Published: July 03, 2008 06:48 am      

Library taking orders for special collection

The Woodward Public Library is taking orders for a re-printing of a volume of stories gathered to celebrate Oklahoma’s centennial.

“Our stories: Voices from Northwest Oklahoma 1887-2007” is a collection of anecdotes collected and published by the Woodward Public Library and the Woodward Chamber of Commerce’s Centennial Committee.

Karen Ansley, a member of the Centennial Committee, worked with other committee members and volunteers to collect the stories. Ansley says the stories cover a wide range – recollections of the earliest settlers in the area, Oklahoma statehood, the struggles of the Depression – all told from a first-person perspective.

“There was one gentleman here in Woodward that had remembrance of his own or his father and grandfather that covered back to around 1900,” Ansley said. She said many of the stories cover the same subjects, but they’re all as different as the people who told them.

Ansley said committee members and library employees conceived and began discussing the idea, and once the committee approved, “We ran with it.”

The library sold more than 300 copies during the volume’s first publication last year, Ansley said. She said they will print as many copies as are ordered, rather than publishing a set number, due to funding issues.

The Woodward Public Library will accept orders for the 124-page spiral-bound collection through Aug. 15. All orders require a $15 prepay charge, which covers only the cost of printing, Ansley said. She said copies should arrive at the library around Sept. 10.

The Woodward Public Library is located at 1508 Main St. The library opens at 9 a.m. every day but Sunday. They can be reached by phone at 254-8544.