Democratic candidates sweep Oklahoma

From the files of Your Sequoyah County Times

25 years ago

(From the Nov. 9, 2000, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —A record number of voters turned out for Tuesday’s general election in Sequoyah County leaving election officials tired and giddy and precinct workers cracking jokes about the circumstances caused by such a huge voter turnout.

Nearly every precinct in Sequoyah County reported a 50 percent or higher voter turnout for Tuesday’s election which still had not elected a president as of press time Wednesday. In Sequoyah County, which has 23,037 registered voters, 12,361 turned out for the election for a total percentage of 53.66 voter turnout election results indicate.

50 Years Ago

(From the Nov. 3, 1975, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —Mrs. Ray Fine, widow of former state Sen. Ray Fine, attended Gore’s City Council meeting Tuesday night and told councilmen she intended to donate about three acres of land for a city park.

The land abuts the city limits on the northeast side of town.

The park, to be known as the Ray and Rena Fine Park, will be landscaped and have tennis and basketball courts, playground equipment and a picnic area.

—People who would like their pictures on their driver’s license may have it done at the Freds Thompson Tag Agency in Sallisaw. The charge is one dollar above the normal cost of a driver’s license.

The picture on the license is not yet required by law.

75 Years Ago

(From the Nov. 3, 1950, issue of the Sequoyah County Times) —In spite of a surprising show of Republican strength in the general election held Tuesday, all offices but two were carried by Democratic candidates, most of whom tallied heavy majorities.

The two Republican victories were for the office of County commissioner, district No. 1, and for constable of Redland township.

—Republicans came out of Tuesday’s record off-presidential year vote in Oklahoma with two congressional seats, while the Democrats swept everything else to elect Johnston Murray governor by about 18,000 votes and Mike Monroney senator by about 61,000 votes.

100 Years Ago

(From the Nov. 6, 1925, issue of the Sequoyah County Democrat) —“Kaiser Bill,” war time bank bandit and leader of one of the most spectacular jail breaks since Statehood came back to his jail home on the third floor of the Sequoyah County courthouse last Tuesday, and for a time will gaze thru iron bars that in 1918 were thought to be sufficiently strong to hold him in custody pending transfer to the state penitentiary, but which in fact were but a temporary house of detention from which his escape was affected with ease.

The romantic white-haired character returned to his former jail abode on Tuesday of this week, following his transfer to Sallisaw from the McAlester penitentiary where he has done time for two years past on a thievery charge from Kiowa County in western Oklahoma. He was brought back by Sheriff John E. Johston who has been on his trail and on constant watch.

No bandit or frontier character, with the exception of Henry Starr or Ed Lockhart, have created as much excitement or aroused as much interest in this community as has this man, dubbed “Kaiser Bill” during war days because of his peculiar up-turned moustache so much resembling the German war-time ruler. He was convicted in the fall of 1918 of robbing the state bank at Gore. His conviction followed full identification by G.B. Foreman, then cashier, and other bank officials, the man had lived in the Cookson Hill country for months previous, and had attained a reputation as being a quiet, cool and nervy citizen with no word spoken by him as to his past. A short while after the Gore robbery, the word was whispered about that he had had a part in the robbery and John Smith, Indian policeman of that community took the trail and captured the man following full belief on his part that the man was guilty. He was lodged in the Sequoyah County jail and tried and convicted. His advanced age and his peculiar up-turned moustache attracted hundreds to his trial who might other wise not have been interested. The war spirit was then at his height, and everyone believed at the time that the man was a German spy and that his presence in the community was most undesirable.

Following his trial, and pending the passing of sentence by the court, the man led a jail break on Dec. 21, 1918, which resulted in his searching of freedom and for a time his whereabouts was unknown. A party of sympathizing friends came to the jail on the 21st of December, 1918, knocked at the door of the sheriff’s office and when Mitchell Ellis answered, stuck a gun in his side and ordered him into an adjoining cell. “Kaiser Bill” escaped, followed by three other convicted jail birds, and only one of the escaping band was ever recaptured.