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Texas teacher Margaret Clark Formby founded Cowgirl Hall of Fame
English teacher Margaret Clark Formby, a genuine cowgirl, founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas. Photo credit: The Portal to Texas History
Not many teachers can describe themselves as genuine cowgirls, but one who can is a Texas English teacher named Margaret Clark Formby. This remarkable educator is best-known for founding the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas.
Margaret was born in 1929 in Van Horn in Culberson County, Texas, a small town east of El Paso. She was the daughter of Fred and Mabel Clark, local ranchers. As a young woman, Margaret attended Van Horn High School, where she graduated in 1946, the salutatorian of her class. Following her high school graduation, Margaret enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Speech in 1950. After her college graduation, she accepted her first teaching position at Hereford High School in Hereford, Deaf Smith County, before relocating to a school in Fort Worth, Texas.
As a young woman growing up in a Western environment, Margaret believed it was important to have women recognized for their many contributions to Western culture. To this end, she founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Hereford. The museum was originally located in the basement of the local public library, but was later moved to a building in Fort Worth. Margaret also worked as the editor of Sidesaddle, the official magazine of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
In addition to cultural preservation, Margaret labored tirelessly to create better conditions for young people. She was one of two women in Texas who was named to a commission to investigate child pornography. She also served on a committee sponsored by the Texas House Speaker that researched teen pregnancy.
During her lifetime, Margaret earned many accolades for her work. In 1993, the talented educator was the first woman elected to Texas Tech University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame. In 2000, her name was added to the list of “100 That Made a Difference: History Makers of the High Plains by the Amarillo Globe News. She also received the Pioneer Woman Award from the American Cowboy Culture Society.
Margaret Formby passed away on April 10, 2003, at the age of 73. She will forever be remembered as a hardworking educator who worked tirelessly to preserve an important part of our Western heritage.
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During Women’s History Month, we recognize America’s pioneer schoolteachers
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to pay homage today to our country’s pioneer schoolteachers. America’s Wild West was tamed in part due to the talented and dedicated women who served as frontier schoolteachers.
The pioneering women who became teachers during this period of our nation’s history were indeed a special breed. At the turn of the century, females were expected to be dependent upon their husbands, fathers, or other male relatives. It was extremely unusual, and not at all encouraged, for a woman to support herself and function independently. Nevertheless, many intelligent and self-reliant women in search of personal freedom and adventure joined the Westward movement as schoolmarms.
The stereotype of a frontier schoolteacher was that of an unattractive spinster or a prim and proper young miss. In reality, she was often neither of those. Many of these ladies came from influential and affluent Eastern families. A few were filled with burning ambition, and others were seeking a better life, and perhaps some were seeking a husband of like mind. In general, though, they were dedicated practitioners of their profession. Despite primitive working conditions, uninviting classrooms, low wages, and overwork, these stalwart women introduced literacy, culture, and morality to the roughneck communities they served. A few of these teachers became missionaries, others became suffragettes, and one of them—Jeannette Rankin of Montana—even went on to become the first woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives!
Our society owes these frontier schoolmarms a great debt. Read more about pioneering teachers in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available through amazon.com or Amazon. Enjoy!
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Science teacher Soichi Sakamoto coached Olympic swimmers
Former sixth grade science teacher Soichi Sakamoto from Maui, Hawaii, became a swim coach to Olympic swimmers. Photo credit: Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation
Many fine classroom teachers also earn acclaim as athletic coaches. One of these is Soichi Sakamoto, a science teacher who also became a swim coach to Olympian athletes.
Soichi was born on August 6, 1906. In the late 1930’s, he taught sixth grade science and health at Puunene School on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The school was built in 1922 on ten acres of land donated by the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company.
At first, Soichi didn’t know anything about coaching a swim team, and his team members consisted of the children of poor sugar plantation workers. Nevertheless, the inventive teacher established the Three-Year Swim Cub in 1937. His goal was to guide his athletes to the Olympics within three years. The indefatigable coach was able to achieve his goal of creating a team that qualified for the US Olympic team; however, the 1940 Summer Games were cancelled because of the outbreak of World War II.
To get his student athletes to their goal, the innovative coach developed a training regimen involving the use of interval training. As a form of resistance training, Soichi used area irrigation ditches to train his athletes to swim against the current. In addition, he used pulleys and weights to build upper body strength in his young swimmers, also an innovation for the times.
Eventually, Soichi became the Swim Coach at the University of Hawaii, where he served from 1946 to 1961. He also served as an Assistant Coach for the US Olympic Swim Team from 1952 to 1956. Over the course of Soichi’s career, many of his athletes competed in the Olympics, where they earned gold, silver, and bronze medals.
For his work as a swim coach, Soichi earned international accolades. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, and the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Sports Circle of Honor at the University of Hawaii.
This superlative coach passed away on Sept. 29, 1997. He was 91 years old. To document the story of this Chalkboard Champion, a book detailing his life and career was written by Julia Checkoway. The biography, published in 2015, was entitled The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory. The volume is available on Amazon.com. You could also read this 2003 article published abut him in the Star Bulletin.
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Elem educator Megan Johnson named Indiana’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year
Elementary teacher Megan Johnson of Plainfield, Indiana, has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Indiana Department of Education
It is always exciting to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Megan Johnson, an elementary teacher from Indiana. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.
Megan teaches fourth grade at Central elementary School in Plainfield. Her career as an educator spans 18 years. In her classroom, Megan creates lessons that encourage student-centered learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and connections to real-world issues. She also leads efforts to implement evidence-based reading and writing strategies.
To Megan, reading competency is of paramount importance. “Research has shown that if a fourth grader does not have the necessary pillars in place to read well, their chances of success after high school are slim,” she declares. “I cannot let students leave my classroom without an opportunity to succeed.” To help students increase their reading skills, Megan uses learning bags filled with active tools, such as color-changing pens and sensory objects, to help students build literary competency.
Megan reveals she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, she loved school. She remembers that her teachers helped her build confidence and discover her talents, despite being a student who often blended in, she continues. “I realized that what I loved most was the relationships and the sense of belonging that school created,” she says. “I knew I wanted to be part of giving that same experience to my own students one day,” she concludes.
Megan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Ball State University in 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition, she has earned an endorsement in Early Literacy.
Read more about Megan Johnson in this article published by Town Post Network.
