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MHS ALUMNI SERIES 2012
SERIES II
HIGHLIGHTING CLASS OF 1937
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS

From 1924 through 1937, no yearbooks were published by the Mangum schools. Finding history becomes more tedious and search of the old newspapers slows the process. Thanks to Juanita Bennett Moore, Dovie Byars Slape and her daughter Janet, and Anne Pace, daughter of Ed Pace, this Historian has been able to keep abreast of some class stories and history from actual copies of old newspapers. Ms. Slape, who sends a yearly news letter, keeps her class in the Alumni Editions. She journeys back to Mangum each May, together with her daughter and son-in-law, Walt and Janet Coble, in their motor home; you can find them in Tiger Camp Ground on the square during the exciting weekend of alumni activities.

According to old news clippings, and a Class Roll bulletin furnished by Anne Pace, there were fifty-one members of this class who obtained their diplomas. Valedictorian was Mattie Crum and Salutatorian was Gertrude Evans. Two copies of graduation announcements have been found. One states that ‘Commencement Exercises were held Friday, May 28, at 8:00 P.M. in the High School Gym’. In another old record, an announcement was found stating: “Commencement Exercises Wednesday, May 26, at 8:15 P.M.” Wonder who could clear this conflict up for us?

Superintendent and Mrs. Homer S. Reese entertained the 1937 seniors with an oriental themed Breakfast on Saturday, May 22, at the Community Building (this is the top floor of today’s Margaret Carder Mangum Public Library). Guests were greeted at the stairway by Miss Louella Moore and Miss Mary Hall, high school instructors attired in Japanese costumes. Miss Nina Davis, Mrs. Thelma Alexander, and Miss Emily Hoover, similarly gowned in Oriental fashion welcomed guests as they entered the breakfast room to the strains of “School Days” provided by Miss Edna Mae Walker, sophomore student who presided at the piano during the affair. Senior class president, Mack Baumgardner, served as toastmaster. Rev. Spencer Austin gave the invocation and Dr. J. B. Hollis, President of the School Board, offered the introductory toast . The senior girls’ quartet, composed of Bobbe Jene Pace, Jerre Parker, Ruth Dodsoon and LaVerne
Briley, presented a vocal number. Comments in the Mangum Daily Star, May 23, 1937, said: “The spotlight of city social activity was turned this weekend on the high school senior class. The Junior-Senior banquet Friday evening and the Saturday morning breakfast, hosted by Supt. and Mrs. Homer S. Reese, were pronounced the most successful affairs in a number of years.” Note: Mr. Reese was the HS Principal from 1926 – 1931 and was Superintendent from 1933 – 1937. Today, Mangum HS has a Mr. Travis Reese as Principal. This Historian is still trying to trace their roots back to a common relative.

In 1937, the Alumni Association’s President was Vera-Caddel-Miller (1915 Class); Elsie Fritsche-Polk, (1919 Class) was V-President; Secretary was Lucy Ann Lovett, (1935 Class), assisted by Texanna Curtis, (1935 Class); and Henry James, Jr., (1927 Class) held the treasurer’s position. Vera Caddell-Miller, as a journalist, had a good article in the Mangum Daily Star, April 9, 1933, identifying all the Honorary Parents at that time. This is history at its best. The parents had to have five children graduate from MHS to be eligible for this honor. Parents were as follows: Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Wilson, Mangum, 10 children; Mrs. D. H. Wright, Tulsa, 5 children; Mrs. C. L. Yarberry, Mangum 5 children; Mrs. J. A. Powers, Mangum, 7 children; Mr. and Mrs. O. C. Thrower, Mangum, 6 children; Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Castle, Mangum, 7 children; Mrs. L. A. Johnson, Mangum, 7 children; Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Thompson, Mangum, 5 children; Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Wicker, Mangum, 6 children; Mr. and Mrs. John Dieter, Mangum, 5 children; Mrs. C. L. Barnett, Mangum, 7 children; Mr. and D. J. Doyle, Mangum, 5 children; Mrs. S. E. Echols, San Antonio, Texas, 5 children; Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Freeman, Mangum, 5 children; Dr. and Mrs. M. E. Miller, 5 children; Mrs. J. Hunter Bradshaw, 5 children, and Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, Albuquerque, NM, 5 children. As one can see, some of the parents were deceased when the article was published.

The Mangum Star-News, May 28, 1987, ran a full page write up on the Class of 1937 on their 50th celebration. The writer (unknown) said that their 12 years of schooling began in 1925 and the classmates more or less went from ‘riches to rags’ and back during that time. The economy was beginning to improve by their junior and senior years and America had high hopes for national recovery under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The three local banks showed a marked increase in deposits for the first time in two years. A tax bill was passed with the middle income class paying the most in taxes. July 1936, brought the Old Age Pension plan with one cent sales tax earmarked to finance the program. State payments were to be $15 matched by federal funds. A two cent sales tax was voted on with one half to go to the pension fund. That same summer, more than 35,000 people converged in Mangum for the annual pioneer reunion, rodeo and parades. More than 2000 pioneers registered. The Granite Reformatory cooked the barbeque with all the trimmings. There were two rodeos held each day for three full days. That same summer, WPA was approved to build the football stadium at a price of $55,000. It was named ‘Liberty Bowl’ later during a contest for the citizens of Mangum,. The Post Office standing today was completed in 1936. The cost was $100,500 and was also built by the WPA. The National Guard Armory was also completed this same year by WPA workers. Filing for Social Security numbers began in November 1936. It appears the year 1936 became a very important year in the lives of people still living today.

The Seniors and their class parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elom Carlson, Sr., along with sponsor, Miss Tom Johnson, went to Carlsbad, New Mexico, for their senior trip. They toured the scenic Caverns, a world class tourist attraction. They were guests in the home of Mr. and Mrs. S. W. Jolly, former Mangum citizens, then living at Carlsbad. Bob Lackey (1927 MHS Grad) was the bus driver who aroused everyone by 5:00 A.M. each morning. Another sponsor, Lawrence DeVore was not able to make the trip.

In this same newspaper, there was a short article about R. O. Heatly, a graduate who is now deceased. He spent 24 years in the Air Force and returned to Mangum in 1964 with wife, Rosemary and five children. Mr. Heatlty served as Fangmaster in the Rattlesnake Derby for 21 years. Today, Ms. Heatly is a double honorary member of the Alumni Association having five children graduate from MHS and for being a class parent for the Class of 1971. The Heatlys are still an active family in the Alumni Association today.

The 50th Class reunion, in 1987, brought these classmates to Mangum: Viyella Smith, Dovie Byars, Juanita Bennett Moore, Eula Fawn Wells, Geraldine Weber, Mary Jo Overbey Guilfoyle, LaDean Brown, Bobbe Jene Pace, Jerry Parker, Corrinne Maxfield Wheeler, and Al ‘Louise Singley Cupp. Ralph Heatly, Bryan Creed, Mack Baumgardner, Jack Adams, Bill Clabaugh, Ed Pace, Garland Cupp, Adrian Reynolds, Loyd Hare, John E. Short, Perry Morgan, and Richard Williford. This large group met at the home of Ralph Heatly.

In 2007, for the 70th reunion of this class, the Mangum Star Alumni Edition ran a large write up with pictures of this class furnished by Juanita Bennett Moore, who corresponded regularly with this Historian. This writer has also had contact with the Carlson’s son regarding his parents membership in this class. The Carlsons celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary in 2010.

Dovie Byars Slape’s daughter and son in law, Janet and Walt Coble, are in touch with this writer year around by e-mail making it easier to connect with Dovie who is living with them now. Dovie enjoys going to the Hamburger Inn, staying in Tiger-Campground On-The-Square, and visiting with her cousin, Hazel Hawkins. She rode in the Alumni Parade last year representing her class. Dovie’s brother, Hilma Byars, (1940 Grad) lives in Martinez, California, not far from her home.

Due to the persistence of Dovie Slape, in 2007, this class bought brick memorials at the American Legion for their class parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elom Carlson, Sr., and they also contributed to the Mangum Alumni Scholarship Fund with a $250.00 donation. A hearty thanks is given to these classmates for their interest in their Alma Mater and the community.

To honor the memory of her father, Edward Lee Pace’s daughter, Anne Pace, of Duncan, OK., has provided an abundance of history for the Class of 1937 and also, the class of 1941 of which her mother, Anne Ruth Bevis Pace, was a member. Her parents married in 1945; Anne has lost both of her parents since 2001 and they are both buried at Riverside Cemetery, Mangum. Edward Pace was born in Mangum in 1918, to Babe (Rude) and Mark E. Pace. He was a star basketball player at Mangum High, nicknamed “High Point”. After graduation, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Later, he worked for Halliburton and Humble Oil. He is also survived by his son, James Edward Pace. His brother was the late Clint Pace. Anne Ruth Pace, Class of 1941, had a sister, Jane Bevis Head, Class of 1942; Ms. Head died in 2011.

Thanks to Dovie Slape, all classmates are accounted for. According to our records, classmates living today include: Juanita Bennett Moore, Huntsville, Alabama; Ruth J. Dodson St.Onge, Gulfport, Mississippi; Dovie Byars Slape, Concord, California; Corrine Maxfield Wheeler, Waurika, OK; Janet Olive Carlson and husband, Elom F. Carlson, Gravois Hill, Missouri; Mary J. Overbey Guilfoyle, Overland Park, Kansas, Perry Morgan, San Diego, California; Jerre Parker Northcutt, Dallas, Texas; and Al ’Louise Singley Cupp.

Deaths we’ve learned about since 2007: Loyd W. Hare (2010); Helen V. McCann McSpadden, Marjorie Thompson Starr, assisting this writer, called the home of Arthur Lovett in Newcastle, OK, and learned from family members that he was deceased. This is always sad news, but gives class closure.

The following fifty-one names appeared on the official graduating bulletin furnished in 2007 by Juanita Bennett Moore:

Harold K. Adair, Jack D. Adams, Mack M. Baumgardner, A. Juanita Bennett, H. Haston Brewer, La Verne Briley, F. LaDean Brown, Dovie M. Byars, Elom F. Carlson, Jr., William J. Clabaugh, Dorothy D. Condron, W. Bryan Creed, Lewis S. Crittenden, Mattie E. Crum, Garland N. Cupp, Eskel B. Davidson
Ruth J. Dodson, Lois Marie Doughty, Gertrude Evans, Loyd W. Hare, Ralph O. Heatly, William L. Heatley
Geraldine Howard, Ashley J. Lovett, Thurman L. Marcy, Corrine Maxfield, N. La Verne Moore, Elizabeth Border Morgan, Perry Earl Morgan, Helen V. McCann, Charles L. Norris, Marlin C. Norris, L. Janet Oliver, Mamie B. Orendorff, Mary J. Overbey, Bobbe Jene Pace, Edward L. Pace, Jerre L. Parker , Clyde Everett Price, Mary H. Reeves, Adrian Reynolds, Jessie W. Short, John E. Short, Al Louise Singley
Don E. Smith, Viyella L. Smith, Lewis L. Treadwell, Flossie G. Weber, Eula Fawn Wells, Richard J. Williford, Virgilene Wiseman and Shelia Wofford.

Anyone interested in correcting or adding information for this class is encouraged to call 580-782-5107. Correct history is the goal for any Historian.

Researched by Joy Hall Grant, Class of 1957
Alumni Historian

51 names on bulletin
1937 1/26/12

Harold K. Adair
Jack D. Adams
Mack M. Baumgardner
A. Juanita Bennett
H. Haston Brewer
La Verne Briley
F. LaDean Brown
Dovie M. Byars-Slape
Elom F. Carlson, Jr.
William J. Clabaugh
Dorothy D. Condron
W. Bryan Creed
Lewis S. Crittenden
Mattie E. Crum
Garland N. Cupp
Eskel B. Davidson
Ruth J. Dodson
Lois Marie Doughty
Gertrude Evans
Loyd W. Hare
Ralph O. Heatly
William L. Heatley
Geraldine Howard
Ashley J. Lovett
Thurman L. Marcy
Corrine Maxfield
N. La Verne Moore
Elizabeth Border Morgan
Perry Earl Morgan
Helen V. McCann
Charles L. Norris
Marlin C. Norris
L. Janet Oliver
Mamie B. Orendorff
Mary J. Overbey
Bobbe Jene Pace
Edward L. Pace
Jerre L. Parker
Clyde Everett Price
Mary H. Reeves
Adrian Reynolds
Jessie W. Short
John E. Short
Allouise Singley
Don E. Smith
Viyella L. Smith
Lewis L. Treadwell
Flossie G. Weber
Eula Fawn Wells
Richard J. Williford
Virgilene Wiseman
Shelia Wofford

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