"A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by, , ., no rnatterhts io@ -John @-ne ,1'. kc: .- . Make your way to Lawton Fort Sill for an array of spring fesi~vl- ties. During National Tourism Week this May, Lawton Fort Sill will celebrate the spirit of two vital American institutions-our Lawton Armed Forces and the Arts. 629 sw c Avenue Fort Sill CHAMBER Am f$r AU Festival, May 7-9 Lawton. OK 73501 cormReE a Inwrnv Join ouer 40,000 qected hitom as they trrste, @tab2and fakepa* in southwest Okkzhods mo&popahr cuhrd event. fimpttq to paintings to musical and &nce&rmem, thew5 enteminment and &idousfiodj%r all: &wd &~XS Day Parade, May 14 &d as the hestArmed Forces Day parade in the don,over 100 paRicipants tidl march in pmession to honor the men and women who h~ s d orcr nution, pasf and present. p$ b!' i OklahomaMAY - JUNE 2004 / VOLUME 54, NUMBER 3 TODAY On the cover: Spring arrives at Post Oak Lake in the Wichita MountainsWildlife Refuge. Photograph by MichaelHardeman. Left, an Oklahoma butcher shop owned by a Czech family, circa 1920. FEATURES 33 The Wayside Flower Guardians of the West My Home at Far and Away Wildflowers: If we stop long After more than a decade Mankiller Flats From Edinburgh and Prague enough to admire them, the of fundraising and ongoing The first female principal to Saigon and Guatemala colorful little blessings- construction-plus a much- chief of the Cherokee Nation City, the Sooner State is a from exotic orchids to ballyhooed name change-the reflects on her family's colorful tapestry of ethnic the ubiquitous Indian National Cowboy & Western homeland, Mankiller Flats, groups. Here, Oklahoma blanket-fill our spirits with Heritage Museum is at last a and all it has meant to the four Today looks at the unique a sense of sgentle surprise and finished work of art. generations of Mankillers who settlement history that today unexpected beauty. By Stefie Corcoran have lived there. creates such a mosaic. By Neil Garrison By Wilma Mankiller By Mary Logan Wolf DEPARTMENTS Contributors..................4 Marketplace .............. 10 The Range.................. 17 Events Guide.............. 59 It's a swatch watch at Extra Tumbleweed Calf Fry Writer Anne Lamott speaks Editor's Letter............... .6 Special Fabrics in Guthrie, and Etruscan pieces at the at the Greenwood Cultural Louisa McCune explores where western design is of Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Center in Tulsa. ideas of immigration and material concern. Art in Shawnee possibility inside the house The End ...................... 64 George Forsyth built. Calendar ....................13 Getaway Guide......... 55 There's something fishy b "i The Producers debuts in Purcell is one horse town. going on at the Oklahoma s Feedback ......................8 Tulsa, and a windmill From equine industry to City Museum of Art-Rudy Readers are still talking festival blows into Shattuck. shopping to the Heartland Miller's piscene paintings. b 5 about Toby Keith, 2003 Flyer, reasons to stop here Oklahoman of the Year. abound. E 3 TppCONTRIBUTORS - Oklahoma Since 1956 TODAY "I can't say that Iamfilthyrich because much of my expendable cash is used to pur- BRAD HENRY, Govert~or chasefood for the flock of fiftywild turkeys that fkquents the bird feeding station in my home's frontyard," says Neil Garrison, a naturalist for the Martin ParkNature Centerin Oklahoma City, who wrote "The JOAN HENDERSON Wayside Flower" (page 28). "MaybeI need Publirber to rethinkthis. Fifty humrmngblrds would LOUISA McCUNE eat awhole lot less.'%arrison-who also Mirorin Chief claimsflower gardeningand flint knapping STEVEN WALKER WALKER CREATIVE, INC ashobbieis one of Oklahomishrite "go-to" guysfor wildlife and ecological STEFFIE CORCORAN, Smior Edimr information, having worked at the park for BROOKE DEMETZAuorian Editor CHARLY ARNOLD, Edtorialh~isrant more than twenty-five An Oklahoma SHAWNA PARKS &KIM SHIPMAN, &fzwrdIntmrr StateUniversity graduate, he is married to Becky and lives on the western edgeof SHEILAH BRIGHT, KELLY CROW, BRUCE EAGLE, JOHN ELK 111, GORDON GRICE, ROBERT HENRY, Oklahoma City IOHN IERNICXN. YOUSEF KHANFAR. RE. LINDSEY. ,----3-- -- .- TOM LUKER MlCHAEL WALLIS, andMARY LOGAN WOLF COLLEEN MCINTYRE, Roddon Mamger Whhbkikrsewed a ten-year KIh4 RYAN, Ad~ngAcrountEwmrnw LAURA BEAM, Advmirin Account ,??rcrunrunm term as the principal chiefof the Chero- LISA BRECKENRID~E,~ccountant kee Nation and has been inducted into KATHY FUGATE, C@e Manager the National Women's Hall of heand LISA JOBE,E,AdwmringInm Twrimr andRecreation the Oklahoma Hall ofFame. A recipient KATHRYN L. TAYLOR CabinnSMCLI?~ of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and RALPH McCALMONT, Interim Director the author of two books (EveryDay ha Tourism andRrnmtian Commission GoodDay is due this H),she has e&teen LT. GOV. MARY FALLIN, Chair ROBYN BATSON, JENNIFER COLBERT, JOE HARWOOD, honorary doctorates from several univer- MELMN MORAN, JANIS RICKS,JIM SCHLIMPERT, sities, indudingyale. How did we recruit BECKYSWITZERWAYMANnsDm such talent? "Asa huge Toby Keith h, To mnaa OkMomu T+ &by emaik [email protected] Iwas inspired by the 0k.hhoma Tody [email protected] feature in which he dearly demonstrated [email protected] hi love for the land and his horses," says OUaboma Tody awarda ind& 2004 Oklahoma SPJ Fmt Pk,Feature Writing Mder."Also, Iam an avid reader of 2003 IRMA Gold for Bert Nature Feaw 2003 Oklahoma SPJ Firsr Place, OvdExden% Okhboma Today." 2003 Oklahoma Sq Fusr Pk,Feature Wrinng, 2002 IRMA Gold for Bert Profile; Sierra Club 2001 Gnservation Journalism Award; Three Dallas Prers Club 2001 Fim PrizeHonors Oklhhoma Today relies heavily on IRMA Wneof the Year, 1991,1993,199)94,1996; the expertise of the Western History 1999 Folio EdimdErcdlenceAward; 1998 Wdbur Award Collections stafF at the University of Oklahoma. Says assistant curator and photographic archivist JohnLovett, "We have enjoyed an excellent working rela- CITY, OK, AND ADDITIONAL ENTRY OFFICES. Send m Okhhma T Cidon,PO. Box 1468, tionship with Oklahoma Today and have $kO%$OK 73101.0%oma City Advertisin Sales Oflice, PO. Box 1468, Oklah~~aCi OK 73101, (40.4 521- been fortunate to provide the magazine 2496 or (800) 777-1793 Subsc non pncer $19 95 r rhe US .$29 95 out42 U.S. U.S:U)&&% with a large number of photographs over by &&& T&. Reproductionin whole or m part without the years." The Western History Collec- permission is pmhiblted. ahLLbaM T+,is not responsible for the careandlorreturn of unsolicited manwnpts, m+ ho tions-which provided the photography raphy, book or any orher material submitted tiypsrbf pu% cation. Never send original photogra hy, manuscripts, or artwok for "Far and Away" (page 46)-houses In no went shall submission of A unsolicited material subjea diverse research materials and manages Oblabonra T+ to any daim for holding fm or other si& Paymente upon publication. Vit ClWmma TarLyon mare than 1.5 million images. Lovett, %&et at ok1ahomatoday.com. here with Melody Woods, left, Eileashii Lackey,right, and Jaymie Lang, seated, oversees student assistants who help field the many photography requests. I I OKLAHOMATODAY .MAY/JUNE 2004 "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?"-Robert Burns, Scottish poet, 1788 HY DOES A MAN LEAVE HIS COUNTRY? wI suspectGeorgeForsyth moved an ocean and halfacontinentawayto find fertileground-a place wherehe couldforge creative freedom andleave his mark. Born in Edinburgh in 1880,Forsyth arrived in thenew stateat age thirty-nine,a draftsmanforthe architecturalfirm of Layton and Smith,which would soon be heralded for its achievementswith the new Oklahoma State Capitol. On theheels of an apprenticeshipat an architecturalfirm inAberdeen, Forsythhad spentsixyears in London as a ddisman at the London CountyCouncil and astudentat the Royal Academy.Thetall, distinguishedman with such old-world beginnings- was almost - certain to findwhat he was lookingfor in ~klahoma. Forsyth went on to bewme a partner in 1919with SolomonLayton, their firm eventuallycalled Layton, Hicks and Forsyth. Theydesignedthe 1 Governor's Mansion, the Bizzell Libraryat OU, the OklahomaHistorical "aciety, and dozensof other importantbuildings and historichomes across the state. Most personal to him was a house he built in 1917and lived in until his death in September 1952.I was handed the keys to that house on March 12,2002,the third owner in eighty-fiveyears, the Neyer family 7' havinglived there in the long interim. Last night, I careMlypulled out all ofhis original architectural plans, I the onionskin frayed andyellowed, and laid them on the kitchen table. His skilled hand and notationsshowa deep regard for themodest / structure.Photographsfromthoseearliestyears showlittleelseon the block, andahappy familylife seems evident. Manyof his drawingswere - ----- II- hmm 1937,when he and wife lily enclosedthe frontporch fora more stately entry,converted the east porch into amorningroom, andadded bookshelvesin the diningroom. I have filled those shelveswith most ofthebooks of my Me, the most specialChurchill'sA Histoy oftheEngIish-SpeakingPeopks,a gft frommy father, also incidentallyof Scotsheritage. Y( GeorgeForsythwas an artistinhis spare time. Whendesigninghis garage,he built a studioon thewest sidewith fourwindows, electricity,andasmallbathroom. Hecalled it the "pot shop,"and it's wherehe made dozensof daypts, spinningthemoneve- ningsandweekends. We're slowlyrestoring bits andpieces of thehouse, and George's pot shop is next on thelist. For me, breathmg Me intothatdilapidatedroom means honoringthe