by Jeannetta Laura Brook Kezer
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NOTE: This story was pieced together from writings found by Claude D. Kezer among the papers of Jeannetta Brook Kezer.
Our father, a tall energetic man, called from the back porch to announce that
everything was ready for the Sunday afternoon drive. Our Mother, a quiet but
busy person, was hurriedly putting the finishing touches to the two daughters
and son who would soon be ready to climb into the surrey for a pleasant trip
across the countryside. It was the family custom to go driving when the weather
was sunny and warm.
It was such a day that Sunday afternoon late in April.
The air was full of the freshness of spring. The redbud, wild plum and many
varieties of wild flowers provided a beautiful contrast to the carpet of green.
A soft, gentle breeze rippled the silk fringe that edged the top of the surrey
as the carriage rolled along the unpaved road. The two white horses adorned in
shiny black harness were careful not to step in the deep ruts, filled with water
from the recent rains.
The time was soon gone and our family neared the east
edge of the new and challenging town of Okemah. The horses increased their paces
as they came closer to the public well not far away. This was the favorite spot
for cattlemen as they drove the herds across broad stretches of pasture land.
After a refreshing drink by both team and family, we drove on. We enjoyed
driving by the Crossley home with its low picket fence the wide front porch,
which seemed to invite us in for a visit. Mr. Crossley was Okemah's first
Weigher.
A short distance ahead was the J.S. Stone home, where a large pack
of wolfhounds restlessly paced back and forth in side their pens. Mr. Stone
enjoyed running the hounds for sport, but they were a wonderful help to the
cattlemen of the area, because coyotes and wolves were a menace during calving
season. Just at that moment, above the baying of the hounds, we could hear the
whistle of the Fort Smith and Western as it neared the depot. This was a new
train, only having been in operation since 1903. Our team was not afraid of the
"Iron monster," but seamed to enjoy the short rest as we waited for Mr.
Bushnell, the station master, to signal us to cross the tracks.
Charles
Evans, the baggage man, was loading the bag of mail to deliver to the post
office, and several large trunks waited to be loaded on the small wagon. The
trunks belonged to the "drummer" who had come to town with his samples of
merchandise. He would spend the night at the three-story Broadway Hotel, where
he could get good, home-cooked meals for 35 cents.
The next morning, he
would make an early call on some merchant, suggesting the latest in dry goods,
groceries, salt meat, hardware, eye glasses, jewelry or shoes.
We soon
reached the Okemah National Bank. On the window were the names of FT. Miller,
President, George Gaenge, Vice President, and A.J. Martin, Cashier. This
building housed the office of Dr. Watts, a pioneer "family doctor." The sign on
another door was an ironical twist: "Eaton's for caskets and coffins." The
second story of the bank building also housed Okemah's first telephone office.
In front of the bank was the familiar hitching rail. Our father suggested we
get out of the buggy, hitch the horses to the rail and go for a stroll on
Broadway. It was fun to walk along the board sidewalk -. some of the boards were
nailed down and others were not.
Just across the corner was the Patterson
Mercantile Company, where a large stock of merchandise could be found in every
department. Dress goods - 5 cents to 25 cents a yard, Kabe corsets, neck
ribbons, silk waists, shirt waist patterns, and also gent's furnishings and
groceries. We were thrilled with the festoons of laces handing in the windows,
the bolts and bolts of pretty summer materials and ribbons for the hair, etc.
All of these could be fashioned into pretty dresses for Fourth-of-July picnics.
On the second floor of the Finks building (which could be reached by the
open stairway on the West side) were the law offices of C.W. Brewer and C.T.
Huddleston. The office of Dr. L.A. Nye was also on that floor.
Fletcher
White's Palace Drug Store was across the street, where one could buy cigars,
tobaccos, confections and wall paper. Prescriptions were a specialty, and there
was the familiar cigar lighter, a torch of wood-alcohol burning at the end of an
iron pipe suspended from the ceiling. It was a daily habit for the men of the
town to gather around the cigar counter, smoke and chat a bit about the doings
of the day.
We walked by the Okemah Meat Market with J. W. Mann, manager;
Schmidt's Jewelry, where glasses could be fitted and made right in the shop.
There was the post office with an inscription, "OKEMAH, I. T. (Indian
Territory), where Mr. Perry Rodkey was the first postmaster.
We had a
strawberry soda at the Palace of Sweets with J. W. Long, Sr., proprietor, giving
full measure. We loved to sit at small tables on the sturdy ice cream chairs and
sip a big soda for only be. Also on Main Street was "Kezer's Restaurant and
Short Orders," where cowboys would meet on Saturday night, check their guns and
take in the town. It was by order of a United States Marshal, who policed these
towns in the wide open spaces, that no guns be worn while on the streets.
A
long, narrow building with its tall front - a familiar type of architecture in
early Okemah housed the Creek Trading Company (T. E. Standley and S.T. Palmer,
owners). The building was also used as the first meeting place for members of
the Presbyterian Church.
Another pleasant place to stop was Mrs. J. A.
Kirchner's "The Smart Shop," where a full line of ladies' and children's toggery
could be found. Mrs. Kirchner was affectionately called "Mammy" Kirchner. It
would soon be time for Mammy to design and make our summer hats. We loved to
watch Mammy tie a bow here, a flower there, and measure ribbon for the long
streamers to hang down the back of our large straw hats.
In the first Dunlap
Store, one could find bandanna handkerchiefs and work socks, all strung and
hanging from wires with the prices marked in bold figures. We loved to climb the
ladder and roll along the wall, where we could find our shoe size.
Going
farther West, and near the top of the hill on which the new town was built, was
the First National Bank with W. H. Dill, President, George Ralston, Vice
President, and L.P. Caldwell, Cashier. The bank offered its service "for the
prompt and careful transaction of any banking business you may have." They
requested an interview with you and were glad to serve you on the Line. In the
same building (the first permanent building in Qkemah), was the John D. Richards
Hardware store, where one could buy horse collars, bailing wire, harness, axle
grease, cross-cut saws, nails, barbed wire and even sewing machines for eighteen
dollars. In this same building was the first printing shop, where job printing
was done and the Independent printed.
Walking a bit farther West, and still
on the board sidewalks, we came to the new town's first school. Teachers were
Miss Frances Taylor (Mrs. Potter, now Andrews) and her sister, Mrs. E. E. Askew.
Around the corner was the familiar Dexter House, the finest of hostelries, with
its own livery service. Mr. and Mrs. E. Q. Dexter were the owners. We enjoyed
sitting on the log bench on the front porch, listening as Mr. Dexter told of his
early-day experiences in the Indian Territory and of the harrowing times he
endured while moving to the new settlement.
Looking again to the West, the
sun was sinking below the horizon, its long crimson fingers stealing across the
sky. We stopped on the way back to the Okemah National Bank and the hitching
rail, to refresh ourselves at the fountain in the center of town. We returned to
"the surrey with the fringe on the top" and the team of white horses, which were
standing at attention as if by military order. Father hitched the traces to the
singletree and untied the ropes from the rail. He called for the family to climb
into the carriage, then climbed in, tightened the reins and directed the horses
toward the East, ending a wonderful Sunday afternoon in Okemah's yester-years.