Grand Lake Historical Book making a come-back

 
Grand Lake..The Crown Jewel of Oklahoma set for second printing

The South Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce a second printing of the  

“Coffee Table” book recounting the history behind the construction of the Pensacola Dam and the dramatic impact it has had on all of northeastern Oklahoma. It traces the roots of an idea to provide electricity to The Cherokee Nation to what has now become home to the one of the most exciting recreational based economies in our nation. Plans call for 1500 copies of the book, Grand Lake, the Crown Jewel of Oklahoma, to be arriving sometime around the Labor Day weekend and will be retailing at the same price, $50.00 per copy, as when the book was initially introduced at the 2015 Tulsa Boat, Sport & Travel Show.

 The book project, bringing Grand Lake’s colorful history clearly into focus, is a joint effort between the South Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the book’s author, Jim Weeks, and couldn’t have been accomplished without the full cooperation of the Grand River Dam Authority. The hardback presentation has a leather 10”X 15”cover with an emblazoned outline of Grand Lake with the books title proclaiming “Grand Lake…The Crown Jewel of Oklahoma.” The book also has a full color dust cover with a breathtaking aerial photograph from behind the Pensacola Dam looking to the North.

 The fruits of Jim Weeks passion for the story of Grand Lake and those who played a role in bringing a farfetched idea to reality, is told in 96 pages filled with both photos and written accounts of Grand Lake’s history. After retiring from The Norman Transcript Newspaper, where he served as the publication’s sports editor for many years and authored three books related to University of Oklahoma football, he and his wife Micki retired to Grove, Oklahoma. But the journalist in him soon led to an idea of researching the colorful history of Grand Lake and publishing a book on the subject.

 Soon, Weeks was engrossed in interviewing Grand Lakers new and old, spending countless hours at the Grand River Dam Authority’s headquarters in Vinita researching their archives and reviewing old newspaper accounts about anything related to the history surrounding Grand Lake. His efforts led him down a chronological path to that day in August of 1940 when the last gate was closed, but unfortunately Weeks passed away in 2009 before the fruits of his labor could be published.

 Through the efforts of Coves resident Dr. Bruce Howell, the retired superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools and primary author of the “Echoes from the Past” series of articles related to the history of the four county area surrounding Grand Lake, the idea of a collaboration between the Weeks family and the South Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce to publish the book was initiated. An agreement was soon reached and the project was underway.

 As I recall, the idea for a book separating fact from fiction regarding the unique story of Grand Lake was way overdue and the older the lake gets the more difficult it has become to determine which was which. Yours truly and others who have read the Week’s transcript have marveled at the amount of details and wide swath of research included in the book. As I said at the time of the first publishing of the book, It’s difficult to even begin to estimate the number of hours Jim invested in this detailed account of our lake’s history. The chamber is again extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to partner with the Weeks family Trust and the Grand River Dam Authority in this long overdue account of this unique project being published.

 Plans call for once again printing 1500 copies of the book and some 400-plus copies are already spoken for. I would anticipate the remaining 1100 will go fast once some of books once again start to circulate. If you, a friend, or a family member have an interest in Grand Lake, I can’t think of a more unique gift for that hard-to-shop-for Grand Laker.

 To claim a copy of what will surely become a collector’s item once again, recounting a truly remarkable feat, just reach out to The south Grand Lake Chamber via e-mail at sgrandlakechamber@gmail.com or visit the chamber’s office in the GRDA Eco-Systems Building in Langley or place your order by telephone at 918-782-3214.

 See Ya’ Around the Pond!