Rachel Whitney, Curator, Sapulpa Historical Museum
Friday, March 29, 1907, Sapulpa Light: Tore Up the Earth
“Last Saturday night the great 60 million gas well two and one half miles southeast of Sapulpa exploded. At any rate the earth, a quarter of a mile from the well. was spread open and gapping pits dotted the draw for half a mile. The tremendous force of the escaping gas blew stone and shale hundreds of feet and the earth trembled as though in the throes of an earthquake. Dishes and windows in farm houses a mile away rattled. The escaping gas in the fissure caught fire and the flames are still raging. The main crater is twenty feet long and four feet wide. Flames shoot up fifteen feet at this place, and at regular intervals along the draw small fires are burning. The big well is capped and tons of cement hold the cap in place, and the tremendous force of the gas had to have an outlet. Oil men say that never before has such a condition been known. All attempts to smother the flames have been of no avail. As long as the fire is kept from the big well no damage will be done, but the ground is liable to burst at the well at any moment. Thousands of people have witnessed the sight. At night the heavens are illuminated for miles. The heavy black smoke from the burning oil on the creek adds to the wonderful sight. An excursion from Kansas City is being arranged for Sunday and it is expected that hundreds of visitors will see the great freak of nature.”
Friday, March 29, 1912, Sapulpa Evening Democrat: Winners of Big Cake
“The dancing party at the Rink Theater last night attracted a large crowd and an evening of genuine pleasure was the result. The big cake, one of the largest ever made in the state, was won by Miss Hazel White and William Biggs as the best dancers present. Forty couples took places on the floor, when the prize dance was called. The judges cut out twenty couples on the first round. The second round reduced the contestants to ten couples and during the last the judges cut out one couple after another until only the above named remained. The huge cake was cut into 380 slices and served. The dancing club furnished the cream to go with it.”
Thursday, March 29, 1928, County Democrat News: Knapp Outlines Rules for Safe Farming in 1928
“The Safe Farming for 1928 program worked out by Dr. Bradford Knapp, president of the Oklahoma A. and M. college, carries the following suggestions: 1. A garden for every farm family to supply home needs throughout the year, including enough ground for Irish or sweet potatoes, or both, for home use. 2. Each farmer should produce enough grain crops to feed his livestock. 3. Each farm should produce hay and forage and have pasture enough for the livestock for the year. 4. Each farmer should grow as much as possible of his own food and particularly the meat, milk and eggs for the family. 5. Certainly there is no reason for increasing the acreage of cotton this year, but every reason for holding it down and reducing it at least 10 per cent. 6. The excess products of the farm, outside of cotton, should be sold or exchanged to meet the living expenses of the family…”
Friday, March 29, 1935, Sapulpa Free Press: School Meet Set Saturday
“Thousands of Creek County boys and girls are expected to attend the annual Literary, Fine Arts and Academic contests at Bristow next Saturday, according to Alvin Wesley Hicks, county superintendent. Hicks expects six or seven schools in Clasa A, five in Class B and between 15 and 20 in Class C to send representatives. Information sheets with complete schedules for all events of Saturday’s contests were mailed to county schools last week and several letters of acceptance have been sent back to Homer S. Anderson, Bristow High School principal, who is in charge of arrangements for the contests. A major change in the usual procedure in the fine arts division is that the one-act play contest will be held Saturday night for which an admission charge is to be made. Sapulpa schools are not entered in the county meets, as the four larger schools of the county, Sapulpa, Bristow, Drumright and Oilton, voted a few years ago not to participate in the contests.”
