FORT SILL, Okla. Aug. 27, 2015 -- When I was little I played a game called MASH. Maybe some of you have heard of it? It was just a fun little "fortune telling" game that would predict, among other things your spouse, number of children, your future occupation, and if you would live in a mansion, apartment, shack or a house (making the acronym MASH). Being a silly middle schooler I would hope my fortune would announce my life as the wife of Jonathan Taylor Thomas living in a house or mansion (I couldn't have guessed other housing options might be barracks or a B-hut during deployments, or if I was lucky a CHU, a containerized housing unit -- pretty much a trailer with an air conditioner).
I'm not sure how long the game of MASH has been in existence, but I wonder if it had been around, would Mattie Beal have played it as a child. And, if she did play it, was she was surprised at how her life actually played out?
In 1901 Mattie Beal (born Martha Helen Beal) was a telephone operator from Wichita, Kan. When President William McKinley proclaimed the opening of the Kiowa-Comanche country to white settlement, Beal jumped at the opportunity.
Unlike past land openings, which were dependent on a fast horse, good luck and a lack of a "Sooner" squatting illegally on the land, more than 2 million acres would be given to 13,000 people at 160 acres apiece through a random drawing.
Beal, and her friend Florence, boarded a train to Oklahoma City and then took the 30-mile rail trip to El Reno where they would register. Then, after hours registering, they returned home (it wasn't necessary to be present for the drawing). The day the drawing took place Mattie was greeted on her way to work by a photographer who took a photo of her announcing she was the second name to be drawn. By the time she arrived at work, the telephone office was a buzz with calls pouring in to congratulate her. As luck would have it, Florence was also chosen to win land.
Newspapers printed her photograph along with the story of the "hello girl" and with that Beal began to receive marriage proposals. In the end, she married Charles Warren, a lumber yard manager, the following year.
Beal chose a 160-acre piece of property near Lawton and divided the land into lots to rent them (she also donated some land for Lincoln School, a church and two city parks).
She raised her three daughters in the two-story, 14-room home they built, which is still standing today.
You can visit the Historic Mattie Beal Home, which was saved from destruction, carefully restored and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A guide walked me, and about 10 others, through the rooms explaining the uses of the rooms, pointing out and sharing the history of a few of the items and sharing how the home's purpose changed with different owners. The house is beautifully decorated inside and ou,t and has many of the original items belonging to Beal and Warren. The children who toured with me seemed interested in the laundry shoot where the three Warren girls would throw their toys, and one boy asked repeatedly on the condition of the ghost who lived in the home (our guide wasn't convinced there was a ghost).
It is always interesting to me to see and visit places that are older than myself, places that have reached their 100th birthday. It makes me feel as though I am part of history, if only for a moment. "Today, the Mattie Beal home was visited by Monica Guthrie of the Fort Sill Cannoneer," because that is the way you have to say it. I am merely a guest in the life of this ancient building. I am visiting the home, not the other way around.
If you have some time and want to be part of history, visit the Historic Mattie Beal Home. They are open Tuesday through Sunday from noon until 3 p.m. You can go on a self-guided tour or call and reserve a tour. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, $2 for grade-school children and $3 per person for groups of 10 or more.
For more information visit www.LawtonHeritage.org.
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