Amateur burglars land behind bars

This Week in County History

— Sequoyah County Democrat, Feb. 16, 1923

From the files of Your Sequoyah County Times

25 Years Ago

(From the Feb. 15, 1998, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) –Voters in the Roland and Liberty School Districts will have to return to the polls April 7 if they wish to keep their schools open.

Voters in the Liberty School District voted no against all three of the school’s millages, while voters in the Roland School District barely passed two of the three millages and voted no on the third.

—Sequoyah County Sheriff Johnny Philpot is dismayed over the results of the half-cent sales tax vote Tuesday.

“Sure, I am disappointed with the vote and I am also disappointed with the voter turnout,” said Philpot.

Philpot said the sheriff’s office will “keep on doing what we were doing without the tax.”

Sequoyah County residents voted against a half-cent sales tax for the sheriff’s department Tuesday. The vote was close, only a margin of 240 votes, but enough to defeat the proposition.

While voters turned down the sales tax for the sheriff’s department, they approved the sales tax for county road improvements. Also, a close vote, the margin was less than 80 votes in favor of the sales tax.

50 Years Ago

(From the Feb. 15, 1973, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —A resident of Pin Hook Corner was found, apparently murdered, Tuesday night by the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department, a spokesman said Wednesday morning.

The victim, Walter Vance, believed to be in his fifties, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the head at his home located one-quarter of a mile east of Pin Hook Corner around 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

Dr. William Wilson, examining physician, said following an autopsy Tuesday night that the victim had died from multiple gunshot wounds in the head. Wilson said the wounds appeared to be from a .22 caliber weapon.

A spokesman for the district attorney’s office would not indicate whether a suspect was being held despite rumors that at least one individual was in custody in connection with the alleged murder.

—A group of twenty Vian High School students were suspended from classes Monday because the length of their hair did not conform with the school’s dress code, but by Tuesday morning, all but two of the students had been readmitted to classes after meeting standards of the code, Superintendent of Schools Jim Bradford said Tuesday morning.

75 Years Ago

(From the Feb. 20, 1948, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Sheriff Henry Jones, now in office a little more than a week since his appointment to the post vacated last Wednesday morning by Earl C. Stewart, announced Thursday afternoon that he has not yet named a field deputy to serve under him.

Jones did reveal however, that he has named Bud Walton of Sallisaw to the post of undersheriff formerly held by Elmer Flanagan. He also disclosed that selected to be county jailer succeeding Carnal Keys is Felix Taylor of Vian.

—The recent sale at the C.B. Sanders farm was one of the best ever held in Sequoyah County, auctioneer Bill Wiley reported to Your TIMES this week. “The Sequoyah County Times is the best advertising paper,” Wiley declared.

There were approximately 1,200 people there. There were buyers from Ft. Smith, Tahlequah, Tulsa, Okemah, Muskogee, Poteau and Spiro. Cattle averaged around 21 or 22 cents a pound. They sold higher than ever known to sell at a sale, Wiley said.

Stock and hogs sold for 25 cents a pound, corn $2 a bushel. Farm implements sold extra well. Horses sold very good. Chickens sold way above the market price.

100 years ago

(From the Feb. 16, 1923, issue of the Sequoyah County Democrat) —Looted Post Office and Store at Sadie Sunday Night and Were Caught Monday: Russell Hart of Sadie and Shube Shelton of McKey, two youths less than 17 years of age are now occupying a cell in the county jail charged with looting of the post office and a store at Sadie Sunday evening.

The store was entered during the night and $6.00 in cash and stamps were taken from the post office which is located in the store, while loot valued at $200.00 was taken from the stock including clothing, food and tobacco. The youthful burglars were apprehended near McKey late Monday evening by Deputies Roy Cheek and Fred Bradley and United States Marshal George Ritter. They confessed to their crime, according to the officials at the county jail.

The store is operated by Sol Atkerson, a well-known country merchant and as soon as the discovery was made the next morning Sheriff Johnston’s force was notified and after trailing the youthful burglars to Marble City and then to McKey, they were caught about dusk wandering and roaming through the woods. They had already hid part of their loot and following their arrest they took the officers to the hiding place and practically everything stolen was recovered.

—The trial of Joe Brandon, who was returned from Portland, Oregon by Sheriff John E. Johnston last week to face a charge of forgery made by the First National Bank of this city, and a charge of embezzlement filed by the O’Leary Produce company of Fort Smith, Arkansas, which was set for a preliminary hearing before Justice McLaughlin today was postponed on account of the illness of the defendant’s attorney. Brandon is at large under $2,000.00 appearance bond. The preliminary trial will be given this case just as soon as the attorney for the defense notified the county attorney of their readiness to have the case heard.

—Bob Smith, was convicted of firstdegree manslaughter in the district court now in session at Tahlequah for the shooting death of George Gay, a former well-known citizen of this county.

Smith was a tenant of Gay’s and at a dance held at Smith’s home in December 1921, some trouble started after a quantity of booze had been consumed by the men folks and Smith reached for his rifle and began shooting at George Gay. There had been no previous trouble between the two before this and the killing was attributed to Smith being drunk and picked out Gay as a shining mark for his rifle without warning or any real reason. The crime was committed near Cookson, just across the line between Sequoyah and Cherokee counties, so Smith was tried in Cherokee County.

Bob Smith was well-known and liked in this city, where as a farmer, he worked the Clay Agent farm in the river bottom for years and transacted all his business here. George Gay was a farmer and stockman and had quite a large timber interest in this and Cherokee County. Both men had large families and many friends in this city. Gay was an uncle of former Sheriff C.M. Gay of this city.