BEN GROOM
An Oath With No Expiration Date By: Anne Granado
Some may say that Ben Groom has done it all. His resume includes being a writer for the Texarkana Gazette, a Sergeant in the Army, a worker for the National Security Administration, a conversion trainer for Bank One, a Spanish teacher at Liberty Eylau, a collector of manuscripts, a homeschool teacher, a tutor, and a rancher. The thread that weaves these various positions together begins when Ben was just a young boy. His father and mother, William and Jean Groom, really stressed the importance of education to their children, but more than that, they encouraged their children to get out and see the world and to really experience life. This is a lesson that Ben has never forgotten as he has traveled the world and landed back in Hooks, Texas. “Neither of my parents were teachers, but I grew up with a passion for education,” Ben says. “My brothers and I were taught at an early age that if you get an education, you can do what you want to, meaning you have options. Now this is something I tried to pass to my own kids and the kids I homeschool and tutor.” Ben’s father, William, grew up on a farm. His parents were sharecroppers, and he was the oldest child, so he took care of his siblings while his parents worked in the fields. He would put his brothers and sisters on a blanket and pull them from one row to the next so that his mother could see them while she worked. He then went into the Army and law enforcement. He became the head of security for Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and then head of security worldwide for Day and Zimmerman. “Even though I lost my father when I was fourteen, he is still my hero. He accomplished many things even though he only had a fifth grade education,” Ben says. “I just feel so blessed to have had the childhood I had and two parents who loved us. I don’t remember a day going by when they didn’t tell us they loved us.” The boys listened to their parents and each pursued their own passions. Ben’s oldest brother, William (Bill) Parker, earned a doctorate in education from University of Arkansas. He also went into the Army and worked up to the rank of general; however, he medically retired after being diagnosed with 010 ALT Magazine | November 2018
Parkinson’s Disease. Ben’s middle brother, Sun Ray Cloud, Jr., who went by Joe, earned a bachelor’s degree from University of North Texas, a master’s degree at University of Texas, and a law degree from University of Houston where he stayed on to help develop their library. Ben attended Texarkana College for his associate’s degree, and then he also attended University of North Texas for his bachelor’s degree in Spanish and master’s degree in education. “Even though we grew up in Hooks, there was no pressure to stay here. We all left Hooks the day we graduated, and we went out and cut our own trails and all went different directions,” Ben says. “My parents always told us that we were young and to get out there and learn something. My parents didn’t care what we pursued; they just wanted us to do what we wanted to do and to try to be good at it. We didn’t have ‘helicopter parents.’ They would let us fail and make mistakes. We would get ourselves into trouble, and then they would watch us work ourselves out of it. They were decent, hard-working people.” When Ben first graduated, he started at Texarkana College for his associate’s degree even though he received a scholarship to Duke University. He had planned to stay with relatives while pursuing his degree in North Carolina, but he found out that his mother, Jean, had cancer, and he wanted to stay in town to be with her. “I stayed here and took care of her. We lost her in 1976. I know that a lot of people would say that it’s horrible I’ve lost both my parents, and while it was hard, I still just appreciate the childhood we had growing up. Even my parents’ deaths taught me a lot,” Ben says. “It sounds cliche, but their deaths taught me to appreciate life and to appreciate it every day. I also lost my middle brother, Joe, in 1986. Life is precious, and we should make the most of it.” While pursuing his associate’s degree, Ben began writing for Texarkana Gazette. He also wrote a music column for seven other newspapers. However, when he married in 1976, he needed to make a larger income for his family, so he took a job at Cooper Tire. “I was not cut out for that kind of work, but the money was good. We grew up knowing that you do what you have to do to support your family, so I did it. I also worked at this time for a trucking company loading some of their trucks,” Ben says.