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MONTEREAU
in warren woods |
6800 S. Granite Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74136
phone: (918) 495-1500
toll free: 1-888-795-1122
e-mail: info@montereau.net
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Class of '37 Reunion:
Central Grads Gather
(Residents of Montereau in Warren Woods Host 70th Reunion)
By Althea Peterson, World Staff Writer
October 1, 2007, Tulsa World, page A1
They recall when Main Street wasn't paved, and ice skating at the Coliseum.
There was a sense of the familiar, yet difficult to recognize on Sunday for Tampa, Fla., resident Gerry Taylor, 87.
"From your own eyes, you remember them being younger, but you look around now and hardly recognize them," he said of his classmates.
Seventy years ago, 1,335 students graduated from Tulsa Central High School.
On Sunday, 32 surviving members of the Central Class of 1937, including Taylor, returned to Tulsa at Montereau in Warren Woods retirement community for possibly one of the oldest reunions in city history.
"I can remember when Main Street wasn't paved," said Taylor, a retired Air Force pilot. "The place has grown like everything, but it's still the most beautiful place in the world and I've been to 76 countries."
For some of these 1937 Central alumni, including 89-year-old Ed Patterson, Tulsa is not just home to them, but the only home they've known.
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Members of Central High School’s class of 1937 pose for a photograph during the group’s 70th reunion on Sunday.
Kelly Kerr / Tulsa World |
"The thing that impressed me as a kid was that we had very staunch leaders who worked hard for Tulsa," Patterson said. "For (the University of Tulsa's) Skelly Stadium, (William) Skelly put up half the cost, but there were many people that put in five, 10, 15 bucks themselves. Nobody griped, they just contributed."
When these alumni were in high school, the center of town was the Frisco Railroad at Archer and First streets, said Elmer Clark, 88, of Tulsa. In a town of hot summers, there was a surprising pastime for kids then, he said.
"Ice skating at the Coliseum," Clark said. "That was the gathering place for young people, before it burned down. That's where the boys went to meet girls and the girls went to meet the boys . . . that was where I met my wife."
From the time his dad came to Tulsa to build First National Bank when he was 8 years old until now, Bob Phillips, 87, said what he most likes about Tulsa are the friendly people and sense of community. He said he is happy to see new projects downtown.
"I hope we can rejuvenate downtown, because I miss all the shops," Phillips said. "There's a lot of opportunities there."
Central is no longer a school at Sixth Street and Cincinnati Avenue, but the build ing now houses AEP-PSO.
"Tulsa has a tremendous spirit that was shown in the churches and the schools," he said. "You don't see that as much now, but we still have that spirit for our school."
Althea Peterson 581-8361
althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com
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Winnie Richards pats the head of classmate Bob Phillips on Sunday during a reunion of Central High School’s class of 1937.
Kelly Kerr/ Tulsa World |
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