Guymon Accepted for Museum on Main Project

Guymon is one of six Oklahoma communities chosen by the Oklahoma Humanities Council to participate in the Museum on Main program in 2015.

Through this program each of the communities will explore aspect of our national sports history as they host “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America,” a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. The Guymon application, submitted by the Guymon Public Library, has the Guymon adventure centering around rodeo. Partners in the project are the Library, Main Street Guymon, Guymon Chamber of Commerce, Hitch Enterprises, and focused on the prime partner, OPSU and their Rodeo Team.

“Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premier museum is a priority of OHC,” said OHC Executive Director Ann Thompson. “With this special tour we are pleased to be working with these communities to help develop local exhibitions and public programs to complement the Smithsonian exhibition.”

Committee members put together an application that has several local activities that promote the rodeo theme including oral histories from local cowboys, an Etbauer / Latham exhibit, Silent Movie Actor Jack Hoxie exhibit, Hitch exhibit, Rodeo Reads Ya’ll program, Little Buckaroo Cowboy School, viewing of the movie “8 Seconds” with a discussion following with the Frost family, Rodeo Olio (stage entertainment), and an OPSU Rodeo Team exhibit.

Guymon is the culminating town on the tour with the exhibit and programs happening Oct. 30 – Dec. 11 in 2015. Other towns on the Oklahoma tour is the Ralph Ellison Library in OKC from Mar. 6 – Apr. 17; Miami in April and June; Muskogee in June and July; Ponca City in July and Sept.; Weatherford in Sept. and Oct.; and ending in Guymon.

“We see this as an opportunity for people to be able to view a superior exhibit from the Smithsonian,” says Guymon Librarian Rachel Sides, “and for many it may be the first time they have seen our new library building.”

“Although rodeo isn’t usually considered a team sport,” adds Main Street Director Melyn Johnson, “with our partnership with OPSU, it is exactly that. And we’re partnering with one of the top collegiate rodeo schools in the nation.”