Speaking of Oompa Loompas

Just a quick update:

Oompa Loompas triggered an outing I meant to blog about a while back. For those of you who don't receive candy newsletters from those lovely little oompa loompas, I thought I'd share some information since a longer post about it won't be happening since someone is currently engulfed by Project (Color) Madness...
There's a tasty cholocate factory in the area. The next time you're in Davis, OK make sure you check out the Bedre Chocolate factory which is by the Chickasaw Nation welcome center. The chocolate is simply amazing (so much for that whole no-sugar thing). I personally recommend the espresso chocolate. Shocker, right? The original oompa loompas would be proud of the tasty treats the Chickasaw Nation conjures up. And, while you're on your way to buy some chocolate happiness, you should make a quick stop in Tatums, OK.

Tatums is a small all-black community which has been around since the 1890s. The community is one of thirteen still existing all-black communities. Back in the days before the great depression they had everything from a post office to a mechanic. They even had a hotel...because travel was so popular back in the 1920s. There are some neat remnants of better days still to be seen in Tatums. A silent movie called Black Gold was filmed in the town in 1928 with a big action scene taking place on Main Street (so I read). However, the only evidence of this are located in a museum in California.

Pictures from my trip will be uploaded to Wanderings of a Girl Ryder Facebook page.

Feelin' awfully Chatty

Destination: Chattanooga



Finally, an update (kinda). Hit the road to Chatty, OK. From Chatty, continued south on 36. And, decided to check out Loveland. Good to note: just because a town has a big sign, doesn't mean a thing. Loveland is located in the midst of many cotton fields and gravel roads. Funny thing is that Loveland actually has paved roads... for its 10 (or so) people. Chatty's about 24 miles southwest of Lawton when passing through Faxon.



The town originated in 1901 and was named after the founder's hometown in Tennessee. Chatty remained an agricultural community with a steady population. Check out Chatty's website.



OK History Lesson: Loveland

Loveland was founded in July 1908 as Harriston. The name was rejected and Loveland was chosen. Loveland seemed to reach its population peak around 1912 with a population of approx. 300. The grain elevators were still in operation until the 1990s. The town had a train depot, a newspaper, and school along with its post office. Last high school class graduated in '57.

It was five miles of gravely hell to get to Loveland. My guess is that a new layer of gravel had been put on. I never thought my bike would overheat in December, but it sure did. After slowly creeping to Loveland, I was surprised to find paved roads in a little semi-abandoned community.

More pictures can be found on WGR's Facebook.

Sunday Afternoon Ride

Destination: Cement, OK

Miles Logged: 85ish

What better way to end Fall Break than with a nice ride? The idea was to check out Cement's old downtown and then take a left somewhere and head north to catch 92 somewhere. Didn't quite pan out that way...

Started out in Elgin and rode through Fletcher and Cyril. Took Old 277 to the new hwy (some nice curves, but watch out for that stop sign, it can sneak up on ya). In Cement to get to the old downtown, just turn left at the stop sign. From there the plan was to ride North. Didn't really workout, and we rode east and toured the...lovely town of Cement. Stayed on 277 and took 81 north to Chickasha.  Rode through Verden and Anadarko on the way back.

  

Note, that by visiting downtown Cement on a Sunday you will draw attention to yourself. It wasn't long before the Cement Cop felt like questioning our motives.

Today's OK history lesson: Cement.

The Keechi Hills (naturally formed mounds) can be found in Cement. There's even a museum in downtown dedicated to the Jesse James legend that his gang buried some of their loot in the Keechi Hills (Buzzard's Roost)....

A cement mill was built in 1901 by Acme Cement and Plaster Co. The town's reputation of being "no man's land" gave it a pretty rowdy rep until the prohibition in 1907. It's alleged that Frank James lived in Cement before moving to Fletcher. The town peaked in 1930 when it had a population of over 1100 (wow- I know).
 
For more pictures, check out WGR's Facebook album.



Cooperton, OK

Destination: Cooperton

Population: 13

Any excuse to ride HWY 115... Decided to head out to Cooperton. Leaving from Meers and coming back to Lawton it's about 85 miles. There are so many different roads a rider can take. And, I know 'em all like the back of my hand.


Took HWY 115 up to 19. Turned South onto 54 (Cooperton), Caught 19 again and headed to Roosevelt. Got onto HWY 183 (veered off to drive through Great Plains State Park, which is pretty nice). Good to know that the sheriffs drive little chevy cars...Staying on the road driving through the park, it'll curve back around to 183. From Snyder we just hit HWY 62 back to Lawton.

My interest was piqued when I read about Cooperton here, and then I did some googling and got my info here.

Cooperton is actually a pretty big grid work of gravel roads. A lot of delapidated houses. A church, the school, the bank, and what looks like an old chapel are still there. Note, that if you check it out, you'll be the talk of the "town."

Your Oklahoma history lesson for the day: Cooperton

Cooperton (originally called Cooper) was established by CPT Frank Cooper in 1899. When it was decided that the territory was to be divided by lottery, Cooper asked for (and was granted) over 300 acres. By 1910, Cooperton had a population of 100. And, the town had a general store, post office, 2nd general store, livery stable, drug store. The town

continued to grow and soon there was a bank, hardware shop, cotton gin, mill, two hotels, churches, school, and a newspaper called the Cooperton Banner. By 1940, the population was about 187. The population soon decreased due to mechanized farming, high farm prices, and better roads and transportation. The High School closed in 1965. The Elementary School closed in 1972.

More pictures can be found in WGR's Facebook album.


This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

HWY 115

Destination: HWY 115



I have to admit that this is one of the best roads I've come across in the immediate area. It's about 14 miles (fromMeers to Hwy 19 JCT) of Sweepers and a couple of hard-turns. It runs along the north side of the Wichita Mtns.

15 turns in 14 miles. Okay, okay, so it's not Deals Gap(318 turns in 11 miles) or anything, but all the same it's pretty good for Oklahoma. Take note that my 15 count may be slightly off. It's kind of like when I make my coffee, I lose track of how many spoonfuls of coffee I put in the coffee maker.

The last corner on the north end (up towards Mtn View) is by Saddle Mountain.

The bigger loop is nice, too. But, sometimes I just ride Hwy 115, and turn around and do it again.

OK history lesson for the day: Saddle Mountain.

Saddle Mountain was a Baptist missionary for the Kiowas established in 1896. By 1903 there was a chapel/schoolhouse. The church was closed in the 1960s and the building was moved to Cache, OK. Isabella Crawford, the missionary who came down from Canada in 1896, is buried in the cemetary by Saddle Mountain.

More pictures can be found on WGR's Facebook.

Cookies

So as I was...um...studying the other day, I came across a website about ghost-towns in the U.S. and O!Canada. Under Oklahoma I found two that I know very well. Cookietown (yeah, I'm slightly obsessed with this "town") was listed.

My mind is now at peace, Cookietown once had cookies.

Apparently, Cookietown used to have a general store, circa 1928, (and that was it) and the proprietor, Marvin Cornelius, would give out cookies to kids (so the legend goes). One kid didn't want to leave "Cookietown" and thus the name was established.

This general store is still supposed to be recognizable (now whether that means that there's a building, a foundation, or a cobblestone to mark the spot- I don't know). I guess this gives me an excuse to pack a few cookies and head out to Cookietown again.