On This Day, They’d Sooner Rush Out for Some Land

--At the sound of a Colt pistol, 150 costumed Oklahomans on horseback and in wagons let out a yell and, with cowboy hats flying, made a frenzied half-mile dash to re-enact the 1889 rush for free land. This time around, there were no reports of any “Sooners” sneaking across the starting line before history buff Paul Ward, on horseback, started the race to commemorate the land run by more than 40,000 settlers. Winners got stakes like those their ancestors may have used to stake claims 100 years ago, when President Benjamin Harrison opened the 2-million-acre Unassigned Lands and began the process that led to the state’s creation. In other activities marking the April 22 anniversary, Gov. Henry Bellmon, also in Western wear, watched a ceremony issuing a commemorative postcard on the steps of Carnegie Library in Guthrie, the old territorial capital. The town’s mayor, James Weems, later started off a parade for a cheering crowd of about 50,000. But not everyone was thrilled with the ceremonies. Although some Indian groups have participated, others have protested. “We’re in the ghetto while the people who stole our land are enjoying prosperity,” said Frances Wise, a member of the Tribal Voices coalition. She said that asking Indians to join in the activities is like “asking us to dance on the graves of our people.”

--Twins separated soon after their birth almost 35 years ago shed tears of joy when they were reunited at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Susan Muchlenbruch of Northfield, Ill., had spent 10 years looking for the sister she never knew, and, with the help of the Salvation Army’s missing persons service, she finally located Mary Ann McNew in a Seattle suburb. “You don’t know how happy we are,” Muchlenbruch said, crying and hugging her sister. “We’re going to catch up on all we’ve lost, all the years we’ve missed together,” said a tearful McNew. Debbie Felt of the Salvation Army’s missing persons service said: “This one was a fluke case. We didn’t have any leads except one, and we ended up sending just one letter.”

--A peerlessly puckered piece from the opera “Carmen” and the popular tune “The Entertainer” won the grand championship at the National Whistlers Convention for Sean Lomak, a Navy sailor stationed at Pearl Harbor. Yugo Conti of El Cerrito, Calif., won second place at the contest in Louisburg, N. C., by whistling a classical oboe concerto and “Sailing to Spain.” Lomak is scheduled to appear May 5 on the “Tonight Show,” hosted by Johnny Carson.