7th Street Preservation

It's been six years since I wrote an article called "Cost Of a Brick", in which I wrote about how street repairs have damaged the overall look of 7th Street after a water leak. Once again, after driving over the street this past week, it was hard to fathom the poor state of repair in which the street has been subjected to since my last story.  I realize in years past that the city was short on funding for capital improvements such as street repair and doing the best with what they had on hand was all they could do. But what do we know about 7th Street and why is it so important for it to be in decent shape? It's rather simple to explain. 7th Street was a product of the early 1920's when the Barnsdall Oil Company purchased the Bigheart Oil Company. Representatives from the Barnsdall Oil Company met with the towns local government and worked on a deal  promising "big things" for the town. One of those "big things" was paving some of the streets with bricks and curbing which would include parts of 4th street, 5th Street, 7th Street,8th Street, Walnut Street and Main Street. During those early days in the 1920's, 7th Street was the street taken to the main gate of the Barnsdall Oil Company Refinery where the majority of small offices were located, which is why 7th Street stands out among other residential streets for being made of brick. It's also one of the main reasons for preserving the street. Some other reasons for preservation are from the historical aspects of those that resided along the street. For instance,  the home located at the northwest corner of 7th and Cedar was built and occupied by T. E. Gibson, first banker in the town of Bigheart in 1906, this home also survived the tornado of 1911. He also built the home located on 11th Street (Later known as the Blake home) which burned a few years ago. The southwest corner of 7th and Cedar has the Methodist Church which was built in 1913. One block south of there on the northeast corner of 7th and Vine sits the home of Joshua S. Cosden, he built the Southwest Refining Company in 1910. A trip on Walnut Street would take you to three historical homes, one built by C.D. Pinney. He was one of the first citizens of Bigheart, having opened a blacksmith shop in 1906. Another historical home on Walnut is the one of John and Grace Javine. They were some of Bighearts first families that were living in the area before Bigheart was a town. The last home on Walnut street to have any historical significance is the Clark Gable house located on the south side of the street across from the Javine home. So there is merit as to why the streets should be maintained, even for historical purposes. It's easy to dig up a street with a backhoe and then replace it with asphalt or concrete to save time but it does take a toll on the visual appearance of a street that has been around for nearly 100 years. When I was growing up on Walnut Street, workers would take care as to the digging operation in the streets that were laid with brick. The bricks were taken out one at a time and then replaced in their original layout keeping the integrity of the street. Property owners also did their part by keeping the grass from growing over the curbs or picking up trash that laid in the street. Whatever happened to these practices? Have we become so uninvolved with our surroundings that we don't care about investing our time into what could be one of the most visually pleasing streets in town, plus one of the most historical besides Main Street. It's hard to believe any council member or the Mayor of the city would let such lack of interest for preserving our past be made. But the proof is rather evident. Just take a drive down 7th Street and you'll see what I mean. It's rather shameful. So what is the cost of a brick and why take them , only to dump them in a pile of road refuse, not to be used again? I'm certain that those that live on 7th street would rather see it clean and properly maintained instead of the mess they have to drive around daily.

In Search Of: Lockheed F5-E Lightning

It's been just over a year since my last entry of the Lockheed F-5E lightning  that crashed into the side of a hill southwest of Barnsdall on July 2 1945. With the prop blade I received last year, I was able to make contact with the Smithsonian Air and Space Research Group and verify the prop blade as belonging to 2nd Lt. Charles R. Schliefer's Lockheed F-5E, a photo recon aircraft stationed in Coffeyville Kansas. Since this time, I've done more research on the possible location of the crashed aircraft. Through eye witness reports and the Army's crash report and photos from 1945 and talking to others that have been passed the information by those that lived in the area of the reported crash, I proceeded with tracing the air route from it's beginning in Coffeyville to it's proposed destination which was Oklahoma City. Of the four possible routes taken that day, two routes stood out among the others. One, which made a direct pass over Barnsdall and one that made a pass to the northwest. The direct pass coincided with reports from eyewitnesses and passed down information while the northwest pass coincided with the Army report. Taking into account the information on hand I was able to ascertain a possible crash site which reports state are spread over a two acre area on the side of, and near the top of a hill within sight of Barnsdall. Google Earth and local topography maps were a big help in spotting what I think may be the crash site location. I contacted the land owner this past May about doing a search on his property and he agreed to give me access to the area. With it being springtime, I opted to hold off till after the first hard freeze in November to begin my search. I'm not fond of tromping around on the side of a hill covered with trees and brush in the summer. There are too many critters out there that have a poisonous bite or sting. But the time has passed, I've talked again with the land owner and all is set. Hopefully the next story I write on this subject will be one of finding some small piece of aviation history to go along with the large hunk of aluminum I have stashed away as of now.

Lockheed F-5E Photo Recon aircraft