November 2024

Lillian Marie (Stangl) Davis passed away at the age of 92 on Nov. 2, 2024. She was born in Okarche on Aug. 19, 1932.

Lillian married Jim Davis (Thomas James) on Dec. 12, 1950, at the Catholic church in Calumet. They lived in and around Calumet, except for the two years they lived in Portola, Calif. The last 54 years were spent in El Reno. 

Lillian raised six children of her own, plus many nieces and nephews. After her children were nearly all gone from home, she started working at the Credit Bureau of Oklahoma City, retiring after 25 years.

The El Reno Tribune’s Honoring Our Troops & Veterans section contains the following content:

El Reno honors fallen vets with Gold Star Plaza

Gold Star Plaza Monument Names

Billy Jack Evans

Amy Neathery will serve as Ward 1 council representative for the next four years and OG&E will continue delivering electricity to El Reno for another 25 years. 

Voters in Tuesday’s General Election also sided with the rest of Canadian County and Oklahoma in sending Donald J. Trump back to the White House as president of the United States.

Neathery won the Ward 1 race with a comfortable margin, garnering 609 votes to runner-up Phillip Church’s 389. Aaron Hines, making his first bid for public office, finished third at 287. 

Ronald Watson was born December 29, 1943. He was the little brother to four older sisters and one older brother: Helen, Shirley, Betty, Linda and Gene.

Ronald grew up in El Reno where he helped his father and his siblings on the farm, usually picking cotton.

They even went to California to pick cotton for a little while.

Ronald always wanted to be a soldier growing up. His sisters said he always played soldier with his brother. They would dress up in uniforms and play with toy guns, which was why it was not surprising when he left to go fight in Vietnam.

The Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner was held last weekend. The event, sponsored by the El Reno Ministerial Alliance, fed close to 1,000 people, said Brenda Grulkey, one of the event’s longtime organizers.

Grulkey said Mobile Meals director Norman Sheridan along with volunteers prepared and delivered meals for 278 of the organization’s customers.

The dinner was held at the 4-H building at the old Canadian County fairgrounds.

At the dinner, some 688 people were fed, which included homebound and some to-go orders.

El Reno’s VFW Post 382 will provide a free lunch on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, to honor all who have served in the U.S. military.

The taco soup or chicken and dumplings dinner will begin at noon at the VFW, 1515 S. Rock Island.

The Friends of the El Reno Carnegie Library will host an open house at the organization’s new headquarters.

The come-and-go event will be from 4 to 6 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church nursery, 221 S. Barker. Those planning to attend are asked to enter through the east doors.

The Friends of the Library plan their first book sale Nov. 15 and 16.

The online scholarship and tuition waiver application is open for current and prospective Redlands Community College students.

New tuition waiver scholarships are available and most range from $250 to $1,000 for each academic year. The Redlands Community College Foundation offers nearly 40 scholarships, including an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to receive a scholarship that offsets fees associated with concurrent classes.

The year 2026 is quickly approaching, just over one year away from us.

I predict that, unless something colossal happens between now and then, the year 2026 will be a huge year of celebrations for two major events, and El Reno is perfectly situated to make the most of both of them.

We have a dog, his name is Patrick Francis Thompson. I wanted to name one of our boys that, but my husband didn’t agree. He said it was “too Irish.”