Fond memories of loyal public servant
He was known as a simple man who loved his community in Edmond. On Dec. 11, Charles Lamb, 72, died after a life of being a community servant.
Anywhere he went, Lamb was never without his aviator glasses, fully buttonedup shirt, Moped scooter and most importantly his pocket knife.
During early interviews together, I would always ask him which knife he would have, as he had a collection of more than
300, all of which he kept polished and sharpened. His father started him on that hobby.
But for Lamb, he never wore a tie and shied away from big speeches. Instead, he was a oneon-one individual who loved talking about his city.
Although he wasn’t born in Edmond, he had lived in the city since he was 13 years old in the same neighborhood by 15th and Rankin Streets, never wanting to move out of his grandmother’s home that contained his father’s handiwork.
While his father was in the cabinetmaking business, Lamb would instead go off to Wentworth Military Academy and then came back to the University of Central Oklahoma in 1967 to earn a bachelor’s degree in history. He would return in 1978 for a master’s in political science.
Through this, longtime friends said he was still a humble man who loved municipal government as he worked for the Oklahoma City office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He began serving Edmond in 1987 when he was appointed to the board of adjustment and appeals. It was not until 1993 that he would become a councilman. He was instrumental in getting Lake Arcadia built.
Municipal power was also a big passion for Lamb. He had served on the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority since 1993. He often said Edmond was in the business of providing power and enjoyed wearing his Edmond Electric polo.
Serving Edmond was in his blood and he enjoyed mentoring people, including me.
On Dec. 10, during what was a normal city council meeting, Lamb was sick but dismissed it, pushing through, keeping an attentive eye on everybody in the room. He was an observant individual. Afterward, the two of us walked out of the council chambers as we had many times before, stopping on the northeast corner of Littler Avenue and 1st Street. We began discussing what had happened regarding a controversial issue that was before the council.
He told me that whatever the outcome, he would fight for the people and then he chuckled and said, “Do good when you are running this city.”
Doing good is what Lamb did for the city of Edmond. As the next generation of leaders takes charge, they too need to “do good” for the city and may the citizens give, as Lamb would say, a “chorus of seconds” for that.
Tapia covers Edmond city government for The Oklahoman.