The Desire Tobey Sears Chapter NSDAR recently honored the late Lorena Dunning Clingman with their "Women in American History Award." Clingman was a long-time educator in Superior. The award was given at the chapter's April 15 meeting held at the Superior Public Library.
"Rena" as she was known, was born on Jan. 7, 1883, in Polk County, Nebraska, to William and Lydia Coleman Dunning. She grew up in Polk and Butler Counties north and west of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Her parents had married in Guthrie, Iowa, on Sept. 6, 1880, but they moved to Polk County, Nebraska, shortly thereafter. All 12 of their children were born in the Polk County community of Shelby. Rena was the second child in the family of four girls and eight boys.
Little is known of her childhood. According to local papers, she participated in a Memorial Day program in 1896. Then at the dedication of Shelby, Nebraska's AOUW (Ancient Order of United Workmen) hall in 1899 she gave two recitations.
At her graduation from Shelby High School on May 24, 1890, she delivered an oration entitled "The Dreamer." That fall she began attending Fremont College in Fremont, Nebraska.
During the next 10 years, she attended Fremont College at various times and earned her bachelor's of science degree from the institution. She began her teaching career in area schools including Shelby, Rising City, Norfolk, Trumball and Dodge County. Then in 1909, Rena Dunning was appointed principal at Linwood School in David City, Nebraska.
At some time after the stint as principal, she moved to Stanley County, South Dakota. There she lived the life of a homesteader. Dunning was granted the patent to her homestead on May 1, 1911.
She also worked in her father's business, a general merchandise store in Bertrand, Nebraska. In the Aug. 18, 1911, Independent Herald, it was reported she went to market for her father in St. Joe and Kansas City.
On May 7, 1913, Rena Dunning married Charles Clingman in Bertrand, Nebraska. The couple lived in Ord, Nebraska, for a time where Rena was again a teacher.
The Clingmans moved to Superior in the summer of 1918. They felt, with war going on, there would be jobs in Superior. They were right. Charles worked for Omaha's Amour and Company as a traveling salesman and Rena began what was to be a 39-year teaching career in the Superior Public Schools.
Clingman was active in the Superior community as well as in the school system. She belonged to the Kit-Ki-Ha-Ki Chapter of the NSDAR, serving in various offices, including chapter regent. A charter member of the Business and Professional Women's Club of Superior, she was an active member of the organization. She also organized summer vacation Bible schools for the community.
During her years in the Superior school system, Clingman taught various math classes, Latin I and II, English and served as librarian. Truly a "life-long learner," she earned her librarian certification in 1953 by taking "correspondence" classes from a variety of institutions. Significantly, she was the principal of the high school for 20 of the years she worked in Superior.
She was a popular instructor and was asked to attend the 40-year class reunion of the Class of 1922. That class was the first one to have had her as a teacher all four years. The group of students had already run one teacher out of town and they hoped to make Mrs. Clingman the second. As it unfolded, they remembered her as having "a kind understanding and constant interest in students both in and out of school."
As an educator, she was involved with school activities. At various times she served as the sponsor of the National Honor Society as well as sponsoring different classes. Mrs. Clingman was the sponsor of the Class of 1940. A member of that class, Nancy Spohn Headrick, Superior, recalls "She 'cracked the whip.' Things went smoothly when she was running them." She also remembers Clingman as the "favorite teacher" of Rex Headrick, her late husband.
Clingman is also remembered for having an orderly school. "You walked up the stairs on the right and down the stairs on the right. When she spoke, you listened!"
Avis Shaw, Superior, missed having Clingman as a teacher but her older sister and her mother were Clingman's students. Shaw recalls her as "fiery" and not someone to ignore. She also remembers Clingman as substituting at times after she retired. When asked if he remembered Rena Clingman, Bill Roe, Mankato, said, "Sure do." Roe graduated with the Class of 1954 and had Clingman as an English teacher.
These comments and memories are about a woman who retired in 1957. She has not been forgotten even after all these years, more than 100, since she came to Superior. There is still a Rena Clingman Scholarship overseen by the Nuckolls County Foundation. The scholarship has recently received significant funding from the Rita Mullett Estate.
Anna Hawley chairs the board of the foundation and reports twelve, $1,000 dollar scholarships will be given this year to students in Rock Hills High School, Superior High School and Lawrence-Nelson High School. A legacy befitting someone who had a "constant interest in students both in and out of school."
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