March 12th was a favorite day of

Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Whisler celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their home, 232 N. Wickoff Avenue. Mr. Whisler, who came to Blaine County in 1902 is credited with being one of a small group of pioneers who are responsible for the fine herds of outstanding livestock in the county. He served as president of the State Shorthorn Breeders Association for two terms and was on the Board of Directors of the 1920 Southern American Livestock Show.

The Blaine County Breeders Association presented them with a plague that read, "In presenting this gift we are reminded of your pioneering efforts building this state, this county, and this community in which you live. ... we are ever mindful of the fact that you pioneered the field of purebred livestock in this county and that you were a charter member of the First Purebred Livestock Association in Blaine County and that you are now listed as an honorary member. With best wishes,

J. H. Craven
E. H. Lookabaugh
A. C. Dickens
C. T. Scott
G. B. Neely
Lee Awtrey
Floyd D. Dowell

Raymond Neely
J. H. Geeslin
Ed S. Wheelock
J. E. Bouse
Warren Rice
H. F. Lookabaugh

Their Golden Wedding Anniversary was truly a golden occasion for them, especially since both sets of parents had lived to celebrate theirs. Once again all of their children returned from their various locations to help them celebrate.
(l. to r.) Robert of Bowering, Hubert of Cisney, Illinois, Hazel Galloway, Maburn of Wynona, Lois W. French of Wagoner, Lenna Womack and Everett

Early in the 40's, Bud Womack built a home at 404 W. 3rd St. using mostly the lumber from the old grain elevator on the home place. the elevator was no longer needed so J. R. had it torn down. Bud and Lenna had made it into a nice bungalo type home and lived there for few years. when Bud's work necessitated them to make a move away from Watonga, J. R. bought Bud out and moved into this house.

They lived in this house in 1945 when Maburn passed away. This was a very trying time for them since his body had to be shipped back from California.

This is a picture of the house at 404 W. 3rd St. the people are Ralph Jr., J. R., Nora, Lenna and friends Clara and Ray Dewey.

Not long after this, around 1946, J. R. bought a house on 2nd St. adjacent to where they were building the new First Baptist Church. It was just a block and a half from the Post Office and was their home as long as they both lived. It was handier for J. R. because he could walk to the Post Office or the store without having to get his car out of the garage. It was handier for church, too, and J. R. hardly ever missed a Sunday. Nora attended as often as her health permitted. I think they both enjoyed that place better than any since they left the farm. A picture was taken of the house when the children were there recently.
Above is the house they bought in 1946 located on 2nd street. Many happy days were spent here and several events of their lives happened while they lived here. J. R. and Nora both had a bright outlook on life as well as world events that is hard to find in existence today. The family reunions were bright spots in their lives, they enjoyed these family get-togethers very much.

In 1947 they took a trip to California by train to visit the relatives that lived there. Nora's sister, Goldie went with them and they went to Wichita, Kansas to board the train. It was the year of the devastating Woodward tornado - the train left Wichita in the evening and when they were well in Oklahoma, the train started backing up. The engineer said that he had word that a bad storm had hit Woodward and that he himself saw a large funnel. They backed almost to the Kansas line and stopped for several hours before resuming their journey. When they went through Woodward, they could see a lot of destruction but the tracks had been cleared of debris.

Nora knew how much J. R.'s church meant to him so she lovingly arranged a memorial to him in the new church donated by his family. This picture shows the painting and the artist, Ray Gunn of Copan, Oklahoma. Gunn studied art in New York and other U. S. art centers. His paintings usually centered around western life.

A photo of the First Baptist Church at 2nd and Noble where we all attended church. I remember when this church was being built and they held the ceremonies for the laying of the cornerstone, how enthused J. R. was in helping to raise money and other things. He was out most every day to see how the building was coming along. J. R. passed away before this church was finished and his services were held in the old Baptist Church