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