'Big Office.' I lived there in the early '90's. My grandfather worked at the lumber company for a few years." -- Kenneth Waylon Smith - Email: nurseboy_68@yahoo.com View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Round Pound, O. T. (Oklahoma Territory)...

"I ran across this on the internet. If I recall, it was in Grant County, and may have been the original name for either Pound Creek or Medford." -- Charlie View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe