Vredenburg/Graham Scholarship Endowment

The Vredenburg/Graham Scholarship honors the memory of Herfie Stuart Graham (1886-1968), a Powell homesteader who led by example to enhance educational opportunities and community development in Powell and the Big Horn Basin. That was a big job when you consider Powell was a tent city upon his arrival as a 22-year-old from Iowa in 1908.
In 1926, he formally began 30 years of continuous service in one capacity or another to public schools in Powell, including the eventual creation of Northwest College. His son Kenneth was a trustee in the early days of the college.
Herf’s youngest child, daughter Eva Lou Graham Vredenburg, along with her husband Amos, created this scholarship in 1987. Amos and Eva Lou shared Herf’s belief that a good education is invaluable. It can enhance an individual’s quality of life and the likelihood he or she will contribute to the greater good of humankind. Since Herf Graham landed on the Powell flat, he, his descendants, and the Vredenburgs have worked to nurture educational opportunities and strong Big Horn Basin communities. Hard working farmer Herf planted more than sugar beet and hay seeds. He planted ideas that still grow. The Vredenburg/Graham families hope recipients of this scholarship will continue his legacy in Wyoming or wherever they find themselves in the world.