There are questions that tend to stump people.

For Steven Harris, that question is, “What is your favorite piece that you have collected?”

“That is not fair,” he said. “I don’t even know if I could do a top 10.”

One piece that is near and dear to his heart in terms of local historical interest is a Colt .45 that was owned by C.D. Carter, for whom the county is named. Harris said Carter was a Chickasaw who was involved in state politics.

Harris, who owns Jerry’s Gun Shop, also has a collection of guns owned by former sheriffs in addition to some locally made guns. He said a building on Refinery Road was built in 1926 for an Ardmore gun business.

“It was built for the Hoffman Arms Company, which was a gun manufacturer in Ardmore,” he said. “That, being Ardmore history and being guns, that is one of my favorite things to chase.”

Harris said Hoffman’s built Tiffany’s quality-type guns, which were first rate.

“They were celebrity-type gunmakers. There was gold, engraving and carving, all sorts of stuff,” he said.

Items that also stick out when visiting Harris are the amount of advertising memorabilia that he has collected from businesses that were located in Ardmore. There are items from Bell’s Refinery, which was in Ardmore from the 1940’s to 1960’s. There are bottles and paper goods from the many dairies that were in town as well.

Located about the Bell’s collection is a sign from Noble Brothers Hardware, which was established in the 1890s.

“Obviously, they turned that into something,” he said. “I love military guns and the air force base.”

While he describes himself as a bit of a hoarder, Harris said he displays items in the shop in addition to other places in town.

“I try to make it available to promote it, keep it alive,” he said.

That includes finding items that have left Ardmore and bringing them home.

“Sometimes, stuff leaves town,” he said. “Or I will hassle somebody to sell it to me and I am told, ‘No, I don’t want to sell it.’

“And I respect that, I get that. But unfortunately, we all die. “

Harris said it is when people pass away that stuff either finds a way out of town or it is thrown away or lost through ignorance and neglect.

“I literally have pulled stuff that I offered good money for out of the trash,” he said.

There are times when those neglected or forgotten items find a way home. That is the case for a particular photo album that was given to Harris. The album was found in a downtown building that had been purchased. Harris said he offered whatever price was asked for the photos.

“One day, I showed up to work here and it was just sitting in my chair,” he said. “He had shown it to me and as soon as I saw my chair, I thought I knew what it was.

“It is a book of photos that one of the pioneer photographers, Ran Webb, and the building he was in downtown, this guy’s family had bought. The building was pretty much empty, cleaned out. And they found this book of photos in there and luckily, they kept it all these years.”

The book contains pictures of Ardmore buildings and streets, providing unique views of the town. One of the photos is of the Confederate Home, the current veteran’s home, in its early days, which is one of Harris’ favorites. He said the town raised money to build it in the early 1900’s.

“Not my grandmother but my aunt’s grandmother donated the land to put it on,” he said. “And it was completely self-sufficient, not like today. They had their own dairy, their own orchard, pigs, chickens, vegetable gardens. The whole deal. They all worked it.”

Harris said he purchased a letter on eBay with the Confederate Home logo on it. Inside was a letter detailing the end-of-year accounting, which showed the home sold its surplus at the farmers’ market to have cash available.

Harris said the photos are unique in that 99% of the photos from that time period were of Main Street. The photos in the album are taken from throughout Ardmore and provide views off of Main Street. His favorite photos are the Yard Long photos which allow you to look in multiple directions.

“I didn’t realize, but this is pre-1915 and even back then they had a viaduct going over the tracks,” he said. “I didn’t realize the viaduct was that old.”

Those photos also bring to life the life Harris’ family lived. His family was among the early settlers in the city.

“As far as my family, we have been here,” he said. “My great grandfather was a pioneer doctor here in town. Dr. Frank Boadway and my mom’s family, they have been here since way back.”

His mother’s family owned Cook’s Laundry, which was located on Caddo and Main dating back to 1910. The Harris family arrived in the 1910’s from Pooleville. There is a picture on a desk of Samuel Harris, who was an undersheriff under Buck Garrett and whose brother was the longest-serving city manager in Ardmore history. He said the family has been involved in business, politics or both for a long time.

“I guess we have Ardmore’s best interests at heart,” he said. “I want Ardmore to grow. I just hate to see it get big city. I know you can’t really have one without the other.”