Paula Atwell

RS: This is Regan Siler with the Bristow Historical Society in Bristow, Oklahoma. This interview is part of the historical society’s ongoing oral history project. The date is May 1, 2024 and I’m sitting here with Paula Atwell at the Bristow Library Annex. She is going to tell me a little bit about her life and her history living in the Bristow area. Okay, can you please state your full name?

PA: Paula Kay McGuire Atwell.

RS: Okay. And do I have permission to record this interview?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. Where and when were you born?

PA: I was born in Bristow, Oklahoma, October 22, 1959.

RS: Okay, and were you born at the Bristow Hospital?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. Can you tell me about the people in your family? Let’s start with your parents. What are your parent’s names, and then I know you told me you had step-father, 00:01:00too, so tell me his name.

PA: My dad is Paul Eugene McGuire [2/17/1937]. My mom is Phyllis Kay Beistle Goodroad [10/5/1939]. And my step-dad was Bud Goodroad [Marlo Deane “Bud” Goodroad 8/27/1933 – 10/1/2022].

RS: Bud Goodroad, okay. Do you have any siblings, and what are their names?

PA: I have a sister and brother, Eva Lynn White [3/21/1961]. She was born in Sacramento [California]. My brother, Michael Allen McGuire [11/10/1962], was born in Sacramento, also.

RS: Okay, and are you the oldest?

PA: Yes.

RS: You’re the oldest. So, it’s you, Eva and then Michael. Okay. What type of work did your parents do?

PA: My dad worked in Sacramento [California]. When I was born here, after just a few months, we moved to California. He worked for Aerojet in Sacramento, or a surrounding town, I’m not sure which one, but anyway, 00:02:00he worked for Aerojet, and he worked on the Saturn surface to air missiles. We were there in Sacramento for about five years. My dad decided that California was not a place to raise children, so we moved back to Oklahoma before I started school.

RS: Okay. But your siblings were also born there?

PA: They were born there, yes.

RS: So, you were born here. They were born there.

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. Did other family members live nearby PA: Yes.

RS: When you came back home?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. Can you tell me about them?

PA: In Oklahoma?

RS: Mm-hm.

PA: Yes. My paternal grandparents lived in Depew [Oklahoma]. They were farmers. They came to Oklahoma, my grandfather came to Oklahoma as a 10-year-old child, as share-croppers. My 00:03:00great-grandfather was an auctioneer.

RS: Oh, cool. And, then, did your grandmother work?

PA: No, just in the home.

RS: Just in the home. Okay. And I know you spent a lot of time with your grandparents growing up, can you tell me about each set of them and the things you liked to do when you were with them?

PA: My paternal grandparents, which are Ace [4/2/1906-9/22/1999] and Lydia McGuire [8/13/1908-2/25/1994] that lived at Depew [Oklahoma], they were farmers. My grandfather contracted polio as a six-year-old, and he was crippled in one leg. They were share-croppers. He farmed. He also ran a road grater. Worked for the county and did very well. He used a cane to walk, but he didn’t ever let it get him down or I can’t do this or I can’t do that. He could do anything he set his mind to.

RS: And 00:04:00what are some things you liked to do when you were at their house?

PA: Well, we just the cows, the chickens, the garden, picking blackberries. His pick up had cattle panels on the back, and we would climb up on those cattle panels and take off down the county road. It was just a lot of fun.

RS: Right.

PA: We had lots of cousins. My dad had, there were 11 kids in his family, so there was always lots of people at my grandparent’s house.

RS: So, it was always a fun place to be with lots of things to do.

PA: Right.

RS: So, I remember you telling me that those were kind of your country grandparents, and then you had your city grandparents.

PA: Yes.

RS: So, can you tell me about your maternal grandparents and their names?

PA: Mm-hmm. That was Robert [8/29/1913-10/5/1989] and Evelyn Beistle [Evelyn Rusher Beistle 3/14/1912-12/24/2000]. They, actually, lived in Sacramento [California] when we lived out there. And we had other extended family out there, too. 00:05:00RS: So, did they move back whenever you moved back?

PA: It was a few years later.

RS: Okay.

PA: Yeah. Probably four or five years later. They moved back.

RS: To Depew?

PA: To Bristow.

RS: To Bristow, okay.

PA: They were, my grandpa was born in North Dakota and came to the Tulsa area when he was 13, I believe. And my grandmother was born in Yale, Oklahoma, so she was coming back home when they came back from California. But, they, my grandpa was, he worked as the Tulsa World, Tulsa Tribune agent for many, many years. Had newspaper boys. That kind of thing. Later on, they owned the Bristow Skating Rink.

RS: Okay, well, that’s an iconic place in Bristow. So, do you remember having a lot of fun times 00:06:00 there?

PA: Oh, yes.

RS: Did you spend a lot of time there?

PA: We were there a lot, yes, yes.

RS: So, you and your siblings?

PA: Yes.

RS: Did you have cousins on that side?

PA: Yep.

RS: Okay. So, what that, so say, did you go during the week? Did you go on the weekends? Like?

PA: All of the above.

RS: All of the above. Well, that’s a fun place. You were probably considered, like the cool kid, to have grandparents that had the skating rink. That was a big deal. I mean that was a big deal even whenever I was young to get to go skating.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Well, that’s fun.

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay, so is that one of your main fun memories that you have with your city grandparents?

PA: Yeah, yeah, a lot. We just spent a lot of time with them. My grandmother liked to cook, of course, sew. I would be at work, you know, after I graduated, went to work, she would call and say, I’ve made you a new dress. Come by after work and pick it up.

RS: Oh, fun!

PA: So, that’s just, 00:07:00we grew up right next to them.

RS: So, were you happy about that? Was she a great seamstress?

PA: Oh, yes! Absolutely.

RS: And that probably helped a lot just.

PA: She made all my mom’s and her sister’s clothes.

RS: Oh, wow.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Okay. So, country grandparents, you enjoyed all the country activities, the farming stuff. The city grandparents you enjoyed the skating rink. Would you say that spent equal time with the grandparents? Did you spend more time with one than the other?

PA: No, I would say pretty equal.

RS: And you feel like they were pretty influential PA: Absolutely.

RS: In your upbringing.

PA: Yes.

RS: So, what can you tell me about your ancestry? Like where did your family, do you know where your family came from?

PA: Mm-hmm. My dad’s side of the family, my paternal family, I mean as way far back, was Ireland and England and Scotland. 00:08:00RS: Okay.

PA: They came over in the 1600s.

RS: Okay.

PA: And then just migrated here. My grandpa, Ace McGuire, their family, when they came to the US, of course, it wasn’t US back then, through Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, this direction, to Missouri. And, then, in 1917, I believe is when they actually came down to Oklahoma. And they came for the cotton. Cotton was king around, and that’s what they did. They were sharecroppers.

RS: I think you and I have talked about this before, it seems like a lot of the older oral histories I’ve worked on, that a lot of people came from Missouri. I wonder what the draw, just the cotton was the draw to come to Oklahoma?

PA: I think so, yeah. Yeah, I think they heard that Oklahoma had fertile lands 00:09:00and land that they could, they saw opportunity.

RS: Do you, I guess was oil, was that a thing at that time, or that was a little later, right?

PA: It was a little later as far as the oil boom, but they were doing some exploration.

RS: Some at that time. Okay. So, let’s talk a little bit about your early childhood and home life. Do you remember any of your favorite toys or games that you played?

PA: Well, when I got my first bike, that was heavenly.

RS: And at that time when you had your bike, where were, did you live in Bristow at that time?

PA: Yes.

RS: And, so, were you in town or were you in the country?

PA: In the country.

RS: In the country. So, you had the freedom to just ride like the wind.

PA: Yes, we had a really long, long driveway, and that’s where I learned to ride the bike.

RS: Well, that’s cool. What about any games? 00:10:00Do you remember playing like any sorts of games with your siblings?

PA: Yeah, we had croquet and badminton. Of course, we had the swing set, a whirly bird.

RS: A whirly bird? What is that?

PA: Uh huh. It was a four-seater that just went around in circles, but you had to pump it.

RS: Okay.

PA: You know, with your arms and your legs, you pumped. And then it twirled around.

RS: See, I think that’s why, like kids these days, they don’t play like that anymore. I think that’s good. Did you have any chores around your house that you were expected to do growing up?

PA: Oh yeah, we always had to clean our room and dust our furniture, vacuum, wash the dishes. Eva and I took turns washing and drying. So, yeah, we had our responsibilities.

RS: Did you have any outside chores that you were responsible for?

PA: No, not, no.

RS: Mainly inside. So, did you get along with your siblings? Did those chores PA: Why, no. We were normal in every way.

RS: Right, right. 00:11:00So, was there a fight over who washed and who dried and?

PA: No, we had to take a week [indecipherable]. We solved that real quick.

RS: Your mom was probably like, okay, this is how it’s gonna be.

PA: Yes.

RS: Did you have friends that you played with or did you mainly just play with your siblings?

PA: No, we all had friends.

RS: So, was it a PA: We’d go to their house and they’d come to our house. Yes.

RS: Okay, and do you remember having, like, a best friend growing up or did you just have a lot of friends?

PA: I just had a lot of friends.

RS: A lot of friends.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Okay. So, did you have any favorite activities or hobbies as a child? I think I have a feeling I know what one of your hobbies probably was.

PA: You’ll have to tell me.

RS: Probably reading.

PA: Oh, yes!

RS: Reading and researching.

PA: Yes, I did a lot of reading. Going to the library was really a main event of the week. I was just always upset that we were only allowed four books at a time.

RS: Are you serious? 00:12:00That’s amazing. So, you were mainly a reader. Did you, so you didn’t have any other types of hobbies that you liked to do when you were a kid.

PA: Not really hobbies. My grandmother Beistle, tried to teach me to crochet and knit. Bless her heart, she tried. But I was left handed and she was right handed so we tried every position.

RS: That made it, that made it tough?

PA: Yeah.

RS: So, did you ever really learn or?

PA: Well, I did make a little drawstring purse. I made one for me and one for Eva. And that was the limit of my knitting or crocheting.

RS: So, you figured out that, uh, maybe wasn’t you’re thing then.

PA: Right, right.

RS: That’s funny. So did your, I’m curious, like did your, I don’t know, maybe your grandparents or your grandmothers or your mom, did they teach you how to cook? Was that a very big thing in your family, like learning the recipes and cooking for the family?

PA: Yes and no. It takes, 00:13:00you know, both sides. They might have tried to teach me, but I don’t know that I paid it very much attention. But most of the time they did all the cooking, and you know, we set the table and cleared the dishes off and washed the dishes. But as far as really getting in the kitchen and cooking, I didn’t do very much of that.

RS: So, you didn’t come away with any fabulous recipes from your grandparents or anything?

PA: I do have some of them, yeah. Not that I made them very well, but I do have them.

RS: That’s funny! Okay. So, I was going to ask, like if any of your hobbies or interests have changed over time. I know one of them has not, it’s just gotten more in depth.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Your reading and your research.

PA: Well, right. Growing up with grandparents that told stories of their childhood and growing up and of their ancestors really did pique the interest in me.

RS: See, I think that’s wonderful. I 00:14:00can see where…I enjoyed the same thing, too, growing up. I remember snapping green beans with my grandpa and having long talks and things like that, and I kind of feel like in today’s world, we are kind of missing that. Well, I think that’s cool. Did you collect anything as a child or as a young person?

PA: No.

RS: Didn’t really?

PA: No.

RS: And you didn’t have any other, aside from your bike, no other special toys? Do you remember having any wild bike rides or anything that happened on a bike ride at some time? Did your siblings go with you? Did you ride by yourself?

PA: Eh, nothing really wild or.

RS: So, Paula, were you not very adventurous when you were a kid?

PA: Not on the bike, no. Just rode around the block or whatever on the bike.

RS: Right, okay. Alright, well, let’s talk a little bit about your school life. Where did you first attend school?

PA: Well, I went to kindergarten in Bristow. 00:15:00I went to first grade at Depew. Second grade at Bristow. Third grade at Kellyville, and back to Bristow until I graduated.

RS: Wow. And that’s just because your parents moved around a lot? Was that because of jobs?

PA: Yeah, uh-huh.

RS: Is the reason they moved.

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. And how was that for you as a child? Do you feel like that helped you? Was it hard on you? Did it make it hard to make friends?

PA: No.

RS: No.

PA: No. Not at all.

RS: Okay. Do you remember having any particular influential teachers in your school life growing up?

PA: Not any in particular. I just really enjoyed all of them. I learned from all of them. One of my favorite classes was geography. 00:16:00RS: That doesn’t surprise me.

PA: Yeah. That was always fun. I always did well in English. Carolyn Foster [Nancy Carolyn Foster 12/20/1912 – 7/10/2019], who was the English teacher, senior class, in high school one of her assignments was everybody had to build a family tree.

RS: Oh.

PA: And, so, she gave us the form and some questions that we were to ask. We were to fill out that form and find out family stories. So, at that time is when I decided, well, I really could get more involved in this. And, so, really, I do attribute genealogy.

RS: Mrs. Foster with getting you interested and really sparking.

PA: And, really following through. Yes.

RS: Right. It created that spark for you to really dig deeper than just a school assignment.

PA: Right.

RS: Yeah, that’s cool. Do you remember how you got to school? More so, probably, as a youngster, growing up, like before you could drive or whatever. Did your parents take you? 00:17:00Did you take the?

PA: Well, when we lived in the country, we rode the bus, and that was always fun. I always liked riding the bus. But, in town, we walked.

RS: Oh, you walked to school. Okay. And I guess your siblings…that was back in the day when you could walk to school and.

PA: And no problems.

RS: Yeah, you felt safe about it.

PA: Yeah, yeah.

RS: Were you a member of any clubs or organizations throughout your school time?

PA: Well, in school, there was chorus, you know that kind of thing. Never did play in the band. I was in chorus.

RS: Did you enjoy that?

PA: Yes.

RS: Were you good at it?

PA: Mmmmm…yeah. Well, it was a group. I never solo’d, never solo’d.

RS: Okay. And was that more so in high school?

PA: Yes. Yeah.

RS: Okay, okay. But no other, so you were in choir, and that was pretty much?

PA: Yeah, pretty much. 00:18:00RS: Okay. I was going to ask if you enjoyed reading. I know that’s funny, because I already know that answer, but go ahead and tell us like what types of books you enjoyed as a young person or growing up. Like what were your favorites?

PA: Well, really, fiction, mostly. I read westerns. Biographies. History. There was really nothing I didn’t like.

RS: Right, right. Yeah, for me that’s a funny question to ask you because I know the answer to that. Do you remember if you packed a lunch or ate in the cafeteria growing up?

PA: Both.

RS: Both. Which did you prefer?

PA: I don’t know if I, I don’t know.

RS: You don’t remember?

PA: No.

RS: You don’t remember?

PA: It’s just according to what was in the cafeteria that day if I took my lunch or not.

RS: Right. Okay. I can remember some of the cafeteria food, and I always usually had to eat 00:19:00in the cafeteria, and I was always jealous of the kids that got to bring their lunch, because it seemed like they had better stuff.

PA: Yeah.

RS: So, I know you enjoyed school and pretty much all aspects of it. Did you have a particular favorite subject?

PA: History.

RS: History.

PA: Yeah.

RS: I know that answer, too. Do you remember any of your history teachers, aside from, I know that Mrs. Foster was your English teacher and got you involved in the genealogy, but did you have any history teachers that were influential for you?

PA: Not particularly. I just enjoyed the subject itself. And I learned from all of them.

RS: That was good enough for you, huh? Okay, well let’s talk a little bit about the house or houses that you grew up in. I know, early on, you kind of moved around a little bit, and you might not have a real huge memory because you were pretty young. But, can you tell me about like your earliest 00:20:00house you remember living in?

PA: The earliest house, that I don’t really remember, but it still stands, was a shotgun house. A little tiny house. In fact, that was the house we lived in when I was born. We only lived there a few months because we went to California, so I could take you to that house, but it was little bitty.

RS: Wow, okay.

PA: California homes, of course, I’ve seen pictures, but there just normal, every-day, regular sized house.

RS: So, thinking about whenever you moved back to, say, the Bristow and Depew area, do you have memories of those houses? Like, how were they furnished? Did you have your own room?

PA: Never had my own room.

RS: Never had your own room.

PA: No, Eva and I always shared. In Depew, we had a farmhouse, had a barn and we had pigs and, you know, farm animals. Then, in Kellyville, we had, what I thought, was the best house ever. It was a farmhouse, 00:21:00but it had one of the big, red, huge barns that we would climb up in the top, hay loft, and jump off into the hay.

RS: Ohhh, that’s fun!

PA: Yes, we had cows and horses, pigs.

RS: So, your Kellyville house was probably your favorite because of the barn?

PA: Yes, I think so.

RS: I’d have to agree with you on that. Barns, barns are fun.

PA: Yes.

RS: Especially growing up.

PA: Yeah.

RS: So, then, whenever you moved back from Kellyville to Bristow, which you said was between the fourth and the twelfth grade, did you just live in one house for the rest of that time?

PA: No, we lived on 7th Street for a while. And then my mom and dad bought the Pirate Inn Drive-In on Roland. And they bought a mobile home to put beside it. And we lived in that mobile home for a couple of years, I think, there. And then my two uncles, 00:22:00my dad’s brothers had a construction company. Anyway, they built mobile home parks. And they built Evergreen Mobile Home Park west of town, and my dad and mom and my mom’s parents, bought that and we moved our mobile home out there, and we lived there in the mobile home park.

RS: Well, that’s news to me, that’s a new one for me. I didn’t know that. That your family built that mobile home park. I guess it’s not in your family now?

PA: No, no, they sold it probably in 1980 or around there.

RS: Okay, so, before we move off this, can you tell me about the Pirate Drive Inn? I don’t really have any history on that.

PA: Okay, that was a hamburger place.

RS: Okay.

PA: And they also had plate lunches, that kind of thing.

RS: Did you ever work there?

PA: Yes. I was the official dish washer. When family would come in, they would make sure that I made them an ice cream cone. So, yeah, that was pretty much 00:23:00my job.

RS: And, so, did you work there a lot of the time growing up?

PA: No, no, because I was only in grade school.

RS: Ohhhh, okay.

PA: Yeah, I think it was 4th, 5th and 6th grade or something like that.

RS: Okay, okay. So, how long did they, so where was the Pirate Drive Inn located?

PA: It was on Roland. At that time it was next to the Fogle Car Lot, car dealership.

RS: Okay, so orient me now where now where that would be.

PA: RCS Electric has that building now.

RS: Okay. Oh, is it, was it that actual building?

PA: It’s that building. Yes.

RS: Oh, how neat. Okay. And did that business, did it stay in business for many years?

PA: Yeah, yeah, when my dad sold it, another couple bought it. And I’m not sure how long they had it, and then it went to another couple. They turned it into the Windmill Steakhouse.

RS: So, if 00:24:00you probably don’t remember exactly, but do you, roughly, maybe remember around what year it was sold, that your family sold it? Or about how old you were just for reference?

PA: I was still in, I was in high school.

RS: You were in high school.

PA: Yeah. Maybe junior high.

RS: Okay, so it’s been a long, a long time.

PA: Yeah, it’s been a while.

RS: Well, that’s interesting. I didn’t know, I didn’t have any history of the Pirate Drive Inn. Okay, well let’s circle back to your home life. Do you remember as a youngster where you spent most of your time? Like was it in the house? In your room? Outside? Maybe probably in the red barn in Kellyville?

PA: We could have been in the barn, yeah. Well, when we were like with family or cousins or, especially in the summer times, we were with grandparents and relatives a lot. But most of them were country 00:25:00folks. We spent a lot of time out in the woods, that kind of thing. Just walking around getting lost.

RS: That was always my favorite thing to do when I was a kid. Me and my cousins would go out in the woods, and we would be gone all day long and come back to eat occasionally and.

PA: Yes, yes. Yeah, we wouldn’t come back until it was dark. You know, we would build forts and.

RS: It’s amazing the creativity I think you can have, or at least we had back then. We would go and undo beaver dams. I don’t know how we never got snake bit, but you know, just fun stuff like that. Or, like you say, we would take sticks and build forts. Were you usually with your cousins or, I mean, you know you said sometimes you didn’t get along with your siblings.

PA: Oh, yeah, no we just, it was everybody.

RS: Everybody. Well, that sounds like fun. Okay, so, tell me a little bit 00:26:00about what meal times were like in your family. Were you a sit down at the table together every night kind of family?

PA: Yes.

RS: Did you eat at certain…tell me about that a little bit.

PA: Well, we would just eat when daddy would come home. We just had dinner around 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 something like that. But, yes, it was a sit-down family meal every night.

RS: Every night. I like that, too. And you already told me that you and Eva had to PA: Wash the dishes.

RS: Wash the dishes and clean up. Do you remember having, like, a favorite meal that your mom cooked?

PA: She was a good cook, so not really a favorite, but what we really called our special treat was when she would fry chicken.

RS: Fried chicken, okay. And then did you have, maybe, a favorite dessert that she fixed?

PA: Hmmm. Not that I can think of.

RS: So, she was PA: They were, they were all good!

RS: It was just all good!

PA: They were all good.

RS: Well, that’s the kind of mom to have, huh? 00:27:00Okay, well thinking about to your life growing up, what were some of your favorite, like, community activities? For instance, maybe, like Western Heritage Days, day camp, parade, county fair, etc. Can you tell me anything about your life growing up in the Bristow area and the things that you enjoyed to do community-wise?

PA: We did go to all the Western Heritage parades. Sometimes, there was a few years when I was younger that we would, actually, dress up in the long dresses and try to look like RS: A pioneer.

PA: Yeah, a pioneer. My cousins, some of my cousins were in the different round up clubs, so they would be IN the parade, so we’d get to see them.

RS: What was your favorite thing about the Western Heritage Day parade?

PA: Oh, probably just all of it. There were so many different round-up clubs from all over and lots of participation. It was just exciting.

RS: Yeah, 00:28:00we kind of wished it was like that. I know we’ve got people that have tried to revive it and have done a really good job in the last few years, but there’s just something about the tradition. It seemed, it was more heavy in tradition it seemed like years back, the Western Heritage Day parade. Now did they have the dances and the rodeo and all of that along with the it.

PA: Yes, yes, yeah.

RS: And you went to all of it?

PA: Three nights of rodeo. At least two nights of dances after the rodeo.

RS: Did you go to the dance?

PA: No.

RS: You didn’t go dance?

PA: No. We could hear it, but we didn’t go.

RS: But you did watch the rodeos?

PA: Yes, yeah.

RS: Okay. Alright, well, what about anything else like day camp, county fair, did you do any of that?

PA: We went to day camp every year and that was always a highlight. You’d get to go swimming every day. And all the activities in the Quonset huts out at the park, they were all, you know, it was just everybody…you 00:29:00know you could always see all your friends in the summer time, as well as, during school.

RS: Right. I know, because back then it seemed like whenever you said, often times, good-bye to your friends the last day of school, for a lot of them, it’s not like it is today as much, that might be the last time you see them for a while unless you had these type of activities where you got to hang out together.

PA: Right.

RS: And it’s cool to know that after quite a few years of there not being any day camp that it’s being, it’s coming back this year! So, that’s a good thing. Did you ever get to the point where you became a camp counselor at day camp or did you just attend?

PA: No, just attended.

RS: Just attended.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Well, did you have anything to do with the county fairs that they had around here?

PA: No, my Grandmother McGuire, Lydia, she would sometimes put her canned goods in, in it. I don’t remember if she ever won any ribbons or anything, but family members participated, you know, entered different 00:30:00things in the fair. And, of course, the carnival. The fair was always fun. The carnival was fun. It was always so crowded.

RS: And where was that, where was that held at?

PA: It was out at the Quonset huts, there, at the time it was a ball field out front. And that’s where the carnival was. But each, each RS: So, is it where the softball field is now?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay, okay. So they would just have it out on the field area?

PA: Yes, and at that time, the rodeo grounds was right next to it where the tennis courts are now.

RS: Really?

PA: Yep, that’s where the rodeo grounds were.

RS: Okay, see I didn’t know that. That was before my time. So, what types of, like how long did the county fair last? Was it just like a weekend or?

PA: I want to say a week.

RS: A week? Okay. So, do you have a favorite memory of what you did there? What was the best? Was it getting to go to the carnival or?

PA: Yeah, all of it.

RS: All of it.

PA: Yeah, just all 00:31:00of it. We always went through the barns first. They might have, the first barn might have like things people have made, as far as, clothing and that kind of thing. The next barn might be canned goods and that type of thing. Another barn might be full of chickens in cages. You know the different kind of chickens. And then, of course, on down it was sheep and cows and calves.

RS: So, whenever you went to something like that, was it as a family or did you go with your friends?

PA: As a family, and then maybe with friends later.

RS: Okay, and so, were you given like a certain amount of money that you could spend at the carnival on rides and snacks or how did that work?

PA: I think so. I’m sure we were given some money. I don’t really remember for sure.

RS: Okay, alright. And can you think of any other community activities in Bristow that you participated in 00:32:00throughout your young life?

PA: We always had season tickets for the swimming pool.

RS: Okay.

PA: I think we lived out there. Mom would drop us off like when they opened at 1:00, I think. And she would say I’m coming to get you at 5:00, so get out of the pool at 4:30 so you be sure and be dried off before you get in the car.

RS: Do you know how long the swimming pool has been there?

PA: It’s been, oh my gosh, I’m not sure, it’s been there many, many years though.

RS: I mean, I know I grew up out there. And I’m so excited that it’s been revamped and going to be opening back up even better this year, hopefully. I think it’s raised a lot of kids through Bristow.

PA: Yes, yes.

RS: And it’s been missed, you know, really missed over the last several years.

PA: Well, that’s where I learned to swim, you know, you had lessons.

RS: Right, 00:33:00 right.

PA: Plenty of sunburns.

RS: Oh, yeah, I can only imagine, because when you’re young and your mom tells you to put sunscreen on multiple times…she puts it on you once and then that’s the last time you ever think about it.

PA: Yes.

RS: And then you’re sunburnt by the time you get home.

PA: Right.

RS: Okay. Well, let’s talk about, what were some of the biggest or most popular businesses around town growing up. Do you remember?

PA: Probably, for me, was Ben Franklin.

RS: And tell me what Ben Franklin is.

PA: That was like a little five and dime store. We were given an allowance, and we could, mom usually went once every week or once every two weeks or something, and we could spend our allowance there. And it was usually a quarter. We’d get a quarter allowance. I would not spend my quarters for a few weeks, and so I could buy 00:34:00something bigger and better than my brother and sister.

RS: That doesn’t surprise me.

PA: Yeah. And they were - Paula got this. And I didn’t, well, they spent their quarters, so they couldn’t.

RS: Do you have a particular memory of something that you saved up and bought that just made your day?

PA: Probably 45s, records.

RS: Oh! That’s awesome! So, did you have a particular artist that you liked to listen to?

PA: No, not particular.

RS: So, what was some of the music you listened to back then? Do you remember?

PA: Hmmm.

RS: Like, who were some of…like if you bought a 45, who would it have been of? Do you remember?

PA: No. I really, no!

RS: See, I’m going to make you dig deep for this.

PA: I know! No, not particular. Whatever song was popular at the time.

RS: At the time. I, actually, grew up listening to 45s and 33s, too, and that was like, my dad had a collection, and I loved it. I had a little record player at home. 00:35:00It was the coolest thing.

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay, so, you’re biggest and best memory is the Ben Franklin. What about any other businesses that were, I guess, notable back at that time in Bristow, whether it be a restaurant or maybe a clothing store or something like that? Do you have any?

PA: I know going with my grandparents, we went to Shamas a lot with them, Shamas Dry Goods.

RS: Shamas Dry Goods. Okay. And, so, what was there?

PA: Clothes.

RS: Okay.

PA: My grandpa worn nothing but overalls, and that’s where he bought his stuff. Which you could, you know, look at cowboy boots and hats and western wear.

RS: And where was that located?

PA: It was the block of Community Bank.

RS: Like the whole block or?

PA: Part of it.

RS: Part of the block.

PA: Part of it, yeah.

RS: Okay. And then where was the Ben Franklin…and the Ben Franklin was the one that burnt…was that the one that burned down?

PA: Yes, it burned. So, it’s next to Los Arcos. 00:36:00RS: Los Arcos. Okay, well I know whenever I’ve done some of the older oral histories, the Shamas name has come up a lot. And, so, had that building or business been there for a long time whenever you would go and visit?

PA: Yes, yes.

RS: And was it still, I guess, in the Shamas family?

PA: Right. It was.

RS: That’s cool. Okay. Did you have a favorite place to eat in town? I guess maybe your PA: The Pirate Inn!

RS: Your Pirate Inn was probably one of them, wasn’t it? Was there any other places that were special? I know back when I was growing up, we didn’t get to eat out that often, so, I mean it was a special treat whenever we did.

PA: We went to Tastee Freeze, Frosty Freeze.

RS: And where was that located?

PA: Tastee Freeze was on 4th Street next to the Chinese place now.

RS: Okay, so where was…that was at the same place as it was when. 00:37:00The Frosty Freeze was something different?

PA: Yeah, it was on south main next to the railroad tracks.

RS: Okay, and so, did you go there for a hamburger or ice cream or all of the above?

PA: Yeah.

RS: What was your favorite thing to get? Do you remember?

PA: Probably, well, it was, it was like a cherry vanilla coke.

RS: Oh, that sounds good! Did you have, once you became a teenager, where was, you know growing up for us dragging was the cool and fun thing. What did you PA: That was it.

RS: So, you drug main, too?

PA: Right!

RS: Was it the same turn-around, like at Stop-n-Shop and then down by Pizza Hut or was the drag different?

PA: No, it was down to Frosty Freeze, down to the tracks.

RS: Down to the tracks at the PA: Yeah, or Community Bank.

RS: Okay. Oh.

PA: Right there. That was the turn-around.

RS: Oh! Okay, oh, because I guess the other, was the other part, what is now Coop’s, what was Stop-n-Shop at the, was that even there, was 00:38:00anything there at that time?

PA: I don’t remember what it was if it RS: Because we would always turn around in Stop-n-Shop. That’s funny. And, so, did you ever, was there, like a particular place that teenagers hung out back in that time, aside, like once you finally parked or did anything, what would you do?

PA: No. If we parked, it was like maybe the Safeway parking lot, which is not Dollar General.

RS: Okay.

PA: No, that’s all I can think of.

RS: And, was there any other, at the time you grew up, were there any, I mean, I know back in the day there was like a movie theater. Was there anything like that at that time?

PA: Yes, oh yeah, the drive-in. Drive-in movies. Yes.

RS: And where was that located?

PA: That was west of town, about a mile, maybe.

RS: Really?

PA: Uh-huh. I don’t know what the business is called that’s there now. It’s a…hmm…I 00:39:00don’t know what kind of business it is.

RS: Like out past Walmart?

PA: No. Out west on 66.

RS: Oh! Oh, okay. I’m going the wrong direction.

PA: Past Evergreen Mobile Home Park, and then there’s Timber Trail housing.

RS: Yes, uh-huh. So, the drive-in was out there?

PA: Yeah, just past that.

RS: Okay. Cool. So, where did you buy your clothes or did your grandmother make your clothes growing up?

PA: Well, yeah, and mom made our clothes, too, when we were smaller. We bought at JC Penney’s here in town.

RS: We had a JC Penney’s?

PA: We did!

RS: Well, my goodness.

PA: Yeah.

RS: I didn’t know that.

PA: Yeah, we bought MOST of our clothes at JC Penney’s.

RS: Okay. And then, so, how did you, did you like that your, that your mom and your grandma made your clothes or did that, was that a normal thing?

PA: Yes. It was normal. Yeah, yeah. But they were absolutely wonderful seamstress.

RS: Top notch.

PA: Yes. 00:40:00RS: Well, that’s cool. Okay, and then did you, was there certain times of year you got new clothes or is it just when you needed them?

PA: Well, we always got more clothes at the beginning of school, and we would go shopping and buy whatever we needed to start school, and that was always kind of a special occasion.

RS: Oh yeah, that’s always the fun trip.

PA: Yeah. You get to pick out new things.

RS: Right.

PA: Get new shoes.

RS: Right. Okay, well, let’s talk about how your family got around. Do you remember, what is your memory of the first car, what car do you have the first memory of? Do you remember?

PA: Oh, I couldn’t tell you what it was. I couldn’t tell what color it was. I want to say it was like a baby blue.

RS: A baby blue something.

PA: A something.

RS: Okay, well, what is one you do remember?

PA: I need my dad 00:41:00here to tell you that.

RS: What is one you do remember?

PA: Oh.

RS: Are you not good at models of cars?

PA: No! I’m not! A Buick. I know we had a Buick. I learned to drive in a Buick.

RS: And, so, was it a standard or automatic?

PA: Automatic.

RS: An automatic. And who taught you how to drive?

PA: Driver’s Ed teacher.

RS: So, your parents didn’t have the heart to teach you?

PA: Well, no, no, no. The first time I got in the car with my mom, she put one hand on the dash board, the other hand on the door, like to brace herself. And she said, okay, start it up.

RS: So, it wasn’t even running and she was already braced?!

PA: NO! And she was already braced!

RS: Oh, that’s funny! So, who is the main person that took you places? Was it your mom or your dad or your grandparents?

PA: Parents, my parents.

RS: Parents. Okay. Did you go on 00:42:00vacations in your car?

PA: We did. Most of the time it was back and forth to California to visit family. But there were stops along the way in the Grand Canyon and different places.

RS: Are there any of those types of memories that really stick out to you, like any place that you stopped? I can imagine the Grand Canyon would had to have been one of them.

PA: Yeah, that was a great memory. Most of my memory was car sickness.

RS: Bless your heart!

PA: I had a lot of that. But staying, what is now Route 66, I remember the motels, the little tourist camps, that kind of thing. Which, of course, you don’t think of it back then as being anything, but now looking back on it, I think, wow, we really experienced the Route 66 experience.

RS: So, you don’t feel as a young person that you probably really grasped 00:43:00what you were getting to see and experience. It took until you got older.

PA: Right.

RS: To appreciate that.

PA: Yes, yes. Seeing San Francisco [California], I remember that. That was fun.

RS: Yeah, I can imagine, especially coming from a small country town, because even town here is not like town there.

PA: Right, right. Going through the desert and that kind of thing. It’s all different.

RS: Right, and then I guess you probably had to fight through, you probably have the worst memory of just your car sickness and trying to get there and back.

PA: Yeah.

RS: Oh, that would be terrible. And you said that driver’s ed taught you how to drive. Do you remember what your first car was?

PA: 1966 red Mustang.

RS: Ohhh! Look at you! Did you buy it or did your parents buy it for you?

PA: I told my dad, or I told my mom and dad that I would love to have a red Mustang, and my dad worked out of town 00:44:00at that time, and he found the car at a car lot at McAlester [Oklahoma], a red Mustang. He put on new tires, and when my mom picked me up, at the time I worked at the hospital here after school, she came to pick me up and there was this red Mustang parked in the drive way.

RS: Oh, my goodness.

PA: I said, and at the time, we were still at the mobile home park, you know, they were managers. So, it wasn’t unusual to have different vehicles in our drive. And when we pulled in, I said, mom, that is exactly like the car I want.

RS: Oh! What a good memory!

PA: Yes! So, I walked in and daddy jingled the keys.

RS: Oh my gosh!

PA: Jingled my keys, and I said, what?! You know, so anyway.

RS: Were you sixteen when you got it?

PA: Yeah.

RS: Oh man!

PA: So, that was a surprise, which I did wind up paying for it, but he found it and brought it home.

RS: Well, that’s a neat memory. So, Paula was cool back in the day. 00:45:00PA: Oh yeah! And it had get up and go, too!

RS: Oh, I love it. Okay, well what kind of entertainment did you guys enjoy growing up? Did you get to watch TV? If you did, what were, do you remember some of your favorite programs?

PA: We did watch some TV. It really wasn’t like a big deal at our house. But on Sunday evenings, I believe, Walt Disney was on, so we would get ready for school, you know, take our baths and put our pajamas on and that kind of thing, and then we would get to watch Walt Disney. Once it was over, then it was bedtime.

RS: So, what was did Walt Disney consist of? Was that PA: It was just different, different shows.

RS: Oh, okay.

PA: Different cartoons. It was just like a Walt Disney hour.

RS: Okay.

PA: Variety type thing.

RS: Were there any pivotal moments in history that you witnessed watching the TV? Like that 00:46:00were on TV?

PA: Yes. I remember very distinctly was when we first landed on the moon. We got to stay up late to watch it. Mom thought, you know, that was really important that we got to. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open, but you know it was a little bit later than we were used to.

RS: So, around how old do you think you were?

PA: I was nine.

RS: You were nine. So, did that, being nine, did that, could you grasp how, like, amazing that was for that time period to be that there’s actually a man walking on the moon?

PA: I thought it was pretty fascinating. Of course, the picture on the TV was fuzzy, you know, it wasn’t good sound and all that, but you could still see well enough. So, I knew it was something different and unusual. And mom told us to remember that moment.

RS: That it was that big of a deal.

PA: Yes, yes.

RS: Do you have any other pivotal moments that you remember that you saw on TV? 00:47:00PA: Well, of course, there’s all kinds of different things, but nothing really, really THAT RS: The moon, the landing on the moon.

PA: Yeah, that was probably number one.

RS: Stood out to you the most. What was your medical like growing up? Did you have a family doctor?

PA: Yes.

RS: And who was your doctor?

PA: Dr. Jones.

RS: And was he a Bristow doctor?

PA: Yeah.

RS: Okay. Did your mother have any, like, mother or grandmothers have any home remedies or anything that you remember that you used like instead of going to the doctor for every little thing? Was there any PA: No. My grandmother worked for a doctor, so we just went to the doctor.

RS: You just went to the doctor, huh? So, Dr. Jones, what was his first name?

PA: W.E. was his initials.

RS: And he was a Bristow doctor? 00:48:00PA: Yes.

RS: And that would have been out at the hospital? Where were doctor’s offices?

PA: He was actually on 4th Street where the health department is now.

RS: Oh, okay.

PA: That was his office then.

RS: Okay, okay. Do you recall any serious illnesses or epidemics growing up that either that you or your family experienced?

PA: Well, I had the measles five times.

RS: Five times?!

PA: Five times.

RS: Did they not have the vaccine then?

PA: No, not then.

RS: Oh, my goodness. And how did that affect you?

PA: It was awful!

RS: You were just miserable?!

PA: Yeah. And chicken pox.

RS: You had it all.

PA: Yeah.

RS: So, whenever one of you got it, did all of you get it?

PA: Yeah. Yeah, we kind of took turns. We had the mumps. Had mumps over Christmas. That was an awful Christmas because you didn’t get to do anything at Christmas. I missed the school Christmas party. It was when I was in second grade, I think. 00:49:00RS: Ohhhh.

PA: Missed the family get-togethers.

RS: So, you had all of the things that we are vaccinated for now.

PA: Yes, right!

RS: Oh, my goodness. What about any other types of epidemics. I mean, I know, obviously, we’ve experienced in the last few years, covid and what kind of havoc that wreaked on everything, but was there anything like that, that you can remember growing up, that you experienced?

PA: No, no. And not any family members either.

RS: And how did covid affect, did it affect you and your family at all?

PA: Yeah, we all had it at one point.

RS: But all recovered?

PA: All recovered very well, yes.

RS: Okay, and it didn’t affect jobs or?

PA: No.

RS: Well, we’re glad that’s over, aren’t we?

PA: Yes, yes, for sure.

RS: Did you attend a church growing up?

PA: Off and on with friends.

RS: And did you 00:50:00PA: And family. I went to church with family, too.

RS: Okay. Did you have, I guess, a favorite church? Did you go to different churches since you were going with different people?

PA: Yeah, with friends, I went with friends to Trinity Baptist at grade school, mostly.

RS: Now, who was the pastor there at that time? Do you remember? Was it, it wasn’t the elder Tidwell, was it?

PA: No, that was before him.

RS: That was before him.

PA: I can’t remember his name, actually.

RS: Okay. Well, that’s okay. That’s okay. So, you went to Trinity with your friends.

PA: Yes, and the holiness church with family.

RS: Was Trinity still in the same place that it is now?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. And, so did you go to, what holiness church?

PA: Here at Bristow where it is now on first.

RS: Oh, okay. So, those buildings, 00:51:00it’s been the same thing for quite a while then. So, do you have any memories of, like, how the service was or did you have any favorite songs or hymns that you sang or is there any details about church you remember growing up?

PA: I know going with friends to Trinity, they had a group for the kids or the girls called GA’s, Girls in Action. And that was always fun.

RS: And what types of things did you do?

PA: Well, they just taught different things, and I know one time, we took a trip to Cushing and saw a film with the other GA’s from other churches. It was just a lot of fun, a lot of activity.

RS: Well, that sounds like a neat PA: Yeah, a real, real family type thing.

RS: Right. And, so, did, so this 00:52:00group taught different lessons to that age group. Did you guys do any activities together, like community activities, this group?

PA: I don’t remember community activities, but of course, that church went to Falls Creek for the week. Went to Falls Creek.

RS: So, you went to Falls Creek. And what was your favorite memory about going to Falls Creek or a memory that stands out to you?

PA: Well, just how many other kids were there, and you know, just the atmosphere, the camping. The huge building with everybody in it…it was just a lot of fun, but you learned a lot.

RS: So, you told me at one time that you were a very shy child. It sounds like you were very involved and did a lot of things for being somebody that was shy.

PA: Yes.

RS: So, that didn’t bother you or you didn’t feel homesick 00:53:00being away like that?

PA: No, no. I think because I was with friends, you know, that were more or less family. As long as you stayed in your little group.

RS: Your little group, so it eased your…because I know you said you were incredibly quiet as a younger, I’m guessing you kind of came out of that some as you grew up, but as a smaller child, you were very, very quiet?

PA: Yes.

RS: And do you have any reason for that, you think? Or just the way God made you?

PA: Just the way I was.

RS: Okay. So, let’s talk about how your family celebrated holidays. Can you give me a for instance of how you celebrated Christmas in your home in regards to gifts or food, decorations? So, tell me about a family Christmas at your house.

PA: Well, Santa Claus came. 00:54:00RS: I like it.

PA: So, we had to go to bed and go to sleep, which was, you know, SO difficult. And we’d try to wake up and I would get up during the night and peek and see if he’d come yet.

RS: So, did Santa bring you, did he fill your stockings, did he bring you certain…what did Santa typically bring at your house?

PA: He brought, more or less, the big stuff.

RS: And was it wrapped or?

PA: It was unwrapped.

RS: Unwrapped. That’s how it was at my house.

PA: We had wrapped gifts from parents or each other and Santa brought the unwrapped.

RS: That’s how he was at mine. Did he fill your stockings, too?

PA: Yes. Yeah.

RS: So, did you guys go all out on decorations? Do you remember what it was like, how was your Christmas tree?

PA: We had a lot of decorations, yeah. We had the tree and tinsel and all that. But we had different decorations sitting on the TV and the tables.

RS: So, did you usually have a live tree or?

PA: Live.

RS: A live tree. See, we did tinsel, too. 00:55:00As I got older, I realize now why my mom didn’t like tinsel because it’s so messy. But we, of course, loved it. So, was your family the type of family that really got into and enjoyed holidays, say like the 4th or July, Easter, Halloween…were there any other holidays that really stood out to you? I think for most people, I think Christmas is always on the forefront of holidays, but were there any other particular holidays that really stood out to you?

PA: Well, Thanksgiving was always good, too.

RS: Thanksgiving. Was that, did you go to a particular house? Was it at your house?

PA: Grandparents.

RS: Grandparents. Did you trade off going or did you hit both of them or?

PA: I think we usually hit both.

RS: And I’m sure since everyone was a good cook, you probably had a wonderful feast, didn’t you?

PA: Oh, yes. Yeah, two or three.

RS: Lots of eating. Were there any, what about 4th of July? Do you remember, did 00:56:00you do anything with your family? Back then was there town activities for the 4th?

PA: No. I don’t think there was town activities. But we always had our own fireworks, and sometimes we would be with other families, you know, together.

RS: Right.

PA: But everybody had their own, so we would shoot them off.

RS: So, it wasn’t like it is today where we have the big fireworks out at the lake.

PA: No.

RS: They didn’t have anything like that back then. Did the town of Bristow do anything for any of the other holidays? Do you remember trick-or-treating around Bristow? Was that a big thing?

PA: Yes, we trick-or-treated everywhere. It was every street, every house, you could go to, where now it’s more.

RS: Sixth Street.

PA: Yeah, Sixth Street and that’s about it. We went everywhere.

RS: And, so, that was Halloween was kind of a big deal.

PA: It was a big deal.

RS: A big deal back then. Do you remember a favorite costume?

PA: No.

RS: I think my mom 00:57:00always cut holes out of sheet and made us a ghost.

PA: Yes.

RS: To make it easier.

PA: That’s kind of what we did. And some years we didn’t really have a costume. We just bought a mask.

RS: Oh, okay.

PA: We had a mask and that was all.

RS: Those plastic masks that make you sweat and yeah, that you can’t see out of. Okay, well, as a child, do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up?

PA: Mmmm. No, well, no. There was just a gamut of things. Sometimes I would do, I would think, I want to be a teacher. Or I’m going to be a nurse. Then I’d realize, oh no, they have to give shots. I don’t want to be a nurse. No, nothing that I actually followed through with.

RS: Well, it doesn’t have to be something you followed through with. Like I wanted to be, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid, but then I realized that I would have to see hurt animals, so it broke my heart too much, so. So, teacher maybe, 00:58:00or a nurse?

PA: Yeah, mm-hmm.

RS: Which you worked in a doctor’s office for a long time. Which, we’ll get to that. What was your first job? Well, I guess you were a dishwasher.

PA: A dishwasher, yeah, no but I babysat.

RS: Babysat.

PA: Yeah, I babysat summers and evenings for neighbors. I did that for many years.

RS: And then you.

PA: And my first official job, you know, real paying job was I worked at the hospital in the office.

RS: And that’s when you were in high school, wasn’t it?

PA: Yeah, junior and senior year.

RS: Okay. And, so, tell me what a typical work day was there for you.

PA: At the hospital?

RS: Mm-hmm.

PA: Well, what I did, I worked in the office. I admitted patients, just did the paperwork, get them to sign the forms and that kind of thing. Answered the phones, switchboard.

RS: Were you like seventeen probably?

PA: Sixteen, seventeen.

RS: Sixteen, seventeen? That’s a pretty big job for a younger, a younger aged person. That’s impressive. 00:59:00PA: It was the old-time switchboard.

RS: Was that hard to catch on to?

PA: Not really. I just wished they still had it. It was fun.

RS: So, that wasn’t one of the artifacts that came. That wasn’t preserved from the hospital?

PA: Huh-uh.

RS: Shoot. Do you remember how much money you made at your first job?

PA: No. I don’t.

RS: You don’t remember what you got…I was gonna ask you, too, and I forgot, on your red Mustang, do you remember how much your dad paid for it? Or how much ended up paying for it?

PA: I think it was $975.

RS: Oh, my goodness! Wouldn’t like somebody like to have a $975 1966 Mustang now?!

PA: I think my payments were $75 a month.

RS: Oh, my goodness!

PA: So, it was less than a year it was paid for.

RS: Okay, I had to rewind on that because I forgot to ask you. How long did you stay at your first job at the hospital?

PA: About two years.

RS: Two years. So that was through your high school 01:00:00 life?

PA: Yeah, I was there junior and senior year, and then I graduated in ’77. In July of ’77 I went to work at American National Bank as a teller.

RS: Okay, so, and I guess, so I guess the hospital was good at working with, like around your school hours.

PA: Yes.

RS: You just went after school and on the weekends.

PA: And weekends.

RS: Okay. Since you were so young when you worked at the hospital, do you remember any lessons that stuck out to you from working there?

PA: Don’t drink and drive.

RS: Oh, my goodness. Because you were seeing things coming in.

PA: Yeah, there were accidents. People, of course, I wasn’t back in the back where to see the person, the patient. But the reactions of the family members, people coming in.

RS: That really stood out to you?

PA: Yeah.

RS: Oh, I bet. So, did you have any other lessons just in your, 01:01:00I guess, how you would conduct yourself in your work life? Did you have any mentors there that helped teach you, maybe you carried over into your other jobs as you moved on?

PA: Yeah, one thing that carried on to all my jobs was what you see or do or know in the office doesn’t leave the office. You know, you keep it to yourself. You don’t talk about things.

RS: What happens there stays there.

PA: Privacy.

RS: Yes. That’s good. So, tell me about some of the other jobs you held throughout your life. I know you mentioned you went from the hospital to the bank. And then.

PA: I was there 12 years.

RS: Twelve years at the bank.

PA: I started out as a teller.

RS: Okay.

PA: Drive-in teller, then inside teller, and then I wound up in the loan department toward the end.

RS: And then from there you went to?

PA: From there I went, well, I took a year off. I didn’t work at all. 01:02:00From there I went to.

RS: Why did you take off that year?

PA: Just to be with the boys.

RS: So, that’s when your boys were little?

PA: Yes.

RS: Okay. Alright. So, from there you went to.

PA: To Rainbow Healthcare Center.

RS: Okay.

PA: In the office there, bookkeeper.

RS: And you were there how long?

PA: I was there nine years.

RS: Nine years. And, so, did you have any good lessons that you learned from the residents that you were around there?

PA: Yes, well, me and my love of history and genealogy, you know, and they’re all old people.

RS: Right.

PA: And they all told stories. I just loved it. You know, there were like a whole house full of grandparents.

RS: Right. And I’m sure they loved you, too. So, from there, after Rainbow, did you retire?

PA: No, from there RS: Oh no, you went to the doc PA: Doctor’s office.

RS: That’s right.

PA: Went to work for Dr. Krug.

RS: Krug.

PA: David Krug.

RS: And then Smith [Carl Smith] and Sarah 01:03:00[Sarah Pinson].

PA: Yes.

RS: Carl Smith and Sarah. And you were there how many years?

PA: Nineteen.

RS: Nineteen years. And, so, from there, that’s when you retired?

PA: Yes.

RS: And then I also wanted to ask you about when you came on with the Bristow Historical Society and how that has affected your life.

PA: Well, I was always, as far as I can remember, I was always a member from back in the 80’s.

RS: Okay.

PA: But then after retirement, I started volunteering.

RS: When did you start, do you remember what year you started volunteering there?

PA: Probably 2019, 2020? Something like that.

RS: Okay.

PA: It’s only been four or five years. So far.

RS: That’s just probably furthered your love of history. 01:04:00PA: Yes.

RS: And I’m just gonna say that we couldn’t make it there without you, that you are the history wizard. Your knowledge is so vast and appreciated with how you keep up the Facebook page and keep interesting posts and all the research you do is just crazy how many hours you put into it. And I know it’s because, partially because you love it. Is there anything, are you happy to be where you’re at in your life now of, you know, retirement, volunteering…is that a good, you feel like that’s a good place?

PA: Yeah, I just kinda slid right into it.

RS: It worked out, didn’t it?

PA: Yeah, yeah from genealogy into the research, you know, Bristow research, it’s just, it’s really been fascinating.

RS: And you and I have a project we have to get on taking pictures. You have the old pictures of the different views, aspects, buildings around town, 01:05:00and we’re gonna try and go and capture what it looks like today and have some comparisons, which I’m excited to work on. That I think will be a great thing to have in the history.

PA: Yes, right. This year is Bristow’s 125th birthday.

RS: Which is a big deal!

PA: It is a big deal.

RS: Yeah. Okay. Did you attend college? And if you did, did you enjoy that experience?

PA: I did. It’s while I worked at American National Bank. They paid for any college we wanted to pursue.

RS: Oh wow!

PA: And I did take 15 hours at Tulsa Junior College [Tulsa Community College], of course, that was evenings.

RS: And what did you take?

PA: History.

RS: Why does that not surprise me?

PA: I know. History and sociology, just things that interested me.

RS: Right.

PA: It wasn’t for any certain degree or anything, it was just what was interesting. 01:06:00But Tracy Kelly said anything to broaden your horizons. They were all for.

RS: Yeah, which is awesome.

PA: Yeah, I appreciated it very much.

RS: Yeah, for real. Okay. Well, let’s circle back to your family, and let’s talk about your spouse. What is his name and when did you meet?

PA: His name is Gary Wayne Atwell [3/8/1958]. He moved to Bristow when he was a junior and I was a sophomore. Through a friend, he was bashful kind of like I was, and so he asked a mutual friend if I would go out with him. And, so, the mutual friend asked me and I said, okay. So, we went and the rest is history.

RS: So, what was your first impression of him?

PA: He was just as bashful as I was.

RS: So, I would have to know PA: Our first date, maybe two words between us.

RS: That’s what I was gonna say, 01:07:00I would have to know what your first date sounded like. There probably wasn’t a ton of conversation.

PA: No, there was not a ton of conversation and it was dragging main.

RS: Dragging main.

PA: Yeah, up and down main street.

RS: Well, you know, that’s, you at least probably had the radio on and that helped lighten the mood a little bit. Can you tell me about your engagement and how long it lasted?

PA: We got engaged New Year’s Eve 1980.

RS: 1980.

PA: Wait a minute, ’79.

RS: ’79.

PA: Yeah.

RS: And then how long was your engagement?

PA: We got married April 7th , so four months.

RS: You were fast, too. So, you were married April 7, 1980?

PA: Yeah.

RS: Okay.

PA: No, no. Seventy-eight. 01:08:00I’m all mixed up here.

RS: That’s okay. I can’t remember how old I am half the time. So, engaged in ’78 and married in ’79?

PA: No.

RS: No.

PA: We were married in ’78.

RS: Married in ’78. Okay, so April 7, 1978 was when you were married.

PA: Uh-huh.

RS: So, you would have been engaged in ’77.

PA: Yeah, let’s see.

RS: Are we gonna have to edit this?

PA: Yeah, we are.

RS: That’s okay. Dates are hard to remember.

PA: We were married April of ’77. So, December 31st.

RS: Would have been ’76.

PA: Good grief, I am real, you are definitely gonna have to edit this.

RS: Well, as long as we know what your, when you were married. We can figure 01:09:00out the rest.

PA: April of ’78.

RS: April of ’78 is when you were married. April 7, 1978. Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about your wedding, what it was like? Like when and where?

PA: We got married in at the Assembly of God Church that is no longer standing. It was on Chestnut Street. We were married by Gene, I mean, sorry, Joe Jackson.

RS: Joe Jackson. Was it a big wedding? A small wedding?

PA: Well, it was just family. Family and friends, so I would call it a big wedding. Just your normal every day church wedding.

RS: Right, okay. What would you recall about your first years of marriage? Like what were they like when you were newly married?

PA: Nothing really stands 01:10:00out, sticks out. We both worked.

RS: So, was it, were you, was it a struggle. Did you live in a little house?

PA: No, we actually lived in a mobile home there like two houses down from my parents for the first year.

RS: In the mobile home park?

PA: Yes, and then we moved to Depew [Oklahoma] and lived in a house there. And we were there 13 years in the same house.

RS: So, that would have been where you brought your boys home to?

PA: Yes, they were both born while we lived at Depew [Oklahoma]. I can’t say we struggled, but it was paycheck to paycheck.

RS: Right.

PA: You know, as you’re newly married and all that.

RS: Right, so, speaking of your children, tell me their names and their dates of birth.

PA: Okay. My first son was Clinton Wayne Atwell. He was born October 19, 1981. My other son, 01:11:00Curtis Paul Atwell, and he was born May 4, 1984.

RS: So, he’s getting ready to have a birthday, isn’t he?

PA: Yes.

RS: Did you work or were you a stay-at-home mom?

PA: I worked the whole time.

RS: You took off PA: Just the one year.

RS: The one year you took off with them. What do you feel were the challenges of being a mom during that time period and trying to work and do all the things?

PA: Well, Gary worked at Kwikset, and he worked second shift, so the boys or I didn’t really get to see him until the weekend. You know, because he worked evenings, and of course, we were gone to school and work during the day, so we crossed paths. So, that would be probably the most challenging.

RS: You kind of felt like a single mom, I guess?

PA: Yeah, because that’s really what it was.

RS: Right.

PA: Yeah. But, of course, he was a very attentive father when he was there. 01:12:00And as far at the boys growing up, they were in cub scouts. I was a cub mother, or den mother.

RS: Den mother.

PA: They played baseball. And that was always a challenge because one practiced on Mondays and Wednesdays and played Tuesdays and Thursdays, well the other one was the opposite. You know, I was here and there and all around.

RS: Were grandparents able to help at all with the shuffle?

PA: Not really, because that was Depew and we were Bristow.

RS: It was all you.

PA: It was just me, yeah, mostly.

RS: My goodness. So, were your boys good? Were they ornery?

PA: No, they were good boys!

RS: Well, good. It was probably a good thing because it sounds like you had your hands full. Then do you have any grandchildren, and if so, names and ages?

PA: I have one granddaughter. She’s Savanna Grace [10/24/2019].

RS: I love that name, Savanna Grace. 01:13:00And how old is she?

PA: She’s four and a half.

RS: Four and a half. So, that’s a fun age. So, what are your favorite things to do with Miss Savanna?

PA: EVERYTHING.

RS: She’s not spoiled at all, is she?

PA: No, not at all. No, she’s your typical little farm girl. They have cows and horses and chickens, and she loves to gather her eggs.

RS: Oh, that sounds like fun.

PA: Yeah, yeah. She goes to daycare at a daycare in Okmulgee. She’s learned the Creek language.

RS: That’s awesome!

PA: Yeah, so when she, she’s talking gobbledy-goo to me, I’m thinking, I don’t know what you’re saying, but keep right on saying it!

RS: You keep on with that! So, what’s her favorite thing to do when she comes to your house?

PA: Swing.

RS: Swing.

PA: Yeah, yeah, of course, she loves to read. She loves to work puzzles, all the normal every day. She likes to build blanket forts.

RS: That’s the best. Well, that sounds like fun. 01:14:00Okay, so we’ve talked some about your love of history, and I know you said that Mrs. Foster was the one that kind of sparked that with your genealogy assignment. I know you had also told me that you were part of the Bristow group and the Bristow group that did genealogy and then you ended up teaching there. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

PA: That started, like, in the 80’s, early 80’s. Which I was a member back then.

RS: How did you have time for everything?

PA: I really didn’t have time, but you know, you make time for some things.

RS: Right.

PA: And I didn’t do it all the time. I didn’t do research all the time. I just when I could.

RS: Right.

PA: But then it might be months that I didn’t do it at all. But, you just keep going on.

RS: So, you got into that, and then, so what did you just kind of fall 01:15:00into teaching there?

PA: Yes, yeah.

RS: It just kind of turned into that?

PA: It just evolved that way.

RS: And you did that for?

PA: Oh, many years.

RS: And just recently that dissolved.

PA: Yes, we just dissolved it in January .

RS: In January. And then we’ve already talked about you started volunteering at the depot probably in the last 4ish years, 4-5 years. Do you have any wisdom to share about seeking out a person’s family history and the importance of it?

PA: Well, you don’t know until you look for anything. You think, oh, well my folks were just all farmers, you know, pretty boring, pretty standard. But it’s not. It’s not that way at all. Just, you know, if you find out the details, you find out about the person, their personality, things they liked to do, things that you like to do that 01:16:00you didn’t know, and YOU like to do.

RS: Like the connection, you find the connection there. So, is there one, and there may be more than one, but are there any particular things that were, maybe, outlandish or that wow’d you that you’ve, that you’ve learned about your own family.

PA: Yes. Well, one of them was the Salem witch hunts that everybody’s heard about. My, I want to say, maybe seven- or eight-times grandmother, actually her sister, was one of the accusers, and so that made her dad one of the, I don’t know what he was called, a judge or one of the persecutors. So, very much involved in the witch things. My grandmother was not. She was too young at that time, before it all blew over. But that was 01:17:00one eye-opener thing. Another thing is, I’ve got a couple of connections to Abraham Lincoln.

RS: Oh, neat.

PA: And that’s, that was just fun. Not direct, but like an uncle. My family used to live in the, neighbors to the Lincoln family. They owned land side by side. And then my uncle helped the Lincoln family move from Kentucky to Indiana, I believe. And I have proof of that. You know, so it’s proven, not just hearsay or whatever. Also, a different grandfather, a different line, when the Lincoln family was in Illinois, he knew Abraham Lincoln, and they show a picture of him standing on the front porch, I guess, of the Lincoln Law Office. So, you know, just different connections, you know, so you play a part of history, 01:18:00and you don’t realize it. And, of course, there’s always your civil war grandparents or aunts or uncles or whoever that was involved in the different wars. I’ve got several Revolutionary War soldiers.

RS: So, do you feel like you’re leaving a good legacy for your family with the collection of the history items that you have?

PA: Yes.

RS: Are your boys interested in that?

PA: I think they are. I think as, I think with everybody, as you get older, you do become more interested.

RS: I would agree.

PA: And wished you’d asked more questions of your grandparents and that kind of thing.

RS: Yes, absolutely. Well, I definitely, just with my experience with doing the oral histories and working with the historical society, it’s really sparked my interest and made me wish I would have done some of the same things, you know, before my dad passed away or before my mom had her stroke, and you know, was unable 01:19:00to talk now. So, I think it’s a really neat thing to leave to your family. You’ve done all the leg work, you know. And it’s just all right there for them to be able to read about. Okay, so, I spoke with your siblings to see if they had any interesting things to add about you, and Michael told me to ask you about the red shoes. Can you tell me about the red shoes? I was a little nervous to ask you.

PA: Growing up, mom always had us in red tennis shoes.

RS: Was there a reason for that?

PA: I don’t think so.

RS: Or did she just like red?

PA: Just liked red tennis shoes, and Michael thinks that such a fascinating thing that every picture we have red shoes on.

RS: You have red tennis shoes on.

PA: Yeah, yeah. There’s those red shoes again!

RS: And the Eva wanted me to ask you about learning to drive a stick shift and what happened with that. 01:20:00PA: Ohhhh! Oh, well, okay, I’ll confess. I’ve broken two bones and neither one were mine.

RS: Oh, my goodness! You have to, you have to spill what happened.

PA: Well, the first bone I broke was Eva’s. She was in the first grade and I think I was in the third. We’d had fried chicken for supper. She went immediately outside and got on the swing set. Well, I got up and helped mom clean the table off and do that little bit, and then I went outside, and she asked me to swing her. So, I pulled the swing back. Anyway, she wound up slipping off the swing, fell on the ground and broke her arm. And she said I pushed her on purpose, well, she asked me to for one thing. But, another thing is, she got directly up from the table and went outside, so her fingers were greasy, I’m sure!

RS: So, you’re blaming it on the fried chicken?

PA: I’m blaming it on her, yeah. 01:21:00RS: Or the fried chicken.

PA: Yes, yes.

RS: So, what happened with the stick-shift?

PA: The other bone I broke was my best friend’s femur.

RS: OH!

PA: It was the day after school let out, and I’m thinking.

RS: Like for the summer?

PA: Yes. I think, I don’t remember if we were sophomores or juniors now, but anyway, we were at her house. Nobody else was home but just us because her mom and dad worked. She had a stick shift car, standard. When I start mom’s car at that time, at home, to start it, you kind of had to give it a little gas at the same time you turned the ignition on. With the standard, which I had never been behind the wheel of a standard. The car wouldn’t start. So, my friend got out, told me slide over onto the driver’s seat. She opened the hood 01:22:00of the car like she knew what to do. She didn’t, but anyway. She told me to try to start it, so I gave it a little gas, and you weren’t supposed to do that. It was in neutral, but anyway, it rolled forward, the car rolled forward when I started it, and it pinned her in the carport. And it broke her leg.

RS: Oh, my goodness!

PA: So, she kind of hopped around and got back in the car, back in the car seat and her leg was kind of bowed, really awkward. And she said, I think my leg is broken. And I looked and her and said, no it’s not, not it’s not. Anyway, so I got, she said, I think you better go call my mom. So, you know, I go in the house, and I call her mom. And her mom was here at the house. They lived out in the country. She was there within five minutes. I mean, she must have just flown. But anyway, she wound up being in the hospital three weeks, I think, with that bone. She was in traction for one week 01:23:00for the swelling to go down. Of course, they put a pin in it. And then, you know, another week after the surgery, she was still in there. So, anyway, that was probably the most traumatic thing that ever happened.

RS: What a story for Eva to tell me to ask you.

PA: Right.

RS: Oh, my goodness! Yeah, that’s terrible. Well, but I guess she got okay and everything.

PA: Yeah, yeah.

RS: Everything’s good.

PA: About a year later, they took the bar back out of her bone and everything’s okay, I guess.

RS: Well, remind me to never let you drive a stick shift.

PA: Right. I don’t want to.

RS: Oh, I bet. Okay, so what would, this is one you’re probably gonna have to think about. What would you consider to be the most important invention during your lifetime?

PA: Computer.

RS: The computer.

PA: Yeah, how could I do my research without my computer.

RS: This is true. You know, I would probably agree with that. How do you feel the world 01:24:00is different now than when you were a child?

PA: It’s much busier, I think. Not as friendly. I hope it turns back that way, but life was so much more simple.

RS: Well, I feel like in a lot of ways the, maybe my generation and younger, are trying to go back to some of the older ways…the gardening, the bread making, you know, the slowing down a little bit. I think we all have to work so hard to try to make a living that it’s just made everybody way too busy.

PA: People just need to go out on their front porch and listen to the birds and wave to the neighbors.

RS: I think I’m an old lady at heart, because that’s one of my most favorite things to do. And as you see it, what do you feel our nation’s biggest problem is and how do you think we could solve it?

PA: Our biggest problem? 01:25:00RS: What’s our nation’s biggest problem right now? I’m challenging you, Paula.

PA: I think it’s probably, well, I don’t know. I think now people think everything should be handed to them. And I think everyone needs to get to work.

RS: To have the philosophy of our grandparents of working hard, working for what you have. Yeah, I would agree with that.

PA: Well, it gives you self-worth, and I think everybody’s lacking that.

RS: Yes, and I think there’s an element of pride there that has been lost, too.

PA: Yes.

RS: I would agree with you. How have historic events such as, say like the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, natural disasters, world wars, covid, etc…how has that affected you? You can pick one or several. Do you have any memories 01:26:00of, you know, how you felt during those times?

PA: Well, sad and devastated a lot. But as far as the Oklahoma City Bombing, my older son, Clinton was with an FFA group in Oklahoma City when that happened.

RS: Oh my gosh.

PA: And I was at Rainbow, you know, in the office working. Anyway, right next to the lobby and the TV was always on in the lobby at the nursing home. When that happened, of course, they come in and tell us what’s going on, and so, we walk out there and we are watching the TV, and I’m there for a couple of minutes and then it dawns on me.

RS: Where your son is.

PA: Clinton is on Oklahoma City, so where is he compared to where this bomb has gone off?

RS: Oh, my goodness.

PA: Anyway, he happened to be up at that time. They were in the motel room still. And they heard it. The other students that were still asleep were awoken 01:27:00by the bomb. It was loud enough to wake them up. But also, and of course, they were all okay. At that time, we had several of the nursing home employees in Oklahoma City. They were at like a webinar, seminar or something. And they said that they actually, and they were within a few blocks, like five blocks of it. When the bomb went off, they said they could feel the ripple in the building they were in. They could feel it go down the ceiling.

RS: Oh, my goodness.

PA: Just the ripple effect, and so, they were all very, very close. But as far as people here from Bristow that were in Oklahoma City at the time, they were all okay.

RS: So, how did you make contact with your son, because I can’t imagine that there were no cell phone or anything.

PA: No, we called the school. I called the school. They said we have just talked to the teacher and everybody is okay. There 01:28:00all still in the motel rooms.

RS: Did they come home after that or did they go on?

PA: I think they went ahead and stayed.

RS: Oh, wow. I would have been like, it’s time for you to come home. Oh, my goodness. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about or any wisdom you would like to share for future generations?

PA: Find out where you come from. You know, as far as RS: You have to know where you came from to know where you’re going.

PA: Yes. And you’ll find skeletons in the closet as the old saying goes. You will, but that’s part of your life. That’s part of who you are, and it’s all interesting. It’s all fun. And it’s pretty amazing.

RS: Well, I would agree, and I just have to say, getting to know you since being at the historical society has been a huge blessing in my life. And I’ve loved learning the knowledge. We joke. 01:29:00I call you the history wizard because whenever I’m working on my oral histories, I know I can always ask Paula, and she’s always going to have the answer for me.

PA: I try!

RS: You do a wonderful job. Well, this interview will become an important part of the oral history archives for the museum. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll get to keep working together and we will keep on with the history.

PA: Yeah, that sounds like fun!

RS: Okay, thank you.

PA: Thank you.