Most of what we discovered on our search through SE Oklahoma was accurate and heart-warming.  But some things were hard.  The fact that most of the houses I lived in, from Durant to Ringling to Healdton had been torn down or replaced was hard. The one in Healdton was truly a pile of rubble.  I have so many happy memories there from ages 6 to 9.  The original Methodist Church survives. Everything looked so much smaller than I remembered it.

The house in Ringling, where I went to school from 4th through 9th grades, was in disrepair. We were able to find the shambles of the big  brick and stone BBQ pit that Daddy had built in the back yard. Trees had grown up through it  We were able to retrieve a piece of the beautiful stone we had collected from the Arbuckle mountains and, with the present resident’s permission, Joannie took it home. The Methodist Church I faithfully attended has been replaced by a lovely brick one. My school had been torn down, but the old gym that had been built  by the WPA  still stood.

Back in Durant, I had mixed feelings about the statue of the young Confederate rifleman, still standing in front of the Bryan County Courthouse where it was placed by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1920.  I suppose it represents a part of history.  Bryan County was commonly referred to as “Little Dixie.”  Notice that beautiful magnolia.

On another subject,  I am always a bit disappointed that the Navajos get all the credit for being the first code talkers during WWII.  Choctaw boys from Oklahoma were the first ones, deployed to Europe during WWI .

When given an opportunity, I always try to correct this misconception.

We did collect some more accurate history at the cultural center, some of it positive.

Some, heart breaking.