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Tulsa TV Memories Guestbook 203 TTM main | What's new on TTM? | GB Archive
Yes, the May Rooms were still in operation at that time and occasionally the girls would come downstairs and buy cokes and peanuts from us. I just had to go by there this last weekend to see the place once more. It was so SAD!!! Walt owned 3 buildings there and now there are only 2 buildings left. The area with the new parking lot (site of old building) is where Walt's main office and showroom were. The building with the art museum used to be Walt's peanut roaster room (which caught fire around 1975). The front section was the roasters and cooling tower. The middle room had the sacking machine for Walt's Awful Fresh Goobers and the back room was temp and humidity controlled storage for 40,000 pounds of peanuts. The building to the east (it has a fire sprinkler hookup now) was the equipment storage building and we used to manufacture snow cone syrup in the very back room and make caramel candy as gifts during Christmas time. There are doors that connect each of the buildings that I used to travel through many times each day. You can still see one of the doors on the outside of the middle building (goes out to the parking lot now). By the way - the building on the corner (1st and Elgin) that has the bar in it used to be the feed store. It closed down in the sixties I think. Roy May started working for the feed store when he was a very young man. His first job. He worked there until it closed. He went next door to Walt Logan and started working for him. Roy retired from Logan's when he was about 65 but kept working part time for Walt. He passed away at work one day at Logan's. He spent his entire life working from at one street corner. I can't speak any for the May Rooms but Logan's was a thriving business in the 70's. I used to deliver to some old theatres that just aren't there anymore (Will Rogers, etc.) There are so many tales to tell... Thanks for a wonderful website!
 Image found on eBay of the Will Rogers Theatre on 11th St
Mark, thanks for the great info. I never knew of the (physical) connection between Logan's and the May Rooms.
The absence of armed servers has to be better for digestion, though tipping may be down.
Mrs. Elizabeth Frances Sartain (94) passed away on Friday. The funeral was today. I know TTM readers would want join together in offering our condolences to Gailard, Mary Jo, friends and family.
Amen.
The ones I can think of are Hank's, Brownie's, Bill's (I think his kids run it now since he died), Claud's, Tastee-Freez on Route 66, Wings?...I'm sure there are more. Any others I've missed?
We picked it up on 103.5 FM - KRFX Denver (a United Stations Radio Network affiliate). KWCO Oklahoma City, OK carries it in our neck of the woods. He's got podcasts available now too. The website for his show: NightsWithAliceCooper.com.
His family had issues that no one family have and certainly not a man of the cloth. I think other programs we see today are much more informed on life and yet also out of touch with reality and fundamental values. Live in the moment perhaps and some mindless comedy... but I suppose Jerry Lewis was a lot like that too.
The premise was similar to the longer-lived "Joan of Arcadia", but with additional controversial elements. Seven affiliates, mostly Southern, refused to air "Daniel", reminiscent of the flap over Channel 2's preemption of "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" a couple of years ago.
Alice Cooper was disembarking at Tulsa from his special aircraft which had a big dollar sign on the tail. KOTV reporter Gaylord Herron was on scene with crew. With the dollar sign in the background, Herron asks Cooper what he's going to do with all the money he makes from his Tulsa concert. With a beat not missed, Cooper responds: "Buy your wife!" I laughed so hard, I could hardly get my breath for a moment. As I remember, this was shot on KOTV news stock, but I can't remember, for sure, if it made air or not.
That must have been the 1973 "Billion Dollar Baby" tour. Zappa-Cooper connection: Zappa says that Christine Frka (seen on the cover of Hot Rats) recommended that he record Alice Cooper.
The story has always tickled my B.S. detector, as plausible as it sounds. I just submitted it to the premier urban legend site, Snopes.com. I'll report on their findings, if any. TVparty! has an excellent feature about the Pyne show. Some of my own comments are near the bottom of the second page, and interestingly, another NE Oklahoman weighs in on the first page. Did anyone personally witness the Zappa quip?
Dr. Pompazoidi's photo hung on the wall in the old Ron's. The inscription was, as I remember, "Ron, you cost me my friendship with Richard Simmons. G. Ailard S. Artain" Finally, saw two Oklahoma produced movies this week. The humorous "Hoodwinked" and the powerful "End of the Spear". Both were excellent and the audience response at both were very positive. I plan to see them both again. PS - "End of the Spear" was filmed in Panama. Mr. and Mrs. Webmaster just returned from a tour of this fabulous area of the world. The stunning cinematography in this movie is worth the price of the ticket.
Oops, you're right. Slip o' the brain, corrected below. Gailard Sartain also did a Tulsa State Fair poster soon after that.
In the second shot, I see a framed 2001 Mayfest poster, the one painted by Gailard Sartain, a Ron's fan. There are now several other Ron's Hamburgers in town.
Not only can you find it hard to be your brother's keeper, you'll also have trouble being his apologist. As for sisters--deponent saith naught.
My review on the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (now available on DVD) is on the Chew's Reviews page of this web site. If you haven't seen the film, I recommend it----whatever your politics. It's a movie worth talking about. Oh yes, happy 250th birthday to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born 1-27-1756
In his review, Gary noted that film for a sequel will be shot at the upcoming trial, according to the director during a Q & A at the original film's April 2005 screening in Sacramento.
As Mr. Woodward said, a treasure for this state. Claremore is also the home of the J.M. Davis Gun Museum, which should also be regarded as one of Oklahoma's fine (yet unheralded) museums.
If you have not been to the Will Rogers Museum, you are missing one of Oklahoma's unsung treasures. The amount of material from Will's life is incredible as was he. It is all on display in this noble and lovely setting; property which Will and his wife had hoped to retire to. In effect, they did retire there as both of them along with an infant son are buried there in an underground tomb. It was also visited Monday evening. Quite moving. There were grandsons and relatives of Will in attendance Monday evening as well as Board Members and guests. All the Follies cast received a copy of Joe Carter's new book about Will's sayings. All of the cast members were in awe at seeing and learning about a great man of many more talents than they were aware; and they were most appreciative of the opportunity. Mrs. Joe Carter heads up the museum now, succeeding Joe in this position. Jim Hartz is Chairman of the Board and has been a great friend of the WRM in recent years, especially in trying to keep our state legislators from turning their backs on funding for this irreplaceable treasure. The next time you have occasion to write or speak with your Representative, put in your two cents worth; if you visit the Will Rogers Museum, you'll want to do more. It is truly a wonderful treat.
Mr. Zing and Tuffy, Lee and Lionel, Mazeppa, Gary Busey, and Leon Russell, will always be my idols. Seeing photos of Skyline Amusement Park were especially fun since my family and I only got to go there once before it closed. ...Rumors were it closed because the roller coaster had termites???
The UPN and WB networks will merge to form the CW network this fall. Stations currently owned by Tribune (and likely stations owned by CBS Corp, including OKC's KAUT) will take the new network affiliation. Here in Tulsa, I expect that KTFO will take the new network, leaving KWBT as an independent (this will work better for them, since they will be owned by Griffin.)
We're just now starting up the site and have a basic page up, but we're working on including a Guestbook, Galleries of Ward class pix and FHC T-Shirts through the years, sound bytes of his Weirdness Himself, and much more. This is looking like it will be a fun website - check in with it often!
First, I don't know when it started but I don't think it made past the late fifties. I recall the real reason being a battle between the two for possession of the much desired clear channel 570. This couldn't be resolved and so they agreed to alternate; on what basis, I don't recall. I do recall that WBAP-AM and WBAP-TV announcers were required to rattle a real cow bell after giving the call letters when they switched stations. I even did this until FM listeners complained and we were spared this stupidity; as was TV soon after. How this dispute was settled I don't know but WBAP-AM got the 570 slot. I suspect the power of Amon Carter and friends prevailed. He owned The Fort Worth Star-Telegram cartel, which owned The TV and radio stations; so you can imagine the power. I can't remember if the Dallas Morning News owned WFAA-AM at that time or not. I suspect they did as well as the radio stations. For those of you who don't understand "clear channel" stations, Like KVOO, WBAP, etc. Their signal carries far and wide and under perfect atmospheric conditions can been heard world-wide. I used to listen to KVOO and WBAP while in California in the early 50s never dreaming that I would do work in both places in the future. I also mentioned at one time that there is no such site like TTVM in the Dallas-Fort Worth Market; however, perhaps some more knowledgeable acolyte of WBAP-WFAA will drop in here and enlighten us more fully. By the way, even though I worked at WBAP, I couldn't crack into the TV side as there were no openings. None at WFAA-TV either. KOTV's Bob Mills worked there before coming to Tulsa and the reason he and I were hired was because the Program Director of KOTV (Dale Hart) was also a WBAP alumnus. Six degrees of separation.
CALL LETTERS: Radio and television stations occasionally petition the FCC for a change of call letters--usually when the station changes owners. Hence KVOO (AM) became KFAQ (though the new owners elected to retain KVOO for the FM operation.) Changes are also made for promotional purposes, such as the recall of KAKC to Tulsa. The old frequency of 970 kHz wasn't available, though, the promotion didn't do so well, and KAKC is now "business news" at 1300 kHz--once the frequency for KOME, long gone. Frequency changes by stations usually occur when the station gets an increase in power and therefore has to move to a new spot to be better heard, or not to interfere, etc. These usually occur one at a time. There were two major exceptions in American radio history--one on November 11, 1928, when the Federal Radio Commission "reined in" some stations not going "by the book"--and by May 29, 1941, when the FCC implemented the North American radio frequency treaty just approved by the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The treaty guaranteed some "clear" channels for Canada and Mexico and also opened part of 1500 kHz (make that Kc or kilocycles; Hertz hadn't been added then.) And it made roughly (estimates vary) 802 of 893 stations change their position on the dial. This was little hardship for Tulsa stations--there were only three at the time, and they only had to move 30 Kc up the dial--KVOO from 1140 to 1170, KTUL from 1400 to 1430, and KOME from 1310 to 1340. When Tulsa had only three broadcast stations "everyone" knew which one was being mentioned in the newspapers and other places. But now Rita Sherrow lists SIXTY outlets for Tulsa--16 AM, 33 FM and 11 television (not all covering the entire metro by any means). The World and Tribune put in their style book that stations had to be referred "on first reference" in a story as "KVOO am 1170," KTUL, Channel 8, etc. I carelessly remarked to the webmaster one day that anyone referring to Bob Wills as having begun his Oklahoma success at KVOO 1170 was wrong--the frequency was actually 1140 in February, 1934 when Bob, O. W. Mayo and Everett Stover showed up at KVOO and asked Manager W. B. Way for a job. Ahhh, trivia! Ah, nit-picking!
The nitpicker is back and pickin'!
Roy Pickett worked behind the scenes of Louise's show. I just updated a circa late 1930s photo of Roy with "Knight's Happy Cowboys" in Guestbook 180 with more names of the musicians in the photo. More about Roy, who passed away on Easter last year, farther down that page.
We knew it all along.
I had just added a comment about this to the Links page. Thanx.
Former Tulsa sports journalist Larry Burnett has launched a new sports blog, larryBsports.com. It will feature his Emmy-award winning sports analysis, as well as rants and raves on the NBA and on all things sports. He previously hosted Los Angeles Lakers radio broadcasts on KLAC in L.A. He also anchored The NBA Today, SportsCenter and two Olympics for ESPN.
This is a MARS-gram (click for full-size) I received from him in 1978. He attached a special importance to KELi because of its flying saucer design, he once told me, so we heard from him often. check out the complex mathematical formula for his campaign. I remember one of his appearances before the Tulsa City Commission in which he laid out a complex plan for building multiple airports -- 14, I think -- all around the city. After such pronouncements, Mayor Robert LaFortune would always give him a monotone "thank you" and announce the next item of business. Ah, the possibilities. Think what could lie ahead if we elected him.
2002 campaign info is in Guestbook 100.
I can think of less painful places to sport a "Gusty".
Baroque-Bach Soundin'
I remember "Howie" Carpenter well. He was a "Scamp." But he played nice and my influence on him must be in full bloom by now as evidenced by the fact that he has you writing for him; for free I'de bet?
In 1953 my dad Ted married my mother Margaret JENKINS, she passed away in 1981. Her father was Paul Jenkins who had a brother named Cliff, his son was an student at old Tulsa Central High! His name was Dean, who in the early 70s was a d.j. on KELi! The famous DEAN KELi is my cuzzin! He also worked for KMOD!! And we all know does the OZ spots on TV! When you hear that deep voice, you know its him!! He also has a few bad habits (as we all do!) but that's another day, and another story that him and I know about! His son Brandon, I think is his name, is a country singer! I'm proud that my kinfolk is doing so good in Tulsa! Hey Dean, send me an e-mail, man!
Just released today: a computer game called Disaffected which simulates employee frustration at Kinko's. The programmers should put in a virtual Accountability character as a wild card.
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Gary Chew
Lee Woodward
King Lionel