Well, I am gonna back up a little, as I forgot to mention our visit to the stockyards of Ft. Worth. We went over there April 1st in the morning, had a little shopping spree, some lunch and enjoyed the dose of history of the area. The stockyards are no longer used, many of the buildings have been turned into shops and restaurants. Several times a day they reenact a cattle drive. About 10 horse back riders “drive” about 20 long horned cattle down the road. Kids love it! <G> We inspected the stockyard and had a pleasant morning.
Fort Worth Dallas area to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Basically an uneventful drive, missed a turn due to construction and poorly marked signs. Was not even a problem, as there was an alternative route, so we drove equal amount of miles via the second route. Got to our campground to find that the good ole Verizon does not work so hot here. They do not have total digital coverage here, which means simply, NO INTERNET via the cell phone here.
We set up, I prepare a to do list for research at the Oklahoma Historical Society.
April 3, 2004
Al stays at the campground with the dogs, I later discover he has an motive, there is a Camping World within walking distance. He pays a visit there while I am at the Oklahoma Historical Society collecting information on HIS Lashbrook clan. <G>
Ok, the research was good, it was a easy place to research in, books on open shelves, film identified in such a way that it was easy to find your own film, newspapers organized by county and then by city, then by date. EASY!! I did the same amount of research in this one day that I did at the Mississippi Archives in THREE!
As I was discussing a research problem with one of the volunteers there we were interrupted by another researcher. She was reluctant to interrupt, but did anyway. She heard me mention that one of the Lashbrook brides was supposed to be a famous china (as in dishes) painter. She knew about the “Sport” and also knew of a really good resource online for the Oklahoman newspaper. I started snooping around and later thanked her for being a “buttinsky”. Thanks to her I found some fabulous biographical information. Staff was very nice, it was a fun research day.
April 4, 2004
A visit to the Oklahoma Memorial was first on the agenda. It was a sunny bright day, a bit brisk, but fine for walking around. The memorial is very nice, reminds us of Pearl Harbor. Quiet, a place for reflection.
April 5, 2004
Oklahoma City to Arkansas City, Kansas
Another rather uneventful driving day. As we only had 140 miles or so to go, we played lazy in the AM, and then spent some time visiting with the couple parked next to us in the Oklahoma City park.
When we arrived in Arc City, I started asking about research facilities and libraries. The owner of the campground was a 6 generation resident of the Arc City area. I asked him one question, “is there a Parker cemetery near here?” and from that moment on, I was on a grand Lashbrook research trip for the next couple of hours and then 3 more wonderful days. I found all kinds of great stuff (ya have to be a family researcher to appreciate this). I found death information and burial places for Lashbrooks that I have been hunting for for over 10 years!! What a HIGH!!
The redbuds are blooming here, as are tulips and crab trees. We have been following spring north since San Antonio.
April 6, 7, and 8th, 2004
April 6, Abby was feeling very punky, so Al stayed with the dogs and I walked over to the Cherokee Strip Museum. This is the place the 1893 land rush to Oklahoma started. The area oozes of history!!!
The research (about 2.5 hours) was GOOD!! Went back to the trailer and Abby was feeling a bit better. Later I went to the public library in town for newspaper work, and a cemetery in town for photos. The caretaker took me around the cemetery and helped me find each stone I was interested in. They are very nice here, not just cause I found a lot of stuff, they really are NICE.
April 7, drove over to Ponca City, Oklahoma for more research. Collected some good stuff. Drove over to Blackwell, Oklahoma to a cemetery, found all the Lashbrooks there buried in the Mausoleum. There was a caretaker there, and he took us into the Mausoleum. This was a first for us, but was very interesting. A little weird, but interesting. One of the other caretakers there told us about a prairie dog colony could be found, it was very near the second cemetery of the day. Found the 2nd cemetery, found the stones we were looking for after about 10 to 15 minutes of searching. Found the prairie dog colony. They certainly are cute!! The last cemetery stop of the day was a bust as far as locating graves, but we met a very interesting man there, who told us about his ancestors participating in the Land Rush and how they camped out at Arc City Kansas for one full year before the land rush. He told us a few very interesting stories.
Whew, I was exhausted, but had the time of my life! Everyone in Kay County Oklahoma and Cowley County Kansas that we dealt with were great, nice, informative, kind.
The area is FILLED with oil wells! Some are pumping, others appear to be dormant.
April 9, 2004
Arkansas City Kansas to Independence Missouri.
Day started out wet, drove a good part of the day in rain.
Interesting things we see along the way: Large areas of burnt land, acres and acres, as far as the eye can see. Seems this is done to get rid of undesired grasses and to encourage the growth of the grasses that are good for grazing cattle. The area between El Dorodo and Emporia Kansas was very pretty, burnt fields and all.
Drove into the campground and found a first, not only do they have speed limits and quiet hours, they have a NO SMOKING campground! They even have a sign posted at the entrance. We have instant phone here, one could get hooked on that service! HA HA. The owners are very nice.
Set up and prepare more to do lists, the Mid-Continent Library is just down the street. They have a very good collection and of course, lots of Kansas City Missouri stuff.
April 10, 2004
Research! Had a pretty good day of research. The staff is great at Mid-Continent. It is organized very well, readers and printers are in good shape. Tired at the end of the day, and happy with the results.
April 11, 2004
Happy Easter.
We spend the day in camp, doing chores and cooking our Easter dinner.
April 12, 2004
We drive to Topeka. I have a little bit of Kansas research left, 4 obits, and some other work. Get to the Kansas Historical Museum and find it is closed on Mondays. Ooops. Tactical error. My fault, I did not call or check it out on the web. SOOO, for some reason, we decide to go over to the building and have a hard look anyway, see if they really are closed. Well, they are, sorta. Al found a nice young lady and cried a little, telling her of our long drive, and next thing I know, we are IN! Because we really only needed to use film they let us use the facility and do our work. The staff here is also great, in fact, they keep coming over to see if we need any more help and apologize for being closed! I got two obits, did some directory work, and we left. They have a nice nature trail outside the Museum, so we went for a walk. It was very nice.
Met my cousin Rebecca for dinner, had a grand time, thanks for dinner!!
April 13, 14, 15 and 16, 2004
Research, visit libraries, visit cemeteries, the research is good, I find a lot, fill in a lot, have a few new questions, had a good time.
We ask Al’s cousin, Michelle, who was born and raised in Kansas City, where to eat in KC, she gives us a list of great eateries. We eat at Jack Stack, the best bar-b-que, OH MY!!! We eat at Stroud’s, they have won awards for their pan fried chicken. Very good.
As the week goes by it warms up, by the 16th, it is nearly 80 degrees.
April 17, 2004
Clean trailer, do some small repairs, groom all 4 of the dogs. It is warm, windy, clear, a nice day to just hang out and grill some burgers.
Tomorrow we head out, probably will be back in Michigan before the week is over.
by Carol A. Bowen Stevens