The commission was officially formed in 1996, and it opened its offices in June 1999. Those offices and merchandise sales will officially close June 30, but not before unfinished centennial business is completed, said Blake Wade, the commission's executive director.

"We still have got a lot to do and we'll be working up until the 30th of June of 2008," he said. "I think everyone in Oklahoma has had the opportunity to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Although headline projects such as "Miss Belvedere," Tulsa's 50-year-old buried car; the USS Oklahoma Memorial in Hawaii; and performances in the Macy's and Rose parades put the Oklahoma Centennial on the map, Wade said, the commission is still completing state projects long overdue.

"I do not think any of these worthwhile projects would have been done without the centennial," he said. "The thought was, 'Let's get things finished up now for the next generation to enjoy.' "

Jeanie Edney, the commission's deputy director, said that when the work is done, the commission

"Communities stepped up and took ownership of the centennial from the smaller to the larger communities," she said. "They all celebrated in their own way. . . . We're surprised that today we're still full throttle."

Projects including Tulsa's Route 66 Plaza and Oklahoma Botanical Gardens are expected to continue through April, she said.

However, Wade said, part of the remaining work involves preserving the centennial's legacy for other states and Oklahoma itself.

"New Mexico and Arizona have their own centennials in 2012, so we've been working with those two states to get them going," he said. "We're keeping books on all our projects. Fifty years from now, they'll have something to document what happened in 2007."

Wade, 64, who was raised in Lawton, and Edney, 59, who has lived in Oklahoma for 27 years after moving from Indiana, said they were both proud of the centennial's work for the state. The people they met made the year special and memorable, they said.

"It was emotional to think back on the past year," Wade said. "I'd like to think that the centennial is just the beginning and think about how we are continuing to the next 100 years of Oklahoma. . . . It's just a real good Oklahoma feeling that it's been a good year, and I'm proud to have been a part of it."

Althea Peterson 581-8361
althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com

Oklahoma Centennial Commission

Tulsa-area centennial projects:

Tulsa Historical Society, Travis Mansion

Background: The renovation of the interior of the mansion, 2445 S. Peoria Ave., and construction phase of the Tulsa History Museum, the new home of the historical society.

Cost: $800,000

Tulsa Centennial Park, Land Legacy

Background: A downtown Tulsa park taking up half a block between Boston Avenue and Main street on the south side of 6th Street.

Cost: $800,000

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Gardens

Archivist's note
The description of the botanical gardens as the fourth-largest botanical gardens in the country is outdated and inaccurate. The Garden in the Osage Hills is designed as a world-class botanical garden and is projected to attract 300,000 visitors each year.

Background: The Osage Hills park at 5323 W. 31st St. will be the fourth-largest botanical gardens in the country and is projected to attract 300,000 visitors each year. The project received an additional $1 million in September to begin construction immediately.

Cost: $2.2 million

Oklahoma’s Beginning, Tulsa’s Council Oak Park

Background: This city park at 18th Street and Cheyenne Avenue is sometimes referred to as the first city hall because of its history, where the lands of three American Indian nations met.

Cost: $500,000

Red Fork Derrick Park

Background: The funding will go toward an oil derrick replica as tall as 150 feet for the site of Tulsa County’s first oil wells, as well as a Route 66-themed park.

Cost: $400,000

Route 66 Plaza

Background: The project will extend the current Arkansas River Centennial Walk route from the BOK Center along Denver Avenue to the site for the new Central Library and then to the new city property at the east edge of the historic Cyrus Avery Memorial Route 66 Bridge on 11th Street. A bronze “East meets West” statue and 100 new trees are also included.

Cost: $400,000

Notes: All projects are scheduled to be completed by April 30. “Cost” specifies how much funding came from Centennial Commission grants. Projects may have local and private funding as well.

Source: Oklahoma Centennial Commission