By Joy Hampton
January 5, 2010 — Attorney John Carle and wife Shirley moved to Claremore in 1957. There was no Nemar Shopping Center and the “streets were terrible,” according to Carle, but the town was still, “a pretty nice place.”
“I had a law professor at Tulsa University School of Law that said he thought there were some good opportunities in county seat towns,” said Carle.
The young attorney found a position with Ralph B. Brainard in Claremore. Carle went to work in general practice and did a lot of titles and probate.
“Now I still do a lot of title work and estate planning,” he said.
He represents Claremore Industrial Development Authority and the Rogers County Housing Finance Authority.
“The biggest thing we’ve done is issued bonds to provide money to lend to low and mediumincome housing at favorable rates,” he said of the Housing Finance Authority.
The town has grown and changed a great deal over the course of the years.
“When we moved here in August ‘57, Claremore had about 5,500 inhabitants. I thought I’d really moved to the country when I was at the courthouse and I could hear chickens crowing. You couldn’t hear chickens in the Tulsa County courthouse,” said Carle.
The couple raised three daughters and a son in Claremore and watched the rural countryside develop.
Carle credits rural water districts as the driving force behind much of the development of subdivisions in rural areas of Rogers County.
“Mayes County used to be more populated,” said Carle.
He said the lack of ground water in the area made digging wells prohibitive. Rural water districts opened areas up to development that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
“It’s made a huge difference in Rogers County,” said Carle.
Carle turned 80 years old in October, but he still shows up for work everyday.
“Why not?” he said. “I am not a gardener anymore. I’m not a fix-it type person around the house so I don’t know what I’d do.”
In reality, Carle is a very active and involved person.
One hobby is painting in oil.
“I don’t know that I’d do that full-time,” he said. “I may slow down some and travel more.”
Travel is coming up soon, as the Carles plan to take a six-day trip to Lima, Peru for a grandson’s wedding.
Carle paints from photos he takes, so that trip may provide some exotic landscapes for future artwork, though he said he doubts he’ll see much beyond Lima since it’s a relatively short trip.
Carle also enjoys painting portraits of people.
“Painting teaches you to see things,” he said. “You can see shapes better. You can see the variations in color.”
He said he notices lines and shadows now and the lines of a person’s face.
“It teaches you to observe things more closely. There’s a lot of beauty in it.”
In his mid-50s, Carle got his pilot’s license.
“That was fun,” he said, but admits he hasn’t flown much lately.
Staying busy is one way to stay young, but Carle believes keeping an open mind and being adaptive is also key.
“You need to look at things differently,” said Carle. “The ability to be flexible in your thinking and not decide that you have reached the complete truth in a matter is important. You have to be open to always learn new things.”
Also a music appreciator, Carle is on the board of Light Opera of Oklahoma in Tulsa.
Unlike grand opera, the Light Opera of Oklahoma produces a lot of musicals.
“It was originally the Gilbert and Sullivan Society,” he said. “We do a lot of Broadway musicals.”
This year they’ll produce “Annie Get Your Gun” but not all of the musicals are comedies. A couple of years ago Light Opera put on “Sweeney Todd” the macabre story of a murderous barber and his girlfriend.
“You can convey more with music and words than you can with just words alone,” he said.
Carle said he believes music enhances the emotional content of words. In addition to Light Opera Oklahoma, he and Shirley are season ticket holders to the opera, symphony and ballet. They also attend some plays.
“Keeping active in that (arts) community keeps you a little sharper, too,” he said.
The Carles have been married for 56 years, 52 of which they have lived in Claremore. Asked how to have a successful, long-term marriage he said, “You have to be kind to each other and not demand to have your own way all the time.”
The couple are friends with the Robsons. Carle and Frank Robson share a birthday.
“Our wives threw a really neat surprise 40th birthday party for us,” he said. “We’ve been talking about it for 40 years.”
Carle said he feels fortunate to have ended up in the Rogers County seat.
“Claremore is a good town to be a stranger in because it’s not a cliquish town. It’s not got factions in it. It’s been a very, very accepting town.”
He also commended the members of Bar, other attorneys, in Claremore, saying it makes working in the legal profession here a pleasant experience.
“Most everybody gets along well,” he said.
Though he was born in Tulsa and still enjoys much of the Tulsa cultural and arts scene, Carle has certainly made Claremore home.
“We were very lucky to end up here. There are a lot of good people in Claremore.”
Like, attracts like, as they say.
