Good Ol' Days Celebration - A Photo Essay

Norma Chaney teaching Adjuleen Bird to roll a hoop.

 

Laundry in the good ole days was tough

Mary Beth White demonstrates for Nina Bauman how to roll oats, sone grind wheat flour, and use a pastry cloth.

Tammie Howard embroiders the face for a rag doll.

J.C. and Abbi Nelson learn to blow bubbles with wooden spools.

M.J Nelson teaches Abbi, J.C. and Amy Nelson how to "pick up sticks".

Seawright demonstrating the Indian stick ball game...he makes implements.

Dalton More playing hopscotch and other children playing marbles and blowing bubbles.

Sierra Moore learning to blow bubbles the old time way.

Adjulleen Bird trying to walk with stilts.

Adjulleen Bird beats her grandmother Kathleen Seawright at checkers!

 

Historical Society Plans Good Ole Days Event

The primary order of business Monday night, April 11 at the Historical Society was the preparation for an event to celebrate the good ole days of making things by hand to be held May 14 from 10am to 3pm on the street around the Chickasaw Bank building in Tishomingo. Janis Stewart, Norma Chaney and Sherrie Adams are in the process of contacting people to come and demonstrate their personal handmade items. People have been contacted who will demonstrate old fashioned cooking, quilt making, candle making, butter churning, early day means of entertainment, old time children's games, and lots more.


During lunch time, an early day style lunch with beans & ham, corn muffins, with drink and dessert will be available for participants. Throughout the day, between 10am and 3pm, there will also be music and other entertainment. If your church choir or musical group would like to schedule a time to perform contact Janis Stewart at 580- 371-8989 or www.electionlady1@yahoo.com

Richard "Dickie" Craven was a guest and shared with the group a project he is working on with a collection of early day aerial photographs of Johnston County. He is hoping to get some technical assistance from the Chickasaw Nation to graphically integrate all the photographs into one large mural so folks can see what the county looked like in the early 1900's. One very interesting feature will be the ability to see what Washita/Chapman Farm looked like before Lake Texoma was built.

The Historical Society is recruiting new members and invites anyone interested in learning about and working on the preservation of county history to come and get involved. The society meets on the 2nd Monday of every month. For more information contact Mary Jane Nelson, 580-443-5788 or www.redrabbit@wildblue.net.

Saluting Our AmeriCorp Kids

December 13th, 2010 

The Johnston County Historical Society was delighted to have the eleven member team from AmeriCorp help repair many years of water damage to the Chickasaw Bank Building.

The team worked for 3 days scraping off peeling old water soaked layers of paint and repainted the walls and paneling to restore them to their original state.

After a hard day's work last Thursday, the team was treated to a night out at Sipokni West by Jack Yates and M.J. Nelson. The group enjoyed meeting Johnny Shackleford and were entertained by his stories and jokes. Then they had dinner in Wanda's western restaurant. Members of the Historical Society served them lunch two days to express their appreciation for the great job they were doing. Our community owes a debt of gratitude to not only the team...but also to Jack Yates for making it possible for an AmeriCorps team to return to Tishomingo to help various county organizations with much needed repairs.

AmeriCorps Kids At Sipokni West

AmeriCorps Doing Tedious Paint Scraping

Scraping And Painting




Bidding farewell, on their way to more adventure.

 

Partners

The Greater Southwest Museum in Ardmore, Oklahoma, recently created an exhibit of wedding gowns from the 1880's through 1940.  The Johnston County Historical Society was eager and proud to offer two of their wedding gown dresses to be included in the display.  

The Johnston County Historical Society is proud partners in this project.

Restoration Near Completion

There will be a lot of activity around the Bank of the Chickasaw’s building between now and the end of September. The Chickasaw Nation is investing a good deal of money to finish a restoration project that began over 20 years ago, when the society received a grant from the Oklahoma Historical Society. Unfortunately, the state society ran out of money and failed to fund the second half of that restoration project, and it came to a halt. The Bank project was completed, but the upstairs gallery windows and ceilings were left unfinished, with no weather stripping or seals…and the stain and finish was not applied to the inside window frames and sills. Outside woodwork was left raw and unsealed. The back side of the bank building has recently been crumbling, as it is not granite like the North and West sides. Letha Clark and Mary Jane Nelson appealed for help to the Chickasaw Nation several months ago. As a result, these problems and others are being remedied through the generosity of the Chickasaw Nation. Our community owes Governor Anaotubby and his staff a big “Thank You!”.

Once the building is repaired and restored, the Historical Society encourages county citizens to become more involved with the preservation of county history. Dues paying members have declined in the last few years and this has placed the society in a serious financial situation. Anyone with an interest to know more about county history or to become involved as a volunteer to help visitors tour our facilities or search for information about ancestors is invited to come join our group. The society has a tax ID and donations are tax deductible. Citizens are also reminded to consider donations of money or historical artifacts that originated in the country. Donors will be given tax receipts for donated items.

The gift shop, genealogy library, and downstairs museum will continue to be open this summer for visitors. The Victorian Tea Room is open to citizens for receptions, meetings and parties. However, the upstairs will be closed due to the restoration project. Other areas may also be closed as needed to allow construction work to proceed. To inquire or schedule an event, call the museum and Janice Underwood Fairchild at 371-0254 or Mary Jane Nelson, President, at 580-443-5788.

The society is currently engaged in a fund raising project, selling chances on another beautiful and unique Vera Taylor Quilt. The society was given several of her quilts by her son Bob Taylor. Chances are available from society members, and at the gift shop. The quilt is on display in the Victorian Tea Room during operating hours….Wednesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 5pm.