UPCOMING EVENTS

Staff reunion proposed.

As mentioned on the front page, this is a proposal to bring back staff all the way to the beginning. Any staff up to 2007 would be welcome to attend. The proposed place is going to be at Crosstimbers at the week for the Hudgens Experience.

Plan A would be for us to rent Camp Craig, next to Hudgens, for the weekend, like a Friday night and all day Saturday. Renting Craig would be very reasonable due to low overhead costs. Lodging would most likely be needed to be done in town while most meals would be handled in the Camp Craig dinning hall. It might be possible for some of us to pitch a tent on the grounds and rough it. We would probably build a nice fire and have smores. We would have to share the facilities in the dinning hall although I doubt there is a shower there.

Plan B would be to actually use Hudgens before it is sold. There has been at no-cold reception to this idea. There is a possibility to activate something like the dorm or Pennington. We would be self contained there with the full kitchen and 2 dorm areas.

As soon as we get something set in stone, we could form a PPC, or party planning committee.

One aspect of this is permission by the new owner to hike around the Hudgens property. Access to buildings would be restricted. We would try out best to get access to places like Pennington to see the good work of Sam and Cheryl Porter, if possible.

Plan C would be to meet in OKC at a central location like the fellowship hall at Trinity International.

Let me know if you are interested in getting some kind of reunion going. Use the contact page to send me a message.

More history of Lake McAlester, called Lake McHoma in early records.

The photos below were taken by the Oklahoma Board of Public Affairs on Dec. 30, 1920. So exactly when was this dam constructed? I believe I cracked that mystery with the photos dated 1920. I do know that Talwanda #1 and #2 were constructed later by the FDR New Deal program and the WPA between 1933 to 1936. Then the suit below says the state agreed to build the lake with prison labor for free water. There is a 1928 Oklahoma Supreme Court case where a lady named Nellie Poston sued the city of McAletser for the loss of 330 acres when they dammed Bull Creek for a lake called, McHoma. From what I can tell, Lake McHoma was late renamed Lake McAlester.

The dam is made of mined stone blocks. The main supply for the lake is Bull Creek. It flows down to Coal Creek which flows into Lake Eufaula. Lake McAlester preceeded Lake Eufaula by 26 years (1946). Prior to Lake McAlester was Lake Dow, just eastt of McAlester. They ran an electric trolley from downtown McAlester to Dow Lake. When they built Lake McAlester, it replaced Dow as the main recreation lake for the region. There were park areas, boat launches, docks, and an operating river boat. 20 years after the lake was built, the Eastern Star decided to build a camp for the Rainbow Girls and also for the DeMolay Boys. The camp for the DeMolay still exists as Camp Craig which runs to the East of the caretakers home acreage.

Link to case file

According to the petition, the State and the city entered into a written contract in 1919 wherein it was agreed that the State should furnish all work and labor incident to the construction of a lake as a part of the city's water system, and, as payment therefor, the city was to furnish water to the State Penitentiary "at a price computed at the cost to the city of delivering the water in the standpipe of the city."

¶4 It is further alleged that the State performed the work and labor at a cost of $377,557.35. The city furnished water as agreed up to June 30, 1935, to the aggregate value of $188,856.26, leaving a balance due the State of $188,707.09.

http://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/supreme-court/1944/364875.html