November saw brisk sales of turkeys, oil operations slowing due to bad roads and washed-out bridges, and the first snow; the chilly, wet autumn was destined to produce an unusual crop of colds. Grateful hearts celebrated Armistice Day and Thanksgiving.
A sad accident happened near Carter on Halloween night when the three sons of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus H. Green called on a neighbor and fixed up a dummy, then made a noise to call out the neighbor. After he saw the prank, the neighbor and the boys laughed about it. The man thought he’d return the fun. He took his six-shooter, and, thinking it was unloaded, fired. The gun was loaded, and the bullet ricocheted off some machinery and struck nine-year-old Richard. The youngster didn’t seem much hurt, so the boys and the neighbor walked to their home, three quarters of a mile away. A doctor was summoned, and the boy was in serious condition. The lad lived for several days. Both the Green family and the neighbor were grief-stricken.
For two weeks the three gins in Elk City ran to capacity—24 hours a day. Nearly 6000 bales of cotton were ginned and marketed here that fall. Prices were good and steadily advancing until they ran 35 cents ($6.15 in today’svalues)forstaple. The entire crop was valued at $1.5 million ($26,343,000) placing the value at $130 a bale ($2283).
The unrelenting rains of previous weeks left not one wagon- bridge over the Red River in Beckham County! Automobile access to Elk City was practically impossible. Consequently, the County Commissioners called a session to talk bridges and roads. They urged the citizenry to pass a bond issue to be matched with $300,000 ($5,269,000) from State and Federal aid to properly fix all the bridges and roads in the county.
Over at Carter, the high school boys were working hard on the new community building. It was erected in the same block as the old Beulah College. One day was designated “cotton picking day” with the pupils of the Junior and Senior High Schools carrying cotton sacks instead of schoolbooks. The proceeds of the picking were applied to the Community Building fund. Ezra Breeze, a 52 pound, 8-year-old boy picked 408 pounds of cotton in one day! Most of the framing was in position. Nineteen girls nailed on shingles and siding. The main part of the structure was 33 x 78 feet, which, with two 12 x 78-foot wings made a commodious building. Itwasplannedfor school plays, basketball games and other large gatherings.
As a postscript to last month’s impeachment, Governor John C. Walton was convicted on 11 of 16 counts. The case was to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Turkeys were being bought at 20 cents ($3.51) for the eastern markets in time for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Will Henson of Carter asked $7 ($123) for her bronze Toms and $5 ($87.81) for hens.
Mrs. Mattie Cresswell saw a skunk in a silo near the chicken house. She threw a brick at it, stunning it, then finished if off with an ax.
Homer Harris of Cheyenne who accidentally shot himself was brought to a local hospital where it was necessary to amputate his arm. This ultimately caused his death. Carl Lewis Taylor, a 22-year-old man living five miles south of Canute, committed suicide by shooting himself in the left chest. As he did not return from catching a horse, he was found mortally wounded. He lived two, and, while he gave no reason for his actions, he said he did it on purpose.
“Lest we Forget – November 11th, 1918. Remember that memorable day – just [one hundred twenty-five] years agowhen the sun came over the horizon … and all the world breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The war was over. Humanity had been saved. New future loomed before us…. So, on [Saturday, November 11th, 2023], when the eventual hour strikes – 11 a.m. – let’s doff our hats, face the east and give a silent prayer for those of our defenders who so unselfishly laid their lives on the altar of Patriotism for Humanity’s sake. Tis but our bounden duty.”
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 microfi lm at the Elk City Carnegie Library; https://www.dollartimes. com and Heritage Quest provided supplementary information.
