Tulsa Topics

This past weekend seemed to be an opportune time for people to "get outta town." Even though I'd just gotten back from a continuing work assignment in the general vicinity of Odessa, Texas, I was ready to do a little traveling for fun. After some thought, my wife and I decided to head over to Oklahoma City and do some exploring. Every time we head to OKC we try to experience something different and mix that with some tried and true activities we enjoy while we're in town.

On my home from Midland/Odessa, I decided to snap a few pictures out the window after we reached 10,000 feet. Here's one that shows the eagle eye view of all the oil well sites that literally can be seen for miles in all directions.

Eagle Eye View of Oil Well Sites in the Midland/Odessa Texas Area

After working around a noisy gas processing plant that was chock full of H2S, I was ready for some R & R. We trekked down the Turner Turnpike to OKC and along the way I contributed to the "Send a State Trooper to Camp fund".... nuff said. Upon arrival on Friday night we stopped on the outskirts of town for a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel and then checked into a brand new Sleep Inn & Suites on Classen Ave. which was nice. We semi-planned our activities for Saturday in OKC and then hit the hay.

Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Farmer's Market. It was the first time that either of us has explored this area and we didn't really know what to expect. We browsed the antique shops, but didn't find anything we wanted that would fit in the family car. My wife made friends with a bob tail cat that was trying hard to get her to adopt it. The shop owners were all friendly and advocating that she did indeed need to give the loving feline a good home. Luckily I was there to keep furry critter number three from setting up shop in our humble abode.

I decided to snap a couple of photos of the mission style building which housed the Farmer's Market auditorium.

            Mission Style Farmers Market                         Marker at Farmers Mkt.

The right picture above is an Oklahoma Historical Society marker that tells about Delmar Gardens. Being the inquisitive guy that I am, I Googled "Delmar Gardens OKC" and found this passage from Doug Loudenback's excellent website.

Delmar Park, however, fronted a prairie river, and not the Atlantic Ocean. Mosquitoes and flooding made the spot less than ideal for the city’s recreational hot spot. Prohibition helped kill the park, which faded by 1910.

Mr. Loudenback has some great info on downtown OKC both past and present. I highly recommend his vintage information about OKC. It's fascinating to look at the vintage pictures he has on his site.

I couldn't help but think to myself while reading the historical plaque and background information regarding the demise of Oklahoma City's first amusement park that not only does nature play havoc on such business ventures, but man-made obstacles like prohibition and Authorities can have the same ill effects. The "Delmar Garden OKC" Google search also turned up a PDF version of the July/August edition of Oklahoma Today from 1986 which has an extensive article about Bell's Amusement Park here in Tulsa. Bob Bell is quoted:

Now in its 35th year, Bell's isn't kidding when it calls itself "a Tulsa tradition," but it could just as easily bill itself "a family tradition" with no fear of false advertising. Bell's is of the family, by the family and for the family.

The article gives some background on the demise of Delmar Garden and Springlake amusement parks in OKC. Side Note: I remember going to Springlake in 1977 on a 9th Grade trip. I had a blast from what I remember of it!

In a Tulsa Urban article dated April 4, 2007, Michael Bates wrote:

It would be the most natural thing in the world for visitors here to see the opening of a mid-century time capsule to cap off their visit with an evening at a traditional, family-owned amusement park. But thanks to Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller, Wilbert Collins and Bob Dick, her two former colleagues, and Clark Brewster and Jim Orbison, the other two Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority (TCPFA -- a.k.a. the Fair Board), they won't get that chance.

Driving to work this morning, I heard that Bell's had vacated the Fairgrounds, but had to leave a lot of stuff behind. That made me conclude that sometimes nature doesn't even come close to competing with man-made disasters like the eviction of Bell's amusement park from the Tulsa County Fairgrounds. Thanks a bunch, TCPFA, for killing a family tradition and a Tulsa landmark.