SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87

I OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

Lbl. 3 7, No. 5

OM01

COVERS your bags for a weekend trip along cwo- PHOTO ESSAY 35 ---MI.-- lane highways that lead through the A look at equine passions in the forested mountains to the heart Hone Show Capital of the World. of a land.

BLESSED ARE THE PIECEMAKERS 18 'I'he ancient art of quilting nearly disappeared a few decades ago, but a growing number of Oklahomans have joined a rekindled quilting movement. Old treasures have been brought out of the closet, and today's needle wizards have produced quilts that bypass the bedroom to be displayed in art shows and museums. Galyn Carlile climbs Baldy Peak, near Quartz Mountain State Park. Photo by Jim CLIMBING THE WALL 28 P. Garrison. Inside front. An You may suspect that people who expansive view of the like to hang from ropes several hundred Wichita Mountains Wildlife feet off the ground have rocks in Refuge. Photo by David their heads, yet they'll argue there's no ONE STOP SHORT Fitzgerald. Back. Autumn better way to get a clear view of the OF HEAVEN 41 colon on Lick Creek in landscape and life. Oklahoma is home Bob and Joyce Loomis have made it southeastern Oklahoma. for a group of elite rock climbers and to the top of the horse world, and with a Photo by Kym Wilson. world-class mountains. move to their Oklahoma dream ranch they say they've landed just one stop shy of the greatest ride of all. FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Today in Oklahoma ...... 4 BACKROADS BooksILetters...... 5 & BLUE HIGHWAYS Uncommon Common Folk ...... 6 Southeastern Oklahoma is a place of Oklahoma Omnibus: contentment and contrast, evident The Mascots ...... 26 beauty and an essence unseen. Pack Entertainment Calendar ...... 45

PUBLISHED BY THE OKLAHOMA TOURISM AND RECREATZONDEPARTMENT (/Rlahoma 7irlL)A)' (ISSS 0030-1892) is published bi- Sue (:arter. Editor-in-Chief Sheila Brock. Accounting monthly in January. .\larch. .\lay. July. September and Sustln Bunney eTomlinson. Managing Editor Slelanie Slayberry. Subscription Services November. Subscription prices: $12l?r. in 1.5.: Blblyr. Pat Shaner 1,aquer. Art Director Lisa Breckenridge, Events Calendar outside I'.S.' Copyright 1987 by Oklahoma 7UD.4Y (:arolyn Ilollingsworth. Marketing Ellie .2linx, Production magazine. 401 \GI1 Rogers Bldg.. P.O. Box 53384. Oklahoma City, OK 73152. (40.5) 521-2496, I'rinted at I'enniVcll Printing. Tul~ Glenn Sullivan, Execuhve Director Tourism and Recreation Commission Second-class postage paid at Oklahoma City. OK and Tom Creider, Parks Eugene Dilbeck, Sere.ica (::irIosl,angsron. Woinna?~ 1,arry 1.indIey additional entry offices. Postniaster: Send address Slartin I). (iarbcr. 1'1re (.2uin?lun Susan Neal changes to Okluhomt~ 'lDM>' (:irculation. I'.O. Box .\tichael 1,. .Moccia. Adminisfration Eddie Fisher R.I.. Rollins 53384. Oklahoma <:in.. OR 731.52. Tom Rich, Lodges George \Valters Chino Ferrer, Plunning d IIA.elopmrt~r "Ugh tat. (;ov. Robert S. Kcrr 111. /-;.I .\#fi~'io

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 watch the horses being washed and groomed and then exercised in the practice arenas at each show. The elaborately decorated stalls at the Mor- gan Show are something to see. "You'll miss the excitement if you don't see it all," Collier says. Jim Argo, who attended each of these major shows last winter, captures the excitement in a photo essay begin- ning on page 35. Welcome state new- hat human fly you see on page October 12-18 with approximately comers, Bob and Joyce Loomis, who T 28, inching his way across Baldy 1,000 horses expected to compete. train and show world champion reining Peak near Quartz Mountain State The other shows will attract from 700 and barrel racing horses for two of Park, is Duane Raleigh, a world-class to 2,000 entries each. these events. Their story begins on rock climber from Norman. Those who have never attended a page 41. The human fly behind him that you horse show may wonder what there is t+ In his first story for Oklh/loma TO- don't see is Jim Garrison, daredevil to see. DAY, Ralph Marsh captures the charm photographer who also snapped the "The average family attending a and mystical quality of the people and cover photo. horse show should look at the schedule the mountains of southeastern Oklaho- "I take as few chances as I can and first and pick an event," advises Steve ma. You'll be tempted to pack a pic- still climb," Jim says. "After all, I have Collier, director of marketing for the nic, visit the Heavener Runestone and two children." Oklahoma City Chamber of Com- Cedar Lake, then search for the magic Still, Jim free soloed at one point, merce. '"The Appaloosas have stake of Kiamichi Mountain after reading with a camera pack on his back, to get races and several shows have jumping Ralph's story, beginning on page 8. a closeup shot of Duane going up Mas- or halter events." But your trip won't be complete unless ter's Roof, a difficult route no one had The World Championship Quarter you follow the highway to Broken ever climbed, while the other climbers Horse Show, covering 60,000 square Bow, enjoy the wildlife and fsh a lit- watched nervously from the ground. feet at the State Fairgrounds, has the tle. Better plan on a weekend. Free solo is climber's language for largest trade show. But the others have + Beautiful scenery is again featured climbing without ropes-alone. "Half trade shows, too. Here is sold all kinds in the 1988 Oklahoma TODAY wall cal- way up I thought, 'Why am I doing of horse equipment, riding clothes and endar. A dramatic view of the Quartz this? If I fall, I've had it,' " he recalls. western hats, T-shirts, handcarved Mountains and southwestern farm Jim, who has taken two courses in knives and other works of art. lands, photographed by David Fitzger- rock climbing at Oklahoma City Com- Walk into the barns and you can ald, is shown on the cover. All of the munity College, climbs about once a calendar's 13 full-color photos are bor- month in the W~chitaMountains as dered in white and suitable for well as Quartz. He exhibited his wild- hht I-: We've got &at &at >u nwd for Chrimwx a guide-* framing. life and landscape photography in gas for gifts that are practical, silly, Quotations from Oklahoma authors eight art shows in Colorado last sum- @&ionable, amy, fun, Even education- about Oklahoma's people and places mer in between climbing in the &. And the bwc &iag about the& @is complement the photographs. Rockies. &t all of them are made in ~ahoma, You will want to order calendars as For more of Jim's dramatic photog- pen, remember the toys you gor for gifts for friends, relatives and business raphy and an equally exciting story by -adsmaswhen you wore a kid?Bdae associates. It's a wonderful way to say Oklahoma TODAY Managing Editor tansformers and laser gummi?mwen a hello from Oklahoma to those out of Susan Tomlinson, turn to page 28. It's '&ought? One WornGhy inaxibt state. Still the same low price, only a cliff hanger. &signer developed such a passion frrr $5.95 plus $1 for postage. Instructions antique toys that he's collecmd arose &w When October arrives, Oklahoma for ordering are on page 17. &an 1,000 that dare back to the mid- literally goes to the horses with five century, These smries plus others Contributing photographers are Ivan worldclass horse shows set annually tqpmn signs and the Hank Thompson L. McCartney, Kym Wilson, Paul Le- for Oklahoma City and three in Guth- &hwl of Country Music in che Noman- febvre, Jim Argo, J. Don Cook, Larry rie's Lazy E Arena. The Grand Na- her-Deeember issue of TO- D. Brown, Steve Wilson and David tional and World Championship DAX Don't miss it. Fitzgerald. Morgan Horse Show opens the season & The Regional Magazine Publish-

Oklahoma TODAY ers Association presented Ok/ahoma something you remember forever, Congratulations on your being TODAY an Award of Merit for the mag- someone pulling a trigger on you," named runner-up for the Best Travel azine that "best reflects the spirit and says Billy Walkabout, Tahlequah, one Magazine in the Lowell Thomas Trav- image of a state or region" during its of America's most decorated Vietnam el Journalism Awards sponsored by the annual conference in Madison, Wis- veterans. Society of American Travel Writers consin. Forty regional magazines com- "I carried a deck of cards all through Foundation. The consistent profes- peted. We couldn't be more Vietnam. Fifty-two. I sent a card a sional hard work that goes into produc- pleased. -Sue Carter. week home to Mary Jane," says Jim ing winning entries such as yours Howarth, Holdenville. should serve as a stimulation to all trav- "To this day I don't know what real- el editors who aspire to excellence. ly happened. Why did they let me go? Tom and Joanne OToole, Why didn't they take me prisoner? Kill Travel Journalists me? One guy stepped forward, and I Wickliffe, Ohio Vietnam: The Heartland Remem- figured he was going to be my execu- bers, by Stan/q W. Bea/q; Univenig tioner, but he said to me, 'Same fight, I want your staff to know how much of Ok/ahoma Pras, 1005 Asp Ave., Nor- no fight,' and he and the others melted I enjoy the magazine. It is a great man, OK 73019; $16.95. Perhaps into the jungle," says Wilbert Brown, addition to our waiting room. This past enough time has passed since the Viet- Tulsa, who was allowed to walk away year my family and other friends have nam War to allow its veterans a chance from a North Vietnamese ambush. experienced the beautiful portfolios to tell their stories as other veterans do, Says Robert Kirk, Oklahoma City: you display. Oklahoma is indeed a without being forced into discussions "I didn't want to kill anyone." beautiful state. about politics, to be heard as survivors W. Bradley Johnston, D.P.M. of the rawest emotions humans can Oklahoma City. experience-fear, selfless valor, grief, Oklahoma TODAY has really prov- hate, passion, numbness. en to be a great magazine. Being in the Beesley, a Shawnee teacher and a Your story on Jim Thorpe in the Navy, I have seen a lot of beautiful Ranger team leader in Vietnam who May-June issue of Okfahoma TODAY country-Spain, France, Italy-but twice was awarded the Bronze Star, brought back pleasant old memories. Oklahoma is the best, not just because traveled over the state to interview vet- Many years ago during the Depression it's home but because it's great. Keep erans and their families. His oral histo- in Oklahoma, someone thought up the sending magazines; it's the next best ry has far more page-turning power idea of a pickup football game be- thing to home. than a book or movie with carefully tween Wewoka, my hometown, and crafted fictional plots and composite Danny Holbrook Holdenville, six miles away. Most characters. The words from these men Miami, Florida players on both teams were Indians- and women are sharply honest; their Seminole for Wewoka and Creeks for I am interested in quilts and needle- experiences with death and their reck- Holdenville. We lost the first game in work from Oklahoma's early days, onings with life are too real for readers Wewoka. The following weekend we even the territory days. Could you to soon forget. These people, now in played in Holdenville, and who was publish an article about them? I was their 40s and 50s, are our neighbors. the referee but Jim Thorpe. born in Sapulpa and lived in Tulsa, They're from Broken Arrow, Lexing- For some reason someone thought Bristow, Ada and Lawton but have ton, Weatherford, Okeene, Tulsa. up the idea of a punting duel between been a Virginian since 1950. Beesley's book doesn't promote any Jim Thorpe and, of all people, me. Thelma Brittain particular political viewpoint. It's the That was my lucky day. I got off four Colonial Heights, Virginia story of Vietnam told from the memo- or five good punts. Of course, I was ries of officer and reluctant draftee, Editor's Note: You join thousandr of wearing football shoes and Jim was patriot and skeptic, infantry private othm who have an interat in historic and wearing oxfords. I was about 20 years and decorated pilot, men and women, modern-day quila. Turn to page 18 for old and he was in his 40s or 50s. When wives, whites, blacks, Indians. Kathryn Jenson White's infomahe stotia we were through he came over to me They tell their stories best. Here are about OR/ahoma's qui/~and qui/bnaRm. and said, "What are you trying to do, their words: kid, show me up?" Okfdomu TODAY welcomes letters fmm our "A firefight is instant insanity. Ev- readers. The letten must be signed, and we We lost the second game, too. reserve the right to editlor condense them. ery emotion is running overtime. You Send your commenrs to: Letters, Okidoma live so much in such a short time. You Wip Robinson I11 TODW, P.O. Box 53384, Oklahoma City, age twenty years. Scared? Yeah. It's Churchville, Virginia OK 73152.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 UNCOMMON COMMON FOLK anna By Kathryn Jenson White

from Hydro, goes in spurts. At times, this delicate featured fairy child with fine blond hair can be a true eventually be moving Grape-nuts and chatterbox; at others, she can be a one- milk into my mouth. word-at-a-time sort. Suzanna explains that she, her During the dry periods, I thought mother and her grandmother worked once or twice about asking her if the on the "secret formula" once the); de- cat got her tongue, but I must admit I cided that they'd make what wo~~ld feared to see those beautiful blues roll- amount to a spoon-shaped dog biscuit. ing upward in frustration at such a They determined that for strength dumb question. I'm ashamed to admit they'd slow-bake dough until it was that even with careful attention to my hard, and for flavor they'd depend on, well, here's Suzanna on that:

family knew of this Italianate tendency

Listen to her tell it:

Server.

it. "I'm not really sure yet how all this has contest? Kahvn: Oh. Well, how does your affected me. I've been through periods Summa: Oh, yeah. It was a good spoon work? of, 'Gee, I can't really believe that idea. I think it was better than my Sumnna: You break it up and let the those people thought that little idea brother's ideas.

Oklahoma 'I'ODAY UNCOMMON COMMON FOLK

Kathryn: Did you know what prizes Well, time flies when you're having and my mom and my brother on the you'd win if they chose your fun, and while Suzanna was enjoying airplane. invention? herself the judges in 7le Weekly Reader Kathryn: Did your friends treat you Suzanna: No, I didn't. All I knew competition were naming her National any differently once you became a was that you'd get a $500 Savings Grand Champion, K-4. They also se- celebrity? Bond and a trip to Washington D.C. lected a second Grand Champion, for Suzanna: Oh, yeah. They were a lot Kah4ryn (Slightly stumped by that grades five through eight. A boy who nicer. answer since those were, indeed, the invented the "Sit and Scoot," a steer- Kathryn: Will vou be disappointed prizes): Oh. ing and braking device for use with when people stop talking to you about After sending in drawings and de- skates and skateboards, took that your invention? scriptions of her idea, Suzanna spent honor. Suzanna: Yes. some time wondering about whether Suzanna was in school when her Kathryn: Is there anything bad about she'd win, since, she relates solemnly, first-grade teacher, Ann Gillingham, being famous? "If I won that trip, I'd be rich." She received the call announcing that her Suzanna: Nothin'. staved busy, though, working on de- pupil was a winner and was to attend Smart kid. Fame does come with its veloping her skills in her true career the National Inventor's Exposition own burdens, though, and they have choice: where Yle Wee& Reader would have a fallen on Jennifer, whose studies have Kathryn: What do you want to do booth. Teacher immediately became a had to take a temporary back seat to all when you grow up? press agent, a necessity since the Goo- the hubbub. She's working on getting Suzanna: I don't want to go to col- dins don't have a phone. Ms. Gilling- a patent for Suzanna's E.P.F.S., while lege. I want to have kids. I want to do ham coordinated local interviews and also taking time to attend interviews fashion design. I'm always taking pictures, set up a phone interview with and accompany her star on trips. In something and putting it on and de- People magazine, oversaw a shopping May the family flew to California to signing something with it. My grand- trip for Grand Champion clothing, ar- tape a segment of Z2e Home Show, a mother had an old slip, an old red slip. ranged for a color portrait to be sent to new daily news magazine program. For She let me have it and I use it for a the contest sponsors and saw to a myri- a while they thought they'd be going summer dress. I'm trying to make doll ad of other details. to New York for an appearance on i7ie clothes for my Barbie and my Cabbage Jennifer is grateful to Ms. Gilling- David LRtterman Show, but those plans Patch. I'm using safety pins. ham and the others who helped out fell through. Jennifer sounds more Kathryn: Well, I think you have to the struggling family. With a little help than a little relieved that they did. go to college to be a fashion designer. from many friends, the Goodins were Suzanna is ready, though, to travel Suzanna: Aw, shucks. able to attend the Inventor's Expo anywhere, anytime. She looooves Suzanna also spent a lot of time not February 5-8. They had four days of missing math almost as much as her helping her mom and grandma around media attention and sightseeing fun. cats loooove their garlicky spoon treat. the house because, she says with Kathryn: Had you ever been so far As she was eagerly leaving the princi- straightforward certainty, "It's boring. away from home before? pal's office to join her classmates out- All I do is throw my cat around. And Suzanna: Never. It was scary. The side, I, investigative reporter that I get spankings." airplane almost went around like this am, had to return to that nagging re- Before vou animal lovers get upset, (stomach-churning sideways and sponse about "spankings." please listen. Suzanna has a cat named downward hand movement) when we Kahyn: I'll bet that even though Cinnamon whom she really likes. And were going there. When we were com- you get spankings you're a pretty good it seems Cinnamon likes being turned ing back from Chicago I had an ear- girl most of the time, aren't you. upside down and having other physical ache and I was laying down trying to Suzanna (Pausing to give this some signs of strong affection lavished upon sleep. I liked it, though. thought): Yeah, when I've got a good him. After hearing this explanation Suzanna is quick to tell anyone who dispertiction. from Jennifer, I returned to Suzanna's will listen that there is no downside to Something tells me her mom talks last comment for further clarification. celebrity for her. Her favorite part, she about that word a lot, too. Maybe even Kathryn: What's the worst thing you says, is that she gets to meet lots of more than she does "edible." I can do to get spankings? new people. tell, though, that this creative child is, Suzanna: Call my brother names. Kahryn: What did you feel like in- indeed, a Goodin. Jennifer: No, it's not. It's to argue side when you found out you'd won? Have a nomineefor "Uncommon with your grandmother. Suzanna (With second eye roll): Common Fo/R"? Write to Kahtyn c/o Suzanna: Oh, yeah. I love that. Well, I felt great excitement. One of Oklahoma TODAY, P.O. Box 53384, That's fun. my friends drew me a picture of me Okhhoma City, OK 73152. By Ralph Marsh Photographs by Phillip Radcliffe

II Zre a - on thC side of ~oteau I I Mountain where you can stand on a particular rock on the 30th day of December and watch the sun drop precisely behind the peak of Blue Mountain. Like a sundial set for yeam. At exactly sunset on that day of the year, I standing on act4 &at ruck, you can feel the earth move ever so slightly beneath your feet? and you see suddenly into the clockwork inside the univen-e. It lash only for an instant. Once the bottom of the sun touchs the top of Blue Mountain, it sinks with visible speed, mqkticalb calling it a day. Creating combinations of color so subtle and rare they are not named.

Continued.

Xie Ouadita Mountains spread into hree counties-Mdurtain, Pushmataha and L.eF/ow-and Lave stwera/ separate ranges wit4 names like Winding Stair, Jack ForR and KiamicAi.

8 Oklahoma TODAY

%mgpningbaby mflk ja@qmid W fBdd places. Kerr Museum md Cenfkt- ence Center. YOU have to &gin to pick and choose. Decide what you are after. They have completed a new obser- vatory on top of Sugar Loaf Mountain / I just over into Arkansas and on the backside of Blue Mountain are springs lh intmrehe anter at th HeerRunatone Ramation Am houa the 12-foothid, 10-foot so pure they can be diverted through a des&e deep4 cadwid Runic symbok that spprialisa belitwc wminscrib& in 7012 A.D. cabin and drunk fresh. cisely that time of day and year. If it turns back and down again, putting POTEAU MOUNTAIN IS A HIGH. BOW everything is exactly as it was then. the mountain between you and what- ridge that runs west for more than 25 And that is how easy-and how dif- ever it is you are vacationing from. miles from Waldron, Arkansas. Along- ficult-it is to see southeastern This is the old Choctaw Indian Na- side, the Poteau kver runs on past to Oklahoma. tion. The place where they stopped the Arkansas River, then to the Missis- Sometimes, something you cannot and laid their possesions down at the sippi, to the Gulf and then to the explain happens. end of the Trail of Tears. And looked world. The two form a beautiful valley Ask any oldtimer down there. around at the hills and called it home. through which passes Arkansas-Okla- Remnants of them still are here. homa 128. Alongside it the valley is THE WOMAN WAS TINY AND IN HER 70s You can see it in their faces and hear dotted with little farmhouses and and her blue eyes popped and snapped it in their talk and sense in it the way ranches and tiny communities where with quick thoughts, and there was a they look at the world. men park their logging trucks at the knowing sadness behind them that From Sallisaw south, for 5 114 inches only service station-store and discuss could almost be seen like something in on a standard Oklahoma map-87 how things are over a cup of coffee at a clear water that is too deep. miles on a straight road, of which there tiny table put away in the back for that "You sit and you look at these is none-you go deeper and deeper purpose. At Heavener, which lies mountains," she said, "and you can't into the mountains, and then you ease astride U.S. 59, the ridge bends sharp- not know there is something special out of them again into that country that ly to the north and splits like two there. You see them different every is much as it is elsewhere. spread fingers. Where the mountain

10 Oklahoma TODAY u#t pfacea on a leclge way back in a wrinkle of the mountain. Years ago when he wandered in too deep hunt- ing his cows. It was 7 feet long, he said, and placed beside a flat stone on its edge with a hole in the middle. BY

- (.

ley, and largely because of her efforts, the stone is known worldwide and is vener Runestone Recreation Area. It is visited by thousands of people. It has reached by turning east from U.S. 59 changed the way a lot of people look at at the town's blinking red light. the history of America. The accumu- lating belief is that a religious man, AT THE NORTH EDGE OF HODGEN, traveling these mountains with explor- blacktop roads lead off U.S. 59 to the ing Vikings-possibly a doomed par- east and to the west. The one to the ty-before Columbus was born, east circles around through Haw chipped the Scandinavian runes into Creek, country that is Alpine pretty the Oklahoma sandstone. They are be- and such good deer hunting that frm lieved to constitute a cryptopuzzle that women wear burnt-orange jackets to has been interpreted as the date, No- the barn during hunting season. The vember 11, 1012, St. Martin's Day. road to the west heads toward Blue One of the biggest remaining myster- ies is why no signs of Vikings other It crosses a little pot-holed stream than runestones have been found. that used to be much bigger in the Ed Wilson, who used to run cattle minds of those who knew it when it on Poteau Mountain, insisted until the was young. The road takes a sudden day he died that he saw a huge skele- sweep to the right to cross Conser

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER'87 11 ~e ~~~~d~dzop~S&&SWB pan of water and chdlenge Chdh Wilson. "Shuck, bound to, young Wilson, you get dime, I give it you dime. Shuck, young Wilson, bound to." "He had an old telephone magneto. He ran a wire around the comer to that thing. I'd reach in there and that thing back toward Blue Mountain. homa Historical Society now maintains would knock me loose. And he would Off to the left of the curve, a two- his house and grounds in his memory. laugh. We did it for hours on end. I story house, blue-white in the early Peter Conser was a captain of the wanted that dime." light, rears like a haughty old man in a Choctaw Lighthorse, respected Charlie's room, when the family vis- Sunday hat. Its lines jutty, sharp and mounted police of the Five Civilized ited, was the one upstairs where the straight in a way that lines do not ap- Tribes, a representative and then a mulberry limb grew so close to the pear so much any more. Tombstones senator to the Choctaw Council. He window he could climb onto it from sprout from a little patch of ground set owned a large farm and ran a black- inside the house and dream dreams on a knoll in the front yard like a smith shop, grist mill, sawmill, kept a and stuff mulberries without bother. favorite flowerbed so it can be seen general store with a post office in it, From the front porch came the deep, from the windows of the house. All of sired nine children and built the two- melodious sound of Conser singing, it is too neat now, with a sort of Sun- story, eight-room house. reverent now, in Choctaw from a hym- day sadness. Charlie Wilson knew him because nal to Charlie's sister, Ruth. "Shuck, bound to, Wilson. Talk this Charlie's Irish father, Sam, also an or- "Shuck, child, you go play." way." phan, wound up camping under a syc- And he would go sit by the fire with Charlie Wilson can remember the amore tree north of Howe in Indian Sam Wilson and they would talk and a old man saying it in just that way. On Territory with no place to go by the gleam would come in their eyes and Sunday evenings when the long, hap- time he was 16 years old. they would look over at the boy pre- py weekend was ending, just before he The Choctaws took him in, taught tending to doze and their low rumbling dropped his hand from the bridle of him the language and made him fam- voices would lapse into Choctaw so he the horses harnessed to the spring wag- ily. The Irishman became so Choctaw would not hear of what they had done on to haul the Wilson family home. that he became an interpreter for the and seen together. "Talk this way." Those well Indians when they dealt with the An odd sign now is by the stairs.

12 Oklahoma TODAY ..u..wr-. .,.an a quarter 4a UZBIEW. -, u wwww VU~~J.tBDllFI p- ----,-.-u-...... -., -...... - ...r.r - .:,.'X-y ~ X B ~ P m LdPk,m Cow@ LEIDw. ;IKe bh,mzk~by afoo/ mil, k a good campisg A@mlfnshm whd to dhver &forst. ' ' .!

'This facility," it says, "is in com- visit between seasons and you may be ever heard about this country, and it pliance with federal regulations regard- the only one there. At night then, if comes again. It is the screech owl and ing thermostat settings." you put your cot on the little embank- you knew it even when the prickles "Shuck, bound to, Wilson. Talk this ment in Campsite 13, near the old were runninng up your back. Some- way." stump, you can look up and on clear where back under the bright moon nights the stars are so bright and the hounds are running and their voices ABOllT MID-b1ORNING OR BEFORE. A water is so still the stars leave their are distant chimes of a carillon. You breeze springs up and crosses Cedar own mini-moon trails across the water. still are thinking thoughts like that Lake from the southwest, through a To lie so on your back in the woods at when you go to sleep. little trough where you can see the night and look up at more stars and Sometimes late in the day, a young ends of five hills. You can stand in planets than you ever knew existed man who lives near Hodgen stops by Campsite 13and watch a thunderstorm heightens awareness of everything. Campsite 13 and he isn't at all sur- build back of Winding Stair. You can A screech owl lives in the deep tim- prised that you have found his place. If see it coming across the lake from the ber of the opposite shore. Some- you are friendly with him, he will tell mountains for a long time before you times-so clearly across the lake- you that when he was much younger can feel the rain or hear it spattering in comes the wail like a hurting child. he would get on an air mattress and the cattails. Subtle colors blending Piteous, lonely. Just as you quiet the float out to the middle of the lake and without notice from the gray-black prickles on the back of your neck and look up at those same stars and that clouds to the green-gray silver of the determine to go see what is wrong, the the things that bother a teenager water, and all of it eventually con- wail subsides into an evil giggle, black would begin to work out because the sumed by the all-pervading green of as the night, and brings the prickles stars are so special here. the hills. back again. A pause, all quiet, allowing Sometimes in the late fall you can time to conjure every ghost story you JI!S'r OVER SKYLINE DRIVE. HEADING He goes past Poteau and Cedar Lake and t

14 Oklahoroa TODAY chi, the car engine eases off and the land k@nsto fall away to the south ?n knobs and rjdges and saddieva~ks warned Blw Bauncw, $hart, H& ~$d

wid cdi than 200 fmt dawn after it is dmed to make the reservoir, lie legends of what this country was. Mementos of Hochatown and the other clusters of people who once lived in the now- flooded bottoms have been moved up near the highway for people to see. Folks who had to move to town still remember a country where a good corn crop, a few wild hogs and a lucky deer or two would let you live happily through the winter. Beavers Bend State Park lies along the Mountain Fork, below the dam, in the snare-like loop of Oklahoma 259. It is set in the deep woods the way all this country used to be.

KRIS?'I SILVEY SAT IN THE SPECKLED shade of the tall oak and gum and pine trees talking about all the things that can happen when people suddenly get close together with the wild animals. Continued.

The Mountain Fork River-the I I m'butaty for Broken Bow Raeruoir-s1ict-s though Bemen Bend Stare Park. 1 I t front pocket were mighty mini-battle. made it into Little-

t *. hiq sasn5li up W e shin, ptthe awl buton that said, 'Qive a Cl'wlar -if oneofr&ppWrigWqWs Hoot," and made a dash for the other in dc WiaNational Fomt, &3 kas being millions of mil= fmm where you pocket. 290,000 amof tim- in stood last evening. "NO, Baby," Kristi said, "you can't Momand McCumin muntis. It oh The sun is back over Poteau Moun- go in. sit6 for mping, hiRing, fihing, boa&g tain, uying to peek through the rain "Thereis another one in there," she and pkknkking. In L+eFlon County, U.S. clouds, and you can't shake that feel- explained. "Her name is Littlebit." hi&qs 59 and 259 and Okkzhoma I ing of the earth swinging down under Since they were rescued from the will take you firnu$ the krtofthe fomt. the sun. Okkzhoma 3, going eart jkwn lhhl, is So you sit for a moment at the win- fates that usually befall such animals fie best route to stv McCumin County'sslice when they encounter people, Baby of he woodc. dow and watch a flock of tiny sparrows and Littlebit have spent their days Beawn Bend State Pad ah0 offers fill to the ground to feed, a shower of napping in the pockets of Kristi's uni- coflagts, campgrom&, fie Fomt Hdage autumn leaves. Somewhere, a sleepy form shirt. Nights, they have the run Center, a kzke and 1.K,er, hotsduck hound mourns a rainy day. It has the of her house in Broken Bow until bed- ding, ca& and a lot mon. l3e pad is sound of someone toying with a flute. time when they go into their cage in located six mi/a nod of Bmken Bow on You are in southeastern Oklahoma. which Kristi has had to hang a spare US.259. (405)494-6300. "Shuck, bound to, Wilson. shirt. And for ofier travel tips about his "Talk this way." Dart of I state, write the OkMoma When people in Broken Bow see - - Fmkznce wrim Mad lives in Department of Tounim and Remwtion, Ra&h Kristi's shirtfront wriggling, they sim- Hemmer, when Ae k writing a bod. 500 Will Rogen BuiMing, Ok/ohoma City Photographer Phil@ Ra&hftle tk based ply ask to see the babies. Strangers OK, 73105 or ca/l(800) 652-6552. react differently. at 15 East Pductrons, Atk Taka studio.

16 Oklahoma TODAY ORDER FORM

I , My name ! tFiJ1"in svgt, if on4 sdndng gi!) f &dllb, Qty State Zip Day Phone # what Please send 1988 scenic calendaa k@ me at above address. 'GIFTORDERS 1998 scenic calendars to with gift cards en-

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WMM- city Smte Zip Kin gift card from:

Name kddfess city %re Zip Gign gift card from;

Check or money order enclosed Visa U~MastcrCard,Interbank # Wd + Emrp. date Bigmure Mgil &x OKLAHOMA TODAY. ! P.O. Box 53384 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 oa~l1-800-652-6552toll ftee with wedit card ardw uilts are comforters in more ways than one, and history tells us they always have been to both those who make them and those who use them. In Oklahoma today, the number who fall into both catego- ries is great and growing. Quilts, which seem rather simple three-layer cakes of a prettily designed top, batting and a cloth backing, are really quite complex. They are at the same time homey symbols of warmth and security and highly-priced and prized pieces of textile art. The process of making a quilt, which involves either piec- ing or appliqueing the top and then fixing it to the other two layers with an intricate pattern of painstak- ingly small and even quilting stitches, is at the same time a domestic chore and an +B+ L + E + S 4 S + E + D 4 act of artistic creativity. Finished quilts, old and new, func- tion as simple bed covers, but have also come out of the linen closet to be proud- ly displayed on quilt racks and hung care- fully on walls. Quilting is the sole subject ARE THE of a weeklv.,, half-hour r~ublic television show that's enormously popular. This an- cient craft has even spawned its om PIECEMAKERS bumper stickers: "My Mother is a Quilt- er and Our House is in Pieces." "The By Kathryn Jenson White One Who Dies with the MOS~ Fabric Wins" and "Blessed are the Quilters, For Photographs by Steve Sisney They shall be called Piecemakers." Whether they're newly made or came into the state during the land run; whether they're pieced or appliqued; whether they're family treasures in which each piece of cloth and carefully taken stitch tell a story or the silent work of a stranger, quilts are unarguably a pan of the fabric of life in Oklahoma. MI over the state, women, and even a few men, are studying quilts. Some do so to deci- pher the history each one represents by learning to date fabric, designs and dyes, some to master the art of making their own. This fascination with quilts and quilting, which seems to have received a burst of energy from the Bicentennial furor of 1976, has given rise in our state to businesses that, in addition to fabrics of every hue and print imaginable, offer hundreds of how-to and history-of books, basic supplies and sewing bags full of gizmos and gadgets that grandma never heard of. These same retail establishments offer a continuous array of quilting classes for all sorts. Also doing well are shops that offer old quilts to serious collectors and to the less serious who see quilts as merely great touches for their "country look" deco- rating theme. Across the state, too, have sprung up a

18 Oklahoma TODAY Be4 Jo Hain@, a quiIterfLom Hydro, cekbmtd Okhhoma's 75bi Diamond Jubilee in 1982 by making hk quilt and naming it,

apprvpriatefy, 'Bubike." Afer doming thcpanmr andmfors, she amnged &fabric onfhnnel on a waffuntilshe fettsaw mi1 aSe &sign, hen spenr six monk piecing and quilting it.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 19

E. Ann Wadentin, an Enid quilter, based the daign of her quilt, "CZIjum," (right) on the fmorite pattern of Frances FoAFom Cleveland, PPtzdmt Grover Clevefamfs mji. It's called a medallion quilt because fie daign build from a center motif. Behind Pam Wool- bndt, (below right),fonner dirctor of the Oklahoma Quilt Heritage Project, are OkIa/ro- ma Blocks. The blocks are quilted from OM pattern that npment dtffeerent aspects of hji in the state. Tie "Celebrated Case" (below left)bl~ktek de story of Gorge Reynold, a Tmrandier who lied 15 yean after an Indian affack wid an ambead lednear hIj spine. He went to Kansas City in 1882 to heit re- moved, and when the doctor inised the OM wound, the sidt caused a friend accompanying the rancher to smam in honvr. ReynoMs jumped from the ta- ble, which forced the amhead out. His relaha pieced a quilt to memberdie event. quilt is mned by the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Be okkzhoma blocks (opposite 1 page) am a colMon of30pat- rens that were pub/ished Acades ago in newspapen and maga- zines. Membm of 73e OkWoma Quilt HenenrageProject of 7Ae Central Oklahoma Quilters GuiM mum& nk panems and quilred new blocks. 7Ae quilt (right)piedfrom n'gar ribbons and cigamm sibs was probabb made about 1920,says its owner Dorothy Corsrt. Silks print& with illwtations of flirgs, sports hem6 or other characten were inserted in cigarem packages in the twrb 20th centuy, and cigar ribbons were ured to tie boxes. Each block h a silk at i& center and is sumundai by ribbons. Coy and Gail Bush (below right), a husband and wqe quilting team from Chickasha, men@ won a national ncedk art contest. And Dr. LwPis (be- low left) was the physician who moved the amhead from Geotge ReynoMs' back (see page 21). OkZahoma s Quilt Heritage ne of the most active sub-divisions of The Central Oklaho- it, "Creating all the Oklahoma blocks was among the first things 0 ma Quilters Guild is the Oklahoma Quilt Heritage Project. we did as a group. We saw an article in a quilting magazine that The members of this group are proud to point tc three major talked about all the quilt blocks, and we decided to do them up in undertakings designed to preserve and celebrate quilt history in fabric and use them for display and teaching tools at our shows as Oklahoma. we travel around the state giving programs." Oklahoma has 30 blocks, some of which appear elsewhere with different names and Quilt Days some unique to the state. Between June 1987 and December 1988, this group will sponsor Quilt Days at Altus, Ardmore, Bartlesville, Clinton, Enid, Guy- Kansas Star mon, Idabel, Lawton, McAlester, Miami, Oklahoma City, Poteau, From 1928 to 1961, the Kansar Ciry Star, both the daily and Seminole, Stillwater, Tahlequah, Tulsa and Woodward. Anyone weekly versions, and the Star Fampublished 1,086 quilt block with a quilt made in or brought to Oklahoma before 1940 is invited patterns. In October 1985, Betty Jo Haines was reading an index of to participate. The committee will register each quilt, photograph those panems when, she remembers, "I began to wonder if it and record the maker of the quilt and its background. anyone had ever made these up. I brought up doing that at the As Jane Hamden, 1986-87 director of the project says, "Every guild and there was unanimous enthusiasm." The plan was that quilt tells a story, and if you lose the story you've lost most of the they would send out a call hr original clipped patterns or copies value of the quilt. Owners need to tell it to the family and record and make up a block from each one. it. We like to somehow affix a quilt's story to the back of the quilt As of May 1987, Betty Jo and her helpers had rounded up all but itself, because if all the next generation can evaluate is color and it 23 of the patterns. Letters in newspapers and quilt magazines have doesn't happen to fit their whim, perhaps the most valuable quilt brought an incredible response. The group would like to have the that a family owns, one that was really significant in the family blocks made by the time the guild's big show in Oklahoma's big history, may be lost. Maybe they wrapped up the silver in it during year, 1989, rolls around. the Civil War and hung it in the well, but the quilt is no longer As Betty Jo explains it, "We make up kits with the patterns, 'pretty.' If they don't know its meaning, it could be gotten rid of." which most of the time have to be redrafted because they aren't After getting the story on each quilt, the project will present its accurate. We supply the background fabric of muslin or white owner with a certificate of registration and a leaflet on proper quilt batting. Our members furnish the prints or color solids. Then we care. The most outstanding quilt of each day will receive a $100 can display them in a variety of ways. If we want blocks from the cash prize. Information gathered will be stored at the Oklahoma '40s, we've got those. If we want political blocks, or farming Historical Society and will be open in archive form for research. blocks, or a state's blocks, we've got those. We've got lots of In the spring of 1989, the project will climax with a special different categories to explore." showing of all the prize-winning quilts and any others deemed The Heritage Project is also considering putting together at least exceptional. The project is also considering the possibility of a one pattern booklet to raise money. Their first would contain all traveling exhibition. 119 patterns published between 1928 and 1930. If that proved popular, they'd continue to do booklets until all 1,068 patterns Oklahoma QuiLt Blocks were reprinted. Each state has a bevy of blocks named for it. As Pat Higgins tells -Kathryn Jenson White CENTRAL OKLAHOMA I (405) 772-5769 WASHITA VALLEY QVILTERS 4th Mondav 7.30 ~.m.~n Cllnton 1 CHURN DASHERS Pat fliggins. Norman Gail Bush, Chickasha JUBILEE QUILTERS SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA (405) 364-5451 (405) 224-2280 Ruth Montgomery, Bartlesville QL'ILTERS 4th Thursday 7:30 p.m. & 10 a.m. 1st Thursday 10:W a.m. (918) 333-2947 Cvnthia Weldon. Ardmore GREEN COIINTRY QUILTERS I 2nd Fridav 10:OO a.m. I SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA 1 (45) 223-0161 Jody Hicks or Sondra Steinberg, QUILTERS COUNTRY FARE QUILTERS SOUTHWEST QZJILTERS Tulsa Myrtle Floyd, Ada Carrie Dickerson, Claremore Mona Boyd, Duke (918) 299-6174 (405) 332-2431 (918) 341-3494 P.O. Box 263 3rd Friday 10:00 a.m. 4th Thursday 10:00 a.m. PIONEER AREA QUILTERS Duke, OK 75332 3rd Thursday 7:00 p.m. Karen Lescarboura, Ponca City CENTER FOR YUSKOCiEE QUILTERS CIMARRON VALLEY (405) 762-6856 CREATIVE LIVING Eleanor Self, Muskogee QUILT GUILD 1st Monday 10:OO a.m. Jo Hollye Silvers, Lawton (918) 683-5155 Sue Rose, Stillwater (405) 357-7701 PATCHES & PIECES (405) 372-4744 OK QUILTERS STATE 1st & 3rd Thursdays 9:15 a.m. Judy Wohletz, Ponca City 1st Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ORGANIZATION. INC. CALICO QUILTERS (405) 762-6016 3rd Thursday 10:00 a.m. Pat Higgins, Norman Shirley Leach, Sapulpa Meetings are held at night WESTERN OKLAHOMA (405) 364-5451 (918) 227-0349 GRAND LAKE QUILTERS QUILTERS Semi-annual meetings in March, 1st & 3rd Thursdays 6:30 p.m. Mayme Poe, Jay Lorene Bishop. Weatherford September .- Sleep isn't all that important to his daily schedule, he says, "1'11 co take a bath, nap for about 30 min sew until 2:30 or 3 a.m. I average eight hours a night. I never get ti we started the store was that I se Now, every time 1 sell a spool, sew with. I have to plumb, bec living doing this." Yet, anyway. As owner and operator o quilting supply shop in N ing her living doing wh business in 1983 because she couldn't find the sup- en Country Qdters Guild, plies she needed for her own quilting and because she are about 14 other fonnal wanted to teach. Now, she o year, with enrollment gene each. Her most popular is Speed Piecing a close sec majority of her class members are young women in uilt-related busi- their late 20s and early 30s. Her typical buyer of ever, of a slightly differen majority of my customers late 30s and early 50s, the supplies. Many of the women tend to use scraps rather than buying new fabric, and younger ones really can't afford to cio a lot. The average cost for a double bed quilt is about $$@ in 1984, it was $70. Fabric keeps going up. It averages now about $4.29 per yard, with designer &&dcs fmn- $4.79 to $5.29." Joan feels the strong interest in quilting will corn tinue for quite a while. Of Oklahoma quilfels, sh~ ather Lodge in Gore. This says, "We're pretty old-fashioned and much more There we share what we've conservative than the East or West coasts. They're not build clothing, help each as afraid to try new things. That's why I in quilting has a long behind. They're coming fabric, California fabrics with large de gobbling them up out there, but they here yet. We tend to stay small flowers and prints. Trying to get pe rut can be tough." But not impossible. character to hold on to the to move, at what sometimes seems to okp!c!#q @ride iag our state today, these pace, into the future. But we always kap c~tb many-hated cloth - like visit to The Cenrd Oklahoma Quiltem @*& jewgk. a perfect setting for a quilt show October 16-18 will prove the p&'&-. I wed& with the beautiful traditional quilts will be m&~ktt- temporary pieces of graphic art rendered in hy$ Thi wv,J&Qh5*=60s in No-n, sqs theme of this year's show is "Keep the ~h@Fires IP~~a~&~~~~dTa~~i~O~~on~~gui~ngw* Burning," a tribute to the more dsmesticsw$jcleof fa,she took up quibng. quilting. The exhibits, vendors, demonstta~oB$~-and S'klt~y ah0 I& in Norman. f OKLAHOMA OMNIBUS

V) 0 2 3 ,9The Ma~cots B E V) 9 By Eve Sandstrom 5 L 80k FkMEX 'a 5. 5 5

f h 5 3

m PISTOL PETE SOONERSCHOONER t's a football Saturday in October, in his autobiography, Pistol Pete: Vet- But as H.F. Donnelly, a local his- Iand thousands of fans have gath- eran of the OM Wm, his father, a torian and longtime friend of Ea- ered in Norman and Stillwater to Union man, was killed in a scrap ton's explains, some A&M cheer the Cowboys and the Sooners. with Southern sympathizers. The supporters and students weren't Yet as exciting to watch as both boy vowed to avenge his father. happy with a mascot borrowed from teams are, a game just wouldn't be After Eaton's mother remarried, an eastern school. In 1923, an osu the same without those famous side- the family moved to the Cherokee graduate named Lester Swim saw line supporters-Pistol Pete and the Nation to live near the present-day Eaton-wearing a broad-brimmed prancing ponies pulling the Sooner site of Bartlesville. With his vow of hat and chaps-riding in a Stillwater Schooner. vengeance always in mind, he be- parade. Swim took a picture of Ea- The mascots for both Oklahoma came a crack shot by the age of 15 ton to a commercial artist and the State University and the University and earned the nickname "Pistol college teams soon had a new name of Oklahoma are descendants of the Pete." While still a teenager, he and the school had a logo, Pistol state's colorful heritage. claimed, he was a marshal for the Pete, linked with Oklahoma's wild The Sooner Schooner, a minia- court of Judge Isaac C. Parker, the west history. ture covered wagon painted in OU'S famed federal "hanging judge" of Pistol Pete was just a painted red and white colors and pulled by a Fort Smith, Arkansas. Eaton later symbol until 1958, when the first team of 42-inch white Welsh-Arabi- worked as a stock detective. gun-toting student garbed in blue an ponies, does a symbolic land rush As part of his duties, Eaton wrote, jeans and a giant Pistol Pete head after each football score. he killed 11 men, including five of swaggered down the Cowboys' At osu in Stillwater, an old-time the six murderers of his father. He sidelines. gunfighter and cowboy, Pistol Pete, later became a blacksmith at Perkins Acting the role of Pistol Pete isn't is a larger-than-life version of a cow- and lived to the age of 98. easy. The fiberglass heads (there are boy modeled after pioneer lawman OW, then Oklahoma A&M Col- three of them) weigh up to 35 and cowpuncher Frank Eaton. lege, first had a tiger as its symbol. pounds and are 3 feet tall. The two Eaton was born in 1860 in Con- Supposedly based on the Princeton heads used most often are almost necticut, but his family moved to a University mascot, the tiger gave identical in appearance. The third Kansas homestead after the end of the college its colors of orange and represents Pistol Pete as an older the Civil War. As Eaton tells the tale black. man and makes occasional appear-

26 Oklahoma TODAY OKLAHOMA OMNIBUS

ances as "Alumni Pete" or in other the mascot for various athletic club, the RUFINEKS, man the special roles. teams. Mex was a wobbly puppy schooner. The job requires hundreds of when he was rescued in 1914 by The RUFNEKS, who claim to be hours from the student Petes. Yet Mott Keys, an oU student who the oldest spirit organization in the each year between 20 and 60 stu- served in the military during the United States, for generations have dents try out before a panel of for- Mexican-American conflict. When cheered OU on, wearing white pants mer Petes for the- honor of Keys returned to ou, Mex came and red shirts. Today, one of the anonymously representing their with him. Dressed in his red-and- highest honors of the club is to qual- school. white letter sweater and cap, the ify as a driver for the Sooner "I think it was one of the most little spotted bulldog traveled with Schooner. rewarding things I've ever done," the football team and made head- Brad Matson, Ponca City, was says Kurt Carter, a Pistol Pete from lines of his own when he was tem- president of RUFNEKS and one of 1980-81 and now director of special porarily lost after he scampered off a four schooner drivers during 1986- athletic gifts for the osu athletic de- train in Nebraska to chase a cat. 87. Drivers are picked, he says, on partment and secretary-treasurer of When he died in 1928, Mex was the basis of service to the RUFNEKS. the Pistol Pete Alumni Club. "You buried north of the stadium after an "We go through a training course, put on the costume and everyone's elaborate funeral procession through like driver's ed," Matson says. "We your friend. This is particularly true campus. have to go through an obstacle of kids. They all love Pistol Pete." OU's Sooner Schooner has ap- course, for example. I consider it a Two students usually split the du- peared at football games since 1964 real honor to be a driver." ties as Pete. During the 1987-88 and helped fill the gap when a previ- The students work with Jim year, Jack Frank, Oklahoma City, ous spirit symbol, Little Red, was Reed, an employee of the Bartlett and Lance Millus, Bartlesville, will discontinued. Little Red-whose Memorial Hospital, who also cares play the part. name echoed one of the ou football for and trains the ponies on a farm Pete has certain standard perfor- team's nicknames, "Big Redw-was near Sapulpa. Two teams are used, mances. He spins his gun, wipes his portrayed by a series of American and the ponies are always named face with a towel and has a s~ecial Indian students who, beginning in Boomer and Sooner after the words bow-legged walk. the early 1950s, danced on the side- to the OU spirit song. "Pete's really taken on a broad lines after every OU score. During One team of ponies is trained to personality in the last couple or the 1960s Little Red was called a make the victory run onto the foot- three years," says Scott ~oble,a racial stereotype, and after several ball field after ou scores, and the Pistol Pete of 1986-87. "When we years of controversy the mascot did second team specializes in parades. wrestled OU, for example, I painted his last victory dance in 1970. During the game, they wait for colored stripes in his hair and made The Sooner Schooner is entirely action at a ramp leading under the him a pair of sunglasses and an ear- supported by the Doctor and Buzz northeast comer of Oklahoma Me- ring. Then I wore a button that said Bartlett Foundatjon, Inc., set up by morial Stadium. When the Sooners The Pete' to kid the oU fans about two Sapulpa brothers, Dr. M.S. score, members of the RUFNEKS fire Brian Bosworth." Banlett and Charley (Buzz) Bartlett. blanks from white shotguns and the Pistol Pete is supported by the Although the schooner appears ponies wheel onto the field with the OsU spirit funds, which also pay for only at football games-it's hard to RUF/NEKS' queen sitting beside the the cheerleaders and other spirit ac- take ponies into a gym or wrestling driver and an agile RUFNEK waving tivities. Students who portray Pete arena-it frequently appears in pa- a flag from the back of the schooner. receive a $150 scholars hi^ each se- rades or other events to represent Reed and several strong RUFNEKS mester and are paid exienses for ou. wait under the stadium for the team, making personal appearances. They Dr. Bartlett thought of the schoo- ready to help the driver stop them make a total of 400 to 450 appear- ner as a symbol of the oU team and turn around to get ready for the ances a year, performing at aliosu name, the Sooners-pioneers who next victory run. athletic events, marching in parades sneaked their covered wagons into Sooners and Sooner Schooner, the and showing up at other campus soon-to-be opened areas during Cowboys and Pistol Pete -whether happenings. They even attend wed- Oklahoma's land rush days to get an they're yelling "Boomer Sooner!" or ding receptions and ribbon cuttings early chance at claims. "Ride 'em Cowboy!" Oklahoma for new businesses, charging a fee The University of Oklahoma ath- fans are cheering for teams-and for the commercial events. letic teams have been called "Soon- mascots-with direct links to the Like OSV's tiger, the Sooners' ear- ers" since 1908, when that name state's history. Dl ly-day mascots were unrelated to replaced the "Boomers" and Oklahoma history. The best known "Roughriders" that had been used was Mex. a much-loved Mexican or- earlier. Eve Sandmrn I;F an editor for rlre phan, who spent 13 happy years as Members of the ou men's spirit Lawton Constitution.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 uane Raleigh clung to climbed downward to another route on apprehensions. She just smiled. the side of the rippled the Peak's south face, one so difficult Duane Raleigh is one of the super- granite face with- his most of the world's experienced climb- stars of a brotherhood of Oklahoma fingertips jammed into ers would eschew the challenge of a climbers, a group drawn a dozen years tiny crevices and his free solo ascent-climbing alone with- ago from different parts of the flatlands feet balanced on nubs out the aid of equipment. to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Ref- of rock. No ropes held him, and a fall Within minutes Raleigh reached the uge and Baldy Peak, near Quartz meant a 200-foot plunge to a nest of summit and sprinted across the top to Mountain State Park. They were boys boulders. Wearing standout colors of look for another avenue on the moun- then, really, who discovered each oth- bright green and purple-as if he tain that rises unexpectedly high in the er wandering through the canyons at needed more than his aerial gymnastic midst of surrounding plains. The gal- the refuge. Their common obsession maneuvers to silence the small crowd lery on the ground looked upward and fused them into a remarkable force watching below-Raleigh quickly tra- murmured misgivings about his safe- that conquered Oklahoma's rock. versed to the top of Baldy Peak in ty-and sanity. His wife Hilary, stand- When these young rock stars-Ra- southwestern Oklahoma. Then he ing nearby, overheard their leigh, Jon Frank, Bill Thomas, Mike

Oklahoma TODAY By Susan Bunney Tomlinson Photographs by Jim P. Garrison

"You reach around the comer and you can't see where you're grasp- I ing. You put your foot around there and have to let go with your other hand before your foot catches. You look down and there's 600 feet of nothing between you and the top of the trees. That's reality testing. I That's different than going to the drive-in." -Qalyn Carlik

Hankins, Kick 'I'homas. Jininiy Ratz- climbers' mecca of Yosemite Valley, waiting on the ground, he began the laff, .\lark Hcrndon and others-ven- they aren't laughing now. difficult ascent. Near the top Raleigh ttrred from the prairies in the late '70s Back at Baldy Peak, Hilary watched discovered he'd made a mistake: he'd to I.tali, (:olorado and (hlifornia's Yo- her husband crisscross some of Oklaho- misjudged the time necessary to climb semitc \.alley, tllcy astonished the ma's toughest climbs. the tower and rappel down the wall to ~vorld-class masters there with their "He fell last year," Hilary says, safety. Night fell as he reached the skill and guts. Ikilcigli further astound- squinting at her husband's spider-like summit, and without a flashlight and ed ;\nierica's climbing co~iimunityby manueverabilty. "It took him a long with a thunderstorm threatening, he estublishing routcs up slicer granite time to get over it." set up his first rappel. Moving quickly hces on Half Ilomc in Yosemite that Raleigh was climbing in Arches Na- to beat the storm, Raleigh thought he no one had climbed before. As veteran tional Monument, a park in Utah with soaring vertical-and largely un- cliniber/nriter 1)oug Robinson recalled lluane Rule$ climbs Martds Roof, a 5.12 in a11 article in O~~rjdeniapzine: If climbed-sandstone towers. He spied nightmare at bald^ Peak. /I took Ralkd and a anyone sneered when the prairie-born a route up a 550-foot spire and decided partner a dull and a half to atab/ish the climb, boys from Oklahoma arrived in the to solo it, using ropes. With Hilary and no one has attempted it since. Expiewed climb wait at the top of a c/imb in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Re@ge for begrnnen in Galyn Car/i/e9sOk/ahoma City Community Colhge climbing c/ass to make t/rkrfirst anempts. As each climber mmu upward, they are be/ayd-or he/d with mpa-by the mo at the top.

attached a rope threaded through his and people with the spirit and inclina- 500 active climbers live in the state. harness to a bolt that would hold him tion to climb it. The sport soon moved With Oklahoma's reputation for roll- as he hopscotched down the wall. But across the ocean, and although the ing prairies and open skies, some peo- instead of falling back securely on his popularity of climbing on this side of ple are surprised to learn the state has high-tech, no-fail climbing equipment, the Atlantic has never matched the en- climbs that would challenge the best Oklahoma's world-class rock jock thusiasm Europeans have for it, rock climbers in the world. In a system that leaned back into a 550-foot free fall climbing is steadily ascending into a rates climbs from an easy 5.0 to 5.13, into black nothingness. After thou- major sport. the most difficult, Oklahoma's got sands of successful climbs around the Climbing quickly became estab- plenty of thorny 5.11s and a half dozen world, Raleigh had time for one lished in places like California's Yo- unspeakable 5.12s. thought: "This can't be happening." semite Valley and Colorado and Rock climbing, a subsport of moun- Washington. Few people thought to taineering, which includes alpine look for granite or sandstone in Okla- climbing on rock, snow and ice, pits homa until the '70s, when the brother- climbers-with their sophisticated hood, who must have been born with equipment, skill and nerve-against their sights set upward, discovered the rock wall. Actually, climbers don't Oklahoma's rock. Their enthusiasm see the relationship between them- 1 and achievements sparked a climbing selves and the rock as an adversarial too, offered an array of formidable rock boom, which grows each year. At least one. To them, the rock's unyielding

30 Oklahoma TODAY r,. - ' A-. L

L=. ' . Carlile lets his students know one thing fist: climbing is as safe as each climber makes it. Carlile's safetycon- kiousness and cautious instruction, as well as his encouragement to students to push their limits, have produced a steadfast band of weekend climbers. While Neigh goes around the country establishing first ascents up forbidding walls, Carlile's students can say they do the same thing, but on a different kind of wall. Ten of the most loyal students who have been with Cadile since the begin- ning gathered on a recent evening in a classroom at OKCCC to talk about this obsession for hanging from ropes hun- dreds of feet off the ground. They're next door neighbor type folks-a real estate agent, biology professor, college student, genetics lab supervisor, com- puter programmer. Their conversation, however, clearly sets them apart. They talk about physical and mental limits and pushing far beyond their known ones. And intimacy, the kind where they connect themselves to an- other person with a rope to make a climb, trusting each other's skill and cool-headedness since a wrong move could mean a fa11 for both. They talk about confidence, concentration, con- trol. Tenacity, accomplishments and Rosemary Car from the sole breakthroughs. And fear. nature gives them something they the car and ate. "At first I was scared a lot," says hadn't found before in life. They're "I thought, 'The wo~~ld'sleaving me David Miller, a 27-year-old real estate different, they say, after they inch up a behind,' " Carlile, 44, says. He decid- agent from Moore. "I knew I was go- climb and back down, pack their ed to lose weight and get in shape for a ing to fall and I was going to die. I equipment in the car and go back to sport he'd left behind-climbing. At asked myself, 'Why am I doing this?' their lives in the city. It's difficult to first, Carlile, who has been climbing in and I never could answer that ques- explain, and climbers like this esoteric Oklahoma for 13 years, set his sights tion. After I fell a few times and I got quality of their sport. on climbs that fell in the middle of the confidence in the equipment, I knew I climbing ladder-5.7s, 5.8~~not easy, wasn't going to go anywhere and I Galyn Carlile re- but not the hard ones. wasn't going to get hurt." members when his As he climbed in Oklahoma, &rlile Like Miller, few of the others could jwife Rosemary took saw people practicing the sport unsafe- pinpoint why they chose to learn a sport up running. After a ly and decided to offer a climbing class that appears so dangerous except they few months of training at Oklahoma City Community Col- wanted to experiment with the hnd- and at age 39, she lege, where he is the chairman of the aries they had set for themselves. placed th~rd~n the Kansas City mara- social sciences department. His first "I was testing myself," says Brent thon. Galyn-then 40 pounds over- class quickly expanded to an interme- Payne, 30, a climber from Norman weight-drove Rosemary to race after diate. Since then, more than 150 have who says asthma had kept him shel- race. While she competed, he sat in enrolled in the fall and spring classes. tered at home and fearful his life

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 31 wouldn't amount to much. "I was partners, they speak readily about why the stresses they bring with them to scared of climbing ladders. I didn't they're still climbing six years later and the mountains since they are forced to know if I could do it at all and I really the rewards it gives. focus on one move at a time during a didn't think I would like it. I don't "It's an incredible confidence build- climb. That keen concentration not know why I paid my money to do it, er," says RenC Payne-Howell, a 30- only keeps climbers from falling; it also being so scared." year-old genetics lab supervisor from instructs them in tenacity. Although the class is stumped by Oklahoma City. "I realize the only "You learn how to gain control of the question of why they first strapped limiting factor is me." yourself,'' says John Heflin, a 28-year- on harnesses and placed their faith in The climbers agree their sport is old computer programmer from Nor- light-weight equipment and frightened stressful, yet they also feel it relieves man. "Once you know how to do that,

Oklahoma TODAY you know how to cool off in other forces you into an intimate, incerper- City. "If you're scared or don't know situations." sonal relationship with another human what to do, you have to be honest." Says Carlile: "It's a mental and being," Carlile says. "You have to rely Adds Miller: "It humbles you very physical challenge. It pushes you to on another person. In the middle of an quickly." the limit. Human beings can do so 1,100-foot climb at Yosemite, it started Yet, with the stories of falls and much more than they will." to rain. I had other people there who I fears, were also stories of accomplish- The nature of the sport-where two knew I could rely on when we decided ments, on and off the rock. Call them climbers connected by a rope trust whether to go up or down. Your life is first ascents. each other to properly secure imple- in another person's hands. Literally." When he was 41, Galyn Carlile, who ments in the rock to stop falls and to Climbers learn quickly, Carlile says, set his sights on climbing a middle-of- belay, or spot, upward moves-creates that a show-off attitude must be left at the-road 5.7, led an intimidating 5.11 an intensity and intimacy between the base of the mountain. Over-confi- in Yosemite Valley. When his students climbers, an exclusive camaraderie dence is deadlier than crumbling rock. go to the Valley, instructors there have based on a fellowship of trust and will- "You have to drop a lot of preten- learned to starl them on tough climbs ingness to push limits. sion," says Ingrid McCarty, a 30-year- and then go from there. "Climbing is the only sport that old cyto-technologist from Oklahoma Continued. Hkh -Cdass Rock n unknown adventurer completed the enclosed by vertical granite walls and with a A first climbs in Oklahoma in the 1940s boulder-strewn floor. It has more than 100 in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, routes up its walls with tough ratings from according to rumors passed through the 5.5 to 5.12 and flashy names like The Fly- state's climbing community after old climb- ing Nun, Crazy Alice, Captain Crunch, Ker ing gear was found on top of Elk hlountain Plunk and League of Doom. Baldy Peak, in the Wichita Illountains. However, the which is on privately owned land near challenging rock formations at the refuge Quartz Mountain State Park, has more than and Baldy Peak, near Quartz Mountain 130 established routes, including the two State Park, remained unexplored until the toughest climbs in the state, Duane Ra- '70s when small groups of climbers, ambi- leigh's 5.12s named Earth Man and Master tious and self-taught, began to tackle Okla- Race. homa's rock. Oklahomans have plenty of chances to The rock movement, which caught on learn climbing techniques in classes offered gradually in the '70s. has accelerated within in Oklahoma City and -Tulsa. Galyn Carlile the last five years. Ten years ago climbers teaches rock climbing in four-week sessions bumped into each other every six months in Cannelita Garrion, 56, dimbs a 5.6 pea// each spring and fall at Oklahoma City Com- the refuge; now it would be a rare sunny d#""R dq in IVihitas. munity College. John Pleasant, of Accen~ day that climbers prowling through the can- Mountaineering in Tulsa, teaches weekend yons at the Wichita Mountains didn't meet others with ropes climbing and mountaineering classes. Pleasant also organizes trips looped around their shoulders. to other parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Carlile takes his Climbs are rated on the Yosemite Decimal System, which students to Yosemite Valley each summer. ranges from a leisurely 5.0 to a wicked 5.13. Ratings depend on Both Carlile and Pleasant are sticklers for safety and insist their the levels of gymnastic-like moves a climber must perform to students learn to use the equipment properly. The teachers be- successfully complete the climb rather than its length, which is lieve the sport is safe when equipment is correctly used and report measured in pitches-up co 160 feet, the length of a climbing that none of their students has been injured. rope. Most climbs in Oklahoma are short, one or two pitches, Raleigh and other top climbers offer weekend seminars in compared with 40-pitch climbs in the Alps, but, as climbing Oklahoma, usually through outdoor stores in the Oklahoma City teacher Dr. Galyn Carlile points out, "You don't have to be 1,000 and 'l'ulsa areas. Both Backwoods and The Wilderness Adventurer feet off the ground to die." in 'l'ulsa and Oklahoma City and Raleigh Mountain Sports in Oklahoma offers four places to climb. Robbers C~veState Park Norman sponsor weekend classes with world-class athletes. and Chandler Park in 'I'ulsa have short climbs that demand as much as a 5.12 move. Ihe Wichita Mountains have 300 routes in rhree areas, but the hpcr ;Q 'l'b Narrows, a two-mile csnyrln -Susan Bunney Tomlinsnn

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 33 And what about Brent Payne, the All of his early climbing was done the cracks to hold him came loose and shy, asthmatic guy from Norman who with ropes and based on techniques he he fell and broke his ankle. He says it was scared of ladders and a lot of other saw in pictures in old climbing books, wasn't a bad break, but his doctor or- things? He took Carlile's first class and and he's still never taken a class. In the dered him to stay in a cast for six then his second. He went on to scale late '70s, he began climbing free solo. months. Edgy and unable to stay away an 1,100-foot wall in Yosemite Valley. "It was a progression," says Raleigh, from climbing, he co-authored his When he got back down, he became a 28. "With a partner and rope I can do guide. Five months into recuperation, professor at OKCCC, where he runs five or six climbs a day at Quartz. Take he'd had enough. Raleigh chopped his wellness and outdoor programs and the rope away and I can do 15 or 20." cast off with a hacksaw and limped teaches backpacking. That progression continued with a back to the Wichitas to the route that "I was convinced I would live the first ascent on the sheer, northwest had temporarily stopped his career. He rest of my life not doing anything ex- face of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley. climbed it again, finished it on the first citing," Payne says. 'You watch Na- It took 15 days, and he and his climb- try and named it Doctor Kildare. tional Geogfaphic and think, 'Man, ing partner slept in hammocks 2,000 Duane Raleigh lived through anoth- wouldn't it be exciting to do some- feet off the ground. Climbers who es- er fall, that terrifying plunge in Arches thing like that? And then you do it on tablish a route earn the right to name National Park. Maybe it was a miracle your own scale. You meet people who it, and he called that one The Arctic or maybe just incredible luck, but the say, 'You climbed in Yosemite Valley?' Sea because of the pale color of the wind blew the end of his dangling rope and you say, You bet I did, and you rock. Raleigh has climbed seven into a crevice, where it knotted and can do it because I did it.' routes-some solos-up Yosemite's broke the fall. When Raleigh slammed "I wake up every day and think, 'Is El Capitan, including the first solo as- to the end of the rope, still some 400 that really me?' " cent on the wall's most diff~cultroute. feet above the ground, it tightened Several years ago, Raleigh spent around his neck and arm and nearly he idea was planted in three months in Europe alpine climb- choked him. In the darkness and fight- -Duane Raleigh's mind ing up 14,000-foot walls in the Alps. It ing panic that the rope would break when he was 7 and gave him a taste for that kind of climb- loose from whatever held it, Raleigh watching The Moun- ing, and he's got his eyes now on the scrambled back to the top of the spire. tain, a movie starring Himalayas. "I'd like to take all the The end of the rope had melted to the - Spencer Tracy. He knowledge I've learned and use it rock from the force of the impact, and lived in St. Louis then, near some 30- there. There are hundreds of peaks up after tearing it loose, Raleigh rappelled foot high limestone cliffs-not much there that are unclimbed. They have safely to the ground. challenge for the future climbing prod- sheer faces on them like El Capitan "It'd be like stepping off a down- igy. His family soon moved to Weath- and no one has ever touched them." town Oklahoma City skyscraper with erford and thoughts of climbing faded The only hitch in his plans is mon- nothing to hold you," Raleigh says. "I until he discovered Red Rock Canyon, ey, and he and Hilary are looking for just dropped. If the rope hadn't caught some 30 miles from his home. sponsors to fund an expedition. In the in the crack, I'd have gone to the "I thought, 'Umm, climbing meantime, Raleigh writes for climbing ground without a doubt." again,' " Raleigh says, "and I got my magazines, and they own Raleigh If rock climbing is about pushing junior high buddy to go in with me and Mountain Sports, an outdoor store and limits, Raleigh hasn't found his yet, we ordered some climbing gear. It catalog company in Norman, where except in human misjudgment, which came in and we got a Royal Robbins they Live. he says caused both his falls. And the Learn to Climb book and rode our bicy- Raleigh's zeal for new challenges led fall in Utah didn't dim his sights for cles out there. We climbed for eight to the unexpected writing of a book, the Himalayas or anything else. It un- years or so without seeing another per- Souli'rem Exposure, the first guide to nerved him, he says, "for quite a son. We'd just get out on the cliff and climbing in Oklahoma, with fellow while" but didn't stop him, even then. whip out the book." climber Bill Thomas. In 1979, Raleigh Two days after the dreadful plunge The pair soon traded bicycles for had been climbing a lot in the Wichi- he went back and climbed that spire driver's licenses and discovered the ta~,establishing new routes, practicing again. He named it Dune after the Wichita Mountains in the mid-'70s. old ones. After one particularly ex- shifting nature of the rock. That's when Raleigh's career took off. hausting day on the rock, he spied a Susan Bunnq Tomfinson is he He began giving flashy names to 5.6 to new route that looked climbable. Al- managing editor of Oklahoma TODAY. 5.12 passages in a canyon called The though he was tired, too tired, Raleigh Jim Gamion, a Norman-baed Narrows and began to make a name for decided to try it. Thirty feet into the freelance photographer, spen'alim in himself in California and Colorado. climb, the protection he'd placed in natur and wildlife msignments.

Oklahoma TODAY ESSAY t doesn't start with world championships, crowds circling 'round - ~ndapplause. The moment each horse and rider enter Oklaho- ma City's State Fair Arena for championship competition -I .y- began long before the rider steps into the stirrup and lifts the reins to go in and face the judges,

just a few seconds. The hard I

2tog ra r

7 Argo

Manael Retamala, Wisconsin Rapid, Wisconsin Freestyle Conapetition, National Reining Hone Futurity ------.- ----. .-pp work, the 16-hour days began months, years before in training arenas back home-in California, Texas, New York, nearly every state. Only horses who have proven to be the best are invited to the world championship shows in the fall. Getting there demands exceptional talent and skill from both horse and rider, but even that is not enough. "If

Pam Wateman, Reeden, Pennsylvania, and famer Phil Adams, Yzlkon, World Championship Appaloosa Show

Getting ready for the big nkht, World Championship Appaloosa Show

Oklahoma 1'ODAY -- you're going to be a champion, you have to want it more than

---A - - anybody else and be willing to pay the price to get it," says Jody ------Galyean, an Ardmore trainer who knows the meaning of the words world champion and work. Galyean won major --- - titles last fall at the World Championship ---- .- .-- - Quarter Horse Show- and the presti- ccgious Cutting Horse Futurity,

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 which is equivalent to the Superbowl in the cutting horse world. w.,.,., ,. And the horse world is what these shows are all about. Just walk I P through the show barns near the arena for a behind-the- -- scenes glimpse of a cloistered world given to equine - passions. Each show-the Morgan, Quarter ------Horse, Appaloosa, Reining or Barrel Racing-gives spectators

Koamter Lompetztzon Grand National and World Championship Moqan Hone Show Smie Pmitt, Ardmom BadRace Derby World Championship BadRacing Futurit~

Oklahoma TODAY

something different:----- Morgan horses are known for their ele- gance, quarter horses for their power and versatility. Appaloosas ---.-- --- are exciting because each horse has a unique "blanket." --.---- Barrel racers are speedy and agile, and reining hors- ----.--- -- .- es, the good ones, must be willing to learn. ------This exhibition of excellence happens - . -- - - each fall in Oklahoma City.

Waiting for the judg~ci' decision, World Championship Quafler Hone Show

-- - - Oklahoma TODAY he final rider enters the ring at the 1986 National Reining Horse Fu- I turity at the State air Arena in Oklahoma City. He is Marietta's Bob Loomis-already the winner of five NRHA Futurities and the world's top reining money earner. Can he win a sixth? He begins the pattern, and through a series of invisible rider's cues he asks his mare to perform a motif of circles, spins, sliding stop, pivots. Softly, elegantly, the bay mare tracks her circles, barely disturbing the footing. The spins-which must be perfect pirouettes-whirl the horse and ONE rider into a blur. Her movements draw deafening cheers, and Bob, known to be an architect in the STOP show ring, will try to build this performance to a soaring conclusion. But he's still got to complete the sliding stops-the trademark of reining SHORT horses-and it's obvious he will win the $100,000 paycheck if he gets them right. The mare's - - OF HEAVEN movements escalate to a crescendo of stops, leaving three-foot wakes of spewing dirt in her tracks. A. Photographs by Jim Argo he settles the reins, Bob Loomis allows himself the pleased smile of a man who knows he has just won a sixth world futurity title. With that spectacular win at the 1986 NRHA I Futurity in Oklahoma City last year, BO~Loomis I kept his status as number I

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 41 one reining horseman in the world. tion Barrel Racing Champion and the a good-sized portion of the reining horse Reining, one of the hottest equestrian National Finals Rodeo Champion in industry has been hot on his heels to sports today, is one of the most difficult 1970-the year before she married Bob snatch up land and homestead their for horse and rider. It hones the working and retired from the rodeo circuit. training operations here as well. "We maneuvers of the ranch horse into an Two years ago, Bob and Joyce decid- have orders to find land for at least 10 equine ballet. ed to make what they felt would be the prominent barrel racing and reining asso- In the last 10 years, Bob has amassed final move of their lives. They relocated ciates," Joyce says. nearly $500,000 in winnings and a repu- to Marietta from Bee, Nebraska, where Last spring, NRHA president Dick the pair had operated one of the nation's Pieper moved from Pennsylvania to Joyce Loomis-aboard Red Smoke Drifter- top barrel and reining horse operations build a training ficility near the Loo- began her camon a Nm Mexico ranch. Her jimrpmt&h were muh, and she spenr many of for nearly 20 years. They built their mises in Marietta. Canadian world her ear4 practice sessions tracing badracing dream ranch on 380 acres of land that champion Guy Gauthier is searching pattm amund mqonnaise jars. took the couple over two years to find. for an Oklahoma location, as is Loomis protkgk Robert Chown-a young rein- ing star from California. Oklahoma also has its own prominent riders, including the 1986 NRHA Ladies World Champi- on, Jackie Krshka of Yukon. Oklahoma's climate and superb grass- lands heighten the attraction for these northern-based trainers. As Joyce puts it, "You are spotting your competition at least three to four months when you are forced to get ready indoors during the winters up north." Training a barrel or reining horse is a carefully escalated program that requires from 12 to 15 months from the time the horse is 2 years old. Reiners living in the north must fight debilitating weather and cramped indoor training arenas, which puts them behind horses basking in the warmth and wide-open training spaces of the south. However, the primary reason Bob and Joyce chose to move to Oklahoma was the opportunitv-. .. to swnd more time tation as a reining futurity specialist. A Why did they choose Oklahoma? together. As a top barrel racing trainer, futurity, an event exclusively for 3-year- "I've always loved it here," says Bob. Joyce's rodeo and show schedule had old reining horses, offers the richest "Southern Oklahoma is the most ideal taken her away from Bob for weeks at a purses in the indusuy. As the reining place in the world to train a horse." And time-mainly to Texas and Oklaho- world's leading futurity rider, Bob has it has business advantages. "It's the ma-where, Joyce says, she could go to made a career out of breeding, training quarter horse shopping mall of the a barrel race every night. Last year was and showing candidates for these nation." the first time that Joyce was able to futurities. Living close to the booming horse attend the NRHA Futurity since His wife Joyce, a former Miss Rodeo indusuy in northern Texas and southem 1976-the first year Bob won it. Much America, is a world champion barrel rac- Oklahoma was a definite lure to Bob, as of the pleasure in winning his sixth one, er and trainer. Between the two of it is to his customers who can make a says Bob, was in having Joyce there to them, the couple has won more than one-stop trip to look for a reining pros- share it with him. 100 championship trophy buckles and pect. Bob's customers come from all When NRHA Futurity officials decid- scores of world titles. Respected in bar- over the world. Since they moved to ed to move the event to Oklahoma in rel racing circles for her abilities to train Marietta, customers from eight countries 1986, the industry recognized that rein- and show barrel horses, Joyce was the and 25 states have visited their ranch. ing was shifting southward. Now, with Women's Professional Rodeo Associa- As a tribute to Bob's good judgment, the Lazy E Classic in Guthrie every

42 Oklahoma TODAY

Apd (Bob was second this year), the enjoyment they take fram watching on the road, she was injured when a Southwest Reining Horse Funuicy in their 1%-yeamld daughter Bobbie Ja horse flipped over on her. Joyce ~~ Ardmmre every November (Bob won it ernbrace the horses. "%en she was jlust she needed help mining the horse and a in 1986) and the Texas Classic held 8 mndrs old," her mother remembrzrs, kndsuggested hbhmis. annually in Dabevery %ptembes, the "Bab used to pur her up in front of him Sw weeks Iacer, J~ycewent & Ne- couple felt that all sipwere go for the in the saddle and spin, She'd near die braska to see what progress Bob had meaf thejr lifetime. laughing. It was hdon her in Nebm.irs- made, and they brh liked what bey Sicoming to Marietta, the couple ka. There was really no place to $how, saw. He invited her to come up and ham kep the 42-stall show barn fd4ed. and you have to mmpee to gt tough. tro the mad During r~ Iare eerening ~o~ui,BSb ftoom& Iqw usually has at least 10 homes in Now, she is able go down ad To@sailBude p@nn a sliding stdp-a barrel uainiqg* and Bob is one of the with me tta show aU the the. I can ~r~~drnant,of miring hens, whwar foup-id& most soughr-after trainers in the leave an Friday and be back by siigng plats sR06 on ki hind f~.LM& business. Sunday." .pen& ur lfsi &@t koum P & in t.4~sdk. The Loomises also offer whaok to tmin bl and eelning horses and their r.iders. Stutfenrs bring Wrhorses fmm d over he nation for fiveday sessioas wri& lmures, vidmmped perfomances adomane training* A typical day at the hmis ranch fin& everyane on hrseback by 7 a.m. duFing tihe schol year, 550 a.m. in summer. They dl ride until they have '%aden binaI&" Bob says, 'FWe usual- ly finish up bemen 6 and 9 p.m., aMf then I go in snd take phane calIs up wtil around midnight." Bob is considered one of the reining fiw indues best pmmwers and businc&: mn. A Loomissmined reining horse casts anywhe~from !$5,000 to weU over $50,000. He nxensly returned bm a tour of Italy, Switze~tandand Ausaia where he has cdtivared an enthusiastic reining horse market No imges 6omMiwd to the d;uIy grind d he deocircuit, Joyce focuses her endeavors om zhe big money barrel The way in which Bob and Joyce work for Jim training banel hones. m&g Eumkies and tmirhg and show- found each otfier b SE,Rof a nice story, They were married six weeks iarer- ing mplevel barrel hones. Joyce has too. After her tenure as Miss Rodeo That was in 1971,. As the bgnel tacing already turned down two offers of hedca in 1963, Joyce hit the rodeo 4reining futurities grew in ppukuiq, @O,OCK) far one af her p&dhorses. circuit far sevea hd~reaus, aacclunulae- they decided to specialize in the= In addin a> their mining pera at ion, ing a lot af pkzs and as many rnifles. events. The horses she trained were Bob is comide~done of the lmding She never envisioned the path her life ing wdl on the cimuit, and Joyce began breeders of reining homes. He stands would take when she was growingsip on to pmmore the bad racing indusay. the 1980 NWFututity wjmer, Top- a small cattle ranch in Cliff, New Mexi- She has sewed on the bollKt Of the sail Wy. ktyear, Topsail stood to 80 eo-a town so dlit didn't even have WPM and helped organize Fhe Barrel outside mares at a fee af $1,500 &. A eldciky. Futurities of America. believer in mare pow@, Bob has n band When she enrolled in New Mexico Bsb is a pure ~eininghorseman of 41 bnoodmares with pedtgrees that State Univmity, Joyce joined its d'eo thmgh and through. he read like a who's who of the reinkg team. She tmk a year off to fulfill the rode English jumpers and gaited horses warld. ~b1ie;ation.sof Miss Rodeo America and wntii he was 16 ymbd when he saw One way in which the couple's sn- never returned to college. his first miring at a guaer hone show. deayors truly wme together is in the Back in New Me- after those years Cotftin~d.

- - SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 43 c

"After I rode a reining horse one time, that was it," he says. Loomis credits his neighbor George Phillips with giving him the touchstones of his considerable talents. "He was like a second father to me. He was a team- ster, and he drove mules and draft hors- es. He not only taught me how to train the horse, but how to think like a horse. He taught me how to use driving reins and stand behind the horse on the ground and teach him to do what you asked. How to keep a horse soft and willing. When a horse has had enough. How to move every part of his body Like Joyce, Bob believes you have to &ding Solar Powered Bobbie Jo Lootnis prur- with the reins. All the techniques you give back to the horse industry. He was tire.$ pole bending, an wnt in afiich tht hone weaves in and out of poles set r/ose/y together. lived the president of NRHA in 1982, the need in training a reining horse. I She rerent/)@plard sttienth out of 3~1~)in a world with him summers and bought a place year the industry's governing board esca- champion.~hiphamel raring ro~npetition. right next door to him." lated the prize money for the Futurity Ten years later, when he was 33, Bob and guaranteed $100,000 to the winner. Christian beliefs with their successes. Loomis won his first NRHA Futurity The next year the entries increased by This creed is surely being put to work riding Benito Paprika. He won again in 40 percent and they advanced another by this famous pair of world champions. 1978 showing Lady Eldorado. George 50 percent with the move to Oklahoma. Both 44 years old, the future looks very Phillips, who had been part of his tri- The Loomises have carved unchal- bright indeed as they anticipate a new umphs, died the month before this sec- lengable niches for themselves in equine life in Oklahoma on land Joyce calls ond victory, but Loomis continued to record books, yet their philosophy for "the closest thing to heaven we are ever redeem the old man's iith in him. Over life is simple. going to find on this earth." the next nine years, Bob won the Futu- "In order to win over the long haul, I rity four more times, including an as- truly believe you have to get your life in Jim Aqo is a staff photographer for tounding three in a row. order," muses Joyce, who credits their The Daily Oklahoman.

I tive for the growth of Oklahoma's horse industry: its 16 sche Show ' uled events in 1987 offer a total purse of $2.4 million. The La Horse Ca~italzlI E promotes specialized horse events like the Gold & Silv Stakes, where $1 million in cash sat on a table under guard to I klahoma as the Horse Capital of the World? handed out to the winner of the cutting event. According to a recent survey by the American Horse Oklahomans have plenty of opportunities to watch the bc buncil, Oklahoma's population of 222,000 horses currently riders and rodeo stars in the country at the State Fair Arena a1 Inks third in the nation after Texas and California. The state the Lazy E Arena. Here's a list of upcoming events. Inks second in the nation for registered quarter horses. With the ~mingof racing at Remington Park in 1988, the thoroughbred STATE FAIR ARENA opulation has risen in one year from a few thousand to nearly Oct. 12-18 Grand National and World Championship Morg I 0,000. Horse Show This meteoric growth and the migration to Oklahoma of Nov. 2-8 World Championship Appaloosa Show world-class trainers like Bob and Joyce Loomis of Marietta con- Nov. 1421 World Championship Quarter Horse Show tributes to the reputation Oklahoma City has already eamed as Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 National Reining Horse Futurity Ithe "horse show capital of the world." Dec. 8-12 World Championship Barrel Racing Futurity The figures themselves are impressive. According to Steve bllier of the Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma City hosted 11 LAZY E ARENA lows in 1986 that drew 35,000 visitors and 7,500 horses. The Sept. 11-12 Women's National Finals Rodeo conomic impact on the Oklahoma City area was nearly $25 Nov. 27-28 National Finals Steer Roping iillion. March 12-19 Gold and Silver Stakes Cutting , In Guthrie, the Lazy E Arena has provided additional incen- May 7 Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Team Roping and Cuttir

44 Oklahoma TODAY + September 3-6. It'll be a toe-tappin', thigh-slappin', four-day wingding when 60 fiddlers strut their best stuff in the World Series of Fiddling at Langley's Powderhorn Park. 4 September 3-7. Celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma with a world championship cornstalk shoot, pow wow, rodeo and lots more during Tahlequah's Cherokee National Holiday. September 5- 6. Krebs is cookin' during the Labor Day weekend Ethnic Festival. There'll be Italian food, a terrapin derby, German food, games, dancing, music and (surprise) more food. +September 11-13. Hot Flash!! Eighty of the best chili cooking teams will pit peppers against hot sauce during the Chili Cookoff and Bluegrass Festival on Tulsa's Williams Center Green. (P.S. The music's great, too.) +October 18-November 13. Don't miss the opportunity to see the work of some of America's greatest Indian artists during the 1987 Master's Art Show & Sale at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee.

Art, l'ulsa, (918) 749-7941 22-Dec. 15 Indian hliniatures-Ehrenfeld Collection, dK MUSEUMS & GALLERIES bluseum of Art, OKC. (405) 840-2759 ')d 22-30 "Autumn Nights," Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461 SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 1-31 Constitution exhibit, Cleveland County Historical 18 blaster's Art Show '87, Five Civilized Tribes Illuseum, (405) 321-0156 Museum, Muskogee, (918) 683-1701 5-0ct. 4 "Robert Cottingham: A Print Retrospective," 01' 24 Western Art Show, Prairie Flower tZrt Gallery, bluseum of Art, Norman. (405) 325-3272 Enid, (405) 234-0036 10-Oct. 18 Photography by Douglas Burg, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art. Shawnee, (405) 273-9999 15-Nov. 15 "Donald Delue," Mabee-Gerrer bluseum, Shawnee, (405) 273-9999 17-0ct. 31 Milford Zornes Art Exhibit, Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum. Woodward, (405) 256-6136 20-0ct. 15 Competitive Art Show, Five Civilized Tribes SEPTEMBER Museum, Muskogee, (918) 683-1701 9-0ct. 24 "The Star Spangled Girl," Lincoln Plaza, Tulsa, 20-Jan. 3 "The Eloquent Object." Philbrook Museum of (918) 250-5250

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87 45 10-27 "The Odd Couple," Jewel Box Theater, OK(:. 17-20 Rogers (hunt? Fair, Fairgrounds, <:laremore. (405) 52 1-1 786 (918) 341-2736 18-20, 24-26 "Alone Together," Little Theater, hluskogcc. 17-21 Hispanic Festival, \\illiams <:enter (irecn, 'l'ulsa. (918) 682-3257 (405) 455-5009 25-26, Oct. 1-3, "Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Ilcan, 18-20 Elk <:it? Fcsival of the Arts. Civic Center, Elk 8-10 Jimmy Dean," Actors Theater. 'I'ulsa. (918) 749- City. (405) 225-0207 6488 18-Ocr. 4 Oklahoma State 1-air. Fairgrounds, OK(:. (40.5) OCTOBER 942-551 1 16-31 "1940s Radio Hour," Brook Theater, 'l'ulsa, (918) 1'1 Chili Cookoff. Koostcr Creek Campground, 747-9494 Kingston, (405) 564-231 1 22-Nov. 8 "Everybody Loves Opal," Jewel Box 'I'hcatcr. 1') Calf F? 1:estival 8( Cookoff. Fairgrounds, \'inita. OKC, (405) 521-1786 (918) 2-56-7133 23-24, 30-31 "The Belle of Amherst." Bartlesville (:ommunit\ 19-21 ]:all 1:estival of the Arts. Civic Centcr, Elk City, Center, Bartlesville, (918) 337-2787 (405) 22-5-0207 ' 28-Nov. 28 "Chapter Two," Lincoln Plaza, Tulsa, (918) 250- 25-27 hlonkey Island Fcstival, (;rand I,akc, (;rove, (918) 5250 786-2289 25-27 Pelican Festival. Community <:enter, Grove, (918) 786-2289 26-27 Int'l Fcstival. hlchlahon I'laza. I.a\vton. (405) 248- / FAIRS L FESTIVALS 805.5 OCTOBER SEPI 'EMBER 1-11 'I'ulsa State Fair. Expo Squarc. 'l'ulsa. (918) 582- 1-4 \I.'oodward County Fair. Fairgrounds, \I'oodward, 0051 (405) 256-741 1 2-3 Doo-Dah Fcstival, (:in Hall (;omplcs, Sallisan. 3-5 Kiowa Counn. Free Fair. Fairgrounds. Hobart. (918) 775-2.558 (405) 726-5643 3 Firefighters Fall Festival, Fairgrounds. Chickasha, 4-13 hluskogcc State Fair, I:airgrounds, hluskogee, (405) 224-1 177 (918) 687-4406 3 Czech Fcstival, downtown Yukon. (405) 354-3567 5-6 Ethnic Festival, St. Joseph's Elcmcntar).. Krcbs, 3 Fallfcst, Fuqua Park East, Duncan (405) 252-5300 (918) 423-2842 3 Pumpkin Fcstival of thc Arts, (:ourthousc Plaza. 5-7 Centennial Street Fair, \Vagoner, (405) 485-3414 Anadarko. (405) 247-331 1 5-7 Choctaw Labor Day Festival, 'I'uskahoma. (800) 9-Nov. 1.5 Indian Summer Fcstival. Civic Center. Xluskogcc. 522-6170 (918) 682-6602 5-7 Arts Festival, OKCCC, OK<;, (405) 682-7562 22-25 Oktohcrfest, River Parks. 71'ulsa, (918) 582-0051 7 Cleo Springs kt'atermelon 1:cstival. Cleo Springs. 24-15 (:avanal Fall Festival. Civic Center, Potcau. (918) (405) 438-2536 647-91 78 7-8 Lindsay District Fair, Lindsay, (405) 756-4312 30-Nov. I .-\rts and Craft I:air, \Vestside Elcmcntan. 9-12 Washington County Fair, Fairgrounds, Llcwcy, tleavencr, (405) 653-4303 (918) 336-0095 9-12 hlcCurtain Counn Fair, Fairgrounds, Idabcl, (405) 286-7428 INDIAN EVENTS 9-12 Paync County Frcc Fair, Fairgrounds, Still\vater. 7 (405) 743-3697 9-12 Stephens C~untyFair, Fairgrounds. Duncan, (405) SEPTEMBER 255-3644 3-7 <;hcrokcc Nat'l Holiday. Chcrokcc Hcritagc 10-12 Bluegrass Fcstival, t'owderhorn I'ark. Langlcy. Center. ~l'ahlcquah,(918) 456-0671 (918) 782-9150 4-6 Ottawa I:cstival rY: Pow \Vow. hliami. (918) ,540 11-12 hIcClain County I:ree Fair, I:airgrounds, I'urccll, 1536 (405) 527-2174 4-6 Int'l Po\v \Vow, I'onca Ciy. (405) 767-8888 11-12 Land of Country Festival. Hutchins hlemorial. Ponca City (405) 762-2273 11-13 Chili Cookoff 8( Bluegrass Festival, \Villiams Center Green, Tulsa, (918) 582-6435 11-13 Festifall '87, Kcrr Park, OKC, (405) 237-1426 11-14 blayes County Fair, Fairgrounds. Pryor. (918) 825- 324 1 SEPTEMBER 12 Southwest Fcstival of rhc Arts, hlcans and Clark 9 Bartlcsvillc Symphony, "Pops Picnic," Bartlcsvillc Parks, \%'eatherford, (405) 772-7744 Community Center. Bartlcsville, (918) 336-0095 15-16 Kay County Fair, Fairgrounds, Blackwcll, (405) 13 'I'ulsa Philharmonic, "Symphony at Sunset." 363-4195 Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, (918) 59Z- 16-19 Cimarron County Falr, I'alrgrounds. Bo~seCity, 7122 (405) 544-2562 17. Oct. 1.5 'l'ulsa Philharmonic, "Classic Series," Chapman 17-19 Choctaw Counn Fair, Fairgrounds, Hugo, (405) hlusic Hall, Tulsa, (918) 592-7122 326-3359 18-20 hlid-America Dance <:onfcrencc/Nikolais Uancc

Oklahoma 'I'ODAY ,, I heater. Bartlcsville Community Ccntcr. 10-13 hluskogec Boat Shou . hluskogee C~vicCenter. Bartlesville, (918) 337-2787 hluskogee, (918) 682-2401 19 Tulsa Philharmonic. "Pop Series." Chapman 12 1:lshing Derby, Lakc 'l'enkiller, Cookson, (918) hlusic Hall, Tulsa. (918) 592-7122 457-4403 26-27 'l'ulsa Ballet Theater, Performing Arts Ccntcr, 12 Run of '93 Cclcbration, Cherokee, (405) 596-3053 .l'ulsa, (918) 585-2575 12-13 The Guthr~e Road Shou, Historic District, OCTOBER Guthrie, (405) 282-3947 I I "'l'hc (ha Vcrde 'I'rio," John \Glliams 'I'heater, 12-13 Special Interest & Post \V\Y 11 Car Auction, Expo 'I'ulsa, (918) 592-7122 Square. Tulsa. (918) 687-4447 13 OK Symphony Orchestra, hlastcnvorks <:lassical 13 Square Dance. 41st & Riverside. 'l'ulsa, (918) 582- (hnccrt, Civic Ccntcr, OKC. (405) 232-4292 005 1 15-17 Odyssey '87, OK<:. (405) 232-4292 13 'l'inkcr AFB Open House. T.AFB. htidwest City, 17 I,a\%ton Philharmonic Orchestra, hlchlahon Plaid, (405) 739-2036 1,awton. (405) 248-2001 17-19 Cherokee Strip Celebration, downtourn Enid, 23-24 Ballet OK, Ci\ic Center, OKC, (405) 834-9898 (405) 237-2494 2.5 1,ouise hlandrcll Concert, Bartlcsville Vmmmunity 18 Governor's Arts Auard. Sratc Capitol, OKC. (405) <:enter, Bartlcsvillc, (918) 337-2787 521-2931 .31 "Rigoletto," Chapman hluslc Hall. 'l'ulsa, (918) 19 C:hcrokec Strip <:elebration. .l'onn Square, Perry. 592-7122 (405) 336-4684 19 Durant Air Shou. Eaker Airport, Durant. (405) 924-0848 RODEOS & 23 Bass Tournament. Elk River hlarina, Grove. (918) HORSE EVENTS 786-2289 24-26 Rogers hlountain hlusic Jubilee & Craft Show, hluldrow, (918) 427-5670 SEPTEMBER 26 Pcdalers Bicycle Classic Race, Bartlcsville, (918) 3-5 IPRiVr\<;R.A 1,abor Day Rodeo. (irovc Rodco 336-0095 Arena, (;rove, (918) 786-2289 26 Arts & Crafts Show. <;ourthouse, Frederick, (405) 3-5 IPRr\ Rodeo, Rodeo Grounds, Pawnee, (918) 762- 33-5-5661 2108 26 (hrdcll Art Show. City Park, Cordell, (405) 832- 4-5 I.abor Day Rodco, Rodco Grounds, Sand Springs. 3538 (918) 245-2248 26-27 Arrowhead Cup Sailing Regatta. Duck Creek, 5-6 Prison Rodco. OK State Prison. hlcAlcstcr, (918) Grove, (405) 786-2289 423-47 11 26-27 it'oodward Coin, .4ntique and Gun Show, 10-12 Great Plains Srampcdc Rodeo, .Arena. Altus, (405) Fa~rgrounds.Woodward, (405) 256-3214 482-021 0 OCTOBER 11-12 \Vomcn's Nat'l 1:lnals Rodco, 1,azy E Arena. 1-25 OK Arts Institute, Quartz hlountain, Altus, (405) Guthrie, (405) 282-3004 842-0890 OCTOBER 3 Hobby Show/.Arts & Crafts Collections, 12-18 Grand Nat'l & \t'orld Championship hlorgan (i)mmunity Building, Sayre. (405) 928-3057 Horse Show, Fairgrounds, OK(:. (405) 948-6700 3-4 Bass Tournament. Elk River hlarina, Grove, (918) 2-3-25 IPKA Reg~onal I.'~nals, hluskogce 1:airgrounds. 7%-2289 hluskogce, (918) 371-2501 10 \Voolaroc Run, \t'oolaroc Kanch. Bartlesville, (918) 26-31 Cutting (:ohpet~ton,1,al.y E Arcna. (iuthric, (405) 336-0095 282-3004 10 Arts & Crafts Shon., \Vagner Hall, Hominy, (918) 885-4939 18-31 (:elebrarion of City .Arts. several locations. Norman, (405) 360-1 I62 21 Sentor Citizens Fun Fair, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-1113 24 'I'ulsa Run, \Glliams Center to River Parks, Tulsa, SEPTEMBER (918) 582-0051 3-6 It'orld Series of Fiddling. I'owdcrhorn I'nrk. 24 OK(: Firefighters Circus. hlvr~ad.OKC, (405)236- 1,angley. (405) 732-3964 4444 4-7 Antique 'Airplane Assoc Nat'l Fly In, Bartles\~llc 26-31 Haunt the Zoo. OKC Zoo, OKC, (405) 424-3344 hlunicipal Airport. Bartlesville, (918) 336-0095 30-No\. 1 'I'ole Paint~ngConvent~on, Slarriott, OKC, (405) 4-7 Great Labor Day \VeekendlKRh.lG Raft Race, 691-1907 River City Park, Sand Springq, (918) 245-2248 5-7 Hang Gliders hleet, Buffalo hlountain, 'I'alihina. (918) 567-1771 11-12 Centennial Celebration, 'I'own Square & NWOSll. Alva, (405) 327-1647 Although the information in this calendar is current, dates and details 10-13 Bass 'l'ournamcnt. Fort Gibson Lake. (918) 494- can change without notice. Please check in advance before attending 0032 any event.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER '87