Above: Tulsa Baseball team 1916. On the back of the photo is written "City Industrial League, Tulsa Business College 1916"
Above and Below: An interesting photo from our Archives. On the back written in pencil is "Parade in Tulsa October 1926". One thing we notice is the "Our Gang" float in the center of the photo. "Our Gang" also known as "The Little Rascals" was a popular comedy shorts series that ran from 1922-144.
Doing a little digging we discovered that, though there were no actual "Our Gang" actors from Tulsa, there were a couple from Oklahoma! One that would have been around during the time of this parade was Joe Cobb, born in Shawnee Oklahoma in 1916, and was the original "fat boy" in the Our Gang series from 1922 to 1929. He appeared in the very last silent episode and the first of the talkies in 1929. In later years he became a master of ceremonies for the Our Gang publicity tours. He died in 2002 at the age of 85.Another was Darla Hood, born in Leedy Oklahoma in 1931, and took singing and dancing lessons in Oklahoma City. She was on the series from 1935 – 1941. Darla often played the love interest of Alfalfa in The Little Rascals series. One of her most memorable moments was singing "I'm in the Mood for Love" in The Pinch Singer episode. Died in 1979.
There was one interesting "Little Rascals" Tulsa connection we found. In the mid-1950s, when the Our Gang comedies were syndicated on television as The Little Rascals, McFarland hosted an afternoon children's show, The Spanky Show, on KOTV television in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Below: Joe Cobb was from Oklahoma
Below: Darla hood was from Oklahoma
Tulsa 1916-1917 Photo Album
We were lucky enough to acquire a photo album filled with photos from around the years 1916 & 1917. Many of them were of Tulsa's downtown. Some of the other photos were from Muskogee, where it appears the young photographer was from, and others were from OKC, Little Rock & Dallas.
Below are some of the photos from Tulsa!
Above: Tall building on left under construction is the Exchange National Bank which was completed November 1917.
Above: Archer, looking east. Building on left "Sand Springs Ry. Co. Tall building on right likely the Brady Hotel. At the top of the hotel you can see the openings for the rooftop Tea Garden. The smaller building just to the front/right is the earlier Brady Hotel, on the corner of Archer & Main.
Above: 4th Street and Boulder looking east on 4th St. Closest building on left is the "Unity Building". Next Small building on left is Tulsa World newspaper building. The tallest building, center, is the Palace Clothiers building completed in 1917.
Above: Center may be Jenkins Music 515 S. Main.
Above: Looking East on 3rd. Tall building on left under construction is the Exchange National Bank which was completed November 1917. The "double" building in the center of the picture is the Robinson Hotel at 3rd and Main. Just to the right of that you can make out the top corner of the Bliss Building on Main.
Above: Boston Avenue, from 5th. The original Tulsa Central High School is just our of frame on the right. The large building on the right with the flag is the Gallais (Kennedy) Building.
Above: The white building on the far left with the columns is the Tulsa Federal Building/US Post Office & Courthouse, 224 S Boulder, built in 1917. The building was later expanded with two different additions. The buildings on the right are on 2nd St.
Above: Tulsa's Carnigie library, NW corner of 3rd and Cheyenne. Built in 1916, demolished 1970. This was actually Tulsa's second library. The first was located in the courthouse basement.
Above: Tall building on left under construction is the Exchange National Bank which was completed November 1917. One really interesting thing to note is the "1917 Rauch & Lang Electric BX7 Brougham" Electric Automobile, front left!
Above: Bass Building
Above: The tall building in the center is the Pioneer Telephone Building. The small dome, center background, is the top of the old Central High school ? (built in 1906 4th & Boston), while just on the other side of the Pioneer Telephone building, in the background you can make out the two white spires of the new Central High School.
Above: Looking South, with Boston Avenue on the right. The large building in the center is the back/North side of the Gallais/Kennedy Building. To the left you can see the YMCA Building, and in the distance above that the new Tulsa Central High School.
Above: The "new" Tulsa High School, 6th Cincinnati, under construction in 1917.
Above: Looking West on 2nd Street. Center right is the "Central National Bank" building on the corner of 2nd & Boston.
Above: Far right, Exchange National Bank building under construction. Building in center with white corner columns is the Pioneer Telephone Building at 4th & Boston.
Above: Looking North on Cincinnati. Center building is on 4th Street. The building in the center of the photo is the YMCA Building. The tall building to the left is the Gallais (Kennedy) Building.
Above: Looking West at buildings between 4th & 3rd Street along Cincinnati.
Above: Looking West on 3rd Street. Far right building is the Hotel Tulsa , built in 1912, which was on the NW corner of 3rd & Cincinnati.
Above: The white building, far right, is the Tulsa Central National Bank Building on the corner of 2nd and Boston Ave.
Below: Some photos from our 1917 album showing the young photographer. There were several photos labeled as "Me".
Above: Our best guess is that the picture on the right is of the photographer "Williams" and his sister "Louise", due to how similar they look, and that their last name was Edwards.
Above: A couple more photos of the photographer "Williams".