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followed Maude Ragsdale as she
and her family trekked across the
Red River Valley to settle in Hollis,
Oklahoma, which at that time was
in the disputed area of Greer
County.
In this two part essay, Martha
Giles recounts Maude's early
years as a beautiful young
woman in some of the harshest
territory in the United States.
Bitter Creek, in Indian Territory
Hollis, Oklahoma was a flat and windy place. Viola, Maude’s mother complained that the wind always blows there.
Their farm, just outside of Hollis was flat and windy, too. But it was filled with row upon row of cotton and their hope for
the future. The sandy soil, in close proximity to the Red River, produced a fair crop of the white stuff.
As the Ragsdale girls and Buddy grew older, they went with their father to work in the fields chopping cotton, then
harvesting cotton. Later, their younger brother, Floyd joined their ranks. Chopping cotton came shortly after the plants
achieved about four inches in height. It was then that extra or weak plants and weeds were chopped from between the
plants and rows so that each plant would have a better chance to mature into a healthy, productive plant.
The girls wanted to be fashionable, which meant, in those days, keeping their skin lily white. In order to do that, they
had to cover themselves from head to toe in long-sleeved dresses, a prairie sun bonnet, and long gloves while working
in the fields. Maude hated chopping cotton and working in the fields. But it had to be done and she didn’t complain.
Maude much preferred romping around, climbing trees with her brother, Buddy, her closest and dearest family friend.
She could ride a horse as well as he could, and they loved to go exploring across the plains. One day they found an
arrow head and it frightened Maude to death. She scurried back to the house to tell Papa.
Climbing trees and riding horseback didn’t hide Maude’s skin too well from the ever relentless sunshine there. So, she
wound up getting a rather freckled face. Eventually, she had so many freckles that she said they all grew together into
one big freckle. Freckles or not, she was a beautiful young girl.
In the summer, all the girls would cool off in the horsetank. They wore old, worn-out dresses and cooled themselves in
the only body of water available. Sometimes, they would picnic on the Red River which was only a mile or so from
Hollis, but they never tried to swim in its dangerous waters or go near the sandy edge which had places of quicksand in
its banks. Besides, none of them could swim. Maude would say, “I dive like a feather and swim like a rock.”
When the circus came to town, it was a thrill for everyone. The men and ladies of the circus rode into town on the
backs of elephants and horses with fancy harness. Some of the ladies stood on the backs of the horses and did fancy
tricks off their backs. They wore fancy costumes of tights and tutus that sparkled and flashed in the sunlight. A giant
calliope tooted out fascinating tunes and was followed by clowns who cavorted around, weaving in and out of the
crowd. Muscular men, wearing tights, lifted ladies into the air and tossed them about as if they were light as air. It was
all so thrilling.
When Maude and Buddy came home, they strung a rope between two trees and tried to walk the tight rope, holding an
umbrella for balance. Nothing in their whole lives had ever been so exciting—unless it was the day that the
photographer came to their house and took pictures of their house and animals with the family standing in front of it.
That was an exciting day, too.
Most of the year was filled with farm chores and school. All the Ragsdale children went to the new school that was
built on the land that their father had donated for that purpose. The one-room schoolhouse resounded with children of
different ages, from first to eighth grade, practicing their times tables or reading aloud to an older student. Maude was
good in school. She was a good speller, reader, and could do her arithmetic well.
In October, when the cotton had completed its growth cycle and was ready to be harvested, school was dismissed for
several weeks while the school children took part in the harvest. It was then that they would haul ten foot long cotton
sacks, strapped over one shoulder, between the long rows of cotton. It was backbreaking work and their hands would
be cut numerous times from the sharp edges of the cotton bowls. Families picked cotton from dawn to dark, stopping
only to eat a quick meal and to take a short rest. It was always a race against rain. If it rained, it could ruin the cotton.
No one liked to pick cotton but it had to be done. Once it was done, the cotton was taken to the cotton mill. If they could
get a good price for the cotton, it was a good year. After the harvest of cotton, the children returned to school.
School also doubled as a church and social center. On Sundays, the various religious groups took turns holding
services. One Sunday, the Baptists would hold services. The next Sunday, the Methodists, and so on through the
entire village’s represented churches. But, everyone went every Sunday because it was the thing to do. Sunday meant
going to church and that was the sum of it.
A preacher known as a circuit rider came through most Sundays to conduct a service and preach a sermon. These
were itinerant preachers who would travel from one town to the next, preaching and holding services and baptizing any
who needed such a thing, and completing a circuit of churches assigned to them. Members of the church who had a
strong voice acted as song leaders.
Occasionally, a circuit-rider-music teacher would come through town and teach everyone who was interested, how to
read music in a short period of time. They were taught by a method known as shaped notes. The notes were assigned
to a conventional music staff, like you see in most songbooks today, but each note had a different shape. The first note
of the scale, known in Latin terms was “do” and it was a triangle shape. “Re” was a circle, “mi” was a square, and
“fa” was a diamond and so on up the scale—a different shape for each note of the scale. Keys were indicated in the
conventional manner with a certain number of sharps or flats at the beginning of each line of music and “do” was
always placed on the line or space of the indicated key signature. In a matter of two or three weeks, a person could
learn this system and be reading music quickly.
Since there was not a lot of entertainment available, singing was an important part of life in those times. Families
would gather together after supper, haul out fiddles, guitars and sit at their pump organs or pianos, singing and playing
until it was too dark to see. Then it was bedtime. The Ragsdales were no exception. They sang almost every night
before bed, and everyone in the family could play an instrument.
Maude could play a guitar and the organ. She even took lessons on the pump organ. She said her teacher was mean
and would whack her across the knuckles if she made a mistake. But she persisted until she could play well enough
to accompany the family in singing church hymns and popular songs of the day.
Social events consisted of Sunday dinners on the ground, box suppers, and barn dances. Sunday dinners on the
ground were for special events and were held occasionally. Box suppers were for the young unmarried teenagers,
primarily, and were often held at the school. Teenage girls would fix a supper for two and put it in a box; then decorate
the box with ribbons and bows and various items of lace or colored paper. These were placed together on a large
table with other boxes, and the young men would bid on them. If a girl had a sweetheart already or wanted to get one,
she would somehow let it be known which was her box so that her fella would bid on her box only. Once the box was
bid and won, the two would share the contents of the box.
Barn dances were popular and often were held around harvest time after the crops had been brought in. Usually, a
small orchestra of four or five men would play for the dances. Instruments played were usually fiddles, guitars and an
occasional banjo or mandolin. The type of dances danced were square dances. A “caller” would call out the dance as
the musicians played.
A boy who wished to court a girl was allowed to come to her house and they could visit together alone in the parlor.
He could also take her to a dance or social event if he obtained permission from her parents first. They often went to
dances in a two-seater buggy known as a “hug-me-tight”. Maude dated in such a buggy.
Maude’s first serious boyfriend was John Branum. John and his sisters and brothers were school chums of Maude’s
and her sisters and brothers. They all went to school and church together and knew each other well. John was a
member of a farming family, just like all the other families that Maude knew. Maudie and John often double dated with
Maude’s younger sister, Lily and her boyfriend. Maude and John went to all of the social occasions and church
together. Papa Ragsdale approved of John Branum.
steal her heart?
Find out in Maude's Wedding!