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The History of Carney Outline
The next 25 years in Carney History shows a steady decline. During this time Carney saw the death of their last newspaper.
A few notable historic sites still remain in Carney, listed below. The World War 1 Doughboy (Located on Main Street). They're only few of this type of monuments left in the U.S. A local citizen was commissioned by the government to create this statue to pay tribute to the soldiers of WWI. The Christian Church boasts a 950 lb. Bell in their church's tower. It came to town in the back of a wagon. The North end of Main Street is the town well. The town well has been a part of Carney's History since the beginning. The town's people used the well for their main source of water. The livestock as well as the guests at the hotel got their water from the old well on Main Street. Neighbors visited, catching up on gossip, while fetching water for the day. Modern water system did away with the need for the old well. It faded into the pages of Carney's history until 1976 when there were a few misguided citizens decided to fill-in the well and forget it ever exited. This would have happened, except for the outcry from the rest of Carney's citizens. Money was raised and the pump was set on the site. The well was saved! Other notable locations are also on Main Street. The Arch: (The Triumphal Arch) also was constructed to commemorate the victory of WWI. Near the arch is the "Lady at the Cross". The "Lady" is another beautiful example of statuary, constructed early in the twentieth century.
Time Travelers Part of Carney's past is preserved in the old buildings, once the haunt of dusty cowboys and weary pioneers. Main Street bustled with activity in the frontier days. From the North to the South end of town there were thriving businesses, everything from the Blacksmith to the Undertaker, as well as a Hotel, Barbershop, and three Newspapers. There were also cotton gins and a railway station. Carney was a true Wild West boom town. It was the good tasting water fed from a spring that brought people to these parts in the beginning. Then they made Carney their home, raised their families and stayed on. Many of the families that live in Carney today are descendants of the original homesteaders. Those original families believed in Carney's future. A few of our citizens have tried to preserve our history in books, that can be found at the Historical Society in Chandler. But Carney's history is all around us. You can find history in the WWI statue, the last of only a few remaining in the US. The old building across from City Hall was a Soda Fountain and Funeral Home, but not at the same time. The pump in the middle of Main Street was where every citizen in Carney came to draw water, for themselves and for their livestock before city water. One of the most exciting things to happen to Carney was when the cow fell in the well (it didn't have a cover in the old days). The cow was rescued and the boy got a thrashing for not paying closer attention to the cow. The oldest building in Lincoln County is Cleola Green's stone barn. The best way to learn about Carney's past is to ask some old timer to tell you about Carney when they were young. You might be surprised what you learn.
A more in depth view of early Carney, as published by the Lincoln County News September 26, 1991 Story of Carney The original survey of Lincoln County, where Carney is located was included in a vast area of land surveyed by Lieutenant Ehud Nobel Darling under a contract with the government, on December 3, 1870. Later a surveyor, named Carney Staples, was sent by the government to make a more complete survey of a part of this area in preparation for white settlement. The part he surveyed included Iowa lands which were located West of the Sac and Fox and extended to the Indian Meridian. Carney Staples' camp was approximately half-way between Guthrie and Chandler, thus becoming a popular camp-site. Staples brought in supplies of food and other essentials to satisfy the needs of the travelers and freighters. The camp became known as Cold Springs. One of the main problems of pioneer days was a lack of communication between the homesteaders and folks back home. From time to time letters and packages wound up at Cold Springs. If at all possible, Mrs. Staples (Addie E.) saw that they reached their rightful destination. Addie Staples was a very compassionate person who knew, as the wife of a surveyor, what it was like to be cut off from home. They soon realized that what they needed was a post office with regular mail services, so Addie made application to the US Postal Service for a post office in 1892 -less than a year after the land run. When the application for a post office was made, a Cold Springs had already been registered in the territory. So Cold Springs went on record as Carney in honor of it's founder --Carney Staples. The post office was opened on April 9, 1892 with Addie E. Staples as Postmaster. The land on which the town of Carney was built, was platted in 1893 and registered by George and Emma J. Haas. The lots were sold and houses, churches and businesses were built. The next several years saw a small camp turn into a thriving young town. The main street was approximately two blocks long and filled almost solid with businesses. The next twenty-five to thirty years were the declining years for Carney. The great depression and drought and the thirties closed many businesses. The farmers were leaving the farms due to crop failures and tight money. They could no longer support businesses as before. Businesses such as the cotton gins, stores and railroads began to suffer and close. Then Kansas, Missouri and Texas stopped carrying passengers in 1952 and completely closed in 1975. Most businesses closed, the buildings were torn down or burned and never replaced. By the 1960's, Carney had only a few businesses left on Main Street, one filling station, one grocery store, Post Office, bank and one café. The water and sewer system was installed in the late sixties and early seventies. The seventies saw a burst in home building, increasing the population and the school enrollment larger than ever before. Today, Main street is totally empty of businesses except for Butler's Garage and Auto Parts Store. The bank, Post Office and grocery store, along with other new businesses are now located down on the highway. “ I REMEMBER HOMETOWN CARNEY “
“ I REMEMBER HOMETOWN CARNEY” BECOMES THE TITLE OF THIS RHYME: SINCE I ARRIVED IN OKLAHOMA IN EIGHTEEN NINETY-NINE. I CANNOT WRITE A POEM SINCE I DIG NO METRIC FEET. BUT I HAVE AN URGE TO TELL OF HOW COME WE GOT TO MEET.
AN OLD GRAY MARE AND DONKEY, WAS POWER FROM DAY TO DAY. SOME DAYS THE MILES WERE FEW, BUT MAKE IT, WE DID, SOME WAY.
ALSO CAME DOC PENDERGRAFT: BESS BARCLAY, TOO, WAS NEAR. WE HAD THE MOST IN NEIGHBORS, AT THIS TIME WE THINK SO DEAR.
I REMEMBER HOMETOWN CARNEY WHEN GROWING COTTON WAS THE RAGE. WHEN DEAREST GRANDMA HUDIBERG MARRIED THE OLDEST LIVING PAGE.
SHE WAS CAZ AND OSCAR’S GRANDMA, AND SWEET AS SWEET COULD BE. THIS SHOWS THAT AGE IN NOTHING. WHEN CUPID GOES ON A SPREE.
I DON’T KNOW HOW THEY GOT ALONG, BUT I THINK IT GOES TO SHOW: THAT THOSE EARLY CARNEY PEOPLE SET A PACE THAT WAS FAR FROM SLOW.
THIS WAS YEARS BEFORE THE HIGH SCHOOL; FEW LIVING, NOW CAN BARELY GUESS, YET THE NAMES ARE LISTED YEARLY, BY THE CARNEY HERALD PRESS.
I REMEMBER HOMETOWN CARNEY WHEN BELLATTI LIVED OUT EAST, UP NORTH WERE BUCKS AND JOLLY AND MR. PULLIAM ON HIS LEASE.
DOWN SOUTH WERE WESTS AND HANMERS AND DEANS WERE OVER THE HILL. THEY FARMED AND MILKED AND CHORED: WORKED HARD TO PAY EACH BILL.
THEY WENT TO TOWN ON SATURDAY TO SEE WHAT THEY COULD SEE WHILE THERE THEY BOUGHT THE GROCERIES. THAT’S THE WAY IT HAD TO BE.
IN TOWN WE HAD JUDGE ELLIS: JACKIE DEER WAS STANDING BY. YOU SEE, THESE CARNEY PEOPLE TO ME, STOOD TEN FEET HIGH.”
CLYDE POWELL, WHO WAS PRESIDENT TO THE CALIFORNIA, RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, AT THE TIME, WROTE THIS TRIBUTE TO HIS HOMETOWN. ABOUT THE POEM RUSSELL HANMER COMMENTS. “CLYDE HAS DISCOVERED ANOTHER HIDDEN TALENT TO LONG DORMANT, WHICH FUTURE GENERATIONS MAY READ IN THEIR TEXT BOOKS ON AMERICAN LITERATURE.” THE DOUGH BOY AND CLAUDE & IDA FISHER
IN THE MID 1930’S A YOUNG HUSBAND AND FATHER, CLAUDE FISHER WHOSE HOME WAS APPROXIMATELY 3 ½ MILES SOUTHWEST OF CARNEY HAD A DREAM. HIS DREAM WAS TO OWN A GARAGE IN CARNEY TO REPAIR MODEL T FORDS. IN THIS WAY HE COULD SUPPORT HIS YOUNG WIFE, IDA HAGAR FISHER AND THREE SONS, CURTIS, JAMES LEON AND KENNETH. WITH NO MONEY FOR SUPPLIES, NOT EVEN A PAIR OF GLOVES TO PROTECT HIS HANDS, HE USED A WAGON AND TEAM OF HORSES TO LOAD ROCKS FROM THE RIVERBED NEAR HIS HOME AND HAULED THEM TO CARNEY. HE SECURED BAGS OF CONCRETE, COMBINED WITH THE ROCKS SUPPLIED BY MOTHER EARTH HE BUILT THE GARAGE ON THE CORNER ON MAIN STREET AND MAPLE. CONSTRUCTED BY HIS OWN HANDS, THE BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN 1931. THEN HE ADDED AN ARCH AS AN ENTRY TO THE PARK OF HIS VISION. BEING THE SON OF A GERMAN-RUSSIAN EMIGRANT, MOLLIE YOUNG FISHER WHO LIVED ON A CLAIM SOUTH OF CARNEY, HIS COUNTRY WAS VASTLY IMPORTANT. IN THIS LAND HIS MOTHER MET AND MARRIED HER HUSBAND, JAMES EMORY FISHER. JAMES FISHER’S LAND ADJOINED THE YOUNG FARM. CLAUDE WAS VERY PROUD OF HIS HOMETOWN, CARNEY AND OF HIS COUNTRY, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. HIS DREAM WAS TO BUILD A PARK TO HONOR HIS GOD, HOME AND COUNTRY. ONE COLD WINTER IN THE MID 1930’S HE BEGAN HIS FIRST PROJECT, THE DOUGH BOY. HAVING SEEN A PICTURE OF THE DOUGH BOY FROM ANOTHER TOWN, HE WANTED ONE FOR HIS HOMETOWN. THIS WAS A PROJECT HEAR TO HIS HEART BECAUSE HE FELT SO INDEBTED TO THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LAY THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR HIS BELOVED COUNTRY. WITH NO TRAINING, NO PATTERN, HE WORKED THROUGH THE WINTER. IN A CRUDE FASHION HE FIRST MADE A SKELETON FRAME FROM SCRAP IRON. WITHOUT A PATTERN, HAVING NO MONEY AND ONLY A FEW BAGS OF CEMENT HE BEGAN HIS PROJECT. HE USED THE EMPTY CEMENT BAGS TO MAKE THE FORM. THEN HE USED CHICKEN WIRE TO HOLD THE CEMENT BAGS IN PLACE. AFTER WHICH HE WOULD USE THE CEMENT TO MAKE ONE BODY PART AT A TIME. HE HAD TO WORK QUICKLY; IF THE CEMENT WERE ALLOWED TO DRY HE WOULD NO BE ABLE TO CARVE ALL THE FEATURES. IT WAS A VERY COLD OKLAHOMA WINTER AND HE WOULD HAVE TO KEEP THE WOOD STOVE GOING ALL NIGHT TO PREVENT THE CONCRETE FROM FREEZING.
THE BOOK OF NAMES AFTER COMPLETION OF THE DOUGH BOY, HE CREATED THE ROCK OF AGES, WHICH WAS COMPLETED IN APPROXIMATELY 1940. THE FIGURE AT THE CROSS WAS BUILT WITH ITS BACK TO THE WORLD. THUS REPRESENTING EVERY PERSON TURNING FROM THE WORLD, AND LOOKING TO GOD, CLINGING TO THE CROSS FOR SALVATION IN LIFE’S STORMY SEAS. THE WATERS SURROUNDING THE ROCK OF AGES REPRESENTED LIFE’S STORMY SEAS. A ROCK FENCE AND OTHER ITEMS WERE ADDED TO THE PARK AS TIME AND FUNDS PERMITTED. CLAUDE’S LOVE OF HIS HOMETOWN EXTENDED TO EVERYONE IN THE AREA. IT WAS INDEED AND EXTENDED FAMILY. BECAUSE HE FELT A STRONG LOVE FOR HIS FELLOW CITIZENS HE KEPT A BOOK AND ASKED EVERYONE WITH WHOM HE CAME IN CONTACT TO SIGN AND DATE HIS BOOK. BY THIS TIME 265 PEOPLE HAD SIGNED THE “BOOK OF NAMES”. THE ROCK OF AGES WAS COMPLETED AND CLAUDE SEALED THE “BOOK OF NAMES” INSIDE THE ROCK OF AGES ON FEBRUARY 28, 1941. HE DID NOT SET A DATE FOR THE “ BOOK OF NAMES” TO BE REMOVED. IN OCTOBER 1979 CLAUDE AND IDA FISHER, ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR SON AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, JAMES LEON AND PAT FISHER, RUSSELL HANMER, SANDY HAGAR OPENED THE ROCK OF AGES AND REMOVED THE “BOOK OF NAMES”. APPROXIMATELY 75 LOCAL CITIZENS GATHERED TO BARE WITNESS TO THE OCCASION. REMARKABLY, IT WAS IN GOOD CONDITION. THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, WITH THE HELP OF IDA, HIS WIFE AND FAITHFUL COMPANION, HE CONTINUED TO CREATE MANY STRUCTURES. TOGETHER THEY LEFT MANY ‘MONUMENTS’ FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY. CLAUDE & IDA FISHER LEFT BEHIND THREE SONS. CURTIS, DECEASED, JAMES LEON, PISMO BEACH, CA AND KENNETH & MARLINE OF DINUBA, CA. DURING CLAUDE’S YOUTH HE AND HIS SISTER, CECELIA FISHER McKEY PLAYED AND SUNG VARIOUS KINDS OF MUSIC FOR SOCIAL FUNCTIONS IN THE LINCOLN COUNTY AREA. MUSIC AND CREATING CONTINUED TO BE THE CENTER OF HIS LIFE. IT WAS A GIFT THAT HE USED TO CELEBRATE HIS LOVE OF GOD AND MAN. OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FISHER FAMILY WERE: JAMES FISHER, CLAUDE’S FATHER WHO WAS AN INNKEEPER IN CARNEY. JAMES WAS SAID TO POSSESS A GIFT FOR WITCHING WATER WELLS. HE WITCHED THE TOWN WELL STILL STANDING IN THE CENTER OF MAIN STREET. JAMES EMERY FISHER AND HIS WIFE OLLIE HAD TWO CHILDREN, CORA FISHER & JIM FISHER (BOTH DECEASED). OLLIE DIED DURING CHILDBIRTH. AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FIRST WIFE, JAMES MARRIED HIS NEIGHBOR, MOLLY YOUNG AND THEY WERE BLESSED WITH 7 CHILDREN: CHARLIE FISHER WHO WAS MARRIED TO WINNIE LYONS, THEY WERE GIVEN THREE CHILDREN, FRANK PHILLIP (DECEASED), AILEEN HASTY OF BAIN BRIDGE ISLAND, WA, AND RAY & MADELINE FISHER OF CHAPALA JAYLISCO, MEXICO. CHARLIE & NELLIE FISHER WAS FIRSTBORN AND TWINS. NELLIE FISHER WAS MARRIED TO JAMES PHIPPS, SON OF MOLLIE & JOSH PHIPPS. THIS UNION PRODUCED TWO CHILDREN, MARGARET PHIPPS RUSSEL AND WAYNE PHIPPS ( DECEASED). NELLIE & JAMES PHIPPS SPENT THEIR ENTIRE LIFE ON THE FARM, WHICH WAS HOMESTEADED BY JAMES PARENTS, 4 MILES SOUTH OF CARNEY. LEROY FISHER AND HIS WIFE THELMA GAZAWAY, DAUGHTER OF WILL & ELSIE GAZAWAY, HAD THREE CHILDREN. DON & NADINE FISHER OF VISALIA, CA, AND LAVONNA KNITTLE ( DECEASED) AND EVELYN ECKER OF MADERA, CA. ANNIE FISHER WAS MARRIED TO OMAR HAGAR, SON OF ZACK & LIZ HAGAR. THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN. IVOL HAGAR, WANDA HIBBEN AND WHELA NETTLES. ALL ARE DECEASED. ESTER FISHER MARRIED JACK WAKLEY SON OF BILL & DONIE (DEERE) WAKLEY. THIS UNION PRODUCED TWO CHILDREN, DEWEY (DECEASED) AND LOIS JACOBS OF FRESNO, CA. CECELIA FISHER WAS MARRIED TO LOUIS McKEY, SON OF IRVIN McKEY AND MAY GALUSE-FORD. THIS UNION BORE TWO CHILDREN, NAOMI TRICOMI OF LANCASTER, TX AND DR. DUANE McKEY OF RIDGEFIELD, WA. LOIUS & CECELIA McKEY SPENT MOST OF THEIR LIFE LIVING ON A FARM SOUTH OF CARNEY, ½ MILE FROM CECELIA’S CHILDHOOD HOME. LAVERNE FISHER MARRIED IRENE MOFFETT, DAUGHTER OF HENRY AND ETHEL HOWELL-MOFFETT. BOTH ARE DECEASED AND LEAVE BEHIND THREE CHILDREN, SHIRLEY HILL OF CASTLEBERRY, CT, JIMMY FISHER, FALLIS, OK, AND WILLA MUNS, FALLIS, OK. FISHER FAMILY MEMBERS WHO CURRENTLY RESIDE IN THE CARNEY AREA ARE CECELIA McKEY, MAYVA PHIPPS AND KAREN BANNON. AS THE YEARS HAVE PASSED THE FAMILIES REPRESENTED HERE: THE FISHERS, PHIPPS, GAZAWAYAS, HAGARS, RUSSELLS, MOFFETS, WAKLEY, FORDS, BANNONS, CULLIES, GALUSES, McKEYS, LYONS, HOWELLS, NETTLES AND OTHERS TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION HAVE TRAVELED THE WORLD OVER BY STILL CARNEY HOME. IN A SPECIAL WAY THERE IS A GOLDEN CORD LIVING WITHIN THE HEART OF EVERY CHILD, GRANDCHILD, GREAT GRANDCHILD AND GREAT-GREAT GRANDCHILD THAT IS CONNECTED TO CARNEY. THE FAMILY’S WISH FOR YOU IS THAT THE BEAUTY OF THE STATUES AND PART THAT CLAUDE FISHER WORKED SO HARD TO BUILD, WITH NO FUNDS, NO TRAINING UNDER VERY PRIMITIVE CONDITIONS, PROVIDE A PLACE OF PRIDE AND PEACE. THIS WAS HIS GIFT TO ALL PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. WE ARE CERTAIN THAT IF HE COULD SPEAK TO YOU TODAY HIS WORDS WOULD BE “ MAY ALL FIND PEACE IN THIS LITTLE PARK, BY THE DOUGH BOY, AT THE FOOT OF THE ROCK OF AGES OR PERHAPS DERIVE SUBSTANCE AND COURAGE FROM WELL” OLD TOWN WATER WELL”. MAY WE ALL TAKE TIME TO REMEMBER, TIME TO REFLECT, TIME TO DREAM, THE FUTURE STARTS TODAY. October 1, 2003 The relatives of Claude Fisher who crafted the Doughboy, Rock of Ages Archway, came to Carney and revisited old memories and friends. They also presented the town with the contents of the Rock of Ages Time Capsule.
THERE CAN BE NO PRESENT, NO FUTURE, IF THERE IS NO PAST. LET US NEVER FORGET OUR HERITAGE.
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