Okemah High School - Panther Yearbook (Okemah, OK)

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L i u - I u I 1 i E i I E 5 5 5 S i l i 5 ! I i I 5 l 1 E 1 3 1 I Z E I E 5 S 5

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11 BOARD OF EDUCATION Mr. Cecil E. Oakes, Superintendent of Schools: Mr. Boyd Bibb, Member: Mr. Ira Cowan, Vice Presidentg Mrs. S. G. Ryan, President. Our sincere thanks to the Okemah Board of Education for contributing their part in the growth of Okemah and our state of Oklahoma. Under the leadership of Mrs. S. G. Ryan, who has faithfully served as President for the past nineteen years, our Board of Education has provided the educational needs of our community in a commendable manner ever striving to keep apace with the changing times. MR. ROGER STANDLEY Clerk LEADERS MAKE HISTORY Congratulations to our Board of Directors who have left their foot- prints in the history of Okemah Schools and our , great State! MR. W. N. BARRY, IR. Member

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THE OKFUSKEE COUNTY LIBRARY N2 -5q'.L2s3' 1 ,JC I .-gay: , ak - Z5 fx ' - l' 9 X555 Y .. ,,L, , 'H 'I - fsv., ' Lo 5 'ix . ' The Realization of a Dream The Okfuskee County Library with its 25, 165 books and 30 sets of encyclopedias is one of the most valuable cultural assets in our community. With a circulation of 61, 255 books in 1956, we realize, after a brief glance back through the years, that we have not always been so fortunate. Our library, as with all great institutions and ideals, started with a dream. It seems that this was the subject of aspeech by Rev. I. W. Hodges to the Kiwanis club in Jan- uary, 1927. Three months later, with the support of fifteen civic groups, a library was operating in Okeman. In the beginning, the library board consisted of the late A. L. Atchison, Mrs. Pearl C. Bras, Mrs. Olive Martin, T. H. Wren and the only surviving charter member of the board, Mrs. V. K. Chowning. The library started with 400 books contributed by the citizens of Okemah with Miss Nellie Oiler as the librarian, and was located in the 300 block on West Broadway. A few months later lt was moved to the city hall, where Mrs. Mary Hudson and Miss Leota Wright served as librarians. The present stone building was a W. P. A. project and was built in 1935. The con- venience of the students in the Okemah schools was a decisive factor in choosing the site for the library building. Other than the charter members of the board, we find the list of those who have served inthis capacity include: Mrs. Mae Merrell, Rev. I. W. McMullen, Mr. L. M. McGood win, Mr. Clarence Rose, Mr. Henry Aberson, Quinton Griffith, John Foglesong, Rev. J. W. Hodges, Dr. H. K. Maxwell, Rev. John S. Price, C. R. Humphrey and the members of the board at the present time which consists of Jack Suong, chairman: Mrs. R. L. Da- vis, secretaryg Gail Kennedy, Roger Standley, Mrs. Juanita Rowe and Mrs. Chowning. Since moving to the present location, the librarians have been Mrs. H. A. Dolen, Mrs. Glenn E. Dill and the present librarian, Mrs. Ethel Smyth. 'I'hey have been ably assisted by Miss Mildred Wyatt and Mrs. R. T. Smith. So thanks to all of you and to the many others who have done so much to provide us with one of the finest libraries for its size in the state of Oklahoma.