25 YEARS AGO – 1997

PVT. CARON GRADUATES BOOT CAMP

Private Gabriel M. Caron of Wilson will be graduating from Boot Camp at Ft. Sill on Oct. 23, 1997.

Pvt. Caron is a 1995 graduate of Wilson High School.

He joined the US Army in August 1997. His proud parents are Gail and John Stehwein and he is the grandson of Fred and Dorothy Thompson, all of the Wilson community.

50 YEARS AGO – 1972

CLEAN UP OF TOWN

Girl and Boy Scout troops, civic clubs and residents of Henryetta were urged to spruce up the town in preparation for HenryEsta Saturday. Mrs. D. W. Dunaway, chairman of the Arts Humanities Council, said, “Many visitors will be in our city during HenryEsta and we all wish to make a good impression.”

“So we’re asking that Girl and Boy Scouts help out by picking up litter along our roadsides. Also, we should all make sure our lawns and yards are presentable,” Mrs. Dunaway said.

She also suggested Halloween or fall window decorations be used to lend a holiday air to the town. “Main Street merchants are also urged to make sure their storefronts and sidewalks are in good shape,” she said.

COAL ROCKS TO MOON

ROCKS DISPLAY SLATED

History buffs will appreciate the unique pictorial review of Henryetta’s past which will be on view at the National Guard Armory during HenryEsta which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, according to Mike Stephens, chairman of the history committee.

“Coal Rocks to Moon Rocks” has been selected as the name for the review which will show a chronological history of the development of Henryetta over the past 60 years, Stephens said.

“The display will have not only pictures of the downtown area but also pictures of the colorful and historical personalities who lent their time and talents to what we now know as Henryetta,” Stephens said.

At the end of the long display will be the moon rocks which were brought back by Neil Armstrong during the first walk on the moon flight. “Several pictures in the Joe Hardin collection will be featured in a special area,” Stephens said.

“Joe Hardin was the official photographer of Alfalfa Bill Murray, Oklahoma’s first governor. Hardin lived in Henryetta most of his life, photographing the town and its people as it grew from a coal town to a bustling community,” he said.

KIWANIANS HEAR ABOUT

POLLUTION

Henryetta Kiwanians today heard a talk on pollution by J. Mark Hedrick, director of Program Development and field Services for Tulsa Lakes Area Tuberculosis and Health Association.

Hedrick explained the duties of the Oklahoma Coalition for Clean Air, an affiliate of Oklahoma Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association. “A total of 685 citizens from across the state expresses their concern for maintaining clean air for Oklahoma by forming the coalition,” Hedrick said.

“The coalition also has among its members many civic, business and professional clubs and other organizations concerned with environmental quality,” he told the group.

He gave this list of things ordinary citizens can do to aid in the fight on pollution: Help educate your neighbors on the problems of air pollution and the importance of clean air; report violations of air quality laws to the state department of health; encourage the passage of legislation to preserve clean air; support elected officials who demonstrate a commitment to environmental protection programs; stop burning refuse; recycle usable items; practice composting; use sanitary landfills for disposing of waste material; have your car engine and exhaust system tuned regularly; invite others to ride with you; join a car pool; use the bus; ride or walk to work; Check your home heating and cooling systems regularly and set your thermostat one or two degrees lower in the winter and higher in the summer.

Also at today’s meeting, Sam Wren and Joe Marshall got a pie in the face as the consequences for not selling as many circus tickets as the other teams. Don Stepp’s team got to throw the pies.

75 YEARS AGO – 1947

CHURCH, SMELTER FIRES

CAUSE SLIGHT DAMAGE

City firemen Sunday were called to two fires at the Presbyterian Church, Fifth and Division, and one at the Eagle Picher smelter east of town, but only slight damage was reported at both places.

The fire at the smelter was on a wooden dock and only a few boards were damaged. At the church, wooden planks used to form banquet tables caught fire in the basement. Only a few planks were damaged according to firemen who said causes of both fires were unknown.

ROTARIANS TOLD OF CITY’S URGENT NEEDS

State Health Director, Dr. Grady Matthews, today told Rotarians that Henryetta is in desperate need of water and sewer improvements to take care of a rapidly increasing population.

He termed the estimated 52 percent of residences with sewer connections as low and said that in spite of this, the sewage disposal plant is inadequate, thus emphasizing a written report submitted by his department to the city officials last week.

“The pollution of Coal Creek is bad,” he said, concerning the disposal system, and added that there are “serious defects” now at the water plant. He also called on Henryetta to stand by its sanitary milk ordinance, saying that “it is better to have less milk and have it pure than to have lots of impure milk.”

He pointed out that the Okmulgee County’s infant mortality rate over the past few years was higher than the state average and explained that most of this is caused by impure water and milk. In urging the continuance of preventative medicine through the county health unit, he added that Okmulgee County’s tuberculosis rate is also higher than the state average.

100 YEARS AGO – 1922

FRISCO MAKES

CONCESSIONS

George W. Green, industrial commissioner for the Frisco, with headquarters in St. Louis, was here yesterday in company with General Agent E.E. Carter of the Tulsa, and spent some time with Secretary Eastin in the chamber of commerce headquarters.

Amongst other things they discussed while here was that the Frisco will make a reduction of three cents on all crude oil loaded at Henryetta loading tracks. This is a concession that means considerable saving to shippers, and is designed to foster and encourage the business at this point. The other important concession was that the Frisco will make rates on all passenger fares to the King Koal Karnival here next June. This is a very important matter, and is a distinct official recognition of the wide-spread interest in the annual event at Henryetta.

BASEMENT OF CITY HALL IS IN BAD SHAPE

Chief of Police Stormont said this morning he had just taken between two and three barrels of water out of the basement of the city hall.

The basement story is in very bad condition. Water constantly comes in through the lower part of the walls and the floor. Also the sewage backs up into the basement, carrying with it deadly sewer gas.

The city jail, the police offices and the office of the sheriff are all on this basement floor and near the sheriff ’s office, boards are laid in the middle of the corridor on which to keep out of the water when walking through there.

This condition is well known to Mayor Hawes and he has given no little attention to a plan for remedying the situation. The conditions existing there indicate inefficient engineering or faulty construction when the city hall was built.

If some remedy is not devised to shut out the water the building will continue to be materially weakened as well as endanger the lives of those compelled to occupy the basement rooms and the jail.

MODERN HOTEL IN

HENRYETTA NOW ASSURED

Developments at the Forum Luncheon today make it certain that Henryetta shall have a modern hotel, and that in short order.

President Earl Morgan stated that certain plans had been discussed for the enlistment of Barclay Morgan in the hotel proposition, and asked Mr. Morgan to make a statement. This brought a ready response from the veteran builder, and Barclay Morgan outlined briefly how he would undertake the work of building the much needed hotel. We will not go into details, but merely say that at the conclusion of the speech everybody cheered.

This means a hotel of a hundred and ten rooms, with elevator, big lobby and all that is implied in the term modern hotel. Amongst other good features of the situation is that Mr. Morgan can build it quicker than anybody. He has the ground already, and everybody knows his splendid ability in the way of building. He has done little else for years, and can accomplish more in a given time than anyone else.

We merely surmise that the building would be located in a certain piece of ground which we know Mr. Morgan owns, and the location would be ideal.

ROAD THROUGH PIPPIN PLACE BE COMPLETED

The road case that has been in court for many months has reached what looks like a conclusion. Acting under orders from the county attorney, County Engineer Tway went out to the disputed territory this afternoon to cut the wires and lay the road through the disputed land, said to be only about two hundred feet. Officers Bob Been ad R.B. Williams accompanied the engineer and his force of workmen. The party drove out in a car shortly after one o’clock this afternoon.

The work began last May by the county commissioner. The idea was to build a road from the southwest part of town along the Frisco right-ofway up to the point near the Wise-Buchanan Mine. From there it angles out to the Creek Mine, now one of the Crowe properties. Just after leaving the Wise-Buchanan Mine the survey crossed a portion of land belonging to J.W. Pippin. The building of this highway, as Mr. Pippin saw the matter, would do him harm by cutting his livestock off from their water supply in Coal Creek. He made objection, and the case went to the superior court. The commissioners got the decision, and then Judge Barrett, acting for Pippin, procured a writ from the state supreme court, restraining the county commissioners from action. But after a long delay the Supreme Court decided in favor of the commissioners, and the transcript or whatever it is, was sent from the Supreme Court to the county commissioners. Thus it is that after many months of litigation it looks as if the road would be built.

Both sides to this controversy had adherents, and the Free-Lance has kept out of the controversy as far as possible. Both men are personal friends and we have let them fight it out.

Judge Barrett was expected to apply, and is said to have asked for a federal court to stop and restrain the county authorities from this work. But Assistant County Attorney Williams says there has been no such order recorded in the United States Court at Muskogee.

This is about all the story of the effort to build this road. Today the commissioners seem to have things their own way. Tomorrow Pippin’s attorney may have the upper hand.

LARGEST FLAG OF THE COUNTY IN HENRYETTA

Lyman C. Hill may not be the most patriotic man in town, but he works at the job more persistently and effectively than any of us. He has been the recognized keeper of the flag here for the longest time, and has for a year past sustained similar relations to our arrogant sister city of Okmulgee. He buys the flags, and gives them that affectionate attention that a marksman gives his favorite rifle – a sort of loving care that is good to look on.

The tall flag-pole has been gilded under his personal supervision, and he had ordered a great flag from Philadelphia. His instructions to the flagmakers were to send him the largest flag ever floated. It came, and the measurements are twenty by thirty feet. The stripes are almost two feet wide.

Yesterday afternoon with the enthusiastic help of friends, Col. Hill ran this great flag to the top of that ninety foot pole. The guy-wires attached to the pole at the second joint served to entangle the lower reaches of the flag for a little time, and we all waited to see if it would clear. It did, finally, under the influence of a gentle wind. Then the full thirty feet of shimmering glory floated out over the admiring people who stood – uncovered – and gazed at what is believed to be the biggest flag ever floated from a ninety foot pole.

This great flag will be floated on special occasions, and will always be greeted with enthusiasm. We measured the stars and stripes – they are bigger than one could imagine. The stars are nine inches from tip to tip, and the stripes measure eighteen inches wide. Yet, when floating out at the ninety foot height, one can scarcely believe the measurements.