By Keith Purtell
Betty Ashwood started with a good childhood and just kept on going. She remembers the most important lesson her parents taught her.
“Mainly they told me to be honest,” Ashwood, 80, said. “It takes 10 lies to get out of one. They also taught me to be respectful and have good manners.”
Ashwood also remembers her favorite elementary school teacher.
“Christine Harrison taught third grade,” she said. “Later, at Longfellow Elementary School, she would teach both of my sons.”
Ashwood also recalls one of her most interesting teachers.
“At Sequoyah Elementary School, I had Jeanne LaFerry,” she said. “She taught cursive penmanship. I was fascinated by the letter D. Some of my penmanship lessons are on the wall at First United Methodist Church.”
Ashwood is also very proud of her three children; Tom, Albert and Janie.
“Tom is a stock broker with Wachovia in Arkansas,” she said. “Tom teaches Sunday school in Fort Smith. He’s on the board of the Boys and Girls Club, and he was a past governor of the Optimists Club for Arkansas.”
Her son Albert was born six years later and has grown to become a state leader.
“He is the Oklahoma State Director of Emergency Management,” she said. “He has be on the national board, but I don’t know how many times. He’s at the capitol when he’s not in Washington, D.C.”
Ashwood said her daughter, Janie Riddle, was born 10 years later than Albert, and has very diverse activities.
“She’s the elementary librarian at Hilldale,” she said. “She sets a wonderful example for her family. She teaches confirmation at First United Methodist Church nine months out of the year. She also plays handbells and drums and helps teach junior handbells in the church.”
Ashwood sums up all her blessings in two phrases.
“Togetherness and friendship are so important,” she said. “I’ve had a very good life.”
A childhood during
the Depression years
Betty Ashwood was born in Muskogee and raised in the south part of town. Her parents were Albert, a glassworker, and Lucy Ballou. Her brother was Albert, 12 years older than her.
She remembers her childhood with great affection.
“I played hopscotch and I loved dolls,” she said. “I played with the neighborhood kids. It was wonderful. I had a very loving family.”
Ashwood said her parents were very stable.
“My father was pretty even-tempered and so was my mother.”
Even during some of the worst economic times, her parents protected her.
Fond memories of school, courtship
Ashwood went to several local schools, some of which no longer exist.
“I went to Jefferson Elementary School for grades first through fourth,” she said. “My mother would walk with me to school every day. The kids just loved her. They would gather around.”
Ashwood especially remembers her third-grade teacher, Christine Harrison.
“She was good to everybody,” she said. “She made you want to learn.”
In grades five and six, she went to Sequoyah Elementary School, part of which survives as Muskogee Little Theatre.
“In grades seven through nine, I went to West Junior High, and I went to Muskogee Central High,” she said. “I had quite a few friends, and some are still friends today.”
Ashwood went straight to work after high school, partly because her father was terminally ill and couldn’t work.
No slowing down
in retirement years
Ashwood and her husband enjoyed their retirement together.
“We went on cruises and traveled to Europe,” she said. “He played some golf, mainly with the kids. And he worked around our farm here.”
Ashwood continued to travel with her husband, but she also became a tour guide for Jefferson Tours.
“I've traveled to Alaska and to 10 countries in Europe,” she said. “I've been to all the 50 states. For Jefferson Tours I went to Hawaii and Alaska.”
Ashwood also took on charitable causes.
“I started the non-hearing program here in Muskogee in the early 80s,” she said. “We took them to Honor Heights Church for five years. My husband and I paid for a translator. That went on for several years, and the other churches started doing it, so I bowed out.”
Ashwood said she is on the board at Eastern Oklahoma Development District Area Agency on Aging as well as being active at her church and with other organizations
“I'm president of the senior adults at First United Methodist Church,” she said. “We have a lot of groups at the church, and I'm over all of them as chairman for outreach and membership. I help with Golden Rule parties, and I help with food for funerals. I do all the cooking for our church council meetings.”
One of the best things she remembers was being one of the event organizers when the Olympic torch came through Oklahoma. And, she plans to keep on staying busy for many years.
“I'm going to live to be 100, just you wait and see,” she said. “I might miss something!”
How did you come to be an Okie from Muskogee?
“I’m a native here.”
What do you do with your free time?
“I don’t have very much free time.”
How do you make a living in Muskogee?
“I’m retired.”
What would make Muskogee a better place to live?
“Stop tearing down all the old buildings. I was so glad to see the one at Main Street and Broadway restored.”
Is there an Okie from Muskogee who you admire?
“I admire my pastor, Rusty Williams, and my late husband, Tom.”
What’s the most memorable thing that has happened to you since you have lived in Muskogee?
“Helping organize the Olympic torch run.”
How would you sum up Muskogee in 25 words or less?
“Honor Heights Park. Since 1929, it has been named one of the 10 most beautiful parks in the U.S. by Better Homes and Gardens magazine. And Muskogee is a friendly city.”
Meet Betty
Ashwood
AGE: 80.
HOMETOWN: Muskogee.
CAREER: Operator, then business office supervisor for Southwestern Bell.
EDUCATION: Muskogee Central High School.
FAMILY: Husband Tom (deceased); children Tom, Albert, Janie; seven grandchildren.
CHURCH: First United Methodist Church.
HOBBIES: Cooking.
