Claris Glick

Claris Glick

Claris was a high school English teacher, who early in her career took time off from teaching to work as a typist for the FBI in Washington, D.C.; as an airport traffic controller in Shreveport, LA and Austin, TX and as a reporter for newspapers in Temple, Abilene, and San Angelo, TX. She obviously enjoyed new adventures.

Claris’ father, Walter R. Glick, was Dean of Texas Wesleyan College, and was recruited to be the first superintendent in Munich, Germany when the military’s overseas schools opened in 1946. Claris went along, and was assigned as an English teacher at Nürnberg HS. Her stepmother, Marie, followed later, teaching at the Munich HS.

“Although the school was thought of in connection with Nürnberg, the city itself was too badly bombed for us to live there. The teachers were housed in a large private house in Erlangen, about 20 miles from Nürnberg. The train
took us to Nürnberg daily. The military drove us to the train in jeeps.

“The students were all bused to school. Besides having students of Army personnel, there were children of the judges and U.S. workers at the Nürnberg War Crimes trials. It was a diverse, interesting group. HS students attended the trials as part of their studies.

“After that very cold year, I missed the Texas sunshine, and returned to the US via ship. As soon as I hit Texas, I knew I wanted to go back to Germany, so I began applying for a second stint. Two years later, in 1949, I was back in Nürnberg, where the teachers were now quartered at the Grand Hotel, just across from the Bahnhof. We could go right across the street to begin our holiday travels. We taught in Fürth in a German school building.

“During my last year there, the teachers were moved to new quarters to live in Fürth, and to new school buildings. Ungratefully, I liked the German buildings better.”

Claris left Nürnberg in 1951, returning to Austin, TX to work on her Ph.D., which she earned in 1956. She then taught in universities in North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Saskatchewan and Texas. Being overseas for a total of three years gave Claris a real urge to continue traveling, and she did, visiting countries all around the world.

Claris is now in her 80’s, living in Fort Worth, TX. She has Parkinson’s Disease, but recalls her adventurous life as “fun”!

The paver honoring Claris and the other early educators can also be viewed by returning to the alpha roster and highlighting The Magnificent Seven.

Prepared from her memories by Claris Glick, written June 2000.