John C. McCornack
Yukon, Oklahoma

Self portrait

WHERE IS OKLAHOMA? Perhaps we first need to determine where it is not. It is not out West, down South, up North, Back east. As Will Rogers, Oklahoma's most famous citizen, once said, "Oklahoma is the heart, it's the vital organ of our national existence." We are the meeting point. We are where North meets South and East meets West. We are the heartland, the breadbasket, the backbone of America. We are where the country comes together. We are where it's at! Oklahoma's 1994 Vacation Guide says, "Barely south of the middle of America, Oklahoma is an ecological crossroads, where eastern and western species of animal and plant life mingle. The Red River carved out the state's southern border; up north, the Cimarron Rivers runs along the length of the Panhandle and cuts across the northwest ridge of the state. Mountains stack up against the eastern border, and a huge swath of tall grass prairie rolls down from the north." Excerpt from Mr. Nigh's essay contributed by Alruna November 2001

The World of Dad: My Dad taught me Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile

OSU Library

Oklahoma Here I Come! I have traveled those red dirt roads Taking in wonderful sights along the way I have cruised along Route 66 The perfect place to work and to play I have enjoyed sunrises and sunsets Seen pictures of a lovely cat Who happened to be named Felix Ah yes, Oklahoma is where it’s at I have visited the parks in late summer I have enjoyed flowers and statues Taking pictures as I went No where else is there a better view I have met the most interesting people Faces and names I shall never forget I have even met Clydesdales No better friend could I ever get Who knows, perhaps once again Someday when I’m on the run I will have another chance to say Oklahoma, here I come! Marilyn Lott © 2008 - 358

Mrs. Oklahoma 1997 in Yukon Parade

Early Day Oklahoma "When we got them under herd and where they should have bedded down for the night they continued to run in every direction; they would not graze and as badly exhausted as we were, every man had to stay on guard all night long and those steers would only get quiet for a few minutes to break into a stampede again." http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v018/v018p371.html

My long time Boss - Felix

Banner skyline

The World of Dad: My Dad taught me When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying

A New Beginning Papa's fields stand unplowed now, no signs of farming here anymore, his old tractor sits in the old barn, rusty, not bright red as it was before. Mama's dinner bell still hangs high, time has silenced the welcome rings. Standing silently, I remember the happiness it's sounds used to bring. The windmill isn't needed anymore, just a memory of a bygone day. A barn once standing proud and tall, now crumbling in nature's decay. Back down the old clay road, I stop to wipe my tears away. I see the sunset in the western sky, morning sunrise will start a new day. A new beginning. Ralph L. Clark ©

Vice "I have never allowed my duty as a gentleman to interfere with my pleasure in the slightest degree" Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" Simply because a book condemned a practice did not mean that the practice ceased immediately after the book hit the stands. It was precisely because people were committing sins, large and small, that authors felt compelled to advise against them--usually with little effect. 19th Century American men were men, and were not significantly more virtuous than men before or since--despite the preaching of moralists and etiquette writers. The following page discusses a few of the Victorian gentleman's sins and, when applicable, describes some means whereby they may be properly committed. This includes the rules to several popular card games of 19th Century America. Card Games Euchre Poker Faro Monte "A man doesn't think he had a good time unless he has a headache the next morning" "The hardest part about the 'next morning' is not the headache; it's the effort to recall what particular story you told your wife the night before" "A man seldom escapes temptation because he is so careful not to let any interesting temptations escape him" "It must be awful to live with a man after you have reformed him and he has become so superlatively good that you don't feel superior to him anymore" "College boys are addicted to cigarettes and flirtations, bachelors to cigars and sweethearts; it takes a married man to get real joy out of anything so economical as a pipe or a wife" Reflections of a Bachelor Girl, 1909 "Many are the resorts open to youth who seek amusement outside the family circle. Brilliant lights, music, exhibitions, games of chance and skill, and delightful beverages are fascinations hard to be resisted, but danger lurks beneath these attractions.... Social pleasures, carried to excess, expose young men and women to danger of moral corruption and physical disorders. The feast, the dance, the social glass, immoderately indulged in, with late hours and evil associates, have often wrought ruin to the pure and good". Hill's Forms, 1873 "Sometimes people get a habit of spitting--which they do with much noise as though it gave them an air of importance. The inhabitants of the United States are notorious for it. It accompanies the bad custom of smoking or chewing tobacco...that anyone should allow such a habit to grow upon them is very surprising". How to Behave. 1853 "I remarked one young man, whose handsome person, and most elaborate toilet, led me to conclude he was a first rate personage, and so I doubt not he was; nevertheless, I saw him take from the pocket of his silk waistcoat a lump of tobacco, and daintily deposit it within his cheek". Domestic Manners of the Americans, Fanny Trollope, 1832 "Doctor,"said an old gentleman, who was an inveterate snuff-taker, to a physician, "is it true that snuff destroys the olfactory nerves, clogs and otherwise injures the brain?". "It cannot be true" was the caustic reply, "since those who have any brains never take snuff at all". Hints on Etiquette, 1836 "Few women understand, at the outset, that in marrying, they have simply captured a wild animal, and staked their chances for future happiness on their ability to tame him. He is beautiful physically very likely, of pleasing manners and many external graces, and often possessed of noble qualities of mind and heart; but at the core of his nature he cherishes still his original savagery, the taming of which is to be the life work of the woman who has taken him in charge." Letters from a Chimney Corner, 1886 http://www.lahacal.org/gentleman/vice.html