A Tragedy that Marked the Beginning of the End
When Dora Tubbs purchased the Pettijohn Springs Amusement Park around January 1929, she invested about $40,000 in upgrades to the park. In today’s dollars, her upgrades would be approximately $725,000.
One of those upgrades was the installation of a zipline that spanned the length of the pool. The zipline consisted of two towers, one on the pool's shallow end and one on the deep end. The zipline ran almost 120 from end to end. The tower on the shallow end had a ladder and platform at the top where thrill seekers could stand before flying across the pool. The height of the platform was about twenty feet above the concrete decking around the pool.
The object for swimmers was to climb the tower, grab a handle suspended on a cable stretched across the pool, and then jump from the tower, fly across the length of the pool, and then let go over the deep end for a long fall to the water’s surface.
The zipline was an immediate hit with patrons in 1929 and for the next few years. That is until May 31, 1936. For on that day, the popularity of Pettijohn Springs began to wane, and its days were numbered.
Sunday, May 31, 1936, was the opening day of the 1936 swim season for the park, and as usual, many families spent the day at the park. One of those families was Ada Sudberry and her eleven-year-old daughter Anna Lou.
Ada Sudberry was the daughter of Kingston pioneer J. E. Flynt. Mr. Flynt was born on March 18, 1859, in Mississippi. He married Miss Annie Goddar in 1884. Together they had seven children, five daughters and two sons. Ada was the youngest of the seven children.
Sometime before 1886, the family moved to Indian Territory and settled near Willis. For the next twenty- three years, Mr. Flynt, with the assistance of his family, operated a farm at Willis. In about 1908, Mr. Flynt was responsible for constructing a series of brick buildings on the west side of Main Street. Those buildings included the First State Bank of Kingston and a mercantile building in the newly established town of Kingston, Oklahoma.
Then, in January 1909, Mr. Flynt opened a general store in Kingston. The store was named J.E. Flynt & Co. Cash Store. The store was located on Main Street at the location where the Kingston Church of Christ now stands.
In July 1909, the Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company rented the front two rooms of the second floor of the J.E. Flynt & Co. Cash Store for the offices and switchboard for the new telephone service in Kingston.
Mr. Flynt operated this store for many years before retiring due to health reasons. Mr. Flynt died in December of 1931.
Ada Anna Flynt, the youngest child of J. E. and Annie Flynt, was born on October 8, 1904, in Indian Territory. On March 18, 1923, Ada married Bernard E. Sudberry in Marshall County. Bernard was born in 1897 in Tennessee. Of the marriage, Ada and Bernard had one child, Anna Lou, born November 24, 1924.
By 1930, Ada and Bernard were separated, and Bernard was living and working in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Ada and Anna were then living in Kingston with or near Ada’s mother, Annie.
On the opening day of Pettijohn Spring, on May 31, 1936, Ada went to Pettijohn Springs with some friends to enjoy a day of swimming and fun. The group arrived at the park sometime mid-morning and spent the day in and around the swimming pool.
During the day, Anna Lou played on the zipline several times. Each trip, she climbed the twenty-foot tower, flew out over the pool, and fell happily into the deep end. Then, at about 4:30 in the afternoon, a day of fun and excitement turned into a day of devastating tragedy.
On her last planned trip on the zipline, Anna Lou climbed to the top of the tower. While standing on the platform waiting for someone to return the pully and handle, Anna Lou slipped and fell twenty feet to the concrete walkway around the pool. Tragically, Anna Lou landed on her head, severely fracturing her skull.
The friends that Anna Lou accompanied to Pettijohn Springs that day rushed her to Madill for emergency treatment, but sadly, she died before they reached town.
Anna Lou’s funeral was held the next day at the Madill Methodist Church and she was buried in the Woodbury Forest Cemetery.
In 1940, Anna Lou’s mother, Ada Flynt Sudberry married Oldham Woods of Kingston. Ada and Oldham had two sons, John Flynt Woods and Henry Oldham Woods. Ada passed in 1990. Oldham Woods passed in 1985, and their son John Flynt Woods passed in 1999.
Following the tragic death of Anna Lou Sudberry in 1936, Dora Tubbs quickly lost interest in the park, and following the 1937 season, she leased the park to Jack Blalock, her partner in the Corner Drug Store. And within about four years, the park closed for good. More on that in Part X, coming next week.
Anna Lou Sudberry will forever be eleven years of age. She is also the only person ever to be seriously injured or killed during the duration of the existence of Pettijohn Springs Amusement Park.
Sadly, no known photographs of Anna Lou Sudberry exist. The only memories of Anna Lou are a few articles in the Madill Record and her simple grave marker in the Woodbury Forest Cemetery in Madill. Sadly, her marker misdates her year of birth. Her marker states she was born in 1925, but Anna Lou was born in 1924.
So, the next time you visit Woodbury Forest Cemetery, stop by little Anna Lou’s grave and say “hi.” Let her know she has not been forgotten and that she is missed. I know she would appreciate seeing you.