The End of Spooky Season
Plus, a battleship, an old radio program, an orange alert, and we wrap up #blogmonth.
As we come to the end of the spooky season, I hope you and your family have a fun and safe Halloween. As is our tradition, Donna and I will put a jack-o-lantern on our porch, empty a big bag of candy into a large bowl, put on a classic Universal Monster movie, and wait the night for the handful of trick-or-treaters who visit our neighborhood. By night's end, all the candy will be mysteriously gone. Oooo, spooky. Ha!
Do you have any family traditions for the holiday?
#blogmonth
Speaking about the end of a season, I’m about to wrap up a #blogmonth challenge. I’ve managed to post something on my personal blog every day this month (well, got two more days as I’m writing this). I’m not going to win any awards for the posts, but the goal was just to write. I give considerable praise to those who write content daily for a living. I’m glad I took on this writing challenge, but I think I’ll stick with this silly weekly newsletter and the occasional podcast script.
How about you? Did you take on the #blogmonth challenge?
Oh, that reminds me NaNoWriMo is starting up again. Are you planning to participate this year? I’m not, but maybe someday when I’m ready for another writing challenge. Ha!
Dark Fantasy
I made a little discovery this week. On a drive back to work from lunch, I had the radio tuned to SiriusXM’s Radio Classics channel. They were playing some spooky season broadcasts. The show was called Dark Fantasy. It was a supernatural thriller that ran on the NBC radio network from November 14, 1941 through June 19, 1942. The discovery came at the end of the broadcast. It was produced at WKY in Oklahoma City! A little bit of accidental Oklahoma spooky season history. To learn a little bit more about the radio program check out this article. If you want to listen to Dark Fantasy, you can find it on the Internet Archive and YouTube.
Orange Alert
Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections will issue an Orange Alert when an inmate walks away or escapes from a prison facility. These are opt-in alerts. To receive the SMS message alerts, text the facility code to 77295. You'll find facility codes here: orangealert.ok.gov.
In The News
A look at some of the latest headlines from around Oklahoma and beyond.
Textbook publishers withdraw from Oklahoma as fight over classroom content grows - Oklahoma Voice
Native American education council still short on members despite legislative effort | Oklahoma Voice
Oklahoma lawmakers discuss aquifer management solutions | KOSU
A phantom attack ad group surfaces again in an Oklahoma election | The Frontier
Officials break ground on Emerging Aviation Tech Center | The Journal Record
Oklahoma Corrections to launch Orange Alert notification system | ODOC
Lawmakers explore decline of Oklahoma wild turkey population | KGOU
Republican states swore off a voting tool. Now they're scrambling to recreate it | KOSU
In Oklahoma History
On October 26, 1912, a Nevada-class battleship’s keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey. On March 23, 1914, this ship was christened by Lorena Jane Cruce, daughter of Oklahoma Governor Lee Cruce. She struck the ship with a bottle of champagne, stating, "In the name of the United States, I christen thee ‘Oklahoma.’"
The USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was commissioned on May 2, 1916, and served in World War I as a part of Battleship Division Six, protecting Allied convoys on their way across the Atlantic. In 1936, she rescued American citizens and refugees from the Spanish Civil War.
On December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Oklahoma was struck by several torpedoes and capsized. 429 crew died.
Sadly, the Oklahoma was too damaged to return to service and was scrapped. On its way to a salvage yard in San Fransico, California, the ship would break free from its tow ropes during a storm and sink some 540 miles out of Pearl Harbor.
More Information:
USS Oklahoma casualties identified - Pearl Harbor National Memorial | U.S. National Park Service
Navy Lays Keel for Future USS Oklahoma (SSN 802) | U.S. Fleet Forces Command
About Oklahoma: Caddo County
Welcome to Caddo County.
Caddo County was organized in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory and named after the Caddo tribe.
Anadarko, Oklahoma, located in the southeastern part of the county at the intersections of U.S. Highway 62 and State Highway 8, is the county seat and the county’s largest city. Anadarko is home to the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians and headquarters of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, the Delaware Nation, and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
Other notable towns in the county include Hydro, Bridgeport, Hinton, Lookeba, and Binger in the northern, Gracemont in the eastern, Cement, Cyril, and Apache in the southern, and Fort Cobb, Carnegie, and Eakly in the western parts of the county.
Caddo County is also home to Fort Cobb Lake and Red Rock Canyon Adventure Park.
Established: 1901
County Seat: Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005
Nation: Wichita & Affiliated Tribes / Caddo / Delaware / Kiowa / Comanche / Apache
Map: Google Maps
Area: 1,278 mi2 (3,310 km2)
Population: 26,198 (2020 Census)
Time Zone: UTC−6 (Central), DST observed
Area Code: 580
Congressional District: 3
State House District: 55, 56, 65
State Senate District: 26
Weather: NWS Norman
Tourism Region: Great Plains Country
History: Oklahoma Historical Society
Historic Places: Exploring Oklahoma History
More Information: Wikipedia
Extras
Here are some more things I hope you'll find interesting.
🎃 Halloween Lofi Mega-Mix 🎃 5 Years of Original Music for your Spooky Season | Ill-Advised Records
Enchanting Halloween Music Fireplace
Silent Movie ‘Vamp’ - Costume Party Makeup Tutorial | Lisa Eldridge
I Melted Every Halloween Candy Together | Safiya Nygaard
Why Is Apple's USB-C Cable $130? | Adam Savage’s Tested
Feedback Welcome
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment on Substrack, email me at blogoklahoma@blogoklahoma.net, or connect with me at Mastodon at @blogoklahoma@social.tulsa.ok.us or Threads at @blogoklahoma@threads.net.
Have a great week.
– K.