The Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America will be on display at the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum until May 7, 2022 in the historic Big Barn of the property. Americans come together at the crossroads. They invest in places and build their futures where their paths cross. Small towns became centers of commerce, trade, local politics, and culture. For some, the crossroads affirmed a new life in a new place. For others,…

On Saturday, March 26, the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will have the exhibit Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry on display until Sunday, May 8, 2022.

The traveling exhibition features twenty colorful, illustrated panels about the Plains area before, during, and after the Dust Bowl occurred. The exhibit will use images and quotations from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, memories of the Dust Bowl from oral histories and writing, and recent scholarly analysis. QR codes on the panels lead to selections from the OSU oral histories, the writings of Caroline Henderson, and other primary sources.

On Monday, May 16, a new photography exhibit, Becoming Fearless is opening in the Chesapeake Event Center and Gallery at the Oklahoma History Center.

Becoming Fearless explores 70 years of firefighting in Oklahoma. 25 black and white images trace the evolution of the profession from the early days of acrobatics, antics, and volunteerism in the 1900s, to the sophisticated fire safety systems in place today. Photographs from the early days of firefighting often depicted feats of agility—along with a bit of humor. Some of the images are great examples of the firehouses, equipment, and uniforms from across the state. Guthrie established their fire department in 1889, the same year as Oklahoma City. Tulsa followed in 1900, Enid in 1902, and Edmond in 1903. Most started with volunteers only, as is still the case in some rural areas today. Horse-drawn fire equipment was common from 1889, when the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OCFD) was originally established, until 1910 when the first motorized firefighting vehicle was introduced.

On Saturday, May 21, the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will open the OHS traveling exhibit Family Album: Photographs by Pierre Tartoue. Pierre Tartoue (1885–1976) was born in the harbor town of Saint-Nazaire on the western shores of France and, in his lifetime, made his way across most of the continental United States. From the late 1930s to the early 1950s he spent most of his time in Oklahoma, painting and producing photographs that bore witness to a tremendous renaissance…

The Fred and Addie Drummond Home in Hominy will feature Vintage Snack Sets, a temporary exhibit during the month of June. From the 1940s to the 1970s, women often entertained at home by hosting teas, coffees, or church socials. On these special occasions, they would wear their Sunday best and bring out pretty snack sets that included a plate with a round indention to hold the matching cup. This exhibit will include pieces by manufacturers such as Anchor Hocking, Hazel-Atlas,…