EXTRA! - Fireside Chat with Oklahoma's Governors

Family Farm Day

On Saturday, October 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., celebrate Oklahoma’s proud agricultural heritage at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. Family Farm Day allows families to experience hands-on activities like shelling corn, churning butter, planting seeds, and milling wheat. In addition, guests can visit a farm animal petting zoo, participate in pumpkin decorating, watch a blacksmith at his trade, and much more!

To learn more about this event, call 580-237-1907.

Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe book review

On Tuesday, October 3, at 7 p.m., Justin Lenhart, curator at the Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, will review the book Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe. The event will take place at the Museum of the Western Prairie.

The biography, released in 2022, written by author David Maraniss, explores the colossal athletic skills of Oklahoma’s Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), who won gold medals in the decathlon and the pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. In this biography, the narrative of Thorpe’s successes follows the personal struggles he faced. In the United States, Thorpe is considered the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

The event is free and open to the public. The Museum of the Western Prairie is located at 1100 Memorial Dr. in Altus. For more information, please call 580-482-1044.

Hidden Oklahoma: “Early Wichita Sites and Fortifications in Oklahoma” presentation by Dr. Richard Drass

On Wednesday, October 4, at 2 p.m. (Central Time), the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will hold a free webinar on “Early Wichita Sites and Fortifications in Oklahoma,” presented by Dr. Richard Drass, emeritus professor at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1759, Spanish forces from what is now Texas attacked a large Wichita village on the Red River in southern Oklahoma. The Wichita easily repulsed this attack, but Spanish accounts provide our earliest description of a Native fortification in Oklahoma. Archaeological research at this site, now known as Longest, discovered the remains of the fort in the 1960s. Since then research at this site and several others across Oklahoma has revealed evidence that the Wichita began building forts to defend against other Native tribes as early as 1450 or 1500, well before the arrival of Europeans in the area. This presentation will discuss current information on how these forts were built and used.

Pawnee Bill Ranch Annual Quilt Show

Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will host its Annual Quilt Show during the month of October, featuring heirloom and modern quilts from across the state. Cimarron Valley Quilt Guild and Pawnee Bill Quilt Guild members are instrumental in putting together this yearly event.

The show opens on Sunday, October 1, and closes on Sunday, October 29.

There is no charge to view the quilt show, which is available to visitors during regular hours of operation. Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information about this or other programs, please call 918-762-2513.

“Storekeeper and Trader” living history program

For the month of October, the Fort Gibson Historic Site will be holding a living history program every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 3 p.m., teaching visitors about the life of a storekeeper and trader at Fort Gibson. From October 3 to 31, visitors can view the goods that would have been bought and traded at the military outpost. The program will be held at the Dog Trot cabin near the stockade. The program is free with admission. Call 918-478-4088 for more information.

Do you know someone who is passionate about Oklahoma’s history and would be an asset to the Oklahoma Historical Society? Would you like to serve? Nominate them (or yourself!) for a seat on the OHS Board of Directors! Nominations are now open for the OHS Board of Directors, a 25-member body consisting of 13 members elected by the OHS membership and 12 members appointed by the governor. Currently, four positions are available: District 2, District 4, and 2 state at-large representatives. You must be an Oklahoma resident and have been a member of the OHS for at least two consecutive years to serve on the board. Click here for more information, the application, and a map of the representative districts.

Nominations are due by noon on October 15, 2023, and will be reviewed by the OHS Board’s Nominating Committee. Incomplete nominations will not be considered. Ballots will be sent to the OHS membership in March 2024 and tabulated in April 2024. More information about the OHS Board of Directors is available in the OHS Constitution and Bylaws.