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