Newsletter #2
Minco Historical Society
Minco, OK April 2, 2005

  1. BACKGROUND: The Minco Historical Society is now two years old with 85 members. It started with a
  casual remark back in December 2002, “You know, Mayor Joe, Minco needs a historical society.” The remark|
  was repeated to the local editor. Both Joe Gilbert and William Faulkner did much to jump start the society. We
  are an incorporated, non-profit corporation, and 501(c)3 qualified, meaning donations are tax deductible.

  2. PRESENT ACTIVITIES: We continue to collect and preserve the history of Minco’s residents and the
  community before a record of that history departs from us irretrievably. A sample of one of the significant
  historical recoveries is a 1906 announcement for El Meta Bond College, which was located on the grounds of
  the current Armory park. This booklet provided college activities, curriculum, conduct, teachers and students
  names, and pictures. It was donated by Jerry Brown, Kerrville, TX, on behalf of the G. A. Brown and Hurley
  families, both formerly of Minco.

  3. BUILDING: Financially, the Society is in good shape with $3,000 and, so far, few expenses. However, that
  is far from enough to acquire a building. We need a building to use as a museum for displaying and protecting
  our artifacts, photos, and records. It is needed in part just to qualify for grants in relation to a museum. We do
  own the downtown lot donated by Ervin Masonhall, which is a start. A bare building constructed there would
  cost roughly $55,000. Another concern is the needed size. Small town museums tend to expand well beyond
  their original expectations, spilling over onto adjacent locations.  A small building would fill quickly, as

indicated by the temporary museum set up during
the 1992 Minco Centennial in what is now the
Blossom Time Shops. There have been historical
items donated by pledges, but the donors have to
retain them until we acquire a building. If anyone
has ideas on how we can obtain a good, secure
building downtown or close to town, we’d like to
hear them. We’ve tried a lot of approaches to no
avail. With regard to design, a Minco grad who is
a successful architect provided us with a rough
sketch of our proposed building on our downtown
lot. It would be an appealing sight to have in
Minco, and reflect our heritage as one of
Oklahoma’s finest frontier towns. The cost may be
prohibitive at present time, as first we just need “a
building”.

  4. GOALS OF THE SOCIETY: To preserve as much as we can about the history of Minco and its residents,
  including its surrounding rural area. This includes photographs, biographies, interviews, newspapers,
  genealogies, artifacts, and in general anything that would be of interest to nostalgic or interested residents and
  former residents, their descendants, and anyone who wants to learn of Minco’s past.

  5. WEB SITE: See the society’s web site at http://members.cox.net/mincohistoricalsociety for more
  information.

  6. MEMBERSHIPS: Annual individual $15. Annual business $25. Lifetime individual $200. Lifetime
  business $300. Application form available on web site.
  Prepared by: Marvin Woodworth, Secretary
  e-mail: mwoodworth@cox.net PH 405-732-0527
  Minco Historical Society, PO Box 624, Minco, OK 73059