DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'm just the voice it found. Now, some people leave a mark on a place. And then there's Clara Driscoll, who saved the most famous place in all of Texas before most folks had finished their morning coffee on the matter.
She came into this world on April 2, 1881, at St. Mary's in Refugio County. Her father was Robert Driscoll, her mother Julia Fox Driscoll, and somewhere back in the family tree stood a hero of San Jacinto.
She was educated in Texas, in New York, and in France — which tells you right there that the world was never going to be too big for Clara Driscoll. But 1903. That's the year the marker calls her finest hour, and it does not use those words lightly.
Word got out that The Alamo — the shrine, the sacred ground of San Antonio — was facing destruction. The public was shocked. People were outraged.
And while others were still working up to being outraged, Clara Driscoll went and bought it. Bought The Alamo. To give the State of Texas time to redeem it and preserve it.
She didn't wait for a committee. She didn't wait for a vote. She reached into her own pocket and said: not today.
And that wasn't even all she had going on. In 1905 and 1906 she published two novels — The Girl of La Gloria and In the Shadow of the Alamo. And right around that same stretch of time, she had a musical comedy running on Broadway.
On Broadway. It was called Mexicana. The woman was writing novels, saving landmarks, and putting productions on the New York stage, more or less simultaneously.
Some people have range. In 1922 she organized the Pan-American Round Table in Austin. She served as Democratic National Committeewoman from Texas from 1928 all the way through 1944.
She held the presidency of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Big Bend Park Association, and the Corpus Christi Bank and Trust Company. That's not a résumé. That's a small civilization.
And she gave. She gave generously and she gave specifically. This very building — the headquarters of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs — stands debt-free because in 1939 Clara Driscoll wrote a check for ninety-two thousand dollars and cleared what was owed against it.
In 1943 she gave her home, Laguna Gloria, to the Texas Fine Arts Association to be used as a museum. She died in Corpus Christi on July 17, 1945. And even in death, she kept giving — the bulk of her estate went to a foundation for the care of crippled and diseased children.
Patriot, philanthropist, writer, public figure. That's how the marker opens. But here's the thing about Clara Driscoll: she didn't just carry those titles.
She earned every last one of them, and then went back for more.
What the marker says
(April 2, 1881 - July 17, 1945) Patriot, philanthropist, writer, public figure. Born at St.Mary's, Refugio County; daughter of Robert and Julia Fox Driscoll, and descendant of a hero of San Jacinto; was educated in Texas, New York and France. In 1903 came her finest hour. When the public was shocked at plans for destroying The Alamo in San Antonio, she saved the shrine by buying it to give the State of Texas time to redeem and preserve it. In 1905-06 she published two novels, "The Girl of La Gloria" and "In The Shadow of The Alamo", and had on Broadway a musical comedy, "Mexicana". In 1922 organized the Pan-American Round Table in Austin; served as Democratic National Committee woman from Texas,1928-1944; was president of Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Big Bend Park Association, and Corpus Christi Bank and Trust Company. This headquarters building of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs is a monument to her generosity, for her 1939 gift of $92,000 paid off debts against it. In 1943 she gave her home, Laguna Gloria, to the Texas Fine Arts Association, for a museum. She died in Corpus Christi, leaving the bulk of her estate to a foundation for the care of crippled and diseased children. Outstanding Women of Texas Series, 1967