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Levite’s Leaven #8
Love Letter to The Watonga Republican
When towns and cities began to dot their way onto maps across the
"fruited plains" of America, in most cases the first businesses to
establish themselves were the newspapers. In a world with no
telephones, no radios, no computers, no cellular appliances (beyond the
scope of imagination now) newspapers were the lifeline to the outside
world. These early day Paul Reveres of the print world spread the word
to those eager to know where to shop, when to worship, and who was in
need of a sympathy, wedding, or get-well card.
For one hundred fourteen proud years The Watonga Republican, a
real newspaper founded by the real Tompson Ferguson and his wife,
Elva, has recorded the activities of that town's citizens. From births
to deaths, droughts to deluges, as the oldest of old saws goes
"all the news that will fit" they printed.
It was the owner of The Republican who gave my newest novel its
title, as it was Tom Ferguson who so often referred to the land in and
surrounding Blaine country as "...this Paradise on the Prairie. After
researching and writing about that part of Oklahoma, I heartily agree
with his assessment. Tim and Nora Curtin, the current owners/editors
and their trusty news coordinator, Darrell Rice, were of invaluable help
to me in the writing of this book. I think them kindly and hope that
they and the citizens of Watonga will be pleased and proud of the way I
portrayed their community and the Ferguson family.
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