If you really want to eat, go to Grainola or Mandy's in Shidler on Saturday night

First off I have to tell you that Susie Hobbs was one of the best cooks ever but when she put her recipes in the Grainola Cookbook I think she cheated a little and did not tell the precise recipe.  Shouna, my wife, use to try one Grainola recipe each week or so every time she tried one of Susie Hobb's it failed.  I know better becuase I worked over there a few times working cattle (for those who don't know what that means, it is when we cut off the horns and castrate the calves).  Let's take a little detour.  When the calves are young and I would say less than 200 pounds we would remove the nubs (baby horns) and remove the testicles from the bull calves.  Let me tell you those boy calves did not enjoy the event.  Back to Susie Hobbs, she was a great cook and you could not find any better mirange pies, either coconut or lemon and she was as good as it gets making fried chicken.  Her fried chicken was as fresh as you could get it because she would walk out in the back yard and grab a few chickens, ring their necks and dip them in boiling water then pluck their feathers and remove the innards and cut them up and straight to the cast iron skillet with boiling grease.  Of course she rolled the chicken in flower and seasoning before the frying pan.

Actually, I don't recall a lady in Grainola who was not a great cook, except maybe Aunt Gladys Snyder (it seemed that when I was at her house Billy would cook or we would have bologna).  I do know that Jon Tanny Olsen showed up at our house to get cookies quit often so I am assuing Maggie (Marguaret, his mom, did not make cookies, at least enough to satisfy Jon Tanny).  I should also say that Eddie Harris showed up to eat often.  About the only person I think could out cook about everyone was my sister Debbie Sue and she seemed to cook every day.  Her cookies and deserts were over the top, especially her no-bake oatmeal and her chocolate chip cookies.

Now I will give one shout out for my mom's German Chocolate Cake.  None Better! Oh, her cinnamon rolls and her chili!

Of course you all know the history of Head Country BBQ sauce and how it was made by our neighbors who were welders and cattlemen, Tom Head and I think Bud might have been a little help.

Now we do have one famous cook who is from a different generation and that is Mandy of Shidler and the daughter of John Payne (pain in the neck is what a lot of his teachers called him).  Most of you know him as the One Armed Bandit, not to be confused with the slot machine, but a rodeo entertainer.  What you may not know is Mandy is every bit as good as John on a horse but she has about the best steaks you will ever taste.  Check out her web site but generally it is every Saturday evening from about 5 to 7 and I believe there is only one thing on the menu, steak.  I have been there a few times over the years and I tell folks no matter where I have traveled there is no better steak than at Mandy's.  And just in case if you are wondering, I did not get paid for saying all that.  The food is worth the trip and the folks are the best, along with the atmosphere, truly western.

Mandy's Cafe, Shidler, Oklahoma

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• The best cooks don't always share their secrets
• Don't underestimate a welders ability to cook
• Always compliment the mouth that feeds you, like your mom and your sister

Thanks for listening,

gary 

golson21@hotmail.com

Only in a small town like Grainola

When you live in small towns you get to know about everyone and a lot of times you just get surprised about what you don't know.  One of those times was when I was in downtown Grainola (get real as there was only about 36 folks in Grainola and there were probably more dogs than people) at Dale's Feed Seed and Fertilizer Store and here comes Paul Jones (dad to Paula, Debbie and David and wife to Billie, I guess that is how you spell Billie) landing his airplane on main street right in front of the tennis courts, the Post Office and Dale's.  Paul was bald headed, like a lot of the Jones as they got older, but he was adventuresome and just down right a lot of fun.  He jumped out of the plane with a big smile on his face and with everyone coming over to see the commotion he was in his element.  I guess everyone wants to be noticed but Paul was all about the fun.  Anyway, that was the first time I saw Paul's plane and the first time I saw a plane up that close.  And the only time I saw a plane in downtown of any town, especially Grainola.

I don't know if it is true but Paul was supposed to have flown his airplane under a high line wire many a time but once he hooked it and flipped the plane.  He lived.  Another story which I cannot validate is he drove a Ford Bronco (as I remember anyway, it kind of looked like a jeep to me) with an engine that he rebuilt and it was told that he had a high patrolman clock it and he was over 140 miles per hour on Highway 60 down by Pawhuska.

I am not sure all the stories were true but based on the evidence he was guilty of all these pranks.  He flew his airplane to hay fields where we cut, bailed and hauled the hay which he contracted.  I guess you could say he was an entrepreneur.  As I recall we could stack about 600 bales on a semi trailer which he would take to anywhere they would pay.  The hay was typically alfalfa but we bailed and hauled a lot of prairie hay and some hay-grazer (kind of like johnson grass but a lot better).  It seemed that about every young man at one time or another worked in the hay fields around Grainola, Shidler, Fairfax, Pawhuska (home of the pioneer woman, Ree Drummond), plus Copan and Bartlesville.  I should throw in Little Chief since they are making a movie focused on the murders in Little Chief and the remainder of Osage County.  The movie is based on the book "Killers of the Flower Moon".  You gotta read the book, it is a killer (get it? ha, ha).  In fact now that I bring that up we hauled hay for E.C. Mullendore, who was murdered up around Copan by what they think was the mob.  There is a book about it and I believe the title is: "The Mullendore Murder Case".


Paul is mentioned in the book along with some of the other Grainola folks as he flew  E.C. to Ponca City where E.C. transacted some business supposedly with the mob.

Paul is also the person who gave me my first airplane ride from the Mullendore Ranch near Copan to Shidler so I could get back to the start of football practice.  Paul teased me about getting sick in his airplane for weeks telling me I had to carry a bucket in case I tossed up some chunks.  Do I need to explain?  NOT!  He tried everything he could to make me sick and luckily I did not.

Paul was just one of those great guys in my life and I am thankful I got to know him.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Life is like a box of chocolates, you just don't know what you are gonna get
• In everything give thanks and learn something
• You will never regret if you keep your mind on what matters most, like Jesus and family

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Manure and Money are a lot alike

If you pile up manure it stinks but if you spread it around it can be a benefit, kind of like money.  Now I know most folks have never known of a cow chip throwing contest and actually we did not have a formal one in Grainola or Shidler but I have thrown more than my fair share.  The real story here is about our country being a Republic that protects our human rights.  In that is the right to spread around our cow chips however we want without government intervention or at least minimal intervention while preserving our personal rights to invest our personal capital however we choose (that means spread our capital around or spread our cow chips however we want).  Now when I say personal capital it might mean money or talent or ingenuity or friendship or mercy and there might be more meanings, but I will stop there.  If you have not read our constitution or bill of rights recently I would suggest you read them again because it seems that this country is getting messed up.

People like my grandfather (a legal immigrant) came to America to find opportunity better than what there was in Sweden.  He said the problem in Sweden is that the taxes were so high that only the privileged could get ahead.  In America we all have the same rights (at least that is the way it was supposed to be) but what we do with that depends on the decisions we make and our work ethic.  The constitution did not promise everyone equal pay, equal taxes, equal smarts, equal talents primarily because it could not promise that.  What it did say is that it would protect each of us and in fact I am not sure it gave individual rights but it gave that promise to the nation as a whole.  (boy do I ramble sometimes)

I hope you don't believe that I am covering every aspect of those rights but I am saying that each of us can make decisions on how hard we want to work and we will reap the rewards for those decisions.  whoops, I bet some folks will have a problem with that because the rewards are not always distributed fairly and you would be correct.  What I am saying is that we can use our heads to choose but we are all limited by our basic talent, smarts, social skills etc..  In the old days folks persevered through hardship and they planned ahead for problems.  There was the depression, WW I and WWII and the Korean War and Vietnam War and depressions and even the dust bowl and if you were a farmer there was bad weather and lots of times failure.  What I am suggesting is Proverbs 2 says that the beginning of wisdom is knowledge and knowledge comes from experience both good and bad and that success is a function of adding up all your failures and short comings and overcoming them.

None of you can imagine how I see things because you did not walk in my shoes.  You don't know of my failures and shortcomings but you have opinions and thoughts that may or may not be correct.  Let me tell you what I see and my perception of a few folks:

Jim Heath - smartest guy in my class - successful because he raised a good family and invested his life how he saw fit.

Hugh Jones - US Marine - winner and overcomer

Jon Tanny Olsen - built a company through hard work and tenacity and raised a family and has a successful marriage to Pam.

Yep, these are the three boys of the Grainola 5 and sometimes 6.  I wish I knew what happened to Denise.

Joy Frank - she is the sometimes 6 - teacher, wife, parent and grandparent - beautiful person

These are all successful folks and I do not know what their net worth is in dollars but they are inspirations to me and their net worth to me is enormous.  Their lives were invested and they spread their chips (get it?) around and in the end (or close to the end) they are successful.

So, back to spreading around those cow chips.  If you spread around a little manure there might be some mess along the way but in the end growth occurs.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• A chip off the old block is not necessarily a bad thing
• A little BS is good especially if it is dry and thrown around a little
• And if you take those chips and Pile them Higher and Deeper you will have a PHD following your name with a comma 

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Uncle Bill Lane is just one more unknown hero

Well, Uncle Bill passed May 30th to everyones surprise.  He was born in Grainola at home on December 6, 1930 and did serve in the military during WWII.  It is funny that he never talked about being in the military and yet there was a military funeral held in Collinsville, OK and then buried in Talala.  During the war he was stationed in Washington State and that is all I really know since he never talked about it.

What was really inspiring about the occasion besides having a bunch of the family getting together one more time to celebrate a life well lived is the other heroes in the crowd.  By the way, isn't it great when someone passes we talk about the good and not the bad although I never knew of or heard one single bad thing about Uncle Bill.  Back to the others who attended, Wayne Patterson or as we called him, Big Wayne because my brother Larry Wayne Olson was younger, was always inspiring to me because he served and his dad, Uncle Harley, also served as well as his brother Stanley (another story).  I was always too young to understand everything and many times my recollections may not be entirely accurate but during the Bay of Pigs, Wayne was on his way to serve before President Kennedy pulled the plug.  I am not sure where else Wayne served but as I recall he worked in Haiti or the Dominican Republic helping build infrastructure there.  It was always fun at holidays that Wayne would hitch hike to and from the military until he showed up one time with a big Harley Davidson and he told me he got it up to 140 miles per hour.  Now one last little story about Wayne and that is he showed me how to shoot a single shot 12 gauge long tom shot gun loaded with double shot.  I was about 12 years old and very big for my age and Wayne told me to hold the gun butt about an inch from my right should.  YA! you would think I would hate him after that prank.  It knocked me plum backwards on my butt.  My shoulder hurt like crazy and he and Stanley and Larry Wayne stood there laughing.

Then there was Stanley who served in the Marines in Vietnam during the 67 and 68 conflicts.  He was not a happy camper.  I always wanted to be like him and Big Wayne and my parents used that against me.  They told me I would have to take hot baths and use soap to grow up like them.  I trusted them.  Anyway, back to Stanley.  It was because of him that I wanted to be a Marine and serve our country and it was also because of him that I was concerned about what was going on in Vietnam.  He told me the government was trying to run the conflict from Washington using political ideas on wining a war.  He was watching friends get killed and wounded by politicians stupid uninformed advice.  Stanley is also the one who taught me how to torture someone and I was his target.  Have you noticed there is a common thread of prankster behavior in this family?

Well, at the funeral for Uncle Bill there were other veterans and it was moving to hear and see a military honor guard.  That day I remembered all of those who served like Uncle Bill, Uncle Harley and his two sons, Uncle Snyd (Vernon Snyder of Grainola and his brother), all of my dad's brothers and my dad and many more.  Even Aunt Gladys Snyder served.  The legacy these folks have left are remarkable.  A big thank you to all who serve and have served.

And if you did not notice Uncle Bill's service was on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

What do you learn in the Osage?

• freedom is not cheap
• love and honor those who put their lives on the line for you and me

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

RED MAN CHEWING TOBACCO - every boy has to try it

I suppose most, if not all, boys have to try tobacco once in their life.  My Poppie Jess Lane liked plug tobacco which was a rectangular shaped chunk of tobacco about 3 inches long by 2 inches wide and half an inch thick as I recall.  He would bite into it and yank his head to the side to tare off a piece then he would take his tongue and push it to the side between his teethe and cheek giving him a chipmunk look.  If you cannot picture that, think of yourself with a big old bump on the side of your mouth sticking out about an inch.  He would suck on that stuff and then spit into an old bucket he kept besides his favorite chair.  Pretty gross?  huh?  Anyway, then there was Uncle Don Lane who liked the pouch tobacco, Red Man, and he could put about half a pouch of tobacco in his cheek at all times.  In fact I would not be surprised if Uncle Don slept with tobacco in his jaw.  Uncle Don was a doctor for sure because once when Larry, my brother, got stung by a bee, Uncle Don immediately took the wad of wet sticky slim out of his mouth and put it on the bee sting which was behind the ear of Larry.  He said it would take away the swelling and pain.  Well of course it did because you would no longer be thinking about the sting but that slim behind your ear and how gross it was.  I should tell you that Uncle Bill Lane was more like Poppie Jess in that he liked the plug and later converted to Red Man. 

All of this reminds me of when I was selling bibles door to door for the summer after high school and for 3 summers.  I have to tell you that only the tough survive that job.  Well it was during the summer I was working in Kentucky and I was invited into this very nice house to share my book selling skills and I sat in this really nice rocker recliner.  These folks seemed like upper crust, if you know what I mean, and had a lot of money by my standards.  The lady was very well dressed and they seemed like sophisticated Methodist, which they were.  Well, they invited me to sit in that rocker recliner but just before I sat down I noticed a small empty green bean can filled with tobacco juice.  So, I asked the mister where he would like to put it and he yelled at his wife to come and get her can.  Yes, her can!  I was shocked but as I worked in Kentucky I gained wisdom that a lot of women used tobacco and in particular Garrett Sweet Snuff and a few, used Copenhagen or some other form of snuff.  Who knew?  Wow!

That reminds me of how I met my wife, Shouna.  When I was in college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma I was watching all the girls at the student union and she was one of them.  Well I noticed that she was dipping snuff and it was dripping out of both sides of her mouth.  My mom always told me to find a level headed woman to marry, so I did, that day in 1973 around Thanksgiving time.  As I write this story May 23rd, 2019 I am thankful for having married that curly headed blond that was so level headed.  I feel blessed.  Ask her, she will tell you.

OK, back to the story.  Not sure if I ever got started but here goes.  In 1969 I was on the school bus coming home from a track meet in Newkirk, Oklahoma headed toward Shidler High School to get in my red Chevy (1963) and head home, one mile north of Grainola and 3 west past Vea Harris's house.  On that bus Hugh Allen Jones (1 of 5 sometimes 6) had a pack of RED Man Chewing Tobacco and he was sharing it.  I took a pinch (more like a handful) and placed it between my tongue and cheek and proceeded to enjoy the flavor, NOT!  I started getting dizzy and then I think I turned greener than the green giant.  No sooner than we got back to Shidler and I got off that bus I started throwing up chunks.  That was my first, middle and last time I ever tried snuff or chewing tobacco. 

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• If you have worms, try a little Red Man and whatever is inside you will come out
• If it stings and Uncle Don is around, run, the pain is better than the solution
• Don't try something new when you cannot get out of the bus
• level headed women are hard to find, unless you have a technique 

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

How to eat a piece of Pie in one bite for $1

Only Harold Codding would do that.  We were at the annual 4-H livestock show in Pawhuska and Harold and I were showing cattle and judging livestock but we had to eat.  One of the great things about the livestock show was the cafeteria.  I don't know how they did it but they had great food and especially great pies (pronounced with a long I, Pi's).  By the way did you know that Pie are round and cornbread are square.  Not at all what your math and science teacher tell you.  They contend that PI is squared.  Obviously they did not know great cooks (I am guessing you get the humor in all this).
anyway, Harold and I went to eat at the cafeteria and he ordered a piece of apple pie.  Then he proceeded to eat it in one byte and I promise you they gave him a normal piece of pie which in those days was pretty good size.  Harold, commonly known as Chuckles because he would always chuckle when he thought something was funny, shared with me that his mother, Helen, and he had a bet on losing weight.  Harold never needed to lose weight as he had about zero fat.  Harold had muscles in his ears and teeth (maybe) and yes, he could wiggle his ears.  I am telling you his face muscles could flex.  I have never known anyone who had muscles literally everywhere popping out on his body.  Harold could walk on his hands all around the gym and he could do hand stands on a chair, ridiculous but true!

The bet was that if you had a desert, he or his mom, had to put a dollar in the jar and whoever won the desired weight contest got to keep all the money.  Knowing Harold I would not be surprised that he or his mother would donate the money to the Foraker United Methodist Church rather than keeping it for themselves.  Did I mention that before we even paid for our meal which was like a cafeteria where we were standing in line to pay, Harold ate the piece of pie!  Yep, one bite!  And you could bet your bottom dollar that he put it in the jar and was honest enough to tell his mother.  Harold was like the commercial, "Spic and Span" in everything.  Yes, I am embarrassing Harold, but he deserves it for being next to perfect, at least while in high school. I should also mention that if you would like to see the old church bell from the Foraker Church, it is in my yard.

Next time I will tell you how tight he was/is.  I will just say this, Harold lived one summer while selling books/Bibles door to door on $5 per week room and board!  Ya, that is rent and food.  I will also tell you how he did it.  This little old lady fell in love with how nice Chuckles was and she would let him live with her for the summer and prepare him breakfast and dinner for $5 per week.  Only Harold!

Well, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Harold is/was tighter than a popcorn fart - sorry for the color but that is a country saying for he could get a dollar out of a dime like no other
• nice guys really do come in first
• integrity starts at an early stage and the parents set the example

Thanks for listening,

gary 

golson21@hotmail.com

Go, Go, Go to Amazon and order my book and help support adults with special needs.  

"Home on the Range by Gary Olson"

I shot a beaver on Beaver Creek

Growing up on Beaver Creek was a blessing and a gift.  The tall cotton woods to the giant oaks and gravel beds then running water teaming with fish of all types and yes, some beavers.  I don't believe I ever walked the creek without seeing something God created and on rare occasion I would find an Indian arrowhead or and Indian artifact like the remains of a rock hammer or grinding bowl.  As for the animals, there were lots of raccoons and squirrels and in particular the very large red squirrels which were great for eating.  Countless birds of all types and opossums and skunks and coyotes and an occasional badger but not very many dear or turkey but lots of bobwhite quail.  Another of my favorites was the many types of turtles but that is for another story.

Back to the beavers on Beaver Creek.  About a half mile from the house was Soup's fishing hole as we called it because Soup Wade lived not too far from there before he and Letha moved to Shidler.  As a side note, Dad and I built an addition on Soup and Letha's house in Shidler while I was in the 8th grade.  Every day after school I would go help dad and Soup always bragged on me about how hard I worked.  Anyway, after a few months on the project when we were finished Soup decided to pay me for helping dad.  He paid me $5 and to say the least I was a little disappointed as I probably worked over 50 hours and probably over 100 hours as we worked on Saturdays as well on his house.  I loved Soup and in the end it did not matter cause (that is country for because) I enjoyed being around Soup and he was a special friend.  OK, back to the beaver.  Just past the fishing hole there was a beaver dam which is basically a pile of sticks and tree trunks with the majority under water. The pile sticking up was in the middle of the creek and that is where the beavers slept and hid out.  It was always exciting to me to find where and how the beavers got the material for building their houses.  Whenever you saw tree stumps that were sharpened like a pencil and a pile of wood chips, you knew there were beaver close by.

Well that day I was fishing and carrying a shotgun just in case I wanted to do a little hunting.  Suddenly I saw some movement in the water and about the same time that beaver slapped his tail which is very wide and flat and it made a loud sound warning the other beaver of danger.  He was right, I loaded my gun and was on the hunt.  I always wanted a beaver hat just like Danial Boone and now was the time.  What I can tell you is I never got that beaver hat.  And I can tell you I shot at that beaver around 20 times, each time he would dive under the water and escape my passion.  Either that beaver was one tough beaver and my shotgun was not powerful enough or I was a terrible shot but that beaver did not make it to beaver heaven on my terms.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Beaver hats are in short supply
• Folks that talk too much need to learn to hunt and fish
• There are more rewards for hard work than just money
• Never forget to look for the best in folks just like my friend Soup

Thanks for listening,

gary@thepioneerman.com or golson21@hotmail.com

Go get my book on Amazon and support folks with special needs.  Home on the Range by Gary Olson  ---- all profits go to www.wingsok.org ----- or send a check to me made out to Wings for $25 or more and I will donate the book and give 100% to Wings as a donation from you.  I will also ship it to you free as long as you are in the US.  I have no idea how much it would cost to ship overseas.

The barn that floated out of the ground

One time Bud Frank (dad to Joy who is #6 of the Grainola Grubbers 5 and sometimes 6) asked my dad to help build a pole barn where he could store the hay used during the winter to feed the cattle.  I guess Bud was going to save some money by putting in the poles without Dad's help.  Dad told him how to put in the poles else the barn would float out of the ground.  Bud did not believe that was possible and did not take my Dad's advice.  You see Dad and I built about 20 of these pole barns for folks all over Grainola and Shidler and Foraker.  By the way, did I mention that I now have the Foraker school bell at my house and getting ready to install it in my garden?  OK, back to the barn.  Well, Bud went ahead with the project and Dad helped put the rafters and the roof on top of all those poles.  What you may not know is that water can lift a lot of weight.  Think about it, a battle ship made of heavy steel floats on water.  So if you put a pole barn in a low spot where the water table can get fairly shallow you will get a floating barn.  Sure enough, when the next rain came along Bud's barn floated up about 1 to 2 feet.  Luckily the poles were in the ground about 4 feet but it made for what dad called a cockeyed barn because the barn did not float out entirely level.

Bud was shocked to say the least and dad just chuckled, like always.  And after he chuckled he probably smoked a cigarette, like always.  Now thinking about that let me ask you, "why does the government give soldiers cigarettes and beer then turn around and file a lawsuit against the cigarette companies?"  Shouldn't the government take some of the responsibility for giving soldiers cigarettes?  and beer?  Now that I think about it, should parents who allow their children to smoke cigarettes and drink beer when under age be held liable?  Should parents who tell children not to smoke or drink but do the same in front of their children be held responsible for what happens to them?  Just an interesting question not that I have all the answers.  Now I am not trying to start a fight and I am for sure not perfect but I do like to ask aggravating questions.  Back to the barn.

Now, how do you fix the problem of a floating barn?  I don't know.  I think it is too late.  

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• sometimes you just can't fix things
• advice is not always perfect but we probably should take it into consideration 
• advice should be considered and when experience is involved it should not be ignored
• If you can float a battleship made of steel it is easy to float a barn out of a hole

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Fart Knocker - who would say something like that?

I know it is a little off color but my dad, Cliff Olson, was kind of ornery to say the least.  On occasion when least expected he would hold up his fist and say, "what is this?".  No matter what my answer was, it was wrong.  But one of the most endearing definitions he had was, "it is a fart knocker".  Upon his answer he would take his fist, turn it over and gently knock on my shoulder or chest and then say, " I am a fart knocker, knocking on farts" while of course tapping on me.  I hope you get the picture.  I don't think I knew of a kinder more loving person than my dad, everyone liked him especially the young guys like me.  He was always friendly and including of those who never got much attention from their dad and mom.

I would write another story about one of his other endearing comments but it is more off color so I will just include it right here.  Dad would hold up his index finger and pronounce, "this is a shit-hook" and then proceed to hook my shirt or place it under my chin indicating I was a piece of shit.  Sure, you can get your underwear in a wad about the off-color nature of my dad's jokes but the only person being hurt is you because you don't get a kind hearted joke.

Well I guess the nut does not fall too far from the tree as I find myself with some ornery type habits and here are a few of my own creations.  First off, I have a tendency to rough house with folks, meaning I will walk up and punch them in the chest, not too hard, or on the shoulder, again, not too hard.  Once I did this to my son-in-law, William Casallas (yes, he is from Columbia and a great soccer player or at least once was), and I punched him in the shoulder.  Bad idea!  He had a shoulder injury and it hurt pretty bad.  Now I don't take fault for this as he should not be playing soccer and getting hurt, his fault.  But again there is Mark Clifford (a dentist in Piedmont and in fact my dentist) who always hides or pulls his arms in close to cover his chest when he sees me.  He knows that I am going to gently hit him in the chest or shoulder every time.  Oh ya, I also have a bad habit of pulling girls ears, gently of course.  Always in fun and always to those folks I like, that is my motto.  Of course I do on occasion use my dad's favorites but only on those I know and like.

I don't know if there is a good point to all of this but it is the truth and as they say, "the truth will set you free".  Now that is a pretty good statement since today is Saturday, the day after Jesus died on the cross and the day before He was raised from the dead and the truth of that story will set you free!

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• a little orneriness is good for the soul
• never leave anyone out on a good liking, give them a punch (softly) or pull their ear (softly)
• on occasion things might back-fire on your intentions, so be prepared for some objection to your silly acts
• Jesus is the answer for bad behavior so invite Him into your life and it will set you free

Hey, thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com or golson21@hotmail.com

And please buy my book, "Home on the Range by Gary Olson", it is on Amazon and all proceeds go to Wings a community for adults with special needs like down syndrome or autism.

Vicks VapoRub, oh how wonderful!

I was born with allergies and today I still have them.  In fact I spent the first year of my life, according to my mom, mostly in the hospital because they, Dr. Cecil Snyder of Winfield Kansas, could not figure out what was wrong with me.  I just could hardly breath.  In fact Dr. Snyder decided that I should have my tonsils out at the early age of one or there-abouts (that is Osage talk for around that time),  to see if that would help.  To no avail, but they did finally decide that I was allergic to milk, which is a travesty since I grew up on a dairy farm.  I should also note that I was blessed in that we got rid of the dairy cattle by the time I was about 7 or 8 years old.  If you don't understand it is because you never lived on a dairy farm.  The work is never done and you work from before daylight to after dark 7 days a week!  Anyway, back to the allergies and me being sickly.  The doctors and nurses told my folks I would never grow to a very large person because of all my problems.  Did I tell you that in the second grade I was as tall as my teacher, 5 foot 2 inches (Mrs. Casselman )?  They were wrong but they always marveled out how big I got and how fast it occurred.

Now on to Vicks:  I heard a native American last week talk about how his mom would take a glob of Vicks with her finger and put it in his mouth if he ever showed a sore in his mouth or had a cold.   Then she would rub it all over the inside of his mouth.  He read the instructions and told his mom that it was for external use only.   She said, "that is for white men".  I laughed hysterically but I also remember that Vicks was the cure for stuffy nose, allergies, colds and about anything you can think of back in those days.  In fact I loved it because I could breath better.  In fact I would put globs of it below my nose and all over my chest and neck.  Mom used it aggressively as well when she applied it to my body.  It felt a little sticky and greasy but man  it worked.  I really liked pushing a little or a lot of it up my nose.  Awwwwwww, relief!!!!  Great stuff!!!!  I can almost smell it right now!  What a great memory!

Now I will tell you about another great remedy using Udder Balm, but that will be another story.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Vicks is for kids and adults
• Doctors always set the expectations low but God allows us to have hope and high expectations
• Snorting a little Vicks is good for what ails you

Thanks for listening,
gary
golson21@hotmail.com

go to Amazon and buy my book, "Home on the Range by Gary Olson" and the profits will go to Wings, a community for adults with special needs, like Autism and Down Syndrome etc.

Those two cedar trees

Growing up on Beaver Creek in the Osage (1 mile north and 3 west past Vea's house) our house had two giant cedar trees in front of the house about 30 feet apart.  I remember during one of those HOT summers Wayne Patterson (my cousin and mom's sister's oldest child and a veteran) and dad and Larry tied a rope between those two trees and put a giant military looking tarp over the rope then tied the sides down to make a tent.  That is right, no floor and no protection from the two ends being open and all the bugs that wanted to come in.  As I recall there were a few cots but mostly just bedding on the ground to sleep on.  One of the great things about being the youngest and the most naive is that I did not realize the potential for bugs and snakes and anything else that might wonder into our tent.  All I can remember is that it was an adventure with Dad, Larry, Big Wayne (we called him Big Wayne because Larry's middle name was Wayne) and I believe Billy Snyder (another cousin and he was the son of Gladys Snyder, mom's sister). 

What was really important about that adventure was not the tent, not the lack of a floor or protection from wildlife and bugs but being together as family and we were friends as well. 

Well what else was important about those cedar trees:  For one, that is where I got a little shade from the sun and heat and took a nap on rare occasion.  Second, it was where my  dad, Clifford Olson, set up a device he created so that I could learn to ride my bike when he was not around to help me.  They way it worked is that he nailed a few boards to the tree so that I could place the back tire of my bicycle between the tree and the boards allowing me to get on the bike without falling.  Then I would take off peddling my bike with the hopes I could stay balanced and ride.  FREEDOM!  Yes, I learned to ride the bike and of course ultimately I had to learn to get on the bike without falling.  It was truly a great invention.

Dad was an engineer without match.  He could always figure things out, just amazing.

Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

so what do you learn in the Osage?

• It is all about the good memories and not the hardships
• A little ingenuity can go a long way in helping a kid enjoy life
• God gave us trees for a lot of reasons and we need to make the best of it

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

Please go buy my book!!!!!!!!  It is on Amazon, Home on The Range by gary olson and ALL proceeds go to Wings, www.wingsok.org

#2 yellow pencil

Did you ever see or even know what a #2 yellow pencil is?  I have not seen one in years but the other day someone gave me a #2 white pencil and it reminded me of growing up in the Osage.  So, here goes another.

Every year when school started I got a new #2 yellow pencil and a new Big Chief Tablet (bet they don't even make those anymore).  Hugh Allen Jones could make a pencil last longer than anyone.  I think it was a pride thing in that he would sharpen that pencil until it was so short I could not even hold it, much less write legibly which I still cannot do today.

Speaking of that subject Mrs. Shumate, my 4th, 5th and 6th grade teacher always gave me bad grades on penmanship. Yes, we had three classes together for a total of about 16, 5 in Debbie's class above me and 6 in Jay Olsen's class above her)  If you have read many of my stories you know she is about the sweetest and shortest lady ever (about 4 foot 10 inches).  She was an incredible influence in my life and I was invited to speak at the Grainola Methodist Church in her honor. I was pleased to point out that you DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE GREAT PENMANSHIP to be successful in life.  I know I love to poke fun at folks but she was a magnificent lady.  Back to the #2 pencil.

Those pencils were always a good thing and we used them for many purposes like:  when Mr. Lewis Morris (teacher) left the room we could take rubber bands and launch them toward the 14 foot high ceilings and penetrate the ceiling tiles.  So Cool!  The ceiling had many a hole and actually a lot of pencils just dangling.  We also could use them as projectiles across the room and it was never a safe thing.  In fact many a folk got injured but luckily not permanently and no eye injuries.  Another good use was defending your papers and desk as Jon Tanny Olsen attempted to grab something off my desk I jammed the #2 into his hand/finger.  The lead broke off in his finger and remained there for many years until surgery to remove it.  

Another fine use of those pencils was relief of stress or an outlet for those of us with ADD squared which included Jon Tanny, Hugh Allen and I really don't think Jimmy or Denise or Joy were in that category.  In fact I would say Joy probably was incredibly organized and would never have chewed on her pencil.  Did I mention that chewing on the pencil was the stress relief?


As I remember those pencils were 5 cents or maybe 2 cents, not sure.


So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• look up, you might find a hole in your ceiling if one of the Grainola 5 sometime 6 show up at your house
• don't take things from folks that don't belong to you, you might get lead poisoning
• it is better to chew on a #2 than chew on another person (great marital advice)

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary@thepioneerman.com

I would love you to support Wings (a community for adults with special needs) by purchasing my book, "Home on the Range"  found on Amazon or send a check to me made out to Wings for $25 or more and I will donate the book and mail it to you (in the US as I am not sure what it would cost to ship overseas).

Toys, what were your favorites?

Now I don't know about you but my favorite things to play with as a child might surprise you and again they may not.   First off, there were not a lot of toys and in particular absolutely no electronic games, cell phones, play stations, etc..  In fact here is a list of my top 5:

1. my toy truck
2. rocks
3. dirt
4. nails and boards
5. bow and arrows

So let me tell you how this worked.  

The toy truck was used in the dirt and rocks where I made small tracks to run my truck on.  The best dirt was very fine and dry as you can make very smooth roads with.  Of course the rocks helped build up obstacles and small hills and just added to the adventures.

The nails and boards were probably the best and maybe the most often used.  When dad and I tore down old houses or barns for folks we would remove the old nails by putting them in Folgers Coffee cans.  Did I mention that my mom used to always get asked if she was the Folgers lady on TV?  If you are too young the story is Folgers used a Mrs. Olson to do all their advertising.  My mom would always answer their comment which I am sure was a joke by the person asking, "not me, but it is my sister".  She would never correct them.  Back to the nails and boards.  Any boards we could use for a later project, like when we built our new house on Beaver Creek, were saved and placed in the barn/Quonset.  I though you might not know what a Quonset was so here is a pic.  Anyway, any extra boards I would take and build something with my imagination.  One of my favorite projects was in the tree outside my window where I slept.  We had a huge elm tree and I built a tree house where I spent many hours playing and expanding.  The great thing about those boards and nails is I could build anything I could think up.  Like, airplanes, a club house, and I especially liked to take those boards and build tunnels in the hay barn.  Great times!

Bow and Arrows which I have previously written about was a Christmas present from my folks.  I believe it was opportunities to learn incredible skills.  One of the very first things I had to do was learn about leverage to bend the bow every time I used it so that I could get the string placed correctly on the bow.  You probably cannot imagine the problem but it was huge for a little guy (that is a relative term as I was always big).  Then I had to learn how to place the arrow on the bow and pull back the string to maximize the force and distance plus the accuracy of the arrow and of course I had to aim it as well.  The hard part or the painful part was when you let go of the arrow and string and the string would whip your arm if you did not hold the bow properly.  Man, it really hurt!

So what is the point?  or what do you learn in the Osage?

1. expensive toys don't create the fun and innovation, it is the boy
2. little things and simple things teach great lessons in life like logic, innovation, confidence, endurance and ultimately character
3. give a child tools to create and imagination will be created
4. The greatest gift you can give a child is his imagination and creativity (not counting his knowledge of the goodness of God)

Well, thanks for listening,

gary 

gary@thepioneerman.com

If you would like a copy of my book it is available on Amazon and all profits go to Wings (www.wingsok.org) to support adults with special needs.  Get a copy and make me happy.

thanks,

gary

How about those good old days?

I thoroughly love growing up in the Osage and "the good old days" but I remember my mom saying the good old days were not as good as many said.  She did not like carrying water to the house, yes carrying water to the house because there was no water in the house.  In fact you had to walk outside in all kinds of weather and physically pump with your arms an old fashioned water pump to fill a bucket of water.  Typically you carried two buckets as it was about as easy to carry two verses one and it saved time.  Another thing which today sounds cool, she walked about 2 miles to school each day and if lucky someone would come by with a horse and offer a ride.  Interestingly enough just south of the old Grainola School there use to be a shed where students would park their horses for the day.  I guess you could say it was the first parking garage.

Another favorite thing of "the good old days" was that you took your baths in a galvanized tub much like the bucket but generally outdoors and if you wanted warm water (not hot unless you were really lucky) you heated a bucket of water on the wood or coal burning stove and added it to the tub.  I was blessed that I got to perform this bathing ritual at Grandma Annie's in her back yard on occasion, NOT FUN unless you just liked everyone getting to watch.

Another favorite was the outhouses.  That is a small building about 3 to 4 feet square in the back yard sitting over a deep hole in the ground.  Inside the house was a board that you sat on or stood at that had a hole in it where you relieved yourself.  There were a few challenges to this that I remember getting to participate in.  First, they/we did not have toilet paper so the common thing was a Sears (yes the one that is about to be closed forever) catalog hung on a wire where you would tear out a page and clean up your mess.  There was none of that stuff we have today to sanitize your hands or the seat.  I felt sorry for the girls having to sit all the time.  Later and actually when I was quit small we started getting toilet paper which was marvelous. Probably the worst was going to the bathroom/outhouse in the winter or during the rain or ice storm.

OH ya, how about doing the dishes?  Yep, you had to carry water into the house for that as well and if you wanted hot or warm water you had to heat it as well.  And what about soap?  I remember making soap a few times out of hog lard.  And yes, we had to kill and butcher the hog and of course we smoked the meat for bacon and ham.  All I really remember about making soap is that we cooked it in a large black steel pot outside and it stunk and you had to feed the wood pile a lot of keep it going plus you had to stir the pot for what seemed like hours.  My mom loved it when Dial soap came about and that lie soap was no longer needed.  I actually think that soap ate the hide off of a person and that is why they considered it cleaning with soap.  Kind of reminds me of the Beverly Hill Billies and Granny who used lie soap.  If you have never seen it, try it out on Netflix or Amazon. I am sure you can find it somewhere.  

Well I guess I had better go but those were "the good old days" and some of the things were not so good.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• good old days are what you make of them and they really are good old days because they make you remember what is really important 
• the future is yours to grab and run with, don't blame your circumstances, it is your choices 
• life will always have challenges because that is what Christ promises us but that is how we stay focused on Him and the future is ours to have, it is our/your choice to make it good

Thanks for listening,

gary

golson21@hotmail.com

If you would like a copy of our book, electronic is on Amazon Kindle under the name "Home on The Range, by Gary Olson", and if you want a paper back copy it will be out around the first of April or perhaps in March 2019.  All profits will go to Wings (www.wingsok.org) which is a non-profit for adults with special needs.  If you want a signed copy send a donation of $25 or more to Wings for a donation and I will send you a free signed copy.  If you would like, designate it for building a house for adults with special needs as we need about $500,000 for a house.  Well, that was a mouthful and thanks again for listening.

It is Julian's fault

It sure makes me nervous but we published my book today on Amazon kindle. I'm sure there are things that need to be fixed. If you would like a hard cover book they should be available in a couple of weeks. All profits from the book will be given to Wings which is a community for adults with special needs.  Some folks, amazing to me, want signed copies so if you write a check to Wings for $25 or more I will pay for the book and shipping and you can get a deduction for a donation to a 501c3.  Their website is wingsok.org and it should be a few weeks for us to get paper copies.  if you need my address send me an email to golson21@hotmail.com and I will respond and you can send me your address where to ship the book once I receive them.  I know of at least 4 people that want one, my 3 children and my mom.  If you want an electronic copy go to Amazon Kindle and it is $1.99 and if you want a paperback it will be available on Amazon in a few weeks for $19.95, I think and if you are an Amazon Prime member shipping is free.

Home on the Range: Life Lessons in the Osage

by Gary Olson, Julian Codding

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In the style of Will Rogers, Gary Olson shares the life lessons that have guided him, all learned growing up in Osage County Oklahoma. Wisdom, mistakes, how to live a good life.

Kindle Edition, Sold By: Amazon Digital Services LLC

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