Oliver "Tracy" Kelly

BM: October 13, 1976, 10:45.

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BM: To your knowledge, when was the first gin built in this part of the county?

TK: Bob, I don't know about the first gin, but I do know of my father, Albert Kelly, and W.O. Baker were partners, and their gin was established in Bristow right down by the railroad track where the old ice plant, and the Farmer's Custom Gin started in 1913. And they were gin and cotton, they had all set up--gin and cotton in the fall of 1913. And they--some very interesting stories about how they, getting that equipment in from the old Loomis Gin people, into Bristow and getting it set up. And I'm sure they wouldn't have started the gin 00:01:00unless there was a substantial amount of cotton in the area to support a gin facility. So if I were estimating, I would say that cotton came into the Bristow community in the nineteen-nines and nineteen-ten and --eleven, around in there. That's the best of my--you know, that's to, about as good a target date as I would, could get.

BM: What year, Tracy--you stated the other night that there was five banks in Bristow at one time.

TK: Yeah, and before we get off of the cotton gin, there were five cotton gins in Bristow at one time.

BM: There were five--

TK: --operating at the same time, that's when cotton was king, back in the late 00:02:00teens and twenties.

BM: Do you know the names of all of them?

TK: The banks or the cotton gins?

BM: The cotton gins.

TK: No, but I can, I think I can do a little research and come up with some of them. Joe Abraham had a gin, Albert Kelly had a gin, Mills Friarson (ph) had a gin, there was--Bud Long (ph) had a gin, and anyway, there was--

BM: That's four.

TK: That's four of them.

BM: What year did your father go into the banking business?

TK: 1932.

BM: 1932?

TK: Back during the lean days of the banking world. He was invited in to the American National Bank stock ownership because of desperate need at that time to 00:03:00shore up their capital positions, because banks were having a very difficult time in those days.

BM: How many banks back in the --nine, -tens, up until this Heritage (ph) came in, how many banks were there in the city of Bristow?

TK: Well, at one time I think, Bob, there were five banks and that was before they had to do a lot of--that was before the days of FDIC and federal insurance and that sort of thing.

BM: Offhand, do you know the names of those banks?

TK: No, I could--again, I could research them and find out, there was--I, off the top of my head I can't tell you the names of them. I know that there was a 00:04:00First National and there was a First State and there was a Community State and there was American National, but

BM: In your opinion, would you say that the banks that were in the Bristow area was a major factor in the development of that--this community?

TK: I would attribute part of the inertia in the development in this area, certainly, but more importantly than that, in my judgment, was the fine agriculture and ultimately the oil production. Agriculture and oil is really 00:05:00what put Bristow on the map and thank goodness it had some good arteries of transportation, it had a rail--the main line of the Frisco was through here. But the natural resources of agriculture and oil really were the reason for Bristow being the quality of town that it was.

BM: Do you remember hearing say--it had been brought to my attention that there was a geographical survey made of this country by the United States whenever they laid out the railroad. Do you think possibly that this survey was the cause of oil being established?

TK: Bob, the U.S. Geodatic Survey, the engineers, when they came through this country, they performed certain geological findings that were bound to have attracted the early day oilman because there was a man by the name of Fath, and there is still talking around the oilpatch about the 'Fath highs.' These were the geological high structures that were even identified by the Fath engineering and geological surveys back in the early days. It's been amazingly accurate, some of those geological pronouncements that were back there at the turn of the century.

BM: At one time was there a Bristow geographical survey company that surveyed 00:07:00out of Bristow?

TK: To my knowledge, Bob, I'd have to defer that to someone else. To my knowledge I don't know of any, but I'm kind of a johnny-come-lately in that score. There are other old oilpatchers around here that would probably have a better feel for that than I. I don't know.

end of interview

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