| PART 7. OKLAHOMA CONTINUED |
| 7.1 Hall Community, 1913, Continued George finally bought his own farm near Fort Thompson, two miles west of Will’s farm, about 1920. He had brought John V’s widow, Ada, and her children to his farm after John died. He later married Ada. Will’s older children had married by 1927. 1. Ada Idellah “Della”, at age 22, had married Orlan Guy Emery in Texas just before their trip to Hall. 2. William Edward “Ed”, at age 26, married Gertie Crawford in June, 1914, only a few months after the family arrived at Hall. 3. Charles Arthur, at age 18, married his first wife, Blanch Dukes in 1915. 4. Henry Nicholas “Nick”, at age 22, married his first wife, Reba Mansell in 1917. 5. Ralph Dewey, at age 21, married Annie Evans in 1924. 7.2 Western Oklahoma Susan had severe asthma problems all of her life. The problems became acute at Hall Community. She always struggled for breath, even on good days. On bad days, her breathing could be heard all over the house. There was no treatment for the problem back then. She burned some sort of jimson weed leaf concoction, which smelled absolutely awful. She constantly fought for the next breath, and often sat up all night, fighting for breath. A doctor at Antlers told Will that Susan would never get better unless they moved to a drier climate. Will knew a couple of people at Brinkman, in western Oklahoma. He decided to move the family there after the crop was harvested in the fall of 1927. Will sold the Wade place and rented out the home farm at Hall Community. Will was 66 years old by the time the family moved west. Children still living at home were Raymond Leslie “Ray L.”, age 18, George Robert “Jack”, age 16, and Randall Weldon, age 12. The family moved to Brinkman, Oklahoma and hired out to pick cotton to gain some income while Will looked for a place to live. Will rented a farm of some 400 acres about four miles west of Brinkman. The family moved there, and Susan’s health was better. The farm was situated on a flat just west of Haystack Creek, a mostly dry creek running generally south from a well-known peak in the area, known as Haystack Mountain. The house was built over a dugout made of sawed limestone blocks. The dugout had been a well-used shelter during the early cattle drives from Texas to Kansas. Some earlier owner had built the house over the dugout. The boys occupied the two bedrooms over the dugout. Will and Susan slept in the living room. Ralph and Annie lived in the basement the first year or two. D. Ray was later born on Will and Susan’s bed in the living room. Sherman again decided to pay a visit to Will, this time for an extended stay. Sherman and his two girls moved into the two-room basement. Sherman’s daughters, Ruby and Pearl, became fast friends with Geneva and Ruth Tyson and Alta Mae Snellen. The first crop in western Oklahoma was a disaster. The 200-acre cotton crop was planted three times. The family was desperately short of cash. Ray and Clyde went to work at the Brilhart Ranch near Dalhart, Texas for $24 per week plus room and board. Ray sent his earnings home to support the family during the lean year of 1928. Will and Susan never liked western Oklahoma. The first crop was a failure and the others were poor. Will complained that he never heard a bird, nothing but the “dadburned wind”, and there were too many dust storms. Susan was not happy that she had no orchard. She was accustomed to raising and canning all they needed to eat for a whole year. Their years in Greer County were the first of the well known “dirty thirties”, when drought robbed the land of its cover and the wind blew much of the soil away. The combined hardships of the Great Depression and the dust bowl proved too much for much of the population of western Oklahoma. Families everywhere began picking up what they had left and started a mass migration to California. 7.3 Back to Hall By early 1935, the Booker family decided to return to the family farm at Hall and hope for the best with Susan’s health. Nick and Ann Booker had moved from Brinkman to the old home place in 1932. They had to remove hay, which had been stored in the house. At about the time the rest of the family moved back to Hall, Nick and Ann moved to Porum, where they started a store with help from Ann’s father. Ray L., Geneva and baby D. Ray were the first to move to Hall Community. Cy Tyson accompanied them in their Durant coupe. Cy looked around the area a while then returned to Greer County with plans to move to Antlers after the 1935 crop. Will and Susan returned to Antlers with Jack and Pete in the family truck about a month later. They all lived in the old Booker house. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |