00:00:00Georgia Smith: 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.
00:00:27Odell Alexander: Odell Alexander - no middle name.
00:00:31Georgia Smith: Okay, and that was your name at birth, right?
00:00:34Odell Alexander: Yes.
00:00:35Georgia Smith: Okay. Where were you born?
00:00:37Odell Alexander: I was born in Creek County.
00:00:39Georgia Smith: Here in Bristow?
00:00:39Odell Alexander: Mm-hmm.
00:00:40Georgia Smith: In a home or hospital?
00:00:42Odell Alexander: Hospital.
00:00:43Georgia Smith: A lot of our older interviewees, they don't say hosptial.
00:00:48Odell Alexander: My brother was born with a midwife.
00:00:51Georgia Smith: Really? And your date of birth?
00:00:55Odell Alexander: August 4, 1953.
00:00:57Georgia Smith: And what was your mother's name with her maiden name included?
00:01:02Odell Alexander: Myrtle Alexander and Myrtle Hines [Myrtle Viola Hines Alexander 5/2051916-2/2/1988].
00:01:07Georgia Smith: So it would be Myrtle Hines Alexander.
00:01:08Odell Alexander: Yes.
00:01:10Georgia Smith: Okay. And do you know when they were married?
00:01:14Odell Alexander: I have that, but I don't. I didn't bring it.
00:01:16Georgia Smith: That's okay. Do you have an approximate date?
00:01:20Odell Alexander: Yes, I have an approximate date, but I can't remember. It's so much I can't remember all of that.
00:01:25Georgia Smith: Yeah, that's okay. Do you know where they were married?
00:01:30Odell Alexander: 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
00:01:45Georgia Smith: In the area?
00:01:46Odell Alexander: In the area round here. It was in Oklahoma. I'll put it that way. It's in Oklahoma.
00:01:51Georgia Smith: Okay, very good.
00:01:52Odell Alexander: 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].
00:02:04Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:02:05Odell Alexander: That's where my dad come from.
00:02:08Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:02:08Odell Alexander: With his grandpa, Mr. Tal [Tal Alexander 1878-1968] my grandpa come from Texas to Bristow.
00:02:14Georgia Smith: And what did he do in Texas?
00:02:17Odell Alexander: 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.
00:02:41Georgia Smith: Evidently, not Odell.
00:02:43Odell Alexander: It wasn't very nice.
00:02:44Georgia Smith: That would be a very scary thing.
00:02:46Georgia Smith: To Oklahoma.
00:02:46Odell Alexander: Yes, and that's the reason my dad's dad came
00:02:50Odell Alexander: Oklahoma.
00:02:52Georgia Smith: And were things better for him once he got here?
00:02:55Odell Alexander: Well, when he got in Oklahoma, he felt a little bit better.
00:02:59Georgia Smith: Good.
00:02:59Odell Alexander: 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.
00:03:15Georgia Smith: Okay, how many kids did your parents have?
00:03:17Odell Alexander: Kids of nine kids.
00:03:19Georgia Smith: Nine children.
00:03:21Georgia Smith: My goodness.
00:03:22Odell Alexander: I think in my dad's family, it was eight, and my mom's family was seven.
00:03:26Georgia Smith: Those are big families.
00:03:26Odell Alexander: We come from a big family.
00:03:28Georgia Smith: Yes, definitely. Can you tell me your siblings names and if they're alive or deceased?
00:03:34Odell Alexander: 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.
00:04:08Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:04:09Odell Alexander: They are all still living.
00:04:10Georgia Smith: Are you the baby, Odell?
00:04:11Odell Alexander: No, ma'am, Clydell is the baby.
00:04:13Georgia Smith: Clydell's the baby, okay. And what did your mother and father do here in Bristow?
00:04:21Odell Alexander: 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.
00:04:45Georgia Smith: Okay, yeah.
00:04:46Odell Alexander: 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.
00:04:58Georgia Smith: Okay, okay. That's where I was born, Odell.
00:05:01Odell Alexander: Is that right?
00:05:02Georgia Smith: That is right. And your mother just stayed home and took care of you kids?
00:05:07Odell Alexander: My mother stayed home.
00:05:08Georgia Smith: That would be a full time job with nine kids.
00:05:09Odell Alexander: Well, my mother stayed home and took care of the kids. And which we had a hard time.
00:05:14Georgia Smith: I'm sure.
00:05:15Odell Alexander: We had a very hard time. That's one good thing. Praise the Lord. I don't forget where I come from.
00:05:20Georgia Smith: That's good.
00:05:21Odell Alexander: 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.
00:05:48Georgia Smith: I've always heard good things about your mother.
00:05:51Odell Alexander: 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.
00:06:26Georgia Smith: Those are all good people.
00:06:28Odell Alexander: 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.
00:07:31Georgia Smith: Yes, yes, you did.
00:07:33Odell Alexander: We had good people. It wasn't about favoritism.
00:07:37Georgia Smith: Well, and you know, Mose LeForce coached before those people here.
00:07:41Odell Alexander: Yeah, I didn't get to know him.
00:07:42Georgia Smith: That was way a long time ago.
00:07:45Odell Alexander: 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.
00:07:58Georgia Smith: Well, they say it takes a village to raise a child, right?
00:08:02Odell Alexander: 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.
00:08:27Georgia Smith: Oh my.
00:08:28Odell Alexander: And during that time, during the 60s, you know, we've going through some difficult times.
00:08:32Georgia Smith: Yes, we did.
00:08:33Odell Alexander: 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.
00:08:44Georgia Smith: Good, good.
00:08:45Odell Alexander: And this person stepped to the plate, and he took care of me and got me through that, because I liked to died.
00:08:55Georgia Smith: Well, thank goodness for good people.
00:08:57Odell Alexander: That's right. Thank God for good people that take care of it and and what was that doctor's name? Dr. Kent (ph).
00:09:05Georgia Smith: Kent or King?
00:09:07Odell Alexander: Kent.
00:09:08Georgia Smith: Kent, okay.
00:09:09Odell Alexander: 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.
00:09:21Georgia Smith: Praise God for Dr. Kent and Harry McMillan.
00:09:24Odell Alexander: 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
00:09:33Georgia Smith: 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?
00:09:51Odell Alexander: 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.
00:10:15Georgia Smith: Well, you can see that in your life.
00:10:18Odell Alexander: Uh huh, yes. And I can understand that, too.
00:10:21Georgia Smith: 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?
00:10:36Odell Alexander: 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.
00:10:47Georgia Smith: My parents first home had a wood floor.
00:10:49Odell Alexander: Yeah.
00:10:49Georgia Smith: I mean, had a dirt floor, yes.
00:10:53Odell Alexander: So that's reason I said, I love saying this over and over, I don't forget where I come from.
00:10:59Georgia Smith: No.
00:11:00Odell Alexander: And people, when you raised up like that you shouldn't forget.
00:11:03Georgia Smith: No, definitely not.
00:11:05Odell Alexander: But some people does.
00:11:08Georgia Smith: Did the nine kids have to share beds?
00:11:10Odell Alexander: 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
00:11:37Georgia Smith: 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?
00:11:51Odell Alexander: 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.
00:11:53Georgia Smith: Yep, yeah.
00:11:57Odell Alexander: 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.
00:12:33Georgia Smith: Was she one of the older ones?
00:12:35Odell Alexander: 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.
00:12:57Georgia Smith: What was some of your normal daily meals?
00:13:00Odell Alexander: 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.
00:13:33Georgia Smith: So, you lived off the land in a large way.
00:13:36Odell Alexander: Yeah, I live off of my my dad's mom property because, and matter of fact, I'm still living on it today.
00:13:44Georgia Smith: Very nice.
00:13:44Odell Alexander: It's a little different, but it's still the same home place.
00:13:48Georgia Smith: And where is that located?
00:13:49Odell Alexander: It's located northwest on highway 16 of Bristow. And I live six miles away from Bristow.
00:13:57Georgia Smith: Very nice, very nice. It's wonderful that the land is still in the family.
00:14:02Odell Alexander: 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.
00:14:13Georgia Smith: I'm sure you did. Are there any favorite foods that you have the recipe for that you still make?
00:14:21Odell Alexander: 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.
00:14:36Georgia Smith: Oh, wow.
00:14:37Odell Alexander: 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.
00:14:46Georgia Smith: Oh, my goodness!
00:14:47Odell Alexander: 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
00:14:58Georgia Smith: At 104.
00:14:59Odell Alexander: 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.
00:15:16Georgia Smith: Well, sure, and they deserve to have it, too.
00:15:19Odell Alexander: They mixed it up and we beefed it up and made it what it is today.
00:15:24Georgia Smith: That's wonderful.
00:15:25Odell Alexander: But a lot of people want me to give it, and I still make homemade rolls.
00:15:29Georgia Smith: 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?
00:15:40Odell Alexander: 109.
00:15:41Georgia Smith: Okay, tell me about her, her, where's her maiden name, and maybe what brought her to Bristow and all of that.
00:15:50Odell Alexander: 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.
00:16:07Georgia Smith: Big families.
00:16:08Georgia Smith: What was her full name?
00:16:09Odell Alexander: 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.
00:16:28Georgia Smith: Okay, so this is your grandmother on your mother's side?
00:16:32Odell Alexander: Right.
00:16:33Georgia Smith: Okay. And what role did she play in your life growing up?
00:16:40Odell Alexander: My grandmother?
00:16:40Georgia Smith: Uh-huh.
00:16:41Odell Alexander: 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.
00:16:59Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:17:00Odell Alexander: 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.
00:17:18Georgia Smith: Very nice, very nice.
00:17:20Odell Alexander: She was your wonderful person.
00:17:21Georgia Smith: Was your grandfather, her husband, was he dead?
00:17:25Odell Alexander: Yes, he died in 19, I was born, he died a year before I was born.
00:17:30Georgia Smith: Oh, so you never got to meet him.
00:17:32Odell Alexander: 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.
00:17:42Georgia Smith: Do you know anything about your Alexander grandparents?
00:17:47Odell Alexander: 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.
00:18:18Georgia Smith: Oh, okay, I've heard that story from several people.
00:18:23Odell Alexander: Yeah, he was good at that, and he would make it, and he was a good person. He died in 1968.
00:18:33Georgia Smith: 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
00:19:02Odell Alexander: 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.
00:19:13Georgia Smith: We did graduate together.
00:19:14Odell Alexander: But anyway,
00:19:15Georgia Smith: Great Class of '72.
00:19:17Odell Alexander: And that's what I feel good about. You want me start from the [indecipherable]
00:19:25Georgia Smith: Whatever you feel comfortable with.
00:19:27Odell Alexander: 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.
00:19:41Georgia Smith: 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?
00:20:04Odell Alexander: 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.
00:20:18Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:20:19Odell Alexander: Harlinsville Baptist Church, and that's where we went to church there and up to 1972.
00:20:24Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:20:25Odell Alexander: 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.
00:20:36Georgia Smith: Is the church still standing?
00:20:38Odell Alexander: 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.
00:20:51Georgia Smith: Oh, that would be wonderful if you could share it with us.
00:20:54Odell Alexander: 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.
00:21:29Georgia Smith: 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.
00:21:37Odell Alexander: That was good people, excellent people.
00:21:41Georgia Smith: And so, okay, so we were talking about athletics. How did that relate to the church?
00:21:46Odell Alexander: 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.
00:22:19Georgia Smith: That's what they meant.
00:22:20Odell Alexander: 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.
00:22:38Georgia Smith: Right, right. That's good advice.
00:22:41Odell Alexander: 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.
00:23:02Georgia Smith: Good advice.
00:23:03Odell Alexander: Very good advice.
00:23:06Georgia Smith: Okay, so, when did you get into football?
00:23:10Odell Alexander: In football, I got in it in 19, wait a minute, 1966. Mrs. Cunningham
00:23:17Georgia Smith: In junior high?
00:23:19Odell Alexander: Yes, in junior high, in 19 well, Mrs. Cunningham was our teacher. You remember her?
00:23:25Georgia Smith: I remember Mrs. Cunningham.
00:23:27Odell Alexander: 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.
00:24:09Georgia Smith: Those were good people. I had them as teachers.
00:24:12Odell Alexander: 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
00:24:31Georgia Smith: They didn't make any difference.
00:24:33Odell Alexander: They didn't make no difference. They know that's what it was gonna take.
00:24:36Georgia Smith: That's wonderful.
00:24:37Odell Alexander: 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.
00:24:49Georgia Smith: Well, very good.
00:24:50Odell Alexander: Through the high school.
00:24:51Georgia Smith: Yes, you did. Yes, you did. The stars on the football team, for sure. All of you boys were.
00:24:59Odell Alexander: Stars on the football team. Ted was the star on his football team, and he done very well.
00:25:07Georgia Smith: And he went on to be a pro, didn't he?
00:25:09Odell Alexander: He went on to be, played professional football.
00:25:12Georgia Smith: What teams did he play for?
00:25:13Odell Alexander: He played with the 49ers, and I think I can't remember
00:25:31Odell Alexander: rough sport. And Vernon Glenn Alexander done good in football, too.
00:25:36Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:25:37Odell Alexander: He he played running back and and Clydell was a running back, and
00:25:46Georgia Smith: Now Clydell did really well,too.
00:25:48Odell Alexander: 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.
00:26:45Georgia Smith: That it's worse than a shame.
00:26:56Odell Alexander: 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.
00:27:15Georgia Smith: They were probably just trying to get you riled so you couldn't play as well is probably what they were trying to do.
00:27:21Odell Alexander: 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.
00:27:29Georgia Smith: It could have been from that down.
00:27:31Odell Alexander: 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.
00:27:49Georgia Smith: 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.
00:28:03Odell Alexander: Well, no, we never did had it, but you had some here that I know who they was.
00:28:08Georgia Smith: Yeah, well, sure, you did.
00:28:10Odell Alexander: 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.
00:28:25Georgia Smith: Yes, and, you know, who knows, they might have changed.
00:28:28Odell Alexander: 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.
00:28:38Georgia Smith: Okay, good, good.
00:28:40Odell Alexander: So he was a man enough to come and tell me about that's, yeah, that's good person with a good heart.
00:28:47Georgia Smith: Yes, okay, I'm gonna jump back. We graduated in 1972.
00:28:53Odell Alexander: Yes, ma'am.
00:28:53Georgia Smith: What did you do after graduation?
00:28:55Odell Alexander: 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.
00:29:36Georgia Smith: So, it was all for one.
00:29:38Odell Alexander: It was all for one, and I didn't mind doing that. We kept a good strong.
00:29:45Georgia Smith: So where did you work?
00:29:47Odell Alexander: First of all, when I got out of school, I went to work for Sikes Carpet, here in Bristow, Oklahoma.
00:29:55Georgia Smith: I remember Sikes Carpet.
00:29:57Odell Alexander: 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.
00:31:00Georgia Smith: Yes.
00:31:01Odell Alexander: And I went to work for them.
00:31:03Georgia Smith: Oh, how cool was that. What did you do?
00:31:07Odell Alexander: 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.
00:31:31Georgia Smith: Well, that's exciting.
00:31:33Odell Alexander: 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.
00:32:15Georgia Smith: I say, I'm sure I haven't ever had to do it.
00:32:17Odell Alexander: 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.
00:32:37Georgia Smith: Well, that's wonderful. How long did you work for Getty?
00:32:40Odell Alexander: 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.
00:33:05Georgia Smith: Oh, okay.
00:33:06Odell Alexander: And we was all us Getty people were hoping Pennzoil will buy us, because that would mean Getty was still own half of it.
00:33:16Georgia Smith: Oh, is that what happened?
00:33:18Odell Alexander: But it didn't happen. And then Texaco bought us, and then Texaco bought us and I worked to up to 1990.
00:33:27Georgia Smith: Really?!
00:33:28Odell Alexander: Yes, to 1990.
00:33:29Georgia Smith: You worked for them a long time.
00:33:31Odell Alexander: I worked for them a long time. And praise the Lord today I had them. I get a nice income from them.
00:33:38Georgia Smith: That is wonderful.
00:33:39Odell Alexander: Yes, I get a nice income. A lot of people don't know that, but
00:33:43Georgia Smith: I never knew you did that. My father, he worked for Sinclair, and then they merged in Atlantic Richfield.
00:33:50Odell Alexander: 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.
00:34:02Georgia Smith: Yeah.
00:34:02Odell Alexander: Those people show me everything and and I just love it to death. They were very, very, very good people.
00:34:10Georgia Smith: That's, that's great.
00:34:12Odell Alexander: When I said very, very good people which are not being prejudiced, that was, they would take care of you and they will
00:34:20Georgia Smith: Had your back.
00:34:21Odell Alexander: They had my back, that's why. And also, and I had their back too. It worked both ways.
00:34:28Georgia Smith: My raising was paid for by by those companies.
00:34:31Odell Alexander: 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.
00:34:45Georgia Smith: They had good benefits.
00:34:46Odell Alexander: 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.
00:35:06Georgia Smith: So what did? Let me back up. When did you work for Creeco Mill?
00:35:12Odell Alexander: Creeco Mill? Okay, oh, I forgot about Creeco Mill.
00:35:17Georgia Smith: When you were out of school, first out of school?
00:35:19Odell Alexander: No, Creeco Mill, I worked that with them when I was working for Sikes Carpet, too.
00:35:24Georgia Smith: Oh, okay, so you had two jobs.
00:35:26Odell Alexander: I had two jobs.
00:35:27Georgia Smith: Helping with those brothers into college.
00:35:29Odell Alexander: Yes, I had two jobs and I had two jobs. And also I worked for Mr. McMillan, too. Oh, he is an attorney.
00:35:38Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:35:39Odell Alexander: Yeah, I worked all three of them jobs, and also, Dr.Foster, too.
00:35:44Georgia Smith: You were a hard working young man.
00:35:46Odell Alexander: 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.
00:36:02Georgia Smith: Now, was your dad still alive?
00:36:04Odell Alexander: Yes, my dad was still alive. I lost my dad in 2002.
00:36:09Georgia Smith: 2002, okay. And when did you lose your mom?
00:36:12Odell Alexander: I lost my mom in February 2099, 98, and I lost my dad in
00:36:21Georgia Smith: 1998.
00:36:22Odell Alexander: Yeah, 1998 Yeah, '98, Thank you.
00:36:32Georgia Smith: Can you think of anything else I'm missing in the job area?
00:36:35Odell Alexander: 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.
00:36:57Georgia Smith: 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.
00:37:09Odell Alexander: 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.
00:37:39Georgia Smith: Yes, he did.
00:37:40Odell Alexander: 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
00:37:53Georgia Smith: So, Foster and Goodraod were the owners?
00:37:55Odell Alexander: Yes, uh huh, oh, O.W. Foster, yes.
00:37:58Georgia Smith: O.W. Foster.
00:38:01Odell Alexander: O.W. Foster, Pete Foster.
00:38:04Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:38:05Odell Alexander: 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.
00:38:47Georgia Smith: No, they don't. Just looking through here to see if we need to go. Okay, after, after Getty Oil, what did you do?
00:39:08Odell Alexander: After Getty Oil Company, I went to work for Mid America Stockyard.
00:39:13Georgia Smith: Okay.
00:39:14Odell Alexander: 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.
00:39:28Georgia Smith: And what do you do there?
00:39:29Odell Alexander: Today, I does a lot of things for them. I cook in the restaurant for them.
00:39:36Georgia Smith: I bet you make some of your good hot rolls.
00:39:38Odell Alexander: 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.
00:40:10Georgia Smith: Very good. You don't you never had to serve in in the Army or Navy?
00:40:18Odell Alexander: Military, no. Military, no. I had a brother that went to Vietnam.
00:40:22Georgia Smith: Who was that?
00:40:23Odell Alexander: That was Vernon.
00:40:24Georgia Smith: Vernon did,.
00:40:25Odell Alexander: Yeah, Vernon had to go to Vietnam.
00:40:27Georgia Smith: Did he survive?
00:40:28Odell Alexander: Yes, Vernon survived. And when he came back from Vietnam, it was a little that was a terrible war.
00:40:35Georgia Smith: Yes, it was.
00:40:37Odell Alexander: 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
00:41:14Georgia Smith: Praise God for a rat bite.
00:41:16Odell Alexander: Praise God for, well, God was right there by him.
00:41:19Georgia Smith: He was.
00:41:21Odell Alexander: 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.
00:41:54Georgia Smith: Okay. Did your parents or grandparents, did any of your ancestors serve in World War One or two?
00:42:13Odell Alexander: No, I had cousin dead. Okay, they, they served in it and and they are buried out there at Harlinsville Cemetery, some of them.
00:42:25Georgia Smith: 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?
00:42:40Odell Alexander: 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?
00:43:05Georgia Smith: Mr. Sims.
00:43:07Odell Alexander: Mr. Sims and Mr. Sanders. They were good peoples. They led us in the right direction.
00:43:13Georgia Smith: Yes, they were.
00:43:14Odell Alexander: And they done.
00:43:15Georgia Smith: They did.
00:43:15Odell Alexander: 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.
00:43:29Georgia Smith: 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?
00:43:40Odell Alexander: 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.
00:43:52Georgia Smith: You had one before we did then.
00:43:55Odell Alexander: 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.
00:44:11Georgia Smith: Yes, it was. How do you think the world's different now than when you were a child?
00:44:20Odell Alexander: 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.
00:44:52Georgia Smith: Yes, yes.
00:44:54Odell Alexander: 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.
00:45:10Georgia Smith: Nobody should be shot because of the color of their skin.
00:45:12Odell Alexander: No.
00:45:13Odell Alexander: Or the color of their hair.
00:45:15Odell Alexander: 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.
00:46:01Georgia Smith: Yes, I agree.
00:46:04Odell Alexander: But I hope and pray that they will get better.
00:46:06Georgia Smith: 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?
00:46:19Odell Alexander: 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.
00:46:57Georgia Smith: Don't you get sick of it?
00:46:59Odell Alexander: 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.
00:47:42Georgia Smith: Preach it, Odell.
00:47:43Odell Alexander: That's the way I look at it, you know?
00:47:45Georgia Smith: Yeah, yeah.
00:47:46Odell Alexander: 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.
00:47:56Georgia Smith: 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.
00:48:13Odell Alexander: 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
00:48:32Georgia Smith: Trash and vulgarity.
00:48:33Odell Alexander: 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
00:49:04Georgia Smith: Amen. And that's good advice.
00:49:06Odell Alexander: 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.
00:49:34Georgia Smith: Well, Odell, I really appreciate your coming in for this interview.
00:49:38Odell Alexander: Well, thank you. It was a pleasure to do it for you.
00:49:41Georgia Smith: Well, it was a pleasure doing it. I enjoyed it.
00:49:42Odell Alexander: 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.
00:49:55Georgia Smith: school queen?
00:50:30Odell Alexander: All school queen. She got that. She we, our class was just very diversity, and they would understand.
00:50:38Georgia Smith: Yeah, I was that in 1971.
00:50:42Odell Alexander: Right. Yes, so.
00:50:44Georgia Smith: I appreciate it ever so much, Odell.
00:50:46Odell Alexander: Thank you so much.
00:50:49Georgia Smith: We appreciate it.
00:50:50Odell Alexander: Okay.
