The Northern
Swing Tour
of Oklahoma 

Some lying Yankee must have wrote that sign just before he went home; I've never seen anyone pulled over for speeding along here.  The freeway is in such humming good shape you have to be careful though or the big trucks will run you over as just recompense for holding your speed down to the legal speed limit for cars.

The hills roll off on either side so far the horizon just about disappears.  The ground looks soft on top and looks to be shallow, maybe 2 or 3 feet deep where it lays.

Cows tend to be Hereford mixes along the way.  The other predominance was black and white face.  The only horses I saw were a dozen grades above that, good blooded stock.  The turtles have about quit running across the road by July.  Now it is the raccoons and the armadillo trying to make it.  I saw one fawn beating the bushes for its mother; the grass was plumb up to its back.  There were buzzards, a few hawks, a bevy of quail but the heat was rolling everything up out of sight, hidden in the shade.  Grackle are there, but not very thick.  Natives say there are mourning dove in here, but I didn't see any all the way up to Perry.

People and houses were quite sparse too.    Some of the oil wells are still heaving.  At Perry I turned east on 64.  Dodge City, as you might remember, never was rough enough to need a U.S. Marshal until well into the last part of the 20th. century.  Early day Perry had 14 saloons and enough gamblers, hangers on, and sooners that three U.S. Marshals were sent to keep the peace until a city government could be set up.  Bat Masterson generously declined an invitation to serve so that a younger generation could have a chance at the glory.

Perry, Pride of the Prairie:  Perry, the county seat of Noble County, is located in north central Oklahoma, nestled in the valley of the prairie grass to the east and the wheat belt to the west. You will find I-35 is on the western city limits.

It is big, open, clean, and has all the satisfying signs of civilized life; Pizza Hut, Taco Mayo, McDonald's, and wide streets.  There are numerous other fancy restaurants and gleaming places to stay.   One intersection had stop signs bolted to 55 gallon drums; positive proof there was an Okie living there in town somewhere.

Perry is tribal headquarters for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe.  Phone number is 580-732-4466 The Perry Chamber number is 580-336-4684

Leaving Perry on 64, civilization is reluctant to fall behind.   The road sides are mowed most of the time, the houses are trim and neat and the vehicles showing outside are polished up like new quarters. There are prosperous farms and ranches on a regular basis.  Pecan trees grow wild, oaks are thick, willow show up occasionally along with the cottonwood and token elm.

Some peaceful towns in Oklahoma roll up the sidewalks at 5:00   Pawnee does it at 4:30  From then on all the fun must be in watching stranded tourists try to find a place to stay.  There was only one HOTEL sign showing, and the building it pointed to turned out to be Hugh's Books.  The sign was an antique.

The Pawnee Tribe Of Oklahoma has headquarters here, of all places.   Phone 918-762-3621 Known to themselves as "Chaticks Si Chaticks" or "Men of Men" the Pawnee were known to other tribes of the plains as "Wolves" because of "Our cunning and bravery." 

To the right is a Courting Flute handcrafted by Jim Taylor.  Tap on the picture to see many more samples.  Jim says they are "They are also known as Love flutes or Siyo Tanka. They make great music and are naturally a beautiful art object."

I love the town of Pawnee, home of Pawnee Bill.  They even have a rodeo for him once a year.  There are benches all along main street for people to sit and watch the traffic.  The streets are wide, the windows are clean, and it is surely a cowboy town, almost an antique itself. 

Every year Oklahoma's Steam Threshing and Gas Engine Association hosts a display of antique engines in Pawnee.  Most of these are huge monsters dating back to the early 1900s, big enough to shake the earth for miles.  Old-timers get to reminisce when the show is on, and everybody listens.  The phone number for this event is 918-762-2108

But the best thing I liked about Pawnee was a 2 story mural of Dick Tracey.  What does Pawnee have to do with Dick Tracey?  Well, it just so happens that Tracey's creator, Chester Gould, was born in Pawnee, 1902 I think.  Kick me, I forgot to write it down!  But the mural is really, really good.  And you can see it too, without squeezing between buildings.  Pawnee Chamber phone is 918-762-2108

  The Gover Family Lodge (Pawnee) has an incredible web site full of pictures and information which are of vital interest to anyone hungering for the true native American touch.  Marshall Gover is a member of the Pawnee Nation .He has served on the Council for the past six years. Debi is a Choctaw/Creek/Cherokee.  Marshall is looking forward to drowning lots of worms this Spring and Summer now that he will not be involved with the Council. And Debi is looking forward to once again being his side-kick and constant companion.  The picture to the left is from native American artist Sam Silverhawk.  Clicking on it will take you into a realm of beauty and energy anyone can understand and appreciate.

It is worth the trip if you have the time, but instead of going on into Pawnee I turned left on 177 and headed north.  Stratford peaches from way down south were being sold at the 177 intersection with 64.   These are known for being extra sweet and good. 

The hills are much flatter here.  Ponds are all full this year, oil wells dot the side of the road, along with good homes in the $60,000 range, Herefords, and charloais mixes along the way.  As everywhere in Oklahoma, the horses are a good grade.

Hwy 15 butts in from the right at Sooner Lake.  The water is used for cooling the electric generating plant.  All the trees right here are either babies, or stunted.  This spot reminds me of a salt marsh.  Grass is lush and thick.  The water on the right is all chopped up by the whistling wind, and the water on the left is barely disturbed.  There is a bait and tackle shop just after you get past the lake.

15 is a little bumpy, but the people here obviously vote Democrat most of the time and speed is easy to maintain.  Farmers, ranchers, and others in this area have strong handgrips and wide smiles.  Greg Goad over in the Masham Community (which is kind of a peninsula sectioned off by the Arkansas River) says there is no bottom to the good land there.  He raises hay, cattle and horses.  His horses look plumb good. His wife Vonda puts on a good feed and keeps the homeplace looking like a million dollar landscape contractor just left.

All the trees in Oklahoma lean to the north.  In here the lean is sharply accentuated.

Where 15 intercepts 18 I turned to the left towards Ralston.   Farms, ranches are really thick, and prosperous along here.  I pulled off on the side of the road to make a phone call and two people stopped to see if I needed help.   One rancher said the armadillos have been moving in for about ten years now and 3 or 4 men were thrown when horses stepped in the holes dug by the possum on a half shell from Texas.  Some of them busted their shoulders up good.  "Consequently cowboys around here are switching to little 4-wheelers, or using dogs like me."

He had one that someone up at the Williams Ranch near Winona is trying to get registered as a new breed of dog.  She sure looked good, being 3/4 Australian Shepherd and 1/4 border collie.  "All she needs is someone smarter than me to train her." 

Most of the natural trees are stunted here, around the homeplaces they are towering giants that keep the sun out all day long. 

James Carpenter has a ranch just outside Ralston Oklahoma  His handshake is real firm and his cheerful smile reaches deep down inside his eyes.  He told me about some Okies working their way up a half mile driveway in Baghdad Arizona during the depression to look for work.  When they had their sixth flat and still weren't half way, the rancher came down and asked if they were having trouble. 

"No, replied the Okie.  All I'm doing is trying to find out just how much misery one man can stand." 

The rancher must have liked that brand of humor says Carpenter; he moved to Oklahoma.

He mentioned ranchers had to be careful with baler twine out in this area because horses and cows will chomp it down, but it doesn't go anywhere.

"Cows will eat anything," I reminded him.  "Remember back when gas tractors were around?  They'd eat the spark plug wires off the distributor with the motor running."

Carpenter laughed and added:   "One place I was at there was an electric line close enough to the ground for the cows to get at.  They would wrap that old tongue around the wire and get a jolt that would practically lift them off their feet.  But they kept coming back until that wire was naked."

Ralston has a population of about 405 and maybe 197 families.  That isn't big by anyone's slide rule.  But, I  saw more smiles in Ralston than any other town in America I've ever visited.  Everybody I saw was smiling.

In Ralston I went to see Roger Kennedy.  Roger was in a motorcycle accident last year and the bone in his leg got infected.  Doctors convinced him to let them remove 3 inches of the bone. 

Now his leg is in a wire hoop fender, with wires running into the flesh from the knee to the ankle.  Doctors are growing him a new bone. 

Hurt? I was aching from head to toe just looking at that contraption he was wearing.  But Roger was grinning, and working some around the house. 

"Sure it hurts," Roger admitted.  "But it is hurting less all the time.  By the year 2001 they say it might not hurt no more at all." 

I can hardly wait.

The bank was built in 1902, and about the only thing that's changed is the wooden doors have been exchanged for metal ones now.  Inside there are old pictures, and stories of one of the presidents known for his humanity and policy of non-foreclosure.  The old Ralston Lodge No. 239 AF & AM  G. H. Phillips Special GM. dates back to March 2, 1913 A.D, or A.L 5913, and is made of quarried rocks almost 2 feet long and 1 foot tall. 

It is very impressive to study a testament like that of what man can do without a backhoe.

The antique stores here are so old even the stoneware left in the windows has faded.  An ancient wooden sign outside of one says Ralston Opera Company, since 1902.

The best place in town to eat must be the Ralston Cafe.  But it is so busy and so packed don't be surprised if you have to eat 1-handed with your left arm draped around a neighbor.

The only public restroom in town says "WOMEN."  Not about to let anyone see me coming out that door, I had to drive plumb over to the next county to use a "MEN's" bathroom.

Ralston nestles right smack dab against the Arkansas River.  (That's the ArkinSAW river; it doesn't turn into the OURkansas river until you cross the border into Kansas.)  The bridge across the river here is old, and narrow.  Hwy 20 is right on the other side and takes off to the right towards Hominy.

For the second half of this tour, please click here.

Yes, this is a long tour, but well worth it.  If you have any pictures or stories of this area you want posted, let me know.
E-Me here.     Lin Stone

Have you read these books? Roadside History of Oklahoma by Francis L. Fugate, et. al.  Maps and introduction to each section of the state, followed by a writeup for virtually every town, with excursions off the main trail thrown in, containing many black and white photos. 

Oklahoma Treasures and Treasure Tales by Steve Wilson, includes photos. 

Guide to Oklahoma Museums by David C. Hunt which captures the certain magnificence of Oklahoma museums. 
Atlas of Oklahoma Climate by Howard L. Johnson 

Beautiful Land, story of Oklahoma Land Rush 

Selected Recipes from Oklahoma's favorite cookbooks 
Click here for more books about Oklahoma