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July 2, 2007

Stories – and slang – from the hills

By EDDIE GLENN The Tahlequah Daily Press Mon Jul 02, 2007, 11:26 AM CDT

If you think young people talk funny, you should check out former Cookson resident Gary Courtney’s new book, “The Historic Cookson Hills Dictionary: A Collection of Old Time and Slang Words and Phrases.”

In addition to a history of the hills most Press readers call home, the book also features a glossary of 3,600 terms that old-timers might recognize, but that might leave youngsters thinking, “Man, those old people sure talk funny.”

(Although, a lot of the terms in the book can still be heard in these parts, spoken by young and old alike. Take, for example, “do-hicky,” “flabbergasted,” “yonder,” and “discombobulated.”)

“It has things like ‘out in the back 40,’ ‘bet your bottom dollar,’ and ‘catawampus,’” said Courtney.

“On some of them, I’ve got the source, but not on all. On things like ‘saved by the bell,’ and ‘graveyard shift,’ I’ve got the old medieval origins.”

Courtney said the book also contains a lot of phrases from various professions, like cowboying and railroading, and was compiled with lots of help from lots of local folks.

Although Courtney currently splits his time between Broken Arrow and Colorado, he lived most of the past 15 years near Lake Tenkiller, working on several book projects including “The Historic Cookson Hills Dictionary, “a couple of books about early settlers in Oklahoma, and a biography of the late Carl Janaway, the retired bank-robber and Cherokee County resident who was mobster Al Capone’s caretaker in Alcatraz prison.

“There are three books that have taken the better part of 10 years for me to complete – ‘Carl Janaway: Smartest Bandit of the Cookson Hills,’ the current book, and the ‘Cookson Hills Chronicles,’” said Courtney, adding that the “Chronicles” will include stories about local history he wrote for the Oklahoma Legend during his time here.

“That’ll be of James Michener thickness. It’s a history of the Cookson HIlls, from prehistoric times to the present.”

Courtney’s two works-in-progress on early settlers in the state are part of an Oklahoma Centennial series – which, of course, should be completed by the end of this year.

Those books are “The Pioneers of Dryden,” and “Mathis of Arkansas and Oklahoma.” As indicated by the titles, both document the lives of specific families in particular areas of Oklahoma during the late 19th – and early 20th centuries.

“I didn’t do the books to be just family albums,” said Courtney.

“I did them like family albums, but as tributes to the people and the lifestyle of the times. These are the people who went before us, and who built what we still have now.”

Courtney is hoping to set up a Cookson Hills museum soon, so that much of the material he collected during his research on various projects can be preserved for posterity.

Although he spends most of his time now in areas further west, he still has a special place in his heart for the area.

Courtney said his time in Cherokee County began a new era in his life, which, previously has been wrapped up in the corporate world.

Working in geophysics for the petroleum industry and in computer consulting, Courtney was living in Houston 15 years ago when a divorce changed his entire outlook on life.

“I made a conscious decision to come here [to the Cookson Hills] and change priorities,” he said.

“I had spent a lot of time chasing the almighty dollar, and I decided my priorities would become my intellectual pursuits, and my writings about the area – and there’s more yet to come.”

Contact Eddie Glenn at eglenn@tahlequahdailypress.com.

Check it out

Gary Courtney’s books can be purchased at several online booksellers, including www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, and www.centennialseries1.com.

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