Festival of Lights at Oklahoma Route 66 Museum Christmas in the Village at the CSRHC Murrell Home to Host Christmas Open House
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Vol. 45, No. 12 Published monthly by the Oklahoma Historical Society, serving since 1893 December 2014 Festival of Lights at Oklahoma Route 66 Museum To help Clinton kick off the 2014 holiday season, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum will be hosting an open house on Tuesday, December 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as participating in Clinton’s annual Festival of Lights parade that evening. To encourage all Oklahomans to come experience the history of Route 66, admission to this event is free. The Festival of Lights is an annual holiday extravaganza consisting of a parade, extended business hours for local retailers, silent auctions, and, of course, pictures with Santa Claus. Various businesses, civic clubs, and school groups enter the parade, making the event a must-see for western Oklahomans for the past quarter century. Different categories of awards will be given for the best floats entered into the parade. The Festival of Lights parade will begin at 7 p.m. on Frisco Avenue. Please visit downtown Clinton for this incredible main street holiday celebration. The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is located off Interstate 40 at Exit 65 in Clinton, and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter months of December and January. The museum will be closed on Sundays and Mondays as well as the first week of January 2015. For additional information, please call 580-323-7866 or email [email protected]. Christmas in the Village at the CSRHC Take your family and visit the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid for Christmas in the Village on Friday, December 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. Visitors to this community event will be enchanted by the Heritage Center’s beautifully adorned Victorian Christmas Village all aglow. “Christmas in the Village is quickly becoming a cherished community tradition. It’s a fun and memorable experience in a beautiful setting for family photos,” said Andi Holland, director of the Heritage Center. Escape to a simpler time and experience Christmas in the Cherokee Outlet as it was more than one hundred years ago, with the sights, smells, and sounds of the holiday season. Admission for the event is $5 per person, and free for CSRHC members. The group tours include character-led tours of the beautifully adorned historic buildings, Christmas treats and cider, a musical performance, an activity with the schoolmarm, and an ornament. Christmas in the Village is sponsored by Humphrey Abstract Company. The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is located at 507 South Fourth Street in Enid. For more information, please call 580-237-1907 or visit www.csrhc.org. Murrell Home to host Christmas Open House The historic Murrell Home in Park Hill will be hosting its fourteenth annual Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are invited to tour the 1845 mansion and learn about Christmas customs from the mid-Victorian period. The halls will be decked in Christmas fashions of the 1800s, and live music will fill the air. Each room in the home will have an all-new Victorian Christmas theme with more decorations than ever before. The Friends of the Murrell Home will sponsor a reception with refreshments. The Murrell Home Christmas Open House is free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated. The museum is located three miles south of Tahlequah at 19479 East Murrell Home Road in Park Hill. The 1845 plantation home was the residence of George and Minerva (Ross) Murrell, and it is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on the event, contact the Murrell Home at 918-456-2751 or [email protected]. to raise all ships together, including the New Members, October 2014 Indian Records, maps, photographs, newspapers, film, and family research *Indicates renewed memberships at a collections. The History Center acceler- higher level ated that sense of cohesion in one giant leap forward. Associate *James and Rosalie Bates, Alvin, TX Most importantly, the growing sense of *Ed and Teresa Bradway, Clayton partnership came from people stepping *Merrill Burruss Jr., Geary Director’s onto the stage of our institutional history. Gary Wilson, Edmond column Denzil Garrison, a dean of the OHS Friend Board, is a devoted genealogist who *Carl and Kay Chaves, Broken Arrow recognized the need to use our resources *John and Mary Ann Coates, Oklahoma City more efficiently and gave me cover. *Bill and Mariam Corbett, Tahlequah *Ken and Leah Dick, Lawton Aulena Gibson, another genealogist and *David Huff, Killeen, TX board member, added her support to *William and Drexel Malone, Shawnee the ongoing conversation. Billie Fogarty, *Jerry J. Ransom, Greenville, TX *Niki Richardson, Lindsay a warrior for genealogy and a board *Chris and Myrna Speligene, Guthrie member, was on the stage with me this Dr. Suzanne Spradling, Nichols Hills By Dr. Bob L. Blackburn *Jeannette Uhles, Broken Arrow Executive Director morning talking about partnerships and our entrepreneurial business plan. Family It is a good day when you are with Then there is our staff. Chad Williams *Caroline Barrow, Yukon five hundred friends using words like and Laura Martin are our field generals, Dakota Beckham, Tahlequah Sunny Bernhardt and Mark Gassen, Kingfisher “partnerships,” “family,” “leadership,” dealing with challenges every day and Kelly Brown, Midwest City and “research.” Saturday was one of looking ahead for opportunities. They lead Vicki Brown, Midwest City through action, not just words. And our Christina Burkett and Jackie Sevetsky, Oklahoma City those days. Timothy and Linda Cannon, Tecumseh The event I attended this Saturday volunteers, manning the tables and doors Ron and Laurel Cochrane, McLoud morning was Ancestry Day, a two-day this morning, lead with their generosity *Christopher and Gina Covington, Tulsa and passion for family research. Alan and Stacey Danielson, Oklahoma City conference cosponsored by the Oklahoma Bob Deupree, Mustang Historical Society, the Oklahoma The Ancestry Day conference is a Norman Dunagin, Nichols Hills Genealogical Society, and Ancestry.com. reflection of how far we have come. Lloyd and Terresa Ellison, Carney Barbara Fox, Edmond More than five hundred people attended Ancestry.com, the largest online Roger and Shelly Garrett, Edmond from all parts of the country. provider of research material in the world, *Sam Hammons, Edmond approached us two years ago seeking a Nathan and Melissa Hedge, Oklahoma City As I sat with friends on the stage *Patsy Heidlage, Claremore waiting to offer a welcome, I started partnership. Since then, that partnership *Mr. and Mrs. Ed Henshaw, Vian thinking about what the conference has created a new stream of revenue Mark and Darla Hetchler, Yukon dedicated to collections and funded new Melody Jack and Paul Richenburg, Oklahoma City meant in terms of the Oklahoma Historical O. J. and Gail Johnston, Edmond Society’s progress. computers for the reading room of the *Robert and Sue Kern, Oklahoma City Twenty-five years ago, when I became John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Joel Knight and Abraham Henry, Oklahoma City Ben and Kimberly Lucas, Oklahoma City deputy director, there was a sense Center. Just as importantly, our Marie McClure, Enid of mistrust between the genealogical partnership has opened new channels Leigh Parks, Oklahoma City for us to share our rich collection of Dorothy Parmele, Oklahoma City community and academic historians like Chris and Roxana Pribil, Edmond me. I can remember strained meetings information with ever more people. *Patty Roloff, Oklahoma City talking about basics such as collections Yes, it is a good day when you are with Angela Ross and Tonita Taylor, McLoud Corrie Seeley and Johnny Schafer, Calumet policies (we had none at the time), staffing friends talking about family history and plans, and resource allocation. Even how far we have come. And there is more cont’d. on p. 7 within the research division there was to come as we build bridges to a greater a lack of cooperation with little fiefdoms sense of community. protecting small plots of turf. Oklahoma Historical Society Gradually, the walls of mistrust came Membership Office: Alma Moore 405-522-5242 down, one brick at a time. We found ways [email protected] Mistletoe Leaves (USPS 018-315) is published monthly by the Okla- homa Historical Society, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7917. Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City, OK. (ISSN Development News 1932-0108) By Larry O’Dell POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mistletoe Leaves, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7917. It’s the holidays again, and I would like By authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Board of Direc- tors, 6,000 copies are prepared at a cost of $1,329 each month. The to offer you the chance to share what publication is financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. this outstanding organization does with Contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Oklahoma Historical Society or the United States Department of friends and colleagues. An OHS gift membership will introduce your acquaintances to the Interior. Mention of trade names does not constitute endorsement or our thirty-plus museums and historical sites, this monthly publication, and the fine recommendation by either organization. Mistletoe Leaves is published for the members and friends of the scholarship of The Chronicles of Oklahoma. There is also the ability to acquire the perks Oklahoma Historical Society in partial fulfillment of the Society’s pur- pose to “perserve and perpetuate the history of Oklahoma and its people, of our partner membership with the Smithsonian. The larger and more vibrant our to stimulate popular interest in historical study and research, and to promote and disseminate historical knowledge.” membership, the stronger and more active our organization.