Tulsa Gal

Parking Lot Mystery Solved!

2012-02-22T10:10:00.000-06:00

Almost two years ago I posted the first of several blogs concerning a mysterious parking lot hidden behind the Harvard Apartments. For a quick recap of the mystery and follow-up posts, click HERE then scroll down to the bottom of the page to read them in chronological order. Since that first post, I have visited with a lot of great people and listened to many ideas, theories and suggestions regarding this piece of asphalt, but had no concrete (pun intended) evidence to support any of them. Until today! Reader Jeff S. did some sleuthing on his own and came up with the answer and a link to explain it all. He writes:

It's minutes from a 1975 BOA (Board of Adjustments) meeting where Doctors' Hospital was trying to get a variance to build a shuttle overflow parking lot on the abandoned rail road right-of-way south of 25th St. So that confirms what the neighbors said. They were apparently also concerned drainage on the site which probably explains the complex storm drain system. It's also interesting that their original request included the right-of-way one block north as well.

And there you have it. It may take awhile to find answers to the past, but what I have learned that there are great readers and history buffs around willing to help out. Thank you Jeff and everyone else who contributed ideas and stories about this area. If you would like to read the meeting minutes click HERE.

Brookside In The 70's

2012-02-10T08:43:00.000-06:00

In my high school days, cruising the Restless Ribbon (aka Peoria in Brookside) and/or hanging out in various parking lots socializing, was just one of those things that we did Friday and Saturday nights. I have fond memories of getting a bite to eat at Pennington's Drive-In as well as playing on my friend's CB radio while we cruised.

As KOTV prepares to move into a new building they are going through all of their old video and sharing some of what they found. Filmed in Bellaire Village 1979, catch glimpses of the Camelot, the cars and the styles of the day.

Tulsa Trolley Restoration Project

2012-02-01T08:55:00.001-06:00

Southwest Tulsa Historical Society President Roy Heim has taken on yet another project for the Route 66 Village:

From the Tulsa Trolley Restoration Facebook Page:

Two old Birney style trolley car shells have rested patiently in the north yard of the Spring Loaded Brewery building at Main and Morrow Road in Sand Springs, Oklahoma for years, waiting for patient hands to bring them back to life. Their story began in 1918 when they were built for the Tulsa Street Railroad Company to transport passengers around the growing city.
The single truck trolley worked hard for years, until the change from steel wheels on rails to rubber wheels on roads took place. Trolleys as primary transportation quickly gave way to Model T's and A's. Door to door convenience replaced trolley waiting rooms and stations in Tulsa. The Tulsa trolleys, with two and three digit numbers started to fade. They were put on sidings for a while and then off the sidings to obscure lots.
Some, like the two old Tulsa trolleys, were converted to makeshift storage places and even temporary homes. Once the trucks were removed from under the trolleys the dreams of clickety clack, clickety clack began to fade. For some people the sound kept coming back into their thoughts and this is the sound that drove the beginning of the restoration of the Tulsa trolley.
Two of the original trolley car shells remain. Two will be sent to a restoration barn by several interested groups to be combined in the trolley barn into one shining restored car. The Tulsa Trolley Restoration Story will be followed on this site. The story will be told by volunteers who work on the trolley and those who donate to the restoration.
Follow along with us as we watch the restoration in words and pictures.

Roy shared that the goal is to make these a beautiful exhibit at the Route 66 Village, to show the trolley history of Tulsa, right next to the Frisco 4500 Meteor that was moved there last June.

Nelson's - Take Two!

2012-01-27T17:39:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago I wrote about how excited I was that the Nelson's chicken-fried steak was back. Well guess what? It's back again! As reported by Scott Cherry in the Tulsa World earlier this week, Suzanne Rogers has brought the old buffeteria back to the South side and we couldn't be happier. It is located at 44th and Memorial, where Betty Ann's used to be.

I remember when Betty Ann's opened back in the early 1970's. My dad often scouted out places to eat during his lunch time and returned with the family if he liked it. Betty Ann's was named after a teacher at Memorial High School, I'm told. I am unsure of the ownership history these past 30+ years but I do know it has been an excellent location despite the decline in it's last years. Breakfast and lunch crowds were usually good.

Ironically, one Sunday a few weeks ago after having lunch downtown, my spouse and I decided to cruise around some. He wanted to check out the Nelson's Ranch House over on 3rd to see if it was still open on Sundays. Owner Nelson Rogers has been playing around with the hours on weekends and we weren't sure what they were anymore. It was not open and, in fact, we weren't sure if it was still in business - I noted that the signs and memorabilia that used to be by the entrance were gone. We continued our drive and ended up on Memorial Drive heading home. We both saw the sign at the same time: Nelson's Buffeteria - !! What?! The sign had just been put up that afternoon. We high-fived each other at our luck in having this so close by. Breakfast was served one week later and we were there.

The lines have been out the door every day since that opening. I knew that if we wanted lunch I was going to have to get there fairly early (before 11:30) to get a booth. I was pleasantly surprised that sitting by the door entrance were 3 fellas playing tunes, just like they used to have downtown. And the food did not disappoint! The chicken-fry/mashed potatoes/gravy were just as I remembered them from years ago. This meal was just a little bit better than the same at the Ranch House and it's because of the gravy, I think. The new restaurant's gravy has more flavor. The fried okra was fresh and wonderful. We each got a piece of Suzanne's pies (chocolate and coconut cream) to go. Awesome.

Come to find out, Nelson's Ranch House is not out of business, just not open on Sundays. And that missing memorabilia? Why, it's all over at the new restaurant! The old Nelson's neon sign has been located and is being readied to put up in it's new home. Can't wait.

Got A Minute?

2012-01-25T16:28:00.000-06:00

If you have the time and the interest in looking through old photos, then why not help out the Tulsa Library and the Historical Society at the same time. How? By looking through the hundreds of unidentified photos from the Beryl Ford Collection and seeing if you can help identify any people or places.

The Tulsa County Library has posted over 1,000 of these photos onto Flickr and is asking for your help. There are two categories Unknown People and Unknown Places. It is asked that you leave a comment on a specified photo with the identifying information or email them (unknowntulsa@tulsalibrary.org) and they will work with you to conclusively identify the photo in question.

Tulsa Banks: The Farmers/Exchange/NBT/BOk

2012-01-22T12:13:00.001-06:00

Tulsa's first bank was born July 29, 1895 in a brick building that sat amid the dust and prairie chickens, cooling themselves near the foundation. Called the Tulsa Banking Company, it boasted when deposits reached $65,000 from a population of 1,300 later that year.

Oil had not yet been discovered and loans were given mainly to those ranchers with a large herd of cattle and horses. A few short years later, though, banks were everywhere. This diagram from the Nina Dunn Book "Tulsa's Magic Roots" helps illustrate how just this one bank grew in a few decades:

Then Came Oil Money

In 1909 the intersection of Second and Main was known as "Financial Row" with banks on all four corners. The Farmer's National was on the southeast corner, the First National in it's "skyscraper" 5-story building sat on the northwest corner

First National Bank

with Planter's National on the southwest and the National Bank of Commerce on the northeast corners.

The Farmer's National Bank was organized in 1903 by the Marr's brothers. Oilman Charles Simmons took the helm in 1909 and the bank rose to be one of the largest in the city. Controversy over connections with the failed Columbia Bank in Oklahoma City however, caused deposits to drop and the doors were closed. The night after the failure, thirty of Tulsa's wealthiest oilmen met and formed a plan for reorganization. In February of 1910 the bank reopened the same doors, but with a new name: Exchange National Bank.

In 1917 the fast-growing bank moved into it's new twelve-story building at 302 S. Boston.

As Exchange Bank absorbed more and more of the smaller neighboring banks, it's home grew as well. During 1922-23 the second section of the building was extended to include the full block from Third to Fourth Street on the west side of Boston.

Artist pen and ink drawing of the future bank building.

In 1927 a four hundred foot tower was completed atop the building, making it the tallest in the city and dominating Tulsa's skyline for the next thirty years. It was during this time that a new vault weighing 55 tons was added, requiring intricate construction. It is said that temporary railroad ties were laid from the train station to the construction site to transfer the vault to the bank.

In 1938 The Exchange was illuminated creating an impressive nighttime picture. The weather lights were added to the tower in 1960's, changing colors to give the forecast. Although sources give the years 1967 to 1973 as the time period for the "weather teller" this postcard indicates that the idea, anyway, was much earlier.

Even when the Depression hit, many of the large stockholders advanced money into the bank to help meet demands and remain in business. In 1933 the Exchange National Bank was reorganized and the name changed to the National Bank of Tulsa.

Forty two years later, the name was again changed, this time to Bank of Oklahoma and in 1976 the bank's business was moved into a brand new 52-story skyscraper. They celebrated 100 years of business in 2010.

Sources: Tulsa's Magic Roots by Nina Dunn; Tulsa World; Bank of Oklahoma

Postcards From The Past

2011-11-28T09:36:00.002-06:00

Last month I had the pleasure of presenting one of the museum's programs to the Tulsa Postcard Club. This wasn't my first time in meeting with these nice people. In fact, I don't normally do evening presentations any more, unless it's for a special group such as this.

Postcards are an extremely important link and record to our past. I only came to realize just how important when I began piecing together my first Tulsa History presentation about our old movie theaters. Photos of the long-lost gems are hard to come by, but street views in postcards are out there and plentiful. I have picked out some postcards to share with you here in no particular order. Hope you enjoy!

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Case in point: One of Tulsa's first moving picture theaters was called the Lyric and was located inside of an old former grocery store. Across the street from the Lyric was the Idle Hour theater. Opening in 1906-07, any photos were rare if not impossible to find. This postcard got me so excited when I chanced upon it:

A blog entry from 2009 focused on pioneer Chauncey Owen and how the pond in Owen Park came to be. Here is an actual photo postcard of the event afterward.

Minck's Hotel (now known as the Adams Hotel).

Built in 1927 and designed by Bruce Goff:

To read more about Carl Magee's contributions to Tulsa (including Carlton Place Addition) click HERE.

Kress Store and the Rialto Theatre on the far right.

The sign, circled in red, reads: Ike's Chili Parlor

Formerly known as Orcutt Park, it was turned into Swan Lake residential area around 1917:

Last but not least is another "A-Ha!" find. A little history first:

Tulsa’s third Methodist Church, then known as the Methodist Episcopal Church South, purchased a lot on East Second St between Cincinnati and Detroit in 1897. In 1901 the congregation sold that land and purchased a lot on the corner of Second and Cincinnati where they built the first brick church building in Tulsa.

They stayed in this building from 1901 until 1907 at which time the land was sold and a new home was built for the church at 5th and Boston. They built an impressive two-story brick church and changed their name to Boston Avenue Methodist Church. The year was 1908. Services were held in this church for twenty years.

The congregation began to feel cramped when the Philtower was constructed in 1926. The Methodists sold their property to Waite Phillips and purchased land at Thirteenth and Boston. The last service was held in the church on 5th and Boston Sunday, October 14, 1928 and the congregation then moved to their beautiful art-deco style church.

Tulsa In 1954

2011-11-18T16:46:00.000-06:00

While I was out of town, a new Tulsa history tidbit surfaced that bears sharing here. If you already watched this over on Batesline, then I urge you to watch it again and see what (or who) you may have missed.

This is a 15 minute documentary produced by the U.S. Information Service in 1954 to promote Tulsa. There are scenes from downtown, T.U. as well as other Tulsa landmarks, stores and buildings long gone. Share in the comment section below if you recognize any places, people or things. Enjoy!

Jimmie Wilson's Catfish String Band

2011-09-25T22:29:00.001-05:00

The Rotary Club is known as the world's first service club. Formed in 1905 by an attorney who wished to capture the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth, by 1921 Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents and as it grew, their mission expanded. Members began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to serve communities in need.

A group of Sapulpa Rotarians formed a band, adopting their backwoods profiles for fun. The group was led by a man named Jimmie Wilson. Jimmie was a humorist with the same style as Will Rogers, and named his band "Jimmie Wilson's Catfish String Band." They recorded a session for Okeh Records in 1925 which produced 4 songs, 2 records.

The band debuted on radio station KRFU in Bristow in 1926.

In 1928 new station owner W.G. Skelly moved the renamed station to Tulsa and Jimmie's band came with it. He was a popular figure in Tulsa and for a time they had a weekly one-hour show. Jimmie opened each broadcast with, "This is Jimmie Wilson broadcasting from Andrew Jackson Johnson's farm down on the banks of Polecat Creek." He would then sprinkle water on a hot skillet to simulate the sound of fish frying.

As told in a book by Don Cusic: Band member Bob Dennis remembered that "the band practiced at the Potter brother's music store where a young fellow would come by and sit in on some of the rehearsals. He just sat there and watched and learned to play the guitar. He would then go down to the Harvey House and play for the waitresses." Jimmie and the Band began giving time on their broadcasts to this young man who was billed as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy" even though he was really a Texan. His name was Gene Autry.

An example of the Rotary Club's mission is highlighted in this story: In 1929 an explosion in a coal mine near McAlaster killed sixty one miners. It also created forty-six widows and orphaned 178 children. Jimmie Wilson's Catfish String Band took to the airwaves, broadcasting for 12 hours and raising $40,000 for the widows and children.

Sources: digital.library.okstate.edu

Gene Autry: his life and career by Don Cusic

Reverend Loughridge

2011-08-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1842, Robert Loughridge traveled 600 miles on horseback to ask the Creeks if he might establish a mission-school. They wanted a school but no preaching but soon changed their minds. In 1843 he established the Koweta Mission and school, located near present day Coweta.

His first wife, Olivia, taught alongside Robert, bearing him two children before passing away in 1845. The following year he married another teacher, Mary, who taught at Park Hill Mission (located south of Tahlequah) in the Cherokee Nation.

The Creek government established Tullahassee Labor School in 1848, located about 5 miles northwest of Muskogee, and named Loughridge superintendent. He supervised the construction in 1848-1850. Mary Loughridge passed away in 1850.

Robert retained his post until the Civil War forced him in to Texas. He returned in 1881 to be the superintendent at the Creek Nation's new Weleaka School located between Bixby and Leonard.

Loughridge became an expert in the Creek language during his ministry to them. He translated and transcribed portions of the Bible with the assistance of Legus Perryman (one of many grandsons of Benjamin Perryman) and published an English and Muskogee Dictionary with David Hodge in 1890.

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In the 1870's Creek Indian Daniel Childers built a small church so that Rev. Loughridge would have a place to preach to the Indians in the community of what is now Broken Arrow. According to the Indian Pioneer History Project, the lumber was brought overland from Coffeyville and it was named the White Church because it was painted white and painted buildings were quite unusual in those days. The five acres adjoining the church lot on the north became a cemetery that was named for Dr. Loughridge.

The church was used as a school house during week days in the early 1880's. Lilah Lindsey taught at this school between 1880-1885. It was primarily a community church but was looked after by the Presbyterian board.

This photo was taken in the 1940's:

Recently I took a drive by the White Church. It is located on 129th E. Ave and 131st Street. The church still stands proudly, obviously well taken care of although missing the once-cherished bell. It is used by another denomination at this time.

In the cemetery the oldest grave is said to be that of Daniel Childers himself who was buried in 1885.

The Reverend Thomas Perryman (son of Lewis) lived in that vicinity and also preached at the White Church. One of his daughters, who died at age 3, was buried there about 1883, perhaps one of the first. Her body was later disinterred and placed with her father at Oaklawn Cemetery along with the marker brought from the Loughridge Cemetery.

Sources: digital.library.okstate.edu, Indian Pioneer Project

Tulsa's First Schools

2011-08-14T22:24:00.003-05:00

Ed. Note: I recently completed a community program for the Tulsa Historical Society about Tulsa's first schools and churches. I thought I would share some of the history here.
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First Presbyterian Mission School

Tulsa was incorporated as a “town” under the pattern laid down in Arkansas law, on January 18, 1898. The first School Board was elected in 1899, their prospect challenging. Over 100 students were attending the 3 church/mission schools and even more would attend if it were free. The schools were running out of space. Most of the pupils lived north of the railroad tracks so a school was needed there.

The first problem was solved when the Presbyterian Board decided to sell its Tulsa property (located at what is now 4th and Boston). The school board had no money and by law, an incorporated town could not incur debt. Private buyers were clamoring to buy the land. Four Tulsa men stepped forward- Jay Forsythe, R.N. Bynum, J.M. Hall and Joe Price- to save the day…… and the school. Banker B.F. Colley loaned $1050 to these men who bought the property and held the note until the city was able to repay the principle from tax funds.

Immediate improvements were made to the little school building. Two rooms were added above the old ones. Stairways led from the outside to the front and rear doors upstairs. Painted, plastered and newly roofed, the first public school building was a matter of considerable pride. Soon a room on the north side was added for primary grades. The School Board hoped this additional space would last for several years.

The picture changed abruptly when oil was discovered at Red Fork June 25, 1901. Two months later a town site survey was begun and within the year all residents were able to buy land from the Creek Nation. This increased the tax base but city income failed to keep up with the school population. Make-shift classrooms were opened in any sort of room available.

Following the 1905 school term, with joy and sadness, the little white schoolhouse that had served Tulsa for 22 years, was torn down to make way for the new Tulsa High School.

The new buff-colored brick building, which combined both grade and high school classes, boasted 21 classrooms, plenty of good slate boards, ample cloakroom space, a small auditorium and gold-leafed dome. The new school might have been built earlier than 1905 had there not been the rivalry between north and south residents about where to build it. A compromise was finally reached. The south side residents would get their school as would the north side residents.

To many children the use of running water in the toilets was the greatest luxury they had never seen. The new school was jokingly called Our Lady of Mud due to the fact that there were no sidewalks or paved streets leading to the school and many got stuck in the mud.

Work also began at the same time for the Northside School located at 519 North Boston. The building had eleven rooms and boasted "splendid light, good ventilation, automatic heat regulation and the best sanitary conditions possible". Three years later the school name was changed to Sequoyah and it was expanded to include four ward buildings of eight rooms each plus a bell tower was added.

Eleven hundred children entered Tulsa’s two new schools in September 1906- 300 at Northside and 800 in the “south side” school. In 1907 the school buildings again became badly overcrowded with an increase of almost 700 students during that school year alone. New schools couldn’t be built fast enough to keep up.

Lindsay Elementary was built in 1907 on the outskirts of town, named after one of Tulsa’s first teachers, Lilah Lindsay. The school was later renamed Riverview in 1917.

Lynch Forsythe School (later known as Washington in 1914) came along in 1908.

Orcutt School was built in 1909 again, on the outskirts of town, at 15^th and Peoria. The name changed soon to Bellview and again to Lincoln.

Owen School was also built in 1909, bringing the total that year to eight public schools. Owen changed it's name to Irving in 1918. The building still stands today.

Men of Tulsa ca 1916

2011-07-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

Recently I thumbed through an old book titled "Men of Affairs and Representative Institutions of Oklahoma 1916". It is self-described as "A Newspaper Reference Work" compiled by the World Publishing Company here in Tulsa. This book is a virtual "Who's Who" of Oklahoma at that time. I thought I would share some of the photos and findings that I found to be interesting and/or amusing, several are linked to previous blog posts. Click on photos to enlarge.

First up is a true Tulsan. He was born near here and returned to help our city grow and prosper.

I blogged about this next man's business HERE:

Here's an interesting young fella:

He was 34 in 1916. Hurley invested in real estate and built Oklahoma's first apartment-hotel, the Ambassador. He became secretary of war under President Hoover, becoming the first Oklahoman to serve in a presidential cabinet. In WWII he became a brigadier general and later an ambassador to China.

This next gentleman is someone I blogged about before:

The White City neighborhood was built on his land and Braden Park is named after him.

And this man needs no introduction:

At the time of the printing, this next gentleman had only begun his important contributions to our city:

He designed Central High School in 1910 and went on to design the Hunt Department Store (Brown-Dunkin) in 1918 and Trinity Episcopal's Church in 1922 as well as several prominent residences.

The city south of Tulsa bears this man's name:

This is a very modest biography of his work and contribution to our state. You can read more about him HERE.

Is this man to blame for our street woes?

I wonder exactly where this "country home" was located....?

This is another place of interest:

Located on Third Street, between Boston and Main was the Daniel Building

Down the street at 123 S. Main was Boswell's Jewelry

A few more businesses

Tulsa Ice Company and the Rea and Read Mill

And last, though not a Tulsan, is a man who would become the next Governor of our State:

This was my fraternal grandfather's uncle, making him my Great Great Uncle.

Mail-Order Homes

2011-07-10T09:24:00.001-05:00

Sears Modern Homes, ordered and bought from a catalog, came delivered in shipments via train, ready for assembly. From 1908-1940 Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold thousands of these home kits that eventually came in 370 different housing styles. Or, if preferred, a customer could design their own home and submit the blueprints to Sears who would then ship off the needed precut, fitted materials. The kits came with everything needed from instruction manuals down to nails and varnish and came in price ranges for everyone. Sears wasn't the first to offer these houses, but they became the largest.

Rosemary Thornton has written several books about the mail-order Modern Homes sold through the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog. Another book, written by Rebecca Hunt, titled "Putting Sears Homes on the Map" cited Oklahoma as one of two states with no kit homes. Recently, Tulsan Rachel Shoemaker contacted Thornton to inform her that Oklahoma- Tulsa in particular- did indeed have Sear's homes. Several, in fact, as well as other kit homes.

And why wouldn't we? While Oklahoma may not have become a state until 1907, trains ran through Tulsa long before then and immigrants from all over flooded the territories in the land runs. When oil was discovered in 1901 near Red Fork it set in motion the beginnings of the oil boom which impacted the city and state immediately. After the Glenn oil strike in 1905, the lid blew off of this city overnight. In 1907 the population in Tulsa was 7,298. Two years later it was 18,182.*

Tulsan's weren't living in tee-pees, although there were still some who rode on horseback. In fact, Tulsa had more automobiles per capita than anywhere else for a time because we had some of the wealthiest oilmen in the world living here. Men like Josh Cosden (who many estimated to be worth $50 million dollars before 1920), Warren G. Skelly, Waite Phillips, Harry Sinclair and J. Paul Getty (to name a few) spread their wealth all over our city in the form of philanthropy, building our Art Deco heritage, airports (in 1929 Tulsa had 4 airports), museums, housing additions and more. It is no surprise that many of our residents would have purchased kit-houses and had them built in some of our finest neighborhoods- Carlton Place, Brady Heights, Owen Park, Riverview and Buena Vista Park. No surprise at all.

To see Rachel's (and Rosemary's) Tulsa finds, click HERE and HERE.

To read more about the history of Sears Modern Homes online, click HERE.

For an index to Bungalow Floor Plans click HERE.

*Source: digital.library.okstate.edu

43 Years Ago.....

2011-07-08T14:21:00.001-05:00

..in July of 1968, Bob Bell installed a roller coaster at his amusement park, bought for $225,000 and named Zingo, after another popular Tulsa roller coaster from the past. The cost to ride Zingo: 60 cents. Tulsa reference librarian Sherry Perkins posted recently on her Tulsa Area History blog and I thought I'd share (click on photo to enlarge):

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Independence Day!

KAKC- Trippin' Down Memory Lane

2011-06-24T16:25:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the KAKC exhibit opened at the Tulsa Historical Society -and what a BLAST from the PAST it was! I honestly felt like I had time-traveled some when I left there. Although I was a youngster in the late 1960's, I had 2 older sisters who were devout listeners and ergo, so was I. I remember going to the Penney's store in Southland to buy 45's that were listed on the (posted) Top 40. Here is one from an earlier time:

The exhibit features so many great, nostalgic items that will zap you back in time, especially if you are "of a certain age".

A very cool item is this huge transistor radio that plays old KAKC programs on it.

A jukebox is at the other end of the exhibit, loaded with songs of yesteryear to play.

Aside from this great exhibit, the t-shirts and KAKC documentary that were for sale and the pizza, the highlight for many of us was the panel of former DJ's that each got up to reminisce about their days on the station. Sharing the table also was owner S. Carl Mark's daughter Mary Alice Mark Alexander who shared stories.

Dick Schmitz (referred to by most as "the nicest man") spoke first and the fun began. Stories and recollections came forth from Harry Wilson, Scooter Segraves, Clayton Vaughn, Mike McCarthy and Steve Suttle.

l to r: Mary Alice Mark Alexander, DJ Harry Wilson, DJ Scooter Seagraves and Steve Clem (who produced the documentary)

l to r: Dick Schmitz, Clayton Vaughn, Mike McCarthy and Steve Suttle.

We, the audience, were wistful, nostalgic and laughing throughout it all. For example.....

Mike "Morning Mouth" McCarthy recounted a particular Thanksgiving day in 1977 when he and John Durkee had to work at the station:

LISTEN HERE

Oh what a night.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T08:34:00.000-05:00

To Our Veterans:

Your sacrifice can never be repaid

but will always be

appreciated.

1915 Map

2011-05-27T09:25:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of visiting with Tulsa history buff David Breed. David has extensively researched the West Tulsa area and was a great source for my blog entry about Taneha which was quite a thread to unravel. While we were 97% sure of the facts surrounding Taneha, David gave me a copy of a map from 1915 that proves it 100%.

I want to share this map with everyone because it's so interesting. Not only can you find Taneha/Bowden and New Taneha on it but other little towns I've referred to, such as Alsuma- which you can see on the edge of the map, far right- plus new one's I haven't heard of, such as Scales and Hickory. So click on the photo and have fun seeing the way we were.

Tulsa Historian Fannie Misch

2011-05-14T16:32:00.003-05:00

Born in Nodaway, Iowa on January 6, 1886 Fannie Brownlee claimed she had "the instinct for church relationship and the importance of history born right into me". Some of her most prized possessions were the journals kept by her circuit-riding minister grandfathers- on both sides- dated 1848 in Ohio and 1866 in Iowa. She and her family migrated to Kansas at the turn of the century. Fannie graduated from Prairie Valley School, Parsons, Kansas in 1903. She rode in a buggy for six miles to have this graduation picture taken.

Upon receiving her teaching certificate, her adventuresome spirit led her to travel with a woman friend and the nephew of family friends to the panhandle of Texas to teach school.

In an interview with the Tulsa World, back in the mid-1970's, Fannie told of their arrival in Texas: "We arrived with trunks as big as doors but soon had to trim down our possessions, for we found everybody in that pioneer country traveled by horseback." And so she hung an oval-shaped, aluminum Kodak camera over her saddle horn and set out to document her journey. Pictures were later used in her first book, "Teachers on Horseback". The girls' first hurdle was to take a test about Texas history before they could teach. Staying up two days and two nights, studying by kerosene lamps to cram for the exam, they passed with flying colors.

Fannie rode a train to the rural community where she hoped to teach. However when she got there her assignment had changed, so she caught a ride back to the county seat with a lawyer in a hack. The heat was almost unbearable. "I had on an embroidered blouse. By the time I got back to my room, the pattern of the embroidery was burned into my skin."

Schoolteacher Miss Brownlee

Teachers often boarded with a family, paying for rent and food. Fannie's friend had to live in a dugout and believed that Fannie was fortunate because she lived in a ranch house. But Fannie had to climb outside stairs each night to reach her room, which was without heat.

Typical schoolhouse of the period

Students of all ages were in a typical school house. Because so many rural kids had to help with farm chores during spring planting and fall harvesting, there were two school terms: "winter" and "summer." They each were about four months long between the harvest and planting seasons.

This photo shows Fannie (middle) on vacation in the fall so her students in Donley County, TX could pick cotton.

Undated photo

Fannie Brownlee came to Tulsa in 1913 and married Julius Misch. Together they opened Tulsa Printing Company in 1916, which was located at 1011 N. Main. Mrs. Minch began researching local history and writing everything from book-length histories to articles for newspapers.

Mrs. Misch served as president of the Tulsa History & Literature Club from 1939-1941

Fannie acquired the Lilah D. Lindsey collection of photos and manuscripts in the late 1950's. Adding to the material with interviews Mrs. Lindsey had previously given, Misch wrote an article about her for the Oklahoma Chronicles which you can read HERE. In addition she presented photos of Lilah's husband, Col. Lindsey, to the Creek Nation Museum in Okmulgee. Lindsey had built the wall around the Council House, set out trees and did brick work at the Wealaka Mission where Lilah had taught. For her efforts and research, Fannie was made an honorary member of the Creek Indian Council.

She authored several books about the Creek tribes and Missions, including "Kowetah, the first Creek Indian Mission". She was invited to contribute four articles in the two volume "History of World-wide Methodism" books. This led to her documenting the local Methodist history with her book, "Methodist Trails to First Methodist Church Tulsa". Her writing and research earned awards too numerous to count. In 1975 she was the winner of the Oklahoma Heritage Association's Distinguished Service Award.

Besides being an accomplished writer, Fannie Misch was an active preservationist. It was she who alerted the Tulsa County Historical Society (and later the Methodist Oklahoma Conference) to the fact that Tulsa's oldest house, once the parsonage of Tulsa's first Methodist minister Sylvester Morris, was about to be destroyed in an Urban Renewal project.

The house was rescued and restored by the Methodist conference in Owen Park, on a site Fannie chose because her research had proven that the corner was the intersection of the three Indian Nations. (The house was later moved several yards over to it's current spot).

She was also responsible for preserving the well-known "Hanging Tree" that sits at 3 N. Lawton. When the owner of that property passed away, she feared new owners, unaware of the tree's history, might dispose of it. Thanks to her efforts it was preserved and still stands today. She recalled how it shaded picnics of the Creek Indians in early Tulsey Town. And later, three cattle rustlers were once hanged from its limb, hence it's name.

Fannie Brownlee Misch lived to the age of 92 and is buried in Rose Hill cemetery, Tulsa. She was nearly finished with her last book titled "Creek Indian Nation East to West" at the time of her death. She was extremely excited about this book because she had information and photographs not available to anyone else, obtained by interviews with family members of many Creek tribal officials.

I do not know if the book was every completed by someone else or not.

I could only find a copy of the book "Methodist Trails" but no copies of any other books she wrote.

Source: Tulsa World

Sanborn Maps

2011-04-20T23:26:00.001-05:00

Blog reader Beverly wondered in a comment just exactly where South Carolina Avenue used to be (see previous blog entry). After reading her comment I had a "doh!" moment and realized I could simply look on the Sanborn Maps and find the answer.

The Tulsa County Library website describes the Sanborn Maps as:

Sanborn Maps are large-scale plans of a city or town, drawn at a scale of 50 feet to an inch. They were created to assist fire insurance companies as they assessed the risk associated with insuring a particular property. The maps list street blocks and building numbers in use at the time the map was made and previous numbers.

Oklahoma's maps are available for viewing (if you have a library card) here. They are a wonderful resource for locating (among other things) streets that no longer exist. So here is the map showing the street layout back in 1926. I marked my grandparents' first home with a red star. Click on the image to enlarge and have fun seeing how the streets in that area used to look.

Follow Up

2011-04-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

While going through some of my Grandfather's papers for the prior blog post about him, two questions popped up that had me curious. First of all, where was South Carolina Avenue- the first house my grandparents lived in? The other question pertained to a found document that indicated something significant had occurred here in October of 1923. A trip to Central Library's was in order.

Knowing my grandmother arrived here in 1924 I pulled that years city directory and searched for the street definitions. I learned that South Carolina Avenue had originally been named Dorothy Street and that it was located: "one block east of Cincinnati between 17th and 18th Streets". First question answered.

Next up:

The document I found was this (click to enlarge):

So, I had to find out what in the heck was going on here October 1, 2 and 3 of 1923. Grandpa had been on the job barely a year and was being deputized….?

The Answer

During the tumultuous short term of Oklahoma's 5th governor, Jack Walton tried to appease both parties which alienated both from him. His problems went from bad to worse and KKK activity was increasing during this time- so much so that he placed both Okmulgee and Tulsa Counties under martial law with the additional penalty of suspension of habeas corpus- something strictly forbade by state constitution. When an Oklahoma City grand jury prepared to investigate the governor’s office, Walton put the entire state under martial law on September 15, 1923 with “absolute martial law” applicable to the capital. Impeachment demands were rampant and legislative leaders responded with a call for special session. A petition was circulated, adopted and a public vote was planned for October 2, which would allow the legislature to assemble on its own motion. Walton tried his best to stop the vote, claiming the day before, "There may be bloodshed, but there will be no election." He ordered the entire National Guard, numbering about 5,000 men to mobilize and claimed to have 22,000 men to assist in keeping the polls closed.

This in turn caused city officials to appoint Special Deputies to help the police keep peace. At 7:00 pm the ballots and boxes were collected by officials along with the Special Deputy Sheriffs and delivered to the courthouse where they were tallied. The Tulsa World reported that during this time Boulder was roped off between Fifth and Sixth Streets in front of the courthouse with police positioned on the sidewalks and the Special Deputy Sheriffs in front of all entrances to the courthouse. Entrance was denied to those without official authority.

In The End

On October 17 the legislature met in reply to the call of Speaker of the House, W. D. McBee. The house developed twenty-two charges against Walton and voted for impeachment. On October 23, Walton was suspended and Lieutenant Governor Martin E. Trapp became active governor.

Source: The Tulsa World

My Tulsa Roots

2011-04-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

I remember my grandfather, Bill Wooten, as being a quiet soft-spoken man with a wrinkled smile. Born in Dardendale, AR in 1895, he attended the University of Arkansas graduating with an engineering degree, then joined the Army in 1918, serving as a Lieutenant alongside (future Senator) Robert S. Kerr. When he got out of the Army he taught high school mathematics for two years in Russellville and it was there that he met his future wife, Margaret Elizabeth.

Bill got word that the city of Tulsa was looking for someone to lead a field of surveyors and came to Tulsa to apply for the job, only to learn that there was no survey job available. However he was qualified as an engineer and the city hired him as a statistician in 1922. Two years later he married Margaret and brought her here to Tulsa. Their first home was at 1715 S. Carolina Ave.

For the next years my grandfather advanced to assistant sewer engineer, sewer engineer and assistant city engineer by 1927. He was named to the city's top engineering post the first time in 1939. But in between that time he and my grandmother had saved to start a family which included building their own home. Their first child, my mother, was born in June of 1928 at St. John's Hospital. Thankfully, my grandmother kept a well documented baby book that included lots of photos. She has the hospital room they were in circled on this postcard:

She notes that work on their new house began just a month after my mother's birth in July of 1928.

Their new house was to be way out on 14th Place between Delaware and Columbia.

In this photo an arrow is drawn showing approximately where their lot is.

They visited in August while construction was going fast and furious:

And the house was finished in three short months by October of 1928.

By next spring (1929) flowers in the window box, a sidewalk and new construction going on:

This was the living room at Christmas, probably around 1937 or 38 (my mom and her 2 brothers):

Some time after 1970 there was a fire in this house; it was rebuilt as a two-story. This is what it looks like today:

My Grandpa "survived" 18 different city commissioners/elections back before the Civil Service charter amendment banned the political patronage system in 1957. However, it was because of the Civil Service regulations that he was forced to retire at age 70, which was still 5 years longer than usual- and that was because he was asked by the City Commission to stay on, which tells me a lot.

During his 44 years as a city employe, it was estimated that he had participated in construction of more than 75 percent of the city's public improvements including streets, sewage, bridges, airports, drainage and expressway programs. He was honored by the City Commission in 1962 with a silver engraved platter and Mayor Maxwell read a resolution that was adopted, praising him for his work. At that time only one employee had served longer than he had- by 3 months.

I believe that working on the planning and designing of Tulsa's expressways was probably one of the most exciting times of his career.

A couple of years ago I was giving a presentation at a luncheon to a group of retired city of Tulsa employees. I was anxious to see if anyone there knew of or remembered my Grandpa. I was thrilled when several of the men and women did know him and spoke very highly of him. One of these people sat next to me during lunch and I described this book that I had come across on eBay:

I asked this former co-worker of grandpa's if he knew about this book; he smiled and said, "Why yes. Your grandfather hired me to work on that book." Compiled in 1959, this book details each planned expressway for Tulsa, most of which have now been built. I often wondered what he would have thought about the Gilcrease Expressway taking so long to finish. But then, he didn't live to see the Broken Arrow Expressway completed either. He died 4 years after retirement in 1969.

Exciting New Tulsa History Links!

2011-03-28T17:04:00.001-05:00

I suppose if you aren't all that in to researching Tulsa history, this may not be as exciting to you as it is to me. Sheri Perkins, History and Digital Collections Librarian at (our wonderful) Tulsa County Library just posted two great resources now available ONLINE:

First up is the 1910 City Directory- pretty cool, huh? The 1920 directory will be added soon.

And second is the entire Tulsa World newspapers for the year 1920; 1921 is almost completed as well. Sheri says that a portion of 1921 is also available online, too.

Thank you Tulsa County Library!

New Exhibit at THS

2011-03-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

There is a wonderful new exhibit that just opened in the main gallery at the Tulsa Historical Society covering our Tulsa history from 1878-1900. Along with lots of interesting old photos there are some great artifacts as well, including items from the Perryman Ranch. Here is more about it from OETA:

http://www.oeta.tv/video/1963.html

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p.s. Beginning May 1st admission will no longer be free at the museum. Become a member and enjoy the many benefits including admission, gift shop discounts and more.

The Great Fire of 1897

2011-03-15T18:19:00.000-05:00

Before the town of Tulsa was incorporated there was no official fire department and thus, no fire equipment. It is noted in several Tulsa history books that if one heard gunshots fired repeatedly, it meant there was a fire because no shop owner was that bad of a shot. All available citizens rushed to the scene carrying a bucket and formed a line, creating a bucket brigade from the water well located just north of the Lynch store. Passing the buckets of water proved inept most of the time unless the fire was caught early. A fire that started in the middle of the night could be deadly.

Main Street Tulsa was mostly wooden structures with the exception of the Lynch Store, the Bank and the striking Price-Gillette store. You can see from the roof-lines the three different buildings in this advertisement from 1895. Price sold saddles and Gillette had a general store.

On down the street from these three buildings were other businesses including Scott's Store and the Commercial Hotel that was above the store, the Frisco Meat Market and Mr. Goyne's Drug Store.

Looking North on Main Street, 1896:

It is believed that a leaky shipment of kerosene in the Gillette Store caused the massive fire that broke out in the pre-dawn hours on December, 1887.

These photos were captured as the roaring fire destroyed nearly half of the little town that night.

In the early dawn, the only building left standing on that side of the street unscathed was the Lynch Building.

Somehow the bank's vault survived as well, so it was moved across the street to the Hall Store and business was carried on as usual until the bank rebuilt.

It is unknown if any were injured in this fire. One month later the city was incorporated and two years later Tulsa had a fine fire department.

In this photo from the 1940’s we see the old Lynch building on the left (it was, by then, the Lyric Theatre) and the next building that the bank built, then a hardware store.

Before the wrecking ball took these buildings down in the early 1970’s, a piece of history was saved. You can see this in the Vintage Gardens at the Tulsa Historical Society: