Clarence Tryon: A True Pioneer (t650) - Grady County, Oklahoma Transcribed by: Barbara Parham 2 Dec 2002 ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ==================================================================== Clarence Tryon: A True Pioneer LEST WE FORGET By Geneva Tryon Published in The Chickasha Daily Express February 15, 1986 Lest we forget we just lost one of our most colorful pioneers who helped make Chickasha come alive. Clarence Tryon, who passed away recently never gave up the old pioneer way of living while we were going modern. We really didn't understand his love of the old ways. He still had his old wood heater in the living room and he had very few of the modern conveniences that we hold so dearly. He had his love of his mules and he would make his covered wagons by hand and he would always put them in the parades. His last wish to enter his wagon was delayed because his health was failing and he was not able to complete his entry in time for the parade. But to his delight, his last wish was granted by his friend, Sheriff Ron Taylor, who placed him at his side where he rode up front and his last wish came true: he rode in the parade and was greatly thrilled to be a part of it. Perhaps Clarence took most of his training from his father before him. I understand the elder father was a very strict man, but at the same time he read his Bible very religiously and instilled into his family his faith. The Tryon name came from his father, John Warren Tryon and mother, Dora Hoover Tryon. Life began here and around Chickasha when Chickasha was just beginning to grow. Times were very hard in those days and there was not much time for schooling. But Clarence learned his trade and was wise in other ways. If you went to visit with him, you would probably find him making a complex leather harness, using his awl to make the intricate designs by hand. Then, he would tell you how hard it was to find real leather and how high it was to buy. Clarence worked in various ways and places, but his greatest delight was when he worked for the railroad. He used his mules and his mowing machine to keep the weeds cleared from the rails. As he worked, he lived in his overjet (we would call it his covered wagon), and he would move it to where his mowing machine had mowed. He was very proud of his cowboy hat that a daughter had given to him. "It cost over a hundred dollars," he would tell you. He had very few things but he loved to dress up in his special hand embroidered cowboy shirt another daughter had given to him. And he was proud of his cowboy boots. To show off his real cowboy boots and their artwork, he draped his pants leg into the top of the boot, so that the boots could be seen. He thought boots were to expensive to wear and that they would not be comfortable. But on a trip to Oklahoma City, the daughter fitted him out and convinced him they would last forever. He complained "too high," so it took some wooing to get him to take them. Toward the end he spent all his money for his team of mules, much to the despair of his daughter who knew how seriously ill he really was. These were the same mules that became frightened, and the sheriff and family spent the night trying to get them back in tow and home again. But he loved his mules more than he did is life. In his Eulogy the minister likened him to King Solomon who had his men search for water during a drought, so that the mules would have provision of water. I hope his spirit could hear the beautiful songs which Brother Bob Wilkerson sang for his memorial. And I hope he could see the beautiful flowers surrounding him. If he could talk, he would probably tell us to come up there to hear heavenly music and beautiful flowers everywhere. How do I know? He was my brother-in-law. Clarence was my husband's youngest brother. And that makes Fred one of the few left from the pioneer days of old. If you come across one of these old-timers, take time to listen to them. They laugh about the "hard times" in those days; but they loved living it, and their love is to tell you all about when, "Grandpa usta have just coffee and bread to live on." And their coffee could have been just parched ground okra, or parched ground corn kernels. We should listen to what they have to say, lest we forget where we came from.