Dear Duchess

Woof! Woof! This Duchess Pug is woofing because they don't allow dogs at the "Tastes of Durango!" I had to stay home with Sadie on this beautiful Sunday morning in SW Colorado while NW Okie goes out to savory the "Tastes of Durango" between 11:00a.m. to 3:00p.m.! Does it sound like discrimination of pugs ... or dogs?

Anyway ... I guess they had a big crowd for the City of Durango's "Tastes of Durango" this year. More than the year before is what NW Okie overheard someone say.

They blocked off three blocks of Main Street in downtown Durango and let those human beings stroll for three blocks in the street as they sampled the delicacies, fanfares and drinks of all sorts from the restaurants who set up booths on the streets. You purchased these items with tokens purchased at the City of Durango booths situated throughout the festival on the streets.

Durango's Main Street runs North and South. This is a panorama view of the East side of the street showing the crowds waiting in line for their favorite food and drinks while visiting with each other.

Here is another panorama shot of the crowd of old and young alike standing around while a band entertains on the makeshift bandstand across the street from the "Old Timers" restaurant.

This festival was for the cause of raising money for the Manna Soup Kitchen in Durango. If you have not been to Durango, it has some mighty tasty variety of places to savory as far as dining out goes. AND ... of course, there are a few brewery's that set up for tastes of different kinds of beers. They had the bottled water and non-alcoholic drinks, as well!
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Manna - The Durango Soup Kitchen

Manna Soup Kitchen was founded in May, 1986. The previous winter, a woman died from starvation in a horse stall at the La Plata County Fairgrounds in Durango, Colorado. This tragedy resulted in a small group of Christians organizing to provide food for the hungry.

By 2006, Manna was serving over 35,000 meals per year including breakfast, a hot lunch, and hot and cold to-go dinners. With its mission statement of feeding the hungry still the top priority, Manna has expanded its services to the homeless and less fortunate in our community to include providing vouchers to the truly needy for gasoline, clothing, food, and temporary lodging.

Manna is also working with other non-profits in the area to provide other necessary services. This year saw Manna host its First Annual Health, Housing, and Job Fair. -- Manna - Durango Soup Kitchen website.
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Nescatunga Arts Festival Turns 40

If you want an event that is something spectacular and happening on Alva’s downtown square the first Saturday in June, then the Nescatunga Arts Festival is for you.

We read in the local Alva newspaper that this year, 2009, marks the festival’s 40th birthday and Nescatunga is the longest consecutive running arts festival in Oklahoma. We understand that there are special plans underway to make this year’s festival a big one with many additions and changes you will not want to miss.

Mark your calendars for the first weekend of June, 2009 (June 5th thru 6th). I think there is an Alva High Class reunion going on about that time, also.
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Insight Into Grandma

July 25, 1904, is the postmark of John's letter to Constance this week. It sounds like John's coaxing of getting Constance to come to Quincy's business college was beginning to sink in with Constance Estella Warwick. We also find out that Constance would be going to the Worlds Fair in St. Louis the Summer of 1904 (around July or August) -- meeting friends on "The Pike" at the World's Fair and encouraging John C. McClure to join them on "The Pike."

Doing some research online, I found that "The Pike" was a street a mile long, solidly lined with amusements, more varied, more elaborate and more costly than any previous exposition had ever contained.

Besides meeting friends in St. Louis on "The Pike," Constance was also thinking about going to Gem City Business College, in Quincy, Illinois, to take some courses, especially Short-Hand. I am beginning to wonder how serious was this letter writing between "true friends?" Were they only "True Friends?" Was there something more going on here? Who was infatuated with whom?

This week's letter begins:
"Quincy, Ill, Sun. Afternoon, Miss Constance Warwick, Alva, Okla., Dear Estella ... I received your ever welcome letter a few days ago. We have been having some scorching weather but today is quite comfortable. Well, I am glad you are coming to the Worlds fair. I am sure you will have a good time.

"You said, there would be some friends on the Pike who would be glad to see me. Of course I think the friends will be there, but I don't know about the other part. I would be delighted to come to St. Louis on the 18th but I don't know if it will be possible for me to do so ... and of course I am a little scart of Bert. What course do you intend to take if you come to Quincy?

"I would advise you to take just the S.Hand course. The College of course will advise different. Of course if you are going to be an old maid, as I know you are not, then the Bookkeep course would be nice to have. About quaranteeing positions, they do not make a practice of it, but I believe with the qualifications you possess, you could persuade them to guarantee you a position. Be sure to put them up a speal.

"Ask them if they will not take half tuition down and the other half when you get your position. Or take out a three months scholarship $35, and before they will leave you go they will let you graduate pay the balance when you have your position. Of course this last is just speculation, but I know two cases like the latter in school now.

"But don't come to take Short-Hand, or even take in any place until you have carefully studied over the matter. Remember you perhaps can not get a position just exactly where you want it. Remember the influence of a person in a large city. Girls who come to take Short Hand here, generally do not go away as good as good as they come. I have seen several cases here during the summer.

"You know why I wanted you to come to Quincy as well as I do. Now, Connie, you will not find this in the G.C.B.C. Catalogue. This is my Speal. Take it for what it is worth. If you have made up your mind to take Short-Hand, take it in G.C.B.C. before I leave town which will be in 5 weeks time.

"I went to the Big tent meeting tonight. There were about 5000 people there. Tomorrow night is the last evening of the meetings. He is going to tell about his trip to Jerusalem also all over Europe.

"Barnum and Baily's Circus was here this last week. I, of course, had to go. Missed 1/2 day of school. Say, Really, I can't pronounce that word. I don't see why anybody should use such big words for. Your the 1st person that ever called me Prof.

"Are you sure you are right. Well, I will close for this time. Answer soon. Best of the last. Thanks for the photo. J. C. Mc. Your True Friend, John McClure."
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Worlds Fair of 1904

The photo on the left is a photographed of Washington University that NW Okie took awhile back when she was in St. Louis, Missouri. Did you know that the Washington University is one of the buildings that did not get razed after the 1904 World's Fair?

1904 World's Fair, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, was reported at stlouis.missouri.org as "The Twentieth Century was born in Forest Park with the grandeur and spectacle of the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition -- The World's Fair of 1904. From April 30 through December 1, 1904, more than 20 million people went to the fair, an average of more than 100,000 each day."

It was the largest of all world fairs that covered an area of 1272 acres, reaching as far west as the Big Ben Boulevard and south to Oakland Avenue. Of the 1272 acres, 615 were private property and included all of the land owned by Washington University.

Fair visitors saw exhibits ranging from a cow made entirely of butter, to their first look at the automobiles and electric lights. They ate hot dogs, drank ice tea and licked ice cream in cones.

The only buildings remaining from the fair were: the administration building for the fair which became Washington University's Brookings Hall; the Palace of Fine Arts was turned over to the Art Museum in 1906; and in 1905, the city paid $3,500 to buy the bird cage from the federal government exhibit but that did not include the birds.

The World's Fair of 1904 celebrated the Centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, an event in American history having an importance secondary only to the Declaration of Independence. The territory acquired from France by this purchase embraced all the land lying between the Mississippi River and the crest of the Rocky Mountains, and its ownership by the United States made possible the extension of the nation's boundaries to the Pacific Ocean.

It was reported that there was no centennial ever so grandly celebrated. This Exposition was described as a visit within its gates -- an event to be always remembered with pleasure, satisfaction by young and old alike.

The Festival Hall and Grand Basin of 1904 of the Worlds Fair of 1904, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, must have been a spectacular affair back then with all its palaces of ... art, education liberal arts, mines and metallurgy, machinery, electricity, industries and agriculture where young visitors came from far and near to meet friends on "The Pike." AND ... a young girl from as far away as Nevada viewed electricty at the worlds fair palaces for the very first time.

The immense architecture of the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis was only temporary. After the Fair closed almost everything was demolished and Forest Park in St. Louis was returned to its previous, although enhanced, condition. For more information visit the following website: The 1904 World's Fair Society -- www.crawforddirect.com world fair tour.

The 1904 World's Fair was described as "The architecture of the Fair" where you could imagine yourself visiting a magical, almost imaginary city, where there were palaces, princesses and daily parades -- You would have seen perfectly planned and constructed Utopian model for the future.
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The Pike At the 1904 Worlds Fair

Has your ancestors ever strolled "The Pike" ... at the St. Louis World's Fair? Have you heard any of their stories of the 1904 World's Fair and this famous mile-long street called "The Pike?"

The Pike was a street a mile long, solidly lined with amusements, more varied, more elaborate and more costly than any previous exposition had ever contained. The broad interior street did not extend the entire length of the Pike, but turned south at the two ends, which made wide entrances, which with additional smaller entrances at convenient points.

The Eastern entrance was marked with the statue "Cowboys Shooting Up A Western Town" by Fredrick Remington.

In this famous street, some fifty entertainments had been installed, at a total cost of several millions. An army of attendants cared for these exhibitions, and people from far and from near contributed to the entertainment.

When night came, and the exhibit palaces were closed, the throng was on the Pike. Everyone on the grounds, took a stroll down the Pike, to see the life, motion, color and light, to hear the bands and listen to the ingenious gentlement whose wits were sharpened in the competition for patronage, and whose vocal powers, assisted by megaphones, vied successfully with the brass bands.
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Gem City Business College, Quincy, Illinois

For those of you who would like to know more about Quincy, Illinois business college, Gem City Business College -- here is what we found online. The USGenWeb Project gives a short history of the Gem City Business College.

We know from John McClure's letters of the early 1900s that Gem City Business College was loacted in Quincy, Illinois. It was founded in 1870 by D. Lafayette Musselman and is still in existence today.

The Adams County ILGenWeb Project says, "Gem City Business College was founded in 1870 by D. L. Musselman, Sr." Musselman started the Gem City Business College with three students, which increased to 33 by the end of the year.

In September, 1892, the magnificent building was opened to students. The present enrollment numbered 1,400, coming from nearly every state in the Union. The $100,000 building, which was thoroughly modern was the home of a school that had a national reputation. Its successful graduates were numbered by the thousands and were located in every section of the globe. Bookkeeping, actual business practice, banking, shorthand, typewriting, mathematics and penmanship were thoroughly taught by a large faculty of experienced teachers.
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Haskell POW Camp Painting

Vol. 11, Iss. 17 - WWII POW Camps & Haskell, OK -- A few weeks ago one of our readers posted information about a WWII POW camp near Haskell, Oklahoma. Susan said, "My mother walked that way to town every day and somehow, (I guess the prisoner spoke some English) struck up a conversation with this POW. He was talking about his own daughter who was about my age and how homesick he was.

"Long story short, he painted a picture of his home and gave it to my mother for me. I would LOVE for someone who was related to that POW to have something their father or grandfather painted. If someone out there has an interest, I can get it down and see if we can read the painters signature, if any exists." -- Susan Dalberg at Email: wolfpaw81@aol.com

This week Susan says, "I got up in the rafters and found the painting. The soldier's name was apparently Grosier. Underneath his printed name it says CP '45. (which would be the year it was painted as I was born in 44)."

Susan also mentioned, "My grandfather came to Oklahoma in 1912 and sold the first tractor, at least in Haskell. He had a furniture store there from 1916 until he retired in 1972. I’m an Okie myself."
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The Passing of Mildred LaVerne Shaw Fugit

Susan says, "My name is Susan Jordan, and I am the granddaughter of Donald Floyd Fugit of Alva and Mildred LaVerne Shaw Fugit of Ingersoll.

"My grandmother Mildred, God rest her soul, just passed away on Wednesday of last week (May 6, 2009), after a 2+ year illness. She was 97 years, 5 months and 1 day old. She was a wonderful person and my friend and confidante. My mom and I miss her terribly.

"My great-grandmother was Verna Galbreath Fugit, and lived in Dacoma at the time of her death in 1971. She was married to Morris Sweeney at the time.

"In summer 1974, I went on a road trip with my family to meet my mother's other grandmother, Jessie Irva Coleman (of Kansas). During the trip, we went to Dacoma to visit Morris, my great-grandma Verna's widower. I was only 9-1/2 on this magical, wonderful road trip, but I still remember our visit to Dacoma as if it were yesterday (I'm 44 now!).

"We didn't know how to find Morris's house, so I was sent up on the nearest front porch to find out. I knocked several times, and was about to give up, when a nice lady finally came to the door. After she gave me directions, she said something to me like, "And if he's not there honey, you all can come back and sit with us a spell!"

"Coming from the Los Angeles area, I was bowled over by this friendliness. We found Morris and had a nice visit. I got to see where my great-grandmother Verna had last lived, and Morris even showed us his storm cellar. Something I'd never seen before in Santa Monica, California (my hometown)!

"When we were heading out, we stopped in this little "general store" of sorts, and that place has stuck in my memory all these years. I was a fan of The Waltons, and this place was like Ike Godsey's store in my 9-year-old mind - utterly fantastic! It had everything for sale in there, it had concrete floors, and these white metal and glass counters you don't see much of anymore, with all kinds of things displayed in them, from different meats to candy, etc.

"I wish to heaven I had asked my mother to take a photograph of the place, but I can still see it in my mind after all these years. On a later trip through the area (when I was 14) to see Morris, who was now in a nursing home, I remember a good-sized brick church (Methodist maybe?) in Dacoma, and the fact that the local elementary school had no fence around it! That was something I'd never seen nor heard of back in L.A. County, that's for sure.

"All these years later, that trip to Oklahoma and Kansas (we did the Route 66 thing) lives on in my heart and memory. I'm glad I got to see where the good folks who came before me lived and grew up. Dacoma will always have a special place in my heart and memory. Thank you for letting me write this."
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Cole Bros. Building In Alva, OK

A few weeks ago someone asked about the Cole Bros. building in Alva, Oklahoma.

Kathy says, "A while back you put the picture of the Cole Bros. building in a OkieLegacy newsletter wondering if anybody had any information. I'm not sure if this is a connection, but ... a Valentine Cole came from Illinois in a covered wagon and homesteaded in Alva. Don't know what year.

"This morning, his grandson, Fred Cole, and his wife from Medicine Lodge were in the cafe for breakfast. The man looked really familiar so I asked if he had ever lived in Alva, Oklahoma or had any relatives there.

"This is when I found out the information about Valentine Cole. Fred's wife told me that Valentine and his wife are buried in Alva. I looked and Valentine and his wife, Louviana, are buried in the Alva Cemetery (as opposed to the Catholic Cemetery). He died in 1912 and she died in 1934.

"I told Fred about the Cole Bros. building and the "mystery," but he didn't know or hadn't ever heard anything. Fred was born in Cambridge, KS.(?) ... had never lived in Alva ... His dad must have been a son of Valentine's."
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Cooking At High Altitudes

Cooking at high altitudes generally requires two basic adjustments:
1. An increase in time for boiled foods.
2. A change in the proportions of ingredients used in leavened foods such as cakes and yeast breads. In some instances, a change in baking temperatures may also be necessary.

Most cake recipes need no modification for sea level up to the altitude of 3,000 feet. Above that, it is often necessary to adjust recipes slightly. Usually, a decrease in leavening or sugar (or both) and an increase in liquid are needed. Remember, ingredients such as eggs or butter are considered liquids. -- http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/High-Altitude-Cake-Baking/Detail.aspx

GUIDE FOR CAKE BAKING AT HIGH ALTITUDES
Adjustment for 3000 feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon decrease 1/8 teaspoon.
* Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 1 tablespoon.
* Increase liquid: for each cup, add 1 to 2 tablespoons.
* Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

Adjustment for 5000 feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.
* Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 2 tablespoons.
Increase liquid: for each cup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons.
* Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

Adjustment for 7000+ feet:
* Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/4 teaspoon.
* Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 1 to 3 tablespoons.
* Increase liquid: for each cup, add 3 to 4 tablespoons.
* Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
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Camp Gruber: The War Years

"AMERICA’S entry into World War II brought many changes to the home front. Northeastern Oklahoma felt the impact firsthand on January 8, 1942, when the Muskogee Phoenix confirmed a report naming the Cookson Hills as the site for a planned military cantonment.

"The complex would be named Camp Gruber in honor of the late Brigadier General Edmund L. Gruber, composer of “The Caisson Song.” The camp was located on Highway 10, eighteen miles east of Muskogee, Oklahoma.

"Manhattan Construction Company of Muskogee was awarded the building contract, and a work force of 12,000 men began construction in February 1942. The production pace in the first month was so hectic that a building was completed every twenty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It took four months to build the camp, at a project cost of thirty million dollars." -- Camp Gruber: The War Years
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AHS Class of '59 Reunion

Bill Beeler says, "Thanks for letting those know who the class of 1959 was looking for. Walt Payne has been located. Still looking for the others. We have a good group coming and are planning for a busy weekend. Will have a tent set up at the Nescatunga Arts Festival on the square that weekend. Should be a great weekend for all. Thank you for your help."
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