Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas November 2014 | Page 35
FEATURES
MYERS-DUREN CELEBRATES
A CENTURY IN TULSA
“A 100-year ride through the good, the bad and the ugly.””
The road was long, hot and
rough with plenty of dead ends.
But the owners of the Myers-Duren
Harley-Davidson Dealership in
Tulsa never released the throttle.
This October, they celebrated
100 years of doing business
in Tulsa and a century of riding
Harleys on the open road.
“I think it proves there are
loyal customers here in Tulsa.
They’re loyal to Harley-Davidson
and loyal to Myers-Duren, and we
look forward to serving them for
many more years to come,” Johnny McClanahan,
the owner’s son and General Manager says.
The family-owned business celebrated its 100year anniversary with a series of events that began
October 14th with a media and local celebrity
event, and continuted on to October 18th with a
a community party on and October 25th with their
annual fall bike show.
In 1912, Ward and Virgil Eby opened a bicycle
and Excelsior motorcycle shop in Tulsa.
The dealership was then kick-started with the
addition of the Harley-Davidson line in 1914. The Eby
brothers sold it in 1949 to Glen E. “Dutch” Myers.
Then in 1977, in a rare event, a woman bought the
dealership. Reba McClanahan, a former high school
teacher and bike rider, bought the store with her
then-husband, Lowell Duren. After they divorced,
Reba kept the business, remarried and her sons
Johnny and James McClanahan helped her run it.
Today, the dealership is located inside an awardwinning art deco building in the historic Brookside
district. It is the oldest Harley-Davidson dealership
in the state.
The family expects they’ll be around another
100 years.
“I never dreamed Harley-Davidsons would be
this popular. The demand is just continuing,” says
Johnny McClanahan, “Having a Harley is a lifestyle.
It’s something you want to be a part of and there
are people from all walks of life who want to ride.
The Harley brings them together.”
The road to success wasn’t easy. The owners
suffered through the Great Depression, the Dust
Bowl, World War I and II and the oil boom and bust.
“It’s been an interesting ride literally and
figuratively,” say ́I