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The OHS is seeking nominations for annual awards
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is now accepting nominations for its annual awards program. Recipients of these awards will be honored at the OHS Annual Awards Banquet to be held Thursday, February 24, 2022, at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
The OHS is seeking nominations for the following awards:
· Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame: This honor recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Oklahoma history through demonstrated excellence.
· Bruce T. Fisher Outstanding Oklahoma History Project: This award recognizes the significant contribution of an individual or organization for history-related projects including exhibits, short-form publications, collections care, film, programming, and digital projects completed in the previous year with a budget under $20,000.
· Linda Williams Reese Award: This award recognizes the outstanding dissertation or thesis on Oklahoma history completed in the previous year.
· Joseph B. Thoburn Award for Outstanding Student Historian: This is awarded to a junior or senior in high school who exhibits outstanding achievements in the presentation or interpretation of state and local history. It includes a $500 scholarship.
· William D. Pennington Award: This award acknowledges an outstanding social studies teacher—one who makes a lasting impact on students and provides remarkable support for Oklahoma National History Day projects.
To nominate an individual or a history project, please click here and download the nomination form specific to the award. Current members of the OHS Board of Directors and current employees of the OHS and its museums, sites, and affiliates are not eligible. The completed form must be submitted no later than November 15, 2021, to lodell@okhistory.org or mailed to Larry O’Dell, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
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New episode takes listeners alongside the old Texas Road
In the latest episode of A Very OK Podcast, hear about the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs, which was the largest of more than 107 documented hostile encounters in Indian Territory. Learn more about the battle that took place directly astride the Texas Road 158 years ago between the First Division Army of the Frontier, commanded by Major General James G. Blunt, and the Confederate Indian Brigade led by Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper. The Battle of Honey Springs was the largest and most important Civil War battle in Indian Territory. The battle returned control of Indian Territory to Union forces, and is also significant because the majority of the combatants were Native American and Black. In this episode, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn welcome Adam Lynn, director of the Honey Springs Battlefield historic site, as their special guest to discuss the important events of July 17, 1863.
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Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street traveling exhibit at Fort Gibson
The Oklahoma Historical Society, in cooperation with Oklahoma Humanities, is pleased to announce that the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America is coming to Fort Gibson Historic Site October 30–December 11, 2021.
Americans come together at the crossroads. They invest in places and build their futures where their paths cross. Small towns became centers of commerce, trade, local politics, and culture. For some, the crossroads affirmed a new life in a new place. For others, the crossroads meant hard work and hard times.
Oklahomans will have a unique opportunity to consider their crossroads stories through the exhibit’s themes of rural identity, community, land, perseverance, and managing change. The intent of the exhibit is to engage visitors with complementary programming, celebrating the town’s history and accomplishments while encouraging conversations about community concerns.
Crossroads: Change in Rural America is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the US Congress. This exhibit will visit six communities in Oklahoma on its tour of the state, including two OHS sites—Fort Gibson Historic Site and Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. See a full list of the Oklahoma Museums hosting the exhibit.
For more information about this exhibit and Fort Gibson Historic Site, please call 918-478-4088 or email fortgibson@okhistory.org. Fort Gibson Historic Site is located at 907 N. Garrison Ave. in Fort Gibson.
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Crossroads: Change in Rural America has been made possible in Fort Gibson by Oklahoma Humanities. |
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Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival
The Will Rogers Memorial Museum (WRMM) and Birthplace Ranch will celebrate the 142nd birthday of Oklahoma’s Favorite Son with the Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival. The festival will take place on Wednesday, November 3, through Saturday, November 6. Many activities are planned to honor the memory of Will Rogers, Cherokee cowboy, philosopher, and movie actor.
Beginning November 3, the Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival will feature up-and-coming filmmakers exhibiting their work at venues throughout Claremore along with lectures, workshops, and receptions. Also included in this festival will be showings of films featuring Will Rogers inside the WRMM. The Dog Iron Awards Ceremony will be held on November 6 at the Will Rogers Memorial Theater. In celebration of Rogers’s birthday—November 4, 1879—the WRMM in Claremore will be open and free to the public all day on Thursday, November 4. Families are encouraged to visit the WRMM to learn more about the man who entertained and inspired the nation. Visitors can also make the drive to Oologah to the Birthplace Ranch to see the room where Will Rogers was born on November 4, 1879, in the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation.
To learn more about the Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival or to read a complete schedule of events, click the buttons below. For further information please call 918-341-0719.
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OHS COVID-19 safety measures
Per CDC guidance, we recommend that visitors who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccination wear face masks and maintain social distancing in indoor public areas. All visitors, staff, volunteers, contractors, and vendors should use appropriate handwashing techniques.
We ask that you avoid visiting OHS museums, sites, and affiliates if you have COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms, have a fever, or are otherwise feeling sick or unwell.
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Click event listings below for more information.
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27 - Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
27–30 - Research Center Book Sale, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
29 - Movie Night featuring Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
29–30 - Ghost Stories Candlelight Tours, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
30 - Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit opens, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
30 - Family Farm Day, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
30 - Halloween Night at the Museum, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
30 - History and Haunts at the Overholser, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
31 - Annual Quilt Show closes, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
31 - “Life at Hunter’s Home: Ghost Stories” concludes (VIRTUAL), Hunter’s Home, Park Hill
31 - The Battle of Honey Springs film screening, Circle Cinema, Tulsa
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3–6 - Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
5 - Battle of Honey Springs Education Day, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
6 - Blacksmithing Demonstrations and Saltfork Craftsmen Artist-Blacksmith Association regional meeting, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
6 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
6 - Space film screening, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
6–7 - Battle of Honey Springs Reenactments, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
8 - Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
13 - Fashions of the Overholser exhibit closes, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
13 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
13 - Cast-Iron Cooking class, Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill, Kingfisher
13 - “Let’s Talk About It” Book Discussion Series, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
17 - Tony Hillerman: A Life book signing with author James McGrath Morris, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
17 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18–19 - National Register of Historic Places workshop series (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
19 - Museum After Dark: Lantern Tours, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
26 - Movie Night featuring Will Rogers in They Had To See Paris (1929), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
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Did you know?
The Dog Iron award given to deserving Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival filmmakers is fashioned after the cattle brand of the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, which he dubbed the Dog Iron Ranch. The brand's motif was taken from the design of the fireplace andirons at the property.
An andiron holds the logs in place as they burn and is sometimes called a "dog-iron." Will Rogers said the idea for the brand came from spending hours staring at the fireplace.
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