Twenty-nine Stringtown eighth and ninth grade GEAR UP students recently toured the Atoka Museum and Civil War Cemetery located north of Boggy River in Atoka. Students were given a walking tour of the property, which includes a Civil War cemetery—the only in Oklahoma, several historical homes, and a church. The church has been relocated from Boggy Bend in the northeast part of the county to the museum site, and was started by “Boss” Harrison, a relative to several of the current Stringtown students. Inside the museum, Director Cindy Wallis guided the students through the various exhibits of the area’s history, and even some of Atoka’s homegrown talents like bull rider Lane Frost, country music star Reba McEntire, and Academy Award winner Matthew Mungle.
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Eastern received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017, and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
