As in last week’s Ferguson Feature, the son of TB and Elva Ferguson, Walter S. Ferguson and wife, Lucia, operated the Cherokee Republican newspaper. During that time, Walter served in the Oklahoma Senate. His bill, “Bone Dry Law” Oklahoma Senate Bill Number 55, stipulated that 'it shall be unlawful for any person in this state to possess any liquor received directly or indirectly from a common or other carrier.' With the firm backing of the state's Anti-Saloon League, Sen. Walter Ferguson introduced the bill that many considered to be among the most stringent of its time. Violation of its mandates constituted a misdemeanor and carried a penalty of up to $500 in fines and six months imprisonment. The bill's passage in 1917 marked 10 years since Oklahoma had entered the Union as a dry state. One can see the anti-liquor stance of TB and Elva Ferguson in this law. The law continued on the books, though weakened in various court battles, until 1959 when prohibition in Oklahoma was overturned.
As editor of the Cherokee Republican paper, Walter Ferguson “has a remarkable fine sense of humor, and every week runs a full-page department of satirical criticism of public events. He has recently achieved local fame by running a department of his paper devoted to events in Bugscuffle, Bolivia. The last Indian uprising, five years ago, was led by Chito Harjo (Crazy Snake), who, after days of 'warfare,' disappeared entirely, and only recently was reported to have turned up in Bolivia. Mr. Ferguson seized upon the report to begin getting long letters each week from Crazy Snake, who recounted the doings of the politicians in Bugscuffle.” “A Standard History of Oklahoma”; Volume IV; Joseph B. Thoburn; 1916; Transcribed by Andaleen Whitney] The couple sold the Cherokee Republican in 1919 and moved to Oklahoma City to enter the advertising business, at which he did so well that the largest local bank took over his services exclusively. In 1921 he was made vice-president of the institution. Six active years of banking followed, during which time he was elected to the Federal reserve board. In 1927, he was made vice president of the Exchange National Bank of Tulsa, now the National Bank of Tulsa, where the family moved in 1927. Other positions include a directorship in the M. K. and T. Railroad. In August he resigned from the bank to accept a position as executive vicepresident of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, Oklahoma and Kansas division, Walter Ferguson, (Class of ) 07, by Benton Ferguson (Class of) ’33 in the Sooner Magazine.
Walter died in 1936 during a business trip to Washington, DC and is buried in Tulsa. His mother, Elva Ferguson died in 1946, therefore outliving all her children. No wonder she was named Mother of the Year in 1945.
Next week, Lucia Ferguson, wife of Walter Ferguson and daughter-inlaw of TB and Elva Ferguson.
The grandson of Walter and Lucia Ferguson visited the Ferguson Museum last week. The legacy continues.