Oakie's NW Corner...
This week I have been looking back to where we've began -- where
we've been -- where we are now -- AND... where we are headed. I
will let you (the readers) and my Grandmother's treasure
box of memories guide us into the Future with ParisTimes.com
& OkieLegacy.org.
In the Beginning... We would have to step back to 1987
(or was it 1988) when the first "New Paris Times"
family newsletter made it's debute in hard copy form and was snail-mailed
to most of the PARIS cousins and their families during the Winter
holidays as a Christmas newsletter.
The New Paris Times was published with the help, use of
my sister's computer, word processor, printer, copier and a collection
of PARIS family photos, stories.
This was also about the time I started gathering PARIS family genealogy
information. I put together what information I had with other Paris
families old photos, stories. I even started gathering old recipes
-- that is where the Paris Times
Pioneers Cookbook got it's start. Although... I don't have all
the recipes in the online database version of our Cookbook
database.
You don't have to be a PARIS cousin or descendant to submit your
old family recipes. Anyone can submit their old family recipes in
our database cookbook. Just use the form over at our What's
Cookin' Cookbook web page.
If you read our About Us web page,
you will see that during the Fall/Winter of 1995 was one of the
first attempts at designing a webpage and using the electronic medium
with Geocities.com (which merged a few years ago into Yahoo!,
Inc). I remember my first URL -- geocities.com/Heartland/1800
-- that was before I invested in my first domain name -- ParisTimes.com
-- this was all done through the Geocities.com service for a small
monthly fee.
Besides working on the family genealogy... I was doing some
research on a northwest Oklahoma ghost town -- Fairvalley. That's
when the Fairvalley Eagle
came on to the scene. I started it over at paristimes.com,
but web space was running low with the other interests, web design,
sagas and journals that I found myself taking on. That is when I
invested in yet another domain -- wwwpubco.com
-- to keep track of other websites we were designing for others.
It was around April, 1999 that Oakie's
Heart to Heart (free weekly newsletter) made the scene
with encouragement from a few special online friends who encouraged
me to put my uplifting, life observations & stories (written
from the heart) into a weekly newsletter. From 1995 to 1999
I had accumulated over a hundred or so connections (emails)
of friends, family and it has steadily grown today with the help
of The Okie Legacy E-zine.
This was also about the time I started writing a syndicated column
for a northwest Oklahoma local community paper. I was looking at
the world -- learning from my readers -- learning the past -- moving
towards the future. Wherever that was leading me. It all kind of
took on a life of its own and I was just the writer working at improving
my writing -- learning about Oklahoma -- bringing the outside world
a little closer to my neck of the woods... And the other way around.
During That Time... a southern Oklahoma writer handed me
a webpage to design for a notable Oklahoman -- A
Father's Legacy -- recently through his webpage and readers
of The
Okie Legacy (VOl. 4, Iss. 17) it has enabled him to located
a WWII buddy that he had lost contact with. It was shortly after
designing A Father's Legacy webpage that another domain was
created for the collection of histories, legacies and ghost towns
of Oklahoma with some family legacies thrown in. That third domain
was... OkieLegacy.org.
Effort To Get It Rolling... As to the effort to get it all
rolling, looking back it doesn't seem like it took that much effort
because it gradually, slowly grew over the last six years or so
as I grew and ventured into different areas. I have to say that
I never really had a plan at the beginning. I just started with
the family information that I found in my grandmother's treasure
boxes. Things just starting growing and taking on a life of their
own.
The Coolest Benefits... That has to be the little rewards,
emails, encouragements from all my readers where someone has contacted
them and helped them find a long lost friend, relative -- all because
of something they read in Oakie's Journal
(The Okie Legacy). Also, the coolest benefit is hearing the
responses, inquiries, suggestion, etc... from The Okie Legacy
readers.
Troubles & Problems... That has to be finding enough
hours in the day -- days in the week -- weeks in the year to do
and write about all the things, travels and treasures that I found
out there -- AND... those items my readers send in to share with
us all.
Purpose & Future Vision... The purpose is to share the
treasures from my grandmother's memory boxes -- keepsakes that she
stored away during her youthful days. Hoping that someone reading
something on these pages will find a name, link to discovering more
about their ancestors.
Another purpose is to leave a memory of my journey with you all
-- Hoping it encourages you to write, keep a journal of your own
family histories -- Written from the Heart!
~~ Linda "OaKie" ~~
NW Mystery Corner...
This week we explore the State's Rebuttal witnesses that were called
back to the stand after N. L. Miller had testified to bruises, black
eyes and black hand letters given to him by Ms. Oakes.
The State first called George
Oakes back to the stand -- then Mrs.
Oakes (Carrie Howard Oakes) -- Judge
I. W. Lawhon -- Charles A.
Wagner -- Dr.
Saffold. After those Rebuttal witnesses the Defense and State
rested their case and the Court heard the Counsel
arguments.
I have to say... I have not received all of the transcripts
yet and the closing arguments were not among the testimonies that
I have received. They are still being copied as we type this installment
of the Old Opera House
Murder. Click
Here to view a summary of the State's Rebuttal witnesses testimony.
Thanks for being patience with this writer for the last few weeks.
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