Air, Space, & Oklahoma

Air,
Space, &
Oklahoma
18
New Frontiers
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” On July 21, 1969, like millions
of other people around the world, I sat on the floor of our small living room watching as the
black and white image of Neil Armstrong taking his first step on the surface of the moon came
across my parents’ RCA television set. While my mother doubted whether or not America had
actually reached the moon, I sat mesmerized thinking what an awesome accomplishment,
and what must Armstrong be feeling as he uttered those words. I do remember the collective
Photograph courtesy the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

feeling as a nation at that time—there was not anything the United
States could not achieve.
Oklahoma has played a significant role in America’s
aviation and space exploration. Our state has produced
those rare individuals who have dared to live out their
dream to break the bounds of earth and soar into
the heavens. Many aspiring adventurers, however,
faced substantial obstacles in pursuit of their goals.
As you read this edition, you will be introduced to
aviation pioneers such as J. Herman Banning and
Thomas C. Allen, who faced racial discrimination,
yet successfully pursued their quest to become pilots.
Moreover, Jerrie Cobb, battled gender discrimination to
become America’s first female astronaut. Although Cobb
never flew in space, she paved the way for women such as Sally
Ride, Shannon Lucid, and any other young girl dreaming of spaceflight.
As you continue to read, you will also discover the history of Oklahoma’s air force bases,
as well as the role each played and continues to play in keeping America safe. In addition,
there is information on the state’s current aerospace industry, and its economic impact on
the local and state economies.
The 2013–2014 edition of the Oklahoma Almanac could not have been completed without the
assistance of several individuals. I would like to thank the staff at the Oklahoma Department of
Libraries, and in particular Kitty Pittman, who provided valuable information on Oklahoma’s
aviation pioneers. I want to thank Laura Martin at the Oklahoma Historical Society Research
Division, who supplied both information and acquired many of the historical photographs
pictured throughout the Almanac. I also want to thank the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration for providing information relating to Oklahoma’s astronaut corps.
I want to encourage you to learn more about Oklahoma’s role in aviation and aerospace.
To do so, I would like to suggest that you spend a little time at one or more of the following
museums: Oklahoma Museum of Flying in Bethany; the Science Museum in Oklahoma City;
Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City; Tulsa Air and Space Museum and
Planetarium in Tulsa; and Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford. For a more detailed
list of Oklahoma museums check out the museum listings in the Almanac’s History section.
Famed World War I pilot Edward “Eddie” Rickenbacker once said, “Aviation is proof that given
the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible.” Oklahoma’s pioneering spirit has
led many of our sons and daughters to great feats in flying and space exploration. Moreover,
our state’s aviation and aerospace future continues to be promising. Do not be surprised to
find out the first manned mission to Mars includes an “Okie” on the team.
Connie G. Armstrong • Editor
19
Pioneers
Wiley Post
L
isted among America’s great aviators are such names as Orville and Wilbur Wright,
Charles Lindberg, and Amelia Earhardt. Oklahoman Wiley Post certainly earned his
place among these heroic pioneers. Ten years after the Wright brothers’ historic flight
at Kittyhawk, North Carolina, in 1903, Post looked up into the western Oklahoma sky and
fell in love with flying. Post’s flying prowess, his aeronautical genius, and his vision of what
could be accomplished in aviation laid the foundation for space exploration.
Born on November 22, 1898, in Corinth, Texas, Post’s parents William and Mae Post toiled
as cotton farmers. At the age of five, his parents moved the family to Oklahoma, settling first
in Rush Springs, then later on a small farm near Burns. Young Post did not care for farming
or school, but he did have an interest in mechanics. At the age of eleven he dropped out,
left home, and worked as a traveling
repairman. However, in 1913 Post
had an experience that would forever
change his life. During a trip with his
family to the Lawton County Fair,
he stood captivated as stunt pilots
performed their aerial tricks over
Photograph courtesy the Oklahoma Historical Society
him. There on that Oklahoma field,

Post knew exactly what he wanted
to do with his life. He wanted to fly,
and he wanted to understand the
mechanics involved in flying. A year
later, he enrolled and completed a
seventh month course in Sweeney
Automotive and Aviation School
in Kansas City. Yet, as with many
individuals pursuing their dreams,
Post encountered obstacles along
the way. Earning a living was one.
Post returned to Oklahoma and
worked at various jobs, but he never
forgot about flying. He moved to
Norman during World War I in the
hope of becoming a pilot. The war
Wiley Post ended, and his dream to become
a pilot was placed on hold. Post soon found a job as a roughneck in Oklahoma’s oil fields.
This proved to be financially lucrative, which afforded him the opportunity to purchase a
twenty-five dollar ride in Earl Zimmerman’s open cockpit biplane. Although the flight would
provide an adrenaline rush for the average thrill seeker, Post walked away disappointed.
In 1920 Post’s parents moved to Maysville, but he would never again live with his parents.
At the age of twenty-two, Post was apprehended and later pled guilty to a series of highway
robberies in Grady County, Oklahoma. Post admitted he lured unsuspecting travelers to stop
their cars on the road where he had placed a valuable item such as bag of sugar or spare tire.
20 Oklahoma Almanac

Winnie Mae
Aircraft Type—Lockheed 5C Vega ■ Designer—John K. Northrop ■ Manufacturer—Lockheed
Aircraft Company ■ Date—1930 ■ Country of Origin—United States of America ■ Wingspan—41
feet ■ Length—27 feet, 6 inches ■ Height—8 feet, 2 inches ■ Weight (empty)—2,595
lbs. ■ Weight (gross)—4,500 lbs. ■ Top speed—185 mph ■ Physical Description—High wing
cantilevered monoplane with monocoque fuselage, fixed landing gear, ground adjustable propeller.
Once stopped, Post accosted the individual demanding his or her money and other valuables.
Facing a ten year prison sentence, he became prisoner “3009” at the Granite Reformatory.
Due to Post’s inability to adapt to prison life and his deteriorating mental health, Governor
J.B.A. Robertson granted him a parole on June 3, 1922. (Post received a full pardon from
Governor William “Alfalfa Bill” Murray in 1934.)
Upon release from prison, Post once again found work in Oklahoma’s oil fields. He soon
renewed his fascination with aviation, and in 1924 he began working part-time for the Burrell
Tibbs Flying Circus as a parachute jumper. Post earned fifty dollars for each jump, but more
importantly, he began to take flying lessons and eventually had a successful solo flight. An
oil field accident in 1926, however, threatened his dream again. A piece of metal shrapnel
hit Post in his left eye which ultimately resulted in the removal of the eye. Still determined
to fly, Post took the workman’s compensation money he received from the accident, and
purchased his first airplane: a Canuck.
After training his right eye at depth perception, Post logged 700 hours of flying time, and
received his pilot’s license signed by aviator Orville Wright in 1927. He soon married Mae
Laine from Sweetwater, Texas, and continued his new career of barnstorming in Oklahoma
and Texas. He became a company pilot for Oklahoman F.C. Hall, who encouraged Post to
Air, Space, & Oklahoma 21
continue his aviation goals, and even allowed him to use the company plane Winnie Mae to
compete in air races. Post did not settle for being a stunt or company pilot. He set his sights
higher. He wanted to make and break aviation records.
In 1930 Post came to national attention by flying the Winnie Mae non-stop from Los Angeles
to Chicago, and winning the National Air Race Derby. The race took a little over nine hours
to complete. A year later, he and navigator Harold Gatty set a new aviation record for an
around-the-world flight. Post and Gatty made the trip in eight days, breaking the old record
of twenty-one days set by Hugo Eckener in 1929. The journey began in Long Island, New York,
and continued to Newfoundland, Germany, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Cleveland, Ohio, and
again to New York. The two had logged 15,474 miles, and came home to national acclaim.
Post purchased the Winnie Mae from Hall in 1931 and began equipping the Lockheed 5C
Vega with the latest in aviation technology including an auto-pilot, a controllable pitch
propeller, and a radio compass. With the financial support of several notable Oklahomans,
in July 1933 Post flew solo around the world. Although Post recalled the trip as harrowing at
times, he completed the adventure in seven days, nineteen hours, breaking his old record.
He was the first person ever to accomplish an around-the-world flight. Post would not stop
there. He set his sights even higher.
Post wanted to experience high altitude, long distance flight, but the Winnie Mae could not be
pressurized. Working with the B.F. Goodrich Company, Post developed the first pressurized
flight suit that was made of rubber and equipped with helmet, oxygen system, earphones,
and microphone. In 1934 he flew to an altitude of 40,000 feet above Chicago. Later, he
would achieve unofficial high altitude records, flying above 50,000 feet and discovering the
“jet stream.” One notable flight took place in March 1935, when Post reached an altitude of
more than 30,000 feet. It was during this flight that Post flew the Winnie Mae from Burbank,
California, to Cleveland, Ohio, a distance of 2,035 miles in seven hours and 19 minutes with
an average ground speed of 279 mph.
In 1935 Post retired the Winnie Mae and purchased an Orion-Explorer aircraft. Interested in
mapping new airmail routes across Alaska, he invited Will Rogers to fly with him to Alaska.
Post modified the airplane to include a new engine, an oversized gas tank, and pontoons
for landing on the water. Flying from Seattle, Washington, the two flew to several stops in
Alaska. On August 15, 1935, Post attempted to take off from a lagoon near Point Barrow,
Alaska. Approximately 200 feet after take-off, the plane’s engine failed and crashed into the
lagoon, killing both Post and Rogers. Post was only thirty-six years old.
Although Post was not granted longevity of years, he lived life to the fullest, always challenging
himself when it came to flying. His contributions to aviation cannot be understated. This
Oklahoma aviator, who as a youngster looked up at his first airplane in an Oklahoma sky,
set flying records, discovered the jet stream, and helped pave the way for space exploration
with his pressurized flying suit. Following his death, Post’s wife sold the Winnie Mae to the
Smithsonian Institute. Post was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1969,
and inducted posthumously in to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2004.
Thomas C. Allen and J. Herman Banning
A
t a time in American history when African Americans faced segregation and
discrimination as a result of Jim Crow laws, Thomas C. Allen and J. Herman Banning
broke racial stereotypes and proved they too belong with America’s heralded aviators.
Allen, a native of Oklahoma City, and Banning, a native of El Reno, became the first African
American aviators to successfully fly across the United States. Allen began flying lessons as
a teenager. Banning, however, encountered a more difficult path to earn his wings. After
22 Oklahoma Almanac
Photographs courtesy the Oklahoma Historical Society

Postcard celebrating the flight of Thomas C. Allen and J. Herman Banning.
enrolling at Iowa State University as an electrical engineering student, Banning became

fascinated with flight. He attempted to enroll in various flight schools, but was denied because
of his race. However, he found a private flight instructor who gave him flying lessons at the
Raymond Fisher Flying Field in Des Moines, Iowa. Banning became the first African American
to obtain his flying license from the United States Department of Commerce. In 1929 Banning
moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began work at the Bessie Coleman Aero Club.
In 1932 Allen and Banning together embarked on the adventure to fly across the country. A
newspaper advertisement had offered a $1,000 prize for the first African American who could
complete the challenge. Beginning in Los Angeles, the pair took turns flying an Alexander
Eaglerock biplane rebuilt from spare parts. As they hopscotched across the country, Allen
and Banning also took turns servicing the airplane while the other pilot went into the local
town to acquire donations so the two could continue the trip. Newspapers across the country
picked up the story, and many dubbed the duo “The Flying Bohoes.” The two completed the
3,300 mile trip, landing in New York, and logging forty-one hours and twenty-seven minutes
of flight time. Although the prize money never materialized, the two were greeted with a
hero’s welcome in New York.
Banning returned to California, and planned to compete in a San Diego air show. However,
his attempts to rent a plane were denied because of his race. He agreed to fly in the air show
as a passenger in a biplane with an inexperienced pilot. The pilot engaged the plane in a
steep climb. The engine stalled, however, and the plane crashed killing both Banning and the
pilot. Banning was thirty-four years old at the time of his death. Allen continued to work in
the aviation industry. He found employment as a mechanic at Douglas Aircraft in California.
Later in his life, he returned to Oklahoma and presented programs regarding race and early
aviation at the Oklahoma Air Space Museum. Allen died in 1989.
Dorothy K. Pressler Morgan
D
orothy K. Pressler Morgan challenged societal norms regarding gender roles,
debunking the belief that women’s proper place was at “hearth and home” rather than
the public sphere. Fighting against perceived ideas that women were not mentally
or physically fit to fly airplanes, she proved women were just as capable as men behind the
cockpit controls. During her life and career she fought against discrimination in the aviation
industry, and encouraged other women to pursue flying as a vocation.
Born Dorothy Knight Barrack on May 19, 1896, in St. Mary’s, West Virginia, this daring
aviatrix moved to Oklahoma in 1915 with her family. She married Howard A. Pressler, but
soon discovered that domesticity left her restless. She had always been an avid outdoors
person who loved swimming, riding, and tennis. Viewing flying as another type of sport, in
January 1929, she began taking flying lessons at the Graham Flying Service Company School
in Oklahoma City. By April 1929, having logged less than thirteen hours flying time, Pressler
Morgan soloed. She became the second woman pilot in Oklahoma to earn a pilot’s license.
In 1930 Pressler Morgan began working for the Curtiss-Wright Flying Service in Oklahoma
City as a secretary and recruiter. The company offered flying lessons, and she encouraged
other women to enroll. Pressler Morgan had a difficult time finding female recruits because
society continued to oppose women pilots. Moreover, flying was expensive, and during the
Great Depression many people could only afford life’s necessities. Pressler Morgan, however,
did not allow bad economic times to deter her from flying.
Pressler Morgan set her sights on obtaining her commercial and transport pilot’s license.
In order to cover the cost of plane rental, she took up barnstorming and performed aerial
Pressler Morgan often performed in air shows to cover the cost of plane rental.
24 Oklahoma Almanac
stunts in local air shows across the state. One of her most memorable air shows occurred in
June 1931, when she appeared with Amelia Earhardt at the Milk and Ice Fund Air Show in
Oklahoma City. She and Earhardt became friends, and they continued to appear together
at air shows. During these events, both women publicly continued to press for gender
equality in aviation.
Pressler Morgan’s tenure as a stunt pilot proved somewhat lucrative, and she purchased her
own airplane, a Curtiss-Wright Junior. Pressler Morgan wanted more, however. Like many
of her male colleagues, she too longed to break aviation records. In August 1931, Pressler
Morgan became a test pilot and set an unofficial altitude record of 16,091 feet when she
flew a Curtiss-Wright Junior airplane to determine its altitude capability when loaded to its
capacity. She also continued to participate in local air races, although it was widely believed
that women could not compete at this level. She proved the skeptics wrong, winning the first
women’s air race held at Oklahoma City’s Curtiss-Wright Field. Pressler Morgan continued
to affirm her aviation skills were compatible with men; she successfully completed a series
of cross-country solo flights. Pressler Morgan remained cognizant of the American public’s
reluctance to accept women aviators. She worked tirelessly to attract more women to take
up flying as well as relieve the fear associated with women working in a dangerous field.
Whenever she flew for public exhibition, she wore make-up, had her nails manicured and
polished, and even wore a rabbit fur jacket. Pressler Morgan proved she could conduct
herself in a male dominated profession, yet retain her femininity.
By late 1932, Pressler Morgan had obtained enough flying hours that she was awarded her
commercial and transport license, becoming one of only forty women at that time to achieve
this goal. The only woman transport pilot in Oklahoma, Pressler Morgan noted that some of
her passengers seemed reluctant to fly when they found out a woman would be piloting the
plane. She set another first for women in aviation, when she was named interim manager of
Oklahoma City’s Municipal Airport in September 1933. She had become the first woman in
the United States to be named an airport manager. Although Pressler Morgan had experienced
success in her career, her personal life was not without its trials.
In 1934 she and her husband divorced. In 1937 she married Merrill C. Morgan, a pilot and
Federal Aviation Agency employee, who accepted and encouraged her flying aspirations.
As the threat of another world war loomed, Pressler Morgan answered her nation’s call and
enlisted in the Betsy Ross Air Corps. These female pilots flew air ambulances and support
airplanes as a part of the war effort. Although she willingly served her country, she soon found
herself facing the harsh realities of inequality. In 1938 she gave birth to a daughter, but her
pregnancy resulted in the violation of Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) regulations
regarding physical fitness. According to the CAA regulations, pregnancy automatically
resulted in the termination of a pilot’s license. The loss of her license infuriated Pressler
Morgan. Though the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots worked to
change CAA regulations, family finances kept her from renewing her license for two years.
Following the war, Pressler Morgan began working in a secretarial position at Tinker Air Force
Base and later at the Federal Aviation Administration. Throughout her life she enjoyed flying
and became a staunch advocate for women’s equality, especially in aviation. She worked
to ensure that the aviation industry afforded women the same opportunities as men. In her
efforts to promote both equality and aviation she joined the National Aeronautic Association;
served as president of the Women’s National Aeronautical Association Oklahoma City Branch;
served as Oklahoma Aviation Service director; and wrote columns in Air Pilot Magazine to
name just a few. Pressler Morgan died on January 31, 1978.
Paul R. Braniff
B
orn in 1897 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Paul Revere Braniff became interested in
airplanes as a child. In 1915 he joined the Army Air Corps serving as an aircraft
mechanic. During World War I, he was stationed in France serving with both the
636 Aero Squadron and the 50th Aero Squadron. Braniff began flying lessons when he was
assigned to Flight Observer Training in 1919. In 1923 he received his pilot’s license and soon
convinced his brother Thomas E. Braniff and four other investors to purchase a “Stinson
Detroiter” cabin plane for $11,000 for the purpose of starting a passenger/carrier airline.
The “Paul R. Braniff Inc., Airline” began operation June 20, 1928, with a flight from Oklahoma
City to Tulsa. The airline office was located in the Braniff Insurance Building in downtown
Oklahoma City, and Braniff built the state’s first commercial aircraft hangar at Wiley Post
Airport. Braniff performed every duty associated with the new airline from selling and taking
up tickets to loading luggage and flying the plane. The new airline proved very successful.
Expanding his services, Braniff began air drop deliveries of the Daily Oklahoman to rural
farmers who lived along the flight route. By December 1928, Braniff had added a third airplane
to help accommodate the 1,000 passengers he was averaging each month. Passengers paid
$12.50 to fly from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, or $20.00 round trip.
In 1929 Braniff expanded its route to include Dallas/Fort Worth with stops along the way. That
same year, the airline merged with Universal Aviation headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Aviation Holdings (AVCO) purchased the airline, and in 1930 Braniff left the company and the
country to assist in the development of a Mexican airline company. He returned to the United
States in 1930 and convinced his brother and a group of investors to purchase two Lockheed
Vega planes, the fastest aircraft in the world at that time. Braniff Airways, headquartered in
Oklahoma City, featured planes painted a wide variety of bright colors including orange and
red, a trend that the airlines continued throughout the twentieth century.
Boasting it was the fastest airline in the world, Braniff Airways included flights to Dallas, Fort
Worth, Wichita Falls, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Saint Louis, and Chicago. Serving
as the airlines executive vice president of operations, Braniff accepted barter rather than
cash from many passengers as the Great Depression continued to limit an individual’s cash
Braniff Airways added the Douglas DC–3 “Super B-Liners” to its routes in 1940.
26 Oklahoma Almanac
purchasing power. By 1934, however, the airline had amassed $40,000 in debt. Desperate to
keep the airline viable, Braniff traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before the United States
Senate committee regarding air mail contracts. In the early 1930s Alabama Senator Hugh
Black set up a Senate committee to investigate allegations claiming that only huge airlines
sympathetic to the Hoover administration had been awarded air mail routes. Although
the corruption accusations would later be proved false, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
suspended all private air mail contracts in February 1934, and ordered the Army Air Corps
to provide air mail service. The Army Air Corps had an abysmal record in delivering air
mail, suffering sixty-six air crashes in 1934 that resulted in fifty-four deaths. As a result of
Braniff’s testimony, his airline acquired the right to transport mail on the north-south route.
Moreover, other small independent airlines could compete for air mail contracts. On May
8, 1934, Braniff Airways flew its first mail flight from Chicago to Kansas City.
Braniff continued to expand the airline during the 1930s, acquiring other airlines and newer
airplanes such as the Lockheed Electra 10 that boasted two pilots, two rudders, speeds in
excess of 160 mph, and a smoother more comfortable ride. Braniff Airways also began offering
in-flight meals to its passengers. Moreover, the airline established a route as far south as
Brownsville, Texas, with aspirations to develop routes in South America. Family tension and
jealousy, however, resulted in Braniff being forced to leave the airline by his brother Tom. As
one of the airline’s chief investors, Tom Braniff sought to control the company since it had
become financially lucrative. Tom Braniff later relocated the airline headquarters to Dallas,
purchased newer aircraft such as the DC–3, DC–4, and DC–6, provided female “hostesses,”
and in the 1940s began routes in Mexico and South America, changing its name to Braniff
International Airways (BIA). By 1953 the airline had upgraded its fleet, introducing the
“Super Convair 340.” The new aircraft could reach 300 mph and could carry up to forty-four
passengers.
Following his abrupt departure from the airline, Paul Braniff created Braniff Engineering in
Oklahoma. In 1937 he moved to Washington, D.C. and began to work for the U.S. Department
of Defense as an aerial combat consultant. In 1940 he joined the Army Air Corps and began
training at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. During the war, Braniff was stationed in
England and flew with the Army’s Ninth Troop Carrier Command. After the war, Braniff
would never pilot another aircraft. He continued in the aviation industry, working for the
Douglas Company in Los Angeles, and later as a used aircraft parts salesman in Oklahoma.
Braniff was diagnosed with cancer, and died in 1954. His brother Tom also died that year
in a private plane crash.
Braniff International Airlines continued to be a major power in the airline industry. In 1961
the airline added the Boeing 720 to its fleet. A year later, the company joined Pan American
Airlines to offer direct flights from Dallas to London. By 1963 the airline served forty-six cities
in ten countries, employed over 5,400 people, held assets of $96 million, and was named the
tenth largest airline in the world. In 1966 BIA began both Atlantic and Pacific military charters.
The airline played a significant role during the Vietnam War, flying soldiers to Vietnam and
home again. Those soldiers returning home to the United States via Braniff International
Airways often referred to the planes as “freedom flights.” Airline deregulation during the 1970s
resulted in BIA expanding its domestic routes. It also increased its international routes. By
1979 the airline served eighty-one destinations. Moreover, in conjunction with British Airways
and Air France, BIA had begun the first and only Concorde service from Dallas to London
and Paris. By 1980 the airline was heavily in debt. Although Southwest Airlines President
Howard Putnam was asked to step in and save the airline, his attempts to streamline the
company failed. Braniff International Airlines closed on May 12, 1982.
Clarence E. Page
B
orn in Oklahoma Territory in present-day Oklahoma City, on February 21, 1897,
to parents George and Lucy Page, Clarence E. Page played an instrumental role in
Oklahoma’s aviation development. Page lived at a time when aviation was just getting
underway, and the excitement he experienced as a young boy in 1910 when he witnessed
one of the first airplane flights in Oklahoma continued with him throughout his life.
A graduate of Draughon’s School of Business bookkeeping course, Page began work as a
bookkeeper in 1915. He later moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where large aviation training bases
were under construction. By 1917 pilots were being trained at these airfields on the new JN–4
planes, commonly referred to as “Jennys.” In 1918 Page joined the Army Air Signal Corp as
a flying cadet. Although World War I ended before Page could see action over Europe, he
was commissioned a second lieutenant and became a flight instructor for other cadets. Page
returned to civilian life, but remained in the Army reserve in the 1920s and 1930s.
Following the war, Page moved back to Oklahoma and became a successful businessman
selling safes and used furniture. Aviation remained a central focus for Page, and he continued
to fly as a barnstormer. He returned to Oklahoma City in 1921, and worked diligently with the
Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce as a member of its Aviation Committee to acquire
an airport in the city limits. As a result of Page and other aviation enthusiasts, the Oklahoma
City Municipal Airport opened on 70 acres in southwest Oklahoma City. He would continue
to work to develop other municipal airports in the Oklahoma City area.
Page ceased his business ventures in 1940 to focus on America’s military preparedness as war
raged across Europe. In his efforts to win an army contract to train pilots for the war, Page
became partial owner of Oklahoma Air College. He acquired land west of Yukon (Cimarron
Clarence Page was instrumental in establishing smaller airports throughout central Oklahoma—like
Oklahoma City’s Municipal Airport which now bears his name.
28 Oklahoma Almanac
Field), and southwest of El Reno (Mustang Field), to serve as the air training bases. As a result,
the Oklahoma Air College trained approximately 8,500 pilots for the war effort.
Page remained in the aviation industry following World War II. He served as a war assets
agent, disposing of aviation materials throughout the free world. Moreover, he acquired
space at Will Rogers World Airport, where he created Page Aviation Services. The company
sold aircraft, reconditioned surplus planes, stored aircraft, serviced incoming and outgoing
flights, and provided charter flights. In 1957 he created Page Aircraft Maintenance Company
that sought to obtain military contracts to provide maintenance on military aircraft. By
the time the United States was involved in the Vietnam War, Page’s company employed
approximately 4,700 people and did $50 million worth of business annually. He sold the
company in 1972 to Northrop aircraft for $2.5 million dollars.
Aviation played an integral part of Page’s life, and he wanted to share his love for flying with
other Oklahomans. In 1980 he began the movement to establish the Oklahoma Air Space
Museum in Oklahoma City, serving as its first president and curator. To ensure the museum’s
success, Page spent more than $1 million of his own money on the museum and its exhibits.
He retired from his post at the museum in 1988. Page died on February 13, 1989.
Eula “Pearl” Carter Scott
A
protégé of Wiley Post, Eula “Pearl” Carter Scott became the first Chickasaw pilot and
the youngest individual to fly solo. Born in Marlow, Oklahoma, on December 9, 1915,
to George and Lucinda Carter, Pearl Carter has been described as an adventurous
“tom-boy,” who excelled at school, loved music and dancing, and was taught to respect
others regardless of their race or socioeconomic background. Carter’s father, a successful
and influential white businessman, and her mother, an American Indian with lineage in
both the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes, encouraged their children to pursue their dreams.
Pearl’s dreams involved soaring above the clouds.
Carter learned to drive at age eleven, and her father rewarded her with a car of her own: a
1927 Durant convertible roadster. Also in 1927, a young pilot named Wiley Post flew to Marlow
and landed his plane in a field owned by George Carter. That day, both George and Pearl
made their acquaintance with Post, and he took them up separately in his plane. During his
flight with Pearl, Post offered her an opportunity to take control of the dual-controlled plane.
He gave her a brief flying lesson, and she became enthralled with flying. She bombarded
Post with questions about flying, and he was so impressed with her interest, that he agreed
to give her flying lessons whenever he returned to Marlow.
Amazed at Pearl’s aviation skills, Post helped convince her father that she could become a
successful pilot. Realizing the positive impact aviation would have on his life and business,
George Carter built an airfield and hangar near Marlow. And as a result of her father’s
encouragement and faith in Pearl’s abilities, she became the owner of a new Curtiss Robin
monoplane. At the tender age of twelve, she owned a $4,000 plane. Moreover, her father hired
pilot Slim Marshall to fly him on business trips and to give Pearl flying lessons.
Pearl was a natural in the cockpit, and flying became a constant in her life. While air born,
Marshall would often challenge her to see if he could frighten her, but she had nerves of steel.
Although Post once chastised Pearl for her daredevil antics, she loved performing aerial stunts.
In June 1930 Pearl received her student pilot permit from the United States Department of
Commerce Aeronautics Branch. She ignored the license restrictions that prohibited her from
carrying passengers and flying outside her local air field. Pearl soon became well known
around the southwestern part of Oklahoma as she appeared and performed at air shows
and various other events and dedications.
Pearl’s growing renown and her continued friendship

with Post afforded her the opportunity to meet
several famous aviators, including Harold
Gatty who served as Post’s navigator on
his first record-breaking, around-the-
Photograph courtesy the Chickasaw Press
world flight. One of her biggest thrills,

however, came when she flew with
Post in his plane the Winnie Mae.
Post allowed her to take off and fly
the plane, something he rarely allowed
anyone to do.
Pearl continued to fly throughout her
high school years. The local paper would
often print stories of her aviation activities,
referring to Marlow’s famous daughter as an
“aviatrix.” At the age of sixteen and still in high
school, Pearl eloped with her boyfriend
Pearl Carter Scott, the first Chickasaw pilot and
Lewis Scott on February 5, 1931. A year
the youngest individual to fly solo.
later, she gave birth to her first child.
Although she continued to fly during the early days of her marriage, Pearl decided to give
up flying at the age of eighteen. She never could resist performing stunts when she flew, and
she realized that taking such risks also placed her family’s well-being in jeopardy.
Pearl raised three children, and continued to serve Oklahoma as well as the Chickasaw
Nation. She worked at the Chickasaw Housing Authority in Duncan. Moreover, she was one
of the first Chickasaw Community Health Representatives, and she served three terms as a
Chickasaw legislator. Later in her life, Pearl recalled that Wiley Post and her father once told
her that one day a man would walk on the moon. Although neither Post nor her dad lived
to see that day, she witnessed that fateful day when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
Pearl made her own mark on aviation history, and she served as a role model for other
young girls yearning to fly. Oklahoma honored its native daughter and daring aviatrix. She
was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall
of Fame. Pearl Carter died on March 28, 2005.
Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb
B
orn on March 5, 1931, in Norman, Oklahoma, to William and Helena Cobb, Geraldyn
“Jerrie” Cobb would earn the title of America’s first female astronaut. Cobb became
acquainted with airplanes and flying at an early age. Her father, a colonel in the U.S.
Air Force, purchased a 1936 Waco plane, and by the age of twelve she convinced her father to
give her flying lessons. Flying became her obsession, as she logged in long hours of lessons.
On her seventeenth birthday, her hard work paid off. She received her pilot’s license.
After high school, Cobb purchased her own plane, a Fairchild PT–23. Over the next few years,
she worked as a flight instructor, pipeline inspector, crop duster, and a private-for-hire pilot.
By her eighteenth birthday, she had received her commercial pilot’s license, as well as her
“flight instructor’s rating.” Cobb sought adventure and always sought to challenge her flying
skills. She entered several air races including the Transcontinental Air Race from California
to New York, where she placed fourth in the competition. Although it was difficult for women
pilots to find work flying following World War II, Cobb’s flying experience landed her a job
flying surplus military planes to South America for Fleetway, an aircraft ferrying company.
In 1956 Cobb took a job as a test pilot in Burbank, California. That year, the editor of the Daily
30 Oklahoma Almanac
Photograph courtesy the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Jerrie Cobb in the Mercury Astronaut Trainer.
Oklahoman and Times asked her to attempt to break altitude and long distance records in an
Aero Commander plane manufactured by Aero Design and Engineering Company located
in Oklahoma. On May 25, 1957, Cobb flew 1,504 miles from Guatemala City to Oklahoma
City, setting a new world record for distance. Later that year, she set an altitude record of
30,361 feet, and broke that record flying to the height of 30,500 feet on July 5, 1957. She later
described her high altitude flights as a “god-like” spiritual awakening. Cobb soon set her
sights on other aviation records. Accepting a sales and promotion management position
with Aero Design, she moved back to Oklahoma City in March 1959. As part of her job, she
attended the First World Congress of Flight conference in Las Vegas, where she set the world
air speed record for a closed course averaging 226 mph. Cobb’s growing notoriety as a record-
breaking aviator would afford her the opportunity to try out for America’s space program.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Project Mercury members Randolph
Lovelace II and Brigadier General Donald Flickinger invited Cobb to take part in a privately
funded research program to test the physical and psychological fitness of women in space.
Cobb anxiously agreed, becoming the first woman to undergo these tests. The effects of
space flight on humans was still unknown at the time, and the doctors at the Lovelace facility
put Cobb through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests including X-rays, a four
hour eye exam, swallowing a rubber hose, tilt table circulation exams, and induced vertigo.
Cobb’s test results proved to be as good as, or even better, than some of the male Mercury
astronaut applicants. Moreover, she agreed to travel to Oklahoma City to undergo further
testing. Doctors placed her in a water-filled tank inside a dark room, where she emerged
after nine hours and forty minutes. She passed the isolation test having displayed no adverse
reactions. As a result of her test performance, Lovelace named Cobb as America’s first female
astronaut candidate. Lovelace asked her to identify other women for the program. Twelve
other women passed the tests, and they became known as the “Mercury 13.” Although Cobb
had proven herself capable of space exploration, and NASA initially promised her an early
space flight, the space agency grounded her and the other twelve female astronaut candidates.
Cobb and the other women did not have military jet pilot experience, a NASA requirement
for all its astronauts. Cobb appealed to President John F. Kennedy as well as Vice-President
Lyndon B. Johnson to intervene on Mercury 13’s behalf. In July 1962 she testified before a
special subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Astronauts regarding the
discriminatory policies that kept the Mercury 13 from space flight. Cobb was especially
disheartened when Astronaut John Glenn testified before the subcommittee that women
could not qualify for space flight. The subcommittee concluded its hearings without taking
any action. Although Cobb was listed among 200 astronaut applicants in 1963, NASA did
not choose any females for its astronaut corps.
After NASA closed its ranks to females in 1963, Cobb resigned from the agency and returned
to South America as a missionary pilot. She, with the financial support of the Jerrie Cobb
Foundation, supported the work of doctors, anthropologists, and religious missionaries
who made it their goal in life to help the Aborigines. As a result of her efforts among these
people groups, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in
Amazonia. Cobb would continue her missionary flights into the twenty-first century.
NASA did open its astronaut corps to women for the 1978 Space Shuttle class. In 1983 Sally
Ride became the first female astronaut to fly in space on the STS–7. During the 1990s NASA
announced it would study the effects of space flight on the elderly. On October 29, 1998, at
the age of seventy-seven, John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space flying on
Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS–95. Media from across the nation advocated that Cobb be
chosen for this mission. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote “Cobb certainly seemed to measure
up to the likes of John Glenn and Scott Carpenter for a place among America’s pioneering
astronauts. She had the right stuff. But she was the wrong sex. If Glenn can make a second
trip, Cobb should finally be allowed to make her first.” Once again, Cobb hoped to fulfill her
dream of space flight. The opportunity never came to fruition.
Cobb has received numerous flying awards including the Amelia Earhart Gold Medal of
Achievement; Woman of the Year in Aviation; and the Harmon International Trophy for the
World’s Best Woman Pilot. In 2000 she was inducted into the Women in Aviation International
Pioneer Hall of Fame. Perhaps her most notable achievement is that she helped break the
“glass ceiling” that kept women from becoming astronauts. Today, young girls around the
world can thank Cobb for her efforts to promote female aviators and astronauts.
Sources
Faulk, Odie B. Jennys to Jets: The Life of Clarence E. Page. Oklahoma City, OK, Oklahoma Heritage
Association, 1983.
Fugate, Tally D. “Any Woman That Could Ride a Horse Could Fly: Dorothy K. Pressler Morgan, 1930
Oklahoma Aviatrix.” The Chronicles of Oklahoma 84 (Spring 2006).
Lambert, Paul F. Never Give Up! The Life of Pearl Carter Scott. Ada, OK, The Chickasaw Press, 2007.
Mohler, Stanley R. and Bobby H. Johnson. Wiley Post, His Winne Mae, and the World’s First Pressure
Suit. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971.
Michalke, Debbie, “The Rare Woman, Indeed: Jerrie Cobb, An Aviation Pioneer,” The Chronicles of
Oklahoma 73 (Winter 1995–96).
McCune, Louisa, “Flight This Time.” Oklahoma Today 48 no. 5 (1998).
Sterling, Bryan B. and Frances N. Sterling. Forgotten Eagle: Wiley Post, America’s Heroic Aviation
Pioneer. New York, NY, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2001.
“The History of Braniff Airlines” www.braniffpages.com.
32
Astronauts
Since humans first gazed up into the night sky, we have stood in wonder and amazement
of the universe. Oklahomans have made a tremendous impact on space exploration and
our quest for a greater understanding of the cosmos. Beginning with the early days of the
Mercury program and continuing through the Space Shuttle program to present-day Mars
initiative, Oklahomans such as these featured here have dedicated their lives and talents to
pursue scientific knowledge and space discoveries.
Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr.
B
orn on March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Cooper attended Shawnee High School
where sports were an integral part of his life, playing both football and track. Following
high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, was commissioned in
the United States Army, and later transferred his commission to the United States Air Force
in 1949. During his military career, Colonel Cooper underwent flight training, logging over
7,000 hours flying time—4,000 hours in jet aircraft. Moreover, he received a bachelor’s degree
in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956. In 1959 the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Cooper to serve as one of
the seven Mercury astronauts.
In May 1963, he served as pilot of “Faith 7”on its 22–orbit mission. During the thirty-
four hours and twenty minutes of flight, Faith 7 attained an apogee of 166 statute miles,
a speed of 17,546 mph, and
traveled 546,167 statute miles.
In 1965 Cooper also served as
command pilot of the Gemini
5 mission that concluded after
eight days and 120 revolutions
in space. The Gemini 5 flew an
amazing 3,312,993 miles in 190
hours and fifty-six minutes. This
was Cooper’s second orbital
flight, whereby he claimed for
the United States the lead in
manned space hours. Cooper
would later serve as backup
command pilot for Gemini 12
and as backup commander
for Apollo X. During his NASA
career he logged 222 hours in
space.
Cooper retired from the U.S.
Air Force and NASA in 1970.
After his retirement he served
on several corporate boards and
as a technical consultant. He
died on October 4, 2004, at the
age of seventy-seven.
Gemini pilot Gordon Cooper
Owen Kay Garriott PhD
B
orn on November 22, 1930, in Enid, Oklahoma, Garriott graduated from Enid High
School in 1948. He received a bachelor’s degree in electoral engineering from the
University Oklahoma in 1953. He also obtained a master’s and doctoral degree from
Stanford University in electrical engineering.
From 1953 to 1956 Garriott served as an
electronics officer in the United States
Navy. He served as an associate
professor of electrical engineering
at Stanford University from 1961
through 1965.
In 1965 Garriott had the
distinction of being one
of six scientists selected
to become astronauts by
NASA. In 1973 Garriott
flew in space for the first
time on Skylab 3. The sixty
day mission more than
doubled the previous world
record for space duration.
While on board Skylab 3,
Garriott participated in various
scientific experiments including
studies of the sun, earth resources, and
human adaptation to weightlessness. In
1983 he made his second spaceflight
Owen Garriott was aboard Skylab 3 for 59 days.
on Spacelab–1. During the ten day
mission, over seventy experiments were conducted among six different disciplines. Using
Photographs courtesy the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), except where noted otherwise
the call sign W5LFL, Garriott operated the first amateur radio station from space. Astronauts
aboard the Space Shuttle, MIR, and the International Space Station have also operated
similar radio broadcasts.
During his tenure at NASA, Garriott held the posts of deputy, acting director, and director of
science applications at Johnson Space Center (JSC). As director, he was responsible for all
research in the physical sciences at JSC. From 1984 to 1986, he served as project scientist in
the Space Station Project Office, where he focused on the scientific suitability of the Space
Station design. Garriott left NASA in June 1986, serving as a consultant for various aerospace
companies and committees. He continues to pursue various earth-related scientific research
opportunities.
Fred Wallace Haise Jr.
A
lthough not a native Oklahoman, Haise has ties to the Sooner State, having attended
and received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of
Oklahoma in 1959. Born on November 14, 1933, Haise served with the U.S. Air Force
as a tactical fighter pilot as well as a fighter interceptor pilot with the 185th Fighter Interceptor
Squadron in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He also served as a tactics and all weather
flight instructor for the U.S. Navy, and as a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot. Following his college
graduation, he served as a NASA research pilot until 1963. Over the course of his military career,
34 Oklahoma Almanac
Haise logged more than

9,300 hours flying time,
including 6,200 hours in
jets.
In April 1966 he was one of
nineteen new astronauts
selected by NASA. During
his career at NASA, Haise
served as backup lunar
module pilot for the
Apollo 8 and 11 missions,
and backup spacecraft
commander for the Apollo
16 mission. He is most
famous for his flight on the
failed Apollo 13 mission,
Mission Control with astronaut Fred Haise on screen.
where he served as lunar
module pilot. In addition,
Haise has worked on NASA’s Space Shuttle program, serving as technical assistant as well
as commander of the Space Shuttle approach and landing test flights. He resigned from
NASA in June 1977, but continued in the aerospace industry working in the private sector.
John Bennett Herrington
B
orn on September 14, 1958, in Wetumka, Oklahoma, Herrington is an enrolled member
of the Chickasaw Nation. Moreover, he is the first Native American to fly in space and
perform a spacewalk. He received a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from
the University of Colorado in 1983, and was commissioned as an aviation officer in the United
States Navy in 1984. During his tenure in the U.S. Navy, Herrington flew over thirty various
types of aircraft and had logged over 3,800 flight hours. In 1995 he received his master’s
degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. In April 1996,
NASA selected Herrington for its astronaut corps. He completed two
years training and evaluation at the Johnson Space Center,
and qualified for flight assignment as a mission
specialist. He served as a member of the Astronaut
Support Personnel team at the Astronaut Office
Flight Support Branch. There he assisted in
Space Shuttle launch preparations and post-
landing operations. Herrington served as a
mission specialist on STS–113, the Space
Shuttle Endeavour. Wanting to pay homage
to his Native American roots, he took the
Chickasaw Nation flag on board Endeavour.
During the 13–day mission, Herrington flew
over 330 hours in space and performed three
spacewalks totaling nineteen hours and fifty-five
minutes. He retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy
in July 2005. Herrington continues to pursue
space exploration in the private sector. John Herrington
Shannon Wells Lucid PhD
A
lthough she was born in Shanghai, China, Lucid names
Bethany, Oklahoma, as her hometown. She graduated
from Bethany High School in 1960, and later attended the

University of Oklahoma where she received a bachelor’s degree
in chemistry in 1963. She also received a master’s degree and
doctoral degree in biochemistry in 1970 and 1973 respectively
from O.U. Lucid worked at a variety of teaching positions from
1963 to 1974, when NASA selected her for the astronaut candidate
training program. She became an astronaut in August 1979, one
of six women selected to become astronauts.
Over the course of her career at NASA, Lucid flew on the Space
Shuttle five times. She logged more than 223 days in space from
August 1991 to June 2007. Her first four flights in space occurred
Shannon Lucid on shuttles STS–51G Discovery in 1985, STS–34 Atlantis in 1989,
STS–43 Atlantis in 1991, and STS–58 Columbia in 1993. Lucid is best known for her fifth
spaceflight, when she spent 188 days in space, from March 22 to September 26, 1996. Her
spaceflight began on the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS–76) that travelled to the Russian space
station Mir. On Mir, she was a board engineer 2, and conducted numerous experiments
for 179 days. Her return was twice delayed, resulting in an additional two weeks stay upon
Mir. She returned via STS–79. However, her stay on Mir resulted in the record for the most
hours in orbit by a non-Russian and most hours in orbit by a woman for that time in history.
During the course of the mission, she traveled 75.2 million miles. Lucid was awarded the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor in December 1996, the tenth person and first woman
to be given that honor. In 1993 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame.
Lucid announced her retirement from NASA in 2012.
William Reid Pogue
B
orn on January 23, 1930, in Okemah,
Oklahoma, Pogue received a bachelor’s
degree in education from Oklahoma
Baptist University in 1951, and a master’s degree
in mathematics from Oklahoma State University
in 1960. In 1951 he enlisted in the United States
Air Force, and received his commission in 1952.
Assigned to a fighter bomber squadron, Pogue
served his country during the Korean War. From
1955 to 1957, he served as a member of the USAF
Thunderbirds. Pogue gained experience flying
more than fifty different kinds of American and
British aircraft. As a pilot and flight instructor,
Pogue logged more than 7,200 hours in flight. In
April 1966, he became one of nineteen individuals
selected as astronauts by NASA. As an astronaut,
Pogue served on the support crews of Apollo 7,
Apollo 11, and Apollo 14. Pogue broke the record
Skylab 4 mission pilot
for manned space travel when he served as a pilot William Pogue [top] “weight lifted”
aboard Skylab 4. The mission began on November by Commander Gerald Carr.
36 Oklahoma Almanac
16, 1973, and concluded on February 8, 1974, marking a little more than eighty-four days in
space, and travelling approximately 34.5 million miles and completing 1,214 revolutions of
the earth. During the mission, Pogue participated in fifty-six successful scientific experiments,
twenty-six science demonstrations, along with additional research whereby the crew obtained
crucial earth resources data. Pogue retired from both NASA and the U.S. Air Force. He is the
author of two space books: How Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space? Published in 1991,
and Space Trivia published in 2003.
Thomas Patten Stafford
B
orn on September 17, 1930, in Weatherford, Oklahoma, Stafford grew up with a
fascination of airplanes and flying. He attended the United States Naval Academy,
where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952, and was subsequently
commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He earned his pilot wings in 1953
at Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas. As a pilot, Stafford served with the 54th Flight
Interceptor Squadron; the 496th Fighter Interceptor Squadron; and flew with the flying
F–86Ds. He also served as a flight and test training instructor during his military career.
NASA selected Stafford as part of its second group of astronauts in September 1962. In
December 1965, he piloted Gemini VI during the first rendezvous in space, and helped
develop techniques to prove the basic theory and practicality of a space rendezvous. He
served as commander of Gemini IX in 1966 and Apollo 10 in 1969. During the Apollo 10
reentry the spacecraft attained 24,791 statute miles per hour, at that time, the highest speed
ever attained by man. Stafford became deputy director of flight crew operations at NASA’s
manned Space Flight Center in 1971. His most famous space flight occurred in July 1975,
when he served as commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission. During this historic
flight, American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts met for the first time in space. As a result,
Stafford received the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings.
In 1975 Stafford became commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center in 1975, and achieved
the rank of major general that same year. In 1978
he was promoted to Lieutenant General and
assumed the duties of Deputy Chief of Staff,
Research, Development and Acquisition,
HQ USAF in Washington, D.C. During
this time, he was responsible for the
eventual development of the B–2
Stealth Bomber. In 1990 Stafford
once again answered his nation’s
call and chaired a team to put forth
recommendations to advise NASA
on returning to the moon to stay,
and then journeying on to Mars.
The group issued a report entitled
America at the Threshold, which
served as a thirty year road map for
America’s manned space exploration.
Stafford continued to serve on the board
of directors for various corporations as
well as an advisor to the U.S. government
and NASA.
Gemini VI in orbit 160 miles above Earth
—photograph taken from Gemini VII.
Astronaut Stuart Roosa, backup crew command module pilot of the Apollo 17 lunar
landing mission, participates in extravehicular activity simulation training under zero-
gravity conditions aboard a U. S. Air Force KC–135 aircraft.
Stuart Allen Roosa
B
orn in Durango, Colorado, on August 16, 1933, Roosa grew up in Claremore,
Oklahoma, where he graduated from Claremore High School. He attended Oklahoma
State University and the University of Arizona. He received a bachelor’s degree in
aeronautical engineering from the University of Colorado. He joined the United States Air
Force in 1953, serving as both a flight test pilot and experimental test pilot from 1962 to 1966.
During the course of his military career, Roosa logged more than 5,500 flight hours with
5,000 of those hours in a jet aircraft. In 1966 Roosa was selected as one of NASA’s second
group of astronauts. At NASA he served as support crew for Apollo 9, and later completed
his first space flight as command module pilot on Apollo 14 in 1971. During the Apollo 14
flight, Roosa logged almost 217 hours in space. Later he served as backup command pilot
for Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, and was assigned to the Space Shuttle program. Roosa retired
from NASA in 1976 and went into private business. He died on December 12, 1994.
Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration—www.nasa.gov

38
Did You Know?

■■ Oklahoma has more than 4,900 non- ■■ The average salary in Oklahoma’s
commercial or non-military aircraft aerospace industry is $60,000; the
that are actively flying in the state. salary for the average Oklahoma
Most of these aircraft seat two to four worker is $37,000.
passengers.
■■ Oklahoma is one of seven centers in
■■ Oklahoma has more than 7,900 the world for airplane Maintenance,
pilots—including approximately 1,200 Repair, and Overhaul (MRO). The
student pilots—who are certified by American Airlines Maintenance and
the Federal Aviation Administration. Engineering Center in Tulsa is the
largest commercial MRO facility in the
■■ Oklahoma has an abundance of non- world, employing 7,000 people.
commercial or non-military aviation
airports, with access to destinations ■■ The Oklahoma City Air Logistics
throughout the state, nation, and Center, at Tinker Air Force Base, is
world. the largest military aircraft repair
facility in the world and the U.S.
■■ With 110 airports owned by cities Department of Defense’s largest depot.
or towns, Oklahoma is ranked 4th
per capita in the nation for publicly- ■■ Tinker’s Air Logistics Center is the
owned airports. largest single-site employer in
Oklahoma, with approximately 28,000
■■ In Oklahoma, approximately 97 jobs and an economic impact of
percent of the population is within more than $3 billion annually.
25 miles of the state’s 49 regional
business airports. Most of these ■■ Tulsa is ranked 8th in the nation
airports (all but six) have runways that for the size of its aerospace engines
are long enough for jet airplanes (at manufacturing cluster and 20th for its
least 5,000 feet long). defense related cluster.
■■ Oklahoma has international airports ■■ The Federal Aviation Administration’s

in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Both Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
airports are designated Foreign Trade in Oklahoma City serves as the central
Zones, serve major airlines, and nerve center for the nation’s air
provide access to all domestic and transportation system, employing
international destinations. nearly 7,200 Oklahomans.
■■ Approximately 1 out of every ■■ Oklahoma has a dedicated hangar,

11 Oklahomans has a job in the as well as runways, and military
aerospace industry—nearly 144,000 airspace available, for Unmanned
direct, indirect, and induced jobs. Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly
referred to as “drones.”
Courtesy of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
39
Oklahoma’s Air
Force Bases
Months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, America under
the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been preparing for the possibility of
war. Across the country factories retooled to manufacture war machinery including ships,
planes, tanks, and munitions. Many of these war materials had been shipped to England as
part of the Lend-Lease program. In addition, Lieutenant Colonel Billy Mitchell, a veteran
of World War I, realized the importance of planes in war time, and he advocated that the
United States must strengthen its air power capability. Oklahoma played an integral role in
supporting America’s military capability during World War II, especially its air force. It was
during this time that three major military air fields would be established in Oklahoma, and
they remain operational today. Known today as Altus Air Force Base, Tinker Air Force Base,
and Vance Air Force Base, these facilities continue to make valuable contributions to our
nation’s security as well as make a significant impact on the state’s economy.
Altus Air Force Base
T
he topography and good climate around the Altus area made for the perfect place
for the Army Air Corps to train pilots. Construction began in May 1942, and Altus
Army Air Field became operational in January 1943. Initially, the base provided
pilot training on multi-engine aircraft that included the Cessna AT–17 Bobcat, the Curtiss
Photographs courtesy the United States Air Force, except where noted otherwise
Altus Air Force Base—KC–135 Stratotanker refuels a B–2 Stealth Bomber during
a refueling training mission.
40 Oklahoma Almanac
AT–9 Jeep, and the C–45 Expediter. Once trained, the pilots transferred to units that trained
with the actual combat aircraft used during World War II. Following the war, the air corps
deactivated the air field in 1945, but it became operational once again as America became
involved in the Korean War.
Once again, America needed trained pilots and individuals who could service the latest
military aircraft. On August 1, 1953, Altus Air Field became Altus Air Force Base (AAFB) with
the mission to train military personnel for transport aircraft. The 63rd Troop Carrier Wing
was located at Altus, which utilized the C–47 Skytrain and the TB–25 aircraft. In November
1953 the Strategic Air Command wing known as the 96th Bombardment Wing arrived at
the Altus base with three squadrons of bombers and one air refueling squadron. These
squadrons utilized the B–47 Stratojet and the KC–97 Stratofreighter that served as both a
cargo and refueling plane. Later in the 1950s the base replaced these aircraft with the KC–135
Stratotanker and the B–52 Stratofortress. The 96th Bombardment Wing relocated as well, and
the 11th Bombardment Wing took its place at Altus.
During the early 1960s AAFB became home to the 12 Atlas “F” intercontinental ballistic
missile sites, but the missiles were phased out by 1965. However, the base would be utilized
in other ways during the remainder of the twentieth century. By the late 1960s, the Military
Airlift command took over base operations and activated the 443rd Military Airlift Wing.
Aircraft operational at the base now included the C–141 Starlifter and the C–5 Galaxy, the
military’s newest and largest transport plane. The base would also include the C–141 and
the C–5 in the 1970s. The 11th Bombardment Wing relocated to Georgia in 1984, and was
replaced by the 340th Air Refueling Wing. Thus, the most common airplane seen over the
Altus sky during the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s were the KC–135, C–5, and C–141.
These were commonly referred to as the sparrows, hawks, and meadowlarks.
Changes continued to take place at AAFB in the twenty-first century as the 97th Air Mobility
Wing replaced the 340th Air Refueling Wing. The base continues its original mission to provide
a quality location to train military personnel regarding the flight and maintenance of multi-
engine aircraft. The 97th Air Mobility Wing has actively participated in the following military
operations: Northern Watch, Desert Storm, Desert Fox, Allied Force, Joint Guard, Enduring
Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom.
According to the Oklahoma Economic Impact Analysis, the economic impact of AAFB on
the local area for fiscal year 2012 was approximately $350 million. The base is the largest
employer in Jackson County with 2,032 civilian employees and 1, 857 military personnel.
Moreover the base created an estimated 940 indirect jobs for the surrounding community.
Tinker Air Force Base
I
n 1940 the Oklahoma Industries Foundation, consisting primarily of Oklahoma City
businessmen such as Edward K. Gaylord, Tom Braniff, and Stanley Draper, worked
diligently to convince the United States War Department to establish some type of
military aircraft facility in the Oklahoma City area. Their hard work paid off as the government
announced in July 1941 plans for the construction of an air material depot that would envelop
more than 1,500 acres. The depot would be located approximately nine miles southeast of
downtown Oklahoma City. Soon thereafter, the Army Air Force announced it would also
build a Douglas Aircraft Assembly Plant next to the depot. On October 14, 1942, the military
installation was named Tinker Field, after Major General Clarence Tinker, an Oklahoma native
who had been killed in combat by the Japanese. During the war, Tinker Field serviced the
B–17, B–24, and B–29 bombers along with the C–47 and C–54 cargo planes. Next door at the
Douglas plant, some 24,000 workers manufactured C–47 Skytrain aircraft, C–54 Skymaster
cargo planes, and A–26 Invader attack bombers.
Tinker Air Force Base—aircraft flying over Oklahoma City, circa 1940s
Following the war, Tinker Field was made a permanent air base in 1945. Approximately 150,000
people attended the dedication ceremony. Tinker acquired the Douglas plant and was renamed
the Oklahoma City Air Material Area or OCAMA. It continued to service aircraft, and overhaul
engines including jet engines and parts. The most famous aircraft to receive upgrades at Tinker
was the famed Enola Gay. The base also made a significant contribution to the Berlin airlift in
1948. That same year, the facility was renamed Tinker Air Force Base.
Tinker AFB remained busy during the 1950s and 1960s as America attempted to contain communist
aggression in other parts of the world. During the Korean War the base provided modifications
to the B–29, B–50, and B–36 aircraft. As advance weaponry was introduced to America’s military
arsenal, Tinker began management of the B–47, B–52, and KC–135 planes. With the increase in
responsibility, the base also expanded in area by extending the north and south runways, adding
a hospital, chapel, dormitories, and modern military family housing. Tinker was truly becoming
one of the major conduits in America’s military preparedness. This could be seen by the base’s
support during the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis as well as its increased production during the 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Vietnam War, Tinker provided logistics and communications
support to air force units in Southeast Asia. In 1968 Tinker’s civilian employment numbered
24,778 with 4,404 military personnel.
During the next three decades, Tinker continued to play an integral part in America’s military
strength and preparedness. Aircraft serviced at the base included the F–4 and F–105 fighter jets.
Moreover, it took responsibility of the E–3 Sentry, and the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control
Wing (AWAC) co-located its operational and repair base at Tinker. The OCAMA became the
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center in 1974. In the 1980s the base welcomed the B–1 Lancers and
B–2 Spirit bombers. Moreover, the based continued to add new jet engines to its list of maintenance
and overhaul duties. Tinker also took an active role in Operation Desert Shield, deploying cargo
and troops to the Middle East. The Naval Strategic Communications Wing ONE also relocated
42 Oklahoma Almanac
Photograph courtesy of the United States Air Force
to Tinker in 1992. Most importantly, in June 1995, the base survived the Base Realignment and
Closure Commission’s task to streamline America’s military.
Today, with more than 28,000 military and civilian employees, Tinker is the largest single-site
employer in Oklahoma. The installation has an annual statewide economic impact of $3.51 billion,
creating an estimated 33,000 secondary jobs. Tinker owns 4,048 acres, leases 810 acres and has
642 acres of easements. The total number of buildings, including Bldg. 9001, is 458.
Vance Air Force Base
L
ocated in Enid, Vance Air Force Base (VAFB) can be traced back to 1941 when the
town’s citizens passed a bond issue to provide funding to create a military air field
and school. In September 1941 the Army Air Corps Basic Flying School was activated in
Enid. In February 1942 the base was named Enid Army Flying School, and was changed again to
Enid Army Air Field in 1943. The school provided much need training to young airmen. Over the
course of the war, until the base’s deactivation in 1947, 9,895 pilots had learned to fly.
Soviet aggression following World War II, and in particular, the erection of the Berlin Wall convinced
the U.S. Air Force that America’s air power needed to be strengthened. Among those airfields
revived within the U.S. during the late 1940s was Enid Army Air Field. The field reactivated on
August 1, 1948. The Enid facility was named the home of the 71st Flying Training Wing. A year later,
the field’s name changed to Vance Air Force Base (VAFB), after Enid native and Congressional
Medal of Honor recipient Leon R. Vance.
Vance Air Force Base—T–6A

Texan training aircraft, part of
71st Flying Training Wing.
During the 1950s, VAFB continued training pilots, but also implemented a school to train flight
instructors. To obtain these objectives the base utilized several aircraft including the AT–6 Texan
single engine, TB–25 multi-engine, and the T–28 Trojan and the T–33A jets. In addition, Vance
began training foreign pilots from allied countries. In 1957 the base eliminated the use of single
and multi-engine planes. Over the years, Vance has continued to rotate its training aircraft with the
development and manufacture of more advanced airplanes. Vance has evolved in other ways as
well. Beginning in 1960 the pilot training program implemented a one year course. In 1978 women
pilots began training at Vance, and a two-day NASA astronaut training program began in 1982.
Currently, the mission of the 71st Flying Training Wing is to develop professional airmen, deliver
world-class pilots, and deploy combat ready warriors. Vance is responsible for training air force
and allied student pilots for worldwide deployment as well as Aerospace Expeditionary Force
support. The wing flew 50,865 sorties totaling 73,740 flying hours in the T–1A Jayhawk, T–6A Texan
II and T–38C Talon and graduated 335 pilots in fiscal year 2012. Moreover, Vance has 1,293 active
duty and reserve military. The base also employs more than 1,310 federal civilian employees, other
civilian employees, contractors, and private business employees. The overall economic impact
on Enid and the surrounding area is approximately $220 million.
Sources: Altus Air Force Base Public Relations Office, Tinker Air Force Base Public Relations Office,
and Vance Air Force Base Public Relations Office.
44
Sooner State
Gazette
The third edition of the Gazette highlights some of the news that held our attention the past
two years, including a topic related to this edition’s theme section.
The Economics and Politics of

the Next Big Thing
A
viation has been good to Oklahoma. Our three air force bases remain economic engines.
More than three million people fly in and out of our major airports in Oklahoma City
and Tulsa. Thousands are employed by American Airlines in Tulsa, and people from
all over the country come to the FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City
and the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Tulsa for training and education.
But what’s the next “big thing” in Oklahoma aviation and aerospace? That spaceport in Burns
Flat? Probably not, at least for a while. According to a 2011 report by State Impact Oklahoma,
thirteen years after the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) was
created, “the agency barely clings to life.”
Space may not be Oklahoma’s next frontier, but UAVs may be. UAVs are Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles, or “drones” as they are popularly called. In 2011 Governor Fallin established the
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Council to produce a roadmap to help make Oklahoma a
leader in UAS research, development and testing.
A January, 2013, press release issued by the governor and the Association for Unmanned
Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) predicts the UAS industry could provide up to 600
Oklahoma jobs from 2015 to 2017, with hundreds or thousands more by 2025.
AUVSI predicts more than 100,000 new American jobs will be created in this field by 2025,
and Oklahoma stands to get a decent chunk since two of the state’s largest industries—
agriculture and oil and gas—are expected to be among the biggest users of UAVs and UAS
technology. (Another Oklahoma interest—weather monitoring—could also benefit from
UAVs.) Make the state a leader in UAS research and development and Oklahoma could
snare an even bigger chunk.
Selection of Oklahoma as an official UAV test site, for example, would be a real coup. The
AUVSI press release says the location of these FAA-selected test sites “will ultimately determine
where many of these new jobs flow from 2017 to 2025.”
The AUVSI release also notes Oklahoma is already a leader in UAS advancement, since the
Department of Homeland Security selected Fort Sill in 2012 to test small UAVs for public
safety purposes, such as search and rescue and disaster response. Dr. Stephen McKeever,
state secretary of science and technology, has said there are already more than a dozen
companies in the state serving the UAV industry.
Drone technology, it would appear, is already having an economic impact on the state. But
drones come with baggage from their use in war situations; and the increasing trend of local
law enforcement agencies to pursue drones for domestic surveillance has alerted the public
to the privacy issues that UAVs can present. In addition, the idea that the average citizen could
Photograph courtesy of the United States Air Force/Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or drone, the MQ–9 Reaper, flies a combat mission over southern Afghanistan.
purchase eavesdropping UAVs for their own use only fans the flames of concern. Publications
from the national Time magazine to the local Oklahoma Observer have covered the issue.
These privacy concerns make for some strange political bedfellows, as conservative politicians
join with liberal civil libertarians to protect the public. The February 2013 Observer reported
that Moore Republican Paul Westlehoff was meeting with the Oklahoma ACLU’s Ryan
Kiesel to work on legislation “aimed at protecting individual privacy by setting rules for use
of drones in Oklahoma.” But the resulting House Bill 1556, which would have required law
enforcement to obtain a warrant before using a drone for surveillance, didn’t make it out
of the 2013 legislature.
As UAS technology is integrated into American airspace over the coming years, expect this
dance between the economic potential and the concern for privacy to continue. It’s something
we may be talking about for some time to come.
Indian Incorporated
I
nquiring minds finally received an answer to a common Oklahoma question: “What
is the economic impact of the tribes on the state’s economy?” An analysis released in
October 2012 by Oklahoma City University’s Steven C. Agee Economic Research and
Policy Institute estimates that in 2010 the state’s 39 sovereign nations conducted activities
that supported more than 81,000 full-time jobs in the state, $1.5 billion in state payroll, and
$10.8 billion in the production of goods and services (7% of the state’s total production). The
report was funded by seven tribes and supported by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
Gaming may have been the enterprise that brought revenue to the nations, but tribes are
increasingly investing in other businesses, from defense contracting and construction
to information technology and aviation. Television advertisements—particularly by the
Chickasaw, Cherokee and Choctaw tribes—tout the economic impact of the tribes and their
contributions to health, education, and social services. The OCU report says “…tribes made
direct payments of $792 million to Oklahoma entities in pursuit of medical care access,
educational advancement, social services and economic development opportunities for
tribal citizens.”
46 Oklahoma Almanac
Boom Times
L
ess than a decade ago, many energy experts were declaring that we were quickly
approaching the end of the age of oil. The end may not be coming as quickly as some
have predicted, because new technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, is allowing
companies to economically recover previously unreachable oil and gas from shale rock
formations. The results have been so promising that the International Energy Agency told
CNNMoney that the U.S. would surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer before
2020, and that the country would be a net exporter of oil by 2030.
Oklahoma energy and energy servicing companies have seen booming growth in recent
years thanks to the new technologies, keeping the Sooner State’s unemployment rate well
below the national average. State Impact Oklahoma reports that one-fourth of the state’s
population is employed in the energy sector. The state has worked to diversify its economy
since the 1980s, but energy is still king, and oil booms come with worries of busts, something
Oklahoma’s energy economy has seen often.
Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, comes with its own worries. Concerned citizens
question its impact on ground water, while geologists debate its relationship to increased
seismic activity (see below). In April 2013, Bloomberg reported that General Electric “will
spend $110 million on a research lab in Oklahoma City to study ways to improve extraction
of hard-to-reach oil and gas deposits, including hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.”
GE will also look into ways to reduce the environmental impact of such activities, including
how to better mange water usage during the process
All Shook Up
“OKLAHOMA CITY—Governor Mary Fallin today declared a State of Emergency for
20 Oklahoma counties due to earthquakes, tornadoes, severe storms, straight line winds
and flooding that began Saturday.”—Press Release from the Office of the Governor,
November 9, 2011
O
klahoma has some of the most erratic weather in the world, so there would be nothing
unusual about the November 2011 press release from Governor Fallin’s office except
for one word: earthquakes. Plural.
Oklahoma is no stranger to seismic activity, but the 4.7 and 5.6 magnitude quakes that hit
Lincoln County on Saturday, November 6—along with other quakes and associated aftershocks
that rumbled east central Oklahoma—was unprecedented. (A 5.5 quake hit El Reno in 1952.)
Reuters reported the quakes were felt across the state and beyond, damaged homes, and
caused a spire to fall from a five-story building at St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee. The
Tulsa World reported it had to close its own Excalibur Building because of quake damage.
The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) told The Oklahoman that the state has averaged
about three reported quakes a year dating back to when records were first kept. The number
of quakes reported began to spike dramatically beginning in late 2009, with more than 100
reported in both 2010 and 2011.
National and local press jumped on the fracking-angle to the story. (See above.) OGS
seismologist Austin Holland told The Oklahoman that hydraulic fracturing can cause small
earthquakes for short periods of time, but it does not explain the increase in Oklahoma in
recent years.
National Geographic News reported on March 13, 2013, that a study published in the scientific
journal Geology said the 5.6 quake “was likely triggered by the injection of wastewater from
Photograph courtesy of The Oklahoman/David McDaniel.
The new Devon Energy Center is a testament to the strength and expansion of Oklahoma’s oil and gas
industry in the new century.
48 Oklahoma Almanac
oil production into wells deep beneath the earth” and that “… the wastewater injection that
follows fracking is much more likely to set the earth shaking.” Others maintain that we simply
don’t know enough to say fracking processes cause earthquakes. Hopefully, that GE Research
Center planned for the state (see above) can throw more light on the issue.
Water Wars
B
y the time readers have this edition of the Oklahoma Almanac in their hands, the
U.S. Supreme Court may have already ruled on an important lawsuit that could
impact the Red River Compact, the agreement among Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas,
and Louisiana that guides each state’s apportionment of the water of the Red River and its
tributaries.
In Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) v. Rudolf John Herrmann (Tulsa’s Herrmann is a
board member for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board), the TRWD claims that Oklahoma
lawmakers passed a series of discriminatory laws that created a water embargo, preventing
Texas from obtaining its share of water under the compact. Oklahoma countered that the
compact does not allow a state to claim water from the borders of another state.
The water Tarrant County, Texas, wants is in Sardis Lake in southeastern Oklahoma, a
reservoir that is also the point of contention in a federal lawsuit filed by the Chickasaw and
Choctaw tribes. In 2010, Oklahoma City purchased 90% of the reservoir’s water storage rights
from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB). The Oklahoma City purchase would
be used to pay the state’s overdue debt to the Army Corps of Engineers. The tribes claim the
city had no right to make the purchase, and the state had no right to sell the water rights.
Amidst the legal wars, the OWRB released its five-years-in-the-making update to the state’s
Comprehensive Water Plan, which estimates a cost of $87 billion for improvements to meet
Oklahoma’s drinking water needs in the next fifty years. The report immediately attracted
proponents and detractors.
The controversy and the court cases are so hot that the state’s business paper, The Journal
Record, has established a Water Wars special feature on its website. In thirsty, drought-prone
Oklahoma, the water wars may just be starting. Photograph courtesy of The Oklahoman/Steve Sisney.
Two federal court cases could impact access to southeastern Oklahoma’s abundant water resources.
Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress.
In 2013, the Woody Guthrie

Center was opened in Tulsa to
remember one of the state’s most
renowned native sons.
Briefly—some other news that kept

Oklahomans talking…
▶ Woody Comes Home Thanks to the George Kaiser Family Foundation and Guthrie’s
family, the archives of the iconic Dust Bowl troubadour are now housed at the Woody Guthrie
Center in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District. The collection includes nearly 3,000 song lyrics, more
than 500 photographs, hundreds of art pieces, as well as journal entries, postcards, and
manuscripts. ▶ Protecting our veterans Stories of abuse in Oklahoma’s veterans
centers led to Senate Bill 235, which places the centers and their long-term care facilities
directly under the supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, instead of
the nine-member War Veterans Commission. ▶ Pre-school star President Obama’s
call for nationwide pre-school programs in his 2013 State of the Nation address shined a
spotlight on Oklahoma, as national media inquired about the state’s success in public pre-
school programs. ▶ No Medicaid expansion A U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave states
the option of declining the expansion of Medicaid, a strategy of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act to expand health care to low income Americans. Oklahoma said no to
the expansion. A 2012 report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
says this will impact health access for 126,000 Oklahomans. ▶ Tornado Alley The last
two weeks of May 2013 will go down in the annals of weather history. Two EF5 tornadoes
struck during this period—one on May 20 in southwest Oklahoma City and Moore, and
one on May 31 near El Reno. USA Today reports the eleven days between the twisters was
the shortest time span between EF5s in state history. At up to 2.6 miles across, the El Reno
twister is the widest tornado ever recorded. More than 40 people were killed over the two
weeks, hundreds were injured, and billions of dollars worth of damage was sustained from
Shawnee to El Reno, Edmond to Norman. Adding insult to injury, the May 20 tornado in the
south Oklahoma City metro followed a similar path of the record breaking EF5 (with winds
surpassing 300 mph) that hit the area in 1999.
50
Welcome to
Oklahoma
People the world over know us as a place where the wind comes sweepin’ down the
plain—but that’s just part of the story. We are a one-of-a-kind state with something for
everyone. We have the most diverse terrain mile-for-mile than any other state, from
gently rolling hills to expansive, fertile plains. Ancient mountains, ever-changing sand
dunes, salt flats, pine forests, cypress swamps, and caves of alabaster all make for a
vacation paradise. And, we claim more man-made lakes than any other state, with
eleven official ecoregions recognized by the EPA.
You can rough it in our great outdoors, or take a drive along the Mother Road of the
nation, historic Route 66. Traversing the Sooner State, the route reveals a wealth of
unique and fascinating destinations.
Once known as Indian Territory, Oklahoma is still home to more American Indian tribes
than any other state. Thirty-nine tribal headquarters and members of at least sixty-seven
tribes make their home here. Indian heritage is woven throughout the modern culture.
Visitors will find American Indian art, historic sites, interactive cultural experiences,
museums, powwows, dances, and festivals.
That American Indian heritage is equaled by our Western heritage. Our cowboy roots were
firmly planted by soldiers who constructed forts and outposts in the territory following
the Civil War. Today, ranches dot the landscape, rodeos take place every month of the
year, and you will find one horse for every twelve
people, more per capita than any other state.
And if all of that were not enough, you can indulge
All photographs in this section courtesy of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department
your cultural side with visits to the ballet or

philharmonic. Today’s Oklahoma provides not only a
diverse landscape and rich cultural heritage, but also
major urban centers complete with entertainment
of all kinds, fine dining, the arts, and world-class
attractions.
To learn more about traveling in Oklahoma, visit
www.TravelOK.com or call toll-free 1–800–652–6552
to speak to a travel counselor.
The Sooner State divides itself into six regional areas,
each with its own unique appeal. An overview of
each travel region is presented on the following
pages.
Will Rogers Statue—Claremore.

Welcome to Oklahoma 51
Frontier
Country
822 N Broadway, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
800–386–6552 • 405–232–6552
info@oktourism.com • www.oktourism.com
Frontier Country, in central Oklahoma, combines big city excitement with small town
appeal. Experience the bustling state capital Oklahoma City, where family entertainment,
shopping, art, sports, culture, and history combine for a total package. If you like a slower
pace, visit some of the vibrant communities throughout Frontier Country where you can
still find downtown main streets, courthouse squares, and mom and pop shops.
Start your tour in Norman, with a visit to The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural
History, located on the University of Oklahoma campus. Step back in time—way back—
to see the Oklahoma “natives” that roamed this state millions of years ago—dinosaurs!
Stop by Campus Corner for shopping, then immerse yourself in culture at more OU
landmarks: the newly-expanded Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and Jacobson House Native
Arts Center, where the modern American Indian art movement began.
On day two, head to Oklahoma City, where you can pick and choose from a wide range
of activities and attractions. Take in the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the Myriad
Botanical Gardens, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Take a walking tour, ride the
trolley, or catch a water taxi for a cruise down the Bricktown Canal.
After those experiences, enjoy a short drive north on I–35 to Edmond, then go east on
famed Route 66 to see Arcadia’s restored 1898 Round Barn. Just a few miles away, drop
by Tres Suenos Winery in Luther for a taste of the grape!
On day three, continue north on I–35
to Guthrie and hop on the trolley
for a tour of the Victorian splendor
contained in the largest contiguous
urban National Register Historic
District in the United States. Grab a
bite at a quaint bistro in downtown,
browse the boutiques and antique
stores, and book a night at one
of Guthrie’s numerous bed and
breakfast inns.
You have barely scratched the surface
of Frontier Country, so plan another
trip with stops in Shawnee, Stillwater,
Seminole, Bethany, El Reno, and
more!
POPS on Route 66—Arcadia
52 Oklahoma Almanac
Great
Plains Country
114 S 9 St., Frederick, OK 73542
866–472–6552 • 580–335–5999
www.greatplainscountry.com • gpc@greatplainscountry.com
Southwest Oklahoma is a prime location for a getaway. This rugged land, where Plains
tribes once roamed and where boomtowns sprang up overnight, welcomes travelers with
awe-inspiring landscapes and down-home good times.
Start your tour at Duncan’s Chisholm Trail Heritage Center to experience the famed trail,
then head to Lawton, home to Fort Sill, the largest army repository of military-related
artifacts in the world. Visit The Old Post Guardhouse, the holding facility for Geronimo,
the famed Apache warrior who is buried at the fort.
Next, head to the Wichita Mountains, site of the nation’s first national wildlife refuge,
where bison, longhorn cattle, elk, and other animals roam freely. While in the area, do
not forget to explore Medicine Park, a 1920s mountain resort community regaining its
heyday appeal.
Enjoy the spectacular prairie landscape as you drive to Quartz Mountain Arts and
Conference Center, north of Altus. Located on sparkling Lake Altus-Lugert, this rustic
resort is surrounded by a variety of recreational activities.
After a restful night, head north to Elk City, where the National Route 66 Museum
encompasses all eight states through which the “Mother Road” travels.
Continue to Cheyenne to visit the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, marking Lt.
Col. George Custer’s 1868 early-morning attack on Chief Black Kettle’s sleeping village
of Southern Cheyenne. After your tour of the site, settle in for the night at a local guest
ranch or bed and breakfast inn.
Head back to I–40 for a short drive to Clinton and visit the Cheyenne Cultural Center
for a look at tribal life on the Oklahoma plains. Continue just a few miles east on
I–40 to Weatherford for a visit to the
General Thomas P. Stafford Space
Museum, which chronicles the career
of Weatherford’s most famous son.
On your next visit to Great Plains
Country, explore the American Indian
culture of Anadarko, hit the links at
Fort Cobb State Park, fish the waters
of Foss Lake, and visit welcoming
communities including Frederick,
Cordell, Hobart, Mangum, and more.
Great Salt Plains State Park—Jet
Green
Country
2805 E Skelly, #805, Tulsa, OK 74105
800–922–2118 • 918–744–0588
jackie@greencountryok.com • www.greencountryok.com
From the tallgrass of Osage County to the pulsing energy of metropolitan Tulsa to the lush,
cool greenery and beauty of the eastern lakes region, you will find fun and memorable
times in northeast Oklahoma.
Start your trip in Jenks, the “Antique Capital of Oklahoma”, for shopping and a stop at the
Oklahoma Aquarium. Then head into Tulsa, where you will find something for everyone.
History buffs and art lovers will revel in visits to Philbrook Museum of Art and the Gilcrease
Museum. At Philbrook, you will find a stunning collection of paintings and sculpture
ranging from Renaissance legends to modern masters. At the Gilcrease, view the world’s
most comprehensive collection of American Indian and Western art.
Take the scenic route from Tulsa south to Stone Bluff Cellars Winery, where you can sample
award-winning wines and add a bottle or two to your own wine cellar. Then continue onto
Muskogee for a night at the Whitlock Wishouse Bed & Breakfast. The eclectic decor and
spectacular cuisine are garnering national attention.
The next day, explore American Indian culture at The Five Civilized Tribes Museum,
which preserves the heritage of the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole
tribes. Then stop by Ataloa Lodge, one of Oklahoma’s premier Native American museums.
Head back to Tulsa for a night at the Hotel Ambassador, where luxury goes hand-in-hand
with sumptuous furnishings and world-class cuisine. The next morning, you will be ready
to head to Bartlesville for more one-of-a-kind sites.
Visit the Woolaroc Ranch, Museum, and Wildlife Preserve, the 1925 country home of
oilman Frank Phillips, then go back into town to tour the Frank Phillips Home, a twenty-
six-room Greek Revival mansion.
Next stop: Frank Lloyd Wright’s only
skyscraper, the Price Tower, home to
the Price Tower Arts Center. Explore
downtown Bartlesville’s antique
shops and boutiques, then call it
a night at the elegant Inn At Price
Tower.
Your tour of Green Country is far
from complete, so plan another visit
to explore welcoming destinations
including Claremore, Grand Lake,
Tahlequah, and more!
Totem Pole Park, along Route 66—Foyil
54 Oklahoma Almanac
Kiamichi
Country
Route 2 Box 74, Hugo, OK 74743
800–722–8180 • 580–326–5598
www.kiamichicountry.com
With seven mountain ranges, ten state parks and twenty-three lakes along with countless
streams and rivers, southeast Oklahoma is an outdoor haven. The region is an angler’s
paradise, offering countless varieties of fish—including two rivers that feature year-round
trout fishing. Add to that all types of water sports, camping, horse trails, hiking, sightseeing,
hang-gliding and the best fall foliage in the Midwest, and you have found a getaway that
beckons again and again.
Start your adventure at Robbers Cave State Park, just a few miles north of Wilburton. The
park, located in the scenic hilly woodlands of the San Bois Mountains, is a favorite of
rappellers, cave explorers, equestrians, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Enjoy a peaceful
night at a historic cabin, then wake up refreshed and head to Heavener Runestone State
Park to view the famed Heavener Runestone, said to evidence some of Oklahoma’s earliest
Viking visitors.
Continue your driving tour by heading to Talihina, the entrance to the Talimena Scenic
Drive. The drive takes you into the magnificent Ouachita National Forest for fifty-four
miles of winding road known for vibrant spring and fall foliage.
Continue south to Beavers Bend Resort Park, and check into a cozy mountain cabin or
lake-view lodge. After a restful night, enjoy the towering timbers, crystal clear waters
and mountainous terrain of Oklahoma’s “Little Smokies” throughout the park. Tee off
for a game of golf, spend some time in the nature center, and stop by the Forest Heritage
Center Museum.
After you leave the park, do not miss the Museum of the Red River in nearby Idabel. The
museum features an outstanding
collection of regional archaeological
materials, Pre-Columbian Middle
and South American artifacts, and
more.
Head west to Millerton, home
of Wheelock Academy, which
served as a Choctaw day school
and is currently being restored by
the Choctaw Nation. Continue on
to Hugo Lake State Park, where
resort cabins provide comfortable
accommodations and spectacular
lake views.
Robbers Cave Lake—Wilburton
Chickasaw
Country
4400 W Highway 7, Sulpher, OK 73086
866–843–6858 • www.arbuckles.com
The heart of south central Oklahoma is alive with excitement and attractions to suit every
taste. With a landscape lush with mountains, valleys, lakes, and streams, Chickasaw
Country is an ideal traveler’s destination.
Start your exploration at the Bedré Chocolate Factory in Pauls Valley. The maker of the
same chocolate bars you will find in the Neiman Marcus catalog, Bedre´ is known for its
yummy chocolate-covered potato chips.
Just a few miles further, stroll through GW Exotic Animal Park, a non-profit sanctuary
housing more than 1,000 exotic animals. Stop by at feeding time, and you will be surrounded
by the thundering roar of lions, tigers, and other big cats as they “place their order” at
mealtime.
For more animal adventure, continue south to Davis, home of Arbuckle Wilderness. This
drive-through animal park contains herds of exotic beasts roaming freely through the
driving area.
Head into Sulphur, where the waters from more than thirty mineral springs in the area
are said to have magical healing powers. The Chickasaw National Recreation Area attracts
visitors from around the world who come to enjoy breathtaking landscapes, outdoor
recreation, great swimming holes, and the new Chickasaw Cultural Center.
Schedule a soothing massage at the nearby Sulphur Springs Inn. Housed in a 1905
bathhouse, the establishment also offers daily yoga, meditation, and nature walks. Spend
the night at the inn to refresh yourself for the rest of
your journey.
From Sulphur, head to Gene Autry, home of the Gene
Autry Oklahoma Museum. The museum houses
an impressive collection of memorabilia, with an
emphasis on the famed Western movie star and
singing legend.
Continue south to Ardmore for some shopping
and dining, then head to Lake Murray Resort Park,
Oklahoma’s first and largest state park. Fishing,
boating, and all water sports are found at Lake Murray,
as are camping, hayrides, horseback riding, hiking,
biking, roller-blading, swimming, miniature golf, and
paddleboats. Do not miss the Tucker Tower Nature
Center, which sits on a point much like a lighthouse.
Relax at the lodge or in a cozy cabin.
Turner Falls—Davis
56 Oklahoma Almanac
Red Carpet
Country
Drawer B, Alva, OK 73717 • 800–447–2698 • 580–327–4918
www.redcarpetcountry.com • redcarpet@nwosu.edu
Travelers embarking on a tour of Oklahoma’s northwest corner will find a land marked
by the footprints of dinosaurs, lined with red canyons, and blanketed in prairie grass and
golden wheat.
Experience the luxury enjoyed by an early twentieth century oil baron at Ponca City’s
spectacular Marland Mansion and Marland’s Grand Home. These houses of Governor
E.W. Marland boast magnificent furnishings and lush surroundings.
Then tour the Poncan Theater, where the ornate interior recalls the luxury of this 1927
top-billing vaudeville house. And you will definitely want to stop for a photo at the Pioneer
Woman Statue, one of America’s most enduring images.
Next, journey west to the Salt Plains Federal Wildlife Refuge, where a vast sea of salt has
become one of Oklahoma’s most photographed locations. The region provides pristine
salt plains, marshes, and a reservoir for more than 300 species of birds. Stay the night at
nearby Great Salt Plains State Park.
Next stop: Oklahoma’s very own sand dunes. Head to Little Sahara State Park for another
unique landscape. Take a dune buggy tour of the towering sands, then enjoy a picnic at
one of the park’s shaded campgrounds.
On the way to Watonga, stop by the sparkling Glass Mountains and capture the glinting
crystals on film—no easy task!
Then continue to Roman Nose State Park just north of Watonga. Set up camp in gypsum-
streaked canyons or spend the night at the lodge or in a cozy cabin.
You have seen just a small
portion of the unique sights
of Red Carpet Country, so plan
another visit to see Alabaster
Caverns, Black Mesa (the
state’s highest point), the
dinosaur tracks in Kenton,
authentic cowboy life in
Guymon and Woodward, and
much more.
Tonkawa tribal viewing court—Ponca City

State Emblems
Amphibian
Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) [HCR1026, 1997]
Animal (Mammal)
American Buffalo (Bison bison) [SCR101, 1972]
Beverage
Milk [SCR2, 1985]
Bird
Animal—Buffalo Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher (Muscivora forficate)
[25§98] [HJR21, 1951]
Butterfly
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
[HB2082, 1996]
Cartoon Character
“Gusty” created by former Tulsa weatherman
Don Woods. [SB 464, 2005]
Children’s Song
Bird—Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher “Oklahoma, My Native Land” [HB3000, 1996]
Colors
Green and White [25§93]
Country and Western Song

“Faded Love” [Laws 1988, p.1902] [SCR65, 1988]
Day
Oklahoma Day, April 22 [25§82.3]
Dinosaur
Cartoon Character—”Gusty” Acrocanthosaurus atokensis [SB 1613, 2006]
Fish
White or Sand Bass (Morone chrysops) [25§98.2]
Flag
An Osage warrior’s buckskin shield decorated
with pendent eagle feathers on a field of blue is
the basic design of the Oklahoma state flag.
In crossed positions over the shield are an Indian peace
pipe and an olive branch. The latter is the white man’s
symbol of peace. The pipe has a red bowl and a pale
Fish—White or Sand Bass yellow stem, with a red feather attached. The shield
58 Oklahoma Almanac
is a light tan, to which are attached white feathers,

tipped with brown. Small crosses on the face of the
shield are tan, but somewhat darker than that of the
shield itself. The word “Oklahoma” in white is inscribed
immediately below the shield. [25§91]
Flag Day
November 16 [25§91.3]
Flag Salute
“I salute the flag of the State of Oklahoma. Its
symbols of peace unite all people.” [25§91] Furbearer—Raccoon
Floral Emblem
Mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum)
The oldest of Oklahoma’s symbols, adopted in 1893, 14
Photograph Copyright—The Oklahoma Publishing Company

years before statehood. [25§92] [HJR49]
Flower
Oklahoma Rose [25 OS § 92]
Flying Mammal
Mexican free-tailed bat [SB1678]
Flower—Oklahoma Rose
Folk Dance
Square Dance
[Laws 1988, p.1960] [SCR111, 1988] [HR1070]
Folk Song
“Oklahoma Hills” by Woody and Jack Guthrie
[25§94.8]
Fossil
“Greatest king of the reptile eaters” (Saurophaga-
nax maximus) [25§98.6]
Fruit
Strawberry [HB 1762, 2005] Game Animal—White-Tail Deer
Furbearer
Raccoon (Algonquian arathkone)
[SCR25, 1stEx.Sess.1989]
Game Animal
White-Tail Deer [SCR24, 1stEx.Sess.1989]
Game Bird
Wild Turkey [SCR26, 1stEx.Sess.1989]
Governor’s Flag [25§93.1]

Game Bird—Wild Turkey
State Emblems 59
Grass
Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) [SCR72, 1972]
Insect
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) [SCR75, 1992]
Monument
Golden Driller, Tulsa [SCR23, 1979]
Motto
Labor Omnia Vincit (Labor Conquers All Things)
Insect—Honeybee [1893, §5991; Art.6§35]
Musical Instrument
Fiddle [Laws 1984, p.1208]
Name
“Oklahoma”means Red People in the Choctaw
language [34Stat.267]
Nickname
Sooner State
Percussive Musical Instrument

Drum [25§98.3]
Monument—Golden Driller Pin
“OK” pin [Laws 1982, p.1258]
Poem
“Howdy Folks” by David Randolph Milsten (Tulsa)
[Laws 1973, p.568]
Reptile
Collared Lizard or Mountain Boomer (Crotaphy-
tus collaris) [HCR1009, 1969]
Reptile—Collared Lizard Rock
Rose Rock (Barite rose) [25§98.1]
Seal
Oklahoma has for its state seal a symbol that
was developed from the history of the state.
The central figures and wreath are from the Great Seal
of the Territory of Oklahoma. In each of the five arms
of the main star in the Great Seal of the state, is the
official seal of one of the Five Civilized Indian nations
that together comprised most of the area of present
eastern Oklahoma. The upward arm depicts the seal of
the Chickasaw Nation with an Indian warrior holding
Rock—Rose Rock
60 Oklahoma Almanac
a bow and shield. In the upper left-hand arm is the

seven-pointed star bearing a wreath of oak leaves
which comprises the seal of the Cherokee Nation. The
emblem of the Choctaw Nation is in the upper right-
hand arm and is composed of a tomahawk, a bow, and
three crossed arrows. In the lower left-hand arm is the
seal of the Creek Nation, depicted by a sheaf of wheat
and a plow. The lower right-hand arm shows houses
and a factory on the shore of a lake. On the lake are an
Indian hunter and a canoe, and this comprises the seal
of the Seminole Nation. Forty-five small stars surround
the central star and these represent the forty-five
states that made up the Union at the time Oklahoma
became the forty-sixth state on November 16, 1907. Seal
The original seal was designed for embossing purposes,
and color was not a consideration. To this day, no
official colors have been established for the Great Seal
of the State of Oklahoma. Color design of the seal
pictured is by Paul Lefebvre. [Art.6§18,35]
Soil
Port Silt Loam (Cumulic haplustolls)
[Laws 1987, p.1721]
Song/Anthem
“Oklahoma!” by Rodgers and Hammerstein
[25§94.1]
Soil—Port Silt Loam
Statehood Day
November 16 [25§88]
Tartan [HCR1025, 1999]

Theater
Lynn Riggs Players of Oklahoma [Laws 1961, p.726]
Tree
Redbud (Cercis canadensis) [2§16–69]
Waltz
“Oklahoma Wind” [SR42, 1982] Tree—Redbud
Western Band
“The Sounds of the Southwest” [HCR1053, 1997]
Wild Flower
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) [25§92.1]
Wild Flower—Indian Blanket

61
Fourteen Flags
Over Oklahoma
First Flag
The Royal Standard of Spain brought to
Oklahoma by Coronado in 1541. This flag
is quartered red and white (silver), show-
ing the golden castle on the red, and the
red lion on the white. The castle and the
lion represented the royal houses (Castile
and Leon) from which the King of Spain
descended.
Second Flag
The “Great Union” of Great Britain over
Oklahoma, 1663, when King Charles II
gave a wide strip of country from the
Atlantic to the Pacific to his friends. This
wide strip was known as Carolina, and
included nearly all of Oklahoma. The
British flag then showed a blue field with
the white cross of St. Andrew and the red
cross of St. George, signifying the union of
Scotland (St. Andrew’s cross) and England
(St. George’s cross).
Third Flag
Royal Standard of France brought to
Oklahoma in 1719 by Bernard de la Harpe,
though French claims dated from the
time of La Salle in 1682 when he claimed
all the country drained by the Mississippi
River and its branches in the name of the
French King. This flag of 1719 shows a
Flag art courtesy of the Oklahoma white field sprinkled with golden fleur-
Department of Libraries and the
Oklahoma Historical Society. de-lys.
62 Oklahoma Almanac
Fourth Flag
The Standard of the Spanish Empire over
Oklahoma in 1763 when France gave all
the country west of the Mississippi to
Spain by the Treaty of Paris. The Royal
Standard of Spain had been changed by
now, showing a purple field with crests
of many different royal houses, and was
used in the palace of the king. At this
same time, the Spanish Navy sailed all the
seas, carrying the ancient red and gold
on a flag planted in many countries of the
empire. This flag shows three horizontal
stripes, red top and bottom with a gold
stripe between. The ancient Arms of Cas-
tile and Leon are shown on the gold stripe
near the flag pole.
Fifth Flag
The Standard of the French Republic ruled
by Napoleon, in 1800 when Spain gave all
the Province of Louisiana to France. This
flag had three perpendicular stripes: red
next to the flag pole, white at the center,
blue at the end, but these stripes were
reversed by French law in 1830, to stand
blue near the flag pole, white at center
and red at the end.
Sixth Flag
The purchase of Louisiana by the United
States from France in 1803 brought the
U.S. flag to Oklahoma. This flag showed 15
stars on the blue canton, and 15 alternat-
ed red and white stripes for the 15 states
in the Union in 1803. This flag was accord-
ing to the law of May 1, 1795, which called
for a star and a stripe to be added to the
flag when a new state was admitted to
the Union.
Fourteen Flags Over Oklahoma 63
Seventh Flag
The United States Flag design was
changed by the law of April 4, 1818. From
this time, the U.S. Flag has shown 13 alter-
nated red and white stripes, the stars in
the blue canton representing the states of
the Union, a new star being added on the
4th day of July, following the admission of
a new state. The U.S. Flag in 1818 showed
20 stars for the 20 states in the Union.
Eighth Flag
The Flag of Mexico from 1821 to 1836,
over the Oklahoma Panhandle which
was owned by Mexico in this period. This
flag shows three horizontal stripes, in the
order from the flag pole: green, white, and
red. The white stripe shows at center the
device of an eagle with a serpent in its
talons, emblem of an ancient Aztec Indian
legend.
Ninth Flag
The flag of the Republic of Texas over the
Oklahoma Panhandle, 1836 to 1839. This
first Texas flag shows an azure field with a
five-pointed gold star at center.
Tenth Flag
The “Lone Star Flag” of Texas over the
Oklahoma Panhandle to 1850. This is the
present Texas Flag designed by the law of
January 25, 1839; a wide blue perpendicu-
lar stripe centered by a five-pointed white
star near the pole, and two horizontal
stripes, one red and one white.
64 Oklahoma Almanac
Eleventh Flag
The Choctaw Flag carried by Choctaw
confederate troops during the War be-
tween the States, 1861–65. This flag shows
a blue field with a Choctaw seal at cen-
ter. The Choctaw Nation was a separate
government in southeastern Oklahoma to
1907, and was the only Indian nation that
used a flag of its own at any time.
Twelfth Flag
The Confederate Battle Flag over Okla-
homa, 1861–65. This flag shows a red field
with St. Andrew’s Cross in blue on white,
the blue showing thirteen white stars for
the thirteen states which were aligned
with the Confederate Government.
Editor’s Note: HB 1007, 2003, directed the Oklahoma Historical
Society to fly the First National Flag of the Confederate States of
America rather than the Confederate Battle Flag.
Thirteenth Flag
The first Oklahoma State Flag adopted by
the state legislature in 1911. This shows a
red field centered by a five-pointed white
star bordered with blue and the figures
“46” in blue, at the center, Oklahoma be-
ing the 46th state admitted to the Union.
Fourteenth Flag
The present Oklahoma State Flag adopted
by the state legislature in 1925. This shows
a sky blue field with a central device: an
Indian war shield of tan buckskin show-
ing small crosses on the face, the Indian
design for stars. Seven eagle feathers form
the edge of the shield. An Indian peace
pipe (calumet) with a pipestone bowl and
a tassel at the end of the pipestem lies on
the shield; above the Indian peace pipe is
an olive branch, the white man’s emblem Muriel Wright • 1958
of peace.

Air, Space, & Oklahoma

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Air, Space, & Oklahoma

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Air,

Photograph courtesy the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

him. There on that Oklahoma field,

Photograph courtesy the Oklahoma Historical Society

Thomas C. Allen and J. Herman Banning

Photographs courtesy the Oklahoma Historical Society

enrolling at Iowa State University as an electrical engineering student, Banning became

Dorothy K. Pressler Morgan

Eula “Pearl” Carter Scott

Pearl’s growing renown and her continued friendship

world flight. One of her biggest thrills,

Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb

Photograph courtesy the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr.

Owen Kay Garriott PhD

Fred Wallace Haise Jr.

Haise logged more than

John Bennett Herrington

Shannon Wells Lucid PhD

from Bethany High School in 1960, and later attended the

William Reid Pogue

Thomas Patten Stafford

Stuart Allen Roosa

Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration—www.nasa.gov

Did You Know?

■■ Oklahoma has international airports ■■ The Federal Aviation Administration’s

■■ Approximately 1 out of every ■■ Oklahoma has a dedicated hangar,

Altus Air Force Base

Tinker Air Force Base

Photograph courtesy of the United States Air Force

Vance Air Force Base

Vance Air Force Base—T–6A

The Economics and Politics of

In 2013, the Woody Guthrie

Briefly—some other news that kept

your cultural side with visits to the ballet or

Will Rogers Statue—Claremore.

Tonkawa tribal viewing court—Ponca City

Country and Western Song

is a light tan, to which are attached white feathers,

Photograph Copyright—The Oklahoma Publishing Company

Governor’s Flag [25§93.1]

Percussive Musical Instrument

a bow and shield. In the upper left-hand arm is the

Tartan [HCR1025, 1999]

Wild Flower—Indian Blanket

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