Honorable Mention - High School
Wilburton High School, Wilburton

Wilburton is a small town in southeastern Oklahoma with a population around 3500. Wilburton was founded around 1890 as a mining town. Wilburton's downtown has many historic buildings and even several businesses that have been here since the town's beginning. The people in Wilburton are friendly and usually come from a family that has been in Wilburton for years. The Catholic Church in Wilburton is over a hundred years old. Eastern Oklahoma State College is also located in Wilburton. With everything that Wilburton has to offer, it is easy to see why its citizens are full of hometown pride.

Just a walk down Wilburton's Main Street will take your breath away. The air is sweet and clean. A visitor is surrounded by history. The old buildings and people of Wilburton still have country ways about them. People smile at one another as they pass and still say hello to strangers. The sky is blue and the clouds drift along just like the people. There is no rush like in big cities. It is a wholesome environment. A short trip down Main Street will reveal that it is a family place. It is a wonderful place to raise children and enjoy life. Wilburton is a great place to get back to life's basics. Wherever you go on Main Street, you feel welcome and at home. Main Street emits a warm feeling about the town of Wilburton and the people who live here.

Education is a top priority in Wilburton. Wilburton is a community where one may go from kindergarten through college. Wilburton's public school enrolls about 1200 students in grades Pre-K through twelfth. It is the largest school system in Latimer County. The high school offers many challenging courses to its students and boasts a high graduation rate. The mascot of the Wilburton public schools is a Digger, a reminder of the community's rich mining heritage. Wilburton also has Eastern Oklahoma State College that offers a wide variety of two-year degrees. Also through cooperation with four-year universities Eastern offers bachelor and master degrees.

For many years the coal mines of Wilburton served as a workplace for hundreds of people. The first shaft coal mine was opened in 1889. At that time, Wilburton had not actually become Wilburton. In 1896 Wilburton became known for its mines and people started moving here to work in them. Diggers played an important role in coal mining; it was their responsibility to dig out the mines so the miners could go in and remove the coal. In 1906 more coal was being mined in Wilburton than in any other town in the coal belt. So it can be said that Wilburton's mines really served as a building block for this community. Today, most of the mines are closed, but Wilburton still thrives with industry. Franklin Electric, a manufacturing company, is the largest employer. Many people are employed in the oil and natural gas business, and still others operate their own businesses.

In southeast Oklahoma, there is perhaps no aspect of life held with higher reverence than faith. We learn the values of Christianity at an early age and try to practice these throughout our lives. This is why so many Oklahomans choose to worship and worship regularly. Wilburton has many places for its citizens to worship and pray. Not only is Wilburton home to many churches, but it also has special places for its youth to gather for prayer. One example is the church sponsored student centers on EOSC's campus.

Wilburtonians are known for their outstanding work ethic, but when they can't find any job to do they resort to play. All of us share a love of outdoor leisure activities. Our town is lucky to be next door to one of the most beautiful state parks, Robbers Cave. The park was named for its wondrous natural caves which are historically known as a hideout for robbers. To this day, the caves with breathtaking views and Lake Canton with its backdrop of sheer rock cliffs attract guests from everywhere. Throughout the year, many events are held at the park to encourage people to visit. For the Fourth of July, families gather to watch fireworks over the lake and hear them echo off the surrounding cliffs. But the crowds are even larger at the Fall Festival. The annual festival held during October to celebrate the beauty of autumn in eastern Oklahoma is quite the event. The three day celebration showcases talent, arts and crafts, and a truly awesome car show.

The process for this project was long but enjoyable. We started the collage in January and worked on it until the due date in April. We started by getting a 3x5 foot board and painting it black. We then searched through Wilburton history books and old yearbooks to find pictures to use as the background for our collage. We taped off the middle of the board and glued down the background pictures. We then divided into pairs and worked on the central images for the collage. For "where we pray," we made a stained glass window with an angel on it. We made a digger for "where we work." We used the old high school to represent "where we learn." Finally, we used the Main Street sign to represent "where we live" and a tree with fall leaves to represent Robbers Cave State Park, "where we play." We learned a lot about our community from creating this collage. It encouraged us to look into our background and town history. It encouraged us to work cooperatively and to use brainstorming as a means of creativity. Above all, working on this collage helped us remember what a great hometown we have and the pride we have for it.