Mangum's "the Bulb" Tribute

The Bulb

(Please click on anything above for a closer look.)

In the sleepy town of Mangum, Oklahoma a light bulb has been burning steady for over years! It has no special place of honor, no designated power supply, no lines of wide eyed school kids waiting to see it, but it has kept on doing it's job lighting the entrance to the firemens bathroom for over 79 years. It has been burning continuous at 110V with the exception of power outages all this time.It has no wall switch except the circuit breaker outside. As a matter of fact, it did it's job so well several years ago someone painted the front side black to get some sleep!

Close Ups

As you can see the paint is still on it. Fireman Cecil said no one ever took the paint off. As best they can tell the heat from the inside caused it to buble up and flake off all on it's own. From the picture below you can see it is still glowing very bright.

The Glow

Annoying as it may be, it is now recognized as one of the few bulbs in the world that has outlasted all the others, and the firemen treat it with respect. However that dosen't mean they have to look at it. A cover was made to go around that was painted black, except for the side closest to the wall. Fireman Cecil Lewis was kind enough to take off the cover and let me take these photos.

Fireman Cecil Lewis shows us the Bulb


The Firehouse Tour

After the visit upstairs Cecil gave us a tour of the firehouse and trucks. If you notice the first picture of Cecil, the phone and bells were behind him on the wall. The pole, still in use, is just around the corner from the Bulb.

Fireman Cecil Lewis shows us the pole

Here's a shot of Cecil and Kent in front of thier favorite truck.

Fireman Cecil Lewis & Asst Chief Kent Gambill

Friendly help!

After walking thru the Firehouse, Cecil took us across the street to see his real treasures, the new trucks. These were donated to Mangun by Altus AFB, and the last truck can go anywhere! They are used for brush fires under SWODA/South Western Oklahoma Developement Agency.

Cecil and Tang Nguyen

MFD Logo

Proud of the new building!

This webpage, is due to the efforts of Chief Steven Slaton, Asst Chief Kent Cambell, and Fireman Cecil Lewis. My thanks to the brave crew of the Mangum Fire Dept. May the light be a symbol of all the lasting good you all have provided over the years and for many more to come!


Hisorical Pictures

These photos were laqured on plaques in front of the kitchen. Dates unknown.This first one shows the Bulb as it originaly hung upstairs.

Old news shot of the Bulb

Old shot of the 2 HSP Truck

Old panarama shot of Mangum

Fire at the H.S.

A timeless shot of Mangum

A 1930's shot of the Station?

Thanks to all the friendly folks in Mangum!

This webpage, is due to the efforts of Chief Steven Slaton, Asst Chief Kent Gambill, and Fireman Cecil Lewis. My thanks to the brave crew of the Mangum Fire Dept. May the light be a symbol of all the lasting good you all have provided over the years and for many more to come!

(Please click thumbnails to enlarge)

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