James Ota Smart & Eunice Jones |
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Eunice JonesJames Ota Smart married Eunice Ethel "Nannie" Jones, a native Oklahoman. They had one son, Roy Kenneth "Tex" Smart. They stayed on the Clinton farm for a few years then moved into town where Ota worked in a grocery store for a year. While there, Doctor White asked him to go to west Texas and look after farms he owned-one near Pampa and the other near old Ochiltree. In 1916, Ota, Eunice, and Roy made the trip to Pampa in a regular moving wagon with wagon sheet and bows. The weather was cold but when they arrived they had a house. At Ochiltree, however, they lived in a tent. That year saw the best crops ever harvested in the Panhandle of Texas. Elevators could not take care of all the wheat and it was piled in great ricks on the ground. Rain was plentiful, lakes were full, and mosquitoes terrible. |
Ota Tries Other EndeavorsOta decided to try something besides farming and put in a small meat market at Glazier where he prospered until a fire destroyed much of the town. The market wasn't burned but his business suffered from the destruction of other businesses. The Santa Fe Rail Road had men guarding bridges during World War I and CC worked as a bridge guard for a while. He may have helped repair and build bridges too. |
[Picture of Glazier?]
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Ota Prospers in White Deer, OklahomaAbout 1917, Ota decided to try the market again and moved to White Deer. Mr. Owen Harrah built an addition onto his barbershop and divided it into two small rooms. Ota put a meat market in one room and Marlin Heflin put in a small cafe in the other. This was one of the first meat markets in White Deer. Ota prospered for years there, getting along well with the Polish people, many of whom traded with him. |
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Roy went to the White Deer school for several years and the family bought a home on Ohomadora Street in White Deer. They also bought a farm in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Ota decided to try a new location and moved his equipment to Hedley. This wasn't a very good move as he had to rent a place for the market and a house to live in. He still owned a house in White Deer and the farmhouse. Rent was not always received on these houses. Therefore, he decided to try his luck on the farm. He farmed for a time, but when Roy started High School, the family went back to White Deer where Ota operated a maintainer on the roads around the area and Roy resumed school. |
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Roy "Tex" SmartRoy wanted to finish school in Oklahoma, so the family moved to Hobart. After finishing high school, Roy and his father went to Washington State where they worked for a year. They came back to the farm in Beaver County but Ota's health failed. The doctor told Ota he had a bad heart condition and that he would have to get off the farm if he wanted to live. He came to Oklahoma City in December 1944. Roy was discharged from the Army in January 1945, because of the ill health of his father. Ota died in the spring of 1945 and is buried in the cemetery in Port. Eunice and Roy remained in Oklahoma City where they owned a home. Including his years in the Army and his work at Tinker Air Force Base, Roy spent 28 years in government service. He only married later on in life--when he was 65 years old--to Eulene Simmer. |
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Roy Smart |
