Janie Stewart
Janie Stewart
"I will always be happy to remain in the background, quietly doing my work.”
Biography
Janie West Robertson Stewart came from Virginia to Oklahoma in 1904 and was married to Oscar Stewart, the superintendent of the Oklahoma School for the Blind from the time it was established in 1911 at Fort Gibson. Helen Keller even honored the school with her visit in 1915. Through Mr. Stewart’s untiring efforts he succeeded in permanently locating the school near Muskogee. After Mr. Stewart’s death in 1925, Janie was appointed to serve in his place as superintendent of the school. The school came under the supervision of the Department of Human Services in 1965 and its name was changed to Parkview School in 1976.
Fun fact
In April of 1945, just as Janie Stewart was preparing to retire as superintendent of the Oklahoma School for the Blind, a tornado destroyed the entire school, three children were killed and twenty-five were injured. Mrs. Stewart stayed on to ensure that funds were raised to rebuild and reopen the school only eighteen months later.
Oklahoma connections
Stewart came to Oklahoma Territory in 1904.