Cathy Spaulding: Okie from Muskogee: Teacher finds plenty to do in retirement

Jan. 28—Retired educator Trish Brewster said she originally wanted to be a physical therapist, but soon found a different calling.

"Even growing up, at the high school, I would help out at Special Olympics. I liked being with the special needs kids," she said. "There used to be a little pre-school for handicapped children here years and years ago. I volunteered there my senior year. I left half a day (at school) and volunteered there."

She earned a degree in education at Northeastern State University. She sought work as a speech pathologist, but there were no openings. She spent five years as an attendance clerk at Pershing Elementary. The Muskogee Public Schools special education director later told her of a speech pathology opening in the district.

"I did that for five years, and then I went into a multi pre-school class," she said. "I had to get certified to do different things."

She was a speech pathologist at Irving and Whittier, then at the Early Childhood Center. She then went on to Harris-Jobe Elementary, Ben Franklin Science Academy and Creek Elementary before retiring in 2021. She also spent seven years working at Camp Bennett, the district's summer camp for people with disabilities.

"There's lots of rewards, lots of challenges, too," Brewster said. "Everyone learns differently, and you have to figure out where they're at and go from there. It's lots of fun. It's hard. But the rewards are seeing them move on and do good and grow up. I see kids now that I had when they were 4 years old, and they've graduated from high school."

Since retiring, Brewster has found time to volunteer at Cherokee Elementary, make wreaths and be the human mommy for a unique Sphynx cat. In December, she moved into her parents' old home in rural northwest Muskogee.

"It's nice because you feel like you're way out, but you're really not," she said. "The highway's right there somewhere."

Schools beckon

Brewster back

Trish Brewster spends time at school, helping Cherokee Elementary librarian Gina Batie.

"She and I worked together years ago at Harris-Jobe," said Brewster, who has retired. "She used to be my librarian and I would use her resources for my special needs kids. We were always collaborating."

Brewster doesn't keep a regular schedule when she helps out.

"It's not even every week," she said. "She has a Maker Space she's working on. We've got everything you can imagine to make things, feathers and googly eyes and sequins and cardboard and paper. You just can go create things."

She enjoys being around the people.

"When I'm in her library, kids come in and out and I get to see the kids," she said.

Brewster also has a knack for decorating the library for different seasons and holidays.

"I just like to put things out for fall or for Christmas," she said. "I enjoy shopping for decorations. I've made things. In the reading week they have, I'd help with Dr. Seuss decorations."

She also helps, a little bit, with the book fairs.

"She has kids who help her with that," Brewster said. "I just come and shop for my grandbaby."

Acquiring an

unusual pet

Brewster had never seen a Sphynx cat in real life before she got one as a retirement present.

"My daughter was getting a Sphynx cat, and she told me, 'I'm getting this cat, can you help me pick it out,'" she said, adding that the breeder would send photos of different cats.

"I said, 'Get one with colors," Brewster recalled.

She accompanied her daughter to Denver to pick up the cat. Then the breeder brought out a carrier with a multi-colored Sphynx and asked Brewster if she'd like to hold her.

"I think the thing that struck me the most is the way she felt," Brewster said. "It's hard to describe. It's better than velvet. I loved the way she felt. It was so different."

Over the past three years, Scarlett No Haira has made her presence known.

Brewster said Scarlett has only a few more needs than the furry cats she had before.

"I bathe her, " she said. "I try to give her a bath once a week. She doesn't really love it, but she's not terrible."

Scarlett also might wear a baby T-shirt if it gets cold, Brewster said. "She's warm all the time, but I just feel like 'gosh, I bet she's cold."

Spending time

crafting for others

Brewster has been a craftsperson for a long time. She said her mother sewed and used to make her clothes.

"When my kids were growing up, I sewed a lot," she said. "I made their clothes until they were old enough to say, 'Mom, I really don't want to wear all the clothes that you're making me.' I'd make things that matched when they were little."

She also did appliqués for sweatshirts.

Her latest interest is making massive, ribboned wreaths. She said she learned to make them by watching Facebook "and just sort of experimenting."

"Sometimes I make them with the ribbons that you twist into those wire frames," she said. "I've made other kinds with the wire frames, like Christmas ones and I'd put greenery on them or Christmas balls."

She said she gets a lot of decorations from Dollar Tree. She strung Christmas balls on a wire.

"You make them all bunched up and you put them on a wire and hot glue a bow on it and put on lights," she said. "I made Gina a little tree thing for Halloween. I made Sherika (another teacher) a wreath for her door at school."

Q and A

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I've been here all my life. My mom and dad have both been here all their lives. I just was born here and I stayed here. What keeps me here is the family that I still have here. And I like it here. All my friends are here."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"This is where my friends are. I don't think you'd call it small, but it is a smallish town, and I know all the people. Everyone I run into seems friendly. It's pretty. There are lots of pretty places to go here and look in the area."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"I think they're working on it. I love the downtown thing, they're trying to bring the entertainment. I think that's going in the right direction. I like that."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"My mother, Barbara Wilson. She was an RN for 35 years at the VA hospital. Growing up, she worked, but we did lots of things together. We traveled together. We'd go to the movies. We'd go shopping. As I got older, all my friends would gravitate to my house because she would take us places and do things with us. She just enjoyed doing things with the kids. In turn, I was like that with my girls. She enjoyed her life and made my life great."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Lots of memories. I guess just growing up here. I can't think of any one instance."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I like to read. I like to travel. I like to just get out here and walk. I like to have my friends over, we'll eat or just sit back."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"It's been a good place to grow up in. It's growing to be a place where you want to come visit. I've had a good life here."

MEET Trish Brewster

AGE: 63, will turn 64 in January.

HOMETOWN: Muskogee.

EDUCATION: Tony Goetz Elementary; Alice Robertson Junior High; Muskogee High School, class of 1977; Northeastern State University, bachelor of arts in education; master's degree in reading.

PROFESSION: Retired special education teacher.

FAMILY: Two daughters, Sarah and Robyn; one grandson, Kian; Sphynx cat, Scarlett No Haira.

CHURCH: Thrive Family Church.

HOBBIES: Reading, traveling, crafting, listening to music.

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