[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MABEL HOGGARD

                                 ______


                       HON. BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 1995

  Mrs. VUCANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to take time to honor and 
pay tribute to an individual who spent her life in the service of 
others. In doing so, Mabel Hoggard became a pioneer, both for her race 
and for women. Born on March 10, 1905, in Pueblo, CO, Mabel left her 
home State after high school to attend the University of Tennessee at 
Nashville, then known as Tennessee A&M, to pursue a teaching degree. 
Upon completion, she started teaching in a two-room schoolhouse in the 
coal fields of Jenkins, KY, for $100 a month. Mabel went on to do 
graduate work in education at Chicago University, University of Utah, 
and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
  A lifelong Republican, Mabel was the first black writer for the 
Williamson, West Virginia News and the first black administrative staff 
person for the Williamson Housing Authority. Mabel Hoggard was not to 
be satisfied with these important contributions, however. In 1944, she 
moved to Las Vegas and became the first black teacher in the State of 
Nevada. Mabel spent 25 years with the Clark County School District, 
teaching at a number of schools including Matt Kelly, Highland, 
Westside, and C. V.T. Gilbert. In 1975, the Board of Trustees honored 
her by changing the name of the former Bonanza Elementary to the Mabel 
Hoggard School. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1977, awarded 
Mabel the ``Outstanding Citizen'' award.
  Mr. Speaker, Mabel Hoggard was a true pioneer in the great spirit of 
Nevada and we honor her memory today as an inspiration not only for 
Nevadans, but all Americans.

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