Her dad took time off from
his job with AT&T to intro-
duce his daughters to local
exploration. Linda’s early
memories are of always being
outdoors, playing games, being
in the woods or swimming. She
had an early interest in sports,
particularly volleyball, and by
junior high school was also
becoming interested in biology
and journalism. She edited her
high school’s year book. She
remembers around that time
picking up Golden’s Field Guide to
Birds and the thrill of recogniz-
ing the indigo bunting.
In 1977, after graduating
from Independence’s William
Chrisman High School, Linda
made a decision, supported by
her parents, neither of whom
had college degrees, to take a
job. She joined the Hartford
Insurance Company and was
soon promoted from reception-
ist to claims supervisor. While
still working, she enrolled at the
University of Missouri –
Kansas City and graduated in
1987 with a B.A. in liberal arts.
An early marriage to her
high school sweetheart, Mike
George, ended in divorce in
1988. Linda’s parents and the
parents of David Hedges, who
lived just across the state line in
Lake Quivira, Kan., had long
been friends. Linda and David
married on Feb. 14, 1989 in
Independence.
Dave took early retirement
from AT&T at the end of 1990,
and the couple took an extend-
ed honeymoon of three years,
touring the United States in an
RV, concentrating on national
and state parks. Their itinerary
included Davis Mountains
State Park, where they partici-
pated in Kelly Bryan’s bird-
banding program. They were
invited back in 1994.
The Fort Davis area felt like
home, Linda recalls. Linda and
David bought land in Limpia
Crossing and built an adobe
home. From 1995 to 1996
Linda worked at Sul Ross State
University as a graduate assis-
tant in the herbarium and later
as department secretary, while
studying under Dr. Michael
Powell. She graduated from
Sul Ross in 1997 with an M.S.
in biology.
In 1997 she was hired by
Kelly Bryan to do inventory
work in Texas Parks and
Wildlife’s natural resources
department. In 2002 a new
Parks and Wildlife program for
interpretive specialists was
formed, and Linda was picked
for the Big Bend region. She
enjoys every day of work,
believing deeply that helping
make the public aware of our
natural world is especially rele-
vant and meaningful today.
Besides her professional job
as the bright, active face of
Texas Parks and Wildlife,
Linda is usually busy elsewhere
when not at work. She main-
tains a vegetable garden, is part
of a supper club and a book
discussion group, is a competi-
tive Scrabble player and is now
a keen cyclist.
ELIDIA POLANCO
Elidia Chavarria was born
on Aug. 11, 1945 in Alpine. Her
father, Cecilio, worked as a
ranch hand, and her mother,
Catalina, ran the home and
also cleaned houses. A sister,
Janie Lee, who lives in Alpine,
and a brother, Bobbie, who is
deceased, completed the family.
The family home was across
from famous Green Café run
by the Gallego family. It was
Pete A. Gallego who instilled in
young Elidia, and in other
teenagers on Alpine’s South
Side, the need for an educa-
tion. This was a time when seg-
regation was still in force. She
did not forget the message.
She went to the Centennial
School, then switched to the
high school for four years and
graduated in 1965. Her inter-
ests tended towards sports,
especially basketball. In the
classroom, history teacher
Mrs.Urango was her mentor.
She worked part-time as a
shampoo girl in a local beauty
salon, giving her some income
and a feel for that business.
In 1965, after a six-month
beauticians training course in
El Paso, she was ready, at age
20, and set up by her mother, to
start her own business, Elidia’s
Beauty Shop. She continued
giving beauty treatments long
after retiring from teaching.
In 1966 she met Robert Lee
Polanco at a dance. They dated
for two years and married on
Aug. 17, 1968. Their daughter,
Jo Cadena, is a teacher in
Spring, Texas, and son Robert
Lee Polanco Jr. works for the
City of Alpine. Both are married
with a total of seven children.
At Sul Ross Elidia earned a
B.S. (in physical education,
minor in Spanish) and later a
M.A. in education. In 1976 she
applied for a job at Alpine’s ele-
mentary school, the start of 25
years teaching. Robert also
graduated from Sul Ross and
started on a parallel course of
coaching and teaching in the
elementary school. All in the
family have Sul Ross degrees.
Pete Gallego’s advice was work-
ing.
One principle in particular
guided Elidia’s teaching career,
which she states vigorously. “If
you show respect, you get
respect.” There were no disci-
pline problems. Teaching was
fun and switching to the high
school “a shot in the arm.”
Looking back on her teaching
career, “It was wonderful,” she
exclaims.
Elidia retired in 2000 (and
Robert one year later), but for a
people person this was not a
time for rest. Over 10 years she
volunteered variously for the
city’s parks department, the Sul
Ross alumni board, the Cinco
de Mayo celebration and the
Centennial School first re -
union. Principally she gave her
time to Our Lady of Peace
Catholic Church, where she
did the accounts, helped in the
gift shop and also headed up
the organization of the annual
retreat, ACTS, at Paisano
Encampment. She sits on the
parish council board.
Today she relishes being
addressed as “Mrs. Polanco” by
former students, bearing out her
belief in respect. She and Robert
have 42 years of happy mar-
riage, “a team,” she says, which
even extends to a shared expert-
ise in making funnel cakes.
106 N. 3rd St. ● Alpine, TX 79830 ● [email protected]
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