The cows are starting to come home in Southwestern Oklahoma. But high prices are slowing down the process. When I traveled to the Southwest corner of the state last year, I found crunchy ground, long trailer lines at the sale yards, and people rationing their water. It was site I prayed I would never have to see again.
As this spring rolled around, the rains poured across North Central Oklahoma where I live. But I wondered what was happening with our friends to the Southwest of us. I was very pleased to find that they had gotten 14 inches of rain by the month of June! Things were definitely turning around for them and I knew I had to get back down there and tell the other half of their story.
In this week’s video blog, we take a look at how the citizens of Caddo County survived the drought and how they are bouncing back and reclaiming their livelihoods.
Andy Barth
Showing posts with label ranching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ranching. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, August 06, 2012
On the Horizon: Greatest Generation
I was born late in life to my parents, so many of the stories I heard growing up where the same depression era stories my friends grandparents told. Even as a child I was fascinated by the toughness of parents generation; first they struggled through the dustbowl of the 30’s, only to fight a world war in the 40’s. So when I had the chance to sit down with 89 year old Jack Givens I jumped at the chance to talk about his life.
Born outside of Mangum, Givens remembers the black blizzards of the dustbowl that blotted out the sun. His college days at Oklahoma A&M where interrupted by Pearl Harbor. In ROTC, given was off to officer candidate school, only to find himself on the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944. Givens likes to say he walked and crawled across Europe dodging bullets. What he is reluctant to tell you in doing so he earned 3 purple hearts and a bronze star.
After the war Givens found his way back home to run a family farm. His operations grew and so did his success. So much he was inducted into Oklahoma’s Ag Hall of Fame by Governor Fallin.
At 89 his mind is sharp and health remarkable. While we were shooting our story with him, I had to ask to ask him to slow down when we were doing our “walking” shots because he kept speeding out of frame.
In this week’s video blog I want to give you just a glimpse into a life I believe is well lived.
Born outside of Mangum, Givens remembers the black blizzards of the dustbowl that blotted out the sun. His college days at Oklahoma A&M where interrupted by Pearl Harbor. In ROTC, given was off to officer candidate school, only to find himself on the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944. Givens likes to say he walked and crawled across Europe dodging bullets. What he is reluctant to tell you in doing so he earned 3 purple hearts and a bronze star.
After the war Givens found his way back home to run a family farm. His operations grew and so did his success. So much he was inducted into Oklahoma’s Ag Hall of Fame by Governor Fallin.
At 89 his mind is sharp and health remarkable. While we were shooting our story with him, I had to ask to ask him to slow down when we were doing our “walking” shots because he kept speeding out of frame.
In this week’s video blog I want to give you just a glimpse into a life I believe is well lived.
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