Volume 9 , Issue 39

Grace Ward Smith Legacy

What would Woods County citizens have done without Grace Ward Smith's campaign for camels for Waynoka's Little Sahara?

Who was Grace Ward Smith? Many of you northwest Oklahomans might remember her as an attractive brunette -- secretary-manager of the Alva Chamber of Commerce back in 1958.

Grace had a dream for Woods County as a tourist attraction. One of those dreams took her on a long search, letter writing campaign to bring camels to northwest Oklahoma and the Little Sahara South of Waynoka, Oklahoma.

The Waynoka Camels
It was prior to April, 1958 tour that Grace Ward Smith arranged through the Alva Chamber for purchase of a pair of camels from the Al G. Kelly-Miller Brothers Circus, Hugo, Oklahoma.

The dromedary (single hump) cost $1,300, and a double hump camel cost $1,000. both were females, and were quartered through the past winter at Oklahoma City's Lincoln Park zoo.

Members of the Waynoka Saddle Club raised $200 to fetch the animals back to Woods county, and they were kept at the "Little Sahara's" oasis pasture, three miles south of Waynoka. Feed was donated by ranchers residing in the area.

Even students from Northwestern State college, in Alva, Oklahoma, decked out in colorful pajamas, bathrobes, sheets and towels to become "sheiks" for April, 1958 desert extravaganza, while sheer pajamas over shorts converted 10 coeds into harem girls. Students were paid $5 each for each appearance.

It was also about this time that Alva moved to have 10 acres of sand dunes set aside as a state park. Lute Murrow, Dacoma legislator from Woods county, and Ben Easterly, Alva state senator for Woodward and Woods counties, had promised legislation toward this end.

Mrs. Smith stated, "Our tours have been suggested as a countywide undertaking. Actually, Alabaster Caverns is in Woodward county, but every community in Woods county has something to gain from an accelerated interest in this part of the state. Alva itself is within a few miles of several of the most natural wonders in Oklahoma. Why shouldn't this city -- college town -- promote Freedom and Waynoka and the whole of Woods county?"

April 19, 1959 -- Grace Ward Smith was quoted in The Oklahoman, article concerning the invasion of the Sheiks' of Waynoka and Camels that roam the sand dunes as attraction for second year of special tours to Northwestern Oklahoma. Mrs. Smith stated, "I can foresee Alva as the starter city for one of the largest tourist businesses in the nation. One day, air-conditioned buses will leave Alva on schedule to take visitors on a swing through our country."

One of those stops back in April, 1959, was an educational-fun tour with a stop first in Freedom, "a real cow town nestled at the foot of the Cimarron hills." After an Alva dancing school performed a square dance and western rope-jumping routine -- Freedom folks held a square dance and chuck wagon feed at noontime -- it was off for a tour of Alabaster Caverns and then the sand dunes of Waynoka.

From reading the article there was a mock hold-up of the buses staged along the route, but instead of taking anything the "bandits" distributed surprise gifts to the visitors.

Guides at Alabaster Caverns were the senior students from Freedom high school who had been schooled by officials of the state planning and resources board on history and facts concerning the caverns. Forty-five minutes was allotted to the caverns visit, with additional time for seeing Cedar Canyon and the famed Natural Bridge.

Indian smoke signals were visible as the caravans journeyed about 30 miles between Alabaster Caverns and "Little Sahara" and the golden sand dunes on the north bank of the Cimarron.

Nellie Expects Baby Camel
It was January 24, 1960, Alva and Woods county citizens were playing a guessing game and had instigated a contest to name the date of the arrival and sex of Nellie the camel's expected hump-backed baby. It even expanded beyond the county and state lines.

There was even a $100 prize offered to the man, woman or child whose entry came closest to being the correct date of birth, at the same time giving the correct sex, of the baby camel expected to be born at the Little Sahara State Park South of Waynoka within 10 days to two weeks from January 24, 1960. This was the first camel calf born in the Waynoka area and northwest Oklahoma. It was perhaps the only camel born outside of a zoo or circus in Oklahoma. If the baby camel was a girl, it was to be named "Gracie" and if it was a male it was to be named "Ike." It was a girl!

Nellie, the expectant mother, was one of two camels purchased by the Woods County Chamber of Commerce to provide local color for the Little Sahara State Park sand dune recreation area.

Grace Ward Smith Resigns In 1960
October 19, 1960 -- It was October 19, 1960, that Alva Chamber received notice of Grace Ward Smith's resignation to Phil Ruch, chamber president, effective November 15, 1960. It seems that Alva was loosing this go-getter, energetic secretary-manager of the Alva Chamber of Commerce to Elk City, Oklahoma.

Mrs. Smith was accepting a similar post at Elk City, where the chamber recently lost its manager to Enid. Ruch expressed his regret at the loss, but assured Mrs. Smith her Alva colleagues would not wish to hamper her advancement. Mrs. Smith was also treasurer of the US 281 Association, also promoted construction of a new chamber building here, and the educational fun tours that brought more than 2,000 school children to Woods county in 1958 & 1959.

Maybe some of our Elk City readers have heard about Grace Ward Smith and could share some of her accomplishments in that area.

AND... What about this Al G. Kelly-Miller Brothers Circus, Hugo, Oklahoma? Any Southern Oklahomans out there remember this 1958 purchase of camels and Grace Ward Smith?
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