License Plates

In Oklahoma, a license plate is only required for the rear of the vehicle, as opposed to front and back in Ontario. As a result, a lot of people here opt to display a plate of their choice on the front. This is a common one...

OU stands for the University of Oklahoma.

Another common site...


Oklahoma can be referred to as 'The Sooner State'. Sooners is a term commonly used for a sports team. I'm unclear whether it's for football only, or whether it's for all sports teams here, or whether it's for University of Oklahoma teams only. I'll have to clarify that with hubby. I remember him telling me, but I've forgotten ...it's an age thing (lol).

At the moment, I'm displaying my Ontario license on the front of my Echo, but I'm considering getting one of these, which I saw on a vehicle here recently:

Yay...a fellow Canadian! Hubby shouldn't be too opposed, given that he was born in Oh Canada. At times I still marvel at the fact that I married a guy from Oklahoma City whose father is buried in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. What are the odds?

Being close to Tinker Air Force base, we see license plates from all over, even from Alaska, but I was totally surprised to see a Hawaiian license plate several weeks ago. Now that's a rare sight! Ah, memories of Maui. Tried to convince hubby to move there, but he wasn't interested. Obviously he's never been there!

I'll sign off with a little history on how Oklahoma became known as 'The Sooner State', if you're interested. Have a good day, eh!

(quoted from http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ok_intro.htm)
"Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma were offered to settlers through a series of Land Openings where newcomers initially competed for the land in horse races. The Land Run of 1889 began the process of disposing of these Unassigned Lands. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided that a legal settler could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the claim for five years could receive title.

People who entered the district illegally to lay claim to lands, before the designated entry time, were called "Sooners." The name came from a section in the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889, that said that nobody would be permitted to enter upon and occupy the land before the time designated in the President's opening proclamation and that those that did would be denied rights to the land. This section became known as the "sooner clause."

Early legal settlers had a very low opinion of Sooners of course. This began to change by 1908 when the University of Oklahoma named the football team the "Sooners." Like many nicknames, this one's negative connotations faded over time and the name, Sooners, is now worn with pride. Though not official, Oklahoma is popularly known as "The Sooner State."