The Flood of 1944

I had planned to write about my mother's first piano lesson over 70 years ago in May of 1938. Yet the flood phenomenon that has impacted our state this week seemed to mandate a "flood" posting. Mother emphasized this when she showed her diary entry from April 25, 1944 -  75 years ago. This makes one think  Meteorological History Does Repeat Itself.

               In the early morning hours on Tuesday, April 25, 1944, the Arkansas River overflowed its banks. In that era of the Bend history, a small store was situated on the Y just west of the Osage County side of the Belford Bridge over the Arkansas River. Mr. Hall owned and operated the store and and sold gas from its sole gasoline pump in front. He and his wife lived in a small house behind the store building. Due to its proximity to the river bottom, that Tuesday morning, the errant water surrounded the small store. The swollen river was four to five feet up on their house.

The location of the store owned by Mr. Hall would have been near
the tree  in the middle of this photo. I took this photo around noon on
Thursday, May 23, 2019, at the Y just west of the Belford Bridge over
the flooded Arkansas River.

                Mother and her parents then traveled to the southwest area of the Big Bend to check on their close friends, Sam and Robbie Smith. Champlin Refinery Company, Sam's employer, owned their house on the river. The couple lived in the pumper house that was now surrounded by water. The river lacked about two feet being into their house.

                Motorboats were sent to get them to safety. Robbie evacuated but Sam and Robbie’s father stayed behind. They sent the boat back for the men soon after rescuing Robbie.

                Mother’s aunt, Pearl Bierman Rainey, had received cutting-edge treatment for cancer in Oklahoma City. Cancer treatment, even though common today, was a rare, revolutionary cancer eradication therapy.

                Most of Aunt Pearl’s life had been spent in the Bend. She met Lewis Rainey, the older brother of my maternal grandmother, soon after the Rainey family moved to the Bend. She buried her younger son in Pixley Cemetery, the graveyard of the community, following a tragic mining accident. She found solace gardening in her well-manicured lawn and flower beds. Now she wanted to get back to her home.

               Presently as I write this blog post, the west end of the Belford River Bridge is closed. It was also closed when Aunt Pearl planned her return from Oklahoma City. Her only transportation option a water craft across the flooded river. Determined to spend that evening at her home in the Bend, she arranged for her nephew, Joe Owens and George Price, the grandfather of Dale Price, to navigate her across the river. Mother wrote in her diary, “She didn’t seem to mind the ride at all.” As is characteristic of most Bend women, Aunt Pearl proved she was a tenacious, brave woman.

Mother indicates all of this portion of the road was covered with
water in 1944. The water in that historic Flood reached the base of
the hill where the slope began. This photo was taken on Thursday,
May 23 around noon.

                Mother ended her diary entry describing  a very enjoyable visit with Thelma Johnson. In recent years, she renewed her friendship with Thelma who married Jewel Dean Frank, another Bender. They left the Bend, worked hard, and became owns of the company, Tulsa Tube Bending, Inc. their children continue operating the company. Thelma even learned to fly and piloted their plane in earlier days. J. D. aka Jewel Dean is a cousin of Harmon Lee Franks, Betty Jo Franks Wayman, and Linda Franks Reyburn.

                The flooding of the Arkansas River serves as another reminder that we are not in control. I provided linked below to four previous popular blog postings about other floods that affected family members and loved ones.

This Rainey family story featuring Rosa Jarrell Rainey predated Oklahoma state history. It occurred at the Red River near the end of the 19th century.
https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-frightened-mama-and-her-baby-at-red.html

This blog posting appeared in January of 2015 and related the experiences of both of my grandfathers during the historic Flood of  '23 in Northern Oklahoma. Dad always described it as the flood that "took out all the bridges."

https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2015/01/did-warmest-january-in-oklahoma-during.html

A swollen creek did not deter my paternal grandmother's determination to get back to her husband and older children in their little two-room house in just the west Bend. The tenacity of Mamie Irene Tripp Gates came to mind when I drove back to the Bend one day this week.

https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2015/07/she-wouldnt-turn-around-or-wait.html

My maternal grandma, Gladys Vivian Rainey Smith, could be fiery if she became upset. The flooded Arkansas River coupled with my grandpa's a easy-going nature called forth her fury in the 1920s.

https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-ford-and-flood.html

Just Missed One Day

               Anyone who suffers with allergies may be able identify with this posting.

               For me, allergy season lasts for 365 days, unless it is a leap year, then the length becomes 366 days. For this reason, my brother-in-law, the ARNP, suggested I take daily 10 mg of cetirizine hydrochloride. I experience much relief from this ongoing medication regimen.

                Missing one day can trigger a sinus-generated headache. After battling the severe headache and nausea one time, I now use a pill keeper. Each morning with my one cup of coffee, I take the little white pill that wards off painful headaches and their aftermath. The pill organizer enabled me to keep healthy and on track even in the most pollen-laden times of year.

                A few weeks ago, I zipped out to feed the farm cats on a Tuesday morning. As I filled their water container, I began a sneezing frenzy. I thought How unusual this is. Upon entering the house, I picked up the pill organizer as I walked past the lazy susan where it is stored. Sure enough, the little white pill glared at me from inside the M compartment – the Monday spot of the lavender -tinted organizer.

                I gasped. The previous day – a Monday -  I had walked considerably in the pasture to locate a new baby calf. Then I had mowed and began weed-eating. How could I have overlooked this medication that is necessary for me to function? I was thankful that my reaction had been low-key  and was only annoying sneezing. Forgetting that little pill could have led to worse ramifications.

                Forgetting in our spiritual lives can have negative effects. Moses cautioned the Israelites of the triple threat of forgetting in his final treatise to them . He told them, in Deuteronomy 4:9 to keep reminding themselves and their children of all the miraculous works of God they had seen and experienced lest they forget and it departs “from your heart.” Then Moses, the great law giver, warned against forgetting the covenant of the Lord in Deuteronomy 4:23. The inclination of forgetting one’s commitment to the Lord opened the door to serving something or someone else. Finally, Moses said in Deuteronomy 8:11,

Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today.

Once again, God’s people of yesteryear and followers of Jesus today are reminded of the importance of remembering His commandments, judgments, and statutes or God’s Word.

                For a whole day I did not realize I had failed to take the allergy medicine. I went about the mowing, cattle checking, and weed-eating unprotected. Then my memory was jogged by the sneezing “fit.” In our spiritual lives, we can forget all the things we have seen God do in our own lives, We can forget the covenant or agreement we entered into with Him. Finally, for prolonged periods, we may forget to read His word. Each of these spiritual memory lapses, whether forgetting the blessings of God, the promise we made to Him, or not reading His word, will only lead to detrimental effects in our lives.

Don’t forget to remember!

You Never Miss the Water...

…Until Nothing Comes Out of the Faucet!

Mother’s Day seemed to call for a tribute to my 94-year-old mother. Yet she has decried too much written about her in my blog postings. She was bailed out by WATER woes this year.

                Mother and I were reminded of the absolute need of water this week. Almost four inches of rain fell within an 8-day period.
                In the middle of the week, I arrived at the house with the announcement of a new baby calf. Before I could get my news out, Mother lamented, “I hate to burst your bubble, but we have no water.”

                That unsettling news set me on the course of tracking the problem and seeking a solution. Mother suggested I call Jim Binkley, the water well expert in the Bend. Then I lugged the old sump pump down to the water well location. I dared not drive the pickup to the well for fear of getting stuck in the mud. Soon I had the sump pump extracting water out of the below-ground well house. 

Jim Binkley - His wife, Sharon, even
fixed lunch for Steven, Cade and Tim!

                Leaving it to pump, I walked into the house ready to apprise Mother of the situation. The phone rang and Jim’s wife, Sharon, said he was on the way over.

Rick and Cailea 

                Jim brought his friend and neighbor, Bill Bledsoe. Rick Rice and his granddaughter, Cailea stopped, too. The three men, with over 150 years of collective experience in their fields of expertise, drew the conclusion that the water well pump needed to be turned off, but the sump pump needed to be running. An upgrade needed to be engineered before any further progress could be made.

Bill Bledsoe - from the digital photo collection of
Delores Ratliff Bledsoe

                I lamented not making it to Kids Club at the church that evening but the team I work with each week was so compassionate and understanding. Mother had managed the previous few hours without water – even doing dishes. So I zipped to Vonda and Greg Goad’s home to load up jugs and old ice cream containers with water. Mother’s saved. recycled containers came in handy – finally.

                Jim called to say we’d get the parts and “get online” tomorrow. Mother and I thanked the Lord for people – people who cared, shared, and were willing to help. We expressed thanks that the temperature was moderate so we were not trying to water cattle at the livestock tank. We thanked Him that good was going to come from the water well problems.

               Jim arrived early the next morning with some new concerns and ideas. Ingeniously, Jim used his 12-volt sump pump to get some of the water out and called Steven Kizziar, owner of Roper Company (left top). Within the hour, Steven arrived with Cade Cox (left bottom) and Tim Roberts (left middle). Soon Jim’s 12-volt had pumped down the flooded well enclosure so Steven could diagnose the need for a pressure switch and a few other minor repairs. To Mother’s delight, her water pump did not have to be replaced. Angie and I were pleased for the new electrical receptacle mounted outside on the pole, guaranteeing much easier and safer access.

           Once again, Mother was reminded of why she chooses to live in the Bend. Many people helped us with our water woes. The Bible extols the benefit of neighbors who eagerly help.  The verse in Proverbs 27:10 illustrates this:

Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

                As so often in our lives, God desires to reveal even more of Himself each day in our everyday happenings. I thought back to a woman considered an outcast based on her background, her life choices and her own self-deception, but she encountered Jesus at a water well. His interest in her surprised the woman. Just as Mother and I were reminded this week, the woman knew the value of water. Then we read in John 4:14 –

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again. For my gift will become a spring in the man himself, welling up into eternal life.”

                 We are reminded, just as the woman at the well, our spirits need the water of life spoken of by Jesus even more than our bodies must have the hydration of water, . The gift of Jesus flows within His followers hydrating our souls. How wonderful to have water running from our faucets! Yet what thankfulness we have for the thirst-quenching water of life that Jesus brings into days when life's events leaves us parched, drought-stricken. May we share the "living water" each day just as Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Lord, may we allow Your living water that you have given us to flow readily into the lives of those we love. Let those we meet casually throughout our day receive the refreshment of Your living water from encountering us. Most of all, may our love for You flow back to You, encased in obedience prompted by our grateful hearts.

Woodland Seniors of 2019 - 9 Years Ago

After spending a school term with third graders, they will occupy a special place in my heart as long as I have a memory - with more memories than this blog posting can contain.

The official group photograph taken by Blunck Studio, Inc. is at the end of this posting.

Photos from Nine Years Ago

                Nine years seem such a short time in my life, but the subjects of these photos would disagree. The students are right because they have changed a great deal.

                The photos show third graders in the 2009/2010 school term. I taught the twenty-four children that year with Ruby Bentley serving as an invaluable teaching assistant.

                As I perused the faces of these students, I calculated that twelve of these students had one parent who had been a third grader in my classroom or had been a first, second, or third grade music student of mine.

                Now many of these students are graduating seniors of 2019 from Woodland High School based in Fairfax, Oklahoma. They are within weeks of exiting their secondary education experience.

                A few memories came to mind when I saw their faces. As an educator, I enjoyed monitoring their leisure reading by looking at the results of their Accelerated Reading quizzes. It gave them such latitude in their reading choices with hundreds of book choices at their “comfortable” reading level. Students  answered questions specific to the book they chose. What celebration they felt when they accomplished answering 100% of their books' quiz questions correctly!  The instant quiz results provided  immediate feedback to the students and an evaluation supplying a myriad of analysis tools for me.

Kneeling - Tori Shanks, Shelby Nutt, and Kayla Wilkey
Standing - Kalie Burch, Eryn Lynn, Kaylee Terry, and Hannah Tate

                Early in the year some students became involved in a low level of bullying on the playground.  That must come to a screeching halt. I grabbed a book entitled Let’s Talk About Bullying, created a form with some criteria i.e. read book, be prepared to be involved in a discussion of it, and sign the  form. I placed the book and the form in a portfolio. One of the students was chatting with me in March, over six months after the initial event, and asked, “Miss Gates, when are we going to discuss that book?” I asked if everyone had read the book and casually said, “We need to get around to that.” We never discussed the book but had no recurrences of problems with that issue.

                A couple of students were avid gamers. As I visited with them at the lunch table, I always encouraged them to get out and shoot some hoops. One day, one of them with a twinkle in his eye quipped, “Miss Gates, we shot some hoops yesterday.” I began bragging on their choice to get their bodies moving—more that just their thumbs. He burst my bubble by saying it was a basketball VIDEO game they played!

Matthew Robertson, Coleman Langley, Hunter Garrett, Patrick Fitzgerald, and
Mitchell Harrington

                Late in the school year, the third graders enjoyed Career Day at Pioneer Technology Center. During the tour, some mention was made by the tour guide about writing their biography or their life story. One of these smart students spoke respectfully to the guide, “I think you mean autobiography.” I was so pleased because we tried daily to correct one another respectfully in the classroom. For it to have been put into practice on the tour made my day as their teacher.

                As I looked at the eager faces, I recalled so many successes. In my memory, I saw beaming students excited to master multiplication facts, thrilled to put a challenging number sentence on the math meeting board, or shyly smiling when I quipped after an answer, “You are smarter than you think!”

                I remember their tenacious play during the WES Basketball Festival. Cheering was a challenge initially for me since they were playing against each other. I decided to alternate sitting a  quarter at a time behind their teams. Some of them were surprised to see how competitively I could “whoop and holler” for their play.

Kneeling - Taylor Johnston and Maci Mashburn
Standing - Madison Lytle, Jaiden Holloway, and
Deserae Wood

                Every child achieved success as a writer when they composed tributes to their mothers in late April and early May. They learned to create a rough draft, proofread, and then got a couple of peer proofreaders before I ever saw their writing. Those days of writing remain as one of my favorite times as a teacher. I think the seniors of 2019 WHS enjoyed the writing process, too.

                We ended our third grade year with a study of Fairfax history. During that unit of study, I introduced them to the Osage Reign of Terror. Every year I related to the third graders how my maternal grandma, Gladys Rainey Smith, as a student nurse, had walked past the horrible aftermath following the bombing of the Smith home in March of 1923. One curious third grader asked, “What did she see?” I responded that it wasn’t appropriate to discuss with children their age, but if they would ask me when they reached high school, I would tell them. One student from this class of 2019 asked a couple of years ago what Grandma saw. That’s an interested learner!

Justin Ray, Jacob Mashburn, Gage Paslay, Dilon Broughton, and Logan Epperly

                Finally, these photos remind me of the daily proverbs said each morning by these students. One of the quotes caught my eye. The quote by Scott Hamilton, the Olympic gold medalist who has battled cancer, impacted me as I think of these students graduating.

                For Seniors of 2019, this quote from third grade by Scott Hamilton can serve as a worthwhile touchstone for success.

The only disability in life is a bad attitude.

Scott Hamilton

A teachable attitude opens our understanding to God’s plan. Embracing these words from the Bible provide promise for a future of peace and hope because of heartfelt trust in who He is and what He desires for our lives.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Congratulations  to the Woodland High School Class of 2019!