Oklahoma Today Winter 1983-1984 Volume 34 ... - Digital Collections

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m m m m m ~ m m ~ m ~ u m s m m m m m m m m m m m m m m u e o m s m ~ ~ a ~ e s m a m m m m m m m m ~ r m m m A r a A m ~ r u~ 3 - a a - r r m r n . ~ ~ ~ I#.Il- _ 8 ~-'1-~-~-~- -* .~~~..~ r I. . Chaney and Will Rogers also once \mam ordered their pleasure there, to be 8 a served by their fellow star-to-be. I 8 Tom's former fans will be pleased to find that the Blue Bell has not greatly changed since that day and Dm'a' age. The premises seem frozen in history, almost no different from the mo- II ment when the flamboyant hero said to approaching customers: "What'll it .m,be, gents!" m Customers also find there among @ the original furnishings the means for 1 "returning to those thrilling days of at Oklahoma City's Delmar Garden Amusement Park, which then surthe playing field. Too, he won count- rounded the present Farmer's Market less bouts in a nearby makeshift box- Building at Western and Exchange. ing ring. Gutherians who witnessed That lass's name was Jewel "Kitty" these events were not in the least Perrine, and her family owned the surprised when later learning that Penine Hotel on the southwest corner their old friend periodically sparred of Park and Robinson streets. with heavyweight champions like The sight which later arose from Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. that site remains as a marker on the The future screen star also taught trail which led Tom Mix to fame and youngsters the value of physical fit- renown. Jewel's family built the magness in the basement of the Carnegie nificent Perrine Building, one of Public Library, which still stands at Oklahoma City's earliest skyscrapers, yesteryear," for the presence of the It 0 I) 8 cowboy hero still hangs like a ghost in I the atmosphere. The famed TM Bar brand, once the emblem of the Ral- 402 E. Oklahoma Ave. For nearly a there in 1926. This was later renamed the Cravens Building and is now the First Life Assurance Building. Tom Mix and Jewel Perrine wed in ston Straight Shooters who furiously the old hotel lobby on Dec. 20, 1905. galloped over the air waves and into Oklahoma County court records prove homes throughout America, is repeat- that the groom was 25 and the bride ' ff edly inlaid in the handsome uphol- was 22. (The future screen star's first stery of the back bar. And the former wife, Guthrie schoolteacher Grace Alfans who once enjoyed Tom Mix's4 plin, had returned to her native Louis- 5 m m I) I) fictional exploits on radio will no ville, Kentucky, only a short time 7 I) .(L doubt delight in the Guthrie sites of before.) his actual feats... 7 Tom meantime managed the Stag In Mineral Wells Park on the +" Saloon, which then stood directly I I) southerly edge of the city, Tom across the street on the present First thrilled his earliest audiences while National Bank site. And he once furi- 8 8 serving in three separate capacities. ously but vainly tried to "shoot'er 1 He performed as a drum major with v out" there in true western-movie Da9mm the Territorial Cavalry Band in the A etntuge shot O/ the .~l//erBmn)en' /dl style... D- parade field and led an early football Runrh, zviet2l our hem honed his skd/ ut stunts. "Something happened which did m m fi team through a victorious season on , II 111 year he managed a gymnasium in the not please the former Guthrie football 4 I basement there, stressing the impor- star," a Dai5 Okkdoman reporter later I I a tance of clean and healthy living. recalled, "and he furiously whipped a 8 I This same virtue he later stressed six gun. He emptied the cylinder Urn8 8 11 when organizing "the Ralston Straight while blasting out the lights and firing a Shooters," one of the earliest small- several more shots into the ceiling." II fry cults to charge a cereal box top for Tom Mix dared ALL THIS AND m m r membership. MORE while tending bar on the pre- II I 111 He liked to excite these youthful sent site of Oklahoma City's First Na- a rn gatherings with acrobatic feats in mid- tional Bank. No one then dreamed I m 8 a air. And he meantime noted that that "this rootin' tootin' buckaroo" a 11 1, "swift unexpected moments" never would one day become the hero of 8 r rp failed to jolt hearts into throats. This American youth. But he nevertheless I . W B Z a ..I Is s explains the many stunts which later began preparing himself for his desti- a . m i stunned movie audiences throughout ny that same year on the vast ranching . m i the world. In 1904, an especially attractive . m e 8 + ~h t& bar, and r _ t se&&fme, in young lady enthusiastically cheered Sum Henderson pdIZrhed "Loda of fi a I) Guhric. He later sparred wit$ Jack Dempsq. . . . Y i 6 ~ " 1 his flamboyant feats as a drum major Okkdomu /Om" in 25 magarjira. I , - - - J A 9 9 7 J 1 .-A C i KI ;I ' L' 1% 5 3 "-?- Imomaly, B I II m a ) m... mm..ILm.I) f i ~ ~ c m m ~ ~ ~ u m m m o m ~ t a - smacmrrh - m - o ~ n ~ n n r a =L ?. = -,a m 3 ~ m 1 m a a ~ 1 ) m m m
empire which then surrounded Mul- A movie cameraman meantime I rr hall, where headquartered Col. Zack . &iulhall's renowned rodeo troupe. )I a ,And Tom "worked out" with the 'ml came there in hopes of filming the most exciting scenes ever seen on screen. And someone suddenly suga 6 a .- troupers there while also tending bar in the tiny town's only saloon... He, after finally learning to bust ) IC' a broncos and rope calves, became a drst-class cowhand. And he meantime )dlalso served as drum major of Zack I11 Mulhall's Frisco Cowboy Band. The Mulhall ranching empire fadgested "shooting" a horseback leap :d to dust long years ago. But the e town which bears the founder's name remains on U.S. 77, 14 miles north of Guthrie. So-oo... rformed on Saturday afternoons 7 th several of rodeo's all-time eats-Lucille Mulhall, America's Will Tom survive this death-defying p the sport's original trick rider; and Sam Garrett, seven-time winner of next issue of Oklahoma TODAY .. . . 19 W Q closed to the public. Howtver, the OHa- 3 iY I a P b Q W RI a, 1 reg P homa Terntoorial Museum, next door, isfull of history. Hours are 9-5 Tuesday- Friday and 2-5 Saturday and Sunday. (405) 282-1889. Downtown, the Blue Bell Saloon, where Mix once tended bar, is closed for renovation. When the doors swing o w again, in mid-1984, visitors should be able to see the Bhe Bell returned to i&gloty, complete with a replica of the infamous skywalk to the Elks' Hotel. Of the headquaflm of the fab/ed 101 Ranch only the store now stand in good condition-and is currently a prieate residence. Also on the site, on -7 Mud-mam'edMix with his isid, Olive Stokes, a Scotd-Chmkeefrom Washington County. State Highway 156 south of Ponca City, are the old blacksmith shop and Cowboy Hu, where zack is bud. l2e 101 Ranch Restoration the National Roping Championship.. . From Mulhall, Tom journeyed to he Bbulous 101 Ranch, which then covered tens of thousands of lush acres in the Cherokee Strip. He Served there as a cowhand, a horse trainer and a dude wrangler, briefly nanaging the southwest's first dude ranch on the grounds. Foundation has bought the headquar- tm and is raising money to stan a museurn and restore the blacksmith shop. TOfind out more abouf pro?, wtite ClarenceVaughn, at '.O. 1o02, Ponca City, OK 74602. No Straiglrt Shooter should miss th Tom Mix Museum in Dewey. More about the museum-and why it's in Dewey- isfodcoming in our March-April issue. 1 &!am
Page 1 and 2: WINTER WINTERTIME IN BIRDLAND: GREA
Page 3 and 4: Winter 1983-'84 COVER IE2 - bnghtly
Page 5 and 6: The Stingiest Man in Lawton the for
Page 7 and 8: Shemqer'.r memories include a housm
Page 9: As the man responsible for virtuall
Page 12 and 13: places the image of the visitor ove
Page 14 and 15: 14 Oklahoma TODAY
Page 16 and 17: widgeons, goldeneyes, buffleheads.
Page 18 and 19: i "YOLI can identify them by the br
Page 20 and 21: By Kate Jones Photographs by Steve
Page 22 and 23: $ Bett)"~ reproductions are based o
Page 24 and 25: man dollmakingfinns like Kestner an
Page 26 and 27: 26 .c "+" 1; 7 ,*< s gg MANNER ' Su
Page 28 and 29: Oklahomans center stage: Leona Mitc
Page 30 and 31: "Madama Butte@y" amives forher wedd
Page 32 and 33: 32 hst fag, we asked photographen t
Page 34: - ? RIGHT Woody Gaddis. 'Bird Feede
Page 37 and 38: YES! Enter my subscription today! R
Page 39: '-- a crowned heads of Europe. His
Page 43 and 44: years there. That should give some
Page 45 and 46: DUNCAN December People travelling t
Page 47: I BIRDS Nov 20-Feb 15 Quail, Pheasa

Oklahoma Today Winter 1983-1984 Volume 34 ... - Digital Collections

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