Honorable Mention - Open Division
Janet Stalcup-Smith
Ponca City, OK
Oklahoma Governors Reach for the Stars
I began this year's collage with the theme of Oklahoma Governors. I researched the 24 Governors which have served Oklahoma over the past 100 years.
The structuring of a new government took place in Guthrie on November 20, 1906. Out of the 112 seats, the Democrats took 99, the Republicans only 12. The one Independent decided to throw in with the Democrats. The governor would be head of the executive branch and responsible for administering the state's laws.
Charles N. Haskell was elected the first governor. His first office was located in Oklahoma City in the Lee-Huckins Hotel. He was governor from 1907 to 1911 and served as a Democrat. The state of Oklahoma has elected 21 Democrats and 3 Republicans (Henry Bellmon serving twice).
Twenty-three of the twenty-four governors were highly educated. Governor Boren graduated with honors and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar. Six governors earned degrees from the University of Oklahoma; one governor received a degree from Oklahoma State University, and 5 earned degrees from other colleges in the state of Oklahoma. Eleven governors earned degrees outside the state of Oklahoma, with only one governor being self educated.
Oklahoma governors came from many different occupational backgrounds. There have been 18 lawyers, 2 farmers and even 1 FBI agent! The remaining 5 governors had careers in Education, Industrial Engineering, Real Estate and the Military Service.
Interestingly enough, only ten of Oklahoma's 24 governors were actually born in Oklahoma. Robert Samuel Kerr was Oklahoma's first native born governor. He was born in Ada on September 11, 1896.
I chose Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh, as the background for my collage. The border of the collage is a painted design of Indian ribbon work to memorialize our Native Americans and their many contributions to our state. The state capital building is covered in newsprint to symbolize that laws /government are man made. The governor's portraits, in the grass, denote that each one began their political career at the grassroots level. As governors, they won many significant political campaigns. They did indeed - Reach For The Stars. |
