Voices of Oklahoma

He was 32 years old and deep in debt. E. C. Mullendore III was murdered on September 26th, 1970, at his home on by far the largest ranch in Osage County, Cross Bell Ranch.

The Cross Bell brand came from an old Mexican Mission and was burned into the hides of cattle driven up from Mexico. The cattle belonged to the family of the mother of Gene Mullendore who was the father of E.C. Mullendore III.

There was a 15 million dollar life insurance policy taken out on E.C. Mullendore III, which would become the largest life insurance claim in the history of American underwriting. Chub Anderson – personal assistant to E. C. Mullendore III – was in the house at the time of the murder and became the prime suspect.

Osage County Sheriff George Wayman led the investigation of what turned out to be a “botched” crime scene leaving no evidence, which would lead to a conviction. 

Chub Anderson’s version of the story is not believed by Sheriff Wayman who tells us how he believes the crime was committed. Chub Anderson was never charged with the murder, which makes it one of Oklahoma’s most famous unsolved crimes.

Listen to 91 year old Sheriff George Wayman tell, with intriguing details, the story of the Mullendore murder heard on Voicesofoklahoma.com

Bethany Children’s Health Center is a private, nonprofit pediatric hospital and rehabilitation center in Bethany, Oklahoma, west of Oklahoma City. It specializes in caring for children with serious medical conditions, disabilities, injuries, and complex rehabilitation needs.

What makes it unusual is that it is the only inpatient pediatric rehabilitation facility in Oklahoma.

It began in 1898 as an orphanage, founded by Mattie Mallory. It evolved over more than a century into a specialized children’s hospital and was known for many years as The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital. In 2022, it adopted the name Bethany Children’s Health Center.

Albert Gray is Executive Director, Chairman of the Board of The Bethany Health Center. Hired originally to close the Center due to its poor financial performance, Gray instead turned the organization around, leading it to become one of Oklahoma’s foremost healthcare providers for children with disabilities.

Its mission emphasizes that every child has equal worth and should be helped to reach his or her greatest potential.

Listen to Albert Gray talk about the children who benefit from the health center and a major donation on the podcast and website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.

September 11th, 2001. It's one of those dates when Americans of a certain age can answer a simple question: Where were you when you heard? 

Now, 25 years later, the Voices of Oklahoma Oral History Archive preserves the memories of Oklahomans who experienced that terrible day in very different places. Some were in Oklahoma. One was in Washington. One was living in New York City. And remarkably, one had been inside the World Trade Center just one day earlier.

Ted Fisher was elected to the Oklahoma Senate as a member of the Democratic Party representing the 12th district in 1986 and served in office until term-limited in 2006.

Before entering elected office, Ted worked for Warren Petroleum in Tulsa and Montgomery Ward in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, the company best known for its mail-order catalog. He later joined a real estate and insurance firm before being recruited to run for office.

As a senator, he sponsored legislation that provided funding for the Training for Industry Programs, authored the Welfare Reform Act, and established regional centers of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. He also sponsored legislation for Early Childhood Education. After leaving the Senate, he became economic development director for his hometown of Sapulpa.

In 2007, Ted was inducted into the Oklahoma Career Tech Hall of Fame. Listen to Ted talk about being a driver for W. K. Warren, the drama of House Bill 17, and his passion for Early Childhood Education on the podcast and website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.

Bob Carpenter was the television play-by-play announcer for the Washington Nationals for 20 seasons from 2006 through 2025. His professional broadcast career began in 1976, when he was hired as the play-by-play announcer for the Tulsa Oilers baseball team.

When the Oilers moved to New Orleans, Carpenter remained in Tulsa and became a broadcaster and public relations director for the Tulsa Roughnecks soccer team.  He also became sports director at KTUL Channel 8 and KRAV-FM.

In 1984, he began broadcasting St. Louis Cardinals games and later called games for the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and Minnesota Twins. Beginning in 1988, Bob spent 17 years as a regular ESPN broadcaster, covering college football, college basketball, and Major League Baseball.

He has received many honors, including induction into the Oklahoma Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Washington Nationals fans came to know Carpenter for his distinctive home run call: “See! You! Later!”

Listen to Bob talk about his first radio play-by-play, the Tulsa Roughnecks, and Scorebook Bob on the podcast and website: VoicesOfOklahoma.com.

John Mullen, also known as Ugly John, was born in Turley, Oklahoma. He is a boat dealer, marina operator, and former championship boat racer.

He raced boats from 1974 to 1986 and began selling boats to help fund his racing career. John’s first sale was recorded on a brown paper sack while he sat on a milk crate in his garage in Turley. The garage originally had a dirt floor, but as sales grew, he added a concrete floor and electricity before eventually moving into a 1,200-square-foot building.

The business later expanded into Ugly John’s Custom Boats, selling recreational boats, performance boats, and yachts while operating multiple marina locations. When asked how he overcame challenges from the economy and Mother Nature, he said, “I didn’t know I couldn’t do it.”

Listen to John tell you why he is known as Ugly John, how he almost became a Yellow Pages salesman, and the ups and downs of the boating business on the podcast and website  VoicesOfOklahoma.com.

John Erling, a self-described “North Dakota farm boy,” was raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota. His early interest in performance emerged at the age of three, when he delivered impromptu sermons to the chickens on his family farm.

This formative experience foreshadowed a distinguished career in radio. He spent five years with Northwestern College Radio in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before continuing his broadcasting career at WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota, and later at WOW and KOIL in Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1976, Erling moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and began broadcasting on KRMG. Following a 45-year career in radio, in 2010 he founded Voices of Oklahoma, an oral history website through which he has interviewed hundreds of Oklahomans. He is a member of the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame, and the Tulsa Hall of Fame.

In his oral history interview, recorded October 9, 2014,  John talks about his fundraising for community needs, the Tulsa Mountains, and the day he was fired by KRMG on the oral history website and podcast Voices of Oklahoma.

The renewed interest in Route 66 has come about because of the book Route 66: The Mother Road written by Tulsan Michael Wallis.

To date, Mr. Wallis has written 17 books. His work has also been published in magazines and newspapers, including Time, LIFE, People and The New York Times among others. Wallis has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize. Many honors have come his way including the Writers Hall of Fame of America.

He was the first to be inducted into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame. He was asked to be a consultant for the 2006 Pixar animated film Cars in which he provided the voice of the Sheriff of Radiator Springs including the 2011 sequel. While he enjoys public speaking, it is his writing that has earned him the titles of historian and biographer of the American West.

His books include: David Crockett: The Lion of the West; The Wild West: 365 Days; Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride; Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd; and Mankiller: A Chief and Her People.

Michael and his wife Suzanne Fitzgerald Wallis have made their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma since 1982.

Owen Thomas was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he lived most of his 96 years. His grandfather was a dairy farmer, and eventually, 14-year-old Owen and his brother took over the farm, which became the Thomas Brothers Dairy Farm. He graduated from Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State University) in 1952.

Owen left Stillwater for the Korean War, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, becoming a company commander of a rifle division.

He took over his father’s Ford dealership in 1975 when he was 45 years old, and continued to operate until he was 85.

Beyond the dealership, Owen had a vision for real estate. When Stillwater was only about 4 miles wide with mostly dusty or muddy roads, he realized the town would grow, and land would increase in value, so he purchased 35 acres and built several commercial buildings.

Through cars and land, Owen Thomas made a positive impact on Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Glen D. Johnson, Jr. was the 8th Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, which includes 25 universities and state colleges. Johnson assumed the position in January 2007 after having previously served as the president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University for ten years.

Glen was born in Oklahoma City and is the son of former U.S. Congressman Glen D. Johnson, Sr. He obtained his bachelor's degree and juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

Johnson established his successful political career as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1982 to 1996. He became the youngest Speaker of the House in 1990, at age 36.

Glen has been of service through many agencies, including two terms on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Board of Directors. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2006.

In his oral history interview, Glen talks about a letter he received from former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Carl Albert, his first campaign, and House Bill 1017 on the podcast and website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.