Some things just never leave your mind like the time I saved Denise Logue's life. Mom and her buddies were having the Home Demonstration Club meeting at our house and Denise and I were just hanging together while the ladies did whatever ladies do.
Denise was wearing a pretty dress that day and she had curly blond hair. Man was she HOT! Anyway there was this dirt duster or dirt devil or whirley wind coming down the gravel road on Beaver Creek toward us and my manly instincts kicked in and I took her soft delicate hand and took her to safety in the garage just west of our house and west of the well house and cellar. Some folks call the garage a house for cars and a well house is where the water pump is for getting water for the house and whatever else needs water. Anyway, as we stood in the opening of the garage which was really just a storage shed big enough for a few cars or a lot of hay or a place for storage of wood and other tools, I held her hand and told her I would keep her safe. What a hero! Did I mention she was 5 years old? So was I.
Denise was one of the original Grainola 5, sometimes 6 and once 7. I think I will explain that. There was the original five of Jon Tanny Olsen, Hugh Allen Jones, Jimmy Heath, myself and one girl, Denise Logue and sometimes Joy Frank (our second girl) would be in Grainola Grade School and sometimes she would go to Shidler and then there was Ralph for one year and Bo Fulsom. As you can see we had as much as a 40% swing in attendance over 8 years or 7 depending on when you transferred to Shidler. Maybe I did not make it clear but that was the total number of folks in the 8 grades of school while in Grainola, Oklahoma where I grew up.
Everyone of these folks are worth a story or two but let me tell you about Ralph. He was a bit slow and probably impacted me more than anyone could ever know. Two things about Ralph that impacted me, one was that he was the only other person who had to sit in the extra large chairs brought into the first and second grade class. You see I was always feeling like a freak because I was exceptionally tall even before I started school so they brought in a big chair for me. It made me very self conscience and when Ralph joined me it gave me a sense of relief. The second thing about Ralph that impacted me was that he was exceptionally slow mentally. I hated to see him treated unfairly and he was exceptionally kind to everyone no matter how they treated him. That was his strongest trait and he showed me how to treat folks even when they were rude. You know the Bible tells us to love our enemies so I guess Ralph was just blessed to be on God's side.
Well I still miss Denise and would love to locate her as we lost touch over the years. I tried to track her down over the years and the last I heard she was living in Cushing or Oklahoma City. Do you think she still thinks of me as her hero? It has been only 60 years since that event.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
Denise was wearing a pretty dress that day and she had curly blond hair. Man was she HOT! Anyway there was this dirt duster or dirt devil or whirley wind coming down the gravel road on Beaver Creek toward us and my manly instincts kicked in and I took her soft delicate hand and took her to safety in the garage just west of our house and west of the well house and cellar. Some folks call the garage a house for cars and a well house is where the water pump is for getting water for the house and whatever else needs water. Anyway, as we stood in the opening of the garage which was really just a storage shed big enough for a few cars or a lot of hay or a place for storage of wood and other tools, I held her hand and told her I would keep her safe. What a hero! Did I mention she was 5 years old? So was I.
Denise was one of the original Grainola 5, sometimes 6 and once 7. I think I will explain that. There was the original five of Jon Tanny Olsen, Hugh Allen Jones, Jimmy Heath, myself and one girl, Denise Logue and sometimes Joy Frank (our second girl) would be in Grainola Grade School and sometimes she would go to Shidler and then there was Ralph for one year and Bo Fulsom. As you can see we had as much as a 40% swing in attendance over 8 years or 7 depending on when you transferred to Shidler. Maybe I did not make it clear but that was the total number of folks in the 8 grades of school while in Grainola, Oklahoma where I grew up.
Everyone of these folks are worth a story or two but let me tell you about Ralph. He was a bit slow and probably impacted me more than anyone could ever know. Two things about Ralph that impacted me, one was that he was the only other person who had to sit in the extra large chairs brought into the first and second grade class. You see I was always feeling like a freak because I was exceptionally tall even before I started school so they brought in a big chair for me. It made me very self conscience and when Ralph joined me it gave me a sense of relief. The second thing about Ralph that impacted me was that he was exceptionally slow mentally. I hated to see him treated unfairly and he was exceptionally kind to everyone no matter how they treated him. That was his strongest trait and he showed me how to treat folks even when they were rude. You know the Bible tells us to love our enemies so I guess Ralph was just blessed to be on God's side.
Well I still miss Denise and would love to locate her as we lost touch over the years. I tried to track her down over the years and the last I heard she was living in Cushing or Oklahoma City. Do you think she still thinks of me as her hero? It has been only 60 years since that event.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- stuff rots and memories last a lifetime
- Even slow Ralph was a teacher and a good buddy
- Ralph was the real hero in this story
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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