One day this week when I was closing the museum a teenage boy was walking by. I couldn’t get the hose un-screwed from the faucet so I asked if he would do me a favor and loosen it for me. He not only loosened it but ask if he could put it away too. He then asked if this is really a museum. I said yes, would you like to come in? He did and I gave him a tour. He made comments and asked questions. I told him to be sure and tell his friends about it. He said I sure will. It’s such a pleasure when the young people are interested.
We have a large pot belly stove in the jail house. Embossed on the door it says Royal Superb Oak and at the bottom front it has The H. Wetter MFG Co. The sign that is with it says that the stove belonged to the Jackson Family. Donated by Mrs. Dick Rice. There is a lot of filigree around the top, all the way down the sides, and on the front that is painted white; the rest is painted black. I looked on an antique website and it was probably manufactured sometime between 1890 & 1910 and could burn wood or coal. There weren’t any prices listed. It also said if it was painted it would be more valuable than one that wasn’t. It looks like it was well taken care of.
In her book, They Carried the Torch, Mrs. Ferguson talks about wheat being sixty cents per bushel and that in Canadian County the fields could produce one hundred bushels an acre. El Reno mills sent samples of flour made from wheat grown here in Oklahoma to England. Mr. Ferguson urged subscribers who were behind on their payments to bring in fire wood, potatoes, and garden items to pay on their subscription. He mentioned that one subscriber who wasn’t as far behind as some others had brought in “garden truck” (vegetables) to pay the interest on what he owed and wanted to keep paying interest until he could get caught up.
Anyone that wants to volunteer or become a member of Friends of Ferguson Home is welcome. We welcome all the help we can get.
Hours of operation are Wednesday thru Saturday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Closed city and state holidays. Give us a call at 580623-5069 or 580-614-1018 to make arrangements for after hours tour.