The following remarks were delivered by Shanthi Jayakumar at the RWC Meeting 10/28/14
Shanthi Jayakumar, RWC Historian 1994- 10-28-2014
Shanthi Jayakumar, RWC Historian 1994- 10-28-2014
Rollingwood Women’s Club History
Thank you all for being here tonight. I have enjoyed serving as the historian for our club since 1994 and I am really excited about sharing some of the highlights of our club history with you. The scrapbooks that you see here are a record of most of the activities of the club since its founding in 1958. The books are just part of the story. What I am going to present to you has been compiled from various books, newspaper articles, visits to the archives at Eanes and the Austin history centers and of course from interviews that Flo Macklin and I conducted with longtime residents of our community. I really miss not having Flo here with us tonight, but she is home and getting better each day. I have shared the content of my presentation with her.
For tonight’s meeting, and in the interest of time, I have decided to share the basic highlights of the history of both the city and the club to show how intertwined the two have been for the last 50+ years. Even to this day, the shared goals are what make Rollingwood the envy of surrounding communities. Volunteerism and service to community has been the guiding principle for both entities. I hope you will leave here with a better understanding of how fortunate we all are to live in such a caring, friendly and supportive community. I hope we can foster the same for future generations.
Very briefly, a few notes on the land that Rollingwood sits on. Before he died in the Texas Revolution, Ben Milam sold the land to Henry P. Hill. In 1904, 1800 acres of land was bought by Condido Dellana who had immigrated from Italy in 1880 and had worked as a stone mason on the State Capitol building until its completion in 1888. In 1946, brothers A.B and George B. Hatley bought 300 acres from the Dellana ranch for $300 an acre. While A.B developed the land along the Colorado river with a main thoroughfare named Stratford Drive, George developed the inner portion of Rollingwood. Almost all street names in Rollingwood are named after members of the Hatley family and their friends. An interesting observation in one of the reference materials states that the Hatley brothers used a numbering system where one would go West to East, the other went East to West with no coordination. The Hatley brothers are reputed to have been rivals in business ventures! Their disagreements caused them to divide Rollingwood Drive with the North half being developed by George and the South by A.B who then divided the land into smaller lots to allow for more lots.
In 1955, the Village of Rollingwood was incorporated with Frank L. Scofield as its first mayor. There were only 28 homes in Rollingwood. Scofield recalled how the first city council operated for 3 years without any bookkeeping or organization. Then from 1958 -75, Clarence Wilson conducted city business from his home at 3202 Gentry Drive (currently the home of Steve Wertheimer). Elected officials and residents met in private homes or in downtown Austin buildings to conduct city business.
Let me digress and share some anecdotes of the early days as shared by Frank L. Scofield the first mayor of Rollingwood and by his son Frank Scofield .
Thank you all for being here tonight. I have enjoyed serving as the historian for our club since 1994 and I am really excited about sharing some of the highlights of our club history with you. The scrapbooks that you see here are a record of most of the activities of the club since its founding in 1958. The books are just part of the story. What I am going to present to you has been compiled from various books, newspaper articles, visits to the archives at Eanes and the Austin history centers and of course from interviews that Flo Macklin and I conducted with longtime residents of our community. I really miss not having Flo here with us tonight, but she is home and getting better each day. I have shared the content of my presentation with her.
For tonight’s meeting, and in the interest of time, I have decided to share the basic highlights of the history of both the city and the club to show how intertwined the two have been for the last 50+ years. Even to this day, the shared goals are what make Rollingwood the envy of surrounding communities. Volunteerism and service to community has been the guiding principle for both entities. I hope you will leave here with a better understanding of how fortunate we all are to live in such a caring, friendly and supportive community. I hope we can foster the same for future generations.
Very briefly, a few notes on the land that Rollingwood sits on. Before he died in the Texas Revolution, Ben Milam sold the land to Henry P. Hill. In 1904, 1800 acres of land was bought by Condido Dellana who had immigrated from Italy in 1880 and had worked as a stone mason on the State Capitol building until its completion in 1888. In 1946, brothers A.B and George B. Hatley bought 300 acres from the Dellana ranch for $300 an acre. While A.B developed the land along the Colorado river with a main thoroughfare named Stratford Drive, George developed the inner portion of Rollingwood. Almost all street names in Rollingwood are named after members of the Hatley family and their friends. An interesting observation in one of the reference materials states that the Hatley brothers used a numbering system where one would go West to East, the other went East to West with no coordination. The Hatley brothers are reputed to have been rivals in business ventures! Their disagreements caused them to divide Rollingwood Drive with the North half being developed by George and the South by A.B who then divided the land into smaller lots to allow for more lots.
In 1955, the Village of Rollingwood was incorporated with Frank L. Scofield as its first mayor. There were only 28 homes in Rollingwood. Scofield recalled how the first city council operated for 3 years without any bookkeeping or organization. Then from 1958 -75, Clarence Wilson conducted city business from his home at 3202 Gentry Drive (currently the home of Steve Wertheimer). Elected officials and residents met in private homes or in downtown Austin buildings to conduct city business.
Let me digress and share some anecdotes of the early days as shared by Frank L. Scofield the first mayor of Rollingwood and by his son Frank Scofield .
Frank Scofield the son wrote “I remember meetings between my father and a lot of other men
taking place in our living room. My mother explained that the men were upset that the City of
Austin might take us and charge a lot of money. As the years passed, there were a lot of
meetings”. Again, Frank the son recalls, “I remember fewer deer than we deal with today.
Probably due to the fact that the area west of Wallis supported at least 3 deer blinds during
hunting season”.
Back to the city and another true story of what used to happen. All officers of the Village served without pay except for L.T. Gunn who served as Marshall and was paid $30 a month and given a whistle and had to use his own car to patrol the city.
Frank Scofield the first mayor who was also the acting judge, relates this story. “Hatley Drive (aka Roller Coaster Alley) had another hill where it crosses Riley. It was a steep slope on the approach drive and a steep drop off on the Vale side. The kids would come out here on weekends in their automobiles and ride the hill like a ski jump. They would speed down Hatley, get airborne when they jumped the hill and crash down in front of Dean Johnston’s front door (2500 Hatley). Lt. Gunn and myself would catch them and give them a ticket. The next week when they came in to pay the ticket, they were surprised to find out that I was also the acting judge and they would be asked to do community service”. After many such incidents, the city appropriated funds to dynamite the hill and you can see the cut-away in front of Harry Roger’s home (2600 Hatley).
Hatley Drive was also the birthplace of the Rollingwood Women’s Club. While the men were planning and organizing the city, four women met in 1958 on the porch of Alice Scofield’s home at 2403 Hatley Drive (currently the home of Kelly Dixon) and formed the Rollingwood Women’s Club. Besides Alice Scofield, the other women were Mrs. Maggie Gunn (wife of Lt. Gunn), Mrs. Marge Chinn and Mrs.Billie Johnston (whose front door was where the cars would land after crashing) that started the club “to promote friendship and assist in the functioning of the newly incorporated city”.
At the club’s first meeting in September 1958, there were 37 charter members. Of those, only Betty Etier still lives in the city. Mrs. Etier interviewed by the Picayune in 2008, recalled that in 1958 there were about 80 homes scattered among beautiful oak trees and young families flocked to the community to raise their children (we seem to be repeating that currently!). She continued to say “we had a lot of kids and a lot of parents, and nobody knew anybody. We were scattered and we decided we needed to know each other.” Before long, members knew the names not only of their neighbors, but also that of the dogs, cats and birds that resided with them.
Back to the city and another true story of what used to happen. All officers of the Village served without pay except for L.T. Gunn who served as Marshall and was paid $30 a month and given a whistle and had to use his own car to patrol the city.
Frank Scofield the first mayor who was also the acting judge, relates this story. “Hatley Drive (aka Roller Coaster Alley) had another hill where it crosses Riley. It was a steep slope on the approach drive and a steep drop off on the Vale side. The kids would come out here on weekends in their automobiles and ride the hill like a ski jump. They would speed down Hatley, get airborne when they jumped the hill and crash down in front of Dean Johnston’s front door (2500 Hatley). Lt. Gunn and myself would catch them and give them a ticket. The next week when they came in to pay the ticket, they were surprised to find out that I was also the acting judge and they would be asked to do community service”. After many such incidents, the city appropriated funds to dynamite the hill and you can see the cut-away in front of Harry Roger’s home (2600 Hatley).
Hatley Drive was also the birthplace of the Rollingwood Women’s Club. While the men were planning and organizing the city, four women met in 1958 on the porch of Alice Scofield’s home at 2403 Hatley Drive (currently the home of Kelly Dixon) and formed the Rollingwood Women’s Club. Besides Alice Scofield, the other women were Mrs. Maggie Gunn (wife of Lt. Gunn), Mrs. Marge Chinn and Mrs.Billie Johnston (whose front door was where the cars would land after crashing) that started the club “to promote friendship and assist in the functioning of the newly incorporated city”.
At the club’s first meeting in September 1958, there were 37 charter members. Of those, only Betty Etier still lives in the city. Mrs. Etier interviewed by the Picayune in 2008, recalled that in 1958 there were about 80 homes scattered among beautiful oak trees and young families flocked to the community to raise their children (we seem to be repeating that currently!). She continued to say “we had a lot of kids and a lot of parents, and nobody knew anybody. We were scattered and we decided we needed to know each other.” Before long, members knew the names not only of their neighbors, but also that of the dogs, cats and birds that resided with them.
1959: The first yearbook a black spiral notebook 4 1⁄2” x 6”was printed with the
Charter and the Club Constitution. The directory had a listing of 89 members.
Article 2 read “The object of this club shall be the advancement of ways and
means to make our neighborhood more attractive in which to live, the
encouragement of beautification, and having the welfare of the families at heart,
to plan and carry through parties and other forms of entertainment at specific
times such as Halloween and Christmas. Also to assist our Mayor and Council in
any way possible to help carry on projects of value for all concerned in
Rollingwood. It is also the object of the Club to have at least two family picnics
each year in order that everyone will be privileged to know one another, and as
families move into our neighborhood to bring them together.” Annual dues were
set at $2 ( raised to $3 in 1961 and then after 25 years went to $5 in 1983 and to
$10 in 1996 currently $20) and it was decided that the Club would meet once a
month, the Fourth Tuesday night at 8 PM, in the homes of volunteers unless
otherwise ordered by the Club President. Club activities were listed as Socials
namely a Halloween Party, Christmas Open House, a Christmas decorating contest
and an Appreciation dinner in May. Besides these socials, the club programs in
1959 included a White Elephant sale, Hawaiian Travelogue, Book review,
Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations, Well Grooming, and Landscaping.
1962-63: Bake sales, Garage sales and Talent Shows were the primary means to raise funds for the Club. There were Tasting Parties at which recipes were sold for 25cents a copy!
1965-66: The club added rock planters and the ROLLINGWOOD sign at the entrance to the city on Rollingwood Drive. The women placed rock and gravel in the planter, added expensive cacti and these were immediately stolen. They replaced the cacti and those were stolen as well. Finally, the women scrounged plants from their own yards and these thrived. They repainted the lettering. The next week, a gravel truck swerved demolishing the Southern rock wall!
1962-63: Bake sales, Garage sales and Talent Shows were the primary means to raise funds for the Club. There were Tasting Parties at which recipes were sold for 25cents a copy!
1965-66: The club added rock planters and the ROLLINGWOOD sign at the entrance to the city on Rollingwood Drive. The women placed rock and gravel in the planter, added expensive cacti and these were immediately stolen. They replaced the cacti and those were stolen as well. Finally, the women scrounged plants from their own yards and these thrived. They repainted the lettering. The next week, a gravel truck swerved demolishing the Southern rock wall!
FUND RAISING & RWC : Some highlights
The early years were about fund raising for all causes. Everything had to be paid for by volunteer effort. I will give you some of the most significant namely the $ raised to pay for building City Hall and the $ that paid for the furnishings at City Hall. Most of the $ came from membership dues, garage and Bake sales, sale of recipes, Halloween Bandits cave, Sampler Supper, barbeque dinners and aluminum can recycling.
*At this point I would like to share some incidents as related by Helen Shaw who was RWC president from 1970-71 and the first woman mayor of Rollingwood from 1972-76.
Helen Shaw recalls, “I like to call the following incidents “growing pains” of the Village, but it was painful. The meeting room, wherever it was, was jammed, with people standing. Many times there were invitations to go to the parking lot and settle disagreements. Once it was declared that one vociferous person went after another with a gun, but it was not so.....The divisions among the council members were deep but somehow the Women’s Club pulled together in spite of the divisions among the men.”
Again, Helen Shaw writes, “ As the 1970 council took office they were shocked to find that there was not a bit of money in the coffer to run the city, so the men borrowed on short term notes from month to month to operate the most basic functions of the city. They also laid down some fine basis for a “Do it yourself” government”.
By this time the desire to have a city hall was in high gear. Rent was being paid to hold court at the Optimist Club building. Helen Shaw recalls “Two of us would go early to clean up the dirty plates left and toss out the beer cans before we could hold court. The court clerk (FLO MACKLIN for many years) sat with her back to a hole large enough for any amount of snakes to crawl through. The councilmen have done jobs themselves to save each penny we could and my house has been the municipal building and office to save a few dollars on rent. At the end of each year we have been very proud of what we saved to go into the building fund”. Finally Shaw who was mayor at this time writes that the bids that had come in to build city hall were just over what the city could afford but she says, “Then in one of the brightest days of my life, two things happened. I received a letter from Marge Loehlin (RWC president from 1968-69) saying that her committee appointed to raise funds for City hall could donate $1600. The next was that the Volunteer Fire Department sent a petition signed by all members that they desired to use all their County Revenue sharing money on the project. This put us over”. City hall was built debt free for $50,000. The community had saved and planned for 10 years to make this a reality. The RWC and the Fire Department had saved the day!
The early years were about fund raising for all causes. Everything had to be paid for by volunteer effort. I will give you some of the most significant namely the $ raised to pay for building City Hall and the $ that paid for the furnishings at City Hall. Most of the $ came from membership dues, garage and Bake sales, sale of recipes, Halloween Bandits cave, Sampler Supper, barbeque dinners and aluminum can recycling.
*At this point I would like to share some incidents as related by Helen Shaw who was RWC president from 1970-71 and the first woman mayor of Rollingwood from 1972-76.
Helen Shaw recalls, “I like to call the following incidents “growing pains” of the Village, but it was painful. The meeting room, wherever it was, was jammed, with people standing. Many times there were invitations to go to the parking lot and settle disagreements. Once it was declared that one vociferous person went after another with a gun, but it was not so.....The divisions among the council members were deep but somehow the Women’s Club pulled together in spite of the divisions among the men.”
Again, Helen Shaw writes, “ As the 1970 council took office they were shocked to find that there was not a bit of money in the coffer to run the city, so the men borrowed on short term notes from month to month to operate the most basic functions of the city. They also laid down some fine basis for a “Do it yourself” government”.
By this time the desire to have a city hall was in high gear. Rent was being paid to hold court at the Optimist Club building. Helen Shaw recalls “Two of us would go early to clean up the dirty plates left and toss out the beer cans before we could hold court. The court clerk (FLO MACKLIN for many years) sat with her back to a hole large enough for any amount of snakes to crawl through. The councilmen have done jobs themselves to save each penny we could and my house has been the municipal building and office to save a few dollars on rent. At the end of each year we have been very proud of what we saved to go into the building fund”. Finally Shaw who was mayor at this time writes that the bids that had come in to build city hall were just over what the city could afford but she says, “Then in one of the brightest days of my life, two things happened. I received a letter from Marge Loehlin (RWC president from 1968-69) saying that her committee appointed to raise funds for City hall could donate $1600. The next was that the Volunteer Fire Department sent a petition signed by all members that they desired to use all their County Revenue sharing money on the project. This put us over”. City hall was built debt free for $50,000. The community had saved and planned for 10 years to make this a reality. The RWC and the Fire Department had saved the day!
*Pat Caraway president of RWC writes how the club funded the city hall furnishings.
At a program in the new City hall, Artist Dalhart Windberg demonstrated the art of oil palette painting and painted “Hill Country Sunset”. He then donated the painting to the club. The club had a drawing with tickets sold at $1. The Capitol National Bank won the painting and donated it back to the City. The Women’s Club made $2000 on the sale of this painting! Look for the painting that hangs on the far wall at City hall.
Fund raising efforts included a garage sale, sale of spices, of consignment clothing, year book ad sale and together with the painting sale raised over $3000 and added to the previous 3 year collection of $1700 helped the club pay for donation of furniture of 50 folding chairs, 10 folding tables, one desk, 1 swivel chair, 4 side chairs and 4 file drawers ($1150) drapes ($600), the patio ($768), landscaping ($1000) and Official building plaque ($225) for the newly built City Hall. The club also donated $ for Christmas gifts to 5 needy families in the Eanes school District.
Since Halloween is just around the corner, I would like to share some stories of Bandit’s cave.
The Club started an annual tradition (exact date unknown) of Halloween in Bandit’s Cave located at the corner of Riley and Pickwick. Rollingwood resident Lilian Crider bought the property in 1950 and preserved many of the relics in her antiquities store on Barton Springs Road and she gave tours for many years. Crider also shared the cave with the Rollingwood community and each Halloween opened it to the Rollingwood Women’s Club. Crider sold the property to Velma and O.O. Shurtleff in 1978 and they continued the tradition and invited the Women’s club to hold Halloween parties for the children complete with dry ice smoke and spooky stories as well as pumpkin decorating contests until 1988 when the cave property was sold to Dan McNamara a spelunker who closed the cave for fear of vandalism. Admission to the cave was 25cents. Kids 5 and under came between 6-7pm and older kids from 7-8pm. It is said that the cave runs under Rollingwood and gets its name from the bandits that hid out in it and who used to rob the wagons on the San Antonio Trail in the days before the Texas Revolution. Another tale gives the bandits credit for robbing the Texas Treasury of $17,000 worth of gold and silver coins and hiding in the cave. They were never caught and the loot was not recovered.
At a program in the new City hall, Artist Dalhart Windberg demonstrated the art of oil palette painting and painted “Hill Country Sunset”. He then donated the painting to the club. The club had a drawing with tickets sold at $1. The Capitol National Bank won the painting and donated it back to the City. The Women’s Club made $2000 on the sale of this painting! Look for the painting that hangs on the far wall at City hall.
Fund raising efforts included a garage sale, sale of spices, of consignment clothing, year book ad sale and together with the painting sale raised over $3000 and added to the previous 3 year collection of $1700 helped the club pay for donation of furniture of 50 folding chairs, 10 folding tables, one desk, 1 swivel chair, 4 side chairs and 4 file drawers ($1150) drapes ($600), the patio ($768), landscaping ($1000) and Official building plaque ($225) for the newly built City Hall. The club also donated $ for Christmas gifts to 5 needy families in the Eanes school District.
Since Halloween is just around the corner, I would like to share some stories of Bandit’s cave.
The Club started an annual tradition (exact date unknown) of Halloween in Bandit’s Cave located at the corner of Riley and Pickwick. Rollingwood resident Lilian Crider bought the property in 1950 and preserved many of the relics in her antiquities store on Barton Springs Road and she gave tours for many years. Crider also shared the cave with the Rollingwood community and each Halloween opened it to the Rollingwood Women’s Club. Crider sold the property to Velma and O.O. Shurtleff in 1978 and they continued the tradition and invited the Women’s club to hold Halloween parties for the children complete with dry ice smoke and spooky stories as well as pumpkin decorating contests until 1988 when the cave property was sold to Dan McNamara a spelunker who closed the cave for fear of vandalism. Admission to the cave was 25cents. Kids 5 and under came between 6-7pm and older kids from 7-8pm. It is said that the cave runs under Rollingwood and gets its name from the bandits that hid out in it and who used to rob the wagons on the San Antonio Trail in the days before the Texas Revolution. Another tale gives the bandits credit for robbing the Texas Treasury of $17,000 worth of gold and silver coins and hiding in the cave. They were never caught and the loot was not recovered.
*One of our TOP fund raising efforts since 1978 has been for our precious park.
Some of you probably know that Hazel Maxwell started this project in 1978. Hazel
started the project with $750 from the city and $270 from the club. There was
just one lonely cottonwood tree on the tract of land being developed. The park
grew “a tree at a time and a fence post at a time”. Members raised funds for the
park by recycling aluminum cans, organizing a Sampler Supper with residents
bringing a casserole or covered dish and 10 copies of recipes that were sold for
25cents each. At that event the club made over $50 in contributions and sale of
recipes. All money went to the park fund. Later funding came from the sale of
commemorative bricks in the 1990’s.In 2000 the Deck the Park project raised over
$25,000 and was spearheaded by Marilyn Kounnas, Sandra Farrell and Deb
Celusniak and the generous support of RWC and the Rollingwood community.
*The other major fund raiser and a highlight at the end of each year is the July 4th parade. This was started by Hazel Maxwell in 1978 to bring neighbors together and to foster community. The first parade had the fire truck “Big Red”, trash truck, decorated cars, bicycles and yes, HORSES! When the parade began, the noise from the fire truck spooked the horses, sending them galloping in a frenzy all the way back to the stables on Bee Cave Road. You are right, horses were outlawed after that!
Rollingwood and Volunteerism:
An article in The Picayune September 1987 sums it very appropriately: “If you need something done, chances are it can get done in Rollingwood. For 30 years, the residents of the community have been taking volunteerism to new levels. Rollingwood residents can tell countless stories of volunteerism. Chris Byrne battling the July heat and digging up rock to plant grass. Anderson used to recycle aluminum cans and use the money for park upkeep........Dick Brown mows the yard around the Municipal building....” Dozens of Rollingwood residents can be relied on to get the necessary jobs finished. James Boyce took down the ironwork
*The other major fund raiser and a highlight at the end of each year is the July 4th parade. This was started by Hazel Maxwell in 1978 to bring neighbors together and to foster community. The first parade had the fire truck “Big Red”, trash truck, decorated cars, bicycles and yes, HORSES! When the parade began, the noise from the fire truck spooked the horses, sending them galloping in a frenzy all the way back to the stables on Bee Cave Road. You are right, horses were outlawed after that!
Rollingwood and Volunteerism:
An article in The Picayune September 1987 sums it very appropriately: “If you need something done, chances are it can get done in Rollingwood. For 30 years, the residents of the community have been taking volunteerism to new levels. Rollingwood residents can tell countless stories of volunteerism. Chris Byrne battling the July heat and digging up rock to plant grass. Anderson used to recycle aluminum cans and use the money for park upkeep........Dick Brown mows the yard around the Municipal building....” Dozens of Rollingwood residents can be relied on to get the necessary jobs finished. James Boyce took down the ironwork
ROLLINGWOOD sign and reworked it -at his own expense. Corky Logue knocked
down the dilapidated Optimists building-at his own expense. Hazel Maxwell
summed it up “The only reward is gratification, and that seems to be plenty
enough for Rollingwood volunteers.” People in Rollingwood have had that spirit
for a long long time.
Some quick factoids to help re-create life in the early days:
Some quick factoids to help re-create life in the early days:
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Lots sold for $4000 each and there were only 150 people in the entire subdivision.
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Taxes were high at $400 a year. A paving tax helped pave the streets.
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There was no trash collection until 1960. Trash used to accumulate in open trash dumps.
Residents of Westlake Hills, Lost Creek and Westwood had to seek out their own garbage collector and only Rollingwood had a contract with John Durbin who charged a fee of $4.95 a month for 3 pickups a week and a limit of 5 containers weighing less than 40 lbs a container. This continued until 1983 when the city contracted with Longhorn Disposal.
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Water: until 1969 when the city entered into an agreement with Austin, water was
provided by several companies with their own water wells. There was a water tower
bearing the letters ROLLINGWOOD. That was located between Wallis and Almarion and
most water pipes were purchased from Camp Swift the army base near Elgin.
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Fire service: Until 1985, the city had a volunteer fire department and a city newsletter
describes the department “as a motley group that consists of teenagers, retirees,
doctors, dancers, civil servants, red-necks, accountants and even a little old lady in
tennis shoes”. Harry Rogers was fire chief in 1974 and for years all emergency calls 24/7
were handled by Harry’s wife Lavonne Rogers and their 3 daughters who attended to
the phones and the CB radio and scanner. Funding for the fire department was from an
annual barbeque at which the RWC provided desserts.
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City Hall: Finally in 1975 after years of planning, saving and raising funds, a City Hall was
built in 120 days at a cost of $50,000 and the project did not incur any debt.
I would like to share some insights about the Volunteer Fire Department. This is from the Picayune of April 21, 1977. “Mischief (for Mrs. Chief) will give a few womanly remarks about the Rollingwood Volunteer Fire Training session last Saturday. It was cold and work! As half of us worked getting more proficient on working the controls on the fire truck, the other half
brushed up on raising and handling the very heavy wooden ladder. Learning team work and the SOP of doing each thing takes practice! The ladies, as they took their turns on the ladder, huffed and puffed and swore that there certainly was a place for the men and that none of us was really ever a woman’s libber. One observation: men will often stand and kick the dirt and remain silent when in a group, but the ladies-they immediately start comparing the uniforms, how big the waist, that none can be found for the dainty, petite little Fire Persons, and that some coveralls are a sparkling white and some a tell-tale grey.” Jokes aside, these men and women risked their lives to keep the community safe. Harry Rogers who was fire chief almost lost his life on several occasions while attempting to rescue motorists whose vehicles had been swept into the flood waters on Rollingwood Drive near Barton Springs Road before that bridge was built.
Thank you for your interest in this presentation. A quick word on the books displayed. I have
brought a sampling of the books starting with book 2. I started as historian in 1994. We have a
total of 11 books. I am on my 8th book. We have more activities and I have been including more
pictures and clippings from the paper on the club events and the books are huge! I would like
inputs from members whether you would like to go DIGITAL starting next year since we have
the capacity to do that via our website.
Please consider this as part 1 of our exploration into the history of the club. I hope you leave here with a better appreciation for our club, where it was and where it has been. Now, it is up to each of us to renew our commitment to the club’s mission which is to foster friendships and care for the welfare of our neighbors and the community.
Thank you. -Shanthi.
References :
Please consider this as part 1 of our exploration into the history of the club. I hope you leave here with a better appreciation for our club, where it was and where it has been. Now, it is up to each of us to renew our commitment to the club’s mission which is to foster friendships and care for the welfare of our neighbors and the community.
Thank you. -Shanthi.
References :
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Eanes: Portrait of a Community. Linda Vance and Dorothy Depwe, 1986 (Taylor
Publishing Company)
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Picayune articles from various years.
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Information gathered from personal interviews with longtime residents.
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Documents and letters provided by longtime residents.
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