reflections

Flagstaff Public Librarian

Mom had been an elementary school teacher when she met Dad. That was back in the days when teachers graduated from high school, took an additional year of training at normal school and then got a teacher's license. She took her one year at Illinois State Normal (now Illinois State University) in the town of Normal, Illinois. She always claimed that she taught first grade because she could not do arithmetic past the third grade without taking off her shoes.

(Side note: Two of her classmates at the "normal school" were named Irene Etta Peach and Ruth Will Teach. That gave her a life long aversion to such names.)

After they got married, she stopped teaching and that was for the long time it took to raise 4 children. However, after we move to Flagstaff in 1954, she went back to Arizona State College (Now N. Arizona University) to get a degree in Library Science. She never finished that either, since she got the job as the head librarian at the Flagstaff Public Library.

The folllowing are some snippets of additional information:

While at the library, she had a weekly radio program about the library, new books, etc. At the same station there was an old character name O. T. Gillete who told stories and they often chatted when recording their weekly pieces. At some time, O. T. left her this picture of himself with an inscription "Best Wishes for my Dear Friend Pearl, whose wonderful character reflects her name. Sincerely, OT." The photo is old and was cracked as you can see in the sky above the mountains.

I was looking to see if I could find any other information on O.T. and came accross the following in a transcription of an interview with a lady named BETTY DICKINSON KENT that is currently archived at NAU in the Oral History of Flagstaff.

I would like to add here that I am the charter and founding president of the Northern Arizona Horseman's Association. I was on the advisory board for the Arizona State Horseman for fourteen years. And I had, oh dear, with the Arizona State, Northern Arizona Horseman the first meeting was held in my kitchen with an old timer named O.T. Gillette, who tried to push it on the radio for us. And O.T. Gillette was, he was the, one of the best showman that you could ask for, and I don't mean this derogatorily, to be such a- not really their cowboy. The cowboys did not consider him much more than a darn good cook. And he would tell you stories of his cow punching days, and ah, w e l l, maybe, you know? But he did have a good memory, and he told his stories and told them well. And some of his stories are really true. Some of them were hoaxes pulled on him simply because people loved to. He was gullible and a very sweet person. I have to tell you that as he grew older, I got to know him quite well.