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    Dolls take honors
September 19, 2009

Prairie House to host second annual Vintage Day

Jayne Boykin

DUNCAN — Visitors to the W.T. Foreman Prairie House and grounds from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 27 will take a step back into history, not only by seeing the restored home, but by experiencing the lifestyles of people of other eras.

Vintage Day is a celebration of the period from 1918 through 1941, during which the restored Prairie-Style house at 814 W. Oak was occupied by the family of W.T. Foreman, a prominent early Duncan pharmacist, banker and oilman. The house is two blocks north of Main Street on Ninth.

Gail Loafman, founder and chairman of the Prairie House Foundation, said the celebration will be a “leisurely afternoon” open to the public featuring tours of the Prairie House, viewing of classic cars provided by the Duncan Antique Car Club, horseshoe pitching and other lawn games common to the era, live musical entertainment by Ericka Robinson of Bray, and a doll show and contest.

“It will be a great opportunity for people to see the house and to learn about early Duncan. The Prairie House is the people’s house, and was rescued and restored to preserve our local history for present and future generations,” Loafman said.

This is the second year for the doll show. This year’s event will feature doll expert Denise Van Patten of Chico, Calif., author of “The Official Price Guide to Dolls” and owner of Kathryn’s Cottage doll store.

Van Patten will deliver a talk on the dolls available to girls in Oklahoma from the 1920s to the 1940s. She will have her book available for sale, and will provide appraisals of dolls entered in the show and contest. Last year’s doll contest included more than 200 competitors, and featured awards for the oldest, the most beautiful, most extraordinary and best-of-show dolls.

Going a bit farther back in time, the Duncan Indian Territory chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will have a display relating to Constitution Week, which is held Sept. 17-23 each year. Although the observance will have ended by Vintage Day, the idea behind it is timeless, members said, so the display will be left in place for visitors on that day. See story Page 3B.

Individuals and groups with hobbies, art or culinary skills reflecting the period of 1918-1941 are encouraged to contact the Prairie House if they willing to display, demonstrate or otherwise take part in the day’s events. For information, call 580-251-0027, 255-7693 or 255-4199.

The W.T. Foreman Prairie House was “the costliest house in town” when built during the summer of 1918, and is so named because it is an early example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style of architecture, Loafman said. The Duncan Public School System bought the unoccupied home from the Foreman estate in 1984 with plans to use it as an administration building. Those plans were later abandoned, and the home was threatened with demolition in 2001. The W.T. Foreman Prairie House Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, was established to save and renovate the home, which it did between 2002 and 2007. The Prairie House is now open as a community resource for the people of south-central Oklahoma. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was an official Oklahoma Centennial Site in 2007. A large portion of the funding for the renovation came from the Oklahoma Commission for the Centennial Celebration, with assistance from the Oklahoma Legislature.

Popcorn and lemonade will be available during the afternoon.

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