Oklahoma's Claims to Fame - Time Out #489

 There are many reasons to love Our State.

     Of course, I tell anyone who asks or when I volunteer my thoughts on the topic, I feel our wonderful PEOPLE are absolutely the number-1 reason this is a great place to call home. 

     Today, I thought I would provide you several significant things that have their origins in Our State; "Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains!"

     Sonic Drive-Ins. This fast-food icon actually started in Shawnee as the "Top Hat Drive-In" in 1953 by Troy N. Smith Sr. His "Top Hat" was originally a walk-up root beer stand, located outside a log-cabin steakhouse he also owned in Shawnee. He started a Stillwater location of his food operation, and renamed it "Sonic Drive-In" in 1959. The new name was used when Smith discovered the "Top Hat" name had previously been trademarked. He also coined the famous slogan "Service with the Speed of Sound", since the food/drink customer orders were made courtesy of 2-way speakers. The orders were then delivered to their customers via carhops on roller skates. Yes, the present North Main Street Sonic location in Our Town was the first one to open, and currently there are a whopping 3,545 stores nationwide. Since December 7, 2018, Sonic has been part of Inspire Brands, which also owns Arby's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants.  

     Many hours during my 1960's teenage driving years in Our Town, I spent parked at our original Sonic, always trying to be seen, because it certainly was the "cool" place to hang out, mostly after dark!

     Shopping (grocery) carts. These were placed into widespread use in 1937 by Humpty Dumpty Supermarket owner Sylvan Goldman in Oklahoma City. He began his idea a year earlier, because he wanted his grocery shopping customers to be able to purchase more items as they walked through his stores. Goldman had already pioneered self-service grocery stores, and his grocery cart invention was an integral part of his self-service retail concept. To alter the grocery shopper's early-on negative opinions of the carts, Goldman hired female and male actors to push the carts around his stores. His ingenious marketing plan worked, and he soon became a multimillionaire with the widespread use of his new invention.   

     Parking meters. Carl C. Magee, an Oklahoma City lawyer and newspaper publisher, joined the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the chamber's commerce traffic committee. Most downtown Oklahoma City business owners were chamber members, too, and continually complained to him concerning constant traffic congestion around their private businesses. They told him the same vehicles were parked for hours in front of their businesses, blocking potential customers from parking, and. thus,  entering their companies. Magee got the idea to sponsor a contest at Oklahoma A & M College (Became OSU in 1958) to invent a device that would limit parking time, and also produce revenue for Oklahoma City. Indeed, 2 college engineering professors in Our Town, Thuesen and Hale, won the contest, and invented the coin-operated parking meter. Of  course, the rest is history. The first meter was installed in the Oklahoma City downtown area on July 16, 1935, and it charged 5-cents per hour to park.  

     With these 3 trivia items now imprinted in your mind's eye, readers in Our Town and far beyond, you just might (?) win a future debate with someone if the topic of Oklahoma milestones enters your conversation exchange! Good luck, all.