Connie Hagar (1886-1973)Born June 14, 1886 in Corsicana, Texas to Robert Scott and Mattie Yeater Neblett. As the eldest of three children, Martha Conger Neblett (Connie) was brought-up in a refined and well educated family environment: music, art, literature, history, and nature were combined with the graces of "being a lady" as was characteristic of the era. Her aristocratic ancestry was Scottish-Irish, and her grandparents had been born in the Old South. They settled in Texas and soon became staunch and proud supporters with regard to their great state's welfare.
Robert Neblett was the mayor of Corsicana, a distinguished title and position within the small community, located in Navarro County. Mattie lavished her children with the finer things and experienced life to its fullest with all three children through the means of frequent vacation travel. She used these trips to educate and enlighten her children about the big world that lay outside their 3-story Victorian home with its spacious front porch and white pillars.
As a young girl, Connie was somewhat of a tomboy and one of her favorite pastimes was going on long walks with her father to study nature. Together they would walk the shady-grass lawns, listening and learning the sounds of nature. In fact, Judge Neblett was quite the naturalist himself. Her small hand in his, he would point out various trees, plants, shrubs, and wild flowers. It comes as no surprise that Connie and her younger sister Bert, would continue with their interest in nature too.
Connie, petite and just under five feet tall, married her childhood sweetheart at the age of twenty. Lynn Brooks had left school in the tenth grade to join the Navy as the United States began to engage in World War I. He was known for his wild streak, which caused the first serious rift between Connie and her father upon marrying. She was not comfortable with it, but did truly love Lynn. He moved his new wife into a boarding house in Ennis, which was only 21 miles from Corsicana, but still considered a good distance away at that time. Later in the marriage they resided in New Orleans.
As the years passed, Lynn would bring the pint-size Connie incredible gifts from his worldly travels and ports he had visited aboard the USS Oregon. Connie had difficulty fitting-in with the circle of officer's wives and would have a lonely life to some degree during Lynn's tours of duty. Although they still loved each other very much, she decided to return home after 14 years of marriage in 1921. Her mother had become ill, so at the age of 35 she returned to Corsicana.
Her train arrived at the Corsicana train depot in the wee hours of the morning. Tired from her journey and with very little sleep, she gathered her heavy suitcase, Mark Antony her pet pit bull, and a caged green finch. She then began the 12 block walk toward her home. The town seemed the same, yet newer somehow, and she was relieved to be home. As she walked laboriously along Corsicana's main thoroughfare she noticed a gentleman up-the-way standing in the doorway of the old cafe. As she passed him, his maverick smile caught her eye, but did not cause her to miss a step. He asked if he could help her carry her suitcase and before she could answer, he was toting her bag.
As he walked along side of Connie, he introduced himself as Jack Hagar and she replied back that she was Mrs. Lynn Brooks. He didn't seem to care that she was already married. He continued to walk and talk to her, telling her all about his life; he was originally from Boston but had firm roots in Texas; he was an oilman and real estate broker. jack was persistent in asking Connie to go places and she did agree to attend the Dallas Symphony with him. Neither knew that their love of music would join them together, forever.
Jack was different than other men in the respect that he was refreshing, pleasant, and had the ability to make her really laugh...sometimes at herself. They continued to date for 5 years and he finally asked her to marry him. Connie, with already one failed marriage was hesitant, but Jack was persistent. One day her mother noticed she was still struggling with the marriage question and blurted out "Why don't you just marry him? He's never going to stop asking!" She wasn't even sure what she was waiting for, after all she was almost forty years old. She openly admitted her love of Jack and after plenty of soul-searching, and talks with the sister she held so dear, she decided to marry Jack in April of 1946.
Jack built a beautiful house for them, and Connie was very happy with Jack. However, within their first year of marital bliss, Connie's mother had a stroke. Both she and Jack moved back into the Victorian home of her childhood and took care of her mother. They resided there for 3 long years while Mattie lay bedridden, but would eventually return to the "house that Jack built."
As time went by she and her steadfast nature companion, Bert (who had also married by this time) continued their nature studies in memory of their father. Bert had the idea to start a "nature club" in Corsicana. They eventually had 18+ members and would meet on someone's lawn every other week to study plants, birds, wildlife, and the stars. One day Connie was reading a magazine article that was requesting volunteers to conduct a biological survey for the U.S. government. Needless to say, she and Bert volunteered for the survey. They were to band birds and then continue to watch and keep count as they returned each year, if migratory, or document when the bird was seen again locally. The year was 1934. Their nature group had also become affiliated with the National Audubon Society and the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs. Indoor meetings alternated with field trips to surrounding areas of Texas to include The Big Thicket and Big Bend National Park.
Connie and Bert were asked often to speak on certain topics at the nature meetings in neighboring counties, but there were no visual aids to help the listeners learn. Speech writing was always a challenge which resulted in too many topics and really nothing to show. The only guide they had at the time was Reed's Little Handbook and old files from National Geographic and Nature magazines. They did not use binoculars or scopes as ornithologist do now. Connie did however collect and study bird nests which enabled people to become familiar with the bird species and their nesting habits. It also allowed her audience to see the construction of the nest, touch the different materials used to build the nest, and become familiar with nest architecture. This peaked listeners interest greatly.
Over the years, Connie's hands had become arthritic which made it hard to band birds, and her eyesight was going bad too. It was later determined that it was glaucoma and surgery was successfully performed and her eyesight restored for a period of time. Connie continued with her group nature studies but was taken-by the pictures of shorebirds and she made plans to take a vacation along the Texas coastline. Although Jack made himself a part of every aspect of Connie's life, it was she and Bert that made the first trip to Rockport, Texas - a small resort community (1933). When they arrived and had unpacked their bags, they set-out for Little Bay. They swam, splashed, and played along the shoreline while watching the clever and skillful "skimmers." By using the pictures books she carried with her, she and Bert began identifying all the birds they saw. They reported their sightings to the Nature Club upon their return. Then one day back in Corsicana while laboring over breakfast (both the women felt eating was a big time-waster) they talked about Rockport and all its birds. Bert looked at Connie with a twinkle in her eye and said "What's holding us here? Let's go back." And so they did!Along the waterfront, Connie and Bert learned how to identify the larger herons, and smaller terns from a distance as they didn't know about binoculars. There was a hard-hitting storm in late July that left many birds dead and Connie collected them for study. The women did not know about an upcoming and knowledgeable ornithologist by the name of Roger Tory Peterson, much less his newly published "Peterson's Field Guide" book. Soon however, it was brought to their attention and Connie rejoiced upon purchasing the book saying "I feel as if someone has lifted me from a heavy fog." In 1935, Connie and Jack moved to Rockport and purchased the Rockport Cottages (8 units in all located on Church St. @ First St.) in 1935. These were truly the happiest days of her life, although she had many happy days. Birding became everything and as her popularity grew, she was often asked to write articles for the Rockport Pilot and San Antonio Express newspapers. In 1936 the San Antonio Express gave her a 5-column headline: "Texas Gulf Coast is Haven for Bird Life."
It wasn't until 1943 that the Texas Legislature designated, Little Bay (located in the heart of Rockport) as the Connie Hagar Wildlife Sanctuary. However, when the Navigation District put the small Frandolig Island up for sale in 1961, developers were quick to jump on the opportunity; to build a resort neighborhood called "Key Allegro." Conservations along with widely known and respected nature organizations worried that the nesting grounds might be endangered and fought the sale of the property. When the sale did go through, of course Connie took it personally. The birding island that she had watched, learned from, and helped nurture, was being reduced to concrete and pavement.
She continued on in her endeavors and became involved with two sixth graders who were doing nature studies for a Girl Scout project. One of the girls - Annie Ruth Jackson would later become Connie's protégé. Connie became a strong supporter of the Girl Scouts of American and helped their organization in everyway possible. She became involved with civic organizations like the Rockport Women's Club as well as the Texas Ornithological Society, and the American Ornithologists' Union.
Bird watching was still primarily a male undertaking and Connie met some opposition from those who proclaimed there disbelief of her sightings in Aransas County. One by one, she spoke with them in a fascinating and knowledgeable way. They were quickly convinced that her bird sightings and research were on the up-and-up. And Connie became an internationally recognized birder and naturalist, almost overnight.
Finally, in 1948 she was visited by Roger Tory Peterson - who was acclaimed as America's pre-eminent artist-naturalist-ornithologist in the northern hemisphere and arguably the inventor of the field guide. She was very excited to meet him and when he took booth of his long slender hands and wrapped them her hands, Connie said that it was "one of the greatest thrills of my life." She would meet and bird with Roger many more times before her death.In 1954, Life Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was sent to Rockport to produce a photo essay on her conservation work and her numerous contributions to the sport of birding. So, there was Connie on the cover of Life Magazine! He became a good friend to her and would comment regularly about her starched and neatly pressed clothing she wore when birding. No, she didn't look like your average birdwatcher.
One Saturday afternoon on August 18, 1962 Jack had a stroke that paralyzed his right site. he was unconscious up until the end. By Monday morning, 2am, Jack left this world and his beloved Conger.
Connie Hagar and her never-ending love of the birds passed away November 24, 1973 at the age of 87 in Corpus Christi. She was buried at Rockport Cemetery next to Jack, overlooking the wildlife sanctuary she helped to create.
Her legendary love of birding will live on in our hearts for a long time to come. Connie's life was more than just birds; it was a profound dedication to nature, ecology, conservation, Texas and its people.
In the years to come, the Rockport Cottages that she and Jack purchased were soon a thing of the past; the cottages were sold or moved after their death. With the help of a special group called the "Friends of Connie Hagar (FCH)" and in conjunction with Texas Parks and Wildlife, the cottage site was designated as the 1st stop along The Great Texas Coast Birding Trail in 1995. Roger Tory Peterson came to Rockport to dedicate the site in honor of his favorite birding companion, Connie Hagar.
The GTCBT is the longest trail of its kind in the world! Many, many supporters donated hundreds of dollars and grants: the Sid W. Richardson Foundation; the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; a loan from the National Audubon Society. The owners of the property donated two of the acres for the FCH to use at their discretion. A birding lookout deck was erected, trees were planted, and as of today, local FCH members take pride in keeping the habitat sanctuary as healthy as possible.
In closing, the Aransas County Public Library (located behind the Aransas County Tax Office on Mimosa @ Live Oak) exhibits a permanent display case with some of Connie's personal belongings. Feel free to stop by and take a look at the first field guide and notebook she used, photos, and other personal items of interest.
http://www.birdrockport.com/connie_hagar.htmReferences:
CONNIE HAGAR - The Life History of a Texas Birdwatcher
by Karen Harden McCracken, published 1986 by Texas A&M University Press (College Station)
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Book Description
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In any other context, saying that someone was "for the birds" would hardly be polite. But applied to Connie Hagar, it would be high praise. The diminutive birdwatcher nicknamed Connie was reared as Martha Conger Neblett in early twentieth-century Texas, where she led a genteel life of tea parties and music lessons. But at middle age she became fascinated with birds and resolved to learn everything she could about them. In 1935, she and her husband, Jack, moved to Rockport, on the Coastal Bend of Texas, to be at the center of one of the most abundant areas of bird life in the country.
Her diligence in observation soon had her setting elite East Coast ornithologists on their ears, as she sighted more and more species the experts claimed she could not possibly have seen. (Repeatedly she proved them wrong.) She ultimately earned the respect and love of birders from the shores of New Jersey to the islands of the Pacific. Life magazine pictured her in a tribute to the country's premier amateur naturalists, and she received many awards from nature and birding societies.Hagar's life history is more than just a bird book. It is a story of dedication to nature and the role she could play in promoting it to others, despite recurring threats of blindness and other health problems. The hundreds of species of birds that visited Rockport each year brought thousands of other birders, and Hagar patiently hosted and assisted both the greenest beginners and the most magisterial experts.
Hagar and McCracken's Boswellian-Johnsonian relationship, Hagar's own "Nature Calendars" containing thirty-five years of observations, and interviews with those who knew the "bird woman of Rockport" provide the basis for this narrative. It was Hagar who, more than anyone else, made coastal Texas a mecca for serious birders.