Press Release
November 5, 2019
Contact: Jennie Buchanan
Museum of the Western Prairie, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-482-1044
jbuchanan@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/westernprairie
“Cold War Oklahoma” Presentation at Museum of the Western Prairie
ALTUS, Okla. — The Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus will host an Oklahoma author presentation on Thursday, November 21, at 7 p.m. Landry Brewer, Bernhardt Scholar and instructor of history for Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Sayre, will discuss his recent book “Cold War Oklahoma.”
Oklahoma might seem like an unexpected place for Cold War tensions to boil over, but the state played a key role in a conflict that threatened global annihilation. In fact, Altus Air Force Base served as a hub for 12 intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites. “Cold War Oklahoma,” recently published by Landry Brewer, explores the deep ties that emerged between the citizens of the Sooner State and what President Eisenhower famously called the military-industrial complex. The author delves carefully into the Atlas F missile program and describes the missile sites constructed within 45 minutes of Altus Air Force Base in the 1960s. From his descriptions of the military installations, to the careers of Carl Albert and Thomas Stafford, to the threat of a nuclear holocaust, Landry’s presentation will engage listeners with “a masterful overview of ordinary Oklahomans in no ordinary time.”
This presentation is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. This event is hosted by the Western Trail Historical Society. The Museum of the Western Prairie is located at 1100 Memorial Drive in Altus. For more information, please call 580-482-1044.
The Museum of the Western Prairie is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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