University of Central Oklahoma Oral History Project

Archives and Special Collections 100 North University Drive

Edmond, OK 73034 Interviewee: Elizabeth Flescher Love Interviewer: Mary Bond Date: August 12, 1991 Location of Interview: Oklahoma Collections and Archives, Evans Hall, 103, University

of Central Oklahoma Transcribed by: Edited by: Lindsey Johnston EL: Elizabeth Love MB: Mary Bond MB: This is August 12, 1991 in the Oklahoma Collections and Archives, the University of Central Oklahoma, Evans Hall, 103. We are pleased to have a very special person with us. This is Elizabeth Ann Flescher Love who has brought in some beautiful things to help us preserve information about her family. Mrs. Love very briefly give us information about yourself; when you were born, where were you born at. EL: I’m Elizabeth Ann Flescher Love. I was graduated from Central State College in 1935. I was born in Edmond in 1914 and grew up in Edmond. I attended the College Training School that was used for teachers or potential teachers to learn how to teach. It was a wonderful school. The director was Helby Ray. It was similar to a finishing school as they stressed decorum and everything, and arts, citizenship, besides learning. We were also allowed to attend the college concerts where they had many accomplished musicians, poets, dancers, and other well known performers. After my graduation from college in 1935, I taught in Osage County in Ada, Oklahoma and two years in the Edmond Public Schools. In 1939 I married Robert Sydney Love Jr. After living in Colorado and Nebraska we returned to Oklahoma City where we had three daughters. In 1950s I became secretary treasurer of the Oklahoma City Central State Alumni and later was recording secretary of Central State College Alumni. In later years I became a partner in my husband's lumber and brokerage business. In school I spent more time being

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president of the Criterion Club and president of Lasso Stirrup Pep Club and I was secretary treasurer of the junior class. MB: Were there Greek sororities? EL: There were no Greek sororities then but we did have beautiful rush parties. We've had sororities girls say that we outdid them on the rush parties so we did work on that. We had studies and also we participated in the Criterion Stunt Night that we had at the . All the clubs participated. MB: There has been quite a bit, well some material saved pertaining to these activities back in the [19]30s. Do you remember the circus? EL: Emma Plunkett was responsible for the circus. They had several performances as do all circuses. Before that we had May the first a beautiful May festival on the front campus in front of Evans Hall. We had May poles. MB: Excuse me, in front of Evans or in front of Old North? EL: It was in front of Evans. It was all grassy. You know the front cap of campus. We also wore beautiful pastel cotton dresses and spent hours practicing our dancing. All of the town people came and prayed would not rain. It was quite an accomplishment for a small college. MB: Was that your senior year of college? EL: This is when I was in grade school, in the training school. MB: Oh in grade school when you were in grade school. Okay, give me about when you started school here? You not only attended college here you attended your earlier years here. EL: Yes, at six years old and I went through the sixth grade in the training school. It was like a private school it was a wonderful opportunity. MB: Then after the sixth grade where did you attend? EL: Then I went to the Edmond Public High School. MB: Where was that located at? EL: The high school was located on Boulevard and Campbell Street. MB: Tell us about your childhood home here and then what happened to it in later years. EL: We moved into the old Doctor Harrod house in 1919. It was located on the corner of Jackson and Hurd Street. In 1927 after the Methodist Church burned on Broadway and the church was looking for a location, my father decided he would pay to move the house off if the church wanted to use that property which was ideal property for a church. And that was done.

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The house was cut in two and moved in two parts. Every night after school and after work the town turned out to see how far the house had been moved. It was moved to 607 North Boulevard. Many, many, town’s people and students enjoyed that big house. MB: It was originally at 305 East Hurd right? EL: Yes. It was moved from 305 East Hurd to 607 North Boulevard. Everything in the house stayed. Even the cabinets all full of crystal and so on. And one fateful day one of the halves of the house, it was little jar turned over and my mother was quiet upset. But when we were moved nothing had been broken. MB: And you mentioned someone else that moved near you…Excuse me, what do you remember about Dr. Ruhl and where his house was at? Is this correct, the house is down here now that has been made into a hotel? EL: It's on First Street. Dr. Ruhl's house is on First Street. It's quite a large house with a lot of sleeping porches and a lot of windows. He was one of the doctors in town. There was a Dr. Stone. My uncle was Dr. Tom Flescher. MB: Where did he have his practice at? EL: Dr. Tom owned a building that was located where the Citizens National Bank is now. His office was upstairs in the building he owned. His name was on the front of the building, Flescher. It was later torn down and the bank was built there. MB: Did he help or have an interest in the hospital over the Broncho Theater? EL: No, he took his patients to Wesley Hospital in Oklahoma City. And also, he was the school physician in the late [19]30s. At the college, when attending training school, I'm sitting here reviewing this and in the Evans building, this building was locked when I went to the training school, at noon for lunch. Everyone went home for lunch. We had no dorms or anything so we went home. One other friend and I that were in the fourth grade under Ms. Howard came over to take a book back or get a book and we were locked in Evans Hall. We both stood at the front door and banged on the front door, on the glass door and tears running down our faces. Someone called and rescued us. MB: Now, why where you in here? EL: To bring a book back or check out a book. I was always in library. I loved to read. That's what happened. I guess I was around nine years old. And it was very frightening to be locked in the library. MB: Somehow you little girls got someplace and they didn’t know you were still in here. EL: That’s right. Students went by and we couldn’t get their attention but finally, finally we had success.

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MB: You’re in the same room here today. What do you remember about this when it was a library? Where was the circulation desk and where were the stacks and so forth? Do you remember? EL: I remember there was a card index, quiet extensive. It seemed that the check out point was towards the center of the library on the east side. Whether that's authentic I don't know, but I did check out lots of books at this library. MB: Did you ever go up the stairs to the balcony? EL: I do not remember that for sure. MB: In the late 1930's we have photographs of the museum was up in the balcony. EL: I don't remember the balcony. It seemed like there was children's section for books and of course there was the adult college section. MB: There was another room I think for children's books mainly, a children’s library in another room. EL: And I seem to remember the upstairs but I come back to the college so much that my mind is… MB: Alright, what do you remember about the Royce's Cafe. That was built in about 1934 down on Broadway. EL: Broadway and Fourth Street. That was the social place to go to eat. I belonged to a group, daughters of mothers that belonged to a sewing club a needle craft club. At New Year's to pay back our debts and social debts we would have a New Year's dinner and dance. Our group name was Femme Jolee, F-e-m-m-e J-o-l-e-e I think. It might have been one “e”. We were by that time married, had husbands and children after World War II. MB: This was after World War II? EL: After our husbands returned. MB: That you had this… EL: The Femme Jolee group and the parties. During the War we played bridge. MB: Did you play bridge down at the Royce's Cafe? EL: No, we played in our homes. MB: Now, we have someone who’s been asking us questions pertaining to Royce’s Café and you’re kind of _______. Your earliest recollection of being in that cafe, do you think would be

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before you were married or after you were married? EL: It was before I was married. I remember that cafe. MB: And you married when? EL: In 1939. MB: And then did your husband go to war? EL: Yes he did. He went overseas. MB: Do you remember the years or dates? EL: He went overseas in 1944 and returned in 1945. He was in the air corps and stationed on Tinian Island, went overseas. MB: The name of the island? EL: Tinian, T-i-n-i-a-n. The bomb went from that island, the big bomb. MB: That's where they took it from? EL: The 29th group. MB: You and your husband did occasionally go to…before he went overseas, you did go down to the cafe. You would take meals down there? EL: Yes, we would eat at the cafe. They had excellent food. They served breakfast, lunch, or dinner, whatever you wanted. MB: Do you remember anything about the lighting in there? What kind of lighting they had, whether it was dimly lit compared to the places today? EL: No, I think it was just, when they needed lights it wasn’t anything special, they turned them on. Otherwise, I don’t remember the lights. They didn't have the soft lights and carpets that they have now. MB: Do you remember a piano in one of the rooms there of Royce's cafe? We have a photograph when it was first opened showing a piano and a juke box. EL: Well, I do remember this about Royce's café; the same Femme Jolee group would take our children and have a Christmas party and the children would perform. MB: That was probably in that extra room? EL: That was in the north room and there was a piano. I remember my girl sang “Walking in the

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Park One Day.” One just loved it and sang out and performed and the other one did not open her mouth. They had little umbrellas and orange dresses. I thought they were very attractive children. One of them never did sing, she just stage fright. MB: Back to the campus you were telling me you remember the Shakespeare Garden and there was more than one pergola. EL: There was the pergola and I know because my grandmother duplicated that pergola and it was in her home at 515 North Jackson, the same type of pergola and it was out on the north side of her house. And on the campus they had a beautiful Shakespeare garden and when I went on the European trip in 1970 with the Central State University, we went to Shakespeare Country and when we drove by and that same garden that I had lived and grown up with just appeared suddenly, it was just quite a thrill. MB: So the one here duplicated that. EL: Yes exactly. They had a bird bath and had a pergola. It was sort of a little private area and it was on the north side of the walk, on the south side of the walk up to Old North Tower. Right down there by the walk that went in front, we called it College Street then it is now University. But it was there in the corner of College and then the entrance into North Tower. MB: So, today if we were trying to figure out where we would be at, it would be like if you were standing on the steps of Old North… EL: It would be way on down to the street in front which is University... MB: The northwest corner. EL: And it was there on the south side as you went up the wide walk. MB: On the south side there or on the north side? EL: It was on the north side as you went up to Old North Tower. MB: So it would be on the northwest corner of the school? EL: And there is a drive there. Here's old North Tower and you go up here and here was the garden. There was kind of a little arbor and trees and some things there. MB: If you were facing Old North, you would see to your right, rather than to the left? EL: Because this was the corner and there were vehicles and… MB: So it was to the right of the walk, south of the walk? EL: There should be pictures of that in some books.

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MB: Well, we do have but it’s hard to figure out just where you’re seeing. EL: The walk was quite wide and this was not too wide there on the north side, but over here on the campus was this little pavilion. Then, the same pergola was built close to the president's home, the red brick two story home on the campus. It was sort of between the president's home and the auditorium. MB: Okay, that one there. Was there quite a big fence, this big white trellis work? EL: Well, that's what the pergola was, it was the painted wood and it had the four heavy corners and there was a section of that looked rather Oriental. It had cross pieces on top and on the sides and it was very, very attractive, white. MB: Was it fairly large, fairly long? EL: There were seats on either side of those, a big open place on either side and then there were seats you could sit down on in those areas where the grill work was. MB: Besides the pergola, was there also a trellis, kind of a long fence affair that was out of the white wood also, somewhere around the president's? EL: That isn’t just real clear but I do remember something because they had to have some kind of a shelter for their kitchen area and so on for garbage cans, it was sort of screened off as I remember. MB: The president’s yard? EL: I'm not sure about it but I can just almost see that. MB: Yes, well we seem to have photographs showing something like that. What about the Depression days after the stock market crash of 1929? Can you remember any details about what that did to your family? EL: I guess so. It is very vivid in my imagination because I started to high school in 1929 and was graduated in [19]32. I started to college in the year of [19]32-33 and finished in 1935. Because of the Depression, I wanted to get through school as fast as I could so I could get a job. And we had a group of I'd say, steady six girls and we ran around together, went through high school and part of college. MB: While you were in school did your parents live right here in town so you were able to stay at home while you went to school? EL: Yes, I was a home girl. There were no dorms during that time so we all walked home to lunch and back for afternoon classes. MB: Did your parents, by any chance, take in boarders from young people that lived out of town?

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EL: When we were on Hurd Street the president asked those with large houses if they would help until they could afford the dorms. I don't remember how many years that was that we did that, but we did. MB: Do you remember how many you would take in at a time? EL: I think there were four. We had five bedrooms. I think there were two upstairs and two down. MB: Did you have to share your room with someone else? EL: No, I had my own room. I believe that was when I was thirteen, so after that we didn't take boarders, but we took roomers. MB: You took roomers? They didn't eat at your house? EL: No. They went to the Williams’ on Campbell. And I can’t remember where else. MB: Did you take in both girls and boys? EL: No, just girls. We were really a big house. MB: Now, English Hall was up here by the school and they took in and they fed… EL: They had a boarding house. MB: They had a dining room? EL: And also, our house was large and their house was large and a dancing teacher would come to our house or English Hall and teach dancing. MB: That is interesting. EL: What was her name? Miss Convoy? C-o-n-v-o-y came from Oklahoma City. She taught tapping and ballet. MB: Interesting. EL: I'd forgotten that. MB: You mentioned you knew this other person, a... EL: Kit Cowgills. We called him Cowgills and they had...

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MB: What do you remember about them? How were they associated with the school? EL: I don't remember the association except Mrs. Cowgill was quite talented and she played the violin. She had three children. MB: Did she, by any chance, do needlework? EL: Probably. Almost everyone, even we learned, all of us learned needlework. That was something that you just learned. MB: Do you remember any special classes on learning how to crochet or knit? EL: No, our mothers and friends taught us. Now she could have. She was quite talented person. They moved to the city. I lost track, but they lived up there on Jackson Street and Lincoln, a block north. The Cowgills lived in that house that faced south. MB: Do you remember how that name was spelled? EL: C-o-w-g-i-l-l. The son had a saddlery shop in . And, I can’t remember her name... There is Elizabeth and I can’t remember the youngest girl's name but they were all talented people. MB: Do you remember the price of anything during this depression time or whether or not...? EL: Well, most all of us or our mothers could sew. We as a group, six of us, made matching outfits. Generally they were what we called pajamas instead of slacks with wide, wide legs. That was the style, be made of cotton and they all matched. MB: Now was that for sleep wear or for day wear? EL: It was the kind they wore in the day time. It was cotton, it had sleeveless but they were one piece like a jump suit. MB: Really? EL: We were able to sew and cook, most of us. MB: Do you remember any particular laws or rules or policies in those days either on campus or at home that would be really different than today? EL: Yes, I can. For one thing, we were not allowed to ride in a car with a date. Some parents okayed the car but the college would not honor that. MB: Who was the president then? EL: The president was M.A. Beeson. Mitchell was in when I was coming up here to the training school. Because I made the mistake of getting some spring beauties on the campus and he

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caught me. MB: Caught you picking flowers? EL: He didn’t like that. Scared me to death. Very seldom was I tardy. MB: Okay. So not allowed to ride in car with a date. EL: Another thing in the 1930s was that the swimming girls and those participating in P.E., if you will notice the pictures, just their torsos show. They cut off the legs. MB: Why? EL: Do you have a Bronze Book. I’ll show you. Ridiculous. They did not want anybody to see our legs. MB: So the swimming girls’ legs are chopped off. EL: Yes. If you notice in the school annuals in the 1930s when I was in school the girls’ legs are not shown. MB: You said you weren't allowed to ride in the car. Did you ever get caught? EL: Got caught and was called on the campus up on the carpet. MB: Whose office did you have to go to? EL: To Dr. M.A. Beeson, he was president at the time. The dean of women had looked for my friend and they couldn't find us. Finally she called her home and we were there. So I told her not to be frightened, I’d come with her. And when I walked in the dean of women's office she said, “Ms. Flescher where have you been? I’m looking for you.” So we both went into the president's office and were told that we could not ride in a car with a man. The dean of women was Dorothea Mayer. When I graduated something happened. They changed M.A. Beeson. When I received my diploma I went through college in three winters and three or four summers. Professor Otto gave me my diploma and he always called me One Baby, since I the oldest. When he handed me my diploma he said, “Here comes One Baby.” They lived close to us when I was growing up. MB: Some other teachers that you remember? EL: Training School for the first and second grade was Lori Hines and the third and fourth grade was Howard. MB: Was it Virginia? EL: No. Yes, I believe it was. She was no relation to the Dr. Howard that my mother had run around with his daughter and we bought their house. The fifth and sixth grade was Ms. Bethel,

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B-e-t-h-e-l. She married and moved to the Orient and had a very interesting life. She helped many students and inspired some of us that went through the Depression. She helped I know one boy to go on and become a lawyer; she inspired him to do that. MB: When you talk about the Depression do you remember anything about dirt storms at all? EL: Terrible dirt, dust storms. Everyone was the same color, kind of a reddish brown. Those dust blew and hurt your skin. Just to blow across your face the grains of sand and everything was dusty and dust color. It was just a film. You just had to look through this haze. A terrible thing. MB: Would you all try to take cover or do anything special? EL: We just had to grow up with it, just had to live with it. Just went on through our daily life. If we didn't have any breathing problems we were lucky. MB: What did you do about laundry day? Back in those days you didn't have dryers. EL: They were hung out on the rod and became the same color. MB: And that was in the [19]30s? EL: Yes. Some people had basements and they could dry their clothes there. But the clothes lines were very popular. We had a woman that came from Guthrie, a black woman that came off a street corner in Guthrie that did our laundry sometimes. MB: Someone was telling me about that. EL: Her name was Birdie. She rode the street car from Guthrie to do our laundry. But no black person was allowed in Edmond after sun down. MB: You remember that? EL: In the [19]30s. Growing up I remember they didn’t let them stay. If you had maid that did, you had to have special permission to have that person stay if you were taking care of someone. MB: Permission from the city government office? EL: As far as I know they had to have permission. I don't think too many had it because it was expensive. We had a student girl live with us that was going to college during the time that those girls stayed at our home. They stayed there until I had my own room at twelve or thirteen. Then we moved the house.

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MB: So this is before you moved? In the 1920s? EL: That was [19]27 so that was [19]25 I think. I guess they stayed four or five years. That's the only way they had a place to stay since there were no dorms. MB: Did that student girl also help you out with house work and so forth? EL: Yes. That's what she did for her room and board. And she’d help because my mother had four of us to take care of and that big house. MB: Helped with the house and babysitting? EL: Well, she didn't babysit. But as I remember she did fix breakfast. My mother was very easy on her help because she wasn't too organized. If you want good help you had to be organized yourself. Anyway, she was easy on them. A lot of these people in Edmond mistreated their student girls. They had them work too hard. Do things that were just unheard of. MB: What do you remember about air conditioning in the [19]20s and the [19]30s? EL: We opened the windows and let the south wind blow in. It was generally cool at night in a two story house. We had a wide front in a western house and we would climb out of the window and sleep on the front porch upstairs, on top of the porch. MB: What about transportation at various times in your life? EL: Well, the first car I remember was a big open touring car when I was a little girl. Also, my uncle was a doctor and he would take me sometimes on his calls. He had started out with a buggy I’m sure. But I remember Dodge car. It had a high back seat, black chested leather. I went on calls with him. Then later I learned to drive when I was quite young. The college had two Cadillacs. Could have been another oldie car but sometimes I would drive down, someone would ask me to pick up speakers that were coming to the college either through the interurban or the train station because I could drive. Very few could. MB: Now, tell us about some of these special speakers that you remember. EL: Well we had all kinds of well known speakers. We have had poets… MB: Where you here when Emilia Earhart came? EL: I heard her. It was very exciting. Then she left on her trip shortly after. That was 19[]34 or something like that when she came through and then she was lost. She was quiet inspiring. MB: But you would go down to the depot? EL: Yes, to the Santa Fe station, the interurban station which was on the corner of Broadway and Main Street. Main went this way, Broadway this way.

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MB: What are the years you’re remembering that interurban? EL: It was there from the time I was a baby. So I don't remember beyond that. MB: Big building, a small building? EL: It was sort of a red brick and later there was a Harley's Grocery in there and it faced west. MB: It faced west? It was on the east side of the street? EL: Mm-hm. On the east side, I don't know if it that's where the bingo parlor is now. It may be, I don't know. MB: Do you remember it being little then changing to the larger building? EL: No, I just remember it was red brick. Kind of set back and then these two “Ls” came out. And you’d go in and get your ticket. And the street cars went to El Reno, Guthrie and Norman. There was kind of a like a round house down there behind Kerr's Department Store. MB: A round house in Oklahoma City? EL: Yes, that’s where you could go to any of these locations. Of course they had time tables. They finally closed that type of transportation. I don't remember the year though. MB: About 1940s. What were you doing, what was your position? Why were you, other than the fact that you could drive, why were you getting to go pick up these people at the station? EL: Because there was no one available to drive and they just asked me. I was probably a senior that year and they knew me and I had grown up here and they needed someone to drive because I had to look under the wheel. MB: But you participated in a lot of club organizations? EL: Oh, yes. I don't know how I went to school when I read all I did because you know that takes so much time. MB: But, you were not like a secretary for the president or something like that? EL: No, I tried. During the Depression we were all in the same boat. None of us could afford to go away to school. I applied for work at the theater and the Black Book Store but I lived in a big house and no one thought I needed a job I presume and I did not get one. I had no experience either. MB: You said the Black Book Store? EL: Yes, it was next door to where the Citizens Bank is now. He was a blind man. He was the one that supplied us. We had to buy our own books. The year that I was in school and took a

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religious course there were six of us that went together to be able to afford to buy the book. We couldn't have books, we couldn't afford it. I don't know how I ever got through school. MB: So, you would share one book? That's interesting. EL: Yes, it was bad because when you have other things and I started out, I took chemistry because I was going to go into home ec. and I was scared to death of the teacher so I didn't finish cooking but I got my sewing. MB: Who was teacher? EL: I can't remember her name now. There was something about her I was scared of. It was so easy for me in English that I took a lot of English and that's what I taught in English in Avant, for one year. The students were just about my age and I did not intend to go back in high school. MB: What do you remember about Professor Oakes? EL: Well I had Shakespeare under him. He was a very interesting person really and different. I remember my aunt told me that she had a class with him and he hopped up on the desk and did a jig to show the class he could do a jig. And he liked girls with brown eyes. My mother had classes under him too. She took a term and went into a German club. They were teaching German at Central and he taught German. This was before World War I. He asked my mother in German if she had bugs in her rug and she didn't know what to say but yes and he caught her. But he taught German before World War I. MB: So he got up on the desk and danced? EL: Did a little jig. MB: Was he as tall looking as he looks in his pictures? EL: Pretty tall and of course people in Edmond were very gracious. They entertained, had very lovely parties. We did not leave the house without hat and gloves. Mostly heels especially rush parties, were we wore the black crepe dresses in September which was still summer. We also had beautiful balls. We had the Snow Ball, the Criterion Club. It was decorated in the gym. We had tied cotton to string and it looked like it was snowing. They had just all these snow. We just worked, worked, worked. I was an officer I was just busy with these organizations. MB: You are related to the Rodkeys of Rodkey Mill. Can you tell us how you are related and experiences you’ve had with regard to the mill? EL: Yes, I.W. Rodkey was my grandfather who built the mill. He had come to Oklahoma and is still in Oklahoma City. He and Abe Salburg built the Acme Mill there that was torn in 1970. Then he came to Edmond and owned the mill here. His students sometimes for projects they would go down to look at the mill. When I was young they really didn't want me to go in because there was only a step and rope to go up to the fourth floor. All you did was step on. There was no sides or anything. You just hung on and got up to the top floor. It was interesting

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to see how they took care of the wheat. It seemed that they were in large, large racks. Then of course they got the _____ of someway separated it. As I remember they sold some of the flour in Europe. They sold it I believe maybe in England. Later years at the very last they sold corn meal to Humpty Grocery. When I was teaching in Edmond, they sold the flour in printed sacks that could be used for clothes because people had no way to buy material. So they’d buy the flour and the slogan was "Buy the flour, use the sack, If not satisfied, your money back." Now my grandmother was very social and entertained. The women in Edmond had beautiful parties. Her name was Katherine Rank Rodkey. She and several of the women did entertain quite often. She was quiet a character. She had supposedly had taught in Kansas were my grandfather learned the milling business. I traveled with her when I was about ten or eleven. We needed to visit her sister so she took me with her and we boarded the train, probably the Katy train that was known as the slow train. We were to get off at a little wide spot in the road called Brathwaite, B-r-a-t-h-w-a-i-t-e. It was just nothing there, no station or anything. We boarded the train and then it was getting afternoon, my grandmother kept saying, “Now don't forget we have to get off at Brathwaite, there's nothing there but tumbleweed.” She asked him two or three times, said, “Don’t worry; I'll see that you get off.” Well then around four o'clock she just was getting all nervous so she did ask him again and of course he had forgotten and she knew that her sisters, two of them and one of the husbands would be there in a car to pick us up. This was about 1925. She just said, “Well, you told us you’d let us get off.” So what should happen, we’re already a mile past. But she and I go out on the observation platform that had the metal railing, stand out there at attention. And the conductor backed, or the engineer backed the train up one solid mile. And If you think her sisters were surprised to see the us go by, you should have seen their faces when they saw the train coming backwards to let us out. MB: Did you take a lunch with you on the train? EL: They sold fruit on the train. And we probably had lunch. I don't remember if we ate lunch on the train. When you’re that young you don't think about eating like you do when you’re older. But I'm sure if we were there very long she had something to eat. We were influential in backing that old Katy train up one mile. MB: Where was the Rodkey home at? EL: The Rodkey home at first was near the old high school on Campbell and it sat at an angle. They were class parents for our high school class and entertained the class there when John Kessler was president of the class. In 1927 they moved in the two story brick house on Jackson Street at 515 North Jackson. My grandmother and grandfather celebrated their 50th anniversary in that home. John Thomas took the first home movies starting with black and white and then later they went into color after. An open house lasted three or four hours and I do have a copy so my children get to see all the relatives. My grandfather when married, he had a gold handled cane and wore a high silk hat. And that picture is in the Edmond Museum. Eloise Reese donated that. He still has the hat and the cane from their 50th anniversary with the picture taken of it. MB: The house that was near the high school on Campbell, was it on the corner? EL: It sets at an angle and it then restored for preservation.

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MB: On Campbell and Boulevard? EL: No, it was between Broadway and Boulevard and Littler cut through on the east. But, you know someone’s added ginger bread to the front porch and that was not down there lower. Now I have a lot of pictures if you need them of my baby days. But, that was I believe it was Queen Anne instead of Victorian. The top of it was rather ornate and then this was just a big open porch and the house sat at an angle so it was kind of like rounded. MB: Now, is that house still in existence? EL: It’s supposed to be in the historic section. They painted it yellow and it's pretty run down. It's much bigger than it looks. I remember it had three bedrooms. My uncle bought that house from him when they moved and fixed it, it was just beautiful when they rented it and then they went to Timber Lake. MB: As children what did you do for entertainment? EL: For one thing we loved to play jacks. We skated all over town, especially out on the hills east of the college. We took dancing and piano. At one time we put holes in tin cans and would walk on tin cans, tie them to our feet. And of course there was a swimming pool after a while in high school. We sewed together and we played cards. We made fudge. In the summer, this group of women would have house parties. We were the only group that ever did that. MB: Now, this is in the [19]40s? EL: No, I’m still in the [19]30s. Because you see I left here in 1939. I had to give up my teaching job because teachers could not be married. This was in the [19]30s. We would have sunrise breakfasts. We had bike riding, we had swim parties, we had dinners, we had picnics, we had swim parties, we had dances, and we had slumber parties for one week. Have you ever interviewed Margery Cruz McGown? She remembers an awful lot of detail, or did. She is the one that knows about the training school. She is a good one. Margery Cruz, it was McGown. It is a Yukon number, 354 something… I'll just have to call you if you really want it. MB: Now, this was one week, this lady's group? EL: We were all in high school at the time. This was our high school in the summer. A lot of times we went summer school and then we had August to have to figure out something to do. MB: EL: Well, we were at high school. You see in college some of them doubled up and some married so then the six of us were parted. Three of us were here for Emma Plunkett’s get together. MB: Was that nice? EL: Oh it was just wonderful.

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MB: Where was it that you taught school? EL: My mother taught in Edmond Public School in the same building that I did. It was old Kingsley School. After I left they tore that down. I had to go and talk to my superintendent and tell him I was getting married. If I'd lived here I couldn't have taught here but I moved to Oklahoma City. MB: Kingley, C-a-i-n… EL: It’s K-i-n-g-s-l-e-y. MB: And where was it located at? EL: In a square where the Daugherty School is now that they may tear down. They tore Kingsley down. It was in the center. It was two stories. In front of it was junior high and then they tore down the Kingsley building and the junior high and built the Daugherty building out of that stone from the Kingsley building. My mother taught in that building too. MB: There were two buildings there and which one was in front? EL: The one in front where the Daugherty building was the junior high school, the only one in town. The grade school was behind that two story and there were six grades in that building. MB: Do you remember how many rooms or anything? EL: There were eight rooms as I remember. MB: There was an upstairs? EL: Mm-hm.