A Beauty Queen and Auf Wiedesehen!

Since I lived in Oklahoma only about a year - the first year of my life - I've decided it is now time to leave the place behind and move on to my next home.  Before I do, however, I wanted to explore a few more memories.


First, why was I living in the small town Sentinel, Oklahoma in the first place?   Well, my dad was born and raised in a nearby county, Roger Mills, Oklahoma.  He met my mother in Washington D.C., however,  during WWII.  My mom, who was from South Dakota, was working for the F.B.I. in D.C., and my father, who had finished college as a pharmacist, had joined the Navy and was stationed nearby.  In short, they met, fell in love, married and then moved to Oklahoma after the war to start a family.   My dad partnered with an old pharmacy classmate to run a drug store in town.  

This is a picture of him in "downtown" Sentinel at the time:

                                                                                   

And, this is picture of my older sister and I somewhere in town: 

(I don't know why they had so many wheels stacked against the wall.) 






Sentinel's Miss America!         

My mother used to tell us that a neighbor, and friend of my sister's, became a Miss America beauty queen.    The story was true!   Our neighbor, Jane Jayroe, was awarded the Miss America title in 1967.  

It appears to me it was a well deserved title.    I think she is very pretty in this picture when she was crowned.


There is, undoubtedly, much more for me to learn about my hometown of Sentinel and rural Washita County.   Maybe someday I will actually visit the community again to further explore its places, people and stories.