August was a month of whooping cough, pulling broom corn, accidents and canning peaches and plums.
Sam Spencer was working at the Farmers Oil Co. when an oil truck turned over on him. One leg was broken and the bones in one foot crushed. The accident happened near the Indian Creek Cridge north of Carter. The truck had stalled on an incline and, as the brakes wouldn’t hold, turned over while backing down the hill.
Otto Pipkins was killed as he sat in his car when it was struck by s south bound train three miles north of Carter. The dirt road crossed the railroad at two places about a hundred yards apart. Pipkins had crossed once and was crossing the second when the tragedy occurred.
The Boy Scouts of Elk City spent a glorious week at Craterville, Oklahoma. The camp was ideally located for swimming, hiking, nature study and other scouting activities. Special activities were indulged in such as Snipe hunting, Ghost Night, Story Telling and skunk hunting.
A young initiate was accepted into the ranks through the honorable rites of snipe hunting. The young innocent was honored that he was asked to hold the sack. On the favorable night, the sky was clear and not a breath of air stirred. The boys, guided by a scout leader, slipped silently into the woods. After a circuitous route through the post oak timber, the sack holder was left in a dark, forbidden spot a full half mile from camp. This particular location was chosen after a prolonged search for the best spot for snipes. “Keep the sack open and wait until we return,” was all the advice our young hero received. Hardly had he been left alone when the figure of a man came slipping though the darkness into the little grove of cedars where he sat. To his surprise, he recognized the scout master before the form melted into the dark shadows. The hunters circled round and got into camp about an hour later, tired but satisfied at the success of the joke. Soon all were in bed asleep. The guards were told to arouse the camp in case the sack holder returned within the hour. The guards were neglectful of their duty. The night wore on. At any rate, it was along toward morning before a guard reported that the sack holder was missing from his bed. A thorough search was made of the territory lying within a mile of camp. No novitiate was found! The boys, now fully alarmed, hurried to camp to report. There they found the goat of their joke sound asleep in his bed. The following day, the sack holder was the widest-awake fellow in camp. If he had lost any sleep the previous night, he did not show it. Later it was learned that he had spent most of the night in his scoutmaster’s bed while the soft-hearted scout master slept all alone in a tent supposedly unoccupied.
Mrs. Bessie Wells had quite an exciting time when she heard the dogs barking out in the fields and went to investigate. She found an old opossum and six young ones. She killed them and returned to the house. Hearing the dogs again, she went out and found another big opossum. After stunning it, she carried it to the house and cut its head off.
John Carver was taken to jail at Sayre after the Board of Health visited his place on a complaint of a neighbor who got tired of the stench of his place and believed that Carver had poisoned his cow. A search warrant revealed beer, wine and a sack of bottled beer, also a box of poison like that used to poison the cow. He kept a lot of dogs at his place and the trash made a reek! The refuse was burned, and the dogs ordered killed.
Jim O’Donnell dreamed that a centipede stung him on the toe. When he awoke, his toe was sure enough hurting him!
Luanne R. Eisler authored this article, which was taken from items published in The Carter Express, The Elk City Press and The Elk City News-Democrat; you can find these newspapers on microfilm at the Elk City Carnegie Library.
