Honorable Mention - Open
Janet Stalcup, Ponca City

Ponca City My Hometown

My hometown is Ponca City, Oklahoma. In north-central Oklahoma, all roads lead to Ponca City. It is a place of sturdy spruce and red cedar, rolling hills, and idyllic valleys. We live on the edge of the Great Plains where wheat and cattle decorate our land as far as you can see. It's a clean town with the occasionally unmistakable smell of bubbling crude. (One local historian has nicknamed the smell "Money".)

Ponca City started its life as a Ponca Indian Reservation. The Discovery of Oil quickly placed us on the map during the oil boom and life, as we knew it became something of the past. In Ponca City, oil is what cars are to Detroit and Coca-Cola is to Atlanta. From there, Oil Business, People, Theatre and money poured into Ponca City. A castle on the prairie became our new status symbol built by E.W. Marland (the founder of the company now know as "Conoco"). Marland visited Ponca City during the spring of 1911. His Midas touch soon turned him into a multi-millionaire and in the years to come, a philanthropist, congressman (1932), Oklahoma's tenth governor (1935 to 1939), and Ponca City's most famous citizen. The larger than life statue of the Pioneer Woman (commissioned by Marland) still stands as a symbol of our past and guards over our traditions lest we forget our beginnings. Soon we became the place to visit and live. Life was good.

Ponca City today boasts of the fourth largest oil refinery in the United States. Our history is rich and we have a bright future. Wheat, cotton and cattle are produced in the Ponca City area. Our industries include a computer service company, businesses which provide oilfield equipment, oilfield drilling, tools, garage door, air systems components, meat products and dozens of support industries, which provide careers for workers throughout our region.

We have a state of the art football stadium and are proud of our student diversity. We have a 6-A student population, involved in top sport competition across the state. This year, as years in the past, we won the State Wrestling title. Many of our students go on to college and or the local Vo-Tech program.

Ponca City has a large community of churches. Their activities keep our town involved with people and local issues. Many of our church's buildings were built during the oil boom. The early twenty's boasted lovely architectural styles with grand features and spacious grounds.

Each year, we celebrate many activities. Our new year starts with eagle watching out at the lake, and spring brings us the Iris Festival. The Poncan Theatre is home to year round performances and films. Other events include drag boat races, Freedom Festival at the Ponca lake to shoot fireworks (to celebrate the Fourth of July), 101 Ranch Wild West Rodeo, Moto -Cross Races, Parades to honor Veterans, Classic Horse Shows and my favorite, the Native American Pow-Wows. We are lucky to have within our city limits the Standing Bear Native American Memorial and the Yearly Pow-Wow, which honors Standing Bear. The White Eagle Reservation, hosts the Ponca Indian Pow-Wow, late in the summer months.