The Dam Builders...Fifth in a Series

John Bennett
John Bennett, now living in Norman, worked for two years hauling freight for his Dad’s company, Harley Bennett Truck Lines. John was still attending Tulsa Central High School and drove a Chevrolet Straight Truck (no trailer) from Tulsa to Inola, Chouteau, Pryor, Salina, Spavinaw and Langley. A one-way trip took 3 hours in those days, at 45 miles an hour, and on at least one occasion John drove three trips in one day. A ferry crossing was required north of Spavinaw, he recalls, as there was no bridge over the Grand River at that point.
In addition to chemicals, steel, tools and almost everything else, John hauled the 7,000 pounds of paint it took to cover Sailboat Bridge. He remembers one occasion that a call came in for cinders…to keep the concrete on the dam from freezing. He went to several places in Tulsa and gathered up all the cinders he could find and drove the load to Langley. On several occasions he had to climb in through the truck window, as a long load of steel was tied to the side, blocking the doors.
After high school graduation he worked for a short time at Public Service Co in Tulsa before being drafted into the Army Air Corps. He spent four years in the southwest Pacific.