Guymon, Oklahoma Cowboy Band

Posted on October 16, 2018 by vanbraman

Earlier today I ran across an interesting picture while browsing through one of my picture archives.

Guymon, Oklahoma, Panhandle, Cowboys, 1938The picture is of the Guymon, Oklahoma Cowboy Band. It looks like the number 1938 is written on the drum in the middle of the picture, so I assume that this is the year that it was taken. Many of the members of the band are identified, but since the picture does not have high resolution I am not going to attempt to list them.

I did look through the names of the men trying to see if I recognized any of the names, as I suspect that there is a family member among them. Unfortunately I didn’t find a name I recognized.

The picture was in a folder titled Cochran, which is the family of my great grandmother Lottie Cochran.

Oklahoma, Guymon, Panhandle, Cowboy CountryGuymon, Oklahoma is in the center of the Oklahoma Panhandle so is very near to where Lottie’s sister Goldia Cochran Duncan lived in Kenton, Oklahoma.

See my Virtual Hike to Kenton, Oklahoma.

When I first saw the picture I assumed that perhaps it was a picture of Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboys who were an early Cowboy or Western band. However, Otto Gray lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma which is far from Guymon.

Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboys - Stillwater, Oklahoma - Western Music - Bluegrass messengerOtto Gray is my great-grandmother’s second cousin. Otto Gray was very influential in the spread of Western music and his group was the first Cowboy band to appear on a nationwide radio program.

There were many local bands in Oklahoma in the early 1900’s.

Braman cornet band, braman OklahomaOne interesting group was the Braman Cornet Band from Braman, Oklahoma. My understanding is that Braman, Oklahoma was named for a railroad surveyor. Someday I need to see if I can find out more about the surveyor and see if he fits into my Braman family.

I am hoping that one of my Cochran cousins may know more about the picture of the Guymon Cowboy Band. I will have to ask them.

Now to listen to some music before bed 🙂

Steven

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Salem Sampler – Sophia Blend Tea

Posted on October 15, 2018 by vanbraman

Recently I discovered the website of an interesting tea shop in Salem, Massachusetts.

Jolie Tea, Salem Massachusetts, Sophia PeabodyThe tea shop is called Jolie Tea and is located on Essex Street near the Salem Common.

Sophia Blend, Hawthorne, Grand Turk, King DerbyI ordered a sampler of teas called The Best of Salem. The teas are Grand Turk, Hawthorne, King Derby and Sophia Blend. Each of these teas has a connection to Salem and more specifically Nathaniel Hawthorne. In future posts I will give more information about each of the teas.

Sophia Peabody, Salem Massachusetts, Nathaniel HawthorneTonight I will share a bit about the Sophia Blend. This tea is for Sophia Peabody who was the wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sophia also lived in the building that now houses Jolie Tea when she was young.

The picture above comes from a biography written by Julian Hawthorne titled Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife. I have read several biographies about the family since I ordered the tea.

Sophia had two sisters who were also well know. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was involved in the early Kindergarten movement in the US and her sister Mary was the wife of Horace Mann another early educator.

Sophia Blend, Black Tea, Rose Petals Bergamot OilThe Sophia Blend tea is a blend of Indian black tea, Chinese Congou black tea, rose petals and bergamot oil. The rose petals have special significance as Nathaniel and Sophia had a daughter named Rose. Julian who is mentioned above was their son and they also had a daughter named Una.

Tea Prep, Sophia Blend, Sophia Peabody, Jolie TeaHere I am set up ready to try the Sophia Blend tea. I chose to use my Tuesday tea towel even though I didn’t try the tea on a Tuesday. This is because how Nathaniel and Sophia met and fell in love is such a great story. However, I will not tell it here 🙂

Tea, waiting for hot water, Sophia BlendI probably should have used a mesh tea ball instead of my glass infuser. The tea is loose leaf tea, but the leaves are not very large.

Sophia Blend Tea, Jolie Tea, Sophia Peabody, Bergamot OilHowever, only a few of the leaves snuck through. The tea had a nice color and a nice aroma.

There was a nice balance between the black tea and the bergamot. It was definitely there, but not as strong as most Earl Grey teas. In fact, earlier tonight I had some Earl Grey just to taste the difference.

I look forward to tasting the rest of the teas in the sampler.

Steven

 

Posted in Food, History, Tea | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments