Oklahomans, lock up your daughters -- this one's a catch!
Man's bid for virgin bride enrages neighbors
BRAY, Okla. -- A man has caused an uproar in this southwestern Oklahoma town by advertising in an unusual manner that he'd like to pay for a virgin to be his bride.
A sign 45-year-old Michael Thelemann posted in his yard Sunday said he'll pay $1,000 for a virgin bride between the ages of 12 and 24.
''I feel like I'm living down the street from a pedophile,'' said neighbor Christy Sternadel. ''We want him out of this neighborhood. Who asks for a 12-year-old virgin bride?''
As of Wednesday, no one had taken up Thelemann on his offer, but he had heard several negative comments from neighbors, which he said he didn't understand. He said his grandmother married ''a much older man'' at age 14.
''I'm just somebody who is getting up there in years, and I'm looking for a born-again, God-fearing virgin between the ages of 12 and 24 who can bear me children,'' said Thelemann. ''What's the problem? I just think I have some wicked neighbors.''
Neighbors asked the sheriff's department to stop Thelemann from displaying the sign, but Undersheriff Bob Hill said the sign was gone when deputies visited Thelemann's home.
― phil d. (Phil D.), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:37 (twenty years ago)
Population (year 2000): 1,035, Est. population in July 2004: 1,041 (+0.6% change)
Males: 523 (50.5%), Females: 512 (49.5%)
Elevation: 1260 feet
County: Stephens
Land area: 62.3 square miles
Median resident age: 38.0 years
Median household income: $29,417 (year 2000)
Median house value: $52,800 (year 2000)
Bray, OK residents, houses, and apartments details
Races in Bray:
* White Non-Hispanic (89.7%)
* American Indian (7.9%)
* Two or more races (2.9%)
* Hispanic (2.2%)
* Other race (0.7%)
Ancestries: United States (28.1%), German (12.4%), Irish (10.3%), English (7.8%), French (3.0%), Dutch (1.6%).
New! Bray, Oklahoma forum
Bray, Oklahoma map
For population 25 years and over in Bray
* High school or higher: 72.5%
* Bachelor's degree or higher: 12.8%
* Graduate or professional degree: 3.1%
* Unemployed: 7.7%
* Mean travel time to work: 25.5 minutes
For population 15 years and over in Bray town
* Never married: 17.5%
* Now married: 65.5%
* Separated: 1.1%
* Widowed: 5.4%
* Divorced: 10.4%
0.6% Foreign born
Population change in the 1990s: +129 (+14.2%).
Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Lawton, OK (40.1 miles , pop. 92,757).
Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Oklahoma City, OK (62.4 miles , pop. 506,132).
Nearest city with pop. 1,000,000+: Dallas, TX (145.7 miles , pop. 1,188,580).
Nearest cities: Marlow, OK (8.5 miles ), Duncan, OK (11.1 miles ), Rush Springs, OK (13.3 miles ), Velma, OK (16.8 miles ), Central High, OK (16.9 miles ), Meridian, OK (17.4 miles ), Empire City, OK (18.1 miles ), Bradley, OK (19.1 miles) .
Latitude: 34.63 N, Longitude: 97.84 W
― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:35 (twenty years ago)
http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=4793475Thelemann says his original sign was stolen but he's since erected a new one that doesn't include the minor ages. It does note, however, that he's not interested in a, quote, "pig-worshipping, heathen, white-supremacist wife," unquote.
Stephens County District Attorney Gene Christian says it's likely Thelemann is acting legally. But noting the recent killings of 10-year-old girls in Tulsa and Purcell, Christian says that Thelemann's timing isn't good.
― StanM (StanM), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:46 (twenty years ago)