Another Glance into Past Family Road Outings - Time Out #332

Another week, another story time shared, together.

This installment, we will explore my family trips to the south central Oklahoma areas around Ardmore in Carter County. Our designated car driver was my father, Col. C.H. Breedlove, who was returning to his roots. He was born into a family of 6, the only male child of Lily and Clarence Victor Breedlove. His birth date was August 9, 1903, in Ardmore, I.T., as in Indian Territory. Yes, Oklahoma did not officially become the 46th state until November 16, 1907. Therefore, each time we would drive the lengthy 2-lane highways to his birthplace, we would see my grandmother and my father's oldest sister, Klyde Jean, who lived most of her life with their mother. Aunt Klyde had a left arm birth defect, and had some other physical issues during her long life. My father's other younger sisters were Mary and Ruth. Mary lived in Lubbock, TX, most of her adult life, teaching English at Texas Tech University. Ruth was a geophysicist during her working career, and spent many years in the oil patch of west Texas, living in Midland. All 4 Breedlove children were college graduates; all except Klyde, being graduated from Oklahoma A & M (Stillwater). Klyde completed her degree, attending the Oklahoma College for Women in Chickasha. Neither of my grandparents attended college, so it was an incredible educational accomplishment for my Ardmore family.

Many of our trips to visit my paternal family, my father and I would stop in the beautiful Arbuckle Mountains, 6 miles south of Davis, enjoying iconic Turner Falls, and refreshing Honey Creek. The crystal clear waters of Honey Creek are downstream from Oklahoma's tallest (77') waterfall, and provided my dad and me lots of swimming and relaxing hours, floating on rubber rafts. Even in the colder months, we would hike the nature trails and caves in the 1,500-acre Turner Falls Park.

We would always stay in the Breedlove family home on McLish Street. As my memory recalls, the home was full of strange objects and old furniture. I vividly remember a weather-predicting device that was positioned above the kitchen sink. One side of the device displayed 2 small children that were playing. On the other side of the device, there was a witch. Depending on what type of weather the device was predicting, that character would be displayed. In short, good weather, the children were out, bad weather predicted, the witch was out. Yes, it was creepy for me each time I saw the witch outside on display.

The home's backyard had an apple tree, and I enjoyed eating the fruit, pulling them off the tree when they were ripe. I also enjoyed searching through the old single-car garage, with all its unusual tools and musty smells. My paternal grandfather passed away before I was born in 1947, but I tried to imagine him tinkering around with his tools and yard equipment I picked up and examined, while exploring his interesting garage.

We would usually take a drive around Ardmore, and my father would tell me about what he did in his youth, exploring his town, long ago. We often visited his friend, Hardy Murphy, and we would see Hardy's family, and their Cowboy-like lifestyle. He had horses, and other livestock around his home, and a great family. I could always count on learning various things about being a true Oklahoma cowboy when visiting the Murphy home. Because of his fame, Ardmore named their iconic WPA-constructed building, Hardy Murphy Coliseum. For years, the facility has hosted rodeos, cutting shows, and other big-name events.

Watching my father either talking with his Ardmore friends, or interacting with his mother and/or sister, were memorable to me, his shadow, during the gentler and simpler times of the 1950's. Most of those family trip highlights remain with me today.......truly priceless!