Zena Awtrey was born in 1886, at Black Springs, Arkansas. She was the daughter of Judge Isaac and Martha Ann (Timms) Awtrey.
Miss Zena, as she was affectionately called, was a beloved teacher of forty-eight years, thirty-two of which she spent in Montgomery County/ She taught her first school at Sulphur Springs in 1903-04, when she was only 17.
She married Carmon E. Alexander, also a teacher, on Oct. 1, 1910, in Memphis, Tennessee. The couple had one daughter. Zena loved all her students as if they were her own children, and she treated them accordingly.
Mr. Alexander spent most of his teaching career in the Mt. Ida area, but he did teach a couple of years in the Norman district.
Her immediate family called her "Mamie" and she was the light of their life. An outsider would have thought that George Audie, Charlotte, and Libby, her great nephew and nieces, were her own children, she adored them so.
Zena was known among her students as being very strict, and when she told you something–she meant it. One disciplinary skill she passed on to Anna Mae, her niece and fourth grad teacher, was the use of the ruler–not on the seat of the pants, but on a outstretched, upturned palm–it got your attention!
Miss Zena retired at the age of 72 years, having taught, mostly the third grade, from 1903-1958. She received a degree from Henderson State University at Arkadelphia in January 1951, just before she turned 65 on February 21st of that year. She went to school on Saturdays in order to continue teaching while she completed the work. When she started teaching college was not required, but as time passed the state board of education started to implement higher standards for teachers.
Her philosophy was to stick to the three "Rs" and everything else would fall into place. She believed that all children could succeed in anything they did if they got the basics in school.
Miss Zena was called to a permanent recess in 1979. She was laid to rest near her home and near one of her old schools, in the Black Springs Cemetery. All who had Zena for a teacher remember her well.=
