Mistletoe Leaves
Oklahoma in context
The Oklahoma History Symposium May 3, 2025
Loren Waters
Make plans to attend “Oklahoma in Context”: The Oklahoma History Symposium on Saturday, May 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Presented by the Oklahoma Historical Society, it is held at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
This year’s topics include Native American baseball players, virtual reality and historic spaces, efforts to preserve Stillwater’s historic Booker T. Washington School, and politics, gender, and race in early Oklahoma. Sessions will also explore modern Native American ledger art, the 150th anniversary of the Sand Hill Fight on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation, and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network.
Award-winning filmmaker Loren Waters (Cherokee/Kiowa) will be our keynote speaker for this year’s symposium. Waters will share about the making of her short documentary Meet Me at the Creek, which focuses on Rebecca Jim’s (Cherokee) efforts to restore Tar Creek in Miami, Oklahoma. Waters’s experience in the film industry includes directing, producing, and casting for film and television, including Reservation Dogs, Fancy Dance, and Killers of the Flower Moon
The Oklahoma History Symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please note our cafe is closed, and boxed lunches will not be available for purchase on the day of the event. To see the full schedule of events visit okhistory.org/symposium.
Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show - June 14
The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will celebrate the lives of Major Gordon W. “Pawnee Bill” Lillie, his wife May Lillie, and their famous Wild West Shows with a one-day celebration on Saturday, June 14. Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the original historic ranch site.
Stagecoaches will roll amid thundering horse hooves while the lightning of gunfire explodes around Pawnee Bill, May, and their cohorts. The talented performers will thrill and amaze audiences. This one-day celebration will feature exhibitions of acts from the original Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West Show.
Kevin Webb will portray Pawnee Bill. He is a long-time Wild West Show cast member and Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum employee. He is also a whip artist and chariot racer. Alyce Webb will portray May Lillie, performing her act on horseback. The Mike Pahsetopah (Osage) family will perform as the Dancing Eagles, paying tribute to Indigenous culture with their stunning Native dancing. Show cowboys and cowgirls will return this year to demonstrate their skills with reckless feats of horsemanship and entertaining races.
The museum and historic home will be open to the public during the festival along with entertainment such as blacksmithing, chuck wagon cooking, gunfighters and sharpshooters, a magician, medicine man shows, and musicians on the ranch grounds. Admission costs are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors over the age of 62, $5 for children ages 6–12, and free admission for children five and younger. Tickets are not sold in advance or online. Tickets must be purchased at the ranch entrance gate on the day of the event.
Showmanship and the Wild West—Oklahoma’s Wild West Exhibitions: 1886-1933
The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will showcase its exhibit Showmanship and the Wild West—Oklahoma’s Wild West Exhibitions: 1886-1933 from Saturday, May 10, to Sunday, August 31. Through a collection of historic posters, photographs, and Wild West show artifacts, the exhibit will feature the rise and fall of what some called “America’s National Entertainment,” reflecting the popularity of Wild West Shows from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. For more information about this year’s Wild West Show or this exhibit, please call 918-762-2513 or email pawneebill@history.ok.gov.
Kevin Webb portraying Pawnee Bill exits the show arena during the Wild West Show.
By authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) Board of Directors, 3,600 copies are prepared at a cost of $1,293.62 bimonthly. The publication is financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior.
Contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Oklahoma Historical Society or the United States Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by either organization.
Mistletoe Leaves is published for the members and friends of the OHS in partial fulfillment of its mission to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people.
Students and teachers are invited to share studies and programs and to duplicate content as desired. Editors are welcome to reprint materials with credit.
All Oklahoma Historical Society facilities are for the education and enjoyment of all. State and federal regulations prohibit unlawful discrimination in state and federally-assisted programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, and/or handicap.
Anyone denied benefits should contact the grievance manager of the Oklahoma Historical Society, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7917, telephone 405-837-7631 and/or the director, Office of Equal Opportunity, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240.
By Trait Thompson
The day-to-day work of the Oklahoma Historical Society to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the people of Oklahoma is necessary, but it is not easy. It takes committed local, state, and federal partners to execute our mission fully. Thanks to the partnerships we have developed in our 132 years of existence, we can impact more people than we ever could by doing this work alone. In the last few months, there have been concerning developments at the federal level, which, if fully realized, will change the landscape of our museum community for years to come.
Many of you who may be reading this column may not be aware of how much of a role the National Park Service (NPS), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) play in the exhibits and programming of not only the OHS, but museums in urban and rural communities across Oklahoma. Federal grants through each of these entities have ensured quality historical education and preservation activities are carried out, particularly in underserved locations.
Housed within the OHS is the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). This office is responsible for administering the National Register of Historic Places program, historic tax credits, the Section 106 program, which ensures federal projects address adverse historical effects, and several other functions. Sixty percent of SHPO’s work is funded through the NPS. When NPS was
ordered to halt all its activities earlier this year, SHPO’s work was put on hold due to the uncertainty of funding availability. Recently, we learned the NPS Trails Division, along with the Route 66 coordinator, was eliminated, just as we are nearing critical final preparations for the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road.
As I write this column, I have just learned the IMLS and the NEH have essentially been ordered to cease operations. There is no doubt this will have a negative impact on Oklahoma’s museums. The IMLS provides grants to museums for collections preservation and staff training in addition to strategic planning. Through Oklahoma Humanities, which receives its funding from the NEH, the OHS has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants since the 1970s. In recent years, we have received grants for the Wild West Show at Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, the Folklife Festival at the Oklahoma History Center, a special discussion on Indigenous heritage and culture, and the Farm-to-Table Festival. Last fall, we applied for a $60,000 planning grant from NEH for new exhibits at the Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City. We were due to hear whether we received the grant any day now, but I suspect we now know the answer.
Our museums are part of the cultural fabric of this country. They educate and inspire. More importantly, they are the keepers of our shared history to ensure we learn from it and never forget it. These agencies I have discussed in this column are not just part of the alphabet soup of the federal bureaucracy. They serve an essential role. Without these institutions, museums across our state may be forced to cut staff, reduce educational programming, cancel new exhibits, and, in some cases, close their doors. If museums, historical education, and preservation are important to you, I encourage you to respectfully express your feelings to your federal elected officials. The future of our history may depend on it.
Jay-Kola - an Oklahoma City staple for 50 years
Jay-Kola was among the few Black-owned soft drink bottling companies in the region and served Oklahoma City for decades.
The company, run by Percy Harrison James (1891–1965) and his wife Hattie, was not listed in Polk’s Oklahoma City Directory until 1921, but may have operated as early as 1918.
The brand produced carbonated drinks in cola, root beer, and various fruit flavors. Learn more about Jay-Kola in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
Percy James, (2012.201.B0230.0111, OPUBCO Photography Collection, OHS).
Processing historic items: from donation to digital
by Sarah Biller, OHS newspaper archivist
One part of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s (OHS) mission is collecting, preserving, and sharing newspapers. Our 2025 behind-thescenes look at the working lives of the OHS Research staff continues this month with an overview of the detailed process of how newspapers are processed once they are donated.
Through a partnership with the Oklahoma Press Association, the OHS has the oldest, largest, and most complete collection of Oklahoma newspapers. The collection began in 1893 and continues to grow, with more than 150 titles every week! The OHS newspaper archives include many publications from different ethnicities, religions, cultures, and political groups. These publications are available on microfilm, and others are available online by visiting gateway.okhistory.org.
For those of us who remember the daily delivery of papers and the manageable pile of newspapers that used to accumulate in the family living room, imagine having a collection of papers that consists of over 4,000 titles and spans back to 1844. Then, one can begin to comprehend the enormity of the OHS newspaper holdings.
For many years, capturing newspapers on microfilm—first invented in 1839—was the industry standard until the advent of more sophisticated technology—direct digitization. Over the years, 42,679 rolls of microfilm have been created at OHS from old newspapers. The OHS newspaper archives processed its last roll of microfilm on April 17, 2024, and the department transitioned to employ a new technology in the form of an i2s Quartz A0 HD LED overhead scanner. The stateof-the-art equipment can digitize over-sized archival materials, like newspapers, and is a good example of how digital technologies are changing and how records are created, stored, and made accessible and searchable.
With so many newspaper collections to track, when donations are made, the archivist goes through a series of determinations to check the dates and titles of the papers to establish if they are already a part of the OHS collection. Many times, arranging the papers by successive dates of publication is a challenge of its own. And, occasionally, errant copies of other papers are found within a donation. For instance, a single issue of the newspaper The Mouthpiece was discovered in a donation of other papers this past year. It was a previously unknown Oklahoma City paper and is a good example of how the archivist’s work centers on each and every page.
Once the items are accepted, the second concern is determining the newspapers’ physical condition. Some must be handled carefully, if yellow and brittle, to capture permanent copies of each page for posterity. Others may have printing imperfections or could be deteriorating with time. Newspapers are particularly vulnerable to deterioration from exposure to light and humidity. The low quality of the paper allows newspapers to be sold cheaply to consumers, but it means long-term preservation is a challenge.
After the initial assessment, digital copies of each paper’s pages begin to be captured. Metadata is recorded for each issue, including dates, volume and issue numbers, supplements, and special editions. The scans for each issue are edited, sorted, and organized before they are sent to the University of North Texas for uploading to The Gateway.
Once the scans have been sent, they join scores of other items waiting to be uploaded to the online portal. This step requires patience because there is no concrete timeframe for when papers will be available for reference and reading on The Gateway after they are sent to UNT. Anything pre-1929 is in the public domain, and most papers through 1963 can be uploaded for use in the public domain.
The OHS newspaper archives on microfilm are available for viewing in the John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center on the first floor of the Oklahoma History Center. Free access to Newspapers. com is also available there. To search the library catalog, visit okhistory.org/librarycatalog.
Frederick S. Barde to be inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
Frederick Samuel Barde (1869-1916), whose correspondence, research, writings, and photographs comprise one of the founding collections of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS), will be posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame this spring. He will be inducted at the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame’s 55th anniversary celebration, along with 19 other journalists.
Originally from Missouri, Barde helped establish journalism as a profession in his adopted state, eventually being considered the “dean of Oklahoma journalism” at the turn of the 20th century. His documentation of the state from 1894 to 1916 is valuable in telling the stories of the earliest days of the Oklahoma and Indian territories and the statehood movement. He wrote for the Oklahoma City Times–Jour-
nal, Sturm’s Oklahoma Magazine, The Daily Oklahoman, the New York Sun, and the Philadelphia Ledger
Additionally, Barde was an amateur naturalist and author of Field, Forest, and Stream in Oklahoma (1912) and Outdoor Oklahoma (1914)—official reports for the state fish and game warden.
One year after Barde died at the age of 47 in 1916, the state Legislature authorized $5,000 to purchase his papers and photographs which were some of the earliest items collected by OHS.
The 55th annual induction ceremony will be held Friday, May 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at The University of Central Oklahoma’s Nigh University Center in Edmond.
To search for items in the Frederick S. Barde Collec tion, visit gateway.okhistory.org
Frederick S. Barde (110, Frederick S. Barde Collection, OHS).
The i2s Quartz A0 HD LED overhead scanner in the midst of scanning a oversized newspaper page into a digital file.
OHS Calendar of Events
Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma in Context: The Oklahoma History Symposium, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Historical Society Membership Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Cultural Heritage Art Project exhibition, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors Organizational Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
Picnic in the Village, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
Oklahoma National History Day State Contest, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Lunch and Learn with author Chris Enss, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
Fort Gibson Education Day, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
Showmanship and the Wild West –Oklahoma’s Wild West Exhibitions: 1886–1933 exhibit opens, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
Quilting Workshop, Sod House Museum, Aline
Birthday Bash, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro
OU Archaeological Field School at Spiro Mounds begins, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro
Blacksmithing Demonstrations, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill Schol, Perry
History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
Victorian Tea and Etiquette program, Hunter’s Home, Park Hill
Luck is Fortune: Adventure, Duty, and Buffalo on the 1841 Frontier book signing and discussion with author Dr. Robert Pickering, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
Wayne McCombs Classic, 1880s-era Baseball Game, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
of Historic
(NRHP) webinar, State Historic
Summer Sounds Concert Series featuring Oklahoma Swing, The Chisholm, Kingfisher
Basic Barn Quilt Workshop, The Chisholm, Kingfisher
History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
AANHPI Collective History Day, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Cake with Kate: Kate Barnard 150th Anniversary Celebration, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
History Day Camp, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
Inaugural Impressions exhibit closes, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Movie Night featuring The Sandlot (1993), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
June
Vintage Snack Sets exhibit opens, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
Heritage Breed Poultry and Sheep Workshop, Hunter’s Home, Park Hill
History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
Night Tour of Fort Towson, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
OU Archaeological Field School at Spiro Mounds concludes, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro
“Land Run of 1893” program, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
Quilting Workshop, Sod House Museum, Aline
A Body of Work: More Than Skin Deep exhibit closes, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
Will’s Wild West Kids Camp, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Summer Solstice Walks, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro 23 - Okietales Storytime Hour, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
27 - Movie Night featuring Will Rogers in Doctor Bull (1933), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
Vintage Snack Sets exhibit closes, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
Parlor Jams with Wayne Cantwell, The Chisholm, Kingfisher
Museum Staff Picks exhibit closes, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Li’l Buckaroos Kids Camp, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
Okietales Storytime Hour, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
Please visit okhistory.org/events for additional information about OHS events and programs.
The 2025 Teacher Resource Social will be held at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City on Thursday, August 7, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Educators, get ready for resources galore! There will be door prize giveaways and plenty of free resources from museums and organizations around the state to help you plan for the upcoming school year. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please note that registration information may be shared with Teacher Resource Social vendors.
Nonprofits are invited to share their resources with educators! Museums, organizations, and vendors who would like to participate in this event, please register now.
Teacher Resource Social Attendee Registration Teacher Resource Social Vendor/Organization Application
Escaramuza charra performer Nancy Hernandez
New Oklahoma National Register Listings
The Oklahoma Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) are pleased to announce the National Register of Historic Places designation for the following properties in Oklahoma.
Survey of “Prominent Women of Oklahoma”
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) creates a thematic survey each year. The Calaboose survey, documenting a list of growing jails, was created in 2024. The latest SHPO thematic survey features prominent women in Oklahoma history. It takes several hours of dedicated re search to reach the goal of identifying and documenting residences, places of busi ness, or, in some instances, a general area where these women lived, worked, or spac es they occupied during their period of sig nificance. This year, the survey of promi nent women mainly focuses on deceased individuals, with a few exceptions.
The SHPO constantly updates this con tent as more names are added and placed. The SHPO welcomes any suggestions to add to the list of women who helped to shape the story of the state of Oklahoma. Do you have a list of prominent women in mind? Please reach out to Andy Beard, the new survey coordinator at SHPO, who is spearheading the project, by contact ing andrew.beard@history.ok.gov or calling 405-522-6024.
OKEENE OIL COMPANY
Blaine County
With the recent notice of additional information, the Okeene Oil Co. service station located at 101 N. Main St. in Okeene has been updated in the National Register of Historic Places to reflect its correct historical name. Nominated for its association with commerce in Okeene and its Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, the Okeene Oil Co., constructed in 1928 by H.H. Dohe, is an excellent early example of a service station and its importance to travelers who depended on having gas, parts, and repairs available in the community, and as the only station in Blaine County certified to sell petrol during World War II.
FRANK AND LILLIAN PRIMM ROCK HOUSE
Oklahoma County
Designed and built by Frank Primm between 1930 and 1942, the Rock House stands out for its historic integrity, distinctive design, and workmanship. The home is of the 20th-century Tudor Revival style, adapted to its context through the use of native materials. Situated in a low-density, mixed-use neighborhood in Harrah, the property features several harmoniously developed contributing resources. These include the Rock House itself, the Site, a Garage Apartment, Lake, and Rock Garden. The Frank and Lillian Primm Rock House, nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of Architecture, is a unique resource distinguished by its design and workmanship. It stands as a singular example of a single-family dwelling that not only exhibits the owner’s story but also a personal adaptation of the 20th-century Tudor Revival style.
State Historic Preservation Office events
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society, is responsible, in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service and local governments, in carrying out the mandates of the National Historic Preservation Act (P.L. 89665, as amended) in Oklahoma.
The SHPO presents Lunch and Learn webinars regularly and holds workshops twice a year. This year, SHPO is also featuring the “Saving the Sacred” webinar series, which is dedicated to preservation work in sacred spaces important to many Oklahomans. All of these programs are free to the public! Visit okhistory.org/shpowebinars to see the full selection of webinars available this summer.
LANGSTON JAIL
Logan County
The Langston Jail in Langston, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of Architecture and under Criterion A in the area of Law. The period of significance for the jail is 1935, indicating the date of construction. The building is a rare surviving example of a one-room nativestone jail constructed through a New Deal–era federal program. It reflects the practice of local law enforcement for temporary detainment as punishment and/or in preparation for transfer to another facility.
JAMES CARL SR. AND LUCILLE JOHNSON FAMILY
The James Carl Sr. and Lucille Johnson Family House, located at 202 E. Gore Blvd. in Lawton, Oklahoma, erected in 1938, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the development of and location in Lawton’s first all-Black neighborhood. The property has three contributing buildings: the single-story main house, a detached one-car garage, added in 1946; and a secondary, single-story dwelling, referred to by the family as “the little house,” built c. 1944. The Johnson Family House is significant for its role in the family’s connection to the All-Black neighborhood, the city of Lawton, the segregation of the Lawton Public Schools, and the influence of Albert
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The SHPO identifies, evaluates, and nominates properties for the special designation.
OkNHD judges needed
This year, the Oklahoma National History Day (OkNHD) junior division contest will be held at the Oklahoma History Center (OHC) on Wednesday, May 7, and the senior division contest will be held on Thursday, May 8. Each year, thousands of Oklahoma students participate in the OkNHD program. OkNHD is a part of National History Day and a highly regarded academic program for students grades 6–12. OkNHD is evaluated by business leaders, educators, and nonprofit professionals. Please consider serving as a judge for the state contest! For information about becoming a judge, visit ok.nhd. org. For more information, contact Sarah Dumas, OHC Deputy Director, at sarah. dumas@history.ok.gov.
Create a lasting impression
The Oklahoma History Center Museum’s (OHCM) landmark exhibit, Inaugural Impressions, will close to the public on Friday, May 30. Since opening in the Sam Noble Gallery on the third floor of the OHCM in June 2024, this captivating exhibit has showcased an extraordinary collection of 23 inaugural dresses worn by 21 Oklahoma first ladies, offering visitors a glimpse into the state’s social and political heritage through the lens of gubernatorial inaugurations.
At the heart of Inaugural Impressions are the gowns—meticulously preserved from the Oklahoma Historical Society’s collections—that illustrate how each first lady’s style reflected her era’s social norms and cultural values. Visitors can trace the transformation of fashion and the evolving responsibilities of these remarkable women over the decades, from elegant early twentieth-century attire to modern-day expressions of public service.
Beyond the dresses, interactive activities and interpretive panels offer deeper insight into Oklahoma’s first ladies’ public roles and civic contributions. Families, students, and lifelong learners are invited to explore how these historic garments highlight shifting societal expectations and philanthropic priorities over time.
Oklahoma History Center Museum Store Changes
Come visit the OHCM Store and check out all the exciting new changes! We’ve brightened up the space by removing some walls, and we’ve made the layout even more shopperfriendly for your convenience. Plus, keep an eye out for fresh inventory arriving throughout the summer! Our Museum Store is packed with unique gifts that celebrate Oklahoma’s rich history and culture. You’ll find everything from kitchenware and books to toys and decorative items. Remember, every purchase you make helps support the mission and programs of the OHCM!
If you’re searching for a thoughtful gift for that hard-to-shop-for friend or family member, why not consider an Oklahoma Historical Society membership? Our friendly store associates are here to help you with that—just ask the next time you stop by!
Don’t forget, you can also explore hundreds of gift ideas and shop online at store.okhistory. org. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Museum Store at 405-522-5214 or museumstore@history.ok.gov. We can’t wait to see you!
Allsup’s strings of good luck
The Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP) is dedicated to collecting interviews and artifacts that capture and preserve the state’s cultural history, one story at a time.
Recently, it acquired the Larry Shaeffer Collection, which includes posters and signage from Cain’s Ballroom, Leon McAuliffe’s 1955 Fender Quad-neck Stringmaster steel guitar, and, notably, Tommy Allsup’s 1958 Fender Stratocaster guitar. While the entire collec tion is significant, Allsup’s guitar has a particularly poignant story. Tommy Douglas Allsup (1931–2017), a guitarist of Cherokee descent, was born in Owasso, and grew up in Claremore, where he first start ed playing music. Early in his career, he played with Buddy Holly and The Crickets. In 1958, Allsup was initially brought in as a session gui tarist for several of Buddy Holly’s singles. Eventually, he joined the band alongside Waylon Jennings on bass and Carl Bunch on drums.
In the winter of 1959, the newly formed group embarked on a demanding tour across 24 Midwestern towns in 24 days, known as “The Winter Dance Party Tour.” Eighteen days into the tour, Holly chartered a plane to fly himself and his band to Moorhead, Minnesota. At the last minute, Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane to J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, who was ill with the flu. Tommy Allsup then flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for what would have been his seat. Tragi cally, on the evening of February 3, 1959, after perform ing in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, “The Big Bopper,” and pilot Roger Peterson lost their lives when the plane crashed near the site of take-off.
One coin toss determined Allsup’s fate and gave this 1958 Fender Stratocaster guitar a chance to live on, now a part of the OKPOP collections. He kept the coin and built a long career as a Rockabilly and Western Swing guitar ist. Allsup lived to be 87 years old, and was the session guitarist for over 6,500 recordings, worked as an in dependent record producer, and operated a record ing studio. He eventually sold the guitar in Las Vegas in 1966, where it stayed until it was rediscovered by Larry Shaeffer and his son Jake Shaeffer by matching Fender serial numbers.
The Crickets. It survived “The Day the Music Died.”
The 1958 Fender Stratocaster is one of two that were given to Buddy Holly and
Will Rogers Memorial Museum 1880s-era Baseball Game
MAY 17
A Body of Work: More Than Skin Deep
A new exhibit titled A Body of Work: More Than Skin Deep will be displayed at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in the Mabee Foundation Gallery through June 15. This exhibit will showcase various forms of artwork created by local tattoo artists who are passionate about expressing their creativity through a diverse range of tattooing styles and mediums.
A Body of Work will include paintings, drawings, beadwork, and other artistic forms that highlight the art of tattooing. Additionally, the exhibit will explore the history of tattooing, including its recent legalization in Oklahoma. The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is located at 507 South 4th Street in Enid.
“Put me in, Coach!”
The Oklahoma History Center Museum is creating an exhibit honoring coaches at all levels—from youth to college—who have shaped Oklahoma’s sports legacy. We want your stories! Share how a coach impacted your life or recount your own experiences as a coach. We also welcome photos and ar-
Night Tour of Fort Towson Historic Site
JUNE 7
Summer Sounds Concert Series
Join the fun at The Chisholm on the third Thursday of June, July, and August for a free Summer Sounds Concert series. The family-friendly event is free and a great way to spend a summer evening at Horizon Hill, the former home of territorial governor A. J. Seay. Oklahoma Swing will be the featured group on Thursday, June 19. On Thursday, July 17, the Jimmy Lee Jordan Band will provide live music, and on Thursday, August 21, Travis Kidd will be performing live. Spread out your favorite blanket, set up a comfy lawn chair, and enjoy live music from 6 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact the museum at 405-375-5176.
Okietales Storytime Hour at the OHC
Hunter’s Home Heritage Breed Poultry and Sheep Workshop
JUNE 7
Clara Luper Radio Show
The Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division is excited to announce that 200 Clara Luper Radio Show episodes are now available on the OHS Audio Archives YouTube channel. Most of these episodes, initially recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, have been digitized.
Clara Luper was born on May 3, 1923, in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma. She earned her undergraduate degree from Langston University. She was the first Black woman admitted to the graduate history program at the University of Oklahoma, where she received her master’s degree in 1951.
Luper taught history and public relations at Dunjee High School in Spencer and John Marshall and Classen High Schools in Oklahoma City. Luper is best known as a prominent Civil Rights leader in Oklahoma.
Join the Oklahoma History Center Museum (OHCM) for Okietales on select Mondays in June and July. Families visiting the History Center are invited to hear a live book reading and experience history hands-on! After each story is read aloud, children and families will be able to see, touch, and feel historical items related to the subject matter. Activities and crafts may also be included as an interactive way for young families to experience history at the museum. Okietales requires no registration or cost. It is a free come-and-go program with paid admission to the OHCM. Okietales are fun programs that are easy for families to join at their desired level of learning. The story time and activities will focus on elementary school students and younger, along with their families. The books and themes will primarily be related to Oklahoma and connected to the state’s history.
As an advisor to the Oklahoma City National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council, she led student groups in the first sit-ins in Oklahoma City during the late 1950s. These nonviolent demonstrations played a significant role in ending segregation in public places across the state.
Luper hosted the Clara Luper Radio Show for over four decades. The program provided firsthand accounts and experiences from the community, discussing the Civil Rights Movement, local events, and educational topics.
To view more items from the Clara Luper Collection, visit okhistory.org/lupercollection. This collection fea tures over 220 digitized items, including campaign flyers, letters, brochures, and reports.
Clara Luper recording her radio show, date unknown (2013.261, Clara Luper Collection, OHS).
Oklahoma Historical Society
800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7917
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
PERIODICALS
Mistletoe Leaves
Vol. 56, No. 3
May/June 2025
Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program announces 2025 awardees
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is pleased to announce that 40 organizations across Oklahoma will receive a combined total of $577,655.25 in funding through the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program. This year’s grants will support diverse projects, including collections care, strategic planning, exhibit development, and educational programming, helping communities celebrate and preserve their unique histories.
The OHS Board of Directors approved this year’s grant recipients at its quarterly meeting on January 22, 2025, following a thorough review process. Grants were awarded to a wide range of organizations, including historical societies, museums, libraries, and educational institutions.
Fort Gibson Director completes HEART Program
Jennifer Frazee, director of Fort Gibson Historic Site and an employee of the Oklahoma Historical Society, was awarded a certificate for the completion of the Heritage Emergency and Response Training (HEART) program held December 9–13, 2024, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC Organized by the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, the training prepares cultural stewards, first responders, and emergency managers to work together to address emergencies and disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods that affect cultural institutions and historic sites. The sessions offered realistic, hands-on training in the Incident Command System, risk and damage assessment, disaster planning, health and safety, emergency evacuation, and salvage of museum objects. Frazee was selected through a competitive nationwide application process and was one of 25 participants from 19 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the Marianas Islands. The Heritage Emergency National Task Force is a public-private partnership of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and FEMA’s Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation. Its members comprise over 60 federal agencies and national service organizations dedicated to protecting our nation’s cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies.
This year, the grantees include: 95th Division Foundation; Bristow Historical Society Inc.; Broken Arrow Historical Society; Canadian County Historical Society; Choctaw Freedmen Citizenship Footprints, Inc.; Chouteau Public Library; Cleveland County Historical Society and Moore-Lindsay Historical House Museum; Drumright Historical Society; Eastern Oklahoma Library System; Edmond Historical Society & Museum; Eufaula Area Museum; Freedom Museum Inc.; Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma; Jenks America Museum and Historical Society Corporation; Landmark for All Generations, Inc.; Lawton Public Library; M.W. Grand Lodge AF&AM of the State of Oklahoma (Museum and Library), Inc.; Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band; Oilton Historical Museum; Okeene Historic Preservation Group; Oklahoma Black Living Legacy; Oklahoma Conservation Historical Society; Old Greer County Museum & Hall of Fame, Inc.; Ottawa County Historical Society; Plains Indians and Pioneers Historical Foundation; Pottawatomie County Historical Society; Prairie House Preservation Society; Rogers County Historical Society, Inc.; Seminole Nation Museum; Southern Nazarene University; Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar; Stillwater Public Library; The Chisholm; The Edwards Store, Inc.; The Friends of the Coleman; The Oklahoma Genealogical Society; The Railroad Museum of Oklahoma, Inc.; The Vernon Chamber of Commerce Inc.; Tulsa Foundation for Architecture; Waynoka Historical Society.
“The Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program is a powerful tool for connecting communities with their history,” said Trait Thompson, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society. “These grants help local organizations preserve and share stories that might otherwise be lost, strengthening our shared identity and ensuring that future generations can experience Oklahoma’s rich heritage.”
This year’s grant cycle introduced an increased maximum award amount of $25,000, allowing even more impactful projects to move forward. Applications for the next cycle will open in the fall, with award announcements to be made in January 2026. For more information, visit okhistory.org/grants.
Jennifer Frazee (top right), learns the best preparedness to assess water damage