OOM-A-GOG in the 21st Century
OOM-A-GOG's Location Identified
In 2016, a few colleagues and I began organizing for KJRH's upcoming 65th anniversary. Around that same time, the Tulsa Historical Society reached out about a TV history exhibit they were planning — and that's how I first learned OOM-A-GOG still existed. They mentioned a 1993 Tulsa World article that named OOM's location at the time. With that lead, I began tracking down Billy Hargis II, only to find he had passed three years prior. So the search turned to family and relatives who might be reachable online. After a few months, I finally reached his wife, Lucy, in Houston. She confirmed OOM was still around, mostly intact.
Years of back-and-forth communication followed — first with Lucy, and eventually with her son, Billy Hargis III, who remembered trying the suit on himself as a kid. His verdict: it "did not smell good in there." While the goal was always to bring OOM back to Tulsa, there were times I'd have settled for just photos and measurements detailed enough to rebuild him if needed. I spent eight years working toward that goal. As we moved into our 70th year at Channel 2, Billy finally gave the OK — and OOM-A-GOG was coming home, to be preserved for everyone.