Happy Birthday Oklahoma!!!

Our first State Flag. 1911-1924



Friday, November 16 is the 100th birthday of my home state, Oklahoma. Oklahoma is the birthplace of Will Rogers, Garth Brooks, and me. They picked entertainment, I picked architecture. I guess we know where fame and fortune really lies.
Prior to statehood, Oklahoma was known as Indian Territory because the government used it to relocate Native American Indians onto reservations. As a result, 39 different tribes are still represented in the state although, most people are familiar only with those known as the Five Civilized Tribes, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole. It was also the location of one of the early century oil booms. Tulsa became home to so many oil companies that it was known as the oil capitol of the world. That title moved to Houston because of offshore drilling, and now title now probably resides somewhere in the mid-east.
While I was born in Henryetta, I grew up in Tulsa and still consider it my home even though I haven't actually lived there since 1984. It was a great place to live as a child. I was ten years old when the state celebrated its semi-centennial. Tulsa buried a time capsule, including a 1957 Plymouth Fury in a concrete vault. Earlier this year the vault was unearthed to discover that time had not been kind to the car.
Water had leaked into the vault and turned the automobile into a rusted hulk. Maybe next time they'll just rent a climate controlled storage unit.
At any rate, it's a great state, with some great people and a great heritage.
Happy Birthday Oklahoma!