Founders Chorus History...continued

By May 31st, the newly formed group began meeting at the Alvin Plaza Hotel and hosting 75 to 150 men weekly.  This group would soon become known as the Tulsa #1 Chapter and continue to meet at the Alvin Hotel for 37 years.  


The gathering of May 31st, 1938 was possibly the most important single event in the history of the society.  Sixty-three singers met on the Mezzanine level of the Alvin. In the heat of the early summer night the windows were opened to the street.  To understand this event, one most also be aware of the concern of the police department with spontaneous groups on the streets even years following the panic of the race riots in downtown Tulsa in 1921.  Reportedly, there was such a sound coming from the Alvin, passerbys on the way home stopped to listen, and cars began to pull over.  


Such a commotion was caused, a rare traffic jam resulted.  Apparently someone called the cops.  Ralph Martin, a reporter for the Daily World followed a policeman upstairs to the singers' songfest to discover the source of the "riot".  Even before the traffic jam was dispersed. 


The new story that resulted made the wire service and spread throughout the country and spawned new Chapters.  Thus, the beginning of Barbershop!


. . . The society was born.


Hotel TulsaHOTEL TULSA 1938 

(Reprinted by permission)

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