Oklahoma procars over the years

[Steve Loftin]

The Luginbuel F.H. in Vinita had this 1971 Sovereign Landaulet endloader. When replaced in 1976, it was sent to one of their other firms (Harris F.H. in Pryor).

I can remember seeing Luginbuel's 1973 Crown Sovereign Limousine combination on an emergency run to Tulsa shortly after she was placed in service. Warning equipment included dual #173-Ds and a Director. Ambulance stablemates when this photo was taken included a 1973 Medicruiser and the 1975 Olds I posted in the station wagon thread.

Except for the year, this classy 1976 was a clone of their 1973 model. She was the last combination purchased; by 1982, they were out of the ambulance business.

Three blocks away, Burkhalter's fleet included this 1967 M-M combination with panels. The beacon, torpedo lights, and window inserts came from their 1964 C/B combination. Her siren was a PA-15 with dual speakers. When I shot this in about 1975, Burkhalter's other cars included a 1969 Fleetwood 75, a 1967 98 four-door sedan, the 1973 Superior posted earlier, and a sweet 1963 ACC/Pontiac. No, I never got a shot of the Amblewagon...rats!

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

The Bryant F.H. in tiny Beggs owned this 1964 Classic combination. Set up for real ambulance work, chassis equipment included a factory 145-amp alernator and dual batteries.

When Bryant's went out of the ambulance business in 1974, their first-out rig was this 1963 Cotington combination. Plain, simple, functional, and very typical of this era...what a beauty! I never imagined, when taking these photos, that someday there would be no more combinations.

This 1964 Sovereign Limousine combination was long gone by the time I went to work part-time for Smith's in Sapulpa in 1978...what a shame (for me, anyway)! The #28 whistle on this girl had served on a couple of older cars previous to this one. That same #28 would later serve on two more combinations before Smith's discontinued their ambulance service in early 1982.

The Peck F.H. in Oilton once owned this 1962 Landau Traditional combination.

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

If you know me, you've heard me mention Central Ambulance Service in Tulsa at one time or another. I worked there, both part- and full-time, from 1973 until 1989. They had an exclusive contract with the city of Tulsa from 1969, when the funerals homes discontinued their ambulance operations, until 1978, when the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) took over. Pat Mace, Central's owner, owned Magic City Ambulance Service previous to forming Central (as a backup service to the mortuaries). When he was awarded the city contract, he formed a new corporation. Central stayed in the transfer business until about 1994. At one time, they owned and operated two planes and a helicopter in their air division. A contract with the VA kept both ground and air ambulances busy. These photos were all taken between 1973 and 1978.

#56 - After seeing lots of street duty in Tulsa, this 1968 Superior/Pontiac 48" was leased for a short period to the Moore F.H. in suburban Owasso. It was then sold to the Huckleberry F.H. in Webbers Falls. ("Huck" was always the last owner of any car he had!)

#57 - This girl, the twin to #56, was eventually leased to City of California, Missouri. When the lease was up, she was sold to the Tulsa International Raceway (drag strip).

#50 - After being replaced, this 1969 Superior/Pontiac 48" was leased to the Buckley Mortuary in Chouteau.

#51 - 1970 Superior/Pontiac 48"

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

#28 - This 1965 Consort combination (ex-Moore F.H.) was one of the rigs Central was sold or given when the funeral homes "hung it up." Pat added the lollipops as well as the red paint.

#52 - This 1968 Rescuer, along with units 22, 32, and 42, was eventually totalled in an accident. Because of this history, Pat decided there would be no more cars with a "2" in the number. When the five '76 Cadillacs arrived, they were numbered 61, 63, 64, 65, and 66!

#55 (first) - This 1970 Royale Limousine combination was originally black and in service w/Central Services (their livery division) as a rental hearse. It was converted to a straight ambulance in 1972. She was taken out of service in 1976 when replaced by the car in the next photo.

#55 (second) - This Rescuer was part of a large number of 1970 and 1971 51" Cadillacs that Pat bought in 1975 and 1976 from Randle-Eastern in Miami, Florida. Besides this and one 1971 model, the others were all sold or leased to other services. This car was sold in 1978 to the Smith F.H. in Sapulpa, making her the only rig I ever worked out of for two different outfits. This was also the first car I ever used that had a high-idle switch.

I have fond memories of Central, and enjoyed every minute I worked there...yes, even when we used the old tan Isolettes with Ferno #54 frames. Those were the days, my friends!

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

#54 - This 1971 Superior/Cadillac 54" was "rode hard and put up wet" for a long time, and then scrapped.

#55 - The third "55" is this 1971 51", the other ex-Randle-Eastern car that Pat kept and put on the street. Here she's seen just before being put in service, waiting for a 184H beacon to be installed. She was later sold to a private service in Poteau. (This car had toggle switches instead of rockers, which were still common on Superior combinations of the period but very rare on an ambulance. Superior started using rocker switches as a standard feature on ambulances and combinations for the 1969 model year.)

#58 (and #56) - This 1972 Superior/Cadillac 54" is one of twins bought in 1974 from a service in Ohio. They were originally white/orange/white. Both had #28s behind the grille as well as PA15 electronic sirens. Both were salvaged at the end of their service life with Central.

#59 - Another 1972, this car was originally owned by Associated Ambulance (a funeral home cooperative) in Tuscon, Arizona. She was originally light blue.

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

#64 - Pat bought the last five 1976 Superior hightops built because he wanted to avoid the soon-to-come downsized cars as long as he could. In fact, he kept these off of the street for almost two years in order to make them last as long as possible. When it was determined in 1978 that Central would lose the city contract, he sold four and kept one. The cars were
sold fully equipped, from linens to Thumpers. Three went to Eastern Ambulance Service in Lincoln, Nebraska; the other, #65, went to Smith F.H. in Sapulpa. The car he kept, #63, was used through about 1989, when it was sold to an Oklahoma City funeral director. It was then sold to Steve Diamond (Port Arthur, Texas collector/ambulance operator), after that to a collector in California and then on eBay, after which it showed up at the PCS meet in Kingston, Tennessee. While still at Central, we made good use of her with transfers, event standbys, and even a few emergencies. Steve Lichtman drove her in a movie that was being filmed while he lived in Tulsa. This photo was taken shortly after delivery.

#63 - Just before he found out that EMSA would be taking over Tulsa's ambulance service, Pat had Twinsonic lightbars, PA200 sirens, and dual TS-100 speakers installed on all five of the 1976 rigs.

#57 - Four new cars were bought in 1974; this one, as well as units that were assigned numbers 50, 51, and 60. These were the only ones ordered with Solar Rays in the front tunnels and the first ones to come with the Unity RV-46 Spitfire beacons. To quote Dave Burkham, the Spitfires were "slow, juice suckers, and hard to repair"...I couldn't have put it better myself. Thesebeacons used PAR 46 (6") instead of the usual PAR 36 (5") bulbs and were very bright. An experiment was tried on one of the rigs using aircraft landing bulbs for extra brightness, but was discontinued when the dome started to melt!

This 1973 Sovereign Landaulet is typical of Central's livery cars. Except for a lone Victoria, all were endloaders without vinyl tops. A few of them, as well as some of the limousines and even ambulances, had these aftermarket "Rolls-Royce" grilles installed in an effort to hide the model year. (This photo was taken next to Central's office at Tulsa Pest Control, which Pat also owned.)

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

Central Services was not only the livery and mortuary service arm of Central A.S., but the dealership side, as well. C.S. bought, sold, and leased many a new and used hearse, ambulance, and limousine over the years. C.S. was also the Oklahoma S&S dealership for a while during the mid-1970s. Here are a few of the trade-ins I was able to photograph:

Here's a 1965 Cotington combination; note the Flxible roof lights in front of the lightbar. Note also the special-order long brackets needed to mount the Visibar (as well as the Twinsonics) on these wide-roof cars.

This 1969 Pontiac combination had an Oklahoma inspection sticker on the windshield, but I have no idea of her lineage.

My favorite of all these is this 1962 Cotington combination that came from the Stanley F.H. in Tulsa. (You'll note that some of these photos were taken at a service station. Pat owned three different ones over the years, mainly to keep his fleet fueled and maintained.)

The 1967 C/B limousine was one of two that Stanley's owned.

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

Here are two Central fleet shots that were taken in 1972:

The one at Central's Skelly station was taken earlier and shows 11 rigs. The other cars were out covering the city. Note the '65 Royale at the upper left; it was an ex-Moore F.H. car. Note #55 at the lower right; she was in the process of being converted from a combination to a straight ambulance. Here's some trivia for you...the '65 lowtop and the '69 Sentinel parked near it were the only two C.A.S. rigs to have #174 beacons. The other three Sentinels had #184 beacons.

Later that day, the same cars (except the '65) were posed for the parking lot shot. Owner Pat Mace is shown in both photos.

The other shot is of Pat's favorite, unit #53. Units #53 and #54, both '71 models, were bought as demonstrators. The Q2Bs were added by Central. A factory photo of this girl is on Page 352 in the Superior book.

(CAS photos...and am I glad to have 'em!)

 

[Steve Lichtman]

#64 - ...Steve Lichtman drove her in a movie that was being filmed while he lived in Tulsa....

Very true. My first movie job (of many). As usual, I played the ambulance driver. I never found out the name of the movie and never saw it. Probably it was a porn flick or something (though I wish to stress that I remained fully dressed at all times)....

Having moved from Maryland to Tulsa in 1985, I was amazed to find several of Central Ambulance's Superiors still in service. Though I was working for EMSA in Tulsa, which ran the city's 911 EMS and transfer service, we would still see the Central units on the road from time to time. Great cars, classic paint scheme. And it's good to know a couple of them are still around and preserved in PCS members' care!

 

[Steve Loftin]

thank you for sharing those pictures

You're welcome, guys...my pleasure! I'm going to stop posting for a while and see what everyone else has to share. The reason I started these threads is to encourage others to start posting what they have.

 

[Kent Martinson - Deceased 1947 - 2019]

Very true. My first movie job (of many). As usual, I played the ambulance driver. I never found out the name of the movie and never saw it. Probably it was a porn flick or something (though I wish to stress that I remained fully dressed at all times)....

THANK YOU!

 

[Steve Loftin]

Crunched Centrals

Okay, one or two more posts for now...

#52 - This 1968 Rescuer, along with units 22, 32, and 42, was eventually totalled in an accident. Because of this history, Pat decided there would be no more cars with a "2" in the number. When the five '76 Cadillacs arrived, they were numbered 61, 63, 64, 65, and 66!

#52 - 1968 Rescuer

#22 - 1969 Sentinel (one of four; these were the first new vehicles bought by Central after they took over from the mortuaries)

#42 - This 1967 Cotington is an ex-Ninde F.H. rig; each of their cars had its beacon mounted in front of the siren. The torpedo lights were sheared off during the rollover and as she slid down N. Peoria Ave. on her roof. The patient as well as the driver of the car that pulled out in front of the ambulance were killed. Both attendants were injured, as you might guess.

#54 - 1971 Superior 54"

(SL photos)

 

[Steve Loftin]

1976 ex-Centrals; crunched, none the less

Not having a "2" in their unit numbers didn't keep these cars from getting whacked after they were sold to other services. After Smith's bought #65 (unused) in 1978, she was used as a fourth (last)-out rig in order to keep her new longer. Once taken over by the county ambulance service in 1982, she was immediately moved to first-out status and promptly involved in a collision. After being repaired, she made an appearance at the 1986 PCS meet in Tulsa.

As mentioned earlier, Eastern A.S. in Lincoln, NE bought three of these cars (again, unused). After their service lives were over one was traded in to Stratus, another sold locally and used for carpet delivery, and this one was scrapped.

(SL photos)

 

[Mike McDonald]

Oklahoma Cars

Steve: THANKS the posting of all the OK Cars! WOW!!! (*) I thought for sure with all these OK Cars.... I would see the two I bought from a retired OK funeral service worker who moved his family and belongings in them to Southern Califonnia in the early 80's. One was an all gray 1964 Cadillac S&S-Park Row (Combination), and the other an all-black 1965 Superior-Cadillac Crown Soverign (Combination). Both were very clean, low mileage, ran good and came from the same (unknown) Oklahoma Funeral Home, apparently given to him as part of his "severance package". The local fire department here referred him to us as someone who may buy both. He wanted to sell them to buy (a normal car) as he put it for transportation. Being parked at our construction business wasn't too good for local "PR" so I sold both within a few months for quite a profit but wish now I had stored them away!

Steve: My folks were from El Reno, Calumet-Geary Areas.... any Ambulances or Hearses from that area? THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to do this for all our enjoyment. MM

 

[Steve Loftin]

My Brother-in-law worked for Demuths in Britton in the late 90's, of course a long time after they went out of the ambulance service. I talked him in to moving to Dodge City and working for me, now he is managing and buying into my business here. Dave Demuth is a great guy, but the son, Tom, well I don't know about him???

Here's a shot of the Sherman place (now Sherman-Demuth), taken about 1969; the place looks about the same today.

Speaking of 1969, here's an excerpt from an ambulance service study done in Oklahoma that year:

FUNERAL HOME AMBULANCE SERVICE

The most prevalent type of ambulance service in Oklahoma is the combined unit of funeral home and ambulance service. This type of service is typical of rural Oklahoma as the profits of the funeral home offset the economic loss incurred by the ambulance vehicle and additional personnel. Many services of this type use the ambulance service as a promotional media for the funeral home. In past years, such service was given in conjunction with burial policies; however, this is no longer permitted by the State Burial Association. Part of the economic loss is the result of the owner not pressing an ambulance fee that might jeopardize a funeral service.

Although many of these services are one-man operations, it must be understood that, due to the lack of volume and poor collection rate, many small rural communities would have no ambulance service at all if it were not for the funeral home. Many of Oklahoma’s funeral home-operated ambulances have been serving their communities for over fifty years.

In the rural ambulance business of today, a 50% collection rate is considered good. The majority of funeral home operators surveyed have considered, or are presently considering, disposing of their ambulance operations due to difficulty in complying with new rules and regulations being established by Wage and Hour, Medicare, and Welfare agencies.

The combination funeral home-ambulance service provides one of the most personalized services, in that the purveyor is well acquainted with individuals in the trade area and is familiar with the outlying rural areas. Most of the calls involve either persons or members of families previously served.

Two hundred thirteen (213) of two hundred sixty-six (266), or 80%, of the ambulance companies surveyed fell within this category.

By 1970, there were still over 200 funeral homes here operating an ambulance service; by 1975, about 50. In 1995 there were two, and today there is only one.

 

[Steve Loftin]

More from the same study, done by the Oklahoma State Dept. of Health in 1969:

SUBSIDIZED AMBULANCE SERVICE

A subsidized ambulance service is a firm that receives assistance from any source other than the revenue obtained through ambulance services rendered. Since very few ambulance services in Oklahoma operate on a break-even basis, subsidies have provided a means for almost anyone to get into the ambulance business regardless of his financial background.

Most ambulance services in Oklahoma are subsidized through one form or another. The funeral homes subsidize their ambulance service through the profits from funerals, while a municipally-owned ambulance service is assisted through tax revenue in much the same way as the fire or police departments. Several commercial services operate under a one or twoyear contract with the city or county in which the govermnental agency agrees to pay the purveyor a set amount of money, plus whatever he takes in through services rendered. This money is paid on a regular basis, annually, quarterly or monthly. Undoubtedly, these ambulance services could not survive without this subsidy because of lack of volume, high overhead, and poor collections.

An important point that must be made with regard to providing anyone with a subsidy is that a thorough investigation of the individual should be made, including his moral, ethical and financial background; otherwise, the subsidizer will be plagued with legal suits, ever-increasing subsidies and, ultimately, no ambulance service.

Ten (10) of two hundred sixty-six (266), or a little more than 3%, of the ambulance companies surveyed fell within this category.

Central was one of these subsidized services, as was Sooner Ambulance Co. in Pawhuska. (Sooner was affiliated with Mercy Ambulance in Bartlesville, if I remember correctly.) Sooner's white Vista Cruiser was still in backup service in 1976. I can remember seeing the dark green 1966 Plymouth Satellite (compact) wagon "running red" to St. Francis in Tulsa in about 1969.

(SL collection)

 

[Mike Burkhart - Deceased 1948 - 2016]

Photo

Steve,
Thanks for the photo of the Sherman Place and ALL the rest of the pics and stories.

I can't seem to figure out how to post a photo on the forum here. I have a photo of a 1967 Pontiac Superior which served Ford County, Kansas in the 70's. My son bought it and we fixed it up and he sold it on e.bay about 4 years ago to an amusement park in Colo. Springs.

Could you give me your e.mail address and I could send it to you? I also have a 1937 ALF Pumper pic I would like to send.

Thanks,
Mike Burkhart mburk@fairpoint.net

 

[Steve Loftin]

The aforementioned study included a photo of a representative ambulance service for each section. The section about hospital-based services featured a shot of the Park View Hospital operation in El Reno. The '67 Mercury (ex-Wilson F.H.) had a Visibar on the roof and a Q behind the grille. The '62 Olds (from Benson's) had a pair of Junior beacons flanking the whistle.

 

[Steve Loftin]

Steve,
Thanks for the photo of the Sherman Place and ALL the rest of the pics and stories.

I can't seem to figure out how to post a photo on the forum here. I have a photo of a 1967 Pontiac Superior which served Ford County, Kansas in the 70's. My son bought it and we fixed it up and he sold it on e.bay about 4 years ago to an amusement park in Colo. Springs.

Could you give me your e.mail address and I could send it to you? I also have a 1937 ALF Pumper pic I would like to send.

Thanks,
Mike Burkhart

DONE

You have to be a site supporter to post pictures.

 

[Steve Loftin]

The aforementioned study included a photo of a representative ambulance service for each section. The section about hospital-based services featured a shot of the Park View Hospital operation in El Reno. The '67 Mercury (ex-Wilson F.H.) had a Visibar on the roof and a Q behind the grille. The '62 Olds (from Benson's) had a pair of Junior beacons flanking the whistle.

Mike McDonald, this was for you! I also posted shots of a '69 Consort combination (in the Pontiac thread) that was originally from Geary.