Duchess Dozing Domain

Bayfield, Colorado - It has calmed down quite a bit up here in the rockies of Southwest Colorado this week. We may be getting some rain this Monday afternoon. NW Okie wanted us Pugs to share these photos of the San Juan National Forest scenes with everyone out there.

How is the wheat harvest coming along in Oklahoma and Kansas? Did the rain, hail hurt the harvesting?

WHEW! Am I glad that NW Okie is letting me rest this week from all the walks she has taken me on up to the mountains. I am going to leave you here to read NW Okie's Ramblings while we round the last few days of June 2010 and move into the next weekends 4th of July. Tell me, does Dacoma, in northwest Oklahoma still have their 3rd of July Festival in their downtown park?

BUT before we do let us leave you with the following quote by Winston Churchill, November 1936, "The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences."

Good Night and Good Luck! Have a safe Independence Day festival of fireworks next weekend wherever you are!
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NW Okie's Ramblings

Liberty 35 School, Oklahoma - This NW Okie and others have noticed that no one looks happy in this 1904-1905 Liberty 35 School, in Woods (M) county, in northwest Oklahoma photo on the left. Do they look mad to you? Even the Teacher, Constance Estella Warwick? Wonder what the deal was? Bad Day? Hard times? Anyway, look for this photo in the 2010 Freedom Rodeo Program later this Summer!

I have been told that the handwriting on the back looks like our grandma's handwriting. Did grandma have a system for writing down the names listed on the back? Did she just start writing down the names from left to right, as she remembered them? Did she list everyone in photo? NOT! Four more students than we have names!

Here are the names as listed on backside of the 1904-05 photo of Liberty 35 School. If you can help us established an order to how the names were listed or recognize any of the 1904-05 Liberty 35 School students as your grandparents or relatives, let us know which one they are in the photo so we can tag them correctly. We have also put the same photo on our Facebook - NW Okie site under "my photos - Camera Vault Photos" for those networking with Facebook. Check it out and help us tag your grandparent or relative in the photo. We have also noticed counting the faces in photo and the names on the back, that we are short about 4 names not listed at all.

Here is the List that we have so far:
Joseph Endicott,
Earl Benningfield
Clarance Endicott
Ernie Benninfield
Ada Graham (Murrow)
Gertrude Douglas (Porter)
Olive Fugit
Lonnie Fugit
Roy Snyder
Jessie Kuiech (Mrs. Roy Snyder)
Erma Benningfield (Mrs. Lancaster)
Sylvia Fugit
Elsie Snyder (Mrs. Orval Brown)
Lula Snyder (Mrs. McDaniel)
Mable Fugit (Mrs. Will Ross)
Lizzie Snyder
Millie Wright (Mrs. Wise)
Nora Aviatt
Bessie Wright
Ethel Benningfield
Clara Wise
Constance "Connie" Estella Warwick (married Wm. J. McGill), Teacher.

As to one-room schoolhouse teachers, Jerry mentioned, "Linda, you are right about the teachers not being married. My Mother had to stop teaching when my folks got married."

Rod recognized a relative in the photo and says, "Ada Graham married Frank Murrow. Frank's siblings were Luther (my grandfather), Lionel, Clay, and Blanche (married Walt Bergersen). Two other siblings died in infancy, a sister Gladys Bula and a brother William Ora Leonard."

Dale says, "BEAUTIFUL picture! You and others should post more of them for Identifications. Notice the little boy in the front row with his lunch bucket. It must be full of good stuff because he doesn't want to let go of it, even for a picture. What is the little tie thing around the shoulder of our little lunch pail boy? Maybe that morning he had to both dress himself and fix lunch for school."

As to the little boy with the tie thing around his shoulder, this NW Okie asks, "Is it a strap of a school bag hanging over the little boys shoulder?"
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July 4, 1928, Alva Drum Corp

Alva, Oklahoma - Coming up next Sunday is the 4th of July 2010. I know that I have showed this July 4th, 1928 Alva Drum corp photo before, but we thought it only appropriate to show what 1928 citizens of Alva and their boys drum corp were doing on July 4th, 1928.

I have recently put it up on NW Okie's Facebook Photos in the My Photos - Camera Vault Photos to share in case someone is looking, doing genealogy research and might see a relative in the 1928 July 4th photo. The photo gives you an idea of how Alvans used to park in the wide downtown streets around the square and in the center of the street.

Kathy mentioned, "Oh Wow! I recognize several names in this pic. Russell Fowitz was the son of William Fowitz, who bought my grandfather, Louis Miller, furniture store and undertaking business. Both were cousins of my grandfather. Louis and his wife, Blanche, raised William when his father and mother were killed in a flood back in Pennsylvania. William's sister, was adopted by a wealthy mattress manufacturing family, raised in Pennsylvania."

I have everyone tagged with a name in the photo, except the band leader out front. If you click the link above, it should take you over to NW Okie's Facebook photo album where you can put your pointing device on each boy and see their name.

Here is a list of Alva Boys in Alva Drum Corp, 4 July 1928, NW corner of Alva downtown square, NW Oklahoma.

Row 1, front to back: Bob Burcket, J. L. Reed, Russle Fowitz, Ben Harrover, Frank Houts, Richard Jones, Newton Gettings;

Row 2, front to back: Bob McGill, Herb Ryman, Howard Schumacher, Lester Duck, Paul Clark, Lewis Kasparick;

Row 3, front to back: Bob Day, Brad Eutsler, Jhon (sic) Day, Clay Noah, Tom Hewit, Junior Collins;

Row 4, front to back: Fat Murry, Earl Boyce, Joe Day, Bill Jackson, Marion Brozwell (?), Millard Porter;

Row 5, front to back: Warne Templin, John Jackson, Edward Kavnaugh, Crawford Batenburg, Merle (Gene) McGill, Ben Matteson, Bradley.
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Wewoka, Seminole County, Oklahoma

Wewoka, Oklahoma - Homer sent us this link to Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture concerning information on Wewoka, Oklahoma. Did you know that Wewoka was a Seminole word meaning "barking water?"

Wewoka was located in east-central Seminole County, at the the junction of State Highway 56 and US Highway 270. It states that Wewoka was originally located in the Seminole Nation, Indian Territory (I.T.) and was the location of the sEminole national capital.

have you ever heard stories of a "whipping tree" (pecan tree) located near the council house where Seminole and African Americans who broke the law were suspended from the tree while being whipped?

A Timeline of Events around Wewoka, Oklahoma:
* 1849 - Gopher John (a.k.a. John Horse) and other Seminole slaves were located near present Wewoka.

* 1866 - Elijah J. Brown, a white trader, was selected by the government tolead SEminole refugees from Kansas to I.T. and they settled near Wewoka where Brown established a trading post (Wewoka Trading Company, 1891) and was postmaster when the post office was established May 13, 1867.

* 1866 - Rev. James Ross Ramsey, Presbyterian missionary, founded Ramsey Mission (first school in present Seminole county.)

1867 - Federal government established a remount station nearby for soldiers traveling between Fort Gibson and Fort Sill.

* 1877 Seminole Gvoernor John F. Brown unified tribal factions and had a log house erected at Wewoka as the Seminole capitol.

* 1895 - Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway after 1902) ran its line from McAlester to Oklahoma City passing through Wewoka.

* 1897 - Seminole National Council decreed that the town lots were reserved for American Indians only.

* 1902 - Settlement of the town was opened to white settlers.

1907 - After Statehood the population was at 794.

* 1908 - Wewoka was elected as county seat in special election.

* 1910 - Population at 1,022.

* 1920 - Another election was held, because Seminole and Konawa towns people contested Wewoka as county seat. * 1923 - March 1923 Roland H. Smith drilled Wewoka's first commercial oil well (Betsy Foster Number One).

* 1927 - Seminole county courthouse was completed.

* 1928 - May 1928 an amusement park had been added for recreation near Lake Wewoka.

* 1929 - Junior college courses were offered at the high school.

* 1930 - Wewoka's population peaked at 10,401 with the oil and gas industry. Post WWII -- Wewoka lost residents.

* 1950 & 1960 - Census reported 6,747 and 5,954.
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Rural One-Room Schools

Oklahoma Territ - We did some research online and found some interesting tidbits concerning the rural one-room schoolhouses they had in the later nineteenth century and early 1900s. In some cases the one-room school houses often served as the community centers and churches and were among the first structures built in Oklahoma Territory. It was the focus of the community and the activities were considered of interest to everyone.

Farmers donated a piece of the land to build a one-room schoolhouse and boarded the teachers. Teachers pay was not much compared to today, but for back then it might have been a decent wage and respectful job for young ladies and men.

Also, I have found where the school session lasted anywhere from 70 days, 100 days to 3-1/2 months.

Early schools were often subscription schools where each child paid $1.00 per month while attending, which usually went to paying the $20 to $25 dollars to the teacher.

Eighth grade level was required for graduating from one-room schoolhouses. Students would gather in the one-room school, where one teacher prepared individual lessons for as many as thirty students.

Paper was a scarce luxury, so students worked on individual slate boards or at the blackboard. Drilling, memorization and recitation were the teacher's tools. Younger students learned by hearing the lessons of the higher levels many times. Furnishings in the room might have included the U. S. flag, a bookcase, maps or a globe, pictures of a president or two, and whatever other decorations the teacher could provide.

Student desks were aligned in rows on either side of a pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room. Usually, girls sat on one side and boys on the other. Hooks or nails were provided on the wall at the back of the room, where students hung their coats. There was also a bench for removing overshoes and under which students could place their lunches. Usually there was a crock or bucket for water with one dipper, which everyone used.

Teachers required a stricter standard of discipline than students follow today. At all times, students sat with both feet on the floor facing forward in their desks. When not doing tasks, they kept their hands folded on the desk or in their laps. Students did not speak without raising their hand, receiving permission, and then standing.

Have you ever heard from your grandparents or great grandparents about having to walk seven miles to the one-room schoolhouses? What about stories of a form of punishment where the teacher had a disobedient student draw a small circle high on the blackboard. The teacher then had the disruptive student stretch to place their nose in the circle. For more serious offenses the teacher might require a student to stand for a time with arms outstretched, palms up, holding a heavy book on each hand. A ruler rapped sharply across the hand usually improved a student's behavior or brought roving attention back to the work at hand.

An early school day began for the teacher, who arrived in time to bring in the coal, wood to start the fire and prepare for the day. At 9:00 the teacher emerged from the school house and rang the bell, calling the students to class. Boys would line up on one side, girls on the other. Students would remain standing by their desks for opening exercises. The atmosphere in the classroom was formal, but in spite of the formality it was still a room full of young people with high spirits and the usual pranks.

Teachers in the late 19th century were usually young. Just out of school themselves, often in their late teens and sometimes younger than some of their students.

Some of the other duties of the teacher were administrative, maintenance, nursing, and counseling chores as well. School boards expected teachers to focus all their attention on teaching duties. There was a strict standards of behavior required from all the teachers. School boards hired both men and women, but preferred men to control the older boys in the schools and to do the heavy winter chores.

Also, we found that rarely did men make a career of teaching in one-room country schools. Our grandpa (Wm J. McGill), when not playing professional baseball in the early 1900s taught at various onr-room schoolhouses in northwest Oklahoma.

Teaching was considered a respectable alternative for women. They could not marry, because it was considered unseemly and distracting from their duties. If the teacher was a local woman, she could live at home with her family. Otherwise, she was expected to board with the families of her students. Generally this meant that the teacher shared a room with the children and had no privacy at all.

The rural one-room teachers received low pay, no benefits and no job security. The teaching certificates today were not present back in the one-room schoolhouse era of the late nineteenth century and early 1900s. Only basic three-Rs were taught.

School boards hired teachers for only one term at a time and the least hint of impropriety was grounds for dismissal. It is hard to imagine the dedication of those teachers who persevered. How would they fare in the present teaching situations today?
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Pioneer Life in Early Oklahoma

Oklahoma Territ - Pioneer life in Oklahoma Territory was not easy, but to those who ventured into the wild lands of Oklahoma and Indian Territory it was their dream. It was a ray of light, a chance to own a piece of the American Dream.

It was the late 1800's that the western expansion reached into Oklahoma. 1889 saw the choice portion of Indian Territory opening to white settlement and the first land run. Four years, 1893, Oklahoma Territory opened its lands to the north to white settlement in the second land run.

The first settlers arrived in their covered wagons with few necessities and no luxuries of life. They brought just enough grain with them to plant crops. They lived off the wild turkeys, geese, deer, elk and prairie chickens for their meat.

Their hoes were crude one-room houses built of raw timber and dried blocks of grass and mud. It was not easy keeping their homes warm in winter, even though they kept a small fireplace burning throughout the winter months. The fireplaces, besides providing heat were used for cooking.

A family of eight was considered a moderate sized family for our pioneers back then. Oklahoma's land was mostly grass and clay, which had to be plowed before seeds could be planted a crop could be raised.

Amusements were simple. There were quilting bees. Weddings were occasions of feasting and merrymaking.

Schools in the area were one room log buildings with puncheon floors. Hard long benches served as desks with no backs to them. The studies consisted of three R;s, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Boys and girls usually continued to attend school until they were married. Classes were called to the front of the room to recite the lessons. Members of the teaching profession usually received about $25 per month.

The School house served as a meeting house on Sunday for the religious groups. Itinerant preachers brought their Sunday religious lessons to the settlers. Women would it on one side of the house and the men on the other. After services the preacher would be invited to accompany some member home. The entire congregation would spend the rest of the day listening to and getting the gossip of the neighborhood.

Have you thought lately of those pioneers who came before and laid the first bricks in the communities and brought the first civilization to civilized places. Ask yourself, "Could I do what my pioneers had done?"
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Castles in Oklahoma

Davis, Oklahoma - Besides Northwest Oklahoma's Castle on the Hill, in Alva, Oklahoma Territory, there are and were other castles of Oklahoma. For instance, there is the Collings Castle at Turner Falls in Davis, Oklahoma.

The Collings Castle is deep in the ARbuckle mountains and surrounded by cascading waterfalls and crystal clear springs. It is the closest thing to a true medieval castle in Oklahoma.

How and who built it? It was built by the former Dean of Education at the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Ellsworth Collings. Collings lived an early 20th century educator's version of the American Dream. Collings rose from humble beginnings in Missouri and became one of the most important men in education.

Ellsworth Collings was born in McDonald county, Missouri, October 23, 1887, earning both his Bachelor's of Science degree in Education and his Associate of Science in Educational Psychology degrees fro the University of Missouri. He began his teaching career in a one-room school during 1908-1909. He proceed in 1919 to the pinnacle of the education profession i n the United States, the Teachers College.

Collings began his 36 year career in higher education at the University of Oklahoma, on June 17, 1922. He wrote at least six books during that time and published a many articles on education. In 1926, the Board of Regents appointed him to the position of Dean of the School of Education. He held that post until his resignation in October, 1945. He retired from OU at the conclusion of the spring semester of 1958. Collings resided at his ranch near Davis until his death, June 18, 1970.

Although the Collings Castle was never a permanent home of the Collings, on special occasions, friends were entertained at the Castle. Very little is known of the Collings Castle and Collings left very little reasons for building it. The Castle is located witin Park of Turner Falls, where two small creeks form from natural springs to merge into a small river. Near the castle, this small river plunges 77 feet off a cliff to form a wide, clear basin of water.

They say the castle complex is actually formed from two castles; a great castle and amuck smaller one off to the side. Above the great castle is a path that leads to the top of the hill to what must have been a small stable area, presumably leading towards Ellsworth's ranch and permanent home. The castle is three stories tall, nearly recreates the realistic feel of Europe's ancient medieval castles. the second castle is only one story tall and is not as commanding, but is still important part of the complex.

They say the Collings Castle is available to tour, but it's all self-paced with little to no information about the castle. It was built in the 1930's and was the summer home for the doctor who built it. It was also the headquarters of the Bar-C Ranch. See Collings Castle on dadzilla165's Flickr photostream.
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Collection US County & Land Ownership Maps (1860-1918)

By now, many of you have heard that Ancestry.com recently updated its collection of U.S. County & Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918, indexing names on the maps. You can search these maps HERE. This week's Discovery includes some tips for using these maps. You can read it HERE. View/Write Comments (count 1)   |   Receive updates (1 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

This Day In History

On this day in History, 1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carries water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth. 1884 - Congress declares Labor Day a legal holiday. 1911 - Samuel J. Battle becomes the first African-American policeman in New York City. 1972 - President Nixon announces that no new draftees will be sent to Vietnam. Click here for more facts from This Day in History at History.com View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe