The Naming of Wildcat Creek

As we drive Lake Road and Bethel Road, we all take for granted the two bridges that span the creek. It is only when a bridge is out that we give it any thought. Imagine living on one side of the bridge, and for the duration, driving to the other side requires going around the section, at the very least. There are several families who grew up along the meandering little creek north of the school. They are Lanier, Yarbrough, Lyons, and just down the road, Vian and Guinn.

We were aware the Lake Road bridge was droopy. When the detour signs appeared, County Commissioner Jerry Richards, and Bethel graduate, was working his magic. Low and behold, when the bridge was finished, there was a new sign “Wildcat Creek.” Jerry said the bridge cost $745,000 to construct; 80% ($596,000) of the funding came from the Federal Government, and 20% ($149,000) came from the State Government, which holds the county money for bridges. The bridge has an unlimited weight limit. It cost the county $377,000 to pave Lake Road from Bethel Road to Acme Road. Jerry remarked that Darrel Lanier named Wildcat Creek, and Jerry ordered the signs that post the name on site.

The Lanier family had attended Blackburn Chapel and moved to the area in 1945/1947. When Darrel Lanier named the creek, he was inspired by the years of growing up along the banks. Darrel, his brothers, and sister have fond memories to share with us. Darrel remembered the spring of 1957, a very wet year. One day, as they arrived home on the bus, the creek was beginning to overflow, and their dairy cows were on the west side of the creek. The cows couldn’t ford the river, so their dad, Austin Lanier, was moving the herd onto the road, heading them east toward the barn. He was trying to get the herd across the bridge when the bus came down the road. Several of the students got out to help drive them over the bridge, while driver Mr. Scott Chancellor honked the bus horn to encourage the cattle across. Their efforts were successful, allowing the cows to be milked that night. The creek did not overflow like that again, until the spring of 2007, when both Lake Road and Bethel Road were under water. At this time, the family farm and the Parks place that connects to the south side of the bridge are owned by Darrel and Martha Lanier.

Duane Lanier advised us of the history of the creek. Mr. Bill Parks made the land run, and claimed the quarter section that had a low area, a swampy area. To date, there is a visible wagon trail just west of the bridge that went from Oklahoma City to Sacred Heart. There is also a buffalo wallow just southeast of the creek. He joked that he didn’t get to play at the creek as much as his little sister because he was always working. Sure thing Duane, whatever you say, LOL. Jim Lanier let his brothers reply to our questions, and Perry doesn’t have email.

Rozanne Lanier Holmes said Wildcat Creek was the best playground any kid could have wanted; cool in the hot summertime, and a stimulus for creativity. She remembers biking down to the bridge, where she saw a huge snake sunning on the rocks by the stream. She pelted the snake with large rocks until it was dead, then decided to take a closer look, and found a large lump about a third of the way down the snake’s 5 -6’ length. She found a broken bottle and cut the snake open, to find a foot long catfish, still whole. She found a lot of beautiful decanters that she cleaned and filled with colored water. Her wonderful mom didn’t mention that they were mostly empty liquor bottles. Rozanne had a special bond with Tony, Darrel’s horse, and they spent hours at a time playing and exploring the creek. She would climb the mulberry tree in Tony’s pen, whistle, and he would come under the branch. Off they would go without a bridle or saddle.

There was always a special time in the fall, picking up pecans. They watched the creek when there were severe rain storms to see if the creek was going to overflow onto the bridge. Buck Chancellor helped Austin Lanier terrace the slope down to the creek from the Lanier home. There was a huge plum thicket directly north of their house and barns, down on the creek. The plums provided many snacks while the kids were out exploring and playing around the creek. Cousins visiting always managed to get shoes and socks wet, and one told his mom that he “fell in, accidentally on purpose.”

Bob and Don Yarbrough were consulted as well. Bob replied that he remembers as a young child building tunnels and “hide-outs” in the weeds and plum bushes on the banks of the creek. Then when a bit older, he had a challenge riding a horse down one bank and up the other to round up cattle. Bob’s daughter, Jennifer, approx 12 years old, ran to her grandfather, Ed Yarbrough, to come get a cow that was bogged into the mud at the creek. The cow was saved thanks to a little girl playing at the creek. Bob remarked that the creek had some wonderful large trees, and playing under the old bridge was also fun.

Don Yarbrough took a walk down memory lane. He recalled playing under the bridge, close to Blackburn Church. “When I was young, my brother and I, and sometimes school friends would meet under the bridge, to build dams that backed up the water a little and pretended we were soldiers in a war. I even remember taking chairs and other stuff down to the creek under that bridge to hang out. We would try to catch frogs and little fish in the creek. Sometimes we would hang out too long and worry our mother. The creek was always a great place for us to play when we were young, to use our imaginations, and to pretend all sorts of things. As I grew older, I remember fixing fences along the creek to keep cattle in. It was always great to go deeper into the creek on a hot day to cool off. As the summers would turn dry, we used to dig down a bit in the creek bed, and place a wooden box in the hole to capture what water there was for the cattle to drink. Not too long ago I remember going back down to the creek, and there was a family of beaver that had built a dam in the creek, and were living there. I never saw beaver on the creek growing up, so this was neat to see. I wonder if they are still there. As we would cut hay along the creek, sometimes we would see coyotes running along the edge of the creek watching us and waiting for a rabbit to run out of the hay field. They were always very smart. If you had a gun on the tractor you would never see them. I often wondered how they knew when I had a gun. It was also a great place to ride motorcycles, and test our hill climbing abilities. Great fun! When I was in Boy Scouts we camped next to the creek, and it was always great to sit very still watching the wild life that would come out, if you were very quiet. We used to target practice with our 22 rifles along the creek, and could always find a can or something else to shoot at. But most of all, I guess, what I will remember the most about the creek are the times I spent with my Dad, and my two brothers; whether pretending as kids, working alongside them on the farm, or just having fun. As I write this I realize how lucky I was growing up on a farm, near Bethel, along an old creek where we could play and have fun with the family.

Recently another young man enjoyed the creek too. Matthew Zwermann, our grandson, climbed under the new bridge, and all around it taking pictures for this article. He enjoyed it and his help is very much appreciated.

Please send your memories and ideas for articles to share with all the alumni. If you haven't already sent your email address, please do, so we can reply with the picture link and password.

Thank you,
Joyce Zwermann