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more Oklahoma State University students and young adults. Discounted memberships are offered for ages 18 to 25.
About 55 Miles from Stillwater – The Eyes Have It
T hen Phyllis Van Deusen looks into your eyes, beware of what she may tell you. You may rejoice or weep. Or find hope. Or be skeptical. Phyllis is an“ iridologist,” a person trained – or gifted – to peer into someone’ s eyes for a short while, ask a few questions, and then offer a diagnosis, often pronouncing a hidden health issue and healing options. It’ s a practice, she said, that she learned from her grandfather.
Anyone is welcome to visit Phyllis at her Rock Creek Herb Shop on a gravel road south of Sapulpa. There will be no physical exams, blood tests, X-rays, or cost for her service. About the only thing to expect is a long wait with others who are curious about her powers. There are no appointments.
You will probably wait in line with repeat guests. Some may be among 3,500 followers on the Facebook page“ Fans of Rock Creek Herb & Vitamin Co.” Many insist she is a divine alternative to modern medicine.
While the shop offers seemingly countless vitamins, herbs, ointments, and natural remedies, there is no hard sales push beyond the hope that some of the products may provide healing.
Last year, a close and trusted friend from Tulsa visited Phyllis with an“ open mind.” She was transformed into a believer by her own experience, plus the more precise revelations given to her daughter and another friend.
My personal conclusion: I plan to visit Phyllis soon, but I will always avoid playing poker with her.
About 32 Miles from Stillwater – The Queen of the Oilfield
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uby Darby may be one of the most colorful women in Oklahoma history, and two destinations in Drumright are doing their part to help visitors understand her part of local lore. In her glory days, from about 1915 to 1922, Ruby was a household name in her home state. Born in 1895 in Alva, she was a vaudeville blues singer, comedian and dancer who possessed a
“ subtly appealing, crooning voice and alluring, serpentine gestures” that made men
“ oblivious to the passage of time or the approaching wrath of a wife,” one reporter wrote.
Her popularity soared in oil boom towns, where she earned the nickname of“ Queen of the Oilfields.” She was often accompanied by her chorus line, the“ Golden Gate Girls,” at sold-out shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Muskogee and other cities.
Drumright may have been her favorite tour stop, and her legacy there was cemented after she danced naked on a pool table one night at The Hump, a notorious den of booze, gambling and harlots. Raucous, deep-pocketed oil men tipped her that evening with an equivalent of $ 15,000.
Decades later, beloved local artist James Brill imagined the pool table scene, with strategically placed fabric, in a painting now on display at the Drumright Historical Museum, alongside other artifacts and exhibits from the town’ s glory days.
To further extend her legend, the town’ s historic Tidewater Winery & Event Center adorns one of its several wines – Divine Muscadine – with the same Brill artwork on the label, making sure its visitors know how one of Oklahoma’ s early sex symbols left her mark on their town.
About 52 Miles from Stillwater – Wrap Your Head Around It
I
t just takes an hour drive south on State Highway 75, a little more if you get pulled over for speeding in Carney, to behold Oklahoma’ s genuine Egyptian It may seem a little curious that Tutu the mummy, who died about 332 B. C., found a home in Shawnee. She was a transient for a few centuries, until a founder of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art acquired her at an auction in 1921 as an attraction and educational resource.
According to the museum website, Tutu was X-rayed in 1963 and 1991, and experts discovered her“ brain was removed via the nose as is normal in the mummification process( the bones in the nasal passages have been broken). Her back shows that she suffered from arthritis. Her arms are folded over her chest, as is consistent with high-status mummifications. Her organs were removed and separately mummified. Two bundles of mummified organs are located in her chest cavity. Tutu was in her 40’ s when she died, and she had given birth. Her mouth was opened to allow evil spirits to escape from the body and to allow her to partake in the food and drinks left in her tomb?
The museum hosts an annual“ Mummy Day” with related classes, games, and crafts.( And there is actually a second mummy at the museum, but she is unnamed, in poor condition, and frankly not as much fun to write about.)
The museum hosts an annual“ Mummy Day” with related classes, games, and crafts.( And there is actually a second mummy at the museum, but she is unnamed, in poor condition, and frankly not as much fun to write about.)
As you observe Tutu and her colorful mask, it’ s hard to wrap your head around the idea that she qualified for a senior discount more than 2,000 years ago, and my wife said it is even harder to wrap her head around the idea that I settled on such a joke.
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STORY BY: DALE INGRAM Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine
PHOTOS PROVIDED
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