Keota 

Keota began in the early 1900’s as a tent village trading post in Indian Territory. In 1903 lots were staked, streets built and a town was born. In November, 1907 Keota along with the other communities in Indian Territory became part of a brand new state; Oklahoma.  The schools received their first funding by the state when funds were appropriated by the 1907-08 legislature. The City of Keota was not officially incorporated until May 1, 1911. 

Some say the city was named for a prominent rancher, Jim Keese, who owned the land along Otter Creek just west of present day Keota. It was first called KeeOtter, and later because of the local dialect it became known as Keota. Others say the name came from the Choctaw Indian word, “Keota”, meaning “fire gone out.”

Keota is surrounded by the rich alluvial soil of the Arkansas River. Immediately after statehood white settlers came to farm the bottom lands nearby. Saylor and Blaine Bottoms became the life blood of Keota and the surrounding area. Small communities with their own dependent schools sprang up all around. There were Cartersville, Cowlington, Gingles Mountain, Center Point, Kanima, Star, Red Hill, Whoody and others.

The common denominator for the surrounding communities became Keota High School. Communities with schools through the eighth grade depended upon Keota High School to provide grades 9 through 12 for their students. This was extremely enriching for Keota. When the students from the surrounding communities joined with the Keota City students, a strong, unified bond was formed and subsequently, a rich academic, athletic, musical, political and social history resulted.

Many former students of Keota went on to become very successful citizens through out the state, the country and the world. “A Blast from the Past” reflects some of those students.

“A Blast from the Past”

Amazing Grace

Second Time Around 

A Young Girls Dream 

The Extra Mile

Meeting By Chance 

The Country Gentleman

The Teacher

 

Amazing Grace 

On November 8, 1924 a young boy was born near Bokoshe, Oklahoma. As a youth, he attended Victory Dependent School in Le Flore County, and later when his parents moved to the Keota area, he attended Keota High School. Times were very difficult in Haskell County so the young man at the tender age of 18, set out for California to find work. 

In February, l944 he was drafted into the army and was ordered to report for induction at the Ft. Sill Army Base, Lawton, Oklahoma. He was then sent to Camp Roberts Army Base in California for training with the 7th Armored Division of the U.S. Army. After training, the Division was sent to France in August, 1944. The young soldier earned the rank of sergeant and squad leader, and upon his arrival in Europe, he was attached to General George Patton’s Command where his squad would serve as the advance unit for the entire Division. As the “eyes and ears” of the Division, the young soldier and his squad saw an abundance of front line action including intense fighting during the “Battle of the Bulge.” His unit was the first allied forces to cross the Seine River as the Allied Army continued their pursuit of the enemy across France. 

On September 28, 1944 while providing surveillance for Patton’s Army, the Germans mounted a counter attack. The young squad leader and four other soldiers were in front of the unit. Their assignment was to “hold ground” that had been previously taken. The small squad was overrun by the German counter attack. During the melee, a tank machine gun bullet went completely through the young squad leader’s body, barely missing his heart. The entire squad was either captured or killed. The advancing German soldiers searched them, took their rings, clothing, food and everything else of value, and then an SS German Officer put a bullet through the chest of each squad member.

Amazingly, the squad leader was still alive, but unconscious. He was carried about three miles on a stretcher to a German first-aid station. He was awakened to German medics who were not allowed to treat wounds, but were allowed to bandage them. He was kept in a field hospital about three weeks, and later placed into a slatted boxcar, along with other prisoners and taken to a German prison camp. He remained in prison camps for 208 days. He and the other prisoners were set free by Allied troops in May, 1945. 

According to the doctors that treated the soldier after the war, they said that it was just amazing grace that he survived the battle field wounds, much less the lack of medical attention and the harsh treatment he received as a prisoner of war. When he entered the war he was 6 foot, 1 inch tall and weighed 185 pounds. Upon his release from the prison camp he weighed a mere 110 pounds. The military judged him to have a 50% disability rate after the war.

Doyle Hamm returned to Keota as a true war hero and a highly decorated soldier. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the American Theatre Ribbon with three Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Ribbon with one Overseas Bar, the POW Medal and the Oklahoma Cross of Valor.

 

Second Time Around 

Upon graduation from Keota High School in the spring of 1936, a young man immediately joined the U.S. Army Infantry. The United States was between wars and the duty of a soldier was relatively light. After two years of service the young man received an “honorable discharge” and returned to Keota, Oklahoma to resume his normal walk in life.

Shortly after his return home, World War II broke out and the United States and their allies were at war in both Europe and in the Pacific. The first soldiers to be drafted by the U.S. Department of Defense for the war were those who had previously served in the military. The young man from Keota was redrafted into the military in 1941. The second time around he applied for the Air Mechanic School in England which was part of the U.S. Air Force. In addition to the possibility of being out of direct combat, he thought he could also learn a trade that would serve him well in the airplane industry after the war. 

However, during his training it was noticed that he had been trained as an infantry man and had actually achieved a “superior marksmanship” level with firearms. The Air Force has just introduced the B-24 Bomber into the war. The B-24 was a long range bomber that was being utilized in areas without fighter escorts. The plane was equipped with guns on the front and top as well as the tail section. The most vulnerable direction of attacks by the enemy was the back of the airplane. Therefore, the best gunners were selected and assigned to the tail section. 

The young marksman was assigned to be a tail gunner on B-24 Bomber Aircraft. The young man went on to fly 32 successful combat missions over enemy territory, during a time in which 40% of the planes did not return. And on the B-24’s that returned, the location of the tail gun and the angle of attacking aircraft caused the mortality rate of tail gunners to be higher than all others jobs combined. The plush job in the Air Force turned out to be one of the most dangerous of the war.

Cecil Stanley retired from the United States Air Force in 1971 after 32 years of military service with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. He received numerous citations and awards during his long tenure in the United States Military. Perhaps his greatest military honor came after his death. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery along side of his wife on April 9, 2007 with full military honors. 

 

A Young Girl’s Dream

In the spring of 1926 a young girl completed the 10^th grade at Cartersville (Hog Town), Oklahoma dependent school. The Cartersville School only contained grades one through ten. The young girl and her parents wanted so desperately for her to graduate from high school. The closest school granting a high school diploma was Keota Public Schools, Keota, Oklahoma. Keota was approximately six and one half miles west of Cartersville, a distance that was too great to walk twice daily, and extremely difficult to traverse by horseback. 

However, there was the Midland Valley train that traveled west from Cartersville through Keota on Sunday afternoons, and returned east from Keota through Cartersville on Friday afternoons. The fare was ten cents one way or fifteen cents round trip. Passengers would have to flag the train down and notify the conductor of their destination.

With transportation secure, the next step was to obtain a boarding room for the school week. The superintendent of Keota Schools, Mr. Cross, was contacted. In the course of their conversation, he mentioned that he and his family had an extra room that could be used. It included a bed, a student desk and a stove with a drum that could be utilized for cooking those items that only required a stove top. The cost of the room was $7.00 per month. 

The first school year, 1926-27 was a lonely time for the young girl because she spent most of her time alone and away from home for the first time. The next year, 1927-28 was much better. Another girl that had traveled the distance from Cartersville to Keota and return daily by horseback decided to share the room during the 1927-28 school year. The two young girls enjoyed each other’s companionship, and also the rent was cheaper.

A young girl's dream was realized when Chloe (Craig) Medlock graduated from Keota High School in the spring of 1928. She went on to become one of the first female Postmasters for the U.S. Postal Service. Her high school diploma served her well.

 

The Extra Mile

A young girl from Cartersville graduated from Keota High school in the spring of 1926. After attending one year of college at Connors State Junior College at Warner, she was granted a one year teaching certificate and began her teaching career at Cartersville School in the fall of 1927. She continued her education through extension classes, correspondence and summer school. She received an Associate Degree from Connors Junior College and a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education from Northeastern Oklahoma State College, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

She taught the first ten years of her teaching career in the Cartersville School. She also taught at Gingles Mountain School for five years and Star School for nine years. She completed a forty year career by teaching at Keota Elementary School the last sixteen years. 

She was noted for combining her education and her practical experiences to plan new, novel and innovative ways for her students to learn. She was truly a teacher that would literally go the extra mile for her students. It was not uncommon for her to take students by automobile to libraries in other cities to find books not readily available or hard to find reference materials needed to complete a project. Her former graduates would pay her the highest compliment by returning for ideas and suggestions about special projects, exhibits or just for guidance during difficult times in their lives. 

Addie Mae (Mitchell) Stanley went on to become the first “Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year.” She was honored at the Oklahoma State Fair in Muskogee and by the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce. A state-wide banquet was held for her, where the principal speaker at the award ceremony was Neiman Marcus, owner of the famous Texas store bearing his name. She was interviewed by several newspaper reporters and featured on live television in Tulsa. In addition, she made numerous special appearances at educational activities throughout the school year.

 

Meeting by Chance

A young man graduated from Keota High School in the spring of 1949. He attended Northeastern State Teachers College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma during the fall and spring semesters of 1949-50, and during the fall semester of 1950. By December, 1950 the Korea War was well under way and the military draft was getting into full swing. The young man decided to enlist in the Air Force after the fall semester at Northeastern. 

Upon completion of basic training, the young airman was sent to Ashia, Japan before being sent to his final destination in Korea. In Ashia while going through the chow line, he saw a familiar face. He was looking right at Joe Wells, a fellow graduate from the Keota class of 1949. While in the same chow line he turned in the other direction and saw another familiar face, Sherman Cole, another classmate from Keota. What are the odds of three classmates from Keota High School meeting by chance half way around the world?

Joe Wells asked the classmate about his destination. When the young man informed him that he was going to Korea, Joe said, “for him to come see him in Supplies.” Joe Wells was Supply Sergeant and his responsibility was to issue the airman their standard gear for their next assignment. Although not standard issue, Sergeant Joe Wells gave the airman an arctic, downed-filled sleeping bag and a down-filled vest to go under his field jacket. He told him, “Where you are going, you are going to need these.”

During his stay in Korea, the young man faced some of the most frigid weather conditions known to any soldier. The housing for the military was pup tents with air mattresses. This was certainly not adequate protection from the severe Korea cold. Although the young man suffered frost bite on his hands and feet, He affirmed that Joe Wells literally saved his “Butt.” 

Upon his return from Korea, Jack Scroggins was stationed at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. until his discharge in September, 1954. He graduated from college, became a teacher, a counselor, an administrator and a friend of hundreds of public school students that attended Muskogee Schools.

 

The Country Gentleman

A young boy was born in Cowlington, Oklahoma in 1929. Hard times were not far away because in October, 1929 the Stock Market crashed and the country plunged into what was later called the “Great Depression.” To add to an already bad situation, an extreme drought was choking Oklahoma and causing crops to fail. Poverty reached epidemic proportions, not only in Oklahoma, but throughout the Nation. 

Somehow the young boy’s family managed to survive. However, when things just started to look promising again, the boy’s father died, and at the tender age of eight years he had to assume many of the responsibilities of a man. Through hard work, a tenacious determination and the togetherness of a family, the young man completed the eighth grade at Cowlington Dependent School in 1943, and graduated from Keota High School in 1947. 

The one thing that enabled the young boy to survive the many hardships of life was country music. He was first introduced to music by relatives and neighbors who would gather in the evenings to keep up with the latest happenings and to pass the time away. Those that had musical instruments would bring them to the gatherings and invariable music and songs would break out.

The young boy’s first instrument was the mandolin, and later the guitar, the fiddle and the harmonica. His love and interest in country music continued when the family finally got a battery operated radio. They would conserve the battery during the week so they could turn to a radio station on Saturday night that carried WSM’s Grand Ole Opry. Later they would utilize the radio to listen to the Bob Wills Show at noon every week day on station KVOO, Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The very day the young man graduated from high school, he left eastern Oklahoma on a bus. He spent time in Arkansas, Michigan and California before returning to Oklahoma. He worked in Tulsa, Norman and Oklahoma City before joining the Oklahoma City Police Department. He completed a total of 20 years with the Oklahoma City Police Department; 10 years as an officer and 10 years as a homicide detective.

The young boy’s love and appreciation for country music never waned. During his lifetime he played on the same stage with some of the giants of the Country Music Industry. He performed on numerous radio and television programs in Oklahoma, and was a regular on the popular Oklahoma City television show, “The Big Red Shindig.” He has written more than 100 country songs. One of his songs was recorded by Buck Owens. He has recorded more than 30 of his own songs that presently can be purchased via the internet. 

Kent Harrison is still working everyday as a real estate developer, builder and rancher. He also continues to entertain audiences with his music. He is known affectingly as the country gentlemen.

 

The Teacher 

He was born at Mt. Pleasant, Texas to a country doctor and his wife on April 1, 1914. The family moved to Cartersville, Oklahoma in 1922 and on to Cowlington, Oklahoma in 1925. He attended Cartersville and Cowlington Dependent Schools and graduated with honors from Keota High School. 

He was drafted in the U.S. Army and began service on May 10, 1944 at the Fort Sill Military Installation at Lawton, Oklahoma. After basic training as an infantry soldier, he was immediately sent to the war in Germany. He fought in the “Battle of the Bulge”, from December 16th through December 27th at which time he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. He was a prisoner for 101 days, until his liberation in April, 1945.

The German guards required the prisoners to travel by foot from one camp to another. It was the dead of winter, and Germany was extremely cold. Without sufficient clothing and food most of the prisoners did not survive the march. The young man from Keota was widely read in science, and he had been taught well by his medical father. He was able to utilize that knowledge to ingeniously stay alive. To pass the time and keep his thoughts from intense hunger, the captured soldier would write on anything and everything that he could find; scraps of paper, tissue, pictures etc. 

Upon liberation he was taken to Borghorst, Germany. He was then transported by airplane to England on April 24, 1945. He traveled to the United States by ship and arrived at Pier #5 at Newport Harbor near Baltimore, Maryland at 9:30 a.m. on June 17, 1945. He was honorably discharged on February 18, 1946. He received the Good Conduct Medal, the American Theater Ribbon, EAME Theater Ribbon, Three Bronze Service Stars, and the World War II Victory Ribbon. He respectfully declined the Purple Heart Medal, because he did not think that had done anything greater than any of the other soldiers in the war. 

After the war the young man attended Northeastern State Teachers College, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He received his Bachelors Degree in mathematics and science, and returned to Keota, his alma mater, to be a math and science teacher. He was one of the most respected teachers during his tenure at Keota. Because of health related issues that occurred during his prisoner of war days, the teacher had to change jobs. He was employed as a rural mail carrier on one of the Keota’s mail routes until his retirement. 

Ollice Inman never stopped being a teacher and he never stopped helping students. Mr. Inman, as he was always called by his students, tutored scores of Keota students in mathematics. Students would return from college on weekends, and Mr. Inman would spend the entire afternoon of his only day off, Sunday, helping them. He never charged for his tutoring, he never turned down a student and he never lost his patience. Mr. Inman’s students will never forget how he helped them or what he did for his country. Mr. Ollice “Doc” Inman was inducted into the Keota School Hall of Fame in May, 1990.