New Years 2006

This post should be called New Year's 2006-2007, but I'll know better next time!

Lots of stuff going on in downtown OKC in December ... such as ... "Downtown In December" sponsored by Downtown OKC ...


... not the least of which is the upcoming Devon Energy Oklahoma River Parade on Saturday, December 16:

Click here for River Parade pics like the one below:


BUT NO, this post isn't about those fine goings on right now in OKC.

THIS POST is about New Year's EVE AND New Year's DAY and serves as a reminder that it's time to start planning!

DOUG DAWGZ HOPPIN' JOHN
This recipe was updated in my December 31, 2011, post,
as well as to provide a downloadable PDF file.
Whatever you do on New Year's Eve (2 suggestions follow), consider this to be Doug Dawgz contribution to your New Year's DAY ... but remember that grocery stores seem to run out of black-eyed peas before December 31 ... so ... buy them now! No, my recipe is not yet "historical", but, trust me, it's damn good and, one day, it will be!

It is rumored that unless you eat black-eyed peas on January 1, January 2 ~ December 31 will not bring good fortune. Why take such a chance? This recipe provides one way to avoid such calamity.
This recipe provides more such risk avoidance than you may want. But, why not just go ahead and make plenty ... share with your family and office-mates ... excess portions may be frozen for later consumption, like at such time(s) that you may feel you need a boost of good luck!
WHAT YOU NEED A giant pot ... large enough to put a small beagle in ... a pot at least 12-14" in diameter and 12" or more high, with a lid 2 1-lb. bags of dried black-eyed peas 2-3 lb. ham (it doesn't really matter what kind) 4-6 ham hocks 3-4 large (18-19 oz) cans of tomatoes (depending on how "tomatoey" you want the mix to be) 1-2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce (ditto the "tomatoey" comment, above) 3-4 medium yellow onions 4-10 tabasco peppers (see General Tip) 1/2-1 tsp. salt (see General Tip) 3-6 tsp. chili powder (see General Tip) 1 package of sliced almonds 2 cups of rice(s) of choice (I like to use a mix of white, wild, and brown)		WHAT YOU DO 1. Soak dried black-eyed peas in water as directed on the bag (usually overnight), or at least 2-3 hours prior to cooking (if you like "crunchy" beans). Be sure to drain the beans ... in a strainer ... else you may get more "crunch" (and broken teeth) than you desire! 2. Mix into the giant pot all ingredients except the rice ... mix the beans, the ham (diced into dimensions that suit you, e.g., about 3/4" square), the ham hocks, the canned tomatoes (including the water, and slicing the tomatoes in the pot), the tomato sauce, the onions (chopped), the tabasco peppers (finely chopped), the salt and chili powder, and the almonds 3. Stir and add water as needed to cover the mixture 4. Cover & cook on low-medium heat for about 1 hour 5. Add the rice of your choice and continue cooking until the rice is done ... up to 1 hour 6. Eat (at least some on January 1) and/or Freeze ... the mixture freezes and saves nicely 7. Other Things ... cornbread is good but not required for good luck but if you really to dazzle your company try out my chocolate ice box pie, inspired by Toddle House's pie of the same name!
GENERAL TIP: Seasonings can be added as the mixture cooks ... so, you might want to add less or more than what I've suggested before it's all done ... but, remember that it's easier to add seasonings than it is to get rid of them. This is particularly true for (1) salt, (2) chili powder, and (3) tabasco peppers! It's quite OK to add as you go, to suit your personal palate!

But ... the night before you pig out on Hoppin' John, two events are available for you to consider ...

OPENING NIGHT

Click for larger pic

Since 1987, the Oklahoma City Arts Council has sponsored Opening Night, a very successful family-oriented celebration of the New Year in downtown OKC. The Arts Council describes the event, generally:

Opening Night 2007 invites everyone to Downtown Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve to celebrate with music, dancing, theatre and fireworks! Since 1987, Opening Night has been the way to ring in the New Year. All performances take place in non-alcoholic venues.

Opening Night is Sunday, December 31st, 2006 from 7 p.m.-midnight in 13 venues around Downtown Oklahoma City and Bricktown. This year's entertainment features more than 40 performers on 18 stages.

An Opening Night admission button allows you access to all venues, all night long. Buttons are just $8 in advance, and $10 the day of the event, with children under five admitted free. Purchase buttons starting December 13 at MidFirst Bank locations, metro Homeland stores, Mathis Brothers Furniture, or at the event.

For a map of the events, click here. For a list and the venue/times of performers, click here, and for an overall schedule, click here.

CENTENNIAL NEW YEAR'S EVE DRESS BALL

A competing event in OKC this year is the Centennial New Year's Eve Dress Ball sponsored by and located at the Oklahoma History Center at 2401 N. Laird, at the NE corner of the State Capitol Complex. For more about the Oklahoma History Center, see my prior post.

Click for larger pic

Since one can have a "Centennial Ball" only once every hundred years, this one may be hard to pass up, if one can cough up the cash and get some cool duds to wear to it!


This one's more expensive ($75 per person) and either "formal or 1907" attire is requested. If interested, click here for more information.

Most of the festivities will probably be in the event center, below:

Click for larger pic

Doug Dawg wishes A Happy and Prosperous New Year To All!
... Click here to read the full article and any comments ...

Deep Deuce History

May 4, 2009, note: Deep Deuce history is considerably expanded in a 2009 series of 30-40 articles contained in The Ultimate Deep Deuce Collection.

Note: The original post of this article was accidentally deleted when re-doing my "2006 Index" a couple of days ago. Thanks to Google's "cashed" feature, it was able to be reconstructed pretty much like it was, although the article has also been revised as of today, December 5, 2006. The map and text as to Avery AME Chapel Church was corrected on September 7, 2007, to reflect the correct location (NW corner of NE 1st & Geary, not NE 1st & Stiles). Some new pictures and text was added on September 28, 2007.

A "social backdrop" for why Deep Deuce came to be is in my 1st post, Deep Deuce Prologue. A 3rd Deep Deuce post, Famous Deep Deucians, describes some famous Deep Deuce people. This post explores the physical buildings of the Deep Deuce that existed from the 1900's into the '40s and early 1950's. The next will give more particular description of some of its people.

The map below gives a frame of reference, showing locations of the described in this post. The area originally known as "Deep Second", now as "Deep Deuce", is generally east of the north/south railroad tracks, west of I-235, south of NE 4th, north of the railroad which is the northern border of Bricktown – but note that the I-235 boundary is artificial and that the area extended further east but to a point that I do not know. I've also shown Douglass School in the map because of its impact upon Deep Deuce people, coming in part 3, even though it was not in Deep Deuce, properly speaking.


A nice aerial view of the Deep Deuce area appears in William D. Welge's Oklahoma City Rediscovered (Arcadia Publishing 2007). This image appears to have been taken by the same photographer and from the same vantage point (top of the Skirvin Hotel) as was a companion image in Trains Part 3 but just turned a bit more toward the Deep Deuce area. Several Deep Deuce building are prominent in this image.

Deep Deuce In Early 1930s


THE HISTORICAL BACKDROP

Why is this small slice of near-downtown Oklahoma City important? Aside from racial issues which necessitated the existence of a "separate" African-American "commercial and entertainment" area in the 1st place, described previously, this small area generated some of the most prominent Oklahoma Citians in the music and literature fields that our city has known, as well as providing "a place to go" for the then-disenfranchised Black citizens of our community. More, the African-American slice of Oklahoma City population has always been substantial, even though not all of it was located in the Deep Deuce area. For example, in 1910, Oklahoma City's population was 64,205 (87th in the country) according to official census figures, of whom more than 7,000 of it were Black, according to Dr. Bob L. Blackburn's fine article.

In his article, Dr. Blackburn provides this description:

From 1889 to the 1930s Bricktown was a battleground for social justice and the birthplace of cultural diversity in Oklahoma City.

It began when some of the first 200 African-Americans attracted by the land run settled in Sandtown, located along the north bank of the river east of the Santa Fe tracks. From there, the black community grew northward as jobs were created and new waves of immigrants arrived looking for a piece of the promised land. * * *

By 1915 the all-black residential community ringed the commercial district of brick buildings and stretched from the river on the south to First Street on the north and as far east as the 1000 block on Third Street.

Faced with this expansion of black families into formerly white neighborhoods, the Oklahoma City Council passed a segregation ordinance that would in effect prevent blacks from buying or moving into houses north of Second Street. Even after the United States Supreme Court declared that ordinance unconstitutional in 1916, de facto segregation kept the wall intact, making Second Street a symbolic battleline in the fight against racial injustice.

Additional description comes from an article by Kristin Winch describing a Governor's Gallery exhibit, Ron Tarver, Deep Deuce & Beyond:

Beneath the gleaming modern facades and upscale apartments along West 2nd Street, and the abandoned homes and weed infested lots to the east, lay the remnants of what was, in its heyday, one of the most successful African-American business districts in the country.

"The 2." "The Deuce." "Deep Deuce." Akin to Harlem of the 1930’s – in spirit, if not in scope – Deep Deuce spawned such legendary figures as jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, "blues shouter" Jimmy Rushing, and internationally acclaimed writer, Ralph Ellison. Deep Deuce attracted African-American professionals of every stripe. Roscoe Dunjee, Dr. Frederick Douglas Moon, Mrs. Lucy Tucker, Dr. William Lewis Haywood, Mary and Sydney Lyons. These doctors, educators, entrepreneurs, and activists came together, creating a critical mass that transformed 2nd Street and the surrounding neighborhood into a thriving corridor of Oklahoma City.

Deep Deuce produced the East India Toilet Goods and Manufacturing Company, the 2nd largest African-American hair product company in the world. The Deuce was home to the historic Aldridge Theatre, an African-American theatre that attracted some of the most prestigious talent in the country. Just beyond 2nd Street, Edwards Addition boasts the African-American owned and operated Edwards Memorial Hospital; in its era, the most well equipped state of the art hospital in Oklahoma.

An article in the Journal Record gives more background, looking back in time.

Re-evaluating Deep Deuce
Journal Record
Mar 1, 2001 by Max Nichols

Little by little, we are becoming more and more aware of the tremendous influence of Deep Deuce on the heritage of Oklahoma City.

The recent jazz series on Public Broadcasting System pointed out the contributions of Charlie Christian, Jimmy Rushing (Mr. Five-by- Five), the Blue Devils, Lester Young, Jay McShann and numerous other musicians who played in Deep Deuce and contributed heavily to the development of jazz. Ralph Ellison, who walked the streets of Deep Deuce and later wrote The Invisible Man, was quoted often in that series.
* * *
Why are most of us just now learning about the rich cultural heritage of this small area? The plain answer is that Deep Deuce, formerly known as Deep Second, was the business and entertainment center of the African-American community in Oklahoma City for more than half a century, and white people rarely went there or knew much about it.
* * *
As a result, little was written about the area until Director Anita Arnold of the Black Liberation Center and George Carney of Oklahoma State University came along. Arnold started researching the background of Charlie Christian and Deep Deuce for the Charlie Christian Jazz Festival, and Carney wrote about the contribution of jazz by Oklahomans in a 1994 edition of The Chronicles of Oklahoma. Their works are gradually seeping into the general population.

Arnold interviewed people who worked and lived there while reading old copies of The Black Dispatch at the Ralph Ellison Library. [DL Note: the library is at 2000 NE 23rd, and go here for its website.]

She wrote three books, including The Legendary Times and Tales of Second Street and two on Christian, who elevated the electric guitar to national prominence -- recording with Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton. Because of her work, she was interviewed for two hours in the production of the Jazz series, and she supplied photos that were used.

Through Arnold's work, we are finding out more and more about places such as the third-floor Slaughter's Hall in the Slaughter Building, Ruby's Grill, the Aldridge Theater and other Deep Deuce centers of business and entertainment. We are also learning about Deep Deuce entrepreneurs and people such as Zelia N. Page Breaux, a Douglass High School educator who taught Christian, Rushing and numerous others.

"I attended the old Douglass High School at NE 6th and High streets," said Arnold, "and I graduated from the new Douglass High School. My parents used to take us to the Aldridge Theater (formerly at 303-305 NE Second) and pick us up after a movie.

"As a teenager, I worked at the Randolph Drug Store, which was located on the first floor of the Slaughter Building on the corner of NE 2nd and Stiles Ave. Integration already was beginning to affect Deep Deuce, with African Americans moving to other parts of the city, but we still had doctors and other professionals in Deep Deuce."
Arnold reported that the Christian, Rushing and Whitby families were among the musical leaders of Oklahoma jazz history along with couples such as Juanita and Abe Bolar. Charlie Christian was the youngest of three boys of Clarence and Willa Mae Christian, who moved from Bonham, Texas, to Oklahoma City in 1918. The whole family played music. Charlie's brother Edward became a music writer for the Black Dispatch. Their influence extended from the 1920s and 1930s to this day, including the outstanding blues played by D.C. Minner of Rentiesville.
* * *
The heritage of Deep Deuce, however, is much deeper than music. It goes back to the 1889 Land Run, when African-Americans settled in that area as well as in black towns across the state. Black entrepreneurs started hotels, shops, funeral homes and professional services.

Among the pioneer entrepreneurs were Dr. W.L. Haywood, who started Utopia Hospital as the first hospital for blacks in Oklahoma City at 415 NE First St., and Roscoe Dungee, who started The Black Dispatch on E. Second St. in 1915. S.D. Lyons started the Lyons Hotel, and Dr. W.H. Slaughter owned the Slaughter Building and Slaughter's Hall. James Simpson owned his own club, and Emma Burnett started her own business school.

Lyons was the father of Ruby Lyons, who owned Ruby's Grill, which included the Lyons Den for special events and customers. Slaughter's Hall became popular for club dances and other events. Zeilia Breaux was a co-owner of the Aldridge Theater, which hosted music and theater productions, vaudeville shows, touring companies and movies.

THE REMNANTS

Though most buildings have been replaced by upscale apartments and condos, some vestiges remain. This looks at some, not all, of those that do.

Calvary Baptist Church. This edifice, located at 300 N. Walnut, still stands, even though the signage "Calvary Baptist Church" (sadly) no longer marks its identification. Built in 1921, Calvary Baptist had a rich history, even a national significance, not only for its contributions to Oklahoma City but to the country. Martin Luther King wished to become the pastor there in 1954 before he came to national prominence, but he was apparently not invited because of his then youthful age.

This church not only served as the venue for the late 1950's-early 1960's civil rights marches and activity in Oklahoma City (see my Clara Luper post), it also served as the religious home of many Black Oklahoma Citians, and, for some, was the place which marked their death, as well, as will be shown in Part 3 of this series.

In 1952, it hosted the 43rd Annual NAACP national convention. See Larry Johnson's article at the Okc Metro Library website (you may have to click your "refresh" button/key after clicking the foregoing link).

Credit Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System
Click on pic for a larger view

For a more detailed report of the contributions of Calvary Baptist Church, see this link.

Deep Deuce Grill. This is the "Haywood Building", purchased by Dr. W.L. Haywood in 1938, his clinic being on the 2nd floor. According to Key Magazine, he "relocated to Deep Deuce in the early 1900s. Haywood founded the first black hospital in Oklahoma City along with Dr. W.H. Slaughter, and he was the first African-American physician admitted to practice at University Hospital (now OU Medical Center). * * * In addition to practicing medicine, Haywood was an accomplished businessman and civil rights leader who regularly published newspaper columns promoting black businesses and railing against segregation in the Black Dispatch." See the December 2005 on-line issue of Key Magazine for more.

As with the rest of this area, by the time that Deep Deuce's vitality had passed, the building was but another dilapidated structure. The images below shows what it had become by 2000, the change which occured with adjoining properties in 2001, and, last, how it appears today. The first 2 images are from the Oklahoma County Assessor's website and the last I took on November 25, 2006.

As is evident from the last image, above, showing the Kerr-McGee Tower, Deep Deuce was but a stone's throw from the White World, just across the Santa Fe Railroad tracks.

Deep Deuce Apartments Clubhouse. This building in the Deep Deuce Apartments is a restored original building but I don't know which one ...

Deep Deuce Apartments Clubhouse

Unidentified Hotel. The County Assessor's Deep Deuce Collection shows this photo, a hotel at the southwest corner of NE2nd and Central, but I can't make out the name, given the photo quality. One was the Lyon's Hotel, I don't know the other's name. A helpful contributor (John) at OkcTalk.com pointed out that this building, now renovated, still stands and serves as offices and condos.


According to a February 11, 2004, Oklahoman article, "When Deep Deuce was, it represented the heart", 2 hotels were present along the street.

Since writing the original version of this post, I've been better educated by helpers like John and Dustbury's CG Hill and I thank them! There are some other remnant Deep Deuce buildings, but I'll stop with what I've said so far about that!

THINGS GONE

The Aldridge Theater. The Aldridge was at 303-305 N.E. 2nd, immediately west of where Deep Deuce Grill is today. On edit (9/28/2007), I've now located a photo of the Aldridge in addition to Mary Ann Moore's painting - a print is available at the Oklahoma History - included in the original post. Both appear below.

Click on pic for a larger view
Credit Mary Ann Moore & the Oklahoma Historical Society


Owned by Zelia Breaux and F.E. Withrow, the Aldridge opened in 1919. The small print at the bottom of the above reads, "Big bands, vaudeville acts, and movie pictures were featured regularly. Music legends such as Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Duke Ellington appeared at the Aldridge." Zelia Breaux receives prominent discussion in Part 3 of this series.

In the picture below, the "Now Showing" plackards include a short subject, "Rocky Marciano v. Roland LaStarza" world championship fight pictures ... a mini-movie that was released in September 1953 ... and the main attraction, "A Perilous Journey," released in April 1953 ... so the image below must be sometime around September-December 1953.

Credit Oklahoma City Rediscovered by William D. Welge (Arcadia Publishing 2007)



Slaughter Building. Located at the northwest corner of NE 2nd and Stiles, this "mixed use" building housed a drug store and soda fountain in the 1st floor, professional offices (lawyers, dentists, doctors ... like its owner, W.H. Slaughter) in the 2nd, and, in the top floor, a place for music and dancing which was called, "Slaughter's Hall." I wasn't able to find a great pic, but the one below shows the 3 story building.

Credit Vanished Splendor III by Edwards, Oliphant and Ottaway (Abalache Book Shop Publishing 1985)
Click on pic for a larger view

Note: "123" is not part of the address, only the "East 2nd St." part is.
It was recounted by Ralph Waldo Ellison (who as a child was a soda jerk in the drug store), that,

When we were still too young to attend night dances, but yet old enough to gather beneath the corner street lamp on summer evenings, anyone might halt the conversation to exclaim, "Listen, they're raising hell down at Slaughter's Hall," and we'd turn our heads westward to hear Jimmy's voice soar up the hill and down, as pure and as miraculously unhindered by distance and earthbound things as is the body in youthful dreams of flying." - from "Shadow and Act," a collection of essays by Ralph Ellison.

See Deep Second Still Lives In Dreams for more.

Here's a look at that building in conjunction with a 1942 Wilson & Co. parade:

Credit Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System
Click on pic for a larger view


The Black Dispatch. Roscoe Dunjee established this excellent weekly newspaper either in 1914 or 1915 (souces vary). The fine Dustbury archives, September 3, 2005, identifies the Black Dispatch offices as being at 324 NE 2nd, which would place it a little west of the Slaughter building but on the south side of the street. And, CGHill of Dustbury also notes that Dunjee had originally set up shop at 228 E. 1st Street. There's also this from Deep Second Still Lives In Dreams,

In the red brick buildings that lined NE 2 between Stiles and Central, there were two barbershops and a tailor shop - Ellison and Stewart both had earned extra money shining shoes at all three - a hardware store, a music store, a funeral home and the Black Dispatch newspaper office.

Click on images for larger views

About the Black Dispatch, Bob Blackburn's article gives this description:

In 1915 a loud voice was raised in this battle when Roscoe Dunjee founded the first black newspaper in Oklahoma City, the "Black Dispatch." From his offices in Bricktown at 228 E. First, Dunjee and his allies organized the first local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, challenged legal barriers in the courts, and attacked the "Bloody Fangs of Jim Crow" in the halls of power. The efforts bore fruit, first with cracks in the wall, then with a growing volume of victories however small. Year after year, under constant attack, the walls of segregation would crumble, a fight started in the neighborhoods of Bricktown.

According to this source,

Roscoe Dunjee started the Black Dispatch in Oklahoma City in 1914. The son of a black West Virginian newspaper publisher, Dunjee worked in a print shop and wrote for several of Oklahoma’s black newspapers before starting his own journalistic venture.

Before the Black Dispatch, only six African-American newspapers had used black in their titles, and none of them lasted very long. Dunjee chose the title because whites used the phrase “black dispatch” as a slang term for gossip or untruths, and he felt that phrases like this insulted the integrity of the African American. So, by using it as the title of a newspaper and adhering to high standards of journalism, Dunjee wanted to attack racist attitudes and instill pride in black heritage.

Famous for his fiery editorials, Dunjee used the Black Dispatch to train black journalists, to attack discrimination, and to encourage the black community to fight for civil rights. Angered by the meek acceptance of Jim Crow many African Americans displayed, Dunjee wrote editorials criticizing blacks who didn’t vote or participate in politics. In an especially harsh 1920 editorial titled “Senseless Blacks,” he wrote: “The most disgusting and senseless Negro that we know is the fellow who stands around and says, ‘Oh I never vote; I’m not registered’ and who always slurs and tells you that the Negro who is active in politics in the community is selling you out and should not be trusted.”

When the Oklahoma Federation for Constitutional Rights began investigating discrimination in the State in 1941, Governor Leon Phillips called the organization “the height of folly” and claimed, “no one is denied constitutional rights in Oklahoma.” Dunjee responded with one of his lengthy trademark editorials, citing court cases and the activities of the NAACP:

On every train and bus in Oklahoma, this writer and all Negroes in Oklahoma are denied civil rights. Can the Governor observe denial of Negroes to Pullman and chaircar accommodations on railroads, and then like Pontius Pilate, wash his hands, saying ‘No one is denied constitutional rights in Oklahoma?’

* * *
When racial tensions exploded in Tulsa in the summer of 1921, resulting in an estimated 300 deaths and the destruction of the black community known as Greenwood, the Black Dispatch provided complete coverage, tried to silence rumors, and raised money for thousands of homeless black Tulsa residents. Dunjee, suspicious of the minor incident that sparked the violence, investigated the riot’s causes and editorialized that white business interests had hired agitators to rouse the white populace because they wanted Greenwood’s valuable real estate. The city’s new districting ordinances proposed such strict guidelines on the Greenwood district that black homeowners found the costs prohibitive. A Black Dispatch front-page story stated, “this latest fire limit ordinance shows plainly that Tulsa coveted also the very land upon which black men dwelt.”

The Federal government investigated the Black Dispatch for disloyalty during World War II (WW II), and the FBI reported that the paper used known Communist phrases like “civil liberties,” “inalienable rights,” and “freedom of the speech and of the press.” The Black Dispatch survived this wartime scrutiny, but financial problems forced Dunjee to sell the paper to his nephew John Dunjee in 1955. It remained a family-run newspaper until it folded in 1982.

Roscoe Dunjee was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1971, that organization's inaugural year.

Avery Chapel AME Church. On edit, I've located images of another very attractive church which served the area at the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System. It was located at 429 E. 1st (NW corner of NE 1st & Geary) and was built in 1907, but I don't know anything more.

Credit Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System

Click on a pic for a larger view
A 1941 Image


A 1943 Image

Douglass School. Although none of the manifestations of "Frederick Douglass School" were, strictly speaking, located within the boundaries of "Deep Deuce", they were nearby and without doubt were influential (particularly teachers there like Zelia Breaux, to be discussed in Part 3) not only to the "famous" which would emerge from Deep Deuce, but also to those who did not obtain that status. Hence, it is important to speak about the school.

In my initial post, I said that, "From what I've been able to glean, the 1st Douglass School was established in 1912 and was located at 112 S. Central (in what is now the Bricktown Ballpark). In 1915, the school was relocated to 200 E. California, but roughly in the same area. I've found no really good pics of either locale, but here's that which I have."

Dustbury's CG Hill again comes to the rescue! He points out that Bob Blackburn says it differently, and, indeed, he does. In Bob Blackburn's article, we read,

* * * Founded in 1891, the all-black school moved to a two-story frame building in the 400 block of East California in 1899, followed by a move into the old Webster School in 1903. From this new home at the northwest corner of California and Walnut (where the baseball park is located today), Douglass High School became one of the leading educational institutions in the region.

* * * Douglass High remained in the Bricktown Building until 1934 when it moved farther east and north.

The following 2 pics are from Vanished Spendor III, by Edwards, Oliphant and Ottaway (Abalache Book Shop Publishing 1985).

The authors identify Card 449 as being taken in 1915 from the top of the Herskowitz Building, looking southeasterly over what we now call "Bricktown", and they identify the building at the "far left" as being Douglass School. From such a distance, no real clarity is present, but it does help to identify the location of the school at that time.



A 1915 pic of the faculty during that time - click for larger view
Yes, that's "Jesus" written on the blackboard! How times change!

On edit, I found a couple of pics at the Metro Library System ... in the 1st, in the lower left corner, is "Webster School", which became Douglass around 1915. The address of this building is 200 W. California. After Douglass School moved to NE 6th & High in 1934 or 35, the former school became Wheatley School, shown in the 2nd picture. The notes about each pic are from the Metro Library System website.

Early Oklahoma City Schools (clockwise from top left), Washington (315 S Walker), Irving (400 N Walnut), Emerson (715 N Walker), Webster (220 E Califronia) (c. 1903)
Credit Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System
Click on pic for a larger view


Wheatley School (formerly Douglass School), 200 E California
Looking Northwest (Jul 19, 1957) by John B. Fink

About Douglass School, Jimmy Stewart said in the 1993 interview:

"I’ll show you how we had to go to high school," Stewart says. "See, the Rock Island tracks are right down south of here. You couldn't get across there,"

He tells me to turn around and drive west on NE 1 to Central, then south over a viaduct that crosses the now abandoned tracks.

We reach Reno and turn back east.

"Now this corner right here's the old Douglass High School," Stewart says, pointing to what is now a city bus maintenance barn. The three-story school campus once covered the entire block, and to the east sat n the football practice field, he says.

"This was the third school for blacks in Oklahoma. They had one on Walker and Reno, then they had one over here on East Grand, and this was the pride of Oklahoma s City---Douglass High School."

From what I've read, Douglass School moved in 1932 or 1935 (sources vary) to a school formerly known as "Lowell School" built in 1909 at 600 N. High, about 5 blocks east of what is now Lincoln Boulevard, and that building, though presently unoccupied, still stands.

Click on pic for a larger view


This pic was taken by me Saturday afternoon, November 25 - click for larger view

After Douglass School relocated to a new facility on then Eastern now Martin Luther King, the school became the Page-Woodson School, now vacant. This source indicated plans were in the works to make the building an African-American cultural center and museum, but a September 2006 Journal Record article indicates that the property may be converted to office space.

Certainly, there is much more to say and this should only be considered as an introduction to those who are research-minded. But, the "Deep Second" that people like Ralph Waldo Ellison knew as a child is certainly now only a memory. Before his death (1994), Ellison is quoted in the following article, found at Deep Second Still Lives In Dreams:

As the black community moved farther north and east, [Jimmy] Stewart tells me, the center moved from NE 2 to NE 8 and eventually to NE 23. After the war, street cars were replaced by buses, and the busiest didn't stop in the Second Street, he says.

"It just kept running down," he says as we zip above the decaying buildings of Second Street on the raised highway. "More desirable places were opened up and it made Slaughter's Hall inappropriate."

Stewart says he doesn't even remember when the dance hall closed. But its demise is one reason'" Ellison has not returned to the city of his birth.

"I hesitate to go back to Oklahoma City, especially now when I'm' trying to finish a book," Ellison had said. "To go back and find that old East Second Street environment gone is traumatic, it's sort of disturbing and I don't want to lose the memories. I don't want to lose my sense of how it was, because after all, that's where I came from."

He was/is not the only one. When one is wanting to "go back" to see one's homeplace and engage in a physical/emotional bonding with one's past, but the physical past is no longer there, why do it?

Next: Part 3 about Deep Deuce People, about Ellison and others.
... Click here to read the full article and any comments ...

Oklahoma Rising

It pleases me that the Oklahoma Rising Flash file linked to in this post, below, has received much flattering attention by many of you, and including an award for excellence from the Harmony Editors Group. Click on the image, right, for other web pages that have received their honor. I thank them for selecting the Oklahoma Rising flash file as deserving of a "Special Dedication"! Click here to move directly to the flash files.

Note on 4/21/2007: The flash files have been modified to make explicitly clear that (a) they are not the product of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, (b) they do not purport to "cover the state" but only my little part of it, and (c) that they don't is not intended as a sign of disrespect for those who do not live in Oklahoma City. I did it that way because this is my "home" and this is what I know best. Also, as noted below, the Oklahoma Centennial Commission now has an Oklahoma Rising DVD with video around the state! Here's the link to the Commission's Merchandise Page where you will find order forms for the DVD and other products, too!

Note on 2/5/2007 about copying and/or using my Flash files: I neither have nor claim to have copyright to the excellent tune, Oklahoma Rising, and so I have no privilege to grant to others what I do not have myself. But, as long as it is not done for commercial purposes, I have no problem at all with others (schools, people, whatever) copying and using my Flash files as long as it is for personal or educational purposes. That's all explained in detail below - click here to go there.

Note on 1/21/2007: If you want more pics and stuff about downtown OKC around state (plus or minus a few years either side of 1907), click here.

Flash file revised and expanded and 2nd version added 1/15/07 (initial version was 12/4/06), and further expanded several times, most recently on 2/3/2007 to add a few new pics.

If you're an Okie (and I am), it's hard not to get caught up in Oklahoma's Centennial celebration.

Oklahoma's official "Centennial Anthem" is composed by Vince Gill from Okc and Jimmy Webb from Elk City. Though some have dissed the tune, I, Doug Dawg, LOVE it! So much so that I've been motivated to learn a little about making Flash files and have made my very first Flash file ... Oklahoma Rising.

Be aware that my Flash files have an Oklahoma City focus ... quite natural for me since I was born and live here. So, with no disrespect to the other parts of our fine state intended, the focus of my Oklahoma Rising Flash files is my personal part of the Okie woods, Oklahoma City ... perhaps others will make similar versions showing other parts of our great state, and it would be cool to have a bevy of such files to play during our Centennial year! Maybe I'll even get around to such a thing, one of these days!

The Oklahoma Centennial Commision has now produced an Oklahoma Rising DVD which features video clips from all around the state. It's only $10 plus $2 for shipping and handling, and I recommend it to all! Go here for an order form.

I want to thank everyone who has sent e-mails ... all of them have helped with suggestions to improve the Oklahoma Rising Flash file, and all are much appreciated. I am particularly honored by a sergeant stationed in Iraq who requested permission to use my stuff and play it to his unit there, and by school teachers and cub scout leaders, etc., etc., etc., who wanted to use it for their kids! That's very humbling, and, to all, I give a big thanks!

The files (whichever you chose) are large (about 11 MB) so I don't recommend that you run any of the 3 Flash files unless you are using a high-speed internet connection. A much smaller (2.6 MB) and truncated version of the file but with no music is linked at the bottom of this page. ALSO, NOTE: The sound/graphic synchronization seems to work well in IE 6 ... the graphics and song end at the same time ... BUT in Firefox 2.0, the pictures outpace the sound resulting in the graphics part ending well before the tune does. Sorry, but I don't know how to fix that yet.

Among other things, the latest revision is a 2nd attempt to accommodate several e-mail requests I've received from users having have a tough time with the image speed (very fast), particularly in the latter (contemporary) pics of OKC in this file, the "Button" version being the 1st such attempt. As to contemporary OKC, "speed" and "spinning" was actually part of my intention -- the part where buildings start spinning so very quickly! One user said that it made her "dizzy!" And, I'm glad to say that some e-mails actually expressed pleasure in the fast, high-energy speed used in the last part 2/5 of the file!

The last part of the Flash file goes way fast for 2 reasons: 1st, I wanted to show the "energy" of OKC in the contemporary pics and I thought that "speed" would help "show" that; and, 2nd, I wanted to stick in as many pics as I could of today's downtown OKC! Image speed starts getting brisk (about 0.5 seconds per image) right after the Deep Deuce and Ada Fisher slide, as opposed to the easier-going 2 seconds (or more) per slide used before that point.

But, I've come up with 2 compromises ... the "Button" version does not "slow down" any images but it does contain "controls" which enable you to stop, go back, go forward (among other things), and it contains script which identifies the various images more particularly. So "speed" is not lost between the 1st 2 versions. The "Slower" version eliminates a few pics, combines some others, and there's less "spinning."

The Flash Files. Three options exist, below. Pick whichever version you prefer. Note that if you use the "Button" version and you use controls to stop, go back, go forward, etc., picture syncronization with the tune will be lost.

No Button Version

Button Version

Slower Version

IMPORTANT NOTE: The sound/graphic syncronization seems to work well in IE 6 ... the graphics and song end at the same time ... BUT in Firefox 2.0, the pictures outpace the sound resulting in the graphics part ending well before the tune does. Sorry, but I don't know how to fix that yet.

2ND IMPORTANT NOTE: Some have asked if these files are avaliable on CD/DVD ... no, they are not. I didn't make these files to sell them ... I made them for my pleasure and, hopefully, yours. BUT, that said, if you want to have either or both flash files ON your computer, that's totally doable and OK with me. Instructions about doing that are at the bottom of this file.

As I said above, my animations largely focus on Oklahoma City since that's where I was born and live ... no slight intended to other guys and gals by the choice of mainly Okc pics in the Flash file! OK?

While I'm not affiliated with the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, I'm certainly one of its fans! So, the ad below is placed here in appreciation for all it has done, is doing, and yet will do!

The 2 CDs can be ordered directly from the Oklahoma Centennial Commission ... click the image below to open a PDF order form ...


or go to the Commission's website for more information. The official vendors are all Oklahoma 7-11 stores. The price is $19.99 and well worth the coins. Louise Abercrombe of the Ponca City News describes the package in the 11/23/06 edition of that paper:

Two must have CDs for Oklahomans and music fans are contained in the Oklahoma Rising salute to the artists and music of Oklahoma. The CD is a project of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission and benefits Habitat for Humanity and available at Kerr-McKee based stores, which include Seven Eleven stores. Kerr-McKee was the major sponsor of the project.

The first CD titled "A Unique History," features 25 songs either performed or written by Oklahomans. A few of these are "Back in The Saddle Again" sung by Gene Autry, of Sapulpa; "Mockin' Bird Hill," Patti Page, Claremore, "Wheel of Fortune," Kate Starr, Dougherty.

Also, "Paper Roses," Anita Bryant, Barnsdall; "Yesterday When I Was Young," Roy Clark, Tulsa; "Oklahoma Hills," Hank Thompson, Sand Springs; "King of the Road," Roger Miller, Erick; "This Land is Your Land," Woody Guthrie, Okemah; "Let's Have a Party," Wanda Jackson, Maud.

Others Oklahoma artists include Brooks & Dunn, Tulsa, and The Tractors, Tulsa, Rascal Flatts of Picher, The Notorious Cherry Bombs, Oklahoma City.

Featured songs on the Oklahoma Rising CD two include "An Extrordinary Future," begins with "Oklahoma Rising" by Jimmy Webb, Elk City, and Vince Gill, Oklahoma City; "Much Too Young," Gareth Brooks, Yukon; "How Do You Like Me Now," Toby Keith, Moore; "Inside Your Heaven," Carrie Underwood, Checotah; "Pickup Man," Joe Diffie, Hinton, and "Austin," Blake Shelton, Ada.

Others Songs are "Oklahoma," which features the orginal film casting featuring Gordon MacRae; "Oklahoma Swing," Vince Gill/Reba McEntire; "Oklahoma Stomp," Byron Berline.

Well, maybe some of the songs won't appeal to you, but, chances are good that "Oklahoma Rising" will!

After a Native American instrumental and chant introduction, the lyrics begin ...

We're Oklahoma Rising, Brighter than a star, Stand up and sing about her, Let the world know who we are. From a rugged territory To the Oklahoma Run, We've made our dreams come true, Just look at what we've done. We're the Heartland of America, Our heart is in the race, We've sailed our prairie schooners Right into outer space. We are young and we are strong, We are comin' with a roar. Sooner than later We'll be knockin' on your door Say hello to the future, Gonna shake the future's hand And build a better world Upon this sacred ancient land. We're Oklahoma Rising, Brighter than a star, Stand up and sing about her, Let the world know who we are. We're the sons and the daughters, Children of the West, We're Oklahoma Rising, Rising up to be the best. Guts and grace and mercy, We have shown them in our turn. When the fields had turned to dust And the skies began to burn,

When the storm shook our souls And the mighty buildings fell, Through fires and desperation, Our faith has served us well. I choke back the emotion, I'm an Okie and I'm proud. So when you call me Okie, Man, you better say it loud. Now we look into the heavens At the eagles climbing free, It's the spirit of our people On the wing, can you see? We're Oklahoma Rising, Brighter than a star. Stand up and sing about her, Let the world know who we are. We're the sons and the daughters, Children of the West, We're Oklahoma Rising, Rising up to be the best. Instrumental interlude We're Oklahoma Rising, Brighter than a star. Stand up and sing about her, Let the world know who we are. We're the sons and the daughters, Children of the West, We're Oklahoma Rising, Rising up to be the best. We're Oklahoma Rising, Rising up to be the best. Closing instrumental & Native flute

Here are a few screen shots from my Flash animated file which includes the song in the background ... as I said, my Flash file focuses on Oklahoma City since that's my Oklahoma town:

A much smaller (truncated to show about 1/3 of the images in the Flash file, and reduced from 640 px wide to 400 px wide, and containing no music) animated gif file is also available ... click the Eagle, below ...



AVAILABITY ON CD/DVD: I've received a few inquiries as to whether these Flash files are available on CD/DVD or are for sale by me. No, they are not. All rights to the tune belong the Oklahoma Centennial Commission ... you should purchase the 2 disk Oklahoma Rising album from the Oklahoma Centennial Commission and, at the same time as you do, benefit Habitat for Humanities! Get down to your near-by 7-11 store and pick up a copy ... if you are an Okie, you will love it!

That said, anyone who wants to can copy my Flash files to your hard disk and/or copy them to a CD, if you want, not for sale but for your personal use. Here's how ...

First, understand that generally and ordinarily, Flash files are internet based ... meaning ... when a Flash file is played, the file "looks for" Adobe's on-line Flash File player on the internet.

Second, understand that it is also possible to have, on your computer, a stand-alone software program which plays Flash files WITHOUT being connected to the internet, and several such programs are available. Such a program, and the one I've personally found to be good at doing so ... and it is free ... is SWF Opener. I've not found it to contain any "malware" or "tracking" stuff, PLUS it enhances a Flash file's playback by adding sizing and other features. For example, the Flash files I've made here are 640 px by 480 px (640 x 510 in the button version). When opening these Flash files with SWF Opener, you can easily expand the display to "full screen" without a serious loss of image quality. I do recommend it ... it can be downloaded at this website, among other places.

Third, if you don't want to do such a thing and simply want to use the Oklahoma Rising Flash file(s) on your computer while you are connected to the internet, that's fine, too. Here's what to do:

BUTTON VERSION

THE HTML FILE (this is the Flash loading file - only needed if you don't have a stand-alone Flash player on you computer): Right-click on the following link if you want/need the html "loader" file, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommendation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

THE FLASH FILE (this is the Flash file itself): Right-click on the following link, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommndation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

NO BUTTON VERSION

THE HTML FILE (this is the Flash loading file - only needed if you don't have a stand-alone Flash player on you computer): Right-click on the following link if you want/need the html "loader" file, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommendation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

THE FLASH FILE (this is the Flash file itself): Right-click on the following link, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommndation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

SLOWER VERSION

THE HTML FILE (this is the Flash loading file - only needed if you don't have a stand-alone Flash player on you computer): Right-click on the following link if you want/need the html "loader" file, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommendation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

THE FLASH FILE (this is the Flash file itself): Right-click on the following link, and in the pop-up menu, select, "Save Target As". Recommndation: save it to your computer's "Desktop". Right-click on this link

If you don't have a stand-alone Flash file player installed on your computer, THE HTML AND FLASH FILES NEED TO BE LOCATED IN THE SAME DIRECTORY (FOLDER) TO PLAY THE FILES.

I hope this covers the turf, but, if not, post a comment or send me an e-mail.

But, above all, Enjoy!

Related Video: Oklahoma Centennial Parade

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OKC 2nd Time Around

Though I got caught up in work and was not able to attend the event (and, in fact, forgot to do so), Steve Lackmeyer and Jack Moneys' new book, OKC Second Time Around, debuted at the autograph signing party at Full Circle Bookstore at 50 Penn Place on Thursday, 11/2/06. Since this review was initially written, the authors have made their own blog focusing on their book, OKC: 2nd Time Around.

Book Jacket Front Cover ... click for a larger image


After being reminded (at OkcTalk.com) that I'd missed the event, I went to Full Circle the next day and got two copies, one for me and one for my son. Full Circle Press, owned by the largest independent bookstore in Oklahoma, Full Cirle Bookstore, is the publisher, but more about that in my amended post.

After numerous acknowledgments, the book begins with a magnificent 2 page "Foreword" by Bob Blackburn, Executive Directory of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

The Chapters are: (1) Urban Renewal, (2) "Downtown of Excellence", (3) A New Downtown, (4) Urban Renewal's Demise, (5) Neal Horton, (6) Big Plans, (7) The Crash, (8) Bricktown's Second Chance, (9) "Downtown is dead, and we helped kill it", (10) Visions of a New Frontier, (11) Swing the Vote, (12) An Unexpected Challenge, (13) Butchering the Steer, (14) A Real Life SimCity, and (E) Epilogue.

Why did I buy two copies? It's quite simple ... I don't want to share! This book is that great! The "complete" post I'll make here tells you why I think that way.

In this intial edition of this post, I'm just going to give an overview without lots of words ... that will will come later when I have time to edit this post to give it the meat that a good review of this book deserves.

A QUICK OVERVIEW

This post will be edited after I get back from the Oklahoma Bar's Association's convention in Tulsa this weekend at the latest ... but this is a quick look ... and treats you to some eye candy ...

Steve and Jacks' book is absolutely magnificent from the vantage point of one who enjoys Oklahoma City history. OKC, Second Time Around, A Renaissance Story, covers the 1956-2006 period of time.

The back cover jacket somewhat describes part of the time span covered ...

Downtown is dead and we helped kill it. There is no major retail, no major attraction and no place to eat. -- Oklahoma City Councilman I.G. Purser, April 17, 1988

... today Oklahoma City's downtown is thriving. The Bricktown district is buzzing with nightlife, people are moving downtown ... add to that two successful stadiums, a performing arts center, a central library, a "Riverwalk" type canal, clubs and restaurants, and the downtown of the once-sleepy city ... is bustling. -- Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2005

Inside the book are outstanding images Doug Dawgz eyes have never lusted over before ... too many to mention, but a few that stand out are ... Interior of the Criterion Theater (p. 5 and absolutely gorgeous), detailed images on what was proposed in the original Pei Plan, including drawings of the kinds of buildings we would all like to have seen develop but did not, and many others ... and, personal to me, an image on page 55 of my former boss and present friend (and godfather of my outstanding son), lawyer Bill Peterson, but as a sculptor who poses with a bust of Charles Colcord he made for the lobby of the Colcord Building (p. 55).

But, there is so much more ... and the book is well indexed and tells the text story so very well of this period.

Bill Peterson's godson's name is David, my very own son, and I'm right proud of my little boy (though he is much bigger than me, these days)! I enjoyed the Horents Okc home opener a week ago today with him and my great grandson, Tyler ... an experience which would not have been possible but for events described in this book.

BUT, WAIT ... THERE'S MORE! It was my distinct pleasure and honor to have a terrific hour+ long conversation with Steve Lackmeyer last week and we discussed lots of Okie City junkie stuff ... life doesn't get any better than that (except for taking your son and grandson to a Hornets game, of course)! To be sure, we discussed his great book ... oh, I'm getting ahead of myself ...

MY RATING: 5+++ stars ... a superior contribution to Oklahoma City historic stuff. I'll get into the detail of why I say this when I amend this post.

But, for now, some eye-candy ... Steve gratiously allowed permission to post the following images ... others, he was not able to grant since the privilege was not his to give ... but I think that you will like those that follow, all from OKC Second Time Around ... all courtesy of OKC The 2nd Time Around (Full Circle Press 2006) ...

In the pics below, click a pic for a larger image most of the time ...

Downtown Apartments As Contemplated By Pei Plan (p. 20)
Credit OKC Urban Renewal Authority


Tivoli Gardens As Contemplated By Pei Plan (p. 39)
Credit OKC Urban Renewal Authority


Overlook of Pei Plan Suggestions (p. 45)
Credit Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce


Carrozza's Plan for the Galleria Gateway (p. 62)
Credit OKC Urban Renewal Authority


(No enlargements in the following 5 pics)

The 1st pic is similar but not identical to an image at p. 68 of the book.
This shows a postcard of an artist's rendering of what Bill Skirvin originally contemplated for the Skirvin Tower (now 101 Park Avenue Building). It was originally planned to be 26 stories.



But, that was before the Wall Street Crash. After construction started in 1931, resources dwindled, plans were scaled back, and constrution on the actual building was finished in 1936 at 14 stories, as shown in the postcard below (not shown in the book).



The authors point out in Chapter 6, "Big Plans", that the building's owner contemplated reviving Bill Skirvin's original plan to add 14 floors. But, again, economic circustances -- this time the Oil Bust -- would change the plans. The pics below from the book show what actually happened.

Skirvin Tower Being Stripped To Its Core in the 1970s (p. 68)
Credit OKC Urban Renewal Authority


What Was Contemplated ... 14 New Stories
Credit Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce


What Happened Instead, After the Oil Bust
A Quality Building, But No New Stories
Credit Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce


There's lots and lots more ... stay tuned ...!
Check out the book's web blog right here!

[Edited Post to Contain the Detail]

I just couldn't put this down so I'm posting my "amendment" before I leave town later in the morning to go to Tulsa. I am consumed by the stories these guys have to tell in their book, and it would not be right to put it down but for the most exigent cause. Since none exits, here is the detail.

MORE DETAILED REVIEW

Generally: 1st, it should be noted that the book has "large" high quality "slick" pages ... it's a "coffee table" (large) sized book. The images contained in the book are generously large, and the text size (font point size) is generously small – I'd guess about 8 point, maybe 7 point, font size. That means lots of room for words in the 196 Arabic pages plus several Roman numeral pages in the first part of the book. That's good for those who want "just the facts, mamn," and lots of them, as do I.

So, although lavishly illustrated with gorgeous images throughout, this book isn't just "pretty", it is a true and serious "history" book which details the activity associated with downtown Oklahoma City as to events occurring from 1956 forward to the present day. You'd be doing yourself a disservice to leave it laying on your coffee table without a close read or to just skim though the pretty pictures.

Chapter 1 – Urban Renewal. This chapter begins in 1956 discussing a DC-3 flight from Oklahoma City to Washington, D.C., and involving several of Oklahoma City's "movers and shakers." It was a trip involving prospects for Oklahoma City's growth, particularly the downtown area. This was a time that downtown was still alive – John A. Brown's, the Criterion, etc., all shown with good images. It was also a time that suburban shopping centers in Oklahoma City got their start – Penn Square Mall, Shepard Mall, and a time that downtown started to experience diminishing numbers of people who were willing to go downtown instead of visiting the expanding suburban places to shop ... and/or go to the movies. The concept/term "urban renewal" started to raise its head. Mayor Jim Norick won the 1959 mayoral race on a platform favoring "urban renewal."

Chapter 2 – Downtown of Excellence. This chapter describes the city's relationship with I.M. Pei, described as an "internationally renowned urban planner and architect," and the urban renewal plan which emerged. It also describes Pei's words of caution about providing "new" locations for existing commerce before the old buildings would be razed, e.g., John A. Brown's. Some of the magnificent drawings associated with the plan have been shown in the Introduction part of this post.

Chapter 3 – A New Downtown. This chapter steps into the early stages of the demolition phase of urban renewal as well as social changes going on at the same time – namely, race relations. In the late 1950's - early 1960's, downtown (as well as "all" town) was the scene of our Black citizens stepping up to the plate and saying, "It's been too long ... " It also describes the effective respect if not collegiality, of sorts, between civil rights activists and the Chief of Police ... during this period of social change. The chapter discusses accomplishments during this time ... convention center, some new skyscrapers, the Mummers Theater.

Chapter 4 – Urban Renewal's Demise. Lots of stuff had been blown up, but where was that which would take its place? The politics of the time receive considerable treatment, particularly he Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority, its history, status, development. There is much more – the drive of Dean A. McGee being especially noteworthy. Dallas developer Vincent Carrozza steps into the mix as a hoped-for developer to get things going, particularly the planned retail "Galleria" which, as we all know now, never happened, even though the Oklahoma Tower and Corporate Tower did. But, Carrozza also wanted to level the Cravens Building (originally Perrine, now Robinson Renaissance) as the "gateway" for the Galleria. The chapter describes why and how that did not occur.

Chapter 5 – Neal Horton. Actually, Neal Horton's "story" spans chapters 5 through 8 in its entirety in telling the poignant story of this Oklahoma City visionary. Chapter 5 describes his background and how "Bricktown" came to have that name, after he had purchased the Colcord. With the "oil boom in full swing and huge swaths of land yet to be developed, downtown's remaining buildings were 99% full." Into this time emerges Neal Horton, at least the "spiritual" founder of "Bricktown," though he would not live to see what you and I have come to enjoy. The chapter talks about Horton's plans/thoughts of turning the Colcord into ... a hotel ... and not just the "one-winged" hotel that we know about, but the "two-winged" Colcord that Charles F. Colcord had originally planned (and, note, Colcord originally intended the building to be what it has finally become ... a hotel). Bill Peterson, too, was interested in "Bricktown" development. The chapter tells the story of how their parallel plans merged and of some initial successes and developments and visions for the future. Early day plans by J.D. Lobb for the re-development of "Automobile Alley" are also described, all of this during the tenure of Andy Coats as Oklahoma City Mayor.

Chapter 6 – Big Plans. The economy was still going gangbusters and some plans were grandiose. The "Conncourse" got developed – Kerr Park on the south side of the Kerr-McGee Building did, too. One of the more ambitious plans was to revitalize Bill Skirvin's plan for the Skirvin Tower, to add 14 stories to the building as had originally been contemplated. Money was flowing, and apparently being willingly spent on things that might be.

Chapter 7 – The Crash. This chapter describes how such prospects changed – Penn Square Bank, the Oil Bust, etc. A beautiful picture a page 73 (sorry, I have no permission to show it) shows a gorgeous planned office tower to be built next to the Skirvin Hotel in the late 1970's. Ron Burks wanted to build a 17 story Hilton Hotel overlooking the Myriad Gardens (sorry, I have no permission to post this beauty ... guess you'll have to buy the book!) which would have been in rounded glass design to match the planned botanical tube of the Myriad Gardens. While some developments did occur (a scaled down Sycamore Square, sans high rise), Leadership Square, the Arts Council of Oklahoma City finding its permanent home on Hudson, and the Myriad Gardens for which we have principally Dean McGee to thank, other plans bit the dust. Carrozza insisted on the Cravens being destroyed to make a "gateway" into the "Galleria" before he built the Oklahoma Tower and Corporate Tower, and then exited Dodge Oklahoma City.

Chapter 8 – Bricktown's Second Chance. Even after Penn Square Bank being closed by federal authorities, and the domino closing of very mighty local and other banks, including First National, Neal Horton was not an immediate victim and he hung fast with his vision for Bricktown. But, things were not good. Even though, "Bricktown remained his consuming passion," resulting foreclosure lawsuits eventually occurred, and, eventually, all became lost to Horton. Not only Bricktown, but his wife (divorce), and, ultimately, his life.

Horton's financial failure pretty much marks the point that Jim Brewer and others, notably Don Karchmer, step into the mix. Even though Horton had attempted to persuade Spaghetti Warehouse to open a Bricktown location in 1982, it didn't happen until Horton was out of the picture, in 1989. The chapter has some fascinating stories about Mr. Brewer and how he became involved with all of this, including his O'Brien's, his insistence on a flagpole as part of a deal to involve KFOR-TV in a 4th of July event/parade, and how the flagpole actually got built by "grit", I guess one would say.

The chapter describes the opening of the Myriad Gardens, shortly before it's principal promoter's death (Dean A. McGee).

All this said, my subjective emotional focus is clearly the story told about Neal Horton which began in Chapter 5. Though it's a vast oversimplification for me to say, the book clearly portrays him as a visionary and one determined to succeed in developing Bricktown but who never did ... but not because he didn't give his vision all he had. Developing financial, health, and marriage issues, shortly before his death, the book describes how, near his end, he was homeless. Only with the financial assistance of some friends during the last months of his life would he even have a roof over his head.

The following quote picks up during this same time ... Bricktown had turned the corner ...

The city, which for years had refused to participate in any Bricktown improvements, finally chipped in $444,000 toward improving sidewalks, curbs, and landscaping. Brewer, Tolbert, and Karchmer had also worked with the city to create an urban design committee to oversee building facade renovations. Despite his bad health and vanished fortune, Horton still presented himself with class when accepting visitors. He still wore the freshly pressed white shirts, a habit from his days he could not quite shake.

On a cold December day in late 1992, Karchmer visited Horton at his Seven Oaks Apartment. "The first nice spring day, I'm going to come get you, bring you down to Bricktown and drive you around," Karchmer said. Horton agreed - he was eager to see the old warehouses again. Horton, however, did not make the trip. Before then, he made one last trip to the hospital, where he finally succumbed to the emphysema that had dogged him since Bricktown had slipped from his grasp.

In his dying days, even Horton could not imagine was next for Bricktown ...

Horton's story smacks me as being the stuff of a modern day Shakespearian tragedy. You've gotta like this classy guy ... and you've gotta cry.

Oh, yeah, these guys really know how to tell a story.


Chapter 9 – "Downtown is dead, and we helped kill it." Chapter 9's quoted text is form a statement made by Councilman I.G. Purser in 1988, alluding to the destroyed-but-not-replaced buildings largely along the south side of downtown, the loss of downtown's retail commerce, eateries, movies, and just about anything that is just plain fun for a person to do. Surveys showed that Oklahoma Citians had a low opinion of their city and its government and that many if not most would live elsewhere, given the opportunity.

Chapter 9 begins the remarkable story of how Ron Norick, elected mayor in 1987, turned that seemingly unchallengeable tide. One is left with the impression that, if he did not do that single-handedly, without him it is most likely that the tide would not have been turned at all, at least not within our lifetimes.

In political parlance, Oklahoma City is not what is called a "strong mayor" form of municipal government. See Mayor-council government - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia if you want a mini-course about that. Even so, reviewing the period of time between 1987 through the end of Mayor Norick's second term in April 1998, the authors leave no doubt that Mayor Norick knew what had to be done and that he was willing to risk his political position to at least attempt to accomplish it. Urban Renewal had stalled out and, in many substantial ways, failed, and downtown Oklahoma City was continuing to wither on the vine as a place that people would want to be and/or go after 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and/or at any time during weekends.

Sure, several new buildings resulted from Urban Renewal before the Oil Bust, the fall of Penn Square Bank and the ensuing series of bank failures which rippled not only through Oklahoma but the country – Kerr-McGee Tower, Oklahoma Tower, Murrah Federal Building, Fidelity Bank, Leadership Square, Corporate Towers, Myriad Convention Center, Myriad Gardens, and some others, but, notwithstanding, a desolate and vast hole existed between much of downtown south of Park Avenue to Interstate 40 and that area's environs, excepting a place here or there (e.g., Myriad Gardens). In some limited ways, Oklahoma Citians had been willing to tax themselves – e.g., for zoo improvements but not for library and other public needs.

Chapter 9 might be seen as sort of Mayor Norick's "learning" phase – he spearheaded efforts to locate a major United Airlines Maintenance facility here – close but no cigars as Okc lost out to Indianapolis, among other failed initiatives.

Why were we close but always losers, the mayor wondered. "When people hear of Oklahoma City, they just draw a blank," he concluded. "People just don't have a clue about who we are. I just think that we have got to do something."

Chapter 10 -- Visions of a New Frontier. Chapter 10 is sort of a "catalyst" chapter. The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and the mayor had similar if not identical notions of what was needed to turn the tide. Not without dissension, the mayor knew his head and forged ahead, putting together a task force of both those who he thought might be adversaries and not, their purpose being to come up with a grand plan. A principle of Norick's vision was "mass" -- for most of the projects to be centered downtown so that one project could feed off of one another ... some elements of which were contrary to the wishes of formidable Oklahoma Citians and/or interests, e.g., E.L. Gaylord wanted a new arena at the Fairgrounds, some wanted a totally new cultural center and not just an updated Civic Center Music Hall, etc., etc., etc. However, Mayor Norick, firmly involved in the process, held his ground. Of course, other projects were also involved ... upgrading the Convention Center, a new library, river improvement and development through south of downtown – and – canals and stuff in that ignored part of town that Neal Horton's dreams were hooked upon, Bricktown.

Mayor Norick wanted to proceed forthwith to put the grand design to a vote of the people, asking them to impose a penny sales tax upon themselves for five years to pay for the privilege!

Prior polling suggested passage to be unlikely. "The numbers, Deck and other task members decided, were bad, and almost everyone at the table the election might need to be postponed, at least until after the next mayoral election in March 1994. Instead of going along, Mayor Norick became increasingly adamant that the election needed to be held soon. "You know what?" Norick told the group. "I don't want to be mayor if we don't at least try to do this. If we take a shot at this and it doesn't pass and that in results in me not being re-elected, then so be it."

Chapter 11 -- Swing the Vote. This chapter involves the efforts of getting people on board so that the vote might succeed, and how it happened. It was not always easy.

Newspaper publisher Edward L. Gaylord was among the skeptics. "You must be crazy," Gaylord responded after hearing the plan. "You'll never get it passed. And besides, that canal is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of."

But, others like Joel Levine, conductor of the symphony, made speeches supporting a new ball park for the city, and sports enthusiasts talked about the importance of bringing musicals and opera to the town.

As he campaigned, Norick remained focused upon the plan as a whole and what he felt it would do for the city. "Are you willing to defeat your symphony because you don't like baseball?" Norick asked arts patrons. He also rallied the senior vote, telling older city residents the plan was about the future. "You may not like it. You may not even be around for it. But, aren't your grandkids?"

Rick Horrow, paid Florida based consultant but catching the fever, called the plan, "the boldest he had ever seen by a city to improve itself by dramatically raising the quality of life of its residents." Attendants at a December 1993 Myriad Convention Center rally were counseled by Coach Barry Switzer: "'The ball is on the one-yard line,'" Switzer screamed, closing out his talk in a manner he might have used with his players a time or two. "Let's put it in the end zone ... and then we'll be number one in the twenty-first century! You have got chance to make a difference, damn it! Do something about it!'"

Dirty tricks, all! But with these tactics and against all odds, the initial MAPS vote passed.

But, would it happen?

Chapter 12 -- An Unexpected Challenge. This chapter describes the singular most horrific event to occur in our city, the Murrah Bombing. You know about it. I know about it. I still don't like focusing on it, so I'll indulge myself here and pretty much skip it, except to say that the words and graphics are as excellent as verbal and visual description can said to be upon such a topic. Sorry ... best I can do.

Chapter 13 -- Butchering the Steer. This is perhaps the most agonizing chapter in the book. It describes the infighting and politics that somehow managed to spit out a finished product. I'm not a fan of fiefdom's and self-interest and such things, so I did not like this chapter, even though it was necessary to the story.

In addition to the above, the public was becoming anxious as time went on with no dirt turned. Even sports writers like John Rhode got into the act:

Obviously, we all want MAPS to be handled correctly. But let's pick up the pace. How 'bout it, MAPS people? Sign some contracts. Dig a hole. Move some dirt. Lay some concrete. Plow down the old. Start building the new. When can you start? Sometime yesterday would be nice.

It didn't help that "supporter" Ernest Istook, who was in a Congressional position to make a difference, opposed the plan's light rail element, favoring instead bus-like trolleys. It didn't help that erroneous reporting occurred in the Oklahoman about the depth (reported to be a mere 14") of the Bricktown Canal. It didn't help that the NHL turned down Oklahoma City's bid to be an expansion team (but, personal privilege here taken, "Thank you, God!")

But, John Q. Hammons did take notice of what was going on and announced that he would build a hotel north of the Myriad Convention Center (the Renaissance Hotel).

In all of this, this reader is left with the unmistakable impression that Ron Norick was a maestro in presiding over diversity, chaos, unmet schedules, but, more, putting a vision before the city and encouraging them to dream ... sounds something like a Neal Horton with a bully pulpit, doesn't he?

Mayor Norick did not seek another term of office. Before his term was done, it was evident that construction costs and/or perhaps revenue generated (maybe both) did not result in these two items of the equation being equal: Cost to Do = Resources at Hand. So, what to do? Clip the sports arena (Ford Center)? What?

Councilman Frosty Peak said, "Absolutely not!", as to asking the city to impose an extension of the penny sales tax for 6-8 months to a year. The council did not act before Norick's term expired.

The ensuing campaign mainly pitted Guy Lieberman, the front-runner, who would scrap the sports arena, against Kirk Humphreys, who campaigned on a message to "Finish MAPS Right." He said, "By golly, we've come this far – let's finish it first class." In the runoff, Humphreys won hands down, 69% to 31%.

After the election, more than 13,000 fans attended the Bricktown Ballpark for its opening as outgoing Mayor Ron Norick threw the opening pitch.

In the process, many longtime residents rediscovered downtown for the first time in years. "This is a great place," said Jason Lively, a south Oklahoma City resident. "But I didn't know how much work they've done here. I'm going to come back more often." "MAPS is really doing the trick," agreed James Chenney, an accountant who worked downtown.

First-time visitors to the park were surprised by its quality. As they walked the park's concourse, they were seen alternatively grinning from ear to ear and then looking around wide-eyed like a five-year-old child who just got his first bike for Christmas.

Chapter 14 -- A Real Life Sim City. The introduction on page 159 pretty much tells the tale and all that follows:

The public's attitude towards MAPS clearly had been in the upswing as the countdown began for the opening of Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark. The cynicism had faded, replaced by a new enthusiasm not just for the projects themselves, for all of downtown.

But, the holdover issue, whether to put to yet another vote of the people to continue to tax themselves a bit longer for the sports arena, proper funding for the convention center, fairground and river projects, had not been decided by the council to be put to a vote of the people.

Despite lingering controversies, Humphreys and allies at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce were growing confident they might persuade the public to extend the MAPS tax just enough to "Finish Maps Right." But would it pass? Throughout the history of downtown and river development, the city fathers had always dreamed up big plans for the future. Early efforts to tame the river, Pei's plan for downtown urban renewal and McGee's vision of a Myriad Gardens, all moved from drawing boards to construction. Each time, however, funding fell short. And each time, the visionaries had been forced to cut their dreams short of what originally had been planned.

Humphreys was nearing a decision about whether to gamble against history.* * *
***
[As to surveys] This is what caught Humphrey's eye. Nearly forty-four percent of those polled supported extending the MAPS sales tax to finish the projects right – up from just twenty-four percent in the earlier survey."It's not a slam dunk, but it looks winnable if we run the right kind of campaign," Humphreys concluded. He also reasoned that a vote on extending the tax could be interpreted as a referendum on whether he was doing a good job as mayor. "If they don't support it, then fine. I'll get out of the way and let someone else lead" [sounds like he took a page from what Mayor Norick said several years earlier ... a good page to take].

Only council member Shwartz opposed the plan, doubtless considering the much earlier promise that the tax would not be extended. Even councilman Lieberman, Humphrey's mayoral opponent who had campaigned on a contrary platform, said, before the council's 8-1 vote,

I hope the citizens will support this. For the good of Oklahoma City, I think I have to support it and I will campaign for it.

On December 8, 1998, 44,000+ voters said, "Yes! We'll pay to finish it right," and, so, as a result, I got to attend 29 Hornets games last season, 2 preseason games this year and the home opener last Tuesday with my son and grandson and another tonight with a friend!

There's lots and lots more, but this is a good enough place to end this long review, and I'll even skip the last "Chapter" called "Epilogue". We know about that, don't we ... Maps for Kids, development of the Triangle, the Oklahoma River, and everything else.

CONCLUDING OVERSERVATIONS

In retrospect, it seems to me that the authors have the same blood flowing in them as Neal Horton, a visionary, even if Horton's visionary/pragmatic base may have been tilted in favor of the "visionary" side, and/or if his timing was wrong, and of visionaries Ron Norick, and later, Kirk Humphreys, who were also visionaries but who possessed a measure of authority to make things happen and whose timing was right. Other visionaries abound in this book as well.

The authors know of the Oklahoma City when many who lived here were not proud to say that they did. They know of those live here now who are and who cannot wait until the next day dawns and the next development occurs.

Count me as a member of both groups, then and now.

My rating of 5 stars +++ is simply not enough. The plusses are of the infinity mathematical level. BUY IT NOW. This book is a 100% keeper, while you can get it!

I remind you that some earlier great Okc books are no longer available except through E-bay or in other indirect ways ... mainly I'm thinking about the fine Vanished Splendor 3 part series of books.

So, get your butts in gear and get this great book ... now!
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Deep Deuce Prologue

May 4, 2009, note: Deep Deuce history is considerably expanded in a 2009 series of 30-40 articles contained in The Ultimate Deep Deuce Collection.

I'm calling this post, "Deep Deuce: A White Man's Pause." It is the first of 3 parts describing the historic "Deep Second" (later to be called "Deep Deuce"), but, more broadly, the posts concern Black citizens' history and/or contributions to Oklahoma City as well as I've been able to learn as an outsider (White) looking in to the Black part of our history that I know little about.

The 2nd part of this topic, Deep Deuce History, is here. The 3rd part, Famous Deep Deucians, is here.

Initially, I was motivated to write a post about this area since it is "in vogue" to do so right now ... but the catalyst was the marvelous print I saw (and will shortly purchase) at the Oklahoma History Center this past Saturday, shown below, of the old Aldridge Theater at 303-305 N.E. 2nd Street (click on the pic for a larger image):


This vibrant image resonates vitality and inspires a pride in Oklahoma City of "Deep Second", later to be called, "Deep Deuce", the principal commercial and entertainment area for the Black population of Oklahoma City in a much earlier day. The area was the venue for much Oklahoma City Black heritage as well as for the contributions of many members of the Black community to our city's richness.

Lately, most if not all non-Black Oklahoma Citians have come to take pride in this all but vanished historic part of Oklahoma City history as they continue to shear themselves of their past racial prejudices ... pride in the likes of Black jazz musicians like Charlie Christian and Jimmy Rushing, the internationally renowned author Ralph Ellison, and many others.

I do feel such a pride ... but after researching this post, other considerations give me pause as to whether I have a "right" to claim a share in the pride.

Initially, I merely wanted to find out more about the Aldridge Theater, being prompted to do so by the print, above. After Googling that name in lots of ways, I decided to search the Daily Oklahoman's on-line archives to see what I could find ... what jazz musicians were playing at the Aldridge Theater, when, what the ads were like, etc., anything I could find.

A search for "Aldridge Theater" before 1950 in the Oklahoman's archives resulted in only 3 (count 'em, THREE) "finds", all brief articles, 2 about fires in 1937 and 1938 and a 1945 article about an employee being charged with theft from the theater. Nothing else – no articles about great local or other jazz musicians coming to Oklahoma City, nothing. It's as though the area did not exist and/or was wholly irrelevant to the dominant White part of the city.

By the time I'd finished my research for the general topic, I revisited the Oklahoman's archives, and, on a hunch, searched for the term, "nigger." That search resulted in 1,375 "finds," all of them including that word. 3 for "Aldridge Theater" .... 1,375 for "nigger." I didn't look at them all – I was too disgusted and ashamed as a White Oklahoma City descendant to do so – but, I did think that it was historically important to present at least a few of them so that they would not get lost in the real-life story, when finally getting down to talking about those magnificent Black Oklahoma Citians I previously mentioned, to be described in the next blog post.

A May 30, 1906, article, bears the headline (upper case is the Oklahoman's, not mine), "RUN THEM OUT." The sub-headline reads, "NIGGER ATTEMPTS TO ASSAULT WHITE WOMAN WHO OUTWITS THE BLACK RASCAL – USED A HAIR PIN AS DAGGER". The headline for an August 14, 1906 article reads, "A BRAVE WOMAN", sub-headline, "FOUGHT A BIG BUCK NIGGER AND PRESERVED HER HONOR." The 12th Oklahoma City mayor was J.G. Messenbaugh. In an October 26, 1906, Oklahoman article, he was quoted as saying, "Mayor Messenbaugh opined that there was no reason they should 'allow one nigger to haul slop in the day time even though he had but one eye.'" These are but 3 of the 1,375 "finds" in searching the Oklahoman's archives for the term, "nigger".

Stepping aside from non-personal evidence, I'll add this personal story. I was an Oklahoma State University debater from 1961-1965, a freshman in 1961-62. Toward the end of that school year, our Coach, Fred Tewell (father of the Edmond golfer Doug Tewell) intended to treat us to a nice dinner and night out in Oklahoma City. He had a place in mind, a great steak house at what is now at the south end of Frontier City ... the name alludes me today. Whatever its name, we parked outside and went in to be seated.

One (excellent) member of our debate team was a squeaky-clean young Black man, and he naturally entered the restaurant with the rest of us. On entry, and seeing our Black colleague, we were told that Blacks would not be served but that the rest of us were welcome.

In my lifetime, I cannot remember a time that I have experienced greater embarrassment or shame because of the color of my skin.

We left and drove into Oklahoma City and had great food at the old Sussy's Restaurant on Classen Boulevard. But, there is no way that this occasion will ever be a pleasant memory – it is as ugly as it is real – and Black people living in Oklahoma City from 1889 through the 1960's-1970's experienced this same thing and much worse on a daily basis.

While experiencing a walk through the history of this area, it is right to remember why the area existed in the first place - Blacks had no place else to go.

End of prologue. If you Black guys and gals want to welcome me as a White guy into your communion to share your pride, I'd be proud. But, I'll be and am proud of you, even if you don't.
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