have the school accepted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a state normal school. Depp wrote a newspaper column for the Glasgow Times for several years using the pen name "Ora Ethel" and frequently used the opportunity to promote Cherry's school. In her March 27, 1907 column, Depp wrote:"There stands H.H. Cherry at the head of affairs; look at him, he has not so much avoirdupois as many, but he has the greatest influence upon a large student body of anyone I know. He controls that mass of humanity with the slightest effort. His power and influence is felt all over the city, county, and state; yes, and it broadens out until it reaches from ocean to ocean, for, are not there men and women from all parts of this grand old Union who are reaping the rewards from the self-government teachings that they receive here? No student can ever be in this school without realizing that self-government is in the soul, and that the un-governed spirit will never do much in this life. Within the walls of that building, boys and girls have been molded into educated men and women. Often upon entering, they could be compared to coarse rough ironware as it is dug from the earth. Here, they are placed under the best teachers that can be secured anywhere, and are carried through a thorough course of drawing out, until they, like the iron ore after it has been sheltered, heated and drawn out again and again, becomes the finest wrought steel."In the same column, Depp challenged her fellow teachers to advance their own education:"Teachers of Barren County, why are you neglecting your education? Why are you content to stay in the same old rut you were in long ago, when the State Normal offers not only you, but every teacher in the state such rich rewards.On June 5, 1908, Nettie B.C. Depp earned a degree in education from Western Kentucky State Normal School, the first Barren County student to earn a degree from the institution. Professional career Prior to attending Southern Normal as it transitioned into Western Kentucky State Normal School, Depp taught in numerous schools including various Barren County public schools including Bethel, Temple Hill (where she served as principal), Glasgow Junction; three years in Enid and Waukomis in the then-Oklahoma Territory. In 1910, Nettie Depp went to work in Scottsville, Kentucky as a schoolteacher.