Bring the dogs! Bring the kids! Enjoy a stroll in the park, perhaps even a picnic!
Don't forget the writing instrument of your choice.
Please remember, Lawton parks are open between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
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Congratulations to 3BlindOkies & webelozt for the FTF!!!
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Martha Helen "Mattie" Beal Payne
LAWTON CONSTITUTION
July 24, 1931
PIONEER CITY WOMAN DIES EARLY FRIDAY
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Mrs. Charles W. Payne Will Be Buried Sunday
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ACTIVE IN LAWTON'S SOCIAL, CIVIC LIFE
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Came to This Section In 1901: Drew No. 2 Land Claim
Mrs. Martha Helen Payne, wife of Charles W. Payne, one of Lawton's pioneer and most prominent woman citizens, died at 4:30 a.m. Friday.
Mrs. Payne became ill a few days ago and underwent an operation for appendicitis last Sunday. Complications developed and death followed early Friday.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the family home, 416 Summit avenue, with Rev. M.L. Baker, pastor of the Beal Heights Presbyterian church, officiating.
Rev. Baker will be assisted by Rev. J.W. Mosley, Duncan, former Beal Hieghts pastor and an old friend of the Payne family. Burial will be made in Highland cemetery.
Members of the immediate family were at Mrs. Payne's bedside until a late hour Thursday night. Hope had been held she would recover.
Those Who Survive
In her immediate family, Mrs. Payne is survived by her husband and three daughters, Lahoma, 25, Louisa, 20, and Martha Helen, 18. Three brothers and three sisters also survive. They are Mrs. J.A. Stauffer, Enid; Mrs. John Querry, Tulsa; Mrs. Ed Husselton, Arkansas City, Kan.; J.H. Beal, Pryor, Okla.; Frank Beal, McAllen, Texas; and Will Beal, Kansas City, Mo. The three daughters reside at home. The other relatives have been notified of their sister's death and are expected to arrive for the funeral. Mrs. Stauffer arrived near noon Friday.
For many years Mrs. Payne had been active in social and civic affairs of the city and she leaves hundreds of friends to mourn her death.
The hospitality of the Payne home was know to scores.
Pleasing Personality
Mrs. Payne had a pleasing personality. The home which she and Mr. Payne built, one of the most pretentious in the city, was her pride and joy in which she always took a decided interest. Her love for lovely surroundings in her home life was evidenced in the interest she always maintained, both for her family and her many friends.
She was always cheerful and was always a source of pleasure to those who were associated with her, not only to her own personal friends but to those of her daughters.
Mrs. Payne, whose maiden name was Beal, was born in Ash Grove, Mo. She moved with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Beal, deceased, to Wichita, Kan., and then came to Lawton in 1901.
Married In 1902
She was married to Charles W. Payne, head of the Payne-McGee Wholesale Grocery company of this city on July 16, 1902. She was a member of the Beal Heights Presbyterian church.
It was while working as a telephone operator in Wichita, that Mrs. Payne became interested in the Kiowa Comanche drawing. She and a friend, Florence Allen, decided to file. They boarded a train and went to El Reno, where the filling was taking place.
After filing, the two returned to Wichita and had virtually forgotten about the filings. Then suddenly one morning, while she was on her way to work, a photographer snapped her picture.
She asked what was the occasion of taking her photograph. He explained she had drawn second choice in the land lottery. That section of land is what is now known as the Beal Addition to the city Lawton.
Came To Lawton
Her next duty was to come to this section on August 6, 1901, the day of filing on the land in Lawton. She was accompanied by her older brother, Frank.
They arrived at Marlow August 4 and since there was no other way to get to Lawton, they employed a man in a spring wagon to bring them here.
They came upon a Klondike-like scene. Thousands of tents had been raised overnight. It was the future city of Lawton. She filed on the land August 6.
Mrs. Payne sub-divided the land and virtually entered the real estate business, selling many of her lots. Today, the land she drew is well settled with residents.
Built Beautiful Home
After her marriage to Mr. Payne they built their present home and she derived a great deal of pleasure in taking active charge of the house and lawn arrangements.
News of Mrs. Payne's death will be a shock to her many friends and to the community in which she filled such a prominent place. The many friends of the family sympathize with them in bereavement.
Ritter Funeral home has charge of funeral arrangements.
SUNDAY CONSTITUTION
Lawton, Oklahoma
August 3, 1980
Mattie Beal Remembered
The city's economy was sagging and people who had come to buy land and settle here were leaving by the dozens because the price of land was too high. Mattie Beal's offer of lots at auction on Aug. 10, 1902 brought new hope to the people still camping on the perimeter of Lawton, when the lots sold for reasonable prices.
The south side Beal Addition became Lawton's first subdivision, and the city was further enhanced by Mattie Beal when she gave land for Lincoln Elementary School, the Beal Heights Presbyterian Church and seven or more acres for the Mattie Beal Park.
Her unselfishness in turning her farm to residential purposes stabilized Lawton's economy and increased the population by 1,000 at the time when the city needed it most.
