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Take part in the #ExploreOHS Travel Contest!
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is excited to launch a new travel contest—just in time for Spring Break 2022! The #ExploreOHS Travel Contest began on Thursday, March 10, and continues through Sunday, April 10. During these dates, participants will travel to OHS museums and historic sites across the state—competing to see who can visit the most sites! This contest is open to the public, and all entries must be submitted on social media using the #ExploreOHS hashtag.
The person (or family/group traveling together) who visits the largest number of OHS sites (March 10–April 10, 2022) will win a prize pack of OHS swag and will get to name a baby bison at Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum.
A complete list of OHS museums and historic sites is available by clicking here. Use the clickable map of 20+ sites to start planning your road trip today!
Click on the button below to learn more about the contest eligibility requirements and details about how you can participate.
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Oklahoma State Capitol Museum grand opening
On Tuesday March 22, at 10 a.m. the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) will open the Oklahoma State Capitol Museum, a state-of-the-art gallery space in the Oklahoma State Capitol. Created as part of the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project and located on the ground floor near the new primary public entrance on the south side of the Capitol, the Oklahoma State Capitol Museum contains 4,400 square feet of exhibit space relating to the history of the Oklahoma State Capitol and the work of Oklahoma’s state government.
At the grand opening ceremony, OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson will welcome guests, followed by remarks from Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell and Oklahoma History Center Director Dan Provo. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the museum, and OHS staff will be available to answer questions and demonstrate the use of the various hands-on, audiovisual elements.
Admission to the Oklahoma State Capitol Museum is free to all visitors. The museum will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the Oklahoma State Capitol Museum and the grand opening, click here.
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Latest Episode:
At War With Corruption
From the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, several major corruption scandals rocked the halls of government in Oklahoma. In the latest episode of A Very OK Podcast, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn discuss the political climate in Oklahoma that fostered the atmosphere for corruption to develop. Their guest is Bill Price, former US attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, who prosecuted crooked county commissioners and materials suppliers in one of the biggest scandals in US history. Listen to the monthly episodes of A Very OK Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, or Google Podcasts.
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Crossroads exhibit coming to Pawnee Bill Ranch
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 Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum from March 26 to May 7, 2022. The traveling exhibit will be on display in the historic Big Barn on the Pawnee Bill Ranch.
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. For more information contact pawneebill@okhistory.org or 918-762-2513.
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The bison are waiting for mail...
The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum bison herd would love to hear from you! If your children or students would like to have a spring pen pal and get a personalized postcard from the bison, just send a written letter to the ranch.
The bison always look forward to receiving mail from fans, visitors, and schoolchildren alike. Adults are welcome to write to the herd too! Write your letters and send them to:
Pawnee Bill's Bison Herd, P.O. Box 493, Pawnee, OK 74058.
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Dreams Gone Dry
On Saturday, March 26, the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will open the exhibit Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry in conjunction with the opening of the SITES Crossroads exhibit.
The traveling exhibition features 20 colorful, illustrated panels about the Plains area before, during, and after the Dust Bowl occurred. Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry was organized by the American Library Association, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Dr. Jess C. Porter from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Some of the exhibit is from the Oklahoma State University library and features its Women of the Dust Bowl oral histories. The Caroline Henderson Papers—a collection of letters, essays, and articles by a woman who farmed during the Dust Bowl that are housed at the Mount Holyoke College Library—were also an inspiration for the exhibit.
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These family-friendly events are happening this weekend!!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 19
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 The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) will hold the 2022 Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival on Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This free, community-wide festival highlights historic and modern farm life, with the purpose of demonstrating how food and household items travel from their sources to our homes. Families will experience perspectives from 17th-century America to the modern day, with hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.
Admission is free to the public, and the event will be held predominately outdoors on the OHC grounds at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. Call 405-522-0765 for more information.
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 Visit the Chisholm Trail Museum on Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the Chuck Wagon Gathering and Fundraising Dinner—a day filled with cowboy fun! Drop in and see a variety of working chuck wagons from across the region as the cooks prepare some of their favorite dishes. Activities include live music, cooking demonstrations, gunfights, Wild West Show performers, medicine man shows, Annie Oakley performances, and more.
The daytime activities are free, and tickets for the delicious chuck wagon meal at noon are $15. Please contact the museum at 405-375-5176 to purchase tickets for the noon meal. The Chisholm Trail Museum is located at 605 Zellers Avenue in Kingfisher.
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Registration is now open for the 2022 Oklahoma History Symposium!
This one-day symposium will be held on Saturday, April 9, at the Oklahoma History Center. Click here for a complete schedule, session descriptions, and registration details.
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OHS COVID-19 safety measures
We recommend that visitors who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 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.
14–18 - Spring Break Activities, Will Rogers Memorial Museum and Birthplace Ranch, Claremore and Oologah
16 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
19 - Museum OKademy volunteer training class, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
19 - Family Kite Flite Day, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro
19 - Chuck Wagon Gathering and Fundraising Dinner, Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill, Kingfisher
19 - Oklahoma Farm-to-Table Festival, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
19 - Stained Glass Preservation and Restoration workshop, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
19 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
19 - Make and Take Workshop: Carpentry, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - Wanted: Dead or Alive exhibit closes, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
20 - Vernal Equinox Walks, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, Spiro
22 - Oklahoma State Capitol Museum grand opening and ribbon cutting, Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City
24 - 2022 Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
24 - Thursday Night Lecture Series featuring the 1979 Will Rogers Days Parade planners, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
25 - Movie Night featuring Space Cowboys (2000), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
26 - Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit opens, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
26 - Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry exhibit opens, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
29 - Vietnam War-Era Veterans Pinning Ceremony, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
1 - Hammered Aluminum Ware exhibit opens, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
2 - Museum OKademy volunteer training class, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
2 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
5 - Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
6 - Blacksmithing Demonstrations with the Saltfork Craftsmen, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
7 - "Kansas Abolitionist and the Civil War" presentation by Debra Goodrich, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
8 - Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
8 - Museum After Dark: Village Sounds, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
9 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
9 - “Perspectives in History”: The Oklahoma History Symposium, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
9 - Oklahoma Historical Society Membership meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
9 - Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors organizational meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
9 - “Historic Skills and Trades Expo” Second Saturday Demo, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
10 - #ExploreOHS Travel Contest concludes, OHS museums and historic sites, statewide
16 - Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
16 - Will’s Cowboy Trader Days at the Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
16 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
16 - Will Rogers Memorial Museum Easter Egg Hunt, Claremore
16 - Family Day at the Birthplace Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
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March is Women's History Month |
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 Photo courtesy of the Martinez Family
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Anita Martinez
Anita Martinez was born June 8, 1930, in Richards Spur (near Lawton, Oklahoma). She was a pillar of the Hispanic community for more than 35 years. She served as the tireless director of "La Puerta de Oro" in Oklahoma City, the only Spanish-speaking senior citizens center in the state of Oklahoma. It continues to be the primary gathering place for Hispanic senior citizens.
Martinez was a long-time performer with her traditional Mexican band Anita y Los Viejitos. The group performed in festivals and conferences throughout the state, and represented the state of Oklahoma at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. Her legacy continues through the Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival held each year in Oklahoma City.
Anita and Jesse Martinez were married for 67 years and were the 1998 recipients of the 15th Annual Oklahoma Human Rights Commission Award. They received the Governor's Arts Award in 1999. To learn more about Latino history in Oklahoma, click here.
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