A Brief Stroll Down Memory Lane

Memories of Tulsa

This section began as an exchange on the Tulsa County, OK e-mail list and I thought it might bring back memories for you. Several people have read this section and shared their memories. Please feel free to send me yours to share. Thanks Linda

Memories from Earnie:

The Hawks ice cream dairy that was on 11th street just east of lewis? They had really good ice cream and there was a dept. store just across the 11th street bridge called Franks that my mom use to take us kids to all the time.

More Memories from Curtis Reynolds:

About the attached message on Tulsa Memories. This one about diaries. I remember the Hawks dairy on East 11th street. I also remember two more. There was a Glenclift (SP) Dairy downtown about 6th and Madison, not quite sure of the street. But it was just west of Peoria. I think there is a railroad track very near by. They had great ice cream and malts. Another dairy and creamery was the "Pure White Dairy" on west third street. This dairy was just over the old viaduct, going west on third street over the old Sand Springs railroad line, on the corner of 3rd and Lawton, as I recall. They also had creamy ice cream and malts. I loved them both. Glenclift and Pure White both had branch dairy stores throughout the city. At one point in time, about 1950-51, there was little dairy store near the corner of Pine and Cincinnati that was a Pure White branch. I am not sure but I also think it was a Glenclift store at one time as well. The memories just flood back once you open the gates. There at least two VHS videos of Tulsa memories, downtown buildings, landmarks, etc. Do you have those? I have them. They will be good research tools to help verify locations of the memories that come in. By pattern, as we age, we are able sometimes to remember 30-50 years ago better than we can remember last week! You may not be there yet.

Note from Linda:

The videos that Curtis is talking about were made by Clayton Vaughn for one of the TV stations and can be found at the Tulsa University Video Center. Someone out there told me they can be ordered through inter-library loan. I went out one day and watched them and they are really great. So many of the old buildings in the films are now gone.

More Memories from Curtis Reynolds:

Forgot to mention about "Franks". I don't remember a Franks department store near the 11th street bridge but it did trigger another old memory. At the corner of 15th and Boston there was a "Frank's Pig Stand", drive-in type restaurant. They had a particular kind of hot dog, it was a wiener on a rather square like roll, if I recall. We used to order it because it was the cheapest item on the menu. We could get a hot dog, I just can't remember the exact name of it right now, and a coke for less than a dollar. Besides Frank's the other drive-ins I remember were Weber's Root Beer stands and those wonderful root beer floats. And of course there was Pennington's Drive-In on south Peoria. They had a chicken basket dinner that was to die for, if you could afford it. Oh, across the street from Frank's Pig Stand there was "filling station", the building is still there, next to a flower shop, that one of my cousins owned. I think it was like a Mobil or Texaco, I can't remember which. If you look closely at the building you can still see the foundation where the old pumps were, sort of diagonal to both Boston and 15th street. Up 15th street a block or two there were some "expensive, fancy" apartment buildings for the day. And of course at the corner of 15th and Peoria there was the "Cross-town Grill". I remember it well. And across the street from the Cross-Town was the Plaza, I think it was the called the "Plaza", theatre and next to it going north was the old "Byrnes" Hospital. Wow, never thought I would remember that one. More later

Tulsa World. May 5, 2004. Scene (Section D) by Ashley Parrish, World Scene Writer:

The main article was about the discovery of a recipe book from Pennington's. Some brief memories found in the article.

Coleman Davis: ... All of us young guys fell in love with every one of the carhops.

Fred Wightman ... You turned around on one side of Brookside - the kids called it Furbar's for "fouled up beyond all recognition" - then cruised by Pennington's to look for a spot on the cool side.

Ashley continues .... Although the Brown-Dunkin Tea Room was the elegant choice for lunch, Bishop's was more famous. It's been decades and people are still requesting the recipe for Bishop's Brown Derby with Diablo Sauce. (recipes given for both).

Memories from Joyce:

We had a theater in Turley, in the 50's. Wasn't it named the Grotto? I know we went several times. I had my first date there with Darrel Beller. We walked from our place on 75th St., and Mom and Dad picked us up.

Question from Linda:

Linda, I have the movie Tulsa on DVD. It says the movie was made in 1949, Starring Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Pedro Armendariz, Ed Begley and Chill Wills. It was written by Curtis Kenyon and Frank S. Nugent and Directed by Stuart Heisler. Anyway, it is a Great Movie and I enjoy watching it every once in awhile. It always brings back a lot of old memories of Tulsa when I was young.

I remember the Beards Cold storage and the restaurant, and also down where Ollies' is at now, there used to be, back before the overpass for the train track, Kempers Restaurant, where we would go for lunch while at Clinton Junior High. A hamburger, french fries ,and a cherry limeade was one of my favorites. Across the street There was also a Crown Drug with a soda fountain too.

We use to have to take the school bus to Clinton J H and be there before the building opened so we would walk around Red fork and the Cove Confectionery was open and we spent our Penny's and nickels for "Junk sweets" and play the pinball machines for three cents.

Also some mornings we would go across the street to Smiths bakery and buy Queen Ann cookies from Tana Smith, who worked there before school each morning.

I went to kindergarten at Lincoln Grade School in 1928 and then to Irving Grade School until 1934. On to Horace Mann Jr. High, (Briefly to Roosevelt because the school binderies were revised , Two weeks later they were changed back) and to Central the last half of my Sophomore year in 1938. I lived in the Glass Apartments, next door to the Tulsa Public Library, for many years while in Grade and Jr. High. Later I worked at Douglas Aircraft from 1942 until 1944. Served overseas, finished college, went to work for H. L. Pray Mfg. Co. (Old Tulsa Winch owner.) for two years and then back with Douglas when they came back to Tulsa on the B-47 Program. I was a Tool Engineer and later Tool Design Supervisor. Worked for Douglas for ten more years, married at First Baptist Church, went to work for NASA in Houston, and two years later came back as the local NASA Plant Representative at Air Force Plant #3. Had to move to Huntsville when the NASA work at Air Force Plant #3 terminated. Been in Huntsville ever since, but my heart will always be in Tulsa.
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