Startup Memories of the O.U Club of Dallas
by Jim Stevens (1st Club President, 1950-1952)

In spring 1949 - just after I had been released from the U.S. Army - I was working for an insurance company in Dallas - Reserve Loan Life Insurance Company- I was walking down Main Street in front of the old Mercantile National Bank Bldg. And by chance, I ran into Irving Higbee, C.P.A.. Irving and I were buddies at O.U. from 1937 to 1940. We graduated and went our separate ways until this time - we went to lunch at the old Vick's Restaurant on Commerce (St.) and we had a very animated conversation about our old times together and the gals we dated together and so forth - during this conversation Irving began telling me about other fellow Alumni Members he had run into, namely, Earl Holden, Jim Baily, Push Nelson, Harold Shank and some others I cannot recall. I knew some of these fellows - the IDEA immediately hit me - why not start an Alumni Club for O.U. as this would be a NATURAL with the Texas-O.U. Football game each fall at the fair.

Irving thought it was a good IDEA so we agreed to contact some of the follows and find out who they knew and how many - in contacting these fellows I found out that there had been a O.U. Alumni Club in Dallas during the late thirties and early forty's - I cannot remember the fellows name - seems it was Griffin who had been president in 1942 - he was very discouraged as to a new club as the club had lost $4,000.00 in 1942 on a party adventure and I believe dance - the members had to pay the indebtedness off and he was not very happy about starting a new club - Irving and I proceeded anyway, and had a meeting in the summer of 1949 at the old Mexican Restaurant on Commerce (St.) across from the Baker Hotel upstairs - there were nine members present - this group elected me President after a discussion and we started from there - I believe Irving was elected Treasure and we ask each one for a $10.00 bill to get us started.

I then contacted Boyd (David Ross Boyd?)in Norman, who was the Alumni Club Administrator for the University - we held our next meeting with Boyd above the Restaurant across from the Mexican place upstairs the first week in October 1949 - we must have had 15 or 20 people there - Boyd was not too enthusiastic about the IDEA either, for some reason, but I pushed the Idea and we all voted to start the O.U. Club and point for a big dance in the fall of 1950 - Glenn Miller was our first band and the dance was held - called a VICTORY Dance in the Baker Hotel - we made about 200 or 300 dollars net - so it went from there - I was President for the first two years - we had a ball and enjoyed it all- Friday afternoon before the game was a great day for us in decorating the dance hall and selling tickets etc., many of the wives helped us - Syd Cockrell came about this time and added a great deal of enthusiasm - Push Nelson played a big role - Earl Holden - Harold Shank and many others.

I feel great- enjoying my life in East Texas - will try to make the party in 1990 if all goes well -

Yours for a better Soonerland in Dallas,
Jim
Jim Stevens, 1st President, OU Club of Dallas

Ed. Note: This is the text of a letter from Jim to our Historian Jack McKinney dated November 2, 1989. Jim wrote it to explain how the current club was started - information that Jack was not able to include in his history.