'We're losing stories': Jenks group raising money for city museum

JENKS, Okla. — The city of Jenks is full of history, but it doesn't have a place to share it.

"We're the only city around that does not have a museum, and we're losing stories," Wayne Parker with the Jenks America Museum and Historical Society said.

It's a problem he and other members like Brian Sherman hope to address.

"It's vitally important. All museums are," Sherman said. "You gotta know where you came from to know where you're going."

Over 100 years of city history, unfortunately held in storage.

"We're not in a big mode of collecting artifacts right now because we just don't have a space," Parker said.

The current space? Partially inside city hall. A small display with a few pieces of memorabilia.

Sherman and Parker say right now, they have a spot with Jenks Public Schools to house some of their artifacts, but they'd much rather have a space of their own to showcase them even more.

So the group is hosting a chili cook off on October 17 at Veterans Park in Jenks, hoping to raise money for their own building.

"Buildings in Jenks are extremely expensive," Parker said. "We have a little bit of money, but to operate the museum's going to cost us $150,000 a year if we hire someone."

The event is open to the public with a number of vendors and live music.

"We're going to cook some chili. We're going to drink some beer. We're gonna have a great time, but most important, we're gonna raise money for the museum," Sherman said.

All in an effort to preserve and highlight the history of a city nearly 125 years old.

"Anything that we have from the Smithsonian on down to local museums we need to have that history to know where we came from, what happened, what made the city here," Parker said.

You can find more information on the fundraiser here.