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Overview
"The Observer: Letters From Oklahoma Territory" was written by Kenneth J. Peek, great grandson of R.H. and Margaret Wessel, pioneers of Frederick, Oklahoma. R.H. Wessel drew number 627 in the Lawton tract in the 1901 land lottery and filed on a claim near Sterling in August of 1901.
He came to Frederick (then Gosnell) in December of 1902 in search of a place to open a newspaper. He acquired the newly opened Enterprise (now the Frederick Press) and began conducting business as owner and editor.
R.H. was a single man when he arrived in Oklahoma Territory, and wrote letters weekly to his intended bride, Margaret Scow, of Prague, Nebraska. He returned to Nebraska in June of 1903 to marry Margaret and bring her to Frederick where they raised four children and lived out the rest of their lives.
The book, "The Observer: Letters From Oklahoma Territory," is written primarily from the letters written by R.H. during his first two years in Oklahoma, as well as many other documents and records saved by the Wessels. The book also contains over fifty photos of early day Oklahoma and Frederick.
Excerpt from "The Observer"
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