Oklahoma Centennial Bench - Ponca City, OK
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 36° 42.192 W 097° 04.672
14S E 671695 N 4063669
Two benches on the sidewalk in front of city hall. hamquilter entered one (#23 - west side), this is the other (#22 - east side).
Waymark Code: WMZKFQ
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2018
Views: 6
County of bench: Kay County
Location of bench: 5th St. & Grand Ave., city hall grounds, Ponca City
Bench erected: 2007
Centennial Committee
If you check hamquilter's submission from the other side of the side walk, you will note the plaques have been changes since my visit. My plaques are numbered.
Bench Text: 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. Bench # 22