Storyteller: Sharon King Davis

Interviewer: Lorretta Bertalot

Date: 09/07/2018

Language: English

Initiative: Tulsa Talks

Description: Sharon King Davis tells the story of her tenure as a volunteer and Board Member with the Tulsa Historical Society which was originally housed in the Gilcrease Home on the grounds of Gilcrease Museum. In 1995, Robert Powers asked Davis to chair the Centennial Committee of Tulsa and this was the genesis of a year long celebration which culminated on January 18, 1998 in fireworks from the roofs of buildings in Downtown Tulsa. Davis discusses how the year long celebration was funded and some anecdotes surrounding the funding. Davis talks about the unearthing of the time capsule that had been buried in a Plymouth Belvedere in 1957. Another time capsule was buried in Centennial Park in 1998 that also contains the prototype of a Plymouth Prowler. This time capsule will be unearthed in 2048 when Tulsa turns 150 years old. Davis tells how the Travis Mansion became the home of the Tulsa Historical Society, the dedication of the Five Moons sculpture and the genesis of the Vintage Gardens.

Subjects: Tulsa Historical Society, Oklahoma Centennial Celebration, Susan Savage, Danney Goble, George Singer, Pat Gordon, P.S. Gordon, Miss Belvedere, Central Park, Centennial Park, Tribune Foundation, Bisser Barnett, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Travis Mansion, Vintage Petroleum, Charles Stephenson, Peggy Stephenson, Five Moons, Yvonne Hovel, time capsule