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Designed by Will Sanders TimeMaster antique clocks |
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OLD GREER COUNTY WESTERN HERITAGE ASSN.
In the Lawton Constitution I read a review of a book titled “Unquenchable” by Robert Glennen. It condemned America’s wasteful use of water. I immediately thought of my mother. Not for the reason you may think but because she could do more with less water than anybody I ever knew. A few years after marrying Dad they moved to the farm south of Mangum. The water resources were minimal at best. The cattle watered from earthen tanks dependent on scant rainfall (He did eventually drill a well for the pens but the water was so salty cattle had to be forced to drink it) and the previous owners had cisterns which relied on the same amount of rain. During dry times hauling water from town was the only option. Having spent her first twelve years on a ranch two miles south of Highway 9 about halfway between Vinson and Reed (they depended on cistern water, too, and had their water hauled from Jay Buckle Springs by T.J.Barton) she adapted to the situation quickly. Some of the water saving recommendations found in the book Mom practiced everyday. Low-flow faucets, I guess that’s what we had. At bath time the water was pretty low. About two inches in a No. 2 washtub. And if it wasn’t too dirty, she would warm it with a little water from the teakettle and tell the next bather, “Don’t splash any on the floor!” She continued her frugal ways even after she moved to Mangum. I never heard her say, “I’m going to soak in the tub.” It’s hard to enjoy a good bath when the water barely covers your tush. Some of the statistics in the book are hard to believe. The reviewer quotes the author when he writes “Americans consume 270 billion gallons of water each week to maintain 23 million acres of lawn.” I tried to figure how much water that was per acre but the zeros kept getting in the way. It wouldn’t matter to Mom anyway because our yard saw the same amount of water the cistern did. She wasn’t a yard person. Growing up, her front yard was a gyp rock and the back yard cattle pens. She never developed a desire for lawn care. If there was grass, green or brown, and Dad kept it mowed, she was satisfied. The statement that really caught my eye was “toilets, odorless, composting toilets, and incinerating toilets.” I think we had the first kind except it wasn’t odorless. In polite company it was “the little house out back,” to everybody else it was the outhouse. And on cold January mornings the seat sometimes made your backside feel on fire. If Mom was alive today, she would make a good Secretary of Water Conservation. One of the memories my daughters have of her is, when they went to her house in town after school to get ready for some evening event, her ears would be tuned toward the bathroom. And many times they would hear, “Don’t let that water run!!!” The association will have the chuck wagon at Vinson Day, Saturday, April 3. Any members interested in riding in the parade as a group may contact me at 675-4536. Besides the parade, there will be entertainment, food, and lots of visiting. Come and enjoy the day in one of the historic towns in what was once Greer County, Texas. Vinson Day will be the first of many events where the association will have the art work donated by local artists on display. For a small donation you will receive a chance to win one of these art pieces. Other upcoming events will be our booth at the Mangum Rattlesnake Derby the last weekend in April, our Spring Trail Ride Many 14 & 15, and the chuck wagon breakfast at the Wild West Days in June. The next association meeting will be Monday, April 19, 7:00 pm at the new meeting place, The Mangum Housing Authority on East Lincoln Street. Anyone may be a member of our organization and everyone is welcome to attend our meetings. For more information contact us: 580-782-9230; 580-782-2685; 580-782-2891; 580-683-4271 or greercowesternheritage.com or P.O. Box 277 Mangum, Ok. 73554.
By: Curtis Bell |
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