Honorable Mention - High School
Weatherford Alternative Academy, Weatherford

The Pioneer Spirit, From Gunslinger to Astronaut

From it's humble beginnings as a Prairie town to the Glories of Space exploration, Weatherford, Oklahoma has made itself known to the world. Founded in 1898 by Bill Weatherford, a local bounty hunter, our community has grown from a small frontier farm town, to a thriving I-40 hub. Then Southwestern Normal School, Southwestern Oklahoma State University was the first "major" industry landed by the city. It has grown to become one of the top-rated Pharmacy schools in the Nation. Many high schools in the region have also benefited from its fine College of Education.

Our town is small as cities go, but quite large for western Oklahoma. At 10,000 people, it can support industry, provide culture, and send its brightest out into the world to make a difference. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) decided to locate here in the 1950's. This created a highly skilled job base to complement the Professors at the university. Chances are, if you have used a 3.5" floppy disk, it was manufactured in Weatherford.

If an evening of culture is desired, Southwestern hosts entertainment from around the world. Recently, we were entertained by Acrobats from the Orient. After producing an evening of one-act plays, the spring season will be concluded with a performance by a ballet troop. Over 100 locals will participate in the Easter Cantata this year.

When Tom Stafford went to school, it was said that he could do calculus in his head. At over six feet tall, he was also a fine athlete. Normally NASA would not have used such a large man as an astronaut, but Col. Stafford was so special, they notched out a place in his spacecraft so his helmet would fit. Many of the artifacts from his career in space are located in the Tom Stafford Air and Space Museum housed near the municipal airport. Each year the museum and airport join forces to host the SATS expo. SATS is an acronym for "Small Aircraft Transportation Systems". His special relationship with Russian Cosmonauts from the Apollo-Soyuz mission has landed many items from that mission in the museum.

Born in the small town of Fay, Oklahoma, Kelly Litsch was destined for great things. After leading her high school team to the state championship in basketball, she signed with SWOSU in Weatherford. Leading her team to the National Championship, she was named the "Most Valuable Player" of the tournament three times. She is now a member of the faculty and helps to recruit talent from all around the region.

Our collage attempts to keep the history alive in the background. The chamber of commerce provided us with many old pictures of historical events in our town. These are in black and white. In the foreground are the current residents, businesses, and churches that make up our community. To us, the whole world radiates from Weatherford, a great place to live, learn, work, play, and pray.