May 10, 2009 — Rogers State University senior Julie Dermody’s essay, “Life on the Hill continues its influence,” was selected as the winner of a contest among the Writing for Media class, taught by Cathy Coomer.
Contest theme was “Leaving a Legacy.” Students were asked to write an essay on how RSU had influenced and shaped students or alumni and their outlook and achievements.
Dermody’s essay was published in the May/June issue of Surrey magazine.
Second place winner Kayci Collins and third place winner Ashlee Overton’s essays are printed below.
Life on the Hill continues its influence
By JULIE DERMODY
RSU Senior
Visitors and residents often travel through Claremore wondering about the large white building, with its golden dome that sits upon the hill, overlooking the far reaches of Rogers County. Children have thoughts of grandeur, wondering if a president or king there resides.
What is that place that stands so prominently overlooking the city — looking like it was touched by Midas himself? What history is whispered among the trees?
World War I had taken a toll on the entire country, at the same time the success provoked a patriotic passion in all Americans. Legislation calling for the establishment of a state-sponsored military school passed overwhelmingly in March of 1919 and the Oklahoma Military Academy took over the facility, once called the Eastern University Preparatory School, which sat on “College Hill.”
Boys became men upon that hill. Freckled faced boys, still wet behind the ears, traveled from across the country to take their first steps into manhood at the Military Academy - known as the “West Point of the South West.” During its years of operation OMA had more than 2,500 graduates serve as officers and non-commissioned officers in WW II, Korea, and Vietnam. Six became general-grade officers. Others went on to graduate from colleges and universities making their mark in civilian life. Every young man who marched the parade grounds has a story. The stories should be recorded for posterity - stories that need a voice so others will know of the impact OMA had on lives after graduation. OMA gave them courage, tradition, discipline, commitment, and success.
Courage: Gilmore C. Daniel attended to OMA before the outbreak of World War II. Gilmore “Danny” Daniel wanted to help in the war effort that had yet to advance to the U.S. He had courage. Gilmore Daniel joined the Royal Air Force and flew Spitfires as part of the Eagle Squadron. He fought in the Battle of Britain. At the age of 17 “Danny” became a prisoner of war and spent time in Stalag Luft III, a German Air Force prisoner-of-war camp that housed captured air force servicemen. Stalag Luft III is best known for the two tunnel escapes that are portrayed in the movie ‘The Great Escape.’
Tradition: It’s a matter of tradition for Joe Daniel - attending OMA was part of his heritage. His father was Gilmore Daniel. Keeping with the family sense of duty and honor Joe Daniel graduated from OMA in 1969 and then joined the Army. Daniel remembers his time at OMA as a time of learning how to be a leader. “We learned how to focus and set goals,” he said. “OMA taught us what’s important in life. We built camaraderie and trust in others.” Daniel recalls his time fondly and believes it is the training and guidance he received that has helped him achieve his goals in life. Daniel retired from the Army as a decorated officer achieving the rank of Col. Ret. Col. Joe Daniel continues to serve our nation working with the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon on the civilian side.
Discipline: Ken Smith’s dad served in World War II and wanted his boys to have the discipline a military academy offered. After surveying numerous schools across the country they chose OMA because of its legacy of training, turning young boys into great men. In 1963 Ken Smith became a cadet and stayed at OMA until his graduation in 1967. His younger brother graduated two years later and was one of the final graduates from OMA. One of the memories Smith has is how the history of OMA was important.
“We learned from the time we first arrived, spending our first six weeks as ‘Rabbits,’ on what was expected of us and that we had a long standing legacy of greatness which we needed to live up to,” Smith fondly remembers the two days a year that were called Lazy Day.
“It was a day that we did not have to wake up at 5 a.m. and lineup at 6 a.m. to march to breakfast.” On Lazy Day the cadets could wear whatever they pleased and eat whenever they got the notion. It was a day totally opposite from everything they did day in and day out. After graduation Smith received a college deferment, got married and graduated with an accounting degree. He believes his training and education from OMA continues to influence his life.
Commitment: Roger Hamilton of Santa Rosa, California attended from 1962-68. Hamilton recalled a memorable moment that happened in June of 1966 during a break, while preparing for the graduation parade. Cadet Captain Skip Wilson tried to throw his saber between Hamilton's feet and missed - hitting Hamilton's left shoe, penetrating his large toe. After a visit to the doctor Hamilton returned to his room at the campus and Sgt. Major Ray S. Parrot entered, advising Hamilton that he “will” be in the parade the next day, no matter the injured toe. Hamilton described the encounter further “I said, ‘Yes Sgt. Major’. — little did I know the reason was to award me with the Association of Military Schools and Colleges Award for Best All-round Cadet of 1966.”
Hamilton went on to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and received numerous awards and metals including two Bronze Stars, one for service the other for Valor, a Purple Heart, a Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Ribbon, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. Former cadets like Hamilton recall their time at OMA with pride. OMA took young boys and made leaders.
Success: One of the many success stories from OMA is that of Michael Kuehr. He was known by his fellow cadets as a quiet non-disruptive student. He went on to become a Brigadier General. In addition to graduating from OMA in 1968, Kuehr went on to graduate from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College. He has been decorated with many honors and medals including the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal. According to Ken Smith who graduated the year before “Kuehr was mild mannered, kind of quiet and didn't really excel in the military side of things.” Smith chuckled “I would never have pegged him as someone who would be a General. I am proud to say I knew him when.” OMA graduates went on to greatness.
Sadly during the late 1960's and the height of the Vietnam War, the country began to feel the effects from the winds of dissention, and enrollment at OMA declined. On July 1, 1971, after 52 years of success, because of continued financial shortfalls, the state legislature closed OMA.
The golden dome of Preparatory Hall beckons those who once walked its halls. The parade grounds still echo no longer with cadence but with cheers, as the Hillcat Soccer team plays for victory. What once was a military academy known for training boys to become leaders of tomorrow continues to look towards the future by training young men and women for success.
Rogers State University has become a dynamic, progressive university that is widely recognized for its first rate academic programs, distance learning choices and its high technological educational atmosphere. RSU has a firm foundation with a rich history.
The university stands prominently upon College Hill reminding everyone of the past, while the clear view from the Golden Domed Preparatory Hall provides a vision into the future. This June, OMA Alumni will gather on the hill in celebration and honor of their years spent in training, where "Courage, Loyalty and Honor" the motto of OMA was instilled in every essence of their being.
About Julie Dermody: Julie Dermody, a senior at Rogers State University, is a member of the Writing for Media class, taught by Instructor Cathy Coomer. Students were asked to write an essay on how RSU had influenced and shaped students or alumni and their outlook and achievements. Dermody’s was selected as the top essay by Coomer.
RSU Athlete Tossed a Better Life
By KAYCI COLLINS
RSU Student
Lilly Nevarez is one of the many lives that RSU has changed over the past one hundred years. Lilly’s life was changed by a new addition to RSU — the athletic department. Thanks to RSU Lilly will not only be able to graduate college, but she will be able to do so without having to work 40 hours a week to pay for school while furthering her softball career. Lilly had a rough life growing up. Her family was very poor and she lived in an atmosphere filled with drugs and alcohol. Her parents both had several addictions and were rarely there for her or her siblings. Her parents did not care how she did in school and without their encouragement; Lilly struggled to make good grades. When she was six years old, she found a release when she began playing recreation softball. Lilly says it kept her from seeing and hearing the fighting that was a constant at home. Her father began coming to her games and this gave her time with him without the drugs. But softball gave Lilly more; she began winning numerous awards and for a short period of time her parents even tried to turn their lives around. Unfortunately, after time they fell back into the drugs and alcohol. Lilly began relying on softball and a newly developed relationship with God. Softball and God were all she had and Lilly strongly believes softball is what kept her out of trouble.
When Lilly graduated High School, she was recruited by Sierra Junior College in California to play softball. To continue playing, she worked full time, was a full time student, and a part of the softball team. It was hard and after her sophomore year of junior college, she realized she was going to have to give up her love — softball, and work full time just to pay for school. However, she was fixing to get tossed a life changing opportunity. Two weeks after her sophomore year, she received a phone call from Sierra College’s softball coach. The coach informed her that a school in Oklahoma had been seen her stats and was wanted to offer her a full scholarship to play softball. Lilly then received a call from Coach Dawn Reed, the Rogers State University Softball coach, offering her the scholarship. She took a huge leap of faith and decided to leave California and be a part of the RSU softball team. This year, Lilly led both her team and the conference in stolen bases. She has had no second guesses about her decision to relocate stating, “the decision just felt right and I have no regrets.” Lilly states RSU as a whole, the school, and the athletic department have changed her life. This opportunity has allowed her to follow her dreams of continuing to play softball, and graduate college. Additionally, she says joining the Rogers State Fellowship of Christian Athletes not only kept her on the right path but it introduced her to some amazing people who were able to support her. Not only that, but she says the program also helped her find herself. She states softball kept her on the right track and from living the life that she was heading towards back home. During this time her parents have since also turned their lives around and now been sober for thirteen years. They have even become Lilly’s heroes. Lilly believes everything happens for a reason and there was a reason she was brought to RSU and she is grateful for everything this school has done for her.
About Kayci Collins:
Kayci Collins is a junior at RSU, majoring in corporate communications with a minor in business. Presently, Kayci works at Couch Pharmacy in Tulsa, but is excited about an internship with the United Way this summer. Kayci wanted to go away to college and never considered RSU located just fifteen minutes from her home. However, RSU offered her an academic scholarship she could not turn down and she is very glad she chose this school. Kayci heard Lilly’s story and many like it last year in Speech. RSU has changed several lives, even Kayci’s. The program has offered so many classes with such a great staff, that Kayci will graduate May 2010 with a 3.9 GPA, just three years from when she stepped foot on campus. Kayci is engaged to marry a Jenks Fire Fighter in August. Her early graduation will allow them to move to the Jenks area after graduation to start their lives together a year sooner than they expected.
A family tree on the hill
By ASHLEE OVERTON
RSU Student
This year has been a special one for all Rogers State University students, faculty, and alumni. The university recently marked its 100th year on the historic hill. The celebrations for this huge milestone have been very exciting for those involved. The numerous festivities that have taken place have included everything from a parade to the opening of the new “Centennial Center” which has become a huge focal point for the school. All of this has proven to not only those involved with RSU, but the entire nation, that the school is a very appealing and distinctive one. Nothing however with such success or high hopes for the future gets where it is, without some kind of unique history.
Ask anyone associated with the university, and each would have their own distinct story to tell. One particular story dates back almost 50 years ago with a man by the name of Don Wofford. He joined the school in the fall of 1962 as a professor and the head basketball coach. Don however wasn’t stepping onto the university grounds we know today, but to a campus that at the time was designed much more for military as opposed to academics. The Oklahoma Military Academy, a place where cadets swarmed out of the living quarters every morning into formations where each cadet answered “present” when his name was called. A place where each man was in the “uniform of the day” and required to be “polished, shined, and pressed”. And a place where Sunday mornings consisted of marching from the “mess hall” to church services where they were required to be in their “dress blues” for special occasions.
“The training when I joined the academy was a strong emphasis on discipline and military preparation” explains Don, “We had a mixture of younger cadets that probably were given a choice between jail or military school”.
Don taught English in the building now undergoing renovations, Baird Hall. At the time, the building faced what was called the “quadrangle”, a four sided enclosure usually surrounded by other buildings. His classroom had huge windows and one of Don’s fondest memories included watching the band practice every morning in the quadrangle from his second story window.
“The music at times would be loud and in minutes be barely audible. It was a beautiful experience. I often closed my eyes and reflected when I needed serenity” Don remembers.
Don had two daughters who practically grew up at the academy. His oldest daughter Twyla, was four years old when her dad began his career at OMA. The little four year old girl who thought the building we now know as “Prepatory Hall” was actually the White House, eventually graduated from the very place her father taught in 1978. By that time however, the academy had converted into Claremore Junior College, also known as CJC. Today, Twyla still remembers her time at CJC.
“I felt I had an advantage over other students as I began my 2 years on CJC campus. I had already experienced part of the college’s history! I had seen the cadets proudly marching through campus many times, and now I was walking those same grounds never having imagined that I would be”.
Don felt extremely lucky that he got to spend those two years with his daughter at CJC, a time in which yes, he was still teaching there. He describes it as an excellent family decision.
He eventually resigned from the school in May of 1980. Ironically 26 years before his granddaughter enrolled as a Hillcat to what is now Rogers State University. Don exclaims,
“Now having a granddaughter going to college where her grandfather taught and her mother graduated is unique and special for our family”.
Well I happen to be that lucky granddaughter now getting to have the same kind of unforgettable experiences as the two generations before me. To think that the school I am attending was once a place where the Hillcats weren’t yet the Hillcats, where military cadets marched the ground I walk today, and a place where two generations of my family were once involved, is a feeling beyond description.
Talking to my mother and grandfather of their times here is fascinating, and I think “papa” put it best,
“Very few schools can match the history of this institution. I like to think of it as rising to the need when a situation arose. A prep school when there was none, a military training facility when our country was threatened, a junior college when the area needed it, going coed when fairness was an issue, and responding to the growth of the area by adding a four year program”.
Rogers State University’s centennial birthday really is one for everyone who has ever been involved with this great institution. With such a fascinating and historical past of 100 years, there are without a doubt at least 100 even better ones yet to come. The wish of my family tree is hopefully to orient readers with the unique history of this fascinating school, for generations to come.
About Ashlee Overton:
Ashlee Overton is a junior at Rogers State University. Her major is Communication Arts with a minor in English. She is involved in the Student Theatre Organization on campus and active in various theatre activities. She grew up and is a 2006 graduate of Oologah High School. She is the daughter of Kendall and Twyla Overton of Oologah.
