by Marlys Cervantes, Staff Writer
There's excitement in the air when places we love, like the Marland Mansion, come into new leadership, and it is especially exciting when this leader is someone who we already know loves our community and all it has to offer.
Prior to the change, David Keathly held the reins since 2002. He tells us, "I most enjoyed meeting many amazing people and finding out where they came from to visit the Mansion and enjoy other areas in Ponca City." Having moved to part-time, Keathly will still get to enjoy this since he's taken on a role of coordinating tours.
Keathly explains he is most proud that they have been successful at telling the story of the Marland family and the Mansion accurately. He explains that it is positive to provide accurate history, and that we must always remember times were different than now, so many of the choices people made in their lives were as well.
Taking over as Executive Director of the Marland Mansion is Annie Grubb Owen, a person familiar to many Ponca Citians in a number of roles. We met up with Annie on her first official day at the Mansion, April 6th. However, she already had ideas floating in her mind for her new role.
Past roles in Ponca City were several years in the funeral industry with Trout Funeral Home & Crematory. Following those years of working with grieving families, she has been famous for her interesting and entertaining TikTok site, Six Feet Over. She is community-driven and creative.
Owen says she feels grateful and humble to have this opportunity. There's a spiritual depth to her feeling about serving in a place with so much human and city history. She believes the staff has taken care of the Mansion very well and knows she is fortunate to now be part of that caring group of people.
She explains they have opened the doors to the Mansion to host many different types of events - festivals, dances, weddings, galas and more. She's looking for the "white space", the opportunities to think outside the box for new areas that can be explored. She would love to see some fun tours that include some of the more hidden rooms, children's events, and speakeasy-type events for adults.
The Marland Mansion sits in a beautiful location at 901 Monument, with normal operating hours of 10am-5pm Monday through Saturday. They can be called at 580-767-0420. Their mission is to restore, educate and create.
If you haven't explored the legacy of Ponca City's Marland Mansion in a while, it's time to go again!