Awake 5:10am Temp 39 Partly cloudy Overnight @ Bartlesville, OK
Attend 7:00am mass @ St. John church in Bartlesville(5 min drive).
After breakfast, we drive North to Dewey(15 min) & visit the Tom Mix
museum. As a young boy on the farm, I would listen to the Tom Mix radio
series on our cathedral Phillips vacuum tube radio. He was my favorite
cowboy. This museum, for the size, has an amazing collection of Tom's
saddles, boots, clothing, trophies, wide belts, photos of his cars, movie
scenes, family, etc. We watch one of his movies from 1932, "My Pal, The
King," one of only 9 sound movies he made, in their small theatre. Mickey
Rooney, ll yrs old, starred in this movie as the boy king. What I didn't
know when listening to those radio programs: Tom Mix was already dead! He
died in October, 1940; I was born in August, 1940. Hollywood kept him
alive for years afterward. Tom Mix was born & raised near Dubois,
Pennsylvania.
We drive back to Bartlesville & lunch downtown @ the Hamburger Shop.
Then tour the Frank Phillips home not far from downtown & learn about the
man who formed the Phillips Petroleum campany & literally helped make the
city of Bartlesville in the process. This 26 room estate with its 5 car
detached garage was built in 1909 & renovated twice with the last
renovation being 1930. When the granddaughter donated the house to the OK
Historical Society in 1973, no significant changes had been made since
1930, thus, with few exceptions, furniture, decorations and even personal
effects are original. Walking through the estate on tour, was like
stepping back in time & experiencing the homelife of a very wealthy
family. According to records, the Phillips family was very generous to the
city of Bartlesville over the years. During the great depression, there
were a number of local churches in the city that were struggling to avoid
bankruptcy....Frank & Jane paid off each of their mortages, one of their
many generous deeds. Uncle Frank & Aunt Jane, as they were referred to,
were well liked & respected by many. Story has it that Frank always had
quarters in his pocket which he gave to children he met as he walked to
work. Also at Christmas he gave every child in Bartlesville a silver
dollar in a special envelope. We spend over 3 hrs touring this mansion &
garage. The garage was converted to a museum chronicling how the Phillips
Petroleum Company began & grew as well as more personal information about
the life of Frank and Jane.
Next, we walk the bike/jogging trail starting @ Johnstone park...for an
hour of exercise. Back to the bus @ 5:00pm.
6:45pm Dinner: Leftover slivered pork tenderloin with pasta in a sherry
cream sauce & romaine lettuce salad.
No movies tonight. Nothing worth watching. I did tune in the history
channel covering the building & enlarging of the oil tankers of the world.
Kathy spent some time reading.
High temp today=63 Lights out: 11:13pm
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