My mom sent me a picture this week of the new crosswalk designations being painted on Main Street. Thank you, City Council, City Manager Bob Pearman and the City of Stroud employees. This has been needed for a long time and people and groups have inquired about them. Bob has said they were coming and as always, he is true to his word. Sometimes the process seems slow to those of us on the outside looking in, but many wheels are usually in motion. Guess that’s why we pray, “I want patience and I want it right now.” It’s a good reminder to us not to be so impatient. It is going to be a great safety feature and I always think striping adds a neat and clean look to any street.
I attended Johnny (Peewee) Terry, Jr.’s funeral this past week. It was a sweet service but bittersweet to get to visit with so many Stroud alums. Several commented it was sad that many times they reconnect only at funerals but grateful for the opportunity to see old classmates again.
The Class of 1967 was a close-knit group and have stayed in touch over these last 55 years. Classmates of Johnny’s attending were Chuck and Grace (King) Ellsworth, Elmer Don Gardner, Joe Bill Shelhope, Joe Gooch, Jim and Lou (Reed) Cooper, Ronnie Baker, Gary Gardner, J.R. Owens and Larry O’Kelly. Bruce and Ann (James) Jones, Eddie Edwards, David Evans, Terry Morris and Tony Morris were other friends attending who went to school with Johnny.
At the service during the video presentation, one of the songs played was “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Johnny had recorded this song several years ago at Stroud’s own Sugar Time recording studio and had requested that it be played. He was laid to rest at Stroud Cemetery. He will be honored on Memorial Day this year along with all our other veterans who are buried in Stroud.
Another former Stroud resident passed away this week. Bette Grissom of Prague lived in Stroud for many years and she and her husband Roy raised their two children, Sheri and Terry, in Stroud. Bettye is survived by her husband and children. When I was growing up, I attended First Baptist Church with the Grissoms. Bettye had a beautiful voice and sang in the choir and was a soloist on many occasions. Roy coached basketball in Stroud and won a State Championship when Billy Bob Terry attended Stroud High School and was one of Roy’s outstanding players. Billy Bob, too, has passed away and he was a cousin to Johnny Terry.
Another memory I have of the Grissoms is they lived “up on the hill” on 7th Street. They were neighbors with Willard and Nova Collier, and John and Virginia Hopper. It was fun to go “up on the hill” after church on Sunday nights and have a street full of kids ready to play. Our community missed them when they moved.
The clubhouse for the golf course is ready to be painted so Julie Bivin and I are gearing up to start painting. We missed a couple of good weather days this week but looks like we’ll have a chance to get started this weekend. Give me a holler at 918-527-9833 if you have some time to help us paint.
My nephew, Casey Smalley, is a musician in Nashville. He plays the local circuit while working on his original music. His latest song is “Get Away Car,” which was just released. His single before that was “Bible Belt Kid” and it just reached two million video views and 100,000 streams of the song on Spotify. If you haven’t heard him, please take a listen. You can find his music under Casey Edgar or under his band’s name, Flatland Revival. Please show a hometown boy some love and help his numbers continue to grow.
If you’re on Facebook, you’ll see our local merchants are gearing up for Valentine’s Day and several restaurants have posted they’re taking reservations. I even saw you can order some chocolate covered strawberries from Ruby’s.
Have a great week and thank you for choosing to shop local………….first!