2018: Lubbock, TX & Omaha, NE

 August 27, 2018

Fort Supply, OK / Woodward, OK

Barry went to Radio Shack in Woodward and I went next door to the Office Supply /Gift Shop. Turned out, they were connected.

Barry and I had seen "Boomers" on several signs around town. When the lady at Devines asked if she could help me, I told her that I was just looking, but that I did wonder about "Boomers." She said they were the people who came to Oklahoma in the land grab. A man nearby, who was buying a chair, said the Sooners had cheated. He and the shopkeeper and I visited for awhile --- the wind in Oklahoma, what people do. I enjoyed it. 

"Boomers" is the name used for two groups of settlers in the Southern United States in what is now the state of Oklahoma.

The first group was participants in the "Boomer Movement." These participants were white settlers from 1879–1889 who believed the so-called "Unassigned Lands" within the Indian Territory were public property and open to anyone for settlement, not just Indian tribes. Their belief was based on a clause in the Homestead Act of 1862 which said that any settler could claim 160 acres (0.65 km²; 0.25 sq mi) of "public land."^[1]

The land was said to be public because it had been set aside for Indian reservations, yet the allotment for some tribes was reduced as a result of allying with the Confederacy during the Civil War and the Reconstruction Treaties that followed. The name "Boomer" came from figuratively making noise and raising hell for their claims. Some Boomers entered the Unassigned Lands and were removed more than once by the Army on the Frontier.^[2] Charles C. Carpenter was the earliest leader of the Boomer movement, but was eventually succeeded by David L. Payne. Payne helped grow the movement by founding the Southwestern Colonization Company, which served to organize the movement. After his death, Payne was succeeded by William L. Couch.^[3]

President Grover Cleveland opened the Indian Territory to settlement by signing the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 on March 2, 1889.^[4] The result was the Land Rush of 1889. In it, rushers could be divided into two groups: the Sooners were settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands just prior to the April 22, 1889 official opening in a race to grab the best land, while the ones who waited until the actual opening date are also sometimes referred to as "Boomers", confusingly.^[5]

After its founding in 1890, the University of Oklahoma adopted "Boomers" as the nickname of their football team, after having first tried "Rough Riders." In 1908, the name was changed to "Sooners", the current team name. Their fight song is "Boomer Sooner". The OU "mascot" is the Sooner Schooner, a Conestoga wagon across the field when the University of Oklahoma football team scores. It is pulled by a pair of ponies named "Boomer" and "Sooner". There are a pair of costumed mascot also named "Boomer" and "Sooner".

Buffalo Creek with cows in it.

I told Barry I knew it must be relaxing because when I chose my underwear for the day, I wondered which one would go best with my blouse. I normally never give that a thought.

The wind at the lake never stopped. The clouds and the moonrises and the sunrises over the lake were beautiful. We explored and rested and just each other and the day. There's more to say, but we are riding, and I want to watch for awhile.

~Cemeteries in both directions.

~Sitka, KS

~Wind things on fence.

August 28

~Salt Discovery Well. (A sign we saw)

~Rick's Diner, Pratt, KS. Barry had the liver and onions. I had the chicken fried steak. Very good. 

~Road sign at Fort Lake Supply: "Road Ends in Water." "Speed Limit 10 mph.)

~Somewhere on the road: "Pistols & Pearls Salon." (Google says it is in Broken Bow, OK) 

~Somewhere else: "Hardware Cafe." (Google says there are several of them.) 

August 29

Cottonwood; Marion Reservoir, Marion, KS

I woke up about 6:15 and went outside to enjoy the early morning and send my Wednesday post cards. The morning sound of bugs and birds --- and maybe frogs. I felt like I was playing hide & seek with a duck, because I kept hearing it but couldn't find it.

When Barry woke up, he fished a minute while the coals were heating up and then cooked us a perfect breakfast. We have pictures. :-) Sausage - made in house, nad back, from a little grocery store near here -- the kind of small town grocery I remember as a kid, with meat counter in the store. 

After breakfast, he helped me get things inside. I cleaned up then we went for a walk. We saw a beautiful golden bird, and Holly seemed to have the very best time. She is developing a whole new vocabulary --- mostly ways of saying, "You forgot somebody," if we leave her on the stake thingy and come inside for a minute or go down to the shore for a minute.

We fished and sat quietly and watched a large white bird & large grey bird while they fished. 

~ I would tell you that Marion and Hillsboro are one-traffic-light towns but there were no traffic lights in either one. 

Traffic was resolved by common sense and courtesy --- I didn't even see stop signs. The lady in the car nodded at me and I nodded at her and something in those non-verbals kept me from being run over.

Main Streets in each were not revitalized tourist attractions --- they were active, vital Main Streets, with shopping and bakeries and town halls (Marion, where we heard the town clock chime time time.) and a grocery store (Hillsboro, where the little pregnant girl (oldest of ten, all of whom were born at home and is herself going to have a home birth) said, "I didn't know how to get ahold of you." Yesterday we left our bag of potatoes and onions. This afternoon, they were in the cooler, waiting for our return. 

Gallery 101 of the Flint Hills in Marion is run by an artist who taught art for K - College for 27 years. When she retired she said, "I know what I'm going to do!" She knew there were a lot of creative peoplllllle in the area so she claimed the front half a Main Street Building that her husband was using for storage and turned it into a gallery. She still teaches art lessons, which is mostly what keeps the lights on.

~ Store signs on Main Street in Hillsboro:

The Shops at Kesslers

Open Tue, Wed, Thurs

4th Saturday

11 - 5

If you stop by the shops outside our regular business days, we don't want to miss you. Please call 877-7650

Diamond in the Rough

Store Hours

Thursday 4 - 7 p.m.

Friday 10 am - 5 pm

Saturday 10 am - 2 pm.

~ Newspaper offices in both towns.

~Buildings are made of limestone.

August 30

All day at Cottonwood, fishing and photography. "Maybe the best is yet to be." (In the early days of our courtship, Barry said that he believed everybody found somebody --- 'Look at all the old people.")

August 31

Republican River

Fancy Creek Area

Big Blue River

Beatrice, NE

Homestead National Monument, Beatrice, NE

~The Village of Firth "All our streets are paved."

Had freshly made A&W Root Beer at A&W.

Had supper at Round the Bend Steakhouse. At testicles. Steak and the mac an cheese were delicious.

September 1

Went to Omaha at 12:45. Spent the morning in the RV, just relaxing and planning trips.

Walked to Old Market. Ate at JAMS. Barry said they were the best french fries he's ever had.

We judged the steak and came home

September 2

Omaha BBQ Contest

MILKY WAY!!!