 Artifact of the Month:
In 1937, a time capsule was placed at the Washington School (now Admin Building). Within the capsule, many items were placed inside. One item was the beadwork made by an Euchee Boarding School student, Babe Harjo. Harjo made the beaded belt in April 1936. The beadwork is still attached to the paperwork that gave the description of the artifact placed in the capsule. The capsule was opened in 2007.
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We had three class reunions join us this month: Class of ‘62, ‘63, and ‘65. Thanks for coming in and visiting with us!
We’ve also have had many tourist around the world! Visitors from as far as England, Czech Republic, Poland, South Africa, and many others! Introducing “Sapulpa Founding Feathers” with Young Minds Big Ideas. It’s a scavenger hunt! Look for the blue feathers within the museum(s) and around town! Explore! Have you explored Sapulpa? The Sapulpa Founding Feathers is a project by Young Minds Big Ideas. Some of Sapulpa's youngest got together and decided to create a family, friendly scavenger hunt that would showcase what our town has to offer. What started as a group of kids cleaning up and volunteering around town has turned into a fun club for kids to get to know their town and learn about giving back. There are THIRTY 12-inch metal blue feathers hidden around town, with an 8-foot feather at Sapulpa City Hall. Tourism: The furthest visitors outside of Sapulpa are from:
Then and Now Images of Sapulpa:
J.R. Holmes joined the staff as principal at Sapulpa High School around 1919. Holmes would be appointed to be the next school superintendent in 1924. The new Holmes football field was dedicated in October 1927. “The field is one of the finest high school athletic grounds in the state. Its dimensions are 600x320 feet. In addition to the gridiron, the field can be used for baseball and track events. Sapulpa is one of the few high schools in Oklahoma which can boast a stadium of its own. Appreciation of the new field and athletics in Sapulpa was shown by the large crowd attending the dedicatory game.” In September 1942, a new field house would be open. “The new native stone structure is equipped with locker rooms for both the local grid squad and visitors. Shower rooms, a coach’s instruction room, ticket offices, and other conveniences are incorporated in the new building. The field house is pictured as an answer to a long felt need by the athletic department of the high school. It was constructed under the supervision of the WPA, Works Progress Administration.” In 2011, a new Sapulpa school, Holmes Park Elementary, combined Washington and Woodlawn Elementary schools. “The entryway is the centerpiece of the building, with stained glass and colored tiles made by the now-closed Frankoma Pottery, a Sapulpa landmark.” Another landmark“was taken apart, stone by stone, numbered and then put back together and now serves as the entryway to the playground area.” The stones belonged to the Holmes Park archway. This Month in History:
The U.S.S. Sapulpa was launched on October 1, 1919 in Oakland, California. Mrs. J.W. Hoover, wife of Dr. J.W. Hoover, traveled to California to perform the christening of the ship’s launch*. It was announced that “three cities in Oklahoma to receive the honor of naming one of Uncle Sam’s ships. Sapulpa is the one in her class, the other honors going to Vinita and Oklahoma City.” These three towns were the “first city in its class to complete the Fourth Liberty Loan and also to show that more than 20% of the population bought bonds.” *Note: The vessel never served in the Navy. Little is known what happened after the Sapulpa vessel was launched. A report came in on June 1, 1923, from Washington, D.C.: “The steel tanker ‘Sapulpa’ named after the county seat town of Creek County, Okla has been sold by the United States shipping board to the Cape Steamship Company of Philadelphia. The ‘Sapulpa’ is 9,759 deadweight tons.” Artifact of the Month:
Within our Creek County Courthouse display, there is a special display for lawyer, Thomas Blakemore, Jr. He graduated from Sapulpa in 1932, then he went on to Oklahoma University. For his graduate studies, he went to Cambridge University. This is his graduation cap from Cambridge in 1939.  What Have We Been Up To This Month?
We had a great turn out for the Cook Out during Cruise Night! Thank you for coming in and joining us for the wonderful evening. We also were blown away by the turn out during the annual Blowout Car Show. Thank you all for the amazing support and love you have shown us! We also have a new intern this semester! All our interns have been from either OU, UCO, TU, TCC, all either pursuing their undergrad or grad level degrees. In fact, our youngest intern was a Freshman at TCC - our very first intern. But now, our intern this semester is our youngest worker yet. She is a senior in high school. At the Sapulpa High School, there is a certain time period where students can go to work or take an internship or work on community service hours. Most of our interns take on one project given to them during their time here. One person worked on cataloging the yearbooks and city directories. Another person worked on the clothes in the storage room. Another person took on the task to research and update an exhibition. And others have chosen to work in archives. Our high school intern is working on photographs. The project is to scan the photos, digitize them, and catalog them in the computer. This way, if we needed to find a person or a certain building in a particular time, we will be able to simply type in that person's name or business, and be able to pull up all images with the corresponding keyword. This will help a great deal when it comes to research! Tourism: Furthest visitors from outside of Sapulpa:
Then and Now Images of Sapulpa:
The IOOF building on the corner of Dewey and Park. (Then, circa 1910; Now, 2021) IOOF stood for Independent Order of Odd Fellows which was a men's organization which promotes social and personal growth. The women's organization, Rebekah's, would later form with the same framework. The building had a cone that stood above the entrance corner is believed to have been made of copper. It is unknown when or why the cone was removed.  What Happened This Month in Sapulpa History:
On September 22, 1918, the Oklahoma Union Railway Company began its interurban service between Sapulpa and Tulsa. The electric cars were modern in every respect and were 60 feet long. It was though that the cars would run every hour. The only problem on opening day was that the first car could not make the short leg/curve at the "Y" at Main and Dewey. (Sapulpa Herald, September 23, 1918) Artifact of the Month:
This 1922 Buick delivery truck was purchased February 23, 1923 by G.H. Thompson from C.B. Cox Cadillac and Buick dealer in Sapulpa. It is believed to have originally been used by a grocery store. Around the late 1950s, Eugene Kuykendall, the Sinclair bulk dealer in Sapulpa, found it abandoned in a barn. He and his son-in-law, Wallace Dobson, retrieved it and took it to Kukendall's home. Later, Kuykendall sold it to William and Mary Ward of Sapulpa, who donated it to the Sapulpa Historical Society in June 1966. It has been restored by Robert E. Baxter, Jon Cobb, Rusty Snell, and John Davis. What Have We Been Up to This Month?
We have plans to celebrate one of our artifacts birthday - it is turning 100 years old. On Friday evening of September 9, we will be having a cookout in front of our Filling Station to celebrate the 1922 Buick delivery truck turning 100 - and yes! It still runs! On Saturday, September 10, join the town in our annual Route 66 Blowout Car Show! Tourism: Visitors that came the furthest to visit with us:
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DISCLAIMER
The information found on this page has been researched through Sapulpa (and area) newspapers, Sapulpa Historical Society archives, books, and photographs, Sapulpa yearbooks, city directories, and other local authors. Any other sources will be labeled and named as the research continues. Any mistakes will be noted and adjusted as needed. |
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