Chilly Mcintosh and the Muscogee Living History Education Day (Creek) Nation: 1800–1875” Presentation at Fort Towson
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Vol. 49, No. 2 Published bimonthly by the Oklahoma Historical Society, serving since 1893 March/April 2018 “Chilly McIntosh and the Muscogee Living History Education Day (Creek) Nation: 1800–1875” presentation at Fort Towson Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is honored to On Thursday, March 8, Fort announce a special presentation, “Chilly McIntosh and the Towson Historic Site will host Muscogee (Creek) Nation: 1800–1875,” to be held at the battle- Living History Education Day. field’s new Visitor Center on Saturday, March 24, at 1 p.m. Educational stations will include T. S. Akers, the fourth great-grandson of Chilly McIntosh, reenactors portraying time peri- who was colonel of the Second Regiment of Creek Mounted ods from the fort’s beginning in Volunteers C.S.A. during the Battle of Honey Springs, will 1824 through the 1860s. Partici- talk about his ancestor’s importance to the Muscogee (Creek) pants can expect to see soldiers Nation during the tumultuous Civil War years in Indian Ter- in full gear and civilians who ritory. The program is free to the public, but donations are dealt with the soldiers at the fort. The reenactors will teach stu- appreciated. dents about the uniforms, weapons, and lifestyles of soldiers, “At the onset of the American Civil War, the Muscogee (Creek) trappers, storekeepers, and other people around the region Nation found itself suffering from a division that had existed who were connected to the fort. Visitors will move from station for fifty years prior to the United States being pulled apart. to station to see demonstrations about military life. Creek leaders sought the best course for their tribe that would There is no charge for this opportunity to learn about our ensure their future survival,” said Akers. “One such leader that state’s history, but reservations are required. For more infor- worked to guide the Muscogee (Creek) Nation through the tra- mation or to make reservations, please contact John Davis vails that awaited in the Indian Territory was Chilly McIntosh: at [email protected] or 580-873-2634. Teachers must ac- a chief, a minister, and a soldier.” Mr. Akers will be available company each group, and a ratio of one adult for every eight for questions immediately following the presentation. students is recommended. Individuals who make a reservation After the presentation and questions, visitors will have the will be met upon their arrival and instructed to proceed to the opportunity to tour the battlefield and learn about key aspects many educational stations. Fort Towson Historic Site is located of the engagement and those who fought at Honey Springs. one mile east of the town of Fort Towson and three-quarters of Visitors also will be able to tour the new Visitor Center build- a mile north on Highway 70E. ing, purchase items from the gift shop, and learn about the new exhibits that will open in the near future. T. S. Akers is a resident of Oklahoma City who graduated from Eufaula High School in 2003. He earned his bachelor of “Old-Fashioned Bed Turning” arts in American history in 2007 and his master of arts in mu- presentation at the Sod House Museum seum studies in 2015, both from the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of the First Families of the Twin Territories Ready for an old-fashioned bed turn- and of the Oklahoma Historical Society. He is the author of the ing? Martha Ray of Pawnee, Oklahoma, books Knights on the Prairie: A History of Templary in Oklaho- will be at the Sod House Museum to pres- ma, Masonic Generals of the Oklahoma National Guard, 1894– ent just that on Saturday, March 17, at 1965, and numerous articles on the history of Freemasonry in 10 a.m. Oklahoma. Akers serves as the curator of Masonic collections What is an old-fashioned bed turning? In a time when pio- for the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple. neer women did not have much of a social life, they would bring For more information regarding the presentation and the their quilts when they got together and enjoy the spotlight while Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, please contact telling the story of making the quilt, the fabric used, the pat- Director Adam Lynn at [email protected] or 918-473-5572. terns, and the challenges faced when creating it. With several Honey Springs Battlefield is located east of US Highway 69 be- women in one house there was not a proper place to display all tween Oktaha and Rentiesville. The Visitor Center is located the quilts out in the open, so they would place them in layers on a hill within close proximity to the Oklahoma Blues Hall of on the bed and each woman would take her turn in telling her Fame in Rentiesville, Oklahoma. Driving from the west, take story. This was the origin of the name “bed turning.” the second left after reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame. Martha Ray has extensive knowledge about the history of an- tique and vintage quilts, and has presented workshops and seminars on the history of quilts. She will present this program in first person, telling stories from the perspective of pioneer women who wrote about their quilts in their letters and diaries. Ray also will explain that a young girl would make quilts for her dowry and in the “bed turning” she would show all the quilts she made from her first quilt up to her wedding quilt, allowing her some well-deserved bragging rights. The Sod House Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is located southeast of Aline on State Highway 8. For more information please contact Director Renee Trindle at 580-463-2441 or [email protected]. members. They voted unanimously to egist who helped us stay one step ahead adopt the staff’s plan, which was a sig- of the next challenge. nificant display of faith, but more impor- Denny was my mentor, my friend, and tantly, it showed the legislative members my sounding board. For the past twenty- that the OHS was setting its own path to eight years I have talked to Denny at least the future. I will never forget his steady once a week, sharing the challenges and Director’s hand at the tiller. opportunities, seeking advice about the Dr. Guy Logsdon was another longtime twists and turns of the political world, column friend and mentor who led with his cre- and sorting the important from the inter- ativity and curiosity. Guy, who passed esting. away on February 5, had a talent for I visited with Denny for the last time connecting the dots of history with the in Bartlesville a week before he passed expressive output of singers, writers, per- away. Every question was either about my formers, and folk artists. Before we even family or the OHS. To Denny, they went dreamed of OKPOP, Guy was an advocate together. The OHS family was his family. By Dr. Bob L. Blackburn for collecting and sharing the stories of He cared about us, fretted about us, and Executive Director pioneers such as Woody Guthrie, Bob threw his support to us when needed. He and Johnnie Lee Wills, and lesser known will be missed. If you follow the trail of success in the artists who never made the big time. All three of these leaders set examples history of any organization, you usually Guy, with his wife Phyllis usually sing- that we must follow in the future. Yes, we end up in the footprints of leaders who in- ing harmony, was a performer as well. are walking in their footsteps. vested their time and talents in a shared Every time I called them and asked them vision. Since the beginning of 2018, the to share their music, stories, and poetry Oklahoma Historical Society has lost with a group, they were as generous with three such leaders who made a difference their time as they were with their talent. in our rise from acceptable mediocrity to Guy was a living conduit to the ancient Smithsonian standards of excellence. skill of storytelling, and he dedicated a OHS announces the Dr. Lewis Stiles, who lived most of his big part of his life to collecting those sto- life in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, passed ries expressed in a variety of ways. release of Just in Time away in January. Lewis joined the OHS If there is a father of the modern Okla- Board of Directors in 1984 and served as homa Historical Society, it is Denzil D. The OHS is proud to announce the president in the early 1990s. Although in Garrison, who recently passed away at recent release of Just in Time, a book poor health, he attended his last board the age of ninety-one. chronicling the Oklahoma Honor Flights meeting in October 2017. Denny was on the leadership team in (OHF) Program. This work was written Lewis was fearless once he was on the 1981 that drafted and adopted a new by former State Representative Gary W. trail. I will never forget a board meeting in OHS Constitution that served as the Banz with a foreword by OHS Executive 1992 when we were challenged by a bud- major turning point from a nineteenth- Director Dr. Bob L. Blackburn. The book get cut of 18 percent. Our plan included century antiquarian society to a progres- describes the hard work and determina- either closing or withdrawing some sup- sive public/private organization that tion of thousands of individuals as they port from fourteen sites and museums.