The passing of noted Tulsa Historian Beryl Ford.

[Rico]

There never have been enough people in the world like Beryl Ford.



http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090509_11_A12_Editor246144&archive=yes

[Conan71]

Truly sorry to hear this.  Beryl was as much an icon as any of the structures or events he had photos of.  What an incredible treasure he left Tulsa.

Thank you for the memories (literally!) Mr. Ford!

[Bumby]

My Mother, a lifelong Tulsan and gifted storyteller, made me feel as if I had grown up in 1940's & 50's Tulsa....Beryl Ford gave me the visual for many of those stories with his amazing photo collection.  Thank you Mr. Ford, I really appreciate the dedication you showed in saving and sharing Tulsa history.

[DowntownNow]

I had the opportunity to meet Beryl Ford about 6 months ago while attending a friend's 90th birthday.  They had been friends for a very long time.  Beryl, upon hearing what many of us at the table from my generation were doing and wanting to see for Tulsa, then took the next hour and a half to reminisce about Tulsa, what it once was and how he saw it today.  The depth and knowledge of this gentleman was unfathomable.  His attention to detail and his committment to preserving Tulsa history unsurpassed.  His deep seated appreciation for Tulsa and it's rich history was an inspiration...he will be missed.

[PonderInc]

Beryl Ford left us a remarkable treasure.  I'm especially grateful for his passion and dedication for collecting photos of Tulsa's history.

If you've never browsed through the thousands of photos that are now available online through the Tulsa City-County Library, you've been missing out on an incredible resource.  (But be careful, it's addictive!)

http://www.tulsalibrary.org/BFC/

To search the Beryl Ford collection, go to the library Catalog and do a "KEYWORD Search."   Be sure to include "Beryl Ford" in the search field, along with your desired keyword.  (eg: "Beryl Ford Boulder" will return 255 photos from the collection pertaining to "Boulder," including this one from 1906, of cattle being driven across Boulder  Ave at 7th Street.)



Change your "keyword" to "Beryl Ford parade," and you'll get over 30 results, including:



Enter a keyword of "Beryl Ford Peoria."  You'll get over 200 results, including:



When you get a list of results from your keyword search, you can click on "view" to go directly to the photo, or you can click on the link to get more information.  (Click on the link and then the "more details" tab to read the description/notes for an individual photo.)

[waterboy]

He was still collecting till the end. I met him at Office Depot a couple months ago and chatted with him about how he got started. I shared memories that my dad, who is a bit older, had relayed to me. Tulsa was a small town. He told me how he used to buzz the Admiral Drive-In just after WWII with his fighter plane to rouse the teens out of their cars.

He had heard of my airboats on the Arkansas River and asked me if I would send him some copies of my pics for his collection. Never had time. He was fun to talk to and very encouraging.

[custosnox]