The Osage County Historical Society honored former Osage Nation Congressman Archie Mason and posthumously honored Osage artist John D. Free and Maj. General Clarence Tinker as 2023 “Heroes and Legends.”
Now in its seventh year, the county Historical Society Board of Directors selects five outstanding county citizens as honorees for the “Heroes and Legends of Osage County” acknowledgments. Mason, Free and Tinker received their recognitions during the Historical Society’s annual meeting, dinner and live auction on May 4 at the county fairgrounds.
According to the Historical Society: “Osage County was built by the strength and character of many extraordinary men and women … Five honorees will be awarded a very special medallion with their story retained at the OCHS Museum. Their names have been chosen by the Osage County Historical Society Board of Directors from all corners of Osage County for their significant contributions to their communities.”
The Historical Society recognized Free (1929-2014) with a bio statement read highlighting his life’s accomplishments and artworks. According to his obituary, Free “was a member of the Nation Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma Sculpture Society, Prix De West, and a past member of the Cowboy Artist of America. He has shown artwork at the (National) Cowboy Hall of Fame, Gilcrease Museum, Woolaroc, as well as numerous galleries and shows. He was a silver medal winner at the annual Prix De West Art Show, and the Wrangler Award given out at the annual Western Heritage Award Banquet was sculpted by John. He is nationally known as his artwork is part of private and corporate collections across the nation. He has received numerous awards and recognitions during his 50-plus years as an artist … John began his art career in 1960 and trained under Thomas Lewis in Taos, N.M. and spent many summers in Taos shaping his craft. His wife Rayma went to work full time to allow John to have time to start his fledgling career. Rayma was instrumental in managing John’s career. John lived on a small ranch north of Pawhuska where he cared for his horses including his favorite horse, Old John, and his longhorns. He also started a foundry, The Bronze Horse, with his brother-in-law, which is a family-operated business. John was a member of the Osage Nation, First Baptist Church of Pawhuska, and served in the military in Japan in the 1940s.”
Free’s grandson, Cameron Free, also an artist, accepted the medallion on behalf of his family.
Historical Society board member Faren Revard Anderson read a statement on Mason before he received his medallion. Anderson and Mason were both elected to serve on the First Osage Nation Congress when the Nation’s 2006 reformed government launched.
Anderson said Mason “has completed post-graduate studies at the University of Tulsa, he is currently the executive minister of Tulsa’s All Tribes Indian Baptist Church and he has been an Ambassador of Goodwill for Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa and has traveled internationally. Mason spent 30 years as an educator for Tulsa Public Schools, first as a classroom teacher then a certified counselor and Title IX and Johnson O’Malley Indian Education Director. He continued in education as an adjunct professor in the Humanities Department at Rogers State University. He is currently a Bacone College Ambassador. From the education field, he entered the political arena. He served on the Osage Nation’s First Congress in 2006 and subsequently served for the next 14 years… He also holds the distinguishment of being the Nation’s first Congressional Speaker. Mason is a 20-year member of the U.S. Selective Service System. He was appointed by (President) George W. Bush and subsequently appointed by Barack Obama to the Oklahoma Selective Services System District Appeals Board. Mason is involved in numerous organizations, including Rotary International, Oklahoma Indian Baptist Association, Phi Delta Kappa, and American Indian Children with Disabilities. He is also active with Sigma Tau Gamma, (Northeastern State University) Alumni Association and the National Association of Campus Ministries.”
Anderson said she asked Mason, a 1962 Pawhuska High School graduate, about his memories growing up in Osage County and said “he has wonderful and cherished memories of times past growing up in the 1950s and the 1960s in Pawhuska such as great cafes, movies and department stores and the pool hall, great fishing in the old city lake and the surrounding creeks, he enjoyed those very much … Archie cannot forget the local group of musicians, The Misfits, of the 60s, they were Pawhuska’s own … Archie is a supporter of our city and he keeps an open communication with our sister city in France and other connections in the South of France … He appreciates the values instilled by his parents, his family and Pawhuska, which have allowed him to follow a career in education and other related endeavors.”
Anderson also noted Mason was recently honored at Bacone College with having the “Dr. Archie Mason School of Religion” being placed on their campus and now in the curriculum as she called him to receive his medallion at the dinner.
After accepting his medallion, Mason shared memories of his youth in downtown Pawhuska, which was full of long-gone stores, businesses and popular entertainment spots. He then expressed thanks “for this privilege and this acknowledgment, it’s something I shall take with me this evening as I retire … I’m going to think of this moment, think about Pawhuska here looking out and those of you in Osage County, cowboys and Indians alike, thank you one and all.”
The final honoree bio statement for Maj. Gen. Tinker was read out loud. “He was born Nov. 21, 1887, north of Pawhuska on the Osage Nation and died June 7, 1942. He was the son of George Edward and Sarah A. Tinker, was raised Osage and spoke the Osage language … His elementary education was at Hominy and Pawhuska Catholic schools. His formal military education began when he entered Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Mo. From there, he was commissioned as a Third Lieutenant at the Philippine Constabulary. He gained a commission in the U.S. Army Infantry in March 1912. In 1913, Tinker was transferred to Hawaii where he met and married Madeline Doyle. During WWI, he was promoted to Major and Tinker began flying lessons with the ROTC in Riverside, Calif., and when his father came to visit, they spoke Osage to each other and Tinker established his identity as Osage.”
“(Tinker) was transferred to the Army Air Service on July 1, 1922, in the same class with (future President) Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tinker became the commander of the Seventh Air Force in Hawaii. Tinker flew an early model of B-24s in the Battle of Midway chasing the Japanese when his plane with eight crew members plunged into the sea. They were officially reported to be missing at 2300 hours on June 7, 1942. The bodies of Tinker and his crew members were never recovered … Tinker became the first general to die in WWII. He received the Soldier’s Medal in 1931 and posthumously was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In October 1942, the Oklahoma City Air Depot became Tinker Field and was later named Tinker Air Force Base. Tinker’s personal papers and property were donated by his widow, Madeline, to Tinker Air Force Base. The Osages honor Tinker every year at the (Pawhuska) Inlonshka dances (during his memorial song). It’s the only song when all Osages (and attendees) stand in honor.”
Mason accepted the medallion on Tinker’s behalf and said he would make sure family members received it after the event.
