Alva Review-Courier -

Yvonne Miller

THE GREAT LAND RUN OF 1893 STARTED JUST A MILE SOUTH OF THIS BRONZE STATUE IN KIOWA, KANSAS – The Great Land of 1893, the opening of the Cherokee Strip, is a major piece of history in this immediate area and all along the Kansas/Oklahoma border. This year, 2018, marks the 125th anniversary of this monumental event. Kiowa man Cecil "Junior" Tucker and his late wife, Verna, gave this bronze statue as a gift to the community. The statue has an amazing level of detail that shows the muscles of the horse raring to go, the intense look on the faces of the husband and wife as she hands him the stake he'll drive in the ground where they'll make their home and start a new life. Schoolchildren visited the statue and walked all around it, felt it and were impressed with the bigger-than-life piece of history. In this photo they are learning fun facts about Kiowa compiled by local woman De Coyle primarily from the books of the late Kiowa historian Jean Brown. In case you haven't ever seen the statue or haven't in a while, make the time.