Roscoe Thompson's Story

In this 1911 classroom photo from Eastside school, there is a young boy named Roscoe who has drawn an arrow to himself beginning on the blackboard and over three rows to a young boy resting his right arm on the desk behind him. The photograph came from the collection of Nellie Beavers Childs.

The mystery began when Nellie Beavers Childs told me (Letty Watt) in a 1993 interview that Roscoe drew an arrow to himself in her two photos. 

Nellie Child's Story

I immediately thought Roscoe might be slightly ornery to draw a line to himself on a girl's class photo. He also drew a line in the 1908 photograph that Nellie carried with her. 

**This one's for you Roscoe: the line drawn to a young boy who would one day take over his father's business and create a legacy for Norman, Oklahoma.  

Curiosity took over and I set out in spring of 2025 to find out who Roscoe Thompson really was. In less than three months of social media, phone calls, and personal encounters I discovered that I personally knew Roscoe’s grandson, Craig Thompson, who works at OK Runner (3408 36th Ave NW Suite 100, Norman, OK 73072).

One afternoon in May, Gus Thompson, youngest son of Roscoe, and his wife Anna met me at Jefferson school to talk about Gus’s father, Roscoe.

Roscoe graduated from Norman High School in 1920 (building facing East Gray St. operated 1909—1958).

When I asked Gus about the nickname "Trucky" on his graduation picture, he said the family never used it, but it probably referred to their business "OK Transfer and Storage" being the first business to retire their workhorse "Old Domino" in 1915 and purchase a truck. It seemed logical that high school students in 1920 would nickname him "Trucky." 

Roscoe's son, Gus, also said that his father really never seemed ornery and wasn't sure why he would have drawn the line to himself in the old phots, but Gus smiled just the same. 

Roscoe’s father, James Milton “Milt” Thompson was the Foreman for the Henry Johnson Ranch in the Chickasaw Nation on the south banks of the Canadian River. When Roscoe was three the family, Milt and Lillie Belle, moved to Norman. In 1904 Milton Thompson started the "OK Transfer and Storage" business.

When Roscoe graduated from high school his plan was to go to college and become an engineer. When he enrolled, the University of Oklahoma professor said, “We don’t know what electrical engineering is but we can teach you how to use electricity.”

The family describes Roscoe as a quiet man who loved to read and quoted famous people and books regularly. In the 1920’s Roscoe married Esther Baker. However, in 1926 his father, Milt, was in a financial pinch and the bank went to Roscoe and asked if he would take over the business. The bankers thought Roscoe had the ability to rescue the business.

James Milton Thompson sold the business “Ok Transfer and Storage” to his son, Roscoe,  for $1.00 on June 28, 1926.

Milt became a farmer on a 160-acre plot of land owned by John and Bessie Baker, who were Esther’s parents.  John was the agent for Santa Fe Railroad at the Norman Depot.  

By 1924 Norman became known as the “City of Churches” with construction of one of the finest churches in the Southwest, The McFarlin Methodist Church. The merchants were proud of services and goods sold in Norman, so a Merchants Parade was staged with three of Thompson’s latest model trucks kicking off the parade, displaying new equipment in use.

 

Norman was recovering from its “greatest fire” that gutted building east from Peters St. The same year the highest flood waters known to the area swept through Little River. Even with these setbacks 200 new families moved to Norman and Roscoe Thompson was there to help with the moving and recovery.

 

Over the decades the Thompson name became ubiquitous with Norman businesses. Roscoe’s family with his wife, Esther, who was known as “boss Mom” had five sons: Jerry, Joe, Pat, Mike, and Gus.

 

Thompson Drive was named after the family grew its business at the far West side of Norman, now the corner of West Main and Thompson Drive, 1918 West Main.

Our Roscoe was known by his sons as “Daddy” and later known to his grandkids as “Pop.” Beginning in 1933 Roscoe Thompson started a men’s fishing trip for his employees and sons. This year in 2025 Gus shared that he had returned from the 88^th Annual TAFT--Thompson Annual Fishing Trip. 

*Great-Grandson, Brian McLaughlin, a fourth grader at Jefferson in 1994, participated in the 1894--1994 100th anniversary play "Then and Now"  of Eastside/Jefferson school.

 

 

 

 

1908--1994 Their Friendship Endured

Boys will be boys whether it is 1909 or 2025. In this photo the arrow is drawn to a young boy named Roscoe Thompson. Whether he was a close neighbor, a friend who teased the girls (my guess), or an ornery kid, we will never know. What we do know is that in the two photos donated by Nellie Beavers Childs in 1993, either she or Roscoe drew an arrow pointing to him, not to Nellie and not to her lifelong best friend, Metaline. What does this tell you?

I had the opportunity to interview Nellie in 1993 at her apartment on Hal Muldrow Dr. in Norman. Her is a portion of her story.

In second grade class we had Miss Callie Webster who was a beautiful 18-year-old teacher. We loved her.  One day it was snowing and we were standing by Miss Webster's desk when she asked the girl next to me how she kept her hair in curls all day. The girl answered, "My mother puts something sweet on it every day." The teacher felt her curls and sure enough they were stiff. 

1908 Eastside School (Jefferson). Look for arrow in the top right hand corner and then see the photo of a young boy named Roscoe Thompson. Roscoe was a friend of Nellie Beavers Childs, the lady who donated this picture to Jefferson for our 1994 for our Centennial. 

1909-1910 2^nd grade JEFFERSON SCHOOL (Nellie Beavers Child) Pictures

Teacher: Callie Webster

Row 1: boy,  Metaline Cathey, lived on N.E. corner of Finley and Gray. They had a store in one room selling tablets, pencils, etc. boy, girl, girl, Agnes Wolf (McComb)  and Thelma Walker.

Row 2: (did not identify which one) Chester Capshaw, son of one of our first doctors. 7^th person Marion Moffett. Her father ran a bicycle shop in 200 block of Main on North Finley street. Next Robert Durkie; next Otis Sullivant.

Row 3: 1^st girl Martha Lee McComb, 2nd girl Nellie Beavers, 7^th person Aubrey Davis, 12^th Roscoe Thompson, ___, 13^th head of Addie Wilson. 

I enrolled in first grade in 1908 even though I was only five years old. I could already read. The neighbors said I couldn't go because I wasn't six years old. My brother said, "I'll put the number 5 in your shoe and if your teacher asks you, you can say you're over 5 years old." My teacher never did ask. I think Miss Cook knew because she was a friend of our family.

Every morning, at noon and during recess our janitor sat at the top of the stairs, and he would hand sharpen our pencils using his knife. One pencil at a time. We didn't have pencil sharpeners.  In the morning he stood at the top of the stairs to see if any students were still running to school. If he saw any children he waited to ring the tardy bell till the last students were in the room. 

*Look closely at the photo. Roscoe drew an arrow from the chalkboard to the third row of boys. He is looking at the camera and has his elbow on the desk behind on top of books. 

We didn't have programs in the school like we do now. The only thing I remember is the Maypole dance in the school yard. Some students were selected from each class to wind the Maypole on May Day. 

Out of our first-grade class there were at least ten who graduated with me in 1920. I know five of them taught school.  In second grade we had seatmates, but I guess we talked too much, and the teacher moved one of us out of the seat and put a boy in our place. I had to move and sit with a different boy. I thought it was great because the boy she put me with I knew from church, but he didn't like it (I wonder if this was Roscoe?). None of the boys liked having a girl for a seatmate. 

I lived on the corner of Findley and Apache, about four blocks south of Main Street. The house is still there. My mother lived there when she was a widow with two little children. She married again and that's when I was born. 

In second grade I still had the same seatmate, but I guess we talked too much, and the teacher moved one of us out of the seat with a boy and put that boys seat mate with Marie. I thought that was great because the boy she put me with I knew from church, but he didn’t like it. The boys didn’t like having a girl for a seatmate. 

I grew up when Norman just had dirt streets. Then later they paved Main Street and University Street. I can remember my brother putting us both on a bicycle and going over to University street to ride on the paved road. I mostly played boys games because of my brother. He taught me how to play Mumble Peg, a game where you learn to throw a knife. I also played marbles and spin the tops.

When I was in the 4^th grade they commenced a basketball team. I think it was the 8^th grade girls. I never did see the boys play. Of course, the only people they played against was Washington. Washington and Jefferson, well they didn’t get along.

“Now these are girls?” I inquired.

Yes, on a girls team. They had to play outdoors. This would have been seventh and eighth grade girls.

I remember that they played against Washington school. It was terrible the rival between the two schools. It continued in high school so that they hardly mixed in high school. 

My last two years of high school a new course was put in called "teachers training." We had to teach all of the 8th grade teaching and many hours of observation. We had to take notes and come back to our teacher and tell her. If they needed a teacher in Eastside (Jefferson) they would send one of us. Six out of twenty of us went on to teach the next year after we graduated. 

They gave us a fake teaching certificate to begin with. If we taught for three years and went to summer school we earned a LIFE certificate. 

*Note: this is the new Norman High School opened in 1909 when Eastside school had outgrown the classrooms. It is the picture in the background of Nellie Beavers graduation picture. 

*The Moore-Lindsay House Museum has pictures from early year books online and I discovered that Roscoe, Metaline, and Nellie each graduated from Norman High School in 1920.

My first teaching job was to finish out a term in a sixth grade class in Muskogee. I discovered I didn't like that at all. Then I moved to Paden and taught high school English and Spanish. My principal said I had to teach Economics. I told him No and said, "Can't you teach it?"  His reply was a headshaking negative stare. So I had to teach Economics and study the night before each class to stay ahead of them. 

I taught several years before moving to Pittsburg, another coal mining town where I met my husband. We moved around with his job in the mines and I taught at Shawnee, Seminole, Wewoka, and Sayre.

At last we moved back to Norman and I taught at Norman High School where I retired in 1965.  

As with retirement, our story does not end here. No more mention of Roscoe in

her interview, nor does she talk about Metaline.

However, in the spring of 1994 Nellie Beavers Childs was accompanied by her

daughter and attended our 100 year celebration of Jefferson school. During that time she brought an oil painting done by her lifelong friend, Metaline Cathey Lee.

Ten years ago the librarian gave me this picture and said, "I think you know this lady and her story."

**Metaline writes in her own handwriting on the back of this canvas: This painting was done for my friend since first grade, Nellie Beavers Childs. The painting shows hibiscus blooming in Mrs. Cathy's yard in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Mrs. Childs spent winters in the Valley after she retired as a Norman High School teacher in 1965. 

And so, it has taken me from 1994 to 2025 to put all of these pieces together. Rest in peace Nellie, Metaline, and Roscoe. You made our world and better place to live, especially for the children in Norman, Ok. 

4/6/2025 The following stories come from my Facebook post about Nellie Childs:

I had Nellie Childs at Norman High School in the 1960's and loved here. Jane Ash Yearout

My sophomore English teacher at NHS and she was quite a lady! Vaughn Clark

I was a student of Mrs. Childs, also.  Judy Matlock

I had her for Sophomore English in 1960. As for Roscoe Thompson he was a former mayor and Bob Thompson's (Midway Deli) grandfather. He was also an uncle to my lifetime friends Patti and Jerry Nolan and Jim and Barbara Sellers. The Thompson's are a huge family and some of Norman's finest.  David Fries. 

We are the Jefferson Dragons. We symbolize "Power, Wisdom, and Chaos." Right now, we are sorting through the chaos and laughing...laughing and loving every moment of the research expedition into our history. 

Mrs. Watt, Librarian and author