Midwest City High School - Bomber Yearbook (Midwest City, OK)

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Mayor Marion C, Reed donated money to UNICEF on the Halloween of 1954, 1 3 ' -. -.. ,ssl V Kid V, 4 Midwest City's citizens helped celebrate its tenth anniversary in 1953. W, Superintendent of Schools Oscar V. Rose snacked in a local cafe in 1945. Tinker AFB Made Midwest City First of the Model Cities From a maze of twisted, muddy roads, wheat fields and potato patches, Midwest City rapidly developed into a clean, modern, progressive city across the road from Tinker Field, which has also made tremendous strides. The majority of Midwest City's 65,000 residents were not even born when the city was founded in the undeveloped farm lands 25 years ago. The year 1942 was full of turmoil with World War ll. When the Oklahoma City area was men- tioned as one of the possible locations of new war defense plants, an energetic young former newsman and professor, W,P. Bill Atkinson, noted that the proposed installation would employ 4,000 people. Atkinson searched ownership maps and discovered a spot he thought might be the right one. lt was nine miles from downtown Oklahoma City and had a rail line that ran through wheat fields. He bought two farms from Joe Chessner and Frank Trosper totaling 310 acres immediately north of SE 29 in an area now bordered by Midwest Boulevard and Air Depot. Thus Midwest City and Bill Atkinson's dream were born simul- taneously. In October, 1942, three weeks after Atkinson purchased the farms, top Air Force brass selected the site across from the land. Immediately Tinker Air Force Base and Midwest City began a hand-in-hand march which was to bring dual acclaim as the world's largest air depot and America's Model City. At- kinson retained Stewart Mott, one of the nation's master land planners, to draw his model city. On June 1, 1943, Midwest City was incorporated within the school district boundaries.

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i iss it ii., , . . Twenty-Five Years of Progress and Cooperation W MA f fir-:uf A- :fn ' rs.-f. ,gi-K 5 '14 Q y ,cz pf Q w.1':'f14N .4 ',' 77Z'ZfWesfI7Zgf cS1Pl7lUf:5' www pixma' ,'7.Q4ef wtf 5 X ' ' K - X Q 2 sf, abi l 'W ,,5,,,,, WM in -3?-:y,,qWV . ,Q ,. 4' imfffkr- 'ms sT214m--Mfr,e,f'.- r 1 N 0 55 rs. .t Q Isa. i Q, .. Q 445 ' . , L ir Q-t-ies' 4 . 4.-gm W4 ,foz f A f . fiwuy list Fourteen seniors comprised the first MCHS graduating Artist's drawing shows completed Vocational-Technical School. class, 1944. Midwest City has always been the 'Model City.' From its beginning in 1942, W. P. Bill Atkinson, developer, realized a need for a permanent community including schools, churches, and shopping centers in the vicinity of Tinker Air Force Base. With encouragement of Air Force officials, Atkinson conceived and planned a community which is now Oklahoma's fourth largest city. Master Plan has already provided for water and other utilities to serve a population of 125,000. All streets are paved and all major thoroughfares will soon be four-laned and white- way lighted. Because of planned' curvilinear streets, which earned the national award as 'America's Model City', Midwest City is one of the safest cities in the nation. ln 1967, Midwest City was among 15 Oklahoma cities to receive superior achieve- ment awards from Oklahoma Good Roads and Streets Associa- tion. With no slum areas, Midwest City, in the opinion of leaders, is an ideal community in which to live. ln the spring of 1943, Sooner School District knew how crowded their school was becoming, and they set out to find a man capable of realizing their need. The choice fell upon Mr. Oscar V. Rose. He started work immediately, planning a new school to begin in September. The school was to be built at the present Jarman Junior High School location. Both a secondary department and grade school were to be included. The number of students has increased to 18,784, the number of teachers from five to 743, the number of buildings is now 22, and the value of property is currently set at more than S40 million, compared to 530,000 in the beginning. Today Rose can point with pride to 14 elementary schools, four iunior high schools, two high schools, a combination junior-senior high school, and a new vocational-technical school, all striving to serve the educational needs of more than 18,000 students in the Midwest City-Del City area.

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pw--W A continuous flow of Kwai' ,O ,A l,L ,,A.,A.,, . Q 1 Q Midwest City residents went to and from work at Tinker Field ten years ago. ,,M.i.,..w N-.. 11 - gs if W-A ,ff-., M , ,s,4 WM I uv' I I ll u ' 4 g I L . X un ., W IQMMHIJUL I I I I I I 1' I I I I I I I I T I I I I I I I I I I I E I I I I I I Q ' I I I I I I we Fll I I I I, I I I I I 42,45 444 r V 4V -47 f',' .f :wi Qsiausnw.. V-If mf Chart shows school system growth, i942 to I 1 1' W, ..- ,-. , W. .W . , ' 15? 1la55z7 'm: ui 1 Today Midwest City covers nearly 30 square miles and has a population of 65,000, with citizens from all 50 states and many foreign countries. ln just 25 years, the city has de- veloped one ot the premier school systems ot the nation. One ot today's Oklahoma employing dents, the opened in industrial giants and the largest single industry in is Midwest City's neighbor, Tinker Air Force Base, 35,000 workers. Dedicated to the health ot resi- first unit of Midwest City Memorial Hospital was l962, the hospital now has a T75-bed capacity. A modern public library is open daily, and all faiths are repre- sented in the city's 36 churches. Midwest Citians enioy parks and playgrounds, a modern YMCA, and nearby lakes. 1958. Flag raising at first city hall drew residents, U , 1 ! 3 3 on ZQKQT Construction of Midwest City's first Bell Telephone Company building neared completion in 1956. The MWC city hall was expanded and remodeled in T966 to accommodate the increasing number of employees necessary to operate the growing city.