Friday, July 4, 2025

TRAVEL / ENTERTAINMENT: The Gifts from Bethlehem … Pennsylvania, That Is

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Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

As covid just won’t go away, I find it comforting and safer to recall previous travels, that I hope you will find interesting, until safe travel becomes the norm.
Best known for its history as a steel town, Bethlehem Pennsylvania has a number of gifts for the traveler searching for authentic Americana. A few of the buildings on the vast expanse of the grounds of the Bethlehem Steel plant have been preserved as giant iconic sculptures of steel as a backdrop for a plaza and event space called SteelStacks. The space consists of several outlets for information and entertainment including, the ArtsQuest Center for films, shopping, snacks, the Air Products Town Square with its performance stage for free programming year round, the outdoor space of the PNC Plaza and the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks amphitheater for all types of music.
And while at SteelStacks it would be hard to miss the 40 foot tall glass sculpture in the spiral staircase produced by ArtsQuest’s Hot Glass Studio (The Banana Factory). The studio is open for public viewing as the craftspersons blow and manipulates hot glass into a variety of shapes. The process is hypnotic as the glass team aeems to do an impromptu dance as they assist the main glass blower. Samples of their work are on display and perhaps can be purchased. The free gift of observing the glass blowing experience is another valued gift of Bethlehem.
While in Bethlehem you must visit the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem; whether it’s for gaming, a gourmet meal with exceptional service at Emeril’s Chop house, or just marvel at the Steel plants transformation into a glamorous high end entertainment venue. My beverage and dining offerings were beyond my expectations. Additional food service is available at the Carnegie Deli, St James Gate Irish Pub and Carvery, The Market, Chopsticks or the Cobalt Buffet and Café. Of course the Sands offers an expansive hotel and even an upscale shopping mall with such stores as, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, Ultra Diamonds, and Lenox to name a few.
For a more traditional dining experience, you can take in Fegley’s Brew Works located on Main Street where the beer makers craft is taken seriously. Not being a beer person I was pleased to learn of the different qualities and techniques that make up the brewers art from light ales to dark and tasty beers. Some beers are seasonal, as is their Pumpkin Ale, but others range from the award winning Fegley’s E.S.B., an amber light; to the dark Steelworkers Oatmeal Stout, which is a reply to Guinness and is described as “a meal in a glass.” In addition to their unique beers they offer a nice selection of wines from California, Argentina and Germany.
For a quiet and laid back evening, the Edge Restaurant fills the bill, with subdued lighting and white table cloth elegance. You are taken back to a fine dining experience unexpected in this rural Pennsylvania setting. My Sautéed Scottish Salmon with Fig Balsamic was surpassed by their special side dish of potatoes au gratin; a seemingly simple dish but which always gets rave reviews.
Of course the real charm of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is staying in downtown proper with its historic buildings dating back to 1700s and perusing the shops including the extensive Moravian book store with seems to go on forever. Being founded in 1745 it claims to be the World’s Oldest Book Store. I wonder what London would have to say about that. The Bethlehem hotel is a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America, but modern in comfort and amenities, in an upscale 1920’s atmosphere.
The hotel’s bar, the Tap Room, adjacent to the main lobby, proudly boasts photographs of the hotels past guests including, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart, Johnny Bench and Presidents Eisenhower, Clinton, Kennedy and Ford. For a step back in time a visit to the 1758 Moravian Sun Inn can be toured, or you may reserve your space on an adventure in the afterlife with their paranormal experiences.
Before there was steel, the towns religious founders pondered over a name for their new town, and feeling inspired, named it Bethlehem. Today it is known as the Christmas City complete with a shining star in the hills. The gifts of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley can be enjoyed year round for a quaint historic American experience with a dash of dining, education and entertainment.
www.historicbethlehem.org
www.artsquest.org
www.suninnbethlehem.org
http://www.statetheatre.org
http://www.martinguitar.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
https://realtraveladventures.com/?s=terry+zinn
https://realtraveladventures.com/?s=zinn
http://new.okveterannews.com/?s=TERRY+ZINN
www.martinitravels.com

Willowood at Mustang Senior Living to Host Holiday “Parade of Trees”

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To celebrate the season, Willowood at Mustang Senior Living, offering assisted living and memory care, will be hosting a holiday “Parade of Trees” event.
Several local businesses and vendors have donated six to 14-foot Christmas trees decorated according to the theme: “Christmas Past, Present and Future.” From Wednesday, Dec. 1 through Tuesday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, the public is invited to tour the display and enter a raffle to win a tree from the display. In addition, each tree will be entered to win the award for “Favorite Design.” The winning business or vendor will receive a wine and cheese basket to share with their team.
This event is free, and guests will be asked to follow COVID-19 protection measures. While vaccinations are not mandatory to attend, they are encouraged. Upon entry, guests will be given a symptom questionnaire. Hand sanitizer will be available and face masks are required inside to protect our residents.
“We’re so grateful for the generosity of the area businesses and vendors that partnered with us for this event and donated the festive Christmas trees for our ‘Parade of Trees,’” said Executive Director Cathy Collins. “We can’t wait for guests to visit our community and see what’s sure to be a winter wonderland.” Willowood at Mustang Senior Living was designed to meet the growing need for senior housing and health care in Canadian and Oklahoma Counties and the surrounding area. Willowood at Mustang provides assisted living and memory care residences and offers services centered on quality care and life enrichment. The community is managed by WellAge, a respected senior care management company located in Lakewood, Colorado. For more information about Willowood at Mustang Senior Living, call 405-860-6326 or visit www.WillowoodatMustang.com.

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble Presents “Symphonic Strings”

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Shaohong Betty Yuan, Amy I-Lin Cheng, Parthena Owens.
L-R Tanya Bannister, Katrin Stamatis, Gregory Lee, Mark Neumann, Jonathan Ruck.

Strings take center stage in Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble’s third concert, “Symphonic Strings,” 7:30 pm on January 11 at First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. The concert will present Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, which marked a turning point in his career, Gerald Finzi’s powerfully expressive Interlude for Oboe and String Quartet and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s only sextet, his “Souvenir de Florence,” which has been described as a symphony for six strings.
The concert takes place at the First Baptist Church, 1201 N. Robinson Ave., Oklahoma City. Season passes, available on the website, are $125 for the five regular-season concerts and all concerts of the summer festival. Single admission tickets are $20 at the door. Admission is free for students and active-duty military with ID.
Maurice Ravel composed his four-movement Sonata for Violin and Cello between 1920 and 1922 and dedicated it to the memory of Claude Debussy, who had died in 1918. Described as “lean” and “linear,” the sonata stood in sharp contrast to the lush harmonies and textures of his earlier works and was, Ravel wrote, “stripped to the bone; harmonic charm is renounced, and there is an increasing return of emphasis on melody.” The sonata would, as the composer predicted, mark a turning point: after Debussy’s death, Ravel was widely considered the leading French composer of the era.
British composer Gerald Finzi’s personal and introspective Interlude for Oboe and String Quartet was written between 1932 and 1936 and, along with his clarinet concerto, is one of his best-known instrumental compositions. The one-movement work was subsequently arranged for oboe and string orchestra and for oboe and piano. Despite its brevity, the Interlude is a big, passionate piece with wide-ranging moods and may have originally been intended as part of a concerto.
Tchaikovsky’s four-movement sextet, “Souvenir de Florence,” is a romantic symphony in microcosm. The work is so titled because one of the principal themes was sketched while the Russian composer was visiting Florence, Italy, but it is distinctly Russian. The composer wrote to a friend, “I am, in essence, composing for the orchestra, and only then arranging it for six string instruments,” a task he described as “unimaginably difficult.” The result is a small-ensemble work with the grandeur of a symphony and the grace of his ever-popular “Serenade for Strings.”
The Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble is Oklahoma City’s foremost presenter of classical chamber music. For more information, visit us at www.brightmusic.org and follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BrightmusicOK.

OU Public Health Dean Is Senior Author for Global Study

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Gary Raskob, Ph.D., Dean of the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Blood clots are a major concern for people facing various health situations, including surgery, hospitalization and cancer. While current medications lower the risk of clots, they increase the chance of bleeding complications, to an extent that some people cannot take them. However, a new option may be on the horizon — a research study published today in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine shows promise for a new oral medication that is effective for preventing clots without increasing bleeding.
Gary Raskob, Ph.D., Dean of the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is senior author of the publication and chair of the steering committee for the study. The study tested the drug Milvexian in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery, who have a high risk of developing clots in the deep veins of their legs. More than 1,200 patients undergoing surgery at 118 health centers in 18 countries participated in the trial. Results showed that a daily dose of 100 milligrams or more of Milvexian was more effective for preventing clots than the current standard of treatment and, importantly, it had a low risk of bleeding.
“We are encouraged by these initial results with this new oral anticoagulant that works differently from existing medications,” Raskob said. “We may finally be able to realize the longstanding goal of separating the benefit of anticoagulant medication for preventing clots from its side effect of increasing bleeding complications.”
There is an enormous need for drugs to prevent clots — two of the top 10 drugs sold across the world are anti-clotting medications, Raskob said. Blood clots can cause serious illness and disability. As the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes, and of clots in the legs that move to the lungs, they are responsible for about 1 in 4 deaths worldwide. Blood clots in the lungs, known as pulmonary embolism, are fatal for about 100,000 people each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Because so many people require the medications to reduce the risk of clots, researchers are devoting significant time and resources to developing new therapies that are effective and improve patient safety.
Researchers chose the drug Milvexian to study because of the way it reacts with a protein in the blood called Factor XI. People who have a genetic deficiency of Factor XI (a condition known as hemophilia C) have a lower chance of developing clots later in life, and they don’t have spontaneous bleeding complications compared to people with other types of hemophilia. This suggested to researchers that if Factor XI could be reduced in at-risk patients, clots could be prevented without bleeding complications. Milvexian works by binding to Factor XI and inhibiting it, which reduces the risk of clot development.
Most of Raskob’s research career has been devoted to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of blood clots, formally called deep-vein thrombosis, as well as pulmonary embolism, a blockage that occurs when part of a clot breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs. In July, he was an author for another publication in the New England Journal of Medicine about abelacimab, a monoclonal antibody injected under the skin, which also targets Factor XI for the prevention of clots.

Social Security Calculators That Can Help You Decide When to Claim

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Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some good resources that can help my wife and me determine the best claiming ages for maximizing our Social Security retirement benefits? Just Turned 62

Dear 62,
Deciding when to start collecting your Social Security benefits is one of the most complicated and consequential decisions in retirement. The difference between a good decision and a poor one could cost you and your wife tens of thousands of dollars over your retirement, so doing your due diligence now is a very smart move.
Factors to Consider
As you may already know, you can claim Social Security any time between the ages of 62 and 70, but each year you wait increases your benefits between 5 and 8 percent. However, there are other factors you need to take into account to help you make a good decision, like your health and family longevity, whether you plan to work in retirement, along with spousal and survivor benefits.
To help you weigh your claiming strategies, you need to know that Social Security Administration claims specialists are not trained or authorized to give you personal advice on when you should start drawing your benefits. They can only provide you information on how the system works under different circumstances. To get advice you’ll need to turn to other sources.
Online Tools
Your first step in getting Social Security claiming strategy advice is to go to SSA.gov/myaccount to get your personalized statement that estimates what your retirement benefits will be at ages 62 through 70. These estimates are based on your yearly earnings that are also listed on your report.
Once you get your estimates for both you and your wife, there are a number of online Social Security strategy calculators you can turn to that can compare your options so you can make an informed decision.
The best one that’s completely free to use is Open Social Security (OpenSocialSecurity.com), which runs the math for each possible claiming age (or, if you’re married, each possible combination of claiming ages) and reports back, telling you which strategy is expected to provide the most total spendable dollars over your lifetime.
But if you want a more thorough analysis consider fee-based calculators like Maximize My Social Security (MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com) or Social Security Solutions (SocialSecuritySolutions.com). Both of these tools, which are particularly helpful to married couples as well as divorced or widowed persons, will run what-if scenarios based on your circumstances and show how different filing strategies affect the total payout over the same time frame.
Maximize My Social Security’s web-based service costs $40 per year for a household, while Social Security Solutions offers several levels of web-based and personalized phone advice ranging from $20 to $250.
In-Person Advice
You may also be able to get help through a financial planner. Look for someone who is a fee-only certified financial planner (CFP) that charges on an hourly basis and has experience in Social Security analysis.
To find someone, use the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors online directory at NAPFA.org, or try the Garrett Planning Network (GarrettPlanningNetwork.com), which is a network of fee-only advisers that charge between $150 and $300 per hour.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

 

Willowood at Mustang Senior Living names Cathy Collins executive director

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Cathy Collins - Executive Director, Willowood at Mustang Senior Living.

Willowood at Mustang Senior Living announces that industry veteran Cathy Collins will serve as the community’s new executive director. Collins will oversee operations of Willowood at Mustang Senior Living’s assisted living and memory care apartments.
Collins has served seniors for most of her life. A born and raised Oklahoman, she began her career as a certified nursing assistant, then a certified medical assistant, and later became a licensed practical nurse. In the years that followed, she worked in healthcare administration.
Now, as Executive Director for Willowood at Mustang, Collins will lead a team of senior care professionals in providing residents with the best quality services and care, all while ensuring residents are thriving in a loving, safe, fun community environment that feels like home.
“At the end of the day, it’s the best reward to know I’ve made a difference in residents’ lives,” said Collins. For more information about Willowood at Mustang Senior Living visit: https://willowoodatmustang.com/

A Passion for Writing Bears Fruit

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Carol Wilkinson Troy and J. Mac Troy pose in their backyard in 2019.

Story by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

“Out of Time” Book Cover.

Seven years after retiree Mac Troy began writing his novel and a year after his own untimely death, the longtime Oklahoma City resident’s time-travel saga “Out of Time” is finally in print.
Featuring a modern-day teenager’s time travel to Oklahoma’s Territorial days, the book would never have been published without the assistance of his widow, Carol Wilkinson Troy, a longtime on-air personality and executive at KOCO-TV5 in Oklahoma City.
“Out of Time” is the realization of Mac’s dream to write a book that would transport readers of all age groups to new worlds,” Carol Troy said. “His not living to see his dream realized was sad enough, but it would have been truly tragic if his efforts had all come to naught.”
The paperback book of 350 pages will make its debut on Friday, Dec. 3, at Full Circle Bookstore in north Oklahoma City. A talk about the book and its long journey to print will be given by several guests invited by Carol, who will sign books for her late husband.
Finally retired after decades of producing television documentaries and operating his own advertising agency in Oklahoma City, Troy began writing “Out of Time,” his third work of fiction, in 2014. Although he produced numerous award-winning documentaries and ads during his career, including one Emmy nomination, the noted metro resident was at heart a fiction writer.
“Mac was a voracious reader,” Carol said, “and he lived a pretty adventurous life, including directing a documentary film crew in the climbing of Citlaltepetl, the third highest peak in North America. His life experiences and love of the written word came together in his writing.”
“Out of Time” follows the adventures of teenager Travis “T-Bone” Stone of modern-day Dallas, Texas, who unexpectedly finds himself and his dog transported back in time to Oklahoma’s territorial days. Adjusting to his new life as a greenhorn cowboy, the athletic youth falls into the company of a colorful assortment of rough-and-ready characters who teach him how to survive the dangers of life in the West.
Along the way, the wide-eyed time traveler meets the mysterious Wind Dancing, a fetching Cherokee maiden who has more than a little to do with T-Bone’s time-travel adventure. His ready adaptability to his new environment and his passionate feelings for Wind Dancing leave young T-Bone with mixed feelings about returning to his former life in the 21st century.
Although a complete work of fiction featuring a dog that communicates with the young at heart, Troy strived for historical accuracy in his depiction of life in the early 1890s Oklahoma and Indian territories. The author consulted with noted Oklahoma historian Dr. Bob Blackburn to achieve this realism.
“The author has done a superb job of mixing fantasy time travel with an authentic history of cowboys and Indians in the Old West,” Blackburn said. “I thoroughly enjoyed this book.”
Blackburn has been invited to the Dec. 3 book signing to comment on the historical events and characters in the book. Several other special guests, including Oscar-winning producer Gray Frederickson, may be present to discuss Troy’s efforts to get his final manuscript in print.
“It’s been just a little more than a year since Mac’s death,” Carol said, “so the celebration of his book’s debut will also serve as a nice commemoration of his life and his passion for writing.”

TINSELTOWN TALKS: Claude Jarman Jr. recalls a family classic: “The Yearling”

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Claude Jarman Jr. - sffilm

By Nick Thomas

Claude Jarman Jr. with fawn in The Yearling – MGM

Premiering in Los Angeles a few days before Christmas 75 years ago this year, “The Yearling” depicted the post-Civil War Baxter family struggling to survive in the backwoods of Florida. Notwithstanding fine performances from screen parents Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman, the film soon became a family favorite due in no small measure to Claude Jarman Jr. and his dramatic portrayal of their son, Jody.
Just 10-years-old when filming began in spring 1945, it was young Claude’s first professional acting job. His powerful emotional performance was recognized with a Juvenile Academy Award.
“The only previous experience I had was in fourth and fifth-grade school plays and some community theater in Nashville where I grew up,” said Jarman from his home north of San Francisco. “MGM conducted a national search and the director, Clarence Brown, wanted a boy who was totally natural and looked the part – a skinny blonde kid, which I was.”
Location filming in Florida took several months and was especially challenging because the director required dozens of takes for almost every scene which often featured animals, notably wild deer.
“They are obviously unpredictable,” explained Jarman. “In one scene I had to run up to a neighbor’s house with the deer following me, but it wouldn’t. We had to do that probably 100 times before getting it right.”
Jarman says several fawns were used in the film and each was named.
“My favorite was called Bambi and it grew into a yearling during the movie. Bambi was probably in 70% of the scenes where you see a deer and was the only one that would sit on my lap for hours with its legs folded which is usual because they normally want their legs down so they can quickly run from danger. I had a wonderful relationship with that fawn which, like me, grew up while making the movie.”
Like Bambi, Claude also grew taller during production, but he actually lost weight as the grueling shooting progressed through the humid Floridan summer.
“In those days, we could shoot 7 days a week in Florida,” he recalled. “I was 110-lbs at the beginning of filming but lost 10-lbs by the end and was totally spent.”
Considering his limited previous acting experience, Jarman’s moving performance is still impressive to watch, especially the final scenes with the deer.
“The cast and crew were together for many months, so as the filming progressed you really got into the part and lived it,” he said. “It was emotional for me, but you just took it one day at a time.”
Jarman’s film career ended in the mid-50s, but not before working with legends such as John Wayne in “Rio Grande” and Randolph Scott in “Hangman’s Knot.” “Intruder in the Dust,” dealing with racial issues in the South, remains a personal favorite. He discusses his career in his 2018 autobiography, “My Life and the Final Days of Hollywood,” available through Amazon and his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MYLIFEANDTHEFINALDAYSOFHOLLYWOOD).
“I made 10 other films after ‘The Yearling,’” says Jarman, “but nothing came close to being as difficult.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.getnickt.org.

Oklahoma’s Most Viewed Artist

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Former University of Central Oklahoma art professor Bob Palmer (inset).

Story and photo by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

2017 Indoor Mural for Fields of Hope.
2007 Outdoor Centennial Mural Downtown Oklahoma City.

For passersby looking at a large public art mural painted on a wall in Oklahoma chances are it was painted by former University of Central Oklahoma art professor Bob Palmer, 70, or one of his former students.
The renowned Bethany muralist’s calendar is crowded with the commissions, chores and deadlines Oklahoma’s most viewed artist attends to these days.
He continues to add to his busy calendar by submitting proposals on large mural projects. Palmer, who earned a doctorate of education at Oklahoma State University, recently submitted a proposal to paint three of The Pathway to Hope Public Art Trail underpasses in Tulsa. The six underpasses are beneath Interstate 244 from Main Street to Greenwood Avenue, planned to honor the vibrant history of the Greenwood District.
Palmer Studios, Inc., a consortium of his best former students during his 30-year art professorship, is in demand. He is busy marketing his painting talents and historical perspective through his and his former students painting career.
Sometimes this means in-depth proposals to selection committees, while other times his vast legacy of 3,800 murals makes gaining work so much easier. This happens when a previous client calls and tells him he is needed for a massive project.
The internationally known artist, yes international because of his works in Canada, Mexico, Macedonia, Zagreb the capital of Croatia and Eastern Europe, is in demand. With the advent of the internet, when people want the most talented muralists possible, they have a global reach. Palmer has been hired from Oklahoma to paint murals in Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee and Louisiana
“Retired from teaching in 2014, I still work my career every day, in some form or fashion, even when I am not busy painting a mural,” Palmer said. “Now a days it seems people want us to do larger ones, with more detail about their agendas or concerns and I have to be ready with plenty of supplies to make that happen.”
Successful nationally known Oklahoma sculptor Joel Randell said he was fortunate to get into one of Palmer’s traditional painting classes at UCO in 1993. Randell went on to help Palmer complete 450 murals around the state.
“His quiet insistence that I trust my talent, telling us to paint big during the semester helped me learn to paint in an impactful way to create colorful and lifelike murals.” Randell said. “I think that Bob can serve as an inspiration for all of us of the power of mentoring a new generation of artists. The new budgeting for public art across our communities is transforming the cultural landscape in Oklahoma towns and cities.”
Oklahoma art historians say Palmer had a lot to do with Edmond’s City of Art status by showing the way to engaging its citizens and visitors with public art.
The art rich community began with more than 100 sculptures and paintings. This was sparked 30 years ago when Palmer first took his mural painting class’s artists off campus from the University of Central Oklahoma to begin an intense mural painting campaign. This emphasis on adding public art to the community stretched seven semesters before they ran out of walls to paint in the downtown and outlying Edmond area.
This intense emphasis on public art in Edmond sparked many other public art installations, mostly focused on sculptures. The city created the Edmond Visual Arts Commission in 2001, half funded by Edmond’s Art in Public Places Program. It commissioned many art pieces placed across Edmond’s grassy intersections, city streets, business entrances and parks during the past 20 years.
Growing to more than 260 murals, sculptures and installations, Edmond exploded with public art. Edmond utility, transformer and traffic boxes are currently being transformed into works of art.
“As a public art muralist when you paint a scene on a huge scale the viewer is engaged through the powerful lens of their cultural heritage,” Palmer said. “My former students and I have done so many, when I retired, I finally put some of the best and largest into a book that has sold well.”
His hard back coffee table book “Painting Oklahoma and Beyond” with 500 photos of his murals is available at Painting Oklahoma and Beyond illustrates state murals (oklahomabooksonline.com).
“While other artists have paintings in the permanent collection of prestigious museums, my pride is based on far more people seeing mine daily,” Palmer said.
His last three decades as a prolific muralist means more of his art is on public display in Oklahoma than any artist in history and will remain so well into the future.
Palmer says while some artists have their photo taken with famous people, he tries his best to capture the normal street scene the viewer might have seen from the past at its most colorful and most robust.
“This mural work puts me on the road a lot. But I try to make sure the majority of my time away from home is applying paint to my murals,” Palmer said. “Along the way I have met so many neat people here in Oklahoma it has made it a fun, exciting life.”
“My wife has been my biggest fan. Starting off she wanted to keep track of every piece of art I did. After two years she realized that was not going to work and was happy to share her husband with the world,” Palmer said, referring to his wife of 48 years, Carolyn.

Friends of the Capitol celebrates Statehood Day with OKCPS 4th grade artists at the Oklahoma State Capitol!

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Friends of the Capitol was honored to host their annual Statehood Day art contest with nine OKCPS 4th grade classes. Ridgeview, Adelaide Lee, Hawthorne, Coolidge, Shidler, Hillcrest, Britton, Cleveland, and Martin Luther King Elementary Schools all competed for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The theme was “My Oklahoma,” which all the students painted their interpretation of what Oklahoma meant to them. Their works of art was showcased at the Oklahoma State Capitol, on Statehood Day. All their families, friends, and teachers came out to support them and had some refreshments and celebrated Oklahoma’s Birthday!
There were protests going on at the Capitol that week and this brought some light to the Capitol and to Oklahoma. Seeing the 4th graders dressed up showing off their art to everyone was priceless!
“Friends of the Capitol” loves being a part of celebrating Statehood Day by bringing in kids and educating them about our Capitol and our great State. It is a great way to get Oklahomans involved”-Amy Dillon, Executive Director. Friends of the Capitol is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) corporation that is devoted to providing private funds to maintain and improve the beauty of the Oklahoma State Capitol building and complex and its works of art. It is the only tax-exempt corporation designated to receive private funds for this purpose. For More Information: Amy Dillon, 405-843-2443 or adillon@friendsofthecapitol.com or visit www.friendsofthecapitol.com.

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