A Date at the Water Tower

Charlene Hibbard overcame her reluctance. She said "before technology...you had to find your own fun." This is a story of a boy and a girl looking for something to do together in Muskogee almost 47 years ago.

She and her husband, then boyfriend, were on a date one warm moonlit night in 1960. It was usual at that time for kids to drive around town, and it was not unusual for couples to drive up to Honor Heights Park.

"As we drove past the Old Water Tower," she said, "Hib asked if I wanted to climb to the top of it. After being reassured that it could be accomplished, we parked the car and proceeded to the Tower." After entering through a doorway at ground level, they found the ladder on an inside wall. "It was fairly dark and I was probably clinging to each rung as if it were the last I would ever hold. It was easy to climb if you did not look down."

"We climbed out and sat on the roof of the water tower. The roof was covered in tin in the shape of wedges, like a pie. The wedges were held together with lead." Hib said it was possible to get into the water through some kind of opening. He said that "the water was cold, dark and spooky if you swam in it."

"Once on a solid roof top though I guess I felt safe enough. You could see Muskogee spread out below. I just remember sitting on top of the water tower looking out over Muskogee which was not much different from just looking at it from the parking space on the ground below."

"There were no street lights on Shawnee, but you could see the headlights and taillights of cars on Shawnee and Highway 69. Only Hilltop [truck stop] really radiated a lot of light. The town [of Muskogee] itself was mostly dark. There were only street lights on the main streets that were deemed necessary and they deemed very few as necessary."

"All you could hear were the night sounds of birds, an occasional passing car and small animals in the trees and grass around us. It was a peaceful time and an enjoyable adventure. I wish I had had a chance to climb the old Water Tower one more time."

Charlene's adventure was possible because of the design of the water tower. The outer shell of the tower surrounded the bowl that held the water. Buttresses were spaced around the bowl to support the weight of the water. These buttresses had doorways in them that allowed an inspector to walk around the bottom of the bowl.

The photograph above shows the bowl and buttresses. The outer shell and top have already been removed. One of the doorways is visible in the left buttress.

Stories like this one create images of cherished memories. Do you have a special old memory of Muskogee? Email me with your cherished story. My email address is muskogeehistory@gmail.com.