A Guide to the Oklahoma Historical Society Oral History Collection, 1956, 1983-1985
In 1893, before Oklahoma was officially a state, members of the Oklahoma Territory Press Association founded the Oklahoma Historical Society. The OHS now has 35 museums and historic sites throughout the state, and strives to preserve and perpetuate the history of Oklahoma and its people by protecting, documenting, and sharing that history. The OHS Oral History Collections include more than 7,500 recorded interviews on a wide range of Oklahoma’s history.
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society. "About the Oklahoma Historical Society." http://www.okhistory.org/about.html (accessed August 18, 2010).
The Oklahoma Historical Society Oral History Collection, 1956, 1983-1985, contains six audiocassettes of eight interviews with Oklahoma citizens who explain the social history and founding of the state during the pioneer era as well as give some information on the social history and founding of Texas. Some interviews also talk about the state of Kansas. The topics of conversation include the founding of Oklahoma and Texas, statehood, wagon trails, the coming of the Santa Fe Railroad, medical history, the mail service, the Land Rush of 1889, Sooners, cattle drives, ranching, farming, gun fights, mob rule, homesteading, and the paving of streets for the first time. The interviewees also tell war stories, explaining in detail the participation of members of their families in some battles and wars, such as the Mexican War, the Battle of San Jacinto, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Civil War. Additionally, the interviewees discuss life in the country, giving insight to entertainment, schooling, lifestyles, and the coming of indoor plumbing.
The interviewees are John Teer, Barney Christy, Harrell W. Cotner, Tom A. Judy, Gwen Suthers. Additionally, there is one interview with three persons: Lovenna Barnes and her sisters Clara Staggs and Mae Poteet. The interviewers are Roger Blount, Joe L. Todd, and Bernice Jackson. One interview was conducted in 1956, and the other five interviews were conducted from 1983 to 1985. Four of the six original interviews are on six audiocassette tapes. Copies are on six audiocassette tapes. There are no transcripts, but there are abstracts of each interview included in the collection. Additionally, abstracts are present but there are no tapes for two of the interviews--that with John Teer and that with Lovenna Barnes and her sisters.
The collection is open for research.
Oklahoma Historical Society Oral History Collection, 1956, 1983-1985, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection was processed by Jessi Fishman, August 2010.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers