District 3, July 2024

Well, if you’ve been outside lately, then you already know that summer is here. It seems like I was just writing about spring arriving, and so quickly, it comes to an end.

As I prepared to write this article, I realized that we spent a lot of spring in celebration.

The school year came to an end. So we celebrated by honoring those students that have worked so hard throughout the year in academics, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. Congratulations to all their successes.

Congratulations to our 2024/25 District 3 Choctaw princesses. Senior Miss – Diamond Henry, Junior Miss – Emma Battiest, and Little Miss – Addison York. I know that they will all work hard for and will proudly represent the Choctaw Nation.

District 3 celebrated the moms and dads with a nice lunch served at each of the community centers in honor of Mother’s and Father’s Days.

We also took time to remember and honor our veterans. There were Memorial Day celebrations held at the community centers as well as at Tuskahoma. These celebrations are our small way to show our appreciation, as there is no way we can truly repay these men and women for the sacrifices they made and are still making for our freedoms.

Speaking of our freedoms, our Fourth of July celebration will be at Tuskahoma on July 5. We want everyone to come out and have a good time, yet not forget why we are celebrating.

Another big event that we have coming up is the Labor Day Festival. Scheduled August 30 – September 1. The music venue has already been announced and many event schedules/entry forms are available in the Biskinik and online.

Everyone, please remember summer is here. The heat will be brutal. Stay cool, stay hydrated, and stay informed. Check your local news for heat alerts and know the symptoms of a heat illness.

I had the opportunity to meet Leroy (96) and Connie (94) Williams. For the past 65 of their 76 years of marriage, they have resided in the same house in Honobia, Oklahoma.

Seventy-six years ago, when Leroy (well-known for his fiddle playing) asked for Connie’s hand, his future father-in-law asked him how they planned on getting by. Leroy replied by saying they’d make it. His father-in-law told him he would have to do better than just make it.

So, they began their marriage with $19 between them. Leroy walked five miles every day to his job, which paid 65 cents an hour.

He and Connie had one daughter. He retired from the county, and Connie retired from Christ Forty Acres. They attend Christ Church at Little River Valley and enjoy reading.

When you look at Leroy and Connie Williams, you will see that they did much better than just making it.

Chi pisa la chike