The Year My Mother Waited for the Bus to Ralston
High School
My
mother, Bernyce Smith Gates, began her first year of high school at Fairfax. Her
parents took her the almost 5.5 miles to the bus stop at the Nine Mile Corner
west of Fairfax and north of the Belford River Bridge. After two weeks, she
transferred to Ralston High School and daily was taken by her parents the 1 ½
miles to the bus stop located at the Y just west of the Belford River Bridge.
She and her friend Wanda Faye Forrest sometimes walked home when debarking from
the bus. (Taken
from the blog posting entitled: Oh No! He
Has a Corsage! Here is a link to it: http://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2014/04/oh-no-he-has-corsage.html )The section above explains the reason Mother attended her freshman year at Ralston, somewhat out of default. In Mother’s words, “That 5.5 mile-trip to catch the Fairfax bus twice a day got old real quick for Mama and Daddy.”
Mother
and Wanda Faye Forrest had been friends since earliest school days. Ada
Forrest, the mother of Wanda, taught them in first grade at Belford Grade
School. (A photo of Ada can be viewed at this blog posting: https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2016/01/grandmas-temper-and-turkey.html ) Daring Wanda invited Mother to venture outside the north fence of the
schoolyard. Wanda had spotted sheep showers or wood sorrel which she
purported to be delectable. Mrs. Forrest disagreed strongly with the adventuresome
first graders’ choice of greens. Wanda got the first spanking. That day, Wanda Faye’s mother gave little
Bernyce, my mother, the only spanking she received during her entire school
career. The girls never went picking greens again during school hours.
 |
| Wanda Faye Forrest when she lived in the Bend. from Grandma Gladys Rainey Smith's photo album. |
Mother described Wanda as "dramatic." Often friends have opposite qualities that are complementary. I can attest that I would never characterize my mother as "dramatic." I have told her prior to learning to read, I always preferred Dad's reading of a book over her rendition. Although Mother read and still reads aloud flawlessly, she retorted, "No wonder you liked it. He acted out the story!"
Mother and Wanda began meeting the bus at the Y, just a fraction of a mile west of the Osage County end of the Belford Bridge
spanning the Arkansas River. A small home at the Y provided a sheltered place
for the two girls to wait for the bus. The home belonged to John Bailey who
operated the small store located steps away from his home. Mother, at age 93, commented how embarrassing to initially only remember the store owner’s nickname, Mr. Gruffy. My grandfather, known for attaching a nickname to many, nicknamed the store owner “Gruffy” because of his gravelly-sounding voice. (As a child, I struggled to keep the given names and nicknames of great-aunts and great-uncles on the Smith side connected with the right relatives. To this day, I know two nephews of Grandpa Calvin Callcayah Smith only as "Box" and "Boots" - the only names Grandpa used for them.)
Even though they were in their early teens, as Dad would say, “they pulled a kid trick.” Wanda Faye and Mother took advantage of the bicycle parked at the store. Mother nor Wanda had ever been on a bicycle. In their teen self-centeredness, they hardly noticed the chagrin of the store owner’s son. It was his bicycle. The boy protested loudly to his father when the inexperienced riders crashed his bike frequently. Kids in 1939 didn’t receive an abundance of toys so he prized his bicycle. Mother remembered Mr. Gruffy never corrected Wanda or her. My mother’s reserved personality and by her own admission, her dislike of falling when learning to ride caused her to yield the bike use to Wanda. Mother never learned to ride a bike. However, Wanda Faye mastered riding the bicycle. (I’ve wondered if Mother's conscience might have been smitten by the boy’s strident complaints over their use/misuse of his bicycle without his permission.).
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Wanda and Mother -" We didn't
have many pictures back then." |
As with many of her recollections, Mother is the only one still living. Wanda Faye Forrest Dominguez died in 2009, 70 years after they waited to be the first to board the Ralston School bus. Wanda served as administrator of several nursing homes. Her three brothers are all deceased, too.
My grandparents and my mother lived on the Lora Kirk Betts place during this time. Since the Forrest family lived on the place adjoining them on the north, the Smith and Forrest families
socialized regularly. Grandpa and Bub, Wanda's father, enjoyed philosophizing and discussing current affairs. Ada and Grandma could have been classified industrious, bordering on being workaholics. Even though the boys were younger than Mother and
Wanda, they shared many happy times together.
As
a little one, I knew any time Wanda’s parents were coming back to the Bend,
these were special people. Our family hosted Wanda, her husband, Andy, and their
children, Gary and Janet, for a special meal. I knew this was a dear friend of
my mother. Even though Gary and Janet were several years older than me, they
made sure a four-year-old enjoyed the day,  |
| Little Junior Forrest who grew up to be Dr. William J. Forrest, renowned plastic surgeon |
My maternal grandfather, Calvin
Callcayah Smith, marveled that those little Forrest boys who got their start in
the Bend made quite a success of their lives. Junior became a highly-regarded
plastic surgeon. Sid was a successful rancher in Washington County. The baby
boy, Jack taught at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, an educational
institution that Grandpa held in high regard because of its location in the “old country” where he was born and raised.
May we decide to form good memories when we
interact with those who are meaningful in our lives. Prioritize choosing to be
present with family members and friends, refusing to allow the temporal and transient to
rob the precious time with those we love. In our hearts, we know those lost
moments cannot be reclaimed, so let's make them count so they will last as long as Mother's memories have.
