From prehistoric fossils to items from the early days of Cushing, it is all housed on the corner of Cleveland and Cherry in Downtown Cushing.
Richard and Melba Dodrill have spent years collecting and storing items that have historical value. One of Mr. Dodrill’s favorite things is to share the past with others. He has worked diligently to provide a “home” for all sorts of history, but especially Cushing’s history.
“People donate me things,” Mr. Dodrill said, looking around a nicely arranged room full of farm equipment, signs, old sewing machines, oil field equipment and even an old printing press from the Cushing Daily Citizen. “I clean it up if it needs it and put it out for folks to see.”
Next room over is the Native American Room. When asked what the oldest item in the room was, Mr. Dodrill pointed out some arrowheads and tools that he claims are between 6,000 and 8,000 years old.
“I’ve got arrowheads from all over the world,” Mr. Dodrill said, “Mexico, Japan, Africa, Roman – and now I’ve even got people sending me them from the Middle East.”
A little over a year ago, the Dodrill’s acquired the church across the street in order to preserve it and to also have a home for more Cushing memorabilia.
“I’m still working on it,” Mr. Dodrill said. “I want to get some more done before folks start coming back for alumni weekend – but it’s a lot of work.”
If you are interested in donating items of interest to Dodrill’s Museum, or would like to give a helping hand, contact Richard or Melba Dodrill at 225-0662 or stop by and see what’s new at 123 S. Cleveland.
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