1950 State Champion Basketball Team

I guess there are times in your life, especially mine, when you find that something you thought you knew was not precisely correct.  Well here is the real story about the 1950 not 1952 State Champion Girls Basketball team from Grainola.

First they are listed in the top 100 sporting highlights in the state of Oklahoma.
Second I had two aunts on the team, Lois Lane (super woman) and Erlene although I understand that Lois was the super star of the team.  In fact I heard that she was one if not the best basketball player in the state at that time.  Uncle Mike (her husband) likes to brag on her a little and so does my mom.

Attached is a picture of the students at Grainola High School and I do not know which person is which but I am open to getting some help.  Here are the names I got from Aunt Lois a couple of weeks ago when I was at her house in Prairie Village, Kansas.  Her and Uncle Mike are in their 90's.

Elsie Johnston
Buela May Barton
Lovella Cartwright (I think she and Aunt Lois are the only two living out of this class.
Lois Lane (Del Priorie)
Erlene Lane (Patterson)
_______ Bargis
Dorothy Robinson
Marguarette Carol
__________ Johnson
Dorothy Weaver
I would welcome input on which person is which and what order plus stories about each person.  I remember the moms in Grainola put together a team and played the Grainola kids in high school at Shidler and the women kicked their rears.  Mildred Kelly could dribble and shoot a ball better than any of the boys.  She could even dribble behind her back.

Now for a little love story.  Uncle Mike who is from NEW YORK CITY was in the military during WWII and stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas and later in Oklahoma where he met Aunt Lois.  They began to write each other and the love bug bit.  It was fun hearing about how they fell in love and it was fun knowing they still felt that way somewhere around 60 years later.   A Yankee city boy marries a country farm girl.  They lived in Kansas City or really Prairie Village and Uncle Mike managed the men's department at the Jone's Store downtown for many years.  I always thought it was kind of cool having an uncle who knew how to dress so sharp and business like and Aunt Lois always seemed like an elegant city girl even though I knew she could slop the hogs, raise a garden, cook and do anything a man could do.  She was and is one tough lady, kind of like the rest of the Lane girls. If you don't know Gladys Snyder, Opal Olson, Peggy Heath, Erlene Patterson you have no idea what tough is.  These girls could kick about any man's butt in a fight.  The funny thing is they were always a pretty good looking group of girls.  Good looking and tough acting and tough talking, all are true.

Well what do you learn in the Osage?

• Yankees have heart too
• Watch out for country girls they are tricky 
• Watch out for good looking ladies they might kick your butt.

Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com

The old Clothes Line

I sure wish I had a picture of the old close line and I am sure very few folks even know what that is but let me tell you a few memories about clothes lines.  But first let me tell you where the term in football "clotheslined" someone comes from.  You see a clothesline is a wire between two posts and typically it comes in threes but if someone is running and for some reason they don't see the clothesline they will almost get their head taken off.  The correlation to football is when someone is running along and you stick out your arm and catch them right under the chin or on the neck their feet will come out from under them and they will land flat on their back, thus clotheslined.  It is an awful thing to happen to a person but as a past football player I thought it was cool seeing it done or doing it to someone.  I never wanted to hurt them but it was fun seeing them land flat on their back.  Boys are different than girls, at least it seems that way to me.

Back to the story.

washing machine with wringer, electric even

First you have to know that a clothes line is where in your back yard there are two steel posts, T shaped,   painted silver about 40 feet or more apart with three smooth steel wires between them all spaced evenly apart.  That is where we hung our clothes once they were washed and put through the wringer.  If you don't know what a ringer is take a look at the attached picture.  We use to call them Maytag's and they originally were not electric like this one.  If you look at the top left of the picture you will see two rollers which you place shirts and pants and everything else through to squeeze out the water, thus a wringer because it wrings out the water.  Get it?  Now when you hear someone say that they got their butt in a wringer you know that they are in serious trouble because the wringer can break an arm or hurt like crazy at the least if you get caught in it.  The next step once you have a basket full of clothes you take them outside in hot or freezing cold weather and hang them on the wires between the two posts to dry out.  If it is raining outside don't be stupid and ask what do you do then.  OK, YOU WAIT.  Anyway the clothes pen at the left was for attaching the clothes to the wire so they would not fall.

The second picture is the modern day clothespin which was a wonderful improvement over the old one.  

I don't know about you but I thought clothes smelled better when dried outside prior to the clothes dryer.  I remember how excited Dad was when he purchased a clothes dryer for Mom so she would not have to go outside in all kinds of weather to either gather the clothes or put them out, especially in freezing weather or even just cold weather during the winter.  Dad just loved Mom and I think his greatest joy was when he thought he could do something for her.  It was a good lesson on how to treat a lady.  I think they call that mentoring or teaching a son how to treat a lady.  Kind of cool if you ask me.

Well I have one last story about clotheslines and if you like cats or don't like cruelty to animals you might want to stop reading. 

I am not going to mention names so there will be no ramifications on "who dun it".  Anyway one time there was a couple of young boys who tied two cats together and threw them over the clothesline.  Fur was flying and it was an awful sight to behold.  All I can say about this is that we are lucky God is a loving and forgiving God because those boys lost every chance of making it into heaven based on works because there is no way to make up for such a horrible deed.  Before you argue with me you should read the Bible and then ask questions.  I am always amazed at how folks are experts on something they do not read.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Respect and love for a lady
• Change can be good but memories of the good old days are what gives spice to this life
• I really love cats 

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com

Entrapreneur vs. Fullamanure

For some folks things just seem to always come easy and then there is the real story behind what makes a person.  Folks have made many a remark about what an entrepreneur I have been but what they don't know is how I got there.

First off I was not an entrepreneur in that I was just motivated to go out and start new business ventures or try something new but it was that things happened along the way to make me choose which opportunities to take.  In fact one of my favorite things to tell folks is, " I am not an entrepreneur but I am Fullamanure".  If you have never seen that word let me break it down for you, Full-a-manure.  Does that clear it up for you?  OK, back to the story.  At an early age my folks EXPECTED me to invest money in sheep and practice DISCIPLINE in keeping or taking care of them while keeping DETAILED RECORDS of what it cost to raise those sheep.  Dad (see previous story) took me to the bank at about 9 years old to ask the president of the bank, Windal Andrews, to loan me $60. For more details read the other story.  You see it was not a choice to be a business person and take responsibility but it was an EXPECTATION.  In fact there were consequences for not taking responsibility.  If I did not water and feed the sheep obviously the animals would not do very well and it would cost me money.  However there were much greater consequences from Mom and Dad.  I would be grounded or if I forgot to feed the animals I would miss a meal so that I would understand how the animals felt.  CONSEQUENCES for my action or lack of action.

As I grew older the money invested got larger and the cost and profits were bigger but so were the losses.  My folks NEVER told me to depend on someone else or the government if I failed.  They taught me consequences and responsibility.

Now you may ask, "why did I think of this story?" and I am telling you it was a phone bill I received last week.  I had added a new telephone line for my business and I was absolutely floored at what I found out.  If you want a business line it costs extra because it is assumed that you would use it more.  Use your logic here and think.  If the phone company knows how much you use the line then why wouldn't it be the same price per minute of use for a person or business?  The primary reason is that businesses cannot complain and vote but people do so the politicians suck up to the voters and stick it to the business person.  Now if you think it is ok then ask yourself this, "do you use your cell phone for business or just personal?"  Of course you use it both so you pay the same regardless and you pay for the usage amount even if it is one of those convoluted package deals.  BUT this is still not the point.
 
My new phone line was $25.20 per month and all the fees and taxes on it were $17.65 which is 70% !!!!!  Who is kidding who?  This is highway robbery and they don't call hardly any of it taxes and it is all on top of the other taxes you pay:

Property Tax,                                      Sales Tax
Income Tax                                         SSN Tax
Medicare Tax                                     Obama care tax
Excise Tax                                          Property Tax
Capital Gains Tax                                and many more  but what about the FEES you pay every time you turn around?

License Tag fees                                  Builders license fees
Filing fees                                            and a lot more
Oklahoma is one of only two states that still have ABSTRACT Companies which are political monopolies to maintain the title to your house and then they sell INSURANCE on the same title everytime it changes hands.

Now we have required health care insurance which I will have to tell you is not all bad because we have had it for many years but now it is in the form of 26 new taxes and penalties and the GOVERNMENT is going to HELP.

The government has made it so burdensome that doctors are getting out of the business faster than we can get new ones and the ones still working are becoming part of the hospital organizations to lower the burden of government documentation requirements.  DOES ANYONE OUT THERE GET IT?  The government is preventing the small business owner from being able to compete so they are going out of business and/or never starting because the cost to enter is so high and difficult due to government regulations?  Banks don't make small loans because the burden is so HIGH and this prevents people from borrowing and starting new businesses.  HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT SMALL BANKS ARE DISAPPEARING AND SMALL LOANS ARE GONE?  Do you wonder why?

People gripe about unions but licensing of so many professions is the same as unionizing because it prevents competition.  Yes it does protect the consumer from someone who does not know what they are doing but it also makes the cost of everything very high.  Sure protecting eagles is a high priority but feeding your children and creating jobs is important.  Up until the government got involved we had a FREE society and we had the competition where the winner wins but now we cannot speak freely because we can get fined by the government.  If you don't believe me ask any person involved in Medicare supplemental insurance or the securities business.  You cannot hardly go take a leak without the government involved.  Come to think of it just about everything in the restroom is controlled by the government as well.  What happened to buyer be ware?

This whole thing started with one topic and ended with another.  God bless America! I love this country but I want some help getting it fixed and now is the time to get involved in fixing it.  If you are like me and believe that Christians are being prejudiced against please call your political officers and tell them you are tired of government regulations and government protecting you against every little thing.  Every time a law is passed someone loses and someone wins.  It seems to me that we make laws too often and without a cost / reward benefit analysis.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• Entrepreneurs are not born they are EXPECTED
• RESPONSIBILITY is for everyone 
• Discipline must be restored

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com

What do you do when you are tired tells a lot about how you are raised.

The last few days I have been doing something I have wanted to do for some time, build a paver based patio at our cottage where my new office will be.  Well it is now 99% complete but I wondered where I got this desire to do these projects and to do what it takes to get them done.  You must know it came from the Osage and most importantly from my Dad and Mom, Cliff and Opal Olson.

I recall when we would prepared the fields for planting once it started there was no stopping until the fields were planted.  We awoke before daylight and made sure the tractor was fueled and the implement was greased.  We drank while we drove the tractor and generally we would stop for lunch and supper was brought to the field so we could keep going until it was dark.  You may think riding/driving a tractor is easy work but I bet you never road on an older tractor that had very little spring in the seat and there was no cab to protect you from the heat and the wind and dust and in fact we did not have a radio on ours.  By the end of the day your body was worn slick from bouncing and constantly turning your head to check on things.  I mean to tell you once you put in those many hours (bad English but that is the way it was) on a tractor your body was so spent you did not care to eat, only a bed would suffice and it would only last for a few hours before you were back on the tractor.

Hay season occurred often during the summer starting with straw hay from the wheat fields then we would have a cutting of alfalfa, generally there were 5 cuttings a summer, then hay grazer which was the worst and once a year we would cut and bail prairie hay.  So you can see why about every kid, even if you lived in Shidler like Steve Chrisco and many more, hauled hay to make money.  There was always work to do and the help was always needed.  Back to the hay grazer, it looked a lot lot johnson grass or corn stalks but better for cattle and worse for workers like me.  It was always heavier and it took longer to dry and longer and more difficult to bail and was more difficult to stack in the barn.  In the winter it was the most difficult to get out of the barn because it would kind of melt down to almost stick together and when you removed it from the barn it was more difficult to handle and it was hot from all the moisture in it.  The cattle loved it as I think it was sweeter and  had more energy in it, thus the heat.  Well haying season almost never ended and it was another start before daylight and end after dark kind of job.  The rule was get it done especially before it rained.

One last example of why laying pavers is a job and a joy.

My folks were one of the first I can remember to insist on landscaping around the house with shrubs along the foundation and sidewalks to give shape to the gardens and a nice path to the parked cars on the East and South side of the house.  I remember Steve Dowell, the county agent who lived in Fairfax, coming by to visit with Dad and Mom about what to plant and how to plant those shrubs around our new house.  If you look close in the picture you will see that old house we built and I believe it was about 40 feet long and 30 feet wide for about 1200 square feet and it was a perfect rectangle, not like all the houses today.  It did not have a garage as that was always detached in those days.  Anyway my folks seemed to have a passion for making things look nice.  Before gas weed eaters we had idiot sticks (at least that is what we called them) which had a blade on the end of stick but both sides of the blade was sharp so that when you swung it both ways it would cut weeds or grass.  Anyway, Dad and Mom did not like weeds around anything and Mom really liked flowers so we had marigolds and zinnias every year plus a few tulips and daffodils.  I assume their motivation was looks but sometimes I think it was to make sure we had something to do.  We even cut the weeds in the coral area just so it would look nice.  We even cut the weeds in the junk pile and yes every farmer had a junk pile where they could get parts from old equipment to repair the newer stuff.

Well what these three stores have to do with pavers explains why my hands hurt and ache and my muscles are tight.  In fact I got tickled at an Edmond person telling me how tired they were after working from 8 to 12 outside in the 105 degree heat last weekend.  I worked Friday after work at my office until after dark plus Saturday from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. barely stopping for lunch and a limited supper then going to church on Sunday and finishing up my project Sunday afternoon till dark plus Monday 7 to 9 and I don't mean two hours.  The idea is to get it done and don't count the pain.  Oh ya!  It was 105% outside where I was working and the bricks were hotter than H___.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• When you have a job to do you do it until it is done/complete.  As my Dad would say, "Getter done"
• No pain No gain, people don't pay you for the easy stuff
• I like to make things look nice.
• What kind of person do you want working for you?  

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com