Elk City High School Football was front-page news in the November 19, 1925, edition of the Elk City News-Democrat. In the article “Elk City High Took a Game From Texola,” Elk City reportedly “waded through the team from Texola High.” The final score was 25 to 6 for Elk City’s first win of the season. According to the article “Elk City Plays at Duke Thanksgiving,” Duke High School football team had beat Elk City the last time they played. The article encouraged fans to spend their Thanksgiving holiday at Duke cheering for the Elk City team.
If football was not to people’s tastes, they could spend Thanksgiving at the dog races. The article “Dog Races To be a Feature Thanksgiving” reports that thirty-one races were scheduled at the fairground on Thanksgiving Day and that “fast greyhounds chasing long-legged jack rabbits from the plains of Kansas” were on the program. Admission was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.
In addition, the Elk City Ministerial Alliance was planning a Thanksgiving service at the Presbyterian Church. The service was scheduled for Thanksgiving evening and featured a choir composed of representatives from all the churches involved. So instead of just a family dinner at home, citizens could partake of sporting events and/or a church service on Thanksgiving Day.
National Education Week was November 16-22, 1925, and several articles in the Elk City News-Democrat emphasized education. Even some of the ads showed businesses’ support for education. An ad for Merritt’s Bakery touted, “We are strong for each and every educational program and are proud of Beckham County’s record: No Illiterates in the County.”
Other ads emphasized low prices for consumer goods such as an ad for an Overland Sedan for $757 with a $252 down payment. Another ad reported that poet, humorist, and entertainer T. Leroy Lucy would perform November 27 at the high-school auditorium. The ad said, “You will go from tears to laughter.” The event was a fundraiser, but the ad did not specify what it would benefit.
The November 19, 1925, edition of the Elk City Press reported that a new factory was opening in Elk City. The enterprise would employ twenty or thirty people and be located on the corner of 6th and Jefferson Streets. The items to be manufactured were “appliances for automobiles.” In another article about the public library, the author briefly reviews several books including Mother’s Recompense by Edith Wharton and The American by Henry James, two novels by authors that contemporary readers might recognize.
The Elk City Press also ran an ad for the Story Theatre. The featured movie was Girl Shy starring Harold Lloyd. The ad claimed, “Seven full reels of laughter—a scream from the beginning to the last reel. Admission 10₵ and 40₵ with a money-back guarantee.”
In the November 19, 1925, edition of the Sayre Journal the article “Murder Hearing Held in Cordell” reported, “J. A. Lucas of Elk City is being held without bond at Cordell on a charge of murder.” Lucas allegedly sold poisonous whiskey to a man named Claud Matthews who shared it with a friend by the name of Powell Owens who died after consuming the liquor.
The Sayre Journal also reported that E. Boilean, the president of a Canadian oil company, had visited Sayre. The company planned to resume drilling operations in the Sayre Field. The article was optimistic about the prospect of the economic possibilities of the Boilean Company’s presence in Beckham County.
A new motor vehicle law was recently added to the books in November 1925. Several of Beckham County’s newspapers reported on it. The Beckham Democrat explained that the law requiring a certificate of title was passed by the Oklahoma State Legislature. The State Highway Commission was tasked with enforcing the law. Automobile owners were required to pay a fee of $1.50 for a certificate of title. One of the purported advantages of the certificate law was a reduction in automobile theft since an owner would have legal evidence of his ownership.
Page one of the Texola Tribune ran an opinion piece entitled “Girls and Boys Arrested After Imbibing Freely.” The article begins as a straightforward news report: “Police here arrested two young couples on the streets Sunday that had been imbibing too freely of wine. The boys were placed in jail to recover and the girls detained by the police for a few hours, after which, the police sent the girls home to their mothers.” The article goes on to berate parents, especially mothers, for letting their girls run wild. It says, “No man wants a woman everybody has slopped over, and we must keep our girls pure of mind and body…” The article further states that “when a man gets ready to pick a wife he dont wont [sic] damaged goods.” The article was reprinted from the Custer County Post-Dispatch.” Apparently the newspaper did not have a problem with a double standard.
In addition, the Texola Tribune reported that a “Clinton-Texola Bus Line Starts Monday.” The bus company had two buses that would make trips to and from Clinton from Texola. Each trip would take two hours with the buses making stops at all the towns between Texola and Clinton. Both buses were equipped with heaters thus making winter travel more comfortable.
Now in November 2025, high-school football is still popular, and even though high-school teams do not play on Thanksgiving, many people watch college games on Thanksgiving afternoon. The Elk City Ministerial Alliance still celebrates Thanksgiving with a special service, although not on Thanksgiving Day. We still enjoy a good book and a funny movie and appreciate the employment opportunities brought by new businesses. The roles of young men and women have changed, but we still fret over the younger generation. Even though bus service connecting western Oklahoma towns is long gone, it still might be a nice thing to have.