Oklahoma gives rise to countless famous people. These folks range from, preachers, to outlaws. The list of titles is so long that including them all would take a century. The fact that the number of folks in these categories and the amount of famous people that were born and or raised in Oklahoma is reason enough to do some serious searching.
One would think a catchier abbreviation for Oklahoman would be “Okie”, but this would be a serious insult and grave misuse of such a grand recognition. In fact, for simple identification, Oklahoman will be use. Getting to the gist of the story in the derogatory improper abbreviation of Oklahoman leads us to the term Okie.
It is true that possibly early on in its use, Okie simply meant a person from Oklahoma. However, did this mean Oklahoma was where their roots began or was it simply the last place of identification. It could have been a term for a certain group of folks. A definitive answer to this would be near impossible as none of us living today could truly answer this based on any experience.
A little research on the past reveals that the abbreviated term, “Okie” was often used as a slang description of a migratory worker in desperation who merely passed through Oklahoma to work until another location drew their pursuit of a better life. The term was used in text as early as 1905 and one would only wonder its meaning as Oklahoma was not a state in the Union until 1907.
California and its authorities used the term in 1930 to identify incoming migrant workers in order to group them and as a manner of pay scale. Research on the Oklahoma historical website says, the term came from reading the Oklahoma state vehicle tag leading to a slang term Okie as a nick name of OK. Arizona actually created a law against any Okie migrant worker entering the state; later over turned by the Federal Government stating it unconstitutional.
Much effort was made to eliminate the derogatory prejudice mindset associated with the term Okie. The famous Will Rogers was born in Oklahoma and often publicly stated that, “birth Oklahomans actually raised the intellectual level of California.” Any research on this subject will provide a wealth of information supporting his statement.
A large soft drink bottling company in Tulsa labeled thousands of bottles Okie-Cola in hopes to break the calumniatory. Despite it all, many of the terms used in the past continue to carry belittling meanings today. A great deal of these terms and slogans are not appropriate to repeat but, some are still pretty common. Being eighth generation Oklahoman gives the right to repeat at least one.
The “Okie Credit card was a piece of hose and a gas can to siphon gasoline into. Though funny today, during the dust bow,l such jargon was not a call for laughter.
Regardless of the true meaning of the abbreviation or the fact that simply put it is short for Oklahoman, Okie will not be used in reference to the Famous Oklahomans and Indian territory people that will be highlighted in the next several months. Spotlighting a few superstars that Oklahoma has reared will wipe away any derogatory thoughts about the oftenmisused term Okie. Stay tuned to The Madill Record for what could possibly be the greatest folks on earth and most definitely folks who laid the way for the good Ole USA.