Countians became victims of Dewar police ‘vultures’

-Sequoyah County Times, Sept. 29,1950

From the files ofYour Sequoyah County Times

25 Years Ago

(From the Sept. 28,2000, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Sallisaw’s annual Grapes of Wrath Festival is scheduled for Oct. 14, at the Sallisaw Rodeo Grounds.

The festival includes free entertainment, an antique car show, arts and crafts show, and free childrens games. There will also be running and walking competitions. This years festival will be a one-day event, Don Elwick of the Sallisaw chamber of Commerce said.

50 Years Ago

(From the Sept. 25,1975, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Dwight Mission, a former Indian School with a long and colorful history, will be the setting for a blue grass and gospel music festival Saturday What promoters hope will be the first of an annual event devoted to entertainment for the entire family Among the performers who plan to participate in the program are The Christ Generation singers, Bill and Judy Jacobs, the Bagley Sisters, Charlie Spencer and Tibby and John Barnes, the Carter Family, Rusty Clark and Steve Townson and the Tenkiller Ten.

75 Years Ago

(From the Sept. 29,1950, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Gurley Owens, Muldrow, and his brother-in-law, William R. Myers of Sallisaw, joined the lengthy list of victims of the notorious Dewar “Traffic trap” last week, according to Mrs. Owens.

The two men were driving through the town at about 10 miles per hour, she said. When they came to the stop light, which was green, another car was parked directly in front of them in the right hand lane.

When the car didn’t move, she said, Owens pulled out around it and continued down the highway He heard a whistle, but thought it was blown by some children playing nearby The “six-gun” officers pursued, apprehended the two Sequoyah Countians, and handed them into the now-famous Dewar “vulture” court.

Charged with passing in a no passing zone, the two paid a fine of $11.75, said Mrs. Owens, and left, a trifle bewildered by the rapid procedure and not a bit happy about it.

Frank C. Adams Jr., former advertising manager of Your TIMES, became a victim last Saturday when he was en route here to visit friends. The light changed on him as he was passing through it, he said, and he deposited $7.75 to the “cause” before being allowed to leave. He asked for a receipt but was not given one.

100 Years Ago

(From the Sept. 25,1925, issue of the Sequoyah County Democrat) —Undersheriff Bert Cotton and Deputy Perry Chuculate last Tuesday arrested two men giving their names as E.E. Shepherd and D.R Standenmire and their home address as Fairfax, Oklahoma. The men were searched and their car was too. A bag of money totaling almost $500, much of it being one dollar bills and small change, was found, and dice, cards, table covers and a dice game layout were also found in the rear of the car. The men are said to have operated systematically for weeks past in the west end of the county, traveling from one community to another and setting up their game wherever some likely prospects appeared. laborers in the cotton fields and holders of the proceeds of fat cotton checks, are said to have been their special prey, with marked success crowning their efforts. The money bag found upon the travelers proved this conclusively The two travelers emptied $50 fines each into the treasury through Justice Jim Mclaughlins court and also paid a healthy sum of court costs. They were quite cheerful about it and entered no protests. Instead one of the gents announced that he liked Sequoyah County and might locate here later.

—Mrs. W.A. Weatherford and her two daughters, Tillie and Minnie Brackett, were bitten by a mad dog Tuesday morning. The Weatherford family living in the Prices Chapel community were working near Marble City picking cotton. They had with them a small two months old puppy which up to this time had not shown any symptoms of hydrophobia and they did not know that it had been near a mad dog. Monday night the dog had a fit and bit one of the girls. The family thought little about it, but next day when they started to the field the pup had another fit and bit Mrs. Weatherford and the other girl. It was decided that the dog might be mad and Mrs. Weatherfords son, Bob Brackett, killed the dog, cut its head off and brought it to Dr. J.A. Cheek at Sallisaw. Dr. Cheek sent the head to the state laboratory at Oklahoma City for examination. An examination was not possible however because the brain cells had all been destroyed when the dog was killed.

On Monday night Chief of Police Woll went to the Spencer place one and a half miles east of Sallisaw and killed a cow that had gone mad.

A dog that passed through Sallisaw about a month ago and bit two dogs belonging to Gene Black and Ray O. Weems, went on the Spencers home and bit his cow.

Mr. Spencer quit using the milk and placed her in a lot to herself. Several days ago he fed some of the milk to some dogs he owned and last Monday the dogs and the cow began to have fits. Mr. Spencer killed the dogs and called Police Chief Woll when the cow began to tear down the fences and run everybody off the place.