Centennial Bench - Ponca City, OK
Posted by: hamquilter
N 36° 42.194 W 097° 04.688
14S E 671671 N 4063673
This bench commemorates Oklahoma's 100 years of Statehood.
Waymark Code: WMWEFJ
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2017
Views: 7
Located in the beautiful Centennial Plaza in front of Ponca City "City Hall" among other memorials and dedications is this metal bench. Under a cut-out of the year "2007", a plaque describes the commemoration. It reads:
"The Centennial Bench is made of steel, like the people who have made Oklahoma what it is today. The bench is 100 inches long and there will be 100 of them produced. Each bench will come with a certificate of origin and number of each bench. The design is by metal artist James Murr and is wife Rose. The back of the bench details the history of Oklahoma from 1907 to 2007.
If you notice the time between 1907 and 2007 makes three significant dips, only to rise a little higher each time, and always with the sun shining on it. These signify three important events in Oklahoma history. The first is the Crash of '29, the second is the Dirty Thirties, and the third is the bombing of the Murrah Building. The people of Oklahoma are a hardy bunch, tough and a whole lot plain stubborn. When the Crash of '29 came, a lot of people just gave up, but a true Okie does not know when to quit. Before anyone could get a grip on the fact that there was no money, no jobs, and most important, no food, along came the drought of the Thirties. What wasn't wiped out by the Crash, either was blown away or covered up. The ones that had enough tenacity to stick it out are the ones that make Oklahoma what it is today. The bombing that took one hundred and sixty eight lives from us was a horrible thing we will never forget, but again through the crying and the tears those people of steel kept on keeping on making the rest of the country realize we are here to stay. May God continue to bless this great land and its people."