Hippity Hoppity Easter is on its way!

(Staff photo by Doug Russel)
Stigler-Haskell County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Janice Williams shows the Easter Bunny some of the many eggs the Chamber will be helping him hide at Kiamichi Technology Center this Saturday. Elvis, who's planning a Reunion Days show at the Stigler VFW, looks on from the background.

Success! (For Now)

By Doug Russel

Estimated seven tons of garbage gone

Not long after the sun was out, Ed and Doris Cannaday were down on the river, but not for any romantic walks. Instead, they were getting and early start on an effort to clean up around the Whitefield bridge over the Canadian River; an effort that ended with 36 very tired but happy volunteers, an estimated seven tons of trash in the back of a 10-by-25-foot box truck and a much cleaner area.
"Just watch, though, it'll be messed up again," several pessimists said.
But the volunteers agreed that, although the pessimistic statement might be true, they made a difference in the bridge environment. At least for a while.
"This is something we may have to do every year, but at least it's something worth doing," said Linus Williams Jr., assistant publisher of the Stigler News-Sentinel, which spearheaded the event.(more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

Remembering John Henderson

by:Karen West Staff Writer

John Henderson served the citizens of Haskell County as associate district judge for 26 years, with an additional 13 years spent practicing law out of his Stigler office.
Not only was he an attorney and a judge, but those who knew him say he was a true friend to Haskell County and a world class roper.
Now, friends say, he's gone to the great roping pen.
Born Jan. 2, 1947, Henderson died April 13, 2011.
When he was running for judge in 1991 he said, "A public official should always bear in mind that he is a servant of the people."
"I didn't know him well, but I had great respect for Judge Henderson and his love of his community," said Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Taylor. "It was always obvious to me that he truly loved Haskell County and its people."
"He was the wisest, most colorful man I've ever known," said Robin Rea, Haskell County court clerk. "He made work fun." She related several tales of how the judge loved to startle the clerks in the court clerk's office and how he would spend the lunch hour with them, sometimes watching "All My Children" with them.
"He was as hooked as any of us were," said Rea. "Back in the '90s, we almost never got Natalie out of the well."
But when it came to work, "He was dedicated to the people he served," Rea said. "He promised to perform the duties of the office impartially and faithfully. He was a servant of the people."(more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

The end of an era

by:Karen West Staff Writer

It was the place to be if you were a teenager in Stigler in the 1950s. What more could you ask for than a grilled burger, a chocolate malt and a jukebox playing your favorite dance music?
In 1954, Earl Freeberg bought a four acre plot of land on the west end of Stigler.
"My dad purchased that plot of land for practically nothing," his daughter Phyliss Arnett said. There was a stock pond on the land which Freeberg filled in himself. Once the land was prepared, he built a Sinclair service station on the site.
Business was good, and about a year later, he built the drive-in malt shop just to the east of the service station. It was called Freeberg's Drive-in Café. Between the two businesses, he erected a screened breezeway with picnic tables for dining.
Students from Stigler High School wanted to dance, so Freeberg bought a jukebox and the dancing began. And it turned into Stigler's version of Studio 54. Practically every night, tires scrunched the gravel of the business's drive as carloads of giddy teens showed up for their evening festivities.
"It was the hot spot for quite awhile," Arnett said.(more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)