My name is Walter Montgomery. My mother’s name was Edna Stevenson. She was born in Indian Territory in 1907. My mother’s father was Willima Arthur Stevenson and her mother’s name was Edna Margaret Fry Stevenson.
They bought a farm just south of the Canadian River bridge. They lived there for a few years then moved into a house at 411 N. Burford in Watonga. On one side of the house lived ‘Smoke’ Knatenberger, the postmaster. On the other side was the home of the Sherrills who owned a café in Watonga.
My mother graduated from school then went to Oklahoma City to a business college. While she was there she met Virgil Lee Montgomery who lived in a boarding house near the boarding house where she lived. Virgil was from Mineral Wells, Texas. He was working as a tile layer, doing bathrooms and kitchens. Soon they were married and moved back to Mineral Wells. Virgil began working for his brother, Walter, who was very wealthy. Mother had five children when Norma was 6, Rose was 5, I was 3 and Joy was 1 when Virgil quit working for his brother, moved to Tulsa and was not seen for three months.
It was 1937 and the Depression was going strong. Virgil could not find work or support his family. My mother took the five children and moved back to her father’s home in Watonga. She later divorced Virgil for non-support.
My grandfather was retired and my grandmother worked for the county superintendent of schools. When my grandmother died, the job went to my mother, a job she held until 1943.
At that time she became acquainted with Lynn Sions. They dated a few months and in August 1943 were married at Eagle City by Rev. Lester Ewell Dykes. After that the family moved to Oakwood.
We lived at Oakwood from 1943-55. In 1947 my mother and stepfather had a baby who they named Anita. All my sisters and I except Anita graduated from Oakwood High School. I graduated in 1950.
My senior year our high school boys’ basketball team won their first 32 games. The team was ranked No. #1 in the state in their class. The team was expected to win the next game which was against Loyal for the regional championship.
The day before the game was to be played at Watonga, two of Oakwood’s players became sick. One had the mumps and could not play. The other had boils on his hip and one knee. He did play in the game but Oakwood lost by one point.
After I graduated from high school, I went on to Southwestern Oklahoma State at Weatherford on a four-year scholarship.
During the four years that I played on the SWOSU basketball team we won the Sunshine Tournament held at Portales, N.M. twice and placed second once.
In 1953 we won the conference championship, and we played in the NAIA National Tournament at St. Louis, Mo.
We lost to St. Peters of Jersey City, N.J.
After my senior year was over I did not graduate because I did have enough credits. The next school year was 1955. I enrolled in the classes I needed in the morning and in the afternoons I drove to Fay to coach the high school basketball, baseball and softball teams.
That year we had a real good girls’ basketball team but the other teams were not very good. When school was over I returned to Oakwood to help my stepfather close his drug store and move it to Higgins, Texas.
I helped him run the drug store until August 1955 when I volunteered to go on active duty with the Oklahoma National Guard. I had volunteered to go to Korea but by the time I finished basic training the armistice had been signed between North and South Korea. No more troops were being sent to Korea so I was ordered to go to Hawaii for an 18-month tour.
During my time in Hawaii, I played on the special troops basketball team.
The team was mostly made up of former college players. We won the championship of the entire Pacific area. In March 1957 our team came back stateside to play in the all-Army Tournament. We lost to St. Peters College of Jersey City, N.J.
After the tournament ended I separated from the Army and returned to Higgins. I was offered the position as coach at Higgins, where I coached until 1964. I coached one more year, 1965, at Canton.
In 1966 I enlisted in the Army and volunteered to go to Vietnam. I spent one year there and came back to the U.S. and was sent to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga.
While I was there I met my wife, Wanda, and we were married September 1, 1972. We were both 39 years old.
Wanda had two children, William, 13, and Lilly Ann, 9. After we married I was ordered by the Army to go to Germany.
I flew to Frankfort, Germany, but before my family could join me there had to be available family housing. There was none at that time so they stayed in Charleston, S.C.
When my family arrived in Germany we lived at Hanau. The children went to the American school and my wife was employed by the Army as a secretary.
We spent four years in Germany then I was assigned to Fort Knox, Ken. We bought a house nearby but after two years I was ordered back to Germany. We sold the house and my wife and I returned to Germany.
The children were out of high school by then, the girl aspiring to college and the boy working as the heating and air conditioning manager at Savannah State College.
My wife and I relocated to Heidelberg, Germany. Our apartment was on the ninth floor of a high-rise building.
My assignment was as personnel staff NCO of a battalion. My wife again worked as a secretary for the Army.
When that four year term came to an end, we realized that it was time to retire from the Army.
On our return to the U.S. we were sent to Fort Lee, Va.
I was assigned the position as NCO of the central processing center. I held that job from August 1983 until September 1984. I retired from the military in July 1985.
Following retirement I worked 10 years as the manager of mini storage facilities at Newport News, Va., Montgomery County, Md., and Frederick, Md.
After seven years at Frederick I retired again at age 62.
We left Frederick with our furniture in a U-Haul and our car loaded on behind, headed to Tampa, Fla.
We stopped for the night about 100 miles north of Atlanta. We ate at a restaurant with two levels. As we were leaving our upper-level table, my wife fell, landing about 10 feet below, on her back.
She was taken to the hospital and observed overnight. We decided not to go to Florida, but instead went to Lenoir, N.C. We were there six months, then went to Laurel Springs, N.C. for six months. We settled in West Jefferson, N.C. where we lived until 2019.
My wife developed skin cancer and breathing problems related to black mold in our old farmhouse.
In December 2019 I fell while showering and both my wife and I were taken to the hospital. She died in 2020 and I have been at the Walnut Cove Nursing Home since 2020, where I now reside.