114 Years Ago:
Checotah Enquirer Friday, April 23, 1909
Sidewalks for Checotah
Monday the city council met and adopted resolutions for bids for the building of sidewalks in Checotah.
Fire In Shay Building
LOSS ESTIMATED AT $11,300
Monday morning about one o’clock a _re alarm was turned in by Nightwatchman Tom Stout and when the _re department arrived on the scene it was discovered that the Shay building was on _re on the second story and that the _re had gained considerable headway. But, to the credit of the slicker brigade, this did not daunt them one bit. e hose was played out and in less than 10 minutes three streams were being directed at the _re with good results.
It showed the people of the town what kind of material the department was made of.
Accidentally Shot
e 14-year-old son of D. Lee, living about _ve miles northeast of this city, was accidentally shot last Saturday a rnoon by a target ri_e. e ri_e had been standing in the corner of the room and his little sister got hold of it and was playing with it when it went o_, the ball striking the boy in the head from which he died a few hours later.
100 Years Ago McIntosh County Democrat _ursday, April 12, 1923 A FINE MEET
e annual literary, _eld and track meet of the schools of McIntosh county was held in Checotah Friday and Saturday of last week.
More schools were represented, more entries made and the biggest crowd present than at any previous event.
e literary events were held Friday a rnoon and night in the high school auditorium. e _eld and track events were at the ballpark.
Debate Competition Still Undecided
At this writing it is not known who is the winner of the Calvin-Checotah debate held in Calvin on last Friday night.
According to the judges used, Calvin won the decision, but Checotah is protesting that decision on the grounds of incompetency of the judges and a failure to follow state debating rules.
From the Eufaula Journal
– Dr. Whitaker and M. Blair were business visitors here from Checotah Tuesday.
– Judge and Mrs. E.I. O’Reilly and children spent Saturday a rnoon in Checotah, the guests of friends.
– Britton H. Tabor and Claude A. Nikle were here from Checotah the _rst of the week with legal business in the district court.
– R. J. Mullins, principal of the Eufaula high school in 1913 and later county superintendent for McIntosh county for two terms, was named by the board of education at a meeting of the board here Monday night as superintendent of the city schools.
75 Years Ago McIntosh County Democrat _ursday, March 25, 1948 $1,000,000 IS APPROVED FOR COUNTY DAM SURVEY
BIG RESERVOIR IS ABANDONED; SEE 3 LAKES An appropriation of $1 million to complete a preliminary survey for three proposed dams in McIntosh county to replace the giant Eufaula reservoir has been approved by a sub-committee of congress, it was reported by G.L Shepherd, resident engineer at Eufaula.
Approval for the funds was secured through the e_orts of Congressman W.G. Stigler and Sen. Elmer omas.
Plans for the 163,000 acre Eufaula reservoir were dropped by army engineers a r it was revealed that the cost had increased to nearly $100 million and that the expense of moving Highway 69 and the M-K-T railroad was excessive. e relocation alone had been _gured at $25 million.
Under the new proposal the engineers are planning separate dams on the South Canadian River, the North Canadian and DeepFork combined and on Gaines Creek.
Chicken Owners Given Warning
With the arrival of spring gardening time Checotahns were advised by Mayor Henry Wells this week to keep their chickens penned up.
e mayor said it was a violation of city ordinances to permit chicken and livestock to run out.
ose not complying with the order will be prosecuted.
Waste Paper Drive To Open Saturday
e Boy Scouts of Checotah will launch a citywide paper drive Saturday and all local citizens are urged to gather their old paper and magazines for donation to the Boy Scouts.
Members of Checotah’s two troops will make a house-to-house canvas. Since the national paper shortage, higher prices are being paid for scrap paper. e Scouts will sell the paper they gather here, keeping the money for local expenditures.
50 Years Ago McIntosh County Democrat _ursday, March 29, 1973 Checotah’s Newspaper Plant Changes Hands
A deal was completed this week in which John Buford, editor and owner of the McIntosh County Democrat for the past 43 years, sold his interest in the paper to Davy Spindle, young Navy veteran and ranch operator, e_ective Monday, April, 2.
e Democrat is the oldest business _rm in town and is the only one which has operated under the same management and ownership for 40 years or more.
e paper was established here on Nov. 14, 1907 by George Wetzell and son, Herbert Wetzell, who had come from Illinois to found a new paper in a new state.
e Democrat is one of the few papers in Oklahoma to have had only two editors in 65 years of existence. e present editor purchased the Democrat and assumed its full operation Nov. 1, 1929.
e editor started out as a printer’s helper on his father’s newspaper, the Indian Journal in Eufaula, while a student in grade school over 50 years ago.
25 years ago McIntosh County Democrat _ursday, March 26, 1998 State’s First Lady Tours City Main Street Program
Cathy Keating, Oklahoma’s First Lady, visited Checotah this past Monday to see _rst-hand the progress the Checotah Main Street program has made in the downtown area.
Main Street Shaping Up
Checotah Main Street’s Design Committee has been working for these past 10 months on nominating the Old city Hall Building to the United States Department of Interior to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Council Makes Move To End Dissension Just a r the opening portion of the Checotah Council meeting Monday evening, Councilman Jim Adamek addressed the group in an obvious attempt to unite for the good of the city.
“I sense dissension. We are split in our views and I feel that I may be responsible for my abrasiveness in the past. I apologize to the council and to the citizens. We should work as a team for the city and not as individuals,” he said.
