CL Harkins

Clifton "Cliff" Lee Harkins (born December 8, 1907 in Roscoe , Texas , † April 1992 in Chandler , Arizona ) was an American teacher, officer and politician ( Democratic Party ).

Career

Cliff Harkins, son of Kenneth Stewart Harkins (1881-1960) and his wife Bessie Ellen (1879-1976; maiden name: Strickland), was born in 1907 in Roscoe (Texas). Roscoe is a small town about eight Miles west of Sweetwater ( Nolan County ) and 50 miles west of Abilene ( Taylor County is located). His father worked as a haulage contractor and as a peace officer in Roscoe. When Harkins was four years old, the family moved from west Texas to central Texas in a covered wagon . The family lived on a large farm near the small town of Hewitt , about eight or ten miles away from Waco ( McLennan County ). Harkins had nine brothers and sisters. Everyone had to help out on the farm. The family grew corn, cotton, wheat, oats, and vegetables. From 1915 to 1925, Harkins attended the only local school in Hewitt. He was seventeen and a half years old when he graduated. He was left handed . During his school days a teacher made an unsuccessful attempt to change this.

At the time of his graduation, the family was in financial crisis. It was the early 1920s after the boom after the First World War . In the following years the family worked as a cotton harvester in East Texas . They stopped in Commerce ( Hunt County ) on their tour . Harkins decided to go to East Texas State College to become a teacher. During that time you could teach in Texas if you graduated from a high school . After graduating, he left the family in September 1925. Harkins got a job at a college. In the following years he lived with a roommate in a garage apartment. He also worked as a janitor in a Presbyterian church to cover his expenses. In the spring of 1926 he gave up his job as a teacher and went on a hiking tour. He returned home in the summer of 1926. Since the family's financial situation had not improved by then, they moved back to West Texas in 1926. The family settled in Anson ( Jones County down), about 25 miles north of Abilene. Harkins stayed on the farm with his parents through the fall 1926 season. Around Christmas 1926 he moved to around Kingsville ( Kleberg County ), where his older sister lived. In January 1927, he enrolled at South Texas State Teachers College in Kingsville. Harkins then moved back to West Texas, where he stayed for a short time. Then he went to California . In August 1927 he passed through Arizona and spent a night in the desert. He slept under a Mesquite near the prison in Florence ( Pinal County ). In 1955 he was on the parole board for that prison. Harkins worked in the California oil fields for six months in order to create a financial cushion. In January 1928 he went to the University of Texas . Harkins spent a semester there until he ran out of money again. In the summer of 1928 he went back to California to work in the oil fields. Harkins worked the night shift to attend Fullerton Junior College during the day. He graduated there in January 1930. Shortly thereafter, he lost his job because of the global economic crisis . He then moved back to Texas. The end of May 1930, he went to Flagstaff ( Coconino County ). He graduated from Arizona State Teacher's College with a degree in education . During his student days he played cribbage for two years . After graduating from Arizona State Teacher's College, he taught at a schoolhouse near McNary ( Apache County ). In 1931 he moved to Yuma County for a position at Weldon Elementary School . He lived there for five years and was most recently active as a principal . In 1936 he successfully ran for the post of Yuma County School Superintendent. Harkins held the post for two years. During that time, he served on the Arizona Education Committee for two years. He was then during the school year 1942/1943 principal at the Greenway School in Bisbee (Arizona).

During the Second World War he entered the US Navy in 1943 with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade . He served there for three years. When he left the US Navy, he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander .

He then returned to Greenway School for a short time. He then became a sales representative in the United States Office of Education , where he was responsible for assigning war surplus supplies to schools in Arizona. In 1947 he became the Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction of Arizona under Linne D. Klemmedson . Harkins resigned after a short time because of his low salary. He then went to work for the Winston Company , a school book publisher. In June 1949 he became the superintendent of Madison School District in Phoenix ( Maricopa County appointed). During his tenure, the number of enrollments rose from around 1,500 to around 3,700 students and three new school buildings were built. Harkins earned a master's degree from Arizona State College , Tempe in 1951 and a doctorate in education from Arizona State University , Tempe in 1960 .

In 1954 he successfully ran for the post of Superintendent of Public Instruction of Arizona. In his re-election in 1956, he suffered a defeat against his predecessor ML Brooks . Harkins left office in early 1957. In 1974 he ran unsuccessfully in the 27th Senate District for the Senate of Arizona .

After his death in April 1992, he was buried in the Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale, Arizona.

literature

• Bury, John Charles: The Historical Role Of Arizona's Superintendent Of Public Instruction , Volume 2, Northern Arizona University, December 1974, pp. 506-539

Web links

• CL Harkins in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• CL Harkins on the ElectionsInfo website