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The picture above shows a group of four little sisters found in Muskogee Indian Territory in January, 1905, on a cold day (the thermometer registering four below zero), living in a tent with their father. Their mother had died a good woman and the father, a good and honorable man, had been reduced to this sad condition and could no longer care for the little girls as they deserved. Learning of the children home society, he corresponded with the superintendent who came and received the little girls on the cold day as named and now all four are in good homes...
The information found on this web page was through dedicated research and a strong desire to find out about his family by Curt Macias. He is looking for information on his grandmother's Walker family and the location of the mysterious bible. Thanks Curt for your dedication and for letting me upload this information for the Researchers of Logan County, Oklahoma. Pearl, who wrote the story you are about to read below, Kathrine, Mary are Curt's Great-Aunts. His Grandmother was Minnie Belle Walker.
The story you are about to read was written by Pearl Walker Menke. The original title to her book is "Out In The Fields with God". She along with three of her siblings were placed in "The Christians Children s Home in Guthrie, O. T.
The story begins here:
My parents, John and Ellen Walker, lived in a little cottage home near a small place called Sugar Grove, Arkansas, close by the Pettijane River. The family was three daughters, Mary Elizabeth, Minnie Bell, myself - Pearl Adeline, and a little son Dewey. In those days my happiest place was in our old fashioned cradle where I loved to rock and sing, before I could talk plainly. My sister, Minnie, said my first song, in part, was, "When the Roll is Called up Yonder I'll be There." All I could say was, "Ra-be-tare--ra-be-tare," meaning to say, "I'll be there."
One of the first things I remember in this life was a visit to Grandpa Hooper's home. Aunt Salley came for me on horseback. My first ride to remember. Grandma was sewing on her machine and I sat as close to her as I could on the floor asking questions. I was feeling pretty "grown-up" that evening. When I arrived home the next morning, a sweet little baby sister, Lillie Kathrine, has come to live with us. It was January 6, 1901.
We soon moved to the Indian Territory close to a small place called Porum. Grandpa Hooper had taken us to Magazine, Arkansas, to take a train to go to our new home.
In those pioneer days the country was thinly settled. It was mostly prairie county and of evenings many times prairie fires were seen in the distance which made me so uneasy!
It wasn't easy to get food in this place. People raised most of their living. One day mother made us some hominy which we all liked. That afternoon a peddler came to our home. While he was there, he asked mother for something to eat. I was standing close by watching that kettle of hominy and wondering if there would be any left for our supper. He gave mother some beads and a brooch to pay for his meal.
The most cherished memories of my precious mother is of beautiful evening times when mother loved to sit out in the front yard and play her accordion and sing precious songs while we children gathered around her in rapture to sing, too. Those great hours were molding rich character in the lives of four little children. Those sweet songs became a beacon and a shining light for me in the world alone without Mother and our home. I was always with mother in the kitchen while she was fixing a meal, especially when we were to have chicken and dumplings. I would tell her she could make better dumplings than anybody.
It was not long before our mother became very ill with lung trouble. There was no help for her and at that time our little sister, Rosalee, was born to live only two days. Very soon our precious mother was taken from us on November 9, 1903. In this new place there was no undertaker to help us, nor a close minister of God's word to give comfort in a home of deep sorrow and loss. A friend of our father came and made her a coffin; covering and fixing it as best he could. Some ladies made her a dress, and a few close neighbors went with us to the little country graveyard in the afternoon. They closed that sad hour with prayer. It was all such a mystery to our sad hearts.
It seemed there was nothing left in the home without mother. I know the angel of the Lord encamped around about us while our father was away at work. Mary, our eldest sister, was only 12 years old.
During the winter of 1904 we moved to Muskogee, Indian Territory. That winter was so cold that large icicles hung on the fence by our tent. We lost our little darling Dewey in an operation while we lived there. He was so dear to us all! I remember I had only one dress and I tore it one afternoon. I hid behind the head of our wooden bed while Mary fixed it.
While I was there, some ladies came in. I was so curious I finally worked my way over where I could peek around the head of the bed to see them. I didn't understand, but no doubt they were working to get us in the home at Guthrie, Oklahoma, where my father thought it best to put us. I love him today for making the great sacrifice. Mr. Noah B. Wickham, the superintendent of the home, came for us in Muskogee. We ate a little lunch in the depot that morning. Later our father came on the train with us to tell us goodbye before the train left for Guthrie.
We had good care at the Home. We knew we must mind, and were not allowed outside alone. The large basement was the only place we could romp and play.We had prayer meeting in the home where they taught us to pray out loud. Mrs. Wickham was so sweet and kind to us all.
Our little sister, Kathrine, was the first to get a home. She was just the sweet age that everyone loves. IT sure didn't seem right to see them come and taker her away from us. And yet, we must understand as much as possible that was why we were there. Minnie was next to go to her home. They came for her in the morning that day. We were so lost without our two sisters. Very soon Mr. Ross, who was a co-worker with Mr. Wickham, took me to Luther, Indian Territory {sic} to meet my new folks. My heart was so sad leaving Mary alone at the Home.
In that afternoon of March 28, 1905, Mamma Daggy came to Luther for me. Mamma Daggy was so kind. She was in her early sixties and Papa Daggy was about 70 years old. He had a long beard. When we arrived at their home, he came to meet us. He was very quiet but was kind, too. They seemed proud of me and I was liking the country.
The Daggys had a son, Frank, who was about forty years old whom I loved like a brother. We always went to Sunday school at a little school house called Oak Grove, a pretty place on a hillside.
A beautiful Easter came shortly after I was settled in my new home. Mamma Daggy had colored some eggs and hid them in the shavings still on the new porch. The next great and exciting day was the 4th of July. We went to Luther for a big picnic. The merry-go-round was run by an old horse. I felt sorry for the horse but it was a lot of fun for me. I remember how happy Mamma Daggy looked watching me have such a great time. They made me know I was loved.
That fall, 1905, was my first year of school. The first day Mamma took me to get me settled in school and to show me the way home. It was a mile trip through thick timber. She tied white strings at the place I was to turn off. The first evening I became lost and got in a big cuckelburr patch. My hair and dress were just matted with them, but I arrived home as she started to hunt for me.
That Christmas was the most wonderful one I had ever known. We had a pretty tree at Oak Grove and a visit from Santa Claus with treats for all the children. At home I hung up my stocking. The next morning I was up and down stairs by 6 a.m. My stocking was full of fruits, nuts and candy. There set a pretty red chair, a pretty doll and a set of dishes. The happy year of 1906 passed by so soon.
In September, 1907, we were happy without a thought of sorrow that seemed to come in billows. It was Sunday and unknown to us, we had made the last trip to Oak Grove. We came home to another good Sunday dinner just as happy as before. After dinner Mamma took her Sunday school lesson and went upstairs from the dinner table. I always washed the dishes before I could go play. Late that afternoon Frank went to call Mamma and found she had passed away. My sweet home was gone again forever. Everything was so dark to me.
Their daughter, Ella Foster, came to her mother's funeral and took me back to her home in Independence, Kansas. She put me in school there. I prayed one Thursday night that I wouldn't have to go to school there anymore. The next morning I woke up with a breaking out on my face. Ella said, "Oh, you can't go to school today. You look like you have the measles." I was so glad.
That day, Friday, Ella Foster's friend, Winifred Brooks, who had told her she would like to have a little girl, came to see me at Ella's home. The following Sunday we went to their home near Havana, Kansas for dinner where I remained with them for about a year. Later I went to live with Winifred's mother, Grandma Loosley, who was alone and old. She gave me my first Bible and she taught me the Word. She lost her gent who did her farming and her son Edd and his wife moved from Illinois to farm for her. I called them Aunt Carrie and Uncle Edd. I loved Aunt Carrie very dearly though the many years. Her love filled my heart as much as a relative.
In 1909, I had my first beau!. Uncle Edd got a young man to help him farm. He was a good fellow. One time he asked Aunt Carrie if he could take me to a box supper at the place where I attended school. She told him she thought I was too young to go with the boys, but if Grandma would go with us, I could go. The fellow's name was Scott.
In 1912 I went to Luther to be with Frank, my foster brother, and his wife, Kate. He married after Mamma Daggy died. I was happy with them. That was where I met Charley Menke. Frank like Charley real well and wanted me to like him, too. Charley and I had big times at parties and were at church together.
I wasn't with Frank long until my third grade teacher wrote asking me to come work for her mother, Mrs. Nellie Corle, who lived at Caney, Kansas. She was not well in body so I went to help her right away. I really loved her. I was not there long until I was sure I loved Charley better than anyone, though I had other fancies. I sent Charley a cute card, and soon received a good letter from him. We made our love known in letter with big plans until March, 1914, when we became engaged to be married that Christmas.
The year, 1914 was one of the grandest years of my life. It had never entered my mind I would find my dear sisters. But, God in his infinite wisdom and mercy had planned it all to make us so happy again. My sister, Mary, was in her basement near Paola, Kansas, churning cream when she saw in the Kansas City Star paper an advertisement for a lost relative. This gave her a desire to advertise for her sisters and father which she did. In June of 1914, while I was helping Mrs. Corle, her step-daughter, Mary, was in a Kansas City Hospital very Ill. with Mary was her sister-in-law, Lottie Corle, who clipped the ad from the paper and sent it right to me. I was happy to hear from Lottie and started to read her letter first. It said, "dear Pearl, I am so glad you have found your sister!" I could scarcely believe what I was reading. Immediately after reading those words, I read the clipping. I am unable to express my feelings. I didn't stop until I had answered my sister's advertisement. Mary received my letter on July 1st. I asked a lot of questions concerning our childhood days and the date of my birth. Her answer came by return mail with a birthday gift telling me that my birthday was July 4, 1896. I visited Mary on her 23rd birthday which was July 9, 1914.
Mary was an accomplished musician. While I was with her, we heard from our other sisters. We heard from Kathrine, our youngest sister, who included her graduation picture of 8th grade, on July 14th. The first letter from Minnie, who was to teach school that fall, came on July 17th. We planned a reunion for that Christmas.
While I was with Mary, Charley surprised me and came to see me on a Monday morning, August 24, 1914. He was not long in letting me know he came to take me home with him. We set our wedding day for August 27, 1914, at Paola. The morning of the 27th it was really raining. We had to go to Paola in a wagon. It seems that it was about a four mile trip. At about 10 a.m. the sky began to clear and were soon on our way to be married. The sun came out blistering hot before we arrived at the Paola courthouse. We were married at 12 noon. Afterward we went to the studio to have our pictures made and then back to my sister Mary's home for dinner. The next evening we started to go to Luther, Oklahoma where Charley was farming with his brother-in-law, Sam Gibson. We just batched there until Christ, 1914, when we three sisters, Mary, Minnie and I, gather for the first time in over 10 years in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Campbell, Katharine's adopted parents, in Ingersoll, Oklahoma. We had so much fun exchanging gifts, ice skating, taking pictures, eating delicious holiday food and singing sweet songs together. These are precious memories of sixty years ago.
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We farmed around Luther, Oklahoma, until the fall of 1918. Then we moved out to the Panhandle where my sister Minnie lived near Gray, Oklahoma. Charley helped my sister's husband gather his crop and I helped my sister when their little son, Edward, came, making them so happy on December, 1918.
We had so enjoyed helping my sister, Minnie, and her husband, Ed Schroeder, that fall and winter. The next spring we rented a farm close to them to farm.
Webmistress note: Minnie is Curt Macias Grandmother and he is researching this family. If you have any information, please contact Curt.
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