Toney, Drumright Okla.

[Bigbore44]

Hi Toney.

I see your address is Drumright Okla. I was born in Sasakwa Okla. about 100 air miles southwest of your town -- very near the Canadian River, though I never could figure why they named it that.

I only lived in Sasakwa until about 5 years old then WW-2 started up and the oil wells my dad worked at dried up. Then like Jed Clampet we loaded up the truck and moved to Kalifornia. We sort of looked like the Grapes of Wrath.

I'll be 70 come Feb. 7th, so I've seen the elephant in the past 7 decades.

Sure would like to see the dried up oil fields and the company house we once lived in...but expect there is no trace of any of it today.

Though the town is still there and probably just as small today as it was in the early 40s.

As a young child I remember the abundance of game around where we lived on a Midcontinent oil lease. We had a two acre garden my dad had plowed with our horse named Toney. No kidding, that was his name. We had chickens, eggs and fried chicken, and a milk cow to make butter and cream.

As a kid the down side was them danged fireants, crawling and flying types. Snapping turtles big as wash tubs, water mocasins snakes.

Speaking of wash tubs, that's what we took a baths in with water heated on a gas burner stove, the gas came off the oil rig a 100 yards away. It also furnish us with gas jet lighting in the company house. Our well water was pumped out of the ground but no potible, we got drinking water from a natural spring gushing from the ground and only 5 miles from the house.

No electricity, our Montgomery Wards console radio ran on 12 volt battery, and radio in those days was a wonderful intertainment instrument.

Ah memories.


Bigbore44

[Toney]

Drumright used to be a big oil town. I think most of the towns around here are gost towns Hallet, Oilton, and Jennings. On the river there is a lots of relics, still got wooden derrics {oil rig} standing

[Bigbore44]

As I remember, all our Midcontinent oil field derrecks were steel and pretty tall to a little kid.

They had long pump house enginesheds that were laden with very long belts and dangerous to have little kids messing around in those places. We didn't go in there as pop would blister our hindends if we did.

These engines had some kind of huge revolving counter weights on flywheels, there was always an abundence of pure lead droppings under them on the dirt.
Might be a good source of lead for bullet making if you've got a metal detector.

Dad carried a little .32 acp pistol on his rounds in the oil fields as there was a mad dog scare going around in that area at that time. One day he was walking out of a pump house and came shinbone to nose on big dog. He did a fast draw that made that pooch squat back down on its hind quarters in a head down submissive stance. I still have that old gun in a drawer in my reloading room, pop passed away in the early sixties...sure do miss him.

My dad was just about the best natural point and shoot shotgunner on quail and bobwhites. Man he was fast and accurate.

His health was bad for half his life, but a devoted family man to the core. He even made arrangements with a friend he use to work with to take me hunting as he couldn't do it anymore.

Hope I'm not boring the readers by going down memory lane here.


Bigbore44

[versifier]

44, unless we can touch our past, there is no way to reach our future.

[d-o-k]

44 if we did'nt share the memories of our past .What hope would there be for the next Generation ? They would have nothing to aspire for ! I can relate to no Electrisity & growning your own Vegitables .I was born & still live on a Farm of about 20,000 acres ! My dad like me after him was a Pro shooter & we lived on what ever he happened to be hunting at the time ! We had/have sheep but to kill them or even a chicken in dads eye's was somewhere between Herasy & Mass murder ! (they made money !) It was a big day in our house hold when we got the Power on ! Water comes from a Bore & we pump it up to a Tank above the house to get pressure ! The Funny thing is that My Parents moved away to Adelaide in the early 70's to a nice house they built in the suburbs ! They have'nt been back since as My Mom hates the Place & the Old Man reckons that Farming & shooting is a Mug's game ! Our nearest town is Quorn & it's 11kms away so we do'nt get bothered with tourists out at our place which suits me just fine & although my own kids have moved away I have 3 Stepkids 10,12 & 15 who moved out here 4 yrs ago from the city & they love it .
Even my wife has come to grips with the Kids grabbing their camping gear & a rifle & heading up the back of our place to camp & scare a few rabbits & Goats .This has also given me a second lease on life when it comes to shoting for Fun instead of just being a Job !
No I say to everyone never be ashamed of sharing your past experiances with others it's never boring or triering

Dave (OLD FART)

[454shooter]

Hi bigbore44,
Welcome.
Nope, it's not boring at all.
Now, most are so involved with soccer,footbal,baseball,hockey,etc, that they forget that there's other things besides this stuff. And, most are getting so P.C.,
that it's stupid.
They say guns are dangerous. Really ? How come there's more people that are maimed and dead,than firearms ? Idiotic mindset.
Instead of "individual", and think for yourself, thanks to "public schools" and "911".
People going and clogging up emergency rooms...for colds ! Or, for a splinter or blister. Big deal. I've had them.I'm still alive.
Getting more like communism anymore.
Contunue with those old time stories. Much to be learned,yet.
Got a surprise for everyone.
Yeah, good 'ole NON-P.C. stuff.

[d-o-k]

454 Well said sir !

Dave

[454shooter]

Hi D-O-K,
Thank you.
Here, I can get burned up by the stupidity, primarily by the government.
Would be a lot better to go back to the 1700's !
I told that to some lady at work. She said, "There were no laws back then."
Told her, "You got it !". She did get the meaning.
Say D-O-K, got something fer ya. In "General Discussions",NON-P.C.
You have a g'day,mate !

[Bigbore44]

Well, if you want to hear more, there's another tid-bit about dad's old .32 acp pistol.

Year or two after I was born, my pop thought pretty highly of his family, and when one of them commie inspired strikes loomed in his oil fields work station he carried the .32 acp semi-automatic.

Guys on the job were getting their heads busted open from goons with pick-axe handles, so the foreman decided he'd ride along with my dad that made the rounds of the oil wells. The foreman was really kind of a timid sort and he didn't really like dad having the gun on his person.

While making the rounds out in the country air of the wells, they seen this gang of goons with the axe handles waiting for them. The foreman was driving and he was intimidated to stop for the goons. While he is talking with these guys who are really blustering and cussing up a storm...my dad pulls out his .32 and jacks the slide back to chamber a cartridge. The noise of that slide action kind of made everybody shut up and reflect. The foreman stepped on the gas and told my dad he thought all hell was going to break loose and he was sure glad dad didn't shoot anyone.

Dad was mighty happy he didn't have to shoot anyone either...but he wasn't about to get badly hurt or killed for some job he was supporting his family on.

Bigbore44

[454shooter]

Hi Ya,
My Uncle used to tell me about the miners' strikes.
There was a strike by a trucking company,that Gallo Wines used for transport.
Was back in the early 1980's. I could have gone to work for the trucking company.
After what my Uncle told me,I'm glad I didn't drive for them.
The strike didn't last long. Was settled in a week or two.
I went to work for the cannery in 1982. A few years in, and the guy that trained me on the peach pitters,said that someone threatened him and his pick-up.
He parked it in back of I.R. It was someone in the union. Sometimes,it can be scary,just to go to work.
In my situation,if a strike,I'd be "D***if I did, and D*** if I didn't." The union and management has been doing good. A strike did come real close.Didn't materialise.
Management, thinks we're a bunch of idiots. One makes more in one year,than I could make in 2 years. Heard that one, of 3, Assistant Production Managers makes
$60-80,000 per year. I make around $40/44,000 per year.
With what happened, the famous date that we can't escape,we HAVE to submit to lunchbox "search",management don't. Most of us, has been there for over 24 years. This "new" management,has been there for 5 years. Why they don't trust us, is beyond me.They don't submit to searches, why us ??
But, 1, his first year there, we hit it off just great. Yes, he does have guns.He reloads.He did come to my defense one year. A little complicated. This P.M., seen me with 2 other mechanics,repairing a $340,000 peach sizer. I shutdown the sizer
originally.Called for help.This one mechanic,thought I should be in the 4 walls of the pitter room,only.My responsibility, is also in the lye room, where the peaches are also sized. There are 3 sizers.A lot of money tied up in equipment.
Anyway, this mechanic comes in about 5:00 AM. He is mad ! He goes into the Production Manager's Office.(Wrong thing to do with this one !).The P.M.has this mechanic's tail tucked under ! My boss told me what happened. I said, "It's good
to have friend's in high places." Yeah, my boss laughted,too.
Actually, some decisions are worth a million dollars. Not $10,000,or $64,000,but
real,$1,000,000 in product. Had to make them.
We have 211 peach pitters. Each are about $28,000 to $30,000.
In receiving,I was responsible for some $6,000,000 in equipment.
Not just me, but several others are responsible as well.
Well, got to make sure this other computer works. Leave it to kids below 10 years old, and they'll screw up a good working computer.Yep, they think they know it all.
Been in computers for over 20 years.
One really messed it up. The CD ? Some don't last longer than 2 years.The CD
just couldn't read no more.Fine otherwise.Sorta like TV's now.Not repairable like they used to be. Yep, done TV repair for over 22 years.
I replaced a CD drive, with a CD/DVD + burner for free. This works.Took it out of my other tower.Tomorrow, I take it back.
Now, got to find the modem and sound card software. Better get started.
See ya !