Search this site
Matching entries from BatesLine
Tulsa and Oklahoma historical maps and aerial photos
What was here? Who owned it? What did it look like? There are a number of resources available for reconstructing Oklahoma's geographical past, and they're easier to use than ever. These are my go-tos when researching the history of a neighborhood or answering questions about the past. This is an...
Little Orphan Annie's blunked-out eyeballs
Tonight I attended Augustine Christian Academy's middle-school production of Annie (Jr.). As is always the case at ACA, the production was characterized by excellence and a lot of heart. It hit me that no one involved in the production (except the director) would have any awareness of the comic strip...
Oklahoma school primary 2023
Tuesday, Februrary 14, 2023, is the annual school primary for all Oklahoma public school districts. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can view your sample ballot and find the address of your polling place at the Oklahoma Voter Portal. At least one school board seat in...
Sapulpa Route 66 Christmas Chute, Rhema Lights final nights
The Route 66 Christmas Chute on Dewey Avenue in downtown Sapulpa, Oklahoma, has just two more nights to run, but it continues to be a popular attraction two months after its opening on November 3, 2022. Ten overhanging steel structures decorated with a variety of themes stand in the...
<em>Ave atque vale, Magister</em>: Ronald Palma, RIP
Last week I received the sad news that Ron Palma, my high school Latin teacher, passed away on Monday, September 19, 2022, at the age of 75. He is survived by Fay, his college sweetheart and wife of 55 years, two daughters, and three grandchildren. His 38-year career at...
Goodbye, Gilcrease
You have five more days (Wednesday, June 30, 2021, to Sunday, July 4, 2021) to visit Tulsa's Gilcrease Museum, before the museum, as you've known it for the last 57 years, goes away forever.
Singing Latin grace with notation knives
A recent social media post showed a set of four knives with the lyrics and notation for a four-part grace-after-meals. Titled "Gratiarum actio," "the giving of thanks," the lyrics are, "Pro tuis beneficiis, Deus, gratias agimus tibi." "For your benefits, God, we give you thanks." On the reverse side,...
Michael Wallis: Save the Midland Valley Pedestrian Bridge
In a recent public letter, Michael Wallis, historian of Route 66, Oklahoma, and the American West, has called on Tulsa government leaders to keep the Midland Valley Pedestrian Bridge over the Arkansas River. Wallis was a member of the advisory committee that considered designs for a replacement for the...
Outside Trump's Tulsa Rally
My family would like to have gone to the rally, but it was too soon to want to be around 18,000 people, or to stand outside for hours in the hot sun without a good chance of getting in. Hearing about hundreds of thousands of ticket requests reinforced the...
Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller, begs for Tesla
It's cringe-worthy. Some persons, apparently with the permission of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, painted the Tesla logo on the chest of the Golden Driller, and painted the name Tesla on his belt buckle, over the word Tulsa. If that weren't bad enough, used some kind of wrap to...
Cornhill Magazine and the Internet Archive's time machine
My trouble has always been that I find too many different things interesting. The vast collection of printed material in the public domain and available on the internet is like a time machine that beckons one to enter and explore. A Pocket article (originally from Narratively), advertised on a new...
Saving Paul Harvey's neighborhood: Next steps
I had to be downtown last night, and I decided to go for a walk. On a whim, I walked under the east leg of the IDL to Paul Harvey's old neighborhood, which the City of Tulsa is acquiring, lot by lot, house by house, to convert to a...
The Trojan horse of critical race theory and intersectionality
This conversation is well worth an hour and a half of your time. The topic is critical race theory and intersectionality and how those ideas destroy any community that grants them entrance. It is essential listening for understanding the times, a comprehensive overview of these concepts and their impact, delivered...
A vision of Middle Earth: New Zealand's Blue Spring at Te Waihou
A friend recently asked for advice on places to visit in Australia and New Zealand. Our family had the blessing of visiting both countries a couple of years ago, and I returned briefly the following year. I had plenty of happy memories to share. I don't write about our travels...
Santa Fe, Taos, Aspen and back
Late last night we returned from a quick five-day, nearly 2,000-mile trip to Aspen, Colorado, by way of Amarillo, Santa Fe, Taos, Buena Vista, the Great Sand Dunes, Capulin Volcano, and Black Mesa. We packed a lot into a short trip. Some notes: Downtown El Reno has a very nice...
Australia Day and the black-armband view of history
Two Augusts ago I was in the stands at Brisbane's Exhibition Grounds waiting for the evening performance at the "Ekka" -- Queensland's state fair -- to begin. The crowd stood at attention as a cowgirl on horseback rode around the arena waving a huge Australian flag. The band played and...
Farewell to Mod's Coffee & Crepes
This coming Saturday, December 16, 2017, Mod's Coffee and Crepes will close its doors after seven years in business. Yesterday was the last chance to enjoy one of the things we love about Mod's -- gluten-free crepes available on Tuesdays. A week ago Tuesday we gathered there to celebrate...
David Brumbaugh, RIP
Oklahoma State Representative David Brumbaugh died Saturday night, April 15, 2017, of a heart attack. Brumbaugh, a Republican who had represented House District 76 in Broken Arrow since his first election in 2010 and chaired the House Republican Caucus, was 56 years old. He is survived by his wife and...
Time Jumpers at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Every year about this time, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco hosts a weekend of free performances from dozens of bands. It all started with bluegrass, but it expanded to include country, folk, Americana, zydeco, blues, western swing and who knows what all, and now it's known as Hardly...
Dam hazards: Ohio cities removing low-water dams
It's very typical of Tulsa to embrace an urban development fad just as other cities are rethinking and reversing course. (Case in point: No sooner did we close off Main Street for a pedestrian mall than other cities began noticing that pedestrian malls killed retail businesses and started reopening pedestrianized...
Feed Subscription
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future entries matching 'art deco'. [What is this?]
