Oklahoma Road Trip

In 2016, I begged my son to take me on his road trip to Oklahoma where he was to enter the FAA Academy. After we arrived in Oklahoma City, I rented a car and drove west to see where my Grandma Gert was born. All I wanted to do was to stand where she once stood.

Readout, Oklahoma

Florence “Gertrude” Rector (1909-1973) did not have a birth certificate (see this post). But I knew that both sets of her grandparents homesteaded in Harper County, Oklahoma. Lottie (Senate) and Milton Rector lived in the same township as Dollie (Pile) and J.E. Garnett.

Portion of a 1910 map of Harper County, OK, Township 27N, Range 25W.

The community of Readout only existed for a few years. Jesse P. Rathbun was the first postmaster.¹Wiggins, Michelle. “Readout, Harper, Oklahoma.” http://www.okgenweb.org/~okharper/library/towns/readout.html. accessed 23 January 2014. According to the map above, there was a Town Hall, a Shop, a School and a Post Office.

The site of Readout, Oklahoma in  2016

When I visited, there was no more town of Readout. Where J.E. Garnett’s Old Kentucky Home stood, there was only prairie. On the site of the Rector homestead, a family lived in more modern buildings.

Local History Sources

Whether in the panhandle of Oklahoma or any other genealogy road trip, one of the best resources are local history societies. Oftentimes, a county courthouse or museum will have items that are one-of-a kind and only available in-person.

The Harper County Courthouse in Buffalo, Oklahoma housed the original school census records. This handwritten page was from a small booklet and contained the earliest documentation of my grandmother’s birthdate (and Pettris Garnett Rector’s signature).

Much to my dismay, the Buffalo Museum did not have any family history to add to my grandma’s story.

Because my grandmother’s youngest brother was a spokesman for Beaver County’s World Championship Cow Chip Throwing Contest, I knew that I had to visit that county. I hoped that their local museum would have more family information. So, I traveled one county further west into the panhandle.

Beaver, Oklahoma

In 1970, the Beaver Chamber of Commerce came up with the idea of the World Championship Cow Chip Throwing Contest to increase tourism. Great Uncle Ralph Rector was a Chamber member at that time.  And … I heard that there was a larger-than-life parade float. So westward, ho!

Yes, I am that silly²Karrie Blees with the Parade Beaver in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma. September 27, 2016.

The best part of my trip to Beaver was finding the local history museum, just south of the city limits.

Watch for next week’s post. There is more to learn about the Rector Family.

SOURCES

• 1
  Wiggins, Michelle. “Readout, Harper, Oklahoma.” http://www.okgenweb.org/~okharper/library/towns/readout.html. accessed 23 January 2014.
• 2
  Karrie Blees with the Parade Beaver in Beaver, Beaver County, Oklahoma. September 27, 2016.