Oysters in Oklahoma are an uncommon treat. That is why, on the third Saturday in February each year oyster lovers come from far and wide to Frederick to dine on oysters, fried or on the half-shell, fresh from the Texas Gulf Coast. The annual oyster fry has grown over the years into one of the biggest, most highly anticipated annual special events in Southwest Oklahoma. Due to the reduced cost of oysters, ticket prices have gone down for this year!

The Oyster Fry meal will be served from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on February 16 at the Prather Brown Center Cafeteria. Advance Tickets are only $13.50 and may be purchased in advance by credit card by calling (580) 335-2126, or by mail from the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, 100 South Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542. Credit card orders will be accepted by phone or mail. Oyster Fry tickets will be available at Prather Brown Center on February 16 for $15.00. In addition, raw oysters will be available for purchase by the gallon for $60, contact Box, Inc at 580-335-2185.

Diners at Frederick’s Fantastic Oyster Fry will have their choice of fried oysters or raw oysters. The dinner also comes with slaw, beans, and chips. Homemade desserts will also be available.

A craft show will run in conjunction with the oyster fry next door at the Frederick Middle School Gyms, 201 South 13^th . Approximately 40 craft vendors will offer a wide variety of items for sale and exhibit, including pottery, jewelry, woodcrafts, leather crafts, candles, needlework, and much, much more.

The craft show will begin at 11:00 a.m. and run until 7:00 p.m.

Although Oysters are the main attraction in Frederick on Saturday, February 16, there are many other things to see and do.

Numerous Frederick attractions will be open that day, including the Pioneer Townsite Museum from 1 to 4pm and The Crawford Collection from 12 noon until 4pm. The Crawford Collection is a privately owned assembly of more than 160 trophy mount animals that were collected over many years by Frederick’s Crawford family on hunting expeditions around the world. The amazing display includes lions, tigers, bears, antelopes, wolves, a giraffe, an African python, a bull elephant, and many, many more distinctive animals. It is an amazing, professionally staged exhibit.

The Pioneer Townsite Museum will be open from 1pm until 4pm on Feb 16th. Located west of the Tillman County Courthouse Square in downtown Frederick. The newest attraction at the Museum is the brand new interactive Abernathy Boys exhibit, which features a map of the boy’s journey, as well as a restored Brush automobile. The Abernathy boys were two Frederick boys who, in 1910, became national celebrities at age 6 and 10 when they rode alone by horseback from Frederick to Washington,

D.C. to visit President Taft, and on to New York City where they greeted former President (and family friend) Theodore Roosevelt on his return from an African safari. The boys then drove back to Oklahoma in a Brush Automobile.

At the museum, visitors can purchase numerous books that describe

President Roosevelt’s visit to Frederick, the feats of Jack “Catch Em Alive” Abernathy who was renowned for catching wolves with his hands, and the amazing exploits of the Abernathy Boys. Visitors can also see a life-size Statue of Bud and Temple Abernathy on the Tillman County Courthouse Square.

The Museum also depicts a rural Townsite in the mid-1920s, and includes numerous historic buildings, including the following: Frederick’s 1901 Frisco Depot (where President Theodore Roosevelt’s train arrived in 1905 when he visited Frederick, Oklahoma Territory, for his famous Oklahoma Wolf Hunt), the restored 1902 one-room Horse Creek School (relocated from its original location in northeast Tillman County), the 1924 AME Church (moved from its original site in west Frederick) that is still used on Sunday mornings by a local congregation, and a genuine farmhouse that was built on the site in the 1920s. The museum also includes a reproduction general store, barn, and a farm equipment shed that houses a wide variety of antique farm equipment. In addition, the museum features countless artifacts from the early years of Tillman County.

Admission to the museum is free, although donations are accepted. At the museum, visitors can purchase numerous books that describe President Roosevelt’s visit to Frederick, the feats of Jack “Catch Em Alive” Abernathy who was renowned for catching wolves with his hands, and amazing exploits of Frederick’s Bud and Temple Abernathy, two young boys who became national celebrities in the early part of the 20th Century.

Visitors can also see a life-size Statue of Bud and Temple Abernathy on the Tillman County Courthouse Square. This statue honors two Frederick boys who, in 1910, became national celebrities at age 6 and 10 when they rode alone by horseback from Frederick to Washington, D.C. to visit President Taft, and on to New York City where they greeted former President (and family friend) Theodore Roosevelt on his return from an African safari. The boys then drove back to Oklahoma in a Brush Automobile. Their stories and adventures are documented in many photographs and old news articles, they have been subject of several books, and movie producers are currently considering their story for a movie.

Fans of early-day architecture are also encouraged to visit the 1929 Ramona Theatre, the 1929 Hotel Frederick, and the 1915 Frederick Carnegie Library.

Most stores throughout Frederick will be open on Saturday afternoon, February 16, and many will feature special retail promotions that day.

Folks are encouraged to come early to Frederick that day to shop, visit Frederick attractions and enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Of course save plenty of room for the oysters!

For more information, please contact the Frederick Chamber Office at 580-335-2126.