25th Anniversary Celebration In Review

(STILLWATER, OKLA • Oct. 24, 2010) — A week ago today the Stillwater Sister Cities Council hosted a 25th Anniversary Celebration to celebrate the twenty-five year sister cities relationship between Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan and Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.A. We celebrated with a near-capacity crowd in the auditorium at the Stillwater Public Library. Included on the program were several dignitaries including the Honorary Consul General from Japan to Oklahoma, Lloyd Hardin of Oklahoma City, Mayor Nathan Bates and former mayor Calvin Anthony. Along with the speakers were the Stillwater Middle School Touring Strings, the OSU Japanese Choral Group and the Stillwater Community Singers. Additionally, John Mills and Cindy Petree spoke about the 20 years sister school relation between Taisei Junior High School in Kameoka and the Stillwater Middle School.  I showed a power point presentation highlighting activities during the twenty-five years of our affiliation and Sylvia Duncan, who has served on the council for the entire twenty-five years, provided our closing remarks. It’s been a great twenty-five years, it was a nice ceremony, and we look forward to many more exciting years. In closing, we thank those who attended to celebrate with us.

25th Anniversary Celebration Is Here!

(STILLWATER, OKLA • Oct. 17, 2010) — Today the Stillwater Sister Cities program is celebrating its 25th anniversary and it’s been an exciting journey. However, as with most any endeavor that does well, it needed good support and leadership in its infancy and it certainly enjoyed both. Stillwater’s mayor in 1985 was Calvin Anthony and he has been a strong supporter of the sister cities program throughout the twenty-five years. The program has also enjoyed the support of City Hall
from the beginning. But, with any successful program it takes both support and “workers in the trenches” supplied primarily by the members of our sister cities council. The nine charter members of our council were, in alphabetical order, Carl Fox, Sylvia Duncan, Dee Dutt, Michael Griffith, Roger Hawkins, Mike Henson, Larry Jones, Harold Sare and Val Webb. Harold served as our first chair and provided great leadership to get us off on the right foot. As we meet this afternoon at the Stillwater Public Library to celebrate we hope you’ll join us. We’ll get underway at 2 pm in the auditorium. Please join us!

Upcoming Anniversary Celebration

(STILLWATER, OKLA • Oct. 10, 2010) — There have been some nice articles in the News-Press and on Stillwater’s channel 23 about our upcoming 25th anniversary with Kameoka and the publicity has been much appreciated. In view of the publicity about our twenty-five year sister cities affiliation with Kameoka and our celebration at the Stillwater Public Library on October 17, this week’s Kameoka Corner will focus on the city which we’ve been affiliated with for the past quarter century, Kameoka. The old castle town, almost completely surrounded by mountains straddles the Hozu River. Like Stillwater, Kameoka which is almost due west
of us, enjoys four beautiful seasons. The temperature during the winter rarely falls below about 28 or 29 degrees,  but it’s very humid and usually feels much colder than the actual temperature Most winters there are several five and six-inch snowfalls which are very pretty with the snow stuck to everything. But the snow doesn’t stay on the ground very long and by about mid-March signs of spring are in the air. In spring there’s an abundance of cherry blossoms and azaleas, some even growing wild along the Hozu River. During the spring hundreds of acres of rice seedlings are planted and as they grow toward maturity they provide an incredibly beautiful green landscape visible throughout Kameoka during the summer. Almost every morning during the late spring and early summer, the city is enveloped in a very heavy fog and during the same general period people are awakened almost every morning by the cawing of dozens of ravens. The summers are usually hot and humid. As summer gives way to fall the rice fields turn golden yellow just before harvest and the fall foliage displays its dazzling colors. Huge saucer size chrysanthemums can be seen on people’s doorsteps or in their gardens, the leaves of the gingko trees and other trees turn bright yellow, but the star of the fall show are the Japanese maples that turn almost fire engine red. It’s a spectacular sight! Rice harvest will soon be completed, people in Kameoka are preparing for the Kameoka Fall Festival and along with us will celebrate our 25th anniversary as sister cities.