Jan Siegel Hart

When Jan Siegel Hart was at Dublin High School in the 1950s, her English teacher, Mrs. Caraway, encouraged her to write. “I’d written some poems and she said she wanted to see them. After reading them she told me I should send them to the National High School Poetry Association. Two of my poems were published back in 1959, and that was my first published work.”

Now a published author of three children’s books — one on her grandmother’s immigration from Russia, and two about her mother’s life growing up Jewish in Dublin — Hart has continued to enjoy writing and other creative pursuits throughout her life.

When Hart graduated from Dublin in 1959, she went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin to study English. “I was just there for a year-and-a-half,” she said. “I met my husband over the summer at a childrens’ camp where we were both working. We got engaged and ended up getting married two years after I graduated high school.”

After the Harts married, they moved around with Hart’s husband’s job, living for a few years in East Texas, West Texas, Houston, Louisiana and northern Virginia. Hart earned a real estate license, and worked part-time selling houses, as well as working as a secretary and at the library.

She also had three children, and scheduled her jobs to make time to take care of them. “Basically I did not want to work full time so I could devote more time to making sure I was home for the children when they came home from school,” she said. “And they were involved in a lot of activities.”

The Harts stayed the longest — seven years — in Jacksonville, Texas, before finally settling in Temple, Texas, in 1978. “We have been in Temple for over 40 years now,” Hart said. “I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I don’t think we’re going anywhere else.”

While living in Temple, Hart began working on a family history. “I was taking a writing course which helped me write my grandparents’ story of their immigration from Russia to America,” she said.

She made copies for her family, and they encouraged her to get the work published. “I started sending it around, and it ended up in the hands of a publisher in Austin who wanted to see if I would be interested in writing the story as a children’s book,” she said.

Hart reworked the manuscript and sent it back, and it was published in 1991 as “Hanna, the Immigrant.” Her publisher had a program for his authors to visit schools and act out their characters, so Hart spent time touring her book. “I did that for many years throughout Texas and in many other states as well, for schools, Sunday schools, even adult groups, women’s clubs, churches and synagogues,” she said. “You name it, and I was there telling the story.”

Her touring inspired her to keep writing. “The original story just stopped with my grandparents coming to America, and children would ask, ‘What happened after that?’” she said. “So I got my mother to record her stories for me and I wrote two books based on them. “‘The Many Adventures of Minnie”’ and “‘More Adventures of Minnie” can still be found on Amazon.

Hart traveled around for 20 years on book tours before she decided to retire a few years ago. “I do it only occasionally now,” she said. “I sold a lot of books and met a lot of wonderful people, and had a great time doing that.”

Outside of her career as a professional writer, Hart also spent time in other creative pursuits. She sang with a fourpart women’s singing group called the Sweet Adelines, and traveled to Russia with them to sing as part of an ambassador chorus. She also volunteered with the Temple Civic Theater, appearing on stage, helping out behind the scenes and serving as a board member.

Although she’s mostly retired from these activities, Hart still loves to go to the theater. She also spends time reading and participating in a book club, playing bridge, and keeping up with her friends and family, who are scattered across the US. “Every Sunday we have a family Zoom so we can all see each other,” she said.

This year, Hart celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary with her husband Charles Hart. Their three children, Debbie, Kathy, and David, live in Pflugerville, Maryland and Wisconsin, respectively. The Harts have six grandchildren.

Hart’s advice to Dublin graduates is to prioritize education. “I did not end up getting my degree,” she said. “I think I made up for it by encouraging my husband and children. They all got multiple degrees, and I am so proud of all of them.”

Hart also enjoys traveling, although the pandemic has made it harder. Prior to 2020, she and her husband would take months-long trips in their motorhome all over the US and Canada, and have traveled internationally as well. They make a point to visit Dublin when they can. “Over the years Charles and I have attended many of the all-school reunions to see friends from my school days,” she said. “Dublin will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.