Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1930-06-08
ColofuZ Life
Background Of
Local Men BEL,
BY LORENE MORROW

DA LOAALaNG AAOhROW
Julia OBrten - Business and
Professional Women's Club - syn
onyms in the minds Of the Rio
Grande Valley people. because Miss
O'Brien is responsible for the first
Business and Professional Women's
club in the Valley as well as being
a patron and active worker in every
step OF the Valley clubs growth.
Previous TO the organization or
the Brownsville club, Miss O'Brien
attended a state convention in Waco,
for she wanted the foundation or the
founding OF the club 10 be firm.
She attended the sessions or the
convention and interviewed the state
officers and officers and committee
women OF city clubs.
The Brownsville club was organ
lied i'm September. 1925, and Miss
O'Brien served a. first president.
She held this office for two years,
being reelected at the end OF the
first club year.
Miss OBrien has realized the nee
N@IAAy VI lying QP IAt dLL4NAA1Cn III
the local club with the state and
national organizations. and she has
attended three national conventions,
going to Des Moines in 1926. to
Oakland, California in 1927, and to
New Orleans in 1923.
She has also attended every state
convention since the sample" one
in Waco in 1925. The conventions
have been held in Fort Worth in
1926. San Antonio in 1927, Abilene
in 1923, and Temple 1929.
Helped Others
Besides being active in her local
club. Miss O'Brien helped all the
clubs Of the Valley to organize
either directly. a. she was actually
ON hand for the organization OF the
Donna and San BenitO clubs, or
through valued advice and guidance.
which was followed diligently by
other organizers.
For the past two years Miss
O'Brien has served us conference
chairman OF District No. a. which
includes the Lower Rio Grande VAL
lev clubs and Beeville and Corpus
Christi. The Lower Rio Grande
Valley clubs are in nine cities. be-
ing organized In the order named;
Brownsville. Harlingen. Mercedes,
Edinburg, McAllen. Raymondville,
Weslaco. Donna and San Benito.
Miss OBrien's work has not gon9
unnoticed by the state organization.
by any means. as she has been an
important worker Of the state fed
Grafton from the beginning of the
organization Of the Brownsville club.
COIOrfuI History
In 1923 Miss OBrien was made
second vice-president OF the state
federation, and for the past year
has served as first vice president.
In addition 70 these state duties She
has been state chairman OF the in
ternational relations committee.
Miss OBrien Is q member or VA
family which has made romantic
history. Her father. ID. "A. O'Brien.
was "A native Of Clonakilty, in the
southern part OF ireland. RE came
20 the States when nc was fifteen
and worked with am uncle. John wv.
Manning who was president or IA
bank In New York. Mr.. OrBrien's
father had come over To the states
earlier, for the gold rush or 20. RE
fell iii and wired his son. who ar
rived after the funeral. Young
OBrien had left New York by water
and spent thirty days going to Cali
fornia, having to cross the isthmus
Of Panama on mule-back.
From California Mr.. O'Brien came
to Houston, where he entered the
railroad business. with which he
was always connected during the
rest Of his life. When he was nine
teen he was treasurer Of the South
ern Express company.
He married Miss Annie Bryan Of
Houston, a member Of an old Texas
and Southern family. Miss Bryan's
father, DR.. L. A. Bryan. a native OF
Houston. had begun his practice in
Brownsville in l348 and l849. and
was later health officer of the Rio
Grande Valley district with head
quarters In Laredo. Later he prac-
ticed III Houston. During the war
Dr. Bryan was in charge or the Au-
burn hospital III Mississippi, and was
one OF the most noted yellow fever
specialists. After the war he re-
CONTINUED On page AZ.