Day Trip to Mena

Today we drove to Mena to antique shop and visit an old armory. The armory was occupied by the Alpha Battery and Service battery back before WWII and during the Korea War. These units moved back in the late fifties to Van Buren and Lincoln. I don't know why but there is a new armory that was built in 1971 and a company from the 39th resides there. The old armory wasn't torn but was saved and today it houses a basketball court and youth teams were playing today.

The old howitzer in the top picture is sitting in front of the Nations National Guard Armory on Morrow Street in Mena. The gun is an M40 155mm howitzer that served with the 937th FA during the Korean War. The gun has A-7 painted on it and is in pretty good shape but needs a paint job.

Frank Lloyd Wright Two

We made our second visit to a Frank Lloyd Wright creation. Who knew that a FLW designed building was this close to home. We visited Bartlesville, Oklahoma this weekend and took the tour of the Price Tower in downtown Bartlesville. The Price Tower is Frank Lloyd Wright’s only realized skyscraper. Wright took his inspiration for the cantilevered design from a tree. The building was built for the H.C. Price company as it's headquarters. The outside of the building is dressed in copper. Notice the green parts of the building.

We had plenty of antique stores to visit in Bartlesville but that was a bust. We drove a few miles to the small town of Dewey and enjoyed several stores in the old downtown.

Our best buys for the weekend were made at the Expo Flea Market at the State Fair ground in Tulsa. I got a Saint Louis Worlds Fair Tip Tray and Dorinda found a Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition button from 1905. A good start to a long weekend.

Old Artillery

Two pieces of artillery one located in Tilles Park and one at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, Barling are pictured here. The 155mm gun in Tilles Park has been there since I was a youngester. I remember climbing all over it hanging from the barrell. The howitzer at the AFRC was just placed this past week. An Eight Inch M110A2 203mm Howitzer is from Desert Storm. We still have work to do on this gun, raising the barrell and lowering the spade. This howitzer could fire a high explosive projectile up to 30000 meters or about 18 miles. The most accurate weapon system in the world. Too bad the Army didn't think so. It was retired a few years after Desert Storm.

Day Trip to McAlester, Oklahoma

Scottish Rite Masonic Center



Old McAlester High School















Saint John The Evangelist Catholic Church
All Saints Episcopal Church



These building were the highlight to our day of antiquing in McAlester, Oklahoma. The Masonic Center was building in 1928 and has the 2nd largest stage in North American. The Kimball Organ has 3100 pipes and is worth a half million dollars. The high school has been turned into a museum for the area. The two churches were just few of that reside on Washington Street. The antique stores in McAlester were all in North McAlester which was the original downtown area. Those stores were a big disappoinment. Shopping was not good today, the only thing I found today was a Thomas Edison bottle in downtown Spiro Oklahoma. A variety store with not much of anything. We had a good trip finding new cities, towns and places.

Claremore Oklahoma

A fun filled Saturday in Oklahoma. We love exploring the back roads of Oklahoma. Our plan was to visit the Phoenix Expo Center and the Fort Smith Flea Market. While there we found several great item. Dorinda showed me a book " The Arkansas State Guard 1900". A report to the Governor by the Adjutant General includes the time during the Spanish American War. The book was on sale and I jumped on the opportunity to find something this old about the Arkansas National Guard. Dorinda found a couple of things for herself and we had a great start to the day.

Our plan was to drive to Claremore Oklahoma just northeast of Tulsa and do some antique shopping. Claremore did not disappoint. There were quite a few stores in the downtown area. The picture above is of a game we found that we knew would interest my brother in law who is a West Point graduate. We sent them the picture and he immediately responded that he wanted the game. Listed for $90, a little more than I would have paid but we were able to get it for $72. The game is from 1890 and had almost all the pieces.

I found a couple of items from the Saint Louis Worlds Fair and Dorinda bought 5 different ink wells for us to resale. Claremore is the home of Will Rogers but we didn't have time to explore anything about him. That is the next trip.

WHAT

I've read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It does have some touchy moments in the book but why would someone want to ban the reading of this great story. The Valley View Arkansas School Board considered this very thing at the last meeting of the board. The Valley View School Board moved Monday evening to take no action to alter a senior AP English class curriculum, which includes the novel. None of the 30 people who attended the meeting spoke in favor of banning the book but a number of people spoke in favor of keeping it.

Thought I was in Arizona

On the way home from Colorado during the Christmas break the wife volunteers to drive after 4 hours on the road. I take a short nap and it ends up even shorter than I expected. Dorinda wakes me up after about 15 minutes and I think she has taken a wrong turn and we are now in Arizona. We are in the panhandle and discover quite a sight.