Museum of Tulsa History

10/07/2026

Thank you Tulsa Flyer for this excellent recap of Monday night's Tulsa Hall of Fame induction!

The 2026 class — Ken Busby, Reuben Gant, Elliot Nelson, Rodger and Judy Randle and the late Gailard Sartain — celebrated Monday as Williams received the first Travis Award.

10/06/2026

Congratulations to the newly inducted 2026 Tulsa Hall of Fame members!

From left to right: Ken Busby, Rodger & Judy Randle, Mary Jo Sartain (accepted on behalf of Gailard Sartain), Reuben Gant, Elliot Nelson.

All photos and a full video of the induction ceremony will be available by early next week on our website here: https://tulsahistory.org/events/tulsa-hall-of-fame/

10/02/2026

Tulsa Hall of Fame Spotlight: Gailard Sartain will be inducted on October 5th.

Gailard Sartain was a proud Tulsan whose life reflected the humor, creativity and generosity of the city he called home. The son of Tulsa Fire Chief Gailard Sartain Sr., who served from 1956 to 1964, Gailard graduated from Will Rogers High School in 1962, where he was active in sports and art.

He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa in 1969, and TU later honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1989. After college, he pursued illustration in New York City in the studio of fellow Tulsan and internationally known artist Paul Davis. He also worked at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City as a writer and illustrator before returning to Tulsa to pursue a master’s degree in art at TU.

To support himself during graduate school, Gailard took a job as a cameraman at KOTV. When a late-night program was cancelled, he stepped in and created Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi’s Uncanny Film Festival, a freewheeling mix of sketches, improvisation and offbeat comedy that aired from 1970 to 1973. The show became a Saturday-night staple for Tulsa viewers and later reached cult status among devoted fans.

During the third year of Mazeppa, Gailard was noticed by impresario Jim Halsey and, after much persuasion, joined the cast of Hee Haw. He became a regular on the long-running program and remained with it until production ended in 1991. His acting career eventually included more than 60 films and numerous television appearances.

He retired from acting in 2005 after completing his role in Elizabethtown, directed by Cameron Crowe.

Through every chapter, art remained Gailard’s deepest passion. His visual work ranged from album artwork for Leon Russell and Roy Clark to poster art for Mayfest, the Tulsa State Fair and the Tulsa Christmas Parade. Whether on screen, on stage or on paper, he brought playful intelligence and unmistakable style.

In 2001, Gailard and Mary Jo permanently returned to Tulsa, where they delighted in being back home and remained engaged with the community. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Mary Jo; his children, Sarah, Esther, and Ben; his granddaughter, Chloe; and his great-grandson, Theodore.

Above all, Gailard Sartain was a storyteller, artist, performer and community treasure whose legacy remains woven into Tulsa’s cultural memory. It lives on in every frame of film, every brushstroke of art and every smile Mazeppa still brings to those who remember.

09/30/2026

Tulsa Hall of Fame Spotlight: Rodger & Judy Randle will be inducted on October 5th.

Judy Randle was born in 1943 in Shreveport, Louisiana to parents from Minnesota and Iowa. She was the eldest of nine Otterstrom children: six brothers and two sisters. Despite having been born in the South, her cultural roots remained in the Midwest.

Rodger’s maternal family came to Oklahoma in the Run of 1889, arriving in Tulsa in the early days of the last century, while his father’s family was from the hills of Arkansas.

Judy attended Monte Cassino High School and later received a degree in Journalism from the University of Tulsa. Rodger attended public schools and graduated from Will Rogers High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa Law School.

Both Rodger and Judy served in Brazil in the Peace Corps in the 1960’s. Even though they lived in neighboring states they did not meet until after their return to Tulsa. The League of Women Voters, where Judy was a volunteer, brought them together at a meeting in the Central Library where Rodger was a speaker and Judy was manning a League literature table.

The Tulsa City-County Library System continued to figure prominently in their lives. As Mayor, Rodger served on the library’s board. Judy’s service on the library board came after Rodger’s, but it continued for over thirty years. She is a member of the library’s Hall of Fame.

Judy served as a writer and editor at the Tulsa World, eventually becoming the first woman in the paper’s history to edit a general interest section. Later she became the first woman at a Tulsa daily newspaper to serve on an editorial board.

Rodger’s career in public office began with election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1970. Two years later he moved to the State Senate and remained there until his election as Mayor in 1988. During his first term, Roger led the successful effort to change Tulsa’s form of government from commission structure to mayor-council. He was subsequently elected the first mayor under Tulsa’s new form of municipal government.

Both enjoy travel as well as receiving foreign visitors in their home. Rodger has lectured extensively abroad, including in the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Spain, Germany, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Judy gave a U.S. State Department sponsored lecture tour in Mozambique.

Rodger has served nationally as the president of Sister Cities International and is a former president of the Oklahoma Municipal League and a former president of the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals. He currently serves as the British Honorary Consul in Oklahoma, a position he has held for over twenty years.

09/28/2026

Tulsa Hall of Fame Spotlight: Elliot Nelson will be inducted on October 5th.

Elliot Nelson is the founder and CEO of McNellie’s Group, a hospitality company with 20 concepts and 31 locations across Oklahoma and Arkansas. Over the past two decades, he has helped revitalize downtown Tulsa through food, hospitality, and community, building restaurants that have helped shape neighborhoods, create jobs, and strengthen local culture.

Elliot opened his first restaurant, James E. McNellie’s Public House, in 2004 at age 25 after being inspired by the role of pubs in Irish life during his time studying abroad in Dublin while attending the University of Notre Dame. He brought that spirit of gathering and connection back to his hometown of Tulsa, where downtown had little culinary activity at the time.

What began as one pub became a catalyst for a growing district. Since then, Elliot has launched more than 10 restaurants in downtown Tulsa and 25+ concepts overall, ranging from German b**r halls and Irish pubs to award-winning steakhouses and speakeasies.

In 2025, Elliot was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, recognizing his creativity, consistency, and commitment to his team and community.

McNellie’s Group employs more than 1,000 team members and offers benefits such as free mental health support through BetterHelp, health insurance, 401(k) plans, and an employee aid program.

In addition to hospitality, Elliot has led more than $300 million in real estate development, including historic rehabilitations and new multifamily, retail, and office projects focused on infill in Tulsa’s urban neighborhoods.

Beyond business, Elliot serves on civic boards including the Downtown Tulsa Partnership, Oklahoma Restaurant Association, Tulsa Tough, St. John’s Health System, Bishop Kelley High School, and the YMCA. He and his team also support organizations such as Little Light House, local public schools, and first responders.

For Elliot, food and hospitality are tools for transformation. What started as a vision for one gathering place has grown into a belief that restaurants, when done right, can help change a city.

Elliot lives in Tulsa with his wife, Meg, and their three children, Jed, Claire, and Declan.

09/25/2026

Tulsa Hall of Fame Spotlight: Reuben Gant will be inducted on October 5th.

Reuben Charles Gant was born in 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a family rooted in the city’s Black community. His mother, Amelia Marie Gant, was born in Gans, Oklahoma, and moved to Tulsa in the 1920s, shortly after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre devastated Greenwood, the district known as Black Wall Street.

Growing up in north Tulsa, Gant developed discipline and resilience through the support of coaches, family friends, and mentors who encouraged both athletic and academic achievement.

At Booker T. Washington High School, he became a standout in football, basketball, and track. His athletic success earned him Parade Magazine High School Football All-American honors in 1969 and later recognition in the Tulsa Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame and the Booker T. Washington High School Ring of Honor.

Gant attended Oklahoma State University on a dual-sport scholarship, competing in football and basketball from 1970 to 1973 while studying communications and organizational leadership. In 1974, the Buffalo Bills selected him in the first round of the NFL Draft.

After seven seasons with the Bills, Gant retired from the NFL in 1980 and entered the cable television industry. From 1981 to 1997, he held national sales and marketing leadership roles and was later honored by the National Association of Minorities in Cable for his contributions to minority leadership and industry growth.

Gant has described himself as a “community servant,” dedicating much of his post-NFL career to revitalizing Tulsa’s Greenwood district and preserving the history of the massacre. As executive director of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce from 1998 to 2013, he broadened its work to include entrepreneurship, cultural preservation, and economic development.

He also helped establish the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation and has led Reconciliation Park’s efforts to educate the public about the massacre and promote in*******al understanding. Since becoming executive director in 2017, he has supported efforts to secure national recognition for Greenwood, including bipartisan legislation to designate the area as a national monument.

Through these efforts, Gant has connected historical awareness with community action, helping strengthen Greenwood’s legacy and future.

He is also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation through his grandmother’s Freedmen ancestry.

09/23/2026

Tulsa Hall of Fame Spotlight: Ken Busby will be inducted on October 5th.

As “Cultural Czar of Northeast Oklahoma,” Ken Busby has spent more than three decades transforming how Tulsa and the state engage with artistic expression, education, historic preservation, and community development.

A native Tulsan, Ken earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication and French from the University of Tulsa, graduating magna cm laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He also obtained a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from Indiana University at Bloomington.

Ken's professional trajectory reveals a commitment to cultural stewardship. As Executive Director & CEO of the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, he oversaw all operations while spearheading a comprehensive capital campaign that resulted in the construction of the Hardesty Arts Center, a centerpiece of the Tulsa Arts District. His tenure elevated Tulsa's cultural profile and demonstrated the economic value of investment in the arts.

In 2015, Ken became Executive Director & CEO of the Route 66 Alliance, the nonprofit organization founded by author and historian Michael Wallis. Under his leadership, the organization has positioned Oklahoma as the centerpiece of the “Mother Road’s” preservation and promotion, culminating in a year-long celebration of Route 66’s centennial in 2026.

Attending Holland Hall as a “lifer” (K-12) and serving on both the Alumni Board and Board of Trustees for more than 16 years, Ken continues to positively impact the school he loves.

Ken has influenced cultural discourse through strategic consulting, teaching, and public speaking. After graduating from Leadership Oklahoma, he has continued to oversee its annual St. Crispin’s Experience. Ken served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa for more than a decade, and has consulted with nonprofit organizations on board development, strategic planning, and fundraising.

In 2022, Ken was named to the inaugural class of 55 Over 55 Inspiring Oklahomans. Previous honors include the Governor's Arts Award for Community Service (2008), the Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence (2021), and the Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (2013). The City of Tulsa proclaimed May 18, 2012, as “Ken Busby Day.” And in 2026, Ken was awarded the Oklahoma Museums Association’s highest honor – the Service to the Profession Award.

On a personal level, Ken is extremely grateful for a large network of friends and colleagues across the globe whom he values for their keen insights, humor, and commitment to making a brighter tomorrow.

09/05/2026

Join us on September 17th! In partnership with Magic City Books and Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness. Registration is free but required, link below.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/through-american-eyes-250-years-of-black-and-indigenous-stories-tickets-1999715058571

Magic City Books is excited to present Through American Eyes: 250 Years of Black and Indigenous Stories, in partnership with Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness and Museum of Tulsa History.

This special event features a community conversation with award-winning authors and journalists Rebecca Nagle, Carlos Moreno, Randy Krehbiel, Russell Cobb, and Kristal Zook. Burning Cedar will provide food for the event, and we will distribute free books that evening to the first 100 guests.

This unique event will take place at Museum of Tulsa History, 2445 S Peoria Ave. in Tulsa.

Registration is free but required. Link in bio. 🔗🇺🇸⭐

08/25/2026

Today in Tulsa History...

On this day in 1985, the Greenwood Cultural Center was dedicated in Tulsa. Established to preserve, promote, and celebrate African American culture and heritage, the Center has become an enduring cornerstone of the Greenwood District and a place where stories, resilience, and achievements of the community continue to be shared with future generations.

These photographs capture moments from the dedication ceremony, marking the beginning of a new chapter in preserving Greenwood’s rich history and legacy.

08/20/2026

New donation!

Oil painting on panel by Tulsa artist Jose Alfredo "Pepe" Mendez (1927-1994). The image depicts two roosters in a cockfight.

Pepe Mendez was born in Havana, Cuba and graduated art school from San Alejandro University in Havana. Mendez later joined the opposition forces to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. He escaped Cuba and settled in Tulsa, OK, in 1963. Mendez taught numerous art classes in the Tulsa area for many years, including those at Tulsa Junior College. He died in 1994 in Hollandale, FL.