REMEMBRANCES OF VERA FRYER BASS of 1912 move to TISHOMINGO, JOHNSTON COUNTY, OK Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Karen Cotter, cotterkaren@yahoo.com ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** REMEMBRANCES OF VERA FRYER BASS, TISHOMINGO, JOHNSTON COUTY, OK This was amongst the family papers inherited by Karen Cotter. This lady is my aunt, sister to my mother Juanita Fryer White. They died in Roseville, CA but are buried in Tishomingo, Johnston County, OK. Copyright unknown. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. Cotterkaren@yahoo.com ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net THINGS AND PEOPLE OF TISHOMINGO I REMEMBER By Vera Fryer Bass Written in the 1970's The first that I remember of Tishomingo was in 1912, when we first moved to Tishomingo from Ada, Oklahoma. At that time the highway was through the woods and had to go over the bridge at Pennington and around the rocks at the western part of Tishomingo and then on to Ravia. We came from Ravia to Tishomingo on a hack driven by horses. The thing I remember most about if was the darkness. We stayed for a while at my grandparents, whose house was the last house in Tishomingo on the Ravia Road. My grandfather was J. D. Fryer and he and my grandmother had eight children. Four of them passed away in childhood. The ones left were Mamie Caroline, Alma, J. Robert Fryer, Richard Fryer (my father) and Margaret Fryer. Minnie (that was the name we used for her (Mamie Caroline)) married J. M. Green. They had four children: John F. Ruby, Caroline and William Green. Minnie died in 1912 and is buried at Tishomingo. J. M (Mack) Green was injured at the city pump station while on duty and died from his injuries July 10, 1918. He, also, was buried at Tishomingo. Mack Green was the first person to go over the swinging bridge in a vehicle, which at that time was a horse and buggy. Alma Fryer married Robert White and they had four children: Mattie, Lucy, Pauline and Alice White. J. R. Fryer (Bob) married Ollie Loveless and they had three sons; Roy, Robert and J. W. Fryer. Robert died in the flu epidemic in 1918. J. W. died later at age 44 years. Roy Fryer married Dixie Harris, and they had, to the best of my knowledge, five children. Two passed away, Robert and Alma Lee. Ruby Green, daughter of Minnie and Mack, married Ernest Mullins and lives at Idabel, Oklahoma. Her sister, Caroline, married Eldred Doty and had three children; Eldred Jr., Robert and Carol. All three are now married. William Green never married. He makes his home with his sister Mrs. Eldred Doty at Dickenson, Texas. John Green first married Marie Orr, who died a short time after their marriage. Later he married Frances Bates, no children. John died in 1974. Richard S. Fryer married Allie Cox, who previously was from Nashville, Tennessee. She was sister to Mrs. J. J. Stobough, another Tishomingo pioneer. The Stoboughs lived at the end of Kemp Ave. in a large two story home which is still standing. My parents bought a house from some people named Bunch. They lived there until their deaths. It is located now at 408 S. Mickle St. and is the home of Mr. And Mrs. Lewis Parkhill. Richard and Allie had six children. Lovie Mai married Earl Karr of Vinita, Oklahoma. They had one son Richard Earl Karr. Vera married Fred L. Bass of Tishomingo. Juanita married W. A. White of Ardmore. The had one child Vera Karen. Dorothy married Robert Reilly in California. Richard married Audene Hill in Tishomingo. Audene was later killed in a car wreck at Vinita, Oklahoma, where Richard and Son ran a theater. Richard managed the Thompson Theater at Tishomingo at the time he married Audene. Later Richard and Audene moved to Grove, Oklahoma. Richard later married and had one daughter, Rhonda. Rhonda is now married to a man named Cunningham and lives near Grove, Oklahoma. Farris (Jack) married Margaret Agee at Vinita and they had one daughter, Ardyth Ann, who now lives at Grant's Pass, Oregon. My father (Richard S. Fryer, Sr.) made the first fire truck that Tishomingo had. My grandfather (John D. Fryer) built the old Opera House that was close to where Lafittes Drug now stands. My father and Bob Fryer had a gin in Tishomingo which was previously J. D. Fryer & Sons. Across the street from the gin was Shirley Smith, who also owned a gin. At that time Tishomingo easily supported two gins. On our side of Pennington Creek lived a number of families I remember. They were Mr. And Mrs. John Deaton and Mrs. Henson (Mrs. Deaton's mother). Deatons had three children, John, Gracie and Henry. Down closer to the creek lived Mr. And Mrs. Jim Loper and daughter Theresa. Two brothers had a Soda Plant just across the creek on the right side going to town. Mr. and Mrs. Elis Dick lived next to the Deatons. Mrs. Ellis Dick was related to the Lopers. Mr. and Mrs. George Kingsberry lived up next to the woods, which is now W. 14th St. across from J. D. Fryer's place. Mr. and Mrs. Trotter lived across from the Kingsberry's. They had a daughter Velma who married Hal Stamps. Mrs. Mack Rutherford was another daughter. There was a son, Clarence T. Mr. and Mrs. Seth Moore lived up on the hill, where Russell Trammel now lives. They had several children, George, Bertha, Alva, Florence, Mallie and Edna. People by the name of "Hill" lived where Mrs. W. L. Hamilton now lives. They were Indians and had three sons at that time. There was a train through Tishomingo then - and we spent some very pleasant times going up to where the railroad tracks were and the bridge crossed Pennington Creek. My father (Richard S. Fryer, Sr.) came to several close calls (on this railroad bridge). At one time he worked at the ice plant and walked over the bridge, as it was much closer to our house and the plant. I went to school with a boy by the name of Homer Roundtree. He and his uncle were walking over the bridge when a train came upon them. The uncle jumped and caught Homer in such a way that he was killed. Homer fell on his uncle and only had severe injuries. Dr. Ledgerwood lived diagonal from where we lived and they had children: Pryor, Grace, Anna Mae, Jamie, Ethel, Helen, Lillian and Safford. I often think how pretty Pennington Creek looked then. The water was clear and was rippling as it went o down to the Washita River. When I was in Tishomingo last it was so murky and all you could see was carp. When we were youngsters we often caught a supply of perch, some quite large, and our mothers would cook them for us. Perch have never tasted like those did. When the gravel haulers took gravel from the Creek close to the swinging bridge; a hold would be left and most of learned to swim there. Up the hill from the creek was a spring that had very cool water. Before the ice plant was there may people would walk over the bridge and get cool water to drink. Kingsberry pasture was so pretty then also. In the spring Dad would take us all through the woods to pick violets and we would all come home with a big bunch of violets. They didn't look like wild violets but more like domestic ones. A very deep purple. In the fall, after the first frost, Dad would take us back to the woods with a flour sack to pick up hickory nuts. On cold winter nights we would crack the hickory nuts and pop corn that my father had raised, with good country butter melted and poured over them. The children of today do not realize the fun that we had then. All the fruit and vegetables we raised ourselves. My how good the tasted and how proud we were of the things we personally grew in the gardens for the family and friends to enjoy. Bungie and Essie Chapman lived at the northeast of the block, just across from the Fryer place. The Senior Mr. Chapman grew tobacco there. He was Bungie's father. Bungie at that time had an automobile dealership. At the other end of the lot lived people by the name of Lindsay. One I remember was named Sheb Lindsay and one daughter was named Lavinia, another Gertha. In the area next to the creek, which is called "The Park" was all woods, except for a small house in the center of it, where a Grace Crowell lived. From what we understood she was a writer. We were all afraid of her because some one told us that she was an old maid. We made the mistake of calling her that and she was always fussing at us. She had a white Spitz dog that we were very afraid of.