KHPF names stage in honor of Winter Elder
By LESTER MURRAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com

WINTER DICKSON ELDER

The stage at World's Richest Acre Park will be named the Winter Dickson Elder Stage.

The decision to name the stage came April 17 when the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation directors voted unanimously to honor Elder by naming the stage in her honor.

Pudge Griffin, board member for KHPF said this honor was given in her name because it was Elder's idea that spurred the derrick restoration project that has blossomed through the years in Kilgore

Susie Merritt said when the East Texas oil boom hit, her perents were teenagers who witnessed the erection of the original derricks across Kilgore.

To her mom and dad, Merritt, said these structures were more than mere metal towers which enabled oilman to retrieve the "black gold" from beneath the earth's surface. In fact, Kilgore's changing skyline would become symbolic of phenomenal growth, heart-pounding excitement and unimaginable wealth in what once was a small quiet community of farmers and timbermen.

Merritt said the dismantling of the original derricks saddened her parents. To them, Kilgore wasn incomplete without the structures which reminded people of their hometown's unique and important past.

She said it has been reported that a word from her mother began a chain of events that has resulted in the rebuilding of oil derricks in Kilgore. These impressive structures not only assist with some very special Christmas lighting, but, more importantly they serve to remind us of a local histroy to be proud of and intrigued by.

"My brother, Dr. Jack Elder Jr. and I are most appreciative of the honor the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation has bestowed upon mother," said Susie. "She has been touched deeply by this event, especially because she has always loved this town as her father did before her."

From that idea came the move to charter KHPF with the purpose of re-creating Killer's unique skyline, Griffin said. "Twenty years and 50 derricks later, Kilgore's skyline has been re-created to represent those 1100 derricks that made Kilgore a distinctive city," said Griffin. "The World's Richest Acre has 13 derricks on it, with a stage on one end and the original KHPF derrick on the other."

There will be a sign added in the near future to identify the stage as the Winter Dickson Elder Stage said Griffin.

Griffin said one can never know what an idea can bring forth. "This one lady, with the love of scenes from her youth, gave Kilgore a reminder of the boom era that changed the town from a quiet cotton and lumber town to a city in Texas with a most interesting history. The derricks that stand tall in our town today remind us of the past, but more importantly can play a role in the future plans for our community," said Griffin.