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Frank Eaton aka "Pistol Pete"
Artist:
Harold
Holden
http://www.oksenate.com/senate_artwork/frank_eaton.html
Frank Eaton was born October 26,
1860 in Hartford, CT. When Frank was eight, the Eaton family
moved to Kansas to homestead. Shortly after their relocation,
Eaton witnessed his father's murder. After being challenged to
avenge the death by a family friend, Frank learned how to handle
guns and could "shoot a snake's head off with either
hand." At 15, before setting off on his mission to avenge
his father's death, he decided to visit Fort Gibson, a cavalry
fort, to learn more about handling a gun. There he competed with
the cavalry's best marksmen, beating them each time. After many
competitions, the fort's commanding officer, Colonel Copinger,
gave Frank a marksmanship badge and a new name. From that day
forward, Frank would be known as "Pistol Pete."
At 17, Frank became a Deputy U.S.
Marshal under Judge Isaac C. Parker, "the hanging
judge." At 29, he joined the land rush to Oklahoma
Territory. He settled near Perkins, Oklahoma, serving as sheriff
and later as a blacksmith.
Frank Eaton lived the life of a
true cowboy and was said to "pack the fastest guns in the
Indian Territory." He usually carried a loaded forty-five
and often said "I'd rather have a pocket full of rocks than
an empty gun." He was also known to throw a coin in the
air, draw and shoot it before it hit the ground.
After seeing Eaton ride a horse
in the 1923 Armistice Day parade in Stillwater, a group of
Oklahoma A&M College students decided that Eaton's
"Pistol Pete" would be a suitable mascot for the
school. They felt "Pistol Pete" represented the old
west and the spirit of Oklahoma. However, it was not until 1958
that "Pistol Pete" was adopted as the school's mascot.
The familiar caricature of "Pistol Pete" was
officially sanctioned in 1984 by the university as a licensed
symbol. Frank Eaton lived in Perkins until his death on April 8,
1958 at the age of 97. During his lifetime, he was married
twice, had ten children, 31 grandchildren, and several
great-grandchildren.
"Pistol Pete" was the nickname of
Frank
Eaton, who served as a deputy U-S marshal for Judge
Isaac
Parker...."Pistol Pete" was chosen as the mascot of Oklahoma
A&M, now Oklahoma State University,
after students saw Eaton riding a horse
in an Armistice Day parade
Pistol Pete's real name is
Frank
Eaton. Frank was
born on Oct 26 , 1860 in Hartford , Conn. After
his
father returned from the Civil War , they moved to
Kansas. He lived in Kansas
, Texas and the Indian Territory ( Oklahoma ) the
rest of his life.
He
worked as a cowhand , for the Cattleman's
Association , and was also a Deputy US
Marshal. He was even a
blacksmith in Perkins where he
lived until he died on
April 8 , 1958.
On a car trip in the 1950s, Frank
Eaton was asked by his son Raymond whether
people in the late1800s had a a lot of faith in
their fellow man. "Yes, we did," Lyle
reported him saying.
Complied and transcribed by Marti Graham, 2009.
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