School
$
School Dis-
to go to the
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school mill-
for voters
on the
operate the
fund, local
Elementary stu-
dents "Wet and
Wild"-See page
13
New band
room addition
okayed-See
page 2
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Technology
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men have
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Club Presi-
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the annual
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for Monday,
Lions Den, the
go toward
causes
$4 for
under
be served from
tickets avail-
Perkins Lions
at the door.
also reminded
that the
uet will be
February
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l~ick Matheson,
Perkins
lanuary 27 -
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February 1 -
37; Rainfall:
~ehruary 2 -
43; Rainfall:
'the month of
page
is impor-
go to the
renewed or
to The
Dunham,
& Larry
" Jack &
City Ari-
Eva Mae
"Joe & Rena
" Morris &
Oklahoma
Bickell,
to have the
mailed to
see page
.... IOTth ye
NOW in our ar0f servin ...............................
PayneCo nN,,,s Oldest Newspaper
"x:i::i$ x:$ 87: $ :~
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by
by Rick Clark
The late Frank "Pistol Pete"
Eaton will be honored by the
National Cowboy Hall of Fame
with a prestigious "Director's
Award" presented in his name
during Western Heritage
Awards ceremonies March 14-15
to be held at the Sam Noble
Events Center at the National
CowboyHall of Fame in Okla-
• ho a City.
The Director s Award" is being
presented in Eaton's name in
special recognition of his role in
the American West, Lynda
Haller, National Cowboy Hall of
Fame public information direc-
tor, told the Perkins Journal
Monday evening.
Eaton's caricature "Pistol Pete"
is the mascot and symbol of
Oklahoma State University. Al-
though many people do not real-
ize that there really was a "Pis-
tol Pete", those who grew up in
Perkins know that he was very
real.
Frank Eaton was born in 1860
and lived in Perkins most of his
life and at the time of his death
in 1958. He is buried in the
Perkins cemetery. He learned to
II
Hall of Fa
shoot at eight years old; won the
nickname of "Pistol Pete" at 15;
and became a U.S. Deputy Mar-
sha] at 17.
He wrote a colum~ for the
Perkins Journal fi)r many years
prior to his death, "Pistol Pete
Says" and as his autobiography
published in 1952 by Little,
Brown and Company said: "This
is his own story of the colorful,
violent, thrill-packed years as a
cowboy, scout, Indian fighter,
Deputy U.S. Marshal-one of the
few survivors of a vanished era
on the American frontier...a true
veteran of the Old West."
His daughter, Elizabeth Wise,
writes a column in The Perkins
Journal, "Elizabeth's Com-
ments", and carries on Eaton's
wit and wisdom through the
printed word.
The Western Heritage Awards,
sponsored by the National Cow-
boy Hall of Fame and Western
Heritage center since 1961, en-
courages the telling of the West's
story through creative arts. The
bronze "Wrangler" sculpture,
awarded to the principal cre-
ators of winning entries, is an
original work by Native Ameri-
can sculptor John R. Free.
The award ceremonies will be-
gin on Friday night, March 14,
with a welcome reception at the
Hall for honorees and designated
guests. The awards banquet and
ceremonies will be held in the
Sam Noble Special Events Cen-
ter at the Hall Saturday evening,
March 15. A brief video presen-
tation of clips from Frank
Eaton's life will be shown at the
banquet, Haller said.
Tickets to the black tie event
are $110 per person.
The ceremonies honoring
Frank Eaton's life are the culmi-
nation of efforts by Stillwater
resident Lance Millis. Millis be-
came interested in the Eaton
legacy several years ago and
worked with the Perkins Cham-
ber of Commerce, The Perkins
Journal, David Sasser, and
many other interested parties to
get the ball rolling.
Other details about the presti-
gious National Cowboy Hall of
• Fame Western Heritage Awards
ceremonies will be published in
later editions of The Perkins
Journal when they become avail-
able.
Perkins-Tryon Board of Education Member Calvin Roggow,
left, received a plaque and words of appreciation Monday
night for the ten years of service to the district. Roggow at-
tended his last board meeting Monday night.
Roggow, who did not seek re-election, will be replaced by
David Sasser, who ran unopposed, at the March meeting.
SH33 traffic stop
In an attempt to create a safer highway system in Payne County,
state officials approved a plan Monday that alters an area intersec-
tion, Rep. Dale Wells and Sen. Mike Morgan announced.
State maintenance workers will convert a one-way traffic stop to
a three-way stop at the west junction of U.S. 177 and S.H. 33 near
Perkins, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said.
"This has been a dangerous intersection for many years," said
Wells, D-Cushing. 'Records reflect that 37 people have been in-
jured in 28 accidents at the intersection over the past four years.
Currently, through traffic on S.H. 33 does not stop at the junction
where US. 177 merges with the busy state highway, noted Mor-
gan. As a result, motorists traveling sough on U.S. 177 must cross
four lanes of oncoming traffic to turn east onto S.H. 33.
Daily traffic volume at the intersection ranges from approximately
7,400 vehicles on U.S. 177 just north of the junction, to 3,000 ve-
hicles on S.H. 33 west of the junction and 3,300 vehicles east of the
junction.
By Rick Clark
Tryon area residents pled their
case of keeping the Tryon El-
ementary School campus open to
Perkins-Tryon Board of Educa-
tion members during a crowded
meeting held Monday night dur-
ing the board's regular monthly
meeting.
Over 40 citizens from the
Tryon area gave their input to
the board on how and why the
elementary school should be
kept open as enrolment for the
school and the accompanying
state-aid dollars to the district
decline.
Larry Parrish, Tryon Realtor
and businessman, spoke elo-
quently on the need to keep the
school open.
"It is common knowledge that
The new "stop" signs will be installed in six to eight weeks, the we have excellent facilities and
Transportation Department said. teachers andthe kids are getting
a good education," Parrish told
the board. "I understand budget
priorities, but my concerns are-
one, younger children beingthat
far from home (if bussed to the
Perkins campus); two-that bus
ride is wearing on young chil-
dren; 3-Stress-are they ready to
learn after a long bus ride?"
Parrish added that "school is
t~he focal point of a communit'y-
there would be less involvement
from parents.
"Falling enrolment is not a dis-
ease-it's the symptom of another
problem-economics," he said.
"For the last ten years the
economy has dropped-housing
has deteriorated, we lost our
bank.
"We are not sickened to death.
We have a new sewer system,
new park, a contract has been let
on a new post office...new people
have moved in and fired Up
everyone...business buildings
are being restored-old houses are
destroyed and the lots are being
cleaned up.
"We have created a nonprofit
corporation looking at building
a community center, aworking
child care center.
"We're not dying, we are in
transition. Please consider what
is best for the youngsters. Why
close down a functional cam-
pus?" Parrish asked. "We've been
challenged to roll up our sleeves
and we're working on the prob-
lem."
One resident told the board
that "We've only been aware of
the problem for the past 30 days.
Since then we have tbrmed a
large committee that has a lot of
great ideas. The big thing is we
are asking from more
,,youn :, Effie Emerson remembers"life in the
days but appreciates "modern conveniences" '
northwest of Perkins near the growing up years and their went out to look for him and he
my people
remem-
of
place
but
g
"-- but Mrs.
you
that has
she
in this
19, 1898.
and Mrs.
country
,~ "Oklahoma
' The Clark
three
came to
land from
and settled
present-day IXL community cen-
ter. The children Daisy, Mable,
and Nora. The little "Okie" chil-
dren were Roy, Effie, and
Everett.
In a taped interview conducted
by Florence Holbrook a few years
ago during a family gathering,
Daisy, Effie and Roy tell about
their early lives. The family got
offthe train at Guthrie and went
to Crescent to visit with a grand-
mother for awhile before coming
on to the Perkins area. After
finding a farm they wanted, Mr.
Clark traded a wagon, a team of
horses and harness for land that
had been "Soonered'-- which
means someone had settled it
sooner than they were supposed
to. They also tell about their
courting days.
The first home for the family
was a dugout which was already
on the farm. It was later re-
placed by a log cabin built by Mr.
Clark and his brother. The
Clarks farmed and later Mr.
Clark was with the bank at
Goodnight. He was one of the
men who built the telephone
line. Roy said he can remember
hauling the telephone poles
across the river to be put up to
hold the telephone wires.
One very sad time Mrs.
Emerson remembers is the
death her brother Everett. At
about 14 years old, Everett had
gone to drive the cows to the
barn during stormy weather.
When he didn't come home, Roy
had been struck by lightning.
The Clark children attended
a school north of their home and
later they attended the IXL
School. Mrs. Emerson said that
is where her three girls, Maxine,
Thelma and Neoma, attended el-
ementary school there before
coming into Perkins for high
school. Maxine and Harold Mar-
tin live in Perkins; Thelma
Holman lives in Paden, Okla.;
and Neoma Abernathy lives in
Pittsburfi, Texas. There are 16
grandcl~ildren which includes
Maxine and Harold's two daugh-
ters, Carolyn and Helen.
Effie Emerson has been very
involved in community and
Continued on page two
A young-at-heart Effie
Emerson shows off some
beautiful red roses she was
presented at her 99th birth.
day party.
time...we're working on it."
Board President Lloyd Moor-
man said that the board has only
been aware of the declining en-
rolment problem for only 30 days
as well.
The declining enrolment in the
elementary school-at Tryon and
Perkins- was brought to the at-
tention of the board at last
month's meeting by Supt. Jim
Hyder. He reiterated the prob-
lem again Monday night and
spelled out the financial conse-
quences to the entire school dis-
trict of declining enrolment fig-
ures.
"I have to keep tabs on enrel-
ment," Hyder told those present
at the meeting. "70 percent of our
funds come from the state-the
funds go where the students are.
"Enrolment has been declining
in the elementary since Novem-
ber of 1996. Even in the last five
to six weeks students, for what-
ever the reasons, have moved out
of the district.
"We are down 22 students. Per-
Continued on page two
