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 Jill Holt, Curator of Textiles

As more and more veterans of World War II military service pass away, we are receiving donations of items pertaining to their service including uniforms, insignia, documents, and footlockers. I recently accessioned a footlocker and its contents that were found in a house in Duncan, Oklahoma. The donor, Craig Lowe, had purchased the house from the family of Gabriel W. Ostroot and the footlocker had been left behind. It was an incredible collection of memorabilia. Lt. Gabriel W. Ostroot served with the 63rd Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division during World War II. Inside his footlocker were multiple guide books for the South Seas islands, East Indies, Solomon Islands, and New Guinea as well as maps for those areas. Other items included officer’s pay receipts, Japanese currency, collar insignia, and a certificate from the United States Navy Domain of the Neptunus Rex, Ruler of the Raging Main acknowledging that Gabriel W. Ostroot had been initiated into the “Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep” in the South Sea Islands. This certificate was awarded when crossing the equator for the first time.

The ultimate find in this footlocker was the photograph album documenting Ostroot’s entire military service career. It begins with photos taken at basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and shows young men laughing and joking. From basic training, the photographs transition to military maneuvers held in Louisiana. The next series of photographs were taken in the South Pacific and include images of natives in New Guinea. The album concludes with photographs taken in Luzon, the Philippines. These images are the most graphic and show dead Japanese soldiers and destroyed tanks.

The stark reality of viewing these young recruits becoming battle weary soldiers was dramatic and very moving. I hope you will join me in giving thanks to these brave men who defended our country.

by Chad Williams, Deputy Director of the Research Division

The collections of the Oklahoma Historical Society contain well over seven million photographic images. Over the past year the Research Division has begun a project to reproduce many of these historic Oklahoma images and make them available to be purchased. The initial fifty images chosen include iconic photographs of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, Oklahoma Land Runs, the Oklahoma oil industry, a Buffalo hunt, dust bowl depictions, historic street scenes from

Oklahoma towns, and a number of images of Oklahoma farms, businesses, and territorial dwellings. In addition, individuals with historic ties to Oklahoma are represented.

These include Apache Indian Chief Geronimo, Comanche Indian Chief Quanah Parker, Wiley Post, Future President Theodore Roosevelt, President John F. Kennedy, Native American Jim Thorpe, U. S. Marshal Chris Madsen, Buffalo Bill Cody, Zack Miller (101 Ranch), Will Rogers, and Oklahoma Governor Charles Haskell. My personal favorite is a photograph taken of The U.S.S. Oklahoma and the U.S.S. Arizona at the Pedro Miguel Locks, Panama Canal on February 23, 1921, twenty years before they were both lost at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This image has a wonderful grittiness and of course is special because the Oklahoma and Arizona are the only two battleships which did not return to fight in World War II after being sunk at Pearl Harbor.

The majority of the reproductions have been produced in a 11” X 14” format, although ten of the reproductions vary from that size. Prices range from $2 for a 4” X 6” bird’s-eye view of Oklahoma City’s Bricktown in 1910 all the way to $15 for a 10.5” X 37” panorama image of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention in Guthrie. All 11” X 14” images are $10. Unless the reproductions are picked up at the Oklahoma History Center there will be a $6 shipping and handling fee added. In the future we hope to reproduce more photographs with themes that include Native Americans, African Americans, Dust Bowl, Oil Industry, OKC Fire Department, Weather, Land Openings, Military, Buildings, Law Enforcement, Sports, and Wild West Shows. View the 50 historic photo reproductions available for sale.

The OHS online catalog includes thousands of additional scanned images that are available for purchase. Visit www.okhistory.org/research to find out more.

So long for now from the mother ship of Oklahoma History, the Oklahoma History Center, Home of the Oklahoma Historical Society.