Our deepest sympathies to Susie Leland and family on the death of her son, Travis “Woody” Leland. A wake will be held on Friday, Aug. 14, from 1-5 p.m. at Persimmon Hill M.B. Church in Enid. A celebration of life will be at the church on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 1 p.m. with interment at Parrish Grove M.B. Church in Oakland.
Lloyd Leland, who passed away in 2022, was his dad and such a good friend of our family from his childhood. The Leland boys grew up just across the road from us and they and my brother, Rich, were always playing or working on something together.
A fun group gathered at the Bob Tyler Fish Hatchery this past Saturday to celebrate their memories of Oakland High School. I know my mom was the oldest person there, representing the Class of 1950. This school consolidated in 1968, so that was the last official graduating class, and they had several class members there. Others of us who graduated after that also showed up to eat and visit. Mike Robinson entertained the crowd prior to lunch with stories he has written about Oakland, most of which appeared to be true. Several included David Herron, who didn’t confirm or deny the accuracy of Mike’s memories.
As always, the food was wonderful and we are all grateful to the people who get this together each year including Joy Mullen and Clyde Massey Callihan. Jeff Herron greeted us at the door and took the food we brought to be added to the large table. I wondered if he was telling the ladies at the table that he had brought all of the food he was delivering! James and I were the only ones from our class year there, but we had a nice, long visit with Mike Flowers, who was a year ahead of us in school.
I also enjoyed visits with the ladies working at the Hatchery on Saturday, Lee Dell Sturgis and Erin Roach. Both are amazing ladies! Lee Dell and I go way back into our 4-H Club days and Erin is a younger and newer friend who is extremely talented in many ways, including being an author. Her sisters are also amazing!
On Saturday afternoon, there was a small group of community leaders in Oakland who came together to share what their groups are working on and what their needs are. The goal of the meeting was to prepare for a meeting to be held in September, but also to determine how we can support and work with each other. Almost all of us need volunteers.
Those gathered reported on the Oakland Lions Club, the Town of Oakland, the Oakland Area Chamber, Friends of Oakland, Friends of the Library, the Oakland Chamber Foundation, Oakland Day, the Oakland Christmas parade, the Oakland Beautification Committee, and Friends of Cossar. We all learned something about activities and events going on in the area and discussed the challenges of communication in today’s world.
We are excited about a meeting in September with area churches to discuss and share the activities and explore how we can work together for mutually beneficial purposes. Small towns and communities need to be creative to bring resources together!
I just learned that Southern Living magazine sent a reporter to Cypress Creek Farm this past week to look at Ross Burney’s amazing watermelon operation! How cool is that? Ross has put his all into this and he produces the best melons you can imagine. If you love watermelon and cantaloupe, you’d better try one of his. They also have peas and corn and other great vegetables.
I have been on an adventure this past week after being called for federal jury duty. I have been called for jury duty before but never chosen because I’ve typically known some of the attorneys or witnesses on a social level. This time, however, I was chosen. So far, I know it is six days of service and could go longer.
As a former newspaper reporter covering federal courts, I learned a lot about the process and procedures, but I am seeing another side of it now. There were initially close to 60 of us called. That number narrowed down after some people met with the judge to explain why serving would be a significant hardship.
During the questioning of potential jurors, I had to admit to having an attorney in the family, to having some “roadside chats” with law enforcement for speeding, and not exercising enough!
That last one was not related to anything, but the judge sharing a small part of his life — he’s nearly 80 but routinely bicycles 30 miles a day and participates in triathlons. Now, there are 14 members with two of those serving in alternate positions. We have had fun getting to know each other, discovering mutual interests or friends.
There is a lot of downtime for jury members as we get sent to the jury room while the attorneys and judge discuss things we have no need to be involved with. We have several quiet ones, several very outgoing ones, and most of us are somewhere in between. There is a class clown who keeps us either laughing or groaning, depending on what he thinks is funny.
We know things are about to get very serious as we make decisions that impact someone’s life. It’s a heavy responsibility.
Mother has had fun company over the past week. Cousin Tommy Ross and his daughter, Tiffany Carr of Dallas, along with her daughter Frances, stopped by. Later in the week, Coach Peggie Gilliam Granderson stopped in. Sister Carol played at Ole Miss with Peggie and then they worked together when Carol was head coach at Ole Miss.
I’m sure there were other visitors, but I only saw Mother briefly at the school reunion. After the reunion, I headed to the community leader’s meeting and she was headed to Cossar State Park for a birthday party for her great-niece who was camping there. James and I headed to Madison as soon as I got out of my meeting. Mother and I were ships crossing at sea this weekend!
