STILLWATER, Okla. — OSU leaders deemed Boone Pickens, ‘The Ultimate Cowboy,’ for a reason. His stories were enough to fill a museum; thus came the Boone Pickens Legacy Experience.
“It definitely exceeded my expectations,” Interim Executive Director Terry Tush said of his first time walking into the museum.
The mission of the museum staff is to keep Pickens’ legacy alive.
“This generation of students probably don’t know a whole lot about him, other than that his name’s on the football stadium here,” Tush said.
Pickens passed away in 2019, but Tush says the work to bring the museum to life began several years before his death.
The museum opened in April for limited tours by appointment only.
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“I love how interactive it is, all my students have been having the best time,” one teacher, who took her students on a field trip to the museum, said.
“It was just incredible, I would encourage all of you to come visit, it’s amazing,” another visitor said of the museum.
Tush gave 2 News an exclusive tour of the museum, starting where most visitors do, by hearing from Pickens himself.
Visitors can pick up a small earpiece, press a button, and hear stories from Pickens’ upbringing. In one story, Pickens talks about saving $250 and hiding it from his parents.
Visitors can also see Pickens’ favorite “deal shoes.”
“His longtime executive assistant told me a few weeks ago, when she was in the museum, that she had to have these shoes re-sole … she didn’t know how many times,” Tush said, “Boone would not get rid of them. He would bring them to her, and say, I need ‘em res-oled again, and he wouldn’t buy a new pair, because these were his lucky deal shoes.”
Tush’s favorite exhibit is the recreation of Boone’s Dallas, Texas office.
“It is the original furniture that is in his office, and it was just packed up and moved up here to the museum, everything you see was exactly as it is in his office,” Tush said.
Naturally, the museum heavily exhibits Pickens’ life, but his tales could appeal to a wide audience.
For example, in the Mesa Vista Room, five digital frames rotate through pieces of art owned by Boone. A new piece appears on screen every 90 seconds. According to Tush, visitors could spend one hour at each frame before seeing the same piece of art twice.
Most tours end near an exhibit showcasing Pickens’ college days, which started at Texas A&M, before transferring to Stillwater.
“The reason he decided to transfer was Texas A&M, did not renew his $25 a month scholarship. So without that scholarship, Boone decided to transfer,” Tush said, “Texas A&M’s 12th Man magazine declared that denying Pickens his scholarship was one of the top 10 mistakes in Aggie history.”
Pickens donated nearly $700 million to Oklahoma State University over his lifetime.
The 10,000 square foot museum, located in the West Endzone of Boone Pickens Stadium, will open fully on June 3.
DETAILS
TUESDAY - SATURDAY 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Football game days included
Admission is free
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