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A family legacy lives on in the Bartlesville area as Copeland Appliance celebrates its 50th anniversary in business.

Dale Copeland, Bartlesville's Mayor and the Owner of Copeland Appliance, said they remember the successes and failures of their business, but they remember the people they work with and the customers they serve the most. Copeland said their employees are like family.

As for the customers, Copeland said they have dealt with people into their third generation. He said his parents worked with people who had children. Copeland Appliance then helped their children and their children's children with all of their appliance needs. He said they are now beginning to see a fourth generation of people come into their store with the same needs that their grandparents and great grandparents had for a washer that works or whatever home appliance that they might need.

Sometimes all their customers need is advice. Copeland said they have always prided themselves on the fact that they can explain these tools to people and help them understand how to use them for the best results. He said people do not always agree with them, but they are always going to strive to point them in the right direction.

There are customers that Copeland Appliance considers to be friends. Copeland said they have worked with some individuals for 20 to 30 years. He said they have been with them during every step and action they have taken in their lives both in business and in life. Living in a smaller community also makes it better to interact and have closer relationships with people that matter.

Small business has been in the family for quite some time and it started with Copeland's great great great grandfather in a place north of Little Rock, Arkansas called Calico Rock. Copeland said his three-time great grandfather owned a business in that town for a number of years, and what they understand is that there was a huge fire in the area in the early 1900's. They eventually moved close to Jasper, Arkansas where they operated a small business and a post office.

It was Copeland's great grandfather that decided to move to Beggs, Oklahoma located south of Tulsa. Copeland said his great grandfather would go on to establish a store just west of Beggs.

A tradition of three-generations was broken by Copeland's grandfather, who worked many jobs and lived in a boxcar for some time during the Great Depression. Copeland said his grandfather would go on to work for Phillips until he retired. He said his father (Bill Copeland) also worked for Phillips.

It was Copeland's father in August 1970 that decided to get back to a family business. Copeland Appliance began in Dewey, Oklahoma north of Bartlesville. Copeland said the building they operated out of in Dewey was the only thing that was available at the time because it was difficult to find rental space then that you could afford. He said they rented out the space across from the Dewey Public Library. They rented the space from one Dr. Gerard.

Copeland Appliance grew fairly quickly. Copeland said they would purchase a building at the corner of U.S. Highway 75 and Don Tyler Avenue in Dewey across from the bank. He said that is when him and his wife (Donna) came back from college at the University of Oklahoma in Norman to work in the business.

From Dewey, the Copeland family bought a building in downtown Bartlesville along West Frank Phillips Boulevard. The building was located just west of Painted Horse. Copeland said they were located there for 29 years. He said an opportunity eventually opened up for them to acquire the building that Copeland Appliance operates out of now on SE Adams Road in Bartlesville. They have been in their current facility for over 17 years.

Looking back on the family lineage, Copeland said it is curious to see how his family has operated some sort of small business for so long with the exception of his grandfather. He said they are no Ford's or Rockefeller's, but they have loved operating their smaller businesses in the communities they have served, especially Bartlesville.

Copeland was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Pasadena, California. Back then, new towns were being built. Copeland said he lived in an area new to Pasadena called Deep Water. He said he remembers his last day of school was on November 22nd, 1963. This was the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Copeland's favorite gym class had been canceled that day. The next day, Copeland's family moved to Bartlesville. They've lived in the city ever since then.

In 1970, no one said they should start a business because the economy would be soft. Copeland said at the time you don't know it, you just do it. From 1979-1981, gasoline shortages, interest rates, and inflation were taking off. Copeland said there have been good times and bad times that they have lived through together. This includes the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.

Overall though, Copeland said Bartlesville has been a great place to live. Copeland went to Ranch Heights Elementary School, Madison Middle School, and Sooner High School. He went on to graduate from Sooner High before going to the University of Oklahoma. Copeland's wife Donna was born in Billings, Montana before her family moved to Bartlesville because her father also worked for Phillips. Donna went to Central Middle School but ended up in Madison Middle School. Copeland and Donna would graduate from Sooner High together before getting married. The two have been married for 49 years.

Copeland Appliance has carried Amana, Maytag, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, Admiral, Whirlpool, Bosch, and Frigidaire products over the years. Copeland said they live in a changing world as companies merge and divest themselves. Despite this fact, Copeland said they have always done service.

The reason Copeland's father started the business was because he would work on restoring cars when they lived in Houston. That later turned into the restoration of appliances. Copeland's father's work eventually took off when they moved to Bartlesville. His father worked in the Phillips power plant, which dealt with heat and air conditioning, cooling systems, and the air conditioning on certain planes. People would ask Copeland's father if he could take a look at their freezer or air conditioner after work. Copeland himself would get involved in this process.

This work later went from "can you fix this" to "can you get me what I need." One thing lead to another. Copeland said his father talked about how Amana Refrigeration was looking for dealers in the Bartlesville area so he took initiative to rent the building in Dewey across from the library which lead to what Copeland Appliance is today along SE Adams Road.

In terms of service to the community, Copeland is the Council President for the BSA Cherokee Area Council in northeast Oklahoma. Copeland said when you have kids in scouting, you'll be asked to go on a campout, and before long, you find yourself at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and still involved in scouting. Copeland still finds himself involved in scouting even after his kids and grandkids have gone through the program. Copeland said the same applies to his time at Trinity Baptist Church and his work for the City of Bartlesville. He said all this service points to one key factor: being open to opportunities.

"It is amazing what becomes available when you make yourself available", Copeland said. "Some [opportunities] don't work out. You find some things that you don't want to do. We've found in retail that you'll have good customers and bad customers, but overall the people of Bartlesville are great to work with. 50 years is a long time, but it doesn't feel like it has been that long."

Copeland and his wife had two sons together. The oldest has had two sons who are both Eagle Scouts. The youngest son has a six-year-old son. Copeland said the youngest grandson is just getting started in life.

Years ago, when Copeland's oldest son just left Cub Scouts for the Boy Scouts, Troop 104 Scoutmaster Chip Feazel called him and said that he needed someone to help out with the campout the troop planned for the weekend. The gentleman that was supposed to help Feazel had his flight canceled and couldn't make it until Saturday morning. All Copeland had to do was bring a lawn chair and help out on Friday night.

It was hard for Copeland to tell Feazel no. "The rest is now history," Copeland said with a laugh.

From that campout, Copeland came to be known as "Patrol Dad." Copeland was the Assistant Scoutmaster before he became the Scoutmaster for four years. It was from there that Copeland moved into District leadership. There was an opportunity for Copeland to be in Japan for scouting, and the next year he went to London to celebrate the 100th anniversary jamboree for scouting. A Council out of Texas asked Copeland to help fill in at Philmont for a couple weeks in 2009. In 2015, Copeland was asked to be a coordinator at Philmont for their Advanced Leadership Training. The training deals with 350-500 people a year from all over the world. Copeland had the privilege to help in this area for four years.

Looking at his tenure with the City of Bartlesville, Copeland ran for the Ward Five seat on the Bartlesville City Council in 2010 and succeeded. Copeland had served two years as a councilman before serving two years as vice mayor when Tom Gorman was mayor. Copeland has since served two terms as mayor and will currently serve through December. No opponent filed this cycle against Copeland so he will be back on the Bartlesville City Council for two more years, making it his sixth term.

Bartlesville has had great success over the years, but that does not mean that things have been easy. One of the biggest challenges of late has revolved around the coronavirus pandemic. Copeland said the response to the coronavirus has been challenging because it has been confusing. He said he sees so much confusion coming out of the media to find that next exciting story, unlike the local media that has taken the time to vet the information and cross-check the facts. He said they have provided concrete fact that is not based solely on people's feelings.

Bartlesville did not overreact in Copeland's eyes. Copeland said he believes they acted judiciously. He said there were people that wanted more or less action taken, but he believes that they did an excellent job striking a middle ground when it came to having a response to the pandemic.

There is no doubt that the economy suffered great harm at every level due to the pandemic. Copeland worries that 1980-1981 might come back with some pretty serious inflation that we haven't seen yet. He said we also have to take into consideration the mental health impact that the pandemic has had on families and individuals in the area, the nation, and the world.

Copeland said the pandemic has disrupted the fabric of society on a global level. He said Bartlesville took a measured and considered response, all things considered.

There have been losses. Early on in the pandemic when Copeland declared an emergency in Bartlesville, Copeland said we would have loss and that we would grieve those losses. He has since said that we have grieved those losses, and thanks to the diligence of the community, we have gone six weeks if not longer without a fatality caused by COVID-19.

The City of Bartlesville also worried for the city's businesses and how they would fare during the pandemic. Copeland said that they greatly feared the possibility that as businesses closed the city and those businesses would suffer great loss. For some businesses, this fear has come true, but most businesses were able to stay afloat as people stayed local and relied on local goods and services because they were stuck in quarantine.

Sales tax for the City of Bartlesville over the fiscal year has been up one or two-percent when there was fear that sales tax collections would be down. Copeland said there are still many unknowns for the coming year, but he believes Bartlesville has really weathered the storm. He said he hopes this resiliency pays off down the road, but only time will tell.

Taxes are the price we pay for shared services. Copeland said he does not like the three-letter word, but it keeps services like water, sewer, police, fire, and the like consistent across the board. He said taxes pay for these necessary things and the people that operate the things the Council buys like fire trucks or police vehicles.

Next Tuesday, Aug. 25th, Bartlesville citizens will have a chance to vote in the General Obligation Bond Election and possibly approve the extension of the existing half-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) sales tax. Copeland said the half-cent sales tax funds certain capital projects like streets, parks, etc. The General Obligation Bonds are funded by ad valorem or property taxes. Copeland said the G.O. Bond funds can only be used for capital projects in the city, not for payroll. Without the sales tax, the City of Bartlesville will see an immediate response of services being diminished.

A former Council - before Copeland was elected - created a Strategic Reserve. Copeland said this "rainy day" account was created so they could set some money aside each month. He said if certain perameters or targets are met during an emergency, the Bartlesville City Council could look at that reserve and decide to draw money out of the account to help them through the emergency.

The account currently sits at apporximately $7-million. Copeland said the City of Bartlesville runs an operating budget of $20-million to $21-million a year, so the the reserve funds wouldn't cover the entire budget, but it can cover dips in the budget if the need for those funds were to arise. He said the Bartlesville City Council has never had to draw from this reserve, but thanks to the proactive actions from past Councilmembers, they have these funds if things get dire.

All that being said, money comes and goes, awards come and go, experiences come and go, and pandemics come and go, but family, friends, a relationship with God, and service matter most. Copeland said he cherishes his relationship with his wife, his kids, his grandkids, friends, and God. He said people want to get back to the new normal regardless of what it looks like.

While we have faced many issues in 2020, Copeland wanted to reassure the public that "this to shall pass." Copeland said the important thing to remember is that, "Civility costs nothing, and buys everything." He said this is laregly lost in today's world as we have become so polarized.

We can be civil. Copeland said we can have differences and get along. He said that civility is the greatest strength of Bartlesville. People can disagree and still be friends while finding a good solution that is effective for everyone. It may not always be perfect, but we can play nice together and enjoy life together. In reality, that is all we have in the end.

Business is business. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Copeland said he is proud of the fact that Copeland Appliance has tried to the best of their ability to do business in a fair, moral and ethical way. He said he does not look back on the past 50 years with any remorse or regret.