Engineer Memoirs
Politically, a s d i s t r i c t e n g i n e e r , I
frequently visited the governors.
Governor Bellmon and I flew a
reconnaissance of the whole district
area. Besides seeing the governor and
the congressmen at least once a year, I
was on television frequently, and district
activities were in the newspaper
constantly.
I don't know how important this is to the
interview, but to me, public and
community relations are critically
important. As part of the salt study, we
were considering a dam site near
Buffalo, in the panhandle of Oklahoma.
I went there one day with Myron
DeGeer. The rancher we visited was
named Selman, and I have never been so
coldly received. I mean, he was very,
very distant. Come to find out that he
Susan Morris became interested in riding while the
was living out there because the Corps
Morris family lived in Tulsa. She is shown riding
of Engineers had bought out his father
"Stormy," a polo pony from the Tulsa P o l o Club
for a dam in eastern Oklahoma. His
family moved that far to get away from
the "damned Corps of Engineers."
As I put my briefcase down on the ground, his dog came over and sprayed it. Selman said,
"Colonel, that's what we think of you out here in Buffalo, Oklahoma." Our visit was brief but
sufficient to explain our purpose before we were on our way to Hutchinson, Kansas. We were
going to go up there to look at another dam site. As we arrived in town there was a big sign in the
middle of the street, "Corps of Engineers meeting at 2 o'clock in the schoolhouse." Selman had
called ahead. We had not planned a meeting but I was trapped. The schoolhouse was full of
people who kept me there until 5:30, asking questions about this project.
Finally, I said to the people, "We better close this off. I am very thirsty and really feel that I'd like
to get something cold to drink." Soon thereafter as we're driving out of town we noticed on the
side of the road, underneath a big cottonwood tree, Selman in his pickup truck and a sixpack of
cold beer on the hood.
Now that's, I think, an interesting story, but as Paul Harvey says, "Here's the rest of the story."
In 1977, twelve years later, I received a phone call in OCE. My secretary said, "There's a man
named Selman from Oklahoma on the phone."
I said, "It can't be."
Well, it was. It was the same man. He said, "Colonel'`-by now I'm the Chief of Engineers-he
said, "Colonel, are you still interested in this project?"
I said, "Yes, I think the Corps is still interested."
He asked if I would come out there and help them. He said, "I'll support this project, but we've
got some problems too."
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