A Bridge for Hispanics

Georgie O’ Brien Clements has been a west Texas woman on a mission for more than half a century.

The 88-year-old former teacher found her calling in 1944. That’s when the 31-year old Clements stepped into a cramped, two-room schoolhouse to teach second-graders who spoke only Spanish. She only spoke English.

Today, she’s still helping young people in the community of Monahans, Texas, (pop. 8,101). She’s vice president of the Texas Federation of Women’s Club, with projects that include assisting organizations like the Rainbow Room in helping underprivileged teenage girls. Clements lends a hand at the library, works on Chamber of Commerce projects, and organizes activities for her women’s church group.

She knew what needed to be done when she stepped into that room full of children more than five decades ago.

“I realized immediately how badly I was needed,” Clements says. “I was determined to make learning fun, so they would come back.” The daughter of a pioneer ranching family, she forged lifelong relationships with many of the Hispanic children she taught.

When Clements and her associate, the late Florence Pope, first began teaching, administrators were concerned over the high number of Hispanic students dropping out of school.

Newspaper accounts say the Hispanic elementary students were moved to a small schoolhouse, so teachers could help them learn English while they studied other subjects. “In our class, the children could travel at their own pace,” Clements recalls.

Samuel Silvas, now 56, remembers the day he entered the little school as a 6-year-old. “I was excited, but then the teacher walked in, started talking in English, and I ran home because I was scared,” Silvas says. “I only knew Spanish.”

After a scolding from his mom, Silvas was back in class the next day. “I remember Mrs. Clements being this beautiful young lady, very nice, and I felt comfortable with her,” Silvas says. “She always took her time with the kids and helped everybody.”

In 1952, the students moved into a larger building named the Clements-Pope School for the two teachers.

Clements often sees her former students as she shops in Monahans.

“It feels good to see what so many of my students have done with their lives,” Clements says. “I’m meeting their children and grandchildren. I feel privileged to have been a part of it.”

Cy Gonzales Benavidez, a former student, believes Clements taught lifetime lessons. “She would say, ‘This is the way it’s going to be in life, so you need to do what’s expected of you,’” Benavidez says. “I remember Mrs. Clements was always kind and patient, but disciplined too.”

Clements did more than teach, though. In the 1950s, she formed the first Spanish Parent Teacher Association, because she wanted parents to feel connected to the school system and be involved in their children’s learning process.

Many townspeople describe Clements as a heroine. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce honored Clements for her devotion to the town’s children in a ceremony in front of the school that bears her name. A photograph of the event in the local newspaper shows city councilman Freddy Hinojos, a former student, presenting an award to Clements, who is surrounded by family and friends. Last year, her teaching efforts were also recognized during the school district’s 100-year anniversary.

Clements was one of 10 children of George W. and Geneva O’Brien, who are considered among the original pioneer ranchers in oil-rich West Texas. She still lives on their sprawling 32,000-acre ranch in the house she and her late husband, Harrison A. Clements, built 50 years ago.

When her husband was transferred for military service overseas during the 1940s, Clements returned to a career she cherished—teaching. “She touched a lot of lives,” Benevidez says.

Elizabeth Heath, chairwoman of the Ward County Historical Commission, calls Clements remarkable.

“Everyone knows who she is and what she’s done.”

DeAnn Daley Holcomb is a freelance writer in Dallas.

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