Sunday, September 4, 2011

Cool and Quiet!

Cool and Quiet. The watchwords for the day. The temperature allowed us to operate sans air conditioning ALL DAY, for the first time this summer. So, there was no infuriating and constand buzz of the a/c. And, compared to yesterday, it was a quiet day in regard to visitors, too. Oh, we had plenty, but it was a far cry from the pandemonium of yesterday's Clean Up occasion.

Our visitors came from Wusterhof Germany, Tulsa OK, Capetown South Africa, Joplin MO, Sapulpa OK, Muskogee OK, Kalamazoo MI, and St. Regis Park MN.

The visitors from Joplin grew up in Afton and happened to have this photo with them, which they gave to me. (My scanner is being stubborn, so this is a photo of a photo. I'll show a better one when I get my scanner working.) Here's a gentleman named Wilton Cunningham, shortly after WW I, standing near the corner of 1st St. (Route 66 prior to it being Route 66) and Main St. in Afton. He's the grandfather of the visitors from Joplin. I love this photo, which shows Livingston's Dry Goods, the pool hall and the bank, all of which no longer exist. The street is dirt. And look! A ferris wheel! At one time, Afton apparently had a carnival come to town. This photo is so wonderful!
These folks from Muskogee were roaming around Route 66 for the long weekend. The boys made a beeline for the squashed penny machine, as kids so often do.
Joe, the dialysis technician who cares for me, and his wife came for a short visit. It's always fun to have Joe visit. Betty W. also spent part of the morning with us. Frank Gierhart from Sapulpa, a member of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association also visited and brought me an incredibly thoughtful gift. . . a beautifully framed copy of the article about me which was published in last Sunday's Tulsa World newspaper. Thank you so much, Frank! And of course, Ron M. was there, totally helpful as usual.

If anyone reading this has ever heard of Tumlin's Trading Post, which once did business in Afton (probably pre-1940s), please let me know. I was given a momento of the business by a friend and can't seem to find anyone who remembers it. I look forward to solving this mystery.

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