Oklahoma: Heartland USA (B roll, ca. 1953)

[Music] h all [Music] this is Oklahoma a colorful land a land of contrasts 70,000 square miles of America's Heartland alive with the warmth and spirit of the Great Southwest here Green Mountains rise the wooded Hills of the the Eastern counties Westward lie the Great Plains the canyon country Rich wheatlands to the North Stand golden with ripening grain Hills and rolling prairies stretch mile after mile to Red River on the south here is a land where Plains meet mountains here man-made Lakes create a new vacation land rich in variety rich in potential Oklahoma is truly Heartland USA yes opportunity still lives and grows in Oklahoma no State no region offers more these people these men and women young and old rich and poor they too are part of Oklahoma her human resource most valuable of all she has to offer for they are the ones who are building the state carrying Oklahoma ever onward to new [Music] greatness we're Oklahoma and we're proud of it we live work and play in this great state of ours all kinds of folk some of us live in cabins set high in the wooded Hills of the Ozarks the Arbuckles the [Music] cames our farm stretch across cross the endless prairies of the western counties the Panhandle we heard cattle in the sagebrush the Hill [Music] Country we help vacationists have good times on some of the biggest lakes in the southwest some of us like big towns and we've got them Oklahoma City our state capital all hustle and bustle Tulsa one of the richest cities in the country and oil capital of the world but we like little towns too whistle stops quiet Villages and then we've got towns of all sizes in between little cities big Villages up and coming slow and lazy but they towns neighborly you might say and we like [Music] them oil towns Factory towns farm towns mining towns we've got them all cars we drive every make every Model A total of more than half a million automobiles on Oklahoma roads [Music] we live in old houses new houses modernistic houses we've got mansions and chanties but like folks any place else most of us strike a sort of comfortable middling [Music] average churches the biggest part of us are members we have our fals but we try to live right [Music] we like our fun and costume balls help keep us entertained but we swing our partners at Square dances [Music] too our youngsters start playing football in grade [Music] [Applause] school some of them go on to make college and university teams even All American and all the rest of us hoop and holler and cheer our heads [Music] off nature gave this Oklahoma Land the rich indom resources that helped to make the state a Wonder World of opportunity only now beginning to come into its own there's wealth in the forests that cloak her Hills her fertile Farms each year bring forth a heavier Harvest her Minds give up new treasure power dwells in her Lakes Flows In Her Rushing Waters electricity for home and Industry and commerce I'll tell the world we have resources this is just one of the many dams we have in Oklahoma there's plenty of others Grand Tenkiller teom Fort Gibson and more to come they give us power more power than the folks a first settle here even dreamed of and at the same time they cut down erosion and stop floods and help us save our soil but flood control and power aren't even half the story Oklahoma's a big state 70,000 square miles of some of the finest land in the country most of its tops for farming wheat cotton Alfalfa broom corn all kinds of crops Timber covers 6 million Acres scattered over the Eastern third of the state Pine Cottonwood Oak Cyprus more different kinds of trees than all of Europe put together 140 million board feet of lumber every year and having our sourc of Supply right here at home helps to cut building costs in Oklahoma the low ground High resources are even greater there's oil some of the biggest petroleum and natural gas fields in the world producing Wells operate in 59 counties with more coming in all the [Music] time when it comes to refineries and pipelines well they're just about as common as cotton [Applause] patches we've got coal our miners take better than 3 million tons a year out of strip and shaft mines in the eastern part of the state fuel for furnaces and foundaries experts say our reserves run over 55 billion tons [Music] our Clays find all sorts of uses Pottery tile brick but that's just the beginning of our mineral resources there's Dolomite too lead zinc Building Stone chat gravels special Sands including grass sand we've got the finest glass sand in the world near mil Creek it all adds up to a state with a mighty big potential take my word for it Oklahoma's on its way recreational facilities are being developed rapidly by Oklahoma a vast outdoor vacation land to lure resident and tourist alike here in state parks or any one of a hundred local or special events good friends May gather to enjoy leisurely vacation days [Music] or they may enjoy a pleasant weekend or a Carefree afternoon of fun and relaxation we seem to have a knack for getting together here in Oklahoma we like to enjoy ourselves and we all love a good oldfashioned County Fair in the spring we go fishing and Oklahoma's the place for it bass bluegills catfish crappie we've got them all it's a sport for everybody and we all turn out we catch them in the rivers we catch them in the creeks and we catch them in the great man-made lakes that are turning Oklahoma into the vacation land of the entire Southwest it doesn't matter whether you favor a trot line or a fly rod or just a plain old can pole and an angle worm you land your share of beauties [Music] here there's hunting in the fall and in Oklahoma that means quail and duck farmers and sportsman clubs and Game and Fish Commission are working together to keep the bird population High our dogs are the best field trials yes sir they're another big feature of outdoor life in Oklahoma but you don't have to hunt or fish to have fun here they're swimming too a long season cool clear waters supervised beaches rushing streams the old swimming [Music] hole every corner of the state has lakes and pools for you to enjoy and when it comes to boating what's better than skimming along under a Full Sail or sweeping down a lake in a power Cruiser unless maybe it's paddle power you go [Music] for if you like excitement try a thrill a second surfboard ride we even climb mountains these days and some of our slopes are plenty steep Oklahoma came of age on Horseback and lots of us still like riding can't out is fun or you can stay at a million dooll Lodge it doesn't matter what kind of vacation you like best you're sure to enjoy yourself in Oklahoma here's a state whose Parks have everything quiet Glades and Rippling Waters cracks jotting up into the bright clear blue of the Oklahoma Sky Shady Nooks cool pools Sun swept Lakes you find a spot that fits your fancy where you can lay the summer days [Music] away agriculture has long been the solid foundation stone of Oklahoma's economy the state ranks high in production of a dozen widely varied crops while an extensive Soil Conservation program assures a bright farm [Music] future farming is a good way to make a living and to live especially in Oklahoma sure we have to fight the weather like Farmers everywhere we've seen wind and droughts snatch our land out from un we know what it means to lose a crop to rain [Applause] [Music] but we still manag to make our share of crops hay Alfalfa peanuts Sudan grass orams we raise all we make them [Music] pay cotton there's more than a million Acres of it here we chop we pick we work till we think our backs are going to break but we ship out a half million Bales a year then there's broom corn more of it here than in any other [Music] state and we grow plenty of just plain field corn [Music] too watermelons you can't ask better than Rush Springs melons but wheat's the crop that heads the list in Oklahoma 7 million Acres of wheat nearly a 100 million bushels a year the fourth biggest production of any state in the Union [Music] and where wheat's concerned we know how it's done at Harvest Time our combines get out early and keep on rolling even after the sun goes down they go all day and all night fighting time till the grains out of the fields and up into the elevators when the job's done we follow right behind the combines with our plows getting the ground ready for for the next season ready for more wheat more grain to fill the elevators and feed the country livock well Oklahoma's poultry State these days what with turkey farms and chicken farms and batteries turn out broilers and truckload Lots we're raising Hogs too more of them our 4 and FFA youngsters set new swine records every year horses yes we got some of the best for Oklahoma is a western state we still ride for fun and at work out here fine Dairy herds are scattered all over the state and sheep get more attention all the time but Oklahoma started out as range country and we're still proudest of our beef cattle north south east west wherever you go you'll find top herds got herfords and Angus and short horns and bras registered stock and just plain cows Oklahoma grows any kind you want to name 2 and A2 million head all to [Music] the future well Farm youngsters are part of it more and more they're staying with us they join the 4 or FFA groom their livestock for the big shows pick up new ideas in vocational agriculture classes at the state colleges learn like we have that farming in Oklahoma is a good way to make a living and to live industry 2 is on the march in Oklahoma attracted by the state's great natural resources its wealth of opportunities new firms are moving into Oklahoma in ever increasing numbers where industry is concerned Oklahoma has everything location power and labor Supply climate Transportation raw materials they're all ideal new plants are going up in every section of the state 50 Million worth of construction a [Music] year we're bearing down hard on the things we can do best Milling the grain from our wheat lands canning too meat packing food processing using our state's own fine farm products taking advantage of our location close to the soil we grow more broom corn than any other state and we make more brooms yes sir we're sweeping the nation Oklahoma Lumber is going into Oklahoma houses we're building thousands every year boxes and crates we make millions of them packaging for all kinds of products you find our Fine Furniture in homes and business places everywhere Square the biggest cotton mill west of the Mississippi River is located at Sand Springs turning out huge quantities of sheeting each [Music] month today lerie is an Oklahoma product [Music] garment factories make work and play clothes and Specialty items our quality Pottery is featured in top stores everywhere the fine glass sand found in the state has made Oklahoma a center for all sorts of [Music] glasswar the Tulsa area supplies steel to manufacturers throughout the state [Music] giant hydraulic presses stamp out all sorts of metal work [Music] the war brought aircraft factories with assembly lines geared to the latest techniques of this mechanical age with peace came Speedy conversion to trailers and other products [Music] modern industry calls for skilled workers technical knowhow Precision equipment and Oklahoma has them all our shops and foundaries build specialized Machinery delicate work the kind that meets the highest standards the stiffest tests [Music] our rubber industry turns out automobile tubes and tires and both Rubber and chemical plants use carbon black an Oklahoma petroleum byproduct paint and varnish production is rising [Music] it's the same in every field we're developing spreading out industry is on its way in Oklahoma today close contact with both markets and sources of Supply is essential to progress Oklahoma ranks high in this respect for a speedy efficient transportation system reaches out to every corner of the State Transportation you bet we have transportation the covered wagons are past history here in Oklahoma things are geared faster now folks want things delivered in a hurry so we heard better than 50,000 trucks around this state there isn't a crossroad we don't hit hul 15 million tons of cargo a year the new Turner turnpike from Oklahoma City to Tulsa is just one part of Oklahoma's Road Improvement program [Music] we're on the trains pushing them through for all nine of the lines that crisscross Oklahoma whatever you need East Coast or West Coast great lakes or Gulf we'll bring it to you and then haul your product back buses yes we drive them carry more passengers from here to there than you can [Music] count the planes we pilot link up Oklahoma with every corner of the country fast why we fly you there and there's time to spare and remember the airlines are just one part of the setup what with trucks and trains and buses and planes we give Oklahoma a transport system that'll stack up against anything you find [Music] anywhere Oklahoma's government centers in the state capital at Oklahoma City here the governor the legislature and a host of subordinate units have their head orders operating under the rules laid down in the state's Constitution through which the people govern [Music] themselves yes we govern ourselves sometimes well sometimes not so well but even at worst it's our government the system we as citizens have set up to regulate our way of life we debate and we legislate we make laws and we break them but good or bad make or break we do democratically in the American way there's more to government than just laws and elections governments grant us permits to marry and it lays down The rules by which we are buried it organizes us to fight forest fires and to defend our country against foreign foes here in Oklahoma operating our educational system is one of government's most important jobs because education is one thing Oklahomans have always believed in grade schools high schools public schools private schools the State University at Norman and Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater we the people of Oklahoma created them all through these our schools we mold the future set the Course Oklahoma will travel through the years to come [Music] excitement and drama Mark Oklahoma's history the rich Heritage of a colorful past in one brief half century the state has progressed from pioneer days to modern machine civilization the heritage of Oklahoma the growth of a great state skyscrapers are a part of today's Oklahoma some of us have established museums and art centers and Symphonies and the rest of us enjoy them we travel by air fly farther in an hour than our grandfathers could ride in a month great libraries yes we have them giant Industries have come to all the material and cultural advantages the 20th century has to [Music] offer yet some of us can still remember territorial days the Indians we watched the Northbound herds of Texas Longhorns Mill past on their way to Kansas our wagons lined up for the Run of ' 89 we lived in log cabins and sod shanties with the blue stem Prairie for a door yard Bill Murray rode Herd on our constitutional [Music] convention helped us set up the basic law we live under today [Music] our first capital at Guthrie still [Music] stands but the Buffalo are all in parts now the plows have broken up the Prairies we've watched the cities grow we've seen the cattle trails and rutted wagon roads Chang to Modern highways but the important things they haven't changed oldtimers are youngsters the people are still the same the friendliness the spirit they're still here [Music] I never met a man I didn't like Will Rogers used to say those are the things that count this is the heritage of Oklahoma this then is Oklahoma a great state a growing State a rich State rich in resources fertile farmlands prosperous Industries the finest recre recreational facilities in the middle west and rich in people all kinds of people the ever vital human resource these are the things that make a mighty State people resources Spirit the variety and contrast to support a strong Diversified economy we have those elements here in the hills on the Prairies north and south east and west all joining together to build an Ever greater Oklahoma Heartland USA [Music]