One of the key interests of Elva Ferguson was education, especially of women. Not only did Elva educate women through her newspaper articles about women and society, but her editorials promoted women’s educ ation.
Elva was a member of the organization that became the Mothers’ Self Culture Club which met in homes to educate women who had limited access to education. Elva also helped begin the Watonga Public Library, originally in the Blaine County Court House. Elva set an example as an educated woman by leading the Oklahoma delegation to the 1924 Republican National Convention, serving on the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial (nations 150th birthday), and serving as vice chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party from 1928-32. She was active in the American Pen Women Associations.
With that background on improving educational opportunities for women, the Ferguson Home Museum welcomed this week members of P.E.O. Begun in 1869 as a sorority of Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, the name was secret. Later, in 2008, the public name for the sorority was unveiled as Philanthropic Educational Organization. While I do not know the origin of the chapter in Watonga, we know of the many educational pursuits of the organization. The P.E.O. owns Cottey College, an independent, liberal arts and sciences college for women in Missouri. In addition, they administer the P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund which since 1907 has loaned $243 million. In addition, a 1949-established fund provides scholarships for international women students to pursue graduate study in the U.S. and Canada (P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship. Another program, the P.E.O Program for Continuing Education provides need-based grants to women in the U.S. and Canada whose education has been interrupted and who find it necessary to return to school to support themselves and their families. Two additional scholar awards provide substantial merit-based awards for women. One is for women are pursuing a doctoral-level degree. The P.E.O. STAR Scholarship was established in 2009 to provide scholarships for exceptional women in the final year of high school to attend an accredited postsecondary educational institution. www.Wikipedia.org on P.E.O. Sisterhood.
I applaud Mrs. Ferguson and P.E.O. efforts to further the education of women.