The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1915-09-06
the place a civic beauty spot.

huilIle mas numDcf OF DeAuttlh Z
public parks. but this last one hal
, aroused most pride. It's size is abon
7OxSO feet The owner Of the lot con
sented that II might be used for rarl
purposes until she should decide lc
erect a new building The women q
iuthr.e are rather confident tha. h
win never erect this new building
but instead, will present the lana Is
the city for park purposes
Mrs. Willis Is a lover OF flowers
and they seem to grow even in barren
places merely at a touch of her hand
With the help of her daughter, Miss
Hazel, the unsightly spot grew quick
ly into a place of beauty, Grass
sprang quickly and hid the bar earth
under a green carpet SO nanv kinds
of beautiful flowers are now growing
in this lttle park that it woull prove
tedious TO enumerate them.
ether women quickly Joined with
Mrs. Willis. The grass vas planted
May 2S. Mrs Fred Morgae save the
first plants, John Furf3w, a nursery
man, contributed $50 worm of foliage
and border plants A printing con.
rany planted s. worth of gereniums
Daily, packages of bulbs and Plants
were brought by citizens, a .ocal
landscape gardener, Mrs. II. S. Rex
road, also vice president of the Okla
home State Civic association dirac'cd
the laying out of the park, and then
named it Flora park, in honor of Mrs.
Willis, whose name is Flora. A
N onth later flowers from this park
took four blue ribbons at a Guthrei
flower show.
Many Helping Hands.
Mrs. Wills continues as supervisor
of the park. There are many willing
hands to help her. Ward Branham, a
city fireman, comes daily from the
nearby fire station to water the lawn
and the flowers and plants. Ivy and
will soon hide the blank
walls of the old variety theatre. Beds
Of petunias scent the air, Roses are
and Gahlias, cypress, pee
Mes, mariagolds, lilies, phlox and
verbenas abound everywhere Trees
and shrubbery are to be planted, and
lext summer there will be lily pond
Children are playing their g@res on
what was once forbidden ground, and
shop girls. go to the. park at noon hour
10 seek out the beauty of the flowers
Soon the Reeves Place viii be
sort of TRADITION and even the men,
)ry of its vice will vanish.
Dick and Bill Reeves have been
lead these years. They made for
unes. but died in poverty-Dick as 4
county pauper, In the days when
he roar of the gambling games could
'e heard in the streets, and passers-
~ could look in at the open doors
Dick adorned himself in fine linen
very Sunday morning and went TO
hurch. He wore a silk hat, Prince
Albert coat, a white tie, and the lat
st thing in trousers that sartorial {
XIII could devise He was not un {
ocular as a church-goer. for he gave
iherally AMI occasionally took up {
elections from the frequentres Of his I
esort which he turned over to TIA +
ervice of the Lord. Bill Reeves was {
generous man, despite his associa- I
ons. One pocket in his coat he re
eryed for the poor and the needy d
nd in 1t he always carried money for t
lcse who appealed to him. They v
ere other boss gamblers in Gutf- Il
e but none so unselfishi as Dick and a
ii Reeves, and yet they took their q
1und of flesh and virtue and honor i
,riveled and fell to ashes in the old Il
eeves honkytonk, Aust as they did in Il
] such places. y
owhoys Beat Game. c.
There are numberless stories about ie
e great wambling games. The man Il
no always dealt when there was Big Il
ay at faro, because of his steel 10
lryes, is still living in Guthrie. th
The cowboy who insisted on doubl G.
g each Of his plays in craps game r
still talked Of He saw that he 9.
,uld be eaten up unless he got more a
oney There were several hundred 4
whoys IN town. He passed the word =
them, and they came in, two or
rec at time. with money. The
wboy won all the money in sight
lere was $1,000 on the table.
The gambler grabbed the money al
d fled, trick that was often played
the Reeves resort. Thirty minutes
-er more than hundred cowboys
de up the street, lined up on both
les the gambling house and called
the proprietors. The latter insist on