OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER: STATE SONGS,...

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER: STATE SONGS, SCENERY 8 SCISSOR-TAILS

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July-August '86 Vol. 36, No. 4

I FARMINQ. FAMILY-SlYLE 12 1 OKLAHOMA PORTFOLIO 25 Scenes from all over the state map by ---OKLAHOMA photographer (and cartographer) J. R. Toland.T O M OKLAHOMA! COMES HOME TO ROOST

For reasons known but to Hollywood, the movie version of Okkzhoma! was shot in Arizona. For 10 summers now, Discoveryland has given the Sooner State back its own: a production of the classic musical that's big as all outdoors.

Karen Eifert helps bring in "Every time I see a crop come up or a

the wheat crop, on her family's calf get up and walk for the first time, I feel a part of His plan. When I realizeland near Enid. Photo by that the ground needs cultivation for the Jerry Poppenhouse. Inside wheat to grow or a cow needs extra front. Aembatic pilot Joey

McKinney soars over Logan help to have a calf, and I can help, I

County. Photo by Jim Argo. understand a little more why I'm

Back. Girl with watering can, here."

McCurtain County. Photo by Kym W~lson. BELL'S AMUSEMENT PARK 18

For the Bell imily of Tulsa, fun is serious business.

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS lToday In Okbhoma ....................................4

If you've been thinking that passenger ........................................4-5

trains don't run here anymore, you might Uncommon Common Fdk........................6' Oldahome Omnlbw: The Scl--mil. ... 30take a look at the schedule of David Dollar's Short Change Railroad. Entmtalnment Calendar...........................37

Suecancr , IMh4dxd Kat~L a t e r ]OMS, Man- Editm Par Shnau Laquar, Art Dhctor

Hollingswonh, Marketing

July-August '86 3

photography of Jerry Poppenhouse. Rounding out our round-up of state

symbols in this issue is a story on our state bird, the scissor-tail, beginning on page 30. ' i+ Symbols have been important to people through the ages. And the blend- ing of eastern and western symbolism at the groundbreaking ceremony for Hita- chi, the first Japanese-owned factory to be built in the state, was fascinating. Attired in orange-and-black kimonos, American and Japanese officials dug into the rich soil south of the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman. Knee-high on the site was a good crop of wheat, and not far away was a pump-jack drawing oil from the ground. Unplanned perhaps was the state's famous wind, blowing about 40 miles an hour. Break- ing of the saki barrel, a Japanese tradition, followed the groundbreaking. If symbols can bring luck, Hitachi should have plenty. And the Japanese will add a new dimension to the state's ethnic

Great pie bakers, as well as caf6s selling the pies they bake, have long made Oklahoma famous. Writer Kathryn Jenson White plans a treatise on great state pies in an upcoming issue. Please help out with nominations for your area's best pie-makers and eateries. h A couple of additions to information given in our May-June issue: First, those who plan to explore the Italian community of Krebs this summer may want to uy out the gnocchi at Roseanna's Italian Food. Roseanna Prichard, her husband and their 11 children keep their customers coming back for more in the only restaurant in Krebs open for lunch. Somehow Roseanna's got left out of our story. Second, those interested in visit- ing Bob and Kathryn Red-Corn Block and The Gallery in Pawhuska should note that their current address is 126 E. Main St.-not 717 Kihekah.

-Sue Catter

Oklahoma's Governors, 1955-1979, edited 4 LcRq H. Fischer; Oklahoma Historical Sociery, Wiley Post Histon'cal Building, Oklahoma City, OK 73105; $13.95 ($8.95 pb). This fourth volume of the Historical Society's "Governors Series" profiles an unsettled period: In that quarter century, changes brought by

T hanks to the untiring efforts of Dr. Doyle McCoy, Oklahoma now has

an official wildflower, the Gailkzrdiapul-&/la or Indian Blanket. The mistletoe remains the official state flower, however.

Subscribers who wonder just what the Indian Blanket looks like can check the back cover of the September-October 1985 issue. That same issue includes a story and photos of other Oklahoma wildflowers by Dr. McCoy.

Daisy-like with red petals tipped in yellow, the Indian Blanket brightens the countryside from May through Septem- ber. Seeds for the wildflower are being distributed statewide so that in a few years Oklahoma will be covered by Indi- an Blankets. % The famous musical ORMoma! is also performed on native ground with a larger-than-life flair throughout the summer in the outdoor amphitheater of Dis- coveryland, just west of Tulsa. Real barbecue and all the fixin's served before the musical and that handsome cowboy Curly galloping on horseback across the I stage make for a fun evening. You'll learn more about how our state got its famous song and the musical it started out with beginning on page 32.

Of course, you can't sing "Oklaho- ma!" without envisioning all that waving wheat smelling sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain. Our story on harvesting the state's number-one crop begins On page 12' kinds of other information on wheat is duly not- ed-including the kt that a bushel of wheat now costs less than it did back in 1819, almost 90 years before statehood. And I know you'll enjoy the outstanding

culture. industrialization, urbanization, growth-over our indusuy, itVs high time Okla- homans m k their hats off to what petro-leum has done for us. Tulsan Bob Gregory, a wellhead of oilfield EdCts and m a , shows readers around the state's Seven wildest and richest oil saikes, then profiles that quintessential Tom Slick. The issue rounds out with a weekend at a country inn folded in the h c h i w and only South-

could invent: The World's ~ ~ show, in ~ i ~~~i~~ and hwestern ~ ~

and reform blew through state govern- ment Kke an Oklahoma wind.

Each governor faced major challenges: Raymond Gary had turnpikes-and sit-ins; J. Howard Edmondson, the repeal of prohibition and the beginning of the merit system; Henry Bellmon, the com- plex task of being the state's first Repub- lican governor; Dewey Bartlett, his famous "Okie,, campaign for industrial development-and campus unrest; and David Hall, prison reform-and the threat of impeachment.

Bushyhead. ~ 1 1in the ~ ~ ~ t ~ ~ h ~ - ~ c t ~ h ~ issue of OkMonra TODAY. ...InPursuitoftheAmerican Dream,

by Bob Do~on; Ahwum; $14.95. Bob

Oklahoma TODAY 4

Dotson can write. He can write even though he's made his name as a television newsman, on the "TODAY" show and the "Nightly News with Tom Bro- kaw," but first with WKY-TV in Okla-homa City.

The state is well represented in this book, which is filled with expanded, pol- ished versions of pieces Dotson original- ly did for TV.He went to New Lima to learn about the history of the blacks who came to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears; to Wewoka to visit the Carson & Barnes Circus on the road; to Miami to talk with artist Charles Banks Wilson; and to Tali- hina to meet Harold Coussens, who's caught catfish (some 15,000 of them) by the simple method of calling them like hogs.

"Oklahoma Goes to the Movies" by Mary Ann Luther (March-April 1986) was most enjoyable. May I add some names to the Oklahoma Star Map?

Since the days my now-deceased aunt used to tell about the times she held the infant Dale Robertson on her lap, I have had an abiding interest in Oklahoma show folk and show business in general. Whenever I learned that a star was from Oklahoma or had Oklahoma connec-tions, I made a mental note of it. Here are a few more names for your map:

Carol C h a ~ i n g , Tulsa Harry James, bandleader and husband

of Betty Grable, Ada Johnny Bond (in a lot of Gene Autry

films), near Marietta Spanky McFarland (of "Little Ras-

cals" fkme), called Bethany home for a time.

I have also heard over the years that Buster Keaton and Darla Hood of the "Little Rascals" were from Oklahoma, but can't attach a town to their names.

Other stars with Oklahoma connec-tions are Tim Holt, who had a ranch near Norman, and Wendell Burton, who starred with Liza Minnelli in "The Ster- ile Cuckoo." He is the grandson of Bill

and Vela Burton (now deceased) of Temple.

Even Donald Duck has Oklahoma roots. The man who created his voice, Clarence Nash, was born in Watonga.

And if you believe in reincarnation, there is a preacher in Ada who seriously and convincingly claims to be the reincarnation of W. C. Fields. Quite a switch for Fields, I'd say.

It is evident that Oklahoma is well represented in the world of films and television. Quite possibly there are other names that should be added to our list of stars. If any Okkdoma TODAY readers can add to the list or supply information on some of the stars I have named, it would be greatly appreciated by all of us Sooner movie fans.

James E. Clausen Oklahoma City

Erlitor's note:Mr. C/ausen aho l i teda number of t eh i ion penonalirips who had from Okhho- ma, from Bi// Moym to Rue Mdhnahan. We didn't i n t I d T V s m either in h i ha-or on our map, since thea r t i k was s M f L on he m m k -and since our spa@ was s&fL limited.

Your article in the March-April 1986 issue titled "Oklahoma Goes to the Mo- vies" brought back into clear focus some fading memories. Especially remem-bered are the Criterion in Oklahoma City, where I saw Duke Ellington on stage in the early '30s, and the Ria in Shawnee, where, as I recall, I saw my first "talking picture." I believe it was A1 Jolson in '"The Jazz Singer."

For a time prior to the "talkies," I played violin in a small-town theater in Prague, together with a high-school friend who played piano. For that little scrap of time, we also were part of the Oklahoma "movie scene."

Thanks to Mary Ann Luther for a memorable glance backward to my fond- ly remembered "Oklahoma" days.

Kenneth C. Neiswander Yuma, Arizona

It is always interesting to read ORlaAo-ma TODAY, and it is especially interesting to see similarities and differences between the Indian cultures and histor-

ies in Oklahoma and here in Peru, which, you know, also has such a rich heritage.

I look forward to receiving future is- sues of your magazine.

P. Samuel Panchot Chimbote, Peru

What a beautiful poster you produced for your 30th anniversary! Your selection of David Fiagerald's photograph is just terrific-and the reproduction-and the paper.. ..

All of it makes a very lovely gift.

Jody Kirberger Bdesville

Editor's note: A /imi&numbcr o f h e p o s t m , signcd by David Fi~zgcraM,am m'kzbkfrom our ofics. Price z? $8.95,parpaid.

Mary Ann Luther's article on Oklaho- ma and the movies is wonderful. Let me tell you, in fact, how wonderful:

The Film Industry Task Force took copies of the issue to the Location Expo in Hollywood and handed them out to people who were considering filming in Oklahoma. The story met with a uni-formly excellent response, and you have every reason to be proud of Mary Ann's work. It may just be responsible, on down the line, for jogging some producer's memory about Oklahoma-and for that we thank you in advance.

Jerry Holt Film Industry Task Force

Oklahoma TODAY continues to provide an excellent service to the state through balanced coverage, interesting stories and beautiful photography. It is going to be very important in these strin- gent times for Oklahoma to keep this best side of our face forward. Keep up the good work.

Dean Nat Eek College of Fine Arts, OU

Norman

OkMoma TODAY welcomes letters from our readers. Our only requirements: They must be signed, and we reserve the right to edit andlor condense them. Send your comments to: Letters, Okkdoma TODAY, P.O. Box 53384, Oklahoma Cicy, OK 73152.

July-August '86 5

I U N C O M M O N COMMON FOLK

By Kathryn Jenson Whlte

hese days, the twangy everybody," he remembers. "But then notes of country and western musicians began creating so many songs aren't the only ones different styles that the public couldn't that float through the air of understand a lot of it. Take, for

McAlester. These days, those who instance, John Coltrane, the great sax happen to have their windows down as player. What he created, the they drive past that town's Mount musicians were crazy over, but the Triumph Baptist Church might want to general public couldn't easily follow slow down and listen up. If they do, it. He played all those chords, those they'll likely hear a faint but changes, those 32nds and 64th~. The recognizable outpouring of organ musicians see his technique, but the notes, some smoky-dark and slow, some general public isn't interested in that. white-hot and swift. Listening, they So other forms of music, ones easier to might very well wonder if they haven't understand, took their interest." been somehow transported from What bothers him even more is Oklahoma's Little Dixie to Dixieland. that young black artists aren't doing They haven't, of course. It's just that enough to perpetuate and expand the since Bob Hines settled in McAlester art form that their people created. He last year he's jazzed up the place a says, "We worked so hard back years bit. He's the fellow sitting at his 27-year- to create jazz and then rock and roll, and old Hammond organ and coaxing the I feel they're letting it down. The powerful waves of jazz, blues and gospel white musicians are playing the hell out music from it in swell after swell of of it, while many of the black artists

are caught up in doing that 'yackety, Bob was born in Alabama and grew yackety, yackety' rap stuff. We

wanted the white musicians to take up jazz and rock; they made it

limited outlets for his music. He much a "musician's music."

Oklahoma TODAY 6

July-August '86 7

He worked a carnival for a while, then a more serious jazz show that performed all over the South under a tent before he put together the Bob Hines Trio, which he kept together until a few years back, when he stopped performing regularly. The group cut several records, among them "Jimmy's Blues," "Dashiki" and "Ain't That Funky?"

Bob knows that the majority of his new townsfolk wouldn't know any one of his tunes from another, but he understands that different regions have different musical tastes. He claims he likes country and western music, but admits, "When you're a trained jazz musician, it's tough to playjust country. There's a young man here who earns a living playing country, but when he needs to unwind he comes to me and we jam. It's hard to sacrifice everything you know to just four chords. A jazz musician is subject to move all around the music. In country you can't do that. It doesn't fit the pattern of a much more defined sound."

There are those in McAlester who appreciate Bob's music, of course, and he shares his talent with them whenever he can, playing now and then at local clubs and functions. He's also a regular part of church services at Mount Triumph, where he finds an enthusiastic audience for the same gospel tunes that, perhaps, his mother once played on the piano.

"Whatever you create, you want someone to respond to it," he says. "If that doesn't happen, it could just die in you. I intend to keep playing just as long as I'm able. I doubt I'd last very long without the music; it's become a part of me. And then you don't ever learn all you can learn, so I keep practicing every day and trying new things. Yes, it's important to play for people, but it's also very satisfying for me when I just play for myself. Just me and the music." Amen.

H,, a nom~nee~o ,~ ~ ~ n c o m m o n corn,, F ~ , I ~ - ?tvkfeto Kahqn Oklahoma TODAY, P.O. Bobr53384, ORIuhoma C ' , OK 73152.

just had to carry on for her, you know?" And carry on he did, taking his

mother's instrument as his own when he was just 9. Bob's grandmother didn't have a piano, so he'd go to other folks' houses every day after school and practice. Although Bob learned to read music in school, most of his education came outside the classroom. "Jazz, blues, ballads. I came up doing them all. I'd follow the ol' juke piano players to learn what they knew. There was some really good ones back then." ? I e best was one Willie "Blood" Love, who was about 10 years older than Bob.

Only problem with Love, Bob sighs,was that "He drank like he was crazy. When I was about 17, he had this job at Pratt City. When he showed up drunk, the lady who'd hired him said she wasn't going to play him. He'd been teaching me 'How Long, Baby, How Long,' a blues number, so I said I could take his gig. Let me tell you, I played that song fast, then slow, then sang it, then played it fast again. It was the only song I knew, and I played it for four hours." Laughing loudly, Bob hits the final note in the story: "I guess all them that was listening was so full of that ol' white liquor that they didn't know the difference."

After that first performance, Bob says, "I really belimed I was a piano player, and I really started trying." With Willie Love as his guide, Bob listened to and learned from Earl Hines, Clarence Williams and other jazz greats. At 18 he entered a piano-playing contest on the radio and won a suit. Then the station offered him his own 15-minute live show. The thrill of being a radio star wore out faster than the suit, though, and the artist in Bob knew he needed to move on, to learn more. He headed to Cleveland, Ohio, home of his idol, Art Tatum.

Bob got a job playing four nights a week for $37.50 at The Blue Room in Cleveland's Majestic Hotel. On the other three nights he was at Tatum's club taking lessons the master didn't exactly know he was giving. Bob recalls, "I'd steal a certain thing and go

U N C b M l O N COMMON FOL

practice it until I had it, then I'd go back and steal something else until I finally had it all. The first thing you know, I was playing just like him. We got to know each other, and he'd come to my job and tease me by saying he was just coming down to hear himself. If I'd ask him especially to come hear me, he'd say, 'What for? I want to listen at you, 1'11 just listen at me.' That was a great compliment from that big dude, I'll tell you. He was one of the best single acts in the country."

For the next 20 years, Bob made music with several different groups, most notably Hal Jackson's Ink Spots. He was with them from around 1935 until he went in the army in 1941 and again for a while when he came out in 1944. It was around that time that he heard a record called "Honky Tonk" by an organist named Bill Doggett. That recording turned his interest from the piano to the organ. Two decades of dedication got redirected as Bob's hands found their true home on the electric keyboard. He says now, 'The organ is just much more versatile than the piano. My goodness, it's got thousands of sounds while the piano's just got that one ol' 'thud, thud, thud.' "

Unfortunately, Bull Moose Jackson, for whom Bob played after leaving the Ink Spots, liked that 01' thud; he wanted no organ player in his group. Not to be stopped, Bob remembers,"I studied organ all day, then played piano in the act. On the road, I'd find a music store first thing after we got to our city and arrange to use one of their organs." When Bob left Bull Moose to play for Memphis Slim, he was finally ready and able to play the organ professionally. For three years with Memphis Slim and for seven on his own, Bob played in Europe, where he found the audiences more enthusiastic about jazz and more appreciative of the jazz artist than they were at home.

When he came back to America in 1957, he didn't stay in one place long enough to let the last notes fade from the air before he was on to the next gig.

-- Ifyou want to mn a passenger /ine in Oklahoma these%ys, you might do well to follm in the tracks of Dmid Dollar and his Small Change Railmad.

People who like to ride trains will travel great distances and suffer all sorts of inconveniences for the privilege of "climbing aboard."

David Dollar likes to ride trains, but he doesn't have to travel long distances or suffer any inconvenience. All he has to do is walk out the door of his house south of Moore. Dollar's "Small Change Railroad" is an amusement park-size train, and it runs around his property on 2,400 feet of track. His layout includes one turntable,

Dolktr's Lill+uurian d i n g stock inel& four Gngmand l l cars h d over2,400fe t of hack and mss four bn'dgcs-hmo over& a m of a hrgc mnd. He's scoured & U.S. for hk /rains: One engine mme h m & zoo in Co/umh. Ohio. anofker ffom Benton Hador, Midkan.

seven switches (five are spring-loaded), one passing track, a crossing diamond and two crossing signals. The route crosses four bridges, two over arms of a large pond.

"We refer to the area with the bridges as 'an arm of the great lakes,' " Dollar says with a grin.

The "Small Change" rolling st& in-cludes four engines and 11 cars.

'These trains are called G-16s, and

July-August '86

the numbers on those manufactured went from 501 to 999, although someone told me at the factory that the person who bought 999 had the company change the number to 1001," he says. Dollar's engines include two numbered 542 (both an A-unit and a B-unit), number 578-A and 680-A. Two engines are in working order, one is being put in working order, and the fourth hasn't been started on yet. He also has 11cars, six of

them restored and painted. His equipment is all 16 gauge.

"I have painted one of the engines in Rock Island colors and one in Santa Fe. The one I'm currently working on will be in Rock colors, too," says Dollar, who spent 10 years on the Rock Island.

Although Dollar's been working on his railroad all by himself for the most part, he has had some help. Both his dad, R. C. Dollar, who's his partner in the family

I

I MOORE

house-moving business, and an uncle, Elmer Amptman, who's also a next-door neighbor, have supported the project. (He actually gives his dad credit for be-ginning his love for trains. After all, he bought David his first one when he was three days old.)

"My cousin Jerry Cook painted the first engine, and Tony McAndrews helped me with the crossing signals," he says.

Friend Rick Arnold probably provided the most outside help, spending many weekends and evenings helping to get the engines in working order and the outside layout finished. When the trains are running, Arnold likes to be driving the Santa Fe train. His dream has always been to be an engineer like one of his uncles.

Dollar began his project in 1981 when he traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to buy the engine, four cars, rail and ties, which had run at the zoo there. He began lay-ing the track in 1982.

"Just the rail alone is $2.10 a foot; add on the cost of ties, spikes, plus labor and the rock and that's $10 a foot just for track," he says. "And that doesn't count the cost of the splice bars, which are $6 a pair. I know because I did have to buy some of those in the last couple of years." He was fortunate to get more than enough rail and second-hand ties to start with.

Three of Dollar's engines and the rest of the cars came from Michigan. Two of his four bridges came from the old Springlake Amusement Park in Oklaho-ma City. The other two bridges he built himself.

Although the miniature trains are no longer manufactured in this country, the parts are, so Dollar has had no trouble finding what he needs to fix his trains. Parts are expensive, however, so he does everything he can to keep his cost down.

His latest cost-cutting measure was converting his engines' electrical system from 6-volt to 12-volt.

"They still start on 6-volt but run on 12-volt," he says. "It was getting impos-sible to get 6-volt light bulbs anymore, for instance. And with the 12-volt system

I can use car batteries, and I use automo-bile alternators instead of the 6-volt gen-erators. It is much simpler now that I can go to an auto-supply s tore for replacements."

The engines are all-gas burners and I have a 12-gallon capacity.

"These engines are fairly economical to run. I have heard you can run one all I day on 12 gallons of gas. About the long-est I've ever run mine at a time so far is I two to three hours."

While he admits it is fun to have your own railroad, Dollar has discovered the best part is sharing it with other people.

"That's the most fun for me, seeing other people, especially the kids, enjoy-ing this along with me," he says.

As a member of the Central Oklahoma Railfan Club, Dollar doesn't lack for friends willing, even eager, to come along for the ride. Two events are fast becoming traditions for club members.

Each June the group holds its annual picnic for families at Dollar's place, and in November, during the organization's yearly train show, dealers and exhibitors from out of town are special guests of the club.

The "Small Change" line has played

e host to children from the Oklahoma Children's Shelter (another Railfan Club project), and it even played a pan in the wedding reception for David and his wife, Nancy.

"We fired up the engines, and the whole wedding party rode around in our wedding clothes," Dollar says, laughing.

If all goes well, this summer Dollar hopes to be able to share his railroad with an even wider group of people-such as the folks who screech their brakes when driving by his house for the first time, startled to see the trains chugging around the yard.

"I'm hoping to get all the paper work done for my insurance, and then I can start a little train-ride business here. That's kind of what I've always had in mind," he says.

In the meantime, he will continue working on his third engine in the garage he has converted into a "roundhouse." Always looking to the future, he fured

Like a r a i l d n g Pa#/ Bunyon, Dolkzr looms m a span of his ettgin~. one on hkj4?beon Sans Fe m/on; h one on h@t, h ruj and Jikw of Do/Ws f k t e kne, he Rod I s h d .

space for five engines. It is entirely possible he will need the

extra room someday, because as relatives and friends have discovered, Dollar is the kind of man who manages to accom-plish what he starts out to do.

As one amazed friend remarked the first time he saw the railroad, "I heard you say you were going to do this, and I thought at the time it was a nice dream you had. Then I come down and here it is. You really did it!"

l3e &s, who 1 . in Edmond, are frequent mnnibutors to Oklahoma TODAY.

10 Oklahoma TODAY

-People who believe there aren't any passenger trains to of uncertain antecedents." During fair time in September, this

ride in Oklahoma just haven't been paying attention. Here engine chugs around on about 100 feet of track at the fairgrounds are some still on their admittedly diminutive tracks: for 25 cents a ride. "Alas, no, we have no tunnels or bridges," says

DAVIS-The City of Davis operates a 35-passenger train at the correspondent. Tumer Falls from April through September. According to the city HINTON-This train runs along 600 feet of track at the manager, the fare is $2 and the ride crosses the water by two fairgrounds for three days a year-during the county fair in late bridges on 1% miles of track. Most of the equipment came from an August. Volunteers from the Hinton Free Fair Association run the amusement park in Lawton, and the rest was designed and built train. In 1987, volunteers hope to be able to fire it up four or five by a city worker. extra weekends during the summer.

DUNCAN-The Kiwanis Club of Duncan runs a train during KINGFISHER-The Odd Fellows run the train in Kingfisher the summer months at Kiddieland Park. The half-mile of track Park from May through September. They have a bridge and a runs around a Rock Island steam engine and goes through one tunnel on their 1% miles of track. Cost of a ride is 50 cents to make tunnel. Fare. is eight tickets for $1, and it takes a ticket to ride. the circuit twice.

ENID-From May to September, Kiwanis Club members take OKLAHOMA CITY-The Oklahoma City Zoological Trust turns as engineer on their train, a 1:16 scale model of the C. P. has two trains with six cars each, which they can run between April Huntington, built in Pennsylvania in 1864. The mile-long track in and October. The ride costs $1.25, and the route goes over 8/10 of Meadowlake Park crosses two bridges and goes through one tun- a mile of track including two bridges. One of these engines, like nel. Fare is 50 cents. the one in Enid, is a model of the C. P. Huntington.

GEARY-A form seeking information about this train brought back a snappy reply under the question List number Of engin&,

WATONGA-For those who prefer a ride on a grown-up train, there is the Lil' Red Express, which runs excursions between

manufacfum and model numbers. "What do you think we are run- Watonga and Greenfield during selected months in the spring, ning out here, the Penn Central? We are lucky to have one engine summer and fall. Call (405)557-1 11 1 for more information.

July-August '86 11

Oklahoma TODAY 12

By Sc& Carlberg Photographs by

Jerry Poppenhouse

A fie& Oklahoma morning. Dew

droplets glitter on the grass as if tiny

diamonds had drizzkd down during

the night. The sky is bluer than a

baby's eyes. The air has an ultra-

clean scent Erom being baked in Okla-

homa's Bummer wen the day before,

yet cool wisps of air ride June

breezes.

This is harvest time in Oklahoma's

farmland.Across the state, farmers

ease heavy machinery from the barn. Pick-ups gulp an unleaded breakfist. In town, elevator operators wait to tally a year's work from the land around them. The drama is played out every year across Oklahoma, but nowhere with more enthusiasm than on the Don Eifert farm seven miles southwest of Enid.

Each June the Eiferts roll up their sleeves and harvest 900 acres of wheat. Don drives one combine while his wife, Doris, usually handles the uuck that hauls the grain to town. Who handles the rest of the farm machinery? Don's four daughters-Beverly, Karen, Susan and Nancy. "They can all drive the tractor, work cattle, run the combine or drive the wheat truck. We just trade off jobs," Don says.

Beverly, now 25, has been a mainstay in the harvest since she was 13. She works in Miami, Oklahoma, now at the Farmer's Home Administration, but each June she comes home. "I just don't know what else to do at that time of year. It's a tradition for me. On our firm, we never hire any work. We do all the work ourselves and have fun being home together. It's a busy but happy time."

Daughter Ka-ren, 23, says that farming is a job she enjoys. "Has anyone ever told me that this isn't a job for girls? May- be not flit out told me, because they know the kind of response they'd get. I always figure that anybody can do anything they're capable of, or have the desire to do. Besides, there wasn't any-one else to do the work. It was just something we did, and didn't ques-tion it." Beverly agrees: "Every-body pitches in

and helps, especially in the summer, our busy time. We always did whatever we could do for whatever age we were. All of us understood that what benefits one of us benefits all of us."

Wheat harvesting is rigorous, sun-up to long-after-dark work, whether it's operating a com-bine, following the combine with a truck, chiseling or discing the earth, repairing equip-ment or trucking the grain to town. The last job, going into town, Don says is the "gravy job. " Karen

elevator. But I realized that there was more to driving the truck than that. You have to read the combine driver's mind as you follow in the field, understand the workings of the elevator in town and dodge all of the other truck drivers bring- ing in wheat. It's as difficult as the other jobs."

Driving the combine is a prized job- assuming, of course, you get the best combine. You see, one Eifert combine has no enclosed cab, only a yellow canopy to shade the driver from the sun. As Don says, 'You're out there fighting all of the elements. If you've got good clean wheat, it's not so bad, but if you're into some dirty wheat and there's a breeze to blow it all over you, it makes the job seem like a long time." This work gets in your blood-also in your eyes and down your back.

Still, combine driving has a special satisfaction. "It's rush, rush, rush until I get on the machine," Karen says. "Then I can relax because I know what's got to be done. It's a good feeling-you've worked all year long to raise that wheat, and finally it's rolling in and you know the weather's not going to take it away."

Everyone in the family gets a crack at all of the jobs. Even Nancy, the youn-

agreed, until that wwas her main duty one year. "Well, BEVERLY as kids, we always 'fBef0~eI W ~ SOM etto#& to WO* in &e$e&, thought that f i e b and fie k& wouHlo01 would be a great a@ d o h . we were ahays logether and job because there h.mRdto depend f m it outhm on edo&,,., i t were always good-looking guys at the - and get along." -

Oklahoma TODAY 14

into a life that may every year the farmer throws the dice be paved over by against nature. "It's got to be something city living. "Farm- that you want to do more than any other ing keeps the girls occupation," Doris says. '"The satisfac-in touch with the tion comes from having a part in what's land," says Doris. been created." "The girls learn a In her job, Beverly works with farm lot about the life finances every day, and says the road of cycle," says Don, the family farm probably won't get "and what it takes smoother in the next few years-prices to bring on a new are low, equipment costs are steep, generation." many farmers are highly leveraged, and

There's more to big agribusinesses are moving in. "It's it yet. There's a sad, but there will be a lot of family-type reverence. "We all operations that won't survive," says Bev- know that t h e erly, who believes that the foundation of 1 Lord giveth and rural Oklahoma towns rests with the taketh away," family farm. 'The breakdown of the

<'Has toid me h t fib kn't a j o b family farm system can lead to a break- anyb04 am Don says. "We see

for gzgzd?~oybc out to/d me, baaMe f i g it year after year. down in the closeness of fimilies. As I t makes you large, business-run farms move in, it'll of mponsc afly'dgd' aoE9's f ip know that there's be more of an employer/employee rela-

fiat a~bo4Can do a+ing fig're Of; Or tionship farms, not neighborsomeone more re- on to h e dre desin to do." sponsible than you neighbor."

1 for what you get. No one can take that closeness from gest at 17, says, "I used to do the odd When things happen to your crop, you the Eiferts, who have seen wheat, cattle jobs, but in the last two years I've been just have to have faith and start over." and their fimily grow up in the heart of on the big machinery. I don't really have Karen agrees. "Every time I see a crop Oklahoma. They have a perspective on a favorite job now. I just pick up respon- come up or a calf get up and walk for the the land, and on life, that few of us can sibilities that my sisters have done first time, I feel the miracle of God's fully appreciate. before." creation. I feel a part of His plan. When While most of us live "in Oklahoma,"

"I've ridden the machinery since I was I realize that the little," says Susan, 19, "and I've been ground needs cul- running farm equipment since I was 15. tivation for the Farming makes us a strong timily. We wheat to grow or a do things together and have jobs to do cow needs extra that help each other." help to have a calf, T7

Wheat and cattle are only two prod- and I can help, I ucts of the Eifert farm. Intense family understand a little pride is another. "Before I was old more why I'm enough to work in the fields," says Bev- here on earth." Ierly, "Mom worked the fields and the That's the kind kids would look after each other. We of strength a farm- were always together and learned how to e r need s these depend on each other, fight it out and days, especially on -

get along." family farms, That family feeling has deep roots. which a n looking

Don and Doris have been farming in more and more NANCY Oklahoma for all of their 26-year mar- like candidates for riage. Before that, Don worked a farm the endangered '7 US& to do fie &jobs, but in dre kzst m o south of Vance Air Force Base with his species list. The yean I've been on fie bg madinery. I don't rea& dad, who first tilled Oklahoma ground work is arduous, have o fmon'tcp job now. I jtk p a rfpwith a team of mules in 1922. Being that the financial hur- r s p o n s i ~ i ~ 6fiat or sktm hove done b#on. close to the land inspires special insights dles are high, and

July-August '86 15

the Eiferts live in and on the living skin land accomplish something. If you've of our state. Here's how one of the girls ever seen Oklahoma when the wheat is says it: being cut, well, it's just a beautiful sight

"There's no way to be any closer to to see all that golden grain out there, the earth than to see your work on the The wheat means 'home' to me." I!

QklahmaTODAY

8 r'U.. * d--:..*.

Edible Gold Sometimes green. Sometimes gold. Wheat coins an Oklahoma Many homesteaders brought south the seed of Turkey Red, the

landscape the color of money. Indeed, the 5.5 million acres Okla- sturdy wheat that Mennonites had carried to Kansas from Russian homa's farmers harvested last year was a gold strike worth nearly steppes in the early 1870s. A winter-hardy variety that didn't half a billion dollars. freeze out, Turkey Red revolutionized the Great Plains wheat

Wheat is Oklahoma's number-one cash crop, Figures like the industry and is the granddaddy of Oklahoma's wheats today. 165 million bushels that state farmers harvested in 1985 made In those early days, Oklahoma's largest wheat farm was the Oklahoma third nationally in production of hard winter wheat. Miller Brothers' famous 101 Ranch on the Ponca Reservation in Only Kansas and Texas hit a bigger bonanza. what is now Kay County. Amber waves of grain stretched across

State gold is one thing. Farmers' dollars are another. For many, 5,000 acres on the 101 in 1899. summer's June price of $2.93 a bushel barely paid production costs Cutting the first swath around one huge field that year, Joe of seed, farm equipment, labor, fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, herbi- Miller took four hours to make the six-mile "round." Working 24 cides, custom harvesting and interest on farm notes. hours a day, by sunlight, moonlight and lantern, the Millers later

Talk wheat to veterans like 72-year-old Leland Kuykendall, used as many as 500 men, 600 horses and mules, 50 binders and 10 who planted his first crop in 1929. You may decide this golden threshing machines to harvest up to 9,000 acres annually. grain is not an annual King Solomon's Mine on the south 4 0 a t Today Kay County remains one of Oklahoma's Midas wheat least not for the men who plant it. producers. Garfield, Grant, Texas, Alfalfa, Woods, Kingfisher,

The Kuykendalls have grown wheat at Nash, 25 miles north of Beaver, Custer and Blaine are other top-10 gold fields. In 1985 Enid, since Leland's grandither and his children homesteaded they produced half of Oklahoma's 165 million bushels. At 73 there Sept. 16, 1893, during the land run that opened the Chero- loaves of bread per bushel, that's a lot of baking: 12 billion loaves if kee Outlet. They have watched wheat yields fluctuate from 15 it were all turned into bread. bushels an acre their first harvest of 1894 to a record 38 bushels an Not all Oklahoma's wheat will be baked. Recent research at acre in 1959. They've agonized over prices that bottomed at 32 Panhandle State University in Goodwell is putting more wheat on cents a bushel in 1932, then hopscotched to a high of $3.91 in America's feedlots. Com-fed beef could give way to wheat-fin- 1979. ished steaks and roasts.

Breaking virgin sod in the 1890s, Andrew Kuykendall and his At least one Panhandle study suggests that wheat may provide fellow homesteaders must have thought they were Oklahoma's 10 percent more calories per pound than corn. Experiments indi- original wheat timers. cate that livestock can be fed 100-percent rations. This increase

They were wrong by at least 70 years. The Five Civilized from a feedlot's conventional 30-50 percent wheat rations is open- Tribes brought wheat from the South, and it was an important ing new markets to Oklahoma's wheat industry. A new Oklahoma food for Oklahoma's Indians. Cherokees especially liked it for Wheat Commission campaign also encourages state farmers to feed "short" bread. Other favorites were whole-wheat kernels kettle- at least half wheat rations to their own farm-raised stock. boiled for four hours and a wheat breakfast cereal ground in coffee More critical, though, to determining the riches that come out of mills. Indians even drank wheat. Later called "Lincoln" coffee Oklahoma's wheat fields are its foreign customers. Eighty percent during the make-do times of the Civil War, this brew was made of the state's crop heads for the high seas. In 1985 the USSR by parching, grinding, then boiling wheat. bought 39 percent of those exports and Central and South America

Sixty-three years before the Kuykendall family made the Chero- another 33 percent. kee h t l e t run, Indian trader Col. A. P. Chouteau told the Senate Oklahoma's gold fields do mean big bullion for the state, but during their consideration of the Choctaw Treaty of 1830: "I know wheat farming remains a personal gamble. some (Creeks) who have under fence and culture about 150 acres "Are the Russians buying?" and "Will federal wheat supports of land. They raise all the kinds of grains." Headquartered at hold up!" are new worries Oklahoma farmers must add to Mother Three Forks on the Verdigris, Chouteau had himself raised 18- to Nature's annual weather roulette. 20-bushel wheat there. Still, it's a gamble that fourth-generation wheat farmer Dean 0Even earlier, English botanist Thomas Nuttall documented Kuykendall of Nash made once more this year. Just don't accuse wheat cultivation in Oklahoma. During 1819 Nuttall wrote of a him and Oklahoma's other wheat farmers of gold fever. Red River settlement: '"The wheat planted here produced about Much as Oklahoma's farmers might want to try a little medieval 80 bushels to the acre, for which some of the inhabitants had now alchemy and transform their wheat kernels into gold, two facts the conscience to demand three dollars and a half per bushel." remain:

Alas, Nuttall knew these settlers' success with wheat would be ...The price state farmers receive for their 1986 wheat will be short-lived. The troops he accompanied from Fort Smith were less per bushel than Oklahoma's first Red River farmers asked in expelling white farmers from the Osage territory. 1819.

Seventy years later, the opening of Oklahoma to white settle- ...Just a nickel's worth of wheat goes into each loaf of bread Iment was a vimal gold suike for land-hungry wheat farmers. waiting in Oklahoma togstem. -Carole Fry Owen

lZe whok point

b4q couMn't get at how: ckmk'ng up and hurtling h n zkgv's manmad? mo#nklrnklrtIs,for instm, or SampIing rh? 1w m r t o f o r S@pry, Bdrs ~moarsf&.

r Oklahoma TODAY

made to film a portion of the movie "Tex" in the park in 1981, he ordered a dazzling creation with the park's name in huge swirling, pulsating lights. In his office hangs a picture of two of the movie's actors pausing outside the gate, the new sign gloriously prominent.

"They cut that scene out," he laughs. "The actors say 'Let's hit Bell's,' but the sign isn't in the movie at all."

Now in its 35th year, Bell's isn't kidding when it calls itself "a Tulsa tradition," but it could just as easily bill itself "a family tradition" with no fear of false advertising. Bell's is of the family, by the family and for the hmily.

"We have thrill rides, but we're a family-owned business and we cater to families," Bob Bell says. "And I don't care how much money's in it, we're never going to go to just being a strictly teen-age thrill park."

From the beginning, the emphasis has been on fun for the little one; in fact, in the beginning, that little one was Bob Bell himself. In 1948, Bob's father, Robert Bell Sr., built his son a midget racer, then collaborated with a neighbor to construct a train that

ran on a track around the outside of the Bell home. The train was such a hit with the neighborhood children that the senior Bell built more rides and tried several different locations for them, until, finally, in the spring of 1951, Bell's Amusement Park opened in its present location, five acres at the west end of the Tulsa State Fairgrounds, with seven kiddie rides. Six of them were built by Bell.

Adult rides were added in the mid-'SOs, the bumper cars in 1955, the Tilt-A-Whirl in 1957 and the first MadMouse roller coaster in the U.S. in 1%0. The growth of the park was steady, but Bob Bell feels that the real turning point was in 1968 when Zingo, a 75-foot- tall wooden roller coaster, was added. Zingo's 1 112- minute ride over a 2,560-foot track quickly became the most popular ride in the park, and bumper sackers all over town were soon bragging "I Rode Zingo!" In 1977, the ride was modified so that the third dip, which covers an 80-foot drop, goes into a tunnel under a concession stand, making Zingo the first coaster in the country to go underground. Today, the largest wooden roller coaster in a 350-mile radius, Zingo is

second in popularity only to the Logride, but before its construction, it was definitely last in the hearts of Bell's neighbors.

"We tried to build Zingo in 1967," Bob Bell explains," and the people in the neighborhoods around the park were against it because of the noise factor, so they sued us. The judge told my dad, 'Well, you can build it, Mr. Bell, because they haven't proved that it will be loud, but you can't run it after 9 in the evening.' And we've honored that court order since 1968."

So, like the mythical small town that rolls up its sidewalks at dusk, Zingo shuts down its joyriding promptly at 9 each evening, two hours before the park closes.

Thirty-five years of growth have seen the park double in size. With 26 rides, five concession stands, two 18-hole miniature golf courses, 40 Skeeball alleys, a waterslide and a videolpinball arcade, Bell's employs 100 people in the peak season and 125 when it contracts itself to the Tulsa State Fair for 10 days each fall. A maintenance crew, which varies from three to 12, is headed by Ed Miles, known around Bell's as "the ride

doctor," for his talent for fming broken rides. Other behind-the-scenes workers include the office staff and a laundry crew that keeps up with the hundreds of uniforms worn by employees.

Even at this size, the family-owned business is still fimily-run. Robert Bell Sr. died in 1980, but his "Tulsa tradition" is being carried on by his son, Bob, Bob's wife, Sally, and their three children, Robbie, 21; Laura, 18, and Jason, 15. Robbie, Bell's personnel manager, is a marketing major at the University of Tulsa, and his parents are pleased that his marketing education will be used to assure the name Bell will stay up in lights at the park.

"Our kids have not had what you would call a real normal existence," admits Sally Bell in a textbook example of understatement. For several years, when the children were grade-school age, the entire family lived in an apartment on the park grounds during the summer season, and all had to live, eat and breathe amusement park for three months. All of which might seem every kid's dream, but is not necessarily all it's cracked up to be. When he was 5, Jason once stood at

I 3 l , d

Capitolhuserneh~s' Thrill-seeking, joy riding and pleasure cruising hardly require Public Market now stands, featured a beer garden, a restaurant, a

four-on-the-floor and mag wheels. The pulse-racing gyrations of race mck, a 3,000-seat theater, a hotel, a baseball park, a dance Oklahoma City amusement park rides predate the first successful pavillion, a swimming pool and, of course, rides-most notably, a American gasoline-powered car by eight years-and Oklahoma's giant circular swing, a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel. Such statehood by five. luminaries as Buster Keaton, Lon Chaney Sr. and the well-known

However, the success of these man-made fairylands depended pacing horse Dan Patch made their appearances, as did Geronimo, largely on transportation-both inside and outside the parks-and who peddled his autograph for 10 cents. a then recently hamessed phenomenon: electricity. Delmar Gar- However, entertainers, including the "Swedish Nightingale," den, the city's first and perhaps most legendary amusementtark, Jenny Lind, or boxer John L. Sullivan, who eamed $1,000 a week

iopened in 1902, thanks to all of the above. r 1 - I I l k h , I h . for exhibition fighting in 1906, weren't the only draws. The first "Delmar became a destination. And you ha8 fo liavk": w& k " - statehood convention was held there in 1905.

get to a destination," says Pendleton Woods, a student of Oklaho- "My father told me he made ham sandwiches all night long to ma City's history. "There was a very close tie-in between transpor- serve all those people," says Patricia Gambulous of Oklahoma tation, electricity.. .and amusement. Delmar opened concurrently City, daughter of Peter Sinopoulo. with the first trolley line in Oklahoma City." In 1906, a most popular year, the park drew 600,000 people. To

Soon after the century turned, the park's founders, John and handle the cash flow from all those customers, the Sinopoulo Peter Sinopoulo, planned the city's Delmar Garden based on a St. brothers relied on a unique courier system. ''"hey used to take the Louis amusement park of the same name. day's receipts home with them.. .in paper sacks," Gambulous says.

"It's really a very classy-looking place," says Woods. "It was Sacks of money notwithstanding, by 1910 Delmar slept perma- designed for the mass of the public-not a silk-stocking type nently, before it had even been open for a decade. According to

hing." Woods, the park met its untimely demise because of acts of At one point, 10 people-packed street cars a day rolled to and nature-and the state.

from the park, depositing fun lovers at Delmar's multi-story load- "They had quite a mosquito epidemic in that area," Woods ing platform. The 140-acre wonderland, roughly where the city's says. As for other factors, "a part of it is attributed to statehood.

Oklahoma TODAY 22

the sliding-glass door of the apartment, the whole of the amusement park at his feet, and lamented, "Mom, I haven't got anything to do." Bob and Sally still laugh when they tell that one.

Other events that they laugh at in retrospect weren't so funny at the time, such as a frustrating project that Sally took on when she started working full-time at the park in 1971.

"We had not been able to afford to put our employees in uniforms," she explains. "They wore a white shirt that said 'Bell's' on the back and whatever they wanted on the bottom. One year, Bob's folks and he and I decided that we had to do uniforms, but we couldn't afford to go to a company and have them done, so that was my job. The boys' weren't too bad; we just got slacks and we had this lady who made shirts. But the girls' were another story. I kept thinking about heavy girls, thin girls, short girls, tall girls. I came up with this kind of culotte-looking thing that we made and they wore. But looking back on it, they were awful!" she laughs. "They were just ugly! The fabric for the culotte was a waffle piquC yellow-and-green check, and

there was a sort of peasant-looking blouse. It was a disaster!"

Detailing the changes the uniforms went through for the next few years, she doesn't look the least bit wistful for the old days as she finishes the story: "Finally, we decided if we're gonna be big-time, we had better get out of the homemade uniform business."

The more big-time Bell's became, the more the park invited comparisons to major theme parks in other states. Bob Bell knows his park is smaller than most, but points out that it is also a more compact park, minus the numerous food stands and souvenir shops that litter larger parks.

"Normally, a park with this many rides occupies at least three times the area that our park does," he says.

Bell's strongest advantage over Numerous-Flags- Over-Whatever-State parks is evident when Bob and Sally discuss their own philosophic differences with the way the larger parks are run.

"They like long lines," Bob says, puzzled. q

"That's all I can figure out." Sally adds, "We're so sensitive that if we see a

With statehood, the park went dry." ' , , 'Zr.-:people sometimes shook a leg in the dance pavillion. Modeled In the 1920s, developer Roy Staton helped fill the city's amuse- I'

;after Elitch Gardens in Denver, the park served the city until ment park void with Springlake Park, just west of modemday . , the mid-'7Os, largely because of Staton, whose son Marvin suc-L imln Park at 40th and Eastern. The park's first five acres had - :ceeded him. been donated by Oklahoma Citian C. J. Tuohy Sr. to the state, L. "Staton sure did spend. That Dipper seemed to attract more and Staton bought them at auction. At one time, "every inch of that park was on our farm," says Tuohy's son, C. J. "Neil" Tuohy Jr., who remembers when Staton bought the rest of the Emily's 40 acres, piece by piece, to complete Springlake.

"Staton...was very strict. He was a very religious man. He had a clean park," Tuohy says. "He didn't allow drinking, either. It was clean borh ways. There wasn't a scrap of paper in there."

As the tree-studded park grew in acreage, the level of entertainment escalated. The park boasted a g m r y store, a shooting gallery, a lake and a dance pavillion, where such acts as Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey played. A special attraction was the Big Dipper-a roller coaster with a 90-foot drop. (The park promoted the Dipper as "the most thrilling, breathtaking ride in the whole Southwest. We'll turn you white as a sheet and make you like it....") - 1... J

'

, : kids than anything," Tuohy says. "Roy Staton had a lot of deter- .- mination. He had a lot of money to back up his dreams. He had lLd.big ideas. He was going to make it the greatest park in the state. .I And he did."

' Today nothing remains of Staton's dream park, and a vo-tech

center stands on its site. ' The city's final amusement park frontier-Frontier City-was

started by James Burge, manager of the state's semi-centennial ' - celebration in 1957, according to Woods. Part of the semiccnten-

nial's attraction, which the fledgling ''Today'' show covered on - location for weeks, was Boom Town-a wooden mock-up of a , -,1920s oil burg.

When the celebration ended, Burge was determined to keep ' Boom Town from becoming sawdust. The set was dismantled and

.sold at auction, but Burge was outbid. "Funny thing was, the

-thing he'd planned to begin Frontier City with, he didn't et."' So Burge built his own Boom Town and opened the park in 1958,along what is now Interstate 35, near the westem end of the Tumer Turnpike. (To find out about hours and ticket prices, call (405) 478-2412.)

Fmntier City, the last in the city's round-up of amusement parks, now features staged shoot 'em ups and rides with such Westem-sounding names as Prairie Schooner and Horse Roller Coaster.-mode,m-day concessi?ns t? an ancient pastime: having hn . -1- -4 1m1

# . ?&& ;,LCI

I -Tuohy watched as Springlake grew. ' -1

"I used to go there as a kid. They had a big swimming pool-a real fine swimming pool," he says. "When the big bands'd come down there I'd ride down on my horse. I'd climb in one of those oak trees. I'd look in the pavillion and get a free concert."

Like Delmar Garden, Springlake depended on mass transit to bring the crowds to its gates. In fact, Tuohy's fther helped secure the right-of-way necessary to build the line.

On the busiest summer days, as many as 15,000people showed up to toss, turn, spin and whirl on the rides, some of which were copied fmm European models, Touhy says. As many as 1,000

long line at a ride, we immediately get this guilt feeling that we're making people wait. The theme park people are always talking to us about their huge crowds and their long lines, and all we can think is, 'My goodness, you mean you make people stand in line 30 minutes to ride a ride?' We want to get out there and do something to keep 'em from having to stand in line. It's just a different philosophy."

Another Bell philosophy evident to anyone who visits the park and walks the neat, red-brick midways is that cleanliness is taken seriously by all employees.

"Everybody sweeps," Sally says. "Everybody picks up uash. I pick up trash. Bob picks up trash. We have this employee mono that no one who walks down the midway should be empty-handed, because there's always something to pick up."

"Makes it kinda hard to shake hands," Bob laughs, "But it does keep the place clean."

On days when the park is being cleaned by a summer rainstorm, Bob Bell is less concerned about his cash register taking a bath than the park's reputation. Once the decision has been made to close the park because of rain, it's impossible to reverse even if the weather itself reverses, because of the diff~cultyin rounding up the largely teen-age workforce once they've been sent home for an unexpected holiday.

"My big fear is not really losing money in this case," Bob says, "but in disappointing someone. Let's say someone drives for 50 miles to come here, and it hasn't been raining where they started out from and by the time they drive into Tulsa, it isn't raining anymore here. We may be closed because it rained all day and then cleared up an hour before. And then we've

disappointed those people. And that hurts." The Bells are pleased to be able to return

something of value to the community that supports their park. Senior citizens, Domestic Violence Intervention mothers and children, and residents of Tulsa Boys' Home, Children's Medical Center and Gatesway Foundation are all allowed to enjoy the park's rides without charge at any time.

"That's one of the positive sides of the business, to be able to provide that kind of joy to someone who might not be able to do it any other way," Sally says. "They have a wonderful time, and they have a memory that they can call on at times when things are bad."

"People identify with amusement parks because of their childhood remembrances," says Bob Bell. "Maybe it's where they carrre m h i r h t b e OF

maybe their first kiss was on the Ferris Wheel. "The nice thing about being in this business is

that we always see people when they're out to have a good time, and that's contagious. We try to heighten that mood for people. When you've got a park full of people predisposed to be happy, it's easy to get swept up in that. It's a fun business."

C'qMotgan ia T d a n d o tirib BePs, but d o m a not to qikvimx 2 4 0 . F d M a d ith-OR/aAoma T o u k m and R e n d o n Dcpo&s s&#photograHcr.

Ifyon want to n2 Zingo's wooah waves, s m / of Tuha's rnojr 1omughfam my/ take you h.f-tate 44, 1 e BroRm Amniv E a p m a y and I ~ t a t e244 have mk at Hamad; Be//'s ti at 3900 E. 21s&l/4 mik cast of Hamad.

%scason begins &ti/ 18 and turn 1mugh Septnnber 24. Spring Louts nm F+ 6-11 p.m. and Satu* and Sun& 1-11 p.m. Beginning June 2 , b4e watnsIi/k and mo mini-golf coum a n opm 1-11 p.m. Sun&-Eiundq; & rides a n open 6-11 p.m. SU~&?~-~$UIS&,6-midnidt on Fri& and 1-midni& on Satu-. Afhr Labor Day, b4e pad ti opm Sa&& and Sun& until Scptnnbcr 25, d m it barompart of b4e Tuka Statc Fair h u g 4 Oaobm5 . H o M q hours a n & acception: E q 1 i n g opens j v m 1-11 p.m. And 1 e watm/ide will c/ose wkcvcf & wader diculta. Good nms on a good &/: If you don't want to pay e e , q time

yougo, &pad's $35 T u hPassport mibyou to unkmited use of all &, & mini-goywunrs and b4e watnshk for h e mtin scason ( d d n g hef;rirj+/us dticountr at s e M businmrs. For mom information, cat7 (918) 744-1991.

Oklahoma TODAY

O K L A H O M A P O R T F O L I 0

J.R. TOLAND

If you have a 1986 Oklahoma state map, you own work by J. R. Toland, a

cartogmpher for the Department of Transportation. In his other life, he's a photogra-

pher. "I shoot anything," he says, "but I really get in deep on bugs, flowers, nature

photography." Though he picked up his first camera (a Brownie Holiday) when he

was 9, Toland's h t love is art-watercolor, oils, sculptwe, acrylics. "I look at a

photograph more for artistic qualities," he says. "I guess I'm an artist first, and that

spills over." A devout canoer, backpacker and motorcycle rider, he has his favorite

backcountry subjects: the northeast, Black Mesa and above all the Skyline Drive:

"My quest is to find a place where there aren't any cigarette filters or pull tabs."

July-August '86 25

PRECEDING PAGE ABOVE Sandhill cranes, Fall pastoral, Great Salt Plains Adair County

Oklahoma TODAY 26

I m: . .

,$r ';, . . I& ' : , , & : ' -%'i'r*k., ' ' n

ABOVE Iris in bloom

July-August '86 27

t "r;

ABOVE House made of boulders,

Wichita Mountains

a Oklahoma TODAY

ABOVE. Wheat elevator,

Khgfisher

July-August '86 29

The By Mary Ann Luther

~ ~ Q O K U t K M M P R E 8 8

Let's tkx it, fJld&: I% a. stunt pilot ibr our sate WI~

Brash, beautifid and thescissor-milled n p h ron KI& has T a b m in his veins. When nm pecking on birds four rimes his tke, 1khawks and c m , he's busy per-k d n g such aerodynsunically sound mat@o E$BIl;%inghorizontally onto wle-

phone wires to reduce his resismlree to tb state's even feistier winds. Or per- %rming 50-fmt loops in the atmo- sphore-from 100-foot heights-to irmpms the ladies. w U ~ v ~ i r y m-of ~ a h o m

o h professor Harley B m n of Nor-msn rm& what he thinks was his first glimpse of scissor-tails in 1948:

"Theyput an w~rialacrobatics a little l i e those of a mtxkingbird. They did as near as they could do to strutting in che air. You can see why a lady scissor-mil would be quite impressed."

It's no accident that thischarmer be-Ion@ to a h i l y of birds adled Tyrant Flycahers, relatives of the quarrel-somekingbirds. ~&&610&St Wid ph*

OKLAHOMA OMNIBUS

tographer Joe Grzybowski of Norman says he's seen the pugnacious birds billing at each other (they don't draw blood because their bills are too soft) and chasing in flight.

"They are fairly aggressive toward each other. They set up territories. And they defend their territories," he says.

The birds also relish a little derring- do. They like to post themselves by stoplights, then swoop down at inter- sections and pick up June bugs and cicadas off the street, he says.

So how did such a show-off become a legislated Sooner symbol? Partly because he's a Southwestern exclusive. Indeed, the scissor-tail is something to crow about.

"It's a very striking species, and it is found in a relatively limited distribu- tion in the southwestern U.S.," says Gary Schnell, curator of birds at the University of Oklahoma's Stovall Mu- seum. "It is a very characteristic bird, and no other state has selected that species."

Naturally, there were some "also-rans" in the race for state bird-dom. There was the melodic bobwhite, whose name the State Federation of Women's Clubs bandied about at least as early as 1932. And the much-used mockingbird, state mascot for Arkan- sas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

Although the scissor-tail lives mostly in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, "Oklahoma is the center of its breeding range. And that's the reason that we selected it," says John Galley, now of Kerrville, Texas. He and his late wife, Margret, helped promote the bird when they were members of the Tulsa Audubon Society.

Even if the choice seems obvious now, making the scissor-tail official was not without problems. Take the bird's name.

"The legislature made fun of it. They treated it as a big joke. That made all the garden club members an- gry," says Galley. "The garden clubs let the legislators hear from them. And the legislature got serious about it and passed the legislation and made the scissor-tail our state bird."

According to newspaper accounts, the push took four years. Helped along by the Audubon Society, the late Bess Smith of Oklahoma City and the Okla- homa Ornithological Society, it ended in 1951 when the scissor-tail became Oklahoma's official winged mascot and was honored with its own Bird Day, held on May 1 .

"Of course, we were elated that our idea had met with approval," recalls Galley. "We didn't want Oklahoma to be one of a bag of states that had the same state bird."

The choice has stood the test of time.

"It's a pretty high-class bird. They're very attractive," says Grzybowski.

After wintering in Costa Rica, Mexi- co or sometimes Panama. scissor-tails roost here from April to ~Hte October. Living mostly in Texas, Kansas and, of course, Oklahoma, the adult male is postcard pretty.

His story, however, is one of those ugly-duckling-into-a-swan tales. As fledglings, males and females are a study in understatement: whitish gray on the breast, dishwater drab on the back and yellow under the wing. As an adult. the shorter-tailed female is duller than 'the male, who makes a definite color statement. With a tail twice as long as his body and forked like a cou- ~ l eof black-and-white streamers. his head is soft gray, his sides and part of his belly is salmon, and he wears a scarlet crown. His flash, panache and brilliance might easily rival that of tropical specimens.

However, there's nothing too exotic about his taste in living quarters. These birds love sun and open country and aren't too picky about perching: telephone poles, TV antennas, wind- mills and more conventional tree branches will do. The birds usually nest on horizontal limbs from 5 to 30 feet in the air.

When it comes to homemaking, the female does the wing work, gathering twigs and other materials for the loosely constructed nest that she'll eventuallv cushion with a fine lining of grass. hi incubates up to two broods of four to six eggs each, and both she and her mate feed their young such scissor-tail

favorites as grasshoppers, flies, moths and winged insect pests.

But the scissor-tail offers more than striking beauty and behavior; its feathers-and those from other birds-are made into fans for ceremonies in the Native American Church.

"Different tribes have different ways. Some use the eagle feather only for part of their peyote ceremonies," says Kenneth Anquoe of Tulsa, a Kio- wa who attends Native American Church services. "There's no signifi-cance as to different types of feathers that are used."

Sometimes feathers, including the scissor-tail's, are used in fans in "cedar- ing off' ceremonies. Held by a cedar fire, which Anquoe says is used only for ceremonial purposes, the ceremony includes a respected tribesman blessing someone with a fan ritual.

"It doesn't make any difference what kind of feather that the fan is made of. They use them all for the same purpose-and that's to bless that person that is being honored by holding that fan over the smoke. They take the fan and kind of pat at the person with the fan all over his body, front and back," Anquoe says.

According to Dan Swan, director of the White Hair Memorial near Ralston, "Tradition has more of a role in it than biology. There are two schools of thought: Certain birds have power or the ability to ...bless someone. (Or) the feathers are just used to transfer the power of cedar smoke to the individual."

Generally speaking, observers of the scissor-tail should stay at arm's length; the birds are protected under the Mi- gratory Bird Treaty Act with Canada. However, Indians, researchers and oth- ers may apply for a permit that, if granted, allows them to salvage dead scissor-tails, according to Bob Germa- ny, special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Tulsa.

"It's the law of the land," Germany says. "That's a good enough reason for most folks." IE!~

G - ~ n nLudrer is Oklahoma TODAY'S staf wriitw.

1

Discoveryland's Okkdioma! is an eve- development and education organization roles are usually played by hometown ningof orchesmced gaiety with a dusting founded by W. T. Jeffers in 1%0. World folks. Many of the leads stay on season of earthy reality-live horses, buck- Changers has since moved into the back after season: Bennie Lee McGowan will boards a d a real surrey with the fringe of the wagon, and W.T. has handed the play Aunt Eller for the sixth time this on top. As dhe national outdoor home of D i m - reins over to his sons Bill, season, and Richard Sutliff was Jud Fry i Rodgcrs ud Hammersrcin's M k d ~ t l ~ ! ,general manager and managing director, for eight s e a m More venturing to Eu- Discoverylasld h g g the magic of an and Duane, imochte producer and actor rope this year to try his hand at opera. Oklahoma summa m as many as 2,000 in the lead role of Curly. W. T. contin- Always an accompaniment to the singers

1 psopk ncysvcaiq~8 e a ~ m m e f r o m ues as executive producer of are the tunesofcddreoandhstsand/ as 6rnny P orJrpmto hem Dismveryland. tree frogs in the creek that runs through

Curly sing lave ca his fresh-kd ' I t makes such perfect sense to watch Aunt Ellet's ranch. meethem, burey. OrlUwuI performed in its home state Opening an outdoor amphitheater in

Discovetglad is t h ~off@tii~gQ@ by W h o m n s , " Bill says. To lend an thehills west of Tulsa was a logical deci- the show, the lead sion-and an ambitious one at the same

No one d o h Cordon MacRae can sing, but many Okkdomans have wondmd who cver tohi Aim w e s q medderfor 'heodow. " For 10years, nahe son Duane J#m h a given hn& to& of twang to "Oh, What a Baun*/ Monrin'."

J f l m and Ah current Laurzy, Jill Elmore Pat- ron, a n onb pkty-acting, but af m y m &, lge and h t c r bacame one when hefellfor Ah m-star, Jqne Syhtater. 'Whenwe sang 'Pmple Will Say We'm in Love,' we really wen-," ke says.

time. Although W. T. Jeffers has a bar- production and some stars from the mov- relful of business sense, he was not in ie to be our guests for the evening," says the performing business. At least not un- Teresa Randolph, Discoveryland's me-ti1 OR/ahoma! opened at Discoveryland dia specialist. "We'll introduce them, on July 4, 1976. "In the early days, it was and they may perform a special musical difficult," Bill Jeffers recalls. "We often number with Duane. Also, we're bring- wondered what we were doing. We had ing back the best people from past Dis- heard that a Broadway show couldn't be coveryland productions to shape an done outdoors, that you had to do out- all-star cast this year." door pageants instead." Discoveryland has spent 10 years woo-

This summer, Discoveryland contin- ing the attention of the national tour ues to prove the skeptics wrong with a brokers. It is now one of only two Okla- 10th-anniversary celebration designed to homa events listed in the American Bus keep Okbhoma! riding high in the sad- Association's Top 100 Events. dle. "We have invited some special peo- "About 80,000 people saw OR/ahoma! ple who performed in the Broadway at Discoveryland last year," Bill says.

"They came from all 50 states and 53 foreign countries. We remain popular year after year because we give the audience what they think ORMoma! should be, then give them something extra with the horses and thundering wagons. The idea is to make the audience feel they're a part of Aunt Eller's ranch. When the horses and wagon come out at the beginning of the show this year, they will come across the bridge near the front, almost close enough for the audience to touch. It's a real treat for someone from the East who has never come into con- tact with a horse."

The evening is full of special treats, to

the delight of the audience, but sometimes to the chagrin of the performers. "I remember one night Duane had tied his horse to the hitching post and then walked away singing a song," Bill recalls. 'The horse tossed his head and pulled the post out of the ground, then wan- dered off with the hitching post dragging behind him. Horses will trot onstage without a rider or come onstage pulling a man at the end of the halter, without the wagon. It makes a memorable evening."

The Jeffers have tamed more than renegade horses; they have also weath- ered the rigors of torrid Oklahoma summers. Yet neither thunderstorms nor heatwaves have dampened their pioneer spirit. Early on, they saw that performances of Dust on Her Pet&o~f~,which alternated with OhIdoma! during the first three years, were not attracting the crowds Oikxbtlta! did. So P&@& was cut. 'The audience preferred Okkzho- ma!," Bill explains. "The show had promise, and they saw that."

At Discoveryland, guests spend the evening under the stars with all the trap- pings of an Oklahoma summer. Ker-chiefed cowboys and cowgirls served up an authentic barbecue dinner with furin's at picnic tables under a natural canopy of blackjack oaks. Guests then saunter down the hill to the amphitheater, where the Oklahoma Hill Country Cloggers, the Can-Can Dancers and Territory Singers literally kick off the evening's

Both Bill and Duane Jeffers talk in exclamation points and capital letters and have even stuck an exclamation point at the end of the name ficoe,ety-hi. (In hct, the official name of the park is DISCOVERYWVD!.) Bill talks of his hopes for a lengthened season of May to October, 300 additional seats in 1987 and, perhaps, an Oklahoma-style theme park for daytime entertainment. The Jeffers' enthusiasm keeps fresh a show that could have gone stale after the first season. "The most amazing thing is that you think you've drained all your ideas, but at the end of a performance, you

ensemble performers, costumes and blocking."

One thing that hasn't changed in 10 years is Curly, a character that fits Duane Jeffers like chaps on a wrangler. "I've

I been Curly in 700 performances," he says. "And each night I must treat it like it's the first time." To many who have seen Discoveryland's Okkzhoma!, no one else would seem right as the "waggish cowboy."

"And yes," says Duane, "my hair is naturally curly."

Duane gave one of his more spectacu- lar performances offstage a few years back. When Curly fell in love with Laurey, just as the script said he should, Duane fell in love with Jayne Sylvester, his co-star and a former dancer with the Los Angeles Ballet, This time the attraction wasn't play-acting. "When we sang 'People Will Say We're in Love,' we really were," Duane recalls. "We did 200 performances together. Now Jayne and I are married and have two

Duane and Bill recall one Saturday night about four years ago when the show was delayed anticipating the arrival of Duane and Jayne's first child. "It was 6:30 p.m., and Jayne was still in labor," Duane says. "I called Bill at Discovery- land, and he told me they would hold the show for me. I wasn't going to come, but he insisted."

"Just before the show started, we an- nounced that Duane was the new pmud father of a healthy baby girl," Bill says. "Duane then came on stage singing 'Oh, What a Beautihl Mornin' ' and received a standing ovation. It was magic."

Oddly enough for a family in the performing business, Duane is the only one with performance training. He was a student director for the University of Tulsa Modem Choir and earned a music de- gree in 1974. Bill is a 1970 T U journal- ism graduate who Learned the hard way about horses that miss their cues and leads who have babies. "We used to have guest directors come in from all

children." over the country," Bill explains. "By watching them, I saw what worked, what entertained an audience. So I put all those elements together. I gave the audience the best of what I saw the other

Getting , * m * C I , "

directors do." idea to invite the audience There It was Bill's fi Oklahoma!pl;lys ORMOma dtrj

sum- at a-hnd, 10 mih w t of dmtown Tuka. Take I44 m t to the 33rd W2st Avenue d,din am n o d . At W a 41sf S m , turn W a f andfollow sip to the amphikfer.

Oklahoma! w//nm n w b , Motdig- Satumky, ti/l Aupt 23. T?ke& cosf $8 for d u b , $5 for diMm u& 12. ampMeafer hokh 2,000, and '&msgaa" are offend at a /owerpkz once nguhr sea& an soM out.

%ptr-show begrns at 7:30 p.m.; the jmstmins of theowrun soundat8p.m. If you want to come a$ for b a h , a& $5.75 for ead adult and$4 for fwd diki fo 1cost of the m n g . Supper is s m d 5:30-7:30 p.m.

For memations and group F&, call (9B) 245-0242, or tib brrs- om,(918) 496-0190. (%Inrsnm office dm: 6721 S. Yak, Taka, OK 74136.)

onstage after each show to meet the performers. "we had always been told not to because it ruins the magic, the illu- sion," says Bill. "But we think it en- hances the magic. The children from the audience can pet the horses, run across Aunt Eller's porch, take a peek into the barn or crank the butter chum."

"Some nights it's so beautiful," he continues. "There are magic moments when the audience is especially recep- tive, and everything clicks onstage. You can't get another person onstage to get an autograph, and then you hear in the background someone on the way to their car whistling tunes fmm the show. Then you know you're doing it just fine."

fit&&PIrmom a TuAFa9bosedfm-hna m'm.F dM a d is hest@p40togm$her for d, Tounkm and b t i o n Depament.

July 1-August 9. Music lovers of most every persuasion-country, Broadway, folk and pop-can get an earful at NSU's River City Players Music Show in Tahlequah. +July 1-September 8. West-ern art connoisseurs can savor sculpture, etchings, oils and more at the National Academy of Western Art Show at OKC's National Cowboy Hall of Fame. 4 July 18-20. Cast off for Mannford-and the 15th Annual Striped Bass Festival, featuring at least $1,750 in prizes and scholarships, a parade, helicopter rides and a fish fry. +July 26. Why build sandcastles in the air when you can carve real ones from the banks of Tulsa's main waterway? Sand sculptors will rearrange the riverbed at the 1 1 th Annual Arkansas River Sandcastle Challenge. August 18-23. War dances, pageants, parades-plus actor Claude Akins, Outstanding American Indian of the Year-are just part of the package at the 55th Annual American Indian Exposition in Anadarko. August 29-30. Professional rop- ers, steer wrestlers, clowns and trick riders join bull- and bronc-riding inmates at the McAlester Prison Rodeo.

J y M U S E U Y S . G A L L E R I E S Museum, Muskogee, (918) 683-1701

1-Sept. 8 Western Art Show, Cowboy Hall of Fame. OKC, (405) 478- 2250

1-Sept. 21 "What Is Native American Art?", Kirkpatrick 1-7 Rendezvous '86, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, (918) Center, OKC, (405) 427-5228

582-3122 4-5, Aug. 8-9, 15-16 Special Shows, Bear Gallery, Afton, (918) 786-2289 1-8 Paintings by Richard Schmid, Sculpture by Tony 6-Sept. 30 Contemporary Southern Plains Indian Ans, Indian

Angell, Gilcrease, Tulsa, (918) 582-3122 Museum, Anadarko, (405) 247-6221 1-13 'Trail of Tears" Art Show, Cherokee Heritage 1 1-Aug. 20 Neon Show, OK Art Center,, OKC, (405) 946-4477

Center, Tahlequah, (918) 456-6007 20-Aug. 31 "Edward Steichen: The Portraits," Philbmk, 1-31 Photography by Jack Hammett, Sculpture by Doug Tulsa, (918) 749-7941

Brewer, Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461 23-Aug. 26 "Making Medicine: The Art of Fort Marion," 1-Aug. 3 "Indian Paintbrush," Gardiner Gallery, OSU, Historical Museum, Norman, (405) 321-0156

Stillwater, (405) 624-6016 25-27, Aug. 1-3 "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Philbrook, 1-Aug. 10 Kreg Kallenberger's ''Three Series in Glass," Tulsa, (918) 749-7941

Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, (918) 749-7941 AUGUST1-Sept. 10 Paintings by Ashley Wilson, Pottery by Mark 1-Aug. 30 "Mail Order in Oklahoma," OK Historical Society, Briscoe, Kirkpatrick Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461

OKC, (405) 521-2491 1-10, 14-Oct. 12 "Spiro Mounds," Clinton and Tonkawa, (405) 325- 1-Sept. 2 Fine Art Collection, Five Civilized Tribes 471 1

July-August '86 37

I

10-30 "American Anthem," Coo-Y-Yah Museum, Pryor, (918) 825-0789

16-Sept. 17 "Women of the Sweet Grass, Cedar and Sage," Gardiner Gallery, OSU, Stillwater, (405) 624-6016

18-24 "Kidart," Johnson Atelier, Tulsa, (918) 438-0272 ?4-Oct. 19 George Aguirre's Artists and Their Work,

Philbrook, (918) 749-7941

D R A M A

JULY 1-J Brigadoon," Lyric Theatre, OKC, (WJJ 528-(except Mon.) 3636

1-19 "My Three Angels," Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Tulsa, (918) 252-2566

1-Aug. 23 "Oklahoma! ," DISCOVERYLAND!, Tulsa, (918) 245-0242

1-Aug. 23 "Trail of Tears," Tsa-La-Gi Amphitheatre, (except Sun.) Tahlequah, (918) 456-6007

10-Aug. 10 (except Mon.) Summerstage, Performing Arts Center, Tulsa,

(918) 592-7122 July 8-13, 15-19 "Pippin," Lyric Theatre, OKC, (405) 524-711 1

10-13, 24-27, Tulsa Shakespeare Festival, Performing Arts 31-Aug. 2 Center and Philbrook, Tulsa, (918) 582-8542 10-Aug. 3 "Peter Pan," Cabaret Supper Theatre, St. Sill,

(Thurs.-Sun.) (405) 351-4519 19-Aug. 4 "My Fair Lady," Delaware Playhouse, Tulsa,

(918) 744- 1168 22-Aug.2 "The 1940s Radio Hour," Lyric Theatre, OKC,

(except Mon.) (405) 524-71 11 24-Aug.3 "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,"

Mummers Children's Theater, OKC, (405) 239-6884

25-Aug. 23 "Plaza Suite," Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Tulsa, (918) 252-2566

AUGUST 5-16 "The Music Man," Lyric Theatre, OKC, 524-71 11 (except Mon.)

17 Arts Academy Variety Show, Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, (918) 592-7855

28-Sept. 21 "Evita," Cabaret Supper Theatre, Ft. Sill, (405) (Thurs.-Sun.) 351-4519

29-Sept. 20 "Opal's Million Dollar Duck," Gaslight Dinner Theatre, Tulsa, (918) 252-2566

1 7 F A I R S C

JULY 1-Labor Day Arts & Crafts Fair, Tahlequah, (918) 456- 6018 Weekend

3-5 Huckleberry Festival, Jay, (918) 786-2289 10-20 Shakespearean Festival, SOSU, Durant, (405) 924-

0848 8-12 Old Santa Fe Days, Expo Center, Shawnee, (405)

273-6092 Norman, (405) 329-4523 12 Red-White-and-Blue Festival, Wynnewood, (405)

665-2291 17-19 Peach Festival & Rodeo, Stratford, (405) 652-2809 17-20 Cookson Jubilee, Cookson, (918) 456-3742 18-20 Striped Bass Festival, Mannford, (918) 865-2000 24-26 Ketchum Days, Ketchum, (918) 786-2289

25-26 Summerfest, Henryetta, (918) 652-4361 25-27 Hot Air Balloon Festival, Boulder Park, Tulsa,

(918) 592- 7851 AUGUST 1-3 Summerfest, Wwdring Airport, Enid, (405) 237-

2494 2 Langley Fest, Langley, (918) 789-2289

2-3 Peach Festival, Porter, (918) 483-8331 2-9 Frontier Days, Tecumseh, (405) 598-8666 4-9 Western Heritage Week, Ada, (405) 265-4423

9 Watermelon Festival, Rush Springs, (405) 476- 3289

14-16 Western Heritage Days, Bristow, (918) 367-9209 17-23 Pat Hennessy Celebration, Hennessey, (405) 853-

6696 19-21 Tulsa County Fair, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-

1113 29-Sept. 7 State Fair, Muskogee, (918) 687-4406 30-Sept. 1 Arts Festival, OCCC, OKC, (405) 682-1611

I N D I A N E V E N T S u!1 JULY 2-4 Kiowa Gourd Clan Powwow, Carnegie, (405) 654-

2121 3-6 Pawnee Homecoming Powwow, Pawnee, (918)

762-2682 4-6 Quapaw Powwow, Quapaw, (918) 786-2289

5 Hawk Chief Run, Pawnee, (918) 762-2682 10-12 Indian Territory Rodeo, Lexington, (405) 527-

3093 11-12 Sac & Fox Memorial Stampedel 11-13 Powwow, Stroud, (918) 968-3526 11-13 Comanche Powwow, Walters, (405) 875-3335 17-20 Tulsa Powwow, Allen Ranch, Bixby, (918) 366-

3010 17-20 Otoe-Missouria Encampment, Red Rock, (405)

765-2265 25-27 Summer Powwow, Indian Hills, OKC, (405) 634-

1202 25-27 Mollie Shepherd Powwow, Kingfisher, (405) 375-

4445 AUGUST 1-3 Kaw Tribal Powwow, Kaw City, (405) 269-2552

1-3 Apache Blackfeet Society Powwow, Ft. Cobb, (405) 643-2682

18-23 American Indian Exposition, Anadarko, (405) 247- 665 1

21-24 Barefoot Indian Powwow, Canton, (405) 886-2533 22-24 Inter-tribal Indian Club of Tulsa Powwow, Expo

Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-1 113 29-31 Ottawa Celebration & Powwow, Miami, (918) 786-

2289 29-Sept. 1 Cherokee Nat'l. Holiday, Cherokee Heritage

Center, Tahlequah, (918) 456-3742 30-Sept. 1 Choctaw Labor Day Celebration, Tuskahoma,

(800) 522- 6170

JULY 1-Aug. 9 River City Players Music Show, NSU, Tahlequah (Wed.-Sat.) (918) 456-551 1

Oklahoma TODAY 38

~ ~

2-5 Bluegrass & Gospel Music Festival, Langley, (918) 786-2289

5, 12 "Saturday Evening Live," OK Museum of Art, OKC, (405) 840- 2759

6, 13, 20, 27 Band Concerts, Kerr Park, OKC, (405) 236-1426 8, 15, 22, 29 Starlight Concerts, West Bank Festival Park,

Tulsa, (918) 582-0051 10-19 "Patience" by Gilbert & Sullivan, TU, (918) 592-

6000

AUGUST 2-3 All Night Singing, Konawa, (405) 925-321 1 6-10 Grant's Blue Grass & Old Time Music Festival.

Hugo, (405) 326-5598 15-17 Cityans Academy Summer Musical, Performing

Am Center, Tulsa, (918) 592-7855 22-23 All Night Gospel Singing, Seminole, (405) 382-

3640 28-31 World Series of Fiddling, Langley, (918) 786-2289

31 Chamber Orchestra OKC Concert, Christ the King Church, OKC, (405) 525-3532

R O D E O S &ni H O R D E E V E N T S

JULY 2-6 Quarter Horse Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-1 113

2-13 Hunter-Jumper Show, Fairgrounds, OKC, (405) 278-8900

3-5 Rodeos: Edmond, Eufaula, Hanshorne, Tahlequah

3-6, 10-13, 17-20, Pan-Mutuel Horse Racing, Blue Ribbon Downs, 2427 Sallisaw, (918) 755-6284 9-12 Nat'l. Jr. Shorthorn Show & Youth Conference,

Fairgrounds, Stillwater, (405) 372-5573 10-12 Rodeos: Mangum, El Reno, Wynnewood 16-19 Rodeo, Woodward, (405) 256-3549 16-20 Internat'l. Roundup Cavalcade, Pawhuska, (918)

287-1 208 17-19 Rodeo, Carnegie, (405) 654-2121 18-19 Rodeos: Enid & Newkirk 18-19 All OK Steer Classic, Mangum, (405) 782-2444 18-20 Rodeo, Walters, (405) 875-3335 18-20 Morgan All-Amateur Horse Show, Expo Center,

Shawnee, (405) 275-7020 19 Rodeo, Granite, (405) 782-2444

19-20 Paint-o-rama Show, Fairgrounds, OKC, (405) 478- 1599

20-24 Nat'l. Jr. Polled Hereford Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744- 1 1 13

21-25 Internat'l. Pinto Hone Show Championships, Fairgrounds, OKC, (405) 278-8900

26-27 Sooner Appaloosa Club Horse Show, Fairgrounds, Tulsa, (918) 363-8514

31-Aug. 2 Rodeo, Heavener, (918) 653-4303 AUGUST 1 Rodeo, Clinton, (405) 323-2230

1-2 Rodeo, Claremore, (918) 341-6433 1-3 Texas Pony of America Show, Expo Center,

Shawnee, (405) 275- 7020 1-3, 7-10, 1417, Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing, Blue Ribbon Downs,

21-24, 27-31 Sallisaw, (918) 755-6284 3-10 Rodeo & Motocross, Ponca City, (405) 765-4409 4-9 American Jr. Quaner Horse Assoc. World Finals,

Expo Square, Tulsa, (918) 744-1113

4-9 Internat'l. Pony of the Americas Show, Fairgrounds, OKC, (405) 942-551 1

6-9 Rodeo, Ada, (405) 265-4423 7-9 Rodeo, Lawton, (405) 355-3541

14-16 Rodeos: Bristow & Freedom 15-16 Rodeo, Afton, (918) 257-5506 16-17 Indian Territory Appaloosa Show, Expo Center,

Shawnee, (405) 275-7020 20-23 Rodeo, Vinita, (918) 786-2289 21-23 Rodeos: Bartlesville, Cushing, Healdton 28-30 Rodeo, Pawnee, (918) 762-2108 29-30 Prison Rodeo, McAlester, (918) 423-4700

30-Sept. 1 Rodeo, Elk City, (405) 225-0207

JULY 1-1 1 Nat'l. Parachute Finals, Muskogee, (918) 682-2401 3-6 Quilt Show, Grove, (918) 786-2289

4 Fourth of July Celebrations: Ada. Bethany, Canton, Chandler, Chelsea, Cherokee, Cushing, Eufala, Gene Autry, Mangum. OKC (Myriad Gardens), Pryor, Sayre, Stillwater, Tulsa (River West Festival Park), Yukon

4 Brick & Rolling Pin Contest, Stroud, (918) %8-3321

4 Norman Day, Norman, (405) 321-7260 4 Arts & Crafts Show, Sulphur, (405) 622-2824

4-5 Threshing Bee, Fairview, (405) 227-4511 4 6 Fourth of July Celebrations: Edmond &

Tahlequah 4-10 Heritage Days, El Reno, (405) 262-1188

11-13 Nat'l. Woodcarving Show, Kensington Galleria, Tulsa, (918) 437-1474

12 Pioneer Day, Mangum, (405) 782-2444 12 Grand Prix, Stillwater, (405) 372-5573

12-13 Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, Convention Center, Tulsa, (202) 364-5077

21-Aug. 8 Arts Encounters, Community Center, Banlesville. (405) 337-2787

25-26 Whole Hawg Day, Lake Eufaula, (918) 689-2791 26 Sandcastle Contest, South Park, Tulsa, (918) 582-

005 1 26-27 Sailboat Open Regatta, Lake Carl Blackwell,

Stillwater, (405) 372-5573 AUGUST 2 Classic Antique & Street Car Show. Mangum.

(405) 283-3444 2 Grand Prix, Arrowhead State Park, Canadian, (918)

339-2517 9 Am & Crafts Show, Expo Square, Tulsa, (918)

744-1113 9-Nov. 30 "Black Holes, Pulsars & Quasars." Kirkpatrick

Center, OKC, (405) 427-5461 20 Parade, Vinita, (918) 786-2289

28-Sept. 1 The Great Labor Day WeekendKRMG Raft Race, Sand Springs, (918) 245-2248

30-Sept. 1 Centennial Celebration, Alva, (405) 327-0959 30-Sept. 1 Labor Day Celebration, Grove, (918) 786-5372 30-Sept. 1 Flea Market, Mangum, (405) 782-2444

31 Laser Light Show & OK Sinfonia, Boulder Park, Tulsa, (918) 592-7851

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER: STATE SONGS,...

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