Bradley History - Grady County, Oklahoma This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Molly Nye 24 Dec 2002 ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ==================================================================== A SHORT HISTORY OF BRADLEY By SHARON K. NYE RUSSELL The town of Bradley was named after brothers Winter P. Bradley and W. S. Bradley. W. S. Bradley was born March 22, 1853 in Virginia. Mr. Bradley moved to Texas in 1877 where he made his living as a buffalo hunter, drilled artesian wells and was a brakeman on the Texas Pacific Railroad. In 1886 he moved to what is now Bradley from Colbert Station. Soon after moving to the community he opened a blacksmith shop. During the early days he farmed and raised stock as well as operating his blacksmith shop. He died in 1941 at the age of 88. An article published in the Chickasha Daily Express a few years ago indicated the town of Bradley was named after W. S. Bradley. In George Shirk's book "Oklahoma Place Names" it states that the town was named after Winter P. Bradley. As I grew up we were taught the town was named after Winter P. Bradley. All in all, we know that it was named after this family. W.S. Bradley related the naming of the town and the acquisition of the post office as follows: "It was a short time after I had settled there that the few of us living there were sitting on the top of a hill talking one day and we decided we needed a post office. Al Easley, my brother Winter, Jim Bearl and I were talking it over and we decided to call the town Bradley. With that name we sent our application to Washington and the first thing we knew out came the post office. Mr. Bearl was appointed postmaster and Bradley was officially on the map". The post office was established July 10, 1891 according to the "Oklahoma Place Names" book by George H. Shirk. Bradley's first school building was a small, one room, log house. It was made by lashing together logs which had been set on end, side by side. It was built on a site one and one-half to two miles south of the old school on the top of the hill. It's first school was taught in 1887. In 1905, when Bradley was part of Indian Territory, a one room school house was constructed. The building was built with donations from the people of the community and was used for church and all public gatherings. School was taught by subscription. This building was destroyed by a tornado that struck the town in 1906. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state. With state aid a two story brick building was constructed where the Dennis station and cafe was located. The school was first accredited for 16 units in 1921-22, being rated one of the best in the county and state according to enrollment and expenditure of funds. In 1939 the two story building was condemned and by 1940 the present building was completed with all requirements of a four year credited high school. Classes 1-12 were held at the school until Bradley lost its high school in 1968 due to cuts in funding and low attendance. The school continued to operate through the 8 th grade and finally annexed with the Alex Public schools system where classes are continuing at this time. The original Bradley settlement was located approximately two miles south of town. There is an old tree still standing just south of Sonny Mitchusson's home (where Pete and Mable Lance used to live) on the west side of the road where Uncle Bill Bradley used to shoe horses. The town was eventually developed down under the hill in the area of the present school close to the old highway. Located on State Highway 19 between Alex and Lindsay, Bradley was a central location between Chickasha and Pauls Valley, providing goods and services for area families, farmers and ranchers. Downtown Bradley was on the north side of what is now State Highway 19. In 1949 the Highway was moved to its present route. Some of the businesses located in downtown Bradley at that time were: Joel Dennis store, Bomhak cafe, Double A Perry cafe, Dunn hotel, First National Bank, Warren/Utes Store/Cream Station/Beer Joint (later bought by Mac and Bess McCann), (that building is still standing, the old blue stucco two story building on the west side of the road going up Bradley hill), Martin Drug store, Ralph Renner service station, Badertscher Lumber Yard, A. T. Brown Funeral Home/Hardware and Grocery store, Jake Hogan Garage and Glen Bomhak service station, a movie theater, post office, Carl Freeman garage and blacksmith shop, Clyde Clapp blacksmith shop, two cotton gins (Farmer's Gin and Chickasha Cotton Seed Oil Gin), one elevator, Ben Ball broomcorn warehouse, McClintock produce house, Herbert Dennis cream station, Williams Store, Kirk's Self Laundry/Barber Shop/Meat Market and Cummings Blacksmith Shop. Uncle Bill Bradley had a small mill located on the SW corner of the school grounds. No charge was made for grinding the grain. He would only ask for a bucket or two of the ground grain and sell it to the public to make money. He also did repair on wagons, etc. Bryan Marshall owned and operated the first telephone service in Bradley providing local and long distance service. On June 14, 1951 Jack Hogan drowned in the rain swollen Washita River while attempting to swim across the raging currents while transporting a cable needed on the other side for repair of service. His body was never found. He was the husband of Audrey Nye. Jack Hogan was the father of Bill Hogan, Sonny Hogan and Sue Hogan Tedder. A Rock Island Railroad track ran between Ball's warehouse and the road across the north side of town. The train ran once a day from Lindsay to Chickasha. The railroad went out in 1942 and the tracks were scrapped for metal for the war effort. The Denco Bus Lines headquartered in Ada had four buses daily (two each way) from Ada to Chickasha which also helped with the growing community's transportation needs. And of course, every town needs entertainment. Bradley did not lack in these areas with the movie theater, a skating rink at one time located on the west side of the street across from the present school, and of course dances every Saturday night. The cotton seed house at the gin also served as a gathering place for dances and socials. A fight broke out one night at one of the dances at the gin that eventually stopped the dances there. If the cotton seed house was not available, some area family provided their home for the dances. One former Bradley resident reminisced about Medicine Shows that would come through town providing entertainment and of course selling their miracle tonics and wares. Bradley was well represented in WWI and WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Three casualties of WWII were Sammy Neill, Ralph Hall and Perry Williams. Of course the families that remained were instrumental in the war effort by keeping the farms going and taking care of family business until their loved ones returned. Bradley had town marshalls/night watchmen that made nightly rounds to check businesses and keep an eye on transient workers that lived in tents around town during the harvest season. Some of these included Bill Zeemer, Ben Capps and H.S. Tollison. They were compensated at times by store credit/trade for their work. In 1923 Doyle Looney was killed in an exchange of gunfire by Sheriff Dee Arthur Wilson in front of the old Warren/Utes store. Disaster hit the town of Bradley on Friday, March 13, 1953. A killer tornado ripped through the tranquil farming community devastating the town. Dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed. The one fatality from this tragedy was Mrs. Minnie Childress, mother of Murl Carroll. Bob Miller related that he drove past the Patterson house only moments before the tornado destroyed the home. He related seeing Mr. and Mrs. Patterson standing in the house looking out. The only part of the home that remained standing was the comer that Mr. and Mrs. Patterson took refuge in. The town pulled together to try to rebuild and reclaim their previous lives. Most recent businesses located on top of the hill after the tornado included Lanes Store, Baderstcher Store and Post Office, McCann's grocery store, Dennis grocery store and station and Nye laundry at the bottom of the hill in the old movie theater building. Fred and Billie Dennis owned the station and cafe, which they had purchased from Wick Farmer, from 1954-1974. The post office is now located in a portable building. No grocery store, cafe or station is operating in Bradley at this time. The heart of the economy of this farming community was its rich river bottom farmlands. Broomcorn and cotton were mainstay crops and provided a living for all who were willing to perform the hard work and hot and long days. Broomcorn jonnies as they were known were a dedicated bunch, showing up day after day to try to make a living for their families. Large numbers of transient workers were also needed to complete the force. Some men formed crews and provided these services to area farmers to help harvest their crops. Some familiar bosses were Runt Beverly, Tony Perkins, Ira Simmons and Charlie Farmer. Area broomcorn and cotton farmers included: Fred Selzer, Pete Lance, Art Selzer, Em Hawkins, Lindell Norvill, Jack Branch, Emmett Tobey, Jim Wallace, Daddy Selzer, Paul Johnston, Frank Trammell, Tom Story, Clarence Chapman, Clarence Beverly, Joe Roberts, Bob Cudd, Con Stucks, Bill Stephenson, Buster Worden, Butch Barrington, Floyd Rayburn, Jim Branch, John Sparkman, Beecher Lane, John Carroll, Leon McLemore, Roy Simmons and Johnny Hearon. Days were long, work was hard with wages over the years ranging from 20 cents an hour to $1.50 to $1.75 per hour in the late 60's, early 70"s. Entire families worked during the summer to help sustain their needs through the winter months until next crop time. Also adding to the economy of the area was the oil industry which was booming at one time. During the 30's and early 40's the WPA also provided employment for some of the local residents. The Bradley school was a project of WPA. The first church in Bradley was organized on 6/30/1888 by T. B. Duncan and A. J. Marshall. They organized as the Missionary Baptist Church of Bradley under the rules of the Jacksboro Association. When the church was first organized, meetings were held in the building approximately one to one-half miles south of town, which also served as the school. This building was later destroyed and a Community Church Building was built in town. This building was later used by the Methodists and then as a community center. It was torn down in late 1975. The church affiliated with the Chickasaw Baptist Association in 1904. Sometime between 1904 and 1947, the church had changed its affiliation to the Missionary Baptist Churches of Oklahoma. On April 2, 1947, pastor John B. Shelton led the church to vote to reunite with the Chickasaw Baptist Association, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and the Southern Baptist Convention. In 1951 the church voted to purchase land belonging to G. T. Martin (corner of Bradley and Parker Avenues), to build a church building for the "Baptists", since they were still sharing the community building. The dream became a reality on July 6, 1952 when the church moved into the new building. In August 1952 the first Vacation Bible School was held and continues to be held yearly at this time. In 1955 the church purchased land from Sid Worden, across the street south, to fumish a parsonage for their pastors. In 1961 the church voted to replace the parsonage. The church sold the old parsonage and purchased a house that had belonged to Skelly Oil and it was moved from Velma-Alma to its present location. In 1965 the church purchased two lots east of the church and moved the existing building on that lot closer to the church to provide additional eduational space. The community church building was no longer in use and the bell was secured and plans were made in Feb. 1975 to install it in the new church. October 8, 1975 the community church was sold to be torn down. A totally new kitchen was completed in the present building in 1983. On June 26, 1988 the church celebrated its 100th anniversary. Former pastors attending included: Charles Richmon, John B. Shelton, T. H. Richardson, Billy J. Baxter, Frank Vogt and Sam G. Scott. Cora Badertscher, who was ill at the time, was presented a certificate in her home as the oldest living member of the church since 1915. The church still holds services weekly. In 1969, in keeping up with the times, Bradley installed a city water system with work provided by Reece contractors. The town also has a weekly trash service. In 1985 the Bradley Volunteer Fire Department was opened under the guidance of the Grady County Fire Service and emergency medical attention for area emergencies was provided by the First Responders which was started at the same time. People presently serving in these capacities are: Gaylon Mitchusson, Fire Chief and Spanky Matthews and Emory Selzer, first responders. Roy Powell, a Bradley alumni, is an attorney and has overseen the legal aspects of town business throughout the years. We appreciate Roy's contribution and donation of services to our town. Bradley has provided its share of successful businessmen and entrepeneurs. As the years passed and young people graduated from high school, many left this small farming community to seek employment where it was available. The population of Bradley at this time is estimated at 166, a far cry from the booming town of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. Although the people are gone, the memories remain. We have also rejoiced and grieved with our nation in the loss of presidents, the first man walking on the moon, the space shuttle disaster, the many wars and conflicts, travel that has progressed from horse and buggy days to the space shuttle and SSTs, from the Pony Express type mail service to the express mail and e- mail available on home computers today. It is astounding to be able to communicate with someone halfway around the world in just a few minutes over the internet and e-mail. We now have cellular phones that provide communication in almost every comer of the earth. Although we have all gone our separate ways, I can truthfully say that I am proud to say that I was raised in Bradley, Oklahoma. Our families are under attack from all different aspects of life, divorce in Oklahoma is toward the top of the list in the nation, pornography is available at the stroke of a key on the internet, infidelity is promoted on television, along with the degradation of the traditional father/mother head of household to promoting single parenthood from sources of artificial insemination to heads of household consisting of the same sex. Where we grew up the family was foremost and we knew who was the boss. We had the security of a home with loving parents. We worked hard and appreciated what we had. When we got together to have fun, it was good clean fun, not gang type activities that have plagued our nation. We are at the point where God is being banned from the classrooms. How can anyone look at this world and not see that there is a maker, a creator, one that has a special plan for all of us. We need to reestablish our roots and our upbringing and band together to provide a better world for our children, our grandchildren and their children. We are the future of this country and I'm glad I got my start in Bradley, Oklahoma. A special thank you to Nona Bradley Umberson for the photos of Winter P. Bradley and Texanna Bradley and also the newspaper clippings. Mrs. Umberson is the grandaughter of Winter P. and Texanna Bradley.