Tommy and Elveta's Homepage

This site may be boring to the home folk, but to someone in another country, that knows only what the News people tell them about America, may see that we are not that much different than they are.

I first came to southwest Oklahoma in 1958, right out of tech school. Stationed at Altus Air Force Base, I was on the ground crew of a B-52 S/N 57-106. At a time when we were not at war, but spent a lot of time getting ready for one, mostly we were loading bombs on the aircraft and going on alert, (that's where you get all of your war stuff together and sleep with it), but at a time like that you make a lot of friends. I remember one day we were getting ready to go on alert ,and two A-bombs had been loaded in the Bombay and I had to lay on top of one to pressurize an air bottle. A new member of our ground crew watching what I was doing said," How can you lay on that Bomb, what if it goes off ? " I informed him that it didn't matter if I was on top of the bomb or in downtown Altus it would be all the same , and if the bomb did go off I needed to be the first to know so I could report it to the Base Commander!

Another time we were working on the tail guns, which were four 50 cal. radar sighted cannons, it was lunch time and we all went to the chow hall to eat, when we returned the guard from base security was standing behind the aircraft not moving at all, knowing that he was to check our ID's we were concerned about him. We walked to the rear of the aircraft, then we heard him say, "Don't come any closer, you left the guns on and they have locked on me." We informed him that the guns were unloaded before we started working on them and the radar just sights the guns and can't fire them, you were in no danger. He looked at us for a minute and said in a low voice ," Mine is and you are. " We were very nice to him for the rest of the day.

The best part of being in Southwest Oklahoma was; this is where I met my future wife. A buddy of mine, Larry Weiss and I became friends with some people that lived in Blair, where I met Elveta Gray and after 2 1/2 years, I talked her into marrying me (good move). In 1962 we were married. We have 2 sons and 2 daughters, Sherri, Mike, Becki and Steven, in that order.

I worked for the Farmers Co-op in Hobart, OK. for 20 years as a grain elevator operator, I retired in 2003. I also drove a truck ( 18 wheeler ) and a floater for fertilizer application.

( The Hobart Farmers Co-op is now a part of Planters Co-op of Lone Wolf )

Elveta worked at the Blair School Cafeteria for 24 years, the last 12 as lunch room Manager. She retired in 2005.

We love living in Blair with our family and friends!