Shelling Corn

Shelling Corn

My mother, Susie Latty Day, told me this story about a fun time during her childhood. The year was around 1918. These are her words. One chore we always enjoyed was shelling corn to be taken to the grist mill and ground into meal. At supper, Papa would announce that we had to shell corn […]

Wild Onions

Wild Onions

    The following is by my mother, Susie Latty Day. She tells about hunting for wild onions when she was a girl at Etta, many years ago. “On a farm, each season brings its celebration of particular events. When my sisters and I were young girls, we particularly looked forward to the coming of […]

Strawberries, Sugar, and Cream

Strawberries, Sugar, and Cream

    Curly-locks! Curly-locks! Wilt thou be mine?  Thou shalt not wash dishes, nor yet feed the swine;  But sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam,  and feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream! This nursery rhyme is from long ago, maybe in the days of King Charles and written as a satire, but […]

A Whisper in the Wind

A Whisper in the Wind

  My dear cousin Brian sent me copies of articles he had found which first appeared in a Tahlequah newspaper in 1913. What treasures! News from county communities included quite a few items from Etta. At that time, my mother was seven years old. It was a glimpse into life a hundred years ago. A […]

Suppertime on a Small Farm in Eastern Oklahoma

Suppertime on a Small Farm in Eastern Oklahoma

In October, around suppertime, the sun, as it nears the western horizon, casts a golden glow over leaves and grass. As the day comes to a close, my thoughts turn backward a few decades to a small farm in eastern Oklahoma. I remember a mother and father, a girl and her brother, who lived there. And, the cows, horse, […]

Take a Trip in Time

I found it in the shed of my parents’ home  in Tahlequah. It was a strange-looking object; metal and heavy, sort of resembling an axe without the handle. “What is it?” I asked Mom. She seemed surprised that I didn’t know. “Why, it’s an adze,” she said. “What’s it for?” “Papa used one for splitting […]