Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, Colorado - It has been a wet, rainy one this weekend and continuing into Monday afternoon, in the southwest corner of Colorado. Maybe some of this rain and moisture will head towards Oklahoma.

In mid-August in the Colorado Rockies it is that time of year that the black bears move to oak brush habitat in search of berries and acorns. During this fall hyperfagia phase, if the food supply is there, they will feed 20 hours a day, consuming 20,000 calories and adding 2-4 pounds of fat daily for their winter hibernation. They may eat 20-30 lbs. of chokecherries (it takes 1500 to make a pound), serviceberries, squaw-apples, buffalo-berries and gambel oak acorns a day.

If their usual natural food sources are scarce, they will search for alternative food, which often brings them into conflict with people. Read more about bears at Bear Smart Durango. Also checkout the Bear Conflict menu tab to see a picture of the bear that used the stone wall behind our house at Vallecito back in . . . was it 2002 after the big forest fire? Anyway the photo is the one at the top of that page.

The reason we mentioned bears this week is because early this evening there was a bear sighting walking through our yard again just after dusk. Thanks goodness us Pugs were not outside at the time and the bird feeders were taken inside.

Good Night & Good Luck! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

This Day In History (August 29)

On Aug. 29, 1915, Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish international film star, was born. Following her death on August 29, 1982, her obituary appeared in The Times. Go to obituary.

On This Date, @9 August . . .

• 1533 - The last Incan king, Atahualpa, was murdered on orders from Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.
• 1632 - English philosopher John Locke was born in Somerset.
• 1877 - Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church, died in Salt Lake City at age 76.
• 1944 - American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.
• 1957 - Sen. Strom Thurmond, D-S.C., ended the longest filibuster in Senate history after talking for 24 hours, 18 minutes against a civil rights bill.
• 1958 - Pop singer Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Ind.
• 1965 - Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after eight days in space.
• 1966 - The Beatles performed their last concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

NW Okie's Corner

Bayfield, Colorado - We want to thank all of you who responded to us during our work through of our OkieLegacy mailing list database debacle last Monday, August 22 & 23, when we published last week's "OkieLegacy" newsletter. We hope you finally got your email copy of the Vol. 13, Iss. 34 this Sunday, August 28, 2011. Thanks for your input, feedback and patience! Also a big Thanks to nwOKtechie for helping us get the database mailer up and working again.

We heard from Sandie Olson (Email: sandie.olson@gmail.com) with the Waynoka Historical Society this weekend. Sandie is looking for information about a hotel in Avard which may have been named Lindsey Hotel. What Sandie was telling me, "A brother and sister inherited it. It was cut into two pieces and moved to Waynoka for houses. The late Jim Lindsey lived in his half, and had a sporting goods store. Recently several pictures were found in the attic - portraits and a cabinet card photo of the P.C. McDonald Carriage Painting business. Address (house number) of the latter is 717, it probably isn't Avard."

If you have any information about the hotel or the photos Sandie Olson would appreciated hearing from you. You can email Sandie at the email listed above.

Roy reminds us in his OkieLegacy Comment, Feature #6166, concerning John Standley's It's In the Book, "I think that I wrote you about Johnny Standley and this recording several years ago! Johnny had been a member of the Standley Family Players who had followed the Chautauqua Circuit (traveling shows) over Oklahoma towns and those north to Nebraska. A few years ago I was rehearsing for a play with the (now defunct) Mummer's Theater in Oklahoma City and between scenes I made the remark: 'It's In The Book.'

"To which our director Mack Scizm said: 'Roy, this lady next to me is Martha Standley Knott, and it was her brother Johnny who recorded that record called It's In The Book!"

"And then he (and she, Martha) told me the story about the Standley family of actors who had done various little plays and skits while traveling 'on the road' with these presentations. Martha and her daughter performed in several of the Mummer's productions."

Good Night & Good Luck searching your ancestors! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

FOIA - Freedom of Information Act

Do you need a place to send off for records like Social security for your ancestry searches? You might try doing some ancestry searches for social security records for that certain ancestor at Social Security Online. Did you know that many records are available in their Reading Room? View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Eddy Duchin, The 1930's & 1940's Pianist

This week we transferred some 78rpm vinyl records to MP3 to add to our Prairie Pioneer 78rpm Jukebox. Have you ever heard of Eddy Duchin, the pianist and band leader, from the 1930's to 1940's? We have put the Eddy Duchin and other NEW MP3 files in another playlist of our MP3 Flash player over at Prairie Pioneer 78rpm Jukebox.

Edwin Frank Duchin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 1 (or 10), 1909 (or 1910) and died February 9, 1951 from a fight against Leukemia. Duchin first became a pharmacist before turning full-time to music, beginning his career with Leo Reisman's orchestra at the Central Park Casino in New York. This lead to eventually becoming the Reisman orchestra's leader by 1932. Duchin was one of the earliest pianists to lead a commercially successful large band, with his popularity soaring by his regular radio broadcasts which boosted his record sales.

Duchin played what some might call "sweet" music rather than jazz. Duchin success opened a new gate for similar piano playing sweet bandleaders such as Henry King, Joe Reichman, Nat Brandwynne, Dick Gasparre, Little Jack Little, and Carmen Cavallaro to compete with the large jazz bands for radio time and record sales.

Duchin had no formal music training, but he developed a style rooted in classical music that some saw as the forerunner of Liberace's ornate approach. Duchin was considered easy to listen to without being entirely predictable. Duchin would often use soft beautiful voices singers such as Durelle Alexander and Lew Sherwood to accommodate his sweet and romantic songs, which gave them era appeal and making them more interesting.

Duchin entered the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving as a combat officer in a destroyer squadron in the Pacific.[1] He attained the rank of lieutenant commander (O4). After his discharge from the military, Duchin was unable to reclaim his former stardom in spite of a stab at a new radio show in 1949.

On February 9, 1951, Eddy Duchin died at age 41 in New York City of acute myelogenous leukemia. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Freedom (OK) Rodeo Old Cowhand 2011

Freedom, Oklahoma - Anyone know Harold Dean Hepner? He was this years (2011) Old Cowhand at the 74th Annual Freedom Rodeo & Old Cowhand Reunion, August 18th through the 20th, in Freedom, Oklahoma.

We received a copy of the 74th Annual Freedom Rodeo & Old Cowhand Reunion program that was held in the biggest, littlest, friendliest western town of Freedom, Woods county, Oklahoma.

Harold Dean Hepner was born during the hardest and most turbulent times in 1931 (Dust Bowl and Great Depression), in Northwest Oklahoma to Paul and Reta Hepner. It was a time when powers of Europe were about to plunge the world into a bloodiest conflict in history. Locally, beef prices was bringing between 3 and 4 cents a pound and wheat was selling for $1.05 per bushel.

Hepner's first home was northwest of Freedom on the homestead his grandfather, W. V. Pancoast began shortly after living on Indian lands. For the next 80 years Harold has seen countless changes. Harold Dean Hepner is a member of the "Greatest Generation" and was not one to seek, enjoy the spotlight as some might have read in the 74th Annual Freedom Rodeo Program.

The Freedom Rodeo program goes on to inform us that Harold's early memories of farm life include his early introduction to the cattle industry as milling cows, while trying to avoid being kicked or spilling the bucket. Instead of the tractors and plows farmers have today, Harold remembers preparing to plow by harnessing a Percheron Draft Horse.

Harold also remembered the International tractor with lug wheels on which he later drove at the age of 8 years. Harold's entry into the cattle business came with the purchase of 3 heifers and has continued to this day. Remember when your parents (or maybe grandparents) would tell you how they rode a horse or walked to school throughout their days? harold Hepner did just that. His grade school experiences wre spread between the Unity and West Union country schools before attending 6th grade in Freedom.

Harold attended Freedom High School where his FFA team won the Denver Livestock Show Judging Contest. harold also won the Jr. and Open show in Chicago with a steer he bred and raised. It was Harold's senior year of high school where he was the recipient of the Jr. Master Farmer award. In 1951, Harold was awarded the horn of FFA American Farmer.

Harold remembered his high school days of when he hid mice in his teacher's desk or secretly acquired cookies from the Home Ec room. Besides FFA, Harold participated in baseball, basketball and track. It was Harold's participation in the school cantata that proved to be the activity with the biggest impact. It was there that he and Jeanne Gibson, a local girl from south of the river, took notice of each other. It was this experience and bonding throughout their lives that would lead to a courtship and marriage in May, 1951, which marks their 60th anniversary.

Harold was drafted shortly after their wedding and served in the Army, which was spent on duty in US-occupied Japan as the Conflict raged in nearby Korea. It was during this time in his life that he missed a Freedom Rodeo.

When Harold returned to the States, he and Jeanne moved to South Dakota for a short time, while Oklahoma was going through a severe drought. it was the sever cold that brought the couple back home to Oklahoma, where they have stayed ever since. From a farm north of Freedom, Harold and Jeanne began farming and ranching which has prepared over the years.

Harold's wife, mate and farm/ranch "plow-girl" went back to college and earned both a Bachelors and Masters degree and taught at Freedom Schools for 22 years. Jeanne progressed to ownership of the Sage and Saddle Bed & Breakfast just north and east of Freedom. Harold and Jeanne have raised two children and proudly boast of five grandchildren and two great grandsons.

Harold's involvement without he Freedom Rodeo has ranged from spectator, participant as an aspiring calf roper, and the ob of chute man for the roping events. From his first Freedom Rodeo in 1938 to now, he has seen rickety wooden horse trailers, compared to toy's diesel trucks pulling air-conditioned trailers complete with living quarters and everything in between.

As stated by Harold and Jeanne's son, Lyndon Hepner, in the Freedom Rodeo Program, Lyndon finishes with, "From the Dirty Thirties to a New Millennium, Harold Dean has remained a constant tribute to the lifestyle that includes the Cowboy traits of honesty, modesty, common horse sense, frugality, and good old-fashioned hard work. He doesn't always say a lot of words but his actions that speak louder show that his life expresses what makes him this year's Honored Old Cowhand of 2011." View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Oklahoma History Refresher

Oklahoma - Did you know... That until 1819 on the north and 1824 on the east, Arkansas claimed the boundaries of northern and eastern Oklahoma indicated by the broken lines in the Oklahoma map view to the right.

From 1855 to 1866... state lands were divided among the tribes of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Leased Indian Land, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and the Quapaw - Seneca - Shawnee. As seen in this 1855 to 1866 Oklahoma Map. (Click Link for Map View).

By the time of the "Run"... In April, 1889, Oklahoma had been divided as shown in the 1889 Map of Oklahoma. (Click Link for Map View) The Unassigned Lands in central Oklahoma were opened for homesteading at that time. It included the Unassigned Lands; the Cherokee Strip in the northwest; the Osage (Pawhuska); the Cherokee (Tahlequah); the Cheyenne and Arapahoe (Ft. Reno); the Creek (Okmulgee); the Wichita Caddo; Greer County; Kiowa, Comanche and Apache (Ft. Sill); Chickasaw (Tishomingo); Choctaw (Tuskahoma); etc...

Prior to statehood... In 1907 there was Oklahoma Territory in the northwest and Indian Territory in the southeast... As shown in the Oklahoma Map prior to 1907 statehood. (Click Link for Map View).

According to a history of "Watonga 1892-1992", by Frank J. Moudry, Oklahoma was originally the land of Indians. It was occupied almost solely by Indians from the early 1800's until 1889. As progress and civilization moved westward it was opened to white settlement. There were nine great land openings...

1. April 22, 1889... The Unassigned Lands or "Old Oklahoma."
2. May 2, 1890... No-Man's Land or Panhandle was opened by the Organic Act.
3. September 22, 1891... Sac and Fox Reservation, Iowa Reservation and Pottawatomie-Shawnee Reservation.
4. April 19, 1892... Cheyenne - Arapaho Reservation.
5. September 16, 1893... Cherokee Outlet, Pawnee Reservation and Tonkawa Reservation.
6. May 25, 1895... Kickapoo Reservation.
7. January 1897... Old Greer County, by the Greer County Homestead Act.
8. August 6, 1901... Kiowa - Comanche - Apache Reservation and Wichita - Caddo Reservation.
9. 1906... Big Pasture, 500,000 acres reserved from original Kiowa - Comanche - Apache Reservation.

Cherokee Strip Outlet

Oklahoma - The Cherokee Outlet (a.k.a. Cherokee Strip) was formed by the United States government to give the Cherokee Indians of Eastern Oklahoma a path or "Outlet" to hunting lands in the West. It ran along the northern part of Oklahoma Territory.

The Trail Drovers from Texas crossed the Outlet to move thousands of head of cattle to the railroads in Kansas for shipment back east. Many drovers of these cattle drives refused to pay the Indians for passage across their land, though. The Indians frequently would stampede the cattle and in confusion liberate a few head for themselves. This is about the time a group of cattlemen (a.k.a. "The Cherokee Strip Livestock Association") finally leased the Outlet for a period of years.

Of course... this was NOT the end of the troubles the Indians and the Association ran into. It just brought more settlers slipping into the "Strip" to establish farms.

After several years... the U.S. Government stepped in because of the pressure from the people wanting the Outlet opened for settlement. This is when the lease between the Association and the Cherokee Indians was declared null and void. The government pressured the Indians into accepting a $1.25 per acre buyout for their land. In the final negotiations, the dollar sum was fixed at 8-1/2 million or approximately $1.29 per acre.

The Outlet was divided into 4 districts

1. The westernmost segment was called "Woodward Land District" (formerly referred to as "N" county).
2. The next division to the east became the "Alva Land District" (earlier known as "M" county. In 1907, it split into three counties... Woods, Major and Alfalfa.)
3. Further to the east was the "Enid Land District" (previously "L" county and "O" county).
4. At the far eastern end of the Outlet was the "Perry Land District" (which had been "K", "P", and "Q" counties).

Text of Original Homestead Act

Oklahoma - 37th Congress Session II 1862, Chapter LXXV. An Act to secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States,

And who has never borne arms against the United States Government or given aid and comfort to its enemies, shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands, upon which said person may have filed a preemption claim, or which may, at the time the application is made, be subject to preemption at one dollar and twenty-five cents, or less, per acre; or eighty acres or less of such unappropriated lands, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be located in a body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed: Provided, That any person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted
That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the Government of the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use of benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the register or receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified: Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry; or, if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death; shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided for by law: And provided, further, That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall enure to the benefit of said infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States, on payment of the office fees and sum of money herein specified.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted
That the register of the land office shall note all such applications on the tract books and plats of his office, and keep a register of all such entries, and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted
That no lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing of the patent therefor.

Sec. 5. And be if further enacted
That if, at any time after the filing of the affidavit, as required in the second section of this act, and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proven after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her residence, or abandoned the said land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the government.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted
That no individual shall be permitted to acquire title to more than one quarter section under the provisions of this act; and that the Commissioner of the General Land Office is hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the same compensation for any lands entered under the provisions of this act that they are now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with money, one half to be paid by the person making the application at the time of so doing, and the other half on the issue of the certificate by the person to whom it may be issued; but this shall not be construed to enlarge the maximum of compensation now prescribed by law for any register or receiver: Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to impair or interfere in any manner whatever with existing preemption rights; And provided, further, That all persons who may have filed their application for a preemption right prior to the passage of this act, shall be entitled to all privileges of this act: Provided, further, That no person who has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period of not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States, either regular or volunteers under the laws thereof, during the existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this act on account of not having attained the age of twenty-one years.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted
That the fifth section of the act entitled "An act in addition to an act more effectually to provide for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States, and for other purposes," approved the third of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, required or authorized by this act.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted
That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent any person who has availed him or herself of the benefits of the first section of this act, from paying the minimum price, or the price to which the same may have graduated, for the quantity of land so entered at any time before the expiration of the five years, and obtaining a patent therefor from the government, as in other cases provided by law, on making proof of settlement and cultivation as provided by existing laws granting preemption rights. APPROVED, May 20, 1862. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

4th Indian Land Opening, O.T., 19 April 1892

Oklahoma - Let us explore the 4th Indian Land Opening, April 19, 1892. In the map to the left (outlined in red) is the 4th Land Opening, April 19, 1892 (Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Reservation). It is located on the west edge of Oklahoma Territory - South of the Cherokee Strip - North of Old Greer County, Kiowa-Comanche and Apache reservation, and Wichita-Caddo reservation.

According to the Act of Congress provisions . . . dated the 24th April 1820 (An Act making further provision for the sale of the Public Lands), President Grover Cleveland gave in trust to Amos A. Ewing (Probate Judge), the S/2 of Section 19, Township 16 North, Range 11 West Indian Meridian (WIM), and described on official Plat as Lots 3-4 E/2 SW/4 and SE/4 of Section 19, Township 16N of Range 11 WIM, containing three hundred nine and thirty hundredths (309.30) acres, at $1.50 per acre, for the total sum of $463.95, said receipt and certificate being issued to said Probate Judge for the use and benefit of the occupants thereof according to their respective interests.

The Watonga history of 1892-1992 . . . goes on to say that the county seat towns were designated by the proclamation. At 4:00pm deeds to the town lots were issued by the Probate Judge (Amos Ewing). Judge Ewing, as Trustee of Watonga Townsite of Watonga, "C" (Blaine) County, Oklahoma Territory, sold all the lots mentioned in this book to the first title holders in 1892, except those mentioned otherwise. W. R. Granger was register of deeds, "C" County, O.T.

Watonga is located . . . in the exact center of Blaine County and is named after an Arapaho Chief, Wa-Ah (means black) Dan-Ga-Ah (means coyote). A well-versed Arapaho once told someone, "You know how the white man mess things up, they just spelled it like it sounded to them."

The Watonga history also mentions... Judge Ewing was accused of wrong-doing in selling lots for his personal gain to his henchmen (Sooners/Boomers) when they had no entry certificate allowing them to be able to purchase lots. It was never proven that he had henchmen, and the other accusations were never proven. The land was patented to Amos A. Ewing, Probate Judge, October 22, 1895.

W. S. Wishard's Letter . . . Attorney for Watonga (W.S. Wishard) wrote a letter to the Department of Interior in regard to a patent. Wishard also must have inquired as to the Lot reservation to Judge Amos A. Ewing. You can read the Reply to Mr. Wishard's Letter.

In 1895 . . in the City of Watonga, there were two grocery stores, three blacksmith and wagon shops, one feed store, one drug store, one meat market, two clothing stores, Post Office, three hotels, Court House, jail, two saloons, bank building, three livery barns, one feed stall, power mill, five real estate and law offices, three newspaper buildings, one school building, two churches, one bakery, one cotton gin, one implement sotre, three general merchandise stores, one dry goods store, one millinery, and three hardware stores. View/Write Comments (count 1)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe