It was business as usual when 1926 arrived. Beckham County newspapers reported on organizations, schools, and churches. The front page of the January 14, 1926, edition of the Elk City News-Democrat reported that 172 people attended the Chamber of Commerce banquet. After dinner, the audience enjoyed a sing-along and a violin concert. One of the speakers at the banquet was Postmaster E. C. Willison, who spoke about Elk City’s getting free mail delivery. Another speaker informed the audience of the possibility of Elk City’s acquiring a Federal Building.
Another item that made frontpage news was a fire that destroyed Planters Gin in Canute. According to the article, “The gin was a total loss.” Other news of note was an article entitled “Some Laying Pullets.” N. E. O’Brien had entered his pullets in the state egg-laying contest in Stillwater, and one of his pullets had laid twenty eggs in twenty-one days. The article proclaimed, “That is almost half as many as the average hen lays in a year.”
Library news in the Elk City News-Democrat contained a review of the book Plumes by Lawrence Stallings. The book was about an injured World War I soldier who returns home. The author of the article said the book was one of the best modern novels “for two reasons: its refreshing difference and its power of making the reader think.”
Ads in the Elk City News-Democrat included one for Mrs. Stanley’s Dining Room. The ad declared, “Our table is set and loaded with lots of good substantial food. The price is reasonable.” The William Hunter store advertised a sale on ranges and touted 1,000 pounds of coal with the purchase of a new range.
In sports news, the January 11, 1926, issue of The Southwestern Elk City Press reported that Elk City High School boys’ basketball team lost 46 to 19 to Mangum in a home game. The article said that Mangum had “one of the strongest teams of the league.” The article went on to report that Elk City High School girls lost to Altus because “the guards could not keep up with the Altus forwards due to the slippery floor.”
The January 18, 1926, issue of The Southwestern Elk City Press reported that “9,000 new telephones would be added in Oklahoma in 1926” The article also gave statistics about telephone operators. “In the state of Oklahoma there are 2,385 Bell operators who handle 925,000 local calls and 28,700 toll calls daily.”
The paper also reported on the Baptist State Sunday School Convention to be held in Elk City January 25-28. The convention was “under the direction of the Sunday School Department of the Baptist General Convention.” In An ecumenical gesture, the Broadway Methodists were going to entertain visiting Baptists during the convention.
In January 21, 1926, edition of The Sayre Journal advertised the Nichols Hatchery and Poultry Farm. It was selling “white and brown leghorn baby chicks for 10 1/2 [cents] and up.” the ad encouraged people to support a local business.
The January 14, 1926, edition of the Beckham County Democrat contained a message from the Beckham County Superintendent upbraiding parents for their children’s tardiness. The superintendent said, “Over 576 cases of tardiness in the rural and consolidated schools of Beckham County las month…School doesn’t take up until nine o’clock, and we can’t help but feel someone besides the children slept too long.”
The paper also ran an ad for Swamp Chill and Fever Tonic. According to the ad, it “relieves malaria in 3 days.” And as usual, the paper published chapters from its latest serialized novel, Neighbors by Robert Stead. The novel was historical fiction set in Canada.
The January 14, 1926, edition of the Texola Tribune reported a light turnout for the Chamber of Commerce meeting due to a “cold norther” blowing in. One of the main items of business was a proposition to “secure the stopping of the fast train [in Texola] for passenger and mail service.” A signed petition was going to be sent to the Corporation Commission.
The Texola Tribune also published chapters of its latest serialized novel, The Valley of Voices by George Marsh. It was a mystery/romance set in the Hudson Bay area.
Another article in the paper reported on an escaped prisoner who killed another man in Clinton. A surprising and disturbing part of the article was that the headline contained a racial epithet.
The news from January 1926 gives a glimpse into the lives of Beckham County citizens. Chambers of Commerce were busy in their communities, and progress was being made with telephone and mail service. School and church news was also important to the citizens as it is today.