Mildred Sanditen was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1998

The spirit of volunteerism frequently is cited as one of Tulsa’s greatest strengths. Volunteers work innumerable, unpaid hours to make the city’s organizations successful. If a person were looking for one individual who embodies that selfless, volunteer spirit, they would need look no further than Mildred Sanditen to find the perfect example. For over sixty years, Mrs. Sanditen has shared her talents and resources to make Tulsa a better place to live.

Mrs. Sanditen was born in Louisville and raised in Jasper, a small town in southern Indiana. She attended McMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois and Northwestern University in Evanston. Her marriage to Julius Sanditen brought her to Tulsa in 1933. Once in Tulsa, Mrs. Sanditen would find herself at the center of a large family which was intricately woven with the fabric of the city. As leaders in both the business world and civic affairs, the Sanditens were highly active and visible.

Two examples illustrate the diversity of Mrs. Sanditen’s interests. As a volunteer for the Tulsa Philharmonic, she did everything from stuffing envelopes to soliciting season subscriptions to ensure that symphonic music would survive in Tulsa. This work contrasts with the hours she committed to the Tulsa Psychiatric Center, where she frequently counseled patients. The hard work of dealing with difficult problems, often with no reward in sight, did not deter her from returning to her duties year after year.

The centerpiece of Mrs. Sanditen’s career in volunteerism is, without question, the Gershon and Rebecca Fenster Museum of Jewish Art. Mrs. Sanditen, together with her husband, founded the museum in May of 1966. The institution’s mission of preserving and interpreting Jewish history and culture reaches beyond Tulsa’s Jewish community. The audience for the Fenster Museum is the city at large, an audience which often is completely uninformed of the distinctive traditions that have nurtured 5,000 years of Jewish history. Mrs. Sanditen has been the backbone of the museum. She has dusted countless artifacts, she has raised untold financial support, she has educated thousands of museum visitors and, when the Oklahoma wind blew away the museum’s sign, she chased it down Peoria Avenue. Mildred Sanditen has proven she will go further than the extra step to serve the citizens of Tulsa.

Virginia Kramer Kulp was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1998

Growing up in the Oklahoma oil patch, Virginia Kramer Kulp learned to make changes. Due to her father’s changing assignments, each school year found her family living in a new town. Mrs. Kulp was forced to meet the challenges of making new friends and adjusting to new schools. As a result, continual change has become one of the recurring motifs in Mrs. Kulp’s life, as she is always looking for new challenges and the opportunities they bring.

Mrs. Kulp’s first experience of attending a school for more than one year was with her entrance to the University of Oklahoma. She earned a B.A. in journalism and compiled an impressive academic record that included admittance into the honorary societies of Mortar Board and Phi Beta Kappa. Her profound belief in the value of education sent her back to the University of Tulsa, where she earned M.A. in sociology. For her final, formal degree, Mrs. Kulp returned to TU and earned a Juris Doctor.

The broad range of Mrs. Kulp’s academic life is matched by the diversity of her professional experience. Her talent and passion for ballet led her to start the Virginia Kramer School of Speech and Dance in Oklahoma City during the 1930’s. Her academic background in sociology gained her positions as a counselor for the Tulsa Juvenile Court and a professorship at Tulsa Junior College. Mrs. Kulp also has maintained a private practice in marriage and family counseling. Since 1965, she has honed her business skills as President of Kulp Properties.

A busy professional life has not prohibited Mrs. Kulp from actively participating in numerous civic organizations. She is a Life Member of the Salvation Army Auxiliary, the Tulsa Philharmonic Volunteer Council and the Tulsa Opera Guild. The Tulsa Historical Society, the Friends of the Library and the Metropolitan Opera Council all have benefited from her service on their respective Boards. She has served as President of the Assistance League of Tulsa and of Women in Communications. Mrs. Kulp has been active on the Board of Directors of the Tulsa Junior College Foundation since 1976, serving terms as Board Secretary and President. It is, however, The Tulsa Ballet which has been at the center of her cultural involvement since she joined the Board in 1970. Her generous support of live music for ballet performances has enhanced the dancers’ efforts and enriched the audience’s experience. Her dedicated, personal relationship with Tulsa’s dance community has sustained the Tulsa Ballet throughout the years, as the company, like Mrs. Kulp herself, finds new opportunities in change.

E. Fred Johnson was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1998

The term “community builder” can have many meanings. The term can define individuals whose vision leads to the creation of civic institutions. Or, it can refer to those who work, literally, to put paving on the streets. In the case of E. Fred Johnson , both definitions of “community builder” apply.

Mr. Johnson was born in Cleburne, Texas, on November 26, 1896. He was living with his family in Elmore City, Oklahoma, when the promises of driving lessons and a salary increase brought him to Tulsa in 1912 as a timekeeper for a paving contractor. Johnson worked on the crews that turned many of the rutted, dirt roads of downtown Tulsa into paved streets. As he could drive a car and type, Johnson briefly landed a job as a scout in the Osage oil fields.

An offer of employment at the Exchange National Bank in 1917 brought Johnson to the career where his mark would be made. His employer, Newt R. Graham, would serve Johnson as a mentor not only in business, but also in shaping a dynamic vision for a growing Tulsa-a Tulsa where ocean-going ships would dock at the future Port of Catoosa. Johnson joined Fourth National Bank in 1933. In his 35 year affiliation with the bank, he nurtured a financial institution that would, in turn, nurture the growth of a city.

In the arena of community involvement, Johnson has had few peers. He served as director, trustee or officer of an enormous number of Tulsa institutions, including: Tulsa Junior Chamber of Commerce (in addition to being the Tulsa President, he served as National President), the University of Tulsa (30 years of service, beginning as the youngest trustee ever appointed), the Tulsa Community Chest, now the United Way, (as an organizer and treasurer, he physically collected the donations and distributed the cash). The Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Park Board and the Tulsa Airport Authority can all list Johnson as a Past President. At Gilcrease Museum, he served as Board Chairman and shepherded two major building programs from bond elections to ribbon cuttings.

In an ironic twist, Johnson completed his most visible change to the city only a few months before his death in 1968. With the completion of the Fourth National Bank Tower, the Tulsa skyline (which had not altered since 1929) had a new tallest point. It was during this period of Johnson’s career that he became the first appointee to the first city planning commission created by Mayor Jim Maxwell. For who could see the vision of Tulsa’s future better than E. Fred Johnson.

Pocahontas Greadington was inducted into Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1998

Calculating the impact an individual has made upon a community often involves adding up a list of accomplishments and awards. In the case of Pocahontas Greadington, once one has added up the long list of achievements and honors, the sum of her impact on Tulsa far exceeds the total of entries on her resume.

A native Oklahoman, Mrs. Greadington left her birthplace, Muskogee, to attend Langston University, where she earned an A.B. degree. Her education continued with an M.A. degree from Oklahoma State University. Additionally, she attended Colorado State, Indiana State and New York Universities. While a student at NYU, Mrs. Greadington was awarded the 1951 Intercultural Scholarship, which took her to Europe for studies in Germany, England and France.

Having completed her education, Mrs. Greadington began her life-long journey of educating others, beginning in the Muskogee Public Schools. After a brief tenure teaching in Gary, Indiana, she arrived in her adopted home of Tulsa in 1955. She began a teaching career in elementary mathematics at Dunbar School. Mrs. Greadington recognized that excellence in education could overcome the barriers of a still-segregated society and worked to instill the value of education in each of her students. The TPS administration became aware of her record of success and promoted Mrs. Greadington to a supervisory position. She was the first African-American to assume an administrative role in the Tulsa schools. While she was first met by resistance on the part of many of the teachers she supervised, Mrs. Greadington’s diplomacy, competence and complete dedication soon converted her most ardent detractors to the ranks of her greatest supporters. The four elementary mathematics textbooks she authored are additional evidence of Mrs. Greadington’s enormous teaching skills.

Mrs. Greadington understood that serving young people extends beyond the classroom. She has served on the regional, state and local Boards of the YMCA, as well as the Board of Family and Children’s Services. She has contributed on the Board level to the March of Dimes, the Tulsa Urban League, the Oklahoma Block Grant Advisory Committee and many clinics and hospitals across Oklahoma. Her service to the National Conference of Christians and Jews, which recognized her in 1993 with Honorary Life Membership on the Board of Directors, underscores her deeply held belief in the importance of brotherhood.

Mrs. Greadington has received numerous awards, including the Langston University Distinguished Alumnus Award, the State of Excellence in Oklahoma Award in 1989 and the Interfaith Award presented by the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry in 1992. However, it is not the list of honors that makes Mrs. Greadington so valuable to her community. Whether it is a student who struggled with math, or a senior citizen touched by her service to her church, Mrs. Greadington embodies the qualities that add up to what is best about Tulsa.

Grace and Franklin Bernsen were inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1998

In a city widely known for its civic spirit and the ample generosity of its early leaders, the commitment of Grace and Franklin Bernsen has fostered notable contributions to the quality of life for the citizens of Tulsa.

Franklin Bernsen received his early education in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, before being graduated from Williams College in 1915. He then joined his family in California, where his good looks landed him jobs as an extra in a number of silent films, including the Charlie Chaplin production, A Night at the Show. The young Bernsen held a variety of jobs during this period. One of these was particularly significant. He was hired as a driver for a Canadian family visiting Los Angeles. Included in the Wilson family was a daughter, Grace, who would become Mrs. Franklin Bernsen.

Following his service in World War I, Bernsen joined the Lucey Manufacturing Corporation. His obvious talents in the oil business attracted the attention of management, who sent him to the oil fields around Covington, Oklahoma. In that booming environment, Bernsen attained rapid success and became the President of the Lucey Products Company fewer than ten years after joining the organization.

The Bernsens were a popular couple. As world travelers, they always had interesting stories that entertained their Tulsa friends. They were also active in a broad spectrum of civic institutions and organizations, such as the First Presbyterian Church, the Philharmonic, Philbrook Museum and the Boy Scouts. The Bernsens’ quiet financial support made important improvements in Tulsa. As an example, their donation of a neonatal, intensive care facility allowed St. John Hospital to provide complete care for newborn infants.

An awareness that the philanthropic efforts that marked their lives in Tulsa could continue following their deaths led to their establishment of a foundation bearing their names. The Bernsen Foundation’s participation in the on-going funding of the Tulsa Ballet and the Tulsa Historical Society put “breathing room” in those organizations’ operating budgets. Additionally, major gifts have allowed for large capital improvements to institutions such as the Tulsa Boys Home and the Little Lighthouse.

The recent completion of the Bernsen Family Life Center for the First Presbyterian Church is a project that exemplifies the Bernsen’s philanthropy. The project created a much needed facility for the church, which was the institution closest to the Bernsen’s hearts. In addition, the adaptive reuse of the former Masonic Temple saved a landmark in downtown Tulsa that was threatened by an ever-expanding sea of asphalt parking lots. It would have been typical of Grace and Franklin Bernsen, who passed away in the early 1980’s, to achieve two important goals for Tulsa with one act of generosity.