By Doris Keith

Memorial day, 1949, will be long remembered in Ponca City.
For on that solemn day when the living pay respect to the dead, students of the Ponca City senior high school will dedicate an impressive memorial to the more than 1,515 former students who served in the armed forces during World War II.
The dedication program will begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the war memorial, located immediately in front of the senior high school building.
Guests of honor will be those parents and families of the 71 boys who lost their lives during the war. Chairs will be provided for them.
The program will open with the playing of “America” “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “America the Beautiful” by the senior high band, directed by A.H. Long.
The Rev. Loyal Northcott, pastor of the First Christian church, will give the invocation.
Homer S. Anderson, high school principal, will give a brief talk, “Lest We Forget”.
James A. McNeese, Jr., lieutenant commander in the naval reserve who was student council president at the high school in 1936, will give remarks entitle “They Also Served.”
“He Who Would Valiant Be” by Noble Cain will be sung by the mixed chorus under the direction of Charles H. Cunning. Miss Virginia Fesler will serve as accompanist.
Formal dedication of the memorial will be by Louis Levy, president of the student council.
Monte, Kreger and Bill Mertena will read the gold star names.
A wreath will be laid on the memorial by Billie Scott Tetirick, student council secretary and Kenneth Forshee, student council president-elect for 1950.
A group of color bearers, color guard and a firing squad will present a military salute. In the group will be representatives of the local Huff-Minor post 14 of the American Legion, Harvie Kothe post 1201 of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ponca City detachment of the Marine Corps League and Company A of the 279th infantry regiment, 45th division.
Concluding the simple but effective program will be playing of “Taps” by Kenneth Forshee and Melvin Ely and a prayer by Bob Martin, vice president of the student council.
Others assisting in the dedication ceremony will be representatives of the organized reserve corps and Battery C of the 189th field artillery battalion of the 45th division.
Gold Star names included on the memorial are as follows: [Names appear in the Index]

Article appeared in the Ponca City News, 1949

Cost of Project Paid by Youths

The idea of a memorial originated in 1946 when the following were officers of the student council: Don Meyer, president; Jim Paris, vice president; Monta Mae Chapman, secretary. It was carried on by student councils under the direction of the follow: 1947 – Don Welch, president; Barbara Whitehurst, vice president; and Irene Braden, secretary; 1948 – Don Morgan, president; Bill Powell, vice president; and Jo Ann Scheetz, secretary; and 1949 – Louis Levy, President; Bob Martin, vice president; and Billie Scott Tetirick, secretary.
Member of an adult advisory committee have been Homer Anderson, Melvin Clodfelter, Leo Dixon, Floyd D Focht, The late Charles Howell, Jack Newman, J. Win Payne, Herbert L. Schall, Miss Lillian Shuster, Earl Sullins and L. H. Wentz.
Members of the board of education, who have also assisted with plans are E. M. Trout, Don V. Eells, Leo Dixon, O. W. Meyer, Bill Oliver, M. D. Pruyne, George W. Scofield, T. A. Van Griethuysen and R. C. Walker.
M. D. Timberlake was architect for the memorial with Richard Sherbon as contractor.
The memorial was constructed from funds obtained through student sales of magazine subscriptions.
Article appeared in The Ponca City News, 1949

Class of 1949 Reunion Highlight to Include Info on War Memorial
By Louise Abercrombie

Ponca City High School 1949 graduating class member, Louis Levy, Tulsa attorney, recounted to The News, the part oil man Lew Wentz played in the funding for the high school World War II Memorial.
The memorial was being funded from sales for Colliers magazines, according to Levy. This was going to take several years. Students were eager to get the project started, but the contractor wanted the money up front. Although the classes were working hard they had not yet generated enough in sales to pay the $13,000.
Levy, student council president, and others explained to principal Homer Anderson there was not going to be enough money to start the project anytime soon, and asked if he had any ideas on how they could fund the project.
Anderson said that he had a good friend who owned the Arcade Hotel and he might be able to help. That friend of Anderson’s was oil man Lew Wentz.
Levy recalls that he and a member of the class of 1948, went to meet Wentz at the Arcade Hotel. After explaining their problem to Wentz, Levy said that the oil man called his secretary in with the checkbook and wrote a check in the amount of $13,000. Thus the construction on the Memorial was started.
Wentz explained that the check was a loan to the student council and they were to pay it back at two percent interest.
Louis recalls that within the year the money for the magazines sales came through with $13,000 from Collier. “ We paid back the loan and Wentz waived the interest,” Levy recalls.

In 2003, a historic preservation project has been spearheaded to repair the damage that has occurred for the last 55 years.

Article appeared in The Ponca City News September 24, 2004 on Page A6