Marshall County History: Pettijohn Springs Pt. X

During the 1936 season of the Pettijohn Springs Amusement Park, Kingston resident Anna Lou Sudberry was killed in a horrific accident when she fell from the zipline tower onto the concrete pavement around the pool. Effectively, Anna Lou’s skull was crushed by the fall, and she died within minutes.

But the tragic death of Anna Lou was not the only serious accident to occur during the 1936 season. Just days before Anna Lou’s death on the opening day of the swimming season, a young girl from Oklahoma City was severely injured from a fall at the swing set at the park.

When the swing set was constructed, the legs were bolted to concrete pads, and the bolts were left protruding several inches above the concrete pads.

When the family of C. R. SearcyofOklahomaCitywas visiting the park, Searcy’s young daughter fell and landed on one of the protruding bolts. The bolt impaled the young child’s leg, and she was severely injured. The family raced her to Madill for medical attention, where she was treated and later released. Thankfully, the young child did not suffer any permanent disabilities. Still, thisevent,coupledwithAnna Lou’s tragic death, seemed to make families afraid of allowing their children to attend the park. Because of this, the 1936 season was quiet, and the park's perceived dangers caused a major disruption to its activities.

After these events, Dora Tubbs ceased all advertising for the 1936 and 1937 swimming and picnicking seasons. Not one advertisement appeared in any area newspaper. Inaddition,news coverage of events at the park was minimal in local papers. Some groups still attended picnics and swimming outings, but the events of May 1936 certainly had a chilling effect on attendance.

The 1936 season ended in late September with little fanfare. Dances were sparsely attended in the fall and winter months, suggesting interest in the park was waning.

Little information is known about the park’s activities in the summer months of 1937, but another major event in September of 1937 further marked the park as a non-family-friendly attraction.

On Saturday night, September 11,1937,amajorgang fight occurred following the dance that night. The fight was the result of hostilities between two factions at the dance. One group was from Ravia, and the other was from Marshall County. The fight included several participants, five of whom were arrested.

The five people arrested were Hester Gastineau, the wife of Claude Ernest “Red” Gastineau of Ravia; Wilburn Green of Ravia; Cotton Bean of Russett; Orville Little of Kingston; and Charlie Wooten of Madill. All five were charged with assault and battery.

Likely due to this brawl, the Sheriff of Marshall County beefed up patrols of the area on dance nights and began making frequent arrests for public intoxication. Dozens of people were arrested for public intoxication over the next several months.

By late 1937, Pettijohn Springs was no longer a family-friendly amusement park. Dora Tubb’s addition of beer sales and focus on late-night dances affected family attendance. Then, in late January 1938, another serious event further tarnished the park's fun-loving reputation.

OnSundaynight,January 30, 1938, three armed men robbed the Pettijohn Springs filling station and grocery. The three men were wearing masks and were armed with pistols. They rang the service bell at the store and told the night clerk, who resided in the back of the store with his wife, that they wanted to rent a cabin for the night. When the clerk, Bryon Sherrock, raised the service window, the men pointed a gun at Sherrock and threatened him.

The men then forced their way into the store. There, they bound Mr. and Mrs. Sherrockandransackedtheir room for money. They then broke into the dance hall and tore open the Nickelodeon to steal the change in the music machine. As the men left, theythreatenedMr.andMrs. Sherrock and warned them not to attempt anything for at least thirty minutes. The robbers then escaped with about fifty dollars in cash, change, and a large quantity of cigarettes.

About three days later, on February 2, 1936, two men, Alfred Lee and Howard Adams, were arrested in Ardmore for the robbery of Sherrock. The investigation determined that a third man and his wife were involved with Lee and Adams. That couple was last seen when they checked out of an Ardmore hotel on the day of the robbery.

Lee and Adams were jailed for about three weeks but then released when it was determined that they were not responsible for the robbery, and two other men were arrested. Those men were Floyd Lewis (Bud) Jordan and Fred Lloyd. Jordan and Floyd were brought to Marshall County from Ardmore, where they were being held on a burglary charge in Carter County. Explaining thereleaseofLeeandAdams, Marshall County Attorney Sam Colby stated, “Well, you can’t hold innocent men when you’re sure they are innocent.”

A preliminary hearing was held for Jordan and Lloyd in early March, and Jordan was bound over for trial. However, the court dismissed the charges against Fred Lloyd due to insufficient evidence. In July, Jordon and Lloyd were convicted of the burglary in Ardmore and sentenced to four years for Jordan and three years for Lloyd. It appears from the records that following Jordan’s conviction in Ardmore, the charges in Madill were dropped due to his incarceration for the Ardmore case.

Due to the issues in the case and the fact that two of the three robbers were still at large, this event was another “nail in the coffin” for Pettijohn Springs.

Following his release from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Floyd “Bud” JordanmovedtoCaliforniato start a new life. However, his efforts were short-lived. In 1948, he was convicted in El Dorado County, California, of burglary in the second degree andsentencedtoonetofifteen years. On August 5, 1948, he was sent to San Quentin prison, where he served his sentence.Hepassedfromthis life in 1972.

Beginning in early March 1938, Dora Tubbs made one more strong effort to salvage her investment in Pettijohn Springs Amusement Park. She began buying weekly advertisements in the Daily Ardmoreite promoting the park's twice-weekly dances. Strangely,shedidnotbuyads in any of the Madill newspapers. This was likely because Marshall County residents were no longer interested in the park.

Tubbs purchased these advertisements throughout March, April, May, June, and July. Then, on July 29, 1938, new ads began to run in the Daily Ardmoreite. However, these new ads for the weeklydancesweredifferent. These new advertisements announced in small print (Under New Management).

Dora Tubbs was done. She had invested much of her savings and income into the park. For ten years, she toiled and labored to make the park a success, but her decision in 1933 to incorporate beer seemed to turn the tide for the park's success.

Pettijohn Springs Amusement Park was no longer the gem of Southern Oklahoma. The huge crowds were gone, andsuccesswasgone.Intheir place was trouble and tragedy. So Dora Tubbs moved back to Madill, and in late July of 1938, she leased the park's operation to Madill Businessman Jack Blalock.

Jack Blaylock took over in late July, and he would try to turn the tide for the park. Next week we will visit the Jack Blaylock years.