In New Orleans the mosquitoes, rats and roaches were our constant friends. I wore OFF all year around - and the rain! My feet were never dry. I loved that city but give me Tulsa anyday!

Yeah, I've lived in north, east and south Tulsa, and have seen very few.

The problem began at the end of summer when the city was hit with sudden torrential rains. The crickets came streaming out of their hiding places. They were everywhere in clouds. You had to drive with your windshield wipers on, and braking was as hazardous as driving on ice. Skids were commonplace.

But the most revolting aspect was that the crickets couldn’t be kept out of the public establishments. They were everywhere inside the restaurants. They’d fly and crawl into your food, and they’d even crawl up you legs while you were trying to eat.

This cricket invasion lasted a week or two. I have experienced cricket problems while driving out west, making driving a car difficult, but the Tulsa phenomenon was the worse I have experienced or even heard of.

Yes, Don Chandler was a member there, and there were times, besides the handball bouts, we sat about in the bar or one of the saunas just gabbing.

Don had an interesting story which, if you've not heard, was that he was one of the Marlboro Men. Yes, one of those guys who wore a Stetson astride a pony in a cigarette commercial. If I remember correctly, he said he got 85 bucks everytime one of those spots with him in it ran on network television. I remember him as a really a nice guy who had some great stories about Packer games.

By the way, Bill Pitcock was a bear on that handball court. Mike Miller and I both remember that quite clearly.

That was me; I re-sent the Beef Baloney email. The Tulsa Tiki thing was my idea; there was not a general clamor for it, though we got some interesting contributions after it was out there. I got interested in Tiki Culture/Exotica as a byproduct of my search for the Fantastic Theater theme, which was the origin of this site.

Now, back to Tulsa memories...ahhhh... whatever happened to local band "The Rogues Five"? Does Clapton still frequent Tulsa? I remember he did in the 70's, back when L. Russell was putting together his church studio. Is that studio still there?

Come to think of it, Lee Woodward reported seeing cockroaches at one Tulsa location.

More about the Rogues V on the Dance Party page. Steve Ripley of the Tractors now owns the Church Studio.

That sounds like the International Fitness club of the 80s, now Tulsa Athletic Club.

Chandler, Bill Pitcock and I used to play at the Tulsa Executive Health Club near 31st and Yale. Wonder if it's still there?

It would have been near the Celebrity Club (which is still there).

But a question for all you Okies still in Tulsa: are any of you interested in doing any local late night TV? I mean producing segments, or possibly creating a local independent station? If so, write to me, and tell me your interest. Thanks!

Glad you're enjoying it, but...cockroaches?

Reservoir Hill is in near NW Tulsa close to Pine and Denver.

When I was working at KELi in the Fair Grounds "Doughnut," The Packers "invaded" the IPE Building for some workouts prior to a Dallas standoff. Can't remember the year.

Someone with stats in their heads might bring more to this, but anyway, some of us got wind at KELi that Bart and the guys were next door doing windsprints or something. We sneaked over and entered the IPE from the Bell Park side. On just getting to the lower floor area, which, as I remember, is toward the East end of the building, they caught us and ran us off, but not before we actually saw some of those Packer Dudes running around on the cement with no cleats on.

I think that they had come down from Green Bay ahead of time for more Dallas-like weather, too, only to be hit with a pretty damned cold Oklahoma front. But can't remember what Super Bowl it was to be.

Help!

As mentioned, they came here for the warmer weather. Ironically, it was, at the time, notably colder and wetter here than it was in Minnesota.

Mike, Clear Channel is the epitome of what a broadcaster can become when it loses its sense of professionalism with regard to balance and responsibility. The way the broadcast giant tried to fiscally "do-in" the Dixie Chicks is an earlier example of what it now seems to want to do on a more physical level to people who choose to ride bicycles. (I'm one who choses not to ride a bike. That's not the point, but I feel it coming.)

Clear Channel, and broadcasters like it, should remember that the FCC's Fairness Doctrine was repealed not to allow telecommunication corporations to behave like spoiled brats, but that they might be able to exercise, more fully, their right to free speech. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

We'd all better hope always (and that includes Clear Channel) that democracy means that we have to put up with irresponsibility from some just as it means that minorities (that's not JUST race) must always be protected from the majority, while (and as it should be) the majority rules with the vote.

I learned early in my career right there in good old T-Town that professional broadcasters don't pander; they inform and entertain.

Do I hear any "yes's" being voiced into cyberspace out there?

The Dixie Chicks affair was reminiscent of the 1966 Beatles record burnings.

Cumulus Broadcasting and Cox Radio (with 272 and 78 stations, respectively) banned the Dixie Chicks' records for a time. Clear Channel stations (at 1200+ total) banned them on an individual basis. Nevertheless, the Chicks' summer tour is among the highest-grossing this year.

From a reader re media consolidation:

"Most all media companies, irregardless of size or the number of stations (save the rare single-station small-market owner), are conducting their on-air operations the same. Clear Channel just happens to be the biggest owner and is therefore the easiest target."

My workmates and I (my humble KOTV year) all worked at CBS affils in various markets. We dutifully kept an eye on the great "CBS at 75" special.

Good stuff - but we all noticed that a lot of the archival video was not "color corrected" to make all look more seamlessly together. Maybe some of the stuff is no longer under CBS/Viacom control but a lot of the material was dark or out of color phase. Give them an "A" on content, but often a "B-" on film/tape clip preparation for a landmark show like this...

Maybe in 5 years or so - GB could do "The Bill Parcells Story"?

Here is the story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nothing related to Tulsa that I know of.

My sister recalled her early Halloweens when kids would go up to porches and find a box of goodies there. They always would only take one, making sure that there would be enough for subsequent trick-or-treaters. That would never happen today.

How sad that the world has changed so much from the day that I described in my 1940s remembrance.

We did some decent business out in south Tulsa last night...gave away almost two bags of Three Musketeers to our visitors. Two tiny little kids in tiger and bear suits seemed apprehensive about stepping up to receive the treat, but once they did, they got very nostalgic about the encounter and waved all the way out to the curb.

Dale was an unusual man and responsible for many of KOTV's successes. Bob Mills and I were WBAP alumni as was Dale and that likely played a role in our getting hired. Dale knew that people watched TV to hate, as well as love personalities that were on TV and so overlooked the complaints that would have doomed people at another channel.

I know many KOTV staffers will have their own take on Dale, but my wife and I were great friends with him and his whole family and I know they will all miss him greatly....and so will we.

When driving in busy Chicago traffic - if you hear this on the radio and are not listening closely - you start looking for emergency vehicles. In the NAB Code days - spots like this were verboten and maybe for a good reason.

Non-TTM but a Halloween footnote - the neighborhood grade school where my brother and I attended grades K-6 and where my mother taught in 1948 and again from 1961 till the early '80's - was torn down (after nearly 90 years) in the last 2 weeks. My favorite memories of that school WERE the Halloween parades on the playground for so many years. It will become a park - at least not be turned into $400k apiece condo space - yet. But it was weird to see in the wrecker's piles - when I walked around the periphery - old blackboards as scrap. I (and several generations of neighbors and their parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents) probably scribbled some of their first writing on them....You can't go home again....

Oh, yeah - the town has had an anti-leaf burning ordinance for 15 years - miss the smell of Fall and burning leaves in the old homestead neighborhood, too.

One year, my eight year old sister took me, age six, out to Trick or Treat. We walked up on a dark porch and a guy dressed like Frankenstein came at us from across the room. The people who lived there had to chase us down and bring us back to the house to give us our treats.

Just like Frank, I remember people inviting us in to look at our costumes. It was such a different day.

I hope each of you have a fun Halloween.

My fondest memory of the fairgrounds though was probably in about 1970 when my best friend Eddie Klobas and I scaled the fence at the racetrack and snuck into the Leon Russell concert. We were 16 and it was the first Leon show I ever saw.

To this day, I always carry Leon Live in the car and it transports me back to the summer of my youth. I did see Leon in New Jersey several years ago in a very small show and was able to get his autograph. And I love trying to explain the Mazeppa show to people, you had to live in Tulsa and you had to see it. On your belly, on your back, on your belly... I loved Coach Chuck.

1003 S. Peoria.

That is the most beautiful lookout in the county, especially at night. I sure wish it was not fenced off.

What a shock! Although it was the McCarthy era, I had never met one of his supporters. I had to listen to the man's rabid, far-right harangue for a whole evening. It was scary.

So was his long, gray beard.

(P.S., Chuck's mother was very nice.)

I lived with my grandparents and always asked them where the TV broadcast was coming from. They always told me, 'the big antenna up the street on the hill.' I was really scared, but would ride my bicycle up there late at night to check it out. I think I was like 7 years old when a friend of mine had spent the night. We were watching Fantastic Theatre, and decided to 'visit' the 'hill' after it was over. We were expecting the 'freaky aliens' from the show to 'get us' if we went up there. I'll never forget that night. One of the scariest times of my life!

The music from Fantastic Theater was strange, and scary. Some of the coolest sounds of my youth. I can't believe that so many remember it. The young age I experienced it at made it VERY memorable.

Now that we all remember it, why don't we try to get it back on the air???

Sure enough, Google lists him in Onancock, VA. Thanks, Frank.

KTFX remained country on 103.3 until about '95/'96, when Cox Radio acquired the frequency. The calls changed to KJSR, and the format to Classic Rock (Star 103).

The KTFX calls moved to 102.3, which was based out of Sapulpa/Sand Springs, and had switched formats several times. This time, it was classic country.

In '98/'99, Cox took over 102.3 and the calls switched to KRTQ, with the format becoming Active Rock (Rock 102.3).

The KTFX calls are still alive and well, serving the 102.1 frequency for a country station covering the Eufaula/Muskogee area. The former KTFX 102.3/103.3 studios at Admiral and Memorial have been empty and for sale for several years.

KWEN, also owned by Cox, is still country "K-95FM".

We heard from KRMG morning man (1964-71) Chuck Adams for the first time, who told us about his popular "Batman" radio spoof, "Dratman", featuring local personalities.

50,000 watt KVOO-AM is no more as of last year, but "KVOO Days" and Johnnie Lee Wills were remembered, as well as the days of Billy Parker and English announcer Garry Kemp.

Gary Chew helmed TU's KWGS-FM in the later 70s and he told us about that period. Writer John Wooley has a great new Saturday evening Western Swing show there, too.

Storme Warren and Ron Swasta are among those who checked in for the first time.

All that and more in the just-archived Guestbook 149.