A Selection of Photographs from the Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa and the Tulsa Historical Society Archives

The latest in our series of exhibitions featuring photographs from the Beryl Ford Collection opens this month. The exhibit presents a variety of images of historical parades in Tulsa and the surrounding area. Featured images include: holiday, military, homecoming, circus, and many other festival parades. The earliest image is from the Fourth of July parade in Tulsa in 1886. Other early images highlight Armistice Day in 1918, War Bond Drive parades, Confederate Veterans Reunions, and the First Labor Day Parade held in Tulsa in 1905. Photographs also depict the many municipal holiday and festival parades in the 1950s and 60s, with the most recent being the Dairy Princess Parade in 1961. Don’t miss seeing memorable images of elephants from the Barnum & Bailey Circus, a group of reindeer specially brought to Tulsa for Christmas, floats from the Rose Carnival Parade, movie premieres, school bands, and many images of downtown Tulsa decorated in red, white, and blue for patriotic occasions.