Early Life on a Homestead in Pawnee County, Oklahoma
Written by Albert L. Whitmire
Age at that time was 4through 5 years

Environment

My Mother and I lived with my Grandparents on a homestead located about eight miles northeast of Maramec, Oklahoma.
Since my Mother and Fatherwere divorced  we had no other options at the time.

I must have been three years old and we lived on the farm between one and two years.

One of the first lessons I learned was to put everything back exactly like I found it and to never leave anything lying about.
That was because my grandmother was blind and might fall over anything that was out of place. I am that way to this day.

The countryside was mostly rolling hills covered with prarie grasses.
There were blackjack oaks and scrub cedar trees in the low areas where the rain runoff tended to accumulate.
I can remember there was a house, a barn another building and a storm cellar that was also used to store-canned goods, root crops, apples and milk.
In the wintertime we had to put rags around our shoes to keep our feet warm. We only went outside when we had to.
There were coyotes around; you could hear them almost every night. There also were weasels, foxes and hawks.
If you were a chicken you had to be very careful.
There were also rabbits and you could hear quail calling to each other quite often.
There were many crows and they would know if you had a stick in your hand or a rifle.

Crops

The family made a living by farming — corn, oats, peanuts, later cotton - 160 acres partly prairie for hay, blackjack oaks pasture for cattle.
My Grandfather also grew his own tobacco and hung the leaves on the barn rafters to cure.

Grandmother

Frances Chalupa came to America when she was five years of age with her family and landed at Ellis Island, New York (in the 1880's?).
They had a rough voyage in a sailing ship.
An agent for the Ship Company put the group together.
From Jihieva they went to Aomo town and took a train for three days to the seaport. (must have been a German port)
The trip to Nebraska was by train. They moved to Virginia for a short time then to Valley, Oklahoma.
Frances's mother had remarried (evidently, John Chalupa died about 1873) Frank Cech by that time.
There were three children from the first marriage and four in the second family making a total of seven.
My grandmother was blind since early childhood.
She could tell if it was day or night but nothing else. She told me she " fell on a stick when she was a little girl and was blind after that".
I know she had cataracts in both eyes and I believe her eyesight could have been restored.
But in those days there was no money for doctors. What a shame! She never saw any of her children or grandchildren.
Maybe not even her husband.
However she could move around freely and always knew who came into the room by the sound of their footsteps.
She could read braile and had some books. Grandma had long hair and combed it often with a fine comb.
 She was always well groomed and neat.
Note: I found Frank Cech listed in the Pawnee County historical records of early settlers but did not have time to find Anton B. Zajic's listing.
I am sure it is there but they closed and I had to leave.

Grandfather

My grandfather was a farmer and also a carpenter.
He built their house on 160 acres near Pawnee himself. It was a two-story house with stone on the lower story and wood above.
To access the top floor there was an outside stairway for more room in the first story.
The first floor had two rooms. A kitchen and a bedroom/livingroom.
Lighting was by kerosene lamps and heat was by a wood stove.
There was a well just outside the door with a hand-operated pump.

Anton B. Zajic came to America when he was eleven years old with his family by steamship.
They landed in New York and in the 1880's went toNebraska.
He was born on Feb.14, 1869 near Prague, Czechoslovakia in the state of Bohemia.
He was one of seven children born to Frank and Marie Zajic.

Note: I have Anton B. Zajic's initial application for land from the school lease in my possession.

My Grandfather raised peanuts, tobacco (for his own use), hay, kaffir corn, and I am not sure what else.
He did raise wheat because he cut it with a sythe by hand, tied it into shocks and knocked the kernels into a large cloth.
The chaff would be winnowed by tossing it into the wind and catching it on the cloth again.
I believe he also harvested barley using the same method

My grandfather used to read "The Cappers Farmer" magazine.
 I believe it came weekly in the mail. He would sit at the kitchen table with the kerosene lamp very close so he could read.

Food

All the cooking was done on a wood range located just inside the door to the right.
My mother and grandmother made bread and we had a lot of beef soup with potatoes thickened with barley.
We had oatmeal or rice for breakfast quite often. This would be topped-off with cream and either sugar or molasses.
We also had canned tomatoes with bread sprinkled with sugar.
My mother also made sweet rolls with cinnamon and brown sugar.
 Of course we also had jellies, ( current sandhill plum apple and grape).
I can remember my mother making cottage cheese outside.
There was no refrigeration and the milk was kept in the cellar.
When it clabbered the curds would be removed, wrapped in cheesecloth, hung on the clothesline and twisted to squeeze out all the whey.
What was left in the cheesecloth was cottage cheese.
We also made butter and molded it in wooden molds.
We also squeezed grapes the same way to make grape juice.
Around Christmas we had the old-fashioned ribbon candy and oranges.
Also, we had orange slices (the candy).
I also remember that in the late fall when the weather turned cold my Grandpa would have some of the neighbors come over and they would butcher a hog.
They would build a large tripod of poles, install a pulley at the top and hang the hog.
Before the tripod was set into place some rocks were pied up, a fire was built, a barrel was put on the rocks and filled with water.
When the water was the right temperature the hog was hung up and lowered into the boiling water.
That was to loosen the hair so it could be scraped off.
Then the barrel was replaced by a large iron pot.
All the fat was put into the pot and rendered into lard and "cracklins".
Some of the grease would be mixed with wood ashes and lye to make soap.
 I can still remember using that lye soap. It was strong but it was all we had.

Travel

We had no car and had to travel to town in a wagon for supplies. Back then, just after the great depression no one had much of anything.
I enjoyed riding on the wagon very much. I could sit on the back and let my legs hang.
I can remember the railroad had a track over the hill to the west.
My Mother and I would walk to the top and watch the trains.
There was on special train that carried passengers. It did not have many cars and they seemed small.
Mother said it was called the "Doodlebug".

Relatives

I can remember the Bartosovskys came to visit. They had a black car. Don't remember the make.
My Uncle took us to Pawnee for food, etc. and he bought me some candy corn and peppermint.
That is the first time I can remember having candy. I thought it was great.
I believe Uncle Joe came to visit sometimes also.

Neighbors

The closest neighbors lived almost a mile to the north.
I believe the Ripleys had already gone to California and  do not remember if my Uncle (Joe Zajic) lived there at the time.
The Gregors lived to the west and the Bejacks lived about a mile away. But I am not sure which direction.

Animals

I really don't remember the animals clearly.
But do remember the geese
They would chase me around the yard until my mother heard me and would come to my rescue.
We also had horses, chickens, cows and pigs.
Do not remember any dogs but seem to remember cats in the barn to catch the mice.
I do remember once I was watching my Grandpa milking the cow and the cow kicked him, knocking him to the ground and spilling the milk.
Grandpa was mad and shouted some neat things at the cow in Czech.
I did not understand what he said but practiced saying it all the way to the house.
When my Mother met me I proudly repeated what my Grandpa said.
I guess I got it right because she took me to the well, got some water from the bucket and washed out my mouth with soap.
That lye soap was strong and I never again repeated anything unless I knew what it meant.
.

Events

I remember my Grandpa used to sit outside in a chair, hang a mirror on the wall and using a hand mirror he would cut his own hair.
Sometimes my Mother would cut it for him and he would always grumble about it being too long, too short on not being even.
Looked OK to me though.
Sometimes the Gypsies would come by in their wagons on the way to Pawnee.
They had a campground there and would meet other Gypsies for a reunion.
Anytime they came they would pull their wagons into the yard and visit.
Every time, we would be missing some chickens, geese or something after they had gone.
My Mother would make me hide in the living room when they came.
It was rumored they sometimes took children.
Do not know if that is true but my Mother believed the stories.

The washing was done outside in a large tub sitting upon rocks with a fire built under it to heat the water.
The lye soap would not work unless the water was hot enough to burn your hands.
Dishes were cleaned in a dishpan heated on the cook stove.
If the water was not hot enough the soap would leave a film on the pans and they had to be washed again.