by Corey Ayers, Video Production Specialist

In December of 2011 the Oklahoma Historical Society purchased two telecine machines that allow for the transfer of 16 and 8mm film to full 1080p digital files. The digital conversion allows film of all ages to be seen in their original state but enhanced by high definition resolution. The use of these machines has ushered in a new era for the film and video department at the OHS. We are now digitizing and cataloging entire film collections giving moving images not seen for 80 years a new life and the public a rich new source for research. For example, the Haskell Pruett Collection documents community events such as parades and rodeos as well as leisure activities of an Oklahoma family from 1929 to the late 1960s. These films present a visual testament of life in Oklahoma at the time. This is only one of many collections in film storage at the Oklahoma History Center and the beginning of a new era for the use of film in research at the Historical Society.

by Jill Holt, Curator of Textiles

Several months ago, we received a large collection of memorabilia from the family of Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing. Among the items received was a red plaid lap blanket as well as a couple of photographs of Bob Wills with the blanket. I felt that there was a story behind the photographs but I did not have the details. As I researched the life and career of Bob Wills, I came across a passage written by Charles R. Townsend in the book “The Stars of Country Music: Uncle Dave Macon to Johnny Rodriguez” by Bill C. Malone and Judith McCulloh. Bob Wills suffered a debilitating stroke in 1969. By 1973, against the odds, he was able to sufficiently recover and made plans to join in one last recording session with the Texas Playboys. It was scheduled for December 3-4, 1973 in Dallas, Texas. The day before the recording session, all of the Texas Playboys came to the home of Bob and Betty Wills in Fort Worth for a jam session. As I read this, I realized that the two photographs I had were taken at this jam session. The photos show Bob Wills sitting in his wheelchair with the blanket on his lap surrounded by the musicians singing and playing. The next day, they all gathered for the first day of recording. That evening, Bob Wills suffered another stroke and slipped into a coma from which he never awoke. The next day, the Texas Playboys finished recording without him amid great sadness. The album was released in 1974 and was titled “Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys…For the Last Time.” Bob Wills passed away on May 15, 1975. His popularity remains strong even today.

by Jon D. May, Research Division

While exploring the OHS Research Catalog online I discovered an old black and white photograph in the Frederick S. Barde Collection (82.89) captioned, “Indians - Osage - Cyprian Tayrien.” Cyprian, or “Cyp” as he was more commonly known, was my great-great-grandmother’s first cousin. Although you probably never heard of Cyp, he was well-known in the Bartlesville and Pawhuska, Oklahoma, areas prior to his death in 1922.

Born in Clay County, Missouri, in 1836, Cyp was the son of a French father and a French-Osage mother. Educated at the Osage Mission in St. Paul, Kansas, Cyp spoke English, Osage, and French, and served as a scout and interpreter in the Missouri Home Guard during the Civil War.He worked as a clerk, operated a trading post, farmed, and was one of the first mixed-bloods to serve on the Osage tribal Council. Cyp had three wives (he was twice widowed) and twelve children. After the Osage relocated from Kansas to what is now Osage County in 1871-72, Cyp settled along Sand Creek just southwest of present Bartlesville. It was in that vicinity where he and ten of his children received their Osage land allotments in 1906. Many of their descendants reside in that region today.

What makes Cyp’s life story so interesting are the “unusual and occult powers” he was known to have possessed. With a few softly spoken words and a wave of his hand Cyp—dubbed“Saint Patrick of the Osages”—could drive snakes from under buildings or from shocks of grain. He knew by intuition where strayed livestock could be found. Cyp healed snake bites and other ailments by simply passing his hand over the afflicted individual. A man claimed he conferred with Cyp about a woman who was ill and lived some miles distant. Cyp asked a few questions and sent the gentleman on his way, telling him “everything will be alright.”When the man returned to the lady’s residence, he saw her condition had improved.

How Cyp healed the sick and from where he received his foreknowledge is anyone’s guess (if you believe in such things). According to one of his grandchildren, Cyp acquired his powers from an old Osage medicine man. Cyp, however, said his skills were innate and quite common. In fact, he believed a person with similar abilities could be found in almost every family.

Cyprian Tayrien died October 18, 1922, and was interred in Bartlesville’s White Rose Mausoleum.

Image: #16581 from the Frederick S. Barde Collection

by Karen Whitecotton, Curator of Collections

Ever heard of Picric acid? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most people have never heard of it, and neither had I until a few days ago. It’s a highly explosive chemical compound (the forerunner to TNT) that has been around for a couple of centuries and has been used primarily as munitions and fireworks.
Picric acid is actually a liquid that over time dries out and crystalizes. When it crystalizes it becomes highly unstable and VERY sensitive to shock and therefore handling it becomes dangerous.It also leaves a distinct bright yellow powdery residue that is easy to spot.

Why on earth would a museum have explosive chemicals, like picric acid in their collections? Simple answer- they don’t know about it. We sure didn’t! Evidently it’s way more common than I would have thought. It wasn’t until a week ago that I learned about picric acid and its explosive properties from reading several emails on the American Association of Museums Registrars’ Listserv (RC-AAM). Someone send out an email inquiry regarding procedures when disposing of hazardous chemicals. A response mentioned the dangers of picric acid -a substance many people have never heard of, but VERY common in early and mid-20th century first aid kits. You see, medical gauze used to be soaked in picric acid to treat, most commonly, burns (interesting tidbit- picric acid gauze was used in the treatment of burn victims from the infamous Hindenburg disaster).

An example of a first aid kit that may have included picric

After that initial email there were email responses DAILY reporting the discovery of picric acid in museum collections around the country and that bomb squads had to be called out to collect and detonate the picric acid infused items. In one case a whole city block was evacuated and a robot was sent in to collect ONE object. In another case an item contained so much picric acid it was enough to blow the museum worker’s hand off! So, as you can see, it’s a very serious hazard to collections and to people!

After reading those emails over the weekend, I thought I would take the cautious route and so I did a database search first thing on Monday morning and discovered 5 objects in our own collection that possibly contained picric acid. These items were all early 20th century first aid kit components: 3 packs of picric acid soaked gauze, 1 box that stored the soaked gauze, and 1 empty tin. After consulting with the museum Deputy Director/Collections Manager, Jeff Briley, I pulled the objects the next day and inspected them. I isolated the 3 packs of gauze and inspected the box. The box had the distinct yellow powdery residue of picric acid on the insides. The metal tin did not show any signs of acid residue, but under Jeff’s advice it was thoroughly swabbed to make sure. We further inspected the associated first aid kit the items came from to make sure there was nothing else of concern. Thankfully there wasn’t. He called his contact at the Oklahoma City Police Department Bomb Squad to ask if they would collect the pieces for disposal. They agreed and said they would be at our facility 7am the next morning with a robot.
Bright and early the next morning we had the police department, fire department, an ambulance, and the bomb squad standing by. At the employee entrance, the bomb squad began staging their maneuver to retrieve the items. Instead of a robot (which I was actually hoping to see - I had Wall-E pictured in my head), they had a guy dressed in a big suit (think the Halo video game suit but twice the size) carrying a long pole. He went in to retrieve the items in a bucket from the fire safe and came back out and carried the bucket around (and down some stairs!) to the containment wagon. They used a small crane to hoist the bucket of items into the containment wagon and then gave the all clear. Whew.

Our disposal of the picric acid infused items went very smoothly thanks to the expertise of the OCPD Bomb Squad. Museums don’t simply dispose of items without very clear reasoning and procedure is always followed to ensure public trust and ethical behavior is maintained. Sometimes there are extreme situations (like hazardous chemicals!) that speed up the disposal process to ensure a safe environment for the collection, the staff, and the public. Hazardous and unstable chemicals are simply not safe to have in museum collections.

This blog brought to you by Karen Whitecotton, Curator of Collections, Oklahoma History Center
Special thanks to:

OKC Area First Responders:
Oklahoma City Area EMSA
Oklahoma City Police Department Bomb Squad
Oklahoma City Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit
Oklahoma City Police Department Patrol Squad

RC-AAM Listserv, especially:
Judy Coombes, Manger of Registration, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Evelyn Montgomery, Curator of Exhibits & Collections, Dallas Heritage Village
Doug Nishimura, Image Permanence Institute
David Ryan, Registrar, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

Oklahoma History Center Staff:
Jeff Briley, Deputy Director, Oklahoma History Center
Richard Lloyd, Security, OHC
Sherry Massey, Senior Registrar, OHS
Dan Provo, Director, Oklahoma History Center
Mike Scanlan, Head of Security, OHC