Salem Church - One of the Civil War’s Lost Battlefields

  Energy lawyer Duke Ligon of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owns and manages operations at Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC. His extensive service on other boards of directors in his field has given him an in-depth knowledge of his industry. In addition, Duke Ligon supports his alma mater, the University of Texas School of Law, and a wide range of nonprofits, including the Civil War Trust in Washington, DC.

The Civil War Trust works primarily to restore and maintain the nation’s Civil War battlefields as sites of historic importance. The United States Congress has estimated that fully one-fifth of the battlefields from that era have already been lost due to poorly planned development. The trust offers the example of Salem Church in Virginia as a site almost destroyed by urban sprawl.

Salem Church represents an often-neglected chapter in the story of the Battle of Chancellorsville. In early May 1863, the church was the scene of intense fighting, as Confederate sharpshooters fired on approaching Union troops through its windows. The marks of Union bullets are still visible on the church’s facade near the upper gallery.

The church itself, along with monuments to the 15th and 23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry troops who fought there, is all that remains to testify to the battle. The surrounding expanse of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park honors the troops of the Battles of Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness, one of the bloodiest regions of the conflict.

Nature Conservancy Plans 2017 Winter Bird Count

 


A legal professional with more than four decades of experience in the energy and oil industry, Duke Ligon serves as the founder of the Mekusukey Oil Company, and leads the company from its Oklahoma City office. Duke Ligon also holds a position on the board of directors for the Oklahoma chapter of the Nature Conservancy, which will host its Winter Bird Count in January and February 2017.

The Nature Conservancy’s annual Winter Bird Count enables participants to explore some of the beautiful natural areas in the state and encounter a wide variety of native avian species. Bird counts take place at different nature preserves and participants will receive a free lunch as part of their registration. Registered guests will join a group field trip through their selected preserve and receive maps and directions via email.

January’s winter bird count will take place at the Pontotoc Ridge Preserve, located in the cross timbers atop the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. The event will serve as the 10th annual winter bird count at the Pontotoc Ridge Preserve. The February winter bird count will feature one of the Nature Conservancy’s newest preserves, the Oka’ Yanahli Preserve. Expanded from 490 acres to 3,600 acres, the Oka’ Yanahli Preserve is positioned along the Blue River – one of the state’s only free-flowing rivers. The 2017 trip will account for the second avian count since its acquisition by the Conservancy.

Oklahoma Hall of Fame Honors State’s 109th Birthday

Duke Ligon of Oklahoma City founded Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC, more than 45 years ago. As he continues to direct its mineral explorations and operations, he additionally serves on the boards of directors of other major oil and gas companies in the region. As a philanthropist, Duke Ligon supports a wide variety of cultural and historical organizations in and around Oklahoma City, including the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and Gaylord-Pickens Museum as a member of its board of directors.

The hall of fame and the museum celebrate the rich heritage of the state and the contributions of its many notable citizens. November 2016 marks the 109th anniversary of Oklahoma’s admission to the Union, and the museum scheduled a Statehood Day festival on November 12. In addition, leaders planned a November 17 banquet and ceremony honoring new inductees into the hall of fame. Since 1927, more than 600 Oklahomans have received this accolade. 

The word “Oklahoma” comes from the Choctaw words for “people” and “red.” Oklahoma, formerly known as Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory, officially became the 46th state on November 16, 1907. The territory names reference the tragic days when Oklahoma was the site of forced relocation of Native Americans from the east, exiled along the Trail of Tears in the first part of the 19th century.

The state, however, has made significant progress in the modern era, and has distinguished itself for its perhaps unequaled degree of integration of Native Americans into everyday civic life.

Mexican Art Exhibit Highlights Met Donor's Contributions

Based in Oklahoma City, Duke Ligon is an attorney, business owner, and board member working in the energy sector. Charitably active, Duke Ligon also serves on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations in Oklahoma City and beyond, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A long-running Met exhibit highlights the contributions of early 20th-century philanthropist Emily Johnston de Forest, whose collection of Mexican pottery is on view through September of 2017. Called “Collecting the Arts of Mexico,” the exhibit showcases more than 100 works of art that Ms. De Forest called “maiolica.” In assembling the collection, she endeavored to highlight the significance of Mexican art.

Emily de Forest was the daughter of John Taylor Johnston, who served as the Met’s first president. She married Robert W. de Forest, who would become its fifth president. The de Forests together became the driving force behind construction of the museum’s American Wing.

The Met continues the tradition the de Forests began by collecting artworks from throughout Mexico and Latin America. In addition to objects the couple donated, the exhibit features several paintings by the 18th-century artist Nicolás Enríquez, who created his pieces on backgrounds of copper material.