By Andrew Knittle
Former Gov. Henry Bellmon, who died at 88 Tuesday following a lengthy struggle with Parkinson's disease at an Enid hospital, was remembered in the wake of his death as a sometimes-difficult yet honest man by local politicians who worked with him.
Norman resident Mina Hibdon, who in 1973 became the first woman and first Republican elected to represent House District 44, said she campaigned for Bellmon when he made his historic run for governor in 1962.
"I was one of Bellmon's Belles," she said of her involvement with the group of women, organized by Bellmon's late wife Shirley, who helped the former governor triumph nearly 40 years ago, becoming the state's first Republican governor. "We did everything we could -- and so did he -- to get him elected.
"It was hard work but it paid off."
Hibdon said Bellmon was the kind of man who is hard to find these days, that he was "just like a farmer -- slow-talking, honest and very nice to be around." But she said he had a presence that set him apart.
"He was kind of like Ronald Reagan -- you'd never forget him if you met him," Hibdon said. "He really got the ball moving for Republicans in the state."
Clarence Warner, who served as chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party while Bellmon was serving in the state Senate, remembers the former governor as a political pioneer and "the original father of the Republican party in Oklahoma." He said Bellmon, along with himself and countless others, was responsible for laying the groundwork for the Republican party's strength and dominance in Oklahoma.
Warner also said Bellmon was an independent thinker who "could be difficult to work with some times."
"Henry had his own way," he said. "If you didn't agree with him, it was hard to stay close to him -- that was one of his ways."
Warner said he and Bellmon helped Richard Nixon carry the state in 1972, but that the two men disagreed in 1976 when it came time to choose between Gerald Ford and Reagan during the GOP's national convention.
"That didn't mean we couldn't work together," he said. "Over time, we were still able to work together and get things done for the party."
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, who was chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party when Bellmon was elected governor a second time in 1986, said in a statement that Bellmon "served the people of Oklahoma in every conceivable fashion in terms of public service, private commitment and personal example."
"He laid the foundation for the modern two-party system in Oklahoma and is rightfully called the father of the Oklahoma Republican Party," Cole said. "Henry Bellmon was an Oklahoma political pioneer -- we won't see his like again."
University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who said in a statement that Bellmon had been his adviser and friend for 40 years, remembers the former governor, like many others do, as a key figure in the state's political heritage.
"Henry Bellmon will be remembered as one of the greatest Oklahomans in our state's history," Boren said. "In an age of politicians, he always stood out as a statesman with the moral courage to do what he thought was right.
"His death leaves a gap in the lives of all of us."
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
