Rule, Brittaniea! Miss Beehive 1963

This is what the sky looks like at about 11:45 pm in Gothenburg, Sweden.1-23-10The EnergyReatardJay ReatardBoth sides of the wall

Archive for August 2007

Part 4: “Here in this wilderness”

In November, I finished gathering my crop and on the ninth of that month went to the land office and filed on my claim. Mr, Griffin in the meantime had told the claim seekers that my land had been taken. I hired a neighbor, a Mr. Caddis, and his son with two wagons to move [...]

Part 5: The Pioneer Women

Thomas and Martha Catlege had two children when they gave up everything they owned in order to make the land run in 1891. A century is a long time, but it’s still difficult for me to imagine, when reading his accounts, that they settled Oklahoma only about 100 years ago — Catlege speaks extensively about [...]

Bouviers

Little Edie: You can’t have your cake and eat it too in life. Big Edie: Oh, yes, I did. I did, I had my cake, loved it, masticated it, chewed it and had everything I wanted. — from Grey Gardens

Part 6: Building a Community

Oklahoma Land Rush — public domain photo via Wikipedia At the time of the opening and for several years afterwards there was not a railroad in the county. Outside the small villages, Lexington, in Cleveland County, and Purcell, in the Chickasaw country, were the nearest trading centers for those who lived in the southern part [...]

Part 7: The pioneer days are gone

Thomas Catlege sums up his experiences as a pioneer and talks about how the world has changed in the 50 years since he settled in Oklahoma. My wife and I are particularly proud of our family; we have taught them to work, to be self-reliant and honest and to make their own way in the [...]