The Ryan High School football homecoming game held a lot of excitement for anyone that braved the swarms of mosquitoes that don’t yet realize that according to the calendar it is supposed to be fall.  The Ryan Cowboys came out on top in a hard fought ballgame against the Caddo Bruins with a final score of 30-20.  With all the penalty flags that were thrown and the injury timeouts, the game took longer than normal.  At halftime the homecoming queen was coronated.  I am sure is was a difficult task to pick one out of the seven young ladies that were vying for the crown, but Lily York was chosen and crowned by her escort.  Ms. York and several other young ladies have served this football season as water persons/equipment managers for the team.  During the second half, Lily did her job of handing out water to the thirsty and fetching ice for the injured, all the while wearing a tiara.

     The Ryan Jr. High School softball team won their final game this season against Geronimo.  Well done young ladies.

     Ryan Cowgirls are the 2019 Chick-fil-A North Rock Creek High School Girls Cross Country champions.  This group of young athletes have put Ryan Cross Country in front of everyone in the state and made them set up and take notice.  Most of the time they were competing against much larger schools and the team can stand proud of the job they have done.

     Put October 10th on your calendar.  The Ryan Future Farmers of America are holding their labor auction at 6:30 pm at the high school cafeteria.  Finger food will be available and a dessert auction will follow.  Come out and support the FFA chapter and get something good to eat.

     This week Christmas On the Trail started selling sponsor spots on the commemorative t-shirts that will be sold to help pay for this years festivities.  If you are interested you can make contact through the Facebook page by the same name or contact us at either The Beaver Creek Mercantile or at The Local.

     This really isn’t a plug for the store at which I work.  The truth is that I spend more time at the Mercantile than I do at any other single place, so if anything of interest is to happen then most likely that is where it will happen.  Case in point, just the other day, two fellows came in and after we all said our howdies, one of the gents said “we aren’t from around here”.  This was obvious even to me, but it’s possible that he thought that I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed.  People usually have to get to known me before they come to that conclusion.  Turns out these visitors call Perth, Western Australia home.  Peter and Colin are taking their month long holiday to travel across the United States, roughly following Route 66.  Occasionally something will catch their attention and off they go on a side trip.  On arriving in Texas, they decided that they wanted to see Dallas.  It was on their return trip north that they found themselves in beautiful downtown Ryan, Oklahoma.  Colin was documenting the trip by taking photos with his phone and both were more than able to hold their own in the storytelling department.  Peter brought with him 12 new caps, one for each state that they would be traveling through and at some point he would trade with someone in each state.  There is now as we speak, a Beaver Creek Mercantile cap being worn in Perth, Western Australia.  We also have a cap with a kangaroo on the front on display in the store. 

  I have been remiss in my reporting or lack there of on the activities of the Ryan Beautification group.  If you have been down to the Ryan Business District on Washington then you will have noticed the new Ryan Cowpersons banners that have been installed on the newly repainted light poles.  They are really nice looking, so if you see any of the folks responsible, be sure and commend them for their hard work.

 The school year is drawing to a close and various groups and organizations are having their year end festivities.  The sports banquet is Monday night and the FFA banquet is having theirs Tuesday night.  As I mentioned in an earlier column, the Ryan School Variety show will be Tuesday, May 14th.  Be sure to come out and watch the many talented kids.  

  On Saturday, May 18th there will be a dance sponsored by the American Legion.  There will be concessions available.  There will also be a live band consisting of Bill Roberson, Cary Gore and Gene Chesley.  I’ve heard Mr. Roberson and Mr. Gore play and sing but I believe this will be a first for me to hear Mr. Chesley, I understand he plays a fine dobro guitar.  Be sure and come out and support the American Legion, hear some good music and have a good time.

  For the book portion of this column I will be discussing one author and several of her books.  Angie Debo, in the early and middle part of the twentieth century wrote a great deal about Oklahoma history and also the history of the Native American People and how the government dealt with the people that were moved to make way for westward expansion.

  Ms. Debo was born in Kansas and moved with her parents to Indian Territory as a small child.  Her dissertation, “ The Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic” was published by the University Press and received much praise, but her next book, “And Still the Rivers Run” was more controversial.  This book described how the Five Civilized Tribes were first moved to Indian Territory and then deprived of the very land and resources granted to them by federal treaty.  With the passing of the Dawes Act in 1887, non-tribal members were able, with the help of the very people that were tasked with protecting the tribes, to swindle their way to ownership of what was formally tribal property.  Ms. Debo had a hard time finding a publisher for “And Still the Waters Run”, but it eventually found a publisher with the Princeton University Press.  Angie Debo went on to write among others, “The Road to Disappearance”, The Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma”, “A History of Indians of the United States” and “Geronimo, The Man, His Time, His Place”.  If you have any interest in history, any or all of these books are well worth the time spent finding and reading.

 Until next week.