Kathleen M. Wright--OHS Drama Teacher

KATHLEEN M. WRIGHT
ENGLISH / DRAMA TEACHER AT OLEAN HIGH SCHOOL

A Biography of an extraordinary Olean High School
English teacher of 33 years.
Kathleen M. Wright began her teaching career in Randolph, N. Y. before teaching English at Olean High School for thirty-three years. She was an outstanding and dedicated English and Drama teacher at the Olean School.

The Olean City School presented her with a plaque in 1989 in honor of her retirement after 33 years of service to her students. That same year Miss Wright received an award for “outstanding association support” from the Mental Health Association of Cattaraugus County.

Miss Wright was born in Olean on February 16, 1931, the daughter of Charles K. and Kathleen H. Hammond Wright. After a long illness, she passed away on November 15, 2002.

She also led a life dedicated to her fellow man. She was a volunteer Meals on Wheels Captain, tutor for Literacy Volunteers of America, Interfaith Caregiver for Maude and Belle Bennett for many years, and a member of both the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was active as a member of St. Mary of the Angels Church, which included being a lector, parish council member, Eucharistic minister, Altar and Rosary Society member, a Sacristan, Stephen Ministry member, and a member of St. Vincent de Paul.

During the summer of 2004, three of Kathleen Wright’s scrapbooks of Olean High School plays were donated to the Olean Historical and Preservation Society. The scrapbooks consisted of many programs along with photos of the student actors. Since the paper in the scrapbooks was beginning to deteriorate, the task was undertaken to preserve and combine the material into one collection. It is indeed a collection of memories and times spent at Olean High during the 1960’s through the 1980’s.

You are welcome to visit the Olean Historical and Preservation Society. As you turn the pages of the collection of the OHS school plays, once again the memories and times spent at Olean High with Miss Wright will bring back, “The Good Old Days.”

A DECADE OF PRODUCTIONS

How it all began: 1968-1969
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
MIRACLE WORKER
MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT

1969-1970
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
TROJAN WOMEN

1970-1971
A MAJORITY OF ONE
THE LARK
ELIZABETH THE QUEEN

1971-1972
HARVEY
ANASTASIA
SUMMERTREE

1972-1973
OUR TOWN
THE LITTLE FOXES
“A Marriage Proposal”
“Sunday Costs Five Pesos”
DR. COOK’S GARDEN

1973-1974
“Two Fools Who Gained a Measure of WisdoM”
“The Monkey’s Paw”
“Hello Out There!”
BAD SEED
“The Ugly Duckling”

1974-1975
DAVID AND LISA
DIRTY WORK AT THE CROSSROADS
BERKELEY SQUARE
“An Evening for Merlin Finch”

1975-1976
“The King Who Loved His Lollipops”
I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY
A THURBER CARNIVAL
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST

1976-1977
“Cinderella”
MUSIC MAN
TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON
“The King of Ice Cream Mountain”
TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON

1977-1978
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
BYE, BYE, BIRDIE
“Fables”
THE IMAGINARY INVALID
“The Ant and the Grasshopper”
“The Invention”

1978-1979
OKLAHOMA!
SPIRAL STAIRCASE
HARVEY
“The White Butterfly”
“Sunday Costs Five Pesos”

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
FOR SCENES OF PLAYS

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By: Eileen McCartan Smith, Olean, NY All rights reserved.

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