The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1921-01-20

tions of the territory and. as Mark
Twain said of the early days in Ne
vada, if murder had been fineable
otfense the government would have
had enough money to pay Off the ma
tiOnal debt. l continued the steno-
graphic work here for awhile after /
moved to Duncan and gradually got
into the real practice of law. | found
q most hospitable and considerate peo-
pie who We're willing to make allow
ances for mistakes and weaknesses
and to boost a fellow when he was
headed in the right direction; just and
fair, ready to give credit where credit
was due, and what little success
have had is due, in q large measure,
to this Indulgence and encourage
ment. In the first two years after
moved to Duncan the entire business
district, block by block, was burned
and it emerged from he ashes with
renewed determination and visions of
a greater and bette town; believing in
churches, schools and a high STANDARD
of morals, so that today we have a
wonderful little city with big heart;
God-fearing, law-abiding, but withal
the best set of boosters you ever
saw--unless it be that Ardmore
bunch" which sure can go some and
were not slow to set the pace for us
over here when the smell OF oil first
came to us on the ambient air of
stephens county. That is my answer
to your question: have lived here
20 years, you know and that means
something among these people.
Now to your suggestion that l tell
Of my family and myself. l married
just six months before L left Ard
the best investment l ever made a
wife with patience love and encour-
agement can save any man from de-
struction if he wants to be saved,
and space will not permit me to say all
] would like 10 just here, except that
have been most fortunate in that
respect. We have avoided many rocks
and now our boat is sailing along
smoothly upon placid sea OF con-
tentment. Don't let me forget the boys;
two of them, all the children ! have;
stout, healthy and robust, with gnaw-
ing stomachs and growing pslls that
have kept me hustling to relieve, but
great boys-clean, moral and gentle
manly-for all Of which they are in
debted 10 their mother. The oldest is
in his second year at the state uni
versity and the little devil is at home
with us. | am kind of like Bill Nye
when he wrote n friend that his as
sets Were valued (by HIM at q hun
dred thousand dollars, nfnety-nine
thousand Of which was represented by
his wife and children.
We have a wonderful country over
here-ful of OIL but then your Ard
more people know all about that--some
to their profit and some to their sor-
row; the latter because they We're
poor guessers. But its here and coming
in every day; the transition from an
agricultural TO all oil country is the
same as YOU folks have experienced
and some day Duncan is going to
shine forth as the second oil metropolis
Of the southwest. We have grown from
a town OF two thousand to seven thou
sand peOple-and we haven't stopped
We have everything you want--and
that means everything. Now, / have
fallen into a reminiscent mood and
might, Ike Tennysons Brook. go on
for ever, but | must not for fear YOU
won't publish this letter. But you
said wri,e as | would to an old FRIEND
and / am. You were one Of my first
friends In Ardmore. You were then
on she first round Of the ladder which
sou have since climbed to success, and
1t has been grotifying TO me to note
the progress Of your great paper
/ want TO meet you in person again
but / have no; had an opportunity
nor occasion to come TO Ardmore for
many years. My last visit there was
in 1910. am told that | would hardly
know the town now. Some OF these
days l am going to find out whether
or not would. But any way,
wish for yourself, family and the
Ardmoreite-and Ardmorc, years and
years Of continued prosperity, growth
and happiness.
Sincerely,
Il. II. BOND