Mrs. Myrtle Salter RoachPioneer Queen
|
|
On Nov. 16, 1907, Myrtle Salter Roach, then eight years old, rode in a Parade in downtown Guymon. The occasion was celebrating Oklahoma's statehood and the grade school children rode on a large dray or wagon decorated in red, white, and blue and sang "Keep Oklahoma Dry" to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Sixty-three years later, on May 2, 1970, Mrs. Roach, now 71 years old, will be riding in another parade- the Pioneer Day Parade. This time she will be in an open convertible of current vintage and will be reigning as the 1970 Pioneer Queen.
A lot has changed in those 63 years, Mrs. Roach recalled in a recent press interview. Besides the fact that the parade route will be pavement and brick in. stead of dirt rutted with wagon tracks, Mrs. Roach, who has been recognized as a leading educator in the Oklahoma Panhandle, will be waving to several thousand former pupils, instead of a hand full of classmates and their families.
Born Jan. 14, 1899 near Wellington, Tex., in the Texas Pan.. handle, Mrs. Roach began there making acquaintances and friendships that have lasted throughout the past half-century. While living on their farm in the Texas Panhandle in 1890 she met, helped feed, and entertained the Texas Rangers and cattlemen as they traveled across the open plains.
In 1905 she came to Guymon with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Salter, and a sister Virgie (Mrs. R. E. Tatum of Liberal, Kan.) and a brother Bill (now living in Garden City, Kan.) An older brother, Homer, now deceased, finished high school in Memphis, Tex., before joining the family in Guymon some four years later.
When the family arrived in Guymon in Oct., 1905, the first meal was eaten at the Willoughby Hotel, then a small frame building where meals were served to travelers for 25 cents each. The only brick used in Guymon at that time was for chimneys. Water was delivered to the homes and sold for 25 cents per barrel.
The Salter family lived in Guymon until the spring of 1906, then moved to a homestead nine miles east of Guymon. After living on or "proving up" the claim the required number of months, the family moved back in to Guymon so the children could get "schooling."
Mr. Salter was a member of the Denny Bros. and Latham Dry Goods Company. He later entered the coal, grain and livery business.
Later Mr. Salter was elected and held the office of Trustee of the Guymon Public Schools. He felt that the Oklahoma Territory had a great future and helped in plotting the city to the South, building a large home there. He was instrumental with others in laying plans to build a State College in the South Addition.
Mr. Salter died in 1909 as the result of an accident caused by being thrown from a wagon by a runaway horse.
Mrs. Salter later moved to the North Side of Guymon to be near the public schools. She died in 1966, missing her 100th birthday by only six weeks. She had devoted her life to rearing children and grandchildren true to the Pioneer Spirit.
Myrtle entered the first grade in October of 1905 in a small frame building which stood on the ground where the Academy Grade School now stands.
As a youngster she recalls Fourth of July celebrations and church picnics were held at the Frisco Grove, now the Vantine Ranch. Baseball games for both men and women were very popular as were riding clubs.
Later "The Dime" - a silent picture theatre, was build and managed by the C. M. Funk. This was an attractive place to attend serials like "The Trey of Hearts" for 10 cents.
She was a third grader when she took part in the parade the day Oklahoma became a state. She attended the Guymon schools for 12 years, graduating from high school in 1917. After attending summer school at Kansas State Normal, Emporia, Kan., she returned to teach in the Guymon schools for eight years.
In 1924, she was married to A.M. Roach of Hooker. Mr. Roach came to Hooker in January 1905 where his family filed on land and he attended school in Hooker.
The Roaches have three children, Maurice of Houston, Tex., Max of Phoenix, Ariz., and Mary Jo Mathis of Peoria, Ill., and six grandchildren.
|
Queen's Birthplace
The farm home birthplace of the 1970 Pioneer Days Queen Myrtle Salter Roach near Wellington, Tex. Shown on horseback are her brothers left to right Homer Salter, Elmer Salter and on the front steps Mae Salter and Myrtle Salter. This picture is from the Pioneer collection of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Roach.While living in Hooker, Mrs. Roach taught school for three years.
Later the family returned to Guymon and each of their children entered the Guymon Schools as first graders and each graduated from Guymon High School.
Myrtle Roach entered the Guymon Schools again as a teacher in 1936 and continued teaching until her retirement in 1964, completing 34 years of teaching in Texas County.
She is still employed as a substitute teacher and enjoys this contact with former pupils.
She has had the privilege of teaching three generation while in
Guymon Schools. Among them being Mayor Paul Fowler, his daughter, Mrs. Robert Pracht and her son Thad. Also Ivan S. Perkins, Sr., his son Ivan Perkins, Jr., and his son Chris. The Dale family were all pupils of hers also.
Mrs. Roach's first contract was for $60 per month and she has been a part and watched the growth of the Guymon Schools from the small school she attended as a first grader, then becoming the only first grade teacher in the 12 grades, and now to substitute teaching in a sys. tem which has five elementary schools and nine first grades. in 1957 she was named Teacher of the Year from Texas County to the Oklahoma State Fair; she received an award from the local Masonic Lodge as "Teacher of Today" in 1960; and in 1968 she received the title of "Woman of the Year" by the local Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
She is also an Elder of the Presbyterian Church, a member of Eastern Star; P. E. 0. Sisterhood; Kappa Kappa Iota Teacher Sorority; a life member of the Oklahoma Education Association; and a member of the National Retired Teachers.
Myrtle Salter Roach
Pictures From A Pioneer Queen's Past
|
|
Hooker Faculty and Student Body in 1912
The five room frame school building was on the site of the current school building. Note the Hooker Baptist Church just behind the school building. L. P. Paine (left) was superintendent that year. The five women teachers are shown on the left. A. M. Roach, husband of Myrtle Roach, who graduated from the Hooker High School in 1914 is seventh from the left. This photo is in the Pioneer Collection of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Roach and was taken by H. H. Castleberry of Hooker.
|
Girls' Basketball - 1915 / 1916
Clockwise from top: Bessie Stice, Myrtle Salter, Anita Nance, Dolly Allen, Reba Fletcher, Blanche Leeman, and Electra Voiles.
Past Pioneer Queens
1940 - Mrs. E. Mary Givler Novinger of Plains, Kan. (deceased). |