LOCAL

McAuliffe Promotes New Book at Signing Sunday

McAuliffe Promotes New Book at Signing Sunday

The murder of Osage Indians is the subject of Dennis McAuliffe’s book, “Bloodland, A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation,” recently published in paperback by Council Oak Books of Tulsa.

McAuliffe will be in Ponca City to meet the public and sign copies of his book at Brace Books and More Sunday, March 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Originally published in hardcover by Times Books, under the title “The Deaths of Sybil Bolton,” the title was changed to “Bloodland” for the paperback edition. It includes a new afterword by the author and a new cover design. Sybil Bolton was the author’s grandmother, whose death was shrouded in mystery.

Dennis McAuliffe found out by chance that his talented, young Native American grandmother had not died of kidney failure as he had been told. In fact, she had died of a gunshot wound at the age of 21 and was buried in an ermine coat. In a riveting story that is both murder mystery and personal memoir, McAuliffe set out to unravel the mystery of his grandmother’s death, eventually tracing her 1925 murder to what the Osage called the “reign of terror” and leading to his growing suspicion that his own grandfather had engineered her death.

The author is currently on a leave of absence from the Washington Post, where he was the foreign editor, to teach at the University of Montana as its first Native American Journalist in Residence. He is an enrolled member of the Osage tribe.

“McAuliffe has opened not only old family wounds but a national tragedy,” according to the Seattle Times. Author Tony Hillerman said, “The book reads like a mystery story. As a boy in the Oklahoma oil patch, I heard rumors of the atrocities committed against the Osages. Dennis McAuliffe’s magnificent reporting job brings this terrible episode in American history vividly to life.”

Skillfully written by a seasoned Washington Post journalist, the book unearths family secrets and ultimately exposes a systematic plot to marry and murder newly wealthy young women on the Osage reservation.

McAuliffe first noticed inconsistencies in the accounts of his grandmother’s cause of death — first called kidney disease, then suicide. After discovering that she died from a gunshot wound, McAuliffe pieced together evidence from FBI files, tribal records, Bureau of Indian Affairs documents, and Osage tribe members’ personal accounts to reveal what later came to be referred to as a “Reign of Terror.”

In the 1920s, oil was found on the Osage reservation, transforming the tribe into the wealthiest population in the world. Tribe members attended the most exclusive finishing schools and Ivy League Universities, owned expensive automobiles and dressed in the finest fashions of the era.

In a frenzy that resembled the California Gold Rush, strangers descended upon the region, marrying Osage women in an attempt to gain control over the new found wealth. Many of the new brides “committed suicide” shortly after their weddings.

Referring to his own son, Dennis McAuliffe writes, “ ... not all that long ago, the U.S. government would have referred to him in official documents as it did to one of his great-grandfathers — as a half-breed … members of polite, even religious society would have called him a savage. … As much as a father can, I will see to it that my son does not shirk from his responsibility by ignoring his true identity — as I did. If he does, I fear, he will be doomed to repeat the upheaval that shook me, literally, to my roots. That was my grandmother’s gift to me.”

Jean Brace of Brace Books suggests that “persons who already own copies of McAuliffe’s books are welcome to bring them in to have the author sign them on Saturday.

Copies of the paperback ‘Bloodland’ will also be available for purchase and signing at that time. We will be glad to hold signed copies for those who are unable to come in to meet Dennis in person. Call us at 765-5173, 800-256-5173 or email@bracebooks.com.”

DEATHS

Betty Jean Wolfe States
John Robert Elk Jr.
Terri Lynn Westerman

Obituaries

Betty Jean Wolfe States

Betty Jean Wolfe States, lifelong Ponca City resident, died Tuesday, March 6, 2001, at Shawn Manor Nursing Home. She was 73.

A graveside service will be held Friday, March 9, 2001, at 2 p.m. at Longwood Cemetery with the Rev. Virgil M. Swift, retired Baptist minister, officiating. Burial will be under the direction of Trout Funeral Home.

Betty Jean was born Oct. 16, 1927, in Alva, the daughter of George J. and Alta N. (Lozier) Schauf. She came to Ponca City very early in her life and attended Ponca City schools. On April 17, 1944, she married Robert O. Wolfe in Pawhuska. To this union was born four children. She later married Roy C. States, and he preceded her in death in 1970.

Betty Jean was a hard worker. She served her family as a homemaker, as well as working as a waitress and kitchen helper in several restaurants in town. She was a member of the Baptist Church. She enjoyed doing embroidery work, playing dominoes, and working in the garden.

She is survived by two daughters, Carolyn Warnecke and Jeannie Beck and her husband Ervin, both of the Ponca City; and two sons, Robert E. Wolfe and his wife Gail of of Albuquerque, N.M., and Tommy L. Wolfe and his wife Gloria of Lake Jackson, Texas. Additional survivors include nine grandchildren, John Warnecke and his wife Darleanna, Tammy Jean Wedd and her husband Eric, Tommy Blubaugh Jr. and his wife Mickey, Terry Ray Blubaugh and his wife Bea, Teresa Lynn Blubaugh and her friend Tim Adams, Stephanie Fleming, Renea Wolfe, Robert E. Wolfe Jr., and Lisa Michelle Dodd; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson, Christian Allen.

In addition to her parents and both husbands, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, George Warnecke; sister, Maxine Snodgrass; and a brother, Lewis Junior Schauf.

Contributions may be made in her memory to Hospice of Ponca City, 1904 N. Union, Suite 103, Ponca City, Okla. 74601.

paid obituary

Funerals

Friday

John Robert Elk Jr.

John Robert Elk Jr. — Funeral at 1 p.m. in Grace Episcopal Church under the direction of Trout Funeral Home.

Terri Lynn Westerman

Terri Lynn Westerman — Funeral at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church followed by burial in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery under direction of Trout Funeral Home.

NEWS BRIEFS

Subject Held — An officer in the 3500 block of North Union Street reported an 18-year-old man was taken into custody for larceny from an automobile at 9:19 a.m. Wednesday.

Chili Supper Postponed — The Peckam Volunteer Fire Department’s chili supper scheduled for Friday has been postponed till a later date. Information about the date and time will be announced later.

Pauline’s Steak and shrimp dinner. $11.95. Friday, March 9th. For reservations call 765-5460. adv.

Subject Held — A caller advised Ponca City police of seeing a registered sex offender with a woman and her baby at 10:56 a.m. Wednesday. An officer was assigned and two subjects were taken into custody near the intersection of Third Street and Jay Street in the Kay County area. A 20-year-old man was taken into custody on three city warrants for failure to appear and, a 34-year-old man on both city and Kay County warrants.

Subject Held — An officer at the intersection of Franklin Street and South Avenue reported a 30-year-old woman was taken into custody after a traffic stop at 3:13 p.m. Wednesday.

Free Pregnancy test. Birth Choice cares. Confidential. Hours: Monday 1-3 p.m., Tuesday, 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, 1-3 p.m. and Thursday, 6-8 p.m. 700 West

Broadway. 765-9689. adv.

Russell Fox of Capital Barber Shop will be on vacation March 9th - March 17th. adv.

Accident — A two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Fifth Street and South Avenue was reported to Ponca City police at 5:37 p.m. Wednesday. It was also reported that two subjects were fighting at the scene. Two officers responded to the call and a report was taken.

Head Country all day Friday special­ All you can eat, smoked BBQ ribs, beans, potato salad, and coleslaw, only $7.49, all day. 1217 East Prospect. 767-8304. adv

Subject Held — A Ponca City booking officer reported a 25-year-old man was transferred in from the Kay County Sheriff’s Office on a city warrant at 5:44 p.m. Wednesday.

Dougan's Bar-B-Q Friday special from 4-8 p.m., all you can eat ribs with beans, potato salad and coleslaw, $8.49. 215 South 14th,

765-7979. adv.

Gas Drive-Off — A clerk at Citgo Short Stop No. 1, 400 East South Avenue, reported a $15 gas drive-off to Ponca City police at 12:12 a.m. Thursday. A description was given of the vehicle.

Disturbance — A caller advised Ponca City police of a domestic argument between a mother and her 39-year-old son in progress in the 1000 block of Poplar at 3:33 p.m. Wednesday. Police were unable to locate the son, who was wanted on a warrant for domestic assault and battery, upon arrival. A short time later he was located at Roosevelt School, 815 East Highland Avenue, and taken into custody.

GARDENING

Diggin’ in the Dirt

Diggin’ in the Dirt

by Kathy Zehr

Cool Season Vegetables

IF the weather ever settles down, and IF the ground ever dries out, maybe we will be allowed to get the early spring plantings made in the vegetable and flower gardens. As I write this column early in the week, the weatherman is predicting more rain and maybe some snow for Thursday. Patience is a virtue of a good gardener “they” say. In times like these, I can understand why “they” usually remain anonymous!

While waiting for the ground to dry out, we have been making more trips to local garden centers and stores to find early plantables that will withstand light frosts. Some garden center managers or owners said they were waiting another week or so for the weather to stabilize before stocking their shelves with cool crop seedlings and plants.

We did find some cabbage and collard plants at Walmart along with some purple potato sets and strawberry plants. K-Mart has dusty miller, pansies, snapdragons and allysum for flowerbeds. We also found asparagus plants, ground covers, strawberries, cabbage, rhubarb and pansies at Keathlys. Lowes also has a good variety of many spring plantables as well.

While waiting for the ground to dry out, let’s talk about the planting of cool season vegetables that may be seeded or planted directly into the ground. Remember first of all, that almost all cool season crops require a soil temperature of 40 degrees F at the level where seeds are sown in the ground. Most seeds will not germinate in soil that is cooler and may rot in the ground.

SPINACH

Almost every variety of spinach provides good eating in early spring or as a fall crop because it tends to bolt (go to seed) and get strong and tough growing in temperatures above 75 degrees. Spinach may be seeded in the ground 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost and seems to grow best when seeded in a wide row about one inch apart. After the plants sprout, they should be thinned to every three inches (use thinnings in salads!). In a 3x3-foot space you can harvest approximately 120 spinach plants.

Since tender spinach leaves are attractive to numerous insects, cover the plot with a portable light-weight clear polypropylene row cover at planting time. Remove the cover only to thin the plants. If you must wait until later to plant spinach, find a shaded location to keep it out of the hot sun. In the fall, sow seeds 4-6 weeks before the first expected frost. Tender varieties mature in about 50 days.

A New Zealand Spinach variety can be grown through the summer months and seems to thrive in hot weather. The large plants provide small green leaves, which can be picked from the top of the plant for fresh greens all summer. The seeds for this variety are slow to germinate and should be soaked in water for 24 hours before planting.

CHARD

Swiss Chard is a good all-around green, providing cuttings throughout the gardening season. It grows equally well in both cool and hot temperatures. Chard is planted and cared for like spinach, but should be thinned to 6-inches apart while small. Plants grow up to 30 inches tall with dark green, light green, or rainbow colored stalks, and crinkled or smooth leaves — depending on the variety. Keep chard covered with a clear, light-weight, polypropylene fabric to keep insects at bay.

LETTUCE AND RADISHES

Lettuce and radishes may be directly seeded into the ground now, and do well in 3x3-feet plots. We plant only one 3-foot row at a time, then continue to plant another row every week or two until hot weather. Succession planting is ideal for these salad type plants so they will mature at various times. Follow depth planting suggested on the seed packet.

Some interesting historical trivia records that radishes were used as an antidote for poisoning, a cure for snake bites, to alleviate the pain of childbirth and to remove freckles. When mixed with honey and dried sheep’s blood - they cured baldness as well! In Greek and Roman times, the radish was very different than it is today.

Radishes weighed 50-100 pounds and were grown for winter storage. Cooked or eaten raw they were often prepared with honey and vinegar. Thomas Jefferson grew 8 varieties at Monticello and early settlers ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Lettuce is a member of the daisy family. Jefferson grew 15 varieties of lettuce in his gardens in the 1800s. Back then, only two varieties were the heading type. Today citizens of the U.S. consume over four billion heads or about 30 pounds per person per year.

Next week we will discuss planting tips for peas, asparagus, rhubarb, roses, berries and other plants that should be seeded or planted outdoors in March.

SPORTS

Po Hi JV Results
Sooners Break New Ground

Po Hi JV Results

Tennis

Ponca City’s Wildcat JV boys took second and the Lady Wildcat JV were third in the Ponca City JV Quad held at the Wally Smith Tennis Center Monday.

The No. 1 doubles team of Squire Lawrence and exchange student Danail Georgiev won all three of their matches

The No, 1 singles player Michael Stuemky was 2-1 on the day as was the No. 2 doubles team of Jay Norris and Kris Upchurch. No. 2 singles player Jerry Ward was 1-2.

For the Lady Cats, No. 2 singes player Allison Ford was 1-2 as were the doubles team of Amber Foy and Tiffany Almack along with Katie Blake and Danielle Keim. Amanda Lewis was 0-3 in the No. 1 singles.

Both JV teams joined the varsity in playing Bartlesville here today

Soccer

Ponca City’s JV boys’ soccer team shutout Cleveland 5-0 while the Lady Wildcat JVs won 4-2 in a pair of matches here Tuesday.

Doug Flett had four goals for the Cats and Ryan Goodman one.

The JV teams join the varsity in matches at Bartlesville Friday evening

Sooners Break New Ground

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — This season’s Big 12 women’s tournament is far from typical for Oklahoma.

Before today, the top-seeded Sooners were the only conference school not to win a tournament game.

But that changed after Rosalind Ross scored 17 points to help No. 7 Oklahoma beat Kansas 87-61 to give the Sooners a semifinal berth.

“This is the first time in Kansas City that I didn’t have to shed tears,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. “We’re glad that it’s over. The first tournament I brought one outfit. This year, I packed them all.”

The Sooners (25-4, 16-1 Big 12) started the game with a 13-0 run and then held off a second-half rally to reach Thursday’s semifinals. Oklahoma will play Colorado.

The Buffaloes advanced by beating Missouri 83-72.

Oklahoma, the Big 12 regular season champion, was 16-of-26 from the field in the first half en route to a 40-26 halftime lead.

Ninth-seeded Kansas (12-17, 5-12 Big 12) trailed by 15 before going on a 7-0 run with 13:18 left to cut the lead to 51-43. But Ross scored six straight points and Kansas couldn’t recover.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to come out of it,” Sooner guard Sunny Hardeman said. “We’ve been through this before. We knew what to do.”

Hardeman and Stacey Dales each had 12 points and LaNeishea Caufield had 10 for Oklahoma. Ross hit 4-of-5 3-pointers as Oklahoma shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc.

“Rosalind Ross was just outstanding off the bench for us,” Coale said.

Jaclyn Johnson had 21 points, Jennifer Jackson added 11 and Brooke Reves 10 for Kansas.

Kansas beat Oklahoma State 66-56 in the first round on Tuesday. Following Wednesday’s loss, coach Marian Washington tried to hold back tears.

“In the locker room, I focused on my seniors,” she said. “I have three wonderful women. A lot of people don’t know about the ups and downs this season. But they carried us through it.”

No. 7 OKLAHOMA 80, KANSAS 61

KANSAS (12-17)

Reves 5-9 0-0 10, Johnson 9-17 3-5 21, White 2-4 4-4 8, Hilgenkamp 4-10 0-0 9, Jackson 4-11, 2-2 11, Geoffroy 0-3 2-2 2, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 11-13 61.

OKLAHOMA (25-4)

Hill 4-9 0-0 8, Talbert 4-7 1-4 9, Hardeman 4-10 0-0 12, Caufield 4-10 0-0 10, Dales 4-12 4-4 12, Taylor 3-4 0-2 6, Simon 0-0 2-2 2, Luce 0-1 0-0 0, Seeley 1-4 0-0 2, Britt 0-0 2-2 2, Ross 5-7 3-3 17, Selmon 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 12-17 80.

Halftime—Oklahoma 40, Kansas 26. 3-Point goals—Kansas 2-6 (Johnson 0-1, Hilgenkamp 1-4, Jackson 1-1), Oklahoma 10-24 (Hill 0-1, Hardeman 4-10, Caufield 2-4, Dales 0-3, Luce 0-1, Ross 4-5). Fouled out—Reves. Rebounds—Kansas 27 (Johnson 9) Oklahoma 41 (Hill 8). Assists—Kansas 11 (Jackson 4), Oklahoma 23 (Dales 7). Total fouls—Kansas 16, Missouri 15. A—NA.