In 1939 a granite cenotaph monument was dedicated to those who perished in the explosion. A 20-ton block of Texas granite held in the air by two granite columns, the block has a scene of 12 life-size children going to school, bringing gifts, and handing in homework to two teachers. Unfortunately the event was so traumatizing that many in the community did not want to remember the disaster and it was rarely talked about. Many of those that survived the tragedy had mental issues, mainly PTSD and anxiety. Kenneth Honeycutt who was outside when the building exploded said, "I had led a life of crime up to that point. I had snitched a few things from a grocery store across from us, and I felt that God had punished me, by causing this school to blow up. And that remained something that I truly believed, almost until I was an adult. But the effect, I still feel today." Kenneth’s aunt also went to the school and was injured in the explosion. He described her condition during and after that fateful day, “My Aunt Elson had back injuries, but the major effect on her was emotional. She lived a very anxiety-filled life from then on." Those who tried to do research for books and papers were sometimes met with open hostility as the community tried to forget the tragedy. The explosion even set back the area's oil boom as many of the workers left after the explosion, not wanting to remember those they had lost. It would not be until four decades later in 1977 when the first reunion of those who survived the explosion was held, and in 1992 New London’s Community Museum was founded by Mollie Ward. She was just 10 years old when she had survived the explosion and wanted to remember those who were lost. Today it is full of pieces from the school, newspaper clippings, and testimonies from those there that day. It is a living testimony to one of the United States’ darkest days.