Memories of an Oklahoma Farm Boy

by Virgle Chappell

COUNTRY LIVIN' 

Leon E. Chappell family, 1927

I was born in 1927 in northwestern Oklahoma in Ellis county to Leon and Merl Chappell. This was just prior to the big financial bust on the stock market and the beginning of the Great Drought in the central part of the U S. Oklahoma was only 20 years old as a state, and relative prosperity had been experienced for many of the people who had chosen to settle here. Sections of land in Ellis county had been divided into four parts (160 acres each) and houses of some description had been built on almost all of them. In the immediate area where we lived there were 5 large two story houses, though some of them had never been completely finished inside. Usually there were one, two or more rooms upstairs which the occupants planned to complete at a later date. As I remember there was only one of the houses in our vicinity which was completed. The Richard Gebhardt's, an immigrant family from Germany, lived there. It was a ten room house and was equipped with Carbide lights and water storage for the kitchen, but the carbide lights were never used while the Gebhardt's lived there. There were no inside bath rooms in any of the houses but always an "outhouse" was just a ways outside the back door. Whoever settled the land and built this house must have brought a considerable amount of cash with him when he came west. 

There were other homes which were more modest. One house I remember was adobe, probably a two room house. One of the homes we lived in was two story but was only a four room house, two above and two below. There were several that were two to four room single story frame homes. By the end of the drought in 1938/39 most of the homes had fallen into disrepair and were sitting empty or had been destroyed. Our home was one of two left on our section by 1938. No one lived on the section to the west, one family still resided on the section to the south, there were no homes on the sections to the east and north. Section lines had been laid out for roads but by 1939, many of them were unkempt and grown up with weeds and trees since there was no one living on them. Of course, none of the roads were paved and my uncle, Dale Black, cared for the ones still used with his four horses and a grader. 

Catesby, Ellis County, OK, First store in 1901, owned by Mrs. Rose

There were community "shopping centers" every 5 to 10 miles. These centers consisted of a general store, a post office, a filling station and usually a school and church was close by. The entire community would assemble at these locations every Saturday afternoon. The general stores were hardly more that barter stations, as the farmers would bring in their eggs and cream to sell and then in turn would buy needed supplies from the store. Catesby, OK was our "town" which consisted of three businesses. The Post office was on the south side of the street and Mrs. Rose was the post mistress. It was only a small house with a lean-to on the back where Mrs. Rose lived. Next to her, to the east, was the general store owned by Thornton Piersall, the brother of our uncle Wayne. He evidently farmed as well because behind his store was a windmill and barn with other buildings. This was a large area where we kids would play while the parents visited each Saturday afternoon. Across the street was a large barn-garage where Earl Crail had his shop and filling station. Catesby school was a mile west and the Methodist church was a mile east, so there wasn't much congestion caused by heavy traffic. 

These were days before rural electrification and television and there was not much to do in the farm home at night. Some families had radios but keeping electrical power to them was a problem. Sometimes dad would drive the car up next to a window and run a cord from the car battery to the radio, so we could listen to special programs. We were very limited in how much we could use it, since it would run down the battery on the car and then there would be trouble in starting it. Still, the car was usually cranked by hand anyway. 

Indoor lighting was by kerosene lamps and mom had only two of them, so we didn't do much reading after dark. One house we lived in did have gas lights since the home was near a gas well, but when we tried to use them, millers would fly into the mantel and break it, so we continued to use the kerosene lamps. After all, millers (moth) could be caught and dropped into a kerosene lamp and nothing would be hurt except for the miller. 

Families helped each other in special times of need. They would all gather at different farms to help one another during harvest time. Ladies would prepare the meals as the men worked in the fields or around the thrashing machine or bailer . Harve Hamilton and neighbors bail broom corn on his farm in Ellis County. 

Another time for neighborly action came when a neighbor died. His body would usually be prepared for burial at the home but at times taken to the undertaker for embalming and returned immediately to the home. There it would remain for neighbors and relatives to pay their respects. Neighbors would sit all night with the body until time for burial. When our neighbor, Mr. Lew Ritterhouse died, dad let me spend the night with him and another neighbor as they sat with the body. I didn't remain awake all night, but have appreciated the privilege of participating in that old and forgotten custom. I understand this custom grew from the folk lore that cats or rats would attack a corpse, so the setting with the dead was for the protection of the corpse as well as respect for the family of the deceased. 

Harve Hamilton and neighbors bail broom corn on his farm in Ellis County

Farming families of the time jealously guarded their community gatherings. Saturday afternoons were always a time to look forward to, when the community would assemble at the "towns". It was never a situation where we would go for mom and dad to shop and then immediately go home. There would be several hours pass while men and women would congregate in groups and the children would play all around the area. 

There were also community gatherings held at the school houses. "Literary" was introduced in the 1930's. As I remember, it was a program held on Thursday night's and talent was provided by people of the community. At other times there would be music groups pass through the area and they would have programs at the school house. These were usually quartets or Bluegrass musicians. Often there would be local talent interspersed in these programs also. 

There were Box Suppers where the girls would prepare a box of goodies to bring to the school on an assigned night. The boys would all try to guess which box belonged to his favorite girl. He would bid on the box that he might sit with her and share what she had brought. The boy always was afraid he wouldn't have enough money saved to buy the box he wanted. Problems would arise when some adult man would bid against a boy and perhaps, in the end, give the box to the boy. It became a big disappointment to find the box which the boy had bought did not belong to the girl of his dreams. 

There were often community dances held by some farm family in the area. I was very young when we went to these and can only remember going to sleep somewhere before it was over and waking up at home. 

When we kids were older, we would go to homes where "party games" were held. The young people would play party games outside at night. There never were musicians at these but all would sing songs like "General Pershing" and dance in large circles. One of these parties which I remember was held at Earl Crail's home, the garage owner at Catesby when I was probably only 6 or 7 years old.. These parties would probably be likened to what we know as square dancing today. 

There was always the family gathering at the cemetery on Decoration day. Though dad would usually take us to one of the grandparents home nearly every Sunday, most of the family lived in other communities so many of them were not seen except at this time. Often there was dinner on the grounds as each farm wife would bring food, and socializing lasted all day. There would be a worship service usually conducted by Saul Getz who was, more or less, the family preacher. 

A more common type of gathering was when neighboring families would visit each others homes for an evening of cards or just talking. Mr. Gebhardt was a story teller, and many evenings were spent listening to his hair-raising horror tales. The kids would all be too frightened to go outside after dark when he finished. More often the parents would play "pitch", a card game, while the children occupied themselves playing games. 

Most city people today make remarks about locals in these rural areas who still wave to anyone they meet on the roads in their area. But really, they have much going for them which, if we could learn from them, would improve our isolated city ways. 

Virgle L. Chappell 1997