Trait Thompson

It’s time to brush up on your Route 66 historic architecture knowledge! In the latest episode of “A Very OK Podcast,” hosts @TraitThompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn discuss the unique buildings and structures on Route 66. #Route66 #MotherRoad #Architecture #OklahomaHistory

We had a fantastic time at our annual Awards Banquet last night! Congratulations to all our honorees, including Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame inductees Donald L. Fixico, David W. Levy (posthumous), Linda D. Wilson, and Timothy A. Zwink.

Will Rogers is one of the most fascinating people in American history. A great philosopher and trusted national voice. An influential figure in early Hollywood and the rise of Los Angeles. A legendary Native American proud of his heritage. And a huge proponent of aviation at a time when this revolutionary technology was new. When I became mayor of OKC there wasn’t a single explanation of who he was at our airport named for him. Slowly but surely, we have elevated his story, and this week debuts a fantastic new historical display. I hope you get a chance to check it out soon!

It is spring break for hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma students! The Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore and the Oklahoma History Center Museum in Oklahoma City both have activities throughout the week. Check them out! #SpringBreak #Oklahoma #FamilyFun

Guy Clark - Old No. 1

It’s the middle of the week, which means the weekend is coming! It’s never too early to start thinking about a weekend road trip, especially if you could win prizes! It’s all part of our annual #ExploreOHS Travel Contest. Visit okhistory.org/exploreohs for details.

Yesterday's Bob Wills Day at the Capitol was one of the best yet! The Oklahoma Historical Society is proud to sponsor this event each year along with the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Oklahoma Film and Music Office.

The sounds of Western swing will fill the halls of the Oklahoma State Capitol on Monday, March 9! Join us from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. for Bob Wills Day at the Capitol. There will be free live music, dancing under the dome, and exhibitors in the second-floor rotunda.

Watch Eric Church & Stephen Wilson Jr. Deliver Incredible Stripped-Back Duet Of “Pancho And Lefty” In Austin, Texas whiskeyriff.com/2026/03/01/wat… whiskeyriff.com/2026/03/01/wat…

Today I joined community leaders and Route 66 Centennial enthusiasts to announce the Kickin’ It on 66, Oklahoma City’s Centennial celebration honoring 100 years of Route 66. Mark your calendars for May 30th! We’ve got a full day of Oklahoma star studded music, family activities, and a spectacular Neon Nights Drone Show at Scissortail Park. For more information on OKC’s Kickin’ It on 66 Centennial event: kickiniton66.com

Dr. Levy was the Rothbaum Professor of Modern American History and the David Ross Boyd Professor of History at OU. In addition to his other works, Dr. Levy authored a two-volume history of OU in its early decades. 2/4

Acclaimed actor Robert Duvall has died at 95 years old. Although he never lived in the state, Duvall was embraced by Texans for his pivotal performance as Augustus McCrae in the 'Lonesome Dove' miniseries. Read our 1988 piece on the making of the series here: texasmonthly.com/arts-entertain…

@codylusnia The biggest difference is that Lincoln Blvd would have actually gone under the archways.

what if I told you that about 110 years ago when they were planning the Oklahoma state capitol grounds, they sketched out an arch that is just now being built.

Bob Dylan on Willie Nelson in The New Yorker

I took a drive to Hennessey yesterday to visit the monument to Oklahoma Territory Rough Rider, Roy Cashion. He was killed on the San Juan Heights in the Spanish American War on July 1, 1898. The monument was completed in 1903.

@EnpaPineda @ConsulMexOklah Looking good, Carlos!

Muy afortunados somos en @ConsulMexOklah de contar con la profesional colaboración y entrega del Cónsul Adscrito Carlos Padilla, quien celebra muy festivamente la Navidad 🎄y nos contagia su positivismo.

🎙️New episode of A Very OK Podcast out today! Learn more about the Oklahomans who fought in the Spanish American War alongside Col. Theodore Roosevelt.

Today marks 15 years of employment with the State of Oklahoma. I'm thankful for the incredible people I've had the privilege of working with along the way.

The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day is in regards to when the UT football team decided that the A&M football team played too rough/dirty and decided not to play the game for a few years. It's a great story. The hullabaloo blew up on Nov. 14, 1911, the morning after Texas had scraped out a 6-0 win over A&M at Houston’s West End Park — while fans of the two teams were busy waging a far more spirited contest in the bleachers. Back then, Varsity (Texas) and College (A&M) played each other about as often as two bored brothers in a lonely farmhouse, popping up in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston as part of the Not-Su-Oh carnival — which, as Houston proudly pointed out, was simply “Houston” spelled backward, proving that civic creativity was alive and well even in 1911. The games at West End Park were rowdy from the git-go. In 1908, A&M students took offense to Texas students carrying broomsticks like rifles (I guess because nothing says “intimidating military display” like an army of janitors) — and a Texas student ended up stabbed. Somehow, this did not cool things down. Then came the real plot twist: after going 1-13-2 against Texas from 1894 through 1908, A&M suddenly rattled off three straight wins behind coach Charles Barthold “Uncle Charley” Moran seen on the right in the attached photo. Moran was described by one historian as the early 1900s’ answer to Bill Belichick, presumably minus the hoodies. Moran arrived in College Station announcing, “I didn’t come here to lose,” and he mostly didn’t. The Farmers whipped Texas twice in 1909, including a 23-0 roasting in Houston, and won again in 1910. Texas fans, wounded in both pride and scoreboard, accused Moran of teaching “slugging,” the era’s term for dirty football. Their chant went: “To hell, to hell, with Charley Moran and all his dirty crew. If you don’t like the words to this song, to hell, to hell with you.” A&M’s Caesar “Dutch” Hohn countered, “He taught rough football but I never knew it to be dirty. He taught winning football.” Translation: your mileage may vary. On Nov. 13, 1911, the teams met again at West End Park in Houston. Texas lost lineman Marlon Harold to a broken leg on the first play — which tells you everything about the ambiance. But then A&M’s A.R. Bateman fumbled, Texas halfback Arnold Kirkpatrick scooped it up, galloped in for a five-point touchdown (those were the days), and with the extra point, Texas won 6-0. The Chronicle said the upset “shook every office building in Houston,” and given the postgame brawl, that may not have been metaphorical. Fans tore through a picket fence, fists flew, and Kern Tips later called it “a dilly of a donnybrook.” Football historian Lou Maysel added that downtown Houston was unsafe “for anyone wearing Texas colors as bands of A&M students roamed the streets.” Two days later, Texas’ athletics chairman W.T. Mather wrote to A&M, very politely declaring a divorce: “I beg to inform you that the athletic council of the University of Texas has decided not to enter any athletic relations with the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for the year 1912.” In the press, the mud-slanging made today’s social media fights look genteel. Texas team manager Stephen F. Pinckney said A&M “has earned a reputation for rotten athletics. … They admit trying to injure some of our men.” Lineman Marshall Ramsdell chimed in: “I never played in so dirty a game in my life… (A&M players) use brute force and break legs and arms and heads by slugging if necessary.” The Bryan Eagle fired back with the headline “Varsity Curses Sent Home to Roost,” and A&M athletic council president J.B. Bagley insisted, “The football team, the student body, the athletic council, the faculty and the alumni association have found nothing wrong in Mr. Moran’s systems or tactics.” With that, the schools went their separate ways. Texas lost just two games in the next three years and went unbeaten in 1914. A&M — fielding what many considered Moran’s best team in 1912 — outscored opponents 366-25 but nearly bankrupted itself without the Texas gate money. Eventually, former A&M players Hal Moseley and Joe Utay quietly opened channels with Texas, and in 1913 the Longhorns hired Theo Bellmont, a YMCA man from Houston who actually believed in diplomacy. On Nov. 30, 1914, the schools agreed to play again in 1915. Moran promptly resigned, citing “immediate pressure of other business” in Kentucky, received a full Corps parade, and wrote his players a farewell letter ending with: “If you still love me and think anything of me, then beat Texas.” They complied, winning 13-0 in College Station — a triumph that netted A&M a princely $3,429.07, or roughly what each school burns through each morning these days between checking Instagram and pouring another cup of coffee. Moran went on to coach Centre College, upsetting Harvard in 1921, then brought his Praying Colonels to Dallas for the Dixie Classic, the game where E. King Gill became the first 12th Man. He also spent two decades umpiring in the National League before A&M honored him after his death in 1949 for his “indomitable spirit and inspiring leadership.” Meanwhile, Bellmont helped found the Southwest Conference, launched the Texas-OU rivalry in Dallas, created the famous “blanket tax,” and presided over the building of Memorial Stadium, which still carries his name. All of which proves that, in Texas, nothing cools tempers and mends fences quite like the promise of beating A&M — or beating Texas — next year. The photo of Charley Moran is courtesy the Cushing Library at Texas A&M. P.S. There will be some Texas A&M-Texas content on TOT this week on account of I hear there's a big game in Austin in a few days.

Here's a few photos from today's reenactment of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah. Tomorrow's (11/9) reenactment begins at 1:00 pm.