Paintings, busts part of effort to preserve Lawton cultural artifacts

Officials who want to preserve the cultural artifacts in the City of Lawton collection now have some funding.

City Council members agreed to set aside $10,000 for the Cultural Preservation Committee of the Lawton Enhancement Trust Authority, an entity already focused on the proper care and preservation of properties and artifacts they say have significant cultural value to Lawton. More importantly, they are items that already belong to the City of Lawton, but haven’t had the care they deserve.

Ward 5 Councilman Allan Hampton, who has been spearheading an effort to preserve Lawton’s cultural and historical heritage, said the plan is crucial because some of the city’s artifacts — sculptures and busts, for example — are damaged.

Those artifacts are varied: busts that lined the walls of the auditorium of the original Lawton High School, items that mark Lawton’s sister city relationship with the Germany city of Gullesheim, photographs, works of art. All share a common thread: they are part of Lawton’s history and they need to be cleaned, properly displayed, or carefully stored.

That’s where the Cultural Preservation Committee and the city’s Arts and Humanities Office come into the picture.

Jason Poudrier, arts and humanities administrator for the City of Lawton, said his office acts as curator for city cultural artifacts, working with the Cultural Preservation Committee whose members are selected for their interest in preservation.

“The idea is to make sure we are caring for artifacts to the best of our ability,” Poudrier said, adding the council’s allocation creates a fund — much like the city’s building maintenance fund — to care for the artifacts. “The city has done the best it could have with its resources, but this will take it to another level.”

Poudrier said the $10,000 won’t cover everything that needs to be done, but it’s a good start.

Some work was under way before the council set funding, as city officials and others cull through buildings and other storage sites to secure significant items.

Poudrier and the committee have launched a restoration project for Miss Lawton photographs. Those photos — shot each year as a new Miss Lawton is selected — were displayed in a hallway of the old Wayne Gilley City Hall, but were taken down and stored when that building was closed a decade ago.

Poudrier and the committee have been working with Gill’s Framing to restore the photos. Ironically, some of the damage was caused because they were displayed, Poudrier said, explaining constant exposure to light faded some. In other instances, the photos weren’t clear to begin with, with their subjects in “soft focus.”

Modern technology is resolving the problem, he said, explaining Gill’s Framing can use digital technology to bring faded photos back to life and to sharpen images. Lawton Public Library also is using modern technology as it digitalizes all the photographs. It’s all part of a larger plan: displaying Miss Lawton photographs in today’s city hall.

“We don’t want to display them until we know we can properly take care of them,” Poudrier said.

While plans still are being finalized, Poudrier said one option is displaying a few photographs at a time, rotating some pictures while leaving others (possibly the more recognizable names) on display. Visitors would have access to all pictures through the library’s digital project.

Other projects are being explored.

Lawton City Hall already has a room dedicated to the building’s years as a school, established by former Lawton High students and featuring items such as photographs of school activities, letter jackets and basketball programs.

“It’s a rotating exhibit that tells the story of Lawton High, and that’s what we want to continue,” Poudrier said, adding the project has become stagnant. “So, to keep it relevant, we need to know, how do we rotate things through that room to give people a purpose to come back there? It’s all about money and resources.”

There is other evidence of the school, if you know where to look: for example, two plaster busts on the south wall of the auditorium, high above the stage. They are only two of the busts that used to be displayed around the auditorium, but age and deterioration has destroyed some and left others needing help. The plan is to move them to a climate-controlled location and that means planning now, to determine who is the right person to restore them. It’s the same plan the committee has for the old school’s plaster reliefs.

Poudrier said searching out artifacts has been fun. One of his favorite finds is a picture of the late Mayor Wayne Gilley, a search launched when the council decided to name city hall’s auditorium after one of Lawton’s longest tenured leaders.

“I went on a hunt and the one I found was a picture of him holding a tire, Goodyear’s one-millionth tire stamped on it,” he said. “It’s a really cool picture, a moment in history.”

Exploration has rediscovered other works: pieces from Oklahoma artists and artists who lived in Lawton temporarily and created art. The inventory includes paintings by Leslie Powell, the noted artist who called Lawton home from infancy until he left for college, then fame.

Some works have been restored and are on display in the lobby of McMahon Memorial Auditorium, under a plan to rotate works in a way that respects their integrity, Poudrier said. That’s why restoration and preservation are critical.

“There is a reason when you see things, it brings back memories,” he said. “These items have stories with them. We want people to see them.”