Published: March 08, 2007 10:16 am      

Remembering the good ol’ days:

The mission of the Coal County Genealogical and Historical Society

COALGATE — Have you ever wondered where “the good ol’ days” have gone? When life was simple and consisted of sitting in grandma’s lap and sipping lemonade on hot summer days. Maybe reminiscing is enough for you, but for some rediscovering those days is a mission, a search for hidden treasure.

To begin this search many might rummage through their grandparents attics or their parents’ deep closets. But, sometimes these memories are too scattered. Relics have been misplaced or dispersed among too many aunts and uncles. Memory lane does not have to end there. The local Genealogical and Historical Society may be the key to the treasure chest.

Gathering family histories has been the main mission of the Coal County Genealogical and Historical Society since its founding in the early 1970s. At first the society was managed out of the homes of those who cared to preserve the past. Lee Elliston and Vivian Watkins ran the society out of their homes for nearly 10 years. The society’s mission was clearly stated as “to encourage, support, and promote awareness of family history, and to assemble, and maintain a family historical reference library.”

In the late 80s Jimmye Watson and County Commissioner Johnny Ward started a fundraising project to purchase the old Ralls Grocery building for a public library. “It was through the efforts of Johnny Ward and Jimmye Watson that we have this building, that we have the public library and genealogy society in Coalgate. Without them the library wouldn’t be here today,” said Coal County Genealogical and Historical Society President Verdell Clark.

When the Coal County Library officially opened in April 1998, the Genealogical and Historical Society had a permanent home, a room of their own in the back of the library. “We are legit,” said Clark, who became president in September 1999.

The society is officially open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday, but three faces can be seen there anywhere from five to six days a week. Dedicated members Ruth Moore, Elsie Rumley and Verdell Clark have made a recent career of cataloging history and discovering the past. “It has become a full-time job,” Rumley said.

Being volunteers, one might wonder why three people would dedicate so much of their time to the society. “I think it is important to know where you came from. I think knowing where you came from and who you came from gives you a sense of pride in being here,” Moore said.

For Rumley, it was curiosity that killed the cat. “I do it a lot for curiosity’s sake, but another thing is that it is highly educational. You learn history. You learn geography.”

The Coal County Public Library is located at the corner of Byrd and Ohio Streets in Coalgate. Many new projects are underway; for instance, the society is currently collecting all of the Coalgate High School yearbooks and cataloging each graduating class since 1907. They are also working on Volume II of The History of Coal County, Oklahoma, which should be published in April or May of this year.

Family history has been passed down through bedtime stories and fireside tales for years. Now not only can it be a tradition, it can be true, documented history with the help of the Coal County Genealogical and Historical Society.

“It is important to remember your past, for a lot of reasons. But, the most important reason, of course, is that the past determines to a great extent who and what you are, and aside from being interesting, it’s what makes you what you are today. There is an old saying ‘Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it,’” Clark said.





Coal County Facts

• The average size of a farm in Coal County is 426 acres.



• The median age in Coal County is 38.1 years.



• Males make up 51.8 percent of Centrahoma’s population; 48.2 percent of the population is female.



• In 2000, the population of Centrahoma was 110.



• The median age of a Lehigh resident is 35.1 years.



• According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Lehigh only covers 1.6 miles of land.



• Coal County’s Undersheriff is Ray Pebworth.



• In 2000, the average family size in Bromide was 3.18.



• Cities in Coal County include: Bromide, Clarita, Coalgate, Phillips, Centrahoma, Lehigh and Tupelo.



• According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the population of Bromide was 163.



• In 2000, the average household income in Centrahoma was $23,125.