⢠McAlester News-Capital Editorial Board May 21, 2021
McAlester News-Capital office File photo
THUMBS UP to those who enjoyed the recent celebration at a historic building and park in McAlester.
A group of L Ouverture School alumni thanked volunteers for their restoration efforts at the historic McAlester school building during a May Day celebration Saturday at McAlester s Michael J. Hunter Memorial Park.
McAlester resident Primus Moore and Herbert Keith, both L Ouverture alumni, continue their efforts to save the former public school attended by Black students in McAlester from 1908 to 1968 â when 115 L Ouverture High School students integrated with McAlester High School.
The two alumni organized the recent event based on similar activities held at the school during that era to celebrate the nearing end of the academic year.
JAMES BEATY | Staff photo
Primus Moore, left, and Herbert Keith publicly thanks those who ve helped with the cleanup and and restoration of the former L Ouverture School during a cememony held in McAlester s Hunter Park,
JAMES BEATY | Staff photo
A group of student volunteers from McAlester Public Schools hold certificates they ve been presented for their volunteer efforts to help with the cleanup and restoration of the former L Ouverture School. Students were presented the certificates during a May Day celebration at Hunter Park.
JAMES BEATY | Staff photo
Some of the individuals attending the May Day celebration at McAlester s Hunter Park talk about the day s festivities. Pictured, from left: Ann Walker, McAlester Mayor John Browne, Bobby Cox, Primus Moore, Herbert Keith, Will Ella Davis, Coluah Watts Stanfield and Donald E. Brown.
By Adrian O Hanlon III Editor Apr 9, 2021 1 of 11
Workers blasting embedded glass and trash, and vacuuming the remaining debris is a major milestone for some involved with the improvements at McAlester s Michael J. Hunter Memorial Park.
After several efforts to improve the historic park in recent years, City of McAlester Public Information Officer Stephanie Giacomo said she was happy to see the hydroexcavation crews addressing a decades-old issue of broken glass in the park. I was so excited I could cry, Giacomo said.
The 7.6-acre park at Fourteenth Street and Chickasaw Avenue near the former LâOuverture High School is named after Michael J. Hunter â who was born Nov. 2, 1946 and became the first McAlester native to die in the Vietnam War.