Roosevelt News

-- East Coast Edition –

 

-- Printed in Loving Memory of Wanda J. Jackson 1934 - 2011 –

 

News Center

Read old/current issues and send news or comments online at:

http://www.234enterprises.com/RooseveltNews/newscenter.htm

 

Editors:

E-mail: mmay@234enterprises.com

 Carolyn Niebruegge May                      Michael L. May

Vol. 2, Is. 2                                                                                        July 27, 2012

 

 

From the Editor

 

With much trepidation I start this editorial addressing a very recent event which is the culmination of several that weigh heavy on my heart and leads me to express my deepest concern for one wonderful Roosevelt resident.  I don’t want to imply that one person’s loss is more important than another’s and most certainly don’t want to imply that because I haven’t commented on each loss in the community that I don’t feel all of them to be tragic not only for the family, but for the community.  However, that said every once in a while some individual’s losses appear a little over the top--all too, too much in such a short period of time.

 

Nothing tugs at my heart strings more than seeing a parent go through the pain of losing a child.  A loss of such magnitude is so hard for one to comprehend that hasn’t experienced the event themselves.  Most recently, I think of our dear friend Lena (Rutledge) Harris who had to say goodbye to her precious daughter, Lee Beth, way too early.  I look back and think of David and Pam (Stroud) Jackson and the loss of their son, Grant, and the primary subject of this editorial, Cotton (Talley) Mathis and the loss of her son, Nickey Don, and her daughter, Tanda.  I’m sure there have been others that I am not aware of.  Please excuse me for not commenting on families that I don’t know about.

 

When my Dad passed away in 1991, my cousin Earl May’s wife Mary brought my Aunt Annie May down from Hobart to be with our family.  Aunt Annie was 96 at the time.  She could remember things that happened 50 years ago, but had little recollection of yesterday.  She sat rocking in a chair and said, “I was midwife to ‘Oph’ when LeRoy was born.  I delivered him.  Now he’s gone.  Floyd’s gone (her husband), and all my boys (Martin, Ralph, Harvey, and Earl) are gone.”  I can see her sitting there as if it was just yesterday.  I can only imagine the pain of a Mother burying her entire family.

 

Now let me address our good friend Cotton.  Cotton and Olin lost their son, Nickey Don, 6 days short of his 30th birthday in 1980.  She then lost Olin in 1993.  On August 31, 2002, she married James W. Mathis and started to rebuild her life.  Marrying James was most certainly a positive move and certainly added meaning to their senior years.  Then tragically, less than a year ago they found her daughter, Tanda, deceased in her home.  Just last month she lost her sister Vera (Muse) Miller and this week she lost her dear James.  Oh, how sad.  My good friend Steve Cyrier, who I discussed in this editorial last week, has a phrase he uses to a great extent--“It’s all wrong.”  Well this series of events is simply “all wrong.”  Such a similar scenario as my Aunt Annie May faced--one that only the really strong can endure.  Cotton is strong and she will continue on.  She comes from “good stock.”  Her Dad and Mother were two of my Dad’s favorites.  Cotton, please know that you are in our prayers and that God will be with you in this time of grief and in the weeks and months to come.

 

mlm

 

 

 

Content Contributors for the Week

 

Malynda (Ankney) Adams, Class of 1966

Austilene (Turner) Borum, Class of 1962

Roxie (Cooper) Collins, Class of 1956

Charles Curtis, Class of 1965

Lena (Kenimer) Harris, Class of 1951

Gary Wax

Jack Whitson, Class of 1953

All those who sent messages to the Email “Bag”

 

Thank you all!

 

 

 

Thoughts from the Squirrel Lair

 

God’s Wife

 

Leo Buscaglia was a speech-language pathologist in California.

 

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.  The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

 

The five winners were:

 

A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. 

 

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

 

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

 

****

 

Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family.  One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members of the family.

 

One of her students suggested that he was adopted.

 

A little girl said, “I know all about adoption; I was adopted.”

 

“What does it mean to be adopted?” asked another child.

 

“It means,” said the girl, “that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy!”

 

****

 

On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home.  As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was.

 

“We’re behind 14 to nothing,” he answered with a smile.

 

“Really,” I said.  “I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.”

 

“Discouraged?” the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face.  “Why should we be discouraged?  We haven’t been up to bat yet.”

 

****

 

Whenever I’m disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.  Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play.  His mother told me that he’d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.

 

On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school.

 

Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.  “Guess what, Mom,” he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me.  “I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.”

 

****

 

An eye witness account from New York City on a cold day in December some years ago:

 

A little boy, about 10 years old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.

 

A lady approached the young boy and said, “My, but you’re in such deep thought staring in that window!”

 

“I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,” was the boy’s reply.

 

The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy.  She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel.  He quickly brought them to her.  She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.

 

By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.  Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.  She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.  She patted him on the head and said, “No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.”

 

As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her:

 

“Are you God’s wife?”

 

Hope this put a smile on your face.  Sure did mine!

 

********

 

Return to Makin Island (Gilbert Islands)

 

If you haven’t seen this, be sure you are sitting down and have Kleenex at hand.  This is one of those gestures for which there are few words.

 

Turn on the sound, run in full screen (left click the little box at the lower right of the You Tube screen)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=C6f_FvZpm3g

 

 

 

Alumni Website

 

We have renewed the account that Wanda Jackson had set up at the photo sharing website, picturetrail.com for the Roosevelt Alumni:  http://www.picturetrail.com/rooseveltalumni.  She had posted many pictures from past reunions, class panels, and old schools buildings along with write ups about them.  We thought you might find these interesting if you haven’t visited this site in the past.

 

 

 

Interesting Tidbits

 

Experiencing a Phenomenon

 

Click on the link below, enlarge to full screen, and scroll down to view the pictures and read the descriptions.  A very interesting experience that one would never think of happening.

 

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/new-pacific-island.shtml

 

********

 

How the West Really Looked

 

These are truly amazing photos of the west in the 19th century.  Look at the last photo in the series of Santa Fe, NM.  It is hard to believe it was a destination for travelers throughout the southwest until you look at the other photos and realize that there was literally nothing there.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149899/The-American-West-youve-seen-Amazing-19th-century-pictures-landscape-chartered-time.html#ixzz1vtjUGcOP

 

 

 

News

 

Hot Weather and Fires

 

So much of the country is suffering from a devastating drought and southwest Oklahoma, Kiowa County and the Roosevelt area is no exception.  There is no break in the heat or the lack of rain.  Unfortunately, many fires have plagued the area recently.  It seems each time we talk to family back there they have been fighting yet another fire.  Many have lost pasture and hay as well as stubble.  We have been following a massive fire that started on Wednesday, July 25, north and west of Indiahoma and continued to burn north and west toward Cooperton just east of Highway 54 and west of the Wildlife Refuge.  The last account we had was that over 9,000 acres had burned and the fire was 75% contained.  Up to 100 homes had been evacuated over the course of the fire but fortunately at latest report all had been saved.   Many fire departments and fire fighters are working to bring the fire under control.  We know all of those in the area of this fire and the many other fires so appreciate those who are spending hours upon hours fighting the fires in an attempt to save what is in their paths.  We just hope that these fires are not being deliberately set but one has to wonder when there are so many in areas that just shouldn’t have a natural cause for starting them.  There certainly has been no lightning to start a fire.  Please pray for those who are almost daily fighting a fire somewhere in the area.

 

Southwest Oklahoma was fortunate to have rain at the right time to produce a better than average wheat crop this past May.  However, with no rain fall crops are lost.  Though there was enough rain at the right time for the wheat that rain did little good for the grass in the pastures and with the continued hot, dry weather now there is virtually no grass so more cattle are having to be sold. 

 

Across much of the country the farmers are suffering from drought so that there is going to be a limited corn and soybean crop.  All of this means that not only will the farmers suffer but those of us not relying on farming for our living will also feel the effects because food prices will certainly increase because of the limited supplies. 

 

I guess you just don’t ever take the farmer out of the farm girl as I think of and pray for the farmers everywhere each day.  Let each of us remember these farmers in our prayers.  cnm

 

 

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries

 

We have compiled all of the birthday and anniversary information we could from Wanda’s files.  We are sure we are missing some.  Please send us the birthdays and anniversaries for your family and friends so that we can have as complete as list as possible.  We are going to start with what we have from Wanda’s files so if we miss you, please send us the information so we have it for the news next year.  In addition, should any of the birthdays we list be wrong, also please let us know.

 

Happy Birthday To:

 

July 28 – Chris Pena
July 28 – LaDonna Turner
July 28 – Laverne Ford
July 28 – Gilbert Alonzo
July 30 – Chase Brannon Jackson  
July 30 – Samantha Reeves
July 31 – Polly (Swanson) Bredy
July 31 – Stacey (Miller) Bartel
July 31 – Betty L. (Mrs. Allen) Moore
August 1 – Leah (Bynum) Bobrovicz, Class of 1967

August 1 – Jill (Bynum) Smith, Class of 1973
August 1 – Chanan Davis

August 2 – Stanna (Brewer) Lee, Class of 1963

 

Happy Anniversary To:

 

July 28 – Will & Christel Funkhouser
July 28 – Bruce & Dianne (Stafford) Yandell

 

 

 

Humor

 

New Lyrics

 

Some of the artists of the 60’s are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers.  They include:

 

Bobby Darin---

Splish, Splash, I was Havin’ a Flash

 

Herman’s Hermits---

Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Walker

 

Ringo Starr---

I Get by With a Little Help From Depends

 

The Bee Gees---

How Can You Mend a Broken Hip

 

Roberta Flack---

The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face

 

Johnny Nash---

I Can’t See Clearly Now

 

Paul Simon---

Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver

 

The Commodores---

Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom

 

Marvin Gaye---

Heard It Through the Grape Nuts

 

Procol Harem---

A Whiter Shade of Hair

 

Leo Sayer---

You Make Me Feel Like Napping

 

The Temptations---

Papa’s Got a Kidney Stone

 

Abba---

Denture Queen

 

Tony Orlando---

Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall

 

Helen Reddy---

I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore

 

Leslie Gore---

It’s My Procedure, and I’ll Cry If I Want To

 

And Last but NOT Least:

 

Willie Nelson---

On The Commode Again

 

 

 

From the Email “Bag”

 

July 25, 2012

 

Mike and Carolyn,

 

First, let me personally thank you for keeping the Roosevelt News going.  I love my sister but she fails to get the news to us on a regular basis.  We love St. Louis, but miss our ties to Roosevelt.  I would love to send Jim and Val Harvey a note.  After all, he is the one who baptized me when I was 14.  That has been a few years past.  I know that you can’t give that information to me without their permission.  But you can give them mine. 

 

Barbara (Miller) Pederson, Class of 1966

 

********

 

July 25, 2012

 

Thanks, Mike, you are doing a great service of connecting people who have lost touch--very important.

 

Your "news" continues to improve as you add new features--the videos are so interesting.

 

Peace,

 

Jim Harvey

(Editor’s Note:  We are happy to connect anyone who wishes to connect with someone else.  We do not share email addresses or mail addresses unless someone requests that we send them to someone else.)

 

 

 

Political Fodder

 

Father to Daughter Talk

 

This accurately, gently but perfectly, explains the difference in thinking between people with opposite outlooks.  Very simple so that ANYONE can understand.

 

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.  Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, she was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words; redistribution of wealth.

 

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed.  Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. 

 

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.  The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be truth and she indicated so to her father.   He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

 

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew.  She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

 

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”

 

She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by.  All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA.  She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast.  She’s always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.”

 

Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0.  That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

 

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion, angrily fired back, “That’s a crazy idea; how would that be fair!  I’ve worked really hard for my grades!  I’ve invested a lot of time and a lot of hard work!  Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree.  She played while I worked my tail off!”

 

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the conservative side of the fence.”

 

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

 

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.  If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

 

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.  If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

 

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.  A liberal, wonders who is going to take care of him.

 

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.  Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

 

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.  A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.

 

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it or may choose a job that provides it.  A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

 

If a conservative reads this, he’ll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.  A liberal will delete it because he’s offended.

 

********

 

Why Mitt is Unlikable

 

A lot is being said in the media about Mitt Romney not be “likable” or that he doesn’t “relate well” to people.  Frankly, we struggled to understand why.  So after much research, we have come up with a Top Ten List to explain this “unlikability.”

 

Top Ten Reasons to Dislike Mitt Romney:

 

  1. Drop-dead, collar-ad handsome with gracious, statesmanlike aura.  Looks like every central casting’s #1 choice for commander-in-Chief.

 

  1. Been married to ONE woman his entire life, and has been faithful to her, including through her bouts with breast cancer and MS.

 

  1. No scandals or skeletons in his closet.  (How boring is that?)

 

  1. Can’t speak in fake, southern, “black preacher voice” when necessary.

 

  1. Highly intelligent.  Graduated cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School…and by the way, his academic records are not sealed.

 

  1. Doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol, and has never done drugs, not even in the counter-culture age when he went to college.  Too square for today’s America?

 

  1. Represents an America of “yesterday,” where people believed in God, went to church, didn’t screw around worked hard, and because a SUCCESS!

 

  1. Has a family of five great sons…and none of them have police records or are in drug rehab.  But of course, they were raised by a stay-at-home mom, and that “choice” deserves America’s scorn.

 

  1. Oh yes…he’s a Mormon.  We need to be very afraid of that very strange religion that teaches its members to be clean-living, patriotic, fiscally conservative, charitable, self-reliant, and honest.

 

  1.  And one more point…pundits say because of his wealth, he can’t relate to ordinary Americans.  I guess that’s because he made that money HIMSELF…as opposed to marrying it or inheriting it from dad.  Apparently, he didn’t understand that actually working at a job and earning your own money made you unrelatable to Americans.

 

My goodness, it’s a strange world, isn’t it?

 

 

 

Obituaries

 

James Mathis, 83, Roosevelt resident

http://www.rayandmarthas.com/CurrentObituary.aspx?did=b763a4ca-54b1-4431-9719-6f9f117dd3bb

 

Del Alan Franks, 46, Class of 1984

http://www.legacy.com/funerals/greenwood-fortworth/obituary.aspx?n=del-alan-franks&pid=158749743

 

Useful Links:

 

Becker Funeral Home of Snyder, OK

http://www.beckerfuneral.com/?page=snyder

 

Ray and Martha’s Funeral Home of Hobart, Mt. View, and Carnegie, OK

http://rayandmarthas.com/

 

Roosevelt Cemetery Layout

http://www.234enterprises.com/Roosevelt%20Cemetery%20Layout.htm

 

Roosevelt Cemetery Markers (Picture Trail)

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/listing/user/rooseveltcemetery

 

Roosevelt Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99397&CScn=roosevelt&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Hobart Rose Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99399&CScn=Hobart+Rose&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Hobart Resurrection (Catholic) Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2246374&CScn=Resurrection&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Mountain Park Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99042&CScn=Mountain+Park&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Snyder Fairlawn Cemetery on Find A Grave

 

 

News Center -- Always Available Online

 

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