History
THE PERKINS JOURNAL, Thursday, April 22, 2010 - A5
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Bells and whistles
I remember the signals
that bells and whistles
and other sounds gave us
- past and present.
The land runs of Okla-
homa In the 1890's were
signaled by a cavalry sol-
dier firing a gun into the
air. And also in the early
days firing a gun was a
signal in some towns for
men to come from the
fields or shops to fight
a house fire or help with
some other emergency.
Many farmsteads had
dinner bells. The farm
wife or her children
would ring the bell when
lunch was ready. This
was s signal for the
people working in the
fields. In the days when
animal power or hand
hoeing were practiced,
the bell could be heard.
After tractors and autos
came along, the bells
could not be heard.
(In the years 2010, one
of my daughters-in-law
uses the horn on the car
to call people to lunch.)
The farm dinner bell
would be on a pole in the
back yard. Usually the
bell had a rope for the
bell ringer to pull, but
the bell at my grandpar-
ents Fiala's house was on
a ten foot pole. To ring
the bell, you would shake
the pole.
Schoolhouses often had
bells on top of the build-
ing to be a signal for
pupils that it was time for
school to take up. Often
times the schoolteacher
would have a small hand
bell to, use as an extra
signal.
The 1895 Perkins School
House had a large bell on
top of the building. This
bell has out-lived the
schoolhouse through the
years and is now on dis-
play at the Perkins-Tryon
High School Commons.
In the 1940's when I
was in Perkins Elemen-
tary School, there was a
big clock in the Super-
intendent's office. It
mechanically and electri-
cally set off buzzer type
bells for school take-up,
recess, noon hour, and
school dismissal.
Also in the 1940's,
many church houses had
bells that were rung on
Sunday mornings and
other appropriate times.
Telephones have always
had a ring, but now the
rings can be custom-
ized and can even play
a song. Doorbells have
a ring; but now with cell
phones, when the visitor
arrives he or she some-
times call the resident
from the car to announce
their arrival.
The railroad that
served Perkins, 1900
through 1957. had whis-
tling posts. The upper
part of the posts were
white background with
a black "W" painted on
them. The posts were
located one quarter mile
from each railroad cross-
ing. The posts were a
signal for the engineer to
blow the whistle to warn
county road traffic of the
approaching train.
Referees' whistles are
used not only by referees
but also by coaches and
teachers.
In the 1950's, the siren
by the city hall was blown
at 12:00 noon every day
and was referred to as the
noon whistle.
Now, in the year 2010,
recorded chimes play
familiar songs at 9 a.m.,
12 noon, 3 p.m., and 5
p.m. They are played
for a few minutes at each
time. On weekends the
chimes play at 12 noon
only. During Decem-
ber, Christmas songs are
played. These chimes
can be heard on Main
Street and surrounding
areas.
The chimes equipment
and the street clock in
the center of town were
furnished by the Perkins
Main Street Association
a few years ago.
In the 1960' s and 1970' s,
the Perkins United Meth-
odist Church had a chime
system that was played on
Sunday mornings. The
speakers were mounted
on the building at the
old location, one block
east of Main Street on
Thomas Street. I could
hear the chimes from my
home five miles away if
the wind were in the right
direction.
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Perkins School, 1900, with school bell on top of building.
ments
00tmae
00T00HNORY00V0000
• On April30,1789, George
Washington is sworn
in as the first American
president and delivers the
first inaugural speech, at
Federal Hall in New York
City. Observers noted that
Washington fidgeted while
he reiterated the mixed
emotions of anxiety and
honor he felt in assuming
the role of president.
• On April 28, 1897, the
Chickasaw and Choctaw,
two of the Five Civilized
Tribes. become the first
to agree to abolish tribal
government and commu-
nal ownership of land. The
other tribes soon followed.
finally throwing open all of
Indian Territory to white
settlement.
• On May 1, 1926. Ford
Motor Company becomes
one of the first compa-
nies in America to adopt
a five-day, 40-hour week
for workers. Manufactur-
ers all over the country
soon followed Ford's lead,
and the Monday-to-Friday
workweek became standard
practice.
• On May 2, 1933, the
modern legend of the
Loch Ness Monster is born
when a sighting makes
local news in the Scottish
Highlands. The Inverness
Courier newspaper related
an account of a local couple
who claimed to have seen
"an enormous animal roll-
ing and plunging on the sur-
face. ' Scholars of the Loch
Ness Monster find a dozen
references to "Nessie" in
Scottish history, dating
back to around 500 A.D.
• On April 26, 1954. the
Salk polio vaccine field
trials, involving 1.8 million
children, begin in McLean.
Va. On Apr. 12. 1955.
researchers announced
the vaccine.was safe and
effect, ive., andAt .qui¢,ldy
became a standard:part of
childhood immunizations
in America.
• On April 27, 1963, Mar-
garet Annemarie B attavio' s
very first single, "I Will
Follow Him," reached No.
1 on the U.S. pop charts.
The 15-year-old singer,
better known as Little
Peggy March, became the
youngest female performer
ever to top the Billboard
Hot 100.
• On April 29, 1986, in a
game against the Seattle
Mariners at Fenway Park,
Roger Clemens of the
Boston Red Sox becomes
the first pitcher in Major
League Baseball to strike
out 20 batters in a nine-
inning game. Ten years
later. Clemens repeated the
feat, the only player in base-
ball history to do so.
(c) 2010 King Features Synd..
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The curved steel teeth on this harrow efficiently
pulverized the soil through their vibrating action. They
were also tmdamaged by contact with roots and stones
in newly-cleared fields.
As in the above iUustmtion, many harrows were
made with smooth outside guard-rails to prevent them
from snagging on fence posts.
A horse-drawn spring-tooth harrow would be a
meeting
The Oklahoma Historical
Society 2010 Annual Meet-
ing will be held on April
28.29. and 30 in Durant.
Oklahoma at the Choctaw
Casino Resort and Conven-
tion Center.
The theme for this year's
meeting will be "Oklahoma
Cultures in a New Land: A
sense of Community in
Oklahoma." In addition to
Native American topics, the
sessions will offer informa-
tion on a variety of subjects
including Celtic, Anglo.
and Germanic heritage,
freedmen, missionaries.
Choctaw linguistics, sports
and architecture.
To register for the meet-
ing, contact Alma Moore at
(405) 522-5242 or Shelly
Crynes at (405) 522-0317.
Recy ;le.
"°:">" i
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Journal with a
friend.
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