Clarence "Boyd" Myers

BMC: This is an interview with Boyd Myers [indecipherable] 10/13/76, time 7:15.

BM: That aggravates me every time I think of that--I think the government gave six thousand dollars to that plant down in Texas. And they say it's gonna be covered with water.

BMC: Boyd, on the Pinehill community, to your knowledge when did your dad1 come into that country?

BM: You asked me that on the phone, I think it was 1908, I'm not sure.

BMC: Now we're on tape. How many brothers came in there with him? How many came in there with him with the Myers family? Do you--

BM: He came alone.

BMC: He came alone?

BM: He came in on the train, I remember time and time again he told me that he had $7.50 in his pocket when he got in Bristow.

BM: When he settled in there, he settled there on the old home place? Or did he settle some place else and then buy the old home place up here?

MM: [Inaudible.]

BM: I don't know.

BMC: Did you ever hear him say what the first place that he lived?

BM: I don't remember.

MM: [Inaudible.]

BM: You got that tape on now?

BMC: Yep.

BM: Let me tell you something that it wouldn't hurt for this to be taped: You 00:02:00know his nickname was Mule Ellen (ph), did you ever hear that?

BMC: Yep, I did.

BM: Well, he got the name right there at that school. He was showing off for the girls there, and he rode that mule around that school building and I guess he done everything to--

MM: That sounds like your dad.

BM: --that you'd expect a mule to do, and they all laughed and carried on 'cause the mule didn't behave too well, and that's where he got the name Mule Ellen (ph).

BMC: What year, Boyd, was your dad and mother married?

BM: I don't know that, either. Well, Verna'd (ph) have that in the Bible, she's got the old Bible.

MM: We gone and talked to her on--

BMC: I talked to her about forty-five minutes last night. Do--your mother and dad's marriage, how many children were there? I know the answer to it, but--

BM: Nine.

BMC: Nine. There was--names were what?

BM: Burl, Virgil, Bernice, Boyd, Kelly, Ray, Fay, and (inaudible).

BMC: And Naomi.

MM: You forgot Naomi.

BM: I skipped one, didn't I? Naomi was just younger than Kelly, right.

BMC: Right.

MM: He needs your mother's maiden name.

BMC: Your mother's maiden name was--

BM: Nellie May2.

BMC: Nellie May Blythe.

BM: B-L-Y-T-H-E. Most people called them "Bly," B-L-Y, but it's B-L-Y-T-H-E.

MM: (inaudible)

BMC: To your knowledge, your mother never did go to school there at Pinehill, did she?

BM: Oh, I definitely don't think she did.

BMC: How many of you children went to school there at Pinehill?

BM: I guess all nine of us did.

BMC: Do you remember your first teacher?

BM: Yes, Effie Curtis (ph). She whopped me about every day.

MM: (laughing)

BMC: You must've been an ornery little stinker.

UW: [Inaudible.]

BM: Don't tell Mike this.

UW: --more like our grandson.

BMC: What all activities--to your knowledge, what all activity was the school 00:05:00used for?

BM: Other than the ABC's, you mean?

BMC: Other than the ABC's, other than school purposes. What all was the school used for? What was all the schoolhouse used for, besides the ABC learning?

BM: Well, I can remember the pie suppers, I can remember the fairs that I mentioned, and I can remember the elections, and the voting precinct, well elections, I mentioned that.

UW: Church.

BM: It was used for church, also.

BMC: And singing groups.

UW: [Inaudible.]

BM: Well, church is all I remember.

BMC: You said something on--you said fairs. I want you to confirm what I already have: What type of fair was this?

BM: It's what they called a township fair. It was a small community fair.

BMC: At this fair, what all was exhibited?

BM: Oh, just home products like you would at the county fairs, only on a small scale.

BMC: Did you ever take anything to these county fairs?

BM: I definitely did.

BMC: What did you take?

BM: Cattle and crops that we grew on the farm.

BMC: Did you personally, did you ever win anything at these fairs?

BM: Oh, I don't recall but I'm sure we did.

BMC: To your knowledge, who was the judges at these fairs?

BM: I don't remember.

MM: [Indecipherable] Dowdy was judge at the--

BM: I think he did, but I don't remember.

MM: What did the women show at the fair?

BM: Well, they had their sewing and canning and just like they would at the larger fairs, only it was on a smaller scale.

BMC: It was on a smaller scale. Well, do you remember hearing say when the first oil well was drilled in that community?

BM: No, that was mentioned a while ago. I don't remember where the first well was drilled.

BMC: How old was you when you saw the first well in operation?

BM: Well, Bob, most of the wells around there was gas wells. I can remember that they would drill for oil and probably get gas [indecipherable] and they didn't have any way to cap these wells in like they do now and that gas would roar, come right down the creek and sound like it was close to the house as we were from the creek. And they would blow like that for days before they'd get stopped.

BMC: Well they can't cap those--

MM: Did you ask him about the [indecipherable]

BMC: Whenever you were growing up, what game was there in that part--in that community? For hunting purposes?

BM: Oh, rabbits and squirrels. We'd try to trap skunks and opossum and maybe go opossum hunting at night. And fish, we'd go down there and catch these little 00:09:00catfish about that big. But we didn't have much time for that, dad kept us busy all the time.

BMC: Oh, I know.

MM: [Inaudible.]

BMC: And your schooling there in Pinehill, do you remember the kids that graduated with you from the eighth grade?

BM: Yes, I do. Milton Snow (ph).

BMC: Would you name the ones that graduated from the eighth grade with you?

BM: Name all of them?

BMC: If you can.

BM: Well he's definitely one of them, and I can't--I don't remember the rest of them.

BMC: What year was that?

BM: Well that little old [indecipherable] and I was five when they started, I was born in 1913.

BMC: Well, that would put you in school about 1918.

MM: [Inaudible.]

BMC: And that would put you roughly graduating from Pinehill school in either '26 or '27.

BM: Well, you figure eight years from the time I started, that'd been '28.

BMC: Let's check back here and make sure that that's right. Check back here on 1918, see what, what's on the school rolls in 1918. (sound of pages flipping)

BM: I say it'd be '27.

BMC: What year, Boyd, did you leave that community? (sound of pages flipping)

BM: Well, I went to high school at Bristow for three years, then I missed a year and wound up at Olive and graduated from high school.

BMC: You graduated from Olive High School? Then after you graduated from high school you went into what type of business?

BM: Well, I went the summer of 1933, after I graduated, I went to the wheat 00:12:00harvest in Kansas. I worked for a dollar and a quarter a day and that wasn't an eight-hour day, that was from daylight to dark.

BMC: That was from sunup, daylight, 'til dark.

BM: And we ate four meals a day. And then later on I came to Tulsa in 1936 and I begged to get a job making thirty-five cents a day. That a seven-day-a-week job, no overtime. I was born at the wrong time.

BMC: Anything that you can think of that you'd want to add?

MM: Did he steal any watermelons?

BMC: What, honey?

MM: Did you ever steal any watermelons?

BM: Not any more than I could eat.

MM: Who raised the best watermelons?

BM: I really don't know. No, we didn't--I can truthfully say I don't remember us stealing watermelons.

MM: Did you ever steal any chickens?

BM: Oh, no, no.

MM: You didn't go on any of them chicken roasts?

BM: No, never did. I've tried to carry two watermelons on a horse and if you think that isn't fun--and the horse steps on a watermelon.

MM: Who was the best girl, who was your girlfriend while you was going to school?

BM: Oh, I liked all the girls. But you know, I didn't know there was a difference between boys and girls 'til I was about six!

BMC: About six you found out--

MM: [Inaudible.]

BMC: Yeah, tell me about that, that boy [indecipherable] little bit better than that, he found out about three, I think.

MM: Did you ever put any girls' pigtails in the inkwell?

BMC: Some mischief, what mischief did you get in at school?

MM: And I'm sure he must've done some--

BM: Well, I don't know whether you'd call this mischief or not but I don't mind telling it, I told you this--they had those outdoor houses at that time, and we was out there one day and that's when I was five years old, that was my first year at school, and Earnest Rhinehardt (ph) and Floyd Wilson (ph) came up there. And they had some Beechnut tobacco and they insisted that I take a chew of tobacco. Well, I didn't want it but they insisted and I started to--well, I put it in my mouth, I couldn't hide it, it burned my mouth. I started to spit it out and they said, "Don't spit it out!" They said, "It'll get sweet after a while." Well I don't know whether it got sweet or not, but I started going in circles. And I had the biggest piece of vanilla cake in my gallon bucket that I carried my lunch in, and I couldn't no more eat that cake than I could fly. Oh, it made 00:15:00me sick.

MM: What kind of bucket? Syrup bucket or a lard bucket?

BM: Syrup, it was a syrup bucket.

MM: What'd you carry in lunches, we've never asked anybody. What'd they put in your lunches? Biscuits? Probably biscuits.

BM: Mom made a lot of light bread. I imagine it was light bread sandwiches.

MM: What'd you put on 'em?

BM: Well, I remember one thing was peanut butter and jelly.

MM: Your dad always killed a lot of hogs so you had plenty of meat.

BMC: Boyd, when was the first time--

MM: Probably sausage sandwich, that I would imagine.

BMC: When was the first time that you saw one of the old sorghum mills?

BM: Well, now, that wasn't a cane country right in there so I really don't remember--seemed like Smith Bruce had one, I believe. Pulled it with a mule, I believe, I'm not too sure of that.

BMC: I know there was quite a bit of sorghum cane, I expect about--

MM: What did your dad raise out there? What did he raise on his farm?

BM: In the agricultural line?

MM: What did he raise, uh-huh, something besides kids? (laughs)

BMC: In the agricultural line, what all did Alex3 raise?

BM: Well, the money crop, if there was any money, was cotton. And corn and small grain. But in the later years they tried to grow soybeans--and grow 'em but they didn't have any way to harvest them.

MM: Your mother was good at canning and stuff.

BM: Oh, mom worked all the time. She would churn this old-type churn and be reading the Bible or some other book at the same time.

BMC: I can't think of anything else.

MM: Oh what about that--who made that table and chairs, and talk about how that was made up, your mother [indecipherable]. Somebody told me that you [indecipherable] something you made, a dining room set.

BM: Oh, that's after we got into high school. Fay and Ray made the chairs, I think Kelly made the table.

MM: Tell us about that.

BM: Well, this was mom's idea again. Money was very scarce, we didn't have any money. Lot of times we'd be Sunday'd roll around and they'd all go to town and I wouldn't even go to town. Why should I go to town, I didn't have any money. So this big nice walnut tree was down there close to Winkey Creek Bridge and mom suggested we cut that tree and cure it and use it in the school--at Bristow High School. So that's where the table and chairs went.

MM: Tell us about--

BMC: That's what table and chairs--

MM: I know, but I want to know what kind of table, I want him to tell us about it--

BM: Well they was walnut.

MM: Walnut?

BM: Walnut dining table.

MM: How many sit the table, how many chairs?

BM: Well I believe there was six chairs, isn't that right?

UW: Did Bernice have those? Didn't she have those?

BM: No, Fay and Ray made the chairs. And Kelly made the table.

UW: Well I know--who has them, though? I know who made them but who has them?

BM: Well [inaudible].

BMC: In later years--

BM: Bernie has them now.

BMC: Bernie has them now.

BM: Right.

BMC: Is that right?

MM: I've heard about those, that they were things of outstanding beauty, like art.

BM: Well, I'll show you what I made for [indecipherable].

MM: Okay, what did you make?

BMC: Uh--

BM: I made a chifforobe out of solid oak.

MM: Cut it off the property again?

BM: No, no, I did not.

BMC: What year--I know that what all [indecipherable] I know that Burl and his 00:19:00first wife made certain trips to California on [indecipherable]. What year did you boys start riding motorcycles?

BM: Well, I'd have to do some figuring. I was sixteen when I got my first one. Burl started prior to that, so thirteen to sixteen would be--

MM: Twenty-nine.

BMC: Twenty-eight or '29.

BM: That's about it. But Burl started probably in '24 or '25.

BMC: And how many of you boys at the present time, how many boys still ride those motorcycles?

BM: Fay rides as a hobby.

MM: Kelly? Does he ride?

UW: Burl still rides [indecipherable].

BMC: Well that time I talked to Burl, he was, he was talkin' about hunting, hunting deer.

BM: Well he sold his motorcycle and I doubt whether he rides now or not.

MM: Kelly probably rides to games--

BM: Well I'm sure Kelly rides with his kids.

BMC: Well is Kelly, is he still in the trick riding business?

BM: Oh, no, no. Kelly got banged up and then he, he wouldn't look at a motorcycle until the kids got of age and then he got back into it again. But no trick riding or anything like that.

BMC: Just normal, just normal everyday riding.

MM: Well the kids your age, all of you kids are better than average educated. How many of you went to college?

BM: Well, I don't know whether we're better than average. We, we finished high school and Kelly went a little bit to the junior college there in Bristow.

UW: Brooke (ph) went on to business college.

BM: Yeah, she went to business college.

UW: And Bernice--

BM: Well, now, she went to Edmond.

UW: She was--

BM: --to teacher's college.

UW: --engineering--

BM: But she probably wouldn't even want to hear about that. She started, and would go a while and then have to teach and then go back again and have to teach on account of finances--

UW: I think it's commendable that people can do that--

BMC: Yes, I agree, but I really think that--

MM: I think, I think, I know that they did better than average--

UW: It's hard to do, but they, you know, she did it.

BM: Well, mom was the driver along that line. She always encouraged education. And believe it or not, they wanted to send me on to engineering school, but I couldn't--I couldn't stand for them to be working at home and me be off to school.

UW: [Inaudible.]

end of interview