9
10
101
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/4eaed6c2f7548b736f5a2294202ec60c.jpg
d9d42df37aca8d38bc0a17e0614f44ee
Dublin Core
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Title
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Early Drilling Near Bristow
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral Histories of Drilling in the early 1900s
Description
An account of the resource
Oral accounts of drilling for oil and natural gas near Bristow in the early 1900s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral History
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Robert L. “Bob” McCarty
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Oliver "Tracy" Kelly
OHMS Object
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0002-02_Oliver_Kelly.xml
Interview Keyword
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“keywords” field in the OHMS XML to the corresponding Omeka record.
banks
oil
cotton
OHMS Object Text
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5.4 OHP-0002-02 Oliver " ; Tracy" ; Kelly OHP-0002-02 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Oil Drilling - The Early Years Bristow Historical Society, Inc. First Banks and Cotton gins in Bristow banks oil cotton Oliver " ; Tracy" ; Kelly Robert L. “Bob” McCarty MP3 1:|13(3)|28(11)|52(5)|66(5)|75(3)|84(4)|94(4) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0002-02 Kelly, Tracy.mp3 Other audio 0 Cotton Gins in Bristow BM: October 13, 1976, 10:45. pause in tape BM: To your knowledge, when was the first gin built in this part of the county? TK: Bob, I don’t know about the first gin, but I do know of my father, Albert Kelly, and W.O. Baker were partners, and their gin was established in Bristow right down by the railroad track where the old ice plant, and the Farmer’s Custom Gin started in 1913. And they were gin and cotton, they had all set up—gin and cotton in the fall of 1913. And they—some very interesting stories about how they, getting that equipment in from the old Loomis Gin people, into Bristow and getting it set up. And I’m sure they wouldn’t have started the gin unless there was a substantial amount of cotton in the area to support a gin facility. So if I were estimating, I would say that cotton came into the Bristow community in the nineteen-nines and nineteen-ten and –eleven, around in there. That’s the best of my—you know, that’s to, about as good a target date as I would, could get. Cotton gins in Bristow Albert Kelly ; Bud Long ; cotton ; cotton gin ; Farmer's Custom Gin ; Joe Abraham ; Loomis Gin ; Mills Friarson ; W.O. Baker cotton gin 148 Banking and Oil Drilling BM: What year did your father go into the banking business? TK: 1932. BM: 1932? TK: Back during the lean days of the banking world. He was invited in to the American National Bank stock ownership because of desperate need at that time to shore up their capital positions, because banks were having a very difficult time in those days. Discussion of the early bank in Bristow as well as agriculture and oil agriculture ; American National Bank ; banking ; banks ; Community State Bank ; Fath ; FDIC ; First State Bank ; Frisco ; oil ; rail ; stock agriculture ; banking ; oil drilling In this brief 1976 interview, Oliver “Tracy” Kelly (1926-2012) discusses the first banks and cotton gins in Bristow, Oklahoma, as well as the nature of the industry in the area at that time, which was primarily agriculture and oil. BM: October 13, 1976, 10:45. pause in tape BM: To your knowledge, when was the first gin built in this part of the county? TK: Bob, I don' ; t know about the first gin, but I do know of my father, Albert Kelly, and W.O. Baker were partners, and their gin was established in Bristow right down by the railroad track where the old ice plant, and the Farmer' ; s Custom Gin started in 1913. And they were gin and cotton, they had all set up--gin and cotton in the fall of 1913. And they--some very interesting stories about how they, getting that equipment in from the old Loomis Gin people, into Bristow and getting it set up. And I' ; m sure they wouldn' ; t have started the gin unless there was a substantial amount of cotton in the area to support a gin facility. So if I were estimating, I would say that cotton came into the Bristow community in the nineteen-nines and nineteen-ten and --eleven, around in there. That' ; s the best of my--you know, that' ; s to, about as good a target date as I would, could get. BM: What year, Tracy--you stated the other night that there was five banks in Bristow at one time. TK: Yeah, and before we get off of the cotton gin, there were five cotton gins in Bristow at one time. BM: There were five-- TK: --operating at the same time, that' ; s when cotton was king, back in the late teens and twenties. BM: Do you know the names of all of them? TK: The banks or the cotton gins? BM: The cotton gins. TK: No, but I can, I think I can do a little research and come up with some of them. Joe Abraham had a gin, Albert Kelly had a gin, Mills Friarson (ph) had a gin, there was--Bud Long (ph) had a gin, and anyway, there was-- BM: That' ; s four. TK: That' ; s four of them. BM: What year did your father go into the banking business? TK: 1932. BM: 1932? TK: Back during the lean days of the banking world. He was invited in to the American National Bank stock ownership because of desperate need at that time to shore up their capital positions, because banks were having a very difficult time in those days. BM: How many banks back in the --nine, -tens, up until this Heritage (ph) came in, how many banks were there in the city of Bristow? TK: Well, at one time I think, Bob, there were five banks and that was before they had to do a lot of--that was before the days of FDIC and federal insurance and that sort of thing. BM: Offhand, do you know the names of those banks? TK: No, I could--again, I could research them and find out, there was--I, off the top of my head I can' ; t tell you the names of them. I know that there was a First National and there was a First State and there was a Community State and there was American National, but BM: In your opinion, would you say that the banks that were in the Bristow area was a major factor in the development of that--this community? TK: I would attribute part of the inertia in the development in this area, certainly, but more importantly than that, in my judgment, was the fine agriculture and ultimately the oil production. Agriculture and oil is really what put Bristow on the map and thank goodness it had some good arteries of transportation, it had a rail--the main line of the Frisco was through here. But the natural resources of agriculture and oil really were the reason for Bristow being the quality of town that it was. BM: Do you remember hearing say--it had been brought to my attention that there was a geographical survey made of this country by the United States whenever they laid out the railroad. Do you think possibly that this survey was the cause of oil being established? TK: Bob, the U.S. Geodatic Survey, the engineers, when they came through this country, they performed certain geological findings that were bound to have attracted the early day oilman because there was a man by the name of Fath, and there is still talking around the oilpatch about the ' ; Fath highs.' ; These were the geological high structures that were even identified by the Fath engineering and geological surveys back in the early days. It' ; s been amazingly accurate, some of those geological pronouncements that were back there at the turn of the century. BM: At one time was there a Bristow geographical survey company that surveyed out of Bristow? TK: To my knowledge, Bob, I' ; d have to defer that to someone else. To my knowledge I don' ; t know of any, but I' ; m kind of a johnny-come-lately in that score. There are other old oilpatchers around here that would probably have a better feel for that than I. I don' ; t know. end of interview 1 audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0002-02_Oliver_Kelly.xml OHP-0002-02_Oliver_Kelly.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
Oliver "Tracy" Kelly
Description
An account of the resource
In this brief 1976 interview, Oliver “Tracy” Kelly (1926-2012) discusses the first banks and cotton gins in Bristow, Oklahoma, as well as the nature of the industry in the area at that time, which was primarily agriculture and oil.
Identifier
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OHP-0002-02
Subject
The topic of the resource
First Banks and Cotton gins in Bristow
Date
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1976-10-13
Format
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audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/91980fbacb4c324e999623d4d39451c0.jpg
ac11fdc207ab58fe62f766615c9ef4af
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
Regan Siler
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Oma Kay Murray
OHMS Object
This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0064_Oma_Kay_Murray.xml
OHMS Object Text
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contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka
6.0 August 16, 2024 OHP-0064 Oma Kay Murray OHP-0064 00:01:07 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Oma Kay Murray Regan Siler 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0064 Murray, Oma Kay.mp3 Other audio 0 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 August 16, 2024 and I'm sitting here with Oma Kay Murray at the Bristow Library Annex. She's 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?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 00:23
 ; Oma Kay Murray. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:26
 ; Okay. And do I have permission to record this interview?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 00:29
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:29
 ; Okay. Can you tell us when and where you were born?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 00:35
 ; I was born October the 11th, 1951 in Bristow, Oklahoma.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:42
 ; Okay, and were you born at the, were you born at the Bristow Hospital?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 00:45
 ; I was born at the hospital on Eighth Street.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:49
 ; Was that called the Sisler, was that the Sisler? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 00:51
 ; Sisler Clinic? I think so.
 ; Oma Kay Murray was born on October 11, 1951. She was born in Bristow, Oklahoma at the Sisler Clinic. Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Historical Society ; Oma Kay Murray ; Bristow Library Annex ; Sisler Clinic Birth 0 56 Parents and Siblings Regan Siler 00:56
 ; Well, can you tell us about the people in your family? Let's start with your parents. What are your parents full names?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 01:03
 ; Daddy was James Rufus Copeland, and mother was Oma Olivi or Oleva, is what's on her birth certificate. Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:16
 ; Okay, and I have your dad, his date of birth as 7/12/1911. And then I have your mom's birthday as July 5, 1913. Does that sound right? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 01:29
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:29
 ; Okay. And do you have any siblings? And if so, what are their names?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 01:36
 ; I have a brother. That's all. He's older than I am. He, his name is Buddy Alexander Copeland, and he's living in Florida right now.
 ; Oma's father's name was James Rufus Copeland. Her mother was Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland. Oma has one brother ; his name is Buddy Alexander Copeland. James Rufus Copeland ; Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland ; Buddy Alexander Copeland ; Florida Parents ; Siblings 0 109 Parents' Work Regan Siler 01:49
 ; Okay, um, what type of work did your parents do?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 01:53
 ; Um, well, what I remember first is that mom and dad, when daddy came back from the war, mother was working for the Dr Pepper plant here in town.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 02:10
 ; Because right before I came up here, I was at the I was down at the depot, and they said they thought that your dad worked at the bottling company. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 02:19
 ; He did. He did. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 02:20
 ; So they both did? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 02:20
 ; He had a truck, and he delivered out in the country, south of town and to all those little stores that we used to have. And mother worked in the office. She kept the books.
 ; Oma's parents worked at the Dr. Pepper bottling company. Her mother worked in the office. Her father had a truck and made the deliveries out in the country. Oma's family then moved to New Mexico so that her father could work in the oil field. Then they relocated to Louisiana so her father could work with his brother. Her family moved back to Bristow when Oma was about 6 years old. Her father did odd jobs and was later hired as the school janitor. Her mother worked as the secretary at the Methodist Church. James Rufus Copeland ; Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland ; Dr. Pepper Co. ; Southwest Pecan ; Gypsy (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Mason (Okla.) ; Buddy Alexander Copeland ; Welty (Okla.) ; Rayma Lee Montgomery ; Roy Kuykendall ; Claremore (Okla.) ; New Mexico ; Oil fields ; Louisiana ; Patterson (La.) ; Methodist Church Job 0 495 Extended Family Regan Siler 08:15
 ; Okay, and did your dad's family live in this area?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 08:22
 ; Several, well, I say several did. My aunt lived with her, the my grandma and she was a nurse, Mary Tribble.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 08:34
 ; Say her name again.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 08:35
 ; Mary Tribble.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 08:36
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 08:37
 ; The the first baby born in the hospital. That picture that they have, the nurse that's holding her is my aunt.
 ; Oma had some family living in Bristow. Her grandmother and some aunts. Her aunt, Mary Tribble was a nurse. Her aunt, Donna Branscum was a nurse for the health department. Oma had family in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Illinois. Oma moved to Tahlequah for a bit while attending school but has been back in Bristow since 1973. Mary Tribble ; Donna Branscum ; Health Department ; New Mexico ; Texas ; Louisiana ; Illinois ; Tahlequah (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Okmulgee Tech Family 0 609 Early Childhood Regan Siler 10:09
 ; Okay, well, let's talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you remember any of your favorite toys from your childhood, or any favorite games that you played? That's taking it way back.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 10:26
 ; That is, that's taking it way back. You know what I remember a lot is just riding bicycles and being outside and making up games that we would play and, and the neighborhood kids would come, and we would ride bicycles in, in the street in front of the house where we live was dirt, you know, it was a dirt road. And I lived right next door to the garment factory. So, we would ride bikes in the garment factory, and then we could go just a block, and we would be at Washington School
 ; Oma enjoyed playing outside when she was young. She loved riding her bicycle. She remembers riding her bicycle in the garment factory. Garment Factory ; Washington School Childhood 0 679 Chores Regan Siler 11:19
 ; Did you have chores that you were expected to do when you were young?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 11:26
 ; Well, I just had to keep my room picked up and that type of thing. But when I got old enough to push a lawn mower, I started mowing yards, and I would mow mom and dad's yard. That was and that was kind of a chore. But then I would mow for the lady across the street, and then I'd mow for my grandma. My grandma always paid me $5.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:52
 ; Oh! But you didn't get paid? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 11:54
 ; I didn't, mother didn't no mom, dad didn't pay me.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:57
 ; But your grandma did?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 11:57
 ; Yeah.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:58
 ; Grandma was taking care of you.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 11:59
 ; Grandma was taking care of me.
 ; Oma was expected to keep her room clean when she was growing up. When she got a little older, she started mowing lawns. Her grandmother would pay her $5 when she mowed her lawn. James Rufus Copeland ; Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland Chores 0 722 Favorite Activities Regan Siler 12:02
 ; Do you remember having any favorite activities or hobbies as a child?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 12:07
 ; I like to paint, and that was the paint by numbers. And I like to do that. I like to color. I just, you know.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 12:15
 ; I always did, too! The best thing in the world was getting the box of 64 crayons, a brand new box of crayons. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 12:21
 ; And, yeah, and then I and I like the different, I mean, like, I like the the colored pencils.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 12:31
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 12:31
 ; And then, yeah, and all the different colors in the big boxes of crayons, yes.
 ; Oma enjoyed painting as a child. She would do the paint by number activities. She loved to color also and enjoyed getting a new box of crayons or colored pencils. Hobbies ; Paint Hobbies 0 756 Art Regan Siler 12:36
 ; So, I'm gonna skip ahead a little bit. Since you open the art door. I talked to both of your girls before this interview, and they said you wouldn't probably admit how artistic you are, but to visit with you about your artistic abilities.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 12:56
 ; Oh, I don't know, I kind of got away from, well, I still painted, though. I would paint things. I would paint rocks, and I'd paint gourds, and I would paint tin cans. I made, I made a Christmas ornament every year, and I just made oodles of them. So, I would give them to my friends, and I would give them to the teachers at school, and and, and I had a set for me, and as the girls got married and had trees, then I would make them, you know, I just that. And I made one of Oklahoma and had it on the tree. I don't know, I just did that, but it just, I've lost that. I can't do that now, because I don't have time. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 13:46
 ; Well, now, did you have, did you have a hand in painting the pirate? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 13:52
 ; No, that was my dad.
 ; Oma has always enjoyed painting. She would paint rocks, gourds and tin cans. She made Christmas ornaments every year for years and even made an Oklahoma one. Her father was very artistic and painted the Bristow pirate. He would spend his lunch breaks painting at the old junior high building. Christmas ; James Rufus Copeland ; Junior High ; Art ; Paint Art 0 895 Collecting Rocks Regan Siler 14:55
 ; He was more, more into the landscape thing. And okay, did do you remember collecting anything as a child?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 15:09
 ; Rocks.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 15:11
 ; So, you did collect rocks?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 15:12
 ; I did collect rocks. And I, you know.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 15:15
 ; Are those the ones you painted? Or did you 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 15:16
 ; No, well, no, no, I no. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 15:18
 ; You just liked to collect them?
 ; Oma collected rocks as a child. She helped collect rocks that her father used to make a patio in their backyard. They would drive the old dirt roads and look for rocks to collect. James Rufus Copeland Rocks 0 969 School Regan Siler 16:09
 ; It had to have some character, too. I can, I can get on board with that. Can you tell me about your school life? I know you said you started off in Louisiana in the first grade. Did you go the rest of your school years in Bristow? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 16:27
 ; Yes. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 16:28
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 16:28
 ; Yes. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 16:28
 ; Um, do you remember having any particular influential teachers?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 16:34
 ; Um, Mrs. Jackson, scared me, scared me, scared me, but she she was such a good teacher.
 ; Oma attended first grade in Louisiana. She then attended Bristow schools for the rest of her schooling. She loved Mrs. Holcomb who taught art. Oma walked to school as a child. She was part of the Latin Club in high school. Oma loved her Family Living class taught by Wanda Newton. Louisiana ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Gladys Holcomb ; Ima Jean Jackson ; Edison Elementary ; Washington School ; Latin Club ; Math Club ; Family Living ; Wanda Newton School 0 1212 Friends Regan Siler 20:12
 ; Well, so I understand that you had, or have a group of friends that you've had for a really long time, and that you guys called yourself something?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 20:23
 ; Mr. Miller called us the dirt, the half, dirty half dozen.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 20:30
 ; The dirty half dozen and, and I understand that you're you guys are still friends to this day?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 20:36
 ; We're still friends to this day.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 20:38
 ; Which is pretty cool.
 ; Oma has a group of friends to this day from her childhood. They were called the dirty half dozen. Recently, Oma and her friends stayed for a weekend at Betsy Davis's four-story house on Grand Lake. Betsy Davis ; Grand Lake (Okla.) ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Sandy Sweatt ; Paulette Womack ; Susan Brown ; Carolyn Humphrey Dobrinski ; Nona Harvin ; Diabetes ; Kathy Mattox ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Linda Barry ; Karen Elias Friends 0 1448 Childhood Home Regan Siler 24:08
 ; Exactly. Um, well, can you tell me a little bit about the house that you grew up in here in Bristow? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 24:14
 ; Mm, hmm. When we bought the house, it was small. It had a big front porch. It was covered. It had the big posts, you know, to support the cover. But it was
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 24:31
 ; And this was the one over by the garment factor?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 24:32
 ; Uh huh, but it was little, and it had a it had a back porch, and that was where mom had the, the washing machine, and then there was a little outside back porch that you could step down. And Daddy had a big garden in the back. He could grow anything. But over the years, they redid the kitchen and, and they changed the floors. It had hardwood floors, and I wish that daddy hadn't, they there was some kind of, some kind of flooring that they put down that it just
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 24:33
 ; It messed up the floor.
 ; Oma grew up in a small house by the garment factory. Oma did not have a bedroom for a lot of her childhood and slept in the dining room. She was in high school by the time she had her own bedroom. Bristow (Okla.) ; Garment factory ; Louisiana Home 0 1604 Playing Outside Regan Siler 26:44
 ; My goodness, okay, where did you spend most of your time? Were you, sounds like you were probably more of an outside kid. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 26:52
 ; I was, I was outside all the time till dark, but it was just a block up to the highway and then two blocks to my grandma's house. She lived on Third Street, on the corner and of Oak and, and Third and, so, I go up there. My cousin from New Mexico is eight months older than I am, and she came every summer because her mother died when she was little. I don't know if she 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:29
 ; So that was probably fun for you?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 27:30
 ; That was like having a sister, yeah, yeah. She was my sister for a lot of years and and then she would come down, you know, even after she was of age to be able to drive. She would drive down. You know, I would never have driven that far by myself, but she would drive.
 ; Oma spent most of her time outside growing up. She would play outside until it was dark. Her grandmother lived a few blocks away and Oma went there often. Oma also had a cousin from New Mexico that was eight months older than her. She came and spent the summers here in Bristow. She was like a sister to Oma. Highway ; Third Street ; New Mexico Outside 0 1669 Mealtimes Regan Siler 27:49
 ; Well, what were meal times like in your family? Did you guys, was was dinner for you like sitting down with the family every night? Or were you going different directions or?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 28:00
 ; No, we were able to sit down every night and eat, and we ate things out of the garden. We always had vegetables out of the garden and tomatoes, which I didn't like tomatoes, but my mother loved them. And, you know, cucumbers and carrots and asparagus and there were different kind of fruit trees power in the backyard, right planted in the backyard, there was a little pear tree and a, I'm sorry, an apple tree. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 28:36
 ; So, whenever you were younger, did your mom teach you how to cook? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 28:44
 ; No, I didn't want to be in the kitchen, cooking. I wanted to be outside.
 ; Oma and her family ate dinner together every night. They ate a lot of things from their garden. Oma enjoyed her mother's cooking. Her favorite was fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Oma still has her mother's recipe book. Family ; Dinner ; Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland Mealtimes 0 1784 Community Activities Regan Siler 29:44
 ; So whenever you think about growing up in Bristow, do you remember having any favorite community activities? And you know, for instance, a lot of people talk about Western Heritage Days, day camp, you know, parades, county fairs. Tell me about some of that those times for you and what you remember?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 29:44
 ; Well, I remember Western Heritage Days, and they had the saloons, and they had the saloon girls that would, you know, prance up and down the street, and you could see those, and there were gun fights in the middle of Main Street, and we had Woolsworth then. Woolsworth was there, and then Ben Franklin.
 ; Oma remembers Western Heritage Days in Bristow when she was young. They had saloon girls prancing up and down the street. She also says there were gun fights in the middle of Main Street. Western Heritage Days ; Main Street ; Ben Franklin ; Woolsworth ; Dollar Tree Community Activities 0 1859 Businesses Around Town Regan Siler 30:59
 ; To buy records? Okay. Well and that kind of leads into my next question of what were some of the biggest and most popular businesses around town. But it sounds like you liked Woolworths and
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 31:10
 ; I liked Kemp's. When we walk, I I, my mom took me to school at junior high, but I had to walk home. So, I walked, you know, all the way home to Oak Street. Yeah, it was quite a walk, but I had some people that walked with me to, like, Sixth Street, and then, you know, then I walked by myself the rest of the way, which I wouldn't let my kids do today for anything.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 31:39
 ; But did you you mentioned Kemp's? Did you used to stop by there?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 31:42
 ; We stopped there, if, you know, if we got out of school early or something, we would stop there. And there would be kids and, and there was a, I guess you would say bar or whatever. But anyway, you could sit up on the stools and order your, your drinks or your shakes, or whatever you wanted right there. Yeah, while you visited with your friends,
 ; Oma bought her records from a store called Woolworths in Bristow. Oma enjoyed going to Kemp's when she was young. She would sometimes stop on her way home from school with her friends. They had a bar where you could sit up on the stools and order drinks and milkshakes. There was also a pizza place called Darrel's Pizza that Oma enjoyed. Woolworths ; Kemp's Drugstore ; Junior High ; Oak Street ; Sixth Street ; Emily Winter ; Fifth Street ; Lyons Cafe ; Opal Lyons ; Edison Elementary School ; Washington School ; Biggs Chiropractic ; Darrel's Pizza ; Oscar's Businesses 0 2074 Teenage Life Regan Siler 34:34
 ; Did you have a favorite hangout as a teacher, as a teacher, as a teenager?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 34:41
 ; Well, you know, we drug Main and we would go to the Tastee Freez and, but I don't remember places where we got together, except at each other's houses.
 ; Oma drug Main with her friends when she a teenager. They would go to the Tastee Freez. They also hung out together at each other's homes. Main Street ; Tastee Freez Teenage Life 0 2098 Cars and Learning to Drive Regan Siler 34:58
 ; Do you remember your family's first car?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 35:03
 ; I do. It was a Nash Rambler. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 35:07
 ; Nash Rambler. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 35:08
 ; Nash Rambler. It was white, and the front seat was divided in two, so the driver had a section and the person in the front have a section, and this is what I remember. And, so, anyway, we would drive from Oklahoma to Louisiana to see my uncle and family down there and stuff. And, so, Mother would scoot over and sit on the same side with daddy, and then she would lay that seat down, and Buddy could sleep on that because it was longer, or he slept in the seat, and then maybe I slept beside him, like that, and so. And we always drove at night.
 ; Oma's first family car was a Nash Rambler. It was white and this is the car that her family traveled from Oklahoma to Louisiana in. Oma's brother taught her how to drive. Oma's first car was her brother's old Chevy pickup truck. Nash Ramblers ; Oklahoma ; Louisiana ; Chevrolet automobile Automobiles 0 2227 Entertainment Regan Siler 37:07
 ; What sort of entertainment did you enjoy growing up? Did you, did you get to watch much TV? And if you did, did you have a favorite program?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 37:19
 ; I watched, Saturday was my favorite day to watch TV. And, so, there was Fury the Horse, and then there wasSky King with his airplane, and, and then the the comedy, or the kind of, of course, we had the, we had the cartoons that were Sylvester and the Road Runner and those kind of cartoons. I liked cartoons. Yes, did you ask me two questions in that one?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 37:56
 ; Just what your favorite programs were and what, like, if TV was part of your entertainment, whenever you were young.
 ; Oma says Saturdays were her favorite days to watch Television. She enjoyed cartoons, such as Sylvester and the Road Runner. She also liked Fury the Horse and Sky King. Television ; Fury (Television program) ; Sky King (Television program) ; Sylvester and the Road Runner ; cartoons Entertainment 0 2305 Pivotal Historical Moments Regan Siler 38:25
 ; Do you, do you recall witnessing any pivotal events in history on TV that you saw on TV?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 38:36
 ; I was in fifth grade when the first astronaut went around the earth.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 38:47
 ; Did you find that fascinating? Or did it really, do you remember it affect? Do you remember what you thought at the time when, when you realized, hey, there's somebody in space going around.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 39:00
 ; I don't know, it almost seemed like it wasn't real.
 ; Oma remembers when she in the fifth grade and the first astronaut went around the Earth. She was in seventh grade when John F. Kennedy was shot. She remembers it being traumatic. History ; Television ; Earth ; John F. Kennedy ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Oak Street Historical Moments 0 2403 Holidays Regan Siler 40:03
 ; Right. Well, let's talk about your family and holidays. Do you remember what holidays were like for, for your family when you were younger? Say, let's take Christmas, since that's usually a big one for people.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 40:21
 ; Well, I would have things that I wanted and, and I could get, I would get some of them, but I wouldn't get all of them. I always wanted a, I always wanted a horse, and I wanted an outfit like Dale Evans. I never got it.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 40:35
 ; You never got it?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 40:36
 ; I never got those two things. And I was so upset. But, you know, we didn't get a lot.
 ; Oma remembers always wanting a horse and an outfit like Dale Evans for Christmas. She says she never got those, but her brother did buy her a western belt one year. She also remembers receiving a stuffed bear one year and sleeping with it until she was about 13. Holidays ; Christmas ; Dale Evans ; Buddy Alexander Copeland Holidays 0 2517 Career Dreams Regan Siler 41:57
 ; Oh, you did? Well, that's perfect, isn't it? Well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Do you ever remember thinking about that?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 42:10
 ; Well, I had two nurses in the family, so I thought I wanted to be a nurse, and the more I learned about it, but yeah, the less I wanted to do that. So, I played, I played teacher, you know, I had a chalkboard. I did one of my Christmas presents was a chalkboard. It was about this big, and I would stand it up on something, you know, a shelf or something, and, and I would play like I was a teacher. So, I guess that was 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 42:39
 ; Maybe you
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 42:40
 ; That was
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 42:41
 ; It was foretelling your future?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 42:43
 ; That was maybe the intention for me.
 ; Oma has two nurses in her family, so she thought she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up. The more she learned about nursing the less she wanted to do that. She played teacher with a chalkboard that she received as a Christmas present one year. She says teaching was the intention for her. Nurse ; Teacher ; Christmas ; Career Career ; Dreams 0 2565 Jobs Regan Siler 42:45
 ; Well, and that's a good transition into my next question, because I wanted to talk to you about the jobs that you've had. I know whenever we visited on the phone, you said you started out at Drumright [Oklahoma] your first year, because you were trying to get on here, and they didn't want to hire brand new teachers, and then 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 43:04
 ; From Bristow.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 43:05
 ; From Bristow, so, so tell me, because it's a long history that you have with Bristow Public Schools. Tell me how many years you've
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 43:15
 ; This one will be 51.
 ; Oma started her teaching career at Drumright, Oklahoma. She only taught there for one year and then moved to Bristow Public Schools. This year is her 51st year at Bristow. She started out teaching the special ed children. She then helped get the speech services going again at the school. Oma did speech from 1973-1990. She then taught first grade until 2013. She was burnt out and ready to retire. Vicki Groom helped her get on as an assistant to the Speech Pathologist, Jennifer Morgan. Oma still works part time doing this, Drumright (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Christmas ; Washington Elementary School ; Edison Elementary School ; Kathy Mattox ; Vicki Groom ; State departments of education ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Speech and Language Pathology Assistant ; Jennifer Morgan Job 0 2916 Day Camp Regan Siler 48:36
 ; That's wonderful. Um, and then the other thing that you have, obviously, been instrumental in is day camp. So, tell us about day camp and how you got started and
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 48:49
 ; It's been so long.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 48:49
 ; We moved here, and I started day camp that summer that we moved here, I started day camp, so that was I was six. And, so, I went to day camp through till I was able to be a day camp helper. I was working with Chuck West and Wanda Newton. They were awesome. And, anyway, we, I was, I was able to become a counselor, and,, and I worked becoming a counselor, and then somebody else was doing it, besides Wanda and Chuck, because they, they retired, but they, whoever did it, didn't last. Well. I think it was Womack. Mrs. Womack. Margaret, Mary Margaret, Womack, okay, she worked there, but I don't remember who the male, I don't know if there even was a male. I don't remember who the other person was, but anyway. Yeah, but Vicki and I took it on, Vicki and I took it on and we did it. I can't even remember when we started. I can't remember when we started. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 49:16
 ; I can't!
 ; Oma has been a huge part of the Bristow Day Camp program. She started going to day camp when she moved to Bristow when she was 6. She went to day camp until she was old enough to become a helper and then a counselor. Chuck West and Wanda Newton were over it and then she believes Margaret Womack took it over. Later Vicki Groom and Oma started doing it. She no longer helps with day camp, but she did for many years. Bristow Day Camp ; Chuck West ; Wanda Newton ; Margaret Womack Day camps 0 3186 Husband Regan Siler 53:06
 ; Well, you've definitely, you've definitely found your calling. Um, okay, well, let's talk about your family. Um, when and where did you first meet your spouse and tell us his full name?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 53:21
 ; Jesse Richard Murray, and I met him at the drive in.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 53:26
 ; I hear that there, there's a funny story there. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 53:29
 ; Oh, I don't necessarily want to tell it. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 53:31
 ; Oh, you don't? Okay, well, you don't have to.
 ; Oma is married to Jesse Richard Murray. She met him at the drive-in theater. She says that on Wednesday nights it was $1 for a carload at the drive-in. Her and Rick met in the truck of the car. Oma says she actually first met her in-laws when she was 6 and they were the moving company her family used to move them back to Bristow. Jesse Richard Murray ; Drive-In Movies ; Rebel Rambler ; Murray Transfer and Storage Husband 0 3386 Engagement and Wedding Regan Siler 56:26
 ; Oh, no, that's funny. Um, so did you have, like, an engagement period, or did you just decide to get married or can you tell me about that?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 56:48
 ; We just decided to get married? We thought it was too expensive driving back and forth to Tahlequah. He would drive to Tahlequah on the weekends, and or I would ride home with Don Tunnell (ph) and, and then we'd be there in Bristow, and then I'd ride back to school with Don Tunnell (ph). So, and then he moved down there and lived in a travel trailer that was this big and, but anyway, then we got married at Christmas. So we, we were six months.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 57:09
 ; So, did you get married in Tahlequah, or did you get married here? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 57:26
 ; No, we got married in Bristow, in the Methodist Church. But I didn't, I didn't want it to be a big wedding. So, there was a room in the in the church that had a little altar down at the end of it. So, they set chairs up on either side of the room, and then I entered through the back door and a little, just a little wedding.
 ; Oma and Rick dated about 6 months before deciding to get married. They got married at Christmas time. They held their wedding at the Methodist Church in Bristow. It was a small ceremony. Tahlequah (Okla.) ; Don Tunnell ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Christmas ; Methodist Church Engagement ; Wedding 0 3469 Children Regan Siler 57:49
 ; Okay. Well, so I know the answer to this, but tell me how many children you have and what their names are.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 57:56
 ; Okay, I have two girls, Jessica Renee Tiger now.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 58:05
 ; Okay. Jessica Renee Tiger. And then, oh, she's forty, forty-nine.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 58:05
 ; Right.
 ; Oma has two daughters. Their names are Jessica Renee Tiger and Emily Kay Murray. Jessica Renee Tiger ; Emily Kay Murray Children 0 3545 Motherhood Regan Siler 59:05
 ; Yeah, right. Can you remember or any, like, challenges of being a mom in the early days? Any struggles that you had?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 59:17
 ; Jessica never slept until she was nine months old.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 59:23
 ; And you, actually, had another baby after that?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 59:27
 ; Yeah, I wanted them close together, but it just didn't happen. And, so, they're almost five years apart, but 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 59:39
 ; You were probably trying to catch up on your sleep.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 59:41
 ; Yeah, a lot of it, a lot of it, it was and she had colic. I think a lot of it was the colic too, but this is what I blame it on. I ate at Taco Burger. Every week we would go out and eat at Taco Burger, and I would eat an empanada dinner, and I blame it on that. Then I craved fish with Emily, and she slept like a baby. So, go figure.
 ; Oma says that her first daughter, Jessica did not sleep well until she was nine months old. She had colic. There was a five-year age gap between her daughters. Her second daughter, Emily was a great sleeper. Jessica Renee Tiger ; Emily Kay Murray ; Taco Burger Motherhood 0 3610 Grandchildren Regan Siler 1:00:10
 ; Go figure. Well, so how many grandchildren do you have? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:00:13
 ; I have three. Jessica has Garrett Tyler Long and Gracie Renee Long and then there's Olivia Kay Wilkins.
 ; Oma has three grandchildren. Their names are Garrett Tyler Long, Gracie Renee Long and Olivia Kay Wilkins. Jessica Renee Tiger ; Garrett Tyler Long ; Gracie Renee Long ; Olivia Kay Wilkins Grandchildren 0 3630 Snow White Regan Siler 1:00:30
 ; Okay, all right, um, the girls also wanted me to ask you why they call you Snow White.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:00:41
 ; Because I go out and feed the animals, and they don't run away when I go out and feed them. They just wait until the food gets down, and then they come and eat. So, I feed the birds, and I feed the turkeys, and I feed the deer, and I've got a road runner that runs past and then get jumps up and gets a drink out of my bird bath, and it's just fun. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:01:08
 ; So, you're an animal lover? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:01:10
 ; I'm an animal lover. Yes, I am. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:01:12
 ; Well, I think that that warrants you being named Snow White. 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:01:16
 ; I guess so. I guess so. They come up with stuff. We have so much fun together.
 ; Oma's daughters call her Snow White. Oma goes outside to feed the animals, and they don't run away. She feeds the birds, turkeys, and deer. She even has a road runner that drinks out of her bird bath. Snow White (Tale) Snow White (Tale) 0 3682 Important Invention Regan Siler 1:01:22
 ; So, what would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:01:42
 ; I don't know. I mean, I hate to say the phone having it with you when we managed without it, but it's such a fast paced world now, it's kind of, what would we do without it? The cars have changed.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:02:03
 ; Cars are computers just about anymore.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:02:05
 ; Right. And I don't want a computerized car, because I don't do computers very well. Color TV, I guess.
 ; Oma talks about the importance of cell phones nowadays and how we wouldn't know what to do without them. She also says that cars are so much different now than when she was young. She says color TV is also a big change from the past. Invention ; Phone ; Color television Invention 0 3736 How the World is Different Regan Siler 1:02:16
 ; That's fair. How do you feel the world is different now than it was when you were young or a child?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:02:24
 ; Too fast-paced. So much more dangerous than it ever was when I grew up.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:02:33
 ; You know, I just talked to Linda Kay Herman. I interviewed her yesterday, and she actually said almost the exact same thing, that whenever you guys grew up and you rode bikes and everyone was around town, you never thought about your, you never had fear, really, like what you do. Like you really wouldn't let your kids do that now.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:02:55
 ; Right. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:02:56
 ; Which is sad. I mean, I feel like you guys had a very carefree time of growing up.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:03:02
 ; And, see, my parents thought, saw it as a different generation, and it was, you know, much more fast paced than than they grew up in their little country houses with nine kids in a two-bedroom house.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:03:16
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:03:18
 ; That was my grandparents.
 ; Oma says the world is much more fast-paced than when she grew up. She feels it is much more dangerous now also. Linda Kay Herman World 0 3799 Nation's Biggest Problem Regan Siler 1:03:19
 ; Right, right. So, what do you feel is our nation's biggest problem right now, and how do you think it can be solved? 
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:03:29
 ; Oh, gosh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:03:30
 ; I'm challenging you, Oma Kay.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:03:33
 ; I know.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:03:35
 ; And you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But I just think it lends to the maybe the perspective, if someone can answer it, of, you know, of the time period when someone goes back and listens to this 100 years from now, of the things that were troubling to you at this time.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:03:52
 ; I think it's the fact that we've gotten away from God for one thing. And you're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, and that's just not true anymore. People don't care for each other. They can, and I mean, I'm guilty of it too, seeing people on the side of the road wanting money and stuff. You can't do that because you don't know if they're for real.
 ; Oma says that a big problem in our nation is that we have gotten away from God. She says that people don't love their neighbors as themselves anymore. Oma feels like people don't care about each other like they used to. God Nation ; Problem 0 3877 Historic Events-Covid Regan Siler 1:04:37
 ; Sometimes it feels like maybe it's swung too far the other way, and not really sure how to how to get it back.Have any historic events affected your life, and say, for example, like the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 COVID, natural disasters? Have there been any types of those historic events that have had a direct effect on your life?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:04:38
 ; I think COVID has. It shut down the schools, and that's created school issues for the kids.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:04:46
 ; Kind of long-lasting.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:05:15
 ; Right, right. And I'm not so sure about schooling at home. There would be parents that would, that would participate in that and make sure their kids did things at home that they were supposed to do at school. But then you've got the parents that are not going to.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:05:38
 ; And then those kids get left behind.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:05:40
 ; And they get left behind. Yeah, and that's not fair.
 ; Oma says that Covid has had a direct effect on her life. She saw firsthand how that the schools closing has had long-lasting issues for the students. Some children did not have parents helping the children with schooling at home. Covid ; School Covid 0 3942 Wisdom Regan Siler 1:05:42
 ; I agree with that. 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?
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:05:53
 ; I don't think I'm that person that could come up with.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 1:05:55
 ; No, I mean, I really think it's, it can be a very basic sentiment. I think you are. I think you've experienced a lot of life, a lot of kids, a lot of family things. I mean, I know there's some wisdom in there that you can share with us.
 ; 
 ; Oma Kay Murray 1:06:11
 ; I just try to stay as positive as I can, and I try to keep everything upbeat. That's what God wants us to do. You know, you, you, you're thankful in the good times, but you're thankful in the bad times, too. And you get through them.
 ; Oma finishes the interview with some words of wisdom. She says that people should try to stay positive and upbeat. They should be thankful in the good times and bad. Wisdom ; God Wisdom 0 MP3 Oma Kay Murray was born October 11, 1951 in Bristow, Oklahoma. Oma Kay's parents, James and Oma Copeland, worked at a Dr Pepper bottling company after WWII. She attended Bristow Public Schools where she was involved in pep club and Latin Club. Oma Kay has been a teacher for 51 years, starting in Drumright and then Bristow, where she taught special education, speech, and first grade. She met her husband, Jesse Richard Murray, at a drive-in. Oma Kay is known for her community involvement, particularly in day camp and has had a lasting positive impact on the youth of Bristow. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.000 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 August 16, 2024 and I'm sitting here with Oma Kay Murray at the Bristow Library Annex. She's 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? 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:26.000 Oma Kay Murray. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.000 Okay. And do I have permission to record this interview? 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:29.000 Yes. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:35.000 Okay. Can you tell us when and where you were born? 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:42.000 I was born October the 11th, 1951 in Bristow, Oklahoma. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.000 Okay, and were you born at the, were you born at the Bristow Hospital? 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:49.000 I was born at the hospital on Eighth Street. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.000 Was that called the Sisler, was that the Sisler? 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:56.000 Sisler Clinic? I think so. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Well, can you tell us about the people in your family? Let's start with your parents. What are your parents full names? 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:16.000 Daddy was James Rufus Copeland, and mother was Oma Olivi or Oleva, is what's on her birth certificate. Oma Oleva Alexander Copeland. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:29.000 Okay, and I have your dad, his date of birth as 7/12/1911. And then I have your mom's birthday as July 5, 1913. Does that sound right? 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:29.000 Yes. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:36.000 okay. And do you have any siblings? And if so, what are their names? 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:49.000 I have a brother. That's all. He's older than I am. He, his name is Buddy Alexander Copeland, and he's living in Florida right now. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.000 Okay, um, what type of work did your parents do? 00:01:53.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Um, well, what I remember first is that mom and dad, when daddy came back from the war, mother was working for the Dr Pepper plant here in town. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:19.000 Because right before I came up here, I was at the I was down at the depot, and they said they thought that your dad worked at the bottling company. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:20.000 He did. He did. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:20.000 So they both did? 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:32.000 He had a truck, and he delivered out in the country, south of town and to all those little stores that we used to have. And mother worked in the office. She kept the books. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:38.000 So, they both worked there. Interesting. And where was the bottling company located? 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.000 It was on Eighth Street, where Southwest Pecan is. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:42.000 Really? 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.000 Yes. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.000 So, was it very big? 00:02:45.000 --> 00:03:34.000 No, not necessarily. There was a there was a building that they drove into and and that was where they loaded the Dr Pepper cases and stuff. And then the other building was where they cooked the Dr Pepper, and I think that was up above. And my brother told me this because my brother was old enough to be down there and and he would, you know, play down there. He's, he's nine years older than I am, so he was around it a lot, and he would go with daddy on on the trips down south to do all the little stores and and make deliveries and, and that's really all he really, that I remember him talking about, is south. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:35.000 Going out south. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:50.000 Go out south, going out south. And there were little towns out there, you know, there was Gypsy and, and then there was, what's the one where Rayma Lee's [Rayma Lee Montgomery] 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.000 Like in Mason or? 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.000 Welty! Welty, there's a little store, and I think it's even still there now. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:21.000 Well, so did they work there for very long? Like, I wonder how long I need to do my research and find out how long the bottling company was there. We were just had been donated, like bottles and some stuff from the bottling company was recently donated to the museum. So that's why it was interesting to know that both your parents had worked there. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:35.000 They both worked there. I have pictures that I sent to the depot and and it was a lot, you know, it was all the workers, and I knew some of them, like Roy Kuykendall, worked there. And, oh, it was Darlene. Oh, I can't see this is where I can't name. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:55.000 No, that's okay. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:09.000 That's bad. But anyway, I can see him. He had a filling station at one time, too. Let me think later. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:10.000 No, that's okay. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:13.000 Yeah, there were several people that I knew, but 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:18.000 So, do you, how long do you have any recollection of how long your parents worked there? 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.000 No, because I just, I just remember that 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:22.000 Because you were little. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:06:35.000 So, I would, yeah, I was little. They, they sold the the Dr Pepper plant to a man that didn't do a very good job of keeping things going like the other one did. And I can't remember his name, either, it'll come to me. But anyway, so they sold it to him, and then he moved on. I think he moved to Claremore [Oklahoma], the man that I can't remember. And mom and dad went to New Mexico to get in the oil field, and they were just there. And I was there too. I was little bitty. And then they got a call from daddy's brother that lived in Louisiana, and he went down there. They, we all went down there and stayed while he worked offshore, and then he was kind of the last one hired for the company. But then he was the last one, first one to be let go. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:40.000 Oh, shoot, so did your mom work while you guys were in Louisiana? 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:40.000 No, no. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.000 She just stayed home and took care of you guys? 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:49.000 And he worked offshore a week, and then he was home a week, and he worked offshore a week, and yeah. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:54.000 So, then when did they move back to Bristow? 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:18.000 I did first grade in in Patterson, Louisiana, and in the summer after that, we moved back, and daddy just kind of had odd jobs. He worked for the Johns Brothers. He worked for the one that I told you had a filling station. He worked for him. Hodges. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:19.000 Hodges? 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:28.000 Yes, yes. And then he got on with the school, and he worked at the school as a janitor. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:38.000 So, did your did you have your parents were here? What made you come back to Bristow? Parents or grandparents? 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:47.000 Yeah, yeah, I had grandparent here, it's the only one that I really knew was my Grandma Copeland. So it was daddy's mother, and she lived. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:50.000 So, is that what made you come back to Bristow? 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:51.000 I think so. I think so. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.000 Like the family connection. 00:07:53.000 --> 00:08:01.000 Because we, you know, we were here starting out, and then went to try to better ourselves and make better jobs. I'm saying myself, but they were. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.000 Right. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:15.000 And, so, when we got back here, Daddy got that well, he had some odd jobs, and then he got that job with the school, and mother worked as a secretary for the Methodist Church. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:22.000 Okay, and did your dad's family live in this area? 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:34.000 Several, well, I say several did. My aunt lived with her, the my grandma and she was a nurse, Mary Tribble. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.000 Say her name again. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:36.000 Mary Tribble. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.000 Okay. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:44.000 The the first baby born in the hospital. That picture that they have, the nurse that's holding her is my aunt. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.000 Oh cool! 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:59.000 And then Donna Branscum was a sister to my dad, and she was the the nurse for the health department. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Okay. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:20.000 So, and they, they were here, but none of the, none of the boys lived here. So, we had, I had brothers or uncles in New Mexico and Texas and Louisiana and Illinois. They were just kind of, yeah. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.000 So, have you been here? So you guys moved back around the second grade? 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.000 I was probably six. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.000 Okay. And have you been here since then? Or did you 00:09:30.000 --> 00:10:07.000 The only time that we were away was while I was in school in Tahlequah, and then we moved, Rick, Rick worked at Tahlequah [Oklahoma] while I finished my schooling, and then we came back to Bristow, and he had worked at the carpet mill before. So, when he came back to Bristow, he started school at Okmulgee Tech, and then worked at the carpet mill at night. So, so we've been back here since '73. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.000 For a real long time. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:09.000 For a real long time. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:26.000 Okay, well, let's talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you remember any of your favorite toys from your childhood, or any favorite games that you played? That's taking it way back. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:11:01.000 That is, that's taking it way back. You know what I remember a lot is just riding bicycles and being outside and making up games that we would play and, and the neighborhood kids would come, and we would ride bicycles in, in the street in front of the house where we live was dirt, you know, it was a dirt road. And I lived right next door to the garment factory. So, we would ride bikes in the garment factory, and then we could go just a block, and we would be at Washington School,. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:02.000 Okay. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:59.000 Grandma was taking care of you. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:12.000 And, so, we just, I remember that night, I did, I we just couldn't afford a lot of toys, so we just kind of made things. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.000 You used your imagination! 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.000 Right. We did. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:16.000 Something that I think is lacking a little bit. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:19.000 Yes, I think so. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:26.000 Did you have chores that you were expected to do when you were young? 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:52.000 Well, I just had to keep my room picked up and that type of thing. But when I got old enough to push a lawn mower, I started mowing yards, and I would mow mom and dad's yard. That was and that was kind of a chore. But then I would mow for the lady across the street, and then I'd mow for my grandma. My grandma always paid me $5. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.000 Oh! But you didn't get paid? 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.000 I didn't, mother didn't no mom, dad didn't pay me. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:57.000 But your grandma did? 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:01.000 Yeah. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.000 Grandma was taking care of me. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:07.000 Do you remember having any favorite activities or hobbies as a child? 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:15.000 I like to paint, and that was the paint by numbers. And I like to do that. I like to color. I just, you know. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:21.000 I always did, too! The best thing in the world was getting the box of 64 crayons, a brand new box of crayons. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:31.000 And, yeah, and then I and I like the different, I mean, like, I like the the colored pencils. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:31.000 Yes. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:36.000 And then, yeah, and all the different colors in the big boxes of crayons, yes. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:56.000 So, I'm gonna skip ahead a little bit. Since you open the art door. I talked to both of your girls before this interview, and they said you wouldn't probably admit how artistic you are, but to visit with you about your artistic abilities. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:46.000 Oh, I don't know, I kind of got away from, well, I still painted, though. I would paint things. I would paint rocks, and I'd paint gourds, and I would paint tin cans. I made, I made a Christmas ornament every year, and I just made oodles of them. So, I would give them to my friends, and I would give them to the teachers at school, and and, and I had a set for me, and as the girls got married and had trees, then I would make them, you know, I just that. And I made one of Oklahoma and had it on the tree. I don't know, I just did that, but it just, I've lost that. I can't do that now, because I don't have time. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:52.000 Well, now, did you have, did you have a hand in painting the pirate? 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.000 No, that was my dad. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:54.000 That was your dad. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:54.000 My dad. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.000 That painted the pirate. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:57.000 Yes. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.000 So, do you think you inherited some of your artistic ability from him? 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:16.000 Maybe, maybe, yeah, and he painted a lot when, well, he started painting when he was working at at school, and he would take his lunch, and I don't know if you remember the old junior high building. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:16.000 Oh, yeah. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Okay. Well, there were stairs that would take you up up to the very top, and there was windows all around, so the lighting was really good. So, Daddy would go up there and paint instead of eating, you know. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Really, well that's cool! 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:54.000 He would go up there and paint and and so he he would he got better. He got better as he painted more and more. And he did landscapes more than he did. He didn't, he didn't do people well, you know, he tried, he tried to paint cowboys and stuff like that, but he never got everything just, just right. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:55.000 He never got that down? 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:55.000 Yeah, yeah, never. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:15:09.000 He was more, more into the landscape thing. And okay, did do you remember collecting anything as a child? 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:11.000 Rocks. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:12.000 So, you did collect rocks? 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:15.000 I did collect rocks. And I, you know. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.000 Are those the ones you painted? Or did you 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 No, well, no, no, I no. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.000 You just liked to collect them? 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:50.000 Yeah, I just like to collect them. And so I used different things to collect them. Sometimes I would look for holes in rocks. And so if I'd find, you know, rocks with holes in them, I would, I would save those or and Daddy made a patio out of rocks, and we would go and drive the the old dirt roads. And if there was a rock on the side of the road, we would that we could get 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:50.000 That looked like it would work? 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:51.000 And we would get it, and we'd put it in the car, and he made a patio in the backyard that was real nice. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:51.000 Oh, wow! 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:52.000 Yeah. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:58.000 And from rocks from all over. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:01.000 Yeah. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:02.000 Well that's cool. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:03.000 But it always had to be, it couldn't just be a rock. It had to have, I had to tell what, why I liked it. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:27.000 It had to have some character, too. I can, I can get on board with that. Can you tell me about your school life? I know you said you started off in Louisiana in the first grade. Did you go the rest of your school years in Bristow? 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:28.000 Yes. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:28.000 Okay. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:28.000 Yes. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Um, do you remember having any particular influential teachers? 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:49.000 Um, Mrs. Jackson, scared me, scared me, scared me, but she she was such a good teacher. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.000 And what did she teach? 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:57.000 She teach, she teach. She taught. She taught third grade. 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:57.000 Third grade, okay. 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:19.000 And so I had her, and then I loved Mrs. Holcomb, and she was the art teacher for a while, but then, when Ola Lee was the name of the the librarian, when she left, then Mrs. Holcomb took over the 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:25.000 What was Ola Lee's last name? I almost think I did an old interview, an old oral history that they 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.000 I can't remember that. I just remember Ola Lee. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:32.000 So, then Mrs., what was, do you remember Mrs. Holcomb's first name? 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.000 Gladys. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.000 Gladys Holcomb. And then what was Mrs. Jackson's first name? Do you remember? 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:37.000 Ima Jean. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.000 Ima Jean Jackson. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:18:04.000 And see, and then I worked with them. I didn't work with Mrs. Holcomb. She wasn't working anymore. But when I, when I started teaching speech, I would, I worked with kids at Edison on Monday and Wednesday, and then on Tuesday and Thursday, I would go to Washington and work with the speech kids over there, so I worked with some of my teachers. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:12.000 That's full circle. Do you remember how you got to school as a youngster? 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:20.000 I walked, because I was only a block away, so I would walk to school and walk home. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Walk home. Were you a member of any clubs or organizations which would probably be more 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:51.000 That was high school, high school, the pep club, the Latin Club. Take Latin that was so hard, but we joined the Latin Club. I was in a math club, but not a strong math student, but just, you know, you get in those clubs because your friends are in there. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:52.000 Right, right. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 And so, yeah, I wasn't a strong math student. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.000 So did you enjoy school? 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.000 I did. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:57.000 Overall. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:58.000 Yeah. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:09.000 Did you have a did you have a favorite subject? 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.000 It wasn't math. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:14.000 It was probably art! 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:14.000 You know, Wanda Newton taught, what was it? Something living. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:26.000 Family Living? 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:48.000 Family Living, Family Living. And we, we did the whole, we started, you know, like our on our life outside of school and, and we met our husband, and we got married, and we had to plan the wedding, and then we had to buy a house. So, we walked around and looked at an empty house. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:48.000 Oh wow! 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:58.000 And so we had to set up our own floor plan and go buy groceries and, and how to learn how to change a flat and. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:59.000 Oh, well, that's good! 00:19:59.000 --> 00:19:59.000 Uh huh. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:10.000 That's good. In family living, when I had it, we had egg babies. We had a husband and egg babies we had to decorate and carry around, and then not break the egg, you know. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Yeah. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Well, so I understand that you had, or have a group of friends that you've had for a really long time, and that you guys called yourself something? 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:30.000 Mr. Miller called us the dirt, the half, dirty half dozen. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.000 The dirty half dozen and, and I understand that you're you guys are still friends to this day? 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.000 We're still friends to this day. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.000 Which is pretty cool. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.000 It is awesome. It is awesome. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.000 Still get to get together and do things, and when you can. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:21:10.000 We went a couple of weeks ago to the lake. You remember Sandy Davis, Betsy Davis? Okay, Betsy's got this four story house on Grand Lake, and she's just there sometimes. And then she has an apartment in Tulsa. And so, anyway, she let us have that for the weekend. And so there were five, 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.000 So, is her mom part of your 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.000 Yes. So, it was Sandy Johns. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:16.000 Okay. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:16.000 And Paulette Patton, now she's Womack. And then there, let me think a minute, Susan, Susan Brown, who's remodeling this house right here. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:34.000 And her last name is Sweatt, now, isn't it? 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Yes. It is yes, it is Sweatt. And then Carolyn Humphrey Dobrinski. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:42.000 Yes. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:22:19.000 And well, and then we always had Nona. Nona Welch was her name, and then she married, and it was Harvin. And anyway, she she was chronically ill all the time, but she made us laugh. We just had so much fun with her, and she had diabetes, and she didn't take care of herself, and so she and she smoked and she, you know, so there was always something wrong with her, but when she was feeling good, she was fun. She was so much fun. We lost her. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:50.000 I, actually, ran into, crazy enough, Stephanie and Betsy when my husband I were out to eat at lunch. And Stephanie was, she was a year older than me, and she was like my big sister. I loved her to death, and it was so like I again, I cried. I had just we hugged, and it was I was so happy to see them because I hadn't seen Stephanie in forever. Then to just run into them at lunch in Tulsa was awesome. Pretty, pretty cool to get to see them again. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:50.000 Yeah. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000 I think that's so, so neat that you guys are, are all still friends. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:04.000 We're all still friends and hang out and we're going, actually, we are go all going out to eat Monday. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.000 Oh fun! 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:32.000 We're going to go to Tulsa. So Susan's here Paulette's going. Kathy Mattox, we, we, she graduated in '69 in Oklahoma City. So, so Kathy's going, and Paulette and myself, and then we're meeting Linda Barry and Karen Elias. Do you remember Karen Elias? 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:33.000 I don't know her. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:42.000 Okay. She was in our she was in our class and but wasn't it wasn't in the group that ran around and stuff, yeah,42 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.000 Well, that, that's fun. I'm glad you have that. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:24:02.000 Yeah, I'm glad I have it. That's just, they just, it was so relaxing to go. There was a deck on each level, so we'd get out and go on the first deck, and then sometimes they'd come up and go on the second deck. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:04.000 You were living the life, weren't you? 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 Yeah! Oh yeah, finding out how the other half lives. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:14.000 Exactly. Um, well, can you tell me a little bit about the house that you grew up in here in Bristow? 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:31.000 Mm, hmm. When we bought the house, it was small. It had a big front porch. It was covered. It had the big posts, you know, to support the cover. But it was 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:32.000 And this was the one over by the garment factor? 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.000 Uh huh, but it was little, and it had a it had a back porch, and that was where mom had the, the washing machine, and then there was a little outside back porch that you could step down. And Daddy had a big garden in the back. He could grow anything. But over the years, they redid the kitchen and, and they changed the floors. It had hardwood floors, and I wish that daddy hadn't, they there was some kind of, some kind of flooring that they put down that it just 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:38.000 It messed up the floor. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:25:49.000 Yeah, it messed up the floor. So anyway, then we put carpet over that, but there was a front bedroom and a back bedroom, and the bathroom was in between, and there was doors to enter it both ways, and then I slept on an we had a we lived in a trailer in Louisiana, and they took one of the beds out of it, and it was just a half bed at the back of the trailer, and they put it in the living room, and not in the living room, in the dining room. And I slept in the dining room. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:53.000 Well, I was going to ask you if you had your own room, but you slept in the dining room. 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.000 I slept in the dining room. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:26:02.000 Oh, my goodness. And, how long, how long was it like that? 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:41.000 Well, by the time that I was in high school, Daddy took the two closets out and took the wall out. I mean, don't take them out, but he cleaned them all out, and then he took the wall that out that separated the two closets, and he made a door in the dining room that would go into a hall, and you could go to the right or the left, or to the restroom in the front and then that front bedroom after my brother left, I could, I could go in the door from the living room, or go inn the door, you know, from the dining room. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.000 So, it was high school, then, before you had your own room 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:44.000 Right. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:52.000 My goodness, okay, where did you spend most of your time? Were you, sounds like you were probably more of an outside kid. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:27:29.000 I was, I was outside all the time till dark, but it was just a block up to the highway and then two blocks to my grandma's house. She lived on Third Street, on the corner and of Oak and, and Third and, so, I go up there. My cousin from New Mexico is eight months older than I am, and she came every summer because her mother died when she was little. I don't know if she 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.000 So that was probably fun for you? 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:49.000 That was like having a sister, yeah, yeah. She was my sister for a lot of years and and then she would come down, you know, even after she was of age to be able to drive. She would drive down. You know, I would never have driven that far by myself, but she would drive. 00:27:49.000 --> 00:28:00.000 Well, what were meal times like in your family? Did you guys, was was dinner for you like sitting down with the family every night? Or were you going different directions or? 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:36.000 No, we were able to sit down every night and eat, and we ate things out of the garden. We always had vegetables out of the garden and tomatoes, which I didn't like tomatoes, but my mother loved them. And, you know, cucumbers and carrots and asparagus and there were different kind of fruit trees power in the backyard, right planted in the backyard, there was a little pear tree and a, I'm sorry, an apple tree. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:44.000 So, whenever you were younger, did your mom teach you how to cook? 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:48.000 No, I didn't want to be in the kitchen, cooking. I wanted to be outside. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.000 You wanted to be outside. So, do you remember? Was she a good cook? Do you remember? 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.000 She was a great cook. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:57.000 Do remember coming away with any good recipes or favorite meals? 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:10.000 I do. I have her, I do have her recipe book and it's just a notebook, you know, spinal back notebook, and she had written down, or she would cut them out and paste them in there. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:15.000 So, do you remember having, like, a favorite meal that she cooked for when you were young? 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:40.000 Well, I love mashed potatoes. When I was little, Mother said, I used to wake up in the night and say, I want tatties, I want tatties. She would go get cold mashed potatoes out of the ice box, and I guess I would eat 'em. So anyway, but yeah, she just that mashed potatoes really was my favorite, and fried chicken. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.000 Fried chicken? 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.000 Just plain old home meals. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:44.000 So whenever you think about growing up in Bristow, do you remember having any favorite community activities? And you know, for instance, a lot of people talk about Western Heritage Days, day camp, you know, parades, county fairs. Tell me about some of that those times for you and what you remember? 00:29:44.000 --> 00:30:29.000 Well, I remember Western Heritage Days, and they had the saloons, and they had the saloon girls that would, you know, prance up and down the street, and you could see those, and there were gun fights in the middle of Main Street, and we had Woolsworth then. Woolsworth was there, and then Ben Franklin. 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:31.000 Tell us what Woolsworth is. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:50.000 Woolsworth was like, it's just like a department store that you walk into. Clothes were not a lot but, but there were toys, and there were cooking things, and there were, I don't know, it kind of reminds me of the Dollar Tree. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.000 Okay. 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:59.000 Yeah, things that you can go in there to find and records, records. I always went to Woolworths to buy my records. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:10.000 To buy records? Okay. Well and that kind of leads into my next question of what were some of the biggest and most popular businesses around town. But it sounds like you liked Woolworths and 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:39.000 I liked Kemp's. When we walk, I I, my mom took me to school at junior high, but I had to walk home. So, I walked, you know, all the way home to Oak Street. Yeah, it was quite a walk, but I had some people that walked with me to, like, Sixth Street, and then, you know, then I walked by myself the rest of the way, which I wouldn't let my kids do today for anything. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.000 But did you you mentioned Kemp's? Did you used to stop by there? 00:31:42.000 --> 00:32:07.000 We stopped there, if, you know, if we got out of school early or something, we would stop there. And there would be kids and, and there was a, I guess you would say bar or whatever. But anyway, you could sit up on the stools and order your, your drinks or your shakes, or whatever you wanted right there. Yeah, while you visited with your friends, 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:16.000 Hung out with your friends, huh? Did you have a favorite place to eat out in town or did you primarily eat at home? 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.000 No, I ate in the cafeteria. 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:22.000 Well, even as a family. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:57.000 Oh, even as a family. I don't remember eating out very much as a family, but that's something that I'm kind of jealous of, because mom and dad lived, at one time, they lived right across the street from Opal Lyons. You know the house that Opal Lyons and and, and I can't remember, okay. Do you know where Emily Winter lived on Fifth Street? Okay, okay, so the that it's on the south side, mom and dad lived straight across the street on the on the north side. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:57.000 Okay. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:03.000 And there's a lot of construction stuff in front of that house, like they're going to work on it. 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:04.000 But they haven't. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.000 And, so, and they haven't. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:06.000 Yeah. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.000 Are the materials? 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.000 Yeah exactly. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:09.000 Still good. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:51.000 But Buddy was, I don't know if I was born in that house or the one on 11th street, but anyway, Buddy would they knew, they knew the Lyons. And so there was the Lyons Cafe. And so Mother would would let Buddy come and join her. He would be at school, you know, over there. He went to Edison School. I didn't. I went to Washington and and then, you know, on over so, but he would come and join them at Lyons Cafe. And I never did get to do that. There were no there was, 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:52.000 I've heard about Lyons Cafe. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:53.000 Yeah. 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:54.000 People have talked about that. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:34:06.000 Yeah. And I, I don't know of any cafes. Now there was the pizza place that was where Ty [Biggs Chiropractic] is now. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.000 Darrell's? 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.000 Darrell's Pizza. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:08.000 Oh yeah, Darrell's was big when I was in school. 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:11.000 Yeah, and then Oscars. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:11.000 Oh yeah. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:19.000 Like, that wasn't, we didn't really go out to eat as a family. We just, I always considered us poor. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:32.000 Well, it's funny, though, I think a lot of people from your generation, when I ask that question, it's they might have went somewhere occasionally, but people primarily, people primarily ate at home. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.000 Yeah. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:41.000 Did you have a favorite hangout as a teacher, as a teacher, as a teenager? 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:58.000 Well, you know, we drug Main and we would go to the Tastee Freez and, but I don't remember places where we got together, except at each other's houses. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:03.000 Do you remember your family's first car? 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:07.000 I do. It was a Nash Rambler. 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:08.000 Nash Rambler. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:54.000 Nash Rambler. It was white, and the front seat was divided in two, so the driver had a section and the person in the front have a section, and this is what I remember. And, so, anyway, we would drive from Oklahoma to Louisiana to see my uncle and family down there and stuff. And, so, Mother would scoot over and sit on the same side with daddy, and then she would lay that seat down, and Buddy could sleep on that because it was longer, or he slept in the seat, and then maybe I slept beside him, like that, and so. And we always drove at night. 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:56.000 And it was so safe! 00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:02.000 Yeah, yes, yes. And so, yeah, so we, that's the way we traveled. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:06.000 Well, do you remember who taught you how to drive? 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:07.000 My brother. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.000 Your brother taught you. And do you remember what your first car was? 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.000 My brother's old pickup. 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:16.000 So, you gotta hand me down? 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:18.000 Yeah, I gotta hand you down. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:20.000 And we're probably happy to have it. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.000 Yeah, and I, yeah, and I drove it to college. 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:28.000 Oh, really? So it lasted a while. Do you remember what, what it what kind it was? 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:39.000 It was a Chevy. It was, I don't know what the names of the trucks were, stuff like, but it was just a red Chevy pick-up truck. 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:43.000 Like seven, would it have been like a 70s model? 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:53.000 Oh no, no, yeah, because my brother, let's see, he graduated in '60. 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:56.000 Oh so, oh, so it would have been quite a bit older. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:58.000 Yeah, quite a bit older. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:02.000 Okay, it was probably a, would be a collector's item now. 00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:07.000 Oh, it would. It would. 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:19.000 What sort of entertainment did you enjoy growing up? Did you, did you get to watch much TV? And if you did, did you have a favorite program? 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:56.000 I watched, Saturday was my favorite day to watch TV. And, so, there was Fury the Horse, and then there wasSky King with his airplane, and, and then the the comedy, or the kind of, of course, we had the, we had the cartoons that were Sylvester and the Road Runner and those kind of cartoons. I liked cartoons. Yes, did you ask me two questions in that one? 00:37:56.000 --> 00:38:04.000 Just what your favorite programs were and what, like, if TV was part of your entertainment, whenever you were young. 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:11.000 It was that, and it the TV was a lot different. I mean, you know, it was more. 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:18.000 It was almost like a special occasion or a special treat to get to watch TV, I think, than it is of everyone's got a screen in their face now. 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:22.000 Right, right. Yeah, we didn't know, I was outside. 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:23.000 Which is good. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:23.000 Yeah. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:24.000 We need to get back to that. 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:25.000 Yeah. 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:36.000 Do you, do you recall witnessing any pivotal events in history on TV that you saw on TV? 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:47.000 I was in fifth grade when the first astronaut went around the earth. 00:38:47.000 --> 00:39:00.000 Did you find that fascinating? Or did it really, do you remember it affect? Do you remember what you thought at the time when, when you realized, hey, there's somebody in space going around. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:02.000 I don't know, it almost seemed like it wasn't real. 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:03.000 Right. 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:03.000 Yeah. 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:05.000 I can, I can. I can see that. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:18.000 Yeah, there it when I was in seventh grade, was when Kennedy [John F. Kennedy] was shot, and that was pretty traumatic. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:26.000 Right. I've had several people as of lately, mention that as the thing that they remember is President Kennedy getting shot. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:29.000 Yeah. And then 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:33.000 Do you remember how you felt at that time as a seventh grader? 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:37.000 I didn't understand it. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:37.000 Right. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:40:03.000 I, you know, I didn't understand why something like that would happen. I just didn't have a lot of knowledge of those kinds of things happening. I just lived in Bristow, Oklahoma, and I lived in, you grew up on Oak Street, yeah. And so I just, I couldn't. It was sad. It just, I just couldn't. 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:21.000 Right. Well, let's talk about your family and holidays. Do you remember what holidays were like for, for your family when you were younger? Say, let's take Christmas, since that's usually a big one for people. 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:35.000 Well, I would have things that I wanted and, and I could get, I would get some of them, but I wouldn't get all of them. I always wanted a, I always wanted a horse, and I wanted an outfit like Dale Evans. I never got it. 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:36.000 You never got it? 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:43.000 I never got those two things. And I was so upset. But, you know, we didn't get a lot. 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:44.000 Right. 00:40:44.000 --> 00:41:42.000 We didn't get a lot of presents and stuff. Sometimes I would get paint by number sets, you know, that I could, that I could work on, if it was rainy or something outside. Just simple things, just, I got a stuffed bear when I was little, and I slept with it until I was probably 13. I, you know, Buddy would, Buddy always worked. He was, he, when he was in school, he was working, and he would get me things for Christmas. And he did get me a western belt. And it had a belt buckle that was, you know, pretty good size. And there was a little, like a little dare, a little, is it, did you call them a Derringer? The little bitty one. Yes, I don't know. Anyway, it was a cap gun. 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:44.000 It was in the belt buckle? 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:53.000 So, if you would push your stomach out, it would come out and pop. I just love that. 00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:54.000 Oh, that's funny. 00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:57.000 I just love that. Yeah, I wore it, I wore it to Western Heritage Days. 00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:10.000 Oh, you did? Well, that's perfect, isn't it? Well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Do you ever remember thinking about that? 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:39.000 Well, I had two nurses in the family, so I thought I wanted to be a nurse, and the more I learned about it, but yeah, the less I wanted to do that. So, I played, I played teacher, you know, I had a chalkboard. I did one of my Christmas presents was a chalkboard. It was about this big, and I would stand it up on something, you know, a shelf or something, and, and I would play like I was a teacher. So, I guess that was 00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:40.000 Maybe you 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:41.000 That was 00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:43.000 It was foretelling your future? 00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:45.000 That was maybe the intention for me. 00:42:45.000 --> 00:43:04.000 Well, and that's a good transition into my next question, because I wanted to talk to you about the jobs that you've had. I know whenever we visited on the phone, you said you started out at Drumright [Oklahoma] your first year, because you were trying to get on here, and they didn't want to hire brand new teachers, and then 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:05.000 From Bristow. 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:15.000 From Bristow, so, so tell me, because it's a long history that you have with Bristow Public Schools. Tell me how many years you've 00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.000 This one will be 51. 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:20.000 Fifty-one. 00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:23.000 But it's 52 altogether, counting Drumright, see. 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:24.000 Right, right. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:24.000 Yeah. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:31.000 So, tell me, tell me about your, tell me a little bit about your time at Bristow and what that's been like for you. 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:53.000 Well, I did get a job the second year that I, I interviewed, and it was special ed, which my masters was in special ed. And, so I had, you know, they called, they called it, you were mentally retarded. 00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:55.000 I know things have changed a lot. 00:43:55.000 --> 00:44:03.000 Yes, and it was, you were educable, mentally retarded, or you were trainable, you know, the more severe. So,I had the educable class, and it was in, it was at the old high school, but I was across in the in the the administration building. 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:18.000 Right. 00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:59.000 That yellow building, but I'd go in, and on the right was my classroom, okay, and so I had, I had some I loved them. I loved the kids. There was one family that the dad did not have any legs, but they pulled him around Bristow in a wagon, and I had his daughter, but we knew that family, because he was a watch, he worked on watches, and he had watches. And, so, I got my first watch for Christmas in sixth grade, and it was from that family. 00:44:59.000 --> 00:44:59.000 Oh, wow. 00:44:59.000 --> 00:48:22.000 Yeah, and so anyway, I remember that. But so I taught there for a year and, but I went over and talked to Holderby, Holderby. He was in charge of the special ed department, and so I started asking him about having speech services at Bristow, and he said they had actually had speech services at Bristow in the past, but I guess they left and they didn't pursue it or whatever. So, anyway, we talked together and decided that we were going to try to get that going, and and, and we did. So, from '73 to '90, no, yes, from '73 to '90, I did speech at Washington and Edison for the four days, and then I went to the high school, or junior high or, you know, to service kids out there on Friday. And then I burn out. Paperwork is awful. It's much worse now. I wouldn't, I wouldn't be able to do it at all. But I burnt out, so I was going to school at night. I knew I was burning out, so I was going to school at night. And finally got a certificate for elementary education. And so I applied for an elementary education job and got the first grade position. And Kathy Mattox was next door to me teaching. So, she was kind of my person that I went to for help, and she kind of guided me through and got me through, and I taught first grade till '13. And I just, I just wasn't happy anymore, and so I retired. I was going to retire. And Vicki Groom called, you know how Vicki is. Okay, I need you to come over here and teach speech. And I said, Vicki, I can't do speech anymore because I said I either have to get a master's in speech or I have to take the test and pass it, and I can't pass a test because now speech has all the medical services that they do for people, and I don't know anything about that. Well, I'm going to call the State Department. She got online with a lady in Oklahoma City that was starting a program called Speech and Language Pathology Assistant, and you had to work under a speech and language pathologist. So, I got on doing that. Jennifer [Jennifer Morgan] was my SLPA, that or SLP, that I worked with and through, and then did the things that she told me to do, and, and so I've been there since. And I love it. I love working with the little kids and and 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:24.000 So, now are you just working half days? 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:26.000 I am just working half a day. 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:28.000 Half days now, okay 00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:28.000 Yeah. 00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:34.000 So 50, you're on your 51st year at Bristow Public Schools. That's just 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:35.000 And I still love it. 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:36.000 And that's wonderful. 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:36.000 Yeah. 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:49.000 That's wonderful. Um, and then the other thing that you have, obviously, been instrumental in is day camp. So, tell us about day camp and how you got started and 00:48:49.000 --> 00:48:49.000 We moved here, and I started day camp that summer that we moved here, I started day camp, so that was I was six. And, so, I went to day camp through till I was able to be a day camp helper. I was working with Chuck West and Wanda Newton. They were awesome. And, anyway, we, I was, I was able to become a counselor, and,, and I worked becoming a counselor, and then somebody else was doing it, besides Wanda and Chuck, because they, they retired, but they, whoever did it, didn't last. Well. I think it was Womack. Mrs. Womack. Margaret, Mary Margaret, Womack, okay, she worked there, but I don't remember who the male, I don't know if there even was a male. I don't remember who the other person was, but anyway. Yeah, but Vicki and I took it on, Vicki and I took it on and we did it. I can't even remember when we started. I can't remember when we started. 00:48:49.000 --> 00:49:16.000 It's been so long. 00:49:16.000 --> 00:50:17.000 I can't! 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:27.000 Well, I know that you, because Emily was saying, you, you know, obviously you've taught all of your grandkids how to swim, plus, she said, millions of other kids in Bristow. 00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:28.000 Yeah. 00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:34.000 It's, that's just kind of a, that's what Bristow is known for, is their day camp, you know. 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:36.000 Right, right. 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:49.000 And then we have the period, unfortunate period, without the without the swimming pool, but we're back and running again and and got it going. So, when did you, what year did you, because you're not doing it now, right? 00:50:49.000 --> 00:51:01.000 I'm not. I volunteered. I just, well, I won't go into why I quit, but I volunteered. I'd come up and do 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:01.000 And help in some areas. 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:11.000 Yeah, I would help wherever they needed me, or I'd just walk around helping out with archery and all of those kinds of activities. 00:51:11.000 --> 00:51:21.000 Well, you've seen between school and day camp, you've probably been involved in just about every kid's life that's come through Bristow. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:28.000 Yeah, and they'll stop me and say, I know you. And I'll say, tell me who you are. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:31.000 Well, you probably still get a lot of random hugs and hellos. 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:33.000 I do. I do. 00:51:33.000 --> 00:51:38.000 And stuff like that because of all the kids that you've been involved with over the years. 00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:47.000 I always wondered what my calling was in life. You know, what God really wanted me to do. And I didn't really feel like I was doing anything special. 00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:50.000 Well, how in the world can you think that? 00:51:50.000 --> 00:52:04.000 I don't know. I just, I don't know. I just, I didn't, it took me a long time. I finally realized that, that that is my calling, and that is what I meant to do, is to touch lives and save lives, and you know. 00:52:04.000 --> 00:52:54.000 Absolutely, absolutely, because, you know, when you think back as, especially as an adult, and which, you know, there was one particular coach for me that whenever I look back, he had a very particular hand in my life at a certain time. It wasn't even a big span. It was just a really small that was pivotal for me. And I think whenever you probably don't even realize as a teacher or even interacting with kids at day camp, when maybe they don't have much of a summer or other things to do when you show your care and your interest in them, what a difference that makes in, in their lives, you know. So, to say you didn't know what your calling was is CRAZY! 00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:06.000 Well, it is, it's crazy, but I didn't. I just, I would pray, and I'd say, God, what am I supposed to be doing? You know, I'm working. I'm working. What am I supposed to be doing besides working? 00:53:06.000 --> 00:53:21.000 Well, you've definitely, you've definitely found your calling. Um, okay, well, let's talk about your family. Um, when and where did you first meet your spouse and tell us his full name? 00:53:21.000 --> 00:53:26.000 Jesse Richard Murray, and I met him at the drive in. 00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:29.000 I hear that there, there's a funny story there. 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:31.000 Oh, I don't necessarily want to tell it. 00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:34.000 Oh, you don't? Okay, well, you don't have to. 00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:37.000 Does it revolve around a car? 00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:45.000 Well, they didn't tell me. They just said ask, ask mom about how she met dad, because it was kind of a funny story. 00:53:45.000 --> 00:54:12.000 Well, you know, they had, I think it was Wednesday night that you just paid $1 a car load or something like that. And, so, we ran out of room, so some of us got in the trunk. Was my mom and dad's car. It was a Rebel Rambler. And anyway, we got in the trunk and and I met Rick in the trunk. I had never 00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:20.000 You met him in the trunk! Well, one of the questions I ask is, what was your first impression? But I'm not, I mean. 00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:21.000 I don't know. 00:54:21.000 --> 00:54:25.000 Not sure you could have a first impression in the trunk. 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:25.000 It was dark. 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:31.000 Well, so once you, so that was when you first met him, and then did you guys start hanging out after that or? 00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:40.000 Yeah, sort of, we just kind of came together. I can tell you a better story. I don't know if you're going to ask me about it. When we moved, when we were going to move to Bristow. My dad got on the phone and called Murray Transfer and Storage, and they, to come and move us. And, so, Rick's dad asked, do you need a big truck or a small truck? And he said, oh, I think a small truck will do. Well, we lived in a trailer and, and we lived in the trailer park. We, that was our trailer park, and we split it with dad's brother, so he lived there, and we lived there, and then other families lived there and then, but we got a chance to move to a house, and it was a real nice house, screened in front porch, big living room. I think there were just two bedrooms, but I don't, I don't remember where I slept. I don't remember where I slept, but anyway, they, he came with a small truck, and they just couldn't take all the furniture, and it was a lot of the furniture was in there, and they were antiques, and my dad was just an antique lover. And, so, they packed everything in as tight as they could, and lowered the back end down and set stuff out on that. Well, Rick's mother came on the trip and his dad, well, and his grandpa, and, so, she took me over on a mat and put it out underneath the tree and played with me so I wouldn't get in the way. So, I met my mother in law and father in law when I was six years old. 00:54:40.000 --> 00:55:55.000 Well, isn't that that neat! 00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:02.000 Isn't that funny? Yeah. 00:56:02.000 --> 00:56:15.000 Well, no, they didn't tell me that story, so I'm glad you told me. 00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:26.000 Yeah, I should have told you that and left the other one out. 00:56:26.000 --> 00:56:48.000 Oh, no, that's funny. Um, so did you have, like, an engagement period, or did you just decide to get married or can you tell me about that? 00:56:48.000 --> 00:57:09.000 We just decided to get married? We thought it was too expensive driving back and forth to Tahlequah. He would drive to Tahlequah on the weekends, and or I would ride home with Don Tunnell (ph) and, and then we'd be there in Bristow, and then I'd ride back to school with Don Tunnell (ph). So, and then he moved down there and lived in a travel trailer that was this big and, but anyway, then we got married at Christmas. So we, we were six months. 00:57:09.000 --> 00:57:26.000 So, did you get married in Tahlequah, or did you get married here? 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:49.000 No, we got married in Bristow, in the Methodist Church. But I didn't, I didn't want it to be a big wedding. So, there was a room in the in the church that had a little altar down at the end of it. So, they set chairs up on either side of the room, and then I entered through the back door and a little, just a little wedding. 00:57:49.000 --> 00:57:56.000 Okay. Well, so I know the answer to this, but tell me how many children you have and what their names are. 00:57:56.000 --> 00:58:05.000 Okay, I have two girls, Jessica Renee Tiger now. 00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:05.000 Right. 00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:16.000 Okay. Jessica Renee Tiger. And then, oh, she's forty, forty-nine. 00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:22.000 I have her as '76, February, 4, 1976. That's her birthday? 00:58:22.000 --> 00:58:31.000 Yes, yes. Okay, I was going from 70. I should have been going from 80 for Emily, no, Emily Kay. 00:58:31.000 --> 00:58:32.000 Emily Kay. 00:58:32.000 --> 00:58:44.000 Murray. And she was born in on September the 15th, 1980. She's 44. 00:58:44.000 --> 00:58:54.000 Well, your girls can't say enough about how much they love you and how good you are to the family, and how you'll do anything in the world for your family. 00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:54.000 I will. 00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:56.000 You will, yeah, that's 00:58:56.000 --> 00:58:58.000 And I will. 00:58:58.000 --> 00:58:59.000 They wanted to make sure that you knew that. 00:58:59.000 --> 00:59:01.000 And they're learning that, too. 00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:01.000 Yes. 00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:02.000 Helping Rick. 00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:04.000 Yes. 00:59:02.000 --> 00:59:03.000 Yes. 00:59:03.000 --> 00:59:01.000 03 00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:05.000 When it's hard. 00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:17.000 Yeah, right. Can you remember or any, like, challenges of being a mom in the early days? Any struggles that you had? 00:59:17.000 --> 00:59:23.000 Jessica never slept until she was nine months old. 00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:27.000 And you, actually, had another baby after that? 00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:39.000 Yeah, I wanted them close together, but it just didn't happen. And, so, they're almost five years apart, but 00:59:39.000 --> 00:59:41.000 You were probably trying to catch up on your sleep. 00:59:41.000 --> 01:00:10.000 Yeah, a lot of it, a lot of it, it was and she had colic. I think a lot of it was the colic too, but this is what I blame it on. I ate at Taco Burger. Every week we would go out and eat at Taco Burger, and I would eat an empanada dinner, and I blame it on that. Then I craved fish with Emily, and she slept like a baby. So, go figure. 01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:13.000 Go figure. Well, so how many grandchildren do you have? 01:00:13.000 --> 01:00:30.000 I have three. Jessica has Garrett Tyler Long and Gracie Renee Long and then there's Olivia Kay Wilkins. 01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:41.000 Okay, all right, um, the girls also wanted me to ask you why they call you Snow White. 01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:48.000 Because I go out and feed the animals, and they don't run away when I go out and feed them. They just wait until the food gets down, and then they come and eat. So, I feed the birds, and I feed the turkeys, and I feed the deer, and I've got a road runner that runs past and then get jumps up and gets a drink out of my bird bath, and it's just fun. 01:00:48.000 --> 01:01:10.000 So, you're an animal lover? 01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:12.000 I'm an animal lover. Yes, I am. 01:01:12.000 --> 01:01:16.000 Well, I think that that warrants you being named Snow White. 01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:22.000 I guess so. I guess so. They come up with stuff. We have so much fun together. 01:01:22.000 --> 01:01:42.000 So, what would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime? 01:01:42.000 --> 01:02:03.000 I don't know. I mean, I hate to say the phone having it with you when we managed without it, but it's such a fast paced world now, it's kind of, what would we do without it? The cars have changed. 01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:05.000 Cars are computers just about anymore. 01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:16.000 Right. And I don't want a computerized car, because I don't do computers very well. Color TV, I guess. 01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:24.000 That's fair. How do you feel the world is different now than it was when you were young or a child? 01:02:24.000 --> 01:02:33.000 Too fast-paced. So much more dangerous than it ever was when I grew up. 01:02:33.000 --> 01:02:55.000 You know, I just talked to Linda Kay Herman. I interviewed her yesterday, and she actually said almost the exact same thing, that whenever you guys grew up and you rode bikes and everyone was around town, you never thought about your, you never had fear, really, like what you do. Like you really wouldn't let your kids do that now. 01:02:55.000 --> 01:02:56.000 Right. 01:02:56.000 --> 01:03:02.000 Which is sad. I mean, I feel like you guys had a very carefree time of growing up. 01:03:02.000 --> 01:03:16.000 And, see, my parents thought, saw it as a different generation, and it was, you know, much more fast paced than than they grew up in their little country houses with nine kids in a two-bedroom house. 01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:18.000 Right. 01:03:18.000 --> 01:03:19.000 That was my grandparents. 01:03:19.000 --> 01:03:29.000 Right, right. So, what do you feel is our nation's biggest problem right now, and how do you think it can be solved? 01:03:29.000 --> 01:03:30.000 Oh, gosh. 01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:33.000 I'm challenging you, Oma Kay. 01:03:33.000 --> 01:03:35.000 I know. 01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:52.000 And you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But I just think it lends to the maybe the perspective, if someone can answer it, of, you know, of the time period when someone goes back and listens to this 100 years from now, of the things that were troubling to you at this time. 01:03:52.000 --> 01:04:21.000 I think it's the fact that we've gotten away from God for one thing. And you're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, and that's just not true anymore. People don't care for each other. They can, and I mean, I'm guilty of it too, seeing people on the side of the road wanting money and stuff. You can't do that because you don't know if they're for real. 01:04:21.000 --> 01:04:22.000 The intention. 01:04:22.000 --> 01:04:23.000 Yeah, right. 01:04:23.000 --> 01:04:25.000 The intentions behind it. 01:04:25.000 --> 01:04:37.000 Right. And, so to me, that's, I think it's just a troubling world as to how to solve it. I just, I don't have a clue. 01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:38.000 Sometimes it feels like maybe it's swung too far the other way, and not really sure how to how to get it back.Have any historic events affected your life, and say, for example, like the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 COVID, natural disasters? Have there been any types of those historic events that have had a direct effect on your life? 01:04:38.000 --> 01:04:46.000 I think COVID has. It shut down the schools, and that's created school issues for the kids. 01:04:46.000 --> 01:05:15.000 Kind of long-lasting. 01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:38.000 Right, right. And I'm not so sure about schooling at home. There would be parents that would, that would participate in that and make sure their kids did things at home that they were supposed to do at school. But then you've got the parents that are not going to. 01:05:38.000 --> 01:05:40.000 And then those kids get left behind. 01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:42.000 And they get left behind. Yeah, and that's not fair. 01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:53.000 I agree with that. 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? 01:05:53.000 --> 01:05:55.000 I don't think I'm that person that could come up with. 01:05:55.000 --> 01:06:11.000 No, I mean, I really think it's, it can be a very basic sentiment. I think you are. I think you've experienced a lot of life, a lot of kids, a lot of family things. I mean, I know there's some wisdom in there that you can share with us. 01:06:11.000 --> 01:06:37.000 I just try to stay as positive as I can, and I try to keep everything upbeat. That's what God wants us to do. You know, you, you, you're thankful in the good times, but you're thankful in the bad times, too. And you get through them. 01:06:37.000 --> 01:06:37.000 Right. 01:06:37.000 --> 01:06:43.000 And you get through them easier that way than you do when you're sitting over in a corner sobbing. 01:06:43.000 --> 01:06:45.000 And stewing and negative. 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:50.000 And yeah, and using drugs to try to help you get through it and things that are just so wrong. 01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:55.000 So, your message is, then, to just try to be positive through all circumstances. 01:06:55.000 --> 01:06:56.000 Mm-hmm. 01:06:56.000 --> 01:06:57.000 Okay, I like that. 01:06:57.000 --> 01:06:58.000 And thankful. 01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:11.000 Yes and thankful. Well, we appreciate you taking the time to visit with us today, your interview will become an important part of our oral history archive for the museum. We appreciate you and thank you. 01:07:11.000 --> 00:01:07.000 You're welcome. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0064_Oma_Kay_Murray.xml OHP-0064_Oma_Kay_Murray.xml
Dublin Core
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Title
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Oma Kay Murray
Description
An account of the resource
Oma Kay Murray was born October 11, 1951 in Bristow, Oklahoma. Oma Kay's parents, James and Oma Copeland, worked at a Dr Pepper bottling company after WWII. She attended Bristow Public Schools where she was involved in pep club and Latin Club. Oma Kay has been a teacher for 51 years, starting in Drumright and then Bristow, where she taught special education, speech, and first grade. She met her husband, Jesse Richard Murray, at a drive-in. Oma Kay is known for her community involvement, particularly in day camp and has had a lasting positive impact on the youth of Bristow.
Identifier
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OHP-0064
Date
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2024-08-16
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audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/3747158a2d178ec7706f8c6302504b57.jpg
041ed8080703006aeaa3440356d867c1
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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Family Histories
Type
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Oral History
Subject
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Oral accounts of various family histories
Source
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Oral History
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Interviewer
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Regan Siler
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Paula Atwell
OHMS Object
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Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0055_Paula_Atwell.xml
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5.4 May 1, 2024 OHP-0055 Paula Atwell OHP-0055 01:29:31 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Paula Atwell Regan Siler 1.0:|23(17)|45(10)|72(4)|91(3)|117(3)|139(5)|180(5)|212(8)|229(16)|257(9)|286(4)|325(5)|351(7)|372(8)|397(9)|423(10)|448(4)|482(5)|510(4)|535(12)|558(11)|585(4)|608(17)|637(4)|659(10)|678(15)|710(11)|728(3)|758(11)|784(7)|817(5)|835(6)|860(3)|885(18)|918(3)|955(11)|979(15)|1012(12)|1039(16)|1079(3)|1108(6)|1142(8)|1161(15)|1188(9)|1217(15)|1241(4)|1266(17)|1294(8)|1335(4)|1371(5)|1400(7)|1416(8)|1435(12)|1455(6)|1489(10)|1512(17)|1545(6)|1570(5)|1608(4)|1643(11)|1673(15)|1703(17)|1750(9)|1781(10)|1800(11)|1831(16)|1852(8)|1886(5)|1918(17)|1937(5)|1962(4)|1989(16)|2016(8)|2051(10)|2074(17)|2099(7)|2112(10)|2125(13)|2147(18)|2171(5)|2189(8)|2210(13)|2225(10)|2258(3)|2276(5)|2293(15)|2315(15)|2333(9)|2353(6)|2368(4) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0055 Atwell, Paula.mp4 Other video 5 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 May 1, 2024 and I’m sitting here with Paula Atwell at the Bristow Library Annex. She is going to tell me a little bit about her life and her history living in the Bristow area. Okay, can you please state your full name?
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 ; PA: Paula Kay McGuire Atwell.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay. And do I have permission to record this interview?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay. Where and when were you born?
 ; 
 ; PA: I was born in Bristow, Oklahoma, October 22, 1959.
 ; Paula states her full name and where she was born. She tells about her parents and siblings. Paula also talks about where she lived. Paula Kay McGuire Atwell ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Hospital ; Paul Eugene McGuire ; Phyllis Kay Beistle Goodroad ; Marlo Deane Goodroad ; Eva Lynn White ; Michael Allen McGuire ; Sacramento (Calif.) ; Aerojet Life ; Family 0 161 Grandparents PA: Yes. My paternal grandparents lived in Depew [Oklahoma]. They were farmers. They came to Oklahoma, my grandfather came to Oklahoma as a 10-year-old child, as share-croppers. My great-grandfather was an auctioneer. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Oh, cool. And, then, did your grandmother work?
 ; 
 ; PA: No, just in the home.
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 ; RS: Just in the home. Okay. And I know you spent a lot of time with your grandparents growing up, can you tell me about each set of them and the things you liked to do when you were with them?
 ; 
 ; PA: My paternal grandparents, which are Ace [4/2/1906-9/22/1999] and Lydia McGuire [8/13/1908-2/25/1994] that lived at Depew [Oklahoma], they were farmers. Paula talks about her grandparents. Her paternal grandparents were farmers and lived in Depew. Paula's maternal grandparents lived in California for a bit and then later moved to Bristow. They owned the Bristow Skating Rink. Depew (Okla.) ; Farmers ; Ace McGuire ; Lydia McGuire ; polio ; Robert Beistle ; Evelyn Beistle ; Sacramento (Calif.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; North Dakota ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Yale (Okla.) ; Tulsa World ; Tulsa Tribune ; Bristow Skating Rink Grandparents 0 349 Memories with Grandparents RS: Okay, well, that’s an iconic place in Bristow. So, do you remember having a lot of fun times there?
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 ; PA: Oh, yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Did you spend a lot of time there?
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 ; PA: We were there a lot, yes, yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: So, you and your siblings?
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 ; PA: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Did you have cousins on that side?
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 ; PA: Yep.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay. So, what that, so say, did you go during the week? Did you go on the weekends? Like?
 ; 
 ; PA: All of the above.
 ; Paula recalls her childhood memories of her grandparents. She talks about spending time at her grandparent's skating rink. Paula also talks about her grandmother sewing clothes for her. Siblings ; Cousins ; Grandparents ; Skating Rink ; Seamstress Memories ; Grandparents 0 455 Ancestry RS: So, what can you tell me about your ancestry? Like where did your family, do you know where your family came from?
 ; 
 ; PA: Mm-hmm. My dad’s side of the family, my paternal family, I mean as way far back, was Ireland and England and Scotland.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay.
 ; 
 ; PA: They came over in the 1600s.
 ; Paula talks of her family ancestry. She says her paternal family came from Ireland, England and Scotland. They were sharecroppers and eventually moved to Oklahoma. Ireland ; England ; Scotland ; Ace McGuire ; United States ; Virginia ; Kentucky ; Tennessee ; Missouri ; Oklahoma Ancestry 0 556 Early Childhood RS: Some at that time. Okay. So, let’s talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you remember any of your favorite toys or games that you played?
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 ; PA: Well, when I got my first bike, that was heavenly.
 ; 
 ; RS: And at that time when you had your bike, where were, did you live in Bristow at that time?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; Paula recalls her favorite toys and games as a child. She enjoyed riding her bike and playing croquet and badminton. Paula talks about her chores as a child washing and drying the dishes. Bristow (Okla.) ; Croquet ; Badminton (Game) ; Chores Childhood 0 690 Hobbies and Activities as a Child RS: Okay. So, did you have any favorite activities or hobbies as a child? I think I have a feeling I know what one of your hobbies probably was.
 ; 
 ; PA: You’ll have to tell me.
 ; 
 ; RS: Probably reading.
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 ; PA: Oh, yes!
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 ; RS: Reading and researching.
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 ; PA: Yes, I did a lot of reading. Going to the library was really a main event of the week. I was just always upset that we were only allowed four books at a time.
 ; 
 ; RS: Are you serious? That’s amazing. So, you were mainly a reader. Did you, so you didn’t have any other types of hobbies that you liked to do when you were a kid.
 ; 
 ; PA: Not really hobbies. My grandmother Beistle, tried to teach me to crochet and knit. Bless her heart, she tried. But I was left handed and she was right handed so we tried every position.
 ; Paula talks about her hobbies as a child. She loved to read. Her grandmother also tried to teach her to crochet and knit. She did make a drawstring purse before deciding that crocheting was not for her. Reading ; Researching ; Library ; Grandmother ; Crochet ; Knit Hobbies ; Activities 0 888 Schooling RS: Right, okay. Alright, well, let’s talk a little bit about your school life. Where did you first attend school?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, I went to kindergarten in Bristow. I went to first grade at Depew. Second grade at Bristow. Third grade at Kellyville, and back to Bristow until I graduated. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Wow. And that’s just because your parents moved around a lot? Was that because of jobs?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah, uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; RS: Is the reason they moved.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; Paula discusses her schooling growing up. She attended Bristow, Depew and Kellyville Schools. One of her favorite classes was Geography. She attributes her love for Genealogy to her Senior English teacher, Carolyn Foster. Mrs. Foster assigned her class to build a family tree. That assignment sparked Paula's interest in researching family history. Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Depew Public Schools (Depew, Okla.) ; Kellyville Public Schools (Kellyville, Okla.) ; Geography ; English ; Nancy Carolyn Foster ; Genealogy Schooling 0 1036 Choir RS: Were you a member of any clubs or organizations throughout your school time?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, in school, there was chorus, you know that kind of thing. Never did play in the band. I was in chorus. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Did you enjoy that? 
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Were you good at it?
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 ; PA: Mmmmm…yeah. Well, it was a group. I never solo’d, never solo’d.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay. And was that more so in high school?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes. Yeah.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay, okay. But no other, so you were in choir, and that was pretty much?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah, pretty much.
 ; Paula recalls being involved in choir in high school. She was not involved in many other organizations. Chorus ; Choir ; High school Choir 0 1076 Reading RS: Okay. I was going to ask if you enjoyed reading. I know that’s funny, because I already know that answer, but go ahead and tell us like what types of books you enjoyed as a young person or growing up. Like what were your favorites?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, really, fiction, mostly. I read westerns. Biographies. History. There was really nothing I didn’t like.
 ; Paula loved reading as a child. She enjoyed mostly fiction. She said she also read westerns, biographies and history. Fiction ; Westerns ; Biographies ; History Reading 0 1108 Food at School RS: Right, right. Yeah, for me that’s a funny question to ask you because I know the answer to that. Do you remember if you packed a lunch or ate in the cafeteria growing up?
 ; 
 ; PA: Both.
 ; 
 ; RS: Both. Which did you prefer?
 ; 
 ; PA: I don’t know if I, I don’t know.
 ; 
 ; RS: You don’t remember?
 ; 
 ; PA: No.
 ; 
 ; RS: You don’t remember?
 ; 
 ; PA: It’s just according to what was in the cafeteria that day if I took my lunch or not.
 ; 
 ; RS: Right. Okay. I can remember some of the cafeteria food, and I always usually had to eat in the cafeteria, and I was always jealous of the kids that got to bring their lunch, because it seemed like they had better stuff.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah.
 ; Paula said she ate both from the cafeteria and from home. If she did not like what they were serving in the cafeteria then she would pack her lunch. Cafeteria ; Lunch Food ; Cafeteria 0 1143 Favorite Subject RS: So, I know you enjoyed school and pretty much all aspects of it. Did you have a particular favorite subject?
 ; 
 ; PA: History.
 ; 
 ; RS: History.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah. 
 ; 
 ; RS: I know that answer, too. Do you remember any of your history teachers, aside from, I know that Mrs. Foster was your English teacher and got you involved in the genealogy, but did you have any history teachers that were influential for you?
 ; 
 ; PA: Not particularly. I just enjoyed the subject itself. And I learned from all of them.
 ; Paula's favorite subject in school was history. History ; Nancy Carolyn Foster ; English ; Genealogy Subject ; School 0 1177 Childhood Homes RS: That was good enough for you, huh? Okay, well let’s talk a little bit about the house or houses that you grew up in. I know, early on, you kind of moved around a little bit, and you might not have a real huge memory because you were pretty young. But, can you tell me about like your earliest house you remember living in?
 ; 
 ; PA: The earliest house, that I don’t really remember, but it still stands, was a shotgun house. A little tiny house. In fact, that was the house we lived in when I was born. We only lived there a few months because we went to California, so I could take you to that house, but it was little bitty.
 ; Paula recalls the homes she lived in growing up. The first one she remembers was a shotgun house. She lived in a farmhouse in Depew. She loved the home they lived at in Kellyville. It had a barn with a hay loft. She loved to climb up in the hay loft and jump off. California ; Eva Lynn White ; Depew (Okla.) ; Kellyville (Okla.) Childhood ; Home 0 1289 Pirate Inn Drive-In PA: No, we lived on 7th Street for a while. And then my mom and dad bought the Pirate Inn Drive-In on Roland. And they bought a mobile home to put beside it. And we lived in that mobile home for a couple of years, I think, there. And then my two uncles, my dad’s brothers had a construction company. Anyway, they built mobile home parks. And they built Evergreen Mobile Home Park west of town, and my dad and mom and my mom’s parents, bought that and we moved our mobile home out there, and we lived there in the mobile home park.
 ; 
 ; RS: Well, that’s news to me, that’s a new one for me. I didn’t know that. That your family built that mobile home park. I guess it’s not in your family now?
 ; 
 ; PA: No, no, they sold it probably in 1980 or around there.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay, so, before we move off this, can you tell me about the Pirate Drive Inn? I don’t really have any history on that.
 ; 
 ; PA: Okay, that was a hamburger place.
 ; Paula's parents bought a hamburger place called the Pirate Inn Drive-In. It was located on Roland. Paula was the official dish washer. Her parents later sold the restaurant when Paula was in high school. 7th Street ; Pirate Inn Drive-In ; Roland ; Evergreen Mobile Home Park ; Fogle Car Lot ; RCS Electric ; Windmill Steakhouse Pirate Inn Drive-In 0 1463 Fun in the Woods RS: Well, that’s interesting. I didn’t know, I didn’t have any history of the Pirate Drive Inn. Okay, well let’s circle back to your home life. Do you remember as a youngster where you spent most of your time? Like was it in the house? In your room? Outside? Maybe probably in the red barn in Kellyville?
 ; 
 ; PA: We could have been in the barn, yeah. Well, when we were like with family or cousins or, especially in the summer times, we were with grandparents and relatives a lot. But most of them were country folks. We spent a lot of time out in the woods, that kind of thing. Just walking around getting lost.
 ; 
 ; RS: That was always my favorite thing to do when I was a kid. Me and my cousins would go out in the woods, and we would be gone all day long and come back to eat occasionally and.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes, yes. Yeah, we wouldn’t come back until it was dark. You know, we would build forts and.
 ; Paula loved playing in the woods as a child. Paula and her siblings and cousins would walk around getting lost and building forts. They would play outside until dark. Pirate Inn Drive-In ; Kellyville (Okla.) Woods ; Fun 0 1549 Mealtimes as a Family RS: Everybody. Well, that sounds like fun. Okay, so, tell me a little bit about what meal times were like in your family. Were you a sit down at the table together every night kind of family?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Did you eat at certain…tell me about that a little bit.
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, we would just eat when daddy would come home. We just had dinner around 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 something like that. But, yes, it was a sit-down family meal every night.
 ; 
 ; RS: Every night. I like that, too. And you already told me that you and Eva had to
 ; 
 ; PA: Wash the dishes.
 ; 
 ; RS: Wash the dishes and clean up. Do you remember having, like, a favorite meal that your mom cooked? 
 ; 
 ; PA: She was a good cook, so not really a favorite, but what we really called our special treat was when she would fry chicken.
 ; Paula's family sat down for dinner together every night. They typically ate around 5 or 6 every night. Paula and her sister helped with the clean-up and dishes. It was a special treat when Paula's mom made fried chicken. Dinner ; Eva Lynn White Mealtimes ; Family 0 1615 Community Activities RS: Well, that’s the kind of mom to have, huh? Okay, well thinking about to your life growing up, what were some of your favorite, like, community activities? For instance, maybe, like Western Heritage Days, day camp, parade, county fair, etc. Can you tell me anything about your life growing up in the Bristow area and the things that you enjoyed to do community-wise?
 ; 
 ; PA: We did go to all the Western Heritage parades. Sometimes, there was a few years when I was younger that we would, actually, dress up in the long dresses and try to look like
 ; 
 ; RS: A pioneer.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah, a pioneer. My cousins, some of my cousins were in the different round up clubs, so they would be IN the parade, so we’d get to see them. 
 ; 
 ; RS: What was your favorite thing about the Western Heritage Day parade? 
 ; 
 ; PA: Oh, probably just all of it. There were so many different round-up clubs from all over and lots of participation. It was just exciting.
 ; Paula attended the Western Heritage parades growing up. When she was younger, she would dress up as a pioneer. Paula also was a part of the Bristow Day Camp during the summers. She recalls the county fairs during her childhood. She also really enjoyed the Carnival as a child. Bristow (Okla.) ; Western Heritage Day ; Rodeo ; Bristow Day Camp ; Quonset huts ; County Fair ; Lydia McGuire ; Carnival Community ; Activities 0 1910 Swimming at the Bristow Pool RS: Okay, alright. And can you think of any other community activities in Bristow that you participated in throughout your young life?
 ; 
 ; PA: We always had season tickets for the swimming pool.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay.
 ; 
 ; Paula always had season tickets for the swimming pool. She learned to swim there. In the summer her mom would drop Paula and her siblings off at the pool and let them stay for a few hours. Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Swimming Pool Swimming ; Bristow Swimming Pool 0 1996 Spending Allowance at Ben Franklin RS: Okay. Well, let’s talk about, what were some of the biggest or most popular businesses around town growing up. Do you remember?
 ; 
 ; PA: Probably, for me, was Ben Franklin.
 ; 
 ; RS: And tell me what Ben Franklin is.
 ; 
 ; PA: That was like a little five and dime store. We were given an allowance, and we could, mom usually went once every week or once every two weeks or something, and we could spend our allowance there. And it was usually a quarter. We’d get a quarter allowance. I would not spend my quarters for a few weeks, and so I could buy something bigger and better than my brother and sister.
 ; Bristow had a five and dime store called the Ben Franklin. Paula and her siblings loved to spend their allowance there. Paula would sometimes save her money until she could buy a 45 record. Ben Franklin ; 45 Record Allowance ; Ben Franklin 0 2108 Shamas Dry Goods RS: Okay, so, you’re biggest and best memory is the Ben Franklin. What about any other businesses that were, I guess, notable back at that time in Bristow, whether it be a restaurant or maybe a clothing store or something like that? Do you have any?
 ; 
 ; PA: I know going with my grandparents, we went to Shamas a lot with them, Shamas Dry Goods.
 ; 
 ; RS: Shamas Dry Goods. Okay. And, so, what was there?
 ; 
 ; PA: Clothes.
 ; Paula enjoyed going to Shamas Dry Goods growing up. Her grandfather purchased his clothing (mainly overalls) there. They sold cowboy boots and western wear. It was located by Community Bank. Ben Franklin ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Shamas Dry Goods ; Community Bank ; Los Arcos Shamas Dry Goods 0 2182 Favorite Food in Bristow RS: That’s cool. Okay. Did you have a favorite place to eat in town? I guess maybe your
 ; 
 ; PA: The Pirate Inn!
 ; 
 ; RS: Your Pirate Inn was probably one of them, wasn’t it? Was there any other places that were special? I know back when I was growing up, we didn’t get to eat out that often, so, I mean it was a special treat whenever we did.
 ; 
 ; PA: We went to Tastee Freeze, Frosty Freeze.
 ; Paula talks about the different restaurants she enjoyed in Bristow as a child. Of course she enjoyed her own family's restaurant, The Pirate Inn. She also enjoyed visiting the Tastee Freeze and the Frosty Freeze. Pirate Inn ; Tastee Freeze ; Frosty Freeze Food ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 2247 Dragging Main RS: Oh, that sounds good! Did you have, once you became a teenager, where was, you know growing up for us dragging was the cool and fun thing. What did you
 ; 
 ; PA: That was it.
 ; 
 ; RS: So, you drug main, too?
 ; 
 ; PA: Right!
 ; Paula talks about dragging Main as a teenager. Paula and her friends would drive down to Frosty Freeze. If they parked, they would park at the Safeway parking lot. Stop-n-Shop ; Pizza Hut ; Frosty Freeze ; Community Bank ; Dollar General Main Street 0 2304 Drive-In Movies RS: And, was there any other, at the time you grew up, were there any, I mean, I know back in the day there was like a movie theater. Was there anything like that at that time?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes, oh yeah, the drive-in. Drive-in movies. Yes.
 ; Paula enjoyed attending the drive-in movies growing up. The theater was located out west on 66 in Bristow. Wal-Mart (Firm) ; Evergreen Mobile Home Park ; Timber Trail Housing Drive-In Movies 0 2354 Clothing RS: Okay. Cool. So, where did you buy your clothes or did your grandmother make your clothes growing up?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, yeah, and mom made our clothes, too, when we were smaller. We bought at JC Penney’s here in town.
 ; Paula shopped for clothing at JCPenney when she was young. Also, her mother and grandmother sewed some of her clothing. JCPenney Clothing 0 2427 Family Automobiles RS: Right. Okay, well, let’s talk about how your family got around. Do you remember, what is your memory of the first car, what car do you have the first memory of? Do you remember?
 ; 
 ; PA: Oh, I couldn’t tell you what it was. I couldn’t tell what color it was. I want to say it was like a baby blue.
 ; 
 ; RS: A baby blue something.
 ; Paula believes her family had a baby blue car when she was young. She recalls her family owning a Buick and learning how to drive in that car. Buick automobile ; Driver's Education Family ; Automobiles 0 2512 Vacations RS: Parents. Okay. Did you go on vacations in your car? 
 ; 
 ; PA: We did. Most of the time it was back and forth to California to visit family. But there were stops along the way in the Grand Canyon and different places.
 ; 
 ; RS: Are there any of those types of memories that really stick out to you, like any place that you stopped? I can imagine the Grand Canyon would had to have been one of them.
 ; Paula and her family would sometimes visit family in California. They would sometimes stop at popular vacation spots such as the Grand Canyon. Paula recalls struggling with car sickness on these trips. California ; Grand Canyon ; Route 66 ; San Francisco (Calif.) Vacations 0 2612 First Car RS: Oh, that would be terrible. And you said that driver’s ed taught you how to drive. Do you remember what your first car was?
 ; 
 ; PA: 1966 red Mustang.
 ; Paula recalls her first car, a 1966 red Mustang. When she was sixteen years old, Paula's father surprised her with this Mustang. Ford Mustang ; McAlester (Okla.) Car 0 2703 Television RS: Oh, I love it. Okay, well what kind of entertainment did you guys enjoy growing up? Did you get to watch TV? If you did, what were, do you remember some of your favorite programs?
 ; 
 ; PA: We did watch some TV. It really wasn’t like a big deal at our house. But on Sunday evenings, I believe, Walt Disney was on, so we would get ready for school, you know, take our baths and put our pajamas on and that kind of thing, and then we would get to watch Walt Disney. Once it was over, then it was bedtime.
 ; Paula recalls watching television as a child. Paula and her siblings would typically watch Walt Disney on Sunday evenings. Paula also remembers staying up late to watch the landing on the moon when she was around 9. Television ; Walt Disney Television 0 2829 Family Doctor RS: Stood out to you the most. What was your medical like growing up? Did you have a family doctor?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yes.
 ; 
 ; RS: And who was your doctor?
 ; 
 ; PA: Dr. Jones.
 ; 
 ; RS: And was he a Bristow doctor?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah.
 ; Paula and her family went to Dr. Jones as their family doctor. His office was located on 4th Street in Bristow. W.E. Jones ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Doctor ; Health Department Family ; Doctor 0 2887 Childhood Illnesses RS: Okay, okay. Do you recall any serious illnesses or epidemics growing up that either that you or your family experienced?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, I had the measles five times.
 ; 
 ; RS: Five times?!
 ; 
 ; PA: Five times. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Did they not have the vaccine then?
 ; 
 ; PA: No, not then.
 ; Paula recalls having the measles five times in her childhood. She also mentions she had the chicken pox. Paula also had mumps one Christmas and missed all of the festivities. Measles ; Vaccines ; Chicken pox ; epidemic ; Mumps ; Christmas ; Covid-19 Childhood ; Illness 0 2990 Church RS: Did you attend a church growing up?
 ; 
 ; PA: Off and on with friends. 
 ; 
 ; RS: And did you
 ; 
 ; PA: And family. I went to church with family, too.
 ; Paula attended church occasionally with friends and family growing up. She recalls visiting Trinity Baptist with friends when she was in grade school. Paula also visited Bristow Holiness Church with family members. She also went to Falls Creek in the summer with the Baptist church. Trinity Baptist Church ; Bristow Holiness Church ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Cushing (Okla.) ; Falls Creek (Okla.) Church 0 3210 Holidays RS: Okay. So, let’s talk about how your family celebrated holidays. Can you give me a for instance of how you celebrated Christmas in your home in regards to gifts or food, decorations? So, tell me about a family Christmas at your house.
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, Santa Claus came.
 ; Paula recalls the holidays as a child. At Christmas Santa would fill their stockings and bring them big, unwrapped gifts. Her family decorated a live tree with tinsel. Paula and her family went to her grandparents' house for the Thanksgiving dinner. Paula also recalls shooting fireworks off for the 4th of July. She remembers celebrating Halloween also ; she went trick-or-treating around town. Holidays ; Christmas ; Santa Claus ; Thanksgiving ; 4th of July ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Halloween Holidays 0 3429 First Jobs RS: Those plastic masks that make you sweat and yeah, that you can’t see out of. Okay, well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?
 ; 
 ; PA: Mmmm. No, well, no. There was just a gamut of things. Sometimes I would do, I would think, I want to be a teacher. Or I’m going to be a nurse. Then I’d realize, oh no, they have to give shots. I don’t want to be a nurse. No, nothing that I actually followed through with.
 ; Paula talks about some of the first jobs she ever held. She of course helped in the restaurant her family owned. She also babysat in the summer and in the evenings for neighbors. Teacher ; Nurse Job 0 3499 Work at the Hospital PA: And my first official job, you know, real paying job was I worked at the hospital in the office.
 ; 
 ; RS: And that’s when you were in high school, wasn’t it?
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah, junior and senior year.
 ; Paula's first official job was working in the office at the hospital. She would admit patients and work on the paperwork. She also worked the switchboard. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She worked at the hospital after school and on the weekends. Hospital ; High school ; Mustang (automobile) ; American National Bank Work ; Hospital 0 3686 Work at the Bank RS: Yes. That’s good. So, tell me about some of the other jobs you held throughout your life. I know you mentioned you went from the hospital to the bank. And then.
 ; 
 ; PA: I was there 12 years.
 ; 
 ; RS: Twelve years at the bank.
 ; 
 ; PA: I started out as a teller.
 ; Paula worked at the American National Bank in Bristow for 12 years. She worked as a teller and then later in the loan department. Bristow Hospital ; American National Bank ; Teller ; Loan Department Work ; Bank 0 3729 Work at Rainbow Healthcare PA: To Rainbow Healthcare Center.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay. 
 ; 
 ; PA: In the office there, bookkeeper.
 ; 
 ; RS: And you were there how long?
 ; 
 ; PA: I was there nine years.
 ; Paula later worked at Rainbow Healthcare for 9 years. She worked in the office as a bookkeeper. Rainbow Healthcare Center ; bookkeeper ; History ; Genealogy Work ; Rainbow Healthcare Center 0 3771 Work at the Doctor's Office RS: Oh no, you went to the doc
 ; 
 ; PA: Doctor’s office.
 ; 
 ; RS: That’s right.
 ; 
 ; PA: Went to work for Dr. Krug.
 ; 
 ; RS: Krug.
 ; 
 ; PA: David Krug.
 ; 
 ; RS: And then Smith [Carl Smith] and Sarah [Sarah Pinson].
 ; After working at Rainbow Healthcare, Paula went to a doctor's office to work. It was originally Dr. Krug's office, then later Carl Smith and Sarah Pinson's office. Paula worked there for 19 years until she retired. David Krug ; Carl Smith ; Sarah Pinson Work ; Doctor's office 0 3788 Bristow Historical Society RS: And then I also wanted to ask you about when you came on with the Bristow Historical Society and how that has affected your life.
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, I was always, as far as I can remember, I was always a member from back in the 80’s.
 ; 
 ; RS: Okay.
 ; 
 ; PA: But then after retirement, I started volunteering.
 ; Paula has been volunteering at the Bristow Historical Society for about 4 or 5 years. She is a great asset to their research department. She is excited for Bristow's 125th birthday this year. Bristow Historical Society ; Genealogy ; Bristow (Okla.) Bristow Historical Society 0 3915 College Classes RS: Yeah. Okay. Did you attend college? And if you did, did you enjoy that experience?
 ; 
 ; PA: I did. It’s while I worked at American National Bank. They paid for any college we wanted to pursue.
 ; 
 ; RS: Oh wow!
 ; 
 ; PA: And I did take 15 hours at Tulsa Junior College [Tulsa Community College], of course, that was evenings.
 ; Paula attended Tulsa Community College. She took classes in the evenings while she worked at American National Bank. They paid for employees to further their education. She took 15 hours of classes in History and Sociology. American National Bank ; Tulsa Community College ; History ; Sociology ; Tracy Kelly College 0 3964 Marriage RS: Yeah, for real. Okay. Well, let’s circle back to your family, and let’s talk about your spouse. What is his name and when did you meet?
 ; 
 ; PA: His name is Gary Wayne Atwell [3/8/1958]. He moved to Bristow when he was a junior and I was a sophomore. Through a friend, he was bashful kind of like I was, and so he asked a mutual friend if I would go out with him. And, so, the mutual friend asked me and I said, okay. So, we went and the rest is history.
 ; Paula is married to Gary Atwell. They met when he moved to Bristow when Paula was a sophomore, and he was a junior. They began dating shortly after. They were married in April of 1978. Gary Wayne Atwell ; New Year's Eve Marriage 0 4140 Wedding and Early Married Life RS: April of ’78 is when you were married. April 7, 1978. Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about your wedding, what it was like? Like when and where?
 ; 
 ; PA: We got married in at the Assembly of God Church that is no longer standing. It was on Chestnut Street. We were married by Gene, I mean, sorry, Joe Jackson.
 ; Paula and Gary married April 7 of 1978. They had the ceremony at the Assembly of God Church in Bristow. Joe Jackson officiated the ceremony. It was a typical church wedding with many family members and friends in attendance. They lived in a mobile home park in Bristow and then later moved to a little house in Depew. Assembly of God Church ; Joe Jackson ; Depew (Okla.) Wedding ; Marriage 0 4236 Children RS: Right, so, speaking of your children, tell me their names and their dates of birth.
 ; 
 ; PA: Okay. My first son was Clinton Wayne Atwell. He was born October 19, 1981. My other son, Curtis Paul Atwell, and he was born May 4, 1984.
 ; Paula has two sons, Clinton and Curtis. She worked most of their childhood. Clinton Wayne Atwell ; Curtis Paul Atwell Children 0 4278 Sons and Their Activities RS: The one year you took off with them. What do you feel were the challenges of being a mom during that time period and trying to work and do all the things?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, Gary worked at Kwikset, and he worked second shift, so the boys or I didn’t really get to see him until the weekend. You know, because he worked evenings, and of course, we were gone to school and work during the day, so we crossed paths. So, that would be probably the most challenging.
 ; Paula stayed busy keeping up with her sons' activities as a young mother. They were involved in cub scouts and baseball. She stayed involved in the scouts also as a den mother. Gary Wayne Atwell ; Kwikset ; Cub Scouts ; Den Mother ; Baseball ; Depew (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Sons ; activities 0 4357 Grandchildren RS: Well, good. It was probably a good thing because it sounds like you had your hands full. Then do you have any grandchildren, and if so, names and ages?
 ; 
 ; PA: I have one granddaughter. She’s Savanna Grace [10/24/2019].
 ; 
 ; RS: I love that name, Savanna Grace. And how old is she?
 ; 
 ; PA: She’s four and a half.
 ; Paula has one grandchild, a granddaughter named Savanna Grace. She is 4 years old. She is a farm girl and loves to collect eggs from the chickens. She attends a daycare in Okmulgee and has learned the Creek language. Savanna loves to swing when she visits her grandparents' home. Savanna Grace Atwell ; Okmulgee (Okla.) ; Creek language Grandchildren 0 4432 Bristow Genealogy Group RS: That’s the best. Well, that sounds like fun. Okay, so we’ve talked some about your love of history, and I know you said that Mrs. Foster was the one that kind of sparked that with your genealogy assignment. I know you had also told me that you were part of the Bristow group and the Bristow group that did genealogy and then you ended up teaching there. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
 ; 
 ; PA: That started, like, in the 80’s, early 80’s. Which I was a member back then.
 ; Paula was a part of the Bristow Genealogy Group. It began in the early 1980's. She taught with the group for many years. It recently dissolved in January of this year (2024). Nancy Carolyn Foster ; Bristow Genealogy Group Bristow Genealogy Group 0 4512 Family History RS: In January. And then we’ve already talked about you started volunteering at the depot probably in the last 4ish years, 4-5 years. Do you have any wisdom to share about seeking out a person’s family history and the importance of it?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, you don’t know until you look for anything. Paula enjoys family history and believes learning your own family history is very important. In researching, she has learned that she has family ties to some involved in the Salem witch hunts. She also has connections to Abraham Lincoln. Salem Witch Hunts ; Abraham Lincoln ; Kentucky ; Indiana ; Lincoln Law Office ; Revolutionary War Family ; History 0 4715 Red Shoes RS: Yes, absolutely. Well, I definitely, just with my experience with doing the oral histories and working with the historical society, it’s really sparked my interest and made me wish I would have done some of the same things, you know, before my dad passed away or before my mom had her stroke, and you know, was unable to talk now. So, I think it’s a really neat thing to leave to your family. You’ve done all the leg work, you know. And it’s just all right there for them to be able to read about. Okay, so, I spoke with your siblings to see if they had any interesting things to add about you, and Michael told me to ask you about the red shoes. Paula's brother told Regan to ask Paula about the red shoes. Apparently, their mother frequently had them wearing red tennis shoes. They look back on old photos and always notice the res shoes. Historical Society ; Michael Allen McGuire Shoes 0 4790 Breaking Bones RS: And the Eva wanted me to ask you about learning to drive a stick shift and what happened with that.
 ; 
 ; PA: Ohhhh! Oh, well, okay, I’ll confess. I’ve broken two bones and neither one were mine. 
 ; 
 ; RS: Oh, my goodness! You have to, you have to spill what happened.
 ; Paula's sister, Eva told Regan to ask Paula about learning to drive a stick shift. Apparently, Paula was attempting to start the car and her friend got out to look under the hood. Paula gave the car gas when she started it, and it rolled and pinned her friend against the carport. Her friend broke her femur. As children, Paula was pushing her little sister, Eva on the swings, Eva fell off and broke her arm. Paula jokes that she has broken two bones, and neither were hers. Eva Lynn White ; Stick-shift ; Femur Bones 0 5012 The Computer RS: Oh, I bet. Okay, so what would, this is one you’re probably gonna have to think about. What would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime?
 ; 
 ; PA: Computer.
 ; 
 ; RS: The computer.
 ; 
 ; PA: Yeah, how could I do my research without my computer.
 ; Regan asks Paula what she thinks the most important invention was during her lifetime. Paula says the computer, without the computer she could not do her research. computer ; Research computer 0 5030 A Simple Life RS: This is true. You know, I would probably agree with that. How do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child?
 ; 
 ; PA: It’s much busier, I think. Not as friendly. I hope it turns back that way, but life was so much more simple.
 ; Paula talks about how the world is different now than when she was a child. She believes it is much busier and definitely not as friendly. She states that life was much simpler back then. World ; simple Life 0 5094 Nation's Biggest Problem PA: Our biggest problem?
 ; 
 ; RS: What’s our nation’s biggest problem right now? I’m challenging you, Paula.
 ; 
 ; PA: I think it’s probably, well, I don’t know. I think now people think everything should be handed to them. And I think everyone needs to get to work.
 ; Regan asks Paula what she believes is the nation's biggest problem. Paula believes that the current generation needs to learn to get to work and that everything is not handed to them. Nation ; Philosophy ; self-worth problem 0 5138 Oklahoma City Bombing RS: I would agree with you. How have historic events such as, say like the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, natural disasters, world wars, covid, etc…how has that affected you? You can pick one or several. Do you have any memories of, you know, how you felt during those times?
 ; 
 ; PA: Well, sad and devastated a lot. But as far as the Oklahoma City Bombing, my older son, Clinton was with an FFA group in Oklahoma City when that happened.
 ; Paula recalls when the Oklahoma City Bombing occurred. She was working at Rainbow Healthcare when news came of the bombing. It dawned on her that her son, Clinton, was in Oklahoma City with his FFA group. Thankfully Clinton and his group were safe in their motel room. Clinton Wayne Atwell ; Oklahoma City Bombing ; FFA ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Oklahoma City Bombing 0 5284 Wisdom for Future Generations RS: Oh, wow. I would have been like, it’s time for you to come home. Oh, my goodness. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations?
 ; 
 ; PA: Find out where you come from. You know, as far as
 ; 
 ; RS: You have to know where you came from to know where you’re going.
 ; Paula leaves us with a bit of wisdom. She believes that people need to find out where they came from. Wisdom ; Oral History Archives ; Museum Wisdom 0 MP3 Paula shares about her history growing up in the Bristow area, about her family and work life and her love for genealogy and history. 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 May 1, 2024 and I’m sitting here with Paula Atwell at the Bristow Library Annex. She is going to tell me a little bit about her life and her history living in the Bristow area. Okay, can you please state your full name? PA: Paula Kay McGuire Atwell. RS: Okay. And do I have permission to record this interview? PA: Yes. RS: Okay. Where and when were you born? PA: I was born in Bristow, Oklahoma, October 22, 1959. RS: Okay, and were you born at the Bristow Hospital? PA: Yes. RS: Okay. Can you tell me about the people in your family? Let’s start with your parents. What are your parent’s names, and then I know you told me you had step-father, too, so tell me his name. PA: My dad is Paul Eugene McGuire [2/17/1937]. My mom is Phyllis Kay Beistle Goodroad [10/5/1939]. And my step-dad was Bud Goodroad [Marlo Deane “Bud” Goodroad 8/27/1933 – 10/1/2022]. RS: Bud Goodroad, okay. Do you have any siblings, and what are their names? PA: I have a sister and brother, Eva Lynn White [3/21/1961]. She was born in Sacramento [California]. My brother, Michael Allen McGuire [11/10/1962], was born in Sacramento, also. RS: Okay, and are you the oldest? PA: Yes. RS: You’re the oldest. So, it’s you, Eva and then Michael. Okay. What type of work did your parents do? PA: My dad worked in Sacramento [California]. When I was born here, after just a few months, we moved to California. He worked for Aerojet in Sacramento, or a surrounding town, I’m not sure which one, but anyway, he worked for Aerojet, and he worked on the Saturn surface to air missiles. We were there in Sacramento for about five years. My dad decided that California was not a place to raise children, so we moved back to Oklahoma before I started school. RS: Okay. But your siblings were also born there? PA: They were born there, yes. RS: So, you were born here. They were born there. PA: Yes. RS: Okay. Did other family members live nearby PA: Yes. RS: When you came back home? PA: Yes. RS: Okay. Can you tell me about them? PA: In Oklahoma? RS: Mm-hm. PA: Yes. My paternal grandparents lived in Depew [Oklahoma]. They were farmers. They came to Oklahoma, my grandfather came to Oklahoma as a 10-year-old child, as share-croppers. My great-grandfather was an auctioneer. RS: Oh, cool. And, then, did your grandmother work? PA: No, just in the home. RS: Just in the home. Okay. And I know you spent a lot of time with your grandparents growing up, can you tell me about each set of them and the things you liked to do when you were with them? PA: My paternal grandparents, which are Ace [4/2/1906-9/22/1999] and Lydia McGuire [8/13/1908-2/25/1994] that lived at Depew [Oklahoma], they were farmers. My grandfather contracted polio as a six-year-old, and he was crippled in one leg. They were share-croppers. He farmed. He also ran a road grater. Worked for the county and did very well. He used a cane to walk, but he didn’t ever let it get him down or I can’t do this or I can’t do that. He could do anything he set his mind to. RS: And what are some things you liked to do when you were at their house? PA: Well, we just the cows, the chickens, the garden, picking blackberries. His pick up had cattle panels on the back, and we would climb up on those cattle panels and take off down the county road. It was just a lot of fun. RS: Right. PA: We had lots of cousins. My dad had, there were 11 kids in his family, so there was always lots of people at my grandparent’s house. RS: So, it was always a fun place to be with lots of things to do. PA: Right. RS: So, I remember you telling me that those were kind of your country grandparents, and then you had your city grandparents. PA: Yes. RS: So, can you tell me about your maternal grandparents and their names? PA: Mm-hmm. That was Robert [8/29/1913-10/5/1989] and Evelyn Beistle [Evelyn Rusher Beistle 3/14/1912-12/24/2000]. They, actually, lived in Sacramento [California] when we lived out there. And we had other extended family out there, too. RS: So, did they move back whenever you moved back? PA: It was a few years later. RS: Okay. PA: Yeah. Probably four or five years later. They moved back. RS: To Depew? PA: To Bristow. RS: To Bristow, okay. PA: They were, my grandpa was born in North Dakota and came to the Tulsa area when he was 13, I believe. And my grandmother was born in Yale, Oklahoma, so she was coming back home when they came back from California. But, they, my grandpa was, he worked as the Tulsa World, Tulsa Tribune agent for many, many years. Had newspaper boys. That kind of thing. Later on, they owned the Bristow Skating Rink. RS: Okay, well, that’s an iconic place in Bristow. So, do you remember having a lot of fun times there? PA: Oh, yes. RS: Did you spend a lot of time there? PA: We were there a lot, yes, yes. RS: So, you and your siblings? PA: Yes. RS: Did you have cousins on that side? PA: Yep. RS: Okay. So, what that, so say, did you go during the week? Did you go on the weekends? Like? PA: All of the above. RS: All of the above. Well, that’s a fun place. You were probably considered, like the cool kid, to have grandparents that had the skating rink. That was a big deal. I mean that was a big deal even whenever I was young to get to go skating. PA: Yeah. RS: Well, that’s fun. PA: Yes. RS: Okay, so is that one of your main fun memories that you have with your city grandparents? PA: Yeah, yeah, a lot. We just spent a lot of time with them. My grandmother liked to cook, of course, sew. I would be at work, you know, after I graduated, went to work, she would call and say, I’ve made you a new dress. Come by after work and pick it up. RS: Oh, fun! PA: So, that’s just, we grew up right next to them. RS: So, were you happy about that? Was she a great seamstress? PA: Oh, yes! Absolutely. RS: And that probably helped a lot just. PA: She made all my mom’s and her sister’s clothes. RS: Oh, wow. PA: Yeah. RS: Okay. So, country grandparents, you enjoyed all the country activities, the farming stuff. The city grandparents you enjoyed the skating rink. Would you say that spent equal time with the grandparents? Did you spend more time with one than the other? PA: No, I would say pretty equal. RS: And you feel like they were pretty influential PA: Absolutely. RS: In your upbringing. PA: Yes. RS: So, what can you tell me about your ancestry? Like where did your family, do you know where your family came from? PA: Mm-hmm. My dad’s side of the family, my paternal family, I mean as way far back, was Ireland and England and Scotland. RS: Okay. PA: They came over in the 1600s. RS: Okay. PA: And then just migrated here. My grandpa, Ace McGuire, their family, when they came to the US, of course, it wasn’t US back then, through Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, this direction, to Missouri. And, then, in 1917, I believe is when they actually came down to Oklahoma. And they came for the cotton. Cotton was king around, and that’s what they did. They were sharecroppers. RS: I think you and I have talked about this before, it seems like a lot of the older oral histories I’ve worked on, that a lot of people came from Missouri. I wonder what the draw, just the cotton was the draw to come to Oklahoma? PA: I think so, yeah. Yeah, I think they heard that Oklahoma had fertile lands and land that they could, they saw opportunity. RS: Do you, I guess was oil, was that a thing at that time, or that was a little later, right? PA: It was a little later as far as the oil boom, but they were doing some exploration. RS: Some at that time. Okay. So, let’s talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you remember any of your favorite toys or games that you played? PA: Well, when I got my first bike, that was heavenly. RS: And at that time when you had your bike, where were, did you live in Bristow at that time? PA: Yes. RS: And, so, were you in town or were you in the country? PA: In the country. RS: In the country. So, you had the freedom to just ride like the wind. PA: Yes, we had a really long, long driveway, and that’s where I learned to ride the bike. RS: Well, that’s cool. What about any games? Do you remember playing like any sorts of games with your siblings? PA: Yeah, we had croquet and badminton. Of course, we had the swing set, a whirly bird. RS: A whirly bird? What is that? PA: Uh huh. It was a four-seater that just went around in circles, but you had to pump it. RS: Okay. PA: You know, with your arms and your legs, you pumped. And then it twirled around. RS: See, I think that’s why, like kids these days, they don’t play like that anymore. I think that’s good. Did you have any chores around your house that you were expected to do growing up? PA: Oh yeah, we always had to clean our room and dust our furniture, vacuum, wash the dishes. Eva and I took turns washing and drying. So, yeah, we had our responsibilities. RS: Did you have any outside chores that you were responsible for? PA: No, not, no. RS: Mainly inside. So, did you get along with your siblings? Did those chores PA: Why, no. We were normal in every way. RS: Right, right. So, was there a fight over who washed and who dried and? PA: No, we had to take a week [indecipherable]. We solved that real quick. RS: Your mom was probably like, okay, this is how it’s gonna be. PA: Yes. RS: Did you have friends that you played with or did you mainly just play with your siblings? PA: No, we all had friends. RS: So, was it a PA: We’d go to their house and they’d come to our house. Yes. RS: Okay, and do you remember having, like, a best friend growing up or did you just have a lot of friends? PA: I just had a lot of friends. RS: A lot of friends. PA: Yeah. RS: Okay. So, did you have any favorite activities or hobbies as a child? I think I have a feeling I know what one of your hobbies probably was. PA: You’ll have to tell me. RS: Probably reading. PA: Oh, yes! RS: Reading and researching. PA: Yes, I did a lot of reading. Going to the library was really a main event of the week. I was just always upset that we were only allowed four books at a time. RS: Are you serious? That’s amazing. So, you were mainly a reader. Did you, so you didn’t have any other types of hobbies that you liked to do when you were a kid. PA: Not really hobbies. My grandmother Beistle, tried to teach me to crochet and knit. Bless her heart, she tried. But I was left handed and she was right handed so we tried every position. RS: That made it, that made it tough? PA: Yeah. RS: So, did you ever really learn or? PA: Well, I did make a little drawstring purse. I made one for me and one for Eva. And that was the limit of my knitting or crocheting. RS: So, you figured out that, uh, maybe wasn’t you’re thing then. PA: Right, right. RS: That’s funny. So did your, I’m curious, like did your, I don’t know, maybe your grandparents or your grandmothers or your mom, did they teach you how to cook? Was that a very big thing in your family, like learning the recipes and cooking for the family? PA: Yes and no. It takes, you know, both sides. They might have tried to teach me, but I don’t know that I paid it very much attention. But most of the time they did all the cooking, and you know, we set the table and cleared the dishes off and washed the dishes. But as far as really getting in the kitchen and cooking, I didn’t do very much of that. RS: So, you didn’t come away with any fabulous recipes from your grandparents or anything? PA: I do have some of them, yeah. Not that I made them very well, but I do have them. RS: That’s funny! Okay. So, I was going to ask, like if any of your hobbies or interests have changed over time. I know one of them has not, it’s just gotten more in depth. PA: Yeah. RS: Your reading and your research. PA: Well, right. Growing up with grandparents that told stories of their childhood and growing up and of their ancestors really did pique the interest in me. RS: See, I think that’s wonderful. I can see where…I enjoyed the same thing, too, growing up. I remember snapping green beans with my grandpa and having long talks and things like that, and I kind of feel like in today’s world, we are kind of missing that. Well, I think that’s cool. Did you collect anything as a child or as a young person? PA: No. RS: Didn’t really? PA: No. RS: And you didn’t have any other, aside from your bike, no other special toys? Do you remember having any wild bike rides or anything that happened on a bike ride at some time? Did your siblings go with you? Did you ride by yourself? PA: Eh, nothing really wild or. RS: So, Paula, were you not very adventurous when you were a kid? PA: Not on the bike, no. Just rode around the block or whatever on the bike. RS: Right, okay. Alright, well, let’s talk a little bit about your school life. Where did you first attend school? PA: Well, I went to kindergarten in Bristow. I went to first grade at Depew. Second grade at Bristow. Third grade at Kellyville, and back to Bristow until I graduated. RS: Wow. And that’s just because your parents moved around a lot? Was that because of jobs? PA: Yeah, uh-huh. RS: Is the reason they moved. PA: Yes. RS: Okay. And how was that for you as a child? Do you feel like that helped you? Was it hard on you? Did it make it hard to make friends? PA: No. RS: No. PA: No. Not at all. RS: Okay. Do you remember having any particular influential teachers in your school life growing up? PA: Not any in particular. I just really enjoyed all of them. I learned from all of them. One of my favorite classes was geography. RS: That doesn’t surprise me. PA: Yeah. That was always fun. I always did well in English. Carolyn Foster [Nancy Carolyn Foster 12/20/1912 – 7/10/2019], who was the English teacher, senior class, in high school one of her assignments was everybody had to build a family tree. RS: Oh. PA: And, so, she gave us the form and some questions that we were to ask. We were to fill out that form and find out family stories. So, at that time is when I decided, well, I really could get more involved in this. And, so, really, I do attribute genealogy. RS: Mrs. Foster with getting you interested and really sparking. PA: And, really following through. Yes. RS: Right. It created that spark for you to really dig deeper than just a school assignment. PA: Right. RS: Yeah, that’s cool. Do you remember how you got to school? More so, probably, as a youngster, growing up, like before you could drive or whatever. Did your parents take you? Did you take the? PA: Well, when we lived in the country, we rode the bus, and that was always fun. I always liked riding the bus. But, in town, we walked. RS: Oh, you walked to school. Okay. And I guess your siblings…that was back in the day when you could walk to school and. PA: And no problems. RS: Yeah, you felt safe about it. PA: Yeah, yeah. RS: Were you a member of any clubs or organizations throughout your school time? PA: Well, in school, there was chorus, you know that kind of thing. Never did play in the band. I was in chorus. RS: Did you enjoy that? PA: Yes. RS: Were you good at it? PA: Mmmmm…yeah. Well, it was a group. I never solo’d, never solo’d. RS: Okay. And was that more so in high school? PA: Yes. Yeah. RS: Okay, okay. But no other, so you were in choir, and that was pretty much? PA: Yeah, pretty much. RS: Okay. I was going to ask if you enjoyed reading. I know that’s funny, because I already know that answer, but go ahead and tell us like what types of books you enjoyed as a young person or growing up. Like what were your favorites? PA: Well, really, fiction, mostly. I read westerns. Biographies. History. There was really nothing I didn’t like. RS: Right, right. Yeah, for me that’s a funny question to ask you because I know the answer to that. Do you remember if you packed a lunch or ate in the cafeteria growing up? PA: Both. RS: Both. Which did you prefer? PA: I don’t know if I, I don’t know. RS: You don’t remember? PA: No. RS: You don’t remember? PA: It’s just according to what was in the cafeteria that day if I took my lunch or not. RS: Right. Okay. I can remember some of the cafeteria food, and I always usually had to eat in the cafeteria, and I was always jealous of the kids that got to bring their lunch, because it seemed like they had better stuff. PA: Yeah. RS: So, I know you enjoyed school and pretty much all aspects of it. Did you have a particular favorite subject? PA: History. RS: History. PA: Yeah. RS: I know that answer, too. Do you remember any of your history teachers, aside from, I know that Mrs. Foster was your English teacher and got you involved in the genealogy, but did you have any history teachers that were influential for you? PA: Not particularly. I just enjoyed the subject itself. And I learned from all of them. RS: That was good enough for you, huh? Okay, well let’s talk a little bit about the house or houses that you grew up in. I know, early on, you kind of moved around a little bit, and you might not have a real huge memory because you were pretty young. But, can you tell me about like your earliest house you remember living in? PA: The earliest house, that I don’t really remember, but it still stands, was a shotgun house. A little tiny house. In fact, that was the house we lived in when I was born. We only lived there a few months because we went to California, so I could take you to that house, but it was little bitty. RS: Wow, okay. PA: California homes, of course, I’ve seen pictures, but there just normal, every-day, regular sized house. RS: So, thinking about whenever you moved back to, say, the Bristow and Depew area, do you have memories of those houses? Like, how were they furnished? Did you have your own room? PA: Never had my own room. RS: Never had your own room. PA: No, Eva and I always shared. In Depew, we had a farmhouse, had a barn and we had pigs and, you know, farm animals. Then, in Kellyville, we had, what I thought, was the best house ever. It was a farmhouse, but it had one of the big, red, huge barns that we would climb up in the top, hay loft, and jump off into the hay. RS: Ohhh, that’s fun! PA: Yes, we had cows and horses, pigs. RS: So, your Kellyville house was probably your favorite because of the barn? PA: Yes, I think so. RS: I’d have to agree with you on that. Barns, barns are fun. PA: Yes. RS: Especially growing up. PA: Yeah. RS: So, then, whenever you moved back from Kellyville to Bristow, which you said was between the fourth and the twelfth grade, did you just live in one house for the rest of that time? PA: No, we lived on 7th Street for a while. And then my mom and dad bought the Pirate Inn Drive-In on Roland. And they bought a mobile home to put beside it. And we lived in that mobile home for a couple of years, I think, there. And then my two uncles, my dad’s brothers had a construction company. Anyway, they built mobile home parks. And they built Evergreen Mobile Home Park west of town, and my dad and mom and my mom’s parents, bought that and we moved our mobile home out there, and we lived there in the mobile home park. RS: Well, that’s news to me, that’s a new one for me. I didn’t know that. That your family built that mobile home park. I guess it’s not in your family now? PA: No, no, they sold it probably in 1980 or around there. RS: Okay, so, before we move off this, can you tell me about the Pirate Drive Inn? I don’t really have any history on that. PA: Okay, that was a hamburger place. RS: Okay. PA: And they also had plate lunches, that kind of thing. RS: Did you ever work there? PA: Yes. I was the official dish washer. When family would come in, they would make sure that I made them an ice cream cone. So, yeah, that was pretty much my job. RS: And, so, did you work there a lot of the time growing up? PA: No, no, because I was only in grade school. RS: Ohhhh, okay. PA: Yeah, I think it was 4th, 5th and 6th grade or something like that. RS: Okay, okay. So, how long did they, so where was the Pirate Drive Inn located? PA: It was on Roland. At that time it was next to the Fogle Car Lot, car dealership. RS: Okay, so orient me now where now where that would be. PA: RCS Electric has that building now. RS: Okay. Oh, is it, was it that actual building? PA: It’s that building. Yes. RS: Oh, how neat. Okay. And did that business, did it stay in business for many years? PA: Yeah, yeah, when my dad sold it, another couple bought it. And I’m not sure how long they had it, and then it went to another couple. They turned it into the Windmill Steakhouse. RS: So, if you probably don’t remember exactly, but do you, roughly, maybe remember around what year it was sold, that your family sold it? Or about how old you were just for reference? PA: I was still in, I was in high school. RS: You were in high school. PA: Yeah. Maybe junior high. RS: Okay, so it’s been a long, a long time. PA: Yeah, it’s been a while. RS: Well, that’s interesting. I didn’t know, I didn’t have any history of the Pirate Drive Inn. Okay, well let’s circle back to your home life. Do you remember as a youngster where you spent most of your time? Like was it in the house? In your room? Outside? Maybe probably in the red barn in Kellyville? PA: We could have been in the barn, yeah. Well, when we were like with family or cousins or, especially in the summer times, we were with grandparents and relatives a lot. But most of them were country folks. We spent a lot of time out in the woods, that kind of thing. Just walking around getting lost. RS: That was always my favorite thing to do when I was a kid. Me and my cousins would go out in the woods, and we would be gone all day long and come back to eat occasionally and. PA: Yes, yes. Yeah, we wouldn’t come back until it was dark. You know, we would build forts and. RS: It’s amazing the creativity I think you can have, or at least we had back then. We would go and undo beaver dams. I don’t know how we never got snake bit, but you know, just fun stuff like that. Or, like you say, we would take sticks and build forts. Were you usually with your cousins or, I mean, you know you said sometimes you didn’t get along with your siblings. PA: Oh, yeah, no we just, it was everybody. RS: Everybody. Well, that sounds like fun. Okay, so, tell me a little bit about what meal times were like in your family. Were you a sit down at the table together every night kind of family? PA: Yes. RS: Did you eat at certain…tell me about that a little bit. PA: Well, we would just eat when daddy would come home. We just had dinner around 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 something like that. But, yes, it was a sit-down family meal every night. RS: Every night. I like that, too. And you already told me that you and Eva had to PA: Wash the dishes. RS: Wash the dishes and clean up. Do you remember having, like, a favorite meal that your mom cooked? PA: She was a good cook, so not really a favorite, but what we really called our special treat was when she would fry chicken. RS: Fried chicken, okay. And then did you have, maybe, a favorite dessert that she fixed? PA: Hmmm. Not that I can think of. RS: So, she was PA: They were, they were all good! RS: It was just all good! PA: They were all good. RS: Well, that’s the kind of mom to have, huh? Okay, well thinking about to your life growing up, what were some of your favorite, like, community activities? For instance, maybe, like Western Heritage Days, day camp, parade, county fair, etc. Can you tell me anything about your life growing up in the Bristow area and the things that you enjoyed to do community-wise? PA: We did go to all the Western Heritage parades. Sometimes, there was a few years when I was younger that we would, actually, dress up in the long dresses and try to look like RS: A pioneer. PA: Yeah, a pioneer. My cousins, some of my cousins were in the different round up clubs, so they would be IN the parade, so we’d get to see them. RS: What was your favorite thing about the Western Heritage Day parade? PA: Oh, probably just all of it. There were so many different round-up clubs from all over and lots of participation. It was just exciting. RS: Yeah, we kind of wished it was like that. I know we’ve got people that have tried to revive it and have done a really good job in the last few years, but there’s just something about the tradition. It seemed, it was more heavy in tradition it seemed like years back, the Western Heritage Day parade. Now did they have the dances and the rodeo and all of that along with the it. PA: Yes, yes, yeah. RS: And you went to all of it? PA: Three nights of rodeo. At least two nights of dances after the rodeo. RS: Did you go to the dance? PA: No. RS: You didn’t go dance? PA: No. We could hear it, but we didn’t go. RS: But you did watch the rodeos? PA: Yes, yeah. RS: Okay. Alright, well, what about anything else like day camp, county fair, did you do any of that? PA: We went to day camp every year and that was always a highlight. You’d get to go swimming every day. And all the activities in the Quonset huts out at the park, they were all, you know, it was just everybody…you know you could always see all your friends in the summer time, as well as, during school. RS: Right. I know, because back then it seemed like whenever you said, often times, good-bye to your friends the last day of school, for a lot of them, it’s not like it is today as much, that might be the last time you see them for a while unless you had these type of activities where you got to hang out together. PA: Right. RS: And it’s cool to know that after quite a few years of there not being any day camp that it’s being, it’s coming back this year! So, that’s a good thing. Did you ever get to the point where you became a camp counselor at day camp or did you just attend? PA: No, just attended. RS: Just attended. PA: Yeah. RS: Well, did you have anything to do with the county fairs that they had around here? PA: No, my Grandmother McGuire, Lydia, she would sometimes put her canned goods in, in it. I don’t remember if she ever won any ribbons or anything, but family members participated, you know, entered different things in the fair. And, of course, the carnival. The fair was always fun. The carnival was fun. It was always so crowded. RS: And where was that, where was that held at? PA: It was out at the Quonset huts, there, at the time it was a ball field out front. And that’s where the carnival was. But each, each RS: So, is it where the softball field is now? PA: Yes. RS: Okay, okay. So they would just have it out on the field area? PA: Yes, and at that time, the rodeo grounds was right next to it where the tennis courts are now. RS: Really? PA: Yep, that’s where the rodeo grounds were. RS: Okay, see I didn’t know that. That was before my time. So, what types of, like how long did the county fair last? Was it just like a weekend or? PA: I want to say a week. RS: A week? Okay. So, do you have a favorite memory of what you did there? What was the best? Was it getting to go to the carnival or? PA: Yeah, all of it. RS: All of it. PA: Yeah, just all of it. We always went through the barns first. They might have, the first barn might have like things people have made, as far as, clothing and that kind of thing. The next barn might be canned goods and that type of thing. Another barn might be full of chickens in cages. You know the different kind of chickens. And then, of course, on down it was sheep and cows and calves. RS: So, whenever you went to something like that, was it as a family or did you go with your friends? PA: As a family, and then maybe with friends later. RS: Okay, and so, were you given like a certain amount of money that you could spend at the carnival on rides and snacks or how did that work? PA: I think so. I’m sure we were given some money. I don’t really remember for sure. RS: Okay, alright. And can you think of any other community activities in Bristow that you participated in throughout your young life? PA: We always had season tickets for the swimming pool. RS: Okay. PA: I think we lived out there. Mom would drop us off like when they opened at 1:00, I think. And she would say I’m coming to get you at 5:00, so get out of the pool at 4:30 so you be sure and be dried off before you get in the car. RS: Do you know how long the swimming pool has been there? PA: It’s been, oh my gosh, I’m not sure, it’s been there many, many years though. RS: I mean, I know I grew up out there. And I’m so excited that it’s been revamped and going to be opening back up even better this year, hopefully. I think it’s raised a lot of kids through Bristow. PA: Yes, yes. RS: And it’s been missed, you know, really missed over the last several years. PA: Well, that’s where I learned to swim, you know, you had lessons. RS: Right, right. PA: Plenty of sunburns. RS: Oh, yeah, I can only imagine, because when you’re young and your mom tells you to put sunscreen on multiple times…she puts it on you once and then that’s the last time you ever think about it. PA: Yes. RS: And then you’re sunburnt by the time you get home. PA: Right. RS: Okay. Well, let’s talk about, what were some of the biggest or most popular businesses around town growing up. Do you remember? PA: Probably, for me, was Ben Franklin. RS: And tell me what Ben Franklin is. PA: That was like a little five and dime store. We were given an allowance, and we could, mom usually went once every week or once every two weeks or something, and we could spend our allowance there. And it was usually a quarter. We’d get a quarter allowance. I would not spend my quarters for a few weeks, and so I could buy something bigger and better than my brother and sister. RS: That doesn’t surprise me. PA: Yeah. And they were - Paula got this. And I didn’t, well, they spent their quarters, so they couldn’t. RS: Do you have a particular memory of something that you saved up and bought that just made your day? PA: Probably 45s, records. RS: Oh! That’s awesome! So, did you have a particular artist that you liked to listen to? PA: No, not particular. RS: So, what was some of the music you listened to back then? Do you remember? PA: Hmmm. RS: Like, who were some of…like if you bought a 45, who would it have been of? Do you remember? PA: No. I really, no! RS: See, I’m going to make you dig deep for this. PA: I know! No, not particular. Whatever song was popular at the time. RS: At the time. I, actually, grew up listening to 45s and 33s, too, and that was like, my dad had a collection, and I loved it. I had a little record player at home. It was the coolest thing. PA: Yes. RS: Okay, so, you’re biggest and best memory is the Ben Franklin. What about any other businesses that were, I guess, notable back at that time in Bristow, whether it be a restaurant or maybe a clothing store or something like that? Do you have any? PA: I know going with my grandparents, we went to Shamas a lot with them, Shamas Dry Goods. RS: Shamas Dry Goods. Okay. And, so, what was there? PA: Clothes. RS: Okay. PA: My grandpa worn nothing but overalls, and that’s where he bought his stuff. Which you could, you know, look at cowboy boots and hats and western wear. RS: And where was that located? PA: It was the block of Community Bank. RS: Like the whole block or? PA: Part of it. RS: Part of the block. PA: Part of it, yeah. RS: Okay. And then where was the Ben Franklin…and the Ben Franklin was the one that burnt…was that the one that burned down? PA: Yes, it burned. So, it’s next to Los Arcos. RS: Los Arcos. Okay, well I know whenever I’ve done some of the older oral histories, the Shamas name has come up a lot. And, so, had that building or business been there for a long time whenever you would go and visit? PA: Yes, yes. RS: And was it still, I guess, in the Shamas family? PA: Right. It was. RS: That’s cool. Okay. Did you have a favorite place to eat in town? I guess maybe your PA: The Pirate Inn! RS: Your Pirate Inn was probably one of them, wasn’t it? Was there any other places that were special? I know back when I was growing up, we didn’t get to eat out that often, so, I mean it was a special treat whenever we did. PA: We went to Tastee Freeze, Frosty Freeze. RS: And where was that located? PA: Tastee Freeze was on 4th Street next to the Chinese place now. RS: Okay, so where was…that was at the same place as it was when. The Frosty Freeze was something different? PA: Yeah, it was on south main next to the railroad tracks. RS: Okay, and so, did you go there for a hamburger or ice cream or all of the above? PA: Yeah. RS: What was your favorite thing to get? Do you remember? PA: Probably, well, it was, it was like a cherry vanilla coke. RS: Oh, that sounds good! Did you have, once you became a teenager, where was, you know growing up for us dragging was the cool and fun thing. What did you PA: That was it. RS: So, you drug main, too? PA: Right! RS: Was it the same turn-around, like at Stop-n-Shop and then down by Pizza Hut or was the drag different? PA: No, it was down to Frosty Freeze, down to the tracks. RS: Down to the tracks at the PA: Yeah, or Community Bank. RS: Okay. Oh. PA: Right there. That was the turn-around. RS: Oh! Okay, oh, because I guess the other, was the other part, what is now Coop’s, what was Stop-n-Shop at the, was that even there, was anything there at that time? PA: I don’t remember what it was if it RS: Because we would always turn around in Stop-n-Shop. That’s funny. And, so, did you ever, was there, like a particular place that teenagers hung out back in that time, aside, like once you finally parked or did anything, what would you do? PA: No. If we parked, it was like maybe the Safeway parking lot, which is not Dollar General. RS: Okay. PA: No, that’s all I can think of. RS: And, was there any other, at the time you grew up, were there any, I mean, I know back in the day there was like a movie theater. Was there anything like that at that time? PA: Yes, oh yeah, the drive-in. Drive-in movies. Yes. RS: And where was that located? PA: That was west of town, about a mile, maybe. RS: Really? PA: Uh-huh. I don’t know what the business is called that’s there now. It’s a…hmm…I don’t know what kind of business it is. RS: Like out past Walmart? PA: No. Out west on 66. RS: Oh! Oh, okay. I’m going the wrong direction. PA: Past Evergreen Mobile Home Park, and then there’s Timber Trail housing. RS: Yes, uh-huh. So, the drive-in was out there? PA: Yeah, just past that. RS: Okay. Cool. So, where did you buy your clothes or did your grandmother make your clothes growing up? PA: Well, yeah, and mom made our clothes, too, when we were smaller. We bought at JC Penney’s here in town. RS: We had a JC Penney’s? PA: We did! RS: Well, my goodness. PA: Yeah. RS: I didn’t know that. PA: Yeah, we bought MOST of our clothes at JC Penney’s. RS: Okay. And then, so, how did you, did you like that your, that your mom and your grandma made your clothes or did that, was that a normal thing? PA: Yes. It was normal. Yeah, yeah. But they were absolutely wonderful seamstress. RS: Top notch. PA: Yes. RS: Well, that’s cool. Okay, and then did you, was there certain times of year you got new clothes or is it just when you needed them? PA: Well, we always got more clothes at the beginning of school, and we would go shopping and buy whatever we needed to start school, and that was always kind of a special occasion. RS: Oh yeah, that’s always the fun trip. PA: Yeah. You get to pick out new things. RS: Right. PA: Get new shoes. RS: Right. Okay, well, let’s talk about how your family got around. Do you remember, what is your memory of the first car, what car do you have the first memory of? Do you remember? PA: Oh, I couldn’t tell you what it was. I couldn’t tell what color it was. I want to say it was like a baby blue. RS: A baby blue something. PA: A something. RS: Okay, well, what is one you do remember? PA: I need my dad here to tell you that. RS: What is one you do remember? PA: Oh. RS: Are you not good at models of cars? PA: No! I’m not! A Buick. I know we had a Buick. I learned to drive in a Buick. RS: And, so, was it a standard or automatic? PA: Automatic. RS: An automatic. And who taught you how to drive? PA: Driver’s Ed teacher. RS: So, your parents didn’t have the heart to teach you? PA: Well, no, no, no. The first time I got in the car with my mom, she put one hand on the dash board, the other hand on the door, like to brace herself. And she said, okay, start it up. RS: So, it wasn’t even running and she was already braced?! PA: NO! And she was already braced! RS: Oh, that’s funny! So, who is the main person that took you places? Was it your mom or your dad or your grandparents? PA: Parents, my parents. RS: Parents. Okay. Did you go on vacations in your car? PA: We did. Most of the time it was back and forth to California to visit family. But there were stops along the way in the Grand Canyon and different places. RS: Are there any of those types of memories that really stick out to you, like any place that you stopped? I can imagine the Grand Canyon would had to have been one of them. PA: Yeah, that was a great memory. Most of my memory was car sickness. RS: Bless your heart! PA: I had a lot of that. But staying, what is now Route 66, I remember the motels, the little tourist camps, that kind of thing. Which, of course, you don’t think of it back then as being anything, but now looking back on it, I think, wow, we really experienced the Route 66 experience. RS: So, you don’t feel as a young person that you probably really grasped what you were getting to see and experience. It took until you got older. PA: Right. RS: To appreciate that. PA: Yes, yes. Seeing San Francisco [California], I remember that. That was fun. RS: Yeah, I can imagine, especially coming from a small country town, because even town here is not like town there. PA: Right, right. Going through the desert and that kind of thing. It’s all different. RS: Right, and then I guess you probably had to fight through, you probably have the worst memory of just your car sickness and trying to get there and back. PA: Yeah. RS: Oh, that would be terrible. And you said that driver’s ed taught you how to drive. Do you remember what your first car was? PA: 1966 red Mustang. RS: Ohhh! Look at you! Did you buy it or did your parents buy it for you? PA: I told my dad, or I told my mom and dad that I would love to have a red Mustang, and my dad worked out of town at that time, and he found the car at a car lot at McAlester [Oklahoma], a red Mustang. He put on new tires, and when my mom picked me up, at the time I worked at the hospital here after school, she came to pick me up and there was this red Mustang parked in the drive way. RS: Oh, my goodness. PA: I said, and at the time, we were still at the mobile home park, you know, they were managers. So, it wasn’t unusual to have different vehicles in our drive. And when we pulled in, I said, mom, that is exactly like the car I want. RS: Oh! What a good memory! PA: Yes! So, I walked in and daddy jingled the keys. RS: Oh my gosh! PA: Jingled my keys, and I said, what?! You know, so anyway. RS: Were you sixteen when you got it? PA: Yeah. RS: Oh man! PA: So, that was a surprise, which I did wind up paying for it, but he found it and brought it home. RS: Well, that’s a neat memory. So, Paula was cool back in the day. PA: Oh yeah! And it had get up and go, too! RS: Oh, I love it. Okay, well what kind of entertainment did you guys enjoy growing up? Did you get to watch TV? If you did, what were, do you remember some of your favorite programs? PA: We did watch some TV. It really wasn’t like a big deal at our house. But on Sunday evenings, I believe, Walt Disney was on, so we would get ready for school, you know, take our baths and put our pajamas on and that kind of thing, and then we would get to watch Walt Disney. Once it was over, then it was bedtime. RS: So, what was did Walt Disney consist of? Was that PA: It was just different, different shows. RS: Oh, okay. PA: Different cartoons. It was just like a Walt Disney hour. RS: Okay. PA: Variety type thing. RS: Were there any pivotal moments in history that you witnessed watching the TV? Like that were on TV? PA: Yes. I remember very distinctly was when we first landed on the moon. We got to stay up late to watch it. Mom thought, you know, that was really important that we got to. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open, but you know it was a little bit later than we were used to. RS: So, around how old do you think you were? PA: I was nine. RS: You were nine. So, did that, being nine, did that, could you grasp how, like, amazing that was for that time period to be that there’s actually a man walking on the moon? PA: I thought it was pretty fascinating. Of course, the picture on the TV was fuzzy, you know, it wasn’t good sound and all that, but you could still see well enough. So, I knew it was something different and unusual. And mom told us to remember that moment. RS: That it was that big of a deal. PA: Yes, yes. RS: Do you have any other pivotal moments that you remember that you saw on TV? PA: Well, of course, there’s all kinds of different things, but nothing really, really THAT RS: The moon, the landing on the moon. PA: Yeah, that was probably number one. RS: Stood out to you the most. What was your medical like growing up? Did you have a family doctor? PA: Yes. RS: And who was your doctor? PA: Dr. Jones. RS: And was he a Bristow doctor? PA: Yeah. RS: Okay. Did your mother have any, like, mother or grandmothers have any home remedies or anything that you remember that you used like instead of going to the doctor for every little thing? Was there any PA: No. My grandmother worked for a doctor, so we just went to the doctor. RS: You just went to the doctor, huh? So, Dr. Jones, what was his first name? PA: W.E. was his initials. RS: And he was a Bristow doctor? PA: Yes. RS: And that would have been out at the hospital? Where were doctor’s offices? PA: He was actually on 4th Street where the health department is now. RS: Oh, okay. PA: That was his office then. RS: Okay, okay. Do you recall any serious illnesses or epidemics growing up that either that you or your family experienced? PA: Well, I had the measles five times. RS: Five times?! PA: Five times. RS: Did they not have the vaccine then? PA: No, not then. RS: Oh, my goodness. And how did that affect you? PA: It was awful! RS: You were just miserable?! PA: Yeah. And chicken pox. RS: You had it all. PA: Yeah. RS: So, whenever one of you got it, did all of you get it? PA: Yeah. Yeah, we kind of took turns. We had the mumps. Had mumps over Christmas. That was an awful Christmas because you didn’t get to do anything at Christmas. I missed the school Christmas party. It was when I was in second grade, I think. RS: Ohhhh. PA: Missed the family get-togethers. RS: So, you had all of the things that we are vaccinated for now. PA: Yes, right! RS: Oh, my goodness. What about any other types of epidemics. I mean, I know, obviously, we’ve experienced in the last few years, covid and what kind of havoc that wreaked on everything, but was there anything like that, that you can remember growing up, that you experienced? PA: No, no. And not any family members either. RS: And how did covid affect, did it affect you and your family at all? PA: Yeah, we all had it at one point. RS: But all recovered? PA: All recovered very well, yes. RS: Okay, and it didn’t affect jobs or? PA: No. RS: Well, we’re glad that’s over, aren’t we? PA: Yes, yes, for sure. RS: Did you attend a church growing up? PA: Off and on with friends. RS: And did you PA: And family. I went to church with family, too. RS: Okay. Did you have, I guess, a favorite church? Did you go to different churches since you were going with different people? PA: Yeah, with friends, I went with friends to Trinity Baptist at grade school, mostly. RS: Now, who was the pastor there at that time? Do you remember? Was it, it wasn’t the elder Tidwell, was it? PA: No, that was before him. RS: That was before him. PA: I can’t remember his name, actually. RS: Okay. Well, that’s okay. That’s okay. So, you went to Trinity with your friends. PA: Yes, and the holiness church with family. RS: Was Trinity still in the same place that it is now? PA: Yes. RS: Okay. And, so did you go to, what holiness church? PA: Here at Bristow where it is now on first. RS: Oh, okay. So, those buildings, it’s been the same thing for quite a while then. So, do you have any memories of, like, how the service was or did you have any favorite songs or hymns that you sang or is there any details about church you remember growing up? PA: I know going with friends to Trinity, they had a group for the kids or the girls called GA’s, Girls in Action. And that was always fun. RS: And what types of things did you do? PA: Well, they just taught different things, and I know one time, we took a trip to Cushing and saw a film with the other GA’s from other churches. It was just a lot of fun, a lot of activity. RS: Well, that sounds like a neat PA: Yeah, a real, real family type thing. RS: Right. And, so, did, so this group taught different lessons to that age group. Did you guys do any activities together, like community activities, this group? PA: I don’t remember community activities, but of course, that church went to Falls Creek for the week. Went to Falls Creek. RS: So, you went to Falls Creek. And what was your favorite memory about going to Falls Creek or a memory that stands out to you? PA: Well, just how many other kids were there, and you know, just the atmosphere, the camping. The huge building with everybody in it…it was just a lot of fun, but you learned a lot. RS: So, you told me at one time that you were a very shy child. It sounds like you were very involved and did a lot of things for being somebody that was shy. PA: Yes. RS: So, that didn’t bother you or you didn’t feel homesick being away like that? PA: No, no. I think because I was with friends, you know, that were more or less family. As long as you stayed in your little group. RS: Your little group, so it eased your…because I know you said you were incredibly quiet as a younger, I’m guessing you kind of came out of that some as you grew up, but as a smaller child, you were very, very quiet? PA: Yes. RS: And do you have any reason for that, you think? Or just the way God made you? PA: Just the way I was. RS: Okay. So, let’s talk about how your family celebrated holidays. Can you give me a for instance of how you celebrated Christmas in your home in regards to gifts or food, decorations? So, tell me about a family Christmas at your house. PA: Well, Santa Claus came. RS: I like it. PA: So, we had to go to bed and go to sleep, which was, you know, SO difficult. And we’d try to wake up and I would get up during the night and peek and see if he’d come yet. RS: So, did Santa bring you, did he fill your stockings, did he bring you certain…what did Santa typically bring at your house? PA: He brought, more or less, the big stuff. RS: And was it wrapped or? PA: It was unwrapped. RS: Unwrapped. That’s how it was at my house. PA: We had wrapped gifts from parents or each other and Santa brought the unwrapped. RS: That’s how he was at mine. Did he fill your stockings, too? PA: Yes. Yeah. RS: So, did you guys go all out on decorations? Do you remember what it was like, how was your Christmas tree? PA: We had a lot of decorations, yeah. We had the tree and tinsel and all that. But we had different decorations sitting on the TV and the tables. RS: So, did you usually have a live tree or? PA: Live. RS: A live tree. See, we did tinsel, too. As I got older, I realize now why my mom didn’t like tinsel because it’s so messy. But we, of course, loved it. So, was your family the type of family that really got into and enjoyed holidays, say like the 4th or July, Easter, Halloween…were there any other holidays that really stood out to you? I think for most people, I think Christmas is always on the forefront of holidays, but were there any other particular holidays that really stood out to you? PA: Well, Thanksgiving was always good, too. RS: Thanksgiving. Was that, did you go to a particular house? Was it at your house? PA: Grandparents. RS: Grandparents. Did you trade off going or did you hit both of them or? PA: I think we usually hit both. RS: And I’m sure since everyone was a good cook, you probably had a wonderful feast, didn’t you? PA: Oh, yes. Yeah, two or three. RS: Lots of eating. Were there any, what about 4th of July? Do you remember, did you do anything with your family? Back then was there town activities for the 4th? PA: No. I don’t think there was town activities. But we always had our own fireworks, and sometimes we would be with other families, you know, together. RS: Right. PA: But everybody had their own, so we would shoot them off. RS: So, it wasn’t like it is today where we have the big fireworks out at the lake. PA: No. RS: They didn’t have anything like that back then. Did the town of Bristow do anything for any of the other holidays? Do you remember trick-or-treating around Bristow? Was that a big thing? PA: Yes, we trick-or-treated everywhere. It was every street, every house, you could go to, where now it’s more. RS: Sixth Street. PA: Yeah, Sixth Street and that’s about it. We went everywhere. RS: And, so, that was Halloween was kind of a big deal. PA: It was a big deal. RS: A big deal back then. Do you remember a favorite costume? PA: No. RS: I think my mom always cut holes out of sheet and made us a ghost. PA: Yes. RS: To make it easier. PA: That’s kind of what we did. And some years we didn’t really have a costume. We just bought a mask. RS: Oh, okay. PA: We had a mask and that was all. RS: Those plastic masks that make you sweat and yeah, that you can’t see out of. Okay, well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? PA: Mmmm. No, well, no. There was just a gamut of things. Sometimes I would do, I would think, I want to be a teacher. Or I’m going to be a nurse. Then I’d realize, oh no, they have to give shots. I don’t want to be a nurse. No, nothing that I actually followed through with. RS: Well, it doesn’t have to be something you followed through with. Like I wanted to be, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid, but then I realized that I would have to see hurt animals, so it broke my heart too much, so. So, teacher maybe, or a nurse? PA: Yeah, mm-hmm. RS: Which you worked in a doctor’s office for a long time. Which, we’ll get to that. What was your first job? Well, I guess you were a dishwasher. PA: A dishwasher, yeah, no but I babysat. RS: Babysat. PA: Yeah, I babysat summers and evenings for neighbors. I did that for many years. RS: And then you. PA: And my first official job, you know, real paying job was I worked at the hospital in the office. RS: And that’s when you were in high school, wasn’t it? PA: Yeah, junior and senior year. RS: Okay. And, so, tell me what a typical work day was there for you. PA: At the hospital? RS: Mm-hmm. PA: Well, what I did, I worked in the office. I admitted patients, just did the paperwork, get them to sign the forms and that kind of thing. Answered the phones, switchboard. RS: Were you like seventeen probably? PA: Sixteen, seventeen. RS: Sixteen, seventeen? That’s a pretty big job for a younger, a younger aged person. That’s impressive. PA: It was the old-time switchboard. RS: Was that hard to catch on to? PA: Not really. I just wished they still had it. It was fun. RS: So, that wasn’t one of the artifacts that came. That wasn’t preserved from the hospital? PA: Huh-uh. RS: Shoot. Do you remember how much money you made at your first job? PA: No. I don’t. RS: You don’t remember what you got…I was gonna ask you, too, and I forgot, on your red Mustang, do you remember how much your dad paid for it? Or how much ended up paying for it? PA: I think it was $975. RS: Oh, my goodness! Wouldn’t like somebody like to have a $975 1966 Mustang now?! PA: I think my payments were $75 a month. RS: Oh, my goodness! PA: So, it was less than a year it was paid for. RS: Okay, I had to rewind on that because I forgot to ask you. How long did you stay at your first job at the hospital? PA: About two years. RS: Two years. So that was through your high school life? PA: Yeah, I was there junior and senior year, and then I graduated in ’77. In July of ’77 I went to work at American National Bank as a teller. RS: Okay, so, and I guess, so I guess the hospital was good at working with, like around your school hours. PA: Yes. RS: You just went after school and on the weekends. PA: And weekends. RS: Okay. Since you were so young when you worked at the hospital, do you remember any lessons that stuck out to you from working there? PA: Don’t drink and drive. RS: Oh, my goodness. Because you were seeing things coming in. PA: Yeah, there were accidents. People, of course, I wasn’t back in the back where to see the person, the patient. But the reactions of the family members, people coming in. RS: That really stood out to you? PA: Yeah. RS: Oh, I bet. So, did you have any other lessons just in your, I guess, how you would conduct yourself in your work life? Did you have any mentors there that helped teach you, maybe you carried over into your other jobs as you moved on? PA: Yeah, one thing that carried on to all my jobs was what you see or do or know in the office doesn’t leave the office. You know, you keep it to yourself. You don’t talk about things. RS: What happens there stays there. PA: Privacy. RS: Yes. That’s good. So, tell me about some of the other jobs you held throughout your life. I know you mentioned you went from the hospital to the bank. And then. PA: I was there 12 years. RS: Twelve years at the bank. PA: I started out as a teller. RS: Okay. PA: Drive-in teller, then inside teller, and then I wound up in the loan department toward the end. RS: And then from there you went to? PA: From there I went, well, I took a year off. I didn’t work at all. From there I went to. RS: Why did you take off that year? PA: Just to be with the boys. RS: So, that’s when your boys were little? PA: Yes. RS: Okay. Alright. So, from there you went to. PA: To Rainbow Healthcare Center. RS: Okay. PA: In the office there, bookkeeper. RS: And you were there how long? PA: I was there nine years. RS: Nine years. And, so, did you have any good lessons that you learned from the residents that you were around there? PA: Yes, well, me and my love of history and genealogy, you know, and they’re all old people. RS: Right. PA: And they all told stories. I just loved it. You know, there were like a whole house full of grandparents. RS: Right. And I’m sure they loved you, too. So, from there, after Rainbow, did you retire? PA: No, from there RS: Oh no, you went to the doc PA: Doctor’s office. RS: That’s right. PA: Went to work for Dr. Krug. RS: Krug. PA: David Krug. RS: And then Smith [Carl Smith] and Sarah [Sarah Pinson]. PA: Yes. RS: Carl Smith and Sarah. And you were there how many years? PA: Nineteen. RS: Nineteen years. And, so, from there, that’s when you retired? PA: Yes. RS: And then I also wanted to ask you about when you came on with the Bristow Historical Society and how that has affected your life. PA: Well, I was always, as far as I can remember, I was always a member from back in the 80’s. RS: Okay. PA: But then after retirement, I started volunteering. RS: When did you start, do you remember what year you started volunteering there? PA: Probably 2019, 2020? Something like that. RS: Okay. PA: It’s only been four or five years. So far. RS: That’s just probably furthered your love of history. PA: Yes. RS: And I’m just gonna say that we couldn’t make it there without you, that you are the history wizard. Your knowledge is so vast and appreciated with how you keep up the Facebook page and keep interesting posts and all the research you do is just crazy how many hours you put into it. And I know it’s because, partially because you love it. Is there anything, are you happy to be where you’re at in your life now of, you know, retirement, volunteering…is that a good, you feel like that’s a good place? PA: Yeah, I just kinda slid right into it. RS: It worked out, didn’t it? PA: Yeah, yeah from genealogy into the research, you know, Bristow research, it’s just, it’s really been fascinating. RS: And you and I have a project we have to get on taking pictures. You have the old pictures of the different views, aspects, buildings around town, and we’re gonna try and go and capture what it looks like today and have some comparisons, which I’m excited to work on. That I think will be a great thing to have in the history. PA: Yes, right. This year is Bristow’s 125th birthday. RS: Which is a big deal! PA: It is a big deal. RS: Yeah. Okay. Did you attend college? And if you did, did you enjoy that experience? PA: I did. It’s while I worked at American National Bank. They paid for any college we wanted to pursue. RS: Oh wow! PA: And I did take 15 hours at Tulsa Junior College [Tulsa Community College], of course, that was evenings. RS: And what did you take? PA: History. RS: Why does that not surprise me? PA: I know. History and sociology, just things that interested me. RS: Right. PA: It wasn’t for any certain degree or anything, it was just what was interesting. But Tracy Kelly said anything to broaden your horizons. They were all for. RS: Yeah, which is awesome. PA: Yeah, I appreciated it very much. RS: Yeah, for real. Okay. Well, let’s circle back to your family, and let’s talk about your spouse. What is his name and when did you meet? PA: His name is Gary Wayne Atwell [3/8/1958]. He moved to Bristow when he was a junior and I was a sophomore. Through a friend, he was bashful kind of like I was, and so he asked a mutual friend if I would go out with him. And, so, the mutual friend asked me and I said, okay. So, we went and the rest is history. RS: So, what was your first impression of him? PA: He was just as bashful as I was. RS: So, I would have to know PA: Our first date, maybe two words between us. RS: That’s what I was gonna say, I would have to know what your first date sounded like. There probably wasn’t a ton of conversation. PA: No, there was not a ton of conversation and it was dragging main. RS: Dragging main. PA: Yeah, up and down main street. RS: Well, you know, that’s, you at least probably had the radio on and that helped lighten the mood a little bit. Can you tell me about your engagement and how long it lasted? PA: We got engaged New Year’s Eve 1980. RS: 1980. PA: Wait a minute, ’79. RS: ’79. PA: Yeah. RS: And then how long was your engagement? PA: We got married April 7th , so four months. RS: You were fast, too. So, you were married April 7, 1980? PA: Yeah. RS: Okay. PA: No, no. Seventy-eight. I’m all mixed up here. RS: That’s okay. I can’t remember how old I am half the time. So, engaged in ’78 and married in ’79? PA: No. RS: No. PA: We were married in ’78. RS: Married in ’78. Okay, so April 7, 1978 was when you were married. PA: Uh-huh. RS: So, you would have been engaged in ’77. PA: Yeah, let’s see. RS: Are we gonna have to edit this? PA: Yeah, we are. RS: That’s okay. Dates are hard to remember. PA: We were married April of ’77. So, December 31st. RS: Would have been ’76. PA: Good grief, I am real, you are definitely gonna have to edit this. RS: Well, as long as we know what your, when you were married. We can figure out the rest. PA: April of ’78. RS: April of ’78 is when you were married. April 7, 1978. Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about your wedding, what it was like? Like when and where? PA: We got married in at the Assembly of God Church that is no longer standing. It was on Chestnut Street. We were married by Gene, I mean, sorry, Joe Jackson. RS: Joe Jackson. Was it a big wedding? A small wedding? PA: Well, it was just family. Family and friends, so I would call it a big wedding. Just your normal every day church wedding. RS: Right, okay. What would you recall about your first years of marriage? Like what were they like when you were newly married? PA: Nothing really stands out, sticks out. We both worked. RS: So, was it, were you, was it a struggle. Did you live in a little house? PA: No, we actually lived in a mobile home there like two houses down from my parents for the first year. RS: In the mobile home park? PA: Yes, and then we moved to Depew [Oklahoma] and lived in a house there. And we were there 13 years in the same house. RS: So, that would have been where you brought your boys home to? PA: Yes, they were both born while we lived at Depew [Oklahoma]. I can’t say we struggled, but it was paycheck to paycheck. RS: Right. PA: You know, as you’re newly married and all that. RS: Right, so, speaking of your children, tell me their names and their dates of birth. PA: Okay. My first son was Clinton Wayne Atwell. He was born October 19, 1981. My other son, Curtis Paul Atwell, and he was born May 4, 1984. RS: So, he’s getting ready to have a birthday, isn’t he? PA: Yes. RS: Did you work or were you a stay-at-home mom? PA: I worked the whole time. RS: You took off PA: Just the one year. RS: The one year you took off with them. What do you feel were the challenges of being a mom during that time period and trying to work and do all the things? PA: Well, Gary worked at Kwikset, and he worked second shift, so the boys or I didn’t really get to see him until the weekend. You know, because he worked evenings, and of course, we were gone to school and work during the day, so we crossed paths. So, that would be probably the most challenging. RS: You kind of felt like a single mom, I guess? PA: Yeah, because that’s really what it was. RS: Right. PA: Yeah. But, of course, he was a very attentive father when he was there. And as far at the boys growing up, they were in cub scouts. I was a cub mother, or den mother. RS: Den mother. PA: They played baseball. And that was always a challenge because one practiced on Mondays and Wednesdays and played Tuesdays and Thursdays, well the other one was the opposite. You know, I was here and there and all around. RS: Were grandparents able to help at all with the shuffle? PA: Not really, because that was Depew and we were Bristow. RS: It was all you. PA: It was just me, yeah, mostly. RS: My goodness. So, were your boys good? Were they ornery? PA: No, they were good boys! RS: Well, good. It was probably a good thing because it sounds like you had your hands full. Then do you have any grandchildren, and if so, names and ages? PA: I have one granddaughter. She’s Savanna Grace [10/24/2019]. RS: I love that name, Savanna Grace. And how old is she? PA: She’s four and a half. RS: Four and a half. So, that’s a fun age. So, what are your favorite things to do with Miss Savanna? PA: EVERYTHING. RS: She’s not spoiled at all, is she? PA: No, not at all. No, she’s your typical little farm girl. They have cows and horses and chickens, and she loves to gather her eggs. RS: Oh, that sounds like fun. PA: Yeah, yeah. She goes to daycare at a daycare in Okmulgee. She’s learned the Creek language. RS: That’s awesome! PA: Yeah, so when she, she’s talking gobbledy-goo to me, I’m thinking, I don’t know what you’re saying, but keep right on saying it! RS: You keep on with that! So, what’s her favorite thing to do when she comes to your house? PA: Swing. RS: Swing. PA: Yeah, yeah, of course, she loves to read. She loves to work puzzles, all the normal every day. She likes to build blanket forts. RS: That’s the best. Well, that sounds like fun. Okay, so we’ve talked some about your love of history, and I know you said that Mrs. Foster was the one that kind of sparked that with your genealogy assignment. I know you had also told me that you were part of the Bristow group and the Bristow group that did genealogy and then you ended up teaching there. Can you tell me a little bit about that? PA: That started, like, in the 80’s, early 80’s. Which I was a member back then. RS: How did you have time for everything? PA: I really didn’t have time, but you know, you make time for some things. RS: Right. PA: And I didn’t do it all the time. I didn’t do research all the time. I just when I could. RS: Right. PA: But then it might be months that I didn’t do it at all. But, you just keep going on. RS: So, you got into that, and then, so what did you just kind of fall into teaching there? PA: Yes, yeah. RS: It just kind of turned into that? PA: It just evolved that way. RS: And you did that for? PA: Oh, many years. RS: And just recently that dissolved. PA: Yes, we just dissolved it in January . RS: In January. And then we’ve already talked about you started volunteering at the depot probably in the last 4ish years, 4-5 years. Do you have any wisdom to share about seeking out a person’s family history and the importance of it? PA: Well, you don’t know until you look for anything. You think, oh, well my folks were just all farmers, you know, pretty boring, pretty standard. But it’s not. It’s not that way at all. Just, you know, if you find out the details, you find out about the person, their personality, things they liked to do, things that you like to do that you didn’t know, and YOU like to do. RS: Like the connection, you find the connection there. So, is there one, and there may be more than one, but are there any particular things that were, maybe, outlandish or that wow’d you that you’ve, that you’ve learned about your own family. PA: Yes. Well, one of them was the Salem witch hunts that everybody’s heard about. My, I want to say, maybe seven- or eight-times grandmother, actually her sister, was one of the accusers, and so that made her dad one of the, I don’t know what he was called, a judge or one of the persecutors. So, very much involved in the witch things. My grandmother was not. She was too young at that time, before it all blew over. But that was one eye-opener thing. Another thing is, I’ve got a couple of connections to Abraham Lincoln. RS: Oh, neat. PA: And that’s, that was just fun. Not direct, but like an uncle. My family used to live in the, neighbors to the Lincoln family. They owned land side by side. And then my uncle helped the Lincoln family move from Kentucky to Indiana, I believe. And I have proof of that. You know, so it’s proven, not just hearsay or whatever. Also, a different grandfather, a different line, when the Lincoln family was in Illinois, he knew Abraham Lincoln, and they show a picture of him standing on the front porch, I guess, of the Lincoln Law Office. So, you know, just different connections, you know, so you play a part of history, and you don’t realize it. And, of course, there’s always your civil war grandparents or aunts or uncles or whoever that was involved in the different wars. I’ve got several Revolutionary War soldiers. RS: So, do you feel like you’re leaving a good legacy for your family with the collection of the history items that you have? PA: Yes. RS: Are your boys interested in that? PA: I think they are. I think as, I think with everybody, as you get older, you do become more interested. RS: I would agree. PA: And wished you’d asked more questions of your grandparents and that kind of thing. RS: Yes, absolutely. Well, I definitely, just with my experience with doing the oral histories and working with the historical society, it’s really sparked my interest and made me wish I would have done some of the same things, you know, before my dad passed away or before my mom had her stroke, and you know, was unable to talk now. So, I think it’s a really neat thing to leave to your family. You’ve done all the leg work, you know. And it’s just all right there for them to be able to read about. Okay, so, I spoke with your siblings to see if they had any interesting things to add about you, and Michael told me to ask you about the red shoes. Can you tell me about the red shoes? I was a little nervous to ask you. PA: Growing up, mom always had us in red tennis shoes. RS: Was there a reason for that? PA: I don’t think so. RS: Or did she just like red? PA: Just liked red tennis shoes, and Michael thinks that such a fascinating thing that every picture we have red shoes on. RS: You have red tennis shoes on. PA: Yeah, yeah. There’s those red shoes again! RS: And the Eva wanted me to ask you about learning to drive a stick shift and what happened with that. PA: Ohhhh! Oh, well, okay, I’ll confess. I’ve broken two bones and neither one were mine. RS: Oh, my goodness! You have to, you have to spill what happened. PA: Well, the first bone I broke was Eva’s. She was in the first grade and I think I was in the third. We’d had fried chicken for supper. She went immediately outside and got on the swing set. Well, I got up and helped mom clean the table off and do that little bit, and then I went outside, and she asked me to swing her. So, I pulled the swing back. Anyway, she wound up slipping off the swing, fell on the ground and broke her arm. And she said I pushed her on purpose, well, she asked me to for one thing. But, another thing is, she got directly up from the table and went outside, so her fingers were greasy, I’m sure! RS: So, you’re blaming it on the fried chicken? PA: I’m blaming it on her, yeah. RS: Or the fried chicken. PA: Yes, yes. RS: So, what happened with the stick-shift? PA: The other bone I broke was my best friend’s femur. RS: OH! PA: It was the day after school let out, and I’m thinking. RS: Like for the summer? PA: Yes. I think, I don’t remember if we were sophomores or juniors now, but anyway, we were at her house. Nobody else was home but just us because her mom and dad worked. She had a stick shift car, standard. When I start mom’s car at that time, at home, to start it, you kind of had to give it a little gas at the same time you turned the ignition on. With the standard, which I had never been behind the wheel of a standard. The car wouldn’t start. So, my friend got out, told me slide over onto the driver’s seat. She opened the hood of the car like she knew what to do. She didn’t, but anyway. She told me to try to start it, so I gave it a little gas, and you weren’t supposed to do that. It was in neutral, but anyway, it rolled forward, the car rolled forward when I started it, and it pinned her in the carport. And it broke her leg. RS: Oh, my goodness! PA: So, she kind of hopped around and got back in the car, back in the car seat and her leg was kind of bowed, really awkward. And she said, I think my leg is broken. And I looked and her and said, no it’s not, not it’s not. Anyway, so I got, she said, I think you better go call my mom. So, you know, I go in the house, and I call her mom. And her mom was here at the house. They lived out in the country. She was there within five minutes. I mean, she must have just flown. But anyway, she wound up being in the hospital three weeks, I think, with that bone. She was in traction for one week for the swelling to go down. Of course, they put a pin in it. And then, you know, another week after the surgery, she was still in there. So, anyway, that was probably the most traumatic thing that ever happened. RS: What a story for Eva to tell me to ask you. PA: Right. RS: Oh, my goodness! Yeah, that’s terrible. Well, but I guess she got okay and everything. PA: Yeah, yeah. RS: Everything’s good. PA: About a year later, they took the bar back out of her bone and everything’s okay, I guess. RS: Well, remind me to never let you drive a stick shift. PA: Right. I don’t want to. RS: Oh, I bet. Okay, so what would, this is one you’re probably gonna have to think about. What would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime? PA: Computer. RS: The computer. PA: Yeah, how could I do my research without my computer. RS: This is true. You know, I would probably agree with that. How do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child? PA: It’s much busier, I think. Not as friendly. I hope it turns back that way, but life was so much more simple. RS: Well, I feel like in a lot of ways the, maybe my generation and younger, are trying to go back to some of the older ways…the gardening, the bread making, you know, the slowing down a little bit. I think we all have to work so hard to try to make a living that it’s just made everybody way too busy. PA: People just need to go out on their front porch and listen to the birds and wave to the neighbors. RS: I think I’m an old lady at heart, because that’s one of my most favorite things to do. And as you see it, what do you feel our nation’s biggest problem is and how do you think we could solve it? PA: Our biggest problem? RS: What’s our nation’s biggest problem right now? I’m challenging you, Paula. PA: I think it’s probably, well, I don’t know. I think now people think everything should be handed to them. And I think everyone needs to get to work. RS: To have the philosophy of our grandparents of working hard, working for what you have. Yeah, I would agree with that. PA: Well, it gives you self-worth, and I think everybody’s lacking that. RS: Yes, and I think there’s an element of pride there that has been lost, too. PA: Yes. RS: I would agree with you. How have historic events such as, say like the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, natural disasters, world wars, covid, etc…how has that affected you? You can pick one or several. Do you have any memories of, you know, how you felt during those times? PA: Well, sad and devastated a lot. But as far as the Oklahoma City Bombing, my older son, Clinton was with an FFA group in Oklahoma City when that happened. RS: Oh my gosh. PA: And I was at Rainbow, you know, in the office working. Anyway, right next to the lobby and the TV was always on in the lobby at the nursing home. When that happened, of course, they come in and tell us what’s going on, and so, we walk out there and we are watching the TV, and I’m there for a couple of minutes and then it dawns on me. RS: Where your son is. PA: Clinton is on Oklahoma City, so where is he compared to where this bomb has gone off? RS: Oh, my goodness. PA: Anyway, he happened to be up at that time. They were in the motel room still. And they heard it. The other students that were still asleep were awoken by the bomb. It was loud enough to wake them up. But also, and of course, they were all okay. At that time, we had several of the nursing home employees in Oklahoma City. They were at like a webinar, seminar or something. And they said that they actually, and they were within a few blocks, like five blocks of it. When the bomb went off, they said they could feel the ripple in the building they were in. They could feel it go down the ceiling. RS: Oh, my goodness. PA: Just the ripple effect, and so, they were all very, very close. But as far as people here from Bristow that were in Oklahoma City at the time, they were all okay. RS: So, how did you make contact with your son, because I can’t imagine that there were no cell phone or anything. PA: No, we called the school. I called the school. They said we have just talked to the teacher and everybody is okay. There all still in the motel rooms. RS: Did they come home after that or did they go on? PA: I think they went ahead and stayed. RS: Oh, wow. I would have been like, it’s time for you to come home. Oh, my goodness. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations? PA: Find out where you come from. You know, as far as RS: You have to know where you came from to know where you’re going. PA: Yes. And you’ll find skeletons in the closet as the old saying goes. You will, but that’s part of your life. That’s part of who you are, and it’s all interesting. It’s all fun. And it’s pretty amazing. RS: Well, I would agree, and I just have to say, getting to know you since being at the historical society has been a huge blessing in my life. And I’ve loved learning the knowledge. We joke. I call you the history wizard because whenever I’m working on my oral histories, I know I can always ask Paula, and she’s always going to have the answer for me. PA: I try! RS: You do a wonderful job. Well, this interview will become an important part of the oral history archives for the museum. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll get to keep working together and we will keep on with the history. PA: Yeah, that sounds like fun! RS: Okay, thank you. PA: Thank you. video 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0055_Paula_Atwell.xml OHP-0055_Paula_Atwell.xml
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Paula Atwell
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Paula shares about her history growing up in the Bristow area, about her family and work life and her love for genealogy and history.
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OHP-0055
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2024/05/01
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video
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/fb5ab4fc507ea90359ea365327d288de.jpg
078276b4ecb42110f2f95dc74623ee4b
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Video Histories
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Oral History
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0020-V_Brown_Quince.xml
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Quince Brown
WWII
Flying Ace
Fighter Pilot
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5.4 Unknown Date OHP-0003-V Quince Brown, Bristow's WWII Fighter Ace OHP-0003-V Brown, Quince 00:30:01 'Bristow Historical Society-Oral History Archive' Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Quince Brown WWII Flying Ace Fighter Pilot m4v OHP-0003-V Brown, Quince 1:|57(1)|66(10)|74(1)|84(3)|92(3)|99(3)|102(5)|107(11)|112(5)|116(7)|120(4)|127(4)|133(13)|141(2)|150(3)|153(10)|161(1)|166(17)|172(3)|183(1)|193(7)|202(10)|207(9)|213(7)|219(4)|229(9)|239(12)|250(4)|261(2)|268(11) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0003-V Brown, Quince.m4v Other video 42 George Krumme's Introduction My name is George Krumme and I was a Bristow boy, Quince Brown1 was a slightly older Bristow boy, who became an ace fighter pilot in World War II before he was shot down and killed over in Germany 3 months after D Day. When I learned that his nephew, Rusty Brown, had a video showing clips of Quince’s fighter group, I thought it appropriate that a shortened video be made from it for those of us who have an interest in the history of World War II with a particular emphasis on Quince’s outstanding record. So, here it is! Ace Fighter Pilot ; Bristow ; George Krumme ; Germany ; Quince Brown ; World War II https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21363700/quince-lucien-brown Quince Lucien Brown's Grave 267 78th Fighter Group. P-47 Era 1943-1944 This is Bob Ebee speaking on this January day in 1987 the 16-millimeter film on this videotape was shot in 1943 and 1944 at the Duxford airbase located 10 miles South of Cambridge, England. The 78th fighter group arrived in England in November of 1942 and flew their first combat mission from Duxford on April 13, 1943 (Pause in recording) This is Col. Armond(ph.) Peterson, the first group commander of the 78th. He served from May 1942 until his loss on a combat mission July 1st, 1943. Lt. Harry Dayhuff was the first 82nd squadron commanding officer who served until August of 1943. 1943 ; 1944 ; 1987 ; 364th Squadron ; 78th Fighter Group ; 82nd squadron ; 83rd Squadron ; Bob Ebee ; Bombers ; Cambridge England ; Col. Armond Peterson ; Col. Jim Stone ; Combat mission ; Duxford Air Base ; Jake Oberhansley ; Lt. Harry Dayhuff ; Major McBay ; Mission briefing 300 Lt. Maddle U.S Combat Film No. 141 This is the first of about 15 minutes of selected 78th group combat film. Note that the title gives the pilot's name, the squadron, the date and the target. Note also the English gives the day first and the month second thus 30 dash 7 means July 30th. You note the pieces of the German plane flying by. 78th Fighter Group ; Combat Formation ; German Plane 337 Lt. Pompetti U.S Combat Film No. 150 This isn’t very clear, but those big object in the background are our b-17 bombers. The mission of July 30th, 1943 held the record for first in the 78th combat history. It was the first belly tank mission and extended the p-47 range to permit crossing the border of Germany for the first time. 1943 ; B-17 Bombers ; Belly Tank ; Germany ; P-47 374 Maj. Roberts U.S Combat Film No.191 Major Gene Roberts shot down 3 German planes to become the first U.S pilot to get a triple air victory on one mission. Charlie Linden(ph.) shot down his fourth and fifth planes to become the first U.S ace in the European theater Charlie Linden ; European Theater ; German Plane ; Maj, Gene Roberts ; Triple Air Victory ; U.S Ace ; U.S Pilot 422 Capt. Price U.S Combat Film No. 192 Jack Price had a total of five air victories. We lost our second group commander on this July 30th mission, when Lt. Col. Melvin McNickle was shot down on his first mission and became a prisoner of war. Flak in the lower left. Capt. Jack Price ; Flak ; Lt. Col. Melvin McNickle ; Prisoner of War 468 Lt. Brown U.S Combat Film No. 194 and 425 The final first on July 7th -er July 30th, 1943 is shown here when Quine Brown dropped down to the deck on his return from escorting the bombers (Pause in recording) to become the first us fighter pilot to shoot up a ground target in a European theater. Bombers ; European Theater ; Ground Targets ; Quince Brown ; U.S Fighter Pilot European Theater in World War II — US Army Divisions (armydivs.com) European Theater 491 Maj. Roberts U.S Combat Film No. 550 Lt. Col. Gene Roberts CO of the 84th had the third-highest number of air victories for the 78th group with a total of nine 78th Fighter Group ; 84th Fighter Group ; Air Victories ; Lt. Col. Gene Roberts 543 F/O Pompetti U.S Combat Film No. 421 Pete Pompetti was another leader in air victories with six. He was shot down in early 1944 and was a prisoner of war. Good hits. It’s too bad the exposure isn’t better. Unfortunately, a lot of the combat film I have was not originals and some clarity is always lost in making copies and then more clarity is lost in converting 16 millimeter to video. 1944 ; Air Victories ; Fighter Pilot ; Pete Pompetti ; Prisoner of War 578 Lt. C.R Clark Combat Film No. 164 This is a little better being able to see the clouds, and this is-this is one of the more clear of the series. 78th Fighter Group ; 82 Squadron ; Fighter Pilot 615 Lt. J.J Hockery U.S Combat Film No. 165 John Hockery was the fifth leader in air victories with seven. This is another fairly clear exposure compared to many of them. He’s getting good hits there’s pieces of the German plane flying by. (Pause in recording) This film was used to convert-confirm victories for the pilot. Air Victories ; German Plane ; John Hockery 630 1st LT. Q.L Brown U.S Combat Film No. 310 Quince Brown was the leading ace of the 78th with 13 victories before he was lost on a strafing run. (Pause in recording) There’s are good hits for being at greater than 300-yard range. Again you can see the B-7 bomber in their combat formation in the background. 78th Fighter Group ; Ace ; B-7 Bomber ; Fighter Pilot ; Strafing Run 655 LT. Col. H.J Dayhuff U.S Combat Film No. 245 There’s are good hits for being at greater than 300-yard range 78th Fighter Group ; Fighter Pilot ; Harry Dayhuff 696 Lt. M.S Martinez U.S Combat Film No. 249 Again you can see the B-7 bomber in their combat formation in the background. Very good hits for that range. B-7 Bomber ; Combat formation 729 Lt. G.M Turley U.S Combat Film No. 879 Hell that German pilot has put his wheels down perhaps to slow down so the American pilot will overrun him. Grant Turley had six air victories before not returning from a combat mission. He’s going to get proof positive of a victory as you see the German pilot beel(ph.) out in a moment. American Pilot ; Combat Mission ; German Pilot ; Grant Turley 744 Lt. P.H. Hazelett U.S Combat Film No. 2062 Ground strafing was very exciting but much more hazardous than aerial combat the higher loss ratio resulted from intense ground fire. 78th Fighter Group ; Ground Strafing ; Lt. Hazelett ; World War II 764 Capt. W.L Boone U.S Combat Film No. 2054 Direct hits from ground fire was not too common for fighter planes at high altitudes. 78th Fighter Group ; Fighter Pilots ; Ground Fire ; World War II 802 Lt. B.M Watkins U.S Combat Film No. 2055 The 78th group set the record for the European Theater when they destroyed 135 planes on the ground on their mission of April 16th, 1945. The 78th flew a total of 450 combat missions from April 13th, 1943 to April 25th, 1945. 1945 ; 78th Fighter Group ; Combat Mission ; European Theater 837 LT. J.J Hockery U.S Combat Film No. 2150 The group destroyed three hundred thirty-eight and a half German planes in the air and three hundred fifty-eight and a half on the ground for a total of six hundred ninety-seven German planes destroyed for a loss of 167 P-47s and P-51’s. This is a ratio of four German planes lost for one U.S plane lost. A P-47 cost $104,260 in 1943 and today a modern jet fighter cost several million dollars in comparison. 1943 ; 78th Fighter Group ; German Planes ; Jet Fighter ; P-47 ; U.S Plane 969 Capt. N.D Munson U.S Combat Film No. 2298 The 78th group flew P-38’s in 1942 while in the States and while training for combat in England. Priorities in North Africa in late 1942 resulted in all our P-38’s and all but fifteen or sixteen pilots being transferred to North Africa. We received P-47s in early Jan of 1943 and flew them for two years when they were replaced by P-51s in early 1945. The 78th was the only group to fly all three of the first-line air force fighter planes. 78th Fighter Group ; Doug Munson ; England ; First-Line Air Force Fighter Planes ; Ground Strafing ; Ground Targets ; Locomotive ; North Africa ; P-38's ; P-47's ; P-51's 997 Lt. J.W Wilkinson U.S Combat Film No. 2293 Jim Wilkins was credited with shooting down 7 and a half German planes before being lost 2 days before D-Day on a strafing run in England. When the steam comes out of the locomotives like that you know you’ve destroyed a lot of the boiler tubes. D-Day ; England ; German Planes ; Jim Wilkinson ; Locomotive ; Strafing Run 1037 Capt. W.W May U.S Combat Film No. 2287 I edited out -uh -uh seemed like quite a 20 or 30 seconds Willy Mays chasing this plane for what seems like long enough to run out of ammunition, but in a few seconds, you will see one of the most spectacular shots of a German plane being shot down as he shoots the left-wing of here in a few moments. 78th Fighter Group ; German Plane ; Willy Mays ; World War II 1125 Lt. Juchheim U.S Combat Film No. 3687 Alex Juchhiem was our second leading ace with 11 air victories. An interesting statics is four of our top seven aces were lost. A total of 11 of the 78th pilots became aces while flying with our group. They had a total of 79 and a half air victories of or 23% of the 338 and ½ air victories for the group. I think the pilot is going to beel out of this one in a moment. 78th Fighter Group ; Ace ; Air Victories ; World War II 1144 Lt. P.H. Hazelett U.S Combat Film No. 3687 78th Fighter Group ; U.S Pilot ; World War II 1514 Maj. Bob Ebee Here I am. You can see I’m a major now, so it's sometime in mid-1944 and I must be out of pipe Tabaco, as the only time I smoke cigarettes is when my supply of mixture 79 was en route from the states. This is the first of my 3 P-47s, named for my daughter Vivian Gaile(ph.). Gaile was 2 months old when I left her and (indecipherable) in California and took a troop train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and the Queen Elizabeth troopship to Scotland. This plane was shot down on a mission with another pilot flying it in February of 1944. 1944 ; 50 Caliber Gun ; Barges ; California ; Camp Kilmer ; Cockpit ; Combat ; Crew Chief ; D-Day ; Dive-Bombing Mission ; Dolly Parton ; France ; German Truck ; Ground Fire ; Ground Personnel ; Locomotive ; Major ; Marshaling Yard ; May West ; ME-109 ; New Jersey ; Queen Elizabeth Troopship ; Scotland ; Sgt. John Harris ; Skip Bombing ; Spitfire Pilots ; Strafing Mission ; Supply Train ; Yanks 1800 Quince Brown and The Bristow Connection This is George Krumme again, we’ve come to the end of the commentary by Bob Ebee, but for those of us interested on Quine Brown and the Bristow connection here are some additional comments. Quince was born in 1917, he graduated from Bristow High school and attended Bristow Junior College and Oklahoma A & ; M college briefly, before earning his air-core wings at Kelly Field on April 25th, 1941, 7 months before the beginning of World War II. He severed as a flight instructor at Randolph, Kelly, and Majors airfields in Texas and taught a year at the Enid army flying school. " ; Gott Strafe England" ; ; 78th Fighter Group ; A& ; M College ; Air Cadets ; Air Medal ; Air-Core Wings ; Aircraft ; Anti-Aircraft Fire ; Bristow ; Bristow High School ; Bristow Junior College ; Combat Duty ; Dale Mayberry Flying School ; Distinguished Flying Cross with Four Oak Leaf Clusters ; Duxford Air Base ; Enid, Oklahoma ; Florida ; French Croix de Gurre ; Full Military Honors ; George Krumme ; German Airfield ; Germany ; Kelly Field ; Leading Ace ; London, England ; Machine ; Majors Airfield ; Oak Leaf Clusters ; Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame ; Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame ; Prisoner of War List ; Quince Brown ; Quince L. Brown Parkway ; Randolph Airfield ; Republic P-47 Thunderbolt ; S.S Representative ; Silver Star ; Strafing Fighter ; Texas ; Vance Airbase ; War Bond Drive ; World War I ; World War II N 35° 49.731 W 096° 24.321 17 Quince L. Brown - VFW War Memorial - Bristow, OK Quince Lucien Brown Jr | American Air Museum in Britain American Air Museum in Britain Croix de Guerre | French military award | Britannica French Croix de Guerre Oak leaf cluster | Military Wiki | Fandom (wikia.org) Oak Leaf Clusters Air Medal: Eligibility and History - Medals of America - Military Blog Air Medal Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) - Wikipedia Distinguished Flying Cross Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame (okhistory.org)- OK Military Hall of Fame Oklahoma Fly-Boy - MEDALS & ; DECORATIONS - U.S. Militaria Forum (usmilitariaforum.com) Quince Brown- Medals and Decorations Vance Air Force Base > ; Home (af.mil) Vance Air Force Base-Enid OK Gott Strafe England | The Western Front Association Gott Strafe England-Germany WWI Narrator: George Krumme (GK) Narrator: Bob Ebee (BE) Other Persons: Quince Brown Date of Narration: January 1987 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Riley Wilson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-0003-V Brown, Quince Abstract: This DVD contains films from the cockpit of Fighter Groups flying during World War II from the years 1942-1944. Among the pilots was Quince Brown, a Bristow native, who was named the leading ace in the 78th fighter group with more than 130 combat missions. Quince remained the leading ace throughout the remainder of the war and after his death. 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. GK: My name is George Krumme and I was a Bristow boy. Quince Brown1 was a slightly older Bristow boy, who became an ace fighter pilot in World War II before he was shot down and killed over in Germany 3 months after D-Day. When I learned that his nephew, Rusty Brown, had a video showing clips of Quince' ; s fighter group, I thought it appropriate that a shortened video be made from it for those of us who have an interest in the history of World War II with a particular emphasis on Quince' ; s outstanding record. So, here it is! BE: This is Bob Ebee speaking on this January day in 1987 the 16-millimeter film on this videotape was shot in 1943 and 1944 at the Duxford airbase located 10 miles South of Cambridge, England. The 78th fighter group arrived in England in November of 1942 and flew their first combat mission from Duxford on April 13, 1943 (Pause in Narration) This is Col. Armond(ph.) Peterson, the first group commander of the 78th. He served from May 1942 until his loss on a combat mission July 1st, 1943. Lt. Harry Dayhuff was the first 82nd squadron commanding officer who served until August of 1943. This is Col. Jim Stone, the first 83rd squadron CO until promoted to group commander in August 1943. Gene Roberts was first 84 squadron commanding officer later group exec. and still later group commanding officer of the 364th fighter group. Major McBay, the group intelligence officer, and his staff are preparing the briefing room map for a combat mission briefing. The weather officer is advising the cloud formations and winds to be expected in route to the rendezvousing with the bombers and on the way home. (Pause in Narration) Jake Oberhansley(ph.) is advising key details of the mission as he is the group leader of the simulated mission briefing which was staged for the benefit of the photographer. (Pause in Narration) The pilots leaving the briefing room are in a somewhat more jovial mood than would be normal for a real briefing. (Pause in Narration) This is the control tower from where all instructions (Pause in Narration) landings at the Duxford field. Duxford was a grass field which had some advantages and some disadvantages. Only 2 fighter planes could take off together on paved runways we could take off 8 at a time which saved precious fuel circling the field waiting to form up after the takeoff. Note the belly tanks, for extending the range on this mission. The group leader would fly out for 2 and 1/2 minutes and then make a slow wide turn to come back over the field. All 48 planes plus spares would be in formation and on course to the target or rendezvous area by the time the lead plane was back to the field. (Pause in Narration) BE: This shows the group formation for-for climbing out to the combat area where the flights and squadrons would then spread out to combat formation. (Pause in Narration) This is the first of about 15 minutes of selected 78th group combat film. Note that the title gives the pilot' ; s name, the squadron, the date and the target. Note also the English gives the day first and the month second thus 30 dash 7 means July 30th. You note the pieces of the German plane flying by. (Pause in Narration) This isn' ; t very clear, but those big object in the background are our b-17 bombers. The mission of July 30th, 1943 held the record for first in the 78th combat history. It was the first belly tank mission and extended the P-47 range to permit crossing the border of Germany for the first time. Major Gene Roberts shot down 3 German planes to become the first U.S pilot to get a triple air victory on one mission. Charlie Linden(ph.) shot down his fourth and fifth planes to become the first U.S ace in the European theater. (Pause in Narration) Jack Price had a total of five air victories. We lost our second group commander on this July 30th mission, when Lt. Col. Melvin McNickle was shot down on his first mission and became a prisoner of war. Flak in the lower left. (Pause in Narration) The final first on July 7th -er July 30th, 1943 is shown here when Quine Brown dropped down to the deck on his return from escorting the bombers (Pause in Narration) to become the first us fighter pilot to shoot up a ground target in a European theater. (Pause in Narration) Lt. Col. Gene Roberts CO of the 84th had the third-highest number of air victories for the 78th group with a total of nine. (Pause in Narration) Pete Pompetti was another leader in air victories with six. He was shot down in early 1944 and was a prisoner of war. (Pause in Narration) Good hits. It' ; s too bad the exposure isn' ; t better. Unfortunately, a lot of the combat film I have was not originals and some clarity is always lost in making copies and then more clarity is lost in converting 16 millimeter to video. This is a little better being able to see the clouds, and this is-this is one of the more clear of the series. (Pause in Narration) John Hockery was the fifth leader in air victories with seven. This is another fairly clear exposure compared to many of them. He' ; s getting good hits there' ; s pieces of the German plane flying by. (Pause in Narration) This film was used to convert-confirm victories for the pilot. Quince Brown was the leading ace of the 78th with 13 victories before he was lost on a strafing run. (Pause in Narration) There' ; s are good hits for being at greater than 300-yard range. (Pause in Narration) Again you can see the B-7 bomber in their combat formation in the background. BE: Very good hits for that range. Hell, that German pilot has put his wheels down perhaps to slow down so the American pilot will overrun him. Grant Turley had six air victories before not returning from a combat mission. He' ; s going to get proof positive of a victory as you see the German pilot beel(ph.) out in a moment. (Pause in Narration) There he is. He' ; s not shooting at the pilot, he' ; s- there' ; s a switch to put the camera on only. Ground strafing was very exciting but much more hazardous than aerial combat the higher loss ratio resulted from intense ground fire. Direct hits from ground fire was not too common for fighter planes at high altitudes. (Pause in Narration) Planes lined up in a row like on this last film and on this one resulted in heavy losses for the Germans. The 78th group set the record for the European Theater when they destroyed 135 planes on the ground on their mission of April 16th, 1945. The 78th flew a total of 450 combat missions from April 13th, 1943 to April 25th, 1945. The group destroyed three hundred thirty-eight and 1/2 German planes in the air and three hundred fifty-eight and 1/2 on the ground for a total of six hundred ninety-seven German planes destroyed for a loss of 167 P-47' ; s and P-51' ; s. This is a ratio of four German planes lost for one U.S plane lost. A P-47 cost $104,260 in 1943 and today a modern jet fighter cost several million dollars in comparison. The 78th group flew P-38' ; s in 1942 while in the States and while training for combat in England. Priorities in North Africa in late 1942 resulted in all our P-38' ; s and all but fifteen or sixteen pilots being transferred to North Africa. We received P-47' ; s in early Jan of 1943 and flew them for two years when they were replaced by P-51' ; s in early 1945. The 78th was the only group to fly all three of the first-line air force fighter planes. One of the most spectacular ground strafing explosion is on this series of Doug Munson. His is a very unusual combat film as it includes air to air, a larger number of planes being shot on the ground plus -uh shooting up a locomotive and other ground targets. (Pause in Narration) Isn' ; t that spectacular! Look at those pieces flying, he has to fly through. Doesn' ; t show up yet but he has a German plane trying to land before getting shot down. There it' ; s coming into view. I don' ; t recall whether Doug caused that plane to crash, or whether it landed before he was out of control. Jim Wilkins was credited with shooting down 7 and 1/2 German planes before being lost 2 days before D-Day on a strafing run in England. When the steam comes out of the locomotives like that you know you' ; ve destroyed a lot of the boiler tubes. (Pause in Narration) I edited out -uh -uh seemed like quite a 20 or 30 seconds Willy Mays chasing this plane for what seems like long enough to run out of ammunition, but in a few seconds, you will see one of the most spectacular shots of a German plane being shot down as he shoots the left-wing of here in a few moments. (Pause in Narration) There it goes. Alex Juchhiem was our second leading ace with 11 air victories. An interesting statics is four of our top seven aces were lost. A total of 11 of the 78th pilots became aces while flying with our group. They had a total of 79 and 1/2 air victories of or 23% of the 338 and ½ air victories for the group. I think the pilot is going to beel out of this one in a moment. There he comes. I selected these 23 mission combat films for not only being some of the most spectacular examples but also because the original exposure was far better than normal. A lot of clarity is lost in converting this 43-year-old film to video and much of the group combat film was far from being a good exposure when taken. (Pause in Narration) BE: Here I am. You can see I' ; m a major now, so it' ; s sometime in mid-1944 and I must be out of pipe Tabaco, as the only time I smoke cigarettes is when my supply of mixture 79 was en route from the States. This is the first of my 3 P-47' ; s, named for my daughter Vivian Gaile(ph.). Gaile was 2 months old when I left her and [indecipherable] in California and took a troop train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and the Queen Elizabeth troopship to Scotland. This plane was shot down on a mission with another pilot flying it in February of 1944. I was hit by ground fire 3 times while flying and had to leave the second V. Gaile on an emergency field in France 2 weeks after D-Day with 2 or 3 cylinder heads shot off and leaking oil quite rapidly. The cockpit of the P-47 was very roomy, the spitfire pilots claimed that to take evasive action in combat, the yanks just loosened their seatbelts and ran around the cockpit. I flew spitfires for a month and the cockpit were very cramped by comparison The vest I am wearing is for floatation emergencies if you found yourself in the water for whatever reason. It was dubbed a May West for reasons which were more obvious when it was inflated, today I suspect it might be called a Dolly Parton. This is Bill Vicory(ph.), assistant crew chief of the V. Gaile, and the other man is Harold Zonn(ph.), the radio maintenance man for my flight. Note the 50 caliber gun sticking out the leading edge of the wing. And this is Sgt. John Harris crew chief for all three of the V. Gailes. The [indecipherable] man is servicing the four 50 caliber in each wing, this was standard procedure each time the gun was fired. Ground personnel were highly competent and were dedicated to keeping their planes in perfect condition with no regard to long hours often required to get a plane to combat readiness. BE: I took this picture of a bridge before releasing two 5oo pound bombs on this skip bombing-bombing mission. I had spotted two locomotives on my approach and got the first shots at them, the first one coming up here. There' ; s normal procedure for everyone in the flight to follow in trail on these strafing missions like this. (Pause in Narration) I got hit in the windshield by ground fire while strafing this marshaling yard, the bulletproof glass in front of my face deflected the bullet out the top of the canopy. This is strafing -uh supply train. Another train. (Pause in Narration) There' ; s a locomotive, -uh that is the target on this -uh run. More supply trains. (Pause in Narration) Still more supply trains. We' ; d usually work our way back along the railroad track when returning on the deck from a mission. There' ; s a German truck trying to hide in this row of trees. You can see him moving right there. He didn' ; t make it, he had something burning, made a pretty good fire. Barges also carried supplies, I would think it would take a lot of 50 caliber bullets to do too much damage to them. This is an ME 109 -uh on the ground -uh, not at an airfield. He probably had to make an emergency landing. This supply train is burning pretty good. Another German vehicle. Another truck trying to hide in the trees. Note the broad pattern of the 850 caliber guns. This trucks on fire. Another truck. We hit something explosive on this dive-bombing mission. Less than half of my combat film turned out good enough to transfer to video because of bad underexposure. (Pause in Narration) GK: This is George Krumme again, we' ; ve come to the end of the commentary by Bob Ebee, but for those of us interested on Quine Brown and the Bristow connection here are some additional comments. Quince was born in 1917, he graduated from Bristow High school and attended Bristow Junior College and Oklahoma A & ; M college briefly, before earning his air-core wings at Kelly Field on April 25th, 1941, 7 months before the beginning of World War II. He severed as a flight instructor at Randolph, Kelly, and Majors airfields in Texas and taught a year at the Enid army flying school. He then applied for operations and after advanced training at Dale Mayberry field in Florida in April of 1943 he joined the 78th fighter group at the Duxford airbase, south of London England. The plane the group used was a republic P-47 thunderbolt, a heavy fighter with unusual four-bladed propellers. The P-47 were excellent strafing fighters because they could take considerable punishment and still return home. The word strafe was coined by the Germans from their world war I slogan " ; Gott strafe England!" ; , that is God punish England. And the Thunderbolt could certainly punish, strafing with eight machine guns at up to 450 miles per hour at an altitude at times less than 100 feet above the ground. But piloting a fighter plane was dangerous, particularly while strafing. The 78th fighter group with a normal flying compliment of 36-48 planes lost 167 of its aircraft during two years of action and 93 of its pilots were killed. In this scene, you can see a pilot pull his plane up as he suddenly saw an electric line in his path. Watch carefully as he approaches the hanger and you may be able to see the wires. Quince' ; s crew chief told Rusty Brown that occasionally planes would come back with wire and tree branches stuck to the wing, on one occasion Quince even returned with bent propeller tips. At 27 Quince was one of the older pilots, but was renowned for his keen eyesight and his flying skills. He was officially credited with 12 and 1/3 air to air victories and with two planes destroyed on the ground. After a year of service in mid-1944, Quince came back to the States for a couple of months and led war bond drives across the nation. He returned to combat duty in August. Less than a month later on September 6th, 1944 while strafing a German airfield, Quince' ; s plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire. Unable to continue he parachuted and was seen to land safely, gather his parachute, and disappear into the woods. It was presumed that his name would soon appear on the prisoner of war list, but after several fruitless months, it was determined that he had apparently been turned over to civilians only to be executed by the local S.S representative, who, after the war was identified and tried for murder. Quince flew more than 130 combat missions and was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the French Croix de Guerre. Quince has been inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame and into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. Moreover, the Quince L. Brown Parkway serves as the entry into the Vance Airbase in Enid, where Quince instructed air cadets for a year. Even though the war continued for eight months after he was killed, Quince remained the leading ace of his fighter group. When the war ended, Quince' ; s remains were eventually transferred to Bristow where he was buried with full military honors in the family burial plots. GK: I hope you' ; ve enjoyed this brief look backward in time. video 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0020-V_Brown_Quince.xml OHP-0020-V_Brown_Quince.xml
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Quince Brown, Bristow's WWII Fighter Ace
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Ralph R. "Brick" Kirchner
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5.4 OHP-0015-01 Ralph Kirchner at Bristow Rotary Club OHP-0015-001 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Oil Drilling - The Early Years Bristow Historical Society, Inc. oil drilling, Bristow Rotary Club, Ralph Kirchner, Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner N/A MP3 1:|17(6)|27(6)|44(7)|61(15)|70(12)|80(2)|93(2)|106(2)|122(3)|135(2)|146(14)|158(2)|170(8)|178(6)|188(3)|198(9)|216(2)|226(13)|236(13)|245(13)|256(7)|266(10)|277(15)|285(7)|295(6)|308(7)|318(9)|327(1)|338(10)|349(10)|369(3)|382(11)|389(14)|401(8)|417(13)|425(15)|436(9)|450(12)|460(1)|473(4)|482(5)|496(16)|513(12)|524(14) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0015-01 Kirchner, R.R. Rotary Club.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction of Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner EM: We’ll have to be real quiet on this now. (Pause in recording) EM: [inaudible] He has attained the ripe of age of ninety-one. His father made the run in to Oklahoma territory in…1889? BK: Ninety-three. EM: Ninety-three, back here when the state [inaudible]. BK: That’s correct. EM: Brick attended the Oklahoma A& ; M College, for those of you who are not familiar with that, it’s now Oklahoma State University. Brick is also the dean of the Bristow District Rotary Government, having served since 1931 and 1932. There are many more facts about Brick Kirchner that I’d like to bring out is that Brick Kirchner is—or was, at one time—in the newspaper publishing business. Brick Kirchner owned half interest in a newspaper in Ada, Oklahoma. Having seen the error of his ways, he took his money out of the newpaper— Guest speaker Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner is introduced by Ed Mackenson Brick ; Bristow Rotary Club ; Congress ; Oklahoma A& ; M College ; Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner Introduction of Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner 143 Ralph Kirchner Early Years BK: [inaudible] No, I don’t care. Am I speaking into this? Okay. Mr. Steward, thank you very kindly for that very nice and very liberal education, and I’m happy that my [indecipherable] section is here, too. (chuckling) BK: And the [indecipherable] section’s been here for a long time. I thought, too, it was kind of odd, Doc Yourman got the program for Don Kitchens, and Don Kitchens couldn’t be here, so Ed McMillan—I mean, Ed Mackenson introduced me for Don Kitchens. Now that beats around the bush a little bit. (laughter) Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner speaks about his early years in college and in the military. Army ; Ed Mackenson ; Gulf Oil Production ; Gypsy Oil Company ; J.D.Ward ; Oklahoma A& ; M Ralph Kirchner Early Years 372 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner sells real estate BK: Now that’s something, too! And I went to Perry. That’s my old hometown. And Perry is—was about eighteen, twenty miles—about twenty miles, I guess—southeast of Garber, and Garber was really booming then. Plenty of production around there, but Garber was really booming of that fine, high-grade oil. And my dad was in the real estate business and he would buy royalties. So he and two other gentlemen that I knew bought royalty under the Wolf (ph) farm about two miles south of Garber. And my dad had told me, and so had Mr. Mauser (ph) that they would like to sell their interest if they could get $15,000 for it. So I thought that I’d use that as a starter and I went to Enid and I managed to sell that royalty—represented that I owned its individual interest and could deliver it for $22,500. And that’s quite a bit of profit. So I had to buy it first, so when I came home that evening I went to my banker, Mr. John Hanson (ph), the Bank of Commerce, and explained the deal to him and I said, I’d like to borrow the money from you to buy this. He said, Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll tell you how I’ll do it: I’ll do it for half of the profit. (laughter) Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner talks about buying and selling royalties in Oklahoma. Enid ; Garber ; Mr Hanson ; Perry ; royalty Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner sells real estate 537 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner goes into the oil business So I was acquainted with Jim Sloane (ph). Jim was the tool pusher for the Roxanna Oil Company. And a tool pusher—that means he had charge of all their drilling tools, and hiring the men and so forth and operate the rigs. And so Jim and I decided to go into partnership and buy a string of tools, which we did. And Jim was fortunate enough to get his assistant pusher—to get his assistant pusher appointed to fill his position at the Roxanna. Here’s the deal: that enabled us to borrow from [indecipherable], this assistant, any tools that we didn’t have! So that made a nice deal for me, too. Brick begins a partnership and starts Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc. Billings Petroleum Company ; doodlebug ; Jim Sloane ; Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc ; oil ; Roxanna Oil Company ; tools ; Yukon Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner goes into the oil business 759 Getty Oil Company Contract But by that time, it was necessary that we got our rig moved because we had a contract with the Getty Oil Company. The Getty Oil Company was owned by J. Paul Getty. This location was on a main (ph) six miles east of Billings. J. Paul owned the Getty Oil Company. His father, Colonel Getty, was the big dog Getty in the oil business at that time. He owned the Minnehoma Oil Company and had mass production in the Garber field. We drove this well for Mr. Getty and we had our bunkhouse there, and it was the cook shack also. Some of the crew stayed in the house and we cooked our meals there. And our meals was either hot dogs or hotcakes. Hotcakes for breakfast and hot dogs at the other two meals. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for Getty Oil Company Bank of Commerce ; drilling ; Getty Oil Company ; Hoover sand ; J. Paul Getty ; Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. ; Minnehoma Oil Company ; Mr. Hanson ; oil ; Santa Fe Station Getty Oil Company Contract 1005 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means BK: Well, I have a lot written down here. (laughter) BK: Our next well, after Mr. Getty’s well, was for J.D. Means, and it was by the northeast offset to Mr. Getty’s. And while we were drilling that well for Mr. Means, Marland Oil Company was drilling in the northeast corner of the section and we were in the southeast corner of that same section. We made a small well for Mr. Means, but Mr. Getty—I mean, Mr. Marland, on his location up there, got a nice well and that was the discovery well for the great Oklahoma Three Sands pool. And incidentally the north offset to that, my dad had some royalty that he purchased under that, too, that offset—that well was dry. The east offset and for a mile and a half or two miles north and south, and a mile and a half wide, was the Garber field, and it was a dandy. [There are a] few wells producing there today. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means and discusses life in the oilfield boarding house ; Bristow ; bunkhouse ; Caufield Oil Company ; Garber field ; J.D. Means ; John Phillips ; Krumme ; Marland Oil Company ; oil scouts ; Oklahoma Three Sands Pool ; Phillips Petroleum Company ; Red Fork ; rig Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means 1408 Drilling in Slick, Oklahoma Well, we got started at Slick. We were on fuel number one, and after we got a little below a hundred feet we went through the line and left the tools in the hole. We had about three feet of line—the line broke about three feet up above the tools. And those drilling lines, as most of you know, have six strands. They’re six to nineteen line, they’re called. There’s six—there’s three big strands and nineteen little strands in there. Well, we had the casing rolled down to get over the tools to pick ‘em out but I couldn’t get over it on account of that size of wire there. And we ran a light down the hole to see what condition it was, because you could look down there and see it with a light in there. And it was frazzled out, and I said, If that wire was cut off at the top of that socket, we could fish those tools out. And one of the men volunteered to go down and I thought, That’s a foolish trip. And we had [indecipherable] it’d break our company for sure. So I went down myself. And I put a felt hat on and filled it with waste up there because you could hear chunks go down there and hit the water around those tools and go ka-PLUNK and you didn’t know whether it was a big chunk or a little chunk or whether it was a rock or a piece of shale. Nevertheless, I went down and it wasn’t dangerous. However, we were drilling an 18” hole and right on top of the ground was cable tools you stomp, you know, and put a little water in the hole and stomp down there and bail out what you’ve mixed, that’s the way they drill with cable tools. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses drilling near Slick, Oklahoma and for Caufield Oil Company on the Sewell Farm Barney Sewell ; Caufield Oil Company ; control head ; drilling ; Dutcher ; eight-mile corner ; explosion ; oil ; Sewell ; Sewell Farm ; shell ; Slick Drilling in Slick, Oklahoma and for Caufield Oil Company 1872 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane BK: --he said, No sir, mister, [indecipherable], said, We done closed the rolls. (laughter) BK: [Indecipherable.] –my partner in Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. was Jim Sloane (ph). Jim wanted to continue drilling on a contract basis. I wanted production. So we dissolved partnership and dissolved the corporation and I got—and divided up the tools. We had two strings at that time. And I got a lease on the Henry Fisher farm south of here, and many of you are familiar with the Fishers and some of ‘em buy their eggs there, I imagine. But we drilled a well on it, I sold some interest in it for to raise a little money to drill it with and I sold Art Stone (ph) on the interest on those. And Art was out there the day we were to hit the sands. And I was in to fifteen-ten (ph) and it was looking good, and I sold Art Stone a ninety-sixth (ph) interest for $3,000 on the derrick floor there just by a shake of the hands—and that’s the way many, many deals were closed, just by a shake of the hands. And it wasn’t an hour until we’d hit—until we hit the sand. And when she started smoking gas we started out of the hole, but the oil beat the tools out of the hole. And did we feel good! And so we had the tanks up anticipating a well, and we had the tanks up so we got out of the hole and tools and closed that control head and turned it into the tanks and it was flowing into the tanks. And we went home that night, nice little fortune between the [indecipherable] bungalow. I figured, I think we’re rich. What in the world could we do now for our poor relatives? Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane and how they dissolved the partnership Art Stone ; Jim Sloane ; Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane 2063 Gotham Oil Company BK: Let’s see. The next one—I moved from there over to [indecipherable] 15-10 for the Gotham Oil Company. The Gotham Oil Company was out of Washington, D.C. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was the major holder in the Gotham Oil Company. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was secretary to William Jennings Bryan when Bryan secretary of war under Woodrow Wilson, to give you a little line-up on that. We drove that well for, for Gotham and when she started smoking gas—we had the control head on—we turned it into the pit, turned the well into the pit in case it wouldn’t flow. And Mr. Wyville (ph) and I went to Bristow to order out the tanks. We did, we ordered out a full tank and two 250s. Tanks then were all folded tanks, they weren’t welded like they are today. But when we got the tanks set—the well’d flowed twice into the pits when we got back. When we got the tanks set we picked up 450 barrels of good oil out of the pits. And [indecipherable] wanted to drill the well six inches, and we tried to hit the string on six inches—six inches above the clamps—and clipped it to the clamps, and it didn’t change the motion at all. And when it drilled off, it came out of that hole. That well made 450 barrels. That was sixty-one years ago now, today. Sixty-one years ago and that well is still producing between seven and eight barrels in the Meisner sand. Drilling for the Gotham Oil Company and discussion of Claude Freeland Albert Kelly ; Claude Freeman ; Corporation Commission ; gauger ; George Fargo ; Gotham Oil Comapany ; Levan ; M.M. Wyville ; Poor Farm ; Prairie Oil and Gas ; William Jennings Bryan ; Woodrow Wilson Claude Freeland ; Drilling for the Gotham Oil Company ; Prairie Oil and Gas 2390 Bristow is a Boom Town BK: Bristow was a—Bristow was a real boom town and my time’s about gone, but I wanted to tell you some of the things that aren’t here now that I saw here. We had three refineries here. A Bristow Refining Company out here on the Kelly farm here right at the north edge of town. Wilcox Refinery across the railroad track east of it. And then the Sun Company Oil Refinery up on the hill—one of the old [indecipherable] refineries. We have no refineries here now. We used to have the Republic Supply Company here—that’s an oilfield supply company. Across the street was the Oil Well Supply Company. Then after that was the National Supply Company. A couple of blocks north and a half east was the— Bristow was a " ; real boom town" ; with many refineries and oil businesses. American Tool Machine Company ; Bristow ; Bristow Pipe and Machine Company ; Bristow Refining Company ; Chester ; Cushing ; Ed Abraham ; National Supply Company ; Oil Well Supply Company ; Producer Supply Company ; refineries ; Republic Supply Company ; Sun Company Oil Refinery ; Wilcox Refinery Discussion of Bristow as a boom town In this 1979 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (1893-1990) speaks extensively about the oil drilling industry in Bristow, Oklahoma in the early 1900s, business involvement with J. Paul Getty, anecdotes about Tom Slick, how people handled their new-found oil wealth, and restrictions upon Indians regarding the handling of their own finances. EM: We' ; ll have to be real quiet on this now. (Pause in recording) EM: [inaudible] He has attained the ripe of age of ninety-one. His father made the run in to Oklahoma territory in--1889? BK: Ninety-three. EM: Ninety-three, back here when the state [inaudible]. BK: That' ; s correct. EM: Brick attended the Oklahoma A& ; M College, for those of you who are not familiar with that, it' ; s now Oklahoma State University. Brick is also the dean of the Bristow District Rotary Government, having served since 1931 and 1932. There are many more facts about Brick Kirchner that I' ; d like to bring out is that Brick Kirchner is--or was, at one time--in the newspaper publishing business. Brick Kirchner owned half interest in a newspaper in Ada, Oklahoma. Having seen the error of his ways, he took his money out of the newpaper-- (laughter) EM: Brick also has--I don' ; t know whether this is a distinction or--but Brick has stood for public office. Brick ran for Congress in the fourth congressional district on the Republican ticket and I think that' ; s the reason I got to introduce you today, Brick, is because I ran on the Democratic ticket about twenty years later. (laughter) EM: I asked him what year he ran, he couldn' ; t tell me. He said, What year did you run? I said, I don' ; t remember either. (laughter) EM: Without any further accolades, I' ; d like to introduce to you, our dean of the Bristow Rotary Club, Brick Kirchner. (applause) BK: [inaudible] No, I don' ; t care. Am I speaking into this? Okay. Mr. Steward, thank you very kindly for that very nice and very liberal education, and I' ; m happy that my [indecipherable] section is here, too. (chuckling) BK: And the [indecipherable] section' ; s been here for a long time. I thought, too, it was kind of odd, Doc Yourman got the program for Don Kitchens, and Don Kitchens couldn' ; t be here, so Ed McMillan--I mean, Ed Mackenson introduced me for Don Kitchens. Now that beats around the bush a little bit. (laughter) BK: But I' ; m happy to be here, and I want to endeavor to give you some interesting points about the life of a ninety-one-year--of a ninety-one-year-old oilman. When I got out of school at Oklahoma A& ; M, I went to work for the Gypsy Oil Company in Tulsa. Gypsy Oil Company was the production department of the Gulf Oil Corporation, and I was in the production department at seventy-five dollars a month, if you please. Not bad! It wasn' ; t--I wasn' ; t there too long until I had an opportunity for a better salary and I went to Collinsville for Mr. J.D. Ward at a hundred-and-a-quarter a month, and then I was in tall cotton. I thought that was something. I got my first production-- (pause) Well, I was with Mr. Ward and he encouraged me, and then he said, You ought to get something for yourself. So I acquired a lease on eighty acres east of Owasso, Oklahoma and I sold it the superintendent of the Bartlesville Yanks (ph) Company, provided he would drill a well and carry me into the tanks and first well. That he did. We got a little well on the Bartlesville, around 7,800 feet and didn' ; t amount to very much. So I was fortunate enough to sell the well and lease and get Mr. Gardstock' ; s (ph) money back for him out of the deal. But nevertheless that was--that was my first real introduction in it where I' ; d get a little grease on my hands. That, that' ; s oil business. I [indecipherable] to the Army from Collinsville, and my employer, Mr. Ward, got me a deferment for a while, and then I volunteered in the Army for the--in the F-A-C-O-T-S. That' ; s Field Artillery Central Offices Training School at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky. I had letters from my employer that when I got out of the Army that he had great things planned. But I had something planned, also. I figured if I had made money for him buying and selling real estate and leases, I certainly ought to be able to do it for myself. So I got my discharge from the army and incidentally I got my discharge and my commission in the same envelope. (laughter) BK: Now that' ; s something, too! And I went to Perry. That' ; s my old hometown. And Perry is--was about eighteen, twenty miles--about twenty miles, I guess--southeast of Garber, and Garber was really booming then. Plenty of production around there, but Garber was really booming of that fine, high-grade oil. And my dad was in the real estate business and he would buy royalties. So he and two other gentlemen that I knew bought royalty under the Wolf (ph) farm about two miles south of Garber. And my dad had told me, and so had Mr. Mauser (ph) that they would like to sell their interest if they could get $15,000 for it. So I thought that I' ; d use that as a starter and I went to Enid and I managed to sell that royalty--represented that I owned its individual interest and could deliver it for $22,500. And that' ; s quite a bit of profit. So I had to buy it first, so when I came home that evening I went to my banker, Mr. John Hanson (ph), the Bank of Commerce, and explained the deal to him and I said, I' ; d like to borrow the money from you to buy this. He said, Alright, I' ; ll do it. I' ; ll tell you how I' ; ll do it: I' ; ll do it for half of the profit. (laughter) BK: Well, now, he didn' ; t hurt himself any--if seventy-five--that' ; s $3,750 is all he was going to charge me for that $15,000 for about thirty days. And that was our last--I was pleased that I could get the money so I told my dad and I went home and I said, I' ; d like to buy your Wolf (ph) royalty. He said, You' ; d like to buy my royalty? Now, how in the hell would you--could you buy it? (laughter) BK: Well, I couldn' ; t have that morning, but I-- (laughter) BK: I could that evening because I had arranged for the credit! He said, Well, I' ; ve decided I don' ; t want to sell mine. Now that was a shock to me, first. The other gentlemen that I knew that had that like interest was in Amarillo. I didn' ; t know whether he' ; d be in, so I did manage to acquire the interest of a gentleman in Pawnee and I delivered it and I got my $22,500, Mr. Hanson (ph) got $3,750 and I got $3,750 out of it, and I thought I had about half the money in the world. Me, with $3,750 and owed no one! I felt mighty good. I wanted to put that money to work. So I was acquainted with Jim Sloane (ph). Jim was the tool pusher for the Roxanna Oil Company. And a tool pusher--that means he had charge of all their drilling tools, and hiring the men and so forth and operate the rigs. And so Jim and I decided to go into partnership and buy a string of tools, which we did. And Jim was fortunate enough to get his assistant pusher--to get his assistant pusher appointed to fill his position at the Roxanna. Here' ; s the deal: that enabled us to borrow from [indecipherable], this assistant, any tools that we didn' ; t have! So that made a nice deal for me, too. And we--we' ; d brought our rig up here north of Yukon, Oklahoma. And we moved it up to Billings where we had a contract for the--for the Billings Petroleum Company. Our company name was Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc. And we had to have this well started by September 5 to validate Billings Petroleum Company' ; s leases there. So we rigged up and we run the socket out of the back window that you' ; re familiar with, and screwed onto our big-holed stem to bring it into the rig, put the bit on and starts spudding, and we got it up at about a forty-five-degree angle and this thing broke square in two in the middle. We just pulled the top half of it into the rig and spudded with half of a stem, no bit on it! (laughter) BK: Ran the driller, got a little mud out of the hole and dumped it in the cesspit and the lease was validated. Then we were in business, we' ; d made good. (laughter) BK: We had finished that well for the Billings Petroleum Company--finished our contract, I mean--we had no oil. That location that I drilled for them was made by what was called then a doodlebug. A doodlebug were an oil smeller and this doodlebug--this doodlebug or oil finder--he had two black whale bones about that long and about a quarter inch square fastened together at the point with a little bottle on it. And I found out later that little bottle had crude oil in it, and it had crude oil that was produced in the area where he would work. Well, he' ; d made that location, he said, Now there' ; s shallow gas along here, and there' ; s deeper oil along here, so we' ; ll dig this location right where they cross, we' ; ll have shallow and we can get the gas for fuel, ' ; course everything was steam then, and at--do future development on the lease. We completed our contract-no oil, no gas, no nothing. And they paid it. But they wanted to go deeper. That doodlebug knew there was oil down there, so we agreed to drill it deeper at $7 a foot and they paid us over 100 feet. Drill it we did, we drilled it 300 feet deeper and they paid us every hundred feet. But by that time, it was necessary that we got our rig moved because we had a contract with the Getty Oil Company. The Getty Oil Company was owned by J. Paul Getty. This location was on a main (ph) six miles east of Billings. J. Paul owned the Getty Oil Company. His father, Colonel Getty, was the big dog Getty in the oil business at that time. He owned the Minnehoma Oil Company and had mass production in the Garber field. We drove this well for Mr. Getty and we had our bunkhouse there, and it was the cook shack also. Some of the crew stayed in the house and we cooked our meals there. And our meals was either hot dogs or hotcakes. Hotcakes for breakfast and hot dogs at the other two meals. Mr. Getty came out when we were approaching what was to be the objective sand--which was the Hoover sand--and he--I recall he had a little wax moustache, short, that just stuck square off. And when he opened his coat he had a deputy sheriff' ; s badge on his shirt. He wanted to get some Oklahoma tan to carry back to L.A., so he would walk up and down the highway here up by the rig with his hat off and his shirt unbuttoned to get a little tan. Well, he got the sunburn, anyway! We made him a well at twenty-two-sixty. Twenty-two-hundred-and-sixty-feet in the Hoover sand. Made about sixty barrels of that lovely, high-grade oil. And Mr. Hanson, with the present Bank of Commerce, he financed our operation all the way. And I wanted to get the money for the well so I could pay Mr. Hanson and stop that interest. I made out my bill immediately and took that and the log and certificate and I went up to the rig the next morning. And Mr. Whitsun (ph), J. Paul' ; s superintendent, said, Well, now, J. Paul won' ; t be out here. J. Paul' ; s on his way to Los Angeles, and if you don' ; t catch him before he gets away, you' ; re liable to be two months getting your money. I said, Where is he? And he said, He' ; s at the Santa Fe station in Perry. And I hustled right in to the Santa Fe station in Perry. And we had a few [indecipherable] and went in to the waiting room and there was Mr. Getty, and we had a few pleasantries and then I presented my bill and told him the bank and I needed the money. And he said, I' ; m sorry, crookster, but I don' ; t have any checks on my bank. Well, I said, I can fix that. And I stepped up to the ticket window and I got a blank check on the Bank of Commerce at Perry, changed it to his bank in Los Angeles, and made out--filled in the amount of the bill for Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. and presented it to Mr. Getty, and he signed it. And we were happy. (laughter) BK: I waited around with him until his train came in and he left. And I haven' ; t seen him from that day ' ; til this. But he' ; s done alright, I understand. (laughter) BK: Richest man in the world. That was quite an experience. He was very pleasant, and very nice. (pause) (papers rustling) BK: Well, I have a lot written down here. (laughter) BK: Our next well, after Mr. Getty' ; s well, was for J.D. Means, and it was by the northeast offset to Mr. Getty' ; s. And while we were drilling that well for Mr. Means, Marland Oil Company was drilling in the northeast corner of the section and we were in the southeast corner of that same section. We made a small well for Mr. Means, but Mr. Getty--I mean, Mr. Marland, on his location up there, got a nice well and that was the discovery well for the great Oklahoma Three Sands pool. And incidentally the north offset to that, my dad had some royalty that he purchased under that, too, that offset--that well was dry. The east offset and for a mile and a half or two miles north and south, and a mile and a half wide, was the Garber field, and it was a dandy. [There are a] few wells producing there today. Now after we finished that well for Mr. Means, I loaded a flatcar. Loaded a string of tool on a flatcar and started for Bristow. And I followed it--that flatcar--in my automobile. And I found out that five bucks here and there in some of these yards will get your car moved pretty fast. It worked in west Tulsa that way--Red Fork, I mean, that way. And we got in to Bristow, there was no trucking contractors then, everything was moved by teams. Most of it was most by teams. So we got Doc Martin (ph), a teaming contractor here, to move us out to Slick, eight miles east and two south of here, for the Caufield (ph) Oil Company. They had claimed this block of acreage there, which acreage and wells in production is now owned by the Krumme brothers. Harlan' ; s here today. By owned by Harlan and George. And I loaded a 14x28 boxcar house for myself and I had the deluxe job: I had a screened-in porch on each end of it and I had a sub-roof over my roof, about eight inches up, where the sun couldn' ; t hit my--the roof of our house directly and the air can circulate under there. So we thought that was pretty deluxe for us. And I built a 14x40 bunkhouse there and I built it right by the bathhouse, and near the boarding house, because all the leases then, if they had any size and employed very many men, they had a bunkhouse and boarding house and a warehouse, just as the Caufield (ph) Oil Company did. I remember, we had a good boarding house there. And it happened that the driller--a driller that worked for me was the husband of the lady that ran the boarding house, and while I wasn' ; t using him on the rig, she was running him around the country buying groceries for the boarding house! So I thought, Well, he can' ; t be doing his work. I went down there about three o' ; clock one morning and there he was, sound asleep on the driller' ; s stool, the tools just swinging, motion very slow, just swinging, wasn' ; t even hitting bottom. So I didn' ; t wake him up, I just wrote his check out because you would carry a time book and a checkbook in your pocket then, and fire a man if you wanted to, because you didn' ; t have to account for his social security or any other take-out. So I just wrote his check out and put it in the headache box there at the rig and told his tool dresser, who was awake, I said, Just call that to his attention when he wakes up. I paid him off. We had a lot of fine experiences out there at that time. I remember at that time the companies--the larger companies--all had oil scouts. And I recall one in particular that came to our rig to get information. They wanted to know how you were coming so that they could buy leases if necessary. I remember one of the Phillips boys--John I think was his name, John Phillips of Phillips Petroleum Company. He wasn' ; t one of the rich ones, that was Waite and his--Waite Phillips and his brother. And this boy, this Phillips, was about my age--around twenty-six I was then. And he came to our rig scouting our rig to see how deep we were, and if he could catch any--take any samples that we had there of sand that we had encountered. And he got to be quite a big shot then. At that time the companies furnished the rig, pipe, fuel, and water on the location for a drilling well. They' ; d build a rig, and the rig was all wooden--no steel rigs then, and they had a 250-barrel tank on both sides of the engine house there for water, and they had water the tracked to the tank. It was filled up, the 250-barrel wooden tank. Well, we got started at Slick. We were on fuel number one, and after we got a little below a hundred feet we went through the line and left the tools in the hole. We had about three feet of line--the line broke about three feet up above the tools. And those drilling lines, as most of you know, have six strands. They' ; re six to nineteen line, they' ; re called. There' ; s six--there' ; s three big strands and nineteen little strands in there. Well, we had the casing rolled down to get over the tools to pick ' ; em out but I couldn' ; t get over it on account of that size of wire there. And we ran a light down the hole to see what condition it was, because you could look down there and see it with a light in there. And it was frazzled out, and I said, If that wire was cut off at the top of that socket, we could fish those tools out. And one of the men volunteered to go down and I thought, That' ; s a foolish trip. And we had [indecipherable] it' ; d break our company for sure. So I went down myself. And I put a felt hat on and filled it with waste up there because you could hear chunks go down there and hit the water around those tools and go ka-PLUNK and you didn' ; t know whether it was a big chunk or a little chunk or whether it was a rock or a piece of shale. Nevertheless, I went down and it wasn' ; t dangerous. However, we were drilling an 18" ; hole and right on top of the ground was cable tools you stomp, you know, and put a little water in the hole and stomp down there and bail out what you' ; ve mixed, that' ; s the way they drill with cable tools. I went down there and [indecipherable] to it, but they let a lantern down on a string so I could see what I was doing and I had a hammer and a sharp chisel and they let me down on derrick line around me so I could stretch out a little bit and sliver myself any time where I didn' ; t figure there was much hazard to it. But I chipped those strands off of there and I [indecipherable] they pulled me out of the hole. However, they did drop the line that had the lantern on it, and it went on down the hole. And then we let the casing roll down over it and put the slips over it and gosh, it came with no difficulty at all getting the tools out once we got over them. But on the next well that I drilled with was for the Caufield (ph) Oil Company and it was the variant north offset to this first well. And we got to the well--I mean, got to the sand around 2,700 in the Dutcher--and the Dutcher over in the Slick area was black oil around thirty-four to thirty-six gradients (ph). And when the--we' ; d shoot a well, they shot all of them over there, when they' ; d shoot on ' ; em, when they' ; d shoot a well, they would load the oil--the well with oil on top of the shot right up to where it was running over the control head because if they didn' ; t fill it clear full they' ; d--when that shot went off it would break the pipe at the top of the fluid. And we tried it once just filling it up into the control head and it broke the control head! So after that, we ran it over. Well, when that shot goes off, it blows that hole full of oil in the air, and that' ; s why it was such a beautiful sight over there. When you come out from Bristow, top that hill by the eight-mile corner--every drilling well was clean, white pine just about the color of that piece of paper, and the producing wells were black because they had been shot, and were all covered with oil. And we used steam for fuel and every drilling well there was that white, crisp steam and it was a beautiful sight. Well that' ; s the drilling well--that fuel drilled up pretty rapidly. Now that-- (pause) Oh, yes, I' ; m on the Sewell (ph) farm there--I mean, yeah. Barney Sewell' ; s (ph) farm, that' ; s where this well was. Second well that I drilled for Caufield (ph). And they were putting the shot in. We drilled the well and we were gonna shoot it. We used shots before--did sixty quarts of liquid nitroglycerin: glycerin shells around four inches in diameter and about five feet long. And you would hang it onto the hook there that would stay hooked as long as there was any tension on the line. And you had to be in there when the shooter was there, some of the crew did. And I' ; m telling you right: when that shooter gets that shell--that glycerin can up there--and poured it down in there, when that hit the bottom of that shell, I mean, it just kind of sets the hair on you a little. (laughter) BK: It looked scary to me! Well, we had a little more gas in that Sewell (ph) than we did in the fuel, and we were putting the last shell in. We got down in the hole a ways and the shooter--the shooter operated the reel that lets the shell down the hole--and his line went slack, which showed that that shell was coming up the hole. And it had unhitched! That gas with [indecipherable] gas in there is gonna blow that--have a good chance to blow that shell out of the hole. And it started going pretty good. The shooter hollered, Catch that shell! And I said, Hell on earth. (laughter) You catch your own shell if you want-- (laughter) And I did like he did, and all the rest of them: I ran! (laughter) And sure enough, the shell came out of the hole and blew the Caufield (ph) Oil Company' ; s rig down. Clear down. None of us were hurt, fortunately, and that wasn' ; t so bad, except for the delay in production and the dollars that it cost to replace this rig. It didn' ; t hurt my tools any. And-- because those shots will go off naturally in seventy-two hours at that depth and in that area. In seventy-two hours that shot will go off by itself due to the heat and pressure on it. And that' ; s what happened on this well of [indecipherable] out there. (Break in recording) BK: --he said, No sir, mister, [indecipherable], said, We done closed the rolls. (laughter) BK: [Indecipherable.] --my partner in Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. was Jim Sloane (ph). Jim wanted to continue drilling on a contract basis. I wanted production. So we dissolved partnership and dissolved the corporation and I got--and divided up the tools. We had two strings at that time. And I got a lease on the Henry Fisher farm south of here, and many of you are familiar with the Fishers and some of ' ; em buy their eggs there, I imagine. But we drilled a well on it, I sold some interest in it for to raise a little money to drill it with and I sold Art Stone (ph) on the interest on those. And Art was out there the day we were to hit the sands. And I was in to fifteen-ten (ph) and it was looking good, and I sold Art Stone a ninety-sixth (ph) interest for $3,000 on the derrick floor there just by a shake of the hands--and that' ; s the way many, many deals were closed, just by a shake of the hands. And it wasn' ; t an hour until we' ; d hit--until we hit the sand. And when she started smoking gas we started out of the hole, but the oil beat the tools out of the hole. And did we feel good! And so we had the tanks up anticipating a well, and we had the tanks up so we got out of the hole and tools and closed that control head and turned it into the tanks and it was flowing into the tanks. And we went home that night, nice little fortune between the [indecipherable] bungalow. I figured, I think we' ; re rich. What in the world could we do now for our poor relatives? (laughing) BK: And I went out the next morning: Lo and behold, there' ; s a hundred and thirty-six barrels in the tank and eighteen hundred feet of water in the hole and the well had stopped flowing. (laughing) BK: And, well, we put tubing rods in it and produced it for a while, but it would never pay off. I think I was the only one that got my money back out of the deal on it, and that was on account of that $3,000 I got offered by Art Stone. (laughing) BK: Let' ; s see. The next one--I moved from there over to [indecipherable] 15-10 for the Gotham Oil Company. The Gotham Oil Company was out of Washington, D.C. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was the major holder in the Gotham Oil Company. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was secretary to William Jennings Bryan when Bryan secretary of war under Woodrow Wilson, to give you a little line-up on that. We drove that well for, for Gotham and when she started smoking gas--we had the control head on--we turned it into the pit, turned the well into the pit in case it wouldn' ; t flow. And Mr. Wyville (ph) and I went to Bristow to order out the tanks. We did, we ordered out a full tank and two 250s. Tanks then were all folded tanks, they weren' ; t welded like they are today. But when we got the tanks set--the well' ; d flowed twice into the pits when we got back. When we got the tanks set we picked up 450 barrels of good oil out of the pits. And [indecipherable] wanted to drill the well six inches, and we tried to hit the string on six inches--six inches above the clamps--and clipped it to the clamps, and it didn' ; t change the motion at all. And when it drilled off, it came out of that hole. That well made 450 barrels. That was sixty-one years ago now, today. Sixty-one years ago and that well is still producing between seven and eight barrels in the Meisner sand. George Fargo (ph), who was superintendent for the P-O-N-G, Prairie Oil and Gas, he wouldn' ; t believe it that we' ; d only drilled it that far in. When he--he drilled the offset for his company and he drilled it in two feet. His well was plugged in a year and a half, he got it in the water too far! And this one, I think--this one makes water now, but it still produces between seven and eight barrels. And I drilled a seven-hundred-foot well there and we pumped the water into that, that Boomer (ph) sand, I think it is. Let' ; s see now. (pages rustling) Man, alive. Well, some of you' ; ll want to know how we--how do you get your money for your oil? When you got a tankful, you call the gauger, he comes out and gives you a written--gives your tank top and the bottom and then peeks at it to see how much b.s. and water there is in it and if there' ; s too much of that basic sediment and water in there, why the gauger' ; ll say, Clean your tank, like they told us on this ticket here. (laughter) BK: It says, Clean tank. And they gave you a ticket for each tank and they would pay you on about the twenty-sixth of the month--the twenty-sixth of the following month. Rotary is much faster than drilling with cable tools, so Claude Freeland--which some of you know, he built that home first--home west of the Presbyterian Church here in Bristow. Claude Freeland drilled a well out in the Poor Farm area, which was discovered--the Poor Farm area was discovered by Albert Kelly, Levan' ; s dad--discovered the Poor Farm pool. Claude Freeland had a well that had started off with 10,000 barrels a day of this black Dutcher oil. A grand well. Carter had the offset. They wanted some of that, so they moved a rotary in. That' ; s the first rotary that was in this country, on that offset. And they drilled it down there, set by to drill the hole dry and drilled the sand and made ten million in gas. No oil. They let it blow wide open in the air thinking that it would blow onto oil. But it didn' ; t. You can' ; t blow one open that way today, the Corporation Commission' ; ll be on ya--you got to shut that well in. If you don' ; t they' ; ll shut it in for ya and charge ya. (noise) Pardon me. And, well--this well of Claude' ; s--and Claude would ride with me out to the rig once in a while and we' ; d visit--he told me about that particular well. He said, That well made a million dollars' ; worth of oil in sixty-seven days and never made another barrel of oil. Not a million barrels' ; full, a million dollars' ; worth. And I imagine then that oil was worth about $2.45 a barrel. That' ; d be nice to have in the family, believe me. (laughter) BK: Bristow was a--Bristow was a real boom town and my time' ; s about gone, but I wanted to tell you some of the things that aren' ; t here now that I saw here. We had three refineries here. A Bristow Refining Company out here on the Kelly farm here right at the north edge of town. Wilcox Refinery across the railroad track east of it. And then the Sun Company Oil Refinery up on the hill--one of the old [indecipherable] refineries. We have no refineries here now. We used to have the Republic Supply Company here--that' ; s an oilfield supply company. Across the street was the Oil Well Supply Company. Then after that was the National Supply Company. A couple of blocks north and a half east was the-- UM: Producer. BK: Producer Supply Company. The [indecipherable] was here. Also the American Tool Machine Company and the Bristow Pipe and Machine Company run by Mr. Cushing. Mr. Cushing had a son, Chester--when you' ; d go in there for any fishing tools, old Chester--you' ; d tell him what you want, Chester' ; d say, Oh hell you don' ; t want that, you want to have this, show' ; d me this or that. But after Chester got to drilling for himself he found out that the people that knew pretty well what they wanted when they went in there. And Chester drilled a well for himself just about a quarter of a mile south of this new project on south Chestnut and a quarter west up on the hill. He drilled it with cable tools ' ; til the [indecipherable] broke sand, made a little, well, and his wife dressed tools for him on that well. Drilled it in daylight, and his wife dressed tools. That' ; s something. I only want to give you interesting things, I think. Out northwest of town we had some big wells. I recall one that was drilled on the Abraham, the Ed Abraham farm out there and it got away and went into the air and the wind was right that it blew oil from that well into Bristow and spotted clothes that were on the line, and oil spots on your car. Three miles away! (papers rustling) That' ; s all of it. (laughter) UM: [Inaudible.] BK: No, I don' ; t want to shoot the breeze all afternoon. I' ; m too [indecipherable] have to go, it' ; s time to go on and [indecipherable] around here. Well let' ; s see if there' ; s anything else that I think you, you can' ; t live without. (laughter) Yes, I tell you what it is! Bristow was a boom town, the streets were full and the sidewalks were full, in fact I' ; ve seen teams lined from Slick two miles north to the eight-mile corner of a morning. Just teams loaded out with pipe and rig stuff. And people would like to see--individuals would like to see people mill up and down those sidewalks, and some of them would park their car at a point of vantage and walk home, and then walk back downtown and get in their car in view of the people walking up and down the streets and sidewalks because it was that interesting. That' ; s the Bristow that a lot of you have never known. Thank ya. (applause) Tape ends. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0015-01_Kirchner,_R_R_Rotary_Club.xml OHP-0015-01_Kirchner,_R_R_Rotary_Club.xml
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Ralph Kirchner at Bristow Rotary Club
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In this 1979 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (1893-1990) speaks extensively about the oil drilling industry in Bristow, Oklahoma in the early 1900s, business involvement with J. Paul Getty, anecdotes about Tom Slick, how people handled their new-found oil wealth, and restrictions upon Indians regarding the handling of their own finances.
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OHP-0015-001
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1984
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audio
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Early Drilling Near Bristow
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Oral Histories of Drilling in the early 1900s
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Oral accounts of drilling for oil and natural gas near Bristow in the early 1900s
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
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Oral History
Oral History
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Interviewee
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Ralph R. "Brick" Kirchner
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0015-01_Kirchner,_R_R_Rotary_Club.xml
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oil drilling, Bristow Rotary Club, Ralph Kirchner,
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5.4 OHP-0015-01 Ralph Kirchner at Bristow Rotary Club OHP-0015-001 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Oil Drilling - The Early Years Bristow Historical Society, Inc. oil drilling, Bristow Rotary Club, Ralph Kirchner, Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner N/A MP3 1:|17(6)|27(6)|44(7)|61(15)|70(12)|80(2)|93(2)|106(2)|122(3)|135(2)|146(14)|158(2)|170(8)|178(6)|188(3)|198(9)|216(2)|226(13)|236(13)|245(13)|256(7)|266(10)|277(15)|285(7)|295(6)|308(7)|318(9)|327(1)|338(10)|349(10)|369(3)|382(11)|389(14)|401(8)|417(13)|425(15)|436(9)|450(12)|460(1)|473(4)|482(5)|496(16)|513(12)|524(14) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0015-01 Kirchner, R.R. Rotary Club.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction of Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner EM: We’ll have to be real quiet on this now. (Pause in recording) EM: [inaudible] He has attained the ripe of age of ninety-one. His father made the run in to Oklahoma territory in…1889? BK: Ninety-three. EM: Ninety-three, back here when the state [inaudible]. BK: That’s correct. EM: Brick attended the Oklahoma A& ; M College, for those of you who are not familiar with that, it’s now Oklahoma State University. Brick is also the dean of the Bristow District Rotary Government, having served since 1931 and 1932. There are many more facts about Brick Kirchner that I’d like to bring out is that Brick Kirchner is—or was, at one time—in the newspaper publishing business. Brick Kirchner owned half interest in a newspaper in Ada, Oklahoma. Having seen the error of his ways, he took his money out of the newpaper— Guest speaker Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner is introduced by Ed Mackenson Brick ; Bristow Rotary Club ; Congress ; Oklahoma A& ; M College ; Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner Introduction of Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner 143 Ralph Kirchner Early Years BK: [inaudible] No, I don’t care. Am I speaking into this? Okay. Mr. Steward, thank you very kindly for that very nice and very liberal education, and I’m happy that my [indecipherable] section is here, too. (chuckling) BK: And the [indecipherable] section’s been here for a long time. I thought, too, it was kind of odd, Doc Yourman got the program for Don Kitchens, and Don Kitchens couldn’t be here, so Ed McMillan—I mean, Ed Mackenson introduced me for Don Kitchens. Now that beats around the bush a little bit. (laughter) Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner speaks about his early years in college and in the military. Army ; Ed Mackenson ; Gulf Oil Production ; Gypsy Oil Company ; J.D.Ward ; Oklahoma A& ; M Ralph Kirchner Early Years 372 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner sells real estate BK: Now that’s something, too! And I went to Perry. That’s my old hometown. And Perry is—was about eighteen, twenty miles—about twenty miles, I guess—southeast of Garber, and Garber was really booming then. Plenty of production around there, but Garber was really booming of that fine, high-grade oil. And my dad was in the real estate business and he would buy royalties. So he and two other gentlemen that I knew bought royalty under the Wolf (ph) farm about two miles south of Garber. And my dad had told me, and so had Mr. Mauser (ph) that they would like to sell their interest if they could get $15,000 for it. So I thought that I’d use that as a starter and I went to Enid and I managed to sell that royalty—represented that I owned its individual interest and could deliver it for $22,500. And that’s quite a bit of profit. So I had to buy it first, so when I came home that evening I went to my banker, Mr. John Hanson (ph), the Bank of Commerce, and explained the deal to him and I said, I’d like to borrow the money from you to buy this. He said, Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll tell you how I’ll do it: I’ll do it for half of the profit. (laughter) Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner talks about buying and selling royalties in Oklahoma. Enid ; Garber ; Mr Hanson ; Perry ; royalty Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner sells real estate 537 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner goes into the oil business So I was acquainted with Jim Sloane (ph). Jim was the tool pusher for the Roxanna Oil Company. And a tool pusher—that means he had charge of all their drilling tools, and hiring the men and so forth and operate the rigs. And so Jim and I decided to go into partnership and buy a string of tools, which we did. And Jim was fortunate enough to get his assistant pusher—to get his assistant pusher appointed to fill his position at the Roxanna. Here’s the deal: that enabled us to borrow from [indecipherable], this assistant, any tools that we didn’t have! So that made a nice deal for me, too. Brick begins a partnership and starts Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc. Billings Petroleum Company ; doodlebug ; Jim Sloane ; Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc ; oil ; Roxanna Oil Company ; tools ; Yukon Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner goes into the oil business 759 Getty Oil Company Contract But by that time, it was necessary that we got our rig moved because we had a contract with the Getty Oil Company. The Getty Oil Company was owned by J. Paul Getty. This location was on a main (ph) six miles east of Billings. J. Paul owned the Getty Oil Company. His father, Colonel Getty, was the big dog Getty in the oil business at that time. He owned the Minnehoma Oil Company and had mass production in the Garber field. We drove this well for Mr. Getty and we had our bunkhouse there, and it was the cook shack also. Some of the crew stayed in the house and we cooked our meals there. And our meals was either hot dogs or hotcakes. Hotcakes for breakfast and hot dogs at the other two meals. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for Getty Oil Company Bank of Commerce ; drilling ; Getty Oil Company ; Hoover sand ; J. Paul Getty ; Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. ; Minnehoma Oil Company ; Mr. Hanson ; oil ; Santa Fe Station Getty Oil Company Contract 1005 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means BK: Well, I have a lot written down here. (laughter) BK: Our next well, after Mr. Getty’s well, was for J.D. Means, and it was by the northeast offset to Mr. Getty’s. And while we were drilling that well for Mr. Means, Marland Oil Company was drilling in the northeast corner of the section and we were in the southeast corner of that same section. We made a small well for Mr. Means, but Mr. Getty—I mean, Mr. Marland, on his location up there, got a nice well and that was the discovery well for the great Oklahoma Three Sands pool. And incidentally the north offset to that, my dad had some royalty that he purchased under that, too, that offset—that well was dry. The east offset and for a mile and a half or two miles north and south, and a mile and a half wide, was the Garber field, and it was a dandy. [There are a] few wells producing there today. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means and discusses life in the oilfield boarding house ; Bristow ; bunkhouse ; Caufield Oil Company ; Garber field ; J.D. Means ; John Phillips ; Krumme ; Marland Oil Company ; oil scouts ; Oklahoma Three Sands Pool ; Phillips Petroleum Company ; Red Fork ; rig Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner drills for J.D. Means 1408 Drilling in Slick, Oklahoma Well, we got started at Slick. We were on fuel number one, and after we got a little below a hundred feet we went through the line and left the tools in the hole. We had about three feet of line—the line broke about three feet up above the tools. And those drilling lines, as most of you know, have six strands. They’re six to nineteen line, they’re called. There’s six—there’s three big strands and nineteen little strands in there. Well, we had the casing rolled down to get over the tools to pick ‘em out but I couldn’t get over it on account of that size of wire there. And we ran a light down the hole to see what condition it was, because you could look down there and see it with a light in there. And it was frazzled out, and I said, If that wire was cut off at the top of that socket, we could fish those tools out. And one of the men volunteered to go down and I thought, That’s a foolish trip. And we had [indecipherable] it’d break our company for sure. So I went down myself. And I put a felt hat on and filled it with waste up there because you could hear chunks go down there and hit the water around those tools and go ka-PLUNK and you didn’t know whether it was a big chunk or a little chunk or whether it was a rock or a piece of shale. Nevertheless, I went down and it wasn’t dangerous. However, we were drilling an 18” hole and right on top of the ground was cable tools you stomp, you know, and put a little water in the hole and stomp down there and bail out what you’ve mixed, that’s the way they drill with cable tools. Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses drilling near Slick, Oklahoma and for Caufield Oil Company on the Sewell Farm Barney Sewell ; Caufield Oil Company ; control head ; drilling ; Dutcher ; eight-mile corner ; explosion ; oil ; Sewell ; Sewell Farm ; shell ; Slick Drilling in Slick, Oklahoma and for Caufield Oil Company 1872 Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane BK: --he said, No sir, mister, [indecipherable], said, We done closed the rolls. (laughter) BK: [Indecipherable.] –my partner in Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. was Jim Sloane (ph). Jim wanted to continue drilling on a contract basis. I wanted production. So we dissolved partnership and dissolved the corporation and I got—and divided up the tools. We had two strings at that time. And I got a lease on the Henry Fisher farm south of here, and many of you are familiar with the Fishers and some of ‘em buy their eggs there, I imagine. But we drilled a well on it, I sold some interest in it for to raise a little money to drill it with and I sold Art Stone (ph) on the interest on those. And Art was out there the day we were to hit the sands. And I was in to fifteen-ten (ph) and it was looking good, and I sold Art Stone a ninety-sixth (ph) interest for $3,000 on the derrick floor there just by a shake of the hands—and that’s the way many, many deals were closed, just by a shake of the hands. And it wasn’t an hour until we’d hit—until we hit the sand. And when she started smoking gas we started out of the hole, but the oil beat the tools out of the hole. And did we feel good! And so we had the tanks up anticipating a well, and we had the tanks up so we got out of the hole and tools and closed that control head and turned it into the tanks and it was flowing into the tanks. And we went home that night, nice little fortune between the [indecipherable] bungalow. I figured, I think we’re rich. What in the world could we do now for our poor relatives? Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane and how they dissolved the partnership Art Stone ; Jim Sloane ; Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc Ralph " ; Brick" ; Kirchner discusses Jim Sloane 2063 Gotham Oil Company BK: Let’s see. The next one—I moved from there over to [indecipherable] 15-10 for the Gotham Oil Company. The Gotham Oil Company was out of Washington, D.C. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was the major holder in the Gotham Oil Company. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was secretary to William Jennings Bryan when Bryan secretary of war under Woodrow Wilson, to give you a little line-up on that. We drove that well for, for Gotham and when she started smoking gas—we had the control head on—we turned it into the pit, turned the well into the pit in case it wouldn’t flow. And Mr. Wyville (ph) and I went to Bristow to order out the tanks. We did, we ordered out a full tank and two 250s. Tanks then were all folded tanks, they weren’t welded like they are today. But when we got the tanks set—the well’d flowed twice into the pits when we got back. When we got the tanks set we picked up 450 barrels of good oil out of the pits. And [indecipherable] wanted to drill the well six inches, and we tried to hit the string on six inches—six inches above the clamps—and clipped it to the clamps, and it didn’t change the motion at all. And when it drilled off, it came out of that hole. That well made 450 barrels. That was sixty-one years ago now, today. Sixty-one years ago and that well is still producing between seven and eight barrels in the Meisner sand. Drilling for the Gotham Oil Company and discussion of Claude Freeland Albert Kelly ; Claude Freeman ; Corporation Commission ; gauger ; George Fargo ; Gotham Oil Comapany ; Levan ; M.M. Wyville ; Poor Farm ; Prairie Oil and Gas ; William Jennings Bryan ; Woodrow Wilson Claude Freeland ; Drilling for the Gotham Oil Company ; Prairie Oil and Gas 2390 Bristow is a Boom Town BK: Bristow was a—Bristow was a real boom town and my time’s about gone, but I wanted to tell you some of the things that aren’t here now that I saw here. We had three refineries here. A Bristow Refining Company out here on the Kelly farm here right at the north edge of town. Wilcox Refinery across the railroad track east of it. And then the Sun Company Oil Refinery up on the hill—one of the old [indecipherable] refineries. We have no refineries here now. We used to have the Republic Supply Company here—that’s an oilfield supply company. Across the street was the Oil Well Supply Company. Then after that was the National Supply Company. A couple of blocks north and a half east was the— Bristow was a " ; real boom town" ; with many refineries and oil businesses. American Tool Machine Company ; Bristow ; Bristow Pipe and Machine Company ; Bristow Refining Company ; Chester ; Cushing ; Ed Abraham ; National Supply Company ; Oil Well Supply Company ; Producer Supply Company ; refineries ; Republic Supply Company ; Sun Company Oil Refinery ; Wilcox Refinery Discussion of Bristow as a boom town In this 1979 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (1893-1990) speaks extensively about the oil drilling industry in Bristow, Oklahoma in the early 1900s, business involvement with J. Paul Getty, anecdotes about Tom Slick, how people handled their new-found oil wealth, and restrictions upon Indians regarding the handling of their own finances. EM: We' ; ll have to be real quiet on this now. (Pause in recording) EM: [inaudible] He has attained the ripe of age of ninety-one. His father made the run in to Oklahoma territory in--1889? BK: Ninety-three. EM: Ninety-three, back here when the state [inaudible]. BK: That' ; s correct. EM: Brick attended the Oklahoma A& ; M College, for those of you who are not familiar with that, it' ; s now Oklahoma State University. Brick is also the dean of the Bristow District Rotary Government, having served since 1931 and 1932. There are many more facts about Brick Kirchner that I' ; d like to bring out is that Brick Kirchner is--or was, at one time--in the newspaper publishing business. Brick Kirchner owned half interest in a newspaper in Ada, Oklahoma. Having seen the error of his ways, he took his money out of the newpaper-- (laughter) EM: Brick also has--I don' ; t know whether this is a distinction or--but Brick has stood for public office. Brick ran for Congress in the fourth congressional district on the Republican ticket and I think that' ; s the reason I got to introduce you today, Brick, is because I ran on the Democratic ticket about twenty years later. (laughter) EM: I asked him what year he ran, he couldn' ; t tell me. He said, What year did you run? I said, I don' ; t remember either. (laughter) EM: Without any further accolades, I' ; d like to introduce to you, our dean of the Bristow Rotary Club, Brick Kirchner. (applause) BK: [inaudible] No, I don' ; t care. Am I speaking into this? Okay. Mr. Steward, thank you very kindly for that very nice and very liberal education, and I' ; m happy that my [indecipherable] section is here, too. (chuckling) BK: And the [indecipherable] section' ; s been here for a long time. I thought, too, it was kind of odd, Doc Yourman got the program for Don Kitchens, and Don Kitchens couldn' ; t be here, so Ed McMillan--I mean, Ed Mackenson introduced me for Don Kitchens. Now that beats around the bush a little bit. (laughter) BK: But I' ; m happy to be here, and I want to endeavor to give you some interesting points about the life of a ninety-one-year--of a ninety-one-year-old oilman. When I got out of school at Oklahoma A& ; M, I went to work for the Gypsy Oil Company in Tulsa. Gypsy Oil Company was the production department of the Gulf Oil Corporation, and I was in the production department at seventy-five dollars a month, if you please. Not bad! It wasn' ; t--I wasn' ; t there too long until I had an opportunity for a better salary and I went to Collinsville for Mr. J.D. Ward at a hundred-and-a-quarter a month, and then I was in tall cotton. I thought that was something. I got my first production-- (pause) Well, I was with Mr. Ward and he encouraged me, and then he said, You ought to get something for yourself. So I acquired a lease on eighty acres east of Owasso, Oklahoma and I sold it the superintendent of the Bartlesville Yanks (ph) Company, provided he would drill a well and carry me into the tanks and first well. That he did. We got a little well on the Bartlesville, around 7,800 feet and didn' ; t amount to very much. So I was fortunate enough to sell the well and lease and get Mr. Gardstock' ; s (ph) money back for him out of the deal. But nevertheless that was--that was my first real introduction in it where I' ; d get a little grease on my hands. That, that' ; s oil business. I [indecipherable] to the Army from Collinsville, and my employer, Mr. Ward, got me a deferment for a while, and then I volunteered in the Army for the--in the F-A-C-O-T-S. That' ; s Field Artillery Central Offices Training School at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky. I had letters from my employer that when I got out of the Army that he had great things planned. But I had something planned, also. I figured if I had made money for him buying and selling real estate and leases, I certainly ought to be able to do it for myself. So I got my discharge from the army and incidentally I got my discharge and my commission in the same envelope. (laughter) BK: Now that' ; s something, too! And I went to Perry. That' ; s my old hometown. And Perry is--was about eighteen, twenty miles--about twenty miles, I guess--southeast of Garber, and Garber was really booming then. Plenty of production around there, but Garber was really booming of that fine, high-grade oil. And my dad was in the real estate business and he would buy royalties. So he and two other gentlemen that I knew bought royalty under the Wolf (ph) farm about two miles south of Garber. And my dad had told me, and so had Mr. Mauser (ph) that they would like to sell their interest if they could get $15,000 for it. So I thought that I' ; d use that as a starter and I went to Enid and I managed to sell that royalty--represented that I owned its individual interest and could deliver it for $22,500. And that' ; s quite a bit of profit. So I had to buy it first, so when I came home that evening I went to my banker, Mr. John Hanson (ph), the Bank of Commerce, and explained the deal to him and I said, I' ; d like to borrow the money from you to buy this. He said, Alright, I' ; ll do it. I' ; ll tell you how I' ; ll do it: I' ; ll do it for half of the profit. (laughter) BK: Well, now, he didn' ; t hurt himself any--if seventy-five--that' ; s $3,750 is all he was going to charge me for that $15,000 for about thirty days. And that was our last--I was pleased that I could get the money so I told my dad and I went home and I said, I' ; d like to buy your Wolf (ph) royalty. He said, You' ; d like to buy my royalty? Now, how in the hell would you--could you buy it? (laughter) BK: Well, I couldn' ; t have that morning, but I-- (laughter) BK: I could that evening because I had arranged for the credit! He said, Well, I' ; ve decided I don' ; t want to sell mine. Now that was a shock to me, first. The other gentlemen that I knew that had that like interest was in Amarillo. I didn' ; t know whether he' ; d be in, so I did manage to acquire the interest of a gentleman in Pawnee and I delivered it and I got my $22,500, Mr. Hanson (ph) got $3,750 and I got $3,750 out of it, and I thought I had about half the money in the world. Me, with $3,750 and owed no one! I felt mighty good. I wanted to put that money to work. So I was acquainted with Jim Sloane (ph). Jim was the tool pusher for the Roxanna Oil Company. And a tool pusher--that means he had charge of all their drilling tools, and hiring the men and so forth and operate the rigs. And so Jim and I decided to go into partnership and buy a string of tools, which we did. And Jim was fortunate enough to get his assistant pusher--to get his assistant pusher appointed to fill his position at the Roxanna. Here' ; s the deal: that enabled us to borrow from [indecipherable], this assistant, any tools that we didn' ; t have! So that made a nice deal for me, too. And we--we' ; d brought our rig up here north of Yukon, Oklahoma. And we moved it up to Billings where we had a contract for the--for the Billings Petroleum Company. Our company name was Kirchner & ; Sloan, Inc. And we had to have this well started by September 5 to validate Billings Petroleum Company' ; s leases there. So we rigged up and we run the socket out of the back window that you' ; re familiar with, and screwed onto our big-holed stem to bring it into the rig, put the bit on and starts spudding, and we got it up at about a forty-five-degree angle and this thing broke square in two in the middle. We just pulled the top half of it into the rig and spudded with half of a stem, no bit on it! (laughter) BK: Ran the driller, got a little mud out of the hole and dumped it in the cesspit and the lease was validated. Then we were in business, we' ; d made good. (laughter) BK: We had finished that well for the Billings Petroleum Company--finished our contract, I mean--we had no oil. That location that I drilled for them was made by what was called then a doodlebug. A doodlebug were an oil smeller and this doodlebug--this doodlebug or oil finder--he had two black whale bones about that long and about a quarter inch square fastened together at the point with a little bottle on it. And I found out later that little bottle had crude oil in it, and it had crude oil that was produced in the area where he would work. Well, he' ; d made that location, he said, Now there' ; s shallow gas along here, and there' ; s deeper oil along here, so we' ; ll dig this location right where they cross, we' ; ll have shallow and we can get the gas for fuel, ' ; course everything was steam then, and at--do future development on the lease. We completed our contract-no oil, no gas, no nothing. And they paid it. But they wanted to go deeper. That doodlebug knew there was oil down there, so we agreed to drill it deeper at $7 a foot and they paid us over 100 feet. Drill it we did, we drilled it 300 feet deeper and they paid us every hundred feet. But by that time, it was necessary that we got our rig moved because we had a contract with the Getty Oil Company. The Getty Oil Company was owned by J. Paul Getty. This location was on a main (ph) six miles east of Billings. J. Paul owned the Getty Oil Company. His father, Colonel Getty, was the big dog Getty in the oil business at that time. He owned the Minnehoma Oil Company and had mass production in the Garber field. We drove this well for Mr. Getty and we had our bunkhouse there, and it was the cook shack also. Some of the crew stayed in the house and we cooked our meals there. And our meals was either hot dogs or hotcakes. Hotcakes for breakfast and hot dogs at the other two meals. Mr. Getty came out when we were approaching what was to be the objective sand--which was the Hoover sand--and he--I recall he had a little wax moustache, short, that just stuck square off. And when he opened his coat he had a deputy sheriff' ; s badge on his shirt. He wanted to get some Oklahoma tan to carry back to L.A., so he would walk up and down the highway here up by the rig with his hat off and his shirt unbuttoned to get a little tan. Well, he got the sunburn, anyway! We made him a well at twenty-two-sixty. Twenty-two-hundred-and-sixty-feet in the Hoover sand. Made about sixty barrels of that lovely, high-grade oil. And Mr. Hanson, with the present Bank of Commerce, he financed our operation all the way. And I wanted to get the money for the well so I could pay Mr. Hanson and stop that interest. I made out my bill immediately and took that and the log and certificate and I went up to the rig the next morning. And Mr. Whitsun (ph), J. Paul' ; s superintendent, said, Well, now, J. Paul won' ; t be out here. J. Paul' ; s on his way to Los Angeles, and if you don' ; t catch him before he gets away, you' ; re liable to be two months getting your money. I said, Where is he? And he said, He' ; s at the Santa Fe station in Perry. And I hustled right in to the Santa Fe station in Perry. And we had a few [indecipherable] and went in to the waiting room and there was Mr. Getty, and we had a few pleasantries and then I presented my bill and told him the bank and I needed the money. And he said, I' ; m sorry, crookster, but I don' ; t have any checks on my bank. Well, I said, I can fix that. And I stepped up to the ticket window and I got a blank check on the Bank of Commerce at Perry, changed it to his bank in Los Angeles, and made out--filled in the amount of the bill for Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. and presented it to Mr. Getty, and he signed it. And we were happy. (laughter) BK: I waited around with him until his train came in and he left. And I haven' ; t seen him from that day ' ; til this. But he' ; s done alright, I understand. (laughter) BK: Richest man in the world. That was quite an experience. He was very pleasant, and very nice. (pause) (papers rustling) BK: Well, I have a lot written down here. (laughter) BK: Our next well, after Mr. Getty' ; s well, was for J.D. Means, and it was by the northeast offset to Mr. Getty' ; s. And while we were drilling that well for Mr. Means, Marland Oil Company was drilling in the northeast corner of the section and we were in the southeast corner of that same section. We made a small well for Mr. Means, but Mr. Getty--I mean, Mr. Marland, on his location up there, got a nice well and that was the discovery well for the great Oklahoma Three Sands pool. And incidentally the north offset to that, my dad had some royalty that he purchased under that, too, that offset--that well was dry. The east offset and for a mile and a half or two miles north and south, and a mile and a half wide, was the Garber field, and it was a dandy. [There are a] few wells producing there today. Now after we finished that well for Mr. Means, I loaded a flatcar. Loaded a string of tool on a flatcar and started for Bristow. And I followed it--that flatcar--in my automobile. And I found out that five bucks here and there in some of these yards will get your car moved pretty fast. It worked in west Tulsa that way--Red Fork, I mean, that way. And we got in to Bristow, there was no trucking contractors then, everything was moved by teams. Most of it was most by teams. So we got Doc Martin (ph), a teaming contractor here, to move us out to Slick, eight miles east and two south of here, for the Caufield (ph) Oil Company. They had claimed this block of acreage there, which acreage and wells in production is now owned by the Krumme brothers. Harlan' ; s here today. By owned by Harlan and George. And I loaded a 14x28 boxcar house for myself and I had the deluxe job: I had a screened-in porch on each end of it and I had a sub-roof over my roof, about eight inches up, where the sun couldn' ; t hit my--the roof of our house directly and the air can circulate under there. So we thought that was pretty deluxe for us. And I built a 14x40 bunkhouse there and I built it right by the bathhouse, and near the boarding house, because all the leases then, if they had any size and employed very many men, they had a bunkhouse and boarding house and a warehouse, just as the Caufield (ph) Oil Company did. I remember, we had a good boarding house there. And it happened that the driller--a driller that worked for me was the husband of the lady that ran the boarding house, and while I wasn' ; t using him on the rig, she was running him around the country buying groceries for the boarding house! So I thought, Well, he can' ; t be doing his work. I went down there about three o' ; clock one morning and there he was, sound asleep on the driller' ; s stool, the tools just swinging, motion very slow, just swinging, wasn' ; t even hitting bottom. So I didn' ; t wake him up, I just wrote his check out because you would carry a time book and a checkbook in your pocket then, and fire a man if you wanted to, because you didn' ; t have to account for his social security or any other take-out. So I just wrote his check out and put it in the headache box there at the rig and told his tool dresser, who was awake, I said, Just call that to his attention when he wakes up. I paid him off. We had a lot of fine experiences out there at that time. I remember at that time the companies--the larger companies--all had oil scouts. And I recall one in particular that came to our rig to get information. They wanted to know how you were coming so that they could buy leases if necessary. I remember one of the Phillips boys--John I think was his name, John Phillips of Phillips Petroleum Company. He wasn' ; t one of the rich ones, that was Waite and his--Waite Phillips and his brother. And this boy, this Phillips, was about my age--around twenty-six I was then. And he came to our rig scouting our rig to see how deep we were, and if he could catch any--take any samples that we had there of sand that we had encountered. And he got to be quite a big shot then. At that time the companies furnished the rig, pipe, fuel, and water on the location for a drilling well. They' ; d build a rig, and the rig was all wooden--no steel rigs then, and they had a 250-barrel tank on both sides of the engine house there for water, and they had water the tracked to the tank. It was filled up, the 250-barrel wooden tank. Well, we got started at Slick. We were on fuel number one, and after we got a little below a hundred feet we went through the line and left the tools in the hole. We had about three feet of line--the line broke about three feet up above the tools. And those drilling lines, as most of you know, have six strands. They' ; re six to nineteen line, they' ; re called. There' ; s six--there' ; s three big strands and nineteen little strands in there. Well, we had the casing rolled down to get over the tools to pick ' ; em out but I couldn' ; t get over it on account of that size of wire there. And we ran a light down the hole to see what condition it was, because you could look down there and see it with a light in there. And it was frazzled out, and I said, If that wire was cut off at the top of that socket, we could fish those tools out. And one of the men volunteered to go down and I thought, That' ; s a foolish trip. And we had [indecipherable] it' ; d break our company for sure. So I went down myself. And I put a felt hat on and filled it with waste up there because you could hear chunks go down there and hit the water around those tools and go ka-PLUNK and you didn' ; t know whether it was a big chunk or a little chunk or whether it was a rock or a piece of shale. Nevertheless, I went down and it wasn' ; t dangerous. However, we were drilling an 18" ; hole and right on top of the ground was cable tools you stomp, you know, and put a little water in the hole and stomp down there and bail out what you' ; ve mixed, that' ; s the way they drill with cable tools. I went down there and [indecipherable] to it, but they let a lantern down on a string so I could see what I was doing and I had a hammer and a sharp chisel and they let me down on derrick line around me so I could stretch out a little bit and sliver myself any time where I didn' ; t figure there was much hazard to it. But I chipped those strands off of there and I [indecipherable] they pulled me out of the hole. However, they did drop the line that had the lantern on it, and it went on down the hole. And then we let the casing roll down over it and put the slips over it and gosh, it came with no difficulty at all getting the tools out once we got over them. But on the next well that I drilled with was for the Caufield (ph) Oil Company and it was the variant north offset to this first well. And we got to the well--I mean, got to the sand around 2,700 in the Dutcher--and the Dutcher over in the Slick area was black oil around thirty-four to thirty-six gradients (ph). And when the--we' ; d shoot a well, they shot all of them over there, when they' ; d shoot on ' ; em, when they' ; d shoot a well, they would load the oil--the well with oil on top of the shot right up to where it was running over the control head because if they didn' ; t fill it clear full they' ; d--when that shot went off it would break the pipe at the top of the fluid. And we tried it once just filling it up into the control head and it broke the control head! So after that, we ran it over. Well, when that shot goes off, it blows that hole full of oil in the air, and that' ; s why it was such a beautiful sight over there. When you come out from Bristow, top that hill by the eight-mile corner--every drilling well was clean, white pine just about the color of that piece of paper, and the producing wells were black because they had been shot, and were all covered with oil. And we used steam for fuel and every drilling well there was that white, crisp steam and it was a beautiful sight. Well that' ; s the drilling well--that fuel drilled up pretty rapidly. Now that-- (pause) Oh, yes, I' ; m on the Sewell (ph) farm there--I mean, yeah. Barney Sewell' ; s (ph) farm, that' ; s where this well was. Second well that I drilled for Caufield (ph). And they were putting the shot in. We drilled the well and we were gonna shoot it. We used shots before--did sixty quarts of liquid nitroglycerin: glycerin shells around four inches in diameter and about five feet long. And you would hang it onto the hook there that would stay hooked as long as there was any tension on the line. And you had to be in there when the shooter was there, some of the crew did. And I' ; m telling you right: when that shooter gets that shell--that glycerin can up there--and poured it down in there, when that hit the bottom of that shell, I mean, it just kind of sets the hair on you a little. (laughter) BK: It looked scary to me! Well, we had a little more gas in that Sewell (ph) than we did in the fuel, and we were putting the last shell in. We got down in the hole a ways and the shooter--the shooter operated the reel that lets the shell down the hole--and his line went slack, which showed that that shell was coming up the hole. And it had unhitched! That gas with [indecipherable] gas in there is gonna blow that--have a good chance to blow that shell out of the hole. And it started going pretty good. The shooter hollered, Catch that shell! And I said, Hell on earth. (laughter) You catch your own shell if you want-- (laughter) And I did like he did, and all the rest of them: I ran! (laughter) And sure enough, the shell came out of the hole and blew the Caufield (ph) Oil Company' ; s rig down. Clear down. None of us were hurt, fortunately, and that wasn' ; t so bad, except for the delay in production and the dollars that it cost to replace this rig. It didn' ; t hurt my tools any. And-- because those shots will go off naturally in seventy-two hours at that depth and in that area. In seventy-two hours that shot will go off by itself due to the heat and pressure on it. And that' ; s what happened on this well of [indecipherable] out there. (Break in recording) BK: --he said, No sir, mister, [indecipherable], said, We done closed the rolls. (laughter) BK: [Indecipherable.] --my partner in Kirchner & ; Sloane, Inc. was Jim Sloane (ph). Jim wanted to continue drilling on a contract basis. I wanted production. So we dissolved partnership and dissolved the corporation and I got--and divided up the tools. We had two strings at that time. And I got a lease on the Henry Fisher farm south of here, and many of you are familiar with the Fishers and some of ' ; em buy their eggs there, I imagine. But we drilled a well on it, I sold some interest in it for to raise a little money to drill it with and I sold Art Stone (ph) on the interest on those. And Art was out there the day we were to hit the sands. And I was in to fifteen-ten (ph) and it was looking good, and I sold Art Stone a ninety-sixth (ph) interest for $3,000 on the derrick floor there just by a shake of the hands--and that' ; s the way many, many deals were closed, just by a shake of the hands. And it wasn' ; t an hour until we' ; d hit--until we hit the sand. And when she started smoking gas we started out of the hole, but the oil beat the tools out of the hole. And did we feel good! And so we had the tanks up anticipating a well, and we had the tanks up so we got out of the hole and tools and closed that control head and turned it into the tanks and it was flowing into the tanks. And we went home that night, nice little fortune between the [indecipherable] bungalow. I figured, I think we' ; re rich. What in the world could we do now for our poor relatives? (laughing) BK: And I went out the next morning: Lo and behold, there' ; s a hundred and thirty-six barrels in the tank and eighteen hundred feet of water in the hole and the well had stopped flowing. (laughing) BK: And, well, we put tubing rods in it and produced it for a while, but it would never pay off. I think I was the only one that got my money back out of the deal on it, and that was on account of that $3,000 I got offered by Art Stone. (laughing) BK: Let' ; s see. The next one--I moved from there over to [indecipherable] 15-10 for the Gotham Oil Company. The Gotham Oil Company was out of Washington, D.C. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was the major holder in the Gotham Oil Company. And M.M. Wyville (ph) was secretary to William Jennings Bryan when Bryan secretary of war under Woodrow Wilson, to give you a little line-up on that. We drove that well for, for Gotham and when she started smoking gas--we had the control head on--we turned it into the pit, turned the well into the pit in case it wouldn' ; t flow. And Mr. Wyville (ph) and I went to Bristow to order out the tanks. We did, we ordered out a full tank and two 250s. Tanks then were all folded tanks, they weren' ; t welded like they are today. But when we got the tanks set--the well' ; d flowed twice into the pits when we got back. When we got the tanks set we picked up 450 barrels of good oil out of the pits. And [indecipherable] wanted to drill the well six inches, and we tried to hit the string on six inches--six inches above the clamps--and clipped it to the clamps, and it didn' ; t change the motion at all. And when it drilled off, it came out of that hole. That well made 450 barrels. That was sixty-one years ago now, today. Sixty-one years ago and that well is still producing between seven and eight barrels in the Meisner sand. George Fargo (ph), who was superintendent for the P-O-N-G, Prairie Oil and Gas, he wouldn' ; t believe it that we' ; d only drilled it that far in. When he--he drilled the offset for his company and he drilled it in two feet. His well was plugged in a year and a half, he got it in the water too far! And this one, I think--this one makes water now, but it still produces between seven and eight barrels. And I drilled a seven-hundred-foot well there and we pumped the water into that, that Boomer (ph) sand, I think it is. Let' ; s see now. (pages rustling) Man, alive. Well, some of you' ; ll want to know how we--how do you get your money for your oil? When you got a tankful, you call the gauger, he comes out and gives you a written--gives your tank top and the bottom and then peeks at it to see how much b.s. and water there is in it and if there' ; s too much of that basic sediment and water in there, why the gauger' ; ll say, Clean your tank, like they told us on this ticket here. (laughter) BK: It says, Clean tank. And they gave you a ticket for each tank and they would pay you on about the twenty-sixth of the month--the twenty-sixth of the following month. Rotary is much faster than drilling with cable tools, so Claude Freeland--which some of you know, he built that home first--home west of the Presbyterian Church here in Bristow. Claude Freeland drilled a well out in the Poor Farm area, which was discovered--the Poor Farm area was discovered by Albert Kelly, Levan' ; s dad--discovered the Poor Farm pool. Claude Freeland had a well that had started off with 10,000 barrels a day of this black Dutcher oil. A grand well. Carter had the offset. They wanted some of that, so they moved a rotary in. That' ; s the first rotary that was in this country, on that offset. And they drilled it down there, set by to drill the hole dry and drilled the sand and made ten million in gas. No oil. They let it blow wide open in the air thinking that it would blow onto oil. But it didn' ; t. You can' ; t blow one open that way today, the Corporation Commission' ; ll be on ya--you got to shut that well in. If you don' ; t they' ; ll shut it in for ya and charge ya. (noise) Pardon me. And, well--this well of Claude' ; s--and Claude would ride with me out to the rig once in a while and we' ; d visit--he told me about that particular well. He said, That well made a million dollars' ; worth of oil in sixty-seven days and never made another barrel of oil. Not a million barrels' ; full, a million dollars' ; worth. And I imagine then that oil was worth about $2.45 a barrel. That' ; d be nice to have in the family, believe me. (laughter) BK: Bristow was a--Bristow was a real boom town and my time' ; s about gone, but I wanted to tell you some of the things that aren' ; t here now that I saw here. We had three refineries here. A Bristow Refining Company out here on the Kelly farm here right at the north edge of town. Wilcox Refinery across the railroad track east of it. And then the Sun Company Oil Refinery up on the hill--one of the old [indecipherable] refineries. We have no refineries here now. We used to have the Republic Supply Company here--that' ; s an oilfield supply company. Across the street was the Oil Well Supply Company. Then after that was the National Supply Company. A couple of blocks north and a half east was the-- UM: Producer. BK: Producer Supply Company. The [indecipherable] was here. Also the American Tool Machine Company and the Bristow Pipe and Machine Company run by Mr. Cushing. Mr. Cushing had a son, Chester--when you' ; d go in there for any fishing tools, old Chester--you' ; d tell him what you want, Chester' ; d say, Oh hell you don' ; t want that, you want to have this, show' ; d me this or that. But after Chester got to drilling for himself he found out that the people that knew pretty well what they wanted when they went in there. And Chester drilled a well for himself just about a quarter of a mile south of this new project on south Chestnut and a quarter west up on the hill. He drilled it with cable tools ' ; til the [indecipherable] broke sand, made a little, well, and his wife dressed tools for him on that well. Drilled it in daylight, and his wife dressed tools. That' ; s something. I only want to give you interesting things, I think. Out northwest of town we had some big wells. I recall one that was drilled on the Abraham, the Ed Abraham farm out there and it got away and went into the air and the wind was right that it blew oil from that well into Bristow and spotted clothes that were on the line, and oil spots on your car. Three miles away! (papers rustling) That' ; s all of it. (laughter) UM: [Inaudible.] BK: No, I don' ; t want to shoot the breeze all afternoon. I' ; m too [indecipherable] have to go, it' ; s time to go on and [indecipherable] around here. Well let' ; s see if there' ; s anything else that I think you, you can' ; t live without. (laughter) Yes, I tell you what it is! Bristow was a boom town, the streets were full and the sidewalks were full, in fact I' ; ve seen teams lined from Slick two miles north to the eight-mile corner of a morning. Just teams loaded out with pipe and rig stuff. And people would like to see--individuals would like to see people mill up and down those sidewalks, and some of them would park their car at a point of vantage and walk home, and then walk back downtown and get in their car in view of the people walking up and down the streets and sidewalks because it was that interesting. That' ; s the Bristow that a lot of you have never known. Thank ya. (applause) Tape ends. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0015-01_Kirchner,_R_R_Rotary_Club.xml OHP-0015-01_Kirchner,_R_R_Rotary_Club.xml
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4420
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Ralph R. "Brick" Kirchner
Description
An account of the resource
In this 1979 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (1893-1990) speaks extensively about the oil drilling industry in Bristow, Oklahoma in the early 1900s, business involvement with J. Paul Getty, anecdotes about Tom Slick, how people handled their new-found oil wealth, and restrictions upon Indians regarding the handling of their own finances.
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OHP-0015-001
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1984
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audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/cd1168c93325d2d2c2919056bd1767b1.jpg
36d19139284163f00d3fc3ff007e1319
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Title
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Early Drilling Near Bristow
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Oral Histories of Drilling in the early 1900s
Description
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Oral accounts of drilling for oil and natural gas near Bristow in the early 1900s
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Bristow Historical Society, oral history collection
Type
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Oral History
Oral History
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Interviewer
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Robert L. “Bob” McCarty
Interviewee
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Ralph R. "Brick" Kirchner
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0002-03_Ralph_Kirchner.xml
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oil
geology
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5.4 OHP-0002-03 Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner OHP-0002-03 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Oil Drilling - The Early Years Bristow Historical Society, Inc. oil oil geology Ralph R. " ; Brick" ; Kirchner Robert L. “Bob” McCarty MP3 1:|12(2)|22(2)|47(7)|73(1) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0002-03 Kirchner, R.R..mp3 Other audio 0 Bristow Quadrangle BM: …some of the information that we need. Now then, Mr. Kirchner, on the survey company, what was the name of that survey company that surveyed this community? BK: It was done by Dr. Fath and is called The Bristow Quadrangle and it was made by the U.S.G.S. That’s the United States Geological Survey. BM: And to your knowledge, what year was that done? Discussion of the United States Geological Survey and the Bristow Quadrangle Bristow Quadrangle ; Dr. Fath ; drilling ; George Krumme ; oil ; United States Geological Survey ; Virgil Vann ; W.O. Baker Bristow Quadrangle ; oil drilling 175 Bristow Dutcher fields and Claude Freeman BM: --and who— BK: It was Claude Freeland and some relative of theirs that drilled the first well that I recall in seventeen-nine, they’re the ones that opened the pool in 16-9, they opened the Bristow Dutcher fields. MM: Where was that? The Bristow Dutcher fields? Discussion of the Bristow Dutcher fields and Claude Freeman Bristow ; Bristow Dutcher fields ; Claude Freeman ; drilling ; well Bristow ; oil drilling In this brief 1976 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (RK) (1893-1990) discusses a 1925 United States Geological Survey geological report covering the “Bristow Quadrangle” oilfield area. BM: --some of the information that we need. Now then, Mr. Kirchner, on the survey company, what was the name of that survey company that surveyed this community? BK: It was done by Dr. Fath and is called The Bristow Quadrangle and it was made by the U.S.G.S. That' ; s the United States Geological Survey. BM: And to your knowledge, what year was that done? BK: Oh, let me see, I don' ; t know but it was the first one that had been done in its entirety of the geology and topography of the area and it gives all of the wells that were drilled at that time and the history of them. I would say it was around 1913 or ' ; 14. BM: To your knowledge, I was told--to your knowledge, do you know of the well that was drilled in here on the Violet Williams (ph) or this Jesse Mosquito (ph) say in about 1911? BK: No, I do not, but if that well was drilled there, it would be--there would be a write-up of it in The Bristow Quadrangle. BM: That information was given to me by Virgil Vann, he said the first well to knowledge was drilled a mile south of the W.O. Baker place, which the W.O. Baker place would' ; ve been the Big Mosquito. BK: Yeah, I drilled on the Baker place. BM: You drilled here on the Big Mosquito-- BK: I drilled on the Mosquito. BM: And he said--Virgil Vann told me that well was drilled in about 1911. BK: Mm. BM: But you would say, just personally yourself, without the records, you would say roughly that the first well, that would be roughly the first well that was drilled. BK: That' ; s what I think, but that would be disclosed in that--in the write-up on 17-9 and the Bristow Quadrangle, which you can get from George--Mr. George Krumme. BM: Okay. pause in recording BM: --and who-- BK: It was Claude Freeland and some relative of theirs that drilled the first well that I recall in seventeen-nine, they' ; re the ones that opened the pool in 16-9, they opened the Bristow Dutcher fields. MM: Where was that? The Bristow Dutcher fields? BM: Where was that located? BK: That' ; s on out east of town here in 16-9, east of Bristow. BM: The opened up the one in 16-9 and you' ; re sure that they' ; re the one--reasonably sure that they were the one that drilled the first one in 17-9. BK: Yes, sir, I am. I am. BM: I had talked to Carl Glen (ph) on the phone, I talked to him and he hasn' ; t been much help as yet on it. BK: Well, he' ; s just recovering from eye surgery and he hadn' ; t completely recovered yet. BM: So his thinking isn' ; t-- BK: That' ; s right. BM: --isn' ; t too strong. And at a later date probably his thinking will be better and he will be able to remember a lot of these things that he was in on there with Claude, why he will remember about that. BK: That' ; s right. end of interview 1 audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0002-03_Ralph_Kirchner.xml OHP-0002-03_Ralph_Kirchner.xml
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Ralph R. "Brick" Kirchner
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In this brief 1976 interview, Ralph R. “Brick” Kirchner (RK) (1893-1990) discusses a 1925 United States Geological Survey geological report covering the “Bristow Quadrangle” oilfield area.
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OHP-0002-03
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oil
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1976-10
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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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Wanda Newton
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Percy Mayes
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5.4 August, 17, 1992 OHP-0047A Percy Mayes - Part 1 OHP-0047A 00:00 to 30:02 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Percy Mayes Wanda Newton 1:|10(8)|31(18)|58(4)|67(12)|80(5)|98(10)|108(13)|122(10)|151(3)|176(7)|197(7)|215(1)|222(2)|232(14)|248(10)|264(9)|275(5)|283(8)|291(4)|300(8)|317(3)|349(2)|373(6)|390(7)|405(12)|427(16)|440(10)|458(11)|479(4)|510(7) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0047A Mayes, Percy.mp3 Other audio 0 Family WN: August the 16th, and I'm in the church that the Reverend Mayes, Percy Mayes has helped establish, and he's gonna tell us today about himself and also about his church. First of all, Reverend Mayes, I'd like for you to tell us your full name and when you were born and anything you can think of, like your parents and your grandparents, their names on both sides of the family because we want this to go in the genealogical library in Bristow. And maybe one of these days, one of your grandchildren may come back and wanna know everything about Granddaddy. PM: Thank you. I'm Percy Alford Mayes. My parents were Eric Arthur Mayes and Gurtha L. (Lee) Wortham Mayes. There were six children born to the family. I have one older brother, Ozie Mayes, who passed away last year. The rest of the children are all living. Just one had passed. Reverend Mayes talks about his parents and his siblings and where he was born. Arthur City, Texas ; Doris Maybell Mayes Terry ; Eric Arthur Mayes ; Gurtha Lee Wortham Mayes ; Ozie Lee Mayes ; Roxie Lillian Mayes Tate ; Vera Mayes Dade family 173 Coming to Bristow WN: And did you come up to Bristow about when, Reverend Mayes? PM: I came up, I came to Bristow with my parents in 1929, in the month of November. WN: You came right at the height of the depression then, didn't you? PM: Yes. And just before in that awfully bad winter, 29 went to 29, 30 real cold. We walked across a pond during the time when it was real cold being in an area we were unfamiliar with, we did not know that we were walking across a pond on our way to school because it was all iced over, and you just think he was walking on the ground if he didn't know where he was. So one day on our way from school, from the Sand Creek School in Okfuskee County, east of Boley. We walked out on the pond that we didn't know was there, and it began to crack. Reverend Mayes remembers coming to Bristow in 1929 with his parents. Boley (Okla.) ; Sand Creek School coming to Bristow 261 School PM: Fell in the pond or anything like that. But the entire group, that is myself, the rest of the children, finished our elementary schooling at the Sand Creek School. I went on along with my brother to Boley High School, where we finished high school in 1937. During that time, we were, they were accepting boys in the service and they had a cc, what they call a CC Camp. There, boys could find employment. When I was not able to get enough money to go to college, I wanted to be in the CC Camp where I could earn enough to get, WN: Yeah, that was amazing. PM: To pay for my own college education, and there was a group of boys along with myself who took the examination, and we were all accepted, but they took the number they wanted before they got to me. I left home to go to work, then, in order to put myself through college. Reverend Mayes remembers attending school at Boley High School and also attending a CC Camp to find employment and raise enough money to attend college. Boley High School ; CC Camp ; college ; Thelma Ryans Mayes CC Camp ; school 471 Married Life WN: How old were you when you were married? PM: 21. WN: 21. And how old was Thelma? PM: Thelma, if I got a correct age, she was 19. WN: Very romantic. PM: And we've lived ever, we've lived together since that time. Have six children. Reverend Mays recalls marrying his wife, Thelma Ryans Mayes and also talks about his children. He had six children, five girls and one boy. The only boy passed away at a young age. Eliza G. Watts Ryan ; marriage ; Thelma Ryans Mayes children ; married life 637 Ministry PM: And I have always studied the Bible from a small child. I've been interested in what was written in the scripture, the message for us. WN: You've always had such a wonderful way of speaking every time I've ever been around where you've done anything, you just do the Word so nicely. You put everything together so well. PM: I think you, kindly. I believe in studying and I love it. I still do that today. I'm doing a little more writing now than ever before. So, I was appointed a deacon of the church at an early age at Saint Emanuel Baptist Church, where I served as superintendent, the Sunday School at one time, and also, a deacon of the church. WN: Alright, now. Where is that church? PM: It's at Boley, Reverend Mayes recalls studying the Bible from a young age. He felt called to the ministry. He was appointed Deacon of Saint Emanuel Baptist Church at an early age, and his love for ministry grew from there. Boley ; Greater Mt. Herman ; Saint Emanuel Baptist Church ; Sunday School 955 Duffey Chapel Baptist Church History PM: Duffey Chapel Baptist Church History. This was written in 1981. WN: Okay. PM: “In Bristow, Oklahoma, on August the 15th, 1919, near a persimmon tree on the east side of this present structure, Reverend Frank Duffey, Mrs. Frank (Lela) Duffey, Mr. Beatty Duffey, Brother McKinley Shoals and a borrowed deacon from Lincoln High named Johnny Williams, met in a small oil field house measuring approximately 14 by 14 by 16 feet. These charter members organized the Duffey Chapel Baptist Church and later purchased this lot where the church now stand for $125. Reverend Mayes reads the written history of the Duffey Chapel Baptist Church. American National Bank ; Beatty Duffey ; Carl Cole ; Clyde McDaniel ; Duffey Chapel Baptist Church ; First Baptist Church ; Johnny Williams ; Jonas Thompson ; Lela Duffey ; Lewis Hamilton ; Lincoln High School ; Lodge #74 ; M. Jones ; McKinley Shoals ; Raymond Bird ; Reverend A.M. Garrett ; Reverend David Shibley ; Reverend Eric Arthur Mayes ; Reverend Frank Duffey ; William Cheatham Duffey Chapel Baptist Church History 1307 Bristow Businesses WN: Great. And this might give us some other people to contact also when we get to do and on the black community. And then you have a summary of the past reunions there and some wonderful pictures. Oh, I think that's great. That is really good. I will. We surely will. Alright, now then, let me ask you, let's go back to the town then. Can you think of any businesses that were here on the street? I know some of 'em are gone 'cause I can remember there used to be a funeral home there, I know. Wasn't there? At one point in time. PM: The Fields Funeral Home (ph) was located in this block on the south side of the street and on the corner of the 10th and Chestnut Street, there was a hotel, a two-story building. Reverend Mayes recalls different businesses that were located near his church. Fields Grocery Store ; Masonic Lodge ; Oliver's Grocery Store ; Peevy Grocery Store ; Willie Fields Bristow businesses 1556 Living as a Black Individual in Bristow WN: You know what I really would like to know, too, is I'd like to know some of the feelings that some of the early people had about living in, in the Bristow area. What kind of relationships did we, I mean, to me it's always been really good. But then, see I was over there and somebody was over here, so I've never known of any friction but I'm sure there has been. But I know that horrible thing they had in Tulsa spilled over into Bristow at that one point in time when they were doing things to the Black. But I, I've always felt like that's the black people in our community have been so wonderful about so many things, some so cooperative and so, you know, they just have been, I don't know whether it, I just have wondered about their real feelings sometimes and it maybe it's not worth expressing, you know. Reverend Mayes recalls being black in Bristow was a peaceful experience, and that there was a lack of prejudice between the races. Boley ; Earl Walter Ford ; Lincoln School ; peaceful being black in Bristow MP3 In this 1992 interview, Reverend Percy Mayes talks about God’s call on his life to be in ministry, establishing the Duffey Chapel and businesses that were near his church. WN: August the 16th, and I' ; m in the church that the Reverend Mayes, Percy Mayes has helped establish, and he' ; s gonna tell us today about himself and also about his church. First of all, Reverend Mayes, I' ; d like for you to tell us your full name and when you were born and anything you can think of, like your parents and your grandparents, their names on both sides of the family because we want this to go in the genealogical library in Bristow. And maybe one of these days, one of your grandchildren may come back and wanna know everything about Granddaddy. PM: Thank you. I' ; m Percy Alford Mayes. My parents were Eric Arthur Mayes and Gurtha L. (Lee) Wortham Mayes. There were six children born to the family. I have one older brother, Ozie Mayes, who passed away last year. The rest of the children are all living. Just one had passed. WN: Give me their names, but before you give ' ; em the names, tell me how to spell Ozie' ; s name so we' ; ll have it right in the newsletter. PM: O Z I E. WN: O Z I E. Okay. PM: It' ; s really Ozie Lee Mayes. WN: Ozie Lee. Oh. PM: L E E M A Y E S. WN: Okay. PM: He' ; s oldest. I' ; m next to him. We attended grade school together, high school together. Even though Ozie was older than I, I finished high school with him. I guess I was a little more mischievous than he was, and I made two grades in one year. WN: Oh, how wonderful. PM: Caught up with him and stayed along with him until graduation. WN: All right, now what about the other four children? Can you give me their names too? PM: The other children, Vera (Mayes Dade) is next to me, then Velma, Roxie (Lillian Mayes Tate), Junior. That is, [indecipherable] May Junior, and Ola and Doris (Maybell Mayes Terry). WN: Alrighty. PM: All living. WN: Now where were you? Where were you born? In what area? PM: I was born in Arthur City, Texas WN: In Lamar County. PM: 1919, May 18th, 1919. WN: And did you come up to Bristow about when, Reverend Mayes? PM: I came up, I came to Bristow with my parents in 1929, in the month of November. WN: You came right at the height of the depression then, didn' ; t you? PM: Yes. And just before in that awfully bad winter, 29 went to 29, 30 real cold. We walked across a pond during the time when it was real cold being in an area we were unfamiliar with, we did not know that we were walking across a pond on our way to school because it was all iced over, and you just think he was walking on the ground if he didn' ; t know where he was. So one day on our way from school, from the Sand Creek School in Okfuskee County, east of Boley. We walked out on the pond that we didn' ; t know was there, and it began to crack. WN: Oh my. PM: We turned and went back and went around. So nobody got-- WN: You didn' ; t have catastrophe. PM: Fell in the pond or anything like that. But the entire group, that is myself, the rest of the children, finished our elementary schooling at the Sand Creek School. I went on along with my brother to Boley High School, where we finished high school in 1937. During that time, we were, they were accepting boys in the service and they had a cc, what they call a CC Camp. There, boys could find employment. When I was not able to get enough money to go to college, I wanted to be in the CC Camp where I could earn enough to get, WN: Yeah, that was amazing. PM: To pay for my own college education, and there was a group of boys along with myself who took the examination, and we were all accepted, but they took the number they wanted before they got to me. I left home to go to work, then, in order to put myself through college. WN: Now wait a minute. Back up. Was that discrimination? Was it white and black or were PM: No. WN: It was not. PM: No, it wasn' ; t discrimination. We just so happened that my family worked bottom land. We had good land where we were, and there was something to do all the time. And the yield from the crop planted was quite satisfactory. WN: Your father must have been a good farmer, wasn' ; t he? PM: He was. He was a good farmer, willing to work, and he was in good place where we were, but we just wasn' ; t able to get to college, so I ran away from home. I went to Texas, went to work over there and from where I was, I had intended to go on further south in Texas. And from there I had planned to go to Washington, the state of Washington, where I had an uncle who was quite well off. I wanted to get up there, not to get any of his money, nor his help but to work. And while I was there, this may sound a little funny, but it' ; s true. My brother married and his wife was a friend to Thelma. So [indecipherable] began to correspond with Thema. Thelma wrote me a little card, just a simple little postcard and whatever she had on it sound good. Instead of me going to Texas and to Washington, I came back to Bristow. I mean, I came back to Boley and we were married. WN: How old were you when you were married? PM: 21. WN: 21. And how old was Thelma? PM: Thelma, if I got a correct age, she was 19. WN: Very romantic. PM: And we' ; ve lived ever, we' ; ve lived together since that time. Have six children. WN: All right. Now I want you to be sure and tell me what her maiden name was now, and I want the names of all of your children, because this may be important one of these days. Very important. PM: All right. Her maiden name was Thelma Ryans. WN: Ryans. And can you tell me her mother and father' ; s names for your grandchildren? PM: Eliza Ryans was her mother. WN: Do you know what her maiden name was? PM: No, I don' ; t. WN: Okay. All right. I thought it might help your children one of these days. If you can think of it, maybe it' ; ll come to you or something. PM: I' ; m sorry. WN: That' ; s all right. I don' ; t know. PM: Dukes. *(Based on research, her name was possibly Eliza G. Watts Ryans.) WN: Oh, Dukes. That' ; s great. PM: It was Dukes. WN: that may help your child sometimes. PM: Yes, it was. It was really Dukes and that' ; s about all they is to it. WN: Alright, now then, give me the names of your children. PM: All of them? WN: All of them. And if you can do their birth dates, do that too. PM: I can' ; t. WN: You can' ; t. Okay. All right. Just gimme the names, their names PM: The oldest daughter is Garnett (ph). The next daughter is Marian (ph), then Margaret, Barbara, Anna and Brenda. WN: All pretty girls, huh? PM: All mean as they can be. The only boy born into our family was named Percy Alford Mayes. He suffocated and he was left in a car in Okemah while my wife was shopping, and he turned over towards his nose, toward the back seat. You know? WN: Yes. PM: He in the back seat with the nose toward the back of the seat and was down against the back of the seat and he kind of suffocated and then I guess the cool air or something pneumonia developed from, was too complicated from he passed away. WN: I know that was, PM: That' ; s the only boy we had in the family. WN: All those girls PM: and I have always studied the Bible from a small child. I' ; ve been interested in what was written in the scripture, the message for us. WN: You' ; ve always had such a wonderful way of speaking every time I' ; ve ever been around where you' ; ve done anything, you just do the Word so nicely. You put everything together so well. PM: I think you, kindly. I believe in studying and I love it. I still do that today. I' ; m doing a little more writing now than ever before. So, I was appointed a deacon of the church at an early age at Saint Emanuel Baptist Church, where I served as superintendent, the Sunday School at one time, and also, a deacon of the church. WN: Alright, now. Where is that church? PM: It' ; s at Boley, WN: At Boley. PM: East of Boley. WN: East of Boley. PM: Just a few miles east of Boley on 60 off of 62 highway south. And in my love for the study of the Bible, I was drawn to into a close fellowship with the Lord and the studying of the Bible because I wanted to be obedient to what was said in the Bible, and tried hard to live it. And working with different ministers, I felt the urge to surrender fully to the Lord and let him have his way in my life. And under Reverend JW Tumbling (ph) one of my favorite pastors, I felt the urge to preach, and yet I was so ashamed to get up before people. I didn' ; t like public speaking, but I felt that this is what God wanted me to do. So I surrendered to the call, preached my first sermon in Saint Emmanuel Baptist Church east of Boley. Later on, I was called to the, I was ordained and after ordination, I was called here to the church south of Bristow, the what, the church that is now Greater Mt. Herman. WN: Oh yes. PM: I pastored there two years, and after the two years, was up people here requested my service. here, but I was reluctant to leave that church because I really loved those people. They loved me. I was quite satisfied at that. But after praying over it, I felt that here was a place where the Lord wanted me to be. So I gave up, accepted a call here, and I moved here October 26th, 1950. I looked at the cemetery [undecipherable] on the east side of the church and there' ; s a rock there. I stood on that rock and summing everything up, I said for myself, five years here will be the limit. And I then, but I missed it. I' ; ve been here 42 years. WN: Oh my word. But now, when you first came, where were, was the church right here? PM: Yes, the church was on this spot. It was, it is a frame. It was a framed building here. WN: Okay. Now you' ; ve written the history of this church, haven' ; t you? PM: I have the history. I also have the picture, some pictures here. I' ; ve got ' ; em together for you. WN: Oh. Now can I take those pictures and have Mr. Coleman make some prints of them. So we' ; ll have ' ; em for the library and for the historical society? PM: If you can use them, you' ; d be quite welcome to them. WN: I don' ; t wanna take anything, I mean, I' ; ll have a print made of the things and then I' ; ll bring them back to you, but I surely want a copy of this, the history that you have written for our library down here. PM: I have it here. I have a copy for you. I have copies for you, and I will go over this one, if you will. WN: Oh yes. Now I do it orally because now we' ; ll have people that' ; ll come down to the library, won' ; t read, but they will listen. So if I' ; ve got it on the tape and I have it written and we have, you know, double contact. PM: Duffey Chapel Baptist Church History. This was written in 1981. WN: Okay. PM: " ; In Bristow, Oklahoma, on August the 15th, 1919, near a persimmon tree on the east side of this present structure, Reverend Frank Duffey, Mrs. Frank (Lela) Duffey, Mr. Beatty Duffey, Brother McKinley Shoals and a borrowed deacon from Lincoln High named Johnny Williams, met in a small oil field house measuring approximately 14 by 14 by 16 feet. These charter members organized the Duffey Chapel Baptist Church and later purchased this lot where the church now stand for $125. The church held an evangelistic crusade at the southeast corner of 10th and Poplar Streets. The meetings were held under tents borrowed from Mr. M Jones. Reverend Johnson conducted the meetings. This effort led to the building of a frame structure, serving as a meeting place for worship until it was demolished. Carpenters building this house were Mr. Shaw, Mr. John Hall and others. The first stage of our new building [indecipherable] was completed in 1964 with Mr. Manset Hale (ph) contractors. The plumbing and electrical work was done by Brother Caesar Tolen. The members of our brotherhood helped with the construction. On March 3rd, 1973, Brother Jonas Thompson offered a motion that we start on the sanctuary of the church. The motion passed and the construction began as soon as plans were completed. Building contractors were Mr. Clyde McDaniel, Mr. Carl Cole and Mr. Raymond Bird. Plumbing and electrical work was done by Mr. Caesar Tolen. On June 10th, 1973, we laid the cornerstone. Reverend A.M. Garrett was guest speaker, and the stone was laid by Bristow Lodge # 74. Reverend I.G. Crawford served as alternate. Our church furniture was purchased at Wagner Brothers Manufacturing Company (ph) of Booneville, Arkansas. One table was donated to the church by Mr. and Mrs. William Cheatham, one by Brother Lewis Hamilton and few cushions by the First Baptist Church of Bristow, Oklahoma. Brother McKinley Shoals was instrumental in getting the cushions for the church. We thank God for His continued blessings. We thank the American National Bank and the Creek Farmers Federal Credit Union for counseling and for financial assistance. We thank the donors for the many contributions to the church. Dedication services were held on April 26th through the 28th, 1974. Reverend David Shibley was guest speaker on April 26th at 7:00 PM and Reverend Eric Arthur Mayes was guest speaker at 3:00 PM on April 28th." ; WN: Yes, I just, I wanna ask you we' ; ll back up to the community, our black community here. Tell me as much as you can about any businesses that were here on this street. And also I' ; d like to know a little bit about Lincoln School over there. What you remember. And if you can name me, any of the teachers, or The Reverend Mayes has just handed me a reunion catalog that they worked out, and it was August the 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st and September the 1st in 1985. Gosh, it looks fantastic. Who put this thing together? PM: Group of alumni. WN: The group of alumni. Wow. You all did beautifully. Is there a copy of this down at the library that you know of? PM: If you don' ; t have, you' ; re welcome to. WN: Do you have a spare copy? Could we have, if I could find a spare copy, one for the museum and one for the library at some point in time? I don' ; t want to take this, but if we--did you sell ' ; em? PM: You might have that if you like, because I have others. WN: Oh, do you? PM: Yes. WN: Alright. I' ; m gonna take this and put it in the public library then. Would that be all right with you? PM: You' ; re quite welcome to. WN: Okay, now, if anybody ever wants to look at one of these and you hear ' ; em, just tell ' ; em to go back to the desk and ask for the key to the genealogy section. They keep it in a, we keep it in a little cabinet there, and we' ; re trying to make a genealogy library. This would be wonderful and this will answer questions of a lot of people. PM: Lot of names. You would, WN: Oh yes, you have all these wonderful names PM: And if you can use that. WN: Oh yes. Oh, this would be PM: Just feel free. WN: Great. And this might give us some other people to contact also when we get to do and on the black community. And then you have a summary of the past reunions there and some wonderful pictures. Oh, I think that' ; s great. That is really good. I will. We surely will. Alright, now then, let me ask you, let' ; s go back to the town then. Can you think of any businesses that were here on the street? I know some of ' ; em are gone ' ; cause I can remember there used to be a funeral home there, I know. Wasn' ; t there? At one point in time. PM: The Fields Funeral Home (ph) was located in this block on the south side of the street and on the corner of the 10th and Chestnut Street, there was a hotel, a two-story building. WN: Do you remember the name of the hotel? PM: I don' ; t remember the name of it. WN: Yeah. PM: It was there when we moved here, and I' ; m quite sorry, but I don' ; t remember the name of it. WN: Yeah. PM: But I don' ; t. WN: Was there a grocery store there? PM: There was two grocery stores here on this block. One was the Oliver' ; s Grocery Store to the west of the church on the adjoining lot. There was a Fields Grocery Store (ph) that was, at one time, the Peevy Grocery store. WN: Oh, yes. PM: I remember on the other side of the street. After the Peevy' ; s left, then Willie Fields took the store. There was a Masonic Lodge right over here on this corner. There was the lodge. That' ; s the way I was raised in that lodge, right on this corner. WN: On that corner. PM: Those are the only businesses that we had in this particular area. WN: Yeah. PM: Later on I established and operated a barbershop on 10th Street, just across Chestnut, there by where C.D. Ashley lived. WN: Oh, yes. PM: In the building that he once operated his office with the extension, so to say. WN: Then when did they build our, when did they do the community center here? The building down there on the corner. Has that, how many years has that been? See, it' ; s escaped me. I have, PM: I don' ; t know just exactly what year. WN: But it' ; s been in operation for some time. PM: It was. But in 1930, I' ; m trying to get it together, in 1940, I believe long there, that' ; s when they built the building, but I don' ; t know whether it' ; s 41, 42. WN: Yeah. PM: Must been in the forties. WN: Okay. Then in my mind, and I haven' ; t been down there in a long time, didn' ; t there used to be a park down there in connection with the school, a playground area for kids. Seemed like I used to come over there once in a while and play ball with somebody, but I don' ; t remember. PM: There was a playground to the north of the school. WN: Yeah, down in that low area down there PM: From the school down to 12th Street. WN: Yeah. PM: There was a playground there at the school. WN: You know what I really would like to know, too, is I' ; d like to know some of the feelings that some of the early people had about living in, in the Bristow area. What kind of relationships did we, I mean, to me it' ; s always been really good. But then, see I was over there and somebody was over here, so I' ; ve never known of any friction but I' ; m sure there has been. But I know that horrible thing they had in Tulsa spilled over into Bristow at that one point in time when they were doing things to the Black. But I, I' ; ve always felt like that' ; s the black people in our community have been so wonderful about so many things, some so cooperative and so, you know, they just have been, I don' ; t know whether it, I just have wondered about their real feelings sometimes and it maybe it' ; s not worth expressing, you know. PM: I would like to express my personal feelings about, I would, I' ; d like to begin by saying I was raised in an all colored town, and that was Boley. When I came to Bristow, this mixed town, that is, we had white and black people here, but I found a wonderful relationship existing between all people in the city. It was first of all, it' ; s peaceful. Then I found that in the trade section, people were so nice to, to their customers. And especially your father (Earl Walter Ford), you know? WN: Yeah. I' ; m gonna tell you, my father, PM: You may not want me to mention this. WN: No, that' ; s, no. PM: He was so nice to our family and other families I talked to, your father was nice to them. WN: I just grew up and he' ; s, he just loved some of the people. They were, PM: I think he loved, just loved people and was concerned about people and was willing to help people. And he will always be remembered by people that are here. WN: I just, PM: And I didn' ; t find any, I didn' ; t find a lot of prejudice here in our community. Its friendly. And yet on the other hand, it was a town that was people were businesslike. They were not clownish. WN: Yeah. PM: At all full of business. And I admire them for their Christian relationship existing between the people of all races here for the Indians or blacks or whites. WN: Are they Syrians or anybody else? PM: Yes. Oh, WN: Great. Yes. PM: I just give Bristow a good rating, not because I' ; m speaking to you on this, but because I found it that way. WN: I remember when I' ; d come over to Lincoln School, my, the discipline, the children were just so wonderful and everybody was so happy. And I just, it, it really has changed these last few years, hasn' ; t it? PM: Yes, it has. WN: So, and I' ; m sorry to say that, but it PM: One time we could sleep over here without our doors locked, maybe out on the porch if we got too hot in the house. WN: Yeah. PM: That has changed now. WN: Yeah. PM: We' ; re a little afraid to do any of those things. WN: That' ; s not only here. It' ; s PM: Yes WN: In my place and everything else. It' ; s just, it' ; s a change of the time. PM: I' ; m sad to say that something in the larger cities has filtered down to. WN: Yes, it' ; s too bad. But you know what? When people like you all and everybody keep working in the church and everything, something good' ; s gonna happen one of these days, it' ; s gonna swing back around. I just have great faith in that. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0047A_Percy_Mayes.xml OHP-0047A_Percy_Mayes.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
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Reverend Percy Alford Mayes - Part 1
Description
An account of the resource
In this 1992 interview, Reverend Percy Mayes talks about God’s call on his life to be in ministry, establishing the Duffey Chapel and businesses that were near his church.
Identifier
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OHP-0047A
Date
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1992-08-17
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audio
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70d72986825cccd6bea6c21212b8b404
Dublin Core
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Title
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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
Wanda Newton
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Percy Mayes
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0047B_Percy_Mayes.xml
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5.4 August 17, 1992 OHP-0047B Percy Mayes - Part 2 OHP-0047B 0:00-05:31 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Percy Mayes Wanda Newton 1:|17(9)|31(12)|49(10)|69(3)|91(2) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0047B Mayes, Percy.mp3 Other audio 0 Rev. Dr. Eric Arthur Mayes, Jr. PM: Trouble calling him doctor. I have books that he has written, and I'm impressed with the books he's putting out, he's putting out. He has taught school, well to speak of one school there, [indecipherable] now Oklahoma City, he taught English in that school for about six years. Then he went on to OBU at Shawnee and other schools. I like to tell him when we are together, I forget about him being a doctor, just my little brother. My little brother, I'm quite proud of him. Reverend Mayes speaks of his brother being a doctor and how proud he is of his accomplishments. brother ; doctor ; Rev. Dr. Eric Arthur Mayes, Jr. Rev. Dr. Eric Arthur Mayes, Jr. 44 Children WN: I think you would be proud of 'em, and I think you'd be proud of your children too. PM: Yes I love them very much. WN: Oh, you didn't tell me what, you haven't told me what your children do. Come on, start at the top. PM: I'll tell you about the good ones. Alright. Garnett is employed in Oklahoma City. She has a good job and I don't know whether she's working with the school system or not, but she has a good job. Her husband works for the post office. And she has a daughter who has passed the bar exam. WN: Oh my. PM: In Minnesota, a graduate from Cornell University. She's the only daughter in Garnett's family, that's my oldest daughter. Her son has finished a tour in Asia and back home now. Reverend Mayes tells about each of his children and their families. Alaska ; children ; Oklahoma City children MP3 Reverend Mayes talks about his brother being a doctor and about all his children and their families. PM: Trouble calling him doctor. I have books that he has written, and I' ; m impressed with the books he' ; s putting out, he' ; s putting out. He has taught school, well to speak of one school there, [indecipherable] now Oklahoma City, he taught English in that school for about six years. Then he went on to OBU at Shawnee and other schools. I like to tell him when we are together, I forget about him being a doctor, just my little brother. My little brother, I' ; m quite proud of him. WN: I think you would be proud of ' ; em, and I think you' ; d be proud of your children too. PM: Yes I love them very much. WN: Oh, you didn' ; t tell me what, you haven' ; t told me what your children do. Come on, start at the top. PM: I' ; ll tell you about the good ones. Alright. Garnett is employed in Oklahoma City. She has a good job and I don' ; t know whether she' ; s working with the school system or not, but she has a good job. Her husband works for the post office. And she has a daughter who has passed the bar exam. WN: Oh my. PM: In Minnesota, a graduate from Cornell University. She' ; s the only daughter in Garnett' ; s family, that' ; s my oldest daughter. Her son has finished a tour in Asia and back home now. He was in the recent war conflict, one of the first ones in after the [indecipherable], WN: Oh my. PM: Came back and he' ; s in, in college now, in Oklahoma City. Garnett has a son, oldest son who is in Alaska, the only great grandson I have is her son' ; s child in Alaska. WN: Ah, have you been up there to see him yet? PM: No, but they' ; ve been over here to see us. I fascinate fascinated by what they tell me about Alaska. WN: You must go sometime. PM: And Marian is going to teach school next year. She is, she' ; s, she was a good student and she' ; s been working, but she wanted to go back into the school, so she gonna teach school. WN: Where' ; s she going to teach? Do you know? PM: It' ; d be somewhere in Oklahoma City? I don' ; t know the name of the school, but in the city And Margaret is home with us now with her little children. And they are the worst little dudes on the block, but we love them very much. WN: Of course, I bet you' ; ll get ' ; em guided in the straight and the narrow. PM: Barbara is working for a financial institution in Oklahoma City. Could be a bank, but I' ; m not sure the name, but it is a financial institution. WN: Oh, yes. PM: She does quite well. A few weeks ago, maybe last week, she was through here going to Okmulgee, they were going to close out a deal over there on a home, something like that. The bank signed her to go and do this transaction. WN: Oh, how nice. PM: And Brenda is home with us right now. That' ; s a, that' ; s our youngest child. WN: Yes. A pretty, pretty, Brenda. PM: Her daughter is in Kansas. Her husband is a teacher and he will be a counselor in this school over there with Kansas City. Yeah which one did I miss? Anna? WN: Yeah, you missed Anna. PM: Anna' ; s in Oklahoma City. She' ; s working and still same old. Think she' ; s throwing away money away. WN: Oh, I tell you, you' ; ve done well. You' ; ve done well. PM: Thank you. WN: Your children, and you and your wife are certainly a pillar of personification of right in this community. What a wonderful influence you guys have been. PM: We wish only to do that. That' ; s what we are here for. WN: Your life shows that. PM: Aggravated because we can' ; t do more. WN: Hey, you have to let go and let God do some of that stuff you' ; re trying to do. PM: We' ; re happy when we can do something worthwhile and we wish to do nothing but help. WN: Oh listen, I don' ; t care what you do. There' ; s no way you can shift things around. People have to make their own mistakes. PM: Oh yeah. WN: They have to work out their own ways, and we just have to extend a loving hand to ' ; em. That' ; s the only way we can solve anything. Then I can' ; t solve it. audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-0047B_Percy_Mayes.xml OHP-0047B_Percy_Mayes.xml
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4921
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
Reverend Percy Alford Mayes - Part 2
Description
An account of the resource
Reverend Mayes talks about his brother being a doctor and about all his children and their families.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
OHP-0047B
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1992-08-17
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio
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https://www.bristoworalhistory.org/files/original/374dd75528ded5ed22cf2c24862bd762.jpg
3378938a750d2eb4977f0c8da551d9e1
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
Debbie Blansett
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Royce Kelly
OHMS Object
This field contains the OHMS Hyperlink (link to the XML file within the OHMS
Viewer)
https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2020-06_Kelly,_Royce.xml
OHMS Object Text
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contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka
5.4 July 22, 2020 OHP-2020-06 Royce Kelly OHP-2020-06 0:00-49:47 'Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive' Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Royce Kelly Debbie Blansett MP3 1:|52(1)|59(5)|67(4)|78(11)|87(8)|95(9)|101(13)|111(1)|115(13)|124(16)|132(2)|139(15)|145(2)|152(15)|162(7)|168(1)|191(14)|198(7)|207(1)|222(1)|233(6)|245(16)|268(5)|296(5)|314(11)|323(1)|327(5)|334(3)|343(10)|349(8)|356(4)|368(4)|374(10)|382(6)|393(2)|406(10)|412(2)|417(10)|436(4)|443(6)|449(7)|455(1)|464(9)|472(3)|482(4)|494(5)|504(6)|521(6)|534(10) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/Royce Kelly.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction, Polio, and Activities DB: I’m gonna have to put them back on. 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 July 22nd, 2020 and I am sitting here with Royce Kelly at the spirit bank board room in Bristow, Oklahoma, who’s going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Now if you’ll give me your full name so that they’ll know your voice. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow, Oklahoma ; Debbie Blansett ; Hop Along Cassidy ; Iron Lung ; March of Dimes ; Polio ; Royce Kelly ; William Royce Kelly 236 Family History and Businesses RK: Our father had homesteaded in, well he had come to Bristow following seven years of drought in the Burlington, Kansas area, and he was looking for something, greener pastures so to speak, and came down here and—on horseback and saw a friend and they were able to dig turnips on New Year’s day and he just knew this had to be the land of milk and honey, so he went back, being the middle of 13 children to a widow mother and made arrangements for the rest of the family and then came on down the next year in a wagon and homesteaded you might say, he bought some acreage ; Al Thompson ; Albert Kelly ; Ann Arbor, Michigan ; Burlington, Kansas ; Conger ; Conger Kelly ; cotton gins ; Doctor Reader ; Dorcas Barnum Tracey ; Dr. Fight ; Hominy, Oklahoma ; hydraulic operating table ; Loren Thompson ; Masonic Temple ; peanut mills https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25270611/loren-frank-thompson Loren Thompson https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25270826/william-albert-thompson Al Thompson https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25204226/albert-kelly Albert Kelly https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25182368/dorcas-b-kelly Dorcas Barnum Tracey 810 Growing Up in Bristow RK: Some thoughts about Bristow growing up, we had progressed from the times of dirt streets to main street being paved with bricks, laid by hand. One of the gentlemen I knew as I grew up and became an adult, a gentleman called McKinley Shoals. And he was an African American but he was one of the individuals that helped lay those bricks. And it’s a little rough [Indecipherable] than you have today, it’s been covered over with asphalt, but made for a good solid street. Kemp Drugs ; Leon Davison ; McKinley Shoals ; Mignon List ; Washington Schools ; Wendall List https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25204411/mignon-list Mignon List https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25204414/wendell-oliver-list Wendall List 1229 School and Western Heritage Days RK: Another thing that I remember from younger days in school: Christmas season, the local merchants would be selected to put up funds and school would let out and you’d march by classes or proceed by classes down main street to sixth and main where they would have a podium in the middle back off the street, podium in the middle about 12ft square built in the middle and probably 4ft high of stairs going up and they would—as your class got to the center of the intersection, you’d be handed a peppermint candy cane, it was probably 8 inches long and thickness of an inch probably Edison School ; Lincoln School ; Sanford Willis ; Washington School ; Western Heritage Days ; Woodland Queen 1487 Influential People and Businesses RK: We had a bowling alley at one time. Garment factory was probably our first large industrial plant followed by carpet mill and some items like that. Weldon Gas (ph) has always been a great mainstay through the ups and downs of the industry. I remember in the 50’s when the toll road came through and one of the little [Indecipherable] over the toll road was that they were using dynamite to blast through rock formations to level out the highway access. Of course that broke a lot of plaster in homes around town so they had to deal with the legal ramifications of that. American National Bank ; Caroline Foster ; Carpet Mill ; Choora Paramen Cobbler ; Civic Clubs ; Clarks Good Clothes ; Doctor Yurman ; Dora Wolfe ; Garment Factory ; Hamburger King ; J& ; J Beach Shop ; Jean Sampson ; Paul Wilslef ; Ricksol Drive ; Silver Plunge ; Spirit Bank ; Weldon Gas ; West Minister College https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25974041/dora-a-wolfe Dora Wolfe 1883 Church and Service DB: No not at all. When you were here, you went to church? RK: Yes, one of the stories told within the family was that, this was not too long after the turn pike was built, and it used to have manned tollbooth, a toll taker. And this person stopped at the tollbooth, paid his toll, and asked, he said “I’m coming to see the Kelly’s, you know where they’d be?” Albert Charles ; Albert Charles Kelly ; Allison Asbury ; Allison Asbury Kelly ; First Presbyterian Church ; Forest Levan ; Forest Levan Kelly ; Freeland Family ; Mr. Rolleston ; Oliver Tracey ; Oliver Tracey Kelly https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25204231/albert-charles-kelly Albert Charles Kelly https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141534677/forest-levan-kelly Forest Levan Kelly https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96953333/oliver-tracy-kelly Oliver Tracey Kelly https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181122428/allison-a-kelly Allison A Kelly 2284 Kelly Brothers DB: So there were five Kelly brothers RK: Yes DB: And there still is a Kelly brothers? RK: Yes DB: What made that come up out? RK: Thank you for your question. Our, and I’m going to digress just a little bit DB: Oh okay Bristow City Cemetery ; Kelly Brothers ; National Convention ; Oklahoma Delegation ; Poor Farm ; Republican National Committee ; Tulsa Race Massacre ; Tulsa, Oklahoma In this 2020 interview, Royce Kelly shares his experience growing up in Bristow. He discusses his family history and talks about the many influential figures and businesses throughout Bristow. Interviewer: Debbie Blansett Interviewee: Royce Kelly Other Persons: Date of Interview: July 16, 1986 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Abby Thompson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-2020-06 at 00:00 to 49:47 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: I' ; m gonna have to put them back on. 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 July 22nd, 2020 and I am sitting here with Royce Kelly at the spirit bank board room in Bristow, Oklahoma, who' ; s going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Now if you' ; ll give me your full name so that they' ; ll know your voice. RK: Okay, well Debbie it' ; s good to be with you and I appreciate your interest and efforts on behalf of Bristow' ; s history, it' ; s important. I' ; m William Royce Kelly, born in the family home on east 12th street in Bristow, Oklahoma on December the 30th, 1941 shortly after the start of WWII. I think it' ; s interesting is I was thinking about this opportunity, here we are in the middle of a, hopefully, in the middle of the downhill pull side of a COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, and when I was in grade school, the big concern at that time was polio. And all the precautions that were taken for that, with particularly the young people and even when, and that was back in the times when you know, the iron lung was created, things like that. Talk about respirators today, an offshoot of that and polio is virtually eliminated in the world today. But one of the things I remember doing during that era at the time, Bristow had three movie theaters on main street. At the time I was old enough to go to the movies, there were only two ; The Princess and The [Indecipherable]. And you would get news reels, kind of like a news broadcast, of course they were dated, many of the items were either of national importance or things that were happening overseas, and you' ; d have that and then you' ; d have cartons, and usually for the younger set, such as myself--as my age group, the Hop Along Cassidy or something like that movie. And one of the things that communities did to support the research and so on for polio was called the March of Dimes. DB: Hm RK: Well, if you--they' ; d give out little cards, little cardboard cards and they had slots on them, and if you got them filled up with dimes and it was probably $3 worth of dimes, you could get in the movie free. And--but that was part of the community involvement pulling together to try to combat some of that. And that was a time when we still had county fair here in Bristow, and I remember coming home with some cotton candy and my mother promptly throwing that in the trash because it could catch germs. Our father had homesteaded in, well he had come to Bristow following seven years of drought in the Burlington, Kansas area, and he was looking for something, greener pastures so to speak, and came down here and--on horseback and saw a friend and they were able to dig turnips on New Year' ; s day and he just knew this had to be the land of milk and honey, so he went back, being the middle of 13 children to a widow mother and made arrangements for the rest of the family and then came on down the next year in a wagon and homesteaded you might say, he bought some acreage ; this was before statehood, and he was able to buy acreage at that time and you had to prove it up, you had to make enough income off the land to be able to make your payments. So he was basically a farmer, but then in the 20' ; s, they hit--drilling company hit some oil on the farm and so he had an income off of that, and so he was able to prosper even more, wound up having a cotton gin and at that time, Bristow had six cotton gins-- DB: Woah RK: And three peanut mills, so we were agriculturally based in the economy. We weren' ; t manufacturing plants or anything of that nature. He--during the depression, the several of the banks in town failed or closed due to the economic situation, and he' ; d had two nephews follow him down here, Loren and Al Thompson (ph) and they were working in the American National Bank, and because it needed capital, just as banks do today, to keep from being closed down. And so they approached uncle Albert, our father, about investing in the bank to stay afloat. He did and subsequently became also a banker and also had the cotton gin and the--so he was a bit of an entrepreneur but before those two things happened, he had a general store at what today would be sixth and main, and he' ; d sell bread, everything-- DB: Everything RK: general stores sold back in those days, he and a gentleman named Conger (ph), Conger Kelly Grocery. He was blessed in many ways ; then in 1920, our mother Dorcas Barnum Tracey (ph) came to town to open the towns first hospital. This was in a time when you went to the hospital to die, but the--she worked for a, I would call him a society doctor in Tulsa, Doctor Reader (ph), also was the public registrar for the health department. And Bristow was experiencing an oil boom in the early 20' ; s and the doctors said " ; You know, they really need medical care in Bristow" ; so she came to town, she was what I' ; d call a women' ; s liver before a women' ; s limb, she had received her nursing degree from Ann Arbor, Michigan and had grown up in the Hominy area. She also had, while she was working in Tulsa, had rental property that she ran and managed, and so she came to Bristow, found a building, equipped it, they had the first hydraulic operating table in the state and she was making the rounds, calling all the doctors and saying " ; [Indecipherable] in town" ; . And remember, this was a time when Bristow was thriving, it was not unusual for offices to be up stairs on the second floor ; I can remember as a child, my dentist was on the second floor from building at seventh and main ; Dr. Fight (ph). So she was making the rounds, calling on the doctors to use her facilities, we can help your people get well, and many of them that are injured in these oil field accidents or farm accidents rather than relying on untrained family to try to nurse them through, and this is when she met our father. She called on the doctor, this one particular doctor, and she was ushered into his office and he was in there with another gentleman which happened to be my father, Albert Kelly, and the doctor kind of gave her a short audience and said " ; well come back tomorrow" ; and so she did, she came back the next day, and the doctor and my father were in there having a cordial you might say, and she--her comment was he again gave her kind of a short time to make her appointment and she said " ; Well doctor if I' ; d known you needed a bouquets" ; alluding to a brand of liquor known as four roses " ; I would' ; ve brought a bouquet" ; . And with that little bit of sass, needless to say my father' ; s attention was peaked and low and behold, the doctor had agreed to use that hospital. And after a courtship that was during a time when he went to the world cotton conference in Liverpool, England and toured the Europe and middle parts of Europe and the Middle East, brought back two stones from King Solomon' ; s mines, one of which was given to the Masonic Temple and the other one was in our garage here on twelfth street. And father being known as he was, was certainly pursued by other ladies, but mother was the only one he brought gifts back to. And it went from there to their marriage in Tulsa in 1921 and from that issued 5 boys spread over 19 years of which I was the youngest, and today I am the only one living. At the time of their marriage, mother was 24 and daddy was 47, but they were blessed and in turn became a blessing. RK: Some thoughts about Bristow growing up, we had progressed from the times of dirt streets to main street being paved with bricks, laid by hand. One of the gentlemen I knew as I grew up and became an adult, a gentleman called McKinley Shoals. And he was an African American but he was one of the individuals that helped lay those bricks. And it' ; s a little rough [Indecipherable] than you have today, it' ; s been covered over with asphalt, but made for a good solid street. The--what should I be telling you about? DB: Hm RK: Bristow of course when I was young, movie theater like I mentioned. There was a skating rink where a lot of times if you were lucky, you got invited to a birthday party at the skating rink. And we had--I can remember Bristow in the days of segregation, I can remember when Washington school, there were two grade schools, one for the blacks and one for the whites, it was on the east side of town and it closed and the two grade schools were integrated as well as on up. The city hall so to speak was located on the south east corner of 8th and main and you had the fire station, the police department, you had public segregated bathrooms, accessible from the outside, not of the best cleanliness most of the time, but they were segregated, and the courts system was upstairs, the city offices were upstairs, it was sort of a [Indecipherable] level so everything was in one little package there, and-- DB: On both sides of the street? RK: No just in one building DB: Oh RK: Those kind of three story building DB: Is there a parking lot there now? RK: It' ; s on the corner there DB: Across from Roots? RK: Up north of Kemp Drugs DB: Okay, there' ; s a parking lot there now RK: The--it was another useful item was, if we had a good sleet or ice storm or snow, was to go to 10th street, west 10th street and sled down the hill and that became quite a gathering for mostly young people, got some adults out there too. The--it was simpler times, you go camping, you go fishing, [Indecipherable] guys in the neighborhood or whatever. I was blessed to grow up here, and be influenced by some of the people that helped bring this community along. There were prominent citizens, the Joneses and others that were a part of the oil patch bonanza that happened in the area. My--some of my teachers--I' ; m sorry I' ; m bouncing around so much DB: That' ; s alright RK: I remember Mignon List was my first grade teacher, her Husband Wendell ran the Ford dealership here in town, the building is just across from the old public library, that would be 10th and main. The Bristow had a bowling alley, I remember when televisions was invented and came to town so to speak. I--we had a neighbor that had a TV and I got to go over and watch that TV, but in those times you didn' ; t really go to Tulsa much to do your purchases, so there were a couple of retail establishments on main street, and in the evening they would have the television in the window so people on the outside of the window at night could watch the television play. DB: Oh wow RK: And that was necessary advertisement for them. DB: Yes RK: With the elections coming up this year, that time was very common for the people running for office would hire a car run by Leon Davison (ph) at night time who would drive his car around with speakers on the top and extoll the virtues of the candidates that paid him to do that. And handing out little tokens, whether it was match strip covers or little sewing kits or what have you was fairly common. DB: Buttons RK: Yes, buttons little clip on buttons. Another thing that I remember from younger days in school: Christmas season, the local merchants would be selected to put up funds and school would let out and you' ; d march by classes or proceed by classes down main street to sixth and main where they would have a podium in the middle back off the street, podium in the middle about 12ft square built in the middle and probably 4ft high of stairs going up and they would--as your class got to the center of the intersection, you' ; d be handed a peppermint candy cane, it was probably 8 inches long and thickness of an inch probably DB: Wow RK: So big piece of candy, and in those days that was really a treat. And in the wrapping, it had a number and they would call out numbers and if they called your number, you could go up on stage and they would give you a prize DB: Oh wow RK: You know the merchants had been solicited for a pair of roller skates or a book or whatever. So that was usually a big event DB: Where was the school? RK: The schools are virtually, you had--you had Edison where it is now, but it was in an old building, Sanford Willis, a wonderful gentleman was our custodian. DB: And that' ; s where you would walk from to 6th and main that' ; s from the old Edison? RK: Yes DB: Okay RK: And, which was at 9th, 9th and main roughly, 8th to 9th. But there was also a school ; excuse me, back up I think the black grade school was Lincoln DB: Yes RK: It was Lincoln school, and Washington school is also on the east side DB: Yes RK: So those students would-- DB: Come RK: Would come, and-- DB: How many children about? RK: I have-- DB: A lot RK: [Indecipherable] DB: For your little--when you were young, it probably seemed like a sea of children. RK: Yes, it was a good size crowd and of course the adults would be there, those that could be away from work would be there to observe it, it was during the day. Western Heritage days was also a big draw to celebrate some of the early days of the Woodland queen is Bristow, we had a [Indecipherable] for a period of time, and-- DB: It' ; s almost that season again. RK: Yes DB: Western Heritage days, when did that begin? Do you remember when that began? RK: No I do not. I do remember a time I was going to ride my pony in the parade, I was again in grade school so not exactly a master of my fate. But I got on the pony, which I' ; ve had ridden [Indecipherable] and I was waiting for the parade to start and this was at about 11th and north main street. I was on my horse, other people were on their horses or pulling a wagon or whatever, and everything went fine until the band started to play, and my horse Tony (ph) took off DB: Oh no RK: And I--some good souls were finally able to get in front of the horse and stop him down in front of what was the old library. DB: Oh no RK: So, but I remember that one DB: Oh I bet RK: We had a bowling alley at one time. Garment factory was probably our first large industrial plant followed by carpet mill and some items like that. Weldon Gas (ph) has always been a great mainstay through the ups and downs of the industry. I remember in the 50' ; s when the toll road came through and one of the little [Indecipherable] over the toll road was that they were using dynamite to blast through rock formations to level out the highway access. Of course that broke a lot of plaster in homes around town so they had to deal with the legal ramifications of that. Occasionally, I' ; d get to go to the Silver Plunge, which was out at the city park at Bristow Swimming pool, and this was before it was--before the present pool and it was always enjoyable, while I didn' ; t get to go there very often but. Then [Indecipherable], memory for a lot of Bristow children. I remember other teachers of course. Dora Wolfe (ph) and Caroline Foster (ph), Jean Sampson (ph), many wonderful people that helped for a lot of youth. [Indecipherable] The Lebanese community, they had stores on main street some of them, there were shops, Doctor Yurman, he was a leader in the optometric world doctor, Clarks Good Clothes, he had a brother with Clarks clothing in Tulsa but he was here and he sold I guess you could say upscale men' ; s clothing mostly, that' ; s where you could get your boy scout uniform. But he was always interesting, Choora Paramen Cobbler (ph), Paul Wilslef (ph), Ricksol Drive (ph), all wonderful. On Sunday if--and this was again in the day before there was so much going on, if you had a visiting preacher in town, they' ; d usually wind up at our house after the service since there weren' ; t places to take them. You didn' ; t--most restaurants and places were closed on Sunday and even if they were open, there were not many of them. But one of the, there were two place, one was the J& ; J Beach Shop, which was I guess you' ; d call it today a little more upscale restaurant, and just down the street from that was the Hamburger King, and in the days of route 66 being the only main quarter from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, many people would stop at Hamburger king, they' ; d plan their trip to be able to stop there to get a sack of burgers and they always were good and just smell great coming out of that paper sack. So Bristow has been--you seen people go from the school system here and be success in their profession worldwide heading up organizations, doing good things, you' ; ve had a lot of good solid citizens here, what' ; s the old song, good folks and General people, they live in my home town. I was gone basically from--I went away to High school at New Mexico military institute and from there to college at West Minister college from Missouri where Churchill gave him Iron Curtain address, and from there to serve in the United States Army. And then worked for 15 years in for a bank in Oklahoma City prior to returning to town and working for America National Bank here, which today is Spirit Bank. Civic Clubs have always been a star work for Bristow, they are not as much in fashion to use a term as they were 50 years ago even, but they' ; ve done a lot in their wave for promoting Bristow, doing good, [Indecipherable] a vehicle for to [Indecipherable] of civic responsibility, and hopefully we' ; ll get back to that time when people are more, more civic minded than we allow ourselves to be today. DB: You' ; ve covered a lot ; I' ; m very pleased with the things that you brought to the table today. RK: A little disjointed perhaps, but-- DB: No not at all. When you were here, you went to church? RK: Yes, one of the stories told within the family was that, this was not too long after the turn pike was built, and it used to have manned tollbooth, a toll taker. And this person stopped at the tollbooth, paid his toll, and asked, he said " ; I' ; m coming to see the Kelly' ; s, you know where they' ; d be?" ; He said " ; Well, it' ; s Sunday morning, they' ; ll be in church" ; so we, we were again blessed to have a church, that was important to the family, and participated and did our share of teaching Sunday school and all the things that happen in a small town church, and that continues today. But first Presbyterian church was built I think in 1920, might have been 22' ; it' ; s on the cornerstone. And the several of the, everyone in the church helped participate in the funding, two of the notable ones were the Freeland family, Glenn who lived in the house immediately west of the Church, which still stands today, and his brother Glenn, they had been a very successful and had a little oil company from the oil boom days but had lost it in the depression. But they had participated quite a bit, and then predominately Mr. Rolleston (ph) who was one of these wild-catter types if you will, or oil people that had come to the area, and he had been bankrupt four times. He' ; d make a fortune then lose it one way or another, drilling dry holes or whatever happened. And the story is that he (Coughing) Excuse me, that he said " ; God, make me rich again and I' ; ll build you a church" ; . Well, God did make him rich again and he did contribute very successfully to the building of First Presbyterian Church. The--they had a architect I believe out on Saint Louis, they have this recorded, but the I believe it' ; s Carthage Limestone, Tiffany stained glass windows, and the first pastor that was called had come from the old Sod as they would say, he was from Ireland. DB: Oh RK: Ireland [Indecipherable], so many of the saints have come from. And, but he also had also been skilled in building, so he was not only a preacher, he was superintendent of construction. And as they started putting on the roof, he noticed they were not using the right materials, they were using galvanized nails. And the plans called for copper nails, so they had to take all the old galvanized down, and put it on properly with copper nails. DB: Absolutely RK: And I think that roof has only been replaced one time since then. DB: Oh wow RK: Entire roof. The Rolleston (ph) wound up committing suicide after he had lost his fifth fortune, and he lived on about 30 acres on the edge, on the north edge of town, which happens to be the house that I grew up in and was born in. The--I, being 19 years younger than my oldest brother, of course the older two brothers went to, served in the second world war, Albert in the navy, my brothers were Albert Charles, Forest Levan, Oliver Tracey, and Allison Asbury. Albert served in the submarine in the navy, Levan was in the army, he served in the pacific, Tracey served in the Korean war, Allison registered but his eyes were weak enough that he could not pass that part of the entrance, and then I served in the army during the Vietnam conflict and I was fortunate enough I did not see combat. And of course I' ; d gone through ROTC and things of that nature, we were all officers, so that' ; s marked each of us. The-- DB: So there were five Kelly brothers RK: Yes DB: And there still is a Kelly brothers? RK: Yes DB: What made that come up out? RK: Thank you for your question. Our, and I' ; m going to digress just a little bit DB: Oh okay RK: To [Indecipherable]. When we grew up, we had, when I was younger from the [Indecipherable] boys right in a row, we had about 8 years and another brother Allison and then I came home and got five years later, so with that spread and with the economics at the time, the old brothers were in that era when they had to milk the cows and stuff. We always chores when we came [Indecipherable]. Chickens or feed the dogs or whatever, mow the lawn, we always had chores and things to do whether that was our election or not. And, but my father died of cancer in when I was 4 years old, so I missed that influence but I also was blessed by having older brothers to fulfill part of that. But, so mother was left with raising five boys and a ranch to run because daddy had progressed from hog to cattle at that point, so she had all that to run plus the household. And it was not unusual for when there was a calf born and the mother might reject it, or there were some runt pigs, my older brothers would get the responsibility of hand raising them so to speak. And, but then when they became big enough to go to market, they got the proceeds and so that kind of established a bit of a pattern, and so at one point, we decided to call it Kelly Brothers and then under Oklahoma Law, you could not have a corporate farm at that time, you can today. So we incorporated as a legal entity and called it Kelly Brothers, our brand was 6k, which would be mother and the five boys, and it was centered primarily around our ranching activity, at one point we ran about fifteen hundred cows and my brother Levan kind of took that over when he came back from World War II, brother Albert took more of the financial side and the bank, and--but we continued to do family business DB: Yes RK: whether it was ranching, a little bit of oil and gas royalties, what can we do to make the town better, can we, you know, whether it' ; s working out deals to provide land for the airport or--our father was very, very much, I don' ; t know that humanitarian was quite the right word, but for instance: he provided land for a black cemetery, African Americans. This was at a time when they were not allowed to be buried in the Bristow Cities cemetery, but he provided land for them to have proper burials. He also provided one for indigenous people that were the county winds up with the responsibility to do something. That' ; s on west of 66, as is the black cemetery. Both still in use today, and but before that, our father provided land for what became known as the county poor farm. It was a two story sandstone building on some of the family property near our ranch headquarters west of town, and there was a producing well on it, and he provided the income from that to help support those individuals so that' ; s where after the depression, if you couldn' ; t-- DB: [Inaudible] RK: there was not a welfare system or anything of that nature at that time. And I' ; m going to digress again on another matter, our mother, as I say, came here to open the first hospital, and this was at--on main street across from the then public library and I' ; m not even sure which came first. But anyway, having been in Tulsa prior to that, she was still involved over there and when they had the race massacre in 21' ; , she left here to go up and get her orderly staff, the people that helped her provide nursing and care and so on, up there she went to the old fair grounds, not where they are today, but the old fair grounds to get them out of lock up and remember her last name was Tracey, and she said " ; I could hear them calling ' ; Ah Ms. Tracey save us' ; " ; and so she was able to go out there and common dear things and get them out of lock up, and get them to where they could: one, be safer and two, serve some of the medical needs at the time. DB: Wow RK: The, and she would also when things were not very much in season here in terms of fresh fruits and vegetables, she would drive to Tulsa and that started when part of the road was not paved. She would drive up there to get fresh fruits and vegetables for her patients. Now, you' ; d ask about Kelly Brothers ; we continue today to try to do things that are economically beneficial. One of the stories within the family is that, well, mother would show some sticks, and she said " ; watch this" ; and she could just break a stick. Well she said if you put these together, if you put five sticks together, it' ; s very hard to break them, and that kind of became the visual if you will of Kelly Brothers, is that together you can do more and support one another. DB: Oh that' ; s so good RK: More than being alone. Another [Indecipherable] is " ; If you wanna go fast, travel alone. If you wanna go together, you' ; d be more successful" ; , and so we have been blessed with the people that we' ; ve known, that have helped us ; we' ; ve had our adversities, but we' ; ve certainly had a large number of blessings. DB: Very blessed, and I am just amazed with the stories of your mother, what a tough, tough lady-- RK: She was DB: And, do you remember when she left her nursing? Did she ever retire or did she just keep--? RK: Well no, well she spent most of her time nursing five boys, because she-- DB: When they came RK: She was very, very resourceful in terms of providing medical care. DB: Hm, she ran that ranch when you lost your father RK: Yeah we, of course-- DB: Or the farm RK: I remember her being so sunburned one time, we were out branding and she was helping and fair skinned anyway, but she did that and her day to day was mostly running around. But then she got involved in politics, she was a republican national committee lady woman, and was very involved in the [Indecipherable] Eisenhower years, and then in the Dixon years, she was head of the Oklahoma delegation both years, national convention, etcetera. But we were instilled in being involved in politics, because that does influence a lot of what goes on, and church, and trying to do good for everybody involved. DB: Okay, well I' ; m gonna say thank you for all of your time talking to us ; we appreciate it and this is going to become an important part of the oral history archives for the museum RK: Thank you audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2020-06_Kelly,_Royce.xml OHP-2020-06_Kelly,_Royce.xml
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Royce Kelly
Description
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In this 2020 interview, Royce Kelly shares his experience growing up in Bristow. He discusses his family history and talks about the many influential figures and businesses throughout Bristow.
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OHP-2020-06
Date
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2020-07-22
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audio
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Bristow Historical Society, Inc.
Publisher
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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
banks
farming
hospital
Lincoln High School
polio
Poor Farm
Presbyterian Church
restaurants
segregation
statehood
stores
television
theaters
Tulsa Race Massacre
Washington School