Geary Avenue: named for a forgotten pioneer
There is a short street east of I-235 named Geary Avenue. It’s longer on the south side of the river.
I figured the street was named for the town of Geary in Blaine County. I was wrong.
With a little research in The Oklahoman’s archives, I learned about one of Oklahoma City’s forgotten pioneers.
James Geary was born in 1844 in Missouri. At age 15, after the death of his parents, he left home to become a frontiersman. He helped survey the area where Denver, Colo., now stands and rode with wagon trains on their way to New Mexico and beyond.
During the Civil War, he was an Army scout in the company of William “Wild Bill” Hickock, Amos Chapman, Ben Clark and Col. William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. After the war, he built houses under government contract in Oklahoma before moving to Kansas and settling down as a rancher and merchant.
On April 22, 1889, James Geary came to Oklahoma City and on May 3, 1889, he opened the Citizens’ Bank at the corner of Main and Broadway. He sold the bank in 1893 to Capt. Daniel Stiles, another pioneer with a street named for him. He joined Stiles, and the two became real estate developers.
They developed the Maywood Addition, Oklahoma City’s first “Nichols Hills,” which included the area around Geary Avenue. It was the fashionable part of town where the wealthy lived.
Geary served on the Board of Trade , the predecessor to the Chamber of Commerce, which was formed on May 25, 1889. He later was elected and served as an alderman (city councilman) and, at the time of his death, was still involved in real estate.
James Geary died on Oct. 21, 1904. In The Oklahoman for Oct. 25, an article said his funeral was attended by “the largest throng of people ever assembled in this city to pay a parting tribute to a deceased citizen.”
After a procession consisting of “a platoon of twelve members of the police force. A band followed, and the remainder of the line of march was composed of the city fire department, the city officials, forty members of the Knights Templar, members of the A. F. & A. M., and hundreds of citizens,” Geary was eulogized in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church by the Hon. Sidney Clarke.
In his address, Clarke said about his friend: “He lived an active and honorable life in this world and with malice toward none and charity for all, he met the envitable with that sincerity and composure which characterized all his intercourse with his fellow men.”
James Geary is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery.
Mary Phillips
mphillips@opubco.com
Hello girls???
When I saw this headline in The Oklahoman for July 6, 1926, “Hello Girls In Course of One Day’s Work Say About Everything Except Hello,” I had to stop and read the story. I’ll admit it wasn’t what I was expecting.
The story was about the telephone operators of the Bell Telephone company switchboards. It begins:
“Hello girls” never say “Hello.”
Have you ever heard your telephone operator say “Hello?”
No, and neither has anyone else. But people have referred to all girls at the telephone switchboards for a number of years as “Hello girls.”
“Hello” is not in the vocabulary of the Bell Telephone operators. Their lines are many but stereotyped ones. Their lines go to hundreds of thousands of persons who always answer calls with “Hello.” But that “kind of line” is not ever used by the operators themselves.
Then what is the “line” of the young woman who is the medium between you and the person with whom you desire to talk?
“Number please” is the first letter in the operator’s book of A B C’s. That is the only permissible phrase for her to answer your signal with when your receiver is off the hook, indicating that you want her services.” (Remember this was the era of party lines and the switchboard operator actually connected you with your party.)
The article goes on to give the rest of the “letters” in the operator’s book continuing with “What number please,” “They do not answer,” and “That line is out of order.”
The article concludes with, “These four stock phrases are supposed to care for all business that a telephone operator has with person she serves. So they plainly are not “Hello” girls.
There are 348 telephone girls in Oklahoma City. In one year’s time in Oklahoma City there are 87,800,000 calls placed by telephone operators who never use the word “hello.” (Boy, has that changed.)
Further research in The Oklahoman’s archive found the first reference for “Hello Girls” in a 1902 headline announcing the setting of telephone poles to Bridgeport leading to the start of telephone service. The last mention where the phrase was used as a current term for telephone operators was in the 1950′s.
Now, of course, we have directory assistance operators, and, somehow, I can’t imagine them being called “Hello Girls.”
Mary Phillips
Quicksand not a worry
The new Devon tower will soon be rising over the city skyline, and as the workers excavate for the caissons that will support the building, at least they won’t have to worry about quicksand.
Looking south across the construction for the Devon tower, the stately white Colcord building stands at the right of the photograph. - Oklahoman archive photo by Sarah Phipps
In 1909, a new building was to begin construction on the northwest corner of Robinson and Grand. First, the six houses that had been on that corner since 1889 had to be demolished. Then a quicksand test had to be done.
A small item in the Sept. 30, 1909, Oklahoman reported that the test was considered a success when larger posts than necessary sank only 3/4 of an inch after 5 days.
The demolition and the the quicksand test were done in preparation for the construction of the Colcord building, still standing to the east of where the Devon tower will soon rise. This year, the Colcord building will be 100 years old and was built by Oklahoma City pioneer capitalist, Col. C. F. Colcord, as an office building. It now performs stellar service as a boutique hotel.
The only other construction problem I came across in The Oklahoman was in November 1909 when the south wall of the old post office building across the alley from the excavation site, and not to be confused with the old post office building at 201-215 Dean A. McGee, began sinking and led to the immediate evacuation of the tenants and the attempt to shore up the building.
On Sept. 3, 1909, U.S. Vice President James Schoolcraft Sherman visited Oklahoma City, and on his itinerary was a visit to the rooftop garden of the 14-story Colcord building to view the city and its surrounding area. In November, the elevator operators claimed to be taking more visitors to the roof to view the city than actual work-related visitors.
Dec. 1, 1910, the Colcord held its “housewarming reception” and more than 10,000 people attended, a record at the time.
May the longevity of the Colcord building set an example for the the future as Devon Energy builds its new home.
Mary Phillips
Oklahoma weather, always changing
As we start the new year, I want to thank all the readers who have sent letters, e-mails and told me in person that they have enjoyed The Archivist.
We hope to continue to entertain and inform, as we find items that are odd, interesting, amusing and/or serious, as we revisit the history in the pages of The Oklahoman.
Now that we are recovering from the Blizzard of ’09, let me take you back 100 hundred years to New Year’s Day, 1910.
While the story was regulated to page 6 on Sunday, January 2, 1910, The Oklahoman reported that spring weather had welcomed in the new year on Saturday, with a temperature that reached the high of 74 degrees and was described as “one of those warm, balmy kind that bring people out of their homes and into the streets.” The streets were described as packed with crowds walking, driving automobiles and carriages and horseback riding as they enjoyed the unseasonable weather.
But we live in Oklahoma, where the weather is as changeable as a politician’s mind.
On Sunday, the temperature never made it out of the 20′s and on Monday, January 3, a “fine drizzling sleet” fell to make the sidewalks and streets as treacherous then as those of Christmas Eve 2009.
I wish a happy, safe and healthy New Year to all.
Mary Phillips
A Happy New Year celebration, 1908 style
Oklahoma became a state in November of 1907 and on Wednesday, January 1, 1909, the front page of The Oklahoman carried this description of how the new year was rung in.
“The old year is gone. Today is New Year Day. “Turn over a new leaf” is working again.
On the first second of the new year bedlam broke loose in Oklahoma City. Street car gongs clanged, whistles shrieked, church bells tolled and mill whistles howled a greeting to the new year, 1908.
New Year Day in Oklahoma City will be observed as a half holiday. Nearly all the stores will be closed for the afternoon. The public schools of the city were dismissed last evening until tomorrow morning.
Sunday hours will be observed at the post office, the general delivery window being open from 9:30 to 10:30 o’clock. No mail deliveries will be made.
Banks and federal offices of the city will be closed for the entire day, while a part of the city and county offices will be closed all day, others will be open during the morning hours.
Watch parties were being held in all parts of the city last night, in churches and homes. Members of many secret orders awaited the coming of the new year at the club rooms where refreshments were served and various forms of entertainments were provided.
Short sermons by the pastors of the churches, readings and programs of music and song were the features of entertainment at the churches.
The Outlook of State and Church was the subject of the Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Harper, pastor of the Pilgrim Congregational Church, Noble and Harvey. The pastor told of the opportunities of the new state in the new year and the plans of the church for increasing its membership and general work for the church cause. A program of readings and music followed.
A short sermon by the Rev. Dr. W. H. B. Urch, and a program of song and music were features of the watch party of the First Methodist Episcopal church, Fourth and Robinson, last night. More than 200 person gathered to watch the “Old Year out and the New Year in.”
Members of the congregations of Methodist Episcopal Church, South and White Temple gathered in joint observance of the entry of the New Year in the parlors of the White Temple, Third and Broadway. A program of music and readings were given.
Visiting members and local members of the Oklahoma City aerie of Eagles met at the hall to observe the passing moments of the year of 1907. A short program was given and the remainder of the evening was spent in social session.
The birth of the new year was observed by the members of the First Christian Church, Third and Robinson. The evening’s watch was opened by a general conference of the officers of the church. Yearly reports were submitted and plans for the coming year were discussed. A program of music and song followed. A social session and old fashion watch party continued until the arrival of the new year.”
Notice that the school holiday was a day long and the post office still offered Sunday services.
Now days we celebrate New Year’s Eve with “Opening Night” and fireworks have replaced the gongs of streetcars and the whistles of celebrants, but many churches offer New Year’s Eve programs to usher in the new year.
Mary Phillips
“THE ARMY’S CHRISTMAS”
On Dec. 25, 1917, The Oklahoman’s front page included stories on the Christmas membership drive for the Red Cross, 14 women killed in a holiday traffic accident in Pennsylvania and numerous stories relating to the war.
This ran on the editorial page and is as true and appropriate now as it was then.
“THERE IS REJOICING in many homes because soldier sons were permitted to come home on a Christmas furlough, complete the family circle and get their feet under a regular table once again. And for the many who couldn’t come, here’s wishing them a Merry Christmas, too. They have been kindly remembered as a million gifts from friends, relatives and sympathetic strangers will testify. It is hoped they are not too lonely in cantonment or trenches, or sailing a dangerous sea on the way “over there.” Wherever they are, by land or sea, the heart of America goes out to them, with a feeling which the simple tokens sent cannot fully express.
“And how well they deserve the gratitude and good will of the nation and all Christendom. For theirs is in its finest sense a holy war; a conflict to make safe that freedom, democracy and brotherly love which were part of the teachings of the lowly Nazarene; to save that civilization which is based on Calvary from the ruthless hands of ultra-savagery and the base philosophy of crass materialism. So in this season, dedicated to peace on earth, though war is raging, may the soldiers of our service and the armies of our allies know, amid all their martial surroundings, something of that inward peace which comes from knowledge of duty done; unselfish duty in behalf of a worthy cause.
“When some blessed day, the engines of war are stilled and the world is made safe to humanity, may they come back again, to a better Christmas in a brighter land. That is the civilian’s Christmas wish for the army, but whatevever the fates may hold or the fortunes of war bestow, those boys in khaki shall live in the hearts of their countrymen while human gratitude shall last.”
The major change today from the editorial written so many years ago is how the soldiers reached the areas of conflict.
The sentiment above is what we wish for all the military serving at home and abroad.
Mary Phillips
A different kind of police chase
As readers of the newspaper know, rarely does a week go by that there isn’t a police chase reported.
This story was published in The Oklahoman, June 22, 1914.
“LIQUOR TRANSPORTER RACES WITH POLICE”
“Charley Clift, liquor transporter, matched a race Saturday night between his fine driving horse and the police auto. He lost the race, a barrel of beer and $51.
The race began near Walnut Grove when Detective Charles Farris and Police Chauffeur Dale Smith, in the auto, saw Clift appear from beneath the Frisco railroad trestle on East Reno avenue. Clift saw the officers about the same time they saw him and turned from the road across a plowed field near Riverside Park.
Lashing his horse into a gallop, Clift began the race with a lead of a block. Opening the engine throttle wide Smith turned his car and bounced after the fleeing “booze hauler.” Farris stood up in the flying car and yelled warnings at Clift to stop while 300 negro spectators cheered and screamed.
For ten minutes clouds of dust arose and enveloped the eastern end of California and Grand avenues. From the whirling sand came yells and the chugging of the auto. Some of the most exciting parts of the race were missed by the hundreds of shouting negroes because the dust was to thick to see through.
Back to the starting line Clift dashed and gave up. His horse was winded and the auto had crept up to rear wheels of his buggy.
“Alright Charley let’s go to the station now, commanded Farris as the race ended. Clift gave up his barrel of beer and $51 bond to the desk seargeant and passed on.”
More on my morning commute
I work on the ninth floor of The Oklahoman building on the corner of the Broadway Extension and Britton Road. Most mornings I travel to work on I-235 to the Broadway Extension and exit at Britton Road.
The view that greets me every morning, except when the fog is particularly bad, is the twinkling lights from the antenna farm.
Most Oklahoma Cityans are familiar with the radio and television towers located both north and south of Britton Road and mostly east of the Broadway Extension. Looking east from my ninth floor breakroom, I can count at least 17 large towers and there are numerous smaller communication towers.
Some of the radio towers that make up the antenna farm. - Oklahoman Staff Photo by Jim Beckel
The first tower to arrive east of Britton was WKY’s 915 foot tower, then the tallest in the world. WKY was relocating from their station at NW 39 Street due to the expansion of air traffic. This was announced in 1941, but due to World War II, it was in the April 2, 1944 Daily Oklahoman that featured a photograph with the announcement of the completion of the tower. On December 21, 1944, the radio station switched it operations to its new studio/transmitter building on Britton Road. That building, now nearly 65 years old, is still standing between the KOMAradio station building and the KFOR-TV studios.
Best of all for me, is seeing the red-sparklng towers rise above the horizon each morning. One of my landmarks and touchstones is still there.
Mary Phillips
mphillips@opubco.com
“Oklahoma City’s peripatetic meetin’ house”
I will admit that when I came across the headline above, that appeared in The Oklahoman for August 22, 1909, I wasn’t completely sure what peripatetic meant. But after reading the story I understood the defintion from Merriam-Webster Online: “movement or journeys hither and thither.”
“When a man named Jackson built a little frame chapel at the corner of Broadway and Noble avenue (now SW 3rd street) in 1899, he little dreamed what its influence was to be on the religious history and development of Oklahoma City.
“The little chapel was built originally for the use of the Salvation Army, but was later acquired by the Baptists of the city and in 1902 was removed to Washington avenue (now SW 2nd street) and Walker avenue. Here it was used by the Washington avenue Baptist Church for about six months, that now flourishing congregation being organized there. In 1903 it was removed to Capitol Hll. In it the Capitol Hill Baptist Church was organized and it was the only home of that organization for the next two years. Then, in 1905, the First Baptist Church bought the building and placed it on the corner of East Fifth and Phillips streets. It was used for a mission Sunday school in the Maywood district, under the supervision of Dr. H. Coulter Todd for the next year. In 1906 it was again removed to East Ninth and Phillips streets, where it was again used for a mission Sunday school under the supervision of G.N. Longfellow.
“On October 24, 1907, the little chapel was acquired by the Immanuel Baptist church, which was the third and last Baptist congregation to be organized within its walls. The Immanuel Baptist church then had but twenty members, but they were “game” and bought the building and lots for $1,367. That night the Rev. Forrest Maddox was called from the Portland Avenue Baptist church at Louisville, Ky., to the pastorate for the little new church in Oklahoma City. The Rev. Maddox proved to be a hustler. He got the Baptist state board interested and it helped out financially. The little chapel was torn down and a new temple built last year with a seating capacity of 700. The church has grown from twenty persons to a congregation of 169. The Immanuel Baptist church also owns a mission at the corner of Kelham avenue and East Fourteenth street, and its total property is worth over $7,500.
“The little church was moved about so often during the days of its existence that among the church people of the city it came to be known as “the peripatetic meeting house.”
Of the churches mentioned, the Salvation Army is still a force in Oklahoma City as is the First Baptist and Capitol Hill Baptist churches. Immanuel Baptist and the Washington Avenue Baptist Church which became the Second Baptist Church are no longer in existence.
Meet Mr. Robinson
If you go downtown, at some point you will probably find yourself on Robinson Avenue. It certainly is one of Oklahoma City’s oldest streets.
A story published in The Oklahoman July 16, 1972, reported, “The morning of April 23, 1889, surveyors set up tripods and squinted through the transits. The links of surveyor chain clanked as Robinson Avenue was surveyed from Reno Road through South Oklahoma toward the North Canadian River. Marching north from Reno at Second Street, the Oklahoma Station surveyors hiked up the old Boomer ‘blue hill’ painted and perfumed by a carpet of wild violets in bloom, and Robinson Avenue stopped at a homesteader’s claim at Seventh Street. ”
“Robinson Avenue began as a dusty or muddy road, depending on the weather, a mile and a quarter long through the townsite of Oklahoma , and South Oklahoma.”
But who was it named for? A Vermonter and a man who never was a resident of Oklahoma or Oklahoma City, Albert Alonzo Robinson. Born in 1844 and raised on the edge of the Wisconsin frontier, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1869 and began his career as a surveyor’s axeman (the man who cleared the way for the surveyor). By 1886, he was the newly promoted chief engineer for the Santa Fe railroad, and Santa Fe had obtained a federal charter to build the railroad across the Cherokee outlet and Oklahoma lands, working south from Arkansas City to what would become Purcell in the Chickasaw Nation. They started in September 1886, and by February 1887 they were at Deer Creek, OK. Many of the railroad employees were Boomers, those who settled Oklahoma Territory legally. They recognized that the railroad building was a “double blessing,” it provided a good living and kept them near the land they hoped to homestead.
The charter had a deadline of April 20, and it looked like the tracklayers had no chance to meet it.
The government sent a marshal to serve a writ on the railroad, but they didn’t reckon with Mr. Robinson. He sent his chief clerk to take over, and while he laid track and avoided the marshal, Robinson ignored all the messages to cease construction. On April 26, the tired marshal rode in to the railroad camp and told Curtis he was there to serve the writ because the work was not finished.
Curtis said, “The track is all finished, look for yourself.” The marshal agreed.
“That was the last Robinson and the Santa Fe heard of the federal writ. Old Boomers slapped each other on the back about how Robinson had saved the railroad for Oklahoma country.” The famous photograph of the Run of ’89 shows some of the settlers arriving by train on the track that Albert Robinson made sure was laid.
During his 22-year career with Santa Fe, Albert Robinson was responsible for building more than 5,000 miles of track, the bridge over the Royal Gorge and rising to vice president of Santa Fe. When he retired as president of Mexican Central, he returned to Topeka, KS, and died in 1918.
It’s been 120 years since Robinson Avenue was surveyed and named for the Boomers’ friend, Albert Alonzo Robinson, but it is fitting that Oklahoma City’s “main street” is named for the man who made sure the railroad made it to Oklahoma.
Note: Some of Robinson’s biographical information was obtained from Internet biographies.
