Nearly a century ago, oil tycoon Frank Phillips helped bring bison back to Oklahoma.
Today, that herd is still growing and thriving at Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve near Bartlesville.
This weekend, Woolaroc is bringing back another tradition that goes back 99 years.
The Cow Thieves and Outlaws Reunion is happening Saturday, September 26, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Clyde Lake.
Kevin Hoch with the Frank Phillips Foundation says this party was started by Phillips himself in 1927.
“Frank Phillips hosted his friends in high places and his low places at this event. He believed it was important, of course, to ensure that his network was broad. So that goes for U.S. Presidents and politicians and East Coast bankers. But he also understood the importance of having friends in low places. Those are the outlaws and the cow thieves and the robbers and the barons, because that was the era that he was living in and building out his business empire,” says Hoch.
Nearly 100 years later, Hoch says the reunion continues as one of Woolaroc’s signature events
“It’s live music, a wonderful dinner, dancing under the stars, artists and vendors, a mechanical bull, and an incredible fireworks display.”
This year’s entertainment includes live music from Dylan Gerard, a contestant on “The Voice.”
The reunion is more than a celebration of Oklahoma’s Western heritage.
Hoch says it’s also the biggest annual fundraiser for the Frank Phillips Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates Woolaroc’s 3,700-acre wildlife preserve, museum and ranch.
“The funds that are raised through our Cow Thieves and Outlaws reunion are strategically invested back into the mission and the property. So, our big focus the last few years has been reinvesting those funds into our historic infrastructure, as the property now is over 100 years old in many areas. So those funds go into items like roofs and HVAC and sidewalks and bathrooms and things like that that allow us, again, to best serve our visitors.”
The Cow Thieves and Outlaws Reunion is Saturday from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at Woolaroc’s Clyde Lake. More information and tickets are available here.
