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10 April 2006 -
Monday
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Tom awoke early and
headed into the house to shower while Fred stayed in for a few more
winks. Knowing the Tom was one to enjoy
a long shower Fred wasn’t surprised when he didn’t return shortly, but as
time went by it was time to get up to investigate. He found Tom and Helen at the computer where he was
demonstrating features of her Family Tree Maker program. Soon Don and Linda arrived and we were out
the door heading for the IHOP. Poor
Tom never did get a chance to shower that morning! Our breakfast was memorable because of Helen’s stories of how
her father received a crippling gun shot wound during a Sheriff’s raid of an
illegal poker game, and how her mother fed and kept the family together
during those desperate days during the 1930’s Depression by making bootleg
beer. Departing with this delightful family was difficult for us. With hugs all around we christened Helen as
our “Texas Mom”, and Don as our “Texas Brother”. After we got into the van we set to figuring out how to get out
of town. We knew that we wanted to go
west on U.S. 82 but weren’t sure how to get there. Sure enough there was Don still keeping an eye on those two
boys from out East. He told us to
follow him up to U.S. 82, which we did.
We departed Sherman, Texas with friendly waves from both vehicles as
we headed west to more adventures in western Oklahoma. At Wichita Falls we
got on U.S. Highway 287 west where we turned onto U.S. 187 and began our
drive north into Oklahoma. At about
3:00 pm we arrived in Woodward
County, Oklahoma. The van now had
well over 3,000 miles on the odometer and was ready for it’s first oil
change. On the way into city of
Woodward we stopped at the Ford dealer to inquire about getting it done. Fred scheduled an appointment for the next
morning and also inquired about a good place to eat. Our plan was to camp that night at Boiling Springs
State Park located just 6 miles north east of town. Upon our arrival we were able to find a
nicely sheltered campsite out of the constant wind. After paying the $15.00 fee at the camp office, we returned to
Woodward. As the restaurant
recommended to us would not open until 5:00 pm we went looking for the Rest
Haven Cemetery where our great-grandfather Jeremiah |
E. Moreland was buried in 1901.
Eventually we found it located about 9 miles west of Woodward near the
town of Tangier. Both of us anticipated this event in our journey as we had
visualized standing out on the wind swept prairie at the site where our
ancestor was laid to rest. We did not
realize though how ferocious the wind really could be. Not only was it quite bothersome to us we
also noticed that several stones including Jeremiah’s had been literally
blown over by the constant turbulence.
We quickly took photos of the weathered stone’s that designated the
final resting place of our Jeremiah, his adopted daughter Pearl Moreland
Thomason and her son Wesley and gladly retreated to the comfort of the van.
Rest Haven Cemetery, Tangier, Woodward Co., OK
Following this we drove back into town and had ourselves a really
fine steak dinner with all the trimmings.
Upon returning to the campground Fred phoned his wife Lynn as it was
their wedding anniversary. Tom also took
the opportunity to contact his wife Stacey.
By 9:00 pm we were ready to turn in for the night. The wind had died
down, the air was sweet and cool and the temperature was perfect for getting
a good sound sleep. It was not to be, as it seemed that every hour a train
would go through Woodward blaring horns at each crossing. We rated this campground at about a “3”
while taking the train noise into consideration. |
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