O.C. Fisher

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, the story of O.C. Fisher, straight out of Kimble County. Now, some men seem like they were born for exactly one thing.

Ovie Clark Fisher got born for about four of them, all at once, right there on a Kimble County ranch. The year was 1903. Jobe and Rhoda Clark Fisher welcomed a son into the world on that ranch, and that boy, who'd go by O.C. for the rest of his days, was going to leave a mark on just about every room he ever walked into.

He graduated from Junction High School, which tells you he grew up in this very county, and then he went off to Baylor University and came back with a law degree. A man armed with Texas roots and a law degree is a particular kind of dangerous. In 1927, O.C. married Marian DeWalsh, and together they'd have one daughter.

He wasn't wasting any time building a life, because by 1931 he was already serving as Tom Green County Attorney, a post he'd hold until 1935. From there it was State Representative, then District Attorney. You can see the pattern.

The man was climbing, and he wasn't in any hurry to stop. Then came 1942. O.C.

Fisher was elected to the United States Congress, and west Texas sent him back, again, and again, and again, for nearly thirty-two years. Nearly thirty-two years. That's not a career in Congress.

That's a residency. And here's what makes O.C. Fisher something rarer than just a politician: the man could write.

He was a prolific author, and he'd already proven it before Congress ever called. Back in 1937 he compiled oral interviews for a work titled it occurred in Kimble, and how, gathering voices and stories right out of this very county. And over the years he went on to write several books about Texas history and his life in politics.

A lawyer who listens, a congressman who remembers, and a writer who gets it all down, that's a combination you don't come across every generation. When it was all said and done, O.C. and Marian came home. They're buried at Junction Cemetery, not far, really, from the ranch where that boy was born in 1903.

The marker's here in Kimble County, and so is the whole story.

What the marker says

Author, attorney and politician Ovie Clark Fisher (1903-1994) was born at the Kimble County Ranch Home of his parents, Jobe and Rhoda (Clark) Fisher. He graduated from Junction High School and received a law degree from Baylor University. He married Marian DeWalsh in 1927, and the couple had one daughter. O.C. was Tom Green County Attorney from 1931-35 before serving as State Representative and then District Attorney. In 1942 he was elected to the U.S. Congress, and represented west Texas for nearly 32 years. A prolific author, he compiled oral interviews for it occurred in Kimble, and how (1937), and wrote several books about Texas history and his life in politics. He and his wife are buried at Junction Cemetery. (2017)