Ida Elizabeth Powers
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Ida Elizabeth Powers was the seventh child born to William Houston Powers and Sophronia Elizabeth Cagle on May 28, 1900 in Sweetwater, Texas.
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Name: Ida Elizabeth Powers
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Spouse: Alvoris LeRoy Adams
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Children: Lovell Lafay Adams (1921 – 2013); Wilma Jean Adams (1922 – 2016); Evadene Adams (1925 - ); Alvoris Ida Adams (1930 - ); Bonnie Louise Adams (1934 - )
Information from magann---
Ida Elizabeth (Powers) Adams
From MB---
SAND SPRINGS--She wakes up at 7 a.m. and starts each day with black coffee, toast and Cheerios.
Though white hair graces her head, she has a youthful face for her age. Ida Adams, who survived breast cancer and outlived her husband by 43 years, has called the same house home since 1935.
`I've lived in this old house so long, I didn't know which would fall first, me or the house,` Adams said.
On May 28, Adams celebrated her 100th birthday. The centenarian, dressed in a colorful red-printed blouse and blue slacks, recently reminisced about growing up in Texas and living the majority of her life in Oklahoma.
Adams was born in Sweetwater, Texas, on May 28, 1900.
She and her family lived on a farm, where they cared for cows, horses and pigs, she recalled.
They also had chickens. Adams remembered how her mother used to wring the chickens' necks.
Afterwards, Adams and her brother picked the feathers from the chickens--the makings for a feather bed, she said. Adams and her siblings kept busy with a number of chores around the home. The family raised cotton and they spent their share of time picking it, she said.
She and her older brother, Charley Powers, shared one task: bringing the cows in from the pasture. She and her siblings also gathered wood for the stove, she said.
The hard work was spelled with play. She and her brothers and sisters made their own toys, like rag dolls, bows and arrows, even kites out of newspaper.
`That was fun,` she said.
She recalled how her brothers made tops out of spools, then spun them around. They also played with wagon wheels. As children, they enjoyed special homemade treats--lots of sticky candy from their mother's kitchen.
`Mama was a good Christian lady and taught us to be good,` said Adams, recalling that every week started with church and Sunday school.
Adams remembers how the family used to ride to Abilene, Texas in a horse-drawn wagon. When she was a teen-ager, Adams, along with her parents and three of her five siblings, came to Oklahoma on a train. Two of her siblings had gone ahead to find a place for the family to live, she recalled.
They first settled in Broken Arrow, where the whole family came down with smallpox, except for two of her brothers, Adams recalled. Adams already had lived through diphtheria at 10-years-old and typhoid fever at 14.
The family moved to Sand Springs around 1916, Adams said, and her father found steady work at the Sand Springs Railroad. The family never had to worry about food, even during the Depression years, Adams said.
Adams completed 9th grade at the Sand Springs School. On May 28, 1920, she married A.L. Adams. He died in 1957.
When asked the reason for her longevity, Adams said, `I don't smoke, don't drink beer.`
In her younger days, she traveled a lot by foot. She would walk to town, walk to the grocery store and walk to visit neighbors. She didn't board her first airplane until she was 95.
Adams said she enjoyed it, but isn't gung-ho about doing it again.
`I don't want to ride on another one,` she confessed.
When asked what advice she would give other women, Adams said, `Just to live a clean life and go to church.`
Adams has five daughters: Bonnie Beesinger, 66, of the home; 77-year-old Wilma Page, who lives a street behind Adam's home, and Alvoris Cochran, 71, who also lives in Sand Springs.
Her oldest daughter, Lovell Sharp, 79, lives in South Sand Springs. Evadene Rauch, 74, lives in North Tulsa.
Adams also has 21 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, 40 great-great grandchildren, and several who have adopted her: all the neighborhood children call her grandma, Adams said.
Still fairly agile, Adams doesn't take any medicine, except for a thyroid pill, said her daughter, Bonnie Beesinger.
Though Adams underwent a mastectomy in 1950 for breast cancer, she has defied the odds for the last 50 years. Adams was featured on a local news program in 1998 as the longest breast cancer survivor, Beesinger said.
Nowadays, Adam's sight is not what it used to be, and she can read only the headlines in the newspaper, she said.
She enjoys her many friends. Members of Sand Springs United Methodist Church honored Adams with a birthday reception in May.
Her advice to people in general is: `live the best kind of life you can. Don't drink or smoke or talk rough to people.` (Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, Juanita Muiga, Writer, June 7, 2000)
Ida Elizabeth (Powers) Adams
From MB---
SAND SPRINGS--She wakes up at 7 a.m. and starts each day with black coffee, toast and Cheerios.
Though white hair graces her head, she has a youthful face for her age. Ida Adams, who survived breast cancer and outlived her husband by 43 years, has called the same house home since 1935.
`I've lived in this old house so long, I didn't know which would fall first, me or the house,` Adams said.
On May 28, Adams celebrated her 100th birthday. The centenarian, dressed in a colorful red-printed blouse and blue slacks, recently reminisced about growing up in Texas and living the majority of her life in Oklahoma.
Adams was born in Sweetwater, Texas, on May 28, 1900.
She and her family lived on a farm, where they cared for cows, horses and pigs, she recalled.
They also had chickens. Adams remembered how her mother used to wring the chickens' necks.
Afterwards, Adams and her brother picked the feathers from the chickens--the makings for a feather bed, she said. Adams and her siblings kept busy with a number of chores around the home. The family raised cotton and they spent their share of time picking it, she said.
She and her older brother, Charley Powers, shared one task: bringing the cows in from the pasture. She and her siblings also gathered wood for the stove, she said.
The hard work was spelled with play. She and her brothers and sisters made their own toys, like rag dolls, bows and arrows, even kites out of newspaper.
`That was fun,` she said.
She recalled how her brothers made tops out of spools, then spun them around. They also played with wagon wheels. As children, they enjoyed special homemade treats--lots of sticky candy from their mother's kitchen.
`Mama was a good Christian lady and taught us to be good,` said Adams, recalling that every week started with church and Sunday school.
Adams remembers how the family used to ride to Abilene, Texas in a horse-drawn wagon. When she was a teen-ager, Adams, along with her parents and three of her five siblings, came to Oklahoma on a train. Two of her siblings had gone ahead to find a place for the family to live, she recalled.
They first settled in Broken Arrow, where the whole family came down with smallpox, except for two of her brothers, Adams recalled. Adams already had lived through diphtheria at 10-years-old and typhoid fever at 14.
The family moved to Sand Springs around 1916, Adams said, and her father found steady work at the Sand Springs Railroad. The family never had to worry about food, even during the Depression years, Adams said.
Adams completed 9th grade at the Sand Springs School. On May 28, 1920, she married A.L. Adams. He died in 1957.
When asked the reason for her longevity, Adams said, `I don't smoke, don't drink beer.`
In her younger days, she traveled a lot by foot. She would walk to town, walk to the grocery store and walk to visit neighbors. She didn't board her first airplane until she was 95.
Adams said she enjoyed it, but isn't gung-ho about doing it again.
`I don't want to ride on another one,` she confessed.
When asked what advice she would give other women, Adams said, `Just to live a clean life and go to church.`
Adams has five daughters: Bonnie Beesinger, 66, of the home; 77-year-old Wilma Page, who lives a street behind Adam's home, and Alvoris Cochran, 71, who also lives in Sand Springs.
Her oldest daughter, Lovell Sharp, 79, lives in South Sand Springs. Evadene Rauch, 74, lives in North Tulsa.
Adams also has 21 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, 40 great-great grandchildren, and several who have adopted her: all the neighborhood children call her grandma, Adams said.
Still fairly agile, Adams doesn't take any medicine, except for a thyroid pill, said her daughter, Bonnie Beesinger.
Though Adams underwent a mastectomy in 1950 for breast cancer, she has defied the odds for the last 50 years. Adams was featured on a local news program in 1998 as the longest breast cancer survivor, Beesinger said.
Nowadays, Adam's sight is not what it used to be, and she can read only the headlines in the newspaper, she said.
She enjoys her many friends. Members of Sand Springs United Methodist Church honored Adams with a birthday reception in May.
Her advice to people in general is: `live the best kind of life you can. Don't drink or smoke or talk rough to people.` (Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, Juanita Muiga, Writer, June 7, 2000)
IDA ELIZABETH POWERS ADAMS
(as told by Ida Powers Adams)
In the year 1900, on a farm near Sweetwater, Texas, William H. and Sophronia Cagel Powers greeted their newborn daughter, Ida. Thad had five children at that time: Jim, Charlie, George, Corabelle, and Minnie. Two more daughters, Bertha and Adeline, were born in the next few years.
In 1911 the Powers family moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Two of the boys, George and Jim, had moved north to seek work, and the rest of the family soon followed. Jim, who was a blacksmith, found work at Bob Fleenor’s livery stable in Sand Springs in about 1915, and the rest of the Powers took the Katy and settled here in 1916.
“Mama didn’t like it here”, she remembers. “She said it was too sandy and she wanted to go home.” But they stayed, rented a little house on Cleveland Street, and Ida began attending Central School. She remembers the Schiefelbusches and playing basketball (in white bloomers and blouses) and “steal the stick”. Her best friend was Edith Jones. The Powers joined the Methodist Church the year they arrived, and Ida still attends this church today. Mr. Powers was a carpenter, but he also did other work. He was one of the men who, shovel by shovel, constructed Shell Creek Dam.
Jim, a natural mechanic, worked in Curtis Greer’s garage. Unfortunately, in 1918, while he was repairing a car, it fell on him and broke his back. He was bedridden for over a year, and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. After he recovered from his injury he bought the old Shyrock Hotel at 204 Lincoln and opened a fix-it shop. “He was a friend to everybody, and fixed everything that people wanted fixed. Especially the school children – he was their Uncle Jim. When they wanted money to go to a show or a ball game, they could always count on Uncle Jim.” His mother moved in to are for Jim and operated the hotel. It was a two-story wooden building with four bedrooms upstairs and a nice front porch. After Mrs. Powers died Jim’s sister Minnie Rollins and her children moved in with him, and she also managed the hotel. After he died in 1952 the hotel was torn down. It was the last wooden building in downtown Sand Springs.
After High School Ida went to work for the Sand Springs Railway. Her job was to sweep out the old yellow and brown street cars during the daytime. It was there that she met her future husband, Alvoris “Al” Adams, who also worked for the Railway. In those days there were lots of activities for courting couples. These was a bandstand on the triangle, and the Park was a wonderful place to go. She remembers row boats on the lake, buffalo pens, and a dance hall at the Park. She and Al used to go to the Star Theatre on Main, and sometimes took the streetcar into Tulsa to see wrestling matches at the Coliseum.
Ida and Alvoris were married in 1920. Their first home was at 113 Washington, and this was where their girls were born. Lovell (born 1921), Wilma (born 1922), Evadine (born 1925), Alvoris (born 1929), and Bonnie Louise (born 1933). Sand Springs was a good place to raise children. Ida remembers making crepe paper dresses for the girls to wear in school programs. She also remembers family square dances on Main Street.
The cotton mill strike had a different effect on the lives of the Adams family. They rented a house at 512 N. Lincoln just after Bonnie Louise was born. In 1934 the house next door, #523, which was owned by someone who opposed unionization of the cotton mill, was bombed. The explosion was so powerful that several pieces of metal were blown int the Adams’ house, right into the room where the girls were sleeping. The Adams then bought and renovated the house at 523 Lincoln, and Ida still lives there today.
She remembers many “firsts”. Washington Street was paved in 1920. Their first home mail delivery was in 1922 or 1923. Indoor plumbing was installed into their little house near First and Washington in the early 1920s. She got her first radio in 1925, and her first electric refrigerator about 1930. When she was married she had to wash clothes the old fashioned way, by heating water on the stove and filling three tubs. In one tub she would use a scrub board and P&G soap to wash the clothes. The other two tubs were for rinsing and bluing (bleaching). When their house got indoor plumbing and a hot water heater she was able to fill the tubs with a hose, but she was very happy when she finally got her first washing machine. She will always remember that her mother had to make soap out of lye and grease and wash clothes by hand.
Al Adams came to Sand Springs in 1919 or 1920 because he had known Minnie and Tommy Adkins in Kansas City. He testified about this when Mr. Page was involved in a trial about Tommy Adkins oil lease. The case was decided in Mr. Page’s favor, and the profitable tommy Adkins lease became one of the cornerstones of Mr. Page’s fortune. Page was grateful to Al Adams for his help, and offered him a job with the Sand Springs Railway. Adams remained with the Railway for 37 years, even continuing to work during the Depression. Ida remembers that she and her husband were frequently invited to dinners at the Home Dormitory and remembers that Mr. Page most wore “slouchy hats and clothes”.
When Al Adams passed away in 1957 he had reached the level of car inspector for the Railway. Ida Adams is still active in her church. All of her girls are still living, and she has 20 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren.
(from Powers Family Book compiled by Georgia Powers Jennings)
(as told by Ida Powers Adams)
In the year 1900, on a farm near Sweetwater, Texas, William H. and Sophronia Cagel Powers greeted their newborn daughter, Ida. Thad had five children at that time: Jim, Charlie, George, Corabelle, and Minnie. Two more daughters, Bertha and Adeline, were born in the next few years.
In 1911 the Powers family moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Two of the boys, George and Jim, had moved north to seek work, and the rest of the family soon followed. Jim, who was a blacksmith, found work at Bob Fleenor’s livery stable in Sand Springs in about 1915, and the rest of the Powers took the Katy and settled here in 1916.
“Mama didn’t like it here”, she remembers. “She said it was too sandy and she wanted to go home.” But they stayed, rented a little house on Cleveland Street, and Ida began attending Central School. She remembers the Schiefelbusches and playing basketball (in white bloomers and blouses) and “steal the stick”. Her best friend was Edith Jones. The Powers joined the Methodist Church the year they arrived, and Ida still attends this church today. Mr. Powers was a carpenter, but he also did other work. He was one of the men who, shovel by shovel, constructed Shell Creek Dam.
Jim, a natural mechanic, worked in Curtis Greer’s garage. Unfortunately, in 1918, while he was repairing a car, it fell on him and broke his back. He was bedridden for over a year, and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. After he recovered from his injury he bought the old Shyrock Hotel at 204 Lincoln and opened a fix-it shop. “He was a friend to everybody, and fixed everything that people wanted fixed. Especially the school children – he was their Uncle Jim. When they wanted money to go to a show or a ball game, they could always count on Uncle Jim.” His mother moved in to are for Jim and operated the hotel. It was a two-story wooden building with four bedrooms upstairs and a nice front porch. After Mrs. Powers died Jim’s sister Minnie Rollins and her children moved in with him, and she also managed the hotel. After he died in 1952 the hotel was torn down. It was the last wooden building in downtown Sand Springs.
After High School Ida went to work for the Sand Springs Railway. Her job was to sweep out the old yellow and brown street cars during the daytime. It was there that she met her future husband, Alvoris “Al” Adams, who also worked for the Railway. In those days there were lots of activities for courting couples. These was a bandstand on the triangle, and the Park was a wonderful place to go. She remembers row boats on the lake, buffalo pens, and a dance hall at the Park. She and Al used to go to the Star Theatre on Main, and sometimes took the streetcar into Tulsa to see wrestling matches at the Coliseum.
Ida and Alvoris were married in 1920. Their first home was at 113 Washington, and this was where their girls were born. Lovell (born 1921), Wilma (born 1922), Evadine (born 1925), Alvoris (born 1929), and Bonnie Louise (born 1933). Sand Springs was a good place to raise children. Ida remembers making crepe paper dresses for the girls to wear in school programs. She also remembers family square dances on Main Street.
The cotton mill strike had a different effect on the lives of the Adams family. They rented a house at 512 N. Lincoln just after Bonnie Louise was born. In 1934 the house next door, #523, which was owned by someone who opposed unionization of the cotton mill, was bombed. The explosion was so powerful that several pieces of metal were blown int the Adams’ house, right into the room where the girls were sleeping. The Adams then bought and renovated the house at 523 Lincoln, and Ida still lives there today.
She remembers many “firsts”. Washington Street was paved in 1920. Their first home mail delivery was in 1922 or 1923. Indoor plumbing was installed into their little house near First and Washington in the early 1920s. She got her first radio in 1925, and her first electric refrigerator about 1930. When she was married she had to wash clothes the old fashioned way, by heating water on the stove and filling three tubs. In one tub she would use a scrub board and P&G soap to wash the clothes. The other two tubs were for rinsing and bluing (bleaching). When their house got indoor plumbing and a hot water heater she was able to fill the tubs with a hose, but she was very happy when she finally got her first washing machine. She will always remember that her mother had to make soap out of lye and grease and wash clothes by hand.
Al Adams came to Sand Springs in 1919 or 1920 because he had known Minnie and Tommy Adkins in Kansas City. He testified about this when Mr. Page was involved in a trial about Tommy Adkins oil lease. The case was decided in Mr. Page’s favor, and the profitable tommy Adkins lease became one of the cornerstones of Mr. Page’s fortune. Page was grateful to Al Adams for his help, and offered him a job with the Sand Springs Railway. Adams remained with the Railway for 37 years, even continuing to work during the Depression. Ida remembers that she and her husband were frequently invited to dinners at the Home Dormitory and remembers that Mr. Page most wore “slouchy hats and clothes”.
When Al Adams passed away in 1957 he had reached the level of car inspector for the Railway. Ida Adams is still active in her church. All of her girls are still living, and she has 20 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren.
(from Powers Family Book compiled by Georgia Powers Jennings)
ALVORIS LEROY ADAMS (husband of Ida Elizabeth Powers Adams,)
Newspaper obituary:
Adams…
Alvoris Leroy Adams, 71, of 523 Lincoln died Tuesday, July 2 in a nursing home after a year’s illness. Mr. Adams who came to Sand Springs in 1917, had worked for the Sand Springs Railway as a car inspector had retired in 1953.
He was a native of Leavenworth, Kansas and Kansas City was his home before coming here. He was a member of the Christian Church.
Survivors include the widow, Ida, of the home, five daughters, Mrs. Garland Sharp and Mrs. Tommy Walls, both of Sand Springs; Mrs. Charles Page, Thomasville, Mo.; Mrs. Ted Rouch, 1104 N. Delaware Ave., Tulsa and Mrs. David Cochran, Enid.
Newspaper obituary:
Adams…
Alvoris Leroy Adams, 71, of 523 Lincoln died Tuesday, July 2 in a nursing home after a year’s illness. Mr. Adams who came to Sand Springs in 1917, had worked for the Sand Springs Railway as a car inspector had retired in 1953.
He was a native of Leavenworth, Kansas and Kansas City was his home before coming here. He was a member of the Christian Church.
Survivors include the widow, Ida, of the home, five daughters, Mrs. Garland Sharp and Mrs. Tommy Walls, both of Sand Springs; Mrs. Charles Page, Thomasville, Mo.; Mrs. Ted Rouch, 1104 N. Delaware Ave., Tulsa and Mrs. David Cochran, Enid.