The Northern
Swing Tour
Heading back home
the LONG way.
About halfway to Hominy there are some blighted trees that really look bad. I didn't find out what the problem was.
Hominy Municipal Lake is incredibly beautiful. There is an earthen dam at the far end, and almost sitting up against it is a house with people living in it.
I know what the people living there must dream about.
I just wonder if they ever wake up suddenly when a faucet drips?
There is an actual hill just before you get into town, almost a mountain.
The town of Hominy is clean as a whistle, and people were industriously working even though it was the noon hour. I mean they were out there raising up the kind of sweat that leaves a ton of hard salt behind.
The Hominy post office is HUGE. The homes are mainly frame houses.
Known as the "City of Murals" there are over 40 paintings and sculptures out already. Mural tours can be arranged by calling 918 885 4939 I didn't take a tour, but the murals I saw were worth looking at.
The Drummond House is free to see, and open Friday, Saturdays from 10-5 and on Sundays after Church from 1-5 This is a Victorian home with period furnishings that will send decorating minds to racing.
Just a little ways off to one side there's an Osage Indian Village with a Dance arbor and a round house. These are modern Indians and the phone number is 918-885-4939
The Skylark Motel looked like a good stay. Phone 918-885-2258
I turned right on Hwy 99 and shortly thereafter there was a Quaker Church on the left. The door sure looks inviting. If you're ever through here on a Sunday, stop in.
99 crosses the river again near Cleveland. Wal-Mart is right near the river, and then there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken, a Mazzio's, and even a real honest to goodness grocery store. Cleveland has a population of right at 3,500 and everything looks new, clean and wholesome. Churches liberally abound, and probably the cause of it. A Kingdom Hall and LDS chapel are nestled side by side on 99 and both look right purty. I stopped in at the LDS chapel and did some genealogical research with two helpful patrons right at my shoulder, anxious to be of help. The library is open from 12 to 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Cleveland's annual fireworks show is a MUST-SEE event. Indian powwows, rodeos, bicycle tours and golf are the favorite activities of this area.
After leaving Cleveland on 99 and heading south there is mansion after mansion, many of the homes being made of quarried rocks. Trees line the highway, fences are built on the square. But all the people here must be voting Republican because 99 is so rough that 45 MPH is speeding for anybody. Some long horns were decorating the scenery off on the right, perfect roping steers if I ever saw one in my life. Then I came to a part of the road where the people don't even vote; parts of the road were missing. After that the Democrats take over again and 99 becomes a perfect surface for bicycle races.
Terlton is a wide spot in the road, just off the road. Statistics say there are 121 people here, with 51 milies. There wasn't a smile showing from one end of town to the other. But it does have a public bathroom at the only service station. Depending on the time of day you might have to ignore the reception committee behind the counter though, and if you weigh more than 250 take your cell phone in with you in case you need help getting out. I went hopping back towards Jennings on 99.
Jennings is a clean swept little town with a population of 380 - 400 or so of hard-working people, but upon leaving town there was a lot of junk cars and tractors along the way almost as a testimonial of the poverty known in a bygone era. On out the houses were ranging in the $80,000 and up range. The hay yield here is obviously excellent.
| I turned east on 51
next. Cedars were as big as houses here. A sign said this was Jim Thorpe
country. It was easy to vision the world's greatest athlete chugging along the
roadside as the country has not changed much. The swelling hills of Payne County are
sweeter than Kentucky. The cows are fat and sleek, the horses look noble. Willows in abundance testify there is generally plenty of water or moisture in this area. Skinner Tank Company is found in Yale. It has been building field erected, welded, steel storage tanks from coast to coast, as well as internationally, for more than 25 years. Jim Thorpe's house is in Yale. I stopped to see it, only to discover it is only open Friday through Saturday, from 10 through 5. The little log cabin would have done Honest Abe proud though. It's open on Sunday too, after Church. American Indian Jim Thorpe was the first man to win both the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games. Stories about him are legend. Yale is a good-sized town with enough civilized resources to leave no reason on earth to go anywhere else. The whole town sparkles with pride. All the signs are bright and new. Yale Motors has a bright red convertible hoisted up 15 feet with a cute little owl to keep the birds off. |
Leaving Yale the willows are thick, oaks are heavy. The grass was as pretty as sundown, and the ponds have lily pads. The road is wide and Democratically smooth. The only drawback seems to be those pesky armadillo moving in from Texas.
A John Deere baler was out there testifying that New Holland doesn't own the whole state. This is remarkably good hay country. I turned left on 108 and found hay so good and sweet like you wouldn't believe.
Ripley is old, full of old brick and stone buildings. The "Ripley Christian Church" there is decorated with a "BELIEVE IT OR NOT" sign on the front. There are wooded (shaded) lanes with homes in the $40,000 range predominating. Outside town I saw some real brahmas, along with some mixed breed cows and horses.
I turned left on 33 where 108 ends. 33 stretches either way for as far as the eye can see. Then I turned right on 18 to keep going south. In this neck of the woods the yards are all grown up. Very few have been clipped recently, the fences are unpainted. Even rich people seem to be lacking in pride.
Chandler is distinctly different. It sits on a hill for all to see. It has a viable little downtown. The windows sparkle. Great signs from some local artist decorate many businesses. You won't need to live anywhere else once you get into Chandler. Everything is right here at hand in this part of Lincoln County. People are happy, healthy, and working. Even the equipment setting there for sale had the grass trimmed under it. Boy what a difference a few miles makes.
Willows take over the countryside upon leaving town. The land looks low and wet even in the sultry heat of the day. The road is good, well shaded, and the cars are new. In one long stretch, the road bed has been built up about 8 feet here, and there seems to be more water in the fields than there is in the river.
Between Chandler and Meeker the put-up-hay looks 2 & 3 years old already with more coming on in to go beside it, just in case they ever need it. One huge place in Meeker has every breed and size of pipe I ever thought existed. You need pipe, this is the place to come get it. Lots of pride in Meeker, clean signs, clean windows, clean yards, and clean, smiling faces.
On down the road I see that Shawnee has now taken Aydelotte over. It's amazing what you can do when you're big enough.
| Shawnee was already a huge place. Eaton makes hydraulics here. TDK makes magnets for darn near any use in the universe. The Ramada Inn is a modern miracle right beside the freeway. 18 goes on, and on through Shawnee, with stoplight after stoplight. |
About the only difference between Shawnee and Oklahoma City is that Shawnee is prettier and more prosperous looking. The most famous landmarks (for me anyway) are Shawnee Mills that makes Shawnee flour, and Shawnee Feed. Both have burned down recently and now look brand new.
The Santa Fe Depot Museum is found at 614 E Main. This is a MUST SEE you must see.
Mae West's 1938 V-16 Cadillac is part of the Classic & Antique Auto Museum here.
The Potawatomi Indian Museum is found at 1901 S. Gordon Cooper Drive. The Potawatomi Indians I knew were the friendliest Americans ever. Potawatomi means, People From The Place of Fire.Absentee Shawnee Tribal Headquarters can be reached by calling 405-275-4030
Stately old homes decorate Broadway. Maps are available from the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce. Phone is 405-275-9780
Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art has Egyptian mummies, Renaissance paintings, American landscapes, and native American art.
I looked at all this in memory and from the freeway; I had turned right on Interstate 40 at the Ramada Inn and headed for Oklahoma City to bring the Northern Swing Tour back to where we started, before dark fell.
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.
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