Leta Wescotte

My great-grandmother Leta was the youngest in her family. She was only about two years old when her parents Julia and David divorced and her father left the family to travel in the West. Her sister Louise was four years older and like all of their siblings, developed a protective bond for Leta. The two sisters remained close, and as the two youngest in a family of six children, were constant companions and playmates. When Julia accepted their father back into the family (around 1909), Louise (age 20) and Leta (age 16) were still living with their mother and working in a nearby factory.

In 1910, shortly after she turned 21, Louise married Hiram Wescotte. They remained married until her death in 1971 (at age 81). Hiram survived her (he was a year younger) by seven years and died in 1978 (at age 87).

While I don’t yet know much about the lives of Louise and Hiram, I do know that they lived in Oregon, Ohio (my own hometown) and had one child, a daughter, born in 1912. They named her Leta. As far as I know, she is the only family member named after another.

In 1939, Leta Wescotte graduated from Bowling Green State University, earning her Bachelor of Science in Education. She majored in “Foreign Language” and minored in English. While going to school, she was a member of the foreign language club and Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education. Kappa Delta Pi was established to “foster excellence in education and promote fellowship among those dedicated to teaching.”

Following her graduation, she began teaching English and art at Clay Elementary School in Oregon. After several years, she became Dean of Girls at Josephine Fassett Junior High School, also Oregon, Ohio. For many years, she was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, a professional honorary Society of women educators that promotes professional and personal growth of its members and excellence in education. In 1951 at least she was an officer (second vice-president) of her local chapter.

In the early 1930s, Leta and her mother Louise drove to British Columbia, where Louise was reunited with her older sister Mabel. The two had not seen each other in at least 33 years. Mabel returned to Ohio with her sister and niece and spent a couple of months visiting with family. During the summer of 1949, Leta Wescotte traveled to Athens, Ohio, to take a painting class with Aaron Bohrod, (1907-1992), an American artist best known for highly decorative, detailed still life paintings which give an illusion of real life.

But the biggest surprise in googling Leta Wescotte was learning that in 1975, she was inducted in the Clay High School Athletic Hall of Fame, one of six inaugural inductees and the only woman. Further research showed that the Outstanding Female Athlete Award was named after her.

Now I have added to my Ohio research tasks a further exploration of my cousin, whether I used the information in the book or not. I simply want to know.

The Google search also lists a book: Vitalizing English Composition Through the Employment of Centers of Interest by Leta Eleanor Wescotte, published by Ohio State University in 1943, and although her name almost matches (I know her middle name began with “E”), I have no verification.

Leta Wescotte died on May 5, 1970 at age 57. She never married and lived with her parents her entire life.