tulsa – Maduko World Headquarters

Mother Road Replay

Oklahoma might offer Route 66 travelers the most immersive experience.

Tourists traveling the Mother Road through the Sooner State need only remember three words: Last Free Exit. That’s because Oklahoma’s best Route 66 experience isn’t in a museum or roadside café. It’s on the road itself.

Signs along the interstate make it pretty obvious the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority wants everyone to take the toll road. But now might be a good time, as America celebrates the Route 66 centennial, to flaunt one of our state’s most overlooked historical assets: State Highway 66.

The Origin of Insects

A Musical Release 40 Years in the Making

Today’s guest blogger is our East Tulsa historian and bon vivant, Mr. Eric.

In September 2025 Radio Milan released an EP entitled The Origin of Insects. The featured music was originally recorded in 1982 at Longbranch Studios in Tulsa. For the next 43 years those tapes lay dormant.

These four early compositions express an energy that was flowing throughout the Tulsa “new wave” scene of the early Eighties. The driving rhythms, upbeat melodies and intelligent lyrics combine for an Eighties flashback that is surprisingly current.

Rage for the Machine

Since 2014 the annual Woody Guthrie Prize has been presented to exceptional artists who exemplify the spirit and social ideals of the namesake, Woody Guthrie. In 2024 the Woody Guthrie Center chose guitarist, author and activist, Tom Morello. The award was presented by Woody’s granddaughter, Anna Canoni, at the historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.

Tulsa Shopping Wars

Today’s guest blogger is our East Tulsa historian and bon vivant, Mr. Eric.

If you look closely at this historical photo of Oertle’s House of Name Brands you can see my mom’s car in the parking lot.

_{Photo courtesy Oertle’s House of Name Brands on Facebook}

You can bet your saved dollars that she drove us all around the parking lot twenty-five times so she could park within two spaces of the door. That was the story of my childhood, circling retail store parking lots, waiting for that “perfect space” to open up!

Scattering the Ashes

When my wife of 34 years passed away in October she had some very explicit instructions for me. One particular wish concerned her remains. Long ago we had both agreed we preferred to be cremated. But we’d never really discussed what to do with the ashes. Jackie was not interested in an urn or burial or any other type of internment.

One afternoon, just days before her demise, she told me, “Don’t put them all in one place.” Instead she wanted to be a part of places we loved to visit. Places her running group would often frequent. Special places.