Sallie Cook Booker: The schoolteacher elected to Virginia’s House of Delegates

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Sallie Cook Booker

Sallie Cook Booker

Many gifted educators also distinguish themselves in the field of politics. One individual that proves this to be true is Sallie Catherine Cook Booker, a public schoolteacher who became the third woman to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

Sallie was born on a farm near Snow Creek, Franklin County, Virginia, on August 28, 1857. Her given name was Sarah, but all her life she was known as “Sallie.” Interestingly, she is a direct descendant of author Mark Twain.

Sallie began her career as a schoolteacher when she was only sixteen years old. Later, the young educator attended Piedmont Institute for Young Ladies in Franklin County to complete her preparation for teaching in public schools. Over the years, she also attended several summer normal institutes to improve her professional skills. In 1877, Sallie married Jesse Wootten Booker, a prominent businessman from Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia. Jesse was a Civil War veteran who fought on the Confederate side. Shortly after her marriage, Sallie resumed her teaching career in one-room country schools in Henry County. In all, Sallie dedicated 25 years to the profession.

Once Sallie retired from teaching, she became active in local politics, becoming a member of both the Fifth District Congressional Committee and the Democratic Executive Committee. In 1926, she decided to make a bid for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. She ran on the Democratic ticket. It was an election she won easily because she was unopposed. But when she ran for re-election in the 1928 special election, Sallie was challenged by Republican candidate R.L. Stone, who used the campaign slogan, “Membership in the General Assembly is a man’s job.” At one candidates’ debate appearance, Stone reportedly asserted, “You can’t elect Mrs. Booker again. Why? She’s an old woman.” To this she replied by removing her hat, standing, and declaring, “Your hair is a lot whiter than mine.” Sallie won the election.

During her term of office, Sallie served on the Committee on Schools and Colleges; the Committee on Counties, Cities, and Towns; the Committee on Retrenchment and Economy; and on the Library Committee. After two terms in office, Sallie decided to retire from politics in order to stay home and nurse her sick husband, who passed away in September, 1935.

Sallie died from natural causes on December 20, 1944, at the age of 87, and was buried in the family plot at Oakwood Cemetery in Martinsville. To learn more about this amazing educator and politician, see the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.

 

New York’s Joe Lamas: Educator and Former NFL Player

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Many former athletes go on to successful careers as educators and coaches. This is the case with Joseph Francis Lamas, a New York teacher who formerly had been a player in the National Football League (NFL).

Joe Lamas was born on January 10, 1916, in Havana, Cuba. As a young man, he attended Straubenmuller Textile High School in New York City, New York. Following his high school graduation, Joe enrolled at Mount St. Mary’s University, a private Catholic institution of higher learning located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. There he played college football.

Following his education at Mount St. Mary’s, Joe played one season in the NFL. In the 1942 season, he played on the offensive line with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he started in eight games. During the game against the Detroit Lions on November 8, the 5’10”, 216-pound guard scored a spectacular 29-yard fumble recovery touchdown, leading his team to a 34-7 victory. Joe is also a United States veteran. When the 1942 football season ended, he served in the military during World War II.

In 1952, Joe accepted a teaching position at Iona Preparatory School, a private Roman Catholic boys’ school located in New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York. He was also the school’s assistant football coach for five years, and then he was named the head coach in 1957. He held this job until 1961. During his years at Iona, the former football player also coached baseball and worked as the school’s athletic director, and he also taught courses in Latin, history, and health. This accomplished educator retired from teaching and coaching in 1979.

Joe was 80 years old when he passed away on April 22, 1996, in Manhasset, New York. To learn more about him, you can click on SportsLifer Weblog.

Joseph Lamas: a chalkboard champion, certainly.

Spanish teacher and social commentator Lillian Greer Bedichek

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Lillian Greer Bedichek

Lillian Greer Bedichek

Skilled classroom teachers are often recognized for advanced accomplishments in their field. One teacher that fits this description is Lillian Greer Bedichek, a world languages teacher who is known for her contribution to awareness of social issues in the American Southwest.

Lillian was born in 1885 in Keachie, Louisiana, the daughter of James and Virginia Greer. In 1893, her family moved to Waco, Texas, because her father had accepted employment as vice president of Baylor University.

Upon her high school graduation, Lillian enrolled at Baylor, but later she transferred to the University of Texas. There she majored in Greek and minored in Latin. Lillian earned her Bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1903. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of Texas in 1926.

In 1910, Lillian married celebrated naturalist Roy Bedichek. Before her marriage, the young educator taught in Waco public schools, at Grayson College, and in Deming, New Mexico. When she became pregnant with her first child, Lillian took a break from the classroom. Before long, two additional children were born to the couple.

In 1917, Lillian returned to the classroom when she accepted a position as a Spanish teacher at Austin High School. Eventually, she became the chair of the Spanish Department there. She even published a textbook, Mastering Spanish, in 1945.

Outside of the classroom, Lillian joined a network of educators, folklorists, and writers who were active in raising awareness about social and cultural issues of the American Southwest. She contributed to the movement by writing book reviews and publishing articles about life in the Southwest, including her concerns about sharecropping and land ownership. For her efforts, Lillian was recognized in 1965 as an honorary member of the Texas Institute of Letters. In addition, the University of Texas distributes an annual scholarship named in honor of Lillian and her husband.

Lillian passed away in 1971 at the age of 86. She is buried in Eddy Cemetery in the city of Falls, Texas. To learn more about this amazing chalkboard champion, click on Lillian Greer Bedichek.

Mark Zubro: The Chicago teacher who became a best-selling author

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Mark Zubro

Mark Zubro

There are many examples of fine educators who have become successful authors. One of these is Mark Richard Zubro, a junior high school English teacher from Illinois who has earned a name as a celebrated author of bestselling mysteries.

Mark was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on August 9, 1948. When he was 13, his family moved to California, where the young boy was enrolled in Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic high school located in Riverside. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1966. Mark then enrolled in St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1970. Six years later, he earned his Master’s degree in Urban Teacher Education from Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. Mark was a teacher of English at Summit Hill Junior High in Frankfort Square, Illinois, in a career that spanned 34 years. He retired in 2006.

Mark’s novels have settings in the Chicago area of Illinois. His work has been widely praised as fast-paced, featuring engaging plots and well-rounded, personable characters. Typically treating gay themes, Mark’s longest running series features a high school teacher, Tom Mason, and Tom’s boyfriend, a professional baseball player named Scott Carpenter. The other series Mark is well known for is the Paul Turner mysteries, which are about a police detective from Chicago.

For his novel A Simple Suburban Murder, Mark earned a Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men’s Mystery. The Lambda Literary Awards recognize the best books published with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender themes.

You can read more about this talented educator and gifted author in this interview published by the Windy City Times.

 

Julia Richman: The Chalkboard Champion of “throwaway” kids

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Julia Richman

Julia Richman

Just about everyone agrees that a teacher can profoundly influence the lives of the students in his or her classroom. But Julia Richman, an educator, philanthropist, author, and social reformer from New York City, influenced the lives of students in an entire city.

Julia was born October 12, 1855, in New York City, the daughter of German-speaking Jewish immigrants from the Czech Republic. At a young age, Julia made some important decisions about her own future. “I am not pretty…and I am not going to marry,” she once declared, “but before I die, all New York will know my name.”

Julia was determined to become a teacher, a decision her very traditional father vehemently opposed. In the late 1800’s, an eighth grade education was considered sufficient for girls. However, after a protracted battle royal, Julia convinced her father to allow her to pursue her goal of becoming a professional educator. In 1872, Julia realized her dream when she graduated from Hunter College.

Over the next four decades, Julia worked tirelessly as a classroom teacher, principal, school superintendent, and social reformer. Inside the classroom and within her community, she improved the lives of countless newly arrived immigrants, special needs students, and delinquents: the children 19th-century society typically considered “throwaway kids.” This innovative educator tossed away the conventional methods of instruction of her day, and designed model programs that educators from all over the world came to observe. She instituted numerous progressive practices that are still used in public schools today.

When Julia passed away in 1912, the New York City Board of Education ordered the flags of all NYC public schools be flown at half mast in her honor. It appeared that Julia’s prediction as an eleven-year-old had come true: all New York City New her name.

Want to learn more about Julia Richman? I’ve written an entire chapter about this amazing educator in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon or bn.com. Available in print or ebook versions.