Spotlight on Tulsa's Buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere

Forgive my tardiness in blogging last week when the spotlight in Tulsa was on the unearthing of the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere. Eight years ago I stumbled across information on a buried car/time capsule in Tulsa. After telling DH, he has waited all these years for last week's big event.


We drove to downtown Tulsa a week early and took the above picture. Then as they began the excavation, DH headed over several times to check on the progress. Many were disappointed when the lids came off and they discovered what they feared was reality ~ water had gotten into the vault. You can see the various waterlines on the sides of the vault. It is evident there were times over the last 50 years when water reached over the roof.

In the above photo the car is covered in a couple of special bags that were made specifically for the storage of Miss Belvedere. A lot of the history can be found on Buried Car's website and Tulsa Films Website.

That evening they unveiled the car and the next day the crowds came to see Miss Belvedere.

It is sad to see the rust; however, when we look at her, we see history.

In 1957, 812 people guessed what Tulsa' s population would be in 2007. The winner or the closest living relation of the winner will win the car and a $100 savings account (plus interest). I have heard the savings account is now valued at $700). The microfilm containing all of the guesses did not survive; however, the time capsule contained paper copies of those guesses and they remained intact thanks to the integrity of the capsule.

This past week has been a blur and now another week has passed before I could post this. Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with 2 ladies with whom I had worked a number of years ago. The subject of Miss Belvedere came up and I realized I had not completed this post.

Last Friday they announced the winner of the car and savings account. The winner had to have the guess closest to the current population of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The U. S. Census Bureau determined the population to be 382,457. The day the winner of the car was announced, Miss Belvedere was on display at a local car dealership. I believe those who so hopefully buried this 1957 Plymouth Belvedere 50 years ago would want you to view this resurrected car as history and not with sadness in her condition.

Raymond Eugene Humbertson, a Marine, had spent the evening in Tulsa one night in 1957 and submitted his guess before the car was buried. His guess was 384,743. He and his wife have since passed away but the search committee located his two sisters. In an article I read, the sisters lovingly mentioned Raymond had always brought them special gifts when he would return home on a military lead. Now they learn he has left them one last gift ~ well, actually two.

Thank you to those who wanted to share with future Tulsans by burying Miss Belvedere and the time capsule for us to enjoy 50 years later and to have a glimpse of what life was like at the time. I am sure very few, if any, ever dreamed the unveiling would become a global event. Thanks also to those who spent 18+ months preparing for her rise from the vault.

Suddenly, it's 2007!

They have renamed our state "SNOW-klahoma"!!

So far, I am not liking the ice storms we keep getting this winter season (2006/2007)! What a mess it has been! The ice was so thick everywhere I looked during one storm! One ice storm moved out, only to be followed a few hours later by another one, followed by another one. Thankfully we were not without power and finally they said the storms were moving out! Thank you God!!

You cannot tell from the above picture, but the ice was really thick on the doors of my car. Luckily in my new position I now have the option to work from home on an occasional day. I remoted into work and stayed safe. In the position I held until the end of the year, working from home was only an option when you were on call and received pages in the wee hours of the morning.

A week later the ice was still thick ~ something we are not used to in our part of Oklahoma! Usually after a couple of days, it begins to melt. Below is a picture of my windshield. After much work, we got into the car. DH chiseled the ice down to this {yes ~ the picture above and the one below were taken one week after the multiple ice storms had hit!}:

We have had so much winter "mess", they have renamed our state "SNOW-klahoma." I am not sure who wrote this, but here are the lyrics which are sung to the tune of "Oklahoma." {Click on the title for a link to KOTV's new anchor LeAnne Taylor singing our new state song.}

SNOW-klahoma,where the cold fronts sweepin' down the plain; And the piles of sleet beneath your feet Follow right behind the freezing rain.
SNOW-klahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I Travel home from work and hope some jerk Doesn't wreck our car in passing by.
We know we belong to the land But it could use more salt and more sand! And when we say Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin' you're slick as snot, SNOW-klahoma!
SNOW-klahoma, Oy Vey!

I leave you with a snow and ice free sunset. The afternoon of January 1st, I went to see a dear friend who lives on Skiatook Lake. We talked knitting and beads all afternoon ~ ah, what fun! I had planned to get several pictures of the first sunset of 2007 while at her home. We were so busy having fun, I almost forgot and ended up capturing the last moments of the first sunset of the new year.

Next time, I promise knitting!

Carpe knitting,
KZ

Flat Stanley visits Oklahoma

We have had the pleasure of hosting my nephew Trevor's Flat Stanley for 2 weeks. What a fun time we have had together! The Flat Stanley concept was developed from a book by Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley. Mr. Brown's Flat Stanley was smashed by a bulletin board that fell on him. His family was dismayed but soon learned being flat could have it's advantages. Flat Stanley no longer needed a plane ticket to visit relatives and friends. He could now travel in an envelope. Thus began his adventures determined by those who host him.

Shortly after Flat Stanley {FS} arrived, we went to visit Margaret at Hummingbird Hill Farms {Sapulpa, Oklahoma}. What a great time we all had there! Margaret gave me a spinning lesson and I was able to try my hand at three different types of spinning wheels, including a Schacht Matchless wheel and the Schacht-Reeves Saxony wheel shown below with FS.
{Hopefully I have correctly remembered the names of the spinning wheels.} I was so impressed with the quality of these wheels!

When we took a break from spinning, we went outside to meet the Alpaca and other animals. Here is FS with Margaret and Juerga:


I have been intrigued with dying wool (roving and spun wool), so
Margaret gave me a lesson using Jacquard dye. The roving on the right was color set in a microwave. When I got home, I spun the water out of the roving in my washing machine and hung them up to complete the drying.

The fun didn't stop there! We saw a baby Boers goat, along with sheep and other goats, plus the farm dogs and cat.
"Ewe" are right, FS! We had a great time!!

The next weekend FS and I went to a Renaissance Fair in Tulsa where we met a lot of people in medieval costumes. I did not have a chance to ask permission to post their pictures on the internet, so I will not be able to show any here. Each person was gracious to allow their picture taken with Flat Stanley so Trevor could add them to FS' photo album.

While we were at the Renaissance Fair, FS got to meet Jane of Angora Jane's Fibers. He was tickled to once again see his new friends, Margaret and Vince from Hummingbird Hill Farms.

For any spinners who might be reading this, I leave you with a "never die" joke I saw on the internet:

"Old spinners never die, they just whorl away."

{To get a closer look at any photo in this blog,
click on the image and a larger version will come up.}

Carpe knitting,
KZ