Many people will remember Tyler’s Furniture on Hobson, even though it’s been gone for over fifteen years. The business, which got its start in 1945, actually goes back much further than that.
George W. Tyler was born on February 22nd, 1915, near Colgate, Oklahoma. When the doctor arrived during a deluge to deliver George, he told the mother-to-be that since it was President George Washington’s birthday, she should name the baby after him.
In 1920, the family moved to Hanna, Oklahoma to help George’s brother Asbury pick cotton.
George left school during the 5th grade and went to work for his brother J.W. who owned 9 retail stores.
George Tyler was fascinated with aviation. He met two gentlemen who owned two planes, a Waco and a Travel Air. George made 9 dollars a week, and because of his intense desire to learn how to fly, without hesitation, he paid them 8 dollars an hour to give him flight instructions. George would hitchhike to Oklahoma city on weekends and “hang around” the airport. There a barnstormer befriended him. He let George fly the plane to the field where he performed. He hired George to sell tickets and turn the plane around. Eventually, he let young George give rides also.
Tyler met Will Rogers and Wiley Post at the Oklahoma City Airport. He signed his name on the Winnie Mae, the plane in which Post flew around the world, and in which Post and Rogers perished in a crash in Alaska in 1935.
While working at his brother’s general store, George met a young lady named Opal Sweeten, who was a housekeeper for an elderly couple, and came in regularly to buy groceries for her employers.
George would end up marrying Opal. Since he was only making $9 a week at the time, his brother quipped, “You’re going to need a raise,” and gave him a whopping one-dollar raise.
When George and his wife came to Sapulpa in 1939, his brother Omar was working at Sunshine Laundry as a wash boy. George obtained a job with Brooks Packing in Sand Springs for 30 cents an hour, but only worked 30 hours a week. He and his wife lived in an apartment that cost 6 dollars a week. Therefore it was imperative to find a higher-paying job. Fortuitously, he landed a job at Wickham Packing for 35 cents an hour, 60 hours a week. He was given an abundance of overtime hours, at the same rate.
After working at the meatpacking plants, George took a test in Tulsa and became a journeyman electrician, and went to work for McCall Electric wiring houses. He was paid 5 dollars per outlet or fixture, and $12.50 for wiring 110-volt service.
Following that job, he went to work at Sun Oil driving a truck around to the oil fields to collect samples from tanks.
He quit Sun Oil when World War II broke out and went to work for Douglas Aircraft mounting engines on A35 dive bombers. He subsequently transferred to Department 556, building engines for B52 bombers.
After the war, his brother JW said, “I think you ought to go into the furniture and appliance business.” He loaned George $500 to start one in 1945, at 23 North Water.
In 1947 he moved to 11 North Main, next to Hank May Hardware, and rented a building from Max Meyer. While at that location, he became a Crosley appliance dealer.
In 1955 George Tyler bought a new Ford pickup for the business and commissioned Bill Mooney to paint advertising on the vehicle. A photographer from Life Magazine shot a photo of the truck to use in a Ford Motor Co. ad.
In 1957 Tyler purchased a building at 15-19 East Hobson Avenue. In the early days of Sapulpa, every 25 feet of storefront had a separate address. He subsequently purchased 21, 23, and 25 East Hobson Avenue, thus giving Tyler Furniture half a block of storefront.
One day George took a couple up to the third-floor showroom which was not air-conditioned. The man said, “Boy it’s hot up here!” George replied, “Yeah it’s hot up here, but so are our prices. You may sweat a little buying it, but you won’t sweat near so much trying to pay for it!”
George served his church and community. He was a member of the Lions Club and an active member of the First Assembly of God. The Tyler Boys were also civic-minded. Denny belonged to the Sertoma Club and served as Mayor, Mike served as State Representative for 16 years, and Rick served on the Auxiliary Police Force for 37 years.
Tyler’s three sons, Rick, Denny, and Mike all worked at their father’s store. In 1978, the brothers bought the store from their father. George, however, was not ready to retire. Rick said, “He thought he’d retire, but came back quick. He wanted to run the used store at 23 N. Water for us if we’d pay him 5 bucks an hour. Paid him better than that.” George ran the used annex until 1985 when he officially retired and later passed away in 1999.
Exceptional customer service was the hallmark of Tyler Furniture. Mike recalls someone calling on Thanksgiving, saying their refrigerator had failed. The family business sprung into action and promptly delivered a new refrigerator.
People trusted Tyler’s implicitly. Rick remembers a lady who was a regular customer who came in for new carpet. They went out and measured, then called her to come down and pick out her carpet. She said that she was sure Denny knew what she wanted. After the carpet was laid, she called back asking Denny to pick out a new sofa.
Mike and Denny decided to retire after a half-century of working at the store. Rick did not want to run the store by himself, and Tyler’s Furniture closed in 2006.
Rick opened an appliance store a few months later in the adjacent building that he owned. He operated the enterprise for 10 years, closing in 2016 and retiring.
Alas, another family-owned business that went the extra mile to provide excellent service to its customer is now in the annals of history.
