The first thing I have to do is tell you who is in this picture:
Dee Bartgis
Wayne Patterson (Erlene Lane's oldest son and my cousin)
Charles Hale
Max Taylor (another relative on the Lane side from Wichita)
Carl Kelly (Grainola)
Paul Kelly (Grainola)
David Harris (Vea Harris's son who married Jan, PET was her nick name by some of us at Shidler)
Charles Kelly (Chuck of Grainola)
Robert Kelly (of Grainola)
I know you all know a lot of stories on a lot of these folks but I am going to start with one of my favorites because I think this is "True Grit:" from the Osage and Beaver Creek.
Carl Kelly does not stick out to a lot of you but he is as tough as they come or at least one of the toughest. The reason I have to couch it that way is the story about my Dad, Cliff Olson, and a story I have wanted to tell for years about Snid Snyder (coming soon kind of like the movies).
I don't know what year it was but Leon Custer knows and I sure would like to hear his version so if someone knows how to get a hold of him I would be willing to get his side of this story. Anyway, back to Carl.
You see Carl was out hunting or working cattle and as always he was carrying a gun. I believe it was a rifle. Anyway it went off and shot him in the calf of the leg which created a lot of blood flow and a certain amount of pain. The story I was told was his horse got spooked and he basically crawled back to the house. The good thing is it was winter which probably helped keep him from dying from heat, loss of blood and exhaustion. He made it home which is obvious else the story would be over and made it to the doctor where they bandaged it up. Now when you live in the country west and north of Grainola you are about 45 miles from a doctor although at that time they may have still had a doctor in Shidler which would have been about 18 miles from his house. I wish I knew who the doctor was. Well when you get that kind of damage you are supposed to change the bandages often and keep the wound clean. That was pretty true for Carl until it was time for harvest.
For most folks they don't know what happens when harvest rolls around but the entire Kelly family loaded up their combines, trucks and trailers and headed first south then slowly marched north all the way to the Dakotas combining wheat. Many times they would rally some of the other young kids (Leon Williams in particular) and hire them to assist on harvest. The job lasted a few months and was a great way for farmers to pay for their equipment and make some money to support their farming habits. A little side note: In western Oklahoma farmers and ranchers make money the old fashion way - they have an oil well on their property. In the Osage you go on harvest or like Joe Fulsom you start a company to assist in building roads (another story).
When you are on harvest the combines run as long as the wheat is able to be cut and sometimes that means 24 hours a day. It is a grueling effort but the rewards are nice in that you make good money in a short period of time. What that also says is Carl did not take time to change his bandage on that leg with the hole in it. Now be careful here because if you don't have a strong stomach you probably should stop reading. I should also point out that harvest is one of the dirtiest and dustiest jobs available to a farmer. Well Carl called in Leon and asked him to check his bandage which had not been changed in a couple of weeks!
Leon cut the bandage off and low and behold the wound was full of maggots eating the dead flesh away. Leon immediately went outside to relieve himself of his dinner and anything else that he had eaten in a few days. Carl checked in with a local doctor who said that the maggots probably saved him from getting gangrene because they ate the infection and all the dead skin and meat. Have you had enough?
I knew Carl as one of the hardest working guys. They were one of the cornerstones of the Osage.
What did we learn:
gary@thepioneerman.com
Dee Bartgis
Wayne Patterson (Erlene Lane's oldest son and my cousin)
Charles Hale
Max Taylor (another relative on the Lane side from Wichita)
Carl Kelly (Grainola)
Paul Kelly (Grainola)
David Harris (Vea Harris's son who married Jan, PET was her nick name by some of us at Shidler)
- did I mention that PET stood for Pregnant English Teacher, ask her
Charles Kelly (Chuck of Grainola)
Robert Kelly (of Grainola)
I know you all know a lot of stories on a lot of these folks but I am going to start with one of my favorites because I think this is "True Grit:" from the Osage and Beaver Creek.
Carl Kelly does not stick out to a lot of you but he is as tough as they come or at least one of the toughest. The reason I have to couch it that way is the story about my Dad, Cliff Olson, and a story I have wanted to tell for years about Snid Snyder (coming soon kind of like the movies).
I don't know what year it was but Leon Custer knows and I sure would like to hear his version so if someone knows how to get a hold of him I would be willing to get his side of this story. Anyway, back to Carl.
You see Carl was out hunting or working cattle and as always he was carrying a gun. I believe it was a rifle. Anyway it went off and shot him in the calf of the leg which created a lot of blood flow and a certain amount of pain. The story I was told was his horse got spooked and he basically crawled back to the house. The good thing is it was winter which probably helped keep him from dying from heat, loss of blood and exhaustion. He made it home which is obvious else the story would be over and made it to the doctor where they bandaged it up. Now when you live in the country west and north of Grainola you are about 45 miles from a doctor although at that time they may have still had a doctor in Shidler which would have been about 18 miles from his house. I wish I knew who the doctor was. Well when you get that kind of damage you are supposed to change the bandages often and keep the wound clean. That was pretty true for Carl until it was time for harvest.
 | |
| Wheat harvest nowaday's at the McConaghy farm |
 | |
| Neal and Sue's combine |
When you are on harvest the combines run as long as the wheat is able to be cut and sometimes that means 24 hours a day. It is a grueling effort but the rewards are nice in that you make good money in a short period of time. What that also says is Carl did not take time to change his bandage on that leg with the hole in it. Now be careful here because if you don't have a strong stomach you probably should stop reading. I should also point out that harvest is one of the dirtiest and dustiest jobs available to a farmer. Well Carl called in Leon and asked him to check his bandage which had not been changed in a couple of weeks!
Leon cut the bandage off and low and behold the wound was full of maggots eating the dead flesh away. Leon immediately went outside to relieve himself of his dinner and anything else that he had eaten in a few days. Carl checked in with a local doctor who said that the maggots probably saved him from getting gangrene because they ate the infection and all the dead skin and meat. Have you had enough?
I knew Carl as one of the hardest working guys. They were one of the cornerstones of the Osage.
What did we learn:
- Maggots are not all bad
- Sometimes we should help our neighbors on an empty stomach
- God has a sense of humor
gary@thepioneerman.com
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