By Maria Petrolia
Until the 1990s, hockey teams in the South were few and far between. The heat prevalent in the southern states did not exactly lend itself to ice-based sports, leading locals to favor warm-weather…

By Katie Chakmakjian
The Waco Civic Theatre has brought culture and entertainment to the city of Waco for a century. It began as the Waco Little Theatre in 1925. The theater was founded by Mrs. Jean Fort, daughter-in-law…

By Nick Hernandez
“Tumbleweed Smith,” born Bob Lewis in Waco in 1935, has made a name for himself in broadcasting throughout the state of Texas. Inspired by a tumbleweed that rolled across his West Texas lawn and his…

By Allie R. Lopez
With a bellowing voice and masterful piano playing, Mercy Dee Walton emerged as an early influence in rhythm and blues not only in Waco but across the country. Towering figures such as Ma Rainey and…

By Allie R. Lopez
Wildlife expert and storyteller Harley Berg provided entertainment for those across Central Texas in the mid-twentieth century. Broadcasting from the local KWTX to the homes of Wacoans, the Harley…

By Regina Wenger
In Prohibition-era New York City, a dose of Texas flair enlivened the city’s roaring nightlife. Larger than life in personality and style, actress “Texas” Guinan commanded the nightclub circuit with…

By Regina Wenger
Music producers generally work behind the scenes garnering little public recognition. Some, like Phil Spector and Quincy Jones, earned acclaim outside the industry; however, others faded into…

By Regina Wenger
Beginning in 1945, the sounds of big bands, the blues, and rock blended on the dance floor of East Waco’s Walker’s Auditorium. Continually looking for ways to serve his community, African American…

By Regina Wenger
Founded in 1951, the Word label helped spark the multimillion-dollar genre of Christian Contemporary Music (CCM). And it was sportscaster and ministry student Jarrell McCracken who gave it a…

By Skylar Ray
In the 1960s and 1970s, the taste of pizza and the sound of Dixieland jazz went hand in hand for Wacoans who frequented Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. Shakey’s, the nation’s first franchise pizza chain, would…

By Anabel Burke
Elvis Presley is a name that hardly needs explanation. The king of rock-and roll stands as a cultural icon to this day, but few people know of his connection to Waco and Central Texas. In 1958, at the…

By Anabel Burke
“The King of Western Swing,” the “living root of country music.” Henry William “Hank” Thompson became a western swing and country music star right from his hometown of Waco. Hank was born in Waco on…

By Skylar Ray
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Wacoans could enjoy the full spectrum of the cinematic experience from the comfort of their own cars at the Circle Drive-In Theatre. This theatre, named for Waco's nearby…

By Sarah Miller
During the 1890s, the city of Waco was in a period of financial growth, and citizens were in need of a place to be entertained. Waco was home to several theaters and opera houses; however, local…

By Sarah Miller
Believed to have curative qualities, water from Waco’s artesian wells were popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Locals considered the discovery of the artesian water in…

By Prisca Bird
At the corner of Clifton Street and Elm Avenue is Jasper’s Bar-B-Que, Waco’s oldest-operating barbecue restaurant. Although East Waco has undergone many changes, Jasper’s has never changed locations…

By Amanda Sawyer
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,…

By Terri Jo Ryan
One of the most infamous publicity stunts of all time, "The Crash at Crush," took place about 3 miles south of West, Texas, featuring two locomotives of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad…

By Terri Jo Ryan
Decades before American Idol made stars out of wannabes, Waco had its own hit-maker, Mary Holliday.Holliday (1901-1969), believed to be the first female radio announcer in Texas, broadcast a…

By Amanda Sawyer
In 1930, Harry Burmeister opened Harry B’s at 1925 Speight Avenue. Burmeister, a former Baylor student and founding member of the Noze Brothers society, developed the small restaurant, soon making it…

By Amanda Sawyer
In 1948, brothers-in-law Jack Schaevitz and Lou Stein opened a small mobile food cart at James Connally Air Force Base. The two became so successful selling burgers and frozen custard to military men…

By Prisca Bird
In the early 1950s, McLennan County voters approved a $1.2 million bond towards the construction of a new agricultural and entertainment venue. Contractors Farnsworth and Chambers of Houston, Texas,…

By Amanda Sawyer
For over a century, the Hippodrome Theatre has stood as a downtown home for ever-changing forms of entertainment. The venue emerged in the early twentieth century through advocates for a downtown…

By Amanda Sawyer
Lake Waco is a reservoir and artificial lake which serves a variety of functions for the city of Waco. The dam was built in 1929 in order to control flooding of the Bosque River and to provide the…