JW AEROBATIC AeES WORLD'S BIGGEST POW WOW
MAY-JUNE '87
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
L MAY-JUNE '87 Governor VO~.37, v No. 3
COVERS world, Fort Sill has preserved its completely original and ever- history while squarely facing the modem changing? Were you there when Charlie OKLAHGMA "' world. Christian, Jimmy Rushing and now- TO! GRIT, GUTS forgotten others hung Oklahoma's star B THE RIGHT STUFF 16 on the musical map, when jazz swung on "Deep Second" Street in These guys ride broncs, rope calves Oklahoma City and Tulsa's and work cattle for a paycheck. And Greenwood Street? Ruby's Grill, the once a year during the Oklahoma Ritz Ballroom and the Blue Devils Cattlemen's Association Range are gone now, but the history stayed Roundup, teams of honest-to- with us and jazz still swings. goodness cowboys from 12 Oklahoma ranches compete in wild cow milking, cattle doctoring and other FESTIVAL OF TnE SUN 36 genuine cowboy chores. During one three-day weekend in PORTFOLIO 23 Bartlesville, more than 100,000 people Saxophonist McCraven pause to celebrate spring and Morris of the Bottom Line Here's a glimpse of what you'll see at summer, the seasons of the sun. Transaction. Bianca's lazz the biggest pow wow the world has seen. Club, ~klahomacity.- Photo by Steve Sisney. Inside A ROCK & ROLL hnt. Grand Lake in early HIQHWAY TO A PLACE June. Photo by Jim Argo. CALLED HEAVEN 40 Back. Cooling off in Woods You might call them crazy-a lot of County. Photo by people do. But for the Okie Twisters, a Jim Argo. small band of accomplished aerobatic pilots, there's no better place in the world than spinning and rolling 3,000 feet above it. FEATURES I DEPARTMENTS Today in Oklahoma ...... 4 DID you DANCE? 28 ~ooka~etters...... 5 DESTINATION: id you chmse a pamr and take a Uncommon Common Folk...... 6 FORT SILL 8 turn on the dance floor to celebrate the Oklahoma Omnibus: From an isolated frontier outpost to birth of jazz, an American-made Jim Thorpe ...... 14 'the largest field artillery school in the sound that can only be defined as Entertainment Calendar...... 45
*.--. -" " -- --- PUBLISHED BY THE OKLAHOMA TOURISM AND RECREATIONDEPARTMENT OkMoma TODAY (ISSN 0030-1892) is published bi- monthly in January, March, May, July. September and Sue Cancr, Editw-in-Chief Carolyn Hollingsworth, Marketing November. Subscription prices: $lUyr. in U.S.; $16/yr. Susan Bunney Tomlinson, Managing Editor Sheila Brock, Accounting outside U.S. Copyright 1987 by OkMono TODAYmaga- Pat Shaner Laquer, Art Director Melanie Mayberry, Subscription Services zine, 401 Will Rogcn Bldg., P.O. Box 53384, Oklahoma Teresa Freeman, Events Calendar City, OK 73152. (405) 521-24%. Printed at PennWell Printing, Tulsa. Glenn Sullivan, Exemme Dzrector Tourism and Recreation Cornmiasion Sccond-class postage paid at Oklahoma City, OK and I Tom Creider, Parks additional entry ofices. Postmasuc Send address Eugene Dilbeck, MurReting Serer~m Rilla Wdcox, c2m- Bob Hinton changes to OkMomu TODAY Circulation, P.O. Box Michael L. Moccia, Adminitranon Cados Langsroa, Vkauirtnaa Gncc Renbargcr 53384, Oklahoma City, OK 73152. Tom Rich, Lodges Lany Lindlcy, Scm&ty R. L. Rollins Chino Ferrer, Plannmng b Dmlopmenr James Durham vnarmobnd I- %-,, I - -
MAY-JUNE '87 3 hosted by Oklahoma's 67 tribes. Not only paintings but the finest in bas- kets, pottery, rugs and jewelry will be displayed. Judges for the art-all Native Amer- icans-include Allan Houser, a world- renowned sculptor originally from Apache who now lives in Santa Fe; Dick West, a sculptor and painter who formerly headed the Bacone College art program and now of Tijeras, New ast fall, a random sample of 1,500 *75% want more stories on outdoor Mexico; and U.S. Rep. Ben Night- Lsubscribers was selected to partici- recreation, places to visit and rural life. horse Campbell of Colorado, who de- pate in a reader survey. We wanted to Your favorite features are the Pho- signs jewelry. find out what story topics you like tography Portfolio and Uncommon The marketing and exhibiting of best, the regular features you enjoy Common Folk. American Indian art has grown dramat- most, what you like to do outdoors, A few asked where our printer is ically in recent years. and get better acquainted with our located. To clear this up-Oklahoma This movement began about 60 readers. TODAY has always been printed in years ago with the Kiowa Five-James The response was great. An extra Oklahoma, currently at PennWell Auchiah, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, bonus was the fascinating and enthusi- Printing Co., Tulsa. Monroe Tsatoke and Stephen Mo- astic comments many added to the Several expressed concern about pope. Professor Oscar B. Jacobsen in- questionnaire. One wrote, "My hus- changing Oklahoma TODAY. One vited these young Kiowa artists from band is a school teacher and teaches wrote, "This is a fine magazine. Do Anadarko to work in the School of Art Oklahoma history. He uses this maga- not try to fix it." at the University of Oklahoma in 1927. zine as a teaching tool and the kids And after this lengthy study, that's Later that year he organized an exhibit love it!" Another commented, "I just just what we plan to do-not fix it. of their paintings which was widely started taking the magazine, but I plan You'll continue to see beautiful scenic acclaimed throughout the United to keep each issue, and I would like to photography and stories on history, States. use them as a guide for visiting places travel, nature, outdoor recreation and Feathers will be flying as dancers in Oklahoma." the arts. Thanks for helping us stay on also compete at Red Earth '87. Not What else did we learn about our track. only feathers but beautiful beadwork, subscribers? + Some of the country's finest Na- buckskin, patchwork and other exotic *22.1% share their copies with four tive American artists grew up in Okla- clothing will be worn. And there will or more persons. Several display Okla- homa, and this summer many will be be stickball and lacrosse games to homa TODAY in reception areas. returning home to show and sell at watch, frybread and grape dumplings *51.5% attended an event or visited Red Earth '87, a national pow wow to eat. Our Portfolio, beginning on a place after reading about it in OkIaho- page 23, shows some of the sights to ma TODAY see. *72% went to college and 36.4% + Actually, this issue suggests all have more than four years of college. Next Issue: Bob Tway. Lindy Miller. kinds of activities for you. You can Most enjoy the outdoors. David and Danny Edwards. Doug explore one of the Army's largest mu- Tewell. Scott Verplank. The roster of seums at Fort Sill; celebrate the 100th *62.4% garden; 49.9% picnic, and stars from Oklahoma State University's birthday of Jim Thorpe, the world's 40% birdwatch, hike or fish. golf program reads like an Associated Many of you visited historical sites, Press Top 10 poll. Meet the players and greatest athlete, and watch real work- museums, art festivals and concerts coaches who've made OSU the most ing cowboys compete at the Range last year. formidable force in college golf. Then Roundup. And at night you can dance What would you like to read about put a rod and reel in your hands and to the wild and crazy cadence of jazz in future issues of OkIahoma TODAY? head for Lake Texoma, one of the best music. *88.2% prefer stories on history. places around for matching wits with And if this isn't enough, turn to our 932.9% like nature and wildlife the elusive striped bass. All this and statewide Entertainment Calendar for stories. more in the July-August issue of OkMo- other ideas. How could you possibly '81.9% want suggestions for week- ma TDDAY. stay home? end trips. -Sue Carter
Oklahoma TODAY ness magazine, coming across a beauti- for relaxed reflection while driving the ful full-color ad promoting "Lifestyle speed limit the entire way through Tulsa," featuring a billowing spinna- thick stands of forest. kered sailboat gliding across rich blue Chicago, I'll always love you, but water under a full sun. Tearing out the your lights and attractions don't bind Landmarks of the West, by Kent sheet, he flew it across the room with me as raptly as they once did. Driving Ruth; Univenig of Nehaska Pms, 901 the famous last words, "I'll go any- to Tulsa for a Richard Harris perfor- North I 7th St., Lincoln, Ncbraska where there's water." mance of Camelot, we realized the dif- 685884520;$1 7.50 pb. Either in a car Five days later, Chamber of Com- ference when we self-parked for $2 with a road map in hand or at home merce material in hand, trip prepara- directly across the street from a glitter- with a little imagination, readers can tions were made for a scouting trip to ing performing arts center. take a 21-state tour of some of the Oklahoma. The results of that trip pro- We've broken from the cookie cut- most important historic landmarks duced ownership of another home and ter mold of suburbia. The sophistica- west of the Mississippi River. the realization upon our return to Chi- tion of city living has created an In Oklahoma, the author covers cago that neither of us had jobs. Weeks appreciation of our new, quiet beauty. such sites as five forts built to either of suspense followed, but gradually all We've urged our former friends to pull protect or control Indian inhabitants the pieces of the puzzle slipped into back from the frenzy of getting ahead and Park Hill, a Cherokee settlement place. to put into perspective once again the known for its advancements in educa- On July 18, the moving van pulled nature of their ultimate goal and their tion and publishing. out of our respectable Glen Ellyn method of pursuit. Each of the 146 entries offers a driveway, headed for a rural route 625 May your journey be as rewarding as mini-history lesson, as well as historic miles away, down another two miles of ours. washboard pavement which appears to and modern photographs or illustra- Kathleen Renowden lead absolutely no place based on its tions. Claremore Originally published in 1963 as Gmt wayward appearance. It was without Day in the Wat, this updated edition one last glance that I left Chicago. provides basic information about 18th While others of my generation and 19th century adventurers and the earned their wings through youthful Enjoyed your January-February '87 places they built that prepared the way misadventures or bypassed their rites issue very much, especially Glenn for millions of people who would fol- of passage by going directly into famil- Shirley's article on Oklahoma peace of- low. iar, pre-set relationships, I feel as ficers ("When the Outlaw Rode in though a second chance has come my Oklahoma"). way. Every day brings new adven- One glaring mistake, however, is on tures, feelings and excitement that are pages 18-19 where you identify a rifle surpassed only by seeing, for the first as a 1978 Colt 12-guage shotgun. Be- time in my life, incredible open blue cause of the overlay of pages, it's hard skies, intriguing weather formations, to tell, but I would guess it is a Win- The decision was made on a typical fiery-fingered sunsets over an eight- chester rifle, model 1875 or later. acre pond (called a lake by our Chicago stormy February evening in Chicago as Gene Waters friends), pure air and the element we huddled in the family room, fanta- Tulsa sizing about being someplace else. I'd called "space," which I used to think livedall my life within four blocks of of in terms of celestial directions only. Editor's Note: A fiream expert at Since my job involves driving to var- the Lake Street "L". A year away from Mdbm Amand Sporting Good in Chicago for school was too long-anx- ious rural areas, I've become familiar OMoma Cig identi3ed the nyk as an with driving over rutted roads with di- iously I returned to the excitement of 1893 Marlin, wha memb/a a Winder- the Loop. And while some of the '60s rections like "Take a right at the ter. We regret the mr. high school classes were expanding smoke shop" and discovering every their limits by heading for Berkeley other vehicle in rural Oklahoma is a and any place but Chicago, I wallowed pickup truck. And barbequed ribs are in the dim, surrealistic life of Old taken seriously, not just once a year at ORhhoma TODAY welcomes letters fmm our Town. Royko's Rib Fest. readers. The letters must be signed, and we Years later, my husband, jobless for Driving into Tulsa, recently select- reserve the right to edidor condense them. Send your comments to: Letters, ORhhoma the first time ever due to a corporate ed as one of the nation's 16 most desir- TODAY,P.O. Box 53384, Oklahoma City, acquisition, sat leafing though a busi- able cities, 30 miles away allows time OK 73152.
MAY-JUNE '87 UNCOMMON COMMON FOLK
By Kathryn Jenson White
like to take something and make has parked to look more closely and "I something out of it. That's the either remember when they or their way I've always been. I like to do daddies used such and such a plow or something with things," says Wager to shake their heads in gratitude that Gilbert. True to his philosophy, he's riding plows was common before they spent his life, or the first 83 years of it, took up farming. trying to make something out of every- Gazing proudly at his plow trailer, one and everything with which he's Wager says, "I got 32 on there, bolted come into contact. As teacher, farmer down stout. That's 32 different kinds. and now collector and restorer of relics The sod plow broke up this country; from the past, Wager has made boys that's what settled it. Three of mine into men, seed and livestock into a are sod plows; the rest are walkin' living and the discards of a culture into plows with different names, different three-dimensional history. shapes, different kinds of steel. I got His most recent role, that of preserv- plows from Arkansas, Kansas, Missou- er of historical implements, began knows through hard experience why ri, Texas and Oklahoma. I drawed the about 20 years ago. He recalls, the common name is an apt one, Wa- trailer on a board and this ol' kid in "Wrenches was my first collection. I ger just loves those darn plows. "I've town made it for me. I've got three was always picking up old stuff, but it got them all on a trailer," he explains, layers, with one at the top like a show- was a tub full of wrenches what made "and I take 'em to parades to show 'em case. I've got one more out there to me a damn fool about it. That was in off. The one I'm proudest of is from put on, but I won't take any off. The 1966 or so. I saw two in there I want- 1872; that's when my dad was born. I ones I've got around the house are ed." From that tub full has grown an That's the oldest plow I've got that has duplicates. I've got about 65 or 70 all astounding collection: walls and buck- the date on it. I've got an 1880 and a ' together. Anymore, though, if a plow ets of wrenches of all sorts from those 1915, and some I just don't have a date ain't different, I won't bid on it." The used to fix Model A's to multi-use trac- on." ones "around the house" to which Wa- tor tools. Wrenches and more wrench- Wager's plow trailer is as colorful a ger refers are a sizeable herd of grazing es, but that's not all. character as he is. As he's replaced the plows that decorate his front and side "I started the plows about the same missing wooden handles on his plows yard. No problem telling which house time," Wager continues, his voice firm with sturdy new ones, he's painted in town belongs to Wager, no sir. as his eyes soften looking backward in them bright blue, red and green and Although Wager is always on the time. "One of the first was a left-hand- put them on display atop a 16-foot scout for treasures to add to his collec- ed plow I bought south of May. I trailer. When he rolls into town for a tions, he doesn't make quite as many wanted it because I had never seen parade wagging his plows behind his sales as he used to. He's usually too one before. Most turn the dirt to the pickup, Wager strings on a few stream- busy with one of his more recent pas- right. This one turns it to the left so ers of plastic flags in the same bright, sions: stripping, repairing and refinish- you won't have a dead furrow." As primary colors to snap and wave at ing old chairs. He's found that a box with the wrenches, Wager's collection those who've come in for the big filled with the wood ashes he saves of plows grew like Topsy. event. In Guthrie, Thomas, Alva, Bea- from the wood burning stove that heats His "foot burners," an apt common ver and, of course, his home town of his large museum of a workshop is an name for the walking plows he's gath- Buffalo, Wager has delighted onlook- effective stripper away of old varnish ered up, are Wager's passion. Even ers with his collection. After the parade and stain. He rubs the ashes all over though he actually used one and passes by, they flock to where Wager the chairs with his strong, large hands
6 Oklahoma TODAY UNCOMMON COMMON FOLK
then leaves them to "stew" in the replace the handles, usually fashion a because, "I got tired of running er- ashes. The natural lye removes the old new wooden beam and find an appro- rands for other people." In 1947 he finish nicely. priate metal clevis. In effect, Wager moved to Buffalo, where he farmed for At the sales Wager does make, how- usually buys just the metal blade of the himself for ten years. He then spent ever, his sharp eyes and keen apprecia- plow. two years as farm foreman for a large tion of the tools with which men and In addition to his wrenches and Kerr-McGee farming operation. In women tamed the West and keep the plows, Wager has an amazing mass of 1959 he decided agribusiness wasn't world going keep him poking and pry- other goodies packed into his home for him and went back to being his ing around in bushel baskets and tin and workshop and stored in a barn and own boss on his own place. He says buckets full of what looks like mere on land he owns outside of town. He's with simple but deep wisdom, "I metal junk to most of us. With the got about 28 different kinds of fire didn't get rid of my machinery; I kept advent of old tools and implements as tongs used by blacksmiths; a variety of a tail hold. I found out changin' around wall decorations in "rustic" restau- bolt headers, an implement used to like I did that you got to keep a tail rants, his treasures are getting a bit hammer hot steel into shape as a bolt; hold." Until 1975, when he was 72, more expensive and harder to find. wagon rods; spring seats; four row list- Wager farmed. Plows are particularly difficult to come ers; discs; you name it. Collectors of- Before tackling students and Mother by these days because, as Wager says, ten come to Wager when they need a Nature, though, Wager attended Okla- "Most people want one to put their special part to reconstruct an old im- homa State University, then called mail boxes on. They don't care if it's a plement of some kind. He says, ''I'll Oklahoma A&M, for six years. He John Deere or a P.&O. give it to 'em 'cause I don't pay much spent three of those years wrasslin' his "The days of buckets of wrenches for 'em." welter weight peers. Under the coach- are gone with Atlanta. Yes, they've This generosity with things is more ing of Ed Gallagher, who he says was gone with the wind. I paid 16 dollars than matched by Wager's generosity of like a second father to him, Wager for that little ol' wrench there. An old spirit, of self. His kindness radiates out stepped into the rope ring, took down boy really wanted it," Wager says and from him like the warmth that comes those he could and, I'm sure, shook pauses for effect. "But I wanted it, from the wood burning stove that pro- hands with those he couldn't. "The too." His loud and hearty laugh fills vides the ashes for his varnish removal. whole thing about it," he recollects, the room as he continues. "That's the As he talks about his days of teaching "was that 01' Grover Gaines down at most I've ever paid for a wrench." vocational agriculture, which he did Watonga saw that I was stout and told Wager's story about the most he's from 1929 to 1945, it's clear the kind- me I ought to go to OSU and to Gal- ever paid for a plow has to be edited ness runs in a deep vein through this lagher 'cause I could wrassle. I took because, he explains with yet another man. "One time," he remembers, "I animal husbandry until my last year, booming laugh, if we tell what he gave whipped two students when they kept 1929, when W.L. Blizzard told me I for it, "they'll all go to that price." He a-raisin' sand. Miller and Long was ought to get over and get a little Vo-Ag recalls that, "I found a complete plow kidding around and I told 'em that if Education, which I did. When I gradu- down in Idabel. I'd passed it up the they didn't cut it out I was going to ated and went to work, there was year before because I knew what he board their butts. They didn't, so I about 40 of us in the state teaching Vo- wanted for it. I sent my boy in the next had to do it. I took 'em out behind the Ag." time we were there and he started out building where I had a half-inch halter. Student. Wrestler. Teacher. Farm- askin' about the old man's pocket I reached up there and got that and er. Restorer. Wager has spent his knives. He run my boy out sayin' he they grabbed their ankles and I hit 'em whole life making something out of didn't want to sell any pocket knives. a lick. Tears come in their eyes. I saw things. Out of himself, his students, So I had to go back in and ask him right then that was the wrong thing to his land and his heritage. In a more what the price was. He said what he do. I never did board another kid. You pensive moment, he says, 'The time wanted, which was the same as the last destroy that good feeling in a human is will come when these things won't be year. But I couldn't wait to get back what you do. Good talkin' works bet- much interest to anybody. They'll be down there and get it once I saw it the ter." That after 50 years Wager still fossils, probably." Then he brightens. year before." remembers the names of the owners of "I hope what I'm doin' keeps that Usually Wager's bargaining ability the boarded butts indicates how from happening." You can bet on it, and charm allow him to get the plows strongly the incident affected him. Wager. for much less than he paid for his top Actually, all Wager's memories are Have a nominee for "Uncommon of the financial line model. Most, in strong. He talks in specific detail about C,,,,, to Kadrryn fact, cost him only two or three dollars. leaving his $1,800 a year teaching job oklahoma TODAY, p.0. B~~ 53384, Of course, he has to clean them up, after 16 years and taking up farming OR/a/roma ~4,OK 73152.
MAY-JUNE '87 7 ORT, mLI... Ida., L~-, SILL rb ;+mi By Jane Beckman Photographs by Fred W. Marvel
8 Oklahoma TODAY FORT SILL
FQgT SILL'S HALF- SECTION PULLS AN rnlGrwAL WOWD WAR I c2ANIaN QWB USaD BY AMEaXCkPB8 AND FRENCH. k FULL- SECTION WOULD ~~ AlwmwE;a SM-- TEAM PULLWG A c.arsam WAD:ED~ lanw aiMMmmQZV. Tm LA.h3T EmRS-E- ~~CANNON3 WERE REPLACED IN 1'942.
nside Fort Sill, the frontier past on the quad's south side is the Old commanding officer, just as it was in sits quietly in the shade of the Post Headquarters, which now houses 1870 when Maj. Gen. Benjamin Grier- shimmering cottonwoods, find- Fort Sill Museum offices. The twin son, Fort Sill's first commandant, I ing a niche in the old buildings building to the east was the early post's moved in. of rough quarried native limestone. Infantry Barracks. Today, it is the Visi- But unlike most officers' wives who The fort, established to pacify the hos- tors Center and Multimedia Theater, had to struggle to set up a household in tile Southern Plains Indians, is tucked the best place to begin a tour of Fort a distant frontier outpost, Grierson's into a comer of the world's largest field Sill. The newest exhibit in the center wife Anna was a woman of indepen- artillery center sprawling across the shows life of the Apache prisoners of dent means who sent along five ser- southem edge of the rugged Wichita war confined to Fort Sill from 1894 vants to put the house in order before Mountains near Lawton. until 1913. she and the children arrived. A short drive up Randolph Road Along the west side of the quad, the The residences have been enlarged from Key Gate puts visitors at the Old former Cavalry Barracks quartered and modernized since those early days. Post Quadrangle. Around this old pa- blue-clad troops. Today, the building Today, the neat walks and the ever- rade grounds stand the wood-shingled houses the 9,000 volumes and 30,000 green, oak and hackberry trees give native stone buildings of the original photographs of the museum library the Old Post area the atmosphere of a fort, established in 1869. These low, and photo archives available to quiet, well-kept park, an appearance unadorned structures testify to the lim- researchers. far different from those photographs ited building materials and harsh life at The nine residences lining the north taken in the 1870s showing officers' the isolated cavalry outpost. and east sides of the quad still house residences with the boundary between The buildings of the original fort Fort Sill's officers as they did when the the yard and prairie expanse defined were constructed by black soldiers, post was eight days journey by wagon by a picket fence to keep cattle out. who in previous civilian life were un- from the nearest railroad. Sherman At the northeast comer of the quad skilled laborers and field hands. The House, with a brass cannon flanking stands the Old Post Chapel. Worship best tribute to their labors is that more the walk, stands in the center of the services are held Sunday mornings as than a century later most of the original north side and looks directly across the they have been since the little chapel's buildings are still in use. quad to the old headquarters. Sherman completion in 1875. The rectangular building centered House is the residence for Fort Sill's The stockade structure of the Old
MAY-JUNE '87 9 FORT SILL
ALONG CANNON WALK, VISITORS CAN SEE 60 DIFFERENT KINDS OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN CANNONS FROM EVERY WAR THE UNITED STATES HAS FOUGHT, BEGINNING WITH THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
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Post Corral, located southeast of the ment and even a silver-trimmed black oner of war villages. quad area, is sometimes mistaken for hearse. The museum's gift shop is lo- Families in southwest Oklahoma the original fort. A raid by crafty Kio- cated in the south wall of the corral. used to make a Sunday afternoon visit was who carried off every horse on post As the Army captured the hostile to Fort Sill to catch a glimpse of the prompted the stone corral's construc- chiefs, they were imprisoned in a new celebrity warrior. Geronimo was illiter- tion in 1870. The corral's chief func- facility, a guardhouse constructed west ate, but the soldiers taught him to tion was to protect the fort's horses and of the quad area in 1873. Today, it's write his name. For a quarter, they mules, but the buttressed walls cut at called the Geronimo Guardhouse after said, he would give his autograph. intervals with loopholes made the cor- its most famous occupant. Satanta, Big Geronimo is buried at Fort Sill, ral a refuge in a major Indian attack. Tree and others on the roster of the along with Kicking Bear, Satanta and The corral's principal historic signifi- Southern Plains fiercest chiefs occu- Stumbling Bear, and their graves lie a cance, however, is its association with pied the cells. couple of miles up Quinette Road from the end of Indian warfare on the South The Geronimo Guardhouse is prob- the Old Post area. Plains. The winter of 1874-75, the fi- ably the most popular of Fort Sill Mu- Once the Indian hostilities were nal campaign against the Indians, is seum's 26 buildings. Inside, exhibits suppressed, the chief reason for Fort known as Horse Corral Winter when commemorate the Buffalo Soldiers, Sill's existence ceased, and the Army group after group of Plains Indians sur- the Indian Scouts, the Apache Prison- planned to turn the land over to the rendered their mounts and weapons. ers of Fort Sill. The largest cell has Indians. Instead, The School of Fire Years of fighting for their land came to artifacts from the Comanche Chief for Field Artillery was established in an end in this little structure built to Quanah Parker's "Star House." 1911, and Fort Sill took its first step protect the Army's livestock. On a warm day when many visitors toward becoming the premier center But on a May afternoon when the crowd the basement hallway to peer for field artillery in the free world. sun glitters off the graveled courtyard into the vacant whitewashed cells, the Visitors can tour the restored first inside the rough walls, there are no dank atmosphere suggests the prison- headquarters for the later-renamed defeated braves with their ponies. Fort ers left only yesterday. The infamous U.S. Army Field Artillery School. The Sill's visitors can see the replica of the Apache Geronimo did spend time in- small steel-gray frame building sits at Old Post Trader's Store. There is a carcerated in a cell there but only to the southeast comer of the quad-a reconstructed blacksmith's shop, a sad- sober up after periodic bouts of drink- humble beginning for a training opera- dler's shop. Around the north and east ing. Other times he was free to move tion that today occupies hundreds of walls the carriage museum houses about the fort and lived with his wife buildings and turns out 25,000 artil- phaetons, Army wagons, farm equip- and children in one of the Apache pris- lerymen yearly.
Oklahoma TODAY SOLDIERS I+*PERFORM A After the end of the Civil War, artil- tigues file past the glass display cases seen when a sunset's pinks and ame- lery fell into a decline. Most of the with the jeans-clad, camera-toting civ- thysts reflect from its facade. Army activity from that time until ilian visitors. Fort Sill now spreads its office build- World War I was fighting the Indians, After the somber atmosphere of the ings, military housing, neat golf and artillery proved ineffective against museum, the bright sunlight is wel- courses and firing ranges across 94,000 the Indians' guerrilla tactics. Two come. Cannon Walk curves down to- acres- 147 square miles. Close coop- buildings in Fort Sill's museum com- ward the Geronimo Guardhouse area, eration between Fort Sill and the adja- plex trace the history of artillery weap- taking the visitor on an outdoor tour of cent city of Lawton mean that on ons, uniforms and battle from the U.S. and foreign field artillery weap- Revolutionary War through the conflict ons from the Revolutionary War to the in Vietnam. Vietnam War. Hamilton Hall, built in the yel- On the way from the main museum lowed-gray limestone of the original complex to more field artillery exhibits post buildings, was the Old Post's in Snow Hall, visitors can make a Quartermaster Store. Beneath the dark quick stop in the Post Cemetery. Here There stained exposed beams and roof planks on the Chiefs Knoll is the granite obe- are exhibits that trace artillery from our lisk that marks the grave of the Co- Fort Silts annua/ Memo&/ Day ce/ebation begins at 9 a.m. May 25 at the country's first battles to the 1890s. manche Chief Quanah Parker. The Post Cemetery when members of th local Next door, McLain Hall was formerly grave of Cynthia Ann Parker, the VFWjoin post oficiah in mognizing U.S. the Commissary Storehouse. Exhibits white captive who was Quanah's moth- veterans by pkzcing a wrea/ir, at Chiefs here begin with the Spanish-American er, is also here in the shade of the Kno// monument. War and conclude with Vietnam. cedars. At 11:30 a.m., the Oficia/ Post Fort Sill's museums exist to educate Original Fort Sill is rough limestone Memoria/ Day Ceremony at McNair Ha// the public about the original frontier and wood shingles. The Field Artillery will iw/dan honor guard gun salute fort and the field artillery, but its first School is cream stucco and ripe per- and music by Fort Si/rs 77th Anny Band. obligation is preserving the history for simmon tile in the Italianate style. The To get to Fort Xi//, fo//ow signs on I- military personnel. New trainees at most impressive example of this more 44 to Kg Gate, when a guard w'I/ give dimremonsto went am. post, with haircuts that measure their modem architecture is McNair Hall, For more infomafion contact Fort length of time in the military in milli- the current post headquarters located SUs Public Afsain Offue at (405) 351- meters, not inches, tour the museum's about a block west of Old Post. The 2521. exhibits. Young men in camouflage fa- arched windows and reliefs are best MAY-JUNE '87 Saturday mornings in good weather uniforms and eight horses travel shiny brass buttons down the shoulder 4,000 area youngsters play soccer on around the nation to recreate the era of epaulets and brown leather chin straps the post's polo grounds. horse-drawn artillery. The dark brown choke the hats in place. While, with some imagination, Fort horses with black manes are housed in There have been two Fort Sills. Sill seems to reverberate with the rifle paddocks just west of the Old Post First, the frontier fort and, later, the fire and Indian whoops of the frontier Corral, and even if the soldiers Grant, free world's field artillery training cen- past, the low rumble and window rat- Riley, Sill, Houston, Ike, Jackson, ter. Fort Sill's Half-Section lays a color- tling a visitor hears is probably coming Truman or McNair aren't on parade, ful bridge between the past and from Fort Sill's firing ranges. their equine namesakes can be found present Army missions. And when the In the 1980s, the primary business at the stables. Half-Section's sturdy horses and ram- of Fort Sill is personnel training and On parade days, the horses are rod straight soldiers ride down the weapon development of field artil- brushed and strapped into the artillery street, once more those caissons go lery-Fort Sill handles all the Army's harness that pulls the French 75 mm rolling along. training of the Pershing I1 missile gun. The soldiers who care for and system. perform with the horses wear the high- Jane Beckman k a writer who lives in Sometimes lucky visitors are on the collared olive-drab wool World War I Wal.,and FdW. Maml k dre staf post when the Artillery Half-Section army uniforms. The jodhpur trousers photographer for dre Department of performs. Eight men in World War I flare beneath the hip length tunic, Tourism and Rectlation. Sentry of the Past owana Spivey says his undergraduate instilling an interest in the frontier. Every T work in history and graduate work in night at supper was a long, drawn-out session. 1 archaeology have made him an "historical ar- As a kid I was a collector of fossils, arrow- chaeologist." A recognized authority on the heads, all sorts of natural history things. This history and restoration of Oklahoma's frontier led into archaeology." forts, Spivey has served as curator of the Fort Early in his career Spivey found himself ' I1 Museum since 1982. working in what he calls Tin Can Archaeolo- During a portion of his tenure he doubled as gy-archaeology snubbed by some of the pur- ,.rector. He carried responsibilities for ready- ists because it was not involved with the ing exhibits in the museum's 26 buildings for prehistoric artifacts. "I found myself in this cemfication by the Center for Military History unique position working with historic military I.-- Washington. buildings and log cabins." Broad duties have given Spivey a definite Spivey worked as curator for the Oklahoma idea of the museum's responsibilities to Fort Historical Society and as archaeologistwith the Sill's military personnel, their dependents and Oklahoma Archaeological Survey at Oklahoma the public. 'The museum's dual role is re- University. He was involved with restoration flected in its two branches: Early Fort Sill and TOWANA SPIVEY of Fort Washita and Fort Towson in southeast Field Artillery. We have a mission to preserve and interpret the Oklahoma. He taught museum studies. For eight years before he history of the old post, including the Plains Indian Wars and the came to the Fort Sill Museum he served as chief curator at the early cavalry and military activity. We also have a mission to Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton. terpret the history of U.S. Field Artillery from its beginning to Some of Spivey's most recent work at the Fort Sill Museum e present." deals with the Apache prisoners of war confined there from 1894 Spivey says not only is Fort Sill important to Oklahoma history until 1913. He feels the reservation period is an important one on its only frontier fort still an active military post, but Fort Sill is which too little research has been done. "It was a period full of also a designated National Historic Landmark. turmoil, adaptation and change. Indians at this time were trying to History has always played a major part in Spivey's life. Though deal with one another in new perspectives and trying to deal with he is a member of the Chickasaw tribe, his first name, chosen by the U.S. government in new ways," he says. The new exhibits his father, is actually a Skokomish word meaning "river people." are housed in the Guardhouse and the new Visitors Center. The name was prophetic. Spivey, bom in Madill, says he spent Spivey is optimistic about the future of the museum, which is his youth running up and down the Washita and Red rivers. one of the largest Army museums in the nation. "We've been His career choice was a logical outcome of his youth. "I've been faced with a lot of uphill problems and a tremendous backload of terested in history and Indians and natural history all my life. work. But in the not too distant future you will be seeing a ly father was very good about an oral tradition of history and hearing a I-- more from Fort Sill's museum." -Jane Beckm 12 Oklahoma TODAY It has been reproduced from the middle section of a rare 1900 billboanl which was called "the find of the century" by the Smithsonian Institution when it was uncovered behind a plaster - wall in Lamont, OK in 1982. The original billboard is now on display at the Pawnee Bill Museum and Mansion in Pawnee. : Tlris historic print is a true collector's item which will bring / you back to bygone days in Oklahoma. Available exclusively through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, each print is numbered and measures 18 " x 30 ". 1 Onler your by using the coupon below. The cost is $50 each (-me not included) and is a tax deductible contribuiion*to the Pawnee Bill Museum and Mansion. For firthor infomation, call 405-52 1-34 1 1. P .i .- A true collectorgs YES. PZwe send each. WiZd WRF~Shm print at $50 -+8- EtlcIoscd is my &k or moq onlir for $ ' . us after sunrise on May 28, from the other Caarlg The bUowing year, LW,Thorpe J 1887, in a onemom log cabin began hi climb to gridiron pt- near where Pointer Greek flows into ness. In one game, he m for five the North Canadian Riwr in pre- touchdowns and passed far another sent-day Pottawatomie County, a during the first half. At the end of . young Indian woman gave birth to the season, CaIisle was 8-2-1 and twin sons. Afterward, the young asked if he mIrd qy, w d the Thorpe was named a Third Team mother gazed out the cabin and, members plscsd t& h& ot .the All-American. seeing a pathway shimmering in the When not playing football, sunlight, gave one of the children Thorpe continued his domination of the Indian name of Wa-tho-huck, or the track and field circuit, winning Bright Path, better known as James medals in the high hurdles, low hur- Fmnsis Thorpe-who became one dles, high jump, broad jump, shot- of the world's greatest a&letes, put, 1Wyard dash, hammer throw, Tbe mn of Him, a mmbr of discus and javelin. the %c and Fax Thmd~birdCb, After the 1909 school session, and Cbhrce Tkarpe, rr Tharpe accompanied two fellow stu- and fcicbpoo Wan, tlr I dents to Rocky Mount, Nod Cato- grew up on the family fz* s&d4s fb@ldsquad. Although lina, where he spent the summer Bellemont, southwest sf Prague. Warnet Ikeobragttd the move, playing pmfessional baseball in the From the time he was 6 until he was 'Thqx pdsted. Adopting anotha East Carolina Association far $15 a 17, Thorpe attended schools in tactic, Wmer outfitted his star week Thorpe dropped out of school Oklahoma and Kansas. 1 trachmn in an old, tatted uni- until 1911, when he mentered Car- In 1904, Thorpe was admitted to form, placed him at one end of the lisle and "Pop" Warner's football the United Sates Indian Industrial field and told him to run to the other squad. School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. goal past 60 varsity playcrs waiting In the following two seasons, There, he attended foml classes to make the tackle. after Thorpe Thorpe's gridiron performancx be- half a day and worked at his chosen made the dash' twk without being came legendary. In 1911 and 1912, profession, tailoring, the other half. brought down, Warner added him to Thorpe scored 30 touchdowns and Thorpe was indistinguishable the squad. 12 field goals as the Carhie Indii 14 Okiahama TODAY OKLAHOMA OMNIBUS outscored their opponents 802 to 163 Miller, and they eventually had four suffered a heart attack and died. Af- while compiling a 23-2-1 record. His children-Jim Jr., Gail, Charlotte ter his death, Thorpe became the 1912 scoring mark of 198 points has and Grace. center of controversy as he was bur- never been exceeded by a major col- Thorpe stayed with the Giants ied first in Shawnee and then Tulsa lege player. until 1915 and then switched to the before finding a final resting place in In recognition of his abilities, he Cincinnati Reds for a season before 1954 in Mauch Chunk, renamed Jim was named a First Team All-Ameri- returning to the Giants for the fol- Thorpe, Pennsylvania. can both years. However, his abili- lowing three years. He played for With his passing, Thorpe's honors ties on the football field were but a the Boston Braves in 1919 and then continued to grow. In 1%3, he was preparation for his greatest achieve- was relegated to the minor leagues elected to the Professional Football ment-the 1912 Olympics. until he quit baseball in 1928. Hall of Fame. A decade later, the Held in Stockholm, Olympiad VI A versatile athlete, Thorpe also AAU restored his amateur status and was the largest athletic competition played professional football during recognized his track and field up to that time, and Thorpe entered the fall and winter. In 1915, he achievements, and in 1977 he was both the pentathlon and decathlon signed with the Canton Bulldogs in named the Greatest Football Player competitions-15 strenuous events Ohio for a salary of $250 per game in American history by Spolt maga- during four days of competition and four years later captained the zine. However, it was not until 1982 spread over 10 days. On Sunday, team to a world championship. That that Thorpe's amateur status was re- July 7, Thorpe astonished the crowd same year, 1919, he was elected the stored by the International Olympic by winning the broad jump, the 200- first president of the American Pro- Committee, and replicas of his gold meter dash, the discus throw and fessional Football Association, the medals were returned to his family the 1,500-meter run and finished forerunner of the National Football in January 1983. The medals are third in the javelin throw to compile League. now permanently displayed at the three times the final score as his In June 1922, Thorpe joined his State Capitol in Oklahoma City. nearest competitor in the pentath- longtime friend Walter Lingo to or- Another honor came in August lon. ganize the Oorang Indians-the 1986 when Governor George Nigh Six days later, Thorpe entered smallest NFL franchise ever-in announced the annual presentation the decathlon competition. On the LaRue, Ohio. Thorpe remained as a of the Jim Thorpe Award to the top first day, he won the 16-pound shot coach and player with the Indians collegiate defensive football player put and placed third in the 100-me- until 1923, when he signed with the in the nation. ter dash and broad jump. The fol- Rock Island Independents. The latest tribute to the state's lowing day he won the high jump In 1925, Thorpe married a second greatest athlete will be May 23 in and the 110-meter hurdles and fin- time, and he and his wife, Freeda Yale with a celebration of Thorpe's ished fourth in the 400-meter dash. Kirkpatrick, had four sons-Carl, 100th birthday. Thorpe lived in On the final day of competition, William, Richard and John. That Yale, 40 miles east of Tulsa, from Thorpe won the 1,500-meter run, same year he was traded back to the 1917 to 1923, and the only home he finished third in the discus throw New York Giants and then spent the ever owned has been turned into a and the pole vault and fourth in the next four years with four different museum. Two of his daughers, Gail javelin to score a record number of teams before retiring from profes- and Grace, still live there. points. His double victories have sional sports in 1929. Festivities that day will be a 10- never been equaled. After his athletic career ended, kilometer race, a two-mile run, an After the Games, Thorpe re- Thorpe worked as a common labor- arts and crafts show and a pow wow. turned to a hero's welcome and the er, painter, movie actor, lecturer and Proceeds from a dinner that evening final season as a star on Carlisle's sports promoter. Although his health in Tulsa will be used toward build- football team. However, the fame began to fail after he left sports, ing a Jim Thorpe Memorial in front was short-lived. Soon after the close Thorpe served with the Merchant of the museum. of the football season, a sportswriter Marines in the Pacific during World Actor Chuck Norris, two-time broke the story of Thorpe's profes- War 11. Olympic decathlon winner Bob Ma- sional baseball days. When Thorpe After the war and marriage to Pa- thias and former Chicago Bears coach admitted the story, the Amateur tricia Askew, another important George Allen will be in Yale and Athletic Union and the American event occurred in his life-his true Tulsa to help Oklahomans remem- Olympic Committee stripped him of athletic talents were finally recog- ber one of its most famous citizens. Dl his amateur standing and his Olym- nized. In 1950, the Associated Press pic victories. Without fanfare, named him the greatest football Thorpe returned the medals. player and the greatest male athlete Dr. Kenny A. Frank ti the director of Turning to professional sports, of the first half of the 20th century. education andpubIication for du Thorpe signed a baseball contract But the Oklahoma-born athlete OkMoma Hen'tage Associaton and the with the New York Giants in 1913. had just two years to enjoy his celeb- author of 23 book and more dun 40 That same year, he married Iva rity. On March 28, 1953, Thorpe amkh. ------MAY-JUNE '87 15 GRIT, GUTS and the RIGHT STUFF By Jim Apel Photographs by Jim Argo owboys will never out somewhere between kindergarten knowing they're the best ranch." die-that is as long as and the eighth grade, but the longing Twelve ranches representing all ar- there are little boys for that independent lifestyle remains. eas of Oklahoma are invited to send who dream of becom- In Oklahoma, many people have been their best hands to compete in realistic ing one. The romantic able to fan the sparks of dreamy desire tests of skills common to working cow- image of independent- into the flame of becoming real boys. The whole concept of the Range minded,C weather-skinned drovers cowboys. Roundup was built on a foundation of pushing herds of longhorns up the For more than a century, ranches practicality and "developed around dusty Chisholm trail to the railhead in have covered the state from border to regular ranch life," says Rusty Martin Kansas City persists today even though border. The demanding work of ranch of the Rafter "R" Ranch near Checo- most little boys haven't seen a real live life breeds pride in a job well done and tah and Morris. cow, let alone a cowboy. competitiveness among those who The roundup includes such exotic or Usually that dream of living the make their home on the range. To realistic events (depending on your rough and tough life on the range dies prove who are the better horsemen point of view) as wild cow milking, today, working cowboys from ranches team branding, cattle doctoring, team all across Oklahoma ride the trail to the penning, saddle bronc riding and a Lazy "E" Arena outside Guthrie once wild horse race. a year for the Oklahoma Cattlemen's This slate of non-traditional events Association Annual Range Roundup. was selected not only to test the skills Unlike a professional rodeo that pits of modem cowboys, but to appeal to a professional athlete against profession- larger audience than would be expect- al athlete, the Range Roundup contes- ed at a regular rodeo. A larger audience tants are "strictly ranch hands," says would mean more money in the pot, Hump Halsey, longtime trick roper and rancher from Mulhall. "There's no prize money, no entry fee. The ranch- es are competing for the satisfaction of 16 Oklahoma TODAY but it wasn't intended for the cowboys Located in Edmond, Genesis July. A haze of tobacco smoke, the themselves. House is a home for battered and fresh aroma of stirred up soil and the In Oklahoma's early days, part of abused children. It is funded solely by faint but unmistakable smell of fresh ranch life included looking out for your private donations. manure complete the sensory illusion neighbors, and that's what the round- The cowboys this year will donate that a rodeo is about to take place. up committee had in mind. "We want- the proceeds to the Oklahoma Chil- A flurry of activity centers near the ed to help a local charity by raising dren's Memorial Hdspital. chutes on the arena floor. Suddenly, a money," says Ellis Freeny, executive To witness this event that show- saddle bronc and rider burst from vice president of the Oklahoma Cattle- cases Oklahoma heritage while at the chute number one. The cowboy hangs men's Association. "We were able to same time allowing for a healthy on for dear life with both hands, his hat give Genesis House $10,000 that was amount of competition, thousands of pulled low over his eyes. No spumng, raised by our Range Roundup last spectators, families and friends fill the no fancy stuff. His ride is short on style year." Lazy "E" Arena. Scores of cowboys but long on grit and sheer determina- and cowgirls dressed in new blue tion. The rider sticks with the pony, jeans, cotton shirts and wear- ing contestants' numbers sit astride Mike Jona of Uk Chain Rad, Canton, their mounts lined up on the arena MiTAF a mpe as he and afm mbuysambk to Uk arena for he start of r8e Roundup. floor. A cheer goes up when the se- quin-bedecked rider bearing the American flag appears in the opening pageantry. A hush falls as the crowd rises, dofting hats reverently even be- fore the first notes of the national an- them lilt from the PA system. Then, in one collective voice, old and young alike sing the Star Spang@ Banner. It sounds and looks like the begin- ning of a regular rodeo, the kind many of us have grown accustomed to in Oklahoma towns on the Fourth of MAY-JUNE '87 17 In a seven-photo sequence on the next four paga, Guymon's Hitch Ranch ccx~boysScott Nmevrm (No. 391, Robby Bata (No. 40) and RicR Furnish (No. 38) begin a not-too-prornising attempt to saddle and ride an unwi//ing bronc in the wiki hone race. Do hey succeed? Follow the sequence and see for youme& showing it who's boss. The eight-sec- much trouble breaking horses, but he home," says the cowboy, who works ond buzzer finally sounds and the cow- says it's not as easy as it looks. "When on the 30,000-acre Hitch Ranch near boy thankfully lunges for the nearest you break a new horse you're gonna Guymon. "We break horses and ride hazer and bails off the still-kicking hang on with both hands, your legs, horses all the time." bronco. your teeth, your feet." Each cowboy And just like "at home," some of Surprisingly, there are no red flags uses his own stock saddle. No profes- the cowboys are finding the wild stock from the judges on the arena floor. sional rigging is allowed at the Range just a little too rank, their standard Instead of receiving a "no score" for Roundup. saddle just a little too slippery and the using both hands, the cowboy is An aura of nostalgia surrounds bronc seconds just a little too long. And, un- awarded a mark in the low 70s that rider Rick Furnish. With a thick mus- willingly, they discover that the dirt on many professional rodeo cowboys tache turned down at the corners and a the arena floor tastes just like it does in would have been happy with. But it tight-fitting cowboy hat, Furnish looks the corral back home when you get appeared that the cowboy had never like he could have just stepped off a bucked off. even seen how saddle bronc riding was dirt street in long-ago Kansas City. Getting bucked off isn't such an un- done in a professional rodeo event. "It's pretty much like a-'-- we do at usual occurrence on the range or in the In each of the events at the Range rodeo arena for someone like Furnish. Roundup, that's precisely what the He spent a couple of years on the pro judges will be looking for. Despite the rodeo circuit after studying on a rodeo fact that they themselves have been scholarship at Panhandle State Univer- professional rodeo cowboys, their scor- sity in Goodwell. In 1975 he was na- ing is based on how a working cowboy tional collegiate saddle bronc would go about his job. In the saddle bronc event "you ride Rex Bugbee, a Chain Ranch cowboy, awai~s him just like you would an rinbroke hti turn in the am. horse," says Martin, a former player in the Canadian Football League, whose size is reminiscent of Hoss Cartwright. It doesn't look like he should have Oklahoma TODAY runner-up. "It's a lot harder to ride milker then races the length of the AS team after team turns out to at- them in a stock saddle," he says. arena back to the judge to prove the tempt the milking event, it proves to When his turn to ride finally comes, job is completed successfully. be one of the most difficult and hu- Furnish doesn't find it necessary to Harrel, a graduate of Oklahoma morous of the night. Cows defy being hang on quite so tightly to the bronc State University with a degree in ani- caught by the ropers; muggers have a he drew, and he's even able to put on mal science, has seen her share of ro- hard time holding cows still long a little show of some of the poise he deos and ranch life and feels the Range enough to be milked and milkers have learned on the rodeo circuit. He wins Roundup is a good test of everyday to watch out for kicking hooves. Cow- the saddle bronc event easily and later skills. Unlike pro rodeo where practice boys who have already competed sit in is named Top Hand at the 1986 Range makes perfect, she says, "There's no groups on the arena fence, faces Roundup. way we could have practiced for this. pinched in concentration, occasionally Just as cattlemen are important to I've never even done this before." stealing a quick glance at digital wrist the continuation of ranch life in Okla- Like tending cattle on a ranch, "It's watches comparing times. When the homa, cattlewomen too have been an more spontaneous. You don't really dust settles, the Harrel Ranch team is indispensable part of Oklahoma's rich know what's going to happen out able to hold on and come out on top in heritage. On many ranches men and there," she says. the event. women work so closely together that As teams take their turns in the are- the traditional distinction of gender na for each event, it becomes increas- roles blurs. Many of the teams at the ingly obvious that age makes no Range Roundup mix men and women team members. Chin Rand whys Wwcr Sah Down in the arena with a mixed (far left) and Brad team, the Harrel Ranch from Leedey Hutdrinson strap on has its turn at the wild cow milking. In haher f@ng beJoe this timed event, a team consisting of a riding brona. Pnparinp mounted roper and a mugger on foot to compete means m4ing equipment- must rope and hold what proves to be and he mind. an unwilling cow. "That's the hard part," says Darla Harrel. "Then I have to run in there and milk her." The MAY-JUNE '87 difference when it comes to working watch the action closely, all the while Three minutes are allotted for the on a ranch-only ability counts. Cow- discussing strategy with their own team penning event. In the event, boys no older than their late teens team members and even with those of each three-member mounted team has work side by side with fathers and competing teams. Teams that have to cut three specific numbered calves grandfathers, some in their 60s. finished events come back and tell from a herd of cattle without the horse The same type of kindred spirit that those still waiting for their turn what breaking into a lope. After sorting the ties generations together also ties cow- kid of problems to expect and how to calves out they have to move them to a boys from different ranches together. overcome them. pen on the opposite end of the arena At times, rather than competing with The intensity of competition keeps and try t get all three into the pen each other, they find themselves in a the crowd's attention focused on the before time runs out. One of the most larger, more difficult battle-compet- arena. Hushed tones prevail while ordinary jobs on the ranch becomes a ing with nature. The frustration of each event is in progress. As time lim- tense and concentrated effort under working with unpredictable and often its for the timed events begin to run the watchful eyes of thousands of uncontrollable livestock seems to over- short, the noise level decreases even spectators. come sometimes intense inter-ranch ri- more as spectators concentrate intently "I kinda like the penning event the valries. During events, competitors on horses and riders. best," says Bob Miller from the Miller Ranch near Okmulgee. "It takes a Dmid Fisher (No. 26) mixture of a pretty good horse and a lot and Rix Firher, from the Fisher Rand in of know-how." Eufauh, team up jbr The good horses and know-how of the mttk doctoring event. the cowboys from the Daube Cattle Two Goemboys rope a Company from Ardmore snared a win calfs heels and necR - for them in the penning contest as they and, afrer the anima 6- still, a tnrd marks I were the only team to pen all three ch/k on its ' calves in the allotted time. signahng to &ejudg From intense competition among job 6-finished I seasoned horses and riders, the Range Roundup turns to a more visually ex- citing final event-the wild horse race. "People watch rodeo for the Oklahoma TODAY thrills and spills," says Halsey. It soon cowboy is just along for the ride. Just As the event comes to a close, all the becomes evident there are plenty of as they are about to cross the finish line contestants and their horses return to those in this event. the horse decides to cut back toward the arena to await the tabulation of A wild horse race is second cousin to the chutes. Not having any reins, the scores and the announcement of the saddle bronc riding, but totally uncivi- cowboy can do nothing but hold on. top team. Cowboys from some teams lized. Three haltered wild horses with Another team's horse and rider head already know their performances ropes attached are released from out with the other two team members haven't merited any awards and they chutes at the same time. Each ranch waving hats and arms hoping to direct sit quietly in their saddles. Other team of three members must hold the them in the proper direction. The teams, those in contention for the horse long enough for a rider to saddle crowd continues to cheer wildly until bragging rights as best team of the him and ride across the finish line at all three horses have crossed the finish Range Roundup, fidget nervously, the end of the arena. The team with line. talking with one another and family the fastest time wins, although there is A similar noisy scene is repeated members standing at the arena fence. a seven-minute time limit. once more as three other teams step up The announcement finally comes and "It's the worst event," Rick Furnish to do battle with the wild stock. The the cowboys and cowgirls of the Daube says. "Everybody's afraid of getting Chain Ranch team from Canton turns Cattle Company have won the compe- hurt." in the astounding time of 53.31 sec- Unlike the "finesse" events that re- onds to win the event. quire skill and coordination between Rob Hudron, with horse and rider, the wild horse race 2-yeclr-old John and appears to be a contest of brute 3-year-OMRobbie, are strength and guts. The crowd starts part of an audicna of cheering wildly as riders struggle to 5,000 watding the Ran@ Roundup. Be saddle and mount their untrusty pmced from the ma20 steeds. Time and again riders and sad- an? givm to a daily. dles are tossed to the arena floor to be picked up and put on once more. A horse and rider finally make a break toward the finish line. Bucking wildly, the horse is definitely in control; the MAY-JUNE '87 21 tition and earned the applause of the pressed by all the cowboys," Rick Fur- crowd. nish says. "I was sitting on the fence Even as the applause goes up it's talking to a rancher and I said, 'If you easy to see that each ranch hand as- had all these cowboys together in one sembled in the arena knows in his place you could sure get a lot of work heart that he had a better team and a done.' The other guy looks at me says, better way of approaching each of the 'Yeah, you'd either get a lot of work contests of skills. Until next year done or you'd get nothing done. These If you've ntwer seen a wild horse race though, they'll just have to wait, think, cowboys would all be arguing about or a wiU cow miking, you can aftend tk the best way to do something.' " talk and, of course, work cattle. tBl Catt/emenn'sRange Roundup on May 29- The Range Roundup is an impres- 30 and eliminate mo things from your list oj sive event for spectators who only ntwm. dream of ranch life, but the event is Jim Apel is an Edmond-based freelance Some of the best woding cowboys from not without impact on contestants who writer. Jim Algo Is a stdphotognapher for the state's bat-known rancha will compete at live that life themselves. "I was im- The Daily Oklahoman. the roundup at the Lzy E Ama in Guthrie. Events begin at 8 p.m. both Dave MifferJr., from evenings. TiGRts are $12 and $7, and Ohlgee's Miller chiMren under 12 are admitredbe to Ranch, /ost his hat but C not his seat. general admtjson seats. To get to the Lazy E Arena, exit from 1-35 on Smard Road, whd is 30 mi& nod of Oklahoma Go. Dke 4% mila east on Stward to the amFor ticket information call Kay Atkins at (405) 282-3004, or write Lazy E Arena, Rt. 5, Box 393, Guthrie, OK 73044. - 22 Oklahoma TODAY t startad in conversation over lunch in Oklahmma bjty, this cross-continental githec&rr ta celebrate Indian heritage. Iywm+ a justice tor the -ma Supreme adKen Bonds, a vice president at Liberty M ~ &I&,djointly dreameda dream. mcognited by the,federal any other says he Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian art gsllery-twned- of Colony. YWe realired when we wLblJO,t &D mdr0tb in Santa Fe, Taos and dlbuquerqua web diidnst have a place for our artistsP Re& >*- W7 began there. CO~TUVUEO - dian flutes, (left)wood scu/pture, baskets, pottery, nrgs and beadwor.4 will be part of the jud show and sale in Myriad Garhs. ne 120 North American Indian artits inwited to enter must submit at least ei&t pieces of art. Nonjuried artits will offcw their wod inside the Myriad. The outdoor arts mill be open dai/y June 5-7 from I1 a.m. to 7p.m., at the Oklahoma Ciry Chamber 'Woman in Blue" (below) ir the work of Chmkee artist Trqy Anderson, Siloam Springs, Arkansas. te Sen. Enoch Kelly Ham9 promises, is is going to be the biggest pow wow world has ever seen." On June 5-7 in the Myriad, nearly 5,- dancers-men ana women invited from every North American Indian tribe-will bring costumes and ancient dances to compete for $50,000 in prize money. And in an outdoor market in the Myriad Gardens, beneath the skyrcape of downtown Oklahoma City, 1PO Indian artists from the Uniited States and Canada have been invited to bring their sculpture, paintings, baskets, artifacts, clothing, pottery and jewelry to a wedshow and sale. CONTINUED ancy war hnm(up left) like J& T-, a Kiowa from &a&, war lwo pl~~medhtb ond more clod ' Pand btodr than oder hmm. AZhn Hower, (left) a native Okkzhoman and mtemationa/.. mnspeGtcd scn/ptor, is ajudgc for the art dm,along with m@tor- painter Did West and 17.8. Rep. Ben Ni&horse Campbell, a jtwe/.y desig~m. Enmees in de art dm (center)njkt contemporary and traditional Indian art, as we/./ as de bled of he lwo. Okkzhoma Sen. End Lj I 2 H i 2 ed Earth '87 is a three-day cultural festival, as well as a pow wow and art show. Jereldine Red Corn, the event% - -executive director, says visitors can see stickball and lacrosse games; outdoor entertainment that includes singing, flute playing, dancing and demonstrations of pottery and basket making; a parade with dancers and tribal princesses; and the work of hundreds of Indian ads* in a non-juried sale in the Myriad. Ult9sgoing to be bigger and better than the National Finals Rodeo," says Yvonne Kauger. And when the drums cease, Red Earth '87 will become Red Earth '88. Drums and singen (opposite page) are the core of a pow vfi~m.Twenty Canadian and rican drum groups will sing at Red Earth. 'om Ware, a// of Anadarko, fill Comachaa, hton, mA;tional dancen, except 30 competes in the strai@t dance category. -iaditiona dances tell stories, while the steps in straight MAY-JUNE '87 27 my- 28 Oklahoma TODAY educational programs de- voted to training young Oklahomans to carry on the state's proud jazz tradition. The bottom musical line is that Oklahoma is a pretty jazzy state and ought to be dam proud of it. SECOND AND GREENWOOD: Okldoma's Owa Bodon S- When Thom Rosenblum began digging around for a topic for the Oklahoma Historical Society's annu- al Black Heritage Week display for 1984, he had no idea what a rich part of Oklahoma culture he was going to unearth. "I was going through old copies of Zk Black Dkpa&&" he recalls, "when I noticed this col- umn by Eddie Christian called 'Musical Low Down.' Eddie was Charlie Christian's brother, and Charlie is one of the major names in jazz history; they moved from Texas to Oklahoma City early in their lives. One, a modern scholar who had to come up with a Latin the world of music. No matter what you caff it, no appreciate or whether you "bass" your musical tastes on surprisingly rich history and vital present. The Eddie Christian columns which Thom Ro- - MAY-JUNE '87 29 H players who need to straighten up their onstage and offstage acts, advice to struggling musicians and Ed- 8 die's general wisdom. One representative quotation suggests the power of the jazz movement at the time: "You can hear people say, 'I can't see why old John, 2 Dick or Harry doesn't stop playing music; he doesn't % ever have any money.' I am telling you all that don't know, you can't stop playing music as easily as you Foe-+ years afcer hk u think; that is if you really like it. You can hear musi- &d,CLrlie Cbnktian cians say it, but deep down in their souls it's not true. k sti// considered one of dte For one reason, he can work all night and leave the job kt jazz guimlisa who and really mean to go home, but he hears a bunch of cver lived. Hk innmations in singk smng p/aying Cats riffing, and he stops, and starts riffing with them. on an ehtnk gui~crr So when you hear a Cat say that he can stop playing are krrenaarv. music. tell him That's out!' " Clearly, jazz was in. In the same year the column quoted above appeared, 1935, Eddie Christian esti- mated 14 clubs, theatres and amusement parks in Oklahoma City were hiring blacks to play what was predominantly their music. Some of these places were owned by blacks, but most by whites; many allowed black patrons only on certain days. The downbeat of the jazz movement across the nation was that the color mixture of white paper and black notes necessary to make a jazz "chart," professional jargon for sheet music. was not re~roducedin the music's audiences. No matter &hat the color of the audience, though, Oklahoma City's Ruby's Grill, Ritz Ballroom, Forest Park, Slaughter's Hall and Goody-Good Cafe and Tulsa's Dixieland and Louvre Ballrooms, the lat- ter now known as Cain's. swung almost nightly with ~dfromd@f7org@*hh mfl %mP band' at 18. the music of the Happy Black ~ies,~ucke;Coleman Hew,at20, ~4%hh hhr E&ie3 @t, Chnktian h on hk wqto and his pails of ~ h and ~T.B. G~ T ~ ~hand~ W his~ LaF Angels to pkq anid Benny Goodman's otwit.rtta. Gobblers of Rhythm, all local groups. At Hallie Rich- $ ardson's Shoe Shine Parlor, the brushes and polishing $ rags rubbed and snapped to the beat of jam sessions : that must have produced shoes that glistened as # brightly as the brass horns and the notes that flowed 5 from them. And at the S&H Smoke Shop where, as Eddie Christian claimed, "the live ones love to lin- ger," careers were started and ended as booking deals { were made and broken. Although jazz was really a movement of the streets and speakeasies, many Oklahoma City musi- cians came to the idiom well-schooled in music of anoth- er sort. At Douglass High School, music teacher Zelia Breaux was directing the band and teaching vocal and instrumental music to scores of aspiring music makers. Her emphasis on classical music and sound training in the fbndamentals made every good boy do fine when JhW&Sh&%m@#? hk mh, adduring htk /@, m'fk he left the classroom and hit the sweets. rn1h-iAim & '&aa~~t/king mk blm singer." Rushing, kft, an Ok~tlloCfy nariue, sa#g id% tke B/ue in die 1920s ad'30s, Among Mrs. Breaux's most celebrated pupils was bbeff BW ~~kerr*~in 03 and &d Count famous vocalist Jimmy Rushing. After leaving Doug- Back's Nwa Yo&-based o~mfi-om1935-50. lass, he played with the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, a 30 Oklahoma TODAY group that recorded and traveled the country. Among his fellow Devils were the earlier mentioned Christian Brothers. Of all the men of note who helped make Oklahoma cool, Charlie Christian was undoubtedly the one of most importance. Many believe that even though he died at only 23, he can safely be called one of the best jazz guitarists ever. Clarence Love, who has lived in Tulsa since 1946, remembers the times well. Born in Muskogee in 1908, Love spent most of his life on the road. "It was a hard life," he remembers, "but I enjoyed it. In those days there were no guarantees. We played on what we called the 'chili route,' because after you played all you could buy was a bowl of chili." To earn even enough for a bowl of red, Clarence Love and His Orchestra, like most musicians struggling to survive, had to be versatile: "A friend of mine got us booked 'cuing' Swanee River. We didn't have talking pictures, Sdool and is &i& w& then, so we'd do the music for the picture. My drum- giving aspiring jazz ahsts a mer had to travel with a tub of glass to break for sound muicaI founhtion. Ted Amstrong and & Musk effects, and we had to make the sound of hoof beats Mastm (below)packed and the like. Often, after the picture was over we'd hncminto th Rib Ballroom clear out the hall and have a dance." in de md-'30s. Ah Bohr Clarence believes that people today have trouble is & baa phyer. listening to jazz because television and the other me- I , L dia do& give it enough exposure, and that jazz is suffering from musicians with too much schooling. Although he admires learning, he says, "Too much education is bad for a jazz musician. You need the feeling.- Reading music is important, but you've got to improvise SCATTERED SCAT: Jazz in OkZahoma Today Although Stephen Fulton is 31 and Clarence Love is 79, the differences in their generations don't stop them from agreeing on several things when it comes to jazz. ~ul&n,a orm man resident %hose pas- sion for jazz is evident not only in every note he plays on his fluglehorn and uumpet, but in every word he says, feels that "It's unfortunate that most of what's happening; with jazz in Oklahoma today is happening in khools~schools teach how to be a Gnctiond mu& cian in a bie band. but a jazz laver needs more. He . A . needs the agstheti; of jazz. He needs to learn in clubs, in sessions with other great jazz players and in front of appreciative audiences. " Fulton, who spent four months in 1985 touring Europe and the United States as a member of Woody Herman's band, knows what he's talking about. His commitment to jazz leads him to spend, ideally, five a B/ossom ~ ~wasdone of, okhhoma Gg's E&ant for to seven hours a day studying his music. Those hours hnkng afid&ng. ~ ~ i g ofqbna/ ad do^/ npubp/ayd inqlude practicing his inst ing recordings hen in the '30s and '40s MAY-JUNE '87 31 and studying book after book on the origins, theories and greats of the form. He readily admits that many of his fellow musi- cians think he's too demanding in his definition of jazz and his judgment of what makes a great jazz musician. He says, "If there isn't improvisation, there isn't jazz. Jazz is the player vansferring something he feels strongly to you, to the listener. It takes more concen- tration than any other musical form because the player is dled upon to do so many things. He must be an F expert on his instrument, physically. He's got to know 1,000 tunes, no music, in many keys. Then he must have creativity so he can use ihe tools to pass on a spark of human drama to the audience. As he plays he composes spontaneously while mastering his instru- ment, negotiating key changes and communicating with all the other players in $re band." For the last two summers, Fulton and his peers have had a great place to congregate and communicate with each other and appreciative audiences. Jazz in June, a joint project of the Cimanon Circuit Opera Company (CCOC) and the Norman Arts and Human- ities Council (NAHC), has grown from a casual one performance summer event in 1985 to a planned three-day jazz extravaganza in 1987. Jennifer Kidney, Executive Director of the NAHC, says, "The first year about 750 people attended the concert. In 1986, about 3,090 people showed up at the four events we offered. This year we expect that many just at our big, free park concert." The 1987 Jazz in June schedule will delight the true jazz afficionado. Running June 5, 6 and 7, the festival, which this year is dedicated to Billie Holiday, begins with a Friday concert at the Sooner Theatre featuring Keisha St. Joan, a major jazz vocalist, and Bertha Hope, a renowned jam pianist. Saturday, a "Made in Oklahoma" big b&d put together for the occasion by Stephen Fulton will play a dance concert at Sooner Fashion Mall begiming when & stares close at 9 p.m. Then on Sunday, an outdoor jazz - concert will once again rock Andrews Park with perfor- mances by the best jazz talent Oklahoma has to offer. An added level of excitement this year is a com- petition open to all Oklahoma residents. Hopeful sing- ers from around the state submitted tapes, each of which included a ballad, a blues song and 'a f&t "swing" number, and the .famous musical couple of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth selected the best Oklahomajazz vocalist. The winner will be a featured - performer at the Sunday afternoon concert. When members of the CCOC first envisioned a jazz festival in Norman, no one expected the event eo take off quite the way it has. Jennifer Kidney admits, "I was really surprised at the response. Then I began Oklahoma TODAY I 1 to discover what roots jazz has in Oklahoma and how many jazz musicians we have. The CCOC and NAHC feel good about supporting jazz because it's a truly American art form. We're now putting toge,ther a jazz Snpln Fvlon ' history program for the public schools called 'Jazz, (be~ow)sqs: .Yrn OK!' We'll talk about jazz in general and specifically in S P ~ bie~ B Oklahoma and take a quartet into the classrooms. ~pabikkofhe We're also making a video to show on the public it~~nwmenfand bie mu~icMn's school cable station and to offer to teachers for class- intelk, .*.,, mom use." Even though Stephen Fulton and Clarence Love have some reservations about jazz in schools, both would probably agree with Dr. Kent Kidwell of Cen- "8 tral State University when he says, "Jazz, which was A - the 'pop' music of its day and very marketable, has faded in popularity. It seemed a shame to let it die because of ;he fickleness of the public. In the shel- TuAa bond hzkrand tered world of the university we can keep it alive as we mmbone pbyer Emit- Fuk perform and promote it. Too, we take it to an ever (below) ma& mrdc and increasing number of people who hear it and like it. It m m coosf~ to coat aon&4 his hasn't been too long ago that 'jazz' was a dirty word in o&rm fiom 1931 to education. That's really changed only in the last 20 1949. In bie '505, after bie big band ero fa,Fit-ki3 years as it's been accepted as a true musical art form." kame a swmsfir/ "by1m and Central State boasts two big bands with 20 or bkmuskian. FiB, in some members, several small combos studying con- &front row in his 193Ophot0, temporary forms of jazz and a couple of traditional jazz still /iw in T&. groups. In the summer of 1986, one of those groups, The Civilized Tribe, was invited to be one of only three U.S. collegiate ensembles to perform at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, one of the 8 world's most prestigious jazz gatherings. They played at parks, concert halls and other festivals in France, 2 Belgium, Holland and Germany before ending up in Montreaux. They also were the first band to win first- @ place awards twice at the National Collegiate Dixie- fj land Band Championship held annually in conjunction with the National Association of Jazz Educators con- vention. In 1987, The Red Rive; Ramblers, another CSU jazz group, took second. CSU is not the only Oklahoma school with a 3 strong jazz program. Many of the larger high schools, colleges and universities support performing groups of g different types. And many of the men who lead those groups belong to a group called The Oklahoma City > Jazz Orchestra, whose 20 members gathered last Janu- ary at Comerstone Studios in Oklahoma City to record # "All Soul," a jazz album of waltzes, swing numbers, ballads and breakneck tempo standards. Under the direction of Larry Skinner, secretary of the Musicians Union local 3751703, these extremely talented Oklahoma jazz players laid down ten dyna- mite cuts to produce a record that will, according to Count Bm2, secondfiwn &, dih mhin 1928. skinner, "demonstrate that jazz is a commercial, mar- Later, he a& Walter Page, &, joined B~TMOM'Sbad in ketabk product and that it requires a high degree of Kansas b&om Basie fond his mn odro. MAY-JUNE '87 Hot Spots for Cool Jazz azz events, radio shows and clubs seem to come and go at J breakneck tempo. What follows is a partial list of what, at press time, were available sources of jazz entertainment in Oklaho- ma; we apologize to those people, places and events we don't mention. For specific information about dates, times and perform- ers, please call the establishments listed below. ANNUAL CONCERTS AND FESTIVALS In addition to these major events, many of the colleges and universities offer smaller-scale home concerts and provide off- campus entertainment. The campus festivals focus on high school, junior high school and college competition; however, many in- clude concerts by local and guest artists. Call the various music LRon Nelson, who began /Its career dunng Oklahoma's early days of jazz, still plays weekends aat 77re Bricks retaurant in Oklahoma City. departments for specific information. Spring Jazz Festival, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, p.m.; Paul Gill Jazz Show, Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. MarchJApril. OSU also offers a Fall Concert. KCSC: (Central State University, Edmond) Music From the The State Jazz Contest, Central State University, April. Hearts of Space, Friday, 9-10 p.m.; Barney Kessel: Inside Jazz, Friday, 10-11 p.m.; Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, Friday, 11 Southwestern University Jazz Festival, Weatherford, second p.m.-midnight; Jazz Bag, Friday, 12-6 a.m.; Eulipean Arts, Satur- Friday of February. SWOSU also offers Fall and Spring Jazz day, 9 p.m.-midnight; Saturday Night Overnight, midnight-6 a.m. Concerts. KOSU: (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater) Jazz After University of Tulsa Jazz Ensemble Festival, Promenade Mall, Hours, Monday-Friday, 10 p.m.-midnight; Jazz Radio Festival, April. TU also offers two concerts during both the fall and spring Saturday, 9-11 p.m.; Jazz After Hours, Saturday, 11 p.m.-2 a.m.; semesters. Syncopation Time, Sunday, 9:30 p.m.-midnight. Occasional spe- cial programming, Saturday, 8-9 p.m. Green Country Jazz Festival, Northeastem State University, KWGS: (Tulsa University) New Directions, Sunday-Friday, 7 Tahlequah, late February. p.m.-midnight and Saturday, 9 p.m.-midnight. Fall and Spring Jazz Concerts, The University of Oklahoma, KNGX: (Rogers State College, Claremore) Big Band Music, Norman, two each semester. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. KBEZ: (Tulsa) Jim Jerrels' Big Band Saturday Night, 7 p.m.- Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Jazz Festival, Miami, late Janu- midnight. ary. NEO also offers Fall and Spring Jazz Concerts. KGOU: (The University of Oklahoma, Norman) Big Band Jazz, Big Band Bash, East Central University, Ada, late March. Monday-Friday, 7-9 p.m.; Big Band Stand, Monday, 9-10 p.m.; Sound of Swing, Tuesday, 9-10 p.m.; Jazz From Las Vegas, Northern Oklahoma College Jazz Festival, Tonkawa, Wednesday, 9-10 p.m.; Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, Thurs- February. day, 9-10 p.m.; Sidran on Record, Friday, 9-10 p.m.; Jazz Perspec- Jazz in June, joint project of Cimarron Circuit Opera Company tive, Monday-Friday, 10 p.m.-midnight; American Jazz Radio and Norman Arts and Humanities Council, Norman. Festival, Saturday, 10 p.m.-midnight; Jazz Summit, Sunday, 7-9 p.m.; Sunday Night Jazz, 9 p.m.-midnight. The Charlie Christian Jazz Festival, sponsored by BLAC, Inc., OKC, April. BLAC, Inc. also offers one major jazz artist in its CLUBS THAT PROVIDE LIVE JAZZ I I season. I Bianca's Jazz Club and Restaurant, OKC; Cherry's, Tulsa; Southeastern Oklahoma State University Fall Jazz Concert, River City Restaurants, OKC and Norman; The Bricks Bar B.Q. Durant, November. SEOSU also has a mid-winter concert in and Bakery, OKC; Liberty Drug, Norman; LaFayette's, Norman; February. The Magnolia Cafe, OKC; Samurai Restaurant, OKC; Flip's Wine Cameron University Jazz Festival, Lawton, April. Other Bar and Trattoria, OKC; McKracken's Mill, OKC; Second Fret, events at Cameron are a Country-Jazz Fusion in November and OKC; Eskimo Joe's, Stillwater; Francoise, OKC. Fall and Spring Jazz concerts. FINALLY.. . RADIO PROGRAMMING I I For further reading about jazz in Oklahoma, pick up a copy of KOCC: (Oklahoma Christian College, Oklahoma City) The Singing Cowboys and AN 77atJazz: A Short History of Popular Music in Eulipean Jazz Network, Monday-Friday, 7-9 a.m.; Eye on Jazz, OkLahoma by William W. Savage, Jr. It's published by the Univer- Monday-Friday, 2-4 p.m.; Jazz and Easy, Monday-Friday, 4-5 sity of Oklahoma Press in Norman. -Kathryn Jenson White 34 Oklahoma TODAY skill and musical excellence. We want this group to serve as an example for young players." The album, Mudogee nahe Barney Ktlrsel whose title cut is an original song by Joe Davis, a is ofleofORla/rorna'smostfamom nationally known performing artist, arranger and com- jm He recorded soundhacks for four poser now teaching at Northeastern State University at Ehk pm4 and hm Tahlequah, hits the record stores this spring. mod& with ark~fi-omBarbra Skinner estimates that about a fourth of Local Strksand to Tex h. 3751703's membership of 818 musicians are jazz play- K~sel,who in ORkzhoma ers. Tulsa's local 94 has about 700 members, of which chrktiafl ' ~~;n~a?'!~ only about 5 percent are true jazz players. Skinner is quick to qualify his figures by saying that "Most of the jazz artists must also be active in other musical areas. We've got a lot of symphony members in this group who play jazz when it's possible. Most of the rest teach I I music at high schools and colleges. It's almost impossi- ble to make a living playing jazz." Yes, but as Eddie Christian said in 1935 about leaving music to earn a living doing something else, "That's out!" All the cats riffing in the Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra clearly have the tones of the 'phones and 'bones as part of their life rhythms. Their Oklaho- ma audiences may not be as large as those for iazz I groups in New 0;leans or New ~Grk,but 01' 0klaho- I , , - has got jazz roots that go deep into its red dirt. en it comes to -jazz past- or -jazz -present, Sooners can proudly toot their horns. I 1 Getting !ere I in June celebrata a unique American art fonn with a I rhree-day celebration of liee jazz performances. -- On June 5 at 8 p.m., Keisha St. Joan and Bda Hope el~a concefl of h.adiriona/ and originaljazz ar Sooner Thatrt big Main in Nonnan. To mach the theatre, drive teast on Mc Woodie Wood, l@, who played Dijn'elbnd and bandjazz, began a long and varied rnuic~J cawin the eady '30sin Okkdoma City. Street from 1-35. Tickets are $1 0-$25. 0njune 6, 'Made in Oklahoma" big band will perform traditional jazz for a 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. dance at Sooner Fashion 35 and Wesf Main in Nonnan. I v concetl featuring all typa of jazz and the winner of a I" - 2 vocal competition will be offedat Andms Park on June r noon to dusk. L5e park is located south of Main Street an4 stet-, east of 1-35. For more information, LontaQ the Nonnali and Humanities Council at (405) 360-1162. 'Down on Second Street,'' Oklahoma Historical Son'ety 's trmeling dibit about Oklahoma's black jazz art is^ from 19 ' "' 1940, will be dispkqed June 1-30 at the Nonnan 4 County Historical Society, 508 N. Peters, Nonnan. Fn on Main Strzet to Peten, thnod four blocks. Ho p.m. Monday to Friday and2 to 5p.m. Sunday. Ad For more information, call (405) 321-1056. II lk ORlaAoma Ctty Jazz Umfmha's nm album ii an &~~n'ona/ Kdtyn Jenson WhL ti an ORZcidoma-baed fnehce w9r'ter. album to show music students Ujazz is a living muical fonn. MAY-JUNE '87 35 By Scott Carlberg klahoma's most plentiful natural re- Photographs by Jim Stafford . L/ source must be sunlight, at least it Sunhst is a imilyfest, not only for rseems that way in the springtime and summer. northeast Oklahomans but for anyone And why not celebrate the seasons of the sun? who'd like to join the jovial spirit. And with entertainers roaming Sooner Park, One northeast Oklahoma community does just nst having fun is nigh impossible. Jugglers pitch Indian clubs, defying that. The people of Bardamille have decided that gravity as several pounds of club seem songs, games, crafts, art and lots of good food are to float endlessly until picked from the the best ways to the spell of winter. air. "I manipulate gravity through shake years of diligent practice md lots of It's called Sunfest and dram 100,000 people frustration," says nationally known from more than a dozen states. This year, three juggler Robert York, who juggles not only props but banter with the audi- days, May 29-31, have been set aside to don jam ence. "And the cmds at Sunfest en- shdrts instead of pinstripes and listen to live music courage me to do my best and even try new material. The atmosphere is very instead of the rush of evening traffic. relaxed." - 36 Oklahoma TODAY Clowns, as bright as the springtime planes. The tiny specks languish in six parachukrh (left) bail out 7,500f& flowers in Sooner Park, weave around midair like the juggler's Indian clubs. over Bartlmlk during Sunfat. Tuhan Roberr handh the crowd to surprise children and an Slowly they grow larger as they skid Yod (above) nmod by jugling fie me~lfohiinguiain-, dumbbelh and rings. occasional adult. Storytellers entrance down a slippery sunlight slide. The the audience with the engaging, eye- divers jump from some 7,500 feet and they pinpoint the place they choose to to-eye look that tells stories from the open their chutes 2,000 to 3,000 feet land. soul instead of a TV tube. "This is one from the ground. "We jump upwind of Sunfest offers lots to see and lots to of the oldest human an forms," says the place we want to land," says Bob hear, too. Musicians play bluegrass, Fran Stallings, a Bartlesville storyteller Schiermeier, a skydiving veteran of jazz, Cajun, blues, gospel and country who's been coast to coast mesmerizing 3,700 jumps. "We ride downwind un- music. More than 24 hours of music children and adults with her tales. til it's time to land, then we turn to- will be performed at Sunfest '87, and "Storytelling isn't just words. It's ritual ward the wind." Before the chute there's no admission charge to any poetry, and it's for all ages. You don't unfolds, the divers hurl toward the performance. ever outgrow the ability to enjoy Sunfest crowd at 120 mph, slowing to Sunfest has as many kinds of food as stories." 10 mph after the chute opens. Close to music. Why not uy Indian tacos, Ca- Overhead, skydivers-looking like the ground, they rock their brilliant jun sausage on a bun or Chinese egg poppyseeds in the sky-hop from rectangular chutes in the wind until rolls? Or stick to the Oklahoma stan- MAY-JUNE '87 37 a volunteer, as are all the members on the Sunfest committee. "We had 30,000 visitors the first year, and now we have well over 100,000. One reason is that Sunfest isn't only one kind of event. Sunfest is art, entertainment, music, food, contests and a big helping of friendly people. " It is a celebration, not only of spring- time, but of that feeling of renewal that springtime brings. It's the fresh spirit of splashy watercolors, symmeai- cal clay pots, laughter, guitar-picking, down-home folks and country cooking in a city that boasts as much variety as a card hand holding a royal flush. Where the opulent mansion of oilman Frank Phillips stands several blocks a med' ofdrzmt k'd of music- fblk, Ga&n,M, pp/,him, nm a@. Music /oven can picR and dome what dy'd like to hear, ad, ktof a&, d p&omianm k *. from the wooden derrick of Oklaho- ma's first commercial oil well; where dards: barbecue, chicken-fried steak Supervised free crafts and games such the downtown district has a Frank and sloppy joes. And don't forget des- as gunnysack races and finding coins in Lloyd Wright touch; where the hills of sert-perhaps a funnel cake, cotton a haystack make Sunfest a place for a rustic game preserve and a majestic candy, watermelon, sweet potato pie kids as much as adults. "Children look western art collection at Woolaroc or camel nut popcorn. forward to Sunfest," says toy craftsman Ranch are down the road. Not far from the imaginative kinds "Speck" Little of McAlester. "In Feb- Just for a few days each springtime of food, another type of creativity con- ruary, my grandson was already talking around the end of May, the natural verges at Sunfest. Stone sculptor Ron about going this year." resources of Oklahoma trade places Schroeder of Hollister, Missouri, says, There's more for kids than games- when oil and wheat take a back seat to "An important part of selling art at a there's education. A variety of north- the sun and creativity in Bartlesville.Il festival is that I have the opportunity eastern Oklahoma groups demonstrate to meet the customers, the spectators. skills such as dog obedience, astrono- They're the whole reason for my art. I my, home computing and yam spin- want to be able to relate to them and ning. Yam spinning? "Yes, it gives you let them know what I'm trying to a feeling of being close to nature and accomplish." history," says Catherine Laurent, pres- Getting Stained glass artisans bend sun- ident of the Green Country Fiber There beams into art. "It's only proper to Guild. "The spinning wheel dates create art with sunlight at Sunfest. back to the 1500s. It teaches patience Enjby a& and erihx&inment for he That's what Sunfest is all about," says and gives the spinner a sense of pride, 401%family at Sunf6t '87, which offm a doke of musicfrom jmto b/m, a feeling of what our forefathers had to Bartlesville stained glass artisan Ron supnnscd m& &ink and &nufooa[F Nikkel. "I try to create the finest, do for the necessities of life." from Cajun saasag to Chinfie egg ml.. most detailed pictures of nature in the With the lure of events like yam More dun 100 artists and artisans my/ glass. I have nature in the image and spinning, skydiving and storytelling, off& their weds for sak. nature itself li&Xr mrp the image." Sunfest has become a sizable celebra- S&hd May 29-31 at Battkwiik's Almost a thousand watercolors, oils, tion since it started five years ago. Sooner Park, Sunfd~t'87 my/ be opetl pencil sketches and acrylics are dis- "We've grown from a small communi- Fn'd.ry, 4 p.m. to ah#; Satu*, 10 played by painters, and craftsmen's ty get-together to a significant event," a.m. to kd;Sunday, I1 a.m. to 5p.m. homemade dolls, toys and furniture says Rusty Cates, festival director, and To grt to Sooner Pad, &to Hieq 75 cover the park. nodfrom Tuha to Hi&ay 60. T~ffltwt on Hi- 60 and dnkv I mi.% to Youngsters create their own art to Scott Cadjberg ia BarthwiUe-bed Mdion Boukwatd and turn nod for 2 remember Sunfest. Kids even become frekance writer. Jim Stafford iaformer miks. For more infolmaon, contact art as facepainters touch up their mugs Okkdoman who now lkin Owd, Rusty Cat6 at (918) 6618178. with stars, butterflies and rainbows. Missouti. 38 Oklahoma TODAY THE GIFT FOR ALL OCCASIONS Mother's Day ... Father's Day ... r bp~utifulway to sab.. Birthday ... Okhhoma TODAY is a thoughtful gift that will be appreciated by those you care about. Order them gift subscriptions and they will receive six beautiful issues full of breathtaking color photography, travel ideas and interesting stories on people, places, history and traditions of the Sooner State. To order, fill out the information below and send it to us. We will process your order quickly and send gift announcement cards for you. My name Address City State Zip Please send gift subscriptions to: Name Address City State zip - Sign gift card: Name Address City State Zip Sign gift card: Price: $12 each for one year (add $4 if outside U.S.) Total amount of order $ Check or money order enclosed Visa Mastercard, Interbank # Card # Exp. date Signature Clip and mail to: OkIahoma TODAY P.O. Box 53384 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 for faster service call toll free 1-800-652-6552 8 am. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; or call (405) 521-2496 -- MAY-JUNE '87 ROCK - &ROLL HIGHWAY TO A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN By Ann DeFrange Photographs by Jim Argo The tiny plane scoots along against a placid, pastel, I Oklahoma sky and suddenly, like a crippled duck, flops over on its side and points its nose sharply toward earth, spinning, seemingly out of control, into the ground. Then, at a speed of some 200 mph, it pulls itself up in a tight curve, zooms back I into the sky and perches sassily on its tail. It's a heartstopper for the viewers on the ground, but the pilot merely shakes the fuzz out of his brain and the stars Tom Joncr is one of30 pih in .tke Unined Stah who quaI$~for amhatic mmp'on in he Unlimined category, .tke most dmanding. from his eyes and grins. 40 Oklahoma TODAY bunng compemon, some aerooanc prrors spenu mu-rnrru- of tkr time flying upside down. nepmsure on he pilot I? sseen G fomes, or seven times the body's weight. It takes time to bui/d up to/erance to the pressure, and it wears of unless pilots stay in training. "That's as close as you can ever on weekends, lined up their planes- Nevertheless, aerobatic flying, both get," says Tom Jones wonderingly, "to Pitts, Stardusters, Decathlons, Cita- in competition and in exhibitions, is having wings coming out of your brias-and showed off to one another the modern-day version of the early- back." the tricks they'd learned that weren't century barnstormers, those traveling Jones is one of the country's ace exactly standard flying procedure. By showoffs who defied science as well as aerobatic pilots, so accomplished an now, they're well known at regional the odds to terrify and titillate crowds airman and a showman that this year and national fly-ins and contests, as on the ground. he is one of three pilots who will fly much for their enthusiastic sociability Today, there are schools and li- the Silver Bullet, the tiny jet launched as their airborne skills. censed instructors specializing in by Coors at air shows across the nation. The 107 members hold meetings, teaching aerobatics, but in the barn- He's one of a group of Oklahoma pi- socials, practices and their own annual storming tradition, some veterans lots, men and women, who don't be- contest. The organization, says secre- learned in a more renegade manner. lieve it's enough to simply fly in a tary Wallena Haynes, keeps the sport Jones tells-cautiously, because he straight line and have trained them- safe. Aircraft are inspected before con- doesn't recommend it-how in the selves to do the loops and rolls, turns tests, which themselves are closely early 1970s he was hired to ferry newly and dives that add an extra small sneer monitored. Planes are equipped with manufactured planes cross-country. in gravity's face. double seat belts, body harness and "Those were long, boring trips," he The group got organized three years parachute, and no fatality has been re- recalled, and along the way he tried ago as International Aerobatic Chapter corded in aerobatic competition. out loops and turns for his own enter- 59, but prefer to be known as the Okie "It's a safe sport, done by profes- tainment. He bought a book illustrat- Twisters. They began as a bunch of sionals with professional equipment," ing aerobatic maneuvers and, "I'd pick daredevils who picked out a safe field she says. out one I wanted to do and do it in my MAY-JUNE '87 - -.--.,wood and clofi, and hey can wihtand more precsure dun wmmmal jers. Sam~-fiepmmt of he p/ana in competition are Pi#s Sp&a/ bi-phnes, whih, fir/&-equipped, cost about $80,000. head in bed at night, and the next day, Haynes isn't cautious at all in his tales In 1966, he bought his first aerobatic I'd go way up high and try it." about his Korean War experiences, plane, a Citabria. Although he bought himself a Star- spent primarily in El Paso, Texas. He Haynes, who is so aviation-oriented duster biplane with open cockpit, was an airplane mechanic, but the pi- he lives in a settlement built around a Jones, who lives in Oklahoma City, lots, he says, sometimes arrived for landing strip and spotted with hangars kept his career in the fast food busi- morning duty with exceptional hang- between the homes near Edmond, ness and his hobby in the air until he overs, so they would put him beside now is able to make a living from the flew to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1980, them in a cockpit and talk him through sky. He rebuilds and restores planes, is the year the world championships were a flight. a trader and dealer and a designated held there. Haynes didn't get a license until pilot examiner for the FAA. He takes "All the world's best aerobatic pilots 1960, but then earned money towing up his own plane, whatever is in the were there. I stood around and banners. He particularly remembers hangar at the time waiting for a buyer, watched, and I felt like I'd died and one reading, "9 out of 10 nudists use for some "simple loops, spins, rolls, a gone to heaven. " Coppertone," and a few proposing few hammerheads, that's good enough Twisters charter member Buddy marriage, a few celebrating divorces. for me." But he doesn't enter the com- 42 Oklahoma TODAY I Puxhing the Partner~hip t's okay to call them "stunt pilots" when they're performing at ver on the ground, moving their feet in a simulated box, tilting Ian air show; that's entertainment. But when they're in compe- their hands as the wings would go, trying to anticipate any hidden tition, they prefer "precision aerobatics flyers"; that's serious. trick to the maneuver. The contests are thrilling to ground-bound spectators, but no Judges, who work with a grid of the "box," rate the flights on a one watches more closely than the judges, who polish their scale of one to 10. Looping or rolling outside the invisible lines of binoculars and crane their necks spying for the least minor flaw in the box is an automatic loss of points. the maneuver. They ascertain that the loops are perfectly round, The stunts that thrill the crowd are not always the most danger- that maneuvers flow smoothly into one another, that the flight is ous or difficult in a pilot's repertoire. Tom Jones, a veteran balanced within the allotted flying space. showman who often talks to his audience by radio from the The space is called the "aerobatic box," an imaginary block in cockpit, says a fan favorite is his 16-point hesitation roll, during the sky 3,300 feet square and slightly more than that distance which he turns the plane in a loop on its side with 16 brief stops above the ground. The more qualified the pilot, the closer the throughout the turn. bottom of the box is allowed to the ground. Every aerobat, Jones said, has a dream maneuver, one he has Scoring is much like that of a gymnastics meet. Pilots are imagined but which either he or his plane hasn't been able to assigned a "known sequence" identical for each contestant; a free- perform. style sequence designed by the pilot but requiring certain degrees For Jones, he dreams that someday he will take off into the sky, of difficulty, and an "unknown sequence," the plan for which he turn his plane on its side and complete a graceful, flowing, total receives only a few hours before his flight. He has no opporrunity knife-edge, outside loop. But so far, man and machine haven't to practice with his plane; usually pilots will pace out the maneu- stretched their partnership so far. -Ann DeFrange .I ref Judges aren't allowed to take their eyes off plantiduring cumpetiton. A spotter calls manemen ththe pilot is to attempt, and ~udgs(a// srora to assistants. Althoug$ the job is satishing, judges time to withstand unromfortab/e weather, complaints about scorn and nerkarhes. MAY-JUNE '87 1 petitions. Instead, he and his wife, ~allena,serve as "Mom and Pop" of the Twisters. The two organize meet- ings, fly-ins and troubleshoot the contests. Their members aren't all profession- al aerobats. Among them are some air- line pilots who drop their conservative caution on weekends and play in smaller planes. There are a number from the medical and legal professions, too, who yearn for the physical chal- lenge and can afford the sport. Buddy Haynes has been j@ng ambatzc azqhna jor you two hoot3 for snow ski in^ and fish in^, " he sqs. The sport, they will agree,- is a re- spectful union between man and ma- chine. Planes must be certified for the body back in the seat, drain the But then, his eyes focused overhead aerobatics, but the higher the skill cat- blood from the brain to the lower body to test the wind and the clouds, he egory, the more accomplished the pi- and often cause blackouts. Negative tells you, "I wouldn't give you two lot, the more responsive the plane G's, by contrast, stretch the body and hoots for snow skiing and fishing." must be. give the sensation of being flung out of "You can start out in the lower cate- the plane. Together, in sudden dives gories with a pretty simple plane," and sharp pullouts, the forces will Jones says, but a plane like those Jones cause the pilot's body to jerk, his face requires "is like an Indy 500 race car. to contort and bring brief moments of Getting It's built for one reason only." pain. There Many are custom-built to combine "You have to keep conditioned," lightness and strength. They are de- says Jones. "You have to be an athlete. Okbhomans and othm will Arne signed for ballet-like maneuvers and It's an extremely exhausting sport" for drm dianca to wad A heart-stopping must make precision moves quickly. which he has learned to rest between twist3 and spins of th ORie Twistets in May and June. general aviation plane would not 15-minute flights. "A Amspace Amha '87 is an annual stand up to the stresses at all," Jones "It's uncomfortable, expensive, aviation trad show wih an air shm says. "The wings would fall off." time-consuming. It demands too many featuring some of dre workfs greatest Those planes cost from $15,000 to things unless you're really serious perfrmm. ScMukd June 20-21 at $150,000. about it." Okkzhoma Cify's Wi//Rogm WoAi Their pilots compete in Sportsman, What it gives back is "an adrenalin Aiqort, amspace attractions im/d an Intermediate, Advanced and Unlimit- high like nothing else," he says. "It's antique ainrafr contat and a retail ed categories. Jones, who qualifies for the most free feeling you can have. aimafr auction. Aabatlce tickets am $5 for the Unlimited ranking, claims to be You crawl in that plane, you're the adults, $3 for diiidren agfi 6-12 and one of only about 30 in the United only one in there responsible for your jkejbr c/lHm under 6. At the gate, ticket States, 100 in the entire world. It's not life." pka are $5 and $7. To pumhase tickets or mgkterjbrdre auction, call Ted Stand an easy game to play, he says. To Buddy Haynes, flying is just a at (405)681-2361. The toughest competition is against way of life and flying upside down and In Stillwater, two hatic a natural enemy, gravity, and its weap- sideways and dancing around up there competitions in May arefm and open to dre on, G forces. in the sky is just a part of flying. If pub/ic. On May 1-3, he U.S. National The rolls, spins, zooming in seconds asked, he'll say he does it for the same Sai/pkzne Amhatic Chmpionships will from horizontal to vertical, upside- reason some people ski in the snow or sekzt an American tam to compete in down to right-side-up at teeth-rattling go fishing. international competitions. And on May 29- speeds ... that's pulling a lot of G's. 31, dre Annual ORie Twist-Of m'Il host An Unlimited flight may put almost Ann DeFrange and Jim Azo am a A Regional Ambatic Championship. For 1,000 pounds of pressure on the pilot's longtime writer-photographerteam for more infomution on drat- two twent3, body in positive G forces, which slam The Daily Oklahoman. contact Tom Jona at (405) 681-3000. Oklahoma TODAY PRIME TIMES .May 13-15 Everyone is a winner at the OK State Special Olympics crames held at Stillwater's OSU campus. The "Olympic Village" will be home to wheelchair racers and other athletes from all over the state. +June 4-7 Mosey on back to the Old West during Santa Fe Trail Daze in Boise City. Hop a stagecoach ride, pitch a horseshoe or grab your pardner an' head to the square dance. +June 8-30 Catch a rare tribute to a famous artist when "Shawnee Home Life-The Paintings of Earnest Spybuck" is featured at the Oklahoma Historical Society in OKC. Works on loan from New York's Museum of the American Indian will join those belonging to local collectors and OHS. +June 18-20 Sink your teeth into the world's biggest pecan pie (20.5 feet in diameter) at the 3rd Annual Pecan Festival in Okmulgee's Creek Indian Council House. 8-29 "In Search of a Route," Travertine Nature Center, Sulphur, (405) 622-3165 )d MUSEUMS L GALLERIES 9-June 30 "Search for Extraterrestrials," Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461 16-26 "Double Exposure-Pigment & Film," Museum of the Great Plains, Lawton, (405) 353-5675 1-3 Art Show, Vinita Hotel, Vinita, (918) 256-6243 31-June 30 "The Works of Otto Duecker," Philbrook Art 1-9 Nat'l Watercolor Society Exhibit, Gardiner Museum, Tulsa, (918) 749-7941 Gallery, OSU, Stillwater, (405) 624-6016 1-16 "Three Women In Art," Brookside, Tulsa, (918) June 747-1829 5-30 Artist Linda Robbennolt, Kirkpatrick Center, 1-31 "Spring Nights," Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, (405) OKC, (405) 427-5461 427-5461 7-30 Contemporary Southern Plains lndian AILS, 1-June 30 "Modem Art: Selected Images," OK Art Center, Southern Plains Indian Museum, Anadarko, (405) OKC, (405) 946-4477 247-6221 1-June 30 "We The People," Gilcrease, Tulsa, (918) 582- 12-13 Western Art Exhibit, Cowboy Hall of Fame, OKC, 3122 (405) 478-2250 2-June 30 Paintings by Betdna Steinke; Sculpture by Fritz 13-30 "Vision: The Precious Treasure," Omniplex, White, Gilcrease, Tulsa, (918) 582-3122 OKC, (405) 424-5545 3-June 4 "Burntwater," Southern Plains Indian Museum, 21-30 "Summer Nights," Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, Anadarko, (405) 247-6221 (405) 427-5461 MAY-JUNE '87 45 ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR 2-3 Ans & Crafts Show, Disney, (918) 435-4953 3-17 Fine Ans Festival, First Christian Church, Tulsa, (918) 582-8237 13-17 Mayfest, downtown Tulsa, (q8) 582-6435 15-16 Rooster Day Celebration, Main Street, Broken Arrow, (918) 251-1518 Mw 16 Arts & Crafts Festival, Hobart, (405) 726-2553 1-3 "The Three Musketeers," Historic Community 16 Arts & Crafts Festival, Ada, (405) 332-1241 Center, Edmond, (405) 751-5046 17 Israeli Festival, Emanuel Synagogue, OKC, (405) 1-9 "Blues," Williams Theatre, Tulsa, (918) 747-9494 495-9800 1-10 'Tender Lies," Delaware Playhouse, Tulsa, (918) 23-24 Italian Festival, McAlester, (918) 423-2550 744-1 168 23-24 Fine Arts Festival, Art Center, Ponca City, (405) 7-24 "The Foreigner," Jewel Box, OKC, (405) 521- 765-9746 1786 23-25 Spring Festival del Paseo, Historical Paseo 9-10 Children's Show Premiere, Carpenter Square District, OKC, (405) 528-1222 Theatre, OKC, (405) 232-6500 23-25 Green Country Festival, Blue Ribbon Downs, 15-16, 21-23, 'The Normal Heart," The Phoenix, Tulsa, (918) Sallisaw, (918) 775-7771 28-30 749-6488 29-30 Texoma Lake Fest '87, Lake Texoma Resort, 24 "Peter & the Wolf," Williams Theatre, Tulsa, Kingston, (405) 795-2431 (918) 592-7122 29-31 SunFest '87, Sooner Park, Bartlesville, (918) 333- 29-30, June 4-6 "Rainmaker," Muskogee Little Theatre, 4883 Muskogee, (918) 682-3257 29-June 18 "Little Shop of Horrors," Carpenter Square June Theatre, OKC, (405) 232-6500 5-6 Pawhuska Festival '87, Pawhuska, (918) 287-1208 5-7 "0-Si-Yo-The Trail of Tears to Tears of Joy," June Town Square, Tahlequah, (918) 456-4112 1-30 "River City Players," NSU, Tahlequah, (918) 456- 12-20 Mozart Int'l Festival, downtown Bartlesville & 5511, ext. 2888 Community Center, (918) 337-2787 5-14 "Alone Together," Delaware Playhouse, Tulsa, 13 Founders' Day Festival, Disney, (918) 435-4953 (918) 744-1 168 13-14 Canterbury Arts Festival, Hafer Park, Edmond, 5-30 "Eddie & the Ecclectics," Brook Theatre, Tulsa, (405) 348-7067 (918) 747-9494 18-20 Kiamichi Owa Chito, Beavers Bend State Park, 6-30 'Trail of Tears," Cherokee Heritage Center, Broken Bow, (405) 584-3393 Tahlequah, (918) 456-3742 19-20 Hobby ShowIArts & Crafts Collections, Junior 9-20 "My Fair Lady," Lyric Theatre, OKC, (405) 528- College Gym, Sayre, (405) 928-3057 3636 20-21 Arts & Crafts Roundup, Recreation Center, 19-30 "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Hafer Park, Claremore, (918) 342-2816 Edmond, (405) 751-5046 25-28 Jubilation '87, Mohawk Park, Tulsa, (918) 592- 19-21, 26-28 "West Side Story," Frontier Playhouse, Midwest 7877 City, (405) 736-0161 27 Ole Time Country Fair, Jones, (405) 728-2637 23-30 "George M!" Lyric Theatre, OKC, (405) 528-3636 27 June-Fest, Courthouse, Purcell, (405) 527-2391 * FAlRS C FESTIVALS W( INDIAN EVENTS ---- .-I -- May May 16-17 Kiowa Black Leggins Ceremonial, Indian City 1-2 Tri-State Music Festival, Enid, (405) 237-4964 USA, Anadarko, (405) 247-5661 1-2 Pioneer Days Celebration, Fairgrounds & Pioneer 23-24 Indian & Western Arts Rendezvous, Indian City Stadium, Guymon, (405) 338-3376 USA, Anadarko, (405) 247-5661 1-2 Arts & Crafts Festival, Edmond, (405) 348-0565 29-31 Indian Heritage Days, Fairgrounds, Miami, (918) 1-3 "Arts For All" Festival, Shepler Square, Lawton, 542-4481 (405) 248-5384 June 2 Kolache Festival, Prague, (405) 567-2827 6 Sac & Fox Day, Sac & Fox Reservation, Smud, 2 Rose Rock Festival, Noble, (405) 236-6057 (918) 968-3526 2 Spring Arts Festival, Seminole, (405) 382-2622 13 Benefit Pow Wow, Choctaw Nation Arrowhead 2 "Springfest," Weatherford, (405) 772-7744 Resort, Canadian, (918) 339-2787 2-3 "Rendezvous Fair '87," Gilcrease, Tulsa, (918) 19-21 Creek Nation Festival & Rodeo, Creek Nation 582-3122 Omniplex, Okmulgee, (918) 756-8700 2-3 Arts & Crafts Steam Engine Show, Pawnee, (918) 25-28 Osage Ceremonial Dances, Pawhuska Indian 762-2735 Village, Pawhuska, (918) 287-1208 2-3 Arts & Crafts Festival, Cleveland, (918) 358-2131 26-28 Potawatomi Tribal Pow Wow, Tribal Pow Wow 2-3 "Annual Fun Fest," Pryor, (918) 825-0157 Grounds, Shawnee, (405) 275-3121 46 Oklahoma TODAY ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR 13-14 OK Paint Horse Show, Jerry Wells Arena, Purcell, (405) 478-1599 13-14 Artillery Hunt Horse Show, Rucker Park, Fort Sill, (405) 351-2521 18-20 Will Rogers Rodeo, Claremore, (918) 341-2818 May 21 Ben Johnson Memorial Steer Roping, Fairgrounds, 2 "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Community Pawhuska, (918) 287-1208 Center, Bartlesville, (918) 336-4746 24-28 OK High School Rodeo Finals, Lazy E Arena, 3, 5 OK Symphony Orchestra & Canterbury Choral Guthrie, (405) 282-3004 Society, Civic Center Music Hall, OKC, (405) 842- 7464 9 OK Symphony Orchestra & Ambassadors Concert Choir, St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, OKC, (405) 236-8742 9 Roy Clark & Co., Community Center, Bartlesville, (918) 337-2787 9-10 Prairie Dance Theatre 1987 Children's Show, Carpenter Square Theatre, OKC, (405) 842-5235 9, 14, 16 "Don Carlo," Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, 1-3 Mayday Flea Market, Community Civic Center, (918) 582-4035 Elk City, (405) 225-3270 10 OK Symphony Orchestra, First Christian Church 1-30 Decorator Show House. 3703 N. McKinley, OKC, Amphitheatre, OKC, (405) 236-8742 (405) 278-8945 21 Tulsa Philharmonic Classics Concert, Performing 2 Art in the Park, McLain-Rogers Park, Clinton, Arts Center, Tulsa, (918) 584-2533 (405) 323-2222 23 Tulsa Philharmonic Pops Series, Performing Arts 14-17 Walleye Rodeo, Canton Lake, Canton, (405) 274- Center, Tulsa, (918) 584-2533 3580 23-24 Dance Festival, Hatbox Recreation Center, 15 Armed Forces Day Parade, Lawton, (405) 351- Muskogee, (918) 682-3257 2521 27 Leontyne Price, Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, 16 Zoo Run '87, OKC Zoo, (405) 424-3344 (918) 582-4035 16-17 Tulsa Rose Society Show & Sale, Garden Center, Tulsa, (918) 747-2192 June 17 Garland Arts & Crafts Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, 4, 11, 18, 25 Concerts in the Park, Hafer Park, Edmond, (405) (918) 744-1113 348-8830, ext. 257 23 Jim Thorpe 10K Run, Jim Thorpe Memorial Park, 30 Starlight Concert, River West Festival Park, Tulsa, Yale, (405) 743-3697 (918) 582-0051 23 Commodore's Cup Short Course Race, Lake Thunderbird, Norman, (405) 364-1852 June 3,~s'& -2-3 RODEOS & 5-7 Antique & Classic Car Auction, Expo Square, HORSE EVENTS Tulsa, (918) 744-11 13 5-7 Old Settlers Day, Checotah, (918) 689-7751 6 Parade of Boats, Cherokee Landing State Park, Cookson, (918) 457-4403 6-7 Croquet Ball Tournament Weekend, Philbrook, 1-3 Charity Horse Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) Tulsa, (918) 749-7941 744-1113 6-21 OK Arts Institute, Quartz Mountain State Park, 2 Ben Johnson Pro Celebrity Team Roping & Altus, (405) 482-0210 Cutting, Lazy E Arena, Guthrie, (405) 282-3004 11-13 Darrell RoyaUWillie Nelson Golf Tournament 3-4, 22-23, Palomino Horse Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) Invitational, Oak Tree, Edmond, (405) 340-1010 25-26 744-1 113 13 Classic Run 1987, Edmond Library, Edmond, 8-10 OK Paint-o-rama, Jerry Wells Arena, Purcell, (405) (405) 348-8830, ext. 257 478-1599 20 Ultimate Challenge Triathlon, Keystone Lake to 9 Artillery Hunt Western Horse Show, Fort Sill, River Parks Model Park, Tulsa. (918) 582-0051 (405) 351-2521 20-21 Summer Open Regatta, Lake Thunderbird, 15-16 All-Mule Rodeo, Altus, (405) 482-0210 Norman, (405) 364-1852 23-24 Golden Opportunity Horse Sale, Expo Square, 24 Amelia Earhart's 90th Birthday, Kirkpatrick Tulsa, (918) 744-1113 Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461 23-24 Boley Rodeo, Rodeo Arena, Boley, (918) 667-3477 26-28 Sooner State Games, Myriad Gardens & other 29-30 OK Cattlemen's Range Round-up, Lazy E Arena, locations, OKC, (405) 235-4222 Guthrie, (405) 282-3004 27 "Show of the Arts," Fairview, (405) 227-4511 31-June 1 Green Country Paint Horse Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-1 113 Although the information in this calendar is current, dates and details June can change without notice. Please check in advance before attending 4-6 PRCA Rodeo, Pawhuska, (918) 287-1208 any event. MAY-JUNE '87