My dad, HOMER COLEMAN JOHNSON, was born on December 20, 1888 in Clarksville, Red River County, TX. the son of Wiley Elijah Johnson and Virginia Lee Smith. My grandfather, Wiley Johnson was raised in Weakley County, the son of John Philip Johnson and Eliza Jane Reddick. After the birth of my dad the family moved from Red River Co, TX to Garretts Bluff, Lamar Co, TX, and around 1899 or 1900, when dad was 11 or 12 years old, the family moved to the town of Antlers, in Indian Territory (OK). Not a lot is know about my dad's childhood. According to a 1905 article in the Antlers News, he won first prize at a Pound Party, for "putting the mule's tail to the mule when blindfolded." He graduated from Antlers highschool in 1906 at the age of 17. Another article lists him among the attendees at "Grand Rolling Party," (skating party) in 1908. Homer was married twice, first on March 28, 1909 in Antlers, to Claudie Raley. They had four children; Homer Coleman; Harry Lincoln; Virginia Lee; and Raymond, all deceased. The marriage notice in the paper said he was Deputy County Registrar of Deeds. The 1910 census lists him as the assistant cashier at the Antlers Bank. He was living in Amarillo, Texas on June 5, 1917 when he registered for the WWI draft. His registration form said he was a Bookkeeper, working for the Amarillo Hardware Company, married with 2 children, had served 3 years as a Corporal in the Oklahoma National Guard and was of medium build, slender, blue eyes, and light hair. I'm not sure when, but at some point he attended Hills Business College in Oklahoma City where he earned a degree in business administration. When he met Alberta (my Mom), she was working as a cashier at Kaufman's, a ladies store in Oklahoma City and he was manager of the shoe department. She always said that he was a terrible person to work for . . . "every time I tied some string around a shoe box he would holler at me for using too much string." But, I guess things got better because on February 13, 1932 he was married to Alberta Maude Parker, daughter of Albert and Maude Parker. The Kaufman shoe department was owned by th Wahl Shoe Company of St. Louis. When Kaufman's went out of business he continued working for the Wahl's as a traveling salesman traversing the entire state on mostly unpaved highways in a Model-A Ford, selling shoes to retail stores. Homer and Alberta lived their entire lives in Oklahoma City where they raised eight children; Thomas Coleman, b. May 26, 1933; Richard Wiley, b. Nov. 17, 1934, d. Feb. 3, 1987; Michael R., b. Feb. 27, 1936, d. Feb. 9, 1978; Sandra Jean, b. Nov. 19, 1937; Dennis Lee, b. Nov. 5, 1940; Jerry Franklin, b. Nov. 3, 1943; Nancy Sue, b. Jan. 8, 1946; and Theodore Joseph, b. Sep. 9, 1947. Both worked hard to provide for the family. She was a seamstress and homemaker, and he spent over 40 years of his life working for the Lazrus brothers, owners of the ladies shoe departments at Rothschilds department store and Peyton-Marcus ladies ready-to-wear store in Oklahoma City. He was a buyer and department manager at both stores. During that time he never took a vacation and I don't ever remember him taking a day off sick. Dad loved baseball. In the summertime he would listen every evening to the baseball game on the radio (the Oklahoma City Indians). Occasionally he would take me on the streetcar to see a ball game at the old ballpark at N.W. 2nd and Virginia in OKC . . . what a treat that was. He also loved fishing, but seldom had time for it. We would go occassionally to Belle Isle Lake or Lake Overholser. We would get on the streetcar early in the morning with our cane poles and a couple of sandwiches and spend the day sitting on the bank. We never really caught much of anything, but he always seemed to enjoy it. In 1951 dad bought the first car our family ever had. It was a brand new Ford hardtop. He never drove though, mom was always the chauffeur. The thing he enjoyed most in his later years I think, was his grandchildren. He loved having them around. He also enjoyed an occasional trip or just a Sunday drive in the country. He made several trips to Florida and Minnesota, mom driving of course, and he and mom went with Wanda and I on several vacation trips after he retired. There's not enough room here for me to tell all of my stories about Dad. Like everyone, he had some faults, especially in his younger days, but he was a loving, kindhearted man, a wonderful father, a good provider, and he loved his family dearly. Looking back, I guess we were poor, but we certainly never knew it. We always had a roof over our head, food to eat (lots of beans, fried taters & corn bread), clothes to wear (mom made most of them) and some toys on birthdays and at Christmas time. It was truly a great childhood. In 1947 dad bought us a new home, the first he ever owned. It had a living room, kitchen, bath and 2 small bedrooms. He and mom raised 8 kids in that small home. It was crowded but we had lots of fun. Homer Coleman Johnson died on December 23, 1975, three days after his 87th birthday. He is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City.