-
Kimberly Johnson Wooden -
Alt Text for Image
The ‘89er Committee has released the image of the 2023 Commemorative Button for the ‘89er Days Parade and Celebration. The theme - decided by a poll on Facebook - will be “Pioneer Women,” and the committee chose Judith Carter Horton, founder of the Excelsior Library, to be the face on the button. Her great-granddaughter, Kimberly Johnson Wooden, will be the 2023 Parade Marshal. Della Hawthorne has been selected to be the Honorary Elder Special Guest.
In 1908, the Excelsior Library, the first public library for African Americans in Oklahoma, was founded here, in Guthrie. Judith Carter Horton was instrumental in the creation of that historic treasure. She was also the founder of the first African American women’s club in Oklahoma, the Excelsior Club. She helped found the Oklahoma State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. She was the founder of the Westside Warner Congregational Church, and she helped establish the State Training School for Boys in Boley, Oklahoma.
Horton’s contributions to the advancement of black Americans and the history of Oklahoma cannot be measured, and the ‘89er Committee feels that she exemplifies the Oklahoma Pioneer Woman. In September of 2018, Horton was inducted into the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame.
“I can conceive of no better or surer way to hasten the education and uplift of our people than the establishment of reading rooms, and libraries in every community. When we become a reading people, we will be a thinking people,” Judith Carter Horton once said. Her pioneering spirit changed the future.
Her great-granddaughter, Kimberly Johnson Wooden, was asked to be the 2023 ‘89er Parade Marshal, and she has graciously accepted. Ms. Wooden and her husband Wayne currently live in Houston, Texas. Their son, Stephen is a 737 Captain with United Airlines. His wife is also a commercial pilot.
Ms. Wooden is a graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa with a BA in Marketing/Business Administration. She has been a Senior Leader in the financial industry for some of the country’s top banking institutions. She and her husband are active members in their church in both the Worship and Deacon Ministries. She serves her local community as a member of a community service organization that places emphasis on cultural and educational awareness for youth.
“On behalf of my dad, John ‘Leslie’ Johnson (90), (Mrs. Horton’s grandson) and my extended family, we are honored to have my dad’s grandmother and our greatgrandmother’s rich legacy recognized by the 89’ers in Guthrie, Oklahoma,” said Ms. Wooden. “When we look at her perseverance, determination to make a difference in her life and that of others, it’s overwhelming to see her strong DNA genes that have been passed down through the generations. Her legacy continues today with our strong family values rooted in education, community service. The number of educators, lawyers, pilots, bankers, medical professionals not to mention librarians in our family is amazing.”
In keeping with the pioneering spirit, the committee has named Guthrie resident Della Hathorne as the 2023 ‘89er Days Parade and Celebration’s Honorary Elder Special Guest. Hathorne is 105 years old. Her name gained nationwide recognition in 2020 when she recovered from the COVID virus and was cheered by staff lining the halls of Mercy Hospital, here in Guthrie, as she left the hospital.
Guthrie has been her home since she was 16 years old. Mrs. Hathorne was born east of Meridian, Oklahoma, but she decided to move to Guthrie to get away from the flooding that was destroying her home. Since then, she has seen a lot of changes in the world, but she has looked at them through caring eyes often filled with laughter.
Mrs. Hathorne is the kind of person who remembers hard work fondly. She remembers hard times with laughter and a smile. She has surrounded herself with community and family. Her community speaks well of her, and she’s known for her generosity. Her son reports that any gift she is given, she simply gives to someone else that she feels needs it more.
“I never had much,” said Mrs. Hathorne, “but I never needed much.”
A large family, including her 7 children (5 are still living), her 25 grandchildren, and 180 great grandchildren, love her and look in on her regularly.
The ‘89er Committee would like to recognize these 3 women for their pioneering spirit, their hard work, and their contributions to their communities. They are indeed Pioneer Women, and it is an honor to feature them in this year’s parade.