Today would have been my mother, Susie Latty Day’s, birthday. She was born in 1906. I’m grateful she told me some stories of her childhood because it was a way of life that is now gone from the American scene and will never return. But,even though this way of life is gone, it’s important to […]
Jul 7, 2023
A Land of Many Springs
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My mother was born in 1906. She had many memories of Cherokee County, the way it was when she was a child. One of the things she remembered was the abundance of fresh, clean water. These are her words, her story as she told it to me: Green country used to be a land of […]
Apr 8, 2023
The Easter Egg Tree
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The following story is an excerpt from The Heritage of Etta Bend, a story my mother told me about her childhood in northeast Oklahoma. The “I” is my mother, Susie Latty Day. Mom told me this story and I wrote it to be included in The Heritage of Etta Bend in 1989. It was spring, […]
Mar 28, 2023
My Grandfather’s Barn
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My Grandfather’s Barn My grandfather’s barn leans to the south, The weathered old logs are gray. The tin roof is rusted and dented and busted; The wind blew the doors away. But once that barn, filled with freshly-mown hay, Was a dark, sweet-smelling retreat. The straw in the loft was wonderfully soft, A hideaway, […]
Jan 19, 2023
The Way It Was
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The following story is from my mother’s book, Remembering Etta Bend. These are the words of Susie Latty, who, much later, became my mom. The year would have been around 1918. Most of the things we used were homemade and they had to last as long as possible. Papa carved his own handles and wood […]
Aug 31, 2022
Night at Etta
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Last night ended peacefully after an exciting end to Monday. At Etta Bend, a hundred years ago, it is a peaceful ending to a busy day. My grandfather, I called him Pappy, has come in from the fields. Ma Latty, my grandmother, has finished making supper, and the girls, Alice, Susie, and Georgia have washed […]
