| | | quote | Originally posted by kslish:
Looks like they did a preliminary unearthing this morning. It's "not a pretty sight" as water apparently seeped into the vault.......
http://newsok.com/article/3065823 |
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Wed June 13, 2007
Buried car not a pretty sight
TULSA — The rain-soaked unearthing of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere brought tears and gasps from witnesses Wednesday morning.
The protective bag holding the car looks "pretty pitiful,” said Tulsarama coordinator Paula Hale, whose view into the vault brought tears to her eyes.
"I just lived and breathed it for so long,” she said about a minute after arriving at the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn where the car was buried 50 years.
The gold and white classic was buried in 1957 as part of Tulsa's state semicentennial celebration, to be opened during 2007.
The vault was opened to give hazardous materials experts a chance to inspect the contents of the vault, including gas and oil stowed in case those fuels and lubricants were not still in use in 2007.
Though it was sealed, fire officials said the water was as high as four feet deep inside the vault. They estimated the height as high as the car's windows.
Once officials drained water from the tomb, the bag became mud-caked. The bag looked as though it once was white.
Tears came from those like Hale because they fear the car inside may look as bad as the bag.
"I don't know why you'd get so upset about a car,” Hale said, laughing about 30 minutes after seeing the opened vault. "But my first thought was sorrow because I wanted her to be a beauty queen. It's gotten to be such an attachment for me.”
Tulsa fire Capt. Randy Springs of the HAZMAT unit said nothing hazardous was found in the vault, just some hydrocarbons from the oil and gas.
Excavators found evidence that water could have been to the top of the vault at one point, said Art Couch, who is heading up the unearthing project.
"I don't know how bad it is, but it's not good,” Couch said. "We were hoping it would be dry in there. The concrete must not have been as good as we hoped it was. It had some failures over the years; the concrete didn't hold.”
About 70 spectators watched proceedings through the fence on the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn. The vault was opened about 8:30 a.m.
One man yelled, "Jimmy's in there! Jimmy's in there!” referring to the mysterious disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa.
Steve Walter of Tulsa was 8 when his family took the bus from their home at 14th and Owasso to watch the Belvedere's planting. He and his brother signed their names and put their phone number on one of the car's tires.
He said his 8-year-old mind thought once 2007 rolled around, officials would see his name and number, call him and give him the Belvedere. He admitted to at first being sad when he saw the flooded vault.
"Fifty years ago I was younger and a little healthier, too,” he said, laughing. "Now, I'm a rust bucket also.
"It's unfortunate. But we're still going to have a fun party.”
And the party is why people from across the state, nation and world are descending on Tulsa.
Clive Reeve, 40, and his friend, Charlie Turner, 42, flew in from England for the event. Once in the United States, they drove from St. Louis to Tulsa on Route 66.
The two said they love everything from the Belvedere's era and have known about the unearthing for 3½ years. They weren't put off by the dreary weather or the submerged vault.
"We still would have come even if we knew about the condition,” Reeve said. "We were praying for mint.”
Shalonda Hunter, 35 of Tulsa stood on her tiptoes as she peered through the fence surrounding the car's exposed vault. She put her right hand on the fence, trying to leverage herself up.
She worked from 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m. Wednesday for her job in the medical field. She said she couldn't miss the chance to witness history.
"Oh, man, and I don't have my camera,” she said. "I haven't been to bed yet. I've been up all night long.”
Preliminary excavation began Tuesday morning to reach the vault, which was buried three feet below the ground. Today crews will test lift the car by raising it one or two feet in the air, Tulsarama spokesman Seth Spillman said.
On Friday, the car will be removed and the public will be able to see it that night during a sold-out event at the Tulsa Convention Center.
At least 7,000 tickets were sold for the unveiling at $5, $10 and $25, Hale said. The car will be shown as it is found in its vault: no waxing, buffing or shining.
Hale said the time capsule buried with the car appeared Wednesday to still be welded shut and in good condition. The name "Valerie,” could be seen written in the vault's concrete, and Hale said that was written by Valerie Randolph, who was crowned Miss Tulsarama during the city's weeklong semicentennial celebration in 1957.
On the Internet, OklaTravelNet.com will Webcast live the car's unearthing about noon Friday, and KOTV.com will have live streaming video of the public unveiling about 7 p.m. Friday. It will also air on KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa.
The unearthing also will be simulcast in Exhibit Hall A at the Convention Center. It is free and open to the public.
Media requests to cover the unveiling have come from such places as New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Australia, California and New York.
Sharon King Davis, a centennial events co-chair, said there is hope that even if the car has been exposed to water, rust inhibitors placed on it protected the paint. It will be unclear whether the car will run until probably Friday, she said.
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 06-13-2007).]
