Tulsa TV Memories GroupBlog 259

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Date:   Sun, Jan 20 2008, 9:37 am Name:   Senior Roberto Burch Topic:   CASA PAUNCHO Email:   bordertunnel@amnesty.com   Since we are still on the subject of the Mexican villa restaurant Casa whatever, I must agree - they haven't served the best Mexican grub there in many years. Pauncho's should move in there with their buffet or it could re-open and offer regular service and great food. My other ideas? A small roller coaster or train to compliment other stationary rides, a river with small tubs for riders that winds through the store, and bring back the strolling musicians. And a volcano that blows fire every five minutes. Yes, an investment, but the crowds would pay for it overnight. Who would have ever thought that I would have thought about converting the store into a theme park?

Date:   Sun, Jan 20 2008, 7:23 am Name:   Mitch Gray Topic:   Scream in the Viva Email:   North of You   I would prefer turning Casa Viva into a lease by the day, video movie set. Staffed of course by all the TTM regulars. Or a year round haunted house. Staffed of course by all the TTM regulars.

Date:   Sun, Jan 20 2008, 1:43 am Name:   roy lee Topic:   Casa Viva Email:   beerdrunk@coxdotnet   I've been thinking about Casa Bonita and can't remember enjoying the food. It was a can of beans topped with Velveeta every time. The game room was fun but with all the great Mexican restaurants in town I won't miss it at all. A trip to Rio Verde and then off to Skateland. That works for me!

Date:   Sat, Jan 19 2008, 9:03 pm Name:   Ed Brocksmith Topic:   KRMG traffic   I sure don't remember saying anything about KRMG having a "great broad in the traffic" (guest book entry) Just setting the record straight. Ed That was Candace Conley in GB 212.

Date:   Sat, Jan 19 2008, 7:03 pm Name:   Rick Brashear Topic:   Casa La Vista, baby. Email:   Casa Viva   How about Casa Viva being turned into a Latin grotto complete with period cantinas. The place is large enough to have a few separate cantinas:Mexican; Cuban; Brazilian, etc. Decorate authentically (Hemmingway in the Cuban section, etc.) There would be live music according to the nationality, along with food (and drinks) of those countries (Personally, I'd go for the Brazilian music.) It would only be opened at night so as to accommodate the parking needs. Call it - Casa Americanos

Date:   Fri, Jan 18 2008, 5:57 pm Name:   Jeff Buckley Topic:   Casa Viva   I actually was taking my kids to Casa Viva the day it closed. When we arrived, there was a hand printed signed that said they were closed due to the ice storm. A couple of employees were going in and by the time I had loaded the kids in the car, I noticed the sign had changed. I walked back and saw the notice that the Casa was no more. It's sad. I thought the whole point of the original owner coming back was to return it to it's former glory. It never made it. The arcade was like going into a repair shop. I do think you could take the concept and move it to the closed Wal-Mart at 91st and Memorial and kill. The family concecpt is working for Incredible Pizza...

Date:   Fri, Jan 18 2008, 12:32 pm Name:   Teb Blackwell Topic:   Lee Bayley Email:   tebii at comcast dot net   Lee Bayley, are you out there? Would like to talk to you for our Tulsa music book (see my blog in group #258) regarding your years on Dance Party. Also, did you do some recording with the Rogues V? Please contact me. Thanks.

Date:   Fri, Jan 18 2008, 10:17 am Name:   Patrice Poole Topic:   Channels 8 & 7 Email:   (via email to webmaster)   I worked as an accounting clerk back in '79 til the around '81. During this time Mr. Leake had 2 stations up and running, 8 in Tulsa and 7 in Arkansas. I handled all the billing (manually) for Channel 8. What an interesting job. I remember watching TV and would know exactly how my log would look on the next day....sometimes very messy with all the black outs that had to occur because of different products running that should not have locally. I worked in the office in Muskogee and was wondering if anyone remembers one of the cameramen from the station in Tulsa. I believe his name was Terry. He was a young black man and would also assist with the Antique Car Auction. I think he sometimes worked a mini-cam for some events (football games) also. I accompanied him to his manager's house for Christmas one year. The manager had a daughter named Michal. I thought this was very different during this era, to name a girl with a guys name. I was just wondering if anyone could remember the cameraman's full name.

Date:   Fri, Jan 18 2008, 1:50 am Name:   Jay W Topic:   Re: Dolfan Bob and old medicines   Our lovely government banned the sale of mercurachrome sometime back in the mid-90's. I still have a half-full bottle of it. I've never found another topical solution that is better for healing minor cuts, scrapes, etc. Canadian and Mexican drugstores still sell it, I think.

Date:   Thu, Jan 17 2008, 8:59 pm Name:   Rick Clark Topic:   kidnapping Email:   clarkrick@yahoo.com   A few years ago (8-10?) there was a Tulsa woman who reported she`d been kidnapped but then released. There was some media stories following saying it could have been a hoax. I remember John Erling interviewing her soon after her 'release'. Anyone remember any details & what became of it?

Date:   Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:09 pm Name:   DolfanBob Topic:   Cuts,Scrapes,etc.etc Email:   MiamiPhin@yahoo.com   We here at the office are quite bored today and we started talking about growing up with the cuts and scrapes of outdoor playing. That lead to the old time remedies of Merthiolate, Mercurachrome, Bactine and others. My own memories of Merthiolate are horrific at best. I had gotten to the point of hiding my wounds just to avoid the pain of the orange stain. We have had a great time sharing our stories about how we as kids actually went outside and played and played for fun we wouldn't trade for anything. Thanks Mom.

Date:   Tue, Jan 15 2008, 8:03 am Name:   Lowell Burch Topic:   Casa Viva Email:   lburch3@cox.net   Speaking of Casa Viva (we were?), I drove by. Closed down tighter than a jug, so to speak. No sign of life anywhere. How hard would it be to get it up and running? Actually, I have a few ideas if anyone wants to invest. The one time I ate in Casa Viva, the food was fine for the price, I thought, but the place was pretty empty. Have we discussed this before or does anyone else remember the time Lee and Lionel explored the interior of an Egyptian pyramid? They both wore pith helmets and slowly meandered through a set design ala They Mummy or the Stooges' King Rootin' Tootin'?

Date:   Mon, Jan 14 2008, 6:09 am Name:   edwin Topic:   oh yeah, towers or sumpin   Bob Welsh and I shot the "Let's take a trip up the KTUL tower" promo thingy. It's way up there. Bob wouldn't come out of the 2 man elevator. Nice lawn chairs tied down next to neat radios. WAY up high....sittin' in the lawn chair....sippin' a cold beer....my, my.

Date:   Mon, Jan 14 2008, 5:58 am Name:   edwin Topic:   drug-o-choice   Rick...'twas LSD-25 and she thought she could fly. Little did she know, all travel should remain in the mind and the mind should be in the proper set, setting and enviroment......

Date:   Sun, Jan 13 2008, 3:10 pm Name:   Lowell Burch Topic:   Towers and Bottles Email:   lburch3atcoxdotcom   True, the Fargo tower is the tallest and the old Coweta tower came in second before it collapsed. When I pointed the old tower out to folks and told them it was taller than the Empire State Building, they had no problem in expressing their doubt. Pop bottles were a main source of revenue for me as a kid. Sometimes we would walk for miles picking up bottles and hiding them at intervals in the bar ditch. The folks would then drive back by and pick them up in the car. Two cents apiece added up. You would not believe how many bottles were thrown out. Not to out-do anyone but I remember the early sixties when you could buy nickle candy bars, twelve cent comics and pop. Fifty cents was more than enough - and, of course, sales tax wasn't even an issue. TTM's Pop Bottles page.

Date:   Sun, Jan 13 2008, 8:37 am Name:   Mitch Gray Topic:   Bottles Email:   North of You   I used to take my Radio Flyer back in the 60s and gather pop bottles that were thrown out along the 21st street off ramp at Hwy 169. Hwy 169 ended at 21st back then. 21st was 2 lane black top. With a full load at 2 cents a bottle, you earned about a dollar. That dollar would get you: 1 12oz Nu Grape, 2 Almond Joys, 1 Cherry Mash, 2 Sgt. Rock comic books. With change left over. No income tax either. Then head for the treehouse to munch and read. Easier times.

Date:   Sun, Jan 13 2008, 8:35 am Name:   Sonny Hollingshead Topic:   KATV-KTUL Towers Email:   sonnyho1955@yahoo.com   According to tower registration records, KTUL's tower tops out at 1,906 feet, while KATV's tower is indeed 2,000 feet above ground. When the KTUL tower fell in the ice storm of '87, we had to rebuild it to the same height as the original. At that time the feds were trying to force everyone to use strobes rather than beacons, so we petitioned the FAA and FCC to allow us to continue to use beacons and paint the tower the alternating red and white, which they did. This made the folks at Coweta happy, because they considered it "their" tower.

Date:   Sat, Jan 12 2008, 10:18 pm Name:   Rick Brashear Topic:   Fizzy stuff.   Edwin, you spelled it right the first time. What, she ODed on M-M-Max Headroom? I remember Coke and other pops in bottles stored in the horizontal coolers with ice water. The bottles were usually the smaller ones and were scuffed up, showing previous usage. Who remembers Chocolate Soldiers and the prize disks under Pepsi caps?

Date:   Sat, Jan 12 2008, 9:21 pm Name:   Mr Brian Thom Topic:   Bottles Email:   mrbrianthom@gmail.com   I remember the good old days of the 60s when coke came in a bottle

Date:   Sat, Jan 12 2008, 4:22 pm Name:   Mike Bruchas Topic:   Jack Frank's Tulsa Films #2   Am here in Indy for the weekend, visiting Don & Rosie Lundy and watched the newest DVD and thought - what a great show!

Date:   Sat, Jan 12 2008, 2:53 pm Name:   Dave Topic:   tower down   The 2,000-foot-tall tower for KATV in Little Rock came crashing down Friday. You can read all about it in this article from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Among the interesting tidbits is that when it was built in 1965, the decication ceremony featured guests from some hit ABC shows of the day: Larry Storch of F-Troop, Linda Evans of The Big Valley and Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch in The Addams Family. The article also says that the KATV tower was the second tallest in the world when it was built, behind a tower in Fargo, N.D. KATV and KTUL were both owned by Leake at the time and I seem to recall that KTUL built its big tower near Coweta a little later on and that the publicity said then that it was the second tallest in the world behind the one in Fargo. So I guess Leake outdid himself at KTUL shortly after building the KATV tower. Anyone have first-hand knowledge of any of that?

Date:   Fri, Jan 11 2008, 12:28 pm Name:   edwin Topic:   no coke   Nope Rick, you would have to know what Linleters(sp) girl did to know which one I-I-I prefer.

Date:   Fri, Jan 11 2008, 10:10 am Name:   Erick Topic:   Millionaire and Casa Viva   I barely caught the webmaster's currency knowledge Monday night. It couldn't have been too long after that channel 8 went with full weather coverage. How much did your friend end up winning? I actually think Casa Viva had far better-tasting food than it did in it's latter days as Casa Bonita. I'm sorry to hear it has apparently closed down.

Date:   Thu, Jan 10 2008, 11:05 pm Name:   Rick Brashear Topic:   I'm not sure.   edwin: "I really miss those old drug type dudes....one should understand the drugs that you please, ya know? I am 60 and I am alive." Are you telling us you're an old cokehead? I was watching a History Channel show about English steel making. They dug holes in the ground, tossed in charcoal, and then added coke (I'm guessing it was Classic Coke because of the shiny surface). The coke purified the steel, much like burning heretics purified the masses during the Middle Ages. After the Brits used up all of their oak for ships, pitch, and charcoal (the French and Germans wouldn't let them have any of their's), they put the pressure on the American colonies to nearly give away our oak at bandit prices. We said no, and then the shooting started shortly afterwards at some place called Concord (wine country). There were then six years of serious arbitration before settling on oceananic oak boundries. The British took a treemendous hit on the deal. You can learn alot from TV. Old Coke > Classic Oak > Beechwood-Aged > Bud's (Thrifty) Wiser > Chug-A-Lug > make you want to holler hi-de-ho > Ya-hoo, Mountain Dew Drop InnagaddadavidovichyssoiseZealand-a-goshen-an-do-ah, so desu ka-chinga-dinga-dero. Yee-haw.

Date:   Thu, Jan 10 2008, 10:23 pm Name:   edwin Topic:   casa some how   Sorry, I don't miss it...do miss Honest John flinging forks in the ceiling however. oh yeah, that was the old one. Poor HJ did a bit much and fell over. Ya know...coke can wake one up and demeral can put one to bed.....I really miss those old drug type dudes....one should understand the drugs that you please, ya know? I am 60 and I am alive. Sorry about Art Linkletters kid. Dumb

Date:   Thu, Jan 10 2008, 11:45 am Name:   Dan Wright Topic:   Casa Viva   Sadly Casa Viva died with a whimper this time. Seems like no one knew it was coming. They never reopened after the ice storm. I ate there once after Casa Bonita closed. The food was bad and most of the games in the arcade were broken. Somehow it just was not the same. I had just seen comments to that effect over at the TulsaNow forum. Surprising and sad. Casa Bonita as it was.

Date:   Wed, Jan 9 2008, 10:19 am Name:   Johnetta Henry Topic:   Ma Hu mansion Email:   nbuckridge@aol.com   I have fond memories of the old "Scream in the Dark" haunted house. I was sooooo into it, though, I couldn't even make it through! They had to let me out before the end...still, it was something I will never forget, and fondly remember. Later, we would walk the haunted hallways in the 'off season', spooking ourselves even more...bboooohhhaaaahhhaaaaa... Thanks, Mable and Hugh...

Date:   Wed, Jan 9 2008, 8:58 am Name:   Lowell Burch Topic:   Drachma Email:   ten.xoc@3hcrubl   I thought Drachma was married to Drachpa and the mother of Drachula, the Hawaiian vampire. Good job on $1,000,000aire, Webmaster. I concur, giving the answer without even hearing the choices was pretty impressive. "Drachula, the Hawaiian Vampire" sounds like a "Fantastic Theatre" offering in the late 60s when they often played serials recut into movies. I described my day as phone-a-friend in GroupBlog 252.

Date:   Wed, Jan 9 2008, 8:21 am Name:   David Bagsby Topic:   Drachmama:Queen of the Underworld Email:   deeceebeeatsunflowerdotcom   Man, I would have blown that one. Drachma sounds like a suburb of Mars...not to be confused with Drakma which is some internet thing that lisps and chunks sockets...and is also the name of a giant spider lady in an unfinished Zappa opera. (Spider of Destiny is the specific tune). Now the real question is: who is buried in Grant's Tomb?

Date:   Tue, Jan 8 2008, 9:14 am Name:   DolfanBob Topic:   Webmaster Email:   MiamiPhin@yahoo.com   I was worried that the weather was going to pre-empt our webmaster's lifeline call last night, but they cut back just in time for us to see and hear how knowledgable he is. I give it up to him for answering without even hearing the four choices. Kudos for helping her get the 8 Thousand Dollar question.

Date:   Tue, Jan 8 2008, 7:28 am Name:   Mitch Gray Topic:   Drachma Drama Email:   North of You   Mike, Now that you're more than regionally famous after last night's "Millionaire" episode, I'm convinced I could never match your achievements! Congrats on the hesitation-free correct answer. Well done. Thanks, Mitch.

Date:   Mon, Jan 7 2008, 7:08 pm Name:   Bat Masterson Topic:   Webmaster on TV   As always, I'm proud of my old chum, as he pulled a drachma out of a hat to help his friend on "Millionaire". Next up: he's on Letterman, featured in the segment, "Know Your Defunct European Currencies". Bat would have been the best phone-a-friend for the question about oyster varieties, given his refined and dandyish taste. Here are the Bat Masterson closing credits with theme: He first appeared here in GB 236, disputing my ridicule of the lyric, "He wore a cane and derby hat".

Date:   Mon, Jan 7 2008, 4:53 pm Name:   Mike Bruchas Topic:   ED MORRIS   His daughter found TTM and he spoke via phone with Don Lundy yesterday and with me today. Ed is in downstate MO and switched from Engineering to Radio Sales a few years back. Says he is semi-retired now. He says the only drawback to his part of MO is that all the resaturants cover everything with cream gravy! So he and his wife Ruth go to Springfield, MO for "decent food". He said the late LEW BROWN had done so much for him and he misses him. So good to hook up with "Mo" again!

Date:   Sat, Jan 5 2008, 9:01 pm Name:   Kenny Bolen Topic:   Back In Tulsa Email:   kwerks@comcast.net   Just returned from Tulsa and wow, what I saw a few weeks after the ice storm! Amazing. Drove around and saw some of the things that's been blogged here and yes, it's quite a site to see that Bell's is a memory, the Camelot is being torn down, and for me, the remains of the Tulsa Speedway. I was impressed on the improvements made at the fairgrounds stockyard and trying to get around 71st and Memorial reminded me of Times Square. Since my wife is from the East Coast and have shared this site with her, it was bittersweet to drive her around and show her some of the places here on this site. Look forward to the updates on the site.

Date:   Sat, Jan 5 2008, 9:20 am Name:   Ed Morris Topic:   Just found this site Email:   morrnr at hotmail dot com   Just found TTM and love it. I worked in the engineering department at KTUL 1971 to 1974. I left right after the union drive failed (suggested by management). I'd love to talk to anyone from that era. Happy New Year to all

Date:   Fri, Jan 4 2008, 6:59 pm Name:   David Batterson Topic:   Chuck Wheat Email:   davidbat(at)yahoo(dot)com   I met Chuck many moons ago, when I was a young and green promotions director at KWGS. I made an appointment to see Chuck. He was very friendly and eager to give us a plug (as we didn't even show up in the ratings back then). He later gave us a nice writeup in his World column. His column was always a must-read for me (and many others).

Date:   Fri, Jan 4 2008, 11:41 am Name:   Chuck Adams Topic:   About Chuck Wheat Email:   cavaky@msn.com   I was saddened to read Lee Woodward's recent post of the passing of Chuck Wheat. Lee is correct in saying Chuck is owed a debt of gratitude by many...I am certainly one. In the mid 60s, Chuck was my friend. His column "Wheat's Field" covered the various media happenings around Tulsa. He was generous with flattering and humorous writings about most of us. He once chided the management at KRMG in his column, writing that there were more and more commercials, and less and less of me on my radio show. This resuled in establishing commercial limits on my program and even got me a raise! He wrote the scripts and was the creator of most of the characters in KRMG's popular "Dratman" series. I enjoy wonderful memories of Chuck, he was a neat guy. Chuck Adams Lexington, KY

Date:   Thu, Jan 3 2008, 3:18 pm Name:   Lee Woodward Topic:   Rubiot   Looking in the What's New section, I appreciated the picture Kenny Quinn posted of the Rubiot. More especially for giving me the right address. I would have sworn it was on Lewis but now realize I was wrong. I had the pleasure of Mr. Quinn's accompaniment on many occasions in the good ole days.

Date:   Thu, Jan 3 2008, 11:12 am Name:   Lowell Burch Topic:   Morgan Woodward Email:   lburch3atcxdotnt   Great photo of Morgan Woodward. That man was born to star in the pictures.

Date:   Wed, Jan 2 2008, 5:18 pm Name:   Lee Woodward & King Lionel Topic:   A Sad Loss   There are many people who passed through the entertainment venues of Tulsa, who owe a great deal of gratitude to the former Tulsa World columnist, Chuck Wheat, who...sadly passed away in Vermont just the other day. Chuck was an early promoter of King Lionel, even before we had a show as such. He was almost like a P.R. man for myself and for many others that he thought showed some promise. He was a very social person and we became good friends and remained so over the years. I lost touch with him for years and through a fluke, found his email address a few years back. We had been corresponding right up until a couple of weeks ago when, alarmed that I had not received his usual funny replies to a post, I called him on the phone. Happily he answered and we chatted for awhile. Now he is gone at too early an age. He leaves his second wife, Diane as well as his son Jack and daughter, Barbara. Our hearts are sad.

Date:   Wed, Jan 2 2008, 11:00 am Name:   Jeff Buckley Topic:   MSW   Hopefully, the site is just down and they've taken a holiday break. But would it really suprise anyone? I hate to say it, but the location was about 5 miles north of where it needed to be. As much as I try to support local business, if MSW is charging $200.00 more for an item I can get online or at Guitar Center... Guess what's going to happen? Sad, yes... But you can't keep doing business the way you did 20 years ago.

Date:   Mon, Dec 31 2007, 10:18 pm Name:   Lowell Burch Topic:   Skyline Locomotive Email:   lburch3atcoxdotnet   I received an interesting call tonight from Vermont. Dr. Marvin Kendell wanted information about the old locomotive from the Jenks amusement park. He now owns it, after collecting parts of it from here, Missouri and Arkansas. If you would like to see a picture of it and read more of its history go here. Most of our axes come from the locally owned stores - Saied, Music Store, Firey Bros., the now defunct Roy and Candy's and our most recently aquired Fender guitar from Music Sound World - but it looks like it is going to get harder for some of these guys to compete with the national chain stores and Musicians' Friend. On the other hand, look at what happened to Mars Music ... (See the train in action in Lowell's home movie on the first Skyline Amusement Park page.) P.s., Happy New Year!

Date:   Mon, Dec 31 2007, 12:39 pm Name:   Mitch Gray Topic:   Music Sound World No More Email:   North of You   I'm sorry to report the demise of Music Sound World. The website is down and the store is apparently bankrupt due to failing sales. Randy Genet, who gave us 30 years of unparalled service and smiles, is now a victim of big box national retailers (Chinese junk almost certainly). I first met Randy when he was a salesman at Shields music back in the 70s. One of the sharpest guys we'll ever know. Good luck Randy, I wish you well.

Date:   Sun, Dec 30 2007, 12:20 pm Name:   Webmaster Topic:   Previous GroupBlog summary   Archived GroupBlog 258...

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