Tulsa World Magazine Summer 2021 Issue

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

TULSA W O R L D

M A G A Z I N E

THE MUSIC AND MOVIES ISSUE

| ISSUE 32 | SUMMER 2021

Shooting

STARS

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Osage citizens contribute to Scorsese, DiCaprio and De Niro film ‘Flower Moon’

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ICONIC CHURCH STUDIO TO OPEN, OKLAHOMA JAZZ HALL OF FAME STRUGGLES INSIDE: OPENING UP, HIT THE JACKPOT AT TULSA’S TOP CASINOS Tulsa World Magazine 1

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TULSA W O R L D

M A G A Z I N E

Summer 2021

MOVIES AND MUSIC: 14-40

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24 28

40

Church Studio opens soon, hear from people who worked there in ‘The Leon years.’

Portraying authentic Osage life in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’

OKPOP Museum offers sneak peek of items honoring Oklahoma stars.

Troubled past, hopeful future of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

OPENING UP

ALSO INSIDE

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Despite challenges, arts organizations endure, adapt and reopen.

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Plan ahead: 2021-2022 seasons for the local arts.

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Concert Time: Biggest venues reopen, set schedules.

Sweet Summertime: Easy, delicious berry dessert

At Home: Local picks to get the Grandmillennial style.

Life in Native America: Easing back into the dance arena.

Flower Power: The Year of the Sunflower.

District: Art has always been the heart of Tulsa Arts District.

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Tulsa Trailblazers: Thomas Gilcrease made one of the world’s best museums.

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Oklahoma Made: CNF Sign Co. makes Tulsa shine.

Let’s Go: Celebrate summer with festivals, baseball games, museums.

casinos.

Casino guide: Spotlight on local

COVER PHOTO BY MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

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Tulsa World Magazine 3

FROMTHE

EDITOR.

TULSA W O R L D

M A G A Z I N E

Tulsa World Magazine is a specialty

Entertainment news worthy of ‘Magic City’ moniker

‌‘I

am very happy to meet you here in Tulsa this afternoon. I can understand why this is the ‘Magic City’ and the area surrounding it called the ‘Magic Empire.’” — President Harry S. Truman, during a speech here in 1948

publication of the Tulsa World, 315 S. Boulder Ave., Tulsa, OK 74103.

This magazine is published with the June 27, 2021, edition of the World.

All content copyright Tulsa World 2021.

The contents may not be reproduced without permission.

NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Editor nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

Nicole Marshall Middleton Tulsa World Magazine Editor

The Magic City moniker for Tulsa — and Magic Empire nickname for the surrounding area — might not be widely known, but the concept keeps running through my mind as we compile “The Music and Movies” edition of Tulsa World Magazine.

Sets for the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” have popped up in the Osage Nation this spring and summer, as if by magic.

Pawhuska has transformed to another time. Hundreds of actors, film crew members and local residents are working together to make this movie the best it can be with hopes it honors the victims of the tragedy and ensures their suffering is not forgotten.

There is magic in Tulsa’s music history. It’s easy to marvel at the notion that stars such as Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder made music and cut their teeth in the odd brick building (a former church) at Third Street and Trenton Avenue. Few pictures exist of these times, but reporter Jimmie Tramel sought out some eye witnesses to this history to share it with you. Church Studio is set to reopen soon, and that matters to Tulsa.

Meanwhile, another shrine to our music history — The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame — is in peril. Reporter Kevin Canfield gets to the bottom of the issue and tells us what’s next. We also shine the spotlight on just a few of the important jazz musicians with ties to our state.

And there is certainly something magical about the reopening of our local arts organizations and music venues post pandemic peak.

We can see the ballet with new eyes and hear the symphony with new ears. We can gather together and sing along to our favorite songs at concerts, sharing a common experience.

Reporter James D. Watts Jr. explains how arts organizations are making it through the unprecedented pause and how they need us now more than ever.

Enjoy the summer and this summer edition, where we shine a spotlight on the top entertainment news that’s magically happening all around us.

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STACEY DICKENS Assistant Editor stacey.dickens@tulsaworld.com TOM GILBERT Photo Editor JOHN WALBLAY Page Editor

Additional copies of Tulsa World Magazine can be found at the Tulsa World or at local retailers. Annual magazine subscriptions are $29.70 for six issues. To subscribe or have single issues mailed for $4.95, go to tulsaworldmagazine.com or call 918-581-0921.

ADVERTISE IN TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE To advertise, call 918-581-8509 or email Libby First at libby.first@tulsaworld.com

WANT MORE TWM? Don’t want to miss a copy of Tulsa World Magazine?

Make sure you get them all by subscribing to the Tulsa World at tulsaworld.com/subscribe.

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BERRY SUMMER PUDDING Serves 8 to 10

English in origin, this showstopping dessert contains just three ingredients — white bread, berries and sugar.

Berry

BEAUTIFUL Story and photos by Judy Allen, for Tulsa World Magazine

S

ummer is a time for effortless cooking with in-season fruits and veggies. If you have soft, white sandwich bread and a load of berries, this old-fashioned English treat can be yours in a matter of minutes.

This gorgeous dessert takes almost no prep time, but the “pudding” has to sit in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Try this while on summer vacation at the lake or beach, since the pudding can be made without cooking (let the sugar slowly dissolve into the fruit) or fancy equipment (all you need is a bowl or loaf pan).

Meet Judy Allen

JUDY ALLEN

Judy Allen has been writing about food for more than 20 years, working as senior food editor for Martha Stewart Living and as a recipe contributor to other national publications. Allen has covered the Tulsa food scene since 2006, working with Tulsa’s top chefs to get the word out about restaurants, events, recipes and any other food news. She enjoys cooking almost anything but loves it even more when others cook for her.

JUDY ALLEN PHOTOS, FOR THE TULSA WORLD

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3 cups raspberries 3 cups blueberries 3 cups blackberries 3 cups strawberries, halved or quartered if large 1 cup granulated sugar 8-10 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed Whipped cream and mint sprigs for serving 1. Combine the berries and sugar in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water.

Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the berries have released their juices and softened a bit — eight to 10 minutes.

2. Pour the berries and juice into a bowl lined with a mesh strainer.

After the juice drains into the bowl, set the berries aside in another bowl.

3. Line a loaf pan, bowl or English pudding basin with a layer of plastic wrap, leaving an overhang of a few inches on each side. Cut bread slices to fit the bottom of the pan or bowl, dip one side of the bread quickly into the strained syrup, and line the bottom with the bread, juice-side down. Repeat with additional bread layers, lining the sides of the pan or bowl, juice-side down. Spoon the fruit mixture into the pan or bowl, topping with a final bread layer to fit. Slowly pour the reserved juices over the top, letting the juice seep through the bread into the berries. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap.

4. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit over the top and set the pan or bowl on a small, rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate the pudding for at least six hours or overnight, weighing down the cardboard with a few soup cans.

5. To serve, unwrap the top of the mold and gently pull the plastic wrap to loosen the sides. Invert the pudding onto a serving tray or plate. Serve sliced with whipped cream and mint sprigs.

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at home

Grandmillennial

STYLE

How to achieve the latest trend in home decor

Kelly Hines // Tulsa World Magazine

W

hat’s old is still old, but it could be stylish again.

The latest generation of homeowners is bucking the blasé in favor of a new twist on traditional pieces previously deemed outdated. The result is grandmillennial style, an unexpected marriage of patterns and texture galore.

Vibrant wallpaper, needlepoint pillows, floral everything — what was once in your grandmother’s living room is back en vogue as part of this eclectic design trend.

We hit up resale stores in the Tulsa area to find ways to incorporate this style in your own home.

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STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD

A felted suede camel chair and ottoman with brown piping ($599) and a needlepoint pillow ($39.50) create a nostalgic but cozy corner without trying too hard. TOP OF PAGE: A floral toile sofa ($1,231), a pair of regency chairs ($1,400) and wool rug ($4,830) use a central color scheme to stay coordinated.

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Inherited china can be a conversation piece when displayed properly. This Mikasa floral set ($29.25) at Round the House, 4941 S. Peoria Ave., is showcased in an old lighted curio secretary cabinet ($525).

ABOVE: Let there be light: Old-fashioned table lamps add sophistication in the form of dark wood, crystals and brass. These lamps (prices vary) are from Red’s Mercantile, 102 S. First St. in Jenks.

LEFT: Out of the blue: A clever way to introduce more color is by reviving a weary piece, like this recovered channel back chair ($325) with a paisley throw pillow ($32) at Round the House.

Packing a punch: An array of ornate knickknacks ramps up the style element, such as this canister set ($49.50) and elephant figurines ($22) at Mustard Seed.

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LIFE IN NATIVE AMERICA

Easing back into the

DANCE ARENA Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton // Tulsa World Magazine

R

ED ROCK — After an extra year apart, Donnie Childs is ready to welcome people back into the arena this July.

Childs is the chairman of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe’s Encampment Committee, which plans the north-central Oklahoma tribe’s four-day gathering

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off U.S. 177 between Stillwater and Ponca City.

Dating to 1881, the annual encampment has expanded beyond Otoe-Missouria tribal members and their families to include vendors and visitors from across the country. The 2020 edition was initially postponed because of COVID-19 and then eventually

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canceled.

“Last year was a tough year for our tribal community here,” Childs said.

“We lost quite a few tribal members and community members. When it came to make the decision to cancel, it was very tough for the committee because it is the one time a year when the majority of our tribe is able to come together and enjoy each other’s company.”

Scheduled for July 15-18, this year’s encampment will include gourd dancing and categories often found at contest powwows, such as tiny tots, women’s jingle and men’s fancy dancing.

However, there won’t be any contests at the 2021 gathering.

“We’re bringing people back together after an extended absence,” Childs said.

“The best thing will be just to sing together, dance together, be together and reconnect rather than worry about prizes.”

Recent data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that American Indians and Alaska Natives nationwide are getting COVID-19 vaccines at higher rates than their non-Indigenous neighbors.

However, the disproportionate number of pandemic-related cases and deaths among Indigenous communities has played a factor in the Otoe-Missouria Encampment Committee’s plans for the 2021 gathering.

Along with the usual cooling stations needed for an extended outdoor event in July, this year’s event will include additional access to hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment for attendees.

To facilitate social distancing, the committee is limiting how many vendors will be allowed to set up during the event.

Also under consideration is setting up a vaccination pod at the event. Attendees will not be asked to show proof of vaccination, but Childs, who is also the tribe’s health director, said they are actively asking people who are even considering coming to get vaccinated ahead of time.

“We’re taking every precaution to bring everyone back and be safe at our event, then send them home safely,” he said. “We’ve got more than 3,300 tribal members from all 50 states. We want to make sure that everyone is safe and will be trying to follow all the guidelines to make sure they’re able to TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

COURTESY, HEATHER PAYNE, OTOE-MISSOURIA TRIBE

Although the Otoe-Missouria Encampment is back on this year, not all events on the powwow and dance circuit are fully back in person yet.

come back with us next year.”

Although the Otoe-Missouria Encampment is back on this year, not all events on the powwow and dance circuit are fully back in person yet.

In May, the Cherokee Nation announced plans to limit in-person attendance at the outdoor intertribal powwow scheduled for Labor Day weekend as part of its National Holiday.

The Muscogee Nation’s annual festival, traditionally scheduled for June, will be Sept. 23-26. However,

the date confirmation announcement from the Okmulgee-based tribe did not mention which events will still be held, including its traditional stomp dance.

Meanwhile, the Stroud-based Sac and Fox Nation, which traditionally hosts its annual powwow in July, decided in April to cancel the event for a second consecutive year.

As of mid-May, no decision had been announced about the 2021 status for powwows hosted by the Tulsa Indian Club, Inter-tribal Indian Club of Tulsa or Skiatook’s Kihekeh Steh Club. All three events were canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.

For at least one area Kiowa singer and drummer, the continued lack of large in-person events in the area is understandable.

Hyde Toppah’s spring and summer calendar is usually pretty full with dances and powwows. In April, he performed for the first time in a year at a virtual powwow held in conjunction with Northeastern State University’s Symposium on the American Indian.

However, so far this year, he has not received many inquiries. A COVID-19 survivor whose sense of smell still has not fully returned, Toppah lost 20 family members to the pandemic, including both of his in-laws within the span of a month.

“We don’t need the big crowds yet,” he said. “I would like to, but we’re not ready for it yet. It would be nice to see every single person out there, shaking hands and hugging, but I am just not ready for that yet.”

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

Tulsa World Magazine 9

Year of the

sunflower NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Tulsa World Magazine

‌D

id you know it is the year of the sunflower?

The National Garden Bureau is recognizing the celebrated flower during 2021, and if you want to join in, we have a day trip you should put on your to-do list this summer.

The big, beautiful blooms can be found at the J&B Flower Patch, just south of Preston.

At the flower patch, you can create a bouquet of flowers, and the farm will provide everything you need. It costs $20 for adults and $10 for children, owner Bobbie Fox said.

If you want to just go and enjoy the atmosphere, that’s free. The patch offers

a wide variety of sunflowers, cosmos and zinnias. You can also book a photography session and take pictures in front of the gorgeous blooming flowers.

“My husband and I are both school teachers. This was our summer hobby,” Fox said. “We have three boys and two bulldogs. We absolutely love planting flowers, meeting new people and sharing the fruits of our labor. This is a two-man operation and we love doing it. It’s quality time together doing something we enjoy!”

J&B FLOWER PATCH Open Fridays and Saturdays through the summer, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

11750 U.S. Highway 75, Okmulgee 918-650-8122

RIGHT: At J&B Flower Patch, the farm will provide all you need to create a unique bouquet.

COURTESY PHOTOS, MOLLY GILLISPIE‌

For photos you will cherish forever, you can book a photography session and take pictures in front of the gorgeous flowers.

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ASK THE EXPERT

Digital strategies drive Ag business success GoBob Pipe & Steel trusts expert to deliver results

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avigating today’s marketing strategies in the agricultural industry might be intimidating for some. What Bob Studebaker, owner of GoBob Pipe & Steel, learned is nothing could be further from the truth when partnered with the right team. He found that team at the Tulsa World Media Company’s full-service digital agency, Amplified Ag, and with Mark Hill.

Committed to the growth of the agricultural industry comes naturally to Hill. He grew up with agrimarketing grandparents who still operate a cattle ranch in Kansas, and he wanted nothing more than to be a farmer or a football player as a kid.

“I love working with people in the agricultural industry because my entire life, I’ve seen first-hand the local and national impact it makes,” Hill said. “It’s more important than ever for the agricultural industry to thrive -- producing food in responsible, affordable ways trickles to the consumer. Everyone wins.”

What started as a conversation about Studebaker’s business and his company’s overall short-term and long-term goals quickly developed into an ongoing, long-term relationship.

“We are invested in and care about our clients’ growth. With GoBob Pipe & Steel, we learned about what today’s farmers and ranchers need, and who they help along the way,” Hill said. “With Bob’s passion for the beef industry and my digital connection, we continue to work closely together toward the bigger picture. Our knowledgeable team has

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Mark Hill Amplified Ag

Email us your questions at expert@tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

developed resources to promote agricultural business. With cutting-edge digital marketing strategy techniques that are data-driven, industry-driven, and results-driven, we’ve been part of Bob’s continued success.”

With an ever-changing environment and digital landscape, Amplified Ag continues to use nationwide resources, leverage marketing trends, optimize toward the ag audience and lend expertise to help grow businesses, just like Bob’s.

“When it comes to digital, I don’t worry about it because I know Mark takes care of it. He took the time to learn about our products and our customers. The fact is, digital delivers,” Studebaker said. “I give Mark a budget and when he’s gone, the phone rings and our revenues go up!”

Amplified Ag is part of Amplified Digital, which is a full-service Premier Google Partnered digital agency. Our local and national team of digital marketing experts are focused on strategic digital marketing, media planning and consulting to help grow businesses -- with style.

Working together with an understanding that agriculture is not just a job, but a lifestyle, we understand that clients create their business to be successful with a specific product, service or goal in mind, not to become digital media and advertising experts.

“Leave being the agricultural digital experts to us,” Hill said. “We deliver.”

For more info visit amplifiedaginc.com or call 417-527-3986.

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Oklahoma’s Luxury Real Estate Experts

Chinowth & Cohen’s Regent members are the most elite group within Luxury Real Estate and have been selected based on their leadership and long-standing success in the real estate industry. They are considered the best in their John Brian Losh, Chairman Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate region for handling luxury properties.

Seated (left to right): Deb Wilmoth, Carrie Deweese, Sheryl Chinowth, Lee Cohen, Allison Sheffield, Jack Wallace Second row (left to right): Blake Montgomery, Gayle Roberts-Pisklo, Austin Kirkpatrick, Taylor Chinowth, Leland Chinowth, Shawn Peters, Keeli Hand-Droege, Cindy Hand, Bill Lee, Tiffany Johnson Third row (left to right): Marc Bullock, Kathy Alexander, Terri Hesser, Cherie A. French, Tiffany Webb, Missy Hagin-Pittman Not pictured: Megan Forehand

YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL IN THIS MARKET! Exclusive Member -

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Tu l sa, O K

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ASK THE EXPERT

Real estate sales not slowing anytime soon Expert advice on Tulsa market trends

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eal estate markets everywhere are coming off a frenzied spring season. Tulsa was no exception, and according to Chinowth & Cohen Realtors’ President Leland Chinowth, buyers and sellers shouldn’t expect much of a slow down through the summer.

Chinowth said, “Many buyers have been frustrated with low inventory in recent months, however new listings hit the market at a much quicker pace starting in May. The number of sales in our market in May through August is often multiple times higher than the number of sales in some of the winter months. It’s also a particularly good time for sellers with great outdoor spaces and pools to list their homes. Those features bring a higher value to homes in the spring and summer, when buyers can more easily envision themselves utilizing those features.”

“A lot of our market in Tulsa, like anywhere, is often driven by inventory first,”Chinowth said. “Tulsa is a historically a very conservative market. When news comes out about potential shifts in the market, we have not typically overreacted to that news. We don’t have a big clump of sellers reacting to this market, but we TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

LeLand Chinowth, President Email us your questions at expert@tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

have seen a trend towards more sellers putting their homes on the market.”

Looking at sales volume, Leland says Chinowth & Cohen has seen record sale this year, surpassing a record just set in 2020. Much like what buyers and sellers saw in the spring, houses are still flying off the market into the summer months. According to Chinowth, in every price range, the time it takes to sell a home is much lower this year than last year, which was much quicker than the year previous to that.

He says this is because of the unique situation happening in real estate right now. Baby boomers are downsizing after watching the market during the COVID-19 pandemic, and millennials, who have waited a lot longer to buy a home during the pandemic, are now pouncing on the chance to become a homeowner.

The President of Chinowth & Cohen said some analysts warned about a slowdown in 2022, but because of the current state of the real estate market, he thinks Tulsa will have a very healthy sales market for another two or three years and expects things to stay busy through 2024.

For more info visit ccoklahoma.com or call 918-392-9900.

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

The

music

and

movies issue

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‌T

here’s a lot going on in the entertainment scene around Tulsa in 2021.

In the Osage Nation, famed director Martin Scorsese and top Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro have set up camp filming a movie based on David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which tells the true story of the Osage Reign of Terror. We have exclusive photos from the set and talked to Osage citizens about efforts by filmmakers to portray authentic Osage life.

The iconic Church Studio is set to open in a few months.

Learn from people who were there why this building is a jewel in the throne of Tulsa’s music history.

Speaking of history, some of the top jazz musicians in the country have Oklahoma ties. But the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame struggles to stay open. Get the story behind the struggle and find out what’s next for the Hall of Fame’s future.

And the energy is electric as Tulsa’s beloved arts organizations step back into the spotlight, reopening with rescheduled and new shows.

Meanwhile, the sounds of our favorite music artists fill arenas and concert halls. Get the schedules for upcoming performances from ballet to Broadway shows and your favorite rock and country concerts.

We’ve got our eyes on the local entertainment world this summer. Here’s what’s happening.

Martin Scorsese stands on the set of the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” on May 24 in Pawhuska.

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD‌

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AP FILE PHOTO

TULSA WORLD FILE

ABOVE: Singer Peter Tosh, seen in this 1979 file photo, is among music figures with Chuch Studio history, according to thechurchstudio.com.

ABOVE RIGHT: The original GAP Band, circa 1973. From left, Charlie Wilson, Roscoe Smith, Alvin Jones, Tommy Lokey, Odell Stokes, Ronnie Wilson, Robert Wilson and Ray D. Roe. Not pictured: Chris Clayton RIGHT: Teresa Knox, a local businesswoman who bought the Church Studio, hopes to open it this fall.

TULSA WORLD FILE

MARK ELIAS

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

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WHY CHURCH STUDIO

REOPENING R MATTERS Shelter Records figures recall what happened behind those stone walls in the ‘70s Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World Magazine

M

usic artists from everywhere were drawn to Tulsa in the 1970s. For that, you can thank Leon Russell.

Russell teamed with English producer Denny Cordell to launch Shelter Records at the dawn of the decade. The label established offices in Los Angeles and Tulsa.

It was during this era that Russell, a Will Rogers High School alum, relocated from Los Angeles back to his hometown of Tulsa.

Russell bought a church (originally the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church) at 304 S. Trenton Ave., and turned it into Church Studio, a recording studio that had a moth-flame effect for others in the music world.

It would have been great to be a fly on the wall during this era, per information from thechurchstudio.com: “The mysterious-looking stone structure served as a creative workshop for songwriters, musicians, engineers and

PHOTOS ON LEFT PAGE BOTTOM LEFT: Willie Nelson performs during opening set at the FarmAid benefit concert Sept. 22, 1985, at Champaign, Illinois.

Leon Russell performs in 1983.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Former Church Studio employee Kirk Bressler recalled an “interesting” evening when Dr. John, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer from New Orleans, once paid the studio a visit. “There was a lot of chaos involved,” Bressler said.

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singers. Successful and award-winning talent such as Leon Russell, Tom Petty, JJ Cale, Jimmy Buffett, Georgie Fame, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Asleep at the Wheel, Michael Bolton, The GAP Band, Kansas, Mary McCreary, Freddie King, Jimmy Markham, Dwight Twilley, Phoebe Snow, Peter Tosh, Jamie Oldaker, Walt Richmond, David Teegarden, Wolfman Jack and many more hung out or recorded in the studio.”

Current owner Teresa Knox is renovating Church Studio to its former glory, complete with a statue of Russell, who died in 2016, at the south entrance. The studio is expected to open in the fall.

Knox, delving into Church Studio lore, has interviewed more than 200 people about the studio and Russell, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Videos of the interviews are available on The Church Studio YouTube page.

Three Church Studio staffers from the “Leon years” agreed to recall their experiences for this Tulsa World Magazine story.

KIRK BRESSLER

ABOVE: The Church Studio, shown in 2017, was once used by Tulsa musician Leon Russell.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

RIGHT: A stained-glass window decorates the main recording room of Church Studio.

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD‌

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The Wailers, minus Bob Marley, showed up at Church Studio during the Shelter Records era. You can say the session was smoking.

“They made these big old cigarettes,” Kirk Bressler recalled. “They were kind of funnel-shaped. They were huge on one end and, kudos to them, they didn’t share. They all had their own. You didn’t even have to smoke to get high in the computer room.

It was a trip. I just remember them saying ‘More bass, mon. More bass, mon.’”

Bressler has been referred to as an assistant engineer for the Church, but he says he was really a project manager. He made sure everyone had everything they required, and he handled wiring work for audio and other purposes. He said his background in avionics helped a lot. He was an aircraft electrician while in the Marine Corps and, after returning stateside from Vietnam, he began studying at Tulsa’s Spartan School of Aeronautics.

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“The GI Bill was paying for it,” he said. “I had to get me some part-time jobs for beer money and stuff.”

Bressler said he began doing maintenance work for Buddy Jones, who had real estate holdings and apartments in the area.

“I didn’t know at the time he also managed a bunch of properties for Leon,” Bressler said.

Jones asked Bressler if he wanted to get involved in transforming a church into Church Studio.

“From day one at Church, I was there,” Bressler said.

Bressler was asked about music artists he encountered during his Leon-affiliated years. Names that came up in conversation included Phoebe Snow (“We got along well.”), JJ Cale (“He was kind of a secretive guy.”), Willis Alan Ramsey (preferred to do his own recording), B.W. Stevenson (Brooks & Dunn covered his “My Maria” in 1997), Willie Nelson and his sister (“They wanted me to mic a grand piano for them and record some-

A JJ Cale album cover from Tulsa’s Shelter Records label is shown.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

thing, and we did that.”) and Dr. John.

“Dr. John, he didn’t like the spirit of the church,” Bressler said. “There’s a Cajun word called gris-gris or something like that. It just didn’t have the right feeling for him. That was an interesting night. There was a lot of chaos involved,

especially in the bigger sessions that we did there. It was always kind of a controlled chaos.”

Bressler said he engineered the GAP Band’s first album, spending a year with the homegrown group in the studio.

When Bressler was asked if he was a Russell fan, he said he played guitar in a high school band that majored in rhythm and blues. “I liked Leon’s mix of that. One album I really liked before I met him was one he and Marc Benno did together. I just liked his blend of rhythm and blues and rock and roll and gospel. It just made you want to get up and jump around.”

Bressler said Russell was approachable but that there was always something

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Tulsa World Magazine 19

LEFT: Would you pay $4.50 to see a concert featuring Leon Russell, Freddie King and JJ Cale? That was the price in 1972. courtesy/OKPOP BELOW: A Leon Russell album cover from Tulsa’s Shelter Records label is shown.

BOTTOM: Who participated in recording sessions during the Leon Russell Church Studio era? Check out the names (Willie Nelson and others) on this document.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

PHOTO COURTESY OKPOP‌

about him that was different.

Although Russell attracted other music artists to Tulsa, not all of them recorded at the Church.

Bressler reminded that Russell built a studio in the basement of his home and had a studio at Grand Lake.

He described the atmosphere at Church as good and congenial, which allowed everyone to do their own thing collectively.

“It was an interesting time,” he said. “It was good for everybody involved. It was kind of a closed 20 Tulsa World Magazine

society there. If you weren’t invited, you didn’t get in, which made sense because these musicians were paying money to be recorded. They weren’t there to perform. They were there to work, and that’s the way it was.”

Bressler said he had a good time but, when his time at Church came to an end, he decided he didn’t want anything to do with the music business anymore. He is retired from IBM and lives in Harrison, Arkansas.

COURTESY CHURCH STUDIO‌

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Tom Petty was signed to Shelter Records during the Church Studio era. According to the photographer, this photo is from the first gig Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played, and it was shot on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. It’s also the first time Tulsans Phil Seymour and Dwight Twilley (also a Shelter Records signee) played at the venue.

COURTESY, ZOX

JULIE CHAPMAN The band was Mudcrutch. Simon Miller-Mundy was Shelter Records’ A&R (artists and repertoire) man, and he brought the Florida-based band to Tulsa, according to Julie Chapman.

You should recognize Mudcrutch by a name the band later adopted: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

“The band were all really nice guys,” Chapman said. “I had some of the guys over for dinner, actually. Of course, Mr. Petty didn’t come, but that’s how that goes.”

Chapman was at Church Studio from the beginning as an office manager, arriving shortly after Bressler. She was asked, “What do you most want people to know about that time in history?”

“It was the beginning of something really good,” she said. “Musically, it allowed every local musician in OklaTULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

homa to think that they had an opportunity. They would come to the studio — not that it was a holy grail or anything — but a lot of people would come there to bring their music to Simon to see if they w o u l d play it and give them an opportunity because they wanted to sign with Shelter Records.”

Music hopefuls in middle America found themselves in close proximity of a dream. Jamie Oldaker, a late, great Tulsa drummer who shared stages with Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and others, said in an interview with Knox that he used to drive by Church Studio and wish he could get inside. Eventually, he did.

Oldaker is a Tulsa Sound music figure. The Tulsa Sound “absolutely” sprang out of Church Studio, said Chapman, citing the rhythmic sounds of JJ Cale (who significantly impacted Clapton’s career) and others.

Clapton and Tulsa’s Carl Radle were bandmates in the short-lived group Derek and the Dominos. When Clapton was struggling with life, Radle tried

to energize him and sent Clapton live recordings of Oldaker and others. A year passed before Clapton summoned “Jamie and the other kids from Tulsa.”

Oldaker was preparing to go on the road with Russell and the GAP Band before getting a call to record “461 Ocean Boulevard,” a Clapton album that spawned the single “I Shot the Sheriff.”

“My life had been in serious decline when I was introduced to Jamie. The hard drug (heroin) had taken its toll, and I had lost interest in pretty much everything,” Clapton said in a statement following Oldaker’s death in 2020.

“Carl Radle, the wonderful man who played with me in the Dominos and knew about my predicament, sent me a message along with a cassette, saying, ‘You have to hear these kids.’

“I listened, and something woke up in me. I wanted to play again. ‘The kids’ of course were Jamie Oldaker and Dickie Sims, who, along with Carl, were in Tulsa making incredible, sophisticated music. It had everything.“ Mother Nature played a role in all of this. An earthquake in Los Angeles led Tulsa World Magazine 21

to Russell’s move back to his hometown, according to Chapman.

Tulsans were glad to see the return of a jukebox hero, but some weren’t quite sure what to make of the characters (some of them long-haired) flitting in and around Church Studio. “(People) were very suspicious,” Chapman said. “They wouldn’t cash our checks at the local Safeway.”

Russell was a superstar (in 1973, Billboard named him the world’s

This drumhead from Jamie Oldaker (he was playing for Eric Clapton at the time he was using the drumhead) is among items bound for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.

COURTESY OKPOP‌

top touring artist), but Chapman said he was very quiet.

“I thought he was rather shy, actually,” she said, indicating that most of her communications with Russell were relayed by way of those who worked for him.

Russell’s presence attracted music artists to Church Studio and his home (where he also had a studio) and to his studio at Grand Lake.

Chapman said Nashville (once a destination only for those in the country genre) eventually became what Tulsa was in the 1970s.

Music artists from many genres now call Nashville home.

“They sort of gravitated

there,” she said. “I don’t think Tulsa had the gravitation of musicians moving here and living, but they did come here.”

Chapman recalled the Russell/Church Studio years as a fun, wonderful time. It was the 1970s, after all. Elton John was scheduled to play at the Civic Center during that era, and he let it be known he wanted his idol to attend the show.

“He sent his roadies to the office with free passes and everything because he wanted Leon to come. I don’t think Leon went, but we all did,” Chapman said, supposing that Russell could have met with Elton John somewhere after the show.

“It would be unfair to speculate, but I know he didn’t go with us.”

Chapman moved from London to Los Angeles to Tulsa at age 24 to be a part of Church Studio history. She was taken aback by the heat when she arrived, but high temps apparently were not a dealbreaker. After spending three years here, she returned to the West Coast, then came back to make Tulsa her home.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Music artist Eric Clapton, then 30, is escorted to the Tulsa Jail drunk tank Oct. 4, 1975, by Officer C.R. Horn. Clapton was arrested at Tulsa International Airport after police saw him throwing his suitcases down a banister to people who were waiting for him.

22 Tulsa World Magazine

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RICK HOLMES Commuting to work at Church Studio from his residence at Seventh and Harvard, Rick Holmes turned the corner at Third Street one day and saw a couple of parka-clad folks carrying backpacks and guitar cases. They put their thumbs out because they wanted to thumb a ride. Hmmmm.

Holmes pulled over near them and heard this: “We’re going to the Church Studio.

You know where that is? We’re recording at the Church Studio, and we don’t know how to get there.”

The pair had hitchhiked from New York to Tulsa. They told Holmes they had plane tickets, but they cashed them in.

Holmes agreed to help them finish their journey. They tossed their gear in his car and climbed in for a short drive to Church Studio.

Holmes didn’t let on that he worked at Church Studio until they arrived.

He accompanied them inside and introduced the hitchhikers to Chapman, who was the office manager.

The hitchhikers? Phoebe Snow and her guitar player.

Snow’s self-titled debut album at Shelter Records went gold and included the track “Poetry Man,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Holmes, now the owner of Jenks Nutrition, reminded that Tulsa, thanks to Cain’s Ballroom, has a long history of luring music artists to town. Leon Russell’s Church Studio years are an important part of that history.

“A lot of good musicians came through. A lot of them got started there,” he said, mentioning, for instance, Dwight Twilley and the GAP Band.

The neighborhood surrounding Church Studio has experienced a resurgence, but, during the Leon years, it was located in a blighted, industrial area, according to Holmes.

“Things were dying over there, and there wasn’t much going on,” he said.

Russell acquired houses (and a former senior group home) near Church Studio so music artists could crash there instead of staying at a hotel. JJ Cale bunked in the former senior home and set up recording equipment there.

Roadies wound up living in the housing, according to Holmes, who said he shared a duplex with two of TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

COURTESY, OKPOP‌

The GAP Band dropped a bomb on listeners in 1982. This poster is among items collected for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.

them.

Those houses are the reason he became part of the Church Studio crew.

After being discharged from the military, Holmes returned to his preservice employer, Amoco Oil Co. Said Holmes: “I did not like corporate life.

I really didn’t care for them telling me that I had to cut my hair and I had to wear coats and ties.”

Bressler told Holmes that Church Studio needed help getting duplexes ready for use. That sounded more appealing to Holmes than what he was doing, so he ditched the coat and tie.

One day he was working on one of the houses when Bressler told him they should go have lunch at the Ranch House. Leon Russell and business manager Buddy Jones were eating there. Maybe they would pick up the tab for lunch. Lunch conversation led to Holmes being asked to work at Church Studio because it was a bigger priority than the housing. He said he did a little bit of anything and everything at Church Studio.

“Leon would come in late at night (at Church Studio) sometimes and want to sit down and work through things in the studio, but people were in it. They were working,” Holmes said. “He said, ‘Damn, I can’t even get in my own studio.’ That’s why he wanted to build a studio at his house he could work out of in the basement, which meant really enlarging the tiny

basement there at the house.”

Sometimes Holmes would be deep in concentration on whatever he was working on at Church Studio and he would get the feeling that someone was watching.

“It might be 3 o’clock in the morning, and I would turn around and look and Leon would be sitting in a chair on the other side of the board sitting there watching me,” he said.

Holmes to Russell: “Dang, man. Don’t do that. Let me know you’re here.”

It was all part of an adventure, really. Holmes was part of the story when Eric Clapton got arrested at Tulsa International Airport.

Ricky Hill, a gopher for Russell, was asked by Radle to pick up Clapton at the airport. Hill asked Holmes to come along. They arrived at the lower level of the airport and heard hollering from the second level. It was Clapton, leaning over the railing and holding his backpack and guitar.

Clapton had a few too many drinks during the flight to Tulsa and caused enough of a commotion to attract the attention of security.

“What are you guys doing down there? How do I get down there?”

Clapton yelled at the men charged with picking him up.

They responded that they would come up to the second level and get him. Clapton had a different idea.

“He threw his bag over the railing to me,” Holmes said. “About that time they grabbed him. We ran upstairs to intervene, but it didn’t help. He got arrested for intox.”

Clapton got bailed out by attorney Jeff Nix and wound up — surprise — performing at Cain’s Ballroom.

Fun was guaranteed at Church Studio when Gary Busey and Gailard Sartain popped in for visits. Holmes said they would sometimes come to the studio after filming “Mazeppa,” a late-night local TV show that still has a cult following. All work stopped and all seriousness ended when they showed up, according to Holmes.

“We were just young kids then,” he said of his Church Studio experiences.

“We didn’t know that it was anything special at all. It was just stuff that we did. We had to work. We were working.

People ask us, ‘Why didn’t you take more pictures?’ We were working.”

In hindsight, Holmes knows those years were special to him. And they were special to Tulsa.

Tulsa World Magazine 23

Getting ready to

POP See a sample of memorabilia from Oklahoma icons that will be in future OKPOP museum JIMMIE TRAMEL Tulsa World Magazine

STEPHEN PINGRY PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD

Ernie Fields Sr. was the elder statesman of the many jazz musicians to emerge from northeastern Oklahoma. He was raised in Taft but toured the country in the 1930s and ‘40s with his famous orchestra. His most well-known hit came in 1959, with his version of “In the Mood.” This poster is from the Ernie Fields Sr. Collection.

Can’t wait for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture to open in the fall of 2022?

Let’s get you a sneak peek of some of the artifacts that will be inside.

The Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP for short) will be dedicated to creatives from the state who contributed to the world of pop culture.

OKPOP is under construction across the street from Cain’s Ballroom in downtown Tulsa’s Arts District.

You can go exploring on OKPOP’s online site — okpop. org — while you wait for the doors to open. Meanwhile, staffers selected a few bound-for-OKPOP items that will be housed in the museum.

Let’s call it an appetizer for a highly anticipated main event.

LEFT: This Rock and Roll Hall of Fame statuette was presented to Bob Wills’ family during his induction ceremony in 1999. The statuette is from the Bob Wills Estate Inc. Collection.

FAR LEFT: This Leon Russell “roadie case” was used by Russell’s crew to carry equipment when he was on tour in the 1970s.

The roadie case is from the Leon Russell Estate Collection.

24 Tulsa World Magazine

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Superman was voiced by Oklahoman Danny Dark in “Super Friends,” a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that debuted in the 1970s. This is an animation cel from the cartoon.

Broom-Hilda, a comic strip created in 1970, is written and drawn by Russell Myers of Tulsa. This strip is from the Russell Myers Collection.

BELOW: Normanborn Jesse Ed Davis (Comanche, Seminole, Muscogee, Kiowa) played this mid-’80s Fender Telecaster on various sessions and when he was a member of the Graffiti band with John Trudell. The guitar is from the Bob Britt Collection.

BELOW: Clarence Nash was the original voice for Donald from 1934 to 1985.

Nash created the famous gravelly voice when he was a child in rural Oklahoma on a farm outside of Watonga.

ABOVE: Archie Goodwin of Tulsa co-created the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage in 1972.

RIGHT: This is Tulsa drummer Jamie Oldaker’s jacket from Eric Clapton’s 1977 tour of Japan. The jacket is from the Jamie Oldaker Collection.

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This two-piece outfit was worn by Bishop Kelley graduate Alfre Woodard, who was cast as Mariah Dillard in the Netflix series “Luke Cage.”

Tulsa World Magazine 25

ASK THE EXPERT CR Head, PRo BBQ SlingeR Head Country

Email us your questions at expert@ tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

BBQ expert tells secret behind own rib recipe Fire up your smoker and grab some Head Country

W

hen folks find out you’re part of a family that has been in the BBQ business for 74 years, they ask all kinds of questions.

Did they put you to work at a young age? (Yes. I’ve been stirring sauce since I could stand.)

Did you know I used to buy your sauce at the feed stores? (Yes. We delivered in our family station wagon.)

Do you still like BBQ? (Yes, and I eat it every chance I get).

Here’s the No. 1 question I get about cooking BBQ: What’s the best way to make a rack of ribs, start to finish?

Here’s the big secret about ribs: They’re easy. You’ll want to practice, but that’s half the fun of BBQ. Eventually you’ll come up with your favorite methods, and you’ll have yourself a signature rib recipe that could well become a family heirloom.

When it’s time for ribs, here’s how I do it: Fire up your smoker, or cooker for indirect-heat cooking—on a charcoal grill, this means mounding coals to one side, or fire just half the burners on a gas grill—then line up: Head Country Championship Seasoning, Original Head Country Championship Seasoning, either High Plains Heat or Sweet & Spicy Head Country Bar-B-Q Sauce, your favorite flavor—we love Original or Apple Habanero on ribs.

Set ribs, meat side down, on cutting boards. Using a sharp knife, slash the membrane that covers the back of the rack. Grab the membrane using a paper towel and, using a butter knife to pry the membrane from the bones as you work, pull the membrane off the ribs and discard. Trim off any large chunks

of fat, if you’d like.

Rub the rack top, bottom, and sides with canola oil. Season all sides with a medium layer of Original Seasoning.

Hit ‘em again with a light layer of either High Plains Heat or Sweet & Spicy.

Place ribs, bone-side down, on the indirect-heat side of your cooker (the side where coals are mounded, or over the unlit burners) and close the lid.

Cook for 3 hours, spritzing with water or apple juice every 45 minutes or so (a household spray bottle works fine for this). Wrap the ribs in foil—add a handful of brown sugar here, and/ or half a can of soda—and cook for another 2-1/2 hours.

Remove the ribs from the foil, catching the cooking juice in a large bowl.

Add a bottle of your favorite Head Country sauce to the cooking juice.

Return ribs to the grates and paint with the sauce mixture. Cook glazed ribs with the lid closed for 10 minutes.

Remove ribs to a clean cutting board and slice between the bones. Sneak the charred bits into your mouth—this is the pitmaster’s tax, and it’s welldeserved.

About Head Country Head Country was born in the Heartland of America’s best Bar-B-Q traditions. After nearly 75 years of creating the same sauces, seasonings, and marinade that started in the Head family kitchen, Head Country has come to define the Oklahoma style of BBQ. Head Country produces nine sauces, three Championship seasonings, and a premium, all-purpose marinade. Our sauce is a top-10 best-selling sauce in the nation, No. 3 in the South-Central region, and No. 1 in Oklahoma.

For more info visit headcountry.com or call 580-762-1227.

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ASK THE EXPERT

Taking your business online isn’t as nuts as you might think!

E-commerce expert helps launch Selman Nut Co. website

T

hey say you have to be nuts to go into business during a pandemic. That’s just what Chad Selman, owner of Selman Farms in Skiatook, did when he met up with his longtime friend Annette Riherd, e-commerce and digital marketing strategist at Tulsa World Media Company.

What started out as two friends catching up over lunch turned into an exciting new business opportunity. This new online venture set sights on a national scale and became Selman Nut Company.

“Chad told me how he wanted to offer pecans beyond Skiatook, beyond Oklahoma, and even beyond the regional distribution network he had established. I simply told him our team could set him up with a great website and all of the tools needed to drive business to it,” Riherd said. “He jumped right in, and we were off running.”

With a background as an entrepreneur herself, Riherd worked with the team at Tulsa World Media Company’s full-service Premier Google Partnered digital agency – Amplified Digital – to identify next steps.

“It’s all about knowing your client’s business and working with your client to develop the right strategy to meet their goals,” she said. “We immediately started to work on his website since that is his storefront and where customers will learn more about him and what the pecan business has to offer.”

Starting out in two different directions, one in wholesale and one in retail, the duo created a plan for both, Riherd said.

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Annette RiheRd Amplified Digital Marketing

Email us your questions at expert@tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

“One day we were joking on how we make the perfect team,” she said. “He knows what he wants to accomplish, and I am able to guide him the best way to achieve those results. This saves him money because he isn’t wasting it on trial and error.”

With core values to be transparent, strategic, creative and bold, the local and national market development team knows the importance of understanding the digital landscape as it continues to change. Staying on top of the trends and forces that shape business in the future allows the team to move swiftly to prepare for what’s to come.

“I’ve grown up in the pecan business,” Selman said. “Setting up the new website and all of the moving parts that drive business to it has been crucial to the success of Selman Nut Company. I have the team, but most of all Annette, to thank.”

Between staying up to date with new digital trends and constantly keeping an eye on what’s working for the client’s brand, digital marketing can be hard for anyone to keep up with, let alone busy business owners. A good digital partner can strategize, manage projects and interpret data to make sure the client’s digital efforts are working.

“Together, let’s do business!” said Riherd.

For more info visit amplifydigitalmarketing.com or call 918-694-3490.

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD‌FILE

28 Tulsa World Magazine

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azz J

HALL OF FAME

The struggle to save Oklahoma’s shrine to jazz

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Tulsa World Magazine 29

Kevin Canfield Tulsa World Magazine

M ‌

axine Horner never could escape the music of her youth. And that was just fine with her. Why would she ever want to forget the jazz, blues and gospel music that filled her Greenwood home in the 1930s and ’40s?

She loved it and, in due time, would make it her mission to build a shrine to the Oklahoma musicians who for too long had gone without recognition for their genius.

It would be called the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

“She remembered ... primarily the heyday, how prominent the music and entertainment factor was on Greenwood, the number of artists who would come through,” said Horner’s daughter Shari Tisdale. “My grandfather would take her every year and she would see the big jazz greats that would come in and perform.

“So it had a real impact on her life in terms of just the importance of music.”

Horner sang and played the piano, and her youngest brother, Chuck Cissel, could hold a tune, too. He grew up to become a Broadway performer.

Horner never made it to Broadway but was a fine piano player with a beautiful voice.

“She always laughed and said he (Cissel) lived out her (dream) and got to do all the things she saw herself doing initially,” Tisdale said.

On April 12, 1988, the state Legislature approved a resolution sponsored by Sen. Maxine Horner and Rep. Penny Williams establishing the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Horner also helped secure $1.5 million in bond funding to get the facility built just north of downtown.

The little girl from Greenwood had grown up to make her mark in the music world after all.

Thirty-three years later, the Jazz Hall of Fame is in transition and its legacy murky. A prized jewel of the city in the 30 Tulsa World Magazine

1990s and early 2000s, it has slowly descended into irrelevance, beset time and again by financial mismanagement and scandal.

In January, the once venerable institution filed for bankruptcy.

“The key element is that because of the persons who were there, they couldn’t get funding because they were writing bad checks, they were lying to people, they were deceiving people,” said Cissel, who ended his association with the Jazz Hall of Fame in 2011. “I want to make that clear: I have had nothing to do with it, so I don’t know. Only thing I know is, when you don’t have a vision, you fail. And they failed.

“They didn’t have the vision, and they didn’t have the reputation, and nobody’s going to want to give you $25,000, or $100,000 if they feel like you are doing something under the table, and that is what they were doing.”

ALL THAT JAZZ‌ Vernon Howard hesitates a moment when asked to describe the history of jazz in Oklahoma. That’s telling.

Howard, the former longtime director of the University of Tulsa’s Jazz Studies program, knows it’s a rich and complicated story.

“Generally, jazz music developed in all large Southern cities that had sizable Black populations,” Howard said. “And that music developed as early as the 1890s, probably in the Tulsa area, the Oklahoma region, it would have been during the ‘10s or teens.

“Early jazz was kind of a fusion of blues and ragtime. It really was a fusion of all types of popular music for those early years of the 1890s through the teens.”

Early jazz was inspired by country dances, field hollers and work songs, with Oklahoma musicians playing a key role in creating the bluesy “Kansas City” jazz sound, according to the Jazz Hall of Fame’s website.

For the uninitiated, putting names and faces to the music can make it easier to appreciate the influence Oklahoma musicians have had on the jazz, blues and gospel scenes.

Howard’s list is long but barely scratches the surface: Bassist Oscar Pettiford of Okmulgee; Sapulpa saxophonist Marshal Royal; guitarist Barney Kessel and pianist Jay McShann from Muskogee; and guitarist Charlie Christian and singer Jimmy Rushing of Oklahoma City.

And Tulsa, of course, claims Leon Russell, Ernie Fields and Earl Bostic as

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

“I want to make that clear: I have had nothing to do with it, so I don’t know. Only thing I know is, when you don’t have a vision, you fail. And they failed,” said Chuck Cissel, former Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame CEO, who ended his association with the hall in 2011.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

State Sen. Maxine Horner is pictured in 1997 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in front of an exhibit showing one of her favorite jazz musicians, Cecil McBee of Tulsa.

its own, to name just a few.

“When we talk about Tulsa, the music that has come out of Tulsa, it is really significant contributions in the area of blues, rock ’n roll, country, jazz. So many significant players have come out of this city that perform in each of those styles,” Howard said. “So it is hard to say there is a Tulsa jazz sound. There is a Tulsa rock sound. …We just have so many great players that have played all kinds of music to come out of the city.”

Mac Finlayson served on the Jazz Hall of Fame’s board of directors for about a half dozen years before resigning with several other board members in 2009.

Now 70 years old and still practicing law, he fondly remembers his days on the road as a bass trombonist for the Stan Kenton Orchestra and gigs with Doc Severinsen, Wayne Newton and the Temptations.

“We have had some magnificent, magnificent players that either played here or grew up here,” Finlayson said.

“I would stack us up against anybody in the country in terms of raw talent, including Los Angeles and New York.

We just don’t have the depth that they have.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD‌FILE

Margie Tanner and the Comrades perform during a fundraising concert at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in downtown Tulsa on April 30.

“And when I was playing, our first call was as good as there was anywhere.”

This was the kind of talent the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame was intended to recognize and honor, along with its

other primary mission — education.

“Maxine’s mission was to honor artists who were almost forgotten in the jazz, blues and gospel field, and during that, have the galas and whatever, which Tulsa World Magazine 31

Jazz

OKLAHOMA

LEGENDS

Meet 10 musicians who shaped jazz in Oklahoma

JIMMY RUSHING James Andrew Rushing, a vocalist in the Count Basie Orchestra from 1935 to 1950, was born in Oklahoma City. Rushing learned to play violin by ear and also learned piano.

In 1927, he sang with Walter Page’s band, the Blue Devils, and met Basie when Page hired him as AP PHOTO the band’s pianist. In 1935, Basie and Rushing struck out on their own. Basie’s preference for blues and Rushing’s capacity to belt the blues helped make the Basie band one of the best of the swing era. In 1950, Rushing went on with other groups, including Duke Ellington’s, and had an important career as a solo artist. He died in 1972.

WAYMAN TISDALE Born June 9, 1964, in Tulsa and a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Tisdale was a professional basketball player and an accomplished jazz music bassist. He played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. After finishing his career with the Phoenix TULSA WORLD FILE Suns, he retired in 1998 to focus on music. Tisdale launched his music career with the album “Power Forward” in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums. He died on May 14, 2009.

CHARLIE CHRISTIAN COURTESY OKPOP

ERNIE FIELDS Ernie Fields, a “territory” band leader, made his mark in the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1904 and raised in Taft, Oklahoma, Fields settled in Tulsa after graduating in 1921 from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He led The Royal Entertainers, which became one of Tulsa’s most popular dance orchestras during the 1920s.

The Ernie Fields Orchestra became one of the most popular groups among African Americans in the Southwest. His mambo-style version of “In The Mood” shot into the top 10 on the pop charts. He retired in the late 1960s, settling in Tulsa until his death in 1997. Ernie Fields Jr. followed his father’s footsteps into the music business as a saxophonist.

32 Tulsa World Magazine

Christian learned to play the trumpet before he was 10, and by age 12, he switched to the guitar. Christian attended Douglass High School in Oklahoma City and learned his music on Deep Deuce, or Northeast Second Street, an incubator for many of the nation’s jazz greats. In COURTESY OF THE OKLAHOMA 1937, he discovered the HISTORICAL SOCIETY instrument with which he would be forever associated — the electric guitar.

While touring the Midwest in the summer of 1941, he began showing signs of severe tuberculosis. He died on Staten Island, New York, in 1942, at 25.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

EARL BOSTIC

ELVIN BISHOP

Tulsa-born Earl Bostic, best known as an alto saxophonist, composer and arranger, was also a trumpeter and guitarist.

He played clarinet and alto sax in his high school and Boy Scout bands, then studied harmony, theory and various instruments at Xavier University in New Orleans. He later moved to TULSA WORLD FILE New York City and headed his own band in Harlem in 1941 at the Mimo Club. He joined Lionel Hampton’s band for two years before starting again on his own in 1945, recording first with a big band on the Majestic label, then with a smaller group for Gotham records.

Bostic died in 1965 in Rochester, New York.

As the Butterfield Blues Band’s lead guitarist in the 1960s, musician Elvin Bishop gained wide recognition as one of America’s great blues guitarists. Bishop, who attended Will Rogers High School, moved from California to Tulsa at age 10. In 1975, his top-10 hit “Fooled Around and TULSA WORLD FILE Fell in Love” propelled the album “Struttin’ My Stuff ” to No. 68 on the charts.

CHET BAKER Born on Dec. 23, 1929, in Yale, Oklahoma, jazz musician Chet Baker began playing trumpet at 11. He was exposed to jazz while playing in U.S. Army bands from 1946 to 1948 and from 1950 to 1952. After playing some dates with Charlie Parker in 1952, Baker joined Gerry Mulligan’s “pianoless quartet,” and was given the moniker “the West AP PHOTO Coast Miles Davis.” By the mid-1980s, he was in high demand throughout European and United States jazz centers.

EARL CLARK Willie Earl Clark started playing clubs in 1968 with a local band called the Imperial Sounds. Clark, who was born in Tulsa, formed a jazz fusion band called Earl Clark TULSA WORLD FILE and Spectrum, which has opened for Spyro Gyra, B.B. King, Tito Puente and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The band also played at local festivals, including Juneteenth on Greenwood and Jazz on Greenwood. After teaching jazz bands for several years, he settled at Central High School as an artist-inresidence.

JAY MCSHANN Jay McShann, known as “Hootie,” was raised in Muskogee and he taught himself piano, performing at an early age with local musicians. In 1933, he traveled to Tulsa and played for Al Denny before joining musicians in southern Kansas.

TULSA WORLD FILE By 1937, McShann led his own band, which included a young Charlie Parker.

Many jazz historians cite that McShann gave Parker his first recording opportunity and introduced him to New York City clubs. McShann was in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s first class in 1988.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

TULSA WORLD FILE

CECIL MCBEE Cecil McBee, world-acclaimed bassist, was born and raised in Tulsa. His musical career began in high school, where he played the clarinet. By 17, McBee had begun to experiment with the string bass and played steadily at local night clubs . McBee has worked, recorded and traveled worldwide with the best, such as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Benny Goodman. He was the recipient of two NEA composition grants.

Sources: Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame Tulsa World Magazine 33

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

A crowd from the 1990s listens to the Count Basie Orchestra during Juneteenth, one of the Jazz Hall’s successful events.

34 Tulsa World Magazine

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were the fundraisers to support and have scholarships for children who had artistic abilities and desires to go to college or go to musical school, or go to Broadway,” said longtime Jazz Hall board member Connie Holt-Fisher.

Holt-Fisher joined the Jazz Hall of Fame board in the early 1990s and served for about 15 years. She recalls a vibrant organization that began operations on what is now the site of the Greenwood Cultural Center before moving to the Union Depot building in 2007.

Early on, the largest and best-known events on the Jazz Hall of Fame’s calendar were the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the Juneteenth festival. The biggest names in jazz, blues and gospel music made the trip to Tulsa to be honored, followed by a weekend of free performances across the street from the Jazz Hall of Fame that drew tens of thousands of people.

“I’ll be honest with you, a lot of people heard about Juneteenth here in Tulsa and they were approaching us to be part of the festival,” Holt-Fisher said. “This is a free festival, and some of these people came here and they were devastated because they looked out in the audience and they saw nothing but people all the way back down to Pine (Street).

“It was devastating to them because they thought they were coming to some country little town and there wasn’t going to be probably a hundred or 200 people. I mean, that is the impression people have of Tulsa.”

The Jazz Hall of Fame continued to roar along in the early 2000s. Its biggest problem at the time was that it didn’t have enough open dates on its calendar because it was sharing its facilities with the Greenwood Cultural Center.

So Cissel, who was serving as Jazz Hall of Fame CEO at the time, started looking for another home for the organization.

“It was the Union Depot train station that I went down and looked at and I would drive by and think, ‘I wonder what is going on with that building?’”

Cissel said. “I really wanted that building because we needed all the space because I was doing programming, and I wanted to make sure we could continue programming. We could rent out the facility for events, parties, graduations, weddings, all kinds of things, so we did.”

In September 2003, Tulsa County voters approved Vision 2025, a $530 TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Jazz Hall of Fame inductee George Faison fidgets as he is presented with his medallion by Sen. Maxine Horner, as fellow inductee Louie Bellson looks on.

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

The Leon Rollerson Family Band performs among displays at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame during a fundraising concert on April 30.

million capital improvements package that included such big-ticket items as the BOK Center. The proposal also designated $4 million to purchase and restore the Union Depot building for use by the Jazz Hall of Fame.

“It was a great deal,” Finlayson said.

“It was a $1-a-year rent. I mean, for 99 years on a long-term lease, you can’t beat that. And from a performance

standpoint … to have it in that iconic structure really drew a lot of people out.”

The celebratory mood soon faded, however. In January 2009, less than two years after the Jazz Hall of Fame moved into its new home, several board members resigned, including Vice-Chairman Finlayson and Chairman Steve Alter.

“At a board meeting, I told the board members, we are getting fictitious and Tulsa World Magazine 35

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Margie Tanner and the Comrades perform during a fundraising concert at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in downtown Tulsa on April 30.

incomplete numbers from accounting, and we have knowledge of it, so we have to resign, and we resigned,” Alter said. “We demanded to see the full accounting and then they refused, and we resigned.”

WHAT HAPPENED?‌ From its inception to about the time it moved into the Union Depot building in 2007, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame could count on receiving about $200,000 a year in operating funds from the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.

Then it stopped coming, thanks in part to a change in the makeup of the Legislature. Suddenly, money was tight at the Jazz Hall of Fame.

“That is about what it cost to run the organization, if you will,” Finlayson said.

Cissel describes the loss of state funding as “a big, big crook in our necks.”

It was certainly a setback, one from which the Jazz Hall of Fame never seemed to recover. Within two years after the 2009 exodus of board members, Cissel stepped down as artistic director.

He hasn’t been back in the Union Depot building since.

“When I left that building, when I retired from the Jazz Hall of Fame, I was getting calls as if I was still there,” Cissel said. “‘Can you help us? We need to get paid.’ Doc Severinsen, ‘Can we get paid?’”

Not long afterward, the Jazz Hall of 36 Tulsa World Magazine

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Edwin Canito Garcia plays bass with Margie Tanner and the Comrades during a fundraising concert at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame on April 30.

Fame’s money woes went public. The Tulsa County Industrial Authority, which leases the Union Depot building to the Jazz Hall of Fame, began getting notices that the nonprofit wasn’t paying its bills.

Thus began a years-long cycle of the Industrial Authority demanding payment for overdue bills, and the Jazz Hall of Fame arriving with a check at the last moment.

In 2012, for example, the Industrial

Authority notified the Jazz Hall of Fame that it was in default of its lease for being late on insurance, downtown assessment and utility fees, totaling more than $75,000. Three years later, county commissioners were prepared to evict the Jazz Hall of Fame from the Union Depot building for not paying its downtown assessment.

The Industrial Authority filed a lawsuit in November seeking to terminate its lease with the Jazz Hall of Fame and recover $8,474 in past-due taxes and utilities. And in mid-January, on the same day an eviction hearing was scheduled, the Jazz Hall of Fame filed for bankruptcy.

Jason McIntosh, who took over as CEO of the Jazz Hall of Fame after Cissel left, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

But Jack Henderson, a longtime Tulsa city councilor, was glad to come to the defense of the organization and of McIntosh.

“The main thing is, he struggled, he tried to manage to keep it going with what he had,” Henderson said. “I think the county was several times unfair to him in calling for him to pay bills and do stuff when they knew his situation, they knew that he didn’t have any funding coming in from the (state). They just seemed like they were trying their best to take it away from him.”

Henderson said he does not believe funds were mismanaged because there were no funds to mismanage, and that the county’s repeated public discussion of the Jazz Hall of Fame’s struggles only made things worse.

“Once people started believing it, naturally the (philanthropic) funding is going to dry up,” Henderson said.

In a statement to the Tulsa World, Tulsa County commissioners defended their actions, noting that the Jazz Hall of Fame’s inability to meet the minimal requirements of the lease has been well documented for years.

“There are an unacceptable number of instances of overlapped bookings and last-minute cancellations for an untold number of facility guests that have occurred over the lifetime of the Jazz Hall’s lease,” the commissioners wrote.

“The Tulsa County Industrial Authority and the Board of County Commissioners have a responsibility to our citizens to ensure their taxpayer dollars are used in the best and most fiscally responsible way possible, which led to the decisions that have recently taken place.”

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Leon Rollerson plays bass with The Leon Rollerson Family Band during a fundraising concert at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame on April 30.

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Memorabilia is on display at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in downtown Tulsa.

WHAT’S NEXT?‌

Maxine Horner won’t be around to see the next chapter of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. She died in February at the age of 88.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

But Shari Tisdale knows what her mother would want to see.

“She was very excited to see where it had grown to, but she always wanted to see it really expand globally because

she was very passionate about the story that needed to be told,” Tisdale said.

Maybe, just maybe, James Moore can make that happen. The local businessman and founder of the Jazz Foundation LLC was the only qualified bidder to come out of the Jazz Hall of Fame’s bankruptcy proceeding, and earlier this month the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tulsa was scheduled to rule on whether to accept the bid.

He’s promising big things.

“We have the expertise and the ability to help make the Jazz Hall something pretty exciting for Tulsa,” Moore said. “We kind of look at it as … it never reached its potential, and I think part of that had to do with just lack of resources, and so our plans, if we are the successful bidder, then we would allocate a sizable amount of dollars to renovate the building.”

And there’s more, but as the long, complicated and contentious story of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame has taught Tulsans, it’s best to trust — but verify — before getting too caught up in the music.

Tulsa World Magazine 37

38 Tulsa World Magazine

THE MOMENT

DEEP IN OSAGE COUNTY

MIKE SIMONS // Tulsa World Magazine

I

’ve been to Osage County a few times to photograph the filming of movies. On the drive out, I’m always reminded of why they choose to film movies there. The scenery will take your breath away. On May 10, I got the call to go to Fairfax to see if I could find any filming going on for the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It was a gray, cloudy day, but with good contrast. I was thinking about

the light and what it would look like for the movie. Seemed perfect as I looked at the rolling hills and, standing there on a ridge, a lone black horse. It looked like the opening scene of a movie. As I whipped my car down a gravel road to turn around, I thought, “No way that scene waits for me.” When I got back, it had, and as I raised my camera, it got better.

Another horse meandered up. They both stayed facing the right way. I witnessed the perfect opening scene to any movie set in Osage County. The film crews were nowhere to be seen.

Tulsa World Magazine 39

‘See us as people’ Osage citizens work with ‘Flower Moon’ filmmakers to ensure authenticity, accuracy Ginnie Graham // Tulsa World Magazine

P

AWHUSKA — The Water Bird Gallery pops with color as the history and culture of the Osage Nation combine in a charmingly beautiful mix of offerings.

In the middle of the store is owner Danette Daniels, making friends out of new visitors. She’s a chatty, self-styled ambassador welcoming newcomers to her hometown and tribal nation.

Going through her gallery, she talks about the Indigenous artists whose works for sale hang from the walls. She explains reasons behind the designs in clothing, jewelry and blankets.

40 Tulsa World Magazine

ABOVE: These 1920s Osage cradle boards from the collection of Osage citizen Danette Daniels were on loan for the film based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

BELOW: Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear says he wants people to see and hear the nation’s culture and language in the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

MIKE SIMONS PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD

She displays century-old photographs and proudly points to an etching of her father, an elder in the Osage Nation.

Her enthusiasm becomes an education about what makes the Osage Nation unique.

“The Osage are known for finger weaving and ribbon work. We have bright colors like purples, reds and yellows,” she says while showing a handmade, wool broadcloth blanket accented with silk ribbons.

Just down the street gathers a crowd trying for a glimpse of stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, who are filming “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It’s based on the David Grann book about the 1920s systematic murders of Osage Nation members for their wealth, focusing on the deaths in Mollie Burkhart’s family.

It’s an emotional, painful story many in the Osage Nation are now revisiting. In the beginning, Daniels, like many of her fellow citizens, had concerns.

As it became clear the film was to be made, an invitation was extended to the film crew to meet at the Gray Horse community, one of three districts of the Osage Nation.

“We decided to do what we do best and put on a feast and talk about it,” she said. “With our tribal cooks, about 300 Osage citizens gathered and director Martin Scorsese and his crew came. He shook every person’s hand. That took an hour.”

The community had chosen several speakers, including Daniels, to address their apprehensions.

“We aired our issues, worried about the stereotypes of Indians, like drunkenness,” she said.

“We felt like Mr. Scorsese was sincere, open and listening to us.

So far, they have practiced what they said they would do and collaborated with many in our community.”

Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear recalls having similar conversations with movie executives even before Scorsese took the project.

“We didn’t want it to be just TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Osage Nation citizen Danette Daniels, owner of the Water Bird Gallery, shows a 1920s Osage wool broadcloth blanket that was loaned to the film crew of the film based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

BELOW: Actor Robert De Niro films a scene of the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” on May 10 in Fairfax.

Johnny Williams of the Osage Nation Government Affairs Advisory, here with Jessilyn Addie Hudgins, Osage Cultural Center director, says the film crew is in constant contact with Osage citizens to be accurate and authentic to the nation’s traditions.

Danette Daniels speaks about the 1920s cradle boards she loaned for use in the movie.

Tulsa World Magazine 41

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD‌

On May 24, shooting took place in Pawhuska for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Osage citizens worked with the film crew to create authentic costumes.

the FBI story or just the Osage who were deceased,” said Standing Bear.

“We wanted them to see our culture and see as us people. We want to hear our language.

“I understood they were going to tell this movie through the eyes of Mollie (Burkhart), and it would be a movie the Osage would be proud of. That turned it for me. When Scorsese got it, he picked up on that, and it has gotten better and better.”

Authentic Osage Nation 1920s-era items used in the film are coming from local residents. It’s been a word-ofmouth search, with neighbors referring neighbors and families referring families.

Daniels has been a collector of Osage pieces her entire life. Two cradle boards and a purple ribbonwork blanket in her collection were loaned to the film crew and might make it onto the big screen, she said.

Other Osage citizens have loaned things such as dishes and furniture.

What can’t be found, like vintage clothing or blankets, is being made with advice, and sometimes help, from Osage citizens.

“There are Osage consultants on set, 42 Tulsa World Magazine

and they are tapping into the community,” Daniels said. “I feel good about it. Sometimes they are reaching out to me on a daily basis. They really want period pieces from the ‘20s quite a bit.

They really are educating themselves about this.”

Daniels posts updates regularly on her gallery’s Facebook page about the film and other Osage news.

“There are so many Osage people extremely excited about this,” Daniels said.

The Osage Nation government has stayed out of the film production but encouraged communication with its program leaders and elders.

Johnny Williams, a member of the Osage Nation Government Affairs Advisory, serves as a film adviser. He and others cannot say much due to contractual agreements.

But he said more than 1,000 Osage citizens auditioned as extras, and many have been called to the set in crowd scenes. He said the film crew is in constant contact with Osage citizens.

“They are not hesitant to ask questions or look for consultants to get answers,” Williams said. “They are trying to live up to the promise they

made the Osages.”

Indigenous nations have differentiating cultural aspects.

For the Osage Nation, red is associated with the firstborn, often worn in blankets by women and in clothing by men. The bright colors tend to be in geometric patterns, but some floral designs date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The family dinner table of that era would feature Spode dishes, an English brand of china, and silver utensils. A set of red Spode china is seen in a scene photo released by Apple Original Films to the Osage Nation showing DiCaprio and actress Lily Gladstone sharing a meal.

“I love Spode china,” Daniels said.

“Traditional Osage women always loved Spode, and many families handed it down through their families.”

The china reflects the prosperity among Osage Nation citizens from oil royalties, said Jessilyn Addie Hudgins, Osage Cultural Center director.

“It was something they saw and liked it. They bought it and had the money to do what they want,” Hudgins said.

A traditional meal may include fry bread, meat gravy, corn soup, squash, TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD

Leonardo DiCaprio walks on the set of the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” on May 24 in Pawhuska.

Scenes for the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” were filmed May 24 in Pawhuska.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

grape dumplings and strip meat soup.

Some citizens remember eating a type of small potato growing in the area and water lilies, said to be good for the heart.

“About 100 years ago, I’m sure it was whatever rations were brought. That’s where it came from — rations from the federal government,” Hudgins said.

“If it was 200 years ago, you wouldn’t have fry bread because we wouldn’t have oil.”

The 1920s era was one of melding the old traditions of the Osage citizens with new luxuries afforded by their wealth, such as Osage women wrapped in customary blankets sitting in expensive cars.

The film crew created the facade of train station with a section of track.

It’s something Standing Bear would like to see remain.

“We, as a nation, would take care of it as a memento of this,” said Standing Bear. “That’s something political leaders and the Osage Congress would want. It’s about having a good relationship with the movie.”

Reviving the Osage language has been a project of the nation for years, with no fluent speakers left. To strengthen the endangered language, the nation has created an immersion school, online and virtual platforms and other classes.

“For me, I remember going to dinner and it was all in Osage until about 1965,” said Standing Bear. “Then one day, it was all in English. It was fast.

I’m trying to learn the language, but the kids now are getting really good at it.”

To make sure the Osage words are correct in the film, those who have mastered the language are on set, said Vann Bighorse, Osage Language Department director.

“They have been really respectful about coming to us,” Bighorse said.

“They haven’t been making up their own gibberish. In the past, that’s probably what they did. They are wanting to be accurate about the language. They come to ask us about the translation.

“We still have our language; we still have our culture; we are still alive and well and have been able to overcome those things that happened in the ‘20s. It’s good for people to know on this worldwide platform that our language and our tribe are alive, and we’re still vibrant.”

Tulsa World Magazine 43

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD‌

44 Tulsa World Magazine

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The grand

reopening James D. Watts Jr. Tulsa World Magazine

‌T

ulsa Ballet was preparing for the opening night performance of its final production of the season when the company received news for which it had been waiting 15 months.

No masks.

It was May 13, the day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement that people who had been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus did not need to wear masks, even indoors, especially if they were with other vaccinated people.

Just weeks earlier, Tulsa Ballet became the first ballet company in the country to have all of its dancers vaccinated. So the opening night performance of “The Celebration” at the Cox Business Convention Center — the first time in 15 months that the dancers were able to perform without face coverings — could be seen as a symbol that, at long last, normalcy was returning to the performing arts world.

But if there is one thing the American public has learned by now, it is that science is a process to discover answers to questions and problems, not a collection of immutable precepts. What is discovered through this process is constantly changing, just as viruses such as COVID-19 continue to mutate and

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

As museums open and live performances return, local economy begins recovery

‌TOM GILBERT, TULSA WORLD

Tulsa Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at ONEOK Field in May.

MICHAEL NOBLE JR., TULSA WORLD‌

Mark Frie, executive director of the Tulsa PAC, says the venue is taking a monthto-month approach to reopening.

evolve.

So while the announcement about masks is certainly a harbinger of better days for the performing arts, local arts organizations — no

matter how eager they are about getting back on stage together, about opening their doors to audiences — remain cautious about the prospect of “opening up.”

“We really have to take this on a month-to-month basis,” said Mark Frie, CEO of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. “Something could change in a month or so that puts us back to where we were before.

All we can do is move forward in hope that the positive trends we’re seeing today are going to continue and do all that’s in our power to be ready to go when things truly open up again.”

The reopening of the arts means

Tulsa World Magazine 45

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD‌

Subscribers to the Tulsa Ballet eat a socially distanced dinner in front of mannequins displaying fashion from previous ballets before a performance at the Grand Ballroom of the Cox Business Center in Tulsa on May 12.

Sarah Coburn performs during the Tulsa Opera production of “Rigoletto” performed at ONEOK Field on Oct. 9. “One of the great things about the ‘Rigoletto’ we did this season was that I saw people at that performance that I knew were not regular operagoers,” Tulsa Opera Executive Director Ken McConnell said.

BRETT ROJO, FOR THE TULSA WORLD‌

much more than the chance once again to experience live performers on a stage.

It also means that the city’s economy can also truly restart.

According to the most recent Arts and Economic Prosperity study by Americans for the Arts, the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the greater Tulsa area generates as much as $288 million in annual revenue and provides full-time employment to close to 8,000 people.

“That is a big economic engine, and it’s going to take some work to get it restarted and set into motion again,” said Todd Cunningham, executive director of Arts Alliance Tulsa, the city’s united arts fund that helps to support some 40 nonprofit arts groups.

“Last year, there was such a great need in the social services area, and people really focused on that when it came to giving, and that was as it should be,” Cunningham said. “But now we’re seeing people turn their attention back to arts. It’s the old saying of not knowing what you had until it’s gone. People are 46 Tulsa World Magazine

SEAN CAPSHAW / RESOLUSEAN‌

“Everyone had to be flexible and be willing to try new things” during the pandemic, said Kelly Clark, dean of visual and performing arts at Tulsa Community College.

recognizing how important the arts are to the community, to our collective and individual quality of life, to education, to the economy, you name it.”

BEST OF A BAD SITUATION‌ Although all local arts organizations

faced serious struggles this past year because of the pandemic, from canceled shows to staff layoffs, many of them were determined to maintain their connection with their audiences.

This included Tulsa Ballet’s developing strict protocols that allowed them to create, rehearse and perform four productions — most of them featuring world premiere ballets choreographed by artists who worked over Zoom — for live, if severely limited, audiences.

The Tulsa Symphony recorded unique concerts that were broadcast by Public Radio Tulsa, recorded a special Christmas concert aired on KOTV and staged concerts at ONEOK Field, including last month to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

“I don’t know if anyone noticed, but the orchestra was seating much closer together for the Ninth Symphony,” said Keith C. Elder, executive director of the Tulsa Symphony. “We went from 6 feet of social distancing to 3. It might not sound like a lot, but it’s progress toward getting back to normal while still being responsible about safety.”

The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College also performed at ONEOK Field in addition to a series of chamber music concerts and educational events that were presented virtually throughout the year, along with two concerts live-streamed from the orchestra’s home theater in the VanTrease PACE. “Everyone had to be flexible and be willing to try new things,” said Kelly Clark, dean of visual and performing arts at TCC. “That included things like having all our online concerts and programs available for at least a week after they were first presented so that audiences could go watch on their own or even watch something several times.”

Tulsa Opera caught a bit of baseball fever, as well, staging a unique production of “Rigoletto” that incorporated a wealth of baseball tropes at ONEOK Field in October. The company also had the first open-to-the-public performance held at the Tulsa PAC since March 2020, when it presented “Greenwood Overcomes,” a concert of music by living Black composers, in May. Local theater companies such as Theatre Tulsa and the American Theatre Company also came up with new ways to do theater, from Theater Tulsa’s virtual productions to the American Theatre Company’s showing a filmed version of its holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” at the Admiral Twin Drive-In. TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Tulsa World Magazine 47

ASK THE EXPERT

Paul Jackson

charley Feeley

Clear-tone

Email us your questions at expert@tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

S

Breaking the sound barrier Clear-tone is paving the way to better hearing

olutions to hearing loss exist, but for many people with diminished hearing, the biggest obstacle is facing the problem to begin with.

“The thing about hearing loss is that it is something that tends to happen very gradually,” said Paul Jackson, licensed hearing aid specialist and the director of marketing for Clear-tone Hearing Aid Laboratories in Tulsa.

“By the time somebody is really noticing issues and is in a position where they should be getting help is usually seven to 10 years after the problem began,” he said.

Worse, hearing loss often can’t be erased.

“The longer people go trying to get by without help, the less they can recover,” he said. “It’s kind of a use-it-orlose-it scenario.”

Because hearing loss happens gradually, “we learn to adapt and work around it,” Jackson said. “We ask people to repeat themselves. We tend to read lips a little more often.

The TV volume winds up a little louder – maybe too loud for others.”

For a while, the brain fills in the gaps – it might rely on the context of a conversation to make sense of missed words, Jackson said.

But eventually, people with worsening hearing loss are less and less able to compensate for what they’re missing.

Over time, they “start pulling away. Before you know it, you’re unplugging from those conversations,” he said.

More than ever, hearing loss is a matter of health – and not just mental health issues that result from increasing social isolation, Jackson said. A number of studies are linking hearing loss to biochemical reactions related to such comorbidities as diabetes, high blood pressure and even dementia.

“It’s not just about the TV volume anymore,” he said.

For a lot of people, recognizing that hearing loss is

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

happening is just the first step. The second is dealing with the stigma of hearing aids and the aging they represent.

Charley Feeley, Clear-tone’s hearing care director gets it.

In many peoples’ minds, they may think hearing aids equal old, and they don’t want to feel old.

“But what makes you look older?” he asked. “Having hearing aids, or constantly asking, ‘What? Huh?’ “One of those things we can make virtually invisible,” Feeley said. “The hearing aids are very sleek. It’s a very low-profile device.

“With our newest hearing aids, they pair with a smart phone, so if you need to make an adjustment,” he said, “it looks like you’re just checking an email.”

To get to that point, a person with hearing loss needs a professional’s help. That’s where Clear-tone comes in.

“Our hearing tests are really geared toward making sure people are successful with hearing aids with regard to understanding speech,” Jackson said.

“Our technology is used in 80 percent of the hearing aids sold around the world,” he added. “Our patented technology really laid the groundwork for a lot of that technological revolution in hearing aids.”

At Clear-tone, the consultation and hearing test are free.

“You’ll have time at the appointment to talk to a hearing care professional to answer your questions about styles, financing, technology … whatever,” Jackson said.

“Insurance can, in some cases, cover hearing aids,” he added. “We have a team dedicated to checking on that. We will call the provider, check on the benefit and help you interpret that. We’ll even file the claim for you.”

For more info visit mycleartone.com or call 918-493-4040.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

A new group, Blackjack Rewrite Company, was formed in response to the pandemic as a way to provide more local writers, actors and directors with opportunities to create new work in new ways, taking advantage of the flexibility that streaming platforms could offer.

“I think we were able to expand the idea of what a performance venue is,” said George Romero, a writer, actress and director who spearheaded Blackjack Rewrite Company. “We could create environments without building sets. We could present productions that blended live action with film. We could have actors from other places be part of our shows. Everything was an experiment for us; some worked, some didn’t, but we were able to do a lot of neat stuff with a lot of cool people.”

While these efforts helped keep the performing arts before the public, the necessity to limit audiences severely for social distancing meant that organizations were not getting rich — or coming close to breaking even — off these shows.

“When it comes to nonprofit arts groups, especially the performing arts, they usually operate on a mix of 40 percent earned income, such as ticket sales, and 60 percent contributed income, from individual and corporate donations, grants and the like,” Cunningham said. “ Many local nonprofit arts groups were able to receive funds through the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, as well as subsequent stimulus packages.

“These things did more than just help save mom-and-pop businesses,” Cunningham said. “They helped save the arts. “

LET’S GET VISUAL‌ Tulsa’s museums also took a number of creative leaps during the lockdown.

Philbrook Museum of Art and Gilcrease Museum made use of the internet to expand existing, and create new, programs that could be enjoyed at home.

“One of the good things about the virtual programs was that it allowed us in some ways to increase our audience outside of the city,” Scott Stulen, president and CEO of Philbrook, said. “We were getting people ordinarily not able to come to Tulsa taking advantage of our online programs.”

And when the museums were finally able to open, each benefited from exhibits that helped to draw new visitors.

Both, for example, presented shows that celebrated the creativity and influence of Indigenous women artists.

“I think the fact that these exhibits were seen as being a bit out of the ordinary for Philbrook helped attract bring in new audiences,” Stulen said.

“But the real lifesavers for us were the gardens,” he said. “We were able to offer

l a i c Spe ! r e ff O Don’t miss another precious moment!

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A 15-piece, socially distanced version of the Signature Symphony, led by guest conductor Lauren Green, performed the orchestra’s annual “Christmas in Tulsa” concert, which was presented online.

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The Hearing Aid Experts Tulsa World Magazine 49

JOHN CLANTON/TULSA WORLD FILE

Kristin Dotson, CEO of Celebrity Attractions, said the shutdown caused by the pandemic was devastating. “This has been a pretty dark time for us,” Dotson said.

STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD

Philbrook Museum President and CEO Scott Stulen said the museum’s gardens offered people respite during the pandemic.

COURTESY, DEEN VAN MEER/DISNEY

Caroline Bowman plays Elsa in the North American tour of “Frozen,” which is set to come to Tulsa in fall 2022.

people during the worst of the pandemic a place where they could come and take a moment to recharge. Some times you just need to run on the grass or roll down the hill.”

50 Tulsa World Magazine

REGARDS TO BROADWAY For the city’s major for-profit performance arts company, Celebrity Attractions, which has brought Broadway

touring productions such as “Hamilton,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked” to Tulsa for more than 35 years, the shutdown was even more traumatic.

“We’re really just a small, family business, so this has been a pretty dark time for us,” said Kristin Dotson, Celebrity Attractions’ president. “The only way that we make money is by selling tickets to the shows we present, so when everything shut down, and all the touring productions had to suspend operations because they literally had no place to go, 100 percent of our income was gone.

“And in a business like this, it’s really hard to pivot to doing something else,” she said. “I mean, there is no way to do curbside delivery of Broadway.”

Dotson said the company had to furlough many of its employees last fall, but it became inevitable that staff members would have to be laid off.

“We don’t have a lot of turnover in our staff, so I was having to tell people I had known and worked with for 10, 15 years that I had to let them go,” she said. “It was heartbreaking, to say the least.”

The Tulsa PAC also ended up laying off about 90 percent of its staff after its CARES Act funds were exhausted.

“It was devastating for our employees, and it was something I never thought I would have to do,” Frie said. “But we have a phased staffing plan, and we’re starting to hire people back.”

Dotson said Celebrity Attractions also is beginning to hire people.

“I’ve been saying that we’re finally seeing the light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel,” she said. “And instead of it being an oncoming train, I say it’s the spotlight on the stage of the (Tulsa PAC’s) Chapman Music Hall.”.

Celebrity Attractions plans to get the jump on Broadway, presenting its TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Tulsa World Magazine 51

first show at the Tulsa PAC since “Miss Saigon” closed in early January 2020. It will be “Escape to Margaritaville,” the jukebox musical based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett, which is scheduled to open Aug. 31.

“Some entertainment groups have been able to do this at a reduced audience capacity, but Broadway only works when you have 100 percent capacity in the theater,” Dotson said. “And touring productions will only go out when they know they can play enough theaters that make it financially feasible to be out on the road and stay out on the road.”

“Our patrons have been so incredibly supportive,” Dotson said. “We’ve had very few requests for refunds, whether individual tickets or full seasons. They tell us, ‘Just let us know when we can come back to the theater.’”

A Mafia Story” and the brand new production of “The Nutcracker.”

Tulsa Opera may have been the first company to perform in the Chapman Music Hall since the start of the pandemic, but the company plans to take its time returning to the hall in the coming season. Its first production, of Puccini’s one-act comedy “Gianni Schicchi,” will be performed at ONEOK Field in October.

“One of the great things about the

TAKE YOUR SHOT‌ Several of the major arts groups that use the Tulsa PAC for its performances have announced their 2021-22 seasons.

Frie said the PAC has installed air scrubbers throughout the facility and enhanced its cleaning protocols.

“We want people to feel as safe as possible,” he said.

Tulsa Ballet announced its plans for the 2021-22 season, which will include several productions meant for the large stage of the Chapman Hall, such as the long-awaited U.S.premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Vendetta:

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

Keith Elder is the executive director of the Tulsa Symphony.

TOM GILBERT, TULSA WORLD

Tulsa Symphony Orchestra’s performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at ONEOK Field on May 14.

52 Tulsa World Magazine

‘Rigoletto’ we did this season was that I saw people at that performance that I knew were not regular operagoers,” Executive Director Ken McConnell said. “And we heard from a lot of people that they really enjoyed seeing opera at the ballpark, so we plan to continue to offer that.”

Some groups are taking a slightly more cautious approach to future programs.

“Ordinarily we would have announced our season by now,” Clark said. “But just because mask mandates have ended and people are talking of opening up, that doesn’t mean we aren’t still concerned about the health and safety of our musicians and our audiences.“ Clark said that when the orchestra is ready to announce its season for 2021-22, it will likely consist of four performances in the VanTrease PACE — one concert featuring each of the three candidates vying for the orchestra’s music director post plus the Signature Symphony’s always-popular “Christmas in Tulsa” concert.

The Tulsa Symphony, conversely, plans to open its season in October, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson performing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concert.

“Our season is going to look quite a bit like the one we originally planned for 2020-2021,” Elder said. “We’re going to be doing the Mahler (Symphony No. 1), we’re going to be doing (Igor Stravinsky’s) ‘Petrushka.’ We’re going to be doing ‘The Polar Express’ for the holidays, and we finally get to do ‘Star Wars’ in January.”

The orchestra had been set to perform that last concert on March 14, 2020, until the city shut down.

“We feel pretty confident that we will be able to get back to our old reality, where we’re back in the theater with a full house, with music uniting us as a community,” Elder said. “We saw a little of that with the Beethoven Ninth concert. I think we all want to see more of that.”

Venues and companies are doing what they can, day by day, to ensure that the performing arts in Tulsa can safely reopen to audiences, but there is one simple thing the public can do to help make reopening a reality.

“Really, it comes down to this,” Frie said. “If you love the arts, get vaccinated. It’s really the best thing for all of us.”

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

arts the

Tulsa in

2021-2022 upcoming events JAMES D. WATTS JR. Tulsa World Magazine

‌TULSA BALLET All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

Sept. 9-19 – “Creations in Studio K” at the company’s Studio K Theater Oct. 28-31 – “Breakin’ Bricks,” world premiere by Jennifer Archibald, with “Flight of Fancy,” by Ma Cong

MATTHEW MURPHY‌

“Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville” will come to Tulsa in August.

Nov. 13 – Classics II: Symphonic Poetry, with Sarah Hicks, guest conductor Dec. 4 – The Polar Express in Concert, Ron Spigelman, conductor Jan. 15, 2022 – Classics III: Folk Dances, with Jarrod Roberston, principal tuba Jan. 29, 2022 – Star Wars: In Concert, with Ron Spigelman, conductor

Dec. 10-23 – World Premiere of “The Nutcracker,” by Val Caniparoli and Ma Cong

Feb. 3, 2022 – Classics IV: Spitfire, with Janinah Burnett, soprano

Feb. 10-13, 2022 – U.S. premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Vendetta: A Mafia Story”

March 5, 2022 – Classics V: Unfinished, with pianist Orion Weiss

March 23-27, 2022 – “Swan Lake”

April 4, 2022—Classics VI: The Titan, with James Bagwell, guest conductor

May 12-15, 2022 – “Signature Series” at the Lorton Performance Center For information on season tickets: tulsaballet.org

TULSA OPERA

May 6, 2022 – Classics VII: Mercurial, with Gerhardt Zimmerman, guest For information on season tickets: tulsasymphony.org

tractions.com

THEATRE TULSA All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

Aug. 13-29 – “Matilda The Musical” Aug. 27-Sept. 5 – “The Guys,” drama by Anne Nelson Oct. 8-17 – “Dreamgirls” Jan. 14-30, 2022 – “The Sound of Music” Feb. 25-March 6, 2022 – “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” drama by Will Arbery April 22-May 8, 2022 – “Singin’ In The Rain” For information on season tickets: theatretulsa. org

AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANY

All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

CELEBRITY ATTRACTIONS

Oct. 15 – “Gianni Schicchi,” by Giacomo Puccini, at ONEOK Field

All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

Feb. 25 & 27 – “Emmeline,” by Tobias Picker

Aug. 31-Sept. 9 – “Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville”

Oct. 8-16 – “An Enemy of the People,” adapted from Henrik Ibsen by David Blakely

Oct. 12-17 – “Come From Away”

Dec. 10-23 – “A Christmas Carol,” adapted by Bob Odle and Richard Averill

April 28 & May 1 – “Salome” by Richard Strauss For information on season tickets: tulsaopera. com

Nov. 2-7 – Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

TULSA SYMPHONY

Jan. 4-9, 2022 – “Mean Girls: The Musical”

All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

June 14-19, 2022 – “Oklahoma!”

March 8-13, 2022 – “Tootsie: The Musical”

All programs at the Tulsa PAC unless otherwise noted.

Dec. 17-18 – “A Christmas Carol” at the Admiral Twin Drive-In March 11-19, 2022 – “Laughing Wild” by Christopher Durang

Sept. 3 – Symphony In The Park, at Guthrie Green

July 19-24, 2022 – “Anastasia”

May 6-14, 2022 – “The Elephant Man” by Bernard Pomerance

Sept. 27-Oct. 2 – “Hadestown”

July 21-24, 2022 – “Dead Ringer,” by Gino Dilorio

Oct. 9 – Classics I: Triumph, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson

Fall 2022 – “Disney’s Frozen”

For information on season tickets: americantheatrecompany.org

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

For information on season tickets: celebrityat-

Tulsa World Magazine 53

TOM GILBERT AND MATT BARNARD PHOTOS, TULSA WORLD

LEFT: Melissa Etheridge has an Oct. 12 show set for the Tulsa Theater. MIDDLE: KISS is set to return to the BOK Center with a show Oct. 2. RIGHT: Alan Jackson returns to Tulsa on Aug. 27 for a performance at the BOK Center.

Live music

is back Plan ahead for upcoming concerts

‌Tulsa’s biggest concert venues were hushed for most of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but live music has returned to some stages, and other venues are in the midst of making a comeback.

For months, due to safety reasons and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, concert events were pushed forward and postponed. There were 54 Tulsa World Magazine

no new announcements of show dates because people in the music industry were waiting for a light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, as we ventured into 2021, new show dates began trickling in to join shows that had been rescheduled.

Cain’s Ballroom hosted limited-capacity, socially distanced shows during the pandemic. Some artists performed

two shows per night at Cain’s to reach as many guests as possible.

The River Spirit Casino Resort was the first Tulsa-area casino to bring live music back to its primary concert venue. Invitation-only shows featuring the Oak Ridge Boys, the Bellamy Brothers and Tracy Lawrence preceded a return to on-sale-to-the-public shows, beginning with an April 29 Air Supply concert.

Barring unexpected developments, the Hard Rock and Osage Casino will follow suit.

BOK Center is Tulsa’s largest concert venue. BOK’s first live music event since a pandemic-related shutdown featured Wynton Marsalis headlining a performance connected to the Tulsa Race Massacre centennial. Touring music artists are slated to return to BOK in the second half of 2021.

Tulsa Theater also intends to return to live music in 2021. A Melissa Etheridge show was announced for Oct. 12 at the venue.

Here are the upcoming shows at Tulsa’s biggest venues that had been TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

ASK THE EXPERT

Local Community banks build lasting relationships

Thomas BenneTT iii

First Oklahoma Bank

First Oklahoma Bank experts go beyond the norm

W

hy should someone consider banking with a local, community bank instead of a regional or national bank?

Accessibility Customers of community banks typically do not have to worry about trying to navigate a corporate maze of contacts or out-of-state offices to have questions answered or issues resolved promptly. Often, they are friends with their local banker – or even the CEO – who lives, works, worships, volunteers and is raising a family in the same community as they are. They feel comfortable contacting their banker directly whenever they need help.

Strong community ties Many community banks are owned by families or large groups of local investors who care about their communities and want them to thrive. First Oklahoma bankers, for instance, know the heartbeat of the local community, understand its economy, and make all decisions locally.

“When you buy from local merchants or you bank with a local bank, the money stays in your community,” said Tom Bennett Jr., chairman and Co-CEO of First Oklahoma Bank. “Deposits made in a local bank, in turn, are used to make loans to more local businesses and individuals. Whereas, if you make deposits at an international bank, you don’t know where the money is going.”

Community banks also are a lifeline for small businesses, which are the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy.

This was especially apparent during the COVID-19 health crisis as community banks became the lender of TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Tom e.

BenneTT Jr.

Email us your questions at expert@tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

choice for thousands of small businesses struggling to survive and pay their employees. As much as 60% of loans made through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were processed through smaller banks with less than $10 billion in assets.

“That’s probably 6% or 7% of the total assets of the banking universe. Smaller banks that have less than a billion dollars accounted for 20% of all PPP loans,” said Tom Bennett III, president and co-CEO of First Oklahoma Bank.

Community banks worked day and night to help their customers understand and apply for the PPP loans, and it was that interpersonal connection that set community banks apart from bigger banks during the public health crisis, Bennett III said.

Exceptional personalized service Lack of communication and/or frustration with service are prime reasons why customers leave one bank for another. Smaller, community banks know the names and faces of their customers, which may include multiple generations of a family.

Often, smaller banks can offer personalized service that extends beyond the norm such as meeting customers at their workplace or home to conduct business or welcoming personal calls after hours or on weekends to address a customer’s need. When customers call First Oklahoma Bank, for instance, they are greeted by a person – not a prerecorded message – who can answer their questions or connect them with the right banker.

For more info visit firstoklahomabank.com or call 918-392-2500. Member F.D.I.C. SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

announced as of print deadline the second week of June. Please confirm the event is occurring with the venue as it could be canceled or rescheduled.

BOK Center‌ 200 S. Denver Ave., bokcenter.com, 866-726-5287 Alan Jackson, Aug. 27. $39.99-$129.99.

Blake Shelton, Sept. 24. On sale June 10.

Midland, Oct. 21, Oct. 21. 8 p.m. $50-$60.

Beach Boys, Feb. 10, 8 p.m. $55-$70.

Tim Allen, Feb. 18. 8 p.m. $70-$85.

Hard Rock Live at Hard Rock‌ 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa, hardrockcasinotulsa.com, 918-384-7800

Clint Black, Aug. 18. 8 p.m. $29.50-$49.50.

Mickey Gilley & Johnny Lee, Sept. 10.

8 p.m. $19.50.

Uncle Kracker, Sept. 11. 8 p.m. $19.50.

Clay Walker, Sept. 23. 8 p.m. $39.50-$59.50.

Collective Soul, Oct. 2. 8 p.m. $39.50.

Rain: Tribute to the Beatles, Nov. 13.

8 p.m. $19.50-$39.50.

Whiskey Myers, Nov. 18. 8 p.m. SOLD OUT.

Little River Band, Dec. 1. 8 p.m. $29.50$49.50.

Tony Bennett, Dec. 16. 6 p.m. $79.50$99.50.

Skyline Event Center at Osage Casino‌ 951 W. 36th St. North, osagecasino.com, 877246-8777

The Revivalists, Nov. 6. Doors at 7 p.m. $55-$100.

Tulsa Theater‌ 105 W. Reconciliation Way, tulsatheater.com, 918-582-7239

Melissa Etheridge, Oct. 12. Doors at 7 p.m. $49.50-$379.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌

Oklahoma country singer Blake Shelton is set to perform at the BOK Center on Sept. 24.

MercyMe, Oct. 1. $29-$84.50.

KISS, Oct. 2. Doors at 6:30 p.m. $39.50$129.50.

TobyMac, Oct 4. $22.75-$92.75.

Marc Anthony, Oct. 15. $64-$184.

Chris Stapleton, Nov. 5. Doors at 5:30 p.m. $49.75-$99.75.

Dan + Shay, Nov. 13. $17-$225.

Cody Johnson, Nov. 26.

Joe Rogan, Dec. 4. Doors at 7 p.m. $38-$113.

Eric Church, Feb. 19. $107-$166.

The Weeknd, Feb. 20. Doors at 6 p.m.

$29.75-$125.75.

Justin Bieber, March 18. $62.50-$202.50.

River Spirit Casino Resort‌ 8330 Riverside Parkway, riverspirittulsa.com, 918-995-8235 Leanne Morgan, July 10. 8 p.m. $30-$40.

Brantley Gilbert, July 15. 8 p.m. $50-$95.

Ramon Ayala, July 24. 8 p.m. $20-$50.

Three Dog Night, Aug. 6. 8 p.m. $20-$35.

56 Tulsa World Magazine

TOM GILBERT, TULSA WORLD FILE

Chris Stapleton is scheduled to play at the BOK Center on Nov. 5.

Jacob Tovar/Cowboy Jones, Aug. 17.

Doors at 6:30 p.m. $10.

Hanson, Sept. 3 and Sept. 4. Doors at 7 p.m. $40.

The Cadillac Three, Sept. 11. Doors at 7 p.m. $20-$35.

Umphrey’s McGee, Sept. 12. Doors at 6 p.m. $25-$39.50.

Toadies w/Reverend Horton Heat, Sept.

15. Doors at 6:30 p.m.

Nate Bargatze, Oct. 16. Doors at 6 p.m.

Sylvan Esso, Sept. 16. Doors at 6:30 p.m.

Mat Kearney, Oct. 20. Doors at 7 p.m.

Joe Bonamassa, Oct. 21. Doors at 7 p.m.

Theory of a Deadman, Nov. 3. Doors at

Tech N9ne, Sept. 23. Doors at 6 p.m. $32-

Jeanne Robertson, Nov. 12. Doors at 6 p.m.

Hanson, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. Doors at 7 p.m.

$29-$79.

$40.

Iliza Shlesinger, Feb. 3. Doors at 6 p.m.

The Airborne Toxic Event, Oct. 8. Doors

$32-$146.75.

7 p.m. $30.50-$33.50.

$36-$56. $47.

Pecos & The Rooftops, Sept. 25. Doors at 7 p.m. $12-$25.

$32-$62.

at 6:30 p.m. $23-$43.

Brit Floyd, June 7, 2022. Doors at 7 p.m.

Dashboard Confessional, Oct. 17. Doors at

$32.50-$152.50.

Cain’s Ballroom‌

6:30 p.m. $35-$55.

CHVRCHES, Nov. 15. Doors at 6:30 p.m. $40-$60.

423 N. Main St., cainsballroom.com, 918-5842306

Purity Ring, Nov. 29. Doors at 6:30 p.m.

Hanson, July 2 and July 3. Doors at 7 p.m.

Drive-By Truckers, Feb. 5. Doors at

$40.

6:30 p.m. $26-$52.

American Aquarium, July 16. Doors at

They Might Be Giants, May 19, 2022.

7 p.m. $18-$100.

K. Flay, Aug. 1. Doors at 6 p.m. $15-up.

Ashley McBryde, Aug. 5. Doors at 7 p.m. $29.50.

$26-$101.

Doors at 6:30 p.m. $28.

Mabee Center‌

Hanson, Aug. 6 and Aug. 7. Doors at 7 p.m.

7777 S. Lewis Ave. mabeecenter.com, 918-4956000

Ray Wylie Hubbard, Aug. 12. Doors at

National Fiddler Hall of Fame gala concert, Oct. 22. $30-$75.

For King & Country, Nov. 7. 7 p.m. $20-

$40.

6:30 p.m. $25.

All Time Low, Aug. 15. Doors at 6:30 p.m. $35-$55.

$200.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

ASK THE EXPERT

Awesome outdoor audio and video done right the first time Make your outdoors a new gathering place

W

ith any luck, a lot of things associated with COVID-19 will soon be a distant memory.

But some things that were seen as a necessity during the pandemic are retaining their popularity.

Outdoor home entertainment is at the top of the list, said Austin Morton, a project manager for Video Revolution in Tulsa.

“The biggest thing we’ve seen across all areas is that people spent a lot more time at home last year, and even this year, they’re wanting to have more avenues for entertaining outside,” he said.

Gathering outdoors can get around the need for masks and mitigates a lot of health concerns, Morton said.

“So outdoors was a huge focus for planning for this year,” he added. “Last year was kind of the motivation, and this year is the ‘making it happen.’”

Morton said a lot of people who are making it happen aren’t entirely new to the game, though.

As people tried to gather safely outdoors last year, it was common to go to the home with the nicest amenities, he said.

“So now there’s a lot of awareness of the difference in quality,” he said, and a lot of customers are upgrading their already-existing systems.

“One of the biggest myths is that it’s OK to just put a regular TV outside,” Morton said. “There’s peace of mind that comes with putting a proper outdoor TV out there.”

Outdoor televisions are actually sealed so that insects and water can’t get inside.

“We actually have TVs that you can set outside with no cover, right in the middle of the yard, and they’ll work 10 years like that,” he said.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

“There’s just an enormous peace of mind that comes with enjoying the system and not maintaining it.”

Even so, Morton said, most Video Revolution clients’ living rooms are bigger than their patios. Likewise, their outdoor televisions are typically smaller than the indoor ones.

“Most of our outside TVs are still not the primary focus,” he said. “You’re outside to be outside.”

A big myth is that outdoor home entertainment is only for the wealthy, Morton said.

“There are options for all budgets.

There’s absolutely a way to make it work,” he said. “Usually a sound system will be a drop in the bucket compared to a pool, a pergola or the other things you might have out there.”

The trick – not only to getting the biggest bang for your buck but also for making your environment aesthetically pleasing and for ensuring that the technology does what it needs to do – is to consult a professional as early in the process as possible, Morton said.

“We’ll come out to the job site, at no charge look at what their expectations are, look at the environment,” and make recommendations based on all of those factors, he said.

“Another thing we always address outside is Wi-Fi. You want good control all the way around so you don’t have dead spots, music cutting in and out and so forth,” he said. “A lot more goes into the infrastructure of an outdoor system than just TVs and speakers.

“That’s where bringing in an expert really comes into play,” Morton said.

“We’ve had these experiences and growing pains. We know how to head them off.”

Austin Morton, Project MAnAger Video Revolution

Email us your questions at expert@ tulsaworld.com, and our expert will answer on our Tulsa World Scene Facebook page!

For more info visit videorevolution. com or call 918-495-0586.

SPONSORED FEATURE OF TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE

District

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD

People gather in the Tulsa Arts District on a Friday that had the First Friday Art Crawl and the first night of Mayfest in May.

ALL ABOUT THE

ART

I

JAMES D. WATTS JR. Tulsa World Magazine

t’s been a “village.” It’s been a “belt.” It’s been a bowery. It’s been a boomtown. It’s watched over by an artificial cloud, and it’s right next door to the center of the universe.

It’s a place where a king once reigned, and weekly encouraged his faithful subjects to dance. It’s home to an “old lady” who for a century has welcomed the finest performers, the greatest shows.

And it has tried for years to present itself as artful. But it didn’t really grow into its full potential until it learned how to crawl.

The Tulsa Arts District has been

58 Tulsa World Magazine

Tulsa Arts District evolves into one of city’s premier destinations

many things to many people through the years, but geographically it’s always been centered around what is now called Reconciliation Way. Its westernmost edge takes in the venue now known as the Tulsa Theatre, and it extends north to encompass the Cain’s Ballroom, which for several years in the 1940s was the home of Bob Wills, the king of Western Swing. Archer Street serves as the southern boundary, with Living Arts of Tulsa at the corner of Detroit and Reconciliation Way as the eastern outpost.

It is one of the oldest areas in the city, with some of its signature red-brick buildings dating back to statehood in 1907, and for the past dozen years, the neighborhood has been the site of

continuous evolution.

And, as with any entity that’s been around for a long time, it has more than a few unsavory aspects to its history, beginning with what for many years was the neighborhood’s namesake.

Reconciliation Way started out as Brady Street, named for Wyatt Tate Brady, an early Tulsa businessman who was one of the founders of the city. In 2013, revelations that Brady had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan led to an effort to rename the street, as well as the other places around the city that had “Brady” in their names.

The name was altered in 2013 to “M.B. Brady St.,” after the Civil War-era photographer Matthew Brady, before in 2019 being officially changed to TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Reconciliation Way. And what had been the Brady Arts District became the Tulsa Arts District in 2017.

The idea of turning this area into an arts district began in earnest in the late 1980s, shortly after after real estate developer David Sharp began buying a significant number of buildings in the neighborhood, and renting them out to businesses, individuals and groups, most of which were arts-oriented.

“At one time, a lot of commercial photographers had their studios here, because of the buildings having these high ceilings,” said Donna Prigmore, who, with fellow ceramic artist Mel Cornshucker, has run Artists Studio at the corner of Reconciliation Way and Boston Avenue for the past 25 years.

Soon, fine art galleries began taking up residence in the area, such as Galerie Europa, Davina’s Fine Photography and the Tulsa Center for Contemporary Art, an ambitious venue that combined performance space, art gallery and artists studios in the building that is now Caz’s Chowhouse and Club Majestic.

But one of the main catalysts that helped earn the name the Tulsa Arts District was the inauguration of the First Friday Art Crawl in 2007.

“When we started the Art Crawl, there was just Donna and Mel’s place, the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition Gallery, the Tulsa Glassblowing School, and Club 209,” said Bob Fleischman, owner of Chrysalis Salon & Spa and president of the Tulsa Arts District Business Association.

“But the first big kick was when Living Arts of Tulsa moved in, which brought its following to the district,” he said. “Then, when the George Kaiser Family Foundation began to get involved, with the Guthrie Green and the renovations of the Mathews Warehouse and Tulsa Paper Buildings into the Woody Guthrie Center, 108 Contemporary and the rest, the Art Crawl really took off.”

Fleischman said that the involvement of the restaurants and nightspots that began to populate the neighborhood also helped make it a true destination.

The district is going to be getting busier, as two major venues are set to open in 2022 — the Bob Dylan Center, which will be part of the same complex as the Woody Guthrie Center, will be home to the Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter’s complete archive; while the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, or OKPOP for short, TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

Donna Prigmore prepares to glaze a plate at her studio.

JOHN CLANTON, TULSA WORLD‌

People gather on the Guthrie Green on May 7 for the First Friday Art Crawl, which happened to take place during Mayfest.

will showcase the state’s diverse contributions to the cultural landscape of the nation.

Today, the Tulsa Arts District is home to some of the city’s most prestigious restaurants, such as Amelia’s, Laffa Medi-Eastern Restaurant and Bar, Prhyme Steakhouse, The Tavern, Sisserou’s, and the recently relocated The French Hen, as well as the original Coney Island Hot Weiner shop, Mexicali Border Cafe, Elgin Park, and Antoinette Baking Company.

“In the pre-COVID days, it wasn’t unusual that we’d have as many as 6,000 people in the neighborhood for

a First Friday,” Fleischman said. “We’re starting to see more people coming out, as restrictions are starting to lift.

And once the performance venues can get back up to speed, we’ll start seeing more people coming into the area.”

Prigmore said much of the credit for the success of the district belongs to two men.

“I think the city owes a huge debt of gratitude to David Sharp, because of all he has done to preserve these old buildings,” she said.

“The other is George Kaiser,” she said.

“The Guthrie Green alone was a huge boost to the area.”

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COURTESY, SILVER DOLLAR CITY‌

Silver Dollar City’s 1880s-style theme park is internationally awarded for excellence and is the reigning No. 1 amusement park in America as voted in a national poll, with a demonstrating crafts colony 100-strong.

Silver Dollar City It’s time to get out and go

‌W

COURTESY, SILVER DOLLAR CITY‌

The $23 million river rafting adventure, Mystic River Falls, is the gem of the new area.

60 SPONSORED FEATURE OF Tulsa World Magazine

ith summer ahead, Silver Dollar City Attractions in Branson, Missouri — just a three-to-four-hour drive from Tulsa — offers a family getaway full of adventure.

Now celebrating a 60th Diamond Jubilee, “The City” offers 40 rides and attractions, a resident crafts colony 100-strong, nine world-class festivals or events and awardwinning home-style foods.

Ozark history and legacy come

to life in the new Rivertown with a $23 million river rafting adventure, Mystic River Falls — the tallest drop of a water raft ride in the Western Hemisphere, themed after a mysterious river found in The City’s massive Marvel Cave. Other highlights are the new Rivertown Smokehouse and a new cinnamon bread bakery. Guests can eat their way through the park with the just-introduced Tasting Passports — sample everything from BBQ to specialties created by the park’s culinary team.

For your thrill seekers, the roller coasters don’t disappoint, including the fastest, tallest, steepest spinning

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COURTESY, SILVER DOLLAR CITY‌

Some of the park’s world footprint roller coasters soar over the Ozark Mountainscape.

White Water features 2 million gallons of fun and 13 acres of water rides, slides and waves.

roller coaster in the world, Time Traveler, and the wood coaster, Outlaw Run, known for a massive drop and a double barrel roll finale. For more information, go to silverdollarcity.com And what could be better than a relaxing ride on Showboat Branson Belle? Enjoy a four-deck reimagining of an authentic 1880s paddle wheeler of yesteryear, celebrating a quartercentury on Table Rock Lake. The

Showboat Branson Belle offers noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. cruises.

Passengers can explore scenic decks, enjoy award-winning magician Christopher James and a high-energy variety show. Each cruise offers a three-course meal prepared in the Ship’s Galley. Premium seating with a chef-crafted menu is also available. For more, go to showboatbransonbelle.com For the water park lovers in your

COURTESY, SILVER DOLLAR CITY‌

family, White Water features 2 million gallons of fun and 13 acres of water rides, slides and waves. Enjoy the high tide of the 500,000-gallon Surf’s Up Wave Pool, float your cares away on the Aloha River or splash with little ones in Coconut Cove. For high thrills, take a 70-degree, 40-foot plunge at a screaming 26 feet per second on KaPau Plummet or brave the side-by-side freefall drop slides at Kalani Towers.

Silver Dollar City Contest Silver Dollar City is celebrating a 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee with a contest that could bring your family to the 1880s-style theme park in the Ozarks to make memories that will last a lifetime.

For a chance at winning the Silver Dollar City 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Family Adventure Prize Package valued at more than $1,500, send us your favorite family memory of Silver Dollar City or a memory you would like to make. Include a telephone number and an email address, if you have one.

The amazing trip package includes: Up to six tickets to Silver Dollar City’s 1880s theme park, including lunch and front-of-the-line passes Up to six tickets to White Water’s 2 mil-

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

lion gallons of fun and 13 acres of water slides, rides and waves or another seasonal attraction A Showboat Branson Belle cruise for up to six with three-course meal, panoramic views of Table Rock Lake and highenergy show One family-sized cabin for two nights at the Silver Dollar City Campground or comparable lodging The deadline for contest entries is July 25. Send your story to Attn: Nicole Marshall Middleton, P.O. Box 1770, Tulsa, OK, 74102 or email them to scene@tulsaworld.com.

Winners will be announced in the Aug. 8 edition of the Tulsa World Scene section.

On the Showboat Branson Belle, enjoy a four-deck reimagining of an authentic 1880s paddle wheeler of yesteryear, celebrating a quarter-century on Table Rock Lake.

SPONSORED FEATURE OF Tulsa World Magazine 61

TULSA TRAILBLAZERS

Tulsa fortunate to have

Thomas Gilcrease Museum The next chapter for priceless collection lies ahead Michael Overall // Tulsa World Magazine

T

COURTESY, TULSA HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM

Thomas Gilcrease, at age 35, stands along the banks of the Avon River with the steeple of Holy Trinity Church standing in the background.

62 Tulsa World Magazine

homas Gilcrease once posed for a snapshot along the banks of the Avon River with the steeple of Holy Trinity Church standing in the background on the opposite side of the water. William Shakespeare has been buried there since the 17th century, the church tower casting a long shadow across the small graveyard.

The landmark inspired Gilcrease, then only 35 years old, to ponder his own mortality, according to an inscription he wrote on the back of the photo itself, now preserved by the Tulsa Historical Society.

“Mr. Gilcrease stands upon the east bank,” the caption says, “facing the rising sun with the realization that he too will soon cross over to the west bank and join that endless march of numberless folk gone.”

Born in Louisiana, Gilcrease was 5 years old when his family moved to what is now Oklahoma in anticipation of receiving allotments in the Muscogee Nation, where he qualified for citizenship thanks to his mother’s tribal heritage. Fortuitously, Gilcrease’s 160-acre tract sat within the famous Glenn Pool, where the Tulsa oil rush began in 1905. He was just 15 when he began receiving royalties from oil production, and Gilcrease eventually had 32 productive wells on his property, which was enough to accumulate a small fortune.

Not satisfied to sit back and collect easy money, he began his own company in 1922 and set out to find TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

oil reserves that other entrepreneurs had overlooked. Gilcrease drilled a series of especially deep wells near Wetumka, 80 miles south of Tulsa, and the company struck an entirely new geological formation, rich in oil, that became known as “Gilcrease sand.”

The discovery made him spectacularly rich. And three years later, newly divorced from his first wife, Belle Harlow, Gilcrease embarked on a 14-month tour of Europe, visiting Stratford-upon-Avon as well as Rome, Paris, Athens and other major cities.

The great museums of Western civilization sparked an interest in art.

But as an Oklahoman and a Native American, Gilcrease wanted his collection to reflect his own culture and history. By the 1940s, he had accumulated thousands of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, photographs and artifacts from across the American West.

Rather than hoard it all for himself, however, Gilcrease wanted to share it with as many people as possible.

He put part of his private collection on public display for the first time in 1943, but not in Tulsa. The oil tycoon had moved his corporate headquarters to San Antonio in 1937 to be closer to his major oil fields. That’s where his initial exhibit opened. And that’s where his entire world-class collection could have stayed.

Fortunately for Tulsa, San Antonio didn’t respond with much enthusiasm.

Disappointed by the number of visitors, Gilcrease closed his original exhibition space after only four years and moved his collection to Tulsa, where he opened the Thomas Gilcrease Museum next door to his private mansion northwest of downtown in May 1949.

Five years later, the city organized a bond issue to buy the collection and ensure that it would stay here forever, with Gilcrease donating some of his oil revenues toward paying off the public debt.

Today, the collection is valued at $2 billion. But of course, it’s actually priceless. The finest and most complete collection of art and artifacts from the American West; no other city in the world has anything quite like it.

The Gilcrease Museum will close July 4. The entire collection — more than 400,000 pieces — will be crated up and taken to storage. And the landmark itself, an assortment of TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Thomas Gilcrease shows off a handwritten copy of the Articles of Confederation to a group of Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts in 1954.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

The Gilcrease Museum’s main entrance takes shape during the 1970s.

COURTESY, GILCREASE MUSEUM‌

buildings of various ages pieced together over the years, will be demolished.

In its place, the city will begin construction next year on an $83.6 million museum, funded partly by $65 million from the Vision Tulsa 2016 sales-tax package.

Gilcrease, of course, hasn’t lived to see it. He died in 1962. Or “crossed

over to the west bank,” as he imagined it on that pensive day in Stratfordupon-Avon.

“A man,” Gilcrease once said, “should leave a track of some sort.”

Sources: Tulsa World archives, Tulsa Historical Society & Museum, Oklahoma Historical Society, Gilcrease Museum Tulsa World Magazine 63

OKLAHOMA MADE

Bright

lights,

big city Claude Neon Federal Sign Company has national presence

64 Tulsa World Magazine

NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON Tulsa World Magazine

Y

ou don’t have to look far to see the impact that Claude Neon Federal Sign Company has had on Tulsa.

There are signs literally all around you.

We spoke to employees Pete Webb and Joe Kesterson about the company’s history and current work. It was impressive and eye-opening to learn how many signs here boast the CNF brand.

They explained that CNF Tulsa was opened in 1926 as a branch office with an additional branch office in Oklahoma City. The home office originated in Wichita, Kansas.

What does the name Claude Neon Federal refer to? Here’s the history.

In the early 1920s, a French scientist named Georges Claude filled a glass vacuum tube with a rare gas called neon. He connected this tube to high voltage electricity by means of an electrode on each end, causing it to glow with a brightness. Georges Claude obtained international patent rights for his discovery, which bore the name Claude Neon.

The first neon signs were built in France and imported to the United States; however, this method of producing signs was impractical, and soon licensing rights for the manufacture of neon tubing in the U.S. was sold to Federal Sign & Signal Co. of Chicago.

In turn, Federal Sign sold franchises to other sign companies in various cities throughout the USA. The name of the company was derived from “Claude,” the inventor, “neon” from the product itself, and “federal” from the licensing company.

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The restored Meadow Gold sign by CNF stands as one of the many proud Route 66 icons.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

Claude Neon Federal Sign Company became a Tulsa-owned and -operated sign company in 1955, and it still is today. CNF’s offices and manufacturing plant are located northeast of downtown Tulsa at 1225 N. Lansing Ave. Webb and Kesterson explained that many changes have taken place in the industry.

State-of-the-art, computerized equipment, along with the very best materials are used in the manufacturing of their signs, they said.

The city of Tulsa and the Route 66 Commission have emphasized keeping neon signs a part of Tulsa’s skyline through the Route 66 Neon Sign Grant program.

But CNF makes a wide variety of signs, including LED signs (a big percentage of the current market), pylon signs, casino signs, monument signs and more.

And the company’s work is so well known that CNF Signs also manufactures and ships signage nationwide from right here in Tulsa. For more information and history about the company, go to cnfsigns.com

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE ‌PHOTOS

CNF has made signs for newer businesses, such as Elgin Park, as well as standards like Circle Cinema.

TULSA WORLD FILE‌ TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

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Route 66’s Desert Hills Motel has neon signs that were made by CNF around 1970.

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LET’S GO. TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

Porter is home to a long-running peach festival.

JOSEPH RUSHMORE, FOR TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE‌

Folds of Honor FreedomFest features live music, inflatables, family picnics and fireworks along the Arkansas River.

JULY ‌> THROUGH 7/4, “ASSIGNMENT TULSA” Local photographers present unique views of familiar Tulsa landmarks and vistas.

WHERE: Gilcrease Museum FOR MORE: gilcrease.org >‌ THROUGH 7/4, “ENSLAVEMENT TO EMANCIPATION: TOWARD A MORE PERFECT UNION” Exhibit of historic documents that speak to the history of African slavery in the Western Hemisphere and United States.

WHERE: Gilcrease Museum FOR MORE: gilcrease.org ‌> 7/1-4, HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL For the 54th annual festival, attendees can enjoy a carnival, parade, car show, rodeo, crafts and food. The Fourth of July will include a fireworks show.

WHERE: Courthouse Square, Jay FOR MORE: jaychamber.org ‌> 7/3, FOURTH ON THE THIRD The Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College presents its annual patriotic concert in an outdoor setting.

WHERE: TCC Southeast Campus FOR MORE: signaturesymphony.org 66 Tulsa World Magazine

‌> 7/3, ARTS, CRAFTS, MUSIC AND CAJUN FESTIVAL Authentic Cajun food and music will be served at this event hosted by Jana Jae, Grove’s queen of country fiddle. Admission is $5 and kids get in free.

WHERE: Grove Civic Center, 1720 S. Main St., Grove FOR MORE: grandlakefestivals.com/cajun ‌> 7/4, FOLDS OF HONOR FREEDOMFEST Features live music, inflatables, family picnics and fireworks along the Arkansas River.

WHERE: Fireworks are shot from the 21st Street Bridge FOR MORE: freedomfesttulsa.com >‌ 7/9-11, JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS‌ Just Between Friends is one of the country’s leading children’s and maternity consignment events.

WHERE: Rhema Rec Center, 1421 W. Kenosha, Broken Arrow FOR MORE: jbfsale.com >‌ 7/14-18, WOODYFEST The 24th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival will pay tribute to Woody Guthrie through songs, communion, scholarship, tradition, storytelling and songwriting.

The Woody Guthrie Coalition and the festival will welcome members of the Guthrie family, renowned singer-songwriters and returning

performers for the celebration of the late folk singer’s life and legacy.

WHERE: Okemah FOR MORE: woodyfest.com >‌ 7/15-17, PORTER PEACH FESTIVAL The Porter Peach Festival has a 50-year history.

See for yourself why this celebration of peaches is so enduring.

WHERE: Porter MORE: Porter Peach Festival Facebook page >‌ 7/16-18, BRAUM’S AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART A showcase of makers, retailers and boutique owners from across the country selling clothing, accessories, home goods, furniture, art, crafts, gourmet foods, and more.

WHERE: Tulsa Expo Center FOR MORE: aaoth.com >‌ 7/24, LA FIESTA DE TULSA The Latin and Hispanic cultures in the community will be celebrated with this annual, fan-favorite festival. Latin cultures will come together for a night filled with cultural food and drink, crafts and live performances.

WHERE: Gathering Place, near 31st and Riverside Drive FOR MORE: gatheringplace.org >‌ 7/30-31, HERITAGE FEST The Miami OK Route 66 Heritage Fest is a new event that will feature live music, a car and motorcycle show, a regional poker run, food trucks and a beer garden.

WHERE: Downtown Miami.

MORE: Miami—Oklahoma Route 66 Heritage Fest Facebook page ‌> 8/14, RIVERSIDE RIB FESTIVAL A new barbecue tradition will feature a day of grilling, chilling and challenging some of the top BBQ masters in the region. The event will include live music, local brews and, of course, barbecue.

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WHERE: Gathering Place, near 31st and Riverside Drive FOR MORE: gatheringplace.org >‌ 8/14, WILL ROGERS & WILEY POST FLY IN Watch more than 100 small aircraft fly in and land on the 2,000-foot grass airstrip on the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, just east of Oologah and bordering Oologah Lake. Bring your own lawn chairs, talk to the pilots and see their planes up close.

WHERE: Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, 9501 E. 380 Road, Oologah FOR MORE: willrogers.com >‌ 8/28 UNCANNY COMIC EXPO A third-year comic and pop culture convention, the Uncanny Comic Expo in Shawnee is already a staple on the con circuit.

WHERE: Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee, Grand Casino Blvd.

FOR MORE: Uncanny Comic Expo Facebook page ‌> THROUGH 9/5, “FROM THE LIMITATIONS OF NOW” Landmark exhibit of works by mostly local Black artists that addresses issues of race, identity, social justice, and hope WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art FOR MORE: philbrook.org

JOSEPH RUSHMORE, FOR TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE‌

Rocklahoma is scheduled to return in 2021, but the music and camping festival will be held on Labor Day weekend instead of Memorial Day weekend. ‌> THROUGH 9/5, “FACES OF GREENWOOD” Works by three Oklahoma photographers that chronicle Tulsa’s Greenwood District in the days before and after “urban renewal”

WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art FOR MORE: philbrook.org

Make memories with the Drillers at ONEOK Field

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

ABOVE: See fireworks every Friday night at ONEOK Field after Tulsa Drillers home games.

RIGHT: Tulsa Drillers games are fun for the whole family. On most Sundays, children 12 and under will receive a free meal coupon for a hot dog, fruit, ice cream and a drink.

‌“Take me out to the ballgame” is the beloved song of many baseball fans.

This summer, Tulsa’s favorite downtown professional baseball field will be open at full capacity for everyone to sing along.

When the entire family sees a Drillers baseball game at ONEOK Field, memories are made. With a calendar full of home games to attend, there is plenty of fun to be had for all ages.

Now is the time to celebrate being together. With so many kid-themed activities and experiences, the summer of 2021 will be one to remember.

From Hornsby appearances, pregame performances, birthday parties, field trips and youth team opportunities, the team at the Tulsa Drillers has thought of it all.

Putting families first is guaranteed to be a home run!

For more information, visit TulsaDrillers. com.

COURTESY, DRILLERS‌

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

SPONSORED FEATURE OF Tulsa World Magazine 67

MICHAEL NOBLE JR., TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE‌ STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD FILE‌

A new festival, the Miami OK Route 66 Heritage Fest, is set to make its debut July 30-31.

Philbrook’s exhibit “From The Limitations of Now” fills much of the main floor of the museum’s villa.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE‌

Luke Jennings plays the bagpipes while performing during Scotfest in Broken Arrow in 2019. ‌> 9/2-5, ROOSTER DAYS This will be the 90th year for this popular Broken Arrow festival, which will feature a parade, live entertainment, food vendors, athletic contests, kids’ activities and more.

WHERE: Downtown Broken Arrow FOR MORE: roosterdays.com ‌> 9/3-9/5, ROCKLAHOMA Usually held on Memorial Day weekend, the Rocklahoma camping and music festival moved to Labor Day weekend in 2021.

WHERE: Rocklahoma festival grounds north of Pryor FOR MORE: rocklahoma.com >‌ 9/17-19, SCOTFEST Scotfest is Oklahoma’s celebration of Celtic history and heritage. Come to the annual Scotfest for genealogy and family (clan) history, musical entertainers of local and national merit, Scottish and Irish dance demonstrations, solo piping, traditional drumming and pipe band competitions.

WHERE: Broken Arrow Events Park, 21101 E. 101st St., Broken Arrow FOR MORE: okscotfest.com >‌ 9/17-19 BORN & RAISED MUSIC FESTIVAL A follow-up to Rocklahoma, the Born & Raised Music Festival is centered on outlaw, Texas and Red Dirt country music. The festival was supposed to debut in 2020 but will instead be launched in 2021.

WHERE: Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds north of Pryor FOR MORE: bornandraisedfestival.com.

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COURTESY, BELINDA KRAUSE‌

“Art Deco Through the Looking Glass,” a photograph by Belinda Krause, is part of the “Assignment Tulsa” exhibit at Gilcrease Museum. ‌> 9/17-19, TULSA GREEK FESTIVAL The highlight of this event is the food. Sample traditional Greek dishes including gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita, tiropita and more. Scrumptious bakery items will be offered, such as baklava, finikia and loukoumades. Witness dancers of all ages in ethnic costume perform traditional dances throughout the festival.

WHERE: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1206 S. Guthrie Ave. FOR MORE: tulsagreekfestival.com >‌ 9/18, WOOFSTOCK Woofstock is the largest pet adoption event in Oklahoma, featuring rescued pets from all over Oklahoma along with a variety of pet-related vendors.

WHERE: Riverwalk Terrace, Jenks FOR MORE: animalallianceok.org >‌ 10/15-17, TOKYO IN TULSA Oklahoma’s largest anime, Japanese and pop culture convention WHERE: Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center, 200 W. Albany St. Broken Arrow FOR MORE: tokyointulsa.com

‌> 10/17-2/20, “ANOTHER WORLD: THE TRANSCENDENTAL PAINTING GROUP” Exhibit of paintings by Southwestern artists that explore spirituality and abstraction.

WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art FOR MORE: philbrook.org

Lots of Bikes In-Stock Now! Talk to us about an e-bike.

www.tomsbicycles.com TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

‌> THROUGH 10/17, “DALI’S ALICE IN WONDERLAND” Exhibit of 13 prints the Surrealist master created in 1969 for a special edition of Lewis Carroll’s novel.

WHERE: Philbrook Museum of Art FOR MORE: philbrook.org

6861 S. Peoria | 918.481.1818 2648 E. 11th St. | 918.592.2453 Tulsa World Magazine 69

Osage Casinos continues to grow with plans underway to build two new locations in Pawhuska and Bartlesville

As the state continues to reopen and Oklahomans venture out again for events and activities, Osage Casinos’ properties are at the top of their lists.

Guests have seven world-class locations to choose from throughout Osage County, each offering exciting gaming, dining options, and entertainment venues for adults of all ages.

Just last month, the Tulsa location reopened its Skyline Events Center to host ESPN fights, signaling an important milestone in Osage Casinos’ return to full operations. Now, plans are underway to build two new locations in Pawhuska and Bartlesville. Both properties broke ground on June 15.

Continued Growth in Bartlesville

Osage Casino Bartlesville has experienced rapid growth since it was built in March 2007 and the subsequent renovation in July 2017.

This location currently boasts 450 electronic games, a deli, event space and the Nine18 Bar, making it one of Bartlesville’s most vibrant entertainment hubs.

To continue to support its growth, Osage Casinos is constructing a new, expanded casino in Bartlesville on 125 acres. Guests will soon have access to expanded gaming

options, additional dining areas and a 100-room hotel. In addition, the new casino will offer numerous entertainment options and amenities, including a banquet room, fitness center, swimming pool and hot tub, making it the ideal location for a fun weekend getaway.

The hotel portion of the property will feature both traditional rooms and suites.

Osage Casino Bartlesville is open 24 hours a day.

Food and fun in Pawhuska

Pawhuska continues to welcome visitors from around the country as this community makes its mark in the film and entertainment industry.

The current Osage Casino Pawhuska has more than 170 electronic games and is the perfect stop after a day of shopping or sightseeing.

This location features Jackpot Pizza & Deli, which offers a full menu, including made-toorder pizzas, though it is currently limited.

Primed for growth, Osage Casinos recently broke ground on a new casino and hotel this summer on its 60-acre property. In addition to nearly 250 more gaming options, guests will be able to book a stay at one of the nearly 50 new hotel rooms, lounge by the pool or enjoy a soak in the hot tub.

To start planning your next visit to Osage Casinos, visit osagecasinos.com or follow the fun on Instagram @OsageCasinos.

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TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Tulsa World Magazine 71

You’ve fought for your right to party. Rest assured, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa our top priority is you. When you’re ready, come find the newest and most popular electronic games, a High Limit room, and one of Oklahoma’s best table games. We are your celebration destination.

Savor the best from our chef at McGill’s on 19—an elevated fine dining experience. Enjoy more casual fare at diner favorites like HWY 66 Diner, or our food court. Come watch the game at Replay Sports Bar with 51 big screens. Listen to your favorite DJ at Amp Bar, or get back to Oklahoma’s Rich Honky-Tonk Roots at Track 5.

You Paused. Now Play! Discover an unforgettable gaming experience like no other. We gathered your favorite games and biggest hits such as Polar High Roller®, Lucky Ducky®, The Hunt for Neptune’s Gold®, Silver Dollar Shootout® and Lightning Link™ into one room.

So take the stage and make your night legendary at the Greatest Hits Lounge.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa is a AAA 4 Diamond property and has repeatedly been voted Tulsa’s best. We’ve turned everything up to 11 at the newly renovated Hard Rock Tower. With sleek new décor and upgraded amenities, every room is an unforgettable luxury experience.

Each floor is a tribute to music’s most iconic eras and personalities, with more unbelievable art and memorabilia of all your favorite superstars. It’s time for you to get away and sleep like a rock. Enjoy 24/7 room service and experience Suite Emotion. We’ve taken every precaution to make sure you can relax in our resort-style pool with its upscale amenities in a quiet and restful oasis. If golf is your game, play like the pros on our 18-hole, world-class championship golf course, Cherokee Hills.

We’re still the one you know and love. Come see us soon at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa where you Live Your Greatest Hits.

I-44 Exit 240 | 800.760.6700 | HARDROCKCASINOTULSA.COM

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Know your limits. Gambling problem? Call 800.522.4700.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

At Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, we love a standing ovation. Swing away at Cherokee Hills Golf Club, voted Tulsa’s Best Golf Course, or play one of the over 2,400 games on our massive casino floor. Stay in the newly upgraded Hard Rock Tower, where you’ll be surrounded by modern amenities and iconic music memorabilia. We designed this place for you!

From our stages to our suites, we’re the ultimate crowd pleaser!

I-44 Exit 240 | 800.760.6700 | HARDROCKCASINOTULSA.COM

Know your limits. Gambling problem? Call 800.522.4700.

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Tulsa World Magazine 73

Welcome to Oklahoma’s Number One Resort.

For the fifth consecutive year, River Spirit Casino Resort has received the prestigious AAA’s Four Diamond Award, putting River Spirit in the top six percent of all hotels in North America.

Now that we are fully open, we are thrilled to welcome you back to paradise!

Adjoining the resort hotel is a riverside resort style pool complete with cabanas and the LandShark Pool Bar where you can enjoy a frosty margarita in a tropical-themed setting.

Of course, the health and safety of our team members and guests remain our number one priority. Therefore, we are still following all Health Services approved sanitation procedures.

We also recently installed the Atmos Air Filtration System, a state-of-the-art air purifier that neutralizes coronavirus by 99.92%. You can visit knowing we are committed to keeping you healthy and safe.

But how can you have paradise without Jimmy Buffett tunes and boat drinks? River Spirit’s expansion includes the legendary Margaritaville Casino and Jimmy Buffett’s funfilled tropical themed Margaritaville Restaurant. It’s a player’s paradise, packed with 820 of the latest electronic gaming machines along with 16 live table games. Step into the twostory Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Restaurant, complete with an erupting island-style volcano, two decks, epic river views and live music.

Most recently, we fully reopened The Cove, our 2,500-seat theater. We are bringing back all your favorite names in entertainment plus thrilling live sporting events, including championship boxing and MMA. Check out our website for the most up-to-date listings of our concerts and events.

Situated on the banks of the Arkansas River, River Spirit Casino Resort, is much more than your average casino. River Spirit is a tropical flavored destination resort that, with a little help from Jimmy Buffett’s famed Margaritaville, brings a little slice of paradise to Tulsa.

The crowning jewel of the River Spirit Casino Resort is a luxurious 483-room all glass hotel tower rising 27 stories into the Tulsa sky. With epic views of the river, this hotel is a destination resort that will have you feeling like you’re relaxing beachside in the Caribbean.

So, cash in and chill out at Tulsa’s only tropical destination and one of the top hotels in North America. Welcome back!

For more information on concerts, events, hotel bookings and promotions, visit www.riverspirittulsa.com.

The

Perfect blend of

Play & Paradise

One-of-a-kind experiences await you Endless gaming excitement

Two casinos under one roof–River Spirit® & Margaritaville®

Fine-dining excellence

The only Ruth’s Chris® Steak House in Oklahoma

Luxurious Spa & Salon

Pamper yourself in our relaxing retreat

Beautiful river views Luxurious resort hotel

Caribbean-style pool Soak up some sun

Awesome live music

5 o’Clock Somewhere® Bar, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville®, Paradise Cove Theater

8330 RIVERSIDE PARKWAY TULSA, OK 74137 888-748-3731 • RIVERSPIRITTULSA.COM

TULSAWORLDMAGAZINE.COM

Riverspirittulsa.com #ITSALLHERE PROUD RECIPIENT OF Tulsa World Magazine 75

IT’S NOT JUST URGENT CARE, IT’S CONVENIENT CARE. Whether it’s an in-person visit, or 24/7 on-demand virtual care, Warren Clinic Urgent Care is here for you.

For adults and children with a minor illness or injury, visit saintfrancis.com/urgentcare to select a time and clinic location to visit, or choose a video visit online.

TULSA Springer Building 6160 South Yale Avenue 918-495-2600

Tulsa Hills 7858 South Olympia Avenue 918-986-9250 South Memorial 10506 South Memorial Drive 918-943-1050 SAND SPRINGS 102 South Main Street 918-246-5750

BROKEN ARROW Elm Place 2950 South Elm Place, Suite 120 (101st Street and Elm Place) 918-451-5191

Kenosha 1801 East Kenosha Street (71st Street and OK-51) 918-449-4150 VIRTUAL CARE Visit saintfrancis.com/urgentcare

*If you are experiencing severe illness, a major injury, symptoms of a heart attack, stroke or shortness of breath, please call 911 or visit your nearest emergency room.

saintfrancis.com/urgentcare

URGENT CARE HOURS FOR IN-OFFICE VISITS: Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

(Springer location only)

Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

24/7 VIRTUAL URGENT CARE SAINTFRANCIS.COM/URGENTCARE