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Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Joe Trigalet
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Mary Jane Trigalet
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https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml
OHMS Object Text
This field contains the OHMS Index and / or Transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable in Omeka
5.4 June 6, 2021 OHP-2021-21 Mary Jane Trigalet OHP-2021-21 00:00- 78:26 Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Mary Jane Trigalet Joe Trigalet MP3 1:|71(9)|87(7)|107(3)|123(2)|146(14)|156(13)|188(2)|208(14)|217(3)|234(1)|259(7)|271(1)|294(6)|317(4)|331(6)|346(12)|374(3)|399(12)|416(1)|431(6)|458(1)|471(15)|485(2)|535(5)|556(4)|588(13)|605(1)|617(3)|642(8)|656(10)|684(2)|704(2)|734(3)|747(16)|766(13)|783(11)|813(1)|846(2)|865(2)|895(7)|927(6)|945(3)|959(13)|988(6)|1009(1)|1031(2)|1042(4)|1056(3)|1073(10)|1090(8)|1106(6)|1123(9)|1148(2)|1166(5)|1184(9)|1207(3)|1225(3)|1246(9)|1278(2)|1308(2)|1326(1)|1347(9)|1368(9)|1378(13)|1401(5)|1418(11)|1433(15)|1464(9)|1491(14)|1517(5)|1536(8)|1558(5)|1594(7)|1647(3)|1674(5)|1686(7)|1710(7)|1724(11) 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/interviews/Mary Jane Trigalet.mp3 Other audio 0 Introduction MT: Now is it recording? JT: Yeah MT: Check JT: This is Joe Trigalet with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is June 6, 2021 and I’m sitting here with Mary Jane Trigalet who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area, and the workings of the garment factory. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow, Oklahoma ; Garment Factory ; Joe Trigalet ; Mary Jane Trigalet 30 Family History JT: So a few questions about you first, what was your name at birth? MT: Mary Jane Trigalet JT: And where were you born? MT: In Okmulgee, Oklahoma on August the 26th, 1942. JT: 1942, was that in home or hospital MT: In a hospital JT: And your parents’ names? MT: Was Jean Francois Trigalet (ph) and Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet (ph) JT: And when were they married? MT: They were married on May the 27th, 1939 Jean Francois Trigalet ; Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet ; Mary Jane Trigalet ; Okmulgee, Oklahoma 170 Garment Factory JT: And then, I forgot. Okay well thank you. Okay, now then, we were here—and this was my idea basically because I know that you worked a long time out at the garment factory MT: 19 Years JT: 19 years at the garment factory. Now first of all, did you work there until they closed down? MT: M-m JT: Oh okay MT: No, no they were going to come along—excuse me, they were coming along and cutting everybody’s wages, cutting their piecework’s. And they got to me after 19 years and were cutting mine back and they told me what my new rates were gonna be and already a lot of people had left the garment factory to go to work at the carpet plant. And so then I didn’t want to go work the carpet plant and I happened to drive by that Saturday morning and they were building the community bank drive in down by the railroad tracks and I thought “I know I can do anything they do”. So the next Monday, I left work early and went home, changed to look presentable, and walked into community bank and asked for an application. And the person I asked for the application was Billy Faha (ph), and he said “You wait right there and I’ll get that application for you”. Billy Faha ; Gossard Artemis ; Miss Elaine 1274 Pay Scale JT: Okay, so I was going to get to that, but first of all before I get there to talk about the— MT: Processes? JT: The, no the pay scale and how things worked MT: Oh that was, yeah so all these different processes there’d be a piece of kind of a thin cardboard, and all of the processes were, how was it. Let me kind of start over, okay so you had this piece of paper more or less about the size of a typing sheet, and it told what that was, the size of it and everything and then down below I think there were pins on, I think two rows, and they were little printed tickets. Anyway you snipped that off with your scissors and you had this stuff called paper tape, it was actually a big big roll of brown paper, like wrapping paper that was sticky. And so if you didn’t have a thing, a sponge to wet down, you licked them all. But anyway you wear them down and you stuck them on your paper and that’s what you turned in for your work, that’s what you did, how many of those you had on that paper. And that’s how you got, that was called piecework. 1822 Starting Work JT: Okay, so you worked there 19 years, and you talked a little about your pregnant and you stuck a needle through your— MT: Yeah JT: Why did you go to work there? MT: Well, it’s just like anybody else. You’re young and you’re getting a family and sometimes one income just doesn’t do it. And so you start looking around. JT: Okay so you were, you started looking around for a job. It wasn’t that you had a perplivity (ph) to do some sewing MT: No no cause it’s—there’s so much of it that you would not call basic sewing JT: No it was an assembly line 2221 Miss Elaine JT: And so you talked about—also, earlier you talked about the label, the Miss Elaine MT: Mhm JT: Were there other labels too or just the one Miss Elaine MT: Miss Elaine was it, now I think there was maybe a variation of what set on the label like luxury or I don’t know, [Indecipherable] JT: Yeah MT: And I don’t think I—did I ever tack on labels? They were just tacked on as the garment was finished, that was one of the final things I think. Some of those may have been put on before they were sewed, I really can’t remember that part. JT: Okay but it was all Miss Elaine? MT: It was all Miss Elaine Clarks ; Gossard Artemis ; Macys ; Miss Elaine ; Utica Square ; Zacs 2375 Packaging JT: Yeah, so all the jobs that you did, did you ever have to fold the garments and put them in the boxes? MT: No, I didn’t have to do that. But there were some people who could, and they were on piece work too, that folding and there were some people who could fold those really nice and put those right down in that box and like I think like the panties a lot of the time there’d be like three in a box. And of course the gowns and all that, they’d just be one. Then those boxes were all stacked up over and then the shipping department would out them into the bigger boxes for transporting out JT: Yeah, cases, cases of those little smaller boxes. It seems to me that someone had to pop those boxes into shape, that they would’ve come in flat and that someone would’ve had to— MT: Yeah if I remember right as you did it, I had one very good friend that was a folder and as you did it, you just took that box, you know, and you’ve seen these flat boxes, they have these little creases on there and everything. You’d just take that flat box and you’d flip it around, put your garments in it, flip the top around, and— JT: Right Marie Shelton 2513 Roles JT: Yeah, okay. Well, so you mostly did button holes and buttons MT: Tacking JT: And tacking MT: And the—I forgot about the bra straps actually, and yeah I did a few of those things. It was interesting though but especially when I think I was doing the tacking ; it was like almost [Indecipherable]. I used to sit there and write poems JT: Well I was gonna say a lot of times, and I learned this years and years ago, that people who like assembly line work, they like it because it’s repetitious and they can actually think of things MT: Oh yeah, you can—like I said I could’ve wrote novels. But I did write some poetry and what I used to write it on was that little brown sticky paper. And we all, most of us had our little radios with us and we listened to music and everything and, you know, nobody turned them up so loudly. Usually you could hear it right in your area. Because, you know, machines weren’t like stacked on top of each other, you had several feet in between 2861 Machine Malfunctions JT: Well did, maybe not your machine, but maybe your machine. Did they ever just break? MT: Oh yeah, we had two really good mechanics and I think actually there for a while there was three, and you put up a flag at your place and if you were having enough of a problem and they didn’t come soon enough, you got one of the four girls to go tell them what was going on because it was your downtime and if you wasn’t doing it, you wasn’t getting tickets. So you know, if you were down for 40 minutes, you could lose a lot of product there JT: Yeah MT: And so anyway, yeah it was—but they worked hard and they were— JT: Never had the machine just blow up on you or anything? 3079 Training JT: Okay, well did you ever, did you ever do things like dad did? Was there another plant? Was a Gossard plant that you would go--? MT: There were other plants, but I never had to go to one JT: You never had to? MT: No, I think maybe, maybe, especially some of the supervisors or something like that, and I’m not sure whether the technicians that did the timing and stuff if they ever went to other plants to see how well they were doing a certain process, I don’t know for sure on that. I just remember two different people that were [Indecipherable] of the technicians that worked with me and you know, of course when I was first started the first few years, no one ever come to time me for anything. But as I got into more and more doing different things and was doing good on that, then they come and time me. Gossard Artemis 3316 Seasons JT: And so what’s this—can you explain what the seasons were? MT: Well you were always way ahead of the seasons so you were making things that were for the winter, you were making those during the summer time, and then you would get back into making the thinner, finer things that would go out for the spring and all and that’s usually when you would start new styles and stuff, and then when it was gonna start on the winter stuff, you would have some new styles, sometimes the same styles and something else added JT: Well when you said that there were 75 to 100 per season, so did that, did they— MT: No I’m just saying during all those years, I think that the average would’ve been JT: Okay Brams ; Neiman Marcus ; Sharwood, PA 3682 Perks MT: So, yeah. And we could, we were given the option of ordering things JT: Oh from the other factory? MT: Well for any, we could look in the catalogue and order anything, we could order things that we made, and then a lot of people in Bristow knew that they would sell their left over cloth sometimes, and of course we were right there so we got first chance to get anything, and laces and stuff like that when they quit using a certain lace, they would, you know, you could go back and if you want some of it you could buy it, and it was pretty handy. JT: It sounds handy MT: And I think there’s some stuff of course as usual in any place like that that came out of there that wasn’t bought JT: Yeah 3860 Union JT: Was there any ever any talk of, or maybe it was, but was there a union out there? MT: Oh yeah we were union JT: Were you? Okay MT: Yeah, I get a small pension now because I was there 19 years and not a lot but it comes in every month JT: But did anybody wanna go on strike? MT: No I don’t think we ever did, there was one thing happened that one time and what was that? For some reason we did have to shut down and I don’t remember all of the reasons behind it, but we all actually got unemployment and they set it up to where this unemployment place would come and I think we went to that, you know up here on 10th street? That white building? At 10th and chestnut? 4075 Coworker Functions MT: Yeah I wished, I just happened to remember that too. There were things, there were things. But just, this is a part you won’t want to put in there, but when we had the dinners, we knew who made what and we knew who’s we avoided JT: [Indecipherable] MT: And there were two or three of those that we avoided, but there was some interesting food too, it was always good but still, yeah. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, we had to, you had to JT: Okay, well I’m not gonna ask—you know I really wanted to do this to get through how the garment factory worked MT: Yeah JT: And I think I’ve got pretty much a sense of the way things worked and the assembly line 4353 Family JT: So Bug [Indecipherable] MT: So you gonna edit that? You gonna put bug in there, are you gonna leave that? JT: Yeah I think so, I think I will. I’ll have to explain that, but— MT: Well you can explain that, you can explain the family thing and all JT: Yeah MT: You know? And just say this is my oldest sister and whatever JT: Yeah, yeah this is my oldest sister. My dad had a nickname for her, he called her Jane Bug because of the June Bug, and so that kind of got— MT: Actually no, he called my Betsy. And that got started from Janet, so Janet started calling me, couldn’t say Mary Jane so she said Mary Jane, and then my two brothers and my cousin decided it sounded like she was saying drain, so they started calling me drain bug. 4472 Radio MT: Well I can tell you another thing that you may not put in there or not. Anyway this one time we were—we always had our radios right there and one of my real good friends was across from me and she was one that did the hanging so we could chat back and forth a little bit, but always had the radio. Well I listened to this one station out of Tulsa, and one of the pizza companies was giving out these tickets, and then they had these drawings every day, maybe even more than one a day, I can’t remember it. Anyway, so we had our radios all tuned to this station so we could hear the numbers called. So we’d take our weekends and go to different pizza places in Tulsa and get tickets. So then instead of holding all tickets, we’d write our list of numbers down so we had this list of numbers. So this one time I had to go over to the IRS the day before, and really bugged me out even though it didn’t cost me a bunch or anything, but just the whole thing had been traumatic and bummed me out. Cherry Cherry ; Neil Diamond 4710 Conclusion JT: Well, thank you again for coming up here and doing this MT: You’re welcome JT: And we’ll end this now MT: Yeah you can [Indecipherable] JT: I probably will In this 2021 interview, Mary Jane Trigalet shares her experience working for the garment factory in Bristow. Interviewer: Joe Trigalet Interviewee: Mary Jane Trigalet Other Persons: Date of Interview: June 6, 2021 Location: Bristow, Creek County Oklahoma Transcriber: Abby Thompson Organization: Bristow Historical Society, Inc. Original Cassette Tape Location: OHP-2021-21 00:00 -- 78:26 Abstract: Preface: The following oral history testimony is the result of a cassette tape interview and is part of the Bristow Historical Society, Inc.' ; s collection of oral histories. The interview was transcribed and processed by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc., with financial assistance from the Montfort Jones & ; Allie Brown Jones Foundation. Rights to the material are held exclusively by the Bristow Historical Society, Inc. The reader should bear in mind that he or she is reading a verbatim transcript of spoken, rather than written prose. Insofar as possible, this transcript tries to represent the spoken word. Thus, it should be read as a personal memoir and not as either a researched monograph or edited account. To the extent possible, the spelling of place names, foreign words, and personal names have been verified, either by reference resources or directly by the interviewee. In some cases, a footnote has been added to the transcript in order to provide more information and/or to clarify a statement. Some uncertainties will inevitably remain regarding some words and their spellings. In these scenarios, a (ph) follows a word or name that is spelled phonetically. The notation [indecipherable] is used when the transcriber has not been able to comprehend the word or phrase being spoken. The notation [inaudible] is used where there is more mumbling than words, or when interference on the tape has made transcription impossible. MT: Now is it recording? JT: Yeah MT: Check JT: This is Joe Trigalet with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Societies ongoing oral history project. The date is June 6, 2021 and I' ; m sitting here with Mary Jane Trigalet who is going to tell me a little bit about her history in the Bristow area, and the workings of the garment factory. So a few questions about you first, what was your name at birth? MT: Mary Jane Trigalet JT: And where were you born? MT: In Okmulgee, Oklahoma on August the 26th, 1942. JT: 1942, was that in home or hospital MT: In a hospital JT: And your parents' ; names? MT: Was Jean Francois Trigalet (ph) and Margaret Ann Jidasco Trigalet (ph) JT: And when were they married? MT: They were married on May the 27th, 1939 JT: 1922, wasn' ; t it? MT: 1939 is when they got married JT: Oh when they got married, yes that' ; s right, okay. MT: You wanna say it all over again? JT: Okay, where did they meet and why did they come to Oklahoma? MT: My father was in Pennsylvania for the war effort cutting glass, that was his trade, he was an apprentice to my grandfather who was also a glass cutter. And they were in Pennsylvania and he actually met my mother at a skating rink. And I guess they were dating for about a year, close to a year and then she graduated from high school and they got married. JT: And why did they come to Oklahoma? MT: They came to Oklahoma to begin with because my father, being a glass cutter, came to work at the Okmulgee and Henrietta plants doing the same thing, cutting glass. And he wanted to come back to Oklahoma and still be in there in Pennsylvania. So anyway they came back with their first child, which was Steven, and they moved to Okmulgee where he had the job. And he worked there for several years and then he had an opportunity to come to Bristow and buy what was a bus station from Mr. Fullerton (ph). And so he took the opportunity, and so then we ended up in Bristow and at that time I was about three. JT: And then, I forgot. Okay well thank you. Okay, now then, we were here--and this was my idea basically because I know that you worked a long time out at the garment factory MT: 19 Years JT: 19 years at the garment factory. Now first of all, did you work there until they closed down? MT: M-m JT: Oh okay MT: No, no they were going to come along--excuse me, they were coming along and cutting everybody' ; s wages, cutting their piecework' ; s. And they got to me after 19 years and were cutting mine back and they told me what my new rates were gonna be and already a lot of people had left the garment factory to go to work at the carpet plant. And so then I didn' ; t want to go work the carpet plant and I happened to drive by that Saturday morning and they were building the community bank drive in down by the railroad tracks and I thought " ; I know I can do anything they do" ; . So the next Monday, I left work early and went home, changed to look presentable, and walked into community bank and asked for an application. And the person I asked for the application was Billy Faha (ph), and he said " ; You wait right there and I' ; ll get that application for you" ; . JT: So MT: So then I went to work there about three months later JT: Okay, and so when was that, when that happened? MT: 1983 JT: So that was 1983, how much longer was the garment factory open? Do you remember? MT: Oh, a few more years, I don' ; t really know exactly. But it had a lot of, not as much staff or anything, and then I believe the manager kind of took it over in some other kind of capacity instead of actually that company that-- JT: Who was that company? MT: I believe it got changed and all and I' ; m not even sure what it was. I' ; ve heard way back, but I remember it being as Gossard Artemis (ph) JT: Gossard Artemis (ph) MT: Artemis, and then it became Miss Elaine, so maybe it was still Gossard Artemis but the products we made were under the Miss Elaine label JT: Label, okay. Okay, we' ; ll get back to some other of that, but--so you were talking earlier about when they were starting to cut things and you were talking about the items and your rate, so can you tell me how that was structured? MT: Yes, all the way from what we call the back of the building to the front, everything was set up and everything processed through there. Started out on the huge, huge tables with stacks and stacks of fabric. And then there was a tall electric type knife thing that would cut through these, I don' ; t even know how many layers of fabric, it would be, oh a foot and a half tall or so. JT: Of fabric? MT: Of fabric JT: Just laying flat? MT: Laid flat, and I' ; m not--maybe it wasn' ; t, maybe it was a foot. But it was tall. JT: Mhm MT: And this knife, they had the pattern on there and they just went around and moved that around and cut off, cut what they needed just like any other pattern JT: And you--so the pattern cut through every layer of cloth MT: Yes, the knife. And one girl actually cut her finger, maybe two fingers off. And went to the hospital and they put it back on, and she had a crooked finger but she came back to work later and anyway. JT: So, so they had these stacked. I mean this is layers of fabric MT: Yes, yes. JT: And this, wow MT: And I never worked back in that part. But then they took that and they had to take each piece and they would take so many of each piece that went together to make the garment and it' ; d be wrapped up in a bundle. JT: Mhm MT: Everything that was needed. And then it started the back, it started certain processes and went from one group of sewers did one thing and then it moved up and went to the next one, and they' ; d do their thing, bundle it back up and throw it in the bin in front of them. And then the next people would get them and do their thing and it just kept coming up until it got to the front JT: Yeah, so the--if they threw it in the bin in front of them, then the next person would just turn around and pick one up out of the bin and then turn back around and sew it MT: Yeah and some of those got kind of heavy because a lot of times there was like a dozen garments in one, maybe even more than that some of the time. And they got, they were kind of heavy. But yeah they' ; d pick up the bundle and then they' ; d take it and lay it at their machine and start doing their thing. JT: Wow MT: And I mean it went from having, you know, the seams were made and sleeves were put in and, you know, all the little details and made some beautiful beautiful things and then it' ; d move on up until it maybe get lace added around it or somewhere the lace, they used a lot of lace on things, and then they' ; d get up and it' ; d be hemmed and then it would get on up there and if it something that needed button and button holes, that was mine, I did the button holes basically, I didn' ; t do that many buttons. But I can do anywhere from between 6-8 thousand button holes in a day just going through there. But I was good at it. But anyway, so then after it left me, it went to the inspectors, every garment was inspected. And if something came up looking wrong or something, it was taken back by runners to wherever it needed to go to get fixed. And you know, maybe there' ; d be a flaw in the material that was discovered for some reason, and if it had gone, you know, it was too hard to do, that just went into the seconds. But yeah everything was inspected. And then it went to, they used to do folding, they folded everything and they went to little flat boxes. Other people probably remember, the little flat boxes, little lingerie boxes and all that were just skinny, and so everything had to be folded and put in there wrapped in tissue and so it was all in boxes. And then they went to hanging them and they didn' ; t do the boxes anymore. JT: Well, so I want to go back to, because I have some questions about this whole process, but I know that in--now these were, I understand these were pretty high class garments that were being made MT: Oh yes, yeah these were in the finest stores JT: In the finest stores, well it seems like to me that in these fine stores, that the pattern on a blouse where the sleeve would meet the shirt or blouse MT: Yeah, yeah JT: That it matches, it would match. Did, maybe that was a later thing where people got a little more-- MT: Match of what? JT: The pattern, the pattern would be-- MT: Oh like it was a plaid or something? JT: Yeah MT: They usually, they were cuffed and laid, they were laid on the pattern to come out right. JT: Oh, they just did them, it was automatically the way they laid them out that they would come out that way MT: Yeah, yeah. Yeah but yeah that' ; s--that would be how they did it to match, it' ; d all be figured out by engineers and all that set these up with the new styles and all. And oh goodness, they made so many different different items, you know, and every year of course they' ; d come out with new things and they would change the process a little bit and get going on them. There was a lot of things JT: Well if, yeah it sounds like it. Did you ever do anything except button holes? MT: Yes, yes when I very first started, I actually sewed and I was nine months pregnant and due to have my baby any day and I put a needle through my finger and I kept saying " ; I don' ; t wanna go right now, I gotta do Christmas first" ; so anyway yeah, but yeah I did that sewing for a while and then I actually got to be--to where I could do several little things, I never did what they called the overlock machines, and not too much of the straight sewing. But as far as, you know, doing the buttons and the button holes and running the pairs and just, you know, helping out on the floor some and everything, I could do a lot of those different things. JT: Why did you not do the straight sewing? Was that not quite as a specialty kind of thing? MT: They just--that' ; s not where they needed me JT: Oh okay MT: I guess after I came back, I was out for what, six weeks or so, and I came back and I think almost immediately they put me into doing, they called it tacking and it' ; d be like tacking bra straps onto a bra or something, they called it tacking and it would reinforce seams. So I did that a lot I think even before I started doing the button holes. But the button holes were tricky JT: Okay, we' ; ll get to them, but I guess I' ; m a little more interested in-- MT: The sewing part? JT: The sewing part, yeah because--but you didn' ; t really do any straight sewing. MT: I didn' ; t do that much straight sewing, like I did--at first I was, I was doing something I can' ; t really remember exactly what parts I were sewing, but they had so many different styles and maybe you might work on one type of garment for a while and then later the day or even a day or two later you' ; d be into something else that was maybe a nightgown or a robe or a heavy winter robe and stuff like that, it changed. JT: Did they make blouses and dresses and all kinds of stuff? MT: No it was all lingerie JT: Oh it was all lingerie, okay. MT: It was bras and panties and robes and little gowns, and like I said winter type things too and sometimes some flannel gowns and, you know, they made sets, things that matched each other. Like you' ; d get a robe and a gown matched and different things like that JT: Oh okay, and so--how many of the, back to the beginning of this where they cut the material MT: Mhm JT: And they had the foot layer of material, how many cutting tables did they have? MT: If I remember right, they had maybe three and if anybody' ; s ever seen the building, those cutting tables went at the back end pretty close to cross the width of the building JT: So they were big tables MT: They were long, long tables and wide, I can' ; t say exactly how, but they were tall, they weren' ; t like card table length or anything or even dinner table, they were taller. I don' ; t remember that they-- JT: Work table, a work table MT: yeah, yeah. But those tall knife things, I saw them do it a few times, I never did that. But the electricity came from the top down to the knife and it just, it just went through there and yeah. I mean they did a good job, I mean they were even, I mean the cutting never looked hacked up or anything like that. JT: Hm, and so if someone had--let' ; s leave the lid off of that, it won' ; t crinkle so much while we' ; re capturing it on--the, so how long would it take for a person to get through cutting out the pattern for one garment? MT: Well you know I don' ; t know as much as you can say because the way they laid those out, they were often times, there wasn' ; t, you know, they may have all fronts in one area and all backs in an area, all sleeves in one area, or something, so I don' ; t know. But I mean you could imagine those tables and even the biggest pieces for a nightgown were, what, five foot by three foot or something like that, you know, and they would just lay it on there. JT: But when a person got, would a person that was cutting out these patterns, would they go through one set of material, the twelve inches thick of material MT: Uh-huh JT: And then that would all get bundled up MT: Uh-huh JT: And then would they cut out more the same day? MT: They could, yeah JT: So that--they wouldn' ; t cut one time and that would be the whole thing MT: It depends on what--how many they were intending to make. But yeah most of these came through when they started on a new garment or something, they' ; d come through for weeks and weeks the same garment, the same sets of garments. JT: And really so what I' ; m trying to understand is the person doing the cutting, was it an 8 hour job to cut one pattern out through that whole-- MT: I don' ; t know how long it took, I was never actually back there. I just mostly, when I was doing some of the running and stuff, because I usually worked up towards the front in the finishing part, so I never really got to watch that very often. JT: Okay, okay. MT: I would' ; ve, it was interesting, it was JT: So they have the-- MT: I think there were three, seemed to me like there were three people that did that, cutting that I knew of, maybe there were three tables, I' ; m not sure how exactly that was back then JT: Okay, and then when that left, it went to the first set of sewer. How many, I' ; m imaging this as long rows of people doing the same thing MT: Uh-huh, yes JT: The first is sewing and then they throw it in a basket in front and then another row of people with their machines and they turn around and get stuff out of the basket and do their thing and throw it in front MT: Yeah they were big, big-- JT: How many people in a row, how many sewers-- MT: Well sometimes the rows, depending on what they were working on, sometimes the rows has more in them and sometimes they had less because a lot of it had to do with, like, if they were working on big robes and all, things had to have more room, you know, especially the big puffy ones and quilted and all that kind of thing. So things changed around but I don' ; t know, like in the section where I did some button holes, and sometimes they moved things, rearranged, but I' ; d say there were maybe three or four button hole machines lined up and those didn' ; t have to have a lot of space between them. So then there was the panty department was over to my right at one time anyway, and of course theirs all came from the panty department, it didn' ; t take that much to do them so basically they were made--maybe, I don' ; t know I' ; m guessing 8 -- 10 people that were maybe doing different things to the panties, you know, putting it together then adding the lace and the elastic and stuff like that. JT: Oh and so that was from getting the pattern material after it was cut out MT: Yeah [Indecipherable]-- JT: [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah it didn' ; t have to start at the back because there wasn' ; t that many processes so it didn' ; t have to start at the back. JT: Yeah MT: But, and they had--it was interesting, we had people come by to take tours and watch us and I had little kids that were really fascinated when I was putting on those buttons and those button holes, but there was a process and it didn' ; t take that long to really do it. You went through that stuff JT: Yeah, I can imagine that would, especially when you' ; re doing the button holes and there' ; s a machine there doing it, then you' ; re-- MT: You have to measure them, you have to pull it out like you' ; ve got a garment in your hands and of course most button holes and things are in odd numbers, they' ; re gonna be, you know, five or seven or something. But anyway you put the first button hole where it belongs and then you stretch, you pull the material to the left to a certain area, so a certain marking and then you do the next one and then you pull it and then you keep on until you get that and then you stack them back up and you throw them over on your table and then you get them all together and rolled up and bundle them up for the next person. JT: Wow, okay MT: Yeah JT: Hm, interesting. And how many of you were making button holes? Three? MT: Yeah probably something like that because some of us that did the button holes also did the buttons. JT: Okay MT: And there was, you know, and though the button machines were real close to where the button hole machine was, and I don' ; t know, it was, what can I say? It just went JT: It is-- MT: But these people, I don' ; t know, everybody was good and friendly. Every once in a while considering you had that many mostly women that were in this building, every once in a while there was some ruckus going on, but basically yeah it was good, we had dinners now and then and you know, for occasions and celebrate peoples' ; birthdays and joked around some and all but you know, if you wanted to be there to work, you stayed at your machine and you didn' ; t take a lot of breaks. You know, and then that paid off for you. JT: Okay, so I was going to get to that, but first of all before I get there to talk about the-- MT: Processes? JT: The, no the pay scale and how things worked MT: Oh that was, yeah so all these different processes there' ; d be a piece of kind of a thin cardboard, and all of the processes were, how was it. Let me kind of start over, okay so you had this piece of paper more or less about the size of a typing sheet, and it told what that was, the size of it and everything and then down below I think there were pins on, I think two rows, and they were little printed tickets. Anyway you snipped that off with your scissors and you had this stuff called paper tape, it was actually a big big roll of brown paper, like wrapping paper that was sticky. And so if you didn' ; t have a thing, a sponge to wet down, you licked them all. But anyway you wear them down and you stuck them on your paper and that' ; s what you turned in for your work, that' ; s what you did, how many of those you had on that paper. And that' ; s how you got, that was called piecework. JT: Oh okay, so when you got a garment, you got a robe and you had to put seven button holes on it, is that one of those little pieces of-- MT: No that bundle comes with its own paper JT: That bundle comes with its own MT: So whatever is in that bundle, the paper reflects how many is in that JT: Okay so you pull that one off and then you wet it and you put it on yours-- MT: Yeah, you put it on your paper JT: On your, yeah and you called it piecework, okay MT: Yeah JT: Yeah, okay. MT: That' ; s how you got paid for like, you know if you had a dozen in this one or some of them that were like thinner material could be a dozen and a half, the biggest heaviest robes a lot of times were only six in a bundle because, you know, they' ; re big and heavy. JT: But each one of those robes had the-- MT: Each bundle JT: Each bundle MT: Each bundle had this-- JT: Oh it was per bundle MT: this cardboard with it per bundle and as you did your bundle, you know your one ticket' ; s gonna cover everything you did in that bundle JT: In the whole bundle MT: In the whole bundle JT: Got it MT: So like I said, you worked and then you just kind of threw it over to the side flat and when you got done, they were kind of restacked and you went from one side to the other side by pulling it across your lap and-- JT: Did you have to wrap it back up into the bundle? MT: Yeah then you rolled it back up JT: You did, okay MT: And there was a cordlike string stuff that they used. One string, it was more of a--just a fabric type something that you rolled it up-- JT: [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: and yeah you just rolled it back up then you tossed it in the box in front of you and the boxes were big, they could probably hold, I don' ; t know, 20 or 30 bundles at a time even because they would be, oh probably three-foot-deep and four to five feet in width and maybe, I' ; m guessing 8 or 9-foot long JT: Wow MT: So yeah, so you had these big boxes and you tossed them for the next person to pick them up and go on with it JT: That' ; s, it' ; s an assembly line MT: It is, it' ; s an assembly line. That' ; s exactly what it is. It was interesting JT: So if you were making, if you were doing six to eight thousand button holes a day, let' ; s say that--I mean that' ; s a thousand garments a day say if they had five or seven button holes. MT: Yeah I mean it was, maybe I' ; m off by a big bunch on that button hole thing because if you have one bundle of a dozen and you' ; re--yeah I may be off, it maybe it was 60 thousand. I can' ; t remember, I remember I figured it one time. How many fabrics I did JT: I thought you were gonna say you were overestimating, but you' ; re saying you' ; re underestimating MT: I' ; m probably underestimating ; I cannot remember exactly how. But I mean I would' ; ve done more than 10 or 12 bundles in a day. The button holes went fast JT: So a bundle would have a hundred garments in it? MT: No, a bundle could have a dozen, depends on what material it was. JT: Okay MT: How heavy it was, they could have a dozen, they could have a dozen and a half JT: I see, okay. MT: I guess there were some maybe come--the panties usually had I think two dozen or something JT: Yeah MT: But I didn' ; t work those much, I did tacking on them though. So when you had an overlock string that was left, that wasn' ; t actually looped in that were a stress point, that' ; s when you tacked and you made this little zigzag tack the machine wouldn' ; t do anything else except do that, I mean it was designed just for that. JT: Oh okay, and you' ; re just feeding the garment into it MT: You just put what you want tacked under it just like you would if you were putting a button on it, you' ; d just stick it under there and do it and go to the next one and go to the next one and-- JT: Yeah, it' ; s an assembly line MT: The other thing that I did was, [Indecipherable], the other thing that I did for a while, we made bras. And so I had this process that I would, I can' ; t think of the word. You take these bra straps and this machine held those little metal brackets and you had to feed these through a certain way to get the bra straps made. I mean, you had these long thin pieces of a ribbon type material and then the one end would be--had been sewed across, I' ; d done that one too, and you would take these little tiny pieces of strap and you' ; d fold it up and it' ; d go through your machine. And what you did, you just kept going, you just didn' ; t do one and cut it off. You just fed one then you fed another and a lot of the processes in the back were the same thing. You fed what you did and the stitching, the thread actually held on and did the next one and then you went through when you finished, clipped them all apart. JT: Okay MT: It was, yeah kind of forgot kind of about that part but yeah. A lot of them it' ; s just like those little strap things and then you' ; d go and you' ; d then, depending on which job you were doing, you' ; d feed those through these little metal things, and they still do, and it was pretty interesting and depending on how fast you got on that, you' ; d know how much you could make. JT: Yeah, Okay. And so you were saying earlier about the pay scale and the way they counted, they had the counting system, which were the little tabs that you took off MT: Mhm mhm. JT: The bundle and stuck it onto your tally thing MT: Yeah, and you knew, you kept your own tally of what you done for a day and you had it down in your little book and so when you got your check and it showed what you' ; d done, if it wasn' ; t right you could take of it. JT: Okay MT: And you did JT: And so was there a pay scale of--was it different based on maybe the material you were gonna do? MT: Well they--that was set up by a technician who came by and a lot of times on my jobs, because I worked at a steady pace, and kept things going and a lot of the times I would be the one that they timed to set a rate and it' ; d be so much for whichever job that that happened to be. But I was timed a lot of the times on just about every job I ever did, I was timed on. But they had to have somebody who was consistent and-- JT: Didn' ; t they have quotas that they expected you to do so much? MT: Yeah, they wanted you to do so much and you know, if you fell behind well then the next person' ; s gonna fall behind. But there were still people who liked to take long coffee breaks with their thermostats, you know, in the bathroom so-- but I thought, you know, how do you make any money if you' ; re gonna go in there and spend 20 minutes a day. Of course, if you' ; re fast enough, you' ; re probably gonna make your quota and you' ; ve got that time if that' ; s what you wanna do, so yeah it was work, it was work, but I can still remember it. To me, it was enjoyable to try to beat your own rate or something. Yup, it' ; s a challenge. JT: Okay, so you worked there 19 years, and you talked a little about your pregnant and you stuck a needle through your-- MT: Yeah JT: Why did you go to work there? MT: Well, it' ; s just like anybody else. You' ; re young and you' ; re getting a family and sometimes one income just doesn' ; t do it. And so you start looking around. JT: Okay so you were, you started looking around for a job. It wasn' ; t that you had a perplivity (ph) to do some sewing MT: No no cause it' ; s--there' ; s so much of it that you would not call basic sewing JT: No it was an assembly line MT: Uh-huh, and I loved it, I always loved to sew and make my own clothes and stuff, but that was not like that. JT: But did you think it was going to be when you went and applied? Did you think you were going to be sewing? MT: No I really didn' ; t know what to expect, but when you had to apply, they put you down to a sewing machine with a piece of paper with some, like, squiggles and curves and straight lines and all and that' ; s what they looked at if you could do that pretty well you could get hired. But if you went all over the place and couldn' ; t follow those lines, forget it. JT: Well that' ; s interesting MT: Yeah it was, that was like besides the application, that was about the only real thing you had to do as I can remember. JT: Yeah because being in an assembly line it seems like you' ; re just moving the material to the machine and the machine' ; s doing all the work. MT: Well you have to guide it, there' ; s the actual sewing part but you have to do a lot of guiding JT: Okay MT: Just like when I' ; m doing the button holes or something, I' ; ve gotta move it a certain length across there and then keep going. So yeah, and the buttons the same thing. You would just, you moved it over a certain length, so it was all--yeah, that' ; s, you had to know how to follow those lines, especially if you were doing the sewing part. JT: Yeah MT: And most everybody I think started out on the sewing parts, that would seem to me if I could remember right that' ; s a lot--and a lot of people stayed in that and that' ; s what they did all the time was the sewing. JT: Yeah, okay. MT: Yeah JT: So do you remember when you started? MT: I started in something like March or April of 1964 JT: And how old were you? 22? 21? MT: Hm, 1964, yeah I was-- JT: 21 and 8 months MT: Probably 21, going on 22. JT: Yeah MT: That sounds about right. JT: [Indecipherable], Okay. Did they, did they have things like team leads or bosses of an area? MT: Oh yeah there were bosses in different areas that helped you, you know, if you needed help and make sure things are going smoothly and everything and yeah different sections had different people. Now I mean there wasn' ; t like one person sitting there watching buttons and button holes and stuff like that, but you had someone that made sure things got, you know, flowed through right and everything. And some really good supervisors and stuff and I was even doing that for a while on some things, you know, just to make sure things were working right. JT: Yeah, okay I was wondering if you ever did that. MT: Yeah, like I said I ran the floor, I wasn' ; t really a supervisor per say, I just, you know, if someone, if they needed me to do something I did it, that' ; s all there was to it. If I could do it, I went and did it so. JT: Okay, so--yeah I thought, sitting here thinking about how an assembly line worked like that, is that you would have someone, not a supervisor, but maybe a team leader MT: No I don' ; t know of anything like that, you kind of just did your own part and I guess if you fell behind and didn' ; t do enough, then you maybe had a talking to or something, you know, if you couldn' ; t keep up the work that needed to be done, like I said it had to go to the next person. JT: Did you ever get a talking to? MT: I don' ; t think I did JT: Did you admit it? MT: My talking to was when they were gonna drop my raise, that was me talking. JT: So, yeah that' ; s kind of interesting that the way that would happen. See, to me that typically when someone they are entry level in a position, that they' ; re paid entry level wages or entry level rates. And then as they get better and more productive, they get higher rates and-- MT: I think there was probably a minimum wage that you would do hourly, but basically it was the piece work. Now there were people who some of them who didn' ; t do piece work that didn' ; t even have the tickets or anything, they just had a job that they did for so many hours. JT: Okay MT: And yeah I mean there were some that were at that JT: Yeah, okay. And so I guess where I' ; m--what I' ; m thinking about now is if people started getting hired to go out to the carpet factory, it seemed like did the orders start, did they start losing orders out there? Or-- MT: Well JT: Because it, they could' ; ve just hired other people and kept them the same-- MT: Yeah, and they were still hiring at that time, but mostly they weren' ; t because the carpet factory had come in and there they were cutting out rates. It was just like me when they got to me, but they started I think towards the back and, of course I was towards the front, and by the time that they got to me, there had been a lot of people had left. JT: And typically if a company wants to keep a worker, they' ; d pay more. MT: Yeah JT: They don' ; t come and say [Indecipherable] MT: No, no. JT: That' ; s weird MT: And they were cutting every bodies rates JT: Huh MT: I mean, they felt like with the price of what they sold these things for and all and how much it cost to get them through there, they--maybe they felt like they had to and maybe that' ; s eventually what happened. But of course this was American made, American rates, and then you realize what started happening with all the stuff coming in from all the other countries, it just kind of blew it all apart. JT: And so you talked about--also, earlier you talked about the label, the Miss Elaine MT: Mhm JT: Were there other labels too or just the one Miss Elaine MT: Miss Elaine was it, now I think there was maybe a variation of what set on the label like luxury or I don' ; t know, [Indecipherable] JT: Yeah MT: And I don' ; t think I--did I ever tack on labels? They were just tacked on as the garment was finished, that was one of the final things I think. Some of those may have been put on before they were sewed, I really can' ; t remember that part. JT: Okay but it was all Miss Elaine? MT: It was all Miss Elaine JT: But different quality items MT: But before I started it was called I think Artemis, Gossard Artemis (ph) from way way back, and then somehow it went to Miss Elaine JT: [Indecipherable] MT: I think that was actually after I started that it went to being Miss Elaine JT: Yeah, the garment factory itself started operating in Bristow in the mid to late 50' ; s, didn' ; t it? So when you went to work for them, it was already-- MT: It was probably earlier than that. Well, I don' ; t know. JT: I' ; ve seen some pictures that show the garment factory in [Indecipherable] MT: I don' ; t really know, it was, it was quite a few years before I started because there had been some people who had been there already, I don' ; t know, 12 or 14 years I think when I started. JT: Okay, okay. And the Miss Elaine label, what stores carried that brand, that label? MT: Whatever there was back then, mostly it' ; d be exclusive stores, you know JT: High end MT: Yeah, and like the Macys maybe, what' ; s the big one in Chicago, and then there' ; s Zac' ; s and then there' ; s I don' ; t know. Yeah, that' ; s where they went to. JT: Wow MT: That' ; s where they went to, these were well made made in America and all this, you know. JT: And I heard that Clarks in-- MT: Clarks had them, yeah. Clarks was one of the big ones, yeah JT: Utica Square MT: Yeah, and Clarks even when they were just downtown JT: Oh MT: Before they even did Utica Square in the early 50s, I think they already had one the way I understand. JT: Wow, okay. MT: Of course I wasn' ; t there then, but just the different things I heard JT: Yeah, so all the jobs that you did, did you ever have to fold the garments and put them in the boxes? MT: No, I didn' ; t have to do that. But there were some people who could, and they were on piece work too, that folding and there were some people who could fold those really nice and put those right down in that box and like I think like the panties a lot of the time there' ; d be like three in a box. And of course the gowns and all that, they' ; d just be one. Then those boxes were all stacked up over and then the shipping department would out them into the bigger boxes for transporting out JT: Yeah, cases, cases of those little smaller boxes. It seems to me that someone had to pop those boxes into shape, that they would' ; ve come in flat and that someone would' ; ve had to-- MT: Yeah if I remember right as you did it, I had one very good friend that was a folder and as you did it, you just took that box, you know, and you' ; ve seen these flat boxes, they have these little creases on there and everything. You' ; d just take that flat box and you' ; d flip it around, put your garments in it, flip the top around, and-- JT: Right MT: Generally, they weren' ; t the attached tops that I can remember though, they were separate JT: Separate, yeah that' ; s [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: And you know, I didn' ; t do that part so that' ; s just what I saw JT: Yeah MT: Oh but she was fast JT: I would imagine you' ; d have to be fast if you got-- MT: The thing about it was, you may want to put this in or maybe not, but that was Marie Shelton and she had that arthritis in her hands so her hands were getting-- JT: And it was from all that? MT: It could be from all that, but she just got--she just kept at it and then I' ; m not sure how many years that they were still doing the folding, a few years, and then they went to the hanging. But I can' ; t remember exactly hanging went--might have been quite a few years before, I can' ; t remember. But yeah, then they went to the hanging and you know I don' ; t know exactly what they did, they put plastic bags over them. You know, each one had its plastic bag, and then from there they went to the shipping department and I' ; m not sure how they--if they just laid so many in each big box or how they did that really. JT: Yeah, okay. Well, so you mostly did button holes and buttons MT: Tacking JT: And tacking MT: And the--I forgot about the bra straps actually, and yeah I did a few of those things. It was interesting though but especially when I think I was doing the tacking ; it was like almost [Indecipherable]. I used to sit there and write poems JT: Well I was gonna say a lot of times, and I learned this years and years ago, that people who like assembly line work, they like it because it' ; s repetitious and they can actually think of things MT: Oh yeah, you can--like I said I could' ; ve wrote novels. But I did write some poetry and what I used to write it on was that little brown sticky paper. And we all, most of us had our little radios with us and we listened to music and everything and, you know, nobody turned them up so loudly. Usually you could hear it right in your area. Because, you know, machines weren' ; t like stacked on top of each other, you had several feet in between JT: And did the machines make a lot of noise? MT: Some of them did JT: Yeah, I can imagine they did MT: Some of them did, but it wasn' ; t like the tremendous amount of noise, you know, it wasn' ; t. JT: Okay MT: Yeah, it was-- JT: Was there a lot of movement of the workers from one section to the other? MT: Yeah because a lot of the people had been there long enough that they did different things, and if they need someone else to go up and do something different, you know, they' ; d move them. Like, like if someone was--some of the processes where you almost sewed the whole garment together, then it went on to get finished. But there were a lot of people who could switch off and go do different things, and the people who did the hemming and stuff, there were quite few of them and those little rolled hem things, I mean they can throw those things through there and it just-- JT: The machine did that though, [Indecipherable] MT: Yeah you just had to-- JT: Guide MT: Guide the material through JT: Yeah MT: But you know, if you didn' ; t you' ; re gonna have big old chunks taken out where--there were a few things like an overlock machine, that most people don' ; t know, maybe they do. [Indecipherable]. Anyway, the overlock machines, that cut off the edge of the material. If you ever looked at some of your things that are sewed, well you see these, there' ; s no real seam, there' ; s just this little tiny edging that holds the material together. Well that' ; s an overlock machine, and that cut off material as it did, and so yeah if you went the wrong way, you could mess things up pretty good. JT: Mhm MT: And that' ; s why ever once in a while you realize that you try on something, one fits different than the other, and it may have been the same size starting with, but it may have got adjusted a little bit unknowingly. But most of the time the inspectors, when they were inspecting, they could notice things like that that were really a flaw, you know, and they wouldn' ; t, they' ; d just pull it out. But it was interesting. JT: I' ; ve also wondered why that happened, because that happens to me, I don' ; t know, it seems like a lot. MT: Yeah, oh yeah. There' ; s different things that you could try on JT: Blue jeans and things like that MT: Yeah, the very same size. I remember I was in the store one time and I went to try on a pair of blue jeans and I couldn' ; t even get my foot through the leg, it was so narrow. And that was before they had narrow leggings. I thought whoa, this one go taken care of. No wonder it was in the seconds. But yeah, it' ; s, that can happen real easy. So I never did overlock, I never did that one at all. JT: What size is your foot? I' ; m just kidding MT: My foot JT: So, okay have we kind of been through the workings of the garment factory? I mean is there something that I didn' ; t get to to ask you about? MT: Well I' ; m trying to think of what, I mean yeah there is probably some things, I don' ; t know exactly what, I mean like I said we all, we all got along really well. There were a few things, there were some jealousies going on and just different things could happen, and people would get kind of nasty. I had, maybe y' ; all will put this in, but I had one girl that, she was jealous because I made so much money, I made way more than her. She was doing the same job, and there was two of them and they were behind me. I even stepped back and showed them a better process, something--they were never doing the same process, but better way to move it or handle it or something to try and help them speed up. Then as soon as I' ; d sit back down at my machine, they were laughing behind my back because they slowed me down. So then this one, she would--she was behind me but a little bit over to the right and she would start asking me about my boys who played sports and how they were this and that and how they were doing and different stuff so I turned around and visited a few minutes. Well then they' ; d laugh because they slowed me down, they thought. It didn' ; t slow me down much ; I' ; d just go that much harder. JT: Well did, maybe not your machine, but maybe your machine. Did they ever just break? MT: Oh yeah, we had two really good mechanics and I think actually there for a while there was three, and you put up a flag at your place and if you were having enough of a problem and they didn' ; t come soon enough, you got one of the four girls to go tell them what was going on because it was your downtime and if you wasn' ; t doing it, you wasn' ; t getting tickets. So you know, if you were down for 40 minutes, you could lose a lot of product there JT: Yeah MT: And so anyway, yeah it was--but they worked hard and they were-- JT: Never had the machine just blow up on you or anything? MT: Yeah, never had them blow up, I did have--one thing I had was the button pole machine was, they couldn' ; t get it to not skip and sometimes I' ; d see those button holes and as I' ; d finish I said, you know, it had a skip spot in it or something. Then I' ; d have to take that button hole and recenter that and try to hit it back in the very same place cause when that button hole was made, it also cut the hole. The knife came down and cut it just as it was made, so if I had to redo one, which I did redid a lots of them. Anyway, I had to try to set that where you couldn' ; t tell that it' ; d actually been sewed over, and if it was bad enough, I had to pull the thread, but if you pull the thread, then the material didn' ; t have--it was kind of looser right there. So when you tried to go around it, it lot of time didn' ; t look any good anymore so, yeah it was--so anyway, that was part of the timing. When I was having a lot of problems with that, I' ; d get him to come out there and retime me I said and just, you know, stand here for two hours and watch what I do, watch how many times I have to redo these things, so that made a difference on my timing. JT: Yeah MT: So I' ; m sure other people did kind of the same thing, you know, if there was something that was troublesome they kept having a problem with some certain something. But that button hole machine, that was, I don' ; t know, probably would be the worst for that, as far as having to redo something that quick. But yeah, it was-- JT: You never got a button hole needle to the finger, did you? MT: No I didn' ; t get that thing, I' ; m glad I didn' ; t get that thing. But yeah that needle went right down through my finger and I was sitting there looking at it. Of course when you do it, you automatically jerk, so I mean it had broke it off when I jerked and there it was JT: Was there thread in it? MT: No, no I don' ; t think there was thread in it. There was a lot of threads came through that you had to keep it threaded, but when I got it off, no there wasn' ; t, but I don' ; t think anyway. But I think they sent me out to the emergency room and had that, or maybe they just pulled it, I can' ; t even remember for sure. I just didn' ; t wanna have my baby yet because it was two or three days before Christmas and I had babies at home JT: You thought that was going to put you into labour? MT: Well yeah, and then it ended up that--cause Mikey was actually due on Christmas day, he was three weeks late. So there it was, almost Christmas day when that happened and I mean I just did not want to have him be in the hospital away from Steve [Indecipherable]. So yeah, it kind of shook me up a little bit. JT: Okay, well did you ever, did you ever do things like dad did? Was there another plant? Was a Gossard plant that you would go--? MT: There were other plants, but I never had to go to one JT: You never had to? MT: No, I think maybe, maybe, especially some of the supervisors or something like that, and I' ; m not sure whether the technicians that did the timing and stuff if they ever went to other plants to see how well they were doing a certain process, I don' ; t know for sure on that. I just remember two different people that were [Indecipherable] of the technicians that worked with me and you know, of course when I was first started the first few years, no one ever come to time me for anything. But as I got into more and more doing different things and was doing good on that, then they come and time me. JT: Yeah, who trained you? MT: Who trained me? JT: Who trained? Who trained? MT: Well, if you went to a new job, you kind of just watched what they were doing and you were kind of showed that way the person who' ; s already doing some of them, you just kind of watch them and then you sit down and try it for a little while and then you went after it JT: That' ; s when you did it, okay MT: Yeah, I mean it--most of it, it didn' ; t take a whole lot of training to do that or anything JT: Okay, yeah. MT: Yeah, you know especially since usually it was just like one more or less process, two at the most. Now doing these buckles on these bra straps, that was intricate because there had to be a certain way that you did this and this and this, and you had a foot thing or something that would raise them up and down, I don' ; t remember how that worked. But man, I could fly through those things, they were--it was interesting though. JT: Could you do six thousand buckles a day? MT: I don' ; t know how many I did, but I did a bunch JT: Did you really? MT: Yeah because you know, here you got a stack of bras coming through but there' ; s gonna be two of these straps reach one and then you had the longer ones and the shorter ones I think, no I think most of them just had the one. They had it one time did some double or something. But anyway, it was--that was, and it was one time James, sometimes those little buckles down in this little tube they would jam up, so I took and I banged it into my hand and I tore up some tendons in my hand, I hit it that hard. I had some pretty good pain there for a while, but it didn' ; t stop me or anything, I don' ; t think I went to the doctor with it, but it did tore up my hand, it would just kind of freeze up and stuff. But you know, that' ; s just part of it. JT: Yeah, how many people worked up there in the production part? I don' ; t mean supervisors and that, but do you know about how big the--? MT: You know ; I don' ; t really know. There' ; s some people who might know about how many were there ; I' ; m trying to think of I can think of anybody right off who' ; s still around. The ones that been there the longest, but yeah there for a while they were hiring quite a few and I guess it could' ; ve been in the neighbourhood of a hundred, 125. JT: Okay that' ; s what I was wondering because I didn' ; t know. Around 100 or was it 200 or something like that? MT: I think? No it wouldn' ; t have been anything like 300, but I don' ; t know if there' ; d even be 200. I would think an average season would usually have 75 to 100 people JT: Okay MT: I' ; m trying to think of different rows and--but I don' ; t know, I mean when you get to counting them, it' ; s got to be around 100 I would say JT: And so what' ; s this--can you explain what the seasons were? MT: Well you were always way ahead of the seasons so you were making things that were for the winter, you were making those during the summer time, and then you would get back into making the thinner, finer things that would go out for the spring and all and that' ; s usually when you would start new styles and stuff, and then when it was gonna start on the winter stuff, you would have some new styles, sometimes the same styles and something else added JT: Well when you said that there were 75 to 100 per season, so did that, did they-- MT: No I' ; m just saying during all those years, I think that the average would' ; ve been JT: Okay MT: As the year rotated, and all those years rotated, probably the average for any season would' ; ve been I would say 75 to 100 JT: Okay MT: I was thinking how many people there were in just different areas, you know, how many cutters there were, how many sewers, how many folders or hangers, how many, you know, button holers, how many of the panties and just, yeah I would guess it would have to be something like that. JT: Yeah, okay MT: I Think there was five inspectors, five or six inspectors. They had tall table things and the tables were, they were angled and they were kind of thin slats with not very much room in between the slats, and they' ; d throw those things up on there and there was a bright light on them, and then they would go through and they would look at the button holes, look at the buttons, I guess they just to match them up, look at the hem wasn' ; t wavy and, you know, just different things. And of course when the folders or the hangers, sometimes they' ; d get around there and they' ; d find something that got missed, you know. JT: Mhm, sure. MT: Yeah, it happened. JT: So when they did that and when they went from to the next seasons garments, was there any downtime while they [Indecipherable] the machines or anything? MT: No, no they' ; d usually start out a new season, if I understand it right anyway, they' ; d start out a new season, well they' ; d have to start at least one table would start cutting the newer stuff, or they may be finishing up on another table cutting, you know. And then they' ; d start and so then they' ; d just have a few machines over to one side that would maybe start on the rows or something and then-- JT: Okay MT: Actually the robes stay towards the back because I know when I did buttons and button holes and tacking on the robes, I think I had to move back there to do some of them, yeah I' ; m pretty sure those--and they were so heavy too because I mean even if you got six or whatever they had in those bundles, that' ; s big and it gets bulkier and heavier JT: Depending on [Indecipherable] MT: It' ; s a lot to move around JT: Yeah, okay MT: So, I just remember that one time when I was doing some of the--I know I had to go in the back JT: Yeah MT: To do it, yeah I was--we were working overtime and it was a Saturday and usually we just worked until noon on Saturday, and they were needing some stuff done and I was working on these robes, and I was tired and I didn' ; t really want to and I asked my supervisor, I said " ; I will come back after lunch if you let me bring my iced tea with me" ; because you' ; re not supposed to have anything to drink, that' ; s the deal, and she let me and I didn' ; t spill it or anything, but yeah she let me. I said " ; if I can' ; t bring my tea with me, I' ; m not coming back" ; so JT: The store in Chicago MT: Hm? JT: The store in Chicago that we talked about earlier, Neiman Marcus (ph), was that it? MT: Yes, I think it was JT: Neman Marcus MT: Because Jennet took me there one time, was just as much alter, but I was already at the back then. But anyway, I bought a Christmas decoration there and when I saw that, I remembered that was one of them that was on the list too JT: Yeah, okay MT: But I mean it wasn' ; t, they didn' ; t--I think the later maybe, they may have started going to a Pennys or not ever a sears I don' ; t think, but Pennys may at one time have handled some of the Miss Elaine, much later though. But yeah when I started quite a few years to that, it was just these exclusives. There was a shop in Sharwood (ph), a town in Pennsylvania where my family is from, there was a little small shop, you know, exclusive shop and they had it in that shop JT: Hm, yeah MT: So yeah, that' ; s the typical of where they were at JT: Oh okay, is that Brams still around? MT: I think it is JT: Is it? Okay MT: I think it is JT: Wow MT: So I don' ; t know for sure, I know they had quite a few other factories at different places, but I' ; m not--I don' ; t remember the, and I used to kind of know some names but I don' ; t now remember where all they were. Missouri I think had one or two, maybe around Joplin or Saint Louis, somewhere up that way because it seemed like, seemed like our manager had to go up that way a few times or something. So yeah, there was some connections between with all the different plants, but I know that one time too I understood that sometimes they would do an entirely different items than what we were doing. You know, they might have a complete different line of [Indecipherable] and stuff like that than what we were handling, you know or buy them in different colours or whatever. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, cause-- JT: Okay MT: Cause lot of times, we would be handling three--when you start on a line, you would be, you know, on one--what am I trying to say? On one design, so you' ; d basically be working mostly on maybe one or two designs going through all the time, you know. You didn' ; t have a whole bunch of different, so you did, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of any said item, and that could go on for quite a few months. JT: Mhm MT: So, and I know if you went to the store and looked at Miss Elaine stuff, you saw stuff--I saw stuff that I had never seen before JT: Mhm MT: So, yeah. And we could, we were given the option of ordering things JT: Oh from the other factory? MT: Well for any, we could look in the catalogue and order anything, we could order things that we made, and then a lot of people in Bristow knew that they would sell their left over cloth sometimes, and of course we were right there so we got first chance to get anything, and laces and stuff like that when they quit using a certain lace, they would, you know, you could go back and if you want some of it you could buy it, and it was pretty handy. JT: It sounds handy MT: And I think there' ; s some stuff of course as usual in any place like that that came out of there that wasn' ; t bought JT: Yeah MT: That' ; s just I guess normal, but-- JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, there' ; s still people who have some of these this material and all. I have a few little scraps of it, I don' ; t have very anything really big anymore. But yeah, you know I' ; d buy these different things and it' ; s like, yeah it was handy if you did any sewing at home, a lot of people did, you know. Back then a lot more people sewed, you know it was cool. So I mean we were, we were a good--we had all had good report with our supervisors and especially up where I was and everything. So this one time I was going getting ready to go to Pennsylvania and they took through about five or six different people back there, they took this one fabric and made me more or less a sundress, with no pattern, they just cut it and it just had, it just came up around--it had some sort of pattern, come up and tied on the shoulders and it had this big swirly skirt and they even put a liner to it and everything. That was the prettiest dress though, I wish I hadn' ; t got rid of it, I mean it was almost like a dancing dress or something, it was just so neat. But yeah things would happen like that, you know, people were good, people were good. So it was a good place to work, I--and when I first changed jobs, I had a hard time not getting my old pickup not to end up up there at the parking lot instead of going downtown, I don' ; t know how many times I did that. And then I dreamt that I was, I dreamt that I was doing my job at the bank, but then I was coming getting off at the bank early and coming out there and working for a few hours, I was doing both. It was hard to give up, I mean I didn' ; t hate the job or anything. JT: Yeah MT: It was a challenge where at the bank it wasn' ; t, there wasn' ; t no challenge really. I mean just do your best, but you know. JT: Was there any ever any talk of, or maybe it was, but was there a union out there? MT: Oh yeah we were union JT: Were you? Okay MT: Yeah, I get a small pension now because I was there 19 years and not a lot but it comes in every month JT: But did anybody wanna go on strike? MT: No I don' ; t think we ever did, there was one thing happened that one time and what was that? For some reason we did have to shut down and I don' ; t remember all of the reasons behind it, but we all actually got unemployment and they set it up to where this unemployment place would come and I think we went to that, you know up here on 10th street? That white building? At 10th and chestnut? JT: Mhm, yeah the community center? MT: Okay, I think that' ; s where they--yeah I think that' ; s where they set it up, and so every week we had to go up there and of course I was one of the last ones to be off, but I was also one of the last ones to come back too. I mean we could all see it coming, and I don' ; t remember why we were off, but we were off for like I think about 6 weeks to 2 months. Something like that, then we it gradually got going again. I don' ; t remember the reasoning behind all that. JT: It seems to me that they may have to retool every once in a while MT: I don' ; t know, maybe it-- I don' ; t know, maybe the, maybe they just weren' ; t doing as well or something, or maybe, I don' ; t know what it really was. Maybe the orders weren' ; t coming in fast enough or something, I don' ; t know. I just cannot remember what that was all about, but then we got started back and then I' ; m trying in my mind to think how long was that before they started doing all this, you know, redoing everything on the rates and everything so I thought. It was probably at least a few years, maybe that was the ultimate thing they found out they had to do or something. JT: Yeah I don' ; t know MT: Yeah they lost a lot of people, but lot of people went out there and ended up freezing stuff they shouldn' ; t have and everything else, especially when it went to a lock plant and had that. Yeah I mean out there sometimes you get your allergies will kick up and stuff, and man I hate to take my allergy pill because sometimes that would slow me down a little, because I' ; d kind of get sleepy. You know, get up and walk around for a few minutes or something, go ask my supervisor if there' ; s anything I could do for her for a bit or something, you know, but usually it did, it yeah, I didn' ; t want to take that allergy pill. JT: Well-- MT: There' ; s so many dyes in it in that fabric and everything JT: Oh most certainly MT: Yeah, and then all the lint of course and everything JT: Yeah it seemed like there' ; d be, yeah, particle matter in the air from cutting and stuff MT: Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. JT: It just, yeah [Indecipherable] MT: Well I think, I' ; m pretty sure that the girls back there actually wore masks when they were cutting because of that and I don' ; t think I ever wore--had to wear a mask or anything, but by the time it got up to me, the worst thing about that was those big big boxes, when you got toward the bottom of those big boxes to pull you out a bundle, there' ; d be these huge, huge spiders. Those big ol' ; grass spiders, you know, with the tan ones. Ugh I hated those things, I have nightmares JT: Oh my gosh MT: Because I hate spiders, oh I hate spiders. JT: Wow MT: Yeah I wished, I just happened to remember that too. There were things, there were things. But just, this is a part you won' ; t want to put in there, but when we had the dinners, we knew who made what and we knew who' ; s we avoided JT: [Indecipherable] MT: And there were two or three of those that we avoided, but there was some interesting food too, it was always good but still, yeah. JT: Yeah MT: Yeah, we had to, you had to JT: Okay, well I' ; m not gonna ask--you know I really wanted to do this to get through how the garment factory worked MT: Yeah JT: And I think I' ; ve got pretty much a sense of the way things worked and the assembly line MT: If I could add anything, I' ; d just--I don' ; t know, you know, it just moved from the back to the front, there was separate machine shop. There was a separate place that worked up the laces and there was a, you know, different little processes that had to be done JT: Yeah MT: I mean some people had to sit there for hours and I don' ; t, I' ; m not sure, I don' ; t think they had tickets, maybe they did, I don' ; t know. And they' ; d tie little bitty bows together, you know, all day long they were tying these bows, tying these bows. Yeah, I mean and these bows looked perfect JT: They didn' ; t have a machine that tied a bow MT: No, but what you do is like you could do it at home, you take two nails and then you just wrap that around, flip it, and you' ; re done. JT: Oh is what they did MT: But yeah, the nails make them all come out the same, so yeah. There' ; s a lot of our things that had these little bows, little about two and a half to three inch bows, a lot of things had bows JT: Yeah MT: Yeah those ladies sit there and tied those bows and chatted and chatted and chatted, I mean. JT: And then they' ; d be tacked on MT: Yeah then they' ; d be tacked on, yeah I did a lot of tacking on the bows and yeah, that tacking machine was pretty interesting because it' ; d doo-doo, and it' ; s done. Doo-doo, and it' ; s done. I mean, just like, and what it does is it, I think it sews, it may sew one way and back straight and then zig-zags over JT: Okay MT: Yeah, and so like I said, if you could, you went ahead and just did one after another and then you had these little scissor things that you held in your hand and you just clip them like that, you know they weren' ; t like big scissors, they were like clipper things. So everybody had their clippers and you protected your clippers. Because at that time, it wouldn' ; t be a big price now, but you know, I don' ; t know some of them paid $5 or $6 even back then, they may be cheaper now. JT: You had to buy them? MT: Yeah, yeah. So yeah you protected the clippers. But most people didn' ; t ever bother anything, you know usually you could have--you could leave your radio there, you could leave your box of tissues and all this and--another funny thing in this one lady, whatever she, wherever she worked back there, and I can' ; t remember what it was for that these things, whatever she did, she may have put on lace. Anyway, it had like masking tape in strips, and she started out this one time and put that masking tape together, and then she kept putting all her masking tape instead of just wadding it up and throwing it out, she' ; d stick it on this ball. She ended up with a ball as big as a basketball. JT: How long did it take? How long did it take her to do that? MT: I don' ; t know, she was on for quite a while, I' ; d say a year or two, I don' ; t know maybe longer. Maybe shorter, I don' ; t know. But it was--it was, someone stole it. JT: Oh wow MT: Someone took her ball of this tape. It was sad because I mean, you know, you' ; re--it' ; s your work, it' ; s what you' ; ve done, it' ; s just kind of like, you know, meeting your goals or something, you know? You can see, right, exactly, yeah took her ball of tape. JT: Wow MT: No one ever did own up to it. But yeah that was kind of interesting, I think it must have been on lace or something, something that would' ; ve--that would' ; ve come unwrapped if it wasn' ; t taped down. So that' ; s what I' ; m thinking it was something like the laces or something, but yeah she had that ball of tape. Crazy. There was a lot of things happened out there though, you know, just different things JT: Well, I think we' ; ve been at this for-- MT: How long? JT: How long have we been at this? An hour? MT: Almost two hours? JT: An hour and 12 minutes MT: Oh yeah I was here at 4 JT: Yeah MT: Oh so yeah, but that--yeah, I' ; ve been here since, yeah. JT: So Bug [Indecipherable] MT: So you gonna edit that? You gonna put bug in there, are you gonna leave that? JT: Yeah I think so, I think I will. I' ; ll have to explain that, but-- MT: Well you can explain that, you can explain the family thing and all JT: Yeah MT: You know? And just say this is my oldest sister and whatever JT: Yeah, yeah this is my oldest sister. My dad had a nickname for her, he called her Jane Bug because of the June Bug, and so that kind of got-- MT: Actually no, he called my Betsy. And that got started from Janet, so Janet started calling me, couldn' ; t say Mary Jane so she said Mary Jane, and then my two brothers and my cousin decided it sounded like she was saying drain, so they started calling me drain bug. JT: Oh, okay. MT: It was Janet that did that, I just sent her a birthday card, I almost reminded her of that. JT: Okay MT: Anyway, so anyway they switched it to bug from Drain Bug JT: You got shortened a bug MT: Yeah JT: Okay MT: So yeah daddy actually did call me Betsy among other things I think, but yeah JT: Well I heard him calling--there' ; s several members of our family named Jane MT: He' ; s called Betsy JT: No, the-- MT: Oh it' ; s called Jane? JT: It' ; s called Jane, and I' ; ve heard him call someone Jane Bug MT: Did he? JT: Yeah MT: I think he called your daughter Jane Bug JT: Yeah, maybe MT: Yeah JT: That might' ; ve been it MT: Yeah JT: Anyway, okay well-- MT: Yeah and Janet did that same--instead of Jane she would say it sounded more like drain JT: Mhm MT: And yeah, Butch and Bobby, and probably Butch and Buddy mostly is the one that picked up on it JT: Okay MT: And-- JT: Okay well-- MT: And switched it JT: Yeah, well I was gonna say thank you Bug for doing this, and-- MT: It was interesting to try to think of all this stuff JT: Yeah MT: That' ; s why I hope I haven' ; t left out any exciting for important things about it JT: Well and you were there, this is what you remembered in your years there so MT: Well I can tell you another thing that you may not put in there or not. Anyway this one time we were--we always had our radios right there and one of my real good friends was across from me and she was one that did the hanging so we could chat back and forth a little bit, but always had the radio. Well I listened to this one station out of Tulsa, and one of the pizza companies was giving out these tickets, and then they had these drawings every day, maybe even more than one a day, I can' ; t remember it. Anyway, so we had our radios all tuned to this station so we could hear the numbers called. So we' ; d take our weekends and go to different pizza places in Tulsa and get tickets. So then instead of holding all tickets, we' ; d write our list of numbers down so we had this list of numbers. So this one time I had to go over to the IRS the day before, and really bugged me out even though it didn' ; t cost me a bunch or anything, but just the whole thing had been traumatic and bummed me out. So there I was, it was in the morning and working away and everything and they were getting ready to call some numbers and I told Genie (ph), I said " ; I don' ; t even wanna look" ; I was just, you know, kind of bummed out and everything and so they go to call these numbers and I told Genie, I said " ; That sounds like one of my numbers" ; so I grabbed my list, sure enough it was my number. So I ran to the front and had to use a payphone. Well I grabbed some quarters and maybe, I don' ; t know, some people handed me a couple of quarters--you only had five minutes to call it in. So I run out there and they' ; re looking at me in the office like, and I said " ; You can fire--don' ; t fire me" ; but I said " ; You can clock me out or what you' ; ve gotta do, but I' ; ve gotta use this phone" ; and then you couldn' ; t get the quarters to go in the slot, I kept dropping them. So anyway what I did was I won a record album a week for a year, 52 record albums JT: Wow MT: Yeah I' ; ve still got quite a few of those JT: Do ya? MT: Yeah JT: Oh MT: But, so then I let the boys go with me and this was already, I don' ; t know, Steve would' ; ve been already up like in maybe even lower high school or something, I can' ; t--Oh no, he was maybe a senior or junior because he was, that was another thing. This was out at the garment factory, he was probably early high school or you know, 8th grade or something like that. But he was already into music, so anyway I let them go with me and they could each one pick out so they had picked out some of them too, you know on that. But then, this other thing just telling me this, is it still recording? JT: Mhm MT: But you can take it off. But anyway this other thing, so I was down at the bank, and I listened to the radio station and you could call in and tell them your desk dancing song, which song would you get up and dance on your desk for. And I can' ; t remember, it was of Neil Diamonds, and I called in and I gave it and they chose mine, and I don' ; t know if you remember it or not, but anyway when I called and I was so excited that they used my voice for six months. They had me on there because I was so excited, Steve was in log doing the log and they had the radio on and they heard me too, so he knew it before I even got to tell him. But yeah, so then I had people come by and say, well because I was in that back window, " ; Well when are you gonna get up on that desk and dance?" ; It was funny, it was funny. But yeah it was a Neil Diamond, I can' ; t remember if it was Cherry Cherry or one of those, I don' ; t know, but it was a Neil Diamond song. But anyway, it was, yeah. And I won a shirt and a mug I think or something, but anyway. The things you do, you know, back in life you' ; ve done these things, it helps you get through life and everything, you know. JT: Well, thank you again for coming up here and doing this MT: You' ; re welcome JT: And we' ; ll end this now MT: Yeah you can [Indecipherable] JT: I probably will audio 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/viewer.php?cachefile=OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml OHP-2021-21_Mary_Jane_Trigalet.xml
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Title
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Mary Jane Trigalet
Description
An account of the resource
In this 2021 interview, Mary Jane Trigalet shares her experience working for the garment factory in Bristow.
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OHP-2021-21
Date
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2021-06-06
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audio
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1ccb9fe38ab41e80fd37d6f586e8fc2f
Oral History
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Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Regan Siler
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Vicki Groom
OHMS Object
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https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0078_Vicki_Groom.xml
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6.0 December 5, 2025 OHP-0078 Vicki Groom OHP-0078 00:52:16 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Vicki Groom Regan Siler 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0078 Groom, Vicki.mp4 Other video 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 December 5, 2025 and I'm here with Vicki Groom at the Bristow Public Library. She's going to tell us a little bit about her life and what it's been like living and working in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 00:24
 ; Vicki Lynn Groom.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:26
 ; Okay, and do I have permission to do this interview?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 00:28
 ; You sure do.
 ; Vicki Groom was born on August 27, 1951. She was born in Toledo, Ohio. Vicki was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her mother was from. Her parents divorced when Vicki was about three years old. Her father remained in Ohio, and Vicki was raised mainly by her mother. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Public Library ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Greece Birth 0 105 Parents Regan Siler 01:45
 ; Okay, because I thought by the last name. So, tell me what your parents full names are.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 01:51
 ; Oh, gosh. Well, my dad's last name, well my mom's name, when they came over, his name was Esta (ph), no let's see, [indecipherable.] And so he wanted to open, he opened a billiard hall in downtown Tulsa. And everybody said people with a name like that, you're not going to get very many people, because they'll know you're a foreigner. So, he changed his name to Sam Johnson. So, I was Johnson, but anyway. Then my dad's name was Spiropolous. And so on my birth certificate, in the Greek heritage, you name your child a Greek name, and then an American name. And so, my name was Vasiliki (ph) Spiropolous. And so, it's just kind of a weird thing. Then I remember, then my mom enrolled us in school, and she enrolled us. Vasiliki (ph) means Vicki in English, and so she enrolled us in school. And I was Vicki Johnson in school, because she changed back to her maiden name. But she didn't do it legally on my birth certificate. Yes, and so I remember so well when I went to get my driver's license. She took this little guy back in the corner. And I guess she talked him into making my driver's license Johnson, even though my birth certificate still says Spiropolous.
 ; Vicki's father changed his name to Sam Johnson. His last name had been Spiropolous, but he wanted to open a billiard hall in downtown Tulsa and people speculated that he wouldn't get much business with a foreign name like that. Vicki's Greek name had been Vasiliki, which was Vicki in English. She was enrolled in school as Vicki Johnson. Vicki's mother's name was Nota Johnson. Nota was an artist ; she taught as an art teacher at Memorial High School. She opened the art department at Tulsa Junior College, which is now TCC. Parents ; Sam Johnson ; William Spiropolous ; Vasiliki Spiropolous ; Nota Johnson ; Memorial High School (Tulsa, Okla.) ; Tulsa Junior College ; Tulsa Community College ; Greek Parents 0 292 Siblings Regan Siler 04:52
 ; Yeah. Well, that's so neat. And do you have any siblings?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 04:57
 ; I have one sister.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:58
 ; One sister. 
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 04:59
 ; Yes, she's three years older than me.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 05:01
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 05:01
 ; And she lives in Denver, Colorado.
 ; Vicki has one sibling, a sister. Her sister is three years older than Vicki. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Her name is Sharon Johnson. She was Sharon Waddell, but after divorcing went back to Johnson. Denver (Colo.) ; Sharon Johnson Sister ; Siblings 0 317 College and First Teaching Job Regan Siler 05:17
 ; So, you were born in Ohio, and then your parents divorced when you were three, around three. And you moved back to Tulsa at that time, because that's where your mother was from?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 05:29
 ; Okay. And then, so, was it after you got married that you ended up in the Bristow area?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 05:29
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 05:37
 ; No.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 05:38
 ; No?
 ; Vicki graduated from Tulsa Edison in 1969. She then went to Oklahoma State University and received her bachelor's degree in education. Vicki applied to schools around the Tulsa area. She had some friends in Bristow and they mentioned applying there. Dr. Carmichael, the superintendent in Bristow, told Vicki about an opening at Slick. She interviewed and was hired. Vicki was with her uncle when they drove to find Slick, Oklahoma. She ended up getting an apartment in Bristow. Vicki taught at Slick for one year and then the school closed. Ohio ; Nota Johnson ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Tulsa Edison ; Oklahoma State University ; Slick (Okla.) ; Dr. Carmichael ; Patrick Henry Elementary (Tulsa, Okla.) College ; Teaching 0 527 School Regan Siler 08:47
 ; Well, so as a youngster, did you enjoy school? You know, like in your early years, high school?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 08:54
 ; I did.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 08:55
 ; So, did you go to school, all through school in Tulsa?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 08:59
 ; All through school in Tulsa. Yes, yeah. And my graduating class was 800, 800 and something.
 ; Vicki attended school in Tulsa, she had a large graduating class of about 800 students. She attended a Catholic school for first, second and third grade, then went to public school. She enjoyed school. Vicki often played school with her dolls as a child. She was very familiar with education and teachers, because her mother and aunts were all teachers. Tulsa (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Nota Johnson ; Catholic School 0 647 Mealtimes Regan Siler 10:47
 ; That's funny! Okay. Well, so growing up, I guess you grew up with a single mother for the majority of your youth. Okay, so tell me, what were meal times like for your family? Did you sit down and have dinner at night? Was your mom a great cook? Tell me a little bit about your home.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 11:09
 ; Yeah, we always did. We always sat down together and ate dinner. And my mom was a great cook. She cooked lots of Greek food, you know. I remember when I got married, my husband goes can you make beans and cornbread? We've never had beans. I've never had beans and cornbread and stuff, like fried potatoes and things that people eat around here. We didn't do that.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 11:34
 ; Yeah.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 11:34
 ; We didn't fry. My mom, I don't think fried anything.
 ; Vicki's mother was a great cook. She made lots of Greek food. Vicki still loves making Greek soup for her family. When Vicki got married, her husband asked if she could make beans and cornbread. Vicki had never had beans, cornbread and fried potatoes like others around here. Her mother never fried food. Nota Johnson ; Greek ; Brandon Don Groom Mealtimes 0 800 Teaching Regan Siler 13:20
 ; Okay. Well, so you moved to Bristow whenever you started teaching. And your story is a little different than I think a lot of people that are, you know, rooted here in Bristow from the beginning. So, when did you meet your husband? Or you moved here and you never left? Is that?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 13:44
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 13:44
 ; Okay.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 13:45
 ; Right. And that's funny that you say that, because I remember. So, my first year was at Slick in 1973 and 1974. And I just kind of, you know, when I came here, I thought, this is kind of a stepping stool to just kind of get my feet wet teaching. And I won't be here. I remember, at the end of the year, they always have the teachers together. And they give out these awards for five years, ten years. And they were giving those five year awards. And I was going, I'm never going to be here five years. I'm out of here.
 ; Vicki taught at the Slick school for one year in 1973-1974. That was the last year that the school there was open, then they moved everyone into the Bristow school system. Vicki was a teacher for 21 years and then a principal for 21 years. Bristow (Okla.) ; Slick (Okla.) Teaching 0 945 Husband Regan Siler 15:45
 ; Okay. Well, so at what point, you were here, and then did you meet your husband here?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 15:52
 ; Well, when I was at Slick, we had a teacher's aide, Carol Wood (ph) was her name, probably a lot of people remember her. And she knew I was single and I wasn't dating anybody, and she goes, I've got a guy I want you to meet. And so I said, okay. So, she told me she gave him my number, and he called, and we would kind of talk on the phone, and I thought, well, he sounds okay, you know. So, we had, we were going to go on a double date with Carol Wood (ph) and her husband. And so we had that planned for, I don't know, it was a week or so away. So, at the time, oh and at the time, I had a foster child too.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 16:36
 ; Oh, my goodness!
 ; Vicki was married to Kelly Don Groom for 28 years. They met through a teacher's aide that knew Vicki was single. Vicki and Don had 3 children together and then divorced in 2014. Kelly Don Groom Husband 0 1117 Children Regan Siler 18:37
 ; August 10, okay. And then you said you have three children.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 18:41
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 18:42
 ; Can you tell me their full names?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 18:44
 ; Brandon Don Groom
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 18:47
 ; And I have his date of birth as 6/2/1980?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 18:51
 ; Correct.
 ; Vicki has three children. She has two sons, Brandon Don Groom and Nicholas Ryan Groom. Vicki has one daughter, Lindsey Nicole Mayberry. Brandon Don Groom ; Nicholas Ryan Groom ; Lindsey Nicole Mayberry Children 0 1149 Challenges of Motherhood Regan Siler 19:09
 ; Right. So, can you tell me, do you remember having any particular challenges as a working mom, you know, raising kids? Can you think back to the challenges you faced, or if you had any?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 19:27
 ; Well, Kelly was in accounting and in oil and gas, and that was a time when oil and gas, they were laying people off, and they were downsizing. And so, it was like he tried hard, but he would change jobs frequently, and so that would freak me out, because we were living on a teacher's salary. And of course, you want your kids to have everything they want. You know, they had to have the Dr. Martens shoes, you know, the no fear shirts, and all those that were really important at that time. So, we bought a house that I still live in, and so they were all raised in that house. And I feel like when we had hard times or money problems, they really never knew it.
 ; Vicki talks about the hard years when her husband was working in accounting in the oil and gas industry. They were laying people off and downsizing, so Kelly changed jobs frequently. Vicki said there were times that they were living off a teacher's salary. She talks about wanting her children to have everything they wanted, and that they never let their children know of the hard times or money problems. Kelly Don Groom Motherhood 0 1217 Grandchildren Regan Siler 20:17
 ; Right. Well, that's good. And then, how many grandchildren do you have?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 20:26
 ; Well, I have, Lindsey has three. They're just like the light of my life. That's what I live for, and that's what I do all the time. Pick them up from school, take them here, take them there. And then Relena (ph) has three. And she, you know, that's who Nicholas married. So, I kind of inherited them. They had Jacoby (ph) and Savannah (ph), and then later on, she adopted Ethan. So I consider them my grandchildren too. And then Brandon has one, Sunshine (ph) Groom, and she just turned 23, and I helped raise her too. She lived with me through her school years.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 21:03
 ; So, seven total?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 21:06
 ; Six, seven, yes.
 ; Vicki has seven grandchildren. Her daughter, Lindsey has three children. Her son, Nicholas married and his wife (Ralena) had three children. Vicki says they kind of inherited Ralena's children. Vicki's son, Brandon has one daughter, Sunshine. Vicki says she helped raise her and Sunshine even lived with her during her school years. Lindsey Nicole Mayberry ; Brandon Don Groom ; Nicholas Ryan Groom Grandchildren 0 1269 Bristow Businesses Regan Siler 21:09
 ; Look, we can add, we can do math. Okay. Well, let's back up a little bit. So, whenever you were living here, moved here in the 1970s, so say even during that time. And you know, maybe before you met Kelly. Do you remember much about Bristow or maybe some of the biggest businesses or places you frequented during that time?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 21:40
 ; Well, there was a Safeway store there on the corner, and I remember that. And then there was Ben Franklin, and I got to know Beth Dalpoas (Elizabeth Dalpoas), and Bill Dalpoas, at the Ben Franklin. But I'll tell you what, what I remember so vividly because, you know, I was from Tulsa, and you go to Tulsa, you go to the mall, or you go anywhere. You don't usually see anybody you know.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 22:01
 ; Right.
 ; Vicki recalls the Safeway store that used to be in Bristow. She talks about the Ben Franklin that was here, and getting to know Elizabeth and Bill Dalpoas from the store. Vicki remembers how shopping in a small town was different than shopping in Tulsa at the mall. She recalls always being known everywhere she went in Bristow. Bristow (Okla.) ; Kelly Don Groom ; Elizabeth Dalpoas ; Bill Dalpoas ; Ben Franklin store ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Walmart Business ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 1499 Town Activities Regan Siler 24:59
 ; In Bristow. So, do you remember having anything to do with, back during that time, like with any of the town activities, like Western Heritage Days? Or did you participate in any of that?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 25:11
 ; Yes, I did. I remember Western Heritage Day. I remember, I don't know if I was with a group of teachers or a group of something, but we did something about pushing mattresses down main street.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 25:26
 ; The bed races?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 25:27
 ; The bed races. Yes, I was in that. I don't know why or how, but I remember that. [indecipherable] different things. I know my mother would come here and she's going, you're doing what. What is this, you know.
 ; Vicki talks about the Western Heritage Days in Bristow. She recalls the bed races that she was part of, where you pushed mattresses down main street. Bristow (Okla.) ; Western Heritage Days Western Heritage Days 0 1546 College Regan Siler 25:46
 ; Okay, so, you touched on a little bit that you went to college. You went to OSU for your bachelor's and NSU for your master's. Can you tell me at all about that experience?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 26:00
 ; It was, I'd been teaching, like, 19 years, and I decided I wanted to go back and be principal, and so, I was scared to death. You know, hadn't been college in 19 years, and so, I enrolled in and at the time, it was there in Tulsa, and there were like, four colleges. They called it. I can't remember what they called it, but it was not like it is now. But anyway, I took, just started taking classes there at night, I would take like, six hours. In the summer, I would take nine hours. And at that time, you had to be a principal, you had to have a Master's, plus 15 hours. I know, and I was just going, Oh, I'm gonna stick this out, but it's never gonna happen. And then I'll never forget. I was in one of my classes. I don't even remember which one, and they came in and said, the state has passed a law, or someone has passed something, because they were short on principals. And so, they passed something that you didn't have to take the extra 15 hours. And I was going crazy.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:06
 ; Yeah, you were happy about that.
 ; Vicki attended OSU for her bachelor's degree and NSU for her master's degree. She had been teaching for about 19 years when she decided that she wanted to go back to school and become a principal. Oklahoma State University ; Northeastern State University (Okla.) College 0 1629 Principal Vicki Groom 27:09
 ; And then so, after I got my principal's degree, I taught maybe one or two years later. And then they hired me to go to Washington School, which isn't there anymore.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:21
 ; That's actually where I went as a kid.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 27:23
 ; Oh, really, yeah, Washington. And so, at Washington, I was the principal and the PE teacher. So, I remember, you know, at that time, you know you would wear pantyhose and everything. I remember sweating in PE, getting my pantyhose back on, changing clothes, going back in the office and being the principal.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:41
 ; Wow, that's an unlikely pairing, to be a principal and a PE teacher.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 27:47
 ; Exactly. So, that happened a couple of years and then they hired a PE teacher. Thank goodness!
 ; After receiving her master's degree, Vicki taught 1 or 2 more years before being hired to be the principal at Washington Elementary in Bristow. She says she remembers the unlikely pairing of being the P.E. teacher and the principal. After a few years at Washington, they finally moved the school into the Collins building. She recalls the excitement of the children over the new building. Washington Elementary School (Bristow, Okla.) ; Collins Elementary (Bristow, Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Principal 0 1809 Retirement Regan Siler 30:09
 ; And so, have you enjoyed being retired? Or have you missed it?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 30:12
 ; I'm going to tell you.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 30:13
 ; It's probably bittersweet.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 30:15
 ; It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. Because I talk about it, and then I go, no, I'm gonna go one more year. And then when I finally did it, but what made it okay was Lindsey was pregnant with Lilly (sp), her middle child. And so, Callen (sp), the oldest one, he was in a daycare. And then he was with a private family, and they had a little boy that would bite him. And I'd pick him up, and he'd have these bite markers on him. And I was going, oh, that's killing me. And so I thought, okay, so I could take care of my grandkids then. And so, that's what helped.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 30:55
 ; That eased your pain a little bit.
 ; Vicki retired from her work in the education system in 2016. She had kept putting it off, but finally made the hard decision to retire. She says what helped was knowing she would be able to help take care of her grandchildren. Lindsey Nicole Mayberry Retirement 0 1876 Volunteering Regan Siler 31:16
 ; Right. I mean, you had a greater, a really greater purpose for a long time, and then for that to change. But I also want to talk about because, I learned some things when I talked to you on the phone. Of your heart for service, the different things that you follow. So, tell us about some of the different things you volunteer with.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 31:40
 ; Okay, yeah.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 31:41
 ; Because I feel like that keeps you really busy, too.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 31:43
 ; Exactly, it does. When I retired, I saw, it was actually an ad in the Bristow paper for CASA, which is a court appointed special advocate. And so, I thought, okay, that's something I could do. You know, it's strictly volunteer, no money. And so, I went there and talked to the people, and they were thrilled. And I went through a little short course. Which it was funny, because all the things they were teaching me, I had kind of taught my teachers. So, I was going, I could be teaching this, but okay.
 ; Vicki is an active volunteer in the community with several different organizations. After retiring, she saw an ad in the paper for CASA, which is a court appointed special advocate. She took the courses and has now been a CASA for 10 years. She says it is different than being a DHS caseworker, that she is an advocate for the kids. Vicki is also on the Child Advocacy Board. This helps foster children be able to pay to be on basketball teams, have dance lessons, etc. that a regular allowance from DHS does not cover. Vicki also volunteers at her grandchildren's schools. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) ; DHS (Department of Human Services) ; Child Advocacy Board ; Creek County (Okla.) ; Kendra Raney ; Laura Farris ; Shelly Garrett ; Sapulpa (Okla.) ; Lindsey Nicole Mayberry ; Collins Elementary (Bristow, Okla.) volunteering 0 2238 Day Camp Regan Siler 37:18
 ; Oh, that's neat. And then one of the big things that you're known for in Bristow is day camp.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 37:25
 ; Oh, day camp.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 37:26
 ; So, let's talk about day camp, because I feel like that gets a whole section all to itself.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 37:31
 ; Yes, yeah. Well, my very first summer here I found out about day camp. And I thought, well, that would be a fun thing to do in the summer, you know? So, that's when Chuck West and Wanda Newton were running day camp. And so, I went and talked to him. And of course, I think I got, I am not sure, but I think I got $5 a week when I worked at day camp.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 37:56
 ; Isn't that funny?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 37:57
 ; Yeah, and I mean I was fine with that. I didn't think that was bad at all. And I remember it cost $14 to go to day camp then, for three weeks. No, actually it was four weeks then. Yes.
 ; Vicki is well-known around Bristow for her involvement with the day camp. She started working at the summer day camp her first summer in Bristow ; Chuck West and Wanda Newton were running it. When it came time for Chuck and Wanda to give it up, they wanted someone else to take it over. Oma Kay Murray had been a counselor at day camp with Vicki. She talked Vicki into doing day camp together with her. Vicki has been over day camp in Bristow since the late 1970's. Bristow (Okla.) ; Chuck West ; Wanda Newton ; Oma Kay Murray Day camps 0 2607 Church Regan Siler 43:27
 ; I was actually going to ask you about church. So, where do you attend church?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 43:33
 ; Well, you know, I went to the First Methodist Church for 42 years. And it's went through several pastors. It's kind of, there aren't any kids there. It's kind of died down, and Lindsey's, my three grandkids were the only kids in that church. And so, because of that, we thought we need to find somewhere where they can have youth fellowship and different stuff like that. And so, we are going to Free Will Baptist Church.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 44:07
 ; Oh, Okay.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 44:07
 ; Yeah. And so, that's different.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 44:09
 ; Yeah, yeah.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 44:10
 ; Going from a Methodist to Baptist. But anyway, I really like it. And, you know, I tried to, I'm in their Bible studies, and I still go to the Methodist Bible study too. So, I still kind of keep a connection with those.
 ; Vicki attended the First Methodist Church in Bristow for 42 years. It went through several pastors and had really died down. It ended up only having her daughter, Lindsey's children as the youth. Because of that, Vicki and her family started attending the Free Will Baptist Church. Vicki says it has been an adjustment going from a Methodist church to a Baptist church. She does still keep a connection to the Methodist church and still attends their Bible studies. First Methodist Church (Bristow, Okla.) ; Free Will Baptist Church (Bristow, Okla.) ; Methodist ; Baptist ; Lindsey Nicole Mayberry Church 0 2728 Nation's Problems Regan Siler 45:28
 ; To get to be in their lives, yeah. So, how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child? So, what do you feel like is our nation's biggest problem, and how do you think it could be solved? Oh, I'm gonna challenge you.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 45:50
 ; I'm not a Trump fan. And I feel like so many things we're doing now, we're just we're not respected like we used to be in the past, our country. And I feel like there's so much friction and fighting. And I think that's because of our administration or because of Trump. Because, you know, he puts Republicans against Democrats. You know, I remember when President Kennedy was being elected, I was in elementary school. And that's when I first realized there were Democrats and Republicans. I mean, because it was just like we were one, we were one nation. But now it just seems like there's clashes. And you know, you're a Democrat, it's almost like, you know, you're not worthy.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 46:41
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 46:42
 ; And so, I just think that that's a terrible thing that we've come to that.
 ; Vicki does not like the division in America. She says there is so much friction and fighting between Republicans and Democrats. Donald Trump ; Republican ; Democrat ; John F. Kennedy United States of America 0 2807 How the World is Different Regan Siler 46:47
 ; So, whenever you were a kid, because I kind of ran those two questions together. You remember growing up when you were a kid, versus, say, like your grandkids now. How do you feel? How do you see the world as different for, say whenever you were growing up, versus like the world for your grandkids?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 47:03
 ; Technology. It's, you know, the cell phone, the iPhones, the internet. It's just, the iPads, you know. I mean, my young Carson (ph), who's in first grade, his mom had to say you cannot be on your iPad during the week. Only on the weekends, because he would stay on that IPad 24/7. Kids don't get outside and play.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 47:29
 ; Right.
 ; Vicki feels like technology has changed things so much since she was a child. She talks about children nowadays always being on an iPhone or an iPad. Vicki says she fought against using so much technology in the classroom when she worked at the school. iPhone (Smartphone) ; iPad (Computer) Technology 0 2970 Historic Events Regan Siler 49:30
 ; Okay. So, how have historic events, for instance, like maybe the Oklahoma City bombing, or 9/11, natural disasters? Heck, even covid. Do you recall any of those events affecting you personally or the community, or any of that?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 49:54
 ; Well, of course, covid was a big, major thing. I mean, I wasn't in the school system then. But, you know, everybody wearing masks and all of that. And I do remember 9/11, I was actually teaching third grade in the old, old part of Edison. And I remember my father-in-law, who was an attorney in Oklahoma City, frequented that building, and so I was really worried about him. But I know that was no, that was not, no wait a minute. What happened when the... No, the 9/11 I was at Washington, as a principal, when they bombed the two.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 50:40
 ; So, maybe the Oklahoma City bombing is that what you're thinking of?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 50:43
 ; Yes. The Oklahoma City bombing was before that.
 ; Vicki recalls the Oklahoma City bombing, her father-in-law was an attorney in Oklahoma City. She was really worried about him, until she heard that he was okay. She says knowing all of the children in the daycare were killed really bothered her. She remembers visiting the memorial later and hearing the bomb going off. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 ; Oklahoma City Bombing ; Washington Elementary School (Bristow, Okla.) Historic Events 0 3080 Wisdom Regan Siler 51:20
 ; Yeah, right. Well, is there anything else that you would like to tell us, or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations? What do you want your grandkids to know, or a piece of advice for them to carry through?
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 51:21
 ; Well, I mean, I want parents to respect teachers, respect administration, realize no kid is perfect. All kids lie. So, you know, don't have blinders on when someone's talking to you about your kids. Keep your kids in church and keep them grounded with the Lord. I think that's very important. And, you know, enjoy life.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 52:06
 ; Enjoy life. Okay, well, your interview will become an important part of the Oral History Archives for the museum. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it.
 ; 
 ; Vicki Groom 52:16
 ; Thank you.
 ; Vicki finishes the interview with some words of wisdom. She says to keep your kids in church and grounded with the Lord. She also says for parents to respect teachers and administration, and to realize that no kid is perfect. Lord ; Oral History Archives Wisdom 0 MP4 Born August 27, 1951 in Toledo, Ohio, Vicki discusses her Greek heritage and family background. She moved to Tulsa after her parents' divorce and attended Tulsa Edison High School. Vicki earned a bachelor's degree in education from Oklahoma State University and a master's from Northeastern State University. She taught in Bristow for 42 years, becoming a principal in 1993. Vicki also volunteered extensively, including as a CASA advocate and on the Child Advocacy Board. She emphasized the importance of respecting teachers and maintaining religious grounding for children. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:24.405 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 December 5, 2025 and I'm here with Vicki Groom at the Bristow Public Library. She's going to tell us a little bit about her life and what it's been like living and working in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name? 00:00:24.405 --> 00:00:26.140 Vicki Lynn Groom. 00:00:26.140 --> 00:00:28.000 Okay, and do I have permission to do this interview? 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.000 You sure do. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:34.020 Okay. So please tell me when and where you were born. 00:00:34.020 --> 00:01:43.170 I was born in Toledo, Ohio on August 27, 1951. My family, my mother was from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was raised there. Her parents were of Greek descent, and they'd come over from Greece, and so just a rich Greek heritage there, you know. They went to the Greek church, and she spoke Greek. And actually, her parents never really, they only spoke broken English, and they never even spoke fluent English. So, she went to kindergarten, you know, she was telling me she went to kindergarten speaking few words of English, and just kind of learned English in school. But anyway, after I was born, they moved back over here, and then my parents were divorced when I was about three years old. And so really, I was raised by only my mom, my single mom. And my dad was in Ohio, and I really didn't see him much or anything, but anyway... 00:01:43.170 --> 00:01:44.715 So is he Greek, also? 00:01:44.715 --> 00:01:45.254 Yes, yes. 00:01:45.254 --> 00:01:51.379 Okay, because I thought by the last name. So, tell me what your parents full names are. 00:01:51.379 --> 00:03:20.099 Oh, gosh. Well, my dad's last name, well my mom's name, when they came over, his name was Esta (ph), no let's see, [indecipherable.] And so he wanted to open, he opened a billiard hall in downtown Tulsa. And everybody said people with a name like that, you're not going to get very many people, because they'll know you're a foreigner. So, he changed his name to Sam Johnson. So, I was Johnson, but anyway. Then my dad's name was Spiropolous. And so on my birth certificate, in the Greek heritage, you name your child a Greek name, and then an American name. And so, my name was Vasiliki (ph) Spiropolous. And so, it's just kind of a weird thing. Then I remember, then my mom enrolled us in school, and she enrolled us. Vasiliki (ph) means Vicki in English, and so she enrolled us in school. And I was Vicki Johnson in school, because she changed back to her maiden name. But she didn't do it legally on my birth certificate. Yes, and so I remember so well when I went to get my driver's license. She took this little guy back in the corner. And I guess she talked him into making my driver's license Johnson, even though my birth certificate still says Spiropolous. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.780 So, do you even know how to spell that? Your Greek name? Because we'll have to have that and if we need to address that after the interview, but I have no idea how to even... 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:34.599 Yeah, I can probably figure it out. 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:39.639 Okay, okay. So, your dad's name was William, and then your mom's name was... 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:40.180 Nota. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:52.539 Nota Johnson, okay. And I have her date of birth, November 20, 1923. And then I looked up her date of death as being September 4, 2006? 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:54.099 Correct. 00:03:54.099 --> 00:04:05.479 And then just while we're on your mom, you told me a little interesting tidbit about her that I thought was really neat, her relation to TJC, which is now TCC. Tell me about that. 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:43.000 Well, my mom is an artist, and I was a great disappointment, because I couldn't draw a thing. But anyway, she worked at Memorial High School as an art teacher. And then when they were talking about opening TCC, which at the time, was Tulsa Junior College. They hired her, and she opened the art department. She designed all the furniture there. And she actually, at the beginning, Tulsa Junior College had a big T and a J, and she designed that envelope that they had. And so, she opened the art department there. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.680 Wow! So was the original campus, was that the downtown campus? 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:47.860 Yes. 00:04:47.860 --> 00:04:50.000 Because that's actually where I attended. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:52.519 Yes. And it's still, it's still there. 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:57.199 Yeah. Well, that's so neat. And do you have any siblings? 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:58.579 I have one sister. 00:04:58.579 --> 00:04:59.000 One sister. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.180 Yes, she's three years older than me. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:01.720 Okay. 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.000 And she lives in Denver, Colorado. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:05.620 Okay. And what's her name? 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:06.339 Sharon. 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:09.160 Sharon, what's her full name? 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:15.000 Well, Sharon, she goes back by Sharon Johnson. She was married and divorced. She was Sharon Waddell, and then she came back to Sharon Johnson. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:16.500 Sharon Johnson, okay. 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:17.899 Sharon Ann Johnson. 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:29.120 So, you were born in Ohio, and then your parents divorced when you were three, around three. And you moved back to Tulsa at that time, because that's where your mother was from? 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:29.240 Okay. And then, so, was it after you got married that you ended up in the Bristow area? 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:37.740 Yes. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:38.339 No. 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:39.139 No? 00:05:39.139 --> 00:06:24.000 No. I graduated from Tulsa Edison in 1969. I went to Oklahoma State University, and I got my bachelor's in education. And I applied, all I knew was Tulsa, big city, so I applied in Tulsa schools and all around. Well, Tulsa at the time, did not hire teachers until after, they didn't hire new teachers until after the first day of school, when they saw what their enrollment was going to be. And so, here I was. And so, we had some friends in Bristow. Their name was Phylactou (ph), and they were some Greek friends that we had. And they go, why don't you come to Bristow? Why don't you come apply at Bristow, they told my mother. And so, I said, okay, because I just wanted a job. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:24.033 even know there was a Slick school, I don't guess. I just wanted a job somewhere. And so, I came to Bristow, and there was a, that's when Dr. Carmichael was here. It was 1973 and he said there was an opening, a first and second grade opening. Would I be interested in that at Slick, Oklahoma? And I was going, what is Slick, Oklahoma? So, I go, yeah. Yeah, you know. So, we interviewed, he interviewed me. 00:06:24.033 --> 00:06:58.180 Right. 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:20.000 That was the last year it was opened. I was there the last year it was open. So anyway, you know, he was a little bit desperate. School was starting in like a week and a half, and so, he hired me. And so, I remember, I was with my uncle. He had come down from Ohio, and he was there with me, and he had brought me to Bristow for the interview. And so, I said, let's go find Slick, Oklahoma. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.899 Oh, my goodness! 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:40.000 Yeah, and so we drove, they kind of told us where to go. And we drove, and I remember so well as we drove in, there was this little building. Because I thought, well, I'll have to get an apartment there and something, you know. So, we drove in and there was this little building. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.500 Had to get an apartment. 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:54.040 Yeah, there were three sides to this little building. And I looked around and it didn't even have the other side. And then I was like oh my gosh, because you know, I was from Tulsa. I wasn't in the country at all. 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:54.660 Right, right. 00:07:54.660 --> 00:08:01.319 So anyway, we found the school, and I just cried. I thought I could do this, I could do this. And so, I got an apartment at Bristow village. They had just built it. As a matter of fact, I had to wait for my apartment to be finished, so it was the very first time they had built that. So anyway, I got my apartment. I thought, I can do this. And then the day before school started, I get a call from Tulsa. And they're offering me a job at Patrick Henry, which was a really neat school. I was going, nope, I'm here. And I've got this. I've signed the lease, and I'm just going to stay here. So, you know, it's just, it's funny how God... 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:24.584 Wasn't that a pivotal decision? 00:08:24.584 --> 00:08:43.019 Yes. Yes, there it goes. Because, you know, it could have taken me... 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:44.460 A whole other? 00:08:44.460 --> 00:08:45.179 Exactly! 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:46.720 Yeah, a whole other direction. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:47.139 Right, right. 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:54.220 Well, so as a youngster, did you enjoy school? You know, like in your early years, high school? 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:55.600 I did. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.000 So, did you go to school, all through school in Tulsa? 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:19.519 All through school in Tulsa. Yes, yeah. And my graduating class was 800, 800 and something. tell my kids. I said, you know, you graduated here from Bristow and had 100 in your graduating class. You probably knew more people than I did, because I just knew my one little group of friends. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:19.860 Right. 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:23.980 You know, maybe 50 people, because it was so huge, so 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:42.019 Wow, okay! Do you feel like you had any particular influential teachers growing up, that influenced you in a positive way or made you want to get into education? 00:09:42.019 --> 00:10:24.000 I don't know. I do remember, I don't remember many of my high school teachers, that's weird. But, I remember some of my elementary teachers, you know. Because I went to a Catholic school for first, second, and third grade. And then we went to public school. And I remember that when I went to public school, I just felt like kind of a fish out of water, you know. But, I remember I had a teacher named Miss Money (ph). And she was so wonderful, and she just kind of took me under her wing. And I felt like I was really kind of special to her. So, that's what I say. But you know, my mother is a teacher. My aunts were all teachers. That's really all I knew growing up, was education and teachers. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:30.350 So, then I guess if you think back to what you wanted to be when you grew up, was it always a teacher? 00:10:30.350 --> 00:10:31.659 Always a teacher. 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:31.700 Yeah. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:31.960 Yes, I had my dolls lined up and I would play school. I was, I was really a pretty good teacher with my dolls. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:47.139 I remember having a grade book and having all their different names down there and giving them grades. Yeah, that was it. 00:10:47.139 --> 00:11:09.000 That's funny! Okay. Well, so growing up, I guess you grew up with a single mother for the majority of your youth. Okay, so tell me, what were meal times like for your family? Did you sit down and have dinner at night? Was your mom a great cook? Tell me a little bit about your home. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:34.424 Yeah, we always did. We always sat down together and ate dinner. And my mom was a great cook. She cooked lots of Greek food, you know. I remember when I got married, my husband goes can you make beans and cornbread? We've never had beans. I've never had beans and cornbread and stuff, like fried potatoes and things that people eat around here. We didn't do that. 00:11:34.424 --> 00:11:34.784 Yeah. 00:11:34.784 --> 00:11:37.965 We didn't fry. My mom, I don't think fried anything. 00:11:37.965 --> 00:11:38.384 Right. 00:11:38.384 --> 00:11:43.539 So, but there's just a lot of Greek cooking. And, you know, Greek pastries. 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:56.759 Do you remember anything in particular that she made that was your favorite growing up, whether it was a dessert or a special meal or whatever? 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:53.490 Well, it might sound weird, but Greek soup. I make Greek soup for my family and my boys, and they love it. They love it when I will tell them I'm making Greek soup. And Greek soup is, you boil a whole chicken and you use the broth. And then you use rosa marina, or I forget what it's called. Anyway, it's like fat rice. It's orzo, is what it is. And anyway, then you take like eight eggs, and you beat the whites. Then you add the yolks, and then you add a couple lemon, and then you make this big frothy white sauce. And then you slowly add the broth to it, and then pour it back together. And it's kind of an acquired taste. 00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:54.000 Sounds good! 00:12:54.000 --> 00:13:08.259 My son, Brandon, he loves Greek soup. All his friends, he would go come over, we're having Greek soup. And I said, Brandon, not everybody's gonna like Greek soup, because it's different. They're very different, definitely an acquired taste. 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:18.159 Oh, that's funny. So, did you take any of her recipes and carry them on. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:18.940 Yes. 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:20.559 Your Greek heritage, especially? 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:20.899 Yes. 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:44.225 Okay. Well, so you moved to Bristow whenever you started teaching. And your story is a little different than I think a lot of people that are, you know, rooted here in Bristow from the beginning. So, when did you meet your husband? Or you moved here and you never left? Is that? 00:13:44.225 --> 00:13:44.585 Right. 00:13:44.585 --> 00:13:45.000 Okay. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:14:14.924 Right. And that's funny that you say that, because I remember. So, my first year was at Slick in 1973 and 1974. And I just kind of, you know, when I came here, I thought, this is kind of a stepping stool to just kind of get my feet wet teaching. And I won't be here. I remember, at the end of the year, they always have the teachers together. And they give out these awards for five years, ten years. And they were giving those five year awards. And I was going, I'm never going to be here five years. I'm out of here. 00:14:14.924 --> 00:14:15.480 Right, right. 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:18.480 So, and then after 42 years, I retired. But anyway, yeah. I just, it kind of after the first year of Slick, that was the last year Slick was opened. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:24.639 Right. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:34.059 And then they moved everybody into the Bristow school system. So, then I moved into Bristow. 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:36.440 Because, then they probably needed more teachers at Bristow then, didn't they? 00:14:36.440 --> 00:15:11.360 Right, right. Well, Slick had probably 80 kids. It was first through eighth grade, and so I think we might have had that many, maybe not even that many. But then they brought us all in, all the teachers. You know, I taught first and second grade at Slick. And then there was a third, fourth grade teacher, and there was a fifth and sixth grade teacher, and a seventh and eighth grade teacher. So, there were only four of us there at Slick. We taught two grades each ; but they brought us all in and we all taught in Bristow. I taught second grade. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.299 Is that the first grade you taught whenever you came to Bristow? 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:37.100 Yes, yes. I taught second grade. Then I taught, I went from second grade to third grade. Then I went to fifth grade, which was my very favorite. And then after fifth grade, I went to transitional first grade, and then back to third grade. And then I became a principal. 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:43.179 And you told me, is this correct on the phone, that you taught for 21 years, and then you were principal for 21 years? 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:45.000 Exactly. Yes, yes. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:52.960 Okay. Well, so at what point, you were here, and then did you meet your husband here? 00:15:52.960 --> 00:16:36.745 Well, when I was at Slick, we had a teacher's aide, Carol Wood (ph) was her name, probably a lot of people remember her. And she knew I was single and I wasn't dating anybody, and she goes, I've got a guy I want you to meet. And so I said, okay. So, she told me she gave him my number, and he called, and we would kind of talk on the phone, and I thought, well, he sounds okay, you know. So, we had, we were going to go on a double date with Carol Wood (ph) and her husband. And so we had that planned for, I don't know, it was a week or so away. So, at the time, oh and at the time, I had a foster child too. 00:16:36.745 --> 00:16:37.399 Oh, my goodness! 00:16:37.399 --> 00:17:26.470 Yes, I had heard about needing foster parents. I thought, here I am alone. And I had bought a house then my second year of teaching, so I had a house there on west ninth street. And so, I had Jeannie (ph) was my foster child, and she was a little first grade girl. And so, one evening, there's a knock on the door, and there's this guy there with a mask on made out of a brown paper bag. And I go, hello, and it was right after Halloween. And so, she was standing by me, jumping up and down, and I was going, what is this about? And he's going, I'm Kelly Groom, and then he took off the mask. And so, it was the guy, he wanted to check me out before we went on our date. Anyway, and I still have that mask in my bridal book. 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:34.099 Oh, my goodness! 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:57.880 But anyway, you know, he came in. And so, then we were married several years after. We had three kids together. And we divorced in, I can't even remember when, oh it'd have been probably about 2014, something like that. 00:17:57.880 --> 00:17:59.000 So, tell me his full name. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.000 Kelly Don Groom 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:11.180 And I have his birth date as 5/25/1953, and his date of passing was January, 20, 2018? 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:11.720 Yes. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:16.099 Okay, and so you were married for about how many years? 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:18.500 Gosh! 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:20.420 And that's okay, if you don't remember. 00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:22.000 Yeah, no, it was like 28 years. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:30.000 28 years. Okay, so did you have a very long courtship, dating time, or did you just decide you wanted to get married? 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.259 Well, no, we didn't really have a very long courtship. We had, it was probably like eight months. 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:34.799 Oh, wow! 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:37.799 And then we were married in August, August 10. 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.700 August 10, okay. And then you said you have three children. 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:42.059 Right. 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:44.880 Can you tell me their full names? 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.680 Brandon Don Groom 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:51.279 And I have his date of birth as 6/2/1980? 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:52.119 Correct. 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:53.259 And then your next one? 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:55.299 And then Nicholas Ryan Groom. 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:58.299 I have him January 22, 1984? 00:18:58.299 --> 00:18:58.960 Correct. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:18:59.539 Okay. 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:03.079 And then Lindsey Nicole, well, she's Mayberry right now. 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:03.720 Okay. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:09.440 Lindsey Mayberry, she's 8/5/1985 she's got the easy birthday. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:27.440 Right. So, can you tell me, do you remember having any particular challenges as a working mom, you know, raising kids? Can you think back to the challenges you faced, or if you had any? 00:19:27.440 --> 00:20:17.839 Well, Kelly was in accounting and in oil and gas, and that was a time when oil and gas, they were laying people off, and they were downsizing. And so, it was like he tried hard, but he would change jobs frequently, and so that would freak me out, because we were living on a teacher's salary. And of course, you want your kids to have everything they want. You know, they had to have the Dr. Martens shoes, you know, the no fear shirts, and all those that were really important at that time. So, we bought a house that I still live in, and so they were all raised in that house. And I feel like when we had hard times or money problems, they really never knew it. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:26.720 Right. Well, that's good. And then, how many grandchildren do you have? 00:20:26.720 --> 00:21:03.184 Well, I have, Lindsey has three. They're just like the light of my life. That's what I live for, and that's what I do all the time. Pick them up from school, take them here, take them there. And then Relena (ph) has three. And she, you know, that's who Nicholas married. So, I kind of inherited them. They had Jacoby (ph) and Savannah (ph), and then later on, she adopted Ethan. So I consider them my grandchildren too. And then Brandon has one, Sunshine (ph) Groom, and she just turned 23, and I helped raise her too. She lived with me through her school years. 00:21:03.184 --> 00:21:06.545 So, seven total? 00:21:06.545 --> 00:21:07.744 Six, seven, yes. 00:21:07.744 --> 00:21:09.305 Seven total. 00:21:09.305 --> 00:21:40.440 Look, we can add, we can do math. Okay. Well, let's back up a little bit. So, whenever you were living here, moved here in the 1970s, so say even during that time. And you know, maybe before you met Kelly. Do you remember much about Bristow or maybe some of the biggest businesses or places you frequented during that time? 00:21:40.440 --> 00:22:01.740 Well, there was a Safeway store there on the corner, and I remember that. And then there was Ben Franklin, and I got to know Beth Dalpoas (Elizabeth Dalpoas), and Bill Dalpoas, at the Ben Franklin. But I'll tell you what, what I remember so vividly because, you know, I was from Tulsa, and you go to Tulsa, you go to the mall, or you go anywhere. You don't usually see anybody you know. 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:02.200 Right. 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:17.319 So, I just remember in Bristow, I would walk and they go, hi Miss Johnson. I was Miss Johnson. And I just be going, oh gosh, you know, people know you here. I gotta watch what I do and what I say. So, it was, you know, it's such a friendly... 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:19.240 You got a dose of hometown friendly. 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:26.119 Exactly, exactly. I just remember that so vividly, that everybody knew everybody here. 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:32.119 And I think that's part of the charm of Bristow. And one of the things that I like is you do have that closeness and connection with people. Where you know, when you're in a bigger city, you don't really have that at all. And I'm sure that probably was kind of a culture shock. 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:58.839 Yeah. It was, it was. And even now, you know, after 42 years, there's so many kids that I came in contact with. I cannot go out to anywhere where someone doesn't say hi, Miss Groom, you know. 00:22:58.839 --> 00:22:59.000 Right. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:26.000 I'll tell you a funny story. Last year, my daughter and I were together. We were getting out of the car at Walmart, and clear across the parking lot this tall, lanky kid had to have been like in his 30s, yells, hey, Mrs. Groom. And I go, hey, I had no idea who it was. He goes, I'm still scared of you. [indecipherable] I told Lindsey, maybe I kept him out of jail. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:47.420 That's funny! Do you happen to remember having any particular, and you may not, any memories of the depot itself? Did you have anything to do with the actual depot itself during the the 1970s, 1980s? 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:50.224 I think, did a train come still come through at that time? 00:23:50.224 --> 00:23:51.424 I think so. 00:23:51.424 --> 00:24:03.960 Yeah, it did. And that's, that's what I remember. But then the train stopped and they redid everything. But I do remember trains coming through Bristow. 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:27.039 And then, so, it was probably a lot different for you. For me looking back or talking to people, Bristow was really booming. And, you know, in the early days. But for somebody like you that came from Tulsa, I don't know how that. How did that feel for you, with it being a small town? 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:59.000 Like you said, it was a culture shock, for sure. But I remember all of the buildings on main street were full and had different businesses in them. Like now I see those empty buildings, it makes me sad. But yeah, Bristow was, I had to get used to going to. There was only two grocery stores. And, you know, there wasn't a Walmart or anything. There was a Ben Franklin and there was... You know, but you weren't that far from Tulsa. I would try to do most of my stuff in Bristow. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:11.000 In Bristow. So, do you remember having anything to do with, back during that time, like with any of the town activities, like Western Heritage Days? Or did you participate in any of that? 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:26.779 Yes, I did. I remember Western Heritage Day. I remember, I don't know if I was with a group of teachers or a group of something, but we did something about pushing mattresses down main street. 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:27.000 The bed races? 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:41.079 The bed races. Yes, I was in that. I don't know why or how, but I remember that. [indecipherable] different things. I know my mother would come here and she's going, you're doing what. What is this, you know. 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:43.880 Right. That's nothing you did in Tulsa, for sure. 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:46.619 Exactly, for sure. 00:25:46.619 --> 00:26:00.920 Okay, so, you touched on a little bit that you went to college. You went to OSU for your bachelor's and NSU for your master's. Can you tell me at all about that experience? 00:26:00.920 --> 00:27:06.769 It was, I'd been teaching, like, 19 years, and I decided I wanted to go back and be principal, and so, I was scared to death. You know, hadn't been college in 19 years, and so, I enrolled in and at the time, it was there in Tulsa, and there were like, four colleges. They called it. I can't remember what they called it, but it was not like it is now. But anyway, I took, just started taking classes there at night, I would take like, six hours. In the summer, I would take nine hours. And at that time, you had to be a principal, you had to have a Master's, plus 15 hours. I know, and I was just going, Oh, I'm gonna stick this out, but it's never gonna happen. And then I'll never forget. I was in one of my classes. I don't even remember which one, and they came in and said, the state has passed a law, or someone has passed something, because they were short on principals. And so, they passed something that you didn't have to take the extra 15 hours. And I was going crazy. 00:27:06.769 --> 00:27:09.170 Yeah, you were happy about that. 00:27:09.170 --> 00:27:21.994 And then so, after I got my principal's degree, I taught maybe one or two years later. And then they hired me to go to Washington School, which isn't there anymore. 00:27:21.994 --> 00:27:23.914 That's actually where I went as a kid. 00:27:23.914 --> 00:27:41.960 Oh, really, yeah, Washington. And so, at Washington, I was the principal and the PE teacher. So, I remember, you know, at that time, you know you would wear pantyhose and everything. I remember sweating in PE, getting my pantyhose back on, changing clothes, going back in the office and being the principal. 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:47.960 Wow, that's an unlikely pairing, to be a principal and a PE teacher. 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:53.319 Exactly. So, that happened a couple of years and then they hired a PE teacher. Thank goodness! 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:56.019 So, how long were you principal at Washington? 00:27:56.019 --> 00:28:14.500 Well, probably three years. And then I was, you know, really into the building of Collins. I got to help design the school. And the school that it is now is not the school I designed. 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.000 Right, right. 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:15.420 Because of where it was in the layout of the land. We had a big, long school. But anyway, so that was 2001, when we finally moved into Collins. 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:26.000 And that was probably an exciting time. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.059 was a very exciting time! 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:32.960 After being in Washington, because that was a very, very old school. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:41.920 Yes. I know, I remember opening my closet and I would smell that, there was a mold smell there at Washington. 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:54.019 And you know, some people would tell me, oh, I love that smell, smells so clean. It's like a clean smell. And I would open my closet and smell that smell, and I was just [indecipherable]. But when we moved into Collins, I just remember so well the kids carried their books and we moved in there in December. They finally got it through, and the kids carried their book. And we went, drove over there in school busses. And when we walked in, I remember we walked in the the back door, which was the big cafeteria area, and the kids, the things they were saying. I thought I got to write these down. And so, I started writing down some of their comments and told them at the school board meeting. But they were saying, is this our school, people must really like us. They were just so... 00:28:54.019 --> 00:29:05.704 Yes. 00:29:05.704 --> 00:29:33.200 Oh, that's neat! 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:36.920 Because, you know, they were coming out of Washington into a brand new school. 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:41.000 Yes, yeah. Oh, that's cool that you wrote down what they said. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:52.039 Yes, yeah. It was neat, it was neat. So, we talked about, don't touch the walls, we don't want fingerprints. And all those kids were so excited about that new school, wanted to keep it nice. 00:29:52.039 --> 00:30:00.380 Wanted to take care of it, yeah. So, then you were principal there for how long? Do you remember? 00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:03.000 So, I would have been principal there for about 19 years. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.500 19 years. Wow! 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:09.339 Or maybe 18, yeah. And I retired in 2016. 00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:12.420 And so, have you enjoyed being retired? Or have you missed it? 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:13.000 I'm going to tell you. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:15.000 It's probably bittersweet. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:55.964 It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. Because I talk about it, and then I go, no, I'm gonna go one more year. And then when I finally did it, but what made it okay was Lindsey was pregnant with Lilly (sp), her middle child. And so, Callen (sp), the oldest one, he was in a daycare. And then he was with a private family, and they had a little boy that would bite him. And I'd pick him up, and he'd have these bite markers on him. And I was going, oh, that's killing me. And so I thought, okay, so I could take care of my grandkids then. And so, that's what helped. 00:30:55.964 --> 00:30:57.400 That eased your pain a little bit. 00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:57.839 It did. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:07.019 Well, I feel like whenever that's pretty much all you've known your whole life, and very much a part of your identity. It is hard to let go of it. 00:31:07.019 --> 00:31:12.420 You're exactly right. And that is one thing, I felt like I lost my identity. 00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:13.000 Right. 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.359 Because now, who was I? I was just this babysitter of these great kids. 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:40.644 Right. I mean, you had a greater, a really greater purpose for a long time, and then for that to change. But I also want to talk about because, I learned some things when I talked to you on the phone. Of your heart for service, the different things that you follow. So, tell us about some of the different things you volunteer with. 00:31:40.644 --> 00:31:41.305 Okay, yeah. 00:31:41.305 --> 00:31:43.000 Because I feel like that keeps you really busy, too. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:32:18.325 Exactly, it does. When I retired, I saw, it was actually an ad in the Bristow paper for CASA, which is a court appointed special advocate. And so, I thought, okay, that's something I could do. You know, it's strictly volunteer, no money. And so, I went there and talked to the people, and they were thrilled. And I went through a little short course. Which it was funny, because all the things they were teaching me, I had kind of taught my teachers. So, I was going, I could be teaching this, but okay. 00:32:18.325 --> 00:32:18.960 Right. 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:55.785 And so, then I got sworn in with Judge Ihrig. He was the judge at the time. And so, I've been to CASA for 10 years, and now Laura Farris is the judge for the juveniles. And so, I have different cases that I've had. Oh, goodness, I was trying to count the other day. I've probably had 10 or 12 different cases that I've been on. And, you know, it's sad. I know when I became a principal, I saw the other side of things. You know, grandparents raising kids, great-grandparents raising kids. 00:32:55.785 --> 00:32:56.619 Right! 00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:20.184 And parents on drugs, in different things, where they couldn't raise their kids. And that's being a CASA. I saw a whole lot of that too. I've had several cases where it's been adoptions, and they've terminated the parents' rights. Because, they give them so long, they don't mess around with it. You know, a year and a half, and you haven't done anything, you know. 00:33:20.184 --> 00:33:24.200 So, what exactly is your role in being a CASA volunteer? 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:24.539 My role is to be an advocate for the kids. 00:33:24.539 --> 00:33:27.660 Okay. 00:33:27.660 --> 00:34:14.130 So, I check on the kids. I write reports to the court about what I've seen. I visit with the parents too. But I see the kids, and most of my kids were not in school. I did have a few in school, and so I would check with their teachers. And you know, when you're sworn in, you're given a paper that you're to be given all information, any information. No information is to be withheld from you. And so, you know you're an advocate for the kids. You give court reports, and you just have a different view from DHS caseworker. You know, they're looking more at the parents and different things. And they have guidelines that they have to follow. Well, I can say pretty much anything, because what are they going to do, fire me? 00:34:14.130 --> 00:34:15.719 Right, right. 00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:30.360 But anyway, so I'm an advocate for the kids. I just say what's best for the kids, what I feel like is best, how they're doing. A lot of them are going into therapy and different things. So, they're all foster, all in foster homes. 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:35.659 I could see it being rewarding, but I could also see it being a pretty tough situation at times. 00:34:35.659 --> 00:34:43.219 It is, yeah, it is. But you just feel like you're in there for the kids, and you're doing what's good for them. 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:48.860 Okay. So, you're on the Child Advocacy Board? 00:34:48.860 --> 00:34:50.719 Yes, that's another board I'm on. 00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:52.300 Okay. And what is that about? 00:34:52.300 --> 00:35:22.704 That is a board, I guess their mission statement would be to make foster children feel like regular children. Like we do the extras, DHS pays for, they send them a clothing allowance and different things. But Child Advocacy Board helps them be on a basketball team and pay the fee for that, or have dancing lessons. Or, you know, we buy lots of... 00:35:22.704 --> 00:35:23.000 Maybe equipment? 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:35.420 Equipment for sports, yeah, like softball, different things. We really have never turned down anything, except one time someone put in for a snake, a pet snake. 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:36.079 Oh, no! 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:38.059 We turned that down. 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:41.119 So, is that like a Bristow group or is it...? 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:42.000 No, it's Creek County. 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:42.019 Okay. And how long, do you remember how long you've been on that board? 00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:42.579 Creek County. 00:35:42.579 --> 00:36:07.784 But we have a lot of Bristow people on it. Kendra Raney, you know, our police chief, is on that. Laura Farris, the judge, is on that. And then the police chief from Kellyville, Shelly Garrett, she is on that. And then we have some people from Sapulpa also. 00:36:07.784 --> 00:36:11.625 Let's see, probably at least 5 or 6 years. 00:36:11.625 --> 00:36:14.539 So, is that something, maybe you meet once a month? 00:36:14.539 --> 00:36:29.360 No, we don't meet that often, but we kind of go through email. Like if there's requests that come in, we vote on those. But we meet about every three months. And I'm the secretary, and so I write up the minutes and send them out to everybody. 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:36.619 Okay. And then I know you also said a big thing for you is volunteering at your grandkids' schools. 00:36:36.619 --> 00:36:38.000 Yes, I do that. I love it. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:40.460 So, that feels really at home for you. 00:36:40.460 --> 00:37:06.804 It does, it does. I know, it does. Carson's (ph) in first grade, and so I've been there when they did an apple unit. And then, of course, his field trips. And so, his teacher is Liz [indecipherable], and she grew up with my daughter, Lindsey. And so, I've known her all her life, and so she feels comfortable to call me. So, I love going there. 00:37:06.804 --> 00:37:06.989 That's awesome! 00:37:06.989 --> 00:37:18.239 And then I've gone to Lilly's (ph) school. She's at Collins, so I love to go in there and hug my secretary, Melissa (ph), you know. And so, I volunteered at her class several times. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:25.500 Oh, that's neat. And then one of the big things that you're known for in Bristow is day camp. 00:37:25.500 --> 00:37:26.000 Oh, day camp. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:31.619 So, let's talk about day camp, because I feel like that gets a whole section all to itself. 00:37:31.619 --> 00:37:56.324 Yes, yeah. Well, my very first summer here I found out about day camp. And I thought, well, that would be a fun thing to do in the summer, you know? So, that's when Chuck West and Wanda Newton were running day camp. And so, I went and talked to him. And of course, I think I got, I am not sure, but I think I got $5 a week when I worked at day camp. 00:37:56.324 --> 00:37:57.000 Isn't that funny? 00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:08.639 Yeah, and I mean I was fine with that. I didn't think that was bad at all. And I remember it cost $14 to go to day camp then, for three weeks. No, actually it was four weeks then. Yes. 00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:08.940 Okay. 00:38:08.940 --> 00:38:33.945 And so, Chuck West, he was so wonderful. You know, he'd always hug you and then ask you a favor. But anyway, he had four weeks of day camp and then two weeks of free swim after that. Where any kid could just come and have free swimming lessons. So, and you know, now I hear everybody in Bristow learned to swim at day camp, you know and it's...I have parents... 00:38:33.945 --> 00:38:35.539 My kids did. 00:38:35.539 --> 00:38:45.000 Yeah. I have parents tell me, I've had private swimming lessons. They learned more at day camp than they do there. Because, you know, you have your peers there, and you want to do good for them. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:45.719 Right. 00:38:45.719 --> 00:39:10.664 So, but anyway, so then I taught second grade girls for, I don't remember how many years. But then, you know, Chuck West and Wanda, they both were going we need to give it up. We don't want to give it up, unless someone can take it over. So, Oma Kay Murray and I, Oma Kay was a counselor there too. And she'd gone to day camp, because she was from Bristow all her life. 00:39:10.664 --> 00:39:11.000 Right. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:25.340 And so, we talked, and she actually was the one that said we can't let day camp die. And I was going, I don't know. And so, she talked me into it, to do day camp together. And so, we did it together for many, many years. 00:39:25.340 --> 00:39:33.960 And it's many, many years. Do you happen to remember, I know when I talked to you on the phone, you weren't sure? But it was a long time! 00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:51.639 Yeah. Well, I was a counselor in 1974. And then I probably took it over, maybe, it was before I was married. So, I was married in 1978. 00:39:51.639 --> 00:39:52.440 So, I guess I was a counselor for you know, 1973, 1974, 1975, and then 1976, for maybe 4 years. And then I took it over. So, since 19... 00:39:52.440 --> 00:40:04.039 Oh gosh! 00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:05.360 Late 1970s? 00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:06.000 Yeah, 1977. 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:08.500 Wow! Okay, okay. 00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:10.340 [indecipherable] 00:40:10.340 --> 00:40:17.659 And so, was the only time that there wasn't day camp there was whenever the pool was closed in recent years? 00:40:17.659 --> 00:40:18.440 Right, right. 00:40:18.440 --> 00:40:20.420 Which was a sad time for everyone. 00:40:20.420 --> 00:40:21.019 It was, it was. 00:40:21.019 --> 00:40:22.039 Everyone missed it. 00:40:22.039 --> 00:40:22.539 Right. 00:40:22.539 --> 00:40:24.760 And how long, how long was it closed? 00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:25.900 For four years. 00:40:25.900 --> 00:40:26.659 Was it that long? 00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:55.804 It was four years. We didn't have day camps, yeah. Maybe it was three years, and then the fourth year we were able to have it. Pretty sure, I'm not positive, but I think that was. But I do want to say that right now we're kind of in a quandary. Because the mayor, not just the mayor, but they don't want us to have day camp in the armory. And that's the only place, you know. We were in the armory for 40 something years, before the city ever took it over. 00:40:55.804 --> 00:40:58.320 Right. 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:06.300 And so now, you know. And I know 300 kids in the armory, that's a lot. That's a little bit of a hiccup to their schedule. 00:41:06.300 --> 00:41:06.780 Right. 00:41:06.780 --> 00:41:08.320 But we're... 00:41:08.320 --> 00:41:09.940 Because it goes two weeks now it's it? 00:41:09.940 --> 00:41:10.539 No, it's three. 00:41:10.539 --> 00:41:11.559 Is it three weeks? Okay. 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:13.000 It's three weeks. So, yeah. 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.000 So, you're trying to get that figured out? 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:30.599 We're trying to get that figured out. Maybe have it at the VFW, but it's...VFW isn't a good. We had it at the VFW for a couple of years, and it's just not a good choice. It's so far for the little kids to walk. And they have stuff there on Tuesday nights. 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:34.860 So, not sure how that's gonna end? 00:41:34.860 --> 00:41:38.760 Yeah, but you know I'm gonna go down kicking and screaming. 00:41:38.760 --> 00:41:45.360 Well, that doesn't surprise me, Vicki. Well, are there any other things that... 00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:49.619 We have looked for every place to have day camp. 00:41:49.619 --> 00:41:52.119 Yeah. And it just, no? 00:41:52.119 --> 00:42:02.780 I don't know. So we're still negotiating. I don't know. I'm hoping they'll come through. Everybody on the council, either went to day camp, had kids at day camp. So, it's a tradition. 00:42:02.780 --> 00:42:26.559 Well, I feel it, because I actually interviewed Oma Kay also. I mean, you guys have had so much. I mean, pretty much every kid that's come through Bristow has had some contact with you guys, whether it was through school, teaching, principal day camp. I mean, that's why you can't go anywhere without anybody saying hi, Miss Groom. 00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:35.800 That's true. Oh yeah. During the three weeks of day camp, these little kids, you go in Walmart, they're going ohhh. I'm going, oh yeah. I don't know you, but I bet you go to day camp. 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:37.360 Yeah, yeah. Exactly. 00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:40.780 Day Camp started in 1953 with Chuck West. 00:42:40.780 --> 00:42:41.000 Wow! 00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:49.000 So, it's been a tradition here at Bristow that I just can't let die. And the thing is, we're $70 for three weeks. Well, there's... 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:50.679 You can't do anything for that. 00:42:50.679 --> 00:42:53.239 There's camps here that are $70 for three days, you know. 00:42:53.239 --> 00:42:54.599 I know, right! 00:42:54.599 --> 00:43:08.699 And so, and we let lots of kids in at no cost. If they can't afford it. I have parents tell me, you know, we can't afford a vacation. That's my kids vacation, to get to go to day camp. And then we have the swimming lessons too. 00:43:08.699 --> 00:43:13.320 Which is so vital. I felt like such an important skill to have. 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:14.639 Right. Yeah, right. 00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:26.280 Well, are there any other volunteer things or things that you've done that we haven't talked about or discussed, whenever I visited with you on the phone. 00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:27.960 No, just church. 00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:33.300 I was actually going to ask you about church. So, where do you attend church? 00:43:33.300 --> 00:44:07.125 Well, you know, I went to the First Methodist Church for 42 years. And it's went through several pastors. It's kind of, there aren't any kids there. It's kind of died down, and Lindsey's, my three grandkids were the only kids in that church. And so, because of that, we thought we need to find somewhere where they can have youth fellowship and different stuff like that. And so, we are going to Free Will Baptist Church. 00:44:07.125 --> 00:44:07.664 Oh, Okay. 00:44:07.664 --> 00:44:09.579 Yeah. And so, that's different. 00:44:09.579 --> 00:44:10.539 Yeah, yeah. 00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:22.900 Going from a Methodist to Baptist. But anyway, I really like it. And, you know, I tried to, I'm in their Bible studies, and I still go to the Methodist Bible study too. So, I still kind of keep a connection with those. 00:44:22.900 --> 00:44:23.079 Right. 00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:29.500 Those are my people, but I volunteer there whenever I can and do whatever I can to help. 00:44:29.500 --> 00:44:33.019 So, church has always been a really important right part of your life? 00:44:33.019 --> 00:44:35.219 Right. 00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:48.300 Do you have? So, being retired, I know that you, obviously, you have your volunteer things. Do you have any hobbies? Or do you have time for hobbies? 00:44:48.300 --> 00:45:04.860 Well, I go to the retired teachers' luncheon once every month. And then, like I said, I do my two Bible studies every week. I just really wrap myself up to my grandkids. 00:45:04.860 --> 00:45:05.519 Your grandkids? 00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:13.000 I do a lot for them. I pick them up from school often, and just do a lot with them. 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:25.059 Well, I can see myself entering into the new grandparent situation. It's a wonderful place to be. 00:45:25.059 --> 00:45:28.840 It is. I am so blessed to have them and get to be in their lives. 00:45:28.840 --> 00:45:50.320 To get to be in their lives, yeah. So, how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child? So, what do you feel like is our nation's biggest problem, and how do you think it could be solved? Oh, I'm gonna challenge you. 00:45:50.320 --> 00:46:41.829 I'm not a Trump fan. And I feel like so many things we're doing now, we're just we're not respected like we used to be in the past, our country. And I feel like there's so much friction and fighting. And I think that's because of our administration or because of Trump. Because, you know, he puts Republicans against Democrats. You know, I remember when President Kennedy was being elected, I was in elementary school. And that's when I first realized there were Democrats and Republicans. I mean, because it was just like we were one, we were one nation. But now it just seems like there's clashes. And you know, you're a Democrat, it's almost like, you know, you're not worthy. 00:46:41.829 --> 00:46:42.670 Right. 00:46:42.670 --> 00:46:47.199 And so, I just think that that's a terrible thing that we've come to that. 00:46:47.199 --> 00:47:03.539 So, whenever you were a kid, because I kind of ran those two questions together. You remember growing up when you were a kid, versus, say, like your grandkids now. How do you feel? How do you see the world as different for, say whenever you were growing up, versus like the world for your grandkids? 00:47:03.539 --> 00:47:29.864 Technology. It's, you know, the cell phone, the iPhones, the internet. It's just, the iPads, you know. I mean, my young Carson (ph), who's in first grade, his mom had to say you cannot be on your iPad during the week. Only on the weekends, because he would stay on that IPad 24/7. Kids don't get outside and play. 00:47:29.864 --> 00:47:30.405 Right. 00:47:30.405 --> 00:47:33.824 You know, run around and everything. They're always on that iPad or on the computer. 00:47:33.824 --> 00:47:39.644 So, how do you feel about technology in school for young people, for the younger? 00:47:39.644 --> 00:47:41.204 And, you know, it was there when I was. 00:47:41.204 --> 00:47:42.045 Yeah. 00:47:42.045 --> 00:47:44.000 And I did fight against it. 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:44.019 So, you know, it's good in a way. Most all of the state tests now are on the computer. So, you want the kids familiar with the computer, you know, because we're all [indecipherable]. 00:47:44.019 --> 00:47:54.320 Right. 00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:56.000 But maybe not ruling their lives? 00:47:56.000 --> 00:48:13.579 Exactly, exactly. I don't like a teacher giving the kids their laptops, and they all have laptops now in class, and saying you do this side, this side. And, you know what is she doing, sitting up there. 00:48:13.579 --> 00:48:13.960 Yeah. 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:20.079 Because, you know you're losing a lot. You know, the personal relationship with teacher and student. 00:48:20.079 --> 00:48:26.500 Which I also think our kids have lost because of technology, the ability to communicate. 00:48:26.500 --> 00:48:26.867 You are right. 00:48:26.867 --> 00:48:45.780 And I see that a lot myself. But I can imagine being in school and seeing for the span of time that you taught, from, you know, 1970s to, you know, almost present day of the difference in kids, just kids in general. 00:48:45.780 --> 00:49:21.284 Yes, yes. And parents. I want to tell you a big difference is when I first started and a kid would get in trouble, and a parent would come to the office. They, you know, they were going, you're gonna get it. You know, you get a spanking here, you're gonna get spanked when you get home from school. When I retired, it was like, no, my child would not do that. My child does not lie. So, the best thing that we had, I had 21 cameras in Collins. And so, I would go, come here, let me let you watch this video of when they stole out of the backpack. 00:49:21.284 --> 00:49:22.605 Oh, no! 00:49:22.605 --> 00:49:30.380 But yeah, parents, they don't believe their kids can do wrong, you know. 00:49:30.380 --> 00:49:54.239 Okay. So, how have historic events, for instance, like maybe the Oklahoma City bombing, or 9/11, natural disasters? Heck, even covid. Do you recall any of those events affecting you personally or the community, or any of that? 00:49:54.239 --> 00:50:40.530 Well, of course, covid was a big, major thing. I mean, I wasn't in the school system then. But, you know, everybody wearing masks and all of that. And I do remember 9/11, I was actually teaching third grade in the old, old part of Edison. And I remember my father-in-law, who was an attorney in Oklahoma City, frequented that building, and so I was really worried about him. But I know that was no, that was not, no wait a minute. What happened when the... No, the 9/11 I was at Washington, as a principal, when they bombed the two. 00:50:40.530 --> 00:50:43.000 So, maybe the Oklahoma City bombing is that what you're thinking of? 00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:46.300 Yes. The Oklahoma City bombing was before that. 00:50:46.300 --> 00:50:46.659 Right. 00:50:46.659 --> 00:51:02.000 Yes. And that's when I just worked and that that really affected me, you know, until I heard from him, knew he was alright. You know, all of the, I know what really bothered me was the daycare there, all the little kids that got killed. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:02.139 And then when you go visit, we used to take the kids to go visit the memorial, and you see all. They had a room, I remember you went in and you heard the bombing. You heard the bomb. And so, it was really, really heartwarming, touching. 00:51:02.139 --> 00:51:20.000 Yes, yes. 00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:21.860 Yeah, right. Well, is there anything else that you would like to tell us, or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations? What do you want your grandkids to know, or a piece of advice for them to carry through? 00:51:21.860 --> 00:52:06.000 Well, I mean, I want parents to respect teachers, respect administration, realize no kid is perfect. All kids lie. So, you know, don't have blinders on when someone's talking to you about your kids. Keep your kids in church and keep them grounded with the Lord. I think that's very important. And, you know, enjoy life. 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:16.739 Enjoy life. Okay, well, your interview will become an important part of the Oral History Archives for the museum. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it. 00:52:16.739 --> 00:52:17.739 Thank you. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> video 0 https://bristoworalhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0078_Vicki_Groom.xml OHP-0078_Vicki_Groom.xml
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Vicki Groom
Description
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Born August 27, 1951 in Toledo, Ohio, Vicki discusses her Greek heritage and family background. She moved to Tulsa after her parents' divorce and attended Tulsa Edison High School. Vicki earned a bachelor's degree in education from Oklahoma State University and a master's from Northeastern State University. She taught school for 42 years, becoming a principal in 1993. Vicki also volunteers extensively, including as a CASA advocate and on the Child Advocacy Board. She emphasized the importance of respecting teachers and maintaining religious grounding for children.
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OHP-0078
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2025-12-05
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Oral History
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Interviewer
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Regan Siler
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Janet Wilson
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6.0 January 14, 2026 OHP-0079 Janet Wilson OHP-0079 00:52:16 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Janet Wilson Regan Siler 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0079 Wilson, Janet.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 January 14, 2026 and I'm here with Janet Wilson at the Bristow Library Annex. She's going to tell us a little bit about her life and what it's like living and working in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name? 
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 00:25
 ; Janet Sue Wilson.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 00:27
 ; Okay, and do I have permission to record this interview?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 00:31
 ; Yes.
 ; Janet Sue Wilson was born on September 29, 1950. She was born at the hospital in Cushing, Oklahoma. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Library Annex ; Cushing (Okla.) ; Cushing Hospital Birth 0 46 Parents and Sister Regan Siler 00:46
 ; Okay. Well, let's start by talking about the people in your family. Can you tell me your parents' full names?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 00:52
 ; My mother was Bessie Marie Falmo. Well, it was Stewart, and then Falmo. And my dad was Bobby Eugene McMurtry.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:01
 ; And did your dad go by Bob and your mom go by Bess?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 01:05
 ; Yes.
 ; Janet's mother was Bessie Marie Falmo, she went by Bess. Janet's father was Bobby Eugene McMurtry, he went by Bob. Janet has one sister, Marsha Jones. Bessie Marie Falmo ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Marsha Jones Parents ; Sister 0 95 Moving to Bristow Regan Siler 01:35
 ; You're older, okay. And where did you live growing up, and did you have family living nearby you?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 01:44
 ; Okay, I started out in Stroud, Oklahoma, and then at four we moved to Bristow. I moved to Bristow, and I had family in Chandler and Sapulpa.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 01:57
 ; Oh, okay.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 01:57
 ; Those were my closest relatives.
 ; Janet and her family lived in Stroud, Oklahoma until Janet was four. They then moved to Bristow. Her father worked at a service station in Stroud but wanted to branch out on his own. He got a loan from the Kelly brothers at the bank and chose Bristow. Janet also had relatives in Chandler and Sapulpa. Stroud (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Chandler (Okla.) ; Sapulpa (Okla.) ; Okemah (Okla.) ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry Bristow (Okla.) 0 152 Service Station Janet Wilson 02:32
 ; So, he had a service station here in Bristow?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 02:38
 ; He had a service station on the corner of fourth and main.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 02:39
 ; And what was that...?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 02:39
 ; Little tiny, Bob's Gibble Gas.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 02:40
 ; Really? Okay.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 02:41
 ; Yeah. 
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 02:41
 ; Okay. And how long, did he have that a long time?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 02:43
 ; Yes, he had it until, goodness, until, can't remember if I had graduated.
 ; Janet's father had the service station, Bob's Gibble Gas on the corner of fourth and main in Bristow. He also sold used car and put in the first car wash in Bristow. Janet's mother was a stay-at-home mom. Bristow (Okla.) ; Bob's Gibble Gas ; Depew (Okla.) ; Stroud (Okla.) ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Bessie Marie Falmo Service stations 0 205 Land Regan Siler 03:25
 ; Stay-at-home mom. Okay, and then your dad has land?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 03:31
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 03:31
 ; Like, where you have the sorghum festival?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 03:33
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 03:34
 ; Was that land always in your family?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 03:36
 ; Yeah.
 ; Janet's father owns land in Bristow. He purchased it after Janet's parents divorced and he remarried. It is where the sorghum festival is held. Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Bessie Marie Falmo ; Sorghum Land 0 226 Stillwater and Watonga Regan Siler 03:46
 ; Okay. So, then your family has lived, or you've lived in the Bristow area pretty much since you were four. I know there were some times that you were had moved away for some time.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 03:59
 ; We moved to Stillwater.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:00
 ; Stillwater.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:00
 ; And Watonga.
 ; Janet has mainly lived in the Bristow area since she was four years old. She briefly moved away to Stillwater and Watonga, but she is back in Bristow now. Bristow (Okla.) ; Stillwater (Okla.) ; Watonga (Okla.) Stillwater (Okla.) ; Watonga (Okla.) 0 245 School Regan Siler 04:05
 ; Watonga. Okay, okay. Well, can you tell me a little bit about your school life? Where did you first attend school?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:13
 ; Bristow.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:13
 ; So, did you...?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:14
 ; Started first grade here, we didn't have a kindergarten then. The only kindergarten was with the Catholic Church, and we didn't go to that. So, most kids just started first grade.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:25
 ; First grade?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:26
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:26
 ; And so, you attended Bristow School all 12 years?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:29
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 04:29
 ; Okay. When did you graduate?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 04:32
 ; 1968.
 ; Janet attended Bristow School until she graduated in 1968. Her favorite classroom teacher was Mrs. Yourman in the third grade. Janet also mentioned that Chuck West was her absolute favorite teacher. He taught P.E. and then later became the athletic director. Janet also mentions the janitor, Sandford Willis being very influential in her life. Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Catholic ; Zeddie Cantrell ; Chuck West ; Sandford Willis School 0 511 Mealtimes Regan Siler 08:31
 ; Okay, well, let's talk about meal times with your family. Did you guys eat together every night or?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 08:38
 ; Well, Dad was at the filling station. So, if he came home, you know, within a decent hour, which usually he did, we'd have dinner all together at the table. But Sundays, if he was home, we always had dinner together. That was family back then, that's just kind of the way it was. We didn't eat until dad got home, if he was coming home, and mom always made him lunch and took him lunch at the service station where he worked.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 09:08
 ; Do you remember having a favorite meal or anything that your mom cooked that you loved?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 09:13
 ; My dad hunted, so, we had a lot of squirrel and rabbit, and those were probably my favorite.
 ; Janet and her family typically ate dinner together. Her dad hunted and Janet loved eating fried squirrel, squirrel gravy and rabbit gravy. Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Bessie Marie Falmo ; Marsha Jones Mealtimes 0 616 Community Activities Regan Siler 10:16
 ; Okay, okay. Well, thinking back to town life and growing up, what were some of your favorite community activities? I know, like in past interviews, people have mentioned things like Western Heritage Days, day camp, parades, county fairs, etc. Can you tell me about any of those memories that you have?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 10:34
 ; Oh, they're wonderful. Back when we were kids, there was so much to do in Bristow. I mean, we had everything from skating rinks to swimming pools to outdoor movies. There was always something to do. And then Western Heritage Days was nothing like it is now, it was huge. And the Jaycee Janes and Jaycees put a lot of stuff on that, you know, you just couldn't go pay for something like that.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 10:59
 ; Right. Well, I've heard, like, you know, about the bed races and the different things and people dressing up in, like, cowboy attire and stuff like that. Was that from your time?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 11:11
 ; Uh-huh. We had saloons, like the old banks on the corner was turned into a saloon.
 ; Janet recalls Bristow having everything to do when she was growing up, from skating rinks to swimming pools to outdoor movies. Janet talks very fondly of how big the Western Heritage Days were in Bristow. She worked at Kemp's and she wore the old timey attire. Janet also was part of something called Outburst that did productions. Western Heritage Days ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Max Kemp ; Kemp's Drugstore ; Lois McMillan Community Activities 0 872 Bristow Businesses Regan Siler 14:32
 ; Right, right. Okay. What were some of, in your memory, what were some of the biggest or most popular businesses around town, say, like when you were growing up?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 14:43
 ; Kemp's was always a big deal. Rexall Drug was a big deal. We had everything here when I was growing up. We had shoe stores, we had clothing stores. We had Red Bird shoe store was a big popular place. Then we had Modern Miss. We had Stanford's. Those were girls' clothing places. Gosh!
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 15:05
 ; What do you feel caused the change in that, for those stores to not be here like they were then?
 ; Janet talks about some of the businesses that were in Bristow when she was young. She mentions Rexall Drug, RedBird shoe store, Modern Miss and Stanford's. She also talks about some of the restaurants, Highway Cafe, Lyons Cafe, T& ; J's, Anchor and the Hamburger King. Janet says that Highway Cafe was a family style restaurant. It was close to the high school, and she would eat lunch there. She would have things like fried chicken. Many of the restaurants were a hangout spot, with comic books and magazines to enjoy. Bristow (Okla.) ; Rexall Drug Company ; RedBird shoe store ; Modern Miss ; Stanford's ; Walmart ; Turner Turnpike ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Stroud (Okla.) ; Highway Cafe ; T& ; J's restaurant ; Anchor Burgers ; Hamburger King ; Kemp's Drugstore Business ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 1031 Teen Hangouts Regan Siler 17:11
 ; Closer to school. And what were some of your favorite hangouts as a teenager?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 17:18
 ; Frosty Freeze. I'm sure you've heard, was it still here when you were here?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 17:24
 ; No, there was a Tastee Freeze when I was...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 17:27
 ; Okay. Tastee Freeze was...
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 17:28
 ; Different, something...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 17:29
 ; It was not in the same place.
 ; Janet talks about dragging main as a teenager. She said they would drag main and end up at Frosty Freeze. Janet said that Frosty Freeze had the best hot dogs and that everything was super cheap. Janet also mentions teens going out around the lake and there being an area like a lover's lane. Frosty Freeze ; Tastee Freeze ; Linda Kay Herman ; Polar Express Teenagers 0 1107 Shopping Regan Siler 18:27
 ; Since we're based there. So, as far as clothing, did you get to shop very much in town for your clothing as a young person?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 18:37
 ; We always shopped here.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 18:38
 ; Always shopped here.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 18:39
 ; Every now and then Florine Matthews [5/9/1933-4/27/2016], which was Brenda's mom and my mom would go to Sears in Tulsa and drive there. Or they'd go to every now and then Dillards, but Dillards was kind of a...Renberg's was one.
 ; Janet said that she did most of her clothing shopping here in Bristow growing up. Occasionally, Florine Matthews and Janet's mom would go shopping in Tulsa at Sears, Dillards or Renberg's. Sometimes Janet would join them with Florine's daughter, Brenda. Bristow (Okla.) ; Florine Matthews ; Sears ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Dillards ; Renberg's Shopping 0 1148 First Car Regan Siler 19:08
 ; Right, right. Do you happen to remember your first car?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 19:13
 ; I do.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 19:13
 ; What did you have?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 19:14
 ; I had a little red convertible. It was a, what was it? A falcon, a Ford Falcon, red with white leather interior. But my dad dealt.
 ; Janet's first car was a little red convertible. It was a Ford Falcon, red with white leather interior. Janet's favorite car though was a 1965 Mustang fastback. It was navy blue with white leather interior. Janet's father taught her how to drive. Ford Falcon automobile ; Marsha Jones ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Ford Mustang Automobiles 0 1198 Childhood Homes Janet Wilson 19:58
 ; We lived out in Glen Acres. Do you know where Glen Acres is?
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 20:01
 ; Uh-huh, yeah.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 20:01
 ; Okay, dad owned Glen Acres back then.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 20:03
 ; Oh, wow.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 20:04
 ; And there wasn't hardly any houses out there. So, we lived in the middle and there was no houses, and I kept my horses there. And anyway, the lots by our house were vacant, so he set up cones and stuff, and we would go out there and dive and yeah.
 ; Janet and her family lived behind the football field in the first home that her father's friend, Doyle Matthews built in that area. They lived there until Janet was about 10 years old. They then moved to Glen Acres. Her father owned Glen Acres. It was pretty vacant at first, and Janet was able to keep her horses there. They lived there the rest of Janet's childhood. In fact, Janet's mother lived in that home until she went blind and moved to the Woodland Village. Glen Acres (Bristow, Okla.) ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Bessie Marie Falmo ; William Doyle Matthews ; Woodland Village (Bristow, Okla.) ; Mike Glen Wilson ; Marion Dewayne Biggs ; Minnesota Homes 0 1315 Entertainment Regan Siler 21:55
 ; Well, what sort of entertainment did you enjoy growing up? I know that, like typically, when I interview people, they always say, well, we were outside, doing, you know. But do you remember, like, any particular programs or did you listen to music or anything like that when you were younger and growing up? Did you have TV programs that you liked?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 22:16
 ; Oh, yeah. Rin Tin Tin, Fury, I liked all the animal movies, Lassie, all those kind of things.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 22:22
 ; Why does that not surprise me.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 22:25
 ; That was on Saturday mornings, and you watch those, and then you went outside. You didn't...
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 22:28
 ; You didn't hang out in the house.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 22:31
 ; Nuh-uh.
 ; Janet loved movies and television shows about animals. She mentions watching Rin Tin Tin, Fury and Lassie. She says she typically watched television on Saturday mornings, but most of her free time was spent outdoors. Television ; Fury (Motion picture : 1978) ; Lassie (Television program) ; Rin Tin Tin (Television program) Entertainment 0 1354 Historic Events as a Child Regan Siler 22:34
 ; Do you remember witnessing any pivotal moments, like on TV growing up?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 22:39
 ; I sure do. Oh, growing up.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 22:43
 ; Well, or what, I guess I mean I think. Do you remember seeing anything on TV that was like a pivotal moment for you?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 22:51
 ; Well, back then, I think it was All in the Family, where it's Archie Bunker. I can't remember the name of that. I remember sitting there with dad, and that was really a, because they got pretty...
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 23:03
 ; Oh, yeah.
 ; Janet remembers her father watching All in the Family with Archie Bunker. She remembers Archie was pretty racist. Janet says that integration happened when she was in the third grade. She does not remember it being a big deal in Bristow. She says they were always friends, and that as a child you don't notice color. A big influence in her life was Sandford Willis and he was black. She also recalls Larry Robertson telling the best stories when they went to the library. All in the family (Television program) ; Archie Bunker ; Television ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Sandford Willis ; Larry Robertson Historic events 0 1476 Childhood Dreams and College Regan Siler 24:36
 ; Well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 24:39
 ; I wanted to be a veterinarian.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 24:41
 ; Did you really, and so what steered you to become a teacher?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 24:45
 ; When I got to OSU, I went to OSU, which was a big eye opener,
 ; Janet wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. She says that going to college at OSU was a big eye-opener. She says it was a big culture shock, and that she had never been around people from other countries. Janet's aunt and uncle lived in Stillwater, and she spent a lot of time at their home. Her aunt was teaching then, and that helped sway Janet's decision to become a teacher. She switched from veterinarian to interior design, and then at the beginning of her junior year to teaching. Veterinarians ; Oklahoma State University ; Teaching ; Stillwater (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Family Relations and Child Development College 0 1622 Pets Regan Siler 27:02
 ; So, I want to talk about your teaching in just a second. Want to circle back to the animals for just a second. So, growing up, did you have a lot of animals growing up?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 27:10
 ; We always had animals. If we didn't have animals, we'd go find them. My first pet, when we lived by the football field, and you know how your memory is, the dog pound and the vet clinic, I guess, were one. And it was Dr Richberg (ph), and I would go visit those dogs, even though it broke my heart because I just anyway, I fell in love with this one. He was a big shaggy dog, and I really wanted that dog so bad. And he told me, he said, you go ask your parents if you can have that dog. And he said, there's a pet parade coming up, and if you win that pet parade, then what you win, pay me and you can have that dog. So, anyway, I went and asked mom and dad, and they said we could. So, went back, got the dog, dressed him up like a, back then you had pet parades, dressed him up like a little old man. He was the cutest thing. Anyway, I won.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 27:11
 ; You won.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 27:11
 ; 50 cents. So, I paid 50 cents for him.
 ; Janet had a dog named Happy. She was six or seven and living at her home by the football field. She would visit the vet clinic and pound and fell in love with a shaggy dog. The vet told her to ask her parents if she could have it, and that there was a pet parade coming up. He said if she won, she could keep the dog in exchange for the winning money. Janet dressed the dog up like an old man and won. So, she paid 50 cents for the dog, Vet ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Bessie Marie Falmo Pets 0 1715 OSU and Teaching Regan Siler 28:35
 ; Did you tell me you graduated in 1972 from OSU?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 28:39
 ; Uh-huh, uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 28:39
 ; Okay. And so, you went from vet to interior design to you decided you wanted to be a teacher.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 28:46
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 28:47
 ; And then, so, let's talk about your teaching life.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 28:51
 ; Okay.
 ; Janet graduated from OSU in 1972. Janet taught school for 3 years in Bristow. She then moved to Stillwater, and later taught there for 5 years. Oklahoma State University ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Stillwater (Okla.) Oklahoma State University ; Teaching 0 1800 Putting Teaching on Hold Janet Wilson 30:00
 ; And so, finally I got on in Stillwater, and I taught there for five years. And then I had Paul, and Paul came down with spinal meningitis at six months.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 30:01
 ; Oh my gosh!
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 30:03
 ; And so, that really scared us. I mean, it terrified us.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 30:18
 ; Yeah.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 30:19
 ; Anyway, so after that, the doctor had said to us, or the nurse, and I can't remember exactly who it was, said that, had he been in daycare. It was on a Saturday, whenever his temperature spiked like, oh way high and...
 ; Janet taught at Stillwater Schools for 5 years. She had her son, Paul and he came down with spinal meningitis at six months old. Janet decided she needed to stay home with him. She says finances were fine, so she quit teaching for 5 years, until 1986. Janet had moved to Watonga during that time for her husband's work. The oil field took a hit, and so they moved back to Bristow. Stillwater (Okla.) ; Marion Dewayne Biggs ; Paul Hunter Biggs ; Watonga (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Teaching 0 1893 Going Back to Teaching Regan Siler 31:33
 ; And yeah, and then you, so you decided that you would start to... Well, no, now, did you teach one year at Kellyville too? Did you do that?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 31:41
 ; Okay. I, in 1986 I needed a job, and so, I didn't think I could teach anymore, because I thought my certificate had elapsed, and Mary Johnson (ph) lived next door to us. We were in my mom's house, and they just built a new home next door to us. Anyway, she was over talking to me one day, she said, let's just call and find out if it has. So, we called and it had not expired. It just had a few more days before it was going to expire.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 32:10
 ; Oh my goodness!
 ; In 1986, Janet decided she wanted to work again. She thought that her teaching certification had lapsed. She caught it a few days before and was able to renew it. She was hired to teach at Kellyville for one year. During that time, she saw the superintendent of Bristow and he asked if she would rather teach in Bristow. She was hired, but was eight months pregnant so taught later on. Kellyville (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bessie Marie Falmo ; Bobby Eugene McMurtry ; Judy Vice ; Warren Clifton Carmichael ; Kale Robert Biggs Teaching 0 2016 Marriage Regan Siler 33:36
 ; Oh gosh, okay. Well, let's talk about your married life for a minute.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 33:41
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 33:42
 ; Okay. Tell me your first husband's name and date of birth.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 33:47
 ; It was Dewayne Biggs [Marion Dewayne Biggs], and he was born April 15, 1950.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 33:54
 ; Okay. And you were married to him for...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 33:57
 ; Around 43 years.
 ; Janet's first husband was Marion Dewayne Biggs, he was born on April 15, 1950. They were married for over 40 years and had 3 children together. Janet is now married to Michael Glen Wilson. They were married on December 21, 2017. Marion Dewayne Biggs ; Michael Glen Wilson ; Bessie Marie Falmo ; Marsha Jones Marriage 0 2125 Children Regan Siler 35:25
 ; Okay, all right. Okay, well, let's talk about your kids.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 35:29
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 35:30
 ; Of course, I know who they are, but tell us their names, their full names and birth dates.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 35:34
 ; Okay. Paul Hunter Biggs and his is September 14 of 1980.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 35:41
 ; 1979?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 35:42
 ; 1979.
 ; Janet has three sons, Paul Hunter Biggs, Ty Dewayne Biggs, and Kale Robert Biggs. Ty Dewayne Biggs ; Kale Robert Biggs ; Paul Hunter Biggs Children 0 2157 Motherhood Regan Siler 35:57
 ; Okay, okay. Well, so, do you remember any, I know you love your boys, and I know you loved them playing sports and doing all of that. But can you think back to whenever they were small and maybe challenges you had with them as a, because I know part of the time you were a working mom. And tell me about that time of life and what it was like for you. Did you feel like you had any real challenges?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 36:22
 ; You know, my boys, I guess because I was a lot like them, as far as liking outdoors and liking things like that. God knew what He was doing when He gave me boys. But Ty was one who would rise with the, before the chickens, and he would go do his own thing. From the time he was little bitty. You might find him outside. He went, you know, he just would do those kind of...
 ; Janet says that God knew what he was doing in giving her all boys. She says she was a lot like them, as far as loving the outdoors, etc. She says Paul was the typical first born, he was never a challenge. She says that he had a great sense of humor. Janet says Ty was very inquisitive, and that she was always worried that something would happen to him. She also talks about her youngest, Kale being ornery. Ty Dewayne Biggs ; Paul Hunter Biggs ; Kale Robert Biggs ; Methodist Church ; Dennis Roan ; Nathan Roan Motherhood 0 2337 Grandchildren Regan Siler 38:57
 ; Okay. Well, tell me about your grandchildren. How many grandchildren do you have?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 39:01
 ; I have 17 combined.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 39:03
 ; 17 combined, my goodness!
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 39:04
 ; Yeah.
 ; Janet has seventeen grandchildren combined. She has ten here in Bristow. She loves being a grandmother. Grandchildren Grandchildren 0 2360 Classroom Regan Siler 39:20
 ; Well, and I think back also to, I want to talk a little bit just about your classroom, I guess vibe, for lack of a better way to put it.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 39:29
 ; Uh-huh.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 39:30
 ; I always really loved and appreciated that you had a heart for kids that might be a little different. Can you tell me about that?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 39:42
 ; My love, I thoroughly love kids that are, that don't march to the same drummer as everybody else, autistic kids, kids. I went to several workshops on autism. I went to Temple Grandin and watched her. Kids, I don't know if it was from being a kid that was bullied. I don't know if it was, I never really had anybody in my life that was disabled or anything like that, so.
 ; Janet has a heart for children that are different than others. She even went to Temple Grandin and watched her. She talks about struggling herself in math and having a math teacher that took extra time to help her. She understands that not all children learn the same way. Temple Grandin ; Teresa Barnett ; Tom Miller ; Teaching Teaching 0 2486 Retirement Regan Siler 41:26
 ; Well, so, have you enjoyed being retired? Was that hard to let, it's probably kind of bittersweet. Was it hard to let go of the teaching? And have you been, enjoyed being retired?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 41:37
 ; It was really, really hard letting go of the kids, and I enjoyed the camaraderie too, of the teachers. But school was becoming too test driven, to telling you how you can do this and how you can do that. And I'm telling you, when you've got a classroom of 21 kids, and they're all different, and they're all maturity levels, they don't march to the same drummer. You can't give them a cookie cutter something and expect everyone to come out on top.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 42:09
 ; And, you know, I agree with you. So, I mean...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 42:11
 ; Yeah.
 ; Janet says it was really hard for her to retire, to let go of the kids. She says that the school system has become too test driven. Janet says that with 21 students, they don't all march to the same drummer. Retirement Retirement 0 2694 Hobbies Regan Siler 44:54
 ; Yeah, I would agree with you. Well, now that you're retired. Aside from all of your grandkid activities, do you have any particular hobbies that you enjoy?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 45:05
 ; Well, I have a booth at KC's [KC's Re-Vintage], and I love messing with it. I love, I still like decorating. I decorate the kid's homes whenever they change holidays.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 45:14
 ; Oh, you do?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 45:16
 ; Yeah, and I love doing that, and the ones that let me. I did do some stuff at Added Touch [Added Touch Florist]. And I'd help her, from time to time, decorate down there, not doing as much now there, because I've got so much going on with the booth. And then...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 45:30
 ; Right.
 ; Janet still stays busy in her retirement. Besides her grandchildren, she has her own hobbies. She has a booth at KC'S ReVintage. She also enjoys decorating her children's homes for different holidays. She even helped out decorating at the flower shop (Added Touch Florist) for a bit. KC'S ReVintage ; Added Touch Florist Hobbies 0 2739 How the World is Different Regan Siler 45:39
 ; Okay. Well, so, I'm going to ask you a couple questions, and these are maybe a little more thought provoking. But how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child or, you know, growing up?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 45:51
 ; Hmmm....
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 45:53
 ; It's kind of...
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 45:54
 ; Much more fast paced.
 ; Janet talks about the world being much more fast paced now than when she was growing up. She also says that there is so much more technology. She misses the days when you were able to walk and bike anywhere. Technology ; Stillwater (Okla.) World 0 2939 Historic Events Regan Siler 48:59
 ; Oh, man! How have historic events say, for example, like the Oklahoma City bombing or 9/11, even covid affect, have any of those affected you personally? And do you recall how any of those events affected the community?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 49:20
 ; The bombing, both bombings, well, the Trade Center and Oklahoma City, those are real hard. It was kind of a, well after the, I can't remember if it was the twin towers or which one and we went on lockdowns. And that was not something that had ever happened, you know.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 49:44
 ; Right.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 49:45
 ; We just didn't have lockdowns.
 ; Janet says that the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attack were both so hard. She talks about the school being on lockdown. She also mentions the car bombing of a school teacher in Bristow in the 1970's that affected the whole community. Oklahoma City Bombing ; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 ; Fern Bolding ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Charles Nicholson ; Washington School (Bristow, Okla.) ; Rex Brinlee Historic Events 0 3090 Wisdom Regan Siler 51:30
 ; Right, right. Okay. So, is there anything else you would like to tell us about, but also any wisdom you would like to share for future generations, like for your grandkids, anything that you would really want, maybe them to know?
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 51:44
 ; That there's always hope, that things will get better. You know, I feel that way. I feel like we go through these journeys for a reason, and that, just trust in the Lord and things are going to be okay.
 ; 
 ; Regan Siler 52:03
 ; I like that. Well, your interview will become an important part of the Oral History Archives for the museum. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it.
 ; 
 ; Janet Wilson 52:12
 ; Thank you.
 ; Janet finishes the interview with some words of wisdom. She says that things will always get better. She feels like we go through these journeys for a reason. Janet says to trust in the Lord and things are going to be okay. Wisdom ; Lord Wisdom 0 MP3 Janet Wilson was born September 29, 1950, in Cushing, Oklahoma. Janet's parents were Bessie Marie Falmo McMurtry and Bobby Eugene McMurtry. She moved to Bristow at age four due to her father's business opportunities. Janet attended Bristow Schools, graduating in 1968, and later studied at OSU, initially aiming to be a veterinarian but eventually becoming a teacher. She taught in Bristow, Stillwater, and Kellyville with the majority of her career being spent with Bristow Public Schools. Janet married Dwayne Biggs and later Michael Wilson. She has three sons and 17 grandchildren. Janet reflected on changes in education and community over the years. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:25.304 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 January 14, 2026 and I'm here with Janet Wilson at the Bristow Library Annex. She's going to tell us a little bit about her life and what it's like living and working in the Bristow area. Can you please state your full name? 00:00:25.304 --> 00:00:27.480 Janet Sue Wilson. 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.019 Okay, and do I have permission to record this interview? 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:31.600 Yes. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:35.539 Okay. Please tell me when and where you were born. 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:42.420 I was born in Cushing, Oklahoma on September 29, 1950. 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.240 Okay, and were you born at the Cushing Hospital? 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:46.259 Uh-huh. Cushing Hospital. 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:52.799 Okay. Well, let's start by talking about the people in your family. Can you tell me your parents' full names? 00:00:52.799 --> 00:01:01.439 My mother was Bessie Marie Falmo. Well, it was Stewart, and then Falmo. And my dad was Bobby Eugene McMurtry. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:05.579 And did your dad go by Bob and your mom go by Bess? 00:01:05.579 --> 00:01:06.120 Yes. 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:16.665 Okay, okay. And I have your dad's date of birth as November 24, 1930, and his date of passing as June 25, 2024? 00:01:16.665 --> 00:01:17.025 Uh-huh. 00:01:17.025 --> 00:01:26.385 Okay. And then I have your mom's date of birth as February 16, 1931, and date of passing, November 5, 2023? 00:01:26.385 --> 00:01:26.984 Uh-huh. 00:01:26.984 --> 00:01:30.045 Okay, okay. Do you have any siblings? 00:01:30.045 --> 00:01:32.609 I do. Marsha Jones, here in town. 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:35.430 Okay. And are you older? Is she older? 00:01:35.430 --> 00:01:35.849 I'm older. 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:44.250 You're older, okay. And where did you live growing up, and did you have family living nearby you? 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:57.375 Okay, I started out in Stroud, Oklahoma, and then at four we moved to Bristow. I moved to Bristow, and I had family in Chandler and Sapulpa. 00:01:57.375 --> 00:01:57.614 Oh, okay. 00:01:57.614 --> 00:01:58.995 Those were my closest relatives. 00:01:58.995 --> 00:02:01.394 Was there a particular reason why you moved to Bristow? 00:02:01.394 --> 00:02:32.759 My dad moved here because, well, mainly because of the turnpike going through. He was working at a service station in Stroud, and wanted to branch out on his own. And he had a choice of here, or I think it was Okemah. And he chose Bristow, because the Kelly brothers, they were with the bank, and they gave him a loan, and so that's how we ended up in Bristow. 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:38.400 So, he had a service station here in Bristow? 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:39.891 He had a service station on the corner of fourth and main. 00:02:39.891 --> 00:02:39.996 And what was that...? 00:02:39.996 --> 00:02:40.125 Little tiny, Bob's Gibble Gas. 00:02:40.125 --> 00:02:41.145 Really? Okay. 00:02:41.145 --> 00:02:41.264 Yeah. 00:02:41.264 --> 00:02:43.965 Okay. And how long, did he have that a long time? 00:02:43.965 --> 00:02:53.384 Yes, he had it until, goodness, until, can't remember if I had graduated. 00:02:53.384 --> 00:02:54.405 Oh. So, a long time? 00:02:54.405 --> 00:02:56.504 Oh yeah, he had it the whole time we were in Bristow. 00:02:56.504 --> 00:02:59.324 Okay. So, that's what he did the whole time? 00:02:59.324 --> 00:03:17.610 Uh-huh. It was a filling, we called them filling stations back then. Used cars, he sold used cars. He dabbled in all kinds of stuff. He was kind of, then he put in the first car wash here in Bristow, and in Depew, and in Stroud. And they were kind of a new thing back then. 00:03:17.610 --> 00:03:18.270 Interesting. 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:18.629 Yeah. 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:19.409 I didn't know that. 00:03:19.409 --> 00:03:20.430 Yeah. 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:23.849 So, did your mom work? Or did she stay home with you? 00:03:23.849 --> 00:03:25.229 My mom was a stay-at-home mom. 00:03:25.229 --> 00:03:31.034 Stay-at-home mom. Okay, and then your dad has land? 00:03:31.034 --> 00:03:31.215 Uh-huh. 00:03:31.215 --> 00:03:33.194 Like, where you have the sorghum festival? 00:03:33.194 --> 00:03:34.094 Uh-huh. 00:03:34.094 --> 00:03:36.014 Was that land always in your family? 00:03:36.014 --> 00:03:36.134 Yeah. 00:03:36.134 --> 00:03:37.875 Or did he acquire that later in life? 00:03:37.875 --> 00:03:40.935 He bought that after my mom and dad divorced. 00:03:40.935 --> 00:03:42.555 Oh, okay. Okay. 00:03:42.555 --> 00:03:45.074 He remarried, and they purchased that. 00:03:45.074 --> 00:03:45.615 Okay. 00:03:45.615 --> 00:03:46.634 Or he purchased that. 00:03:46.634 --> 00:03:59.219 Okay. So, then your family has lived, or you've lived in the Bristow area pretty much since you were four. I know there were some times that you were had moved away for some time. 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:00.240 We moved to Stillwater. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:00.840 Stillwater. 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:05.039 And Watonga. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:13.080 Watonga. Okay, okay. Well, can you tell me a little bit about your school life? Where did you first attend school? 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:13.500 Bristow. 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:14.025 So, did you...? 00:04:14.025 --> 00:04:25.665 Started first grade here, we didn't have a kindergarten then. The only kindergarten was with the Catholic Church, and we didn't go to that. So, most kids just started first grade. 00:04:25.665 --> 00:04:26.264 First grade? 00:04:26.264 --> 00:04:26.444 Uh-huh. 00:04:26.444 --> 00:04:29.625 And so, you attended Bristow School all 12 years? 00:04:29.625 --> 00:04:29.865 Uh-huh. 00:04:29.865 --> 00:04:32.024 Okay. When did you graduate? 00:04:32.024 --> 00:04:33.045 1968. 00:04:33.045 --> 00:04:40.170 1968, okay. Do you remember having any influential teachers during your time at Bristow? 00:04:40.170 --> 00:04:44.370 I did. I had Mrs. Yourman was my third grade teacher. 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:47.670 And do you happen to know her first name? 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:48.509 Goodness! 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:49.170 It's okay. 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:50.009 I don't remember. 00:04:50.009 --> 00:04:52.350 Do you happen to remember how to spell her last? 00:04:52.350 --> 00:04:52.889 Yourman? 00:04:52.889 --> 00:04:53.310 Yeah. 00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:55.769 Y O U R M A N 00:04:55.769 --> 00:04:56.250 Okay. 00:04:56.250 --> 00:04:58.949 Her husband was my ophthalmologist. 00:04:58.949 --> 00:04:59.970 Okay. 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:00.795 Here in town. 00:05:00.795 --> 00:05:01.394 Oh, okay. 00:05:01.394 --> 00:05:04.394 Where Zeddie is now, Cantrell. That was his... 00:05:04.394 --> 00:05:05.115 Wow, okay. 00:05:05.115 --> 00:05:11.475 He started that. And then he went in with Dr. Foster and Hiskett, and then Zeddie took it over. 00:05:11.475 --> 00:05:14.175 So, Mrs. Yourman, what grade did she teach? 00:05:14.175 --> 00:05:14.475 Third. 00:05:14.475 --> 00:05:16.154 Third grade. 00:05:16.154 --> 00:05:43.860 She was probably my favorite teacher, classroom teacher. And then Chuck West was my absolute, probably favorite teacher. And he was P.E. but, then later he became athletic director. And I don't know he just was always, I always was close to him. I really, you know, some of those teachers just kind of reach out to you, and he was one of those. 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:44.339 That's good. 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:46.365 Thought a lot of him. 00:05:46.365 --> 00:05:53.024 I've heard a lot, in my interviews a lot of people have a lot of nice things to say about him. 00:05:53.024 --> 00:06:02.685 Yeah, he was a wonderful man. But another one that was really influential was Sandford Willis. And he was not a teacher. He was a janitor. 00:06:02.685 --> 00:06:05.925 Really, okay? And why is that? 00:06:05.925 --> 00:06:38.834 Well, my mother was, I don't know if she was irresponsible or if she just got busy and you know, back then, a lot of moms didn't work. They had coffee together and different things like that. And I don't know if she was her coffee friends or what, but she was supposed to pick me up, either after school or sometimes at lunch, and she'd forget to come. So, I'd be stuck there, and Sanford would come out and talk to me and help me. And that was like, I was real shy back then. 00:06:38.834 --> 00:06:39.975 You were shy? 00:06:39.975 --> 00:06:41.295 I was very, very shy. 00:06:41.295 --> 00:06:42.735 That's hard for me to believe. 00:06:42.735 --> 00:06:52.995 I still am very, very shy. But anyway, he would come out and visit with me, and just gave me that little bit of... 00:06:52.995 --> 00:06:54.420 Maybe a sense of security? 00:06:54.420 --> 00:07:09.420 Right, and he would take me in. And we had, our principal back then was a, I thought she was huge, very tall, but she wasn't. She was very short, and she always wore black, and she was very, very commanding, you know. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:11.639 That's probably why you thought she was tall. 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:21.944 Yeah, but she was, he would take me into her, and she was so kind and so sweet, and really that bond between us was good because. 00:07:21.944 --> 00:07:22.605 Well, good. 00:07:22.605 --> 00:07:24.285 I always thought she would be horrible. 00:07:24.285 --> 00:07:24.644 Right. 00:07:24.644 --> 00:07:34.004 She didn't turn out to be that way. And she'd either take me over to the cafeteria and you know, where I could eat, or she would get ahold of my mom to come get me after school. 00:07:34.004 --> 00:07:37.064 And so, was this like an elementary school, I'm guessing? 00:07:37.064 --> 00:07:39.449 Yes, yes. 00:07:39.449 --> 00:07:43.529 All right. Did you have a favorite subject in school? 00:07:43.529 --> 00:07:46.529 I did. I loved English, Reading. 00:07:46.529 --> 00:07:47.430 English and Reading. 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:47.730 Uh-huh. 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:51.389 Okay. So, overall, you would say you enjoyed school? 00:07:51.389 --> 00:08:07.154 I loved school. I did. I had a bully when I was young, and I think that was put in my path for a reason. Because when I became a teacher, that was something dear to my heart. I didn't, you know, I wouldn't allow it. I wouldn't, you know. 00:08:07.154 --> 00:08:07.334 Right. 00:08:07.334 --> 00:08:14.774 I was careful to make sure kids in the class weren't bullied, if I could do anything about it, because it's a horrible thing for a young kid. 00:08:14.774 --> 00:08:15.194 Right. 00:08:15.194 --> 00:08:23.654 And then also, it's a horrible thing for the bully, because that bully often has a lot going on in their life that needs to be addressed. 00:08:23.654 --> 00:08:29.819 Right. Well, speaking from experience, I know you always had a loving classroom, because both my boys had you. 00:08:29.819 --> 00:08:31.319 Thank you! 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:38.940 Okay, well, let's talk about meal times with your family. Did you guys eat together every night or? 00:08:38.940 --> 00:09:08.264 Well, Dad was at the filling station. So, if he came home, you know, within a decent hour, which usually he did, we'd have dinner all together at the table. But Sundays, if he was home, we always had dinner together. That was family back then, that's just kind of the way it was. We didn't eat until dad got home, if he was coming home, and mom always made him lunch and took him lunch at the service station where he worked. 00:09:08.264 --> 00:09:13.230 Do you remember having a favorite meal or anything that your mom cooked that you loved? 00:09:13.230 --> 00:09:18.450 My dad hunted, so, we had a lot of squirrel and rabbit, and those were probably my favorite. 00:09:18.450 --> 00:09:19.830 Really! 00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:25.230 Fried squirrel, squirrel gravy, rabbit gravy, yeah, yeah. Someone always came by that honestly. 00:09:25.230 --> 00:09:27.090 Yeah, they came by that honestly, didn't they? 00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:29.070 Yeah, yeah. 00:09:29.070 --> 00:09:36.794 So, did your mom teach you how to cook? Or did you, were you the cleanup crew? Like, what was it, what was it? 00:09:36.794 --> 00:10:05.279 I was to get out of the kitchen. My sister, well, I'm left handed for one thing, and mom couldn't handle that. If I ironed, she threw a fit because I was ironing on the wrong side of the ironing board. Or if I cooked, I was cutting with the wrong hand, and that scared her. And she just would say, you go on in there, or whatever. She didn't. So, mainly, my job was to clean the house. She couldn't be around. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.200 Okay. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.899 Marsha cooks wonderfully, she's a great cook. 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:12.419 So, Marsha was the cook and you were the cleanup group. 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:16.379 I couldn't even clean. I just didn't, she didn't want me in the kitchen. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:34.965 Okay, okay. Well, thinking back to town life and growing up, what were some of your favorite community activities? I know, like in past interviews, people have mentioned things like Western Heritage Days, day camp, parades, county fairs, etc. Can you tell me about any of those memories that you have? 00:10:34.965 --> 00:10:59.909 Oh, they're wonderful. Back when we were kids, there was so much to do in Bristow. I mean, we had everything from skating rinks to swimming pools to outdoor movies. There was always something to do. And then Western Heritage Days was nothing like it is now, it was huge. And the Jaycee Janes and Jaycees put a lot of stuff on that, you know, you just couldn't go pay for something like that. 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:11.115 Right. Well, I've heard, like, you know, about the bed races and the different things and people dressing up in, like, cowboy attire and stuff like that. Was that from your time? 00:11:11.115 --> 00:11:16.154 Uh-huh. We had saloons, like the old banks on the corner was turned into a saloon. 00:11:16.154 --> 00:11:16.634 Oh, how fun! 00:11:16.634 --> 00:11:39.059 Dance hall girls would be in there. And those were the Jaycee Janes. I worked at, when I was, I guess when I was in college. My first year of college, I worked for Max Kemp [11/27/1925-12/23/2005] at Kemp's. And we always dressed up, the whole town dressed up. If you worked there, you wore the old timey attire, and it was wonderful. 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:42.779 What do you think, in your opinion, has changed? 00:11:42.779 --> 00:11:44.940 We don't have Jaycees Janes and Jaycees. 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:48.360 Was that a driving force in Western Heritage Days? 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:48.600 Right. 00:11:48.600 --> 00:12:11.085 Because I've kind of wondered that. Because, you know, I know, it faded away for awhile, and then we've had groups that have tried to bring it back, which I've appreciated. The town is appreciated. But it just seems like back during that time things were, there was way more community, like community involvement, than what there is now. And I don't know if life's just too busy or I'm not sure what has changed. 00:12:11.085 --> 00:12:12.345 Well, you have two people working now. 00:12:12.345 --> 00:12:12.644 True. 00:12:12.644 --> 00:12:19.409 Back then, when I was growing up, most moms didn't work, and so you had a lot of help. 00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:20.129 That's a good point. 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:21.990 It wasn't the same people all the time. 00:12:21.990 --> 00:12:24.450 Right, right. The same few people, yeah. 00:12:24.450 --> 00:12:47.355 And all our Jaycee Janes were really, really active, fun people. They loved doing that stuff, because it took a lot of time. And then, when I was in, I guess college, I was in Outburst. No, I wasn't in college because, it had to have been after college when I was married, the first year. We had a thing called Outburst. 00:12:47.355 --> 00:12:52.634 Tell me, tell me about that, because I hadn't heard about that until you had mentioned it on our phone conversation. 00:12:52.634 --> 00:12:57.375 I'm not sure who put it, if it was Jaycees then, I don't know who really put that on. 00:12:57.375 --> 00:12:58.815 What exactly was it? 00:12:58.815 --> 00:13:24.360 It was a show, and all these people did groups, did dances, they did different things. It was usually at the Legion hut, and they'd have tables set up, and people could sit at the tables. And then we had our chairs for people to observe, and then we just put on shows. 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:26.565 So, like dance shows, or like plays? 00:13:26.565 --> 00:13:44.985 Well, like one year it was all Western, and so we were, like the group that I was with, we were like slim girls, you know. And we did slim girl dances, and the guys would sit at tables and act like they were. Anyway, that was one year, and then another year was more like the 50's and 60's. 00:13:44.985 --> 00:13:47.445 So, was it like one production a year? 00:13:47.445 --> 00:13:47.625 Uh-huh. 00:13:47.625 --> 00:13:47.865 Okay. 00:13:47.865 --> 00:14:07.230 That's why I'm not sure. I know, I can remember McMillan, Lois McMillan, talking to us, so I know she was, she must have been part of part of it, or the head of it or something. But like I said, I don't know what group it was that really put it on. We just did it and had fun. 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:10.350 And how long do you think you did that for? 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:13.154 I know I was in it twice. I was in it two years. 00:14:13.154 --> 00:14:14.174 Two years, okay. 00:14:14.174 --> 00:14:14.534 Uh-huh. 00:14:14.534 --> 00:14:20.414 Because I hadn't, of all the people I've talked to, I hadn't heard about that. So, I thought that was an interesting tidbit. 00:14:20.414 --> 00:14:28.575 Yeah, I've got books on it. You know, they always gave out, like, a little handbook to people with the pictures and it was always in the newspaper, yeah. 00:14:28.575 --> 00:14:28.934 Oh, well. 00:14:28.934 --> 00:14:29.955 It was a big deal. 00:14:29.955 --> 00:14:30.254 Yeah 00:14:30.254 --> 00:14:30.975 I mean it was fun. 00:14:30.975 --> 00:14:31.575 Fun, yeah. 00:14:31.575 --> 00:14:32.235 A lot of fun. 00:14:32.235 --> 00:14:43.320 Right, right. Okay. What were some of, in your memory, what were some of the biggest or most popular businesses around town, say, like when you were growing up? 00:14:43.320 --> 00:15:05.264 Kemp's was always a big deal. Rexall Drug was a big deal. We had everything here when I was growing up. We had shoe stores, we had clothing stores. We had Red Bird shoe store was a big popular place. Then we had Modern Miss. We had Stanford's. Those were girls' clothing places. Gosh! 00:15:05.264 --> 00:15:12.044 What do you feel caused the change in that, for those stores to not be here like they were then? 00:15:12.044 --> 00:15:24.330 A lot of people say Walmart, but I'm not so sure that was it, because they started to dwindle. Dad says a lot of things were turnpike related, that people could now get on the turnpike and go to Tulsa really fast. 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:32.610 Well, and then I've heard that as well in interviews, that people felt like the turnpike caused Bristow to get bypassed a lot. 00:15:32.610 --> 00:15:33.090 Yeah. 00:15:33.090 --> 00:15:34.110 Or it was, you know... 00:15:34.110 --> 00:15:37.350 Well, everything. Stroud, that's what dried Stroud up dad said. 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:37.950 Yeah. 00:15:37.950 --> 00:15:41.370 And he was always in business, so he kind of... 00:15:41.370 --> 00:15:42.690 Kind of had a pulse on that? 00:15:42.690 --> 00:15:42.929 Uh-huh. 00:15:42.929 --> 00:15:43.230 Yeah. 00:15:43.230 --> 00:15:43.950 Right. 00:15:43.950 --> 00:15:47.054 Did you have a favorite place to eat out in town? 00:15:47.054 --> 00:16:10.740 Yes, we had the Highway Cafe and we had Lyons Cafe. Those were two. And then later there was TJ, T&J's restaurant. Let's see Anchor was always here. Then there was a Hamburger King, you know. We always ate at that. There was lots of things on main. 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:11.159 Right. 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:25.559 Growing up. Highway Cafe was more of a family style restaurant, and it was close to the school. So, when I was in high school, we'd go there to eat lunch. You had a little bit longer, I think we had to have, because we'd have fried chicken and stuff like that. 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:26.320 Yeah. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:45.000 So, anyway and then a lot of them, and back then too, you could go in and they always had comic books and magazines like at the Lyons Cafe. And you go sit, if you were by yourself, you just read a magazine or a comic book, or while you're eating your lunch, or, you know, it was a hangout. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.019 A whole different feel than what it is now. 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:50.120 Oh, nothing like it is now. 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:50.580 Well, the kids would, they would love it, because it's more like it was more like being in downtown Tulsa or in Utica Square. It was more that type of a life, even like Kemp's had a soda fountain and you could sit and have sodas after school, ice cream and things. Well, I guess Rexall did too. I just went more to Kemp's because it was closer to school. 00:16:50.580 --> 00:17:11.960 Yeah. 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:18.904 Closer to school. And what were some of your favorite hangouts as a teenager? 00:17:18.904 --> 00:17:24.140 Frosty Freeze. I'm sure you've heard, was it still here when you were here? 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:27.079 No, there was a Tastee Freeze when I was... 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:28.640 Okay. Tastee Freeze was... 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:29.539 Different, something... 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:30.799 It was not in the same place. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:31.140 Yeah. 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:44.160 But you had your drag main, and you dragged to Frosty Freeze on the end, turn around and come back up. And they always had the best hot dogs, and everything was super cheap then. You know, you get a hot dog for little or nothing. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.000 So, cruising main was something that you guys did? 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.559 Yeah, everybody. 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:48.039 Yeah. 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:56.799 Went out around the lake and they had a, before they cleared out and put houses around the lake that was kind of like a lover's lane. You could go up in there. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.720 I've heard, I've heard about that. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:17:59.000 Yeah. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.279 Linda Kay [Linda Kay Herman] actually told me about that. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.660 Yeah, yeah. 00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:04.460 Because of her being out around the... 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:05.299 She lived, around... 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:06.980 Yeah, at the golf course. 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:08.619 Uh-huh. 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:15.759 Do you have any particular memories about or with the train depot, by any chance? 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:21.460 Do you know, until the train depot became well, till Polar Express. 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:21.940 Right. 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:23.200 I have no memories. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:26.259 Not really, okay. Well, I always have to ask, you know. 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:27.000 No. Yeah, I understand. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:37.720 Since we're based there. So, as far as clothing, did you get to shop very much in town for your clothing as a young person? 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:38.799 We always shopped here. 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:39.720 Always shopped here. 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:51.220 Every now and then Florine Matthews [5/9/1933-4/27/2016], which was Brenda's mom and my mom would go to Sears in Tulsa and drive there. Or they'd go to every now and then Dillards, but Dillards was kind of a...Renberg's was one. 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:52.000 So, did you get to go too and shop? Or did they just go? 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:57.220 Sometimes, Brenda always got to go, but I didn't always. 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:58.859 Oh! 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:08.819 She was always with her mom, but my mom. Most of the time we did, we got to go, because you just didn't get a lot of babysitters back then. [indecipherable] 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:13.079 Right, right. Do you happen to remember your first car? 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:13.980 I do. 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:14.900 What did you have? 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:29.240 I had a little red convertible. It was a, what was it? A falcon, a Ford Falcon, red with white leather interior. But my dad dealt. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.000 Well, that's what I was gonna say, you had an in on that. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:51.579 Because we got a lot of cars. But my favorite car was a 1965 Mustang fastback navy blue, white interior, leather interior. And Marsha wrecked it, she wrecked it. I think it was at sixth and I don't remember the name of the street, sixth and something, but she got t-boned. 00:19:51.579 --> 00:19:53.200 Oh no! 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.480 I'm sure it wasn't her fault. 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.684 Do you remember who taught you how to drive? 00:19:57.684 --> 00:19:58.164 My dad. 00:19:58.164 --> 00:19:58.585 Your dad. 00:19:58.585 --> 00:20:01.000 We lived out in Glen Acres. Do you know where Glen Acres is? 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:01.420 Uh-huh, yeah. 00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:03.880 Okay, dad owned Glen Acres back then. 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:04.539 Oh, wow. 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:25.019 And there wasn't hardly any houses out there. So, we lived in the middle and there was no houses, and I kept my horses there. And anyway, the lots by our house were vacant, so he set up cones and stuff, and we would go out there and dive and yeah. 00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:28.000 So, is that primarily where you lived growing up was Glen Acres? 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:57.684 I lived there from the time I was, I think we moved there when I was, I was probably about 10, maybe. We lived behind the football field on dad's. Doyle Matthews [William Doyle Matthews 6/25/1931-5/12/2008] was dad's first really friend here in town, and Doyle was a builder, and he built all those homes behind the football field, and we lived in the very first one he built. 00:20:57.684 --> 00:20:58.000 Okay. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:17.799 Built that for dad. And so, this is something that I'm not real proud of, but we would do it. We used to after the football games all us little kids, because we were little, we were real. We go over there and go under this, look for things under the seats, and we'd find bags of popcorn and eat that popcorn. Is that not horrible? 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:19.720 Yes! 00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:22.119 We had so much fun. 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:23.720 That's a fun growing up memory, I guess. 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:26.000 that's why we're so healthy. I'm sure. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:34.000 Oh gosh, that's good. And so from there, you moved over to Glen Acres, and then did you live there most of your... 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:35.980 The rest of your time. 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:43.480 And in fact, mom kept that until she went totally blind, and we put her in Woodland Village. 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:43.539 Right. 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:53.559 I even lived there when Mike and I moved, Mike and I, Dewayne and I moved back from Watonga. We lived there while mom was in Minnesota. 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:54.000 Oh, okay. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.420 So, for a little while. 00:21:55.420 --> 00:22:16.000 Well, what sort of entertainment did you enjoy growing up? I know that, like typically, when I interview people, they always say, well, we were outside, doing, you know. But do you remember, like, any particular programs or did you listen to music or anything like that when you were younger and growing up? Did you have TV programs that you liked? 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:22.660 Oh, yeah. Rin Tin Tin, Fury, I liked all the animal movies, Lassie, all those kind of things. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.119 Why does that not surprise me. 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:28.000 That was on Saturday mornings, and you watch those, and then you went outside. You didn't... 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 You didn't hang out in the house. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:31.240 Nuh-uh. 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:33.039 Yeah, okay. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:34.140 No. 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:39.619 Do you remember witnessing any pivotal moments, like on TV growing up? 00:22:39.619 --> 00:22:43.000 I sure do. Oh, growing up. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:51.839 Well, or what, I guess I mean I think. Do you remember seeing anything on TV that was like a pivotal moment for you? 00:22:51.839 --> 00:23:03.720 Well, back then, I think it was All in the Family, where it's Archie Bunker. I can't remember the name of that. I remember sitting there with dad, and that was really a, because they got pretty... 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:05.559 Oh, yeah. 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:06.700 He was pretty racist. 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:07.539 Yes, yeah. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:38.140 And the things that he, and we grew up in Bristow. And Bristow, as far as I can remember, we integrated when I was in third grade. And it was a big moment, but not a big moment. It was like, you know, things I see other people talking about from other towns, it's like, you know, it was, like, a really big deal. I don't remember it being that way. I just remember us being friends. 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:45.160 I've talked to some other people that kind of have the same opinion that you have about that. Everybody might not have the same opinion. 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:48.940 But some of the ones that I've talked to have kind of had the same opinion, that you were just friends, and it was just kind of, it wasn't like you say, it just didn't seem like a huge deal. 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:53.480 Right. 00:23:53.480 --> 00:24:06.259 No, and part of it, you know, Sandford [Sandford Willis], my friend, the janitor. He was black, and he, I mean, he could have been as close as my dad. 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:06.500 Yeah. 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:07.099 As that goes. 00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:07.819 Yeah. 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:11.299 And I don't think as a kid, well, you know, that is, you don't notice color. 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:11.960 Yeah, right. 00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:12.859 That's not a big deal. 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:13.359 Right. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:36.396 And they were fun. In fact, one of one of them, Larry Robertson (ph), he was the funniest thing. He could tell the best stories. Because back then, in library, you got to get up and tell a story, or if you wanted to, you could get up and tell a story, and he would get up there. We could listen to him for hours. He was, like the best storyteller. I don't know what happened to him. 00:24:36.396 --> 00:24:36.461 That's funny! 00:24:36.461 --> 00:24:36.625 He was a cool guy. 00:24:36.625 --> 00:24:39.000 Well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.160 I wanted to be a veterinarian. 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:45.720 Did you really, and so what steered you to become a teacher? 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:52.619 When I got to OSU, I went to OSU, which was a big eye opener, 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:55.079 An eye opener, how? 00:24:55.079 --> 00:25:08.640 Because I came from Bristow, and I saw people from everywhere. And, you know, after the first year just looking at people and learning and observing and that type of thing. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.400 So, you're saying, it felt maybe kind of like a culture shock to you? 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:12.180 Oh, big culture. 00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:12.480 Okay. 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:14.819 I had never seen anybody from other countries. 00:25:14.819 --> 00:25:15.180 Right. 00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:21.644 You know, I hadn't seen, it was just different. So, I spent a lot of time looking at people, just observing. 00:25:21.644 --> 00:25:21.839 Right. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:30.119 Trying to learn from them. And then marijuana was a big deal back then, and people smoked marijuana in the dorms. And you're thinking... 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:30.900 What in the world. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:36.000 We had raids all the time. You know, where they would come and raid the dorms and round them up. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:36.960 Oh, wow! 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.819 Yeah, it was real different but. 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:42.240 So, it was in college when you decided you wanted to become a teacher? 00:25:42.240 --> 00:26:18.000 Yes, because my aunt and uncle lived in Stillwater, and we would spend a lot of time at their house. And Anne (ph) was a teacher at that time, I didn't realize now that she only taught, like, maybe two years, and then she quit and went into real estate or something. I can't remember what it was, but she, she would talk with me. She was a, she's a really neat person, but anyway, she would talk with me, and I thought, I want to be like her and so, and I loved kids. In the beginning, I didn't, as a kid, I didn't care about kids. I just cared about animals and horses and that kind of stuff. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:18.180 Right. 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:28.019 But as I got older, kids became something I really liked. I liked being around them, so I switched. 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:29.500 And just decided... 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:47.559 And I happened to be in, back then you were in FR&CD, which was Family Relations and Child Development. That's how you got into to, well, I went from veterinarian to interior design. That was what I wanted to do. And I was in interior design until I was a, the beginning of my junior year, and then I switched. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:47.740 Wow. 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:53.365 To elementary, which I could because that was FR&CD too. So, I didn't lose any hours doing it. 00:26:53.365 --> 00:26:57.025 Right. 00:26:57.025 --> 00:26:59.424 After I got into it, it was like... 00:26:59.424 --> 00:27:00.325 This is what you were... 00:27:00.325 --> 00:27:02.539 Oh, it was wonderful. Yeah. 00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:10.500 So, I want to talk about your teaching in just a second. Want to circle back to the animals for just a second. So, growing up, did you have a lot of animals growing up? 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:23.660 We always had animals. If we didn't have animals, we'd go find them. My first pet, when we lived by the football field, and you know how your memory is, the dog pound and the vet clinic, I guess, were one. And it was Dr Richberg (ph), and I would go visit those dogs, even though it broke my heart because I just anyway, I fell in love with this one. He was a big shaggy dog, and I really wanted that dog so bad. And he told me, he said, you go ask your parents if you can have that dog. And he said, there's a pet parade coming up, and if you win that pet parade, then what you win, pay me and you can have that dog. So, anyway, I went and asked mom and dad, and they said we could. So, went back, got the dog, dressed him up like a, back then you had pet parades, dressed him up like a little old man. He was the cutest thing. Anyway, I won. 00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:24.900 your first house? 00:27:24.900 --> 00:28:22.819 Uh-huh, that was at the first house. I was probably six or seven. 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:27.140 How cute, and how neat that the vet let you... 00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:27.500 Yeah. 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:28.759 Buy him for 50 cents. 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.059 Right. 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.319 What a deal you got. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.984 I know. 00:28:31.984 --> 00:28:34.444 Okay. So, circling back to college. 00:28:34.444 --> 00:28:35.164 Okay. 00:28:35.164 --> 00:28:39.000 Did you tell me you graduated in 1972 from OSU? 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:39.660 Uh-huh, uh-huh. 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:46.500 Okay. And so, you went from vet to interior design to you decided you wanted to be a teacher. 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:47.880 Uh-huh. 00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:51.839 And then, so, let's talk about your teaching life. 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:52.019 Okay. 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:57.720 Kind of tell me, go through where you started, kind of go through your whole teaching. 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:24.704 Well, I started, I graduated in December. So, teaching jobs were not that plentiful in December, but I applied in Bristow. And Mrs. Sanders (ph) taught first grade, and she was retiring or moving, or something I can't remember. But anyway, Dr Carmichael (ph) was here, and he hired me for that position. So, and that was first grade. 00:29:24.704 --> 00:29:27.019 First grade, okay. 00:29:27.019 --> 00:29:59.704 And it was, I taught, they had a little small building. I guess it's still there, it's where Home Alone is. And I taught next to Mrs. Barry (ph), and then, who was there when I taught school. And then, later I moved across and taught first grade in my very first grade classroom. So, and what's unique, well, I won't go into that. But anyway, after I taught, I taught three years in Bristow. We lived in Stillwater, so I drove back and forth, because I was trying to get on in Stillwater. 00:29:59.704 --> 00:30:00.599 Oh, okay. 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:01.259 And so, finally I got on in Stillwater, and I taught there for five years. And then I had Paul, and Paul came down with spinal meningitis at six months. 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:03.900 Oh my gosh! 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:18.720 And so, that really scared us. I mean, it terrified us. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:19.920 Yeah. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:34.680 Anyway, so after that, the doctor had said to us, or the nurse, and I can't remember exactly who it was, said that, had he been in daycare. It was on a Saturday, whenever his temperature spiked like, oh way high and... 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.079 And he was only six months old? 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:37.259 Uh-huh. 00:30:37.259 --> 00:30:37.619 Oh my gosh! 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:47.000 And they said, had he not been in daycare, if he'd been in daycare, it probably wouldn't been detected, and that we could have been facing a whole different scenario. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:47.079 So, after that scared us, and so I thought, I'm not going to teach anymore. And finances were fine at that time, so I dropped out of teaching, and I quit teaching for five, let's see, up until 1986. I stayed out. 00:30:47.079 --> 00:31:07.740 Oh my gosh! 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.299 you move to Watonga in that 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:24.880 We went to Watonga. My husband worked for a grain mill and elevator, and then the bottom fell out of the oil, which a lot of those farms were backed with oil. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:25.059 Right. 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:33.319 And so, we came back to Bristow, and the rest is history. We're here. 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:41.000 And yeah, and then you, so you decided that you would start to... Well, no, now, did you teach one year at Kellyville too? Did you do that? 00:31:41.000 --> 00:32:10.325 Okay. I, in 1986 I needed a job, and so, I didn't think I could teach anymore, because I thought my certificate had elapsed, and Mary Johnson (ph) lived next door to us. We were in my mom's house, and they just built a new home next door to us. Anyway, she was over talking to me one day, she said, let's just call and find out if it has. So, we called and it had not expired. It just had a few more days before it was going to expire. 00:32:10.325 --> 00:32:10.720 Oh my goodness! 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:24.839 So, anyway, we renewed it right then. And I had another friend that was from Kellyville, and she knew the superintendent there, and she said, let's go get you an appointment with the superintendent. So, we did that, and he hired me. 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:26.940 So, you taught there for... 00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:27.420 One year. 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:31.940 For one year, and then you ended up coming back to Bristow and teaching here for the rest of your career? 00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:55.000 Dr. Carmichael (ph) lived out in the addition. He had built out there, where my mom and dad lived, and one day I was out mowing the lawn. It's when I lived with mom and I was about eight months pregnant, and he drove up, and he says, what are you doing? And I told him, I said, well, I'm mowing the lawn. He said, are you still teaching in Kellyville? And I said, yes. He said, would you rather be teaching here in Bristow? I said, yes, but who's gonna hire me? 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:55.025 And he says, let me get you an appointment with the principal here so, he saved my life a second time. 00:32:55.025 --> 00:33:06.539 Right. 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:06.720 Oh, oh. 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:14.940 Yeah, and so, I went and interviewed with Judy Vice and got the job again, and I taught second grade. 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:18.359 But obviously you, were you pregnant with Ty or Kale? 00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:18.539 Kale. 00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:22.079 You were pregnant with Kale at that time, so you had to, you had him, and then... 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:26.759 I had him in October, October 9. So, I didn't get to teach. 00:33:26.759 --> 00:33:27.000 Didn't get to teach. 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:28.779 Yeah, but I [indecipherable] 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:30.339 What a way to get recruited. 00:33:30.339 --> 00:33:30.579 I know! 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:31.539 Eight months pregnant. 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:31.660 Yeah. 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:32.859 Mowing the yard 00:33:32.859 --> 00:33:36.519 With stilettos, that high, yeah. 00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:41.140 Oh gosh, okay. Well, let's talk about your married life for a minute. 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:42.140 Uh-huh. 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:47.000 Okay. Tell me your first husband's name and date of birth. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:54.200 It was Dewayne Biggs [Marion Dewayne Biggs], and he was born April 15, 1950. 00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:57.380 Okay. And you were married to him for... 00:33:57.380 --> 00:33:58.579 Around 43 years. 00:33:58.579 --> 00:33:59.960 Okay, 40 plus years. 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:00.380 Uh-huh. 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:06.500 And then, you met Mike. So, tell me about, tell me Mike's full name. 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:07.180 Mike met me. 00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:10.900 Or Mike met you, okay. So, tell me Mike's full name and date of birth. 00:34:10.900 --> 00:34:15.159 Michael Glen Wilson, and it's July 7, 1950. 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:15.599 July 7? 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:17.000 Uh-huh. 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:18.079 Okay, all right. 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:18.719 What'd I tell you? 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:19.199 No, I had it wrong. That was my, that was my problem. 1950, okay. 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:24.599 Uh-huh. 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:27.659 So, you said he, he called you? 00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:56.925 He called me. He, I my mom's, I would go over and mow her lawn and do different things. Or if she'd call me and say, I need something, I'd go from school to there, and he'd be mowing the lawn, and he'd seen me go by. So, he said, I guess he called Marsha one day and asked if I was seeing anyone or if I, and she said, you know, funny thing, she just got a divorce. So, anyway, he called, and the rest is history. 00:34:56.925 --> 00:34:58.125 And the rest is history. 00:34:58.125 --> 00:34:58.485 Yes. Uh-huh. 00:34:58.485 --> 00:35:00.824 So, how long was your engagement? 00:35:00.824 --> 00:35:02.059 I think six months, around there. 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:02.445 Maybe a little longer, I can't remember. 00:35:02.445 --> 00:35:04.199 Okay. 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:06.659 And when, when did you guys get married? 00:35:06.659 --> 00:35:12.340 We got married, December 21, 2017. 00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:22.400 Okay, so and so, now you live back where? So, where do you live now, tell us where you live?. 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:24.219 I live in my old house. 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:24.820 Okay, yeah. 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:25.420 Rebuilt. 00:35:25.420 --> 00:35:29.860 Okay, all right. Okay, well, let's talk about your kids. 00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:30.639 Uh-huh. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:34.960 Of course, I know who they are, but tell us their names, their full names and birth dates. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:41.199 Okay. Paul Hunter Biggs and his is September 14 of 1980. 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:42.099 1979? 00:35:42.099 --> 00:35:43.179 1979. 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:43.840 Okay, yeah. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:45.639 And then there's Ty Dewayne Biggs. 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:46.000 Okay. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.460 And he's December 1, 1981. 00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:49.139 Okay. 00:35:49.139 --> 00:35:57.780 And then there's Kale Robert Biggs, and his is October 9, 1987. 00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:22.000 Okay, okay. Well, so, do you remember any, I know you love your boys, and I know you loved them playing sports and doing all of that. But can you think back to whenever they were small and maybe challenges you had with them as a, because I know part of the time you were a working mom. And tell me about that time of life and what it was like for you. Did you feel like you had any real challenges? 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:53.485 You know, my boys, I guess because I was a lot like them, as far as liking outdoors and liking things like that. God knew what He was doing when He gave me boys. But Ty was one who would rise with the, before the chickens, and he would go do his own thing. From the time he was little bitty. You might find him outside. He went, you know, he just would do those kind of... 00:36:53.485 --> 00:36:54.565 He would occupy himself? 00:36:54.565 --> 00:37:00.000 So, he was a challenge in that you were afraid something was going to happen to him. 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:00.085 Because, and he was, you know, inquisitive. So, he, I have a lot of stories about him. I used to tell the kids at school, Paul was my, he wasn't ever a challenge. He never rocked the boat. He was... 00:37:00.085 --> 00:37:17.699 Right. 00:37:17.699 --> 00:37:19.000 He kind of sounds like your typical first born. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:20.500 First child. 00:37:20.500 --> 00:37:20.679 Yeah. 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:32.800 Yeah, that's what he was and he, but he was funny, had a good sense of humor. He would, he liked to dress up. He liked to act corny. He just, he was fun. 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:39.280 And then Kale told me a story, and I said, Kale, I thought you were an angel growing up. 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:39.780 Kale? 00:37:39.780 --> 00:37:49.619 Yes, something about being on the roof, and you took the you were trying to get him, and you took the ladder or something. I can't remember what. 00:37:49.619 --> 00:37:50.460 Oh, no telling. 00:37:50.460 --> 00:37:51.539 Do you recall that story? 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:54.000 A lot of stuff with Kale. 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:57.360 I thought, that's what I tell him. I said, Kale, I thought you were an angel. 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:47.250 Oh, yeah. No, he was a climber. He, one day at church, we went to the Methodist Church. And oh, Dennis Roan and his son was so [indecipherable], he protected Nathan like you wouldn't believe. He wouldn't let him do anything, climb around. So, anyway, I think Kale might have been three, if he was that old, and they had a big jungle gym out there. And so, after church, I go out because he, I guess was over the little ones. I can't remember exactly, but I go outside and Kale's on the very top of that thing. And I said, Dennis. And he goes, what? And I said, what are you doing letting him get up like that. And he said, he can do it. I said, you wouldn't let Nathan do that. He goes, well, Nathan was in [indecipherable]. Oh, yeah, because he was way up there and he was little. 00:38:47.250 --> 00:38:48.329 Well. 00:38:48.329 --> 00:38:50.599 No, he was a, he was ornery. 00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:55.519 I actually, I actually told Kale, I said, that sounds like one of my Cale stories. 00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:57.559 Yeah, exactly. 00:38:57.559 --> 00:39:01.699 Okay. Well, tell me about your grandchildren. How many grandchildren do you have? 00:39:01.699 --> 00:39:03.079 I have 17 combined. 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:04.000 17 combined, my goodness! 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:05.739 Yeah. I didn't even realize there was that many. 00:39:05.739 --> 00:39:07.360 Yeah, we have 10 here in town. 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:11.019 Oh my gosh. So, you're, you're like, full... 00:39:11.019 --> 00:39:11.559 Busy. 00:39:11.559 --> 00:39:13.719 Yeah, you're full on busy with grandkids. 00:39:13.719 --> 00:39:14.659 Yeah, yeah, I love it. 00:39:14.659 --> 00:39:17.420 Yeah, that's, but that's what, I feel like you were born to do it. 00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:20.119 Uh-huh. I love it, I do. 00:39:20.119 --> 00:39:29.599 Well, and I think back also to, I want to talk a little bit just about your classroom, I guess vibe, for lack of a better way to put it. 00:39:29.599 --> 00:39:30.920 Uh-huh. 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:42.000 I always really loved and appreciated that you had a heart for kids that might be a little different. Can you tell me about that? 00:39:42.000 --> 00:40:11.985 My love, I thoroughly love kids that are, that don't march to the same drummer as everybody else, autistic kids, kids. I went to several workshops on autism. I went to Temple Grandin and watched her. Kids, I don't know if it was from being a kid that was bullied. I don't know if it was, I never really had anybody in my life that was disabled or anything like that, so. 00:40:11.985 --> 00:40:17.925 You just always had a special sensitivity, I feel like, for kids that might not learn the same or... 00:40:17.925 --> 00:40:19.065 Right. 00:40:19.065 --> 00:40:25.125 That weren't maybe a cookie cutter kid. And that was something I know as a parent, I always appreciated about you. 00:40:25.125 --> 00:40:53.355 Well, thank you. I struggled in math, so that was something I know Mrs. Barnett would, Teresa would say to me, she'd say, I just can't get down to those kids. You know, I don't understand. And she's brilliant in math. And I said, that's the thing. It's hard to understand when you don't understand. And math is something that when they do see it, it's like easy. 00:40:53.355 --> 00:40:53.474 Yeah. 00:40:53.474 --> 00:41:00.014 And when we're looking at it, it might as well be a black wall, because my mind doesn't work that way. 00:41:00.014 --> 00:41:01.155 Right. 00:41:01.155 --> 00:41:21.840 Until I had Mr. Miller, Tom Miller (ph), as my math teacher, and it was for geometry, and he sat me down and would work with me after school some. He opened a whole new door. You know, it's just like, what in the world? Why was this so hard for me? But it just takes certain people to open doors for you. 00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:22.440 To connect. 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:23.699 The things that you struggle with. 00:41:23.699 --> 00:41:25.559 Right to connect in a certain way. 00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:26.820 Right. 00:41:26.820 --> 00:41:37.500 Well, so, have you enjoyed being retired? Was that hard to let, it's probably kind of bittersweet. Was it hard to let go of the teaching? And have you been, enjoyed being retired? 00:41:37.500 --> 00:42:09.510 It was really, really hard letting go of the kids, and I enjoyed the camaraderie too, of the teachers. But school was becoming too test driven, to telling you how you can do this and how you can do that. And I'm telling you, when you've got a classroom of 21 kids, and they're all different, and they're all maturity levels, they don't march to the same drummer. You can't give them a cookie cutter something and expect everyone to come out on top. 00:42:09.510 --> 00:42:11.789 And, you know, I agree with you. So, I mean... 00:42:11.789 --> 00:42:11.909 Yeah. 00:42:11.909 --> 00:42:23.157 Yeah, yeah. It's a, I could see where, and not only that, I think there's even maybe some parent challenges to now versus maybe back when you first started. 00:42:23.157 --> 00:42:33.375 You know, that was something I never had a problem with. I think I maybe had one mom, and it wasn't even a mom, it was a grandmother that I ever... 00:42:33.375 --> 00:42:34.454 Had a struggle with? 00:42:34.454 --> 00:42:41.775 Had any disagreement with, on anything I never, my parents were so supportive, and so... 00:42:41.775 --> 00:42:42.974 That's wonderful! 00:42:42.974 --> 00:42:43.635 It was! 00:42:43.635 --> 00:43:04.380 But I also think it probably has a lot to do with how you taught, I mean, how you reached out to each individual child. And it wasn't just, you know, like, you say, a cookie cutter. I always think about the graphic of, like, there's an elephant and a monkey and a lion. 00:43:04.380 --> 00:43:04.559 Uh-huh. 00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:08.400 And they're like, climb the tree. You know, it doesn't. It doesn't work like that. 00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:08.519 No. 00:43:08.519 --> 00:43:09.824 For everyone. 00:43:09.824 --> 00:43:47.130 No, it doesn't. And I think from what I saw or what I gather, everything you do in teaching, you need to put it to you. As if, okay, if this were you, how would you do this? Or if this were your kid, how would you do this? Or what's this parent struggling from? And this is what I still think, God put so much stuff in your path that you will use. My life with, you know, with my kids as young kids, was very difficult, not because of the kids, but just the circumstances. 00:43:47.130 --> 00:43:47.849 Circumstances. 00:43:47.849 --> 00:43:54.510 But every one of those circumstances gave me something. When a parent was sitting across from me, I could see. 00:43:54.510 --> 00:43:55.949 You had a special insight. 00:43:55.949 --> 00:43:57.195 Uh-huh and I understood. 00:43:57.195 --> 00:43:57.375 Right. 00:43:57.375 --> 00:44:29.039 Like if their kid, I had little kids that would come, I had a little boy that would come to school late all the time. He'd get in trouble. He struggled. He lived in the villages, and most of the time he was waking up parents on drugs or he was trying to get to school. He would walk, he would catch a ride. But that little booger came as often as he could, no matter how late. And, you know, those kind of things, you can't treat that child. 00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:29.820 Yeah, yeah. 00:44:29.820 --> 00:44:30.239 The same way. 00:44:30.239 --> 00:44:31.860 He doesn't have the same support system. 00:44:31.860 --> 00:44:33.480 He would fall asleep in class. 00:44:33.480 --> 00:44:33.840 Yeah. 00:44:33.840 --> 00:44:36.539 He would just, you know. 00:44:36.539 --> 00:44:37.079 Oh. 00:44:37.079 --> 00:44:46.425 That's what bothers me. And I know the Friday days off, some people think that's great. I just can't help but think, for the little ones like that. 00:44:46.425 --> 00:44:48.465 That have challenges at home, yeah. 00:44:48.465 --> 00:44:49.605 He's not getting any help. 00:44:49.605 --> 00:44:50.744 Yeah, no. 00:44:50.744 --> 00:44:51.764 Getting anything. 00:44:51.764 --> 00:44:52.065 Yeah. 00:44:52.065 --> 00:44:52.965 Or he wasn't, you know. 00:44:52.965 --> 00:44:53.085 Yeah. 00:44:53.085 --> 00:44:54.344 And there's a lot of them. 00:44:54.344 --> 00:45:05.909 Yeah, I would agree with you. Well, now that you're retired. Aside from all of your grandkid activities, do you have any particular hobbies that you enjoy? 00:45:05.909 --> 00:45:14.730 Well, I have a booth at KC's [KC's Re-Vintage], and I love messing with it. I love, I still like decorating. I decorate the kid's homes whenever they change holidays. 00:45:14.730 --> 00:45:16.230 Oh, you do? 00:45:16.230 --> 00:45:30.074 Yeah, and I love doing that, and the ones that let me. I did do some stuff at Added Touch [Added Touch Florist]. And I'd help her, from time to time, decorate down there, not doing as much now there, because I've got so much going on with the booth. And then... 00:45:30.074 --> 00:45:30.554 Right. 00:45:30.554 --> 00:45:35.295 I need to straighten my own, take care of my own. 00:45:35.295 --> 00:45:37.454 You've got your own house to decorate, don't you? 00:45:37.454 --> 00:45:39.914 Yeah, yeah, [indecipherable]. 00:45:39.914 --> 00:45:51.179 Okay. Well, so, I'm going to ask you a couple questions, and these are maybe a little more thought provoking. But how do you feel the world is different now than when you were a child or, you know, growing up? 00:45:51.179 --> 00:45:53.400 Hmmm.... 00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:54.119 It's kind of... 00:45:54.119 --> 00:45:55.440 Much more fast paced. 00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:57.300 Yes. How is it not different? 00:45:57.300 --> 00:46:07.119 Much more technology. It's, I wish my kids could go back to. My dad used to say the same thing to us though. 00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:08.000 True. 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:25.079 You know, so. But I would like for them to to see the safety, or be able to experience, my grandkids experience the safety, the feeling of being able to just walk anywhere you want to, or ride your bike anywhere you want to, and not having the fear of something happening to them. 00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:26.000 The bad things that are out there? 00:46:26.000 --> 00:48:12.679 Yes, uh-huh. But, yeah, those are things that I see happening now. The world's in turmoil. You know, whenever I taught in Stillwater, we watched the presidential inauguration in class. You know, it was a really big deal. When I taught in Stillwater, I went and visited in a Muslim home, and the wife taught me how to make baklava. But and that was back in the early 70's, and we're sitting there making it. It was in mary student housing, and then her husband came home. Well, when I first walked in, there's a big picture of her daughter and an older man, and she's in a, kind of like a wedding outfit. And I said, and I didn't know anything, I'm real naive back then. And I said, oh my gosh, was she in a wedding? And she goes, yes, that was her wedding. And my home. It just made me almost sick, because he looked like he could be her grandpa, and she didn't have a smile on her face. Anyway, we just forgot about that and went on and made baklava. But then her daddy came home, the guy, her husband, and he came in and he flipped the TV on to the news, and he was cussing and yelling at the United States and talking horrible about our government. And she said, you've got to leave. And so she ushered me out the front door. I didn't say a word. He didn't say anything to me. She's bringing her baklava tomorrow, so she would come to my classroom almost every day and talk to me after school. I had her little girl, and anyway, she brought it to me, and never showed up anymore after that. 00:48:12.679 --> 00:48:13.219 Really. 00:48:13.219 --> 00:48:20.000 So, I don't know what happened after I left. I don't know, but she never came back. She brought the kid, you know, her daughter. 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:20.119 Every day, but never came and talked to me anymore. But the things that are happening now, you know, I just. And I had a lot of foreign students, because I taught at a school right by the university. So, they were either professors' kids or kids here in school from other countries. So, I learned a lot, but that was the scariest moment I think I've ever experienced, because she knew I had to get out of there. 00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:51.065 Right. 00:48:51.065 --> 00:48:51.300 Wow! 00:48:51.300 --> 00:48:54.460 And she got me out. 00:48:54.460 --> 00:48:56.000 And kind of sad for her. 00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:56.480 Yeah. 00:48:56.480 --> 00:48:57.800 Yeah, yeah. 00:48:57.800 --> 00:48:59.000 So, like I said, I don't know what happened. 00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:20.300 Oh, man! How have historic events say, for example, like the Oklahoma City bombing or 9/11, even covid affect, have any of those affected you personally? And do you recall how any of those events affected the community? 00:49:20.300 --> 00:49:44.885 The bombing, both bombings, well, the Trade Center and Oklahoma City, those are real hard. It was kind of a, well after the, I can't remember if it was the twin towers or which one and we went on lockdowns. And that was not something that had ever happened, you know. 00:49:44.885 --> 00:49:45.000 Right. 00:49:45.000 --> 00:50:07.440 have lockdowns. I bet it was the Oklahoma City bombing, I bet. Because I remember, I think they weren't sure where the perpetrators had gone, and they were trying to be. I remember Coach Nicholson [Charles Nicholson] telling me a little bit about that, because of his position in the community that they weren't sure which way they were going. I bet it was during that. 00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:27.000 Now, whenever I taught here, the first time was when we had the bombing of the woman. I can't even remember the guy's name that did it, but when I was on my way into school and her home was bombed, you know. I mean, her car was bombed. 00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:27.664 Oh, wow! I don't remember that. 00:50:27.664 --> 00:50:31.960 Fern something, Fern Bowling [Fern Bolding] maybe? 00:50:31.960 --> 00:50:33.440 I don't recall that. 00:50:33.440 --> 00:50:34.000 Yeah, it was a big deal here in Bristow. 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:34.639 It was terrible because they closed the schools for it, because it was right by Washington School, when it was there. 00:50:34.639 --> 00:50:41.000 Wow! 00:50:41.000 --> 00:50:42.000 So, around, do you remember? 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:46.260 It was in the morning, early because it was intended for her husband. 00:50:46.260 --> 00:50:46.300 Around what year? 00:50:46.300 --> 00:50:51.340 Rex Brinlee was the man who did it. Do you remember hearing about Rex Brinlee? 00:50:51.340 --> 00:50:53.000 No, I don't remember. Do you remember around what year that would have been? 00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:58.780 It would have been, when I was driving back and forth. So, it would have been in the 70's. 00:50:58.780 --> 00:51:00.000 Oh, yeah. No, I wasn't, I wasn't here. 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:00.657 You weren't here then. 00:51:00.657 --> 00:51:01.000 No, I wasn't here then. 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:09.780 Yeah. No, it was in the 70's. That was a big, big, big change in schools. I mean, in us. 00:51:09.780 --> 00:51:18.659 Well, I think it's kind of when the fear factor gets introduced into school, where school was never, that never even crossed your mind when you went to school. 00:51:18.659 --> 00:51:26.159 Right, right. Covid, I wasn't teaching at the time, I see a change in the community. You know, that's brought a lot of change. 00:51:26.159 --> 00:51:26.300 Right. 00:51:26.300 --> 00:51:29.179 It's changing your school systems. 00:51:29.179 --> 00:51:29.239 People not going back to work. 00:51:29.239 --> 00:51:30.498 Yeah. 00:51:30.498 --> 00:51:44.000 Right, right. Okay. So, is there anything else you would like to tell us about, but also any wisdom you would like to share for future generations, like for your grandkids, anything that you would really want, maybe them to know? 00:51:44.000 --> 00:52:03.260 That there's always hope, that things will get better. You know, I feel that way. I feel like we go through these journeys for a reason, and that, just trust in the Lord and things are going to be okay. 00:52:03.260 --> 00:52:12.619 I like that. Well, your interview will become an important part of the Oral History Archives for the museum. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it. 00:52:12.619 --> 00:52:13.619 Thank you. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0079_Janet_Wilson.xml OHP-0079_Janet_Wilson.xml
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Janet Wilson
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Janet Wilson was born September 29, 1950, in Cushing, Oklahoma. Janet's parents were Bessie Marie Falmo McMurtry and Bobby Eugene McMurtry. She moved to Bristow at age four due to her father's business opportunities. Janet attended Bristow Schools, graduating in 1968, and later studied at OSU, initially aiming to be a veterinarian but eventually becoming a teacher. She taught in Bristow, Stillwater, and Kellyville with the majority of her career being spent with Bristow Public Schools. Janet married Dwayne Biggs and later Michael Wilson. She has three sons and 17 grandchildren. Janet reflected on changes in education and community over the years.
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OHP-0079
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2026-01-14
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Oral History
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Not Applicable
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Lucille Qualls
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6.0 November 1, 1978 OHP-0080 Lucille Qualls OHP-0080 00:53:12 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Lucille Qualls Not Applicable 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0080 Qualls, Lucille.mp3 Other audio 0 Early Days of Bristow 00:00
 ; This is a program done by Lucille Qualls for Culture Club, and is a recording made at the meeting. Her program is interspersed with very interesting comments by some of the members who have been longtime residents. And it's history that should not be lost.
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 00:16
 ; Early history of Bristow and in the early part of the year, 1898, The Frisco Railroad was extending their road from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City. Of course, they were grading the road and building bridges and the laying of the ties and the steel, and it was all just going along at great strides. And in the month of June, 1898,they had completed the road almost to the present site of Bristow. And, of course, there were a great many people who followed this construction, and among them was Mr. And Mrs. C. O. Crane. Lucille Qualls discusses the early days of Bristow at a Culture Club meeting. She says The Frisco Railroad was extending their road from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City. The first train that arrived in Bristow was in August of 1898. It came from Sapulpa and returned there by backing up all the way. The first school in Bristow was a subscription school with no regard to age. Culture Club ; The Frisco Railroad ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Sapulpa (Okla.) ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Lucy West ; Gordon Castleberry ; Methodist Church ; Christian Church ; George Carmen ; Billings (Mo.) ; Charles T. Schrader ; Ed Abraham ; Shamas Dry Goods ; OG& ; E ; Opera House (Bristow, OK.) Bristow (Okla.) 0 663 Drawing People to Bristow Lucille Qualls 11:03
 ; 1905. Well, it seems that the town was really growing, and they were sending out, I don't know they, I don't know whether they had a chamber of commerce at that time or not, but they certainly had some town boosters, because they were sending out brochures and trying to get people in the east to come and settle in Bristow. And they were a little bit flowery with their with their writing. And I wanted to read this to you. I thought it was very interesting. This is one of the things that they sent to entice people to Bristow. "Do you want a home in the most beautiful town in the new state of Oklahoma, where society is good, where school and church facilities are excellent, where health is splendid and morals above reproach, and where many opportunities to engage and manufacture and various other business and avocations business avocations exist. If you do, you not, you cannot find a town of its size where so many opportunities exist to such a degree as in Bristow. The thriving, wide awake town of the Creek Nation, a more beautiful spot for the location of a town could not be found in this immediate vicinity unfolds a vast panorama of nature's grandest scenery and plain valley with hill and water course all mingle in one vast, poetic dream." [Inaudible]
 ; 
 ; 12:47
 ; We need them now.
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 12:58
 ; Yes.
 ; Lucille says she did not know if Bristow had a chamber of commerce at the time. She says they did have town boosters though, because they were sending out brochures and trying to get people in the east to come and settle in Bristow. chamber of commerce ; Creek Nation ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Florida ; Mr. Purdy ; Al Clark Bristow (Okla.) 0 884 Cotton and Peanuts Lucille Qualls 14:44
 ; This was, this was put out in 1906. And there were, there are really some more that really put this in the shade. But I thought this was a little more precise. In 1906, the first graduating class from Bristow High School consisted of four people. They were Ralph Corey (ph), Waldo Stickle (ph), Alice Rue (ph) and Ina Green (ph). And in 1915 the entire enrollment for Bristow High School was 52 and that year they selected the colors purple and gold. Now, in the early 1900s cotton farming was the mainstay of this area. In 1916 during the harvest season, cotton wagons lined the entire length of Main Street, waiting their turn at the gin. And there were eight gins here at that time. Helen, can you remember those cotton wagons in the street?
 ; 
 ; Helen ? 16:02
 ; They were still here in 1920 when we moved here.
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 16:05
 ; Oh, were they?
 ; 
 ; Helen ? 16:05
 ; And they would line up on East Ninth to get into the one gin, particularly there by the railway. It is still standing, the old building, on the north side of the railway track. And after they left, our street would be white for days, because the cotton fell out. It was interesting to see all these people come in early in the morning, stay late in to the night, because they waited in the wagon. And then, as I remember, they sucked it up, that big [indecipherable] they had, yeah, the suction line. And then [indecipherable]
 ; In the early 1900s cotton farming was the mainstay of the area. In 1916 during the harvest season, cotton wagons lined the entire length of Main Street, waiting their turn at the gin. The buildings on south Main are the original buildings that were erected to take care of the cotton. Later when cotton went out, peanuts were raised in Bristow. Cotton ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow High School ; Main Street (Bristow, Okla.) ; Opal Lyons ; Gene Coleman ; Peanuts Farming ; Cotton ; Peanuts 0 1100 Professionals in Bristow Lucille Qualls 18:20
 ; Those things are but sometimes it's a little hard to pin these things down when you're trying to get dates. As you can see, things were going pretty good for the new community. And in 1919 the Bristow boosters were sending out glory glowing reports of this city, and they claimed, excuse me, they claimed the purest water in large quantities, paved streets, which, by the way, are the same bricks that we ride over today, an unlimited quantity of natural gas, oil all around the city and more coming in every day, a glass plant with a payroll of more than $2,000 a week, a commercial club, steam laundry, four banks with a combined capital of $1,000,750, Masonic Temple costing $30,000, and I presume that's the same one that's down there today, a modern refinery, an ice and light plant and a modern high school. [Inaudible] I was interested in ads in the paper in 1919, because the professional people were advertising, and you don't see that nowadays, but there were four doctors, one dentist, one optometrist and two lawyers advertising in the paper that I was looking at down there. And you might be interested in their names, because one of them was John M. Wells, MD (ph) and I'm sure Reba (ph) knows who that is. [Inaudible]
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 20:41
 ; Oh, I see.
 ; 
 ; 20:43
 ; Was a bookkeeper for years. 
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 20:44
 ; Well, she, she remembers that then. And W.F. Snorgrass, MD (ph).
 ; 
 ; 20:52
 ; That's Jack Snorgrass' (ph) father.
 ; In 1919 the Bristow boosters were sending out glowing reports of Bristow. Bristow had four doctors, one dentist, one optometrist and two lawyers. They were advertising in the newspaper. Bristow (Okla.) ; John M. Wells ; J.T. Cassady ; C.G. Martin ; Thelma Collins ; W.E. Reynolds ; W.E. Tomey Bristow (Okla.) ; Professionals 0 1336 1919 in Bristow Lucille Qualls 22:16
 ; I'm going to let both of you plead your cases in just a minute. In 1919, there were 200 automobiles in Bristow. Real estate was booming. Telephone rates were raised from $2 to $3 for business phones and from $1 to $1.75 for residence phones. And the local theater was featuring such stars as Theda Bara, William Farnum, and "Fatty" Arbuckle [Roscoe Arbuckle]. Now, of course, this burst of activity was brought on partly from the discovery of oil around Bristow. And Claude Freeland (ph) started the whole thing in 1905 when he drilled in the first well on what is now East 12th Street, and I've been told that that's probably up in Mrs. Albert Kelly's neighborhood.
 ; 
 ; 23:06
 ; I was thinking one of the first wells we had in town was what we called [indecipherable].
 ; 
 ; 23:16
 ; Now is in the Kelly [indecipherable] with Albert Kelly the greatest production we ever had [indecipherable].
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 23:25
 ; Well, this was in 1905, and it was 14 years later that the oil boom really started. [Inaudible]
 ; In 1919, Bristow was booming. There were 200 automobiles. Real estate was also booming. Telephone rates were raised from $2 to $3 for business phones and from $1 to $1.75 for residence phones. Lucille says this burst of activity was partly brought on from the discovery of oil in Bristow, and later the oil boom. Bristow (Okla.) ; Theda Bara ; William Farnum ; Roscoe Arbuckle ; Albert Kelly ; Slick (Okla.) ; Depew (Okla.) Bristow (Okla.) 0 1658 Banking 27:38
 ; And I'll tell you something about the bank building over here. You see this first picture over here, and it's been covered up with, like, what they call it? Stucco or something to start. Jack's father built that building. It's the first brick building in Bristow, and they made the bricks. Old Curt Gillaspie can tell you all about that, but they made the bricks. So when, when they were going to tear it down, when an author told Jack that they were going to, so Jack went down and got a lot of the bricks to give to all of our grandkids and everything that their grandfather, great grandfather, had made in this bank building. I didn't mean too many years ago toward the [indecipherable] would put this covering on it first. And back in the 20s, Bristow was famous for its bank. They called it the Million Dollar Bank. [Inaudible] 
 ; 
 ; 28:57
 ; Yeah, it was. It was a big robbery. [Inaudible]
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 29:16
 ; Was that during the oil boom? 
 ; 
 ; 29:18
 ; What year was that [indecipherable]?
 ; Back in the 1920s Bristow was famous for its bank. It was called the Million Dollar Bank. At one time, Bristow had four banks. At least one of them went bankrupt.
 ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Curt Gillaspie ; American National Bank ; Ann Stark ; Walter Simons ; Chamber of Commerce ; Safeway Stores, Inc. Banking 0 1975 Band Concerts and the Circus 32:55
 ; I don't remember that, but I remember the flag pole on Seventh Street. [Indecipherable] July, 4 of July, you know, all around the flag pole. 
 ; 
 ; 33:06
 ; Oh, and there was a little band stand up there we used to have [indecipherable] library. And every summer we'd have band concerts on Saturday night. Do you remember that?
 ; 
 ; 33:19
 ; Another thing we had the Chautauqua Circus. You all remember the Chautauqua Circus? And Bristow always had that in the summertime. And boy, you go sit under the tent and just sweat. I had some fans, some old, old fans from here, a bunch of new churches around here, and the funeral homes. And I forgot to bring them. [Indecipherable]
 ; In the early days, Bristow had band concerts on Saturday nights. Also, in the summertime the Chautauqua Circus came to town. Bristow (Okla.) ; Chautauqua Circus ; Reba Lee Concerts ; Circus ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 2059 Holidays in Bristow 34:19
 ; Oh, and from our bunch [indecipherable] but you know, like Opal and Beverly Freeland and [indecipherable] and the Carmen's, Gertrude and Jack and me. And of course, my brother had been there before, before me. Well, he was younger. [Inaudible]
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 34:51
 ; No, it wasn't. It wasn't as common. [Indecipherable]
 ; 
 ; 34:53
 ; A lot of girls went to private schools then. [Indecipherable]
 ; 
 ; 34:56
 ; You know, on of the things that I remember was the Christmas openings at night. When you had the things at night.
 ; 
 ; 35:12
 ; I loved the Halloween when each merchant had [indecipherable].
 ; Bristow was very social. Lucille mentions the old newspapers being full of bridge parties and dances. Halloween was a big deal in Bristow. It was Pauline Abraham's birthday and she threw a big party every year. Bristow (Okla.) ; Holidays ; Christmas ; Halloween ; Opal Freeland ; Beverly Freeland ; Pauline Abraham ; E.E. Mount ; Washington Elementary School (Bristow, Okla.) Holidays ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 2251 Hamburger King 37:31
 ; The old Hamburger King.
 ; 
 ; 37:38
 ; Going from coast to coast.
 ; 
 ; 37:39
 ; Yes. [Indecipherable]
 ; 
 ; 37:40
 ; Well, I can tell you, when we were back at school, hamburgers were a nickel or a dime. Ten cents at that time. [Indecipherable]
 ; The Hamburger King was a big deal in Bristow. In the early days, hamburgers were ten cents each. Hamburger King ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Walter Griswold Bisbee Hamburger King 0 2306 Early People of Bristow Helen ? 38:26
 ; Oh, they were here ever since I can remember.
 ; 
 ; 38:30
 ; 1907.
 ; 
 ; 38:32
 ; Jack [indecipherable] came here in in 1898 or 1889 and then my daddy came here in 1909, well, a little bit before that. 
 ; 
 ; 38:53
 ; My daddy and Schrader (ph) and Reynolds (ph) and all that [indecipherable].
 ; 
 ; 38:59
 ; And Dr. King. A.H. Stone. 
 ; 
 ; 39:05
 ; Tom Foster, he was just a Democrat.
 ; Lucille and others at the meeting discuss early residents of Bristow. A.H. Stone ; Tom Foster ; James Silas Carman ; Neva Gurley ; Ethel Carman ; Ann Jones ; Methodist Church ; Norma Smallwood ; Jackson & ; Lee Grocery Store ; Fern Brooks ; Wichita Falls (Kan.) ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) Residents ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 2683 Lyons Cafe and the Laurel Hotel Lucille Qualls 44:43
 ; Is there anything else that anybody thinks of that would be a real addition to this? We could, but I don't think we should. It's after three. I was interested in Lyons Cafe because I'm not, I don't, don't go back past where a lot of you do. And Lyons Cafe was open for business in 1934, and of course, they they closed in 1973.
 ; 
 ; 45:16
 ; Well, let me tell you the background of that. You see, this Conger up here, Dr. Conger, had a brother, and he owned a little confectionary down here, along about where [indecipherable] and Opal and Merlin bought them out, and they still had those little ice cream chairs and all that sort of stuff. See, but that's the start. L.B. Connor (ph) and Roberts were their names, and that's where that originated, Lions confection. 
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 45:41
 ; Well, I'm sure most all of you may, perhaps Sandy and Isa may not remember Lyons Cafe, but the rest of you probably would. It's just sort of a landmark in Bristow, and it was very interesting to me to get those dates and and also the old Laurel Hotel was a real Bristow landmark, and I understand it was on Sixth Street where the National Supply is [inaudible].
 ; Lucille and others discuss the history of the Lyons Cafe and the Laurel Hotel in Bristow. The Lyons Cafe was open in 1934 and closed in 1973. The Laurel Hotel was a landmark in Bristow. They also discuss sports in Bristow. Bristow (Okla.) ; Lyons Cafe ; Laurel Hotel ; Sapulpa Chieftains ; Mose LeForce ; Bristow High School (Bristow, Okla.) ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Edmond (Okla.) ; Methodist Church ; Hafer Field (Bristow, Okla.) ; Velma Collins ; Carl Albert ; Lake Massena (Bristow, Okla.) Lyons Cafe ; Laurel Hotel 0 3108 Lucille Moving to Bristow Lucille Qualls 51:48
 ; Well, I invite you all to look at these annuals, the pictures. I'm sure you all saw these pictures when they came out in the paper, but it might refresh your memory. And I do thank all of you for filling me in on a lot of these things that I could not get. But I would like to add a personal note in conclusion, on Bristow, in retrospect. We were transferred here from Centralia, Illinois in 1952 and our three daughters graduated from Bristow High School. We've had 26 years of happy memories here. We had no intention of retiring here, when we came here. We thought we would, we'd always planned to go to Missouri to retire, but after 26 years, we just couldn't think of any place else to live. And I'm not as eloquent as those writers back in 1906, but I would like to say that Bristow is a great place. Thank you! 
 ; 
 ; 52:54
 ; As a member of the program committee, I think you did an outstanding program.
 ; 
 ; Lucille Qualls 53:57
 ; Well, thank you.
 ; Lucille concludes the meeting with some information about her time in Bristow. She moved here from Centralia, Illinois in 1952. Her three daughters graduated from Bristow High School. She says she intended to retire in Missouri, but after 26 years she couldn't think of a better place to live. Lucille says Bristow is a great place. Bristow (Okla.) ; Centralia (Ill.) ; Bristow High School (Bristow, Okla.) ; Missouri Lucille Qualls ; Bristow (Okla.) 0 MP3 Lucille Qualls recounts the early history of Bristow, Oklahoma, starting with the Frisco Railroad's extension in 1898 and the establishment of the first post office by C.O. Crane. Bristow grew rapidly, adding 100 citizens and numerous businesses within 30 days. By 1903, the town had a school system with multiple grades. Notable events include the first graduating class in 1906 and the discovery of oil in 1919. The town boasted various amenities, including banks, a high school, and a Masonic Temple. Personal anecdotes and reminiscences from residents highlight Bristow's social and economic development over the years. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.039 This is a program done by Lucille Qualls for Culture Club, and is a recording made at the meeting. Her program is interspersed with very interesting comments by some of the members who have been longtime residents. And it's history that should not be lost. 00:00:16.039 --> 00:03:06.275 Early history of Bristow and in the early part of the year, 1898, The Frisco Railroad was extending their road from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City. Of course, they were grading the road and building bridges and the laying of the ties and the steel, and it was all just going along at great strides. And in the month of June, 1898,they had completed the road almost to the present site of Bristow. And, of course, there were a great many people who followed this construction, and among them was Mr. And Mrs. C. O. Crane. And Mr. Crane erected a tent store where he sold tobacco and work clothes and staple groceries. And in a short time, why, he thought it would be nice to form a town, so he applied for a post office, and his appointment came through the fourth assistant Postmaster General, whose name was Mr. J. L. Bristow, and that is where Bristow got it's name. It wasn't,it was on the Fourth of July, 1898 that this was made official. And of course, they had a big celebration. Why all the construction workers and the farmers, I presume the Indians, they didn't mention them, but I imagine there were some around. And they had a big picnic and a dance. And the new postmaster and merchant soon found that mail delivery, excuse me, mail delivery from Sapulpa wasn't always dependable, and on several occasions it became necessary for him to ride over to Sapulpa to get the mail. And of course, that was a two day jaunt, because it took him a day to go over and the day to come back. We think our mail's slow now. But Bristow began to grow, and in less than 30 days, it had added 100 citizens, new tent stores, fenced in wagon yards, cold drink stands without ice, dry goods stores, clothing stores and shoe stores. And frame buildings were being built everywhere. Wells were drilled, and by August the 15th, there were 25 frame buildings completed and used for living quarters and stores. And the corner of our present Sixth & Main, which is right where we are, was the center of 00:03:06.275 --> 00:05:55.670 town. I think that is tremendous growth in 30 days. By this time, the Frisco was running a passenger train from Sapulpa to Bristow, and the first train that arrived in Bristow in August of 1898, and it came from Sapulpa and returned there by backing up all the way. There were no fences, so the cattle and pigs ranged wherever they pleased, and sometimes, the pigs pleased to dine with the tent dwellers, who were sort of at their mercy. But, every once in a while, there was a pig missing, and the aroma of roast pork permeated the neighborhood. Now one of the first priorities of a new town was a school, and the first one was a subscription school with no regard to age. And one of the first teachers was Mrs. Lucy West. Now this developed into a good preschool system by 1903, and there they had built one school building, and it was occupied by the principal, Professor Gordon Castleberry and the more advanced students above the fourth grade. The third and fourth grades under Mr. P.A. Spice (ph) and his assistant, Ms. Stella, Stella Hankin (ph), had about 140 enrolled, and they met in the Methodist Church. First and second grades, with about 100 students under Mrs. J. N. West and her assistant, Ms. Maude Vann (ph), occupied the Christian Church. Now this was all temporary, of course, until the construction of the new and larger brick school building could be completed. Let's go back to 1900 where I found a few little choice items in the paper that I found down here at the library. And one of the items read, "George Carmen and family came to Bristow from Billings, Missouri. He is around trying to locate himself in some kind of business." I presume that's Jack's father. And H.W. Corey and family, Aiden (ph), Gussie (ph) and Ralph moved to Bristow, and Mr. Corey is a Frisco agent. It also mentions that the First Christian Church was finished that year, and their preacher was Reverend Roberts, and the Methodist Church completed theirs the same year, and their 00:05:55.670 --> 00:06:52.000 minister was C.N. Roy (ph). Now I got these things from Mr. Purdy's book down at the library, and he's supposed to have gotten them out of the newspapers at that time. But if you, if I make a statement here that you object to, please tell me, because I don't know. All I know is what I read in that paper, but those listed as high school grades in 1900 were Ethel Carmen (ph), Elmer Chandler (ph), Myrtle Merriman (ph) and Dolly Vogle (ph), and their teacher was J.L. Walters. I imagine that Ethel Carmen (ph) was one of Jack's relatives. Is that right? And I don't and Myrtle Merriman (ph) was Augusta [indecipherable] mother, and the name Vogle is very prominent in our Methodist history. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:07:02.319 She was a sister to J.M. Vogle (ph) here, and a sister to Mrs. Dr. Schrader (Charles T. Schrader). 00:07:02.319 --> 00:08:42.000 I see, it's very interesting. by the way, I might explain these names right now. Down at the library, they have, they have these old newspapers, and they have these old brochures that they have sent out, used to send out to entice people are too Bristow. And I, there were three lists, and I got the names as far as I could go on this poster. So there, there were more names that I couldn't get on there. So if you know somebody that should have been on there, it wasn't, it was just because I ran out of space. But I thought perhaps those names might bring back some memories to some of you, and it was interesting to me to recognize so many still here in Bristow. Another little item that I picked up down at the library in 1902, P.A. Spice (ph) the intermediate teacher, whipped Lucy Combs (ph) and Alva Groom (ph) for writing love letters to their sweethearts, Hyde Fox (ph) and Plaid Purdy (ph). The letters were also read before the entire school. Times have changed. Another little item, an early day teacher, J.L. Duncan (ph) also graduated with that year's class, so he must have been a busy man. Bentley Sears (ph) was the first football player from Bristow to make All American, or All State, excuse me, 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:42.339 Is that right? 00:08:42.339 --> 00:08:45.000 And my husband's the only one in Bristow who's ever been all state two years. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:54.779 He was national high and low hurdles champion in the United States. 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:55.679 Well good. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:05.340 Another Bristow boy, Sammy Allen (ph), came along and was another national champion from Bristow. Sam Allen [indecipherable]. 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:08.759 Very interesting. 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:10.559 Jack missed about that far. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:11.940 That big colored boy. 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:14.340 No he didn't. 00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:18.120 But Jack missed it about that far. 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:26.759 I thought one of the interesting things about this Bentley Sears item was that he made only one touchdown in his whole career. 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:31.019 He was blocked. 00:09:31.019 --> 00:10:30.210 I guess and in 1901, Ed Abraham was operating a confectioner (ph) and was arrested for selling ice cream on Sunday. These little things give you an idea of life back in 1900 in Bristow. Then Bristow progressed, I think, very rapidly, because in 1906 these businesses were listed. And I don't whether you can all read that or not, but I think that's [inaudible] that lawyer stuff. 00:10:30.210 --> 00:10:32.899 Show them that calendar over there. That's a 1906 street scene. Shamas put that calendar out every year. And he goes back and gets an old postcard. 00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:36.990 That's 1906, the same year that you're, very interesting. 00:10:36.990 --> 00:10:38.000 Turn that around for people to see. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:49.000 See there's the State Bank right there, and across is OG&E used to be the Opera House. Yeah. Sixth and Main. [Inaudible] 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:56.379 What year was that? What year was it? 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:03.839 1905. 00:11:03.839 --> 00:12:47.000 Well, it seems that the town was really growing, and they were sending out, I don't know they, I don't know whether they had a chamber of commerce at that time or not, but they certainly had some town boosters, because they were sending out brochures and trying to get people in the east to come and settle in Bristow. And they were a little bit flowery with their with their writing. And I wanted to read this to you. I thought it was very interesting. This is one of the things that they sent to entice people to Bristow. "Do you want a home in the most beautiful town in the new state of Oklahoma, where society is good, where school and church facilities are excellent, where health is splendid and morals above reproach, and where many opportunities to engage and manufacture and various other business and avocations business avocations exist. If you do, you not, you cannot find a town of its size where so many opportunities exist to such a degree as in Bristow. The thriving, wide awake town of the Creek Nation, a more beautiful spot for the location of a town could not be found in this immediate vicinity unfolds a vast panorama of nature's grandest scenery and plain valley with hill and water course all mingle in one vast, poetic dream." [Inaudible] 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:58.159 We need them now. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:58.340 Yes. 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.700 Have us send those out. 00:13:00.700 --> 00:14:14.000 "While cold, clear, crystal water, as pure and limpid as the water of the pellucid nevus can be a pained on every hand. Bristow is surrounded by timbered hills free from any local cause for disease, with summer's cool and winter's mild, with the purest of water and fresh breezy air, possessing the most healthy and desirable climate to be found, with great valleys and rich upland and prairies of all the finest farming lands that will produce all manner of crops. The home of magnificent fruits as juicy and luscious as any that ever tickled the palates of the gods or [indecipherable]. Our little city offers to the casual visitor or permanent home seeker, a home where he may spend his life as pleasantly as though in the orange scented groves of Florida or on the shores of the sunlit Pacific. Come to Bristow, where you can secure property cheap and build you a home where you can educate your children and bring them up in a good, moral town among the best people." [laughing, applause] 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:23.120 Yay, Bristow! [inaudible] 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:30.620 I found that all of the writers back in that day were just a little bit flowery, and 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:33.080 Who wrote that? Lucille, do you know who wrote that? 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:33.360 No. 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:37.320 Did they sign it? It sounds like Mr. Purdy [Indecipherable] 00:14:37.320 --> 00:14:39.600 Probably was. It was 1906. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:44.779 It sounds like Al Clark (ph). But, of course, he wasn't here at that time, but he used to put out stuff about our town. 00:14:44.779 --> 00:16:02.134 This was, this was put out in 1906. And there were, there are really some more that really put this in the shade. But I thought this was a little more precise. In 1906, the first graduating class from Bristow High School consisted of four people. They were Ralph Corey (ph), Waldo Stickle (ph), Alice Rue (ph) and Ina Green (ph). And in 1915 the entire enrollment for Bristow High School was 52 and that year they selected the colors purple and gold. Now, in the early 1900s cotton farming was the mainstay of this area. In 1916 during the harvest season, cotton wagons lined the entire length of Main Street, waiting their turn at the gin. And there were eight gins here at that time. Helen, can you remember those cotton wagons in the street? 00:16:02.134 --> 00:16:05.000 They were still here in 1920 when we moved here. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:05.480 Oh, were they? 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:45.059 And they would line up on East Ninth to get into the one gin, particularly there by the railway. It is still standing, the old building, on the north side of the railway track. And after they left, our street would be white for days, because the cotton fell out. It was interesting to see all these people come in early in the morning, stay late in to the night, because they waited in the wagon. And then, as I remember, they sucked it up, that big [indecipherable] they had, yeah, the suction line. And then [indecipherable] 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:55.019 Well, they gave a big prize for the first bale of cotton. So that's why they came in early. [Inaudible] [laughing] 00:16:55.019 --> 00:17:53.799 You mean people did that?! I talked to Opal Lyons (ph) about the cotton and her dad owned the gin, and she said he would go down and he'd buy the cotton right there and pump out the cotton right there at the wagon, and then he would send her word to her up in the office that this man so that she could the man always owed them money, and so she was to collect the money. And so I'm sure that was a very interesting and busy time in Bristow. And of course, during the same time, peanuts were an important part of Bristow. I'm not just I couldn't find out exactly when peanuts they started raising peanuts. 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:54.839 When cotton went out. 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:59.640 Oil boom came just before the [indecipherable]. 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:01.200 Oh, it was later then. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:05.700 I think Gene Coleman (ph) was the first [indecipherable]. 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:07.200 Is that right? 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.880 Not sure. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:15.619 These buildings down on South Main are the original buildings that were erected to take care of the cotton. 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:20.200 Peanuts. 00:18:20.200 --> 00:20:41.900 Those things are but sometimes it's a little hard to pin these things down when you're trying to get dates. As you can see, things were going pretty good for the new community. And in 1919 the Bristow boosters were sending out glory glowing reports of this city, and they claimed, excuse me, they claimed the purest water in large quantities, paved streets, which, by the way, are the same bricks that we ride over today, an unlimited quantity of natural gas, oil all around the city and more coming in every day, a glass plant with a payroll of more than $2,000 a week, a commercial club, steam laundry, four banks with a combined capital of $1,000,750, Masonic Temple costing $30,000, and I presume that's the same one that's down there today, a modern refinery, an ice and light plant and a modern high school. [Inaudible] I was interested in ads in the paper in 1919, because the professional people were advertising, and you don't see that nowadays, but there were four doctors, one dentist, one optometrist and two lawyers advertising in the paper that I was looking at down there. And you might be interested in their names, because one of them was John M. Wells, MD (ph) and I'm sure Reba (ph) knows who that is. [Inaudible] 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:43.460 Oh, I see. 00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:44.960 Was a bookkeeper for years. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:52.400 Well, she, she remembers that then. And W.F. Snorgrass, MD (ph). 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:53.779 That's Jack Snorgrass' (ph) father. 00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:54.000 Is that Jack's father? 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:02.700 They lived out here where J.T. Cassady lives. 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:02.799 Oh, I see. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:04.000 Well, and C.G. Martin, MD. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:05.920 On West Sixth Street. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.339 Is he Thelma Collins' uncle? 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:09.664 He left Bristow. [Inaudible] 00:21:09.664 --> 00:21:12.700 And W.E. Reynolds, MD. [Inaudible] 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:12.880 Uh-huh. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:27.359 And she's still living? 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:38.400 Yes, she's living in Tulsa. I've met her. And then there was an A.P. Watson (ph). 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:39.079 A dentist. 00:21:39.079 --> 00:22:16.539 Right. These are just the ones who were advertising in this paper that I was looking at. Elizabeth Buchan (ph) B, U, C, H, A, N, I presume that's the way you pronounce it. She was an optometrist and W.T. Banks (ph) and W. E. Tomey, lawyers, were advertising. [Inaudible] 00:22:16.539 --> 00:23:06.000 I'm going to let both of you plead your cases in just a minute. In 1919, there were 200 automobiles in Bristow. Real estate was booming. Telephone rates were raised from $2 to $3 for business phones and from $1 to $1.75 for residence phones. And the local theater was featuring such stars as Theda Bara, William Farnum, and "Fatty" Arbuckle [Roscoe Arbuckle]. Now, of course, this burst of activity was brought on partly from the discovery of oil around Bristow. And Claude Freeland (ph) started the whole thing in 1905 when he drilled in the first well on what is now East 12th Street, and I've been told that that's probably up in Mrs. Albert Kelly's neighborhood. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:16.680 I was thinking one of the first wells we had in town was what we called [indecipherable]. 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:25.259 Now is in the Kelly [indecipherable] with Albert Kelly the greatest production we ever had [indecipherable]. 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:32.579 Well, this was in 1905, and it was 14 years later that the oil boom really started. [Inaudible] 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:39.839 That was, I thought that was the original [indecipherable]. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:24:44.430 Well, Norva Freeland (ph)I called her and talked to her, and she got some papers out, and she said that Claude built his well on East 12th Street, and he had enough gas to supply them. They had gas lights and gas to heat with, and but it was not, evidently, there was not a lot of activity then, until about 14 years later, when when they really started with the drilling and now, I noticed that Isa (ph) said 14, there were 14,000 people here. I was told 16,000 and and they said that that Depew had about 3500 people. 00:24:44.430 --> 00:24:47.430 Slick was the town of 10,000 people. 00:24:47.430 --> 00:24:49.829 10,000 00:24:49.829 --> 00:24:54.390 Buildings on both sides of the road there and the corner was the schoolhouse square north [indecipherable]. 00:24:54.390 --> 00:25:12.660 Four mile corner [indecipherable]. 00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:17.519 Yes. [Indecipherable] 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:46.819 But the roads were so bad that you didn't travel very much. In fact, one lady told me that it took about an hour to get down to Depew at one time. And I can I can understand that because I've been in the oil fields a long time. [Inaudible] 00:25:46.819 --> 00:26:27.619 Now that's about as far as I could go with the written word that I could get down at the library, and so I am going to open this up to just some reminiscing. And I have asked Helen and and Reba Lee if they would sort of be thinking about some things, I think past 1900 mostly. I'm sure they couldn't remember too far ahead of that, that some incidents, perhaps that they might remember that would be real interesting to us. 00:26:27.619 --> 00:27:38.119 Well, you know, [indecipherable] there and got two livery and sale barns. I lived over on East Seventh Street. In fact, my daddy's name is still on the steps over there, and there's a livery stable there where Wells Grocery, you know, right next to the street. And I can remember going by there walking around all the mess and all that sort of stuff. It was right across from where Lorene Roberts (ph) lives now. And another thing I might tell is this Walter Groom is really Dr. W.W. Groom, and he was a doctor, but he never did practice. He got into banking, and when he left Bristow, he became the Executive Secretary of the Masonic Lodges of Oklahoma at McAlester, with his history down there, and was that until his death, and he was one of the big instigators of the Rainbow Organization. We're number, what is the number of the Rainbow Group here? Way down four or five or six? And we, we had the state chapter, but Dr. W.W. Groom made real history down at McAlester. [Inaudible] 00:27:38.119 --> 00:28:57.519 And I'll tell you something about the bank building over here. You see this first picture over here, and it's been covered up with, like, what they call it? Stucco or something to start. Jack's father built that building. It's the first brick building in Bristow, and they made the bricks. Old Curt Gillaspie can tell you all about that, but they made the bricks. So when, when they were going to tear it down, when an author told Jack that they were going to, so Jack went down and got a lot of the bricks to give to all of our grandkids and everything that their grandfather, great grandfather, had made in this bank building. I didn't mean too many years ago toward the [indecipherable] would put this covering on it first. And back in the 20s, Bristow was famous for its bank. They called it the Million Dollar Bank. [Inaudible] 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:16.819 Yeah, it was. It was a big robbery. [Inaudible] 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:18.680 Was that during the oil boom? 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:30.180 What year was that [indecipherable]? 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:57.704 This is not the bank that was robbed. It was in the old American National up there. The back of it was a telephone office. And if you remember, it was all glass, mostly on that north side. And he came in and robbed the front of the bank. 00:29:57.704 --> 00:29:58.299 [Indeciperable] 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:45.025 See, we had four banks here at one time, and these robbers came in and robbed the bank. And they had to go back up past where [indecipherable] office was on Seventh Street. He had his own door back there, and he didn't do the thing that grab a gun and start shooting. And they had quite a shoot out there in the street. They tore that building down up above [indecipherable]. 00:30:45.025 --> 00:30:46.285 Wonderful to have memories. [Indecipherable] 00:30:46.285 --> 00:30:47.785 You're the only one to use your head. 00:30:47.785 --> 00:30:50.244 I think the closet was a good place to be. 00:30:50.244 --> 00:31:31.519 Ann Stark found out later that she was shot right here. [Indecipherable] 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:35.000 [Indecipherable] people have their life savings in a jar. [Inaudible] 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.759 I wasn't there, but I was in high school and I can remember [indecipherable]. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:41.720 And, then, it also went bankrupt. 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:42.980 Yeah, well, that's when I first came. 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:54.559 And what was it, two banks, two banks went bankrupt. One went bankrupt and we hadn't been here very long and didn't have any money in it, so. 00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:07.865 Walter Simons (ph), the Secretary Chamber of Commerce, and they hired him to run this bank. Well, it was not solvent. 00:32:07.865 --> 00:32:11.525 This was 1906? 00:32:11.525 --> 00:32:13.144 No, no, the other. 00:32:13.144 --> 00:32:13.625 The other? 00:32:13.625 --> 00:32:25.039 The original bank was across the street from where it was, where the Safeway store [indecipherable]. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:33.319 No, no First State. There were four banks. They had one on each corner. Right. 00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:55.180 Oh, and another thing we had it during the war. We had a big flagpole right out in the middle of the Seventh Street. You remember that, don't ya? The flag pole on Seventh Street? Had a great, big, round thing like this. We had to drive around the flagpole. [Inaudible] 00:32:55.180 --> 00:33:06.000 I don't remember that, but I remember the flag pole on Seventh Street. [Indecipherable] July, 4 of July, you know, all around the flag pole. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:19.480 Oh, and there was a little band stand up there we used to have [indecipherable] library. And every summer we'd have band concerts on Saturday night. Do you remember that? 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:44.259 Another thing we had the Chautauqua Circus. You all remember the Chautauqua Circus? And Bristow always had that in the summertime. And boy, you go sit under the tent and just sweat. I had some fans, some old, old fans from here, a bunch of new churches around here, and the funeral homes. And I forgot to bring them. [Indecipherable] 00:33:44.259 --> 00:34:09.925 Reba Lee brought some annuals, 1923, '24 and '27 that I'm sure it would be very interesting to some of you, and be sure and look at them. [Inaudible] 00:34:09.925 --> 00:34:19.219 Yes, it just wasn't. It wasn't like it is now. [Inaudible] 00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:51.679 Oh, and from our bunch [indecipherable] but you know, like Opal and Beverly Freeland and [indecipherable] and the Carmen's, Gertrude and Jack and me. And of course, my brother had been there before, before me. Well, he was younger. [Inaudible] 00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:53.000 No, it wasn't. It wasn't as common. [Indecipherable] 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:56.179 A lot of girls went to private schools then. [Indecipherable] 00:34:56.179 --> 00:35:12.579 You know, on of the things that I remember was the Christmas openings at night. When you had the things at night. 00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:23.880 I loved the Halloween when each merchant had [indecipherable]. 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:30.480 Everybody had to come to town on Saturday night. Everybody, yes, you just beeping at everybody and having a good time! 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:33.184 Everything was closed on Sunday. All the stores. 00:35:33.184 --> 00:35:57.820 We used to have a good time on Halloween. It was Pauline Abraham's birthday, and she always threw a big party up here on West Eighth Street in the house where France Hill (ph) is living now. And, boy, we used to have the best times on Halloween, big occasion, Halloween. 00:35:57.820 --> 00:36:47.719 I looked back through some newspapers. They have old newspapers on microfilm at the library. And if your neck will stand it, it's a very interesting thing, but you certainly break your neck trying to, trying to get those. And I found in society poems the names of a lot of people that I recognized. I didn't try to bring them because there were just too many of them. But I kind of got the idea that Bristow was very, very social place about that time, because at least they put it all in the paper because it was full of bridge parties and dances [indecipherable]. 00:36:47.719 --> 00:37:04.880 See, and E.E. Mount over there, he had the first self-service grocery store in Bristow. Remember up on east, west Seventh there by the telephone office. And I remember you he had a little sign, you know, you walked through and the gate clicked, and why that was a grandest place on earth to go up there and [indecipherable]. 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:07.099 Did he have carts too? 00:37:07.099 --> 00:37:31.505 I dont know, I don't remember that part. That was our first self service up there. Of course, the E.E. Mount family built that house on East First Street, just across from the Washington School. [Inaudible] 00:37:31.505 --> 00:37:38.465 The old Hamburger King. 00:37:38.465 --> 00:37:39.844 Going from coast to coast. 00:37:39.844 --> 00:37:40.539 Yes. [Indecipherable] 00:37:40.539 --> 00:37:50.000 Well, I can tell you, when we were back at school, hamburgers were a nickel or a dime. Ten cents at that time. [Indecipherable] 00:37:50.000 --> 00:38:26.585 He was always telling the tale on himself and and Wallace Bisbee (ph). You all remember Dr. Bisbee (ph), the surgeon, and they went up to the hamburger, and this was old greasy John, you know lived up there on West Tenth, and they want, they had a dime between them. So they ordered a hamburger, hamburger, and Wallace stepped up, he says, and I want pickles on my half. 00:38:26.585 --> 00:38:30.485 Oh, they were here ever since I can remember. 00:38:30.485 --> 00:38:32.559 1907. 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:53.780 Jack [indecipherable] came here in in 1898 or 1889 and then my daddy came here in 1909, well, a little bit before that. 00:38:53.780 --> 00:38:59.480 My daddy and Schrader (ph) and Reynolds (ph) and all that [indecipherable]. 00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:05.960 And Dr. King. A.H. Stone. 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:14.000 Tom Foster, he was just a Democrat. 00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:14.179 [Indecipherable] 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:14.400 Anna Sue's (ph) father, wasn't it? 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:16.579 E.O. Foster, there. 00:39:16.579 --> 00:39:22.980 Pete (ph) and his brothers [indecipherable] when I was a kid. 00:39:22.980 --> 00:40:03.025 I was wondering about Mrs. A.C. Cook (ph), she was the only lady listed except Elizabeth McCann (ph). Was she a special citizen? Mrs. A. C. Cook? 00:40:03.025 --> 00:40:12.505 Let me tell you this, [inaudible] she had just she left Bristow the first time [inaudible] they were very confident, and they lost everything. 00:40:12.505 --> 00:40:27.539 It's amazing how many people [inaudible] and you have to struggle things. [Inaudible] But it is amazing. 00:40:27.539 --> 00:41:03.800 Well, in 1929 there's a lot of people lost everything in a hurry and had to struggle for it. [Indecipherable] 00:41:03.800 --> 00:41:11.000 When did the Krumme's come here? 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:12.000 They came later. 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:12.360 That J. S. Carman [James Silas Carman] is Neva Gurley's dad and their home place is right up there where the [indecipherable] apartment sits right on that corner. 00:41:12.360 --> 00:41:26.820 Well, I think there is a picture. [Indecipherable] 00:41:26.820 --> 00:41:51.739 No, that's Ethel Carman bought that later on. No, the old grandpa, Jack's grandfather and mother [indecipherable]. The Sharpes, they lived along and in there where the old Turner where the Turner [indecipherable] Motor Company is on Main. [Indecipherable] 00:41:51.739 --> 00:41:59.239 There's a picture of Ann Jones' (ph) home up here. It doesn't look like it's a stone home. 00:41:59.239 --> 00:42:09.514 Well, they built that home, the one [indecipherable]. 00:42:09.514 --> 00:42:22.300 No, the Hanes you're thinking about is H.Y. They were kin to the Vogels (ph). I think that's who you were thinking about. They were in the Methodist Church. [Indecipherable] 00:42:22.300 --> 00:42:33.599 [Indecipherable] and kin to Walker [indecipherable] Fannie Watson (ph) [indecipherable]/ 00:42:33.599 --> 00:42:44.099 And Mrs. Klingen, Mrs. Klingensmith had a had a [indecipherable] shop. [Indecipherable] 00:42:44.099 --> 00:42:46.079 And that Lovett (ph) is Gertrude [indecipherable]. 00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:53.320 I think that's her daughter. [Indecipherable] 00:42:53.320 --> 00:43:01.059 Oh! I can tell you all about Norma. She and I were very close friends in 1926. Is that about right? Norma. 00:43:01.059 --> 00:43:03.619 Norma who? 00:43:03.619 --> 00:44:21.574 Norma Smallwood was her name, and her aunt worked for the Jackson & Lee Grocery Store, and she was an old maid, and she lived up there on that corner where, you know, where Fern Brooks lives? Well, their home was on that corner. Well, anyway, Norma's mother and daddy were separated, and they would come here a lot of time and stay with Ms. Nettie (ph). So, they were here, and Norma and I were real close friends. Then she her mother, Lucille, moved them all to Tulsa, and she became Miss America from Tulsa, and then she married Gilcrease (ph) and they had one daughter, Denise, born in France, [indecipherable] I'm crazy French name, and I knew her real well, because she belonged to the same sorority and we used to go to our state meetings and we'd chat and talk about her mother, and her mother died of cancer in Wichita Falls. Oh, and 10 years ago, of course, [indecipherable] was killed in a car wreck and in Dallas. And this beautiful room that's on the west, I believe, of Gilcrease was in memory of her [indecipherable]. 00:44:21.574 --> 00:44:24.335 Very beautiful girl. 00:44:24.335 --> 00:44:34.054 Oh, Norma died of cancer in Wichita Falls. [Indecipherable] 00:44:34.054 --> 00:44:41.659 Her daughter is dead, too. 00:44:41.659 --> 00:44:43.659 Yes, she was killed in a car accident. 00:44:43.659 --> 00:45:16.659 Is there anything else that anybody thinks of that would be a real addition to this? We could, but I don't think we should. It's after three. I was interested in Lyons Cafe because I'm not, I don't, don't go back past where a lot of you do. And Lyons Cafe was open for business in 1934, and of course, they they closed in 1973. 00:45:16.659 --> 00:45:41.860 Well, let me tell you the background of that. You see, this Conger up here, Dr. Conger, had a brother, and he owned a little confectionary down here, along about where [indecipherable] and Opal and Merlin bought them out, and they still had those little ice cream chairs and all that sort of stuff. See, but that's the start. L.B. Connor (ph) and Roberts were their names, and that's where that originated, Lions confection. 00:45:41.860 --> 00:46:19.945 Well, I'm sure most all of you may, perhaps Sandy and Isa may not remember Lyons Cafe, but the rest of you probably would. It's just sort of a landmark in Bristow, and it was very interesting to me to get those dates and and also the old Laurel Hotel was a real Bristow landmark, and I understand it was on Sixth Street where the National Supply is [inaudible]. 00:46:19.945 --> 00:46:39.369 Is that right? It was, it has I have noticed. I noticed in those newspapers that I scanned that it was not it was mentioned in so many places that I thought it it deserved a place in Bristow history. 00:46:39.369 --> 00:46:45.219 I still remember that sign. 00:46:45.219 --> 00:47:09.420 There's in 1952 I found where the Sapulpa Chieftains had defeated the Bristow Pirates. So, history, you know, keeps going on, and that Mose LeForce had resigned as coach of Bristow High School, and that's bringing us up almost to modern day. So, if there is there anything else that anybody, Helen? 00:47:09.420 --> 00:47:27.599 One time Jack was on [indecipherable], do you remember at Oklahoma City and they got a special train up. I don't have it all to 2000 people, from Bristow! [Inaudible] 00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:41.144 We had that game stolen from us. Just literally stolen from us. Made a 97 yard touchdown that they called back. 00:47:41.144 --> 00:47:50.565 Oh, I think Rich was about ready [inaudible]. 00:47:50.565 --> 00:47:53.264 That's right. That game was really stolen from us. 00:47:53.264 --> 00:47:57.039 How many people went to see the game? [Inaudible] 00:47:57.039 --> 00:48:20.025 The mommies, the new generation, you know, go to see their children. It's very sad to see the children bringing you know [indecipherable]. 00:48:20.025 --> 00:48:21.344 These kids had everybody! 00:48:21.344 --> 00:48:23.144 Oh, that was so exciting [inaudible]. 00:48:23.144 --> 00:48:24.824 No, that was before [inaudible]. 00:48:24.824 --> 00:48:27.585 Hafer was coaching. 00:48:27.585 --> 00:48:35.000 In these class reunions, Hafer comes back here. He lives in Edmond. He's just as fine as he can be, and he's gonna write a book. 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:44.000 Yeah, and he was a member of the Methodist Church, he and his wife, they had one son, Eddie [indecipherable] (ph). 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:45.440 This is the name of our field. 00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:47.780 Yes, Hafer Field. 00:48:47.780 --> 00:48:56.239 And he has had a special honor at Edmond. They have named the field down there for him because he's done so much work with young boys after he retired. 00:48:56.239 --> 00:49:02.179 But you knew about [indecipherable]. 00:49:02.179 --> 00:49:19.320 Oh, yeah. And you remember old fashioned chivalries He married while he was coach here and we put 'em all in a wheel barrow and took them down Main Street. We used to do that a lot. 00:49:19.320 --> 00:49:30.239 So, you can see that Bristow was and is and ever will be, a colorful town. And I have thoroughly enjoyed looking into the history of Bristow, and it's too big a subject to cover in one afternoon, so we're going to have to cut it off, but I want to thank Reba and Helen for reminiscing and all of you. Yes? 00:49:30.239 --> 00:50:11.300 wanted to find out about is [inaudible]. 00:50:11.300 --> 00:50:20.099 What was that building originally? 00:50:20.099 --> 00:50:22.199 Ms. Collins introduced her. 00:50:22.199 --> 00:50:32.940 Well, by the way, Velma Collins won the [indecipherable] Cup at OU for being the outstanding, same time Carl Albert did. They were classmates and sweehearts 00:50:32.940 --> 00:50:39.119 Carl leaned over to her and said, I'm glad they got you because you're shorter than I. 00:50:39.119 --> 00:50:50.739 What was the building used for [indecipherable]. 00:50:50.739 --> 00:50:55.000 NYA (ph) National Youth. 00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:56.199 Oh, is that what it was built for? And then they used it for a national amory. [Inaudible] 00:50:56.199 --> 00:50:59.719 I, perhaps, was here where OG&E was originally. 00:50:59.719 --> 00:51:01.365 Where did they come up with a name like Massena for that lake? 00:51:01.365 --> 00:51:25.085 Well, that was Governor Murray's cousin or brother or somebody. [Inaudible] 00:51:25.085 --> 00:51:48.900 We didn't always have a lake. I think we always had [indecipherable]. 00:51:48.900 --> 00:52:54.000 Well, I invite you all to look at these annuals, the pictures. I'm sure you all saw these pictures when they came out in the paper, but it might refresh your memory. And I do thank all of you for filling me in on a lot of these things that I could not get. But I would like to add a personal note in conclusion, on Bristow, in retrospect. We were transferred here from Centralia, Illinois in 1952 and our three daughters graduated from Bristow High School. We've had 26 years of happy memories here. We had no intention of retiring here, when we came here. We thought we would, we'd always planned to go to Missouri to retire, but after 26 years, we just couldn't think of any place else to live. And I'm not as eloquent as those writers back in 1906, but I would like to say that Bristow is a great place. Thank you! 00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:57.670 As a member of the program committee, I think you did an outstanding program. 00:53:57.670 --> 00:53:59.170 Well, thank you. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0080_Lucille_Qualls.xml OHP-0080_Lucille_Qualls.xml
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Title
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Lucille Qualls
Description
An account of the resource
Lucille Qualls recounts the early history of Bristow, Oklahoma, starting with the Frisco Railroad's extension in 1898 and the establishment of the first post office by C.O. Crane. Bristow grew rapidly, adding 100 citizens and numerous businesses within 30 days. By 1903, the town had a school system with multiple grades. Notable events include the first graduating class in 1906 and the discovery of oil in 1919. The town boasted various amenities, including banks, a high school, and a Masonic Temple. Personal anecdotes and reminiscences from residents highlight Bristow's social and economic development over the years.
Identifier
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OHP-0080
Date
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1978-11-01
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audio
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Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Georgia Smith
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Odell Alexander
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https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0069_Odell_Alexander.xml
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6.0 April 15, 2021 OHP-0069 Odell Alexander OHP-0069 00:50:52 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Odell Alexander Georgia Smith 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0069 Alexander, Odell.mp3 Other audio 0 Birth Georgia Smith 00:00
 ; This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is April 15, 2021 and I'm sitting here at the depot with Odell Alexander, who's going to tell me a little bit about his history in the Bristow area. Now give me your full name.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 00:27
 ; Odell Alexander - no middle name.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 00:31
 ; Okay, and that was your name at birth, right?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 00:34
 ; Yes.
 ; Odell Alexander was born on August 4, 1953. He was born in a hospital in Creek County. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Creek County (Okla.) Birth 0 57 Parents Georgia Smith 00:57
 ; And what was your mother's name with her maiden name included?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 01:02
 ; Myrtle Alexander and Myrtle Hines [Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander 5/2051916-2/2/1988].
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 01:07
 ; So it would be Myrtle Hines Alexander.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 01:08
 ; Yes.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 01:10
 ; Okay. And do you know when they were married?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 01:14
 ; I have that, but I don't. I didn't bring it.
 ; Odell's mother was Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander. His father was Savoy Alexander, Sr. Odell's mother passed away in 1988, and his father passed away in 2002. Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Oklahoma ; Texas ; Bristow (Okla.) Parents 0 128 Father's Family Moving from Texas Odell Alexander 02:08
 ; With his grandpa, Mr. Tal [Tal Alexander 1878-1968] my grandpa come from Texas to Bristow.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 02:14
 ; And what did he do in Texas?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 02:17
 ; In Texas, he was out there and he was just working in the fields. And the reason they moved up down there in Texas, because it was getting so radical, lynching and all of that stuff, and, and he had to move to come to Oklahoma and, and it wasn't very nice.
 ; Odell's father moved with his family from Texas to Oklahoma. Odell said in Texas, they worked in the fields. They moved because it was getting so radical. His father moved to Bristow and married and started his family here in Creek County. Tal Alexander ; Texas ; Oklahoma ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. Moving 0 195 Siblings Georgia Smith 03:15
 ; Okay, how many kids did your parents have? 
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 03:17
 ; Kids of nine kids. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 03:19
 ; Nine children.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 03:21
 ; Nine children.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 03:21
 ; My goodness.
 ; Odell is one of nine children. His father and mother both came from large families also. Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. Siblings 0 261 Parents' Work Odell Alexander 04:21
 ; My dad worked on construction job, and he worked here, and he done construction. And I remember my dad when we was real small, my mom had a, we wish we had one car, and it was pretty hard of getting around and and my dad went up there by Enid, Oklahoma, and work done construction work. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 04:45
 ; Okay, yeah.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 04:46
 ; My mom always had to take him up there on the weekend. I mean, he'll come home on weekends, and then Sunday afternoon we have to take him to Enid.
 ; Odell's father did construction work. He worked in Enid, Oklahoma. Odell said it was difficult for the family, because they only had one vehicle. Odell's mother was mainly a housewife, but she did end up working in childcare at the Methodist Church in Bristow. Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Enid (Okla.) ; Bristow (Okla.) ; First United Methodist Church (Bristow, Okla.) Parents ; Work 0 351 Good People of Bristow Odell Alexander 05:51
 ; She started down there and babysitting down at the church down there, and that's where all us kids, we would always have to go work. And thank God for the First United Methodist Church. That's what helped us get over the the hump of all the kids. And we had good peoples here in Bristow, Chuck West and Mrs. West and Joe Ihle and Rosemary LeForce, Mr. LeForce and and because they all went to the Methodist too, the names I'm calling, they was all at the Methodist Church and Bud Goodroad. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 06:26
 ; Those are all good people.
 ; Odell talks about the good people of Bristow being there for his family. His mother started working in childcare at the Methodist Church. The people of that church helped their family so much. He specifically mentions Chuck West and his wife, Joe Ihle and the LeForces. Bristow (Okla.) ; Methodist Church ; Chuck West ; Joe Ihle ; Rosemary LeForce ; Bud Goodroad ; Mose LeForce ; Ed Chapman ; Harry McMillan Bristow (Okla.) 0 573 Growing up and Childhood Home Georgia Smith 09:33
 ; Right, right, I got you. I got you there. Well, I know life must have been pretty hectic when you were a child. What was it like growing up in the 60s, basically, 50s and 60s with so many siblings here in Bristow? 
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 09:51
 ; Well, it was real good because my mom and dad, they were very good family. They didn't let us kids run around and stay with other kids. My mom and dad were just like a good rooster in a hand. They flocked over us and made sure we didn't get out of they sight, and they kind of kept us there.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 10:15
 ; Well, you can see that in your life.
 ; Odell was raised in a shotgun house with dirt floors. It only had 3 bedrooms, so with nine children it was tight. He remembers having to help out in the garden. Bristow (Okla.) ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander Home 0 777 Daily Meals Georgia Smith 12:57
 ; What was some of your normal daily meals?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 13:00
 ; Daily meals. I never forget that. That's a good question. You asked my daily meals, and I looked today, and I said, Lord, I have come a long ways. I remember when we had brown beans, white beans, and then the next day, if we had some left over, my mom would mix them, and we had plenty of potatoes and stuff, because we raised our own meat and own beef, and we killed it, and we had a smoke house where we salted our own meat.
 ; Odell remembers eating a lot of beans and potatoes growing up. He said they raised their own animals for meat. They had a smoke house where they salted their meat. Lord Meals 0 816 Home Odell Alexander 13:36
 ; Yeah, I live off of my my dad's mom property because, and matter of fact, I'm still living on it today. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 13:44
 ; Very nice.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 13:44
 ; It's a little different, but it's still the same home place. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 13:48
 ; And where is that located? 
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 13:49
 ; It's located northwest on highway 16 of Bristow. And I live six miles away from Bristow.
 ; Odell still lives on the property that he was raised on. It is six miles outside of Bristow on highway 16. Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Highway 16 ; Bristow (Okla.) Home 0 853 Grandmother's Recipe Georgia Smith 14:13
 ; I'm sure you did. Are there any favorite foods that you have the recipe for that you still make?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 14:21
 ; Yes, I still have my grandmother. Her name was Eva Hines (ph), but I have her good recipe that she left me to learn how to make good homemade bread and stuff, cornbread. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 14:36
 ; Oh, wow. 
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 14:37
 ; And I still have it, but a lot of people like to get it, but I can't give it to them. And my grandmother lived to be 109.
 ; Odell has the recipe that his grandmother, Eva Hines left him for homemade bread. She told Odell not to give that recipe to anyone. Odell still makes a version of his grandmother's rolls today. Grandmother Grandmother ; Recipe 0 929 Grandparents Georgia Smith 15:29
 ; You can't beat a good homemade roll. Okay, well, let's go ahead and jump to your grandparents, then. Your grandmother that you're just telling me that lived to be 100 and what? 
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 15:40
 ; 109.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 15:41
 ; Okay, tell me about her, her, where's her maiden name, and maybe what brought her to Bristow and all of that.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 15:50
 ; My grandmother lived in Chandler, Oklahoma, down the road from here, and she she came here, and I can't remember what year she came in here, but in her family, it was nine kids.
 ; Odell's grandmother lived to be 109. She moved to Bristow from Chandler, Oklahoma. She lived on 10th & ; Chestnut and helped Odell's parents with the children. She was married to a minister, but he passed away before Odell was born. Odell's other grandfather lived on the property by the family. Grandparents ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Chandler (Okla.) ; Duffy Chapel Baptist Church Grandparents 0 1113 Schooling and Athletics Georgia Smith 18:33
 ; Okay. Okay, so now we're going to jump to growing up in Bristow, maybe schools, things that you did, I think I'm on the things that you did, maybe in school, organizations? I know you were athletic, so
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 19:02
 ; Yeah, we was all, all of my brothers. We was pretty well athletic. And also I went to school with you. You, when me and you graduated together.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 19:13
 ; We did graduate together.
 ; Odell attended and graduated from Bristow Public Schools. Odell and his brothers were great athletes. One of his brothers, Ted went on to play professional football. Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Harlinsville Cemetery ; Harlinsville Baptist Church ; Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Cunningham Chevrolet ; California ; Vernon Glenn Alexander ; Henryetta (Okla.) School ; Sports 0 1733 Life After Graduating and Work Georgia Smith 28:53
 ; What did you do after graduation?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 28:55
 ; After graduation, I went to work because my mom has it was a big family of us, and I didn't care too much for college and stuff like that. But anyway, I just kind of stayed home, which I had my sister and Ted and Clydell, they all went to college and and then it was putting a burden on my mom and dad, but still, yet, we when we get money and stuff, I would help on they tuition fee or whatever. That's what my parents always taught us to do, be a good steward and do the right thing and help one another. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 29:36
 ; So, it was all for one.
 ; After graduating, Odell stayed home and went to work to help his parents and siblings financially. He worked at Sikes Carpet, which later sold and became Bristow Carpet. Odell also worked at Creeco Mill. Odell did some work for Mr. McMillan and Dr. Foster too. He later worked in the oil field for Getty Oil Company. Texaco bought the company out and Odell worked there until 1990. Odell then went to work at Mid America Stockyard, where he still works today. Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander ; Sikes Carpet ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Bristow Carpet ; Harry McMillan ; Bob Blackstock ; Joe Sam Vassar ; Getty Oil Company ; Drumright (Okla.) ; Mississippi ; Pennzoil Company ; Texaco Oil ; Sinclair ; Atlantic Richfield Co. ; Savoy Alexander, Sr. ; Bud Goodroad ; Ruth Goodroad ; Arthur Foster ; Mid America Stockyard ; Helen Marie Varner ; Jerry Varner Work 0 2410 Brother in Vietnam Georgia Smith 40:10
 ; Very good. You don't you never had to serve in in the Army or Navy?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 40:18
 ; Military, no. Military, no. I had a brother that went to Vietnam.
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 40:22
 ; Who was that?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 40:23
 ; That was Vernon.
 ; Odell did not join the military, but he had a brother that went to Vietnam. A rat bit him and he was sent out. The next day his whole group in Vietnam was killed. army ; navy ; Vietnam War Brother ; Vietnam 0 2545 Invention Georgia Smith 42:25
 ; Okay, I'm gonna switch to to now, looking back the period of our lifetime, what would you consider to be the most important inventions during your lifetime?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 42:40
 ; Oh, inventions then, I have nothing, I have nothing [indecipherable], I mean, everything was wonderful. I felt like it our school done very well. Bristow Public School done good under Frank's on the superintendent. What was his name?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 43:05
 ; Mr. Sims.
 ; Odell believes the television was an important invention. He says his family did not have a TV until 1952. Someone his mother worked for gave it to them. Odell says that it was a blessing. Television ; Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander Television 0 2651 How the World is Different Georgia Smith 44:11
 ; Yes, it was. How do you think the world's different now than when you were a child?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 44:20
 ; Oh, Lord, the world is entirely different today. It's entirely different. And I look at the world today, I see so much going on today. It's, I don't know how God going to let us stay in this world any longer, because we cannot get along with people. We don't work together and everybody, it just a totally disaster. And I hope and pray that we can get out of that. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 44:52
 ; Yes, yes.
 ; Odell says the world is entirely different today than when he was a child. He says people cannot get along with each other. World World 0 2766 Pandemic Georgia Smith 46:06
 ; Yes, that's all we can do right now is yes, pray a lot things get better. We're in the ending phase, hopefully of a pandemic. How has that affected you?
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 46:19
 ; Pandemic has really affected me, because I like being socialized with peoples and stuff like that, peoples I love to be with and but it's been tough on me, and everybody got to keep our distance, and you got to obey the rules, and you got to wear the mush, I mean, the mask and, and I have no problem with it. You got people that don't want to wear the mask, yeah, and they thank it. And then I hear some people say, oh, they just politics and this back then. And da, da, da.
 ; Odell says the Covid pandemic was tough on him. He loves being social. He feels like God is trying to get people to focus on him through this terrible pandemic. Pandemic ; God Pandemic 0 2876 World Problems Georgia Smith 47:56
 ; Amen. Amen, Odell. Okay, as you see it, what are the biggest problems that you think face our nation right now, and how do you think they could be solved? I think you might have just said a little bit of how you think they could be solved.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 48:13
 ; Well, our nation can be solved in a lot of things, in a lot of ways, if we just learn to get along and and I hate to say it, you know, you don't go around and call peoples nasty and talk, you know
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 48:32
 ; Trash and vulgarity.
 ; Odell feels like most of the nation's problems could be solved if people would just learn to get along. Nation Nation 0 2974 Closing the Interview Georgia Smith 49:34
 ; Well, Odell, I really appreciate your coming in for this interview.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 49:38
 ; Well, thank you. It was a pleasure to do it for you. 
 ; 
 ; Georgia Smith 49:41
 ; Well, it was a pleasure doing it. I enjoyed it.
 ; 
 ; Odell Alexander 49:42
 ; And also it's good when you sit down and talk to your classmates and they interview you. And we went to school together, and we just and we always spoke good of one another, and yes, and we got along and our classmates. I never will forget, our class of 1972 was the most diversity class in the world.
 ; Odell finishes the interview with Georgia ; they talk about going to school together. Odell says their class of 1972 was very diverse. He says they were the first class to get a black football team. Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) School ; School & ; amp ; family partnership series 0 MP3 Odell Alexander, born August 4, 1953, in Creek County, Oklahoma, shared his life story with Georgia Smith. Odell's parents, Myrtle Hines Alexander and Savoy Alexander, had nine children. Odell's father worked in construction, and his mother stayed home. Odell and his siblings faced challenges, including racial tensions, but received support from the community, particularly from local businesses and churches. Odell worked in various jobs, including at Sikes Carpet, Getty Oil Company, and Mid America Stockyard, where he still works at the time of this interview. He emphasized the importance of community, faith, and education in overcoming adversity. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:27.765 This is Georgia Smith with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is April 15, 2021 and I'm sitting here at the depot with Odell Alexander, who's going to tell me a little bit about his history in the Bristow area. Now give me your full name. 00:00:27.765 --> 00:00:31.304 Odell Alexander - no middle name. 00:00:31.304 --> 00:00:34.905 Okay, and that was your name at birth, right? 00:00:34.905 --> 00:00:35.145 Yes. 00:00:35.145 --> 00:00:37.125 Okay. Where were you born? 00:00:37.125 --> 00:00:39.045 I was born in Creek County. 00:00:39.045 --> 00:00:39.945 Here in Bristow? 00:00:39.945 --> 00:00:40.905 Mm-hmm. 00:00:40.905 --> 00:00:42.000 In a home or hospital? 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:43.380 Hospital. 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:48.539 A lot of our older interviewees, they don't say hosptial. 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:51.420 My brother was born with a midwife. 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:55.320 Really? And your date of birth? 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.899 August 4, 1953. 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:02.600 And what was your mother's name with her maiden name included? 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:07.079 Myrtle Alexander and Myrtle Hines [Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander 5/2051916-2/2/1988]. 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:08.680 So it would be Myrtle Hines Alexander. 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:10.000 Yes. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.560 Okay. And do you know when they were married? 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.959 I have that, but I don't. I didn't bring it. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:20.920 That's okay. Do you have an approximate date? 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:25.840 Yes, I have an approximate date, but I can't remember. It's so much I can't remember all of that. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.500 Yeah, that's okay. Do you know where they were married? 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:45.439 They was married, I believe in, I believe in, I can't say here in Bristow, but I know where they married was at, but I can't 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:46.540 In the area? 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:51.340 In the area round here. It was in Oklahoma. I'll put it that way. It's in Oklahoma. 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:52.000 Okay, very good. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:02:04.719 Because my dad [Savoy Alexander, Sr. 4/27/1911 - 2/15/2002] come from Texas, and then he came, and then he moved down there a little town called, it's done there by Little Axe [Oklahoma]. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:05.739 Okay. 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.259 That's where my dad come from. 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:08.439 Okay. 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:14.919 With his grandpa, Mr. Tal [Tal Alexander 1878-1968] my grandpa come from Texas to Bristow. 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.719 And what did he do in Texas? 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:41.764 In Texas, he was out there and he was just working in the fields. And the reason they moved up down there in Texas, because it was getting so radical, lynching and all of that stuff, and, and he had to move to come to Oklahoma and, and it wasn't very nice. 00:02:41.764 --> 00:02:43.264 Evidently, not Odell. 00:02:43.264 --> 00:02:44.224 It wasn't very nice. 00:02:44.224 --> 00:02:46.000 That would be a very scary thing. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:46.180 To Oklahoma. 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:50.740 Yes, and that's the reason my dad's dad came 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:52.360 Oklahoma. 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.240 And were things better for him once he got here? 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:59.500 Well, when he got in Oklahoma, he felt a little bit better. 00:02:59.500 --> 00:02:59.740 Good. 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:15.205 And then that's when he began to live. He kept moved from there, and then he moved from there to Bristow, okay, and him and my mother was married, and they started a family here in Creek County. 00:03:15.205 --> 00:03:17.905 Okay, how many kids did your parents have? 00:03:17.905 --> 00:03:19.824 Kids of nine kids. 00:03:19.824 --> 00:03:21.745 Nine children. 00:03:21.745 --> 00:03:22.224 My goodness. 00:03:22.224 --> 00:03:26.000 I think in my dad's family, it was eight, and my mom's family was seven. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:26.068 Those are big families. 00:03:26.068 --> 00:03:28.819 We come from a big family. 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:34.000 Yes, definitely. Can you tell me your siblings names and if they're alive or deceased? 00:03:34.000 --> 00:04:08.585 Yes, Catherine (ph) is deceased and Savoy, he's still alive. And then Don Lewis (ph), he's deceased. And then Arvelle, he's deceased, and Vernon Glenn Alexander (ph), and then Margaret Alexander, she's deceased. And then Ted Alexander, and then Odell and Clydell. 00:04:08.585 --> 00:04:09.004 Okay. 00:04:09.004 --> 00:04:10.539 They are all still living. 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:11.000 Are you the baby, Odell? 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.879 No, ma'am, Clydell is the baby. 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:21.860 Clydell's the baby, okay. And what did your mother and father do here in Bristow? 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:45.605 My dad worked on construction job, and he worked here, and he done construction. And I remember my dad when we was real small, my mom had a, we wish we had one car, and it was pretty hard of getting around and and my dad went up there by Enid, Oklahoma, and work done construction work. 00:04:45.605 --> 00:04:46.779 Okay, yeah. 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:58.779 My mom always had to take him up there on the weekend. I mean, he'll come home on weekends, and then Sunday afternoon we have to take him to Enid. 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:01.600 Okay, okay. That's where I was born, Odell. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:02.319 Is that right? 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:07.060 That is right. And your mother just stayed home and took care of you kids? 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:08.019 My mother stayed home. 00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:09.600 That would be a full time job with nine kids. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:14.579 Well, my mother stayed home and took care of the kids. And which we had a hard time. 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:15.360 I'm sure. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:20.939 We had a very hard time. That's one good thing. Praise the Lord. I don't forget where I come from. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:21.600 That's good. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:48.819 Today, because so many people forget where they come from. I know what it was like of nine kids, my mom and and she started working, doing daycare work, day work, and she had good people here, here in Bristow, helped her, and she started to work at the First United Methodist Church, babysitting. 00:05:48.819 --> 00:05:51.839 I've always heard good things about your mother. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:06:26.985 She started down there and babysitting down at the church down there, and that's where all us kids, we would always have to go work. And thank God for the First United Methodist Church. That's what helped us get over the the hump of all the kids. And we had good peoples here in Bristow, Chuck West and Mrs. West and Joe Ihle and Rosemary LeForce, Mr. LeForce and and because they all went to the Methodist too, the names I'm calling, they was all at the Methodist Church and Bud Goodroad. 00:06:26.985 --> 00:06:28.420 Those are all good people. 00:06:28.420 --> 00:07:31.930 They was all good people. Every one of them that I named out was they own their own business and, and that was a good thing, and they helped us. And, and which Mr. West, he was a school teacher. He was athletic director, but he always took care. I never forget when he said my mom worked for him. And he said, Mr. West, I can't afford to buy all this stuff for these boys, these kids. He said, Myrtle, don't worry about it. You got wonderful kids. We will take care of them, and we will see that they will have the proper gear and everything. Because I felt like we at the at [indecipherable] what made Bristow started in athletics here in Bristow. A lot of people don't realize that, but my brother Vernon Glenn, the one that got it started during his time when he was playing football through here, thanks to Mr. Chuck West and Bus Blackburn (ph). And I can't think of that other coach's name, but anyway, we had good people back then. 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:33.250 Yes, yes, you did. 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:37.555 We had good people. It wasn't about favoritism. 00:07:37.555 --> 00:07:41.800 Well, and you know, Mose LeForce coached before those people here. 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:42.000 Yeah, I didn't get to know him. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.779 That was way a long time ago. 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:58.680 Yeah, I heard good things about him, but they they helped us. And due to the good people we known around here, they the one that helped Alexander's to get where we at today. 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:02.000 Well, they say it takes a village to raise a child, right? 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:27.425 It took a village, and that's what they done. And Ed Chapman and helped out a lot around here too, and also, and I don't want to forget my good buddy, Harry McMillan. He's the one, I never forget, that when I we had a problem at the hospital. I can't call the person name because he's still living, I liked to died. 00:08:27.425 --> 00:08:28.504 Oh my. 00:08:28.504 --> 00:08:32.825 And during that time, during the 60s, you know, we've going through some difficult times. 00:08:32.825 --> 00:08:33.664 Yes, we did. 00:08:33.664 --> 00:08:44.345 And my mom wanted to stay over in the hospital, but I can't tell you who the person name was. He said, let me take care of it. You will be staying with Odell tonight. 00:08:44.345 --> 00:08:45.424 Good, good. 00:08:45.424 --> 00:08:55.549 And this person stepped to the plate, and he took care of me and got me through that, because I liked to died. 00:08:55.549 --> 00:08:57.110 Well, thank goodness for good people. 00:08:57.110 --> 00:09:05.000 That's right. Thank God for good people that take care of it and and what was that doctor's name? Dr. Kent (ph). 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.580 Kent or King? 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:08.240 Kent. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:09.620 Kent, okay. 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:21.320 He was a doctor here in Bristow. He the one that told my mom said, we need to get Odell to the hospital, because if I would have stayed here one more day, I probably been gone. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:24.200 Praise God for Dr. Kent and Harry McMillan. 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:33.304 Yeah, and other peoples too. Other peoples, good peoples in here, but I don't like to call their name, because some people don't want the 00:09:33.304 --> 00:09:51.000 Right, right, I got you. I got you there. Well, I know life must have been pretty hectic when you were a child. What was it like growing up in the 60s, basically, 50s and 60s with so many siblings here in Bristow? 00:09:51.000 --> 00:10:15.000 Well, it was real good because my mom and dad, they were very good family. They didn't let us kids run around and stay with other kids. My mom and dad were just like a good rooster in a hand. They flocked over us and made sure we didn't get out of they sight, and they kind of kept us there. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.360 Well, you can see that in your life. 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:21.299 Uh huh, yes. And I can understand that, too. 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:36.059 Yeah, what kind of house did you grow up in? Now, when, when I say that, you know, sometimes, like a frame home, you know, back in the older people, we could even get to dugouts and stuff, but a frame brick, what kind of home? 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:47.000 Well, we was raised up in a house where it was a dirt floor, yeah, dirt floor. Just, just one of those shotgun houses we used to live in. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.519 My parents first home had a wood floor. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:49.700 Yeah. 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:53.360 I mean, had a dirt floor, yes. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:59.720 So that's reason I said, I love saying this over and over, I don't forget where I come from. 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:00.019 No. 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:03.200 And people, when you raised up like that you shouldn't forget. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:05.720 No, definitely not. 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:08.000 But some people does. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.639 Did the nine kids have to share beds? 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:37.000 Nine kids had to share beds, because I think back then, when we had our first house, I think it was, it was three beds, three, it was three bedrooms and and some of us slept in, you know, my mom had a bed in her bedroom, and my dad, they but some of the kids had their own bed down at the foot. We live very, very 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:51.099 I understand. I've heard that story before. Yes, it was tough times. What were your chores in that family growing up? What chores did you do? 00:11:51.099 --> 00:11:53.940 Our family was be obedient and be a good stewards and do what the folks tell you to. Work in the garden chopped, and when you didn't have my mom and dad always told us kids what they want done before they get home. If they don't be done, we know what we're gonna get. 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:57.539 Yep, yeah. 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:33.860 Just as simple as that. And I always took care of it, and you better not be out there riding them horses. You you work in that garden and chop that garden, and which my sister Margaret always kept the house, and she was the backbone of the cook while my mom was out working. 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:35.659 Was she one of the older ones? 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:57.379 Yes, she was the older one. But anyway, she took care of me and Clydell and Ted and the older brothers had, they were still close around, but they was, you know, they was moved out. But anyway, my sister took care of us. 00:12:57.379 --> 00:13:00.725 What was some of your normal daily meals? 00:13:00.725 --> 00:13:33.600 Daily meals. I never forget that. That's a good question. You asked my daily meals, and I looked today, and I said, Lord, I have come a long ways. I remember when we had brown beans, white beans, and then the next day, if we had some left over, my mom would mix them, and we had plenty of potatoes and stuff, because we raised our own meat and own beef, and we killed it, and we had a smoke house where we salted our own meat. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.059 So, you lived off the land in a large way. 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:44.039 Yeah, I live off of my my dad's mom property because, and matter of fact, I'm still living on it today. 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:44.700 Very nice. 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:48.419 It's a little different, but it's still the same home place. 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:49.919 And where is that located? 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:57.179 It's located northwest on highway 16 of Bristow. And I live six miles away from Bristow. 00:13:57.179 --> 00:14:02.759 Very nice, very nice. It's wonderful that the land is still in the family. 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:13.500 Yes, the land is still and all the kids know that they always welcome home on that property. And we had some good times out there on that hill. 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:21.139 I'm sure you did. Are there any favorite foods that you have the recipe for that you still make? 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:36.620 Yes, I still have my grandmother. Her name was Eva Hines (ph), but I have her good recipe that she left me to learn how to make good homemade bread and stuff, cornbread. 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:37.600 Oh, wow. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:46.539 And I still have it, but a lot of people like to get it, but I can't give it to them. And my grandmother lived to be 109. 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:47.620 Oh, my goodness! 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:58.120 And I didn't get the rolls made right until she was 104! She told me was she was still in her right mind, and still 00:14:58.120 --> 00:14:59.379 At 104. 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:16.825 She was 104 and she told me, she said, son, you got it. You got the recipe. I just don't want you to give that recipe to everybody, but which I have beefed it up with my mom and my grandmother and my sister. 00:15:16.825 --> 00:15:19.524 Well, sure, and they deserve to have it, too. 00:15:19.524 --> 00:15:24.000 They mixed it up and we beefed it up and made it what it is today. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:25.000 That's wonderful. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.559 But a lot of people want me to give it, and I still make homemade rolls. 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:40.480 You can't beat a good homemade roll. Okay, well, let's go ahead and jump to your grandparents, then. Your grandmother that you're just telling me that lived to be 100 and what? 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:41.379 109. 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:50.740 Okay, tell me about her, her, where's her maiden name, and maybe what brought her to Bristow and all of that. 00:15:50.740 --> 00:16:07.000 My grandmother lived in Chandler, Oklahoma, down the road from here, and she she came here, and I can't remember what year she came in here, but in her family, it was nine kids. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.320 Big families. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:09.840 What was her full name? 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:28.659 Her full name was Eva [indecipherable] and her name and then she married my grandpa, which shall be my mom's daddy, and his name was Reverend Hines. He was a minister. 00:16:28.659 --> 00:16:32.620 Okay, so this is your grandmother on your mother's side? 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:33.399 Right. 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:40.059 Okay. And what role did she play in your life growing up? 00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:40.840 My grandmother? 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:41.960 Uh-huh. 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:59.179 She took care of us. She really raised us, and she helped us, and she lived here in Bristow on 10th & Chestnut, 10th & Chestnut,and she lived right there on the corner, right across the street from Duffy Chapel Baptist Church. 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:00.500 Okay. 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:18.500 She stayed there. And that's when we when us kids would play football and stuff, when we would get in late and something like it, until my mom get to town and pick us up. We would always walk from there to to my grandmother's house. And we would stay there until my mom picked us up and we went home. 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:20.420 Very nice, very nice. 00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:21.920 She was your wonderful person. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.025 Was your grandfather, her husband, was he dead? 00:17:25.025 --> 00:17:30.664 Yes, he died in 19, I was born, he died a year before I was born. 00:17:30.664 --> 00:17:32.585 Oh, so you never got to meet him. 00:17:32.585 --> 00:17:42.339 I never did get to meet him. He was a minister, and he was a wonderful person, too. I have a picture of him. I have a picture. 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:47.400 Do you know anything about your Alexander grandparents? 00:17:47.400 --> 00:18:18.884 I know a little bit. Yeah, I know a lot back then, but sometime I can't remember all of that, but they were very good people. My dad, Grandpa Tal, he used to live out there on the property by us. His name was Mr. Tal and he was a good man. That was my daddy's father, and he, he was a good man. He, I think he kind of made that old corn whiskey. 00:18:18.884 --> 00:18:23.744 Oh, okay, I've heard that story from several people. 00:18:23.744 --> 00:18:33.404 Yeah, he was good at that, and he would make it, and he was a good person. He died in 1968. 00:18:33.404 --> 00:19:02.954 Okay. Okay, so now we're going to jump to growing up in Bristow, maybe schools, things that you did, I think I'm on the things that you did, maybe in school, organizations? I know you were athletic, so 00:19:02.954 --> 00:19:13.000 Yeah, we was all, all of my brothers. We was pretty well athletic. And also I went to school with you. You, when me and you graduated together. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:14.079 We did graduate together. 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:15.880 But anyway, 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:17.079 Great Class of '72. 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:25.599 And that's what I feel good about. You want me start from the [indecipherable] 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:27.279 Whatever you feel comfortable with. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:41.545 Well, I started from grade school. I had a teacher was pretty, I won't call her name, but anyway, she wasn't very nice in the Bristow school system. 00:19:41.545 --> 00:20:04.779 When we're done with the interview, I'm going to ask if it was my first grade teacher, because I just loved her. But then, since I've heard a few things, so when we're over, we're going to address that. Okay, so were you into, I know we didn't have athletics for kids in grade school, but did were there local leagues? 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:18.819 Yeah, local leagues. We had baseball. We used to go to church out here at a country church out there by my house on what is called Harlinsville Cemetery. That's where we went to church at. 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:19.059 Okay. 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:24.880 Harlinsville Baptist Church, and that's where we went to church there and up to 1972. 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:25.359 Okay. 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:36.744 And then we consolidate because we didn't have enough members to keep the doors open in the church. But I sure do hate that. But Harlinsville Cemetery is still out there. 00:20:36.744 --> 00:20:38.424 Is the church still standing? 00:20:38.424 --> 00:20:51.730 No, the church got burnt down, during back back in the 80s, when that fire came through there. It burnt church down. It was a upstairs church, and I have a picture of it. 00:20:51.730 --> 00:20:54.539 Oh, that would be wonderful if you could share it with us. 00:20:54.539 --> 00:21:29.384 I have a picture of it, and I'll bring you a picture of that church that where we used to go. I remember Harlinsville, boy, I remember we had some old settlers out there, they would they light that church up out there, they were lighted up. Had good sermon, good preaching and good everything, good dinners and everything. I never will forget Mother Harris. She was the Holy Spirit out there. She would, she would really get up and lighten the church up, and she was just a good Christian woman. You couldn't have asked for a better person than her. 00:21:29.384 --> 00:21:37.904 I wish that the recording could see your face light up when you talked about her. I wish, I wish that it was on video to see that. 00:21:37.904 --> 00:21:41.250 That was good people, excellent people. 00:21:41.250 --> 00:21:46.470 And so, okay, so we were talking about athletics. How did that relate to the church? 00:21:46.470 --> 00:22:19.755 Athletics? My mom always told us, and my dad always taught us to boy, if you want to play athletics and be in sports and stuff, you got to always do your work, and you got to work hard at it and do good at it and make good grades and keep your grades up and get along with people. That's the way my dad and mom taught us that, and they said that you would have somebody will intimidate you. They didn't use that word, but anyway. 00:22:19.755 --> 00:22:20.835 That's what they meant. 00:22:20.835 --> 00:22:38.759 Yeah, it's intimidate, so, and when you get in a position that you don't feel comfortable with, and they don't they gonna be radical. You just try to, don't turn you turn your back, but you be careful when you walk away. 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.400 Right, right. That's good advice. 00:22:41.400 --> 00:23:02.625 Good advice, don't let somebody come up on you. Always be protected. And if you with your brothers and sisters, you you take care of them. But like I said, if you by yourself, that's when they were saying, don't turn your back. Always kind of back up where you can keep your eyes on them. 00:23:02.625 --> 00:23:03.525 Good advice. 00:23:03.525 --> 00:23:06.765 Very good advice. 00:23:06.765 --> 00:23:10.125 Okay, so, when did you get into football? 00:23:10.125 --> 00:23:17.730 In football, I got in it in 19, wait a minute, 1966. Mrs. Cunningham 00:23:17.730 --> 00:23:19.500 In junior high? 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:25.380 Yes, in junior high, in 19 well, Mrs. Cunningham was our teacher. You remember her? 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.059 I remember Mrs. Cunningham. 00:23:27.059 --> 00:24:09.000 Mrs. Cunningham In 1966 her husband used to own Cunningham Chevrolet, and they went to the Methodist Church, too. And which all our family know if we weren't doing right in school, the Methodist teachers were down there would tell my mom, because she told them, if they ain't doing something they ain't got no business doing, you just tell me. So we had to walk the line right. And then we got into football in 1967 under Coach Bus Blackburn, that was a wonderful man and Herb Thompson. In other words, all of my family was taught under them. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.420 Those were good people. I had them as teachers. 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:31.559 They was good, excellent peoples. And during that time, black and white back, and it wasn't the best in the world, but they know they took good care of us because they wanted good athletes in our Bristow school system, and that 00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:33.420 They didn't make any difference. 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:36.765 They didn't make no difference. They know that's what it was gonna take. 00:24:36.765 --> 00:24:37.724 That's wonderful. 00:24:37.724 --> 00:24:49.664 And that's when they helped us, and they seen us and and I had a brother, Clydell played football, and we went on and done very well. 00:24:49.664 --> 00:24:50.325 Well, very good. 00:24:50.325 --> 00:24:51.345 Through the high school. 00:24:51.345 --> 00:24:59.000 Yes, you did. Yes, you did. The stars on the football team, for sure. All of you boys were. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:07.279 Stars on the football team. Ted was the star on his football team, and he done very well. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.079 And he went on to be a pro, didn't he? 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:12.079 He went on to be, played professional football. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:13.000 What teams did he play for? 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:31.359 He played with the 49ers, and I think I can't remember 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:36.640 rough sport. And Vernon Glenn Alexander done good in football, too. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:37.660 Okay. 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:46.164 He he played running back and and Clydell was a running back, and 00:25:46.164 --> 00:25:48.339 Now Clydell did really well,too. 00:25:48.339 --> 00:26:45.890 And Clydell done very well, too, in sports, too. I never will forget, me and him played football together. I never will forget that one year, during the year, we always had to play Henryetta. And Henryetta didn't like our culture. And they would call us bad names out there on the football field, but the coach told us keep your head up. We told the coaches what Henryetta was doing to us out there. 00:26:45.890 --> 00:26:56.920 That it's worse than a shame. 00:26:56.920 --> 00:27:15.984 Yes, it's worse than shame, but I never will forget that year that me and Clydell played football together, ran the touchdown, he ran a touchdown. I ran the touchdown. And they said, get that "N" person. Get that "N" person. Same thing they turn around and done to us. But anyway, that just the way they was. 00:27:15.984 --> 00:27:21.625 They were probably just trying to get you riled so you couldn't play as well is probably what they were trying to do. 00:27:21.625 --> 00:27:29.125 Yes, but, like I said, but I couldn't understand why the coaches let that [indecipherable] Smith go on and they should have stopped it. 00:27:29.125 --> 00:27:31.000 It could have been from that down. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:49.099 That's right. But, like I said, but every time we will play Henryetta and people were always my friends, my white friends. They were always saying, you know, where we going, and we're going to let them know that we're going to protect our friends here. 00:27:49.099 --> 00:28:03.740 You know, that was one thing in Bristow, we never had a lot of,at least I never saw it, but, you know, being what I might not have seen what you know, but I just never felt like we had a spirit of racism. 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:08.420 Well, no, we never did had it, but you had some here that I know who they was. 00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:10.279 Yeah, well, sure, you did. 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:25.025 You know who they was, because you can tell in the actions and yeah and stuff like that. But we, we survived and made it through. That's a conscious they have to live with the rest of their life. 00:28:25.025 --> 00:28:28.200 Yes, and, you know, who knows, they might have changed. 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:38.960 Yes. And since then they probably have. I'm sure I have to take that back. I'm sure a person had really took it back and said that he came and talked to me about that. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:40.339 Okay, good, good. 00:28:40.339 --> 00:28:47.779 So he was a man enough to come and tell me about that's, yeah, that's good person with a good heart. 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:53.000 Yes, okay, I'm gonna jump back. We graduated in 1972. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:53.660 Yes, ma'am. 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:55.779 What did you do after graduation? 00:28:55.779 --> 00:29:36.805 After graduation, I went to work because my mom has it was a big family of us, and I didn't care too much for college and stuff like that. But anyway, I just kind of stayed home, which I had my sister and Ted and Clydell, they all went to college and and then it was putting a burden on my mom and dad, but still, yet, we when we get money and stuff, I would help on they tuition fee or whatever. That's what my parents always taught us to do, be a good steward and do the right thing and help one another. 00:29:36.805 --> 00:29:38.005 So, it was all for one. 00:29:38.005 --> 00:29:45.190 It was all for one, and I didn't mind doing that. We kept a good strong. 00:29:45.190 --> 00:29:47.289 So where did you work? 00:29:47.289 --> 00:29:55.390 First of all, when I got out of school, I went to work for Sikes Carpet, here in Bristow, Oklahoma. 00:29:55.390 --> 00:29:57.599 I remember Sikes Carpet. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:31:00.809 That was a good employee. And a good deal, and then they sold out. And then I worked there. And then I think it was back in after I was there about three and a half years, or two and a half years, and then it sold out to Bristow Carpet, and then from Bristow Carpet. And a lot of people don't know this, but I had good people here in Bristow. Mr. McMillan and Bob Blackstock and Joe Sam Vassar. And Mr. Blackstock, you know, he was kind of in the politics during that time, and I helped him in his campaign and stuff. And he told me, he said, Odell, I'm gonna do something good for you. And behold his name in 1976 he said, I want to do something good for you. I want you to go put your application in with Getty Oil Company. Mr. J Paul Getty. 00:31:00.809 --> 00:31:01.829 Yes. 00:31:01.829 --> 00:31:03.750 And I went to work for them. 00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:07.000 Oh, how cool was that. What did you do? 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:31.585 I worked there for Mr. Getty Oil Company. I worked for them as which they called it back then roust about in the oil field and and the superintendent name was Bill McFail (ph), which Mr. Blackstock, know him, and I was the first black minority went to work for them in Drumright, Oklahoma, in the oil field. 00:31:31.585 --> 00:31:33.000 Well, that's exciting. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:32:15.765 I went was the first. And Mr. McFail (ph) told me, he was a good man, he was from Mississippi, and he told me, he said, when I went for the interview, I had to go to the interview for two times. And they said, Odell we going to the second interview, said, Mr. Alexander, we going to hire you, but we know you is going to be the first black man to work out here in the oil field. I have talked to all of my employees, they better not get out of line. And I was so thankful for him to say that, you know, that's, that's hard to go and work in something like that. 00:32:15.765 --> 00:32:17.924 I say, I'm sure I haven't ever had to do it. 00:32:17.924 --> 00:32:37.000 Yeah, it was hard to do. And I met, went to work there, and I met some of the guys that worked in oil field, been that 30 some years and and they taught me everything in the oil field, and praise the Lord, and I still know what to do today. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.079 Well, that's wonderful. How long did you work for Getty? 00:32:40.079 --> 00:33:05.325 I worked for Getty, and then Getty worked and then it came a merge. It was a big conflict back then, in 19, 19, I went to work at in '76, '78 and '80, the merger was coming down. It was between Getty Oil Company, I mean, between Texaco and Pennzoil. 00:33:05.325 --> 00:33:06.464 Oh, okay. 00:33:06.464 --> 00:33:16.005 And we was all us Getty people were hoping Pennzoil will buy us, because that would mean Getty was still own half of it. 00:33:16.005 --> 00:33:18.539 Oh, is that what happened? 00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:27.720 But it didn't happen. And then Texaco bought us, and then Texaco bought us and I worked to up to 1990. 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:28.319 Really?! 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:29.700 Yes, to 1990. 00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:31.079 You worked for them a long time. 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:38.640 I worked for them a long time. And praise the Lord today I had them. I get a nice income from them. 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:39.779 That is wonderful. 00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:43.724 Yes, I get a nice income. A lot of people don't know that, but 00:33:43.724 --> 00:33:50.859 I never knew you did that. My father, he worked for Sinclair, and then they merged in Atlantic Richfield. 00:33:50.859 --> 00:34:02.299 Atlantic Richfield, that's the same company, Atlantic Richfield went out the same company because them guys would show me It used to be Atlantic Richfield up here, and they show me all of that stuff. 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:02.900 Yeah. 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:10.820 Those people show me everything and and I just love it to death. They were very, very, very good people. 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:12.079 That's, that's great. 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:20.945 When I said very, very good people which are not being prejudiced, that was, they would take care of you and they will 00:34:20.945 --> 00:34:21.905 Had your back. 00:34:21.905 --> 00:34:28.324 They had my back, that's why. And also, and I had their back too. It worked both ways. 00:34:28.324 --> 00:34:31.864 My raising was paid for by by those companies. 00:34:31.864 --> 00:34:45.349 Yes, yes! And I tell you what, but I praise the Lord for Getty Oil Company. I got into good stuff. And I was all in they benefits and everything. I took advantage of it. 00:34:45.349 --> 00:34:46.000 They had good benefits. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:35:06.659 They had very good benefits, and I got in the highest one I can get in. And I told that guy, I said, well, I like for them to be taken about $400 out of my check. And they said, well, Odell, that's the highest you can go, you know, the limit is, you know. But anyway, that was real nice. 00:35:06.659 --> 00:35:12.559 So what did? Let me back up. When did you work for Creeco Mill? 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:17.239 Creeco Mill? Okay, oh, I forgot about Creeco Mill. 00:35:17.239 --> 00:35:19.280 When you were out of school, first out of school? 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:24.980 No, Creeco Mill, I worked that with them when I was working for Sikes Carpet, too. 00:35:24.980 --> 00:35:26.960 Oh, okay, so you had two jobs. 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:27.739 I had two jobs. 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:29.719 Helping with those brothers into college. 00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:38.344 Yes, I had two jobs and I had two jobs. And also I worked for Mr. McMillan, too. Oh, he is an attorney. 00:35:38.344 --> 00:35:39.065 Okay. 00:35:39.065 --> 00:35:44.284 Yeah, I worked all three of them jobs, and also, Dr.Foster, too. 00:35:44.284 --> 00:35:46.000 You were a hard working young man. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:36:02.920 Yeah, I was hard working. My mom said we had to get it boy, because, you know, help the kids. So sure, and that's what we done. So and everybody, when they all, when they graduate and got out of college, they all appreciate me and thank me for doing it. 00:36:02.920 --> 00:36:04.719 Now, was your dad still alive? 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:09.039 Yes, my dad was still alive. I lost my dad in 2002. 00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:12.719 2002, okay. And when did you lose your mom? 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:21.480 I lost my mom in February 2099, 98, and I lost my dad in 00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:22.739 1998. 00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:32.300 Yeah, 1998 Yeah, '98, Thank you. 00:36:32.300 --> 00:36:35.719 Can you think of anything else I'm missing in the job area? 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:57.679 Job area was very good. I appreciate it. And Creeco Mill that's when Bud Goodroad and Arthur Foster owned it, and they took good care of me too, and also,my good buddy, Bud Goodroad which we still go to church together and everything. He praised me. He said, Odell, you have done wonderful for yourself. 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:09.000 Very good. What all did Creeco Mill do? I mean, I can remember going in there as a child with my parents, but I don't really know much about the business. 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:39.945 Creeco Mill made all they feed and stuff like molasses mixed up into sweet feed and stuff like that. They made certain feed down there. They made hog feed down there and they make cattle feed down there. But he would always have his cubes come in on the train here. And sometime they would go to Ada and get feed down there, and then they would bring it in. And he had a very good business there. Very good business. 00:37:39.945 --> 00:37:40.664 Yes, he did. 00:37:40.664 --> 00:37:53.445 They was good peoples and Bud Goodroad and Ruth Goodroad when he was married, and Mrs. Goodroad, they took care of business. And Arthur Foster, they took care of good 00:37:53.445 --> 00:37:55.000 So, Foster and Goodraod were the owners? 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:58.480 Yes, uh huh, oh, O.W. Foster, yes. 00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:01.480 O.W. Foster. 00:38:01.480 --> 00:38:04.179 O.W. Foster, Pete Foster. 00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:05.320 Okay. 00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:47.719 So, they was, that was good peoples and when Bud, I told Bud that back in 1977 I would told Bud, I said, Bud, I'm gonna have to leave you because this oil company was after me. And he said, Odell, I sure hate to see you leave, because you're a good worker. Yeah. And I told Bud, I said, I have to look out for my interests and also benefits. It ain't your job anymore. It's your benefits. It's your benefits. And nowadays, since I got out of that stuff and lost a lot of benefits from these jobs, they don't pay near as good they used to. 00:38:47.719 --> 00:39:08.420 No, they don't. Just looking through here to see if we need to go. Okay, after, after Getty Oil, what did you do? 00:39:08.420 --> 00:39:13.204 After Getty Oil Company, I went to work for Mid America Stockyard. 00:39:13.204 --> 00:39:14.224 Okay. 00:39:14.224 --> 00:39:28.565 Mid America Stock Yard. They was good people, Helen, Marie Varner and Jerry Varner and I worked under them. They was good to me, too. And, and, matter of fact, I'm still there today. 00:39:28.565 --> 00:39:29.824 And what do you do there? 00:39:29.824 --> 00:39:36.500 Today, I does a lot of things for them. I cook in the restaurant for them. 00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:38.420 I bet you make some of your good hot rolls. 00:39:38.420 --> 00:40:10.025 Yes, ma'am. I make them. I make them. I make them. And during Christmas, and peoples will always call out and ask, is Odell gonna make any rolls for Christmas or Thanksgiving and and Miss Helen would always tell him, said, I don't know, but I have to call him and talk to him. I'm sure you will, and she will call me, ask me if I'm gonna make some for during that time. And she and I told her, I said, sure, I'll make some. 00:40:10.025 --> 00:40:18.244 Very good. You don't you never had to serve in in the Army or Navy? 00:40:18.244 --> 00:40:22.505 Military, no. Military, no. I had a brother that went to Vietnam. 00:40:22.505 --> 00:40:23.465 Who was that? 00:40:23.465 --> 00:40:24.000 That was Vernon. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:25.500 Vernon did,. 00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:27.179 Yeah, Vernon had to go to Vietnam. 00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:28.019 Did he survive? 00:40:28.019 --> 00:40:35.880 Yes, Vernon survived. And when he came back from Vietnam, it was a little that was a terrible war. 00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:37.019 Yes, it was. 00:40:37.019 --> 00:41:14.684 It was very stressful, and it was lot of his classmates. He went to school here in Bristow didn't make it back, and some his classmates was over there in Vietnam, so he he made it back, but giving honor to God, the Lord, blessed him. He got bit by a rat over there, when he was over in Vietnam, and they rushed him out of there. And the next day, his whole [indecipherable] got killed in Vietnam. And it really kind of 00:41:14.684 --> 00:41:16.005 Praise God for a rat bite. 00:41:16.005 --> 00:41:19.784 Praise God for, well, God was right there by him. 00:41:19.784 --> 00:41:21.139 He was. 00:41:21.139 --> 00:41:54.304 And I prayed when that war was so bad over there, because I would always listen to it on the news, and when I would go to school and listen to how bad it was, I said, God, I tell you, what, if you bless my brother to get back home and get be okay and everything, I will serve you the rest of my life and do good things for the church and praise God. I'm doing that today. And he made it home. He made it home, and he lives at Little Axe. 00:41:54.304 --> 00:42:13.059 Okay. Did your parents or grandparents, did any of your ancestors serve in World War One or two? 00:42:13.059 --> 00:42:25.119 No, I had cousin dead. Okay, they, they served in it and and they are buried out there at Harlinsville Cemetery, some of them. 00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:40.719 Okay, I'm gonna switch to to now, looking back the period of our lifetime, what would you consider to be the most important inventions during your lifetime? 00:42:40.719 --> 00:43:05.980 Oh, inventions then, I have nothing, I have nothing [indecipherable], I mean, everything was wonderful. I felt like it our school done very well. Bristow Public School done good under Frank's on the superintendent. What was his name? 00:43:05.980 --> 00:43:07.719 Mr. Sims. 00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:13.465 Mr. Sims and Mr. Sanders. They were good peoples. They led us in the right direction. 00:43:13.465 --> 00:43:14.364 Yes, they were. 00:43:14.364 --> 00:43:15.144 And they done. 00:43:15.144 --> 00:43:15.625 They did. 00:43:15.625 --> 00:43:29.599 And they led us in the right direction. They made us get it. Walked a straight line, yes, and I am so thankful for them. Yes, so thankful for them. 00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:40.599 Do you think that the TV or radio or anything like that changed? What do you think was the most important invention that we had come along? 00:43:40.599 --> 00:43:52.719 Come along, well, the TV that was good, because we didn't have a TV until 1952 and we didn't have an inside bath. 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:55.599 You had one before we did then. 00:43:55.599 --> 00:44:11.860 We did? Oh, well, I know we was, it was pretty tough, and there was a color TV and, and I think some of the people's my mom worked for gave her that TV. So that was, that was a blessing. 00:44:11.860 --> 00:44:20.199 Yes, it was. How do you think the world's different now than when you were a child? 00:44:20.199 --> 00:44:52.344 Oh, Lord, the world is entirely different today. It's entirely different. And I look at the world today, I see so much going on today. It's, I don't know how God going to let us stay in this world any longer, because we cannot get along with people. We don't work together and everybody, it just a totally disaster. And I hope and pray that we can get out of that. 00:44:52.344 --> 00:44:54.144 Yes, yes. 00:44:54.144 --> 00:45:10.150 Because you look at it today, people's getting shot by policemens and stuff, and that's and not just heartbreaking for me as me being a black man, because that'll make me wonder. 00:45:10.150 --> 00:45:12.969 Nobody should be shot because of the color of their skin. 00:45:12.969 --> 00:45:13.630 No. 00:45:13.630 --> 00:45:15.059 Or the color of their hair. 00:45:15.059 --> 00:46:01.769 Their hair, or whatever, and just stop people for no reason at all, like this young man just got shot this week, Sunday. You know, we've been in an active we've been in this environment. Everything has been shut down, and then they talked about they were gonna stop him because he had a due tag on his vehicle, and which I had to due tag on my pickup in Bristow, too, but you got to make plans to get in there, and you got to get to get in there to do that stuff. They don't interview everybody. So it was, it was a pretty tough deal. 00:46:01.769 --> 00:46:04.110 Yes, I agree. 00:46:04.110 --> 00:46:06.599 But I hope and pray that they will get better. 00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:19.719 Yes, that's all we can do right now is yes, pray a lot things get better. We're in the ending phase, hopefully of a pandemic. How has that affected you? 00:46:19.719 --> 00:46:57.864 Pandemic has really affected me, because I like being socialized with peoples and stuff like that, peoples I love to be with and but it's been tough on me, and everybody got to keep our distance, and you got to obey the rules, and you got to wear the mush, I mean, the mask and, and I have no problem with it. You got people that don't want to wear the mask, yeah, and they thank it. And then I hear some people say, oh, they just politics and this back then. And da, da, da. 00:46:57.864 --> 00:46:59.300 Don't you get sick of it? 00:46:59.300 --> 00:47:42.244 I get sick of it. God is for real. This is a disease that He really trying to get us ready, that He still in control, not man or woman. And people's not thinking about that. Most people, God is in control this world, not man or not woman. It just, it's, you know, and, and it's been tough, yeah, and you look at some of the things today, it goes on, you know, God is getting tired of way we doing him putting him on the back burner. We don't need to be putting him on the back burner. We need to be putting him on the front burner and praising us to get through this mess. 00:47:42.244 --> 00:47:43.625 Preach it, Odell. 00:47:43.625 --> 00:47:45.949 That's the way I look at it, you know? 00:47:45.949 --> 00:47:46.789 Yeah, yeah. 00:47:46.789 --> 00:47:56.510 God is my Savior. It's not, we all love our family, we all love our friends and stuff, but you know, we have to praise Him too. 00:47:56.510 --> 00:48:13.360 Amen. Amen, Odell. Okay, as you see it, what are the biggest problems that you think face our nation right now, and how do you think they could be solved? I think you might have just said a little bit of how you think they could be solved. 00:48:13.360 --> 00:48:32.139 Well, our nation can be solved in a lot of things, in a lot of ways, if we just learn to get along and and I hate to say it, you know, you don't go around and call peoples nasty and talk, you know 00:48:32.139 --> 00:48:33.420 Trash and vulgarity. 00:48:33.420 --> 00:49:04.545 Yeah, vulgarity, words like that. You do not do that. You have to sit down to the table, like when we sit down and have prayer at our table to bless the food and stuff. That's what we have to do today in this world, because we not doing that. We always want to put politics in front of everything. I don't care about politics. I just want to, we can't make everybody happy. Make just do the right thing and do the best you can and go on 00:49:04.545 --> 00:49:06.764 Amen. And that's good advice. 00:49:06.764 --> 00:49:34.579 And that's good advice, and that's what we can do. We're going to have our difference in everything, but some peoples and then people runs around in worried about, well, we got to, I can't believe this, and minimum wage going up, and da, da, da, leave that alone. Just be thankful that we moving it going to higher grass, greener grass if we get there. 00:49:34.579 --> 00:49:38.000 Well, Odell, I really appreciate your coming in for this interview. 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:41.059 Well, thank you. It was a pleasure to do it for you. 00:49:41.059 --> 00:49:42.940 Well, it was a pleasure doing it. I enjoyed it. 00:49:42.940 --> 00:49:55.099 And also it's good when you sit down and talk to your classmates and they interview you. And we went to school together, and we just and we always spoke good of one another, and yes, and we got along and our classmates. I never will forget, our class of 1972 was the most diversity class in the world. 00:49:55.099 --> 00:50:30.650 school queen? 00:50:30.650 --> 00:50:38.210 All school queen. She got that. She we, our class was just very diversity, and they would understand. 00:50:38.210 --> 00:50:42.110 Yeah, I was that in 1971. 00:50:42.110 --> 00:50:44.000 Right. Yes, so. 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:46.880 I appreciate it ever so much, Odell. 00:50:46.880 --> 00:50:49.159 Thank you so much. 00:50:49.159 --> 00:50:50.360 We appreciate it. 00:50:50.360 --> 00:50:50.860 Okay. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0069_Odell_Alexander.xml OHP-0069_Odell_Alexander.xml
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Title
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Odell Alexander
Description
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Odell Alexander, born August 4, 1953, in Creek County, Oklahoma, shared his life story with Georgia Smith. Odell's parents, Myrtle Hines Alexander and Savoy Alexander, had nine children. Odell's father worked in construction, and his mother stayed home. Odell and his siblings faced challenges, including racial tensions, but received support from the community, particularly from local businesses and churches. Odell worked in various jobs, including at Sikes Carpet, Getty Oil Company, and Mid America Stockyard, where he still works at the time of this interview. He emphasized the importance of community, faith, and education in overcoming adversity.
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OHP-0069
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2021/4/15
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audio
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Oral History
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Interviewer
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Debbie Blansett
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Will Parish
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https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0070_Will_Parish.xml
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6.0 May 5, 2021 OHP-0070 Will Parish OHP-0070 01:13:33 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Will Parish Debbie Blansett 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0070 Parish, Will.mp3 Other audio 0 Birth Debbie Blansett 00:00
 ; This is Debbie Blansett with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is May 5, 2021 and I'm sitting here with 
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 00:16
 ; Willard Parish. 
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 00:17
 ; At the Bristow Depot, who's going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Okay, so why don't we just start out with what was your name at birth?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 00:32
 ; Willard Franklin Parish. I was named after my two granddads. My Grandpa Parish was named Noah Willard Parish, and my Granddad Ford, his was Wendell Franklin. So, that's why I wound up with Willard Franklin.
 ; Willard Franklin Parish was born on June 30, 1941. He was born in his grandparents' home in Bristow, Oklahoma. He was named after his two granddads, Noah Willard Parish and Wendell Franklin Ford. Bristow Historical Society ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Willard Franklin Parish ; Noah Willard Parish ; Wendell Franklin Ford Birth 0 65 Parents Debbie Blansett 01:05
 ; Your parents names?
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 ; Will Parish 01:07
 ; Was Claude [Thomas] and Elnora [Marie] Ford Parish.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 01:12
 ; Okay. Do you remember when they were married?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 01:15
 ; They were married April the 19th of 1939. As matter of fact
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 01:21
 ; Your mind is a steel trap.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 01:23
 ; 2014 they celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Dad passed away in May, and mom in September that year.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 01:32
 ; Oh, wow.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 01:32
 ; So, they got to celebrate their 75th anniversary.
 ; Will's parents were Claude Thomas Parish and Elnora Marie Ford Parish. They were married on April 19, 1939. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary together before passing in 2014. Will's father worked with seismograph crews, and his mother worked at Woolworth's. Claude Thomas Parish ; Elnora Marie Ford Parish ; Sapulpa (Okla.) ; Oklahoma ; Montreal (Mo.) ; Kellyville (Okla.) ; Missouri ; Barnsdall (Okla.) ; Beggs (Okla.) ; Henryetta (Okla.) ; Seismograph Service Corporation ; Tulsa (Okla.) Parents 0 520 Bristow Businesses Debbie Blansett 08:40
 ; Where was Woolworth?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 08:42
 ; Up there, where the parking lot is next to Los Arcos.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 08:49
 ; Oh, and Ben Franklin was in there?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 08:51
 ; Well, Ben Franklin, Ben Franklin was a couple of doors down. Mr. Patton had it first, and then Bill and Beth took over. And then when Woolworth went out, then Bill went up to where Woolworth was.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 09:07
 ; So, it was kind of on that same block right there.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 09:11
 ; Yeah, right next to where the old Goodrich store was.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 09:14
 ; So, Woolworth, was it like, was it like JC Penney's or?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 09:18
 ; Well...
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 09:20
 ; What did they sell there?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 09:22
 ; Everything.
 ; Will recalls some of the businesses in Bristow when he was younger. His mother worked at Woolworth's. He talks about the Ben Franklin, which was originally owned by Mr. Patton, then Bill and Beth took it over. Will remembers there being multiple furniture stores in Bristow. Woolworth ; Ben Franklin ; JC Penney's ; Walmart ; Montgomery Ward Bristow (Okla.) ; Business 0 690 Grandparents Will Parish 11:30
 ; My my granddad was a fireman here, and he did plumbing jobs on the side.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 11:30
 ; What was his name?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 11:34
 ; Wendell Ford.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 11:35
 ; Wendell Ford.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 11:59
 ; My my daughters and my sister sometime would get aggravated with mom, because she'd save her tin foil. Claudia would go buy paper cups. Mom would wash those. And I don't know, Mom, you can just throw that stuff away, you know. And then I said, Claudia, you gotta remember, Mom was raised up back during the Depression, and they had, you know
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 12:31
 ; On 90 cents a day!
 ; Will's grandfather, Wendell Ford was a fireman and also did plumbing on the side. His grandmother worked in the cafeteria at the Washington School. They lived at Second and Maple and both walked to work. Will now lives where his grandparents lived. Grandparents ; Wendell Franklin Ford ; Washington Elementary (Bristow, Okla.) Grandparents 0 792 Childhood Home Debbie Blansett 13:12
 ; So, that the house that you live in now was the house they lived in?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 13:18
 ; They bought it in 1944. That's when they moved from 520 East Jackson, big two story house, and he gave $2,200 for it, and his house payment was $22 a month. And matter of fact, when Mom and Dad was talking about buying their house, I remember them sitting at that little kitchen table at the veteran apartments, and dad sitting there saying, Eleanor, I just don't know how in the world we're going to afford $55 a month house payment. And they only gave like, $8,500.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 13:56
 ; It was a new home when they bought right?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 13:58
 ; They were the only, they were, the only one that lived in it till we sold it.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 14:02
 ; Well, it was a beautiful home. It was kept up really nicely and
 ; Will's recalls his parents talking about buying their home. It was about $8,500, with a $55 a month payment. It was a new home when they bought it. Will said it was just a three bedroom frame home, but his father bricked it and fixed it up nicely. Claude Thomas Parish ; Elnora Marie Ford Parish Home 0 880 Peanut Mill Debbie Blansett 14:40
 ; Where was the peanut mill? 
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 14:41
 ; It was where that dialysis deal is there at Second and Main.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 14:46
 ; A big metal building?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 14:47
 ; Well, big, big brick building with a metal roof. But, I remember as kids, we'd take brown paper sacks down there when they was unloading the peanuts and stuff, and some of them would get scattered on the ground, and we'd go down there and gather up all that was on the ground, and
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 15:09
 ; Sackfuls!
 ; Will remembers the peanut mill in Bristow. He says it was located at Second and Main and was a big, brick building with a metal roof. He recalls taking a brown paper sack there when they were unloading and picking up what fell on the ground. Peanut Mill ; Bristow (Okla.) Peanut Mill 0 978 Mother's Family Will Parish 16:18
 ; Well, you know, mom, mom actually, during the Depression, her family had it probably a little bit more rougher than what my dad's family had. I said my granddad, he was a firemen here and did plumbing jobs on the side, but they were like seven kids, and like my dad's side, there was four. Well, they lived in lease houses as a gas well on the lease, they were pumping. They had, they had gas, you know, lighting and gas heating in the house. A lot of lot of them didn't have running water, you know, out there, but they had a well there. And then, as I said, you know, mom's folks lived in town, and actually, how they, mom was born in Drumright. That's all right. I probably need to do mine that way too.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 17:31
 ; There we go.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 17:32
 ; We're back on now.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 17:33
 ; Mom was born in Drumright.
 ; Before moving to Bristow, Will's grandfather Ford lived in Drumright with his family. He had a plumbing business for awhile. Later he commuted by train to Okmulgee for work. He found work in Bristow and moved his family there. Elnora Marie Ford Parish ; Wendell Franklin Ford ; Drumright (Okla.) ; Okmulgee (Okla.) ; Smith's Drug ; Bristow (Okla.) Family 0 1216 Parents Getting Together Will Parish 20:16
 ; Well, they didn't have nothing. And anyway, mom said they moved over in the 200 block west ninth and a little house that sat on the alley behind the main house. And but there was a few things you know, that she couldn't remember, kind of like, like I am now. But anyway, that's how they come from Drumright to Bristow, yeah. And the way her and dad met, like I said, she lived at 520 East Jackson, and she run around with the tea garden girls. And they played softball down there about where the well Bristow Village is. There was a big open field. Matter of fact, they even used to have rodeos down there. And anyway, she met her, her and her girlfriend, she kind of liked this guy that dad run around with. I can't remember his name now, and they were sitting there, and I remember dad telling about, well, I think it's on that video about mom and her girlfriend said, well, I guess if they get to first base, we'll hold their hand, and then if they get to second, what was it? We'll give them a hug. And if they get to third, I think, I think they said they'd give them a kiss. And Dad said, well, what'll you get if I get a home run? And she said, you'll never find out. But anyway, dad said a day or two later, he and his buddy was driving around town, and he said your mother just kept driving by, you know, and honking at us, and said she was in her your granddad's car, and so anyway, he said he just pulled up and blocked her, and they got to talking, and she asked them if they wanted to go for a ride. Said, I knew her girlfriend, liked Murph, was this guy's name, and said I knew he liked her. So, she said, well, I have to take daddy's car home. Said, So we followed him over at granddad's house and said, we talked about, well, which one do you want? I well, I don't care, which one. Well, you know, you just pick out the one you want. Dad said, I'll take, you know, the other one. And so, of course, he said the girl, I can't remember now which one it was, but the girl that liked Murph, of course, when he got in the backseat, well, when they came out. Said she just jumped in the back seat and
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 23:03
 ; He didn't have to decide.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 23:04
 ; No.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 23:05
 ; She did all the decision making.
 ; Will's parents first met when they were young. Will said there was a big open field where Bristow Village in now, where kids played baseball. They ended up going out and hit it off. They were married for 75 years. Claude Thomas Parish ; Elnora Marie Ford Parish Parents 0 1421 Parish Grandparents Will Parish 23:41
 ; Yeah, yeah.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 23:42
 ; Isn't that amazing? 
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 23:46
 ; I tell you what, I had some pretty good stories about, but like I said, you know, my dad's folks lived down on the oil lease, and my granddad always planted a big garden. So, you know, they always had, you know, a garden and stuff.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 24:02
 ; Your Grandad Parish?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 24:04
 ; Yeah, sorry.
 ; Will's grandparents on his father's side lived on an oil lease. His grandfather always had a big garden. They did better than some during the Great Depression. They had four children, but they had running water, gas and heat in the home on the lease. Noah Willard Parish ; Claude Thomas Parish ; Great Depression Grandparents 0 1549 Uncles and Football Will Parish 25:49
 ; Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matter of fact, they even still had that old 1912, or seven, whatever it was that's in the Smithsonian. They were still using it when I was a kid. And but I that, like said, that was that. And another thing, my mother's two brothers played football. Matter of fact, my uncle Bob, he wound up being all-state.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 26:17
 ; They're from Drumright?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 26:19
 ; Well, no, Uncle Bob, Uncle Bob was born here in Bristow.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 26:26
 ; Oh, so he played here?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 26:28
 ; Yeah.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 26:28
 ; Oh, okay.
 ; Will says that he had three uncles that played football in Bristow. One ended up being all-state. Mose LeForce was the coach. Smithsonian American Art Museum ; Drumright (Okla.) ; Elnora Marie Ford Parish ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Francis Ford ; Jim Ford ; Bob Ford ; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (U.S.) ; WWII ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Mose LeForce ; Tahlequah (Okla.) ; Arvada (Colo.) ; Billy Vessels ; Henryetta (Okla.) ; Cleveland (Okla.) ; Steve Owens ; Jason White ; Heisman Trophy ; Sam Bradford ; Baker Mayfield ; Kyler Murray ; University of Oklahoma Uncles ; Football 0 1815 School Will Parish 30:15
 ; But anyway, I, you know, I had a pretty good childhood. We weren't, you know, wealthy by any means, but my dad provided, I guess, pretty good, you know.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 30:29
 ; You all were taught a good work ethic.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 30:33
 ; I just talking about the $55 house payment. I said, of course, Dad was probably on making maybe 400 a month, if that much at the time, you know, and but we, we did all right. Then, like I said, when we start getting up school age, well, mom, she, she pretty much got involved with the school, back when they had the PTA, and they used, I was telling my daughters, you know, they talk about Parent Teacher Day. And I said, well, that was the PTA back my day, and they met at night, so we didn't get out of school for that.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 31:11
 ; That's right, that's right.
 ; Will went to Bristow Schools until he graduated. He says he attended Edison, then junior high and high school. Will says his mother was involved with the PTA. Will played football during his junior high years. He even played basketball for a year. Will graduated in 1959. He thought he wanted to attend college. He went for one semester in Edmond, before deciding college wasn't for him. Claude Thomas Parish ; Elnora Marie Ford Parish ; Parent Teacher Association ; Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Edison Elementary School (Bristow, Okla.) ; Labor Day ; Good Friday ; Thanksgiving ; Bus Blackburn ; Herb Thompson ; Bud Wilkerson ; Cletus Green ; Edmond (Okla.) School 0 2182 Work Will Parish 36:22
 ; No, and I told my oldest daughter, after two years at Rogers, she's talking about, well, maybe my mom's right. Maybe I'm just not smart enough for college and stuff. I said, you know, Tracy (ph) college is not for everybody. I said, I was one of them. I said, because when I went to college, it was back to math and English again. And I said, you know, I thought I was going to college to to learn how to do something and and I said, and back then, Okmulgee Tech was the only tech, and they only had like refrigeration and auto upholstery. And I wasn't interested in any of that. And so I I started working seismograph crew like my dad did. And then in 1963 Uncle Sam said, here I am. 
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 37:02
 ; And that was four years?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 37:02
 ; What was spooky, though, is Kennedy gets assassinated one Friday, and I'm due to report the next Friday. And course, we don't know what's going to happen. And so wound up going down to Fort Polk, Louisiana, or as we affectionately called it, Fort Puke, Lowsiana. And I got what, what they call the, oh, what did they call that? Anyway? Your job description. I remember mine was 112, which was heavy weapons, infantry. So I left Fort Polk, went Fort Benning,
 ; Will started his career working a seismograph crew like his father. Then in 1963, he ended up in the military. After his time in the military, Will drove trucks for Coors for about eight years. He also worked at the radio station part time. Will then worked at the turnpike for 16 years before retiring. After retiring, he did a courier route part time for Spiritbank. Claude Thomas Parish ; John F. Kennedy ; Fort Polk (La.) ; Fort Benning (Ga.) ; South Carolina ; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 ; Charleston (S.C.) ; Panama Canal ; QuikTrip ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Sand Springs (Okla.) ; Bobby Warner ; Sapulpa (Okla.) ; Coors Brewing Company ; Clifford Smith ; Okmulgee (Okla.) ; Community Bank (Bristow, Okla.) ; Bill Farha ; Kell Kelly ; SpiritBank ; Gene Thompson ; Jerry Lomenick ; Marie Womack Work 0 3189 Substitute Teaching Will Parish 53:09
 ; No, so I went up there, and I subbed mostly in the middle school. And I was, you know, and I just tell those kids right off the bat. I said, you know, I'm here to fill in for your teacher. I'm not here to babysit you, or I'd get paid more. And I said, so here's what, well, I started doing things Debbie that makes me feel pretty good that Dana says they're doing now. Like what I would do, I'd tell the teachers, I said, not only leave me a list of your lesson plan, but leave me a list of your rules and regulations. So, when they say, well, Mrs. So and So, or Mr. So and So, lets us do this, and I say, no, right here. They don't do that. And then another thing I got to doing was I'd grade each class.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 53:57
 ; Oh, yes.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 53:59
 ; I would, I would write, well, they tell me now they got a form for the substitute teachers that do that. Of course, Dana was always good, because her class, whichever one turned out to be the best, she would reward them, you know, with some candy and stuff. 
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 54:27
 ; Were you one of my substitutes before?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 54:29
 ; Probably.
 ; Will discusses his time substitute teaching in the Bristow Schools. He did it for a couple of years, mostly in the middle school. Will was tough on the students. He let them know that he was there to fill in for the teacher and not to babysit. He always wanted the teachers to not only leave the lesson plan, but to leave their rules and regulations. Will would grade the class, and let the teachers know how they did, so they could be rewarded or punished. Bristow Public Schools (Bristow, Okla.) ; Special Olympics ; Collinsville (Okla.) Substitute teachers 0 3727 Odd Jobs Debbie Blansett 1:02:07
 ; Odd jobs around town work for the city some?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 1:02:11
 ; Well, I went to work after, well, I was running the courier route, and then they was all going to go computerized, and they was going to cut down from 12 routes to three, and I was one of the last that they had hired. So I figured, well, I don't have a chance in keeping my job. So, that was, I was there with the bank one day, and that's when I've seen an application for the First Wave, when they first went in out there, and I filled out an application and took it out there, and I went to work for them as night security.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 1:02:57
 ; I didn't know that.
 ; Will worked some as night security for First Wave. After being laid off, he worked briefly at Walmart. Then Leon Pinson asked him to work for the city. Will did that for 8 or 9 years. First Wave (Firm) ; Leon Pinson ; Wal-Mart (Firm) ; Steve McGuire ; Leonard Washington Jobs 0 3931 Work Ethic Debbie Blansett 1:05:31
 ; It's hard to let somebody go when you've proven for eight or nine years that you're dependable and trustworthy. It may take two or three guys to fill your position because you were trustworthy and dependable.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 1:05:49
 ; Well, I was, I was working at Coors, and I'd worked there a couple of years, and my ex wife and I was getting a divorce, and I just kind of wanted to change the atmosphere. Well, at that time, Wayne Campbell, that had the distributorship, he had this deal, if you quit, he had a no rehire policy. They wouldn't hire you back. So, I was gone for about two years, and I was at a place one day, and the guy was the vice president for Coors came in and Bill Stevens , and he sat down beside me, and he looked, when you gonna come back to work for us? I said, Well, I guess I'm not, you know, Wayne's got that no rehire policy. And I said, you know, I don't guess there's any chance of me going. He said, man. He said, we hire these guys. And said, they want a job, but they don't want to work. And he said, not like you older guys. So, he said, I'll tell you what, said Wayne's at the plant. Said, why don't you go talk to him? So, I went talk to Wayne, come back. About time I got there, they told Bill he was wanted on the phone. He come back after being on the phone. He said, well, what did you tell Campbell? I said, I'll just you know about divorce. And I said, what, he said, well, whatever it was, he must have liked it, because he said, tell you to be work at seven o'clock in the morning. I was first guy that they'd ever hired back in 10 years, so and I went back work. Well, I worked two years first and then worked about five and a half years the second time. But then, like I said, that's when I'd moved that back to here, and was driving back forth every day and wasn't getting seen my daughter, except on the weekend. So, that's when I took Clifford up on that job. But, and then, I don't know, I guess, did the best I could with what I had.
 ; Debbie talks to Will about his good work ethic. Will talks about going back to work at one of his jobs, even though they had a no re-hire policy. They wanted employees who were hard workers like Will. Coors Brewing Company ; Wayne Campbell ; Bill Stevens ; We were soldiers (Motion picture) Work ethic 0 4103 Daughters Will Parish 1:08:23
 ; With Mel Gibson, but I remember Kell Kelly was on the Turnpike Authority Board, and they had me come to Oklahoma City, and they gave me a little plaque, you know, about my service and all that and everything, and and I, you know, was pretty proud of that. But I tell you, when old David McNamara (ph) said, okay, you can go sit down. Well, about time I started leaving, Kell Kelly stood up and said, wait a minute, I've got something I want to talk about on this man. And he got up there and he started saying, this man took four young daughters and raised them by himself. And I thought, no, I had a lot of help from my mom and Norma Wieberdink. But anyway, and he said, I'm pretty proud, and excuse me, that put more of a lump in my throat than the military did. So but sometimes I wonder if I did good enough with the girls. But they all seem to be, you know.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 1:09:09
 ; I think you did fine. They are good girls.
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 1:09:34
 ; Mandy, she's a high school counselor down at Tahlequah and the head cheerleading coach down there, now. Of course, that was her big thing. Tracy, she's in the home health care up there with her mother and my husband in law. And then the twins, Carrie, she's a Creek County Deputy now. And then Carrie or Kim's the deputy, and Carrie, she's a reporter for The Tahlequah or newspaper.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 1:10:07
 ; They've done really well.
 ; Will worked hard and was a single father to his four daughters. They have all turned out well. One is a high school counselor, one is in home health care, another is a Creek County Deputy, and one is a reporter for the newspaper. Kell Kelly ; Turnpike Authority Board ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Tahlequah (Okla.) ; Creek County Deputy ; Oklahoma State University ; University of Tulsa Daughters 0 4312 Final Words Debbie Blansett 1:11:52
 ; Well, about to wrap this up. Is there anything else that that you want to
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 1:12:01
 ; Well, I
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 1:12:01
 ; Have documented?
 ; 
 ; Will Parish 1:12:03
 ; I really don't know why you. To me, I ain't really nobody.
 ; 
 ; Debbie Blansett 1:12:09
 ; I got the train story, and I got the downtown stories and the bringing cotton in, and the location of some of the old places and and just knowing what life was like during your life. And that's really what the purpose of this is, is to let people know what you've your history, what you've gone through here in Bristow.
 ; Will finishes the interview talking about trains. He remembers riding the train to Tulsa, then back to Bristow in the evening. He mentions that at one time there was talk of running one from Tulsa to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City (Okla.) ; Tulsa (Okla.) ; Texas Train 0 MP3 Willard Franklin Parish, born June 30, 1941, in Bristow, Oklahoma, shared his life story with Debbie Blansett for the Bristow Historical Society's oral history project. Willard's parents, Claude and Elnora Parish, married in 1939 and celebrated their 75th anniversary before passing away in 2014. Willard recounted his family's history, including his father's work in seismograph crews and his mother's job at Woolworth. He detailed his military service in Vietnam, his various jobs, and his role as a single father to four daughters. Willard also reflected on the changes in Bristow over the years, including the decline of local businesses and the impact of the oil boom. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.320 This is Debbie Blansett with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma, and this interview is part of the Historical Society's ongoing oral history project. The date is May 5, 2021 and I'm sitting here with 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:17.879 Willard Parish. 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:32.158 At the Bristow Depot, who's going to tell me a little bit about their history in the Bristow area. Okay, so why don't we just start out with what was your name at birth? 00:00:32.158 --> 00:00:46.799 Willard Franklin Parish. I was named after my two granddads. My Grandpa Parish was named Noah Willard Parish, and my Granddad Ford, his was Wendell Franklin. So, that's why I wound up with Willard Franklin. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:48.450 And where were you born? 00:00:48.450 --> 00:00:58.079 I was born at 520 East Jackson, in my Grandpa and Grandma Ford's house at that time in Bristow. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:00:59.130 In Bristow. 00:00:59.130 --> 00:00:59.789 Yes, ma'am. 00:00:59.789 --> 00:01:01.799 Okay, and the date of your birth? 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:05.819 Was June 30, 1941. 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:07.829 Your parents names? 00:01:07.829 --> 00:01:12.060 Was Claude [Thomas] and Elnora [Marie] Ford Parish. 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:15.329 Okay. Do you remember when they were married? 00:01:15.329 --> 00:01:21.030 They were married April the 19th of 1939. As matter of fact 00:01:21.030 --> 00:01:22.500 Your mind is a steel trap. 00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:31.890 2014 they celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Dad passed away in May, and mom in September that year. 00:01:31.890 --> 00:01:32.609 Oh, wow. 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:36.450 So, they got to celebrate their 75th anniversary. 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:38.849 Do you know where they were married? 00:01:38.849 --> 00:01:42.180 They were married at a justice of the peace in Sapulpa. 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:47.010 In Sapulpa. So had they always been in Oklahoma? Were they raised in Oklahoma? 00:01:47.010 --> 00:03:36.330 No, my dad was born up by Montreal, Missouri, and my granddad, well, my dad's granddad came down to Kellyville and worked at the old gas plant that's south of Kellyville there by the railroad tracks. Worked there till he made enough money to buy 200 acre farm back up in Missouri, and so he went back. Well, in the meantime, my dad's older sister had married Jeff Holcomb (ph) over at Kellyville, so she didn't want to go back. Well, my great granddad, it would be,told my granddad, if he would come back up there and help him on the farm, that when he passed away, my granddad could have the farm. But from what I understand, my grandmother and my great grandpa, I don't think they got along too well, so they moved back down to Kellyville, and then my granddad went to pumping an oil lease. And that's pretty much what he did up until he retired, pumping oil leases. They lived up at Barnsdall for a while, and they lived, excuse me, they lived down at Tuskegee around that area. They lived north of Beggs. When I was going to school. they lived west of Beggs, about six miles west of Beggs on 16 and just before he retired, they moved him back up to Barnsdall. Then they moved him down by Wilson, down by Henryetta, and that's where he was at when he retired. And they had bought a little place there on the south side of Beggs, and that's where they lived until they passed away. 00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:39.659 And your dad, what kind of occupation did he have? 00:03:39.659 --> 00:05:03.569 Well, when I was born, he was working for my Uncle Jeff out east town on a ranch out there for 50 cents a day. And there was a seismograph crew had came to town, and they were trading up where Wendell List used to be up at 10th and Main. And my granddad was in there, and he heard him talking about needing some hands. So he went got my dad, and they came into town, and they talked a while, and they said, well, how much does this pay? And they said, 45 cents an hour. And dad thought, my goodness, that's, you know, a nickel less than what I'm making for all day. So, they and anyway they they went ahead and hired him. And he said, the first day they worked, it rained. So, they told him, well, Claude, if you want to, you can ride down south of town and look at this job prospect we're going to be looking at. So, when they came back, dad said, they's gone like a couple hours. And they said, well, Claude, put your time down. He said, what, just riding around down there? They said, yes. And so he put down a couple hours. Well, you know, that was 90 cents. 00:05:03.569 --> 00:05:05.670 About what year would that have been? 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:06.839 That's '41. 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:08.129 About '41. 00:05:08.129 --> 00:05:23.490 And mom and him were living with my Grandpa and Grandma Ford over 520 East Jackson. Dad said he ran all the way from 10th & Main to 520 East Jackson, to tell mom about 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:24.779 His 90 cents! 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:32.160 Right! And he said, I thought, Elnora, how in the world are we going to spend all this money I'm going to be making? 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:33.180 My goodness! 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:48.480 And I asked him one time how much it was for me to be delivered, and he said $15 and I said, you still hadn't gotten your money's worth. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.160 That's pretty good. That would have been, that would have been quite a bit of money. 00:05:53.160 --> 00:06:50.430 Well, the only bad thing about him working was when it was just me, Mom would go with him, you know, and they'd move here, there and yonder. Well, after my sister was born, Claudia, and then Tommy came along, and then Larry, and we were getting up to school size. Well, mom didn't want to drag us from one school to another school. So, at that time, they had what they called the veteran apartments, and where mom and dad used to live on West Second Street, right across the street. There was like two rows of them. They were all one single building, but had different doors for different apartments, and one faced second, one faced first street, and then on the other side of Ash there was another one that faced First, and that's the one we lived in. And 00:06:50.430 --> 00:06:52.439 So, like duplexes? 00:06:52.439 --> 00:07:27.209 Well, they were just one long building, and then they'd have like, several doors, you know? And anyway, that's, that's where we started living. And then dad would come home on weekends, and he was working at that time for what called SSC, Seismograph Service Corporation out of Tulsa, and they knew he had a family. So, they kept, they kept dad pretty much close in Oklahoma, working so he could come home on the weekends. 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:29.490 Had he been to college? What did he 00:07:29.490 --> 00:07:43.920 Well, he and mom went two years of college and at Tahlequah, and they thought that, he thought he was going to be a teacher. And he had one little bout of teaching, and he that wasn't his cup of tea. 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:49.230 So at the seismographical place, was that like geology stuff? 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:54.540 Well, they they search, seisomgraph crews go out, 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:55.800 Seisomograph, sorry. 00:07:55.800 --> 00:08:22.170 Seismograph crews go out, and they get certain locations, you know, they record the seismic, they set off dynamite, and it records these seismic deals. Then they turn what they find, and then the big oil companies would think, well, that looks like a good location, set up a big rig and then drill for oil. 00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:23.670 Oh, okay 00:08:23.670 --> 00:08:26.310 So, it was, it was like an exploration. 00:08:26.310 --> 00:08:27.300 Oh, okay. 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:28.199 Deal. 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:30.720 Did your mother ever work out of the home? 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:40.649 Well, not, not for a while there, but then, after we got settled in, we had a Woolworth store here, and she worked at Woolworth. 00:08:40.649 --> 00:08:42.870 Where was Woolworth? 00:08:42.870 --> 00:08:48.990 Up there, where the parking lot is next to Los Arcos. 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:51.809 Oh, and Ben Franklin was in there? 00:08:51.809 --> 00:09:07.649 Well, Ben Franklin, Ben Franklin was a couple of doors down. Mr. Patton had it first, and then Bill and Beth took over. And then when Woolworth went out, then Bill went up to where Woolworth was. 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:11.610 So, it was kind of on that same block right there. 00:09:11.610 --> 00:09:14.549 Yeah, right next to where the old Goodrich store was. 00:09:14.549 --> 00:09:18.779 So, Woolsworth, was it like, was it like JC Penney's or? 00:09:18.779 --> 00:09:20.129 Well... 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:22.590 What did they sell there? 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:23.700 Everything. 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:25.529 Everything, like Sears, maybe? 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:37.889 Well, kind of like Walmart. I remember Mr. & Mrs. Strickland had an older daughter. I can't remember her name, but she always worked the candy. They had a candy bin there and 00:09:37.889 --> 00:09:39.149 But did they have groceries? 00:09:39.149 --> 00:09:41.490 No, they didn't have groceries. It was just 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:43.379 Dry, dry goods. 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:43.919 Excuse me. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:44.730 Clothing. 00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:52.049 They would have, like, toys and, you know, material. 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:54.570 Like, when I grew up there were TG&Y's. 00:09:54.570 --> 00:09:55.470 Well, it's was kind of 00:09:55.470 --> 00:09:59.309 And then Ben Franklin was kind of like that. So, was like that? 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:01.769 It was pretty much that, like that. 00:10:01.769 --> 00:10:03.779 Because I don't remember any Woolworth stores. 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:14.250 Well, and we, at that time we had, it was F. W. Woolworth, and then we had a JC Penney, C.R. Anthony's Montgomery 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:15.929 Montgomery Ward, I think. 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:26.669 Well, yeah, but they were, I could just remember about every store up down Main Street was some kind of a business, 00:10:26.669 --> 00:10:30.809 And there weren't those big gaps for parking lots. They were actually store fronts. 00:10:30.809 --> 00:11:57.450 Well, yeah, and then the parking was like diagonal parking, and that, that was when Main Street was just two lanes. But, gosh, I remember at least three furniture stores - Farha's, Logan's and Henderson's, several, several grocery stores. I can remember, I can, I'm old enough to remember as a kid bringing cotton into town, you know. And O.D. Thorpe (ph) had a grocery store between Fifth and Sixth on the east side of Main and back where the part of the fire station was that was just a lot. And people drive teams and wagons into town, and that's where they would park their team and wagons when they'd come to town on Saturdays. And Thorpe's had a back door, so they would just, you know, trade by, you know, groceries and stuff there. I remember when they would buy, like, flour by 25-50 pound sacks of flour, same way on sugar and stuff like that. Matter of fact, when I was in grade school, some of the, some of the little girls that lived out of town, you know, the old flour sack dresses and stuff. 00:11:57.450 --> 00:11:59.309 My mother had dresses made out of flour sacks. 00:11:59.309 --> 00:12:05.789 Right? And, you know, people may do with what they had back then. 00:12:05.789 --> 00:12:06.090 Absolutely. 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:31.049 My my daughters and my sister sometime would get aggravated with mom, because she'd save her tin foil. Claudia would go buy paper cups. Mom would wash those. And I don't know, Mom, you can just throw that stuff away, you know. And then I said, Claudia, you gotta remember, Mom was raised up back during the Depression, and they had, you know 00:12:31.049 --> 00:12:32.220 On 90 cents a day! 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:33.419 Yeah. Well 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:35.159 No, 90 cents was a big deal! 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:35.789 Well 00:12:35.789 --> 00:12:37.230 Just two hours. 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:43.440 My my granddad was a fireman here, and he did plumbing jobs on the side. 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:44.700 What was his name? 00:12:44.700 --> 00:12:46.440 Wendell Ford. 00:12:46.440 --> 00:13:01.019 Everybody called him W.F. And my grandmother, they lived at Second and Maple, where I live now, and she worked in the cafeteria at the Washington School, and she would walk. 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:02.669 Oh, really?! 00:13:02.669 --> 00:13:12.509 It's a long time, they never had a car. He would, the fire station was at Eighth and Main with the police station the courthouse, and he would walk to work. 00:13:12.509 --> 00:13:18.720 So, that the house that you live in now was the house they lived in? 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:56.129 They bought it in 1944. That's when they moved from 520 East Jackson, big two story house, and he gave $2,200 for it, and his house payment was $22 a month. And matter of fact, when Mom and Dad was talking about buying their house, I remember them sitting at that little kitchen table at the veteran apartments, and dad sitting there saying, Eleanor, I just don't know how in the world we're going to afford $55 a month house payment. And they only gave like, $8,500. 00:13:56.129 --> 00:13:58.679 It was a new home when they bought right? 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:02.610 They were the only, they were, the only one that lived in it till we sold it. 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:07.649 Well, it was a beautiful home. It was kept up really nicely and 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:40.440 Well, you know, they did a lot, it was actually just a three bedroom frame home when they bought it, but then dad had it bricked and things like that. But anyway, like I said, I remember, you know, lots of things about the town back when I was a kid about, you know, there was not too much activity during, but on Saturdays, oh, you know, the farmers would come in. I can remember when the old peanut mill was going, 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:41.820 Where was the peanut mill? 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:46.440 It was where that dialysis deal is there at Second and Main. 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:47.759 A big metal building? 00:14:47.759 --> 00:15:09.029 Well, big, big brick building with a metal roof. But, I remember as kids, we'd take brown paper sacks down there when they was unloading the peanuts and stuff, and some of them would get scattered on the ground, and we'd go down there and gather up all that was on the ground, and 00:15:09.029 --> 00:15:10.289 Sackfuls! 00:15:10.289 --> 00:16:03.539 Take them home, and and Loretta McDaniel (ph) and my Aunt Betty would get McDaniel's house, and they'd put them on a cookie sheet and roast them. And so a lot of good memories. I remember the big Christmas parades we used to have where they'd hand out those big peppermint stick candies and, oh, you know, just out at the park. They they something going on out every night, you know, some kind of softball game. Their businesses sponsored different teams when, when my dad was here, he used to pitch for Raymond Cecil's team. And when he could. 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:16.559 Larry's dad was a pitcher. I'm not sure if he ever played in Bristow. I know Larry played some softball out there for some company here in town. 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:17.159 Yeah. 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:18.240 I don't remember. 00:16:18.240 --> 00:17:31.170 Well, you know, mom, mom actually, during the Depression, her family had it probably a little bit more rougher than what my dad's family had. I said my granddad, he was a firemen here and did plumbing jobs on the side, but they were like seven kids, and like my dad's side, there was four. Well, they lived in lease houses as a gas well on the lease, they were pumping. They had, they had gas, you know, lighting and gas heating in the house. A lot of lot of them didn't have running water, you know, out there, but they had a well there. And then, as I said, you know, mom's folks lived in town, and actually, how they, mom was born in Drumright. That's all right. I probably need to do mine that way too. 00:17:31.170 --> 00:17:32.160 There we go. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.359 We're back on now. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.819 Mom was born in Drumright. 00:17:35.819 --> 00:18:21.359 And at that time, my granddad had a plumbing business in Drumright, and he had a appendix rupture, and they tell me that it was so bad that the doctor wouldn't even try to get him, they he operated on their dining room table, and while he was laid up, his partner absconded, uh, left his wife and daughter and took off with this other gal, and I guess all the deals for the business, but grandpa wound up having to go to work in Okmulgee. So, on Sunday 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.910 This is grandpa Ford? Okay. 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:45.750 Grandpa Ford, he would take a train on Sunday evening at Drumright, and would come to Bristow, where he would change trains. And then there was a train that ran down through Slick for a long time, you could see the old railroad bed there, and went to Okmulgee. 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:47.910 There was a depot there in slick too. 00:18:47.910 --> 00:20:14.369 Right. Still is, and anyway, then on, when he would come back on Fridays evenings, he would come to Bristow, and he'd usually have a little delay. So, Smith's Drug Store was up on the corner of Seventh and Main. So, he would walk from the train depot here, up there and have him a cup of coffee while he was waiting for the train that would go to Drumright. And one day he came, and he started up through there, and I'm not for sure, but I think it was Callaway and Daley (ph) had a plumbing shop on east seventh, and when he walked by, they had a sign Help Wanted. That's when the boom was 1922, and this was when the boom was going pretty good, and I guess they were, you know, plumbers were really busy then, and so he went in and talked to them, and they said, yeah. He said, he said, well, when do you need me to go to work? They said, in the morning. And he said, well, he said, can I can I wait till Monday, because he said, my family's in Drumright, and I've got to find a place for them to live here and then move them to Bristow. So, that's what they did. 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:17.579 You think they got moved in a weekend? 00:20:17.579 --> 00:22:55.890 Well, they didn't have nothing. And anyway, mom said they moved over in the 200 block west ninth and a little house that sat on the alley behind the main house. And but there was a few things you know, that she couldn't remember, kind of like, like I am now. But anyway, that's how they come from Drumright to Bristow, yeah. And the way her and dad met, like I said, she lived at 520 East Jackson, and she run around with the tea garden girls. And they played softball down there about where the well Bristow Village is. There was a big open field. Matter of fact, they even used to have rodeos down there. And anyway, she met her, her and her girlfriend, she kind of liked this guy that dad run around with. I can't remember his name now, and they were sitting there, and I remember dad telling about, well, I think it's on that video about mom and her girlfriend said, well, I guess if they get to first base, we'll hold their hand, and then if they get to second, what was it? We'll give them a hug. And if they get to third, I think, I think they said they'd give them a kiss. And Dad said, well, what'll you get if I get a home run? And she said, you'll never find out. But anyway, dad said a day or two later, he and his buddy was driving around town, and he said your mother just kept driving by, you know, and honking at us, and said she was in her your granddad's car, and so anyway, he said he just pulled up and blocked her, and they got to talking, and she asked them if they wanted to go for a ride. Said, I knew her girlfriend, liked Murph, was this guy's name, and said I knew he liked her. So, she said, well, I have to take daddy's car home. Said, So we followed him over at granddad's house and said, we talked about, well, which one do you want? I well, I don't care, which one. Well, you know, you just pick out the one you want. Dad said, I'll take, you know, the other one. And so, of course, he said the girl, I can't remember now which one it was, but the 00:22:55.890 --> 00:23:03.450 girl that liked Murph, of course, when he got in the backseat, well, when they came out. Said she just jumped in the back seat and 00:23:03.450 --> 00:23:04.859 He didn't have to decide. 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:05.339 No. 00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:06.930 She did all the decision making. 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:23.789 Yeah. Said, your mother got in with me and we rode around there and said, we went, went, took them home and said, I went to kiss your mother good night. She said, oh, I don't kiss on the first date. And he said, well, you are on this one. 00:23:23.789 --> 00:23:27.119 What a rascal! 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:38.670 Yeah, he said, I just laid one on her. But he said, then it wound up Murph and this other girl didn't this and then your mother and I wound up getting married. 00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:41.940 For seventy-five years! It was a good match. 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.230 Yeah, yeah. 00:23:43.230 --> 00:23:46.049 Isn't that amazing? 00:23:46.049 --> 00:24:02.339 I tell you what, I had some pretty good stories about, but like I said, you know, my dad's folks lived down on the oil lease, and my granddad always planted a big garden. So, you know, they always had, you know, a garden and stuff. 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:04.200 Your Grandad Parish? 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:05.369 Yeah, sorry. 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:06.210 That's all right. 00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:16.680 And so they did pretty good, you know, during the Depression, but, you know, mom and them, they had it pretty rough with seven kids. And 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:19.769 Did they, are they the Fords that had the store? 00:24:19.769 --> 00:24:20.519 No, no. 00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:22.559 Probably a different Ford. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:51.269 But well anyway, when Granddad Ford went to work for the plumber stuff, well, from what I gather at one time, you know, when work kind of started dying down a little bit, he went to work for the police department here in town, first. But my grandma, she didn't like him, she said, back then there was still some old roughnecks around that 00:24:51.269 --> 00:24:52.859 This is Ford. 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:53.460 Yeah. 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:55.230 He worked for the police department? 00:24:55.230 --> 00:25:05.789 Starting out. But like grandma told me once, and she said there were still a bunch of, she called them hooligans, still around town here, you know. 00:25:05.789 --> 00:25:09.029 And we still got some of those around. 00:25:09.029 --> 00:25:47.609 And, so, an opening come open on the fire department. So, he went over to the fire department and, and I remember, well, before we moved into the veteran apartments, we were still living with my Grandpa and Grandma Ford there, where I live now. And I remember when they had have a fire down in the neighborhood, well, I would go down there. Well, then after they'd get well, on the way back to the fire station, well, I'd get to stand on the back of the fire truck with my grandpa. And, boy, I really thought I was somebody. 00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:49.319 So, they had, like, a fire truck? 00:25:49.319 --> 00:26:17.099 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matter of fact, they even still had that old 1912, or seven, whatever it was that's in the Smithsonian. They were still using it when I was a kid. And but I that, like said, that was that. And another thing, my mother's two brothers played football. Matter of fact, my uncle Bob, he wound up being all-state. 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:19.259 They're from Drumright? 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:26.700 Well, no, Uncle Bob, Uncle Bob was born here in Bristow. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:28.170 Oh, so he played here? 00:26:28.170 --> 00:26:28.740 Yeah. 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:30.539 Oh, okay. 00:26:30.539 --> 00:27:47.009 Excuse me. I had three uncles that played - my Uncle Francis, my Uncle Bob, my Uncle Jim. And, let's see, I was trying to remember, Uncle Francis, now I can't remember, seems like it's '41 that he graduated, but soon as he graduated, he went right into the Marine Corps. This is back during WWII. Then my Uncle Bob graduated in '46, and he played on the All State team down in Oklahoma City that year. And then my Uncle Jim, he graduated in '51 here in Bristow. Then my Aunt Betty, mom's sister, she graduated in '54 she was only five years older than me. She was more like an older sister, really, than an aunt and but at the time, there wasn't any dressing rooms at the football field, so they would change at the old Le Force Field House. Mose LeForce was the coach. They would come down Maple. 00:27:47.009 --> 00:27:48.180 Taking a bus? 00:27:48.180 --> 00:28:10.710 Yeah, in the school bus, they would come down Maple which and Maple and Second were still dirt roads then, and I'd stand out on the corner. I knew about what time they'd be. So, Mose would always stop the bus, let me get on the bus and go down watch my uncles practice football, and then on the way back, they'd drop me off there at the house. 00:28:10.710 --> 00:28:11.849 Were you just a little boy? 00:28:11.849 --> 00:28:12.359 Yeah. 00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:17.339 So, did the was the football field where it is now? 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:34.470 Yeah, as a matter of fact, the field that's south of the football field, that's where the band used to practice. They would practice when the football boys were practicing, instead of, I think now, the band practices in the morning. And then, yeah. 00:28:34.470 --> 00:28:36.450 So they did it in the afternoon. 00:28:36.450 --> 00:29:26.279 Yeah, and anyway, I'd go down there and watch my uncles, you know, and then I'd always, usually go to the football games. Well, after the war, Uncle Bob had enrolled over Tahlequah playing football over there. So, Uncle Francis, when he got out, he went over there. And then, up until 1958 Uncle Francis was the football coach at Tahlequah, and then he went to Arvada, Colorado. Uncle Bob, best I remember, one of the first jobs he had, he was assistant coach at Henryetta, and I don't know if you remember Billy Vessels? 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:27.269 Um hm. 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:27.839 First 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:28.799 Cleveland? 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:29.339 Yeah. 00:29:29.339 --> 00:29:29.910 Okay. 00:29:29.910 --> 00:29:37.380 Well, he was their at their banquet that were the speaker, and he got me his autograph. So I've got 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:38.250 That's pretty cool. 00:29:38.250 --> 00:29:47.279 I've got Billy Vessel's (ph) autograph. I've got Steve Owens autograph. I've got Billy Sims autograph. I got Jason White. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:48.900 I like these OU names. 00:29:48.900 --> 00:30:09.809 Well, at the time, I said, well, I've got all those Heisman Trophy winner's autograph. And then when Sam Bradford made it, yeah, I don't, I don't have his and then, course, then Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, and I said, dadgum, now I'm gonna have to have 00:30:09.809 --> 00:30:15.059 We might need to throw some of your clout around and get some of those autographs. 00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:29.759 But anyway, I, you know, I had a pretty good childhood. We weren't, you know, wealthy by any means, but my dad provided, I guess, pretty good, you know. 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:33.480 You all were taught a good work ethic. 00:30:33.480 --> 00:31:11.579 I just talking about the $55 house payment. I said, of course, Dad was probably on making maybe 400 a month, if that much at the time, you know, and but we, we did all right. Then, like I said, when we start getting up school age, well, mom, she, she pretty much got involved with the school, back when they had the PTA, and they used, I was telling my daughters, you know, they talk about Parent Teacher Day. And I said, well, that was the PTA back my day, and they met at night, so we didn't get out of school for that. 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:13.859 That's right, that's right. 00:31:13.859 --> 00:32:11.339 I used to tease them about, you know, boy, y'all have to start so early, and you still get out about same time we did. We didn't start till the day after Labor Day. And I said I got one of their school calendars one year, and I counted 31 days that they were out of school during that. Of course spring break, we might have got Good Friday off. We got out the Christmas Eve, and we went back second day of January. Thanksgiving, we got out Thursday and Friday. And I said, so, and I was teasing Claudia's daughter, Diane. She was talking about that one time. And I said, well, you know, Diane, we didn't get out two weeks for Christmas, a week for spring break and all that, and I said, and besides all that, we weren't so hard headed. It didn't take them that long to teach us. 00:32:11.339 --> 00:32:14.700 Oh my gosh. She probably went 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:25.440 Yeah, but I enjoyed going school and went the whole 12 years on that one block. 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:27.089 Did you play football? 00:32:27.089 --> 00:32:28.950 I played 00:32:28.950 --> 00:32:29.910 At it. 00:32:29.910 --> 00:35:34.050 Well, I played, yep, as I said, I went, I went the whole 12 years on that one block, I went to Edison. I started well, I went to Edison the first through the sixth grade. Then I went to the old high school, or a junior high before they tore it down, and I went through the seventh and ninth grade then. And at that time, 10th and 11th and 12th grade was high school. So I played football pretty much during my junior high years. Had Bus Blackburn was coach. He and Herb Thompson. And Bus was pretty good. I mean, you know, you may not get to play a whole lot, but he played you just about every game. And then when I got up to the 10th grade in high school, Cal Woodworth (ph) came and he had graduated from OU and he would he had played tackle for Bud Wilkerson. Well, when he came back then the head basketball coach was Cletus Green. Well, he was the assistant football coach. During basketball, he was the head basketball coach and Cal Woodward (ph) was the assistant basketball coach. Herb Thompson was the wrestling coach. And then in the spring, when they had track, those three coaches. So for four sporting events, we had three coaches. And, so, they put me in the backfield, and I kept telling Coach Woodward, I said, Coach, I've never played in the backfield. I've always played up on the line. I always played guard. Well, you'll play where I tell you to play, okay. Well, at that time, you didn't have offense and defense. You had first string, second string, third string. Well, I was so little, I was always on the third string, which meant you, during the week, you were blocking dummies for the first two strings. As I said in junior high Bus, if you wanted in there, he'd let you go in. Maybe not very much, but at least my sophomore year, I got to go in one game. The rest of the time, I sat on the bench and I just, you know, next year I went out, they put me in the line. I was getting past their first string guard, and the coach started hollering at me, and he 00:35:34.050 --> 00:36:04.920 said, what do you call it? What do you call it? What kind of defensive charging you call that? And I said, oh, little something Bus showed us back junior high. Well, I thought we graduated you from junior high last year. And I said, well, you had me playing in the backfield last year. And I said, besides all that, I thought the name of the game was, get to the ball carrier. Well, it is, but you'll play the way I tell you to play or you won't plat at all. And I said, well, you know what, coach I'm not getting to play anyway, so. 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:06.119 So, there was that. 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:07.590 That was that, yeah. 00:36:07.590 --> 00:36:09.869 Did you do other sports, like wrestling? 00:36:09.869 --> 00:36:19.110 Oh, I went out one year for basketball, but I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't one of your typical jocks. 00:36:19.110 --> 00:36:19.530 Were you taller? 00:36:19.530 --> 00:37:45.030 No, I was, I used to make me so mad about Kim, my daughter. Everything Kim did just was just like Mandy. They never had to study for a test. I mean, it was just just natural ability. When Kim was a cheerleader, she'd go down that gym doing all those flip flops, but all of a sudden she don't want cheerleading anymore. When she her and Carrie (ph), her twin, played softball for Dawn Dixon (ph), Kim was really good softball player. Well, got up to middle school, well, she don't play softball. She wanted to cheerlead. Then when she got to high school, didn't want cheerleading. Well, then she started, then she started playing slow pitch, and wound up being the catcher. But anyway, Tracy (ph), the oldest, and Carrie (ph) are like dead. Whatever I did, I had to work for it. I wasn't a scholar, I wasn't a jock. My two brothers were the jocks and but I just, but anyway, I I graduated in 1959. Thought I wanted to go to college. Went down to Edmond for one semester. 00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:47.880 It wasn't your thing. 00:37:47.880 --> 00:38:41.670 No, and I told my oldest daughter, after two years at Rogers, she's talking about, well, maybe my mom's right. Maybe I'm just not smart enough for college and stuff. I said, you know, Tracy (ph) college is not for everybody. I said, I was one of them. I said, because when I went to college, it was back to math and English again. And I said, you know, I thought I was going to college to to learn how to do something and and I said, and back then, Okmulgee Tech was the only tech, and they only had like refrigeration and auto upholstery. And I wasn't interested in any of that. And so I I started working seismograph crew like my dad did. And then in 1963 Uncle Sam said, here I am. 00:38:41.670 --> 00:38:45.900 And that was four years? 00:38:45.900 --> 00:39:31.170 What was spooky, though, is Kennedy gets assassinated one Friday, and I'm due to report the next Friday. And course, we don't know what's going to happen. And so wound up going down to Fort Polk, Louisiana, or as we affectionately called it, Fort Puke, Lowsiana. And I got what, what they call the, oh, what did they call that? Anyway? Your job description. I remember mine was 112, which was heavy weapons, infantry. So I left Fort Polk, went Fort Benning, 00:39:31.170 --> 00:39:32.789 Which is where? 00:39:32.789 --> 00:42:29.550 In Georgia. And I wound up doing my AIT there. And at that time, they were testing this helicopter concept out, and they had taken the old 11th Airborne and made it what they call the 11th Air Assault. Fort Benning, Georgia's made up of four posts. There's the main post, Sand Hill, Kelly Hill, and then Harmony Church. And I was in the Second Infantry Division, then, Second 23rd Infantry. Us, and the first and the 38th we occupied Kelly Hill. Well in the fall of '64 they were going to do a big, three month long play war against the 82nd Airborne to test this helicopter concept out, so they were under strength. So, since we were next to Harmony Church area, they just gave us 11th Air Assault patches, and we sewed them on the pockets of our shirts, and then we started training with this 11th Air Assault. Went to South Carolina, played army against 82nd Airborne for about three months. Came back to Benning. Then we just kind of went into a hiatus. Wasn't really done much of anything. And I asked my little sergeant, you know what, what the deal was? And he said, well, they're still evaluating the helicopter concept. And said, if it doesn't go, we're going to go back to mechanized, which he said, you will be my driver on the PC chair, you know, one of the like out here at the armory, that little and I said, I'm not getting in that coffin that that's what they remind me of a coffin. And I'm pretty claustrophobic anyway. And so luckily, the helicopter deal went out, and then they decided we were going to become the first cav air mobile. I thought, well, the first cav's in Korea, so I guess we're, I'm going to Korea now. We just took our patches off and boxed them up, sent them to them. They sent us ours. Well, rumors started going around about Vietnam. Well, most guys like me, where in the heck is Vietnam, you know. Heard of French Indochina, but what's Vietnam? And I remember we were told, now don't be writing home about this, because this is all hush hush and and the way we found out we were going - Lyndon Johnson gets on nationwide TV - today, I have ordered the first air cav mobile. 00:42:29.550 --> 00:42:32.400 Oh no! You all were told one thing and the president was 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:33.210 Right. 00:42:33.210 --> 00:42:34.079 Speaking another thing. 00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:47.579 So anyway, we we loaded on ship in Charleston, South Carolina, and went down, went through the Panama Canal up to Long Beach. Spent the night at Long Beach, and then 20 days later, we landed at Qui Nhơn. 00:42:47.579 --> 00:42:50.369 I was gonna say, how long did it take to get you all there? 00:42:50.369 --> 00:44:01.139 Well, 30 days all total. It took us 10 days to go down, around, through the Panama Canal, back up, and then 20 days to get to Qui Nhơn. And they took us up there in the central highlands, and of course, then, well, she got a post in there being stuff, and so anyway. I came back, went back to work on the seismograph crew. Wound up getting married and didn't like being away from home, so wound up going to work over QuikTrip. And that time, QuikTrip only had 20 stores in Tulsa. I wound up in one Sand Springs. Then my brother in law, Bobby Warner called me and said they looking for propane truck driver. So, I did that for a while. Well, mostly, most of the jobs I had were driving trucks, and I don't know I, I kind of liked it, because after going through all that 00:44:01.139 --> 00:44:10.170 So, when you were through in Vietnam, you were through, there was no you didn't want to, did they have reserves? But you had just 00:44:10.170 --> 00:45:44.489 I was give, I was given so many days to join a reserve. And when I went to re-register to draft over in Sapulpa, because they told us, if you don't join one, they'll put you in one, it might be 500 miles from where you live. So, I was talking to the lady when I re-registered for the draft, and she said, well, her husband and both of her sons had joined reserves. And she said, and they they have a max, you know, that they can only have. And she said, and right now they're all pretty full because of Vietnam. And she said, I would just wait. Never heard, well, at one time, I got a deal that they wanted me to go to a two week summer camp. And that's when I was driving the truck for Bobby Warner and and he sat down and wrote a letter that he couldn't do without me. I was, I was the only driver he had and stuff. So, they exempted me from going to summer camp. And then in 1968 I got a deal that said that they had changed my draft status was I was beyond the age of legal ability and and then about a year later, then they sent me my discharge, and like said, I I just drove trucks and worked worked for Coors for about eight years, and 00:45:44.489 --> 00:45:45.719 Driving trucks? 00:45:45.719 --> 00:53:07.800 Driving, delivery and stuff. Well, they called us route salesmen, And I was working part time for Clifford Smith at the radio station, and he kept trying to get me to go full time. And my wife got pregnant with oldest daughter, and I didn't want to raise any kids up in Tulsa, so we talked about maybe moving to Sapulpa, but wound up back to Bristow and and my oldest was born, and I was getting up, you know, leaving out about five in the morning, 530 and getting back home, you know, after dark. And the only time I was getting to see her was on the weekends. And I don't know, they went to this presales concept at Coors, which everybody in the world had tried it and it didn't work, but we're going to make it work. Well, they didn't. So, I was pretty upset, and matter of fact, time I got home, I was trying to figure out how I was going to manage what all I had to do the next day, and I was talking to my wife about it, and she said, well, Clifford called again and waned to talk to you. And I said, so I called him. He said, yeah. So, I went to work for him and selling radio advertising. And at that time I was still doing a little disc jockey work on on the weekend and and that was back when the little oil boom was going pretty good, back in the early 80s, and I was doing pretty good, you know. And then when, when that went down, then, you know, people quit advertising and stuff, and it was getting pretty rough, and, matter of fact, wound up going to work at the radio station at Okmulgee, KOKL at nights. I'd work up here during the day and then drive down there and work at night. And walked into the Community Bank one day, and I had said something to my sister, Claudia, who worked there, and Bill Farha, Big Bill, he said, your sister says you're looking for a job. And I said, well, yeah. And he said, well, did you think about going to work for the turnpike? And I thought, well, if I went out on maintenance, I could probably still work the board shift at the radio station. And Bill said, no, no. Said, you want the booth? Well, I remember when they first opened the Turnpike, those guys were only making, like, $250 a month. And I thought, man, there's no and he said, well, it's lot different. Well, I filled out an application, and it rocked along for about eight months. Never heard anything from them. And I was working Sunday night at KOKL, and I can't remember this guy's name now, down at the city, and he called me, wanted me to be at the Tulsa gate the next morning. And I said, hey, I said, can I give these guys where I'm working at least a week's notice? I said, I wouldn't just walk off and leave you all. Well, you want this job or not? And I said, yeah, but like I said, I wouldn't treat you that way. Well, all right, all right. Be there a week from Monday. So, anyway, long story short, I wound up working for them for 16 years, retired. Then after I retired, Kell Kelly at Spirit bank called me and asked me if I'd be interested in running a courier route for Spirit bank. And I said, well, I really don't want to work full time. And he said, well, you'll like this. You run it one week, and Gene Thompson runs it the next week. Well, that gave me time off. Mom, dad wanted to go on the trip. You know, I could take a week off and do it. Was fine during the summer, but during the winter, I'm out spending money, thinking, well, I need to find something. And Derlad Glover was superintendent, and I guess Larry had said something to him, and my oldest daughter was a senior, and Derald come over and said, Larry said, you was looking for some work. And I said, yeah. And he said, well, he said, think about substitute teaching. I said, Derald, I don't have any kind of a teaching degree. Oh, well, you don't need it. Well, okay. And I said, but I'll be honest with you, you know, if I go to work for you, the first thing you probably do is put me in a math class, and I don't know nothing about math, especially this new math stuff, you know, where a plus is a minus and a minus is a plus and all that. I said, you know, I said, I try to help my daughters with their math deal, and I sit down and do it. Like, well, Dad, that's not the way they told us how to do it. And I said, well, is that the right answer? Well, yeah, I said, then what difference does it make? I said, like, I never understood algebra. You know, I I just never did understand it. And to this day, I don't think I've ever had a job where I've ever had to use algebra. But anyway, I said, well, what do I need to do? And he said, well, go to Administration Building, fill out an application, then you'll go before the school board. Okay, well, and, and I had to pay him $15 for a background check, and they said I would get that back. So, this was in the fall, and I went filled out application. Never heard a word from them, and I went up there to the middle school one time to pick the girls up, and that's when Jerry Lomenick was the principal there. I'm standing there waiting on the girls, and said, well, do you ever think about coming up here and substitute teaching? I said, and I'd got my $15 back, too. And I said, you mean like, go fill out an application, pay the $15 and all that. And he said, well, yeah. And I said, I already did all that. And he said, well, how come you haven't been up here subbing? I said, nobody's ever called me. So, he said something to Marie Womack then, and Marie said, w, yeah, he's on the list. And he said, what? I guess they've hired you. And I said, well, I never went before the school board and Dowdy, Mary was on the school board then, and I said, I ran into her, and I said something to her about she's, oh well, when your name come up, we said, oh yeah, he's all right. 00:53:07.800 --> 00:53:08.940 You didn't have to go. 00:53:08.940 --> 00:54:09.000 No, so I went up there, and I subbed mostly in the middle school. And I was, you know, and I just tell those kids right off the bat. I said, you know, I'm here to fill in for your teacher. I'm not here to babysit you, or I'd get paid more. And I said, so here's what, well, I started doing things Debbie that makes me feel pretty good that Dana says they're doing now. Like what I would do, I'd tell the teachers, I said, not only leave me a list of your lesson plan, but leave me a list of your rules and regulations. So, when they say, well, Mrs. So and So, or Mr. So and So, lets us do this, and I say, no, right here. They don't do that. And then another thing I got to doing was I'd grade each class. 00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:10.920 Oh, yes. 00:54:10.920 --> 00:54:27.690 I would, I would write, well, they tell me now they got a form for the substitute teachers that do that. Of course, Dana was always good, because her class, whichever one turned out to be the best, she would reward them, you know, with some candy and stuff. 00:54:27.690 --> 00:54:29.699 Were you one of my substitutes before? 00:54:29.699 --> 00:54:30.750 Probably. 00:54:30.750 --> 00:54:32.400 I think I rewarded them. 00:54:32.400 --> 00:54:32.789 Yeah. 00:54:32.789 --> 00:54:33.960 In some way also. 00:54:33.960 --> 00:55:16.920 But I would, I would take each hour and then I put a big star by the one that was the best class. But I remember one time with Dana, I told her, I said, Dana, I they were all good, you know, I couldn't pick out the best one. But my problem was, you know, that I'd sub that day, and then [indecipherabale] say, well, you're going to sub so and so's class tomorrow. Which I thought, well, that's pretty good class, you know. Well, I'd get there and I'd say, well, Mr. Tucker's not going to be here, so we're going to let Ms. so and so happen you and I always wound up getting all the 00:55:16.920 --> 00:55:17.909 Tough classes. 00:55:17.909 --> 00:55:25.559 Well, and you know, what? To be honest, the girls give me more static than the boys did. 00:55:25.559 --> 00:55:26.579 At that age. 00:55:26.579 --> 00:55:41.489 Yeah, so. But I would, you know, I would tell them. I say, hey, you know, when you come to class without pencil or paper, that's like going to work without tools. 00:55:41.489 --> 00:55:42.210 Absolutely. 00:55:42.210 --> 00:56:25.650 I said, and well, can I go in my locker and get them? I said, Let me tell you about the real world. You show up job every day and you don't have your tools, and you say, can I go home and get them? They're gonna say, yeah, and you can stay home. I said this same thing on this giving them two more weeks for a lesser grade. I'd go round round with Mr. Lomenick. I said, just teaches them to procrastinate. And I said, and I'd tell him, I say, let me tell you about the real world. You got a job boss, once you get in a certain time, you think he's going to give you more time for less pay or is he gonna get somebody get the job done on time? And I said, you know, you can, you 00:56:25.650 --> 00:56:26.670 They need to hear that. 00:56:26.670 --> 00:57:36.480 You can pay attention to what I'm telling you, or not. But I said, I and I remember one reading class that I gave them their assignment, and they started getting these pillows and laying down the floor. What y'all doing? Well, Ms. so and so, let's just lay on the floor and read. And I said, I don't think so. Well, I said, but this is my class today. And I said, and this is the deal. If this was a bedroom, they'd have beds in here, but it's a classroom. They got desks, so we'll sit at our desk today. But you know what? It just made me feel so good that first year I had noon lunch deal playground, and those kids that got their annuals and they come, hey, Mr. Parish, would you sign my annual? Well, I'm not, and some of those kids, when I'd walk in to come, are you subbing today, mister? But you know, and I thought they probably hate me because I'd make them do their stuff, you know, and, and I remember this one. 00:57:36.480 --> 00:57:37.949 They can sure warm your heart, though. 00:57:37.949 --> 00:58:21.119 Yeah, yeah, I tell you, I got so tickle and the special ed ones, I tell you. We had a kid up there, Danny, little red headed boy. And he just, I remember, we had the Special Olympics out there and we were running, and he keep getting out of his lane. And I'd say, Danny, I said, Let me, you know, and you know, heck, I'm in my 60s. I said, let me show you how to run, you know? And I think it was like a 40 yard dash. Well, when we got to it, he stayed in his lane and me running beside him. Well, when we got he just kept running and chasing about halfway around the track. Danny, come back, but. 00:58:21.119 --> 00:58:22.710 Turned into a half mile run. 00:58:22.710 --> 00:58:38.940 Yeah, but I enjoyed that, and I said one time, I think maybe sometimes the teachers need body cams like the cops so they can see what their little darlings do in the classrooms. 00:58:38.940 --> 00:58:39.659 Yes. 00:58:39.659 --> 01:00:02.010 And but I enjoyed doing it. And, you know, I remember a third hour was my best, because I could say, everybody gets their work turned in, I'll let you go to lunch early. And I remember they all turned it in, except this one kid, and I can't remember now who he was, but anyway. Said, can we go now, Mr. Parish? I said, no, whatever this kid's name was, I said he hadn't turned his work in, so but you said we could go to I said, when everybody turned their work in. Well, that's not fair. I said, well now, but instead of being mad at me, you're mad at him. And, so, they started in on him then, the whole class. He said, well, I don't have paper. I don't have pencil. So, they got it anyway. He wrote his name on this blank paper and went over and just slammed it in that deal where they turned the work in, turned around and said there, what do you think about that? I said, you know what? It don't make me any difference. I said, you know, you're the ones gonna have to discuss this with your teacher tomorrow. And I said, but you know what? At least you did turn in the paper. I don't care if there's a mark on as long as you turn the paper in with your name on it, that's all I care about. 01:00:02.010 --> 01:00:04.050 They got the job done. 01:00:04.050 --> 01:00:39.719 That's when old McMillan, not McMillan. Yeah, it was Macmillan, wasn't it? The football coach. Anyway, he was assistant principal there. He was the high school football coach. Had, huh, no, not McQuarters (ph). He's the one that went down there to Keys. Had the son that 01:00:39.719 --> 01:00:43.920 [Inaudible] 01:00:43.920 --> 01:00:47.550 Mac something or another. But anyway, 01:00:47.550 --> 01:00:49.409 He was at the middle school? 01:00:49.409 --> 01:00:50.159 Yeah. 01:00:50.159 --> 01:00:51.900 He was the assistant principal? 01:00:51.900 --> 01:01:00.119 He was assistant principal of the middle school, but he was the head high school football coach. 01:01:00.119 --> 01:01:03.210 They wind up in Collinsville? 01:01:03.210 --> 01:01:50.219 Well, we played Keys one year, and he was the head coach down at Keys. Had that boy that was mentally McMullen (ph), yeah, yeah. Anyway, McMullen (ph), yeah, he he brought that we were down at the cafeteria, and he brought that kid over there and made him apologize to me. And he said, now do you know what work you're supposed to turn in? He said, well, you're on noon detention till you get it turned in. I like coach. He didn't put up with him, and I didn't either. I just tell them. I say, well, you know, you either go down there and see Mr. Lomenick or you can straighten up. [Indecipherable] 01:01:50.219 --> 01:01:57.780 We're going to keep that one quiet. 01:01:57.780 --> 01:02:00.329 But I did. I enjoyed it. 01:02:00.329 --> 01:02:04.260 So, you substituted for a while, and then 01:02:04.260 --> 01:02:07.260 I don't know, probably a couple of years or so. 01:02:07.260 --> 01:02:11.280 Odd jobs around town work for the city some? 01:02:11.280 --> 01:02:59.070 Well, I went to work after, well, I was running the courier route, and then they was all going to go computerized, and they was going to cut down from 12 routes to three, and I was one of the last that they had hired. So I figured, well, I don't have a chance in keeping my job. So, that was, I was there with the bank one day, and that's when I've seen an application for the First Wave, when they first went in out there, and I filled out an application and took it out there, and I went to work for them as night security. 01:02:59.070 --> 01:03:00.210 I didn't know that. 01:03:00.210 --> 01:03:19.199 Yeah, but then they started having layoffs, but I stayed longer than I thought I would with the with the lay, I lasted almost two years before I got laid off, and then I went to work for Walmart. 01:03:19.199 --> 01:03:20.460 How long did you last there? 01:03:20.460 --> 01:03:36.690 About three months. But Leon Pinson asked me if I'd be interested in going to work for the city, and so I wound up going to work for them for about, oh, eight or nine years. 01:03:36.690 --> 01:03:37.739 I was gonna say, a while. 01:03:37.739 --> 01:04:09.960 Yeah, and then I got with this VA rep and showed him all my stuff, and he wanted to know, he said, how come you're not drawing 100% disability? And I said, I don't know. I've been stuck on 60% for years. So,he said, have you seen Dr Hoffman, which is their mental doctor deal. And I said, no. And, so, he got me in to see Dr.Hoffman. The first thing Dr. Hoffman said, how come you're not 01:04:09.960 --> 01:04:11.219 100 percent. 01:04:11.219 --> 01:05:16.530 Then he said, oh, well, that's why, because you're you're still working. And, so, he said, if you would quit, I could get you 100%. And so it took him about a year, but I went and I told Steve McGuire, who I was, you know, working for at the time, for a minute, I thought ol' Steve was gonna cry. And, so, he went and got Leonard Washington, who was the mayor at the time, and they came down and they talked to me, and I said, well, you know, they're, they say, I'm qualified, you know, for it and stuff and everything. But I said, I don't know. And so Leonard said, well, I tell you what, if it don't work out, you can come back start in right where you left off, but it still did. I wound up getting my 100%, so and I just been a bum ever since. 01:05:16.530 --> 01:05:31.380 But I can understand, I mean, like I said earlier, you were taught a good work ethic from your parents, and fewer and fewer young people have that ethic, and they knew they could count on you. 01:05:31.380 --> 01:05:31.800 Well 01:05:31.800 --> 01:05:49.230 It's hard to let somebody go when you've proven for eight or nine years that you're dependable and trustworthy. It may take two or three guys to fill your position because you were trustworthy and dependable. 01:05:49.230 --> 01:08:00.269 Well, I was, I was working at Coors, and I'd worked there a couple of years, and my ex wife and I was getting a divorce, and I just kind of wanted to change the atmosphere. Well, at that time, Wayne Campbell, that had the distributorship, he had this deal, if you quit, he had a no rehire policy. They wouldn't hire you back. So, I was gone for about two years, and I was at a place one day, and the guy was the vice president for Coors came in and Bill Stevens , and he sat down beside me, and he looked, when you gonna come back to work for us? I said, Well, I guess I'm not, you know, Wayne's got that no rehire policy. And I said, you know, I don't guess there's any chance of me going. He said, man. He said, we hire these guys. And said, they want a job, but they don't want to work. And he said, not like you older guys. So, he said, I'll tell you what, said Wayne's at the plant. Said, why don't you go talk to him? So, I went talk to Wayne, come back. About time I got there, they told Bill he was wanted on the phone. He come back after being on the phone. He said, well, what did you tell Campbell? I said, I'll just you know about divorce. And I said, what, he said, well, whatever it was, he must have liked it, because he said, tell you to be work at seven o'clock in the morning. I was first guy that they'd ever hired back in 10 years, so and I went back work. Well, I worked two years first and then worked about five and a half years the second time. But then, like I said, that's when I'd moved that back to here, and was driving back forth every day and wasn't getting seen my daughter, except on the weekend. So, that's when I took Clifford up on that job. But, and then, I don't know, I guess, did the best I could with what I had. 01:08:00.269 --> 01:08:02.400 I think that you've done really well. 01:08:02.400 --> 01:08:17.460 Well, I, you know, I remember one time after the movie came out from the book, I said I wasn't in, my part wasn't in the movie, but I am in the book. The movie was taken from and 01:08:17.460 --> 01:08:21.239 And the movie, just for the tape sake? 01:08:21.239 --> 01:08:22.319 We Were Soldiers. 01:08:22.319 --> 01:08:23.609 We Were Soldiers 01:08:23.609 --> 01:09:30.569 With Mel Gibson, but I remember Kell Kelly was on the Turnpike Authority Board, and they had me come to Oklahoma City, and they gave me a little plaque, you know, about my service and all that and everything, and and I, you know, was pretty proud of that. But I tell you, when old David McNamara (ph) said, okay, you can go sit down. Well, about time I started leaving, Kell Kelly stood up and said, wait a minute, I've got something I want to talk about on this man. And he got up there and he started saying, this man took four young daughters and raised them by himself. And I thought, no, I had a lot of help from my mom and Norma Wieberdink. But anyway, and he said, I'm pretty proud, and excuse me, that put more of a lump in my throat than the military did. So but sometimes I wonder if I did good enough with the girls. But they all seem to be, you know. 01:09:30.569 --> 01:09:32.189 I think you did fine. They are good girls. 01:09:32.189 --> 01:10:07.289 Mandy, she's a high school counselor down at Tahlequah and the head cheerleading coach down there, now. Of course, that was her big thing. Tracy, she's in the home health care up there with her mother and my husband in law. And then the twins, Carrie, she's a Creek County Deputy now. And then Carrie or Kim's the deputy, and Carrie, she's a reporter for The Tahlequah or newspaper. 01:10:07.289 --> 01:10:08.460 They've done really well. 01:10:08.460 --> 01:10:09.000 Yeah. 01:10:09.000 --> 01:10:18.090 And, again, I think that you probably taught them a lot about not just life, but just just making it. 01:10:18.090 --> 01:10:48.420 Yeah, well, sometimes, though, you know, when, when their mother left, I, I was sometimes working two and sometimes three jobs to, you know, try to have them at least well, you know, all those other kids got cell phones. So, you know this, that and, and I tell you what, when I had three of them cheerleading, that's expensive! 01:10:48.420 --> 01:10:50.640 That's very expensive. 01:10:50.640 --> 01:11:49.710 And I said, I remember I'd go to the I felt like a knot on a log. I'd go to those cheerleading meetings and stuff, and I'd be the only dude in there, you know. And I remember them talking about summer camp, cheerleading, summer camp. Well, the one at TU was only so much, you know, and that's when I had the twins, yeah, and, and I remember the coach said, well, I really like the OSU one, and which was about twice as much, yeah, and, and at that time, my daughters was in with, like, some of the upper crust as daughters and the money? Yeah, the money was no situation, but I thought, yeah, I'll manage somehow. 01:11:49.710 --> 01:11:51.300 That's right. You figure it out. 01:11:51.300 --> 01:11:52.800 Yeah. 01:11:52.800 --> 01:12:00.989 Well, about to wrap this up. Is there anything else that that you want to 01:12:00.989 --> 01:12:01.680 Well, I 01:12:01.680 --> 01:12:03.869 Have documented? 01:12:03.869 --> 01:12:09.810 I really don't know why you. To me, I ain't really nobody. 01:12:09.810 --> 01:12:34.109 I got the train story, and I got the downtown stories and the bringing cotton in, and the location of some of the old places and and just knowing what life was like during your life. And that's really what the purpose of this is, is to let people know what you've your history, what you've gone through here in Bristow. 01:12:34.109 --> 01:13:06.479 Well, I'll tell you one thing I'd like to see it back like I can remember my mother and her sister, my Aunt Iris, and my cousin Lanny, we would come down here on Saturday mornings, catch the train, ride it to Tulsa, and of course, everything was downtown, then over in Tulsa, and they would shop all day, and then we'd get on the train and come back to Bristow that evening. And I'd kind of like to see some of the old train travel stuff. 01:13:06.479 --> 01:13:08.130 That'd be kind of cool. 01:13:08.130 --> 01:13:16.590 Yeah, I thought at one time they had talked about maybe running one from Tulsa to Oklahoma City. 01:13:16.590 --> 01:13:26.699 Well, I know you can get Oklahoma City to Texas, but you can't get from up here at Oklahoma City, all right. Well, I'm going to sign off on this. 01:13:26.699 --> 01:13:27.569 Alrighty. 01:13:27.569 --> 01:13:29.159 Appreciate your time. 01:13:29.159 --> 01:13:30.329 Well, you're welcome. 01:13:30.329 --> 01:13:31.329 Thank you. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0070_Will_Parish.xml OHP-0070_Will_Parish.xml
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Will Parish
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Willard Franklin Parish, born June 30, 1941, in Bristow, Oklahoma, shared his life story with Debbie Blansett for the Bristow Historical Society's oral history project. Willard's parents, Claude and Elnora Parish, married in 1939 and celebrated their 75th anniversary before passing away in 2014. Willard recounted his family's history, including his father's work in seismograph crews and his mother's job at Woolworth. He detailed his military service in Vietnam, his various jobs, and his role as a single father to four daughters. Willard also reflected on the changes in Bristow over the years, including the decline of local businesses and the impact of the oil boom.
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OHP-0070
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2021-05-05
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audio
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Oral History
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Wanda Newton
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Arthur Foster
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https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0083_Arthur_Foster.xml
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6.0 September 5, 1991 OHP-0083 Arthur Foster OHP-0083 00:19:42 Bristow Historical Society - Oral History Archive Bristow Historical Society, Inc. bristowhistory Arthur Foster Wanda Newton 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/interviews/OHP-0083 Foster, Arthur.mp3 Other audio 0 Start of Slick Wanda Newton 00:00
 ; Okay, this is Thursday, August the 5th?
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 00:05
 ; No, September the 5th.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 00:07
 ; Oh, no, yeah, September 5th, 1991. I have Arthur Foster here in my kitchen, and I was asking him a question about the school house in Slick, and he's going to tell us about it. Okay, Arthur.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 00:21
 ; Alright, the town of Slick was established approximately 1920 upon the oil boom there. It was named after Tom Slick, who drilled the initial wells, I believe, that came in so prolifically, And immediately after that, they started expanding the oil field, and also the town of Slick began to grow, and
 ; The town of Slick, Oklahoma was established in 1920 due to an oil boom. It was named after Tom Slick. By the mid-1920s, the population reached 12,000 to 13,000. They built buildings in the central part of town out of rock. Most people lived in tents or shotgun houses. Slick (Okla.) ; Tom Slick ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Nuyaka (Okla.) ; Okmulgee (Okla.) Slick (Okla.) 0 197 School Bond Arthur Foster 03:17
 ; Well, let me tell you this little earlier about your school bond.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 03:22
 ; Oh yeah, I want to know about that.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 03:23
 ; They, they voted to build a brick high school in the northwest part of town. It was a nice school. 
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 03:31
 ; Is that the same location that is 
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 03:33
 ; Same location it is now. And, also, the town of Slick voted a 100 and some thousand dollars worth of bonds to build a water system with an overhead tank that holds about approximately 40 to 50,000 gallons water, and then put the pipes in the town. But in the early 1930s or late 1920s and early 1930 it seemed that they had practically drilled up that whole field, at least the people felt that way, and there were oil strikes, Kilgore, Texas, and then Seminole, Oklahoma, as well as the Oklahoma City field, began to [indecipherable]. And those people who had depended upon the drilling activities around Slick immediately deserted Slick and moved to these other oil producing
 ; They voted to build a brick high school in the northwest part of town, The town also voted over $100,000 worth of bonds to build a water system with an overhead tank. By the early 1930s, the oil field was depleted. The population decreased. Slick's railroad and schools were maintained, but the town faced financial struggles. They defaulted on $100,000 in bonds. Slick (Okla.) ; Kilgore (Tex.) ; Seminole (Okla.) ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) School 0 213 Railroad Wanda Newton 03:33
 ; At that time, the railroad, the train was running to Slick at that time.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 04:19
 ; Yes, the train was running at Slick at that time, and the depot is still there, but railroad tracks have been picked up and gone.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 05:20
 ; But you can still see if you fly over where they
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 05:23
 ; You can follow it all the way from Bristow, Slick to Nuyaka.
 ; The train was running at Slick during this time. The depot is still there, but the the railroad tracks are gone. Bristow (Okla.) ; Slick (Okla.) ; Nuyaka (Okla.) Railroad 0 398 Bonds Wanda Newton 06:38
 ; Well, now Charlie said yesterday when I was talking with him, that by the time he was the superintendent, now they finally, he, he paid them off, but they had to reduce it some way, they had to,
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 06:51
 ; Well, they
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 06:53
 ; They had to reduce something, I don't know.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 06:56
 ; Well, they had to reduce the levy, because they, those levees were so high on each block there that people just couldn't afford to pay the taxes.
 ; They had to reduce the levy, because it was so high that people couldn't afford to pay the taxes. The town of Slick defaulted on the bonds used for the water system. Slick (Okla.) Bonds 0 486 People in Bristow Wanda Newton 08:06
 ; Well, I'm glad to glad to know that. I had asked him if there were, you know, Indians down in that area that he could remember, and he said not any in particular, you know, unlike Ms. Johnson and some of them, and then he bought a ladies, an Indian ladies' home, but he said, as far as the Indians, I had read an earlier paper that there were some Indians in the Purdy Diary, I think it says that there were some Indians who came and threatened the people in Bristow to leave, and
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 08:41
 ; No, they didn't come into town. They were stopped. Closest they came was, from what dad told me, was several miles south of town, and I think there was two Indians, but they did send out scouts around Bristow, because they thought there was going to be a war party. That's the story I received from my father.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 09:05
 ; Well, that's probably pretty accurate.
 ; Arthur and Wanda discuss people in Bristow. Arthur talks about Wilson Clinton having an allotment close to Slick. Then he became wealthy and moved to Bristow. He built a home by the garment factory. Bristow (Okla.) ; Slick (Okla.) ; Buick automobile ; Ida Riley ; Jerry Riley ; Jake Clinton ; Wilson Clinton ; Kate Corey ; Ralph Corey ; Gus Corey ; Edmond (Okla.) ; Oklahoma City (Okla.) Townspeople 0 752 Glass Factory and Cotton Gins Wanda Newton 12:32
 ; Well, I'm thinking about it, and you're here. I, I've been going through these early newspapers, and it keeps talking about a brick factory, a brick factory here. Do you ever remember a brick factory here? And the glass, a glass factory?
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 12:46
 ; Oh, the glass factory was up there on north, north of 10th Street on the railroad.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 12:52
 ; Okay. Now, is that
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 12:54
 ; It was run by people, the name of Zenor, Z E N O R, C.P. Zenor.
 ; The glass factory was located north of 10th Street on the railroad. It was run by C.P. Zenor. Bristow also had five cotton gins. C.P. Zenor ; Charles Clell Long ; Joe Abraham ; Albert Kelly ; Mills and Frierson ; Ethan Mills ; Roy Krumme ; Newby (Okla.) Glass factories ; Cotton gins and ginning 0 890 Depot Wanda Newton 14:50
 ; Okay, let me ask you something else. We have heard that the old depot used to be in the center of Sixth Street, is that right, or in the area? 
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 14:58
 ; I always remember it was a wooden building sitting just about where it is now, or it may have been closer to sixth, but when they built the brick building in the 1920s,well, they tore down
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 15:13
 ; The wood one.
 ; Arthur says that the depot in Bristow used to be a wooden building. In the 1920s, they built the brick depot building and tore down the wooden building. Bristow (Okla.) ; Ray Hickman Depot 0 947 Station Master 15:47
 ; Yeah, and then there's some controversy about who the first station master was. You know, Mrs. Corey says,
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 15:54
 ; But now, according to the newspaper, Mrs. Corey, the articles I found, he's the first one that I found mentioned in there.
 ; 
 ; 16:04
 ; I've forgotten now who'd Ray say was the first one in
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 16:07
 ; I don't know. I read so much of this stuff, and I can't remember anything.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 16:14
 ; Well, but Mr. Corey was the first one that I remember, and then there may have been someone in between, but Cy Slocum [E.R. "Cy" Slocum], they were here when I started school in 1919.
 ; Apparently there was some controversy over who the first station master was in Bristow. Arthur says that Mr. Corey was the first one that he remembers. He says E.R."Cy" Slocum was the station master when he started school in 1919. Corey ; E.R. "Cy" Slocum Station Master 0 992 Arthur Foster's Background Wanda Newton 16:32
 ; Well, now Arthur, when did you first come?
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 16:36
 ; I was born here.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 16:37
 ; You were born here in Indian Territory days.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 16:39
 ; No! State of Oklahoma. Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907.
 ; 
 ; Wanda Newton 16:49
 ; Yes, I know that.
 ; 
 ; Arthur Foster 16:50
 ; I was born in Bristow, December 15, 1912. I'll show you!
 ; Arthur Foster was born in Bristow on December 15, 1912. His grandparents came to Bristow from Arkansas, but originally came from Kentucky. They were Scotch Irish. Arthur's grandparents were in Arkansas from 1880 to 1899. They intended to move to Texas. They loaded up their livestock, children, and one grandson and headed west. When they got to Bristow the creeks were out, so they decided stay until they went down. But by that time, Arthur's grandfather was not in good health. So, they settled here in 1899. There were about 200 people in Bristow then. Arthur Foster ; Bristow (Okla.) ; Arkansas ; Kentucky ; Texas ; Deep Fork (Okla.) Arthur Foster 0 MP3 Arthur Foster recounts the history of Slick, Oklahoma, established in 1920 due to an oil boom named after Tom Slick. By the mid-1920s, Slick's population reached 12,000-13,000. The town built a brick high school and a water system with a 40,000-50,000 gallon tank. However, by the early 1930s, the oil field was depleted, leading to a population decline. Slick's infrastructure, including a railroad and schools, was maintained, but the town faced financial struggles, defaulting on $100,000 in bonds. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION BEGIN 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:05.910 Okay, this is Thursday, August the 5th? 00:00:05.910 --> 00:00:07.200 No, September the 5th. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:21.000 Oh, no, yeah, September 5th, 1991. I have Arthur Foster here in my kitchen, and I was asking him a question about the school house in Slick, and he's going to tell us about it. Okay, Arthur. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:01:03.884 Alright, the town of Slick was established approximately 1920 upon the oil boom there. It was named after Tom Slick, who drilled the initial wells, I believe, that came in so prolifically, And immediately after that, they started expanding the oil field, and also the town of Slick began to grow, and 00:01:03.884 --> 00:01:06.584 Oh, great. Will you tell her I'll pick it up this morning? 00:01:06.584 --> 00:01:07.724 Eventually, around 00:01:07.724 --> 00:01:08.359 Thanks a lot. 00:01:08.359 --> 00:03:12.550 The middle of 1920s they had reached a population of approximately 12 or 13,000 people, that are five years before they had been no town, because two miles north there was a little establishment called Tabor (ph) with a post office and a country store. But the town of Slick grew. They built buildings in the central part of town out of rock, and then people began to move in. Most of them lived in tents, and what we call shotgun houses, at that time, was single walls of one by 12 with one small boards covering the cracks, but those people were oil people, and they were drillers, interested in the production. So, the town decided that they were permanent because they were building a railroad from Bristow to Slick to Nuyaka, and ultimately, they were supposed to go to Okmulgee and with that railroad. They got down to Nuyaka, and that's where it ended. But the railroad was there, and they had begun to haul in supplies, where initially, they'd had to haul all the supplies by road, which is on Highway 16 at the present time, but we called it the Slick Road at that time. There was a continuous stream of wagons pulled by two or four teams of horses, and they were hauling boilers, lumber, all the supplies they needed to build those well, drill the, build the rigs. 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:17.379 Well, now, how long did Slick last? Do you think? 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:22.300 Well, let me tell you this little earlier about your school bond. 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:23.650 Oh yeah, I want to know about that. 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:31.330 They, they voted to build a brick high school in the northwest part of town. It was a nice school. 00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:33.348 Is that the same location that is 00:03:33.348 --> 00:04:19.290 Same location it is now. And, also, the town of Slick voted a 100 and some thousand dollars worth of bonds to build a water system with an overhead tank that holds about approximately 40 to 50,000 gallons water, and then put the pipes in the town. But in the early 1930s or late 1920s and early 1930 it seemed that they had practically drilled up that whole field, at least the people felt that way, and there were oil strikes, Kilgore, Texas, and then Seminole, Oklahoma, as well as the Oklahoma City field, began to [indecipherable]. And those people who had depended upon the drilling activities around Slick immediately deserted Slick and moved to these other oil producing 00:04:19.290 --> 00:05:20.970 Yes, the train was running at that time, and the depot is still there, but railroad tracks have been picked up and gone. 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:23.850 But you can still see if you fly over where they 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:30.149 You can follow it all the way from Bristow, Slick to Nuyaka. 00:05:30.149 --> 00:05:40.509 I meant to tell you, a couple of Sundays ago we went to Nuyaka to find the Indian Mission, and that little store at Nuyaka has a big sign on the front of it that says Nuyaka Mall. 00:05:40.509 --> 00:06:38.000 Right, that's what they intended to have. That was a development of the [indecipherable]. But with the people gone, and then they had two or three devastating fires in the business district of Slick, and so it ended up there were only two or three stores. The bank had gone broke. The post office was moved over into the old bank building, and then they still tried to maintain their education because they had a fairly good school district. But with the loss of the people, why they had no tax base to pay for the bonds, and I'm not for sure whether they ever repaid all of those bonds or not. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:51.949 Well, now Charlie said yesterday when I was talking with him, that by the time he was the superintendent, now they finally, he, he paid them off, but they had to reduce it some way, they had to, 00:06:51.949 --> 00:06:53.480 Well, they 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.899 They had to reduce something, I don't know. 00:06:56.899 --> 00:07:09.420 Well, they had to reduce the levy, because they, those levees were so high on each block there that people just couldn't afford to pay the taxes. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:13.779 Well, I know he said he bought some town lots for a nickel, a nickel a lot. 00:07:13.779 --> 00:07:56.035 They did, they were small lots, about 150 feet long by about 25 feet, and they became absolutely worthless, and then finally they compromised then on their school bond issue. And, also, the city of Slick had issued a hundered and some thousand dollars in bonds to build their water system, and they defaulted on those bonds, and over a period of years, I don't think they've all been paid yet. People had judgments on them, and they foreclosed on their judgments, but they couldn't collect anything for those lots, just as Charlie said, paid a nickel a lot. 00:07:56.035 --> 00:07:57.535 Yeah. 00:07:57.535 --> 00:08:02.694 That wouldn't go very far towards paying for a bond issue. 00:08:02.694 --> 00:08:03.084 Okay. 00:08:03.084 --> 00:08:06.714 That's what happened to Slick. 00:08:06.714 --> 00:08:41.470 Well, I'm glad to glad to know that. I had asked him if there were, you know, Indians down in that area that he could remember, and he said not any in particular, you know, unlike Ms. Johnson and some of them, and then he bought a ladies, an Indian ladies' home, but he said, as far as the Indians, I had read an earlier paper that there were some Indians in the Purdy Diary, I think it says that there were some Indians who came and threatened the people in Bristow to leave, and 00:08:41.470 --> 00:09:05.740 No, they didn't come into town. They were stopped. Closest they came was, from what dad told me, was several miles south of town, and I think there was two Indians, but they did send out scouts around Bristow, because they thought there was going to be a war party. That's the story I received from my father. 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:07.000 Well, that's probably pretty accurate. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:45.835 Well, now Wilson Clinton's (ph) allotment is about two miles northeast of Slick, in which he became very wealthy, and he moved to Bristow. And Wilson would buy a new Buick about every month, because he wrecked the other one. He had a habit of drinking a little heavy. But his sons and one daughter are still alive, although they don't live around here, why they still have an interest in that allotment of his. 00:09:45.835 --> 00:09:50.394 Now he's the one who built that two-story house out there by the garment factory. 00:09:50.394 --> 00:09:50.695 That's right. 00:09:50.695 --> 00:09:59.950 And I always heard that the somebody rookie do'd him into building the big swimming pool here. Was he really rookie do'd into it, or did he do it? 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:02.710 I never knew. I don't know. 00:10:02.710 --> 00:10:03.070 Yeah. 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:04.539 I don't think so, though. 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:06.639 You think he just really 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:10.779 Yeah, could have been. He, he had 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:11.120 I'm sorry. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.570 Gardeners, and I think Bob Williams was one of his gardeners. 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:16.909 Well now was Jake.. huh? Was Jake? 00:10:16.909 --> 00:10:17.750 [Inaudible] 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:29.090 Yeah. Well, I'm in.. oh, he just.. now he's telling me some stuff, and I want to know was Jake, and I'm recording it. Is Jake Clinton, were Jake and Wilson Clinton brothers? 00:10:29.090 --> 00:10:33.649 No. 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:46.200 Jake Clinton was Sally Clinton's son. I believe it was Sally. He was a brother to Ida Cliff, who became Ida Riley. 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:47.370 Oh yeah, Ida Riley. 00:10:47.370 --> 00:10:50.039 Uh huh. Jerry Riley. 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:52.649 Yeah, I need to go talk to her, don't I? 00:10:52.649 --> 00:10:54.179 Oh, yes. If you can. 00:10:54.179 --> 00:10:55.019 Yeah. 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:56.059 She could tell you a lot. 00:10:56.059 --> 00:11:19.929 I had forgotten about that. I remember one time Punk Corey (ph) showed me a sketch he had made of Jake Clinton when he was down at the pool hall . He used to stay at the pool hall. That was the best thing. I don't know what Mrs. Corey did with that sketch, but it was, it really looked like 00:11:19.929 --> 00:11:22.000 It was. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.440 Punk was a good artist. He doodled a lot. He was a good artist. I've seen a lot of his work. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.139 Arthur, who was Punk Corey? 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:28.090 That's Kate Corey's husband. 00:11:28.090 --> 00:11:28.299 Husband. 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:30.399 Ralph Corey. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:32.620 Now, the son was Ralph Junior? 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:34.299 Yes, and he was in my class. 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:37.000 Yeah, and the father of Punk Corey, his name was? 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.850 Hiram. Hiram W. Corey. 00:11:39.850 --> 00:11:41.620 Okay, who was Gus? 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:46.149 Gus Corey was Punk's brother. 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:51.940 Is he the one that lived on that house right next to our church that we bought that the scouts used to use? 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:53.409 The father was, yeah. 00:11:53.409 --> 00:11:54.669 Oh, that was the father. 00:11:54.669 --> 00:11:57.009 That was their original homestead there. 00:11:57.009 --> 00:11:59.500 Oh. 00:11:59.500 --> 00:12:02.274 He was with the railroad when he first came here. 00:12:02.274 --> 00:12:04.434 Who? Gus? 00:12:04.434 --> 00:12:06.625 Hiram. 00:12:06.625 --> 00:12:07.195 Hiram, H.W. 00:12:07.195 --> 00:12:21.174 H.W. Katherine Ann (ph) had given us these World War I army uniforms, and some of them had Gus Corey written in it. Some havd Ralph Corey, and I was confused about 00:12:21.174 --> 00:12:21.835 They're brothers. 00:12:21.835 --> 00:12:22.075 You know 00:12:22.075 --> 00:12:22.495 They're brothers. 00:12:22.495 --> 00:12:24.610 Okay. So, Ralph 00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:29.080 And there was one other brother, and I can't think it was named that now. 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:29.830 While I'm thinking 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.590 Lived down at Edmond or Oklahoma City. 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:46.570 Well, I'm thinking about it, and you're here. I, I've been going through these early newspapers, and it keeps talking about a brick factory, a brick factory here. Do you ever remember a brick factory here? And the glass, a glass factory? 00:12:46.570 --> 00:12:52.404 Oh, the glass factory was up there on north, north of 10th Street on the railroad. 00:12:52.404 --> 00:12:54.294 Okay. Now, is that 00:12:54.294 --> 00:12:59.274 It was run by people, the name of Zenor, Z E N O R, C.P. Zenor. 00:12:59.274 --> 00:13:02.065 Yeah, that's right, that's what it said in the newspaper. 00:13:02.065 --> 00:13:04.798 Well, I don't care what the newspaper said. That's what it was. 00:13:04.798 --> 00:13:17.590 And then Clell Long [Charles Clell Long] had a bottling works later on, then, but he didn't manufacture glass, though, did he? He just bottled it. And, also, I read 00:13:17.590 --> 00:13:19.000 His plant over on East Fifth Street. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:27.330 Yeah, also read in the paper where Bristow had five cotton gins, and one of them was named Magnolia. Do you remember that? 00:13:27.330 --> 00:13:47.580 No, but they had five cotton gins. Ed Abraham, no, Joe Abraham owned one. Albert Kelly owned one. Mills and Frierson, uh that was Ethan Mills and 00:13:47.580 --> 00:13:48.779 M Frierson. 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:50.460 No. 00:13:50.460 --> 00:13:54.570 Mrs. Frierson was married to Am's brother. 00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:55.500 Oh. 00:13:55.500 --> 00:14:09.779 And he died. And,so, she stayed in and run the business, but she run the gin, and they also, in addition to having a gin, they had a press where they made cake. 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:10.710 Oh, cotton seed cake. 00:14:10.710 --> 00:14:33.809 Cotton seed cake, and that's down on east Eighth Street as burned down now. And then it was one over on the east side, and I don't remember who operated that till Roy Krumme bought that, and then he moved from, he closed his gin down at 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:37.570 Tuskegee. 00:14:37.570 --> 00:14:38.080 Newby. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:39.190 Oh, 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:50.019 And when he moved it, opened it up here on east Ninth Street, and then later on he turned it into, when he went into the oil business, why he changed that into a pipe yard. 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:58.600 Okay, let me ask you something else. We have heard that the old depot used to be in the center of Sixth Street, is that right, or in the area? 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:13.990 I always remember it was a wooden building sitting just about where it is now, or it may have been closer to sixth, but when they built the brick building in the 1920s,well, they tore down 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:18.009 The wood one. 00:15:18.009 --> 00:15:20.830 I don't remember it being the middle of sixth street, 00:15:20.830 --> 00:15:21.804 Somebody has said that. 00:15:21.804 --> 00:15:22.945 At one time 00:15:22.945 --> 00:15:27.820 Who said that? 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.940 [Indecipherable] Church just started on this. 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:34.240 Oh yeah, let's see, Roy Hickman. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:34.659 No. 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:35.230 Ray Hickman. 00:15:35.230 --> 00:15:35.620 Ray 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.000 Hickman. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:46.940 In his research, he said the middle of sixth. I don't know what that meant. It could be very well be where Arthu says, just closer to sixth than where it is now. 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:47.000 Yeah. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:54.769 Yeah, and then there's some controversy about who the first station master was. You know, Mrs. Corey says, 00:15:54.769 --> 00:16:04.534 But now, according to the newspaper, Mrs. Corey, the articles I found, he's the first one that I found mentioned in there. 00:16:04.534 --> 00:16:07.504 I've forgotten now who'd Ray say was the first one in 00:16:07.504 --> 00:16:14.788 I don't know. I read so much of this stuff, and I can't remember anything. 00:16:14.788 --> 00:16:32.509 Well, but Mr. Corey was the first one that I remember, and then there may have been someone in between, but Cy Slocum [E.R. "Cy" Slocum], they were here when I started school in 1919. 00:16:32.509 --> 00:16:36.019 Well, now Arthur, when did you first come? 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:37.024 I was born here. 00:16:37.024 --> 00:16:39.575 You were born here in Indian Territory days. 00:16:39.575 --> 00:16:49.024 No! State of Oklahoma. Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907. 00:16:49.024 --> 00:16:50.690 Yes, I know that. 00:16:50.690 --> 00:17:01.120 I was born in Bristow, December 15, 1912. I'll show you! 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:10.690 When I get in this history, I just get lost. I, you know, I can't tell how old people are, or how old the cars are. If they're shiny, they're new to me. 00:17:10.690 --> 00:17:11.019 Well, I suppose so. 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:17.230 If you got gray hair, you're old, Arthur. 00:17:17.230 --> 00:17:21.609 I know it better than anybody. 00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:34.000 Oh, I can remember when I, Mrs. M. Jones, lived across the street, and to me she has always been an old lady, because when I was a child, you know, if you're 25, you're old. They're all my stages, she 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.400 I'm going to have to run. I will sit down with you some other time. 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:41.920 All right, will you? Okay. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.240 Tell you later. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:49.509 I may never get you later. I don't let a moment pass. Go ahead, Arthur. Your grandparents came from Arkansas. 00:17:49.509 --> 00:18:07.450 Yes, they had, they had originally come from Kentucky [indecipherable]. They moved to Arkansas near southwest [indecipherable]. 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:08.650 Now, were they Indian? 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:09.190 No. 00:18:09.190 --> 00:18:10.599 No? Okay. 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:12.250 They were Scotch Irish. 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.000 Scotch Irish. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:17.680 And they moved to Arkansas about 1880, and they stayed there until 1899 and the story is that my father told that they had intended to move to Texas, so they got the wagons and livestock, kids, one grandson and they came west. They got to Bristow. There were approximately 200 people here at that time, and the Little Deep Fork was out of its banks. Big Deep Fork was out of its banks. They decided to stay here until the creeks went down, but by that time, why, my grandfather was not in good health, so they decided to stay, and they settled here 1899. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.560 You know that flood you're talking about in Deep Fork, my grandmother and grandfather had built a log cabin on Deep Fork south of Davenport, and had cleared off the land, and a flood came and washed off all their crop and got up into their cabin and everything, and that's when they moved to Depew then. 00:18:19.560 --> 00:18:21.560 Well, some other time. NOTE TRANSCRIPTION END ]]> audio 0 https://bristow2oralhistory.org/ohms/render.php?cachefile=OHP-0083_Arthur_Foster.xml OHP-0083_Arthur_Foster.xml
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Title
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Arthur Foster
Description
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Arthur Foster recounts the history of Slick, Oklahoma, established in 1920 due to an oil boom named after Tom Slick. By the mid-1920s, Slick's population reached 12,000-13,000. The town built a brick high school and a water system with a 40,000-50,000 gallon tank. However, by the early 1930s, the oil field was depleted, leading to a population decline. Slick's infrastructure, including a railroad and schools, was maintained, but the town faced financial struggles, defaulting on $100,000 in bonds.
Identifier
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OHP-0083
Date
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1991-09-05
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audio