TULSA, Okla. — From the groundbreaking ceremony Dec. 5, 1954 to opening day of the new studios, Dec. 1, 1957; Randi Stuart and her brother, John, were part of Channel 2's history.
They were small children when they saw their grandfather's vision of a broadcast center for KVOO Radio and Television come to life.
Successful oilman W.G. Skelly, and his partner Senator Robert S. Kerr, fought off multiple bidders to land the FCC license.
Nearly two years later, the children joined their parents for opening night and the official ribbon-cutting. It was a star-studded event filled with bright lights and dignitaries.
"Oh, we had no idea what was happening. They'd put us in clothes and take us places, you know," Randi Stuart Wightman said with a laugh. "It was just the way I thought people did, you know. I had no idea that this was special."
Stuart Wightman, who lives nearby in midtown Tulsa, knows Channel 2's history better than most. When her grandfather died before the completion of the KVOO broadcast center, her father stepped in to run the company.
Harold Stuart, a WWII veteran and attorney who worked for President Harry S. Truman, was a successful entrepreneur in his own right. Randi said she essentially grew up at the television station.
"I sat on the big boom, on the microphone boom, when Big Bill and OomAGog were on," she said. "And almost toppled it over during a live broadcast. That's kind of my memories."
She also worked at the station as a teenager editing tapes for radio news and typing up the program diary.
"That's what I did and I am sure it was completely messed up! But nobody every complained - at least not to me," she added.
Living just a mile from what is now called 2 News Oklahoma, she often passes by her family's legacy. Stuart Wightman said she loves the iconic building and wishes its current staff well for the future.
"I'll give you another 70 years and you've got to keep up with the times!" Stuart Wightman said. "I don't know how that is going to look. I wish I could be here 70 years from now to see it."
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