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Free festivities planned for the anniversary of Will Rogers’s Birthday
Following the annual Will Rogers Days Parade in downtown Claremore on Saturday, October 31, the Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club (Cherokee) will hold a special wreath laying and “Hats off to Will” luncheon, from noon to 2 p.m. The Pocahontas Club will lay a wreath at noon, to be followed by entertainment and a meal. Then, from 6 to 8 p.m., children and their families can visit the museum and enjoy free trick-or-treating at the Halloween at the Museum annual event.
Will Rogers’s 147th birthday will be celebrated with a free public birthday party free public birthday party on Wednesday, November 4.
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Kilgen Theatre Organ performance featuring the silent film My Best Girl (1927) with Clark Wilson |
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Vietnam War: Untold Stories from the South—Trials, Triumphs, & Tragedies documentary screening |
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A powerful new documentary that centers on the lived experiences and overlooked perspectives of South Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora will be shown at the Oklahoma History Center on Saturday, November 7, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The Vietnam War: Untold Stories from the South — Trials, Triumphs, & Tragedies (2025) documentary reexamines the war through the experiences of South Vietnamese civilians, soldiers, political prisoners, refugees, and families whose stories have too often been overlooked, distorted, or excluded from mainstream historical narratives.
The screening is free and open to the public, but museum admission is required to visit the galleries.
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This film is being shown in conjunction with the exhibit Our Journeys, now on display at the Oklahoma History Center.
The traveling exhibition is brought to Oklahoma City through a partnership with the Vietnamese American Heritage Community of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma History Center Museum. Our Journeys is presented by Vietnamese Boat People. This multimedia traveling exhibition will be on display through January 4, 2027.
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After a brief stop at a train station in 1897 on her way to Canada, missionary Mattie Mallory felt called to help orphaned children in Oklahoma City. She came back and established the Oklahoma Orphanage. In 1909, she moved it to a quarter section of land she helped purchase near present-day 36th Street between MacArthur and Rockwell and established the town of Bethany. Today, that orphanage is the Bethany Children’s Health Center. In this latest episode of A Very OK Podcast, Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn talk with Nico Gomez, CEO of the Health Center, about Mattie’s life, legacy, and the amazing work the Health Center does to help children from around the world today.
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The Oklahoma Historical Society’s podcast is a Silver Winner for the 2026 Signal Awards! Listen to the April 2026 winning episode, “The Grapes of Wrath.” |
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We Fought Back book talk and signing with author Sara Doolittle
Author Dr. Sara Doolittle will present a free author talk and book signing at The Chisholm on Thursday, November 5, at 6 p.m. The discussion will feature her new title, We Fought Back: The Black Legal Struggle for Education in Oklahoma Territory (The University of Oklahoma Press, 2026). Copies of the book will be available at the signing.
Most people are familiar with the landmark 1954 US Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, which held that state laws mandating racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional. But what about the court cases that far preceded and informed this national ruling? They took place in smaller courts, in unsung parts of the United States, including in Oklahoma Territory.
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The 2027 Oklahoma History Symposium will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2027, at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. Presented by the Oklahoma Historical Society, the symposium is a one-day event that covers a range of Oklahoma-related historical topics. It provides a venue for scholars, students, educators, and community members from across the state and region to share their work and interests with others.
Learn more about submitting a proposal. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2026.
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“Cards and Board Games: Entertainment in the 1830s” program |
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A living history program held at the Fort Gibson Historic Site on Saturday, November 7, 14, and 21 will explore entertainment in the 1830s. Site interpreter Seth Goff will demonstrate and teach visitors how games were set up and played. You can learn more about how 19th-century soldiers and civilians entertained themselves with faro and card games.
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Artillery Demonstrations with the 1st Arkansas Mountain Artillery |
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On Saturday, November 7, Honey Springs Battlefield will host artillery demonstrations with the 1st Arkansas Mountain Artillery!
Programs will be held at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Each program will feature a few shots from a Mountain Howitzer and Mountain Rifle, both types of weapons that would have been seen at the Battle of Honey Springs. Following each of the firings, Jim Spillars, Director of the 1st Arkansas Mountain Artillery, will give a brief presentation, bringing to life the men, equipment, and artillery tactics of the Civil War era.
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OHS fall webinars, programs, and activities |
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Follow the OHS website calendar to learn about our events and programs at OHS museums and historic sites across the state! Our calendar constantly changes with the latest programs and activities, from seasonal events to celebrations, exhibits, films, educational classes, and workshops. |
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Connect with the Oklahoma Historical Society on social media—where you can learn more about Oklahoma history and get up-to-date information about events and exhibits across the state!
Masthead image: Soldiers gather for Halloween refreshments served by the American Red Cross Canteen in El Reno. Canteens began in World War I when the US government asked the American Red Cross to set up stations to provide food and refreshments to troops traveling by rail (ERL.598, El Reno Carnegie Library Collection, OHS).
Did you know?
The nation’s first Red Cross Canteen, built in log cabin style from telephone poles, opened at the Rock Island Depot in El Reno, Canadian County, on August 1, 1918.
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