High gas prices slow Black Mesa tourism
Residents in Kenton run on town's own time; relaxed pace is the norm for the one-street city.
High gas prices slow Black Mesa tourism

By John David Sutter

Published: June 29, 2008

KENTON — In this one-street town at the foot of the Black Mesa, there are fewer than 20 people — and all of their clocks are set to "slow time.”

Despite the fact that all of Oklahoma — including Kenton — is technically part of the Central time zone, this tiny town at the western tip of the Oklahoma Panhandle is the only place in the state that functions on Mountain time.

People here call it "slow time,” or "my time.” The clock in the local post office is even set to Mountain time, Postmaster Bonnie Heppard said.

"We observe it because Kenton is just a gathering of people,” she said. "It has no city government of any kind, it's unincorporated, so ... they just chose to stay that way.”

"This is God's country to me. There's a whole lot of character out here,” said Keith Hunter, who manages the town's one store — The Mercantile. "You've never seen a sunset until you drive out here three miles and watch one.”

Slouched in the back of "The Merc,” wearing green suspenders and a scraggly beard, Hunter said business "sucks” lately. Gas prices are too high for anyone to visit, he said. The town is nowhere near an airport, and it's nearly a seven-hour drive from Oklahoma City.

He said most come to Kenton for its oddities — because it's not like the rest of Oklahoma. It has canyons, not plains. It's like New Mexico, not Texas.

Bird watchers come to Kenton to see the Vermillion flycatcher. Hikers come to climb three or four hours to the top of Black Mesa, the volcanic plateau that's the backdrop for the town and also is the highest point in Oklahoma, he said.

That hike is about the only reason visitors have to care about time while they're in Kenton, said Monty Roberts, owner of the Black Mesa Bed & Breakfast, just outside of town. They only have to leave in time to make it down by dark.

Vague terms like "breakfast time” and "check-in time” are used more frequently than numerical time stamps at the lodge, he said.

On Sunday mornings, a preacher from Boise City — about 45 minutes to the east by car — come to Kenton to deliver services, said Betty Osbin, 72.

He preaches first in Central time, and then does it again on Kenton time, she said, without losing any time at all, really.

Osbin said people in Kenton aren't late for appointments when they have them, adding that her Methodist service starts promptly at "10:30 a.m. Mountain time.”

Heppard, the postmaster, said Kenton is mostly OK with the fact that not too many people visit and things are quiet.

More visitors would be nice, she said. But the town was already listed as an official ghost town 30 years ago, she said.

Despite the fact that Kenton is a renegade place on its own time, she said, no one has plans to change.

"It's small, quiet,” she said. "One of the best kept secrets in the state.”

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