When I’m looking for a column topic, the ideas can come from many sources. It may be some news event I’ve covered, a visitor to the newspaper or a phone call. Other times I come across an idea from a magazine, book or other publication.

On Monday, I had no topic in mind when I noticed some files of very old newspapers. Among them was the special edition we published on Friday, September 3, 1993, for the 100 year anniversary of the Cherokee Strip Run of 1893. That Saturday, a celebration was held on the Alva square. I remember little about it other than it was a hot day as I sold copies of our special centennial edition.

The special edition of 68 pages included a regular 12 page newspaper with 56 pages chronicling the history of Alva and Woods County.

When the run occurred on Sept. 16, 1893, the area was designated as M County with Alva as the county seat. M County’s name was changed to Woods by popular vote on Nov. 6, 1894. Three political parties submitted names. The Democrats chose Banner claiming it was the banner county of the territory. The Republicans proposed Flynn to honor the territory’s Congressional Delegate Dennis T. Flynn. The Populists wanted Wood to honor Sam Wood, a renowned Kansas Populist. However, Wood’s name appeared as “Woods” on the ballot. The error wasn’t noticed until it was too late.

In 1907, the year Oklahoma became a state, county borders were changed. Parts of Woods County became Alfalfa and Major Counties while a portion of Woodward County north of the Cimarron River was added to Woods County.

Alva formed a Centennial Commission leading up to the celebration. The volunteer chairmen and the themes for each year were:

1986: Ranchlands to Railroads – Joan Hodgden and Thelma Crouch

1987: Education – Paul Kinzie

1988: Military – Dr. Linda Stewart

1989: Transportation – Paul Kinzie

1990: Agriculture – Bob Davison

1991: Business – Todd Holder and David Pecha

1992: Religion – Ron Pingelton

1993: “The Run” – Helen Thiesing

One centennial project was to compile a list of Woods County homesteads founded during the run that were still in the family in 1993. The list included: William W. Atkinson, James H. Benson, Andrew J. Bond, Fannie Romane Buckles, Estal A. Byrd, Franklin Byrd, Lucelus M. Byrd, Florence M. Lappin-Corbin, Ged Cunningham, George W. Dixon, Alva C. Gately, Wesley Kassik, Adam Kunzman, Stephen Lancaster, William G. McClure, Joseph Edgar Morse, Andrew Nelson, John Nelson, James Harvey Norton, Franklin Albert Rust, Bunk Snapp, Beeler Snyder, Houston Surface, Charley Vandevelde, William Smithson, Luther C. French, Nate Burton Litton and Albert E. Goucher.

Mrs. S. L. Johnson, the wife of Alva’s first postmaster, wrote about her experience arriving in Alva just ahead of the run. It was published in the Alva Review-Courier centennial edition:

Box Car Used as Home in Alva

I was a Sooner when the Cherokee Strip opened and because of that fact and also that I could not take a town lot or any land. Mr. Johnson (first postmaster of Alva) was appointed by President Cleveland to come to Alva, which was one of the government towns of the strip. I came to be a “Sooner.” The government ordered all postmasters into the strip in time to erect buildings and arrange equipment for service by the afternoon of Sept. 16, 1893.

Mr. Johnson chartered a railroad car, loaded it with the furniture of our house in Wichita, Kans., and with timber enough to build his temporary buildings and also included furniture for the post office. He added a carpenter and we stayed in an apartment in Wichita while this move was being made.

Mr. Johnson, busy with his work in the new county, locating his post office buildings, had neglected to reserve rooms for us in Kiowa, Kans., the border town from which we were expected to go to our new home. Soldiers were stationed at Alva and he could hire them but could not hire a wagon and horses to haul his lumber and post office furniture from the car, almost one-half mile away from the selected site.

When I arrived in Kiowa September 15 I could not find a hotel room for myself and my two children. It was an awful day, made worse by a raging dust storm. There I was, with two children, one of them 21 months old and the other three years, and no place to go. We had forgotten to reserve rooms at the hotel and so we climbed back into the railroad car.

I had to have a place to stay that night and it was not Kiowa. The dust storm we had then was as bad as those during the past few years and lasted three days. It was very uncomfortable and I sat down to figure things out.

I did not think that they would let me off at Alva, the next station, and if they did the soldiers would arrest me, but what if they did. I would then have a place to stay with my children.

When I got off in Alva I was allowed to go my way. I didn’t see a soldier, nor did they seem to see me.

Mr. Johnson, of course, was in Alva, and made room for us in the freight car where we lived for two days. Our board house was soon ready for us, so we could put up the beds and the cook stove. In two days Alva had meat shops and grocery stores in tents.

We saw the advance guard of the run coming over the hills north of town and off the train. Most of them were after town lots. I got the spirit and climbed atop a freight car to better see them come in, but I soon tired of that and decided I would run also. I took a lot down by the depot, on which was a discarded old freight car.

I stayed on my lot until they all quit coming and then I tied my blue sunbonnet on a government stake and went away. I never saw my sunbonnet again; the people who took the lot still have it.

Cherokee Strip that day was populated and added to what soon became the state of Oklahoma. Alva soon became one of the best towns in the strip.

The Congregational Church in Wichita gave us a fine church building and $1000 to move it to Alva and established a Congregational missionary with a good minister, Mr. Connet, who preached for several years and labored for the good of the town.

We were very proud of our fine church. It had two steeples, a large Sweeton bell in the belfry, three large rooms, carpets and furniture, books and stoves and “gingerbread” work on the outside. Inside were stained glass windows, and it was the finest building in town for years. It was open to any believer in Christ.