• A new industry arrived in Okmulgee as the Tooms Sash and Door Company of Springfield, Mo. began operating a glazing plant in part of the old Baker Brothers glass plant on 14th Street. The facility, once used for glass drawing and later as a clay house, was converted to handle sash and door glazing, employing about 15 skilled workers. The plant planned to use locally manufactured Okmulgee glass, shipping most finished products to Tooms customers across the region.
• A pair of orphaned siblings – an 11 year-old boy and 13 year-old girl – were waiting for adoption in Okmulgee. Several couples had shown interest, but bad winter weather prevented interviews. The children’s elderly married sister, who had been struggling to support them, was ready to sign a waiver so they could be placed in a better home. Captain William Oliver of the Salvation Army emphasized that the children were bright, well-mannered and from a good family, and he insisted they would only be placed with a household capable of giving them a truly stable life.
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• The Okmulgee Pow-Wow Association met at the Glass Garden to appoint committee leaders for the 1976 Bicentennial Pow-Wow, naming Bill Pickard as general chairman alongside chairs for finance, rodeo, parade, activities and publicity. The board also approved giving the Rodeo Committee full authority to secure stock and entertainment without further approval. Plans included new downtown pennants, a freshly painted Highway 75 billboard and commemorative belt buckles marked “Okmulgee Bicentennial Pioneer Pow-Wow 1776-1976.”
• The Senior Citizen’s Recreation center in Okmulgee hosted a joyful wedding for long-time residents Marvin A. Gower and Ethel Martin, who met through the local senior citizens program and were married on Jan. 22, 1976, before Rev. Bob Burch. What was planned as a small ceremony quickly grew to nearly 100 guests as friends and fellow seniors gathered to celebrate. The bride was escorted by her daughter, Imogene Tufts, and the groom by his daughter, Mary Perry, with music, a three‑tier cake and a reception provided by the Senior Citizens Nutritional Center. After the ceremony, the couple took a short trip to Tulsa and planned a longer honeymoon later, beginning their new life together at their home on N. Sherman.
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