Jenks America Museum & Historical Society

08/24/2026

Please support our sponsors,

Silver Level:
Bancfirst
Woodland West Pet Resort
Triad Bank

Community Level:
Fleur by Anajane
City Cycles
Croissants by Shelia Ann
River City Trading Post
All Good Barber Shop
Roark Acres Honey Farms
Dave Puckett State Farm
Tedford Insurance
Jenks Restaurant

Thank you sponsors!

08/19/2026

New yearbook donation by Orion Little who live a in Texas.

Who is in these classes?

Thanks Orion.

08/08/2026

Jenks Main St. From a 1930 Tulsa World article. The article mentions 4 oil tank farms in Jenks. One was where the current JPS Central campus is, and one was across the railroad tracks, where the River Oaks addition is.

08/07/2026

The JAM sign is up. Yahoo, thanks to the City workers who made this happen. The Micro Museum is sponsored by River City Trading Post, owned by Linda and Steve Eaton.

Stop by and see the 1932 Jenks Public Schools financial ledger and the other items on display.

08/05/2026

In Jenks, in 1905, you did not have to enter a Jenks Chili Cook-Off to get a good bowl of chili. All you had to do was stroll down by the depot to S.H. Gray’s and order a bowl.

Advertisement is from 1905, Indian Territory News.

Historic Jenks Chili Cook-Off is coming on October 17!

08/04/2026

Help for first-time chili cooks.

We have been talking to people who are interested in cooking at the Historic Jenks Chili Cook-Off who have questions about the rules.

Here is some information for you first-time cooks from the CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) book:

CASI COOKOFFS:
A charitable way to find the best chili for the day. For fifty-plus years, CASI chili cookoffs have served as a way to have fun, promote chili, and help others. Millions of dollars in proceeds from chili cookoffs have been donated to charitable organizations and used to support charitable causes. Many charities benefit from these chili celebrations.

FIND A CASI COOKOFF:
You can search for CASI events by visiting the CASI website and clicking on the “Find Cookoffs” tab. There are many options to search for cookoffs by state, date, and distance from a zip code.

RECIPE: Maybe you have grandma’s family recipe, or you need to produce your own recipe. You can research some of the past CASI Terlingua International Championship Cookoff champions’ recipes on the CASI website by clicking on the “Recipe” tab.

CASI RULES:
CASI has a whole book dedicated to rules for CASI events, but most of these are administrative rules for CASI officials and event promoters. There are a few basic rules that a cook must remember:
• You must prepare your chili from scratch, in the open and on site
at the cookoff. No marinating and no complete commercial chili
mixes allowed.
• Do not use fillers in your chili, such as beans, macaroni, rice,
hominy, or other similar ingredients.
• Prepare and cook your chili in as sanitary a manner as possible.
You may be asked to taste your chili at turn-in for judging. Your
cooking conditions are subject to inspection by a CASI official or
local health authorities.
• Prepare one pot of chili only, which you intend to be judged. You
cannot cook several pots. No more than one judging sample can
be taken from any one pot.
• Cooks must sign their judging cup ticket with full first and last
names. Cooks must present their signed ticket to win.
• Once judging cups have been issued, each cook is responsible for their judging cup and cup ticket.
• Fill your judging cup to the level that is prescribed at the cook’s
meeting
• Turn in your judging cup with chili at the prescribed time. A late
turn-in will be disqualified.

You may review the CASI Rule Book by visiting the CASI website and clicking on the “Cookoff Resources” tab and then click on the
“Resources to Organize Your CASI cookoff” link.

08/04/2026

We have been talking to people who are interested in cooking at the Historic Jenks Chili Cook-Off who have questions about the rules.

Here is some information for you first-time cooks from the CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) book:

CASI COOKOFFS:
A charitable way to find the best chili for the day. For fifty-plus years, CASI chili cookoffs have served as a way to have fun, promote chili, and help others. Millions of dollars in proceeds from chili cookoffs have been donated to charitable organizations and used to support charitable causes. Many charities benefit from these chili celebrations.

FIND A CASI COOKOFF:
You can search for CASI events by visiting the CASI website and clicking on the “Find Cookoffs” tab. There are many options to search for cookoffs by state, date, and distance from a zip code.

RECIPE: Maybe you have grandma’s family recipe, or you need to produce your own recipe. You can research some of the past CASI Terlingua International Championship Cookoff champions’ recipes on the CASI website by clicking on the “Recipe” tab.

CASI RULES:
CASI has a whole book dedicated to rules for CASI events, but most of these are administrative rules for CASI officials and event promoters. There are a few basic rules that a cook must remember:
• You must prepare your chili from scratch, in the open and on site
at the cookoff. No marinating and no complete commercial chili
mixes allowed.
• Do not use fillers in your chili, such as beans, macaroni, rice,
hominy, or other similar ingredients.
• Prepare and cook your chili in as sanitary a manner as possible.
You may be asked to taste your chili at turn-in for judging. Your
cooking conditions are subject to inspection by a CASI official or
local health authorities.
• Prepare one pot of chili only, which you intend to be judged. You
cannot cook several pots. No more than one judging sample can
be taken from any one pot.
• Cooks must sign their judging cup ticket with full first and last
names. Cooks must present their signed ticket to win.
• Once judging cups have been issued, each cook is responsible for their judging cup and cup ticket.
• Fill your judging cup to the level that is prescribed at the cook’s
meeting
• Turn in your judging cup with chili at the prescribed time. A late
turn-in will be disqualified.

You may review the CASI Rule Book by visiting the CASI website and clicking on the “Cookoff Resources” tab and then click on the
“Resources to Organize Your CASI cookoff” link.

07/30/2026

We are proud to announce that the micro museum has been updated with new artifacts. We will shortly add artifact nameplates. Stop by City Hall and see what we have.

Thank you, Lynn Mayo and Linda Parker, for donating your time; it looks wonderful.

www.jenksamericamuseum.org