According
to Georgia Beagle-Crooks, growing up in Oklahoma back in the early 1900's
was very different from today. "In fact, my parents grew up there
during the period when Oklahoma was still a territory of the United States".
When
she was very young they lived in central Oklahoma. The nearest town
was Oakwood with a population of around 100 people. Her mother died
when she was only eleven. Due to circumstances she was separated
from her sister and sent to live with an Aunt in Kery, Oklahoma.
Not too long after this, her Aunt bought a farm outside of Oakwood and
they moved back there. Farming back then was not as it is today.
Then they raised what they needed to exist on and a little extra that they
would sell. They all had to pitch in with the work the same as today,
but they did not have tractors - - they used horses instead.
She
attended grade school in a one room school. In this setting, they
had one teacher for grades 1 through 8. Back in those days, they
did not have what is known today as Kindergarten. At the time a child
turned 6 was when they would begin their education. "I studied the
same basic subjects that are taught today - - Basic Math, English, Geography
and History..... During recess we would go out and play relay races, or
Basketabll....Since the enrollment of the school was so small, the teams
would be made up of boy's and girl's on the same teams."
Their
means of transportation to and from school was not by school buses.
"I remember how some would walk, while others rode their ponies or
burro's (donkey's)." Their school year was the same, went for 9 months
and had the summer months off to help at home.
Many
of the students at this time, never went beyond an 8th grade education.
One reason for this was that all the students who finished the 8th grade
were required to take and pass state exams. For the ones who were
unable to pass the exams, their options were limited. The boys either
stayed home and helped on the farms or traveled to the cities in search
of work. The girls would stay at home and help their mothers till
they were married.
For
her to continue with her education she had to go live with her Grandmother
in what is now known as Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Redfolk High
School. When asked what means of transportation she used to get about
a city of that size, her response was -- "my feet." I reminded myself
that at that time this city would have been much smaller than it is today.
The
subjects that were offered to the students in High School back then were
the same basic lessons as what I would have had, with one exception - -
LATIN.
For
Girls sports they had both Basketball and Volleyball. "I played one
game of Volleyball and decided that it was a senseless game, you were expected
to just keep hitting this little ball back and forth across a net....But
Basketball was different, there was a lot more action involved."
For
entertainment the teenagers would gather in groups in each others home
to listen to the RADIO, not for rock/country music, but for their Radio
programs. Believe it or not there was life before Television.
They did go to the Movie Theaters once in a while. "For me to go,
I had to have an Uncle drive me there, for the Movie Theaters were in downtown
Tulsa." This was before the day's when every teenager thought they
had to have a car. I remember when I was sixteen - back in the early 1960's, I was still using
my bicycle as my main means of transportation. "The school's did
not have dances back then like they do now....Instead, they would hold
Box Suppers, where the girl would fix a picnic lunch and then these would
be offered to the boys at the highest bid....I remember one of these functions
very well--I had taken my money to school to buy what I needed to prepare
my picnic lunch, I placed the money in my desk so that I would not lose
it during the day. When I was ready to leave to go buy what I needed,
I was shocked to discover that someone had stolen my money....Needless
to say, I didn't go to that Box Supper."
When
I asked her about dating back then she had to take a few minutes to remember
what it was like, when she did reply, her answer was "not before I was
sixteen--it was not worth the hassle." By the look on her face, I
decided not to pursue this topic.
As
for students going on to college back then she said "not many went to college...The
ones that did were mainly the young men, very few young women." The
role of the young women was to finish school, get married and raise a family.
She
went on to describe how she quit High School after the 10th grade.
"My first job was at CRESS Company as a salesclerk....The hours were long
-- 8 a.m to 5 p.m. 6 days a week, NO OVERTIME!" For this she earned
$10.00 a we ek. Out of this she paid board and room, bought her clothes,
paid for her street-car and lunch expenses. When she was in her early
50's she went on to complete her High School education. After working
all day she would come home fix supper, do her housework, then her studies.
She proudly lets everyone know she received her High School GED.
She
soon met her spouse-to-be. After they were married they moved to
Wichita, Kansas. There they had their first child who died shortly
after birth. During the depression years they moved to Ft. Des Moines,
Iowa looking for work. While there she worked for an Army Officer's
wife doing house cleaning, cooking, and watching their child. For
this, she earned $4 a week. Soon after, they moved on to Boone, Iowa
where the employment was a little more suitable at the time. Upon
arriving in Boone they found a one room apartment to rent. They shared
a bath with other tenants in the house. For cooking, she used a hot
plate and for washing their clothes, she used the bathtub. The size
of her family had grown to 3 by this time. Her spouse found work
hauling coal from the cola mines into Boone. They sold their baby's
bed for $5.00. With this they bought an old car that he made into
a truck by cutting the back off and putting a box in its place. He
had to be out to the mines by 4:00 a.m. each morning to be first in line.
The wages for this was $1.00 per ton. At this time, Ground Beef and
Sausage cost 10 cents a pound.
As
the years went by they added 4 more children to their family. Two
were born at home while the other three were born in the hospital.
Back in those years, keep in mind that large families were the norm.
Unlike today, these mothers did not have automatic washers & dryers.
They had to use wringer type washing machines to wash the clothes and outside
clothes's lines to dry them. In real cold or wet days, they would
hang the clothes in the basements to dry them. Then they had the
fun of having to iron them. This was before the invention of permanent
press fabric or Pampers!
As
for her marriage, it was not one that she dreamed of having. Her
spouse was a hard worker but he was also an alcoholic. For years
she worked to help support her family, but it became too much for her to
bear. She took her 4 children that were still at home and left her
spouse. With the help of her married daughter and oldest son, she
rented a place for her family. Keep in mind, this was before the
big hand outs of Welfare. Aid to Dependent Children did exist, but
not like it is today. They allowed this individual just a little
each month for rent along with an allotment of commodities (cheese, powder
milk, and rice).
I
can remember how hard it was on the younger children. They learned
the value of a dollar at an early age. To earn money for new school
clothes there were jobs baby-sitting at 25 cents an hour or going out in
the hot sun and working in the bean fields cutting down and pulling weeds.
I can remember only too well how cruel some children can be. There
were two girls with whom I played with, and one day they informed me that
they could not play with me because my parents were DIVORCED! The
humor in this was by the time we got into Junior High, their parents had
divorced as well.
She
managed to raise and educate her children and for this, has been blessed
many times over with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I find
this individual very interesting indeed, for you see - - - she's my MOTHER!
This
paper was written by Judy Rose while she was earning her college
degree - "She was in her early 50's when she received her degree".
Like her late mother, she believes it is never too late in life to achieve
your goals.
7.29.98