FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              October 30, 2006

JIM BARKER TO LEAD HOMECOMING PARADE AS HONORARY MARSHAL

            Retired educator Jim Barker of Alva will lead Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s homecoming parade at 10 a.m., Saturday, around Alva’s downtown square.

            Both Barker and his wife Patty, also a retired teacher, earned both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern, he in 1961 and 1968, respectively, and Patty in 1960 and 1967. He also is a longtime sports writer and columnist (Sports Spasms) with the Alva Review-Courier.

            “I was really surprised to be chosen as honorary marshal,” Barker said. “I feel there are other people who deserve it more than I do, and I’ll probably be waving to some of them during the parade. I appreciate the honor very much.”

            Barker will be recognized at the president’s Miss Cinderella dinner on Friday night and be guest of honor at a reception at the Alumni Association’s tent on the north side of the square at 9 a.m., Saturday. He will then lead the homecoming parade and then receive a plaque commemorating the event on the bandstand after parade.

            While at Northwestern, Jim went out for football for two years and worked at the newspaper for three years. The couple married while in college and had their first daughter, so they say their time was pretty well filled.

            Patty grew up closely associated with Northwestern. Her father, Noel Taylor, was manager of the Student Center for nearly 20 years, retiring in 1975.

            She graduated from college in three years and taught at Hudson, Kan., while Jim was completing his degree. They then moved to Mancos, Colo., when he took his first teaching job—45 students in one seventh grade class! He also was the junior high basketball coach.

After two years, Jim moved to Lamar, Colo., to teach sixth grade for nine years. He also served as assistant principal and supervised intramural sports. He had stints at Ogallala, Neb., Cherokee and a year out of teaching before settling in at Elkhart, Kan. He taught science to the sixth and seventh grades for 13 years and was middle school principal for three years.

            “I immensely enjoyed teaching those science classes,” Barker said.

Both he and Patty retired in 1994. She taught mostly junior high math, including 12 years at Elkhart, then went to Panhandle State University to earn her elementary certificate and taught elementary grades for three years.

With retirement, they moved back to Alva, where both had deep roots. Jim’s father Lige Barker worked at the Review-Courier for many years and was the main writer of Sports Spasms, the column Jim now writes.

“I’ve done research and identified at least three people who contributed to the column,” Barker said, “but from about 1933 or ’34, it was all his.”

Research is one of Jim’s interests as he identifies himself as both an historical buff and a genealogy buff. In fact, his big project now is to find the site of the battle of Turkey Springs. It occurred in 1878 during the Cheyenne Outbreak. Barker said the Northern Cheyenne left the reservation near Fort Reno heading north. The Indians followed the Cimarron River, Eagle Chief Creek, Little Eagle Chief Creek and Turkey Creek, all the while chased by troops from Fort Reno. The cavalry finally caught the Cheyenne in the Cleveland Hills, losing the battle and then heading to Camp Supply to recuperate. The Cheyenne continued the trek north.

Barker says the battle site probably is within 10-15 miles west of Alva, but no one knows the exact location. That is what he is seeking.

His other interests include woodworking, writing and travel. The Barkers recently spent two weeks visiting Ireland and Scotland, their families’ ancestral homelands. On Nov. 25, they plan to attend the “Great Barker Reunion” in Mendota, Va. It is held once every 100 years on the same date at the same location.

He also is a sports fan and attends most Ranger football games, home and away, as well as basketball games and other sporting events. In fact, he served as the university’s sports information director in 1996-97, keeping statistics and covering all the sports teams.

Patty likes reading, quilting and making greeting cards using stamps, fabric, stitching and other craft items. She also is a reading mentor at Washington Elementary School.

The Barkers have two daughters, Sarah, who lives in Bixby with her husband Steve, and Rebecca, who lives in Merriam, Kan. Sarah has two children, Eric Wheeler, a junior at Northwestern, and Ashley Wheeler McDonald. Rebecca has one daughter Holly. The Barkers also have one great-granddaughter, Zoë McDonald.

-NW-

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