By Jill Barrow

Last October I failed retirement!  But, in a good way…

I was honored to be asked to assume the duties of Interim Executive Director of The Historic Waco Foundation.  Since then I have been getting the question more and more often — “What does Historic Waco do?

One thing Historic Waco is known for doing is maintaining four historic homes (McCulloch House, Earle-Napier-Kinnard House, East Terrace and Fort House) and interpreting Waco’s history through them to visitors.  Will we continue telling the history of Waco through these homes?  Yes!  In fact, these fine homes will be open to the public more often.

East Terrace and Earle-Napier-Kinnard will become our main stage through which to share the cultural history of Waco.  Even though the homes were built in the late 1800’s, they were occupied until the mid-1900’s.  By changing the collections within the homes, we can interpret different decades of Waco history, and share the cultural history of more than just the small period of time we currently interpret.  We will have one house focusing on one decade and the other on a different time period.  And we will change the interpretation every year or two.  This will allow us to share the stories of all the diverse cultures in Waco, and not just the history of the original families of these homes.  The houses will become a backdrop or stage for presenting Waco’s cultural history.  You can visit the houses again and again and have a different experience.

East Terrace will also become the site of our large temporary exhibits.  Being able to have these exhibits on the first floor will make them accessible to all.  Earle-Napier-Kinnard will have a community space, where community group can display items and share stories of their culture and history.

We need the public to visit the homes, and plan on offering McCulloch as a rental facility.  The downstairs parlor and dining room are perfect for small weddings and meetings.  This house has a working kitchen and dressing areas, and all of the rentable areas are on the first floor, making this house very accessible.  Just imagine sitting in the parlor where Mrs. McCulloch taught piano or entertained guests.  McCulloch House will still be open as a house museum for visitors to see how the Caldwells and their 5 children lived in a two-room cabin, and the McCullochs built the fine two story adjacent structure to house their 10 children.

The homes are part of the answer to the question, “What does Historic Waco do?”  but there is more…and that’s where you come in!

Historic Waco is the storyteller of Waco history.  That is what our answer should be.  Our mission is to preserve and to present the history of Waco – and that means that we interpret the history of Waco through artifacts and stories.  When the Waco Indians settled this area, they told stories about their life here, and left an oral history along with the archeological data.  George Barnard opened his Indian trading post in 1844 and left a fascinating history in his record books – records that tell the story of people and objects sold and traded.  Neil McLennan shared stories of the beauty of this area and enticed others to come settle here.  Jacob de Cordova and George B. Erath shared their vision of a new town called Waco through stories of what was offered here.  The families who built and lived in the four homes Historic Waco maintains, the Forts, the McCullochs, the Earles, the Napiers and Kinnards, and the Manns, all left stories of their lives in those homes through their letters and journals.

Storytelling and education go hand in hand.  Historic Waco is expanding its educational programs to include monthly Family Fundays held at the historic houses.  The themes of the monthly Family Fundays relate to the month and to the history of the house.  We have wonderful programs to offer schools and their students.  There are different themes for the school programs; medicine, games, holidays, etiquette, transportation and migration, architecture, and the good ole days!  Teachers can also check out traveling trucks to use in their classrooms.  Adults can come to our fall and spring lectures.  Families can join in the fun and festivities of our Texas Independence Day Celebration on March 2, on the grounds of East Terrace, or visit with Santa and see our homes all decked out for Christmas the second weekend of December.

Because Historic Waco is more than just four historic homes, we must continue sharing this city’s history.  We need volunteers, sponsors and others who want to step up and assist us with this challenge.  Preserving history and story-telling can be difficult in this modern world, but it is imperative that we do so.  We need people who are passionate about all aspects of the cultural history of Waco and who are willing to share the stories.

Can we count on you to join us as we change to be able to tell the story of Waco, past and present?  If so, contact us!  We will put you to work!

Jill Barrow is currently the Interim Executive Director of Historic Waco.  She has served as the director of the Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center, and as the Director of Education for the Mayborn Museum.  She “retired” in June after teaching science for 10 years at Rapoport Academy Middle School on the Quinn campus.

The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.

By Major Anita Caldwell

Homelessness could involve my son, your sister, your father who just didn’t want you to know about their problem and didn’t want to be a burden to you.  Homelessness is not caused by The Salvation Army or any other organization; but our goal is to end homelessness by all means possible.  The homeless belong to Waco and McLennan County.  They belong to all of us.  They are the people created by God who walk a broken road.  They are the broken souls of our community, our county.

While at our community kitchen, I had the privilege of interviewing five of our homeless citizens of Waco.  They represented our veterans, college students, mentally ill and those waiting on disability.  Here are their stories.

As a teenager, Ellen had experienced a difficult time and was sent to the Methodist Children’s Home.  At age eighteen, she was released and with nowhere to go, she chose to live on the streets of Waco.  As I sat with her on the green grass beside the Community Kitchen, I asked her how long she had been on the streets and her reply was ten years.  She felt safe in Waco and besides, all her resources were located downtown including the food stamp office, the health center and her lawyer, who was working on her disability case due to a car accident.  She said she really didn’t need The Salvation Army but appreciated the clothing we provide her from time to time.  She wanted to talk with her grandfather, so I called him, but her grandmother had just had a stroke and he could not invite her to come home.

Bob is a veteran with PTSD.  He admits that he can’t keep a job but says that he can hold signs for stores going out of business.  He has family in Waco and this always brings him back home.  He said that The Salvation Army was the only safe place to stay.

Jake has COPD and was approved for disability two years ago but so far had no received any support.  All his resources are located downtown Waco, so he lives in his car and eats one meal a day at The Salvation Army while waiting for payments to begin.  He worked all his life as a welder, but his illness no longer permitted him to work.  He is angry with life and not open for much conversation.

Peter said that he was a foreign exchange student who left school and had been homeless for four months.  All he wanted was a job, a bed, and a shower.  He is only nineteen years old and had studied at TSTC.  From his experience, there are just too many rules.   He recognizes rules are not always easy and they are a choice necessary to reach goals.

Peter’s father had been a veteran but died and his mother is in a nursing home. He had lived with his parents in Waco much of his life, but that home had been sold.  His greatest fear was the Illuminati who had set dogs to chase him and bite him.  His one goal in life is to create signs that make people smile.  I quickly realized that Peter would not be able to work but needed the care of PATH and Mental Health.

When these people cross the path of The Salvation Army, we encourage them to enter a true program for change.  We invite PATH from MHMR to meet with those who are mentally ill.  We contact our veteran’s liaison to meet with the veterans who need help (and we work together to find them housing when possible.  If individuals are suffering from addiction, we offer to take them to a free Salvation Army six-month rehabilitation program.  We provide safe shelter, hot meals, a place to shower, and refuge from the streets.  Our case managers also provide guidance and work to identify the underlying cause of crisis, finding ways to resolve these issues and implement permanent solutions.  Our goal is to help mend the broken road they’re on.  Those we serve are created by God; they are His children. The Salvation Army is committed to meeting human need without discrimination and without judgement. We don’t ask their religion, heritage or orientation.  Our call is to walk with them from a place of street life to permanent housing, regardless of what that might take in time or patience.  Jesus asks that we care for the “least of these” as if it was Himself.   This we will continue to do with honor, respect and diligence thanks to a supporting community which recognizes that the faces of our homeless, and how we care for them, reflects the character of our community and the character within ourselves.

Major Anita Caldwell was born in Olean, NY, to a family of ministers.   She attended and graduated from Kentucky Mountain Bible Institute with a BA in Religion.  Her MA is in Pastoral Leadership from Olivet Nazarene University.  She and her husband, Bradley Caldwell are Majors in The Salvation Army and are Regional Coordinators for this area.  They have served as ministers of the gospel in The Salvation Army for 24 years.  After serving in three USA appointments, they were transferred as Regional Leaders in Moldova, Romania, Russia and the country of Georgia over a twelve-year period.  They received their Waco assignment after serving at International Headquarters in London, UK.

The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.

*Names changed throughout to protect privacy.

(March 6, 2018 is the Joint Primary Election.  Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM.  For a list of polling sites, click here: McLennan County Election Day Voting Centers.  If you are a registered voter in McLennan County, you can vote at any center, regardless of where you live.  – ABT)

By Diamante Maya

The United States is a country that prides itself on being a democracy.  We see it as so important that we like to help establish democracies in countries around the world.  One of the most basic principles of a democracy is that the people vote for who they want to represent them in the government.  Despite the importance we place on our value of being a democracy, we as a country have low voter turnout.  In the 2016 Presidential election, 40% of the eligible voter population in the U.S. DID NOT show up to vote.  And this was actually a higher voter turnout than has been the case in recent history.

I remember graduating high school, turning 18 and being able to vote.  I remember how overwhelming it felt because I had never been taught how to vote. I had so many questions about the process.  Am I registered? How do I register? What am I voting for? How do I pick who to vote for? It’s been almost two decades since I was 18 and I have yet to be taught how to vote.  I’m not aware of any classes or how-to manuals on this.  It wasn’t taught in high school and it’s not taught in college.  Instead, I have had to teach myself.

When I lived in Los Angeles in my early 20’s, I remember receiving a booklet in the mail. I had not requested it.  It just came automatically. I don’t know if the city sent it or not because I was not paying attention to that at the time.  It was a non-partisan booklet and it would, for example, list a particular proposition and what those “for” say and what those “against” say.  It was up to me to decide what I believed.  I remember how much relief I felt receiving this booklet in the mail.  Otherwise, I would not have known an election was happening or what it was about.

Then I moved to Waco and in the 8 years I have lived here, I have never automatically received a booklet in the mail to help me out.  In fact, many times, I did not even know an election was happening.  I had to be proactive to find out.  The first year I was here, there was an election.  I went online trying to find information and I clicked around trying to figure out what was on the ballot.  I couldn’t figure it out and I consider myself quite adept at navigating the internet.  I wrote to some friends that were more knowledgeable than I on the topic and they gave me a link to follow to the city website.  I remember clicking on the link for a sample ballot and seeing a bunch of letters and numbers. It was not straight forward.  I randomly clicked and it pulled up a ballot, but it only told me what was on the ballot.  It did not tell me what each person stood for.

As I have talked to people, I have realized that my experience is not the exception.  It appears to be the norm. Out of curiosity, I looked it up and discovered California had a 75% voter turn-out compared to Texas’ 43% in the 2016 Presidential Elections.  These numbers vary each Presidential election, but stay in a similar range.

Fast forward to February of this year, 2018. I again asked if there was a useful, simple, comprehensive website.  This time I asked some people from the League of Women Voters.  Finally, finally, I was led to a website that I wished I had discovered many years ago when I turned 18.  It’s a non-partisan, comprehensive, easy to navigate website that only requires your address. It gives some basic information on candidates and, for those that provide information; it gives you links to learn more about them.  You can access it from your computer or your smart phone.

So, if you are like me and you would like a comprehensive, easy to navigate, website, I highly recommend www.vote411.org.  Here are the questions the website answers:

• Am I registered to vote?
• Where can I vote?
• What if I can’t go in person?
• Who and what is on the ballot?
• What does each candidate stand for?
• What are the dates for voting?
• How do I register to vote?

In Texas, we don’t just receive information automatically in the mail about elections, unless it’s a candidate trying to get you to vote for them.  It’s an area we could improve; however, until then, each of us has to be proactive.  A democracy can’t possibly have representatives for the people if people do not show up to vote for who they want to represent them.  Election Day for the primaries is March 6, 2018.  Those candidates that get the most votes from each party will run against each other in the November elections.  Check out www.vote411.org, exercise your right to participate in selecting who represents you in our government, and spread the word.

Diamante Maya is social worker by trade and a political activist by hobby.  Inspired by the life of Jesus, she is an advocate for the marginalized in society.