Category Archives: Oklahoma culture

Silent Sunday Afternoon Edition: 2/13/11 ~ Valentines Day 1911

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Obviously, the political cartoonist of the day thought England (personified as "John Bull") was jealous of the budding USA-Canadian relationship.
A "loving" relationship between both parties in the legislature was featured in this post as an "era of good feeling" at the State Capitol.

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Silent Sunday: 2/6/11 ~ Images From Other Oklahoma Websites We Like

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Zach Gray is a really special asset to Oklahoma. From Ada, he currently resides at Stillwater. Both his blog and Flickr site are something else. If you'd like to see photos of the Bedlam game that have a great perspective (as good or better than some of the major sports outlets), visit his Flickr site by clicking this photo. If you'd like to visit his blog, you can get there by visiting his Flickr profile. Zach, your work is beautiful!
We've not yet introduced you to Dee Nash and her "Red Dirt Ramblings" blog about her garden. This photo caption from her site mentioned that she and her watering can were waiting for Spring. Click this photo to visit her site and her "Ramblings." Dee does a great job and we're glad to have her as part of the Red Dirt family-hood. (We've added her onto our blog roll today so you can find her if you want to go there from here.)

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I Hate Snow

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My Grandma, in her dress and tennis shoes.

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I grew up in a pretty straight-laced family. My mother would put my hair in pin-curls and make me wear the whole puffy dress, tights, patent leather Mary Janes getup for every school picture. She would claim that it was the one day a year I looked “like a normal little girl.”

My friends and in laws have often asked me how someone like me came out of the family I did. One of my friends was a little unnerved at the idea that I even had parents, much less that they were very conservative and did things the “socially acceptable” way. I have an explanation though. Recently I got some old pictures of my grandmother in the mail. The first one in the stack? Grandma in a dress and tennis shoes. It was then that I remembered her telling me as a child “never wear shoes you can’t run away in,” and I never do.  Maybe quirkiness skips a generation.

I really try to be normal. It’s hard. Sometimes my abnormality is cute, and other times it makes me the social pariah.  In elementary school I was more interested in architecture than Barbies. I remember being at my friend’s birthday party and she received a beautiful doll house. All the girls gathered around exclaiming, “Oh, it’s got a baby bed!” and “Lookit! The oven opens!”…my contribution to the conversation? “The dormer windows are nice!” Dead silence. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at me. My friend rolled her eyes and said “Joey, stop saying nerdy things,” and everyone uncomfortably picked up their chatter again. I wasn’t invited to any parties for a while.

I tell you this because I have a confession to make and I hope you don’t shun me for it.  I hate snow. I don’t think it’s pretty or magical or fun or exciting. I hate it. While most of my friends are taking their kids out sledding, making snow ice cream, building snowmen, or having snowball fights, I’m huddled up in the house praying for it all to go away. Snow is cold, messy, boring and a big inconvenience if you ask me. If it never snowed again I would be happy.

Continue reading I Hate Snow

On Being a Bear

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There was a time when my youngest would tell people that when she grew up, she was going to be a bear. She did not mean that she would dress up like a bear, or that she would be aggressive, or that she would marry someone and change her last name to “Bear”….she meant she would literally become a bear. If you pressed her a bit she would tell you that she was going to be a “Brown Bear” like in Eric Carle’s book. She was 2.

I often became annoyed with people who would tell her that she could not, in fact, “be a bear” when she grew up. I felt like either she already knew this on some level and they were underestimating her intelligence, or she really did believe people could become bears and they were squashing her childhood wonder. I often battled back and forth between these two poles in my anger toward the idiots who would say “people can’t be bears.”  This was amplified by the fact that just about any of them would turn around a few minutes later and tell that she could be “whatever she wanted to be” when she grew up.

The child wanted to be a bear. I was not going to tell her she couldn’t. I was interested in finding out how she planned to do this.

She is now 7 and if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will tell you that it is “a stupid question.”  Everyone knows, or should, that “…she is queen of the world. While she’s not technically ‘in office’ at the time being, her existence is not predicated on popular opinion of her political power. She is queen of the world. When she is older, everyone will realize this. Right now, we’re all too stupid to ‘get it’ and for that she pities us.”

She is told over and over by any adult around her (save her father and me) that she can’t “grow up and be queen of the world” because it’s not possible. There is no queen of the world. She will of course explain to them that not only is there a queen of the world, but they’re looking at her right now.

I tell you this because I think it’s a symptom of our bigger problem. Not only do we think that things are the way they are because they are “supposed to be that way” but we fail to imagine that anything will really ever drastically change. This type of willful amnesia annoys me the most.

Continue reading On Being a Bear

Silent Sunday: 1/30/11 ~ What I Think But Do Not Say

Out loud: Grandma - "Oh, I need to buckle my seat belt!" In my head: "Yes you do, Grandma. I want you to be safe and sound for all the weddings and family events possible. Make sure it's latched...we love you."
Out loud: "Do you want to take a photo of the table before we serve everyone?" Me out loud: "Yes, great idea. I'm on it!" Me in my head: "Do you have any idea how much I appreciate you all right now? Your table is beautiful and you got her a Raspberries n' Creme cake, even though they're expensive. You're melting my heart right now."

Continue reading Silent Sunday: 1/30/11 ~ What I Think But Do Not Say

Friday Morning Shout Out: Café 501

The assorted cheeses small plate. Red currant compote, green apple and radish slaw, seasoned pecans, toasted French baguettes and a selection of cheese.

In 1993, my husband and I moved back to Edmond with two kids; when we had left Edmond in 1990, we only had one.  We had just finished a short three-year stint in an historical home located in Lincoln Terrace, south of the State Capitol.  I still miss that old home, but after having spent several years during my college days at the University of Central Oklahoma, had two children go through their entire primary and secondary education years here, and after having lived here now for a total of twenty-two married years, and a couple of “unmarried years” before that, I feel like my adopted home town is indeed Edmond, Oklahoma.

So, I feel invested in this town.  And I feel proud of the special places and amenities it has to offer.

One of my favorite places I’ve been appreciating since it opened is Café 501, located on 5th street and Boulevard, just a little south and east of the downtown area.  It’s pretty easy to remember how to get there; the address is the name of the place (501 S. Boulevard) and the phone number includes the name: (405) 359-0501.  But I don’t like the restaurant just because I can remember where to go!  I like the restaurant because I’m kind of a food snob.  I worked in the institutional foodservice distribution business for seven years and visited a great many kitchens during that time.  And, have looked at hundreds of menus.  And, have had lots and lots of not-so-great meals in restaurants over the past twenty-five years.  When I go to Café 501, however, I don’t worry about that.

Continue reading Friday Morning Shout Out: Café 501

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Conclusion

Kenny, Emma Lee's eldest son, playing the guitar sometime around 1967. Terry, her younger son, can be seen on the far left.

Mom was born March 16, 1891 near Ashland, Kansas. Her parents were William Tecumseh Sherman Crouch and Atlanta Bell Kitchen Crouch.  The both came from the areas near Ashland and Grayson Kentucky.  Grandpa homesteaded in Kansas where mom was born; they lived in a dug out.  Later they moved to Lahoma, Oklahoma where mom and Papa were married, then after that moved to Tuttle, Oklahoma where Papa farmed.  After farming in Tuttle, then moved to Bethany, Oklahoma (near Okla. City), to Waukomis, OK near Enid, OK on Highway 81 then back to Tuttle when Terry was a year old (1944). Mom moved to Fayetteville, AR helped cook in a girls dormitory, then she and Robert moved to Okla. City worked in O’Mealy’s cafeteria. Later she moved to Tulsa to help my brother Charles in a restaurant, then when Charles moved to Arkansas Mom and Robert moved back to Tuttle, OK. (Editors note: I count ten separate locations where “Mom” [Bessie] called home at one point or another.)

Mom was a real sweet person, she always wanted to do nice things for people.  She loved to study and read the Bible. Every Saturday she prepared dinner for someone; her food was so good and attractive.  Mom could always write the sweetest notes for all occasions. She lived to the age of 84 – died November 30, 1975 as she was taking a bath, getting ready to go to church.  She had a heart attack on Sunday morning.  On the Friday night before she died, she felt her days were numbered, so she got up in the night and wrote the instructions for her funeral.

I remember at one time in 1987 there were six of us in our 60s.  J.C. 69, Catherine 68, Charles 66, Emma Lee 64, Mary Elizabeth 63, Willa May 60; imagine having that many children in ten years!

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Conclusion

Red Dirt Ramblers Stop #4 ~ Vintage Inn B&B, Alva, OK

Vintage Inn Formal Den ~ Photo by Bed & Breakfast Finder, Vintage Inn Link.

watch Kelly’s perspective ~

So, there we were, see…extremely full from dinner, exhausted from driving all over the state and still had one little eleven mile trip to go.  Julie’s friends were so incredibly nice to us; they really were like ambassadors to the Alva area.  They actually let us follow them down the road from Bulington to Alva and on to the Vintage Inn Bed & Breakfast. They then showed us where to park, helped us find our way inside, and then gave us a personal tour! Brenda was evidently a Realtor and had shown the house several times in the past.  She and Mike led us through the grand entry, showed us the dining room and kitchen, and then up the beautiful staircase we went to the second floor level of rooms…and then on up to the third floor level!  I’ve included two photos from their link above, but there are more if you’d like to check out their site; their bedrooms are each unique, cozy and now are furnished with large flat-screen television sets and the best security using services from https://wyesecuritysolutions.co.uk/key-holding/ for any eventuality .  They also have wireless internet access, which helped us that evening because I had a post to edit!

Vintage Inn Foyer, Bed & Breakfast Finder Site – Vintage Inn Link.  Ask either Lori or Sherri to tell you about how they refinished the plaster sculpting pattern on the beautiful Victorian ceiling.

What I appreciated about our personal tour provided by Brenda and Mike was the chance to hear voices of the community speak with pride about the Inn.  Every time we turned a corner, another story emerged.  Thank you, Brenda, for setting such a lovely context within which Julie and I could venture forth!

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers Stop #4 ~ Vintage Inn B&B, Alva, OK

RDC Friday Morning Shout Out: The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol

The OCSO Mounted Patrol assisting the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in the search for a missing young lady.

Note:  This post was authored by RDC friend, https://lovetheonlything.com/balaam/ Sam Chesnut ~ One of our very special OCSO Mounted Patrol MembersI added the “Shout Out” language to the title of this post.  They’re certainly deserving of some kudos from our group today.  Thanks, OCSO-MP, for all you do.~ RDC Editor

Have you ever heard the phrases, “Back to the future,” or “That’s so old it’s new?”  Well that very approach applies to one of the newest/old forms of law enforcement in operation today.  It is the use of horses in patrol and special services provided for modern day law enforcement.  The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is one of the very few organized, operational mounted patrol units in existence in Oklahoma.  The OCSO Mounted Patrol is a progressive concept supported and expanded by Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel.  Sheriff Whetsel has utilized the Mounted Patrol in general and specialized patrol, agency assists, field searches, and crowd control.  The usefulness of the Equine Mounted Patrol in law enforcement is only limited by your imagination, and the particular situation at hand.

Continue reading RDC Friday Morning Shout Out: The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (4)

Quentin Bomgardner shown in a park, holding his first son, Kenny.

Quentin started working as a substitute mail carrier and later (about 1949) started working as clerk in the Post Office at Tuttle so we started having a little more money to spend. In February, 1956, he got a rural mail route at Amber, Oklahoma.  He carried the mail until November 15th, 1956 when he died of a brain hemorrhage; age 36, he lacked two weeks being 37.  This was a sad day for Kenny, Terry and me.  I didn’t know what I could do to make a living.  I didn’t know how to do anything but clean house.  I carried mail for 3 months at Amber, in Quentin’s place, until they appointed a carrier.  We got $125.00 per month annuity, $4,000 insurance from the Post Office, and $1,500 from Universal Life Insurance.  Since the place we lived in belonged to Grandmother Porter, we bought a house in town for $3,800. And spent $700 on it before we moved in.  Uncle Gail and Uncle Dwight helped use fix it up.  We were very comfortably situated.

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (4)

Red Dirt Ramblers, Stop #3: The Vintage House Restaurant, Burlington, OK

 

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Kevin (prounced kee-vun) Kraft sits down with our dinner group to tell stories about the Vintage House restaurant development after he and wife, Lori, serenaded the dining room. Kevin runs "the smokehouse," cooks the steaks, and owns the restaurant with his wife.

https://allmyrecipe.com/about-us/ Julie’s view:

After leaving Dan McGuinness in Edmond, Kelly and I knew we were heading north, but we didn’t really have a set plan.  She suggested that I call Nancy at Cordero Farms.  An answering machine greeted me, so we decided to just head north on I-35.  Our other option was Alva, OK.  By this time, it was getting dark, so we decided we needed to find a place to spend the night.  Earlier in the day when Kelly mentioned we might go to Alva, I decided to call a sorority sister who lived there.  I only mentioned that we might be going that direction and that I would call her if we decided to take that route.  I added that I didn’t want her to hear that I’d been there and her be upset with me if I hadn’t called.  I laughed; she simply said that she’d know if I showed up.  Hmmm.  It turns out she was not kidding.  Kelly called the bed and breakfast that she’d heard so much about, and got us a room. One room…the only one available.  After she made sure it was okay with me that we had to share a room AND a bed after only meeting a few hours earlier we committed to the reservation.  I mean, we were in the middle of nowhere by this time.  I could also tell from Kelly’s end of the conversation that we were being invited to the local restaurant for a late dinner.

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers, Stop #3: The Vintage House Restaurant, Burlington, OK

Silent Sunday: 1/16/11 ~ Bridges Over Oklahoma County Creeks and Rivers

Mark “The Howard” Hinderliter is one of our RDC contributors who also drives around the state.  A lot.  He’s a geotechnical engineer and does soil and sub-surface testing for various projects that invariably lead him across the creeks and rivers of Oklahoma.  And, underneath the bridges to take photos.  A few weeks back, some of our readers were having a conversation about the funky creek names in Oklahoma.  Here are a few of their comments:

Dog Thrasher Creek. I don’t remember exactly where it was but around Pawhuska to Drumright-Pawnee area of Oklahoma..

‎@Mike – somewhere (I think close to Woodward?) I drove by Skunk Creek.

One of my friends, (name omitted), told me that on road trips with her grand-kids they played a “game” of sorts where they would try to decide why a creek got its name. I’ll try to send you a pic of Hog Shooter Creek soon. We have some great names in NE Okla.

There’s “Suck Creek” but that’s down around Chattanooga.

Anyway, you get the picture…then Mark chimed in and said he had photos of several creeks in Oklahoma…and, well, there’s our Silent Sunday “trip” for you today. He wrote about these photos he loaded for you, “The great old bridges of Oklahoma display a lot of different designs but they are being replaced. Enjoy these pictures, but be grateful you won’t have to drive across them anymore.”

Unnamed Creek ~ Haskell County

Continue reading Silent Sunday: 1/16/11 ~ Bridges Over Oklahoma County Creeks and Rivers

Trespassing, Tree Climbing and How Cathy’s Bra Saved Our Lives

When you grow up in the country, you’re socialized to do things a little differently than in the city.  First of all, locked doors are not the number one concern on your mind. Second, if you want to commence an activity on someone’s property such as fishing or picking up “those Bodark apples for a craft you’re doing with the Girl Scouts,” you just go knock on their door and ask.  They can say no, but usually don’t.  And, if you need to quickly cross or gain access to someone’s property then get right off again…well, it’s usually going to be fine unless there is a NO TRESPASSING sign hanging on their fence.  You’ve seen them, right? Old tires, painted with white letters, some of them dripping so much the message is slightly illegible by the time they dry.  Sometimes they read, “NO HUNTING.”  That’s a different message.  It means – “I might be okay with you walking across, but don’t shoot anything.”

Continue reading Trespassing, Tree Climbing and How Cathy’s Bra Saved Our Lives

Stories from Our Readers: Patience with a “Traveler”

Sam and Traveler at the Sooner Cowboy Church, dedicating their flag pole.

Editor’s Note: What we’ve found as our readership has expanded is that the RDC Community is full of humans with interesting lives.  As our dear Earth turns on her axis, these folks are managing skyscrapers, scraping animal droppings, and dropping mail in everyone’s mailbox on their route.  One of our readers, who gave me permission to share a few photos on a past Silent Sunday post, is a sheriff.  He rides in the mounted patrol and his horse has an interesting story.  While recovering from recent shoulder surgery, he sent “Traveler’s Story” along for my perusal and I asked his permission to share it with you.  Have a story YOU feel needs to be shared?  We’ll read it and work with you if  it fits with our mission. ~ [kelly]

https://thebarefootbeat.com/travel-gear/ Traveler’s Story, by Sam Chestnut

https://drjamieturndorf.com/couples-counseling-and-therapy/ edited by Kelly Roberts

Buy Clonazepam Online Overnight The date was March of 2005. I was still recovering from a Prostatectomy due to Prostate Cancer.  I heard from a friend that a man not far from us had a good looking Tennessee Walker gelding for sale.  So Jean, our daughter Darla, and I went to check it out.

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Eszopiclone Buy Online When we walked into the barn I saw a horse standing against the back wall of a stall with all four feet spread out, his nostrils flared,  with his eyes fearful and widely open.  I thought to myself, “Boy, something has just gone on here.”  It was clear the horse was terrified and near panic.  All of his hair had been shaved off with hair clippers and it was still early March; the weather still very cold.  He was in an unheated barn with no blanket or method of keeping himself warm.  He was somewhat skinny and not well kept.  There were no physical scars other than his shaved mane, but it was clear the horse had been ‘through it.’

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https://www.admoday.com/the-dance-plaza/ Continue reading Stories from Our Readers: Patience with a “Traveler”

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (3)

Grandmother at 15 years old, the age when she began doing all the chores and taking care of children for Dr. and Mrs. Cooper in Oklahoma City.

Editor’s Note:  If you are just beginning to read these entries, you may wish to start with the first, then the second before you begin this particular work.  Thanks, Red Dirt Kelly

During the summer of 1937, at the age of fifteen, I took a job in Oklahoma City caring for three children of Dr. and Mrs. Cooper.  I would take the train from Tuttle to Oklahoma City, then ride the interurban to within a few blocks of Dr. Cooper’s.  When I’d hear the train blow the whistle down the track [when in Tuttle] I’d start to cry because I was already getting homesick.  The first summer I didn’t come home very often.  I had Dr. Cooper save up my money until I went home to start to school.  I started out making $3.00 a week plus room and board. After Mrs. Cooper went to the hospital to have a baby they raised my salary to $4.00 [per day].

The Coopers had two girls and two boys. I’d cook breakfast, wash, iron, clean house and watch the children.  I worked for them three summers and one Christmas vacation.  I always bought clothes for school with my earnings.  The first year I bought a rust colored coat, black dress with a lace yolk and black shoes.  I thought I was really dressed up.  I made $36.00 that summer; my coat cost $16.00.

Grandmother Emma Lee at the train Station.

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (3)

Silent Equestrian and Western Sunday: 1/09/11

Thank you to  https://calciumhealth.com/calcium-on-nbc/ Jeanie Eaton and her Rural Expressions concept by Onetulsa.com for selecting some of her work to share with us this morning.  Her venues consist of, Lazy E Arena, Feather Creek Farm, Tulsa Expo , Claremore Expo and various Breeding Farms across the state.  The events consists of : Hunter Jumper, Dressage, Barrel Racing, Rodeo, Eventing, and Breed Shows.  Jeanie is the webmaster for Oklahoma Dressage Society and Co-Organizer for Tulsa Digital Photography Group. ~ Enjoy your Silent Sunday.

Continue reading Silent Equestrian and Western Sunday: 1/09/11

Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #2: Meet Up With Jim Fields at Dan McGuinness in Moore OR Edmond

Dan McGuinness - Opening Night, Edmond, OK. Photo from their FB site, taken about 3 months ago.

get link (Julie’s view) If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a part of the Red Dirt Chronicles for this short time, it’s that there is no topic or interviewee off limits.  So when Kelly mentioned wanting to investigate some of the local music talent, I knew I had the perfect person to interview: Jim Fields.  Jim is part owner of the Dan McGuinness Pub franchise in the Moore and Edmond areas and my ex-husband.  Don’t freak out.

Jim is originally from Bethany but connected with Lee Adams, owner of Adams Restaurants, while he was living in Memphis, TN.  Jim worked for T.J. Mulligan’s at an entry-level position and gradually worked his way into management. All the while he was missing his home state of Oklahoma.  It took some convincing, but Jim talked Lee into bypassing Arkansas all together, and they opened the Moore location in November 2006 and the Edmond location in September 2010.

We met up with Jim at the at the Edmond store.  He was in a meeting so we took a seat at one of the tall pub tables near the bar.  The sweetest waitress took good care of us while I tried to give Kelly a little bit of background information on the restaurants.  Jim joined us and he and Kelly talked for a while about some of the local music talent.

But here’s the best part:  Jim told me he had something that used to belong to me and he wanted to know if I recognized it.  We walked to another section of the restaurant and I spotted what he was talking about immediately.

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #2: Meet Up With Jim Fields at Dan McGuinness in Moore OR Edmond

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont.

The first building raised in Waukomis. The Railroad section chief lived and worked out of it in 1889.

Editor’s Note: This series began on Monday of last week.  It most likely will run for five weeks.  Please refer to this link for the introductory information and “Entry One” of “My Grandmother’s Memoirs.”  Thank you. ~ RDK

“One Spring I was at a widow woman’s house picking up apricots. She was in the tree and hung a bucket on a limb. It broke and the bucket of apricots fell on my head. Did I ever have a big gash! She told me to run home to my mama. By the time I got there my clothes were soaked with blood. I remember all the children of the neighborhood lining up across the screened-in back porch watching Mom clean me up. I had to go to the doctor at Enid for him to dress and care for it every other day.

I had the small pox vaccination at Waukomis by a Dr. Wolfe. I always imagined he looked like a wolf, but he was pretty nice. He gave me a stick of gum and a penny because I didn’t cry.

I had chicken pox in the Spring of 1930; it was near Easter.  Our class at school was having an egg hunt, so Papa took me to the principal’s office to see if I was over them enough to go to the event. I was so happy because he said I could go!

One winter we had a big snow. Papa walked ahead of us to school to make tracks so we wouldn’t have as difficult a time getting to school.  We were always thrilled when the weather was bad and didn’t have to go home for lunch! Mom would call the grocery store and the owner would prepare a good lunch for us. One of us would go pick it up; he would make pressed ham sandwiches with buns – that was really good!

We children of the neighborhood would gather in the evening by the street light, choose sides and play a game called “Trail.” One side would hide, the other hunt. We would make arrows with chalk marking the direction we were going. Then at the point we decided to hide, we would draw a circle with arrows going all directions making it more difficult to find us.

Another time I remember was my sister Catherine and brother Charles and I went to a Methodist revival. When coming home we had to go past an opera house. We were told a little man lived under it; we were always frightened to go by. We watched the building closely!  As we were walking along Catherine slipped on the ice and I fell over her, breaking my collar bone. I was crying so loudly Catherine said, “Be quiet! That little man will hear you!”  My parents were at the door to meet us when we got there. It was so painful and difficult to wear a coat that I missed several days of school after that incident.

Continue reading One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont.

Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #1: Get To Know Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm

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Kathy Moore shares her passion with Kelly & Julie at Gray Owl Coffee.

Note: See the introduction post to this series HERE…

source site (Kelly’s perspective) It’s 10:00 a.m.,Tuesday, December 28, 2010.  Julie and I are headed south on I-35.  Our destination? The Gray Owl Coffee house in the heart of Norman.  She and I have spent less than thirty minutes together at this point, yet I’m comfortable and can already tell traveling with her would be just fine.  In fact, I’m thinking it might even be better than traveling by myself for this particular journey…and I’m a highly expressed introvert; traveling by myself is one of the greatest rewards I give myself.  Julie is sitting in the passenger seat with an ink pen and a half-sized legal pad, trying to write down – in chronological order – all the “Bomgardner sons” our common great-grandmother had.  Stumped with some of the missing facts, we call my dad to ask for help filling in the gaps.  As he provides the details, I become sobered when he recalls a story that was, until this point, only a brief shred of substance in the back of my head.  He tells us that one of the boys had died during a move to a new home.  They were either building or taking down a cellar and it caved in on him.  For a few minutes my mind begins thinking about the safety cellars in Oklahoma provided from tornadoes and inclement weather, and could – at the same time – be dangerous as exemplified in his story.

We overshoot our exit because I am busy talking to Julie about something.  We double back and began to make use of her iPhone GPS device; those things are handier than a pocket on a shirt.  We park and walk into the Gray Owl at the exact time for our appointment. As I enter the “best coffee place in Norman,” I begin scanning the room for any sense of recognition.  I know Kathy Moore only from her photo on the internet and have no idea when it had been taken.

I find her sitting in the middle table right across from the cash register; I know it’s her because there is enough familiarity with her website to be certain.  Julie and I head over to her table, say hello, order our drinks and settle in for what would be a two-hour narrative by Kathy of her life, her farm, her hopes that still exist, and her dreams that have been told “goodbye.”  A short version of what we gleaned from this meeting follows:

Continue reading Red Dirt Ramblers – Stop #1: Get To Know Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm