Freeman, Lawrence O. Page: 1 of 1
This text is part of the collection entitled: William A. McGalliard Historical Collection and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Ardmore Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
■
T
A La Casey Jones
Smith
iff.
4
?!
WHEN ARDMORE NEEDED HELP following the disas-
THINK Tri
AN ERA PASSES . . . Old 1108, Santa Fe locomotive on permanent exhibit at Ardmore
Fairgrounds, brought doctors and nurses from Gainesville following the great explosion
MARIETT.
sewage dil
Im0re with his wife
prior to reporting to
ehlboL
---------------------------------------------------------------------<S>
Sewage Plant
Almost Ready
At Marietta
If your griddle isn’t hot enough,
your pancakes', are likely to be
heavy and toijiih.
4<
trous blast and fire in 1915, it was Lawrence O. Freeman
who locked down the throttle on his old No. 1108 and
brought in doctors and nurses from Gainesville. (Staff
Photo)
'A (Special)—A new
ios^I plant to serve the
city of Mayetta and supplemental
fe virtually complete
nd one-half months'
fey the heavy spring
In the Casey Jones tradition,
the man who brought the doctors
and nurses from Gainesville on
Ardmore’s black day of catas-
trophe in 1915, was Lawrence O.
Freeman.
Plowing his trusty locomotive,
the old six-driver No. 1108, on the
Santa Fe mainline, through fire,
hot wires, burning debris and
scattered rubble with the throttle
wide open and whistle shrilly
screaming as his sturdy hand
gripped the Johnson bar, and his
keen Irish-blue eyes scanned the
smoky horizon.
The dauntless engineer defied
all danger in plunging through
signals kept open by courageous
co-workers In every department
of the railroad, as they put forth
almost superhuman effort to bring
emergency relief to hundreds of
injured people in the strewn
wreckage of a beleaguered city.
That was the fatal day of the
great oil tank explosion on a warm
afternoon, September 27, 1915,
when 47 dead bodies were strewn
up and down Main Street from a
point about two blocks east of the
Santa Fe tracks to where the
Ardmore Hotel now stands.
Freeman made the special run
in record time hitting a speed as
high as 90 miles an hour at times.
A veteran of 40 years service,
he is now retired, living quietly
at his home, 620 B SE, he can
draw many stories from his vast
storehouse of memories.
Born near Austin, Texas, Free-
man longed for adventure in the
true spirit of the West. He vol-
unteered while still in his teens
_
sewer lines ar
after a two $
delay caused
rains.
The plant wasVinanced by bonds
amounting to $120,000 which were
voted at a special election in 1955.
Oliver Construction Co., Okla-
homa City, was awarded the con-
tract which included extension of
sewer lines in southeastern and
northeastern sections of the city.
The project was begun in late
November, 1956, and about 12 local
workmen were employed.
Cityian Was Hero,
here in 1915. Lawrence O. Freeman was the engineer. He operated this locomotive on its
regular runs on the Santa Fe mainline for many years. This engine is of a type intro-
duced into the service about 1910, and was in use until it was replaced by modern diesel
engines in 1945.
to serve his country during the
Spanish-American war.
After he was discharged he
came to Ardmore with a group of
cronies and arrived here broke
and hungry in 1898.
Jake Bodovitz, who had a gro-
cery and market on Broadway at
that time took compassion on the
former soldiers and furnished
them with groceries which they
carried to Whittington Park to
cook and eat. They pitched camn
there where they remained until
many of them found employment.
Years later Freeman found some
of those companions in arms still
here, after he had returned from
a period of railroading in Old
Mexico. He then went to work as
a fireman for the Santa Fe on the
run from Gainesville to Fort
Worth.
Freeman remembers days of
back-breaking toil firing those old
coal burning locomotives, when a
man had to shovel coal from the
tender and throw it 20 feet to the
rear of the huge fire box.
“Keeping the fire banked was
an art in those days.” he racaiio
"If you threw the coal down the
center you’d smother out the fire.
It had to be placed in a way to
keep a valley of white-hot heat
in the middle.”
But he was young then and
loved his work following the rails
to new thrills of adventure.
When his long apprenticeship
in front of the fire-box was over,
Freeman realized a life-long am-
bition to operate the throttle. He
became a full-fledged locomotive
engineer. It was a happy day for
him, and a twinkle of pride still
comes into blue eyes still wide
with wonder, when he relates the
vivid memory.
Although confined to a wheel
chair now since his retirement in
1940, he is still young in spirit as
he re-lives the good old days of
railroading many years ago.
Like the old No. 1108 locomotive
which was donated to the city of
Ardmore by the Santa Fe for
permanent exhibit at the fair-
grounds, Freeman is still around
to remind a younger generation of
the reality of an era that has
passed.
Ardmoreite Takes
Navy Boot Training
John Henry Smith II, son of Mr.
and Mrs. John Henry Smith Sr.,
709 L St. piE, is now in San Diego,
Calif., fol- basic training at the
Navy Training Center there.
Smith graduated from Douglas
High School in LS52 and received
a degree in cherrpstry at Langston
UniversityXin 1°56.
Upon completion of basic train-
ing, Smith will spend a 14-day
leave in Arti
and parents,\
Electronics Si
LOCKED THE THROTTLE
*
| Fi
10-B THE DAILY ARDMOREITE, Ardmore, Okla^ Sunday, July 28, 1957
Singer Sales
and Service
In Wilson, Healdton, Ringling
HENRY WILLIAMS
Phone Pike City 63-J-151
and S
Lawnmowers Sha
Repaired—[Facto:
ARDMORE CYC1
119 N. Washington
MUSTANG Motor Scooters
Schwinn BICYCLES
SALES and SERVICE
pened and
y Method
SHOP
tone 3245
■■■■■■■ ai ■
/
I
0
—flHS
1
..........I HIM..... ’
3 ’-i
b
sas^ » ’N. * ,*S
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Freeman, Lawrence O., text, 1957; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1627502/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Ardmore Public Library.