Oklahoma Trivia & Tidbits - Page 8

Looking for Oklahoma trivia? Try our list Oklahoma little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

At 1.8 miles wide and moving at more than 40 mph, one of the worst tornadoes in the state’s history hit Woodward (pop. 11,853) without warning at 8:42 p.m. on April 9, 1947. The storm, which originated in Texas and covered 220 miles before disappearing in Kansas, killed more than 100 people and destroyed some 100 city blocks in Woodward.

first appeared: 1/1/2006

Incorporating some 500 lights, the Electric Park Pavilion in Blackwell (pop. 7,357) was built between 1912 and 1913 as a tribute to the arrival of electricity in the community. Architect W.L. McAtee designed the building, inspired by the great "White City" of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Today, the restored pavilion is home to the Top of Oklahoma Museum.

first appeared: 1/1/2006

The space shuttle Discovery made a stop in Altus (pop. 21,447) in August, as it traveled atop a Boeing 747 that landed at Altus Air Force Base to refuel. The Discovery was en route from its landing site at Edwards Air Force Base near Rosamond, Calif. (pop. 14,349), to its home at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (pop. 8,829).

first appeared: 12/18/2005

The state’s first scuba park opened earlier this year on Lake Tenkiller, near Vian (pop. 1,362). Known for its crystal clear waters, the lake long has been a popular destination for scuba divers. At the new park, located near the visitors’ center boat ramp, divers can descend 75 feet under water to explore several boats, a school bus, and a 40-foot-long airplane that have been sunk in the lake. Visibility in summer often reaches 30 feet.

first appeared: 12/4/2005

Lake Tenkiller was created in 1953 with the completion of a dam across the Illinois River. The 12,650-acre lake gets its name from a prominent Cherokee Indian family who owned land and operated a ferry in the area before the dam’s construction began in the late 1940s.

first appeared: 12/4/2005

U.S. Navy Commander Ernest Edwin Evans, born in Pawnee (pop. 2,230) in 1908, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Oct. 25, 1944, when he commanded the USS Johnston destroyer against the Japanese fleet in the Philippines. Despite being wounded, and his ship damaged, he consistently placed the Johnston between the enemy and the carrier ships under his protection.

first appeared: 11/20/2005

Checotah (pop. 3,481) is known as the "Steer Wrestling Capital of the World," thanks to its champion "bulldogging" rodeo cowboys, including Ote Berry, Benny and Willard Combs, Roy and Sam Duvall, Billy Hale, and Teddy Johnson. Wrangler Western Wear has named a line of men’s and boys’ Western-style shirts after the town, where for 28 years Roy Duvall’s Arena has hosted an annual steer-wrestling competition, which now features more than 300 riders and 1,150 steers.

first appeared: 11/6/2005

School children in Moore (pop. 41,138) helped earn selenite—a crystallized form of gypsum—its designation earlier this year as the state’s official crystal. They proposed the gem after a trip to the Great Salt Plains where the crystal is abundant.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

J.A. Chapman and H.G. Barnard bought 15,000 acres near Pawhuska (pop. 3,629) in 1915. The Chapman-Barnard Ranch was the largest ranch in Oklahoma by 1940, boasting 85,000 acres. In 1989, the Nature Conservancy bought more than 30,000 acres of the ranch, as the cornerstone of its Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

Host of the Discovery Channel’s Home Matters show, Susan Powell hails from Elk City (pop. 10,510). Crowned Miss America for 1981, Powell also is an accomplished opera singer who has performed with the Boston Pops, the New York City Opera and the New Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

Oklahoma’s oldest one-room school still in operation is the Pleasant Valley School in Stillwater (pop. 39,065). The 1899 school hosts visiting classes of fourth graders who study McDuffy’s Readers, eat meals from lunch pails, and sit in old-style desks to experience what school life was like during the territorial days.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

Established in 1930 as a bird refuge and breeding ground, the 32,030-acre Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge near Cherokee (pop. 1,630) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. More than 300 bird species visit the refuge annually, including thousands of geese, ducks and American white pelicans. Sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, and golden and bald eagles also use its salt flats and marshes.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

Born April 12, 1957, in Norman, country music singer Vince Gill learned to play both banjo and guitar before he entered high school. He later worked with the band Pure Prairie League. His breakthrough solo hit came with 1989’s When I Call Your Name. By 1991, he was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

With 26 buildings, the Fort Sill Museum in Lawton is the largest museum in the U.S. Army system, and one of world’s largest military museums. Established in 1934, the museum includes the "Cannon Walk" of historic field artillery weapons, including an "Atomic Annie," a 280mm cannon capable of firing an atomic warhead.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

A native of Claremore (pop. 15,873), singer Patti Page’s biggest hit was Tennessee Waltz, which has sold 10 million copies since its release in 1950. Page was born Clara Ann Fowler on Nov. 8, 1927. At age 18, she earned a place as a singer on a 15-minute KTUL radio program in Tulsa sponsored by the Page Milk Co., which helped inspire her name change. Her other hits included Confess and Old Cape Cod.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

On a site 3.5 miles northeast of Checotah (pop. 3,481), the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs took place on July 17, 1863. With about 9,000 soldiers engaged, it was the largest battle fought in Oklahoma, then the Indian Territory, during the war. After the battle, Union forces controlled all of the Indian Territory north of the Arkansas River.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

The Railroad Museum of Oklahoma, in Enid (pop. 47,045), is home to more than 900 pieces of the fine china once used on the nation’s passenger trains. The museum also features cabooses, restored antique locomotives and an Amtrak lounge car, along with an area that’s dedicated to model railroading.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Enid also preserves the original land office in which pioneers filed their claims after the great land rush of 1893 opened the Cherokee Strip to settlement. It’s located in Humphrey Heritage Village, which also features the Museum of the Cherokee Strip, a restored Victorian-style house known as the Glidewell Home, a one-room schoolhouse and an early community church.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Robert Gerrer joined the Benedictine order at Sacred Heart Abbey near Konawa (pop. 1,479) in 1891 and later went to Rome to study painting and art restoration. Throughout his extensive travels, he collected 6,555 art objects representing cultures from ancient Egypt to the early 20th century. These items now compose the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art at St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee (pop. 28,692).

first appeared: 8/14/2005

Honor Heights Park in Muskogee (pop. 38,310) features more than 30,000 azaleas that include 625 species of the colorful, blooming plants. The 122-acre park was founded in 1909 when the city bought 40 acres of land on Agency Hill for $4,500. It received its official name in 1919 to honor World War I soldiers. The azaleas were introduced in the 1950s.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

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