Interview #4993
Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson
Date: July 21, 1937
Name: Mrs. Pearl Johnston Sprague
Residence: Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Date of Birth: 1891
Place of Birth: Indian Territory, Chickasaw Nation
Father: M. Johnston, born in Mississippi
Mother: C.J. Palmer, born in Tennessee
I was born at old McGee, Indian Territory, Chickasaw Nation, in 1891.
My father farmed and raised cattle and hogs. Mr. McGee established the first
post office at old McGee and he owned the cotton gin there.
When new Ada began to build up, my father put in the first grocery store
there. That was in 1900. When we moved to Ada there were several tents there,
but in a short time, there were several stores and dwelling houses and you could hear men
hammering and building store buildings and houses in nearly any part of the night.
People lived in half dug-outs and log houses with dirt floors.
Around old McGee there were some nice houses. They belonged to the big
cattlemen, mostly.
I was small when we lived at McGee but I can remember going to candy
breakings and parties given by people who lived in these half dugouts and everybody would
have a good time.
Back when I started to school, children didn't have the chance to get the
schooling like they do now. My first school was a log school house and we had to sit
on hewed down logs for seats without any desks. This was a subscription school
and they only taught three months out of a years.
The next school I went to was the I.B.C. College at Tecumseh.
I now live in Pauls Valley.
