There were five visitors this past week. A couple and a lady on Wednesday, and two ladies on Thursday.
Ashley found a Watonga Republican newspaper article dated April 18, 1968, concerning making the T.B. Ferguson home into a museum. It starts out saying “Monday April 22 is the kickoff day for the Thomas B. Ferguson Museum finance drive.” His name was Thompson not Thomas, but it’s normal for someone called Tom for people to think the name is Thomas. It reads that “Mrs. Max Shaw estimates it will take about $45,000.00 to completely restore the landmark. It will need a new roof, rebuild the porch and heating and cooling units. The Watonga Mothers Self Culture Club had corresponded with state and federal officials several times on the subject. Senator Roy Boecher of Kingfisher had been written to several times about the project. Students of Ed. Beck’s ninth grade civics and history class will divide the town into sections for the canvas Monday. The students were Susan Ricky, Carol Blosser, Marilyn Edsal, Robert Schaffler, Frank Lamb, Vernetta Cannon, Lynne Schrelner, Curt Andrews, and Bruce May. The students will be passing around the official collection cans provided by the club.” I take it that meant the students went door to door. They were in hopes of recognition by the Sears and Roebuck Foundation. There’s a picture of the members and others in the front lawn of the home with their signs and cans. The ladies and girls have dresses and dress shoes on. I remember the days when we got dressed up to go to the grocery store.
Mrs. Ferguson tells in They Carried the Torch about The Hardesty Herald edited by Dick Quinn. Quinn had been summoned to the county seat to answer to a charge of libel filed by some irate citizen, leaving a tramp printer in charge of his paper while away. Left alone the printer amused himself by setting in type some vulgar stories, then got drunk and deserted the shop. Dennis Flynn, who was making his first campaign for Congress, and Tom Ferguson drove into Hardesty and went by to see Quinn. They found no paper had been printed for the week and unless it came out in a few hours it was in danger of losing its status as a legal publication. Flynn and Ferguson acting as good Samaritans proceeded to do so. They filled the forms with the type set up by the tramp printer and ran off the papers on the hand press and mailed them out without reading any of the articles. Flynn was scheduled to speak in another town that evening. The two fellows left thinking they had helped a fellow editor in distress. It took a lot of explaining by Quinn in the following week's edition to make this right. Quinn later became United States marshal for some years. He would laugh when he thought of what Flynn and Ferguson did for him.
This Saturday July 9, 2022, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, is the Trades Day at the lot across the street north of the museum. If you want to bring anything, just come and you can pay $5.00 that morning.
The Tea is scheduled for August 14, 2022, 2:00 pm at the Watonga Christian Church. We will have a presentation and then eat. It’s not just for older ladies, younger ladies can attend too. You don’t have to wear formal dress. We are still waiting for confirmation from the speaker. When we get it I’ll announce the topic.
Music Under the Stars, September 9, 2022, at the Ferguson Home Museum. More details to follow.
Anyone that wants to become a member of Friends of Ferguson Home is welcome. You don’t have to be a member to volunteer.