[Trail Lawyer]

Love that movie! It is a great way to spend 6 hours.

I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma now, but lived the first 28 years of my life in Utah. The Stand was filmed almost entirely in Utah. The small town that you are referring to as May, Oklahoma was actually filmed in Lehi, Utah. Lehi is the same town that most of the movie Footloose was filmed (but was a movie about a small town in Eastern Oklahoma). I used to drive everyday through the street that the May part of the Stand was filmed on. The street and the town are no longer small like in the movie. The movie was filmed in the early 90's. The town was made to look quaint. Lehi, UT is a small town, but approx. 50,000 cars drive that street that was supposed to be May, OK. Lehi, UT is approx. 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, UT. The prison in the movie was the Utah State Prison in Draper, UT. The refinery that the guy blew up was also in central Utah. I once worked in the area of the prison where the "bad guy" gets locked up.

So, can't say for sure where there is a town like the "fictitious" May, OK. There are many towns in Eastern Oklahoma that are small, quaint and nice (such as Drumright or Sapulpa), and there are some in Utah as well (Ephraim, Manti, or Kanab to name a few).

[keen cat]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

You have to remember that most towns in Oklahoma are not old towns. They were mostly built during the boom days of oil. Some, like Chouteau, go back to the early years, but very few. The oldest towns will be in the eastern part of the state.....towns like Miami or Tahlequah.....that were founded in the 1830's and 40's after relocation.

Cromwell is an example of a boom town......today it is just a couple of rows of run down houses and mobile homes. But once, where the homes sit now, there were stores, opium dens, gambling houses, houses with shady ladies...........all catering to the roughnecks bringing in the oil wells. The spot where the famous Marshall Bill Tilghman was shot down is just a part of the city streets near the post office. The town itself burned and was never rebuilt.

Some of the cute towns are "new." Towns like Mannford, Oolagah, Osage and Prue.....all buried under the waters of the reservoirs ........have been rebuilt without the charm and integrity of the original towns. I understand that Tenkiller is clear enough that people from all over the country come to scuba dive and visit some of the buildings that lie at the bottom.

You might go to some of the older towns........Okmulgee comes to mind, as does Okeemah, Bristow, Drumright, and Cushing. Even Yale and Oilton has some attractive buildings. Pawhuska is VERY attractive.......one of the most progressive in saving their old buildings. Miami and Tahlequah, like I mentioned above, has some attractive old buildings. For that matter, Tulsa has some of the best examples of art deco buildings in the world.......and with the Mayo Hotel being rebuilt as apartments, retail and a boutique hotel, staying in the downtown area will actually be fun and interesting.

Thanks for the info. I'd love to visit some of those areas you've mentioned. We are going back to Tulsa in August for Icot pw. Unfortunetly we will only be able to afford a weekend stay and we will be at icot the whole time.

[keen cat]

Originally Posted by Trail Lawyer

Love that movie! It is a great way to spend 6 hours.

I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma now, but lived the first 28 years of my life in Utah. The Stand was filmed almost entirely in Utah. The small town that you are referring to as May, Oklahoma was actually filmed in Lehi, Utah. Lehi is the same town that most of the movie Footloose was filmed (but was a movie about a small town in Eastern Oklahoma). I used to drive everyday through the street that the May part of the Stand was filmed on. The street and the town are no longer small like in the movie. The movie was filmed in the early 90's. The town was made to look quaint. Lehi, UT is a small town, but approx. 50,000 cars drive that street that was supposed to be May, OK. Lehi, UT is approx. 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, UT. The prison in the movie was the Utah State Prison in Draper, UT. The refinery that the guy blew up was also in central Utah. I once worked in the area of the prison where the "bad guy" gets locked up.

So, can't say for sure where there is a town like the "fictitious" May, OK. There are many towns in Eastern Oklahoma that are small, quaint and nice (such as Drumright or Sapulpa), and there are some in Utah as well (Ephraim, Manti, or Kanab to name a few).

Thanks so much for the info. Its unfortunate Lehi doesn't look like May in the movie. But I would still like to make a trip out there just to see what it really looks like. 50,000 cars is a lot of cars.

I've been to some parts of Utah and it is BEAUTIFUL. Mostly around Zion and Bryce Canyon. The locals seemed a bit strange. Kinda creepy. My co-worker recently took a trip out to Utah as well and she told me the rural areas remind her of places where people go missing.

I've never seen Footloose. I know its a well known movie from the 80s. Now I want to watch it.

[Trail Lawyer]

If you have only been to Zion and Bryce Canyon, then you have not really seen and met locals. Most of the people visiting or working at these national parks are not native Utahns. However, I am not saying that Utahns are the funnest or most lively people, but they certainly fit the description of a "normal" person.

When you watch Footloose, just know that the building/grain processing plant where Kevin Bacon dances was along a small country road (partly un-paved). The building is now at the intersection of an Interstate 15 exit and a state highway leading to a major shopping district in central Utah.

The city of Lehi is still a great place to raise a family and live.

[AliceT]

There are towns like that all across the country. I have personally driven through them in Pennsylvania. There is one on 209 just after entering PA from NY and just after going over the Delaware.

You'll find another in downtown Doylestown, PA complete with sidewalk cafes and renovated storefronts.

There are several in WV, dozens in FL. For specifics, check out Winter Park, Winter Garden and Bradenton. Take a look at Downtown Oakwood, Ohio. That's a suburb of Dayton, next to Kettering.

If you leave the interstate traveling east to west through Texas, check out an adorable town called Sierra Blanca just a little north of the US/Mexico border.

There is Kennebunkport in Maine. If you can't smell the sea air, then you aren't in Kennebunkport or you have a head cold.

There's the little gem in WV that I am not going to disclose because I like it the way it is - unspoiled and sparsely populated. As for the interstate... you can't get to it from here. Well, you can, but I'm not telling. Suits me just fine.

[keen cat]

Originally Posted by AliceT

There's the little gem in WV that I am not going to disclose because I like it the way it is - unspoiled and sparsely populated. As for the interstate... you can't get to it from here. Well, you can, but I'm not telling. Suits me just fine.

Thats where you must be. I can't blame you. I would keep my hidden jewel...hidden, thats if and when I find one.

[StillwaterTownie]

And don't leave out Guthrie. I'm not sure if you can get more cute and picturesque in Oklahoma than that town.

[keen cat]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

And don't leave out Guthrie. I'm not sure if you can get more cute and picturesque in Oklahoma than that town.

Thanks. I just checked out some pics of Guthrie and it looks absolutely adorable. Guthrie actually looks like the town May or the town that crazy girl Julie was trying to shoot at Nick Andros and Tom Cullins as they rode their bikes off.

[eddie gein]

I have a co-worker who actually lives in May, Oklahoma. It actually isn't quite in the panhandle. It is between Woodward and Laverne. I'll ask here what it is like.

[BillyC64]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

You have to remember that most towns in Oklahoma are not old towns. They were mostly built during the boom days of oil. Some, like Chouteau, go back to the early years, but very few. The oldest towns will be in the eastern part of the state.....towns like Miami or Tahlequah.....that were founded in the 1830's and 40's after relocation.

Cromwell is an example of a boom town......today it is just a couple of rows of run down houses and mobile homes. But once, where the homes sit now, there were stores, opium dens, gambling houses, houses with shady ladies...........all catering to the roughnecks bringing in the oil wells. The spot where the famous Marshall Bill Tilghman was shot down is just a part of the city streets near the post office. The town itself burned and was never rebuilt.

Some of the cute towns are "new." Towns like Mannford, Oolagah, Osage and Prue.....all buried under the waters of the reservoirs ........have been rebuilt without the charm and integrity of the original towns. I understand that Tenkiller is clear enough that people from all over the country come to scuba dive and visit some of the buildings that lie at the bottom.

You might go to some of the older towns........Okmulgee comes to mind, as does Okeemah, Bristow, Drumright, and Cushing. Even Yale and Oilton has some attractive buildings. Pawhuska is VERY attractive.......one of the most progressive in saving their old buildings. Miami and Tahlequah, like I mentioned above, has some attractive old buildings. For that matter, Tulsa has some of the best examples of art deco buildings in the world.......and with the Mayo Hotel being rebuilt as apartments, retail and a boutique hotel, staying in the downtown area will actually be fun and interesting.

I know I'm getting off thread but I just wanted to say it's good to read a post that is so informative and accurate..........but you left out Spavinaw!