The Oklahoma History Center Museum Store is proud to be a source for great products that highlight the culture and history of Oklahoma. The store's annual Holiday Sale will be held Friday and Saturday, December 5�-6.

During the Holiday Sale, the OHC Museum Store will offer an extra 10 percent off regularly priced merchandise to Oklahoma Historical Society members, giving members 25 percent off. Nonmembers will receive 10 percent off regularly priced merchandise. Many more discounts can be found on items throughout the store, including a wide range of gifts made right here in Oklahoma, from housewares to d�cor.  A recent addition to the Museum Store's inventory is statuary made by the Oklahoma Casting Company, located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Also available for purchase are Oklahoma-made pens, dish towels, and food products, to name a few products in the Museum Store's Made in Oklahoma line.  

For the kids, the Museum Store offers a wide selection of classic, vintage-style toys, such as Slinky, Silly Putty, and classic versions of popular board games. Samples from the wide selection of vintage candies make great stocking stuffers. Call or stop by for these and many other unique products. Books also can be ordered on the Museum Store website at www.okhistory.org. Oklahoma Historical Society members always receive a discount of 15 percent on Museum Store purchases. Please contact the store at 405-522-5214 with any questions.

To help Clinton kick off the 2014 holiday season, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum will be hosting an open house on Tuesday, December 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as participating in Clinton's annual Festival of Lights parade that evening. To encourage all Oklahomans to come experience the history of Route 66, admission to this event is free.

The Festival of Lights is an annual holiday extravaganza consisting of a parade, extended business hours for local retailers, silent auctions and, of course, pictures with Santa Claus. Various businesses, civic clubs and school groups enter the parade, making the event a must-see for western Oklahomans for the past quarter century. Different categories of awards will be given for the best floats entered into the parade. The Festival of Lights parade will begin at 7 p.m. on Frisco Ave. Please visit downtown Clinton for this incredible main street holiday celebration.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter months of December and January. The museum will be closed on Sundays and Mondays as well as the first week of January 2015. For additional information, please contact Director Pat Smith at 580-323-7866 or rt66mus@okhistory.org. 

The Oklahoma Historical Society is seeking papers and presentations for the 2015 OHS Annual Oklahoma History Conference, which will be held April 22, 23 and 24, 2015, at the Artesian Hotel in Sulphur, Oklahoma. A total of 10 presentation sessions will be held on the mornings of Thursday, April 23, and Friday, April 24. Each session will feature either two or three presentations.

The theme for the conference is "Land, Wood, and Water: Natural Resources and the Course of Oklahoma History." The history and culture of the state of Oklahoma from the prehistoric era to the present have been shaped by the area's natural environment. Settlement patterns, business and economic development, cultural diversity and quality of life issues all are influenced by land, wood, and water. A small sample of the wide range of topics that could be relevant to this theme includes agriculture; transition of public lands to private property; extraction of oil, gas, coal and other underground resources; transportation; conservation; forest industry; banking; tourism; establishment of communities and lifestyles, and businesses relating directly or indirectly to natural resources.

Presentations should be limited to 20 or 30 minutes in length, depending on the number of participants in each session. One-page proposals should include the title of the presentation; a 100-word description of the presentation; the name, address, phone number and email address of the presenter, and a short curriculum vitae or brief biographical sketch. Those who submit proposals will be notified of their status by early February 2015 if not earlier. Registration fees for program participants will be waived.

Presentation proposals are being accepted now. The deadline for submitting presentation proposals is Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Proposals should be sent to Annual Conference Committee, Attn: Paul Lambert, Oklahoma Historical Society, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105, or emailed to Paul Lambert at plambert@okhistory.org. Please call 405-522-5217 with any questions.