Category Archives: People
Sense of Place, Part 1
The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines sense of place as: Those things that add up to a feeling that a community is a special place, distinct from anywhere else. We don’t know of any “thing” that contributes more to a sense of place than the people who live there and the stories they share. In 2009, when Cynthia Beeman, then-board member of the Texas Oral History Association, presented us with the Mary Faye Barnes … Read more
The Kind of Neighborhood It Is, Part 1
When I heard about Crestview Neighborhood Association’s Volunteer Appreciation Party, coming up on April 9, 2012, it got me thinking about all the different ways people contribute to our community. Don Gresser and his wife, Gladys, had lived in Crestview for 61 years when we interviewed them in March 2009. In telling us about their lives, more than once they mentioned how they volunteered for one project or another. For many years, they helped distribute … Read more
Blooming Where You’re Planted, Part 2
It’s not too surprising that so much local community activity these days focuses on green growing things. One hundred years ago this area was described as “rich farming lands that once were illimitable prairies.” And, since neighborhoods began to be established here more than 70 years ago, people have continued to plant gardens, trees, and other landscaping, and they’ve worked together to create and enhance Brentwood Park and other public spaces. Mickey Pease Bauer is … Read more