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TSC Honors Margaret M. Clark
Margaret Elizabeth Monroe Clark has been given grand titles such as “The Mother of Swimming” in Brownsville. A multi-million-dollar aquatics complex has been named in her honor. But to three generations of Brownsville residents, this diminutive bundle of physical energy is best known as the lady who helped them earn their “Tadpole.” Clark, a Valley teaching institution since 1930, was honored again this spring as UTB/TSC’s Distinguished Alumnus. It’s only the latest honor bestowed upon this retired school teacher who also taught thousands of Brownsville boys and girls how to survive in the water. “I’ve probably helped save a lot of lives by teaching a lot of people to swim,” said Clark, 90, who is still leading aquatics classes for seniors to this day. “I think the thing I’d like people to remember about me is the number of children I’ve taught to swim. Many of them now have grandchildren and we’ve taught them to swim too.” Although she barely remembers the time she spent as a student back in 1949, at Texas Southmost College, she has a message for today’s graduates: “You’ve gotten your education here and you need to give something back to the community, some way.”
Clark has been giving to her community since 1930, when she began giving swimming lessons in the pools and resacas around Brownsville. Those lessons were to continue until 1988, except for a brief period after her marriage to the late Kenneth Clark, her high school beau, when she traveled and lived with him in Brazil. Over the years, Clark’s graduated levels of training – Tadpole to the coveted Seahorse – became the language of swimming accomplishment in Brownsville. Clark became certified by the American Red Cross, and organized “Learn to Swim” programs in the city. Quite different than Clark’s own memories of learning to swim, at the behest of her beloved grandmother. “We just waded into the resaca right there near Valley International Country Club. She grabbed one of us by the back of the swimsuit in one hand and the other by the other hand and said, ‘Kick and paddle!’ ” and that’s the way we learned to swim. Very unorthodox.” Clark recalls her grandmother as one who always stressed the importance of education. “My grandmother was determined that we should go to college. She was a big influence on me,” Clark recalled. “She was a very strong woman and very much ahead of her time.” Not a bad description of Clark herself. A native of New Orleans, Clark moved to the Valley at an early age. She attended Brownsville schools, including the junior college that would become UTB/TSC. She attended the University of Texas and graduated from Texas Women’s University in 1931 with – almost by accident -- a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. Too short for basketball and volleyball, she preferred swimming and archery. Clark was also a longtime schoolteacher. In 1931, she started as a third-grade teacher and taught a number of grades and subjects over the years – including history and English, as well as physical education. Clark also taught one year at TSC and was principal for six years at the Episcopal Day School. From 1974 until her retirement in 1981, she served as Elementary Physical Education Coordinator for the Brownsville school district. Amongst her other community activities, Clark in 1937 organized the first girls’ drum and bugle corps and drill team for Brownsville High School. In 1964, she also organized the Eaglettes drill team, the football half-time performing group at Brownsville High. Active in the Girl Scouts, Clark was instrumental in bringing the organization to Brownsville in the 1940s. She served as a troop leader, camp chairman and as an executive of the Tip of Texas Girl Scout Council. Before her retirement, the American Red Cross, the Rotary Club, and the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation honored her life’s work. In 1989, J.C. Penney gave her its “Spirit of the American Woman” award. In May, she was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
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