Betty Fischer is a fifth generation Texan whose great- great- grandfather, Captain John Tomlinson, formed the first Texas Ranger unit in the Columbus, Texas, area where he also served as alcalde. She also had a great uncle who died at the Alamo. Mrs. Fischer was born in Liberty Hill, Texas, in 1932 and grew up in Manor, Texas, about six miles from Austin. She and her husband Nile moved to Fort Worth in 1950 where he took a job with Convair Aviation Company as an electrical engineer. They moved to Arlington in 1950 when Nile began working for Bell Helicopter. Mrs. Fischer immediately became politically active when the city put in a sewer line that backed up in her yard. She has been politically active ever since. She has worked on all of Representative Martin Frost's campaigns and became the first woman to serve as head of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, serving from 1982 to 1988. Mrs. Fischer has also been awarded the Tarrant County League of Women Voters "Tennis Shoe" award for her work in getting people registered to vote.
From the description of Oral history interview with Betty Fischer, 2000 [audiorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 60641953
