Walkabout in Hobart

I spent most of the day today exploring Hobart. My aim was to find out all I could about the town and get to know some of its people. I also wanted to find out what there was to see and do within walking distance. 

Hobart is known as the Hub of the Great Plains Country  and  was named to honor Garret A Hobart,  the 41st Vice- President of the United States.  The town of Hobart is 112 years old. This  area was settled by courageous pioneers who took advantage of the Land Lottery of 1901, leaving the security of their homes in established communities to  carve a society out of the raw prairie land.

Kiowa County Court House

There is an amazing amount of history in this area. This courthouse was built around 1906 and there are  many buildings that were built previous to that  are which still in use today.  

I began my day by stopping in at Mister Mac’s Best Café and Games Room for  breakfast. This restaurant is directly across from the Court House and when you enter the building you go through the Games Room, down the hall and then make a right into the restaurant.  I met the owner Daryl McCurdy a Vietnam Vet and he provided me with a wealth of information.  Daryl is a story teller so over the course of eating my breakfast  I got treated to some great stories. It seems some of  Daryl’s ancestors were the McCurdy’s from Scotland who were on the losing side of a war  in that country in 1665. There were  four McCurdy brothers and after losing the war all were put out to sea on a boat with no oars or sails. The name McCurdy  means son of navigator and they must have indeed been quite the navigators as they managed to land themselves in Ireland. A year later they sailed across the ocean and ended up in Philadelphia. From there one of them went to Canada, one stayed in Phildelphia and the other two went to Alabama. Apparently there is a town in Alabama that has mostly McCurdy’s in it.   Many years later when Daryl lived in San Antonio, he worked with Blair McCurdy who was also a descendant of one of the four brothers.  It is a small world.

Daryl told me about a lake on the northwest edge of town that had an abundance of birds. He said it was only  about a ¾ of a mile walk.  After returning to the MH to do some very important chores, like  reading and napping, I struck out for the lake.

The lake lies in Hunter Park. It is a small lake with lots of trees on 3 sides and several benches.  Unfortunately, the birds had gotten  to the benches first so sitting on them was not an option.

View of  the Lake in Hunter Park, Hobart, Oklahoma

 There was indeed an abundance of birds. I have never seen so many different kinds of geese and ducks in one place. There were many Canada Greys but also a variety of other birds that I have never seen before.

Note the plumage on the head of the duck to the left. 

The birds below had what appeared to be a"mane" from the top of their head and all the way down their neck.

Marching to the Water

Taking the family out for a swim around the lake. 

These are the same type of birds. As you can see they have a set of feathers that stick out to the side when they swim or walk.

Which way should we go?

I spent an hour or more at the lake just watching the birds and then continued my walk around the town. Many of the side streets are lined on both sides with big trees and often their branches join above the street.  There are also many trees that have clusters of white blossoms and I found out from Daryl that these are actually ornamental pear trees.

Divided street in Hobart lined with Pear Trees

When I returned to the downtown area I once again stopped at Daryl ‘s Best Restaurant.  He had a special on that was pot roast with vegetables and salad for $3.75. Although my intention had been to just have a bowl of soup I was lured by the idea of a nice salad so I  decided to have the special. It was delicious.  It even came with a cupcake for dessert.  I met a gentleman and also a  lady there who were  also full of stories. The lady was originally from Gotebo which is  a small town not far from here and she informed me that on the first Saturday before Labor Day the town has a” Get Down” celebration that is quite famous and well attended. It sounded like a lot of fun and I promised her that if I was ever in this area at that time of year then I would be there for it.  The fellow at the next table was discussing the weather and how the Oklahoma wind only stopped blowing in July and August at which time it was so hot that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Last summer it got up to 115 F.  That’s HOT!!!  

It was a wonderful day!  Tomorrow I plan to take in another museum here and then attend a   live play tomorrow night that is taking place in a room above the Fire Hall.

Keep warm.

Thought for the day:
 There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein