Historic Tulsa

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
BERYL FORD was born in Tulsa and has worked for decades as a builder and structural inspector. Along the way, he amassed a
collection of nearly 250,000 photographs and historical artifacts of Tulsa County. As the county's most noted historian, he has served as
president of the Tulsa Pioneers Association and twice as president of the Tulsa County Historical Society. He and his wife, Lydia, have six
children—Russell, Robert, Richard, Ronald, Ross, and Annette. He is a member of the Tulsa Central High School Hall of Fame and was a
founder of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. In 2004, he was named “Tulsan of the Year” by TulsaPeople magazine.
CHARLES FORD, Beryl's younger brother, is a real estate investment broker with a long history of public service and interest in history
and the arts. Born in Tulsa, he served in the Oklahoma legislature from 1966 to 2004. He was the senior member of the state legislature
upon his retirement. In the past decade, he has spearheaded efforts to display permanent fine art in the halls of the legislature in the State
Capitol. A member of the Tulsa Central High School Hall of Fame, Ford and his wife, Pat, have four children, Christopher, Roger, Karin,
and Robyn.
RODGER RANDLE is a former mayor of Tulsa and president pro tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate. He was born in Tulsa and
attended Will Rogers High School, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Tulsa School of Law. After serving as mayor, he
became president of Rogers State University. He now lives in Tulsa with his wife, Judy, and teaches at the University of Oklahoma Tulsa
campus.
BOB BURKE, a native of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, has written more historical biographies (30) than anyone else in American history
and more books about Oklahoma (60) than anyone else. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City University
School of Law. He was director of a large state agency in the administration of Governor David Boren and managed Boren's first race for
the United States Senate in 1978. He and his wife, Chimene, live in Oklahoma City where he practices law and writes books. He is the
father of Robert, Amy, and Cody and step father of Natalie, Lauren, and Calli.
ABOUT THE COVER
Friends For a Day, an oil painting by Wayne Cooper, depicts the brief friendship of Count Albert-Alexandre de Porutales, a twenty-oneyear-old
member of Washington Irving’s party, and a young Osage boy who brought a stray horse into Irving’s camp on his visit to Tulsa
County in 1832. The Cherokees believed the horse was stolen and ordered the boy flogged. However, Irving’s men rescued him and
Porutales made the lad his personal squire. In the painting, the Osage boy and Porutales are scouting the countryside on Bald Hill,
northeast of present-day Sand Springs. The rock marks an Osage hunting trail.
COURTESY OF THE OKLAHOMA STATE SENATE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION FUND, INC.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS / ABOUT THE COVER
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