The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1916-03-24
LETTER FROM OKLAHOMA.
Wakita, Okla, March 13, 1916.
Editor Union Times,
Union, S. G.


Dear Sir:
Sometime ago l wrote a letter to
your paper and | received several let
ters from your readers asking that
write again, so if you will allow me
space | will try and tell you a little
about this town and the surrounding
country.
Wakita is a town of about 800 in
habitants and is in Grant county, in
the extreme northern part of Okla
homa, only about six miles from the
Kansas line. This county is in what
is known as the Cherokee Strip and
was opened up for settlement about
% years ago.
Wakita is modern little town, hav-
ing electric lights, water works and
paved sidewalks, eight or ten large
mercantile concerns, two large lumber
wards, two banks, one newspaper, one
poultry and produce company, three
automobile garages, one bakery, three
grain elevators, good hotel and opera
house. | was about to forget the two
dandy cafes that would be credit to
many of our Eastern towns of much
larger population.
Wakita is considered one of the
best small towns in the State as it
has an excellent country to draw from
and in the summer when the harvest
season IS on it is quite a scene to
see the crowds that throng the streets
and the great number of autos that
are parked in them. have seen over
200 cars parked on Main street, a..
many as thousand people at show.
Can you beat that back there? 1t is
also great sight to see the strings
of grain wagons that come in daily
during the harvest and we'll up into
the fall.
Wheat is the principal crop in this
section and there are many people
here who have never seen cotton, al
though it is raised in the Southern
part of this State.
There is quite bit of corn and
other feed stuff raised; also many
chickens and hogs. There was solid
car load of chickens shipped from here
to New York a few weeks ago and
cars of eggs are quite often shipped
to New York, Kansas City and other
markets.
There are very few cattle raised in
this section but nearly every farmer
raises few colts.
All the farm work is done with rid
ing machinery and it amuses the farm
ers to tell them about our Eastern
farmers walking behind plow all
day. They wonder how they stand it
and the idea of blowing only one horse
tickles them. All the blowing here is
done with four large horses and gang
plows. | say all of it is done with
horses-some of the larger farmers
use tractors and pull gang plows with
from four to sixteen plows.
Harvest wages range from $3.50 to
$500 per day and hundreds of men
from all parts of the United States
make the harvest each year, many of
the college students from the East are
found among the harvest hands and
quite a number of the professional
hoboes
1t was a very common sight last
men riding a freight train, the train
crew being powerless to handle them
An average of 100000 bushels of
wheat is brought to this market year
ly an oranges in price from 60 cents
to $I.5O per bushel.
This country is laid off in sections
one mile square or $40 acres and the
laws Of the State require all farms
fenced.
The farmers here never sow any
spring wheat; all of it is sown in the
fall and the stock and cattle pasture
on it all winter.
Well, / guess have written enough
for this time and / trust that this
may be of interest to at least a few
Of your readers. If so, l may come
again.
With kindest regards to you and
your patrons, am,
Yours very truly,
Boyd E. Scott.