My Home Town Part three

It is time again to brag about the little town that I call home. As I look back through the years, this community has served the people who lived here. It has changed a lot through the years. It went from a sleepy little town that served the farmers in this area to "Boom Town" in the 1950's and '60's. The MKT railroad built it's track through NW Oklahoma in the early 1900's and the train was kept busy hauling loads of grain, broom corn, Silica, Cattle and freight up and down the line.

The Rancher's dad tells about riding to Kansas City on the train with a load of cattle. Today, the trucks come to the ranch and haul them over the miles of highway to whatever destination is requested. There came a time, after the big trucks came about that the spur of the MKT that came through our area was no longer needed. It was the end of an era. I still enjoy watching the trains going down the tracks on the Santa Fe Line to the South of us. I recently enjoyed a trip on the Silver Flyer from Ok City to Fort Worth. The local train depot is used as a headquarters for a drilling mud company and a car wash across the street is proudly named "Katy Kar Wash".

In the 1950's, the oil and natural gas field was discovered and brought many changes to town. Trucking companies moved in as well as roust about companies. Refineries were built in the area and pipelines were laid across the land. A lot of new faces came in with these changes. More businesses were built, houses had to be built and the school outgrew itself. It was time for new school buildings. We were so proud to move into a new High School during my sophomore year. We still had to use the old building for the overflow of the grade school but a time would come when it too would be replaced. A hospital was built and a golf course. Our town was growing up. We were proud. Sadly, progress does not last forever. The town that we once thought was on it's way to becoming a City started to slowly dwindle out. The Oil had played out or it was not practical at that time to explore different zones.

Not everyone moved on. The natives stayed and many of those that moved in liked our little community and stayed on too. We have faced slow times but have survived. Our little town is still a place full of friendly people. I enjoy the businesses that we have. Many have closed in recent years but those that are here still serve us well. I would not want to drive 55 miles to buy groceries so I am especially thankful for the grocery store that has weekly specials and the druggist knows my name. There are convenience stores, a Farmers co-op, cafes, motel, library, hair styliest, post office, machine shops, lumber yard, glass and radiator shop, auto repair, flower and gift shops, a weekly paper, realator, tag office, insurance offices, bank, wonderful churches and schools, health clinic, dentist, phone companies, oil field supply and many more that I am sure I have forgetten.

There is also an office for Murphey Brown Inc. which is headquarters for the hog farms in the area. So as we have lost many businesses, and the population has dwindled over the years, the town remains the same. Things just change in time. I feel safe in saying this though, " The People Who Live Here" never do. This is our home and we are proud.