THE BLUE FRONT SALOON AND MISSION

The Blue Front Saloon was located at the corner of Grand Avenue and Santa Fe (7 Grand Avenue) in downtown Oklahoma City.

When it was established has yet to be discovered. It was mentioned as a wild locale in a newspaper account dated 1904. It was well known as a part of the rowdy "Hell's Half Acre" of Oklahoma City. Gunplay, gambling, prostitution and crime were rampent. The area had swiftly developed from its founding in 1889 and the town was filled with brick and morter structures within months of its birth. The saloon was described as being fronted by broad windows normally covered by blinds. The image shows an Oklahoma City street scene Easter of 1900 (linked from original source).

In 1904 a holiness school was opened called the Beaulah Holiness School in the area of Becham and Carter counties. 1905 a group called the Fire Baptized Holiness Church, under the direction of J.H. King held a revival in the Lamont area. In that year, a group in Billings held a service where several people were baptized in the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and frightened many of the people attending the service!

In 1906 a revival began in far off Los Angeles that would have a direct impact on the life of many in Oklahoma. An African American holiness minister would begin a series of services in an old warehouse that would cross denominational, gender, and race lines in promoting a spiritual experience bringing the Book of Acts alive to a new century. These people sought redemption and experienced signs and wonders akin to the Biblical examples. People from across the nation who had been ardently seeking deeper spiritual experiences when to California to see first hand what was happening there. Some were shocked and left and others were certain that as Amie Simple McPherson would later say, "This is that", this was the experience the prophets had foretold. Those believed spilled out across the land sharing the vital new message of renewal and renewed spirituality.

In 1907 the notorious but now closed saloon was leased by two Holiness ministers and became the Blue Front Saloon Mission. In August of that same year the two men, R.B. Beall and O.C. Wilkins received what was known as the 'baptism of the Holy Spirit' and spoke in other tongues. It then became one of the first pentecostal churches in the central United States. Although no known photo of the saloon has been found, it may have looked like the saloon in Carnegie dated at about 1900. Unidentified photo.

In about 1907-08 it was being pastored by Rev. H.P. Lott. He had been in a revival in Billings, Ok in 1905 when one of the earliest recorded instances of speaking in tongues and the classical Pentecostal experience occurred in Oklahoma. Under Lott's leadership the mission expanded to include a rescue home for 'wayward women'. This was a common outreach by churches and civic groups in a time when girls and women were often seduced and abandoned in a society that was often unforgiving of such falls from a moral high ground. The local prostitution business also sometimes used deceptive means to renew their 'stable' of workers. Young, naive girls coming to the city for the first time were often easy targets to lure into the trade or to assault and coerce into working in one of the houses or, as they were coyly called, 'resorts.'

Some Sources:

McGill, Albert. Satan Came Also. 1955

Paul, Harold. Dan T. Muse: From Printer's Devil to Bishop. 1975

THE AWFUL HORROR THAT WASN'T

Nearing 1910, there was great fear as a comet was set to pass by the planet in its 75 year journey around the sun. In the past, its passing had been magnificently fearsome, and prophets were sure this would be a terrible and awesome event as well: Halley's Comet.

It also allowed for warped humor to rise to the surface to sell newspapers. A newspaper writer in New York printed a story of horrible and savage ceremonies in a far and exotic location: in Colorado and eventually morphed to have occurred near Aline, Oklahoma.

The exotic drama included a beautiful maiden, human sacrifice, a daring adventuresome Sheriff riding to the rescue, and wild eyed fanatics under the spell of some ancient god as the time of the comet drew near.

I ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THAT

There are so many conveniences we take for granted most of the time. Things like walks. In areas where natural rock was sparse or non-existent, how did people create walkways through muddy yards or get from point "A" to point "B" without slogging through ankle deep mud. The answer was revealed from a photo simply identified as having been taken in Guthrie, Oklahoma ca. 1900. The "walk" up to the front porch and around the side of the house was created by lengths of lumber (from the size perhaps as long as 12 feet, 2 inches deep, and perhaps 8 to 12 inches wide in some places). Note the pride of place for the bicycle as well.

Daring Japanese Girl Spy - 1904

In 1904 a story came out of Japan about the 'daring exploits' of a Miss Ando Yoshi. In a dangerous move , and with great personal risk, she stole important war maps held by the Russians in Port Arthur and wearing a disguise stole across the vast Russian countryside to make it to "Peking". The maps outlined defensive positions and plans along the Manchurian boundaries where Russian forces would be moved in an offensive strike. Although a poor girl, she did not wish to become a geisha, so instead worked hard to earn a living making and selling rice cakes. News that a good living could be made in Manchuria - she went there. She sold first to Japanese residents, then to Chinese and then to the Russians. Many suspected after the fact that it had been her glossy black hair and "bright eyes" that "played havoc" with the Russians, who favored her in the selling of rice cakes. This boom in business provided her access, knowledge and opportunity once she learned of the maps and their intent. Source notes indicate the story originated from the "New York Sun".

MUM IS THE WORD

Several legends exist about the supposed mummified remains of John Wilkes Booth residing for long years in the attic of an Enid store and strange mummies found elsewhere with bizarre features or anomolous surroundings. Sometimes the stories are true underscoring the fact that truth can be the strangest of all.

Occasionally, one hears of strange things have been done to bodies. People preserved and kept in the company board room, or kept on display as a sample of how good the embalming job at XYZ frontier funeral parlor. bad men killed while robbing a bank were often put on display and as late as the 1930's the bodies of Bonnie and Clyde and their henchmen were displayed as stark lessons to any who contemplated fighting the law.

There is a story that one Elmer McCurdy, outlaw, alias Frank Curtis and Frank Davidson. It is said "he was killed during a robbery by a sheriff's posse near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on October 7, 1911. 66 years later, his mummified body was found in a fun house attraction at the Long Beach, California Nu-Pike amusement park. It was during the filming of an episode of TV's "Six Million Dollar Man," that a technician rearranged what was thought to be a mannequin, only to have one of McCurdy's arms fall off. Elmer is now buried here in 1977, under 2-1/2 yards of concrete. May he rest in peace; even an outlaw deserves that respect.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THOSE OKLAHOMA HILLS

NOTE CORRECTION TO EMAIL: From the producers "the email address for Boggy Depot Bigfoot Conference is boggydepotbigfoot@aol.com not yahoo" -- They just got the website up you can stop by at boggydepotbigfoot.com - We hope to see you at the conference! "

In the early 1960's, keeping pace some said with tales emerging out of the Pacific Northwest, stories begin to surface of strange critters roaming the river runs and forests of Oklahoma.

El Reno Chicken Man. Oklahoman (1970 Dec pg?). Original article not yet found. Mysterious tracks located around a chicken coop that had had its door pulled off [cited in “Monster prints called fake”].

Lawton alert for “wolfman.” Oklahoman (1971 Mar 3 pg 46).The “thing” described in this AP story as traipsing around this southwestern corner of the state as being “tall, very hairy, with a distorted face and wearing pants several sizes too small.” Moreover it was alleged to be able to jump 15 feet from a standing start or drop from a second story balcony with out ill effects. C. Edward Green, 24, was a witness and declared it was no hoax. He described its ability to jump, said it was heavily bearded with extremely thick, black hair all over its body. Donald Childs, 36, suffered a seizure when it sprang out of a nearby field, leap a fish pond, and “really move out” toward an alley. When first seen was simply sitting in a flower bed near the pond. Unidentified others, including three soldiers from Ft. Sill, reported sighting it as well.Monster prints called fake. Oklahoman. (1972 Jul 26 pg 21) by Cecial Peaden. The director of the OKC Zoo, Lawrence Curtis, and Hayden Hewes, director of the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, gave their opinions on a set of tracks from a Louisiana, MO sighting (by Edgar Harrison’s son and daughter) that had people in two states puzzled. Zoologists from the University of Missouri declared it was not a bear but could not say what it was. The creature seen making the tracks was described as “tall, hairy creature”. Hewes leaned toward a “visitor from a flying saucer” and Curtis of the zoo declared they were probably fakes. However, black hairs were found around the print and were being sent to Oklahoma for analysis.

Experts to join search at Noxie. Oklahoman (1975 Sept 9 pg 28.).A group of researchers with Hayden Hewes, associated with the Association for the Investigation of the Unexplained, descend on a small community southwest Oklahoma near. Hewes reported about a dozen sightings had been made of a “hairy seven-foot monster” with “eyes that glow in the dark” had been reported in the area since 1972. Armed with cameras, tape recorders, and a Geiger counter they planned to search for evidence.

State’s own “Bigfoot” topic of talk. Oklahoman. (1977 Jun 4 pg 9). Bob Stamps of The International Organization for the Unknown presented a talk at the Edmond Broadway Motor Inn. He reported sightings from the NE corner of the state and shared alleged tapes and films of the “Bigfoot” creatures.Sasquatch send sooner…. Oklahoman (1977 Aug 7 pg 200).Story by staff writer Robert B. Allen “somewhere in northeast Oklahoma”, along researchers Mike Williams and Bob Stamps investigate the “fabled, hairy monster of Big Timber Hills”. An OKC psychic, Charles O. Rhoades, had led a group into the area where he as “confident" something would be found.

Mysterious Creature Stalk….Oklahoman (1977 Aug 10 pg 33). From Stilwell, staff writer Jim Etter reported that a teenager had been clawed by a “hairy nine-foot-tall “something” with “glowing red eyes” in wooded northeastern Oklahoma. Adair county Gary Faden had confirmed their investigation being kept low key to prevent a panic and people getting “guns out there and getting someone shot.” Reports indicated the creature “stalks in the moonlight, peers through windows with its red eyes, grunts like a hog and bounds off…

”Lie-Detector….. Oklahoman (1977 Aug 8 pg 240). Jim Etter continues with an account of a Colorado private detective who ran a “psychological stress evaluation” lie-detector test on statements made by 17 yr old Brian Jones about his story of being attacked by a hairy creature. The youth had reported to authorities he had made the story up and had lied during a polygraph test in Ft. Smith, Ark. The Colorado detective, Forrest Erickson (Wheat Ridge, CO) said that it was his opinion the boy had told the truth and his test bore it out. “I really believe the boy’s telling the truth…I can’t believe that he’s not telling the truth.

"Search for “Big Foot.” Oklahoman (1977 Aug 21 pg. 30).Profiles Bob Stamps who hoped to become a full time big foot hunter and support himself by writing. To that end he had written several un-published magazine articles, including one titled “Sexual Encounters with Sasquatch.” Timeline of events noted: Aug 7 article appeared with story of Stamps and the overnight Big foot hunt; two days later Brian Jones reported that on August 5 he had been attacked (clawed and thrown in the air) by 9 foot tall hairy creature near Stilwell. Other reports of the period were cited without dates but included people had reported partially eaten goats and missing calves.

This should get you in the mood for an event near Atoka in October 2010 (22-23). The Boggy Depot Bigfoot Conference will be the site of workshops, guest speakers, music, food, and lots of entertainment as a fundraising for some great causes. For information contact: boggydepotbigfoot@yahoo.com

'CRY BABY BRIDGE' - Oklahoma Style

Conduct a search and you are sure to find entries like this: " The real "Cry Baby Bridge" is in....(Kiefer, Schulter, Catoosa, Oklahoma City, and there are 3 more "fake " ones in Kellyville.) The road has been completely re-routed, and the bridge is no longer standing. The original legend goes like this: Legends states that if you go there you can sometimes hear, or see, the woman looking for her baby in the form of a glowing soft blue light. " -- See Shadowlands, or numerous other sites that lifted their information in total.

Despite some postings like this on various websites this is one story that has to be re-evaluated with facts. Debate on the web as to the location of the "real" Crybaby Bridge in Oklahoma totally ignores the folkloric root of this tale. It is in folklore that the meaning and identification of the bridge must be found.

The story of the Crybaby Bridge always begs the question, which one? Such bridges have been identified through local legend in almost every state from New York to Ohio to Oklahoma and a few further west. Since the story did not originate in Oklahoma all claims that the "real" bridge is in Oklahoma are untrue.

Experts have seen that in the western versions, there is an apparent relationship to the Hispanic tale of La Llorona. This old legend tells of a woman who drowned her children to be with her young lover, who in turn deserted her. The contemporary case of Susan Smith comes to mind as a modern example of just the same type of tragedy. This source tale may date back to pre-colonial Mexico and may even refer to an early native deity.

In these crybaby bridge tales a frequent motif is the (a)shamed daughter rejected by her father, (b) baby and woman died (either through cold or through drowning), and listeners are encouraged to remember the tale as (c) a memorial to lost innocence.

An old Irish folk song may have helped shape the development of this legend. in modern times. “Mary of the Wild Moors” is a haunting tune that has the elements of the shamed daughter, the infant baby, the rejecting father, and the lingering cry heard in the place of their death on the cold stoop of the cottage. It is moody and haunting making it a memorable tale.

Although, many areas have their haunted hollows, stretches of eerie road or spooky woods (one such place was recorded near El Reno in the early 1900's, the sight of an alleged murder). Many of these bridge tales, by comparison, seemed to have all arisen during the 1920's and 1930's.

If, as many believe, urban legends, are as much morality tales cautioning about behavior, then the often dangerous bridges of the early years, coupled with the moral threat posed by a newly independently mobile youth, could easily have led to the development of this tale and explain its enduring appeal.

Oklahoma, like Ohio, has several bridges identified as a Cry Baby Bridge. Most have been closed down over the years, lost as roads were rerouted, or simply replaced by newer bridges. I visited one alleged sight in southwest Oklahoma County. It was down an old dirt road and had been closed for decades to motor vehicles. The metal had rusted and the wooden planks were beginning to weaken.

It crossed a narrow ravine where a tiny trickle of dirty water flowed decorated here and there with the debris of cast off appliances and car parts. An old concrete pipe in one side of the ravine served to spill out rain water from somewhere.
In the clear light of day I could hear the wind sighing through the pipe, and knew that in the dead of night it might sound like the whimpering cries of a child, or the mournful pleas of a woman in pain.

Looking around at the lonely road, its tall stand of scrub grasses and volunteer trees, circadian hums playing background music to my musings, I wished I too had come in the night. This was something to be savored and remembered before it too disappeared into myth.

One day the bridge would be gone, replaced by a staid modern bridge, and it would loose something along the way. The modern replacement bridges, with their multiple lanes of harsh glaring concrete with stable, unimaginative barriers spanning waterways the drivers can no longer even see, are no match. They are traversed by hurried traffic with no time to pause and enjoy the 'what if' or the 'just maybe's' that make life fun. Every new bridge seems designed to defy any legend, no matter how romantic and enduring, to linger.

SPECIAL OCTOBER PRICING FOR OKC AREA

"Hurry, spread the word!" October is already filling up for the'Oklahoma Ghost Teller'; but some times are still available. If you are a library in the OKC METRO AREA, I am offering a special pricing for some select dates.

Evening, Saturday or Sunday programs for ages 10 to adult. The usual fee for a story program in a library by the Oklahoma Ghost Teller is $80.00; however, I am offering a special this October for Sat., Sun. or evening programs of $50.00 (approx. 45 min).

The week of Oct. 11-15, I will be available during day hours as well.

Outside the OKC METRO AREA may be possible (under 100 miles) plus mileage (2-way) at current IRS rate. Email to see what is possible!

HURRY - SCHEDULE NOW!

I'M NOT LYING....IT WAS A LION

Recently, the news in and around Oklahoma is the apparent reappearance of mountain lions in regions experts swore would not have these particular felines. Others, swear that they have seen mysterious black panthers as well. Sometimes, despite the best scientific pronouncements, animals can be out of place.

It reminds me of back in the late 1970's in Altus, Oklahoma. In the middle of one summer night a strange and exotic sound covered the southwest Oklahoma town. A roaring lion is hard to be mistaken for anything else but a roaring lion. Then later, traveling down the main 'drag' looking to the side as a vehicle with a group of teens is overtaking you. The teens are hooping and hollering, as they are often known to do when under an excess of high spirits, and the large mane of the lion is tousled by the wind as the car races past.

The large mane of the lion??????

Subsequent research has been difficult on this particular story. No one seems to want to talk in detail, perhaps for fear of reprisal for admittance to what was no doubt an illegal action. I suppose this aspect; it might be that in that time and place ownership of one (or two as some claim) African lions was less encumbered by legalities. Some claim the owners ran one or two bars in the community, known as either the "Bamboo" or the "Upper Room." Others claim the lion came from a nearby community where the lion was a mascot for the local team.

African lions are not easy to care for requiring large amounts of food, space, and social interaction. Some have suggested the lion(s) was donated to a zoo or wildlife preserve. For more information on lions check out "Why Lions Don't Make Good Pets".

If anyone has a memory of this 'mystery', please contact me: marilynahudsonATyahoo.com

[copyright 2005]

RALPH ELLISON PUBLIC LIBRARY: A LITERARY LANDMARK OF NE OKC

His birthplace was long ago torn down in the on rush of Urban Renewal, but one of America's stellar literary voices lives on in a very special and fitting way in northeast section of Oklahoma's capital city.

At the corner of NE 23 and Martin Luther King in Oklahoma City, is a library named for the late Ralph Ellison, author of the highly acclaimed Invisible Man, who was born in Oklahoma City in 1914 and grew up there.

He is shown here at a book signing reception held at the brand new Ralph Ellison Library when it opened in the early 1970's.

When the facility opened in 1975, the same year he was elected to the The American Academy of Arts and Letters , it was the finalization of the dreams of thousands in the Oklahoma City area and an expression of the rich heritage of the surrounding community. It quickly established itself as a center for African-American social history and a nexus for community development. It's 'Black Heritage Collection' became the popular research spot for historians, authors, and students from across the state and the nation.

To mark its unique spot in OKC history, the author Ralph Ellison graced the opening with his presence and was there to see the bronze bas relief of his profile and the display of copies of his award winning work in various international languages in a glass cabinet. He would, long after his death, continue to inspire youth and adults with his literary achievement.

As much as this library was, and still is, an information resource, it is also a strong center of community activities for all of the Northeast Oklahoma City community. They celebrate a history of providing strong children, youth, and career focused programming and resources. They celebrate the rich ethnic heritage of the area with cultural celebrations and resources that reflect the influence and role of African Americans in all of American history and especially in that of Oklahoma.

In 2025, the library will be 50 years old. It's past would have seen the living leaders of Civil Rights in Oklahoma City attend its birth, witnessed the finest of African-American artists, writers, painters, speakers, thinkers, academics, business leaders, politicians, musicians, storytellers, and actors grace it programs, attend its events, and learn from its resources, and see its mere existence inspire countless thousands as evidence of achievement once the human heart begins to dream.

Area residents formed the Friends of the Ralph Ellison Library. The special group sponsors fund-raising events and coordinates projects benefiting the library. For information about joining, call 405.424.1437. For more information on the Metropolitan Oklahoma City and County libraries visit their website at http://www.metrolibrary.org/.

[Marilyn A. Hudson served Ralph Ellison Library as Children-Teen programming librarian and as a reference librarian from 1999-2004. ]

MAPS AND ROADS LONG GONE

Maps are a historians best friend. Maps reveal connections, routes, challenges, and long forgotten common knowledge. They reveal the grand dreams and bright promises of towns now fading into decay. Recently on a drive I found a collection of skeletons: huge prehistoric bones of a bridge that once was the only way across a river and which now rose from tall grasses and weeds like a vision from another time. In a time when roads and bridges across the country are coming under scrutiny, it is interesting how stable and resolute, these pillars remain long years after they were deemed old fashioned and inferior. Sometimes new things are simply that....thus caution should always be used in case the bright shine of golden newness turns out to be worthless brass.

For a wonderful set of historic road maps for Oklahoma.

KINGFISHER EDUCATION

In 1895, the Oklahoma Congressional Association chartered a school in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on some 120 acres of land. It was the "Kingfisher College."

It would be in place until 1927 when the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Oklahoma (under the aupices of the East Oklahoma Conference) resettled 'King's College' there from Checotah and threr it remained until the depression closed it in 1935.

Today a historical marker identifies the place where the once grand citadel of education graced the countryside of Kingfisher county.

RIOTS IN THE HEARTLAND

In the 1960's and 1970's Oklahoma institutions of higher ed swelled with international students seeking out every conceivable engineering, petroleum, and scientific degree possible. Small schools found themselves crowded and larger campuses saw the multi-cultural index shoot higher than ever. Students from Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey,Arabia, Iraq, and other locales were sent over, often with school bills paid by oil rich countries, to receive educations to enrich their country's in return.

In the mid to late 1970's, other political groups from those regions began to traverse the nation to stir up the students in ways similar to the dissident activities at Berkley and numerous other east and west coastal colleges. Some were political activists fostering youth to return to their country and participate in revolution. These were a dominant thread as "Anti-Shah" movements arose protesting 'massacres' in Iran and being allegedly spied on by the Iranian SAVAK, secret police, while in this country. Some others enjoying the ferment and agitation developing were part of multi-national 'workers', socialist, or Marxist activity. Still others, well, who knew what the agenda, if any, resided beyond some post-modern, nihilistic existentialism and deconstruction motivation?

In the 'heartland' this was all fairly new, and when one frigid winter the pot had been stirred the result was riots, threats of riots, and numerous arrests and protests in Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. Various minor incidents had stirred since about 1975, but in February of 1978 two state institutions had major incidents. Oklahoma City Southwestern College had two days of riots, with chairs tossed through windows, and a police officer injured. Oklahoma State University in Stillwater had students protesting, 200 students marched downtown OKC, and minor protests broke out in other locations. OU hosted a special public forum and counter protests added to the general confusion in several places. Students even traveled en masse to Houston to protest there, with several OKC students residing in the jail there for a time.

It was tense time as students in various institutions were drawn into conflict here and at home in Iran. One woman, who worked in a local language school teaching English to students so they could attend colleges, recalled, "For a time there it was very scary. There was one group of Iranians, not all of them, who would cluster in one corner of the common room and hold long, intense conversations. They were sometimes very heated discussions as well. The looks they would throw the other students and staff...well if looks could kill, as the saying goes."

Another individual recalled how she worked with one young woman who was living with her four brothers in OKC. :"That was how they allowed her to go to school. She cooked and kept the apartment for her brothers studying engineering and that allowed her to study to be a teacher. I noted how the closer to the time of the embassy taking, the more intense the brothers became and less western in her dress she became. She came in one day with the full head covering and complained her brothers were listening to some crazy talk from Iran and she had to drop out of school and go back home with them."

It all climaxed with the take over by revolutionary forces of the US Embassy in Iran. In the months prior to the event, there was a noticeable decrease in Iranian students in the state as many flocked home to join the revolution or to support the Shah. Others were shipped out under deportation orders for their roles in various violent or protest activities. Strangely, in the same time period applications for VISAS for student stays in the US and Britain both soared.

POSTCARD MYSTERIES

To Miss Noami Marshall, Ponca City, OK in 1911.

POSTCARD MYSTERIES

I love old postcards. This one is from 1909 and was to a Miss Leata Borel of Orlando, Oklahoma from "Laffy" dated 1909.

TWO ENEMIES NOW AS ONE

On the Prairie Grove, Arkansas battlefield park is an interesting sight. Two trees of obvious different species, intertwining, grown as a single living organism reaching high into the sky. The symbolism is as thick as the blood spilled and as heavy as the earth covering the bones of those sacrificed themselves for their ideals. The Civil War, the uncivil War of the Rebellion, was the most costly war in terms of human causalities. Brothers - literally in many cases - found themselves on two sides of some very important issues. One was States' rights and the power/limitations of the Federal Government in those states and the other issue was Slavery. Two emotional and combustible causes that when united served to forever change the nation. Yet, just as those two trees grew together as one, in the 1920's the last of the former enemies, now old white haired men, leaned toward each other to once more clasp hands as true brothers under one flag. They stood there, like those trees, different in views, history, and values, yet united in spite of those as brothers in a nation. Maybe we should require all politicians, and potential politicians, to tour the battlefields of America and weigh the costs of doing things to intentionally severe the ties of common unity for any purpose.

Autograph Album of Minnie Crandall: Contents, Part 1

AUTOGRAPH BOOK OF MINNIE CRANDALL, NEW YORK
Transcribed, scanned and annotated by Marilyn A. Hudson [2010]
Description: A Victorian autograph album
Contents: Various signatures and autograph entries by friends and family of Minnie M.Crandall of West Genesee, New York. According to the 1880 Federal Census a family matching the information in the album was located in the family of a James (K?) Crandall, 47, House Carpenter, b. NY. His wife (her name difficult to read) was listed as age 43, b. NY. Children: Harvey L., age 22; Minnie M., age 18, Ira B., age 12, all born in NY.
External Links for Information: Genesee Genealogical Webpage

Page: 1
May your path be strewn with flowers. Your brother H. LeMonde Crandall. West Genesse, Dec. 29, 1879.

Page: 2
March 12, 1880
This album is a garden –spot
Where all my friends may sow.
Where thorns and thistles flourish not,
But flowers alone may grow,
With smiles for sunshine, tears for showers,
I’ll water, watch and guard these flowers

Page: 3
June 1, 1880
Esther R. Burdick Hebron Potter Olv Penn

Jan 4, 1880
Elizabeth Burdick Hebron Potter Co. Pa

John [ O, C, or G?} Burdick
Hebron Jan 1, 1880

Page: 4
Ella M. Burdick, Hebron, Jan. 1 ,1880

Page: 5
H. Ellis Yap, Portsville Cat. C.O.

Page: 6
Frannie P. Brudick, Hebron Potter Co. P.A. Jan 1, 1880

Page: 7
May your path be strewn with flowers
Elizabeth Randolph Place
Hebron, Potter Co., Jan. 1, 1880

Page: 8
Minnie H. Burdick
Hebron, Jan. 1, 1880

Page: 9
[Written in purple pencil]
Minnie:
“All golden thoughts, all wealth of days
True friendship, love surround you
So may you live till life be closed
Ad angles [sic] hand you have crowned you.”
Elvin G. Burdick
Hebron, Jan. 2, 1880

Page: 10
Lincoln Burdick
Hebron, Jan. 2, 1880

Page: 11
Dear Minnie
Accept granmothers offering
Lucy (T or C) Crandall
Smiths Mills

Page: 12
Minnie
Mid the storms of life
Should you need an umbrella
May you have to uphold it
A handsome young fellow.

H.A. Babcock
Ord Valley Co. Nebraska
Feb. 14, 1883

Page: 13
May your life be one of happiness
Is the wish of your friend.
Rehoby Osterstruck
Nov. 23, 1881

Page: 14
Minnie:
As ripples flow a bark at sea
So may happiness follow thee
Is the sincere wish of your friend
O.E. Chester
Feb 7, 1883
Rockville, R.I.

Page: 15
Minnie
Drop one pearl in memories casket for me…
Yours truly
Maggie Morgan
Portsville
March 8, 1880

Page: 16
Regards of Florence Nash
West Clarksville, NY
Aug 1, 1883

Page: 17
No tale of eleoquence [sic] have I to breathe
Yet, kind teacher, I fain would wreathe
A floral garland, whose leaves shall be
Emblems and tokens of love to thee.
Minnie Nash
Persia, NY
Feb. 16, 1882

Page: 18
[floral sticker]
Minnie
When the sun shines brightly
In thy pleasant home
Think of me not lightly
When far away I roam.
Truly your friend
Frank Roberts
NY
Feb. 5, 1880

Page: 19
Minnie
May joy and happiness
Ever follow you
Is the wish of a friend and schoolmate
Jason Hopkins
West Genesse
Jan 25, 1880
Page: 20
Please accept these forget-me-nots from your friend
Nora Armstrong
Portsville NY

Page: 21
Dear Minnie
At evenings close when darkened shadows
Are gathering thick and fast,
And brooding thoughts come slowly on
The memory of the past;
Then, when the lights of other days
Meets gently over there
Brings back the happy hours of yore –
Oh! Then think thou of me.
Your mother
West Genesee Jan 1, 1991

Page: 22
Minnie:
Not like the rose
Shall my friendship whither
But like the evergreen
Live forever
Nettie Hopkins
Genese
Jan 25, 1880

Page: 23
Edwin J. Babcock
North Loup, Nebraska
Afred Uni
Dec 4, 1883

Page: 24
Minne
The hill thou climbest is high
The prize is great and near
Write “duty” on thy heart and preserver
Your sincere friend
Mrs. S. M. Herrich
March 25, 1880

Page: 25
Minnie
A thousand volumes in a thousand tongues
Enshrine the lessons of experience
John F. Maxson
West Genesee NY Jan 22, 1882
Obit NY

Page: 26
Friend Minnie –
Excellent my friend these lines from me
They show that I remember thee,
And hope some thoughts hey will return
Till you and I shall meet again.
NY March 6, 1882
E.C. Babcocak
Ord, Neb

Page: 27
Dear Minnie
When the hours of sweetest silence
Brings the sacred hour of prayer
And you knell at morn or evening
Ask for one that is not there.
When the years of time are passing
Like a shadow o’er the sea
Ever shall my heart be asking
Dear friend, Minnie, think of me.
Jessie (Petter or Potter?)

Page: 28
Vera amacitia est semputerna
Amicus Tuus
Fred Johnson
Gowanda NY
March 27, 1880

Page: 29
[in purple pencil]
Minnie
May your dear friend be ever blest
With friends selected from the best
And in return my [sic] you extend
A gem of love to every friend
Mary M. Kenyon
West Genesse NY
March 3, 1883

Page: 30
Dear Minnie
Strive to learn through life (faint and unreadable)
To accomplish what you undertake
Aunt Ellen
March 25, 1880

Page: 31
Dear Minnie
Remember that your life will but reflect the good that is in your heart. May it – ever be as pure and guileless, as when a little child, you first won a warm place in my heart.
Ever your friend
Retta Babcock
Ord, Neb. Feb. 14, 1883

Page: 32
Do, re, me, fa, so [symbol] Feb 22 1881

Minnie
These few lines to you are tendered
By a friend sincere and true
Hoping but to be remembered
When I’ far away from you.
Adella A. Thomas
[Ports]ville NY

Page: 33
Sister Minnie
The following words apply to as a Christian
Found in Rev. 2:10 “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Writen [sic] at the close of my pastorate with the West Genesee Church. With kind regards,
Geo P Kenyon
March 3, 1888

Page: 34
Remember me dear Minnie when on this lines you look
Remember it was Florence who wrote them in your book
Your friend and schoolmate
Florence Crandall

Page: 35
Minnie every cloud which may for a time dim your horizon, be found to contain a silver lining.
Mrs. C.C. Johnson
Gowanda, NY

Page: 36
To Minnie
Please accept the compliments and best wishes of CC Johnson
Gowanda March 26 1880

Page: 37
Minnie,
Remember me when this you see
And bitter tears doth fall
The pleasant days I’ve spent with thee
Beneath these old school walls
July 31, 1883
Estus Forster
West Clarksville Y
White school

Page: 38
[indecipherable]
Harman Rosentha

Page: 39
Dear Minnie:
As we journey through life Let us live by the way
Nettie Potter Andover West Genesee Dec 31 1880

Page: 40
“The darkest hour of night is just before the dawning.”
Ever your friend Nora D. Norton Portsville, NY March 25, 1882

Page: 41
Minnie:
Deem every day of your life a page in your history,
N.P. Reyes
Portsville
Arch 20, 1880

Page: 42
Dear Minnie:
May thy home be bright [unreadable due to fading]
Where’re in the wide world it may be
May peace and prosperity fall [two words, unreadable]
And ever smile sweetly on thee
Your friend
Mrs. M. P. Keyes
Portsville, NY
March 20, 1880

Page: 43
Dear Minnie –
Q: What’s the dearest to our heart?
A: “Home” “Mother” “friends”
Your friend H.Hirrick

Page: 44
Minnie:
Heaven is not reached at single bound
But we build the ladder by which we rise;
From the lovely earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to its summit round by round
Marie (Meridith?) Nash
Persia Catt Co.

Page: 45
Yours truly G. (G. or S.) Hicks
Trenton Oct. 11, 1882

Page: 46
That thy life may be one of usefulness
And prosperity and an eternity of happiness
Is the wish of your friend Mary Nash
Feb. 25, 1881

Page: 47
Minnie,
If wishes of mine can prove of worth
Be this my portion given
A blameless, joyous life on earth,
And a golden crown in heaven.
Yours sincerely,
K.T. McBride
Portsville Jan 18, 1880

Page: 48
Regards of Cora Peekham
West Clarskville, Allegany Co., NY
July 30, 1883

Page: 49
Minnie-
Those realms – how beautiful and fair Dear Teacher! A blissful meeting there.
Bell West Feb 27, 1882

Page: 50
Hope constantly. Labor faithfully, wait patiently, win surely.
O.J. Nash
Persia
Feb 22 1882

Page: 51
Minnie:
Life is a diamond rich and rare. Keep undimmed its luster fair.
Nellie Nash
Feb. 17, 1882

Page: 52
I am very respectfully your cousin
W.N. (or H) Vincent
Salamanca, NY
Mar 29 1880

Page: 53
If we have nothing but memory
To keep the chain of friendship bright
(then) let us never forget the scenes and days of the past
Your cousin
Edgar L. Vincent
Olean NY
“Times” Office

Page: 54
Compliments of Effie C. Nash
West Clarksville NY
Allegheny Co
July 31, 1883

Page: 55
“True friendship is everlasting”
Your friend forever
Dessie Norton
Nov. 23, [’87 or ‘81]

To be continued....

FOUND ANCESTORS: The Greatest Mystery of All

They sit in dark stores or lay forgotten in some corner of an attic and no one has a clue who they are. Sometimes they came with the house or property. Spruced up, a tag is attached and they grace some antique booth until someone stops and say, "Yes, that is exactly what I am looking for." Who are they? Where did they live? What did they do in their life? The lesson these forgotten ancestors leave is one that is plain and simple: write in pencil on the back of every family picture the name, date, place, and parentage of any and all. You may know but one day when cousin Hettie is having to dispose of things, or worse that impersonal lawyer or real estate agent, it will be very helpful for that information to be there.

HISTORY OBJECTS

This trunk came with a history. It had made the trip west via the Santa Fe trail, had been found out west, refurbished, and offered for sale by an antique dealer. One of the things notable about it was the key was still with the trunk. Having seen what poor condition some of these trunks can be in once found in that barn or that attic (rusting, crumbling, etc.) I have to give kudos to the restoration job here. It preserves the original in spirit and form.

HISTORY OF PENTECOSTALISM IN OKLAHOMA: A Work in Progress

PENTECOSTALISM IN OKLAHOMA: An Annotated Time Line
Compiled by Marilyn A. Hudson, MLIS
In progress August 27, 2010

The history of the Pentecostal movement in and around Oklahoma has been only sporadically recorded and in some ways ignored. Several rivers of Pentecostalism converged in the early days and were dominated by independent bodies and such denominations as The Fire Baptized Holiness, The Pentecostal Holiness, The Church of God (Cleveland, TN), and the Assemblies of God. The movement was met, like its parent the Holiness Movement, by ridicule, abuse, and name calling. The terms 'holy rollers', 'tongues folk', and other appellations were used and mis-used for decades. Cult groups were confused with members of these traditional Pentecostal congregations further tangling both the labels and the groups in the minds of the public.

1890-
Deleware, Ohio Daniel Awrey, who will be significant in ministry and schools later, receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaks in an unknown language (note, some sources question this early but enough research exists to not totally discard it).

1895 –
Reports appear of possible Pentecostal experiences, mostly among the Fire Baptized Holiness (FBHC) people, in Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas.[ Martin, Larry. The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour.” Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1999.pg. 26]


1900-
Charles Parham speaks with a member of the FBHC discussing a spiritual baptism with tongues; this turns his attention to assigning his Bible College students to explore the scriptures over Christmas break.


1901-
Topeka, Kansas, Bethel Bible College, Agnes Ozman is the first of several students to speak in tongues in response to their study and prayer over the holiday break. [Synan, Old Time Religion, Advocate Press, 1973,pg. 92.; ]

1902-
Lamon, OK FBHC convened its General Council Meeting in the church at Lamont, Ok. This church was the one and only church in the FBHC work in Oklahoma. The conference, or state association as it was known, disbanded until Sept. 1909 when it was reorganized.

1904-
“Saloon Was closed Up by An Order of Court”, The Oklahoman (Jan. 22, 1904):9. Charges by a grand jury investigating corruption in city government were served to the owner of the Blue front Saloon, Dick J. Cramer ; “Jack du Bois choked a Boy”, The Oklahoman (Dec. 24, 1904): 5 About 8 p.m. one night local drunk Jack du Bois, was assaulting and choking a 12 year old boy, Joe Dishman, behind the Blue front Saloon and was arrested. The Saloon is clearly established as part of the infamous 'OKC Hell's Half Acre'.

1905 –
People experience the 'Pentecostal Blessing' in a revival at Billings, OK led by Harry P. Lott and an unnamed Free Methodist minister.

1906-
 Jan. 18, Richard Beall and Oscar C. Wilkens appear in OKC to start a mission work, start with a Sunday School on S. Robinson ;
 An African-American restaurant, Haynes Café, is located at 7 West Grand Avenue. In May edition of the Oklahoman there is a small news report of a fire that broke out in the middle of the night from an overheated stove. “Last Night’s Fire”. Oklahoman (May 9, 1906):5.
 Beulah Holiness School, or Emmanuel Bible College, established (Clancy, Bryon. The history of Beckham County. Accessed at http://files.usgwarchives.org/ok/beckham/history/carter.txt). Established by a group of Holiness people called, ‘The Indian Creek Band’ settled a community they called Beulah and there established a Bible school to teach holiness. Reports were it was a three story brick structure near a Baptist Church and they mailed a newspaper, Apostolic Faith, out of nearby Doxy, Oklahoma.
 Asuza Street revival starts in the spring in L.A. (Martin, pg.165).
 George G. Collins, one time farmhand for the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma, is ordained at Azusa Street (date unclear) and returns to minister (Martin, pg.13).
 A Reverend Cook, who had been in California at Asuza street now comes back and goes to Lamont to conduct a Pentecostal revival.


1907-
 Feb. 6 Harry Lott, Beall & Wilkins rent the Blue Front Saloon, 7 West Grand, for $40 a month [Muse papers; Campbell; Harold Paul]. The saloon was located on the edge of the wild center core of the city, known as OKC’s “Hell’s Half Acre”. Today the area between Santa Fe and Broadway and Sheridan to Reno is largely known as the area of the Cox Convention Center (the old Myriad Convention Center), a hotel, and the turn off into Bricktown. "Back in the day" this was the wildest place in the newly opened "Oklahoma Town" or "Oklahoma Station" ("City" did not come about formally till nearly forty years after the 1889 land run). It was so wild it earned - through blood, sweet, and tears - the nickname "Hell's Half Acre." If you stand on the platform of the Amtrack station and look west and slightly north that is where this wild town within in a town was located. If you walked west on Sheridan (called Grand back then), just past Santa Fe (called Front then) on the north would be "Bunco Street" with its gambling halls and con men. Look south and there would be "Hop Boulevard", perfect if you were thirsty. And just behind that, "Alabaster Row" was located on California, featuring brothels, gambling halls, and other businesses for the African-American population in those days.Walk up Santa Fe (Front) to Main and turn west and you would see a bit finer offerings with The Arlington and, in 1900, the Lee Hotel at the corner of Main and Broadway. Turn east and across the tracks and there were the depot and just beyond to the northeast "Old Zulu's" original brothell/saloon establishment in current Bricktown. Travel south to 312 E. Grand and you would have seen the spot of "Big Annie" Wynn's original land run tent brothel. It had grown into a two story building, and moved a few blocks east, by statehood. From at least 1902, a walk up Broadway (into the 100 to 300 blocks) would have found "fortune-tellers', "crystal ball gazers", "clairvoyants", "mediums", and "pyschics". All world traveled and well known, or so they said as they advertized their stay in the parlors of local hotels and boarding house along the street. [Hudson, M. Mystorical accessed at www.mystorical.blogspot.com]
 In this setting, the first Pentecostal work begins in Oklahoma City.
 Mary A. Sperry, a local woman, opens her home for ‘tarrying services” designed to provide prayer and support for those seeking the baptism experience. It was a model employed in teh famed Asuza Street Revival. (Campbell, Pentecostal Holiness Church history)
 Rev. Irwin opens a pentecostal church in El Reno, OK (Welch, pg. 36]
 May 1907, Bishop J.H. King holds a FBHC revival in Lamont, Ok [King, Yet Speaketh, PHC, 1949, pg. 127, he had received his baptism just the previous February back east];
 In the summer there is a revival at Beulah under once Nazarene and now Pentecostal minister Rev. Robinson. The 1st person to receive baptism there was an elderly woman named McClung (Campbell 210-211). Daniel Awrey goes to Beulah this year also as Emmanuel Holiness Bible College Bible instructor and then principal. That summer the Pentecostal experience is said to have arrived at the school. Dolly and Dan York, of the FBHC, go to Beulah where the “Pentecostal folk” were .[One nightclub]
 August, Beall, Lott and others are reported to have received ‘their baptism’ [Paul, pg. 12]
 As a result of these events, the FBHC reestablished its presence along with other independent Pentecostals . As a result numerous churches were started : Yukon, Billings, Drummond, Perry. Pawnee, Muskogee, Mazie, Witchita, McAllister, Quinton, Cowen, Hart, Stratford, Paul’s Valley, Castle, Swan Lake, Manitou, Faxon, Tipton, and also in KS, NE, TX, ARK, IA and AZ;
 Lott organizes the OKC Mission aka Blue Front Saloon Mission into the First FBHC of OKC. Oldest organized church in the OK Conference and one of the oldest Pentecostal churches in the Midwest
 November well known and colorful figure of “Old Zulu” aka Martha Fleming, a notorious OKC madam, prostitute, pick-pocket, and addict received salvation and was the next day baptized in the local river. Although, she appears to have later renounced her conversion, it is extremely interesting that in a day and age when Oklahoma and the nation was extremely racist, that an African American was welcomed into a mission service at the Blue Front Saloon Mission. This is extremely telling of how wide-spread the Azusa ethos might have been and the value racial and gender equity was esteemed in the early days of Pentecostalism. [McRill, A. Satan Came Also, 1955. pg. 4; Paul, p. 13]


1908 –
 Dan and Dollie York rec’d Pentecostal baptism summer at Foss under F.M. Brittain, FBHC
 JH King holds revival at Synder ;
 Harry Lott named ruling elder of the FBHC in Ok;
 Beulah School becomes fully Pentecostal.
 “Blasphemy and Gun Play Enliven Church Service” The Oklahoman (Nov. 10, 1908):10. Services disrupted at the “Pentecostal mission, 7 West Grand Avenue”, pastored by Harry P. Lott

1909 –
 September F.M. Brittain comes to Oklahoma to reorganize the FBHC in the state. Agnes Ozmen LeBerge is one of several women listed as ministers
 “Minister’s Wife Restrains Him”, The Oklahoman (Sept. 29, 1909):4, Lott’s wife Emma, filed a restraining order citing assault and lack of support. Lott, made $75 a month pastoring the German Holiness church (not sure if this is a typo or another congregation, cites rescue home at 300 Maple street His church is identified as located corner of Hudson and California, which would mesh with the 317 W. California address of the “First Church.”
 “Minister fined, sent to a Cell”. The Oklahoman (Oct. 3, 1909): 31. Harry P. Lott, supt. Of the Pentecostal Rescue Home for Fallen Women, 300 West Maple, OKC. Numerous newspaper accounts up to this time period underscored the challenges young women faced in the big city. In 1910, Shawnee, Oklahoma a 19 yr old Pierce Hammack, was jailed because his actions seemed consistent with "white slave traffickers". Hammack said he was employed by the Franklin Theatrical Company and either for them, or his own side line activity, he solicited girls through "mind reading" and "fortune telling". In an earlier incident from 1902, a Kansas father chased a "voodoo man" - a fortune-teller and/or magician - who he claimed had enticed his 15 year old daughter away in a similar fashion. Between 1903 and 1910 numerous incidents appeared in local Oklahoma City papers of girls met at the train depot and offered "jobs" as maids at local "hotels". The establishments, they soon learned, were staffed by working girls. Some were drugged, raped, and intimidated into staying. Some, because of previous abuse at home from family or friends, simply had no heart to move on. Others, were successfully "rescued" through various religious and social efforts. [Mystorical]
 October, Blue Front becomes the “First FBHC of OKC”

1910-
 Lott appointed ruling elder of the FBHC;
 Mary A. David appointed to a church in Manitou,
 “Divorces Given to Three Wives”, The Oklahoman Jan. 28, 1910): 12. Emma Lott granted divorce from Harry P., they had married in 1898 in Longmont, CO. He is described as being a pastor ‘’for the holy rollers.”

1911-
 FBHC and the PHC merge in Falcon, NC, January.
 August 30, the new Pentecostal Holiness Church convenes in sessions at the Capital Hill Park Camp under the oversight of Harry P. Lott (Paul, Harold. From Printer’s Devil to Bishop, Advocate Press, 1976, pg.16; Minutes of the Third Annual Session of the Oklahoma Pentecostal Holiness Church, pp.2-3]. Ministers listed included several women: Miss Mary K. Davis (later Shannon), Dolly York, Agnes La Berge, Pearl Burroughs. And Annie Aston (Campbell, pg. 214).
 The conference boosted 25 churches or mission stations, 17 pastors, and 12 evangelists.

1912-


1913
 May 1, 1913, future bishop Dan Thomas Muse attends his first Pentecostal Holiness Church meeting, held on the street at the corner of Grand and Robinson in OKC. He subsequently attended ‘the mission’ and received his baptism [Paul, pg. 22]
 PHC Convention held at Delmar Gardens; W.D. York gains approval to start a school at Stratford (One Nightclub)

1915
 Wagoner Literary Bible School (One Night Club)

1916-
 General Overseer of the Church of God Roy Cotnam

1917
 Harry P. Lott founds the Capital Hill Full Gospel Church. It was first the Apostolic Faith Church and in 1924 it was the site of a conference of the wider Apostolic Faith Church.

1920
 -General Overseer of the Church of God, John Burk
 -First Pentecostal Holiness Church Sunday School Convention held in OKC [Paul, pg. 43]


1924
 Kings College, Checotah, Ok (PHC)

1927
 Monte Ne, Ark Ozark Industrial College

1927
 Kings College, Kingfisher (PHC)

1946
 Southwestern Pentecostal Holiness College, OKC (PHC)






SOURCES:

Campbell, J. The Pentecostal Holiness Church, 1898-1948. P.H.C. Publishing, 1948.
Conn, Charles W. Like A Might Army. Church of God Pub. House, Cleveland, TN, 1955.
Hudson, Marilyn. “Mystorical” accessed at www.mystorical.blogspot.com; When Death Rode the Rails with Tales from Hell’s Half Acre (2010).
King, J.H. Yet speaketh. P.H.C. 1949
One Nightclub and a Mule Barn: the first 60 years of Southwestern Christian University. Tate. 2006.
Paul, Harold. Dan T. Muse: From Printer’s Devil to Bishop. Advocate. 1976.
Synan, Vinson. The Old-Time Power: a history of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Advocate Press, 1973.
Welch, Kristen Dayle. ‘Women with the Good News’: The rhetorical heritage of Pentecostal Holiness Women Preachers. CPT, 2010.

Image is Oklahoma City four days after the opening land run of April 22, 1889

Autograph Book: Minnie Crandall, 1879

In the middle of the 1960's my mother came home with a small brown autograph book acquired at a local 'second-hand' store in Wellington, Kansas. The inscription on the inside read: 'Minnie M. Crandall a present from her brother H.LeMonde Crandell, Christmas Eve 1879". Her inscription reads: " To my friends, March 12, 1880. My album is a garden spot/Where all of my friends may sow/ Where thorns and thistles flourish not/ But flowers from above may grow/ with smiles for sunshine, tears for showers/ I'll water and guard these flowers. Minnie."

Based on the information gleaned from the volume itself I went to the Federal census records and located in 1880 a Minnie M. Crandall residing in Genese, Allegany Co., NY. She was listed in the home of James H. Crandall, 45, b. New York, and had family listed including a brother matching the signature inscription of H. LeMonde Crandall in one Henry L. Crandall, aged 22, b. in New York and a younger brother named Ira, aged 12.

Autograph Book: History of a Custom

Autograph books were once very popular, with young men and women memorizing clever couplets or making up their own for use in these autograph books. Small stickers or drawings were also added. Pressed flowers were also used to memorize special events and special people. As families migrated these became ways for loved ones to recall the 'good old days' and ones left behind. Read a general history overview here. Vist the RAAB site for info on collecting autographs.

Autograph Book: Decorated pages

This lovely page is decorated with small cardboard art sticker of a floral bouquet and reads:
"Minnie,
Though clouds may rest on the present,
And sorrow on days that are gone.
There is no night so utterly cheerless
That we may not look for the dawn.
And there is no human being
With so wholly dark a lot
But the heart by turning the picture
May find some sunny spot.
Your true friend,
Effie V. Roberts
Portsville Feb 16,1880"

Autograph Book: Some names

This page reads: "Minnie - Tis often hard to find a friend/On whom you always may depend/And when a friend you think you've got/a trial proves that you have not. Your true friend, Adell Roberts, Portsville, Feb. 15, 1880." To the side is written "Old sister Pheba" The autographs vary in style and skill and cover Feb. 1880 - Oct. 1882. One page has been torn/cut out raising questions of friendships or love affairs gone awry.

[Other verses and names to be added]

AUTOGRAPHS: A History in Signatures

Eve Scoudene of Portsville, NY wrote on April 17, 1880:
"Deem every day of your life a leaf in your history."

W.C. Vincent wrote (no date):
"Among those whose love is true, and enduring,
always remember to number me."

Edith E. Hatch and Lynn Measr (or Meass) of Farmington, Conn. wrote on Oct. 9, 1882:
"I pray the prayer of Plato old,
God make thee beautiful within
And may thine eyes the good behold
In everything save sin."

Lillian H. Spurr of "Ct." wrote on Oct. 22, 1882:
"The nymph who flirts and runs away-
Will sure be caught some lucky day."

H.A.Babcock, "Ord Valley" Co., Nebraska, wrote on Feb. 14, 1883:
"Minnie-
Mid the storms of life
Should you need an umbrella
May you have to uphold it
A handsome young fellow."

Minnie Nash, Persia, NY wrote on Feb. 16, 1882:
"No tale of eloquence have I to breathe
yet, kind treacher, I fain would wreathe
A floral garland, whose leaves shall be
Emblems and tokens of love to thee."

OKLAHOMA HISTORY: Forgotten People and Forgotten Past

Effie A. Ray and her husband Jess Hudson, left the tree covered hillsides of Butler Co.,Missouri in 1917. They loaded up the covered wagon Jess used in his log hauling business, attached the two study horses and set off for Oklahoma. The mining business, the hauling business, and something called 'oil' were making the area very attractive.

They arrived first in the Okmulgee area, where some other family members were also working, and Jess quickly went to work as a teamster. Times were hard, and for the first several months of their life in Oklahoma they lived in a tent with a wooden floor. Effie recounted the terror experienced during a strong and violent storm. The heat, the insects, snakes, and cold until they could afford a real home. He moved the huge boilers, the harness pullers, and other implements of business, oil exploration, mining, and timber. Sometimes Jess made long trips leaving Effie alone with the children and she had to cope as best she could in his absence.

[Pictured is Jess Hudson and his team after setting the cable rigging in place. Jess is the man in the middle leaning against the pole with the broad brimmed hat.]

Slowly, things began to look up as a home was found, friends made, and dreams begun. The real money, however, was in the growing energy field and by 1925 Jess put away his team and wagon and was working for a gas company. Family fortunes rose steadily as revealed in family photos, portraits, and even photos of family members with prize additions such as phonographs!

Disaster struck, however, when Jess went to work one early morning in August of 1929. The family was living in Bristow, Oklahoma. Effie's mother was living in town as was one of her brothers and his family. Jess, his 14 year old step-son Freeman "Red" Conner, and two others were sent to check a coupling on a line near the main entrance to the Bristow city park. The resulting explosion shot Jess some fifteen feet away and killed him almost instanteously, sending his young step-son into shock and wrecking the family in one terrible instant.

Faded yellow photos are all that remain of those days, but they show the equipment hauled, the team, and the man and the family who were the silent part of Oklahoma history. As long as people such as Jess and Effie remain forgotten people there will always be a pieace of past forgotten and lost.

'HARVEY GIRLS': Hollywood Post-WW2 Social Control?

Hollywood went to war once supporting the effort in WW2 with enlistments, service, volunteerism, war bonds, canteens, entertainment/training films, and movies that helped to shape public sentiment, provide instruction on being a citizen, and transform behaviors and attitudes.

The WW2 years were marked by thousands of young men going off to war to be thrust into new and often lonely situations. Inevitably romance blossomed and the girl back home might be temporarily forgotten. In the earlier conflict a song posed the question, 'how are going to keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree?" The question returned post-WW2. What happens when wives and lovers learn that there may have been more than a little, 'out of sight - out of mind' with their distant love?

You can't order love, legislate forgiveness, or mandate acceptance and return to normalcy.

What can a society do? Simple, make a movie!! The government and Hollywood teamed up for fund raising, for morality plays about patriotism, being brave, and fighting the enemy on every front. There would be little surprise if one more angle was tried in turning minds and attitudes to prepare war estranged people for the reality of a returning love.

"Harvey Girls" was a 1946 movie starring Judy Garland about one of the famous "Harvey House" establishments. These were resturants that opened to provide travelers on the rail lines clean, decorous, and good food as they traveled. To be a "Harvey Girl" was a great honor because the standards were high and there was a reputation to keep untarnished. As a musical it has some good numbers - including the award winning Mercer-Warren song 'On the Atkinson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe."

A good example is the scene where the new girls in town hold a nice, wholesome, party. The girls - all in clean, crisp pastel dresses with lots of pure white collars and aprons - bring a touch of 'home' to the rough frontier. Genteel music, punch, cake, and charming young ladies who talked of ladylike subjects. Enter the 'working girls' from across the street in their emerald, sapphire, red, and gold silks, satins, and shiny black hose. They bought tickets to the party and they will attend! They are forward and in your face and not at all ladylike.

This immediately sets up a competition between the good, clean, girls from 'back home' and the frilly, forward, saloon gals at the dance. The men caught between the shame of the their past actions represented by the 'good time girls' and the call to return to the values of a previous time are clearly embrassed. Yet, with much collar tugging discomfort, they select the fresh-facced young ladies who represent a normal future filled with home, children, and new somber purpose. As the local pastor says, in case any had missed the point, they had witnessed a miracle indeed as rough miners and cowboys resurrected social manners and waltzed off with a girl from back east. The sub-test is clear and not very subtle: those exotic and rich foods are alright for awhile but boys, now it is time for the wholesome U.S.A. dinner now.

Watch the film and see the 'forgiveness' speech Garland makes at the end of the as she rides the train in the company of the departing Madame. It's desolate, hard, and lonely out here in the rough desert, she admits, and it is only natural that a man would be lonely and need company now and again. Even company like that of the prostitute with a heart of gold...

Watching this recently, the sub-text came through loud and clear. Girls, it said, forgive the guy for being a man while he was away. Guys, let sleeping dogs alone and move into the future.

Go ahead and watch it - then tell me what you think.

=====================
Want to learn more on WW2 and Hollywood? Read an article here.

Mystery Photos: Some Body's Family History

In an antique store, I acquired this charming photo of 'Mr. & Mrs. Schnabele of Genesco, IL'.

On the reverse it reads: "There is no Christmas comes without thought of our old friends. So we come to greet you and wish you all that is the best for the Christmas that is here."

THE STRANGE RUBY GLOW

In 1926 reports surfaced near Claremore, OK of seeing a strange ruby hued ghost moving through a local graveyard and no one could identify it. Apparently, it had been earlier seen near Nowata and Rogers county. No other accounts seem to mention the ghost and no explanations seem to clearly describe what was seen. It would be easy to dismiss as "tail lights" of vehicles on a nearby road, etc. There is insuffiant data as to the geography of the area to make more than a guess.

OKLAHOMA PARANORMAL FIELD GUIDE

OKLAHOMA PARANORMAL FIELD GUIDE: INDEX
The following are some of the most common spots listed as haunted in Oklahoma:
Ft. Gibson
Ft. WashitaFt.
El Reno
Black Jail - Guthrie
Kulli Tukilo Methodist Church - Idabel
Carey Place - Oklahoma City
Kitchen Lake - SE OKC/MWC area
Old women's dorms/ AGR Frat House- OSU, Stillwater
"Dead Woman's Crossing" - Weatherford
County Line Resturant - OKC
OKC Zoo - OKC
Walls Bargain Center- Shawnee
Music Store - Shawnee
Cate's Center - OU
Tulsa Area:
Cain's Ballroom
Brady Theater
Tulsa Little Theater
Tulsa Garden Center
Sparky's Cemetary
Riverside Park
The Cave House
The Gilcrease house
Labadie Mansion
The Brady Mansion
The Camelot Hotel
The Mayo HotelP
eace of Mind Bookstore
Old Bellview School (Jason's Deli 15th & Peoria)
Empire Bar
Brady Mansion
Hex House Lot
Club Majestic
Lola's & Fox Hotel
Philbrook Mansion
The White House - Jenks, OK

Due to rreports of significant debunking the following are not listed:
Choctaw Library, Choctaw Middle School, Stone Lion Inn

REMEMBERING ROBERT

The death of a child is always a tragedy. They are all gifts from God. When that death is the result of possibly human intervention - it is something so much worse.

On July 10, 1985, an eight year old boy from a very poor family in Oklahoma City went missing. His young life, and that of his brother, had been haunted by extreme poverty, the social stigma and cruelty that can bring, and several related health problems. Often dirty and unkempt and wearing clothes long overdue for a wash, he was laughed at by classmates, ignored by adults, and left to his own devices far too much. He was awkward and shy. Little Robert was starved for affection, yet as cautious as a wily cat who'd had his tale stepped on once too often.

On July 29, his remains, partially buried, were found under a neighbor's garage.

The neighbor - who may or may not have been the mysterious adult "friend" that Robert said he was going to see on the day he disappeared - was later picked up in Texas. There, it should be noted, he had been in legal trouble over child molestation charges. Brought back to Oklahoma he was charged, and soon confessed, to the murder and burial of young Robert. (see THORNBURGH v. STATE /1991 OK CR 65 / 815 P.2d 186 / Case Number: F-88-897 / Decided: 05/30/1991/ Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals)

Later, in 1991, a judge would acquit the man, citing the prosecution had not shown a clear link from the body back to the suspect. At worst, he was guilty of illegally cutting up and burying a body, but no proof had been shown he had committed the murder (or even if there had been a murder and not a natural death). 

Of course, everyone when they innocently happen upon the corpse of a child cut it apart, bury it, and cover it with lime to enhance decomposition. It is a natural response.

Did the man initially charged actually commit the murder of an eight-year-old boy? If this man did not commit the crime - that means someone else did. Someone who, since 1985, has been living somewhere with the knowledge of little Robert's last moments.....

Maybe someone who killed other children in the same general time (1979-1988)?

For others, like the people who saw him at school (Eugene Field Elementary), or whose hearts were touched by such tragedy in one so young, they can only remember, and mourn, and hope that someday justice will prevail. They had to see an empty desk where a little boy should have been seated for another day of learning. 

Someday....

[For all children who have been taken by violence - and the people they have left to mourn them -but especially for ones like Robert whose young life was already marred by circumstances beyond his control - we remember and honor them all. We pray, let us do better next time and be there for them before something awful happens and show them a little human kindness.]

Robert W Seeton (unknown-1985) - Find a Grave Memorial