Shirley's Brownies

My family loved brownies but during high school I dated a girl named Shirley who changed brownies forever.  In fact those brownies and the brownie recipe we have at our house today 40 years later are still named "Shirley's Brownies".  I know this little story is going to mess up your diet but when something is this good you just have to share it.  You see those brownies that Shirley made were firm but not too firm around the edges and not quit crisp on top but when you cut into them they were just a little goey, yes goey.  I suppose I have to explain that but GOooooEeeeY means it is not sticky like syrup and not runny and not totally baked up like a cake but just a little past doughie and hot when ready.  Do I need to explain doughie or is it doughy?  Anyway it is not raw but cooked  and still very moist.  In fact if you get after the brownies right when they come out of the oven and you cut into the center you can put a chunk of butter on it and that chunk will melt down in a hurry.  My goodness that is good eat'n! OK, here is a definition of  'get after'.  It means cut and eat immediately out of the oven. It can also mean you better get busy or Dad will 'get after' you.

 Now the way I do it is I cut the brownie in half and put the chunk of butter inside.  I do that for a couple of reasons.  First, it melts the butter faster.  Second, it butters both the top and bottom so you can eat them separate or as a sandwich of brownie filled with butter.  Third, if my wife, Shouna, can't see the butter then I cannot get in trouble for putting all that butter on my brownie.  Jimminee Chirstmas, that makes me want a brownie.  So here today is "Shirley's Brownies":

2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup milnot
1 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon Vanilla ( I love Vanilla but it does not taste like it smells, trust me)
1 cup chopped nuts, preferably pecans and it is NOT PEE Cans -- it IS PAcans
     it is ok with me if you add more pecans
Cream the first four ingredients then add eggs one at a time then add the rest

Bake in 10x15 pan for 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes

Did I mention Shirley was a great little basketball player and cheerleader?  Did I mention she was one of those Burbank girls who transferred to Shidler?  Did I mention her parents were very nice folks who owned a gas station over by Ponca on the east side of the bridge?

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• How to make brownies!
• You can never have too many nuts in the recipe and in fact nuts are what make life interesting so go find a few and get to know them
• Share the good things in life like Shirley's Brownies

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Shidler History - red brick streets

Shidler

Thanks to Peggy Whitt Asher, mother to Mark and Jim and past Shidler teacher I have a little information to share.  Almost all of this information came from her.

Burbank

First off who remembers the old red brick streets?  Isn't it interesting how those streets last forever and we are constantly replacing and repairing the new streets without brick underneath.
Who knows when Shidler was founded?
Where did it get its name?

Grainola

Did you know that over 15 schools were annexed and / or transferred to Shidler?

• If someone can name them and I cannot I will mail the first one a free Pioneerman T-shirt
• here is a list of the ones we can find so far
• Grainola, obviously I would know this one
• Foraker again obvious
• Webb City, easy
• Carter Nine, don't remember if it had a school
• DeNoya, don't know if they had a school
• Big Beaver - known most for a dance hall where Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys performed along with Joe Ferguson who came from Kaw City  - I have a bunch of their albums.
• Little Beaver
• Apperson, don't know if they had a school
• Whiz-Bang, a town of several thousand west of Shidler on the hill going toward Holton and Jane Payne's -- Whiz-Bang may be the name for DeNoya
• Kaw City, an easy one
• Burbank, home of good looking girls and a few guys, just kidding don't get mad
• Gypsey corner - ??
• Phillips, ????
• Vinnedge, ???
• Cooper west of Webb City
• Lyman west of Webb City
• Hill Top of Kay County came in around 1945, ask Holton Payne for details
• 
  

The high school was built in 1923 or at least started then.  Does anyone know where the school was before the current location?

Does anyone know where the original gym was in the old high school building?

Does anyone know someone who graduated from the Junior College at Shidler?   1939 to 1944

• The two most famous were? At least in my mind these are two of the most famous.
• Helen Head 
• Gladys Snyder (Lane)
• Jerry Harbeson and Opal Carter were two more

I know there are a lot more famous folks out there but we love our teachers as they made a difference.  Also since this weekend is Memorial Day we should think about and thank those who serve our country in the military because without them we would be speaking Japanese today.  Get it?

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Everything that is important to having a great life
• A lot of folks contributed to the largest school district in the state and we are thankful for them
• People make a community 

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Catching Rabbits - it is that time of year

Neal McConaghy is a little more up to date than when I was a kid- swathing hay
Someone got smart actually about the time I was 13 and combined the sickle bar mower and rake method of cutting hay  to create a swather - the first one I remember was a Heston swather made in Heston, Kansas

Every spring when it came time to harvest the wheat or cut the alfalfa for hay or grass for hay it was a marvelous time.  Basically you always started on the outside edge of the field cutting the wheat or other crop and worked your way toward the middle.  I don't know what we were thinking but there was never a consideration for the risk involved with what was happening.  Anyway as the harvesting or cutting got closer to the middle the field became smaller and smaller.  The excitement was building as I anticipated what was getting ready to happen.  Pretty soon one rabbit would come running out of the uncut field looking for a place to hide.  At that moment we would take off running after the rabbit which was darting from side to side and trying to avoid capture.  The great thing about rabbits is they are very vast and can turn quickly but they run out of gas in a hurry and search for cover.  I have no idea how many rabbits we caught every year but it was a lot and we would throw them in a gunny sack and take off for the next one.  I ran myself silly doing this only in the end to turn the rabbits lose.   About the last time I did this was during the summer of my freshman to sophomore year when I was chasing a rabbit and stepped in a hole.   The next thing I knew is I could hardly walk as my back was out of place and I was in a lot of pain.  This was my second back problem which ended my football career during my sophomore year.  It was one of the worst years ever as I loved playing football.  The great news is I got to play as a junior and senior.

Now Dad told stories about when Jack Rabbits were so thick the entire community would get together and surround a field with sticks to club the rabbits as they destroyed the crops.  Now if you don't know Jack Rabbits are very tall with long ears sticking straight up vs. a cotton tail which is short and small ears.  They would kill hundreds of rabbits in one field.  What farmers went through back then was amazing.

Now here is a story from Russell Whiles:
Gary, your story about your First Bow and Arrow stirred a rabbit-hunting memory..a rather unique one!

Me and Boog (G.D. Williams), we did a lot of things together. Where and how Boog ever got the idea to do this, maybe he will share on here. Plus, I will probably make some mistakes in telling the story, and Boog should help us out later, with straight facts.

A field where a crop is growing takes a lot of work to get it all pretty and ready for a crop. Prior to the dirt being all crumbly and smooth and ready to drill, or plant, it was probably plowed. If the dirt was very firm,  plowing would turn the field into row upon row of large dirt clods. Somehow, Boog knew that boys our age could "outrun" (that might be less than accurate..) rabbits in a freshly plowed field. That would have never dawned on me!

So, here we go...Take a gunny sack...you described "gunny sacks" in an earlier story, Gary! Take a gunny sack into the plowed field and scare up a rabbit. Chase it, as best you can, and most likely, you will find that the chase goes fairly well, in your favor! Surprised?...I was!

Actually, "outrunning" the rabbit is more of an illusion, created when the rabbit finds so many big clods to hide under, he just gives up and hides! It takes only amateur stealth to sneak up on the Clod of Refuge, and a lightning-fast grab yields a caught bunny! Next, put the bunny in the gunny! Done deal! 

Why did we do that?

Well, Boog wanted his little dog to be a rabbit dog. As I recall, the pup was a weenie dog...Dash Hound...Dachshund! Once back at home with a bag-o'-bunnies, we released them one at a time, to properly train that little dog! The picture in my mind is one of a grateful rabbit, enjoying its freedom, while the pup focused its curiosity on the mysterious gunny sack, oblivious to the chase.

I have no idea whether modern rabbits behave the same way, today, in a plowed field. In fact, we see fewer plowed fields, with newer no-till practices in farming. 


So what do you learn in the Osage?

• You really are not as quick as you think nor as slow as you think
• All your work should be enjoyed and we should all be thankful for work
• Pride is restored when a man works not when a man gets paid to not work

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

If I had a Hammer, I would hammer in the morning

Its seems silly but I love that old song as it reminds me of 4-H Club in Shidler.  The first thing comes to mind is I was named King and Debbie Ware was named Queen and she is older than me.  I don't remember if I ever kissed her which was traditional when you are named queen and king but man I thought she was as good as it would ever get.  Just standing there made me nervous.  What a day.

The other thing it reminds me of is getting out of class for club meetings and traveling to 4-H events.  I think I never missed an event.  There was 4-H Roundup in Stillwater every year which is where I met Mike Synar who became president of the state 4-H organization and later became a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma.  I cannot say we ever agreed on anything but he was a focused and a successful Oklahoman by most folks standards.

The state Roundup is where I loved the large crowds that sang songs like the name of this story.  I really don't know the name of the song but the lyrics is what I loved.  I think it was the atmosphere of 5,000 students singing in the football stadium that was so inspiring.  Then there were several days of competition for public speaking, tractor driving and demonstrations and judging contests.  The best thing about Roundup for me was blind dates to dates with girls that thought I was a senior when I was actually only 13.  Man, I had fun.  Once a girl even allowed me to sneak a kiss.  Well, it was not so sneaky but it was a first.

Then there was the Osage County Livestock show where we showed our animals and competed in judging contests.  Now perhaps I should explain what that is.  A judging contest was where you look at four steers, four sheep and four hogs and decide what order they should place against each other relative to some quality guidelines on what make a better animal verses the other.  Now as a side note I tried to do that with some girls but they did not appreciate the concept of being judged and especially when I would start giving my reasoning.  I was a slow learner but I had fun.  OK back to the story.  After you placed the animals you were required to verbally give your reasons to a professional  who would also question your reasoning.  That person would then give you a score for getting the correct order and another score for your reasoning skills.  It was a stressful event but typically our Shidler boys team would do very well.   I believe AJ Jacques and Dean Mills and either Terry Smith or Dave Jacques or Danny McKeaver were on the team.  The team changed every year but personally I thought it was a great time.

Well I should go but when it was all said and done 4-H was a big part of growing up for me and it made a difference in my life and my life experiences.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Quality of life depends on a good attitude
• Judging animals is OK but judging others is not especially when you are talking about hip size and fullness of chest and width of their loin.  Just don't judge period..... 
• If you have a song to sing, sing it in the morning, all over this land......

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

I come to the garden alone ...

A few of you have been watching my Facebook and of course saw my comment about the song IN THE GARDEN.  Now let me tell you what was behind that.

When I was in grade school Margarete Olsen (Jon Tanny's mom) taught choir at the Grainola Methodist Church.  Maggie, as we all called her, taught us many songs but this one stuck out to me for some reason.  It inspired me and gave me comfort during my times of insecurity and alone-ness (is that a word?).  I found myself singing it today in my office without even thinking about it.  Have you ever done that where something was going on inside you and you suddenly realized you were doing something totally without thought?  Well that just happened.  Another thing that is freeing to me is writing this blog where I can be transparent about my thoughts and feelings.  Yes, feelings and I know guys are not supposed to have those and I can think of a couple who missed out on most of it but the rest are liars about not having feelings.

Well today I have to give a big thank you to Maggie who gave me some appreciation for music and gave me these songs of comfort.  She did kick me out of choir and Jon Tanny should have been kicked out as well.  Now that I think about it she could never kick him out because then she would have to figure out how to keep him out of trouble while she was teaching choir.  Her only defense was to keep him there while sending me home gave the problem to mom.  I really don't remember what I did but I am sure it was justified and now back to that song and Thanks to Margarete Olsen who gave of herself.

Here are the words to that song:

1. I come to the garden alone,
   While the dew is still on the roses,
   And the voice I hear falling on my ear
   The Son of God discloses.
   • Refrain:
     And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
     And He tells me I am His own;
     And the joy we share as we tarry there,
     None other has ever known.
2. He speaks, and the sound of His voice
   Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
   And the melody that He gave to me
   Within my heart is ringing.
3. I’d stay in the garden with Him,
   Though the night around me be falling,
   But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
   His voice to me is calling.

So with all that, what do you learn in the Osage?

• If you can see past the weeds in your life there are pretty blooms everywhere
• When you feel there is no hope just remember, "He walks with me, and He talks with me ..."
• Friends are like roses, they can cause pain but they are worth the effort

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

TO DO OR NOT TO DO, THAT IS THE QUESTION

Yesterday we had about 150 to 170 folks over to our house for a party.  It is an annual event where we have all the choir members and their families over for hot dogs and performances.  So far this does not sound like such a big deal, well maybe.  But the choir is what is amazing.  There are over 80 individuals in the choir which my wife leads and organizes.  The choir members are adults with disabilities.  I am bad but I call  them kids even though Joe is the oldest at 80, yes I said 80.  And by the way the party was a giant birthday party for Joe because it was his 80th.  We do it every year but it was sure special to honor Joe.  Joe lives in a group home and is loyal beyond anyone's expectation.  He never misses and is never late unless his caregiver is late.

In fact that is one of the great things about this entire group.  They are always on time or early and always excited to be where ever they are going.  Now I don't know about you but most NORMAL (I will argue about who is actually normal and the better folks to be around) folks are LATE and UNDEPENDABLE and draggy butts, grippy and tired.  If you don't believe me go to a Sunday School class that starts at 9 A.M. on Sunday and I guarantee that 90+ % of the class is late to the tune of 15 to 30 minutes.  They drag themselves to church if they can get their draggy butts out of bed and go spend a little time praising God (that might be a stretch if you look at their attitudes).  In fact I want to quote a friend who called me this morning, Kermit Milburn (I do have to ask forgiveness every week from God because Kermit is a close friend and LAWYER which is like being friends with the devil), he said, "..that was one of the greatest parties I have been to because everyone was comfortable with no pretenses and everyone was friendly and wanted to be there".

Now another thing about this crowd I love is there are folks like Rachel Fielder who every time she sees me she says, "I am so excited to see you Gary" and then she comes and hugs my neck.  Then there is Aaron who always flirts with me and Betty who always tells me how to act.  I could go on and on about how friendly everyone is.  Oh ya, I forgot about the subject of the story.

Back to the story.  When I got married I said, "I do"  many times and she said, "I do" many times.  What I did not know is that 'I do' means "TO DO".  In fact "I DO" means "I will do" and for her "I DO" means I will make a list for YOU TO DO.  You see with this party yesterday my wife informed me she had a list of TO DO's and that I needed to stay home and get her TO DO'S done rather than go to work.  The fact is I have been doing "TO DO's" for over a week just for this party.  Shouna, my wife, can make up TO DO's faster than I can DO.  I started the day yesterday on a mad dash moving as fast as I could and throughout the day my TO DO's got longer and longer rather than shorter and shorter.  Mike McGaugh was there and witnessed the facts so if we go to court I have a solid witness.  Mike and I laughed all day long about the TO DO's.  One time she told me 3 TO DO's and as I started moving QUICKLY she said I need youTO DO another "TO DO" before you do your "TO DO's".  Then around 5 P.M. she told me to go get cleaned up for the party as folks would start arriving about 6 although there were already about 5 or 10 helpers that showed up at 4:30 to help which she immediately gave them "TO DO's" which they immediately got after.  So I take a short shower which I deserved a lot more than that and as I got out of the shower thinking my "TO DO DAY" was over she gave me some "TO DO's".

OK, so what do you learn in the Osage?

• they lied about saying "I do" unless you ASS-U-ME it was am implied "I will do" when you get married
• If you live in a pity party thinking you have it bad come join this choir just for a week and you will see YOU have a bad attitude and they will adjust it for you
• Life really is like a box of chocolates and you don't know what you are gonna get but if you work hard and have a great attitude you will be one of the richest and happiest persons alive

Thanks for you time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Barbara Rash -- a cornerstone to Shidler

I cannot say that I knew Barbara very well but Joe and Barbara were a cornerstone to the infrastructure to Shidler.  It was their store where I could go look at the first color TVs I ever saw and the first turn table/record player.  Their appliance store and the Otasco store were where dreams were born for me.  We got our first clothes dryer there and our first record player and our first wash machine.  RCA was the name brand I remember most and the quality of products but the friendly customer service and most of all I remember the cool air in their store because they had air conditioners which we never had.  Mom and Dad always spoke well of the Rash family and I would have to say my experience was the same.

Most of all I remember the kids and when you would go over to their house everyone was welcome.  In fact I would say their house was where everything was happening.  First off Gene who seemed to always have a great time and was a talented musician was amazing to me.  I never could sing a tune in a bucket or anywhere else someone would care to hear me but Gene had the talent and his buddy Wiley Smith.  As I remember Steve Chrisco was another one in that group of talented folks.  Now I don't want to down play their talent but I would not know if they were doing anything right or not but it seemed to me they were pretty good.  Joe and Barbara must have been pretty encouraging folks as they seemed to be positive sponsors of their children's ambition and interest.

Now Jeri was in my class (that goes to show you I really do have class) and she was the pretty one and Jody was cute because she was always a kid to me.  Isn't it interesting how as you get older those kids like Jody don't seem to be so much younger than they did when you were in school?  Anyway Jeri never seemed to be the ornery one but I think she was quietly in the thick of things.  I think she was smart enough to stay under the radar when it came to trouble.  At least what I remember when the girls were getting kicked out of school for those short short dresses I don't remember Jeri ever getting in trouble although those were her running buddies.  I will not mention those names but Cindy and Terry come to mind and Jenni but I will not mention their last names to protect their innocence.  Was Jeri one of the perpetrators of the stolen school car in Stillwater while on a band trip?  Well it was not stolen but borrowed for a short run to the local convenience store and a trip around town.  Now as I recall Marilyn Bivins was her close running buddy and Marilyn kept things exciting and again I think Jeri was just smart enough to let Marilyn be out front.  Now that I think about it that is pretty smart because the one out front gets shot first.

Well what I do remember about the Rash family is mostly the TV and Appliance store and how everyone was always welcome at their home.  Barbara raised three great kids (as far as I know anyway especially Jeri) and was a wonderful ambassador for Shidler as you saw her at every event long after the store was gone.  Great folks like Barbara will be greatly missed.

So what do you learn from the Osage?

•  No matter what you think, you are a mentor and an example to young folks so be your best like the Rash family
• Lead or get out of the way, that is how I saw Barbara as a leader in Shidler
• Pay tribute to those who walked before you in order to make a brighter tomorrow for others just like the Rash family

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Barbara passed away this morning and if you have an endearing story please send it or comment below in honor of a great lady.  Thanks, Gary

What do you know

First off the title does not say it like I like and should be, "Whataya know".  Second, I would have to say after one of my dear friends called and told me, "sometimes a blind squirrel gets lucky every now and then" thanks to Larry Travis who was a friend, just kidding.  Well today that blind squirrel was me.

Thanks to friends and family here is another response, "even a broken clock is right twice a day", thanks Matt Davis who use to be one of my nephews.

 I passed the CFP class which stands for Certified Financial Planner.  Yes I have been doing this work for some time but it was one of those things in my "bucket list".  Frankly I was blown away at how comprehensive and complex the study was.  I packed two years into about 10 months going to class three nights a week over the Internet for three hours a night.  Then studying was at a minimum of 2 hours a day on the average and I would suggest that sometimes it was 8 to 10 hours a day as the test got closer.  During the course I had six study areas with 10 tests per study area plus one practical exam then there was a three hour final after each area.  If that were not enough I took over 40 practice tests after the course was complete and then I took a review class which was another 2 month over the Internet review class much like the previous.  WOW!

I was overwhelmed and my family and in particular my wife put up with a missing in action husband for those 10 months.  My garden suffered a lot as well.  They sacrificed so very much for me and most of all I want to thank my Lord for the blessings I received in this effort.

This is what you learn if you are from the Osage:

• You can do more than you think you can
• You are smarter than you think you are
• Hard work creates luck
• Faith creates blessings 
• Tenacity is a gift from God so "use it or lose it"

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

 P.S. If you need someone to help you do some personal planning about financing, trust planning, or retirement planning and much more give me a call.  That is what I do.  405-410-2918

http://www.wingsok.org/

http://www.wingsok.org/

The day I got my drivers test

I know everyone has anxiety the day you go to take the written and live driving test but I was excited but nervous.  Coach Smith had diligently given us instruction and practice with a great deal of patience and quit frankly it was just a lot of fun.  First you got out of the building to ride around town with a few classmates and second you typically got to stop somewhere like the Dixie Dog for a Pepsi or snack.  I think it is really too bad they don't have drivers education at schools.

The funny thing about drivers education in Shidler was that almost everyone had been driving for years.  I know I drove everyday on the farm since I was about 9 and I drove to school most of the time as well.  What was strange is that mom and dad stopped letting me drive to school about six month before I got my license.  They were afraid if I got a ticket I would not be able to get my license.  Go figure.

So how did I do?  I barely passed the written exam which surprised me but I was glad to pass.  The driving test started very badly.  First when the testing person told me to back out I was struggling because I left my emergency brake on.  I gave it the gas and slowly and begrudgingly the car moved out into the road.  The testing agent said I should consider taking off the brake.  Blood rushed to my head and my nerves crackled and water started to bead across my head and my underarms were sweating profusely.  What a start.  Things went pretty smooth until he asked me to parallel park which I had never tried and at least I had read in a book how to do it.  I pulled up beside the car parked in front of the open space and slowly turned my steering wheel while backing up.  By the time I was perpendicular to the curb he suggested I just go on. Surprisingly I got partial credit for that and passed with a good margin.  What a great day in growing up.

The funny thing about this is about 4 months later I was asked to participate in a statewide driving competition for 4-H.  I placed second in the state!  I parallel parked perfectly and drove through winding cones and tennis balls perfectly and they were laughing at the end because I did it in record time.  I was in a hurry because I was also participating in an oral demonstration contest which was too tightly scheduled.  I placed second in that as well and my topic was "The Five Fundamentals of Golf".  The funny thing about that was I made up a chart, grabbed my golf clubs and never wrote anything else down but just spoke extemporaneously (that means I rambled about the outline on the poster).

Now one last funny note about driving classes.  My son Chase who is a Fireman in Edmond Oklahoma was in a firetruck driving class.  He was driving a firetruck and had two firemen/trainers in the truck with him.  They encouraged him to drive a little faster (sound familiar).  Well when he came to a stop light he was expected to have the siren going and change lanes based on the last second light change.  Well he was going a little fast and was to turn the corner upon the light change.  His fire truck went into a spin and the two riders were laughing hilariously as they were encouraging this situation.  The person who was standing outside grading his driving was yelling at him for driving too fast and going into a spin with a fire truck which probably weights over 60,000 lbs.

I know some of you have stories to share about driving tests and would love for you to share them with me and potentially us.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• almost everyone knows how to drive long before age 16
• A nut does not fall far from the tree, go figure
• If you want to go somewhere in your life you need to take off the brakes and get after it.  Think on it.
• Admitting your mistakes and a little humility works wonders on having a satisfying life

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

thepioneerman.blogspot.com

Peggy (Lane) Heath - Grit, Sas, Love of fun and ....

Peggy, Earlene, and Opal Lane 

Glen Campbell never knew what grit was compared to Aunt Peggy.  If you don't know or didn't know Peggy Heath she was one of the Lane sisters and for you Shidler and Grainola folks she is Gladys Snyder and Opal Olson's (mom) sister.  Jim and Clarissa Heath also claimed her as their aunt.  We shared Uncle Bill and Aunt Peggy proudly as they were probably the smartest and most fun loving family there ever was.  They had three delightful kids Kathy, Marie and Joe.  Kathy was a little older and a lot more serious and probably the most talented.  Marie was the prettiest red head ever and she doesn't even know it but she actually gave me confidence when I was a kid just because of nice things she said.  Joe was an absolute hoot as he was full of energy and always looking for something to do.

Aunt Peggy is probably the most fun filled person you have ever met.  She is also the one person who never had a thought that ever went unspoken.  If you did not want her opinion or thoughts on the matter your only choice was to not be around.  Her outspokenness broke me of a few bad habits.  The first one I remember was I had a bad habit of saying, "you know".  Well every summer I use to go over to Ponca and stay with them for a week out on Ranch Drive.  We were downtown shopping and I think it was at the Anthony store when I used my phrase one too many times and Aunt Peggy said out-loud so everyone could here, "YOU KNOW, well what the hell do you know?  If you can't keep from saying YOU KNOW then keep your damn mouth shut".  That was the last time I said, "you know".   She taught you to think about what you said and did but she loved you like no other.

Let's talk about the funner stuff.  She could think of things to do faster than you could get bored.  She sent Joe and I out to the orchard to pick up all the fallen fruit.  She just did not want it out there stinking and drawing flies so she wanted it picked up.  Well Joe and I got into a rotten peach and apricot fight.  Joe was really fast and a few years older and he polished me with those rotten fruits.  I stunk and I was a mess.  The cool thing about Aunt Peggy is she would just laugh and tell us to change clothes at which point she would send us out again  To no avail I got punished again and again and she never got mad.  She let us play in the rain when the bar ditches were full of water and when there just was not anything else to do she would bring out the cards and games and play with you all through the evening.  When Uncle Bill Heath (Jack Heath's brother) got home from Conoco he would sit right down and play with us.  I don't know how she did it but she always had something for us to eat and she was a great cook.  My favorite was her cinnamon rolls.

A little side story about her cinnamon rolls.  Any time I could I would stop by and see her and Uncle Bill and she always seemed to have cinnamon rolls.  She accused me of smelling them and showing up at the right time.  She would make pans and pans of them and she would always send one of the big pans home with me.  I remember one of the first times she sent a pan, one of the large pans, full of cinnamon rolls with me and by the time I got to Yukon they were all gone.  I never told anyone.  I only got down to Mathis, Texas where they lived most of the time after Uncle Bill retired but every time she would pull out the cinnamon rolls and I would over indulge.  Heaven on earth.  Did you know in Heaven there is gonna be cinnamon rolls and chili?  That is a fact.  Anyway Aunt Peggy was a great cook.

Another thing she did was she could fish like no other except maybe Uncle Bill.  They both would sit for hours showing you how to fish and showing you how to catch.  They loved to fish and they loved to spend time with their kids and nieces and nephews.  Another thing they did was they purchased a go-cart which they let us ride for hours through the orchard.  I think we did have a seat belt but I don't believe we had helmets in those days although we did have a lot of crashes.

One of my other favorite stories was when Shouna and I went to see them in Ponca and it was either the Christmas holidays or New Years Eve and we sat and played cards and ate and come about 11 P.M. she decided to liven things up by making strawberry daiquiris.  Now Shouna and I never drank so Aunt Peggy made some virgin strawberry daiquiris, or at least that is what we thought.  You gotta know that Shouna loves virgin strawberry daiquiris and virgin pina caladas.  Somewhere around midnight Shouna was laughing up a storm at about everything that was said.  I have to say we howled that night with laughter.  Aunt Peggy just laughed herself silly that night watching us drink those spiked drinks.

There are way too many stories to tell in one sitting but I just cannot go without telling you just how smart and talented she was.  Mom said Aunt Peggy never showed much interest in school as far as she remembered but mom said that the basketball coach said if you made Aunt Peggy mad she was the best basketball player around.  The other thing about Aunt Peggy that was so amazing is she absolutely remembered every detail about everybody she was around including their phone numbers.  She never looked up phone numbers because she knew them immediately.  She was also incredible at puzzles and games where she could out strategize anyone.  If you knew Uncle Bill you would say those two were made for each other.  Both were brilliant and quick witted.  Uncle Bill had the patience of Job and Aunt Peggy had a short fuse but they shared a love for all of us kids that could never be replaced.

It is the memories of their generosity and the time they spent investing in us that lives on in our lives.  I would have to say those two influenced my life in many ways including my career which was inspired by Uncle Bill and my love of games and competition inspired by Aunt Peggy.  Did I mention that Aunt Peggy worked for the FBI in D.C.?

And one last thing that Aunt Peggy did for me.  When I was growing physically so fast that my underwear was too tight Aunt Peggy was the one who suggested in a loud voice that I should stop picking my underwear out of my crack while in the store!  Come to think of it that was the last time I performed that act.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• People can get rid of bad habits, get it?
• Invest in young folks by spending time and teaching them games, puzzles and how to have a good time
• If you spend a little time with some older folks you will not only learn about our/your history but you will grow to appreciate what you have and not what you don't have.

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

thepioneerman.blogspot.com

Aunt Peggy was sister to Gladys Snyder, Opal Olson (mom), Maggie McDonald, Gladys Snyder (Shidler teacher), Earlene Patterson, Don Lane and Bill Lane.  If you ever wanted to have a great time you should have seen these sisters get together.  No disrespect for Uncle Don and Uncle Bill but those girls could whip any gang and they could definately out master the spoken word in any confrontation.

As a father my greatest joy and my greatest fear

November 26th, 1979 changed my life.  Up to that day my life was work, church, Amway and my wife and not in that order although if you allocate time I think I could be found guilty of ignoring my wife who I will say is darn near perfect.  Now when I say near perfect don't get your underwear in a wad and say I am lying.  Sure she makes mistakes but when you look at the big picture it don't get any better than this.

OK, back on track:  Just a little bit of review before that date would be in order.  Shouna, my wife, and I are both wound pretty tight.  That means we run hard and play hard or in other words we are busy folks.  This is kind of like a nut does not fall to far from the tree (look at our parents).  We had been married five years and moved from Weatherford, Oklahoma to Dallas to the Chicago area.  Shouna was a full time music student at Southwestern State University in Weatherford then North Texas in Denton, Texas then the Chicago Conservatory of Music in Chicago.  She also had a job for a short time in Dallas which is actually a great story I will relate some day.  I was working for EDS/Ross Perot in Dallas then transferred to Chicago to work downtown Chicago.  Actually we had signed up to go work in Iran but as you know that became a mess and actually there was a book and movie made about what we did there (On Wings of Eagles).  Anyway in Chicago we settled in pretty quickly and got recruited into Amway which turned out to be a fun deal  that Shouna and I could do together and it allowed us to meet a lot of folks from all walks of life and to see all of Chicago and the surrounding area plus travel extensively.  We were extremely busy and having kids was not a priority but also we were not avoiding having kids if you know what I mean.  In fact after being married five years we became concerned that we could not have kids so we started taking tests to see what was the problem.

I guess just knowing other friends were having kids right and left made us wonder what was the problem.  Plus we knew a lot of friends who were not able to have children or lost them during pregnancy so we just wanted to know what was our situation and the possibility.  Well the good news and bad news is there was a giant snow storm in Chicago and you might guess what folks do when there is so much snow and ice that you cannot get out.  Nine months later on November 26th, 1979 it snowed again but only four inches which is a dusting by Chicago standards.  Also that day Wynter (get it?  the name?) was born and my life changed forever.  That day I buckled my seat belt more often, I slowed down from driving way too fast and I fell in love with a tiny blond headed little girl.  Gollllllleeeeee, it makes me tear up thinking about that day.

Even today, almost 33 years later she is still perfect just like her mother!  There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can stop me from loving her.

OK, what was my greatest job of being a father?  Raising three perfect kids.  What was my greatest fear of being a father?  Raising three un-perfect kids.  Truthfully, I wanted my kids to love God most of all as I knew their paths would always be corrected by a loving and righteous God.  My greatest fear was that they would chose not to love God and Christ and their lives would wonder without a greater purpose.  Yes, of course, they all make mistakes but they are always forgiven just like my father in heaven always forgives me.

What do you learn in the Osage?

1. Priorities always should be adjusted and evaluated
2. Expectations should be great of your kids
3. Forgiveness is required

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com