Thursday, December 19, 2013

Frederick Christmas Parade 2013

Christmas Parade Held in Frederick

   Frederick's annual Christmas Parade was held on Thursday evening, December 19, 2013.

   The lighted Parade featured three Frederick school bands, floats, beauty queens, and much more. As daylight turned to dusk, the lighted parade entries followed a route that was new this year – Grand Avenue from 17th Street westward to 8th Street.

   Large crowds turned out to watch the parade and to attend the Frederick Chamber of Commerce Christmas Bucks drawing and Ag Booster Chili Day Dinner that followed.

   Following... Scenes from the parade.

A flag corps marches first in the parade.

The Boy Scouts were the first marching group.

Frederick High School's band.
Frederick Middle School's band

Frederick Middle School's 6th grade band
Smith's Greyhound brought dogs and puppies.

Members of the Lawton Antique Car Club brought numerous vehicles for the parade.





Antique cars move past Frederick's historic Hotel Frederick.

Tenley Mefford, Cotton Little Miss

The famous New Buffonts made an appearance in Frederick for the Christmas Parade!

The Frederick Fire Department's Tanker #10 rolls past Frederick's historic Carnegie Library.

Residents of Frederick's Memorial Nursing Center rode inside a creative Christmas covered wagon!

Theme of the Frederick Jaycees fun float was "What Does the Fox Say?", complete with a dancing fox and blaring music!

Frederick's middle school and high school choirs were featured on a float.

The Tillman County Historical Society's reproduction red barn rolls past The Grand, Frederick's 1929 Hotel Frederick. The reproduction barn is being raffled with the winner to be selected on Monday, December 23 during KYBE Radio's "Town and Country".


Children gather thrown candy as the parade comes to an end.

Downtown Frederick!

Santa arrived in a vintage Frederick Fire Truck!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Pioneer Townsite barn is 2013 raffle project

A reproduction of the Pioneer Townsite Museum's red barn is this year's historical
society raffle project. The reproduction is displayed above near the real barn.


Tillman Historical Society raffles reproduction of Pioneer Townsite barn
 
Winner to be drawn Dec. 23, 8 a.m., on KYBE 95.7 FM Radio "Town and Country"

Some lucky person will soon have the duplicate of a great Frederick attraction in their back yard!

The building's doors and windows open outward.
The Tillman County Historical Society’s annual holiday raffle project for 2013 is a scale reproduction building modeled after the Pioneer Townsite Museum’s big red barn. The building will make an amazing playhouse or a distinctive storage shed.

Raffle tickets for the building are $5 each or five for $20. All proceeds will be used toward operational expenses of the Pioneer Townsite Museum in Frederick.

The winning ticket will be drawn on Monday morning, December 23, 8:00 a.m. on Frederick's 95.7 KYBE-FM radio's "Town and Country" program.

The raffle is an annual historical society project that has spanned several years with prizes being reproductions of numerous buildings at the Pioneer Townsite Museum. Past projects have included the museum’s 1902 Horse Creek School, the 1924 AME Church, the 1902 Frisco Depot, and the townsite's Frisco caboose.

The front door can accomodate most mowers.
This year’s reproduction building is distinguished by its large size and easy-access doors which make it especially practical for use as a storage building. The building measures eight feet wide, 13 feet in length, and eight feet tall. The building’s side windows and back loft door open by swinging outward. The front of the building has a double door that opens wide enough to accommodate most riding lawnmowers.

The building was constructed by Pioneer Townsite director Jimmy Espinosa and the museum’s assigned inmates from the Frederick Work-Release Center.

The historical society purchased lumber and materials for the project from Frederick businesses.

The reproduction depot is currently on display at the Pioneer Townsite Museum.

The barn provides great storage space.
Raffle tickets for the depot building may be purchased at the following locations: BancFirst, Frederick; First National Bank, Frederick; Frederick ACE Hardware; the Frederick Chamber of Commerce; Tillco Supply; Southwest Rural Electric Cooperative in Tipton; and the Pioneer Townsite Museum.

Tickets can also be purchased from any member of the Tillman County Historical Society’s board of directors. They are Judy Benson, Jack Bohl, Cacy Caldwell, Su Clifton, Frances Goodknight, Dena Northcutt, Jay Oxford, Roy Perkins, Jim Smith, Kent Smith, Cathy Riggins, Gary Tyler, Virginia Walker, Gayle White, Joe Wynn, and Pioneer Townsite director Jimmy Espinosa.

The barn will be delivered to a site of the winner's choosing within Tillman County.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Storm Shelter Installation

New storm shelter set into floor of the garage.


Storm shelter set in garage

I had a storm cellar installed in my garage.
All of us who live in southwest Oklahoma have a healthy respect for storms. Although I have lived in my home for many years, I’ve never had a storm cellar there. I’ve considered having one built in the past, but don’t really have a good place in the yard to set a traditional cellar or a place to build a safe room.
I’d heard about storm shelters that can be set into a garage floor and last spring, after the Moore tornado, I decided that it was time to do something. I called Smart Shelters in Oklahoma City (www.smartsheltersinc.com). They install the shelters throughout the state of Oklahoma.
Their shelters can be set into an existing garage floor and a car can be parked above the shelter.
I chose their basic in-garage shelter – 3’ wide, 6’ long, 4.5’ deep.
I signed a contract, paid a deposit, and they scheduled an installation date for September.
I was curious about the installation process, so when the Smart Shelter installation crew came I watched carefully and took a lot of pictures. Many other people have told me that they are curious about the process, too, so I have posted the pictures here.
The installation crew, Robert, Gabriel and Dan, were great. They worked fast and they cleaned the garage and driveway as they worked. The whole installation process only took about three hours.
NOTE: I am not endorsing or promoting the shelters or the company, but am sharing the fascinating installation process.

The three-man installation crew arrived in this rig. The black box behind the cab is the shelter. The trailer is carrying the Bobcat that will be used to move the shelter and dig the hole. The trailer will also be used to haul away the dirt.

First order of business... bringing in sacks of dry concrete.

Robert Ozment unloaded the Bobcat. That's an interesting process. Step One...

Step Two...

Step Three...

Step Four...

Step Five... On the ground!

Robert unloaded the storm shelter and set it to the side. These heavy metal shelters are manufactured by the company and are made in Oklahoma.

Robert and Gabriel uses a wet-saw to cut an exact-size rectangle in the garage floor.

The pieces of concrete slab came out. Notice the tree roots that were growing underneath.

Robert dug the hole.

Dan got the concrete sacks into position while Gabriel carved the hole to exact dimensions.

The storm shelter was brought in...

...and set into place.

How much dirt comes out of a 3' x 6' x 4.5' hole? About six yards.

The storm shelter was concreted in place.

The shelter is positioned about one foot inside the outer edge of the garage.

Gabriel positioned the heavy steel cover and sliding door in place.

Gabriel and Dan installed steel edging around the outside of the shelter. Gabriel (left) drilled holes into the concrete and Dan (right) inserted bolts. Robert (background) washed down the driveway.

The car is back in place. The concrete takes about five days to cure, but a car can be parked above immediately after the installation.

A metal handrail/handle can be used to open the hatch and to provide stability for the steep descent. Yes... there IS room to climb into the shelter with the car in place. The shelter comes with a battery-operated light and ventilation fan.