My story – my beginning – happened in February, 1947 in Bunch, Oklahoma. Most people would be able to also provide the date of their birth – but, alas – that is probably the first of the funny things that happened to me on my way to the pulpit. It is not a complete guessing game, however. We know that it was either February 2 or February 9 – we just do not know which. Even when I asked my mother – her response was, “I don’t remember” – even though I am fairly confident that she was present. More details of this situation will provide the basis for my next post.

When people inquire where I was born I generally reply in the Cookson Hills of northeastern Oklahoma. I am surprised how many people are content with just that answer. When people desire more specific information I generally go through a list of names like this:

Oklahoma City – if they nod in the affirmative I move along to – Tulsa. For many people that is the end of their knowledge about the communities in Oklahoma, but for those who are still with me I continue with Muskogee or Tahlequah. If either of those get an affirmative response I move on to Sallisaw or Stilwell.If a person is familiar with either of these smaller towns then there is a good chance that they also already know the location of Bunch. However, if needed, from Sallisaw I move on to Marble City before finally arriving at Bunch – or – from Stilwell I move on to Cookson before moving on to Bunch.

Wikipedia offers the following words about Bunch: Bunch is an unincorporated community in southwestern Adair County, Oklahoma, United States  It was named after a Cherokee vice-chief named Rabbit Bunch who lived in the area in the 1880s. Nestled in the Sallisaw Creek valley, Bunch is bisected by the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which was built in the 1890s. Bunch is in the Cookson Hills area of eastern Oklahoma which are a part of the western area of the Ozark Mountains.

The same Wikipedia article includes the above picture of Bunch – clearly a booming metropolis. I am told that on the day I was born that the population of Bunch was 27 – of course – that does not include the multitude of Native Americans, primarily Cherokees, who live in the surrounding area.

I was born in a white frame house within sight of the Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks that pass through the middle of Bunch. This house was the home of my maternal grandparents who served the area at the Methodist mission church that was next door. I know exactly where the church and the house are in this picture – but – they cannot be seen because of the mountain that is to the left in this picture. The church building is still there although the outside has been updated while the interior is very much as I remember it, but the house burned several years ago.

Enough for today! I would love to receive the stories of others who were born in interesting places – please join in the community discussion.