Local School Celebrates Its 100th Birthday

It started as a one room schoolhouse in one of Oklahoma's poorest counties, just before statehood. Now Maryetta School in Stillwell is nationally recognized. The News On 6's Heather Lewin reports

Friday, May 11th 2007, 10:00 am

By: News On 6

It started as a one room schoolhouse in one of Oklahoma's poorest counties, just before statehood. Now Maryetta School in Stillwell is nationally recognized. The News On 6's Heather Lewin reports that on Friday, the school celebrated not only its centennial, but the man who spent half a century building it.

In 54 years as an educator, Carthel Means has learned a lot of names. On his last day at Maryetta, just some of the kids whose lives he's touched said goodbye.

"He's there all the time,â€ said a Maryetta student.

â€œHe won't miss a single thing, he's there for each and every student," said another Maryetta student.

"He's an inspiration to me. He has motivated me to become a better educator," said sixth-grade teacher Dale Girdner.

For Means, it's a day he never really thought would come.

â€œThis school and the children has been my life,â€ said Means. â€œIt's sad."

Maryetta evolved from a one room Indian Day School to a 65-acre modern campus, but not without some hard times along the way. It's been twice destroyed by fire and tornadoes, still the people of Stillwell have always rebuilt.

Much of the building was done by Means himself. Thanks to excellent grant writing and some savvy land purchases, Means has almost singlehandedly transformed the school. It boasts the only pool in town, ball fields and a newly surfaced track. Anything the kids needed over the years, he got. And if there wasn't money for contractors, he and his sons built it themselves.

"I gave back what I never had,â€ said Means. â€œWhen I went to country school all we had was we'd make a ball, we took twine off of feed sacks and made a ball and that's what we played with."

Maryetta excels in academics as well, with an award winning art program and original curriculum which garnered the National School of Excellence Award from the president. Looking back over all the years, it took no time at all to recall his favorite memory.

"One day I was in the preschool room and there was a little boy crying pulling against his dad and I thought there was something wrong and I said 'can I help you?' And he said, just let me stay, let me stay one more hour," said Means.

A feeling this day he understands more than ever.