Remember the Ladies: Philanthropy in the Great Plains
Like a modern-day version of Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life,' Lawton residents often wonder what the city would be like if Louise McMahon had...
Like a modern-day version of Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life,' Lawton residents often wonder what the city would be like if Louise McMahon hadn't been born. Thoughts of bringing culture to a rough-and-tumble tent city were not on her mind when she arrived with her husband and young son at the turn of the century. Today, the McMahon Foundation is worth $48 million, with annual donations of $2.8 million.Louise Davis was born in January 1873 in Missouri. She studied music as a child and later attended boarding school to prepare for a teaching career.