— Muskogee Public Library will have a book signing by Shirle Lamb Williams from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. She is the author of the newly published work, “Wagoner … in the beginning.” The event will be held in the Genealogy and Local History Department on the first floor of the library.

Her family has been a part of Wagoner since the founding of the town in 1887, when her great grandparents were the town’s first settlers. She was born there in 1926 to Charles Dorsey and Ola Agnes (Caton) Lamb in the brick V. Lamb home built in 1912. Early years were spent in the Seminole oil fields, Springfield, Mo., and Wagoner.

When the Depression was at its worst, the family moved to her father’s Cherokee allotment land on the Grand River and lived in the sharecropper houses that the Lambs had built just south of V. Lamb’s home in the Cobb community.

She graduated as valedictorian in 1944 from the downtown Wagoner High School. She then attended Kansas City Art Institute and received a B.A. degree in commercial art from the University of Tulsa in 1947.

During her school years, she lived in several of the old Indian Territory homes, including the James Parkinson home and the Cumberland Presbyterian manse on North Second Street and an apartment in the business building built in 1899 on South Main by her grandfather, V. Lamb.

Following college she worked for an advertising agency in Tulsa and was an artist for Vandevers before returning to Wagoner and commuting to Muskogee to serve as advertising and display manager for Durnil’s Department Store.

In 1948, she married George Frederick Williams, a Wagoner native, and they started married life in an apartment over Grand Chevrolet Garage. George had returned from World War II, after serving in the Air Corps in the Philippines and Japan, to attend A&M College in Stillwater, then transferred to Northeastern at Tahlequah, graduating in 1950.

They moved to Muskgoee where he worked for Muskogee Seed House and Shirle did advertising for the Jones Store before becoming the staff artist for KTUL-TV when it went on the air in Muskogee on Sept. 18, 1954.

After returning to Wagoner to briefly operate Lamb Seed Store, they took their first child, Charles Frederick, born in 1957, and moved to Tulsa. George went to work for Binding Stevens Seed Company and later managed their garden center. A daughter, Melinda Kay, was born in 1960.

Shirle went back to work with her own advertising agency, doing newspaper, radio and television work for Woolf Brothers, Streets, Oklahoma Army Surplus, and Mayo’s Furniture, as well as mail order catalogs for Central Sales (military surplus) and P&S Sales (sporting goods).

The couple had both grown up in the Christian Church in Wagoner. They continued with that faith in Muskogee and Tulsa.

Shirley retired in 1983 and became active in genealogical and historical research, joining more than 15 lineage societies, serving as state president of four and national head of one. After George’s retirement, they traveled for a number of years.

Her passion for Wagoner history developed when her father died in 1975. The collection of photographs, diaries and other documents he left helped with her book. She has also collected the stories of other Wagoner families who have shared their photographs and also purchased photograph postcards. “They tell the story,” she says in referring to the many photographs in the book.

Copies will be for sale during the event. The library will be adding it to its collection.

Local histories such as this are favorites with many who do research in the Genealogy and Local History Collection of the Muskogee Public Library. Works by authors, such as Dub West and Grant Foreman, and the historic Muskogee photograph books produced by “The Phoenix” provide insight into life in early Muskogee and many are excited to find a family member’s name or photograph.

Many county historical and genealogical societies have published family and local history books. These publications are a sought after find for researchers who will often make a special trip to look at a book detailing the history of a county or area their ancestors called home. These books contain stories of communities, schools, organizations, churches, and family stories and photographs submitted by members of those families.

Muskogee Public Library’s collection contains many of these publications. At least 60 county histories are available from just the state of Arkansas. While Oklahoma does not produce as many as most other states, the Oklahoma section boasts approximately 75 county and city histories.

These books are often the first item plucked from the shelves when a researcher visits a library. I was one of those people on a visit to Lawton Public Library when I spied a copy of a new history of Carnegie, located in Caddo County, where my family first settled when they came to Oklahoma. I was thrilled to find stories and photographs of my Nelson and Scott relatives and the church they helped build, but never expected to find anything about my immediate family since they left the area in 1920.

My father returned to teach in little grade schools in the area when he began his education career as a teaching principal. I didn’t remember the names of the schools, but quickly filled in the gap when I turned to the school section and there, at the top of the page, was a photograph of the entire student body of Pleasant View Grade School with their teacher on the back row … the teacher who happened to be my father.

Family histories in such books often relate family stories and history not otherwise available. They can also facilitate contact with other researchers and family members. Just the photographs can provide insight into what life was like when your family resided there.

Everyone loves a good story. Hopefully, you’ll find one about your family by visiting the Genealogy and Local History Collection at Muskogee Public Library. Come February 4 and hear some about the history of Wagoner when Shirle Lamb Williams shares excerpts from her book.

Nancy Calhoun works in the Genealogy and Local History Department of the Muskogee Public Library.