|
First
Butner School: 1898
The very first Butner (Oklahoma) schoolhouse was built in
1898, nine years before Oklahoma, then Indian Territory, became
the 46th State of the Union of The United States of America
in 1907. The main street of Butner was the county line between
Seminole and Hughes Counties. The school was located nine
miles northeast of Wewoka. The first Butner School was actually
located just inside Hughes County.
A pie supper auction was held, and $175.00 was raised for
the teacher's desk, other equipment, and supplies. The students
seats were split logs, and the roof of the school was covered
with shingles split from native timber. The school was unofficially
referred to by some as "Hickory Knot," possibly
because of the type of wood used in its construction and the
many visible knots in that wood. The late J.D. Butner, son
of Tom Butner, the pioneer for whom the school was officially
named, said Butner was probably the first free white school
in Oklahoma. The first teacher was Miss Cherry. She was engaged
to be married to George Butner, an uncle of the late J. D.
Butner and his brother, Roger Butner, a WW-11 Army officer
and former Postmaster in Wewoka, County Seat of Seminole County.
However, before the marriage could take place, Miss Cherry
passed away, and George Butner never married.
Second
Butner School:
1902
The second Butner School was built in 1902. It was constructed
of native oak plank and stood on the west side of the street,
north of Keessee's store, just inside Seminole County. The
building was later used as a blacksmith's shop.
Third
Butner School:
1909
The third school building, a two-story structure, was one
of hewn native stone. It was also located on the west side
of the street in Seminole County, just north of the second
school building. The third schoolhouse was dedicated in 1909,
two years after Oklahoma Statehood. The third school building
was torn down by the Workers Progressive Authority (W.P.A.)
in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression, and moved
two miles westward to the location of the new brick schoolhouse.
The stones were used in construction of apartments for teacher's
housing upstairs and a large school bus garage on the ground
floor. Though the old brick school burned down after consolidation,
the Teacherage and bus garage remain standing and in use by
a church organization to this day.
The red brick school, made of red Oklahoma clay bricks from
the Wewoka plant, opened for classes in the fall of 1927,
a coupled of years prior to the Great Depression and during
the early days of the major oil boom in Seminole County and
other locations throughout Oklahoma. This school was called
Butner High School, Union Grade District#4, Ms Nettie (Borden)
Stephens, stepdaughter of the original Butner pioneer, gave
the land on which the school was built to the district. The
school remained there until consolidation of Butner, Cromwell
and Excelsior school districts as the new Butner School District
in the fall of 1960.
Cromwell School
Cromwell had lost its high school
after the 1957-58 school year due to plummeting enrollments
caused by a dwindling population, principally associated with
the decline in petroleum prospecting and production.
Butner Integration
Butner Schools integrated in 1954 without incident, accepting
Black (African American) students for the first time in the
life of the school. Indian (Native American) and mixed race
students had attended Butner for its entire history. The peaceful
integration and acceptance of each other as equals on the
part of all students of all races at Butner School, attests
to the character of the local citizens, particularly the students,
parents, teacher, and school administration, of the Butner
School District. Especially at a time when far less peaceful
interruptions were going on elsewhere in America.
Consolidation - 1960
On January 22, 1960, registered voters in the Cromwell School
District voted 153 "for" and 3 "against"
being annexed to the Butner Independent School District, #15.
The Butner Board of Education and registered voter in the
Butner District voted to move the school to Cromwell. The
major mover and shaker in this vote was the late William Paul
Martin, then Superintendent of Butner Schools. He had the
vision, planning skills, persuasive manner, and work ethic
to see the consolidation effort through to a successful conclusion.
Paul Martin, who served as superintendent from 1944 to 1961,
knew that the districts of Butner, Excelsior, and Cromwell
were all losing population and enrollments, and that it was
just a matter of a very few year, if not months, before all
three districts lost their high schools. The result would
have been long bus or privately owned vehicle commutes for
students to other schools as far away as Okemah, Wewoka, Seminole,
New Lima or elsewhere.
On February 23, 1960, Excelsior's
registered voters approved the annexation into the new Butner
School District, with the vote being 102 "for" and
8"against" the move.
The initiatives toward consolidation, led by Martin and the
old Butner school board, were initially not well received
in any of the communities, mostly because of the natural inclination
toward local school pride, more hands-on control of the activities
associated with schooling one's children, and even a short-sight,
xenophobic element. Resistance to change was strong, to say
the least, and opinions on keeping the old schools as they
were or consolidating varied widely, often even among family
members. Mr. Martin and his peers of the Cromwell and Excelsior
communities, such as Mr. William Z. Duncan Jr., Superintendent
of the Excelsior School District No. 5th of Cromwell, were
able to convince a their school boards and local citizens
that something had to be done to maintain a viable school,
including a high school with high academic standards and adequate
state funding, in the northeastern part of Seminole County.
A myriad of problems had to be overcome. When would the consolidation
actually take place? Which school plant (grounds and buildings)
would be the locale for the consolidation? Who would remain
on the consolidated school board? Who would not? Would special
elections have to be held? What would be the process for Oklahoma
State Board of Education and Oklahoma Education Association
(OEA) approval and recognition? What would be the reaffirmation
of accreditation process with the North Central Association
(regional accrediting agency)? How many teachers would be
required? Who would have to retire or lose his or her job.
What repairs and remodeling would have to take place to make
the consolidated school functional and a pleasant place in
which one could work and learn? What would be the school mascot?
What would be the name of the new school? What would be the
new school:s colors? What school bus routes would be modified,
added, and who would drive the buses? What physical assets
could be move from the old school locations to the new, consolidated
school campus? What would be done with the old school's assets
(Butner and Excelsior) which could not be moved?
The above concerns were simply the tip of the iceberg. Paul
Martin, Bill Duncan, Earl Dixon, Principal at the old Butner
School, H. V. Cox and his fellow board member, M. G. Yeisley,
G. A. Halk, Bill Perkins, Homer Adams; Elmer Coursey, Butner
Custodian, Irene West, School Cafeteria Director, and others
put in a lot of hard work, planning, and campaigning to develop
an acceptance on the part of the constituent of the three
major school districts relative to continued life of quality
school after consolidation. A "can-do" attitude
permeated every board meeting, every work day, and every official
and unofficial meeting of the school administration with parents
and teacher, individually and as groups.
Students' opinions were openly sought, including grade school
students who strongly expressed their views that when consolidation
occurred, they too would move with the high school.
The site of Cromwell for the new District #15 Butner School
was selected for a number of reasons. Cromwell had generally
better and larger buildings than either Excelsior or the old
Butner School. Additionally, Cromwell's school plant was approximately
equal distant between the old Butner to the south and the
old Excelsior School to the north, All three schools lay near
the boundary of Hughes and Seminole Counties to the northeast.
Following consolidation, the name of the school remained Butner,
largely due to its connection to the original settler, Tom
Butner and his family, in northeastern Seminole County. The
retention of this name was not unanimous, nor without controversy,
compromise, and bargaining. However, in the end analysis,
for historical reasons and the continuing presence of the
descendants of Tom Butner, it was a good idea to retain that
name, and so it has remained Butner School from 1898 to present.
Though there were moves afoot, off and on after 1960, to possibly
change the name from Butner to Cromwell Schools, these efforts
failed. The name of the school officially recognized at the
state educational oversight level is "Butner" and
this will unlikely ever change.
The school's mascot, the Eagle, remained the same. A representative
number of board members from all three districts were included
on the original 1960-61 school year board, two from Butner,
two from Excelsior, and one from Cromwell. The number of teachers
remained near the same for the first year of consolidation,
16 versus the combined total of 18 for the three separate
districts the year prior. Loss of jobs or positions with the
school or its board were mainly made easier through voluntary
retirements of those eligible, voluntary transfers of employees
to other school or jobs outside education, and through a small
number of personnel no longer seeking to hold elected office
(school board), or those who no longer wished to be employed
in other jobs with the school. Turbulence, hard feelings,
and financial hardship were minimized through sound planning
and excellent leadership. Many personnel worked hard physically,
without pay, in duties far outside their job descriptions,
to remodel the Cromwell school plant. Setting the example
in that effort was Paul Martin, Superintendent, who worked
15-18 hours per day, including weekends, all summer in 1960
to ensure the buildings and grounds were ready for students
and teachers when school began in August. Considerable tax-savings
accrued from the consolidation, easing the burden on individual
taxpayers and the state, as the annual budget in those days
was approximately $150,000 per year.
The school's colors were changed from blue and gold to red,
white and blue (the latter being one of Butner's and excelsior's
colors). Cromwell School's colors had been maroon and white.
The colors remain red, white and blue as the school enters
its third century and 2nd millennium of operation.
Military Veterans
Butner school is proud of not only its graduates who have
excelled in so many ways, but particularly proud of its many
military veterans of the
Armed Forces of the United States of America. Butner has had
graduates who have fought in every major war of the 20th Century.
Activities
Butner School's athletic team, baseball, basketball, and football,
over the years have established superb won-loss records, and
an outstanding reputation for sportsmanship, The boys and
girls basketball teams of the late 1940' 1950's, and early
to mid 1960's were especially productive in winning not only
many regularly scheduled games, but also conference, district,
and regional championships. Several of the football and baseball
teams over the years have had enviable records as well, and
in 1999, Sports Illustrated published an outstanding article
concerning Butner's football programs (currently discontinued).
Other special school activities, such as the 4-H and FFA (Future
Farmers of America) programs have brought positive light on
the school and helped develop individual business, farming,
ranching, and "life" skills, Butner is also proud
of its many National Honor Society students and in its high
academic standard for all students.
Conclusion
Butner School is unique in many ways. Perhaps its greatest
achievement has been that its citizens of the former districts
of Butner, Cromwell, and Excelsior were able to come together
under enlightened leadership in the 1950's and early 1960's
to save the school, ensure quality programs, maintain student,
faculty, and staff morale, continue accreditation, ensure
state funding, and compete academically, culturally, and athletically
with superb quality and achievement. That same spirit has
been passed down to at least two more generations and is alive
and well today.
The very active Alumni Association under the leadership of
Winford Lemons continues to nurture that spirit and to give
it meaning and honor. Annual gatherings of graduates, both
groups prior to the 1960 consolidation and after, are fun,
educational, and filled with feelings of family and community.
The original Butner family, the lineage of superintendents,
principals, quality teachers, noted graduates of significant
lifelong achievement, and proud citizens who elect the boards,
pay the taxes, and support their local public school can take
pride in what Butner School was, is and will be.
It is unlikely that the reader of this unofficial history
written by amateurs, but proud graduates of Butner High School,
will ever meet anyone anywhere who has graduated from Butner
High who is not proud of that fact. We are proud of our school,
our families, our community, our state and our nation, and
we continue to contribute in meaningful ways to the freedoms
and democratic processes we all enjoy.
Nothing in America is more important than the character of
its thousands of locally operated schools, and Butner is no
exception. Its contributions have been great, and we predict
they will be even greater in the Third Millennium. The Eagle
still soars today, and with it our hearts rejoice in our school
and the lives of our fellow graduates, teacher, board members,
and administrative officers, God bless Butner Public Schools,
and God bless America!
|
