Where I Grew Up

Tell us about where you grew up. What was your house like? Who did you play with? What kind of things did you do?
I was born February 22, 1947 at 11:10A.M. in Dr. Young`s Clinic located in a house in Freedom, Oklahoma. It is still used as a private residence. Karen said snow was on the ground and I was kept in a tiny closetlike room. I was named for my father because having a sister already I was supposed to be a boy. I was given no middle name because Bernadette is long and Mother was afraid I would have trouble learning two names.
With the exception of one year spent in Big Piney, Wyoming I grew for all of my 18 years on the farm 12 miles south of Freedom my Grandpa Phillips and family traded sight unseen for a place in northwestern Arkansas. My house in Oklahoma was the house Grandpa built in about 1915 to replace a 2 room gyp rock soddie that was just east of the house. The soddie was home to 7 people but long gone before my time. They were able to make do because the boys slept in a separate cellar. The house was a story and a half with 2 (12x12) rooms downstairs and 2 upstairs the same size. There was an addition on the back that included a kitchen, small room that was later an indoor bath, and a screened porch that held our freezer. Mother was the first in the area to own a freezer. Mother and Karen were born in the house.
The folks remodeled the house when they married and moved there in 1939, adding large double windows. Grandpa felt the house might collapse with those big windows. Mother wanted to swap livingroom and bedroom but Dad won out and left the rooms as was. They painted the exterior white with bright green shutters. Before that it was never painted left just the natural wood. Mother loved to decorate often. My bedroom was pale pink with small white and gold snowflakes. The floor was painted dark brown. I had twin beds with brown spreads over pink dust ruffles, and furniture from Grandma Balk`s farm house.
The boy`s room was bright blue wallpaper with silver or white airplanes with alot of red trim. The floor was red with scars on the floor from my uncles sneaking a smoke years before.
We got electricity when I was 2. Dad was one in the community that spearheaded REA at that time. The bathroom was put in when I was about 5. Before that we used an outhouse with state of the art cement floor and commode complete with a wooden seat and lid much like we have today that the CCC built during the Depression. All of the neighbors had much more primitive outhouses but our family was one to try new things. The plumber we had install the bathroom called me Snickle Fritz and I helped (got in the way of) him alot. I remember when we moved to Mooreland the bathroom was decorated in 3 shades of purple light to dark.
Before we had running water the folks had an elaborate cistern system with filters that caught rainwater from the roof and was stored in a well. Mother was so glad when we drilled a well even tho the water was hard as a rock because she would sometimes draw up a frog or a mouse in her cistern water.
Mother`s bedroom held the furniture she brought as a bride and a twin bed for the youngest
child. The livingroom held almost always a sectional sofa in one corner, piano, rocking chair, and TV in later years maybe when I was 10. Mother had a bar built down the middle of the kitchen that held the range Dad bought on time. At that time that meant they paid in full after wheat harvest. The table and chairs were to the left and cabinets, sink, fridge, and hot water heater to the right of the bar.
We had a separate garage that had what we called the wash house. It contained washer, water softener and shower stall. The hired help slept there. The immediate yard included house, wash house, brooder house, chicken house, milk barn, grainery, pig pen and cellar covered by cactus to keep kids from playing on it. Grandma tossed a sprig there earlier and by my time it totally covered the surface.
Our year in Wyoming 1956 was because Dad heard there was good wages in the gas fields. We leased out our Oklahoma farm and headed north. We lived with Aunt Meddie for a time in the second story of her house 2 bedrooms, large dressing-bathroom and wide hallway large enough for living area. The house was still lived in as of 2000. We then moved into Meddie`s rental which was a 2 bedroom apartment over a downtown building she had built for her beauty shop and 1st husband`s barber shop. The barber shop included 3 claw foot tubs that I guess was used by single cowboys when they came to town. Mother used the downstairs to run a western wear store. I remember the apartment as well planned to utilize every inch of space. We then moved to a trailer out on the gas plant Dad worked for. It was large for the time 8x50 feet 3 bedroom but one had to go thru each room to get to back. We rode the bus about 25 miles. Mother found out she was pregnant with Mike and with medical help miles away the family decided to move back to Oklahoma. One thing that was accomplished during our stay in Big Piney was that natural gas was taken across the continental divide. I don`t remember much but Mother said there was big celebrations with lots of drinking. This was foreign to us since Oklahoma was dry at the time.
My friends on the Oklahoma farm was Alan Burkhart. He lived about 2 1/2 miles from us and was about a month older than I. He still lives in the family home. I also had an imaginary friend named Jane. Before I started school Mother had a birthday party for me in Grandma` Phillips Freedom home. I was shy and she wanted me to meet my future classmates. Mae Beth Nixon was my best friend and remained so all of childhood. I still talk to her every few years. We rode a bus 12 miles to school. One year we had to pick up a girl down on a ranch and had to ford a creek.
I always had chores-gathering and cleaning eggs, hanging out laundry, dishes, housework, ironing. I could milk cows, ride horses (not my favorite). For fun we hiked the pastures, played dolls, played "kick the can" that resulted in 5 stitches in my ankle one time. I sewed alot from about age 15 on. The neighbors got together on Sat. nights to play cards. One night I clotheslined myself playing in a horsetrailer and ended up with 3 stitches in the back of my head.
In Wyoming my best friend was Patty Jewett. We just hung out She lived behind us. On Sat. nights we attended the movies 2 blocks down. We walked there. The grocery store was strange to us Okies because we just handed our list to an employee and they gathered up our groceries.
In 1957 the wettest in Oklahoma history the bridges washed out and we couldn`t drive to town. We drove to the creek and someone on the other side would meet us to take us to school after we walked across a wooden plank. Mother was nervous because she was due with Mike about that time. Fortunately she made it out before the south bridge went.
Christmas was a big deal. We walked to the north pasture for the perfect tree. Mother made candy and cakes etc. Christmas Eve while the folks milked Karen played Christmas carols on the piano until the doorbell rang and low and behold toys were on the front porch. Christmas Day was spent in Enid with Grandma Balk. I remember one Christmas celebration with Aunt Lilly in Freedom. Santa actually walked in down the long drive. I was suspicious when "he " left and I saw long brown hair hanging over "his" collar.
After Karen at the age of 9 asked why we didn`t go to church, we started the trek every Sun. and Holy Day to Woodward (28 miles) for church. There was one in Mooreland but Dad was more comfortable in Woodward where Aunt Lorreta went. Sonic or roast and veggies cooked while we were gone sure tasted good those Sun. CCD was Sat. mornings and I went until I got tired of getting up early each weekend day. I also was embarassed because we were habitually late. I took H.S. CCD by correspondance. Dad would periodically enforce daily rosary. It felt like a chore and only recently have I come to appreciate it`s solace.
Each year we traded time with cousins in OK City and Enid. They loved the farm and I enjoyed the city with movies etc. We often took a road trip after harvest. We took x amount of $ and when we spent 1/2 of it we headed home. I remember going to Mount Rushmore, Salt Lake, Yellowstone and visiting Uncle Garland in Washington state. He owned a vegetable truck farm and I remember playing in irrigation ditches and visiting the cannery where he sold his crops.
We often had picnics and swam at Boiling Springs on Sun. In the early years it was a dirt bottom pool part of the lake. Later a nice cement pool was added. The bath house was built of rock by WPA or CCC. I`m not sure which.
We took out of town guests to Alabaster Caverns about 3 miles as the crow flies from home. Once we took a group of nuns in their long habits. We also lived about 3 miles from Chimney Rock. It was a little appreciated spot in my day but served as a marker for travelers in the early days. As I look back it was really a fantastic rock formation. One particularly wet winter after I was grown it fell down.
Gee I think I wrote a book, but this is my memories of my early life. Are there any questions?