|
I started today considerably later than yesterday but did manage to get
downtown well in advance of the scheduled noon hoisting of the Plymouth.
There was no shortage of people despite occasional rain. I found a spot
where the puddles were shallow and only a half-dozen of so rows of spectators
separated me from a clear view. I have numerous shots of the backs of peoples's
heads and even got a few of the bundled Belvedere as the crane lifted it
from the vault and placed it on a flat bed. Like a football or baseball
game, the best views were to be had in front of a TV screen but emotion is
best experienced on site. This was a fun event.
Shortly after the car was lowered, the crowd thinned rapidly and I was
among those who quickly headed out of downtown. I'll be back.
|
|
The road that passes Hank's Hamburgers was once Route 66 but the route
moved several years before Hank showed up in 1949. Among Hank's offerings
is a tall sandwich called the "Big Okie". It contains four quarter pound
patties. I ordered a single with cheese. Doubles and triples are also
available. The food was great and the place stayed busy, but not overrun,
all the time I was there. Hank's also makes a chocolate covered peanut butter
candy which I almost forgot about and I had to go back inside to buy a couple
for later.
|
|
I returned to downtown a little after 3:00. The invitational car show of
100 cars had just opened and it's a dandy. Great cars everywhere including
a 1957 Belvedere just like the one pulled from the ground a few hours earlier.
|
|
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association partnered with the local Harley dealer
to set up a very nice booth. It was well attended and I overheard several
discussions of the "now, where does it go?" variety. That's Association
members Laurel Kane and Brad Nickson in the second picture.
|
|
Seating for the Plymouth's coming out party has evolved over that last few months.
The original talk was of $5 & $10 tickets with the $10 ticket including
admission to the car show and lower level seating. The car show ended up being
free and the $10 ticket ended up being $8.50 plus enough service charges to bring it
to $14. That ticket did still include lower level seating. That is general admission
seating and people must have started lining up around 4:00 for entry at 5:30.
I missed an opportunity to stand in the twentieth or so position for an hour and a half. Instead,
I tagged on to the end of the line when it was actually moving pretty good and
managed to find a decent, if distant, seat.
There was a fair amount of speechifying and reminiscing before the car was
revealed but I found most of it actually entertaining. Four young drummers
provided a true live-from-the-floor drum roll for the curtain raising. And
it wasn't too long before they were pulling the covers off of what was now
being called Miss Belvedere. Even though it was pretty much common knowledge
that Boyd Coddington (That's him on the left of picture three with his back
to the camera.) and crew had already determined that starting Miss Belvedere's
engine was not to be, there was still excitement in seeing the car uncovered.
Only the hood had been opened so there was still the suspense of seeing
inside the trunk and interior. The years and the water - mostly the water
- had taken their toll and things were in pretty bad shape. Cans of Clarence Love's
Schlitz seemed to have survived as well as anything although "survived"
isn't exactly the right word. But the beer was at least recognizable - three
of the cans are on the table in picture 4 - and not much was. A welded shut
steel time capsule did better. That's it at the front of the car in the
third and fourth pictures. A final cut was made as we all watched and the
capsule's contents were then discovered on stage. A US flag, with 48 stars, of course,
was one of the first items out.
Guesses of Tulsa's 2007 population were supposed to be in the car with the closest
guess winning it. Supposedly, those guesses were recorded on microfilm.
Maybe they were. A metal can that might once have contained a roll of film
was found but it was rusted through and whatever it held was gone. Fortunately
an undamaged paper copy of the guesses was found in the time capsule. They
were immediately and ceremoniously turned over to a CPA firm and a winner
is to be announced next Friday.
|
|
During yesterday's tour, Laurel had driven us by Ollie's Station and we even
briefly considered eating there. I decided that's where I would eat tonight
but that was not to be. I arrived just as they closed - at 8:30. I turned back
toward Tulsa (Ollie's is in West Tulsa, over the river.) and pulled into
Billy Ray's BBQ. It seems Ollies being closed was actually a bit of luck
since this well equipped Model A was about to leave Billy Ray's just as I
pulled in. I didn't learn much about it but believe it's a locally owned car.
Before leaving, the A did pause briefly by the GT so we had a chance to see
some of the changes Ford has made over the years. Billy Ray's has a rather
diverse customer base, it seems.
Normally I might do catfish at a place that listed it in neon but I had some
very good catfish last night at Tally's so opted for baby back ribs tonight.
Both tasty & messy.
|
|
I had walked in with camera in hand after photographing the Fords. My waitress
asked if I had been taking pictures of "the car downtown" and she and
another waitress looked through some of my Miss Belvedere photos using the camera's
small screen. As I was paying my check, she offered to take my picture in
the shoe shine chair. Laurel had given me a couple of recent copies of the
Route 66 Pulse which I had been reading through dinner. So here I am,
wearing a Route 66 T-shirt and "reading" the Pulse in a restaurant on Old
Sixty-Six. Now, where does it go?
|
|
