Mrs. Ferguson mentions a hardship for the 1892 pioneers of Blaine County.  They responded with innovation, a characteristic of Blaine County residents even today.  And the solution had a wide-ranging positive effect around the world. This item benefited education, journalism and literary works, as well as math, art and musical composition.  I speak of the lowly erasable pencil.

High Grade Cedar sent to Germany

Mrs. Ferguson writes “Little could be grown that first year (1892) upon sod and settlers had a hard time in providing for their families.  Cutting cedar posts in the gyp hills, hauling them many miles to El Reno and Kingfisher, was resorted to although forbidden by the federal government.  Many were fined for the practice, but the courts were lenient because of the extreme conditions and in most cases the fines were remitted.  Considerable cedar of high grade from these hills was purchased and shipped to Germany for use in manufacturing lead pencils.”  (A graphite/clay mixture, not lead, made the marking part of pencils, though the paint on the outside may have had lead during early days).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil

Red Cedar favored for pencils

Red Cedar was the favored timber for pencils as it was aromatic and did not splinter when sharpened (“Pencil” in Wikipedia).  The attached eraser, patented in 1858, made edits and changes possible. Frequently used today in the US is Aromatic-Cedar from Northern California and Oregon . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil

Before the computer, and even today, literary, theatrical, musical, journal articles, engineering drafts, carpenter’s marks and love letters were written by pencil.

Examples of literary works 1890-1900

Pencils made with Blaine County cedar may have facilitated drafts of literary works during the period 1892-1900.  Oscar Wild wrote The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Bram Stoker Dracula (1896), Kate Chopin The Awakening (1899) and H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine (1895) during this time frame.  Arthur Conan Doyle wrote The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in 1892 and L. Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz (1900).  I am not saying writers used pencils made with Blaine County cedar. However, these are contemporary items.

Musical works of the period

Contemporary (1892-1900) musical compositions include The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa in 1897.  America the Beautiful, a poem penciled by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 was later set to music.  Harry Dacre wrote A Bicycle Built for Two in 1893.  The erasable nature of graphite allowed composition, editing and rework.

Cheyenn/Arapaho Ledger art

Recently, the Friends of the Ferguson viewed examples of artists’ pencils used in Native American art by Cheyenne/Arapaho “Ledger Art” by Gordan Yellowman and James Black.  In addition carpenters, draftsmen, artist, musicians, playwrights and newspaper columnists continue to use the lowly erasable pencil. https://fergusonhomemuseum.org/plains-collective-series-at-the-ferguson/

The pencil contributed to civilization

In 1892, selling Blaine County cedar which was shaped into pencils saved many a pioneer and created the possibility of significant contributions to education, the arts, and journalism.