From Heavener, it’s a short hop over to Lake Wister State Park for a refreshing run through the park’s newly constructed spraygrounds!  
Featuring jets that spray from the ground, suspended buckets that drop water at unpredictable intervals and, of course, water canons, it’s a great way to beat the heat and humidity that you’ll no doubt encounter during the summer months in Oklahoma!  We arrived to find a group of school kids from nearby Wister having the time of their lives!
 
 
Cool Refreshment
Heavener/Wister
 
After a hearty breakfast with a stunning view from the dining room of the Kerr center, Shel and I headed down highway 59 towards Heavener to learn about a man named Peter Conser.  Born in 1852, Conser found success farming in the area and eventually became a leader of the Lighthorsemen, the primary law enforcement agency in the Indian Territory prior to Statehood.  He was also a legislator in the Choctaw Nation.
 
He built a homestead outside Heavener that at one time included the home, a general store and a post office. The Conser family donated the home to the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1967, and it is now open to the public for either guided or self-guided tours.  Glenn Hembree, caretaker of the Conser House, told us that the home was restored to its original state with the help of prison labor from a nearby correctional facility.  
 
Friday, June 15, 2007
A ledger in the Peter Conser House near Heavener
Lasting Legacy