Who is my granddaddy?

Chapter 23  

                               ORREN ALBERT ANDERSON

 Following the stories of the Anderson family (Henry M. born 1809, Albert J. born 1836, William H. born 1867) we come to my father Orren Albert Anderson born February 11, 1898 near Red Moon, Oklahoma Territory, to Tommie and William Anderson. 

         Orren Albert Anderson, 1900

William and Tommie’s children were all born on the 160 acres homesteaded along Rush Creek, near Red Moon in Roger Mills County, OK.  There were seven children; Noma born 1895, Orren born 1898, Virgil born 1900, Lillie born 1902, William Donald “Jack” born 1904, Leona born 1910 and Georgia Faye born 1912.

Left standing Orren, father William, Noma, mother Tommie, bottom Lillie, Virgil and William Donald “Jack” Anderson.  Picture at their Red Moon homestead.

About 8 miles from where the Anderson’s later homesteaded, Cheyenne Chief Black Kettles was camped on the Washita River, near todays Cheyenne OK..  In 1868, on an early  snow and cold morning, the tribe was attacked by United States troops under the command of Colonel Custer.  Chief Black Kettle and many of his tribe of 300 men women and children were killed, along with hundreds of their horses  (Chief had earlier made a friendly peace agreement with the United States and had made a white cloth about the size of a blanket that was raised to show they were a peaceful tribe).  It is my belief that Colonel Custer and his troops crossed over the land that would later become the Anderson homestead and ignored the peace agreement.

 Chief RED MOON was camped close to Chief Black Kettle at the time of the battle.  He later gave a report that fewer Indians were killed that day than what Custer reported to Washington (Colonel Custer was bucking for a promotion to General).  The ponies, after being shot, broke away and ran about, bleeding, until they dropped.  The bend of the river was made red with blood.

 Nine years later, many of the Cheyenne Indians left their Oklahoma reservations and went north, where they took part with Sitting Bull in the massacre of General Custer.  Sweet revenge.

                   Battle of the Washita near Cheyenne and Red Moon, Oklahoma Territory.

 

                                 Anderson homestead along Rush Creek, near Red Moon.

 A Red Moon class picture was taken before the school was closed in 1917.  Four of the children, Jack, Lillie, Virgil and Orren, would take a buggy to school each day. Noma had probably finished school and Leona and Georgia Faye were too young to attend school.  I would assume it was a one room school without electricity and water .

 

 Left top row Virgil and Lillie, next to teachers left, Orren, second row far right Jack Anderson.  Writing on back of original picture “This is a hard looking bunch, but they were taken by surprise.  Nearly all the scholars had quit school”.

Another favorite picture is the Red Moon and Strong City girl’s basketball teams. My father Orren was student coach of the Red Moon team and mother Alida played on the Strong City team.  With the towns being not many miles apart, we would assume the two teams would play each other, perhaps before Orren and Alida had ever met?  We would hope that Strong City had better court facilities with a indoor court and even a net on the basketball ring.

  Coach Orren with his sister Lillie sitting with her face scratched out because she did not like her picture.  On the right picture is the Strong City girls basketball team.  Luella Guernsey on the top left side and sister Alida Guernsey on the bottom row, far right.                                              

                                           Strong City High School cheer squad.

Writers note.  In an attempt to put these chapters in order,  starting with my gg grandfather Henry M. Anderson and each generation down to Orren A. Anderson, I have used some older whoismygranddaddy  blogs that have the same pictures you now see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C

Chapter 22

FOND MEMORIES

I cherish the time I spent with my grandparents.  Always smiling and never complaining, never mentioning the hardships they had encountered. They lived, as  Reverend Schuler preached  “no matter how tough times get, you have the potential to achieve the best”.

Grandmother Tommie Lee Anderson faced early childhood challenges. When Tommie was only four years old, her mother died giving birth to her son Jetti L. Boles.   Her father Levi Boles and her sister Ellen, age fifteen, took over raising the family, two girls and three boys.  Tommie was only able to go to the fourth grade, however she continued her education by learning from a dictionary.  Many years later she was called an “able nurse” in a community where there was no doctor and a flu epedimic.

 

                         Aunt Ellen sitting with her father Levi Boles

 There was in a time in Henderson County, Texas, when they lived in a dug-out!  It was home dug into the side of a rolling hill, with sod blocks and a flat roof covered by earth.

                                           An example of an early day dug-out. 

 I have never known anyone more loving and compashionate.  I still have fond memories of her making those wonderful warm biscuits and hugging me at the same time. There was never a complaint about her childhood hardships, and always a beautiful smile. Grandmother passed away on April 9, 1950.

                          Family picture left Noma Powers, Jack Anderson, Lillie Higgins, Bill and Tommie Anderson, Georgia Fay Erwin and Leona  Sullins. 

Grandfather William Henry (aka Black Bill and Bill Lee) Anderson, lived with Noma and Jack Powers in Oklahoma City after Tommie’s death.  The “big city” was quite an adjustment for him after a life of a cowboy sleeping on the prairie and then living in the small town of Strong City, Oklahoma.  It was of concern to his daughters that he continued to wear his Colt 38 pistol in Oklahoma City.  He loved to ride the city bus around OKC and became friends with the driver who would advise him when it was time to get off.

I have fond memories of taking him back to Strong City for visits.  After my early days experience of riding in his car (and his turning it over) I insisted on driving.  We just visited and laughed while driving to Strong City, telling me who lived on almost every ranch and those he had arrested .  NOT ONCE, did he ever mention the gunfight in La Junta, Colorado, chasing Mexican rustlers across the border and then being placed in their jail,  playing Faro with some of the famous cowboys we read about today, becoming Deputy Sheriff of Roger Mills County, winning the rodeo roping contest at age 70 and his many other adventures.  I knew nothing of these advenrures until my aunts told me years later. His hardships were never discussed but I believed he truly “achieved the best in life”. William Henry Anderson died on June 4, 1955.

Cemetery in Strong City, Oklahoma.  Virgil Anderson’s grave on left, Tommie and William on right.

A final story about the fine people who live in Western Oklahoma.  Many years after my grandparents passed away, one of the neighbors called Aunt Georgia Faye, and advised her that they were getting ready to drill an oil well in the same section that the Anderson 3/4 acre lot was in.  After grandfather passed away they sold the home and moved it to Cheyenne, Oklahoma, but the lot was still in William Anderson’s name.  The neighbor told Georgia Faye she should go to the court house and bring the records up -to-date, so she could get some oil royalty money.  She said they had forgot about the lot and no one had paid the property taxes in years.  He replied, oh, I have been paying the taxes and using the land for my garden, but now that it might be worth something, she should get the money.

                                       The neighbors garden.