Manual Training High School plaque dedicated at former building.

Cathy Spaulding, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
·2 min read

Apr. 6—A plaque outside the former Manual Training High School gym has a special meaning for 1964 MTHS graduate Margo Stanford.

"Plaque means that this building, when people come up, they will know what it is," Stanford said. "It used to be Manual. It has a beautiful history now, and in the past."

The plaque, which pays tribute to the school's history, was unveiled Friday at the school, which now houses Sadler Arts Academy. MTHS Class of 1964 spearheaded a fund drive to create and place the plaque.

Assistant Superintendent Lance Crawley said the plaque reveals real history about the segregated high school.

"Sometimes people don't like to talk about what people here experienced," Crawley said at the unveiling. "They feel a social responsibility to make sure that's not forgotten. All I did was help put it on a wall."

Stanford said Friday was a bittersweet day for her. Class of 1964 president Wilbur Thomas died March 28, eight days before the dedication. His funeral was held Thursday.

"At this very hour, he is being laid to rest at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery," Stanford said Friday afternoon.

She said Thomas was able to see the plaque before he died.

"He was excited about the plaque," Stanford said. "When it first came, I didn't want to open it by myself, so he came and opened it."

Thomas became an international agriculture development consultant.

The building, which dates to the 1950s, underwent a massive renovation, funded by a 2019 bond issue. Part of the renovation included dedicating part of the building as an MTHS alumni center.

The Class of 1964 began raising money for the plaque several years ago.

In October, Class member Morris Curry said classmates, who meet regularly by internet conference, began talking about Manual Training's legacy around 2021. That year marked the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

"We had so many accolades as a school," Curry said. "When we found they were renovating old Manual, we sought to bring information about things happened there."

Stanford said the plaque notes that 5,000 graduated over 61 years, and will talk about outstanding teachers.

She said the hardest part about raising money for the plaque was getting the word out to different MTHS graduates.

"The people who found out about it were eager," she said. "We had people from the class of 1962, they gave the most. Also 1964, 66, 67, 1954 donated. I might be forgetting some, 1965."

Several members of other MTS classes attended the unveiling.

LaTressia (Oakley) Thompson, class of 1967, recalled running up the stairs, that led uphill to the school building. She said she and her sister were bussed up from Summit and Oktaha.

"Those were wonderful years, wonderful," Thompson said.

Outgoing Muskogee Ward III City Councilor Perline Boyattia-Craig, class of 1969, said "We had so many memories here of the great educators."