Ghost Town Continued from Page 33
Street near the railroad tracks from 1916 until his death in 1946. Many in town believe the statue to be nothing more than a hastily constructed stone legacy to himself—a “lest ye forget me”—and stands today as an embattled icon in need of a paint job that has, over the years, served as target practice for vandals.
Modern Challenges
The post offi ce closed in 1964 and sits in a pile of rubble on the southeast corner of 2nd and Market Streets. The area where the railroad tracks once ran is nearly unrecognizable and overgrown; residents in town can’t remember if the last business was a Market Street video store or the fi lling station, both of which have been gutted by fi re due to unsafe structural conditions. The heartbeat of Skedee today lies within the 51 residents who cur- rently make their home here. “What I wish people knew is how hard people here work,” says Lance
Howell, who moved to Skedee eight years ago from east Texas and is pastor of the Skedee Assembly of God Church. “I have met some of the hardest-working people I have ever known right here in Skedee. I wish visitors could meet these people.” While Skedee faces the same challenges that many other small towns and big cities in Oklahoma face—high unemployment rates and drug problems—it is ultimately the bond of the community members that helps to keep the town a place people will want to continue to live. “We are still here, we still do hay rides and caramel apples in the fall,”
Howell says. “I expect truly being friends, truly loving our neighbors, will be what gets us through these growing pains as well.”
✓ Two of Weldon Hill’s novels were made into movies: “Onionhead,” in 1958, starring Andy Griffi th and “The Long Summer of George Adams,” in 1982 starring James Garner.
✓ Creator of Chester Gould, “Dick Tracey,” was born just south of Skedee in neighboring Maramec, Okla.
✓ There are unverifi ed claims that the 1970s ABC television show, “Kung Fu,” is based on a true story of a Chinese immigrant who was in search of his brother who lived on a farm near Skedee.
Skedee Trivia
Skedee
When the doctor told me I had cancer, my first thought was that I had a 3-year-old daughter I need to be here for.
The cancer from tobacco didn’t just take part of my life away - tobacco almost took me away from my family.
JAMES CAPPS, ORAL CANCER SURVIVOR TUSHKA, OK
Free quit coaching and free patches, gum or lozenges - a click or call away.
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