Born in Liberty Hill, Ruby Forbes Wykes left and became widely-known educator

BY JAMES WEAR COLUMNIST

In my years of reporting the news of Liberty Hill, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet many women who were shining examples of success in their chosen field, despite facing hardship and many other obstacles along the way. Many of these women were not born and reared here, but after moving to Liberty Hill were certainly accepted by the community…both the late Gloria Myers and Louine Noble come immediately to mind.

But today we are going to share some information we recently came across about a young girl who was born in Liberty Hill, in a log cabin no less, back in 1895…and who would leave in the early 1900s to pursue challenges in New Mexico.

Ruby Forbes Wykes was raised by her aunt, Beulah Forbes Smith of Lampasas, after her mother, stricken with illness, was unable to care for her. Ruby’s father, John, died during Ruby’s infancy. Ruby was a student at Liberty Hill until her mother, having regained her health and custody of Ruby, decided she and Ruby would move to New Mexico. There, Ruby would graduate from Roswell High and at age 17, while living in a dugout, homesteaded 320 acres… and taught school. She soon claimed another 320 acres, all the while as she continued teaching.

Historians say Ruby attended 12 universities over a 38-year period as she managed to meet the ever-changing requirements to teach. She would eventually earn her Bachelor’s degree in 1948.

By the time she had reached her 17th birthday, Ruby Forbes Wykes (above) was overseeing 320 acres of land in New Mexico. (Below) Ruby Forbes Wykes, at far right, pictured with her students in New Mexico in the early 1900s. (Courtesy Photos)

In 1920, Ruby married Edward Wykes from Oakalla, Texas. The couple remained together until death claimed Edward in 1973. Along the way they raised four daughters.

Ruby passed away in December 1983, at the age of 88. She had spent 52 years of her life as a teacher, including a stint at Quanah, Texas. Perhaps it is only fitting that her grave marker includes the notation, “A Seeker of Knowledge.”

Camps

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The cost for the week-long camp is $1,980. For more information on Iron Horse, visit ironhorsecountry.com.

The Clubhouse Camp

Honing in on baseball and softball skills is the focus at The Clubhouse, where weeklong summer camps give kids a healthy dose of the game.

A new location for The Clubhouse this summer is allowing the baseball and softball training facility a chance to expand its offerings, which will be reflected in this year’s upcoming camps, said owner Cory Patton.

“We will keep giving the opportunity for baseball and softball training in this community as much as we can, but now with more space, there is so much more we can do as far as taking it to other sports, particularly wrestling and football. Multi-sport athletes are really important, because you can bring stuff you know from other sports into what you’re learning.”

So far, Patton has plans to host a weeklong camp each month of the summer, but may add on more camps if there’s enough interest. He tries to keep the headcount at each camp to 25 kids at the most and will include kids up through high school.

“The camps run Monday through Thursday for about four to five hours each day,” he added. “We will work on hitting routines in the morning and fielding routines in the afternoon. We also add in strength and agility throughout the week. On the last day of camp, we always finish it up with a whiffle ball game, which the kids really look forward to.”

The Clubhouse’s space is increasing by four to five acres at its new location, so a lot more will go into future camps, Patton said, adding that he’s not sure what the camps will look like yet, but that they’ll be able to delve deeper into a lot more of the skills multi-sport athletes need to compete at a high level.

The new location of The Clubhouse is estimated to open May 1 at 1575 CR 279 in Liberty Hill. Prices for the summer camps range from $250 to $300 per week. For more information, visit theclubhouselh. com.