30 Texas Women
Texas women have a reputation that precedes them.
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20. Ann Richards (b. 1933) "Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels," quipped Ann Richards at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. It was this fiery speech that put her on the national political scene. Ann's political career began more as a hobby. Both she and her husband were keenly interested in politics and it was something they could do together. "We did [it] like other couples who join dance clubs or bowling teams," Richards explains. Her political career started in Austin when she was elected to a seat on the Travis County Commissioner Court. Six years later she was elected State Treasurer, making her the first woman in 50 years elected to a statewide office in Texas. And in 1990 she was elected governor of Texas, making her the second female governor of the state. She was big on education, minority rights, and did much to increase the efficiency of the government, saving taxpayers an estimated $6 million. As the 45th governor she is remembered for her quick wit and feisty personality.
Social Activists
21. Emma Tenayuca (1916-1999) Pecan shelling was an enormous industry in San Antonio during the Depression years, and at this time workers in the industry were paid very little (approximately six cents per pound of pecans). In addition, working conditions in the industry were terrible. The dust in the air from the pecans created a high rate of tuberculosis, and combined with a lack of restrooms and proper cleaning facilities made for a deplorable working environment. In 1938, 12,000 workers decided to go on strike and it was Emma Tenayuca that was asked to be the strike representative. Emma was an ardent labor activist who worked tirelessly for workers' rights. She grew up in San Antonio, and at age 16 she joined the labor movement. She was greatly influenced by the readings of both Marx and Tolstoy, ultimately leading to her membership in the Communist party. She remained in San Antonio until she was blacklisted, forcing her to move to San Francisco where she obtained her teaching certification in 1952. She eventually returned to San Antonio in the 1960s, teaching in the Harlandale school district and receiving her master's in education from Our Lady of the Lake University.
22. Edna Gladney (1886-1961) Edna Gladney spent her life in the Dallas/Fort Worth area caring for homeless and underprivileged children. She made a career out of placing children with adopted families, and providing important services to unwed mothers. As part of her effort she lobbied the state legislature to drop the word illegitimate from a child's birth certificate, and urged the passage of a bill that would give adopted children the same inheritance rights as other children. Gladney worked for Texas Children's Home and Aid Society, and in 1950, after acquiring the West Texas Maternity Hospital, the society renamed it the Edna Gladney Home. In her accomplished career Edna found homes for over 10,000 children. The Edna Gladney home continues to improve the lives of children, recently celebrating its 115th year.
Writers
23. Caro Brown (1908-2001) It was 1954 when, in the midst of a scuffle, Texas Ranger Alfred Y. "Cap" Allee stuck a pistol in the ribs of notorious south Texas political boss George Parr fully intending to ventilate his torso. At this point Caro Brown stepped between the two and convinced "Cap" not to kill him. Just another day at the office for the first Texan to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism— awarded for her series of articles that ultimately brought down the corrupt political dynasty of Mr. Parr. The Pulitzer committee noted that Brown had "written under unusual pressure both of edition time and difficult, even dangerous circumstances." Novelist J. Frank Dobie said of her: "She has a seeing eye and a portraying hand and she believes in something." She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1986.
24. Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) "I shall try to tell the truth, but the result will be fiction." -Katherine Anne Porter
Born in Indian Creek, Texas, Katherine Anne Porter's Southern upbringing informed and influenced much of her writing. Porter was a talented novelist who won the Gold Medal for Fiction, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1965). She then went on to enjoy critical acclaim for her book Ship of Fools, which was made into an Oscar winning film in 1966. The story, set on a German passenger ship traveling from Germany to Mexico, explores themes of jealousy, hate, love, cruelty, and duplicity. Porter enjoyed a long and prolific career. She lived the last years of her life in Maryland, passing away in 1980.
25. Liz Carpenter (b. 1920) Often referred to in Washington as the "wittiest woman in the Great Society," Liz Carpenter is best known as the press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson from 1963 until the Johnsons left office. Liz grew up in the small community of Salado, Texas, and went on to receive a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation Liz moved to Washington, D.C., where she began a long career as a political reporter. She was the first woman to serve as executive assistant to a vice president of the United States, was an ardent supporter of Lady Bird's American beautification project as well as the education programs instituted during the LBJ administration. After leaving the White House, Carpenter worked diligently for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, served as a consultant to the LBJ Library, and served as assistant secretary for the Department of Education. She is regarded as a strong woman with a charismatic personality who is fondly remembered in Washington to this day.
Bad Girls
26. Belle Starr, (1848-1889) Belle Starr better known as the "Bandit Queen of Dallas," was a woman of legendary status, known for her expert equestrian skills, scandalous love affairs, and brazen acts of outlaw. She was by no means a typical lady of the 19th century. She supported herself by singing in dance halls, dealing poker, and running a livery stable trafficking in stolen horses. Involved in numerous high profile robberies, she didn't duck out of town or maintain a low profile. In the robbery of wealthy Oklahoma Creek Indian Watt Grayson, Belle and Jim Reed teamed up to steal $30,000. After the robbery Belle brazenly established herself at the Planter's Hotel in Dallas, and swaggered around town in a flowing, black velvet skirt with a cartridge belt equipped with two revolvers attached to her hip. She became such a legend that many accounts of Belle have been accused of being highly sensationalistic and ultimately inaccurate. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that this daring and outspoken woman did exist and seemed to make headlines wherever she went.
27. Bonnie Parker (1910-1934) "Some day they'll go down together; They'll bury them side by side; To few it'll be grief—To the law a relief—But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde." - Bonnie Parker
Bonnie Parker sent such poems and photos to the newspapers during her two-year crime spree with Clyde Barrow. Born in Rowena, Texas, and raised in west Dallas, Bonnie did not fit the typical profile of a hardened criminal. She stood barely 5 feet tall and was said to excel in school. Bonnie met Barrow in 1930 and the two began a romance that lasted until 1934. The two traveled throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Mexico holding up small grocery stores, banks and filling stations. It was not until 1934 when former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer arrived on the scene that the infamous duo was caught and gunned down near their hideout in Black Lake, Louisiana.
Others:
28. Sarah T. Hughes (b. 1896-1985) At 2:38 p.m. on November 22, 1963, Judge Sarah T. Hughes administered the oath of office to Lyndon Baines Johnson just 98 minutes after John Kennedy, the president who had appointed her to the federal bench months earlier, was pronounced dead. In 1922, when she began practicing law, women were not allowed to sit on juries or make legal contracts. In 1930 she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives for the first of three terms. It was during her third term in 1935 that she accepted an appointment by Governor James Allred as judge of the Fourteenth District Court in Dallas thus becoming the first woman to serve as a regular district judge in Texas.
29. Katherine Stinson Otero (1891-1977) As a young girl Katherine was intent on traveling through Europe. She just had to come up with a means to fund her trip. Her job search turned up only menial positions that paid next to nothing until she came across a job offer for pilots to perform air shows and make up to $1,000 a day. It wasn't long before she was pursuing a career in aviation. Initially it was difficult convincing anyone that she was capable of becoming a pilot. Standing 5 feet tall and weighing 101 pounds, no one thought she would be strong enough to manage an airplane. She quickly proved everyone wrong and went on to defy convention and break numerous records. Katherine Stinson was the fourth female pilot and the first to perform the dangerous loop-the-loop air stunt. She was also the first pilot to fly at night and she set a length record when she flew 610 miles from San Diego to San Francisco. She then beat her own record flying from Chicago to New York to deliver mail, serving as the first female commissioned airmail pilot.
30. Ima Hogg (1882-1975) Ima Hogg, daughter of Governor James Stephen Hogg, was born in Mineola, Texas. Named after a heroine of a civil war poem written by her uncle Thomas Elisha Hogg, Ima was educated in Texas and New York, where she studied music. Throughout her life she was dedicated to supporting the arts, and she conducted various philanthropic activities throughout Texas. She played an important role in the Houston Symphony Society, was the first woman president of the Philosophical Society of Texas, received an award for her role in historic preservation around the state in 1967, and served on the committee to plan the famous Kennedy Center. She received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Southwestern University in 1971 and was the first woman to receive UT's Distinguished Alumnus Award.
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