So much of my column is of things that have happened in my past and today I got to thinking that I some of the things I write about is unreal to a lot of you because you did not live in the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, etc. as I did and you would not have a clue as to what I am writing about.

In the late 20’s I stood with my family in the back yard and watched the dirigible, the Hindenburg slowly drift across the sky. It had flown from Germany and was making its way across the sky in Oklahoma. It was making a trip across the United States. People stood in their yards and watched it as it slowly passed by. It was a huge thing and a great sight.

A dirigible is a cigar shaped gas filled hot air balloon with a cabin underneath. (You can see them now in baseball games or football games, the World Series, etc., with flying advertising signs behind.)

In the 1950’s I lived in Los Angeles, California and I went down to the beach to watch Howard Hughes fly The Spruce Goose. This was a very large air ship and it only fl ew for a few yards across the water. It would not lift off. It would not make it across the water, so to speak.

Also in the 1950’s, I was on a plane where Dale Evans and Roy Rogers were passengers. They were not besieged by passengers on the plane but were as soon as they landed. They had been to the Turner Ranch in Oklahoma. They were friends of the owner of the ranch and visited there several times. They had been married on the ranch in the past.

Once our family met and visited with Johnny Bench. There was a grand opening of the Wilson Bank of which Johnny was part owner at the time. He had come in for an occasion there.

A big event in this area was when Harry Truman made a Whistle stop in Ardmore. It was in the closing days of his campaign for President. A crowd of about 55,000 came out to see him. The town had only twelve days to make arrangement for the visit. He was met at the train and made his way from Central Park to Main Street. He spoke for twenty minutes from the steps of the Methodist Church across the street from the park. At that time it was only the third time in history for a president to visit Oklahoma. In his Ardmore speech he promised federal monies for the continued development of Lake Texhoma.

In the ‘70’s I was the photographer for Tracy Greenwood who was running to be selected as the March of Dimes Poster Child. I was his photographer. These photographs were sent to then Congressman Carl Albert who was to make the selection. Tracy was selected and my photographs were featured nationwide. Carl Albert wrote me a letter expressing what a fine photographer I was.

This is just an example of some of the photography I took over the years. It is like a tapestry woven of many threads. It’s ultimate design and purpose is determined by the sovereignty of God. Some of the threads are golden, some dark and black but each has a place in the design.