Braman's Wanderings

Tonight I am thinking of a family connection to Kenton, Oklahoma.

The town of Kenton is so small that if you blink you can miss it. The population today is less than 20 people, but at one time it was a bustling little town that served the ranchers of the area.

Kenton is all the way at the end of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Since it served mainly the ranchers from New Mexico and Colorado who were on Mountain Time they also observed Mountain Time. Some older maps show a little jog in the time-line around Kenton, but officially the time-line follows the Oklahoma/New Mexico border.

On Main Street in Kenton there was a little store called The Mercantile. My 2nd Great Uncle John Duncan ran this store for 36 years before he passed away at the age of 102 in 1983. Before John Duncan took over the store he was a rancher in Colorado and there are some very interesting stories about his life.

I visited Kenton along with John’s  granddaughter back in the summer of 2000.

Also on display in the store are some Mammoth tusks and bones that were excavated near Kenton.

Look at the size of this lower jaw.

Also interesting were the shelves of items that were for sale.

My cousin had many memories of visiting the store when she was growing up. Perhaps because of all the candy.

Here you can see that there were a lot of common food items for sale.

Having grown up in a smaller town I know the importance of a local grocery.

I have great memories of visiting Kenton, including an overnight stay with my Grandma’s cousin who was in her 90’s. She had me go out and walk around that night to experience the clear skies of Kenton. Due to Black Mesa which is just north of Kenton there is an updraft that clears out the sky. Along with minimal light pollution Kenton has some of the darkest skies in America. That night was moonless, but I was still able to see my shadow just from the light of the Milky Way. It was the most majestic night sky that I have ever seen.

Steven