About the event
What: Claremore Hall of Fame Gala.
When: 6 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Sequoyah Ballroom at Hard Rock Casino, 777 W. Cherokee St. in Catoosa.
Event highlights
1. The Claremore Hall of Fame last inducted new members in 2022. It honors 26 influential people with Claremore connections, ranging from early residents like Lynn Riggs to still-living figures like Stratton Taylor.
2. The Claremore Museum of History manages the hall of fame, and community members sent in nominations to the museum in February. Steve Robinson, president of the history museum’s board, said the 2025 inductees are both women: Caroline Bassmann, who moved to Claremore in 1904 to practice medicine, and Norma Haddad Eagleton, a Claremore High School graduate who became Tulsa’s first female city commissioner in 1976.
3. Bassmann died in 1939; Robinson said her granddaughter, Bonney Clark, will accept the award for her. Eagleton plans to attend, Robinson said; her son Richard, a Tulsa attorney, will accept her award.
4. Tickets are $125 and available online at claremoremoh.org. Robinson said people should register before the end of the day Tuesday.
5. The event will kick off at 6 p.m. with cocktails and music by Tulsa jazz artist Grady Nichols and his band. Robinson said guests will be served dinner at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin soon after.
Why attend?
Robinson said he will provide an update on the two major donations the museum has received in the last year.
Clark, Bassmann’s granddaughter, gave enough in December for the museum to plan a 2,800-square-foot expansion. The Oklahoma Route 66 Commission granted the museum about $500,000 to build a Legacy Garden in its adjoining park.
Robinson said despite these gifts, the museum still needs support and relies on the gala to finance its operations.
“Without the community support, the museum won’t be open because we don’t receive funding from anyone except the community,” Robinson said. “It’s critical that people come to the gala and support us with either a donation or buying tickets because it really does pay the bills for the next 12 months.”