Columbus Elementary School of Oklahoma City (Especially the 60's-70's)

Columbus Elementary School of Oklahoma City (Especially the 60's-70's) Experiences at Columbus Elementary school of Oklahoma City. Got a class picture? Update about yourself? Can you put names to any of the people in these pictures?

In case you are wondering who owns this page, it is Wesley Horton, who attended kindergarten in 64 and regular Columbus 65-71. This page is dedicated to people who attended Columbus Elementary School in Oklahoma City, during the 60's and early 70's. Please stop by and take a look!

Witch burnings. . .we all know it happend. More of less 400 years ago. We all know it happened, and we think we had not...
09/11/2026

Witch burnings. . .we all know it happend. More of less 400 years ago. We all know it happened, and we think we had nothing to do with it. . .back in the smug 1960's and 70's. But did we?

Many of us were quite guilty of treating some of our classmates as little more than evil witches. Maybe we did not burn them at the stake, but we roasted them day by day with insults. We certainly give it no thought. Today. . maybe we feel we were just kidding classmats who were not winners of the genetic lottery. Not born so cute and attractive as we were. We kidded our fellow classmates at the time. . .

Or did we? Face it guys and girls. . some of us were quite cruel in the 60's amd 70's to our fellow classmates. We teased them mercilessly. . those not as cute or attractive as us. Witches, or as my group yelled, "Acid, acid, you got the acid" or some other stupid and painful troop.

Sorry guys and gals. . I am going to delve into the crulty of our age. . .teasing our fellow classmates who were not so cute, not so attractive. . .and I was guilty. . .Today it haunts me. (and may cause you to turn away. . . but still we did it). . .

We taunted classmates about not being attactive or cute. Recently, I am reminded of the abuse our class hurled on an innocent girl We were unceasing in our abuse. . and although in Elementry the girls were no so bad about the abuse, there is no doubt in later year they were. I am reminded of a girl named Rebecca Lamb. We teased her. . .all fun and games until later when those insults actually hit home.

I tried to track her in the 90's and found her brother who said she had moved to Texas and wanted no contact. I left it at that, but still wish I could have apologized for the treatment in Elementry school.

Today, I have something I did not have in elementy school. . Compassion. . and I so wish I could go back and apologize. . but cannot.

Would Ms. Lamb forgive me if she could? I'll never know.

Bring back any memories?(Courtesy Faith Lawless, over at Gen X.)
08/28/2026

Bring back any memories?
(Courtesy Faith Lawless, over at Gen X.)

The List of people whose names we could collectively remember & who would have graduated HS in 1977: Most married & mid...
08/28/2026

The List of people whose names we could collectively remember & who would have graduated HS in 1977: Most married & middle names are redacted, (unless they have passed.)

Name Found? Died
Debbie Adams No
Susie Altstatt Y
Debra Archer No
Brenda Sue Birchfield Y Died June 10,2008
Mark Barrager Y Died Sept 28, 2011
Nancy Bingham Y
Walter Bird Y
Debra Bohrer Yes
Tommy Boyett No
Hope Brackett Y Refused Contact
Louise Brackett Coleman Died, July 29, 2012
Sheila Brown Y Refused Contact
Sandra Buie (Onstot?) ? Refused Contact
Wayne Cargill Y Died May 9, 2015
Tena Cary Y
Terry Caskey Semi
Jerry Clark Y
Lori Clark (?) Unknown if correct
Jay Coker Y
Jean Ann Cranfield (Chastka) Y Died May 31, 2002
Johnny Culp Y
Janice Curtis No
Cheryl Enoch No
Robert Enriquez Y
Shryle Gilley Y
Doran Gothard Y
Tommy Gray No
Jamie Green No
Maria Hernandez Y
Cecil Harron Y
Ricky D. Hicks Y
Wayne Hill No
Danny Householder Y
William Thomas Irwin Y
Joseph Johnson No
Joy King Yes
Lonnie Kercheval Y Died Oct 2, 1998
Rebecca Lamb Y Refused Contact
Leroy Leftwich Y
Ronnie Lyles Died Mar 31, 2012
Teddy Manger Y
Lora Mann No
Donna McCracken No
Jeffrey McCullough No
Joe Minyen Y
Deborah Nabors Y
Elizibeth Parker Y
Kenneth Ponder No
Danny Presridege No
Jimmy Ray Yes
Ray Ramsey No
Kathy Robertson No
Charles Rowland Y
Sharon Savay No
Sharon Savage Same as above
Doyle Shockey No
Daleana Smith Yes Refused Contact
Reuben Spradlin No
Eddie Steele Y
Ronnie Terry Y
David Townley No
Donna Turner No
Garland Waller Y Died Feb 12, 2012
Walter Whalin Y
Sherrill Wilson Y
Mary Beth Wilson Y
Phillip Workman Y

08/28/2026

WHAT I KNOW & DON'T KNOW:

Just a quick note, I was looking through the folder I have for Columbus, and our classmates (class of '77). I have a list of 67 students whose names I could remember. .and some notes about efforts to find them.

22 were, and remain unfound. 8 had died, Several were found and mildly interested, some never returned calls, or letters, and only one person refused to have anything to do with the project.

A couple have had problems with the law. If I found their name on the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network with anything criminal, I left it at that and did not attempt to contact them. (Drug related 1, Illegal "friendships" if you get the drift, 1.

I am guessing I had probably forgotten the names of somewhere around 15 students from our class, but would have to look at the pictures again and count the "Unknown's" where I was listing names. (I did!)

Here are the numbers:

Year/Grade . . . . # of Unknown . . . . .total classmates
Kindergarten . . . . . . 15. . . . . . . . . . . .27 (Burns)
1st grade. . . . . . . . . . 06. . . . . . . . . . . 25 (Howland)
2nd grade. . . . . . . . . .12. . . . . . . . . . .30 (Velma Petree)
3rd grade. . . . . . . . . .04. . . . . . . . . . ..23 (Lori Hollis)
4th grade. . . . . . . . . .01 . . . . . . . . . . .23 (Claypool)
5th grade. . . . . . . . . . .07. . . . . . . . . . .27 (McCormack)
6th grade. . . . . . . . . . .NO PHOTO. . . . . .(Houchin)

Two people came forward and identified themselves from the 4th grade.

I would note that some of those listed as Unknowns are kids I think I may know the name of, but no one has confirmed their name with the picture. There was no photo taken in 6th grade (Due to the death of the photographer that took those pics.)

And of course, many of those "unknowns" could be the same group of people that I had forgotten the name of, or, was unable to ID, and are the same person in several photos.

I would publish the list of people, whose names I do recall, and the associated notes, but the more I thought about it, I don't want the project to come across as stalking. Silly, -but that seems to be the world we live in today.

I am not really even comfortable posting those individuals I have listed with their middle names. Geez.

Oh, and I did use Classmates.com and looked at yearbooks for Capitol Hill, Southeast, Grant, Del City, Midwest city, Moore, as well as Douglas. I found only a few of our former classmates at those schools. And of course, about the time we started at Jackson, was when former Federal Luther Bohanan decided the OKC school system needed to be "desegrated." which caused many students families to move to other districts or even leave the area all togather.

Just a programming note, my family moved to Del City at the start of the 7th grade, just two weeks into the semester. My father had gone to the office and gotten me out of class for the move. The reason? My mother had accepted a teaching position at Del City High. I still remember, I was sitting in Ginger Woods math class right after lunch, and the last person I talked to, (Save those I found later) was Sharon Savage. (who I never did find).

I actually stopped looking for people about a year or two after I started this group. . We get a little traffic (about 20-60 visits a month) from people that never posted comments of any sort. . .so there is that. (but then, the title does mention "Especially the 60's-70's."

That is all I got. . . anyone?

Spreadsheet started. . Scrolling back to the start of the page, every one I could find listed. I would also add there i...
08/27/2026

Spreadsheet started. . Scrolling back to the start of the page, every one I could find listed.

I would also add there is a list of our classmates (who would have graduated in '77 also on 27 Feb 2014

Threre is a list of missing and Unknown whereabouts on 24 Apr 2012

Here is what the Spreadsheet looks like at the moment:

Strange question for my fellow classmates. . Does anyone know what happend to a fellow that was two years ahead of us (a...
08/26/2026

Strange question for my fellow classmates. . Does anyone know what happend to a fellow that was two years ahead of us (and would have graduated in '75) by the name of Steve Hays? He used to run around with Randy Barber. They both lived around 21st or 22nd and Youngs?

Wish I could say I have a $50 gift certificate at a nice restaurant. . buy can only offer Arby's coupons ;-)

In that context, this movie was terrifying to see as a child.

Something that has been on the periphery of my mind, and I think many of us can relate to. . .Who is still alive from th...
08/26/2026

Something that has been on the periphery of my mind, and I think many of us can relate to. . .Who is still alive from the Columbus days, and who is not?

I can honestly say that I only know of five people that have passed. From my classmates who would have graduated in '77:

Mark Barrager. . . . . died sudden illness (Oct 2011)
Brenda Birchfield. . .Unknown cause (June 2008)
Jean Ann Cranfield. . . . . died in an automobile accident. (2002)
Ken Kercheval. . . . . . . . . .died of cancer (Oct 1998)
Garland Waller. . . . . . . .died of complications of diabetes (Feb 2012)

Can anyone else offer information on classmates? Please post or message me, and I will post the information if you prefer.

08/15/2026

Well it is back to school for the latest gaggle of young'ens. . 2026/27 to 2038/39. Geez, what sort of wonders will the world hold for them when they graduate? What will have changed?

I kinda doubt they will have jet cars like the Jetsons, but robot maids like Rosie are possible. But then, I am reminded of the lyrics of "In the year 2525:" (I honestly don't know that mankind will make it that long. .)

What are your thoughts? (Posted by Wesley Horton)

In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find
In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
In the year 6565
You won't need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube
In the year 7510
If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say
Guess it's time for the judgment day
In the year 8510
God is gonna shake His mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down, and start again
In the year 9595
I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing
Now it's been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday
In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find

With the "Dog days of Summer" having boldly reasserting their dominance over Oklahoma city, I was curious what the temps...
07/29/2026

With the "Dog days of Summer" having boldly reasserting their dominance over Oklahoma city, I was curious what the temps were in years past (Such as '64-'70) when I was at Columbus. . The results for this day, 29 July in years past:

(This was actually a pretty chill day, historically)

A Check back on this date indicates: (Will Rogers World Airport from Wunderground.com)

1963 Low 70° High 90°
1964 Low 73° High 91°
1965 Low 67° High 85°
1966 Low 79° High 99°
1967 Low 69° High 95°
1968 Low 71° High 88°
1969 Low 63° High 87°
1970 Low 73° High 97°
1971 Low 70° High 82°
1972 Low 67° High 88°
1973 Low 71° High 81°
1974 Low 67° High 97°
1975 Low 73° High 87°
1976 Low 68° High 93°
1977 Low 71° High 93°
1978 Low 74° High 102°
1979 Low 77° High 98°
1980 Low 72° High 107°

Data source: https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/ok/oklahoma-city/KOKC/date/1980-7-29

07/25/2026

OKC public schools has announced their first day of school this year is on AUGUEST 11.*
We tend to remember School starting later in years past, when we attended. I checked back here are the dates school started when I was in Public school:

Year / Grade / Starting date

1964 (K) Aug 31
1965 (1) Aug 24
1966 (2) Aug 29
1967 (3) Sept 5
1968 (4) Sept 3
1969 (5) Sept 4
1970 (6) Aug 31

Of course, it is interesting to note that in the years '64 to '70 OKC public schools DID NOT have air conditioning. We had very high ceilings, Transoms over doors, and perhaps a bit tougher spirit?

*https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z1nd_-1aGRQRK0N7l7lU2ScQ_xs2CW5Vj_rZB06uW9s/edit?pli=1&gid=0 =0

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2402 S
Oklahoma City, OK
73108

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