Ponca City: We Love You, Rich Cantillon

Before my 8th grade year, my parents announced to us that we were moving to a place called Ponca City. I was very upset, and told my dad that I would never forgive him for moving us. I was really happy with where we lived, my school, and the friends I had. But the decision had been made, and we made the move to Ponca City.

When we first arrived, we saw historic lights, brick streets, and a lot of Spanish-looking architecture. As a young kid, I was not impressed. I thought it looked old. The downtown had a huge run-down place called the Arcade Hotel.

Today, I wish we still had the Arcade Hotel. While I was growing up, and now an adult, I see the unique look of Ponca City, and that is what I love the most about our amazing city.

We came to Ponca City during the summer, and I immediately met kids in my neighborhood. They were very friendly, and took me in as one of them. I have always felt that Ponca City is a friendly city. At the chamber, I hear often about how friendly we are.

I had a great summer with my new friends. We rode minibikes in the McCord area, where we lived at the time. We liked to camp out, and we would fish the Arkansas River. The interaction with the kids in my neighborhood helped me when I started at East Junior High. I already had a set of friends on my first day at my new school. However, finding out that our school mascot was a kitten did take me back a bit. It wasn’t fun hearing “meow” from the teams we played! I am certainly glad everyone is now a Wildcat!

I was born and raised Catholic. We attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Little did I know, at the time, what an incredible parish this would end up being for me and my family for my entire life. While in high school, I loved our priest and I had many friends with whom I went to church. It was an active parish then, and it’s still a very active parish today. Every time I walk through the front doors of my beautiful church, I thank the Lord that this is my church and this is my hometown. We are so blessed to live and work in Ponca City, and I am blessed to call St. Mary’s Catholic Church my church.

When I graduated from Ponca City High School, my dad asked me at my graduation party if I had forgiven him for moving me to Ponca City. I had to laugh because it was one of the greatest gifts that he and my mom could have given me. My time from 8th grader to high school senior were incredible years filled with laughter and adventure. I am one of those geeks who was so sad at graduation. I did not want to move on. It had all been so much fun. I will never forget the teachers I had at Po-Hi, including Mrs. Krider, Mrs. Warren, J.D. Hanks — the list goes on and on. They were all so good to me. They were outstanding educators who had me well-prepared for college. When I went to Northwestern Oklahoma State University, people would say to me, “Yes, we know you are from Ponca City, and it is an amazing place to grow up.” I guess I talked a lot about my hometown. That always made me smile!

I graduated with the Class of ‘76, so we were the bicentennial class. My classmates liked to have fun, and we really got along well. If there was a school event, we were involved in it. We made it fun and successful. I could not have had a better experience growing up in Ponca City and attending its public schools. Many from our class have gone on to do great things, but several of my classmates are leaders right here in Ponca City. This really makes me proud of the Class of ‘76. Our class even has a member in the Po-Hi Hall of Fame. I think that is very impressive. Now, I have to admit, I do feel old when I realize that the Allen Robson Field House, which was brand-new during my senior year, was just updated because it was looking old. Maybe I need an update, too?

Ponca City is a loyal and caring community. My parents had a successful downtown photography business with many loyal customers. I learned right off that if you are good to people, they will be good to you. I had so many of my parents’ friends and parents of my friends in school who helped guide me to a successful life. They all taught me many valuable lessons. I will always be grateful to Dave and Georgia Perfect, Jim and Blondie Cheek, the Meeks family, Danny and Dottie Johnston, the Neisen family, and the Tarrant family, just to name a few. They were all a great influence on my life. There truly are so many great influences in my life growing up, I could not write them all down.

I often think that only in Ponca City can a kid working at Hardee’s Hamburgers get his first car loan from Larry Hughes, who was an amazing banker and friend to our family. I worked at Hardee’s all through high school, and learned much about a great work ethic from our managers. They were so good to me, working around my high school schedule and events. They always said, “If you are leaning, you should be cleaning!” To this day, while at work, I have to be doing something! That is just the Ponca City way.

Ponca City taught me to be a giving and generous person. I believe that it all started with many of our founders, and it is what makes Ponca City unique today! We are a very caring, giving, and supportive community. If I had to name the top reason why I love Ponca City, it would be because our people care!

Growing up in Ponca City was so special, and I believe it continues today for our young people. When you grow up here, you have all kinds of fun at Lake Ponca with water skiing, fishing, volleyball, and now swimming. We loved dragging Grand Avenue. It was always a blast, and still is today. We really had fun swimming and camping at Wentz. We spent a lot of time at the river doing all kinds of things, such as floating in our canoes, fishing, and looking for arrowheads. Kaw Lake was dedicated right after my graduation from Po-Hi in 1976. Dave Perfect took us out on the new lake. There was so much debris everywhere, it was crazy. I thought, “Nobody will never be able to do much on this lake.” Boy, was I wrong! Today, it draws thousands of people every year to our region. Kaw Lake is very special to me and my family. My father, Bob Austin, took most of the construction photos of the dam. He worked for Jerry’s House of Portraits at the time. In the Kaw City Museum, you can view many of his photographs.

We went down to old Kaw City on the last night that visitors could go inside. It was unreal driving around what once was

a thriving town. But life has many changes, and so many times for the better. Kaw Lake is incredible.

Growing up in Ponca City, and still today, people have the opportunity to hunt for all kinds of animals. This is a great outdoor event that our family truly enjoys.

One activity we did all the time was play tennis. We had tennis courts all over Ponca City, and all of my friends loved to play. That is something that has really changed over the years. I spent hours playing tennis when I was young.

Of course, we would sneak down to Stillwater while in high school, and see our friends who were at OSU. I don’t think I ever missed Streakers Night on the strip! Wild times. We even had a few streakers at Po-Hi. I can honestly say I never streaked! I know there are some who will read this and not have a clue what Streakers Night is. If you are a child of the mid- ’70s, you know!

For our 40th class reunion, I was asked to compare Ponca City today to how it was in 1976. I loved doing that! Yes, there have been many changes, but I feel they are all for the better. Ponca City is more diversified in industry than it was in 1976. All of our school facilities, especially Po-Hi , are better today than in 1976. Our athletic facilities are over-the-top and so much better than when I was in high school. If you can believe this, even East looks better today than when I walked those halls.

There is no comparison to Lake Ponca today to how it was in 1976. It is so much better. We could not even swim in the lake when I was growing up.

There was not much on North 14th or Prospect when I was in high school. Even our downtown has a new spirit of enthusiasm and investment which continues. I promise you that a thriving downtown is very unusual for rural Oklahoma. Downtowns are suffering everywhere. But I feel that our downtown will continue to grow with business, and evolve even more. So many great ideas are being discussed!

So, yes, at my graduation party, I thanked Dad and Mom for moving me to Ponca City. Little did I know I would spend a lifetime here, and could not be happier!

Ponca City is a special and unique place, from our brick streets and parks to mansions, lakes, beautiful architecture, statues, and our incredible history.

From the beginning, with Ponca City’s founder B.S. Barnes, to today’s leaders like Mayor Homer Nicholson, we have vision, passion, a knack for working together, and always hope for a brighter and better Ponca City.