In short, people did whatever it took. They lived on wit, ingenuity and sheer grit. Welfare was an option only when all other possibilities had been exhausted. Being “on the county destroyed a person’s pride and reputation in the neighborhood. Listening to today’s folks talk about “hard times” is tough to swallow if you can still remember the days when surviving was a matter of searching the house for five pennies that would buy the loaf of bread a family of four needed to stay alive another day.”

HOLDENVILLE — A Holdenville man has been charged with a felony drug offense alleging the distribution of controlled dangerous substances within 2,000 feet of an elementary school. According to a felony information filed May 7 in Hughes County District Court, Clifton Edward Gaskins, 33, of Holdenville, is charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance within 2,000 feet of a park or school in the presence of a minor, a Class C felony.

HOLDENVILLE — A Holdenville man was arrested May 5 after authorities investigated a residential fire that allegedly began inside a bathroom of a home on Redbud Drive. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Hughes County District Court, Caleb Humphreys, 40, was arrested on a complaint of second- degree arson following an investigation by the Hughes County Sheriff’s Office and the Holdenville Fire Department.

Elmo (Moe) Elbert Collins, Sr. was born on January 25, 1929 to Andrew and Velma Collins in Wetumka, Oklahoma. He went to his reward in paradise from Conroe, Texas at the age of 97 on May 17, 2026 and he is now reunited with his beloved wife, Mary.

Funeral service for Margaret Ann Lankford, 94 of Norman, Oklahoma will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 4, 2026, at Hudson Phillips Funeral Home Chapel. Viewing will be 10:00 a.m. Thursday, June 4, 2026, before the service. She passed away on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at her home in Norman, Oklahoma. Full obituary will follow.