Our most popular segment by far is back with a sizeable update!
We have begun scanning copies of local issues of the Bishinik, Hello Choctaw, and Talihina American newspapers. Our initial scanned selection is from the 1975-1988 period and for this article we have included a preview of what is to come and a little description of the project thus-far. A few great takes from this era are the exploits of a historically powerful 1980 Talihina Basketball Team and advertisements from lost Talihina Businesses such as Circle J, Ritz Theatre, Griffith Variety, Sisk’s Grocery and Station, Sonic Talihina, and Taylors Talihina.
Browsing through these collections is breathtaking and full of many, many stories that catch the eye but what grabs you the most is how different Talihina was even 30 years ago.
There were so many things to do for everyone, especially youth. Some activities of course, are heavily dated. An article titled “Disco Dance at 8:00pm – Talihina Vo-Tech Gym” comes to mind while others are things we sorely miss today. Ritz Theatre advertisements sprawl each issue boasting about brand new movies coming to Talihina monthly such as Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and The Bermuda Triangle.
There are competing advertisements for two grocery stores, three mechanics and even beauty salons in the same issues. The papers feel more local and honest as they took time to tell local stories from Albion, Talihina, Buffalo Valley and Whitesboro. There is such a sense of community and attention to the real happenings of our town in these older issues. A true representation of all involved that feels so much different than what we have today.
Another interesting story coming into the archive this week details the re-naming of the streets in town under the 1980 Board of Trustees and City Lawyers’ direction.
Early looks show the process of re-designating cross-streets to be numerically ordered to help ease further development and organization of town. Several articles go into great detail about how modernizing street names and home addresses would help companies navigate the growing town more easily and how cross streets would be named after founding members of Talihina’s history.
Pictured at the top and shown in full below is a selection from the September 1st, 1977 issue of Hello Choctaw showing many friendly faces with names you very well may recognize.
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