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Family Histories
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Oral History
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
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Regan Siler
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Mary Franks
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6.0 June 11, 2025 OHP-0072 Mary Franks OHP-0072 00:49:56 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Mary Franks Regan Siler 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0072 Franks, Mary.mp4 Other video 0 Background/Birth Regan Siler 00:00
 ; This is Regan Siler with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is June 11, 2025 and I'm sitting here with Mary Franks at the Bristow Library Annex. She is going to tell us a little bit about her life and her history living in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 00:24
 ; My name is Mary Evelyn Franks.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:27
 ; Okay, and do I have permission to do this interview? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 00:29
 ; Yes, ma'am.
 ; Mary Evelyn Franks was born on August 6, 1943. She was born in Bristow, Oklahoma at her home. Her family's doctor, Dr. Coppedge delivered her. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Library Annex ; Mary Evelyn Franks ; Dr. Coppedge Birth 0 70 Parents Regan Siler 01:10
 ; Okay, um, and let's talk about the people in your family. Let's start with your parents. What are your parents full names, and I have their dates of birth, I think. But we can, we can, I can verify that with you. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:25
 ; Alright. At the time I was born, I had one older sister. I am one of eight children. All eight of which are still living.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:28
 ; My goodness. 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 01:32
 ; And I knew early on, I did not want a large family.
 ; Mary's mother was Norma May Henderson Graham. Her father was William Eliga Graham. Mary's mother was a homemaker. Her father worked in the oil field. He was a pumper and a truck driver. He worked for the Krumme Oil Company for about 50 years. William Eliga Gramm ; Norma Mae Henderson Gramm ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Kellyville (Okla.) ; Slick (Okla.) ; Lebanon (Mo.) ; Krumme Oil Company Parents 0 320 Siblings Regan Siler 05:20
 ; And, then, you said you were number two of eight siblings or of eight children?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 05:26
 ; Number two of eight children. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 05:27
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 05:28
 ; All eight of us are still alive. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 05:29
 ; That's amazing. 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 05:30
 ; Active, healthy, we've been blessed. I loved growing up in a large family. But I didn't want a large family.
 ; Mary was one of eight children. She was the second born child. Mary has a sister that is about a year and a half older than her. She says that all eight are still living. Mary says that she loved growing up in a large family but did not want a large family of her own. Norma May Henderson Graham Siblings 0 418 Home and School Regan Siler 06:58
 ; That's good. Did you, did you get to grow up around any other family, like extended family?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 07:04
 ; I told you I was born at home, two and a half miles south of Bristow. We moved to, I don't remember that. I was to young. I was a toddler. We moved half a mile down on the corner, right the corner of two mile corner. There was a big barn there and a frame house. And the property was owned by a Mr. Abraham, another Bristow person and Abraham Family. So, over the years, got to know who those folks were, especially back in time for rental payment, and, anyway, we lived there until I was in the eighth grade. Lived on that corner, two miles south of town. And went to school at a little country school.
 ; Mary grew up in a home a few miles out of town. It was owned by Mr. Abraham. She attended a country school, Central School. It was previously known as 48 School. Mr. Abraham ; Central School ; 48 School ; Highway 66 ; JL Darnell ; Gypsy (Okla.) ; Newby (Okla.) ; Tuskegee (Okla.) ; Iron Post School ; Wyatt School ; Missouri ; William Eliga Gramm ; Norma Mae Henderson Gramm Home ; School 0 618 Early Childhood Regan Siler 10:18
 ; Right, right. Well, let's talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you happen to remember any of your favorite toys or games that you played when you were young?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 10:29
 ; We played tin cans. We had jump ropes. We jump ropes, jacks. We did a lot of outdoor games. Being the older siblings, we took care of the smaller children. Played games with them, so one person was learning. I mean, our favorite thing to play was school. We loved our teacher. We played school. We were church going family, who played church. We had more church services in our backyard. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:05
 ; That's awesome.
 ; Mary says that her and her siblings played a lot of outdoor games. They played tin cans, jump rope and jacks. She helped take care of the younger children. They also played a lot of school and church. Childhood ; School ; Church Childhood 0 694 Healthcare Mary Franks 11:34
 ; All born at hom, so I knew early on all about pregnancies and babies and stuff like that, except the two younger boys, and they were both born in the hospital. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:42
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 11:43
 ; Here in Bristow. Everybody was healthy. We we shared everything, like sniffles and colds, measles.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:55
 ; So, as far as healthcare, then, did the did you did the doctor come to your house if you were ever sick, or did you guys handle that at home, usually?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 12:03
 ; Right.
 ; Mary says that her mother had six children at home and then the youngest two boys in the hospital. Dr. Coppedge was the family's doctor when Mary was born. Later they used Dr. Harrs, another physician in town. Mary says her family was pretty healthy, but they did share things like sniffles, colds and the measles. Bristow (Okla.) ; Measles ; Dr. Coppedge ; Dr. Harrs Healthcare 0 753 School Regan Siler 12:33
 ; Okay, okay, so you told me you first attended school at the 48 School, um, from there, where did you go after, after you left that school?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 12:48
 ; Seventh grade, when we moved, just out of the edge of Bristow here, going out by the the cemetery, out on the highway, you turned on that dirt road now by the cemetery and two miles west, we moved a larger house that had indoor, partial indoor plumbing. Still didn't have indoor plumbing. We had a well on our back porch. We had a big front porch and a big back porch, plus we had more living space. So, from a family living in a four room house for many years, well, seven years of my life, then we finally lived in a place where we could have more bedrooms. More things to do, a big barn and a, bigger barn. Had a place for us to have animals.
 ; Mary first attended school at 48 School/Central School. She then went to Bristow Schools from part of the eighth grade to graduation. Mary and all of her siblings graduated from Bristow Public Schools. Evalee Smith was an influential teacher in Mary's life. Mary loved school and dreamed of becoming a teacher someday. Central School ; 48 School ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Evalee Smith School 0 986 Mealtimes Regan Siler 16:26
 ; So, can you tell me what it was like at your house during meal times? What were meal times like at your house?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 16:31
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 16:31
 ; You know, it wasn't just me, that was our family way of life. But my older sister and I helped in the kitchen.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 16:31
 ; We all sat down to the table at the same time. We had one meal. It was family style, and we always said grace before meals. We passed the food around or reached and, you know, you had to take turn, but, normally, we had to pass it around. Being one of the older ones, I helped prepare the meal, helped put it on the table, through the setting of the places and cleaned up afterwards. You know, whatever needed to be done. I helped cook it. I helped wash, I mean, we all did.
 ; Mary recalls mealtimes during her childhood ; she says they all ate together as a family. Her favorite meal growing up was probably beans and cornbread. Mary says as one of the older children that she helped prepare and cleanup from the meals. She remembers eating a lot of potatoes. Norma Mae Henderson Gramm Mealtimes 0 1104 Community Activities Regan Siler 18:24
 ; Yeah. Yeah, okay. Well, thinking back to town life and growing up in the Bristow area, do you remember any of your favorite community activities? Say, for instance, like Western Heritage Days, or maybe day camp, parades, county fairs? Is there anything like that that you can tell us about?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 18:43
 ; Well, school and all the activities involved with school, including distributive education, which is one of the things that led me to my first job.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 18:54
 ; Okay.
 ; Mary mainly remembers the activities that she participated in being with the school. She says the distribution education is one of the things that led to her first job. Bristow (Okla.) Community Activities 0 1135 Church Mary Franks 18:55
 ; But yes, I loved everything going on in Bristow as a child. I uh, my dad always had a car, and we went to church. That was big part of our life. Wednesdays, Sundays, Sunday evening.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 19:13
 ; Where did you attend church? Free Holiness Church on First Street. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 19:17
 ; Oh, okay, so the the same church, but that's been kind of renovated now, right? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 19:22
 ; Oh, yes, through many, many I went to church there until I married, and then Larry and I were older when we married, then we chose Church of God, because he knew the folks there. He'd attended that church. It was a small church. It's a little different and it, it's where we made our commitment together to to be Christians and to do what we could and raising our family, living a lifestyle that we thought would be acceptable to God.
 ; Mary and her family attended the Free Holiness Church in Bristow. They had church services on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. After Mary was married, her and her husband started attending the Church of God. Bristow (Okla.) ; Free Holiness Church ; Church of God ; God Church 0 1196 Bristow Businesses Regan Siler 19:56
 ; Right. Well, do you remember any of the particular popular businesses or restaurants around town? Do you have any memory of that? Things that places you shopped, or places you ate that were, stick out to you and your memories?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 20:13
 ; We didn't eat out a lot. There were eight of us.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 20:16
 ; Right, right.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 20:17
 ; Ten people, and I learned to cook for ten people. So, the things that we did as kids, we did a lot of family gatherings, picnics, and we always had lots of cousins and friends. So, our house always had at least two or other people that came to visit. Of course, when they came to visit with my sister, they were there with all of us. When they came for the boys, well, we were all together, so and then we were at home, the neighbors would come to our house. We'd go to their house.
 ; Mary says with growing up in a large family that they did not eat out a lot. Mary and her siblings mainly had homemade clothes or hand me downs from their cousins. Mary would visit the Bristow Library with her teacher, and she really enjoyed it. 48 School ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Public Library Businesses 0 1347 Vacation/Going to Tulsa Regan Siler 22:27
 ; So, you said your dad always had a car. Did you guys ever get to go on any type of vacations? I'm sure that was probably difficult having that many children in your family.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 22:36
 ; Weekends, like I said, we'd would always go to church and we would like go to Mowhawk Park as a family, go to Tulsa. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 22:45
 ; Okay, okay.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 22:46
 ; Vacation, I remember, we went to Kansas to visit some family, and that's little car.
 ; Mary says that besides church on the weekends, her family also visited Mowhawk Park in Tulsa. They also sometimes vacationed to Kansas to visit family. Church ; Mowhawk Park ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Kansas Vacation 0 1375 Television Regan Siler 22:55
 ; Oh, I bet, I bet. So, did you ever, did you have a TV in your house growing up?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 23:02
 ; Not early on. I was probably 11-years-old.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 23:10
 ; Okay. Do you remember any favorite programs you watched? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 23:14
 ; Well, they were when we'd visit relatives, they had TV. So, I loved watching TV in their homes. The story lines, I loved the family stories, and also the family shows, game shows. We had a telephone, so we were able to visit.
 ; Mary says her family did not have a television in the home until she was about 11 years old. She says she loved the family shows and the game shows. Television Television 0 1419 Holidays Regan Siler 23:39
 ; Right. What, excuse me, what were family holidays like at your house? For instance, say Christmas. Tell me what a typical Christmas was like in your house, growing up.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 23:54
 ; Chaotic. We always had plenty to eat. We, of course, our lives centered around school. So, we had our school programs and our, where we all had chances to be on the stage and do those kind of things to get our bags of candy to go home. So, we had those candies, apples and oranges, and in church, we did similar programs, you know, with youth activities, and we have parties and treats and things there. But it took like at home, we would didn't have much money to do with but we did get a little bit of an allowance, and we would buy for each other. So, we had really interesting Christmas gifts that we wrapped up.
 ; Mary remembers the Christmas school programs being a big part of her childhood. She also recalls the Christmas candy bags that her and her siblings received. Mary's mother and father always managed to buy Christmas gifts for all of the children. Birthdays were a big celebration in Mary's family. Easter was also a big holiday in her family. Holidays ; Christmas ; Easter ; Birthdays ; William Eliga Gramm ; Norma Mae Henderson Gramm Holidays 0 1521 Childhood Dreams Regan Siler 25:21
 ; Right. So, I was going to ask if you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up. But I'm guessing it was a teacher.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 25:27
 ; Always a teacher.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 25:28
 ; Okay, um, so did you attend college?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 25:33
 ; No, I'm just lucky to get through high school, Regan. We moved when I was in the, I finished the seventh grade. I was in the eighth grade. Came to Bristow High School, that was junior high, which was really different. You know, there were more people in my home room than there were in the whole school at 48, so I met lots of people, many I knew from church, but not, not everyone. And, then, was introduced to new things to do as as a junior high student. And then,
 ; Mary dreamed of becoming a teacher when she grew up. She says that college was not possible for her. She says because of being in a large family that she was lucky to finish high school. Mary made a lot of friends in school. Teacher ; Bristow High School Dreams 0 1640 Work Regan Siler 27:20
 ; Now you told me you start, did you start working at Ben Franklin? Is that where you started working? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 27:25
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:25
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 27:26
 ; I worked three years while I was in high school. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:29
 ; Oh, okay.
 ; Mary's first job was working at the Ben Franklin store in Bristow. She worked at Ben Franklin part time for three years while in high school. She continued working there after graduation. She worked full time for three years. Then Mary had the opportunity to go work at the American National Bank in Bristow. She ended up being employed at the bank for over 50 years. Ben Franklin ; High School ; Garment Factory ; American National Bank ; SpiritBank ; Travis Patton ; Pauline Patton ; Bristow (Okla) ; Tracy Kelly Work 0 2101 Meeting Sam and Helen Walton Regan Siler 35:01
 ; So, tell me, you had when we had visited on the phone, you mentioned an interesting tidbit about meeting Sam and Helen Walton through the bank. Can you tell me about that? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 35:12
 ; Actually, not through the bank. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 35:14
 ; Oh, not through the bank. 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 35:14
 ; Travis Patton.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 35:15
 ; Oh, okay, okay.
 ; Mary had the opportunity to meet Sam and Helen Walton, the founders of Walmart. She met them while working at Ben Franklin. Sam Walton and Travis Patton were friends. When Mary and her husband were honeymooning in Arkansas, they visited Walmart. Mr. Walton later expanded Walmart to other states, including Oklahoma. Mr. Walton originally planned on keeping everything American made. Sam Walton ; Helen Walton ; Ben Franklin ; Arkansas ; Lawrence Wayne Franks ; Walmart ; Oklahoma ; Kelly family ; Chamber of Commerce ; Bristow Chamber of Commerce ; State Chamber of Commerce ; National Chamber of Commerce Sam and Helen Walton 0 2315 Husband and Marriage Regan Siler 38:35
 ; To come to Bristow. Well, let's talk about your immediate family. Let's start with your spouse. Can you tell me his full name?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 38:45
 ; Lawrence Wayne Franks, and he grew up two miles north of Bristow.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 38:50
 ; And he goes by Larry?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 38:52
 ; I call him Larry. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 38:53
 ; Larry, okay. And what, do you know his date of birth? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 38:56
 ; Sure. 12/19/1941.
 ; Mary's husband is Lawrence Wayne Franks. Mary calls him Larry. He grew up two miles north of Bristow. Mary and Larry went to high school together but did not start dating until after Larry returned from his military career. They were married in 1967 at the Church of God. Bristow (Okla.) ; Lawrence Wayne Franks ; Military ; Bristow High School ; Church of God ; Serro Scotty Husband ; Marriage 0 2439 Children Regan Siler 40:39
 ; Okay. Um, can you tell me how many children you have? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 40:42
 ; We have two.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 40:44
 ; Two children, and can you tell me their names and give me their dates of birth, please?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 40:48
 ; Yes, our children were our chosen children. We, like I shared earlier, I told you I didn't ever want to have kids. I grew up in a large family. I was next to the oldest. I loved kids and wanted to be a teacher, but I didn't really think I wanted to have children after we were married. We were married six years before we got our daughter, and she was adopted. She was chosen. She'd been in foster care. We don't know a lot about her background. Chose not to know. We got her out of through the state.
 ; Mary has two children that are adopted. She says they were chosen children. Mary and her husband had originally planned on not having children but decided to go the adoption route. They wanted to provide for children that did not have a home. Mary and Larry adopted through the state. They adopted their daughter, Missy Maree six years after marriage. They adopted their son, David Wayne five years later. Missy Maree Collins ; John T. Collins ; David Wayne Franks ; Adoption ; Department of Human Services (DHS) ; Sunday School ; Bible School ; Boy Scouts ; Lawrence Wayne Franks Children 0 2716 Grandchildren Regan Siler 45:16
 ; Right, right. Do you have any grandchildren at this time? 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 45:18
 ; Yes, we do have. We have, Missy and John T had two boys, and they adopted a daughter, so they have a high school daughter who is our, she's our seventh grandchild.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 45:36
 ; My goodness, okay.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 45:37
 ; And then we have great grandchildren.
 ; Mary and her husband have seven grandchildren. She says they also have great grandchildren. Grandchildren ; Great Grandchildren ; Lawrence Wayne Franks ; Missy Maree Collins ; John T. Collins Grandchildren 0 2740 Retirement Regan Siler 45:40
 ; Okay, okay. Well, have you enjoyed being retired? I know you left the bank. you said you left the bank in 2019, so you've been retired for a little while. Do you enjoy retirement?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 45:51
 ; I do enjoy retirement. I enjoy life and travel and banking and all of that. So, Larry and I love vacations and getaways, and we did that all the years before kids and with kids and after kids.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 46:06
 ; Right, right. 
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 46:06
 ; We still like to travel. So yes, I do enjoy it.
 ; Mary retired from the bank in 2019. She loves her retired life. Mary and her husband enjoy vacations and getaways. SpiritBank ; Retirement ; Vacations ; Lawrence Wayne Franks ; Travel Retirement 0 2772 Important Invention Regan Siler 46:12
 ; Well, I'm going to ask you kind of a fun question. What would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 46:24
 ; The most important? Oh, they've all been wonderful. [Indecipherable]
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 46:36
 ; Well, now that's pretty important in my book.
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 46:40
 ; I'm just been silly. Probably, I don't know, radio is pretty important. I remember radio being my one of my fondest things.
 ; Mary believes the radio was a very important invention. She loves listening to music, particularly Gospel music. Invention ; Radio ; Gospel music Invention 0 2815 How the World is Different Regan Siler 46:55
 ; Gospel, okay, and then how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 47:07
 ; People have access to a lot more information and opportunities than I ever knew about as a child. Maybe those things were available, but I loved growing up in a large family. I love being a part of business. I love being a part of all the church activities and social parts of, I like people. I like being out. One of the hardest things for me since retirement has not been the daily contact.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 47:40
 ; Your contact.
 ; Mary feels like the world is different now than when she was a child. She says that people have access to more information and opportunities. World ; COVID World 0 2878 Wisdom Regan Siler 47:58
 ; Right, okay, um, well, is there anything else that you would like to tell us about, or any wisdom that you would like to share for future generations?
 ; 
 ; Mary Franks 48:07
 ; The most important thing, I think, is your relationship with God and then with each other and your family and children, and we are blessed. Everybody's been healthy. We, one my one of the biggest challenges as a grandparent has been having, I love all of our kids and grandkids, but we, we do have a handicap granddaughter who has been a big part of my life. And I think it's so sad that children have handicaps, and, you know, sometimes having the access and capabilities of getting the care they need.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 48:52
 ; Right, right, I can understand that.
 ; Mary finishes the interview with some words of wisdom. She says the most important thing is your relationship with God and then with your family. She also wanted to say that she loves her town of Bristow. Wisdom ; God ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Grandchildren Wisdom 0 MP4 Mary Franks, born August 6, 1943, in Bristow, Oklahoma, was one of eight children. She was born at home and delivered by Dr. Coppedge. Her parents, William Elijah Graham and Norma May Henderson Graham, were homemakers and oil field workers. Mary attended 48 District School and later Bristow High School, graduating in 1961. She worked at Ben Franklin and Spirit Bank for over 50 years. Mary and her husband, Larry, had two children, Missy Maree (1966) and David Wayne (1970). Mary emphasized the importance of family, faith, and community involvement. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:24.765 This is Regan Siler with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is June 11, 2025 and I'm sitting here with Mary Franks at the Bristow Library Annex. She is going to tell us a little bit about her life and her history living in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name? 00:00:24.765 --> 00:00:27.405 My name is Mary Evelyn Franks. 00:00:27.405 --> 00:00:29.625 Okay, and do I have permission to do this interview? 00:00:29.625 --> 00:00:30.359 Yes, ma'am. 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:34.740 Okay. So, can you tell me when and where you were born? 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:43.320 I was born in Bristow, Oklahoma, in 1943 two mile about two and a half miles south of Bristow. 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:45.240 So, were you born at home? 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:46.679 I was born at home. 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:47.820 Okay. 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:53.399 And I had one sibling. My sister was, like, a year and a half older than me. 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.000 Okay, and, so, do you know who delivered you? 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.119 Dr. Coppedge. 00:00:59.119 --> 00:00:59.359 Okay. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:00.439 Medical doctor. 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:05.060 I've actually heard of him through some of my interviews. So, he came to your house and delivered you, then. 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:05.599 He did. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:08.239 Okay. And what was your actual date of birth? 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:10.819 August 6, 1943. 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:25.640 Okay, um, and let's talk about the people in your family. Let's start with your parents. What are your parents full names, and I have their dates of birth, I think. But we can, we can, I can verify that with you. 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:28.840 Alright. At the time I was born, I had one older sister. I am one of eight children. All eight of which are still living. 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:32.799 My goodness. 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:44.799 And I knew early on, I did not want a large family. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:46.000 After growing up in one? 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:50.545 I loved growing up in one, and had lots of playmates, lots and lots of friends. 00:01:50.545 --> 00:01:51.019 Right. 00:01:51.019 --> 00:02:00.500 Always a house full of people. But my parents' names, William Eliga Gramm - G R A M M. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:01.219 Okay. 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:05.659 My mother's name was Norma Mae Henderson Gramm. 00:02:05.659 --> 00:02:10.560 And did your dad go by Eliga? 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.780 That was his given name, but most people called him Lige or Ligie. 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:20.360 Okay, and I have his birthday as 12/18/1918? 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:20.900 That's correct. 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:27.860 Okay, and then I have your mom's birthday as 8/20/1920? 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:29.479 Yes, '21. 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:34.580 8/20/1921? Okay, I'll correct that. 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:38.840 You did call me about that. I had originally told you. 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:45.020 Okay, oh, maybe, yeah, maybe I didn't change it. Okay, can you tell me what type of work your parents did? 00:02:45.020 --> 00:03:04.025 My mother, of course, with eight children, was a homemaker. She did everything. My dad worked in the oil field. At the time I was born, he worked at a box factory, and the box factory was in Bristow on South Main. It was later known as the peanut mill. 00:03:04.025 --> 00:03:05.000 Oh, okay. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:25.039 It was on the corner of Main, and I believe that was Third Street. And so as a child growing up, people would always comment about my brown eyes, and where did you, you get those pretty brown eyes? And I'd always say my dad got them. My daddy got them at the peanut mill. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:25.939 Yeah. So, that was always kind of a joke around the house. 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:29.479 Oh, funny! 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:40.580 So, did your, did your parents always live here? Or did something, did something bring them to Bristow? Were they always from around this area? Do you know? 00:03:40.580 --> 00:04:11.884 They lived here since they were children. My mother, actually, lived between Bristow and Kellyville on the old Kellyville road going towards Slick. She went to high school at Slick. Graduated high school there. My dad grew up between Bristow and the outskirts of Bristow. His dad was a farmer, and he moved here from Missouri when he was probably 12, 13-years-old. 00:04:11.884 --> 00:04:12.485 Okay. 00:04:12.485 --> 00:04:20.139 No, 10, probably more like nine and 10 years old from Lebanon, Missouri. 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:39.879 You know, a lot of people, I've realized, during a lot of these interviews that there was a lot of people that came from Missouri to Bristow, and I'm not sure if it was because of the oil or farming or what it was, but there was a lot of families that moved here from Missouri. 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:40.600 For work, I think. 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:45.564 Yeah, yeah. And then, so, you said your dad was in the oil business, too? 00:04:45.564 --> 00:04:52.524 Yes, yeah. He worked in the oil field business as a pumper and a truck driver. 00:04:52.524 --> 00:04:53.079 Okay. 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:59.500 He worked many years. 50 years? [Indecipherable] for his Krumme Oil Company. 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:02.680 Oh! Okay, okay, another Bristow icon. 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:03.399 Right. 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.339 Yeah, okay, um. 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:15.339 My mother, like I said, grew up around between Kellyville and Slick, so Bristow was kind of home. 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:15.579 Okay. 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:20.545 They met when they were in their early 20s. 00:05:20.545 --> 00:05:26.004 And, then, you said you were number two of eight siblings or of eight children? 00:05:26.004 --> 00:05:27.384 Number two of eight children. 00:05:27.384 --> 00:05:28.105 Okay. 00:05:28.105 --> 00:05:29.779 All eight of us are still alive. 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:30.899 That's amazing. 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:39.660 Active, healthy, we've been blessed. I loved growing up in a large family. But I didn't want a large family. 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:42.660 Right, well, you always had built in playmates, I'm sure. 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:43.319 Oh, I did. 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:43.980 Yeah, yeah. 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:54.000 And I always got to be the mother. It's kind of fun. I'll just mention it. I know you can delete what you don't want to use. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:58.649 My sister, like I said, was a year and a half older than me, and then two years later, after I was born, we had a brother, and then two years after, I had another brother. So, there was four of us, and two years after that brother, had a sister, and then a second sister, and then two years, they were two years apart. And then after the girls and had, two years later, brother Steven, and then my youngest brother, Brice. So, within a short time, we had eight children in our family. So, they each had a playmate. I had a sister to play with. My brothers had two boys to play with, you know, and two sisters and two boys. Almost like it was planned. It was part of God'splan. I guess. My mother never lost any children. She carried all of us full term. We were all healthy. vision problems, but mentally and physically active. 00:06:58.649 --> 00:07:04.540 That's good. Did you, did you get to grow up around any other family, like extended family? 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:53.845 I told you I was born at home, two and a half miles south of Bristow. We moved to, I don't remember that. I was to young. I was a toddler. We moved half a mile down on the corner, right the corner of two mile corner. There was a big barn there and a frame house. And the property was owned by a Mr. Abraham, another Bristow person and Abraham Family. So, over the years, got to know who those folks were, especially back in time for rental payment, and, anyway, we lived there until I was in the eighth grade. Lived on that corner, two miles south of town. And went to school at a little country school. 00:07:53.845 --> 00:07:57.264 I think, did you say 00:07:57.264 --> 00:08:02.180 Two and a half miles is called Central School. It was known before that as 48 School. 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:07.000 Forty-Eight School. I knew you had mentioned 48 School to me, and I hadn't heard it referred to as that. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:25.540 It was like other little country schools at that time, it was like two and a half miles from town, two miles from town to south and two back west, so four miles from town out by the airport, the hill just up from the airport. 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:25.720 Okay. 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:26.920 That's where I grew up. 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:28.420 Oh, okay. 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:55.164 So, we lived two miles back toward the Highway 66, went to school at that little school, and it was a country school with one teacher. Probably about 22 students, 20, 25 students, and the older kids kind of took care of the younger kids. So, we'd had like three or four people in the grade, and then there were eight of us. So, there were probably six of us. 00:08:55.164 --> 00:08:58.320 You made up half the school, didn't you? 00:08:58.320 --> 00:08:59.899 Other families did the same thing. 00:08:59.899 --> 00:08:59.919 Right. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:00.620 So, you know, we were like one big, happy family. Everything that went on at school was kind of like at home, and those kids would come home with us, we'd go home with them. 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:04.399 It's just one big happy family. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:13.460 Tell me again what the actual name of the school was. 00:09:13.460 --> 00:09:20.120 It was called 48, District, 48 School. It's called Central School.l 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:23.419 Central School, okay, okay. Well, let's talk a little 00:09:23.419 --> 00:10:18.409 And JL Darnell, who also had deep roots in Bristow, was the superintendent for all these little country schools, like at Gypsy and Newby and Tuskegee and Wyatt and Iron Post. My mother went school at Wyatt School, which was out around there actually people that lived out there, his name was Wyatt. Again, my dad didn't he went to school. When they moved here from Missouri, he did not go to school, maybe through the third, fourth grade. I don't know if he thought he was too smart for school or if wasn't important for him to go to school or just why he didn't go to school, but he wanted us to go to school. Of course, we never missed anything going on with school. If it didn't happen two miles down the road, you know, it's going to happen at school. 00:10:18.409 --> 00:10:29.000 Right, right. Well, let's talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you happen to remember any of your favorite toys or games that you played when you were young? 00:10:29.000 --> 00:11:05.825 We played tin cans. We had jump ropes. We jump ropes, jacks. We did a lot of outdoor games. Being the older siblings, we took care of the smaller children. Played games with them, so one person was learning. I mean, our favorite thing to play was school. We loved our teacher. We played school. We were church going family, who played church. We had more church services in our backyard. 00:11:05.825 --> 00:11:07.445 That's awesome. 00:11:07.445 --> 00:11:20.840 The teacher, I was going to be the teacher. One of the older ones, I speak up and say, I want to be the teacher. So, I was kind of hard out of those, so they had school at home as well as the school sometimes. 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.259 So, did you have chores that you were expected to do as a youngster? 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:31.279 Everything. You know, we lived in a four room house, and there were eight children. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.220 So, you just were expected to help out where needed. at home. 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:42.919 All born at hom, so I knew early on all about pregnancies and babies and stuff like that, except the two younger boys, and they were both born in the hospital. 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:43.820 Okay. 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:55.144 Here in Bristow. Everybody was healthy. We we shared everything, like sniffles and colds, measles. 00:11:55.144 --> 00:12:03.299 So, as far as healthcare, then, did the did you did the doctor come to your house if you were ever sick, or did you guys handle that at home, usually? 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:07.080 Dr. Coppedge was the doctor that delivered me. He was our family doctor. And then Dr Harrs, another lifetime physician here in town. Moms had their babies at home. Doctors would make house calls at that time, and we were in the house, and the babies were being born, you know, they were in the other room. 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:33.644 We learned more about the bird from the bees. 00:12:33.644 --> 00:12:48.159 Okay, okay, so you told me you first attended school at the 48 School, um, from there, where did you go after, after you left that school? 00:12:48.159 --> 00:13:51.129 Seventh grade, when we moved, just out of the edge of Bristow here, going out by the the cemetery, out on the highway, you turned on that dirt road now by the cemetery and two miles west, we moved a larger house that had indoor, partial indoor plumbing. Still didn't have indoor plumbing. We had a well on our back porch. We had a big front porch and a big back porch, plus we had more living space. So, from a family living in a four room house for many years, well, seven years of my life, then we finally lived in a place where we could have more bedrooms. More things to do, a big barn and a, bigger barn. Had a place for us to have animals. 00:13:51.129 --> 00:13:55.195 So, whenever you lived out there, what school, did you attend Bristow schools? 00:13:55.195 --> 00:14:17.934 Yes, moved into Bristow School and going from a country school with all ages into a classroom, let me see, I graduated class of '61 and went to school from part of the eighth, ninth, tenth grade. Well, we're all, I graduated high school, so that's the only school I went to. 00:14:17.934 --> 00:14:20.139 Okay, so you graduated from Bristow? 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:26.559 Yes, 1961. All of us graduated from Bristow. 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:36.519 Okay, okay, um, do you remember having any influential teachers that really stuck out to you or made a difference in your life? 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:54.804 Every one of them did. I, like I said, I my dream was to be a teacher. I played school with my siblings. My teacher at 48 School or Central School, Evalee Smith (ph) was my mentor. She, well, the daughter my age. 00:14:54.804 --> 00:14:56.544 Say her name again. What was her name? 00:14:56.544 --> 00:14:58.899 Evalee Smith (ph). 00:14:58.899 --> 00:14:59.840 [undecipherable] Yes, folks living out, by where you live, out that direction. You lived out five mile corner and back out through "VanOrsdol Ville". 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:01.580 Right, right. 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:14.000 Where you grew up with your best friend. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:21.200 Right. See, you have a great memory. You, you remember a lot about me, even. 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:22.460 I'm watching people grow up. 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:23.500 Right. 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.379 And then I worked in Bristow my whole life. 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:29.779 Well, did you enjoy school? Did you have a favorite subject? 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:32.240 I loved school. Anything reading. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:34.039 You love to read. 00:15:34.039 --> 00:16:26.389 But being an older student, I started first grade there, and then my siblings would go to school. And you know, when you live in a family with eight kids, it's fun to get to go to school before you go to school. My sister and I kind of paved the way, and then she was a year ahead of me, and then the others were, like, two years apart, and so we're supposed to have the older kids help with the reading programs, help with the math, of course, my dream was to be a teacher, and so if I fit right in, of course, we had our meals at school, our playground school, blackboard time, all that stuff. A lot of people coming and going within the school. Families moving in and out. 00:16:26.389 --> 00:16:31.940 So, can you tell me what it was like at your house during meal times? What were meal times like at your house? 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:53.799 We all sat down to the table at the same time. We had one meal. It was family style, and we always said grace before meals. We passed the food around or reached and, you know, you had to take turn, but, normally, we had to pass it around. Being one of the older ones, I helped prepare the meal, helped put it on the table, through the setting of the places and cleaned up afterwards. You know, whatever needed to be done. I helped cook it. I helped wash, I mean, we all did. 00:16:53.799 --> 00:17:23.660 any favorite recipes or dishes that your mom fixed when you were young? Do you remember? 00:17:23.660 --> 00:17:49.539 She didn't really need a cookbook. She just knew how to how to cook. She we did get her cookbooks that was kind of a fun thing to give, get around birthday, or make her one. Just learned to cook the way my mother did.And she let us help with you know, we'd peel the potatoes. We had gardens. 00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:52.000 So, was there a favorite meal that you had? Do you remember? 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:57.279 Probably beans and cornbread? Because we sure had them a lot. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:57.700 Right, right. 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:19.660 A lot of potatoes, all the starchy foods. I'm not a meat eater today. We didn't have an awful lot. We had meat flavoring, and we had roast, pot roast. We had, used a lot of hamburger, and a lot of you can make a lot of dishes. 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:24.085 I'm sure you had to be frugal with, they had to be frugal with eight kids. 00:18:24.085 --> 00:18:24.444 Right. 00:18:24.444 --> 00:18:43.359 Yeah. Yeah, okay. Well, thinking back to town life and growing up in the Bristow area, do you remember any of your favorite community activities? Say, for instance, like Western Heritage Days, or maybe day camp, parades, county fairs? Is there anything like that that you can tell us about? 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:54.160 Well, school and all the activities involved with school, including distributive education, which is one of the things that led me to my first job. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.000 Okay. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:19:13.660 But yes, I loved everything going on in Bristow as a child. I uh, my dad always had a car, and we went to church. That was big part of our life. Wednesdays, Sundays, Sunday evening. 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:17.079 Where did you attend church? Free Holiness Church on First Street. 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:22.839 Oh, okay, so the the same church, but that's been kind of renovated now, right? 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:56.424 Oh, yes, through many, many I went to church there until I married, and then Larry and I were older when we married, then we chose Church of God, because he knew the folks there. He'd attended that church. It was a small church. It's a little different and it, it's where we made our commitment together to to be Christians and to do what we could and raising our family, living a lifestyle that we thought would be acceptable to God. 00:19:56.424 --> 00:20:13.809 Right. Well, do you remember any of the particular popular businesses or restaurants around town? Do you have any memory of that? Things that places you shopped, or places you ate that were, stick out to you and your memories? 00:20:13.809 --> 00:20:16.690 We didn't eat out a lot. There were eight of us. 00:20:16.690 --> 00:20:17.359 Right, right. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:56.285 Ten people, and I learned to cook for ten people. So, the things that we did as kids, we did a lot of family gatherings, picnics, and we always had lots of cousins and friends. So, our house always had at least two or other people that came to visit. Of course, when they came to visit with my sister, they were there with all of us. When they came for the boys, well, we were all together, so and then we were at home, the neighbors would come to our house. We'd go to their house. 00:20:56.285 --> 00:21:09.839 So, as far as shopping, and, say, new clothes for a family of eight, did your mom make them? Did you get to shop? Did you only get them once a year? How did that work? 00:21:09.839 --> 00:22:19.289 My mom made a lot. She taught us to sew when we were young, and we helped make clothing for the younger kids in school at 48 [indecipherable]. In grade school, 4h was a big part of it ,so we learned to sew on the sewing machine there, and learned to do aprons and skirts. And, you know, there was always a challenge. Had cousins that would give us clothing that, sometimes, needed to be redone, and we would do that so, But yeah, our teacher would, I loved to read, and she would bring us into Bristow to the library. So, early on, going to the Bristow Library was a really fun thing for me, and we would all check out books and take them home. I was a bookworm, and we'd each have two or three books, and I'd read mine and then read everybody else's. And they would read ours before time to take our books back and then. 00:22:19.289 --> 00:22:23.055 So, it was almost like you got to check out eight books, huh? 00:22:23.055 --> 00:22:25.095 It was, and then read to the kids. 00:22:25.095 --> 00:22:25.335 Right. 00:22:25.335 --> 00:22:27.015 It was kind of fun, so. 00:22:27.015 --> 00:22:36.000 So, you said your dad always had a car. Did you guys ever get to go on any type of vacations? I'm sure that was probably difficult having that many children in your family. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:45.059 Weekends, like I said, we'd would always go to church and we would like go to Mowhawk Park as a family, go to Tulsa. 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:46.539 Okay, okay. 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:55.180 Vacation, I remember, we went to Kansas to visit some family, and that's little car. 00:22:55.180 --> 00:23:02.619 Oh, I bet, I bet. So, did you ever, did you have a TV in your house growing up? 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:10.480 Not early on. I was probably 11-years-old. 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:14.305 Okay. Do you remember any favorite programs you watched? 00:23:14.305 --> 00:23:39.900 Well, they were when we'd visit relatives, they had TV. So, I loved watching TV in their homes. The story lines, I loved the family stories, and also the family shows, game shows. We had a telephone, so we were able to visit. 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:54.000 Right. What, excuse me, what were family holidays like at your house? For instance, say Christmas. Tell me what a typical Christmas was like in your house, growing up. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:24:40.365 Chaotic. We always had plenty to eat. We, of course, our lives centered around school. So, we had our school programs and our, where we all had chances to be on the stage and do those kind of things to get our bags of candy to go home. So, we had those candies, apples and oranges, and in church, we did similar programs, you know, with youth activities, and we have parties and treats and things there. But it took like at home, we would didn't have much money to do with but we did get a little bit of an allowance, and we would buy for each other. So, we had really interesting Christmas gifts that we wrapped up. 00:24:40.365 --> 00:24:41.119 Well, that's fun. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:45.559 Under the Christmas tree, but we, we learned to give from the time we were small. 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:46.400 That's good. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:56.599 And yes, we, we each got gifts. My mother and dad managed somehow for us to have gifts. Sometimes it was clothing, sometimes it was a game, but 00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:59.420 Did you have a favorite holiday growing up? 00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:00.680 Birthdays. 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:02.000 Birthdays were your favorite? 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:04.700 Everybody's birthday was always a party. 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:09.059 Well, I bet, I bet. Um, so, and I was going to ask if 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:11.880 Easter was probably my favorite. 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:12.599 Your favorite. 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:21.359 Like a new beginning. The easter eggs and the family gathering and it'd all be outside. 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:27.059 Right. So, I was going to ask if you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up. But I'm guessing it was a teacher. 00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:28.920 Always a teacher. 00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:33.259 Okay, um, so did you attend college? 00:25:33.259 --> 00:26:16.700 No, I'm just lucky to get through high school, Regan. We moved when I was in the, I finished the seventh grade. I was in the eighth grade. Came to Bristow High School, that was junior high, which was really different. You know, there were more people in my home room than there were in the whole school at 48, so I met lots of people, many I knew from church, but not, not everyone. And, then, was introduced to new things to do as as a junior high student. And then, 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:23.599 So, was it kind of a culture shock for you to go from a country school to, say, like Bristow Public Schools? 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:29.240 But a welcome, too, because I was with kids my own age, and was really always taking care of other people. 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.480 That's understandable. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:27:20.789 I made a lot of friends. I, scholastically, I was probably as smart as any other kids in the classroom, so I would be able to keep up with what they were doing, and think is this all we're going to do? And then you would go to another class, and you're more assignments. I liked being able to finish my work at school, so I didn't have to do it at home. And then I, you know, it cost money, a lot of money, and it was hard to keep a family involed. I needed to go to work, and in order to stay in school. We all graduated high school. And I did that. 00:27:20.789 --> 00:27:25.109 Now you told me you start, did you start working at Ben Franklin? Is that where you started working? 00:27:25.109 --> 00:27:25.890 Yes. 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:26.490 Okay. 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:29.369 I worked three years while I was in high school. 00:27:29.369 --> 00:27:30.599 Oh, okay. 00:27:30.599 --> 00:28:08.325 Three years, and I worked part time after school and on Saturdays. And then I, after I graduated high school, there was no many to go to school. No scholarships. You know, really, I was thankful to get through school. My sister graduated a year before me, and she went to work at the garment factory, was there for a short time and married her sweetheart and moved away. I finished high school, but I worked three years part time, and then I worked three years full time after I graduated high school. 00:28:08.325 --> 00:28:10.365 At Ben Franklin? 00:28:10.365 --> 00:28:11.444 At Ben Franklin. 00:28:11.444 --> 00:28:12.525 Okay, okay. 00:28:12.525 --> 00:28:19.724 And then after those three years, had the opportunity to go to work at the bank. 00:28:19.724 --> 00:28:22.305 And at the time it was, it was American National Bank. 00:28:22.305 --> 00:28:25.289 It was America National Bank. 00:28:25.289 --> 00:28:27.150 Which then turned into Spirit Bank, so 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:45.375 That job wasn't available, though. I mean, I didn't even dream I'd ever go to work at the bank. I loved working at Ben Franklin. And like I said, after after high school, I worked for full years. I was cashier. I learned to manage the store. 00:28:45.375 --> 00:28:47.954 And tell me who owned Ben Franklin at that time? 00:28:47.954 --> 00:28:49.539 Travis and Pauline Patton. 00:28:49.539 --> 00:28:53.500 Okay, okay. And you, so you felt like you learned a lot from them? 00:28:53.500 --> 00:29:16.025 Oh yes, even part time and working on Saturdays, they gave opportunities to learn things. You know, being from a poor family, I loved to shop at Ben Franklin. That's what we would do. We moved around a lot. We didn't have much money to spend. And yeah, when, when I was growing up, it was just a treat to get to come town. We did that on Saturdays. We never went to movies that cost money. We didn't go skating. That cost money. 00:29:16.025 --> 00:29:16.865 So, whenever you 00:29:16.865 --> 00:29:23.045 It was fun just going to the park. 00:29:23.045 --> 00:29:29.480 Whenever you worked at Ben Franklin, and you earned money there, was that your money or did you help your family with that? 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:34.819 It was my money, but I worked at Ben Franklin, and they had everything the family would need. I would normally spend all of it right there buying things for my siblings, who are still in school, helping them so they could take part in the clubs and things that I didn't get to take part in because I was working. But then they, too, had a responsibility. We learned to work, and if a job became available, or they knew of a job, then they, too, always went to work. 00:29:34.819 --> 00:30:17.930 then you retired there in 2019? 00:30:17.930 --> 00:30:18.289 I did. 00:30:18.289 --> 00:30:23.359 So, tell me, tell us about your experience working at Spirit bank and what all that entailed. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:31:18.769 Well, like I said, I had six years working on Main Street with Ben Franklin before I went to work at the bank, and then was at the bank at the time this building next door was being built. So, I went to work in May of '64 and the ground was part of the groundbreaking for the new building on Seventh Street. Bu,t I went to work at the bank, I went to work in bookkeeping department, and they had this machine, a huge machine. It's called just a bookkeeping machine. And I didn't like machines at all. It was boring. But my first job when I went in was checking signatures on people's checks with signature cards. And signatures were very, very important back in those days, 00:31:18.769 --> 00:31:21.000 Before all the technology that we have now, right? 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:46.980 I worked on that darn machine, and I did it okay. There's no problem, but sitting there looking at a wall, doing all this stuff was boring. I went to work and then finished work, and there was nothing to do, so I'd go upstairs, and what can I do, you know. When I went to work at the bank, I also kept my job at Ben Franklin. 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:50.140 You liked it so much you kept both of them. 00:31:50.140 --> 00:32:44.769 The bank was open until, well, when I left Ben Franklin, one of the things that Travis Patton, he ordered all the workbooks for all the schools in town, and so I was in charge of helping order those books during those three years that I worked full time. And having done it part time, I kind of learned how to do a lot of things, and I loved working at Ben Franklin. I never would have left the job. I didn't have any good college, and I was just working just to keep going. But anyway, of course, I was a teenager. I dated, met a lot of people, did a lot of fun things, but still lived at home with my parents. I never lived alone, and then I worked several years before Larry and I married. 00:32:44.769 --> 00:32:52.539 So, what were, can you tell me before we move on from Spirit Bank, can you tell me what different positions you held there at Spirit Bank? 00:32:52.539 --> 00:33:45.789 Sure, I was working the bookkeeping department then I worked, I wanted more to do. I moved into the loan department and did a lot of filing and clerical work. And the lady who was working as a secretary moved away. I had shorthand, bookkeeping in high school, and I'd do all those things. And, immediately, I was asked to fill that position. I didn't ask for it. They asked me if I would like to, and I moved into it as a receptionist, and then Tracy Kelly, the vice president of the bank, before I went there in '64. And I guess they were just looking out for me. One of the things that they did tell me when I went to work there was that I'd have a chance to go to college. 00:33:45.789 --> 00:33:46.450 Awesome. 00:33:46.450 --> 00:33:49.930 Yeah, in banking classes and that sort of thing. 00:33:49.930 --> 00:33:54.900 So, they were believers in continuing education and supportive of that? 00:33:54.900 --> 00:34:24.179 Aways. And every time I took a class and successfully completed it, my salary was increased, but anyway, back to my job. I didn't know I'd worked there forever, but I did. I loved it. I liked being with the people. Many of the people that came in and out of the bank were people that I had met through Ben Franklin, because I worked as a cashier and then also Travis's office [indecipherable]. 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:30.644 So, how long did you work for, were you Tracy's administrative assistant? 00:34:30.644 --> 00:34:31.125 I was. 00:34:31.125 --> 00:34:38.144 And how long did you work for for Tracy? So how many years would you say that was? 00:34:38.144 --> 00:34:49.650 Oh my gosh. Primarily, most of my baking career. 00:34:49.650 --> 00:34:56.369 Oh, okay, okay. Well, I remember coming in there as a little kid and seeing you. 00:34:56.369 --> 00:34:58.530 Hopefully I was smiling. 00:34:58.530 --> 00:35:00.869 You were always, always very sweet. 00:35:00.869 --> 00:35:01.650 Well, thank you. 00:35:01.650 --> 00:35:12.795 So, tell me, you had when we had visited on the phone, you mentioned an interesting tidbit about meeting Sam and Helen Walton through the bank. Can you tell me about that? 00:35:12.795 --> 00:35:14.000 Actually, not through the bank. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:14.250 Oh, not through the bank. 00:35:14.250 --> 00:35:15.619 Travis Patton. 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:16.719 Oh, okay, okay. 00:35:16.719 --> 00:36:31.039 Mr. Walton was a Ben Franklin owner. I was a high school student, and, of course, through the Ben Franklin chain, they were, they were friends. And, you know, he would send in Bill and his, he had just had this big idea, of a discount store. He had the Ben Franklin store, but he and Travis were friends. I met him as a young person when he visited and knew that he had the store, and he and his wife were both there, first time that I met them. Then later on, when Larry and I married, we went Arkansas for our honeymoon. And there's always need something from so we went to Ben Franklin store, which was still operating at that time, and I remember seeing this the store, the wall, Walmart, yeah, of course, Mr. 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:35.440 So what was your impression of them? 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:43.300 I looked up to him, and he was a businessman, and he was very knowledgeable. He treated me like a person. 00:36:43.300 --> 00:36:44.000 Well, that's good. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:37:05.539 And then an opportunity to go visit the store. He wasn't there at the time, but then seeing the groundwork as they were starting the store. I just remember his theme was he was going to keep everything American. It didn't happen. 00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:09.039 That it didn't work out quite like that, did it? 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:15.579 And then years later, they actually came to Oklahoma with their Walmart stores. 00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:17.079 Well, let's talk about 00:37:17.079 --> 00:38:04.989 It was interesting visiting him and other people. And then same way with the bank. You know, every new people would come to town they'd come to the bank looking for information, asking questions, and a lot of it, a lot of people, especially in the Kelly family with the leadership, and not only of Bristow, but Tracy served in a lot of Oklahoma departments, like the Chamber of Commerce, Bristow Chamber of Commerce, the State Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber of Commerce. Over the years, like different levels, working as an assistant secretary. I've got to meet a lot of people, and lot of names, and put those connections together, 00:38:04.989 --> 00:38:06.000 Right, right. I bet you did. 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:35.684 Bristow was operated totally different back in those early days. We had the Chamber of Commerce, which did a whole lot of the things that people, and then we had a businessmen that would team up together, work through the chamber of commerce and go out looking for businesses to come Town, so there was always a lot of research and stuff behind the scenes before people would make a decision actually. 00:38:35.684 --> 00:38:45.679 To come to Bristow. Well, let's talk about your immediate family. Let's start with your spouse. Can you tell me his full name? 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:50.599 Lawrence Wayne Franks, and he grew up two miles north of Bristow. 00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:52.460 And he goes by Larry? 00:38:52.460 --> 00:38:53.059 I call him Larry. 00:38:53.059 --> 00:38:56.059 Larry, okay. And what, do you know his date of birth? 00:38:56.059 --> 00:39:02.840 Sure. 12/19/1941. 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:06.420 Okay, what was your first impression of him when you saw him? 00:39:06.420 --> 00:39:41.925 We were in high school together. He was just a classmate, and we had some of the same friends. We did not date in high school. I didn't date a lot. I was busy working. And he was same way he had worked from [indecipherable] while he was in high school, and did that during the summer, and then went into the military. And we didn't actually date until after he returned from his military career. 00:39:41.925 --> 00:39:44.565 So, when did you get married? 00:39:44.565 --> 00:39:49.304 We got married in 1967. 00:39:49.304 --> 00:39:51.164 1967 and 00:39:51.164 --> 00:39:54.030 I was, I was older when we got married. 00:39:54.030 --> 00:39:57.750 So, where did you, where did you get, where did you have your wedding? 00:39:57.750 --> 00:39:59.000 At the Church of God. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:08.039 Church of God. Okay, and then where did you end up living after you and Larry married? 00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:08.820 North Main Street. 00:40:08.820 --> 00:40:10.079 Oh, okay, so you were still in Bristow. 00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:11.000 Across the street from where the bank building is now, you're right. Let's see, where was the little house? It's right there on the corner. Really cute little house set back off, off of Main Street, and then he worked at Serro Scotty and I worked at the bank. 00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:22.512 He worked where? 00:40:22.512 --> 00:40:37.684 Serro Scotty. They built the travel trailers at a factory here. 00:40:37.684 --> 00:40:38.164 Okay. 00:40:38.164 --> 00:40:39.364 Way back when. 00:40:39.364 --> 00:40:42.905 Okay. Um, can you tell me how many children you have? 00:40:42.905 --> 00:40:44.585 We have two. 00:40:44.585 --> 00:40:48.780 Two children, and can you tell me their names and give me their dates of birth, please? 00:40:48.780 --> 00:41:30.980 Yes, our children were our chosen children. We, like I shared earlier, I told you I didn't ever want to have kids. I grew up in a large family. I was next to the oldest. I loved kids and wanted to be a teacher, but I didn't really think I wanted to have children after we were married. We were married six years before we got our daughter, and she was adopted. She was chosen. She'd been in foster care. We don't know a lot about her background. Chose not to know. We got her out of through the state. 00:41:30.980 --> 00:41:32.900 And what is her name? 00:41:32.900 --> 00:41:40.019 Her name, we got to name her. Her name is Missy Maree [Collins]. 00:41:40.019 --> 00:41:42.360 Okay, and her last name? 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:48.780 Franks, of course, and then Collins. She married Collins, John T. Collins. 00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:50.159 And her date of birth? 00:41:50.159 --> 00:41:58.980 Her date of birth is October 25, 1966 that would been the year before we were married. 00:41:58.980 --> 00:42:01.460 Okay. 00:42:01.460 --> 00:42:40.264 Like I said, she was school age when we got her so after we married, we were without children in intentionally for several years. We had been married six years. We probably after we've been married about four years, we decided that we've got God's calling. There are lots of kids that didn't have homes. And I had read lots of books when I was growing up about people that needed homes, and it's something that Larry and I chose to do. We knew we were going to go the adoption route. 00:42:40.264 --> 00:42:43.625 And then you also have a son. What is his name? 00:42:43.625 --> 00:42:49.610 She was with us for five years before we adopted David. David Wayne Franks, we gave him that name. 00:42:49.610 --> 00:42:52.190 Okay, and his date of birth? 00:42:52.190 --> 00:42:55.190 His date of birth. 00:42:55.190 --> 00:42:57.889 I have April 7, 1970 Is that correct? 00:42:57.889 --> 00:42:58.489 That's correct. 00:42:58.489 --> 00:43:08.900 Okay, do you remember, what, if you had any particular challenges being a mother, especially a working mother? 00:43:08.900 --> 00:43:14.480 No, I was a very good aunt. My siblings all had children. 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:17.539 So, you knew how to manage all of it. 00:43:17.539 --> 00:44:18.170 Yeah, and we were a close knit family, you know, I was there with them from the beginning of the time that they're they were expecting their babies and being a part of it. And loved being around lots of kids. Larry, on the other hand, only had one sister and her children at the time we married were already, let's see, 10 and 14, maybe, 10 and 13. So, yeah, we were ready for children, and they fit right in, because our friends had children who were about the same age as the kids that we were adopting our kids records that we were told by DHS and then they had been in foster care and never known a stable life. 00:44:18.170 --> 00:44:20.030 So, you were able to provide that for them. 00:44:20.030 --> 00:44:20.929 We were, yeah. 00:44:20.929 --> 00:44:21.409 That's good. 00:44:21.409 --> 00:44:22.250 With God's help. 00:44:22.250 --> 00:44:25.190 It's awesome. Do you have any grandchildren? 00:44:25.190 --> 00:44:47.000 When they came to us, we had cousins that came. When Missy came to our home after we'd been married six years. She already had probably eight to ten cousins. Three of which were her age, so she immediately had playmates. 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:47.480 That's awesome. 00:44:47.480 --> 00:45:00.500 That lived close by along with the kids, the children that our friends had and people that I worked with had, so we suddenly became involved in kids activities. 00:45:00.500 --> 00:45:00.920 Right. 00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:16.445 Because we had done that before, like I said, I didn't want kids, but I wanted to teach kids. And I taught in Sunday School and Bible School, and Larry worked with Boy Scouts and activities. So, we were around children always, we had just chosen not to have children. 00:45:16.445 --> 00:45:18.539 Right, right. Do you have any grandchildren at this time? 00:45:18.539 --> 00:45:36.360 Yes, we do have. We have, Missy and John T had two boys, and they adopted a daughter, so they have a high school daughter who is our, she's our seventh grandchild. 00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:37.920 My goodness, okay. 00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:40.380 And then we have great grandchildren. 00:45:40.380 --> 00:45:51.045 Okay, okay. Well, have you enjoyed being retired? I know you left the bank. you said you left the bank in 2019, so you've been retired for a little while. Do you enjoy retirement? 00:45:51.045 --> 00:46:06.449 I do enjoy retirement. I enjoy life and travel and banking and all of that. So, Larry and I love vacations and getaways, and we did that all the years before kids and with kids and after kids. 00:46:06.449 --> 00:46:06.989 Right, right. 00:46:06.989 --> 00:46:12.269 We still like to travel. So yes, I do enjoy it. 00:46:12.269 --> 00:46:24.719 Well, I'm going to ask you kind of a fun question. What would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime? 00:46:24.719 --> 00:46:36.619 The most important? Oh, they've all been wonderful. [Indecipherable] 00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:40.139 Well, now that's pretty important in my book. 00:46:40.139 --> 00:46:51.300 I'm just been silly. Probably, I don't know, radio is pretty important. I remember radio being my one of my fondest things. 00:46:51.300 --> 00:46:55.380 Did you have any particular music you enjoyed listening to? 00:46:55.380 --> 00:46:55.980 Gospel. 00:46:55.980 --> 00:47:07.780 Gospel, okay, and then how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child? 00:47:07.780 --> 00:47:40.465 People have access to a lot more information and opportunities than I ever knew about as a child. Maybe those things were available, but I loved growing up in a large family. I love being a part of business. I love being a part of all the church activities and social parts of, I like people. I like being out. One of the hardest things for me since retirement has not been the daily contact. 00:47:40.465 --> 00:47:41.304 Your contact. 00:47:41.304 --> 00:47:46.405 But after I retired, course we had COVID, and everybody was afraid to even get out. 00:47:46.405 --> 00:47:47.005 Right. 00:47:47.005 --> 00:47:58.960 So the whole lifestyle sort of changed. Back to your question, what the most important invention, probably was the telephone, where people had more contact with others. 00:47:58.960 --> 00:48:07.059 Right, okay, um, well, is there anything else that you would like to tell us about, or any wisdom that you would like to share for future generations? 00:48:07.059 --> 00:48:52.344 The most important thing, I think, is your relationship with God and then with each other and your family and children, and we are blessed. Everybody's been healthy. We, one my one of the biggest challenges as a grandparent has been having, I love all of our kids and grandkids, but we, we do have a handicap granddaughter who has been a big part of my life. And I think it's so sad that children have handicaps, and, you know, sometimes having the access and capabilities of getting the care they need. 00:48:52.344 --> 00:48:55.150 Right, right, I can understand that. 00:48:55.150 --> 00:49:12.130 She's now 29-years-old, and when she was born, she weighed less than two pounds. So, she's kind of a miracle baby, even though she has her disabilities, she's a quite joyful person. I love all my grandkids. 00:49:12.130 --> 00:49:13.150 Oh, absolutely! 00:49:13.150 --> 00:49:14.409 She's just different. 00:49:14.409 --> 00:49:23.719 Yes, yes. Um, so is there any final thoughts you would like to leave, aside from to love God and love your family. 00:49:23.719 --> 00:49:29.360 Oh yeah, and you're where you are. We love Bristow. You know, Bristow is home, 00:49:29.360 --> 00:49:41.599 You always seem like a very appreciative person, to me, a very kind and appreciative person. And I think that's a very good quality to have and we can, we can 00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:43.940 I hope people see Christ in me. 00:49:43.940 --> 00:49:54.065 Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Well, your interview will become an important part of the oral hstory archives for the museum. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it. 00:49:54.065 --> 00:49:54.844 Thank you. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> video 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0072_Mary_Franks.xml OHP-0072_Mary_Franks.xml
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Mary Franks
Description
An account of the resource
Mary Franks, born August 6, 1943, in Bristow, Oklahoma, was one of eight children. She was born at home and delivered by Dr. Coppedge. Her parents, William Elijah Graham and Norma May Henderson Graham, were homemakers and oil field workers. Mary attended 48 District School and later Bristow High School, graduating in 1961. She worked at Ben Franklin and Spirit Bank for over 50 years. Mary and her husband, Larry, had two children, Missy Maree (1966) and David Wayne (1970). Mary emphasized the importance of family, faith, and community involvement.
Identifier
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OHP-0072
Date
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2025-06-11
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video
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b9b500c1c244dcfeb2beb07ea57407cb
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Joe Trigalet
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Mary Jane Trigalet
OHMS Object
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Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml
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5.4 June 6, 2021 OHP-2021-21 Mary Jane Trigalet OHP-2021-21 00:00- 78:26 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Mary Jane Trigalet Joe Trigalet MP3 1:|71(9)|87(7)|107(3)|123(2)|146(14)|156(13)|188(2)|208(14)|217(3)|234(1)|259(7)|271(1)|294(6)|317(4)|331(6)|346(12)|374(3)|399(12)|416(1)|431(6)|458(1)|471(15)|485(2)|535(5)|556(4)|588(13)|605(1)|617(3)|642(8)|656(10)|684(2)|704(2)|734(3)|747(16)|766(13)|783(11)|813(1)|846(2)|865(2)|895(7)|927(6)|945(3)|959(13)|988(6)|1009(1)|1031(2)|1042(4)|1056(3)|1073(10)|1090(8)|1106(6)|1123(9)|1148(2)|1166(5)|1184(9)|1207(3)|1225(3)|1246(9)|1278(2)|1308(2)|1326(1)|1347(9)|1368(9)|1378(13)|1401(5)|1418(11)|1433(15)|1464(9)|1491(14)|1517(5)|1536(8)|1558(5)|1594(7)|1647(3)|1674(5)|1686(7)|1710(7)|1724(11) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/Mary Jane Trigalet.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction MT: Now is it recording? JT: Yeah MT: Check JT: This is Joe Trigalet with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is June 6, 2021 and I’m sitting here with Mary Jane Trigalet who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area, and the workings of the garment factory. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow, Oklahoma ; Garment Factory ; Joe Trigalet ; Mary Jane Trigalet 30 Family History JT: So a few questions about you first, what was your name at birth? MT: Mary Jane Trigalet JT: And where were you born? MT: In Okmulgee, Oklahoma on August the 26th, 1942. JT: 1942, was that in home or hospital MT: In a hospital JT: And your parents’ names? MT: Was Jean Francois Trigalet (ph) and Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet (ph) JT: And when were they married? MT: They were married on May the 27th, 1939 Jean Francois Trigalet ; Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet ; Mary Jane Trigalet ; Okmulgee, Oklahoma 170 Garment Factory JT: And then, I forgot. Okay well thank you. Okay, now then, we were here—and this was my idea basically because I know that you worked a long time out at the garment factory MT: 19 Years JT: 19 years at the garment factory. Now first of all, did you work there until they closed down? MT: M-m JT: Oh okay MT: No, no they were going to come along—excuse me, they were coming along and cutting everybody’s wages, cutting their piecework’s. And they got to me after 19 years and were cutting mine back and they told me what my new rates were gonna be and already a lot of people had left the garment factory to go to work at the carpet plant. And so then I didn’t want to go work the carpet plant and I happened to drive by that Saturday morning and they were building the community bank drive in down by the railroad tracks and I thought “I know I can do anything they do”. So the next Monday, I left work early and went home, changed to look presentable, and walked into community bank and asked for an application. And the person I asked for the application was Billy Faha (ph), and he said “You wait right there and I’ll get that application for you”. Billy Faha ; Gossard Artemis ; Miss Elaine 1274 Pay Scale JT: Okay, so I was going to get to that, but first of all before I get there to talk about the— MT: Processes? JT: The, no the pay scale and how things worked MT: Oh that was, yeah so all these different processes there’d be a piece of kind of a thin cardboard, and all of the processes were, how was it. Let me kind of start over, okay so you had this piece of paper more or less about the size of a typing sheet, and it told what that was, the size of it and everything and then down below I think there were pins on, I think two rows, and they were little printed tickets. Anyway you snipped that off with your scissors and you had this stuff called paper tape, it was actually a big big roll of brown paper, like wrapping paper that was sticky. And so if you didn’t have a thing, a sponge to wet down, you licked them all. But anyway you wear them down and you stuck them on your paper and that’s what you turned in for your work, that’s what you did, how many of those you had on that paper. And that’s how you got, that was called piecework. 1822 Starting Work JT: Okay, so you worked there 19 years, and you talked a little about your pregnant and you stuck a needle through your— MT: Yeah JT: Why did you go to work there? MT: Well, it’s just like anybody else. You’re young and you’re getting a family and sometimes one income just doesn’t do it. And so you start looking around. JT: Okay so you were, you started looking around for a job. It wasn’t that you had a perplivity (ph) to do some sewing MT: No no cause it’s—there’s so much of it that you would not call basic sewing JT: No it was an assembly line 2221 Miss Elaine JT: And so you talked about—also, earlier you talked about the label, the Miss Elaine MT: Mhm JT: Were there other labels too or just the one Miss Elaine MT: Miss Elaine was it, now I think there was maybe a variation of what set on the label like luxury or I don’t know, [Indecipherable] JT: Yeah MT: And I don’t think I—did I ever tack on labels? They were just tacked on as the garment was finished, that was one of the final things I think. Some of those may have been put on before they were sewed, I really can’t remember that part. JT: Okay but it was all Miss Elaine? MT: It was all Miss Elaine Clarks ; Gossard Artemis ; Macys ; Miss Elaine ; Utica Square ; Zacs 2375 Packaging JT: Yeah, so all the jobs that you did, did you ever have to fold the garments and put them in the boxes? MT: No, I didn’t have to do that. But there were some people who could, and they were on piece work too, that folding and there were some people who could fold those really nice and put those right down in that box and like I think like the panties a lot of the time there’d be like three in a box. And of course the gowns and all that, they’d just be one. Then those boxes were all stacked up over and then the shipping department would out them into the bigger boxes for transporting out JT: Yeah, cases, cases of those little smaller boxes. It seems to me that someone had to pop those boxes into shape, that they would’ve come in flat and that someone would’ve had to— MT: Yeah if I remember right as you did it, I had one very good friend that was a folder and as you did it, you just took that box, you know, and you’ve seen these flat boxes, they have these little creases on there and everything. You’d just take that flat box and you’d flip it around, put your garments in it, flip the top around, and— JT: Right Marie Shelton 2513 Roles JT: Yeah, okay. Well, so you mostly did button holes and buttons MT: Tacking JT: And tacking MT: And the—I forgot about the bra straps actually, and yeah I did a few of those things. It was interesting though but especially when I think I was doing the tacking ; it was like almost [Indecipherable]. I used to sit there and write poems JT: Well I was gonna say a lot of times, and I learned this years and years ago, that people who like assembly line work, they like it because it’s repetitious and they can actually think of things MT: Oh yeah, you can—like I said I could’ve wrote novels. But I did write some poetry and what I used to write it on was that little brown sticky paper. And we all, most of us had our little radios with us and we listened to music and everything and, you know, nobody turned them up so loudly. Usually you could hear it right in your area. Because, you know, machines weren’t like stacked on top of each other, you had several feet in between 2861 Machine Malfunctions JT: Well did, maybe not your machine, but maybe your machine. Did they ever just break? MT: Oh yeah, we had two really good mechanics and I think actually there for a while there was three, and you put up a flag at your place and if you were having enough of a problem and they didn’t come soon enough, you got one of the four girls to go tell them what was going on because it was your downtime and if you wasn’t doing it, you wasn’t getting tickets. So you know, if you were down for 40 minutes, you could lose a lot of product there JT: Yeah MT: And so anyway, yeah it was—but they worked hard and they were— JT: Never had the machine just blow up on you or anything? 3079 Training JT: Okay, well did you ever, did you ever do things like dad did? Was there another plant? Was a Gossard plant that you would go--? MT: There were other plants, but I never had to go to one JT: You never had to? MT: No, I think maybe, maybe, especially some of the supervisors or something like that, and I’m not sure whether the technicians that did the timing and stuff if they ever went to other plants to see how well they were doing a certain process, I don’t know for sure on that. I just remember two different people that were [Indecipherable] of the technicians that worked with me and you know, of course when I was first started the first few years, no one ever come to time me for anything. But as I got into more and more doing different things and was doing good on that, then they come and time me. Gossard Artemis 3316 Seasons JT: And so what’s this—can you explain what the seasons were? MT: Well you were always way ahead of the seasons so you were making things that were for the winter, you were making those during the summer time, and then you would get back into making the thinner, finer things that would go out for the spring and all and that’s usually when you would start new styles and stuff, and then when it was gonna start on the winter stuff, you would have some new styles, sometimes the same styles and something else added JT: Well when you said that there were 75 to 100 per season, so did that, did they— MT: No I’m just saying during all those years, I think that the average would’ve been JT: Okay Brams ; Neiman Marcus ; Sharwood, PA 3682 Perks MT: So, yeah. And we could, we were given the option of ordering things JT: Oh from the other factory? MT: Well for any, we could look in the catalogue and order anything, we could order things that we made, and then a lot of people in Bristow knew that they would sell their left over cloth sometimes, and of course we were right there so we got first chance to get anything, and laces and stuff like that when they quit using a certain lace, they would, you know, you could go back and if you want some of it you could buy it, and it was pretty handy. JT: It sounds handy MT: And I think there’s some stuff of course as usual in any place like that that came out of there that wasn’t bought JT: Yeah 3860 Union JT: Was there any ever any talk of, or maybe it was, but was there a union out there? MT: Oh yeah we were union JT: Were you? Okay MT: Yeah, I get a small pension now because I was there 19 years and not a lot but it comes in every month JT: But did anybody wanna go on strike? MT: No I don’t think we ever did, there was one thing happened that one time and what was that? For some reason we did have to shut down and I don’t remember all of the reasons behind it, but we all actually got unemployment and they set it up to where this unemployment place would come and I think we went to that, you know up here on 10th street? That white building? At 10th and chestnut? 4075 Coworker Functions MT: Yeah I wished, I just happened to remember that too. There were things, there were things. But just, this is a part you won’t want to put in there, but when we had the dinners, we knew who made what and we knew who’s we avoided JT: [Indecipherable] MT: And there were two or three of those that we avoided, but there was some interesting food too, it was always good but still, yeah. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, we had to, you had to JT: Okay, well I’m not gonna ask—you know I really wanted to do this to get through how the garment factory worked MT: Yeah JT: And I think I’ve got pretty much a sense of the way things worked and the assembly line 4353 Family JT: So Bug [Indecipherable] MT: So you gonna edit that? You gonna put bug in there, are you gonna leave that? JT: Yeah I think so, I think I will. I’ll have to explain that, but— MT: Well you can explain that, you can explain the family thing and all JT: Yeah MT: You know? And just say this is my oldest sister and whatever JT: Yeah, yeah this is my oldest sister. My dad had a nickname for her, he called her Jane Bug because of the June Bug, and so that kind of got— MT: Actually no, he called my Betsy. And that got started from Janet, so Janet started calling me, couldn’t say Mary Jane so she said Mary Jane, and then my two brothers and my cousin decided it sounded like she was saying drain, so they started calling me drain bug. 4472 Radio MT: Well I can tell you another thing that you may not put in there or not. Anyway this one time we were—we always had our radios right there and one of my real good friends was across from me and she was one that did the hanging so we could chat back and forth a little bit, but always had the radio. Well I listened to this one station out of Tulsa, and one of the pizza companies was giving out these tickets, and then they had these drawings every day, maybe even more than one a day, I can’t remember it. Anyway, so we had our radios all tuned to this station so we could hear the numbers called. So we’d take our weekends and go to different pizza places in Tulsa and get tickets. So then instead of holding all tickets, we’d write our list of numbers down so we had this list of numbers. So this one time I had to go over to the IRS the day before, and really bugged me out even though it didn’t cost me a bunch or anything, but just the whole thing had been traumatic and bummed me out. Cherry Cherry ; Neil Diamond 4710 Conclusion JT: Well, thank you again for coming up here and doing this MT: You’re welcome JT: And we’ll end this now MT: Yeah you can [Indecipherable] JT: I probably will In this 2021 interview, Mary Jane Trigalet shares her experience working for the garment factory in Bristow. Interviewer: Joe Trigalet Interviewee: Mary Jane Trigalet Other Persons: Date of Interview: June 6, 2021 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Abby Thompson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-2021-21 00:00 -- 78:26 Abstract: Preface: The following oral history testimony is the result of a cassette tape interview and is part of the Bristow Historical Society, Inc.' ; s collection of oral histories. The interview was transcribed and processed by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc., with financial assistance from the Montfort Jones & ; Allie Brown Jones Foundation. Rights to the material are held exclusively by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc. The reader should bear in mind that he or she is reading a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than written prose. Insofar as possible, this transcript tries to represent the spoken word. Thus, it should be read as a personal memoir and not as either a researched monograph or edited account. To the extent possible, the spelling of place names, foreign words, and personal names have been verified, either by reference resources or directly by the interviewee. In some cases, a footnote has been added to the transcript in order to provide more information and/or to clarify a statement. Some uncertainties will inevitably remain regarding some words and their spellings. In these scenarios, a (ph) follows a word or name that is spelled phonetically. The notation [indecipherable] is used when the transcriber has not been able to comprehend the word or phrase being spoken. The notation [inaudible] is used where there is more mumbling than words, or when interference on the tape has made transcription impossible. MT: Now is it recording? JT: Yeah MT: Check JT: This is Joe Trigalet with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is June 6, 2021 and I' ; m sitting here with Mary Jane Trigalet who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area, and the workings of the garment factory. So a few questions about you first, what was your name at birth? MT: Mary Jane Trigalet JT: And where were you born? MT: In Okmulgee, Oklahoma on August the 26th, 1942. JT: 1942, was that in home or hospital MT: In a hospital JT: And your parents' ; names? MT: Was Jean Francois Trigalet (ph) and Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet (ph) JT: And when were they married? MT: They were married on May the 27th, 1939 JT: 1922, wasn' ; t it? MT: 1939 is when they got married JT: Oh when they got married, yes that' ; s right, okay. MT: You wanna say it all over again? JT: Okay, where did they meet and why did they come to Oklahoma? MT: My father was in Pennsylvania for the war effort cutting glass, that was his trade, he was an apprentice to my grandfather who was also a glass cutter. And they were in Pennsylvania and he actually met my mother at a skating rink. And I guess they were dating for about a year, close to a year and then she graduated from high school and they got married. JT: And why did they come to Oklahoma? MT: They came to Oklahoma to begin with because my father, being a glass cutter, came to work at the Okmulgee and Henrietta plants doing the same thing, cutting glass. And he wanted to come back to Oklahoma and still be in there in Pennsylvania. So anyway they came back with their first child, which was Steven, and they moved to Okmulgee where he had the job. And he worked there for several years and then he had an opportunity to come to Bristow and buy what was a bus station from Mr. Fullerton (ph). And so he took the opportunity, and so then we ended up in Bristow and at that time I was about three. JT: And then, I forgot. Okay well thank you. Okay, now then, we were here--and this was my idea basically because I know that you worked a long time out at the garment factory MT: 19 Years JT: 19 years at the garment factory. Now first of all, did you work there until they closed down? MT: M-m JT: Oh okay MT: No, no they were going to come along--excuse me, they were coming along and cutting everybody' ; s wages, cutting their piecework' ; s. And they got to me after 19 years and were cutting mine back and they told me what my new rates were gonna be and already a lot of people had left the garment factory to go to work at the carpet plant. And so then I didn' ; t want to go work the carpet plant and I happened to drive by that Saturday morning and they were building the community bank drive in down by the railroad tracks and I thought " ; I know I can do anything they do" ; . So the next Monday, I left work early and went home, changed to look presentable, and walked into community bank and asked for an application. And the person I asked for the application was Billy Faha (ph), and he said " ; You wait right there and I' ; ll get that application for you" ; . JT: So MT: So then I went to work there about three months later JT: Okay, and so when was that, when that happened? MT: 1983 JT: So that was 1983, how much longer was the garment factory open? Do you remember? MT: Oh, a few more years, I don' ; t really know exactly. But it had a lot of, not as much staff or anything, and then I believe the manager kind of took it over in some other kind of capacity instead of actually that company that-- JT: Who was that company? MT: I believe it got changed and all and I' ; m not even sure what it was. I' ; ve heard way back, but I remember it being as Gossard Artemis (ph) JT: Gossard Artemis (ph) MT: Artemis, and then it became Miss Elaine, so maybe it was still Gossard Artemis but the products we made were under the Miss Elaine label JT: Label, okay. Okay, we' ; ll get back to some other of that, but--so you were talking earlier about when they were starting to cut things and you were talking about the items and your rate, so can you tell me how that was structured? MT: Yes, all the way from what we call the back of the building to the front, everything was set up and everything processed through there. Started out on the huge, huge tables with stacks and stacks of fabric. And then there was a tall electric type knife thing that would cut through these, I don' ; t even know how many layers of fabric, it would be, oh a foot and a half tall or so. JT: Of fabric? MT: Of fabric JT: Just laying flat? MT: Laid flat, and I' ; m not--maybe it wasn' ; t, maybe it was a foot. But it was tall. JT: Mhm MT: And this knife, they had the pattern on there and they just went around and moved that around and cut off, cut what they needed just like any other pattern JT: And you--so the pattern cut through every layer of cloth MT: Yes, the knife. And one girl actually cut her finger, maybe two fingers off. And went to the hospital and they put it back on, and she had a crooked finger but she came back to work later and anyway. JT: So, so they had these stacked. I mean this is layers of fabric MT: Yes, yes. JT: And this, wow MT: And I never worked back in that part. But then they took that and they had to take each piece and they would take so many of each piece that went together to make the garment and it' ; d be wrapped up in a bundle. JT: Mhm MT: Everything that was needed. And then it started the back, it started certain processes and went from one group of sewers did one thing and then it moved up and went to the next one, and they' ; d do their thing, bundle it back up and throw it in the bin in front of them. And then the next people would get them and do their thing and it just kept coming up until it got to the front JT: Yeah, so the--if they threw it in the bin in front of them, then the next person would just turn around and pick one up out of the bin and then turn back around and sew it MT: Yeah and some of those got kind of heavy because a lot of times there was like a dozen garments in one, maybe even more than that some of the time. And they got, they were kind of heavy. But yeah they' ; d pick up the bundle and then they' ; d take it and lay it at their machine and start doing their thing. JT: Wow MT: And I mean it went from having, you know, the seams were made and sleeves were put in and, you know, all the little details and made some beautiful beautiful things and then it' ; d move on up until it maybe get lace added around it or somewhere the lace, they used a lot of lace on things, and then they' ; d get up and it' ; d be hemmed and then it would get on up there and if it something that needed button and button holes, that was mine, I did the button holes basically, I didn' ; t do that many buttons. But I can do anywhere from between 6-8 thousand button holes in a day just going through there. But I was good at it. But anyway, so then after it left me, it went to the inspectors, every garment was inspected. And if something came up looking wrong or something, it was taken back by runners to wherever it needed to go to get fixed. And you know, maybe there' ; d be a flaw in the material that was discovered for some reason, and if it had gone, you know, it was too hard to do, that just went into the seconds. But yeah everything was inspected. And then it went to, they used to do folding, they folded everything and they went to little flat boxes. Other people probably remember, the little flat boxes, little lingerie boxes and all that were just skinny, and so everything had to be folded and put in there wrapped in tissue and so it was all in boxes. And then they went to hanging them and they didn' ; t do the boxes anymore. JT: Well, so I want to go back to, because I have some questions about this whole process, but I know that in--now these were, I understand these were pretty high class garments that were being made MT: Oh yes, yeah these were in the finest stores JT: In the finest stores, well it seems like to me that in these fine stores, that the pattern on a blouse where the sleeve would meet the shirt or blouse MT: Yeah, yeah JT: That it matches, it would match. Did, maybe that was a later thing where people got a little more-- MT: Match of what? JT: The pattern, the pattern would be-- MT: Oh like it was a plaid or something? JT: Yeah MT: They usually, they were cuffed and laid, they were laid on the pattern to come out right. JT: Oh, they just did them, it was automatically the way they laid them out that they would come out that way MT: Yeah, yeah. Yeah but yeah that' ; s--that would be how they did it to match, it' ; d all be figured out by engineers and all that set these up with the new styles and all. And oh goodness, they made so many different different items, you know, and every year of course they' ; d come out with new things and they would change the process a little bit and get going on them. There was a lot of things JT: Well if, yeah it sounds like it. Did you ever do anything except button holes? MT: Yes, yes when I very first started, I actually sewed and I was nine months pregnant and due to have my baby any day and I put a needle through my finger and I kept saying " ; I don' ; t wanna go right now, I gotta do Christmas first" ; so anyway yeah, but yeah I did that sewing for a while and then I actually got to be--to where I could do several little things, I never did what they called the overlock machines, and not too much of the straight sewing. But as far as, you know, doing the buttons and the button holes and running the pairs and just, you know, helping out on the floor some and everything, I could do a lot of those different things. JT: Why did you not do the straight sewing? Was that not quite as a specialty kind of thing? MT: They just--that' ; s not where they needed me JT: Oh okay MT: I guess after I came back, I was out for what, six weeks or so, and I came back and I think almost immediately they put me into doing, they called it tacking and it' ; d be like tacking bra straps onto a bra or something, they called it tacking and it would reinforce seams. So I did that a lot I think even before I started doing the button holes. But the button holes were tricky JT: Okay, we' ; ll get to them, but I guess I' ; m a little more interested in-- MT: The sewing part? JT: The sewing part, yeah because--but you didn' ; t really do any straight sewing. MT: I didn' ; t do that much straight sewing, like I did--at first I was, I was doing something I can' ; t really remember exactly what parts I were sewing, but they had so many different styles and maybe you might work on one type of garment for a while and then later the day or even a day or two later you' ; d be into something else that was maybe a nightgown or a robe or a heavy winter robe and stuff like that, it changed. JT: Did they make blouses and dresses and all kinds of stuff? MT: No it was all lingerie JT: Oh it was all lingerie, okay. MT: It was bras and panties and robes and little gowns, and like I said winter type things too and sometimes some flannel gowns and, you know, they made sets, things that matched each other. Like you' ; d get a robe and a gown matched and different things like that JT: Oh okay, and so--how many of the, back to the beginning of this where they cut the material MT: Mhm JT: And they had the foot layer of material, how many cutting tables did they have? MT: If I remember right, they had maybe three and if anybody' ; s ever seen the building, those cutting tables went at the back end pretty close to cross the width of the building JT: So they were big tables MT: They were long, long tables and wide, I can' ; t say exactly how, but they were tall, they weren' ; t like card table length or anything or even dinner table, they were taller. I don' ; t remember that they-- JT: Work table, a work table MT: yeah, yeah. But those tall knife things, I saw them do it a few times, I never did that. But the electricity came from the top down to the knife and it just, it just went through there and yeah. I mean they did a good job, I mean they were even, I mean the cutting never looked hacked up or anything like that. JT: Hm, and so if someone had--let' ; s leave the lid off of that, it won' ; t crinkle so much while we' ; re capturing it on--the, so how long would it take for a person to get through cutting out the pattern for one garment? MT: Well you know I don' ; t know as much as you can say because the way they laid those out, they were often times, there wasn' ; t, you know, they may have all fronts in one area and all backs in an area, all sleeves in one area, or something, so I don' ; t know. But I mean you could imagine those tables and even the biggest pieces for a nightgown were, what, five foot by three foot or something like that, you know, and they would just lay it on there. JT: But when a person got, would a person that was cutting out these patterns, would they go through one set of material, the twelve inches thick of material MT: Uh-huh JT: And then that would all get bundled up MT: Uh-huh JT: And then would they cut out more the same day? MT: They could, yeah JT: So that--they wouldn' ; t cut one time and that would be the whole thing MT: It depends on what--how many they were intending to make. But yeah most of these came through when they started on a new garment or something, they' ; d come through for weeks and weeks the same garment, the same sets of garments. JT: And really so what I' ; m trying to understand is the person doing the cutting, was it an 8 hour job to cut one pattern out through that whole-- MT: I don' ; t know how long it took, I was never actually back there. I just mostly, when I was doing some of the running and stuff, because I usually worked up towards the front in the finishing part, so I never really got to watch that very often. JT: Okay, okay. MT: I would' ; ve, it was interesting, it was JT: So they have the-- MT: I think there were three, seemed to me like there were three people that did that, cutting that I knew of, maybe there were three tables, I' ; m not sure how exactly that was back then JT: Okay, and then when that left, it went to the first set of sewer. How many, I' ; m imaging this as long rows of people doing the same thing MT: Uh-huh, yes JT: The first is sewing and then they throw it in a basket in front and then another row of people with their machines and they turn around and get stuff out of the basket and do their thing and throw it in front MT: Yeah they were big, big-- JT: How many people in a row, how many sewers-- MT: Well sometimes the rows, depending on what they were working on, sometimes the rows has more in them and sometimes they had less because a lot of it had to do with, like, if they were working on big robes and all, things had to have more room, you know, especially the big puffy ones and quilted and all that kind of thing. So things changed around but I don' ; t know, like in the section where I did some button holes, and sometimes they moved things, rearranged, but I' ; d say there were maybe three or four button hole machines lined up and those didn' ; t have to have a lot of space between them. So then there was the panty department was over to my right at one time anyway, and of course theirs all came from the panty department, it didn' ; t take that much to do them so basically they were made--maybe, I don' ; t know I' ; m guessing 8 -- 10 people that were maybe doing different things to the panties, you know, putting it together then adding the lace and the elastic and stuff like that. JT: Oh and so that was from getting the pattern material after it was cut out MT: Yeah [Indecipherable]-- JT: [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah it didn' ; t have to start at the back because there wasn' ; t that many processes so it didn' ; t have to start at the back. JT: Yeah MT: But, and they had--it was interesting, we had people come by to take tours and watch us and I had little kids that were really fascinated when I was putting on those buttons and those button holes, but there was a process and it didn' ; t take that long to really do it. You went through that stuff JT: Yeah, I can imagine that would, especially when you' ; re doing the button holes and there' ; s a machine there doing it, then you' ; re-- MT: You have to measure them, you have to pull it out like you' ; ve got a garment in your hands and of course most button holes and things are in odd numbers, they' ; re gonna be, you know, five or seven or something. But anyway you put the first button hole where it belongs and then you stretch, you pull the material to the left to a certain area, so a certain marking and then you do the next one and then you pull it and then you keep on until you get that and then you stack them back up and you throw them over on your table and then you get them all together and rolled up and bundle them up for the next person. JT: Wow, okay MT: Yeah JT: Hm, interesting. And how many of you were making button holes? Three? MT: Yeah probably something like that because some of us that did the button holes also did the buttons. JT: Okay MT: And there was, you know, and though the button machines were real close to where the button hole machine was, and I don' ; t know, it was, what can I say? It just went JT: It is-- MT: But these people, I don' ; t know, everybody was good and friendly. Every once in a while considering you had that many mostly women that were in this building, every once in a while there was some ruckus going on, but basically yeah it was good, we had dinners now and then and you know, for occasions and celebrate peoples' ; birthdays and joked around some and all but you know, if you wanted to be there to work, you stayed at your machine and you didn' ; t take a lot of breaks. You know, and then that paid off for you. JT: Okay, so I was going to get to that, but first of all before I get there to talk about the-- MT: Processes? JT: The, no the pay scale and how things worked MT: Oh that was, yeah so all these different processes there' ; d be a piece of kind of a thin cardboard, and all of the processes were, how was it. Let me kind of start over, okay so you had this piece of paper more or less about the size of a typing sheet, and it told what that was, the size of it and everything and then down below I think there were pins on, I think two rows, and they were little printed tickets. Anyway you snipped that off with your scissors and you had this stuff called paper tape, it was actually a big big roll of brown paper, like wrapping paper that was sticky. And so if you didn' ; t have a thing, a sponge to wet down, you licked them all. But anyway you wear them down and you stuck them on your paper and that' ; s what you turned in for your work, that' ; s what you did, how many of those you had on that paper. And that' ; s how you got, that was called piecework. JT: Oh okay, so when you got a garment, you got a robe and you had to put seven button holes on it, is that one of those little pieces of-- MT: No that bundle comes with its own paper JT: That bundle comes with its own MT: So whatever is in that bundle, the paper reflects how many is in that JT: Okay so you pull that one off and then you wet it and you put it on yours-- MT: Yeah, you put it on your paper JT: On your, yeah and you called it piecework, okay MT: Yeah JT: Yeah, okay. MT: That' ; s how you got paid for like, you know if you had a dozen in this one or some of them that were like thinner material could be a dozen and a half, the biggest heaviest robes a lot of times were only six in a bundle because, you know, they' ; re big and heavy. JT: But each one of those robes had the-- MT: Each bundle JT: Each bundle MT: Each bundle had this-- JT: Oh it was per bundle MT: this cardboard with it per bundle and as you did your bundle, you know your one ticket' ; s gonna cover everything you did in that bundle JT: In the whole bundle MT: In the whole bundle JT: Got it MT: So like I said, you worked and then you just kind of threw it over to the side flat and when you got done, they were kind of restacked and you went from one side to the other side by pulling it across your lap and-- JT: Did you have to wrap it back up into the bundle? MT: Yeah then you rolled it back up JT: You did, okay MT: And there was a cordlike string stuff that they used. One string, it was more of a--just a fabric type something that you rolled it up-- JT: [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: and yeah you just rolled it back up then you tossed it in the box in front of you and the boxes were big, they could probably hold, I don' ; t know, 20 or 30 bundles at a time even because they would be, oh probably three-foot-deep and four to five feet in width and maybe, I' ; m guessing 8 or 9-foot long JT: Wow MT: So yeah, so you had these big boxes and you tossed them for the next person to pick them up and go on with it JT: That' ; s, it' ; s an assembly line MT: It is, it' ; s an assembly line. That' ; s exactly what it is. It was interesting JT: So if you were making, if you were doing six to eight thousand button holes a day, let' ; s say that--I mean that' ; s a thousand garments a day say if they had five or seven button holes. MT: Yeah I mean it was, maybe I' ; m off by a big bunch on that button hole thing because if you have one bundle of a dozen and you' ; re--yeah I may be off, it maybe it was 60 thousand. I can' ; t remember, I remember I figured it one time. How many fabrics I did JT: I thought you were gonna say you were overestimating, but you' ; re saying you' ; re underestimating MT: I' ; m probably underestimating ; I cannot remember exactly how. But I mean I would' ; ve done more than 10 or 12 bundles in a day. The button holes went fast JT: So a bundle would have a hundred garments in it? MT: No, a bundle could have a dozen, depends on what material it was. JT: Okay MT: How heavy it was, they could have a dozen, they could have a dozen and a half JT: I see, okay. MT: I guess there were some maybe come--the panties usually had I think two dozen or something JT: Yeah MT: But I didn' ; t work those much, I did tacking on them though. So when you had an overlock string that was left, that wasn' ; t actually looped in that were a stress point, that' ; s when you tacked and you made this little zigzag tack the machine wouldn' ; t do anything else except do that, I mean it was designed just for that. JT: Oh okay, and you' ; re just feeding the garment into it MT: You just put what you want tacked under it just like you would if you were putting a button on it, you' ; d just stick it under there and do it and go to the next one and go to the next one and-- JT: Yeah, it' ; s an assembly line MT: The other thing that I did was, [Indecipherable], the other thing that I did for a while, we made bras. And so I had this process that I would, I can' ; t think of the word. You take these bra straps and this machine held those little metal brackets and you had to feed these through a certain way to get the bra straps made. I mean, you had these long thin pieces of a ribbon type material and then the one end would be--had been sewed across, I' ; d done that one too, and you would take these little tiny pieces of strap and you' ; d fold it up and it' ; d go through your machine. And what you did, you just kept going, you just didn' ; t do one and cut it off. You just fed one then you fed another and a lot of the processes in the back were the same thing. You fed what you did and the stitching, the thread actually held on and did the next one and then you went through when you finished, clipped them all apart. JT: Okay MT: It was, yeah kind of forgot kind of about that part but yeah. A lot of them it' ; s just like those little strap things and then you' ; d go and you' ; d then, depending on which job you were doing, you' ; d feed those through these little metal things, and they still do, and it was pretty interesting and depending on how fast you got on that, you' ; d know how much you could make. JT: Yeah, Okay. And so you were saying earlier about the pay scale and the way they counted, they had the counting system, which were the little tabs that you took off MT: Mhm mhm. JT: The bundle and stuck it onto your tally thing MT: Yeah, and you knew, you kept your own tally of what you done for a day and you had it down in your little book and so when you got your check and it showed what you' ; d done, if it wasn' ; t right you could take of it. JT: Okay MT: And you did JT: And so was there a pay scale of--was it different based on maybe the material you were gonna do? MT: Well they--that was set up by a technician who came by and a lot of times on my jobs, because I worked at a steady pace, and kept things going and a lot of the times I would be the one that they timed to set a rate and it' ; d be so much for whichever job that that happened to be. But I was timed a lot of the times on just about every job I ever did, I was timed on. But they had to have somebody who was consistent and-- JT: Didn' ; t they have quotas that they expected you to do so much? MT: Yeah, they wanted you to do so much and you know, if you fell behind well then the next person' ; s gonna fall behind. But there were still people who liked to take long coffee breaks with their thermostats, you know, in the bathroom so-- but I thought, you know, how do you make any money if you' ; re gonna go in there and spend 20 minutes a day. Of course, if you' ; re fast enough, you' ; re probably gonna make your quota and you' ; ve got that time if that' ; s what you wanna do, so yeah it was work, it was work, but I can still remember it. To me, it was enjoyable to try to beat your own rate or something. Yup, it' ; s a challenge. JT: Okay, so you worked there 19 years, and you talked a little about your pregnant and you stuck a needle through your-- MT: Yeah JT: Why did you go to work there? MT: Well, it' ; s just like anybody else. You' ; re young and you' ; re getting a family and sometimes one income just doesn' ; t do it. And so you start looking around. JT: Okay so you were, you started looking around for a job. It wasn' ; t that you had a perplivity (ph) to do some sewing MT: No no cause it' ; s--there' ; s so much of it that you would not call basic sewing JT: No it was an assembly line MT: Uh-huh, and I loved it, I always loved to sew and make my own clothes and stuff, but that was not like that. JT: But did you think it was going to be when you went and applied? Did you think you were going to be sewing? MT: No I really didn' ; t know what to expect, but when you had to apply, they put you down to a sewing machine with a piece of paper with some, like, squiggles and curves and straight lines and all and that' ; s what they looked at if you could do that pretty well you could get hired. But if you went all over the place and couldn' ; t follow those lines, forget it. JT: Well that' ; s interesting MT: Yeah it was, that was like besides the application, that was about the only real thing you had to do as I can remember. JT: Yeah because being in an assembly line it seems like you' ; re just moving the material to the machine and the machine' ; s doing all the work. MT: Well you have to guide it, there' ; s the actual sewing part but you have to do a lot of guiding JT: Okay MT: Just like when I' ; m doing the button holes or something, I' ; ve gotta move it a certain length across there and then keep going. So yeah, and the buttons the same thing. You would just, you moved it over a certain length, so it was all--yeah, that' ; s, you had to know how to follow those lines, especially if you were doing the sewing part. JT: Yeah MT: And most everybody I think started out on the sewing parts, that would seem to me if I could remember right that' ; s a lot--and a lot of people stayed in that and that' ; s what they did all the time was the sewing. JT: Yeah, okay. MT: Yeah JT: So do you remember when you started? MT: I started in something like March or April of 1964 JT: And how old were you? 22? 21? MT: Hm, 1964, yeah I was-- JT: 21 and 8 months MT: Probably 21, going on 22. JT: Yeah MT: That sounds about right. JT: [Indecipherable], Okay. Did they, did they have things like team leads or bosses of an area? MT: Oh yeah there were bosses in different areas that helped you, you know, if you needed help and make sure things are going smoothly and everything and yeah different sections had different people. Now I mean there wasn' ; t like one person sitting there watching buttons and button holes and stuff like that, but you had someone that made sure things got, you know, flowed through right and everything. And some really good supervisors and stuff and I was even doing that for a while on some things, you know, just to make sure things were working right. JT: Yeah, okay I was wondering if you ever did that. MT: Yeah, like I said I ran the floor, I wasn' ; t really a supervisor per say, I just, you know, if someone, if they needed me to do something I did it, that' ; s all there was to it. If I could do it, I went and did it so. JT: Okay, so--yeah I thought, sitting here thinking about how an assembly line worked like that, is that you would have someone, not a supervisor, but maybe a team leader MT: No I don' ; t know of anything like that, you kind of just did your own part and I guess if you fell behind and didn' ; t do enough, then you maybe had a talking to or something, you know, if you couldn' ; t keep up the work that needed to be done, like I said it had to go to the next person. JT: Did you ever get a talking to? MT: I don' ; t think I did JT: Did you admit it? MT: My talking to was when they were gonna drop my raise, that was me talking. JT: So, yeah that' ; s kind of interesting that the way that would happen. See, to me that typically when someone they are entry level in a position, that they' ; re paid entry level wages or entry level rates. And then as they get better and more productive, they get higher rates and-- MT: I think there was probably a minimum wage that you would do hourly, but basically it was the piece work. Now there were people who some of them who didn' ; t do piece work that didn' ; t even have the tickets or anything, they just had a job that they did for so many hours. JT: Okay MT: And yeah I mean there were some that were at that JT: Yeah, okay. And so I guess where I' ; m--what I' ; m thinking about now is if people started getting hired to go out to the carpet factory, it seemed like did the orders start, did they start losing orders out there? Or-- MT: Well JT: Because it, they could' ; ve just hired other people and kept them the same-- MT: Yeah, and they were still hiring at that time, but mostly they weren' ; t because the carpet factory had come in and there they were cutting out rates. It was just like me when they got to me, but they started I think towards the back and, of course I was towards the front, and by the time that they got to me, there had been a lot of people had left. JT: And typically if a company wants to keep a worker, they' ; d pay more. MT: Yeah JT: They don' ; t come and say [Indecipherable] MT: No, no. JT: That' ; s weird MT: And they were cutting every bodies rates JT: Huh MT: I mean, they felt like with the price of what they sold these things for and all and how much it cost to get them through there, they--maybe they felt like they had to and maybe that' ; s eventually what happened. But of course this was American made, American rates, and then you realize what started happening with all the stuff coming in from all the other countries, it just kind of blew it all apart. JT: And so you talked about--also, earlier you talked about the label, the Miss Elaine MT: Mhm JT: Were there other labels too or just the one Miss Elaine MT: Miss Elaine was it, now I think there was maybe a variation of what set on the label like luxury or I don' ; t know, [Indecipherable] JT: Yeah MT: And I don' ; t think I--did I ever tack on labels? They were just tacked on as the garment was finished, that was one of the final things I think. Some of those may have been put on before they were sewed, I really can' ; t remember that part. JT: Okay but it was all Miss Elaine? MT: It was all Miss Elaine JT: But different quality items MT: But before I started it was called I think Artemis, Gossard Artemis (ph) from way way back, and then somehow it went to Miss Elaine JT: [Indecipherable] MT: I think that was actually after I started that it went to being Miss Elaine JT: Yeah, the garment factory itself started operating in Bristow in the mid to late 50' ; s, didn' ; t it? So when you went to work for them, it was already-- MT: It was probably earlier than that. Well, I don' ; t know. JT: I' ; ve seen some pictures that show the garment factory in [Indecipherable] MT: I don' ; t really know, it was, it was quite a few years before I started because there had been some people who had been there already, I don' ; t know, 12 or 14 years I think when I started. JT: Okay, okay. And the Miss Elaine label, what stores carried that brand, that label? MT: Whatever there was back then, mostly it' ; d be exclusive stores, you know JT: High end MT: Yeah, and like the Macys maybe, what' ; s the big one in Chicago, and then there' ; s Zac' ; s and then there' ; s I don' ; t know. Yeah, that' ; s where they went to. JT: Wow MT: That' ; s where they went to, these were well made made in America and all this, you know. JT: And I heard that Clarks in-- MT: Clarks had them, yeah. Clarks was one of the big ones, yeah JT: Utica Square MT: Yeah, and Clarks even when they were just downtown JT: Oh MT: Before they even did Utica Square in the early 50s, I think they already had one the way I understand. JT: Wow, okay. MT: Of course I wasn' ; t there then, but just the different things I heard JT: Yeah, so all the jobs that you did, did you ever have to fold the garments and put them in the boxes? MT: No, I didn' ; t have to do that. But there were some people who could, and they were on piece work too, that folding and there were some people who could fold those really nice and put those right down in that box and like I think like the panties a lot of the time there' ; d be like three in a box. And of course the gowns and all that, they' ; d just be one. Then those boxes were all stacked up over and then the shipping department would out them into the bigger boxes for transporting out JT: Yeah, cases, cases of those little smaller boxes. It seems to me that someone had to pop those boxes into shape, that they would' ; ve come in flat and that someone would' ; ve had to-- MT: Yeah if I remember right as you did it, I had one very good friend that was a folder and as you did it, you just took that box, you know, and you' ; ve seen these flat boxes, they have these little creases on there and everything. You' ; d just take that flat box and you' ; d flip it around, put your garments in it, flip the top around, and-- JT: Right MT: Generally, they weren' ; t the attached tops that I can remember though, they were separate JT: Separate, yeah that' ; s [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: And you know, I didn' ; t do that part so that' ; s just what I saw JT: Yeah MT: Oh but she was fast JT: I would imagine you' ; d have to be fast if you got-- MT: The thing about it was, you may want to put this in or maybe not, but that was Marie Shelton and she had that arthritis in her hands so her hands were getting-- JT: And it was from all that? MT: It could be from all that, but she just got--she just kept at it and then I' ; m not sure how many years that they were still doing the folding, a few years, and then they went to the hanging. But I can' ; t remember exactly hanging went--might have been quite a few years before, I can' ; t remember. But yeah, then they went to the hanging and you know I don' ; t know exactly what they did, they put plastic bags over them. You know, each one had its plastic bag, and then from there they went to the shipping department and I' ; m not sure how they--if they just laid so many in each big box or how they did that really. JT: Yeah, okay. Well, so you mostly did button holes and buttons MT: Tacking JT: And tacking MT: And the--I forgot about the bra straps actually, and yeah I did a few of those things. It was interesting though but especially when I think I was doing the tacking ; it was like almost [Indecipherable]. I used to sit there and write poems JT: Well I was gonna say a lot of times, and I learned this years and years ago, that people who like assembly line work, they like it because it' ; s repetitious and they can actually think of things MT: Oh yeah, you can--like I said I could' ; ve wrote novels. But I did write some poetry and what I used to write it on was that little brown sticky paper. And we all, most of us had our little radios with us and we listened to music and everything and, you know, nobody turned them up so loudly. Usually you could hear it right in your area. Because, you know, machines weren' ; t like stacked on top of each other, you had several feet in between JT: And did the machines make a lot of noise? MT: Some of them did JT: Yeah, I can imagine they did MT: Some of them did, but it wasn' ; t like the tremendous amount of noise, you know, it wasn' ; t. JT: Okay MT: Yeah, it was-- JT: Was there a lot of movement of the workers from one section to the other? MT: Yeah because a lot of the people had been there long enough that they did different things, and if they need someone else to go up and do something different, you know, they' ; d move them. Like, like if someone was--some of the processes where you almost sewed the whole garment together, then it went on to get finished. But there were a lot of people who could switch off and go do different things, and the people who did the hemming and stuff, there were quite few of them and those little rolled hem things, I mean they can throw those things through there and it just-- JT: The machine did that though, [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah you just had to-- JT: Guide MT: Guide the material through JT: Yeah MT: But you know, if you didn' ; t you' ; re gonna have big old chunks taken out where--there were a few things like an overlock machine, that most people don' ; t know, maybe they do. [Indecipherable]. Anyway, the overlock machines, that cut off the edge of the material. If you ever looked at some of your things that are sewed, well you see these, there' ; s no real seam, there' ; s just this little tiny edging that holds the material together. Well that' ; s an overlock machine, and that cut off material as it did, and so yeah if you went the wrong way, you could mess things up pretty good. JT: Mhm MT: And that' ; s why ever once in a while you realize that you try on something, one fits different than the other, and it may have been the same size starting with, but it may have got adjusted a little bit unknowingly. But most of the time the inspectors, when they were inspecting, they could notice things like that that were really a flaw, you know, and they wouldn' ; t, they' ; d just pull it out. But it was interesting. JT: I' ; ve also wondered why that happened, because that happens to me, I don' ; t know, it seems like a lot. MT: Yeah, oh yeah. There' ; s different things that you could try on JT: Blue jeans and things like that MT: Yeah, the very same size. I remember I was in the store one time and I went to try on a pair of blue jeans and I couldn' ; t even get my foot through the leg, it was so narrow. And that was before they had narrow leggings. I thought whoa, this one go taken care of. No wonder it was in the seconds. But yeah, it' ; s, that can happen real easy. So I never did overlock, I never did that one at all. JT: What size is your foot? I' ; m just kidding MT: My foot JT: So, okay have we kind of been through the workings of the garment factory? I mean is there something that I didn' ; t get to to ask you about? MT: Well I' ; m trying to think of what, I mean yeah there is probably some things, I don' ; t know exactly what, I mean like I said we all, we all got along really well. There were a few things, there were some jealousies going on and just different things could happen, and people would get kind of nasty. I had, maybe y' ; all will put this in, but I had one girl that, she was jealous because I made so much money, I made way more than her. She was doing the same job, and there was two of them and they were behind me. I even stepped back and showed them a better process, something--they were never doing the same process, but better way to move it or handle it or something to try and help them speed up. Then as soon as I' ; d sit back down at my machine, they were laughing behind my back because they slowed me down. So then this one, she would--she was behind me but a little bit over to the right and she would start asking me about my boys who played sports and how they were this and that and how they were doing and different stuff so I turned around and visited a few minutes. Well then they' ; d laugh because they slowed me down, they thought. It didn' ; t slow me down much ; I' ; d just go that much harder. JT: Well did, maybe not your machine, but maybe your machine. Did they ever just break? MT: Oh yeah, we had two really good mechanics and I think actually there for a while there was three, and you put up a flag at your place and if you were having enough of a problem and they didn' ; t come soon enough, you got one of the four girls to go tell them what was going on because it was your downtime and if you wasn' ; t doing it, you wasn' ; t getting tickets. So you know, if you were down for 40 minutes, you could lose a lot of product there JT: Yeah MT: And so anyway, yeah it was--but they worked hard and they were-- JT: Never had the machine just blow up on you or anything? MT: Yeah, never had them blow up, I did have--one thing I had was the button pole machine was, they couldn' ; t get it to not skip and sometimes I' ; d see those button holes and as I' ; d finish I said, you know, it had a skip spot in it or something. Then I' ; d have to take that button hole and recenter that and try to hit it back in the very same place cause when that button hole was made, it also cut the hole. The knife came down and cut it just as it was made, so if I had to redo one, which I did redid a lots of them. Anyway, I had to try to set that where you couldn' ; t tell that it' ; d actually been sewed over, and if it was bad enough, I had to pull the thread, but if you pull the thread, then the material didn' ; t have--it was kind of looser right there. So when you tried to go around it, it lot of time didn' ; t look any good anymore so, yeah it was--so anyway, that was part of the timing. When I was having a lot of problems with that, I' ; d get him to come out there and retime me I said and just, you know, stand here for two hours and watch what I do, watch how many times I have to redo these things, so that made a difference on my timing. JT: Yeah MT: So I' ; m sure other people did kind of the same thing, you know, if there was something that was troublesome they kept having a problem with some certain something. But that button hole machine, that was, I don' ; t know, probably would be the worst for that, as far as having to redo something that quick. But yeah, it was-- JT: You never got a button hole needle to the finger, did you? MT: No I didn' ; t get that thing, I' ; m glad I didn' ; t get that thing. But yeah that needle went right down through my finger and I was sitting there looking at it. Of course when you do it, you automatically jerk, so I mean it had broke it off when I jerked and there it was JT: Was there thread in it? MT: No, no I don' ; t think there was thread in it. There was a lot of threads came through that you had to keep it threaded, but when I got it off, no there wasn' ; t, but I don' ; t think anyway. But I think they sent me out to the emergency room and had that, or maybe they just pulled it, I can' ; t even remember for sure. I just didn' ; t wanna have my baby yet because it was two or three days before Christmas and I had babies at home JT: You thought that was going to put you into labour? MT: Well yeah, and then it ended up that--cause Mikey was actually due on Christmas day, he was three weeks late. So there it was, almost Christmas day when that happened and I mean I just did not want to have him be in the hospital away from Steve [Indecipherable]. So yeah, it kind of shook me up a little bit. JT: Okay, well did you ever, did you ever do things like dad did? Was there another plant? Was a Gossard plant that you would go--? MT: There were other plants, but I never had to go to one JT: You never had to? MT: No, I think maybe, maybe, especially some of the supervisors or something like that, and I' ; m not sure whether the technicians that did the timing and stuff if they ever went to other plants to see how well they were doing a certain process, I don' ; t know for sure on that. I just remember two different people that were [Indecipherable] of the technicians that worked with me and you know, of course when I was first started the first few years, no one ever come to time me for anything. But as I got into more and more doing different things and was doing good on that, then they come and time me. JT: Yeah, who trained you? MT: Who trained me? JT: Who trained? Who trained? MT: Well, if you went to a new job, you kind of just watched what they were doing and you were kind of showed that way the person who' ; s already doing some of them, you just kind of watch them and then you sit down and try it for a little while and then you went after it JT: That' ; s when you did it, okay MT: Yeah, I mean it--most of it, it didn' ; t take a whole lot of training to do that or anything JT: Okay, yeah. MT: Yeah, you know especially since usually it was just like one more or less process, two at the most. Now doing these buckles on these bra straps, that was intricate because there had to be a certain way that you did this and this and this, and you had a foot thing or something that would raise them up and down, I don' ; t remember how that worked. But man, I could fly through those things, they were--it was interesting though. JT: Could you do six thousand buckles a day? MT: I don' ; t know how many I did, but I did a bunch JT: Did you really? MT: Yeah because you know, here you got a stack of bras coming through but there' ; s gonna be two of these straps reach one and then you had the longer ones and the shorter ones I think, no I think most of them just had the one. They had it one time did some double or something. But anyway, it was--that was, and it was one time James, sometimes those little buckles down in this little tube they would jam up, so I took and I banged it into my hand and I tore up some tendons in my hand, I hit it that hard. I had some pretty good pain there for a while, but it didn' ; t stop me or anything, I don' ; t think I went to the doctor with it, but it did tore up my hand, it would just kind of freeze up and stuff. But you know, that' ; s just part of it. JT: Yeah, how many people worked up there in the production part? I don' ; t mean supervisors and that, but do you know about how big the--? MT: You know ; I don' ; t really know. There' ; s some people who might know about how many were there ; I' ; m trying to think of I can think of anybody right off who' ; s still around. The ones that been there the longest, but yeah there for a while they were hiring quite a few and I guess it could' ; ve been in the neighbourhood of a hundred, 125. JT: Okay that' ; s what I was wondering because I didn' ; t know. Around 100 or was it 200 or something like that? MT: I think? No it wouldn' ; t have been anything like 300, but I don' ; t know if there' ; d even be 200. I would think an average season would usually have 75 to 100 people JT: Okay MT: I' ; m trying to think of different rows and--but I don' ; t know, I mean when you get to counting them, it' ; s got to be around 100 I would say JT: And so what' ; s this--can you explain what the seasons were? MT: Well you were always way ahead of the seasons so you were making things that were for the winter, you were making those during the summer time, and then you would get back into making the thinner, finer things that would go out for the spring and all and that' ; s usually when you would start new styles and stuff, and then when it was gonna start on the winter stuff, you would have some new styles, sometimes the same styles and something else added JT: Well when you said that there were 75 to 100 per season, so did that, did they-- MT: No I' ; m just saying during all those years, I think that the average would' ; ve been JT: Okay MT: As the year rotated, and all those years rotated, probably the average for any season would' ; ve been I would say 75 to 100 JT: Okay MT: I was thinking how many people there were in just different areas, you know, how many cutters there were, how many sewers, how many folders or hangers, how many, you know, button holers, how many of the panties and just, yeah I would guess it would have to be something like that. JT: Yeah, okay MT: I Think there was five inspectors, five or six inspectors. They had tall table things and the tables were, they were angled and they were kind of thin slats with not very much room in between the slats, and they' ; d throw those things up on there and there was a bright light on them, and then they would go through and they would look at the button holes, look at the buttons, I guess they just to match them up, look at the hem wasn' ; t wavy and, you know, just different things. And of course when the folders or the hangers, sometimes they' ; d get around there and they' ; d find something that got missed, you know. JT: Mhm, sure. MT: Yeah, it happened. JT: So when they did that and when they went from to the next seasons garments, was there any downtime while they [Indecipherable] the machines or anything? MT: No, no they' ; d usually start out a new season, if I understand it right anyway, they' ; d start out a new season, well they' ; d have to start at least one table would start cutting the newer stuff, or they may be finishing up on another table cutting, you know. And then they' ; d start and so then they' ; d just have a few machines over to one side that would maybe start on the rows or something and then-- JT: Okay MT: Actually the robes stay towards the back because I know when I did buttons and button holes and tacking on the robes, I think I had to move back there to do some of them, yeah I' ; m pretty sure those--and they were so heavy too because I mean even if you got six or whatever they had in those bundles, that' ; s big and it gets bulkier and heavier JT: Depending on [Indecipherable] MT: It' ; s a lot to move around JT: Yeah, okay MT: So, I just remember that one time when I was doing some of the--I know I had to go in the back JT: Yeah MT: To do it, yeah I was--we were working overtime and it was a Saturday and usually we just worked until noon on Saturday, and they were needing some stuff done and I was working on these robes, and I was tired and I didn' ; t really want to and I asked my supervisor, I said " ; I will come back after lunch if you let me bring my iced tea with me" ; because you' ; re not supposed to have anything to drink, that' ; s the deal, and she let me and I didn' ; t spill it or anything, but yeah she let me. I said " ; if I can' ; t bring my tea with me, I' ; m not coming back" ; so JT: The store in Chicago MT: Hm? JT: The store in Chicago that we talked about earlier, Neiman Marcus (ph), was that it? MT: Yes, I think it was JT: Neman Marcus MT: Because Jennet took me there one time, was just as much alter, but I was already at the back then. But anyway, I bought a Christmas decoration there and when I saw that, I remembered that was one of them that was on the list too JT: Yeah, okay MT: But I mean it wasn' ; t, they didn' ; t--I think the later maybe, they may have started going to a Pennys or not ever a sears I don' ; t think, but Pennys may at one time have handled some of the Miss Elaine, much later though. But yeah when I started quite a few years to that, it was just these exclusives. There was a shop in Sharwood (ph), a town in Pennsylvania where my family is from, there was a little small shop, you know, exclusive shop and they had it in that shop JT: Hm, yeah MT: So yeah, that' ; s the typical of where they were at JT: Oh okay, is that Brams still around? MT: I think it is JT: Is it? Okay MT: I think it is JT: Wow MT: So I don' ; t know for sure, I know they had quite a few other factories at different places, but I' ; m not--I don' ; t remember the, and I used to kind of know some names but I don' ; t now remember where all they were. Missouri I think had one or two, maybe around Joplin or Saint Louis, somewhere up that way because it seemed like, seemed like our manager had to go up that way a few times or something. So yeah, there was some connections between with all the different plants, but I know that one time too I understood that sometimes they would do an entirely different items than what we were doing. You know, they might have a complete different line of [Indecipherable] and stuff like that than what we were handling, you know or buy them in different colours or whatever. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, cause-- JT: Okay MT: Cause lot of times, we would be handling three--when you start on a line, you would be, you know, on one--what am I trying to say? On one design, so you' ; d basically be working mostly on maybe one or two designs going through all the time, you know. You didn' ; t have a whole bunch of different, so you did, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of any said item, and that could go on for quite a few months. JT: Mhm MT: So, and I know if you went to the store and looked at Miss Elaine stuff, you saw stuff--I saw stuff that I had never seen before JT: Mhm MT: So, yeah. And we could, we were given the option of ordering things JT: Oh from the other factory? MT: Well for any, we could look in the catalogue and order anything, we could order things that we made, and then a lot of people in Bristow knew that they would sell their left over cloth sometimes, and of course we were right there so we got first chance to get anything, and laces and stuff like that when they quit using a certain lace, they would, you know, you could go back and if you want some of it you could buy it, and it was pretty handy. JT: It sounds handy MT: And I think there' ; s some stuff of course as usual in any place like that that came out of there that wasn' ; t bought JT: Yeah MT: That' ; s just I guess normal, but-- JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, there' ; s still people who have some of these this material and all. I have a few little scraps of it, I don' ; t have very anything really big anymore. But yeah, you know I' ; d buy these different things and it' ; s like, yeah it was handy if you did any sewing at home, a lot of people did, you know. Back then a lot more people sewed, you know it was cool. So I mean we were, we were a good--we had all had good report with our supervisors and especially up where I was and everything. So this one time I was going getting ready to go to Pennsylvania and they took through about five or six different people back there, they took this one fabric and made me more or less a sundress, with no pattern, they just cut it and it just had, it just came up around--it had some sort of pattern, come up and tied on the shoulders and it had this big swirly skirt and they even put a liner to it and everything. That was the prettiest dress though, I wish I hadn' ; t got rid of it, I mean it was almost like a dancing dress or something, it was just so neat. But yeah things would happen like that, you know, people were good, people were good. So it was a good place to work, I--and when I first changed jobs, I had a hard time not getting my old pickup not to end up up there at the parking lot instead of going downtown, I don' ; t know how many times I did that. And then I dreamt that I was, I dreamt that I was doing my job at the bank, but then I was coming getting off at the bank early and coming out there and working for a few hours, I was doing both. It was hard to give up, I mean I didn' ; t hate the job or anything. JT: Yeah MT: It was a challenge where at the bank it wasn' ; t, there wasn' ; t no challenge really. I mean just do your best, but you know. JT: Was there any ever any talk of, or maybe it was, but was there a union out there? MT: Oh yeah we were union JT: Were you? Okay MT: Yeah, I get a small pension now because I was there 19 years and not a lot but it comes in every month JT: But did anybody wanna go on strike? MT: No I don' ; t think we ever did, there was one thing happened that one time and what was that? For some reason we did have to shut down and I don' ; t remember all of the reasons behind it, but we all actually got unemployment and they set it up to where this unemployment place would come and I think we went to that, you know up here on 10th street? That white building? At 10th and chestnut? JT: Mhm, yeah the community center? MT: Okay, I think that' ; s where they--yeah I think that' ; s where they set it up, and so every week we had to go up there and of course I was one of the last ones to be off, but I was also one of the last ones to come back too. I mean we could all see it coming, and I don' ; t remember why we were off, but we were off for like I think about 6 weeks to 2 months. Something like that, then we it gradually got going again. I don' ; t remember the reasoning behind all that. JT: It seems to me that they may have to retool every once in a while MT: I don' ; t know, maybe it-- I don' ; t know, maybe the, maybe they just weren' ; t doing as well or something, or maybe, I don' ; t know what it really was. Maybe the orders weren' ; t coming in fast enough or something, I don' ; t know. I just cannot remember what that was all about, but then we got started back and then I' ; m trying in my mind to think how long was that before they started doing all this, you know, redoing everything on the rates and everything so I thought. It was probably at least a few years, maybe that was the ultimate thing they found out they had to do or something. JT: Yeah I don' ; t know MT: Yeah they lost a lot of people, but lot of people went out there and ended up freezing stuff they shouldn' ; t have and everything else, especially when it went to a lock plant and had that. Yeah I mean out there sometimes you get your allergies will kick up and stuff, and man I hate to take my allergy pill because sometimes that would slow me down a little, because I' ; d kind of get sleepy. You know, get up and walk around for a few minutes or something, go ask my supervisor if there' ; s anything I could do for her for a bit or something, you know, but usually it did, it yeah, I didn' ; t want to take that allergy pill. JT: Well-- MT: There' ; s so many dyes in it in that fabric and everything JT: Oh most certainly MT: Yeah, and then all the lint of course and everything JT: Yeah it seemed like there' ; d be, yeah, particle matter in the air from cutting and stuff MT: Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. JT: It just, yeah [Indecipherable] MT: Well I think, I' ; m pretty sure that the girls back there actually wore masks when they were cutting because of that and I don' ; t think I ever wore--had to wear a mask or anything, but by the time it got up to me, the worst thing about that was those big big boxes, when you got toward the bottom of those big boxes to pull you out a bundle, there' ; d be these huge, huge spiders. Those big ol' ; grass spiders, you know, with the tan ones. Ugh I hated those things, I have nightmares JT: Oh my gosh MT: Because I hate spiders, oh I hate spiders. JT: Wow MT: Yeah I wished, I just happened to remember that too. There were things, there were things. But just, this is a part you won' ; t want to put in there, but when we had the dinners, we knew who made what and we knew who' ; s we avoided JT: [Indecipherable] MT: And there were two or three of those that we avoided, but there was some interesting food too, it was always good but still, yeah. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, we had to, you had to JT: Okay, well I' ; m not gonna ask--you know I really wanted to do this to get through how the garment factory worked MT: Yeah JT: And I think I' ; ve got pretty much a sense of the way things worked and the assembly line MT: If I could add anything, I' ; d just--I don' ; t know, you know, it just moved from the back to the front, there was separate machine shop. There was a separate place that worked up the laces and there was a, you know, different little processes that had to be done JT: Yeah MT: I mean some people had to sit there for hours and I don' ; t, I' ; m not sure, I don' ; t think they had tickets, maybe they did, I don' ; t know. And they' ; d tie little bitty bows together, you know, all day long they were tying these bows, tying these bows. Yeah, I mean and these bows looked perfect JT: They didn' ; t have a machine that tied a bow MT: No, but what you do is like you could do it at home, you take two nails and then you just wrap that around, flip it, and you' ; re done. JT: Oh is what they did MT: But yeah, the nails make them all come out the same, so yeah. There' ; s a lot of our things that had these little bows, little about two and a half to three inch bows, a lot of things had bows JT: Yeah MT: Yeah those ladies sit there and tied those bows and chatted and chatted and chatted, I mean. JT: And then they' ; d be tacked on MT: Yeah then they' ; d be tacked on, yeah I did a lot of tacking on the bows and yeah, that tacking machine was pretty interesting because it' ; d doo-doo, and it' ; s done. Doo-doo, and it' ; s done. I mean, just like, and what it does is it, I think it sews, it may sew one way and back straight and then zig-zags over JT: Okay MT: Yeah, and so like I said, if you could, you went ahead and just did one after another and then you had these little scissor things that you held in your hand and you just clip them like that, you know they weren' ; t like big scissors, they were like clipper things. So everybody had their clippers and you protected your clippers. Because at that time, it wouldn' ; t be a big price now, but you know, I don' ; t know some of them paid $5 or $6 even back then, they may be cheaper now. JT: You had to buy them? MT: Yeah, yeah. So yeah you protected the clippers. But most people didn' ; t ever bother anything, you know usually you could have--you could leave your radio there, you could leave your box of tissues and all this and--another funny thing in this one lady, whatever she, wherever she worked back there, and I can' ; t remember what it was for that these things, whatever she did, she may have put on lace. Anyway, it had like masking tape in strips, and she started out this one time and put that masking tape together, and then she kept putting all her masking tape instead of just wadding it up and throwing it out, she' ; d stick it on this ball. She ended up with a ball as big as a basketball. JT: How long did it take? How long did it take her to do that? MT: I don' ; t know, she was on for quite a while, I' ; d say a year or two, I don' ; t know maybe longer. Maybe shorter, I don' ; t know. But it was--it was, someone stole it. JT: Oh wow MT: Someone took her ball of this tape. It was sad because I mean, you know, you' ; re--it' ; s your work, it' ; s what you' ; ve done, it' ; s just kind of like, you know, meeting your goals or something, you know? You can see, right, exactly, yeah took her ball of tape. JT: Wow MT: No one ever did own up to it. But yeah that was kind of interesting, I think it must have been on lace or something, something that would' ; ve--that would' ; ve come unwrapped if it wasn' ; t taped down. So that' ; s what I' ; m thinking it was something like the laces or something, but yeah she had that ball of tape. Crazy. There was a lot of things happened out there though, you know, just different things JT: Well, I think we' ; ve been at this for-- MT: How long? JT: How long have we been at this? An hour? MT: Almost two hours? JT: An hour and 12 minutes MT: Oh yeah I was here at 4 JT: Yeah MT: Oh so yeah, but that--yeah, I' ; ve been here since, yeah. JT: So Bug [Indecipherable] MT: So you gonna edit that? You gonna put bug in there, are you gonna leave that? JT: Yeah I think so, I think I will. I' ; ll have to explain that, but-- MT: Well you can explain that, you can explain the family thing and all JT: Yeah MT: You know? And just say this is my oldest sister and whatever JT: Yeah, yeah this is my oldest sister. My dad had a nickname for her, he called her Jane Bug because of the June Bug, and so that kind of got-- MT: Actually no, he called my Betsy. And that got started from Janet, so Janet started calling me, couldn' ; t say Mary Jane so she said Mary Jane, and then my two brothers and my cousin decided it sounded like she was saying drain, so they started calling me drain bug. JT: Oh, okay. MT: It was Janet that did that, I just sent her a birthday card, I almost reminded her of that. JT: Okay MT: Anyway, so anyway they switched it to bug from Drain Bug JT: You got shortened a bug MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: So yeah daddy actually did call me Betsy among other things I think, but yeah JT: Well I heard him calling--there' ; s several members of our family named Jane MT: He' ; s called Betsy JT: No, the-- MT: Oh it' ; s called Jane? JT: It' ; s called Jane, and I' ; ve heard him call someone Jane Bug MT: Did he? JT: Yeah MT: I think he called your daughter Jane Bug JT: Yeah, maybe MT: Yeah JT: That might' ; ve been it MT: Yeah JT: Anyway, okay well-- MT: Yeah and Janet did that same--instead of Jane she would say it sounded more like drain JT: Mhm MT: And yeah, Butch and Bobby, and probably Butch and Buddy mostly is the one that picked up on it JT: Okay MT: And-- JT: Okay well-- MT: And switched it JT: Yeah, well I was gonna say thank you Bug for doing this, and-- MT: It was interesting to try to think of all this stuff JT: Yeah MT: That' ; s why I hope I haven' ; t left out any exciting for important things about it JT: Well and you were there, this is what you remembered in your years there so MT: Well I can tell you another thing that you may not put in there or not. Anyway this one time we were--we always had our radios right there and one of my real good friends was across from me and she was one that did the hanging so we could chat back and forth a little bit, but always had the radio. Well I listened to this one station out of Tulsa, and one of the pizza companies was giving out these tickets, and then they had these drawings every day, maybe even more than one a day, I can' ; t remember it. Anyway, so we had our radios all tuned to this station so we could hear the numbers called. So we' ; d take our weekends and go to different pizza places in Tulsa and get tickets. So then instead of holding all tickets, we' ; d write our list of numbers down so we had this list of numbers. So this one time I had to go over to the IRS the day before, and really bugged me out even though it didn' ; t cost me a bunch or anything, but just the whole thing had been traumatic and bummed me out. So there I was, it was in the morning and working away and everything and they were getting ready to call some numbers and I told Genie (ph), I said " ; I don' ; t even wanna look" ; I was just, you know, kind of bummed out and everything and so they go to call these numbers and I told Genie, I said " ; That sounds like one of my numbers" ; so I grabbed my list, sure enough it was my number. So I ran to the front and had to use a payphone. Well I grabbed some quarters and maybe, I don' ; t know, some people handed me a couple of quarters--you only had five minutes to call it in. So I run out there and they' ; re looking at me in the office like, and I said " ; You can fire--don' ; t fire me" ; but I said " ; You can clock me out or what you' ; ve gotta do, but I' ; ve gotta use this phone" ; and then you couldn' ; t get the quarters to go in the slot, I kept dropping them. So anyway what I did was I won a record album a week for a year, 52 record albums JT: Wow MT: Yeah I' ; ve still got quite a few of those JT: Do ya? MT: Yeah JT: Oh MT: But, so then I let the boys go with me and this was already, I don' ; t know, Steve would' ; ve been already up like in maybe even lower high school or something, I can' ; t--Oh no, he was maybe a senior or junior because he was, that was another thing. This was out at the garment factory, he was probably early high school or you know, 8th grade or something like that. But he was already into music, so anyway I let them go with me and they could each one pick out so they had picked out some of them too, you know on that. But then, this other thing just telling me this, is it still recording? JT: Mhm MT: But you can take it off. But anyway this other thing, so I was down at the bank, and I listened to the radio station and you could call in and tell them your desk dancing song, which song would you get up and dance on your desk for. And I can' ; t remember, it was of Neil Diamonds, and I called in and I gave it and they chose mine, and I don' ; t know if you remember it or not, but anyway when I called and I was so excited that they used my voice for six months. They had me on there because I was so excited, Steve was in log doing the log and they had the radio on and they heard me too, so he knew it before I even got to tell him. But yeah, so then I had people come by and say, well because I was in that back window, " ; Well when are you gonna get up on that desk and dance?" ; It was funny, it was funny. But yeah it was a Neil Diamond, I can' ; t remember if it was Cherry Cherry or one of those, I don' ; t know, but it was a Neil Diamond song. But anyway, it was, yeah. And I won a shirt and a mug I think or something, but anyway. The things you do, you know, back in life you' ; ve done these things, it helps you get through life and everything, you know. JT: Well, thank you again for coming up here and doing this MT: You' ; re welcome JT: And we' ; ll end this now MT: Yeah you can [Indecipherable] JT: I probably will audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml
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6400
Duration
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78:26
Interview Keyword
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garment factory
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Title
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Mary Jane Trigalet
Description
An account of the resource
In this 2021 interview, Mary Jane Trigalet shares her experience working for the garment factory in Bristow.
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OHP-2021-21
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2021-06-06
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audio
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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Copyright Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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English
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Sound, oral history
garment factory
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f412eea3e0c3fcd3fbf5be988a7ed7c3
Dublin Core
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Title
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Pinehill Histories
Subject
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History of the Pinehill area north of Bristow
Description
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Several interviews were done by Mary and Bob Mc Carty of people who grew up in the Pinehill area north of Bristow. This collection is the Pinehill subset of the Bristow Oral Histories
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Type
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Oral history.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0008-03_Mary_McCarty.xml
Interview Keyword
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included in the OHMS XML, this field in Omeka will allow for full data migration
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Heyburn
Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty
Pinehill
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5.4 OHP-0008-03 Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty OHP-0008-03 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Pinehill Community Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Pinehill Communit and School Heyburn Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty Pinehill Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty MP3 1:|11(2)|21(5)|33(5)|42(1)|48(14)|58(1)|67(10)|77(11)|87(1)|97(4)|106(3)|113(9)|121(4)|130(7)|136(1)|146(2)|155(6)|162(8)|172(4)|179(1)|186(10)|196(9)|205(4)|214(7) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0008-03 McCarty, Mary.mp3 Other audio 0 Pinehill History This is Wednesday, November 17, 1976, the time is twelve o’clock noon. I’ve had several people ask how Bob and I got into the Pinehill research and history writing. And I thought that I would tape my reasons at least. In May of 1972 Oma Head (ph) was at decorations at 44 Cemetery when I took my mom McCarty out there and she told me that she and Donnie Johnson were going to have a Pinehill community reunion that August. When I came home I told Bob and he was pleased. In July he contacted Oma (ph) and she said, “Oh, we just talked about it, we haven’t done anything about it,” so Bob got busy and he and I contacted a lot of people. We had 82 people present at the Pinehill reunion on August 20, 1972 at Rocky Point. Everyone had a good time and vowed to hold a reunion each year on the third Sunday in August. We elected Chester Wilson as president and a committee of five to assist the president, with Lenora Darnell as secretary. The committee of five were Mildred Kerley (ph) in Tulsa, Frankie McKinzie (ph) Oklahoma City, Chester Wilson Sapulpa, Neiman Mark (ph) Drumright, and Lenora Darnell and Eva Carson (ph) of Bristow. Discussion of reunions in the Pinehill Community and those who helped organize them. 44 Cemetery ; Chester Wilson ; Clarence Myers ; Della Brake ; Donnie Johnson ; Eunice Perryman ; Eva Carson ; Frankie McKinzie ; Lenora Darnell ; Leo Bruce ; Leo pinehill ; Mildred Kerley ; Neiman Mark ; Oma Head ; Phoebe Perryman ; Pinehill ; Pinehill Road ; Rocky Point ; school ; Shepherd Point Pinehill Community Reunion ; Pinehill School 330 Map of Pinehill During research and getting the county records from J.L. Darnell who was county superintendent when I was doing the research, he told me about a map of Oklahoma that hangs—a four, five foot, I would say, map hangs in the courthouse in Sapulpa. It’s either 1902 or 1903 map of the original Indian allotments. I—the names and the figures and the map fascinated me but I didn’t do any—I looked at it and I’ve looked at it several times since and thought how to copy it. We thought of photography and different ways. The people at the courthouse would not let us take the map off the wall to do anything with it because it’s old and it’s fragile. So I got busy with other things. Trying to obtain a copy of the map of the Pinehill Community Augustine Kelly ; Heyburn Lake ; Indian allotments ; Iva Rossander ; J.L. Darnell ; Kathy Thompson ; map ; Pinehill ; Ranger Station ; Rick Cane ; Shepherd's Point Map of the Pinehill Community 750 The Bruce Family, Crops, and School Taping these people, older people, and getting their personalities in them has been a wonderful thing. And to get the feel of community is interesting also. What we found out is this: In 1885 the Bruces, the first white settlers, came into Pinehill community. In 1896 the W.O. Baker came in—family came in. We really have no dates on the people as they came in after that. In 1897, as far as our history can tell, Leo Bruce was the white, first white child born in the community. They were five of the Bruce brothers that came into the community. And some people says it’s a Bruce history—it’s not. They were just the first there, and a lot of people and the ones that Bob and his family knew best—and that most people knew best. They were workers, they were builders. The thing that kept the community alive was the rich bottomlands and then the oil and gas wells—mostly gas wells, of the oil industry. The people in the oilfields moved so often that we really have no history on persons of the oilfield, but the oil industry was one of the team that kept the community alive. Discussion of the first settlers to the area, the Bruce family and the early school days bootleg school ; Bruce ; cattle ; church ; corn ; cotton ; Creek Indian ; Creek Indian Nation ; Creek Nation ; crops ; Della Brake ; grains ; horses ; Leo Bruce ; maize ; school ; subscription school ; voting precinct ; W.O. Baker Bruce Family ; crops ; farming ; school 1093 Railroad and Heyburn Lake When the government surveyors surveyed the railroad for the line between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, one of the surveys—surveyors, Dr. Fath, surveyed the area for oil and gas. He must’ve been a very remarkable man, and we have—were kindly given some photostatic copies of one of Dr. Fath’s books by George Krumme. He—his records called the area the Bristow Quadrangle. The Pinehill community were—was included in it. The second successful well in the Bristow Quadrangle was drilled close to Wild Horse Prairie in section 17-9 in 1911. ‘Producing well,’ they called it. There had been others drilled but that was the second producing well. It was a gas well and it was drilled at depths of 990 to 1,010 feet. And it produced seven million cubic foot of gas a day. Discussion of railroad and Heyburn Lake Bristow ; Bristow Quadrangle ; Dr. Fath ; gas ; George Krumme ; Heyburn Lake ; Kellyville ; oil ; oilfields ; Olive ; pipeline ; railroad ; Wild Horse Prairie Bristow Quadrangle ; Heyburn Lake ; railroad 1335 Repeat of Introduction This is Wednesday, November 17, 1976. The time is twelve noon. I’ve been asked by several people why Bob and I started the Pinehill research and history and so I thought I would tape it today. In May of 1972 at decoration at 44 Cemetery, Oma Head (ph) told me that she and Bonnie Johnson were going to have a reunion for the Pinehill Community in 1972 in August. Mrs. McCarty appears to be restarting her narrative at this point in the tape and re-reading from her notes. Pinehill Pinehill In this 1976 monologue, Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty (1929-2007) gives a summary of her efforts, along with her husband Bob, in compiling the history of the Pinehill Community in Creek County, Oklahoma. She also provides a summary of their findings regarding the early Pinehill School, early settlers to the area, and their efforts to memorialize their research in an informational display at Heyburn Lake. This is Wednesday, November 17, 1976, the time is twelve o' ; clock noon. I' ; ve had several people ask how Bob and I got into the Pinehill research and history writing. And I thought that I would tape my reasons at least. In May of 1972 Oma Head (ph) was at decorations at 44 Cemetery when I took my mom McCarty out there and she told me that she and Donnie Johnson were going to have a Pinehill community reunion that August. When I came home I told Bob and he was pleased. In July he contacted Oma (ph) and she said, " ; Oh, we just talked about it, we haven' ; t done anything about it," ; so Bob got busy and he and I contacted a lot of people. We had 82 people present at the Pinehill reunion on August 20, 1972 at Rocky Point. Everyone had a good time and vowed to hold a reunion each year on the third Sunday in August. We elected Chester Wilson as president and a committee of five to assist the president, with Lenora Darnell as secretary. The committee of five were Mildred Kerley (ph) in Tulsa, Frankie McKinzie (ph) Oklahoma City, Chester Wilson Sapulpa, Neiman Mark (ph) Drumright, and Lenora Darnell and Eva Carson (ph) of Bristow. The second annual reunion was held August 19, 1973 at Shepherd Point with 136 present. We said we had a better time. The reunion was growing each year, we held them each year the third Sunday in August, and we intend to keep on holding them. We have new ones that comes each year and some of the older people can' ; t make it and some just don' ; t care for them. Of course, some of them are quite old and illness and death is taking away them each year. I would sit and listen to people talk and different ones would say, Well, the first school was a stockade school, or The first school was a log school, and I found no one who really knew. In 1974 I started taking notes and interviewing people along in October. Leo Bruce is the only one that I found then, or I find now, that remembers the first school. He wasn' ; t to school age when they were building it and he was watching them build it. He said he got chased home from the site many a time from getting in the carpenter' ; s way. It was built about a quarter of a mile east of the section line that we call the Pinehill Road on the Leo Pinehill original Indian allotment. Then Leo Bruce started to school there in the school term of 1903 along with several of the other children. He told us the name of the first teacher and then the second and Clarence Myers remembered a bunch of the early teachers, Bob' ; s mother started to school in the 1907-1908 and Della Brake (ph) was the teacher that year. She remembered and I was taking the notes very well. We' ; ve had different opinions. We know the first school was built on the Leo Pinehill allotment. It burned in 1909. The controversy was the second school and where this schoolhouse was, but it would--if it was the second school we heard about was built a quarter of a mile west of the first on the section line corners, and it was there only three years. In 1912 they moved the school one mile north and about a quarter of a mile west on the Phoebe Perryman allotment and it burned in 1918. Then in the year 1918 the school records show that the final school was built a quarter of a mile east from that school on the corner and it is the Pinehill School on the Eunice Perryman property, and that is the school most people remember and know as the Pinehill School. All of them were the Pinehill School, buildings burned or changed but the school itself remained the Pinehill School. During research and getting the county records from J.L. Darnell who was county superintendent when I was doing the research, he told me about a map of Oklahoma that hangs--a four, five foot, I would say, map hangs in the courthouse in Sapulpa. It' ; s either 1902 or 1903 map of the original Indian allotments. I--the names and the figures and the map fascinated me but I didn' ; t do any--I looked at it and I' ; ve looked at it several times since and thought how to copy it. We thought of photography and different ways. The people at the courthouse would not let us take the map off the wall to do anything with it because it' ; s old and it' ; s fragile. So I got busy with other things. So in this fall of 1976 I went over to the courthouse and stood and copied the allotments off the map, section 17-9 -- township, I might say, 17-9, off from this map because I didn' ; t know very much about maps. I started at the site of the last Pinehill School and just went in a circle around it ' ; til my paper was gone, which was a very foolish way to make a map, I should' ; ve just copied the section of 17-9. I did not get hardly far enough south, so Bob went back and copied them, and somehow in copying and recopying the map was several points incorrect. Kathy Thompson is making a good map for us for the use in the Pinehill stuff. So we just couldn' ; t bear to put an incorrect map out for people to see, so we contacted the map companies in Tulsa to see if we could get a map of the original allotments for that section and they put us in touch with Augustine Kelly. She is the wife of the maker of this original map. We drove to Tulsa. I called her and then I drove to Tulsa and got the copy--twelve-inch square this section. It' ; s made from an obsolete process now and she' ; s very old and ill and when she dies this map will be gone. The newer map makers do not use the process of using these old maps, but I was very fortunate, I bought the copy--twelve-inch square copy of the original map, so Kathy' ; s using it so the map will be entirely correct. My notetaking was very unsatisfactory. I use a brand of shorthand only I can read, so we bought the tape and now we have quite a number of tapes of the people. Oddly enough we found out that people would say things to us for the taking notes that they won' ; t say on the tape. I heard several stories in the tape that some of them, if I thought I would embarrass or hurt the descendants of the original people in the stories that I didn' ; t write down. Some of them I wrote down for Bob and I. And some at the time I wrote down hoping to make a history in booklet form for the people that cared about it. I showed the map to one of the farmers and to Iva Rossander and she said, ' ; Well, what are you going to do with the map when Kathy makes it for you, the teacher makes it for you?' ; I told her, ' ; Well, I' ; m going to frame it and hang it on the wall for Bob.' ; And she said, ' ; Well, it' ; s just a shame to do the map that way, to put it in a private place that way when it would belong to the community of Pinehill and the people.' ; Bob and I next day drove to Oklahoma City and talked to the state parks and recreation division and they told us there that since it was a--the community did join Heyburn Lake, the school district and it was history local and people were still interested in it that they didn' ; t see why that we shouldn' ; t be able to erect an information shelter at the Heyburn Lake to put the map and the condensed history and different articles of history for people to see. We drove--they sent us to the park planning division and we drove to North Lincoln and talked to Rick Cane (ph) there about the map, possibility of putting this information shelter at the lake. They told us if we wanted it at the Y at Shepherd' ; s Point that they would build a shelter for us because of the value to us at least of the articles that were to be put in it, we would prefer it to be put at the Ranger Station and if not there at the picnic shelter on Shepherd' ; s Point at Heyburn Lake. Our plans at this time call for the map, a list of all the people that have ever lived in the community--the township of 17-9, and a key to the map where they can find the area they lived in, or their ancestors, their family lived in. There would also have the plaques that shows all the teachers that ever taught in the school, the main community builders, and the committee that' ; s working on the historical information shelter. Taping these people, older people, and getting their personalities in them has been a wonderful thing. And to get the feel of community is interesting also. What we found out is this: In 1885 the Bruces, the first white settlers, came into Pinehill community. In 1896 the W.O. Baker came in--family came in. We really have no dates on the people as they came in after that. In 1897, as far as our history can tell, Leo Bruce was the white, first white child born in the community. They were five of the Bruce brothers that came into the community. And some people says it' ; s a Bruce history--it' ; s not. They were just the first there, and a lot of people and the ones that Bob and his family knew best--and that most people knew best. They were workers, they were builders. The thing that kept the community alive was the rich bottomlands and then the oil and gas wells--mostly gas wells, of the oil industry. The people in the oilfields moved so often that we really have no history on persons of the oilfield, but the oil industry was one of the team that kept the community alive. The early crops were corn, maize, and the grains. In 1909, cotton came in as the money-making industry. They always raised horses and cattle on the hillsides and in the early years they killed quails and shipped them to Kansas City. There were some game, they used to game, but it was still--needed the money crop of cotton terribly bad. pause in recording --there were many other public buildings in the community at one time for a couple years. Leo Bruce ran a small concession-stand-like store. The school was their schoolhouse, it was their church house, it was their voting precinct, it stood for every--it was used for all community purposes. Their pie suppers, their Christmas trees, the literaries. When I first heard--I' ; d never heard the word until they were talking about it, it fascinated me. They were--people were [indecipherable] and they sang, read poetry, whatever they wanted to do to entertain each other during the winter season. In the early days the school was only three months--November, December, and January, and then later years it was, they had school then during June, July, and August, and then the winter months were lengthened out a little. The early school was a subscription school. The parents each paid so much toward the teacher' ; s salary and they boarded in their homes. The salary was about $17 a month. Della Brake (ph) was the first teacher hired by the state as that. [Indecipherable] looking at the Creek Indian Nations, and they called the schools a bootleg school. It was never registered with the Creek Nation, or Creek Indian Tribe as a school. If it' ; d been done so, the early history would be written history. The way it is, the state has a list of the teachers from 1916 through 1954. No record was kept either in the state or the county offices of the pupils in the school. We did borrow and copy the census books, the school census books that showed all the school age children and young people that lived in the community--but that doesn' ; t necessarily mean they went to the school. Everyone that we' ; ve asked in the state or county offices has been cooperative, they just didn' ; t keep the records. pause in recording When the government surveyors surveyed the railroad for the line between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, one of the surveys--surveyors, Dr. Fath, surveyed the area for oil and gas. He must' ; ve been a very remarkable man, and we have--were kindly given some photostatic copies of one of Dr. Fath' ; s books by George Krumme. He--his records called the area the Bristow Quadrangle. The Pinehill community were--was included in it. The second successful well in the Bristow Quadrangle was drilled close to Wild Horse Prairie in section 17-9 in 1911. ' ; Producing well,' ; they called it. There had been others drilled but that was the second producing well. It was a gas well and it was drilled at depths of 990 to 1,010 feet. And it produced seven million cubic foot of gas a day. It was turned into the big pipeline, eleven-inch line that went from the Glenpool area to Oklahoma City. Oil and gas drilling were prominent in the community from about 1911 on up until recent times--a major part of the community. In 1948 when they bought up the land for Heyburn Lake, they bought--the government bought the bottomlands and it caused a number of families to move out when they bought it. At the same time, the oilfields were dying down, so the community died. The community reached such a low point that it could no longer support the school. Part of the children went to Olive, part to Bristow, and part to Kellyville. I for one watched them build Heyburn Lake and we' ; ve used it for recreational purposes every year since it was built. All the--all the time since it was built. To some of the older families it was such a heartbreak. It tore up their farms, it took out the productive land, and they didn' ; t want the school to go. I can see that very well. pause in recording Incidentally, the first school was a frame school. All the schools were frame schools, as we know them, there were no log schools involved and I had the Krummes to research and as near as they could tell, the Bristow Quadrangle was an area of sixteen square miles, as the term was used in Dr. Fath' ; s book. pause in recording This is Wednesday, November 17, 1976. The time is twelve noon. I' ; ve been asked by several people why Bob and I started the Pinehill research and history and so I thought I would tape it today. In May of 1972 at decoration at 44 Cemetery, Oma Head (ph) told me that she and Bonnie Johnson were going to have a reunion for the Pinehill Community in 1972 in August. So long in July, Bob contacted Oma (ph) and she said, ' ; Oh, they had talked about it but had done nothing about it so Bob and I got busy and contacted various people. We had the reunion August 20, 1972 at Rocky Point. Eight-two people were present. Everyone had a good time and voted to hold the reunions each year the third Sunday in August. We elected Chester Wilson as president and a committee of five to assist the president with Lenora Darnell as secretary. The committee of five were Mildred Kerley (ph) in Tulsa, Frankie McKinzie (ph) Oklahoma City, Chester Wilson Sapulpa, Lehman Mark (ph) Drumright, Lenora Darnell and Eva Patterson (ph) of Bristow. The second annual reunion was held August 19, 1973 at Shepherd' ; s Point. We had 136 present. Chester just wouldn' ; t--did not work at being the president so he just told me, ' ; Well, Bob did the work this year, I didn' ; t, I just accepted the position,' ; so since then Bob has been officially president of the Pinehill Reunion and I have been the--assisting him. Sitting at the reunions, I did not go to Pinehill School so sitting at the reunions listening to other people talk of Bristow-- end of recording 1 audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0008-03_Mary_McCarty.xml OHP-0008-03_Mary_McCarty.xml
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Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty
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In this 1976 monologue, Mary Lee (Fuller) McCarty (1929-2007) gives a summary of her efforts, along with her husband Bob, in compiling the history of the Pinehill Community in Creek County, Oklahoma. She also provides a summary of their findings regarding the early Pinehill School, early settlers to the area, and their efforts to memorialize their research in an informational display at Heyburn Lake.
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OHP-0008-03
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Pinehill Communit and School
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1976-11-17
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Family Histories
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Oral accounts of various family histories
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Regan Siler
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Mike Newell
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5.4 July 2, 2024 OHP-0058 Mike Newell OHP-0058 00:00:00 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Mike Newell Regan Siler 1.0:|27(11)|48(7)|83(11)|107(17)|128(7)|157(12)|180(11)|208(15)|231(11)|258(6)|286(17)|308(12)|331(5)|350(16)|371(17)|392(8)|413(12)|436(13)|456(5)|484(4)|511(10)|538(10)|565(4)|583(16)|605(12)|626(18)|654(3)|675(3)|695(5)|717(14)|734(11)|753(3)|772(12)|785(7)|809(7)|826(12)|854(11)|880(8)|898(6)|926(16)|946(3)|981(3)|1000(4)|1021(6)|1045(16)|1062(16)|1080(8)|1090(10)|1109(7)|1124(10)|1144(4)|1162(6)|1177(6)|1201(13)|1212(11)|1230(5)|1246(7)|1266(7)|1285(16)|1297(4)|1311(7)|1341(7)|1356(6)|1369(16)|1389(12)|1409(16)|1431(4)|1451(3)|1466(20)|1480(11)|1500(3)|1509(12)|1520(10)|1534(7)|1555(13)|1573(13)|1604(5)|1615(5)|1634(12)|1665(4)|1685(8)|1696(9)|1711(3)|1726(4)|1750(17)|1776(4)|1792(14)|1803(13)|1826(17)|1848(16)|1856(10)|1869(4)|1891(11)|1912(12)|1929(4)|1938(5) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0058 Newell, Mike.mp4 Other audio 1 Early Life and Family RS: This is Regan Siler with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the historical society’s ongoing oral history project. The date is July 2, 2024 and I’m sitting here with Mike Newell at the Bristow Library Annex. He’s going to tell us a little bit about his life and his history living in the Bristow area, and maybe, if we’re lucky, sing us a tune. Can you please tell us your full name?
 ; 
 ; MN: Michael Newell.
 ; Mike Newell was born on November 17, 1942, in Bristow, Oklahoma. He was born at home on the dining table. His parents were Clarence and Celesta Newell. Mike is the youngest of seven children. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Michael Newell ; Slick (Okla.) ; Clarence Earl Newell ; Celesta Leona Goodmon Newell ; Robert Lee Newell Life ; Family 0 193 Father RS: Robert Lee Newell, okay. Well, let’s, what about your, can you tell me like what your parents did for a living? Tell me what your dad did for a living.
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, he started out in law enforcement.
 ; 
 ; RS: Really?
 ; 
 ; MN: Law enforcement. Oil field.
 ; 
 ; RS: Oil field, okay.
 ; Mike talks about his father and his life. Mike's father (Clarence) started out working in the oilfield, he later went on to farm. Robert Lee Newell ; Law enforcement ; oil field ; Louis Peters Father 0 239 Family-Parents and Siblings MN: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: And was
 ; 
 ; MN: She never worked outside the home. She stayed right there and drove a team of mules just like a man.
 ; 
 ; RS: That’s awesome. So, has your family been in Bris, like has your family been in Bristow this entire time? Did they come here from somewhere or?
 ; Mike talks about his life on the farm growing up. He says his mother never worked outside the home. She helped on the farm. The gathering place for the family and extended family was at their ranch on Sundays. Bud Peters ; Newell Ranch Family ; Parents 0 308 Early Childhood RS: I wish we had more of that in today’s times. So, let’s talk a little big about your early childhood. I want to kind of get a picture of you were as a youngster, and then growing up, and then, you know, we will get into your family and your career. Do you remember any of your favorite toys or games you played as a youngster?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, by myself, I was always a cowboy.
 ; 
 ; RS: You’ve always been a cowboy, haven’t you?
 ; 
 ; MN: And then on the Sundays, we had a game we called over and under.
 ; Mike tells Regan about his childhood. He always pretended to be a cowboy. He played a game called over and under on Sundays with the other children. He was responsible for washing the milk cans and the milker after his father finished the milking. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing.
 ; Cowboy ; Farm ; school ; Hunting ; Fishing Childhood 0 503 Skating on the Frozen Creek RS: Oh no! You gotta tell it all! Tell me one story. Tell me one story where you got into some mischief. Can you think of anything?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, one time, it was cold, snow and ice. And there was a creek down there and we would skate on the ice. Where I was skating, it broke through, and I couldn’t come back up.
 ; Mike tells a story about going down to the creek and skating on the ice. The ice where Mike was skating broke, and he was stuck. His friend used a rock to bust the ice and pull Mike out. Creek Skating 0 569 Hobbies as a Child RS: So, did you have any favorite hobbies as a child? Was there anything you were really into?
 ; 
 ; MN: Hunting, fishing, riding. When I got big enough, I started rodeoing. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Rodeoing. Did you collect anything as a youngster? Do you remember collecting anything?
 ; 
 ; MN: No, not really.
 ; Mike enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding horses growing up. He was involved in riding in the rodeos. Hunting ; Fishing ; rodeo Hobbies 0 597 School RS: Not really? Let’s talk a little big about your school life. Where did you first attend school? 
 ; 
 ; MN: Washington.
 ; 
 ; RS: Washington Elementary?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yeah.
 ; 
 ; RS: Oh, wow. I went there, too!
 ; 
 ; MN: It don’t exist anymore. 
 ; 
 ; RS: I know, I know! Did you remember having any influential teachers in your lifetime, whether it was elementary or through high school or whatever, ones that really stuck out to you?
 ; 
 ; MN: Gladys Holcomb [Alta Gladys Holcomb 4/7/1911-9/28/1995].
 ; Mike attended elementary school at Washington Elementary in Bristow. Gladys Holcomb taught art and made a big impact on Mike. Mike was involved with band but did not play sports. Washington Elementary School ; Alta Gladys Holcomb School 0 700 Milk Depot RS: Well, wait. Where was the milk depot? I don’t know if I’ve heard of that. Or what is that?
 ; 
 ; MN: Right by the old depot, the train depot.
 ; 
 ; RS: The train depot?
 ; 
 ; MN: That building that’s just right west of there, a guy named Carl Baker [Carl Eugene Baker 5/10/1905-11/10-1995] ran it, and we had milk cans and had our number and our name on them. Mike's father often took their milk to the milk depot in Bristow. It was located beside the train depot. They sold their cream which would be used to make butter. Later they stopped s Milk depots ; train depot ; Carl Eugene Baker ; fire department ; Town Square ; Creamery ; Oral Leslie Kaup Milk depots 0 874 Childhood Home RS: Hey, that’s understandable. Okay, so you primarily lived in the house that you, did you grow up in the house that you currently live in?
 ; 
 ; MN: No.
 ; 
 ; RS: No? But it’s on the same property?
 ; 
 ; MN: I grew up there, yeah, but I was grown, and my mother was still living. I had a house just right south of them that my dad bought. He wanted to keep me on the farm to help him. Of course, the rest of the kids all married and gone.
 ; Mike's family lived on about 160 acres of land. It is located on Highway 16. The original farmhouse burned when Mike was working at the sheriff's office. police department ; sheriff's department ; Mannford (Okla.) ; Newell Farm ; Slick (Okla.) ; Highway 16 Home 0 1198 Meals as a Family RS: So, what were meal times like for your family? Did everybody sit down?
 ; 
 ; MN: Pretty well. When supper or dinner was ready and she called us to the house, we better be there.
 ; 
 ; RS: You better be there, huh? What were your meals like? I’m guessing your mom was probably, she probably was a heck of a cook if I’m remembering what Bud told me.
 ; Mike's family enjoyed dinner together every night. His mother was a great cook. Mike especially enjoyed breakfast-eggs, ham, bacon, biscuits, gravy and fried potatoes. Mike's favorite dessert was blackberry drop dumplings that his mother made. Louis Peters ; Emmett Dykes ; Opal Dykes Meal ; Family 0 1348 Coalition of Christian Cowboys RS: Yeah, see and that’s all the stuff that they say now, or for a long time, said is bad for you, but now they’re coming back around saying it’s good for you. So, I think you guys probably had it figured out back then. Okay, well, thinking back to your town life and growing up, did you have any favorite community activities? Say, like, I know you were involved with Western Heritage Days, but day camps, parades, county fairs? Can you tell me anything about any of those types of things?
 ; 
 ; MN: I was always in rodeoing, but we had organization that I founded. It was the Coalition of Christian Cowboys.
 ; Mike founded an organization called the Coalition of Christian Cowboys. He was the president for about 22 or 23 years until it dissolved. They would organize trail rides and other cowboy things. They raised money for people in need, especially during the holidays. Western Heritage Days ; Day camps ; Parades ; county fairs ; Coalition of Christian Cowboys ; Texas Playboys ; Thanksgiving ; Christmas Coalition of Christian Cowboys 0 1543 County Fair RS: Well, that’s interesting. So, did you do, did you have anything to do, I know, I’ve been told that the county fair used to be a pretty big deal around here.
 ; 
 ; MN: Oh yeah. Of course, we all went through the 4H and FFA, and at that time, where all the old farm or city buildings are out at the park.
 ; 
 ; RS: The city, uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; MN: That’s where they rodeo grounds was.
 ; 
 ; RS: Right. 
 ; 
 ; MN: And we had things like that.
 ; The county fair was an important event during Mike's childhood. It was located out by the park where the city buildings are located. The 4H and FFA were always involved in the fair. County fair ; 4H ; Future Farmers of America County fair 0 1575 Businesses Around Town RS: Okay. Growing up, what were some of the biggest and most popular businesses around town? Like, did you have a favorite place to eat out or hang out or?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, I can’t think of anything right now.
 ; 
 ; RS: Nothing that stood out to you? Did you eat out much as a young person or did you usually eat at home?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, mom would cook.
 ; 
 ; RS: Yeah, you always ate at home.
 ; 
 ; MN: My wife cooked.
 ; 
 ; RS: Right, right. So, then I guess growing up as a teenager, you didn’t have any particular hang-outs around town or things that you would do?
 ; 
 ; MN: No. Usually when I got to town, the first thing I’d do was go to Red Bird.
 ; Mike loved going to Red Bird when he went into town. He loved the smell of leather. He enjoyed looking at the saddles and the bridles. Red Bird Business 0 1644 Family Cars and Learning to Drive RS: Okay. Do you remember, and this might be kind of an odd question, but like your family’s first car?
 ; 
 ; MN: Dad had several Model-T’s and Model-A’s and when we grew up, he would buy a new pick up every once in a while. And back then you could buy a brand new pick up for $1500.
 ; Mike's father owned several Model-T's and Model A's when Mike was young. His father also bought new trucks occasionally. Mike's first car was a 1949 Ford pickup. He got his driver's license when he was 18 or 19. Model T ; Model A ; Ford Family ; car 0 1777 Television RS: Just on the farm. Okay. Well, so, I know it sounds like you were probably more of an outside person, but do you remember, did you get to watch any TV or anything like that growing up?
 ; 
 ; MN: Our first TV, I can remember, I was probably seven or eight-years-old, and we had a black and white and it was just real small. And it had rabbit ears back then and that’s what I got to watch.
 ; 
 ; RS: So, do you remember any particular program that you liked?
 ; 
 ; MN: Ohhhh, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and Johnny Mack Brown and all them. I would hurry when I got home from school to watch Roy Rogers and Gene Autry before I had to go out and start doing chores.
 ; 
 ; RS: So, you did catch a little TV then?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yes!
 ; Mike recalls the first television his family owned. It was small and was a black and white picture. He loved watching Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Johnny Mack Brown. Gene Autry ; Roy Rogers ; Johnny Mack Brown Television 0 1843 Guitar RS: Do you think that was, I don’t know, kind of instrumental in you, like your singing and you’re desire to want sing and play instruments?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yeah. They was always Roy Rogers and Gene Autry was always singing, and this is not practical, but in the movies, they would be riding down the trail and playing their guitar while they was riding their horses. That don’t work.
 ; Mike played the guitar as a child. He remembers seeing Gene Autry and Roy Rogers on television riding their horses down the trail while playing their guitars. He taught himself to play the guitar and never received a lesson. Roy Rogers ; Gene Autry ; Guitar Guitar 0 1929 Dr. King RS: You’re still learning, huh? Well, that’s good. So, what was medical care like for your family? If you were born on the dining room table, I’m thinking they probably told you to just rub some dirt on it and walk it off.
 ; 
 ; MN: No, our old doctor, Dr. King [E.W. King].
 ; Mike's family doctor was Dr. King. He was also a farmer, and he made house calls. Many of the medical bills were paid with chickens and pigs. Medical ; E.W. King Dr. King 0 2015 Faith MN: Oh, yeah. In fact, I wrote a song called “That Old Barn” and my dad that’s where he would go and pray. Bible says go into your own closet and pray. And, so, that’s what he done. Us kids would be playing in the hay, and all of the sudden, we didn’t even know he was down there. So, he would pray, and boy, it was loud. I mean, he really, really got into it.
 ; 
 ; RS: Is that where you, I guess, learned your faith?
 ; 
 ; MN: Oh, yeah.
 ; Mike learned his faith from his father. His father would pray in the barn while the children played. He first attended church at First Church of God in Bristow. Mike now attends church in Slick and is very involved. First Church of God ; Wilbert Harrison Goodmon ; Depew (Okla.) ; Valley View Church ; Freewill Baptist ; Nazarene Church ; Slick (Okla.) ; Community Center Faith 0 2283 Holidays RS: Yeah, yeah. That’s good. We already talked about the Coalition of Christian Cowboys that you were in. Let’s um, so what were, because Bud [Louis Peters] had actually brought this up a little bit. What were, tell me, from your perspective what were holidays like at your house growing up, like Christmas and stuff like that. Was it family-oriented?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yes.
 ; Mike enjoyed holidays with his family as a child. They would dig up a pine tree and put it in a five-gallon bucket to use as a Christmas tree. Mike received his first .22 rifle as a gift for Christmas one year. Coalition of Christian Cowboys ; Louis Peters ; Christmas ; Fourth of July ; Easter Holidays 0 2388 Cowboy RS: Yeah, that’s fun. So, as a child, do you remember, did you ever have…what did you want to be when you grew up? Do you remember?
 ; 
 ; MN: A cowboy.
 ; 
 ; RS: You wanted to be a cowboy. Well, I think you succeeded!
 ; As a child, Mike always wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up. Cowboy Cowboy 0 2406 Law Enforcement MN: I didn’t have any inkling or desire to or anything to be in law enforcement.
 ; 
 ; RS: You didn’t?!
 ; 
 ; MN: No. 
 ; 
 ; RS: So, how did that happen?
 ; 
 ; MN: It just kind of…I was working in Tulsa and we worked so many hours that everybody was just tired and everything. And, so, I would meet with a bunch of other guys on north main, there, and we would leave our cars there and carpool. And then I had a friend that was on the police department, and I told him I was tired of this job I was going to. He said, I can get you a job. Mike never had a desire to be in law enforcement, yet that is where he ended up. He had a friend that worked in the police department that helped Mike get started in law enforcement. Tulsa (Okla.) ; Police Department ; Police Officer ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Police Department ; Academy ; Norman (Okla.) ; Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training Law enforcement 0 2606 FBI Academy MN: Down on 8th Street. Just a hole in the ground, we’d call it. Then we were right over here. I don’t know how it came about, but I went to as seminar on homicide and others were learning how to administer to your department and everything, and this FBI agent was there, and he was one of the teachers. And he asked me if I would be interested in going to the FBI academy. I said, well, of course, but my city would never let me do that. Well, it turned out that he said we’ll pay your way and it won’t cost the city anything. Mike attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He was there training for eight months and only returned home a few times to visit. FBI Academy ; Quantico (Va.) FBI Academy 0 2720 U.S. Marshals MN: Oh yes, yes. It really helped me out. Because when I retired from Bristow Police Department, I went to the sheriff’s department. Doug and I, the sheriff, Doug Nichols. I was the Chief Criminal Deputy for him and that lasted about four years. I got aggravated and quit. I was just staying at home doing nothing. The U.S. Marshal in Tulsa called me and wanted to know why didn’t I come to work for him, so I wound up spending another 22 or three years for the U.S. Marshals. Later in Mike's career, he worked for the U.S. Marshals. He would guard the judge and administer the court. Bristow Police Department ; Doug Nichols ; Sheriff Department ; Chief Criminal Deputy ; U.S. Marshal ; Creek County Sheriff's Department U.S. Marshals 0 2823 Mentors RS: Oh, my goodness. Okay. Did you have in that period of time, and probably maybe specifically early on, any influential mentors? I think, especially, since you were kind of sounds like thrown in to being in law enforcement and not having a lot of experience. Did you have anybody that mentored you during that time?
 ; 
 ; MN: When I first went to work, there was a man, I can’t remember anymore, but he was an older gentleman. He lives at Depew [Oklahoma]. His daddy had been a police officer, and he kind of mentored me, give me advice and things like that.
 ; An older gentleman in Depew became a mentor to Mike. This gentleman had been a police officer and gave Mike advice. Mentor ; Depew (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Police Officer Mentor 0 2929 Solving a Murder RS: And you stayed. So, your kids had told me several stories from when you were in law enforcement, and I understand that you were featured in the magazine True Detective for solving a murder. Can you tell me when, like where were you and can you tell me a little bit about that?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well here, the first one was an old lady name Nattie Jo Price [12/5/1907-2/19/1988]. Her husband had been the mayor here for quite some time.
 ; Mike was featured in the True Detective magazine for solving a murder. He solved the murder of Nattie Jo Price and solved it in about four days. Law enforcement ; True detective ; Nattie Jo Price ; Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Murder 0 3032 Capturing Gunmen RS: Still? Wow! So, there was another story, and I’m just giving a general, you can give me the details about you capturing two gunmen, robbers, because you hit one over the head with your gun and then you shot through the back window of a car wounded the other one. So, basically you took them out, two out by yourself.
 ; 
 ; MN: Yes. Yeah.
 ; Mike tells a story about how he got into a chase with some gunmen. Two semis noticed and blocked their car in. Mike had to act fast in catching them before the other highway patrols and deputies arrived. He hit one of the men on the head and shot and wounded the other man. Police Department ; Police Officer ; Kemp's Drug Store ; Assistant District Attorney ; Thurman's Motel ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Jack Franz McKenzie gunmen 0 3487 Jim Camp RS: Okay, so then I have to ask you about, Tim had told a story, and I don’t know the details of what happened, but that basically, somebody had put a gun to your stomach and pulled the trigger and it didn’t go off. What happened with that? That’s why I was saying it seems like you’ve, you’ve skirted death more than once in your life.
 ; 
 ; MN: Oh, yeah. I did. It was up at the Anchor Drive-In. His name, well, I don’t know what his name is but he’s dead and gone now. But I’ll mention it, well dog-gone-it. I can’t even remember his name now. Jim Camp.
 ; Mike had many run-ins with a man named Jim Camp. Mike arrested Jim many times. On one occasion, Mike had to knock him off the stool and stop Jim from shooting his gun at Anchor Drive-In. Anchor Drive-In ; Jim Camp Jim Camp 0 3643 Changes in Law Enforcement RS: So, what do you feel, because I mean, I guess I didn’t realize, I’ve been here probably since the 80’s. I moved here in the third grade. It sounds like there was quite a bit of…how would you compare crime throughout the time you were a cop here versus, say, how it is now? Do you think it’s better or worse?
 ; 
 ; MN: I don’t know how to answer that. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Or is it just different, maybe?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yeah, it would be different now, because they’ve changed law enforcement so much. We had nine or ten officers. And another thing, all the officers that I’ve worked with, they’re all gone. All of ‘ems dead.
 ; Mike talks about how law enforcement has changed over the years. He believes they had more crime back in his day, especially robberies. He never thought the police chief would be a woman and now that is what Bristow has in their department. He remembers his first experience with marijuana. Chief of Police ; Police Officer ; Police Department ; Marijuana ; California Law enforcement 0 3855 Proud Moments RS: Can you recall or do you have, I don’t know, maybe, well let’s start with your most proud moments of being in law enforcement?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, not any one particular deal. I was always proud, but I guess you could call it proud. Shouldn’t even say that.
 ; 
 ; RS: No, I think that’s okay to say.
 ; 
 ; MN: An incident like a murder or armed robbery or something, and I felt proud that we got them caught, you know.
 ; 
 ; RS: Brought to justice, yeah.
 ; 
 ; MN: And everything turned out without anybody getting hurt.
 ; Mike hesitates to mention being proud of his accomplishments. He does say he felt proud when he caught the culprit in a murder or armed robbery, especially when no one got hurt. Law enforcement ; Justice proud moments 0 3911 Experiences that Stand Out RS: Right, right. Do you have a, do you have an experience that sticks out to you as, maybe, being your most harrowing experience, or did you have multiple…it sounded like you had multiple ones, honestly.
 ; 
 ; MN: Yes, some of with the same guy. Some of them, Jim Camp, you know.
 ; Regan asks Mike about any experiences he had that stand out. He mentions he had multiple run-ins with Jim Camp. Mike also mentions a family on 10th Street that he had multiple encounters with. He vividly remembers shooting one in the backside. Jim Camp ; 10th Street ; Mrs. Price Experiences 0 4033 Favorite Job RS: Right, right. So, you’re experiences between Bristow and the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Marshal, and working with the U.S. Marshal, do you have a favorite? Did one stand out more to you than the other as being a place that you enjoyed more?
 ; 
 ; MN: Yes, I liked the Marshal Service. They had a good deal. They furnished our clothes and our guns.
 ; Mike enjoyed his time at the Marshal Service. He says they took care of the men ; they supplied the clothes and guns. They also paid more. Bristow (Okla.) ; Sheriff Office ; U.S. Marshal Job 0 4155 Training for the FBI Academy RS: Right. Can I back up just a little bit to the FBI academy? Can you tell me anymore details about that and what that was like, because that’s an insight that not very many people have as to what something like that is about.
 ; 
 ; MN: As far as I know, I’m the only one from Bristow that’s been up there. We learned not only, we just learned how to administrate, you know, and take care of the financial part of the police department. More about investigating homicides and a lot of stuff like that. Plus, it was the physical part. We had to run and exercise. It was quite a deal.
 ; Mike attended the FBI Academy when he was in his fifties. There he learned more about investigating homicides and taking care of the financial part of the police department. He also had to train for the physical part of law enforcement. FBI Academy ; Police Department FBI Academy 0 4245 Bob Webb's Grocery RS: Oh, my gosh. Well, that’s interesting. Okay, well let’s, unless you have any other particular stories you would like to share, because I just had a few that your kids had shared with me. Is there any other stories you would like to share about being in law enforcement?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, one of them, kind of funny when I look back on it. I was patrolling and I had an auxiliary officer with me. We drove down what used to be the Bob Webb’s Grocery. Mike recalls a story about catching robbers at Bob Webb's Grocery. He was patrolling one night when he noticed something off. He ended up shooting through a beer case while shooting at one of the robbers. Law enforcement ; Bob Webb's Grocery ; Auxiliary Officer ; Bobby Nichols ; Doug Nichols ; Bob Webb Bob Webb's Grocery 0 4529 Family-Wives and Children RS: Well, I’m going to ask you a little bit about your family. Now, I know that you were married to, you said Bernice Newell, which that’s Stacie and Shannon and Thad’s mom, right? And then, and then your current wife is Barbara.
 ; 
 ; MN: Barbara Ann Beistle [Barbara “Bobbi” Ann Beistle Newell] was her maiden name.
 ; Mike tells about his marriages and children. His first wife was Bernice Newell. His current wife is Barbara "Bobbi" Beistle Newell. He has three children-Tim, Tom and Thad. He also has two stepchildren-Stacie and Shannon. Bernice Newell ; Barbara Ann Beistle Newell ; Timothy Michael Newell ; Thomas Ray Newell ; Thaddeus Paul Newell ; Stacie Freitas ; Shannon Martin Wife ; Children 0 4622 Rodeoing RS: Okay, so I wanted to also talk to you about rodeoing. I know that’s been a big part of your life, and obviously, you’ve wanted to be a cowboy and have been a cowboy your whole entire life. Now, when I talked to you, you said whenever you competed in rodeos, you did bull dogging? Is that right?
 ; 
 ; MN: First, my first entry was bareback bronc riding. I done that and was making money. I broke my collar bone, and so, my mother, I hadn’t gotten married yet.
 ; Mike loved being involved with rodeos when he was younger. His first entry was bareback bronc riding. Mike also joined the Rodeo Cowboy Association and did bulldogging. He did that for about six or seven years. Harley Bethel ; Rodeo Cowboys Association (U.S.) ; Police Department Rodeo 0 4830 Round Up Club and FFA RS: And then I also understand you were involved in the Round Up Club and that you played an integral role in restarting the ag and the FFA program here at Bristow. Can you tell me about that?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, at that time, we didn’t have the FFA. They had, they had done away with it. And, so, we got a petition going and it wound up being FFA again [indecipherable] Vo-Ag.
 ; Mike was involved with the Bristow Round Up Club. He believes he is still a member by proxy as he does not attend the meetings anymore. He played an important role in restarting the FFA program in Bristow. Joe Stephens ; Timothy Michael Newell ; Future Farmers of America ; Round Up Club ; Bristow (Okla.) Round Up Club ; Future Farmers of America 0 4945 Bands RS: Right, right. Okay, well now I want to talk about your band, and it’s called Prairie Grass?
 ; 
 ; MN: The first one, I’ve had two or three, but the one just before this we called, well doggone it. We were a cowboy band, and we went all over playing cowboy music, like the Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry and all of them.
 ; Mike is part of a band ; it is called Prairie Grass. They are a cowboy band and still play occasionally. Prairie Grass ; Sons of the Pioneers ; Gene Autry ; Lubbock (Tex.) ; National Cowboy Symposium ; Grand Ol' Opry ; Police Department ; Elks Lodge ; Owasso (Okla.) ; Rainbow Nursing Home ; The Freeland Center Band (Instrumental group) 0 5159 Writing Poems and Songs RS: Well, like I had mentioned before, I hear that you like a poet, a song writer, sounds like just a writer in general. How do you, did anything inspire you to be that or where did that come from would you say?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, I’ve always like the cowboy music like Sons of the Pioneers, [indecipherable]. I went to a couple of the cowboy poet deals, and I didn’t pay that much attention but I got interested in it and was doing it, so.
 ; Mike has written many songs and poems. He has a collection and will save them for his family. Sons of the Pioneers ; Poems ; Songs Poems ; Songs 0 5234 Important Invention in Lifetime RS: Okay, okay. Well, I’m going to ask you a couple more questions and then you can play us a song. These might make you think a little bit. I’m wondering what you would consider to be the most important invention of your lifetime.
 ; 
 ; MN: Invention?
 ; 
 ; RS: Yeah, like what, so like a lot of people, you know, this wouldn’t apply to you, but some people would say the automobile or the radio or electronics or what would be, can you think of what would be the most?
 ; 
 ; MN: That would be a broad area, because everything, you know, is changed.
 ; Mike believes the automobile was the most important thing invented in his lifetime. He states that things have changed so much over the years. Invention ; Automobile ; Radio ; Electronics Invention 0 5303 How Things Have Changed in the World RS: So, how do you feel that things have changed in the world since, say, you were a kid growing up? What’s the biggest difference?
 ; 
 ; MN: Oh, gosh. I don’t know how to answer that one. Things have just changed so much. When I look back, you know, everything, everything has changed.
 ; Mike talks about how things have changed in his lifetime. He does not like all of the technology and how everything involves a computer. He does not like cell phones and will not text but insists on communicating with a phone call. Society ; Computer ; Cellular Phone Changes 0 5391 Nation's Biggest Problem RS: Well, I knew to call you and not text you. So, and this might be another hard question for you, but I’d be interested to see what you have to say. What do you feel is our nation’s biggest problem right now, and how do you think we can solve it?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, that gets into politics, mostly. If we don’t, if we don’t get a new president, whether it’s Biden, well, it wouldn’t be Biden, probably Trump. It’s changed a lot in four years since Trump got beat the first time. We’re right on the verge of third world war. And open borders. Millions pouring into the United States, and there’s no way that we can support all that, you know. It’s just bad, really bad.
 ; 
 ; RS: So, then you feel like our biggest problem right now is lack of leadership?
 ; 
 ; MN: Right.
 ; Mike believes our nation's biggest problem is a lack of leadership. He feels we are on the verge of World War 3. He does not like how millions are pouring into our country and feels we cannot support them. Biden, Joseph R. ; Trump, Donald Nation ; Problem 0 5472 Historic Events-Covid RS: Okay, alright. I can’t say that I disagree with you. And, then, I also wanted to ask, thinking about historic events, such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, natural disasters, even covid, have any types of those things directly affected your life that you can remember?
 ; 
 ; MN: Probably be covid. My wife and I both got the covid because we didn’t take the shots. But I guess that’s, I was in the hospital but my wife didn’t go, but I had to go.
 ; Mike discusses how Covid affected his life. He ended up very sick and in the hospital. It took him awhile, but he finally recovered fully. Oklahoma City Bombing ; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 ; Covid-19 Historic Events ; Covid-19 0 5602 Wisdom for Future Generations RS: Right. Yeah, because, yeah I can imagine. Well, is there anything else you would like to tell us or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations?
 ; 
 ; MN: Well, I think the most important thing anybody can do is accept the Lord, Jesus Christ.
 ; 
 ; RS: Amen! I love that answer. 
 ; 
 ; MN: I think that’s the most important thing they can do. We are in a bad situation right now.
 ; Mike leaves us with some wisdom. He feels the most important thing anyone can do is accept Jesus as their savior. Wisdom ; Jesus Christ Wisdom 0 5647 Leaving Us with a Song RS: I agree. I agree. Well, I think I like that answer. Well, I just want to tell you thank you. Your interview will become an important part of our oral history archives for the museum. I really appreciate you taking the time to visit with me. Now I’m wondering if we can get you to play us a song.
 ; 
 ; MN: Yeah, I can do that.
 ; Mike agrees to sing a song to conclude his interview. He sings an old song and then finishes the interview. Oral History Archives ; Museum Song 0 MP3 Mike shares about his life growing up, his family, his work life in law enforcement and about his love of music and writing. RS: This is Regan Siler with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the historical society’s ongoing oral history project. The date is July 2, 2024 and I’m sitting here with Mike Newell at the Bristow Library Annex. He’s going to tell us a little bit about his life and his history living in the Bristow area, and maybe, if we’re lucky, sing us a tune. Can you please tell us your full name? MN: Michael Newell. RS: So, you don’t have a middle name? MN: No middle name. RS: No middle name. And do I have permission to record this interview? MN: Yes, ma’am. RS: Okay. So, can you tell me when and where you were born? MN: I was born right here in Bristow. And we lived at Slick until I was about three-years-old, and my dad bought the farm where I’m at now. RS: So, it’s been in your family that long? MN: Yes. RS: Oh, wow, okay. And what’s your date of birth? MN: 11/17/1942. RS: And you told me you were just born in, you weren’t born in a hospital, right? MN: No. I was born in a home on the dining table. RS: Oh, my gosh! Okay, wow! And then, so you said where you’re living now, your dad bought that farm whenever you were three? MN: Yeah, two or three-years-old. RS: Two or three-years-old. Well, let’s talk a little bit about the people in your family. Let’s start with your parents. Can you tell me your mom and your dad’s full names? MN: My dad’s name was Clarence Earl Newell, Sr. [7/31/1896-2/16/1974] RS: Okay. MN: My mother’s name was Celesta Leona Goodmon [Celesta Leona Goodmon Newell 8/10/1908-10/27/1981] was her maiden name. RS: So, is it Leona Celesta or Celesta Leona? MN: To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I’ve been told both ways. RS: You’ve been told…okay. I’ll verify that. And do you have any siblings? MN: Like all my brothers and sisters? RS: Yes. MN: Oh, gosh. RS: So, you have a bunch of brothers and sisters? MN: I think seven. RS: Oh, my goodness. MN: All of them are gone. RS: All of them are gone. MN: But me. RS: Wow, so where did you fall in the seven? What number were you? MN: The youngest. RS: You were the youngest? Okay. Do you want to try to tell me all their names? Just so we will have it on record. Start with the oldest maybe? MN: The oldest would have been my, she was a half-sister. RS: Okay. That’s okay! If that’s something, I can get that information later, and we can, we’ll just know that you had seven siblings. MN: My oldest brother retired from the military. He was a colonel. His name was Robert Lee Newell. RS: Robert Lee Newell, okay. Well, let’s, what about your, can you tell me like what your parents did for a living? Tell me what your dad did for a living. MN: Well, he started out in law enforcement. RS: Really? MN: Law enforcement. Oil field. RS: Oil field, okay. MN: And he went from that to farming. And then he got into the dairy business, had milk cows. RS: I think I remember Bud [Louis “Bud” Peters] telling me some about that, too. MN: Then that’s about it. He lived on the farm, milked the cows. RS: Farmed his whole life. And, so, then, did you mom just help in that area? MN: Yes. RS: And was MN: She never worked outside the home. She stayed right there and drove a team of mules just like a man. RS: That’s awesome. So, has your family been in Bris, like has your family been in Bristow this entire time? Did they come here from somewhere or? MN: As far as I know, it’s been right here. RS: Always been here, okay. So, growing up did you have much of your family that lived nearby? Like your extended family? MN: Most of them did. The oldest, of course, he was in the military. Most of them lived right here in Bristow or close by. RS: Well, from talking to Bud, it sounded like that was the gathering place was at the Newell Ranch. That’s where the cousins, the aunts, the uncles, everybody, that was where it was at. MN: On Sunday, everybody gathered out there. RS: I love it. MN: Had a big dinner. RS: Music. MN: Music. RS: Yes, that’s awesome. MN: Riding horses or what have you. RS: I wish we had more of that in today’s times. So, let’s talk a little big about your early childhood. I want to kind of get a picture of you were as a youngster, and then growing up, and then, you know, we will get into your family and your career. Do you remember any of your favorite toys or games you played as a youngster? MN: Well, by myself, I was always a cowboy. RS: You’ve always been a cowboy, haven’t you? MN: And then on the Sundays, we had a game we called over and under. RS: Over and under? What is that? I’ve never heard of that one. MN: Well, we had the home and then we had a team on one side and one side. We had kind of like a basketball. We’d throw it over there and they’d throw it back. And the first one to miss, they was out of the game, you know. RS: Oh, okay. MN: But anyway, then kick the can down the road and just all kinds of stuff. RS: All kinds of stuff. So, I think, probably, also, though, for you, weren’t you always like riding horses and doing that kind of thing, too? MN: Yeah. RS: Always involved with the farm. Did you have chores that you were expected to do as a youngster? MN: Oh, yeah. RS: So, tell us a little bit about that. Tell me what a day was like when you were a kid, like when you got up in the morning, what did you have to do? MN: Well, we went to the milk barn and dad most of the milking. And I was the clean-up guy. I had to wash the milk cans and the milker and all that. RS: So, about how old were you whenever you started having to do chores, would you say? MN: Just right away, and it seemed like three or four-years-old. RS: Really? MN: I had things to do. RS: That’s probably good. Teaches you a good work ethic. I think that’s what we’re missing these days. MN: That’s right. RS: Yeah. So, you would help do the clean-up with the milking. Did you have evening chores, too? MN: Yes. We, like when I got into school, started to school, we done the milking and dad would take me to school. And then along about 3 o’clock, he would pick me up, be home and then the work started all over again. RS: Started all over again. But I guess you had to, to keep the farm going, huh? MN: Yeah. RS: It took all of you. Did you have friends that would come over and play or did you mainly play with your siblings or, how did that work? MN: Both. RS: Both. MN: Yeah. RS: Cousins and siblings and stuff like that? And what kinds of things did you do or did you get into any mischief? MN: Hunting and fishing, yeah. I won’t mention about the mischief. RS: Oh no! You gotta tell it all! Tell me one story. Tell me one story where you got into some mischief. Can you think of anything? MN: Well, one time, it was cold, snow and ice. And there was a creek down there and we would skate on the ice. Where I was skating, it broke through, and I couldn’t come back up. RS: Oh, my gosh! MN: I was under the ice and my buddy got a big old rock and busted the ice and pulled me out. And I like to froze to death before I got to the house. RS: Oh, my gosh! How old do you think you think you were then, maybe? MN: Probably seven, maybe eight-years-old. RS: Did you get in trouble or did your mom and dad know what had happened? MN: Well, they scolded me, you know. RS: Just glad you were alive. Oh, my gosh! It sounds like you’ve had more than one near-death experience in your lifetime. MN: Yes. RS: So, did you have any favorite hobbies as a child? Was there anything you were really into? MN: Hunting, fishing, riding. When I got big enough, I started rodeoing. RS: Rodeoing. Did you collect anything as a youngster? Do you remember collecting anything? MN: No, not really. RS: Not really? Let’s talk a little big about your school life. Where did you first attend school? MN: Washington. RS: Washington Elementary? MN: Yeah. RS: Oh, wow. I went there, too! MN: It don’t exist anymore. RS: I know, I know! Did you remember having any influential teachers in your lifetime, whether it was elementary or through high school or whatever, ones that really stuck out to you? MN: Gladys Holcomb [Alta Gladys Holcomb 4/7/1911-9/28/1995]. RS: Gladys Holcomb? Okay, and what did she teach? MN: Art mostly and things like that. I was kind of like her pet. RS: Were you artistic? So, like painting, drawing or more? MN: Both. RS: So, you’re just the whole package? You write songs, because I heard you write songs, you’re a poet, and you were artsy, too, I guess as a young person. Well, that’s cool. Were you a member of any clubs or organizations throughout school? MN: No, not throughout school, because I was in band, but that’s about all. I didn’t go out for any of the sports because that’s when we had to get home and do the milking and. RS: To work on the farm. MN: Working on the farm. RS: Right. Okay. How did you get to school? MN: Dad would, he had to take the milk to town to the depot, the milk depot. RS: Well, wait. Where was the milk depot? I don’t know if I’ve heard of that. Or what is that? MN: Right by the old depot, the train depot. RS: The train depot? MN: That building that’s just right west of there, a guy named Carl Baker [Carl Eugene Baker 5/10/1905-11/10-1995] ran it, and we had milk cans and had our number and our name on them. And we’d deliver the milk there, and then pick up our cans that had been used and take them home and wash them all up. RS: I didn’t know that! MN: And get ready to milk again. RS: Well, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know there was a milk depot. Well, that’s interesting. So, is the building still there? MN: The building is, but now there’s another part to that. Right behind that building, right behind where the fire department is right now. RS: Right. In, like, the Town Square area? MN: Yes, there was a big basin. It’s what we called a creamery. RS: Okay. MN: And we first started milking and we sold our cream. We had a milk separator which I still have. RS: Wow! MN: It would separate the cream from the milk. Well, the regular milk, it would go to the pigs to help fatten out the pigs. And then the cream, they bought it, and it was used to make butter. RS: Do you remember around what year that would have been that you were, that you did that? I know it’s hard to remember dates. MN: I was probably four or five-years-old, but then people that run it names was Kaup [Oral Leslie Kaup 11/19/1907-3/31/1991]. And I don’t know how to spell that. RS: Kaup? That ran the creamery? I’m sorry, what was it? Kaup? MN: Yeah. RS: Okay. MN: And I don’t know where that all went to, but then we started selling just the whole milk. RS: Just the whole milk. Well, that’s interesting! I didn’t know that. I’ve learned something today! Well, that’s cool! Okay, so, kind of going back to school, I’m just curious, did you enjoy or have time, did you enjoy reading? Did you enjoy school? Did you enjoy learning? You didn’t? MN: No. That’s being honest. I was ready to get on home. RS: You’d rather be on the farm? MN: And do my chores and get on my pony and ride. RS: Hey, that’s understandable. Okay, so you primarily lived in the house that you, did you grow up in the house that you currently live in? MN: No. RS: No? But it’s on the same property? MN: I grew up there, yeah, but I was grown, and my mother was still living. I had a house just right south of them that my dad bought. He wanted to keep me on the farm to help him. Of course, the rest of the kids all married and gone. RS: So, the house you live in now is different than the house you grew up in? MN: Yes. RS: But it’s in the same general area? Okay. MN: The first house, my mother’s house, the old farmhouse, it burned. And then first thing I knew. RS: So, were you alive when it burned? MN: Oh yeah. RS: Okay, so you were a kid? MN: Yeah. And then after I was on the police department then, no, I was on the sheriff’s department, my house caught fire and burned completely up. We was at the, up by Mannford, at the lake having a picnic for the sheriff’s department and they called me and told me my house was burning. RS: Oh, no! MN: So, got there, and sure enough it was burned plum down, and then I rebuilt right there where that one set. RS: But it’s on the same land or whatever? MN: Right. RS: So, how much land is there on the Newell Farm? MN: Started out with 160 acres and dad give all the kids, brothers and sisters and everything, a five-acre plot for them to build on or whatever they wanted to do. RS: Right. MN: Well, they’d sell to each other and first thing you know, it was all gone but a hundred acres. Then my oldest boy, Tim, I gave him, I wound up giving him 15 acres. And the rest of them sold outside the family. It was just gone. RS: Right. So, there’s around a hundred left? MN: Yeah, about a hundred acres left. RS: About a hundred? Wow! Still there. And that’s out by Slick? MN: No, that’s where we live now. RS: Which is? MN: When I was three-years-old, we moved up. I live a mile east and a half south. RS: Okay. A mile east and then back south. Okay. MN: Yeah, on Highway 16. RS: Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Well, that’s what we talk about, it seems like these big farms or tracts of land, as time has gone on, you know, it seems like they last for years and years, and then it seems like in present day all the big farms are getting busted up and sold into pieces, and it’s…I’m kind of old fashioned, so I kind of think it’s sad. I hate to see that happen. So, that’s something you still have the majority of your farm left. MN: Yes. RS: That’s good. So, in the house that you grew up in, do you have, can you tell me about it? Can you describe what the house was like that you grew up in? The farmhouse? MN: It was just an old, what they call a single-wall house. We didn’t own them, but the land right north of us had oil wells and gas wells, and they let us have free gas. RS: Oh, well that’s good. MN: Raw gas, you know, it didn’t go through the cleaner or anything. We had gas lights even in the ceiling. RS: Wow! MN: It was quite a deal. And we burned wood, big wood-burning stove. RS: Was it a pretty, there was seven of you? Seven kids? MN: Yeah. RS: So, it was probably a pretty packed house? MN: Uh, no. Most of them had already moved away. RS: Were they considerably older than you? MN: Yes. RS: Oh, okay. So, you’re MN: My brother was the next oldest and he was Clarence Earl, Jr. [1/17/1936-5/12/2011], and he was seven years older than I was. RS: Okay, I remember Bud [Louis “Bud” Peters] talking about him, too. Clarence Earl, Jr., okay. So, I would imagine being a kid that liked to hunt and fish and ride, you probably didn’t spend much time in the house unless you had to, huh? MN: No. No. RS: That was probably punishment for you if you had to be in the house, huh? MN: Yeah. Right. RS: So, what were meal times like for your family? Did everybody sit down? MN: Pretty well. When supper or dinner was ready and she called us to the house, we better be there. RS: You better be there, huh? What were your meals like? I’m guessing your mom was probably, she probably was a heck of a cook if I’m remembering what Bud told me. MN: Eggs and ham and bacon and biscuits and gravy. RS: Oh, yeah. MN: Fried potatoes. RS: All the good stuff, huh? MN: Yeah. Stuff they say that’s not healthy for ya now. RS: And, how old are you now? MN: 81. RS: 81. And, I’m like, you’re still doing good! So, it must not be too unhealthy, huh? Okay. Did you have a favorite meal that your mom cooked? Like what was the BEST thing that you looked forward to? MN: All my, even today, breakfast is my main meal. RS: You love breakfast, huh? MN: Yes. RS: That’s good. Did she have any particular desserts or anything that she made that was your favorite? MN: Well, I can remember her making the homemade bread, you know, and, of course, she would make sweet rolls and stuff like that. [Indecipherable] RS: Well, that sounds good. MN: Cobblers and berries that we’d pick on the farm. RS: Yes! That’s one of the things that I remember my great aunt and uncle, Emmett and Opal Dykes were my great aunt and uncle, and my Aunt Opal would make some of the best cobbler, like peach cobbler, blackberry cobbler. MN: Oh, yeah! RS: And I don’t feel like we get that anymore these days, you know? One of the things that’s have kind of faded away it seems like. MN: My mother would make my favorite was blackberry drop dumplings. RS: Blackberry drop…so what would that, what did that consist of? MN: She just made, well, you know how they make dumplings for chicken and dumplings? RS: Right. MN: She would use blackberries someway and mix it all together. RS: Oh, man! MN: And it was just in a big old pot with the dough and berries. RS: Oh, gosh. Did you eat that with ice cream by chance? MN: Yes, and regular raw milk, cream. RS: YES! MN: We always had cream. RS: Yeah, see and that’s all the stuff that they say now, or for a long time, said is bad for you, but now they’re coming back around saying it’s good for you. So, I think you guys probably had it figured out back then. Okay, well, thinking back to your town life and growing up, did you have any favorite community activities? Say, like, I know you were involved with Western Heritage Days, but day camps, parades, county fairs? Can you tell me anything about any of those types of things? MN: I was always in rodeoing, but we had organization that I founded. It was the Coalition of Christian Cowboys. RS: So, you founded that? MN: And I was the president until about, I was the president for about 22 or three years. And I was getting to where I just couldn’t handle it no more. It finally just went away. RS: Dissolved? MN: We put on a lot of, just like the picture I was showing you here of the Texas Playboys, and stuff like that. We had trail rides. One of the biggest parades we ever had was the same time as the Texas Playboys were here. RS: So, what was your, being the Coalition of Christian Cowboys, what was your mission? What were you guys all about? MN: We were fund raising and all our projects where we made money just went right back out to people who really needed it. RS: Who needed it. MN: Thanksgiving and Christmas, we would wind up with four or five baskets, you know, and take it to different families. RS: Well, that’s awesome! So, that lasted for about twenty-some-odd years? MN: Yeah, I was the president for 22 or three years, and I just couldn’t handle it no more and I couldn’t get anybody else to take it. RS: To take it over. MN: Yeah, so. RS: Yeah, volunteers seem to be in shorter supply as time has gone on. I think people are over-busy and they don’t want to give of their time when, I think that’s super important. It sounds like you guys did a lot of good over that time span. MN: We did. RS: I didn’t know that. So, you would do, you said you would organize, what types of things? MN: Trail rides, just all kinds of cowboy things. RS: Right. So, did you do rodeos, too? Did you organize any rodeos? MN: Well, what we called jackpots. They wouldn’t be a full rodeo. RS: But would have events? MN: Bull riding or steer roping or team roping. Things like that. RS: Well, that’s interesting. So, did you do, did you have anything to do, I know, I’ve been told that the county fair used to be a pretty big deal around here. MN: Oh yeah. Of course, we all went through the 4H and FFA, and at that time, where all the old farm or city buildings are out at the park. RS: The city, uh-huh. MN: That’s where they rodeo grounds was. RS: Right. MN: And we had things like that. RS: Okay. Growing up, what were some of the biggest and most popular businesses around town? Like, did you have a favorite place to eat out or hang out or? MN: Well, I can’t think of anything right now. RS: Nothing that stood out to you? Did you eat out much as a young person or did you usually eat at home? MN: Well, mom would cook. RS: Yeah, you always ate at home. MN: My wife cooked. RS: Right, right. So, then I guess growing up as a teenager, you didn’t have any particular hang-outs around town or things that you would do? MN: No. Usually when I got to town, the first thing I’d do was go to Red Bird. RS: Well, so see, Red Bird was your favorite store then. MN: I just loved the smell of leather. RS: Yes. MN: And looking at the saddles and the bridles and everything, you know, that I liked. RS: Everything that you loved. Yeah, right. So, see you did have a favorite store. It was Red Bird. MN: Right, yeah. RS: Okay. Do you remember, and this might be kind of an odd question, but like your family’s first car? MN: Dad had several Model-T’s and Model-A’s and when we grew up, he would buy a new pick up every once in a while. And back then you could buy a brand new pick up for $1500. RS: And, boy, those days are LONG GONE! MN: Then, of course, you know, as time went on, we got better cars and stuff like that. RS: Do you remember what YOUR first car was? MN: A ’49 Ford pickup with a windshield that would raise up, and we used that to hunt rabbits at night time, and we’d raise that up and we’d go out spotlight the rabbits and shoot through the open window. RS: So, that worked out good for you, didn’t it?! MN: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. RS: Oh, my gosh. Well, that’s interesting. Who taught you how to drive? MN: Actually, no one. The only time my dad would let me drive his pick up, he would come to town and get a load of feed and brought it back home. He’d let me drive from the house to the barn and unload the feed. RS: That’s all you got, huh? MN: And that’s the only thing I got to do. RS: So, did you just pretty much teach yourself how to drive? MN: Yeah, I was 18 or 19 before I ever got a driver’s license. RS: Oh, my goodness. Okay. But did you drive anyway before you got your license? Like, I mean? MN: Just on the farm there. RS: Just on the farm. Okay. Well, so, I know it sounds like you were probably more of an outside person, but do you remember, did you get to watch any TV or anything like that growing up? MN: Our first TV, I can remember, I was probably seven or eight-years-old, and we had a black and white and it was just real small. And it had rabbit ears back then and that’s what I got to watch. RS: So, do you remember any particular program that you liked? MN: Ohhhh, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and Johnny Mack Brown and all them. I would hurry when I got home from school to watch Roy Rogers and Gene Autry before I had to go out and start doing chores. RS: So, you did catch a little TV then? MN: Yes! RS: Do you think that was, I don’t know, kind of instrumental in you, like your singing and you’re desire to want sing and play instruments? MN: Yeah. They was always Roy Rogers and Gene Autry was always singing, and this is not practical, but in the movies, they would be riding down the trail and playing their guitar while they was riding their horses. That don’t work. RS: Have you tried it? MN: Yes! I busted a couple guitars getting bucked off. RS: Oh, no! Oh, that’s funny! Do you remember, I guess with TV, do you remember any pivotal moments in history when you were watching TV? Like anything that stuck out to you as a youngster that happened that you saw on TV? MN: No, I can’t recall. RS: You were too busy trying sing with your guitar on your horse? MN: Right! I taught myself to play the guitar. I never had a lesson in my life. RS: Well, I was told that what all instruments you play that you’re, pretty much, self-taught on all of them, which I think is amazing. MN: Still learning. RS: You’re still learning, huh? Well, that’s good. So, what was medical care like for your family? If you were born on the dining room table, I’m thinking they probably told you to just rub some dirt on it and walk it off. MN: No, our old doctor, Dr. King [E.W. King]. RS: Dr. King. I’ve heard a lot about him. MN: And he was still practicing way up in his 90’s. He also was a farmer, so he would always want to, when we had to call the doctor, of course, they made house calls. RS: Right. MN: When we needed the doctor, well, he’d come out and do whatever he needed to do and mostly for mom. Then he’d want to look at my dad’s, they called him Earl, he wanted to go out and see his milk cows, his bull and his pigs and a lot of bills were paid with chickens and pigs. RS: See, I think that’s, I think that’s neat. MN: You didn’t have money. RS: Right. So, did you, were times, I guess, pretty tight growing up, poor? MN: Oh, yeah. In fact, I wrote a song called “That Old Barn” and my dad that’s where he would go and pray. Bible says go into your own closet and pray. And, so, that’s what he done. Us kids would be playing in the hay, and all of the sudden, we didn’t even know he was down there. So, he would pray, and boy, it was loud. I mean, he really, really got into it. RS: Is that where you, I guess, learned your faith? MN: Oh, yeah. RS: And became rooted in your MN: Yes. I was in church every time the door opened. RS: Where did you attend church? MN: First was First Church of God down here. It was a building that was completely different, you know. It was small. RS: Like at the same location but a different building? MN: Yeah. RS: Okay. MN: They bought the houses all around there for parking lots and new church and everything. And then we started, my uncle, Wilbert Goodmon [Wilbert Harrison Goodmon 11/4/1923-1/6/2017], he was a pastor over at Depew, Valley View Church I think, Valley View. We went to church over there quite a lot. And it sort of dwindled away. Didn’t have anybody to pastor it too long, and so we started going to Freewill Baptist. RS: And is it at the same location that the Freewill is now? MN: No, now it’s the Nazarene Church bought the Freewill building. RS: Okay. Oh, yeah, yeah! I gotcha. MN: I just loved the preacher there. RS: Yes. MN: Then we started RS: So, who was the preacher there at that time? MN: I can’t even remember names. But he was a singer. I mean him and his wife and another man, I mean, they could, they could really sing. RS: So, what was a Sunday service like for you? Did you, I guess, you, obviously, appreciated the music. MN: Oh, yeah. RS: Do you have a favorite hymn or song from church that is a favorite? MN: A lot of them. RS: A lot of them. MN: Yeah. RS: Hard to pick one? MN: Yeah, the old, the old hymns. RS: Right. And, so, did you sing in church? MN: Later on I did, yes, and still do. Every Sunday. RS: Every Sunday. MN: Yeah. We started going to church. It wasn’t even a church. The Baptist church down at Slick kind of split up. And, so, part of them started going to church down at the Community Center, right north of Slick. We started from that and to where we are now. We’ve got a new church. RS: Yes. MN: And a rodeo grounds, pond. We have our own youth camp for kids. We don’t send them off, you know, and give $2000 a kid, you know to send them off to bible school. RS: You just do it there. MN: Yeah. We do it. In fact, we had a, we just got through having ours, and I think we had 77 kids. RS: Wow! That’s good. MN: We had the old-fashioned baptizing in the water down at the pond. RS: In the pond. MN: And I think there was 37 kids. RS: Praise the Lord! That’s awesome! MN: Yeah. And we just have all kinds of things going on all the time. RS: Right. I like the idea of what you guys have going on there. MN: We stay busy. RS: Yeah, yeah. That’s good. We already talked about the Coalition of Christian Cowboys that you were in. Let’s um, so what were, because Bud [Louis Peters] had actually brought this up a little bit. What were, tell me, from your perspective what were holidays like at your house growing up, like Christmas and stuff like that. Was it family-oriented? MN: Yes. RS: And a lot going on there. MN: Yeah, yeah. We’d go out and cut an old cedar tree down. We didn’t have very many pine trees. We’d dig it up and put in a five-gallon bucket, you know, and we would make our own, when I was little, we would make our own Christmas decorations and stuff like that. You know, just graduate on up. RS: What was gift-giving like at your house? MN: Everybody, we was always buying for each other. RS: Was it mainly bought stuff or did you make stuff or? MN: Both. RS: Both. MN: Both. I can remember I got my first .22 rifle. RS: Oh, boy! MN: Other stuff was just kid stuff. RS: Right, right. Were other holidays a big deal around your house, like Fourth of July, Easter? MN: Yeah, all of them. RS: All of them. So, it was just a place where everybody came to gather. MN: Everybody gathered at the farm. RS: Yeah, that’s fun. So, as a child, do you remember, did you ever have…what did you want to be when you grew up? Do you remember? MN: A cowboy. RS: You wanted to be a cowboy. Well, I think you succeeded! MN: I didn’t have any inkling or desire to or anything to be in law enforcement. RS: You didn’t?! MN: No. RS: So, how did that happen? MN: It just kind of…I was working in Tulsa and we worked so many hours that everybody was just tired and everything. And, so, I would meet with a bunch of other guys on north main, there, and we would leave our cars there and carpool. And then I had a friend that was on the police department, and I told him I was tired of this job I was going to. He said, I can get you a job. And I said, no, I couldn’t be a police officer. Never. NEVER. And about two weeks later, I finally asked him what’s it like? What do you get paid? He said I can get you a job and you get paid once a month, $247 a month. RS: Oh, my goodness! MN: And I was making that in a week where I was. But, I was just tired of it! RS: Right. MN: So, I finally give in and they put me to work. RS: And that was at Bristow? MN: Yeah. RS: Bristow Police Department? So, then did you have to go to like an academy or anything? MN: Yes, but not then. RS: But not then. MN: Yeah, it was about, I had been. RS: So, then how did they train you? MN: Trial and error. RS: Oh, my goodness! MN: We tried to do what was right, you know. RS: Right. MN: And about three years in, me and another younger officer, by that time, I had worked up to, they changed hands real often down there. You might hire somebody and they’d stay a week. The next one would stay six months. You just never knew. RS: Right. MN: But anyway, we went down to Norman to, that’s where they had the first school. It was three weeks. And that seemed like a long time, and nowadays, it’s six or seven months. RS: Months, yeah. MN: Yeah, to go. And it should be longer even than that. RS: And, so, was that like, I don’t know, like what they call CLEET now? Was it something like that? MN: Yeah, it’s Council on Law Enforcement [Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training]. Then, as it went on, of course, they always had different seminars and classes where you can go. RS: Classes for like continuing education? MN: Yeah. RS: Yeah. MN: And then in 1984, I had become the assistant chief and then the chief. RS: And this is still at Bristow? MN: Right. RS: Okay. MN: Down on 8th Street. Just a hole in the ground, we’d call it. Then we were right over here. I don’t know how it came about, but I went to as seminar on homicide and others were learning how to administer to your department and everything, and this FBI agent was there, and he was one of the teachers. And he asked me if I would be interested in going to the FBI academy. I said, well, of course, but my city would never let me do that. Well, it turned out that he said we’ll pay your way and it won’t cost the city anything. RS: Wow! MN: And we’ll pay his salary while he’s gone, and, so, there I went to. RS: And where was it? MN: It was at Quantico in Virginia. RS: Really? MN: At the FBI Academy. RS: Okay. How long did it last? MN: Eight months, I believe it is. RS: So, were you gone the entire eight months, or did you? MN: I got to come back a couple times in between because my youngest baby was born. RS: Oh, my goodness! MN: So, I got to come back and be with him. RS: Right. MN: And then go back until time for me to come home. RS: So, what did you think about that experience? Were you glad that you went? What was it like? MN: Oh yes, yes. It really helped me out. Because when I retired from Bristow Police Department, I went to the sheriff’s department. Doug and I, the sheriff, Doug Nichols. I was the Chief Criminal Deputy for him and that lasted about four years. I got aggravated and quit. I was just staying at home doing nothing. The U.S. Marshal in Tulsa called me and wanted to know why didn’t I come to work for him, so I wound up spending another 22 or three years for the U.S. Marshals. RS: The U.S. Marshal. So, what do you do as a U.S. Marshal? MN: My job for them was guarding the judge and administering the court, you know, all about it. RS: Interesting. Well, so can I, okay, so you were at Bristow for, you said like 22-1/2 years? MN: I worked, yeah, I retired with 22-1/2 years. RS: And then you were with the Creek County Sheriff’s Department for about four years? MN: About four years. RS: And then you worked for the U.S. Marshal for MN: All the rest of the time I was in law enforcement. RS: Oh, my goodness. Okay. Did you have in that period of time, and probably maybe specifically early on, any influential mentors? I think, especially, since you were kind of sounds like thrown in to being in law enforcement and not having a lot of experience. Did you have anybody that mentored you during that time? MN: When I first went to work, there was a man, I can’t remember anymore, but he was an older gentleman. He lives at Depew [Oklahoma]. His daddy had been a police officer, and he kind of mentored me, give me advice and things like that. RS: So, how old were you when you whenever you started at Bristow? Do you remember, roughly? MN: I guess about 24 or 25 maybe. RS: So, you probably learned a lot of life lessons throughout your time in law enforcement. MN: I didn’t intend to be a police officer. I figured I would just stay at the police department and rest a while and then find me another job. RS: Find something else. But, I mean, honestly, you ended up liking it to stay with it for as long as what you did. And it sounded like you did amazing job, too. MN: I just found out that I liked it. I stayed. RS: And you stayed. So, your kids had told me several stories from when you were in law enforcement, and I understand that you were featured in the magazine True Detective for solving a murder. Can you tell me when, like where were you and can you tell me a little bit about that? MN: Well here, the first one was an old lady name Nattie Jo Price [12/5/1907-2/19/1988]. Her husband had been the mayor here for quite some time. RS: So, this was while you were on at Bristow? MN: Yes. RS: Okay. MN: I called in the OSBI to help me on it. We found out who the guy was [indecipherable]. And then there was two or three, then, after that. Then when I was a deputy, we had a lot of them. RS: So, the Nattie Jo Price was that the one you were featured for in the magazine, in the True Detective magazine? MN: I think so. I think that’s the one that they wrote up. RS: So, like how long of an investigation was, how long did it take to solve that murder? MN: About four days. RS: Four days?! That’s fast! MN: Yeah, we caught him! He’s in the penitentiary now. RS: Still? Wow! So, there was another story, and I’m just giving a general, you can give me the details about you capturing two gunmen, robbers, because you hit one over the head with your gun and then you shot through the back window of a car wounded the other one. So, basically you took them out, two out by yourself. MN: Yes. Yeah. RS: Can you tell me what happened? Can you give me some more details on that? MN: Well, first our police department was down here on 8th Street. Just me and the dispatcher, I don’t remember who was on duty at the time besides the dispatcher, anyways, the phone rings, when they hung up RS: So, were you just an officer at this time or were you a? MN: Yes. RS: You were just an officer? Okay. MN: I had a little bit of seniority but I was just a police officer. RS: Okay. MN: It was right there at Kemp’s Drug Store. So, when I ran out, there was a guy running, jumped into an old car and he was parked where our assistant district attorney was wanting to park. And he watched it all, but anyway, they took off. We got in a big chase right north of town. They wouldn’t pull over for me. So, these two semis noticed what was going on and they pulled in and wouldn’t let this car go by. RS: Blocked him in. MN: So, they had to pull over. I wound up getting the first guy out, and he was, you know, hollering that he didn’t do anything. And I was handcuffing him and he was trying to jerk away. When I looked up through the back window, this guy was there with a double-barrel shot gun, short, you know, sawed off shotgun. And I knew that I had to do something quick. RS: Right, right! MN: So, I held him until I snapped the other handcuff on and then I knew that he’d run off if I didn’t do something. Well, I just drawed my gun out and hit him over the head, and when he went down, then I shot the guy through the back glass. RS: Oh, my gosh. MN: Then, after that, all the other highway patrols and deputies and all that come there, but it was all over by that time, you know. RS: You’d already handled it. MN: Yeah. And so, that’s how that went. RS: So, do you have, I guess, I’m sure you have adrenaline in a situation like that, but I guess, you didn’t even have time to have any fear or anything, did you? You just did what you had to do. MN: No, when you get in that situation, you gotta do what you gotta do. RS: To survive. MN: Yeah. RS: So, how long do you think you had been on at Bristow at that time? MN: Well, I went to work as a part-time officer in 1966. And I think that was in about ’74 if I, it might be in this, one of these pictures. It was probably about 1974. It was quite a deal. RS: Yeah, because I mean, honestly, I don’t think of, I mean I think about something like that maybe happening now, but it just doesn’t seem like that kind of stuff happened back then, but I guess it did. What had they done? MN: Well, they robbed the drugstore, but two nights before that, going back and investigating things, they had stayed all night in Thurman’s Motel down on 10th Street. RS: Yep, I remember. MN: And when they didn’t check out. They went out through the back window and stole the air conditioners and a bunch of things like that. They had been in shoot outs in Tulsa and Oklahoma City already. RS: So, they were known criminals, I guess? MN: Yes, it’s a funny thing, I can remember the tag number on the car. RS: Are you serious?! MN: It was Zebra David, ZD7274. I’ll never forget that! So, when I got behind them chasing them, I knew it was the right deal because they had already checked it out before investigating the Thurman’s Motel, so they knew RS: That was the car. MN: Yeah. That was the right car. RS: And you still remember the tag number. MN: And there were already bullet holes from Oklahoma City. RS: Oh, my gosh. And they ended up landing in Bristow. MN: Yes. Funny thing about it, I’ll mention this. When I hit the guy over the head with my gun, I didn’t think about it. I actually hit him twice because he was trying to get up and go. I shot the guy in the back seat, and I come back around and he just, the other guy, trying to get up, and I knew he’d run off. And it looked like he bled all over the highway. I drawed back my gun and hit him hard again. And didn’t even think about it, but when we were back at the police department and it was all over with, we had an investigator, Jack McKenzie [Jack Franz McKenzie 12/4/1921-7/30/2016], he was a retired trooper. He said, can I see your gun? And I said, sure. I handed him the gun and he looked at it and said, Mike have you tried to shoot this gun? I said, no. You know, not since the incident. He said, come here, look at this. I had bent the trigger guard down into the trigger and it wouldn’t even shoot. RS: Oh, no! MN: And, so, the mayor went around and took up a collection and bought me a new gun. Because the city didn’t provide anything. RS: Are you serious? MN: Yeah, we had to buy our own weapons. RS: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. MN: But, anyway, that was kind of funny. RS: That you broke your gun. MN: Put it back in my holster and the thing wouldn’t even fire. RS: Okay, so then I have to ask you about, Tim had told a story, and I don’t know the details of what happened, but that basically, somebody had put a gun to your stomach and pulled the trigger and it didn’t go off. What happened with that? That’s why I was saying it seems like you’ve, you’ve skirted death more than once in your life. MN: Oh, yeah. I did. It was up at the Anchor Drive-In. His name, well, I don’t know what his name is but he’s dead and gone now. But I’ll mention it, well dog-gone-it. I can’t even remember his name now. Jim Camp. RS: Jim Camp, okay. MN: He’d been kind of, I had known him when he was a nice guy, and then he just got into drugs and everything. He had beat this guy up in the Anchor, and they called me. Of course, I was the one on duty. I went out, and when I walked in the back door, the south door of the Anchor, this gal was trying to tell me, you know, he had put his gun in his shirt. And when I walked up behind him, I knew what was going on already. He whirled around in his seat and stuck it in my gut. Really what happened RS: So, for no reason? He just turned around and stuck it in your MN: Yeah, he hated me. I had arrested him a bunch of times. RS: Oh. MN: And, so, that wasn’t correct. On that incident, he didn’t have time to pull the trigger, because I had already smacked him and knocked him off the stool down in there, and the gun slid out and went over and this truck driver had come in there to eat and didn’t know what was going on. And he ducked under the table to keep from getting shot. RS: Oh, my gosh! MN: He got the gun and took it to the guy that owned the Anchor at the time. And then he handed it to me. I took him to jail. RS: So, what do you feel, because I mean, I guess I didn’t realize, I’ve been here probably since the 80’s. I moved here in the third grade. It sounds like there was quite a bit of…how would you compare crime throughout the time you were a cop here versus, say, how it is now? Do you think it’s better or worse? MN: I don’t know how to answer that. RS: Or is it just different, maybe? MN: Yeah, it would be different now, because they’ve changed law enforcement so much. We had nine or ten officers. And another thing, all the officers that I’ve worked with, they’re all gone. All of ‘ems dead. RS: Right. MN: I’m the only one left. RS: Only one left. MN: I don’t even [indecipherable]. RS: Right. MN: The chief. RS: Right. MN: The chief. I never thought I’d see a woman chief of police, but we’ve got it. RS: Right. MN: But anyway, it’s just different. It’s better, I mean, they got more to do with. It’s just, you gotta be watched careful what you say and what you do. Everybody got a camera anymore. RS: Right, right. Do you feel like there was, but do you feel like there was more crime or less crime whenever you were an officer? MN: Oh, probably more. RS: Or just different? Really? You think so? I mean, honestly, the stories that I’ve heard that happened right here in Bristow, I was like, man! I haven’t heard really of anything like that happening since, I mean, it sounded like it was there was a lot going on! MN: I don’t even keep up with it anymore. I haven’t been back in the police department. But I hear about things. And you wonder why they do this. And why they done that. And why didn’t they do it. RS: Right. So, were drugs a prevalent then or was it mainly just like robberies? MN: We were still down in the old police department and my first experience with drugs. We caught this guy, and his name was, last name was Pinson. I had never even seen marijuana. Never heard of it, you know, other than some place in California. RS: Yeah. Right. MN: But this guy had a whole jar of marijuana seed and come to find out it had been going on. We just didn’t know it. We had, but it was marijuana only. We didn’t have any of this other stuff. RS: Other stuff. MN: At the time. But we took down quite a lot of marijuana growers and stuff like that. RS: And now it’s legal. MN: Yeah. RS: Can you recall or do you have, I don’t know, maybe, well let’s start with your most proud moments of being in law enforcement? MN: Well, not any one particular deal. I was always proud, but I guess you could call it proud. Shouldn’t even say that. RS: No, I think that’s okay to say. MN: An incident like a murder or armed robbery or something, and I felt proud that we got them caught, you know. RS: Brought to justice, yeah. MN: And everything turned out without anybody getting hurt. RS: Right, right. Do you have a, do you have an experience that sticks out to you as, maybe, being your most harrowing experience, or did you have multiple…it sounded like you had multiple ones, honestly. MN: Yes, some of with the same guy. Some of them, Jim Camp, you know. RS: Really? MN: Yeah. RS: So, you had multiple run-ins with him? MN: Yeah, I put him in several times. And then we had, well, a family, I won’t mention their name. They was always getting in trouble. They was over on 10th Street. I’m probably not supposed to mention but they were black. But anyway, we had a couple of shoot-outs with them. RS: Wow! MN: I shot one of them in the butt. I was chasing him. I was after him, you know. He’d done RS: Like a foot chase or like a car chase. MN: Yeah, it wound up in a foot chase. RS: Oh, man! MN: I finally run as far as I could, and I hollered at him to stop and he didn’t stop, so I stopped him. RS: So, you stopped him? MN: He had committed a murder, and was after him for that, so, and his brother is the one that killed Mrs. Price, and I mentioned that. RS: So, it was his brother that killed…so the family was MN: The whole family was like that. Anyway, when you get somebody that you’ve been after, why, you feel pretty good that you done your job. RS: Right, right. So, you’re experiences between Bristow and the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Marshal, and working with the U.S. Marshal, do you have a favorite? Did one stand out more to you than the other as being a place that you enjoyed more? MN: Yes, I liked the Marshal Service. They had a good deal. They furnished our clothes and our guns. RS: They took care of you? MN: Yeah, they took care of us. And we made a lot more money. RS: Right. MN: Than I ever started to make with Bristow or sheriff’s office. RS: I think that’s the thing that is very disappointing, sometimes, the positions you are put in as public servant, like for instance, my husband being a fireman, and you just don’t get paid what I think you’re worth for what you do. MN: I don’t think they will ever pay police officers in this town like they should. Now they getting paid a whole lot more than when I first went to work. RS: Right. MN: $247 a month. I wasn’t making but about $1800 a month when I went to the Marshal Service and come back. RS: Oh, my goodness. MN: They had taught me up there how to get more raises for the men and all that stuff. They just never will pay [indecipherable]. I’ve heard since I’ve left, you know, they’ve come on up and they’re making more money. RS: Right. MN: Now, I hope they are. RS: Right. Can I back up just a little bit to the FBI academy? Can you tell me anymore details about that and what that was like, because that’s an insight that not very many people have as to what something like that is about. MN: As far as I know, I’m the only one from Bristow that’s been up there. We learned not only, we just learned how to administrate, you know, and take care of the financial part of the police department. More about investigating homicides and a lot of stuff like that. Plus, it was the physical part. We had to run and exercise. It was quite a deal. RS: And you were in your, how old were you when you went to, around how old were you when you went to the academy? MN: Gosh, I guess probably in my 50’s. I’d have to think about it. RS: Are you serious? MN: Yeah. RS: And you were having to go through all the physical aspects of that. Oh, man! MN: I didn’t enjoy that part. RS: Oh, my gosh. Well, that’s interesting. Okay, well let’s, unless you have any other particular stories you would like to share, because I just had a few that your kids had shared with me. Is there any other stories you would like to share about being in law enforcement? MN: Well, one of them, kind of funny when I look back on it. I was patrolling and I had an auxiliary officer with me. We drove down what used to be the Bob Webb’s Grocery. And when we come down the street, I pulled in there, and it was a late night, so I shined the spotlight on this door, like the loading dock. And it was up about that far and I noticed that wasn’t right. So, I got out, walked over there and it was frozen chicken laying there. I said, uh, something’s going on here. So, I told this auxiliary, you take the police car and get it out of here, and go up to the police department and get all the guys surround this place, but don’t do a siren. RS: Right. MN: I said, stay hid. So, I told him, what I’m gonna do is get inside and wait for them to come back because they’re gonna try to make another load here. And sure enough, I heard them coming, and they slid it up and come inside like that and then they shut it back down. When they done that, I waited until they got away from the door, and I flipped the lights on and held my gun on them. This one guy, he peed in his britches. They already knew I would shoot, you know. RS: Yeah, you were known for shooting, huh?! MN: This guy kept saying, don’t shoot me Mr. Newell, don’t shoot me! Well, the other guy was a big, big heavy guy, and he run back to the meat department and come back out, and he had a butcher knife. I shot at him and missed, and he run to the front door where the other officers knew what was going on by that time. They run to the front, and this guy jumped through the glass door. RS: Oh, my gosh! MN: That was Bobby Nichols. He was an officer then. Doug Nichols’ brother. He hit this guy and knocked him plum back inside and handcuffed him. The next day we called, well, we called Bob out, Bob Webb, who owned the grocery store, that night. And the next day, he was laughing. He said, come here and look. When I had shot at this guy, I had shot a hole in his beer case. RS: Oh, no! MN: He wasn’t mad. He was laughing about it. And, so, that was a funny one. RS: So, they were just there stealing groceries? MN: Yeah. RS: Oh, my gosh! MN: And they’d already got away with no telling how much. RS: Oh, my goodness! MN: And we tracked it down. The kid that give up. He was crying, and like I said, wet his britches, and he told us where they’d taken it. And right down there at Cape Drive area, they had, they wasn’t but about a block and a half from the store, where they had taken it. RS: Where they’d taken it. MN: Yeah. RS: Well, my goodness! And then you shot beer, you shot the beer cooler. MN: Yeah, the bullet went in…I missed him and shot the beer. RS: Well, I’m going to ask you a little bit about your family. Now, I know that you were married to, you said Bernice Newell, which that’s Stacie and Shannon and Thad’s mom, right? And then, and then your current wife is Barbara. MN: Barbara Ann Beistle [Barbara “Bobbi” Ann Beistle Newell] was her maiden name. RS: Okay. And then your kids, can you tell me your kid’s names? MN: My own? RS: Yes, all of them. MN: Tim [Timothy Michael Newell] and Tom [Thomas Ray Newell 12/4/1968] and Thad [Thaddeus Paul Newell 1/24/1985] were mine. RS: Okay, and then you also had, your step-children were Stacie [Stacie Freitas 3/27/1976] and Shannon [Shannon Martin 7/20/1980]? Okay, alright. And then, do you have, I guess, I’m sure you have grandchildren. MN: Yeah. RS: Do you have a whole lot of grandchildren? MN: Well, not just a bunch, they were all boys. RS: All boys! MN: Except just here a while back about three or four months ago, my grandsons by Tom, him and his wife had a little girl. RS: Finally had a little girl, huh? Well, my goodness. MN: That’s the first little girl, and of course, everybody is doting over her. RS: Well, I bet. MN: Quite a deal. RS: Okay, so I wanted to also talk to you about rodeoing. I know that’s been a big part of your life, and obviously, you’ve wanted to be a cowboy and have been a cowboy your whole entire life. Now, when I talked to you, you said whenever you competed in rodeos, you did bull dogging? Is that right? MN: First, my first entry was bareback bronc riding. I done that and was making money. I broke my collar bone, and so, my mother, I hadn’t gotten married yet. RS: How old were you, do you think you were around that time when you were? MN: About 17, 18 something like that. RS: So, you’re bareback riding. You’re making money and you break your collar bone and your mom. MN: She talked me into, she begged me not to ride no more. So, I quit that, and I had a good friend, Harley Bethel. We rode together a lot just having a lot of fun. And he was a bulldogger. And he taught me all about bulldogging. RS: So, then you got into that. MN: Yeah, and I went professional. I joined the RCA, Rodeo Cowboy Association, and went into bulldogging. And I’d still do it today if I was able. I loved it. RS: You loved it. MN: Yeah. RS: So, how long would you say you competed doing that? How many years? MN: About six or seven years, something like that. RS: So, was that MN: I was on the police department. RS: And still doing it? MN: Yeah. RS: Oh, wow! MN: I had a guy that would fly me when I entered somewhere and knew I couldn’t get back to do my shift, well, they’d hop in a plane and we’d fly out there and I’d ride somebody else’s bulldogging horse. RS: Right. MN: I’d compete and then I’d come back on the plane and RS: Oh, my goodness. MN: I’d work my shift. RS: So, you were all in, weren’t you? MN: Right. RS: So, did you have any particularly harrowing times rodeoing? Where maybe you got hurt or had any crazy things happen? MN: Well, I broke my ribs a few times. When you’re bulldogging, that left horn comes in there like that, it will whack your ribs, you know. RS: Right. MN: If you’re riding the horse right. I never did get hurt. RS: Doesn’t sound like you had any fear in any aspect of your life. MN: No. RS: You were ninety to nothing in all things you did. MN: I don’t know. RS: And then I also understand you were involved in the Round Up Club and that you played an integral role in restarting the ag and the FFA program here at Bristow. Can you tell me about that? MN: Well, at that time, we didn’t have the FFA. They had, they had done away with it. And, so, we got a petition going and it wound up being FFA again [indecipherable] Vo-Ag. RS: And is that when Mrs. Stephens [Joe Stephens] was hired? MN: Yeah, yeah he was the first teacher. RS: Do you remember around what year that would have been? MN: No, I know my oldest boy, Tim, he just got to compete one year. And then, Tom, then Tom was in it for several years until he graduated. And then Thad, he was in it. It was a good deal. RS: Right. And then what did you do with the Round Up Club? MN: Well, I was still a member, I guess. I don’t go to the meetings. They call it, I’m a member by proxy or something. RS: Right. MN: Yeah, you know I don’t have to pay my dues no more. RS: Right, right. Okay, well now I want to talk about your band, and it’s called Prairie Grass? MN: The first one, I’ve had two or three, but the one just before this we called, well doggone it. We were a cowboy band, and we went all over playing cowboy music, like the Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry and all of them. RS: Right. MN: I went by myself a lot of the time when we was out of state, but Lubbock, Texas they had the National Cowboy Symposium, and we got invited to go down to that. That was kind of like Grand Ol’ Opry. RS: Right. It was a big deal. MN: Yeah. So, we played that, well, we played just about everywhere. Several states. RS: And, so, how long would you say you’ve been in a band? MN: Oh, gosh. RS: Pretty much off and on your whole life? MN: Yeah. Really joined up and started a band when I was on the police department. I don’t even know what we called ourselves then, but we played at the Elks Lodge. RS: Just enjoyed playing. MN: Yeah. RS: And, so, your latest band is the Prairie Grass? MN: Prairie Grass. RS: Okay. MN: That name come up, we was up at Owasso [Oklahoma], and it come our turn to play, and we were just a bunch of guys getting together having a good time and kind of jammin’. RS: Right. MN: And they come back there about three minutes before time for us to go on stage and said, what’s the band name? And I looked around and said, my gosh, bluegrass and all that. I said, how about Prairie Grass? I said ‘cause we do a little bit of cowboy music and a little bit of bluegrass. So, that stuck. RS: Well, that was quick thinking, wasn’t it? MN: It had to be. RS: And, so are you still actively playing with them? MN: Yeah. RS: Do you play frequently? MN: Yeah, we don’t make a lot of money doing it, but we have fun. We played just a couple weeks ago at the Rainbow Nursing Home. About wherever they ask us to come. We played out the Freeland. RS: The Freeland Center? MN: Several times, yeah. RS: So, you’ve played pretty much everywhere then, haven’t you? MN: Right. RS: Well, like I had mentioned before, I hear that you like a poet, a song writer, sounds like just a writer in general. How do you, did anything inspire you to be that or where did that come from would you say? MN: Well, I’ve always like the cowboy music like Sons of the Pioneers, [indecipherable]. I went to a couple of the cowboy poet deals, and I didn’t pay that much attention but I got interested in it and was doing it, so. RS: So, do you have quite a few poems and songs and stuff that you’ve written? Do you have a collection? MN: Yeah. RS: Is that something you are going to save for your family? MN: Yeah, most of it. I’ve done a few of them, you know [indecipherable]. RS: Right. And I’ve even asked if you would play a song for us maybe at the end of the interview. We are about to wrap up the interview, but I would love it if you would play a song at the end if you wouldn’t mind. MN: I will. RS: Okay, okay. Well, I’m going to ask you a couple more questions and then you can play us a song. These might make you think a little bit. I’m wondering what you would consider to be the most important invention of your lifetime. MN: Invention? RS: Yeah, like what, so like a lot of people, you know, this wouldn’t apply to you, but some people would say the automobile or the radio or electronics or what would be, can you think of what would be the most? MN: That would be a broad area, because everything, you know, is changed. RS: So much. MN: So much. RS: Right. MN: It probably would be automobile, cars, pickups. RS: So, how do you feel that things have changed in the world since, say, you were a kid growing up? What’s the biggest difference? MN: Oh, gosh. I don’t know how to answer that one. Things have just changed so much. When I look back, you know, everything, everything has changed. RS: Do you wish that there were some things, that were maybe have carried over more from when you were growing up that maybe we have lost as a society now? MN: I guess you could say computer. RS: Right. MN: I’m not a computer person. I hate it. And cell phones. RS: Right. MN: I mean everybody texts. They don’t even call anybody anymore. They just text. I don’t like that at all. RS: So, you wished it was more like it was back in MN: I just refuse to do it. RS: You still got the flip phone, don’t ya?! MN: Yeah, I still got the flip phone, you know I just if somebody texts me, I just don’t answer it. RS: Well, I knew to call you and not text you. So, and this might be another hard question for you, but I’d be interested to see what you have to say. What do you feel is our nation’s biggest problem right now, and how do you think we can solve it? MN: Well, that gets into politics, mostly. If we don’t, if we don’t get a new president, whether it’s Biden, well, it wouldn’t be Biden, probably Trump. It’s changed a lot in four years since Trump got beat the first time. We’re right on the verge of third world war. And open borders. Millions pouring into the United States, and there’s no way that we can support all that, you know. It’s just bad, really bad. RS: So, then you feel like our biggest problem right now is lack of leadership? MN: Right. RS: Okay, alright. I can’t say that I disagree with you. And, then, I also wanted to ask, thinking about historic events, such as the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, natural disasters, even covid, have any types of those things directly affected your life that you can remember? MN: Probably be covid. My wife and I both got the covid because we didn’t take the shots. But I guess that’s, I was in the hospital but my wife didn’t go, but I had to go. RS: So, you ended up in the hospital with it? MN: Yeah. RS: And was that like when it first happened in ’20? MN: Yeah. RS: So, you were pretty sick, then. MN: Yes, and it was just bad. They put me in Hillcrest Hospital and they didn’t even have a room for me. I laid on a gurney outside in the hallway, you know, for days and days. Finally, got a room, and then they put me in a regular room. By that time, I was feeling pretty good and I checked myself out. RS: You were ready to go. MN: Yeah, I came home. RS: Have you had any after ill-effects from, having it? Or did you recovery fully? MN: Pretty well. I haven’t had [indecipherable]. RS: Well, good. MN: Had a lot of broken bones. RS: Well, you’re not supposed to have broken bones, either! MN: And they all came from rodeoing and just home, stuff around the farm. RS: Right. Yeah, because, yeah I can imagine. Well, is there anything else you would like to tell us or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations? MN: Well, I think the most important thing anybody can do is accept the Lord, Jesus Christ. RS: Amen! I love that answer. MN: I think that’s the most important thing they can do. We are in a bad situation right now. RS: I agree. I agree. Well, I think I like that answer. Well, I just want to tell you thank you. Your interview will become an important part of our oral history archives for the museum. I really appreciate you taking the time to visit with me. Now I’m wondering if we can get you to play us a song. MN: Yeah, I can do that. RS: I’m hoping that this microphone cord doesn’t get in your way. If you need to, you can unclip and set it on the table. MN: I’ll have to scoot back a little bit. RS: Yeah, you can scoot back. MN: Okay, this is just an old. [Sings] RS: Oh, that was awesome! I’m going to have to get you to come play at my house! Thank you so much, Mr. Newell! MN: Well, I’ve enjoyed it. I hope it helps you out in some way. RS: Absolutely! Well, thank you so much for your time and thank you for singing for us. MN: Okay, thank you. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0058_Mike_Newell.xml OHP-0058_Mike_Newell.xml
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mike Newell
Description
An account of the resource
Mike shares about his life growing up, his family, his work life in law enforcement and about his love of music and writing.
Identifier
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OHP-0058
Date
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2024/7/2
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audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/abf8bddc2fa3fd36531c213d514685e2.jpg
f36da9a05840656259be2be18d8a494e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Family Histories
Type
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Oral History
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral accounts of various family histories
Source
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
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Ed Cadenhead
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Milly Thompson
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5.4 July 12, 1979 OHP-0044A Milly Thompson OHP-0044A 0:00-22:17 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Milly Thompson Ed Cadenhead 1:|29(2)|49(8)|69(10)|89(7)|104(2)|136(7)|152(8)|173(7)|185(1)|203(4)|222(7)|242(5)|258(4)|276(1)|296(12)|322(12)|338(5)|369(13)|391(10)|412(6)|423(2)|449(12) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0044A Thompson, Milly.mp3 Other audio 0 Family & ; Childhood History July the 12th, 1979. Well, first of all, if you would just tell me about your family, what you know, your parents, where they came from, how they had to come to Bristow, anything like that. MT: My father came to Bristow from Texas. My mother came from Kansas. EC: And his name was what now? MT: Ed Wyatt. EC: And her name? MT: Josie Wyatt, Josie Hill before she married him. And they lived out east of Bristow in the community that is now known as a Wyatt school, eight miles east of Bristow. EC: When did they come here? Do you know about? MT: I don't know. I can't tell you the date. Well and then later, we moved north of town, lived 12 miles north of town. Moved there when I was eight years old. Milly's family moved to the Bristow area when she was 8-years-old where here father was a farmer and cattleman. Ed Wyatt ; Josie Hill Wyatt ; Victor Chapel ; Wyatt School childhood history ; family history 139 Early Memories EC: Okay. Well, tell me about your own earliest memories of Bristow as a child, I guess. Before you moved into town even? MT: Well, I called farmers. We went to town on Saturday, met other farmers, did our shopping, went home and Saturday was a big day. And cotton of course, lots of cotton grown in those days. That was what I remember of childhood days. EC: Mm-hmm. Did you have any particular close friends who lived in Bristow as a child? MT: No. No. EC: Come out around where you were living, I imagine. MT: No. Not in town. We traded the Jackson Lee store. It was years ago. It was a general store. We bought, we bought everything there. Milly remembers shopping on Saturdays and trading at the Jackson Lee General Store and all that went along with cotton farming. cotton ; cotton wagons ; Jackson Lee Store cotton farming ; Jackson Lee Store ; trading 222 Cotton Farming MT: Oh, no, we, my father grew cotton and sold it. I used to go town [indecipherable] little cotton. That was the very height of enjoyment for a kid to get to go with Dad to town, right? EC: Since Bristow really wasn't wild West there was no such thing truly as Wild Indians. But I've run into a few people who seemed to have fear of them at that age. Do you remember anything about the Indians? Milly remembers her dad growing and selling cotton. cotton farming cotton farming 251 Indians MT: No, we had no fear of them. I went to school with them. I went to school with the Beavers and they had strange names, Indians, and we were always friends. But I can remember my mother when she was would used to tell when she lived east of town of the Indians that would come and they would knock the people in the windows, and she was afraid of them. And they, they didn't talk much. They would hang around all day, but if they said something, you'd have to go out and, and ask them what they wanted because... Milly recalls going to school with and being friendly with Indians. Indians 305 World War I EC: Mm-hmm. Do you have any recollections of the effect of World War I? MT: Yes, we had I remember we all high school children, girls and boys went in the military training. I remember that part of it. Mm-hmm. And, yes, we were all very conscious of World War II. EC: Did MT: World I, I mean. Milly remembers being very aware of the effects of WWI and all high school children had to have military training. military traning ; WWI military training ; WWI 349 Milly's Husband & ; Oil Boom Days EC: Was your husband, where did he come from? MT: He came from Kansas. He worked in American National Bank, and that's when I worked for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. That's where we met. EC: You were here then during the oil boom days? MT: Yes, yes. EC: Do you have any particular memories of what Bristow was like at that time? MT: Oh, yes, of course the oil industry was a big industry. It was, I remember there were a lot of men killed on the rigs, and first it was, they used horses teams, you know, so much to pull the pipe and things like that. But there was not a lot of activity in, it was a real industry. Milly remembers meeting her husband when when he worked at American National Bank and how the oil boom was such a big industry during that time. American National Bank ; husband ; Kansas ; oil boom ; Southwestern Bell Telephone Company meeting husband ; oil boom 433 Depression EC: Well, moving ahead from the oil days were there any particular effects of the depression on Bristow that you recall? MT: Except we all felt it. It was a reality. EC: Did you have such things as old soup lines or soup kitchens or anything like that that you can remember? MT: Yes. They had soup kitchens. Had soup kitchens. Oh, I don't remember how many, many men I fed at the back door. Men that, you know, just passing through. They had to have something to eat. Milly recalls during the Depression helping to feed people at soup kitchens. Depression ; soup kitchens ; soup lines Depression ; soup kitchens ; soup lines 468 World War II EC: Right. Now, World War II, did it have any dramatic effect on Bristow? Obviously, the town was affected like every town, but do you think particular that stands out about World War II? MT: No, my son was 14 when World War II begun, of course my first thoughts were of him, would he be in the fighting. All mothers had those thoughts and he was in the Navy, but he never had saw any action. And I was a volunteer having communications right across communication on air bases, often world during World War II. And it was a reality to me. It made it more real because I worked with military families and… Milly's son was 14 when WWII began, and she was, of course, concerned about him having to fight in the war. WWII WWII 521 Teen Social Life EC: Well, going, let's go back and dredge up some of your memories. Were there any particular, I don't know how to put this, well, what did a, a girl your age in high school, what was, what was social life like? What kind of things did you do for fun? MT: No. Well, I didn't have very much social life because mother and daddy wanted me to go home every weekend and almost every weekend I went home and I studied hard and, and oh, there were a few parties and a few picnics and things like that, but I didn't have a great deal of social life during high school days. Milly recalls not having much of a social life when she was a teenage because her parents wanted her home when she wasn't in school. picnics ; school ; social life picnics ; school ; social life 562 Married Life EC: Mm-hmm. And when did you get married? What year? MT: 1925. EC: Okay. Well, in your early married days, what did young couples do besides, you know, try to get along and survive? What was, what was life like? MT: Oh, at the church we used to all have activities for the young people. In the evening, we met Sunday evenings and we had a lot of picnics and things like that. And later on we had a swimming pool and people went swimming. Milly was married in 1925 and remembers picnics and swimming as forms of enjoyment during that time. Cole's Park ; married life ; picnics ; swimming married life 658 Wealthy Bristow Citizens EC: You think it was, were there, this is a hard question, I guess to maybe, if you'd even remember exactly, were there people who were considered rich in Bristow before the oil? MT: But I can't answer that. All I remember is [indecipherable] oil, who there are quite a few of them. EC: Who are some of the names that come to mind most easily when you talk about the people who made money off of oil? MT: Oh, Eddie Rollestone and Albert Kelly and the Jones. There was BB and M Jones. And they're supposed to have been 13 millionaires, I think, in this little town. Milly recalls several wealthy people from the oil booms days such as Eddie Rollestone, Albert Kelly, BB Jones and M Jones. She also remembers there being 13 millionaires from that time. Albert Kelly ; BB Jones ; Eddie Rollestone ; M Jones ; oil boom ; wealthy oil boom ; wealthy citizens 706 Life in Bristow EC: Okay. 13 millionaires. I don't think I've ever heard that figure. What church do you belong to? MT: First Christian. EC: As you may know, I've been trying to get churches to put together some little written histories of themselves, you know, so we can collect that too. And I think I, I'm not sure I may have one already. You know, we sometimes forget, I think, but I do at least that really even the events of say the last 30 years and our history now. MT: Right. EC: What particular changes have occurred in Bristow? Just you know, in your adult life that stand out? MT: Well, Bristow is not nearly as large as it used to be. You know that Bristow is perhaps a third, but the size it used to be. Milly attended the First Christian Church and recalls Bristow being a third of the size it used to be due to the younger generation moving away. First Christian Church ; population First Christian Church ; population 806 Exciting Events EC: Have there been any particular events that you witnessed or maybe heard about in, in Bristow that stand out. I mean, they don't have to be important. Just things that were either funny or exciting or no particular characters. MT: A lot of interesting characters. I remember when American National Bank was robbed, was rather exciting. EC: You weren't in town at the time. MT: I was in town. I was working for the telephone company. The telephone company was just back, the American National Bank, and after the robbers left, they exchanged shots and it was quite an exciting time. I remember the first airplane I ever saw it landed out at RL Jones's. And I was in high school and they dismissed high school and we went out to see it. Milly talks about witnessing American National Bank being robbed and watching the first airplane land at RL Jones Airport when she was in high school. American National Bank ; plane landing ; RL Jones Airport ; robbery bank robbery ; first plane landing 870 Interesting People EC: You say there were some interesting characters. When I, when I say that, who comes to your mind? MT: Oh, I better not the main characters. There were a lot of interesting characters though. EC: Well, I've heard of, I guess the most frequently mentioned ones, been a town marshal by the name of Freshour. MT: Yes. He killed lots of people. EC: And I've heard some everybody seems to have known Dr. King. Milly remembers several characters from her time living in Bristow such as, Billy Freshour, Dr. King and Albert Kelly. American National Bank ; Billy Freshour ; Dr. King Interesting people in Bristow 968 Broadcasting Station MT: It was really something, you know, I think we had all probably about first in the nation, and people from Bristow would travel. They said if someone asked where they from, Bristow, they'd always respond, oh, that's the place that has that big broadcasting station. And I remember the opening night, grand opening. It was really something. And then it was moved to Tulsa. You know, KFRU became KVOO. And then Mr. Rollestone, of course, killed himself in Tulsa. EC: I've also heard about, and I think maybe I've had two different places identified for this purpose, but the thing about KFRU, there was apparently some, presumably, very famous hamburger place here in town. Milly recalls what a big deal it was to have the first broadcasting station, KFRU, later to become KVOO. broadcasting station ; Eddie Rollestone ; KFRU ; KVOO First broadcasting station 1016 Hamburger John MT: Oh yeah. Hamburger John. EC: Hamburger John. Mm-hmm. What was his name? Do you know? MT: John Lambeth. L A M B E T H. I think. EC: And where was it located? Do you recall? MT: South Main, I think. EC: Yeah. And this was supposed to be where the entertainers dropped in when they were in the neighborhood or something. MT: He got new Hamburger John. There was a famous hamburger place in town called Hamburger John owned by John Lambeth. Hamburger John ; John Lambeth 1048 Teachers, School Life & ; Sports MT: Oh, I dunno if he's taught at Bristow School. In Bristow well now he taught in the country, as I remember, JH was the country, but most of the time in the rural areas. EC: Oh, I see. Well, you do find Lucy West? MT: Yes, I remember her. EC: About as the first teacher remember her and other places you'll find JH Dumas and two teachers at the first school. MT: Maybe it's possible. EC: And it's hard to believe they would need two schools given them the, you know, the size of the town in 1898. But you, you do think that Dumas was in the neighborhood at least. MT: Oh, yes. I knew them. Knew them well, yes. He worked for school all his life. Mm-hmm. Milly remembers many teachers and the schools she attended growing up. Charlie Hutton ; Coach Hafer ; JH Dumas ; Lucy West ; Wyatt School 1268 Riding Horses EC: I've heard that the boys in growing up in Bristow, of course most of 'em had ponies and I guess they rode, played or whatever. It just occurred to me, did girls ride ponies a lot too? MT: Oh yes. Yes. I always had a pony when I was a child. EC: Well, is there anything that you can think of that I ought to ask you that I haven't thought of to ask you? MT: No, I can't think of anything. Milly recalls that boys AND girls rode horses growing up since they didn't have cars at the time. horses MP3 In this 1979 interview with Milly Thompson, she talks about her early life in Bristow including her family being farmers, going to school, cotton farming and Indians. She also talks about the effects of the war and what it was like to be around during the oil boom and the wealthy people that resulted from it. EC: July the 12th, 1979. Well, first of all, if you would just tell me about your family, what you know, your parents, where they came from, how they had to come to Bristow, anything like that. MT: My father came to Bristow from Texas. My mother came from Kansas. EC: And his name was what now? MT: Ed Wyatt. EC: And her name? MT: Josie Wyatt, Josie Hill before she married him. And they lived out east of Bristow in the community that is now known as a Wyatt school, eight miles east of Bristow. EC: When did they come here? Do you know about? MT: I don' ; t know. I can' ; t tell you the date. Well and then later, we moved north of town, lived 12 miles north of town. Moved there when I was eight years old. EC: Okay. And what did your father do? MT: Farmer. EC: Farmer. MT: Cattleman. EC: Okay. And you went to school where? MT: Well, I originally went to what is known as the Wyatt School, east Bristow, and then later on to Victor Chapel, which is north of Bristow, later on to Bristow High School. EC: Okay. Did you ever, did your father happen to, let' ; s see, you were born here after they, they got married. MT: 1903. I was born February 21st, 1903 in Indian territory. EC: Okay. Did you ever hear either one of them have anything to say about the earliest days of Bristow that you can recall? MT: Oh, except that they were here before there was a Bristow here. EC: Okay. You know, there' ; s, there are two names that sometimes get credit for starting Bristow and you may or may not know something about it. There was a man who' ; s the first postmaster, a man named Crane who actually set up the post office out here, here to the railroad. There was a Dr. Bland who apparently had some property here and sometimes is given credit for starting Bristow. Have you ever heard anything about that? MT: That I know nothing of either one. EC: Okay. Well, tell me about your own earliest memories of Bristow as a child, I guess. Before you moved into town even? MT: Well, I called farmers. We went to town on Saturday, met other farmers, did our shopping, went home and Saturday was a big day. And cotton of course, lots of cotton grown in those days. That was what I remember of childhood days. EC: Mm-hmm. Did you have any particular close friends who lived in Bristow as a child? MT: No. No. EC: Come out around where you were living, I imagine. MT: No. Not in town. We traded the Jackson Lee store. It was years ago. It was a general store. We bought, we bought everything there. EC: That was of course in the days before pavement on, I' ; ve heard that the streets were muddy and on bad days and so forth. MT: Right. EC: I don' ; t imagine it was too different from other similar towns at that time in bad weather. But I' ; ve also seen the pictures of all the cotton wagons that you' ; ve probably seen. MT: Yeah. EC: Was that a, did you ever see anything like that or have you just seen the pictures? MT: Oh, no, we, my father grew cotton and sold it. I used to go town [indecipherable] little cotton. That was the very height of enjoyment for a kid to get to go with Dad to town, right? EC: Since Bristow really wasn' ; t wild West there was no such thing truly as Wild Indians. But I' ; ve run into a few people who seemed to have fear of them at that age. Do you remember anything about the Indians? MT: No, we had no fear of them. I went to school with them. I went to school with the Beavers and they had strange names, Indians, and we were always friends. But I can remember my mother when she was would used to tell when she lived east of town of the Indians that would come and they would knock the people in the windows, and she was afraid of them. And they, they didn' ; t talk much. They would hang around all day, but if they said something, you' ; d have to go out and, and ask them what they wanted because... EC: Let' ; s see. Did you, you say you went to Bristow High School? That would' ; ve been about 19, I' ; m guessing 20 along in there. MT: 1919, finished in 22, I believe. EC: Mm-hmm. Do you have any recollections of the effect of World War I? MT: Yes, we had I remember we all high school children, girls and boys went in the military training. I remember that part of it. Mm-hmm. And, yes, we were all very conscious of World War II. EC: Did MT: World I, I mean. EC: Yeah, of course. Now, when did you move into Bristow itself? MT: Well, my family never moved in. I came in and boarded in town and went to high school. EC: Okay. MT: And but my father lived in country until he died. EC: Right. MT: And then later I moved into town. EC: But you were here and then. You married here, I suppose. MT: Yes. Yes. EC: Was your husband, where did he come from? MT: He came from Kansas. He worked in American National Bank, and that' ; s when I worked for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. That' ; s where we met. EC: You were here then during the oil boom days? MT: Yes, yes. EC: Do you have any particular memories of what Bristow was like at that time? MT: Oh, yes, of course the oil industry was a big industry. It was, I remember there were a lot of men killed on the rigs, and first it was, they used horses teams, you know, so much to pull the pipe and things like that. But there was not a lot of activity in, it was a real industry. EC: Did, oh, I, I know I, I' ; ve heard this during the oil days, as you suggest, it was crowded. And a lot of transient people who were living here, of course, and working and some, especially women, have told me and complained because they said they weren' ; t even allowed to go downtown. It was too dangerous. Did you have any... MT: Oh, I don' ; t think it was as dangerous as is now. Really, I don' ; t. Our crime rate is greater now than it was in those days. EC: Well, moving ahead from the oil days were there any particular effects of the depression on Bristow that you recall? MT: Except we all felt it. It was a reality. EC: Did you have such things as old soup lines or soup kitchens or anything like that that you can remember? MT: Yes. They had soup kitchens. Had soup kitchens. Oh, I don' ; t remember how many, many men I fed at the back door. Men that, you know, just passing through. They had to have something to eat. EC: Right. Now, World War II, did it have any dramatic effect on Bristow? Obviously, the town was affected like every town, but do you think particular that stands out about World War II? MT: No, my son was 14 when World War II begun, of course my first thoughts were of him, would he be in the fighting. All mothers had those thoughts and he was in the Navy, but he never had saw any action. And I was a volunteer having communications right across communication on air bases, often world during World War II. And it was a reality to me. It made it more real because I worked with military families and-- EC: Well, going, let' ; s go back and dredge up some of your memories. Were there any particular, I don' ; t know how to put this, well, what did a, a girl your age in high school, what was, what was social life like? What kind of things did you do for fun? MT: No. Well, I didn' ; t have very much social life because mother and daddy wanted me to go home every weekend and almost every weekend I went home and I studied hard and, and oh, there were a few parties and a few picnics and things like that, but I didn' ; t have a great deal of social life during high school days. EC: Mm-hmm. And when did you get married? What year? MT: 1925. EC: Okay. Well, in your early married days, what did young couples do besides, you know, try to get along and survive? What was, what was life like? MT: Oh, at the church we used to all have activities for the young people. In the evening, we met Sunday evenings and we had a lot of picnics and things like that. And later on we had a swimming pool and people went swimming. EC: Do you recall, I don' ; t know how long or when they had the 4th of July picnics, Christmas parades. Do you recall these kind of events? MT: I remember 4th of July celebrations when I was a little girl. We lived north of town and and we came daddy, mother and the children in the wagon into town of 4th of July. We wouldn' ; t miss it. Everybody came. EC: Mm-hmm. Where did they hold it, there, do you remember? MT: We used to have what they call Coles Park, south of town. That' ; s where you usually had it before we had the City Park. EC: They also used to have, apparently, Christmas I don' ; t know whether they had parades or what they did. Do you remember anything special about the town on Christmas? MT: I can' ; t remember Christmas, the way that day when I was a child in town. In fact, I think I was usually at home in the country Christmas time and didn' ; t participate in the oil [indecipherable]. EC: You think it was, were there, this is a hard question, I guess to maybe, if you' ; d even remember exactly, were there people who were considered rich in Bristow before the oil? MT: But I can' ; t answer that. All I remember is [indecipherable] oil, who there are quite a few of them. EC: Who are some of the names that come to mind most easily when you talk about the people who made money off of oil? MT: Oh, Eddie Rollestone and Albert Kelly and the Jones. There was BB and M Jones. And they' ; re supposed to have been 13 millionaires, I think, in this little town. EC: Okay. 13 millionaires. I don' ; t think I' ; ve ever heard that figure. What church do you belong to? MT: First Christian. EC: As you may know, I' ; ve been trying to get churches to put together some little written histories of themselves, you know, so we can collect that too. And I think I, I' ; m not sure I may have one already. You know, we sometimes forget, I think, but I do at least that really even the events of say the last 30 years and our history now. MT: Right. EC: What particular changes have occurred in Bristow? Just you know, in your adult life that stand out? MT: Well, Bristow is not nearly as large as it used to be. You know that Bristow is perhaps a third, but the size it used to be. EC: Has there been, do you feel there' ; s been an exodus of young people from Bristow? MT: I think so. I think young people who grow up here have to go away from Bristow, find good jobs, and most of them leave Bristow. When my children come back here, they, they seldom see their old friends because they have left Bristow. EC: Seems to be the pattern of an awful lot of small towns. Maybe it' ; s gonna be reversed with the energy problems. MT: It might be. EC: Have there been any particular events that you witnessed or maybe heard about in, in Bristow that stand out. I mean, they don' ; t have to be important. Just things that were either funny or exciting or no particular characters. MT: A lot of interesting characters. I remember when American National Bank was robbed, was rather exciting. EC: You weren' ; t in town at the time. MT: I was in town. I was working for the telephone company. The telephone company was just back, the American National Bank, and after the robbers left, they exchanged shots and it was quite an exciting time. I remember the first airplane I ever saw it landed out at RL Jones' ; s. And I was in high school and they dismissed high school and we went out to see it. EC: That' ; s the first time anybody' ; s mentioned the airplane to-- MT: Would have heard of it. We never seen them. EC: You say there were some interesting characters. When I, when I say that, who comes to your mind? MT: Oh, I better not the main characters. There were a lot of interesting characters though. EC: Well, I' ; ve heard of, I guess the most frequently mentioned ones, been a town marshal by the name of Freshour. MT: Yes. He killed lots of people. EC: And I' ; ve heard some everybody seems to have known Dr. King. MT: Yes. He practiced when he' ; s, after he' ; s 90 years old, he was still, and older people didn' ; t have anyone else. They swore by it. EC: Who were some of the more prominent Lawyers. MT: Oh, Cheatem and Beaver were, I suppose, most prominent lawyers at that time. EC: Did your husband work in the bank? MT: He worked as a teller at the bank. Yes. EC: And worked there until he retired? MT: Yes. EC: Which bank? You? MT: American National. EC: American National. All right. And who was, let' ; s see, that' ; s the one that the Kelly' ; s now have? And who had it before the Kelly' ; s? Trying to is that the Jones Bank? MT: No, the Jones never owned it. It was Albert Kelly owned it even before his boys took over. He owned it most of the Stockton bank. [Inaudible] broadcasting session. Radio broadcasting station. EC: Yes, it was. MT: It was really something, you know, I think we had all probably about first in the nation, and people from Bristow would travel. They said if someone asked where they from, Bristow, they' ; d always respond, oh, that' ; s the place that has that big broadcasting station. And I remember the opening night, grand opening. It was really something. And then it was moved to Tulsa. You know, KFRU became KVOO. And then Mr. Rollestone, of course, killed himself in Tulsa. EC: I' ; ve also heard about, and I think maybe I' ; ve had two different places identified for this purpose, but the thing about KFRU, there was apparently some, presumably, very famous hamburger place here in town. MT: Oh yeah. Hamburger John. EC: Hamburger John. Mm-hmm. What was his name? Do you know? MT: John Lambeth. L A M B E T H. I think. EC: And where was it located? Do you recall? MT: South Main, I think. EC: Yeah. And this was supposed to be where the entertainers dropped in when they were in the neighborhood or something. MT: He got new Hamburger John. EC: Yeah. MT: Oh, I dunno if he' ; s taught at Bristow School. In Bristow well now he taught in the country, as I remember, JH was the country, but most of the time in the rural areas. EC: Oh, I see. Well, you do find Lucy West? MT: Yes, I remember her. EC: About as the first teacher remember her and other places you' ; ll find JH Dumas and two teachers at the first school. MT: Maybe it' ; s possible. EC: And it' ; s hard to believe they would need two schools given them the, you know, the size of the town in 1898. But you, you do think that Dumas was in the neighborhood at least. MT: Oh, yes. I knew them. Knew them well, yes. He worked for school all his life. Mm-hmm. EC: Did you know Mrs.West? MT: Oh, yes. Ms. West. EC: Was she still teaching by the time you got into town? MT: She taught in the country. She taught at the chapel after I had gone away to high school. Mm-hmm. And she taught various places in the country later on after she died down. Yes. She was very centric and I remember her quite well. EC: What did, what were, what were the schools like, I guess the high school particularly. Is it, that was Bristow of, did you feel it was a good? You had nothing to compair it with, but did it, did you think it was a good school? MT: I, I think we had a good school. We had Mr. Hutton was superintendent, Charlie Hutton, for years, and his wife was the math teacher, and I think they had a good school. I think he had qualified teachers and I really do think they had good school in those days. Think teachers were dedicated. EC: Like so many small towns and high schools, athletics was always a big thing. MT: Yes. EC: Do you recall excitement about things like that? MT: Yes. I remember football before they even had a stadium. They always had football and Coach Hafer, everyone in the school remembers Coach Hafer. Because he did some marvelous job at working with the boys. He was truly dedicated. EC: By the way you, I should have asked you this earlier. You named where you grew up was, was that named after your father, the community? MT: Yes. He gave them the land out East town for school district and they named the school for him, Wyatt School. EC: Well, now did he buy the land here since most of this was allotment land? MT: Yes, he bought the land. EC: Because I, I don' ; t know the legal details of how the exchanges were made in Indian territory today is, and the, I was guessing that was probably allotment land that he acquired. Are there any particular stories that you can remember your father or your mother telling you maybe about things about the Bristow or the area that, that were interesting to you, stuck in your mind all these days? MT: No, not particularly. Of course, and I remember the days, of course, before there were cars. And I was a child even in high school there were very few cars, you know, coming to town from 12 miles was all days journey, you know, to town and back. EC: And were there roads along the section lines back then? MT: Yes, yes. EC: I' ; ve heard that the boys in growing up in Bristow, of course most of ' ; em had ponies and I guess they rode, played or whatever. It just occurred to me, did girls ride ponies a lot too? MT: Oh yes. Yes. I always had a pony when I was a child. EC: Well, is there anything that you can think of that I ought to ask you that I haven' ; t thought of to ask you? MT: No, I can' ; t think of anything. EC: Well, were there any were you ever involved in politics in Bristow? MT: No. Not at all. EC: Or your husband? MT: No. EC: As best I can tell, Bristow had its, you know, city elections and that sort of thing, but I can' ; t tell whether they were ever very hotly contested or not. Do you recall, well, division between Republicans and Democrats, or was it personal? More than, MT: I can' ; t recall anything regarding that. EC: Okay. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0044A_Milly_Thompson.xml OHP-0044A_Milly_Thompson.xml
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Title
A name given to the resource
Milly Bell Wyatt Thompson
Description
An account of the resource
In this 1979 interview with Milly Thompson, she talks about her early life in Bristow including her family being farmers, going to school, cotton farming and Indians. She also talks about the effects of the war and what it was like to be around during the oil boom and the wealthy people that resulted from it.
Identifier
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OHP-0044A
Date
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1979-07-12
Format
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audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/04514c03aee102c390904419b97a698e.jpg
01808a8908c49bc34c3c8c7751dcd53f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Family Histories
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral History
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral accounts of various family histories
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Georgia Smith
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Monta Jean Wheeler
OHMS Object
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Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2020-11_Wheeler,_Monta_Jean.xml
OHMS Object Text
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5.4 November 11, 2020 OHP-2020-11 Monta Jean Wheeler OHP-2020-11 0:00-60:58 'Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive' Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Monta Jean Wheeler Georgia Smith MP3 1:|58(3)|87(13)|116(6)|146(8)|175(8)|202(5)|244(7)|271(13)|299(2)|320(5)|342(3)|358(2)|382(10)|418(5)|427(13)|460(2)|483(16)|514(2)|529(5)|561(5)|585(9)|601(17)|620(9)|648(16)|670(12)|685(4)|721(5)|750(8)|777(4)|799(9)|822(13)|842(6)|858(5)|878(1)|884(14)|918(4)|934(3)|970(9)|989(15)|1027(2)|1048(2)|1065(5)|1099(7)|1135(5)|1178(5)|1189(2)|1208(2)|1231(14)|1257(10)|1279(1)|1317(2)|1340(4)|1365(3)|1376(6)|1408(4)|1431(7)|1448(13)|1458(4)|1472(1)|1489(6) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-2020-11 Wheeler, Monta Jean.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction and Family History GS: This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma and this is an interview is part of the Historical Society’s ongoing oral history project. The date is November 11, 2020 and I am sitting here with miss Monta Jean Wheeler at the depot, who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area. Now, give me your full name. MW: Monta Jean Wheeler GS: Okay let’s begin. What was your name at birth? MW: Monta Jean Baker GS: And where were you born? MW: I was born at the [Indecipherable] hospital here in Bristow on west 8th street. GS: That’s awesome, what was your date of birth? Albert Kelly ; American National Bank ; Anna Baker ; Anna Beatrice Herndon Baker ; Anna Chrome ; Bristow ; Cattle Drive ; Cleta Ann Bishop ; Cleta Ann Wheeler ; Cletus Wheeler ; First Church of God ; Georgia Smith ; Golf Oil Company ; Magic City, Texas ; Mike Wheeler ; Monta Jean Baker ; Monta Jean Wheeler ; Montfort Jones Baker ; Philly Station ; Steve Wheeler ; W. O. Baker https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22325322/montfort-j-baker Montfort J. Baker https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22461686/w-o-baker W. O. Baker https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22325396/cleta-ann-bishop Cleta Ann Bishop 507 Growing Up In Bristow GS: Okay, tell me what life was like at home when you were a young child once you got settled back here in Bristow MW: Yeah, where the main farm, we moved on it. I had my sixth birthday right after we moved on it GS: Aw MW: And so I grew up there, daddy managed— he took care of the farm. Grandpa had gotten to the point he wasn’t able to get out and walk and tend to things, and so he turned it all over to daddy, and so that’s where I actually grew up. And then I went to country school, Pine Hill was the name of the school, and I went to school there through the first through the seventh grade GS: Okay, and where was that located Monta Jean? Assembly of God ; Carnation Milk Company ; Grade A Milk ; Grade B Milk ; Hiskets ; Hiskits ; Monta Jean ; Olive School ; Pine Hill 949 Appliances and Chores GS: Oh I think that’s good. How did they do laundry at your house growing up? MW: We had a Maytag washing machine, it had a gasoline motor on it GS: A gasoline washer MW: Uh-huh, you had to— it had a pump on it. I mean a deal, pedal that you had to step on that turned the bell that started the motor GS: Oh okay MW: And it was a ringer type washing machine GS: Uh-huh MW: I’ve got my hands hung in that before GS: I got mine hung in my grandmothers Aladdin Lamps ; Bea ; Gas Lights ; Herndon ; manorth ; Maytag ; Maytag Washing Machine ; Old Flat Irons ; Safeway ; WareEver ; Warehouse Market ; White Gasoline 1442 Farming GS: Did your parents ever employ help in the dairy, or in the house or anyplace? MW: Not in the dairy or the house, but daddy at times had people come in to help with some of the farm work. GS Okay MW: And at one time, they raised peanuts GS: Yes MW: And they had— that was all the, peanuts were pulled by hand, he used several black people here around Bristow that he would go and get and they would pull the peanuts and some of the black ladies would come and stack the peanuts. Daddy fixed poles in the— however he fixed them to where they could stack the peanuts on those GS: Okay Myrtle Alexander ; Myrtle Hines ; Odell Alexander ; Survell 1636 Clothing GS: Okay, what kind of clothes did you wear? Did Bea (ph) make your clothes or was it store bought? MW: Mother made almost all of our clothes, and a lot of them back then were made out of feed sacks GS: Yes MW: And the feed that you bought for the chickens or the cows, you could buy printed, yeah. Yeah mother— GS: Uh-huh, about everybody around here grew up in feed sack dresses MW: Yeah, yeah GS: Now did boys wear feed sack clothes? Bea ; Feed sack Clothes ; Feed sack dresses 1723 School Life GS: What kind of games did you play? MW: Course, my best friend of course was a girl, and of course we played with our dolls, played house, you know, typical little girl stuff. But then of course at school we played most games like kids at school play, you know, Annie Over, [Indecipherable], you know tag and all that kind of stuff, typical games. GS: What kind— did you sing songs at school or? MW: Oh yes GS: what, can you remember any of them? (Laughter) MW: No I don’t GS: Boy, songs are something I remember [Indecipherable] if it had a tune to it, I would remember it when I couldn’t remember anything else. Okay let’s see, we’ve talked about your dad, do you remember the first time you heard a radio? Aline Crow ; Annie Over ; Fibber McGee and Molly ; Gipsy ; Goodmans ; Hillcrest ; Kellyville ; Mannford ; Mr. Bass ; Mr. Crow ; Mrs. Bass ; Mrs. Crow ; Olive School ; Pie Supper ; Pine Hill ; Tag ; The Great Gildersleeve ; The Little Christmas Tree 2335 Church GS: Okay good, now you’ve mentioned you were brought up in the Church of God, and you mentioned the Church of God campground, is it—was it back then in the same place that it was in the 70’s? MW: Yes GS: Okay, do you remember by chance when they bought that property for a campground and when it was sold? MW: I don’t remember exactly what year they bought it, they bought that from my husband’s parents. GS: Oh really? MW: Yeah GS: I did not know that! MW: Yeah, yeah his parents lived just north of the campground. GS: And what was their name? Church of God ; Marie Wheeler ; Oscar Wheeler 2460 Medical Care GS: What was medical care like when you were a child? Did you go to the doctor much? MW: Oh not a whole lot, but I think people just basically you knew what to do, ya know? GS: Uh-huh MW: And my grandmother Baker, she used to come out to the farm, there was a certain plant out there that it grew in the farm in the barn lot GS: Uh-huh MW: And I don’t remember the name of that plant, I can pic— I can see it in my mind. It had blooms on it, and she would pick the blooms and I assume took leaves and whatever. She would come out and gather stuff and bring home and make savv (ph) and stuff out of certain plants that grew on the farm out there. GS: That’s a neat part of the way people were brought up back then, they had to be self-sufficient. MW: You— yeah, you did. It had to be a pretty serious matter to go to the doctor GS: Yeah. Did you have a family doctor? American Legion ; Dr. Cisler ; Dr. Cowart ; Dr. King ; Grandmother Baker ; savv 2612 Businesses and Holiday Events GS: So that’s good, very good. What are your recollections of the city of Bristow? MW: Well, I mean it was nice because you could buy about anything you wanted because you had Pennys, you had Anthonys, and then there was Strongs there, there was the Globe store, the Grand Leader store (ph) GS: Oh I don’t remember that one, where was that? MW: The Grand Leader, let’s see. It was there on main street, and I’m thinking it was in that block from seventh to eighth GS: Okay MW: Safeway was on the corner of eighth and main GS: And what did they sell? MW: Who? Anthonys ; Busches ; Christmas Parade ; Globe Store ; Grand Leader ; Hamburger King ; J. C. Pennys ; Pennys ; Shamuses ; Strongs 2840 Jobs GS: Okay, when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? MW: Oh, I don’t know. Really, mother really wanted me to go onto school, and of course I took all commotional subjects in High School, and I said well, it— I’ll tell ya, I said “If I can’t get a— if I can’t get a job when I graduate, I’ll go with Drawns (ph) business school in Tulsa” GS: Yup MW: Well, graduated in May and I [Indecipherable] the first part of July, J.L. Darnell was county superintendent of the schools and he had come to the house and we were gone, and back then you left notes on your screen door with a bobby pin GS: Uh-huh MW: And he left a note telling me that if I wanted to come to work for him, to be there on a certain day at a certain time and the job’s yours GS: Wow, that’s wonderful! MW: So I went to work— worked for him in July of 54’ GS: Was that for the school system? American National Bank ; Bristow ; California ; Camp Stoneham ; Cleta Ann Bishop ; Depew ; Drawns Business School ; Eisenhower ; Fort Sill ; Gipsy ; J. L. Darnell ; Korean War ; Lone Star ; Oklahoma City ; Sapulpa ; Slick ; Spirit Bank ; Winter Work https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77214387/jesse-lawrence-darnell J. L. Darnell 3168 World War II GS: Okay now Korea war was in the 50’s, do you have any memories of World War II? MW: Oh yeah GS: What are your memories there? MW: I know where, I was— well let’s see. I think I was six, no war broke out the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, was in 41’ pleasant day, I think it was 41’, I would’ve been— I was five, going on six. We were in Oklahoma City at my aunts’ house, and my uncle was in the service and he was home on leave and they went to— my grandparents lived in Illinois but they were here— they were visiting. And they went to get gas in the car and all and they heard it on the radio, and they came back and of course they didn’t want grandma to know what was happening, and I remember he was even in Military clothes GS: Oh wow MW: And he was called right back up and he was in four years Guam ; Mils ; Oklahoma City ; Pearl Harbor ; Ration Stamps ; Safeway ; Tulsa World ; World War II ; WWII 3355 Concluding Thoughts GS: Okay, right. Thinking back over your life, what would you consider to be the most important inventions that you’ve seen in your lifetime? That’s a hard one because there’ve been so many MW: There’s been so many, that probably— because see even when we got electricity, they had electric irons at that point GS: Mhm MW: Probably TV was one of the most important, you know, other than your radio. GS: It brought the world into your living room, didn’t it? MW: Yes, it did, uh-huh GS: How is the world different now than when you were a child? MW: Horrible. GS: I understand that Electric Irons ; Industrial Supply Company ; Marshall Supply ; Marsuco ; Tulsa In this 2020 interview, Monta Jean Wheeler shares her experiences growing up in the Bristow area. She discusses her childhood, the various businesses throughout Bristow, and the impact that World War II had on Bristow. Interviewer: Georgia Smith Interviewee: Monta Jean Wheeler Other Persons: Date of Interview: November 11, 2020 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Abby Thompson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-2020-11 at 00:00 to 60:58 Abstract: Preface: The following oral history testimony is the result of a cassette tape interview and is part of the Bristow Historical Society, Inc.' ; s collection of oral histories. The interview was transcribed and processed by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc., with financial assistance from the Montfort Jones & ; Allie Brown Jones Foundation. Rights to the material are held exclusively by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc. The reader should bear in mind that he or she is reading a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than written prose. Insofar as possible, this transcript tries to represent the spoken word. Thus, it should be read as a personal memoir and not as either a researched monograph or edited account. To the extent possible, the spelling of place names, foreign words, and personal names have been verified, either by reference resources or directly by the interviewee. In some cases, a footnote has been added to the transcript in order to provide more information and/or to clarify a statement. Some uncertainties will inevitably remain regarding some words and their spellings. In these scenarios, a (ph) follows a word or name that is spelled phonetically. The notation [indecipherable] is used when the transcriber has not been able to comprehend the word or phrase being spoken. The notation [inaudible] is used where there is more mumbling than words, or when interference on the tape has made transcription impossible. GS: This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma and this is an interview is part of the Historical Society' ; s ongoing oral history project. The date is November 11, 2020 and I am sitting here with miss Monta Jean Wheeler at the depot, who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area. Now, give me your full name. MW: Monta Jean Wheeler GS: Okay let' ; s begin. What was your name at birth? MW: Monta Jean Baker GS: And where were you born? MW: I was born at the [Indecipherable] hospital here in Bristow on west 8th street. GS: That' ; s awesome, what was your date of birth? MW: 1/16/1936 GS: What were your parents' ; names? Mothers maiden name, mother and her maiden name first. MW: Her name was Anna Beatrice Herndon Baker (ph) GS: And where were-- your father' ; s name? MW: Montfort Jones BakerGS: And where were they married? MW: Here in Bristow GS: Okay MW: In my grandparents' ; house GS: Aw how wonderful. So they were already here in Bristow, were your parents always here in Bristow? I mean grandparents, were your grandparents always here in Bristow? MW: My grandfather came in the late 1800' ; s GS: And what brought him to Bristow, do you know? MW: I' ; m not exactly sure, but he was-- he came from Ohio. Left home at a young age like a lot of them did back then, and he wound up in the Kansas area, and that' ; s where he met my grandmother. And then during that time, he met Albert Kelly GS: Okay MW: And he, at one time, helped him get-- they brought cattle from Kansas, up in Kansas to Bristow. GS: Okay MW: And back then, you just drove on through. GS: Yup, just a cattle drive MW: Yeah GS: Now, we' ; ll skip to this part. We' ; ll get everything else, but since we' ; re talking about your grandparents, what were their names? MW: His name, he went by his initials ; W. O. Baker, that' ; s what everyone knew him by, or-- yeah. And my grandmothers name was Anna. GS: Anna, and do you know her maiden name? MW: Chrome (ph) GS: Chrome? MW: MhmGS: Okay. Alright, we' ; ll go back to-- MW: And at that time, he didn' ; t have-- there was-- he didn' ; t have any relatives here. GS: Okay, so-- MW: He just-- GS: He just picked this spot? MW: Well he picked this place, and at that time with Albert Kelly, they were in-- business partners with the cotton gin, one of the cotton gins here. Do you remember the old Ice Plant that was here? GS: Oh yes MW: And there was a cotton gin right down there just on the east side of the railroad track GS: Okay MW: And that-- they ran that cotton gin. And then also at one time, my grandad was on the-- stockholder in the American National Bank. GS: Okay, okay that' ; s interesting information! MW: That was way back, way back before my time GS: Way back when! (Laughter) GS: Was this before statehood or after statehood? MW: Well, it was before because in 1906 my grandad purchased from the Indians the property I' ; m living on right now ; it has been in our family since 1906 GS: Oh that' ; s wonderful, and what direction is that? MW: Where-- actually due north of Bristow GS: Okay MW: But the way you have to get to it more North then Northeast and all GS: Okay, okay. Wow that' ; s amazing. I' ; m gonna jump back up to your parents now and ask you how many children your parents have? MW: Just one GS: Just you, huh? MW: [Inaudible] GS: Okay, and what did your dad do for a living? MW: Well, he had-- he was at the time I was born, he was running a Philly Station here in Bristow GS: Okay MW: It sat down on the corner of somewhere off of fourth-- I think it faced on fourth street, off down along around in there where Sonic was or in that-- GS: Do you remember the name of it by chance? MW: No I don' ; t GS: That' ; s okay. Did your mother stay home or did she have a job? MW: No she-- after she and daddy married, she stayed home. GS: And what is-- MW: Well then after that, then they moved to Sapulpa GS: Okay MW: And I don' ; t know how long they were there, but that was after I was born. And then later on, we wound up in Seminole, daddy worked for the Golf Oil company GS: Okay MW: He was the bookkeeper for them GS: Uh-huh MW: And then after that, then he got a job in Texas, a place called Magic City, Texas and it was mainly-- he was a bookkeeper for a big gasoline plant out there. And we lived in a camp, they had houses and it-- that the employees lived in GS: Right, uh-huh MW: And then when I was five, then we came back to Bristow GS: Okay, and was your-- were your grandparents living on the land where you' ; re living now? MW: No, at that time they were living in town GS: Okay MW: And he had renters GS: Out here? MW: Out on the farm GS: Okay, okay. ' ; Cus I knew that was-- that land was already in the Baker name MW: Yeah GS: Okay, I know your spouse is deceased, what was his name? MW: Cletus Wheeler, Pete is his nickname, he was known by Pete here in Bristow GS: And when did you get married? MW: In February of 1955 GS: And was that here in Bristow? MW: At the First Church of God in Bristow GS: Okay, in the old church? MW: Yes GS: And where was that located, the old church of God? MW: The old church was just-- it was right along-- just about, well it was a little bit north of where the present one is GS: Okay MW: Probably in about the area of the gym GS: Okay, I didn' ; t-- MW: Because there was a-- I remember there was a lot on the north side of the church because I remember people parked along that north edge out there and in the front lot GS: Okay, I didn' ; t realize that' ; s where it was MW: Yes GS: Okay, and how many children did you and Pete have? MW: Three GS: Three children, what are their names? MW: Cleta Ann and then she married Danny Bishop GS: Okay MW: Here in Bristow, and then she passed away in August of 19-- 2007 GS: 27? MW: 2007, yeah. GS: I didn' ; t realize it had been that long MW: Yeah GS: Okay, and your other children? MW: And then Mike, and Mike lives in the Tulsa, east Tulsa Area GS: Okay MW: and Steve lives in Yukon, and yeah. GS: Okay, tell me what life was like at home when you were a young child once you got settled back here in Bristow MW: Yeah, where the main farm, we moved on it. I had my sixth birthday right after we moved on it GS: Aw MW: And so I grew up there, daddy managed-- he took care of the farm. Grandpa had gotten to the point he wasn' ; t able to get out and walk and tend to things, and so he turned it all over to daddy, and so that' ; s where I actually grew up. And then I went to country school, Pine Hill was the name of the school, and I went to school there through the first through the seventh grade GS: Okay, and where was that located Monta Jean? MW: It was two miles north of us GS: Okay, that wasn' ; t very far then MW: No GS: What kind of house did you grow up in? MW: We had a, well it was the original house that grandpa had built GS: Was it frame, wood frame? MW: Wood frame, uh-huh yeah. Nice house GS: What were your favorite toys as a child?MW: Oh I don' ; t know, you know being a country kid I was-- GS: Probably played outside a lot, didn' ; t ya? MW: I was outside a lot, ya know, and as I got a little older I played basketball at the country school, played softball at the country school, and of course I had my bicycle and it was kinda tough-- I attempted several times to ride it to school, which wasn' ; t too bad but coming back home at the end of the day, it was coming up hill to get to the house GS: Ohh, ohhMW: I had to push it up (Laughing) GS: Well going to school was easy anyway! Oh, boy. Now you said your mother didn' ; t work, so she probably just worked really hard at being a housewife and a mother MW: Very hard, and we-- my folks ran a dairy GS: Okay! MW: And so there was the milking to be done twice a day, and then later with that-- now I didn' ; t do too much-- very much milking, bout the only time I did if daddy got caught in the field and was late coming in in the evening, I might have-- I might go and help. There was one or two that I couldn' ; t handle GS: Uh-huh MW: But mother did most of it in a time like that, but when he wasn' ; t in the field course he was there too. And then they sold their-- at first they started out, there was a place just right up here on the ally, from here GS: Okay so like between sixth and seventh street? MW: No, it was just right due west of where we' ; re sitting right now GS: Okay MW: And the place was-- it' ; s the building that the Assembly God Church is in at this time GS: Cornerstone, yeah MW: Yeah, and they came in to the back where you could park. They brought their cream, eggs, mother even raised chickens and sold chickens that you could come in here and sell. And then later on, then they went into full dairy, and they sold-- it was considered grade B milk in just the ordinary barn, and just right over here cattycorner from where we' ; re at right now, carnation milk company had a drop off that you could bring your milk in GS: Wow MW: Brought it in the regular milk cans GS: Yes MW: And then later, daddy had a new barn built with all the specs state-- that the state required and went to grade A milk. And that' ; s what went on, there' ; s been times when I brought the milk in and left the cans here to-- GS: So like at seventh and main? MW: No, right over here. Right over here just across from the depot right there on the back. GS: Okay, okay. Like right around where Hiskits (ph) is or across the street from Hiskits (ph)? MW: No, just right here at the back of these buildings right here GS: Okay, okay MW: Yeah, there was a place that you could come and bring your milk cans in GS: Okay MW: Yeah, and drop it off. And then it was sent on to Tulsa to the Carnation Milk Company GS: I never realized that MW: And then you got your-- then you got your checks for your milk from the Carnation milk company GS: Well at least you didn' ; t have to deliver it yourselves that way MW: No GS: That' ; s good MW: Although daddy did drop off-- the church had a missionary that was here, and out at the campground GS: Yes MW: They worked back here on sabbatical, and they had three, I think three children, and the kids wanted fresh cow' ; s milk. So daddy told them that he would provide them with milk because he said that I have to-- and at that time, we came in on old sixty-six GS: Uh-huh MW: That went north of town and then circled around to, you know. And he told them if you have your bottles sitting on the porch, he said, I' ; ll bring it to you and you know, I' ; ll pick up your bottles and then I' ; ll deliver it to you. So they did and they wanted to pay for it and daddy told them no, I' ; ll bring you the milk. And I always have to tell this with this incident. My grandad had their-- he had royalty in a well up close to going to Olive, up in the direction of Olive school GS: Uh-huh MW: And all. And after he passed away, then daddy got a check ; a royalty checks from that. So the months that he delivered milk to the people, his royalty check increased. GS: Oh, that gives me chills MW: And I don' ; t remember exactly how long they were here, and then they later let him know " ; well we' ; re gonna be going back and we won' ; t be needing milk anymore" ; and then after-- so after they left and he quit delivering milk, the checks would drop back to what they normally would. GS: Now that' ; s-- MW: God works in mysterious ways GS: That has to be in Gods way, yes he does. MW: And I' ; ll tell you, it pays to gift-- GS: To be generous, it does. MW: Yes, it does. I had to put that in. GS: Oh I think that' ; s good. How did they do laundry at your house growing up? MW: We had a Maytag washing machine, it had a gasoline motor on it GS: A gasoline washer MW: Uh-huh, you had to-- it had a pump on it. I mean a deal, pedal that you had to step on that turned the bell that started the motor GS: Oh okay MW: And it was a ringer type washing machine GS: Uh-huh MW: I' ; ve got my hands hung in that before GS: I got mine hung in my grandmothers (Laughing) GS: Just something kids do I guess MW: I guess so GS: What about cooking, what kind of stove? MW: Well to start with, we had I think it was used kerosene in it-- with it to cook on. And then later on, there was a gas well on the place ; and so later, daddy got pipe and laid the gas line from that well to the house so we had gas GS: For your cook stove MW: For the cook stove, our heat was stove and lights. At that time, we had gas lights GS: Oh how interesting MW: That had-- that had little manorth (ph) on there that you lit a match to do it. If a bug happened to get a-- fly in the house or whatever happened to fly into one of those, it ruined them. GS: I just imagined it again MW: And then later then, we went to Aladdin lamps that run off of white gasoline GS: Okay MW: We did that, and we didn' ; t get electricity until I was a freshman in high school GS: Wow, and so that would' ; ve been in what? About-- MW: Let' ; s see, that would' ; ve been probably in 19, it was probably 1940-- GS: 1949? MW: Somewhere in, yeah, somewhere in there. GS: Did you have to buy your kerosene, go buy kerosene in a little container and bring it home to--? MW: Yeah, well you used white gas, I think it was. GS: Okay MW: In those. And then, well before we got electricity, we used the old flat irons, that' ; s how-- I learned to iron with the old flat irons. GS: My grandmother had them MW: And you had your different sizes for your different type material GS: Uh-huh MW: And I learned to iron that way. And then, when later-- then we went to, I don' ; t even know the brand of the iron, but you did-- you put white gas in. It had a little bowl on it and you put that in there and then you had a pump that you' ; d pump-- fill air in there, and then you lit that. It' ; s-- I often think back on that, it' ; s a wonder those things didn' ; t blow ya up. GS: Well that was my next question, did you ever have any of those things blow up, your lights or your stove or anything?MW: Nope, nuh-uh, we never did, never did. And I was really so glad when we did get electricity GS: Oh I' ; m sure MW: Because in the summer, mother always raised a big garden with the dairy and then raised a big garden, and my job was to do-- I had to do all of the ironing and stuff. And that' ; s back when men wore khaki pants and I' ; d always have to-- GS: Have to iron them MW: And I did all that in the summer. Mother always hated to see school start GS: I' ; m sure she did (Laughter) GS: I understand that, so where did you shop for groceries? MW: Well they had Safeway here in Bristow GS: Oh really? MW: They also had a warehouse market GS: Okay MW: Which was down on I think it was between sixth and fifth street I think on main street GS: On main street? Okay. MW: Yeah I think that' ; s where it was. GS: Do you have any family recipes from your childhood from Bea (ph) that you still make? MW: I don' ; t know, seems like mother just cooked a lot, by-- GS: A little bit of this and a little bit of that MW: A little bit of that GS: Just by memory, probably didn' ; t write anything down MW: Yeah I don' ; t-- I don' ; t recall. She had a cook book, I remember. In fact, I' ; m trying to think if I still have that or ended up it was just the pages rotting in it and I think I ended up GS: Tossing it MW: Tossing it because if I think it was-- it looked kinda like a cook book that comes-- had come with some cookware or something she had. She used WareEver (ph) was actually the name of the cookware she used WareEverGS: WareEverMW: But it wore forever. GS: Was it stainless steel? MW: Yeah GS: Yeah. Now you mentioned one of your daily chores in the summer was ironing, what were some of your other chores? MW: Oh I-- from before we got-- I' ; ll back up a little bit. The house was plumped, for it was completely furnished, bathtubs and everything. But for some reason at the time we moved him, there wasn' ; t the running water in the house, everything was there, and there-- they used I guess at one time they did use it. They had a big dug well out in the barn lot, and that' ; s-- they pulled in water from there. But we had-- daddy drilled, had a well drilled that we had to draw the water out of our well that we used most of the time until later. Daddy had another well drilled and after everything could be rehooked up and all so we could have running water. GS: Well good. MW: But before we got back, my job-- when they went to milk, mother always had supper back then GS: Uh-huh MW: Supper right after I got home from school, because then they had to go to the barn to milk. My job was to do the dishes. I had to heat the water on the stove to wash my dishes and then heat water to scald my dishes. GS: Oh my goodness MW: Yes, and I was probably, I as probably nine GS: When you started? MW: When I started doing that GS: Uh-huh MW: And that was my job to do and they left the house to go to milk GS: Everybody had to work MW: Everybody had a job to do, and that was still my job until I left home. That was just my responsibility that-- now if there was, by that time, by the time I was starting, well before I started school in town, my grand-- my mother' ; s parents had moved to Bristow. GS: Okay MW: And I spent a lot of time with them for school activities because mom and dad were tied up with the milking and all that GS: And what was their names? MW: Their' ; last name Herndon, was their last name. GS: Okay MW: So that was the job that I had had to do, is as long as I was home. GS: Did your parents ever employ help in the dairy, or in the house or anyplace? MW: Not in the dairy or the house, but daddy at times had people come in to help with some of the farm work. GS Okay MW: And at one time, they raised peanuts GS: Yes MW: And they had-- that was all the, peanuts were pulled by hand, he used several black people here around Bristow that he would go and get and they would pull the peanuts and some of the black ladies would come and stack the peanuts. Daddy fixed poles in the-- however he fixed them to where they could stack the peanuts on those' ; GS: Okay MW: But the poles, that' ; s what the women done. And Odell Alexanders mother was wanting-- was one of the ones that I definitely remember from helping do that from when she was a young woman. GS: Oh my goodness, isn' ; t that amazing MW: And there was one black women, I don' ; t know how-- course I don' ; t know how old they were, I was probably six, seven? While in that age, daddy would go in his pick-up and pick them up and I' ; d ride right in the back with them, you know. And, but when they' ; d be stacking peanuts, there was this one, she would get after me with a pitchfork GS: (Laughing) Just teasing, playing uh-huh MW: Teasing, you know, but oh she' ; d be serious about it, you know. And one day when I was working at the bank here in Bristow, Myrtle was in the bank and I remember I said " ; Myrtle, did you remember who that was that you used to chase when you all worked stacking peanuts that used to get the pitchfork after me?" ; And she told me ' ; yes' ; what her name was, and you know I' ; ve already forgotten it what her name was. GS: And that was Myrtle, Myrtle Alexander? MW: No, she was Myrtle Hines GS: Oh okay, okay. MW: I' ; m pretty sure she [Indecipherable] Hines as her last name GS: Okay, did your family have livestock other than the cows that they had in the dairy? MW: We had-- at one time we, actually daddy started out with a team GS: Okay MW: He, and I' ; ve driven, I have driven that team when mom and dad were gathering corn GS: Okay MW: I was probably at that point six, seven years' ; old GS: Did your dad ever do his own butchering? MW: Oh yeah, yeah they did. In fact, there was a smoke house on the place that they could-- when they killed the hogs especially, you know, my grandmother Baker would come out and help with that and whatnot, yeah. GS: Whole different era, wasn' ; t it? MW: Different era, yeah. GS: How did you store foods? MW: Well mother had a, she had a refrigerator, it was the Survell (ph) was the name of it that run off of gas GS: Uh-huh, uh-huh. I' ; ve heard of gas refrigerators MW: Yeah, that' ; s what we had. GS: Okay, what kind of clothes did you wear? Did Bea (ph) make your clothes or was it store bought? MW: Mother made almost all of our clothes, and a lot of them back then were made out of feed sacks GS: Yes MW: And the feed that you bought for the chickens or the cows, you could buy printed, yeah. Yeah mother-- GS: Uh-huh, about everybody around here grew up in feed sack dresses MW: Yeah, yeah GS: Now did boys wear feed sack clothes? MW: Well not [Indecipherable] I' ; m sure that they could' ; ve at one time, maybe shirts made out of them, I don' ; t know. GS: Okay, did you have shoes year round? MW: Oh yes GS: Okay. Did you have friends out in the neighborhood out in the country to play with? How far did you have to travel to get to see them? MW: Well my close friend lived probably two miles GS: And would you walk to each other' ; s homes? MW: No, not really. Not really, no, our folk' ; d bring us GS: Take you? MW: Yeah GS: That' ; s good. MW: And they used to meet in the summer time and all. There was two or three families that' ; d meet together in the evening and people play cards and someone maybe they' ; d make pies and have coffee and pie and the kids would play outside. GS: What kind of games did you play? MW: Course, my best friend of course was a girl, and of course we played with our dolls, played house, you know, typical little girl stuff. But then of course at school we played most games like kids at school play, you know, Annie Over, [Indecipherable], you know tag and all that kind of stuff, typical games. GS: What kind-- did you sing songs at school or? MW: Oh yes GS: what, can you remember any of them? (Laughter) MW: No I don' ; t GS: Boy, songs are something I remember [Indecipherable] if it had a tune to it, I would remember it when I couldn' ; t remember anything else. Okay let' ; s see, we' ; ve talked about your dad, do you remember the first time you heard a radio? MW: [Indecipherable] I was real small ' ; cus there was a radio because they ran off batteries. GS: Okay, so they had a radio that they listened to before a TV? MW: Oh yes, and back-- and I remember back after we moved onto the farm some of the old shows we listened to in the evenings Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, and those two really stood out, ya know. GS: Do you remember the first TV your parents got? MW: Yes GS: Were you home when they got one? MW: Yes, I think, I think I was a freshman in high school, well it was junior high back then. GS: And of course it was black and white MW: Black and white, it went off at midnight GS: Oh, yeah! I had forgotten about that! (Laughter) GS: Okay, well we talked about your parents, so and you talked a little bit about school, so I wanna ask you about the Pine Hill area. What can you tell me about the Pine Hill area? Maybe some of the people that lived there? Activities that were there perhaps or? MW: The school always in October, I believe it was in October-- late October, but they always had a community Pie Supper GS: Okay MW: And this was to raise money to buy-- they had then a Christmas, a community Christmas tree GS: Uh-huh MW: And the moneys that came in from the Pie Supper was to buy treats and stuff, we always had a huge Christmas tree that sat on the stage at school GS: Uh-huh MW: And parents could bring, if they had gifts for their kids for Santa, well it said Santa Clause, to give to their kids they would do that, we always had a program. And I never will forget my first year in first grade, I, that year, I, out of our hardback reader, I memorized the story of, The Little Christmas Tree or something, I can' ; t remember the exact, it was to do with the Christmas Tree. I memorized that whole story, and that night when it was time, time to give it, I just froze. GS: Aww MW: But mother was standing over, they had a curtain fixed up to where we come out of another room in there to those that were doing-- participating in it, and I looked around and mother was standing behind the curtain coaxing me on. Once I got started, I did it, but I did that in first grade, yeah. GS: Aww, well. MW: But, and of course they had folding doors between the rooms. One room was the first through fourth grade, and then the other room was fifth through eighth grade. GS: Okay MW: And they opened the doors up and that way the whole church, I mean the whole school was people there for the-- people would come, you know, they had come to the Pie Supper and all and they gave out treats and stuff. GS: Now, was it just a school or did it function as a church also? MW: It- there at one time, that' ; s where I first started a Sunday school, was there was a Church of God preacher and I went to Sunday school there. GS: Okay, what about the people that lived in the area? Do you remember any of the people that lived in Pine Hill area? MW: Oh yeah, course I don' ; t know where a lot of them are. GS: Yeah, do you remember their names?MW: Yeah there was people, but there was-- the people, there was the Goodman' ; s that lived there, which that was Pete' ; s uncle and his family, and his-- the daughter of them, she took me-- she was about three or four year older than me and she took me under her wing because I didn' ; t have any brothers-- older brothers or sisters. And she kinda took me under her wing, and then the summer, I guess it was before we started fourth grade, she got real sick and they didn' ; t know what was wrong with her, and they thought she had the flu and they took her on to Hillcrest, and she-- come to find out she had tick fever, and she passed away. And till this day, that bothers me. GS: Yeah MW: She was my friend ; she took me under her wing. GS: Yeah, how old was she? MW: Thirteen GS: When she passed? MW: Yeah GS: Oh wow, wow. MW: That-- that was tough GS: That' ; s hard MW: But I had two sets of teachers, at the first-- the teachers I started school under, I went through third grade with them, and then another set of teachers came and they were there clear through seventh grade. GS: Do you remember any of your teacher' ; s names? MW: Their last names was Crow, Aline Crow (ph) was my first grade teacher, first through third grade, and then a Mr. and Mrs. Bass, they lived here in Bristow, but they taught out there fourth through eighth grade GS: Okay MW: Well I didn' ; t go eighth grade because they left at the end of their-- our seventh grade, and they turned the school into a one teacher school for eight grades GS: Wow MW: ' ; Cus there was five of us in the eighth grade class, and daddy said ' ; no way, that' ; s too many kids for one person to have to take care of' ; so he went before, applied for transfers into Bristow, and of course they were-- we were turned down and he had to go before the county judge and it ended up all five of us being transferred here into Bristow in the eighth grade. GS: Wow, did-- so you didn' ; t have an eighth grade graduation at Pine Hill, did you? MW: I didn' ; t, no. GS: Yeah. But they, the school would? Would they have an eighth grade graduation? MW: Oh yes, yes. GS: And where did most of the kids continue their education? MW: A lot of the kids that lived north of the school went to Olive to school GS: Okay MW: And we had a basketball team at Pine Hill and we played, we used to go to Olive and play grade school basketball with them, we' ; ve gone to Kellyville, we' ; ve gone to Gipsy, and-- GS: Did you go to Depew? MW: No we never did go to Depew. And we went to tournaments at Mannford and yeah. GS: And you played softball? Was it the same way?MW: Yeah GS: That' ; s cool MW: Yeah GS: Did you take a sack lunch to school? MW: Some of the time we did, and then sometimes we had-- there was a couple of ladies that used to cook, oh gosh the food was good. I mean, it was like-- it was like home cookin' ; GS: Yeah MW: Yeah because, you know, not as many kids and-- GS: None of this microwave cooking MW: No. no. GS: Okay, was your teacher Mrs. Crow and your next one, were they very strict? MW: Well, you know I don' ; t recall of being strict and all because kids growing up during that time minded GS: Yes MW: They did, there was discipline at home. And so many of the families out there have four to five, six kids, you know? They had big families GS: Yeah MW: And there just wasn' ; t a disciplining problem, you just knew to behave when you went to school. GS: Do you remember anything else about the Pine Hill School? MW: No I think I pretty much covered it. GS: Okay good, now you' ; ve mentioned you were brought up in the Church of God, and you mentioned the Church of God campground, is it--was it back then in the same place that it was in the 70' ; s? MW: Yes GS: Okay, do you remember by chance when they bought that property for a campground and when it was sold? MW: I don' ; t remember exactly what year they bought it, they bought that from my husband' ; s parents. GS: Oh really? MW: Yeah GS: I did not know that! MW: Yeah, yeah his parents lived just north of the campground. GS: And what was their name? MW: Wheeler GS: What was the first name? MW: Oscar Wheeler GS: Oscar Wheeler? Okay MW: Oscar and Marie GS: Well MW: Yeah, he sold them that property to start a campground GS: To start the campground, and so was it there in the 40' ; s? MW: No, if it was, it was probably the late 40' ; s GS: Okay MW: Because I know it was there when I-- ' ; cus we were going to the-- we had a, they later built a country church, I think the Bristow church more or less helped to get that started, they built a country church a mile north of where we live GS: Yeah MW: And we went to church there from, I forgot how old I was when we started-- first started going. And we came into the Bristow church in the summer of 1953 GS: Okay MW: Before I started my senior year of high school GS: Okay MW: Yeah GS: What was medical care like when you were a child? Did you go to the doctor much? MW: Oh not a whole lot, but I think people just basically you knew what to do, ya know? GS: Uh-huh MW: And my grandmother Baker, she used to come out to the farm, there was a certain plant out there that it grew in the farm in the barn lot GS: Uh-huh MW: And I don' ; t remember the name of that plant, I can pic-- I can see it in my mind. It had blooms on it, and she would pick the blooms and I assume took leaves and whatever. She would come out and gather stuff and bring home and make savv (ph) and stuff out of certain plants that grew on the farm out there. GS: That' ; s a neat part of the way people were brought up back then, they had to be self-sufficient. MW: You-- yeah, you did. It had to be a pretty serious matter to go to the doctor GS: Yeah. Did you have a family doctor? MW: Yes, we doctored with Dr. King, I' ; m sure you' ; ve-- you probably know-- remember him GS: I remember Dr. King and his little black powder (Laughing) MW: We-- we used him and then we used Dr. Cowart (ph) and Dr. Cisler (ph) as long as they were here at the-- they were in the hospital GS: Okay MW: You know, that was there next door to the American Legion hut GS: Okay, yes. MW: It' ; s where they were GS: Do you know who delivered you? MW: Dr. Cowart GS: Okay, did they make house calls back then? MW: Oh yeah, oh yeah GS: (Laughing) Now you were born in a hospital, were most of the people your age born in the hospital do you think around here, or were some born at home? MW: Oh that I don' ; t know because my mom had surgery when I was born so GS: Oh okay, were you ever hospital-- were you ever hospitalized as a child? MW: Yes GS: Okay, do you have any memories of that? MW: Oh yes GS: What happened? MW: Well-- GS: If you' ; d rather not say-- MW: I' ; d rather not GS: That' ; s okay MW: I' ; d rather not go into that GS: Yup that' ; s fine MW: I' ; d rather not GS: That' ; s fine, but you survived well so MW: I survived, yes GS: So that' ; s good, very good. What are your recollections of the city of Bristow? MW: Well, I mean it was nice because you could buy about anything you wanted because you had Pennys, you had Anthonys, and then there was Strongs there, there was the Globe store, the Grand Leader store (ph) GS: Oh I don' ; t remember that one, where was that? MW: The Grand Leader, let' ; s see. It was there on main street, and I' ; m thinking it was in that block from seventh to eighth GS: Okay MW: Safeway was on the corner of eighth and main GS: And what did they sell? MW: Who? GS: Grand Leader MW: Clothes GS: Clothing store MW: Women' ; s clothing GS: Okay MW: And of course the Globe store sold women' ; s clothing GS: Yes MW: And then-- then there was Shamuses (ph) GS: Yes MW: Down on south main GS: Uh-huh MW: And so there was plenty places to shop GS: Not like today MW: Not like today GS: What kind of shops did your mother frequent when she-- when you were growing up? MW: Well mainly Pennys, Pennys and Anthonys, StrongsGS: Yeah MW: I mean even-- even after we-- after I married and even after we moved back here, I bought all of my shoes at StrongsGS: Yup, we did too. I loved the little Polly Parrot thing with the shoe that you would get a little-- now the parrot would lay an egg, it was lots of fun. Did you ever eat out at the restaurants in town? MW: Oh yes, we had to eat at Busches (ph) when they were open, we had-- had eaten at Hamburger Kings before, and I' ; m sure there' ; s other restaurants that we ate at. GS: Did they have any big holiday events in town back then when you were growing up? Like Santa clause coming at Christmas or anything? MW: Oh yeah, they always had the Christmas parade GS: Okay MW: In fact, one year at the Christmas parade, they handed out candy canes and they had numbers on them, and one year there was a kid from the people lived north of the school, and he won the bicycle they gave, a boys bicycle that year. And he came from a family of about five kids GS: Aw, that' ; s wonderful MW: Yeah, and then they always had-- it was next door to community bank, they had a haunted house or whatever GS: How fun! (Laughing) MW: Yeah [Indecipherable] GS: Did you ever go in it? MW: Oh yeah, yeah, uh-huh GS: Were you scared? MW: Well, usually it was with somebody, you know. GS: Was it laughable or was it scary? MW: Well it was a little scary, but a little gross (Laughing) GS: Okay, when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? MW: Oh, I don' ; t know. Really, mother really wanted me to go onto school, and of course I took all commotional subjects in High School, and I said well, it-- I' ; ll tell ya, I said " ; If I can' ; t get a-- if I can' ; t get a job when I graduate, I' ; ll go with Drawns (ph) business school in Tulsa" ; GS: Yup MW: Well, graduated in May and I [Indecipherable] the first part of July, J.L. Darnell was county superintendent of the schools and he had come to the house and we were gone, and back then you left notes on your screen door with a bobby pin GS: Uh-huh MW: And he left a note telling me that if I wanted to come to work for him, to be there on a certain day at a certain time and the job' ; s yours GS: Wow, that' ; s wonderful! MW: So I went to work-- worked for him in July of 54' ; GS: Was that for the school system? MW: That was-- he was-- he was county superintendent of all of the country schools GS: Oh okay MW: He probably kinda like advisor to the independent schools, like Bristow and Sapulpa. Well I don' ; t know about Sapulpa, Sapulpa and Bristow it was more the ones that came into the office were like the superintendents and all up in Depew, Gipsy, Slick, and those schools did come into the office. GS: Where was his office? MW: In the court house in Sapulpa GS: In Sapulpa, okay MW: Yeah GS: What other kinds of jobs did you have? MW: Well after him, I quit when I had Cleta. I worked for Winter Work (ph) in 54' ; and I quit at the end of 56' ; , she was born in January of 57' ; , and then he would have me come back to help. See, I had to close out all of- all of the rural country schools and back then, there was a bunch. GS: A lot more than today MW: Oh yeah, see about all' ; s today is Lone Star about out south of Sapulpa and-- and, well they don' ; t even have a country superintendent anymore. GS: Oh MW: So I don' ; t know how all of that goes, you know. But he' ; d have me come in to help close out the schools because he had-- the lady that he had hired to replace me was only there when she went to work in January so she wasn' ; t there long enough to really be that familiar at close out time GS: Right, right MW: And then when Cleta was, oh she was about eight months old I guess, something like that, went to work at the bank in Sapulpa GS: Okay MW: So from then on it was banking GS: Banking, and you were with American National bank MW: 20 years GS: For 20 years, which later became Spirit Bank MW: Yeah GS: You never served in the military, did you? MW: No GS: Did Pete? MW: Yes, he was in two years GS: In what area? MW: Korea GS: Korea? MW: MhmGS: And what branch of the service was he in? MW: Army GS: He was in the army MW: Yeah the day that they-- they left Oklahoma City to, he had finished boot camp and everything at Fort Sill, and the day he left Oklahoma City for Camp Stoneham (ph) in California, Eisenhower signed the peace treaty and they didn' ; t-- course on the plane they didn' ; t know that until they got to California GS: Wow MW: But still, then he-- he guarded prisoners part of that time too, then of course he was in the artillery so they were the ones that set up everything and, I mean-- GS: Were you married then? MW: No GS: No, good. Do you have any other memories of the Korean war? MW: No, because with that peace treaty things had kind of settled down to a point, but they still had to go out and set up just to keep things going in case something broke out GS: Yeah MW: To know exactly what they had to do to-- GS: They had to be peace keepers I guess MW: I didn' ; t know this, but Steve has talked about it. He had told Steve that, I didn' ; t know about it, he lost-- their group lost their colors while they were in Korea over something, but they didn' ; t get them back GS: Now what does that mean, lost their colors? MW: Well it' ; s-- it' ; s to do with military, however, you know, so. GS: Okay now Korea war was in the 50' ; s, do you have any memories of World War II?MW: Oh yeah GS: What are your memories there? MW: I know where, I was-- well let' ; s see. I think I was six, no war broke out the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, was in 41' ; pleasant day, I think it was 41' ; , I would' ; ve been-- I was five, going on six. We were in Oklahoma City at my aunts' ; house, and my uncle was in the service and he was home on leave and they went to-- my grandparents lived in Illinois but they were here-- they were visiting. And they went to get gas in the car and all and they heard it on the radio, and they came back and of course they didn' ; t want grandma to know what was happening, and I remember he was even in Military clothes GS: Oh wow MW: And he was called right back up and he was in four years GS: Oh no MW: Yes GS: What branch? MW: He was in the Army GS: In the army MW: Yeah he served over in Guam and [Indecipherable] and all in that area, yeah, yeah he told us after he got out of the service that there was many times all they had to eat was monkey meat and cow, and coconuts GS: Oh my gosh MW: Yeah GS: That would be so hard MW: Yeah GS: Do you remember life being different when you were-- during World War II, I mean, you know, sacrifices or things you couldn' ; t get or anything like that? MW: Oh yeah, I can remember mother had ration stamps and there was a office next door there at the corner of eighth and main, Safeway was there for a good many years GS: Uh-huh MW: And next door, there was office in there, it was a ration board they called it. And I remember one time that mother came in to see if she could get extra sugar to do her canning with, and I-- I don' ; t know if she got it or not, but I remember her having ration stamps when you' ; d go to the store to use, and back then they' ; d use mils GS: They used-- oh mils! The little-- MW: Yeah GS: Tenth of a penny MW: Yeah GS: I' ; ve seen those MW: Yeah GS: What did you read the newspapers any growing up? MW: I don' ; t remember us actually having the newspaper, the Tulsa World at that time. We used-- you listened more to the radio GS: Okay, right. Thinking back over your life, what would you consider to be the most important inventions that you' ; ve seen in your lifetime? That' ; s a hard one because there' ; ve been so manyMW: There' ; s been so many, that probably-- because see even when we got electricity, they had electric irons at that point GS: MhmMW: Probably TV was one of the most important, you know, other than your radio. GS: It brought the world into your living room, didn' ; t it? MW: Yes, it did, uh-huh GS: How is the world different now than when you were a child? MW: Horrible. GS: I understand that MW: There' ; s a-- the lack of discipline in, I hate to say this, there' ; s a lack of discipline that has come about during all that time of don' ; t whip your kids, don' ; t this, don' ; t that, and it' ; s mainly the lack of discipline. GS: I agree with ya. As you see it, what are the biggest problems that face our nation now, and how do you think they could be solved? MW: I think a lot of it' ; s greed, with-- I' ; m just gonna be frank. I think it' ; s the greed with the politicians, one trying to outdo the other, the party is-- the party itself has got to, it' ; s just my way or the highway, and so therefore it' ; s just a constant-- GS: We are very divided MW: We are, the division that has come about GS: Is there anything else that you can think of that you' ; d like to add that I didn' ; t think to ask you? I don' ; t think I asked you what Cletus did for a living? MW: He went to work when he got out of the service, he spent two years, then he got out of service and he went to work for a industrial supply company in Tulsa. He started out filling orders in the-- in the, well it' ; s just filling orders and stuff that the company sold, and then later on he moved up to counter sales, and then later on he moved into head telephone salesman for the company, and then he was put over the telephone department, and by then they had outside salesmen, and by then he was ready to get outside. And they-- but they put someone else in, there was a opening and they put someone else in instead, and he went to another company and put his application in and of course they called the company to get his-- GS: Information MW: Information GS: Uh-huh MW: And they ended up and gave him a raise to keep him GS: Well good, they can help out [Indecipherable] employee MW: And then later on then he-- one of the salesmen had a heart attack and died immediately and he got the job as outside salesman, and he was with the company 25 years GS: Wow MW: And health reasons he had to-- just had to quit. GS: What company was that again? MW: It was called Marsuco (ph) in Tulsa, it started out Marshall Supply, and then later as time went on to Marsuco and, yeah. But he spent 25 years there. GS: Well, that' ; s a long time. Well Monta Jean I just thank you ever so much for coming in and talking to us, we appreciate you and someday this will be put on the website so your words will be available for all posterity, thank you. MW: Yeah I, ya know, I don' ; t mind, you know, sharing audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2020-11_Wheeler,_Monta_Jean.xml OHP-2020-11_Wheeler,_Monta_Jean.xml
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Monta Jean Wheeler
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In this 2020 interview, Monta Jean Wheeler shares her experiences growing up in the Bristow area. She discusses her childhood, the various businesses throughout Bristow, and the impact that World War II had on Bristow.
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OHP-2020-11
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2020-11-11
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audio
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
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English
Type
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sound, oral history
dairy farm
farming
holidays
hospital
Korean War
Native American allotment
peanuts
Pine Hill School
restaurants
statehood
stores
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856cc5fcee067cfc10e8569644200634
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Title
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Family Histories
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Oral History
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Oral accounts of various family histories
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
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Interviewer
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Debbie Blansett
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Myra Fadely
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Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-15_Fadely,_Myra.xml
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5.4 March 17, 2021 OHP-2021-15 Myra Fadely OHP-2021-15 0:00-47:02 'Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive' Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Myra Fadely Debbie Blansett MP3 1:|51(12)|63(7)|77(6)|87(5)|98(7)|127(10)|134(8)|148(7)|164(10)|180(2)|189(5)|202(8)|210(17)|233(7)|243(7)|267(1)|289(13)|302(14)|317(5)|334(7)|348(7)|359(5)|369(5)|379(3)|392(5)|405(5)|439(12)|455(6)|477(5)|486(11)|506(2)|518(15)|525(16)|538(5)|566(5)|578(14)|602(11)|615(14)|649(13)|668(8)|697(5)|731(4)|744(5)|757(2)|771(1)|796(7)|833(3) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/Myra Fadely.mp3 Other audio 0 Family DB: Alright I think we’re going, let’s start. This is Debbie Blansett with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is March 17th, 2021 and I’m sitting here with Myra Fadely who’s going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Okay, so now we just talk. MF: Okay, well I’m happy to be able to give you a little bit about my life in Bristow, Oklahoma. To start with, I did not move to Bristow until December, 1971—71’? Yes, yes. And the funny thing about it was that it was just like two days before Christmas and I told my children that we weren’t going to have a Christmas tree because it was too much trouble and we didn’t know where our decorations were or anything. Brett Fadely ; Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow, Oklahoma ; Dallas, Texas ; Debbie Blansett ; Jean Ann ; Jean Ann Fadely ; Jean Ann Wilson ; Kemps Drug Store ; Myra Fadely ; Scott Fadely ; Topeka, Kansas https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25182641/jean-ann-wilson Jean Ann Fadely Wilson 140 Early Life DB: I’d love to hear some about your early life MF: Okay DB: Even if it wasn’t in Bristow, let’s hear a little bit about your early life MF: Okay, I can tell you I was born in a little Podunk town in Arkansas named West Point. There was a school, there was a little store that also served as the post office, and there was a gas station and that was it. And my dad worked at a plant that employed people in that area. Ginger Rogers ; Independence, Kansas ; John Fadely ; Margie Lou ; Marion, Ohio ; Polly Kelly ; Stamps Baxter Boys ; Topeka, Kansas ; Tracey Kelly ; West Point, Arkansas 525 Dentistry MF: Well, we had only been here maybe a year and one day Doctor Reed McCullough (ph) who is a dentist called and asked if I would like to work in his dental office, and the kids were all in school and I thought hmm I’ve got time, I need to be doing something so I said sure. So I went, like the next day, and didn’t know what to wear but I thought okay it’s a doctor’s office, everything’s always white. So I had this cute little white dress so I sashayed down there and they laughed at me. Anyway I found out that I needed some scrubs so they happened to have scrubs and gave me them. I worked in that office for Dr. McCullough and later for Dr. McCullough and Dr. Corwin who came to the practice for 30 years, I worked in that office and they were very good to me and very nice people and I got to learn about almost everybody in Bristow. Of course today when I see them at Walmart or somewhere, I look at their faces and know I remember them but I can’t remember their names American National Bank ; Dental Association of Oklahoma ; Dr. Corwin ; Dr. McCullough ; Independence, Kansas ; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Oklahoma Dental Assistants ; Reed McCullough ; Sinclair ; Sinclair Gas Station ; Tulsa, Oklahoma 938 Jean Anns School of Dance MF: One thing I remember about that station is on Fourth of July, you know everybody’s wanting to buy fireworks. Well John sat up, got a firecracker stand and my kids ran the firecracker stand and of course all of their friends were down there all day long and Jean Ann, my daughter, would even sunbath on top of it and they had more fun doing that DB: On top of the station? MF: On top of the stand, on top of the stand DB: On top of the firework stand? MF: Yes, yeah you could go by and she’d be laying up there sunbathing. DB: Well later on, didn’t she do the swimming pool? Bristow High School ; Jean Ann Fadely Wilson ; John Fadely ; Presbyterian Church ; Rolland Building ; UCO https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25182641/jean-ann-wilson Jean Ann Fadely Wilson 1168 Jean Ann MF: It’s still there today. You want me to tell about Jean Ann? DB: Sure MF: Okay, Jean Ann, she was probably the best known person for miles around and everybody loved her and she would do anything you asked her to do. A lot of the times, people would hire her to go embarrass people when they were having their birthdays when they were having their birthday dinner out somewhere, and she would go and sing and dance and embarrass them to death. Anyway, she had a really nice place to have her dancing now then, and she had lots of students every year more would sign up. At that time, she also had dancers in Depew and later on in Stroud, she owned a building in Stroud and at Depew the school, they let her use the school property. Depew, Oklahoma ; Jean Ann ; Jean Ann Fadely Wilson ; Jennifer Kemp ; Makayla Wilson ; Stroud, Oklahoma https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25182641/jean-ann-wilson Jean Ann Fadely Wilson 1597 Freeland Center DB: Well I think it’s interesting at the—when we built the Freeland center MF: Oh yes, yeah. DB: Tell about that and what they put in the stage and— MF: Of course in Bristow, there was really no good place to have dance recitals, and we had one or two over at, what is that building there? DB: Oh at the— MF: Parking lot behind the— DB: American Legion MF: American Legion building, yeah. DB: And we had some in Depew, in the auditorium at Depew Alisha ; American Legion ; Chip Cooper ; Consolidated Turbine Specialist ; Freeland Center ; Grand Ole Opry ; Home Alone ; Jean Ann Fadely Wilson ; Makayla Wilson ; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Ryan Wilson https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25182641/jean-ann-wilson Jean Ann Fadely Wilson 2130 Strongs DB: Now we talked a little bit before we started the recording about how Bristow has changed in the 50 years you’ve been here and the 40 years I’ve been here, and you were telling me about Strongs, you might tell what kind of store that was and tell your story that goes with. MF: Okay, it was a store on main street that was—we called it Strongs because Mr. Strong owned it and he had a lot of clothing in there and maybe some housewares, I can’t remember for sure. I remember the clothing and the shoes, he had shoe department. Well I bought a pair, this has been a hundred years ago DB: It feels like it MF: I bought a pair of snow boots, they’re all furry and they’ve got the thick rubber sole on them and lace up, you know and they’re really cute I think. Because when I wear them nowadays, and yes I do still wear them, you couldn’t tell that they’ve ever been worn. DB: And I’ll take a picture so that it can be attached Mr. Strong ; Strongs 2239 Church MF: Oh and speaking of church, I’m a member of the Presbyterian church that is a hundred and five years now old. It is the most beautiful church, has windows by Tiffany and I love everybody there DB: It’s on the historic MF: It’s on the national historical societies register DB: Mhm MF: Yeah, anyway we have good people at that church and right now we do not have a regular minister, but we have some members, one of them Debbie’s daughter-in-law. Cara (ph) is one of those members that fills in for the pulpit every Sunday DB: She’s a good little preacher Cara ; Presbyterian Church 2322 Businesses MF: I’ll tell you about something else we used to have in Bristow was a skating rink DB: Yes MF: You remember that? DB: I do MF: Were you here? DB: I do remember two skating rinks MF: Oh really? And there was a bowling ally DB: One was underground MF: That’s the one I remember DB: And it had a wooden floor and it was on sixth, it was on sixth street—east sixth and then where the casino is, there was another skating rink and it was, I mean for 1980’s it was pretty stylish. It wasn’t a wood floor American National Bank ; bowling ally ; Carrie K ; Krummes ; Paddens Place ; Paula Womack ; Pauline Padden ; skating rink ; Spirit Bank ; Taxi service 2504 Gum Story DB: But it’s been interesting to see Bristow change through the years and I appreciate your time today and telling us about what you remember about Bristow and some of your life stories. Before we go, is there anything else? I see here in WWII you had a gum story, did you wanna share a gum story? MF: Gum? DB: You don’t remember? It says “Gum story” next to rations MF: Yes,yes DB: Did you wanna share? Independence, Kansas ; Leslie, Arkansas ; WWII In this 2021 interview, Myra Fadely shares her experience in the Bristow area. She discusses the Freeland Center and the different businesses. Interviewer: Debbie Blansett Interviewee: Myra Fadely Other Persons: Date of Interview: March 17, 2021 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Abby Thompson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-2021-15 at 00:00 to 47:02 Abstract: Preface: The following oral history testimony is the result of a cassette tape interview and is part of the Bristow Historical Society, Inc.' ; s collection of oral histories. The interview was transcribed and processed by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc., with financial assistance from the Montfort Jones & ; Allie Brown Jones Foundation. Rights to the material are held exclusively by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc. The reader should bear in mind that he or she is reading a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than written prose. Insofar as possible, this transcript tries to represent the spoken word. Thus, it should be read as a personal memoir and not as either a researched monograph or edited account. To the extent possible, the spelling of place names, foreign words, and personal names have been verified, either by reference resources or directly by the interviewee. In some cases, a footnote has been added to the transcript in order to provide more information and/or to clarify a statement. Some uncertainties will inevitably remain regarding some words and their spellings. In these scenarios, a (ph) follows a word or name that is spelled phonetically. The notation [indecipherable] is used when the transcriber has not been able to comprehend the word or phrase being spoken. The notation [inaudible] is used where there is more mumbling than words, or when interference on the tape has made transcription impossible. DB: Alright I think we' ; re going, let' ; s start. This is Debbie Blansett with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is March 17th, 2021 and I' ; m sitting here with Myra Fadely who' ; s going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Okay, so now we just talk. MF: Okay, well I' ; m happy to be able to give you a little bit about my life in Bristow, Oklahoma. To start with, I did not move to Bristow until December, 1971--71' ; ? Yes, yes. And the funny thing about it was that it was just like two days before Christmas and I told my children that we weren' ; t going to have a Christmas tree because it was too much trouble and we didn' ; t know where our decorations were or anything. Well, my husband took the kids and went out and somewhere, I think it was Kemps drug store that had Christmas trees, but they only had one left and it was the most pitiful looking thing you have ever seen. So they just gave it--they gave it to him. DB: Well there' ; s a deal MF: Yeah. Anyway, I am happy to tell you that I have three children. My first was my son Scott Fadely who was born in Topeka, Kansas, and I have my next son is Brett Fadely who was born in Dallas, Texas, and then there' ; s my daughter Jean Ann who was born in Houston, Texas. So we kind of moved around a little bit, but we' ; ve been in Bristow for a long time now and I' ; m proud to say that I love it here and my kids have grown up to be very good people. I can tell you something about my grand--my parents. DB: I' ; d love to hear some about your early life MF: Okay DB: Even if it wasn' ; t in Bristow, let' ; s hear a little bit about your early life MF: Okay, I can tell you I was born in a little Podunk town in Arkansas named West Point. There was a school, there was a little store that also served as the post office, and there was a gas station and that was it. And my dad worked at a plant that employed people in that area. He worked there for several years and he also bought a farm down there and he raised cotton and strawberries and watermelons. If you want to hear a good story about watermelons ; one night, my dad snuck down to the watermelon patch and hid in the bushes because he had heard that some boys were taking his watermelons. He had his gun with him, so he hid in those bushes and when those guys came over and started picking his watermelons up, he shot up in the air and they ran so fast and he turned on the little electric wire that he had strung around and boy did they get out of there in a hurry. He was something else. DB: That' ; s a good story, that' ; s a good story. MF: Let' ; s see, we moved to Marion, Ohio when I was in the fourth grade. Oh let me tell you, while we were in West Point, we went to this little Baptist church and my sister Polly and I were always singing in the Baptist church and my sister played the piano, and we had a little old Baptist minister who--minister who thought we were hot stuff singing, and he would take us around to funerals, weddings, or any place that he thought we needed to sing. And Polly was so short that one time we had to sing for a--you' ; ve probably heard of the Stamps Baxter Boys (ph), anyway they were a men' ; s quartet that were very famous back in those days, and they sung on the radio. Well this little minister got us on the show and we were going to sing, and Polly had to stand on the stand because she was a little bit too short to reach the microphone, and we started singing and we got to one point and Polly forgot the words and I got down off of that and I said " ; I' ; m not singing with you anymore, you can' ; t remember the words" ; and I walked off. DB: Do you remember about how old you all were? MF: Oh, probably--oh well I was, when we moved away I was in the fourth grade. It was probably, I don' ; t know we were-- DB: Second or third grade? MF: Yeah DB: Seven or eight. And-- MF: We' ; ve always-- DB: Your sister is Polly Kelly, correct? MF: Polly Kelly, mhm Polly Kelly. She' ; s married--was married to Tracey Kelly (ph) and-- DB: I forget that, but when you said Polly I was--I remembered. MF: Yeah she' ; s my buddy, that girl is. Anyway DB: So then you moved to Ohio MF: We moved to Ohio and we stayed there until we moved to Independence, Kansas and I entered the seventh grade in Independence, Kansas and I don' ; t know how it happened, but every year that I was in seventh grade, high school, junior in college, college, I got chosen as a cheerleader every year. And that' ; s why I hate going to football, basketball games because then I had to go to every one of them. And anyway I had a good, good life as a high school student and was involved in a bunch of things. And then on the first day that I went to visit the college up in Topeka, Kansas, a friend of mine and I drove up there and we saw some guys playing football out on one of the lawns so we parked the car and watched and I said " ; Hey Margie Lou (ph), look at that guy over" ; I said " ; That is the most handsome man I have ever seen" ; well somebody told him that he--and a day or so later he called me and asked me for a date and I thought " ; Oh this is just wonderful" ; you know, and he was. He was gorgeous! Now those of you who have seen him, who saw him in later years may not think so, because he let himself go and got a big tummy and all of that, but he was beautiful when he was in college. John. DB: And that was your husband? MF: That was my husband John Fadely DB: And you were a little cheerleader MF: I was a cheerleader DB: He probably thought you were as cute as he was handsome MF: Well when I went off to college up in Topeka, I thought I don' ; t think I' ; ll try for cheerleader because nobody knows me. Well, they did! They chose me. So I know all about cheerleading and dancing, I love to dance. When I was in high school, there was one boy that was a good dancer and we would actually do performances where we would do, you know like Fredistare (ph) and Ginger Rogers (ph) type things, so loved dancing. Anyway, you want to hear about more about Bristow probably. DB: Well I' ; m ready whenever you' ; re ready MF: Well, we had only been here maybe a year and one day Doctor Reed McCullough (ph) who is a dentist called and asked if I would like to work in his dental office, and the kids were all in school and I thought hmm I' ; ve got time, I need to be doing something so I said sure. So I went, like the next day, and didn' ; t know what to wear but I thought okay it' ; s a doctor' ; s office, everything' ; s always white. So I had this cute little white dress so I sashayed down there and they laughed at me. Anyway I found out that I needed some scrubs so they happened to have scrubs and gave me them. I worked in that office for Dr. McCullough and later for Dr. McCullough and Dr. Corwin who came to the practice for 30 years, I worked in that office and they were very good to me and very nice people and I got to learn about almost everybody in Bristow. Of course today when I see them at Walmart or somewhere, I look at their faces and know I remember them but I can' ; t remember their names DB: Well people change MF: People change DB: Mhm. And when you worked for Dr. McCullough and Corwin, you--what did you do in the office? MF: Oh well when I first started out, I watched, you know, for a few days as they did surgery and stuff and then I worked as a chair side assistant and I did that for several years and I would go to classes in Tulsa or somewhere and learn more and belonged to the dental association of Oklahoma and they had also a part of that was for dental assistants assisting. And at one point, I was the president of that organization for Oklahoma Dental Assistants and finally after 30 years, I decided to retire and the very next year, Dr. Corwin built this fancy new office and somebody said " ; Man they must have paid you really good" ; because now they had enough money to build a new building DB: Now that you were retired MF: That ain' ; t so DB: No, during your time when you were the--when you sat next to the patient, did you see things change? The practice change, what you--? MF: Oh yes, it' ; s--it is so much easier now. Way back then, we had the one thing that really changed is taking x-rays. We took them the same way, but then we had to go in this dark room where we had to dip them in different solutions, you know, and then hang them up to dry, it was a mess. Now, they take them and they can see them right then, no mess. And I can tell by the way Dr. Corwin does surgeries and fillings and things that it' ; s all improved. He can do like a--like he did a root canal on me a couple of months ago, it didn' ; t take probably 15 minutes. DB: And they still did root canals when you went to work there, but it was hours long procedure. MF: Oh yes it was, it was. It' ; s so much easier now. DB: And when you started working, where was the office? MF: Right behind that building on seventh and main. At that time, it was--was it a business or was it somebody office? I can' ; t remember but it was the office right behind the building on seventh and main DB: On west seventh? MF: West seventh, uh-huh, and it was not very big DB: Kind of near what used to be American National Bank, which is now the library? MF: It was between the corner, yeah and the library, mhm. Yeah it, like I say it was--anything like Dr. Corwin has today, his office is really up to date and they can do just about anything there. DB: Well when you moved here in 1971, what did your husband do? MF: He worked for a company that--where he dealt with customers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and the reason we ended up in Bristow is because my parents had moved here from Independence, Kansas, my dad was working for Sinclair and they moved here and so when we found out that we were moving from Houston, Texas to Bristow--or to Oklahoma, my sister Polly says " ; Well you' ; ve got to come to Bristow because it' ; s kind of in between and he can be close to either city" ; so we moved here, and I' ; ve been here a long time it seems like. DB: And at one time he had a Sinclair gas station MF: He had a gas station down on main street on the way to the turnpike DB: Yes MF: Yeah DB: Was it near the Pizza Hut? MF: Uh-huh, right next door yeah. DB: And how long did he do that? MF: I can' ; t remember, for several years yeah. I was trying to think, we got divorced, I can' ; t even remember when that was, but he--I think he may have even been divorced then when he ran that station DB: Well I know in 1981 when I came here, it was still in operation MF: Yeah DB: And I remember when--I don' ; t remember when it left though MF: One thing I remember about that station is on Fourth of July, you know everybody' ; s wanting to buy fireworks. Well John sat up, got a firecracker stand and my kids ran the firecracker stand and of course all of their friends were down there all day long and Jean Ann, my daughter, would even sunbath on top of it and they had more fun doing that DB: On top of the station? MF: On top of the stand, on top of the stand DB: On top of the firework stand? MF: Yes, yeah you could go by and she' ; d be laying up there sunbathing. DB: Well later on, didn' ; t she do the swimming pool? MF: She did the swimming pool, that girl she--want me to tell you about her dance studio? DB: Sure, sure MF: Okay when she graduated from Bristow High School, I wanted her to go to college. She said " ; I don' ; t really want to go to college" ; she said " ; All I want to do is to teach little kids out to dance' ; and I said, well you know you need to go to college, so to please her own mother she went to college in Edmond and I can' ; t even think of the name of it DB: UCO MF: UCO, and she got in the phys-ed part of it over there because she was an acrobat too, and even one she was won the student of the year in that category at the college. Anyway after one year she said " ; Mom" ; she said " ; I don' ; t want to go back to college" ; she said " ; I want to teach kids how to dance" ; because she had taken dance, gosh almost all of her life, and I said " ; Okay, you figure it all out then" ; . Well the first place that we could find for her to teach was at our Presbyterian church and they have a big fellowship hall and they said that she could teach down there. Well of course starting off you didn' ; t have too many kids, so she had her classes down there then she got, I don' ; t know that she even filled out a whole year that year because she found out that there was a big old ball room up in the top of the old hotel and I-- DB: At the Rolland building? MF: Rolland building DB: MhmMF: There was a big old ball room up there and nobody was using it, so she talked with whoever was managing it and rented it and of course we' ; ve had lots of work to get it in shape but it had a wooden floor and lots of room, so she taught up there a year, maybe two, and then she wanted somewhere else. It was better, nicer, cooler in the summer, and she bought the building where the dance studio is today, and that was the one owned by a little lady, I can' ; t remember-- DB: But it' ; s on--it' ; s between ninth and tenth, eighth and ninth? On main street. Ninth and tenth? Eighth and Ninth? MF: Eight and tenth isn' ; t it? DB: Hm, but it' ; s on main street MF: Yes, it' ; s on main street DB: And it' ; s still there today MF: It' ; s still there today. You want me to tell about Jean Ann? DB: Sure MF: Okay, Jean Ann, she was probably the best known person for miles around and everybody loved her and she would do anything you asked her to do. A lot of the times, people would hire her to go embarrass people when they were having their birthdays when they were having their birthday dinner out somewhere, and she would go and sing and dance and embarrass them to death. Anyway, she had a really nice place to have her dancing now then, and she had lots of students every year more would sign up. At that time, she also had dancers in Depew and later on in Stroud, she owned a building in Stroud and at Depew the school, they let her use the school property. DB: And these kids would be from three or four years old? MF: Three DB: Until high school? MF: Uh-huh, yup they would do that. And she, well it' ; s kind of hard to talk about, but Jean Ann after years of teaching and everything, she lived next door to me and one day early in the morning, somebody was banging on my door and I go and it' ; s Jean Ann and she can' ; t talk, she' ; s--can hardly walk and she kept saying " ; Makayla, Makayla" ; well at that time, she had the little child named Makayla along with her son also. But anyway I said " ; I' ; ve got to call Chip" ; who' ; s our doctor in town and he lives just down the street from us. Well he was here in five minutes, and he said " ; She' ; s had a stroke" ; and so-- DB: And she wasn' ; t very old MF: Nuh-uh, I don' ; t remember, I have to figure things out DB: It' ; s alright, I remember her not being very old MF: Yeah, anyway we went to the hospital and it was decided that she had a stroke and somehow they figured out that it was in her brain, that she had cancer in her brain. And we went to the--Chip sent us to a specialist the next day in Tulsa, and we didn' ; t like him, for some reason we didn' ; t like him, and I have a niece who had had some problem with her brain and they had gone to this doctor that they really liked, so we got an appointment with him, and he told us that he could do surgery but that he wasn' ; t sure that he could get it all. And anyway, so she had the surgery and did fairly well, she at the time that this happened, she was still gonna be running the swimming pool also, and so she had to quit that and then it was in the summer time and she wasn' ; t having dance lessons and anyway, she lived fairly well just almost exactly one year. DB: From her stroke? MF: Yeah, and then of course she had that brain surgery DB: Mhm, mhm. MF: And we took her to Texas, we' ; d go down there for treatments, and finally Chip says " ; Myra" ; he says " ; She' ; s not gonna get well" ; and he said " ; I would, if she was my child, I would quit running her all over everywhere" ; . Anyway, so she did get to the point where she could hardly talk, but she was worried because it was time to sign kids up for dancing, " ; What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" ; and I said " ; Well, you can' ; t do it, you can' ; t do the classes" ; . One day I was over there, of course I was there all the time, somebody knocked on the door and it was Jennifer Kemp. DB: A miracle MF: A miracle, and Jennifer was like Jean Ann, she was a good dancer and she had been going taking dance in college and she traveled in different shows and things. Anyway, she said " ; Is there any way that I can help with the dance school?" ; And I said " ; Can you take over the dance school?" ; And she said " ; If that' ; s what you want" ; she says " ; That' ; s what I can do" ; and oh it just saved our lives, I mean Jean Ann was so worried about it. And ever since then, Jennifer is still doing dance lessons. DB: How long has that been? How long has Jean Ann been gone? MF: Well Jean Ann died in, oh when did she die? I have it somewhere. These dates just [Indecipherable] DB: Well see Makayla is-- MF: [Indecipherable] DB: How old is Makayla? MF: Makayla is 20, and she was 6 when she died DB: So 14 years ago MF: Yeah DB: 2007? So Jennifer' ; s been doing the dance studio for 14 years, no 15 MF: Yeah DB: For a while MF: Yeah she' ; s always--she' ; s done it since that-- DB: Jean Ann couldn' ; t do it anymore MF: do it anymore, mhm. DB: That' ; s just amazing. MF: It is, and Jennifer does a good job DB: Well I think it' ; s interesting at the--when we built the Freeland center MF: Oh yes, yeah. DB: Tell about that and what they put in the stage and-- MF: Of course in Bristow, there was really no good place to have dance recitals, and we had one or two over at, what is that building there? DB: Oh at the-- MF: Parking lot behind the-- DB: American Legion MF: American Legion building, yeah. DB: And we had some in Depew, in the auditorium at Depew MF: Yeah, and we did some in Stroud at their high school, and anyway she was a busy busy girl, I can tell you that. And when Jennifer took over, she did not do the other cities, towns. But I had a granddaughter who also took lessons from Jean Ann and she had graduated High School and was a good dancer and so she took over and taught some of the kids in Depew and Stroud DB: Ms. Mallory? MF: No, and that' ; s Alisha DB: Oh MF: A. L. I. S. H. A. She' ; s Scotts daughter DB: Oh MF: And that' ; s a sad story that I don' ; t want to go into, but Alisha died a horrible death, she was in the hospital for three months in Oklahoma City, in intensive care, she had two kidney transplants and one liver transplant DB: Oh my MF: They never really knew what was wrong with her or what was causing all her problems. Anyway, that' ; s that. DB: Well, what I thought was neat was when they build the auditorium and they put the stage in that they put a box in the floor MF: Yes, well Chip Cooper was kind of the instigator for getting the Freeland Center, which is a wonderful auditorium for Bristow and Jean Ann always wanted to have an auditorium, and when they were trying to get people to donate money for the building, a lot of money was given in her honor, which was fantastic. And Chip wanted some way to remember Jean Ann in the auditorium, and we kept trying to think of something and finally he came--he says " ; I know what we can do" ; he said " ; We' ; ll cut a hole in the stage and put her shoes in this hole and cover it with plastic so that the kids can dance on it and everything" ; and you know, but it' ; ll have her shoes in there with a little plaque on it. DB: And it' ; s still there MF: And it' ; s still there DB: Anybody that goes on that stage can see Jean Ann' ; s spot MF: They can DB: Which I think is just really neat because like even in Nashville when they had the Grand Ole Opry, they saved that circle and moved it to their new place and people stand in that circle so that kind of gives me warm fuzzies thinking about it, but I know when I stand on that stage right there Jean Ann is there with me, and that' ; s just kind of a neat thing for all of the generations to come. MF: Sometimes people who are performing there from out of town will ask about it and Chip will come and get me and say " ; go back there and tell them about that" ; and people are interested who don' ; t know the story, you know. DB: I think it' ; s a really good story. MF: But, another miracle was when Jean Ann, well she had a son named Ryan who is a very smart young man and he--he works for, he went to college for I think one year and, or longer than that, he only needed a few hours to get some kind of degree but he didn' ; t do it. Anyway, he works for, what is that company out there, I can' ; t ever remember the name, let me get it. Consolidated Turbine Specialist DB: Oh, uh-huh MF: I can' ; t ever remember that. He has a good job out there, he' ; s probably number three man out there. Has a good job, plus Ryan buys old houses in Bristow and remodels them and works on them and usually rents them, some of them he has sold, and he' ; s also built three houses in Bristow. So he' ; s a busy boy, and I' ; m very proud of him. And then Jean Anns other child is Makayla. Makayla is now 20 years old, and she was born with down syndrome. And everyone--when she was born, everybody, we had all these people out in the waiting room, it was wild. They had to come in and tell everybody to be quiet all the time. Anyway, we all wanted a girl and they let me go in the operating room actually and see her be born. And as soon as this baby girl came out, I was on the phone telling them " ; It' ; s a girl" ; and we were so thrilled, and anyway they took baby out to clean her up and another doctor came in and he said " ; I have news about baby, she has down syndrome" ; . We didn' ; t care what she had, she was our special little bundle and she has been a marvel DB: Absolutely a marvel MF: Everybody everywhere we go, everybody knows Makayla. She has accomplished so much, and-- DB: And touches every life she come in contact with, I mean nobody' ; s the same after they meet her. MF: I know, it' ; s amazing. And she' ; s 20 now and she' ; s graduated from High School, she was the prom queen, she' ; s been cheerleaders and-- DB: She went through dance MF: Oh yeah DB: Since she was little until she graduated and-- MF: She started at three years old and went every year, yup. DB: And she works at the swim pool in the summer, and does she do Home Alone? MF: Yeah DB: For the children? MF: Yes, she worked when she was in high school DB: Oh MF: She would work in the office, you know do things for the office in high school and then when she graduated, she has a job where she works at the kindergarten and home alone, which is-- DB: Oh, I didn' ; t know she worked at the kindergarten MF: --Where parents who work, home alone is a place where parents who work can leave their children and she kind of goes back and forth between home alone and the kindergarten and she loves it and they all love her, you can' ; t help but love Makayla. DB: Now we talked a little bit before we started the recording about how Bristow has changed in the 50 years you' ; ve been here and the 40 years I' ; ve been here, and you were telling me about Strongs, you might tell what kind of store that was and tell your story that goes with. MF: Okay, it was a store on main street that was--we called it Strongs because Mr. Strong owned it and he had a lot of clothing in there and maybe some housewares, I can' ; t remember for sure. I remember the clothing and the shoes, he had shoe department. Well I bought a pair, this has been a hundred years ago DB: It feels like it MF: I bought a pair of snow boots, they' ; re all furry and they' ; ve got the thick rubber sole on them and lace up, you know and they' ; re really cute I think. Because when I wear them nowadays, and yes I do still wear them, you couldn' ; t tell that they' ; ve ever been worn. DB: And I' ; ll take a picture so that it can be attached MF: Okay DB: To this story so-- MF: Okay DB: So we' ; ll all have a picture of Strongs snow boots MF: Yeah, people ask me " ; Where did you get those cute boots?" ; and I say " ; Way long time ago, Mr. Strongs" ; DB: Any other favorite stores you remember in Bristow that aren' ; t there anymore? MF: I remember the furniture, the big furniture store across the street, the--I know [Indecipherable] kind of ran it for a while, and they went to our church. Oh and speaking of church, I' ; m a member of the Presbyterian church that is a hundred and five years now old. It is the most beautiful church, has windows by Tiffany and I love everybody there DB: It' ; s on the historic MF: It' ; s on the national historical societies register DB: Mhm MF: Yeah, anyway we have good people at that church and right now we do not have a regular minister, but we have some members, one of them Debbie' ; s daughter-in-law. Cara (ph) is one of those members that fills in for the pulpit every Sunday DB: She' ; s a good little preacher MF: She is wonderful, and she had good news for us Sunday DB: Don' ; t talk about that yet MF: Okay, okay. Yeah Cara and your son are a big addition to our church and we just love them to death DB: Well they love the church, they do love their church. Well I see it on your-- MF: I' ; ll tell you about something else we used to have in Bristow was a skating rink DB: Yes MF: You remember that? DB: I do MF: Were you here? DB: I do remember two skating rinks MF: Oh really? And there was a bowling ally DB: One was underground MF: That' ; s the one I remember DB: And it had a wooden floor and it was on sixth, it was on sixth street--east sixth and then where the casino is, there was another skating rink and it was, I mean for 1980' ; s it was pretty stylish. It wasn' ; t a wood floor MF: See I don' ; t remember that DB: And it was--it was pretty fancy MF: And there was a bowling ally DB: That was before me, or I didn' ; t know about it MF: Seems like it was up there by KrummesDB: Oh, yes. In fact, I think it used to be in KrummesMF: Well that' ; s what I was thinking but I wasn' ; t for sure DB: Yes. There were dress stores MF: Uh-huh DB: There was Paddens Place (ph) and [Indecipherable] to dress store over there where Carrie K (ph) used to have a radio station MF: Oh radio station DB: And then [Indecipherable] MF: Oh yeah next door DB: Right there and she sold real high end fashion clothes for women, and then Paddens Place (ph) which was put in by Pauline Padden (ph) and then run later by her daughter Paula Womack (ph) MF: Yeah DB: Sold very nice women' ; s wear MF: Yup, and of course the bank has moved DB: The American National Bank that which became Spirit Bank, it was where the library is now and I think that was its second move when it went there, that was all before-- MF: Yeah it was on main street, wasn' ; t it? The beginning? DB: Yes, I believe the [Indecipherable] like across the street from where community bank is now is where it used--started out MF: Used to be DB: And then it moved to where the library is then they built a new building. So a lot of changes in 40 or 50 years in Bristow MF: Oh yeah DB: We were also talking about there used to be a taxi service MF: Oh yes DB: In Bristow MF: One little man DB: MhmMF: Yes DB: And he would come and pick people up and take them where they needed to go and--so those were some pretty good memories MF: Of course nowadays they have that bus DB: Yes MF: That they, you know, older people-- DB: A senior bus MF: Uh-huh DB: That takes people around where they need to go MF: Take people around, yeah DB: But it' ; s been interesting to see Bristow change through the years and I appreciate your time today and telling us about what you remember about Bristow and some of your life stories. Before we go, is there anything else? I see here in WWII you had a gum story, did you wanna share a gum story? MF: Gum? DB: You don' ; t remember? It says " ; Gum story" ; next to rations MF: Yes,yesDB: Did you wanna share? MF: When I was a kid, we went--we probably stayed at my grandfather' ; s house in Arkansas, we lived on little teeny town in Arkansas and he lived I don' ; t know how far away, it wasn' ; t too far because we could drive our car there in half a day. Anyway, he was a doctor in this little town up in the mountains in Arkansas called Leslie, Arkansas and it seemed like--my mother had two sisters and they were really close knit family with their dad, who was the doctor, and it seemed like that every summer we spent most of the summer at grandpa' ; s house. And upstairs there were three bedrooms and each daughter had their own bedroom and the kids slept on the floor or little beds in that room. Anyway, we spent a lot of time up there and in the town, there was a drug store and we could get a dime and go have a coke, you know at the drug store, or we could go to a little movie house for a dime DB: For a dime MF: And anyway, one thing that we always wanted was bubblegum. Well they never had bubblegum, and finally when the war was over or some celebration that I remember, we' ; ve heard that they got gum at the drug store. Well, one of my mothers had--sister had a son and they had quite a bit of money. Well that son had money and the rest of us were lucky to have a dime. So we go running down to the store and he beat us there and bought every piece of candy DB: Oh no! MF: Of gum that they had and wouldn' ; t let us have any. If he did, we had to give him something or something, but he was so stingy with that gum and I' ; ll never forget it. DB: That' ; s so funny, the things we remember. And I was also noticing here, probably because I told you my mother was born around the same time about when you were a girl and you were talking about your home life and that you had two sisters and you all shared the same bed? MF: Uh-huh DB: And you had feather pillows, that' ; s interesting. MF: My older sister was quite a bit older than we--than Polly and I were, but we all slept in the bed and I, somehow always got in the middle. And if you would cough, well for some reason I would cough during the night and my older sister would get up and check me and she' ; d say " ; shut up that coughing" ; and so we did that DB: I wonder, you come from a small place in Arkansas and then you went to Ohio, was it still a small town in Ohio? MF: Actually-- DB: Larger than-- MF: it was [Indecipherable], it was much larger DB: Much bigger MF: Yeah but we lived in out kind of in what you call the country, and we had our own school out there, it was a nice school. DB: And then you went to college in a small college MF: Independence DB: So when you did finally come and then Houston, that was huge MF: Oh yeah DB: And then you came to Bristow MF: That was-- DB: I mean, was it--it was a lot smaller than Houston, did it remind you of where you come from in Arkansas but it wasn' ; t quite that small? MF: Yeah, it, well yeah it was more like Independence, Kansas. A lot of people are familiar with Independence, Kansas, and yeah it was about the same as Independence I would say because we had good schools there and-- DB: And we had good [Indecipherable] MF: We have wonderful schools DB: And the people are close knit MF: Mhm, yup. DB: Well again I thank you for all your time today, I appreciate it. MF: Well, I hope that it' ; ll help some for-- DB: I know it-- MF: and people will get a thrill out of it maybe DB: I know they will, thank you Myra MF: You' ; re welcome audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-15_Fadely,_Myra.xml OHP-2021-15_Fadely,_Myra.xml
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Myra Fadely
Description
An account of the resource
In this 2021 interview, Myra Fadely shares her experience in the Bristow area. She discusses the Freeland Center and the different businesses.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
OHP-2021-15
Date
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2021-03-17
Format
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audio
Creator
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
Publisher
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
Rights
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
Language
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English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
sound, oral history
dance studio
dentistry
Freeland Center
Presbyterian Church
stores
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/981e84191af7067609710930b8aa11ba.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Family Histories
Type
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Oral History
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral accounts of various family histories
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Georgia Smith
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Myra Kemp
OHMS Object
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Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0067_Myra_Kemp.xml
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6.0 April 29, 2021 OHP-0067 Myra Kemp OHP-0067 00:48:07 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Myra Kemp Nanette Wampler Georgia Smith 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0067 Kemp, Myra.mp3 Other audio 1 Birth Georgia Smith 00:00
 ; This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. And this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is April 29, 2021, and I'm sitting here with Myra Kemp and Nanette Kemp [Wampler], who are going to tell us a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Now, Mrs. Kemp, could you give me your full name? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 00:35
 ; Myra Marie Kemp.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 00:39
 ; Myra Marie Kemp, and with us is her daughter, Nanette. Nanette, could you give me your full name please? 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 00:48
 ; Nanette Wampler.
 ; Myra Marie Hunt Kemp was born on June 17, 1925. She was born in Perry, Oklahoma at home. Myra says it was time to thrash on her grandfather's farm and she was born at noon when all of the thrashers were there. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Myra Marie Kemp ; Nanette Kemp Wampler ; Perry (Okla.) Birth 0 167 Parents and Siblings Georgia Smith 02:47
 ; 1925 and what were your parents names? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 02:52
 ; My mother was Arlene.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 02:58
 ; And what was her maiden name? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 02:59
 ; Brock.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 03:00
 ; Brock, and your father?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 03:04
 ; Virgil Hunt.
 ; Myra's mother was Arlene Brock Hunt. Her father's name was Virgil Hunt. Myra was one of five children. Her siblings were Elizabeth, Virgil Jr., David and Jimmy. Parents ; Arlene Brock Hunt ; Virgil Hunt ; Siblings Parents ; Siblings 0 251 Husband and Children Georgia Smith 04:11
 ; And you married Max Kemp? When did you marry him? 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 04:23
 ; 1951.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 04:25
 ; Thank you.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 04:26
 ; You're welcome. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 04:27
 ; Very good, 1951. That book helps, doesn't it?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 04:31
 ; Yes, it does.
 ; Myra was married to Max Kemp. They were married in 1951. Myra and Max had four children, Nanette, Susan, Ben and Jennifer. Husband ; Children ; Max Kemp ; Hominy (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Husband ; Children 0 322 Bristow Georgia Smith 05:22
 ; Okay? And what brought you to Bristow? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 05:28
 ; Max came to help his dad in the drug store. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 05:31
 ; Okay, so his father owned the drug store? What was it called back then? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 05:36
 ; Kemp Drug.
 ; Myra and her husband moved to Bristow when their oldest daughter was about a year old. They moved so that Max could help his father in the drug store that he owned, Kemp Drug. Bristow (Okla.) ; Max Kemp ; Kemp Drug ; Russell Kemp Bristow (Okla.) 0 416 Kemp's Drugstore Georgia Smith 06:56
 ; No, it was in town? That's enough. That's fine. And when did you and Max take over the ownership of the drugstore? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 07:14
 ; He bought it from his dad. 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 07:23
 ; I'm not sure. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 07:27
 ; Ben was born.
 ; Max and Myra eventually took over the drugstore. Max bought Kemp Drug from his father around 1959. It even had a soda fountain in the shop. Kemp Drug ; Max Kemp ; Russell Kemp ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Ben Kemp Kemp Drug 0 488 Living in Bristow Georgia Smith 08:07
 ; Yes, it would be nice. Okay, so tell me a little bit about your life after you moved here. What what did you do once you got here? What was your role? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 08:19
 ; I was mama. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 08:20
 ; You were mama to four kids. Well, probably three at the time.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 08:26
 ; Right. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 08:29
 ; So, when did you move out here on the ranch?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 08:41
 ; Let's see, 1960.
 ; Myra and Max ended up building a home out on a ranch in Bristow. They moved there around 1962. Myra has lived in that home for over sixty years. Bristow (Okla.) ; Don Carmen ; Christmas Bristow (Okla.) 0 569 Chores on the Ranch Georgia Smith 09:29
 ; Okay, so you were mainly homemaker. What, what kind of chores did you set your children to doing out here at the ranch? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 09:42
 ; Well, Max, we had some cattle, and Max had different hours, and at one time, when they were young, we all, how'd we handle that? 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 10:02
 ; Well, he was the main feeder. We'd drive, ride with him. We'd go in the back and just throw feed out sometimes.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 10:12
 ; Oh, they got off the bus, and we all went down to the barn and locked the door of the gate, and the kids and I put out the hay for the cattle the next morning, and Ben was a baby, so we'd put him in the hay and up. That's the way we did for a period of time. And then in the morning, he'd get up and come down and open the gate, and then he was, that was the feeding.
 ; Myra mainly played the role of homemaker. Her husband did have cattle on their ranch. Myra and the children helped with the feeding of the cattle. Max Kemp ; Ranch Chores ; Ranch 0 657 Meals Georgia Smith 10:57
 ; Okay, did you prepare all your meals out here? Did you eat out much? Or did you mostly cook at home?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 11:04
 ; We cooked at home.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 11:05
 ; Very good. 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 11:06
 ; We did eat out on Sunday after church. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 11:09
 ; Grandpa took us to 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 11:11
 ; Bush's Cafe, right, yes, and the J & ; J, oh, long time ago, yes, right? Remember that?
 ; Myra and the family ate most of their meals at home. They did eat out on Sundays with family. A couple of the restaurants that they visited were Bush's Cafe and J& ; J. Bush's Cafe ; J& ; J Meals 0 684 Movie Theater Georgia Smith 11:24
 ; Okay, what are your recollections of what Bristow was like when you first moved here? What type of businesses were there downtown, entertainment, maybe organizations that you were involved in when you first came?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 11:42
 ; Two movies.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 11:43
 ; Two movie theaters, The Princess and the Walmur.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 11:47
 ; Yes, that's about all I remember. The kids were little. That's about all I remember.
 ; Myra recalls the movie theaters that were in Bristow when her children were young. They were The Princess and The Walmur. movie theater ; The Princess ; The Walmur movie theater 0 718 Entertainment Georgia Smith 11:58
 ; Nanette, do you remember anything in particular that that you did for entertainment?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 12:05
 ; Oh, yeah, the skating rink was big, right? You know, I really had to stay out here a lot.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 12:13
 ; I've discovered that with country kids.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 12:15
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 12:15
 ; Yeah, before that was completed.
 ; Myra's daughter, Nanette says that the skating rink was a big deal when she was young. She also says that she spent a lot of time riding horses and other outdoor activities. Nanette says that her family was involved in a lot of church activities also. Entertainment ; Skating rinks Entertainment 0 816 Entertaining Georgia Smith 13:36
 ; I know that about her. Did you like to entertain?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 13:40
 ; Love to.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 13:41
 ; Okay, tell me a little bit about that.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 13:46
 ; Not too much to tell, we just
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 13:49
 ; Would you have dinner parties or?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 13:54
 ; Tell her about supper club? And you did bridge, also, for a while, every single month for years.
 ; Myra was a great hostess and loved entertaining. She hosted supper club for many years and would have about six couples over regularly. They also had a Rotary dance a couple times and they also played bridge. Entertaining ; Rotary club ; Jackie Hutson ; JC Hutson ; Betty Kelly ; Levan Kelly ; Pattons ; McColloughs ; George Krumme ; Edwynne F. Krumme Entertaining 0 973 Church Georgia Smith 16:13
 ; Did you take any part in the Presbyterian church activities? You went to the Presbyterian Church, didn't you? I remembered that. Well, I remembered it because Susan invited me to a party there one time, one junior high so, but were you active? Were you and Max active in your church?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 16:38
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 16:39
 ; In what role did you serve? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 16:42
 ; Well, I taught some 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 16:44
 ; Sunday school?
 ; Myra and Max and their children attended the Presbyterian Church in Bristow. They were very involved. Myra taught Sunday school to the children sometimes. They also helped out with the bible school in the summers. Presbyterian Church ; Susan Kemp ; Max Kemp ; Sunday School Church 0 1043 Medical Care Georgia Smith 17:23
 ; What was medical care like here in Bristow when you moved here?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 17:27
 ; What was that?
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 17:28
 ; Medical care. Did we have a hospital in Bristow? We had the hospital. Was it the one where it is now, or was it the Sisler clinic? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 17:39
 ; It was a clinic.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 17:39
 ; It was the Sisler Clinic. So were your children Jennifer or Susan or Ben, were they born at the Sisler Clinic?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 17:53
 ; Susan was the second baby born at the new hospital.
 ; Myra and her family used the Sisler Clinic in Bristow for medical Care. Myra says that her daughter, Susan was the second baby born at the new hospital. Medical care ; Sisler Clinic ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Jennifer Kemp ; Ben Kemp ; Susan Kemp Medical care 0 1078 Presbyterian Church Georgia Smith 17:58
 ; Oh, how exciting. I didn't know that. All right, let's see here. What songs do you remember that they sung at the church when when you were here? Do you remember any of the songs? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 18:15
 ; Well, let's see a lot of I hadn't thought about it.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 18:26
 ; No, we didn't think about this. A Mighty Fortress. Used to sing that a lot.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 18:32
 ; Did they decorate much for Christmas or holidays at the church?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 18:37
 ; Oh yes, they decorated the church beautifully.
 ; Myra says she remembers A Mighty Fortress being sung a lot at the church. She says that the church was always decorated beautifully for Christmas. She says that she was not part of the choir. A Mighty Fortress ; Presbyterian Church 0 1143 Max and the Drugstore Georgia Smith 19:03
 ; All right, well, tell me a little bit about Max and the drug store. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 19:06
 ; I don't know what to tell you. He worked hard. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 19:14
 ; I know he had a great reputation in town. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 19:19
 ; He liked people.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 19:20
 ; You could tell that. Did he, was he, he was a pharmacist himself, wasn't he? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 19:30
 ; He was an assistant.
 ; Myra's husband, Max was a pharmacy assistant. Myra says that he had to take an exam for that position and that his college math helped. They ran the drugstore for close to 50 years. At one point, Myra set up a food business (Cook's Corner) in the front of the store. They also did consignment antiques in the store. Max Kemp ; Kemp Drug ; Wal-Mart (Firm) ; Lennie Cook Drugstore (Musical group) 0 1409 The Train Georgia Smith 23:29
 ; How interesting. Okay, so let me see here. Did you ever travel on the train that was here in Bristow? Where did you go on the train? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 23:47
 ; The train ran from, it was the, what did they call it? The rocket.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 23:57
 ; Oh, the what?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 23:58
 ; The rocket.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 23:59
 ; The rocket. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 24:00
 ; It came, I probably, though, picked that up in the El Reno [Oklahoma], but I would go when I was in school here. I would go to home because it was war time, and I'd get on the train here, and we would go to El Reno. And then the rocket took this car, and it went to Kingfisher [Oklahoma], where I lived, and and then it went on to Dallas [Texas], or Fort Worth [Texas] or somewhere. But, but the whole, at the holidays, the train was loaded with girls, you know, going home for the holidays, Christmas, and we had, we had to stand with our bags. There were so many of us.
 ; Myra used to take the train that ran from Bristow home during the holidays. She called the train the Rocket. Myra says there were so many girls on the train that they had to stand with their bags. Bristow (Okla.) ; El Reno (Okla.) ; Kingfisher (Okla.) ; Dallas (Tex.) ; Fort Worth (Tex.) ; Christmas train 0 1500 War Georgia Smith 25:00
 ; Oh, my goodness. Okay, so you mentioned the war. You were referring to World War II?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 25:06
 ; Mm-hmm.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 25:07
 ; Tell me what you remember about those times.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 25:13
 ; Not too much.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 25:14
 ; Not too much?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 25:15
 ; We talked about the rationing.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 25:16
 ; Oh, yeah rationing. We had rationing. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 25:20
 ; Was that a hardship for your family? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 25:23
 ; No, there are enough of us that we had plenty of sugar and plenty of, well, meat was scarce. And my dad raised rabbits, and we had rabbits just like eating chicken, and we had chickens in town in Kingfisher. We had men that came around to ask for food.
 ; Myra's husband served in the Air Force. He was in for two years. It was just for training, and he never flew as a pilot. Myra's brother, Jimmy was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. World War II ; Kingfisher (Okla.) ; Max Kemp ; Air Force ; Jimmy Hunt ; Vietnam War 0 1674 Teaching Georgia Smith 27:54
 ; Now, Nanette was telling me that you taught, you were a teacher for a while. Where did you teach and what did you teach?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 28:03
 ; Vocational homemaking.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 28:05
 ; Oh, that's perfect for you!
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 28:08
 ; It's just her. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 28:09
 ; It is!
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 28:10
 ; At the high school.
 ; Myra taught vocational homemaking at the Bristow High School. She taught for 3 years. She taught before she was married to Max. Nanette Kemp Wampler ; Vocational homemaking ; Bristow High School ; Max Kemp Teaching 0 1701 Living in Bristow Before Marriage Georgia Smith 28:21
 ; Before you were married? Okay, so you lived here in Bristow before you and Mr. Kemp got married?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 28:28
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 28:28
 ; Okay, I didn't realize that. When, when did you move to Bristow? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 28:39
 ; 1948.
 ; Myra moved to Bristow in 1948 to teach. Myra lived and taught in Bristow for three years. She met Max through the lady she rented a room from, Jess Freeman. Max's brother, Monty was married to Jess Freeman's daughter. Bristow (Okla.) ; Max Kemp ; Nebraska ; Jess Freeman ; Monty Kemp Bristow (Okla.) ; Teaching 0 1828 The Great Depression and Other Historic Events Georgia Smith 30:28
 ; Do you have memories of the Great Depression? You were pretty young, I know, during the 30s. Do you have any memories of it?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 30:43
 ; I don't, it didn't affect us. I mean, affect us, yes, but not like a lot of people that you read about and hear about. The weather was not too good.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 31:00
 ; Did you ever see any of those big sand storms that that we hear so much about?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 31:06
 ; No, because I lived in Kingfisher and it was wheat country/
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 31:11
 ; And they had it under control out there.
 ; Myra says that the Great Depression didn't affect her family as much as it did some people. Also, big sandstorms didn't affect her family in Kingfisher because it was wheat country. Myra says that the visit of Eleanor Roosevelt to Bristow happened before she lived here. Myra recalls when her mother bought oleo at the grocery store. She says it was a block of white material and came with an orange tablet. It was her job to mix it together. Great Depression ; Kingfisher (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Eleanor Roosevelt ; LeForce Field House ; Freeland Center ; Western Heritage Days ; Republican Great Depression ; Historic Events 0 2099 Grandfather in the Land Run Nanette Wampler 34:59
 ; You had an interesting story about your grandfather was in the Land Run.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 35:04
 ; Oh! I would love to hear about that.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 35:07
 ; Not a lot of detail.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 35:08
 ; I don't know much about it, you know, it was before my time.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 35:11
 ; What was your grandfather's name?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 35:19
 ; Jacob Hunt.
 ; Myra's grandfather, Jacob Hunt was in the Land Run. Jacob and his brothers got a stake of land. It was between Perry and Stillwater. Land Run ; Jacob Hunt ; Perry (Okla.) ; Stillwater (Okla.) Land Run 0 2184 Grandpa Brock and the Prairie Dogs Nanette Wampler 36:24
 ; You had some interesting stories about your maternal Grandpa Brock, about the what he drank, what he what he had you all do as children. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 36:35
 ; Yes, we often run out in Perry to the farm, out in the country. It was 10 miles out. And on Fourth of July, the family gathered out there, and we climbed the mulberry trees. The kids did, and then my grandfather said, now you want to see something, you need to go get in that ditch out there that goes across the road and just peek your head up for you where they can't see you, but we have 
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 37:26
 ; Prairie dogs. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 37:27
 ; Prairie dogs. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 37:28
 ; Oh, my goodness!
 ; Myra would visit her maternal grandfather's (Grandpa Brock) farm in Perry. On the Fourth of July, the family gathered there. They would climb the mulberry trees. Her grandfather would have the children get in the ditch and peek their heads up to see the prairie dogs. Myra says they were fascinated with them. She says the prairie dogs barked like dogs. Perry (Okla.) ; Fourth of July ; Prairie dogs Grandfather ; Prairie dogs 0 2302 Movies and Radio Georgia Smith 38:22
 ; Could be. How did you get most of the information that you got growing up? Like maybe when you were ayoung child into adulthood?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 38:39
 ; Well, we got to go to the movies. And they always had movie tone and had news. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 38:44
 ; Oh, okay.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 38:47
 ; We didn't [indecipherable] the funny papers when they came on Sunday morning.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 38:52
 ; I did that too. Did you listen to the radio much? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 39:00
 ; Oh, when we were a little older, we did.
 ; Myra and her family enjoyed going to the movies. She listened to the radio when she got a little older. Myra also enjoyed the funny papers that came on Sunday mornings. Radio ; Movies Movies ; Radio 0 2347 Most Important Inventions Georgia Smith 39:07
 ; What would you consider to be one of the most important inventions in your lifetime? I know there have been a lot of inventions since 1925. What do you consider to be one of the most important? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 39:27
 ; What did I call it?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 39:31
 ; I don't know. Space travel? Is that when we were talking about space travel? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 39:36
 ; Space is the most
 ; Myra believes space travel is the most important invention in her lifetime. Inventions ; Space Inventions 0 2380 How the World is Different Georgia Smith 39:40
 ; The most important, you think, that we've had. One of the most, for sure, and how would you say the world's different now than it was when you were a child? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 39:47
 ; So busy. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 39:48
 ; Amen.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 39:51
 ; So busy.
 ; Myra believes the world is different from when she was a child. She says it is so busy now. World World 0 2398 Nation's Biggest Problem Georgia Smith 39:58
 ; Okay, looking at all of that, what do you consider the biggest problems that face our nation, and how do you think they could be solved? I
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 40:08
 ; I have no idea. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 40:10
 ; What do you think some of the problems are that we have nowadays? 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 40:13
 ; I don't know. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 40:24
 ; I've had a lot of people say that, how has it changed? And it's that people are not as helpful and polite to each other.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 40:36
 ; That's a good one.
 ; Myra says that people are not as helpful as they were when she was young. The whole neighborhood would get together and help each other. Grandfather Nation ; Problem 0 2478 Covid Georgia Smith 41:18
 ; How has COVID affected you?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 41:21
 ; When it first came about government, I think, are ones that said you will help, if you're older, you will help best by staying home, because that way you won't be causing all of the problems that are going to come up. So, that's what I did.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 41:49
 ; I think that was a smart thing to do. Did you get lonesome, though?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 41:55
 ; I had so many things to do out here.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 41:57
 ; Good. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 41:58
 ; My house is fairly large and stayed busy.
 ; Myra stayed at her home a lot during Covid. She stayed busy though with her fairly large house and the ranch. Her grandchildren were not able to come and visit. Covid ; Grandchildren Covid 0 2534 Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren Georgia Smith 42:14
 ; How many grandchildren do you have?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 42:19
 ; Which area?
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 42:23
 ; Do you have that set in your head, how many you have? I need to count. Oh, my gosh. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 42:29
 ; I have 13 grandchildren.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 42:31
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 42:33
 ; And 22 great-grandchildren.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 42:34
 ; Oh, my goodness.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 42:34
 ; You did have it in your head.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 42:36
 ; She did. She knows that.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 42:38
 ; Good.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 42:40
 ; I've been asked that question several times.
 ; Myra has 13 grandchildren. She has 22 great-grandchildren. Grandchildren ; Great-Grandchildren Grandchildren ; Great-Grandchildren 0 2563 Myra's Friend Georgia Smith 42:43
 ; Okay, before I close, is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 42:51
 ; One thing is, I thought, well, I saw all these questions. Have you talked with 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 43:08
 ; That's okay.
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 43:14
 ; One of my good friends.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 43:18
 ; You have a lot of good friends. 
 ; 
 ; Myra Kemp 43:19
 ; This one's living in nursing home now.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 43:26
 ; Would it be Patty?
 ; Myra asked Georgia if they have talked to her friend, Patty Boerstler. She says Patty is in the nursing home but has a sharp mind and would be great to interview. Patty Boerstler ; Nursing home ; JC Hutson Friend 0 2698 Letters Nanette Wampler 44:58
 ; One time we spent here, not last time, but right before COVID, I came, right before I came, and she had a stack of letters that just the correspondence back and forth from her parents, her mother, her and my dad's mom and dad, just it was amazing that history you heard just from their letters. And they were in Nebraska at that time. Right before they moved here or to Hominy, and she read every one of those letters, and just stuff like, you know, at Christmas, it was just she and dad out there. I'm gonna make, you know, she's making all the men's shirts, little shirts, and how they decorated the tree, just the two of them, with just the typical little popcorn, you know, tree and and how they didn't have phones, so, oh, we had a big surprise. Who drove up, but her parents, and they didn't even know they were coming, that kind of stuff. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 46:02
 ; Yeah.
 ; 
 ; Nanette Wampler 46:03
 ; This is, I felt like, I'm just back in time. It's relaxing. It's simple. You know?
 ; Myra used to write letters to her parents and to Max's parents about every week. Myra said that Mother Kemp expected that letter. Covid ; Nebraska ; Christmas ; Brad Kelly Letters 0 MP3 Myra Marie Kemp and her daughter Nanette Wampler shared their family history with Georgia Smith from the Bristow Historical Society. Myra, born Myra Marie Hunt on June 17, 1925, in Perry, Oklahoma, married Max Kemp in 1951 and had four children. They moved to Bristow in 1955 when Max took over Kemp Drug. Myra taught vocational homemaking before marriage and was active in the Presbyterian Church. They moved to a ranch in 1962. Myra's grandfather, Jacob Hunt, participated in the Land Run. They discussed the impact of World War II, the Great Depression, and the arrival of oleo. Myra has 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:35.640 This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. And this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is April 29, 2021, and I'm sitting here with Myra Kemp and Nanette Kemp [Wampler], who are going to tell us a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Now, Mrs. Kemp, could you give me your full name? 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:39.659 Myra Marie Kemp. 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:48.570 Myra Marie Kemp, and with us is her daughter, Nanette. Nanette, could you give me your full name please? 00:00:48.570 --> 00:00:49.859 Nanette Wampler. 00:00:49.859 --> 00:00:58.890 Thank you very much. All right, let's begin. Myra, what was your name at birth? 00:00:58.890 --> 00:01:01.960 Myra Marie Hunt. 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:06.489 Hunt, okay. And where were you born? 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:08.109 Perry, Oklahoma. 00:01:08.109 --> 00:01:13.359 Okay, were you born in a home or a hospital? 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:13.870 In a home. 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:18.189 Did your mother have a midwife or a doctor? 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:19.150 Doctor. 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:23.200 Okay. That's so interesting to me, that part of it. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:25.689 You have a little story about that. 00:01:25.689 --> 00:01:28.810 You have a story about your, your birth? 00:01:28.810 --> 00:01:37.599 Yes, we lived in Perry, and it was, 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:39.620 Go ahead. I'm just getting that closer to you. 00:01:39.620 --> 00:02:28.000 Okay, it was a time to thrash on the farm, and our parents went out there to help with it. And I was born out there. This is my grandfather's home, and it was kind of, I think, the people out there, the whole country and all comes and helps each other, is the way they handled it. And I don't know what, why, but oh well, you never know. I, I was born at noon when all of the thrashers were there to eat. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:47.949 June 17, 1925. Oh, my goodness! They couldn't get their meal until you were born. Okay, well, what's your date of birth? 00:02:47.949 --> 00:02:52.539 1925 and what were your parents names? 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:58.000 My mother was Arlene. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.860 And what was her maiden name? 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:00.789 Brock. 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:04.530 Brock, and your father? 00:03:04.530 --> 00:03:06.479 Virgil Hunt. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:15.060 Okay. Now, um, do you know about when they got married? 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:17.430 We looked it up. 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:23.500 Let me look by that again here. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:29.439 We can come back to that. How many children did your parents have? 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:29.919 Five. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:39.699 Five children. What are your siblings names? And are they living or deceased? 00:03:39.699 --> 00:04:11.349 Both. Oh, I was the oldest, and my sister Elizabeth was six years younger. And then my brother Virgil, Jr. was, I just went down about two or three years, you know. And then David and Jimmy. 00:04:11.349 --> 00:04:23.769 And you married Max Kemp? When did you marry him? 00:04:23.769 --> 00:04:25.060 1951. 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:26.350 Thank you. 00:04:26.350 --> 00:04:27.129 You're welcome. 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:31.629 Very good, 1951. That book helps, doesn't it? 00:04:31.629 --> 00:04:32.949 Yes, it does. 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:36.310 How many children did you and Max have? 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:37.209 Four. 00:04:37.209 --> 00:04:41.800 Could you give me their names? 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:42.790 Nanette. 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:58.000 Nanette, Susan, Ben and Jennifer. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:05.860 And you had a little girl before me. Don't need to even say that one. Okay. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:12.670 Okay, okay. Now, did you have all of them after you moved to Bristow? 00:05:12.670 --> 00:05:16.629 No, Nanette was born in Hominy [Oklahoma]. 00:05:16.629 --> 00:05:18.939 Hominy? Okay. 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:22.269 But we lived, we moved here when she was a year old. 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:28.060 Okay? And what brought you to Bristow? 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:31.240 Max came to help his dad in the drug store. 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:36.000 Okay, so his father owned the drug store? What was it called back then? 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.680 Kemp Drug. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:45.000 Very good. What was his name? His your his father's name? 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:51.029 Russell Kemp. 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:59.319 Russell Kemp, okay. What year was it that you all moved to Bristow in around '55 or '56? 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:13.209 No, it was '52. 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:15.220 If you were a year old. 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:18.550 That was when you were married, though, '51. 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:19.269 Okay. 00:06:19.269 --> 00:06:21.819 If you were a year old, what year were you born? 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:24.220 Well, I was '54. Oh, you're right, '54. 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:27.250 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:06:27.250 --> 00:06:28.629 Well, I'm not thinking straight. 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:30.699 Well, I was born in '54, too. 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:31.300 Oh, you were? 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:52.899 I was. Okay, okay, so you came here to help with the drugstore. Where did you live when you first came? 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:54.939 On the other side of town. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:56.709 Was it out in the country? 00:06:56.709 --> 00:06:56.920 No. 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:14.019 No, it was in town? That's enough. That's fine. And when did you and Max take over the ownership of the drugstore? 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:23.920 He bought it from his dad. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.220 I'm not sure. 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:33.399 Ben was born. 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:35.709 '59ish. 00:07:35.709 --> 00:07:54.689 Very good. Well, I remember when I was in, maybe, junior high, and we could go downtown and eat. Sometimes we would go in there and you had little tables set up where we could sit down and eat something, or maybe just a drink. 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:56.370 Yeah, it's like a soda fountain. 00:07:56.370 --> 00:07:57.000 Oh, we loved that. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:03.480 It was an old fashioned it was the original one that was in Grandpa Kemp's store, the soda fountain, 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:05.699 Yeah, I loved that. 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:07.170 I wished we still had that. 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:19.439 Yes, it would be nice. Okay, so tell me a little bit about your life after you moved here. What what did you do once you got here? What was your role? 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:20.699 I was mama. 00:08:20.699 --> 00:08:26.160 You were mama to four kids. Well, probably three at the time. 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:29.009 Right. 00:08:29.009 --> 00:08:41.559 So, when did you move out here on the ranch? 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:48.039 Let's see, 1960. 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:50.830 Probably '62. 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:55.059 It was Christmas '62 we moved in. 00:08:55.059 --> 00:09:00.370 Christmas of '62. Beautiful out here. 00:09:00.370 --> 00:09:05.830 We built the house, or had it built, Don Carmen. 00:09:05.830 --> 00:09:08.649 Yes. 00:09:08.649 --> 00:09:21.250 And I don't know who all worked on it. 00:09:21.250 --> 00:09:23.559 Sixty years ago around. 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:25.629 Wow, that's crazy. 00:09:25.629 --> 00:09:29.200 Crazy. I know. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:42.370 Okay, so you were mainly homemaker. What, what kind of chores did you set your children to doing out here at the ranch? 00:09:42.370 --> 00:10:02.350 Well, Max, we had some cattle, and Max had different hours, and at one time, when they were young, we all, how'd we handle that? 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:12.309 Well, he was the main feeder. We'd drive, ride with him. We'd go in the back and just throw feed out sometimes. 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:57.370 Oh, they got off the bus, and we all went down to the barn and locked the door of the gate, and the kids and I put out the hay for the cattle the next morning, and Ben was a baby, so we'd put him in the hay and up. That's the way we did for a period of time. And then in the morning, he'd get up and come down and open the gate, and then he was, that was the feeding. 00:10:57.370 --> 00:11:04.299 Okay, did you prepare all your meals out here? Did you eat out much? Or did you mostly cook at home? 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:05.830 We cooked at home. 00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:06.700 Very good. 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:09.639 We did eat out on Sunday after church. 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:11.649 Grandpa took us to 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:24.070 Bush's Cafe, right, yes, and the J & J, oh, long time ago, yes, right? Remember that? 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:42.220 Okay, what are your recollections of what Bristow was like when you first moved here? What type of businesses were there downtown, entertainment, maybe organizations that you were involved in when you first came? 00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:43.840 Two movies. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:47.710 Two movie theaters, The Princess and the Walmur. 00:11:47.710 --> 00:11:58.899 Yes, that's about all I remember. The kids were little. That's about all I remember. 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:05.169 Nanette, do you remember anything in particular that that you did for entertainment? 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:13.990 Oh, yeah, the skating rink was big, right? You know, I really had to stay out here a lot. 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:15.000 I've discovered that with country kids. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:15.360 Yes. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:15.419 Yeah, before that was completed. 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:20.000 I rode horses a lot. Like we would just put the bridle on, and if dad wasn't here to do it, we'd just put the bridle on and jump on. And I'd go up to the Abbots up the road, but yeah, we rode horses a lot. Played outside, you know, and skated. We were involved with church, so we did activities with church and stuff. But, I mean, really activity wise, you know, we'd get to spend the night, occasionally, overnight with a grade school friend here and there. But, yeah, I remember I rode the horse in when I got to be a little older, where I wanted to be with my friends. I rode it in before that six, oh, the 66. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:20.759 And it was just straight shot, no cars, and so I could ride the horse into Grandpa Kemp's on 11th, and I would park it in his back gate in his little 00:12:20.759 --> 00:13:12.049 Yes. 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:13.279 Park it. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:36.169 Yeah, parked it in the garden area. Tied him up, and I'd go and visit with, you know, some of my friends, but yeah, as far as like activities like that, we were pretty busy just outside, and we had a lot of people come out here and visit, right? And big hospitality lady here. 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:40.610 I know that about her. Did you like to entertain? 00:13:40.610 --> 00:13:41.539 Love to. 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:46.490 Okay, tell me a little bit about that. 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:49.250 Not too much to tell, we just 00:13:49.250 --> 00:13:54.330 Would you have dinner parties or? 00:13:54.330 --> 00:14:04.740 Tell her about supper club? And you did bridge, also, for a while, every single month for years. 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:09.210 Was it a bridge club? 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:27.929 We also had Rotary dance a couple of times, and I and, oh my goodness, I haven't even thought of all that. So I don't even 00:14:27.929 --> 00:14:32.940 There's probably a lot that you probably don't even, hadn't recalled. 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:45.539 But we had a supper club when we lived in town, and it existed for about 50 years, and there were 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.929 You probably had 10 to 12 couples at one time. 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:49.649 No. 00:14:49.649 --> 00:14:50.000 You don't think? 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:57.590 No. I think we had, that's a lot of couples in a house, you know? 00:14:57.590 --> 00:14:59.000 I know, I think. 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:06.830 And there were six couples. 00:15:06.830 --> 00:15:12.379 Can you remember any of the names of the people that would come to your to the supper club? 00:15:12.379 --> 00:15:18.769 That joined the supper club? Jackie and JC Hutson. 00:15:18.769 --> 00:15:20.210 Yes. 00:15:20.210 --> 00:15:32.809 Betty and Levan Kelly. The Pattons. 00:15:32.809 --> 00:15:34.879 Okay. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:36.080 How many's that? 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:37.370 That's three couples. 00:15:37.370 --> 00:15:37.399 McColloughs. 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:50.330 And uh, well, I knew people moved in and out. So, you know, there were others that were 00:15:50.330 --> 00:15:52.360 Didn't stay around very long. 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.210 George and Eddy [Edwynne F. Krumme] Krumme. 00:15:54.210 --> 00:15:58.889 Okay. 00:15:58.889 --> 00:16:00.990 Did the McAdams ever come? I don't think. 00:16:00.990 --> 00:16:04.379 No, they were older. 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:13.100 Okay. 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:38.990 Did you take any part in the Presbyterian church activities? You went to the Presbyterian Church, didn't you? I remembered that. Well, I remembered it because Susan invited me to a party there one time, one junior high so, but were you active? Were you and Max active in your church? 00:16:38.990 --> 00:16:39.409 Yes. 00:16:39.409 --> 00:16:42.289 In what role did you serve? 00:16:42.289 --> 00:16:44.090 Well, I taught some 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:46.279 Sunday school? 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.019 Yes. 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:51.500 Did you teach the children or the adults? 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:52.279 The children. 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:54.850 Okay. 00:16:54.850 --> 00:17:06.009 Max was on the [indecipherable] at different times, and we were active in the church, because we went all the time, all of the 00:17:06.009 --> 00:17:07.660 Every single Sunday. 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:12.880 Yeah, everything that went on, we were involved in it, I think. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:23.410 Did bible school in the summer. 00:17:23.410 --> 00:17:27.160 What was medical care like here in Bristow when you moved here? 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:28.180 What was that? 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:39.069 Medical care. Did we have a hospital in Bristow? We had the hospital. Was it the one where it is now, or was it the Sisler clinic? 00:17:39.069 --> 00:17:39.849 It was a clinic. 00:17:39.849 --> 00:17:53.950 It was the Sisler Clinic. So were your children Jennifer or Susan or Ben, were they born at the Sisler Clinic? 00:17:53.950 --> 00:17:58.930 Susan was the second baby born at the new hospital. 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:15.460 Oh, how exciting. I didn't know that. All right, let's see here. What songs do you remember that they sung at the church when when you were here? Do you remember any of the songs? 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:26.769 Well, let's see a lot of I hadn't thought about it. 00:18:26.769 --> 00:18:32.980 No, we didn't think about this. A Mighty Fortress. Used to sing that a lot. 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:37.269 Did they decorate much for Christmas or holidays at the church? 00:18:37.269 --> 00:18:40.210 Oh yes, they decorated the church beautifully. 00:18:40.210 --> 00:18:41.000 Did you help with that? 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:42.829 No. 00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:50.359 No? I'm not a decorator, so I can understand that. Yes. 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:53.509 [Indecipherable] 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:55.789 Did you sing in the choir? 00:18:55.789 --> 00:18:56.359 That's a joke. 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.410 Okay. 00:19:00.410 --> 00:19:03.319 That's a joke. 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:06.000 All right, well, tell me a little bit about Max and the drug store. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:14.099 I don't know what to tell you. He worked hard. 00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:19.500 I know he had a great reputation in town. 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:20.670 He liked people. 00:19:20.670 --> 00:19:30.839 You could tell that. Did he, was he, he was a pharmacist himself, wasn't he? 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:36.720 He was an assistant. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:44.099 He had to take an exam for it. His college math helped him a lot. 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:56.029 Yes, yeah, and how long did you have Kemp's Drugstore? 00:19:56.029 --> 00:19:57.000 '99 till 99. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:08.549 Till '99. Okay. So that was about 30 some years, almost 40. No! Forty years, right around 40 years, probably. 00:20:08.549 --> 00:20:10.019 Close to 50. 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:11.819 Oh, because when they moved here. 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:12.480 Right. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:24.369 Okay, 53 Yeah, so closer to 50. That's a long time in one business, isn't it? Did you ever help down there? Did you mostly just stay here? 00:20:24.369 --> 00:20:55.660 He wanted me to come in and help. So, I did in the front end, and I didn't like it very well. So, he, I loved cooking, and so went to market and got cooking equipment and had a young woman who helped me set up a business in the front of the store. Was called Cook's corner. 00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:57.339 Okay. 00:20:57.339 --> 00:21:07.359 And had that for a number of years. And then when Walmart came in, everybody was kind of shook up, you know. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:08.230 Yes. 00:21:08.230 --> 00:21:18.130 And, so, we decided we wanted to try 00:21:18.130 --> 00:21:20.170 Consignment antiques. 00:21:20.170 --> 00:21:21.549 Yes. 00:21:21.549 --> 00:21:23.619 I do remember that. I had forgotten about that. 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:29.680 Really, that's a beautiful, and you spent a lot of time looking for things. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:30.589 Yes, I did. 00:21:30.589 --> 00:21:32.420 Did it go over very well? 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:33.380 Mm-hmm. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.390 Good, good. 00:21:35.390 --> 00:21:38.390 We had a good business in it. 00:21:38.390 --> 00:21:45.619 The one, the one name I remember that brought things or had a few things, was Lennie Wood (ph). 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:46.069 Yes. 00:21:46.069 --> 00:21:56.609 She had things down there. Can you think of anyone else who might have had furniture or glassware? 00:21:56.609 --> 00:22:00.750 Lennie Wood was the principal here at the two grade schools. 00:22:00.750 --> 00:22:02.640 I had her, yeah 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:10.000 An interesting fact, I learned is she would walk from one school to the other half the day. She wouldn't drive, she would walk. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.440 Never knew that. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:12.279 I never knew that either. 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.559 That's a long way. 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:22.750 It really was, well, it probably wasn't more than a mile, but, you know, it seems like a long ways. 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:50.890 We sold quite a bit of her furniture, and she had so much jewelry, and we sold a lot of her jewelry. In fact, she sent it from when she went to her nieces moved down there, and she sent me all of her jewelry. And her niece did too, and a box this size. 00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:52.210 Wow! 00:22:52.210 --> 00:22:53.349 It was 00:22:53.349 --> 00:22:55.130 Hmm. 00:22:55.130 --> 00:23:02.900 Everybody came in and wanted to know if I had the ring she always wore. 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:03.000 Yes. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:10.289 She had given it to her niece. 00:23:10.289 --> 00:23:15.720 I just don't remember her wearing much jewelry. That surprises me. 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:25.410 You know what, though, when you said that, I remember, I think I remember, for some reason the ring, round ring, a round ring on her. Maybe because she didn't wear a lot. 00:23:25.410 --> 00:23:26.430 Maybe that's it. 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:29.519 It was dark. I remember it being dark. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:47.410 How interesting. Okay, so let me see here. Did you ever travel on the train that was here in Bristow? Where did you go on the train? 00:23:47.410 --> 00:23:57.069 The train ran from, it was the, what did they call it? The rocket. 00:23:57.069 --> 00:23:58.299 Oh, the what? 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:00.000 The rocket. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:25:00.240 It came, I probably, though, picked that up in the El Reno [Oklahoma], but I would go when I was in school here. I would go to home because it was war time, and I'd get on the train here, and we would go to El Reno. And then the rocket took this car, and it went to Kingfisher [Oklahoma], where I lived, and and then it went on to Dallas [Texas], or Fort Worth [Texas] or somewhere. But, but the whole, at the holidays, the train was loaded with girls, you know, going home for the holidays, Christmas, and we had, we had to stand with our bags. There were so many of us. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:06.480 Oh, my goodness. Okay, so you mentioned the war. You were referring to World War II? 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:07.470 Mm-hmm. 00:25:07.470 --> 00:25:13.319 Tell me what you remember about those times. 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:14.519 Not too much. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:15.269 Not too much? 00:25:15.269 --> 00:25:16.000 We talked about the rationing. 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.470 Oh, yeah rationing. We had rationing. 00:25:20.470 --> 00:25:23.230 Was that a hardship for your family? 00:25:23.230 --> 00:26:00.730 No, there are enough of us that we had plenty of sugar and plenty of, well, meat was scarce. And my dad raised rabbits, and we had rabbits just like eating chicken, and we had chickens in town in Kingfisher. We had men that came around to ask for food. 00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:01.720 Yes. 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:11.359 And my mother would always fix them a plate, and they sat outside on the steps in the back and ate. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:15.769 Did you have any family members that served in the war? 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:16.000 No. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.759 No, thankfully. 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:20.109 Not close. 00:26:20.109 --> 00:26:22.809 Yes. Did Mr. Kemp ever serve in the war? 00:26:22.809 --> 00:26:23.349 What? 00:26:23.349 --> 00:26:26.289 Did Max Kemp, did he serve in the war? 00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:26.920 Yes. 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.930 What branch? 00:26:28.930 --> 00:26:30.970 He was in the Air Force. 00:26:30.970 --> 00:26:34.000 In the Air Force. Did he fly? Was he a pilot? 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:54.279 He was that whole time, we were the end of the war. And so his he was in for two years, but it was just training. He never got off the ground. 00:26:54.279 --> 00:26:56.890 Well, that was good. That was good. 00:26:56.890 --> 00:26:57.640 For him. 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:09.000 Yes, very good for him. What about any of your children? Did any of them serve in any of the recent in the wars since then? 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:16.710 My brother, Jimmy, the youngest, was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. 00:27:16.710 --> 00:27:26.880 Oh, okay. I'm sure he would have stories to tell about that. Do you remember when Bristow was segregated? 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:28.829 Yes. 00:27:28.829 --> 00:27:32.460 What are your memories of segregation? 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:54.569 Not too much, or at least at school, and I had helped some and they were great people. I don't know much about it. 00:27:54.569 --> 00:28:03.960 Now, Nanette was telling me that you taught, you were a teacher for a while. Where did you teach and what did you teach? 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:05.730 Vocational homemaking. 00:28:05.730 --> 00:28:08.700 Oh, that's perfect for you! 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:09.539 It's just her. 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:10.650 It is! 00:28:10.650 --> 00:28:11.730 At the high school. 00:28:11.730 --> 00:28:15.079 How long did you teach that? 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:16.099 Three years. 00:28:16.099 --> 00:28:20.690 Was that before you and Mr. Kemp were married, or after? 00:28:20.690 --> 00:28:21.410 Before. 00:28:21.410 --> 00:28:28.099 Before you were married? Okay, so you lived here in Bristow before you and Mr. Kemp got married? 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:28.730 Yes. 00:28:28.730 --> 00:28:39.680 Okay, I didn't realize that. When, when did you move to Bristow? 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:40.579 1948. 00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:43.099 1948, and what brought you here? 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:43.819 Teaching. 00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:57.440 You had a teaching job. Well, that's exciting. And so then when you and Mr. Kemp got married, you didn't live here. You lived somewhere else for a while. Where did you live then? 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.869 We lived in Nebraska for a while. 00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:02.150 Did you meet Max here in Bristow? 00:29:02.150 --> 00:29:03.079 Yes. 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:08.480 Because his father had the drugstore. And where did you meet him? 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:14.329 I had a room with Jess Freeman. I don't know if you know she had rooms. 00:29:14.329 --> 00:29:16.430 I didn't know that, but I know the name. 00:29:16.430 --> 00:29:34.819 Teachers, and there were two of us at that time in the house. I just stayed there three years, and Max's brother was married to her daughter. 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:41.960 Oh, okay, how interesting. What was his brother's name? 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:42.980 Monty. 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:53.000 Monty Kemp. Was your family involved in any of the early oil drilling around Bristow and Slick? 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:53.750 Do you have any memories of the oil industry? Did that affect your life in any way? Did you raise crops out here on the farm? 00:29:53.750 --> 00:30:09.589 Hmm-mm. 00:30:09.589 --> 00:30:11.990 We did it first. 00:30:11.990 --> 00:30:14.809 What did you, what did you try? 00:30:14.809 --> 00:30:18.920 It was mostly for the cattle. 00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:21.289 Okay. 00:30:21.289 --> 00:30:28.910 Hay and different batch and things like that. 00:30:28.910 --> 00:30:43.910 Do you have memories of the Great Depression? You were pretty young, I know, during the 30s. Do you have any memories of it? 00:30:43.910 --> 00:31:00.269 I don't, it didn't affect us. I mean, affect us, yes, but not like a lot of people that you read about and hear about. The weather was not too good. 00:31:00.269 --> 00:31:06.599 Did you ever see any of those big sand storms that that we hear so much about? 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:11.730 No, because I lived in Kingfisher and it was wheat country/ 00:31:11.730 --> 00:31:13.769 And they had it under control out there. 00:31:13.769 --> 00:31:15.180 Had it covered, I guess. 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:33.690 I guess so. Do you remember, this was probably happening about the time you were living here, the work done to the city lake and the amphitheater. Or do you remember when Eleanor Roosevelt came? 00:31:33.690 --> 00:31:35.849 I didn't get that. 00:31:35.849 --> 00:31:40.410 When Eleanor Roosevelt came to Bristow. 00:31:40.410 --> 00:31:41.490 That was before. 00:31:41.490 --> 00:31:44.890 That was before you were here, okay. 00:31:44.890 --> 00:32:31.119 One of the things that happened, it was before I moved here, but it was something that happened in the country. This is when we first had oleo, and I remember my mother going to the grocery store and getting some, and it was a block of white material, you know, and it came in a box. And it had an orange little tablet with it, and it's my job to mix it all through the white, so it looked like butter. 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.180 How, how interesting! 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:36.400 Never heard that. 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:49.059 I have heard that they came with a dye to, to, yes, but I haven't ever seen it or anything. But I've, I've heard that. How interesting, and that was your job to make it look like butter. 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:53.470 Yes. 00:32:53.470 --> 00:32:54.220 Oh, that's funny. 00:32:54.220 --> 00:33:08.150 I must have been, I don't know how old I was, but I can't remember that. I don't know the date or anything but that was my job. 00:33:08.150 --> 00:33:24.049 Do you remember any events going to any events at the amphitheater? I know they had graduations there? Did you go to any graduations there? 00:33:24.049 --> 00:33:26.059 Did you graduate? 00:33:26.059 --> 00:33:28.549 We graduated at the LeForce Field House. 00:33:28.549 --> 00:33:41.059 Yeah. 00:33:41.059 --> 00:33:53.569 They've had some dance recitals there. Maybe, maybe they've maybe they've had piano before. Before we got the Freeland Center, we didn't have a lot of places for people to do that. 00:33:53.569 --> 00:34:06.680 The only thing I remember myself about it, which you went to probably, is Western Heritage Days, they would have a band play out there. But that's all I really remember myself using it for. 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:10.519 Was the lake used much in the 60s? 00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:11.599 Was the what? 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:16.000 The city lake in the 50s and 60s. Do you remember if it was used much by people? 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:16.500 That's that's about it. I don't remember you being involved in politics, but was your family involved in politics in any way? No? Okay. 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:38.139 The lake? Oh, the kids fished. 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:48.099 You were big supporters of the Republican Party, but you weren't involved yourselves. 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:52.000 Is there anything that I'm not asking you that you would like to tell me about? 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:59.409 Well, let's see, we wrote down what we could think of. Do we have 00:34:59.409 --> 00:35:04.780 You had an interesting story about your grandfather was in the Land Run. 00:35:04.780 --> 00:35:07.630 Oh! I would love to hear about that. 00:35:07.630 --> 00:35:08.559 Not a lot of detail. 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:11.860 I don't know much about it, you know, it was before my time. 00:35:11.860 --> 00:35:19.780 What was your grandfather's name? 00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:25.579 Jacob Hunt. 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:33.320 His family were in it, that would be his brothers, and they were all in the run. 00:35:33.320 --> 00:35:35.179 Did they get a stake of land? 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:36.260 Yes. 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:37.849 Where? Where was that? 00:35:37.849 --> 00:35:43.000 Well, it was over between Perry and Stillwater. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:43.039 And the piece of land that we owned for a long time, because we inherited it, was right out of Perry a lot of ways, and that's where most of our family was there. You know, 00:35:43.039 --> 00:36:08.769 Okay. 00:36:08.769 --> 00:36:24.730 That's where the Hunts settled, then, okay. Did they, were they in a wagon? Or were they on horses? Do you know? Have no idea? It's interesting to picture it though, isn't it? 00:36:24.730 --> 00:36:35.000 You had some interesting stories about your maternal Grandpa Brock, about the what he drank, what he what he had you all do as children. 00:36:35.000 --> 00:37:26.360 Yes, we often run out in Perry to the farm, out in the country. It was 10 miles out. And on Fourth of July, the family gathered out there, and we climbed the mulberry trees. The kids did, and then my grandfather said, now you want to see something, you need to go get in that ditch out there that goes across the road and just peek your head up for you where they can't see you, but we have 00:37:26.360 --> 00:37:28.760 Prairie dogs. 00:37:28.760 --> 00:37:30.949 Oh, my goodness! 00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:41.690 We watched them, you know, from the ditch, and we saw them come out of the ground, and it was, you know, really interesting. 00:37:41.690 --> 00:37:42.440 Well, sure! 00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:50.119 These little kids, we were fascinated with them, and they bark like a dog. 00:37:50.119 --> 00:37:51.710 I would have loved to have seen that. 00:37:51.710 --> 00:37:53.000 They don't have, you said they don't have them anymore. 00:37:53.000 --> 00:38:15.139 Something happened to them. Very few. My niece said that there is an area out in western Oklahoma and the panhandle, I think, where you might find some. Not very many, not like it used to be. 00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:22.039 I wonder if the farmers got rid of them or something with big wheat fields out in that area. 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:22.849 I bet. 00:38:22.849 --> 00:38:39.860 Could be. How did you get most of the information that you got growing up? Like maybe when you were ayoung child into adulthood? 00:38:39.860 --> 00:38:44.840 Well, we got to go to the movies. And they always had movie tone and had news. 00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:47.420 Oh, okay. 00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:52.469 We didn't [indecipherable] the funny papers when they came on Sunday morning. 00:38:52.469 --> 00:39:00.630 I did that too. Did you listen to the radio much? 00:39:00.630 --> 00:39:07.829 Oh, when we were a little older, we did. 00:39:07.829 --> 00:39:27.750 What would you consider to be one of the most important inventions in your lifetime? I know there have been a lot of inventions since 1925. What do you consider to be one of the most important? 00:39:27.750 --> 00:39:31.889 What did I call it? 00:39:31.889 --> 00:39:36.059 I don't know. Space travel? Is that when we were talking about space travel? 00:39:36.059 --> 00:39:40.000 Space is the most 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:47.230 The most important, you think, that we've had. One of the most, for sure, and how would you say the world's different now than it was when you were a child? 00:39:47.230 --> 00:39:48.820 So busy. 00:39:48.820 --> 00:39:51.880 Amen. 00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:58.269 So busy. 00:39:58.269 --> 00:40:08.920 Okay, looking at all of that, what do you consider the biggest problems that face our nation, and how do you think they could be solved? I 00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:10.300 I have no idea. 00:40:10.300 --> 00:40:13.980 What do you think some of the problems are that we have nowadays? 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:24.079 I don't know. 00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:36.559 I've had a lot of people say that, how has it changed? And it's that people are not as helpful and polite to each other. 00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:37.579 That's a good one. 00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:39.260 I've had that said a lot. 00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:40.449 They really noticed that. 00:40:40.449 --> 00:40:58.570 Well, just like my grandfather, having thrashing and having the whole neighborhood, you know, 10 miles out of town, and have that group of people that had land out there, they all did help each other. 00:40:58.570 --> 00:41:07.090 Yeah, we don't see as much of that anymore. It's really a sad thing. I'm sure that they enjoyed those times. 00:41:07.090 --> 00:41:08.320 Well, it was bonding. 00:41:08.320 --> 00:41:09.519 Yes, right? 00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:10.599 Simpler. 00:41:10.599 --> 00:41:16.000 Yeah, okay, we're hopefully on the tail end of a pandemic. 00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:18.760 She brought that up too. 00:41:18.760 --> 00:41:21.000 How has COVID affected you? 00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:49.739 When it first came about government, I think, are ones that said you will help, if you're older, you will help best by staying home, because that way you won't be causing all of the problems that are going to come up. So, that's what I did. 00:41:49.739 --> 00:41:55.289 I think that was a smart thing to do. Did you get lonesome, though? 00:41:55.289 --> 00:41:57.360 I had so many things to do out here. 00:41:57.360 --> 00:41:58.559 Good. 00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:05.039 My house is fairly large and stayed busy. 00:42:05.039 --> 00:42:12.300 Good. Were your grandchildren able to come and visit and your children? 00:42:12.300 --> 00:42:14.610 No. 00:42:14.610 --> 00:42:19.659 How many grandchildren do you have? 00:42:19.659 --> 00:42:23.440 Which area? 00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:29.050 Do you have that set in your head, how many you have? I need to count. Oh, my gosh. 00:42:29.050 --> 00:42:31.989 I have 13 grandchildren. 00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:33.280 Okay. 00:42:33.280 --> 00:42:34.090 And 22 great-grandchildren. 00:42:34.090 --> 00:42:34.809 Oh, my goodness. 00:42:34.809 --> 00:42:36.460 You did have it in your head. 00:42:36.460 --> 00:42:38.739 She did. She knows that. 00:42:38.739 --> 00:42:40.059 Good. 00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:43.360 I've been asked that question several times. 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:51.489 Okay, before I close, is there anything else you'd like to tell us? 00:42:51.489 --> 00:43:08.710 One thing is, I thought, well, I saw all these questions. Have you talked with 00:43:08.710 --> 00:43:14.199 That's okay. 00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:18.190 One of my good friends. 00:43:18.190 --> 00:43:19.960 You have a lot of good friends. 00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:26.889 This one's living in nursing home now. 00:43:26.889 --> 00:43:28.000 Would it be Patty? 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:30.130 Yeah, Patty Boerstler. 00:43:30.130 --> 00:43:35.199 Oh no, and the nursing home is kind of a problem right now. 00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:36.070 Yeah. 00:43:36.070 --> 00:43:50.500 I've been wanting to interview JC Hutson, but they the last I checked, they were just letting family members who have had their shots come in. So, it's it's a little hard if they're in the nursing home right now. 00:43:50.500 --> 00:43:51.940 Hopefully soon. 00:43:51.940 --> 00:43:56.500 But that's what I'm hoping, since we're on the downward trend there. 00:43:56.500 --> 00:43:57.000 Oh yeah that would be 00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:06.630 If you, she was, her parents were teachers, country teachers, south of Bristow. 00:44:06.630 --> 00:44:07.320 Oh, really? 00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:19.170 I can't tell you exactly where. And they're all buried south of Bristow. And she goes to the funerals down there. 00:44:19.170 --> 00:44:24.389 Is she still pretty sharp, mind wise? 00:44:24.389 --> 00:44:26.550 She can tell you a lot about it. 00:44:26.550 --> 00:44:41.780 All right, well, then I need to see if I can't interview her. Thank you, Mrs. Kemp. Well, we appreciate you all's time so much. And if you think of anything that you want to add to it later, we can always do that. 00:44:41.780 --> 00:44:47.000 You, you may think of something. We haven't, we haven't spent a lot of time on it, really. 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:48.110 What? 00:44:48.110 --> 00:44:54.980 We didn't really get to spend a lot of time on it, really, yeah. She's got a lot of good stuff. 00:44:54.980 --> 00:44:56.269 I know she does. 00:44:56.269 --> 00:44:57.019 Oh yeah. 00:44:57.019 --> 00:44:58.400 I know she does. 00:44:58.400 --> 00:46:02.900 One time we spent here, not last time, but right before COVID, I came, right before I came, and she had a stack of letters that just the correspondence back and forth from her parents, her mother, her and my dad's mom and dad, just it was amazing that history you heard just from their letters. And they were in Nebraska at that time. Right before they moved here or to Hominy, and she read every one of those letters, and just stuff like, you know, at Christmas, it was just she and dad out there. I'm gonna make, you know, she's making all the men's shirts, little shirts, and how they decorated the tree, just the two of them, with just the typical little popcorn, you know, tree and and how they didn't have phones, so, oh, we had a big surprise. Who drove up, but her parents, and they didn't even know they were coming, that kind of stuff. 00:46:02.900 --> 00:46:03.599 Yeah. 00:46:03.599 --> 00:46:10.469 This is, I felt like, I'm just back in time. It's relaxing. It's simple. You know? 00:46:10.469 --> 00:46:13.619 It was like she said, it's very busy today. 00:46:13.619 --> 00:46:14.000 It was from 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:24.829 Mother Kemp expected that letter. She didn't, she didn't think we should have moved that far from home. So, she wanted to know what we did. 00:46:24.829 --> 00:46:26.030 Well, sure. 00:46:26.030 --> 00:46:28.670 And, so, I wrote every week, I think. 00:46:28.670 --> 00:46:38.960 It was like listening to a novel, because she was a really good writer. I mean, just the way it was written was really interesting. You know, yeah. Lost art. 00:46:38.960 --> 00:46:42.000 Yes, it is. Very much so. Very much so. 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:50.760 Nanette's really good about writing. And she writes me every once in a while. 00:46:50.760 --> 00:46:51.719 Well good! 00:46:51.719 --> 00:46:53.610 I haven't been too good lately. 00:46:53.610 --> 00:46:57.510 I don't have anyone to write to anymore. 00:46:57.510 --> 00:47:09.030 I know people just, I know, you know, I saved a box of things. I mean, I've saved, I have a little tote, but it's got it even has some notes from grade school in it. Certain ones and autograph books. Do you have that? 00:47:09.030 --> 00:47:09.659 Yes, I have that. 00:47:09.659 --> 00:47:47.969 Okay, yeah. And my kids, if I pull that out, they just, I had pulled out a couple when were cleaning out, and they were that 70s stationary with the pop art on it. And Brad Kelly used to write me when I'd go to camp, and he'd be telling about what was going. I don't even remember half the stuff, and until I'd reread that, you know? But yeah, just I don't know, yeah. And even my husband wrote me letters. I mean, all, every summer, every week or more, I'd get a letter. So, I have all those which is sad people don't do that anymore. 00:47:47.969 --> 00:47:49.590 It is sad. 00:47:49.590 --> 00:47:50.670 Yeah. 00:47:50.670 --> 00:47:54.449 Well, I can't write anymore. 00:47:54.449 --> 00:47:58.050 Kind of stiff, stiffness. 00:47:58.050 --> 00:48:00.090 Yeah. 00:48:00.090 --> 00:48:04.320 I can write, but you couldn't read it. 00:48:04.320 --> 00:48:07.230 Well, I sure do appreciate you, Mrs. Kemp. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0067_Myra_Kemp.xml OHP-0067_Myra_Kemp.xml
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Myra Kemp
Description
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Myra Marie Kemp and her daughter Nanette Wampler shared their family history with Georgia Smith from the Bristow Historical Society. Myra, born Myra Marie Hunt on June 17, 1925, in Perry, Oklahoma, married Max Kemp in 1951 and had four children. They moved to Bristow in 1955 when Max took over Kemp Drug. Myra taught vocational homemaking before marriage and was active in the Presbyterian Church. They moved to a ranch in 1962. Myra's grandfather, Jacob Hunt, participated in the Land Run. They discussed the impact of World War II, the Great Depression, and the arrival of oleo. Myra has 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
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OHP-0067
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2021/04/29
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audio
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3299a0480ceda58a8524ff801b4f83c4
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Family Histories
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Oral History
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Oral accounts of various family histories
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
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Interviewer
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Randy Witty
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Norma Jean Goodmon
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0068_Norma_Jean_Goodmon.xml
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6.0 June 14, 2021 OHP-0068 Norma Jean Goodmon OHP-0068 00:32:39 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Norma Jean Goodmon Wilberta Witty Randy Witty 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0068 Goodmon, Norma Jean.mp3 Other audio 0 Birth Randy Witty 00:00
 ; This is Randy Witty with Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is June 14, 2021 and I'm sitting here with Norma Jean Goodmon at Kellyville, Oklahoma, who is going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Also in the room is Wilberta Witty, daughter to Norma Jean Goodmon. All right, let's begin. What was your name at birth?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 00:37
 ; Norma Jean Watts.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 00:39
 ; And where were you born? 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 00:41
 ; Slick, Oklahoma.
 ; Norma Jean Watts Goodmon was born on February 15, 1927. She was born at her family home in Slick, Oklahoma. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Kellyville (Okla.) ; Wilberta Jean Witty ; Slick (Okla.) Birth 0 57 Parents and Siblings Randy Witty 00:57
 ; All right, what were your parents names?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 01:01
 ; My daddy's name was James Garfield Watts [06/11/1883-01/28/1956]. My mother's name was Beulah Cecil Wilcox [03/10/1895-5/19/1976].
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 01:10
 ; All right. Were your parents married? 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 01:12
 ; Yes. 
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 01:14
 ; I understand that they were married previous to this marriage. 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 01:19
 ; Yes.
 ; Norma Jean's parents were James Garfield Watts and Beulah Cecil Wilcox. Her father had been married previously with two daughters and his first wife passed away. Norma's mother had also been previously married, and her husband passed away. They had a little boy. When Norma's mother and father married, they went on to have four children together, including Norma. James Garfield Watts ; Beulah Cecil Wilcox ; James William England ; Arkansas ; Iona Shannon ; Helen Marie Watts Quinn ; Harold Watts ; Norma Jean Watts Goodmon ; Earl Dale Watts ; Leslie (Ark.) Parents ; Siblings 0 192 Parents' Work Randy Witty 03:12
 ; Okay. Do you know why they came to Oklahoma?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 03:15
 ; Because of the oil.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 03:18
 ; Do you remember about what year that was?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 03:21
 ; Probably about 1921, no about 1918. My sister was about, she was born in 1920, and she was just a baby when they came. So about 1918 or 19.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 03:45
 ; All right, so what did your father do as an occupation?
 ; Norma's parents moved from to Arkansas to Oklahoma because of the oilfield. Her father worked in the oilfield some and then later opened a mercantile. He was a shoe cobbler and then sold groceries there also. Norma's mother was a housewife. Oklahoma ; Oilfield ; Slick (Okla.) ; Mercantile Parents ; Occupation 0 265 Husband and Children Randy Witty 04:25
 ; All right, so what is your spouse's name?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 04:29
 ; Wilbert Harrison Goodmon [11/04/1923-01/06/2017]
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 04:32
 ; And what year were y'all married?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 04:35
 ; 1945.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 04:38
 ; And how many children did you have?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 04:41
 ; Two.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 04:42
 ; And what were their names?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 04:44
 ; Joyce Laverne [Joyce Laverne Welcher] and Wilberta Jean [Wilberta Jean Witty], two girls.
 ; Norma married her husband, Wilbert Harrison Goodmon in 1945. They had two daughters. Their daughters' names were Joyce Laverne Welcher and Wilberta Jean Witty. Husband ; Wilbert Harrison Goodmon ; Joyce Laverne Welcher ; Wilberta Jean Witty Husband ; Children 0 288 Early Childhood and Childhood Home Randy Witty 04:48
 ; Okay, all right, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your early childhood and your home life. Tell me what your life was like growing up in Slick [Oklahoma] when you were a child.
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 05:00
 ; Well, I guess it was just a normal life. We just played. And, of course, we we never owned a car, so we never went out of town anywhere, and we just go down to the store to buy whatever we needed, and go to the post office and back. We went to church regularly, and that was about our lifestyle. I had a good childhood. I was happy. I had a happy childhood.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 05:28
 ; What kind of house did you grow up in?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 05:32
 ; Papa and Mama had a boxcar at first for their first house, and then he built onto the front of it, and it was a nice looking house. And it was three bedroom, I mean three rooms, and the middle room was separated so that he could we could have a bed in each part of it.
 ; Norma Jean grew up in Slick, Oklahoma. Her parents had a boxcar and then added onto it. Norma said they never had a car or went out of town. They also didn't have electricity or water in the home. There was a city well across the road with a faucet that they would get their water from. They always had a large garden, and her mother canned anything extra. They had a milk cow, hogs and chickens. Her father would butcher a hog in the winter. Her mother made lye soap, and they washed their clothes on a washboard. Slick (Oklahoma) ; Post Office ; James Garfield Watts ; Beulah Cecil Wilcox Childhood 0 594 Meals Randy Witty 09:54
 ; All right, so tell me about some of your normal daily meals.
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 10:00
 ; Oh, I guess we all we just ate what was in the garden and what Mama canned. We never had a meat very much after the hogs were eating the hams and the bacon and the sausage and whatever like that. We had, but we always had plenty of chickens.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 10:25
 ; Do you have any family recipes from your childhood that you still make?
 ; Norma Jean and her family would eat food from the garden and from their animals. Her mother also made cornbread often. They butchered their own chickens and hogs. Her father had a smokehouse where he smoked the hog meat. They did shop for staple grocery supplies at the store. James Garfield Watts ; Beulah Cecil Wilcox Meals 0 746 Clothing Randy Witty 12:26
 ; Okay, so tell me about the clothes that you wore.
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 12:30
 ; Mama, Mama made about all of our clothes. We had a Sears catalog, Montgomery Ward, and we girls would look through that and see a dress that we thought was pretty, and Mama always was able to cut it out by herself, and she would make it and that's what we wore. Sometimes, well, I don't think that, I don't remember us ever ordering a dress from the catalog, but we ordered our shoes from the catalog. We would, I guess we'd get a pair of shoes about the time school started, and we would wear them, but just as soon as it got warm, we went barefooted. I can remember running through the sand fast because that sand would really get hot in the summertime.
 ; Norma Jean wore clothing that her mother sewed. She would pick out a dress from the Sears or Motgomery Ward catalog and her mother was able to make it. They did order their shoes from the catalog. Beulah Cecil Wilcox ; Sears catalog ; Montgomery Ward Clothing 0 802 Friends Randy Witty 13:22
 ; Who did you play with?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 13:25
 ; I had a girlfriend that was about the same age of I, that was lived real close. We were almost next door, and we were together just about all the time in the daytime. 
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 13:37
 ; You remember her name?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 13:38
 ; Emily Jones.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 13:42
 ; You remember a couple of games that y'all played growing up?
 ; Norma Jean had a friend, Emily Jones that was close in age and lived close. They were together just about all the time in the daytime. Norma and the neighbor children would play tag, hide and seek and dolls. Emily Jones ; Christmas ; James Garfield Watts ; Beulah Cecil Wilcox Friends 0 1023 Church Randy Witty 17:03
 ; I'm gonna ask you a few questions about your church life. Did your family attend church when you were a child? 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 17:10
 ; Yes, we went to church regularly. I don't think we missed very many times.
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 17:15
 ; At First Baptist.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 17:15
 ; Yeah, what was the name of your church? 
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 17:20
 ; There in Slick?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 17:21
 ; Yes, in Slick.
 ; Norma and her family attended church regularly. They attended the First Baptist Church in Slick. Her mother taught Sunday School. Norma Jean and her sisters led singing. They typically ran about 30-35 members and around 50 at the largest. First Baptist Church ; Slick (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; California ; James Garfield Watts ; Beulah Cecil Wilcox ; Nazarene Church Church 0 1158 World War II Randy Witty 19:18
 ; I want to move on to World War II. Can you, can you tell me where you were at when you heard that the war had started?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 19:35
 ; It was on a Sunday morning. We had gotten out of church and we were walking home from downtown and coming up over the hill, we'd got almost to the schoolhouse, and someone came running down the street and told us that there had been a bombing in Hawaii. And we went to some place we didn't, I think the man, Mr. Jones, was probably the only one that had a radio around, and so he kept us kind of informed of what was going on.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 20:12
 ; So, how did things change after the war started?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 20:19
 ; What do you mean? How did they change?
 ; Norma Jean remembers when they heard news of the war. It was a Sunday morning, and they were walking home from church when they heard that there had been a bombing in Hawaii. Norma recalls how the food was rationed and there were many items that you could not buy. World War II ; Hawaii ; Ford ; Broken Arrow (Okla.) World War II 0 1376 Marriage Randy Witty 22:56
 ; Now what, what year were you married? 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 22:59
 ; 1945.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 23:00
 ; Okay, and 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 23:01
 ; May 15.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 23:02
 ; Okay, he was still in the service when, when y'all got married? 
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 23:06
 ; Yes, yes.
 ; Norma Jean and her husband married May 15, 1945. He was already enlisted in the Navy when they married. They were married in his parents' home in Bristow. Navy ; San Diego (Calif.) ; Okinawa ; Seattle (Wash.) ; California ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Jim Green ; J& ; J Eat Shop ; Greyhound buses Marriage 0 1791 How the World is Different and Nation's Problems Randy Witty 29:51
 ; All right, tell me, in your lifetime, the kinds of changes that you've noticed since you were a child.
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 30:01
 ; Oh, my goodness, there's so much traffic. There's so many much to buy, so many stores you could just buy anything you want. Electronics has just gotten so up to date, so many things, TV, radio, computers, everything is just you couldn't hardly believe the difference in today and back during the war.
 ; 
 ; Randy Witty 30:32
 ; And as you see it, what are the biggest problems that face our nation, and how do you think they could be solved?
 ; 
 ; Norma Jean Goodmon 30:40
 ; I think the largest problem is hatred that we have today.
 ; Norma Jean says there is so much traffic in current times. Also, she talks about how there are so many products and stores nowadays. She talks about the advances in technology. Norma Jean believes the biggest problem is hatred in the world today. She says turning to the Lord would solve a lot of problems for people. Norma Jean ends the interview reflecting on the good life that she has lived and the family she has been blessed with. Lord ; Christmas ; Wilbert Harrison Goodmon World ; Nation 0 MP3 Randy Witty interviews Norma Jean Goodmon about her life in Bristow, Oklahoma. Born Norma Jean Watts on February 15, 1927, in Slick, Oklahoma, she recounts her family's history, including her parents' marriage around 1918 and their move to Oklahoma. Norma Jean describes her childhood, including living in a boxcar house, gardening, and making soap. She married Wilbert Harrison Goodmon in 1945 and had two daughters. Post-war, they moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Norma Jean reflects on changes over the years, noting increased consumerism and technology, and identifies hatred as a major national issue, advocating for religious faith and hard work as solutions. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:37.109 This is Randy Witty with Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is June 14, 2021 and I'm sitting here with Norma Jean Goodmon at Kellyville, Oklahoma, who is going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Also in the room is Wilberta Witty, daughter to Norma Jean Goodmon. All right, let's begin. What was your name at birth? 00:00:37.109 --> 00:00:39.990 Norma Jean Watts. 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:41.490 And where were you born? 00:00:41.490 --> 00:00:43.590 Slick, Oklahoma. 00:00:43.590 --> 00:00:45.030 Were you born at home? 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:48.329 Yes, I was born at home. 00:00:48.329 --> 00:00:49.859 What's your birthday? 00:00:49.859 --> 00:00:57.960 February the 15th, 1927. I'm 94-years-old at this time. 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:01.229 All right, what were your parents names? 00:01:01.229 --> 00:01:10.349 My daddy's name was James Garfield Watts [06/11/1883-01/28/1956]. My mother's name was Beulah Cecil Wilcox [03/10/1895-5/19/1976]. 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:12.120 All right. Were your parents married? 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:14.489 Yes. 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:19.409 I understand that they were married previous to this marriage. 00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:19.920 Yes. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:25.200 Could you tell me a little bit about their spouses and their children? 00:01:25.200 --> 00:02:06.120 Well, I always call him Papa, so I'll just call him Papa. Papa had two daughters by his first wife. I'm not sure how she passed away, but she died. My mother had was married, and but now they realized that he probably had appendicitis, and it probably bursted, and he died, and but they had a little boy. And, so, after the children were Papa's children, girls were about eight or nine years old, and Mama's little boy was about two. They married each other. 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.460 Do you remember about what year they were married? 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:11.819 About 1917, I imagine. 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:16.139 And what was your oldest brother's name? 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:17.610 Bill England [James William England 02/26/1914-04/05/1974]. 00:02:17.610 --> 00:02:28.530 Okay. And then how many children did your parents have together? 00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:29.460 Four. 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:33.479 Okay. Now, did you say that you had an older sister that died at birth? 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:34.020 Yes. 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:35.129 And what was her name? 00:02:35.129 --> 00:02:40.979 Juanita. She was born in Arkansas, and she's buried there. 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:45.090 Okay. And then what was the names of your other brothers and sisters? 00:02:45.090 --> 00:03:03.599 My older was Iona [Iona Shannon 08/27/1920-04/25/2005], and the next was Helen [Helen Marie Watts Quinn 04/04/1924-03/08/2001]. She had a twin, and she his name, they named him Harold. He died at birth, and then myself, Norma Jean, and then a younger brother, Earl Dale [Earl Dale Watts 01/06/1933-12/17/2020]. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.020 Okay. Do you know where your parents were married? 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:12.150 Not really. They lived around Leslie, Arkansas. I remember hearing that name. 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:15.870 Okay. Do you know why they came to Oklahoma? 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:18.960 Because of the oil. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:21.449 Do you remember about what year that was? 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:45.270 Probably about 1921, no about 1918. My sister was about, she was born in 1920, and she was just a baby when they came. So about 1918 or 19. 00:03:45.270 --> 00:03:50.340 All right, so what did your father do as an occupation? 00:03:50.340 --> 00:04:17.879 He worked in the oil some, and then he got us, made a store. He started a store in Slick [Oklahoma]. He had, oh, I'm sure he had harnesses, and he was a shoe cobbler. He did, he had a shoe last, and he did cobbler work, and then he had groceries. And about anything it was just a mercantile. 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:19.709 So, what did your mother do? 00:04:19.709 --> 00:04:25.949 She was a housewife. 00:04:25.949 --> 00:04:29.790 All right, so what is your spouse's name? 00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:32.519 Wilbert Harrison Goodmon [11/04/1923-01/06/2017] 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:35.189 And what year were y'all married? 00:04:35.189 --> 00:04:38.939 1945. 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:41.009 And how many children did you have? 00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:42.360 Two. 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:44.160 And what were their names? 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:48.269 Joyce Laverne [Joyce Laverne Welcher] and Wilberta Jean [Wilberta Jean Witty], two girls. 00:04:48.269 --> 00:05:00.509 Okay, all right, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your early childhood and your home life. Tell me what your life was like growing up in Slick [Oklahoma] when you were a child. 00:05:00.509 --> 00:05:28.879 Well, I guess it was just a normal life. We just played. And, of course, we we never owned a car, so we never went out of town anywhere, and we just go down to the store to buy whatever we needed, and go to the post office and back. We went to church regularly, and that was about our lifestyle. I had a good childhood. I was happy. I had a happy childhood. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.519 What kind of house did you grow up in? 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:56.699 Papa and Mama had a boxcar at first for their first house, and then he built onto the front of it, and it was a nice looking house. And it was three bedroom, I mean three rooms, and the middle room was separated so that he could we could have a bed in each part of it. 00:05:56.699 --> 00:06:00.060 Can you tell me where the house was located? 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:08.040 It was just east of the school house in Slick [Oklahoma]. It was next door to the school. 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:19.350 Okay, tell me a little bit about the house on the inside. You said that there was two bedrooms. How many people slept in each bed? 00:06:19.350 --> 00:07:13.800 Well, I guess Mama and Papa probably slept in one and maybe had one of the younger children sleeping with them, and then we three girls slept in the other. And in the front room, we had a, what we called a dual fold. It was a it was a couch that came out and made a bed, and we had a wood stove in there, and then we had a larger chair and a table, and we had lamps for lighting. We never had electricity or water in the house. We hada lamp. We just had one lamp. We'd carry it from one room to the other, and we carried water from across the road. The city had a well over there that had a spigot, or a faucet on the outside, and we would carry water from that across the road. 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:17.610 Now, did y'all have a garden? 00:07:17.610 --> 00:07:21.870 Yes, yes, they had, they'd always make a big garden. 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:24.149 Well, tell me what you raised in that garden. 00:07:24.149 --> 00:08:09.740 Oh, I remember at first they would raise lettuce and onions and radishes and peas and stuff like that. And then they would raise green beans and corn and just about anything, squash. We had a peach orchard. We had the peach orchard was pretty good size. I imagine it had maybe 10 or 12 peach trees in it, and they'd always have a good sized garden. And Mama canned just about everything that was extra. She canned a lot. We had a cellar that was under our house, and we kept the vegetables canned in the cellar under our house. 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:13.959 Did y'all have any kind of livestock that y'all raised? 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:55.990 Well, we had, we had a milk cow, and then we had, Papa would raise, I don't know how many, but he would always butcher a hog in the winter. So, we had hogs. I never knew anything about beef. We never knew that people killed cows back then. We just would milk a cow, and then we had chickens. Mama would hatch, hatch eggs, and we would have little chickens, and we'd have plenty of, we had chicken fried chicken about every Sunday. 00:08:55.990 --> 00:08:59.559 Okay, so how did you cook your meals? 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:10.210 At first, they had a wood stove, and then later we got gas, and, so, we had gas in the stove. 00:09:10.210 --> 00:09:11.000 How did you do your laundry? 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:45.679 On a washboard with the wash tub. And Mama, they had a big black pot kettle out in the yard, and they would heat water in this large black kettle in the yard. Mama made soap with lye and whatever grease. And I remember her after this, she'd make the soap. It would get hard, and then she'd take a big butcher knife and go out there and cut it up into chunks, and that was our soap. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.210 So you used the soap for laundry? 00:09:47.210 --> 00:09:54.830 Lye soap for everything. 00:09:54.830 --> 00:10:00.610 All right, so tell me about some of your normal daily meals. 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:25.389 Oh, I guess we all we just ate what was in the garden and what Mama canned. We never had a meat very much after the hogs were eating the hams and the bacon and the sausage and whatever like that. We had, but we always had plenty of chickens. 00:10:25.389 --> 00:10:30.970 Do you have any family recipes from your childhood that you still make? 00:10:30.970 --> 00:11:16.539 Oh, well, Mama made corn bread about every day. She made biscuits of the morning, and then she would make cornbread. They always liked cornbread. And she would, she made cake. She would make a cake and put it in a kettle, a saucepan, and then she would make a, they call it chocolate gravy now, but mama made a pudding, and she would leave it in this saucepan and pour this chocolate pudding over it, and we would eat it out of that sauce pan, instead of putting it out, putting the cake out on the plate or platter or something, just cake. 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:22.870 So, besides the food that you raised, did you shop anywhere for groceries? 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:48.399 Just for staples. We would, we there was a grocery store in town, and we would buy our staples. But I don't know that we ever bought very much canned stuff or anything like that. I don't remember ever, Mama ever having to open a can from a store, but she probably did. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:57.000 All right, let's see, did you do your own butchering on the hogs and the chickens? 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:10.409 Yes, yes. Mama would wring their necks out in the yard. And Papa, he always butchered. Okay, so after you butchered the hogs, how did you store it? 00:12:10.409 --> 00:12:26.490 Papa had a smokehouse. He smoked it, and we just ate it pretty quick, I guess, since there were several of us. It didn't take long, because Mama never did can it. 00:12:26.490 --> 00:12:30.409 Okay, so tell me about the clothes that you wore. 00:12:30.409 --> 00:13:22.850 Mama, Mama made about all of our clothes. We had a Sears catalog, Montgomery Ward, and we girls would look through that and see a dress that we thought was pretty, and Mama always was able to cut it out by herself, and she would make it and that's what we wore. Sometimes, well, I don't think that, I don't remember us ever ordering a dress from the catalog, but we ordered our shoes from the catalog. We would, I guess we'd get a pair of shoes about the time school started, and we would wear them, but just as soon as it got warm, we went barefooted. I can remember running through the sand fast because that sand would really get hot in the summertime. 00:13:22.850 --> 00:13:25.940 Who did you play with? 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:37.610 I had a girlfriend that was about the same age of I, that was lived real close. We were almost next door, and we were together just about all the time in the daytime. 00:13:37.610 --> 00:13:38.750 You remember her name? 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:42.440 Emily Jones. 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:47.309 You remember a couple of games that y'all played growing up? 00:13:47.309 --> 00:15:10.289 Oh, when we were outside, it was just the kids that were close, but we played hide and seek, I guess, and tag stuff like that and then, but I played with dolls, mostly I sewed. There was a couple of that lived in the town. We got acquainted with them, and they had a baby, and so Emily and I would go down to her house and play with that baby, or, you know, and she'd sewed for it. She taught us to sew. So Emily, Emily and I, we made clothes for our dolls. We had, I had my doll in a shoe box, and one night it was a cellophane doll. It was about 10 or 11 inches long, and I had clothes and that doll in that shoe box, and I left it out on the porch one night, and our dog got got it and chewed the doll up. And I cried and cried. And I was about 12 or 13 years. I was in the eighth grade when I got that doll for Christmas, and it was made of cell, not cellophane, celluloid, celluloid. 00:15:10.289 --> 00:15:12.929 Did you all sing any songs growing up? 00:15:12.929 --> 00:15:37.289 Yes, we sang a lot of songs. Mama, she was a good singer. Her all of her family sang, and we sang a lot of songs. I did know the old fashioned songs my cousins, they could sing for hours, those old ballad songs. I wish that I knew them. I do know few of them. 00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:41.000 All right, besides around the house, where did your father work? 00:15:41.000 --> 00:16:08.990 He he worked in the oil field somewhere. I don't know what job he had. And then he got a store. And I said, you know that it was a mercantile store. And then he worked for the WPA later, and he worked at the school. He cooked at the school in the cafeteria, 00:16:08.990 --> 00:16:14.899 Do you remember the first time you heard a radio? 00:16:14.899 --> 00:17:03.350 No, not really. Well, I may have, our neighbor, or the girl that I said was my best friend. They had a radio, and it was, they could get foreign countries. And if I was up at her house at night, I remember him sitting in front of it, and he would turn the knob and get all kinds of stuff from overseas. And then we, a little later, after about the time the war was over, we got a battery radio for ourself. 00:17:03.350 --> 00:17:10.940 I'm gonna ask you a few questions about your church life. Did your family attend church when you were a child? 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:15.000 Yes, we went to church regularly. I don't think we missed very many times. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:15.900 At First Baptist. 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:20.849 Yeah, what was the name of your church? 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:21.690 There in Slick? 00:17:21.690 --> 00:17:25.200 Yes, in Slick. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:27.000 Where was the building that you attended? 00:17:27.000 --> 00:18:43.259 The first building was between the school house and downtown. And, then, I imagine about in the about 1940, the Nazarene Church was occupying the old depot, the train depot, and they disband. All of them started going to Bristow, I guess. And so the baptist church bought that depot downtown, and that's where I went to church then. I might say that we we moved to Tulsa. My daddy went to California to work during the war, and my two sisters went to work at Douglas in Tulsa, so Mama and my younger brother and I, we moved to Tulsa so that Mama could take care of their children. And I started the school in Tulsa when I was a sophomore, and I graduated from Central High School in Tulsa. 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:48.990 Did your mother or father have any part in the church? 00:18:48.990 --> 00:18:55.049 Mama, Mama taught Sunday school, and we were just there every service. 00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:58.980 How about you? Did you have any responsibilities in church? 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:08.160 Well, when I was younger, I, all my, both my sisters, as they grew up, they led singing, and then I led singing. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:10.500 How big was your church? How many people attended? 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:18.000 Probably the, at the largest part, probably 50. But we regular, probably about 30, 35. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:35.849 I want to move on to World War II. Can you, can you tell me where you were at when you heard that the war had started? 00:19:35.849 --> 00:20:12.750 It was on a Sunday morning. We had gotten out of church and we were walking home from downtown and coming up over the hill, we'd got almost to the schoolhouse, and someone came running down the street and told us that there had been a bombing in Hawaii. And we went to some place we didn't, I think the man, Mr. Jones, was probably the only one that had a radio around, and so he kept us kind of informed of what was going on. 00:20:12.750 --> 00:20:19.829 So, how did things change after the war started? 00:20:19.829 --> 00:20:21.809 What do you mean? How did they change? 00:20:21.809 --> 00:20:27.359 After the war started, did things change? Your daily life change? 00:20:27.359 --> 00:21:41.220 Oh, yes, yes, we things began to be rationed. We couldn't buy sugar. We couldn't buy shortening. There was lots of things that we couldn't buy and they, we had a card that we used. And of course, back then, they had coins. They called them mills. They were a little coin, and it had a hole in the center of it. And they, we bought things with they were valued at a certain price, and we would buy stuff, and then we could give them the coins, and that would help to pay for the groceries. But we didn't buy very many groceries. We just would, we bought staples, but of course, we didn't need anything because we never had a car. But it was, I can remember someone come through town was making mattresses, and you could sign up and go downtown and make a mattress. We, Mama didn't go do that. I don't know why, but anyway, they made mattresses downtown. 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:46.589 Do you remember getting information about the war during the war? 00:21:46.589 --> 00:22:12.089 Well, I was, not really. I knew that it was terrible, but then when my husband joined, or my he was my boyfriend, then when he joined, then I began to realize what war really was. 00:22:12.089 --> 00:22:19.740 So, how did things change after the war was over? 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:56.369 Well, my my husband got a car. It was about a, it was a Ford, it was real pretty, and we were able to buy a car. We were married at that time, and we bought a house over at Broken Arrow, and we lived over at Broken Arrow. My husband went to work at Braden Steel or Braden Winch, and they moved the shop over Broken Arrow, and we moved over there in about 1947. 00:22:56.369 --> 00:22:59.049 Now what, what year were you married? 00:22:59.049 --> 00:23:00.549 1945. 00:23:00.549 --> 00:23:01.720 Okay, and 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:02.799 May 15. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.940 Okay, he was still in the service when, when y'all got married? 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:07.779 Yes, yes. 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:08.819 Tell me about that. 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:18.299 He he enlisted. He didn't, people back then were referring to the men that didn't go as 4-Fs, and he didn't want to be known as a 4-F, so he enlisted, and they put him in the Navy, and he went to San Diego for boot camp. And they just put him on the ship, the USS Maryland, and he never came back home until the war was over, which was two years. So we 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:43.839 Did you get married during the war? 00:23:43.839 --> 00:25:57.490 Yes, but we we start dating before he went to the service, and then we wrote to one another all that time. And the ship was bombed headed to Okinawa, so they brought it back to Seattle, Washington to repair it. So, they gave the crew one half of the ship came home from the first month, and another half, the other half came home for the second month. He was in the first month that came home. So, when he came home, we were married, and I went back with him, before he was home for a month, and then when he went back to let the other group come home, I went back to Seattle with him, and I stayed there until the other group had been home a month. And they started telling people, telling them that they were going to go back out to sea, and they didn't know when it was, because they some of the aircraft carriers had been bombed when they when the Japanese found out that they were out there, so they decided that they wasn't going to let the boys know when they were leaving. So, I was [indecipherable] my husband had a cousin that lived in California, so I went out there with and stayed with them. And well us, they we were in Seattle at first, and then they went on down to San Diego, California with a ship. And I went on down there, and I stayed with his cousin. His cousin was a deep sea diver, and he would go out through the daytime, and he would come back at night and he would say, well, my husband got to come to their house probably a couple of nights, and then he went, he came home the next night and he'd say, well, the ship is still out there. And he did that about three nights, and he came home and he said, well, the ship is gone now, so I knew that he had gone back out to sea. And so then he he was gone till the war was over, and they let him come home. 00:25:57.490 --> 00:25:59.500 Where were you married? 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:08.470 In his parents home in Bristow on 4th & Walnut, right there on the corner of 4th & Walnut. 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:19.779 All right. Tell me about was there any customs, how they treated newlyweds after they were married? 00:26:19.779 --> 00:28:55.539 Yes, but he came home, and I'll tell you this, he came home and on Saturday, got, got home on Saturday, and he came to Tulsa and picked me up, and we went to town, to [indecipherable], and bought me a dress for a wedding. And we were we went back to his parents house, and his sister, we said that we wanted to get married. So, his sister went on Tuesday afternoon to the preacher's house, and he said he would be over just in a little while. And so we were married at his parents house at four o'clock on Tuesday, May the 15th, and they shivereed back then, which, I don't know how many knows about shivering, but you were supposed to give candy or cigars away when you married. So, we got the candy, and they came to get us, and we wasn't going to let them, they were going to take us to the jail in Bristow, and we weren't going to let him take us to the jail. So, we started running, and his sister and brother in law was helping us get away. And they chased us about all over town, and we got uptown, and they caught us, and well, I, Jim Green, was on the city he was one of the city policemen. He and his wife had several children, and, so, they were going to make us, ride us in a wheelbarrow and have a toilet paper, toilet tissue, and, so, I had this roll of toilet tissue. And, so, I was going to get along with them, and not just go ahead what they were doing, but my husband, he wanted, he didn't want to do that. And anyway, when I saw Jim Green, the policeman uptown, I knew he had several children, so I went up to him, and I told him, Jim, you have, you and Pearl has several children. You could use some toilet paper. I'm going to go to, I want to go back to Seattle with Wilbert. And if you give me a quarter, and he gave me a quarter and grabbed me, and they was going to get Wilbert. And Wilbert started fighting him. And we were right there in front of 6th & main. It was J&J Eat Shop at the time, and it was J&J eating. And we began, he began to wrestle 00:28:55.539 --> 00:29:51.220 with those policemen. They were trying to put handcuffs on him. The Greyhound bus stopped at J&J at that time, and the J&J bus came in and opened it up. I don't remember if someone got on or got off, but the driver asked if we needed if Wilbert needed any help, and Wilbert said, If there had been some sailors on that bus, we'd have cleaned Bristow up. And they went on and they put us in handcuffs, and then they told us that they didn't have keys to unhook us. So, they took us to the back to the jail and got the keys, and then they took us down to his parents house. He told them that he had not to give him anything, but we did. We gave them some candy. 00:29:51.220 --> 00:30:01.130 All right, tell me, in your lifetime, the kinds of changes that you've noticed since you were a child. 00:30:01.130 --> 00:30:32.900 Oh, my goodness, there's so much traffic. There's so many much to buy, so many stores you could just buy anything you want. Electronics has just gotten so up to date, so many things, TV, radio, computers, everything is just you couldn't hardly believe the difference in today and back during the war. 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:40.339 And as you see it, what are the biggest problems that face our nation, and how do you think they could be solved? 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:48.579 I think the largest problem is hatred that we have today. 00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:51.789 How do you think we can solve it? 00:30:51.789 --> 00:31:30.079 Well, if people would turn to the Lord, that would solve a lot of problems, because I don't think we are too industrialized. We have anything that we can do. We we can, we can get plenty of jobs. We don't have to, I don't think we'd have to worry about the economy or anything like that, because I think there's enough for people to do that we could make a good living. Anybody could make good living that wanted to work. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:33.000 All right. In closing, is there anything else that you'd like to tell us about? 00:31:33.000 --> 00:32:28.799 Well, I've had a real good life. I've got two daughters. I had five grandchildren, and they now there's about, um, I'd have to count them up, but I imagine there's probably 38 or 40 in our family now. The girls, the kid, the grandchildren and them, used to tell my husband, when we would gather together for Christmas, Grandpa, you're going to have to build a bigger house, but we would just go get right in anyway, and had a good time. We've had a good, good life. Our children have all been, we've never had any problems with them. They're all well. They have good, good jobs. The Lord has been real good to us. 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:38.430 So, thank you for all your time you spent talking to us. We really appreciate it, and this will become an important part of the oral history archives for our museum. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0068_Norma_Jean_Goodmon.xml OHP-0068_Norma_Jean_Goodmon.xml
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Title
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Norma Jean Goodmon
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Randy Witty interviews Norma Jean Goodmon about her life in Bristow, Oklahoma. Born Norma Jean Watts on February 15, 1927, in Slick, Oklahoma, she recounts her family's history, including her parents' marriage around 1918 and their move to Oklahoma. Norma Jean describes her childhood, including living in a boxcar house, gardening, and making soap. She married Wilbert Harrison Goodmon in 1945 and had two daughters. Post-war, they moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Norma Jean reflects on changes over the years, noting increased consumerism and technology, and identifies hatred as a major national issue, advocating for religious faith and hard work as solutions.
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OHP-0068
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2021-06-14
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audio
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Family Histories
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Oral History
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Oral accounts of various family histories
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
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Denise Caves
Carolyn Foster
Interviewee
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Ola Lee
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0043B_Ola_Lee.xml
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5.4 June 28, 1979 OHP-0043B Ola Lee OHP-0043B 0:00-14:16 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Ola Lee Denise Caves Carolyn Foster 1:|8(12)|17(6)|25(11)|46(6)|65(11)|81(7)|95(2)|105(1)|130(5)|146(3)|172(6)|197(8)|214(1)|239(7) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0043B Lee, Ola.mp3 Other audio 26 No Fire Department OL: At that time Bristow didn’t have a fire department. Somebody was running and rang all the church bells. And then the men would have the bucket ready and they’d go and get the water and [inaudible] dad heard the church bells ringing. Well, he thought it was a fire, so he got up and ran down and grabbed his bucket and ran down to the street yelling, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” When Ola was a girl, Bristow didn't yet have a fire department, so they would ring the church bells and bring their buckets if there was a fire. fire department fire department 79 Circus Coming to Town OL: When dad had the store down here on main street, every year he sold [inaudible]. And he would come down here and stay at the hotel and [indecipherable] every night. All the town would turn out to see what [indecipherable]. Our [indecipherable] when they came to town [indecipherable]. It was right on main street, and dad let them have groceries, and at the end of the time they would stay, they would always pay dad, and then they would go on to some place else. When the circus came to town, they didn't have the money to pay their bill for groceries at her dad's store, so they ended up trading him a horse to settle up their bill. circus ; horse ; unpaved streets circus ; horse ; unpaved streets 230 Books DC: Well, now you’re a reader. Where did you get your books to read when you were growing up and there was no library was there? OL: No. There was no library, but we always managed to have books. Mother was a great reader herself. DC: And then you borrowed books? OL: Yes, we borrowed books, and then dad bought us a great big encyclopedia and a dictionary, and unabridged dictionary. Ola talks about always having books, and that even though there was no library, they would borrow them to make sure they had something to read. Her father always made sure they had a lesson with the dictionary and encyclopedia before bed. books ; reading books ; reading 271 Family Life After Losing Her Mother DC: How old were you when your mother died? OL: I was, let me think about it. She died in 1911. I guess I was about 13. DC: And you were the oldest? OL: No, I wasn’t the oldest but dad wanted me to take the responsibility. DC: But anyway, there were still young children in the home. OL: Oh yes. Mother had taken three of the youngest ones, which was the [indecipherable] to New Mexico [indecipherable] and kept the baby out there, oh for about a year, because mother got so sick, she couldn’t feed the baby. And they called dad to come out and get the baby. We went out on a train, and we came back, why he gave the baby to me. He said I could take responsibility for that year. I cooked all the meals. Made the clothes. Made my little brothers some pants and shirts. Ola's mother died when she was 13-years-old which required her to take more responsibility in the family cooking, cleaning, making clothes and caring for her siblings. family ; loss ; mother family responsibilities ; mother dying ; nanny 407 Working in the Store CF: Did any of you work in the store? OL: Oh, yes, at times, I’d work in there. Ms. Nellie Smallwood (ph) was one of the leaders in the store. She would show us how to do. In daddy’s store back in the back where the groceries were, we always had a great big lot of cheese in that lower round roll and beside that would be the pickle barrel and a cracker barrel. And when the people would come in the store, they would go down towards the cheese and a nickle’s worth of crackers and maybe a dill pickle and they would stand around and eat their lunch. Ola talks about Nellie Smallwood helping show her how to work in her father's store. coffee ; cracker barrel ; Nellie Smallwood ; pickle barrel ; store coffee ; groceries ; lunch ; store 472 Stores in Town DC: Was there a restaurant in town at the time where people could buy food or if they were in town and had to eat they would have to go to a store? OL: Well, I don’t recall a store. DC: A restaurant. OL: I just didn’t recall that. CF: What other stores were there in town then? OL: Oh, there was Mr. Stone had the hardware. DC: Was it the same big building there? OL: Mm-hmm. And there was a bait shop right close to the store. Where Fords are now, that was the school house. It was a tin school house painted like brick. Ola tells about different stores in town like Stone Hardware. Ford ; restaurant ; Stone Hardware stores 523 School House DC: Well, was it a public school? OL: Yes, that was a public school. DC: It was a public school right there on main street. Well, I had never known that. Was it a grade school or? OL: Yes, it was a grade school. And I don’t know whether we had any more schools or not. Might have but… DC: I think there was one over on, where Washington School is now, wasn’t here? OL: Well, there was a two-story house over there with a basement. That burned down. DC: Yes. Ola talks about a tin public school that was painted like brick and sat on main street. main street ; Methodist Church ; public school ; Washington School main street ; public school 630 Family Home on Ninth Street DC: Was it easy to get hired help if you could, if you needed it? OL: Well, dad got Laura for us, that negro. And he built a little two-story, two-room house on the back of the lot and that’s where she… DC: Was this up on ninth? OL: Up on ninth street. DC: Which house or which block on ninth? Do you remember whereabouts on ninth your house was? OL: End of the fourth block. DC: End of the fourth block. OL: There’s a house up there now and… DC: It’s kind of two-story. Is that the one? Ola tells about their two-story home on 9th Street. Darrel Stiles ; family home ; hired help ; Ninth Street family home ; hired help 695 Standpipe Hill CF: Where did you take the cow to pasture? OL: Way up on Standpipe Hill. DC: Now Standpipe Hill is where it is now on 11th? CF: All the way across town. OL: And a little boy would go around and gather the cows up and take them up there. And we paid him so much a month to do that. In the evening then he’d go and get them and bring them back home. That’s where we always had our Fourth of July picnics up there. And that was for everybody. We all had our [indecipherable] with our baskets and bottles of pop and fried chicken and cakes and everything. Each, two or three families would go off together and eat their… Ola talks about a boy coming and getting their cows and taking them to Standpipe Hill to be put in the pasture. She also talked about 4th of July picnics and fun times there. 4th of July ; picnics ; Standpipe Hill 4th of July ; picnics ; Standpipe Hill MP3 In this 1979 interview with Ola Lee, she talks about her mother passing away when she was just 13-years-old and what it was like growing up without her. She talks about her dad's store and what it was like working there, as well as, other businesses around town. Partial Recording -- The first part of the cassette tape did not record properly. [Inaudible] OL: At that time Bristow didn' ; t have a fire department. Somebody was running and rang all the church bells. And then the men would have the bucket ready and they' ; d go and get the water and [inaudible] dad heard the church bells ringing. Well, he thought it was a fire, so he got up and ran down and grabbed his bucket and ran down to the street yelling, " ; Fire! Fire! Fire!" ; [Inaudible] OL: When dad had the store down here on main street, every year he sold [inaudible]. And he would come down here and stay at the hotel and [indecipherable] every night. All the town would turn out to see what [indecipherable]. Our [indecipherable] when they came to town [indecipherable]. It was right on main street, and dad let them have groceries, and at the end of the time they would stay, they would always pay dad, and then they would go on to some place else. One time, when the circus came in here, and they didn' ; t have any money, so they asked dad if he would lend them some money to buy their groceries with. And he did. At the end of the circus [indecipherable], they couldn' ; t pay their bill. They had an old horse that pulled the merry-go-round [inaudible]. That old horse went round and round and round. Well, there was nothing dad wanted except that old horse. He took that. They never did come back for their horse. But dad let us children have that horse. And everybody in town, the children would ride horses after school. And they let one of us have that old horse. I don' ; t know which one it was, but anyway, when anyone got on him, he would start going round and round and round. We' ; d have to get off and pull him every little distance to get him started the right way. [Inaudible] DC: Now at that time the street wasn' ; t paved, was it? OL: Oh no, you just walked in mud up to your ankles. CF: Do you recall that first block that was paved on main street? OL: Well, it was brick, wasn' ; t it? I do not recall that. CF: It was between sixth and seventh. OL: Was it? DC: Well, now you' ; re a reader. Where did you get your books to read when you were growing up and there was no library was there? OL: No. There was no library, but we always managed to have books. Mother was a great reader herself. DC: And then you borrowed books? OL: Yes, we borrowed books, and then dad bought us a great big encyclopedia and a dictionary, and unabridged dictionary. And at night after mother passed away, he would get his children around the table, which was five, and we had the old dictionary and the encyclopedia. We never went to bed until dad knew his children had their lessons. DC: How old were you when your mother died? OL: I was, let me think about it. She died in 1911. I guess I was about 13. DC: And you were the oldest? OL: No, I wasn' ; t the oldest but dad wanted me to take the responsibility. DC: But anyway, there were still young children in the home. OL: Oh yes. Mother had taken three of the youngest ones, which was the [indecipherable] to New Mexico [indecipherable] and kept the baby out there, oh for about a year, because mother got so sick, she couldn' ; t feed the baby. And they called dad to come out and get the baby. We went out on a train, and we came back, why he gave the baby to me. He said I could take responsibility for that year. I cooked all the meals. Made the clothes. Made my little brothers some pants and shirts. DC: Now how many were there in the family? OL: There were five children. DC: Five. OL: A boy and four girls. Well, it wasn' ; t very long for dad to get more money, and he could hire someone to do the cooking. Negro woman by the name of Laura. I don' ; t recall her last name. I had the responsibility of looking after the children and give them their clothes. Those days you couldn' ; t got to town and buy clothes or [indecipherable]. You had to make the clothes. DC: You had close neighbors that could help and advise. OL: Yes. We had a great aunt that taught out here at [indecipherable] school and in the summer time she would come down and stay with us [inaudible]. CF: Did any of you work in the store? OL: Oh, yes, at times, I' ; d work in there. Ms. Nellie Smallwood (ph) was one of the leaders in the store. She would show us how to do. In daddy' ; s store back in the back where the groceries were, we always had a great big lot of cheese in that lower round roll and beside that would be the pickle barrel and a cracker barrel. And when the people would come in the store, they would go down towards the cheese and a nickle' ; s worth of crackers and maybe a dill pickle and they would stand around and eat their lunch. Also, right there by the pickle barrel was a great big coffee bin. People didn' ; t buy coffee ground then. It was all by the bean, and most of the time, we would roast the beans and then have it ground. DC: Was there a restaurant in town at the time where people could buy food or if they were in town and had to eat they would have to go to a store? OL: Well, I don' ; t recall a store. DC: A restaurant. OL: I just didn' ; t recall that. CF: What other stores were there in town then? OL: Oh, there was Mr. Stone had the hardware. DC: Was it the same big building there? OL: Mm-hmm. And there was a bait shop right close to the store. Where Fords are now, that was the school house. It was a tin school house painted like brick. DC: Well, was it a public school? OL: Yes, that was a public school. DC: It was a public school right there on main street. Well, I had never known that. Was it a grade school or? OL: Yes, it was a grade school. And I don' ; t know whether we had any more schools or not. Might have but-- DC: I think there was one over on, where Washington School is now, wasn' ; t here? OL: Well, there was a two-story house over there with a basement. That burned down. DC: Yes. OL: Because I started teaching in the basement of the Methodist Church. Oh, there was a bank there. We had a bank or two. We had a drug store. [Indecipherable] and we were something. I bought one one time and paid $25 for it. [Inaudible] DC: That' ; d be like $150 now. Well, I bet it was beautiful. OL: It was. CF: Now did you have photographers here at that time? OL: I don' ; t know whether we did or not. DC: That was before Annabelle. CF: People didn' ; t have their picture made, did they? OL: No. Everybody did their own washing which was the old iron pot out in the yard. DC: Was it easy to get hired help if you could, if you needed it? OL: Well, dad got Laura for us, that negro. And he built a little two-story, two-room house on the back of the lot and that' ; s where she-- DC: Was this up on ninth? OL: Up on ninth street. DC: Which house or which block on ninth? Do you remember whereabouts on ninth your house was? OL: End of the fourth block. DC: End of the fourth block. OL: There' ; s a house up there now and-- DC: It' ; s kind of two-story. Is that the one? OL: Yes. Darrel Stiles bought that house and was fixing it up, then he passed away. DC: I think there' ; s been a beauty parlor in it some of the time. I used to leave down on the other corner of the block. CF: And it had chickens and a cow. OL: Oh yes, we had chickens and a cow. CF: Where did you take the cow to pasture? OL: Way up on Standpipe Hill. DC: Now Standpipe Hill is where it is now on 11th? CF: All the way across town. OL: And a little boy would go around and gather the cows up and take them up there. And we paid him so much a month to do that. In the evening then he' ; d go and get them and bring them back home. That' ; s where we always had our Fourth of July picnics up there. And that was for everybody. We all had our [indecipherable] with our baskets and bottles of pop and fried chicken and cakes and everything. Each, two or three families would go off together and eat their-- DC: Now were there trees then, and it was more like a park? OL: Yeah. Well, they planted trees up there. DC: And the grass was down where you wouldn' ; t-- OL: Yes, mm-hmm. DC: Where you wouldn' ; t get swallowed in it. OL: And after dinner, the children would run races, sack races and play ball, some of them. The men and women always had a band stand up there, and of course, we always had the band there and somebody to speak, and he' ; d speak all afternoon. DC: On a patriotic subject or just-- OL: Yeah. DC: Now how far, this spot on Standpipe Hill, would that be from where the new high school is now? Now the new high school is over on the other side-- OL: Yes it would be back this way DC: Back this way. OL: Yeah. DC: There' ; s homes in there now. CF: Now, wasn' ; t there a gate at the end of 10th street, going up the hill right about there? OL: I don' ; t recall that. DC: Who are some of the families that you remember that were here during your early years? OL: I thought of some of those the other day. I guess Ms. Freeland will tell you that. I think that' ; s about all I can tell you now. DC: Thank you very much, Ola. OL: Yes. DC: That was real enjoyable. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0043B_Ola_Lee.xml OHP-0043B_Ola_Lee.xml
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Ola F. Lee
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In this 1979 interview with Ola Lee, she talks about her mother passing away when she was just 13-years-old and what it was like growing up without her. She talks about her dad's store and what it was like working there, as well as, other businesses around town.
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OHP-0043B
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1979-06-28
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audio