The Building of Keystone Dam

The construction of Keystone Dam and the existence of the lake have had a profound impact on Mannford and the surrounding area for the past 50 plus years.  At the time we were growing up, however, it didn’t seem to be a big thing.  Didn’t all teenagers grow up with a major construction project going on in their backyard?

We certainly were excited to be moving to a brand new school and watching the new town sprout up was interesting but, at the time, these events didn’t seem to be monumental.  The important things were what our classmates were doing, getting our driver’s licenses, and all the other things that kids everywhere were doing.

The construction of the dam did provide a large number of jobs for the teens who wanted them.  In the summer of 1963, I worked on a crew which laid sod alongside all the roads in the new parks.  It was hard work but the pay was good.  Many of the kids I grew up with had jobs like this.

In August, 1962, we moved into the new school.  One of the highlights of that first year was a poorly designed boiler system which couldn’t keep the new school building warm on really cold days.  Why was it a highlight?  Because we got to go home if it got too cold!  Unfortunately for us, the administration got the problem corrected after that first year.

Another aspect of the construction of the Dam and Lake did intrigue me: the actual filling of the lake.  The Corps of Engineers had announced that it would take about six months to fill the lake but we had a lot of rain that year and it only took six weeks.  Almost daily, we would check to see where the water level was.

I’ve often wondered what Mannford would be like today if it weren’t for Keystone Lake.  I think I like it the way it is!

Grade School at the Old School

Do you remember all your grade school teachers?  Although it’s been 62 years since I was in the first grade, I can remember all my teachers, some, of course, better than others.  Mrs. Krute taught the first grade, Miss Unger the second, Mrs. Rhoades, the third, Mrs. McDonald the fourth, and Miss Moorman the fifth and sixth both.  Mannford didn’t have a kindergarten back then.

The elementary classes were on the north side of the school and, as I recall, there were four classrooms there.  Miss Moorman’s combination class was located upstairs in the center part of the building.  If my memory on this is faulty, correct me the next time you see me.

Mrs. Krute and Miss Unger both left after I completed their grades.  I don’t know whether I had anything to do with that or not, I certainly hope not!  They were followed by Miss Hart and Mrs. O’Kieefe who wound up staying at Mannford for several years.

Mrs. Rhoades, my third grade teacher, was the wife of Lester Rhoades, the Mannford Postmaster, and she was quite a disciplinarian (or so I thought).  By the time I reached 50 years of age, I got to where I could call her Sylvia.  In later years, after I was grown and had children of my own, my mother and father would go camping at New Mannford Ramp with Lester and Sylvia.

Mrs. McDonald, our fourth grade teacher, was extremely relaxed and easy going and all the children loved her.  She was the widow of Dr. Clarence McDonald, one of Mannford’s early doctors.  He had passed away in the late 1940’s so she had been widowed for a long time.

Miss Moorman taught both the fifth and sixth grades and did it quite well.  With two classes in one room, she had to be the ultimate disciplinarian and she was!  Once, during class, she grabbed hold of me, lifted me out of my chair and gave me a really good spanking.  While she was doing that, I was protesting that I hadn’t done anything!  Her response: “That’s just it, you weren’t doing anything!”

When I got my last report card of the year in the fifth grade in 1957, I was mortified to see a “D” in one of my subjects (I don’t even remember which one now) for the last six weeks.  I knew that when I got home with that report card I was going to be in trouble!  While we were waiting out in front of the school for the bus, I saw a big pipe at the gate to the school and I stuffed that report card down in it.  When I got home, I told my mother that I had lost my report card but that all the grades were OK (I wonder if she believed me).

In the summer of 1957, Dad found out that the company he worked for had been sold and was moving to Pampa, Texas.  So, I didn’t get to complete grade school in Mannford.  In preparation for the move, Mom told me that we would have to get a copy of my report card!  When we went up to the school office to get the copy, the secretary put down only the semester grades; the “D” I had gotten did not show up.  I was the luckiest kid in Mannford that day!

I don’t remember exactly how many kids were in each of our grades but it was in the area of 25.  The other day, we participated in a vision screening at the elementary school; there were five to six classes for each grade and each class had about 25 students.  My, how things have changed.