Oveta culp hobby short biography

She was named for a character in a novel her mother liked, reportedly based on an American Indian word for "forget. Hobby grew up in an atmosphere charged with politics and ambition. As a child, she read the Congressional Record aloud to her father, learning the lessons of power early. Her childhood aspirations, however, favored a career as a foreign missionary or actress.

She displayed self-confidence from an early age. Before a sixth-grade spelling contest, Oveta advised her teacher to go ahead and inscribe her name in the Bible that would be her prize because she knew she would win. She did. Oveta's parents were both active in state politics. As a teenager, Oveta would accompany her father to the state capitol at Austin to observe him taking part in the legislative sessions.

When William Pettus Hobby ran for governor in , the Culps left Oveta and her sister at home to can peaches while they campaigned, never dreaming that it was Oveta's future husband they were helping put into the highest state office. Up to her elbows in peaches and syrup on a hot summer afternoon, a year-old Oveta had little affection for the candidate.

She revealed her continued interest in state politics by moving to the capital at Austin to take a job codifying state banking laws, while her mother believed her to be attending law school at the University of Texas. In , she was 22 when Speaker Robert Lee Bobbitt appointed her parliamentarian for the Texas House of Representatives , a job she would hold until During the presidential campaign, she served as chair of the Smith-Robinson League of First Voters and executive secretary of the Women's Democratic League of Houston.

In , at age 24, she made an unsuccessful attempt at elective office, running to represent Harris County in the state legislature. She was 26 and his second wife. When Ross Sterling ran for governor that year, Oveta worked on the campaign, undeterred by a broken arm and ankle sustained in a fall from a horse. Meanwhile, Oveta joined the staff of the Post-Dispatch and spent her first six months studying newspaper formats and cleaning out old files.

By the end of the year, she had progressed to the position of book editor and become state president of the League of Women Voters. After three years, she was writing editorials for the Post-Dispatch, as well as writing a syndicated column about parliamentary procedure. She also wrote a series of articles on various subjects, including one on social welfare , inspired by her appointment to the State Committee for Human Security, an organization for assisting needy blind and dependent children.

In December , J. Josey, a Beaumont businessman reportedly acting for Houston banker Jesse Jones, purchased the Post-Dispatch from Governor Ross Sterling and announced that Will Hobby would assume the roles of both president and publisher of the newspaper. Will Hobby dropped the Dispatch, returning the Houston Post to its former name. The couple called him "Bill" to distinguish him from his father.

Oveta continued her private pursuits, collecting Georgian silver and rare books, and taking roles in amateur theatricals put on at The Alley. Not long after Bill's birth, a fire destroyed the Hobby home while Will was away. Within Houston's powerful social elite, the Hobbys were part of the "8-F Crowd," a group which met in a suite kept at the Lamar Hotel by the wealthy Brown brothers, George and Henry.

Depending on whose interests were served, the Browns were seen either as "master builders" or "puppet masters, who for their own financial gain, pulled the strings of politicians. Cullinan home in the exclusive neighborhood of Shadyside became an example of the magnitude of the wealth and power controlled by the group. After hiring architect John Staub to renovate the place, Oveta lost interest when the removal of certain walls proved unfeasible.

She suggested that it be turned into a meeting place for the nearby Texas Medical Center. Neighbors vigorously objected and obtained a restraining order. Not one to tolerate opposition, Oveta simply had the house demolished and donated the grounds to Rice University. In , when President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Texas to celebrate the state's centennial, Hobby played host to Eleanor Roosevelt on a yacht trip down the Houston ship channel, then they traveled with Post owner Jesse Jones to Dallas for the centennial celebration.

When the Hobbys were returning to Houston, their private plane burst into flames, went into a dive, and ended in a crash that left two dead. Afterward, the Hobbys agreed never to fly together again. In , again on her own birthday, Oveta gave birth to a daughter, Jessica Oveta Hobby , named for herself and Post owner Jesse Jones. The Hobbys were recognized cultural leaders, helping to found the Houston Symphony Orchestra and generously funding the new University of Houston.

Oveta culp hobby short biography

Oveta also continued to edit the book page after she was made assistant editor. As her reputation extended beyond Texas, she was appointed to the national advisory committee for women at the New York World's Fair. Although she never completed a university degree, she was recognized by a number of higher education institutions for her great contributions to the nation.

Hobby was given honorary degrees by universities including Columbia University, Smith College, and the University of Pennsylvania. Yellin, Emily. McEuen, Melissa A. Accessed July 14, Central Texas College. Hobby, Jr. Accessed July 25, Post Office. Wagner, Donald. MLA - Spring, Kelly. National Women's History Museum, Date accessed. Chicago - Spring, Kelly.

Image Credit: Library of Congress. OTR Network Library. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American businesswoman and government official — Hobby while director of the Women's Army Corps , c. William P. Early life [ edit ]. War service [ edit ]. Political career [ edit ]. Personal life and family [ edit ].

Legacy [ edit ]. Sources [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Further reading [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Retrieved Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN OCLC Army Center of Military History". Washington, D. Army Center of Military History. New York: Columbia University Press. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Eisenhower in War and Peace. New York: Random House.

Tucson Daily Citizen. External links [ edit ]. Erich von Manstein. Jimmy Durante. Oscar Ewing. Marion Folsom. United States secretaries of health and human services. Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower — Richard Nixon — John Foster Dulles — Christian Herter — George M. Hobby, Jr. Death dates have been added where needed. Bio Oveta Culp Hobby, publisher of the Houston Post, began her career of public service at age 20 when she became the first woman parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives.

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