Capture enough Jake to flood town

-Sequoyah County Democrat, April 6,1923

From the files of Your Sequoyah County Times

25 Years Ago

(From the April 5,1998, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —A 10-year-old girl, pushing a lawnmower at her grandmothers house, reported what may have been a drive-by shooting March 29 in Sallisaw Larry Lamb, Sallisaw assistant police chief, said the girl was pushing the lawnmower, which was not running, in her grandmothers yard at about 3:30 p.m. March 29 when a short-bed maroon Chevrolet pickup truck drove by with two white males, of about high school age, drove by and yelled at the girl. The house in the Four Seasons addition.

The girl said she heard a loud bang, and felt something sting her arm. Officer Dale Sneed investigated the suspected drive-by shooting, and reported the skin on the girls arm did have an abrasion, but the skin was not broken.

50 Years Ago

(From the April 3,1973, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —A new toll cable project has been started in Sallisaw, Dave Phillips, manager of Southwestern Bell Telephone, Sallisaw, said this week, and will end in Poteau at some time in the future.

Phillips said the project is 36.4 miles long and will be involved in getting the telephone cables between the Sallisaw phone office and Allied office in Poteau, underground.

—Gov David Hall will be at Connors State College and Warner on Saturday, April 7 at 1:30 p.m. for the formal dedication of the opening of Interstate 40 and State Highway 2. “The dedication of 1-40 completes the last expanse of the interstate system across Oklahoma from east to west,” explains D.K. Swon, District 2 highway commissioner “This event should draw over 1,000 guests as the governor officially opens the highway’’ Swon said The ceremonies will consist of a speech by the governor and then a ribbon-cutting affair. Local bands will provide music for the ceremonies.

75 Years Ago

(From the April 9, 1948, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Second stage plans for Sequoyah County Memorial Hospital were sent to the Oklahoma state department of health Monday by Bassham and Wheeler, architects, for approval, it was reported Application for federal assistance on the project was also submitted this week by the hospital board of directors, it was learned.

Paul Snelson, director of the bureau of hospitals, state department of health, remarked while in Sallisaw Wednesday that because of the availability of the Sallisaw community building for remodeling plus obtainable federal financial help, Sequoyah countians will have a county hospital which would cost them about $200,000 for construction and equipment.

Actually the only tax money which Sequoyah countians are putting into the project is $60,000 raised by a bond issue.

—When the Sallisaw Methodist church now being rebuilt after being almost wholly destroyed by fire last November is completed about June 1 it will be a structure worth about $40,000 if you include in that amount the furnishings and equipment. Before the fire, the estimated value of the building and its furnishings was $25,000.

The church pastor, Rev. Max Holcomb has been working continually since about the first of the year to “make certain” only the best of materials go into the reconstruction.

100 years ago

(From the April 6,1923, issue of the Sequoyah County Democrat) —Leroy Fleetwood and Bill Pearson, taxi drivers and Oscar Green, a local barber were apprehended just before they entered the city limits Tuesday night with six dozen two ounce bottles of jake. They had enough “Jake” to flood the village, according to Night Patrolman Chuculate and Deputy Sheriff Fred Bradley, the arresting officers.

Officers Chuculate and Bradley were assigned to keep a close tab on all cars entering Sallisaw from the east for a certain “rum runner” and they were searching all of the cars that came by, but when the car occupied by Fleetwood, Pearson and Green drove up the officers were surprised to find the back end filled with “jake.”

—Jeff Kirk, a Marble City youth who recently gave himself up to the local authorities on charge of murdering Mack Dodson on the streets of Marble City several weeks ago was held to the action of the district court following his preliminary hearing before Judge Jim McLaughlin yesterday morning.

Dodson was shot through the heart late one evening in front of a drug store in Marble City His assailant was unknown to the authorities but several arrests were made, but were acquitted at their preliminary trial of Owen Kirk Boyce Sloan who was in jail charged with the crime testified on the witness stand that Jeff Kirk, then on the scout was the man who fired the fatal shot.

Yesterday on the witness stand young Kirk testified that Dodson had him on the ground beating him over the head with an iron hub buggy whip at the time he fired the shot which killed Dodson. He claims he had to kill Dodson to protect his own life. To substantiate Kirk’s testimony the defense called Brodie Diffee and Boyce Sloan, the two eye witnesses to the stand and their testimony was practically the same is Kirk’s, the defense put up a hard fight to have Judge McLaughlin throw the case out but the evidence was such that Judge Mclaughlin bound Kirk over to the action of district court without bond.

—Two hobos were arrested at the K.C.S. and Iron Mountain crossing Wednesday afternoon by Chief of Police J.C. Woll and Night Patrolman Chuculate. The men had a number of razors, two pair of new shoes, watches, pencils, fountain pens and 800 pennies. They are being held for investigation. They claim they purchased the goods at Poteau.