Waco History Podcast: Recent Episodes
Rogue Media Network
Dr. Stephen Sloan of Baylor’s Institute for Oral History teaches us about Waco’s known and unknown past.
Guests: Chris Hansen and Carl Hoover Topics: o Florence Gerald o Texas Guinan o Ann Gwynne o Cindy Walker o Victor Bozeman o Shannon Elizabeth o Peri Gilpin o Jennifer Love Hewitt o Steve Martin o Angela Kinsey o Thomas Harris o Terrance Malick o Kevin Reynolds o John Lee Hancock o Derek Haas and Michael Brandt o Waco in Films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Prohibition in the United States led to the decade most associated with flowing alcohol and crime. The Eighteenth Amendment, on the heels of the Volstead Act, put into place a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol in 1920. Local law enforcement agencies were not prepared. Helen Geltemeyer of Waco recalls a relative concocting whiskey during Prohibition: "But I have an aunt—his sister in Austin—made it. They made it in their bathtub. And the reason why they did there because if they found out the cops were coming, they'd just let it go down the drain." Ann and William Walko of Windber, Pennsylvania, explain how Prohibition affected the moonshine trade: A. Walko: "My grandmother, they said she was in jail almost every weekend. They take her to jail; my mother have to find somebody to go bail her out, you know. But that was survival. They had—they needed money, so they would make the moonshine. And these bachelors were all living with people. You know, they worked in the mine. And they would—she'd sell them bottles, you know, and they'd pick my grandmother up, and away she'd go (laughs) off to jail. But she wasn't the only one. There was a lot of women around this area." W. Walko: "I remember my mom and that, they used to make—my grandma used to make that moonshine down in the cellar. And I notice they'd put it in a little spoon, and they'd light it, see if it'd burn. (laughs)" A. Walko: "If it was strong enough." Interviewer: "And you knew it was good." W. Walko: "If strong enough." A. Walko: "Yeah, you knew it was good then." W. Walko: "I didn't know what they were doing then. But then, this one time when they heard the cops coming around, boy, they got rid of that, (laughter) stuffed in their cars and everything else." Folklorist and educator Martha Emmons of Mansfield describes her and her father's impressions of Prohibition: "I remember a lot of people that thought it was so cute to break the law. And I know my father used to say—now he was pretty well on the idea of strict construction of the constitution of states' rights. He was brought up in that, don't you see. And he used to be in favor of local option because he said he was in favor of prohibition on the state scale if anybody could enforce it, but he said, ‘You just watch it. It will not be enforced on a—the bigger your scale, the less the enforcement will be.' And he did think it was a degrading thing to have laws on the statute books that were not enforced and not obeyed. And now a lot of people said that when they say, I'm for local option, that that was just a cop-out, that we want statewide prohibition. "But I know it was often discussed around that supper table at home, and I heard so much of my father's sentiments. Now, he wasn't above taking a drink. As I tell you, we grew up on whiskey. And the doctors told us, though, that in prohibition there would be something else. I used to think, What in the world will we do if we get sick? Because whiskey was available to everybody, and that was a common remedy that we all had." Throughout the twenties, Prohibition grew steadily more unpopular, and enforcement proved impossible. In the spring of 1933, President Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act, and in December Utah's ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment officially repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, bringing an end to Prohibition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks to Jayme Lynn Blaschke about the storied history of the Infamous Chicken Ranch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Slaon talks with Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe who is a professor and chair of the Department of Museum Studies at Baylor University about buildings around Waco, and the Alico in the heart of downtown Waco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
During the scorching months of a Texas summer, there's nothing quite so refreshing as playing in the water or at its edge. Wilma Bunton of Houston lived for five years in Galveston as a child. We would go to the beach and we called it bathing. My aunt brought her bathing suit. It was one of those old fashioned, looked like a short skirt. And had white, three rows of white braids around the bottom, it came just below her knees. She had black stockings that went up above her knees and bloomers around her. Doesn't sound real comfortable. No, she had bathing shoes on. And then she had a bathing cap, as it was called, that looked like a dust cap. And if she had fallen down in the water, we wouldn't have been able to save her. But the ladies at that time didn't swim. They even had puff sleeves, of all things. So that that would fill up with water, too. But we'd go down and we'd beach comb. Early in the morning it's easy to find the shells and you can even find the sand dollars that are not broken. If you pick them up carefully, you can have the whole sand dollars. So we'd beach comb a while and then we'd bathe a while. Then the water made us so hungry till we couldn't wait to get home and get a bath. My mother always had a good breakfast for us. Martha Howe of Waco remembers her summers at Oak Point, or Lacey Point, on the Old Lake Waco. Everybody loved sailing. My father went to Culver and, uh, was in the, in the Naval School, and, uh, Papa bought the boys a sailboat, and then Papa, um, also bought them a wooden boat. And so they water skied and then over on the town side, that would be the east side. Papa had put pea gravel out into the lake so that you wouldn't get that old squishy mud between your toes. And I remember, I was in diapers and we would swim there. And it had big cottonwood trees all around it so it was shady and it was wonderful. It was kind of... Like a little beach, but it was with Lake Waco water and, uh, daddy would teach, taught us how to swim there. We had piers out into the lake. We had a wonderful person that worked for us named Sherman. He would fish on one of the piers. So we called it Sherman's pier, but we would swim from the pier and we had a canoe and we had a speed boat. And so, yeah, we, we definitely took advantage of it, but that was when the lake was small. Texas offers 15 major rivers, more than 150 lakes, and a gulf coast to consider for summer activities. The Texas Parks and Wildlife website provides recreation suggestions and safety tips for these locations at tpwd.state. tx. us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with Buck Cole about the Evangelia Settlement that he helped achieve a state historical marker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Home remedies have been around for thousands of years, passed down from one generation to the next and utilizing common products to treat illnesses. In early 1900s Waco, these treatments abounded. Mary Sendón recalls home remedies her family used: "They would use coal oil and rock candy. It was supposed to be for coughs and chest colds. Then they used mustard plasters for chest pains and pneumonia. My—that's what they used on my grandfather in pneumonia. And this is a funny story about that: my grandfather really was a—they thought he was dying. He was having what they call sinking spells; you know, he'd just get so weak. It was during the Prohibition days, and the doctor could order whiskey from a drugstore with a prescription. Well, the doctor ordered a bottle of whiskey from Old Corner Drug Store. "And he told my—all of my aunts—everybody came together to help—and he said, ‘Get him an eggnog every thirty minutes.' And he told them how to do it: put a tablespoon of whiskey in a glass and fill it with egg beaten up real stiff. Said, ‘Every thirty minutes, see that he gets one.' Well, he set out the whiskey. And, you know, all night long, they were beating eggs, and they beat them by hand; they didn't have any kind of eggbeaters. The next morning he was improving, and he recovered. The egg gave him strength, and the alcohol was accelerating the cure; it was accelerating the killing of the germ. That's the way he put it." Sendón explains other treatments: "They used turpentine. Turpentine was a good cure. I remember going after the milk one day for my neighbor's house, and I stepped on a nail. And, oh, everybody just got so excited because the nail was so dangerous. And that was a rusty nail. Well, they got coal oil and just poured it over my foot and kept pouring it over my foot. And that cured—that stopped the infection. Coal oil." Woodrow Carlile tells how he nursed his nemesis: "My main problem was poison oak. Being light-skinned, my arms would get poison oak on them and crack open like a dry riverbed, just separate. And if we had calamine lotion we used that, but other than that, in the summer you just laid out on the ground and let the sun or whatever heal it." Cathryn Carlile remembers a home remedy her family once performed on her: "I went to the Waco-Temple high school football game, and it was so cold. And coming home, I could hardly breathe. When I got home, they put towels on my chest and ironed through the towels—the heat. As I remember, we were up practically all night. And early in the morning, my dad went to get the doctor. We didn't have a telephone. And he came and said that I had pneumonia but that all the heat that had been applied had broken it up and that I'd be fine." Today, the rising cost of traditional health care and a growing interest in a more holistic approach to illness have boosted the popularity of home remedies. And the Internet has made them much easier to share. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This special episode covers the music of Jules Bledsoe, Hank Thompson, Johnny Gimble, Mercy Dee Walton, and Billy Joe Shaver. Guest: Jim Holmes, Waco City Councilman, District 5, investment banker, and music lover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When the Great War came to an end in late 1918, a cloud hung over the jubilation; the world was suffering the worst pandemic in history. From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish Flu killed more people than the fighting did in World War I and infected more than a quarter of all Americans. Educator Wilma Buntin describes the flu striking her family in the Houston area: "And I remember my older brother Louis was the only one who didn't get sick. So he'd try to fix something for us for breakfast, or he'd tried to fix something for supper. None of us were interested whatsoever. They didn't have a doctor there, so you just had to do what you thought you could. And they knew to drink fruit juices and rest. Then he'd cry when he'd fix something. He said, ‘It's because I can't do a good job of cooking you all are not eating.' And he didn't—(laughter)." In a 1987 interview, Louie Mayberry recalls how the virus changed everyday life for children: "When we moved to San Antonio I started to school. I hadn't gone to school but a few days, they had a—a flu epidemic in San Antonio and they turned the schools out. And we stayed out for quite a while. And they was trying to teach me how to work. They let me shine shoes at the I&GN [International-Great Northern Railroad] station in those days; it's Missouri Pacific [Railroad] now. And then school started again, and it went on for a couple of weeks, and they turned out again. We didn't get much schooling before Christmas." Bible translator Robert Bratcher, who was born in Brazil in 1920, tells how the illness affected travel: "My parents and my older brother, who was at that time four years old, had gone to Brazil in 1919. They had been appointed by the Foreign Mission Board and were due to go in 1918, but the great flu epidemic was at that time, and it held them up. They stayed in Valhalla, New York, with some other missionaries waiting till the ships, you know, were available that had sailors that could man them to take them to Brazil." Folklorist Martha Emmons remembers escaping the flu: "I have often thought that the Lord in His providence kept me from having the flu. I used to give a more earthy explanation than that. People asked me how I avoided it because, oh, people just dropped dead all around from that. But I was so needed, I thought. See, I had my father with me, and I was teaching at Maypearl, Texas, and I remember when I was asked that I said, ‘Oh, well, all I can attribute it to is eating onions and staying happy.' (laughter) And I did eat onions and anything else that way that I thought was the right kind of thing. And I did make an effort to stay happy. But I've often just thought it must have been a providential stroke because I don't know what could have happened if I had had to have the flu right there with my father an invalid and with me, and we were in that little apartment there. And it would have been awful for him to have taken the flu from me, don't you see?" The nationalism and acceptance of government authority heightened by the war allowed public health workers to easily put in place restrictive measures to bring the epidemic under control. The Spanish flu outbreak then faded from public memory, until flu scares in recent decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Guest(s): Fiona Bond Topics:
Waco Auditorium
Cotton Palace
Hippodrome
Waco Hall
Circle Drive-In
Katy Park
Walker’s Auditorium
HOT Fair and Rodeo
Magnolia Market
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Formed separately in the mid-1800s, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association have since collectively been at the forefront of most major social movements, such as women's, civil, and human rights. The YMCA and YWCA are more commonly associated with promoting physical activity and education and offering safe lodging. Gladys Casimir describes her mother's involvement with the Waco YWCA prior to Prohibition: "When they went to their meetings they wore little white ribbon bows or rosettes, whatever you want to call it, on their left shoulders. They marched. The women were very active in trying to promote the abolition of liquor. City of Waco had a lot of saloons before they had to close down." Tom Charlton, former director of the Baylor Institute for Oral History, recalls the Y in Beaumont in the 1940s and 50s: "The YMCA played a—a big role in my life from the time I learned to swim at the YMCA when I was about nine. My mother and dad always made sure I had a membership at the downtown YMCA. And I would ride the bus from out Calder Avenue down to the YMCA, which was also on Calder near the downtown area. And so when I was in elementary school and early junior high school, I frequently was at the Y on weekends, whether it was Ping-Pong or playing tennis or swimming or basketball at the YMCA." Dick Simpson, a YMCA leader and University of Texas student in the early 1960s, explains in a telephone interview how the Y took part in the Civil Rights Movement: "The Y is the organization that housed the first planning meetings for the stand-in movement. And, in fact, at our first meeting at the Y, we were bombed, but the pipe bomb was ineffective. It just blew out a few bricks. The stand-in movement was an attempt to integrate the theaters that were on the street directly across from campus. We would form a line as if we were buying tickets, and let's say I was going as a white, and I would have an African American next to me. We would go up to the window, and I would say, 'I'd like to buy two tickets for this event,' or whatever. After a while, it—we didn't even get to quite that stage, but it looked like a line of theater-goers. But essentially it discouraged people from going to the theater because it was a protest in front of the theater. "But the pattern was somewhat different than when you sit-in in a restaurant, but the principle was the same as the sit-in movement. It was to simply cut off enough business by making it known that the theaters were segregated, that there were protestors against it. As we cut the attendance, we obviously cut into their profits, which was the economic lever used in the Civil Rights Movement." In response to a changing society, the YMCA of the USA began reappraising its role in the 1980s and decided to shift its focus to families, while the YWCA continues to promote empowerment for women. In keeping with tradition, both organizations continue to push for social justice and better communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Guest(s): Kris Collins Topics:
Texas economy
Booms – Cattle, Cotton, Lumber, Oil
Early Waco economy
Businesses in Waco
New industries
Waco Industrial Foundation
SpaceX
Industrial and logistics powerhouse
3 hours from 22 million people
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Graduating from a school and starting a new chapter in life at another campus can be a bittersweet moment. Charles Armstrong remembers his last days at Bell's Hill Elementary School in Waco: "They asked everybody that wanted to, to write a little something about the school, what they—what they learned or didn't learn. So I wrote a little poem, entitled ‘Good-bye, Bell's Hill.' Said: Good-bye, Bell's Hill, good-bye.I'm leaving you now, but I won't forget,The time I've spent with you.The boys and girls and teachers great,My memory will be with you.I've journeyed with you for days and years,And now we drift apart.The pleasant memories of things gone by,Is written in my heart.Good-bye, Bell's Hill, good-bye."Mrs. Armstrong: "It's darling." Interviewer: "That's nice." He recalls a time in 1941 when he and his wife Ruth, who also grew up in Bell's Hill, returned to the school: "They'd vote up there at the school; they still do. And I was voting for the first time, and she was. I walked down the hall there. I was going there to pick her up and walked down the hall and looked on the bulletin board, and my poem was still up there—this one. It stayed up there at least seven years I know, maybe longer, but I remember seeing that/it stayed there(??)." Mary Sendón describes the excitement and emotions of graduating from Waco High: "From the time I was in grade school I knew I was going to go to Baylor when I finished high school. And my dad, he was going to make arrangements for me to go to Baylor in the fall. And that was all planned out. One thing that my graduation did—(laughs) we graduated in First Baptist Church. My entire family turned out, regardless of the fact that they were disappointed that I didn't quit school like they wanted me to. But the whole family, the great-uncles and the great-aunts. And I think deep down they had a little pride in the fact that I—that I did go ahead, you know. But I had—they had a whole section there in First Baptist Church, (laughs) and I remember them all sitting there. And—but it put a stop to all of that feeling of matchmaking, you know, that sort of thing: What you going to do now? What are you going to do? And nobody asked me that anymore. "I had a feeling I had cut loose from something. I don't know. It was just a kind of a—not a disturbed feeling—but I was really sorry to leave Waco High in a way because the last two years of my Waco High were just—I loved every bit of it. And, of course, I knew I had something better to look forward to, according to my dad. (laughs) But it sort of meant the end of one section of my life. I said—that was 1919. It was like a decade of my life was—was out now. That was finished, like I closed the book on it." Everyone deserves a school experience that makes it sad to leave, even with new adventures and people on the horizon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Slaon talks with Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley about the barbarism of lynching and Jesse Washington in Waco Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. Everyone loves a good ghost story, especially when it involves their neck of the woods. Around the summer of 1915, South Waco found itself with a resident ghost. Mary Kemendo Sendón, who was in high school at the time, recalls when her aunt first spotted the other-worldly figure: "She had been sitting by the window that night. And the next morning she told my mother, she said, ‘You know, I saw something down the street last night. I think I saw a ghost. I was looking out the window,' and says, ‘I was half asleep, and all of a sudden I saw this figure in a long, flowing, white robe coming down the street.' And she said, ‘I got up to get a better look, and by the time I got up, that figure disappeared.' Well, my mother thought maybe it was a dream that she had, you know, and no more was said. Well, and another night or two passed, and the same thing happened." News of the mysterious appearances got out, and the Waco newspaper covered the story: "It said ‘Ghost of South Tenth Street' and had our address. It said across the street from our address. And it was—it really was a sensation because that night people were coming, sitting on the curb in front of our house up and down the street. They lined the entire street, sitting on the curb, waiting to see [if they] were going to see the ghost. It went on for two or three nights. They didn't give up. Well, it got to the point where they were bringing their lunch and eating their lunch and even—you know, of course, they—thank goodness they didn't have radios in those days because they would have—we would have had music all up and down the street. But it was noisy. They would bring bedrolls and sleep out there until early hours of the morning because when my aunt saw this, it was around three o'clock in the morning. So they wouldn't come in until about ten, just when we were ready to go to peace, and there they were." Interest gradually dwindled, and people stopped flocking to their address at night. But Sendón describes what happened one night a little later on when she and her sister were sleeping in the front hall: "We had hardly gone to sleep when there was a tap on the door. I jumped up, and my dad heard it at the same time, and he was right behind me. And there stood this figure in a white robe—white nightgown it was—with a teacup in her hand. My father said, ‘What do you want?' She said, ‘Do you have any whiskey?' My father said no. Well, she started down the steps with her teacup." It turned out that the ghost of South Tenth Street was a neighbor's alcoholic cousin who was visiting from Chicago. The neighbor finally confided in Sendón's father that he could not keep her from roaming the streets at night in search of whiskey. So the mystery of the ghost was solved, but with a heartbreaking finding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Kim Patterson.
For more than a century, the majority of American women were denied the right to vote. Scores of determined suffragettes who wanted to reverse this injustice spoke out through publications, lectures, rallies, and appearances before legislators. Finally, these efforts paid off with the ratification in August 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment, which states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Anna Gladys Jenkins Casimir was a student at Baylor in 1920 and recalls events surrounding the ratification:
"I remember parades they had in Waco, and there were a lot of women dressed in white on a float, and they were carrying banners or saying, ‘We want the right to vote,' or something like that. I remember how thrilled my mother was that she got to vote in the 1920 election. She was interested in voting in the gubernatorial election as well as the national election. She was thrilled that she could vote."
Martha Lena Emmons, also a student at Baylor during the amendment's adoption, describes an editorial cartoon concerning women's suffrage:
"But I remember one cartoon that I saw one time (laughs) where there was a lady policeman in Chicago—I believe was the newspaper that had it. And a cartoon came out, showed an old bum with a lady with a policeman's costume on, and she had a hat pin. And she said, ‘Now, get a move on.' And this old bum said, ‘Who say that the pin ain't mightier than the sword?' (laughs) And she was prodding him along with a hat pin. But, oh, that'd been the latest/there'd been the ladies(??) movement always, you know."
Emmons explains her reaction to the new law:
I remember very well here in Baylor that Mrs. Russell, who was an aide of Mrs. Claypool, was lecturing to us one time or talking with a group of us about how to vote and where to vote and the responsibility of voting. She said, ‘I did not seek it, but it's our responsibility now,' and that was sort of—oh, it's always been my attitude: (interviewer sneezes) I didn't seek it, but we had it, and it's our responsibility. And the tragedy of it has been that a great many have not bothered to exercise this privilege which they fit, bled, and died to get and all that sort of thing. But so is true of any of our privileges."
Interviewer: "Do you recall your first vote?"
"Very well! I don't know how I would have made it if Pa Davis hadn't shown me what to do. I was teaching in Calvert, Texas, and we went down to the city hall to vote. And Mr. Davis, whom we called Pa Davis because we took our meals over there and they were just such a sweet old couple that looked after us and called us 'our kids,' their kids and all that. And when I saw him over there helping run that thing, oh, I just felt so relieved. And I dashed over, and I said, ‘Pa Davis, show me what to do and where to go,' and he did, you know. Yes, I remember very well my first vote, um-hm."
The court case Leser v. Garnett, which reached the Supreme Court in 1922, argued the Nineteenth Amendment was not valid. But in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court stated the amendment was constitutional on all points brought into question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Kim Patterson.
For more than a century, the majority of American women were denied the right to vote. Scores of determined suffragettes who wanted to reverse this injustice spoke out through publications, lectures, rallies, and appearances before legislators. Finally, these efforts paid off with the ratification in August 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment, which states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
Anna Gladys Jenkins Casimir was a student at Baylor in 1920 and recalls events surrounding the ratification:
"I remember parades they had in Waco, and there were a lot of women dressed in white on a float, and they were carrying banners or saying, ‘We want the right to vote,' or something like that. I remember how thrilled my mother was that she got to vote in the 1920 election. She was interested in voting in the gubernatorial election as well as the national election. She was thrilled that she could vote."
Martha Lena Emmons, also a student at Baylor during the amendment's adoption, describes an editorial cartoon concerning women's suffrage:
"But I remember one cartoon that I saw one time (laughs) where there was a lady policeman in Chicago—I believe was the newspaper that had it. And a cartoon came out, showed an old bum with a lady with a policeman's costume on, and she had a hat pin. And she said, ‘Now, get a move on.' And this old bum said, ‘Who say that the pin ain't mightier than the sword?' (laughs) And she was prodding him along with a hat pin. But, oh, that'd been the latest/there'd been the ladies(??) movement always, you know."
Emmons explains her reaction to the new law:
I remember very well here in Baylor that Mrs. Russell, who was an aide of Mrs. Claypool, was lecturing to us one time or talking with a group of us about how to vote and where to vote and the responsibility of voting. She said, ‘I did not seek it, but it's our responsibility now,' and that was sort of—oh, it's always been my attitude: (interviewer sneezes) I didn't seek it, but we had it, and it's our responsibility. And the tragedy of it has been that a great many have not bothered to exercise this privilege which they fit, bled, and died to get and all that sort of thing. But so is true of any of our privileges."
Interviewer: "Do you recall your first vote?"
"Very well! I don't know how I would have made it if Pa Davis hadn't shown me what to do. I was teaching in Calvert, Texas, and we went down to the city hall to vote. And Mr. Davis, whom we called Pa Davis because we took our meals over there and they were just such a sweet old couple that looked after us and called us 'our kids,' their kids and all that. And when I saw him over there helping run that thing, oh, I just felt so relieved. And I dashed over, and I said, ‘Pa Davis, show me what to do and where to go,' and he did, you know. Yes, I remember very well my first vote, um-hm."
The court case Leser v. Garnett, which reached the Supreme Court in 1922, argued the Nineteenth Amendment was not valid. But in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court stated the amendment was constitutional on all points brought into question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. At one time, the approach of cold weather signaled for many rural Americans in the South the time to begin planning for the annual hog-killing. It wasn't pretty but provided food for the coming winter months. Louise Murphy, who grew up in Falls County in the twenties and thirties, describes some of the preparations involved in a hog-killing: "We would have to get the old pot full of hot water and get us a barrel and get us a place to hang this hog. We had to have a cold day to get it so we could get our meat cold." Thomas Wayne Harvey recalls what his father did before killing a hog in October of '44 in Waco: "He had to dig a pit. And what he did, he went and got a fifty-five gallon drum and he dug a pit and he put the drum in there at a forty-five degree angle. And at the bottom end of the barrel, he built a fire pit that would heat that drum, and he'd fill it full of water until it was almost level of coming out at the top. After he built his pit, he built an A-frame directly above the barrel." While many hogs were struck down with a single gunshot, Murphy, along with Estelle Pederson, explains what her father did: Murphy: "He would take the ax, the back of the ax, and hit the hog in the head. And this would idle the hog until he took the butcher knife and just nearly sliced his head off." Pederson: "It's awful how it was." Murphy: "And, in the meantime, he would get a little singletree that come off of the wagon. Singletree. First thing we had to do was hang that hog up by that singletree and let all the blood come out." Harvey relates the next step in the process: "And then they gut it. And after they gut it, then they put the hog in this boiling water head first. They'd pull the hog back out, and it was so hot you had to have gloves to touch the hog. But what they did, they'd take a piece of board with a sharp edge on it, and they'd scrape the hair off the hog. And that hog would turn to a real pretty pink, and they'd do that—if the hog was too big, then they'd turn it around and stick it in the barrel backwards, you know, until the hog was completely hairless." There was an art to scraping a hog, as Murphy explains: "We'd start scraping. I—anybody that could get around that hog had a knife, and you'd scrape all that hair off. And you don't cut the meat. You got to know how to do it or you get—you get a little spanking. You got to know not to cut the meat." The hog was then ready to be disassembled, processed, and stored, with no part being wasted. Nowadays, pork items can be found year-round in grocery stores, thanks to refrigeration and freezing. But once upon a time pork was on the dinner table only during certain months of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with Dr. Bracy Hill about Waco Hunting History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Kim Patterson. Pirate radio stations in the U.S. were born when President Taft initiated federal regulation of the airwaves in 1912. Navy ships had been complaining that unlicensed broadcasters were interfering with their transmissions. Even with the new laws in place, pirate stations continued to pop up all over the country, for radio was still relatively new and full of magic and possibilities, and equipment was easy to build. Charles Armstrong recalls the influence of his after-school stops by a local radio store in Waco in the thirties: "There was a little shop down on the corner of Thirteenth and Clay, and I'd just go by there on the way home from school and go and talk to him. I was real interested in it. And when they'd have the boxing matches they had, you know, way back there, well, a lot of people was interested in them, and I despised them. And so I made me an old device I could knock them off. The local people right around here close within a block or two of me, I could put them off the air. It's kind of like (laughs)—kind of like scrambling it, and it worked. And I'd get a kick out of—they'd all be sitting around there getting ready for it, and it'd come on. I'd turn my machine on, and it'd sound like static—like an electrical storm. So that went on for several years. But I finally built me a station, and the kids come up and talk back home, talk to their mama on my radio. And we'd sing songs and stuff like that out in my garage." He had to sign off when his life of crime caught up with him: "And it took them about, oh, I guess a year before they caught me. And they come out—the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] come out and Bob [Robert] Van Wie. He was captain of police. And he came out, and they loaded my stuff up in the back of an old touring car. It was about 1929, 1930 model, A Models, and load my stuff up and carry it off. Mama said, ‘What are they—what are they going to do to you?' And I said, ‘I don't know.' And she said, ‘They're going to send you to penitentiary.' (laughter)" Goodson McKee, longtime announcer on WACO, explains his involvement in pirate radio while at Waco High in the 1940s: "I was a member of the Radio Club. And a good friend of mine, Mr. [Raymond] Franks, he and I were in the Radio Club together, and he was an electronic whiz. And we put together—I had a record player, played records in the mornings before school. And he was smart enough to put together an electronic transmitter, and we went on the air. It was the first pirate radio station in this area. But anyway, we had the radio station on the air for a while, and he could hear it clear across the river. We decided we'd better not get in trouble, so we shut it down." Pirate radio stations continue to broadcast, with many streaming over the Internet. For some owners, these stations are a way to rebel against the high costs of proper licenses and to denounce authority. Pirate stations are able to hide from the law because equipment is easy to come by and the space required to transmit, minimal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. The origins of Americans riding the rails in search of work trace back to shortly after the Civil War, when ex-soldiers and others sought work on the frontier. Their numbers rose sharply during the Great Depression, when jobs and money were scarce. These hobos became common sights in transportation hubs like Waco. Charles and Ruth Armstrong, both longtime Waco residents, explain their impressions of hobos during the thirties: C. Armstrong: "Most of them was good people. They was kind of like the homeless. They wasn't out to hurt anybody." R. Armstrong: "At that time, see, it wasn't anything unusual. I mean, everybody was in about the same boat because everybody was having a hard time." C. Armstrong: "And, see, they called them ‘hobos' regardless. Some of them was hobos all they wanted to be, kind of like the homeless. There's some of them that want to be. And some of them was traveling south to get out of the cold or get them a job." Mr. Armstrong describes how hobos communicated with each other: "And what they'd do, they'd venture off from the tracks down there and come through the neighborhood and come to your house and knock on the door and said, I'm going to so-and-so. I'm catching a train down there, and said, I need something to eat. And Mama never turned nobody down. They'd go down as far as they could. And what they'd do, they'd mark—they'd have them some chalk, an old chalk rock—they'd mark a spot on a house, you know, on the—not on the house, but on the curb, if they had a curb, or a sidewalk. And as they'd go back they'd keep it marked. And the guys would come in and they'd know where to go get something to eat. They'd know that woman there or man would feed them, and they'd keep it marked. And one guy might feed ten or twelve guys a month. And nobody else would never get—they'd go to a house and they didn't get nothing, they wouldn't mark them—or put ‘0' or something like it." The way families treated hobos made strong impressions on their children, as Waco philanthropist Bernard Rapoport recalls: "We lived by the railroad tracks, you know. We were very poor. And these hobos in the—in '29, thirties, you know, early thirties, hobos would come by the house, and Mama would give them a peanut butter sandwich. And one day I said to Mama, ‘I mean,' I said, ‘Mama, some of these people don't deserve that sandwich.' She says, ‘It's better to feed all than to miss one that needs.' Now, I mean, now she imbued that kind of philosophy within me. And so if somebody needs help and I help them and they fool me and I lose, that doesn't discourage me. I know—I say, ‘Well, the next guy won't do that.'" Although the railroad industry has dramatically changed since the thirties, with faster trains and fewer lines, hobos still exist, although the stringent security measures put in place after 9/11 nearly wiped out the practice. The current economy has seen hobos on the rise again but to a tiny fraction of the estimated 1.5 million men, women, and children who rode the rails during the darkest days of the Great Depression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Kim Patterson. White lightning, hooch, mountain dew, firewater—all names for moonshine, or distilled spirits made in an unlicensed still. Although moonshine is most often associated with Prohibition in the U.S., the practice as we know it began shortly after the formation of the country, when people were attempting to avoid the new federal tax on alcohol. CBF missionary Earl Martin recalls his encounter with a moonshine still in the late forties, when he was teaching in eastern Tennessee: "I was traipsing in the mountain trails in an area that wasn't too well-known to me, and I suddenly came on a moonshine still. And it was—it was—the fire was going, and it was smoking. But I didn't see anybody because they heard a stranger coming, and I suddenly realized the danger of the situation because to discover a moonshine still back in those years—and since I was from Washington, DC, I could have been perceived as a federal agent—" Interviewer: "As a G-man." "—even though I was a young man. So I moved quickly out of there, suffice—(laughter) I never did see anybody, but I wondered if somebody had their shotgun trained at me." Avery Downing, former superintendent of Waco ISD, describes the prevalence of moonshine in East Texas during Prohibition: "It was available. Everybody knew it and knew some of the places to go to get moonshine whiskey. Now, I never knew where any of those so-called stills were, but that doesn't mean that some of those wooded areas, which were extensive—I remember a place called Scott's Farm. Scott's Farm included many, many square miles of uncultivated, wooded area, and I'm sure that there must have been stills operated in such a place as that." Once experienced, moonshine was difficult to forget: "I remember how it—what the stuff looked like. I remember how it tasted. It was just almost like kerosene. It was white and extremely powerful to the taste buds and, I'm sure, other ways, too." Downing explains the dark side of moonshine: "The horror of the bootleg world is that somebody would get ahold of some bad liquor and come up with the jake leg. There were people accused of having the jake leg that I wonder now if they weren't victims of some sort of a paralysis or polio-type thing, I don't know." Today, moonshining has waned, as large companies can produce alcohol in large enough quantities to make its cost competitive to that made secretly without taxes. However, there are still those who wish to defy the government's authority by producing the liquid themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Prior to the days of refrigeration, people the world over relied on ice to keep perishables fresh as long as possible. The ice business was certainly alive and well in the American South, especially in summer months. Waco native Helen Geltemeyer recalls the trips she and her sister would take in the twenties and thirties to keep their house outfitted with the frozen substance: "What Allene and I did, went up Seventeenth to Ross, and they had a man who sold ice. And he had these little two-wheeler things that he would let you take home if you brought back. So Allene and I would go get that little old piece of ice and take it home, and we'd fight all the way there and fight all the way back. But that's the way we got our ice." Geltemeyer remembers the event leading up to a new contraption in their kitchen: "Then when I was fourteen or maybe—yeah, I'd say I was fourteen and going to South Junior, my daddy said, "We're buying an icebox because I'm tired of wanting a cold drink.' And he'd been working in the yard because we had hedge all around our place, I mean, and he would trim that just perfect. We just had all that yard fixed. And he wanted a drink of water, and he said he wanted ice-cold water. So he bought an icebox. He didn't buy it for us; he bought it for himself. But we enjoyed." Thomas Wayne Harvey discusses the ice industry in Waco in the 1940s: "We had Geyser Ice and Southland Ice, two different companies here in town that would go by up and down the street in their ice trucks. And if you had a Geyser card in the window, well, you could get Geyser ice that day. If you had a Southland card in the window—and the cards was twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five, and a hundred. And whatever you wanted, you'd set it where you could read a hundred from the street, and they'd bring in a hundred pounds or twenty-five pounds or whatever you wanted from the street. And the men packed the ice in on their backs with ice hooks and things like that, in those days." He explains that finding an iceman in your kitchen was no cause for concern: "They came on in. In those days, you never locked your door. You knew them; they knew you. They was just basically, "part of the family' because you could be in there eating supper and they'd come in: "Hello, how are you doing?' Or they'd knock at the door: 'Hope you're decent; iceman coming in,' you know, things like that. You'd get your ice, and they would come once every two weeks and collect for it." Since the advent of electric refrigerators, the demand for ice has drastically decreased for the typical kitchen in the South, and gone is the need for a nearby company like Geyser or Southland. The bags of ice for sale in convenience and grocery stores today serve as a reminder of the business that ice once was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Maze. When KWTX-TV first went on the air in 1955, it was without a network affiliation, a situation no one in the industry envied. But being an independent station was in some ways a blessing in disguise, as it forced KWTX to focus on local creative talent for programming. One of the resulting series was The Harley Berg Show, a wildlife program that became a staple for many Central Texans during its twenty-four-year run. Former KWTX-TV news director Win Frankel describes the show: "Everyone in Central Texas knew Harley Berg. He was on for many, many years. It may have been about snakes or raccoons or whatever it was, and there was always one there. Whatever he was talking about, was a live one there. He explained all about the snakes and all the wildlife that ever came around here. It was very well done." One particular episode of The Harley Berg Show stands out in Frankel's memory: "And one time, rattlesnake got loose and got on the floor and wiggled around like a rattlesnake does, and we spent some time trying to get that snake under control. But that was funny." Frankel explains that the camera followed the reptile - not Harley: "The snake was there. There was a story. You know, you don't knock yourself out from the story. Mmm. And it was a poisonous snake. Well, that was good, but that doesn't happen every day. Thank goodness. (laughs)" KWTX founder M. N. 'Buddy' Bostick, a long-standing force in broadcasting and the Waco community, discusses the program's popularity: "The television industry at that time had developed two ratings services: Nielsen and ARB [American Research Bureau]. And they rated the popularity of the programs. CBS had the most popular programs on the air. And the most popular program was I Love Lucy. And we had a program on the air at the same time I Love Lucy was on the air. And it was called The Harley Berg Show, and Harley was a lovable guy. Everybody liked him. He had a jillion stories, and he told those stories on his Harley Berg Show. And Harley Berg out-rated I Love Lucy. We'd go to New York or our New York reps would go talk to agencies about advertising on our station, and they'd say, What's this Harley Berg Show? Said, It out-rates I Love Lucy. That's right." Shortly after going on the air, KWTX-TV garnered both ABC and CBS networks, dual affiliations it kept until KXXV went on the air in the mid-eighties. But it was the immediate success of its early independent programs like The Harley Berg Show that helped the station forge lasting relationships with advertisers and its viewing audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Maze. When KWTX-TV first went on the air in 1955, it was without a network affiliation, a situation no one in the industry envied. But being an independent station was in some ways a blessing in disguise, as it forced KWTX to focus on local creative talent for programming. One of the resulting series was The Harley Berg Show, a wildlife program that became a staple for many Central Texans during its twenty-four-year run. Former KWTX-TV news director Win Frankel describes the show: "Everyone in Central Texas knew Harley Berg. He was on for many, many years. It may have been about snakes or raccoons or whatever it was, and there was always one there. Whatever he was talking about, was a live one there. He explained all about the snakes and all the wildlife that ever came around here. It was very well done." One particular episode of The Harley Berg Show stands out in Frankel's memory: "And one time, rattlesnake got loose and got on the floor and wiggled around like a rattlesnake does, and we spent some time trying to get that snake under control. But that was funny." Frankel explains that the camera followed the reptile - not Harley: "The snake was there. There was a story. You know, you don't knock yourself out from the story. Mmm. And it was a poisonous snake. Well, that was good, but that doesn't happen every day. Thank goodness. (laughs)" KWTX founder M. N. 'Buddy' Bostick, a long-standing force in broadcasting and the Waco community, discusses the program's popularity: "The television industry at that time had developed two ratings services: Nielsen and ARB [American Research Bureau]. And they rated the popularity of the programs. CBS had the most popular programs on the air. And the most popular program was I Love Lucy. And we had a program on the air at the same time I Love Lucy was on the air. And it was called The Harley Berg Show, and Harley was a lovable guy. Everybody liked him. He had a jillion stories, and he told those stories on his Harley Berg Show. And Harley Berg out-rated I Love Lucy. We'd go to New York or our New York reps would go talk to agencies about advertising on our station, and they'd say, What's this Harley Berg Show? Said, It out-rates I Love Lucy. That's right." Shortly after going on the air, KWTX-TV garnered both ABC and CBS networks, dual affiliations it kept until KXXV went on the air in the mid-eighties. But it was the immediate success of its early independent programs like The Harley Berg Show that helped the station forge lasting relationships with advertisers and its viewing audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with Dr. Jim SoRelle about the infamous novel Sironia by Madison Cooper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with Dr. Jim SoRelle about the infamous novel Sironia by Madison Cooper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. Many memories from our youth are intertwined with those of school, the place where we were making friends and developing interests. Waco native Helen Geltemeyer shares a treasured memory from her schooldays: "My earliest memories of Bell's Hill is going to school, walking every morning and with our dog, Tex, following my sister and I and maybe my brother. And the dog would stand at the door of this far end, the east end of the school, and we'd say, Tex, go home! And he'd finally go home. Every day that dog went to school with us. And I loved that school because you could see one end to the other. And the floors were just so clean and nice, and we had such a good time. All my teachers were—seemed to be so lovely." She recalls her older brother Ross and his friends: "And a lot of them had donkeys around there across the street. My brother was one of them. They loved to take their donkey to school, Hardy Jones and he, to feed—they were under these mesquite trees. They'd go over there and water them. We thought that was so funny for them to get to do it. It was just for the fun and heck of it. (laughter) They finally quit that, but I always would beg my brother to let me sit on his donkey. And he'd let me sit, and all his boyfriends would be standing around." Manuel Hernandez, whose family moved from Mexico when he was three years old, describes his school years at Mt. Carmel and Elm Mott and his struggle to learn English: "The teacher's didn't want to travel to that school. One of them decide to stay the whole week, and they rent the room. It was a nice community. But I couldn't learn English because half of the kids were Mexican people, and the others were white. We get along okay, but we separate on, kind of, the language. That was my problem, that I couldn't learn the English language until I moved to Elm Mott, where it was only three Spanish people in the school. So we had to learn it. And I was already about eleven years old, and being in the first grade, it make you feel bad. Of course, we had some Czech people that had same problems I had because they were speaking at home Czech and English at school. So it was kind of combination of language." Hernandez left the Elm Mott school during the early days of the Great Depression to find work and help his family financially. Geltemeyer eventually graduated from Waco High in the mid-thirties. Through the years, they carried with them the memories of those formative days in school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. Many memories from our youth are intertwined with those of school, the place where we were making friends and developing interests. Waco native Helen Geltemeyer shares a treasured memory from her schooldays: "My earliest memories of Bell's Hill is going to school, walking every morning and with our dog, Tex, following my sister and I and maybe my brother. And the dog would stand at the door of this far end, the east end of the school, and we'd say, Tex, go home! And he'd finally go home. Every day that dog went to school with us. And I loved that school because you could see one end to the other. And the floors were just so clean and nice, and we had such a good time. All my teachers were—seemed to be so lovely." She recalls her older brother Ross and his friends: "And a lot of them had donkeys around there across the street. My brother was one of them. They loved to take their donkey to school, Hardy Jones and he, to feed—they were under these mesquite trees. They'd go over there and water them. We thought that was so funny for them to get to do it. It was just for the fun and heck of it. (laughter) They finally quit that, but I always would beg my brother to let me sit on his donkey. And he'd let me sit, and all his boyfriends would be standing around." Manuel Hernandez, whose family moved from Mexico when he was three years old, describes his school years at Mt. Carmel and Elm Mott and his struggle to learn English: "The teacher's didn't want to travel to that school. One of them decide to stay the whole week, and they rent the room. It was a nice community. But I couldn't learn English because half of the kids were Mexican people, and the others were white. We get along okay, but we separate on, kind of, the language. That was my problem, that I couldn't learn the English language until I moved to Elm Mott, where it was only three Spanish people in the school. So we had to learn it. And I was already about eleven years old, and being in the first grade, it make you feel bad. Of course, we had some Czech people that had same problems I had because they were speaking at home Czech and English at school. So it was kind of combination of language." Hernandez left the Elm Mott school during the early days of the Great Depression to find work and help his family financially. Geltemeyer eventually graduated from Waco High in the mid-thirties. Through the years, they carried with them the memories of those formative days in school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks to Jimmy Dorrell about Waco, the Church Under the Bridge, Jubilee, and all his other philanthropic deeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks to Jimmy Dorrell about Waco, the Church Under the Bridge, Jubilee, and all his other philanthropic deeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. During the summer months in Waco before air-conditioning, getting comfortable enough at night to go to sleep could be a challenge. Charles Armstrong recalls an alteration made to the house his family moved into in the early 1920s: “We didn't live there long till Daddy and my brothers built a room on the back, went all the way across. They called it a sleeping porch. It had windows all the way around it, you know, just one window after the other all the way around it.” Mary Sendón remembers the porch on her childhood home: “Right in back of the hallway, at the end of the house, was a screened-in porch. It was screened in on one side; that was one side that opened out, but it was the coolest, most comfortable place. We spent our summers out there almost all the time. And, of course, the porch was a wonderful place to sleep in the summertime. My mother and dad slept on the back porch in the summertime because it was right next to the kitchen, and they got up early.” Sendón explains that fans helped a little: “My grandfather had fans in his shop, you know. And he finally got the idea of putting a fan on the back porch, and that fan circulated the air. All the doors were open to—the kitchen, the dining room, and the bedrooms—all opened out onto that back porch. And that fan circulated air and kept that part of the house pretty cool. And then, of course, we had these little circulating fans, you know, we'd put down on the floor. But it would cool one spot; it really didn't do all that much good. Somebody got the fan; somebody didn't.” She describes what she did one particular night: “And my sister and I, we had a front bedroom, and all the windows were up, but still it was just blazing hot. So we decided—our front hall, this hall that went all through the house had linoleum covering on it. It was cool. We took our pillows, and we decided we were going to sleep on the floor in front of the front door so to be cool.” Thomas Wayne Harvey recalls his family left the house altogether to get a good night's rest: “It was too hot to sleep inside in those days. The folks, they'd move their bed outside about twenty or thirty yards away from the house so they could catch a breeze from all directions because there wasn't no trees or anything to stop the breeze. And I'd have my bed right there next to the house. I had a rollaway bed with a feather mattress on it. That was in case of rain that they could just fold mine up and roll it inside right quick. And then they could fold their—they carried one mattress out there, and they could fold that mattress with their bed—put the pillows in the center and fold the mattress and run inside right quick if it started raining.” Harvey relates the perils of sleeping outside: “It kind of got comical at times. We had an old cow named Pet, and you know how a cow stands around and chews the cud and they take their tongue and lick one side of their nostril and lick the other side of their nostril. Old Pet, she'd chew her rope in two and come up there and—that old cow liked my daddy—and that old cow would come up there and start licking him on the face (laughs) early every morning because she was wanting to be milked. And then we also had a rooster that would get up there on the head—the old iron bedstead, and he would get up there and crow every morning and wake everybody up. And it'd also (laughs) leave his telltale marks every once in a while right on Daddy's forehead.” With the availability and affordability of window units after WWII, air-conditioning became a possibility for many southern homes, making it finally possible to snooze comfortably in one's own bed in the summer. The architecture of new houses soon changed as a result, and existing sleeping porches were torn down or converted into sunrooms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with Calvin Smith and Paul Barron about The Waco Mammoth site in Waco Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode we hear from Ashley and learn more about Waco's deep rich history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with James “Derek” Ross, a longtime missionary in the Philippines who moved to Waco last year about The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, and their history in Waco Texas and the surrounding areas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dr. Sloan talks with C. Cullen Smith, an experienced and well-known Waco attorney, about the Freedom Fountain and its history.
Dr. Sloan talks to Rick Tullis, president of Capstone Mechanical here in Waco, about the history of Air Conditioning in Waco and the country.
Dr. Sloan talks to Robert Fairbanks Former Professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington about Urban Development in Waco.
Dr. Sloan talks to Cherry Boggess live at the Dr. Pepper Museum as part of the Sit Down to Take a Stand exhibit. Mrs. Boggess was part of the lunch-counter sit-ins in Waco.
In the third part of this series, Dr. Sloan talks to former park ranger Larry Simms about Cameron Park.
Dr. Sloan talks to welcomes back Dr. Kenna Lang Archer to talk about the Brazos River Development.
Dr. Sloan talks with Mark Firmin the author of William Cameron Park: A Centennial History, about Cameron Park in Waco.
Dr. Sloan talks to Dr. Michael Parrish about Baylor University's Commission on Historic Campus Representations and the history of slavery.
Dr. Sloan talks with Major John Householder about Waco's Vietnam Memorial. They discuss its past and future.
Dr. Sloan guest co-host Eric Ames talk with Clint Lynch of the Oakwood Cemetery Association
Dr. Sloan gives us the background of the Baylor University live mascot program from its inception to today.
Dr. Sloan talks to the former city of Waco manager Larry Groth about Waco's growth and how things have changed over the years. This is part 2 in a 2 part series.
Dr. Sloan talks to the former city of Waco manager Larry Groth about Waco's growth and how things have changed over the years. This is part 1 in a 2 part series.
Randy is leaving Waco and the Waco History Podcast. He and Stephen talk about their favorite episodes, memories, and guests from years past. The Waco History podcast will live on! Stephen is sticking around and the show is joining the Rogue Media Network.About the Waco History PodcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the Charity Champions Podcast.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Support the show on Anchor.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:Railroad Historian Brad Linda tells us how Waco and surrounding communities grew along major rail lines. We talk specifically about the Cotton Belt Railroad that ran all the way from St. Louis to Gatesville.From our sponsorBrotherwell Brewing is the official local brewery of the Waco History Podcast. Back on tap, try the Shelter in Haze, Hazy IPA. And look for their beers in the Wooded Acres H-E-B! That’s Brotherwell Brewing, on historic Bridge Street. The beer that pairs perfectly with Waco History.About the Waco History PodcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the Charity Champions Podcast.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Support the show on Anchor.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Waco architect B.J. Greaves tells us about legendary architect Milton Scott. Scott created many well-know buildings during his career including the Dr Pepper Museum, First Baptist Church, and the Cooper House. He started his career in 1906 and kept working right up until he died in 1933. Many of Scott's structures are still standing today. Learn more about Milton Scott on wacohistory.org.About the Waco History PodcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the Charity Champions Podcast.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Support the show on Anchor.Album artwork courtesy of the Texas Collection.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episodeReturning to the podcast, Cindy Little tells us how a paranormal investigation took her on a historic journey. While investigating a paranormal sighting related to a photo, Cindy posted the pic on a Facebook group. Turns out, Cindy's ghost was a very well known local lady.About the podcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/supportSponsorThe Waco History Podcast is sponsored by Brotherwell Brewing. Fall is the air, and that means the return of their Percy Porter. Named after the Percy Medicine Building, the first place they brewed their delicious beer! It’s also rumored that Babe Ruth hit a homer that bounced off the roof! Go enjoy a pint in their spacious outdoor beer garden. The safest way to beat those COVID blues! That’s Brotherwell Brewing on historic Bridge Street.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Eric S. Ames joins us again to talk about his new book, Hidden History of Waco. You may remember him from our tornado episode. We discuss stories from the book including the man with two tombs, one of the longest books every written, and the church built in a day!You can find Eric’s book in bookstores near you and online.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episodeWhat do Babe Ruth, Teddy Roosevelt, a one-legged pitcher, and a tornado have in common? They're all a part of Waco's baseball history! Listen as we separate fact from urban legend on this episode of the Waco History Podcast.Learn more about Katy Park on WacoHistory.org. Learn more about Andrew Lewis Cooper.Thanks to our sponsor: Brotherwell BrewingThis episode is brought to you by our friends at Brotherwell Brewing: The Official Local Beer of the Waco History Podcast. Located on historic Bridge Street in Waco, swing by and pick up some of their Waco-themed brews, like “Hidden Heard”: a brown amber lager named for the mammoths that roamed this area tens of thousands of years ago. We talked about them on episode 10!Visit brotherwell.com to learn more about their Growler Club. A year of fills for one low price.About the showThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
It's light as air, stronger than whiskey, and cheap as dirt! Stephen finally gets to talk about his love of...barbed wire. That's right! Learn about the technological innovation that changed the West and ended the Chisholm Trail. Learn more at wacohistorypodcast.com/wired-west.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:Zach Burke joins us to talk about Keep Waco Loud's upcoming podcast series on Wacoan and Iconic Music Producer Tom Wilson. Wilson was instrumental in developing the sounds of many famous artists throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Wilson’s legacy was cemented when he changed history by producing two songs now considered among the greatest in rock and music history. He also reunited a legendary band and acted as the man behind the curtain for a pop art icon’s music career. Tom Wilson worked with The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and more.Subscribe to the Invisible Icon: The Tom Wilson Story so you won't miss the first episode on July 7th! You can also subscribe to Keep Waco Loud's podcast feed. Rogue Media Network produces the podcast. Check out all the other great shows they produce. About the podcast: The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com. Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast Instagram: instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast Support the show here: anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
No doubt kids back in the 1930s were as bored as kids during COVID-19! Their answer: tree sitting. That's right, kids in the 1930s tried to see how long they could stay up in a tree. One Wacoan, Jack Kellner Jr., briefly held the world record by staying in a tree off Homan Ave for more than 156 hours! Listen as Stephen and Randy take a trip into Waco's past:The Waco History Project has more on this moment in time:At 1 p.m. July 16, 1930, Frank Kellner Jr., 12, climbed the cottonwood tree in the backyard of his home, 2324 Homan Ave. — launching the craze in Waco.The News-Tribune reported that the youngster, a 94-pound Boy Scout who looked like he was "out to try anything for glory," had a support team made up of pals Sidney Carlisle, Keith Burns and Maynard G. Darden. The trio sent up three meals a day, made by Frank's enthusiastic mother, in a basket on a rope. Some even climbed up to his quilt-lined and book-laden platform to play a board game to help him while away the hours.Frank's father told reporters that he'd offered his son a $1 per day incentive for each day past the record Frank could make it.A day later, two female rivals took to the branches. Frances Coates, 11, and Mildred Fraser, 13, with a black and white kitten for company, climbed a tree at 502 Dallas St. and nestled among blankets and pillows stuffed in the crotches of a box elder. Their support team was composed of friends Mildred Yarbrough and Marie Stewart.Learn more at wacohistory.com/tree-sitting--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:Waco’s Legend Bearer: Helen Marie Taylor. She comes from a long line of Wacoans. Her family’s history in the area dates back before the Civil War. Miss Taylor talks about growing up in Waco, acting on Broadway and in Hollywood, and starting the Taylor Museum of Waco History. And now, join us on a trip into Waco’s past.Learn more about Helen Marie Taylor's Museum on WacoHistory.orgAbout the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode of the Waco History Podcast, Dr. Horace Maxile, Associate Professor of Music Theory at Baylor University, joins us to talk about Jules Bledsoe.Julius “Jules” Bledsoe’s extraordinary musical talent transcended racial discrimination of the nineteenth century and established him as a pioneer in American music.Bledsoe was born on December 29, 1897, to Henry and Jessie Bledsoe in Waco. Even as a young child, he loved to sing. Bledsoe first performed publicly at the age of five at New Hope Baptist Church, a church founded by his grandfather in 1866. In 1914, Bledsoe graduated from Central Texas Academy as valedictorian, and travelled to Marshall, Texas, to study liberal arts and music at Bishop College. After graduating magna cum laude in 1918, Bledsoe served as a civilian chaplain for an ROTC program at Virginia Union University in Richmond from 1918 to 1919.About the podcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Learn more about Waco's history at wacohistory.org.Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:Historian Tye Williams tells talks about Waco's response to 9/11. Tye's father served on the SWAT team that coordinated with the Secret Service detail that protected President Bush on visits to his ranch in Crawford. He tells how the SWAT team's training prepared them for a day like no other.About the Waco History Podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:For our second-ever live podcast recording, The Dr. Pepper Museum hosted us to talk about Prohibition in the South. The event kicked off their Prohibition exhibit: Spirited. Catch the exhibit until January 7th at the Dr. Pepper Museum.We had two guests on this show: Dr. Joe Coker teaches in Baylor University's Religion Department. He's studied and written about Prohibition extensively. Pick up his book Liquor in the Land of the Lost Cause: Southern White Evangelicals and the Prohibition Movement.Andrew Anderson is the Front of House Manager at Balcones Distilling. He talks about the production of different alcohols, and tells us what life as a bartender would've looked like during Prohibition. About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.Support the show here.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
In this episode:Bradley T. Turner returns to the studio to talk about William Cowper Brann: Waco's first troll. Brann was a provocative writer born in 1855. His highly opinionated style made him an infamous figure in Waco. So much so that it ended up costing him his life. About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode: Randy and Stephen talk with Dr. Andrew Oestreich, a local chiropractor, about another well-know Waco chiropractor: Dr. Charles Lemly. In that time, practicing Chiropractic wasn't licensed medicine. Charles ended up in jail more than 60 times! Thanks to Dr. Oestreich for telling about this historic Wacoan. Dr. Andrew Oestreich runs Landmark Chiropractic at the corner of Bosque and Wooded acres, right in front of Target in Waco.About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
In this episode:In our first ever live podcast recording from Pinewood Public House, Author Mike Cox talks with us about the deliberate, high-speed, head-on collision between two locomotives. His recently published book tells the story of American’s deadliest publicity stunt and dispels some of the myths. About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
In this episode:Dr. Katherine K. Walters of the Texas State Historical Association tells us about the 100-year-old Waco court case that sparked civil rights reforms around the country.Follow the TSHA on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TexasStateHistoricalAssociation/About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Listen as Historic Waco Homes Expert Dr. Ken Hafertepe talks about the Austin Estate located at 2114 Austin Ave. Book the Austin Estate for your next trip to Waco at austinestatewaco.com.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
In this episode:Dr. Ken Haftertepe takes us on a tour of Waco’s famous houses and lesser-known homes. Dr. H just released his book: Historic Homes of Waco, Texas. In this tour of 120 historic homes in Waco, Texas, Dr. Hafertepe gives readers a glimpse of the surprising variety of styles and stories captured in the houses built by and for Wacoans. Focusing on the period from the 1850s to about 1940, Hafertepe provides not only snapshots of the dwellings in which the people of Waco lived, but also informed hints about how they lived: everyone from the wealthiest merchants to the humblest day laborers.Ken is professor of museum studies and chair of the department. He has taught at Baylor since 2000, before which he was director of academic programs at Historic Deerfield, a museum of New English history and art. He is an authority on the material culture and decorative arts of the United States, especially of Texas.About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us onFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
In this episodeIn one afternoon, 114 people lost their lives and Downtown Waco’s skyline was forever changed. Eric Ames, Assistant Director for Marketing & Communication for the Baylor University Libraries and ITS, walks us through the day the 1953 tornado touched down. We talk about the damage the storm caused, stories of hope in the aftermath, and ways the tornado’s effects are still felt today.You can find Eric’s book on Waco on Amazon, and most places books are found.Be sure and follow Waco Walks to learn about other historic walks in town. The photo in the album artwork for this episode was used with permission by the Texas Collection at Baylor University. The Texas Collection is Baylor University's oldest special collections library and serves as the University Archive that collects, preserves, and provides access to materials on the history, heritage and culture of Texas. Learn more on their website. About the podcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us onFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode:Dr. Kenna Lang Archer, author of "Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River," joins us to talk about Waco's most prominent river. We talk about its history all over the state, and the many attempts to tame it.Check out Dr. Archer's website at kennalangarcher.com.You can find Kenna's book on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.Special thanks to ACT Music for letting us play "Brazos River Breakdown" at the end of this episode. It's by the Nils Landgren Funk Unit from the album ACT 9455-2 License to Funk.About the Waco History PodcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us onFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Dr. Robert Elder, Assistant Professor of History at Baylor University, joins us about life in Texas leading into the Civil War. We also talk about Sam Houston’s fight to keep Texas in the Union.Dr. Elder specializes in the American South, especially religion, slavery, and intellectual history. His research focuses on the cultural, intellectual, and religious history of the American South in the 19th century.Learn more about Dr. Elder on his Baylor faculty page.About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Learn more at wacohistorypodcast.com--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On today’s episode, Stephen goes on Downtown Depot with Austin Meek.On our last podcast we did a collaboration with a couple of other Waco podcasters: Garrett Simmons of the Wacoans Podcast and Austin Meek of Downtown Depot. Well, Austin recently had Stephen on his show. They talk about how the Wacoan History Podcast got started, the Waco History App, and, because it just won Best Picture at the Oscars, Green Book locations around Waco.If you aren’t already subscribed, I highly recommend finding Downtown Depot in your podcatcher of choice. Or listen to the show on the first and third Fridays of the month at 11:30 AM on 103.3 KWBU. And now, here’s Austin and Stephen.Follow Waco Business News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.About the Waco History PodcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/supportEast Waco is a side of Waco that many locals don't know much about. With recent development in the area, we thought it was a good time to put together a Waco podcasting "dream team" to learn more about where this part of town has been and where it's going. Randy and Stephen welcome local podcasters Austin Meek and Garrett Simmons into the studio to discuss the past, present, and future of East Waco. Austin hosts Downtown Depot, a podcast and radio show produced in Waco. Garrett and his wife host The Wacoans Podcast, and show about people, news, and events in Waco.Immediately following the round-table discussion, listen to interviews with people who live in and work in the East Waco. First is Carla Dotson, Owner and Operator of Boardwalk on Elm, a favorite food truck in East Waco. And lastly, we talk with Doreen Ravenscroft about the Doris Miller Memorial that stands on the East banks of the Brazos. More about Downtown Depot: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/494243086/downtown-depotMore about The Wacoans Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/TheWacoansPodcastAbout the Waco History Podcast:Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan host the Waco History Podcast. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us onFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
In this episodeMillions of years before anyone lived here, nature conditioned Waco as a major crossroads. Dr. Joe Yelderman of Baylor's Department of Geosciences tells us how geology and natural history played a role in shaping Waco.Learn more about the mammoths here.About the podcastThe Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.Follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcastSupport the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Before Elvis was Elvis, Radio DJ Eddie Fadal befriended the entertainer. Elvis was stationed at Fort Hood in the late 50s. He traveled up to Waco almost every weekend to spend time with Fadal and his family. Eddie's daughter Janice talks to us about growing up with Elvis. We talk about where he went, what he did, his favorite foods and more!Interested in where The King spent his nights in Waco? Stay there when you visit! The Elvis House is listed on AirBnB, so support our guest and stay where Elvis stayed. More info at https://www.theelvishouse.com. Book via AirBnB here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20571659Learn more about the Waco History Podcast at wacohistorypodcast.com. Learn more about Waco's history at wacohistory.org.Like the show? Support us here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode: Haunted Waco, Part 2. On episode 5, Brad Turner laid the groundwork by telling us some of Waco’s most well-known supernatural stories. On this episode, Paranormal Investigator Cindy Little tells us about searching for ghosts in Waco. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
A 1926 football game between Baylor and Texas A&M went from rowdy, to riot, to murder. Author T.G. Webb spent years putting together a book on the dispute. He gives us background on how it happened, and talks about potential suspects.Get the book at tgwebb.com Learn more at wacohistorypodcast.com/battle-of-the-brazos--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Randy and Stephen sit down with Amy Balderach to talk about "The Reservation." During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Waco was the 2nd city in the United States to have a legal red-light district. From wacohistory,org:Though not uncommon to late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century cities, red-light districts were regarded as areas of ill repute where madams and prostitutes worked outside the law. Yet in 1889, Waco—a city lauded for its multitude of educational institutions and churches—became only the second city in the United States to legalize such an area. This district, known as the Reservation, or sometimes as Two-Street, brought in thousands of dollars of revenue to the city while serving as a source of controversy for many years.Learn more by reading the full entry here.The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Local Waco Folklore Expert Brad Turner joins Stephen and Randy to talk about Waco's most popular supernatural stories.Brad Turner is a professor at McLennan Community College. He's also the author of several books including, "Lust, Violence, Religion: Life in Historic Waco." It's available here: http://bit.ly/turnerwacobook.About the podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On this episode: Waco during World War I, told by the people who lived through it. Stephen brings his co-worker, Steven Sielaff, Senior Editor and Collection Manager for Baylor's Institute for Oral History, to guide us through how the war changed Waco.Check out Waco History articles on World War I:Camp MacArthur: http://www.wacohistory.org/items/show/48Rich Field Army Air Base: http://www.wacohistory.org/items/show/187About the Podcast:The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Randy and Stephen are joined by Dr. Mike Parrish to talk about Waco's Hometown Hero: Doris Miller. Miller is best known for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Dr. Parrish co-authored the book "Doris Miller, Pearl Harbor, and the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement" and shares what he's found about Miller in this episode.For the city of Waco, he's an icon to bravery. Efforts started in 2015 to build a memorial to Miller in Waco near the Brazos River. Find out more here: dorismillermemorial.org.Find out more about Doris Miller on his wacohistory.org page here: https://wacohistory.org/items/show/98The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past. Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.coHistory.org page here: https://wacohistory.org/items/show/98Find Mike's book here: http://a.co/d/a5o0gB9--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Fred Gildersleeve captured some of Waco's most iconic pictures--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
On the first episode of the Waco History Podcast, hosts Randy Lane, great-grandson of notable Waco architect Roy E. Lane, and Dr. Stephen Sloan of Baylor University's Oral History Institute, introduce themselves and talk about the reasons for starting the podcast. Stephen helps fact check one of Randy's family rumors. He also tells listeners some of the most important historic locations.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support