Harold Keith was born April 8, 1903, in Lambert, Oklahoma Territory, i.e, before OK was a state. He earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in history from the University of Oklahoma.
For his Newbery-winning Rifles for Watie, he interviewed 22 veterans, all nearly 100 years old. It took him five years to write the novel.
Keith enjoyed quail hunting, trout fishing, and singing in a barbershop quartet. He is a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
Keith died of congestive heart failure on February 24, 1998, at the age of 94. He is survived by one son and one daughter.
Books:
The Bluejay Boarders
Brief Garland
Chico and Dan
Forty-Seven Straight: The Wilkinson Era at Oklahoma
Go, Red, Go!
Komantcia
The Obstinate Land: Cherokee Strip Run of 1893
Oklahoma Kickoff: An Informal History of the First 25 Years of Football at the University of Oklahoma, and of the Amusing Hardships That Attended It
Rifles for Watie (1958 Newbery Award)
The Runt of Rogers School
The Sound of Strings
Sports and Games
Susy's Scoundrel
Will Rogers, a Boy's Life
thanks to:
http://title3.sde.state.ok.us/literatureanda/harold.htm
http://newbery.homepage.com/books/1958.html
http://members.nbci.com/Wapy/WW--JOSE.html
www.amazon.com