On the corner of South Eleventh Street and Cleveland Ave, Cruz’s Drive Inn stood as a cornerstone to the community for over 50 years. Four generations of the Cruz family served both the neighborhood near the Kate Ross apartments and countless Hispanic Wacoans. The store became a hub for news and support for its many patrons.

 Cruz’s Drive Inn was opened in 1965 by Juan and Lilia Cruz. They purchased the store at 826 South Eleventh Street from the Tusa family, prominent Waco grocers at the time, to help relieve Juan’s father Cayetano from a depression caused by the loss of his wife, Leonarda. In the early years, Cayetano and Lilia ran the store during the day, and Juan closed the store at night after his shift at Clark Transit Mix Concrete. Juan maintained his job driving a concrete truck until the store was well established and proved profitable.

 The store had a deli counter selling meats and cheeses, bread, candy, beer, cigarettes, sodas, kerosene, and snow cones. As the business grew, so did the property around the store. Juan purchased a former bar and repair shop that would become storage buildings for the store. Lilia, who ran the financial side of the business, saved profits from snow cone sales to expand the store’s physical footprint. They saved enough to add onto the building, and in early 1980, the expanded store opened without missing a day of business. The larger establishment allowed for the sale of more products, many of which catered to the Hispanic community. Items included religious candles, oils, Mexican herbs and spices, piñatas, Spanish language books and magazines, card games such as lotería and naipes, paletas, Mexican sodas, and more. In later years, the store even sold phone cards and money transfers. These were purchased mainly by Hispanic immigrants and workers to stay in contact with and support their families in Mexico or other Latin American countries.

 As a neighborhood store, Cruz’s maintained a regular clientele, seeing generations of families returning year after year. Through good times and bad, the Cruz Family and their clients supported each other. Mr. Cruz often extended credit to those in need, allowing them to purchase goods and later pay the bill when they were able. Some of these debts remained unpaid when the store closed but were proof of the goodwill and faith between the family and community. This mutual respect also added to Juan’s property holdings. As neighbors moved away or passed, the families often offered Mr. Cruz the first opportunity to purchase the land or houses. In addition to supporting the immediate neighborhood, Cruz’s supported other small local businesses, including Jimenez Bakery and Tiempo Newspaper, by purchasing and distributing their goods.

In 1995, Juan’s first grandchild began working at the store part time in the evenings. Seven of his eleven grandchildren would do the same. In 1999, Juan suffered a heart attack and could not work for several months. At this point, his daughter Diana Hernandez began working full time at the store. She quickly learned the business, taking inventory, purchasing goods from regular vendors, operating the cash register, and serving as the food manager over the deli counter. As more family members became involved in the operation of the store, it became the setting for many birthdays and small holidays and a place for the grandkids to stop by and visit between classes at MCC, TSTC, or Baylor University. 

Juan Cruz passed in May 2007, leaving the business in the hands of his wife and children. His daughter, Diana Hernandez, was integral to the running of the store until it closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Mrs. Cruz sold the property, nearly a half city block acquired piecemeal by Mr. Cruz based on his foresight of the eventual change and development of the neighborhood. Mr. Cruz envisioned opening a storage facility on the land he acquired but never had the opportunity; however, the neighborhood did change as he predicted. Nearby houses that had long been rental properties were sold and renovated to accommodate the influx of visitors to the Magnolia Silos.

 Cruz’s Drive Inn was a family business, not only for the Cruzes, but for those in the surrounding community. Customers often returned after years of absence and recalled to their children buying candy, pickles, chips, snow cones, and chopped beef sandwiches. Additionally, bilingual service (English and Spanish), evoked a sense of place in a new environment for Hispanics new to Waco. Familiar products and the atmosphere made Cruz’s a place of comfort and community to all who walked through the doors.

For more (including 6 images & 2 audio files) view the original article

Baylor University was the first coeducational university in the South, and only the second in the country. Even so, the education women received at Baylor for many years was fundamentally different than the men’s. Women stayed within the bounds of the more “feminine” degrees such as education or music, and access to on-campus organizations was severely limited. Female students were held to high standards and kept under close supervision by the Dean of Women. They had to adhere to a strict dress code (superintendents could remove undesirable clothing from student’s closets), attend Sunday school and church services every Sunday, sign out any time they left campus, observe a strict curfew, and keep good grades in order to be allowed to date, ride in a car, or leave campus.

As women’s rights activists made headway in the early twentieth century, coed institutions received more and more female applicants. Baylor was no exception. In the 1920s, Baylor received so many applications from women that they had to turn them away due to a lack of space. At the time, Georgia Burleson Hall and a few small annexes were the only women’s residential spaces on campus, and women who were not from Waco were not allowed to live off campus due to university administration’s desire to keep them protected and out of trouble. The male students, by comparison, were not subject to the same levels of supervision as the women and were trusted to live off campus. The ones that did live on campus were housed in then-brand-new Brooks Hall.

Despite being advertised as better than the accommodations at other universities, Burleson Hall was cramped, leaky, outdated, and only housed around 200 women, and the annexes could hold around 200 altogether. In the mid-1920s, the number of women enrolled at Baylor was around one thousand. In light of this space issue, President Samuel Palmer Brooks began planning the addition of a new women’s dormitory. The Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas, having observed the piety and Christian attitudes of Baylor students, took an interest and pledged to help the university raise funds for this new building. They advertised in Waco newspapers to secure donations from the community, and sororities on campus aided them with fundraisers.

In 1928, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the site of the new dormitory on the corner of Seventh and Speight. Baylor alumna, renowned author, and Columbia University professor Dorothy Scarborough addressed the spectators at this event. Scarborough emphasized the importance of remembering the exceptional women in Baylor’s history and made a commitment to be present at similar events in the future. Baylor administrators overseeing the project hoped that the groundbreaking might serve as a reminder to the community that the project was still underway, and hopefully inspire them to resume their donations, which had decreased significantly.

Woman’s Memorial Dormitory, named in honor of the Woman’s Missionary Union, was finished in 1930 and cost approximately $350,000. Securing funding for this project was no small feat, as at this time the country was suffering in the early days of the Great Depression. At this time, the building could house 245 women, and boasted a dining hall, a chapel, a study hall, and two banquet rooms. On October 15, 1930, the university suspended classes for two hours so that faculty, staff, and students could attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new dormitory. President Brooks, speaking at this ceremony, thanked the Woman’s Missionary Union for making the idea for the new dormitory into a reality, and further thanked all the women of Texas for their contributions to the project. Mrs. F. S. Davis, president of the Woman’s Missionary Union, also addressed the attendees, speaking of her hopes that the women of the dormitory would grow in their faith and be strong, Christian leaders in their community. “The fervent prayer,” she said, “that wells up from the heart of the Women’s Missionary Union today is that ‘our daughters may be as polished cornerstones after the similitude of a palace.’ For truly you, our daughters, are our glory and our crown.”

In 2005, Memorial and neighboring hall Alexander became home to the university’s Honors College Living and Learning Community, or HC-LLC (often called the Hick-Lick), with Memorial housing the women and Alexander housing the men. Four years later the university upgraded the community to the status of residential college. The Honors Residential College is known across campus for its tight-knit community, goofy traditions, and, in the words of one former Baylor professor,its “common love of uncommon things.” In 2023, the university renovated both Memorial and Alexander, updating facilities, rooms, and common spaces, as well as adding the new Carona Family Commons, a two-floor shared common area connecting the two buildings.

Woman’s Memorial Dormitory, now simply called Memorial Hall, has been a welcoming home away from home to Baylor women for almost 100 years. Memorial was instrumental in improving women’s access to education at Baylor when it was built, and the impact it and its founders had on the university is still visible.

For more (including 12 images & 4 audio files) view the original article

Since the nineteenth century, Waco has been renowned for the quality and number of higher education institutions in the city and surrounding area. Despite this reputation, the Waco area did not boast its own junior college until the 1960s.

The idea of starting a junior college in Waco originated with Waco Chamber of Commerce member Paul Marable. When Marable joined the chamber, one of his initial concerns was the lack of a junior college for the Waco community. Senior members of the chamber hesitated to bring up the discussion of a junior college, as they feared Baylor University would feel threatened by the possibility of a new institute for higher education in Waco. Marable, unfazed by these worries, went to Baylor administration and presented his idea to President Abner McCall. Rather than being offended, McCall supported the idea wholeheartedly. With this endorsement, the Chamber began to discuss the feasibility of a new junior college.

 In November 1964, a steering committee appointed by the Waco Chamber of Commerce met for the first time to begin planning the creation of a new junior college. One year later, local voters approved the creation of the McLennan County Junior College Tax District and elected a seven-member governing board. The college was christened McLennan Community College (often shortened to MCC) in early 1966, making it the first junior college in Texas to incorporate as a community college. That same year, the board hired Dr. Wilbur Ball as the college's first president. Ball was well-suited to the position, having previously worked in the registrar’s office at Del Mar College and served as dean and vice president at Wharton College.

A great deal of consideration went into the selection of the college’s site. The board initially considered putting the new college downtown in an effort to promote business there, but MCC administrators, including President Ball, quickly decided that none of the buildings available downtown were suited to hold a college. School administration decided early on that the college should be in or near Waco proper, as that was the population center of the district. The college’s original temporary location was the deactivated James Connally Air Force Base, which it shared with the newly opened Texas State Technical College (then called the James Connally Technical Institute).

MCC held its first day of classes in September 1966. When the college opened, it boasted twenty-two faculty and had an enrollment of 858 students. MCC was open enrollment, and in its first year of operation a significant portion of the student body were minority students. In order to reflect this, MCC sought out minorities when hiring faculty as well. Ms. Ezra Henderson, a Waco native and one of the college’s original faculty members in 1966, was the first African American faculty member at MCC.

The board approved the selection of the historic William Cameron property, comprising 200 acres, for MCC’s permanent site in 1966. They acquired the land for $290,000. Construction on new, permanent facilities on the Cameron property began in 1967 and finished in 1969, with classes began at the new location that January. The next year, legislature approved a $4,000,000 bond issue to build additional facilities.

MCC became the first community college in Texas to run its own police academy in 1977. In 1987, MCC bought the old Waco High School campus, which stood empty after Waco High merged with Richfield High School. The purchase added 40 acres, four tennis courts, and new school facilities to the existing campus. The old school building became the Community Services Center. The college grew quickly, expanding to 5,750 students and 165 full-time faculty by 1990. At that point, the school had become a member of the American Association of Junior Colleges, the Texas Public Junior College Association, and an affiliate member of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. Into the 2020s, McLennan Community College’s enrollment and number of faculty have grown to almost ten times their original size. It has made a name for itself in academic excellence and holds true to its commitment to offering a high-quality education while remaining affordable.

For more (including 10 images & 9 audio files) view the original article

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 sports such as baseball and football. However, the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) expansion teams began to gradually make their way further south throughout the 1990s, spreading a new interest in the sport. In 1993, the expansion reached Texas when the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, becoming the beloved Dallas Stars.

With these new NHL teams came their minor league counterparts. The majority of these new minor league teams belonged to the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), which operated from 1996-2001 and stretched from New Mexico to Mississippi. In 1996, Waco became home to one of Texas’ five (soon to become eleven) WPHL teams, the Wizards. The Waco Wizards played in the WPHL’s first ever game on October 16, 1996, against the Central Texas Stampede from Belton. The game resulted in an unfortunate 5-4 loss for Waco.

The Wizards played their home games in Waco’s Heart of Texas Coliseum, now called the Extraco Events Center. Their first home game exemplified both the struggles and the vibrancy of minor league play in the South. Waco’s humidity caused a thick fog to gather over the ice, and the Wizards’ administration had to send for dehumidifiers from Dallas to dry out the building. They were able to clear some of the fog, but the glass around the rink remained foggy throughout the game, blocking the enthusiastic but somewhat confused fans. On top of that, a creative and well-intentioned mascot stunt went awry. During the pre-game ceremonies, the Waco mascot was lowered from the Coliseum’s ceiling in full Wizard costume. Unfortunately, the bulky costume got in the way of the mascot attempting to release himself from the straps after the stunt, resulting in him hanging for a while over the ice.

In their first season, the Wizards averaged 3,161 fans in attendance (about one third of the Coliseum’s capacity) and finished with a 30-34 record. The team experienced a sophomore slump the next year, averaging 2,048 fans in attendance each game and finishing 18-51, a WPHL record for a team’s worst season. However, new head coach Todd Lalonde turned the team around in its third season and brought the Wizards to the playoffs after achieving the Wizards’ first ever winning record with 40 wins and 29 losses. Despite the Wizards’ success, attendance stayed low, with an average of 2,137 fans a game.

In their three and a half seasons, the Wizards replaced their manager four times and never had a player advance to the National Hockey League (NHL). Their overall record came to 99 wins and 114 losses. During the first three seasons of operation, the team reportedly lost three million dollars. In 1999, the Wizard’s owner, Ohio businessman Joe Milano, sold the team to Rick Dames, a radio station owner from Corpus Christi. Dames in turn partnered with baseball executives Stu and Sue Kehoe in an attempt to revitalize the dying franchise. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and when they were unable to make their lease payment to the Coliseum, the team folded after only having played 27 games in the 1999-2000 season. The Wizards went out the same way they began: with a loss, this time to the Corpus Christi IceRays.

The WPHL lasted another year after the Wizards folded before merging with the Central Hockey League, which in turn lasted until 2013. The WPHL saw a resurrection in 2024, when a group of minor league teams in California came together to revive the once-beloved league. Although the Wizards only existed for a few years, they sparked a love for hockey in the people of Waco.

For more (including 9 images & 1 video) view the original article

The rapid rise of migrant labor in Texas in the 1940s brought large numbers of laborers to Waco. To accommodate this new situation, the city of Waco acquired funds to build the Waco Farm Labor Camp, a center where workers could stay and receive aid while following the crops. Although the camp was only in operation for about twenty years, it had a long-lasting impact on the Waco community.

The Bracero Program, a program through which American farmers in need of laborers could hire Mexican workers in need of a job, began in 1942 due to a decrease in available American farm labor caused by World War II. Although Texas was initially excluded from this program due to its history of discrimination against Mexican immigrants, the “Bracero Ban” was lifted in 1946, and Texas became one of the first stops workers would make as they followed work across the United States.

Waco quickly became a hub for migrant workers because of its cotton crops. As more and more workers came into Waco, the McLennan County Farm Bureau, the Texas Employment Commission, Texas Agri-Life Extension, and the Waco Chamber of Commerce came together to provide them with resources and a place to stay. The Chamber of Commerce began raising funds in 1946, and the new farm labor center was built by the next harvest season.

Initially, the camp consisted of a large Quonset hut on the corner of 3rd Street and Marlborough (now Bosque) Avenue. It accommodated about 100 workers, providing housing, showers, first aid supplies, and other support. However, due to its frequent use and the number of families that came into town every harvest, the facility was quickly expanded in 1947. Along with the services provided at the camp, volunteer organizations such as Church Women United in Waco worked to supply laborers with food, a nursery, a kindergarten, immunizations, and other services.

Aside from its primary function, the camp also became a home for other farm support services. It housed the McLennan County Farm Bureau’s income tax office and often hosted 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) events and livestock shows. It also served as a meeting place, where local farmers could come to recruit laborers and workers could come when they needed a job.

The center was renovated and expanded in 1957. It grew to accommodate up to 400 workers in a season. It continued to be a hub for agricultural activity in Waco until the 1960s. In 1964, the government discontinued the Bracero Program, and Waco no longer needed a labor center. Its use slowly decreased, and the city finally demolished it and built a new health center in its place during Urban Renewal. The site of the labor camp is now home to the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District.

For more (including 7 images) view the original article

Manuel "Manny" Sustaita was a Vietnam veteran, civil activist, and the founder of Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Though an insurance salesman by trade, he spent most of his life advocating for veterans and their families, Hispanic communities, and other underserved groups in Waco.

Sustaita was born in 1944 in Waco. As a boy he sold newspapers, shined shoes, and did other odd jobs to help support his family. In his free time, he played sports with the Waco Boy’s Club and especially enjoyed playing basketball. Though his parents did not speak English, they required their children to learn it, resulting in Sustaita and his siblings speaking what he called “neighborhood Spanish,” a mix of Spanish and English. Sustaita struggled with academics, and he dropped out of high school when he was fifteen.

Sustaita joined the National Guard at age sixteen, partially because of a desire to travel, and partially because of his love for movies like To Hell and Back and The D.I. Popular in the fifties and sixties, these movies depicted life in the military in a thrilling and heroic light, and Sustaita was moved by the example of the heroes in these films. For someone under the age of eighteen to join the military at that time, they had to have written parental consent. His father could not write, so Sustaita forged his signature. In 1963, Sustaita enlisted in the Marines. After training in San Diego, he went to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and then to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. After this first deployment, he served in Costa Rica and the Mediterranean before volunteering to join reconnaissance in Okinawa. With reconnaissance, he toured in the Philippines, Thailand, and finally went to Vietnam in 1965. Sustaita’s battalion operated out of an American air force base in Da Nang. Their primary objective was to scout for the division, and they chiefly had contact with Viet Cong guerilla units. Sustaita did one tour of duty in Vietnam before returning to the United States and serving at Camp Pendleton in California. He finally left the Marines in 1966.

When he returned to Waco, Sustaita became a life insurance salesman, drawing on his sales experience from his childhood jobs and love for interacting with people. After working for MetLife Insurance for a while, he started his own insurance company, called Multi Services Associates. He married Patricia Rivera Sustaita, and they had two daughters before getting divorced in 1981.

Sustaita made a name for himself in Waco as a civil activist. He was a founding member of the Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, and he later served as its president. He served on the board of the Waco Boys’ Club and was involved with the Red Cross, but perhaps his most memorable contribution to the Waco community was his work on the Waco Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Sustaita was deeply moved the first time he visited the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Knowing that there were many people in Waco who had lost brothers and sons in Vietnam, as well as a significant number of other veterans, he resolved to build a memorial for the people of Waco. He, along with the Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, began the planning process in 1987, but due to a series of delays, the memorial was not dedicated until 2004.

After a lifetime spent serving his country and community, Manuel Sustaita died peacefully on May 20, 2020. He left behind a legacy of activism, having worked tirelessly to aid veterans, the Hispanic community, and all who needed help in the Waco area.

For more (including 9 images & 9 audio files) view the original article

One of the most popular places to visit on Baylor University’s campus is the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, home to Baylor’s live bear mascot. The first habitat was built in 1945, but through the years the desire to increase the quality of life for the bears drove the university to rebuild the habitat again and again, until it became the haven it is today.

Baylor has had a live bear mascot since 1917. The first live bear mascot, Ted, often called “Bruin,” belonged to a nearby Camp MacArthur soldier, who let students parade the bear across the football field during a game and then left the bear to the students when he was deployed overseas. Ted served as Baylor’s mascot until the early 1920s. As there was no habitat at this time, Ted was kept at the Texas Cotton Palace’s small zoo. The bears following Ted would sometimes live off campus but were for the most part kept on university grounds, usually in a pen along Waco Creek. In 1932, Baylor student Bill Boyd acquired a bear named Joe College from the Cotton Palace, which was closing. Joe had been a show bear, and his friendliness and personality quickly made him a favorite of Baylor students. Boyd kept the bear in his backyard until Joe grew to weigh 500 pounds and could no longer be safely housed at his residence. At this point, the Baylor University Chamber of Commerce volunteered to build him a home on campus. Joe College was retired in 1940, and Chamber officially assumed care of his successor, Little Joe.

In 1945, Chamber raised the funds and built Baylor’s first real bear habitat. Located (as it is today) on the banks of Waco Creek, the habitat was known as the “Bear Pit.” It featured a swimming pool and space for the bears to climb or walk around, surrounded by a barrier originally made of iron bed headboards. The Bear Pit underwent renovations in 1949, 1953, and 1969. Chamber also added a trailer in 1953 which transported the bears to and from football games, when previously the bears had been transported in a car or train. The bears frequently tested the strength and security of the Bear Pit with their repeated and often successful escape attempts. The Pit was the home of Baylor’s bears until 1977. At this point, the university decided to demolish it and build the Steve Hudson Memorial Bear Plaza in its place. The Steve Hudson Memorial Bear Plaza was built into the sloping bank of Waco Creek, with an open area where the bears could exercise at creek level and pens and viewing decks at ground level. It was three times the size of its predecessor and included a waterfall and AstroTurf. The Plaza held a Class-C zoo license from the United States Department of Agriculture and was approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to hold up to three bears.

In 1999, Chamber began pushing the university to update the habitat again, and in 2003 the university finally began the process. Chamber members worked with administrators from Cameron Park Zoo to develop the plans for the bears’ new home. The new habitat opened in 2005, and university administration named it the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat Complex after the project’s lead donors. This complex, which still houses the university mascots, is Baylor’s most sophisticated habitat yet. The environment resembles the bears’ natural environment and includes many new features designed for the enrichment and care of the bears. Another major change to the enclosure was the elevation, as the whole complex was raised to ground level. Viewing areas encircle about half of the outside border, allowing visitors to easily observe the bears’ behavior, and placards provide information about both the history of Baylor’s bears and about black bears in general.

The Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat is the safest place on campus and could withstand winds from a category five hurricane, according to the Robert Reid Director of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, Dakota Farquhar-Caddell. The habitat received accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 2021. It is the only university mascot facility to achieve this designation and one of only two AZA accredited zoos on a college campus. Finally, the university added a Community Education Pavilion to the complex in 2022, promoting community engagement and education about the bears.

For more (including 7 images & 4 audio files) view the original article

In 1969, in response to health-care disparities in Waco and McLennan County, local leaders and physicians established the Family Practice Center, now called Waco Family Medicine. Prior to these efforts, many Wacoans lacked access to adequate medical services. In fact, the patient-doctor ratio was 1,200 to 1. Seeing a profound community need, a partnership between community leaders and the McLennan County Medical Society sought to bridge this divide between patients’ needs, particularly those in poverty, and health-care access. Further, they officially started the Waco-McLennan County Family Practice Residency Program in 1970, the first of its kind in Texas. Through this program and the establishment of the Family Practice Center, they hoped to attract new physicians to Waco and to provide medical care to those in need.

The Family Practice Residency Program accepted its first two residents, Bing Oei and Julia Esquivel, on July 1, 1970. Learning from local physicians, including the first hired faculty Dr. May Wang, they graduated in 1972. Over the years, the residency program continued to expand and emphasize medical education as one of their primary goals as they trained physicians locally. While some went to practice in other states and countries, many stayed in Texas. As of 2017, over 300 of the 400-plus graduates practiced in the state. Further, McLennan County’s active physician population increased as the program expanded. Within thirty years, the number of family doctors in the area increased from 130 to over 300. In addition to resident education, the Family Practice Center also opened the Faculty Development Center in 1978, where practicing family physicians could continue learning, staying up to date on evolving medical practices.

During the Family Practice Center’s initial community outreach efforts in the 1970s, they also opened their first clinic at 1700 Providence Drive. At this location, they began their mission to provide care for residents with lower incomes and those without private or government-supported health insurance. Further, beginning in 1971, the Family Practice Center worked to meet the needs of community members without access to transportation. Thus, their mobile clinic went into communities across Waco and McLennan County, offering medical options to those who could have otherwise gone without care. These efforts ended in 1976 as the Family Health Center began establishing additional health centers across the community. With easier access, mobile clinic use decreased, and patients were able to commute to the clinic nearest them.

The rise in physician, resident, and patient numbers required building expansion. In 1983, the Family Health Center relocated up the road to 1600 Providence Drive; a shift made possible through their fundraising efforts and subsequent, generous donations from the public. Previous CEO Dr. Roland Goertz and other leaders within the clinic also saw a need for federal funding to assist their community care goals. As of 1999, the clinic became a Federally Qualified Health Center, able to receive federal funding to sustain their expansive services and enable continued growth. Since then, additional clinic locations have been added, expanding sites available to the public.

CEO Dr. Jackson Griggs and local board members renamed the Family Health Center Waco Family Medicine in 2021, a name that reiterates the clinic’s dedication to providing primary care for the community. With a variety of locations across Waco and McLennan County, Waco Family Medicine’s physicians and staff work to ensure better medical access for patients in the area. They persist in their original mission to provide health care for underserved populations and to offer educational opportunities for physicians. Their outreach in the community continues, as they offer care for medical, dental, and behavioral health to those in need throughout McLennan County.

For more (including 4 images & 4 audio files) view the original article

Mission Waco has been a cornerstone of the Waco community for decades. Even before the official creation of Mission Waco, founders Jimmy and Janet Dorrell worked hard to make a difference in the impoverished neighborhood of North Waco.

After originally meeting while working at the Waco State Home when Janet was a Baylor student, the Dorrells found their way back to Waco in 1978. They purchased a large, dilapidated house in North Waco with the express purpose of living among those they planned to serve. They began slowly fixing up the home and getting to know those in the community. Beyond the weekly kid and teen clubs they set up, the couple also worked closely with the Campfire organization and Reconcilers Fellowship of Waco.

The Dorrells’ initial incursion into Waco outreach lasted only a year, as they moved to Houston in 1979 for a few years so Jimmy could study under a local pastor experimenting with the idea of cell churches, or smaller home churches, to help spread the gospel throughout large communities. From there they traveled with their firstborn around the world for three months on an exposure trip, learning about poverty and struggle around the world. Upon their return to the United States, as Janet was pregnant with the couple’s second child, they moved back into their home in North Waco with a deeper understanding of poverty and all the more eager to serve those around them. They continued their grassroots community outreach and urban missions for a little less than a decade.

It was not until 1991 that the Dorrells saw the need to form an official nonprofit to support and expand their neighborhood ministry, and they founded Cross Culture Experiences Inc (CCE). The initial intent of this organization was to get middle-class Americans out of their comfort zone and plugged into service and mission work. This goal birthed some of the Dorrells’ first national and international ventures, Poverty Simulation, and “exposure trips.” Poverty Simulation is designed to give people a taste of what it is like to be homeless. Participants sleep in the backyard of a Mission Waco building, find food around town with no money, and much more. The exposure trips were designed to give Americans a window into poverty beyond what they could see in their own towns, true third-world poverty. The Dorrells also continued their neighborhood ministry and Bible clubs while launching CCE. That same year, the Christian Missions Concerns (CMC) Foundation saw the good work the Dorrells were doing in Waco and beyond and decided to fund a new program under the Dorrells’ leadership, Mission Waco. The new program exploded and was quickly brought under the CCE umbrella with continued support by the CMC. Every year since then the Dorrells have launched new projects and learned how to meet the needs of the Waco community in diverse ways.

In the next couple years, Mission Waco made some big moves in the neighborhood. First, the Dorrells purchased an old carpet store next to their home and made it the home base for Poverty Simulation. But the most significant purchase came when they bought the entire shopping center on North Fifteenth Street and Colcord Avenue (on map below). The shopping center was notoriously seedy, housing four low-end bars and a pornographic theater, the Capri. Mission Waco completely renovated the center and began using it for job training, GED. classes, and more. The Dorrells also turned the Capri into a children’s theater and meeting place for the community. Named Jubilee Center, it runs programs like Urban Expression and Prelude Gloria, visual arts and classical music programs for kids. The center even houses a twenty-eight-foot rock climbing wall as well. The building next to the shopping center then became the Youth Center and is a hangout for high-risk and at-risk youth to play video games, pool, and foosball; lift weights; and even hop into the later-added recording studio and let their voice be heard. The initial renovations earned Mission Waco the 1994 “Audrey Nelson Community Development” award, one of five awarded each year nationally. In the coming decade the center would become home to the main offices of Mission Waco and the Mission Waco World Cup Café and Fair Trade Market, located at the intersection of Fifteenth Street and Colcord Avenue. The café and market not only support artisans around the world through fair trade and train locals in food service, they bring middle- and upper-class people into the area and spread awareness of poverty in Waco. By 2000 the Dorrells also founded the Waco Community Development Corporation to bring similar economic development to the area and help provide affordable housing like the Mission Waco-owned Ark Apartments.

The mid-nineties also saw the arrival of Church Under the Bridge and Friday Morning Breakfast. It all started as a Bible study with five homeless men, and Jimmy would also take these men to breakfast on Friday morning. The Bible study grew quickly, as those who were not comfortable within the walls of a church felt accepted in this group of peers. It eventually grew so large that Mission Waco named the gathering Church Under the Bridge, and it met every Sunday morning under the I-35 overpass. When the group grew too large for Jimmy to accommodate for breakfast, First Lutheran Church stepped in and started the official Friday Morning Breakfast gathering at their church, run by volunteers. Church Under the Bridge too became its own entity separate from Mission Waco and now boasts a congregation of three hundred people. This work with the homeless and impoverished shed light on the problems of drugs and alcohol addictions among the homeless population and led to the founding of Mission Waco’s Manna House, an alcohol and drug recovery home, and the Lighthouse, a transition home for those coming out of Manna House. Mission Waco would later found a homeless shelter of its own, My Brother’s Keeper, but not until a decade later in 2004.

Another monumental addition for Mission Waco came in 2005 with the opening of the Meyer Center for Urban Ministries. Mission Waco calls the Meyer Center its “one-stop-shop for the poor and marginalized.” Funded by the Paul and Jane Meyer Family Foundation, this center in downtown offers showers, laundry, clothing vouchers and shelter vouchers, along with a computer lab, job training, and job search aid. The clothing and shelter vouchers can be redeemed at My Brother’s Keeper and Mission Waco’s voucher center, where people can exchange vouchers for free clothes. Mission Waco also runs The Clothesline, selling donated clothes to support other Mission Waco ventures, and it shares a building with the voucher center. In 2011 the Meyer Center also added mental health and relapse prevention services with the help of the Baylor University psychology department. The Meyer Center would later open a chapel for weddings and events in 2013 to help pay for its other services.

In 2012, Mission Waco adopted the name Mission Waco Mission World to better reflect the organization’s work. On top of the many programs Mission Waco operates in the local community, it also still works with partners in Haiti, Mexico City, and India. Mission Waco also continues to take groups to these locations on exposure trips to serve the local populations.

A very important addition to Mission Waco’s ventures was the Jubilee Food Market in 2016. Operating within a known “food desert,” meaning no grocery store existed within walking distance of the neighborhood, Mission Waco wanted to provide low-income families with fresh and healthy foods. Produce is grown behind the store as part of the Urban R.E.A.P. program, allowing the store to sell fresh vegetables at a low price.

In 2018, Jimmy Dorrell passed the executive director position on to John Calaway, but Jimmy remains president. Mission Waco has undeniably changed the face of the city and helped thousands of its residents. Its facets and programs extend beyond those mentioned here, and it continues to provide every service possible to break the cycles of poverty and empower those in need.

For more (including 17 images & 20 audio files) view the original article

Mutualistas were first established in Texas during the late nineteenth century by Mexican immigrants. These mutual aid societies provided immigrants with a connection to their home country and a support network to meet basic needs as they forged a life in a new and unfamiliar country. The popularity of mutualistas grew significantly in the twentieth century, with more than 100 estimated to be in Texas. While the majority of these mutualistas have closed, there are still a small number in operation today. This includes the mutualista in Waco, which has been a part of the community for approximately one hundred years.

Established on July 6, 1924, the Waco mutualista was initially located within the thriving Hispanic community living at and around Calle Dos. That same year, St. Francis on the Brazos was founded to serve the poor Mexican American community in the area. Likewise, the mutualista formed under principles of union, fraternity, and progress, with its primary goal centered on watching over the Mexican working-class community. This idea is reflected in its name, La Mutualista Sociedad de Jornaleros, as the word jornaleros means “laborers” in English.

As the mutualista was made up of a majority of Catholic members, the organization worked closely with St. Francis on the Brazos in scheduling so that the mutualista’s activities did not overlap with church activities. While most members were Catholic, a few were Protestant. Additionally, the mutualista in Waco allowed both men and women to participate, making it distinct from other mutualistas which were only open to men or had elitist membership restrictions.

The Waco mutualista held their first meetings on Bridge Street. They later relocated to another small building in the Calle Dos neighborhood just large enough to serve as a meeting space. Community festivities, such as dances and wedding celebrations, were held outdoors on a wooden platform—later replaced with a concrete slab. These events often drew large crowds, and over time the mutualista became a key entertainment center within the Calle Dos community.

Along with serving as a space for community members to celebrate their heritage, mutualistas provided access to services that community members were often denied, such as healthcare and education. They also advocated for improved working conditions and workers’ rights. Financial assistance was provided to cover expenses incurred from illnesses and funerals, which helped families prior to the era of hospitalization insurance and sick pay. Participation in mutualistas increased dramatically in the late 1800s and early 1900s, due to rising numbers of Mexican immigrants arriving in the American Southwest to fill low-skilled and low-waged occupations in areas such as farming, ranching, mining, and the growing railroad network. Financial hardship during the Great Depression forced many of these mutualistas to close. But the Waco mutualista continued to thrive through the thirties and forties, and growing membership meant an expansion was needed.

On July 17, 1952, the mutualista moved into a newly built hall located on 312 North Second Street. However, the organization’s time in this building was short-lived with the launching of Waco’s urban renewal program, which began in 1958 after a city-wide vote. By 1978, the Urban Renewal Project had helped channel more than $125 million into renovating Waco’s urban center. Slums and properties that were in disrepair along the Brazos River from modern-day LaSalle Avenue to several blocks past Waco Drive were cleared. Owners of cleared properties were compensated, though some controversy emerged over whether these payments were fair, especially considering that minorities were more impacted by the wide-spread renovation.

As part of the Urban Renewal Project, the homes and businesses of Calle Dos—many of which were in poor condition—were torn down. Among the buildings removed was the mutualista, and members relocated it to 2214 South Fifteenth Street, off LaSalle Avenue. This new property was purchased from a retired contractor. In addition to purchasing a building, the mutualista also bought five acres of land behind the property to be used for future expansion. Participation had boomed, and the organization had once again outgrown its previous location. The new site was larger than the previous location on North Second Street, with an occupancy of four hundred—making it ideal for hosting large dances and other community activities.

Today, the Waco mutualista continues to provide aid to the community, as it has since its founding. The organization collects money for scholarship funds, toy drives, and other service activities. While its focus remains on the Mexican American and Hispanic communities, the mutualista also seeks to serve the community at large—a continuation of its rich history of service.

For more (including 5 images & 4 audio files) view the original article

For nearly a century, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home has provided funeral care to McLennan County, priding themselves on not only offering funeral arrangements, but on serving families during times of grief.

Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey (originally Wilkirson-Hatch Funeral Home) was founded in 1925 by Dillard J. Wilkirson, his son, Jim, and his son-in-law, Roy H. Hatch. The three men settled in Waco during a time when the city was rapidly expanding, but neither the Wilkirsons nor Hatch originally set out to start a funeral home. In the early twentieth century, burials were, for most Americans, small affairs based around the family home. The concept of a remote location dedicated solely to the hosting of funerals was not yet well established, and the three founders initially used their experience in the lumber industry to make and sell coffins. Soon after moving to Waco, however, they became interested in the idea of the modern funeral home and shifted the emphasis of their business. After the owners built a new structure at the bustling intersection of Washington Avenue and Twelfth Street, their new funeral home quickly became an established part of the Waco community.

Wilkirson-Hatch adapted well to the changing midcentury business climates of both Waco and the United States. As a part of booming business in the mid-twentieth century, Wilkirson-Hatch became an incorporated business in 1957, with Roy Hatch as its first president. Under Hatch, the funeral home billed itself as a “family serving families.” Hatch took pride in tasteful, up-to-date facilities, modern vehicles, and effective administrative practices. The business also offered new services such as funeral insurance to defray costs for grieving families, as well as air service to transport deceased persons who may have passed away far from home.

In the 1950s, A. William Bailey married Roy Hatch’s daughter, Roberta, and joined the Wilkirson-Hatch family business, and eventually rose in rank to run the funeral home. In the 1970s, Bailey’s son and current company president, Hatch Bailey, felt drawn to the same line of work as his father after experiencing the comfort that the funeral home provided following the death of his grandparents. He began working part time at the home in 1979 while a student at Baylor University and began a full-time position upon graduating. Hatch Bailey became president in the 1990s, with his two brothers, Wes and Roy, serving on the board of directors. Shortly after becoming president, Bailey purchased a new location on Bosque Boulevard to better serve families in the Woodway area. Some years later, this Bosque Boulevard office became the sole location of Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, and remains so to this day.

Throughout his tenure as president, Bailey has consistently implemented new ideas to keep the funeral home and its services poised to meet the needs of Waco families. For example, the funeral home was one of the first buildings in Waco to have stained concrete flooring, installed to amplify the noise level to avoid an unnatural quietness that might make visitors feel uncomfortable. Modern technology has also shaped the way the funeral home functions, with half of all services using pre-recorded and selected music, and live-streams of services being commonly available. Hatch Bailey’s sons have begun to participate in the operations of the funeral home, comprising the fifth generation of workers from a single extended family.

Bailey now sees his funeral home less as a business than as a ministry to grieving families. With its focus on providing comfort and familial services and a history of innovation, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home will likely continue to provide an important array of services to the Waco community.

For more (including 5 images & 3 audio files) view the original article

Situated just off of Waco's historic traffic circle, Circle Hardware Supply stands as one of the city's longest-running businesses. Originally founded by Frank Stevens in 1945 as a small lumber operation called Circle Lumber Company, the business has operated at 2504 La Salle Avenue since its creation. In 1948, William P. Jones purchased the business to serve as lumber supplier for his commercial building company, Jones and Williams Construction Company, which he owned and operated with his brother-in-law, Grady Williams. In obtaining control of their supply chain, Jones and Williams were able to significantly cut costs and expand their company to become one of the most successful and respected commercial construction businesses in the greater Waco area. Because of their success, Jones and Williams Construction became a major sponsor for Waco community growth. The company built several prominent buildings throughout Waco in the 1950s, including Emmanuel Baptist Church, University Junior High School (closed in 2013), and the Sachs Austin Avenue fashion store downtown (now Sironia boutique). After the May 1953 tornado decimated downtown Waco, many prominent families and businesses chose to relocate rather than to rebuild. The partners of Jones & Williams Construction and Circle Lumber, however, chose to stay in Waco and help the struggling community rebuild. While post-tornado construction jobs proved lucrative for both businesses, the partners were also able to form lasting and meaningful relationships with the citizens of Waco. The multitude of buildings constructed by the company served as great publicity for the hardware store and allowed Jones to build a solid customer base. Tragedy struck the business, however, when Grady Williams was killed in a construction accident in 1972. Following his partner's unexpected death, Jones decided to close the construction operation to focus solely on Circle Lumber Company. Jones’s son-in-law, Richard Cunningham, came to work for the business that same year, ushering in a new era for Circle Lumber. Cunningham led the push to build the new, 6,000 square-foot building that houses the store today. While he strove to innovate, the newcomer also worked to preserve his father-in-law’s emphasis on customer relationships and community involvement. Indeed, even after Jones retired in 1985, he played an active role in consulting the business and afterward continued to stop by the store regularly to reconnect with customers. After Richard’s death in 2005, his wife Mary continued to run Circle Hardware until July 2011, when she sold the assets of the business to Heart of Texas Hardware and Lumber LLC. The owners, Larry and Norma Dagley, promptly joined Do it Best Corporation, a hardware supply co-op, in order to offer a greater variety of goods and services. Membership in the co-op made possible a large-scale remodeling and re-merchandising process in 2012-2013, and introduced the company to a new twenty-first century model of business. Since taking control of the company in 2011, the Dagleys have “embarked on a plan to build on the legacy of the past owners and businesses but to have an updated hardware and convenience lumber operation in a remodeled facility with a wider variety of merchandise.” The store continued to serve the Waco community for years until its closing in 2026. Circle Hardware has been a staple for the Waco community since its founding; its strong familial roots and commitment to customer service ensure that they will be fondly remembered by Waco locals for years to come.

For more (including 7 images & 3 audio files) view the original article

The Waco Symphony Orchestra is a music organization that brings enrichment to the Central Texas community. The Waco Symphony Orchestra Association, Incorporated, as we know it, began its concerts in 1962. However, an orchestra conducted by Max Reiter began in 1939 as an experiment that laid the foundation for the Waco Symphony Orchestra's classical performances today.

Born in Trieste, Italy, in 1905, Reiter began his musical career as assistant of the Opera of Berlin, and conducted orchestras in other musical centers of Europe. Fleeing from Hitler’s inferno, Reiter went to New York City in 1939 with a dream to land a job as a conductor. After denial from jobs in New York, Reiter collected contact information from musicians in Southern cities, purchased a bus ticket, and headed south. 

Waco was a scheduled stop on Reiter’s bus. While waiting for his connection to Fort Worth, Reiter wandered along the nearby streets and noticed a sign that read, “H. Novich, China.” Recognizing the name from his list of contacts, Reiter introduced himself to Miss Mary Novich, stating that he wanted to start a symphony. At once, Mary and her sister Rae put together a list of local patrons of the arts. Patrons of the arts assured that the Baylor University School of Music faculty and students would support his endeavors, and the university offered Waco Hall as a performance venue.   With much enthusiasm, the new symphony orchestra set the date of its debut performance for April 20, 1939. In the weeks leading to the opening, Baylor faculty and students and local and amateur musicians practiced to play as a single unit. Excitement was in the air. On the evening of the debut concert, Reiter gave the eager audience a bow and raised his baton to bring ninety musicians to attention. Reiter’s orchestra gave their all as they played through four pieces of music that demonstrated the musicians’ disciplined sound and dynamic range. The final piece, Johann Strauss’s Tales from the Vienna Woods, left the audience with a lighthearted touch that rounded out the evening perfectly. At the end of the final piece, well over 1,500 people remained to cheer, yell bravos, and give their approval for the work of the symphony and to plea for continuation of the organization. 

The establishment of a permanent symphony was quick in coming, as local patrons of the arts successfully harnessed the momentum of the opening concert. On May 2, 1939, the Waco Symphony Society was born. Reiter led the symphony to perform for four splendid evenings a year for eleven seasons. In 1950, Reiter relinquished his role as conductor and left forthcoming seasons unplanned.  In 1961, after a decade of no symphony performances in the city, members of the Chamber of Commerce met with Daniel Sternberg, dean of the Baylor University School of Music to speak about reintroducing a symphony. On April 24, 1962, the Waco Symphony Association, Incorporated, was established. Patrons of the orchestra enjoyed the first season of the Waco Symphony as it put on three concerts, including a successful performance by Texas pianist Van Cliburn. Maestro Sternberg led the Waco Symphony Orchestra to success, putting on classical as well as pops concerts, accompanying musical guests, and leading the local debut of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Sternberg conducted with energy until the end of the orchestra’s twenty-fifth season. For his farewell concert in 1986, Sternberg put on an all-Beethoven concert.  To build on the success of Sternberg, principal second Stephen Heyde, stepped in as conductor. Heyde pushed the musicians to their potential by adding extra rehearsals, and added more local musicians and faculty, and students of the Baylor music school to create an ensemble of which Waco could feel a sense of ownership. While under Heyde’s leadership, the Waco Symphony Orchestra founded the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra to give young musicians of Central Texas opportunities to perform. Heyde led the Waco Symphony through their fifty-fifth season and continues to lead a group of musicians that breathe life into pieces of music.  Over the years, the Waco Symphony Orchestra has attracted world-class talents such as Frank Sinatra Jr., Art Garfunkel, and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform for the community. Many years of sold-out shows, holiday concerts, and subscription season performances have brought beauty and tranquility to audiences, and the ensemble continues to serve as a fixture in the cultural life of the community.

For more (including 6 images & 3 audio files) view the original article