Haxton, Peggy Louise (Thompson)

Class of 1966

Peggy was the eldest in a family with four brothers and 22 cousins. She enjoyed her role as the babysitter. Christ Lutheran Church in Perry has been her church home since birth. All of her school years were spent in Perry except for two months of the second grade when she went to White School five miles east of Perry.

Her ambition was to get married and have babies. She and Johnnie Bill Haxton were married right out of high school and raised three children, Brent, Lori, and Robbie. Peggy helped on the farm by preparing meals, driving tractors, going for parts and keeping the books.

She was surprised to find that she loved “helping out.” She has been described as the person who says “I Will!”

When Brent and Lori started school, Peggy found herself busy with church work, a mother’s club, and a home demonstration club, often serving as an officer. She was also a Blue Bird Mother for Lori’s Blue Bird group and a Den Mother for Brent’s Cub Scouts. For Robbie she taught soccer at the YMCA. LOL! They were desperate for volunteers.

She was involved with paper drives for her church, served on the Altar Guild, and helped with Vacation Bible School. She served as president of the Christ Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and other offices. She served as Secretary/Treasurer for the First Nighters’ Bowling League. In the 1980s she volunteered at the museum filling out descriptive work sheets for new collections acquisitions. Later she served four years on the Board of the Cherokee Strip Museum, also serving as president, treasurer, and secretary at different times. She sewed clothing, curtains, a parade banner, and Maypole streamers for the Cherokee Strip Museum.

She was hired for one day a week portraying the Rose Hill Schoolmarm in 1992. This turned into a 5-day-a-week job, portraying a schoolmarm, which included developing memento photographs in a darkroom and keeping the books for the Cherokee Strip Historical Society. She was proud to win the distinguished award from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge from the Oklahoma chapter. In 2001 she became Director of the museum.

Currently, Peggy is an active member of the Cherokee Strip Historical Society, president of the Noble County Genealogical Society, secretary of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, and corresponding secretary of the Perry High School Alumni Association.

She has served on the Board of the PHSAAI for a decade and served as president for several years. She continues to spend countless hours as corresponding secretary, keeping the members’ data in order, answering emails, preparing correspondence, working on projects and events, helping volunteers in the office, and working through the complexities of sending out bulk mailings.

After losing her husband of 56 years, Peggy was happy to have so many things to occupy her time. Peggy has five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She loves her family, museums, genealogy, Perry Page Turners Book Club, and walking. Now, instead of “I Will,” Peggy has said “I Do” to Don Betchan.