LARRY LARKIN Column

Do the teenagers still go to Claremore Lake for the nightly submarine races?

At one time, this was a popular activity for the young people of this area. Fridays and Saturdays were the busiest time, but on any given night of the week, parked cars were a common sight at the lake.

If the male teen could talk his female companion into it, they would drive to the lake and find an isolated spot. While the city park area on the west side had colorful places like Cherry Point and Beer Can Corner, the more wooded east side offered numerous nooks and crannies for additional privacy.

Once at the perfect place, the young couple could tune the car radio to their favorite station and then sit back and discuss the recent history test ... or what the student council was trying to do ... or whatever.

That’s the way I remember it. A safe guess is, the same activity continues down through the generations.

Today's subject matter, however, is actually about another type of boat races at Claremore Lake.

Sponsored by the Will Rogers Junior Chamber of Commerce, they were high-powered speed boat races. Starting in 1953, the annual summer event was sanctioned by the Oklahoma Boat Racing Association. The races were still being held into the early 1960s.

"Oh, yes, it was a big event for Claremore and the community back then," Judge Jack Mayberry said this week when asked about the races. "We had people coming here from several states to race or just watch. I guess I was involved with it about three years.

"On the day of the races, members of the Chamber would also have a breakfast for participants at the rodeo grounds. You wouldn't believe how many scrambled eggs we would cook.

"People certainly enjoyed watching the boats race back and forth on the lake. Lot of the time, the boats would turn over, and one year, if I remember correctly, a plane even fell into the water. The pilot was watching the races and lost control."

Now retired from the bench, Mayberry was the president of the Junior Chamber when Claremore's seventh annual boat race was held Sunday, June 7, 1959.

What brought this subject to light, and the pinpointed date, was the recent discovery of a 20-page program printed for the race. The program makes it clear that a lot of work and pride went into hosting the races.

According to information in the program, Claremore was the third location on the race calendar that summer. The schedule started May 10, at McAlester. Other races were held at Okmulgee, Bartlesville, Wewoka, Flat Rock Resort at Fort Gibson, Hominy, Cushing and Ponca City.