Last week when a couple touring the museum was shown the 1901 wood burning cook stove with the warming ovens the lady told Barbara that her father only weighed 2 pounds when he was born. His mother put him in a box and put him in the warming oven. Her own idea of an incubator. It worked because he grew up, married, and had a family. Barbara said there were visitors every day but one in the last couple of weeks. It is a thrill that people are getting out more since Covid-19 is letting up.
I did some checking to find out about the Jenny Lind dining room table and 6 chairs we have. Jenny Lind was a Swedish soprano opera singer born October 6, 1820. The child of a single mother, Lind began training to sing opera in her tween years. Her picture is carved on the backs of the chairs.
Clay was out several days working diligently on the east side of the house. This is a big undertaking for one man to do by himself. Anthony comes out with him when he can but he has a full time job. We will welcome anyone interested in volunteering to help our volunteer.
In the days before radio, television, cable, or microwave, the newspaper was the settler’s link to the outside world. Most towns had their own newspapers which not only told the settlers about local issues but informed them about national and international events as well. As a result, the man who owned the local newspaper was one of the most important men in town.
On October 12, 1892, the Ferguson family published the first copy of the Watonga Republican. In this issue he outlined his beliefs and principles, swearing to uphold the principles throughout his life as editor of the paper. During its first few years, the Watonga Republican began to attract notice not only in the west but all over Oklahoma.
It took plenty of ingenuity during that period to be a successful house wife and mother, as it did to edit a paper. During the first years in Watonga, everything had to be freighted thirty-two miles by wagon from Kingfisher, through sand trails taking two days one way. Canned beef, tomatoes, corn, dried apples and sorghum formed the basis of the food supplies. Mrs. Ferguson learned to make shirts for her husband, clothes for her boys, and dresses for herself. More to Follow.
Thinking about the small town newspaper reminds me of the Watonga Republican when I first moved to Watonga. It would have paragraphs telling of someone having company from out of town or even family or neighbors over and mention they cooked on the grill or made homemade ice cream. There would be birth announcements and engagements. I guess Facebook has taken its place but for us that don’t do Facebook we miss out on newsy things like that.
The next Ferguson Market will be July 10, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. If you have garden produce or canned vegetables, jellies and such, you bake or cook, do crafts, have older yard tools, puppies, kittens, bunnies, chickens, or eggs, bring them to the market. Call 580-623-5069 for more information or to reserve a spot. Be sure and leave name and call back number if you get the answering machine because we don’t have caller ID.
We hope to be planning the Tea, Halloween Bash, and Breakfast with Santa soon. We’ll need cooks and servers for the Tea. The Tea isn’t just for us older ladies, young ladies are welcome too. You don’t have to dress up fancy. Just come eat, drink, and listen to the presenter. We try to cover a different topic each time. Anyone that likes to dress up for Halloween and help setup and put away for that or someone to play games with the younger ones while the older ones go through the other building are welcome to help. We can always use help with the Breakfast with Santa.
Our hours are Wednesday thru Saturday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We welcome volunteers in any capacity and anyone wanting to become a member of the Friends of the Ferguson Home Museum.