Sunshine on Oklahoma - Ponca City, OK - Silhouette Public Art Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This bench, on the east side of the entrance to the Ponca City Library, is one of three in this area. Two others are across the street on either side of the entrance to City Hall. The plaques have been changed since the other two benches were waymarked; the text is the same, but has been reformatted and the current plaques are not numbered.

The plaque text is:

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 his 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.

Title of Piece: Sunshine on Oklahoma Artist: James and Rose Murr Material/Media: Steel Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Ponca City Public Library Web link(s) for additional information: [Web Link]

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.