NW Okie's Corner

bayfield, CO - With the start of Tornado season pushing through the "Heartlands" of the prairies these past few days, we searched through old archives of newspapers from 1892 to 1903 for tornado damages through Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa that started from Indian Territory.

In May, 1909 tornadoes, winds and floods wiped out Key West and Depew, Oklahoma, south of Stroud, in Lincoln county.

News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports . The link to this video is from this Monday afternoon via KWTV9 video of the tornado that touched down near Newcastle and Moore, Oklahoma, moving towards Interstate 44 and SW 149th Street, between Portland and May, around 3p.m., 20 May 2013.

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One Hundred Years Ago - 19 May 1913

Blaine county, OK - One hundred years ago (May 19, 1913) this is what was happening in Blaine county, Oklahoma, as reported out of Washington, May 19, 1913, a lower court set aside indictment against Tom Mosley and Dan Hogan, when the case was appealed to the supreme court. It seems that these two election board members refused to count, return votes for certain precincts for representatives in congress.

The Tulsa World, newspaper dated 20 May 1913, reported, "Whether federal government forbids discrimination merely in regard to the physical act of casting the vote at congressional elections or also forbids discrimination in the counting and returning of the votes, was raised in the United States supreme court today by an appeal by the government from a decision of the federal courts of Oklahoma in an election case in the second Oklahoma district.

"The lower court set aside an indictment against Tom Mosley and Dan Hogan, the majority of the elections board in Blaine county, Oklahoma, because it merely charged them with conspiracy to refuse to count or return the votes for certain precincts for representatives in congress at the election last November." View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, CO - Not much happening at the Raccoon Diner here in Southwest Colorado since we took down the jumping stump and made it harder for the 'coons to climb the wobbly pole to reach the bird feeders, but our friend in NW Oklahoma sent us the following time-lapse video of some purple (grape smell) Irises that were blooming in our front yard, in Alva, Woods, Oklahoma, 18 May 2013.



R.L. Wagner took this with his GoPro video camera. It was a foggy morning in Alva, Oklahoma that day. You got to love watching the yawning Iris opening up to the sunshine in northwest Oklahoma, don't you?

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May, 1913 - To Probe Case of W. R. Dutton

Oklahoma - In The Tulsa World, dated 20 May 1913, Tuesday, on the front page, the headlines read: "To Probe Case of W. R. Dutton." A special committee was looking up alleged attempt to bribe senator. W. C. Allister was seeking to have people Vote on today for the Womens' Rights.

A committee of the state senate appointed in an executive session would be at work during the legislative recess investigating the charges against Senator W. R. Dutton. Dutton, in connection with Judge Amos Ewing of Guthrie solicited a bribe from the moving picture men of the state to kill the Dutton Bill which proposed to close the theaters on Sunday. The committee was appointed following the filing of a report by another committee, with testimony of moving picture men and others attached.

The Maxey Investigating committee would resume its investigations of the various state departments the next Monday, according to the 1913 news article. The banking board and state bank commissioner, whose affairs were partially inquired into several weeks before, would receive attention fire, and between now and then reconvening of the legislature every state office not investigated would be visited.

The Maxey committee was reduced from 12 to 8 and friends of Governor Cruce could see Monday as an indication of anti-administration feeling in the manner the committee was deuced. Wyand was relieved at his own request for business reasons. Crawford, Edmister and Childers were climinated and it was claimed these three were friends of Cruce.

Having been defeated in his attempt to have the legislature authorize the text book commission to extend the 1908 school book adoptions for a period of two years, Senator W. C. McAllister of Hugo, had decided to make an effort to submit the question to a vote of the people and that Monday filed with the secretary of state a copy of the proposed initiated petition.

Owing tot he uncertainty as to whether the legislature would appropriate sufficient money to continue the present system of the commission, Col. Jack Love, on that Monday issued a circular letter to all employees of the commission advising them to engage in other employment before June 30th, 1913, if an opportunity presented itself. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

1909 - New Record Set For Long Inning Baseball Game

Bloomington, Illinois - On Thursday, 1 June 1909, Bismarck Daily Tribune, of North Dakota, reported on their front page about world's professional record broken longest innings.

Bloomington, Illinois, May 31, 1909 - Bloomington and Decatur of the three league broke the worlds professional record for long base ball games in a contest which went 26 innings on this day in history, (31 May 1909), 2 to 1.

The game started at 2 o'clock, a double header being scheduled, and the first then innings were played in a steady drizzle. The grounds were muddy and slippery, but he fielding on both sides was sensational and the pitching of both Burns and Clark was phenominal.

Decatur won in the twenty-sixth inning when Fisher was hit by a pitched ball and Purtell made a three bagger. Bloomington protested the game, claiming Fisher but second base. The game was called for fifteen minutes on account of rain in the fifth inning. The actual playing time was 4 hours and 20 minutes. Bloomington, 1-13-1. Decatur, 2-11-2. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

July, 1903 - The Doings of A Kansas Tornado

Kansas - In the Summer of 1903, July 23, on a Thursday, The Wichita Daily Eagle reported on page 4, "The Doings of a Kansas Tornado." They were also reporting that Kansas floods were the biggest; tornadoes the most energetic; drouths the dryest; summers the hottest and blizzards the coldest on earth as reported back in 1903.

They had a tornado out in Kansas in the Summer of 1903, and the usual stories were beginning to put in their appearance in the Kansas papers. That state had a new settler since the last whirlwind, for three new stories had come to light. One tells of a farmer who was ploughing when the big wind struck him. What became of the rustic is omitted, but the tornado caught the slough in its vortex and whirled it round and round until the entire field had been nicely ploughed.

Another farmer had a lot of corn stored in a bin. In the side of the bin was a knot-hole. The tornado caught the corn and drove the cobs through the knot-hole, shelling the corn and leaving it in a pile on the floor.

The third story was about a wagon which was standing in another farm yard when the breeze came along and upset it and started the wheel spinning. The wind was so hard that one of the wheels was still revolving, and it was impossible to stop it. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

April, 1892 - Windswept States of Kansas, Nebraska Missouri and Iowa

Kansas - Back in April, 1892, Saturday morning, a terrible commotion of elements laid to waste a wide section of the country, which included Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa.

The Los Angeles Herald, dated 2 April 1892, spoke of awful havoc wrought along Missouri river. Butler county, Kansas seemed to have suffered the greatest havoc. Tonawanda was wiped off the face of the earth, and Augusta, a few miles distant, buffeted out of all resemblance to its former self.

In Tonawanda the town was asleep when the storm swept down, and not a house or building was left standing. The storm razed everything in its path, and left dead bodies lying in its wake. Four have already been recovered from the ruins searched. Twenty persons were fatally injured and forty more or less seriously, besides a large number slightly.

From indications the storm swept across the country from Indian territory through Barbour, Frazier, Sumner and Butler counties, carrying away villages and farm houses as it swept along,a nd the tornado continued in Kansas and NOrthwestern Missouri, but was less destructive.

Nebraska Cyclone

Omaha, Neb., April 1, 1892 -- The telegraph wires all over the state were prostrated, and it was difficult to obtain news of the extent of the last night's storm. The Western Union had one but one wire in operation in Nebraska, that being along the Elkhorn road. A dispatch to the Bee fromNorfolk, in the northern part of the state, says a cyclone struck there just before midnight and did much damage. If this was the same storm that devastated Nelson, the destruction between these points must have been very great, and the storm must have traversed 150 miles of the richest farming section, dotted with small cities and villages. In Omaha, it was still blowing and the wires were down on all sides as this news story was reported. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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Oklahoma Visited By Disastrous Storms (30 May 1909)

Oklahoma - It was a Sunday morning, front page headlines, in the Bismarck Daily Tribune, in Bismarck, North Dakota, that we find mention of "Oklahoma Again Visited By Disastrous Storms - Many Reported Killed." The news story begins on the front page and continues over to page 12.

Floods added horror to devastation worked by winds that day as wires were down and full particulars were impossible at time of going to press. Many tornadoes were visible at same time, and people were driven from small towns were left homeless.

Oklahoma City, OK, May 29, 1909 -- Fifteen and probably more people were killed in a tornado that devastated the Oklahoma towns of Keywest and Depew.

Forty or more were injured. At least ten were killed in Keywest. That figure was confirmed by a number of people who fled just before the storm. Five were dead at Depew.

The tornado swept over a wide stretch of farming country. Wires were down nd many rumors of death and destruction at isolated points could not be confirmed that night.

Following the wind came a deluge of rain. Floods then added their terrors to the situation. The wreckage of Keywest soon was flooded by rising waters. Practically nothing was left of the town of 200 inhabitants. Rescuers hastened tot he place, but could not cross Salt Creek, which had become a raging torrent.

A few inhabitants of Keywest crossed the stream before the rise made it impossible. The confirm reports that at least ten negroes were killed and twice that number wounded.

Among the injured was a young woman named Brace. She was in the post office and the building was blown away. She was seriously hurt. The residence of J. L. Hart was demolished after having been rolled over a half dozen times wight he occupants inside. Mrs. Hart's back was broken; a little girl's limb was wrenched, and Hart and two other children were seriously injured.

Depew was destroyed by a double twister that was formed from that striking Keywest and traveled in a northeasterly direction, and another coming front he east. The tornado wiped out Depew, then pushed northeast, spreading its force presumably a few miles further on.

Small tornadoes followed in rapid succession in an atmosphere, that was nearly humid. They rose high in the air, circled about the dipped. As many as five were observed during the display. The little tornadoes had spent their forces when the big one came at 5 o'clock. Preceding and following it were terrific rain and hail storms. The streets of Stroud and Sapulpa were veritable rivers.

A newspaper man tried at 10 o'clock tonight to reach Keywest, but was turned back by the high waters. Not a wire was working in that part of the state and towns within a radius of ten to twenty miles had heard unconfirmed rumors. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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