94-Year-Old Bartlesville School Volunteer Still Going Strong

Evelyn Strong, a 94-year-old volunteer with Bartlesville Public Schools, refuses to let age stand in the way of providing help to the children of Bartlesville.

Saturday, January 23rd 2010, 11:12 am

By: News On 6


NewsOn6.com

BARTLESVILLE, OK -- A third grade teacher at Hoover Elementary School, Shelli Dugan, greatly values her longtime classroom volunteer.

But in early January, though classes were in session throughout the Bartlesville Public School District, she felt like it might be a good idea for Evelyn Strong to stay home. There was snow and ice from a recent storm still on the ground, and temperatures were bitterly cold.

But Strong didn't stay home. She got in her car, made the short drive to Hoover and went about her business once she arrived at the school. She figured Dugan needed her help, and she certainly didn't want to let her – or the students in her class – down.

Though well into her golden years, Strong makes few concessions for them.

"I do have a new partner with me this year," says the 94-year-old Strong, patting her walker, "but I do pretty well."

Actually, she does very well. Strong usually volunteers three days a week in Dugan's class. Seated at a desk just inside the room, she helps out with tasks from grading papers to making copies of study materials and working individually with students.

"I love working with children," says Strong, who has volunteered at Hoover since 1994. "This is the best part of my life. There is nothing better than working with a student to teach them something, and suddenly they understand it."

Strong usually arrives at Hoover about 9:15 a.m. She knows all of the students by name, and will sometimes bring them cookies. If needed, she is also there with a band-aid or Kleenex.

"She's kind of like a little grandma," says Dugan of Strong. "Once the holidays come, she always writes each student a Christmas card. They are a full page, handwritten in cursive."

Strong eats with the students every lunch period, then heads for home. She is ready to volunteer at the school on any day but Tuesdays, which are reserved for quilting.

During her time as a classroom volunteer at Hoover, Strong has worked with five different teachers. She has spent the last eight years with Dugan.

"She is absolutely the most unselfish and compassionate woman I have ever met," says Dugan of Strong. "I truly don't think there is anyone more kind-hearted than her."

Strong began volunteering in the spring of 1994 after her husband's death. She saw a newspaper ad requesting volunteers for Bartlesville classrooms and agreed to lend a hand. She has been at it ever since.

She thought about retiring fulltime when she had to begin using a walker last summer, but the parents and staff of Hoover Elementary convinced her to stay on.

"When you get to be this old, you wait to see if God wants you to work anymore or not," Strong said.

Sometimes, if a student needs extra work to understand a particular lesson or assignment, Strong will walk outside into the hall with them to offer some one-on-one time. Just outside of the classroom, a little desk awaits with a couple of chairs around it.

Strong offers a story about a young man who could sometimes be difficult. She believed firmly in his potential, however, and worked diligently with him.

"I told him that there was a good little boy in him who was trying to get out," recalls Strong.

Eventually, he did.

"He's at the University of Oklahoma now," she said, "studying to be a lawyer."

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