Back to the Southwest (ish); stories from Oklahoma!

Today, I’d like to share with you a very special story about the Oklahoma City installation. Patty Ozebek, who started the One Million Bones Oklahoma Chapter joined the project early on in the campaign. We were lucky to have her join us in New Orleans for the 50,000 Bones Installation, where I was able to connect with her in person and talk about the April 28^th installation she had organized. 

The morning of the installation, before making the drive to the capital building in Oklahoma City, Patty packed up the last of the 2,745 bones- straight from the kiln to her car. Patty’s three oldest grandchildren laid the first bones, four skulls created by an artist in Denison, Texas, each of which was crafted to show signs of blunt-force trauma. The skulls faced north, east, south and west - so they could cover the whole world. Next, teenagers laid broken bone pieces around the skulls. The fifty volunteers then observed a few moments of silence before proceeding in the laying of all the bones created by the Oklahoma community.  

The Road to Washington installation was very personal for Patty, as so much of her family joined her for the installation that day.   As Patty reflected to me “You could only hear the sound of the bones clinkling on the pavement and people sniffling away their tears.” As the volunteers started reclaiming the bones, they were finding ones with messages written on them and read them aloud for the group. It was a special moment for Patty as she remembered every person who wrote a message that was read aloud.

The One Million Bones Oklahoma Chapter’s 2,745 bones raise $2,745 for CARE International through the Student’s Rebuild Challenge. Learn more about how your bone can trigger a donation by checking out their website!