WRONG!
The first time I ever heard of an alligator in Shidler was when I heard the story of a lady who was traveling through Shidler and came to a sudden stop to avoid running over something. When she stepped out of her car to examine what she thought was an alligator and confirmed the fact she started screaming. I sure wish I would have seen it.
Well what I discovered was that everyone knew about the alligator but me. Dad took me over to the Divall Gas Station where he got his new tires all the time. As a side note we were always getting new tires and flats fixed as when Dad was about 40 years old he started to carry the mail in Grainola as a rural mail carrier. I don't think there was a week that went by that he did not get a flat as almost all of the roads were gravel and thus graded periodically. And now if you are too citified to know what that means periodically Fred Mow (I don't remember how to spell it) or Cac Harrington (Harvey's dad) would grade the gravel roads each month to keep them in good shape. The purpose was to bring the gravel that had worked its way to the sides of the road back into the road to prevent ruts from building up when it rained and folks traveled on the roads. Now the problem was that when you graded the road you drug any nails or bolts back onto the traveling area and ultimately those nails got in someone's tire or tires. The worst I remember is Dad said he had over 20 flats one week. He was really aggrivated and went and purchased new tires.
OK, back to the alligator and the Divall Gas Station. As I recall it was Mrs. Divall who took me down to the house and showed me their pet alligator which was at that time in the basement for the winter. Mr. Divall told me the alligator did not eat too much but on occasion he would feed it 5 lbs. of hamburger meat. With that I can attest to the fact there was an alligator in Shidler and it lived during spring and summer in a pond close to the Divall house.
But like any fun loving alligator it took a stroll once in a while downtown, shopping I guess. Mr. and Mrs. Divall were always nice enough to let you come and see their pet during the winter when it basically slept most of the time in their basement.
What do you learn in the Osage?
The first time I ever heard of an alligator in Shidler was when I heard the story of a lady who was traveling through Shidler and came to a sudden stop to avoid running over something. When she stepped out of her car to examine what she thought was an alligator and confirmed the fact she started screaming. I sure wish I would have seen it.
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| Gravel roads and a cattle guard |
OK, back to the alligator and the Divall Gas Station. As I recall it was Mrs. Divall who took me down to the house and showed me their pet alligator which was at that time in the basement for the winter. Mr. Divall told me the alligator did not eat too much but on occasion he would feed it 5 lbs. of hamburger meat. With that I can attest to the fact there was an alligator in Shidler and it lived during spring and summer in a pond close to the Divall house.
But like any fun loving alligator it took a stroll once in a while downtown, shopping I guess. Mr. and Mrs. Divall were always nice enough to let you come and see their pet during the winter when it basically slept most of the time in their basement.
What do you learn in the Osage?
- everyone has a few alligators in the closet metaphorically speaking
- don't you wish you felt the freedom to let your alligator roam, too many lawyers
- Lawyers, that is why we don't have alligators, or politicians?
Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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