Life History

Other facts

Notes

• Orville was an 8-month-old infant when his mother bundled him off to the train for an international trip with all her children.  They were traveling from Oklahoma to British Columbia to join his father, who was working on the Canadian-Alaska highway project.
  
  Canadian immigration records report their entry at the border post of White Rock, British Columbia, on their way to Vancouver.  This reports that all the children, as well as Jennie, were born in Texas, though we know from family sources and censuses that Orville and all these children were born in Oklahoma.  Notice the record says even 8-month-old Orville is a Farmer, as are all the children!
  
  Canadian Immigration Records, White Rock, British Columbia, 12 Dec 1912
  Jenkins, Mrs Jennie  Female age 30 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver $3.00 Cash  To Husband
  Jenkins, Mary Female age 15 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  Jenkins, Mable Female age 11 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  Jenkins, Asa Male age 8 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  Jenkins, Ronda Fay Female age 5 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  Jenkins, Carthal Male age 3 Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  Jenkins, Orville Male age 8months Farmer Born Texas Citizen of Texas Train CMR 356 from Oklahoma to Vancouver
  
  After about 2.5 years they moved back to Oklahoma.  They are recorded in Kiowa County, in the 1920 census.
  
  1920 Federal Census, Kiowa County, Oklahoma, 3 January, Mt View, District 14, Page 1A, Hse/Fam #1
  Jenkins, Joseph A  Head  M W 54  TX NC MS Farmer
  Jenkins, Juliva V [Julia Virginia]  Wife  FW 39 TX GA NC
  Jenkins, Orville L  Son M W 7 OK TX TX
  
  When I was a boy my father, Orville Lee Jenkins, would tell us stories about his childhood.  He told us about his father being a lawman in frontier Oklahoma.  His father served as town marshal in Marlow, Fort Cobb and Mountain View, Oklahoma.
  
  My grandfather, Joseph Asa Jenkins, was a peace officer for a total of 20 years, serving as chief of police in Marlow, deputy sheriff in Mountain View and city marshal of Fort Cobb.  My father inherited an old hammer-fire shotgun that my grandfather used in his police work.
  
  It appears that Joe moved his family from Mountain View to Fort Cobb in about 1921.  The 1920 census reports Joseph Asa still farming in Mt View Township.  His daughter Mabel told a story that would place the beginning of the Marshall job in October 1921.  Harold Christian quotes Joe's daughter Mabel as saying:  "When Kerwin was about 3-4 days old, Poppa was made City Marshall."
  
  Kerwyn was born in October 1921.  If Mabel's memory is right, then Joseph Asa became Marshall of Fort Cobb in October 1921.  And they may have been living in Ft Cobb already before that time.  It may also be that Joe actually took up duties as town marshal of Ft Cobb before the family moved from the farm near Mt. View.  The two towns are not far apart, in neighboring counties.  He could have been formally installed at the time Mabel reports, whether or not the family had already moved to Ft Cobb.
  
  It was in 1928, when he was 16 years old, that Orville had an accident that caused a bone bruise to his right shoulder that ultimately resulted in the loss of his right arm, and considerable crippling from osteomyelitis.  During his long recuperation he took a correspondence course in electronics and learned to repair and build radios and related equipment.  He began a business by fixing neighbors' radios while learning and it became a business.  He tried to return to school but his business was growing so fast and the logistics and formal requirements for attendance so strict, he dropped out.
  
  1930 Federal Census, Caddo County, Oklahoma, 1 April, Fort Cobb, District 26, p 9A, Hse #181, Fam #215
  Joe A Jenkins  Head  M W 63 TX MS MS
  Julia Jenkins  Wife  F W 49 TX GA NC
  Orville Jenkins son M W 17 OK TX TX
  
  Stories about some of Joesph's spectacular experiences as a lawman there were reported in the Fort Cobb paper in 1931 and 1932.  Joe and his remaining family moved to Chickasha some time after 1935, according to the records.  The 1940 census (see below) reports that in 1935, the family still lived in Fort Cobb.
  
  By 1938, Orville had a thriving radio repair business.  He is listed in the residential and business directories of Chickasha, Oklahoma in 1938.  He had the only radio repair shop in Chickasha.
  
  Chickasha City Directory 1938, p 107
  Jenkins Orville radio service 113 N 4th  r[esidence] 1417 S 18th
  
  Chickasha City Business Directory 1938, p 301
  Radio Repairing
  Jenkins Orville 113 N 4th
  
  Fourth street was in downtown Chickasha, on the main north-south highway going through town.  The highway numbers running along this route now are US 81, US 277 and Oklahoma 92.  They were about a block south of the main highway running east-west through Chickasha.
  
  By 1940, the Chickasha City Business Directory indicates that Orville had four competitors in the radio repair business.
  
  Chickasha City Business Directory 1940, p 259
  Radio Repairing
  Dunham Geo W 423 W Minnesota av
  Ernest's Radio Service 515 Chickasha av
  Franklin Avon L 925 S 20th
  Home State Electric Shop 705 S 1st
  Jenkins Orville 113 N 4th
  
  Chickasha, Oklahoma. City Directory 1940, p 92
  Jenkins Jos A (Virginia) h 1710 S 19th
  Jenkins Netheline cash Rialto Theatre h 1710 S 19th
  Jenkins Orville radio repair 114 N 4th h 2002 S 15th
  
  It appears that Orville had his own residence, as reported by the directory at 2002 South 15th St in Chickasha, but in the census, he is reported with his parents at their address at 1710 19th St in Chickasha.  Perhaps he was reported by his parents in their household for convenience.  Or perhaps Orville moved shortly after the census and the information for the directory was gathered later in the year, after Orville had moved to his own residence.
  
  1940 Federal Census, Grady County, Oklahoma, 12 April, Chickasha Ward 1, District 26-9B, page 11B, 1710 19th St, Hse #1710, Rents $25
  Jenkins, Joseph A Head M W 74 Grade 5 b Texas lived in Caddo Co OK in 1935 No Occup
  Jenkins, Julia V Wife F W 64 Grade HS-2 b Texas lived in Caddo Co OK in 1935 NO Occup
  Jenkins, Orville L Son M W 27 Single Grade HS-3 b Oklahoma lived in Caddo Co OK in 1935 Radio Repair
  Jenkins, Netheline Dau F W 21 Single b Oklahoma lived in Caddo Co OK in 1935 Cashier, Amusements
  
  In 1940 Orville registered for the draft.
  
  Registration Certificate
  This is to certify that in accordance with the Selective Service Proclamation of the President of the United States  Orville Lee Jenkins, Chickasha-Grady-Okla has been duly registered this 16th day of  October 1940.
  (signed) Bernard E Lowe, Registrar for Precinct 4, Ward 1, Chickasha, Oklahoma
  -- back side --
  Description of Registrant
  White   Brown Eyes
  Brown Hair  Ruddy Complexion
  scar on right side face  No right arm
  --  WWII Draft Registration Card, selective Service, Chickasha, Oklahoma, in possession of Orville Boyd Jenkins
  
  In July 1944, he was granted an exemption under Class IV-F, permanent disability.
  
  Due to his bout with osteomyelitis at age 16, Orville had suffered considerable bone damage and lost his right arm.  His hips were fused and one knee was stiff.
  
  "Notice of classification Orville Lee Jenkins Order No 398 has been classified in Class IV-F [disability exempted] until further notice.  7-27-44  [Back side]  Local Board No. 1 Grady County Jul 27 1944 City Hall Chickasha, Oklahoma."
  --  WWII Draft Exemption Card, Selective Service, Chickasha, Oklahoma, in possession of Orville Boyd Jenkins
  
  During World War I Orville was a radio/radar technician supervisor at Tinker Field in Oklahoma City.  For a while, he lived with his brother Bud and his wife Eyline in the City.  Bud's son Trent comments on that period.
  
  "I remember your dad so well and fondly, as with your mom, Aunt Lou.  He and my dad, Bud, were close.  In fact, Uncle Orville lived with us for a time in Oklahoma City during WW2, about 1942.  At 5 years old I was fascinated by how he put his clothes and socks on with one arm & a clothes hanger.  He was always very technically minded too, right, fixing radios, etc?  I can remember going to your house in Chickasha to watch the TV series, "Victory at Sea," sitting on the floor in front of the TV with your mom holding a baby - probably you [Orville Boyd Jenkins]!  Guess you had a television set before we did!  But our dads were in business together for a while, I think."
  --  Trent Jenkins, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 16 May 2009
  
  Among Orville's belongings, in the possession of his daughter Julia Mabel Jenkins Willadson, there was an employee album with pictures and job assignments of all employees at Tinker Field Air Force Base (now called Tinker Air Force Base) Midwest City, Oklahoma.
  
  "Orville L Jenkins, Junior Radio Mechanic"
  
  As a child and on into my teen years, I remember my father telling me about being a Radar Repair Supervisor at Tinker Field.  In this employee book, he is described as a Junior Radio Mechanic.  This may have been an earlier initial title, after which he was promoted to the Radar job and became a supervisor.  The year of this Tinker Field employee album is not known.  Thought to be about 1943.  -- Orville Boyd Jenkins
  
  Also among his belongings was a wallet containing cards and photos (now in the possession of his son Orville Boyd Jenkins).  One card was his police radio operator license for Chickasha, Oklahoma.  This document is undated, but would have been about 1945.
  
  It correlates with the Chickasha police annual of 1945, where he was listed as a member of the Chickasha Police Department, with the responsibility of Chief Radio Operator.  I found it interesting that it was still in his wallet, with other cards and later photos of his family in Vilonia, Arkansas, where he lived with his second wife till he died.
  
  City of Chickasha
  This is to certify that Orville L Jenkins the bearer whose signature, photograph and description appears [sic] on reverse side is employed by the city of Chickasha, Oklahoma, as Chief Radio Operator Sta. KACF.
  (signed) G E Krell, Chief of Police
  -- back side --
  Description
  Age 33  Ht 5' 7"  Wt 120  Col W
  Hair Dk Brown  Eyes Brown
  Comp. Dark
  Left Index Finger (he had no right arm)
  There is no photo attached and no fingerprint appears
  
  I find it interesting that in the description they do not add anywhere that he had no right arm, a distinctive characteristic.
  
  Orville met Lou Ila Gregory, from near Lindsay, Oklahoma, after she came to work in Chickasha.  Lou worked as a cook in the Grady County Hospital.  They decided to marry.  Their marriage license/certificate was issued 27 August 1946 in Grady County, Oklahoma.
  
  They were married 1 September 1946 at Calvary Baptist Church, Chickasha, by Pastor Paul R Morgan.  Witnesses at their wedding were Orville's brother Asa Jenkins of Anadarko and Lou's sister Dessie Gregory of Lindsay.  The marriage was recorded 5 September 1946 in Grady County Marriage Record Book 31, page 550.
  
  Grady  County, Oklahoma Marriage Certificate
  Grady County Marriage Record Book 31, page 550
  Ceremony 1 September 1946
  Officiated by Rev Paul Morgan at Calvary Baptist Church, at Chickasha, Grady, Oklahoma
  Recorded 5 September 1946
  Witnesses:
  Asa Jenkins of Anadarko, Oklahoma (brother of the groom)
  Dessie Gregory of Lindsay, Oklahoma (sister of the bride)
  Grady County, Oklahoma, license issued 27 August 1946 at Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma
  Orville L Jenkins of Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma, age 34
  Miss Lou Ila Gregory of Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma, age 25
  Filed 5 September 1946
  
  ----------------
  Lou Ila married Orville Jenkins, an appliance repairman in Chickasha, OK.  They had three sons:  Orville Boyd, who has been a Baptist Missionary to mainly East Africa for over forty years, Gregory Wayne, who lives in West Virginia, where he is a music minister.  Gary Lynn, their youngest, was killed in an auto accident in Arkansas when only nineteen years old.
  
  When Lou Ila and Orville were married, they spent several years in Quanah, Texas, where Orville owned a radio station -- KOLJ (the OLJ representing his name, Orville Lee Jenkins).  They divorced in 1964 and Orville moved to Arkansas.
  
  Lou Ila later moved to Vernon, Texas before moving back to Lindsay in 1972.  Lou Ila has been an Avon representative for over thirty-two years.
  --  Pikes Peak History Book 1908-2008, pp 27, courtesy of Loretta Gregory Gay of Lindsay, Oklahoma, January 2020
  ----------------
  
  The 1947 Chickasha Directory lists Orville and Lou and shows that Orville has moved his shop about two blocks around the corner where major east-west and north-south highways meet and diverge.  The new address is now 312 Choctaw Street.  His radio repair shop is now located on the main east-west street in northern Chickasha
  
  The highways running on this route are US 81, Oklahoma 9 and 92.  Now his brother Bud (Arthur Carthal) is sharing the building with Orville, running a Maytag appliance store at the street address 308 Choctaw Street.
  
  The first Jenkins listing in Chickasha is Bud's appliance store.  I list here the entries related to our family.
  
  Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory 1947, p 135
  Jenkins Appliance Co (Arthur C Jenkins) 308 Choctaw av
  Jenkins Arthur C (Eileen; Jenkins Appliance Co) h[ome] 1227 S 6th
  Jenkins Jos A (Jennie) h 2002 S 15th
  Jenkins Orville L (Lou I; Jenkins Radio Co) h 2027 S 14th
  Jenkins Radio Co (Orville L Jenkins) 312 Choctaw av
  
  -------------------------
  O L Jenkins Announce Son
  
  Mr and Mrs Orville L Jenkins of Chickasha announce the arrival of a son, Orville Boyd, on July 21 [1948]. ... Mrs Jenkins is the former Miss Lou Ila Gregory who, before her marriage, lived near Lindsay. After moving to Chickasha she was employed as dietician [cook] at the Chickasha hospital.  The baby's father finished highschool [sic] at Chickasha and is owner of a radio and appliance store there.
  
  --  clipping probably from the Lindsay News, Lindsay, Oklahoma, about 24 July 1948, exact publication date uncertain;   courtesy of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, who saved this from the original edition, to Orville Boyd Jenkins 31 January 2018
  -------------------------
  
  Orville became interested in radio broadcasting and began investigating sites for a transmitter and studio.  By 1949, he finally settled on Quanah, Texas, just south of the Red River near the panhandle.  A newspaper clipping announced the filing of a permit for that location.  This and another short newspaper item were found as Lou Ila Jenkins was sorting through some papers in January 2018.  Correlating with other available information, it was first thought these two articles were from 1950.
  
  The clippings had no notations or indication of publication date.  However, in July 2019 the text of an article in the Quanah paper was found, and it was dated in March 1949.  Though the text is somewhat different, the Quanah article matches the second story below from the Chickasha paper.
  
  -------------------------
  Jenkins Applies to Operate Radio in Quanah, Texas
  
  Orville Jenkins has filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission  to operate a 250-watt radio station at 1150 kilocycles in Quanah, Texas.
  
  The FCC acknowledged Saturday having received the application.
  
  Mr Jenkins said Saturday night there are still various steps and red tape to be cleared before he receives final word concerning the station.
  
  --  Newspaper unidentified, but appears to be from the Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, Oklahoma; date uncertain, but to be early 1949, since follow up stories on 3 March and 4 March 1949 announced that the station permit had been issued and reported that Orville Jenkins of Chickasha, Oklahoma, was in Quanah examining possible sites for the station;  clipping courtesy of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, Lindsay, Oklahoma, January 2018
  -------------------------
  
  An article was published in the Quanah Tribune-Chief Newspaper on 3 March 1949 reporting that Orville was in Quanah scouting for a site for the station.
  
  Orville Jenkins, Chickasha appliance store owner, who applied for a radio station permit for Quanah, was here last week looking over the location.  Jenkins said that when the commission granted a permit to start construction, he would need a building on the outskirts of town.   He said that he expected for the time to have a studio and transmission station combined.   Mr Jenkins said that he would move his family to Quanah at a later time.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 3 March 1949, p 1
  
  A similar article appeared the following day in the Chickasha, Oklahoma, newspaper.
  
  -------------------------
  Quanah Radio Station May Be Started in Near Future
  
  Quanah, March 4 -- Orville Jenkins of Chickasha, Okla, who holds a permit for a radio station in Quanah, was in this city examining locations.  He is now waiting for a permit to start construction.
  
  Jenkins stated that he would need a building on the outskirts of Quanah, and that for the time he planned to have a studio and transmission station combined.
  
  --  Newspaper unidentified, but appears to be from the Chickasha Daily Express, Chickasha, Oklahoma, 4 March (1949), clipping courtesy of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, Lindsay, Oklahoma, January 2018
  -------------------------
  
  The Quanah paper reported that Orville was in town again the next month.
  
  -------------------------
  Seeks Site For Quanah Radio Station
  
  Seeking a site and location for a radio station which will meet with the approval of the Radio Commission, Orville Jenkins of Chickasha was in Quanah this week.  Mr Jenkins, who made the application for the radio station for Quanah, said that the proposed station of 500 watts would be the most powerful in this area.  He said that he hoped to have the station in operation by November 1st if there is no delay in granting of permits.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, ll April 1949
  -------------------------
  
  -------------------------
  BUILDING PERMITS
  
  The owner of the franchise for a radio station in Quanah, Orville Jenkins of Chickasha, has approached the Quanah Chamber of Commerce for assistance in establishing the station Directors of the Chamber of Commerce have invited Mr Jenkins here to discuss his proposition.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 1 December 1949, p 1
  -------------------------
  
  -------------------------
  RADIO STATION PLAN DISCUSSED BEFORE GROUP
  OWNER PLANS OPERATION BY JULY OF 1950
  
  A radio station will be in operation in Quanah by July if plans of Orville L Jenkins of Chickasha are completed, he announced here Tuesday.  Mr Jenkins, an appliance dealer in Oklahoma, who secured the Federal franchise for a station for Quanah last year, met with a group of Quanah citizens.  An outline of the [transcription indecipherable] and program of [transcription indecipherable] new station was shown, the tune [?] by Mr. Jenkins.
  
  The station will be one of the most powerful in this area and will fill an opening which was [transcription indecipherable] in this part of the state. The focus [transcription indecipherable] Washington to complete plans the station and said that he hopes to be able to [transcription indecipherable] Quanah during the coming months of 1950.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 29 December 1949, p 1
  -------------------------
  
  There were delays but finally things were falling into place.  An article in the Tribune Chief had an item on this in early 1950.
  
  There has been further delay on the radio station. Orville Jenkins of Chickasha, time with the limited amount of Okla, who is going to construct this station, says construction will start as soon as a construction [site has been located for the] radio station. Orville Jenkins of Chickasha, Okla., who is going to construct
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, February 09, 1950, p 12
  
  Orville moved his family to Quanah in early 1951, and the station went on the air on 1 May 1951.
  
  "The local radio station, KOLJ, 1150 on the dial, went on the air from 1:00 am until 4:00 am, Wednesday morning for the first time while equipment tests were being conducted.  Station owner, Orville Jenkins, announced this week that the station would be on the air about May 1st or a few days following that date."
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 19 April 1951, p 1
  
  I found a listing for Orville and his radio station in a Yearbook of the Broadcasting Industry in Texas.  Here is a transcription of the entry for 1951.  This issue lists the station still in the stage of having the construction permit.  It is unclear just when Orville received his Construction Permit (CP) from the Federal Communications Commission.  However, we know from the article above that they began broadcasting on 1 May 1951.
  
  QUANAH    (Hardeman County)
  KOLJ   1150      Orville L. Jenkins  p, gm
  CP       500-D    Chickasha, Oklahoma
  (Phone) 3260
  [Abbreviations mean: proprietor, General Manager, Construction Permit, 500 Watts, Daytime, Proprietor's residence and phone #]
  --  Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1951, p 305
  
  The designation CP means KOLJ has been granted a Construction Permit and is in the process of getting its buildings and equipment set up for broadcasting.  They have been granted broadcasting rights on the frequency 1150 with a power output of 500 Watts for daylight only.
  
  Orville kept this radio repair business in Chickasha going until after he moved to Quanah, Texas, in 1951.  His radio shop was run by employees during his trips to Quanah while establishing the radio business and installing the broadcasting equipment before going on the air in 1952.  He later sold the radio shop in Chickasha.  Orville's family moved to Quanah in early 1951.  His second son Gregory Wayne was born there on 31 May 1931.
  
  A letter from the Texas State Department of Health to Mr and Mrs Orville Lee Jenkins confirming registration of the birth was postmarked in Austin, Texas, on 17 April 1952, almost 11 months after his birth.  The letter is not dated.  At the time of the birth, Orville and Lou were living at 1106 W 3rd, in Quanah, Texas.  This was the Jenkins' first address in Quanah.
  --  Document courtesy of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, January 2017
  
  Orville and Lou moved shortly from 3rd Street to a small house at 207 W 13th Street, where they lived until June 1952, when they moved to the Stepp farm, renting a house south of town on the Crowell Highway.  Lou confirmed the date of this move on 30 December 2017 in a conversation with her son Orville Boyd Jenkins and daughter-in-law Edith McSwain Jenkins.  They were living in this house when Gary was born on 19 August 1952.  They bought a house on west US Highway 287, and moved there in the summer of 1955.  Their address there was 909 West 11th Street.
  
  Orville's radio business was listed in the 1952 Chickasha, Oklahoma, directory with no residential address.
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1952, p 113
  Jenkins Orville (Jenkins Radio Co)
  Jenkins Radio Company (Orville Jenkins), J A Hulse, Mgr, Philco Refrigerators, Television, Radio, Appliances-Sales and Service, 312 Choctaw av, Tel 3260 (For further information see page 34 Buyer's Guide)
  
  On page 354 of the same directory, he appears again in the Business Directory.
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1952, p 354
  Radio and Television Sets -- Sales and Service
  Jenkins Radio Company, 312 Choctaw av, Tel 3260 (For further information see page 34 Buyer's Guide)
  
  A similar entry appears on the facing page under Refrigerators:
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1952, p 355
  Refrigerators -- Sales and Service
  Jenkins Radio Company, 312 Choctaw av, Tel 3014 (For further information see page 20 Buyer's Guide)
  ("Page 20" is an error.  There is no ad for Jenkins Radio Co on page 20.  The only ad I have found for this company is on page 34, as noted in two later entries.)
  
  The Buyer's Guide entry on p 34 of the same directory is a 1/4 page ad for the company.
  Philco
  Jenkins Radio Company
  Philco Refrigerators - Television
  Radio Appliance Sales and Service
  J A Hulse, Mgr
  312 Choctaw Ave  Tel 3620
  
  On the same page, Orville's brother Arthur (Bud) is listed with his business.
  
  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1952, p 113
  Jenkins Appliance Co (Arth C Jenkins) hse hold [sic] appliance
  224 Chickasha av
  Jenkins Arth C (Dorothy E; Jenkins Appliance) h 1522 S 17th
  
  It is not known exactly when Orville sold his r ado business in Chickasha.
  
  Staff are reported in the 1955 yearbook of the Broadcasting industry.
  
  QUANAH    (Hardeman County)
  KOLJ   1150       Orville L. Jenkins  o, gm, co-pd   Richard O Dormier, ce   J R Chism, sd
  Bob Stabler  slm & co-pd    Richard Newton, nd      Kay Dunn, wd
  1952     500-D    P. O. Box 566
  Network KBS     (Phone) 654
  --  Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1955, p 302
  
  In the 1955 Directory Orville's full staff was listed.  Richard (Dick) Dormier is reported as the Chief Engineer.  Orville is reported as the Owner (o) rather than President.  He is General Manager and Co Program Director with his salesman Bob Stabler.  Richard (Dick) Newton was the News Director.  J R Chism was the Sports Director.
  
  The 1955 yearbook reports again that broadcasting began in 1952.  But the articles we saw indicate it was 1951.
  
  The 1956 yearbook is similar to 1955, but with no discrete listings for staff,
  
  QUANAH    (Hardeman County)
  KOLJ   1150       Orville L. Jenkins  p, gm, ce
  1951   500-D      P. O. Box 566
  Montrose 3-2572
  --  Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1956, p 307
  
  Note that this was the year the phone numbers in Quanah changed from the old 3-digit number to the new 7-digit numbers.  KOLJ's new phone number was Montrose (MO) 3-2572.  This yearbook reports Orville as the Proprietor and General Manager in 1956, as in the 1951 report.  He is also listed here as the Chief Engineer.
  
  Orville gave a lot of people a chance, and gave several their start in the radio business.  One was Joe L Short, of Chillicothe, a few miles to the east of Quanah.  He worked at KOLJ while he was in high school.  He went on to KWFT in Wichita Falls, and had a life career in broadcasting.
  
  "My last day as a DJ at KOLJ was December 31, 1958.  I had worked at the station since the start of my Sophomore year in high school."
  --  Joe L Short, comment on Facebook Group "Remember The Good Times in Quanah, Texas," on an ad for KOLJ in the 1960 The Chief high school annual
  
  Orville owned the radio station until 1960, when he sold the business to Neal Eggleston of Vernon, Texas.  The sale was finalized in late 1961, ending in November or December with Orville serving a three-month period as engineer after Neel took over ownership.  A letter from his wife Lou Ila to her sister in Oklahoma gives us that bit of detail, indicating that the Jenkins family would not be free to join the Gregory family for Thanksgiving in 1961 because of this final three-month engineering responsibility, but planned to come for Christmas.  (For details on the Jenkins family at that time, see a summary of the letter in Notes for Lou Ila Gregory.)
  
  letter from Lou Ila to her sister Josie gives us some details of things that were happening and changes underway with the Jenkins family by 1961.
  
  ----------------------
  Letter from Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins in Quanah, Texas, to her sister Josephine Gregory Hayes in Lindsay, Oklahoma, written 19 November 1961
  
  Notable content:
  (page 1)
  Lou notes that she and her family will not be able to join her Gregory family for Thanksgiving.
  All her sons are selling the Grit newspaper and are engaged each weekend with that.
  Her son Orville Boyd additionally has a Sunday Oklahoman newspaper route and hopes to have a fill-in who can free him on occasions, to take such family trips.
  She hopes they can visit her family at Christmas.
  Her husband Orville is also tied down for a short time, because he has sold his radio station,
  (page 2)
  and part of that deal was that Orville would remain available as engineer for three months, and Thanksgiving falls within that period.
  She and her husband Orville want to go as soon as he is free to Eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas to look at some farms they are considering buying, now that they are free from the radio business.
  Lou asks how much their father's recent hospitalization cost, so she and her husband can send their share to pay on that.
  Orville's father, Joseph Asa Jenkins, had a tumor removed from his prostate gland in Wesley Hospital in Oklahoma City.
  --  Found among the papers of Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, July 2019
  ----------------------
  
  In the meantime, Orville had also gone into business with a coin-operated laundry across the street from his home on 11th Street (US Hwy 287) at Combs Street.
  
  While Orville still owned KOLJ, he put in another business across Combs Street from the Jenkins home on 11th Street (US Hwy 287).  This was the Jenkins Day-N-Night Coin-o-Matic Laundry.  He had all Maytag equipment.
  
  Dad and I (Orville Boyd) did all the maintenance work on the machines, and we rebuilt many.  All three of us boys had to clean the lint filters on the dryers, sweep and mop and other tasks every day before school.  Long day!  Another important periodic job that primarily fell to me, with supervision from Dad, was mucking out the septic tank for the laundry drain, behind the building.
  
  In January 1962 Dad added a coin-operated dry cleaners next door, which again he and I ran.  These buildings now house other businesses.  He had an ad in the newspaper about the expanded cleaning center.
  
  ----------------------
  Quanah Tribune Chief Newspaper
  Advertisement
  
  Automatic Dry Cleaning Has Come to Quanah
  
  Yes, Jenkins Coin-O-Matic Cleaning Center has installed coin operated Dry Cleaning Units in our growing plant on West 11th.  Now you can clean up to 10 pounds of clothing for $1.50 in only 30 minutes.  Just installed this week. Try it today!
  
  Also 4 more big Clothes Dryers for a total of 8 units.
  
  Plus 20 Maytag Automatic Washers in Service AT ALL TIMES.
  Watch for the grand opening of our enlarged and complete cleaning center coming soon.
  
  JENKINS COIN-O-MATIC CLEANING CENTER
  West 11th St. QUANAH
  Orville Jenkins, Owner
  
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 11 January 1962, p 12
  ----------------------
  
  In the same issue of the Tribune Chief, there was also a news story about the opening of the new cleaning center.
  
  ----------------------
  Coin Operated Dry Cleaning Plant Installed
  
  A coin operated dry cleaning system has been installed this week at the Jenkins Coin-O-Matic Cleaning Center, it has been announced by Orville Jenkins, owner.  The unit will dry clean up to 10 pounds of clothing in a 30 minute cleaning cycle, he said.  Jenkins also added four more clothes dryers for a total of eight while he has 20 automatic Maytag washers in service.  A grand opening of the enlarged cleaning center is planned for a later date.  Jenkins said he plans to install vending machines for cold milk, hot chocolate, and other similar items.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 11 January 1962, p 4
  ----------------------
  
  Orville and Lou and the family were listed in the Quanah City Directory for 1962-63, for the residence and the laundry business.
  
  Quanah, Texas, City Directory 1962-63
  Jenkins, Orville L, Lou Ila
  Jenkins' Coin-O-Matic
  Orville Boyd 14, Gregory Wayne 11, Gary Lynn 10
  909 W 11th, (O)
  MO 3-8136
  
  Orville was an antique car enthusiast.  His pride was a 1923 Model T Ford Touring car.  He drove this in parades and on other special occasions.  The following story excerpt refers to his participation in the Gay 90s parade in July 1962.
  
  "... The well-restored old automobiles in the parade drew much attention, among them the 1912 Ford with its gleaming brass radiator, and the 1915 Buick touring car owned by E Kennel of Crowell.  Jimmie Jones and Orville Jenkins of Quanah drove their antiques, and not far behind came Chillicothe's Walter Golleher in his “T-Model’ truck, loaded with Mrs Marian Forbau’s singing Chillipeppers. ..."
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 26 July 1962, p 7
  
  Lou's 1961 letter to her sister said that she and Orville were planning to go look at some land in eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas they wanted to consider buying for a farm place to move to.
  
  After looking at several places in Oklahoma and Arkansas, they had decided to buy a farm in Faulkner County, right in the center of the state, east of Conway, near US Hwy 64, in the Friendship community, south of Liberty.  The laundry business was sold when the family decided to move to Arkansas.  In the summer of 1963, the family had planned to move to Faulkner County, Arkansas.
  
  On a prior trip to Conway, Arkansas, Orville had arranged a job for both himself and his eldest son Orville Boyd.  They planned to go to Arkansas, work through the summer and prepare everything for the rest of the family to come before school started.  Orville and Orville Boyd had the 1960 Mercury station wagon loaded for the trip, and the doors of the car were open as they started to get in to leave.  But then disaster hit.  Lou Ila came out on the porch and handed something to Orville before he got into the car.
  
  It was divorce papers.  It was at the time of that move that Lou decided things had gotten so bad between her and her husband Orville, and she did not want to move to Arkansas, that she filed divorce papers.  Their Quanah home and the laundry business across the side street from their home were sold by early 1964.
  
  In preparation for the move to Arkansas, and up to the time they were going to Arkansas, Orville advertised all his property for sale.
  
  The first ad was short and did not contain any specifications.  This was published on  2 May 1963.
  
  FOR SALE: Valuable business property on West 11th Street. Two corner lots, 100 and 150 foot frontage, facing highway in business area. See or Call Orville L. Jenkins. MO3-8136
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 2 May 1963, p 8
  
  It seems this and some subsequent ads were in connection with the planned move, because the dates of the next two ads are about the time he and his son were leaving for Arkansas.  He ran ads the first and second weeks in June also.
  
  FOR SALE: One Coin-O-Matic Maytag laundry fully equipped.  Ideal income for retired or semi-retired couple. Three buildings located on 100 foot corner, valuable highway property.  Will sacrifice for quick sale, all or part.  Also will sell residential property on 11th St and one 150 foot corner with orchard on 12th St.  All corner.  See Orville Jenkins, 909 West 11th St.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 6 June 1963, p 8 & 13 June 1963, p 8
  
  Exact sale dates are uncertain, but one land sale was reported in the April 1964 in the Quanah paper.  It is not clear if this was the home plot or the business plot across the street where the laundry was.
  
  COUNTY RECORDS
  Warranty Deeds:
  Orville Jenkins and Lou Ila Jenkins to R G Huffman, all lots I & 2 Bl 255
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 9 April 1964, p 12
  
  The divorce decree was issued in April 1964 and was announced in the same issue of the Quanah paper as the sale of property to R G Huffman.
  
  District court records show Lou Ila Jenkins and Orville Lee Jenkins granted a divorce in election.
  46th District Court.
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 9 April 1964, p 1
  
  Orville and his son, Orville Boyd (this author) had secured jobs at radio station KVEE in Conway, Arkansas, the town near their farm.  Orville and his son continued with this work for some months, until the radio station changed owners in the fall of 1963.  Orville and his son decided to start their own business, going back to Orville's original profession in electronics repairs.
  
  Meanwhile, Orville and Lou lost the farm to foreclosure in the wrangle over the assets related to the divorce.  The final divorce decree was not until 13 February 1964.  I remember going back to Quanah, having to take time off from school, to attend the court hearing on the divorce and testify for the judge in open court.  Later, through various circumstance, her younger sons Greg and Gary had also moved to Conway to live with their father.
  
  Orville opened up a new business called Jenkins Electronic Service Center on Harkrider Street (Hwy 64-65) in Conway.  Orville carried on this business for some years, while Orville Boyd continued working with his father part time while finishing high school and entering university in the local state university,  State College of Arkansas, which became University of Central Arkansas.
  
  Since they had originally moved to Arkansas to farm and ranch, Orville and his son still had a cattle herd, which had been protected and retained from the divorce settlement.  After the loss of the Friendship farm in 1964, they rented a farm on Hwy 64 east of Conway.  Orville Boyd gradually sold off his half of the herd to help cover expenses for college, so by the time he finished college in January 1971, he was out of the cattle business, but Orville continued.
  
  Orville became a salesman, announcer and engineer for Brown Broadcast in Conway, which now owned KVEE, an AM.  He was working at KVEE in Conway when the company opened an FM station broadcasting Easy Listening and Jazz.  Orville was one of the announcers on the air the first day of broadcast on 2 June 1967.  In 2017, a blog and column article in the Conway Log Cabin Democrat newspaper reported this in their news from 25 years ago.
  
  "(1967) KVEE-FM began its first day of transmission. The station was operated by Brown Broadcast, Inc. Robin Brown was president and Jack Miller was the General Manager. Announcers were Jim Johnston, Bill Drury and Orville Lee Jenkins."
  --  "Yesterdays" blog, by Cindy Beckman, Staff Writer, Log Cabin Democrat, Conway, Arkansas, 1 June 2017, for publication 2 June 2017, http://thecabin.net/news/local/2017-06-01/yesterdays-060217
  
  Orville married Aretha Tucker McPherson in May 1968, and moved to Vilonia, east of the old farm.  He is listed in public directories at Vilonia, Arkansas, addresses.
  
  U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2
  Orville L Jenkins
  Birth Date 10 Apr 1912
  RR 3, Vilonia, AR, 72173
  118 RR 03, Vilonia, AR, 72173
  RR 02 Box 208, Vilonia, AR, 72173
  
  The county road was later named Ballard Road.
  
  U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2
  Orville L Jenkins
  84 Ballard Rd, Vilonia, AR, 72173-9372
  
  Along in those years, Orville also shifted employment to become a technician at another electronics service company in Conway, closing his business in the late 1960s.  For some years he continued to serve as consulting engineer for Radio Station KVEE and also became an engineer for KCON.
  
  Orville Lee Jenkins
  Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
  Radio Telephone First Class License (pocket card)
  Issued 29 January 1976
  Valid until 29 January 1981
  --  Found among the photos and papers of Orville Lee Jenkins, in a wallet of identification and photos, now in the possession of his son Orville Boyd Jenkins.
  
  The next saga for Orville's former radio station KOLJ came in 1977, with its sale to the next owner.  The Quanah paper carried the story, mentioning Orville as the founder of the station.
  
  -------------------------
  Sale of the 25-year-old Quanah Radio Station KOLJ was announced this week by owner Fay Neel Eggleston.  The station has been sold to a firm of central Texas businessmen represented by Joe Willis of Dallas, subject to approval of the transfer of license by the Federal Communications Commission.  Eggleston will continue to manage and operate the station until FCC approval, which is anticipated by the end of the year.
  
  As part of the sale agreement, Eggleston has reserved station time in perpetuity and will continue to sell nationwide livestock advertising which has been a large part of the station’s programming for the past six years.  The Egglestons and their three sons, Jason, Erie and Kirk, will continue to make their home at 905 West Third Street in Quanah.
  
  In addition to managing the station, Eggleston is a director of the Security National Bank and an advisory director of Quanah Federal Savings and Loan.  He also serves as a deacon at the First Presbyterian Church.  A native of Vernon, Eggleston served on the staff of Seymour Radio Station KSEY after attending Baylor University and prior to purchasing KOLJ and moving to Quanah in 1961.
  
  KOLJ was established here in 1952 by Orville L Jenkins whose initials formed the call letters of the station. He is now making his home in Arkansas.  When Eggleston took over the station, he changed to a basic country music format which continues in use today.  A new building north of Quanah and new facilities (says cont'd page 19, but the rest of the article could not be found on any page) ....
  
  --  Quanah Tribune Chief, Quanah, Texas, 22 September 1977, pp 1
  -------------------------
  
  Orville died on 29 May 1987, as a result of pneumonia leading to general system failure, after a late freeze that year.  He died in the Conway Memorial Hospital.
  
  Social Security Death Index
  Orville Jenkins
  Born 10 Apr 1912
  Died May 1987
  Last Residence Vilonia, Faulkner, Arkansas 72173
  SSN 446-24-5252 issued Oklahoma (Before 1951)
  
  Orville's nephew Ervin Mize posted a memorial on Find A Grave.  Orville's son Gary, who was killed in a car crash in 1972, is buried next to his dad.  In February 2015, Ervin added details and links I submitted to provide my father's family connections on Find a Grave.
  
  -------------------------
  Orville Lee Jenkins
  Birth Apr 10, 1912 Mountain View, Kiowa County, Oklahoma
  Death May 29, 1987 Conway, Faulkner County, Arkansas
  
  Parents:
  Joseph Asa Jenkins (1866 - 1962)
  Julia Virginia Terry Jenkins (1880 - 1966)
  
  Son Gary Lynn Jenkins (1952 - 1972)
  Note husband of Aretha Jenkins (Living)
  
  Siblings:
  Mabel Clare Jenkins Hill (1901 - 1990)
  Thomas Asa Jenkins (1903 - 1969)
  Nannie May Jenkins (1905 - 1906)
  Rhonda Fay Jenkins Boyd (1907 - 1963)
  Arthur Carthal Jenkins (1909 - 1955)
  Gladys Lahoma Jenkins Hendron (1914 - 1991)
  Martha Netheline Jenkins Callaway (1918 - 2007)
  Virginia Jo Jenkins (1925 - 1930)
  
  Half Siblings:
  James Everett Jenkins 1886-1963
  Joseph Benjamin Jenkins 1889-1978
  Sallie Hester Jenkins Christian (1893 - 1982) Half-sibling
  Ocy Belle Jenkins (1896 - 1896) Half-sibling
  Mary Nettie Jenkins Yates (1897 - 1991) Half-sibling
  
  Spouse Lou Ila Gregory (Living)
  First wife Lou Ila Gregory, married 1 September 1946 in Chickasha, Oklahoma; Divorced 13 Feb 1964 in Quanah Texas; married Aretha Tucker McPherson in 1969 in Vilonia, Arkansas
  
  Burial Cypress Valley Cemetery, Faulkner County, Arkansas
  
  Maintained by Orville Jenkins, Originally Created by Ervin Mize Jan 14, 2010
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #46663458, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=46663458
  -------------------------
  

Sources

• 1. Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook
• 2. Orville Boyd Jenkins, Personal Knowledge
• 3. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory 1947, p 135
• 4. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Business Directory 1940, p 259
• 5. City of Chickasha, Radio Operator License
• 6. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory 1938, p 109
• 7. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma. City Directory 1940, p 92
• 8. Log Cabin Democrat
• 9. Canadian Immigration Records, White Rock, British Columbia, 12 Dec 1912
• 10. Jenkins Family History by Harold Keith Christian
• 11. 1930 Federal Census, Caddo County, Oklahoma
  • 1 April, Fort Cobb, District 26, p 9A, Hse #181, Fam #215
• 12. 1940 Federal Census, Grady County, Oklahoma
  • 12 April, Chickasha Ward 1, District 26-9B, page 11B, 1710 19th St, Hse #1710, Rents $25
• 13. Social Security Death Index
• 14. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 15. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
• 16. Family Trails
• 17. 1920 Federal Census, Kiowa County, Oklahoma
  • 3 January, Mt View, District 14, Page 1A, Hse/Fam #1
• 18. SSDI Broderbund Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 6
• 19. Marriage License
• 20. Lou Ila Gregory Jenkins, Personal Communication
• 21. Harold Christian Genealogy Research
• 22. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
• 23. World War II Draft Exemption Card
• 24. Tinker Field Air Force Base, Midwest City, Oklahoma, employee album
• 25. Texas Birth Certificate
• 26. Quanah, Texas, City Directory 1962-63
• 27. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1952, p 113
• 28. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha City Business Directory 1938, p 301
• 29. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999
• 30. Quanah Tribune-Chief newspaper
• 31. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha City Business Directory 1947
• 32. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
  • Chickasha City Business Directory 1940, p 259
• 33. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989
  • Chickasha, Oklahoma, City Directory 1952
• 34. Lindsay News, Lindsay, Oklahoma
• 35. Pikes Peak History Book 1908-2008
  • Location: Lindsay, Oklahoma; Date: 2008;
• 36. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
• 37. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
• 38. Obituaries from Arkansas
• 39. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
• 40. Arkansas Death Certificate
• 41. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 42. Death Announcements
• 43. Texas, Birth Certificate
• 44. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
  • Date: 2010;
• 45. Obituary of Martha Aretha Tucker Jenkins 2016