Author Archive:

Ho Ho the Clown – Ed Birchall

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Edward P Birchall - Ho Ho the Clown

Edward P. Birchall was born July 16, 1923 at Colchester, Connecticut.  He served in the U S Army Air Corps during WWII.

A lover of the circus, he performed as a free-lance clown before being hired as an entertainer by KOCO-TV in Okla City.  There, he starred in a local children’s television show named after him, which typically feathered an array of firefighters, police officers, zoo animals, visiting circus clowns and other guests, as well as Pokey the Puppet, played by Bill Howard, the station’s long-time stage manager wearing a sock-puppet on his arm.

Ho-Ho was all over the TV schedule, for much of the 1960s, he was on six days a week.  Various titles were used:  “HoHo’s Showboat”, “Lunch With HoHo”, “Good Morning HoHo,” and “HoHo’s Showplace”.  The show survived for 29 years.

Mr Birchall was the beloved star of the longest locally produced television show in Okla City from 1959 – 1988.  He wrote and produced his shows.

He was a frequent visitor to Children’s Wards at local hospitals, providing a kind of medicine the doctors could not.  He also appeared at restaurants, charity events, parades and children’s parties, from which he derived most of his income.

Mr Birchall was a diminutive and slightly round man of cheerful spirit.  Friends remember him as behaving much the same in real life as on his show.

He lived in Bethany, OK for most of his life and suffered declining health leading to his death in the hospital at age 64 from a heart attack, while undergoing treatment for cancer.  He died July 3, 1988 and is buried at the El Reno Cemetery.

He is still remembered by many of his fans, who grew up during those years.
Attributing research and compilation by: Carolyn Marquardt Barker (1939 – 2018)

El Reno Reformatory History

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The federal reformatory was constructed in the southeast corner of Fort Reno military reservation.  The first ground was broken on January 20, 1932 on the 1,000-acre tract located on the south side of U. S. Highway 66, just west of El Reno.

The first group of 25 prisoners arrived on April 3, 1933 from the reformatory at Leavenworth.  These honor prisoners helped to get ready for the next 50 inmates.  By August 1934 the inmate population was about 725.

The Southwestern U. S. Reformatory was opened to the public on February 10 and 11, 1934.  A total of 13, 396 people visited the reformatory to view the facilities.

New construction began in late 1936 and continued through 1939 to increase the rated capacity of 750 to 1,200 prisoners.

The name “Southwestern U. S. Reformatory” was change to the El Reno Federal Reformatory.

The broom factory was installed in 1937.  In the spring of 1938, the machinery and equipment were moved from the Leavenworth plant to El Reno.  This made the El Reno institution the only broom factory in the U. S. prison industries set up.  Over 100 inmates were employed in the factory and their average daily output was over 175 dozen brooms in 1939.

Another industry was the weaving mill.  Its equipment consisted of 31 mast hand looms, dye vat, etc. the raw wool from the clipped animal was woven into wool material.

During WWII the industry shop made some 25,000 cargo nets for the armed forces.

New houses at the reformatory circle were built and part of the POW camp were remodeled to relieve the housing shortage for reformatory employees in 1947.

Around 1976 the medium security institution’s name was changed to Federal Correctional Institution of El Reno.  It began taking all ages of adult male inmates.  When the reformatory began it was for first termers and youthful offenders.

School and college courses were offered to the inmates.  They also received vocational training in auto mechanics, food service, machine shop, welding, meat cutting and related trades instruction.  The industry consisted of a machine, tool and die factory and a broom factory.

A major change in the FCI’s role came in late 1980, when a level 1 minimum security camp was built outside the prison walls.

Currently the Federal Correctional Institution is one of El Reno’s largest employers, with 430 employees.  Unlike most prisons, the FCI is a major transportation center for inmates moving across the country.  Virtually every inmate who is transferred across the U. S. spends the night at the El Reno facility.

Population As of July 2019 :

  • 1,200  Total Inmates (all male)

  • 955     Inmates at the FCI

  • 245     Inmates at the Camp

Also worth noting: President Barack Obama visited FCI El Reno on July 16, 2015. This was the first time a sitting President has ever visited a federal prison.

Attributing research and compilation too: Carolyn Marquardt Barker (1939 – 2018)

Kelso’s Department Store

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Kelso’s Department Store, owned by James E. Kelso, was the first department store in El Reno, Oklahoma. Kelso's was a local retail pioneer that contributed to the evolution of department stores in the region. Established in 1948, it operated for 20 years before its expiration in 1968. While Kelso’s wasn’t a national retail giant, it reflected the broader trends of department stores by offering a one-stop shopping experience, which became a defining characteristic of modern retail.