The Oakdale Express
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Fall 2007
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I recently was posed that question in an email when a cousin visited Oakdale for the first time in many years. He brought his
camcorder and made a 30-minute video of the places he remembered from childhood. Later, as he watched the video at home,
he said all he heard himself say in the video was, "this used to be...and now it is gone."
My hopes are that this newsletter and those of you who read it will help keep alive the memories of how Oakdale used to be when
you were growing up there. If we do not preserve our memories and share them with others, then Oakdale history will disappear
just as the town seems to be.
For the next newsletter, one of the articles I am working on was inspired by Barbara Oakley Hayes (Oakale High School Class of
1945). During the 1979-80 school year, I was a senior in high school. Oakdale celebrated its 100th anniversary that year. At the
time, there was a group who organized the Oakdale Heritage Society, and there were activities at the school to celebrate the
town's centennial. Recently, Barbara emailed some of the newspaper articles from 1980, and these articles have given me
several ideas for future issues of The Oakdale Express. One article will tell about the bell from the last Southern Railway steam
engine to make a regular run. The engine went from Oakdale to Chattanooga. I really appreciate Barbara for sending me the
articles.
Not only am I thankful for the articles Barbara sent, but I owe her a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. I met Barbara during
my senior year in high school when she was spending time in Oakdale helping her brother. She did some volunteer work at the
school - mostly in the form of teaching art to a group of students. I was very fortunate to have been selected to participate in the
art projects. We painted two murals - the first is in the main hall at the school and shows a scene from Oakdale around 1909; the
other mural is in the cafeteria and is titled, "From Daybreak to Sunset: Images of a Perfect Day." There were 12 of us selected to
participate in weekly art classes that Barbara taught. She gave me an understanding of basic art concepts and sparked an
intense interest in learning calligraphy. I can never thank her enough for sharing her talents with my classmates and me. Barbara
currently lives in New Hampshire and taught art at the University of New Hampshire.
If you have a story, a "remember when", pretty much anything that you would like to share with others from Oakdale, please email.
I love to hear and read about things that happened in Oakdale or at Oakdale School. Please be sure to email before December 15,
2007. Thanks!
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- Regina Headden,
Oakdale High School
Class of 1980
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