Before generations of Oklahoma State fans knew his face, the neighbors knew the way to his front porch. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken introduces the Frank Eaton behind Pistol Pete: a Perkins blacksmith, family man, and storyteller who sometimes closed his shop because there was grain to stack. From childhood memories of a tobacco mishap to the parade that caught Oklahoma A&M students’ attention, this is a look at the everyday life behind a familiar Oklahoma legend.
Before Pistol Pete became a familiar face at Oklahoma State, he was a Perkins neighbor with horses to shoe, grain to stack, and stories to tell on his front porch.
In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken explores the life of Frank Eaton, the real man behind OSU’s mascot. His frontier adventures became the stuff of legend, but newspaper accounts and a neighbor’s memories reveal another side: a working blacksmith, a family man, and an older storyteller who welcomed youngsters to his home.
Dave follows Eaton’s story from the early adventures he recounted to his everyday place in a farming community—and the 1923 parade that helped connect his image with Oklahoma A&M. Along the way, a shop advertisement, a brief closure during grain stacking, and one memorable childhood mistake bring the man behind the mascot a little closer.
In this episode:
• How Eaton’s accounts of his childhood and shooting skills became part of the Pistol Pete legend.
• What his blacksmith shop meant to the farms around Perkins.
• Benny West’s memories of porch visits—and mistaking chewing tobacco for chocolate.
• How Eaton’s image became an Oklahoma State tradition.
• Where his home is preserved in Perkins.
Detailed timestamped rundown:
00:00:00 — Welcome, a Perkins Front Porch, and Eaton’s Childhood Account
00:00:47 — Learning to Shoot and Seeking His Father’s Killers
00:00:53 — The Foundation of a Frontier Legend
00:00:58 — The Fort Gibson Nickname Story
00:01:08 — Early Adventures Told and Retold
00:01:14 — The Land Rush and Life Near Perkins
00:01:21 — Raising a Family and Serving Farms as a Blacksmith
00:01:40 — A Blacksmith Advertisement in the Perkins Journal
00:01:53 — Closing the Shop to Stack Grain
00:02:08 — Neighbors Gather for Visits
00:02:13 — Benny West’s Memories and a Chewing Tobacco Mistake
00:02:38 — The Everyday Memories a Town Keeps
00:02:50 — A Different Kind of Recognition in Stillwater
00:02:58 — The 1923 Parade and Oklahoma A&M Students
00:03:10 — Frank Eaton, Better Known as Pistol Pete
00:03:26 — An Unofficial Symbol Becomes a University Tradition
00:03:31 — Eaton’s Death and the Official Mascot’s Adoption
00:03:43 — Charlie Lester Becomes the First Student Pistol Pete
00:03:49 — Eaton’s Home at Oklahoma Territorial Plaza
00:03:57 — Remembering the Man Behind the Familiar Face
00:04:21 — Before the Fans, There Were the Neighbors
00:04:30 — Where to Learn More
00:04:36 — Closing