Seminole woman has school spirit long after graduation

Before Gloria Crawford graduated in 1964, she marched in her school's band.

“It's been so long ago, but we had a lot of camaraderie,” Crawford said. “We ran around together and had a lot of fun, in school and out of school.”

She played the contrabass clarinet in a band of about 100 students. The band is smaller now, but the excitement is still there.

“There's a lot of pride in the school,” Crawford said. “There always has been. “You find great grandparents that still live here that go to the activities.”

When Crawford went to school, Seminole High School had an intense rivalry with Wewoka High School — the green and white Chieftains versus the orange and black Wewoka Tigers. It was something the town looked forward to, and Crawford compared the matchup to Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. The basketball and football rivalry ended because Wewoka schools have significantly fewer students than Seminole schools, putting the teams in different athletic classifications.

Crawford left Seminole for about seven years after she graduated from high school, but now she couldn't imagine living elsewhere.

Crawford raised a daughter and son in town. Though her kids are adults now, she has fond memories of sitting in the bleachers cheering for her son as he played baseball and football for the high school.

“There's just a lot of what we call green pride.”