Looking Back

Good Times, Good Food

Tulsa Historical Society & Museum 2445 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa

All photos courtesy of Tulsa Historical Society & Museum

MAY 1, 1955: Babe Didrikson Zaharias Won Final LPGA Tourney

Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1932 Olympic gold medalist in track and field, won her 41st LPGA title despite battling colon cancer. The legendary athlete wrote that she couldn’t admit she wasn’t in any condition to play. Though she faltered toward the end of the tournament, she held off the runner-up by two strokes. Didrikson Zaharias won 82 tournaments in all in women’s golf before dying in 1956 at age 45.

MAY 3, 1952: Oklahoman Landed Aircraft on the North Pole

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph O. Fletcher, whose family moved to Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, became the first American pilot to land an aircraft on the North Pole. The C-47 aircraft was modified to have both wheels and skis. Fletcher, a meteorologist, helped establish a weather station that became known as “Fletcher’s Ice Island.” The station was manned for 22 years until the iceberg broke up. A barista adds the finishing touches to an order at the Happy Griffin Coffee House at 5800 S. Lewis in the 1990s.

Two students from Daniel Webster High School take part in a home economics class circa 1942. The Rockets, a Little League baseball team, celebrate with a cookout in July 1964.

Food vendors are pictured at the 1983 Tulsa State Fair with the Zingo rollercoaster at Bell's Amusement Park visible in the background.

This Month in History

MAY 8, 2010: Betty White Became Oldest SNL Host

Actress Betty White, then 88, became the oldest person to host the long-running, latenight comedy show “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) after hundreds of thousands of fans signed a Facebook campaign rallying for her to do so. White turned the job down three times before accepting. White, best known for her roles on “Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” won her seventh Emmy Award for her SNL appearance.

MAY 15, 1942: Bill Creating Women’s Army Corps Became Law

The first congresswoman from New England, Edith Nourse Rogers, introduced legislation that would enable women to serve in noncombat positions in the Army in May 1941. The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps bill passed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the next year. Thousands of women enlisted, and the “auxiliary” was dropped from the name in July 1942. The “WACs” served in many different roles in WWII, from North Africa to Asia.

MAY 26, 1897: The Novel “Dracula” Sold in London

Bram Stoker’s novel about a bloodthirsty vampire went on sale in London bookshops. The novel was written in the form of diary entries of its main characters and tells the story of the count visiting England. Stoker died in 1912 without knowing how popular his novel would become. Dracula mania took off in the 1920s when the book was adapted for Broadway and again in 1931 with the film starring Bela Lugosi.

MAY 31, 1962: Adolf Eichmann Hanged in Israel

Adolf Eichmann was executed for his crimes against humanity for his efforts to eliminate Europe’s Jewish population in the Holocaust. Eichmann, a member of the Nazi SS organization, coordinated the capture of Jews and their transportation to death camps. Between three and four million Jews perished in the camps with close to two million executed elsewhere. Eichmann escaped capture and fled to Argentina where he was captured by the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service.