ANGIE DEBO

On April 17, 2004 Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma, FOLIO, designated the hometown of Angie Debo, Marshall, Oklahoma as an Oklahoma Literary Landmark.  Marshall served as the model for Prairie City, the historical fiction novel that tells the unique story of Oklahoma small town birth and growth and decline. Each spring near the date of the Run into the Unassigned Lands, April 22, 1889, Marshall celebrates Prairie Days.  This year FOLIO and the Oklahoma Literary Landmark Project were part of the celebration. Marshall received a beautiful bronze plaque that was placed on Marshall City Hall, a block away from Angie Debo’s home.  The text of the plaque is as follows:

 

FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES U.S.A.
LITERARY LANDMARKS REGISTER
MARSHALL, OKLAHOMA, HOME OF ANGIE DEBO (1890-1988) --
DAUGHTER OF SODBUSTERS, COURAGEOUS SCHOLAR,
FIRST LADY OF OKLAHOMA HISTORY --
THE TOWN THAT SERVED AS THE SUBJECT OF
PRAIRIE CITY, DEBO'S LITERARY GIFT TO HER
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
IS DESIGNATED A LITERARY LANDMARK BY
FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES, U.S.A.
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES IN OKLAHOMA, FOLIO

 

On October 1, 2004 a second Oklahoma Literary Landmark dedication honored  Angie Debo, First Lady of Oklahoma History.  The Oklahoma State University Library, home of Debo’s papers, was named.  The FOLIO Governing Board and the Oklahoma Public Librarians Council met in the morning.  At noon there was lunch for the Boards and honored guests.  The dedication will begin at 1:00 with a showing of the PBS film, Indians, Outlaws, and Angie Debo.  Michael Wallis was the Master of Ceremonies and Julia Brady Ratliff introduced guests.  Angie Debo herself (Glenda Carlile, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for the Book) accepted the plaque.   The speaker was Gloria Valencia-Weber who gave the eulogy at Ms. Debo’s funeral.  Bernice Mitchell, chair of the OK Commission on the Status of Women, introduced Ms. Valencia-Weber.  Following the dedication, the Oklahoma State University Library hosted a reception. Teresa Miller, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, enhanced the dedication with a panel discussion on Debo’s work at the Celebration of Books the next day, October 2, 2004.  

 

The Literary Landmarks Register is sponsored by FOLUSA, Friends of Libraries USA. Other Literary Landmarks in the United States are the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress, the Plaza Hotel of Eloise fame, and the William Faulkner home in Oxford, Mississippi. Oklahoma Literary Landmarks will be placed on that register.  In Oklahoma the Centennial Commission has named the Oklahoma Literary Landmarks an official Centennial project.  Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma, FOLIO, is a support group for Oklahoma’s libraries.  FOLIO will name a landmark each year through 2007 in honor of Oklahoma ’s authors, Oklahoma’s libraries, and one hundred years of Oklahoma History.

 

Sponsors

Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma , FOLIO           
Oklahoma State University Library
Friends of Libraries USA, FOLUSA                   
Oklahoma Center for the Book  
Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers          
Oklahoma Department of Education
Oklahoma Department of Libraries                   
Oklahoma Historical Society      
Oklahoma Library Association                       
World Literature Digest



The Oklahoma Literary Landmark Steering Committee


Michael Wallis, Author, Chair                                     
Julia Brady Ratliff, FOLIO, Co-Chair
Kim Bishop, FOLIO                                                        
Dr. Bob Blackburn, Director, Oklahoma Historical Society
Glenda Carlile, Director, Oklahoma Center for the Book   
M. Scott Carter, Metropolitan Library System
David Draper Clark, Editor, World Literature Today
Beverly Dieterlen, FOLIO
Eugene Earsom, Oklahoma Department of Education        
Lynn McIntosh, President, Oklahoma Library Association
Glenda Kilmer, First Vice President, FOLIO           
Teresa Miller, Director, Oklahoma Center for Poets & Writers
Jennifer Paustenbaugh, OSU Special Collections
Anne Prestamo, Immediate Past President, OLA
Deborah Taggart, FOLIO
Tom Terry, President, FOLIO