Sapulpa is a community steeped in a deep history and pride that pre-dates statehood in Oklahoma, as the cityÕs very name bears witness. Native American trader, Sapulpa, who was first called "Chief Sapulpa" by loggers and railroad workers, established a trading post on the banks of Rock Creek while Oklahoma still was Indian Territory. By the time of his death, Sapulpa had become one of the most successful businessmen of his time, with a ranch that spread for 20 miles in Creek County.
At incorporation in 1898, founding community leaders named the city in his honor, and to date, "Chief Sapulpa's" descendants reside in the city and her surrounding communities.
City residents take great pride not only in the stories of Sapulpa and his rise to success, but also in the development of their community from the small trading post "Chief Sapulpa" first established on the creek, through the tough days of the Great Depression, catastrophic economic blows, such as the literal overnight relocation of the railroad industry to neighboring Tulsa, and glory days when oil flowed freely and stately hotels, movie theatres and local businesses dotted the skyline from the northern hill. It's Americana at its best in the Heartland, a 100-year-plus heritage Sapulpa residents share with one another and diligently work to preserve.
To illustrate Sapulpa's heritage, Sapulpa Arts asked member/artist Brean Crosby to create a work for the Collage 2000 Project that would not only reflect the economic, developmental and historical elements of the cityÕs past 100 years, but also reflect the artistic elements of Sapulpa. That she did in "100 Pictures Celebrating the Pride of Sapulpa."
Using a selected collection of 100 photos and prints of artifacts from various aspects of the city's 100-year history, Crosby compiled a piece that not only depicts the facts, but the culture, the art, the talent, the skill, the hardships, the hard work, the camaraderie that is Sapulpa today. In short, she's captured the very heart of Sapulpa in the collage project Sapulpa Arts presents.
With the assistance of the Sapulpa Historical Society, the Sapulpa Daily Herald, Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce, Sapulpa Main Street, Tulsa-Sapulpa-Union Railroad and Sapulpa Arts, Crosby employed photos and archival prints that vary from strictly black and white, to Crosby's own colorized versions of black and white photos and on to color photographs and color sketches by local artists.
Woven among the tapestry in photos and prints are the threads that have formed Sapulpa, an All-American city. In addition to the railroad, glass and logging industries illustrated, Crosby defines elements of life in Sapulpa, from the city's small beginnings to a community with architectural clarity, style and cultural identity.
Encapsulated in the collage are performances by Bob Wills and his Catfish Band, who played the dance floors of Sapulpa in the 1930's and '40s, the community band and high school band in 1996 and 1997 and the Sapulpa Community Theatre's production of a the classic To Kill a Mockingbird in 1998; head shots of Sapulpa's only professional baseball player as well as her first Washington correspondent and "Chief Sapulpa" himself; cultural offerings, such as Native American dance demonstrations and a fountain of native sandstone to commemorate the city's Centennial. Following the lines of progression, the collage takes viewers from the "horse and buggy" days in Sapulpa to a community that has invested more than $20 million in restorative endeavors to maintain the integrity of her historical downtown area
For Sapulpa Arts, the collage also includes the artistic endeavors of Sapulpans - children drawing on sidewalks with sidewalk chalk, plays, sketches drawn by artists who reside in the city, concerts, art shows that showcase the works of adults and children, professionals and amateurs
Most of all, the collage portrays the true nature of Sapulpa through the pictures of her people. Viewers will find it difficult to look at photos of ruddy faces of Sapulpa's earliest pioneers and not imagine the heartaches and triumphs held within the lines that crease their foreheads and circle:their eyes, for therein lies Sapulpa's past. They'll have trouble glancing at the smiles of those Sapulpans who have put their very hearts and souls into creating and building the city ... without smiling back ... for therein lies Sapulpa's present. They'll find it hard not to wonder at the wonder of the children they see dancing to the beat of their Native American forefathers, reaching for the stars on the basketball court or painting a message in brilliant colors on a canvas, for therein lies Sapulpa's future.
That was the goal of "100 Pictures Celebrating the Pride of Sapulpa," both for Sapulpa Arts and for Brean Crosby. Welcome to our world ... its past, present and future.