SEPTEMBER 2024 | 15 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL In an article printed during her reelection campaign, it was noted that Ms. Moore was one of the emancipated women able “to grasp the opportunities offered by the political field” and make good proving that “a woman [could] fill a state office efficiently.”5 It was further noted that she “[had] made a success of her position because she was not afraid of hard work and responsibility.” The article credited her dedication and the example she set for “placing the women of the state on firmer ground in holding public offices.” “She served 10 years as clerk in the office in a manner so outstanding that the Supreme Court admitted her to the practice of law in 1923.”6 In 1927, she sponsored and secured the passage of a bill through the Legislature that initiated a fixed initial deposit of $25 for the Supreme Court, which resulted in annual savings to taxpayers and litigants.7 During that year, she also was ex officio secretary of the bar commission. In this position, she was responsible for managing all complaints against lawyers, overseeing disbarment proceedings and attending to the examination and admission of attorneys to the practice of law in Oklahoma. She “was active in Democratic politics for many years, participating in various campaigns and for the party ticket in general elections.”8 She was instrumental in the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt when she served as a Democratic presidential elector in 1940 and 1944. Ms. Moore also spearheaded Indian participation in the campaign when Robert S. Kerr ran for and was elected governor.9 She served as director of the Bureau of Maternity and Infancy of the state health department and was named by then-governor W. H. “Alfalfa Bill” Murray to head the first Women’s Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Organization in Oklahoma County. Ms. Moore planned and organized the statewide rollout of the organization so successfully that her plan was “adopted and put into force on a nationwide scale by the federal government in 1933.”10 Being of Chickasaw blood, Ms. Moore served as a member of the Chickasaw Tribal Counsel under the late Gov. Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation and later Gov. Floyd E. Maytubby. One of her last efforts and honors on behalf of the Chickasaw Nation and “Indian historical interests was when she served as an official representative for the Chickasaw Nation in ceremonies in Memphis, Tenn., dedicating the newly formed Chickasaw Wing of the U.S. Air Force on Sept. 26, 1954.”11 Ms. Moore was a charter member of the White Bead Presbyterian Church and remained active in the church after it moved to Pauls Valley. Members of her Sunday school class praised Ms. Moore as a wonderful teacher and Christian leader.12 She was president of the Alternate Saturday Club and active in the Eastern Star. For her outstanding contributions in both private and public life, Ms. Moore was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame by the Oklahoma Memorial Association at its Statehood Day banquet on Nov. 16, 1937. Although her legal, political and community contributions were impressive, a campaign article in Harlow’s Weekly noted that Ms. Moore was not a politician but rather was the type of woman you would “expect to find presiding over church, Red Cross, literary and civic improvements meetings. You can easily picture her at the head of the dinner table in a Southern mansion. She is attractive, cultured and gracious; one recognizes immediately that she comes from Southern people ... She Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.
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