HONORABLE GEORGE NIGH Great Plains Country Enters The 1980s .....................4 Governor By Sue Carter VOLUME 30 NUMBER 2 SPRING 1980 Mountain Climbers' Paradise: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. ... 8 By Paul McCl~ng SUE CARTER PAUL E. LEFEBVRE Editor Art and Production BlLL BUSCH Dauntless Gold Seekers of the Wichitas .................... 11 C~rculat~on and Promotion By Steve Wilson Published hy the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreauon Deparln~enl Delores Buffalo Takes Us To Indian City. ..... BvJoye R. Boulton COMMISSION MEMBERS LT. GOV. SPENCER BERNARD BOB HODDER JIM PATE Wedding at Holy City. ..... Chalrman Oklahoma C~tyV~ce Chalrman Mad111 Secretary By Sheila Samples JAKE J SIMMONS. JR LARRY FIELD Muskogee Guymon Pageantry, Tradition Follow The Artillery Hunt .... BOB HINTON CELlA ROSENBERGER WR DICK STUBBS By Sheila Samples Altus Tulsa Henryetta BILL KELLOW. Dlr ABE L HESSER RON ACREE. Dlr Red Rock Canyon Family Reunion. ...... Tour~smPromollon Plannlng & Development Execut~veD~rector By Judith Wall W D JOHNSON. Dlr ROBERT A PIKE Dlr KEN FLAMING Dlr Adm~n~strat~on State Parks State Lodges Quartz Mountain Resort Fascinates Hikers .................. 25 11 1s Ihe purvose 01 Oklahoma Today lo dovole llself lo Ihe enule stale 01 Oklaho~naand 11s evay poslllve aspecl the scenery culture recreallonal and vls~lorallracllny evenls 11s lndustly nalural and By John Davis man made wonders 11s achievements 11s herrlage 11s presenl and 11s tulure Quartz Visitors Discover The World of Jeff Briley, Naturalist. ...... 27 502 WILL ROGERS BUILDING .Oklahoma C~ty73105 .(405) 521-2496 By Gary Lantz $5 00 Pel Year In U S S9 00 Elsewhere SI 25 Srnyle Copy Copyr~ghl1980 by Oklahoma Today Mayazrne L~lho111 Oklaho~na Restaurant Diners Enjoy Tales Of Oklahoma's First Resort ........ 30 By Junetta Davis In The Spring, Go Hunting For Fish. .......................31 By Bob Bledsoe Covers: The buffalo still roam alono with Texas Lonohorn cattle. elk. deer and other A Tour Of Southwestern Museums. ... w~ldlifein the Wichita Mountains eildlife Refuge. AWherdof about 6b0 buffalo is maintained through an annual auction in Novembe~Photo by Paul E. Lefebvre. By Sue Carter Left: Sailing on Fort Cobb Resetvoi~The state park, also has a golf course, fishin Books In Review. ...................................35 camp~ngand sw~mmingfac,lis plus a public huntin0 area. Photo by h red ~arvef Today In Oklahoma.. ................................36 COMING IN THE SUMMER ISSUE It will be fun for all when Oklahoma Today gives a sneak preview of some of this summer? Spvial Events. Blueorass music, fruit Entertainment Mushrooms In Southwest Oklahoma. ............ 37 and ethnic festivals. rodeos and countv fa~rs.o~oneer celebrations. boat races and By Bill Crawford Indian pow wows -'just in time to plai your'family vacation. Oklahoma is famous for its festivals and good times, and our readers can get set for where the action is. Entertainment Calendar ............................... 39 elcome to the Shortgrass Country of Southwestern Oklahoma. Through the years, residents have bragged about their 'Shortgrass country,"so-called wbecause of the native shortgrass that survived drouth, hot summers and cold winters to support buffalo and other animals. Man-made lakes and extensive irrigation have modified its original harshness, but the area remains a favorite for tourists who know it as Great Plains Country. This is the first in a series Oklahoma Today plans on different regions of the state. Only a few of the attractions found in Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Gree~Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens and Tillman counties are included. We leave the rest for you to discovex Northeastern Oklahoma will be the focus of the Spring 1981 issue. SPRING 1980 THREE The next few years 7 - should be exciting as During the paet few yeara, vieitam And chamber of commerce offidaIs to Ii~'@dawntown bueineee area from other statee as well aa other have emmmbd an eerie eight. Oklahoma t2cmmldtie€J have been Twdw~bloeiretheahe~loqkhg at the air-conditioned and triot had bmm wiW darn of'Md- heated mall aa a pouaible answer bo hgl5Inur~raaerwalpm1~am.thaJr downtown urban renewal prob- Itlvdad@dsl~eayddtiwe*tsd lezna, in WaaZd WIP XI M g dds. Lawton offivim the re-dwel- Vicd- MMt j&ed that frtwkm omtof the dawntown area as their dxd ap& fsr. a wheat allotmmt &#le most important accnomplirfh- ~~~b~m~-uwiorccllsmerit during the 1970s and erpect it rppWiprtm*~laaa to have the moet impact on Lawtan's 4 But wbl fbrsre mule vi$tom re- httuFsbthenextdsrmds. tura kda~.bO Qkhhds third larg- They are equally edted about the sst e&@ &my met in for another sur- @tartof production in hwton'e firat Idm. tbwMcnm "pastam" L m~nutacturing induetry, the mae W r &mpping ma-with a Wyear Tire & Rubber Co. Ap- aiEta'wm btdxtmtely 1,400 persom~will be ern- -=&wamoa~AararIcrm ~loyedby the $206 million plant [email protected]~sacld~&& it reaches fuII productim-dur- ~~*ibskatrcal~dis-ing 1980. *-*-pino- A stable military mmmuuity at ~ ~ ~ I p $ y ~ ~ eFortm gill,o a mffiaiente t water supply Jaroe d&?g am have such malls in for the next 20 yegm and a $1.2 mil- tb era)nrrbe, ahnost none have re- lion development plan for the Wichita ~0'~dawntownareeinthfrMountah Wildlife Refuge aleo m- kibute to a bright outlook for thie THE mo5 Ard said. Of course, the major industry in Great Plains Country is Fort Sill, the artillery center of the free world. As a military post, it has had a stable past and is expected to have a stable future. Current military pop- ulation is about 22,000. Commanding the post is a "local boy who made good." Major General Jack Merritt and his wife, Rosemary, grew up in Lawton, attended Lawton schools and the University of Okla- homa. Gen. Merritt enlisted in the army as a private, attended Officer Candidate School, and came up through the ranks. The beautiful, well-maintained post Comanche County Courthouse have is a tourist attraction as well, and been constructed along with other Fort Sill welcomes visitors. private businesses. "The military has had a reputation Many may remember Lawton as a of being a closed society," Lt. Col. wide-open Army town with the down- A. T. Brainerd, public affairs officer, town area lined with 65 bars. Mili- said. "But we encourage people to tarv ~oliceonce uatroled the streets. visit and to know Fort Sill is here. e&xkly on pay day night. We are proud of our heritage and THE lBO5 All of this has changed now, and our museum complex. a large Sears store ateeast end "This post has the class that the of the mall has replaced what was rest wish they had. It has the best section of Great Plains Country. probably the most bawdy area. Pen- on-post quarters, the best office space. City manager Bob Metzinger says ney's and Dillard's are other anchor It is kind of an ideal army post." the Central Mall is important for department stores along with 70 small- The recently completed Waurika improving not only Lawton's image er shops in the 645,000 square foot Reservoir, some 53 miles southeast 4 in Oklahoma and across the United mall. of Lawton, will take care of the city's States, but its self-image as well. The revitalization of downtown anticipated water needs into the next "I just can't over-emphasize the Lawton has forced other businesses century. Lawton's other water sup- importance of the Central Mall in throughout the city to remodel and plies come from Lake Lawtonka and changing downtown Lawton," Met- to compete, making Lawton truly a Lake Ellsworth. zinger said. "People in this communi- regional retail center, according to Lake Waurika also will supply wa- ty are proud of this downtown mall." Sam Ard, executive director of the ter for Duncan, Waurika, Comanche Lawton has grown rapidly to an Lawton Chamber of Commerce. and Temple. When full, the 10,000- estimated population of 90,000 since The city has also broadened and acre lake will be almost two miles it began as a tent city on Aug. 6, increased the number of its arterial wide and 11 miles long. 1901. Most of Great Plains Country streets, so that traffic moves effici- The 1980s should see the lake and was opened to settlement in this last ently. its surrounding area develop into a great land opening in the United The Goodyear plant, which will major recreational area for Southwest 1 States when an area the size of Con- contribute heavily to the Lawton Oklahoma. Cabins, boating, fishing / necticut was opened by lottery on economy, is located on a 500acre site and other water activities are already , that date. in west Lawton with a marvelous view available. The central business district, how- of the Wichita Mountains. The plant Of course, the splendid Wichita ever, lagged behind' the population will produce radial tires for the na- Mountains Wildlife Refuge will con- growth and the revitalization of down- tion's new car market. The company tinue to be a favorite recreational town began in 1969. Since then, a will expand its facilities during the area for many. More than $1.2 mil- new post office, public library, and 1980s if the plant proves profitable, lion will be spent in developing the SIX OKLAHOMA TODAY refuge over the next three years. dents, a swimming pool, lighted ten- sides and street curbs of small towns The road to the top of Mount Scott nis courts, a bass-stocked fishing lake, throughout this region are lined with with its magnificent view is being re- a jogging trail and a nine-hole golf puffs of cotton in the fall.