Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday

In one exhibit is a clock, circa 1870-1880, that belonged to Dietrich Thiessen and his family, who came to the United States from Odessa, Russia, and eventually established a homestead in the Deep Creek Township of Major County in Oklahoma.

Nearby is an exhibit that includes a pocket watch that belonged to the first Oklahoma territorial governor, George Washington Steele. In the history center's education area is a clock that was installed in Oklahoma City's Central High in November 1931.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday as Oklahomans adjust their clocks to 1 a.m.

But time is something Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, studies, preserves and speaks about daily.

“We will go off of daylight saving time, literally resetting our clocks, so then our life is a little different for a few months,” Blackburn said.

“Then we go back onto daylight saving time, and then we adjust again. So we have this semiannual resetting of the clocks.

“A state, community and a family is the same way, and you have layers of timing.”

History is personal, shared

Take, for instance, how Oklahoma celebrates its history of statehood, particularly in 25-year spans.

Other states do this as well, but Blackburn said one difference from many is that because Oklahoma is so young, this history is “so immediate, very personal.”

Blackburn remembers the Semi-Centennial Exposition celebration at the state fairgrounds marking 50 years and the Diamond Jubilee honoring 75 years. Then, just about five years ago, Blackburn, played a key role in the celebration of 100 years of state history.

About 10 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2007, he served as narrator of the Statehood Day inauguration ceremony re-enactment on the steps of the Carnegie Library in Guthrie.

He said then, “They celebrated 100 years ago today, but they were celebrating the beginning of something. Today, I think we're celebrating the fulfillment of that promise.”