At precisely high noon, thousands of would-be settlers made
a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim       
cheap land.

The nearly two million acres of land opened up to white
settlement was located in Indian Territory, a large area that
once encompassed much of modern-day Oklahoma.

Initially considered unsuitable for white colonization, Indian
Territory was thought to be an ideal place to relocate Native
Americans who were removed from their traditional lands to
make way for white settlement.

On this day in history, April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was
celebrated — ushering in a host of new environmental
legislation.

The idea for the observation "Earth Day" originated with Sen.
Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, who had "long
been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the
United States.”  (EarthDay.org.) 

Gaylord Anton Nelson
(June 4, 1916 – July 3, 2005)

Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving
from 1969 to 1974.

     
On April 22, 1994, the former president died after suffering a
stroke four days earlier.          
      

  Mid 1950s

Robert Wayne Amsberry
(June 2, 1928 – November 21, 1957)

Amsberry was born in 1928 in Boring, Oregon and 
graduated from Franklin High School in Portland,
where he was a friend and classmate of popular 
singer Johnnie Ray (below) born in Dallas,Oregon.

John Alvin Ray (1927 – 1990)

Amsberry worked on The Mickey Mouse Club, a
then-new series, writing skits as well as acting
on the show in various characters.

Bob was also a voice actor, with a posthumous
credit in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959).

On the morning of November 21, 1957, Amsberry
was involved in a car accident as a passenger
with Roy Williams, another Disney employee,
in Portland. Amsberry died of injuries sustained
in the accident.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)