Oklahoma Firefighter (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 7, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 1, 1994 Page: 15 of 24
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum.
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15
SPECIAL NEIGHBORS!!!
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Annette Brown sorts through clothing to find just the right gift.
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THE OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTER
FEBRUARY, 1994
" Since ^im and 9 do not have any children
we decided that this project would be our
Christmas gift to each other".
clothes hangers for their items. Shoes are available and are sepa-
rated into boxes with the size on the outside. They also have items
for the house such as dishes, towels, shower curtains, blankets etc.
Each family is allowed to select a weeks supply of clothing. Over the
last three years they have helped 16 families whose homes have
burned. Red Cross, schools, police, fire and post office notify them
if someone needs their help. They have donated coats and shoes to
children who do not have any for the wintertime. The Slaughterville
Fire Department, family, friends and customers of Maquire’s store
donate their time helping to take care of this room. A group from
Newcastle came to look at the Browns' setup and six months later
they set up a room forthose who are having hard times. The Browns
are in need of more household items at this time.
As if this wasn't enough of a full time job, the Browns have a special
project at Christmas. They donate their time and money to give
those who are less fortunate a special Christmas. For the past
fourteen years they have delivered special gifts to mentally handi-
capped homes and nursing homes. Each person gets to ask for one
special individual gift. They each receive new underclothes, socks,
gloves, warm clothing, banana nut bread, fruits, nuts, candy and a
Christmas card. This year the Browns purchased the house across
the street from their store which had belonged to Slaughterville
Fire Chief Bud Shepherd. They will eventually move into this house,
but for this year they used it to house their Christmas project.
Annette tries to match up items so that the patients can have a
complete outfit. Each item is wrapped in Christmas paper donated
by Anthony's and personally labeled. Each room is full of boxes of
gifts. This year United Design in Noble donated small decorated
Christmas trees for the patients rooms. They also donated small
animal figurines for each person. Annette Brown said “ Since Jim
and I do not have any children we decided that this project would
be our Christmas gift to each other”. They receive help from two
banks and three churches in making the banana nut bread. They
also make special items for those who are diabetic. Jim and Annette
take money from their own pockets to fund this project. They would
like to thank Anthony s for the donation of wrapping paper .boxes
and the discount given to them on items they purchase for this
project. Wacker's Store also gives them a discount on large size items.
o JI and Annette Brown of Slaughterville, Oklahoma,
community involvement is a way of life. In 1990, three and
_ a half years ago a devastating fire destroyed ten homes.
These families were left without the basic necessities of life. This is
when the Browns stepped in to help their neighbors. Through their
Maguire Farm Store they asked the citizens of Slaughterville to
bring in items to help these families get back on their feet. A sign was
posted in the store asking for clothing, housewares, towels, shoes
community.
As I visited their facility in
December, I came away with
a new sense of what Christ-
mas is all about. How special
these two individuals are to
not only their community but
to all of us. It takes special
people to help those less for-
tunate. Whether it be burned
out families or disabled and
old people there are those who
care what happens to them.
In this day and age with all
that is going on in the world it
gives me a warm feeling to
know that there are still
people like the Browns and the
community of Slaughterville
that are indeed very special
neighbors. •
•F zasemensa
Boxes and boxes of Christmas gifts fill each room.
°24
1%
This year they placed a poster with a Christmas tree in their store
and asked the customers to adopt a person and help give them a
Christmas. They took one disabled home and made a card for each
individual telling their ages and their hobbies. They hope that the
community will not only become involved at Christmas, but hope-
fully make this an ongoing relationship. They hope to get more
people involved in takingcare
of those lessfortunate in their
and any other items they felt would be needed. Through their efforts
the Browns collected more than was needed for these families. Jim
and Annette decided to set up a room in a railroad Boxcar they were
using to keep stock for their store. These items were for others who
made need help due to disaster or who fallen on hard times. The
boxcar houses clothing for men, women and children, everything is
laundered before it is put on the shelf. When this project first started
Annette did approximately 300 loads of laundry to get the clothing
ready for the families. The clothes are separated for men, women
and children. There are coats for every member of the family. A local
dry cleaner donates coats that have been left behind longer than a
year. They also clean their coats for half price and take 1/4 off the
laundry price. Anthony's Clothing Store in Norman donated the
boxes in which items are packaged. Each family also receives
m22k
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u
Special Neighbors!!! L-R OSFA Third Vice President Bob Smith
and his wife Joyce, Annette Brown, Jim Brown pose in
front of Maguire Farm Store.
I !
J
The Browne make this a tpecial
Christmas for a neighbor.
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Cochran, Sherry. Oklahoma Firefighter (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 7, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 1, 1994, periodical, February 1, 1994; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1941723/m1/15/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum.