Sunday, November 25, 2018

Aggie Avenue, Goodwell OK

Here is a view of Aggie Avenue through the Oklahoma Panhandle State University campus. A large portion of Goodwell's trees are located on the campus grounds. The university is as close to an arboretum as you can get in the panhandle region. Given the semi-arid climate associated with short-grass prairies, the campus looks like an oasis from a distance. On a hot summer's day, the shade provided by these trees provides welcome relief from the heat.

OPSU is in many ways the heart of the town. Although hit hard by budget cuts due to the state legislature in recent years, the university has managed to maintain its enrollment numbers and many of its programs. At the time this photo was taken, the university's radio station, KPSU, was still on the air during semesters. Budget cuts would end a radio station that had served the community for several decades two years later. The same budget cuts necessitated a move of the university's athletic programs from NCAA Division II to NAIA, along with the consolidation of several of the university's colleges.

This photo was from my last trip to the area in July 2015. I am hoping to make a trip up that way in the summer of 2019 or 2020. I spent a significant portion of my professional life at OPSU and as a community member in Goodwell: I lived and worked there from August 2000 until the start of August 2010.

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