Taylor Scholarship

The Taylor Scholarship was established by former SCC counselor Gretchen Harmon Harper to honor her mother, her aunt and her grandmother. None of them was able to have as much formal education as they desired. Gretchen?s grandfather Taylor died when her mother was fourteen. The family lived on a farm and had to do the farm work. When the girls graduated from the local high school, they pooled their money and moved to a larger community.
As soon as they could get jobs, the girls were back in school at a private business college. They learned skills that led to positions they kept for the rest of their lives. One was a secretary and all purpose worker in a savings and loan company. The other was a bank teller. Their mother (Gretchen?s grandmother) worked too to help her daughters stay in school. She worked at the same privately owned department store until she retired.
Both Gretchen?s mother and aunt took a few classes at the local liberal arts college. Gretchen considers her mother the smartest person in her family, but because of the times, she was never able to do for herself what she was able to do for her daughter. She saved her money and was able to send Gretchen to a then-expensive liberal arts college. Gretchen?s aunt remained single. She was interested in art, culture, and travel and became Gretchen?s role model. The aunt was not wealthy in material terms but she was prosperous in her curiosity, independence and interests.

Together these women raised Gretchen. Her grandmother was born in a log cabin and Gretchen was able to see a man land on the moon and travel to Paris. Gretchen is grateful for all that these three women gave her and believes she is returning a small share of what they gave by establishing this scholarship in their honor.