"The Boy from Skiatook"

In 1936 since the Spurgeon-Byrd family unit had little or possibly no money, they “worked” their way from Oklahoma to California, mostly doing field work and following the seasonal crops to be harvested. Everyone accepted the fact they had responsibility to provide income to the family “pot.” The boys, all teenagers, ranged in ages from thirteen to seventeen, with Chet the youngest at thirteen, Toe fourteen, and Leonard being the oldest at seventeen. All were hard workers and had great survival skills. Despite their financial struggles, they had fun and played along the way, making the best of any situation. They never had lemons but rather made lemonade…paraphrasing a strategy from Erma Bombeck. The six journeyed in a 1926 Dodge Touring car which was similar to a convertible. ~~~ Chet saw most things as black and white. There was not a lot of gray. Chet had a great deal of clarity about “right and wrong,” and he always did what he thought was right. Discrimination was wrong. In the early 60’s, when the Kennedys, a black family, moved into the neighborhood, six or seven houses down from the Spurgeon’s home on Castello Way, a petition was circulated in the neighborhood to have the Kennedys move out. When a neighbor brought the petition to the southern-born Chet to sign, he refused, responding, “If anyone can afford to buy here, then they have the right to live here.” Not only did he refuse to sign the petition, he immediately asked Jody to turn-off dinner. Then, he gathered up all the kids who were home at the time and walked his family down the middle of the street to the Kennedy’s home. He waved and acknowledged every neighbor who was standing outside, announcing loudly to each one, “We’re going to the Kennedys to welcome them to the neighborhood.”