PAGE 6 THE PERKINS JOURNAL, PERKINS, OKLAHOMA
" EVERY I.ITTER BIT HURTS"
PEIIKINS, PAYNE COUNT~, ~KLAHOMA V"
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Editor and Publishers 1~4~.] ~. ~.~lJ'" "
Published every Thursday and entered as secona class matter at the ~l
Perkins, Oklahoma, Post Office, under the Act of Congress, March 3, M
J 97. i
Subscription Rates: $2.00 a year in Payne, Lincoln and Logan count- I -
~: $3.00 a year if sent ~ at o£ the above mentioned counties. /
~An l know is what I read in the papers--Will Rogers ~ If
emember
Unless you're a newcomer to Perkins, you certainly re-
member Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton, the legendary cowboy,
scout, Indian fighter, mail carrier and deputy U. S. Marshall.
Probably the most colorful citizen in Perkins' history, "Pistol
Pete" was a true character out of the wild and woolly west.
The story of how Pistol Pete avenged the killing of his
father by tracking down and killing five of the outlaws invol-
ved while still in his teens has been written and rewritten,
and told and told again. Ttm tales of his exploits as a crack
shot, as a law officer, and all-around cowboy are endless. The
Perkins Lions club claimed Pistol Pete as the world's oldest
Lions club member ,and no one challenged the statement.
He served as the model for the famous "Pistol Pete" em-
blem which is the official mascot for Oklahoma State univer-
sity, many years ago. His long braided hair, bushy mustache,
cowboy hat and western trousers were as much a part of
Perkins as Main street.
Practically everyone remembers Pistol Pete. Immediate-
ly following his death, local civic groups began making plans
to erect a monument in Perkins in his memory.
Somehow, the plans never took shape. It Is hard for us to
realiz~ that, a few months from now --- on Aprll 8 -- Pistol
Pete will have been gone four year=. And we're no closer to
having some sort of permanent landmark in m~mory of the
pioneer now than we were three years ago.
A monument to Pistol Pete In Perkins would serve to
commemorate an era, a bit of Americana almost totally van-
Ished in the pa~t. It would be a worthwhile addition to the
many points of Interest in Oklahoma which tell of the state's
rich and colorful early days.
Personally, we'd like to see a statue of Pistol Pete. life-
size, long hair, hat, boots, Cott .45 with 11 notches and all on
some prominent location on Maitt street. On the base of the
monument might be a short legend telling of his exploits, and
this quotation from his autobiography:
"Well, so long partner. May the drought never hit your
range. And may you always have a free horse and an easy
saddle on the trail."
It would take some work, but we think it would be worth
the effort many times over. x,Vhat do you say?
A Library Home
}The establishment of a permanent library service in Per-
kits four years ago was a significant mark of progress for
our community. Since that time, grownups and youngsters
alike have capitalized on the new opportunity to read for
knowledge and enjoyment. The individuals neighboring com-
munities and local organizations who pitched in to make the
Perkins library a successful undertaking are to be congrat-
ulated.
The time has come, we believe, for the community to
consider establishing permanent facilities for the library. The
books are now located in a part of Neal's Shoe Shop. Mrs
Arvil Neal, who has served as librarian for Perkins has done
a commendable job, putting forth much more time and energy
on the job than the Day warrants.
The present space is inadequate, .not only in that library
users have no chairs nor desks avai~alMe, but there is not
enough room for all of the books to be shelved. Our library
is growing.
During the past few months, we have heard several sug-
gestions concerning the establishment of permanent library
facilities, the most frequently-mentioned making use of the
present C~.y Hull in some manner. T/qs would be the most
cc~:-.~.,-~':~-" ~~u'~c, a:a~ p"~bob?:: the mo~t 9"actical.
Personally we wouldn't care how permanent facilities
were established; as a separate building, an addition to City
Hall, or the filling of one of our empty buildings on Main
street.
We would like to see facilities available so that readers
can use the library to greater advantage. It is a fine service
to the community now, but It can be even better.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1962:
Passing through the valley
of weeping they make it a
place of springs.
--(Psalms 84:6).
Begin this ."car anew with
Cod Discard old thoughts.
Change old habits. Release
old limitations. Re-order your
life, Give thanks to God for
this opportunity to begin
anew.
Other Editors'
There has been considerable
discussion around town about
the increase in property taxes
in Wellston which has been
mainly due to the sewage bonds.
It proves that you get what you
pay for and you pay for what
you get and eventually it all
goes down the ol sewer anyway.
Ben Gerdes in the We~lston
N ews.
Perkins Has A Brilliant Future
Preparations for Expansion and Future Growth Are Imperative
(From the Dec. 18, 1925 issue of the Perkins Journal)
Opportunity is knocking at
our door, and Perkins should be
prepared to receive the visitor
with open arms. Take time by
the forelock, prepare a feast
that will please your visitor and
thus lay a foundation for future
growth that is sure to come.
With a well developed oil
field only five miles northeast of
Perkins, and proven territory
coming closer each week, we
cannot help but anticipate fut-
ure poa~bi,lities. With product-
ion only two miles south, and
with the promise that the two
pools will soon he one, it be-
hooves us to burn all bridges
in the rear, and prepare for a
wonderful increase in business
activities and expansion in the
near future.
Our water supply ia abund-
ant, but we lack fuel and power,
which lies at our very door.
We must have electricity! The
most consistant service can be
secured from a high line. The
time was never more opportune,
and the future success of our
town depends on the interest
displayed by the Commercial
Club. The line has been built to
Mehan, only seven miles dist-
ant, and we believe the corpora-
tion would consent to an extens-
ion of the line if sufficient pre-
sure was brought to bear.
The fuel ~ltuatton demands
our immediate attention. The
business and residence section
of Perkins is piped for gas, only
awaiting the tapping of the
mair~. This is one more task
for t.'m civic organization.
Perkins is bound to grow and
expal:d, but we must not wait
for prosperity to be thrust upon
us we must be prepared to meet
this welcome ~.sitor.
Let our slogan be: "A larger
and mute pLog~-esz~ve Perkins."
It's the Law in Oklahoma
Liberty's Blessings Taken For Granted
There are times when we take
the blessings of liberty which are
ours as American citizens too
much for granted.
We can feel ashamed too. be-
cause we are likely to accept them
without a second thought and be-
come inclined to let the other fel-
low take most of the responsibility
for protecting our personal inter-
ests.
As Americans we always haw•
had a distaste fo- war. and await
the peak of war to feel and ex-
press our patriotism. In our years
of peace we are most likely to let
things ride. We make little jokes
about the speeches on Memorial
find our freedoms written down,
and find the mechanics for retain-
ing these freedoms. The Constitu-
tion was written by the people
themselves. Words may have been
put into order by experts, but the
thoughts came from persons like
you and me who declared: Here
is the maximum power we are
willing to surrender to the nation-
al government. We think is suff-
icient, and if we see the need for
granting more power we'll do It
after everyone has had the chance
to thing it over.
Amending of the Constitution
purposely was made difficult, yet
ten amendments were added al.
Day and the Fourth of July be- most immediately. This was done
cause we're uneasy about show- because your grandparents and
The criteria of a successful
chamber of commerce is a
membership that supports its
program of work with ample
funds and ample physical assist-
ance. The support that a busi-
ness or professional firm sub-
scribes as its fair share of the
total cost of sustaining the
chamber of commerce cannot be
measured by the number of
memberships it maintains. A
more accurate yardstick is the
actual amount of time and mon-
ey invested.
--- Barney in the Cherokee Re-
publican,
Selling does not have anything
to worry about along the neg-
ative approach line. This is a
positive plus town and just take
a look around and see. In the
new year even more of the im-
provements that make a long
list will be apparent and a succ-
essful and progressive year lies
ahead.
--- Bob Evans in the Dewey Co--
unty News.
With football out of the way
until September, our attention
is now turned to the political
battles. This should be a good
year for the politicians. Things
will warm up pretty soon since
the primary was advanced to
May 1.
---Torn Constabile in the Dun.
can Eagle.
As a service to Garber resi-
dents and to reduce fire hazards
in the town, the Garber fire de-
partment has arranged to sup-
ply fire extinguishers to anyone
in Gerber at prices much lower
than they 'can be bought else-
where. The department will
have several different types of
portable extinguishers and can
give good advice on which type
needed for any particular buil-
ding. If there is any profit in
the project, it will go to the
Firemens local fund, and will
be a benefit to the community.
Chief George Logan says that
they expect to display these ex-
tingu_~shers at Bradshaw's store
and he invites inspection.
-- R.F. Kirkpatrick in the Gar-
be,r Free Press,
ing emotion to others, mine wanted to make doubly sure ~'~ ma
Our granddads made nobone.~ that there would be freedom of ~ly h.bors
about a rip-roarin' and gloriou~s the press, speech, and religion;
Fourth, being close to the rugged that each of us would have the r---~_~--~£~-.~.
stock that wrote down the prin-right to speedy, public trial before ~110~£1~ ¥#~$r0~ ]
ciples which make us strong to-an impartial jury; and that dozens U ~d~~ ~ ~1
day. They took a personal inter- of other specific freedoms in the ~ .~ e~
Bill of Rights would be guar-~~([~_~
eStworker].in seeing that those principles anteed in black and white.
Yc at" r to.) r"*cn Io~e gig"" (This colum::, :,rcp.~-ca by V" ('.:"> "~:" ":~:" Ir~'.7 'I ":~'~':'..~
of who made up the group of Oklahonm Bar Association, is " W
Americans known as "We, the written to Inform---not to advise.
people" Who created our Constttu- No person should ever apply, or
tion; and lose sight of the factinterpret any law without the aid
that there are ways of fighting for of an. attorney who is fully advis-
our Constitution, and t#o'r our con- ~ Concerning the facts involved, i
stitutional right, without putting because a slight variance In facts
on a uniform and carrying a gun. may change the appllcafdon of the ~ ~[~/'~ O~ ~ ~
It is in our Constttutlon that we law.) .............. .~.~a :,a~,~,
