Popcorn Ball Queen of Halloween

Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Words that will echo throughout Marlow on Monday evening as children celebrate Halloween. A time of ghosts and goblins and LOTS of good treats!

Over the years, children figure out which houses have the best candy and drag mom and dad to those places first.

And one such home is where Glenda Ousley lives – the Popcorn Ball Queen of Halloween! I am not sure she will appreciate the title I have dubbed upon her but it is very appropriate and well-deserved!

She is definitely the go-to place for homemade popcorn balls; something she has been making for many, many years.

When asked how long she had been making popcorn balls for Halloween, she couldn’t remember.

“Well, I know it was a long time ago when I started; but I can’t remember exactly when,” was her answer.

Glenda quickly laughed and added, “You know, I didn’t even make these for our children. I’d drive all the way to my Mom’s house in Mountain Park and the kids would get them from her.”

Naturally, that led to my next question: Where did you get this crazy idea to make so many popcorn balls for kids?

Well, Duh, Cricket!!! From her mom of course; who had been making them for children in her neighborhood year after year after year. I told myself they must have been super delicious for Glenda to take the kids all the way to their grandparents to get them.

“After my dad (Allen Treadwell) passed away, my brother Richard would help our Mom (Ruth) make the popcorn balls,” she said.

“When we lost Mom, I decided I wanted to continue her tradition and make popcorn balls for children who came to our door on Halloween,” Glenda replied.

“The first year I made around 200 to 300 for the kids,” she said with a brief humble smile.

That’s a lot of popcorn balls!

Then her face lit up with the biggest smile and she said, “Our record is 1,500!”

What! That’s unbelievable! 1,500? Wow!! Wait a minute … did I just hear you say “our” record?

So, Glenda, tell me who this “our” is when it comes to assembling popcorn balls?

“It was getting hard for me to make the popcorn balls by myself. At this time our grandchildren were in college and their activities kept us busy, plus some of the grands lived out of state and so we traveled to Texas to be with them,” she said.

“Plus school events, church activities and community projects kept both Scott and I busy. It was just time to hang up my apron.

“But then Angel Newberry came to see me and told me that I just couldn’t quit. She said the kids love coming to your home for popcorn balls. She wasn’t going to let me quit,” Glenda recalled.

“I told her it was getting very difficult for me and she stopped me right in the middle of my explanation and said ‘from now on I’ll help you’ and she did just that for many years. She even drafted her daughters Jayden and Lyndley into helping make them,” Glenda said.

The rest of the story flowed like a peaceful river from Glenda’s memory. It goes like this:

“When Angel’s girls became involved in several outside activities, she wasn’t able to help as often. Word spread and volunteers came to my rescue.

“This year we are only making a total of 1,200 popcorn balls. We have 1,000 made thus far and will be making another 200 over this next week.

“The year we made 1,500, we gave them to all the student-athletes, band members, plus faculty and staff. And, of course, I needed to have some to hand out at home for trick-or-treaters.

“The 1,200 special Halloween popcorn balls will go to elementary faculty and staff, football, wrestling and cross country teams, cheerleaders and bootleggers,” she said. “I wish we could make them for everyone.”

Those helping Glenda make popcorn balls this year are her daughter-in-law Donna Ousley, Heather Gage, Jill Frasier, Kerri Freeman, April Nite and Julie Harris.

“I love working with all these girls!” she exclaimed.

Personally, this writer thinks Glenda is secretly lining up and training her replacements when she retires; making sure the tradition lives on when Halloween comes around each year.

As I thought about Glenda retiring one day from this chore of love, I wondered if her cherished wooden bowl would also be handed down to the next popcorn queen.

The wooden bowl she uses to mix ingredients when making the popcorn balls is 150 years old and was handed down from her husband Scott’s family who were of German descent.

“This wooden bowl is truly a very special bowl to me. It’s a treasure. Not only because it came from family but it always brings to mind how wonderful people in Marlow are and have been to me and my family,” she said quietly.

I picked up the old worn bowl and noticed it had been cracked or broken at one time. Seeing the crack got my mind to churning. I knew there had to be another story somewhere in her comment and there was! Here’s the short version:

“Yes, the bowl got broken. Just how it gotten broken, we’ve never really been sure about that part but I was just devastated. You see, as I said, it’s a very special bowl to me.

“Bob Patterson, a dear friend of ours, looked at the bowl and said he thought he could fix it. And fix it he did! He was quite a handyman as well as a coach and teacher,” she said. “I am so thankful he could repair this wonderful bowl and that I am still able to use it today,” she said.

So, just who is Glenda Gayle Ousley? If you don’t know or recognize her name then you are new to Marlow because she is an Icon in this community.

She and her husband Scott Ousley moved to Marlow in July of 1969 when he was hired as Superintendent of Marlow Public Schools.

Asked if she started teaching then, her answer surprised me.

“No, as Scott’s wife I wasn’t allowed to teach at the school. That was the rule back then,” she said. “I didn’t have my degree yet anyway but I am glad that rule has changed.”

Glenda earned her degree from Cameron University on Dec. 16, 1994, and entered the system as a teacher’s assistant.

I asked myself why she would choose to be an assistant. Is there another story here? Why, yes there is!

“In 1974, I opened a pre-k school. I wanted children to have an opportunity to learn. It wasn’t a “daycare” facility, it was always a learning environment.

“For 22 years, I loved having children in my home. I had worked at various jobs when the three older children (Jimmy, Allen, and Mary Jane) were growing up and going to school, but when Gayle was born, I wanted to be at home and also had a deep desire to be involved in the education process. Thus, my dream of opening a pre-k school became a reality!” she explained.

“I was going to be home with the children while teaching other children as well,” she happily shared.

In 1996, former superintendent Joe Ligon and elementary principal John Nations approached Glenda about helping incorporate pre-k learning into the Marlow educational system.

“I definitely wanted to help establish a “free education” for all children that age but I didn’t want to teach. So being an assistant was ideal for me,” she added.

“I began working with Aleta (Tatum) Wilson and was with her for 15 years. I am now in Heather Gage’s class and still love being with children and helping them learn,” she happily added.

I asked her if she ever thinks of retiring.

“I’m 85 years old now. It’s a year-to-year decision. As long as I’m physically able to work, I’ll keep getting up at 5 a.m., get ready for school and be grateful my life has a purpose,” she answered.

“It’s such a humbling experience to be walking across campus or being at a school event and hear the children call out, “Miss Ousley are the popcorn balls ready yet?” “Miss Ousley where are you going?”, Miss Ousley can I come with you?”, “Miss Ousley”, “Miss Ousley” …

And I can personally testify it’s not just small children calling out – it’s adults too. Adults who were her students in pre-k, reaching out for a hug, receiving a big smile and hearing her say their name in greeting. How does she remember all of them? So many, many of them? That’s simple – they are and always will be her kids.

So, on Halloween this Monday, if you go by Mrs. Ousley’s home and the lights are off and the door is closed, you will know that she’s run out of popcorn balls … until next year!

(NOTE:) Glenda Ousley is one of the most humble ladies I have ever met. I literally had to beg her to let me write this article because she doesn’t want any publicity for something she does because of her love of children. I hope this inspires many of us to remember we can make a difference in another’s life if we will be open and reach out to fill a need that we see in this wonderful place we live called Marlow, Oklahoma. Thank you, Glenda Ousley!