Oral History Interview with Betty Price Interview Conducted by Juliana Nykolaiszyn March 26, 2009 / June 10, 2009 Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project Special Collections & University Archives Edmon Low Library ● Oklahoma State University © 2009 Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project Interview History Interviewer: Juliana Nykolaiszyn Transcriber: Samantha Siebert, Natalie Nielson Editors: Jacob Sherman, Latasha Wilson, Juliana Nykolaiszyn The recording and transcript of this interview were processed at the Oklahoma State University Library in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Project Detail The oral histories collected as a result of the Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project preserves the voices and experiences of extraordinary Oklahoma women who serve as pioneers in their fields, made significant contributions to the State of Oklahoma, or have championed other women, women’s issues, or served as public policy advocates for the issues important to women. This project was approved by the Oklahoma State University Institutional Review Board on June 18, 2007. Legal Status Scholarly use of the recordings and transcripts of the interview with Betty Price is unrestricted. The interview agreement was signed on March 26 and June 10, 2009. 2 Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project About Betty Price… Betty Price was born in Booneville, Arkansas. After graduating from Central High School in Muskogee, Oklahoma she earned a degree in music education from Northeastern State University. Price is inducted in the NSU Music Hall of Fame and in 2001 was named distinguished alumni by her alma mater. From 1989 to 2007, Price directed the commissions of major sculptures, murals and paintings in and around the State Capitol. After joining the Rose State College Community Service art faculty, she taught music at both Norman and Mid-Del for three years. She was a piano teacher while raising her three children, but after helping get a family friend elected to the Oklahoma State Senate, she became his secretary. She later worked as a secretary and artist for Lt. Governor and then Governor George Nigh. She began working for the Oklahoma Arts Council as public information officer in 1974, and served as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Arts Council from 1983 until her retirement in 2007. During this time she worked with eight different governors. Price is a member of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission, Oklahoma Tourism Promotion Advisory Committee, the National Board of Artrain USA, Friends of the Mansion and Friends of the Capitol. She has served as an arts advisor to many state and non-profit organizations as well as on a number of boards across the state. Price was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985 and in 2006 she was honored as Red Earth Ambassador of the Year. Named State Arts Agency Director of the Year by the National Assembly of State Art Agencies in Washington, D.C, she is also the recipient of the 2004 Newsmaker Award from the Tulsa chapter of the Association of Women in Communications. In 2000, she was named the National Director of the Year by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. In addition, she has been named among the Women of Influence by Oklahoma magazine and Honored One at the Oklahoma Indian Sovereignty Symposium in 1999, the same year she received the Chickasaw Nation Governor's Award. She earned the recognition of Centennial Woman of Distinction from the Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority in 1998 and received the National Alumna Award from the sorority in the early ’80s. She is married to Norris Price; they have two children, Lisa Ann and George, a daughter-in- law Lisa Jan, two grandchildren, Natalie and Matthew Price, and sister Elaine Mason. 3 Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project Betty Price Oral History Interview Interviewed by Juliana Nykolaiszyn March 26, 2009 / June 10, 2009 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Nykolaiszyn My name is Juliana Nykolaiszyn with the Oklahoma State University library. Today is Thursday, March 26, 2009. I’m in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma interviewing Betty Price. This interview is being conducted as part of the Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project. Betty Price was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Thank you for joining us today. Price It’s a pleasure to be here. Nykolaiszyn Well, let’s begin by learning more about you. Could you start with where you grew up and give us a little background into your early life? Price I was born in Booneville, Arkansas and lived with my family in Shawnee, Oklahoma and El Paso, Texas. Then we moved to Muskogee. I was ready for first grade and so I started school in Muskogee and that’s where our home was after that. Nykolaiszyn So tell me a little bit about the school you attended growing up as a young girl in Muskogee. Price Well, I attended Longfellow, what we called grade school in those days, and West Junior High School and Central High School in Muskogee. I loved school, and of course, we thought Longfellow was the best of all schools. Nykolaiszyn Now was Longfellow quite large or very small? Price It was a large school. At that time we didn’t have kindergarten, so we started first grade and that’s where we made a lot of our lifetime friendships. Nykolaiszyn What were some of your favorite subjects growing up? 4 Price Well, I loved art and music, and I liked spelling. In high school, I liked Spanish—that was a lot of fun. I also was involved in journalism. I have a story about this; my father had so wanted me to be a teacher that when I decided I was going to take typing in high school, he tried to stand in the way of that because he didn’t want me to become a secretary. As things happened in my life, it was the ability to be the co-editor of the high school newspaper in Muskogee and then going to Northeastern State University, I received a scholarship the second year to be the editor of the college newspaper even though I was a music major. It just worked out great. Nykolaiszyn Wow, did you think you had a career in journalism budding? Price Well, I didn’t think so, because my father wanted me to be a teacher as I said. And he and Mother both had convinced me that I should be a music teacher, and so that’s what I planned to do for my career. Nykolaiszyn So growing up, did you play any instruments [or have] music classes? Price We had a rule in our house that we couldn’t touch the piano keys until we were in the second grade. Mother would play for us, but we didn’t get to touch the piano. Then, in second grade we could take piano lessons. I had a tyrant for a teacher, Miss Mary de Graffenreid, she taught violin and piano. She was a very tough teacher. I used to play, I remember, just thinking I’m doing this so well, I wish Miss de Graffenreid would come up on the porch and hear me playing. She always made me a little nervous, I think. But we had recitals and they were a lot of fun. I had fun doing a lot of different things, in the pep squad, and being the co-editor of the newspaper for our high school in Muskogee really took me away from my music somewhat. We had chorus, as well, so I was always participating in that. But it was fun to be involved with the school newspaper and then fun again to be involved with it at college, although it was hard work. Nykolaiszyn You mentioned your parents did not want you to become a secretary. They wanted you to become a teacher. Growing up back then, what were career options for women outside of teaching? Price Career options were being a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. That was basically what you could choose from. With all of my emphasis on music, it just seemed like a good idea that I teach. I taught my first year at Norman and I was a music teacher for two schools every day. I had all of the students in those two schools. But it was a great time at OU [University of Oklahoma] and I enjoyed that and Norris finished his 5 degree there. The second year I taught second grade and that was in Del City. We settled in and Norris went into real estate at that time. But this business of typing, I got my scholarship with my ability to be the editor of the newspaper, the Northeastern. And that way I stayed in school and got my music degree and I was the Outstanding Senior Woman, of which my parents were very proud. Nykolaiszyn Well, that’s great you had that funding to go to school, because I’m sure at that time it was hard in Oklahoma. Price It was. It really was. I had a brother and a sister and we all had to be educated. My father worked for the post office and that was why we had moved to Shawnee, El Paso, and then Muskogee. My brother became a doctor and my sister lives here in Oklahoma City and is my dearest friend. Nykolaiszyn And are you the oldest, middle, or youngest? Price I am the oldest.