Back in the late 1920's my maternal Grandfather moved to Heavener, OK on the invitation of one of his cousins who gave a glowing report of how well OK was suited to farming. He also told my Grandfather that he had a house he could live in. When my Grandfather got there, there was no house available, so he had to rent a house from a Choctaw. As it turned out, he planted corn and the drought killed it and the wind blew the stalks out of the field. That part of the move was a bitter disappointment.
However, he did not find it all bad. The Choctaw girls liked him a lot, and he had a ball. Not only the girls liked him, but the other Choctaws liked him too. One of the influential Choctaws urged my Grandfather to put in a claim for land as if he were a Choctaw and told him they would support his claim. He did not do that.
While in Heavener, OK, he had a rough life that eventually led to his working in the coal mine there, but before he moved away, my mother was born. Neither she nor I have any Choctaw in us, to our knowledge.
My Grandfather used to tell many stories about his time with the Choctaws and seemed to have enjoyed his stay with them, but he never forgave his cousin for misleading him.
WA
