Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-10-26
Miss Florence Minis Writes of
Oklahoma Atmospheric
Illusions.
Dear Advertiser:

Strictly and truthfully speaking,
which is more than and the rest of
The American people always do, Ok
| ,ahoma is not the west, but part of
that great stretth of America that-is
neither East nor West, which is mid
die, but not mediocre country.
One might think that since the
people from the South, North, East,
and West, have their distinct charac-
teristics, that people from the Great
Central States would be distinctly
different from the rest, yet partak-
ing in degree of the other different
types.
Yet this is not true, for the Okla
homan, to my certain belief, is a
typical Westerner, and almost all the
states west of the Mississippi are
western in type.
The East is only that little strip
which extends from Maine on the
north to Florida on the south and the
near states that border on those on
the shores of the Atlantic.
In the South at this time of the
year one sees, as I recall, red oak
leaves, and yellow and gold ones, and
goldenrod. 1t would be perfect joy
to me to see again huge red and or
ange leaves, that crisply crackle un-
der foot and fall to the ground only
after they have tossed about some
time through the gusty air.
Such is "October's bright blue
weather" in the South. l saw one oak
tree the other day and almost jump
ed from the car, wanting to greet it
like an old friend. 1t was as though /
had seen some one whom / had cas-
ually met from my home county,
whom I did not know Intimately, but
on seeing him so far away from
home, 1 felt that I had met an old
friend with whom I had shared many
heart secret.
Fine old trees are really to be ven-l
Grated and respected even as age
should be in human life. But / had
to pass the only oak / had seen for a
long time, and satisfy myself with
NAPLES, which are numerous along
the roadside, bordering the great
stretches of wheat covered, treeless
plains.
Along the edges of many of the
fields are small, closely planted trees
called "wind brakes" In the spring
the winds come tearing over the
country, sweeping the farm produce
with them "across the fields and far
away" These "wind brakes" serve
as protection.
More interesting still are the
storm pits located back of some of
the houses, which serve as shelters
from storms and cyclones. Person
ally think / should be more afraid
of the unseen storm raging without
if 1 were under ground, than would
be of the storm could l view it from
the protection of window. My i'm
agination would lead me to think
that the goodly homes around were
laid waste just because / could not
see all the havoc that the storm was
playing.
Toward evening, there is haze
over the fields of corn, and the sun
sets with no less glory, because it
seems to pour its molten self down
into the corn rows instead of drop
ping precipitably behind some splen-
did wooded crag.
There is a strange illusion here,
which is either caused by the dry,
clear atmosphere, or else is caused
by the smoothness of the plains
which enables one to see objects
clearly at unbelievable distances. At
evening when the sky is red one
seems to be riding directly into the
sunset. 1t looks as though the sun
might be in danger Of being hit by
the JOY riders.
At night the lights of a city seven
or eight miles away can be distinctly
seen across the plains. In other words
one could stand on the outskirts of
Edgefeld and see Johnston, were
those two towns in Oklahoma. But
the red old hills of Edgefeld are
barrier.
was told that there was a lake
near Tonkawa and / Immediately had