Tag Archives: Tuttle Oklahoma

Grandmother's Memoirs, Oklahoma culture

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (4)

Quentin Bomgardner shown in a park, holding his first son, Kenny.

Quentin started working as a substitute mail carrier and later (about 1949) started working as clerk in the Post Office at Tuttle so we started having a little more money to spend. In February, 1956, he got a rural mail route at Amber, Oklahoma.  He carried the mail until November 15th, 1956 when he died of a brain hemorrhage; age 36, he lacked two weeks being 37.  This was a sad day for Kenny, Terry and me.  I didn’t know what I could do to make a living.  I didn’t know how to do anything but clean house.  I carried mail for 3 months at Amber, in Quentin’s place, until they appointed a carrier.  We got $125.00 per month annuity, $4,000 insurance from the Post Office, and $1,500 from Universal Life Insurance.  Since the place we lived in belonged to Grandmother Porter, we bought a house in town for $3,800. And spent $700 on it before we moved in.  Uncle Gail and Uncle Dwight helped use fix it up.  We were very comfortably situated.

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Grandmother's Memoirs, Oklahoma culture

One Voice of the Oklahoma Prairie, Cont. (3)

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Grandmother at 15 years old, the age when she began doing all the chores and taking care of children for Dr. and Mrs. Cooper in Oklahoma City.

Editor’s Note:  If you are just beginning to read these entries, you may wish to start with the first, then the second before you begin this particular work.  Thanks, Red Dirt Kelly

During the summer of 1937, at the age of fifteen, I took a job in Oklahoma City caring for three children of Dr. and Mrs. Cooper.  I would take the train from Tuttle to Oklahoma City, then ride the interurban to within a few blocks of Dr. Cooper’s.  When I’d hear the train blow the whistle down the track [when in Tuttle] I’d start to cry because I was already getting homesick.  The first summer I didn’t come home very often.  I had Dr. Cooper save up my money until I went home to start to school.  I started out making $3.00 a week plus room and board. After Mrs. Cooper went to the hospital to have a baby they raised my salary to $4.00 [per day].

The Coopers had two girls and two boys. I’d cook breakfast, wash, iron, clean house and watch the children.  I worked for them three summers and one Christmas vacation.  I always bought clothes for school with my earnings.  The first year I bought a rust colored coat, black dress with a lace yolk and black shoes.  I thought I was really dressed up.  I made $36.00 that summer; my coat cost $16.00.

Grandmother Emma Lee at the train Station.

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