On Monday, July 14, KOCO celebrated 60 years on air with a celebration and live broadcast held at the Oklahoma History Center. The 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts were produced live at the History Center with anchors Paul Folger and Jessica Schambach on the third floor overlooking the State Capitol. Meteorologist Damon Lane did the weather report on the ground floor of the History Center amidst a display of Ho-Ho the Clown and Pokey the Puppet items from the collections of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The evening's broadcasts featured a vignette with Ida Blackburn of the "Ida 'B' Show" and Bob Blackburn discussing Ho-Ho and Pokey along with Ho-Ho's (Ed Birchall) daughter Regina Birchall. 

View Ida B's interview here and view the Ho-Ho and Pokey segment here. 

Ida Blackburn views her interview with KOCO

The event also included the official release of "Confessions of Pokey the Puppet," a memoir written by the late Bill Howard, who worked at KOCO from the 1960s until the 1990s. Bill Howard was a floor manager and cameraman at KOCO but is perhaps best remembered as Pokey the Puppet, Ho-Ho the Clown's mischievous sidekick. Copies of the book are on sale for $14.99 at the History Center Museum Store. 

The University of Oklahoma Press has announced September 23 as the publication date for Michael J. Hightower's Banking in Oklahoma, 1907-2000. This book is the sequel to Banking in Oklahoma before Statehood, published by OU Press in October 2013. Both books, and a third one in process, are supported by the Oklahoma Historical Society through independent funding to promote the history of banking and commerce in Oklahoma.

Hightower's second book begins where his first book left off, with the statehood celebration in November 1907, and concludes with the Y2K scare at the dawn of the new millennium. Frank Keating, former Oklahoma governor and current president and CEO of the American Bankers Association in Washington, DC, concludes his foreword to the book as follows:This book reminds us that a great industry needs leaders of vision and integrity. They are here in scores: Chuck Vose, Gene and David Rainbolt, George Records, George Kaiser, and many others throughout the state whose interviews constitute a major component of Hightower's research. As Hightower amply demonstrates, many of today's community banks remain operated by a third or fourth generation of family owners. Those owners have transitioned from a time of frontier regulation, light-touched and populist, to a modern regulated banking system with the latest technologies, every product offering, and the ability to serve the needs of Oklahomans in both national and international business arenas.

Books are available for purchase ($29.95 hard cover) in the OHS gift shop, independent and chain bookstores nationwide, and online (hard cover and ebook) at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. All sales benefit the Oklahoma Historical Society.

To further the OHS's mission to promote Oklahoma banking and commercial history, Dr. Hightower speaks to business and community groups throughout the state. For information, contact him by email at mhightower@okhistory.org or by phone, 434-249-6043.

Visit the Oklahoma History Center Museum Store for its summer sale July 25-26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Customers will find great bargain prices on many items throughout the store, including deep discounts on items such as Christmas décor, home goods and Oklahoma music. 

The summer sale at the Museum Store is an opportunity to take advantage of low prices on must-have merchandise while supporting the Oklahoma Historical Society. Additional discounts do not apply to sale-priced items. Please feel free to contact the Museum Store at 405-522-5214 for more information.