Caddo- My Home Town

Forfeiture of Charters, 1930

I have not researched any business on this list to determine the reason for this legal notice. I simply offer it today as an example of information found in legal notices, and as a good listing of some businesses of the time. I also didn’t retype the notice because of the obvious time and tediousness that would be involved. The two scans are of different quality because they were in different columns. If you click either, you should be able to read them. However, if you can’t read the second one, it simply states that the businesses have only six months to pay delinquent taxes and fees, and apply for reinstatement, or they will become “legally dead”.

Murder

The Daily Ardmoreite

April 07, 1914

Headless Woman Mystery Solved

Caddo Farmer Confesses to Killing His Wife Near Coalgate

Coalgate, Okla., April 6- The mystery of the finding of the nude headless body of a woman sewed up in a sack in Boggy Creek, three miles north of Coalgate on October 10, 1910, was solved here Monday afternoon when R. L. Bledsoe, a farmer living seven miles east of Caddo, confessed to J. R. Wood that the body was that of his wife, Addie Bledsoe, whom he had killed during a quarrel while camping on the banks of the creek.

Bledsoe stated that following a quarrel he smashed in the skull of his wife with an adz and later cut off her head with the same instrument. He placed the body in one sack and the head in another, throwing both into the creek. The sack containing the head was never found, adding to the mystery connected with the event.

The killing took place in the latter part of August, 1919, while the couple was enroute overland from Ardmore to McAlester, it is stated in the confession, but the body was not found for more than two months, two boys finally discovering it.

Bledsoe later wrote to Mrs. Nellie Decker, daughter of his wife, who had been married, twice previously, to men named Mason and Waller, stating that her mother was dead and buried. That Bledsoe was intimate with E. L. Waller, another single daughter of his wife, also is admitted by the man. This daughter was making the trip from Ardmore to McAlester by rail at the time of the killing.

Mrs. Decker, hearing of the finding of the body at Coalgate, became suspicious and sent to the Coalgate chief of police, R. L. Morgan, a description of her mother. Later she completed the identification in person, making certain of it by a broken arm. Chief Morgan worked on the case for a long time before securing evidence tending to incriminate Bledsoe.

The farmer was arrested late Sunday night at his home near Caddo by Morgan and a Bryan County deputy sheriff and brought to Coalgate Monday morning. Under a grilling examination by the county attorney he broke down and confessed.

 

April 10, 1914

Arrested Here For Wife Murder

R. L. Morgan, chief of police of Colgate, came to Caddo Sunday with Jack Droke and they went out five miles southeast of Caddo and arrested R. L. Bledsoe on a warrant charging him with the murder of Mrs. Ada Waller on Boggy near Coalgate in September 1910. The prisoner was brought to Caddo and taken to Coalgate Monday.

Dispatches from Coalgate Tuesday in the morning papers state that County Attorney Wood of Coal County states that Bledsoe had confessed his guilt of the murder.

Bledsoe, while here in irons, made no comment on his case. He made no resistance to the officers, and acted almost unconcerned in the matter. For some time past his principle occupation seems to have been hauling wood and selling it in town, using a small worn-out wagon drawn by a pair of goats. He was unobtrusive and attended to his own business. He lived on the Joe Smith place and farmed a little.

Three and a half years ago the headless body of a dead woman was found in a sack in Boggy creek near Coalgate. The head was never found. Although officers for months worked on the case and scoured the country for the missing woman, no hint of the identity of the headless body was found until a daughter of Mrs. Waller two weeks ago declared she believed the woman was her mother. It was with the murder of this woman that Bledsoe is charged. Dispatches also state the excitement over the matter is high in Coalgate.

 

April 24, 1914

Bledsoe Penalty is Electrocution

At Coalgate last week District Judge Rainey accepted a plea of guilty of Jim Bledsoe, charged with the murder of a woman near Coalgate some three years ago, and sentenced him to be electrocuted July 2^nd.

Judge Rainey sated that the confession of Bledsoe showed one of the most atrocious crimes in the state. He knocked the woman in the head with a chair, carried her body to the woods, took an old rough hatchet and hacked her head from her body, placed each in a sack, threw them in the river, and returned home and began to live with the woman’s daughter. Bledsoe killed the woman because she was jealous of her daughter who she thought was becoming intimate with Bledsoe, who declared that he had never been married to either of the women.

The woman and her children are in a deplorable condition and it is thought that the children will be taken in charge by the state and sent to one of the orphan homes.

(can’t read next line) if ever was an occasion where the death penalty should be allowed to stand this was one of them as it was the worst case that ever came under his observation. Under the present system of Governor Cruce the man will receive a life sentence instead of paying the penalty under the terms of the court, and will spend the remainder of his life in the state penitentiary.

Truck Stop

The Indian Citizen

February, 24, 1955

From Della Springer’s column

“We are proud of the improvements at our “drive in”. I mean Marge and Betty’s. They have added some beautiful cabins that are decorative as well as useful. They have added a lot to our community. My utmost admiration and respect go to these progressive people who are not content to just let their property hold the world together. We need more like them.”

The Atoka County Times

April 28, 1955

New and Modern Tourist Accommodations Added at “Marg & Bettys”

            Mr. and Mrs. Baughman, owners of “Marg & Betty’s” Truck Stop, on Highways 669 and 75, to miles south of Caney, have recently completed a modern eight-unit Motel and report that business is very good. The Baughmans, who moved to Oklahoma only a few years ago, have been very successful in their business and have earned the respect and friendship of their neighbors, a feeling that is mutual.

            Above Mr. and Mrs. Baughman are accepting the keys for the courts from Louis Jordan, Caddo builder and merchant, who had the contract for the job. Below is a view of the courts.

(The photos that accompany this are too dark to copy. However, I was surprised to see how VERY much taller Mr. Jordan was than the Baughman’s. Head and shoulders above them.)

Unfortunately, Margaret Brommel Baughman committed suicide in 1957 after a year-long illness.

Wilson R. Baughman died in 2002.

Can anyone identify "Betty"?

Fireworks...

The Caddo Herald

August 19, 1910

Excerpt from a history of the women’s clubs:

“On the day that Oklahoma was recognized as one of the states in the greatest and grandest of the governments under the sun, November 16, 1906, when the flag with the added forty-six was first unfurled to the world, we celebrated, not by useless fire-works and speeches that were soon forgotten, but a more practical, useful and lasting memorial, a beautiful, sweet-toned piano was placed in our public school auditorium to be remembered and enjoyed for years to come. The Czerny girls are proud of this piano, and of the help and support that they have had from the citizens of Caddo in making their payments promptly.

The Woman’s Club donated fourteen dollars, and the Thursday Musicale, from their entertainment proceeds of the Merry Milkmaids, donated ten dollars. They are almost out of debt now, only two more payments to be made.

The hardest work came while Miss Joe Clower was president. In meeting these payments, she managed dinners and a box supper in a most creditable manner.

The Atheneum Club of Durant College visited the Czerny girls and presented a play which was well given, and from the proceeds a payment was made on the piano. The Czerny girls entertained sixty-five at a luncheon on this occasion.” 

 

The Caddo Herald

November 20, 1925

Trades Day Brought Many Folks to Caddo

Regardless of the rain of early Wednesday morning, a very large crowd of people was in town to take in Trades Day.

Jewell Brothers with their flying machines did numerous death-defying stunts over town and at night luridly lit the sky with a wonderful and beautiful display of fireworks.

Caddo merchants proved this entertainment free to the people who came to Caddo. These merchants also had many bargains in goods to offer the folks.

A large number took advantage of The Herald’s bargain offer of 25c a year for that day only.

At night the American legion show, “You Can’t Stand There” was well attended and enjoyed.

Altogether it was a profitable, pleasant, and well spent day.

The Caddo Herald

December 11, 1936

Warning is Issued About Firecracker Shooting in Gym

Warning is hereby given to those people who persist in shooting firecrackers in the school gymnasium. This has to be stopped. From now on, such people will be prosecuted to the greatest degree, with no mercy or favoritism shown.

This practice started last year and presents a very dangerous situation. Hundreds of lives may be at stake because of the careless and thoughtless shooting of a firecracker. The gymnasium is school property, and if we find it necessary to take drastic steps we shall do so.

REMEMBER THE WARNING! Firecrackers must NOT be fired in the school gymnasium! JOE MC KINNIS, Superintendent of Schools

 

The Caddo Herald

December 26, 1947

No Firework May Be Fired in Fire Limits

            Everyone take notice that it is unlawful to shoot fireworks downtown at any time within the fire limits, under penalty of $5 fine and cost which means $13.70.

            The fire limits include blocks between Mercer Garage and Rice Cabins on Main Street, the highway past Community hall on Buffalo Street. The town marshal has been instructed to arrest anyone who may be guilty.

Have a safe holiday!

Statue

Bryan County Courthouse

Durant - Dated 1917, Dedicated 1918

This statue of a Confederate private “at rest” was sculpted in Italy on behalf of the Julia

Jackson chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and was delivered about1914. It was intended to be erected with a drinking fountain at the intersection of Main Street and Third Avenue but that was not allowed. When a new courthouse was authorized in 1917, the architect and construction contractor (Manhattan Construction Company) offered to construct at no charge a base for the monument on the courthouse grounds. The courthouse cornerstone was set on July 4, 1917, and the base of the monument is inscribed “1917,” but due to construction delays related to the World War, the monument was not dedicated until May of 1918.

 

ERECTED IN HONOR OF OUR GALLANT

CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS BY

JULIA JACKSON CHAPTER

UDC NO. 564

AD 1917

LEST WE FORGET

The Bryan County Democrat also took note of the speeches made at the dedication of the

Confederate monument on the ground of the Bryan County Courthouse, on May 22, 1918.

Describing the comments of former Confederate Colonel Jim Tom Story, the May 23 Demo-

crat reported, “The colonel showed that the times of the sixties are solidly welded to the present, and that the old Confederates of today are bending their feeble energies in helping to win this war, and that we must win it, and will win it! He pictured the old veterans at work, under President Wilson, and standing bravely under the flag, and wound up saying, Long may it wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

The Durant Daily Democrat

April 27, 1969

Local chapter Paying Tribute to Confederates

The Julia Jackson chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy today honored the men in grey by paying observance of Confederate Memorial Day.

Mrs. A. M. Moore, UDC president, joined by project directors Mrs. J. B. Clayton and Mrs. R. W. Harkey, placed a wreath at the base of a marble monument outside the Bryan County courthouse.

Standing tall with a rifle in hand, the statue of a Confederate soldier- which some say resembles Robert E. Lee- has been seen here for some 52 years.

“The monument was erected in 1917 by the Julia Jackson chapter in honor of our gallant Confederate soldiers,” said Mrs. Moore. “This is the only monument dedicated to the memory of the Confederate soldier in Oklahoma.”

At the time it was put in place on the east side of the courthouse the statue was the only one of its kind west of the Mississippi.

Confederate Memorial Day, was first observed on April 26, 1966. Our present Memorial Day, which was extended to include the dead of all wars, grew out of the earlier observance of southerners who had died during the war between the states.

The Julia Jackson chapter was organized in Durant on March 5, 1902 in what was then Blue County, Indian Territory. Some 40 charter members signed up with the organization continuing its work since that time.

“At present we have 45 members enrolled,” remarked Mrs. Moore, “eight of which are real daughters.”

Fourth, 1918

The Caddo Herald

June 28, 1918

            Since the Fourth of July will soon be upon us, it is well to suggest in celebrating this Nation’s birthday that we do so in a moderate manner. We should not expend money for fireworks and the like, but we can celebrate it with thanksgiving for the good things we have and for the bad things that have been spared us. It is altogether fitting that we should celebrate this occasion – since its signification was never more patent than now.

Smallpox Denial, 1899

The Caddo Herald

October 20, 1899

            The citizens of Caddo have this week circulated several thousand "dodgers"* signed by the mayor, recorder, and the board of health of Caddo to the effect that Caddo has no smallpox. It seems remarkable that such action should have been necessary, but the fact is that it was. The malicious false reports circulated by some of the people in Durant made it necessary. It will be well for persons who desire to keep posted upon the smallpox situation in the Choctaw Nation to keep an eye upon the Choctaw medical board, as they have the matter in charge. It will be well to bear in mind also, the fact that Dr. LeRoy Long, who is chairman of that board is also president of the board of health of Caddo, and that his name is signed to the statement that there is no smallpox in Caddo.

*I can find no current explanation for the use of this word. I can only tell you that the few other uses of it in the same context that I found in the papers of the time seemed to connect it with some official document or notice. It was not just a local slang term:

Wilmington Messenger (NC)

December 10, 1890

Official “dodgers” are supplied at the Messenger Job office at special rates. City government work of this class at a discount.

Walter's Hardware, 1946

 

The Caddo Herald

February 15, 1946

Eric Holm Buys the Walters Hardware

February 1^st Eric Holm became the owner of the Walters Hardware store and is now conducting the business.

Mr. Holm is one of the older citizens of Caddo, coming here about the turn of the century.

In taking over the business Mr. Holm plans to enlarge and modernize the stock and as he can obtain the goods, carry all the things our people want in the line of shelf hardware.

The retirement of Mr. Walters takes from the business life of Caddo one of the oldest business men in point of tenure in Caddo. He came here before statehood and first engaged in ranching. Later he entered the hardware and furniture business.

Mr. Walters was and is a man of strictest integrity. What his future plans are he has not yet revealed.

 In his time Mr. Walters witnessed the transition of Caddo from a frontier village with no modern conveniences to what it now is, with all the things that make life more comfortable. He can look back to the prominent part he played in this transition.

Mr. Holm will be glad to have you come by to see him.

Blue County Democrat, 1906

Dancing, 1903

The Caddo Herald

 

February 13, 1903

Wednesday night the young people of Atoka gave a really swell dance. From Caddo Mesdames C. E. McPherren, H. T. Styron, L. R. Teubner, and Miss Nellie Folsom and Messrs. C. E. Mc_, W. R. McBride, Amos K. Bass, and W. D. Maxwell, were in attendance, returning yesterday morning.

March 20, 1903

A social dance was greatly enjoyed at the opera house last Friday night. (This item seemed to appear at least once a month.)

April 17, 1903

A party and dance was given at the home of Mrs. M. F. Robinson, four mile east of town, last Friday night. The young folks assembled four miles around, and all had a most excellent time.

 

May 22, 1903

W.W. Moffatt gave a dance Saturday night and his friends and their friends were present, but at 12 o’clock the fiddle stopped.

Wednesday night the young people met at the home of C. A. White to enjoy an ice cream supper. They persuaded Mr. White to allow them to dance so a couple of fiddlers and a guitar player were found and they danced until the “wee small” hours. Those from Caddo who attended were: Miss Kina Turner, P. Boxley, W. Mullins, W. Droke, and Q. O. Moon.