Oklahoma Almanac of Facts & Humor: Part 2 - Okarche to Zafra

By Stan Paregien

Stan Paregien's Oklahoma Almanac of Facts & Humor: Part 2 - Okarche to Zafra contains lots of historical information about the state of Oklahoma and its people. It contains so much information--facts, photos, prominent people and humorous stories--that it had to be divided into two parts. So this is Part 2. Part 1 covers the towns of Achilee to Nowata.

However, folks, this ain't your grandpa's dry, boring history book. No, siree. The author tells the unique stories of 148 Oklahoma cities and towns and villages (both Parts). All of the towns which are county seats in Oklahoma's 77 counties are covered, plus 71 others. And he writes about each town with a conversational style which is warm, inviting and consumer friendly. He makes a concerted effort to identify pominent people associated with each town.

The author also includes 183 photos and/or graphics (total for Parts 1 and 2; most in color), such as photos of George Nigh, Donna Nigh, Gene Autry, Blake Shelton, Virgil R. Trout, Reba McEntire, Anita Bryant, Ree Drummond, Henry Bellmon, Shirley Bellman, Jody Miller, Allen Wright, Tom Paxton, Kristin Chenoweth, Bob Burke, Carl B. Albert, Bertha Frank Teague, Bill Tilghman, Carrie Underwood, Debra Coppinger Hill, Black Kettle, Frank Lucas, Patti Page, Billy Vessels, Gregory E. Pyle, Stan Hoig, Susan Powell, Robert H. Rowland, J.C. Watts, Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief, Ben Johnson, Stan Paregien, Jana Jae, Byron Berline, Daniel Paregien, James K. Hitch, Dale Robertson, Tim Holt, Paul Waner, Jim Shoulders, Tommy Franks, T. Boone Pickens, Darrell K. Royal, Bill Grant, Sam Walton, Melvin B. Tolson, Jane Jayroe, M. Scott Momaday, Lauren Nelson, Roberta Paregien, Steve Owens, Clarence Tinker, Tom Coburn, James Garner, Sherri Coale, Father Stanley Rother, Peggy Paregien, Martha Russell, Darrell Russell, Woody Guthrie, Patience Latting, Edgar Cruz, Will Rogers, Wiley Post, Clara Luper, Will Sampson, William Gordon Lillie (aka "Pawnee Bill"), Dan Hodge, and Chief Standing Bear.

Also included are photos of Bill Pickett, David Meyers, Les Gilliam, Martha Gilliam, Jim Thorpe, Overton James, John Hope Franklin, D.C. Minner, Sequoyah, Steve Davis, Barry Switzer, Charles Page, Marques Hayes, Gary England, Enoch Kelly Haney, Gordon Cooper Jr, Dan Boren, Kata Hay, William Grady Stigler, Mike Gundy, Gene Paregien, Stacy Paregien, Wilma Mankiller, Wes Studi, Bob Blackburn, Kings of Leon, Mary Copeland Fallin, LaDonna Tabbytite Harris, Miranda Lambert, John Wooley, Guy Logsdon, Fred R. Harris, Abe Lemons, Sam Bradford, Thomas Stafford, Leonard M. Harjo, Temple Houston, Roy Milton, J.W. Parker, Mary Jo Parker, and Garth Brooks. And there are even more. Obviously, it would be cost-prohibitive to include so many photos--particularly color photos--in a traditional printed book; but not so for an EBook.

Next he finds ways to inject a humorous incident into each and every town listing. And, as an experienced radio personality and a performer of cowboy stories and poetry, he brings a wagon load of them for the reader to enjoy.

You may want to download a copy for your desktop as a handy reference source, plus copies for your smart phone and/or your laptop so that when you go traveling across Oklahoma you'll have this information right at your fingertips. It would also make a delightful gift for visitors to Oklahoma, as well as for those who have had to move out-of-state and would appreciate a reminder of their favorite state. Or consider making it a gift to those you know who need a little humor and sunshine in their life.

The author promises to cover virtually all of the towns in Oklahoma in a revised edition planned for three years or so from now. But for now, don't forget to also download Part 1 - Achille to Nowata.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stan Paregien, Sr
• Release date: May 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301271443

Stan Paregien

Stan Paregien Sr was born in Wapanucka (Johnston County), Oklahoma to Harold and Evelyn (Cauthen) Paregien. The family moved west the year after his birth and he grew up on ranches and farms where his father worked in southern California. One of those places where Harold Paregien worked was the Newhall Ranch, a corporate ranching and farming operation that stretched for miles either side of the highway from the towns of Newhall (now Santa Clarita) to Piru. Stan was already in love with anything cowboy, mostly by watching those great B-Westerns at the local movie theaters. And then on the Newhall Ranch (officially known as the Newhall Land & Farming Company) he and his sister Roberta acquired horses and rode happy trails all over the ranch. Paregien graduated from high school in 1959 at Fillmore, Calif. He married Peggy Ruth Allen from nearby Ventura, Calif., in 1962. They immediately moved to Nashville, Tennessee for Stan to study Speech Communication (and history and Bible) at Lipscomb University. He graduated in 1965. In 1968, he received his master's degree from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Then he completed all 60-hours of the classwork toward a Ph.D. in Speech Communication at the University of Oklahoma (but did not complete his other requirements). He has taken and is still taking continuing education courses in Life Skills through the University of Hard Knocks. He is a former full-time minister, a newspaper reporter and editor, a radio talk show host, a director of mental health facilities in both Texas and Oklahoma, and a salesman of various products. His hobby since 1990 has been writing and performing cowboy poetry and stories. He performed at the annual National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas for a total of some 25 years. Through it all, he has been and is a freelance writer and author. He prefers just calling himself a "storyteller" in the tradition of Mark Twain, Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton, Garrison Keillor, Ansel Adams, Norman Rockwell, J. Frank Dobie, Agatha Christie and others. Sometimes he tells stories through narration, sometimes through poetry and often through photography. Stan and Peggy have two adult children, Stan Paregien Jr who lives with his family in the St. Louis area; and Stacy Magness who lives with her family near College Station, Texas. They also have four grandchildren (going on five, with an adoption in progress) and two great-grandchildren. T...

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Oklahoma Almanac

of Facts & Humor

Part 2 - Okarche to Zafra

by Stan Paregien Sr

Foreword by George Nigh,

Former Governor of Oklahoma

This is EBook contains Part 2 - Okarche to Zafra. The division of this work into two parts was necessitated by the large number of photos which pushed the size beyond the limit for one file.

However, for continuity we have included in Part 2 these introductory remarks from Part 1: (A) Preface to the Foreword; (B) Foreword by George Nigh, former Governor of Oklahoma; and (C) the Introduction by Stan Paregien.

Copyrighted 2013 by Stan Paregien Sr

All rights reserved.

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Smashwords Edition

Version 1.0

ISBN: 9781301271443

Smashwords Edition, License

This EBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This EBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

I lovingly dedicate this volume of Oklahoma humor and facts to six of the most precious people in my life, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I hope each of you may overflow with a happy heart and find ways bring laughter and joy to others. Your grandma Peggy and I love you very much.

Dylan C. Magness

Christal Magness

Daniel J. Paregien

Jodi Paregien Barrow

And her children, Dominic and Bailee

Preface to the Foreword

George Nigh was born on June 9, 1927 in McAlester. And the state of Oklahoma has never been quite the same. He graduated from Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, a junior college, and then from East Central State University in Ada. He began a life-long career of leadership and genuine concern for others by becoming a high school teacher, teaching Oklahoma history, among other subjects.

Then in 1950 he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives from Pittsburg, County. At the tender age of 23, he had become the youngest person ever elected to the state legislature. While serving four terms as a legislator, he continued both teaching and working in a grocery business.

By 1958 he had won election as the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma at only 31 years old, making him at the time the youngest person ever elected to that position in the entire United States. In 1962 he put all of his marbles into a race for governor, but he lost.

However, Oklahoma's famous U.S. Senator, Robert S. Kerr, died in January 1963. Then current governor J. Howard Edmondson resigned and Nigh (for the first of four times) was sworn in as the interim governor. His first action was to appoint J. Howard Emondson to fill out Kerr's remaining term. After nine days as Governor, he went back to a private life. He established his own public relations firm in Oklahoma City. But by the election of 1966 George Nigh's hat was back in the political ring. Once again, he won election to serve as Oklahoma's Lt. Governor. He was reelected in 1970 and in 1974. He wound up with 16 years of service as our Lieutenant Governor.

Nigh's life-long ambition to serve as governor came to pass in the election of 1978. But before he officially assumed that office sitting governor David Boren (who was the U.S. Senator-elect), resigned five days early and George served those five days as Governor. Then he assumed his regular elected term as governor, and four years later was reelected. So he holds the record for being swore into the office of Oklahoma governor on four different times.

By the way, in that last election, in 1982, he won all 77 counties. So when he left politics behind him, he had established a record unlikely ever to be repeated. He served FOUR terms as a State Representative, FOUR terms as Lt. Governor and FOUR terms as Governor (that 9 day term, that 5 day appointment and twice elected). This Dixie Democrat from McAlester earned not only the respect but the love and admiration of people across every social and political line.

Governor Nigh then served with distinction as the president of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond from 1992 to 1997. He wrapped up his full-time work by serving in 2005-2006 as the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.

Never at a loss of words or an eagerness to inject humor into a speech or a conversation, George P. Nigh has always been in high demand as an emcee and as a public speaker. He and wife Donna are universally spoken of as being Oklahoma friendly, charismatic and approachable. I could not think of anyone more appropriate than Governor Nigh to write the following foreword. You can understand, then, why I was deeply honored and grateful when Governor Nigh accepted my request for him to write the foreword for this book.

On May 13th and 14th of 2013 the Oklahoma History Center hosted a seminar on the life and political administration of Governor George Nigh. The speakers for the seminar included four former governors: David Walters, David Boren, Brad Henry and Nigh himself. Neal McCaleb told how in Nigh's first term he himself was the minority leader (i.e., Republican) and as such often rebutted whatever Nigh proposed. And on one occasion, Nigh spoke to the press and then McCaleb followed with a rebuttal. The media went back to Nigh to get his reaction to McCaleb's remarks and all Nigh said was, Well, if you stop at every barking dog you'll never get to town.

Donna Nigh got lots of laughs when she told about when the highly eligible young George asked her for their first date. Her friends kept saying how lucky she was to get a date with this handsome politician. She said, But then later, when we married, I kept trying to figure out where this lucky stuff came in, because he had just finished a campaign and was a hundred thousand dollars in debt. He did not have a house and he did not have a car. I had a house, I had a car, and I wasn't in debt. I never could figure out why I was the lucky one. But as it turned out, I really was the lucky one.

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George and Donna Nigh

Foreword

by

George Nigh,

Former Governor of Oklahoma

Bet you can guess that I immediately started enjoying this new book by Stan Paregien.  I hadn’t even read a word of it but already liked it because it was going to include something about ALL 77 Counties.  The history, the people.  Reminded me again, that no matter how many there are of us, we do better when we are one.  

Then I read the manuscript and, lo and behold, I  continued to enjoy it and am honored to invite you to read about those counties and their communities that make up our history and will provide a great part of our future.

What is really fun is to know where those county names came from.  If you don’t already know, it will make you curious as to  where your home town name came from, or maybe even your schools, colleges, or universities, your work place, your place of worship, maybe even on the street where you live.  There is so much history in a name.

Take some serious information and try to remember to throw in humor and you are on your way catching the attention of your listeners, your viewers, your readers.  Stan does just that.  His combination is enjoyable in those two different ways, making his point and having you enjoy it.  Add to that, he makes it easy to learn a lot of history about our great state and its people.  All 77 counties in case you missed my intro point.

Like so many, I was amazed, as I traveled the state, to see our diversity in so many ways, but always liked it when I saw that although we were so different, we were so much alike.  We came together in 1907 as a Brand new state as the Broadway musical OKLAHOMA! said so amazingly. 

When I taught Oklahoma History at McAlester High, way back then, I started getting itchy about knowing, where did we get all those names?  That was long time ago but it still lets us know our heritage as we plan our future.

Let me close on another mystery about Oklahoma.   When I was Governor, I made industrial calls trying to tell our story so we could create jobs.  I was in California, where the parent company of SEAMPRUFE was located.   They had a plant in my home town of McAlester, and I thought I ought to make a call on them just to say Thanks.  The CEO immediately said Tell me about this Oklahoma mystique.  I thought, Here we go again on that Grapes of Wrath story.

Then he continued, We can’t get any of our management team to move voluntarily to Oklahoma.  We have to force them to go, even sometimes, kinda threatening them.  Then he added,  But once we force them to move there, they won’t ever come back, they threaten us about leaving the company, they will not leave Oklahoma.

Nuff said. Stan’s OKLAHOMA ALMANAC  will make you say I didn’t know that and then smile/laugh at the same time while remembering the Oklahoma mystique.

Introduction

It was in 1962 in Speech 101 class at Lipscomb University (Nashville), under Dr. Carroll Ellis, that I began collecting quotes and jokes. Back then I wanted to be a speech teacher and part-time preacher, and Dr. Ellis impressed upon me that a public speaker must develop a ready reservoir of jokes, quotes and stories with which to illustrate one's speeches or sermons.

That was over fifty years ago, and I am still collecting. My files now contain several thousand short items on 4 x 6 cards, and I have file cabinets stuffed to overflowing with articles on hundreds of topics. I've put many of those quotations into one of my online Ebooks, Quotes for Writers and Speakers:

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I'm sure one of these days I'll stop all this collecting, at least when they close the coffin lid on me. But until then, I am programmed to keep on clipping articles and shorter items. Dr. Ellis did his job well.

That is really how the book you are reading began. A joke here, another there. All added to my collection. And then in 1987, while living out in Laverne, Oklahoma (Home of Jane Jayroe, Miss America of 1967), I started pulling together the best jokes. Then, somewhere along the line, I got the idea of putting all of those humorous stories into a book--like an old almanac, if you will--with some basic data about Oklahoma's towns and people. That's when I really got excited about this project.

Still, why write a humorous history book? Well, I've always enjoyed reading history whenever I could and also telling jokes in sermons and in public speeches. When I did a morning talk show on KSNY radio in Snyder, Texas, I told many jokes each day, and I enjoyed the audience reaction. But it was when I got into writing and publicly reciting my cowboy poetry face-to-face, before live audiences that I was reminded of how good it makes a person feel to bring cheer into another person's heart.

In addition, there is now scientific proof that laughter is truly good medicine. It helps to put our problems into proper perspective. It is a powerful reliever of stress and tension. It actually strengthens our body's immune system, defends us against sickness, and helps us recover faster from illnesses. So I am especially hopeful readers like you will buy another copy of this book as a gift for a friend who may be depressed or sick. And I also recommend Anatomy of an Illness, by Norman Cousins , and Laugh after Laugh: The Healing Power of Humor, by Dr. Raymond A. Moody, Jr., M.D., Laugh Again by Charles R. Swindoll, and The Courage to Laugh by Allen Klein.

Anyway, here you have it. My Oklahoma almanac with facts and photos and a lot of humor thrown in to spice it up. And I will guarantee you this: no matter whether you're new to Oklahoma or whether you have lived in Oklahoma all your life or whether you've never even been to Oklahoma, you will have fun reading this book. What Julie Andrews sang about in the movie Mary Poppins really is true: A little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down.

Primed by some gentle humor, you will learn a lot of history about Oklahoma in the process. There are 77 counties in Oklahoma and this book has insightful information about each and every town which is a county seat, and lots more towns, too. It is about the most painless history course you'll ever take. Look for a revised and expanded edition of this Oklahoma Almanac in three