Driving past downtown Tulsa tonight I was lured into circling the skyscrapers by the First Place Tower blasting broadsides of light into the mist above the other buildings. Click here or the image below for a slideshow.
Skyscrapers (click image for slideshow)
(With apologies to Dian Fossey)
Through June 2018 the Bartlesville Area History Museum has an exhibit on display all about Micro-Midget Racing in Bartlesville!
The Museum is open M-F from 10-4 on the top floor of the City Center at 401 S Johnstone
Speedway Remains (click image for slideshow)
I walked the Pathfinder Parkway on a warm but overcast March afternoon on a quest to find the remains of The Phillips 66 Speedway, a Micro Midget racetrack which was tucked between Tuxedo Boulevard and the Caney River just east of Quapaw and Comanche. In a previous post I tracked down aerial views of the track and I wondered how much still remained in 2012.
The asphalt track disappeared long ago and the entire area is now heavily overgrown. Heavy growth and trees mark the center island of the speedway, with the remains of the east and west stands to either side, slowly succumbing to the relentless encroachment of nature.
The speedway is just south of my favorite bench on the Pathway, with horses grazing on the property immediately west of the former speedway. The area is along the power line route leading to and from the big PSO plant just south of Frank Phillips Blvd.
The area in question.
During my 4.75 mile walk from Atwoods to the location, I shot every little spring flower I encountered. I can never remember the names of plants, but I managed to identify wild blue phlox (both furled and unfurled), henbit, dog violet, the ubiquitous red buds, Bradford pear blossoms, and dandelions of different styles, and finally two examples of white flowers which I leave unidentified.
Just how much does that improved resolution matter?
I loved my original iPad, which I paid for by selling off old media. A year ago I upgraded to the iPad 2, which wasn’t all that different from the original model. By downgrading from 64 GB to 16 GB of memory on the new unit and dropping the cellular 3G service for a WiFi-only model, I broke even on that upgrade. I used my iPhone 4’s hot spot to link the iPad 2 to the internet on the few occasions I took it on the road and didn’t miss the extra memory since I don’t sync my music collection to it. I hardly ever took photos with the lousy camera on the iPad 2, since I almost always use my dedicated superzoom camera for shots.
Why upgrade?
So when Apple announced the 3rd generation iPad, which it refuses to call the iPad 3, the only thing which lured me into another upgrade was the quadrupling of the screen pixels, jumping from 1024 x 768 to 2048 x 1536, a higher resolution than any screen I have ever seen. Apple also improved the camera, although it still isn’t as good as the one in the iPhone 4S, and added higher-speed cellular data options. I stuck with a WiFI-only iPad, but since the screen resolution would require more storage space for graphics and the better camera and nice photo apps might lure me into editing more photos on the unit, I went back up to a 64 GB model.
What about my iPad 2?
Last time I sold my old iPad to gazelle.com to pay for the new one, but this time I’m taking the old unit to school, where I will hook it up to the classroom projector for use in lessons. I have the requisite VGA connection kit, something I never used at home since AirPlay works so well with my 2nd generation Apple TV, allowing me to effortlessly and wirelessly send the iPad’s video and audio to my HDTV. Hopefully that repurposing of the iPad 2 will work out, and if not I can currently still get $250 for my old unit, which would help offset the $700 price tag for the new 64-GB WiFi iPad (3).
Comparing the iPad 2 to the 3rd generation model
The new iPad is only about 1 mm thicker than the iPad 2
The new iPad is about one millimeter thicker and a tiny bit heavier than the iPad 2. This is to accommodate a battery with much higher capacity, keeping the battery life at about 10 hours despite the much higher resolution display, faster processor (needed for such high-res graphics – the units are equally “snappy” in use), and especially important to those using the energy-intensive LTE cellular service.
Neither the dimension nor the weight change is at all noticeable when using the unit, and new model still fits in my wonderful Zerochroma case and stand, which has made using the iPad around the house much easier.
I love my Zerochroma iPad case, which lets me instantly prop it up at many different angles in portrait or landscape orientation.
I like the case so much that, despite its $50 price tag (which a retailmenot.com coupon lowered slightly), that I ordered another for use with the iPad 2 when I take it to school.
When they are side-by-side there is no apparent difference between the iPad 2 and the new one, unless you look at the screen resolution.
The only apparent difference between the iPad 2 and 3rd generation model is the screen resolution.
And since this blog post is limited to about 640 pixels wide, you can’t readily perceive the difference here. You can click on the picture below for a higher-res shot. If you zoom in on it, you’ll be able to see the difference in the text. But while it is visible, it is not startling when you are using the unit in real life. (The new iPad is on the left in that shot; the iPad 2 is on the right.)
Click the image for a high-resolution shot of the two iPads. New iPad on the left; iPad 2 on the right.
The only time the resolution of my iPad 2 bothered me was when viewing a full-page article in the online Tulsa World, like the one above. The text would have occasional artifacts of letters in the same word being thicker and thinner. They were still readable, but it was annoying enough that I would often zoom in to get rid of it. The new unit eliminates that problem, but if I didn’t have a use for the old unit I might have regretted investing so much in the new one.
Reading in the Kindle app is also easier on the eyes thanks to the higher resolution. In the tight shot below you can see how the text is cleared up. But I tried reading a chapter in a book on my old Kindle 2 e-ink reader and the new iPad’s Kindle app, and still prefer the passive e-ink display even though the new iPad has 264 pixels per inch compared to 167 ppi on the Kindle. The lower-resolution passive display is still easier on my eyes than a higher-resolution backlit screen.
Here's a very tight shot of text in the Kindle app on the iPad 2 and the new unit.
Buying advice
If you’re buying an iPad for the first time, I’d recommend the new model over the iPad 2 since the lovely screen is nice if not necessary. You might be able to get by with a 16 GB model, but if you plan to take photos and edit them and sync music to the device then I’d suggest you bump up to 32 or 64 GB. If you have an iPhone 4 or 4S, forget about the cellular models and just use the hotspot function of your phone instead. But if you don’t have a cellular hot spot and plan to take the iPad on the road, get a unit with the cellular option since an iPad without internet service is of very limited value and I find WiFi coverage is still spotty and unreliable when travelling.
But if you have a limited budget, you probably won’t regret buying a $400 16 GB WiFi-only iPad 2. It has the same screen resolution as many laptops and works great if you don’t plan to load up lots of photos and music but mainly use the device for web browsing, email, and apps.
If you already have an iPad 2, I doubt you need to spend the money upgrading to the new model unless you are sensitive to the iPad 2’s text and graphics quality. Go try one out at an Apple store and see for yourself.
No Apple TV upgrade for me
While I have made the leap each time thus far with iPad upgrades and did upgrade from the first to the second generation of Apple TV box, I don’t plan to upgrade my 2nd generation Apple TV to the latest model. The only advantage of the model is a jump in HD resolution from 720p to 1080p, which wouldn’t make a huge difference on my home HDTV using streaming video services. The iPad mirroring over AirPlay is still limited to 720p even with a new iPad and the latest Apple TV; you only get 1080p resolution over AirPlay with some apps.
End result
I’m still delighted by the combination of an iPad and the Apple TV, and don’t regret spending money for the iPad upgrade since I have a use for the old one at school and could also sell it off for decent money. I don’t compose much text on the iPad, so I doubt I’ll use the new voice dictation option much since it isn’t a fancy personal assistant like the Siri service on the iPhone 4S. I’ll still use my Kindle for reading books, rely on my iPad for most web surfing and my morning newspaper, and use the iPad with the Apple TV for podcasts.
My next big Apple technology upgrade will be replacing my iPhone 4 to whatever model comes after the 4S, since my two-year contract expires this summer. I do look forward to trying out Siri when I get a new phone, since it seems like the USS Enterprise library computer come to life. But Apple will struggle to make significant improvements to future iPads and iPhones – they are pretty darn good already.
I celebrated the first day of my Spring Break 2012 by hiking five miles at Osage Hills State Park.
Spring Blossoms (click image for slideshow)
One of the most popular pages on MEADOR.ORG is the one about the Pathfinder Parkway. Today I received an interesting comment from Bob Curtis:
Hopefully you can help me out. Back in the 50′s/60′s, was there a large asphalt race track located between Tuxedo Ave and Frank Phillips Ave, just about where the orchard is located? I have asked many people about this about this and have always got a no, but I could have sworn that my Dad took me by there one time when I was a kid and showed me it. I believe he said it was not used very often.
Thanks …..
Occasionally I get very specific questions generated by my Bartlesville history pages, but often they are about specific people whom I cannot possibly trace down. But occasionally one of my Bartlesville history books will cough up a clue. The above question seemed answerable by using old maps and aerial photographs, so I took the bait.
First I went to the USGS Store’s interactive map and found the 1971 topographic map for Bartlesville. It did not show anything but the orchard between Frank Phillips and Tuxedo, but it did indicate a small oval track north of Tuxedo, located between the sewer plant and the cement plant. (You can click any of the images in this post to enlarge them to their full scale.)
The 1971 topographic map did show an oval road or track, but north of Tuxedo, not between Tuxedo and Frank Phillips.
Could that be what Mr. Curtis was recalling? I needed some photography to check that out. My next stop was the USGS Earth Explorer where I zeroed in on the same area looking for old aerial photographs. This was more difficult, but I did find imagery of the area from 1954 and 1971. Here’s the area in 1954:
In 1954 there was no orchard, no cement plant, and no racetrack, either.
So in 1954 there was definitely no race track anywhere around there. Instead of an orchard and Blazer ball fields, there was just a farm field. But in 1971 there definitely was some sort of oval track just west of the cement plant:
In 1971 there was a small oval track north of Tuxedo between the cement plant and the sewage plant.
That’s not a huge track, but it is about half a city block in length and bigger than a baseball field. So to a kid 50 years ago it probably seemed much larger than it looks here. Here’s a zoom in on it:
Zooming in on the suspect racetrack.
Hmmm. Perhaps bleachers on either side? Now here’s the same area today:
The orchard area today.
So the area in question is still a clear space, with visible tracks, surrounded by the Pathfinder on the north, the house and field where the horse lives on the west (with the sewage plant farther west of that), the cement plant on the east, and Automasters to the south. I suspect Automasters takes cycles or other vehicles out for a spin on that land.
Here’s a big zoom of the area, showing that the oval thing-a-ma-bob was located just south and east of my favorite bench on the Pathfinder, where I like to sun myself and watch the horse that lives just south and west of there.
Zooming in on that area today.
So I think there was indeed some sort of track there at one time and that is probably what Mr. Curtis recalls from his childhood. I’ll encourage him to go inquire about it at Automasters…they may know something about it. I’m impressed once again by what one can find on the internet if you know where and how to look.
3/15/2012 UPDATE: Patrick Yokley’s father confirms this was a Micro Midget racetrack:
Bartlesville Micro Midget Racers Association was organized in Sept. 1958.
President Johnny Pearson, Kenneth Coonfield
Vice President, Donna Fox Secetary
Treasurer, Lew Fesserman
Business Manager/Promoter and Kenneth Tate Trace
Supervisor/Flagman + a membership of 25 people.
Other members were Jim Clause, Paul Fox, Johnny Hankins, Johnny Sawyer, Curtis Wilkerson, G.B. Brown Jr., Bob Milton, Francis Rourke, Buddy Small, Roy Putman, Jim Cable, Dee Strum, Walt Thompson, Clinton Clopp, Mary Alice Pearson, Virginia Hankins, Kenneth Roland, Eddie Coonfield, Tommy Fresserman, D.C. McKibbin, Tom Carman and Marvin Schaal.
Quarter Midget racing for children was added later. The inter-club competition heats were held on Sundays at the track at the north end of Quapaw. The local track was constructed in 1960 and named “Phillips 66 Speedway”. I do not know what was used prior to this date. I assume they went to other tracks until they could afford to build one.
The track was 1/8th mile oval with medium banks. The long dimension ran north and south. The track was asphalt with concrete and wooden bleachers. The facility had a concession stand, parts and repair services, press facilities, and complete medical facilities manned by two local doctors, Dr. Elvin M. Amen and Dr. Merle D. Fox.
The opening race was on Friday Aug. 21, 1960. It was quite an event. The most well-known entry was Marty Robbins from Nashville, Tenn. Yes, the country and western singer. On Saturday he was leading the race when he was involved in a crash. He was not hurt nor were the other two drivers. Kenneth Coonfield won the race in the twin-cylinder Konigs class.
Even with the low banking, the racers reached speeds of 60 mph in the straight-a-ways and 30 to 40 on the curves. These cars had 19 to 23 cubic inch engines and weighed 320 pounds. The cars cost $400 to $500 to build.
There was an International Championship race held on Aug 19, 1961 with some 150 racers. The prize purse for the event amounted to a whopping $1,500 total. It made it into the major Oklahoma newspapers.
3/18/2012 UPDATE: I walked the Pathfinder a few days after this post to locate what remains of the speedway. The asphalt track is entirely gone, with just a bit of concrete poking through the overgrowth in one area and then there are the overgrown remains of the west and east stands.
West Stands
West Stands
East Stands
10/20/2017 UPDATE:
This post continues to get traffic, and Rich Scaler has kindly shared some great photos he found in a garage sale.
Racing
Orville Sheline and Bob Radabaugh in 1964-65
Coming around the curve
Aerial view of a race
Meador Manor 