42 Years of Teaching - Miss Grace Minter

Miss Grace Minter was born on 23 November 1898 in Pine Forest, Texas. She was the second child of Dr. Guy Z Minter - Margie Penn. Grace Minter attended school in Pine Forest and then graduated in 1919 from Denton High School in Denton, Texas.

In the fall of 1919, she enrolled in the College of Industrial Arts [now known as Texas Woman's University]. Grace Minter was involved in many activities in college. She was a member of the Dramatic Art Club, Debate Club, and Chaparral Literary Club. She graduated in 1923 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Literary Interpretation. After graduation, she returned home to Pine Forest and began teaching school in the fall of 1923 in Sulphur Springs. In the summer of 1925, she returned to do post-graduate work in Dramatic Art at C.I.A. in Denton.

By the summer of 1926, Grace Minter and her sister, Gretta Minter took a trip to Dallas, Houston, and Galveston. Together, the two women went to Graham, Texas in August to teach school. Gretta Minter was teaching the second grade and Grace Minter was teaching the third grade. Both women would teach in Graham until the summer of 1930. Miss Gretta Minter would marry sometime between the fall of 1930 and 1935, In March of 1936, Grace Minter went to visit her sister, Mrs. Gretta Foster who was living in Lamesa. In 1937, Miss Grace Minter was now teaching the fourth grade in the Shawnee Ward school in Graham. She was an active member of the East Side Church of Christ in Graham.

In the summer of 1938, Miss Grace Minter spent the summer at the Girl Scout Camp in Luzerne, New York. She returned to Graham in the fall to teach and enlisted the help of two other single teachers in Graham to start three Girl Scout Troops.

Miss Grace Minter had been teaching elementary school in Graham for 16 years when she became the Principal at Shawnee Elementary school in 1942. Desperate for teachers, Miss Grace Minter was the principal of the school and taught the 5th grade at the same time. In 1948, she bought her first house in Graham in the Estes Park Addition. She sold the house in 1972.

Miss Grace Minter returned to Sulphur Springs during the summer to spend time with her mother. It was a sad return in 1949 when she returned for the funeral of her sister, Mrs. Gretta Foster of Sulphur Springs.

By the summer of 1953, Miss Grace Minter, and three other single teachers toured the western part of the United States and parts of Canada for six weeks. She returned to Graham in the fall to continue teaching as well as being the principal. In 1954, Miss Minter decided to resign as principal so she could be a teacher. The faculty presented her with a pewter tea and coffee service with the following note: "We the teachers of Shawnee School, wish to express our appreciation to Miss Minter for her fairness in dealing with teachers and pupils; for her effort and ability to understand our problems; for her thoughtfulness. We appreciate her willingness to share part of the tedious duties that mark our calling." Miss Grace Minter began the 1953 school year teaching the 5th grade, the same grade she would teach until her retirement.

In the summer of 1958, Miss Grace Minter started a new hobby, she studied art. Miss Minter found great pleasure in her art work. The Hopkins County Echo newspaper details stories of Miss Minter showcasing her art at county fairs and other venues. She decided she wanted to pass on what she had been taught to her 5th grade children in her room. Beginning in 1958, she had her children create pictures in pastels [colored chalk] to give to their mothers on Mother's Day. Miss Minter would display those works of art in the windows of the downtown stores until it was time to give them away to their mother.

By the spring of 1966, Miss Grace Minter announced her retirement from teaching school after a total of 42 years, with 40 of those years in Graham. She was honored by a reception of 100 students, teachers, and friends in the Shawnee School auditorium. She continued to live in Graham but decided to return to Sulphur Springs in the spring of 1968, just two years before the passing of her mother. Miss Grace Minter would return many times to Graham for special events. She was much beloved by the people of Graham.

On 31 March 1993, Miss Grace Minter passed away in the Leisure Lodge Nursing Home in Sulphur Springs, at the age of 94. She was a member of the National Alumnae Association of Texas Woman's Association and the League Street Church of Christ. Her service was held in the Tapp Funeral Home officiated by Clyde Shrode, the local minister. Survivors include her brother - Marlin Minter. Miss Grace Minter had been preceded in death by her parents, two sisters - Gretta Foster and Hazel Minter, and one brother - Forrest Minter.

Her scrapbook from her high school and college years can be seen here.