A Brief History of Alberta Creek Resort

Zollie Reed St. originally founded Alberta Creek Resort in 1954. Phillip Lindsay and Archie McWilliams helped in the construction of that first floating structure. It was built out of oak lumber. Oak is so hard it splits when a nail is driven into it. So, the boards were drilled and bolts and nuts were used to secure them. It was constructed at Stove Point (2) on the north side of Alberta Creek and floated on 55 gallon metal barrels. It was then moved to the vicinity of the present site and that was before there was even a road into the area from the south. To hold his Corps of Engineers lease Zollie had to have the fishing barge in place by a certain date.

The original fishing barge was located just north of the present flag pole at Alberta Creek Resort. That was Mr. P.O. Patton's fishing hole. Mr. Patton lived in a small trailer at Lost Acres and discovered the location. I fished with him on one occasion at that site and we caught a boatload of fish. (He had a very small boat.) At that time the only access was from the north side of Alberta Creek. Anyone could look out over the water and see where he was fishing. However, he pretended it was a secret location and when asked where he had caught his fish, he would always say, "Out there in that deep water". He would usually catch channel cats in the one pound class.

My grandparents, Moody and Eunice (Sullivan) McCuan had a baited fishing hole near the mouth of Flathead Cove (5). It was just west of the high hill that is north of the present boat launching ramp. The y used cotton seed meal cattle cubes to bait the hole. It wasn't unusual for them to catch some rather large carp. One day Ma hooked a carp that was more than she could handle. She asked Daddy Moody to take the rod. He was busy encouraging her by saying, "Stay with him! Stay with him!" She then told him, "Moody, take this rod." Again, he said, "Stay with him!" She then said, "If you don't take this rod I'm going to throw it in the lake." He grabbed the rod and landed the fish for he knew she would do exactly what she said.

Once the fishing barge was in place, a road was opened up from the south. A small building was built on the top of the hill above the fishing float. During the construction of the building, a copperhead snake bit Zollie. The wound was lanced with a pocketknife and then he was taken to a doctor. The doctor told him he wouldn't have had such a serious problem if the pocketknife hadn't been used.

The road at that time turned south at the new Lighthouse Methodist Church on Alberta Creek Road. Then about a half of a mile south, it curved on the existing road through where the Cobb families have lived forever. Locally, this was known as Cobbville. The road went east through the Parker Sizemore place and connected with the Washita Point Road and from there it went north to the resort. It was several years later that the Corps of Engineers opened up the new road that now starts in front of the Lighthouse Methodist Church and winds around in a serpentine fashion. Where the road originally crossed the Sizemore property there were two gates that had to be opened and closed. Parker Sizemore built a picnic table on top of the hill between the two forks of Sizemore Cove (8). At that time there was an accessible road on the point and some good crappie fishing on each side. IMAGES TAKE UP A WHOLE PAGE

The old fishing barge got moved up the hill and turned into a shop building. It was replaced on the water by a modern facility, which was later converted into a store and café. The shop building was replaced with a new metal building. I salvaged some of the old oak lumber in the original building to be used for picture frames. I've promised Bill Glascock, a (truly brief) history of Alberta Creek to be displayed in the café, framed in some of that oak lumber. Maybe someday I will get that done.

Incidentally, my son, John McWilliams, is the artist who painted the picture of the old fisherman that is on display in the Alberta Creek Café. The frame was made out of Lake Texoma driftwood by yours truly. That painting came from a picture taken by John when he was in a photography class at Southeastern University. The old gentleman in the picture was a regular visitor to Alberta Creek and was known locally as Catfish Charlie. He was from Durant where he was known as "Red Hoss". He used rocks or old spark plugs for his terminal tackle. Since I've retired I can better understand his frugality.

A multitude of changes have taken place at Alberta Creek. However, one things remains constant: it is one of the best fishing areas on Lake Texoma. Since this was first written I caught a Lake Texoma certified record sunfish in Alberta Creek in June of 2008. It was a 1.1 pound bluegill that was 10 ¼" in length in girth. That wouldn't mean much to most folks, but since bluegill is one of my favorite fish it was a big thrill to me. More on this in the following chapter.