Lucilles Restaurant and Bar, Mulhall Oklahoma, Bikers and Ghosts

You got to love a place that has a "Bikers Welcome" sign hanging outside. Especially when the smell of food hits you in the face before you even get your helmet and gloves off. But when you go inside and get a good ghost story from the manager while you're eating? C'mon. How can you live one more day and not visit Lucilles Restaurant and Bar in Mulhall, Oklahoma?

Head north from Oklahoma City towards Guthrie on IH35. Take exit 153 and merge onto Hwy 77N. A little less than 5 miles down the road look for US 77 and Wentz road; turn left. The 1894 Oklahoma State Bank Building and current home of Lucilles sits on the corner of Hwy 77 and Main Street.

RD and I don't usually have company when we ride. Completely understandable. We average about 600 miles a day. But one Sunday, friends from the Oklahoma City area decided to introduce us to some good eats. The weather was great. Sunny. Cool. No snow, ice, tornadoes or gusting "knock you into the median" winds. Photos would be taken.

My favorite historical time period is during the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Frontier citizens changed from Native Americans to Frontiersmen to Pioneers to City Builders. Zach Mulhall was an agent for the Santa Fe Cattle Company. He obtained land during the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. Started a ranch. Raised a family. His daughter, Lucille was, according to Will Rogers, the first cowgirl. She grew up on a working 70,000-acre ranch. Learned to rope everything from cows, coyotes, dogs, cats and even rabbits. Not sure why you would rope a rabbit. But who am I to question? Maybe it was time for lunch. According to the history printed in every Lucille's menu, she was petite, beautiful and a skilled equestrian. She even wowed Teddy Roosevelt during one of his visits.

While we were munching on appetizers, Jim Mears, the General Manager, came to our table for a visit. He didn't mind the table covered with helmets and riding jackets or need much prodding to start storytelling. Turns out the bar area is right outside the old bank vault. The iron door stands open for anyone to poke a nose into. There's one story about the bank being robbed via the Doctor office upstairs.

The robbers cut a hole in the floor of the clinic and dropped into the vault. I can see them getting in, but I don't see how they would get out. It was dark. There weren't any ladders. How did the guy in the vault feel as he saw the moneybag go up through the hole to his buddy? There aren't any windows and only one door. And the ceilings aren't low. However, they did get away with the loot.

Another story involved people seeing a man hanging from the rafters in the back part of the restaurant. The current location of an added dining room and stage area. Today it's decorated with a cowhide tapestry over a rustic wood stage. Couldn't get the story behind the ghost.

But I did get a very cool leaning picture. Anyone that knows me knows my quest at the moment is to get a "leaning into the turn" picture. I thought I had it for sure when one of the riders ahead of us leaned into a curve on his new Ducati. I raised my camera. Kept him in my viewfinder. He leaned. I leaned. He leaned. I leaned more and squeezed the shutter. Then the road grabbed RD's foot peg and jerked. I realized I was taking us down and immediately shifted my weight. Later at Lucille's as I was showing the guys my pictures, RD leaned over and quietly said, "I wondered what happened." Duly warned, I behaved all the way back to the city and took normal pictures. The kind that doesn't get you booted off the back or unplugged.

Photo Album of Ride.