It is Thursday, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and do to a Throwback Thursday Post! I am taking it back all the way to 1974 – well before my time!
Have you ever wondered where the name Broken Arrow came from? Well, you would probably be 1 of hundreds of people who have asked us. If you are like many of the customers from across the United States, you might think we are a custom screenprinting and embroidery shop in Broken Arrow, OK. You would be wrong!
So what is the real story of Broken Arrow? If you are from Des Moines and were born prior to 1958, you probably have heard of the Broken Arrow bar that used to reside on the square in Polk City. This bar opened up in 1974. It sure was a popular bar! It had a marvelous Beer Garden with luscious trees and great bands and dances upstairs. Well this is what I am told anyways, I am too young to remember. The slogan was “All roads lead to the Broken Arrow”. This as the motto because no matter which direction you came into town from, it would lead you to the Broken Arrow. Clever isn’t it? It was considered a landmark of Polk City at the time.
Well once upon a time (in a year I am not sure of) the bar closed down 🙁 As the owner of Broken Arrow (Mari Coppola) tells the story, they started using the building for less moral things such as mud wrestling. Well, Mari didn’t much like that, so she and her husband decided to purchase the building so they could do something really great with it!
What was that something great? Imprinting the world one t-shirt at a time!
They decided to buy a screenprinting company called Creative Illusion. They then moved the staff and the equipment of that company into the old Broken Arrow bar. You might have guessed by now, but they decided to keep the name because it was such a landmark! Thus, the birth of Broken Arrow Custom T-Shirt Printing in 1989.
Over the past 25 years, Broken Arrow has grown from that original bar of 3,000 square foot facility to a state of the art printing facility of 30,000 square feet. We have added many services over the years including embroidery, DTG digital printing, rhinestones, all over printing, fulfillment services, and much more! Broken Arrow has become a one stop shop for all of your custom apparel needs, much like the original bar was a one stop shop for all of your drinking needs.
Although our production facility no longer resides in Polk City, many locals still refer to us as that place in Polk City on the square. It will always have a special place in our hearts!
So, now you know the simple story of where Broken Arrow got its name? Pretty cool huh?
Kortni Remer
GM and daughter of Broken Arrow’s original owners (the t-shirt printing company, not the bar!)