I’ve lived in Tulsa since 1978, and my 46 years here have been pretty good. Always employed, decent wages, have owned two homes, and raised a family. Now in my retirement years, I have no desire to move anywhere else. Of course, like other cities, Tulsa has had its share of problems, ups and downs, but over all, we do have it pretty good. The founders were wise to establish three sources of water into the dirt, build two water purification and distribution plants, and good utility companies. It’s benefitted the surrounding cities as all of them have grown immensely bringing in more people for the workforce, building residential homes and apartments, and attracting a lot of large national companies.
I can remember this year while in Tulsa. Even as a child, I shared the same hopes as many students in the video. Forty-four years later, somewhere along the line, we fell short. But I still have hope, and that things will change, for the better. After all, being a Tulsan is not where you live, its who you are. Get up and go, do the right thing, and help your neighbors along the way. Hard work and deication, positive attiduted and common courtesy, but never forgetting your not alone. We may not be kin, but we are still family. That's the Tulsa I remember; that's the Tulsa Spirit that makes it unique from many other cites and countries I've lived in over the course of half a century.
Cool video. The full height of the ONEOK tower is shown as a model towards the end. After this video the oil bust happened and that tower was capped at 19 floors and never finished.
I was born in Tulsa and it is going sideways- for about 20 years. Little to no improvements. Streets are shambles.. Highways are anchient...Highway interchanges are the 4 leaf clover kind. And 1 ramp at hwy 51 and I44 nearly goes offroad. They still try to put "Up with Trees" in the downtown area when you are suppose to have buildings.. And all the trees up and down hwy 51 are overgrown and hanging into the shoulder. Side roads and stop lights are horrible. They need to expand the roads to 3 lanes in the problem areas and there are several. They need more "express routes" into south Tulsa without all the stop lights. They tried to put up a park on Peoria Ave but it is only 1 and they dont keep up with the maintenance. They need more bike paths, and running trails. They basically have 2 running trails. One is on peoria which is nearly west Tulsa, and Lafortune park w hich is just 3 miles around.. so you have to go around it several times to hit 10 miles and it is actually a golf course so there are lots of hills. Thats not great for running. They also do not have proper privacy in the bathroom stalls. No doors! They think it must by 1970 when people didnt have the internet so they went into the bathrooms to "meet and play". Its so ridiculous. You cant even squat without mooning a child because they dont have doors. They have 1 mall that needs an overhaul. Did I say yet that Tulsa needs to get some updates? Come to Dallas. We have a Lake and MANY running trials and bike paths are everywhere!! Plus it is a bigger city. It is very obvious when a City puts forth an effort to accomdate the public (like Dallas) and when they don't (Like Tulsa). OKlahomja also has Income tax. Texas Does not. I am not sure why Tulsa has NO IMPROVEMENTS? They have money. The last I heard the governor said ther was a surplus and thinking about capping real estate tax because they are screwing people. haha Tulsa : Stuck in the 80's. Btw, "Up with Trees" was an 80's project. And its old now. It is still in play. Tulsa doesnt need more trees. I see the ones you have are overgrown. And you cant manage the park on peoria.. Why "Up with Trees"? Stop it please! Do you want trees or buildings in downtown? Are you trying to grow downtown or shall we remove the buildings and put up trees? it makes no sense. Fix the highways and put up a few thoroughfares from I-44 and hwy 51 to South Tulsa. You need street planners badly! Also, the city publicists need to get off the INdian heritage thing. You know Indians dont like Tulsans using an Indian as a mascot. Indians have their own land where they can break the law. Like gambling and taxfree and their own hospitals where they dont answer to Tulsa police. So I am saying,. Indians are not you friends! but yet On the commericals they boast it up like people want to tour Tulsa for indian stuff. Well, here is the news.. You wont see any in Tulsa. haha Its so stupid! Oklahoman trying to hang on to something unique to bring tourism, but they dont have anything. So they advertise Indians but the Indians don't like you and dont let you use an indian as a mascot. So, Why are Tulsans so enamored with Indians? I dont get it. There are not that many in Tulsa anyway. It funny though, if you go to OKC, its not as bad as Tulsa. But it didnt use to be that way! Tulsa used to be nice. But the houses are getting old and not many new ones but there are a few. Tulsa used to be nicer than OKC but its going sideways now. No improvements. Just kick back and watch it deteriorate.. Bad city leaders. You know. Just go to work and nothing. Get a paycheck and retire. Also, Union Public Schools used to be nice and sort of a private school although it wasnt. Still they were small but nowadays, since Tulsa Public schools sucks, everyone wants to go to Union. So Union is now huge. Its so big, that it is not what the used to be. Even Union is now just another generic Public School. But it used to be more like a College Prep school. Its all going down hill
Thanks for your comment. It’s good to hear a passionate Tulsa resident's perspective, though it sounds like you're unhappy with the city’s current state.
Thanks for posting. George Norvell's wife was my grandmother's best friend. Just saw a part of my childhood + teens I'd never figured I would again. Also, wonder why the filmmakers didn't include Philbrook?
17:45, I grew up in Fort Smith,AR. in the 1970s and 80s. My family would take a weekend trip a couple of times a year and go ice skating at the Williams Center. I loved that place and that mall in the same building. Also,18:04 could you tell me where those fountains are located?
I love my town! Tulsa is home. From Council Oak, railroads, and to oil, the best city in the world! Proud to have Paul Harvey, not Paul Harvey Jr. who was born in Chicago. Not to forget Will Rogers!Proud to be one myself!
KVOO Radio at a frequency of 1170Khz. The late Paul Harvey began his career there and the late country "swing" musician, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys group, anchored the western swing radio programs that were broadcast live from Cain's Ballroom in the 40's and 50's.
So were my kids. I was transferred here in '78 and during their successive HS years, Tulsa was still a bassackwards community and at least politically and religiously, it still is. Tulsa did not spring to life until: (1) Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor had the foresight to start the ball rolling on the new ballpark, which was a monumental catalyst for the development of downtown [including the highly successful BOK Arena]; (2) the state threw out its Neanderthal liquor laws and approved liquor-by-the-drink, thus spurring investments by countless out-of-state restaurateurs and; (3) Oklahoma's far-too-late but huge improvements of its highway infrastructure [but still notably missing the updates needed in neighborhood roadways]. Politically and educationally, it's still in the Dark Ages although many of its surrounding community's school districts [Bixby, Jenks, Owasso and Union] excel and continue to serve as examples for the rest of Oklahoma school districts [no doubt aided by highly supportive patrons and a more wealthy tax base].
It was interesting the old farts who cited MD and Rockwell as big Tulsa employers totally omitted American Airlines [whose facilities were shown in the video but ignored in the voice-over]. At the time and well through the 90's, American was not only Tulsa's biggest employer but was also the largest employer in Oklahoma. What a crock of non-recognition.
The beginning of this video is extremely misleading and aggressively downplays the U.S. government’s actions in removing Southeastern Indigenous peoples. It presents nonsensical information about the use of coercion, lies, and aggression that forced them onto the Trail of Tears, displacing Western tribes from their ancestral lands in Oklahoma.
I’ve lived in Tulsa since 1978, and my 46 years here have been pretty good. Always employed, decent wages, have owned two homes, and raised a family. Now in my retirement years, I have no desire to move anywhere else. Of course, like other cities, Tulsa has had its share of problems, ups and downs, but over all, we do have it pretty good. The founders were wise to establish three sources of water into the dirt, build two water purification and distribution plants, and good utility companies. It’s benefitted the surrounding cities as all of them have grown immensely bringing in more people for the workforce, building residential homes and apartments, and attracting a lot of large national companies.
Guy Logsdon(14:52 in the video) was my history and band teacher in middle school!
He was one of my education professors at TU.
I can remember this year while in Tulsa. Even as a child, I shared the same hopes as many students in the video. Forty-four years later, somewhere along the line, we fell short. But I still have hope, and that things will change, for the better. After all, being a Tulsan is not where you live, its who you are.
Get up and go, do the right thing, and help your neighbors along the way. Hard work and deication, positive attiduted and common courtesy, but never forgetting your not alone.
We may not be kin, but we are still family.
That's the Tulsa I remember; that's the Tulsa Spirit that makes it unique from many other cites and countries I've lived in over the course of half a century.
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment
@@Tulsa_Films No, sir, thank you for reminding us what was and what could be again.
What a great film! I love Tulsa
Same
Cool video. The full height of the ONEOK tower is shown as a model towards the end. After this video the oil bust happened and that tower was capped at 19 floors and never finished.
So basically if that tower finished at its height will Oneok would be the tallest building in Tulsa? Or the same height as BOK tower?
@@tulaviation4539 - It was supposed to be 52 floors but I don't know what height that translates to. Probably a bit taller than the BOK tower.
@@nathankelley9760oh wow. Wait so do you know if Oneok will ever get to finish at its height of 52 stories?
Just a year later the entire scenario changed with the financial changes in the oil industry. It was all downhill from there.
Great documentary! Gotta love Tulsa
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was born in Tulsa and it is going sideways- for about 20 years. Little to no improvements. Streets are shambles.. Highways are anchient...Highway interchanges are the 4 leaf clover kind. And 1 ramp at hwy 51 and I44 nearly goes offroad. They still try to put "Up with Trees" in the downtown area when you are suppose to have buildings.. And all the trees up and down hwy 51 are overgrown and hanging into the shoulder. Side roads and stop lights are horrible. They need to expand the roads to 3 lanes in the problem areas and there are several. They need more "express routes" into south Tulsa without all the stop lights. They tried to put up a park on Peoria Ave but it is only 1 and they dont keep up with the maintenance. They need more bike paths, and running trails. They basically have 2 running trails. One is on peoria which is nearly west Tulsa, and Lafortune park w hich is just 3 miles around.. so you have to go around it several times to hit 10 miles and it is actually a golf course so there are lots of hills. Thats not great for running. They also do not have proper privacy in the bathroom stalls. No doors! They think it must by 1970 when people didnt have the internet so they went into the bathrooms to "meet and play". Its so ridiculous. You cant even squat without mooning a child because they dont have doors. They have 1 mall that needs an overhaul. Did I say yet that Tulsa needs to get some updates? Come to Dallas. We have a Lake and MANY running trials and bike paths are everywhere!! Plus it is a bigger city. It is very obvious when a City puts forth an effort to accomdate the public (like Dallas) and when they don't (Like Tulsa). OKlahomja also has Income tax. Texas Does not. I am not sure why Tulsa has NO IMPROVEMENTS? They have money. The last I heard the governor said ther was a surplus and thinking about capping real estate tax because they are screwing people. haha Tulsa : Stuck in the 80's. Btw, "Up with Trees" was an 80's project. And its old now. It is still in play. Tulsa doesnt need more trees. I see the ones you have are overgrown. And you cant manage the park on peoria.. Why "Up with Trees"? Stop it please! Do you want trees or buildings in downtown? Are you trying to grow downtown or shall we remove the buildings and put up trees? it makes no sense. Fix the highways and put up a few thoroughfares from I-44 and hwy 51 to South Tulsa. You need street planners badly! Also, the city publicists need to get off the INdian heritage thing. You know Indians dont like Tulsans using an Indian as a mascot. Indians have their own land where they can break the law. Like gambling and taxfree and their own hospitals where they dont answer to Tulsa police. So I am saying,. Indians are not you friends! but yet On the commericals they boast it up like people want to tour Tulsa for indian stuff. Well, here is the news.. You wont see any in Tulsa. haha Its so stupid! Oklahoman trying to hang on to something unique to bring tourism, but they dont have anything. So they advertise Indians but the Indians don't like you and dont let you use an indian as a mascot. So, Why are Tulsans so enamored with Indians? I dont get it. There are not that many in Tulsa anyway. It funny though, if you go to OKC, its not as bad as Tulsa. But it didnt use to be that way! Tulsa used to be nice. But the houses are getting old and not many new ones but there are a few. Tulsa used to be nicer than OKC but its going sideways now. No improvements. Just kick back and watch it deteriorate.. Bad city leaders. You know. Just go to work and nothing. Get a paycheck and retire. Also, Union Public Schools used to be nice and sort of a private school although it wasnt. Still they were small but nowadays, since Tulsa Public schools sucks, everyone wants to go to Union. So Union is now huge. Its so big, that it is not what the used to be. Even Union is now just another generic Public School. But it used to be more like a College Prep school. Its all going down hill
Thanks for your comment. It’s good to hear a passionate Tulsa resident's perspective, though it sounds like you're unhappy with the city’s current state.
Fantastic documentary!
Thanks for posting. George Norvell's wife was my grandmother's best friend. Just saw a part of my childhood + teens I'd never figured I would again. Also, wonder why the filmmakers didn't include Philbrook?
My grandpa!! ❤️❤️❤️
The voice over announcer is Cy Tuma. You can see him at the 15:05 mark. He is at the far right.
Everybody was wearing "Who shot JR?" T-shirts.
Sad that there's only a handful of comments! BTW, there were no springs under Cain's dancefloor! History isn't always what you hear!
17:45, I grew up in Fort Smith,AR. in the 1970s and 80s. My family would take a weekend trip a couple of times a year and go ice skating at the Williams Center. I loved that place and that mall in the same building. Also,18:04 could you tell me where those fountains are located?
Interesting video, I was born and raised in Tulsa. Glad I was able to escape Oklahoma, as it's not kind to every citizen.
I love my town! Tulsa is home. From Council Oak, railroads, and to oil, the best city in the world! Proud to have Paul Harvey, not Paul Harvey Jr. who was born in Chicago. Not to forget Will Rogers!Proud to be one myself!
stephenpulver9720
The best city in the world?... Lolol.. you need to get out more bub
@@johnnyreb280the best city is your hometown. Especially if you are from the fine city of Tulsa.
Great video! thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Tulsa has great men and women. With grit and robust soul. Just never get into the City of Tulsa Inc company.
A surplus of hospital beds. How times have changed.
1170 KVOO
KVOO Radio at a frequency of 1170Khz. The late Paul Harvey began his career there and the late country "swing" musician, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys group, anchored the western swing radio programs that were broadcast live from Cain's Ballroom in the 40's and 50's.
I was in high school when this was made….. I miss what Tulsa used to be.
So were my kids. I was transferred here in '78 and during their successive HS years, Tulsa was still a bassackwards community and at least politically and religiously, it still is. Tulsa did not spring to life until: (1) Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor had the foresight to start the ball rolling on the new ballpark, which was a monumental catalyst for the development of downtown [including the highly successful BOK Arena]; (2) the state threw out its Neanderthal liquor laws and approved liquor-by-the-drink, thus spurring investments by countless out-of-state restaurateurs and; (3) Oklahoma's far-too-late but huge improvements of its highway infrastructure [but still notably missing the updates needed in neighborhood roadways]. Politically and educationally, it's still in the Dark Ages although many of its surrounding community's school districts [Bixby, Jenks, Owasso and Union] excel and continue to serve as examples for the rest of Oklahoma school districts [no doubt aided by highly supportive patrons and a more wealthy tax base].
@@AtOddsAlways Hey guys, I found the bitter old man. Hates the town but keeps living here 46 years on, lol. User name checks out.
@@whome9936 the entire nation has gone down the tubes in the last 40 years. not just Tulsa… so where’s there to go?
@@AtOddsAlwaysYou're full of shit.
❤❤❤❤❤
It was interesting the old farts who cited MD and Rockwell as big Tulsa employers totally omitted American Airlines [whose facilities were shown in the video but ignored in the voice-over]. At the time and well through the 90's, American was not only Tulsa's biggest employer but was also the largest employer in Oklahoma. What a crock of non-recognition.
Interesting. Maybe American wasn't liked by the people who made the video back in 1980s
I went to school at Spartan in 2017. I wouldn't recommend it.
I've been hearing that for decades!
I knew a few people who went a few years before and heard the same thing from all of them.
I had only visited Spartan one time in 1990 after graduating highschool, It wasn't for me, I went to Tulsa Tech instead for 3 years.
@whitelion1111 Great idea. Spartan is still dump. It looks worse every time I drive by it.
@@ruffmansavageveteran1345 that's what I thought of it in a way in 1990
The beginning of this video is extremely misleading and aggressively downplays the U.S. government’s actions in removing Southeastern Indigenous peoples. It presents nonsensical information about the use of coercion, lies, and aggression that forced them onto the Trail of Tears, displacing Western tribes from their ancestral lands in Oklahoma.