For many immigrants throughout the 1800s, the United States seemed to be a land filled with promise. Texas, in particular, appeared to be a place where dreams could be fulfilled. Otto Monnig, a Prussian immigrant to Missouri, believed this to be true. In 1870, Monnig opened a Family General Store in Gasconade County, Missouri, where he sold clothing, toys, and groceries, while also running a drugstore and post office. This business venture served as a precursor for what was to come for the Monnig family. In April 1889, after sending his son William Monnig to assess business prospects in Texas, he decided to open Monnig’s Dry Goods and Hardware Store in Fort Worth, the fifth largest city in Texas.

For the Monnigs, the promise of a better life held true. Business boomed. In fact, on opening day, Monnig’s department store brought in $44—over $1,000 today. The enterprise continued to expand its inventory and remained in competition against other notable Texas businesses like Cox’s. In 1900, after investing in bulk merchandise, their business model expanded, and they also entered the wholesale dry goods business. The retail and wholesale divisions continued successfully, and the business opened locations across the state, including one in an up-and-coming Texas city: Waco.

Otto Edward Monnig supervised the expansion project, following in his father’s and uncle’s footsteps. Though he had lived in Waco and since moved to California, his wife convinced him to return. That advice proved sound as he became the operator of Monnig’s in Waco, growing the business and its inventory.

The first Waco location opened in 1932 on Fifth and Washington, continuing the retail and wholesale model. Monnig’s, branded as “the Friendly Store,” now offered more than dry goods and hardware. The store sold clothes, groceries, toys, beauty products, candy, and flowers, and still maintained their wholesale business. Customers who could not make it to the store had the option to call a “Miss Shopper,” an employee who could shop for needed items and ensure their delivery. With an abundance of merchandise and a growing retail division, the Monnigs decided to open an additional location in town.

The new Monnig’s opened at 604 Austin Avenue on August 27, 1936. While the Waco department store branched out into the downtown area, the grocery division remained at the old location, 120 North Fifth Street. This new location offered an extensive variety of clothing, furniture, and other retail items. After leasing the Horne Building, the business dedicated the 60-by-165-feet ground level to merchandise alone. The second floor remained utilized as storage space for wholesale materials.

Thrilled at the department store’s expansion, Wacoans rushed out to opening day. Multiple local businesses endorsed Monnig’s, including The First National Bank of Waco and Mailander & Company, who aided in the three-month remodeling process. The store expected such an influx of people that they opened at nine o’clock in the morning, rather than eight thirty, to ensure that employees could prepare for the rush.

Though Monnig’s survived the historic 1953 Waco tornado and nationally vexing financial periods, the business eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1988. Monnig’s department stores across Texas closed their doors, and in 1989, Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems (CTAS) occupied the old Monnig’s building at Seventh and Austin. By 1990, bankruptcy resulted in the closing of all seven Monnig’s locations across Texas. Still, many Wacoans reflected fondly on the local store during its decades of success. While Monnig’s opened business because of the opportunities Texas offered, the Waco department store promised a new future for the downtown area and the city more broadly.

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In July 1974, Leon Jaworski argued to the Supreme Court that not even the president of the United States was above the law. As the special prosecutor in the Watergate proceedings, Jaworski sought tape recordings made by President Nixon. The president claimed executive privilege, but the court sided unanimously with Jaworski, and the information on the tapes led to Nixon’s resignation in August. Leon Jaworski was a man whose experience taught him to both revel in the contest of public debate and believe in the integrity of the law.

Born Leonidas Jaworski on September 19, 1905, he was the third son, and first American-born child, of Central European immigrants newly arrived to Waco. His parents, Joseph and Mira Jaworski, immigrated to the United States in 1903 and settled into a life of pastoral ministry in the Evangelical Church. Eventually, Mira Jaworski’s ill health compelled her husband to seek a country pastorate, so the family moved from Waco to Geronimo, Texas, in 1907. However, she died only two years later. Both Leon’s parents were well educated, and Rev. Jaworski supplemented his children’s schooling by tutoring them. It was a desire to provide greater educational opportunities for his children that motivated Rev. Jaworski to return to Waco in 1914.

After finishing at Central Grammar School, Leon started at Waco High where he displayed the educational acumen to complete four years of study in three. An avid baseball lover, Jaworski’s small stature prevented him from competing in the game in high school, so the teenager joined the debate team. The experience sealed Jaworski’s love for verbal sparring, and he abandoned his earlier intention to join his older brother Hannibal in the practice of medicine to pursue law instead.

As a sixteen-year-old, Jaworski started college at Baylor. He completed one year of coursework before continuing his studies at the newly reopened law school. Jaworski graduated in 1925 with an LLB, the professional degree necessary at the time for practicing law. At nineteen, he became the youngest person admitted to the Texas Bar. To further cultivate his legal skills, Jaworski enrolled in George Washington University’s yearlong Master of Laws (LLM) program. His education now complete, Jaworski returned to Waco to practice law.

Jaworski cut his legal teeth in Prohibition-era Waco where the Ku Klux Klan still made its presence felt. He practiced alongside Tom Scott and Joe McNamara, and their firm handed several cases involving illegal spirits. Jaworski nevertheless tested the limits of community goodwill when he defended an African American man, Jordan Scott, charged with the 1928 murder of a white couple. He faced backlash from Wacoans for taking the case and believing the man was entitled to a strong defense. Though he lost, its publicity brought new professional opportunities Jaworski’s way. In 1930, he left Waco to practice with the A. D. Dyess firm in Houston where he stayed for a year before joining another Houston firm that would eventually bear his name: Fulbright and Jaworski.

With his colleagues—Fulbright, Crooker, Freeman, and Bates—Jaworski practiced corporate law, developing clients in the oil and gas industry. Over his five decades with the multinational firm, he handled clients such as Exxon and Shell. When World War II erupted, Jaworski joined the US Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps where he took part in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, but declined participation in the Nuremburg trials. However, Jaworski was not an infallible attorney. One of his JAG convictions was later overturned, and his corporate ties and ambition left him open to accusations of conflicts of interest and ethics violations. Whispers of such conduct followed Jaworski through the most notable cases of his career.

Jaworski’s status as a litigator garnered the attention of politicians of both parties in Washington. In 1960, Jaworski argued fellow Texan Lyndon Johnson’s case to both campaign for his Senate seat and as John F. Kennedy’s running mate. A few years later, Attorney General Robert Kennedy tasked Jaworski with the litigation against Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett for defying a federal order to integrate the University of Mississippi. Jaworski achieved his greatest acclaim as the Watergate special prosecutor in 1974, and three years later he returned to Washington as the special counsel for the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct charged with handling “Koreagate.” The matter involved Korean lobbyists’ attempts to gain influence over members of Congress. With that case, the most public portion of Jaworski’s career came to a close.

Jaworski died of a heart attack at his ranch outside Wimberley, Texas, on December 9, 1982. His legacy in the legal profession included not only his most public cases, but also his service as president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the State Bar of Texas, and the American Bar Association. Leon Jaworski debated his way from Waco to the top of the legal profession where he participated in one of the most significant legal cases of the twentieth century.

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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.

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Centered in Waco as one of the nation’s premier shops for hand-crafted cowboy hats, Standard Hat Works has been serving customers from near and far for over 100 years.

William Gross, a Hungarian immigrant to the United States, founded what would become Standard Hat Works in New York City in 1909. Gross got his start in hat-making in Budapest at the age of thirteen, and arrived in the United States with a decade's worth of expertise. Legend has it that Gross would stand at the corner of Fifth Street and Manhattan with a stack of hats upon his head, peddling the hats to passersby on the street. Gross eventually made his way to Texas and opened his first storefront in 1915 at 622 Washington Avenue. It was there that Gross solidified the Standard name.

In 1936, Bill Martin began an apprenticeship under William Gross, learning the tools of the trade and successful business management. When William Gross decided to retire in the 1940s, he sold the company to Bill Martin, who went on to hire Doug Eastland six years later. Together, the two solidified Standard as one of the premier hat shops in the country. After a dip in hat sales during the sixties and seventies, Standard Hat Works saw an uptick in business in the early 1980s, just as Doug Eastland took over following Martin’s retirement. During this time, cowboy culture became more mainstream thanks to a convergence of social, cultural, and political forces. Ronald Reagan, a former western film star, was elected president, country music became trendy, and movies such as Urban Cowboy helped make western wear fashionable for the masses. The cowboy hat became a staple of pop culture, and business boomed once again for Standard Hat Works. The company created hats for a range of celebrities, from musicians such as George Strait and Garth Brooks to talk show hosts like Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman.

While Standard carried on its legacy of quality hat-making, this new era spelled change for the business as well. Due to mounting concerns over the risk of fire during the heat-intensive hat-making process, Doug Eastland moved the store from Washington Avenue to 422 West Waco Drive in 1988. It was there that he did business until, ironically, a fire destroyed all but one piece of original and highly sought-after machinery in 1993. While he continued to sell hats out of the storefront, he was unable to continue making custom hats in the years immediately following the blaze. In 1997 Eastland sold Standard Hat Works to Richard Dick after several years of decreased profits. Standard remained largely dormant for the next decade.

The historic company was revitalized a decade later, however, when Lenny Lawson bought the company in 2006, determined to restore the hat-crafting process at Standard. He moved the business to 1826 Circle Road and traveled around the United States in search of original equipment, some of it dating back to the 1860s. Thanks to Lawson’s efforts, Standard Hat Works began to offer custom hats once again. In 2013, Waco native Cameron Morris purchased the company from Lenny Lawson, under whom he had served as a hat-making apprentice. When the expansion of I-35 forced the company to move in 2016, Morris opened a new location at 1304 North New Road. There the shop stands today, crafting hats and carrying on the Standard Hat Works legacy.

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Calle Dos emerged in the early twentieth century as a haven for Mexican immigrants fleeing border violence and rapidly developed into a center of culture and community for Waco’s Hispanic population.

Prior to the establishment of Calle Dos, Mexican immigrants settled on the banks of the Brazos River in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in an area called Little Mexico, or Mexican Sandtown. The dawn of the Great War and arrival of a military base in Waco in 1917 led to the city shutting down the Reservation, a legal red-light district situated upon the banks of the Brazos River to the west of Sandtown. As prostitutes and madams left the city, houses sat vacant.

Around the same time as the closure of the Reservation, Mexican American laborers and immigrants fleeing violence at the border caused by the Mexican Revolution arrived in Waco. Although some Wacoans turned up their noses at the idea of moving into a formerly disreputable area, many immigrants saw the affordable houses as an opportunity to begin a new life.

Never an officially designated neighborhood, the boundaries of Calle Dos were often disputed. Some claimed the area simply to be an extension of Sandtown, while others claimed it as its own entity bounded by Fourth Street, Washington Avenue, modern-day Waco Drive, and the Brazos River. In either case, it is clear that the community along the Brazos grew to be a tight-knit center of Hispanic culture.

Many Calle Dos residents opened up businesses along Second Street, transforming the once avoided area into a busy thoroughfare. Various organizations established in the area to serve the immigrant community also contributed to the neighborhood’s sense of identity. A Baptist mission formed on Second Street in the late 1800s, which became the Mexican Baptist Mission in 1907. The Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana de Jornaleros formed in 1924 in order to assist Mexicans with their rights, jobs, funerals, and other needs, occupying the Baptist mission’s original building on Second Street. That same year, Franciscans arrived in Waco and established a Catholic church which soon became a center of community for Waco’s Hispanic population.

Former residents recall the poor but tight-knit neighborhood fondly. Most houses lacked indoor plumbing, and residents often tacked cardboard to windows and walls to keep the cold out during the winter. Yet many most vividly remember the vibrant community life centered in festivals and dances put on by area churches and fraternal organizations. Neighbors gathered at La Pila, a spring-fed fountain just off the banks of the river, and children often played and bathed in its waters. Hispanic community members who resided in other areas of Waco, such as on cotton farms in areas surrounding the city, also claimed ties to the area due to the wealth of cultural opportunities which Calle Dos provided Mexican Americans.

The beginning of Waco’s urban renewal program in 1958, established to alleviate inner-city blight, led to the demise of the culturally rich neighborhood. Local leaders declared portions of the city blighted and, after compensating owners, claimed the properties and demolished any structures not meeting the program’s requirements. The project cleared areas along the Brazos River from modern-day La Salle Avenue to several blocks past Waco Drive. The homes of Calle Dos were demolished and La Pila stopped up and buried, forcing residents to disperse to other areas throughout the city and state.

Today, only a few remnants of the former neighborhood stand, including a grove of ancient live oak trees, St. Francis on the Brazos Catholic Church, and the partially buried remains of La Pila. Recent efforts to excavate La Pila and establish a historical marker for the fountain which once centered an entire community reveal the importance of the former neighborhood. For half a century, Calle Dos provided cultural identity and community for Waco’s Mexican American population and the efforts of community leaders today ensure that this legacy will not be forgotten. 

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Sanger Brothers department stores were often described as the pioneer retail stores of Texas. Yet these successful mercantile ventures arose from humble beginnings. Between 1852 and 1874, five of the seven Sanger brothers immigrated to America from Germany to pursue greater entrepreneurial opportunities. Although the brothers initially separated and spread throughout the country, they slowly came back together in the years following the Civil War to join the dry goods business that Isaac, the eldest brother, operated from a storefront in McKinney. As more brothers joined the business, it slowly expanded along the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, opening stores in cities such as Millican, Decatur, Bryan, Dallas, and eventually Waco.

Sam Sanger traveled to the United States in 1866 and lived in the Northeast for several years serving as a rabbi and a teacher. In 1872, he opened a small shoe store in New York, but closed it the following year when Isaac summoned him to Texas in order to open their newest location. On March 4, 1873, Sam opened Sanger Brothers in the heart of downtown Waco on the square between Austin Avenue and Bankers’ Alley.

The new enterprise started out small, with just $1,300 worth of stock and only two employed clerks at its opening. Despite this, the business still carried a variety of goods. The Waco Daily Examiner ran a full-page advertisement listing the items which could be found at Sanger Brothers, including “dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, hats, caps, gents’ furnishing goods, carpets, oil cloths,” and more. By 1876, business expanded beyond the capacity of the small shop, and Sam Sanger purchased a new, larger building on Austin Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. That same year, all of the branches of the Sanger Brothers franchise closed, except for the two most successful locations in Waco and Dallas.

Despite the closures, the success and expansion of the Waco Sanger Brothers store continued. In 1882,Sanger purchased another building on Austin Avenue and began to rent out the old Waco Opera House and warehouse in order to open a wholesale department. Sanger Brothers continued to develop their reputation in Waco based upon providing the best selection of goods in town and a dedication to meeting customer needs in any situation.

News of the onset of World War I and the decline of the cotton market in 1915 provided the first hint of trouble for the Waco department store. Farmers who purchased goods on credit from the wholesale department were increasingly no longer able to pay their bill. But business boomed during the actual war as industry production increased throughout the country, and on December 17, 1918, Sanger Brothers incorporated.

The store received a second and more serious indication of trouble on December 18, 1919, when Sam Sanger died. His charismatic leadership of the company contributed greatly to its success, and none of the other executives were prepared to take over. Although his son, Asher Sanger, took over leadership, the company sustained fiscal losses between 1918 and 1926, when it was then sold to a Saint Louis firm. Unable to recover from these losses, and hit hard by the Great Depression, Sanger Brothers finally closed its doors on March 15, 1931. In its announcement of Sanger Brothers’s closure, the Waco Tribune-Herald noted the dismay of many Wacoans at the loss of this institution, stating that thousands were expected to show up for the sales during the store’s final days.

For over half a century, Sanger Brothers served as a highly successful venture in the heart of downtown because of its commitment to variety and quality in merchandise, as well as excellence in customer service.

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Sandtown was a vibrant and predominately Mexican American neighborhood that was active from the turn of the twentieth century to the 1960s. It encompassed the area of downtown Waco between Third Street and the Brazos River, and the seven blocks between Mary Street and present-day Baylor Law School. There were multiple interpretations on the actual boundaries of Sandtown as no official borders were ever established by the city of Waco.

At its peak during the 1950s, approximately fifty working-class families, such as the Fuentes, the Martinezes, and the Vasquezes, resided in Sandtown. For many of the community’s families, the neighborhood was the first place they called home within the United States after emigrating from Mexico. Former resident Jesse Serrano, recalling his experience of growing up in Sandtown, remarked, “I wish that we were still at our neighborhood here and that I could return to live here because it was an enjoyable place and we did keep it clean in spite of everything – the storms, the sandstorms, for what reason Sandtown was named.” Indeed, the neighborhood's sandy surroundings were a result of its proximity to the Brazos River. One resident later recalled watching his neighbors cast a line out their bedroom window to fish.

There were a few businesses located within Sandtown, from grocery stores and auto garages to barbershops and beer joints. Memorable establishments include Sunbright Waste Paper Company, Ruben Bravo’s Produce Company, and Rubles’ Grocery Store. Some of the schools in the neighborhood included South Third Street Elementary and A. J. Moore High School. Religious and social gathering sites such as an Assembly of God sanctuary and "The Blue Moon" nightspot also dotted the Sandtown landscape.

In 1958, the city of Waco voted to participate in the federal urban renewal program. As only property owners could vote, Sandtown residents, who were tenants primarily, had almost no chance of defeating the proposition. Only a small portion of the neighborhood’s residents were able to participate. One of the purposes of urban renewal was to eliminate slums in the downtown area, and the program directors quickly set their sights on Sandtown. As a result, the residents of the neighborhood soon found themselves scattered across the city, county, and beyond. “I’ve been quoted more than once as calling it ‘urban removal’ because it uprooted the Hispanic family in the worst way,” maintained former resident Robert Gamboa.

The people of Sandtown added greatly to Waco’s rich diversity and its working class residents contributed to the economic growth of the city. Though small in size and for many years lacking formal recognition, there is no dispute over Sandtown’s significance amongst its former residents. For these individuals, Sandtown was the place they grew up in, suffered hardships, and created countless wonderful memories. As Jesse Serrano affirmed, “Sandtown did exist, Sandtown is still here, and it will always be here in our hearts.”

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Over the years, Hebrew Rest has served as a place of comfort and remembrance for Jews in Waco. More than just a burial place, the cemetery’s headstones speak to the city’s rich Jewish heritage.

One of Waco’s founding fathers, Jacob de Cordova, was a Jewish immigrant from Jamaica. He is the first in a long line of Jewish citizens that have called Waco home. Located in Central Texas, Waco seems to be an unlikely landing spot for European Jewish immigrants since it is not a major metropolitan city. However, people of Jewish heritage have been finding their way to Waco since the mid-1800s.

Scores of Jewish immigrants came to America in the late nineteenth century in order to escape the pogroms in Poland that saw Eastern European Jews persecuted and killed for their religious beliefs. To many of these newcomers to Texas, Waco appeared to have limitless potential. Its cotton industry, railroads, and proximity to cities such as Dallas and Austin made Waco a very desirable place to settle. Committed to helping their new town grow and prosper, these early Jewish citizens opened businesses and retail stores. Perhaps the most well-known of these early Waco businesspeople are Isaac Goldstein and Louey Migel. Together, they founded the Goldstein-Migel Department Store, a commercial center that remained a staple in the Waco business community for many years.

The first Jewish organization to appear in Waco was the Hebrew Benevolent Association. As a philanthropic association, it regularly provided aid to newly arrived Jewish residents in Waco. Members voted for the Hebrew Benevolent Association to purchase the original land for the Hebrew Rest Cemetery on August 13, 1869. The land is located on what was then South First Street.

More land was added to Hebrew Rest in 1893. Waco’s growing Jewish population towards the end of the twentieth century necessitated this expansion, but even then space remained scarce. To ensure placement, families often reserved burial plots long before their loved ones passed away. Each burial plot in the cemetery is privately owned by the family or individual who purchased it. Therefore, the cemetery holds great meaning to those families who have loved ones resting within its fences.

In 1931, the Hebrew Benevolent Association became the Hebrew Rest Association. This transfer was due to the growing number of Jewish private groups and charity organizations that wanted to help maintain the cemetery. Members of the association have tirelessly maintained the grounds of the cemetery since its founding.

Hebrew Rest celebrated its centennial in 1969 with a religious ceremony held at the cemetery. The well-known rabbi of Temple Rodef Sholom, Mordecai Podet, oversaw the event. The celebration represented a century of solemn dedication and fervent support from Waco’s Jewish community.

Although the cemetery’s surroundings have changed with the construction of Interstate 35 and the growth of Baylor University, the small plot of revered land remains the same.

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During World War II, Waco provided a place of refuge and hope of starting anew for many seeking refuge from persecution, such as Otto and Hilde Levy. As tensions escalated throughout Germany as a result of Nazi discrimination, Otto Levy and Hilde Rosenfeld were married in May of 1937 in Mannheim. Their wedding was held in a large dance hall, though few of their friends and family attended out of fear of attracting unwanted attention from the Nazis. In the months following their marriage, the Levys watched as “Jews Not Wanted” signs appeared in storefronts and as friends and neighbors began to disappear. The Levys decided to flee their home in Germany at the end of 1937 to seek refuge in the United States.

Strict immigration laws passed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration made it difficult for European Jews to secure visas for passage to the United States during the 1930s. The Levys attempted several times to obtain a visa from relatives and friends who had already fled Europe but were initially unsuccessful. Just as they began to despair, the Levys’ friend Gretel Weiser offered to contact her great-uncle Fred Mailander in America on their behalf. He agreed to help the Levys and wrote a letter to the American consul in Germany in order to obtain visas for the couple.

The Levys were excited about the prospect of moving to an urban city such as Waco with a university and a population of 55,000. They hoped to begin a glove-making business similar to the one Otto worked in while in Germany. In addition to securing their visas, Mr. Mailander provided the Levys with a house and covered the cost of moving their furniture. Yet the Levys encountered more obstacles as they began their journey to the United States in 1937. The American consul initially denied Hilde’s passage on the basis of health issues but in the end made an exception for the young couple. The Nazi Party prevented the Levys from withdrawing money from their bank accounts, leaving them with eighteen dollars each for the entire trip. The Levys arrived in New York unable to pay their train fare to Waco. After receiving aid from the United Jewish Appeal Help Committee, the Levys finally reached Waco in August of 1938.

The Levys received a warm welcome in Waco from Mr. Mailander and several other Jewish members of the community, but they encountered difficulties in the beginning of their new lives. Hitler called back many of the boats from Germany, including the one with the Levy’s furniture. Their furniture and belongings did not arrive in Waco until October. On top of this, Hilde and Otto spoke only German, making communication difficult. Unable to start a glove business in Waco, Otto began working at Rainbo Bread, and Hilde worked at a women’s department store in order to make enough money to get by.

A few years later, several prominent Jewish women approached Hilde and encouraged her to take over a store on South Eleventh Street in the Bell’s Hill neighborhood and run a small grocery. In 1941, Hilde borrowed $54.50 from Cooper’s Wholesale Grocery and began selling everyday items such as coffee, canned goods, and kosher meats. At the recommendation of two of the first customers, the Levys named the store O&H Foods. The Levys began introducing foods and products that could not be found anywhere else in Waco after traveling to a fancy food convention in Chicago in 1946. Specialty items such as cheeses from Finland, chocolates from Holland, and imported beers from around the world became the staple of O&H Foods. After a devastating tornado tore through Waco in 1953, damaging the storefront beyond repair, the Levys reopened on North Twenty-Fifth Street, changing the name to O&H Rare Foods. 

Otto and Hilde believed that a strong work ethic and good personal relationships with their customers would set them apart from other businesses in Waco. In the early years, the store was open seven days a week, often from seven in the morning until eleven at night. Otto and Hilde knew all of their customers by name and remembered their exact sandwich orders. They treated their employees as family members, and their decision to retire in 1990 was very difficult. Although they could no longer run the store because of Otto’s health, the Levys were comforted knowing that the store was in the hands of long-time employee John Peters.

O&H Rare Foods officially closed on July 31, 1998, after nearly half a century of providing Texans with specialty grocery items. By the end of World War II, nearly 40 percent of O&H’s customers were located outside of Waco in areas such as Austin, El Paso, and Odessa. O&H Rare Foods offered glimpses of culture outside the United States for citizens who never left their small towns, while the Levys’ tireless dedication to customer service and innovation in the food industry made O&H Rare Foods a center of community for Wacoans.

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