Photo From "The Tune Of The Hickory Stick"
The oldest "lived in" home in Jenks was destroyed Friday night, August 29, 2003, as flames broke out in the area of a clothes dryer, according to sources at the scene.
The home, located at 123 South 2nd (on the corner of South 2nd and Apache Streets) was most widely remembered as the home of Drs. Leon and Sybil Anderson. They moved to the area in the 1956 and lived in the home and raised their four children. They resided in the home for 38 years until their retirement in the 1990s when they moved to Mounds. Dr. Leon Anderson died on May 4, 2000.
The home was said to have been built in the early 1900s, probably around 1910. It was built by N.M. Phipps, according author Joyce Elliot Nichols' account in "The Tune of The Hickory Stick," published by the Jenks Public Schools.
Ms. Nichols writes, "The N.M. Phipps home, one of the oldest in Jenks, was sold in the 1920s to the Rousch family and used as a teacherage . . . ", a boarding house for teachers.
While a specific date of construction is not mentioned, it is widely held that it was built between 1905 and 1910.
Over the years, the home had undergone extensive remodeling, including many additions. Therefore, it was not a candidate to be placed on the National Historic Society's register of homes.
The home had been most recently occupied by Carnette Reed and her family. The Reed family was in the process of moving to a new home on the south of town.
While the shell of the home remains, the interior has little left to rebuild. It is sad to think that this will be yet another landmark in our town that is bulldozed to make way for new construction. But this is, unfortunately, sure to be its fate.
Fire units from Glenpool, Tulsa and Jenks fought the blaze for most of the night into Saturday morning. The Red Cross furnished refreshment and aide to the firefighters. There were, thankfully, no injuries.
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