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Millennium Edition - http://OkieLegacy.org

1 September 2001, Vol. III, Iss. 35

Chester, Oklahoma...

From the "Chester Centennial 1895 - 1995", last page...

    The tree sketched on the back cover of the Chester Centennial 1895-1995 book symbolizes the many cottonwood trees that dominated the area around Chester. These massive trees radiated from the corners to the west, east and south.
     Mr. Tom Leonard, owner of the first business, referred to the service station he operated at Cottonwood Corners. Upon moving the post office to the corners it became officially known as Chester. The widening of the right-of-way for Highway 60 spelled doom for most of these trees, as the state removed, stacked and burned them.
    The sketch of the farmer with a Tailholt represents the other nickname of Chester. The story is that the Woods Brothers, who operated the second business in present day Chester, were asked by Mr. George Floyd, a local famer, how business was.
    The reply was, "We are still here."
    To which Mr. Floyd replied, "You boys have just got a tail holt and you'll never last."
    A man who was doing some painting on the service station they operated overheard the remark and proceeded to write the work Tailholt above the door of the station and also on the tailgate of an old pickup the brothers owned.
    Today the nicknames "Cottonwood Corners" and "Tailholt" are almost as well known as the legal name of a busy little corner called "Chester."

Highland School District No. 83...

[Thanks to Scot for sharing this excerpt of the Woods County Genealogists, Vol VI, Numbers I and II - Concerning the 1st school in Woods County, Oklahoma.]

     The first school in our district (Highland No. 83) was a "subscription school." In 1901 they had a sort of "get-together" and agreed that Bill Steele, Ike Smith, and W.H. Nicholson would act as a temporary school board; drew up a petition and asked for donations.
     Each gave all they possible could and a total of 96 dollars toward a building was collected. That wasn't quite enough for a building but W.H. Olmstead, lumber, dry goods, hardware, groceries, etc. dealer, feeling generous toward a good cause, donated eight dollars making a total of 102 dollars which paid for enough rough lumber to make a school house 16x18 feet of 1x12 inch boards up and down with lath nailed over the cracks. This lumber was hauled out in one load by W.H. Nicholson. It was put up by people in the district.
     The land for the school grounds was leased from A.W. Manning for school purposes for 50 years for one dollar. The lease expired in 1951. Each parent furnished desks for their children. Ike Smith made desks for his two children, and the five Payne children in return for which Millard Payne bought the lumber to make them.
     There was no blackboard -- slates were used for written work. Very few of the books were alike -- some coming from Kansas and other from Missouri. The teacher let each child recite in whatever book he had. No new books were purchased except for the beginners.
     Each family brought their own drinking water and their share of firewood or coal. One man didn't like to chop wood so he dragged trees up to the school yard and the older boys cut it up at intermission.
     Mrs. Jessie Grant taught this first school which lasted 3 months. She was paid at the rate of about a dollar a day -- all donations with Millard Payne, Ike Smith, and John Wilson paying for 1 month. Mr. Manning always helped when asked and Jack Evans gave five dollars even though they had no children. Every one seemed to give freely when they possibly could.
     Mrs. Grant lived several miles south of the school house and came in a one horse cart, bringing one child of her own to school with her. By the time this 3 month school was over they were eligible for territory money so the boardmembers made a trip to Alva and got 30 dollars, enough for one more month of school, which made 4 months of school for the year 1901.

Oakie's NW Corner...

Chester Bommunity BldgIt was about 6:30a.m., Thursday morning, the sun had just starting shining it's sunny face in the east as I snapped this shot of the Chester Community building, on the east part of town, northside of highway 60.
     With the Paris Reunion coming up next weekend, September 9, 2001, I made an early morning excursion to what some may call Cottonwood Corners (a.k.a. Chester, Tailholt) to get some pictures.
     As you travel south from Waynoka to Chester, you will travel about 27 miles on highway 281. Besides passing the Little Sahara State Park on the southend of Waynoka, you will travel another 20+ miles to what we call Grievers Canyon (or Grievers Creek). It's like... you're heading south on hwy281 -- make a curved, little jaunt through a wooded canyon with a creek, trees, and park setting. It's almost like a scene from the mountains of Colorado placed in the canyons north of Chester, Oklahoma. It's like a quaint breathe of the mountains in NW Oklahoma.
     Anyway, Grievers Canyon is about 6-1/2 miles north of present day Chester, Oklahoma. As I came into town from the north, hardly a light was glimmering in the old buildings, except for the Citgo station on the NE corner. BUT... It wasn't opened for business that early.
Cottonwood Corner Crafts, north of Citgo, Chester, OK     On the eastside of highway 281, north of the only gas station (Citgo), there is the Cottonwood Corners Crafts Building.

NE corner, Citgo StationI tried to get a shot of each corner at this quaint little four-way stop where hwy 60 & hwy 281 criss-cross. This Stop sign is on the NE corner as we look towards the Park (NW corner). The Park is surrounded by cottonwood trees. If you Click on the photo you will see the Citgo Station on the northeast corner.
      The sleepy-eyed residents of this quiet, little community probably were wondering what this little old lady was doing standing to the side of the road with her digital camera in hand.
SW corner, Chester, OK, Jct 60 & 281     The SW corner (catty-corner from the Citgo station) you will find these group of what seemed to be abandoned store fronts. Mary's Grocery is the white building on the SW corner of Cottnwood Lane (east-west street) and Chester's north-south main street (hwy 281)..
     Until next week... I hope to see all of my Paris Reunion Clan next Sunday, September 9, 2001, in Chester, Oklahoma, at the Chester Community building. Tell your siblings, children, cousins, etc... to dig out their family memories and join us for "High Noon Dinner" at the Chester Community building.

Your Favorite Redhead
-- Linda - "Oakie"

Linda K McGill Wagner
c/o WWW Publishing Co

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Mailbag & Links....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (Aug. 31st)... DORTHY! ! !
Dorthy from the 1940s to 1990
(Click Photo to see Dynamite-DoRight in 1990!)
Tailholt (a.k.a. Chester)... "I have a very interesting personal piece of trivia for you. The gas station that your aunt & uncle used to run was originally built by my Grandfather and his brother, Raymond and Ted Woods.
     SE Corner, Cottonwood Corners (Chester) Oklahoma Grandpa and Ted originally built and ran the station out of the station on the SW corner of the intersection in Chester. There was a family dispute between my Grandfather, Ted and the Balls. The Balls were the family of Grandpa's mother. So, Grandpa and Ted went across the street to the SE corner and built the other gas station and ran that for several years.
    Grandpa and uncle Ted also are said to the original providers of electricity for the town of Chester. They had a large generator that they ran lines from and provided electricity to the citizens in Chester. After a few years, Grandpa moved his portion of the business to Fairview and Uncle Ted to Seiling. Uncle Ted died many years ago, Grandpa just died on August 9 (2001) at the age of 96. We miss him terribly. But the legacy he left behind is great!
     Additionally, Uncle Ted said that the reason the town of Chester was nicknamed Tailholt is that Uncle Ted and Grandpa used to have an old pickup truck with a picture and phrase on the tailgate that said "Tailholt" That's about all I know of this story.
     You may ask your relatives if they know any of the Woods family. Most folks went to school with one or another generation of Woods' in either Fairview or Seiling. They may have been schooled by one of the MANY teachers we have in the family. All who have taught in the Fairview area for years! I was just in Fairview a week and half ago. My uncle lives in Cleo Springs we spent a few evenings there. It was so nice to be on my family's home turf. I will someday live there myself. I just can' t make a living there until my kids are grown.
     Also, I can also tell you that the actual town of Chester has been located in 3 different locations... Originally, the town was located directly North of the Chester Cemetery, that is why the cemetery is several miles away. Then, the town relocated west almost three miles along the highway. Finally, several years later the the town moved south to its current location.
     Unfortunately, my father never asked Grandpa why the town moved. However, my father believes that perhaps the town moved the first time to profit from the traffic on the highway. The second time he doesn't even have a guess. Perhaps some of your older family would know the history on these moves." -- Trina
Wanted: Obits for Rosetta & Chester, OK... "My grandfather's parents are both buried in the Chester Cemetery, he was orphaned at the age of 11. His mother passed away shortly after childbirth when he was just a small child. (his baby brother died after a few months) His father died in 1916 from TB (The White Plague). Grandpa's cousin George Ball cared for him and his brother after the death of his parents. Grandpa's sister, Lois, was in the care of D.C. Ball who homesteaded in Chester but moved to NM then Colorado. D. C. and his wife are also buried in Chester. If you ever stumble acrossed in old obits for that area, please let me know where they are. I would dearly love to have one for Rosetta, my grandfather's mother, I haven't been able to locate one for her." -- Trina
Old-time Harvesting Binders... "Hello Oakie... I'm browsing the Internet for pictures of old-time harvesting binders. I paint pictures as a leisure pastime and would like to do some of the harvesting work of bye-gone times, hence my search of web pages.
     My name is Sam. I was brought up on a 200 acre farm in the South of Ireland but have lived and worked in England all my life.
     I remember harvest-time in the fifties and early sixties when our binder was pulled by a pair of horses. Just a pair. We didn't call it a wheat binder - just a binder. Every farmer around had one. It was used to harvest wheat, oats and barley. (The barley went to Guinness.) We call it corn, but in the States you call it grain.
     No one around grew the maize, which you call corn. After the sheaves of corn were made into 'stucks', as the corn was cut, they were later made into stacks to further season. The threshings I remember from the days of steam engines. All the neighbours came to help. Hard work.
     Painting pictures of those days brings back the memories. If you have any pictures of harvesting I would like if you could e-mail them to me so that I could use them as a source of inspiration for my pictures. That would be great.
     Oakie, I have enjoyed reading your web page. The Internet has created a whole new medium for people to record their local history in a way it has never been possible before and to reach to all corners of the globe. Good luck." -- Email -- Sam
"Linda, I loved your site. I really enjoyed your info on the Freedom Rodeo and Old Cowhand. What a great picture of the 2001 old cowhand, Foy Wardrop, and his son behind him in the pic. , Doyle Wardrop. I think I might of liked the pic of the old cowhand best of all, because it is my dad. All of them were great, though. You have some really good ones of the bank robbrey also. thanks." -- Jill Elmore
Celebrate! Labor Day Holiday... "The idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread around the country. Factory workers, dock workers and toolmakers all began to demand and get their rights to an eight-hour workday, a secure job and a future in their trades. Peter McGuire and laborers in other cities planned a holiday for workers on the first Monday in September, halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day. On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand workers marched in a parade up Broadway."
Labor Day - History of... "Labor Day is a national legal holiday that is over 100 years old. Over the years, it has evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival. "
Labor Day.... A legal holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands. It is a celebration in honor of the working class. It was first suggested by Peter J. McGuire, founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. It was initiated in the U.S. in 1882 by the Knights of Labor, who held a large parade in New York City. In 1884 the group held a parade on the first Monday of September and passed a resolution to hold all future parades on that day and to designate the day as Labor Day. In March 1887, the first state law to declare the day a legal holiday was passed in Colorado, followed by New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In 1894 the U.S. Congress made the day a legal holiday. Parades, and speeches by labor leaders and political figures, mark Labor Day celebrations. Labor Day is also celebrated in Canada on the first Monday in September. The first parades and rallies to honor workers were held in 1872 in Ottawa and Toronto, and the September date was officially recognized by Parliament in 1894.
Right to Work... September 25th, 2001, Oklahoma Voters will be going to the Polls to decide for themselves on State Question 695 - Right to Work Ballot. I found this Ballot online at the Oklahoma Right to Work. I'll let you be the judge at what is right for you.
Oklahoma Poetry & Mysteries... "Hi Linda, We sound like two people who are very proud be call ourselves 'Okies.' I visited your website and really enjoyed it! It has so much to see that it's going to take me a while to view it all. Great job you've done there!
      I'll be adding new material to my site as time goes by, so visit again soon. Visit my Shadowland - Poetry from Oklahoma site and my Legend of Brown Springs, Thackerville, Oklahoma... It has been surprisingly popular... because of the "Legend of Brown's Springs" story I wrote there. My story wasn't entirely true, I just wrote it for fun and because I love mysteries. We DO take annual tours of the place, though. We went in July of this year... and it was so hot and humid we decided to go again when the weather is cooler. The next tour is planned for October 27, 2001 at 4:00 p.m. I'd love to get your reaction to this site." -- Lou Harper
The White Plague... NIH News Release -- Fighting the White Plague... "It was on this date in 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, or the 'white plague'as it was then known because of the markedly pale appearance of TB sufferers. Dr. Koch's discovery was the first step toward developing tools to control the disease. Today, we acknowledge his accomplishments and those of innumerable other researchers, physicians and public health workers who have battled TB. At the same time, we renew our collective resolve to defeat a scourge that remains one of the greatest threats to human health."
You Can View Webshots... At Oakie's Webshots. Just Click On the particular Photo Album you would like to view. NEW Albums... "Cottonwood Corners" & "Happy Birthday." While you are checking out Oakie's Webshots... stop by and sign my Webshot Guestbook.
Oakie's Messageboard - Stop by! What is happening where you live! Do you have an inquiry or family history to share with others? Share Your family findings, favorite vacation, etc. HELP US START SOMETHING! ! !

Thanks! You can also view The OkieLegacy online.