From the late 1800’s and through the early 1900s women’s clubs were formed across the rural communities ofAmerica but there was nothing organized or uniform and clubs had different names and were formed for different reasons. Things were going to change and so Extension club work began.
In Murray County records show that the first extension clubs were organized in late 1929-1930, a time when our county was experiencing the depression and the dust bowl. Times were hard.
Arriving from Oklahoma A&M was a new program called Extension and two educators were sent to Murray County to begin serving people and bringing knowledge and information from the Land Grant University to improve the lives of our people.
The first county agents were called the Agriculture Agent and Home Demonstration Agent and they traveled across Murray County’s rural communities offering the “Show and Tell” method of teaching.
The rural Murray County communities served included: Palmer, Drake, Oak grove, Fletcher, Big Canyon, Nebo, Buckhorn, Russell, Fairview, Chigley, Iona, Prices Chapel, Colbert, Rock Creek, Moss, Sunshine and Carr Chapel and the largest towns were Sulphur, Davis, Dougherty, Hickory and Scullin.
With the Home Demonstration Agent Home Demonstration Clubs sprang up in each of these communities and the community began to see change.
With these clubs members became involved in their local communities, rural schools started serving hot meals, hot water became available in school kitchens, playgrounds were cleared and cleaned, homes started to initiate “pride” by members assisting each other in landscaping, food safety was taught with safer ways of preserving foods, mattresses replaced straw with cotton and women learned to sew clothing for their family. Life changed for the best thanks to the Extension Service and Home Demonstration Clubs.
These are our roots and we are still improving our communities and our families lives with education and service 97 years later OHCE is still going strong!
OHCE is a statewide organization with members in all 77 counties
How Murray County Clubs Operate Murray County has four organized clubs located in different areas of the county.
They include: Helping Hand Club (organized in 1935), Oaklawn Club, (organized in 1958), Progressive, (organized in 1996), and Harmony, (organized in 1983). The current membership is 40 members.
Training topics are presented for lessons to share with members in the local group.
Each individual club meets monthly and comes together (all clubs) for a monthly community meeting where a lesson is shared on various topics Four Council Meetings held each year to plan and conduct OHCE business, projects, reports and member recognition Community service items are donated each month by each member and all items are collected to distribute at the annual Toys for Tots party – examples of items include coloring books, gloves, socks, etc.
Three major projects conducted in 2025 included:
•Toys for Tots providing all food and drinks for the 150 plus in attendance as well as providing over 650 items to place in each child’s stocking
•Wreaths Across America fundraising for wreaths for the Oaklawn Cemetery Veterans graves. We organize the wreath laying, order the wreaths which cost $17.50 per wreath, conduct the ceremony and pay the Chickasaw Honor Guard for presenting the flags, playing of Taps and the 21-gun salute
•Providing meals for the MyPi (My Emergency Preparedness Initiative) camp held in Sulphur with youth attendees from across the state, and provided breakfast meals for the Sulphur High SchoolAlternative Ed class while they attended the MyPi classes held at the Extension Office.
A Small List of the Individual Club Projects:
•Adopting a Veteran, honoring holidays and their birthday with them
•Donating financial assistance for low-income students to attend 4-H camp
•Making table decorations for the county Nursing Homes
•Helping Hand club placed wreaths on Veteran graves in Drake and Buckhorn cemeteries
•Donated baked items to 4-H kitchen for stock show and county fair
•Served as superintendents for the various divisions of the county fair
•Made caps for the Chickasaw Nation hospital new born babies
•Donated craft items to the children at Toby Keith’s OK Korral for children with cancer
•Donated to the Ambassadors which provides scholarships for Extension Educators for educational opportunities and special projects •Donated clothing to a family who lost their home to fire
•Donated school drawstring bags to a school in Africa
•Donated underwear and children’s clothing to the Davis School closet
•Provided breakfast foods for Sulphur High School Alternative Ed class MyPi training held at Extension Office
•Provided money to purchase food for the Sulphur Alternative Ed students participating in basic cooking skills class sponsored by the Extension Office.
OHCE focuses on leadership skill development, not only for club service but service to the community and state as well. Examples of some of the OHCE members who are active outside of the county on different levels include: Javonna Earsom is Oklahoma voting delegate to the Associated Country Women of the World Organization, Past National President of ACWW, and 2026 Oklahoma voting delegate to 31st Associated Country Women of the World triennial Conference meeting in Canada.
Teo Hair is State project chairman for OHCE projects, and voting Oklahoma delegate toACWW National meeting held in Canada.
Mary Mueller is member of the State OHCE Board.
Marilyn Bearden is Secretary of the LAWA (Lake of the Arbuckles Watershed Association.
JoRetta Morris is board member for NRCS, Murray County.
Susie Edgar is Chickasaw Nation Official Peace Maker.
The 2025 value of a volunteer hour is $36.14 , the value of Murray County OHCE Volunteer Hours in 2025 is a total of $35,140.00 community impact.
