Chester Pittman

Oral History Interview with Chester Pittman Interview Conducted by Jerry Gill October 22, 2010 O-STATE Stories Oral History Project Special Collections & University Archives Edmon Low Library ● Oklahoma State University © 2010 O-State Stories An Oral History Project of the OSU Library Interview History Interviewer: Jerry Gill Transcriber: Miranda Mackey Editors: Amy Graham, Latasha Wilson, Micki White The recording and transcript of this interview were processed at the Oklahoma State University Library in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Project Detail The purpose of O-STATE Stories Oral History Project is to gather and preserve memories revolving around Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (OAMC) and Oklahoma State University (OSU). This project was approved by the Oklahoma State University Institutional Review Board on October 5, 2006. Legal Status Scholarly use of the recordings and transcripts of the interview with Chester Pittman is unrestricted. The interview agreement was signed on October 22, 2010. 2 O-State Stories An Oral History Project of the OSU Library About Chester Pittman… Chester Pittman was born and raised in Wewoka, Oklahoma, the second of eight children. Farm life, with the help of dedicated parents, taught him the value of hard work. They grew a number of vegetables on their farm, and they raised hogs and cattle. Pittman raised prize- winning Duroc hogs, and he had his share of daily chores and responsibilities, of course. Neither of his parents had higher than an eighth-grade education, but they required that their children finish high school. Pittman attended Douglass High School, a school that never drew any college recruiters, but, fortunately, he played football every day after school at Wewoka High School, which was frequented by recruiters and scouts. His football skills were drawing attention, and the offers started pouring in from all over: Langston, Nebraska, OU, to name a few, and, of course, Oklahoma State University. His parents never pressured him or his siblings to attend college, simply because they couldn’t afford it, but Pittman knew that if he wanted to make his dreams come true, he needed to go. He set his sights on OSU, and thanks to a scholarship, he went. Pittman enrolled at OSU in 1957 and was suddenly immersed in an integrated world. (His high school had just started to integrate during his senior year, but only the football team was mixed. Classes were still segregated.) Acclimating to this new environment was a challenge, but as the school would soon discover, Pittman was never one to back down from a challenge. He changed his original major of engineering to physical education, working toward certification, and lived in Bennett Hall for the duration of his college career. Because dorm life was still segregated, he had a “penthouse” all to himself since the handful of other African American students in his dorm had not made it past the first semester. He proved himself to be worth his salt on the football field, but was still forced to eat and sleep separately from his teammates during away games because of the color barrier. He earned the privilege to travel with the coach on recruiting trips, and he got to play in the one-time Bluegrass Bowl in 1958. Chester Pittman was the first African American to letter in football at Oklahoma State University. Because he had changed majors, he needed an extra semester of classes to finish, but he graduated in the summer of 1961 with his degree and certification. He was offered a teaching and coaching position in Kansas, where he went on to achieve great accomplishments with his track students. His team competed with 4A and 5A teams, winning meet after meet, placing in state championships, and resulting in track scholarships for his protégés. He continued on to earn his master’s degree at Kansas State University, and then went into administration at the new Harmon High School in Kansas City. He enjoyed his work in the public school system for a few decades before finally retiring, and has always cherished the friendships he developed while at OSU. In 2010, Pittman came back to Stillwater when he was honored with the OSU Black Alumni Association’s Trailblazer Award. 3 O-State Stories An Oral History Project of the OSU Library Chester Pittman Oral History Interview Interviewed by Jerry Gill October 22, 2010 Stillwater, Oklahoma Gill My name is Jerry Gill. Today is October 22, 2010. I’m visiting with Chester Pittman on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This interview is for the O-STATE Stories Project of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program. Chester, gosh, as the first African American to letter in football at Oklahoma State University, you have a special place in the history of OSU, and, of course, this evening, you are going to receive the OSU Black Alumni Association’s Trailblazer Award, which is very significant. We just give one a year. Pittman Thank you. Gill Of course, they are going to hold a reception in your honor. How do you feel about receiving this award? Pittman Well, I’m really in awe. (Laughs) It’s really a pleasant surprise, and it’s something that I will certainly cherish because Oklahoma State is certainly dear to me, having given me the opportunity to go to school and to receive a BS degree. I think, of course, coming out of high school and not being able to attend college without the benefit of a scholarship, I think if there was any way I could’ve walked on or whatever, I would’ve tried that in able to try to be successful at that BS degree. I am so honored for the pleasure of receiving that scholarship and being able to meet people that I met, who helped me tremendously. Harry Buffington, the gentleman that recruited me, he was from east Oklahoma, somewhere in there, but he was really good to me, and I really appreciated him. He took me to Texas on a couple of recruiting trips to try to get some of the guys down there. I remember several names now, but Hollis, (we went to his family) Wardell Hollis, I believe, was one name. Gill Wardell Hollis, yes. 4 Pittman Then we tried Wesley, a guy by the name of [Raymond] Wesley. We lost a guy to Michigan, Michigan State. His dad was a coach, and I’ve forgotten his name. Bubba Smith was his brother. What was his first name? Do you recall what his brother’s first name was? Gill No, I just remember Bubba. Pittman Oh, but I’ll tell you, I really did enjoy those trips. We’d go by plane. He’d get you on one of those two-seat Cessnas, and we’d fly by highway to Texas. We didn’t have a plan of what route to travel. We’d go by these airports down in Texas, and these jets would come up in front of you. Oh, I was scared to death! (Laughter) But Harry was one guy that would tell me, “Oh, don’t worry. We’re flying Highway-35 all the way down to Austin.” It was quite an experience for a youngster, I’ll tell you that. Gill I want to visit with you about your OSU experience. I want to back up, first of all, though, Chester, and ask you, can you tell me a little bit about where you grew up and about your family? Pittman Sure, sure, I’m sorry. I kind of got carried away there. Gill No, it’s okay. Pittman I was born and raised in Wewoka. Wewoka, Oklahoma. I was the second of eight kids. I was the only boy until my brother came along about ten years later, so I had all girls to contend with up to that time. (Laughs) Gill You had four sisters? Pittman I had five sisters. Gill Five sisters, wow. Pittman Yes, and one brother, so it was quite an ordeal growing up. My mother, she was pretty special in the church and worked in church. She made sure that we went to Sunday school every Sunday. It was something that you just looked forward to. You had to go to Sunday school. They made me a superintendent, once I got in high school, of the church. I had to do this… Gill Superintendent when you were in high school? Pittman Superintendent of the Sunday school is what it was. I had to review the lessons of all the adults and everything. It was something that kind of really made me want to back off, but I knew I was doing it for some 5 reason and for some good, and it really helped me later on in life. I will tell any youngster now, “If you get an opportunity to get up before a group or before your peers, just get yourself prepared, and then do it.” Gill What church was it? Pittman The Baptist church, so it was something then. No kid, I don’t think coming to high school as I was, about as young in high school, wanted to get in front of his peers and try to prove what he is. I didn’t want them thinking I was anywhere that much into Sunday school or that much superior to them or beyond what they were doing. At that time, I didn’t want to stand out. They were giving me the opportunity to learn and the opportunity to grow, but I didn’t realize that. Gill Chester, you grew up on a farm. Is that right? Pittman Right, right, yes.

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