Chapter 34

                               ROAD TRIP TO STRONG CITY WITH SALLY

 For my 85^th birthday, Sally Anderson gave me an evergreen shrub.  It was to be planted next to her grandparents, Orren and Alida Anderson’s grave, in Strong City, Oklahoma.

 So, on Memorial Day we made the three hour drive to Strong City where my parents and her grandparents grew up.  The town population is now 30, however, one resident stretched to 40.  In the picture below, the foreground shows the ranch land where Grandfather Elmer James Guernsey raised Hereford cattle.

      Sally and her evergreen,  on the rightside is a evergreen I planted 67 years ago.

                                                       Sally’s grandparents grave stone.  Each year Nelda Davis from Strong City places an American flag on each veterans gravestone. Orren was a World  War I veteran. She placed 48 flags out this year, the oldest going back to the Civil War veteran.  Nelda is 88 years old and watches over the cemetery.

  A short distance from Sally’s grandparents grave, is her “great” grandparents Wm. “Black Bill” and Tommie’s Andersons grave stone. Bill was an outlaw until he married Tommie Lee Boles.  She converted him to the Baptist religion and he soon became a law abiding citizen and eventually the Deputy Sheriff of Roger Mills County.  Strong City did not have a doctor in the early days, so  Tommie became  their “able nurse” when anyone got sick.

 Left of our grandparents grave stone is Uncle Virgil Andersons grave.  He died during World War I at the young age of 18.

                         Sally planted a mum on her great Grandparents Guernsey’s grave.  Grandmother Lena passed away at a young age.  Granddad had two sons and four daughters to raise along with the task of taking care of a large ranch.  He was determined that his children got a good education.  Not sure how he managed it,  living in their farm house with no electricity or running water and raising six children.  But he managed to send his sons to college, both getting engineering degrees and four daughters obtaining their teaching certificates.  Daughter Debra said he must of had a “strong constitution”.

 Next to Grandfather Guernsey’s stone is their daughter Pauline’s stone, she taught in the Strong City school for many years.  On far right is their sons stone, Mike Guernsey, who fought in World War II. 

 I am standing in front of my parents, Orren and Alida Anderson’s grave stone. It is shaded by two large evergreens.  The one on the left was planted by my mother, 75 years ago and the evergreen on the right I planted 67 years ago.  Evergreens must love red clay with not much moisture!

After decorating the graves, we journeyed  over to the Community House for a Memorial Day feast put on by the Strong City residents.  Wonderful fellowship and food.

 It was a great day and having Sally with me made it extra special. 

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