Published: May 28, 2009 10:49 pm      

Tradition of Founder’s Day queen continues for 25th year

DUNCAN — In 1967, during the celebration of the city of Duncan’s 75th anniversary, Sudie Thornton Sharp was crowned as Founder’s Day queen in a ceremony at the Wade Hotel.

It was appropriate that Sharp was chosen, as she first came to Duncan from Waco, Texas, in February of 1892, riding in the caboose of a Rock Island freight train. That trip predated by only a few months the first passenger train that stopped in Duncan on June 27, 1892, the date to which the city traces its founding. While only 15 at the time, Sharp stayed in Duncan, married the town’s first town clerk and went on to leave her mark on Duncan as a teacher, the city’s first music instructor, a 30-year salesperson in local stores and longtime Sunday school teacher and outreach person for First Baptist Church, among other accomplishments.

As part of the celebration, members of the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter organized the first known display of items related to the area’s history in the old First National Bank building, where the Association of South Central Oklahoma Governments (ASCOG) now has its headquarters.

In 1969, the Rev. Cecil Bolding, then pastor of Wesley Methodist Church, called for a meeting of concerned citizens at the Chamber of Commerce building, with the hope of organizing a local historical society. The society was founded in January of 1970 with Bolding as its first president.

In 1985 the Stephens County Historical Society revived interest in a Founder’s Day celebration and the coronation of a queen. The first queen of the “new era” was Velma Taliaferro.

Since then, a Founder’s Day queen has been selected each year from among women who are at least 85 years old and who have lived in Stephens County for the past 50 years. Not all of the queens have been Duncan residents. Minnie Callaway, who was crowned in 1989, was a resident of Central High.

The site of the coronations has varied from the gazebo in Fuqua Park to Main Street in front of R&S Pharmacy (1994) to the Palace Theatre (1995).

By then, the Stephens County Historical Society and Museum had moved to its present site in Fuqua Park. Pee Wee Cary, who had become director of the museum in 1994, was concerned about the heat of the June days on which the celebration was held and helped make it possible for the annual coronations to be held in the Antique Marketplace Tea Room, where it was cool and participants could have lunch after the ceremony. Since 1996, when Eva Dillard was chosen as queen, the coronations have taken place in the tea room.

Although the Duncan Main Street organization has announced that it will not host a Founder’s Day celebration downtown this year, the coronation will go on as planned in the tea room, Cary said.

“It’s our heritage. We need to recognize people from the past and what they’ve done for Stephens County. This celebration needs to continue.

“We’ve always had good support from our state and local officials. Jari Askins has been really faithful to attend. Everybody working together can help preserve Stephens County’s heritage. And, it’s not just Duncan. The museum has collections from all across the county that people have donated so that future generations can appreciate who we are and where we came from,” Cary said.

This year, Founder’s Day falls on June 27, the exact date of the founding of the city. In past years, the celebrations were scheduled as close to that date as possible. The coronation will take place at 10:30 a.m.

Another Founder’s Day tradition that will continue is the annual home tour, which serves as a fundraiser for the museum. On that day, several Duncan residents open their homes for tours by the community. The homes to be toured are still being selected, but will be announced as soon as plans are final, said Fran Boyd, who organizes the tour each year.

The museum will open for free tours at 1 p.m. that day.

Nominations for Founder’s Day queen will be taken until June 8, and the Founder’s Day Committee, made up of volunteers from the community, will choose the winner. Nominations must include a biography of the woman not to exceed two pages in length, and will be accepted from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays at the museum. Nominations may also be mailed to the Stephens County Historical Museum at P.O. Box 1294, Duncan, OK 73534. The person being nominated must be physically able to participate in the crowning activities, Cary said.