DECATUR -- Few people can say they lived to see the first transatlantic flight, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the first man on the moon, the first outpost in space, 15 presidents, and the beginning of a new millennium. One long-time Decatur resident witnessed all this and more.
The story begins on a family farm just outside of the booming agricultural town of Decatur on Feb. 1, 1925, when a baby boy was born to Lester and Mabel Amos. Dean Amos was 2 years old when Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic on May 20, 1927. Amos also remembers a time when orchards and vineyards dotted the rural landscape surrounding Decatur.
Amos spent his childhood in the midst of the Great Depression, helping his father maintain the family farm. In a time when farm foreclosures were commonplace, the Amos family managed to carve out a modest living, raising crops and cattle. By the time he was in his early teenage years, Amos was already proficient in the use of trucks and tractors. He often helped transport hay to Oklahoma and Kansas in an effort to help other struggling cattlemen feed their stock.
"I started to drive a hay truck when I was 12 years old," Amos recalls.
Amos graduated from Decatur High School in 1945. Shortly after graduation, he married his first wife, Betty, and together they had seven children, which included two sets of twins. On Jan. 24, 1955, Betty gave birth to twin boys, Merrill and Jerald. Unfortunately, Betty died two days later from complications due to childbirth. Amos was now a single parent with seven young children to raise.
Because of the strong bond that existed within the family, Amos' mother and father took the twin boys and cared for them until Amos was able to recover from his loss. Then, in 1962, Amos met Pat and she soon became wife number two. Together, the couple continued to work the family farm that Amos eventually purchased from his father.
Sadly, after 30 years of marriage, Pat too passed away and, for a second time, Amos was alone. But that would be short-lived. He married his current wife, Sylvia.
Amos and Sylvia married in 1995. He and Sylvia's deceased husband had been life-long friends. So Amos had known Sylvia, a long-time resident of Gravette, for many years prior to their wedding. This year they celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
But first they commemorated another milestone in Amos' remarkable life. With his seven children (Harvey, Marilyn Gosnell, Carolyn Mercer, Lester, Clark, Jerald and Merrill), 13 grand children, 22 great-grandchildren and a host of friends, Amos celebrated his 90th birthday on Feb. 1 at the Falling Springs Church in Decatur.
Today, with the help of his son Lester and two grandsons, Amos continues to raise 36 head of cattle and grows and bales his own hay on the family farm. But he recalls a time, in 1972, when he nearly lost one of his sons to a sudden act of nature.
Amos and his son Clark where working in a hay field when a thunderstorm hit the area. Clark was working near their truck when it was hit by a bolt of lightning.
"Clark and I were on the truck when lightning struck near the cab of the truck," Amos recalled. "He had a hay hook in his hand and it somehow stuck into his stomach. We took him to Siloam hospital, where he stayed all night. They took him to Tulsa the next day, where they removed a blood clot the size of a lemon."
Clark survived the strike and will turn 64 on July 4. However, he suffers long-term damage to his speech and mobility as a result of the lightning strike.
Amos has seen many changes to his beloved Decatur over the years. He recalls a time when the community thrived and then nearly died. He witnessed the rebirth of Decatur in the early '50s when the Decatur Development Company and Lloyd Peterson together revitalized the city and brought the community together as one. He attended the first Decatur Homecoming Barbecue, which became the Decatur Barbecue, in 1953. He even witnessed the opening of the first Walmart Neighborhood Market earlier this year.
Other than spending time with his family, Amos enjoys walks with his beloved border collie, Charlie, and operating his bulldozer. He manages to always find piles of something that need to be moved around with the bulldozer.
For Amos, his 90 years has had its share of triumphs and tragedies. But through it all he has remained faithful to God, his family, his friends and his community.
As for the family farm, Amos' son Lester plans on keeping it in the family. As his grandfather and father before him, Lester bought most of the farm and, along with his sons (Dean Amos' grandsons) plans to continue the tradition of raising cattle and hay long into the next generation of Amoses.
When asked his secret to a long life, Dean and Sylvia Amos both agreed: "Hard work, open air and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables."
General News on 03/11/2015