There is a lot of history on display at Chief Plenty Coups State Park in Pryor.
And among the exhibits, you will find one woman who is also quite a treasure.
“I like helping people and working with people,” Bernadette Smith says.
A Mountain Crow, she knows a thing or two about the area’s history, having grown up on a farm near Pryor.
“There were very few cars, and my folks had a team and wagon, and that’s how we traveled,” she recalls.
She’s been working here in the museum for more than 30 years.
“She is more or less our third most popular exhibit out here,” says park ranger Aaron Kind.
“We have people from all around the world, throughout the country, who come back year after year just to come and visit Bernadette. She gives them a story, sits and talks with them. Gives them a little bit of history on the Crow people and the community and they walk away with a big smile on their face,” he says.
It’s not surprising that she enjoys telling stories and teaching others. She worked as a teacher in Pryor for decades and still runs into some of those students who haven’t forgotten her.
“Now, I don’t recognize the children, and they say, teacher I still love you, and thanks for teaching me this,” she says.
When she’s not working at the park, you might find her tending to her herd of cattle or volunteering at the food pantry.
“Most of the grandparents raise their grandkids and their money runs out at the end of the month, and they do need help. And it is just something you are supposed to do is help your neighbor."
Helping others—just one of the reasons this Super Senior is a popular attraction in Pryor.
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