Today, almost a quarter of the Oklahoma City metro reads Oklahoma Gazette for fiercely local news and entertainment. But when it was first founded in 1979, it was a small monthly neighborhood publication only really covering historic preservation and neighborhood issues. In 1982, Randy Splaingard became the publication’s first full-time journalist after working nearly a […]
Penn Square Bank
Posted inNews
40 years: Ruby headlines
Oklahoma Gazette debuted in October 1979 as a “journal of contributions to Oklahoma’s quality of life.” It was 12 pages under the guidance of publisher Bill Bleakley, editor Cynthia Emrick, managing editor Mary R. Grace and businesses manager Stephanie Emrick. Stories appeared without a byline in the first issue, but many of them dealt with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
40 years: City changes
Oklahoma City as we know it was unrecognizable 40 years ago. While physical changes — like the contemporaneous influx of entertainment and eatery options — are obvious, the attitudes of city residents were also drastically different in 1979 and in the following decades. “1979 was important for a lot of reasons,” said Bob Blackburn, executive […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Neighborhood bar welcomes restaurant-quality bites
Ned’s Kitchen at Cock O’ the Walk Bar & Grill offers more than burgers and fries.
Posted inFood & Drink
Junior’s celebrates 43 years in OKC
Owner Jim Shumsky has kept the restaurant’s character alive after purchasing the supper club 12 years ago.
Posted inNews
Bank shot
But those in banking before the advent of the Internet tell a far more emotional story of high-flying finance that ended in a spectacular supernova, changing the banking industry forever. Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of Penn Square’s failure. Those in the industry still remember it like it was yesterday. In 1982, James Finch was […]