More Photos From the Hospitality Suite

Carleton, John, CA, Gene, Freddie, Dwayne

Carolyn, Anita, Jerri

Cathy and C.A. Riser

Charlene Steckelberg and Duane Woodliff

DAnna, C.A., Thomas, Suzi, Betty

Dick and Jeanie

Don, and the Goodmans

Eloise, Bill and Nancy Miller

Dick, Ron Rolen, DAnna, John, Barbie, Bill and Judy

Anita and Jim Iliff

Anita and Lahona

Barbie and DAnna

Betty and Dick

Betty and Thomas

Bruce and Paula Roberts

C.A., Richard, Sue, Gene, DAnna, Betty, and Barbie

Carleton and Lahona

The Good Old Days by John Greiner

This was taken from the newsletter published by John Greiner.  I added my comments in red.


In the 50 years since we graduated from high school, Henryetta has changed in ways and not changed in others.


The places we shopped and the adults we knew are mostly gone.


Remember Williams Shoeland?  The store had an x-ray machine to help find your correct shoe size.  Some of us went in there and just looked at our feet, actually our skeleton feet, through the machine.


We had lots of drug stores: Greens, Judy's, Post Office Drug and Berry's Drug.  They had comic books and phosphate sodas.  (And cherry cokes!)


We had a hotel, the Georgian.


We had car dealerships.


We had movie theaters, The Morgan, The Blaine and the Drive-in.  They are gone.  Each theater had different movies during the week.  The movies ran Sunday, Monday & Tuesday; Wednesday & Thursday; and Friday & Saturday.  The Morgan had plenty of Cowboy movies on Saturdays: The Durango Kid, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, Tim Holt, Dale Robertson, Jimmy Wakely, Red Ryder and Allen Rocky Lane.  (I remember the serials....you had to go back the next Saturday to find out what happened!)  The movies are gone.


We had a great, modern restaurant on the corner of 6th and Main.  It was the Patty Ann.  (Remember buddy-burgers?)


Our high School Building on 2nd Street between Cummings & Gentry is not there anymore.  HHS is out on the west side of town now, carved out of the hill where young boys hiked and sometimes camped.


But when you come into Henryetta, it's still the pretty town in the valley with a long Main Street and residential areas everywhere, including houses clinging to the side of the big hill that overlooks much of our town.


Our graduating class was smaller than the number of students we had in our freshman year when there were 130.  We graduated 85.


In the past 50 years many of our classmates have died.


We had six grade schools, strategically placed around our town.  There's just one grade school now.


When we grew up, Henryetta was a small industrial town of probably 8,000 plus.  We had many ethnic groups.  Including Oklahoma's Native Americans, our melting pot included Italians, Welsh, English and Greeks.  A black family, the Grundys, came to Henryetta High School in the 1950's.  One of that family, Anthony Grundy, who was younger than we, died fighting in Vietnam.


In Henryetta in the days we grew up, you could walk down the street in the spring and summer and know what someone was having for dinner.  Air conditioning was rare, so everyone's windows were open and you could smell the food cooking as you walked by.


Boys played kick-the-can, cowboys, soldiers, football, baseball and basketball.  These games were played on the Girl Scout lot on 5th and Gentry, in the many backyards of Henryetta, at the baseball park and on the Well's lot up on the hill, just to name a few.


Girls, too, played kick-the-can: and they were experts at jacks, hop scotch and dress up.  (I remember playing hide-and-seek in the evening, and catching fireflies in glass jars.)


Many of the guys were Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers.  The girls were Brownies and Girl Scouts.


The six grade schools had friendly competitions from grade school football to fund raising for the March of Dimes.  There were grade school musicals performed in the high school gymnasium.  (Do you remember the "land rush" enactments at Webster?  And the Halloween parades up the hill and back to the school?)


Just about every adult in town knew every kid.  So a kid better beware of doing something wrong.


Things have changed and they haven't changed.  Henryetta still is a pretty town, and the people are nice and friendly.  During an all-school reunion, I once asked someone from a class ahead of us if he still lived in Henryetta.  "Yes, I guess I never got away from here," he replied.


"I think you are lucky," I said.

Thanks, John for this great article.

Henryetta Slideshow

Has anyone else seen this video on You Tube?  I just ran across it tonight.  Turn on your speakers 'cause there's a song, too!

Class Reunion

Our 50th Class Reunion is only about 3 weeks away!  The reunion committee has been working hard to make this the best reunion ever!  The following classmates have registered and will be attending one or both functions.  It's not too late to register! 

Charles Blackwell

Dick Cameron and his wife, Mary

Thomas Dawson and his wife Suzi

Betty Ayres Decker

Richard DeVaughn

Carolyn Sprague Dewberry

Barbara Lust Elmore

Sue Sherment Giessmann

David Goodman and his wife, Ann

John Greiner

Frank Helms and his wife, Betty

Lahona Palmer Kelley and her husband, Kenneth

Anita Kershner Iliff and her husband, Jim

Don Inman and his wife, Glenna

Florence Smith Kempf and her husband, Steve

Judy Evans Kline

Joy Ingram Kuykendall and her husband, Kermit

DAnna Steckelberg Lawson

Freddie Martin

Tony Minyard and his wife, Chris
John Molet and his wife, Donna

John P. Moore

Stanley Morris and his wife, Anna

Susan Burnett Newman and her husband, Eddie

Jeanie Ayres Polston and her husband, Kenny

Don Prewitt

CA Riser and his wife, Cathy

Bruce Robertgs and his wife, Paula

Kay Berryhill Rollins and her husband, Mike

Dwayne Rutland and his wife, Susan

Gene Stanley and his wife, Theresa

Billy Joe Stephenson and his wife, Deanna Durbin

Roy Thompson

Allen Wardsworth

Judy Berry Webster and her husband, Bill

Eloise Hull Woodliff and her husband, Duane

Roseann Petron Bivin and her husband, Dwain

Bill Miller and his wife, Nancy

Chuck Richeson

Ron Rolen

Buddy Vernetti
Carleton Clay and his wife, Julia
Jack Deskin and his wife, Janette
Jimmy Hudson
Jerry Stubbs Minyard
Allen Shaw and his wife, Joyce
Suda Mae Barron Smith
Charles Summers
June Sallee Williams
Jana Hall Lay

Boys' State Delegates

Thanks to John Greiner for sending me this newsclipping of the Boys' State Delegates!

Henryetta Elementary Football Teams

John Greiner sent me these photos of the Elementary School Football Teams when we were in the 6th Grade.  He has identified many of the players, but there are still some unknown players.  If any of you can identify players, please leave me a comment.  If you click on the photos, they will enlarge.

Frances Willard Elementary School

Can anyone help identify these guys?

Irving Elementary School

1st row:  Don Terry Gizzi, Billy Dindle, Donald Jones, ?, Johnny Molet, ?, Bobby Molet

Top Row:  Coach, ?, John Moore, Skip Garbart, Richard Devaughn, Buddy Vernetti, ?

Jefferson Elementary School

1st Row:  2nd boy Frank Helms?,  4th boy Joe Tommy Merry

Back Row:  Billy Jones, 4th boy Emmitt Counts, 6th boy Robert Contrez

Roosevelt Elementary School

1st Row:  3rd boy Jimmy Beymer

Back Row:  boy at far right - Jerry Don Elmore

Washington Elementary School

1st Row:  3rd boy Bruce Roberts, Charles Dodson

2nd Row:  3rd boy Red Hargraves, Fred Martin

Last Row:  boy benind Fred's shoulder - Paul Harjo

Webster Elementary School

1st Row:  Coach Gene VanMeter, ?, Tommy Bowles, Butch Poulton, Chuck Richeson, ?, John Dacus, Carleton Clay, Will Decker, Coach Vernon Van Meter

2nd Row:  Bill Miller, Bill Huddart, Mike Cope?, Frank Tippi, ?, ?, Butch Loman

3rd Row:  Jackie Sawyer, Gene Autry Anderson, Donnie Harkins, John Greiner,Ronnie Rolen, Bobby Furer ?, RonSiegenthaler

Jefferson Grade School Photos

Jeanie Polston sent me a CD with the following photos (from Bessie Crofut Chelf). 

3rd Grade with Mrs. Anglin, 4th Grade with Miss Oliver and 6th Grade with Miss Ruth Gossage.

(Click on each photo to enlarge)

Elvis

In celebration of Elvis Presley's Birthday, enjoy a medley of his songs. Did anyone else see Elvis in Tulsa when he preformed with the Grand Ole Oprey? This had to be about 1956 or so. Juanita Steckelberg took some of us up to see him. We sat through lots of country music (which we weren't interested in) before he came on for a very brief set.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do2DfchfYy8

40th Class Reunion - 2000

Some photos from our 40th Reunion in 2000

Planning Committee Met on November 7th

Our hard working planning committee met on November 7th to continue planning for the 50th Reunion.

DO YOU REMEMBER????

I remember when this was the Henryetta Public Library.

Remember going to Nichols Park and cooling down on those hot Oklahoma summer days!

The fire station and city hall building

The Patty Ann Restaurant - do you remember buddy burgers?




Do you remember when this was the Post Office?









The doughboy statue was moved to the corner of Main and 6th in 1969 or 1970, about the time the Post Office building was turned into the library. Until then, it stood in the middle of Main Street.

HHS Award Winning Band

A big thanks to Dick Cameron for the following photos. Sorry it's taken me so long to get them posted.

Dick Cameron, Judy Evans, Marilyn Odom and Susan Burnett at a band banquet.

A band concert at the high school gym. Harold Putman and Dick are on stage playing the trombone with one arm each.

The Henryetta High School Band

Senior night at a football game. The seniors are (left to right) Suda Mae Barron, Susan Burnett, Dick Cameron, Carlton Clay, Judy Evans, Frankie Helms, Bill Huddart, Jim Hudson, Don Inman, John Moore, Marilyn Odom, Mildred Popejoy, June Salee, Allen Shaw and Carolyn Sprague.

Cheerleaders

Girls' State Participants

Marjorie Haynes, Susan Burnett, DAnna Steckelberg and Judy Evans.


Does anyone have a photo of the Boys' State delegates?

Class Reunion

Is this our 25th Reunion in 1985, or our 30th in 1990?

Webster 6th Grade Graduation Photo

The photo below was taken during the 6th Grade Graduation ceremonies at Webster High School. Wow, we were really dressed up!

Webster 3rd Grade Class

Thanks to John Greiner for the following photo.

First row: Left to Right

Lanny Allen, Allen Wardsworth, Ruth Ann Shurden, Rex David Stith, Barbara Lust, Gene Autry Anderson, Linda Perry, Jimmy Hudson, Paul Bumpus and Charles Blackmon

2nd row: Left to Right

Billy Huddart, John Greiner, DAnna Steckelberg, Jackie Majors, Pat Reed, Dick Cameron, Judy Berry, Charles "Chuck" Richeson, Flora Jones and Ronnie Rolen

3rd row: Left to Right

Butch Loman, Roy Rakestraw, Bill Miller, John Work, Carrie Catherine Moore, Carleton Clay, Sondra Herron, John Dacus, and Mike Vaughn

Comments

I was so excited when I saw that there were comments on the blog! (I lead a very dull life!) Anyway, I really appreciate reading your comments, so keep adding them. Thank you, thank you very much!

Sincerely,

Your blog administrator, to be referred to as "Blog Goddess"...AKA DAnna

HANGING OUT

Don't remember the occasion for this party, but I believe it was at Sue Sherment's house.

This get-together was at my house.

I love this picture!!!! We all looked so thin and fit! This was at the Junior Class Picnic.

And of course, we all spent a lot of time at Teen Town. This was at a special dance - check out the formals and white jackets!

Elementary Schools in Henryetta

Back in the olden days, Henryetta had 6 elementary schools - Webster, Jefferson, Frances Willard, Washington, Roosevelt and Irving. The following photos were taken at Webster Elementary School - I would be happy to include photos from other schools if only I had some (Hint, hint). If you click on the photos, they will enlarge.

Webster Kindergarten Class

Here's what several of us have come up with - please let me know if you can identify the DK's (don't know).

Front row: Mickey Osmond, DK, Paul Richeson(?), DK, DK, DK, DK, Paul Bumpus, Joan Carriage (?), Nell Garrett, Ruth Ann Shurden

2nd Row: John Dacus, Gene Autry Anderson, Andy Garbart, DK, Sondra Herron, Marjorie Haynes

3rd Row: DK, DK, DK, Chuck Richeson, DK, Karen Crow, Barbie Lust, DK, Dick Cameron

Back Row: DK, Ronnie Roland, Bill Huddart, Roy Rakestraw, DAnna Steckelberg, Pat Reed, Richard (DeVaughn?), John Greiner, Bill Miller

4th Grade Class - Webster

6th Grade Class - Webster