My days began in a small Oklahoma town called Frederick. I was the youngest of three, born after the other two were already teenagers. Surprise! Surprise! My mother told everyone she had a tumor to explain her sudden weight gain. At age 37, she was in denial. Just before I was to start first grade we moved to the even smaller town of Tipton. There I was to spend the next twelve years going to church, school, church, Girl Scouts, church, 4-H, band trips with my clarinet in tow, church, and football and basketball games with the same kids. Did I mention church? After graduating as Salutatorian of my class (missed Valedictorian by .004 of a point), I started to work at the one and only bank in town. Two years later we moved to the biggest town around, Altus. I got hired on the spot at First State Bank making more money than I could ever dream of. It was at First Baptist Church in Altus that I met and married the love of my life, my husband Galen, who was from Tennessee and stationed at Altus AFB. After 47 years, he is still the love of my life.
As soon as his four-year tour of duty was over, which kept him in the Central Standard Time Zone, (he wanted to see the world), we were off to Jackson, Tennessee, with our baby daughter Julie, and a dog that hated to travel, even to the vet. Of the five years we were there, eight months were spent in Dayton, Ohio, where Galen was in training for National Cash Register Co. Then it was back to Jackson.
Our son was on the way when my husband decided it was the right time to further his career by taking a job in Minneapolis with a company in the computer field. In those days working in computers was a bit like the military, in that we moved every few years. After four long winters, it was back home to Oklahoma, this time to Oklahoma City. Three years later we were living in Euless, Texas; after five years in the Lone Star State it was back home again to Oklahoma City.
After our daughter was married, she and her dad both started working at Western Electric Company (later AT&T and then Lucent Technologies). They talked me into putting in my application there, and surprisingly I got a job in the personnel department. After almost 18 years I retired as a supervisor in the Production Control Department. We have lived in Mustang, Oklahoma for the last 24 years. Julie and her husband Mike have three grown children.