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Geronimo

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Geronimo, leader and medicine man, was the most feared, most pursued, most allusive of the Apaches and the last of the Chiricahuas to surrender.

            Born June 16, 1829, in the upper Gila River country in Arizona, he was part of the Bedonkohe subsection of Chiricahua Apache, a small but mighty group of around 8,000 people.

            His birth name was Goyahkla, or “one who yawns.” The source of the name “Geronimo” is disputed. Some believe it originated with the cries of frightened Mexican soldiers calling out the name of the Catholic St. Jerome when they faced Geronimo in battle. Others believe it is simply a mispronunciation of Goyahkla.

            Whatever its origin, the name took on a new life long after the Indian’s death when during World War II paratroopers yelled “Geronimo” before jumping out of planes, a reference to his bravery.

            By the time he was old enough to become a warrior, the Apaches were at war with the Mexicans to the south, the U.S. Government to the north, and the neighboring Comanche and Navajo tribes. By the time he was 17, Geronimo had successfully led four raids on their enemies.

            Geronimo fell in love with a woman named Alope. They married and had three children. Tragedy struck while he was on a raiding trip. Mexican soldiers attacked the camp, killing Geronimo’s mother, wife and three children.

            The murders devastated Geronimo. In Apache tradition, he set fire to the family’s belongings and headed into the wilderness to grieve their deaths. There, alone and crying, it is said a voice came to Geronimo promising him, “No gun will ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans…and I will guide your arrows.”

Embolden by this knowledge, Geronimo rounded up a force of 200 men and hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family. For 10 years, he exacted revenge against the Mexican Government.

Following the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States took over large tracts of land from Mexico, including areas belonging to the apaches. With the discovery of gold, miners and settlers streamed into the land. The Apaches stepped up their attacks, including brutal attacks on stagecoaches and wagon trains.

Chiricahua Chief Cochise could see what was coming, and in a move that greatly disappointed Geronimo, called a halt to his decade-long war with the Americans and agreed to the establishment of a reservation for his people on a prized piece of apache land.

Within just a few years, in 1874, Cochise died, and the Federal Government reneged on its promise and moved the Chiricahuas north so settlers could move into their former lands.

This further incensed Geronimo, and he set off on a new round of killing. With his followers, he raided across the Southwest, becoming something of a legend. Newspapers closely followed the Army’s pursuit of him.

Authorities finally caught up with him in 1877 and sent him to San Carlos Reservation. For four long years he struggled with reservation life, finally escaping in 1881.

At one point nearly a quarter of the Army’s forces—5,000 troops—were trying to hunt him down.

Geronimo surrendered to General Cook in January 1884, but as they neared the fort, tales of impending trials and hangings caused him to escape with about 150 men, woman and children.

He again surrendered to Cook on March 4, 1886, in Sonora, Mexico, but again he bolted.

Finally on September 3, 1886, he surrendered to General Miles, the last Chiricahua to do so. He was promised to be returned to his beloved Arizona, but that never happened. Over the next several years, Geronimo and his people were moved around, first to a prison in Florida, then  a prison camp in Alabama and finally to Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Although a prisoner, Geronimo did travel outside Fort Sill frequently, appearing at fairs, exhibitions and other public functions, selling pictures of himself, bows and arrows, buttons off his shirt, and even his hat. He appeared in several Wild West Shows, and shot a buffalo for a roundup staged by 101 Ranch.

In 1905, Geronimo’s biography was published.

In 1905, Geronimo also appeared in the inaugural parade for President Theodore Roosevelt. Still a prisoner, he was accompanied by guards wherever he went.

On the reservation, he did some farming and joined a church, but was ousted for gambling.

While riding home one night in February 1909, his horse threw him, and he spent the night out in the cold. A friend found him the next day, and Geronimo died six days later of pneumonia, his nephew at his side. He was almost 80 years old.

“I should never have surrendered,” Geronimo, still a prisoner of war, said on his deathbed. “I should have fought until I was the last man alive.”

Geronimo is buried in Beef Creek Apache Cemetery on Fort Sill among family. His tomb is covered by a cone-shaped monument made of round stones topped by a granite eagle. It bears the simple inscription, “GERONIMO.” A short path leading to the tomb is covered with pennies left by visitors in tribute to the last of the great Chiricahua Apaches.

Read more in the April 2020 issue of Oklahoma Farm & Ranch.

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Inventions of Agriculture: The Cotton Gin

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A few centuries ago, the landscape of farming and ranching looked quite different than it does today. There were no tractors for plowing, airplanes for spraying or even barbed wire for separating cattle.

There are inventions that have come along and changed the face of agriculture across the United States. One of those inventions was the cotton gin. It was invented during a time when the agricultural industry was struggling after its most significant crop, tobacco, saw revenues begin to plummet. But while it saved the profits and livelihood of many farmers and plantation owners, it also led to the increase in slave labor, making it an invention that significantly changed both our economic and social past.

The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. Whitney was born in Westborough, Mass., on Dec. 8, 1765. His father was a farmer, and his son would prove his talents as both an inventor and a mechanic at a young age.

Whitney graduated Yale University and even considered becoming a lawyer, but life took him down a different path, one that would change the lives of farmers forever. He made his way to the south after graduation with plans to tutor, but upon arrival, he accepted a position with Catherine Green in Savannah, Ga. Greene was the widow of American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene and owned the Mulberry Grove plantation.

At the time, tobacco was falling in value due to both soil exhaustion and abundance. Farmers began turning to other crop options, including cotton. Unfortunately, the only variety that could be grown inland contained seeds that were time-consuming to pick out.

During the colonial times, cloth derived from cotton was more expensive than wool or even linen due to the difficulty of removing these seeds from the fibers. It took an entire day just to detach seeds from one single pound of cotton. Whitney’s employer, Greene, urged the young Whitney to find a solution to this problem. Her support was crucial in Whitney’s success in inventing the cotton gin. Some even suggest that it was actually Greene who was the true inventor of the cotton gin, but at the time, women were not allowed to apply for patents in the United States.

On March 14, 1794, Whitney succeeded in obtaining a patent for the cotton gin. While similar devices had been around for many years, his was the first single device that could clean short-staple cotton. The introduction of the new technology made cotton a profitable crop in the United States for the very first time.

The device worked much like a strainer. The cotton was run through a drum, made of wood, which included hooks similar to teeth along the perimeter. Those hooks caught the cotton fiber and drug them through a mesh, which was too small to allow the seeds through. However, the hooks pulled the cotton through easily.

Small cotton gins could easily be worked by hand, while larger ones included the use of horses to power. Even the smaller gin could remove seeds from 50 pounds of cotton in one day, a much larger amount than the results of doing it by hand. In fact, the gin allowed 1,000 pounds of cotton to be cleaned in the same amount of time it took a worker to do five pounds by hand.

Due to Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin, along with other inventions of the Industrial Revolution such as machines to weave it, the price of cotton plunged and production of it doubled each decade after 1800. It even began being shipped overseas, and soon American farmers were growing 75 percent of the world’s supply of cotton.

However, Whitney’s invention was not all good news. While it did increase the production and profits of crops in America, it also established the cotton plantation culture of the south. The cotton crop became so lucrative for plantation owners, the demand to make more significantly increased. As it did, so did the use of slave labor for growing it.  

As for Whitney, he struggled with patent-law issues that prevented him from significantly profiting from his invention. He managed to overcome that obstacle when he secured a contract with the United State government in 1798 to create 10,000 muskets.

While it would take him a decade to make those instead of the two years originally planned in the contract, he began endorsing interchangeable parts. In other words, identical parts could be quickly assembled while making for easier repairs on machines. Many objects, from machines to guns, were constructed by individuals. While Whitney is most known for his invention of the cotton gin, he also is credited for the development of mass production within America.

In his personal life, Whitney did not wed until his 50s, when he married Henrietta Edwards in 1817. The pair would go on to have four children before his death on Jan. 8, 1825, at the age of 59.

Resources

History. (2010, February 4). Cotton Gin and Eli Whitney. A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney

National Archives and Records Administration. (2021, December 16). Eli Whitney’s Patent for the Cotton Gin. National Archives Educator Resources. https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent#background (Text adapted from an article written by Joan Brodsky Schur, a teacher at Village Community School in New York, N.Y.)

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Let’s Take A Trip – Part 1

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After almost two years of Covid, testing, vaccinations, boosters, illness and death, wearing masks, staying indoors and away from others, severe thunderstorms, tornados, and now war in Europe, it’s time to get out and away from it all for at least a day.

    Let’s get on I35 North of Ardmore and begin our trip in the Arbuckle Mountains.  Stop at every scenic turnout to enjoy the awe-inspiring views of the trees, valleys, and rocks that according to archeologists formed during an earthquake eons ago.

     Reached by a narrow twisty highway, a sight comparable to a miniature Niagara Falls is soon revealed. Cascading 77 feet, Turner Falls is majestic. Formed by Honey Creek, it empties into a beautiful blue lake.

     Although it may be tempting, climbing to the area behind the falls and sliding down the falls is prohibited by law because more than one person has drowned attempting lt.

     Be sure to visit Collins Castle, built in the early 30`s of native materials as a summer home for Dr. Elizabeth Collins, a professor at Oklahoma University. It was once headquarters for the Bar C Ranch.

     The entire park covers 1,500 acres and includes swimming areas, camping areas, cabins, hiking trails, caves, a water slide, trout fishing, and Look Out Point, featuring telescopes allowing you to view the entire park.

      A zip line, diving, scubas, and floating on inner tubes entertains many visitors.

     Children play areas, a trading post and majestic scenery attract more than 250,000 visitors each year.

         Come for a day or a week and enjoy all the park has to offer.

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A Versatile Venue

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Fields that once were prolific with wheat have now found a new purpose at P Bar Farms in Hydro, Okla. Now, colorful sunflowers abound, attracting visitors from all across the state who come for photo opportunities. In another 10-acre section, specialty corn is grown specifically to be mowed to a specific pattern, transforming into a maze that sees upwards of 15,000[LM1] visitors annually.

It’s not that Loren and Kim Liebscher couldn’t make a traditional farm work; it’s more that they were looking for something fun to do for a few years.

P Bar Farms is named for Travis Payne, Kim’s father. “We used to farm traditionally here. We were farming and her dad got sick. I kind of lost my love to farm, so I began praying that God would give me something to put the fun back into farming,” Loren shared.

It was just two weeks later that God delivered a sign that would change the course for P Bar Farm. “I read in a Progressive Farmer magazine about a guy doing a corn maze in Nashville, Tenn. We found out that the first Annual Corn Maze Convention was only two or three weeks after that,” he said. “So, we drove to Salt Lake City for the first convention, and that’s how we got started.”

Loren and Kim admit they knew nothing about corn mazes, but they learned plenty during the convention. “The Convention was actually part of a franchise company that was looking to add farms. We joined, and for the fee they gave us all the secrets and designs for the maze and everything,” Loren explained.

After a few years, the Liebschers opted out of the franchise. “We felt like we knew what we were doing by then,” Kim said.

The first P Bar Farms corn maze was grown and cut in 2001, but then 9/11 happened. The uncertainty that plagued the country made its way to Hydro, and it wasn’t a given that the corn maze adventure would even get out of the gate. “We thought that was going to be the end. We had hoped that if we got 1,000 people to come during that first season, at $5 a person, we’d be doing well. A $5,000 addition to your income is pretty good for a farmer,” Loren said. “That first year we wound up having close to 5,000, even with 9/11. We had one customer explain it to us. She said, ‘I’ve never felt so safe having my kids so lost, but it’s a family farming operation, and nothing’s going to happen here on the farm. It has that good feeling where people feel safe and comfortable.”

Kim added, “We just wanted to have something fun that was light-hearted. We didn’t anticipate being busy – we were just having fun. We thought we could do it, but if not, we don’t have anything to lose.”

With the success of the first year, the Liebschers knew they would do the corn maze again. They built a barn and added a new concession stand. They also interviewed some tough critics; teachers that came out to the farm. “We had a retired schoolteacher that worked for us, and she said if you want to get the truth to interview teachers. So, we created a survey that all the teachers filled out, and everything that came back said it was wonderful, a great concept, and a great idea,” Loren said. “But, they added they weren’t coming back until we got indoor bathrooms. That was the number one request from the teachers, so we definitely made that change.”

As the interest in the corn maze grew, P Bar Farms continued to expand. First a petting zoo was added, and then a new barn. With more requests for parties, more buildings went up. The Liebschers wanted the property to resemble an old family farm, so they purchased an old home in Hinton, Okla., and moved it in. “We wanted to use it as a bed and breakfast. That never really worked out, but we rented it for a while. Now it’s regularly booked as an Airbnb. People like to get away and get out in the country,” Kim shared.

There have been very few noticeable failures in the past two decades. The only other memorable one was a venture with a greenhouse. “With the wind in Oklahoma, that didn’t work for us. We had put asphalt in the bottom of our greenhouse, so we used that and put in a new party barn,” Loren said.

Soon a pumpkin patch was added to compliment the maze and the rest of the farm. “We’ve always had a pumpkin patch. The problem is pumpkins can be really hard to grow if you don’t rotate them, so we don’t do that real well. Our first year we had more than we could sell, but after that we really were going through them. Now we’re going through 15-20,000 pumpkins a year, and we can’t grow that many, so we just buy them,” Loren added.

It was only a few years ago that the Liebschers added a sunflower patch to the mix, taking up a few more acres covered by the pivot. “The first year they were fun and pretty, but we didn’t have a lot of visitors. This year has been different, and I think our daughter is probably the reason for that success. She has a marketing degree and it’s been unbelievable,” Kim said. “Oklahoma Tourism did a post about a ‘mystical sunflower patch.’ Now people are here all the time while they’re blooming to take photos.”

The sunflower patch is just a few acres, but the Liebschers feel it’s the perfect size. “We have found that the smaller the patch, the better people take care of it,” he said. “Plus, sunflowers are tricky. They either make it or they don’t, but this has been a very good year for them.

Read more in the October issue of Oklahoma Farm & Ranch.

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