Posts by Ashley Thornton
Jeffie Conner
By Stephanie Endicott Jeffie Obrea Allen Conner was born in 1895 on her family’s farm in Harrison Switch, Texas. She was the oldest of three children born to Meddie Lilian and Jeff D. Allen. Harrison Switch, later known as Harrison, was a small African American community eight miles southeast of Waco. Conner’s parents, and most…
Read MoreOf Statistics and Storytelling
By Fiona Bond Ever since Creative Waco was formed, just over 2 years ago, we have heard from people of all kinds in Waco about their dreams for making Waco a hub for arts and culture. It’s one of the most enjoyable aspects of our work – hearing about seedling ideas that, with the right…
Read MoreFour Reasons Why MCC Should be Your Next Choice for College
By Madiha Kark When you think of a typical college student, maybe you think of a life in bliss, time spent moving between classes, parties, and extracurricular activities. That is if the daunting task of getting out of bed has somehow been managed. We imagine carefree boys and girls enjoying their youth, spending money they…
Read MoreThe Heart of Texas Storytelling Guild
By Vivian Rutherford As a child, I was very close to my maternal grandmother. Spending many hours with her are some of my fondest memories. She told me stories about her family, her mom, and the grandmother that raised her. My great-great grandmother had been a slave and most of her children had been sold…
Read MoreProsper Waco: Waco’s Continued Commitment to Community Change
By Christina Helmick Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Personally, I think that quote described the atmosphere during the 2017 Prosper Waco Annual Summit. On October 12, hundreds of community members gathered at the Waco Convention Center to celebrate the work our community has…
Read MoreStarry Night in Waco
In preparing for the Waco Walks “Slightly Spooky Halloween Walk” that will take place tonight, I took a closer look at the Starry Night mural on 10th street between Columbus and Washington. I wondered who came up with the idea and who created the beautiful mural. I had enjoyed the murals on Elm Avenue, but…
Read MoreEKPHRASIS 2017: Doors
(Last year the Central Texas Artist Collective (CTAC) organized an exhibit downtown called EKPHRASIS. It was an exhibit of art and words. Local poets and artists were paired up to create art and poetry together that was then placed on exhibit in downtown Waco. This year the EKPHRASIS theme is An Exploration of Mind, Body,…
Read MoreIra Watkins: On Progress and Waco
(Ira Watkins is an artist from Waco. In 2005, he painted a mural of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the old pier that used to support the Interurban Railroad bridge. Now the old pier with its beautiful mural. serves as an observation deck overlooking the Brazos near the East end of the Suspension Bridge. …
Read MoreParent engagement – everybody knows we need it, but how do we do it?
By Sheila Whitehead Try something for me – Google the phrase “parent engagement in school.” What did you find? When I run that search, I find 3.8 million returns addressing or at least mentioning the importance of parent engagement in our schools. 3.8 million returns are ranging from scholarly articles about why it’s important to…
Read MoreEKPHRASIS 2017: An Exploration of Mind, Body, Soul
(Last year the Central Texas Artist Collective (CTAC) organized an exhibit downtown called EKPHRASIS. It was an exhibit of art and words. Local poets and artists were paired up to create art and poetry together that was then placed on exhibit in downtown Waco. This year the EKPHRASIS theme is An Exploration of Mind, Body,…
Read More