People

Born William Wilbur Radcliff on December 1, 1916 in Altus, Arkansas to parents John and Hattie (Coffee) Radcliff.

As a child, William's family moved to Morris, Oklahoma, where he grew up and attended Morris schools, graduating in 1935. That is where he met Laverne Davis, whom he married in 1938. They both moved to Nowata in 1940.

In Nowata, William, who was known best by the name 'Spike', was owner and operator of Personality Barber Shop and later a shop that bore his name, Spike's Shop, where he cut the hair of thousands of Nowatans over the years.

He was also very active in the Nowata community, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Commander of Nowata American Legion and a long time member of the Nowata School Board.

He was a former member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and raised money to build reserved seats on the west side of the football stadium.

In addition, Spike was a gifted painter. Many Nowatans own artwork that he painted on hand saws and other items. He also provided his talents to painting several murals around the city of Nowata and in 1976, his design was adopted as the official flag of the City of Nowata.

In 1990, Spike, under sponsorship of the City of Nowata, established the City of Nowata Beautification Committee. The committee was responsible for tree plantings and flower box constructions around the city and later the acquisition and design of Spike's Railroad Park, located just east of the Nowata Depot.

Spike passed away on August 1, 1998 and was laid to rest in Nowata Memorial Park Cemetery.