|
Tom Mix Museum (in Dewey, 4 miles north) is kinda small but interesting.
But if you really want to see how the west (or really south central) was
won, Woolaroc Ranch and Museum is where you want to go. Herds of buffalo,
elk, several kinds of deer and antelope roam the grounds, and the museum
is great, mostly relating to the cultures of central US, from the earliest
of the Indian tribes, cattle, oil, etc. They have a fantastic collection
of western art, firearms, etc. During the summer the oil patch is in operation,
with a functioning drilling rig, powerhouse and several wells, driven by
a 25 HP turn-of-the-century single-cylinder gas engine, pumper's shack,etc.
They also have a mountain man exhibit where a guy camps out all summer in
late 1800s trapper style. He'll let you throw his axe, shoot his muzzle-loader,
etc.
We also have a local history museum downtown which has a lot of historical
artifacts dating back to the founding of Bartlesville in 1897 and before.
It is getting better organized all the time and is a very interesting place
to see, especially if you are interested in the oil industry's birth.
In June, Bartlesville hosts the OK Mozart Festival, one of the premier music
festivals in the country with world-renowned classical musicians as well as
other kinds of music also. This year Byron Berline is putting on one show of
the finest bluegrass and western swing.
In the fall there is a celebration called Indian Summer, which is a big pow-wow
of a lot of tribes, mostly outdoors and mostly free featuring tribal dances and
ceremonies plus the work of very many Indian artists both to view and to buy.
The selection of restaurants is continuing to expand also. Lodging and real
estate are still reasonable, at least compared to most other places, and it
looks like we will probably end up with more employees of Conoco Phillips than
we had before the merger, in spite of the fact that they moved the HQ to
Houston. Some other businesses have located here, which is also giving us a
boost. We're making it without former residents like Frank Phillips, Harry
Sinclair, J. Paul Getty and other oil barons. BTW it is interesting to notice
that Citgo, formerly Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company, Empire Co and
Cities Service, which started here and in Osage County, a few miles west, and
from which my grandfather retired in 1948, is now a Brazilian company.....
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
|
