Our great personality shapers, the local movie houses, have just about all vanished. The Dixie over at Holdenville was reduced to ashes long ago as was the stately old Main which stood bravely on Main Street in Stonewall so many years ago. And let’s not forget Eddie Holt’s great Wigwam Theatre in Coalgate. Vanished also are the beautiful old movie houses in Ada. The Ritz, the Kiva and the Ada Theatre just vanished like they were never there but the old McSwain is still hanging in there. Built in 1920 this famous old theatre has seen it all. It exhibited live entertainment in its early years and silent movies. But now I look at some of those old movies and wonder exactly where was this appeal. Many of these old “flicks” were pretty bad.

An example: That old bunch of silents starring “Pauline” who kept on getting in trouble with an evil looking guy who liked to tie her to a railroad track. A track that featured a train going about 100 mph. Toward her. But thankfully, a good guy wearing a white hat always arrived in just the nick of time, untied her and they rode away to live happily ever after.

I like to write about old movies, not that I am expert or cyclopedic about them, it’s just that I spent a lot of time in my young life in a movie projection room showing these things.

But I never got that hooked on them. It was the horses in those movies that carried the day for me. Why? I never was some sort of horse fanatic but I liked my movie horses because none of them were evil, robbed banks, and mistreated folk. My horse heroes were pure of heart, smart and pretty and always were looking after their human star. William S. Hart and his red and white pinto, Fitz, appeared on the silver screen in 1914. That was even before me. Fritz could and would jump through large saloon windows when necessary. About then, Tom Mix appeared with his wonder horse, Tony.

I like to mention Mix and Tony because my wife Pat’s Uncle Jack worked for Mix. Jack made arrangement for those scenes requiring a lot of cowboys and horses in those big dusty chase scenes. And if you can get a print of one of those old movies you might see Uncle Jack right in the middle of things. At least we think we do. I only got to see Uncle Jack once (for sure) and he was a very nice looking cowboy movie star, quiet, well dressed and dignified looking. Of course, he was dead over at Criswell’s Funeral Home. After the Great Depression in the 30s shut Tom’s movie making down he finally went on the road. He bought a fancy car, (A Cord-812) and trailer (for Tony) and went on tours. He did good at this but Tom had a wreck in Arizona — a wreck which killed Tom but spared Tony.

Lest I get too distracted, let me say Tony (the horse) spent the rest of his acting career performing. Tony was indeed a wonder horse. In those movies he could jump chasms, untie knots (to free his master, Tom). The now dead hero Tony is “stuffed” up at Bartlesville at the Tom Mix Museum.

I got to meet Trigger, Roy Roger’s horse, while they were shooting a movie near Sulfur. Trigger appeared in all 87 of Roy’s movies. Roy had Trigger “stuffed” too. Trigger was 25. I will be forever grateful that Dale gave Roy a Christian burial.

Other horses I liked OK were Hopalong Cassady’s Topper. Gene Autry had Champion. Long Ranger had a horse named Silver and an Indian buddy named Tonto. I got to meet and shake hands with The Durango Kid who was not riding his horse (Bullet) over at Stonewall when he made an appearance at the Main Theatre. I won’t talk of Randolph Scott, John Wayne, or Johnny Mack Brown. I mean, you have to stop somewhere.

Have a good week and be sure and go to church Sunday. I enjoy hearing from my readers.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

cwaynebullard@gmail.com.