Story of Birth of Forrest's Son Forrest Jr.

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This story was told by Bonnie (Stillwell) Ladd to her son, Forrest Jr., on 17 January 1987.

A sleet and ice storm was continuing on the evening of Monday, 18 January 1927. Forrest and Bonnie lived in a two-room house on a hilltop across the road from Forrest's mother, Mary Matilda "Mamie" (Anderson) Ladd. Her husband Elno Boyd "Dick" had died during the great influenza epidemic of 1918, and she had not yet remarried. (She later married William Marshall Hood on 28 March 1928.) These houses were located in the Happy Valley Community southeast of Cushing, Oklahoma, about three miles east of the schoolhouse.

When Bonnie's contractions increased and it was apparent that a baby was about to be born, Forrest went to Cushing to get Dr. C. M. Richardson and also to get Bonnie's mother Lucinda "Lou" Stillwell as well. Harry, Lou's husband, also drove out from Cushing. Dr. Richardson and Lou got there before the birth took place. Forrest's mother Mamie and Mrs. Patterson, the mother of the wife of Forrest's brother Everett, were there also.

The birth had no complications, and took place about 7 to 7:30 p.m. The baby weighed 7 pounds. Forrest took Dr. Richardson back to town. Harry also drove back home, leaving Lou to stay with Bonnie and the baby. She stayed for three or four days to help out. Lou herself had a daughter (Louella) about 11 months old, who may have been with her (Bonnie didn't say one way or the other about where Louella was during that time). Bonnie's sister Flo, who would have been 17 years old at the time, came after Lou left and stayed about a week. Mamie came daily for about a week to help out also. (Although Bonnie didn't say so, I'm sure her visits continued to be frequent long after that, since the two houses were only about a half-mile or a less apart.)

The birth did not get recorded as it should have because Dr. Richardson's nurse was ill. While she was away from work about five births went unrecorded. Bonnie later arranged to have a delayed certificate made, and in 1940 went by train from her home in Coffeyville, Kansas to Cushing, Oklahoma to get the certificate. The certificate shows the place of birth as Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma since that was the post office that served the Happy Valley community at that time. (One can speculate that this long delay was ended because of the increasing threat of war and the knowledge that her son Forrest Jr. would need to have a birth certificate when he was called for military service.)