News Staff Writer

Several vivid murals, which have been painted on downtown buildings in the past year, reflect Oklahoma's rich history. Those images are especially poignant on today's 102nd anniversary of Statehood Day, since they illustrate so many of the influences that shaped the destiny of the region.

The murals, painted by Dr. Bob Palmer of the University of Central Oklahoma, his students and fellow mural artists, have added color and a panache to downtown Ponca City, complementing the downtown sidewalk replacement project and new period light fixtures along Grand Avenue.

Through sketches and brush strokes, the muralists have brought back reminders of E.W. Marland and his dynasty; the history of the railroad through Ponca City; long-remembered landmarks such as the Arcade Hotel; early-day automobiles and advertising logos.

The most recent mural, completed a month ago, features the colorful history of the 101 Ranch and the family that owned and operated the 101 Wild West Show — the Miller Brothers. The mural also includes the image of Chief White Eagle, honoring the Ponca tribe.

White Eagle's great-grandchildren, Wilkie Eagle Sr., 68, Mildred E. Warrior, 88 and Douglas Eagle Sr., 73, appreciated the chief's inclusion in the mural so much that they held a ceremony to bless the mural and presented Indian blankets to Palmer and State Rep. Ken Luttrell, as well as a shawl to Main Street Director Jayne Detten.

"We came downtown to pay tribute to White Eagle, the people of Ponca City and the people of the Ponca Tribe," Douglas Eagle said.

Eagle praised Palmer for including notable black cowboy Bill Pickett, who invented the sport of bulldogging, in the mural as well as White Eagle.

The driving force behind the murals is the Downtown Mural Project Committee, which includes Jim Sindelar, Steve Bookout, Sheila Foxworthy, Detten and Burton Brandt.

"This started out four years ago and we have five murals done now," Brandt said.

Brandt said he hopes to have Palmer create more murals in Ponca City. "We're looking at Darr School or the possibility of having one at the airport," he said. "We're awaiting approval on those ideas."

He's also entertaining the idea of adding more images to the 101 Ranch mural at Grand Avenue and Union Street, on the east side of the Nonamaker Building.

"It turned out to be an excellent location," Brandt said. "The Ponca Tribe helped us with choosing the colors for Chief White Eagle and contacted his great-grandson, Douglas Eagle Sr."

That input was helpful because the only photos of Chief White Eagle were in black and white.

Brandt said that when the 101 Ranch mural was planned, there was a special meeting of the mural committee, Ponca City Main Street, the 101 Ranch Old Timers Association, the 101 Ranch collectors and the 101 Ranch Rodeo Committee.

Suggestions were compiled from the different committees to form a workable framework for the mural, Brandt said, and the information was given to Palmer.

He then worked up a mural depicting the 101 Ranch and the Wild West Show, Brandt said, which was refined through suggestions from the mural committee members on site.

Brandt said the 101 Ranch mural was the first time Palmer had used a technique to simulate parchment as a background for his artwork.

The 101 Ranch and Wild West Show mural faces the first mural Palmer's crew painted, just across the railroad tracks on the south side of the 100 block of West Grand Avenue. It and the companion piece on the east side of the same building were painted in October 2008.

Two smaller advertising murals were recreated and enhanced in the 200 block of South Second Street in June.

The cost of the most recent project was $18,000, according to the Ponca City Main Street Program. The Downtown Mural Committee provided $4,000 in seed money for the project. Another $5,000 was provided through the Ponca City Main Street facade grant program, which required matching funds to be raised. The committee also applied to ConocoPhillips for a grant of $1,000, which is still pending.

Tax-deductible donations to the mural committee can be made to the Ponca City Main Street, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, with a notation for "Downtown Mural Fund." A special fund has been opened at Eastman National Bank to accept mural gifts.

For more information, contact Main Street at 763-8082.