Ooooohhhhh U?

 Second stop on the college tour: OU.

The University of Oklahoma was not on any of our radars until we heard about a special deal the neighboring states of Texas and Oklahoma have. We thought, what the heck, let's check it out. At least it's on the way to Kansas so we could pick Zeke up on the way whenever we go to the folks'.

This visit was special because we went with one of my best friends for the past 25 years, 

who happens to be the mom of one of Zeke's first friends. Of course two of the little sibs came, too. 

Boomer and Sooner, the little ponies who pull the schooner, take a victory lap around Owen Field whenever OU scores a touchdown. The schooner is a conestoga, or a covered wagon, that was the mode of travel used when the pioneers settled Oklahoma Territory in the late 1800s. The name Oklahoma comes from two Choctaw words, 'okla' and 'homma' meaning red people.

The University of Oklahoma was founded in 1890. It was a college while Oklahoma was still a US territory. The Oklahoma Sooners earned the name from the Land Runs in 1889. Pioneers, known as Boomers, raced to claim land as their own. The sound of a pistol signaled the beginning of the race; if one jumped the gun they were nicknamed 'Sooners.' This name came to denote energetic, determined people. 

The campus, which is home away from home for about 28,000 students, is very pretty. Most of the buildings are what they call Cherokee Gothic. Bizzell Memorial Library is one of the biggest buildings. It was constructed in 1929 and houses over 4.2 million volumes. One old room has a glass ceiling to let the light in because at the time they didn't want to use lanterns near the books due to a possible fire hazard.

The Helmerich Great Reading Room is stunning.

There are walls and walls of theses and dissertations by OU graduates. Our guide said some of the authors will leave cash in their published book when they visit as a treat for any student who reads their work.

At the end of the tour they had a 'graduation ceremony' where they passed out a t-shirt. Will that be Zeke's first college apparel? Time will tell...

[March 27]