25 Years Ago August 16, 1995
The Cordell Blue Devil football team was preparing for the upcoming season. They were to participate in a seven-team scrimmage on Friday (August 18) at Burns Flat. The Blue Devils were to host their own eight-team scrimmage on August 25. Cordell was to play a ten-game schedule in 1995 with five home games. The first game was to be a home contest against Central Marlow on September 1.
Stockholders of Kiwash Electric Cooperative were to have a special treat at the annual meeting which was scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 22, in the Cordell School Auditorium. The entertainment for the event was to be the original musical entitled The Will and The Wind. The musical, presented by Oklahoma Kids Inc., featured the early history of Oklahoma as seen through the eyes of young Will Rogers. Kiwash officials expected about 600 stockholders to attend the meeting. The welcoming address was to be delivered by Cordell Mayor Phil Kliewer. Members of the Board of Trustees included Jonathan Bartel, Robert Travis, Jerry Willard, Perry Price, Cecil Pankhurst, Curtis Walker, Ralph Cunningham, Kenneth Boggs, and Leslie Hinds. Ron Wesner was the attorney.
The Cordell City Council had called a special meeting for Wednesday night were two agenda items were to be discussed. The four member council was to vote on the city’s purchase of the $28,000 building located at 105 W. Main, the corner of College Street and Highway 152. If the council voted to buy the former tire and battery building it was to house the Cordell Police Department.
Andrea Louisa Herren, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rex Herren of Cordell, married Chet Horn, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Horn, also of Cordell, on May 20, at the First Baptist Church in Cordell.
The Cordell Chamber of Commerce Yard of the Week went to Sam and Lottie Holden, 907 Ella Street.
The Cordell Community Theatre was gearing up for another successful production. The fall’s presentation was to be “Plaza Suite”, a comedy in three acts by Neil Simon. A play date of October 7 and 8 had been scheduled.
50 Years Ago August 20, 2970
The annual membership of Kiwash Electric Cooperative brought an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 persons to Cordell the previous week. P. E. Dunkleberger, Kiwash manager, said it was one of the best meetings the cooperative had ever held. It also was one of the largest attendances. The Powers Sisters and The Plainsmen headlined the meeting entertainment program.
Some of the finest art works in Oklahoma were to be on display Saturday, August 22, at the annual Cordell Arts and Crafts Festival, sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. Some of the state’s best artists were to be present to take part or send paintings to be exhibited. The courthouse square was to be converted into an art and crafts gallery for the one-day showing. The Cordell and Clinton school bands were to provide entertainment during the festival.
United States Senator Henry Bellmon explained the farm bill pending in Congress to about 300 farmers of Washita County at a meeting in Cordell on August 15.
Voters of the old Bessie school district voted in a special election on August 18 and gave a wide margin of approval to the questions of disposal of property of the district. The vote, approved by a vote of 76 to 17, permitted the Cordell school board to dispose of the property, except for the Community Hall (gym property) and the school building.
A light plane en route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Clovis, New Mexico, made a forced landing on State Highway 54 east of Cordell on August 19. O. E. Campbell and his teenaged son and daughter caught a ride to Cordell where he rented a plan from Austin Sipes, manager of the local airport, and they continued their flight to Clovis. Campbell told Sipes that engine trouble of some sort developed and the propeller fell off.
Governor Dewey Bartlett was a surprise visitor to Cordell on Tuesday. The chief executive made his first appearance at the local Rotary club luncheon in the United Methodist church dining hall where he made a brief talk urging greater respect for law and order. The governor was introduced by Lockwood Jones of Cordell. Jones was presented by Jim Lawrence, Rotary club president. The governor was accompanied by Dr. Tisdal Jones of Cordell. Bartlett also made an appearance at the afternoon session of Kiwash Electric Cooperative in the Cordell city park.
The three banks in Cordell and the Dill State Bank announced they would be closed all day on Tuesday, August 25, for election day. The announcement was made by the Cordell National Bank, Farmers National Bank and First National Bank in Cordell and the Dill State Bank of Dill City.
Cpl. George H. Cooper, won of Mr. and Mrs. Harold W. Cooper, route one, Cordell, left for his new army assignment at Ben Hoa, Vietnam. He was assigned to the 209th military intelligence after taking basic training at Fort Polk, LA, and attending military intelligence school in Maryland.