Several people stopped by our table at the Christmas Bazaar and 10 went to the museum afterwards. There weren’t as many vendors at the bazaar as there have been in the past but there seemed to be a steady stream of people passing through. The Grinch and Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus were there too. It was good to see people I haven’t seen in a while. The Christmas Trees will be on display at the museum and you can vote on them there or at the Breakfast with Santa December 11, 2021, being held from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at the Christian Church 400 N. Noble until December 18, 2021.
We have a letter written to Lillian Cronkhite dated best I can figure out 7-26-02, likely 1902. The 0 is hard to figure out. It kind of looks like 8 but it couldn’t have been 1882 because the Fergusons came in 1892 so she wouldn’t have known Mrs. Cronkhite at that time. Also, it wouldn’t have been 1982 because she had passed away by then so it must be 0. Anyway Elva is thanking Lillian for sending her a picture. She then talks about her probably having an 18 inch waist at that time. It’s hard to imagine an 18 inch waist after having at least three children by 1902. We also have a picture of soldiers. It doesn’t look like a professional photo but snap shot. The soldiers aren’t posed; some are standing, sitting, and lying on the ground as if waiting for someone to come by or something to happen. Three of the people are listed as A.L. Edington, Walter Ferguson, and Steve Hamilton. These three must have been Blaine County men, at least I know Walter was.
In less than 18 years since the Fergusons came to Watonga civilization is closing in upon the great western frontier. The freedom of the prairie is a land of lanes and roads running along section lines. The frontier is becoming a thing of the past and everywhere you look it seems to be a settled country. The cow camp has about vanished. In a few more years they will be known as history. This paragraph was written by Mrs. Ferguson in “They Carried the Torch.”
Governor Ferguson was disappointed he could not be in the Rough Riders because of his eye sight. The Rough Riders was the nickname given to the 1st. United States Volunteer Cavalry under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to join this cavalry. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized after the Civil War. President William McKinley called up 125,000 volunteers to fight in the Spanish American War in 1898. There were three such regiments raised for the Spanish American War and only one saw combat. The original plan was for the regiment to be composed of frontiersmen from Indian Territory, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma Territories. To be accepted you had to be skilled horsemen and eager for combat. The Rough Riders would receive more publicity than any other army unit in that War. They become legendary because Roosevelt wrote his own history of the regiment and because of the silent film movies that were made a few years later.
Clay was out this week a couple of days and almost has the back room ready to move the office furniture in. He has fixed the ceiling boards, patched nail holes in the wall, scrapped and painted, and fixed the back door so it’s easier to close. We’re ready to put carpet down so it can help block the wind from blowing in cracks. The office is being moved down stairs because it is sometimes hard to hear someone come in. It was hard to open the front door so you could hear people fighting to get it open or knocking thinking they were locked out but Clay fixed the door back in the summer. The items from the back room have been moved into the kitchen temporarily which has made it hard to let visitors see the kitchen. The house was built in 1901 and with settling the front door was hard to open and the back door was hard to close; Clay has fixed both.
Our hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. You can call the Museum at 580-623-5069 to schedule a special time to come if you need to come when we are not open. Don’t forget the Breakfast with Santa fundraiser Saturday December 11, 2021.