A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-14,15-07....Oklahoma ~ "The Sooner State" Turns 100!

Aquamarine; Billie

[Grampa Dave]

My maternal Grandparents and my wife’s were Sooners.

My Grandparents lived in Oklahoma for the rest of their lives as most of their descendants. Their son and one daughter, who left, ended up in border towns in Texas and Kansas. I was the first real escapee until a nephew and neice left the state. About 95% of my high school graduation class stayed in Oklahoma or returned after school and/or the military.

My wife’s grandparents had two terrible winters in the Lawton area and summers. They returned to the midwest and their families/friends after those two years. My wife’s grandfather developed health problems and died in a few years after their return to the midwest. Her grandmother raised her mother and two uncles by herself during some tough economic times.

[Aquamarine]

Hi Dita! That's a gorgeous photo of the Indian Blanket flower.

Didn't know there were so many fans of Oklahoma.

[Aquamarine]

Thanks for the background on your OK ancestors, that's very interesting.

Oklahoma does have extreme weather temperatures in the summer and the winter. Should consider ourselves fortunate that our ancestor's survived the tornadoes that were swirling around them all those years.

[Mama_Bear]

Checked in on your work several times to find a new direction after becoming stumped. lol

Well, what's a big sistah for, if not to provide direction? ;-)

[La Enchiladita]

I didn't know I was a fan until I visited Oklahoma; that sold me, especially meeting the people. It's very "down home."

Also, the folks out there might be interested in knowing the Will Rogers State Park is here in Pacific Palisades, CA and the Will Rogers Elementary School in Santa Monica!! He was very beloved here.

I just happen to have a photo of his ranch house living room in what is now the Park. It is adjacent to the polo grounds, some horse stables, and hiking trails that go up into the Santa Monica Mountains:

[Aquamarine]

You're exactly right. :)

Be back in a while...

[Mama_Bear]

Be back in a while...

Me too. TTYL

[Aquamarine]

Also, the folks out there might be interested in knowing the Will Rogers State Park is here in Pacific Palisades, CA and the Will Rogers Elementary School in Santa Monica!! He was very beloved here.

Lots of Okie's went on to settle in CA so I'm not surprised that Will was remembered so fondly there. He died prematurely in a plane crash in Alaska.

[Billie]

Good morning, Sistahs, and thank you again, Aqua, for tackling (so successfully!) the difficult job of presenting a Finest State Profile - most especially after taking a few months off from 'building' a post!

Kudos for a job well done because yours was the difficult part - AND you also made many of the graphics, too!

[JustAmy]

Beautiful thread, Aqua. Thank you for bringing us Oklahoma.

My maternal grandmother was born in Altus, OK in 1896.

My mother and I visited relatives in Oklahoma in 1995. I heard a lot of family stories and saw some beautiful country. Also met some wonderful relatives.

Thank you again for this beautiful presentation.

Hugs.

[JustAmy]

A SONG OF OKLAHOMA

Oh the plains of Oklahoma
Are beautiful to me
When the gray mirages glimmer
Like the breakers on the sea.

Or when crags and buttes and headlands,
In vermilion shades, and blue
Make perpetual Indian summer
With the sunlight sifting through.

And the hills, when autumn glory
Tints with colors gay and bold,
Every knoll and ridge and canyon
With a wealth of tawny gold.

And the plains of Oklahoma,
Overspread with ice and snow,
Quiet lie in brooding silence,
Save when raging blizzards blow.

Over prairies, vast and lonely,
Where the drifting sand-dunes surge,
Or whirl and roar in desolation,
And sing to earth a mournful dirge.

In the spring the wild gaillardia
Spreads its blanket on the hills,
And the redbud's vivid-color
Shouts a challenge from the rills.

To this land of Oklahoma,
Lured by dreams of home and gold,
Came the Boomers and the Sooners --
Pioneers both young and old,

They subdued her primal wildness,
Where was heard the coyote's call,
Now are cities, homes, and churches,
Fences, farms and derricks tall.

Oh this land of Oklahoma,
In wintry blast, or summer sun,
Names her people by the thousands,
Loyal hearts that she has won.

To her cause they pledge allegiance,
From her bounds they will not roam,
For they love her hills and prairies.
Oklahoma is their home.

By Laressa Cox McBurney
Published in Prairie Panorama in 1938


My Great Half Aunt spent most of her life in Clinton, OK.
I will try to share another of her Oklahoma poems later.


Hope everyone is having a warm fuzzy Wednesday in Oklahoma today. :)

[luvie]

Your great-aunt wrote that? Very beautiful. She was
quite talented!

[luvie]

God rest his soul

[JustAmy]

Thank you.

She wrote several poems; I have two books of poems. I have several typed and will post another later. Most of my genealogy info for that line came from her work and dedication in getting it all assembled.

I need to make a run to the post office and the bank.

[Mama_Bear]

Lots of Okie's went on to settle in CA so I'm not surprised that Will was remembered so fondly there.

That brings to mind Steinbeck's epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. It's such a hard story to read about this Oklahoma family struggling against all odds to preserve their dignity, but it was the story of so many Oklahoma farming families during the "dust bowl" and depression. It's been a while since I read the book, but the story ends with what's left of the Joad family living in a freight train car in Tipton (if I recall correctly) which is a little town about 10 miles south of here.

Many of our friends and neighbors have roots in Oklahoma and no doubt their grandparents share similar stories about their migration to the San Joaquin Valley.

[Kitty Mittens]

Beautiful Thread, Aqua! Just Awesome in Every way! Thank you for this Neat Journey, and Thank you too, Billie!

Thank you to Everyone for the Wonderful Pics I've Seen, and Everyone have a Blessed Day.

~Pic from the Internet~

Oklahoma's Cute State Bird, the Scissortail Flycatcher

[Billie]

Those are great pictures of the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial, Luvbo. Such a tragedy that was.

[Billie]

There’s our Megsie with the beautiful wildflowers!

[william clark]

Nice tribute, with some notable omissions:

[Billie]

A small expression of my appreciation for your input on this post and all the hard work you put into making graphics. It was a joy to work with you again.

That's so sweet of you, Aqua, I appreciate you very much, too!