NOVEMBER-DECEMBER '85

SQUARE DANCE: RUFFLES, RlCK RACK & YELLOW ROCKS HAM FOR THE H0LInIYS: THE OKLAHOMA SMOKEHOUeF

- I SQUARE DANCE ROUNPUP I If the words squaw hnce make you Y think of Gene Autry movies or junior high gym class, come to Oklahoma City this November. Some 5,000 Sooners just may t convince you there's more to it than rick rack and do sa dos. LAST OF THE BIG TOPS I ,0 I Have a yen for circus the way it used to 10 be? ~ookno further than Hugo and the HAM OPERATORS Carson & Barnes Circus, the biggest outfit still under canvas-and the greatest On the shores of Grand Lake, some show in Oklahoma. Green Country entrepreneurs took a dollop of 19th-century expertise,

added a dash of microchi~sand cooked up 7V The circus at home-in a flourishing business, heOklahoma Hugo. Photo by Phillip Smokehouse. I OKLAHOMA PORTFOLIO Radcliffe. Inside front. Fall A seasonal sampler by photographer scene near Spavinaw dam. Ivan McCartney. Photo by Howard Robson. 22 Back. Autumn oak, Wichita THE MONK, THE MUMMT Mountains. Photo by Steve & MABEE - Wilson. RlDlNQ HERD ON THE WEST Meet Mr. Jim Jordan of No Man's Land. DEPARTMENTS FEATURES Today in Oklahoma ...... 4 BookdLetters...... 4-5 8 I It took a monk. an oilman and Uncommon Common Folk ...... 6 Princess ~enndof the 23rd Dynasty Oklahoma Omnibus...... 17 CULTIVATING CHRISTMAS - I to create one of the state's most Destinations: Remm Bend ...... 38 Not many farmers can claim a holiday distinctive museums-the Mabee-Gerrer On to Oklahoma...... 49 tradition as their cash crop. I in Shawnee. Entertainment Calendar...... 50 holds its annual festival and where a lot of "yellow rockin'" takes place. Kathryn White writes about square dance lingo, fashions, patterns and tempo beginning on page 12. $u Mention November, and my thoughts turn to the delicious aromas of Thanksgiving and the pleasures of visit- ing with family and friends throughout Hanukkah and Christmas. It's always a special time in Oklahoma. Each of us at Okhioma TODAY sends The Okhioma TODAY staff is getting stamp in the "Great American" series. each of you our best wishes for a joyous excited about the upcoming January1 Dr. Bernard Revel, an orthodox Jewish holiday season. -Sue Carter. February issue, which celebrates our scholar, lived in Tulsa from 1912 to 30th Anniversary. As you remember, we 1923. The stamp, commemorating the asked our readers to let us know their centennial of Dr. Revel's birth in 1885 as favorite things about Oklahoma. And well as the university's centennial cele- were you great about responding. You bration in 1986, will be issued next fall. shared your favorite picnic spots, the Revel's nephew, Joseph Kornfeld of best lakes for fishing and your favorite Tulsa, traveled to New York for the Ozarks, photograph by Dad Fittger- big-city activity, among others. stamp's unveiling-and has written an a/d, text by CIay Amahon, Graphic Arh The best letters, perhaps, were from interesting tribute to his uncle, Eymit- Center Pm;$37.50. Frequent Okkdo- our out-of-state subscribers. Now these nas to &tiny. ma TODAY contributor David Fitzgerald folks have serious cases of homesickness iW The town of Hugo in southeastern first made a name for himself in the for Oklahoma sunrises and sunsets, Oklahoma sits just north of the Red Riv- Sooner State with his book of photo- trees, rain and even our wind-not to er in one of the more scenic areas of our graphs titled Okkzhoma. His second offer- mention chicken fried steaks, camping state. And when writers Casey Morgan ing, Wrh, takes him farther afield- and canoeing. Many were kind enough and Bob Ritz and photographer Phillip across the Ozark plateau that stretches to add that reading the latest issue of Radcliffe arrived at the Carson & Barnes from the Missouri River to Arkadelphia, Oklahoma TODAY helped ease their Circus grounds last winter to research from Cape Girardeau to the Neosho Riv- homesickness. So if you have friends or this issue's cover story, they were sur- er, and takes in one of the prettiest parts relatives beyond the reach of Oklahoma prised at how much the area looked like of Oklahoma-that lean, rocky strip hospitality, send them Okhioma TODAY a ranch. The workers wore cowboy along our eastern border. for Christmas. Our 30th Anniversary is- boots, Western shirts and jeans, and they Fitzgerald, a native Oklahoman, spent sue may very well save their lives-it were driving tractors. One thing was dif- three years wandering thousands of miles will feature Bests, Favorites and Firsts in ferent: Occasionally the head of an ele- to get to know the Ozarks and its people. Oklahoma. phant or giraffe would pop up over a (Yes, this book includes portraits of hill + As the holidays approach, it seems fence or from behind a building. people along with portraits of hills.) The appropriate to note milestones in two of They were fortunate enough to amve result is some 125 color photographs of the religious communities in our state. on "oiling the elephants" day. Once a everything from the Buffilo River to the The Rev. Basil Zebrun, new minister year the elephants are sprayed with oil to Elephant Rocks, from a latterday moon- of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Ortho- keep their skin from drying. Afterwards, shiner to a Silver Dollar City gunsmith, dox Church at Hartshorne, writes that they photographed beautifully. The sto- from still lifes shot in the log-cabin the church now has regular services at 7 ry of the people and the animals who school at the Ozark Folk (=enter to the p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays and 9 travel with the largest tent show in the rushing waters of Big Spring. a.m. on Sundays. The Russian Orthodox world-and their hometown-begins Oklahoma vistas range from dawn at church, which was featured in our Sep- on page 28. Greenleaf State Park and views of Ten- tember/October issue, had been without Have you ever been "yellow rock- killer and Fort Gibson reservoirs to Tah- an assigned priest for more than 50 years. ed?" If so, chances are that you will want lequah's Murrell Home and the Skyline A former Oklahoman who helped to be among the more than 5,000 expect- Drive. found New York City's Yeshiva Univer- ed to square up November 2 at the Myri- sity and later became its first president, ad in Oklahoma City. That's when the Cherokees: An Illustrated History, by will be honored with a U.S. postage Oklahoma Square Dance Federation Bilb M. Jones and Odie B. Faulk, FFiere

4 Oklahoma TODAY I Cfen'fd ThMaam; $30. Jones and Murray election. I wanted to tell you them's no place to Faulk have produced a large-format, Their attack on old Bill was one of the live like Oklahoma. I was born August popular history of the Cherokee tribe, "poorest" displays of responsible journal- 13 near a little town called Sterling, in liberally illustrated with both historical ism I've encountered in the more than the Indian Territory. At present, I only photographs and fourcolor reproductions 50 years I worked for papers. live six miles from the place I was born. of works by prominent Cherokee artists. Did Mr. Henry, in his research on the I like my Okkzhoma TODAY books. (The list of artists is impressive, includ- campaign, come across the cartoon They have so much to say about ing Bert Seabourn, Troy Anderson, Wil- where Bill was getting his toilet water Oklahoma. lard Stone, Bill Rabbit, Joan Hill, Joan out of the stool? So many people go out of this state to Brown and Virginia Stroud.) I John A. Giespie see things, but they should stay in Okla- homa. It has so many things to see. I am The book takes readers from myths La Puente, California concerning tribal origins through its pre- 83 years old, and I still want to travel history and on to the continually tragic over Oklahoma. interactions of Cherokees with white in- I now receive my favorite magazine, S. Blankenship truders-from Hernando de Soto to the Okkzhoma TODAI: at my home address; Marlow dissolution of the Cherokee Nation. when I was receiving it at my work ad- It covers major events in the tribe's dress, my co-workers also enjoyed the Although I have never subscribed be- history-from early alliances with the magazine, so I had to wait sometimes fore, I have enjoyed reading ORkJloma British to the splitting of the tribe into weeks before I even got to read it. TODAY for some time. So, with my re- Western and Eastern branches, the Trail Being in the military, I spend most of cent move to Texas, I decided to sub- of Tears, the Civil War, the Cherokee my time in a distant land, distant being scribe since I can no longer buy it at the Nation's brief golden age and Oklahoma anywhere that is not Oklahoma, so I can grocery store. statehood. appreciate my co-workers' interest in I would like to take this opportunity to Most interesting, perhaps, are the anything that is considered to be news praise the articles of Kathryn Jenson smaller pieces of information: the fact, from home. Keep up the good work! White. I really like her style of writing. for instance, that Sequoyah not only cre- I enjoy OkMoma TODAY and espe- You must be very proud to have her as a ated the Cherokee syllabary but also ran cially enjoyed the articles about my own contributor. a salt works, or that in 1872, marshals home area of northeast Oklahoma, spe- Tina L. Martin from Judge Isaac Parker's court in Fort cifically the powwow at Miami. I miss Dallas, Texas Smith disrupted a Cherokee trial be- being at home in Oklahoma, but I know cause the tribe was uying a white man that I cannot do the job that I do and We would like to congratulate you on for killing an Indian. The resulting remain in Oklahoma at the same time. your magazine. It certainly is a fantastic shoot-out left seven marshals and four Your efforts at keeping us "Okies" in- publication. Cherokees dead. formed about our home is deeply We enjoyed the article "Chicken Fry" There are also glimpses of the aristo- appreciated. (SeptemberIOctober 1985). I agree with cratic lifestyle at Park Hill before the E. Jane Wilson the author on the variety of chicken fried Civil War-the Murrell Home (still Radioman First Class steaks. I can vouch for the authenticity standing) and Rose Cottage, the antebel- U.S. Navy, Hawaii of her article, as I traveled from Whiz lum mansion of Chief John Ross and his Bang and Foraker to Wild Horse, Kiefer, Philadelphia Quaker wife. You were so right about the special Cromwell, Seminole and vicinities to news about Oklahoma in your magazine. East Texas for many years. There was a All the gift subscriptions I gave last large variation in the types of chicken Christmas have given much pleasure to fried steaks. Wish we could find a good my relatives. one out here! Our Delta Kappa Gamma Chapter Keep the good work going. Beta Pi used the article about the Chero- Your Oklahoma TODAY is greatly kee Female Seminary "Belles of Tahle- LeRoy Thomas appreciated. quah" (MarchIApril 1985). My mother Escondido, California The "Alfalfi Bill" Murray story in attended the seminary, and I have a BS your JulyIAugust issue brought back and master of teaching degree from Okkzhoma WAYwelcomes letters fmm our many memories. Northeastern State University in Tahle- readers. Our only requirements: They must be signed, and we reserve the right to edit andlor I went to work for the Daiiy OkMoman quah. condense them. Send your comments to: Letters, and Tima in March of 1934. The paper AUiene B. Holcombe Okkzhoma TODAY, P.O. Box 53384, Oklahoma was still in a state of shock over the Jay City, OK 73152.

November-December '85 5 UNCOMMON COMMON FOLK

By Kathryn Jenson White

town and talk right along with every- dialect with words like 'heerd' and one else about the social insights and 'seed' 'cause my people were hill peo- linguistic outrages of Ima Peach, au- ple in Georgia before they migrated thor of "Over Doin' Hit," a popular to east Texas. They had a language all weekly column in the Grandfield Big Pasture News. She swears she kept a Melba's column reflects the vari- straight face the whole time, too, ety of her past and present. The dialect and never once felt the urge to stutter is hillbilly Southern with a taste of out "Z'ma Ima Peach" or to have Texas twang, the town names-Hog Ima print up a recipe in the column for Waller and Seed Tick-come from Peach Melba as a clue to her real her mama's part of Georgia, and what identity. She fooled all of the people all she calls the "backdrop" is Oklaho- of the time until her son Bob, the ma. No matter about their mixed-up owner of the Grandfield paper, an- heritage, Melba's characters are

between "she" and "I" when talk-

"Now there's Pa, Ma and brother Eb. Pa is just Pa, but Ma's name is Elberta, from Elberta Peach, of course, and my brother's name is El- events. Although they contained no bert. We just call him Eb, and he Bob was pretty sure of what he Peaches, they were the seeds, or in

5 Oklahoma TODAY sie. Melba says, "Elbert wouldn't

'Looks like he'd get mad at some of those things you say he does,' but

Peach persona to do it. Although about church. One morning the she's slacked off recently, Melba does preacher preached about tithing. Well, what she calls a "country Erma Bombeck" act, dressing up like Ima

What flows out so freely is pretty much what goes to press, too. Melba a benefit for them."

well as a weekly columnist. When she jist let all the air out and left. can't hardly spell at all.' " Bob heard the paper didn't have a writ- Melba's response to this idea,

membering the mistake the judges

characterize "Over Doin' Hit," and consider trying to get her Peaches each takes two or three days of hard canned. Given her imily's encour-

fruitful endeavor.

right along with them. When Bob was in Nebraska, he took a correspon-

November-December '85 7

By Keith Sknypczak Photographs by Eli Reichman

here is something intensely incon - 1 Tgruous yet fiercely appropriate about the scene4lose to 20 acres of Scotch and Virginia pine "Christmas" trees surround- ing an active oil pump. Strange nursery-bedfellows indeed. But to Leonard Jankowski of Skiatook, noth- ing could be more natural. For more than 15 years, "Jan," as he has been called since his days as a service- man during World War 11, has gone about proving that Christmas tree growing is not the preserve of northern and mountain states. His work contains elements Responding to a direct-mail piece in Skiatook. both of crusade and hobby. from "Santa's Forest," a large Christmas "But it was a family affair and we "It's a very enjoyable challenge," tree growing franchise company based all pitched in to get it done," he recalls. he says, surveying an impressive stand of in Wisconsin, Jankowski and others were "My wife, Betty, and my daughter pine in various stages of develop- flown around various Christmas tree and three sons-we all worked pretty mentall planned, of course. "Ever forests around Wisconsin and shown how hard that first year." since I planted the first field of seed- the trees were grown. "They were Though planting is a springtime lings and half of them survived, I knew I selling franchises to individuals around task, Jankowski demonstrates the proper could make it work." the country to grow their trees. It was use of a "planting bar" (the tool he That attitude, plus the skilled a very impressive spread, but they want- uses to spade the ground in preparation know-how of a trained nurseryman, has ed about $10,000 for a franchise and for planting). "It's very simple, really. helped Jankowski earn the distinction 35 percent of the profits. That seemed a It's like a small shovel. You just stick it of having been selected to supply the bit steep. into the ground, wiggle it back and official Christmas tree for the State "But when I came back, I told my forth and place the tree in the hole. It Capitol for the last three years in a row. wife that I could do this myself." just takes a couple days to plant a "It's quite an honor, but I get just He bought and planted 4,000 seed- couple thousand." as much enjoyment in helping anyone lings in 1968. At the time, he was still In 1%9, he replanted 2,000 or so find a nice tree here. That's one of working full time at North American that died, but drought that year de- the reasons I do this. I just love Rockwell in Tulsa while developing a stroyed the entire crop. He replanted Christmas." small nursery along State Highway 11 the next year with more success and harvested his first marketable crop of trees in 1973. "We've been cutting ever since," he says. Since then, ties have gotten enough better that Jankowski has gotten out of the nursery business in Skia- took so he can concentrate entirely on II I Christmas trees. Having been the first I( I nurseryman to grow ~hristmastrees II I commercially in the state, he has be- come the elder statesman for the indus- try here. He is a founding member of the Oklahoma Christmas Tree Growers Association, which lists a membership of 70 growers, though only two others (Fred Goddard of Norman and Earl Hager of Willow) currently have a sell- . . able crop. During the last four years the II I OSU Extension Service has taken an ac- tive interest in helping develop the industry in the state. And the Depart- ment of Forestry in Oklahoma has even selected a certain type of trees, the Virginia pine, to be grown as an ex- perimental variety. "It grows real fast, but looks a little scraggly to me," Jan- kowski says.

10 Oklahoma TODAY he JanRmskiss'20-am Christmas me fam will hoM approm'mateiy 4,000 fragrant pines. Folks may begin shopping for trea ri$t after 72anksgiving. As for the houn. Leonard Jankmski will help rustomm selert he perfect pine smdays a week,from elig4t to dad, or "as long as you can see a tree.'' You may either pick a tme that's alrea4 been rut orhaveyoursekrted tree rutfor you. If you're set on mating a traditions/ Christ- year, and I mow between the rows around each year. Last year he sold mas memoty, you ran rut dmn the tree ofvour about every three weeks. There's a cer- close to 1,000 trees and says he expects choice. As Bern Jankm+skisays, "Wre tain amount of work you have to do to to sell about that many again this not just selling trees, we're selling an maintain a place like this." year. Besides providing the State Capitol expenpenence." Although Jankowski says he has tree, he also supplies trees to several To get Christmas tm, decorated made money on the enterprise, he ad- large hotels in Tulsa. He does not sell wreath and ropingfor mantels anddoornays, head nod from Tulsa on /

November-December '85 11 ** CQUARELJ DANCE -w

aROUND-UP

&... x - - X1 square danci~gis more than just ?d,x.*- ' - p fancy steps:ii%Za~fin&r outfts. fi.ca&g.

, ,

12 Oklahoma TODAY

s the familiar opening notes of swing and swirl to this and countless sounding but lovely-looking things in a "Summertime" from Pow other modified popular hits whenever really big way at the federation's Annual and Bess fill the air, Toots Ri- they can. Square Dance Festival in Oklahoma chardson's husky voice be- They can almost every night of the City. November 3, 1984, found about ginsA to sing the equally familiar lyrics: year, although things often slow down 5,000 do-sa-do-ing devotees at the 38th during the hottest summer months. In of these square dance round-ups. Danc- Summertt'me, andthe /kin' k eq. school gyms and civic recreation halls all ers from all over the state magically You do a ldt allemande, do sa do, over Oklahoma, Toots-the only profes- transformed the Main Arena of the Myri- /ejl allemande, sional female caller in the state-and all ad into a giant kaleidoscope of countless And you weave it and go. her male counterparts sing, patter and colors when the Grand March dissolved Your daddjr's rich, and your directional call to dedicated members of into hundreds of separate squares, and mama's good lookin'. clubs like the "Sand Springs Pepper they all began to dance. They moved to Do sa do and promenade. Steppers," "Flirts and Skirts," "Slightly the strains of "Hissing in Mrs. Potts Pat- So hash little baby, don't you q. Squares" and "Prairie Twisters." At first ter," the calling of which obviously re- call, rick rack and ruffles take flight, and quires a tongue as nimble as the feet of a Equally familiar lyrics? Maybe not to hundreds of friendly squares Dive for good dancer. you, but they certainly are to the approxi- the Oyster, Box the Gnat and Weave the Those who think square dancing is mately 14,000 members of the Oklaho- Ring. nothing much more than a rainy-day ac- ma Square Dance Federation, who Once a year, they do all these odd- tivity for reluctant high-school students

14 Oklahoma TODAY are way behind the times. These days, of walking." Whtching a tip (two songs) club uniforms, most dancers have im- squares are cool, as the close to 230 ac- makes clear that it isn't /&um/y walking, pressive square dance wardrobes of great tive clubs in the nine districts of the either. The dancers move quickly to ac- variety. Littlebit Pauk, who with her Oklahoma Federation prove. And what complish the figures of each call and husband, I. J., served as 1984 president goes on in Oklahoma goes on all over the keep moving in place even while await- of the federation, says proudly, "I have country. In fact, in 1989, Oklahoma City ing their next command. Before too 84 dresses, and I've made all of them. If will host the National Square Dance long, there's a definite glisten on all the you sew yourself, you can have a lot Convention. The expected 35,000 danc- faces in the square. Those towels hang- more. The most I've ever spent is $35. ers who attend will, like living confetti, ing from the men's belts aren't just The ready mades srarz at that price and cover the floors not only of the Myriad, decorative. go way up. I also make many of my but also of all the major hotel ballrooms No matter how tired or hot they get, husband's Western suits and all his ties and many state fairground buildings. however, the dancers always look great. and shirts to match my dresses." What these many thousands of enthu- Those fancy costumes they all wear are That's not the half of it, though, as siastic men and women are engaged in made to stand up and stand out. They're Littlebit makes clear after taking a takes agility, concentration and endur- also an important aspect of the activity, breath: "I've also got approximately 12 ance. Jack Culbertson, a past president as the Festival 1984 Fashion Show, cancans: red, black, blue, peach, yel- of the federation, says, "One evening of whose theme was "American Folk low, orange, brown, wine and white. square dancing, approximately eight Dance Costumes," showed from a his- Then, of course, I've got shoes I dye to tips, equates to about four or five miles torical perspective. In addition to their match everything." Normal closets don't do well for square dance wardrobes, so Littlebit has to hang a chain from the ceiling of one room and pin her can-cans to it with horse blanket pins. Vera Sue Miller, who acts as a fashion show commentator, admits that square dancing is an expensive hobby, but says that she herself has more than 40 dresses now, and that she's given many, many away. She remembers when she spent more time than money on her dance outfits: "When we first started wearing our costumes in 1945, they came to the ankle and they were cotton. Then, of course, cotton had no polyester in it, so we had to starch all our dresses. And we wore starched petticoats and pantalets. We had ruffles, and we had lace; that, of course, made for ironing. It took me about two hours to get an outfit ready for a square dance. I'd wear it that one night, and then it had to be done all over again." As she spoke, Vera Sue was sur- rounded by 200 yards of lace and 200 yards of velvet ribbon. A dress with the equivalent of four football fields worth of decoration is not uncommon. Neither is a petticoat with more than 200 yards of ruffles. Vera Sue can wax eloquent about not Abwe. For20 ycan mlkr &rge Horn has toM Tuhspan hnce clubs what to do-inc/udng &e 'Rofbn' only the changes in fashion, but also in RasuLc,',"whkdair-bound devoteu who go hmud hefigurn mi$ I he4 of ';Owhen." dance style: "At first, the dancing was @jdte Wge. Littk-bit Pa#& stcpr out in styk,p&d in one of her84 squan Ince outfi-allhandd. very pretty. The women used the wav- W s sutvvundcd by mrmh of h 1984 fdwn show cmmittae. Ri@t to lefr: Ron Johnson, Vmon ing skirts, you know. They'd hold them Sdimnclr, Nonnan and Jackie Lanhn and Joe Hudinson. up and sashay around. And the fellows

November-December '85 15 would clasp their hands together behind "They can't motivate themselves in really look up to them. We had eight their backs or put their hands palm out their wheelchairs, so we have pushers exhibition performances last month, and in the back pockets so they all looked that move the chairs through the figures I already have five set up for this one. the same. It would make a very lovely do as I call," he says. "These folks, volun- They dance at the Plus Level, and sa do, a flow of people. Now, it's sped teers from local clubs, have to be very we've got another group dancing Main- up. There's a faster tempo and they use good dancers who can dance without stream, where I usually have them stay calls you have to know beforehand, like touching hands and who can work a 16- for two years before moving up to Plus." 'load the boat.' Still, there's nothing as person square. I adapt the figures and About the only difference between these pretty as the Texas Star; when all the calls to the abilities of the dancers, and kids and the rest out on the floor is that dancers go to the center to form that star, they look forward to this two hours more they're shorter and a bit less eager to it is beautiful." than anything." touch partners of the opposite sex. According to Tulsa caller George They're obviously not alone. Even the Touch is important to square dancing, Horn, who's been telling dancers what to age group more often interested in body which participants call "fellowship set to do since around 1965, "There's been a slamming to punk rock than in prome- music." To keep in touch before, during tremendous change in square dancing in nading is in on the act. Danny White, a and after dancing, most participants will the last 20 years. When I started, there physical education teacher at Carriage "yellow rock" anybody at any time. In were maybe 50 figures to dance. Now Hills School in Lawton, started Queens square dance lingo, a "yellow rock" is a there must be two or three thousand and Jeans, an elementary group, in 1980. hug, and the more ardent rockers have available. Also, there are levels of skill. He remembers, "I started with one little yellow pebbles dangling from their Dancers start with a Basic Program, then square and built up from there. Right badges. The hall usually fills with move into a Mainstream Program, a Plus now we have 27, and the kids get to whoops and hollers of delight when a Program, an Advanced Program and, fi- travel and do so much that the other kids caller sings out "yellow rock your cor- nally, a Challenge Program. With each ner." Although the whoops may not be step fonvard, it gets more complex. The quite as loud when the direction is "yel- Challenge Program is very, very difficult low rock your partner," they still ring and, really, not as muchfun. You have to out. Everybody likes everybody in a dance more regularly, like three or four square, or, as a popular bumper sticker times a week, to stay current and be able Getting says succinctly, "Square Dancers Do It to dance that way." There In Groups of Eight." The beginnings of American square For some this fellowship is more a way dance are a bit murky, but historians Grab your partner and head for the of life than a hobby. When the truly agree that English "contra" dances, in OkMoma Square Dance Federtion's 39th annualfestieral, November 2, 1 p.m. to serious vacation, they travel to Red Riv- which couples formed two parallel lines, around2 a.m. at the Myriad ConventionCen- er, New Mexico, to attend "Ski and and the similar French conn-edame and ter, off E. K. Goyloni BM. between Reno Square" weekends or take a seven-day qmdn'//e all influenced it in a significant and Shmdan in dmntawn OkMoma Ciry. "Square Dance Cruise to the Carib- way. The last was a memorized pattern Spa-taton are welcome, and admission bean." Serious callers earn certification dance executed by four couples. In the for -one is free. Tickea may ako be pur- from Callerlab or attend Caller College mid-19th century the cotillion became &zed at $1 each; these quahi hoMm for and learn about "Formation Analysis" popular in America and made its mark on prrie drmng during he feshars and "Progressive Sight Resolution." For square dancing. This French import intmkion. all the frippery and fun attendant on it, was danced in a square formation and ikhities begin at 1 p.m. with a fdion the Official National Folk Dance of "called" rather then memorized. It was shm. 72e hn&g shouM get under way America has its serious side. around 2 p.m. and ht until early th next Henry Ford, however, who really popu- morning. That serious side isn't all that appar- larized square dancing in America when Whih dancm whid mq, hse ent, however, when the caller shouts out in the '20's he extolled its virtue as an throug8 booths loadedwithjewelry, belr buckh "Square Up!" At that moment, the frip- alternative to the immoral dances that and clothing, or parrinpate in seueral ckn- pery, fun and fellowship come to the accompanied the evils of modern jazz. ics dtriged to help dancmpast the bask /m/ surface and those beruffled and beboot- He failed to get rid of jazz, but he suc- impme their styk and ham new routines. ed folks prove the truth of John Bun- ceeded in ensuring that square dance If you're intmted in leafning the fmt- yan's assertion: "All good people dance, was here to stay. st@ping art of square dancing, ca/l Jack or from the angels down." Today, a wide variety of people think Betty Cufiaon at (405) 354-1093. 77tq will set you up with he ekes neamt you. Ford had a better idea. George Horn Bod Ka1lyn White and Steve Shnq an? proudly calls each month for the Rollin1 (Square dancing chses traditiona/b start in January and nm through Mq.) qpiar contn'butors to Oklahoma Rascals, a wheelchair club in Tulsa. TODAY.

16 Oklahoma TODAY OKLAHOMA OMNIBUS

ejtsin&bismy. Bom in lWl in Tpdlvis &mtyPTex- as,~.alaasone:of13c~~born. qbabkkmbQyada-worn- 9n. BNsfither vmrkd en a large mch dded Mn.W- his Wer and other taking cowboys, rhe boy

usi&gahi&&gu,col3aPIanllntufB ureg while i.t dwdhhn back md seer. The dakept the anid in be fki& mcm the aena, Piekettfislallylet $ blning its uppor lip. The next dsy, go when B bottle, hurled by someone in ' 8illsciacdadby&ears,Sanah& ~et&into&e~supgerlipand d y dww rhe d to the pmd. Two d.gs hers the ymagsce1 wa% show& this ned~quid'skill to several aismnad eo*s, By l@BIWcwas wdiq zrs a wwhand an a mGSt Tqlor, Tex- as. One &y, whh chasing a sreer

Pkba matllied in Nr840, adeVt:ntu- Oklahoma. At the EEInd, attended by

OPERATORS By Jane Beckman Photographs by David Fitzgerald n Norman England there was a monastery that promised a flitch (whatever that was) of bacon to any man who would Ikneel at the church door and swear: "For 12 months and a day, I have never had a household brawl nor wished myself unmarried." The Oklahoma Smokehouse in Ketchum makes acquiring good dry-cured bacon less complicated. You can buy it at their stores or, simpler still, order it toll-free from their catalog. Bacon is but one of a variety of products, ranging from the most heavenly ribs you've ever tasted to popcorn cake. The Oklahoma Smokehouse appears to have fused the best of traditional smoking techniques with the But Frank had another assistant that days. The fire might go out, and you latest high-tech equipment and market- Grandpa Banfield could never have wouldn't notice it for a day or so." ing methods. The idea originated with a dreamed of back in 1888: the computer The computer prevents the glitches, Kansas couple, David and Jeanne that monitors the smoking process, doing ensuring a consistently high-quality Woods, who saw Green Country as everything from regulating smoke, tem- product. And Frank is proud of the fertile ground for new business. perature and humidity to feeding in the bone-in hams, ribs, smoked turkeys and The Woodses had a vacation home on proper amount of hickory chips to the turkey breast, smoked pork chops, beef Grand Lake, and they had had an occa- burner automatically. jerky, smoked bologna and bacons (Ca- sion to taste ham prepared by another They seem like an odd couple, the nadian-style, Arkansas-style and dry- lake dweller, Frank Banfield. Banfield big gray-haired man in his white apron cured) that The Smokehouse produces. came from a three-generation tradition of and that computer, whose control panel He explains what makes the drycured meat packing and curing. He thought he resembles something Cape Canaveral bacon so good: had retired, but soon he found himself might use to launch the space shuttle. "You go and buy bacon at the store, cure master for a new operation-The But Frank is enthusiastic about the com- that skillet will be in awful shape after Oklahoma Smokehouse. puter-precisely because he is con- you fry it. You can't fry an egg in it. Dry- The couple by this time had moved to cerned about quality. "With the cured bacon, there's no water. It leaves Oklahoma. Frank Banfield was on board computer we have more control with the the skillet as clean when you finish as to bring the century of Banfield experi- heat and smoke,'' he says. "Years ago we when you started. And the egg will float ence to the meat processing, and he had didn't have any control for either. You when you fry it." a competent young assistant, Jim Arthur. might let the meat smoke three or four Frank explains: "Most bacon makers

At ib home ston in Kei%+um,on GrandlaRc, lh Okkdom SmoRdouse combines 191-cenfuty howhow wiY spaceage hamban. -ite page. Jim Adur OMS he mnrpanyk compu.&d smoker, whid mi# befiihi m.1 anyti%gfrom hams andpoddops to tudq bmts adsmokcd boiogna.

November-December '85 19 put moisture in. We take the moisture his rocking chair. This symbol of rustic and their helpers to get from their homes out. When we put bacon down, if we ease is appropriate to Smokehouse prod- to their offices at The Oklahoma start with 100 pounds, we're lucky if we ucts. With the exception of the dry- Smokehouse? get 75 when we finish. Where the meat cured bacon, everything for sale is fully "Five minutes," Dave says, then is pumped" (a process in which curing cooked, requiring no effort on the pur- pauses. solution is injected into the bacon with chaser's part except the chewing. For an "If there's a cow in the road," he needles), "they start out with 100 exquisite picnic I suggest pork ribs and a adds. pounds and come out with 125." He container of The Smokehouse barbecue adds with pride, "A lot of supermarket sauce and the fixings for a salad. Carry to Jane Bechan and David FitzgeraM bacon is made instantly. It takes us 12 any scenic site and eat. It must be Frank ment3 went on a story-findingjunket in days to make bacon." Banfield's special marinade that makes no~eastmOk/Boma. Morr mu/. of The Oklahoma Smokehouse currently these loin ribs so succulent and flavorful. this nip will appear in upcoming ksua of has three retail outlets, though- the origi- The Woodses planned their retail and Oklahoma TODAY. nal store still houses the only smoker in mail-order operations to be complemen- its meat-processing area (uncontestably tary. Tourist season at the lake is March +' the c/eane.rt place in Ketchum). In the through October. Meat products can be deli section they sell their smoked-meat shipped nationwide from October products, a dozen kinds of cheeses and a through March, usually. They believe variety of sandwiches. They offer baked that mail-order is a time-tested business Getting beans, cole slaw, potato salad and garden method that will grow even more popu- There salad. The popcorn operation is off to lar now that people's lives are so busy. one side. Offices sit at the back of this Dave Woods had retired from banking Potential customers of The Oklahoma Smokdzouse now have three stom to choose before he got into the smokehouse busi- new Butler building with its rough- from-1~eto on Grand hke and a third in board, frontier facade. ness. The husband-and-wife team saw Tuha. In summer the Ketchum Smokehouse the Green Country of Oklahoma as an The Ketchum store is on the south side of does a booming sandwich business with area with potential for growth. bke street as you come into town on State lake visitors. The popcorn operation can They have come from out-of-state and Highay 85. Summer houn: Sundq barely keep up with the demand for the established a successful business. Would through 7?1unday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. ;Friday and 60 flavors. They offer nacho and water- they encourage other businesses to set Saturday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Monday. melon, pina colada, cheddar, peanut up shop here? Winter houts: Monday through Thunday 9 butter. Kids favor M&M-spiked pop- Dave says, "I think Oklahoma is wide a.m.-5 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 corn. The candy coating on the toffee open for any type of business. The peo- a.m.-6 p.m. The Gme stom, which opened May 1, is variety is so thick it's sinful. (A lot of ple are here, the income is here, I be- in Har-Ber Wage, a frontier museum with customers seem to stick around to watch lieve. I think Oklahoma is going to come log cabins and other stmctum brimming the popcorn-making process.) to the fore. with antique. The vilkzge, which cha~gesno Jeanne Woods has come up with a "There are all sorts of reports that admission, is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; the store special heat seal process in bagging that show that the type of people you can get is open stwen days a week 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. keeps the popcorn fresher longer. Jeanne to work for you here in Oklahoma are from May I throud October 31. is also the one who came up with the super. Big companies are realizing this, From Gme, head south on State Hig/r- idea for popcorn corsages. These are and they are coming out here to the way 10. At Lake Road One (alro called Har- confections of net, ribbon, artificial fo- grassroots. And they are getting good Ber Road), go WRF~about three and a ha& liage and flowerettes of popcorn. You workers and putting out good products. mile. (918) 786-3318. can wear them, and then eat them when People asked me why I would locate The nmet stom opened August 13 in The Oklahoma Smokehouse in Ket- Tuhas Square One Center at 8lst and Sherrerr- the festivity is over. Jeanne also invented dan. IB houn: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday a popcorn cake. It's bundt-shaped, liber- chum. But this is the gateway into Grand bkrough Saturday. (918) 492-4657. ally laced with caramel and marshmal- Lake." A mail-order catalog is maikzble by lows and candies, easily sliced with a He adds that he thinks more people writing to Be Oklahoma Smokehouse, Hid- serrated knife. The Oklahoma Smoke- will be moving from the east and west way 85, Drier 690, Ketchum, OK house will make the cake with any spe- coasts into Oklahoma for the business 74349 or by calling nationwide 1800-521- cial theme or color scheme you want. opportunities and improved quality of 0802. In Oklahoma, 1800-722-3757 or They recently made one for a 40th wed- life. No three to four hours a day com- 1-918-782-2655. ding anniversary. muting to work in this part of the Christmas orden are welcome, but they The Oklahoma Smokehouse logo is an country. can't guarantee pre-Christmas delivery on old-timer, pipe in mouth, tilted back in How long does it take the Woodses orders received after December 15.

20 Oklahoma TODAY Bniwmat h Kdum stow rend to stid around to wad i9e Smokdouse's popcorn-making operation. Besides gounnet fhon like watermelon, pina co& and MtYM, Jeanne Woods offi original monslike popcorn bundt cakes kmd with caramel and conages drat can k worn on spenal occaions-and then eu&n.

November-December '85 21 THE MONK, THE By Jane Beckman Photographs by David Fitzgerald

monk, a mummy and an oilman make an odd trinity. But each plays a role in the story of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee. The monk, Father Gregory Gerrer, spent a lifetime collecting and creating the art on which the current Mabee-Gerrer collection is based. Father Gerrer died in 1946, but stroll through the Mabee-Gerrer's softly illuminated galleries, and it seems the bespectacled Benedictine with his gray thatch of hair and long black-hooded robe is watching from the shadows. Stop before the Constable landscape or the case with the Romanesque madonnas, pause to contemplate the E. I. Couses, the Byzantine primitive or the collection of 19th-century European paintings and you feel the presence of the man who-along with the museum's benefactor, Oklahoma oilman John Mabee- gives his name to the museum. Father Gregory Gerrer came to Oklahoma in pre- statehood days as Robert Gerrer, an immigrant from French Alsace. In the early 1890s young Gerrer gave

22 Oklahoma TODAY SHAWNEE MABEE

FATHER JOHN WALCH SHOWS OFF ONE OF MABEE- GERRER'S TREASURES: VERONESE'S "MARTYRDOM OF ST. JUSTINA." RIGHT. PHNcEsS MEWE OF THE 23RD DYNASTY (WITH CATS).

November-December '85 SHAWNEE

up a career as a professional clarinet play- er in a Guthrie band to join Sacred Heart Abbey, which later became St. Gregor- y's. (Prior to the Guthrie band, Gerrer had played clarinet in a circus, where he rode a trick bronco while playing his instrument.) Gerrer renounced his secu- lar name and took that of St. Gregory. As a Benedictine, Gerrer became both painter and art collector. Father Gerrer's art collection, estab- lished in 1904 "to contribute to the cul- tural growth and appreciation of the general public of Oklahoma as well as the student body of St. Gregory's col- lect," makes it possible for Mabee-Ger- rer to claim to be the oldest museum collection in Oklahoma. The present director of the Mabee- Gerrer Museum is Father John Walch, pastor of Holy Angels Church in Oklaho- ma City. Like Father Gerrer, Father Walch is a painter (his "Little Flower Seller, Haiti" hangs in the Mabee-Ger- rer's permanent collection), and he I traces his ancestry to that Alsace area of France where Father Gerrer was born. Director Walch gives credit to Father Gerrer for his foresight in collecting art. "Thirty, 40 years ago, people berated Father Gregory, saying 'What are you doing with all that 19th-century junk? And today that 19th-century junk is our most valuable section of paintings." Father Walch will give you a tour of some of that "19th-century junk." For starters there's the Constable landscape and three paintings by Thomas Britcher. Walch doesn't think Britcher painted BmI2er Jwtin Jones cleans a mpy of ':,.,,onna of I2e Chair," done by Faher Gregory. Mabee- Gnrw is known for its artistic salvage worR and take in mtoration work from otkmuseums. anything finer than the museum's "Sand Hook Beach." More "junk" includes the painting most popular with Mabee-Gerrer visi- what Father Walch calls "our pride and Walch tells a story about the museum's tors: Harry Roseland's "Reading the joy," Jaspar Cropsey's "Autumn on the three William Merritt Chases: "About Letter," also titled "Belle and Black Hudson." A light emanates from the four or five years ago a Chase scholar Mammy." It's hard to say exactly what is painting, almost as if it were lit from wrote and asked [the current director] to so compelling about this painting, behind. There is "Scene in Cairo" by send him three 8 x 10 gloss prints. So whether it's the contrast between the Henry Tanner, the first black American Father Robert had the pictures made, slim belle in her elegant finery and the painter to earn an artistic reputation. and they came back almost by return corpulent slave woman in her rags, or the "His market is really zooming," Father mail with this terse comment that 'I re- expression on the mammy's face as she Walch says. gret to have to inform you that these are listens to the letter the young woman Nineteenth- and 20th-century Ameri- not authentic paintings by Mr. Chase. reads aloud to. her. can paintings are the most strongly repre- Sincerely yours.' Father Robert started Also in the 19th century collection is sented of any period and school. Father digging and found evidence in Gregory's

24 Oklahoma TODAY SHAWNEE

The storeroom is e treasure hold: oases of crystal, a rack of spears,panels and panels of paintirqjs, Japanese armor, African masks, an Eskimo chiefs blanket, art from the South Seas.. . files that William Merritt Chase, who he tory, Brother Justin and the Weisen- the museum, and she makes it possible [Gerrer] knew, gave him these pictures dangers completed restoration of a for the Mabee-Gerrer to claim the only in his studio." 10-by-66-foot Pawnee Bill Wild West museum mummy west of the Mississip- Walsh adds, "It seems unlikely that Show billboard. The one-of-its-kind pi. Flanking Menne, who hangs on the Mr. Chase would have had a cache of lithograph, believed to be the work of wall of the Egyptian Atrium, are three fakes to pass out as door prizes." Frederic Remington, cost $15,000 to re- Egyptian sarcophagi colorfully poly- Father Walch also has a story to tell store and now hangs in the Pawnee Bill chromed with lime, blue and rose hier- about "Portrait of a Lady" by an un- Museum in Pawnee. oglyphics and figures. Display cases hold known 19th-century American artist. Brother Justin says the billboard pro- paleolithic and predynastic flints and ala- "Before we cleaned it, it was a puzzle ject "started out to be fun, but it got to baster jars from 5000 to 8000 BC, a spare because there was such a contrast in style be work." One reason for the difficulties mummified hand with flesh resembling between the face and the hand. This was that the poster was found behind an beef jerky, a mummified falcon and a hand is obviously done by a very skilled old wall of a drugstore in Lamont, Okla- lizard-even a mummified cat wrapped draftsman and competent painter. But homa. The workers removing the poster in brown and yellow bands of linen- the face that was up here was an Ameri- couldn't get it off the boards, so they and a basket of mummified fish. can primitive. . . .When we started took the boards off the wall and brought The Mabee-Gerrer's exhibits are ar- cleaning, we discovered that some dealer them down to the Mabee-Gerrer on a ranged chronologically. Around the cor- probably needed an American primitive, truck. But they didn't number any of the ner from the Egyptian collection is the and he had that face painted over this 147 boards. Early Renaissance Gallery; beyond it are one. . . .At one stage in the cleaning she It took two and a half days to sort the the Mid- and Late Renaissance collec- had one and a half noses and three boards. The job was further complicated tions. One Mid-Renaissance painting re- eyes." because some elements in the design of stored at Mabee-Gerrer is a Vemnese, Mabee-Gerrer does all its own restora- the poster were repeated in more than "The Martyrdom of St. Justina." It's tion work. In fact, it is the only museum one place. The difficult part was reglu- believed to be one of a number of looted in Oklahoma at present that has its own ing the poster to the boards, and some paintings that Napoleon shipped to New restoration laboratory. "It was set up pri- boards posed more of a problem than Orleans. When the museum bought the marily to take care of our own collec- others. "You would get one board that Veronese, it was brown and had several tion," Father Walch explains, "but you could finish in 30 minutes," Brother holes, none of which is evident in the we've got our collection in reasonably Justin says. "The next one might take restored, richcolored canvas. The pain- good shape. We're taking in work from two days." ting's gilt frame is one Father Walch other places." Brother Justin's duties go beyond the picked up in New York in 1959, and like It was restoration work that originally museum's restoration work. As curator, several frames in the museum, is more involved Mabee-Gerrer's curator, Broth- he is responsible for the day-to-day run- valuable than many of the museum's er Justin Jones, with the museum collec- ning of the museum. He oversees the paintings. tion. That was 15 years ago, when the Mabee-Gerrer's education programs, Several of the museum's Mid-Renais- collection, then known as St. Gregory's which include adult and children's class- sance paintings come from Father Ger- Abbey Art Gallery and Museum, was es, docent training, public lectures and rer's original collection. Father Walch scattered around the college and abbey. tours. Brother Justin also designed molds explains: "Father Gregory was a self- Much of the collection was in poor con- for the museum reproductions sold in taught painter. A visiting abbot came dition, and Father Walch and Martin the gift shop. These are based on items here in 1899 and told the abbot here Weisendanger, former head of the Gil- from the Egyptian collection: small fu- then, 'This lad's got talent, send him to crease Institute, and Weisendanger's nerary stele, scarab beetles and little Europe and let him learn to paint.' He wife, Margaret, were working to restore grave figures called sbabti or shabti. was ordained en route to Rome. He the paintings. Brother Justin volunteered Brother Justin admits the Egyptian studied art mostly in Rome from 1900 to to run errands for the restoration crew. collection is probably his favorite. Its pe- 1904. He made friends with a cardinal He soon found himself learning the rennial star is the mummy of Princess who was in charge of the Vatican galler- techniques. Menne of the 23rd Dynasty. Menne is ies at that time. That man gave Father Recently, in the Mabee-Gerrer labora- probably the most popular attraction in Gregory several works of art. And that is

November-December '85 25 SHAWNEE

Couses) and the museum's Navajo rug collection. In the center of the gallery is an Oriental carpet the size of some peo- ple's backyard swimming pools, and dis- play cases hold American Indian artifacts, as well as four recently acquired 19thcentury Japanese woodblock prints. The Mabee-Gerrer collection began with a Benedictine monk's art collection that included a Vatican Cardinal's dis- cards and an Egyptian mummy from a bankrupt museum in upstate New York. Money from the John Mabee Founda- tion made the new museum building possible. In its new home the Mabee- Gerrer collection continues to grow. The museum had 300 paintings the day it was dedicated. Five years later, by purchase and donation, there are 800. The Ma- bee-Gerrer has acquired African and Spanish Colonial art that rivals anything Ma&--Genr's aditecis a//owcdfor mmab/;?rnnwwafLF;gallery shape and scte can be a/tdat in our part of the United States. will. (l& ghs mehorokr(r pn-Renaisaw and Renaisance ivory catwings.) Father Gerrer dedicated his collection to the cultural growth and appreciation of art in Oklahoma. Today, the Mabee- where we think this picture, "Esther, A can paintings of this period in the U.S. Gerrer Museum carries on that work- Supplicant Before King Ahasuerus" by today, according to Father Walch. beautifully. Barbieri, came from." The storeroom also houses around 100 The Gerrer Gallery is devoted to of Father Gregory Gerrer's paintings, Jam B&an /&a in WaItm andh paintings by Father Gerrer. Dominating largely landscapes and portraits, not dis- written for Oklahoma TODAY on su&m the area is the 7%-foot official portrait of played in the museum's Gerrer Gallery. rangingfrom balk to Red River. Dmid Pope St. Pius X. (A copy hangs in the Among the storeroom Gerrers are four Fih;gera/dAashk studio in Okkzhoma Go. Vatican.) There's also a bronze bust of still lifes, believed by authority Martin Father Gerrer done by Belle Harris and Weisendanger to be among Gerrer's fin- * an oil painting of an elderly Gerrer by est paintings. They were found in the Sister Mary Edna. kitchen in St. Gregory's Abbey. Not all of the Mabee-Gerrer's collec- Not all the storeroom items stay hid- tion is displayed in the galleries. The den from public view. The 80-piece Af- Getting storeroom is a treasure hold crowded rican collection comes out periodically There with cases of crystal, a rack of spears, for a special exhibit. According to Broth- panels and panels of paintings, Japanese er Justin, this African collection is proba- Meet )0~4 of armor, an Eskimo chiefs blanket, a to- bly one of the finest in the Southwest. fie MikrSsippi and the ohdenkof Shaw- nee's Mabee-Gww Museum from I4p.m. tem pole, art from the South Seas. The collection includes a Nimba mask ee,ery dq Mon&. NO There's even a damaged painting by (largest of the African masks), Zulu hged. Thomas Sully that Father Walch says spears and shields, an 18th-century F,, Noe,emk3-30, th musam they believe was cut out of its frame bronze, even a fetish mask made from a kmta one-man djhtby fihbn-hm art- during the Civil War. Slashes in the Sul- gorilla skull. kt Tmor Sou*. In kmber, Fader ly painting appear to be bayonet pierc- Special exhibits at the Mabee-Gerrer, WaWl says tircy plan to dip& wadsfrom the ings; it's also been through a fire. like the one of the African art, are held museum's colhtion. Needless to say, the Sully needs in the museum's large West Gallery. Mabee-Cener k on he St. Gngoty Col- restoration. The American Indian Exhibit is held kt campus, one mile emof U.S. 177 on Also in the storeroom is a collection of there each May, June and July. Normal- MacAdur Smett Onto cmflw go asfar as you can, dren make defitst fum unrestored Spanish Colonial paintings, ly, however, the West Gallery houses /efr. (405) 273-9999. DerhaDs one of the few caches of Mexi- new acquisitions (such as the E. I.

26 Oklahoma TODAY I

The Making of the Mabee-Germ

he Mabee-Gerrer is not your typical pillared and pilastered behind the scenes in the non-display areas reaping a harvest of T museum. The face it presents to visitors is not the usual gray ideas, including the steel mesh sliding panels for the storeroom. Greek Revival gloom. Rather its design is an ultramodern juxta- "So many of the fine features of this museum were inspired by posing of geometric shapes-triangles, squares, rectangles, trape- that trip," Father Walch says. zoids-sliced horizontally by a long concrete bar that seems The Mabee-Gerrer's interior panel system is identical to the balanced in the sky by the weight of the bulky skydome at one Kimbell's. Every panel in the museum is removable. Size and end and the deeply chiseled letters of the museum name at the shape of all galleries can be changed. Mabee-Gerrer also borrowed other. the Kimbell idea for the wall coverings. Sloping earth-bermed sides planted with winter honeysuckle The Mabee-Gerrer's interior elegance is not due solely to the and a walled courtyard that breaks the force of the north wind old multi-hued Oriental carpets that center almost every gallery. against the entrance are architectural elements of the modem, It's aided by wall panels covered in a nubby-weave natural white energy-conscious age. The stark lines of the design and the rough cotton, hand-loomed in India. An ocean of soft oatmeal gray close- texture of the concrete are softened by sloping banks of dense weave carpets covers the floors. The central skydome allows honeysuckle. In winter, the plantings wrap the building in an sufficient entry of natural light that, even without artificial illumi- intricate webbing of brown vines; in the spring, in a profusion of nation, the paintings can be seen. When the lights are on, the white blossoms and green leaves-and an intoxicating perfume. natural light blends unobtrusively with the artificial. The Mabee-Gerrer art collection can claim to be the oldest Seven galleries, a library, a gift shop alcove, a workroom, a museum collection in Oklahoma. But the museum building, on storeroom, offices for director and curator and a specially equipped the grounds of St. Gregory's Abbey and College, Shawnee is the and vented restoration lab meet the various needs of the museum. state's newest. Until April 1979, the Gerrer collection wandered But the crucial test of the architecture of any museum is whether it around central Oklahoma. adequately displays the museum's collection. In this respect, Fa- During Father Gerrer's lifetime the collection was housed in a ther Walch believes the Mabee-Gerrer's design is "ideal." hall in St. Benedict's Parish in Shawnee. After Father Gerrer died -Jane Beckman in 1946, the collection went for a time to the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City. Then in the 1960s the abbot brought it back to St. Gregory's. For several years the collection was displayed in almost any bare spot that could be found around campus. Paintings hung in the administration building and crowded the stone walls of the monks' dining hall, where they were rigged on an ingenious suspension system. Princess Menne, the mummy, reposed for a time on a ping pong table. When actual planning began for a museum, it was the energy- conscious mid-'70s. The first idea was to cut utility costs by building underground. But Father Walch argued against what he called, with some indignation, "an art museum in a basement." In I Oklahoma, leaking basements have always been a problem, and he could not conceive of displaying paintings where there was no natural light. Ultimately, earth-bermed sides on an above-the- ground building were the architect's alternative. The memorial foundation of Oklahoma oilman John Mabee gave $300,000 on a matching basis; the abbot set out to raise the balance. ChadseyIArchitects of Tulsa was given the job of design- ing the building. Father Walch insisted that before the architect I put pencil on paper, he go to Ft. Worth and look at the Kimbell Art Museum. Father Walch says he told the abbot, "They had six mil' and you have a half mil'; there's no possibility of copying it. That's not the purpose. But that's such a beautifully executed building, he can get a wealth of information out of it." The trip to the Kimbell was arranged. The architect, the abbot and Father Walch went along. Much of their time was spent L r--

I November-December '85

"We have a great picture of our elephant trainer, 1 Okie Carr, fleeing to safety with a cougar under one arm and a leopard under the other." Miller approached several film studios with his sto- ry, but they turned him down. Less than a year later, Cinus WorM was released, starring John Wayne and Rita Hayworth. The film featured sequences of a circus boat capsizing. Miller shakes his head and smiles. "It may have been a coincidence. but. . .." recent poll of Circus Fans of America, a I p nationwide organization of circus buffs, named Carson & Barnes, the largest re- maining tent show in the world, as the w Jmost popular circus in America. It even beat out the combined Red and Blue units of Ringling Brothers. The popularity of Carson & Barnes is mainly due to the experience and longevity of D. R. Miller himself. By 1925, at the age of 8, Miller was a high-wire performer with a circus owned by his father, Obert Miller. The - - Bad after o hpiulIsnry, ch~e~ntha& ORic Co~shows@a sckm'on of~fsond ~a-' pady&m~-de r'mgrsttmwiit~gW in Nod AnmirP. Lac smo~,h ~'~EUThuW 100 tom of c&phannts to 227 towm in 20 statcy-nof to mention 88 dicbfilbd w* epu$ment, 200 employerr ad150-200 anid.

D. R. and Kelly sewed in World War 11, leaving wives beans be served in the circus cookhouse every day. Isla and Dale to keep the show on the road. From March to November, employees rise at A The '60s were not kind. Kelly died in 1960. The a.m., drive to a new town, set up the tent, play twi ship fire was financially devastating. There were legal shows, then tear it all down at 11 p.m. before falling inti tangles stemming from years of joint ownership of many bed exhausted. They repeat this cycle seven days ; small circuses. In 1969, the five shows merged into what week, seven months a year. is now Carson & Barnes. ("There was no Carson and no Carson & Barnes' red, white and blue polyviny Barnes," Miller explains. "We just liked the names.") dome, custom-made in Italy for $100,000, is the larges Miller is still assisted by Isla, his wife of 51 years, circus tent in the world. The tent, the size of a footbal their daughter, Barbara Byrd, and her husband, Geary. field, commands a truck all its own and requires all able In 1986, Miller will celebrate his 50th year as a bodied men and a dozen elephants tugging at the roper circus owner. According to Bob Parkinson, historian of to put it up. Inside the tent, the circus performs twicc the Circus World Museum in Bamboo, Wisconsin, D. R. daily. Miller has now owned and operated his own show longer For the most part, Carson & Barnes is sponsored ir than any other circus proprietor in history, including the each town as a fund-raising activity by a local charity legendary John Ringling. Each organization is responsible for providing a suitablc 'That might not mean much to most people, but it lot, but "suitable" is subject to wide interpretation means a lot to me," Miller says. Sometimes a lot may be too soft, or it isn't level, or lov Miller talks about the Great Depression, and re- power lines run across it, or it's simply too small. members times when performers weren't paid, but felt Some days, Carson & Barnes is a five-ring circus lucky to have a job that provided room and board. It was some days it's a three-ring circus. How complete a shov something of a miracle that the circus survived at all. the audience sees depends on how well the organizer: Lest anyone forget the lean times, Miller insists that did their job. The quality of the show, therefore, varie! - -- from town to town. It is a tent circus' "lot in life." fabric shops buying skeins of yam, hundreds of yards c- The more well-known circuses play "building lining materials, thousands of spools of thread and, al- dates," which are inside arenas with predictable power ways, sewing-machine needles. sources and amenities like dry floors, running water, "The needles break when they hit the spangles, central air and inside plumbing. Barbara explains, smiling. "We go through a lot c By contrast, Carson & Barnes is an old-fashioned needles. " circus, playing a different town every day. Last year, Each segment of the circus has its own problems, they gave 433 performances in 227 cities (usually with but Jim Judkins has everybody's problems. Much of his populations of less than 50,000) in 20 states. Each day time is spent juggling paperwork. The circus owns 88 they are up against an unknown lot, unpredictable vehicles, which cost $27,000 a year in licensing fees to weather and a host of other problems long forgotten by the state. Since many of the employees travel in their Ringling. own vehicles (house trailers attached), the circus makes a Vice president and general manager Jim Judkins mile-long caravan when it travels down the road. never forgets. Despite his impressive title in the Carson In November, the circus heads for home. "We're & Barnes organization, Judkins entered the circus world always glad to come back to the relative peace and quiet on a fluke. In 1975, he was attending Pennsylvania's of Hugo," Judkins says. "And I daresay the ice crear Haverford University when he took his first circus job as shops and pizza parlors are glad to see us, too. a cook-for the summer only. He joined Carson & Barnes two years later, where his first job was shoveling out the elephant barns. With nowhere to go but up, Judkins worked as sideshow manager, fire-eater, magician, puppetteer, ringmaster, truck driver, announcer, equestrian director and, finally, manager. He has been "with it and for it" ever since. Judkins was so enthusiastic about Carson & Barnes that his mother, Dorothy Stone, left her farm in New Hampshire and moved to Hugo, where she is employed in the costume shop. Working on her own expensive sewing machine, Mrs. Stone handles the more complicat- ed costumes.

arbara Miller Byrd has reason to be grate- ful for Dot Stone's skillful fingers. Like her father, Barbara was born into the cir- cus. As a child, she walked wire, rode - A.-.- .- - - I as a BDCMCT, I& sappfd into I& /irnch&t- as nngnmtr: elephants and worked in aerial displays. I Now she and her mother design the circus wardrobe "In 'Winter Quarters,' we only have about 50 em- each season, and Barbara supervises the costume shop ployees," Judkins explains, "but in the spring, perform- that operates in the basement of the Miller home. The ers come in from all over, bringing our total count to over shop employs five workers, some of them accompanied 200 employees. Throw in 150-200 animals and we make by toddlers. The children, perhaps future performers, quite an impact. amuse themselves with feathers, ribbons and scraps of "Our total annual budget is $3 million. On the road brightly colored silk. we spend $2% million. In Hugo, even though we're only Scarlet boas hang over coat racks and elephant blan- here for five months, we spend another half million." kets are piled on the pool table in what used to be the Hugo mayor Gene Thompson says that the circua family's recreation room. means a lot more to the town than just money. "This is "My husband loves to play pool, but he can never not just someplace for them to come back to but st? get near the table," Barbara says. detached," he says. "There is a tremendous cross-cultur The season for costume design and manufacture is al exchange going on here. from November to Mash, or, as Barbara says, "This "For one thing, they're good neighbors. As long as I year, not quite long enough." have been involved with city government, I can't re- Like many other parts of Carson & Barnes, the member a single police incident involving anyone from costume shop is actually an industry within an industry. the circus. The circus spends thousands of dollars each year in local "This is a friendly community, anc' -:-.. s is par -- i%e ckentek of most dl-town vetennaty clinics mi# seem pn@y tame to Ted Eudy. As ofm'al vetfor Canon bBama, Eudy treab t+e ailmen& of lions and tip ntinos and h$par, ekphunb and lhmas-and a doubk-humped camel or wo-in addition to t+e more pedesman pels of oder Hugo mhb. -

~f that spirit. We can drive out there anytime with our day to feed the menagerie, which includes a hippo, i children or grandchildren and look at the animals or rhino, goats, horses, camels, llamas, giraffes and elephants watch the performers practicing their acts." The mayor also says that the circus employees are h The Ringling Brothers Circu, well integrated into the social, civic and religious fabric of more elephants, the animals are di the town. In addition to their personal afforts, they are between their Red and Blue unit very generous with their money. Merchants appreciate and do not travel together. With 25 ele that circus employees save most of their major purchases phants, Carson & Barnes has the larges until they return to winter quarters, and pay for almost traveling herd in North America. During the circus sea everything with cash. A great deal of money is spent at son, they move 100 tons of elephants every day. local grocery stores. "If you go to most any circus in the world right now Even when the show is on the road, many of its you'll find an elephant trainer with an Oklahoma connec needs, such as tires and frozen meat, are supplied by tion," says Judkins. "Both the Logans and the Wood local merchants. The combined appetites of the 10 big cocks are from Hugo. cats eat up about 100 pounds of meat a day, whether at "The Woodcock family have been elephant trainer home or on the road. for years. Bill Woodcock was one of our trainers; he': Hay is one commodity that the circus must purchase buried in the cemetery here." Woodcock's 82-year-ol< as it goes, although local dealers do get the business five widow, Babe, is retired and lives in Hugo, and their son months out of the year. Buckles, has been employed by both Ringling and Var "I've run as many as three trucks a day out there," gas circuses. The Logan family has the elephant act wit1 says one supplier. "Those elephants just inhale that the Clyde Beatty Circus. stuff!" Both the elephants and the circus people fascinate Not just the elephants. It takes 120 bales of hay a Continutxi on page 34 ------The Lady @ the Liger - at White is from Clare, Michigan. As a 29-year-old single circus by not being under canvas." - Pworking mother, her concerns include keeping her son in Young lions and tigers purchased by Carson & Barnes spend = clean socks and catching "All My Children" over lunch. On the their first few months with the circus in a cage in the comer of = job, her main concern is not being devoured. Literally. Pat's livingmom. They are given occasional run of the White - Pat is the lion tamer for Carson & Barnes. Twice a day, she household, and visitors may see sights as strange as a young lion = steps into the center ring with five lions and four tigers. And trotting down the hall with a Fisher-Price fire truck in its mouth. - many times, the ring she steps into is ankle-deep in mud. Three-year-old Nicholas White, Pat's son, is blask about shar- - "We're doing it like circuses used to do it," she says proudly. ing his home with the animals. - "Every day a different town. We might play in the middle of a The latest occupant of the livingmom cage is Topaz, a six- - = tomato patch one day and right next to one of the biggest month-old "liger," a cross between a male lion and a female - shopping malls in that particular state the following day. tiger. To Pat's knowledge, there are only five such animals in the - "Our show comes in and it might look awful 'cause we've country, though she admits there may be one or two others - = been in mud in a tomato patch the day before. Our show boots tucked away in zoos. -- have still got mud on 'em. They've had to drag the big top Pat knows what a plus Topaz will be in her act. "It's really - through the mud the day before to fold it back up, so when we hard in this business to do anything that hasn't been done before. - unfold it on this beautiful asphalt lot, it looks like hell. I have full intentions of breaking Topaz to ride an elephant. We - "But we do it and we're there. We clean up what we can in the can then bill 'World's Only, World's First Elephant-Riding Li- - time we have and we put on the same performance as we did in ger.' And to my knowledge, that's something that has never been = the mud." done before. - Pat started working with big cats 11 years ago in a theme park, "Maybe years from now, it'll be written alongside my name in - but the circus fascinated her. And there was never any question a circus history book: 'She trained the world's only elephant- = riding liger.' " - what kind of circus she wanted to join. - "Had 1 grown up in this business, I might have felt different- Posterity aside, Pat is more pragmatic on the subject of current - ly," she admits, "but when the time came to make the decision, fame. - to "If it happens, great. I wouldn't back off, I'd probably eat it - I just literally said to myself, 'I am going have a cat act in a tent - show one of these days 'fore I die.' Because I had chosen circus, up. But if it doesn't, that's fine because I'm just as happy down - I decided I wanted the epitome of circus. there in that cat barn all by myself working those animals as I am = "I wanted to be with a show that I had read about in my circus in performance. - history books, the kind they had 30,40, 50 years ago, the kind of "I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for me. Whether shows that made the history books, and Carson & Barnes is as people notice or not, I'm still doing exactly what I want to do and = - close as it gets. The circuses playing building dates are missing so that's the most important thing." - I much-the sights, the sounds; they are missing the essence of -P. Casey Morgan -- .: ran aa r, n --=

I7 - =-7 -7 Y~CMVargas, a apadrt adherfam&s troupe, mdeb one of dre fining4 go@ costumes that keep Isla Milkr and her Lelpm sewing all cmrcmrnter.

Hugo veterinarian Ted Eudy. "I think one of the neatest "We're required to file a certificate on each elephan things is that the people are so dedicated to their ani- with the Department of Interior, complete with pic mals," Eudy says. "Last winter, when a tiger was sick, tures-a front view, two sides and a back," Judkin one of the 'cage men' literally slept with her for three laughs. "They look like mug shots-each elephant star days. These people could make a hell of a lot easier ing solemnly ahead and a trainer holding a little namc living doing something else." plate up in front of it. Chief elephant trainer Okie Carr had to be hospital- "Each state has different requirements dealing wit1 ized in the middle of this season. Thirty-five-year-old which kinds of animals we can bring into the state, a William "Red" Wilson, who has been with Carson & what times these animals must be exercised and sl Barnes for 12 years, took charge of the elephant act. It is forth," Judkins says. "It's a headache to keep up with a fact of circus life that even non-performers must be Thank God for Doc Eudy. At least once a season, hc ready to step in at a moment's notice to fill in for an flies to wherever we are and updates the vaccinations.' injured performer. Like his veterinary college classmates, Eudy see Three men rotate shifts through the elephant barn. parakeets, poodles and ponies in his private practice, bu Two are on duty at all times, and even sleep there each he got his start with the circus' exotic animals while stil night. "With this much valuable stock, you can't just in high school by assisting the previous Hugo vet. leave them alone, not even for a minute," says Carr. His duties with Carson & Barnes vary from checkhi "Five of our elephants are Asian elephants," Jud- tigers for feline leukemia to performing leg surgery on a1 kins says. "They're an endangered species and you can't 8,000-pound elephant. import them anymore. Ours were purchased before the "Poor Ellie," he remembers. "When I was operat legislation went into effect, but we still have to carry ing, she'd trumpet once in a while and tears would jus paperwork stating that each one is a 'pre-convention' stream out of her eyes. I was doing pretty good till I sar elephant Continued on 0ap.e 36

- - Oklahoma TODA "Under God? B&Top"

very town has a cemetery, but inside Hugo's Mount Olivet number of graves, as is "Showman at Rest," "Showman to the End" ECemetery is something quite out of the ordinary. and similar sentiments. Clearly the most unusual epitaph is on the "Showmen's Rest" is a special section set aside as a final resting Erave- of George- Donald Null. a musician with Carson & Barnes. place for circus people. At the front is a huge monument topped by The inscription surely guarantees that Null will never become void: a dancing elephant and the inscription "A Tribute To All Showmen Under God's Big Top." The boundaries of the section are marked Give life the best that's in you by special Cornerstones. For it's only a one-night stand. There are other places around the nation where small numbers of There are no repeat performances showmen are buried, but many circus historians believe that "Show- Brought back by popular demand. men's Rest" in Hugo is the largest of all of them. Showmen's Rest was dedicated in 1961 after the death of Kelly Unusual by any standards, most of the monuments are the work Miller. It was financed by a trust fund established by John Carroll, of talented stonecutters from Hugo and Ada. Many cemeteries, an elephant trainer with both the Al G. Kelly-Miller Brothers and the Carson & Barnes circuses. The fund also provides grave markers at no cost for circus people whose families cannot afford one. Carroll, who died in 1980, was one old trouper who didn't find it hard to follow his own act. His tombstone is nearly as large as the memorial he built, but while the memorial has only one-dancing elephant, Carroll's gravestone has three. The names of many long-vanished circuses, such as the Hagen Brothers Circus, the Cole-Walters Circus, Circus Genoa and others can be found here, but virtually all the deceased eventually worked for either Kelly-Miller or Carson & Barnes. The Miller family itself has three large monuments, spread majes- tically across the front of the section, near the Showmen's Memorial. Circus patriarch Obert Miller's striking black tombstone is in the middle. Kelly Miller and his wife are buried to one side. The / headstone for D. R. and Isla Miller awaits. Chiseled into the stones for both brothers are the words "Dun Rovin," copied from above the gate of the family home. More practical than his sentimental sons, Obert Miller has a headstone depicting a ticket booth. , The most architecturally interesting tombstone is that of Jack 1 Moore, a former partner of Miller's. The large, three-dimensional particularly those in larger cities, have restrictive ordinances that 1 monument is in the shape of a circus tent. prevent such mirthful memorials, but dancing elephants, clowns and The largest structure in Showmen's Rest is the Jessen crypt. circus wagons are right at home in Hugo. Although technically not show people, the Hugo family continues to Some misunderstanding has caused the cemetery to sell off most operate an independent booking agency for several circuses, and has of the adjoining land that Carroll thought would be used for later close ties to the Miller family and to Carson & Barnes. expansion. "Showmen's Rest" itself is now a virtual sell-out, though Without question, more elephant trainers are buried in Hugo than many of the ticket-holders have yet to take their seats. D. R. Miller in any other place in the world, and their tombstones are among the says, "It will last for a couple more years, but I don't know what will more unique. The inscription for William H. "Bill" Woodcock, happen after that." formerly with Carson & Barnes, reads, "A-1 Elephant Trainer at In this cemetery that's larger than life, perhaps the most moving Rest." markers are the smallest-those for two day-old infants and one However, Woodcock's tombstone is modest and unpretentious toddler. Another is for a teen-age boy who drowned while employed compared to that of Kenneth Ikirt, whose epitaph is "Boss Elephant with one of the circuses. Although his parents were not show Man for Carson & Barnes Circus/Largest Elephant Herd in people, they allowed their son to be buried in Hugo, in the company America." of friends. Other circus jobs are equally well represented. Clowns, musi- But only these few seem sad. Otherwise, "Showmen's Rest" has cians, bareback riders and aerialists all have their dace. No two to be the happiest cemetery in the world. If you listen closely, you monuments are alike, and many have artwork depicting the calling can almost hear a circus band break into some brassy refrain. The of the trouper who rests below. show does go on, giving us an encore in this cemetery full of "With It and For It," a common circus expression, is found on a life. -Bob Ritz her crying. That hurt." fourth-generation circus performer and straight-A student Judkins supplies the ironic end to the story. "After who does her aerial act only during the summer. Ted finally got the infection in her leg wound all cleared Lion trainer Pat White's son, Nicholas, is still too up and got her back on her feet, she was rented out to a young at 3 to care about performing. His mom is the first smaller circus. During one of the first days of the season, in her family to be involved in the circus. Their home she was setting the main pole for the tent. The guy in goes with them on the road, and Nicky doesn't think it's charge didn't check to see where the power lines were. unusual to be in a different place every day. "She hit the power line with the steel pole, which Pat spends all her spare time with her son and works carried the charge right down and zapped her out. She hard at making a stable home for him. Still, she jokes, fell over and landed on the trainer. It killed her, killed "He can't run away from home to join a circus. I guess the trainer and hurt somebody else." he'll have to run away from the circus to join a home.'' In the former cat barn is another of Carson & The children of the circus, whether performers Barnes' cottage industries-several men at work making themselves or offspring of performers, go to classes daily tent stakes. They strip bark from tree limbs, sharpening on the road, taking instruction from a teacher who travels one end and adding a reinforcement ring to the other. with Carson & Barnes. These stakes are carried with the circus and used to "They're always the best students in Hugo because set up the tent. They start the season with 1,500 and they go to school all year round," Barbara Byrd says. "We pick up more whenever their route brings them close to try to make life as normal as we can for our kids." Oklahoma. At the other end of the age spectrum, a dozen In winter quarters, circus employees stay busy with former circus people have chosen Hugo as their lifetime a variety of tasks, such as painting, welding, making home. Babe Woodcock owns a home in Hugo, as do electrical repairs on the large fleet of vehicles and build- many others. ing custom-made cages for the animals. Though it is difficult for the older troupers to get Dennis Harvey began with Carson & Barnes as a out to winter quarters, their ties with Carson & Barnes welder. Now, in his second season with the circus, he is remain strong. Last spring, someone casually mentioned the ringmaster and chief electrician. to D. R. that one of the retired ladies was moving. He Promoted to ringmaster when his predecessor was sent trucks and men without being asked. The circus hospitalized, Harvey studied videos of other ringmasters takes care of its own. and was coached by Judkins. At an age when most men have gone fishing, D. R., Harvey isn't the only employee climbing up through 69, still goes out with the circus each season, and still the ranks. Some climb literally as well as figuratively. At puts in 20-hour days, just like everyone else on the 14, Traci Byrd is also climbing her way to the top-on a payroll. As owner, he could rest on his laurels and stay rope. Daughter of Barbara and Geary Byrd, Traci is a home. He doesn't. "Mr. Miller does everything on the road. He runs the show," Judkins says. "He's out there keeping track of everything and keeping his eyes open. He watches every performance. A lot of times you think he's asleep, Getting There but he's sitting there with his eyes cracked open. He's watching everything." Whthe Canon d Bames Cim D. R. Miller's attention to detail through the years isn't on he mad, cim loem has brought Carson & Bames to its unique position can enjir hem in .vieif hometown of Visiton may tour he pundr fmthe second week in Nwember today-the largest circus still under a big top. to he mUkof Mam4,fi.m 8 a.m. to 5p.m. weekdqs. (Callaheadto Yet most Oklahomans aren't even aware of this mure hat a guide will be maikzble.) circus tucked away in a comer of the state. In the few To d he cim' home gmundr, dhe thmud town, then had Oklahoma towns that the circus does play, the audience nod on Statc Hi+q 93 for about one mile. Fmm there, he cim is surprised to hear the ringmaster say that the circus is con mUIMbbe seen. from the heart of the Red River Valley. For a fill scMuk of Canon ti? Bama' trmeb for 1986- The circus people don't let this bother them. "We including the towns hq'll visit in Okkzhoma-call(405) 326-31 73 or do the best we can wherever we are," Judkins says. "We write to Jim Judkns, P.O. Box J, Hugo, OK 74743. try to do Oklahoma proud." /f you'd like to vkt Showmen's Rest, you can rmh Mt. Olket Ceme&ry by driving eart on Jackson Stmet, then turning souh on 8th. (Don't give up; he peopk at he Hugo Chmber of Commerce say it's Bod Bob Rilz and Carey Mof~~anlive and wonh in Tuha-and out a ways.) 17re cemetety is open 6 a.m. till hd. bme a longbktory of inmtin Okkzhoma's n'm kge. BIG AND ORDER FORM I My name 1 (Fill in even if on4 sending gifrss) BEAUTIFUL AS j Address !City I State Zip I Day Phone # I I I 1 Please send me 1986 scenic calendars I to me at above address I 1 GIFT ORDERS 7! 1986 scenic calendars to with gift cards en- closed:

Name Address City State Zip - I Sign gift card from: I I I

I j Name j Address j city 1 State Zip I Sign gift card from:

I I I j Name j Address j City 1 State Zip / Sign gift card from: I I Price 1986 scenic wall calendars @ $5.95 Add $1.00 each for shipping & handling Total payment due MARGO WRIGHT i 1986 Oklahoma TODAY I Check or money order enclosed j Visa Scenic Calendar j Mastercard, Interbank # 13 outstanding full color photographs show Oklahoma's 1 Card # scenic beauty, all around the state 1 Exp. date j Signature 9" x 12" calendar features large boxes for writing in I Mail to: OKLAHOMA TODAY, appointments and memos I P.O. Box 53384 I Oklahoma Cit)., OK 73152 Printed on heavy weight paper with durable plastic binding I 1 Or call 1-800-652-6552to11 ~ree A beautiful way to keep track of all your days in 1986! I with credit card order I

November-December '85 37

n the early 19309 a handful of merchants fiom Idabel and Bro- , ken Bow helped to save one of the prettiest spots in southeast- em Okla-hama-the wooded area where the Mountain Fork makes a wide bend as it flows to join the Litde River. They bought 1,320 acres of wil- demess land from the Chocmw Lumber Co. and cmxcd the srate into cfeating one of its prettiest parks, Beavers Bend. Thanks to these businessmen, more than 160 species of bids and 100 species of trees are safe within this forested park, from the trail's three major lookouts. ed in the same building as the park of- cupped in the Khmichi foothills. Red (You'll have to walk fast in order not to fice, The museum houses samples of and gray fox, deer, jackrabbit, beaver let the sun go down before you make it woods and soils found in Oklahoma, as and an occasional black bear roam Bea- to the last lookout.) well as artwork depicting the past, pre- vers Bend, now grown to 5,135 acres. From the third lookout, high atop Ce- sent and future forests of the South. The best way to see the park's array of dar Bluff, you get an exhilaratingview of Center hours: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. wildlife, wildflowers and trees is by foot the River Bend area, where the Moun- seven days a week during the winter (or by boot). The park's trails were ppe- tain Fork deviates from its straight-flow- months. (405) 494-6497. cially designed to get visitors out of their ing path. The river is known as a During November the Nature Center, cars and into the woods. fishermen's paradise because it offers located next door to the park's cafe and The 26-mile David Boren Hiking two of the state's favorite sports fish- grocery, is closed. Naturalist Kristi Silvey Trail, which varies from rough to moder- catfish and native bass. The river is also will reopen the hands-on museum of ate terrain, stretches across Beavers hmous for the knobby-kneed cypress snakes, mice and flying squirrels in De- Bend to neighboring Hochatown State that rise from its water. cember. Campouts and marshmallow Park. Two primitive campsites on the The Talley-Ho Riding Stables, west roasts, night hikes and birdwatching are uail are available for overnight hikers. of the park office, offers another way to also planned. For more information, call For less experienced hikers, the park see the beauty of Beavers Bend. Gentle Silvey at (405) 494-6556. offers four shorter, self-guiding nature horses are available at $5 an hour from 8 The park has 47 comfortable cabins; trails: Pine Ridge, Beaver Lodge, Big a.m.-5 p.m. weekends through April 15. some have kitchenettes and fireplaces. Oak aod Cedar BlufX Pretty one-mile (As summer approaches, stable hours For reservations or information, call (405) Cedar Bluff is also known as the "sunset lengthen.) (405) 494-6613. 494-6538. Or write Beavers Bend State hike." In the evening hiie~scan view A less athletic attraction is the Forest Park, P.O. Box 10. Broken Bow. OK -the same sunset th& diffenznt- times, 1 Heritage and Educational- Center, locat- 1 74728. -TWPB Beavefip %&is &dlPR a hikers' Monda)r-9aturday.Admission is 50 cents for brooms, Cabbage Patch doll clothes and and Fish$@' pdisp, f3s me of the addo and 25 cents for children 6-11. (405) porcelain and rag dolls. Wooden carvings best piam in 0kWt.1~to birdwatch. On 584-6588. are done right in the store. Visit 9 a.m.-4 Bmken Bow Lake, a mitt northwest of the Drive baok to Broken Bow on U.S. p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (405) 286-7946. park, yab am s~endrhc day wgtchiig bald 70, then south on 70 to Idabel and the For a more complete tour of the eagles dive front bigmes to catch fish. Also Museum of the Red River on SE Lincoln. southeastern comer of the state, see "21 (or @.I @.I be wnam tbc Sake's shores are song- The 10-year-old museum is filled with so) Reasons to Head Southeast," beginning birds like the yelio~billedcuckoo (rain- exhibim of the Caddoan people and their on p. 38 in the May-June 1984 issue of ersw). In the McCumin Qunty Wilder- predecessors who lived in the Red River OkMona TODAY; call the phone numbers mess Area, 20 miteJ mnh of Beavers Bend, Valley hundreds to thousands of years ago. listed with each attraction to make sure all drc exttemeIy me red-awhded wood- Other exhibitsinclude artifacts from North, information is still accurate. Copies of this pCcker em be found mixing in pine Crees. Ccngal and South America. The museum issue, which won Okhhoma mDAY a Low- From the park m4 drive six miles is open 10 a.rn.4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday ell Thomas award for travel journalism, are east of Broken Bow on U.S. 70 to the and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (405) 286-3616. available for $2 by writing P.O. Box 53384, Gardner Mansion. The whitecoimnned When you've had enough culture and Oklahoma City, OK 73152. steamboat gothic house belonged to Jeffer- are ready for a little shopping, try the son Gardner, a Choctaw chief whose par- Kounvy Komer, 400 SE Washington in ents came to the area over the Trail of I&bel. 'The shop has homemade items N~co~bwand W& Oklahoma Tears. Tour the home 9 a.m.-5 p.m. such candles, cobweb and fireplace TODAY'S edittia/ r

November4kcernber '85 . IVAN L.MCCARTNEY Ivan McCartney was born and raised in Wilburton andfirst moved to Oklahoma City to work in broadcasting. (He was heard on radio station KTOKfir ezght years as '%oh McCartney.'y He tj. 'hi-retli-d"fmm radio -andhas been concentrattitg more on thephotography he took up as a hobby some 10years ago. 'Ysee myseflmostly as sort of a visualguide, "he says. 'Yfindsomething interesting tophotograph, and with thatphotograph Isay 'Hey, stop. Look at this -this is beautzfil' Maybe the next the,people wifllook at it in a dzferent way. . . Ilike to do naturephotography because you never run out of subject mattex The seasons and the moods of nature cazcse the subject to change conrtanth. Eu can go back mety day -and even at dzferent times of the same day -and shoot the same scene or object, and you will never come away with the same photograph twice." That's one reason he enjoys working in Oklahoma: "Oklahoma zialways surpniing. It's vety seasonal here. fiu know the oldsaying that z;Cyou don't like the weather here, wait a minute and it will change? Well, that's true of the seasons here, too."

ABOVE OPPOSITE PAGF Indian dancers, Lake Overholser sunset Anadarko Oklahoma City

40 Oklahoma TODAY

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BELOW Lake Hefner sailboats, Oklahoma City

OPPOSrE PAGE: Frosted leaves, Wichita Mountains

FOLLOWING PAGE: Farmhouse, Canadian County

42 Oklahoma TODAY

YES! Enter my subscription today! I enclose my check for $ . Please charge $ to my: New Renewal OVISA Mastercard, Interbank # Card # Name Exp. date Address Authorized card signature: City, State, Zip Code One year (six issues), $10; two years, $19; three, $28. Over- seas subscriptions, $lS/year. Donor address: For fastest service, use our toll-free number for credit-card charges. Call 1-800-652-6552 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays, in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Oklahoma TODAY P.O. Box 53384 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 SUZY BARNESMOORE

on the

-'Yodun dsbk fetlceline of Atitor). U,sw, ,khout men knowing it, keeps merything mended and whole. He does a good job cons~nghe doesn't like fenm. "

guardian of the Old West Santa Fe Trail, trained buffalos for state lines, no borders, no bound- endures. His name is Jim the rodeo and put in a stint as a aries. It's the way the world used to Jordan, and he can be cowboy stunt rider in Hollywood. In be, up here in the Panhandle." .found at Four Corners, a the early 1950s Jordan and Bill John Jim Jordan's Panhandle is made up cluster of wind-beaten buildings Pugh, an old cowboy running mate, of three countieeBeaver, Texas smack in the middle of the Oklaho- even staged their own buffalo hunt, and Cimarron. The flags of five na- ma Panhandle. complete wi,th war paint, Indians, tions-France, Mexico, Spain, Tex- As unpredictable as a cyclone, bows and arrows. as and the United States-have fierce as a blue norther and wily as a Jordan was always conspicuously flown over this real estate. Known by prairie wolf, Jim Jordan has been a different from others. Nothing has different names, including "The cowboy and trader for most of his 81 changed. He is still as ornery and Neutral Strip," "The Public Land years. He's a combination of Judge independent as the country he calls Strip," "Robber's Roost" and "Cim- Roy Bean and Buffalo Bill, with a home. arron Territory," this 34-mile-wide, generous dose of saddle tramp mixed "This is open and free land up 168-mile-long ribbon of land-a in for good measure. here, or, at least about as close as 5,738-square-mile rectangle-re- In his time, Jordan broke horses, you'll find anywhere to being that mains a geographic orphan best de- ran cattle, led a caravan down the way. To me it's all one place with no scribed as "No Man's Land." And

46 ~klahomaTODAY that's the name Jordan prefers. down on the Red River. He carted whis- It is a region so isolated, and some feel key across to the Indians." Jordan opted neglected, that old-time Panhandlers for a fast pony and a life on the open still enjoy boasting that they are sur- range. He cowboyed all over the West. rounded by five states-Texas to the He moved into No Man's Land and set south, Kansas and Colorado to the north, up at Four Corners in 1924. He's there New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma today, dug in like an angry badger. to the east. No Man's Land is full of "People in this country like to take silence and long horizons. Nothing that care of their own business. These des- lives here finds life easy. Until the late perados come foolin' around a man that 1880s, white settlers wrote it off as unin- owns his own place, and I'll tell ya, habitable because of the frigid winters they're taken care of. Always been that and scalding summers. doesn't like fences. way. Always should be that way. Out For many years, since it didn't belong here we still take care of the West." to any state or territory, there was no law Four Corners is situated between enforcement in No Man's Land. The Guymon and Boise City, just to the east only law was the Colt and the carbine. It of where the famed Santa Fe Trail cut was an outlaw haven, and the lonely across the Panhandle. To Jordan, the old landscape became famous throughout trail represents the best of all Western the West as a sanctuary fit only for the highways: "The Santa Fe Trail was real- fiercest killers, rustlers, marauders and ly something. They had all kinds of thieves. Those with a price on their freight and people going back and forth heads could roam here nameless. A no- from Independence, Missouri, to Santa holds-barred country, one old trail boss Fe itself. You can keep all them super described it as "a place where the kids highways. They haven't built a road yet teethed on .45-caliber cartridges." that equaled that one." The stories of the outlaw gangs and Located at the point where two mod- desperate men who fled to this bandit em roads meet-Oklahoma 95 and U.S. territory are still told. Their names are %Four Corners is dominated by a indelibly carved in Panhandle history: rambling fortress Jim Jordan calls home. Blackjack Ketchurn, Tug Toland, Ste- Nearby, Jordan runs a few buffalo and ven "Bugs" Yancy, Buford "Buster" some beefalo stock and occasionally Waldman, Cyrus Coe. There are those takes in a dollar when he permits a cho- who say the Doolins, the Daltons, the sen few to cross his threshold and see his James Brothers and Billy the Kid also monumental collection of history. Al- took advantage of the hideouts available though the Jim Jordan Frontier Museum in No Man's Land. is heralded in some tourist brochures, During the 1880s cattlemen and nest- Jordan doesn't encourage visitors. The ers began arriving. Vigilante committees fact is, for the most part, he would rather were organized, and finally law officers be left alone. began to earn their wages. Scores of The entire ramshackle spread is well towns grew on the cattle trails and next protected by some of the wildest junk- to the railroad tracks. By the time the yard dogs imaginable. "I got me a pack turn of the century arrived, there was a of good ones-they're hippie dogs. feeling that the Wild West, including No Meanest dogs in the world. I trade for Man's Land, was on the verge of being 'em. Anybody that's got a mean old dog tamed. At least almost tamed. they want to get rid of comes to see me. But even though the bands of outlaws I can tell by them dogs when anybody may have ridden into the eternal sunset, comes around here, and that gives me a there are still those who claim that, to chance to go get my shotgun." this day, that unbridled spirit that set No Pure cowboy-more than once Jim Man's Land apart from the rest of the Jordan has been ridden hard and hung country still exists. For them, the Pan- up wet to dry. Decades of riding through handle remains a stretch of unbroken trail dust and stinging winds have tat-

November-December '85 47 tooed his hide. It shows in his eyes as he hand grenades, ice picks, old books, po- and William S. Hart. Knew all of them sits in the relentless sun, his faded blue litical campaign buttons, an array of an- old boys. A bunch of us fellas did the jeans stuffed into his boot tops, with tique vehicles including Model T Fords rough stuff for 'em like turning flips in three days of growth bristling on his kha- and fire trucks, license plates, chairs, the saddle and such. But when it all got ki-colored face. His voice is like barbed bighorn sheep skulls, gas pumps, sun- to be more and more sissy, well sir, I wire, and he's oblivious to a fat caterpil- bonnets, bullwhips, flags, catalogs, skil- left." lar crawling around on his neck and lets, iron pots, buckets, a threshing No Man's Land remains Jim Jordan's shoulders. Jordan is just as much a part machine, stumps, candle holders, lead idea of heaven on earth. of nature as any critter in these parts. pipes, balls of twine, brass beds, a Wells "I put up the first building here back The "Museum" building itself, sur- Fargo chest, human skulls, seashells, in '24. I started this thing." A couple of rounded by elaborate dog runs and walls Jesse James's buggy, Abe Lincoln's car- years later, Jim hitched up with Ruby, a of sunflowers, cattle skulls and rusty riage, reward posters, velvet paintings, soft-spoken lady who Jordan says farm equipment, is filled from floor to oil portraits, newspapers, typewriters, "knows more about the state of Oklaho- ceiling. There are more than 50 sets of lamps and upright pianos. There's abso- ma than the guy who built it." longhorn horns alone-some with 6-foot lutely no rhyme or reason to the collec- Says the genteel Ruby: "We don't spans. Inventory chores could keep a tion. It's all just there. like cities anymore. We don't like what platoon of curators busy for a month. "I like to trade, swap or buy. If I've they've become." There are chaps, lariats, whiskey bottles, got a little money and somebody hap- Jordan says he stays fit by shunning all cash registers, feathers, steel traps, pis- pens along with something I like, well, I strong drink and tobacco. He can cuss tols, rifles, shotguns, knives, hatchets, sure as hell attempt to get it. Right now I better than a fallen bronc rider when he barbed wire, bows and arrows, baby car- ain't lookin' for nothin'. I figure I've got needs to, but around Ruby, he's as gen- riages, saddles, Army helmets, guitars, everything." tle as a colt. "She's always been my wife. cowboy boots, stuffed birds, railroad lan- It took Jordan many years to amass his Why would I need another? Hell, if I terns, high-button shoes, a mummified collection. He came across much of it want to know somethin' I just go ask stingray, sandals, a ceramic bullfrog, clay while working as a cowboy and a guide. her. I don't need to look nothin' up. I go pipes, a javelina head, stuffed bobcats, "I've spent most of my life out in this and ask Ruby, and she knows. I don't raccoon pelts, handcuffs, horse and cow neck of the woods. But I did go out to need no computer. I married one!" skulls, pine cones, Stetson hats, coolie California and worked in the motion pic- Photographs of Jordan, including one hats, felt hats, straw hats, sombreros, , tures for a time. I worked with Tom Mix which shows him young and black- bearded, are tacked to the walls in a cluttered room where the couple some- Jonhn's museum D unusw/fOrsm/ masons, not t2e ktofwhkd D i~jampacRedcoI/e~n~on,fmm a coohe hat to &pr to Ate Lidn's mmage. Zim b+m's he &ct bar he doesn't encoumgc vtiitots.. .. times receives visitors. Some people say that all the cowboy heros are gone. They say they've gone the way of the bison and the Plains Indi- an wamors. All extinct. All faded memo- ries. But maybe not. Out in No Man's Land-where the prairie stretches like an ocean of earth, brush and grass-at a place called Four Corners, there are still those old build- ings full of six guns and cobwebs, and those wild-eyed dogs. Out there in No Man's Land, there's still Jim and Rubv Jordan. They're there today. And then they're gone, there will be no more.

Editor's note: Since Michael Wallis visited the Jordans at Four Comers, Ruby has passed away. Jim stays on in No Man's Land, with his museum and his hippie dogs.

Mdael Wallir, who lives in Tuba, jkpent5 wrim about dte OM and Ntw wad for Oklahoma TODAY.

48 Oklahoma TODAY ber 816 for "The Christmas Goose" at Beck- hungry family and friends or a big freezer-a em's Antique Showroom, one block south 1,500-pound bull will usually supply 700 The harsh days of the Dust Bowl and of 1-44 at 5245 S. Peoria. pounds of meat. (Plan to haul your prize away Depression are the focus of two exhibits at Forty to 50 vendors will sell items from the day of the sale or the day after; the Oklahoma State University in November. baskets and rag rugs to stuffed animals, refuge will supply a list of area butchers.) The "Great Plains 1930-1939" exhibit wreaths and several wooden crafts in a For those who don't want a freezer full features views of the tumultuous era by rec- shop decorated for the holidays. of meat, buffilo burger plates will be on sale ognized artists fmm several states, includ- Admission is $1, and the hours are 10 for $2, compliments of the Lawton Cham- ing Missourian Thomas Hart Benton and a.m.-5 p.m., 1-5 p.m. Sunday. A Christmas ber of Commerce. Kansan John Steuart Curry, known for his The auction begins at 12 p.m. at the "Tornado Over Kansas," an oil painting of a Corral Arena in the refuge. The Medicine hily fleeing to safety as a tornado k Park exit of the H. E. Bailey Turnpike screams toward their home. will lead you straight there. The exhibit will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information about the buffalo Monday to Friday and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sun- sale or any other apsect of the refuge area, days fmm November 17 to December 15 contact Bob Karges, Wichita Mountains in the Baden Center for the Studio Arts. Wildlife Refuge (405) 429-3222, or write Rt. To reach the center from 1-35, take 1, Box 448, Indiahoma, OK 73552. State Highway 51 east. The center is on the corner of Morrill and Knoblock, two blocks south of the Cowboy stadium. Also showing November 17 to Decem- ber 15 is an exhibit of works by some of the greatest photographers of the '309. homa City when St George Greek Orthodox Showing in conjunction with "Great Church hosts its Greek November Fest, Plains," "Roy Suyker: the Humane Propa- November 22-24. gandist" exhibit includes works by pho- Festival hours are 10 a.m.-1 1 p.m. Fri- tographers Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange day and Saturday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun- and Ben Shahn. day. There is no admission fee, but $1 Held in the Student Union, the exhibit tickets buy chances at door prizes. lists the same hours as "Great Plains," and OKLAHOMA In true Greek style, activities will in- both are free to the public. (Catalogs will clude live entertainment, artwork, a boutique be available for $1 each.) and dancing to bouzouki music. Authentic For more information, call B. J. Smith, foods like baklava, ouzo and feta cheese will GardinerArt Gallery director, (405) 624-6016, "tea time" will run from 2-4 p.m. each also be offered. or write the OSU Department of Art, 103 day. To enjoy the festival, head to the con- Banlett Center, Stillwater, OK 74078. For more information, call Delores gregation's new cultural center, NW 145th Buster, (918) 481-0206, or write her at 8211 Street and Pennsylvania. S. Oswego Ave., Tulsa, OK 74137. To learn more about the event, conracr George or Nancy Reganis at (405) 755-1438 or 13008 Green Valley Dr., Oklahoma Come November 23 and 24, doll and City, OK 74120. toy collectors of all ages will converge on by Margo Wright Exchange Center One on the Tulsa Fair- If you're hankering for a taste of the grounds for the Gragg Toy and Doll Show. Old West this Thanksgiving-or just collect Dolls fmm a $1.50 Barbie to old French ofmeat auctions-then the "Buffdo Sale" Next issue: Help us celebrate Okhzhoma bisques worth up to $30,000 will be on dis- is the place to be this November. TODAY'S 30th year as the Sooner State's offi- play and for sale. Around 120-130 head of the OfEicial cial magazine. We've planned a special Toy lovers too may view and/or buy Oklahoma State Mammal will be auctioned section on bests, firsts and favorites across everything from tcday's Matchbox cars to a November 14 at the Wichita Mountains Oklahoma-with the help of Kathryn $4,500 cast-iron truck-that fits in the Wildlife Refuge. Jenson White and hundreds of our readers. palm of your hand. Selling culls from the refuge herd (one (Kathryn's also come up with quite a few The show will run fmm 10 a.m.5 p.m. of the largest in America) keeps the large nominees for "best piece of Oklahoma ui- with a $2 admission for adults and children critters fmm overgrazing the refuge via.") Other articles will cover everything under 12 admitted free. grasslands. from the story of how Oklahoma got to be the For more information, call Martha High bidders are rewarded with meat shape it is to photographer David Fiager- Gragg (405) 789-2934, or write her at 5910 touted as extremely lean, mild and low in ald's breathtaking view of hzk favorite piece of NW 56, Oklahoma City, OK 73122. cholesteml. Oklahoma scenery. All in the January- Tulsa will also be the semng Novem- If you plan on bidding, have lots of February issue of Okhzhotna TODAY.

I November-December 85 49 Center, OKC 1-10 "Design for Murder," Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa ART EXHIBITS 1-30 "Blithe Spirit," Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Tulsa 3 "Little Red Riding Hood," Cimarron Circuit Opera, Meacham Aud., Norman NOVEMBER 1-15 Competitive Art Show, Five Civilized Tribes 8-9, 1416, 21-23 "Serenading Louie," Actors Theatre, Phoenix Museum, Muskogee Theatre, Tulsa 1-17 "The American Landscapes of Conrad 8-10, 14-17, 21-24 "Joe Egg," Carpenter Square Theatre, OKC Schwiering," Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa 21-Dec. 15 ''The Stingiest Man in Town," Cabaret Supper 1-17 "Chuckwagons and Cowboys," Museum of the Theatre, Lawton Great Plains, Lawton 28-Dec. 15 "Ten Little Indians," Jewel Box Theatre, OKC 1-25 Indian Art Talent Search. Center of the American Indian, Kirkpatrick Center, OKC DECEMBER 3-7 'Ten Little Indians," American Indian Thuatre 1-27 Sculpture by Bill Prokopiof, Weaving by D. Y. Co., Performing Arts Center, Tulsa Begay, Southern Plains Indian Museum, Anadarko 6-7 "A Holiday for Bears," OCU, OKC 1-Dec. 8"5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art 6- 15 "Oliver!", Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa Gallery," Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa 6-21 "Greater Tuna," American Theatre Co., Brook 1-Dec. 24 "Native American Mother & Child," The Galleria, Theaue, Tulsa Norman 6-7, 12-14, 19-21, 'The Rocky Horror Show," Carpenter Square 1-Dec. 31 "Diversity in OK Architecture," Pioneer Museum 25-28 Theatre, OKC 6-31 "Here Lies Jeremy Troy," Gaslight Dinner & Art Center, Woodward 3-Dec 31 "Edward Steichen: The Conde Nast Years," Theatre, Tulsa Kirkpatrick Center, OKC 8 "Hansel & Gretel," Cimarron Circuit Opera, 431 17th Annual Juried Art Show, Town Hall, Lawton Sooner Theatre, Norman 8-10 Navajo Rug & Indian Jewelry Show, Gilcrease 12-15, 19-22 "A Christmas Carol," The Mummers, Stage Center, Myriad Gardens, OKC Museum, Tulsa 13-24 "A Christmas Carol," American Theatre Co., &Dm. 20 American Impressionists from the Phillips Collection, OK Art Center, OKC Performing Arts Center, Tulsa 17-Dec. 15 "Great Plains 1930-39," Gardiner Art Gallery, 14 "Little Red Riding Hood," Cimarron Circuit Opera, Ponca Playhouse, Ponca City OSU. Stillwater 23-Dec. 15 AR ih Miniature. Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa I 25-Dec. 20 "Out of Africa," Sanamu African Gallery, Kirkpatrick Center, OKC FAIRS L FESTIVALS I 26-Dec. 29 "Memphis, a 1980s Art Form," OK Museum of 1, 9 ~rt,OKC h 29 Annual Thanksgiving Free Day, Philbrook,Tulsa Cheese Watonga 1-3 Arts & Crafts Fall Festival, Fairgrounds, Tulsa DECEMBER 1-31 Christmas Sales Exhibition, Southern Plains 1-4 Will Rogers Days, Claremore Indian Museum & Crafts Center, Anadarko 3 A Renaissance Feast, OU Campus, Norman 1-Jan. 12 Christmas Exhibit, Museum of the Great Plains, 8-10 Arts & Crafts Festival. NSU. Tahleauah Lawton 8-16 "The Christmas Goose," Beckett's Antiques, 2-6 Art from the Ice Age, OCCC, OKC Tulsa 13 Contemporary Glass Art Show & Sale, Philbrook 9-10 Erick Honey Festival, Erick Art Center, Tulsa 9-11 Mountain Men & Pioneer Festival, Martin Park Nature Center. OKC 22-24 Greek November Fest, St. George Greek Orthodox Cultural Center, OKC 22-24 12th Annual Craft Harvest, Fairgrounds, Lawton 30 OK Mennonite Relief Sale, Fairgrounds, Fai~iew NOVEMBER 1-3 "Greater Tuna," Jewel Box Theatre, OKC DECEMBER 4-7, Boare's Heade Feaste, NSU, Tahlequah 1-3, 7-9 "Baby," Contemporary Theatre Productions, Civic 11-14

50 Oklahoma TODAY ---. 7 "Feast of the Boare's Heade" - "Hanging of the 15 OK Symphony & Canterbury Choral Society Greens," OBU Campus, Shawnee "Messiat?' Sing-a-long, Leadership Square Atrium. OKC 17 OCCC'C~~~~& Calliope Concert, OCCC, OKC 18-22 ''The Nutcracker," OK Symphony & Ballet OK, Civic Center, OKC 19-23 ''The Nutcracker," Tulsa Ballet Theatre. Performing Arts Center, Tulsa NOVEMBER 1 OK Sinfonia, Chatall Juillet, violinist, Brady Street Theatre, Tulsa 2 OK Square Dance Assoc., Myriad Gardens, OKC RODEOS & 2, 7 & 9 "Aida," Tulsa Opera, Chapman Music Hall, HORSE EVENTS - Performing Arts Center, Tulsa 9-10 "Voices: Old and New," Prairie Dance Theatre, NOVEMBER 1-10 World Championship Appaloosa Horse Show. Stage Center, OKC Fairgmunds, OKC 10 & 12 Verdi's "Messa da Requiem," OK Symphony1 1-3, 7-10, 14-17, Pari-mutuel Horse Racing, Blue Ribbon Downs, Canterbury Choral Society, Civic Center, OKC 21-24, 28-Dec. 1 Sallisaw 15-16 "Gershwin Gold," Ruth LaredotOK Symphony, 8-9 Okie 100 Bull Buckout, Fairgrounds, Muskogee Civic Center, OKC 16-23 World Championship Quarter Horse Show, 15-16 "DanceTalk," Ballet OK, Stage Center, Myriad Fairgrounds, OKC Gardens, OKC 23-24 OK Palomino Horse Show, Fairgrounds, Tulsa 16 Lawton Philharmonic with Tony Bennett, 29 & Dec. 1 National Finals Steer Roping,- - Law E Arena, McMahon Aud., Lawton Guthrie 16-17 "Graduation Ball," Tulsa Ballet Theatre, DECEMBER 2-6 National Reining Horse Futurity, Fairgrounds, Performing Arts Center, Tulsa OKC 17 Laurentian String Quartet, Performing Arts 11-15 Sunbelt Cutting Horse Futurity, Fairgrounds, Center, Tulsa OKC 21 Tulsa Philharmonic with Sharon Robinson, cellist, 26-Jan. 1 Tulsa Holiday Circuit Quarter Horse Show. Performing Arts Center, Tulsa 21 "Carmen" (sung in English), Texas Opera Theater, McMahon Aud., Lawton 22-24 "The Crucible," OK Opera & Music Theatre Co. SPEC~ALEVENTS of OCU, Kirkpatrick Theatre, OKC 29-30 OK Symphony with Jack Jones, Civic Center, OKC NOVEMBER 1- "Return of Halley's Comet," Kirkpatrick 30 Reba & Pake McEntire, Lazy E Arena, Guthrie Dec. 1 Planetarium, Kirkpatrick Center, OKC DECEMBER 1 Concerts on the Ice, Tulsa Philharmonic, Williams 1-Dec. 31 "Big WarLittle War; OK Indians in the Civil Center Forum, Tulsa War," Kirkpatrick Center, OKC 1 ''The Messiah," OU School of Music, Norman 4-22 Mamn Luther King Exhibit, OCCC, OKC 3-5 Young People's Concerts, Performing Arts Center, 9 Scottish Games, LaFormne Park, Tulsa Tulsa 9 '85 Grand Prix, State Capitol Park, OKC 6 Christmas Concert, OCU, OKC 9-10 Blue River Trout Derby, Blue River Hunting & 6 Tulsa Boy SingersIOK Sinfonia Orchesua, Brady Fishing Area, Tishomingo Street Theatre, Tulsa 11 Veteran's Day Parade, Tulsa 7 Tulsa Philharmonic with New Swingle Singers, 11 Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats & Magicians 01 Performing Arts Center, Tulsa Taipei, Foster-Piper Fieldhouse, Tonkawa 7 "The Peppermint Pops," Lawton Philharmonic, 14 Buffalo Sale, Wichita Mts. Wildlife Refuge, McMahon Aud., Lawton Indiahoma 8 OSU Choral Christmas Gala, Seretean Center, 23-24 Gragg Toy & Doll Show, Fairgrounds, Tulsa OSU, Stillwater 24 Tree Lighting Ceremonies, Bartlett Square, Tulsa 8 ORU Music Dept. Christmas Concert, Christ's 29-Dec. 31 "Victorian Christmas: A Territorial Celebration." Chapel, ORU, Tulsa Guthrie 8 & 10 OK Symphony with Shlomo Mina, violinist, Civic DECEMBER 1 Old-Fashioned Christmas. Old Town Museum. Center, OKC Elk City 9 Christmas with Canterbury Choral Society, Civic 7-Jan. 5 "Star of Wonder," Kirkpatrick Planetarium, Center, OKC Kirkpatrick Center, OKC 9 Peter Nero Concert, Masonic Temple, Guthrie 8 Victorian Homes Tour, Guthrie 12 Tulsa Philharmonic Classics Concert with Jose 13 Christmas Tree Lighting, Model Park, Tulsa Feghali, Performing Arts Center, Tulsa 14 Christmas Gala, Marland Mansion, Ponca City 12 Community Christmas Concert, Community 21-22 Santa Claus at the Zoo, OKC Zoo, OKC Theatre, Woodward 27-28 All College Basketball, Myriad Gardens, OKC 13-14 OK Symphony with Toni Tennille, Civic Center, 31 "New Year's Eve Special," Gaslight Dinner OKC Theatre, Tulsa 14 "The Nutcracker," Tulsa Ballet, Phillips U., 31 Billy Parker's New Year's Eve Dance, Enid Fairgrounds, Tulsa