Society Sights (October 2022)

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.
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“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.​