Vol. 50, No. 3 Published bimonthly by the Oklahoma Historical Society, serving since 1893 May/June 2019 Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Birthplace Ranch Archaeology Day and to host “Night at the Chuck Wagon” and Frontier Days Summer Solstice Kids Camp Walks at Spiro Mounds Pack your sleeping bag for a “Night at Archaeological Center the Chuck Wagon” at the Will Rogers Me- morial Museum, an overnight event that Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center will take place from 6 p.m. on Saturday, will hold it 14th annual Archaeology Day/ May 25, to 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 26. Birthday Bash on Saturday, May 11, from This event is for children ages 5–12, ac- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site will celebrate companied by at least one adult. Partici- its 41st year of increasing awareness of pants will bed down in various parts of Oklahoma archaeology. As a bonus, Ar- the museum for a night of 19th-century chaeology Day will be a free day with no activities, movies, arts and crafts, games, entrance fees, although donations are and storytelling, with a chuck wagon din- gratefully accepted. ner and breakfast. All day, items will be given away by drawing and birthday cake will be served. Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch in Oologah. Registration is required and is $45 for nonmembers and $35 for members. The If you have artifacts, like arrowheads or deadline for registration is May 17. Both children and adults are required to pay the pottery, an archaeologist will be on site to registration fee. Space is limited to the first 15 children. Each child will receive a Will identify up to 10 items per person. Rogers book, and each child and parent will receive a t-shirt. Participants can register Flint knappers will show off their stone and pay at www.willrogers.com/overnight-at-the-chuckwagon. tool making skills. Blowgun, stickball, The Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch will host Frontier Days Kids Camp from June 24 to and Chunkee demonstrations will be 26. The camp will be three days of fun experiences, showing children what life on the available upon request. Lectures on local ranch was like in the 1800s. history and prehistory will be featured Campers will converge on the ranch from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a chuck wagon during the day. There also will be a guid- lunch at the close of each day. Activities will include blacksmithing demonstrations, ed tour of the site at 2 p.m. led by man- fence building, games from the time period, learning to do laundry on a washboard, ager Dennis Peterson. leather working, rope making, and hayrides around the ranch. Special guests will be a On June 21 you can start your sum- Cherokee storyteller and cowboy magician. mer with a trip to Spiro Mounds Archaeo- Registration is $45 per child for nonmembers and $30 per child for members. Chil- logical Center for a special guided tour on dren must be registered to attend, and the registration deadline is Friday, June 14. the summer solstice. There will be three Each camper will receive a cowboy hat, shirt, rope, and other crafts, as well as lunch. walks led by archaeologist Dennis Peter- Participants can register and pay at www.willrogers.com/frontier-days-kids-camp. son starting at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. For more information, please call 918-341-0719. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum Each walk will include one mile of easy is located at 1720 W. Will Rogers Blvd. in Claremore, and the Will Rogers Birthplace walking and last about two hours. There Ranch is located at 9501 E. 380 Road in Oologah. is a fee of $5 per adult and $3 per child in addition to the normal admission cost of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 Jefferson Highway presentation at Honey Springs for children. Oklahoma Historical Society Oklahoma author Jonita Mullins will present a program members, veterans, and Spiro Mounds about the Jefferson Highway at Honey Springs Battlefield and Development Association members get Visitor Center on Saturday, June 22, at 1 p.m. free admission with their membership/ American Indians built the first interstate roads, and the one ID cards. connecting Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas was first called the Peterson will talk about the history of Osage Trace. In the 1820s it was called the Texas Road and the mound site and the American Indians carried thousands of emigrants southward across Indian Terri- who built it more than 1,000 years ago. tory. This road was one of the primary focuses of the Civil War He also will talk about the reasons for in Indian Territory. In 1915 this ancient road became the Jef- the mounds and the alignment of some ferson Highway before the federal system numbered portions of the mounds to track the movement of of it as Highway 69 and Route 66. the sun throughout the year. The 7 p.m. Jonita Mullins is an award-winning author and speaker from walk will allow the observation of twilight Muskogee. She has written eleven books and more than 700 articles focused on regional wildlife and a view of the sunset, which is history. Mullins is a passionate preservationist and serves on the Oklahoma Historical the most important part of the event. Society Board of Directors. When she is not writing, speaking, or conducting historical The center is located three miles east of tours, Mullins works on preservation projects including the restoration of the home of Spiro on Highway 9/271 and four miles Alice Robertson, a missionary, teacher, and Oklahoma’s first congresswoman. north on Lock and Dam Road. For more For more information regarding the presentation and Honey Springs Battlefield and information about Archaeology Day or Visitor Center, please email [email protected] or [email protected], or call the Summer Solstice Walks, please call 918-473-5572. 918-962-2062. OHS. One of the most important but least of resources with production and return glamorous planning efforts was what we on investment, down to the hours spent called the Historic Context Review, which by each employee and volunteer. And the provided a template to define success and Historic Context Review, where it all be- guide future action based on the criteria gan, is updated yearly as our perception of chronological time periods, geographi- of history evolves. Director’s cal regions, and topical themes. Yes, for 40 years I have watched the column In retrospect, I can see that good for- OHS emerge from the doldrums of ac- tune, tempered by bad luck, allowed us ceptable mediocrity. Today, with trans- to put the planning efforts into play from parency and accountability, we are ready 1992 to 1995. and well prepared to collect, preserve, The bad luck was an 18 percent budget and share Oklahoma history for the next cut at a time when we relied almost ex- 40 years. clusively on appropriated funding. We cut staff at the headquarters, which allowed By Dr. Bob L. Blackburn us to start the reorganization process, Executive Director and closed 14 museums, which gener- For 40 years I have watched the Okla- ated a backlash from key legislators. The National Register homa Historical Society emerge from good fortune was a new federal grant pro- Nomination Grants the doldrums of “acceptable mediocrity” gram. The key to success, however, was and prosper under the business plan of our new planning process that included The State Historic Preservation Office “higher standards, greater efficiencies, the goal of self-generated revenue, part- (SHPO) continues to award its annual and partnerships.” ners, and an awareness that we did not matching grants to state, local, and tribal Some of that success is due to good for- adequately tell the story of transporta- governments and nonprofit organizations tune, such as finding the right people at tion. for the preparation of National Register of the right time, winning grants that come The result was the transformation of the Historic Places nominations. The SHPO in cycles, or attracting new partners who old Western Trails Museum in Clinton to has reserved $10,000 of its FY 2019 His- share our goals of education, preserva- the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, made toric Preservation Fund allocation from tion, and heritage tourism. possible by a $600,000 federal grant, a the US Department of the Interior for the Good fortune alone can add to positive $400,000 fundraising drive, and a proj- program. The funds are equally divided momentum, but it rarely sustains long- ect team dedicated to higher standards. for awards in two grant rounds, with any term success. Success comes from good Today, that museum generates more funds remaining from round one carried planning, teamwork, and accountability. than $400,000 per year in gross revenue over for round two. Applications and de- I trace the arc of success back to the and contributes to economic development tailed instructions are available at www. OHS Constitution of 1981 and the fun- through heritage tourism. okhistory.org/nrgrant. damental structure of governance that The same formula for success was used The deadline for round two applications combines private and public leadership to create the Oklahoma History Center, is Friday, June 7, at 5 p.m. Each grant with clearly defined roles of authority and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage is limited to $1,000, and the applicant responsibility. That governing document Center, Honey Springs Battlefield and must provide a nonfederal, cash match fostered a better balance between our Visitor Center, and OKPOP. of at least $700.