Edmond Life and Leisure - August 19, 2021

Page 1

August 19, 2021 Vol. 22, No. 14

In This Issue FOUR SEASONS

Photo by Eriech Tapia.

Steen family descendants at the plaque designed by Judy Pike of the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust. L to R: Charlene Zielinski, Dr. Steve Zielinski, Debra Zielinski Coller, Virginia Sparks

Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.

Police arrest man, armed with semi-automatic rifle See page 6

FRIDAY, August 20 Partly Cloudy High 90° Low 73°

SATURDAY, August 21 Partly Cloudy High 92° Low 74°

SUNDAY, August 22 Partly Cloudy High 93° Low 76°

Photo by EHS&M and UCO Archives

L to R: John, Charles, and Cordelia Steen

Steen Memorial Bridge named for First Pioneer Family

PHOTOS Photo by Eriech Tapia.

L to R: Cordelia Steen Chapter Vice Regent Tammy Ross, Debra Zielinski Coller, Virginia Sparks, Dr. Steve Zielinski, Charlene Zielinski, Mayor Darrell Davis, Cordelia Steen Chapter Regent Andrea Aven, Edmond Historic Preservation Trust Chair Stephanie Carel, Executive Director of the Edmond Historical Society, Museum Amy Stephens, Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Board Member Dr. Patricia Loughlin, and Cordelia Steen Chapter Recording Secretary Deborah Adams.

Earlier this month, Edmond’s Cordelia Steen Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, led the dedication ceremony for Steen Memorial Bridge at the Festival Market Place, 30 West 1st Street in Edmond. Steen Memorial Bridge, a bridge of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, crosses over Second Street in the downtown area of Edmond, and is exactly where the original Edmond train station, and the pumphouse home of John, Cordelia, and Charles Steen, Edmond’s first pioneer family, was located in 1887. Steen Memorial Bridge signs have been installed by the City of Edmond in areas near the east and west sides of the bridge. The DAR chapter collaborated with the City of Edmond, the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust and the Edmond Historical Society and Museum to honor the first entity in Edmond named for the city’s first pioneer family. Descendants of the Steen family attended the ceremony, including Charlene Zielinksi and Virginia Sparks, great-granddaughters of the Steens, and the Steen’s great-great grandchildren, Debra Zielinski Coller and Dr. Steve Zielinski. Elizabeth Barkley, wife

of Dr. Zielinski, also attended the ceremony. Cordelia Steen Chapter Regent Andrea Aven led the proceedings, which included the presentation of colors by the Oklahoma 81st Air Force JROTC Honor Guard from Edmond North High School, the Pledge of Allegiance by Commander David Heald of the Frank H. Collings American Legion Post 111 in Edmond, the Star-Spangled Banner by James Bradford, Minister of Music at Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, and the benediction by the Reverend Dr. Chris Shorow of Edmond’s First Christian Church, to which John, Cordelia, and Charles Steen belonged. The audience was honored to hear from guest speaker Mayor Darrell Davis, who presented coins of the city to Steen family descendants Charlene Zielinski and Virginia Sparks. Additional guest speakers were Stephanie Carel, Chairman of the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust, who unveiled a plaque in honor of the Steen Family. The plaque was installed on the pedestrian walkway next to the Festival Market Place. Dr. Patricia Loughlin, Executive Board Member of the Oklahoma Historical Society and

professor of history at the University of Central Oklahoma also provided comments, as did Amy Stephens, Executive Director of the Edmond Historical Society and Museum, and Virginia Sparks, great-granddaughter of John and Cordelia Steen. Mayor Davis and Charlene Zielinski led the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Virginia Sparks, Dr. Steve Zielienksi, Debra Zielinski Coller, Regent Andrea Aven, Stephanie Carel, Dr. Patricia Loughlin, Amy Stephens, and Tammy Ross and Deborah Adams of the DAR Cordelia Steen Chapter. In December of 1886, John Steen, a water superintendent with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was transferred to Mile Marker 103 in Indian Territory to supervise the construction of a 128-feet deep by 30-feet diameter well for a new coaling and watering station. His wife Cordelia, known as “Cora”, and son Charles, nicknamed “Charley”, lived with Cora’s family in Topeka, Kansas, until the new station was completed. That new station, later known as Summit, was formally named Edmond in March 1887, and in November of that year Cora and Charley joined John. continued on Page 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.