July/August 2024

JA24cover

ON THE MAP
Get fired up about the reopening of Frankoma Pottery in Glenpool; the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton has one epic gift shop; Expedition Africa introduces new creatures to Oklahoma City; and capital city’s historic Britton District gets a modern makeover.

ORDER UP
The halcyon diner days are back with a roundup of classic dishes; cuisine that’s fancy but not fussy is on the menu at Isla’s Southern Kitchen in Tulsa; get your just desserts and then some at Norman’s Sweet Sips and Sticks and The Buffalo Nickel Vintage Candies makes Atoka even sweeter.

ORIGINALS
Tom Mix lived a life as dramatic as his silver screen characters; Fairfax’s Tall Chief Theater is a culture treasure worth preserving; the Redbud Wars gave Oklahoma one of its most enduring state symbols; and poet Cassie Premo Steele considers the beauty of “Clouds”.

IN EVERY ISSUE
Contributors, Point of View, Welcome, Feedback, Out There, Off The Map

FEATURES
Tulsa’s Dance with Destiny
A hundred years after it was first built, Cain’s Ballroom is one of the jewels of Oklahoma’s musical crown, Now, the home of Bob Wills-and that hole Sid Vicious punched in the wall-is celebrating.

The Unfinished Scholar
Governor and Congressman Alfalfa Bill Murray may be a troublesome figure by modern standards, but his legacy is undeniable.

Smooth Criminal
Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd was the FBI’s Public Enemy Number One, and his Robin Hood-esque story is grounded in Oklahoma.

In the Black
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, coal drove Oklahoma’s economy. Meet the people who rode the boom into history.

Mosaic of Time
At Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium, a nearly year-long exhibition of priceless artifacts from ancient Israel sheds new light on the world of Old Testament.

Colossus of the Plains
Woodward outdoorsman and writer Chad Love waxes poetic about that most Oklahoma of Oklahomans-Bison bison **

On the Cover
First built a hundred years ago, Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa has been the site of many of the most important and exciting moments in Oklahoma music history. Read about the whole rocking ride in Tulsa’s Dance With Destiny (page 42). **Photo collage by Christopher Lee. Bob Wills photos, Oklahoma Historical Society; Large Cain’s sign, Valerie Wei-Hass; JD McPherson, Joshua Black Wilkins; Cain’s Star, Nathan Gunter. **