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On July 13, from 10:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Oklahoma History Center will host a panel discussion to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The morning session will focus on civil rights-centered archives, including the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center Archives, and Dr. Autumn Brown of Edmon Low Library’s Oklahoma Oral History Research Program. It will run from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The afternoon session will discuss the legacy, historical context, and influence of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on modern legal processes. It will feature Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma; Veronica Laizure, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Oklahoma; and Tuesdae Pelt-Willis, professor at Rose State College and third-year PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma. The session will be from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Admission is $5 for OHS members and $10 for nonmembers, and both sessions are included in the ticket price. Boxed lunches may be pre-ordered for $10 each.
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75 Years of Television in Oklahoma
exhibit opening reception and book signing
A new exhibit, 75 Years of Television in Oklahoma, opens to the public on July 25 at the Oklahoma History Center Museum. The public is invited to a free reception to celebrate the exhibit’s opening that day from 5 to 7 p.m. No RSVP is needed. Light refreshments will be served. Gene Allen, author of The Vision and the Dream: WKY-TV Comes to Oklahoma, will attend to sign copies of his book, which will also be available for purchase from the Oklahoma History Center Museum Store.
On June 6, 1949, at 7 p.m., WKY-TV went on the air, introducing television to Oklahoma audiences. At the time, television was a new medium, touted as “a modern miracle” by The Daily Oklahoman newspaper. While technicians and photographers grappled with cameras and equipment, reporters wrote and rehearsed their scripts to make the newest means of communication a reality. Those early industry pioneers were on the cutting edge of producing television news, providing weather and tornado alerts, and tracking the achievements of the state’s teams and athletes.
As Oklahoma began the new venture, the invention of television became a real turning point in American culture, effectively improving the economy and creating a paradigm shift in how people experienced entertainment and shared information. This exhibit features a collection of images from early post-war black-and-white sets that revisit the era when a generation of Baby Boomers was raised on the innovative creativity of television.
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The People's House: The Story of the Oklahoma State Capitol
The 2023 documentary The People's House: The Story of the Oklahoma State Capitol is now available to view online at the Oklahoma Historical Society's YouTube page.
The documentary features a spectacular drone tour of the Capitol with glimpses of the House floor, Senate floor, and Oklahoma Supreme Court, providing rare views of the building’s exterior, including the 17-foot-tall bronze statue that sits atop the dome. Enoch Kelly Haney's (Seminole-Creek) The Guardian, (seen above) was added to the structure in 2002.
The People's House walks through the history of the Capitol, the importance of the building, the years-long restoration process, its resilience over the decades, and more. Interviewees include Trait Thompson, executive director of the OHS, former project manager for the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project, and author of The Oklahoma State Capitol; Dr. Bob Blackburn, former executive director of the OHS; former governors including George Nigh and Frank Keating; and Marilyn Luper Hildreth, daughter of Civil Rights leader Clara Luper. The piece is narrated by John Erling, a former Tulsa radio host inducted into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the founder of the Voices of Oklahoma project.
The documentary was directed by Oklahoma native Bryan Beasley and produced with support from the Inasmuch Foundation.
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COMING UP ON JULY 13
Battle of Honey Springs Memorial
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Honey Springs Battlefield will hold its annual memorial service honoring the 161st anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah on Saturday, July 13, at 10:30 a.m.
The memorial service will be held outside on the visitor center’s lawn. This year’s guest speaker will be Dr. Kristen Oertel, the Chair of History at the University of Tulsa.
For more information regarding the memorial service and Honey Springs Battlefield call 918-617-7125.
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The Chisolm's Summer Sounds Concert Series continues in July! Come to Horizon Hill, the home of territorial governor A. J. Seay in Kingfisher to hear Mackynsie McKedy and the McKedy Band on Thursday, July 18 at 6 p.m. The family-friendly event is free!
Plan to come early and enjoy dinner from a featured food truck beginning at 6 p.m., spread out a favorite blanket, set up a comfy lawn chair, and enjoy live music from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact the museum at 405-375-5176.
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The James W. and Alice Glidewell home, near Helena, in Alfalfa County with the Helena Baptist Church congregation photographed on the roof and in front of the home after corn shucking, 1908. Mr. Glidewell was a banker, self-taught lawyer, and a Justice of the Peace. He is pictured on the roof, second from the left (2015.239.2915.001, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Collection, OHS). |
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History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip |
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This summer visit the Humphrey Heritage Village at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) in Enid to experience life in the Cherokee Outlet.
On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip events, the village's five historic territorial buildings come to life with reenactors dressed in period clothing from the late 1800s. They will be presenting trades, holding demonstrations, and guiding visitors. The buildings include the 1905 Glidewell House, the 1893 Enid Land Office, a 1902 church, and an 1896 Turkey Creek schoolhouse. A one-room log cabin, built after the Land Run of 1893 by the Sneed family, was just added to the historic structures.
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Ruling the roost
Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore will host a FREE Movie Night featuring the film Rock-a-Doodle (1991) in its theater on Friday, July 26.
Admission to the movie is free, and guests can also enjoy free popcorn and drinks while watching the film, thanks to the Bank of Commerce’s sponsorship. Because seating is limited, the doors will open at 6 p.m. Please call 918-341-0719 for more information.
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NOT BECAUSE IT WAS EASY, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS HARD*
The Moon Landing
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 first landed on the moon.
The spacecraft carried three astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. Mission Commander Armstrong was the first human to step on the moon's surface as the world watched the historic moment.
Visit the Oklahoma History Center Museum this summer to see the exhibit Launch to Landing: Oklahomans and Space, which focuses on the many Oklahomans who played a part in the US Air and Space Program.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is the Skylab 4 Apollo Command Module (CM-118). This spacecraft carried the final Skylab crew of astronauts—Gerald Carr (commander), Edward Gibson (science pilot), and William Reid Pogue (pilot)—into space to live and work in the Skylab Orbiting Space Station.
It also features many personal items utilized by astronauts. Among those are flight suits worn by Fred Wallace Haise Jr, John Bennett Herrington (Chickasaw), and Gordon Leroy Cooper, Jr., and articles of clothing worn by Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid and other crew members of the International Space Station missions. Also available for viewing are the in-flight coverall garment and pants used by Apollo command module pilot Stuart Allen Roosa when he flew to the moon and back on Apollo 14 in 1971.
The exhibit also includes items such as Oklahoma flags flown in space, a NASA Mission Control console, and lunar samples—also known as “moon rocks.”
Learn more about Oklahomans and Space through the OHS E-Exhibit that examines the history of space exploration by men and women of the Sooner State.
Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon, 1969 (2016.234.01, Daniel W. Lawrence Collection, OHS).
*"Address at Rice University in Houston, Texas on the Nation's Space Effort," 12 September 1962 (JFKWHA-127-002, Series 1,1961-1963, White House Audio Recordings, White House Audio Collection).
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Oklahoma History Center Museum
More featured exhibits
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 Inaugural Impressions
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 Into the Mirror
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 Oklahoma-Built Excellence
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Click event listings below for more information.
11 - “The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Program at the NPS” webinar, presented by Catherine Lavoie, State Historic Preservation Office
11 - Back In Time: "The Three Guardsmen" premiere screening and panel, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
12–13 - Advanced Barn Quilt Workshop, Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill, Kingfisher
13 - Quilting Workshop and quilt drawing, Sod House Museum, Aline
13 - Civil Rights Act of 1964: 60th Anniversary Panel, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
13 - Battle of Honey Springs Memorial Service, Honey Springs Battlefield, Checotah
17 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting *canceled,* Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18 - Historic Preservation Review Committee Meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18 - Summer Sounds Concert with Mackynsie McKedy and the McKedy Band, The Chisholm, Kingfisher
20 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - Flower Art class, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
24 - Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
25 - 75 Years of Television in Oklahoma exhibit opens, Oklahoma History Center Museum, Oklahoma City
26 - Movie Night featuring Rockadoodle (1991), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
27 - Discovering 66 exhibit opens, Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, Clinton
27 - "All the World's Sorrows: Hannah Worcester Hicks and the Civil War in Indian Territory" presentation, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
27 - Oklahoma Route 66 Association Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, Clinton
1 - Antique Handkerchiefs exhibit opens, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
3 - Blacksmithing Demonstration, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
3 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
6 - Teacher Resource Social at the First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City
6 - USCIS Naturalization Ceremony, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
8 - Lunch and Learn: “Collections in the Edmon Low Library Maps and Spatial Data Division” webinar with Kevin Dyke, State Historic Preservation Office
9 - Wreath-laying Ceremony and Flyover, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
9 - Museum After Dark: Village Sounds featuring Gus Burns, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
10 - Quilting Workshop, Sod House Museum, Aline
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Masthead image: The Oklahoma History Center has a wide variety of E-Exhibits you can view from the cool comfort of your home! Each one explores an Oklahoma history topic and includes historic images, activities, a glossary, and a bibliography. Experience the full selection of E-Exhibits by clicking here.
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