buried 50 yrs ago


    Is there anyone around who in 1957 helped lower Tulsa's "old car" into its crypt under the county courthouse lawn?

    Tulsans will dig up the car on June 15. The big question: What condition will it be in after a 50-year sleep?

    There is a heck of a lot of "expert" opinion on that, but nobody knows for sure.

    That's why someone who worked on the burial could shed some light on the matter. Judging from pictures and newsreels, there were a number of men young enough working on the burial to be living today. Are there any in the Tulsa area?

    If so, let's hope they come forward to tell what they know about the old car's burial chamber.

    Speculation about the car's condition ranges from "it'll be a pile of rust" to hopes that it will be pristine and therefore worth perhaps $25,000.

    Old car enthusiasts are nearly delirious with anticipation. There are several groups planning car shows around the June 15 opening.

    Sharon King Davis, who has chaired Tulsa's centennial efforts, is managing the efforts of a committee of Tulsans interested in the old car and their ranks grow daily. Davis, looking at photos of the 1957 planners, was surprised to see the face of her grandfather, the late Sam Avey. Avey was a Tulsa promoter, banker and civic leader.

    "I wish grandpa had left me some instructions," she said.

    The old car has been the pleasant surprise of the Oklahoma Centennial. It had been largely forgotten by the public until Davis and others started work on the Centennial. The files that Tulsans of 50 years ago left on the semi-centennial and the old car have vanished.

    "There's a kind of Rip Van Winkle reaction," Davis said. "Most people had long ago forgotten the buried car but as the time to dig it up nears, they are waking up and wondering about life in 1957."

    Accounts from the Tulsa World and Tribune, along with those of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce newsletters, made it possible for the 2007 committee to follow the intent of the 1957 group that buried the Plymouth and a time capsule and artifacts from the day.

    News of the June 15 exhumation plans spread quickly, attracting attention from all over the U.S. and from a number of other countries. At least six national car clubs will exhibit here and a couple of owners of 1957 Plymouths plan to be here. Already Tulsa hotels have a limited availability for the weekend of the exhumation.

    It's going to cost money to extricate the Plymouth. A crane will be required to lift the top from the concrete vault. The old car will be placed on a trailer and towed to the convention center to be on exhibit for a couple of days.

    The event will attract the old car press and reporters from national newspapers and magazines. Television reporters will flock to the event and there is talk of nationally produced documentaries featuring the Plymouth.

    The search is on for a sponsor. King and the committee estimate the cost of the event to be about $250,000. Chrysler Corp. donated the car 50 years ago and has already reaped scads of publicity, so it will be suprising if the corporation doesn't sponsor the exhumation and attendant celebration. If Chrysler doesn't grab the chance, the competition for sponsorship should be fierce.

    What's your guess on the condition of the old car?

    I think it will be in fairly good condition. The Tulsans of 1957 did their best to preserve it. It's on a steel pallet with jacks under the axles. It's covered with the most durable plastic available at the time and it appears that the concrete vault and its roof were protected by a gunite process that coated the vault with concrete.

    The planners of Tulsa's 1957 semi-centennial didn't know they were planting the "seed" for what stands to be the outstanding event of Oklahoma's 100th birthday celebration in 2007.

    The car, a 1957 Belvedere hardtop coupe, has but a few miles on the odometer although it's been out of warranty for 48 years. It belongs to somebody, maybe.

    There was a contest before it was buried. Tulsans were asked to estimate the population of Tulsa as of June 1. The estimate closest to the population posted by the U.S. Census Bureau on June 1, 2007, wins the Plymouth. If the winner is dead, the car goes to heirs. If a winner can't be located, it goes to the Tulsa Historical Society.

    If you win, you don't get one of the wide whitewall tires. Autographed by the 1957 planners, it goes to the Historical Society. That's fitting.

    Because of those planners, Tulsans have a centerpiece for the Centennial, an ace in the hole, or should we say, a Plymouth in the vault.




(only an Okie...)

Sounds like a great event.  I'd love to see that Plymouth.  What with all the precautions they took, I would think it would be in pretty good shape.   

I imagine at least one of our clubs will be going up the Turnpike for this big shindig.

Now Ya'll know what we do with Chrysler products in the Great State of Oklahoma!

Maybe the C3VR folks coming from the East could time their trip thru for the big unearthing.

I'm guessing there will be some surface rust and rotted rubber, but otherwise it will be in decent shape.

My money's saying that the paint may be recoverable - concreted, gunnited vault, covered in plastic, if it was under the courthouse, less moisture attacking it's tomb......

LukesVette2007-02-03 06:42:42