FromJennifer Garner’smother Patricia English Garner, this story of their family’s Oklahoma farm property gives their roots definition.
The time was the middle of the Great Depression.
Dad was a laborer, and almost no one was hiring.
Bill Garner, a native Texan, joined his daughter and wife on set.Credit: Victor Demarchelier; Wardrobe Styling: Jill Lincoln and Jordan Johnson/The Wall Group; Hair: Ben Skervin/The Wall Group; Makeup: Genevieve Herr/Sally Harlor; Seamstress: Jeanette Wingo
He was aWorld War I veteran, and as such, he was given a veteran’s bonus.
There is some disagreement about the amount, but $700 is what I remember.
Mother told me the story of Dad leaning on his heels and negotiating all day over $20.
Credit: Courtesy of Patricia English Garner
When they finally agreed on a price, the deal was sealed, and the land was purchased.
It’s been in our family ever since.
Our Farm Has Rustic Beginnings
Thinking about what the farm did not have is easy.
Pat is pictured below with her younger sister (and childhood playmate) Doris Ellen English Quasny.Credit: Courtesy of Patricia English Garner
In the beginning, there was no electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing.
Electricity was added in 1945, but we never had running water or indoor plumbing when I lived there.
Thinking of what the farm did have, though, is far more beneficial.
The land that could be cultivated was very rich, and Dad always planted a garden.
The earliest crops were leaf lettuces and radishes, and then there were English peas and new potatoes.
The summer cropsincluded beets, green beans, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers.
There were dozens of native pecan trees, which were a source of income and delicious treats.
There was enoughspace for chickens, cows, and pigs, which provided the majority of our meat.
Dad went to work in a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp some distance away.
I think they made the move in October in what proved to be an extremely wet year.
Mother and Grandmother managed to buy a horse and grow a garden.
I was born in 1938.
After that, Dad left the CCC and came home to the farm.
And now she has plans togive our place a new life.
