Red Dirt And Round Bales

Dave Deken
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

Red Dirt and Round Bales is a podcast about the people, places, history, and everyday grit that shape rural Oklahoma. Built for listeners who love agriculture, small towns, country roads, and the stories tucked between wheat fields and cattle pastures, the show connects Oklahoma’s past with the lives of the farmers, ranchers, families, and communities carrying it forward today. Each episode blends rural storytelling, ag insight, and a deep sense of place — celebrating the red dirt, hard work, humor, resilience, and heart that make Oklahoma feel like home.

  1. 17h ago

    Bill Doolin and the Battle of Ingalls

    What happens when wanted outlaws make themselves at home in a small Oklahoma town? At Ingalls in 1893, the answer was a gunfight that left lawmen and civilians paying the price. Host Dave Deken revisits the Battle of Ingalls on this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales. He follows Bill Doolin's path from cowboy to outlaw, the rise of the Wild Bunch, and the deputy U.S. marshals who came to take them into custody. Along the way, he considers what daily life might have looked like for the families and merchants living near the gang. In this episode:  • How Doolin's connections with the Dalton Gang helped shape the Wild Bunch. • Why the outlaws' presence put Ingalls residents in a difficult position. • What happened when John Hixon's posse arrived on September 1, 1893. • How Arkansas Tom was captured while most of the gang escaped. • Why this Payne County gunfight remains part of Oklahoma's larger frontier story.Timestamped Rundown:00:00:00 — Opening, frontier setting, and Bill Doolin's Wild Bunch 00:01:49 — Town residents, the gunfight, the Ingalls reveal, and aftermath Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    Bill Doolin and the Battle of Ingalls

  2. 5d ago

    How Chicken Wire Became a Cowboy Tradition

    How did chicken wire, tissue paper, and a harvest carnival become a tradition that brings generations of Cowboys back to Stillwater? In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken traces the roots of Oklahoma State University’s Homecoming and the student work behind its familiar displays. The story begins with a 1913 carnival that helped fund the college yearbook, then follows a small alumni reunion as it grows into a celebration shared by a university and its town. At the center are students placing tissue paper into chicken wire, one piece at a time. Their work creates more than decorations: it gives returning families a place to reconnect and today’s students memories they can bring their own children back to see. In this episode:• How a harvest carnival helped lay the groundwork for OSU Homecoming.• How decorated doorways grew into elaborate house displays.• What “pomping” involves and why the work takes patience and teamwork.• How crowded streets helped give rise to Walkaround.• How students and the Stillwater community keep the reunion going.Detailed timestamped rundown: 00:00:00 — Chicken Wire, Cowboy Memories, and the 1913 Harvest Carnival00:01:08 — The Alumni Reunion, Pomping, and Walkaround’s Beginnings00:03:01 — Making Room for People and Traditions00:03:09 — The Story Leads to Stillwater00:03:14 — Oklahoma A&M, OSU, and America’s Greatest Homecoming00:03:30 — National Recognition, Community Traditions, 2026 Details, and Closing Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    How Chicken Wire Became a Cowboy Tradition

  3. 6d ago

    From a Perkins Porch to Cowboy Legend

    Before Pistol Pete became a familiar face at Oklahoma State, he was a Perkins neighbor with horses to shoe, grain to stack, and stories to tell on his front porch. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken explores the life of Frank Eaton, the real man behind OSU’s mascot. His frontier adventures became the stuff of legend, but newspaper accounts and a neighbor’s memories reveal another side: a working blacksmith, a family man, and an older storyteller who welcomed youngsters to his home. Dave follows Eaton’s story from the early adventures he recounted to his everyday place in a farming community—and the 1923 parade that helped connect his image with Oklahoma A&M. Along the way, a shop advertisement, a brief closure during grain stacking, and one memorable childhood mistake bring the man behind the mascot a little closer. In this episode:• How Eaton’s accounts of his childhood and shooting skills became part of the Pistol Pete legend.• What his blacksmith shop meant to the farms around Perkins.• Benny West’s memories of porch visits—and mistaking chewing tobacco for chocolate.• How Eaton’s image became an Oklahoma State tradition.• Where his home is preserved in Perkins.Detailed timestamped rundown: 00:00:00 — Welcome, a Perkins Front Porch, and Eaton’s Childhood Account00:00:47 — Learning to Shoot and Seeking His Father’s Killers00:00:53 — The Foundation of a Frontier Legend00:00:58 — The Fort Gibson Nickname Story00:01:08 — Early Adventures Told and Retold00:01:14 — The Land Rush and Life Near Perkins00:01:21 — Raising a Family and Serving Farms as a Blacksmith00:01:40 — A Blacksmith Advertisement in the Perkins Journal00:01:53 — Closing the Shop to Stack Grain00:02:08 — Neighbors Gather for Visits00:02:13 — Benny West’s Memories and a Chewing Tobacco Mistake00:02:38 — The Everyday Memories a Town Keeps00:02:50 — A Different Kind of Recognition in Stillwater00:02:58 — The 1923 Parade and Oklahoma A&M Students00:03:10 — Frank Eaton, Better Known as Pistol Pete00:03:26 — An Unofficial Symbol Becomes a University Tradition00:03:31 — Eaton’s Death and the Official Mascot’s Adoption00:03:43 — Charlie Lester Becomes the First Student Pistol Pete00:03:49 — Eaton’s Home at Oklahoma Territorial Plaza00:03:57 — Remembering the Man Behind the Familiar Face00:04:21 — Before the Fans, There Were the Neighbors00:04:30 — Where to Learn More00:04:36 — Closing Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    From a Perkins Porch to Cowboy Legend

  4. Oct 21

    Six Miles From Olympic Gold

    An Oklahoma wrestler was ready to compete for Olympic gold—but the arena was six miles away, his schedule had changed, and he had no ride. Dave Deken tells the story of Jack Van Bebber of Perry, Oklahoma, whose journey began long before the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. After a serious childhood wagon accident, Jack found encouragement from Frank Briscoe, an agriculture and chemistry teacher who coached wrestling. That support helped him move toward a remarkable college career at Oklahoma A&M and a place on the American Olympic team. Along the way, this episode looks at the people who made time for Jack—and how he later did the same for others. From a teacher’s home in Stillwater to a stranger’s timely ride in Los Angeles, the help he received became part of a story that reached well beyond the wrestling mat. In this episode:• How Frank Briscoe helped a youngster recovering from injury find his footing in wrestling.• Jack’s three consecutive NCAA championships under Coach Ed Gallagher.• The unexpected transportation problem before his final Olympic bout.• How Jack later gave his time to young wrestlers, Boy Scouts, and family.Detailed timestamped rundown: 00:00:00 — Welcome, a Childhood Accident, and a Teacher’s Encouragement00:01:13 — The Difference a Small-Town Teacher Makes00:01:26 — A High School Champion Heads to Oklahoma A&M00:01:35 — A Home With the Briscoe Family00:01:44 — College Jobs, Ed Gallagher, and Three NCAA Titles00:02:23 — Olympic Trials and an Unexpected Transportation Problem00:03:06 — Jack Van Bebber’s Gold Medal and Life After Wrestling00:04:07 — Giving His Time to Other Youngsters00:04:14 — Perry’s Wrestling Monument Park00:04:20 — Remembering the People Behind the Champion00:04:29 — Encouragement That Reached Beyond the Games00:04:37 — Where to Learn More00:04:46 — Closing Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    Six Miles From Olympic Gold

  5. Oct 16

    A Buggy Ride Toward a Better Future

    Before Northern Oklahoma College welcomed its first students, its president traveled the countryside by buggy to recruit them. Fifteen years after classes began, a funding veto closed the school—and its future was anything but certain. Dave Deken, a proud Northern Oklahoma College graduate, tells the story of the Tonkawa institution’s beginnings, its two-year closure, and the reopening that gave another generation a chance. It’s a story about education in rural Oklahoma and the familiar questions families ask when a young person is ready for the next step: What will it cost? How far away is it? Where could it lead? In this episode:• Why James Herbert Kelly went looking for students in the summer of 1902.• How a school founded to prepare students for university also offered practical business training.• What happened when Governor Robert L. Williams vetoed the school’s funding in 1917.• How the 1919 reopening and addition of college-level courses helped shape its future.• Why an educational opportunity closer to home can matter to a rural family.What you will hear in the episode:00:00:00 — Welcome and a Buggy Ride into History00:00:21 — James Herbert Kelly Goes Looking for Students00:00:41 — Rural Families and the Need for Education00:01:33 — Northern’s Founding, Closure, Reopening, and Growth00:04:21 — Preparing Students for a University00:04:26 — Learning Skills for a Career00:04:31 — Opportunity Closer to Home00:04:38 — Remembering Both Times the Doors Opened00:04:56 — Where to Learn More00:05:04 — Dave’s Connection to Northern and Closing Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    A Buggy Ride Toward a Better Future

  6. Oct 15

    The Town That Helped Build Oklahoma

    What happens when a town builds its future around being the capital—and then the government leaves? Guthrie lived that story, and its old brick buildings still help tell it. Dave Deken traces Guthrie’s journey from a railroad stop transformed by the Land Run of 1889 to Oklahoma’s territorial capital and first state capital. Along the way, he connects the political story with the farm families, railroads, merchants, and agricultural trade that helped the community take root. Then comes the turning point: the 1910 vote that moved the capital to Oklahoma City. Guthrie challenged the move, but its future as the seat of government slipped away. What remained was a working community with businesses to run, families to raise, and a downtown built for big expectations. In this episode:• How the land run created four separate townsites that became Guthrie.• Why territorial government helped draw people and businesses to town.• How farming and railroad commerce supported Guthrie’s growth.• Why Guthrie lost the capital despite a federal provision meant to keep it there until 1913.• What the city’s surviving buildings reveal about Oklahoma’s beginnings.What You'll Hear00:00:00 — Welcome and a Town’s Big Ambitions00:00:38 — The 1889 Land Run and Four Townsites00:01:39 — Guthrie Becomes the Territorial Capital00:01:51 — Government Growth and Early Farm Hardships00:02:16 — Better Crops, Railroads, and Agricultural Trade00:02:46 — Brick Buildings, Constitution Writing, and Statehood00:03:34 — The Capital Fight and Guthrie’s Survival00:05:54 — What Guthrie Kept After Losing the Capital00:06:11 — Learn More and Closing Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    The Town That Helped Build Oklahoma

  7. Oct 14

    Oklahoma Pronghorn: Small Fawns, Big Stakes

    Oklahoma’s pronghorn can run more than 50 miles an hour, but speed won’t solve every challenge they face. Even an ordinary ranch fence can become an obstacle for an animal built to run across open prairie. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, host Dave Deken tells the story of the American pronghorn in Oklahoma’s Panhandle, featuring research commentary from Sue Fairbanks, a wildlife researcher at Oklahoma State University. From fences and native grassland to the survival of newborn fawns, this five-minute story explores what researchers are learning about an animal with deep roots on the Great Plains. In this episode:• Why pronghorn typically crawl under fences instead of jumping over them.• What researchers found about adult survival and distance from cropland.• How aerial survey counts changed between 2019 and 2024 in Texas and Cimarron counties.• Why drought, forage, and the condition of mothers matter for young pronghorn.• How native prairie and surviving adult females factor into the next generation. For anyone who farms, ranches, or enjoys watching wildlife in the Panhandle, it’s a closer look at an animal that shares that country—and the conditions that help it survive. Timestamped Rundown 00:00:00 — Meet Oklahoma’s Pronghorn00:01:18 — Why Fences Create Problems00:01:41 — Studying Pronghorn Survival00:02:03 — Native Grassland Matters00:02:32 — Declining Panhandle Pronghorn Counts00:03:00 — Measuring the Population Decline00:03:13 — Fawn Survival and Recovery00:04:16 — The Future of Oklahoma’s Pronghorn00:04:38 — Where to Learn More00:04:46 — Closing Thoughts Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    Oklahoma Pronghorn: Small Fawns, Big Stakes

  8. Oct 9

    Tulsa State Fair: Crops, Oil, Community

    Why does Oklahoma have the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City and another State Fair in Tulsa? The answer begins with agriculture, not Ferris wheels. In this episode of Red Dirt and Round Bales, Dave Deken traces Tulsa’s fair tradition from an early community fair through the International Dry Farming Congress, Oklahoma’s 1915 Free Fair Law and a statewide system that encouraged agricultural competition from township to county to state-level events. The history also includes segregated fairs created by Black Oklahomans excluded from white institutions. Tulsa’s fairgrounds later gained its Art Deco Pavilion, formal state-fair status and the giant petroleum exposition building alongside the Golden Driller. Beneath today’s midway is more than a century of Oklahomans gathering to compare what they raised, grew and built. Red Dirt And Round Bales website

    Tulsa State Fair: Crops, Oil, Community
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Red Dirt and Round Bales is a podcast about the people, places, history, and everyday grit that shape rural Oklahoma. Built for listeners who love agriculture, small towns, country roads, and the stories tucked between wheat fields and cattle pastures, the show connects Oklahoma’s past with the lives of the farmers, ranchers, families, and communities carrying it forward today. Each episode blends rural storytelling, ag insight, and a deep sense of place — celebrating the red dirt, hard work, humor, resilience, and heart that make Oklahoma feel like home.

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