OLA Celebrates the Oklahoma Centennial

In 1905, still two years before statehood, it reorganized as the Library Club
with the sole purpose of establishing a public library. The library was
soon established in a three-room building on the corner of Sixth and
Trudgeon, built by W.B. Hudson as a private high school run by Mrs.
Hudson. One dollar a year was charged for library cards and teachers at
the school shelved and circulated the books. That building now houses the
Henryetta Historical Society Museum and is located at Moore and Fourth
Streets. In 1910 the library came under the jurisdiction of the city and a library
board was appointed, consisting of Mrs. H. C. Fellows, J. W. Dorsey, H. G.
Woodrow, and Mrs. T. C. Fowler. In 1920 it became a free public library
completely supported by city funds and moved to the Boy Scout building on
Trudgeon Street.
The first, and only, building designed and built as a library building was
built in 1924 at a cost of $8,095 on the northwest corner of Sixth and
Division Streets. It was a "butterfly plan," designed by Raymond Kerr,
architect, and Mrs. Francis Threadgill, Librarian. The Library remained in
that building until 1966.
When the United States Post Office planned a new building on Fifth and
Division in the early 1960s, the City of Henryetta began making inquiries
and requests regarding the procurement of the building to use as a
library. The Federal Government donated the building to the City of
Henryetta in 1965 with the stipulation that it be used as an educational
facility for at least 20 years. The Librarian, Mrs. Grover Bynum, City
Manager, Richard Curry, and Earl Wells, along with representatives from
the Tulsa Library and the Oklahoma State Library began making plans for
renovation of the Post Office building. The committee submitted a proposal
to the State Library that was approved for a $7,000 matching funds grant
to pay for the renovations, furniture and new shelving. Ten months of hard
work and $14,000 brought the building up to the standards set by the
requirements of the grant. The library's 17,000 books were moved into the
new facility in January of 1966 and opened shortly thereafter. The Library
celebrated National Library Week, April 17-23, 1966, with a week-long
celebration. A formal Grand Opening occurred on June 11 and 12, 1966, and
included an art show in cooperation with the Henryetta Art Association.
Two retiring Library Board members, Earl Wells and James Watzke, were
honored at that open house celebration. Earl Wells had served on the
Library Board from 1922 until 1966 and spearheaded the renovations on the
new library building. James Watzke had served from 1937 to 1965.
The Henryetta Public Library as it looks today.
A total of eighteen librarians, along with many volunteers in the early
years, have served the Henryetta Public Library since its inception. Mrs.
Grover (Lady Claire) Bynum, a very wonderful librarian, invokes more vivid
memories and stories than any of the other librarians. She served from
1949 until 1969 and engineered the changes and innovations which set the
tone for making our library what it is today, including our present
building. Every librarian has added features and programs unique to the
times and circumstances, and the cumulative effect of each of those has
brought us to the beginning of an exciting twenty first century. Many changes and additions have been made to our "Post Office" Library in
the years since its move in 1966. In the 1980s the Friends of the Library
group raised money to replace the original windows with new double paned,
bronze reflective glass windows. In 1975 air-conditioners were installed
in the Library. In 1996, a donation from a wonderful Friend enabled the
library to purchase aluminum mini-blinds for all of the windows to cut
down on the glare from the afternoon sun and to prolong the life of the
books on the shelves. In 1999 four new computers from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation and new computer tables became an integral part of the
Library, increasing to five the number of public computers. The first
public computer became a part of the Library in 1996, along with Internet
access. Gregory Rodriquez, interested Henryetta citizen, initially
generated fund raising and community interest in computers for the library
and a computer was purchased with contributions from First Family Federal
Credit Union, First National Bank, and many, interested citizens. We now
have five computers available to the public with Internet access via a T1
line as one of five public access sites for the Okmulgee County Electronic Village (OCEV), a county wide coalition of business, industry, and private and civic
organizations, to provide electronic access to our county. We are
currently in the process of computerizing our card catalog; a project made
possible by the generous donations and continued support of American
Exchange Bank.
In 1989, a group of citizens headed by Jim Warden, and then librarian,
Wilma Sawyer, worked on a project to have part of a driveway around the
(post office) library made into a Library Park dedicated to Vietnam
veterans. It is a beautifully appointed park with flowers, shrubs and
picnic tables. A thirty foot flagpole, also dedicated to Vietnam veterans,
graces the Library Park.

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