Walking through Holdenville (Gerty: relocation, tornado, lease)

[peggydavis]

We went for a walk around Holdenville on Saturday. Warning: this is long and mostly old houses and buildings.

A great old house. It is currently being renovated.



Another view of the same place.



This is the John E. Turner house. It is on the register of historic places.



This is the carriage house for the Turner house. Inside, you can still see the horse stalls.



Another great tile roofed house.



Holdenville does have sidewalks in most of the town.



How the heck did this happen?



Another one. My best guess is the t-posts or fence posts were put there to keep the trees straight, then the trees grew around them.



Not a good photo, but I like this place with all its colors.



A more modern place.



This crepe myrtle is an unusual color. Usually they are pink, white, or purple.



This house has a metal roof, which are pretty popular.

One of 2 Chinese restaurants in Holdenville.

Do not park in the neighbor's driveway ever!



Nice yard with pretty willow tree.



Tree lined street.



Basketball court/sidewalk.



Pretty brick house with brick garage.



Vine covered shrub.



Gingerbread house.



This place is now an antique/collectibles store.



Going downtown now. The big truck you can see across the street is having a tool sale.



The larger building is the Masonic Lodge on the upper floors.



The plumbers.



This sign is stored beside City Hall.



Some good murals.



City Hall.



JJS Waterin Hole



It is Saturday afternoon, so we have the sidewalks all rolled up.



Which way to the tool sale?



The Vogue. In the 50's, a tornado tore off the front of the building, so it was rebuilt with regular bricks.



The pedestal of the old bank building.



The old bank building.



Another view of the old bank.



Visual Lease Services. That tall tower is where we get our internet service.



Take a break from your work for a burger.



The phone company building.



Front of the phone company.



One of the pretty churches in town.



That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed a look at our little town.

[jessaka]

Those are some nice photos Peggy. I like the Gingerbread house and the stay off lawn sign best. Thanks for taking photos.

[peggydavis]

Thanks, Jessaka. Practice makes perfect so I have the hang of posting these photos now. I hope to post some more of other towns, probably not as long though!

[rugratref]

Thank you for posting this...my Grandmother and step-Grandfather lived in Holdenville...spent many a summer there.
I mostly remember going to the IGA with Grandmother....boy that was a million years ago!

[Synopsis]

Thanks for the great photos peggy! I haven't been to Holdenville in a long, long time. We went there almost every weekend when I was a kid growing up in Gerty. My favorite place was the Ben Franklin 5 and dime. I'm sure that it's no longer there. I also remember a Dairy Queen or some other burger joint that used to be on the West side of 48 when you would come into town. There was also a Church of Christ or something just a little further up on the right. My dad and I painted that church every few years. All I remember is good times in Holdenville.

[peggydavis]

The Diary Queen is now a Chinese restaurant called Lin Cuisine. It is really good and if you order right it is Lean Cuisine. The Ben Franklin probably was in the former Smal-Mart building. It is closed right now, I think it is going to turn into an antique store. I think the Church of Christ is still there. The IGA is not there, but we have 3 grocery stores that are probably one in the same building.

These photos are deceiving in a way. On a weekday you can hardly find a parking place in downtown, and I would be in danger of getting run over as I took my photos. The people in Holdenville are really nice. It is not a hotspot for relocation, but many people enjoy retirement here.

[rugratref]

My grandparents lived on S. Creek St maybe around the 1000 block?? Like I said, that was a VERY long time ago. Can't recall where step grandfather is buried at there.
The phone company building seems familiar...was it always the phone company?

[peggydavis]

That was always the phone company. The fellow in the truck told us that the phone company built many buildings like that in Oklahoma. I'm not too sure where Creek is since none of the streets have street signs.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

The Diary Queen is now a Chinese restaurant called Lin Cuisine. It is really good and if you order right it is Lean Cuisine. The Ben Franklin probably was in the former Smal-Mart building. It is closed right now, I think it is going to turn into an antique store. I think the Church of Christ is still there. The IGA is not there, but we have 3 grocery stores that are probably one in the same building.

These photos are deceiving in a way. On a weekday you can hardly find a parking place in downtown, and I would be in danger of getting run over as I took my photos. The people in Holdenville are really nice. It is not a hotspot for relocation, but many people enjoy retirement here.

That brings back memories Peggy. My dad and I used to eat in that DQ for lunch. I worked with my dad during summers helping with his carpentry work and painting. He also was a farmer and bailed hay during the summer. We had a John Deere hay bailer. One summer, me and a friend crawled up into the hay bailer (it has tunnels that process the hay). I went in first and my friend came in after me. He got stuck and so as a result, I was stuck up in there with him. We were in there for a good hour or two before his brother came along and opened up the top hatch where I could get out!
Folks in Holdenville are nice. It's always been a quiet town, albeit busy at times. My grandfather passed away in the hospital there. I always remember the nice older homes, like the ones in your pictures.
Thanks again for the pictures. PLEASE post more whenever you feel the need!

Oh yeah, one more thing about Holdenville as it relates to me. Waaaay back in the early to mid-70s, my sister and brother-in-law were boating on Holdenville lake (do they still have the fish hatchery there?). Anyway, they hit the tower that stood right next to the dam (is the tower still there too?). My sister wasn't hurt so bad but my brother-in-law almost died. He was in the hospital for weeks, but he finally recovered.

Thanks again!

[peggydavis]

OMG, Synopsis, that is a scary story about being stuck in the hay baler. You were lucky growing up and working with your dad.

The fish hatchery is still there by the Ranger station. The tower is still there too. I can't believe they hit that tower, but boats can be hard to control I guess. I am glad your BIL recovered. The city is building another dam on another creek near Holdenville Lake, and then they are going to have a canal between them. The lake is supposed to end up being twice the size it is now. We had a bad water crisis last year with the drought, and we need more water storage. The prison and the Tyson place use quite a bit of water, and we need those industries.

I will post more pictures of Holdenville & area soon. I am really busy these days.