Glencoe, Oklahoma is a small town located south on State Highway 108 between Stillwater and Tulsa. According to the 2010 census, the population is 601 — an increase of 18 over the 2000 census.
In 1988, I worked at The Stillwater News-Press. I pitched the idea of doing a photo essay built around a 24-hour slice of life in Glencoe. Having grown up in small town just down the road, I wanted to show just how vivid life in a town such as Glencoe could be.
The project was approved and in January, 1988, I spent 24 hours in Glencoe.
I shot more than 1000 images — remember this was the pre-digital era so that meant roll after roll of 35-mm film. I talked to dozens and dozens of people. I visited businesses and farms and people’s homes. I went to schools and hung out, freezing, on State Highway 108. I remember thinking how active Glencoe became after the sun went down.
My film was processed, the photos printed, but nothing ever happened. I don’t remember why, but the project was never published.
That always frustrated me. Then, not long ago, the negatives resurfaced; though the names of the individuals in the photographs (along with the rest of my notes) are long gone, the photos, themselves, remain.
Photos, which I think, offer a unique look at life in a small Oklahoma two in 1988.
Two children play in a yard in Glencoe, Oklahoma in 1988.
Two Glencoe High School students talk before school starts.
Clothes hang on the line in Glencoe.
School comes early in rural Oklahoma.
A young girl battles a cold January wind at Glencoe Elementary School.
It’s all in how you hold your tongue.
Elementary school and the itsy-bitsy spider.
You’re never too young to express yourself.
Sunlight streams through the windows at Glencoe’s lone elementary school.
She’s hard at work.
Glance’s Main Street in January of 1988.
Dominos are serious business in Glencoe.
A domino player considers his next move.
Ruby’s Flea Mart of Glencoe, Oklahoma.
Even the dogs like Ruby’s.
Another look inside Ruby’s.
The CEO’s desk at Ruby’s.
The shelves at Ruby’s in Glencoe.
It’s easy to find a spot in line at Ruby’s.
Light and texture.
Ruby’s CEO.
Outside Ruby’s. Part of the Glencoe Project. 1988.
The Maverick Mini Mart. Glencoe.
Two men share coffee at the Maverick MiniMart in Glencoe.
Early morning at Gabby’s Kitchen in Glencoe, Oklahoma.
A woman waits for her order at Gabby’s Kitchen.
The owner of Gabby’s Kitchen watches over her customers.
Sunrise, near Glencoe.
In Glencoe, some of the workplaces are small and simple
It’s early morning and there’s milking to do.
A workman starts his morning on top of a oil storage tank just outside of Glencoe.
The owner of a paper recycling facility examines his stock in Glencoe.
My grandmother once told me “we’ll make do.” That belief is pretty evident in Glencoe.
The old house shines brightly.
After a hard day, it’s off to bed.
The Glencoe Project. 1988
Clicking on any photo will open the viewer.
The OkiePhotog 
The pictures of Ruby’s melt my heart. Before too long, the store may not be there as Ruby gets older and her children have made it clear they don’t want to run it.Ruby is one of the only woman I know that has a heart of gold and does everything she does, for other people.
isn’t that where there used to be a pool table, and soda shop? if so I went there as a child
Memories . Thanks for sharing.
Great job. Though a few of the pictures are mislabeled. Sure would love to see your notes, interviews, etc. We all would (here in Glencoe). Have you asked Stillwater News Press?
Tell me what’s mislabeled and I’ll correct.
As mentioned, a few pictures are mislabeled. You have “Ruby’s” on a few of the pictures that are actually Baker’s Dry Goods. The picture of the store going out of business, the light bulb with the sale tag, the picture of the hats, the picture with the man sitting on the counter, the desk and the “Ruby’s CEO” are all Baker’s Dry Goods. The CEO was my great grandfather, Ray Baker. Thank you for preserving these. My family is always looking for pictures of the store or my great grandparents. Brings back so many memories.
I LOVE THESE PICTURES!
My dad was the pastor at FBC Glencoe for nearly 7 years. I was 19 when we moved from Louisiana in Jan. ’93 to this amazing, laid back, quirky town that all 5 of us now love.
This photo essay does a good job of capturing the essence of Oklahoma and small town America. These pictures are like a time capsule perfectly capturing the sense of pride, hard work and community that began my lifelong love affair with Glencoe,OK. Although, I live in Louisiana now, I will always consider Glencoe my second home.
Absolutely love the pictures that you took of my home town and I especially like that they were taken in 1988. You see, I graduated in 1987 and those pictures brought ALOT of grand memories to me! I LOVE telling people where I grew up and sharing my childhood life of Glencoe! Thank you!
Great pics! Can we send you more to add to the project? Also, it would be great to have first names of those in the pics. Can we do that and help out with the names? Add stories?:)
Pictures were wonderful. They are taken 20 years after I left, but I still enjoyed them.
I am “The Player”….I have never seen this before, so I was a little shocked. Very cool to see this story, makes me miss Glencoe, and the friends I made. Thank you for this.
The very first picture is of my uncles house, Jim and Joyce Choplin. I don’t know who the kids are playing in the yard though. My Aunt Joyce was the kindergarten teacher for many years until she retired. The old high school sat across the road to the south, it has since been torn down and the Church of Christ, I understand, will be building a new church building on the site. It’s being used as a parking area currently and a newer building is in the old playground area to the east of where the school was. It’s now the churches Youth Center.
I moved to Glencoe between 5th & 6th grades which was in 1987, the new high school was moved into about the same time. Jim purchased the old school later on and used it for a business and storage area till the maintenance got to costly. He eventually sold it to the church which had it torn down. They recycled much of the brick but it don’t know where they went. It’s still odd not seeing the old 2 story school with attached gym. Remnants of that building are buried where it used to stand.
Thanks for the memories.
As an AF brat, I lived the life of a nomad through my childhood and always wanted to just live in “one” place. My first husband and I purchased a house in Glencoe in 1981. There is a pic of a house that is all lit up in this collection, that I would lay money was built by the same person that built ours, they are almost identical. It took a few years to “break in” to that small town where everyone knew everyone. The key that opened the lock was T-ball. Once we were in, we were family. Glencoe exceeded the hopes I’d had as a kid. Thirty-five years later, I still consider it my “home town.” After all, that town took us in, shared our sorrow when my husband died, rallied around us and loved my kids through thick and thin. Although we moved to Stillwater in 1995, my eldest daughter went back and finished high school in Glencoe, went on to marry a Glencoe boy, and is now rearing 3 Glencoe children! My best friend, Susan, and my daughter’s best friend, Susan’s daughter, have deep roots in Glencoe. In fact, I think Susan’s mom is the subject in one of the pics. I recognize so many of these faces and they bring back precious memories. Like those who have already commented, I wish that I could see the rest of the pics you took as part of this project. These are amazing!
Are you going to be adding to the Project? I really love the perspective it gives our town. I didn’t see Glencoe the way your lens does. Great photos.
Wow, these pictures are great! Thank you so much for sharing them here.
My grandfather lived in Glencoe his entire life and he is in a few of these photos. It’s amazing to stumble on this and see him here. He and my grandmother owned the dry goods store and sold it to Ruby’s Flea Market around the time these photos were taken in 1988. Whenever we came down from Wichita, KS to visit in the 60’s and 70’s we would always go to “the store” because they had no employees and one of them had to be there six days a week. The store was called Baker’s Dry Goods. The owner (my grandfather) was Ray Baker. He died in July 1990 just two years after these pics. His wife was Lucy Baker. She helped him run the store and retired with Ray in 1988. She died in 2002.
The photos of the store are just before he sold it to Ruby’s. Here are some corrections and additions in case you want to update captions.
– Image 18: This is Baker’s Dry Goods because the merchandise is new (not second hand).
– Image 19: This is Ray Baker’s desk. I think Ruby’s office was across the street and the store had not yet changed hands.
– Image 20: “The shelves at Baker’s Dry Goods in Glencoe.”
– Image 21: Ray Baker is behind the desk reading something (not sure who the man on the counter is). The store is probably still Baker’s Dry Goods (judging from the sign in the window and the merchandise that is still on display). Note the sign on the window (in reverse) says “Closeout prices” since they were liquidating the merchandise.
– Image 22: This is from Baker’s Dry Goods.
– Image 23: This is Ray Baker. He was the owner of Baker’s Dry Goods (not the CEO of Ruby’s).
– Image 24: Outside of Baker’s Dry Goods. Ray Baker, the owner, walking toward the steps. He had just sold the store to Ruby’s and liquidating the merchandise. Note: If you zoom in on the left window pane, you can just make out “Baker’s Store.”