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Biographies
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Willard Stone
(1916-1985)
Sculptor Willard Stone, of one-quarter Cherokee ancestry, was born on February 29, 1916, at Oktaha, near Muskogee, Oklahoma, and educated in Oktaha public schools. He later credited his career as an artist to the influence of Oklahoma historian Grant Foreman, who saw Stone's early efforts exhibited at state fairs in Muskogee and Okmulgee and encouraged him to enroll in art classes at Bacone College. There he subsequently studied under Acee Blue Eagle and Woodrow Crumbo. Stone attended Bacone College from 1936 to 1939. He married after leaving school and supported himself at various jobs. From 1948 to 1951 he worked for Thomas Gilcrease, Tulsa oil man and art collector, for whom he produced a unique series of wood sculptures. Stone later worked in Tulsa as an ornamental pattern maker for Ernest Wieman Iron Works and as a die finisher for Douglas Aircraft Company. He eventually established a permanent studio near Locust Grove and after 1961 devoted himself entirely to art.
Exhibiting regionally and nationally, Stone gained wide recognition for his stylized human and animal figures created from a variety of locally obtainable woods and occasionally cast in ceramic or bronze. He produced commissioned pieces for the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians at Anadarko in 1964, the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1965, and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City in 1966. In 1969 his illustrations appeared in Cherokee Spirit Tales by Jack Gregory and Rennard Strickland, published by the Indian Heritage Association. That year, Stone received the Outstanding Indian Award from the Council of American Indians in Tulsa.
Willard Stone was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1970. Bacone College awarded him an honorary degree in 1972. Oklahoma Christian College in Oklahoma City designated him a Distinguished American Citizen in 1974 and awarded him an honorary doctor of humanities degree in 1976. Meanwhile, between 1969 and 1980 he received a total of ten awards in juried competitions at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, including that of Master Artist in 1973. He died on March 5, 1985, and was buried in the family cemetery at his home near Locust Grove.
Stone's work is preserved in public and private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Several pieces in the Gilcrease collection are unusual in relating to the birth of the atomic age. They are among the few of his works based on a contemporary theme. Important collections of Stone's work also are found at the Willard Stone Museum in Locust Grove, the Five Civilized Tribes Museum, the Cherokee National Museum near Tahlequah, and the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
["Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture"]
Senator Stratton Taylor
37th President Pro Tempore
Senator Stratton Taylor is the youngest of four in his family by 13 years, and was the first of his siblings to be born in a house with electricity and running water. His love for education and politics can be traced to his parents, Owen and Velma Taylor. Both were educators and were the first in their families to stay in school beyond the eighth grade. Out of his class of 17 students at Alluwe High School, Senator Taylor was the only one to graduate from college, earning first a degree from Claremore Junior College. The institution is now Rogers State University. The RSU library is named after him. Upon graduation from CJC, Taylor then attended the University of Tulsa obtaining an undergraduate degree and ultimately receiving his Juris Doctorate. He worked his way through college by sacking groceries, and received his undergraduate degree in education. At the age of 22, while a senior at the University of Tulsa, Taylor entered politics, running for the State House of Representatives and winning. While in the legislature, he attended law school, alternating between the University of Tulsa and Oklahoma City University to complete his degree in four years. While attending TU during the legislative session, he often would hitchhike because of the poor condition of his car. As Senator Taylor was finishing law school, he was taking the first steps to becoming one of the most influential politicians in Oklahoma. At 26, he was elected to the State Senate and at 33, was appointed Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. In 1995, with the unanimous support of both his Democratic and Republican colleagues, Taylor was elected the presiding officer of the Oklahoma State Senate, the highest leadership position in the Senate and third in line behind the Governor and Lt. Governor. He served in that capacity (as Senate President Pro Tempore) for eight years – the longest tenure in Oklahoma state history. In 2000, Taylor became the first Oklahoman to be elected Chairman of the Senate President’s Forum, a national organization comparable to the National Governor’s Association. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. Taylor was also named by an Oklahoma City newspaper as one of the ten most powerful Oklahomans. After twenty-four years of service, Taylor left the State Senate in 2006 at the age of 51 to practice law full time. Engaging in both plaintiff and defense work, his firm regularly represents Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Hillcrest Hospital, Stephens Production Company, AIG Insurance, and others, as well as serving as local counsel for many defense firms across the country. Taylor has numerous reported defense cases including Southern Disposal, Inc. v. Texas Waste Management and the City of Hugo, 161 F.3d 1259 (10th Cir. 1998). He, along with another lawyer, has the largest plaintiff’s verdict in Rogers County history with a $10 million verdict that was upheld by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Hinds v. Warren Transport, 882 P.2d 1099 (Okl. App. 1994). He is the founding partner in the law firm of Taylor, Burrage, Foster, Mallett, Downs & Ramsey which represents clients statewide. Taylor is also a Life Member of the Uniform Law Commission and has been named an Oklahoma Super Lawyer by Oklahoma Magazine. He was a founding fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Taylor is married to former State Representative, Dr. Carolyn Thompson Taylor. They have two children, Carson Owen Taylor and Abbey Anne Taylor.
[source: strattontaylor.com]
Austin Ben Tincup
Austin Ben Tincup was born on Friday, April 14, 1893, in Adair, Oklahoma. Tincup was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 22, 1914, with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was known by his nickname, Millionaire Indian. "(Joe) Giovannetti has a vast collection of anecdotes like that of 100-percent Cherokee pitcher, Ben Tincup, who as a 70-year-old pitching coach for the New York Yankees threw nine strikes out of ten pitches blindfolded from the mound." He played his last game on September 15, 1928. He died on July 5, 1980 at Claremore, Oklahoma and his buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
[Source: baseball-almanac.com]
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