Sam and Prince - Hillside Cemetery - Purcell, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 34° 59.910 W 097° 22.772
14S E 647879 N 3874076
This memorial is dedicated to two well known and loved horses of the Purcell Fire Department.
Waymark Code: WM125QA
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/05/2020
Views: 2
Near the entrance to Hillside Cemetery, on Highway 39 southwest of Purcell, is a headstone in memory of Sam and Prince, two horses who worked for the Purcell Fire Department from 1902 to 1922. Their story is documented on the Find a Grave website, and their accomplishments are recorded online from an article written in the Oklahoman in 1989.
The headstone reads: "In these hallowed grounds lie Sam and Prince, two horses, the Pride of Purcell's Fire Department. Fifteen years of service to the Purcell Fire Department. May 1913, these two horses and the Purcell Fire Department set a world record in the "Bunkout" contest, with the time of one minute, seven and 2/5 seconds. Team: Frank Boyer, Charles Curtis, Henry Krapf, Arthur Sykes and George Wilson. Trainer: Henry Dodson."
In the Oklahoman article, a "bunkout" contest is described: "In a bunkout race at Sapulpa, Prince and Sam set a world record of 1 minute, 7 and 2/5ths seconds. The historical record reports: "The firemen were in makeshift bunks on the course when the bells rang. They jerked on their overalls and boots, slid down a pole to harness Sam and Prince and then drove the one-quarter mile course, whereupon the four men hit the ground running, and laid out 250 feet of hose and attached the nozzle to the water supply."
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