TruebloodLOUANNE

IN 1967, A GROUP OF 167 NSPA CONVENTION-GOERS TAKE THE TRAIN FROM OKLAHOMA TO CHICAGO OVER THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.

SHE KNEW SCHOLASTIC journalism from every angle.

Louanne Trueblood worked on the yearbook staff at Lindsay High School (Oklahoma).

She edited both the newspaper and yearbook at Oklahoma Baptist University.

She taught journalism at John Marshall High School, Oklahoma City, for 15 years from 1964 to 1979.

Then she worked at Jostens, Walsworth and Lifetouch companies for another 30 years.

Along the way, National Scholastic Press Association became an important part of her life, she said.

“From the very first convention session I attended, I knew these people had so much to share and so much for me to learn,” Trueblood said. “That’s where it really got started for me.

“I was so young, and Otto Quale, Wayne Brasler, Bruce Watterson, Elizabeth Hurley and Pat Clark were all so nice and so willing to help me.

“At every convention I just met more and more people — John Cutsinger, Carol Rappaport, John Hudnall, Chuck Savedge, James Paschal — I learned from all of them, and some became life-long friends.”

Trueblood credits Maxine Housholder, the adviser who retired as she was hired at Oklahoma City’s John Marshall, with paving the way for a strong relationship with NSPA.

“She and Liz Burdette were my mentors,” Trueblood said. “They told me what to do at conventions, what sessions to attend for me and my students and even helped me get there.”

Trueblood died in 2021, and Burdette died in 2011.

In 1967, Trueblood was part of a group of 167 students and advisers who took a train to Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend for the fall convention.

“I always made sure the kids went to sessions,” Trueblood said. “They learned so much, and the publications just got better and better.”

Trueblood saw to it her students learned from the NSPA critiques, too.

“We always had the yearbook and the newspaper critiqued,” Trueblood said, “and I used the rating books as textbooks. We studied the comments and learned from them.”

Her staffs quickly became scholastic journalism leaders, and Trueblood was making her own mark in national scholastic journalism.

In 1975, she was among 10 journalism teachers selected as Achievement Award recipients by the Newspaper Fund.

She left the classroom in 1979 to become the first woman to be hired for the Jostens sales force, a career move that presented even more opportunities for teaching.

“When I was hired, they reminded me that a teacher sells every day when in front of a classroom of students,” she said. “I was still involved with schools so it felt like I was still teaching.”

And she was. She edited Jostens’ adviser magazine and provided content to support advisers. She developed curriculum and marketing materials for Walsworth and Lifetouch as well.

Until her death, she attended class reunions with her journalism alumni.

“There are those who have achieved significant careers, while there are those whose stories might not seem as impressive, except to me,” she said.

“Guiding a student through writing a story and seeing his or her name in print for the first time publshed was fulfilling.

“But hearing, years later, of that same student’s courage in the aftermath of a serious auto accident or her battle to overcome a life-threatening disease is more than just fulfilling,” Trueblood said. “It’s heartwarming and inspiring.” n

DECADES LATER, still a proud adviser. Long-time adviser Louanne Trueblood enjoyed staying in touch with her former students posting this photo and message on Facebook: “I had the privilege of attending an Associated Press award ceremony today (June 10, 2017) where Bruce Campbell was awarded first place in Oklahoma in his division for sports writing. Bruce, who was on the Advocate newspaper staff at JMHS in Oklahoma City in 1971-72, has been on the staff of the Enid News and Eagle for over 35 years. Proud of you Bruce!”

Trailblazer

In 1979, Louanne Trueblood left the classroom to be one of the first women hired as a Jostens yearbook representative. In 1984, Trueblood visits with adviser Ann Wincenread, Heritage Hall High School (Oklahoma) at the state convention. Upon her retirement, after 30 years in the yearbook business, Trueblood held management positions at Jostens, Walsworth and Lifetouch.

Anniversary Presentation

Representing the Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association, Louanne Trueblood and Janice Rogers present a plaque to Otto Quale, NSPA executive director, at the organization’s 50th anniversary gala at the 1970 convention at the Palmer House in Chicago. The inscription on the plaque reads — “OIPA to NSPA: Welcome to the Over-Fifty Club from Number One.” OIPA was established in 1916, five years before NSPA.