The Dora Tubbs Years

In February of 1929, GolderStevenssoldPettijohn Springs Amusement Park and all 80 acres encompassing the park to Dora Tubbs, a Norman, Oklahoma, oil woman with no previous connectiontoSouthernOklahoma or Marshall County.

After her purchase of the park and its 80 acres of land, Dora Tubbs proceeded to spend a reported $40,000 on the purchase and improvements of the park. In 2021 dollars, Dora Tubb’s investment in the park and her improvements amounted to $619,595dollars. DoraTubbs made a huge investment in Marshall County.

Someoftheimprovements madebyDoraTubbswereupgrades to the dance pavilion, as she clearly saw dancing as a major source of revenue for her investment. One of the main upgrades she made during her operation of the park was “cooled air” in the dance pavilion. In advertisements that appeared during this time, “cooled” air was promoted. On hot and humid summer evenings, air conditioning in the dance pavilion would draw more customers.

Another dance hall improvement was the addition of an RCA radio Victrola. The Victrola first appeared around 1925, and it was an electric radio and record player in a large console with speakers. Between 1925 and 1929, RCA produced several different models of the Victrola. What model Dora Tubbs purchased is unknown, but it is likely it was a Model 45 Victorola, as it was the most popular and common of the Victrola models. The purchase of the Victrola provided an always-present source of music for the regular dance nights at Pettijohn. While most everyone preferred live music, a backup music source was essential for a successful dance hall. Live music was just not a reliable source due to scheduling and travel issues. So, the Victrola was a popular new addition to the park.

Another popular upgrade to the park was what is today called a “zip line” over the swimming pool. The “zip line” was suspended between two tall poles, and a cable stretched over the pool. The main pole was topped with a platform for swimmers to stand on after they climbed it and awaited their turn. The riders would hold onto a handle that allowed them to fly over the pool from the shallow end to the deep end, where they would let go and drop into the water. This newfeaturewasverypopular with pool guests.

Another popular addition to the park was a new, large swing set. This was popular with guests of all ages but especially popular with children.

Dora also completed and upgraded the guest cabins that were present in the park. Itisunclearhowmanycabins were constructed, but reports reference at least two cabins. These cabins were popular with travelers and locals looking for a romantic night away from home.

For the next two to three years, Pettijohn Springs remained a popular destination for folks around Marshall County. The big draw for families was the pool, playgrounds, picnic grounds and the park area. The draw for single adults and the older set was the large, “air-cooled” dance pavilion.

Then, in 1933, a big addition came to Pettijohn Springs that was a game changer for Dora Tubbs and her investment, both good and bad. In March of 1933, PresidentFranklinRoosevelt signed into law the Cullen-Harrison Act, which legalized the sale of 3.2 beer and low-point wine, thus ending Prohibition for those two types of alcoholic beverages.

With the passage of the Cullen-Harrison Act, Dora Tubbs filed for a license to sell 3.2 beer at the park and in the park's grocery store. In July of 1933, Dora Tubbs was granted a beer license. Pettijohn Springs was just one of four sites in Marshall County that was then licensed to sell beer. The other three were the Corner Drug Store, the Main Cafe and the New Deal Café, all in Madill.

Theadditionofbeerproved to be quite popular with the dance crowds. But while the addition of beer sales improved Dora Tubbs’s profit margins, it also ushered in thebeginningoftheendofthe success of Pettijohn Springs. The introduction of alcohol brought an element to the park that eventually drove “good” folk away.

Fights and brawls began to be a common occurrence at the park, as were arrests for public drunkenness. One brawl during that era was deemed by law enforcement as a “gang fight.”

Because of the popularity of the dance hall, folks from different towns regularly traveled to the park for the dances. Folks came from Tishomingo, Ravia, Milburn, Russett, Kingston, Willis, Madill, Mannsville, Mill Creek and other far-off places like Ardmore and Sherman/ Denison.

Rivalries existed between many of these different townspeople, and those rivalries created friction. And when the rivalries and friction were lubricated with alcohol, trouble often followed. Fights between different town folk became all too common. Many led to arrests and criminal charges. These issues began to give the park a bad reputation with the patrons of the early years, civil groups, church groups, school groups and families. While those groups still patronized the park during daylight hours, these groups began to avoid the park in the evening hours when the dances started because of the unsavory element that was drawn to dancing and drinking.

Another problem that began to plague the park was theft and robberies. Shortly after purchasing the Victrola, thieves broke into the dance pavilion one late night and stole the expensive new entertainment device. While it was replaced, this was a sign of more bad things to come.

Burglaries and robberies began to occur with greater frequency. One major robbery occurred in 1938 when three men, posing as travelers, came to the park under the guise of wanting to rent a cabin for the night. After the night clerk opened the door to let them in, they pulled a gun on the clerk and tied him up in his room in the back of the store. They then stole money from the register, cigarettes, and the Nickelodeon in the dance hall.

Another problem that plaguedtheparkwasbootlegging. Because of the number of people drawn to the park for dancing and partying, moonshiners found a new audience for their product. Moonshine stills became an issue in this part of the county due to the ease of hiding such operations in the hills, trees and canyons of the area. The second largest moonshine operations in Marshall County history was located just a mile west of Pettijohn Springs on the John Parks farm.

The whiskey operation was so large that four men were usually required to run the stills. There were two stills in the operation, one capable of producing 500 gallons of booze every ten days to two weeks and another capable of producing 150 gallons every ten days to two weeks. The 500-gallon stillwasburiedunderground, making detection very difficult. A lot of this liquor ended up in the mouths of patrons of Pettijohn Springs dances. Duringthatsametimeframe, a 350-gallon still operation wasfoundalongBellCreekin Marshall County, a few miles away. All these issues began to give Pettijohn Springs a bad reputation and one that would soon lead to its demise.

It is likely these issues were part of why Dora Tubbs only garnered 90 votes in her 1940 run for Sheriff of Marshall County.

In addition to the problems as outlined above, the Dora Tubbs era also saw the greatest tragedy in the life of Pettijohn Springs. This tragedy also played a huge role in the fading of the park's popularity.