Little did Josef Hardt realize that the humble beginning of Tulsa Oktoberfest would lead to a twenty year stint as "Mr. Oktoberfest" for what has become a premier Oktoberfest celebration.  Josef would tell you, however, that all was not always smooth and orchestrated  over the years.

The first year was the hardest to get people involved.  There was a lot of skepticism that this whole thing would be a success.  I knew German people in the area.  I asked them, Wouldn't you like to help and they said, well, yes, but .... I didn't blame them.  But I felt it would come off.

It was natural for me to get involved with it, says Josef, who was born in Oberhausen (Rhineland), Germany. They needed someone who was crazy enough to do all the crazy things that I did on the stage. The stage area where the band performed measured lOx4O feet. The tent was 4Ox4O feet, with several picnic tables inside.

In 1980, the tent was 6Oxl8O feet and enclosed 80 picnic tables.  Also in January, 1980 the German-American Society of Tulsa was formed, as a direct result of the first Tulsa Oktoberfest, with Josef as the Organizations first President.  The 1980 Tulsa Oktoberfest introduced festival patrons to the GAST Food Booth featuring trademark food in the form of Bratwurst and Potato Pancakes.

In 1981, the tent was lOOx280 feet, with 180 picnic tables.  You do something for the first or second time and you improve it and you make it bigger and then all of a sudden you find out the crowd is bigger again than you expected.

Duplicating the Munich atmosphere is made easier with the addition of German Bands.  They're our number one attraction.  Our only problem was, how are we going to top this year, next year?  What will we bring over from Germany next year?  Let's face it, there are quite a few miles between here and there.

At the end of the 1998 Tulsa Oktoberfest, surrounded by a sea of volunteers of whom many had been at his side through all of the twenty years, Josef retired as Master of Ceremonies of the huge Biergarten.  Josef had indeed earned the title of Mr. Oktoberfest in the city which now hosts a festival recognized officially as a premier Oktoberfest in the United States and certainly the "Best Fest in the West" !!