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Bob Klemme was born on a farm in Tillman County near Hollister, OK on December 15, 1925 and lived in Caddo County until August 1934 when his family moved to Enid. He attended the Enid school system and graduated from Enid High School in 1943. He immediately joined the military and served 2 ½ years in the US Navy as an aviation ordinanceman and aerial gunner instructor. Upon receiving his honorable discharge following WWII, he was employed as a draftsman and salesman for The Long Bell Lumber Company in Enid for fifteen years.
Following his employment with Long Bell he was worked as an insurance adjuster for General Adjustment Bureau for the next nineteen years. He was then employed as an independent insurance agent with for the next thirteen years until his retirement.
Prior to his retirement, Bob had begun his long-standing interest in the Chisholm Trail. In 1990 he began marking the exact path that the trail took across the state of Oklahoma. The trail was marked where it crossed each section line from Red River Station, Texas to Caldwell, Kansas. Klemme spent countless hours constructing and setting over 400 concrete markers that weighed approximately 200 pounds each. The goal of the project was to create interest in this important trail and it is hoped that some day it will become a National Historic Trail.
Horse Trough
A familiar attraction in Enid, this granite horse watering trough is presently located at the corner of Maine and Grand was a gift to the city from the National Humane Alliance and put into place in 1910. The horse trough was originally placed 130 feet west of it current location until it was struck by an automobile. The impact toppled the trough into the street and plans were to destroy it until the DAR had it moved to Springs Park where it resided atop the kiddie wading pool. It remained there until Bob worked to have it moved to its present location in 1989.
Doughboy
The World War I Doughboy Monument which is located just East of the Public Library at the corner of Grand and Maine was a gift to the city from the DAR in 1924. The bayonet on the monument had been broken by vandals many years ago and Mr. Klemme had a new one forged and replaced the missing bayonet. The monument was rededicated by the DAR in 1994 and three surviving WWI Veterans were in attendance.
Time Capsule
A time capsule was placed in Springs Park in 1990 which was to be unearthed in 400 years. Klemme remembered the capsule and approximately where it was buried and actually found it buried approximately three feet underground. He built a monument to mark the spot. Going one step further he built his own time capsule and filled it full of memorabilia to be opened in 2093. This time capsule can be found just west of the Dillingham Gardens.
36-30 Monument
As you travel about seven miles north out of Enid on US Highway 81 you will notice a small granite marker on the east side of the highway. Bob had the monument placed at this point, and it marks the 36-30 north latitude, and known as the Missouri Compromise Line There was to be no slavery north of this line. In 1820 Missouri wanted to come into the Union as a slave state and was unable to do so because it is located north of this line. A compromise was made and Maine and Missouri became states at the same time. Missouri became a slave sate and Maine, a free state. This line is also the south border of the Oklahoma panhandle.
Cherokee Strip Stamp
Bob was the driving force behind getting a US Postage stamp created and published commemorating the Run of 1893. With the help of Enid native Bert Mackie who was at that time serving on the board of postal governors, Klemme was instrumental in making sure that local artist Harold Holden was the artist for the stamp. The stamp was dedicated on April 17, 1993 and Marvin Runyan, Postmaster General, was in attendance.
Recognition of Chisholm Trail on State of Oklahoma Map
Klemme contacted the State Highway Department in and convinced them that The Chisholm Trail should be marked and recognized on all of the Official State of Oklahoma Maps. This has help drive tourism up and down the length of the trail.
Chisholm Trail Silhouettes
Having admired the cowboy silhouette installation just south of Caldwell, KS, Klemme went to work in 1990 dealing with the city parks department in Enid and USA Metals and Harold Holden to design and install XX cattle, XX cowboys, a chuck wagon and team of mules and a lone Native American silhouette to commemorate the fact that the Chisholm Trail crossed very nearby. The silhouettes serve as a welcome to Enid as travelers pass by on Garriott street.
Garfield County Fairgrounds
During the construction of the Garfield County Expo Center, Bob came up with the idea of installing a sixty-foot long by eight foot wide map of the Chisholm Trail that was inlaid in the flooring at the entry of the facility.
Service on the board of OHS
Bob has served on the board of the Oklahoma Historical Society since 1992.
Centennial Farm and Ranch
As a part of his service on the OHS, Bob’s pet project has been the Centennial Farm and Ranch program that recognizes those farms that have been in the same family for over 100 years. When the project began there were only 32 farms in the program. To date, there are over 1,100 such farms and ranches recognized by the program.
Chisholm Trail Highway Signs
The Oklahoma Centennial Commission asked Bob and his friend Chris Jeffries of Duncan to mark the location where the Chisholm Trail crossed each highway from the Red River to Caldwell, KS. Usually, the trail crosses the highways in one place, but in Northern Oklahoma the trail meanders back and forth across highway 81 and each of these crossings were also marked. Twenty-two historic locations were also marked.
Great Western Trail
Bob was the inspiration and consultant to a group of Altus businessmen that took on the task of marking the Great Western Trail across Oklahoma. That trail has now been marked from Brownsville, TX all the way through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, The Dakotas, Wyoming and will soon be completed across Montana. A dedication will be held this summer at the point where the trail crosses from Montana into Saskatchewan.
Education
Bob has given countless talks to civic groups, bus trips, walking tours, and classrooms around the state about the Chisholm Trail over the past twenty years.
Awards