Editor’s note – This is a two-part story about Steven Harris, the owner of Jerry’s Gun Shop and passionate collector of local historical items.

Outside of a museum, you will be hard-pressed to find a better collection of Ardmore and Carter County historical items than what Steven Harris has in his collection.

Harris, whose family ties to Ardmore dates back to the 1910’s, owns Jerry’s Gun Shop. Inside the business is a collection of rare photos, advertisements and guns that he has collected over the years. He traces his love of collecting back to an early age.

“The Ardmore thing started as a little kid,” he said. “I would have to go to the grocery store with my mom. She was always going to be there for five minutes, and it would take 35 to 40 minutes.

“I would always go to the pop bottles and pull bottles because every major town and some towns had their own bottler and their own bottles. I would always look for different towns that I didn’t have.”

That led to a collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia and other advertising, Harris said. At that time, his father had opened Jerry’s Gun Shop and Pawn Shop. Much like his father, Harris liked antique guns and cowboy items.

“The Ardmore stuff came kind of natural,” he said.

While Harris liked history while attending school, his true passion was the gun shop. As soon as school was out, he would find his way to the shop, where he could also be found on weekends. That was also where his father Jerry could be found. Steven said there were no vacations growing up. The closest thing would be a trip to see the Texas Rangers. Otherwise, there were no trips that could not be fit into the schedule of closing down the shop on Saturday afternoon and opening back up Monday morning.

Harris attended Oak Hall and then Plainview High School, where he graduated. He went to higher ed in Ardmore and then graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in restaurant management.

Selling and buying Ardmore history

One of Harris’ favorite businesses in Ardmore growing up was Luke’s Music Store, which was much like going back in a time capsule with items stocked dating back to the 1930s.

“As a kid, it was overwhelming to walk into a place like that,” he said.

It was later in his life that Harris returned to the store with a desire to buy an older cash register from the owner, Ed Luke, who turned him down. Harris would eventually end up liquidating the contents of the store for the Luke family for a commission. For over a year and a half, Harris said he sold non-stop. There were instruments and records along with washing machines and some of the earliest televisions.

After going to shows and events and some eBay at its beginning, it got to the point where it was more work than money for Harris. The Luke family ended up selling the building and the remainder of the contents.

“Which was a mistake on my part,” Harris said. “Because I should have bought it myself. After he sold it, I bought enough stuff from the buyer and Mr. Luke sold me two cash registers, that I would have been money ahead to buy it and then have storage.”

When it comes to collecting, there are different stages. There is looking for items, finding items and stumbling upon items. With each comes an emotional response you receive when you are passionate about something.

“The chase is always fun,” he said. “But there are some things you chase and chase and chase. Once you get it, you are like, “Huh. Okay, onto the next thing.’ And there are some things that you chase and chase and get it. And I love it every day of my life type of a deal.

“But generally, all of my Ardmore stuff. I love it. It is here and I am married to it.”

There are some items that Harris said he has chased the majority of his collecting life. One recent acquisition is a badge that once belonged to James M. Chancellor, who served as the Ardmore Police Chief in the late 1910’s. Another item is a leather holster that was made by an Ardmore company that was prominent in the 1890’s.

Prior to serving as the chief, Chancellor had been a U.S. Marshall and was the father-in-law of Carter County Sheriff Buck Garrett, who is one of local history’s more memorable lawmen.

“I’m sure there is a group I need to go join for my problem,” Harris joked.

See the Wednesday edition of The Ardmoreite for the second part of the story.