FORT SILL, Okla. April 29, 2016 -- I've been told my Guthrie lineage links to Woody Guthrie, the American folk singer who wrote "This Land is Your Land." Since I married into the family, I don't feel like I can say I personally am related to him, but it's close enough. This past weekend I decided to extend my OBL a little further north to see the town of Guthrie, Okla., because it has the same name as me and that's pretty cool. Also, it didn't hurt that the 77th Army Band, Costello's Own and the Half Section were all going to be there participating in the '89er Day's parade which is reported to be the longest and oldest parade in the state of Oklahoma. One bird, two stones.
My arrival for the parade was fortuitous as I was able to learn much about the town because of the celebration. The '89er Days at Guthrie celebrates the birth of Oklahoma that began with a land run on April 22, 1889 (hence the name '89er). Guthrie was the initial settlement and the first (territorial) capital for Oklahoma. Because of the change in the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City, there was little pressure to replace much of the beautiful architecture from their early days.
What remains are new businesses in the gorgeous setting of Victorian-styled buildings. Visitors can see an old drugstore and then a coffee and chocolate store, and then a music store and an art gallery and books and jewelry and fabric and quilts -- so many things!
Being there on the day of their large parade I took some time to walk up to the Guthrie Scottish Rite Masonic Center -- one of the world's largest Masonic Centers at more than 400,000 square feet.
As I walked down Oklahoma Avenue, I passed many of the storefronts with their picturesque windows and one antique shop that had the most beautiful refurbished (and reupholstered) furniture pieces. One day, when I don't have a 2-year-old boy, I'll have nice things like I saw in the store.
I heard music coming from Byron's Double Stop Fiddle Shop, which I'd read about before coming to Guthrie. According to their website, Byron Berline is a three-time national fiddle champion and the store sells guitars, banjos and mandolins (top dollar instruments). It was pretty full in the room so I stuck my head in, raised my camera over me and snapped away, hoping I'd get a shot of something. It sounded like a lot of fun in there. Apparently they have live music often and a music hall to showcase them.
The Oklahoma Frontier Drugstore Museum & the Apothecary Gardens was really cool to look into as well. The entire store looks as if you'd walked into a drugstore from the late 1800s. Glass cases lined the walls, filled to the top with bottles of the "latest and greatest healing remedies."
The best remedy found in the museum (I didn't visit the gardens) was the old fashioned soda fountain. It was incredibly warm that day and a drink from the fountain would cure a multitude of discomforts.
Being that it was a parade day, there were food trucks and vendors and in the distance I could see a Ferris wheel. It was as if the city itself turned out for a party. I bought myself a hotdog and drink to support the local Cub Scouts and began to make my way back to my spot along the parade route.
There I chatted with a few people -- one even had a parent who participated in the land run. They were a child at the time, but still, they were there. The family no longer owns the land they first obtained, but the story is still a great one to pass on to their children and grandchildren.
The drive to Guthrie is about an hour and a half a little longer than I like, but my 2-year-old didn't seem to have a problem with it and once we got there, we could walk with the stroller up and down the street, which he loved. We did load back up in the car to get lunch, which was at Roma's, an Italian place with great meatballs. Apparently it's pretty popular I didn't see many people when we walked in but when we left, there were people waiting outside for a seat.
The city of Guthrie has a website with a list of things to do, places to see and festivals to participate in. There is an art walk, an art and wine festival, a Christmas celebration (which I may do this year for my winter bucket) and a Bluegrass festival. In addition they have other events throughout the year such as their farmer's market, an airport fly in day (with complimentary airplane rides for children 8-17), car shows, a children's entrepreneur day (to let your child test out a business), weekly block parties, pet shows, a zombie race -- loads of activities!
For more information about Guthrie, visit www.cityofguthrie.com.
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