Today was a day of reconnecting with the past and remembering very special people and places! On our way to Tulsa, OK, we went to Tahlequah, OK, Bill’s birth place. Approximately 17 miles NE of downtown Tahlequah on Hwy 10, is a place called Rocky Haven, where Bill’s grandparents, on his dad’s side, lived. When Bill was a baby he and his parents actually lived with Mama Grace and Pop for a while. Bill has fond memories of time spent with Mama Grace and Pop at Rocky Haven. As we toward Rocky Haven, Bill commented that he hoped he would recognize the driveway to the house because the house is above and cannot be seen from the highway. Since we were approaching from the NE, and Bill’s memory of approaching Rocky Haven were from the SE, he was afraid we would miss the driveway. We drove down Hwy 10 slowly, pausing several times before saying, “No, that’s not it.” Bill finally sensed we were getting close and suddenly said, “There it is! That’s it!!” We drove up the hill on the driveway, parked the car, and were greeted by the sound of barking dogs inside the house. As Bill approached the front porch to knock on the door, the barking got louder and more frenzied. Bill only got close enough to read the name plate on the wall just inside the front porch before he realized Scott and Amy Batie, the current owners, were not at home. We stayed for about a half hour taking photos and checking out the changes to the house and on the property. Though changes have been made to the house and property, the memories made at Rocky Haven with Mama Grace and Pop stand strong!!
After we left Rocky Haven we drove past Hanging Rock and into town. We went to the Tahlequah Cemetery to visit the graves of Pop, Mama Grace, Aunt Vernice and Uncle Floyd.
Tahlequah is the capital of the Cherokee Nation, so we decided to visit the Cherokee National History Museum.
We learned that a Cherokee named Sequoyah began to study the structure of the Cherokee language in 1809, and created symbols for the 86 syllables used in the language. He used the symbols in various combinations to form written words. The syllabary was introduced in 1821, and was a major contribution to the rise of the Cherokee Nation. The time spent in the museum highlighted how incomplete and perhaps, in some cases, inaccurate our knowledge of Native Americans really is!
On our drive from Tahlequah to Tulsa, we continued to reminisce about Mama Grace, Pop, and Rocky Haven. We texted pictures to LuAnn, Sallie and Tommy, and they quickly “joined our conversation” with their memories and stories about visits to Oklahoma.
I believe there was a host of silent witnesses to our visit and conversation today.
50-in-50 Challenge 