WILD TIMES

A tragic headline of 1933 caught my eye in an old paper.  A boy,  8, was found hanging near Sallisaw.  The community was already concerned over a missing boy of 11 who was presumed to have drowned.    Officers who first rushed to the wooded area declared without doubt it was murder. Who would murder a boy no one could identify at first and appeared to be a stranger?

What seemed to be even stranger was the ultimate ruling of the coroner and sheriff's as to the cause of death for young Buck Brannon.   Apparently, the small boy had committed suicide.     The other missing boy was Raymond Dickerson who, it was finally decided, had tried to wade the Lee Creek on an errand but left his clothes in a drift of the creek.

Through the decade od the 1930's Sallisaw was a wild and woolly place with murders, jail escapes, and enough going on to suggest there were two communities co-existing in Sequoyah County and northeast Oklahoma.

In the 1920's young men in places like Chicago and San Franciso had hung themselves in desperation of having their forged report card discovered and for other reasons only a 13,14,15 year old could have explained.

Sometimes, however, it was all too sadly a moment of play gone horribly wrong as a 'swinging' rope gained a new description as a hanging rope.

As 2033 approaches, one hundred years from that death, will we be able to say we have helped children to feel safe, secure, wanted, and valued more than our counterparts in the 1930's?   Or, have we merely traded swinging ropes for cyber bullies, abusive people, drugs,  and devalued life?   If a 13 year old, or an 8 year old, can feel life has lost all meaning, hope and is worthless, we are all at fault and all equally guilty.

SACRED SPACES: EASY WORDS - HARDER WORK

As the anniversary of 9/11 rolls around this year it will mark the opening of the memorial in NYC and in the field in Pennsylvania.  The terms used often feature the haunting words "sacred space."

After 1995 in Oklahoma City, the location of the Murrah Federal Building bombing were likewise labeled as "sacred space."

The first three days of July 1863 saw a small community transformed by the carnage of war, as citizens battled citizens over states rights and slavery.   A weary President Abraham Lincoln, penned a simple, yet so powerful speech that turned the bloody field into a symbol.  A sacred space....

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth. "

Yet, this Civil War era battlefield, this sacred space, has been threatened, like many other such sites, with the encroachment of development, economic envy, and non-sacred elements.    Will these new memorials one day too face the threat of people to whom these supreme sacrifices are but a distant and little understood bit of boring history?

We label a place sacred because of its deeply meaningful history and the way it has shaped some crucial moment.   We must remember and teach each generation of these moments, devoid of politics, devoid of rancor, and devoid of self-interest.  The many who sacrificed in such places deserve no less.

What Ever Happened?

Shots from A Box Car Were Fatal to A Hutchinson Man 

Wellington, Kas., June 2 - John P. Cates, depot master, and yard watchman here for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, was shot and killed early this morning in the division yards. The bullet came from the top of a boxcar. Cates was making his usual round shortly after midnight when he was surprised by a shot, which he returned. Six shots were exchanged and Cates received two wounds, one in the arm and the other grazing his heart. 

When a friend reached him and asked who did it, he said, "there were three or four of them," then became unconscious. He died about twenty minutes after reaching home. Two men were arrested near the yards and are in jail but are not believed to be implicated. The car from which the shooting was done came from the West last night. Clothes hangers thrown away near the car and wire for making them which was found today on top of the car lead the officers to believe some peddler did the shooting. 

The murdered man who came here from Guthrie two years ago leaves a widow and four children. (Kansas City Star, June 2, 1911, page 1).

One tendency of old newspapers was the tendency to often ignore followup stories about headlines they had created earlier.  

RAILROADS, VIOLENCE, AND GRUESOME DEATH

WELLINGTON, KS., Nov. 22---Last evening, Levi Meeker, his wife and 8-year-old daughter were found dead on the Southern Kansas railroad track by his son. It is supposed they were struck while crossing the track in a wagon by a passenger train.(reported in the Wisconsin State Journal ~ November 23, 1888). 

In my book, WHEN DEATH RODE THE RAILS: STRANGE DEATHS IN OKLAHOMA, 1900-1920, I explored cases like this. I had found some suspicious cases in northern Texas and theorized there might be more in surrounding states.


Exactly how did a steam locomotive - stealthy they were not - sneak up to kill this family? No one on the wagon (pulled by one or more horses, walking or at most trotting) was aware of the oncoming train? None could hold the team and run it across the tracks in time?   One source indicates express passenger trains on that line were to travel at between 25-35 and mail trains 15 mph.     Were they, like some in Oklahoma, killed and then placed there to cover the crime? Are there similar deaths along that particular line?

SOARING HIGH THROUGH CLEAR BLUE SKIES

Oklahoma, with its vast vistas of sky and distant blue horizons, has long attracted those who love aviation.

In August 1909, in Belle Isle Park, a balloonist rose several hundred feet to parachute out to the awe-struck crowd below.

Pearl Carter, the nation's youngest female pilot, who was inspired by Wiley Post and was flying when she was 12.  A recent movie by the Chickasaw Nation and Media 13 chronicles the exciting story.

HOW TO CREATE A HISTORICAL MYSTERY

Photo from U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
(Public Domain)

On a sunny April morning in 1995, the worst terrorist act on US Soil occurred with the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  It would hold that uneasy crown until another sunny morning in September of 2001 in New York, Washington D.C. and a lonely field in Pennsylvania.    Since federal agencies were victims in OKC, the government agencies swept in and removed all the security tapes of this historic and deadly event.  These were crucial as evidence and as history.  These types of artifacts are safeguarded, preserved, and archived for legal studies and historic research.

Apparently not.   According to a story  about  a legal request for the tapes, it was made known that the tapes and other documents were deemed unimportant to even index and represented a burden for government employees to search.

This is unfortunate as it would lay to rest - finally and completely - if the videos were found, and could show clearly that McVeigh was alone.   At least three individuals testified in September of 1995 that they saw McVeigh with not just one person (the famed 'John Doe', but another man as well) ("Witnesses Say McVeigh Not Alone." Daily Oklahoman, Sept, 2, 1995, pg. 42).  

All of this - inevitably, clear as day, obviously - unites to make so strange the decision of the ATF to not test whether the truck bomb had the power to produce the devastation of the bombing as one of the most illogical decisions ever.  ("ATF Calls Off Plan to Test Truck Bomb" Daily Oklahoman, Sept, 11, 1995, pg. 11).  Let's see, we can show that  this bomb could do that much damage, but we won't need that evidence.   

Just like the strange decision to decide that the historic and valuable tapes and files of the investigation of the worst man-made disaster on US soil were not important enough to be cataloged or located.  After all, no body will ever want to access that stuff now will they?

The MSNBC program 'THE MCVEIGH TAPES' is another clear way  to not instigate a historical mystery.

This documentary purports to provide McVeighs own words and does allow some of his own words to be heard.  Instead it largely brings cherry picked snippets with talking heads filling in and explaining how McVeigh's growing anger was focused and his wrath was directed.

Yet, you never hear McVeigh actually saying saying any of those things the talking heads insist he said or meant or felt.  He is never shown ranting, never growing angry, or acting crazed (insert image image of an interview with Charles Manson for contrast).

So to create a lasting historical mystery do three simple things:

-Lose, destroy or minimize evidence
-Refuse to search for and preserve all evidence for future research and study
-Put words and inflections in the mouth of a historic figure.

Although, officially closed in 2006, with such slip-shod record keeping and unanswered questions, it will remain a riddle in search of an solution.

BEFORE THE MURRAH BUILDING BOMBING

When the federal building in Oklahoma City exploded in April 1995, it was a shock that rippled at sonic speed across the psyche of the country.  How? Why? were the unanswerable questions on everyone's lips.

Something, however, was stirring in the country in the years before this horrible disaster.  The 'Unabomber' was on the news radar as well.

• In August 1991, teens apparently for a lark used a pipe bomb to blow up a portable toilet at a construction site in the elite Nichols Hills area of OKC.
• In December of 1991 an OKC man was arrested in a pipe bomb case.
• In February 1991, six pipe bombs were found on two chemical tanks in Virginia close to one of the major naval bases of the east coast (Daily Oklahoma, Feb.5, 1991, pg. 45).  
• On October 1992, three bombs went off in two north central Oklahoma communities within minutes of each other, according to a story by Daily Oklahoman reporter Michael McNutt.  Pipe bombs exploded in two Enid government offices and one in an elementary school in  nearby Stillwater (about 25 miles south of Perry, Oklahoma where McVeigh would be found after the bombing), and home of Oklahoma State University.   All exploded with minimal damage.   Another discarded bomb - a thermos type container filled with gun powder - was found in a field  8 miles SW of Waukomis, Oklahoma (Daily Oklahoman, Oct. 28, 1992, pg. 108-09).
• In January of 1993, a pipe bomb was found in a movie theater in Dallas, Texas.
• In August 1993, Edmond teens were arrested for making pipe bombs.
• In February 1994, Adair High School in Tulsa, OK was temporarily closed following a pipe bomb incident.
• In March 1995, a pipe bomb was reported in Broken Arrow.
• In June 1994, pipe bombs were found in the OKC Jail!

THERE IS ALWAYS A STORY WITH THE PHOTO

A little girl in Wellington, Kansas in the early 1960's and her first visit to the historic Antlers Hotel:

I was waiting eagerly to be old enough to go to Kindergarten when the photographer came to town and set up shop on the 4th floor of the old turn-of-the century hotel on a corner downtown. It was an elegant old Victorian hotel named, I was told, for the huge rack of antlers over the registration desk. I was so excited as we walked down the sidewalk past the shops and the magic of so much going on. Cars glided by, trucks rattled to a stop at the blinking lights, and people hurried past us on their way to their own adventures.

Climbing the front steps and entering the lobby was awe inspiring. Everywhere was the shimmer of old, polished wood. There was an exotic feel to the place with the old Persian rugs, the leather furniture, the wood railing leading upstairs. There was an aroma of pipe tobacco, perfume and beeswax used to give the wood that sturdy shine.  Strange people milled all about, mostly men reading newspapers, but a few women carrying shoppng bags from the department stores downtown.

Whispered comments had mother giving me sparse definitions of new terms like "salesmen", "bachelors", and "travelers".


We climbed the thickly carpeted stairs until we reached the desired floor. I had never seen such a long hallway before. It seemed to stretch forever. On each side were doors with shiny brass numbers. Hurrying down the hall, we did not want to miss the appointment, mother knocked on one of the strange and mysterious doors.

A man, gently stooped with a kind smile, ushered us into the room. It was a bedroom, I realized, even as I noted the man had set up a big screen to hide the bed and all around were cameras, lights, and strange bits and pieces of photographic equipment. The adults talked  about the photos and other small talk - just what I could not say.

I was soon being placed on a leather covered stool, told to look here, smile now, and pose this way and that. My mother looked through the camera, smiled, and nodded at the man's comments. Then the adults talked the business of payments and mailing the photos and other details of no concern to me. 

I was too interested in the little stool that spun around and around....

Settled on the stool, now still, the man made last minute lighting adjustments and then took several pictures of me in my blue gingham dress with my still toddler blonde hair falling to my shoulders and we left shortly after that. I skipped down the hall with a lollipop and my mother clutching a receipt for the promised image.

The hotel closed, the schools brought in photographers, and things changed all over. Sometimes, though, I do remember that soft spring day in my pretty dress walking down a sun washed hallway heading to an adventure, and had I known it, a fading bit of Americana.

-- Marilyn A. Hudson

CRY, BABY, CRY

The urban legend, folklore, and sometimes out right 'fakelore' of the numerous Cry Baby Bridges across the country is only a little less mysterious than the tendency of devotees to insist 'their' bridge is the 'real' one.

Most folklorists located the earliest tales in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and New Jersey to the 1920's-30's.  A couple of places even suggest a WW 1 dating for their story.  The story apparently gained new energy in the 1950's and by the advent of the Internet in the 1990's every place was spouting their own bridge!

As an example of an urban legend - a short tale with supernatural overtones - which cannot be proved due to their hallmark total lack of facts - it is unsurpassed. 

The strong sociological components of the legend make it clear it is a morality tale derived from concerns in society of their changing moral climate, a perceived crass disregard for life, and the sure judgement for those who transgress against society's norms.

The most common elements are a woman (sometimes a couple) are crossing a bridge, it is raining/snowing/ or they are speeding/fighting or the woman (or the couple) are so consumed by depression/guilt/shame/madness that they have an accident/fling the baby off the bridge/ lose the baby in the night.  As a result, the cries of the baby/woman/both can be heard in that spot for years afterward.

The BRIDGE - what better symbol for the transition of the youthful person from the innocence of youth and the awareness of maturity?

The BABY - symbol of the product of careless disregard of the social norms and the product of acting outside approved boundaries? A symbol of the future being thrown away?

The RAIN/SNOW/FIGHT - The crisis point following the realization of an error in judgement may have consequences we are unprepared to face.

The CRIES - the symbol of guilt and the sure awareness that sins and failures cannot be hid. They will  haunt us, draw us back, and make us pay.

Many folklorists, myself included, believe the story emerged from the Pre-WW1 to Post WW1 era known as the 'roaring 20's'.  It was a time of great concern for many as old customs, manners, values, and norms were being eradicated as a new generation took over.  The automobile made it easy for young people to get in trouble via speeding, driving farther afield, promiscuity, drinking, and other 'wanton' behaviors.  Youth were often cautioned about 'burning their bridges' or making a decision they could not undue.  Having a baby was a classic example.  If A (adolescence) + B (behaviors) = C (consequences), well the result was the Crybaby Bridge!

Like its companion legend of  "Resurrection Mary", with its underlying theme that if the girl  had stayed home like a 'good girl' she would still be alive, the Crybaby Bridge tales also carry the underlying theme that conduct was important and had consequences.

So far, no newspaper, book, or oral history collections have unearthed any version of the tale of a Crybaby Bridge earlier than about 1917 (here).   "Resurrection Mary", by contrast, is considered sub-genre to the 'Vanishing Hitchhicker' motif and there is some evidence that the VH can be traced back to the post-Civil War.

The Crybaby Bridge motif is most probably an early 20th century invention to convey moral values, warn of sexual indiscretion, and safeguard human life.

EARLY LEADERS REVEALED IN EARLY PHOTO

In this photo from 1945 a young Oral Roberts is shown attending his denomination's general conference, held in Oklahoma City that year.  Roberts is shown in the lower right corner framed by the ladies in the hats.  At the opposite corner is the young entrepreneurial minister, R.O. Corvin, who would be in the next year the first president of Southwestern Christian University (then located at 5000 NW 10th).

EARLY OKLAHOMA CITY CHURCH CONFERENCE

In 1945, the Pentecostal Holiness Church meet in conference at the Oklahoma City First Church.  This church had begun in 1907 in the old 'Blue Front Saloon', 7 West Grand.  It later moved to 423 West California and in 1945 was located at 2046 E. 2nd Street.  In 1950, they relocated to 1701 N.W. 7th (9th and Blackwelder) under the leadership of pastor, the Rev. S.N. Greene.  The church, the First Pentecostal Holiness Church, was historic in being one of the first pentecostal churches in Oklahoma.   It is believed this image shows the church at 2046 E. 2nd in Oklahoma City.

Deadly Oklahoma Tornadoes

According to NOAA, there have been several tornado storms since 1947 which ranked F4 and F5.  The Woodward storm of April 1947 was part of a multi-state outbreak, was an F5 and it claimed 116.   One in November of 1930 struck Bethany along the area of NW 39th Street.   "The tornado moved north-northeast from 3 miles west of the Oklahoma City limits, hitting the eastern part of Bethany. About 110 homes and 700 other buildings, or about a fourth of the town, were damaged or destroyed. Near the end of the damage path 3.5 miles northeast of Wiley Post Airfield, the tornado hit the Camel Creek school. Buildings blew apart just as the students were falling to the floor and looking for shelter; five students and a teacher were killed."  It was an F4 and over 20 were killed. Overall about 100 tornadoes have hit OKC in the last 100 years.

REAL LIFE MYSTERIES REALLY ARE THE BEST

It has always been the silent voices, the untold stories, the hidden truths and the buried subtexts which have appealed  as I began delving into history. Those invisible, ghost-like people that "society" often tried to silence, make go away, or simply destroy.  The life of a poverty stricken yet strong 12 year African-American girl from Muskogee, Oklahoma name Sarah Rector, is just such a tale. Walking the dangerous balancing beam of crafting her future as sharks of racism, greed, and self-doubt trolled her early years, she has much to share with modern women, modern society, and much to add to the history of African Americans. 

Author and descendent Kelvin Rector is on a mission to share the surpring mosaic piece which helps to complete our knowledge of Oklahoma during the pre-statehood days, the impact of racism, the power of greed for oil and the wealth it represented, and the urge to manipulate society and some its members in order grasp that power away.

ALL THE SIGNS ARE THERE: Is Your House Haunted?

I was asked this the other day and as I searched I found there are numerous lists from as few as six signs to as many as sixteen and some who were obviously leaving the door wide open. Further research seems to suggest that these are considered the most common and likely signs of a 'haunting':  Unexplained cold spots, Shadows, sounds, or movements otherwise unexplainable,  Moving objects, opening doors - all unexplainable, Unexplainable moods, changes in atmosphere, or feelings of being watched, or Sightings of unexplained people, animals, or faces in or around a house which are unexplainable. 

You see, the key factor is  it must be 'unexplainable.'   Air in plumbing can groan like someone is being tortured on the rack, can thump floors and shimmy pipes over several floors giving a distinct feeling of some unseen presence. Air flow through a building can be diverted or blocked creating 'cold spots' or strange cold breezes. Old wood can contract and expand cracking open doors and drawers and knocking things off an otherwise even shelf.   Tiredness, flickers of electrical current, vision problems, and birds flitting past a window can create the illusion of something moving past, a shadow rapidly speeding across a room, and slinking in a corner.  Digital photography can capture orbs of light which are merely dust particles, refraction in old wavy glass can create a false play of light and shadow which the brain interprets as a "face" or nearby sounds carry on the wind leading to ideas of disembodied voices.

The amount of things we do not know about how old houses and interact with their geologic foundations, the  interactions of a location with any underground water sources, the possible correlations of electrical storms and 'sightings', and the power of the human imagination to create what it expects to see, all combine to insure we keep learning and trying to understand our wacky and wild world.

What Was Lost? What Can We Still Learn?

In the movement west, European-Americans found strange and mysterious earthen mounds - some of awesome size - and reflecting a great amount of communal cooperation and common purpose.  The often migratory, hunter-gatherer populations of the East, Southeast, and Middle regions seemed removed from what were clearly a more urban minded people.   Using a mindset that equated cultural development solely with specific types of society, they often dismissed any connections, could not accept that social history could be anything but linear, and  devalued anything not meeting preconceptions of an "important" or "civilized" society.

As a result, although many early and large earthen works or "mounds" were  recognized, protected, and preserved, many others were grazed, robbed, and otherwise destroyed.  Valuable information about the earliest community activities in North America were lost without study, record, or concern.  Some questions will never be answered about migration patterns, materials, methods, and relationships because valuable data was lost in the hurry to find mythical "treasure."   The lessons of the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Park in Spiro, Oklahoma are worth noting.  Hailed as an American "King Tut's Tomb" - not for its gold but for its rare information on early occupation.  Yet, it was nearly destroyed, robbed of its information, its contents desecrated with cruel abandon.

For most of the mound building cultures, these earthen works were part of sacred rituals of burial, death, and beliefs in the afterlife.  Archaeologists were seen as 'tomb robbers' and their actions synonymous with going to the local graveyard to dig  up a loved relative.  In most cases, you see, the occupants did not disappear but are connected to various groups who continued to develop and evolve as revealed through customs, linguistics, DNA, and cultural stories.  It was often seen as personal affront and sacrilege of sacred spaces and disturbances of final resting places. 

Spiro Mounds is the gem in Oklahoma but other sites stretch from the Canadian border to Middle America; from the Virginia hills to central plains.

What remains a mystery, however, is how these early groups functioned, what they believed, and how they might have related to other people groups.  These may never be fully answered due to the wanton destruction of some of these sites across the continent.  Their artistic style was as unique to other Native American art as Etruscan art was to Roman art.  They offer a rare glimpse into a more full understanding of human occupation and the connections and cultures of ancient humans.

In the assumptions about social development, definitions of civilizations, cultural superiority and prejudice rare pieces of history were lost - perhaps forever. As new theories of migrations,  multiple approaches to settlement, and new evidence continues to come to light pushing further and further our understanding of time lines and influences, what might yet still be there to be learned and what was lost?

AWFUL, MORBID, GRUESOME

No, not the National Press Club. These are terms used in the newspapers of early Oklahoma City to describe a serious of awful finds in the city dump. "Mountains of mangled flesh" or bodies most "dreadfully abused and mutilated." People pondered often in the midnight dreary what monster walked among them. Not even twenty years past the dreadful "Jack the Ripper" crimes of London Town - there was much for the imagination to contemplate. One story told of the finding of a small infant whose tiny body had been horribly "mutilated" by skilled hands and then the tiny body tossed on the "ash heap." One headline questioned what awful ghouls were prowling the gas lit streets of the new capital? The slasher in this morbid tale was none other than the local medical school, Epworth College. Or, to be more precise, the janitor of the facility. It seems that he had simply taken the discard body parts, bloody cloth, tumor removals and even corpses used in practice dissections, to the local city dump.   

WHO WAS VIVIA THOMAS?

One of the longest and most intriguing tales of the Sooner state involves a woman who masqueraded as a man.  Various versions have been shared but all have the same basic tale:

"One of the most interesting stories associated with Fort Gibson National Cemetery is the tale of Vivia Thomas. Legend has it this high-spirited daughter of a wealthy Boston family met and fell in love with a handsome young lieutenant at a ball following the Civil War. After several months of courtship, they announced their engagement, but shortly before the wedding he left, leaving only a note that he desired to go West in search of adventure. Broken-hearted and bitter over the abandonment, Thomas went in search of her lover. After learning that he was stationed at Fort Gibson, she set off on a journey of revenge. She cut her hair, dressed in men’s clothing and joined the Army. The disguise worked, as the former fiancé did not recognize her. One night as he was returning from a visit with his Native American girlfriend, she ambushed and killed him. Despite an intense investigation, the murder went undiscovered. However, Thomas grew remorseful and began to visit his grave late at night. Eventually she contracted pneumonia from the continued exposure to the cold and collapsed near his grave, dying a few days later. Rather than condemning her actions, her army colleagues were so impressed with her courage in coming alone to the frontier and carrying out a successful disguise that they awarded her a place of honor for burial in the officer’s circle." (http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftgibson.asp)  Her grave is  in Section OC Grave 2119.


Of course, in such a ceremony all are notable by their service, their valor, or their leadership.  If you pause to find Vivia, stay long enough to tip the head to :


"Medal of Honor Recipients
Private First Class John N. Reese Jr., (World War II), U.S. Army, Company B, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Paco Railroad Station, Manila, Philippine Islands, Feb. 9, 1945 (Section 2, Grave 1259-E).
First Lieutenant Jack C. Montgomery, (World War II), U.S. Army, 45th Division. Padiglione, Italy, Feb. 22, 1944 (Section 20, Grave 963).

Others
Talahina Rogers - Cherokee wife of General Sam Houston - Section OC, Grave 2467
Captain John P. Decatur - Section OC Grave 2101
Major Joel Elliot - Section OC Grave 2233
Nelson P. Fonseca - Section 14 Grave 675" (ibid.)

But - who was she?  She is listed in the Post Cemetery Records for Fort Gibson, Indian Territory showing a death date of January 7, 1870. (Ancestry.com. U.S. Military Burial Registers, 1768-1921[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Original data: Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations, 1768-1921; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M2014, 1 roll); Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92; National Archives, Washington, D.C.)  No other identifying information is indicated in the record.   


There are other deaths without such details and that appeared to be the standard practice for those considered non-military.  So that leaves her place of burial to offer clues as to  
the truth of the basic story and the strength of the legend to stand the test of time.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE: Another Urban Legend Bites the Dust - UPDATE

The cemetery has now been opened, the final graves appear to all be gone, and only the memories of those who lived, died, and grieved there remain.  The city park has expanded, walking trails go past the old cloistered corner with its sentinals of scraggly pines.  If you walk or run in the area, slow down and remember those who once rested there.
For many years, an urban legend floated among community members that the cemetery on the northwest corner of the Eldon Lion's Park in Bethany had to be haunted - it was overgrown, shady, and secretive. It looked the part.   It was the cemetery associated with the St. Joseph's Children' Home.  Bizarre tales emerged fed as much by anti-catholic sentiment as any real fact; but some times in perpetuating urban legends that is enough.  Recent televised explorations of sanitariums in Kentucky and Ohio have added a new word to the lexicon of urban legends.   The term 'death tunnel' is spoken  in hushed sounds as if nefarious acts were to be associated with such a feature of an institution.  Thee truth is less attractive and far more practical.  In some settings such a hidden avenue for the removal of the dead was a necessity.  It provided them some last privacy and, in settings such as hospitals and orphan care facilities, some protection to those who resided in the facility as well.  It was also very practical when the location was one where long winters or protracted rainy seasons might preclude being able to bury a body in a timely manner.  There is some indications that such a feature was at the Bethany location, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous.  However, long before the facility closed, it was sealed shut and had not been used in decades.  The people who had been buried there - the orphans who had died of fevers, the nuns of old age, and the older people who had come there to end their days - were respectfully interred.  When the facility closed, the nuns and priests buried there were transferred to another burial site.  If any graves remain in the tiny shady corner, let them rest in peace.   As you pass, whisper a tiny prayer and grant them respect and dignity.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma

Top image is late 1960's shortly before it closed at the Bethany location.

The sport fields between Route 66 and the front of the institution, as they appeared in the 1940's.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma c1927

n is top

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma c1912

THE ORPHANAGE ON THE HILL

THE SAINT JOSEPH CHILDREN’S HOME

A Brief History based on an entry in the Bethany Centennial History Book (2009)

By

Marilyn A. Hudson

Just three years after Oklahoma statehood, 27 ½ acres of land were purchased to create the “St. Joseph Orphanage Asylum and Industrial School.”  The land was excellently situated near the half-way point of the new “El Reno Interurban” rail line connecting Oklahoma City and Yukon. With 60 acres by 1913, early promoters noted the gardens, truck produce, farming, and livestock of the orphanage would advertise the rich farming potential of the area.[1]  The facility grew to include various tracts of land and included   the “north farm” where the present day St. Francis Center for Christian Renewal and Resurrection Cemetery are located.

Overseeing this scale of a charitable endeavor in the Roman Catholic Church of Oklahoma required strong leaders.  The Very Rev. Bernard Mutsaers, James Maney, and His Excellency the Right Rev. Theophile Meerschaert, Oklahoma’s first Bishop, proved to be those leaders. The Rev. John M. Kekeisen, late of Newkirk, assumed the position of first director of the orphanage. Other Directors were Fathers P.P. Schaeffer, James Garvey, and A.A. Isenbart.[2]

On August 1, 1912, Sister Mary Scholastica, Superior, and Sisters Mary Anthony. Mary Raphael, Mary Ambrose, all Sisters of Mercy, arrived to receive the children. On October 6, 1912, Bishop Meerschar performed a solemn service of blessing celebrating the new facility.

In 1921, Father P.P. Schaeffer, foresaw a need for infant and elderly care.  The Article of Incorporation at that time to “St. Joseph’s Orphanage and Home for the Aged.”  Father Garvey, starting in 1928, used a popular annual parish picnic to raise funds to reduce the orphanage indebtedness. The result was that by 1934 the mortgage on the orphanage was fulfilled.

Over the years, the large brick building set on a gentle knoll, saw a gymnasium added, a chapel, and classrooms.  It was central to many of the charities of its day for Catholics in Oklahoma and the people they helped.  The history of the Oklahoma Catholic Charities also begins at St. Joseph, as they were headquartered at the orphanage until 1926.

Over the next sixty years, the orphanage would see many changes in its structure, outreach, and workers.  More than seven orders of women religious served there (Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Blessed Carmelites, Benedictines, Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Trinity, Sisters of St. Joseph, and the Divine Providence Sisters)[3].  

In 1965, the Children’s Home relocated to an area off Eastern Avenue in NE Oklahoma City with a modern set of dormitories, cafeteria, and chapel.[4]  Changes in society were making orphanages less common[5]. In 1973, however, the original facility, empty for three years, sold to become the general offices of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church.[6]

From its opening in 1912 to 1955, St. Joseph provided care for some 5,000 children.[7]   Many were like the child a Sister Providentia recalled.   A tiny girl, neglected by her family, asked the Sister if it was true they “really received three meals a day…”[8]  Happily, the St. Joseph Orphanage could and did provide three meals and much more.

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[1] “Orphanage plans more buildings” Daily Oklahoman. 4/14/1912; special thanks to James Weinmann , Heritage Room Director, Catholic Pastoral Center, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

[2] “Diocesan Charities Office Has Cared for Thousands.” Southwester Courier: Golden Jubilee, n.d., pg. 96-97.

[3] “St. Joseph’s Children’s Home.” The Sooner Catholic. Sunday, Sept. 5, 1976.

[4] “Empty Orphanage a Tranquil Store of Memory.” Daily Oklahoman. (5/27/1973, pg. 22).

[5]  “Necessity for Orphanages has virtually disappeared.”  Daily Oklahoman (12/26/1974), pg. 87).

[6] “Church to move headquarters to City.”  Daily Oklahoman (8/7/1973, pg. 11).

[7] Quoted in “St. Joseph’s Children’s Home”. Sooner  Catholic, Sunday, Sept. 5,1976.; “Empty Orphanage a Tranquil Store of Memory.” Daily Oklahoman.  (5/27/1973, pg. 22).

[8] St. Joseph’s Children’s Home.” The Sooner Catholic. Sunday, Sept. 5, 1976.

DARK SPRING - Unsolved OKC Murders

Spring times are supposed to be about life and renewal and second chances.  Once upon time in central Oklahoma City the spring was dark and filled with visions to cause nightmares.

The first body parts showed up in April 1, 1976, in an abandoned house at 325 NE 8th in Oklahoma City, utility workers exploring an abandoned house found the head and body parts of a 18 year old Cathy Lyn Shackelford. At the time, however, she was unidentified and was labeled a 'Jane Dow'.   

Fast forward to April 19, 1979 when several grisly discoveries are made between mid-April and the first of May. All around the 300 block NE 10th and 200 block NE 7th in Oklahoma City.  The  second known victim was named Arley Bell Killian.

A strange gap of seven  years followed before another find was made.  On March 6, 1986, the body of   23 year old  Tina Sanders was located at 507 N. Lindsay.  A fourth has been suggested but unverified.

There are interesting similarities which might provide links to similar crimes and bring closure to this cold case. All the women were Native American, they either lived on the streets and/or worked as prostitutes, and were all probably killed within the same one mile radius where their bodies were found. The killings were in the spring, they were not rushed, and due to the ease with which the body parts were created and discarded, the killer had to have been familiar with his surroundings (the Stiles Circle - Lincoln Terrace neighborhood; now generally covered by the Centennial Expressway and the OU Health Science buildings and related structures).  Each body had an incision in the lower lip, massive body mutilation and dismemberment, and certain parts of the bodies were never found.

The chronology of the murders -1976, 1979 and 1986 - indicate there may have been a pattern at work.  Another killing (5) might have occurred in 1982-1983.  Just as possible, however,  the killer could have been in jail, in the military, or out of state on some job during the seven year break.  It is likely other killings, as of yet to be found,  may be fit that pattern.(Oklahoma Cold Cases) It would be atypical for such a killer to have such a long 'cooling off' period but not impossible.

Some suggest that another body was found April 22, 1995 and pulled from missing head, hands and feet, from a shallow grave 50 miles west of the city.   Authorities were said to note 'similarities' in the manner of the dismemberment. (Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, 2009,p. 291) The time period is shortly after the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City and that story was the major news for several days and no report was found to confirm that suggestion.

In 1993, the combined efforts of Andra Medina, Sgt. Norma Adams, Norman forensic sculpture Betty Pat Gatliff, and well known Oklahoma based anthropologist , Dr. Clyde Snow brought closure to the first Jane Doe.  DNA identified her as Shackleford ("DNA Tests Identify '76 Slaying Victim". Steve Lackmeyer, Oklahoman, Nov. 30, 1993, pg.1).

There were also some 'interesting' bodies in eastern Oklahoma, not for from the I-40 corridor in Shamrock 1975, Wellston 1985 and Broken Arrow 1989. Also possibly other locations in 1985 and the early 90's.    Body parts or dismembered bodies of young women who apparently went missing unnoticed and unidentified.  The 1960's through the 1990's were especially violent with serial killers springing out of their dank worlds to grab headlines through gory acts: Kemper, Bundy, Rader and so many others.

What happened to the killer? Where did he go?  One notorious killer confessed to some of these deaths but the confessions are considered by most as suspect, the last minute greedy attempt by a sociopath to get attention.  If that is true, then chilling questions remain. When the region was razed by bulldozers and new building rose over the bloody grounds, what secrets were lost?  Are there other victims  out there - somewhere? Victims of this monster who stalked the streets to prey- at leisure -  on women struggling just to survive?

Oral History Collections Highlight Women’s History Month

(March 17, 2011 Stillwater, Okla.) – Great resources for Women’s History Month with an Oklahoma focus are just a click away. The Oklahoma Oral History Research Program (OOHRP) at the Oklahoma State University Library hosts three online digital collections documenting the contributions of women in Oklahoma.

“Gathering oral histories provides an opportunity to pursue answers to questions left silent in what little archival material exists for these women, said Juliana Nykolaiszyn, assistant professor, OOHRP. “We invite you to explore the following websites and meet women who blazed trails, overcame obstacles and continue to inspire a new generation of women in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/owhof/

Since 1982, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame has recognized women who served as pioneers in their fields, made significant contributions to the state of Oklahoma, championed other women or women’s issues, or served as public policy advocates for the issues important to women. In 2007, the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library started interviewing inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in order to fill a gap in primary source documents concerning women in Oklahoma. This website includes brief biographies, interview transcripts, interview audio, video selections and links to other resources.

Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/wotol/

During Oklahoma's first 101 years (1907-2008) only 77 women were elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. Forty-six of these remarkable women have now shared their stories as part of the project. Taken individually, these interviews reflect the careers and interests of the legislators; taken collectively they constitute a narrative of the role of women in the Oklahoma Legislature over time. This website includes lesson plans for teachers, transcripts of each interview, downloadable poster of women legislators and links to resources on women and politics.

Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry: Oklahoma Women and the Dust Bowl

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/dustbowl/

Prior to the start of this project in 2000, many interviews had been conducted with people who remembered the whirling winds of the 1930s, but they presented a primarily male perspective of this event. Again and again men spoke of their wives and their mothers as being the glue that held their families together during these incredibly hard days. Between 2000 and 2002, the OSU Library located and interviewed more than 100 women individually or in groups about what they recalled from living during the period of 1932 to 1940 in the area of Oklahoma typically identified as the epicenter of the Dust Bowl. This website includes interview transcripts, interview audio, along with a bibliography of the Dust Bowl era.

These oral history collections are projects of the OOHRP. Formally established in 2007, the OOHRP at the OSU Library has collected and preserved firsthand accounts from individuals who have played a part in Oklahoma’s history. The Program explores the lives and contributions of Oklahomans from all walks of life. To learn more about the OOHRP call 405-744-7685, email liboh@okstate.edu, or visit http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/.

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for success. Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 23,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and 118 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.

Contact: Bonnie Ann Cain, APR

OSU Library

lib-pub@okstate.edu

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EARLY OKLAHOMA MINING TRAGEDIES

I

In Cheswick, PA in 1904 over 100 men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Hartwick Coal Mine igniting gas and trapping the  miners.

Oklahoma mines tended to fill with gas too and these ' windy tunnels' - exploded from sparks, lamps, and other accidental ignitions.  Roofs collapsed under the strain of thousands of tons of rock and dirt being bored by ax, pick and dynamite (Coal Mining Disasters). 

1892 - Jan. 7, Krebs, I.T. - 100 men killed, 150 injured

1902 - June, Dow, I.T. - 10 killed in the Milby and Dow Company Mine.

1906 - Jan., Poteau, I.T. -  14 men killed

1908 - Aug, Haileyville, OK - 31 miners die in coal mine fire Mine #1 near McAlester in eastern Oklahoma

1910 - April 1 - 6 men die in Great Western Mine # 2

1910 - Oct 19 - Buck, OK - 2 men killed in #6 mine (*)

1912 - Feb. 23,  20-40 men reported dead in coal mine explosion.

Additional mining accidents occur in the 1920s and 1930's, but safety measures improved and there was generally less loss of life.

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Bibliography of Oklahoma Coal Mining Disasters

(*) - One book on ghost stories, Haunted Homeland, cites 'Mine # 6' in Buck, OK but mis-dates the event and mis-identifies victims.

MINING DISASTERS: 1892 Krebs, Indian Territory

Krebs # 11

It was cold that January 7th in 1892 and a cold winter raced across the Indian Territory.  It was to be the last day for many in the Osage Coal and Mining Company mine shaft #11.   Mining was dangerous business no matter what time or place.  Workers from mining regions were brought in to work the mines for their expertise and skill. They were brought in from Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Russia, Italy, Wales, England, and Poland.  Miners from Pennsylvania and Virginia also came in to the region as well.  The mine had a reputation for being poorly managed and maintained. Under trained workers labored long hours in unsafe conditions. It has been suggested that immigrants were encouraged to come work in the Territory just for that reason. Poor English skills meant few demands and opposition to conditions.  On that cold early January day, 100 men were dead, 150 others wounded, and the region had seen its worst mining disaster of all time.  Nuns closed the local school so they could visit house to house to care for the injured or comfort those who had suffered loss.

A list of the causalities here.  It was not until 2002 that the victims of this disaster were memorialized with a public marker. It is clear, however, that the impact was memorialized in the hearts and soul of the area for decades.

ANATOMY OF AN URBAN LEGEND: The Tale of Augusta

In the landscape of Oklahoma legends and myths one tale continues to rise to the top and be repeated periodically.  A scanning of websites with the story produces at least a dozen sites repeating the tale of the ghost of the house which now holds the Stone Lion Inn.

Sans any stories of hauntings prior to the early 1980's, the house had been a home and once a funeral home.  The charming and heartbreaking tale of a little girl who stayed to play in the halls and stairs of the old house were shared with the sadness of life cut short at such a young age.

The childish ghost was said to be Augusta Houghton, the 8 yr old daughter of Fred and Bernice Houghton.  She had died from an accidental overdose of cough medicine given by a nurse or maid.  The story assumed a life of its own, repeated despite local researchers indicating they could not find a record of such a death.  

Independently researchers from OKPRI and Cullan Hudson, author of Strange State came to the conclusion the specter, if there, could not be Augusta.   Owner, Beth Luker, would later admit to making a mistake in naming Augusta, but by then the story had assumed a life of its own. Repeated by writers and paranormal researchers without fact checking, the story became enmeshed in the folkloric weave of the state.

What was the truth?

Searching US Federal Census records revealed in 1900 in Guthrie, Logan Co., OK a family living at 702 Noble Avenue.   Fred E. Houghton (1854-1943), his wife Bertha (1872-1958), his children Grace (1885), Gladys (1896), Alma (1899), Augusta (b.1892, Sept), and Frank E. (1900) were enumerated on the census.

In 1910, the family is living at 1016 W. Warner Street (the location of the present inn).  There is no Augusta listed on the 1910 census, although children Grace, Gladys, Alma, Frank E., Adolphe (1903), Dorthy (1907), Russell (1908), and Irene (1910) are listed.   

In 1910, Augusta was no doubt the young  18 yr old woman listed in the Wichita, Ks census of students attending Mt. Caramel Academy.  

The family is found again on the 1920 Census for Logan County and is enumerated in 1930 in Enid, OK, where daughter Alma had married into the Suddeth family and is listed with son David at the West Main address.

Rootsweb, a genealogy website, indicated a family history record for a Coralee Augusta, daughter of Fred and Bertha Houghton, born Sept. 17, 1892 and who married in 1913 a William Houser.

The only child NOT carried over through the ever expanding family listed on the US Federal Census was daughter Irene, listed as newborn in the 1910 census when the family lived at 1016 W. Warner, Guthrie.

A death record has not been located for the Irene Houghton listed on that 1910 census and so caution should be exercised.   One website assumed she died the same year as the census because of the -0- listed by her age but that was often used for children/infants under the 1 year mark.  There are questions to be answered because an infant could not be the 'child' presence noted by so many 'research teams.' She is not listed on several genealogical websites, although they site the census record where she is listed. And strangely, Coralee Augusta is not listed on several such websites despite citations referring back to the census of 1900.

If Irene was the 7-8 yr old who died, then a death record or grave should exist for her from the 1917-1918 time period.  Since the family is enumerated on the 1920 census in Guthrie, then the likely place of death could be there.  However, she had older sisters who were already married and could have been living elsewhere with them during the census.  Assumptions cannot be made until verified by documentation.

The urban legend of "Augusta" is a classic example of the need for real, in-depth historical research to ferret out the truth from the tall tales and guesswork.

HAIR CUSTOMS

Wondering through an antique mall I chanced upon something I had not seen since a tiny child.  A small class container with an ornamental lid.  It was similar to the one which had sat on my grandmother's dresser.  It was explained to me that when she was a girl, ladies would brush their hair and then they would pull the hair caught in the brush out and collect it in the small container. This hair would be saved until enough had been collected to create small padded forms to add height or build the illusion of thicker hair for a French bun or topknot.

This got me to thinking of all the other hair care customs from over the years. Brushing hair 100 times before bed.  Washing hair with eggs. Rinsing hair in vinegar or lemon juice.  Bangs.  Never brushing wet hair. Curling hair with scraps of cloth, bobby pins, or brush curlers.  Home permanents. Using  DRY shampoo (sprinkle in and brush out).  Saving orange juice cans to use as curlers. Ironing hair straight.  Never cutting hair and adopting a bald look.   Only wearing long hair as a child. Always having short hair as a mature woman.  Only wearing hair loose as a youth.  Never wearing hair loose as a mature or married woman.

The great mystery here is - why in the world did women do all these things?  Hair is pretty personal yet we as a gender have allowed others to dictate how we wear our hair, how long we wear our hair, what colors our hair should be, and a dozen other choices.  Why?    Clean hair worn in a manner that pleases the individual donning that hair, and not society or elements in society, should be the goal of every person.  What I might like or dislike should not be the determinate for another's style.  So why go into a salon and get the same hair 150,000 others have gotten that week?  Just to fit in? Just to conform?    I had an ancestor who belonged to a sect in Northern Ireland called the 'Croppies' because they kept their hair cropped.  According to family legend, he was allowed to not adhere due to the respect in which he was  held by many people.  Be a wise woman, or man, and find that which suits you and your lifestyle.  Let there be no mystery here - even if there is a lot of history - hair freedom once and for all!