Origins of the Ozark Trail

Arkansas: Where Route 66 Began.
Wait… what?

Back in 2010 a friend and I created a travel show called Two Wheel Oklahoma. It featured Brad Mathison and myself roaming the two-lanes of Oklahoma on our motorcycles. The first episode was about the stretch of old Route 66 from Sapulpa to Arcadia. We began that show on a crusty iron bridge over Rock Creek on the west side of Sapulpa. The bumpy concrete leading west towards Kellyville is part of a very old roadway that predates Route 66, known as the Ozark Trail.

TWO riders cross the Rock Creek bridge near Sapulpa

Before Route 66 became America’s Main Street there were several private efforts to cobble together cross-country highways. One of these was the Ozark Trail, a route stretching from St Louis, Missouri to Las Vegas, New Mexico. A large portion of this road network would later become Route 66, which has prompted some to call the Ozark Trail the “Mother of the Mother Road.”

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The Trinity of Guilt

When my wife of 34 years passed away last year I experienced an avalanche of emotions. Her death was unexpected, though not sudden. She was a 10-year cancer survivor, who was dubious when doctors told her she was “cured.” Her worst fears were realized when her breast cancer metastasized in her bones and liver.

They say there are five stages of grief. I felt all those: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance… and guilt. How did this happen? Why wasn’t I a better husband? How do I move on? Interwoven within that grief I experienced three distinct stages of guilt.

Jackie and I during a visit to Albuquerque’s Balloon Museum.
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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.

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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!

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