Waco History Podcast

Pests—the creepy-crawly, buzzing kinds—are a year-round nuisance in Waco but are especially present in summer months, when they come out in full force and bring misery along with them. Louise Murphy describes her introduction to one such pest: "I didn't know anything about roaches until we got an icebox. I got acquainted with Mr. Roach. And off and on all the years, we still have a problem with Mr. Roach because they can get in these cracks in the ground where there's shift[s] in there, and you cannot get rid of them." Interviewer: "Well, what—what do you think it was about the icebox that—that—" "Oh, they were full of them. They love that. It was the coolness. Besides that, they—they had moisture down in under there, and they clung to that. And I didn't know what they was until we got one, and I couldn't imagine what that was." She recalls an experience with bedbugs in the 1950s: "Boy, they get in your bed, they get in your walls, and they would get in the cracks of the—under the house, the cracks and

Guests: Chris Hansen and Carl Hoover Topics: o Florence Gerald o Texas Guinan o Ann Gwynne o Cindy Walker o Victor Bozeman o Shannon Elizabeth o Peri Gilpin o Jennifer Love Hewitt o Steve Martin o Angela Kinsey o Thomas Harris o Terrance Malick o Kevin Reynolds o John Lee Hancock o Derek Haas and Michael Brandt o Waco in Films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prohibition in the United States led to the decade most associated with flowing alcohol and crime. The Eighteenth Amendment, on the heels of the Volstead Act, put into place a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol in 1920. Local law enforcement agencies were not prepared. Helen Geltemeyer of Waco recalls a relative concocting whiskey during Prohibition: "But I have an aunt—his sister in Austin—made it. They made it in their bathtub. And the reason why they did there because if they found out the cops were coming, they'd just let it go down the drain." Ann and William Walko of Windber, Pennsylvania, explain how Prohibition affected the moonshine trade: A. Walko: "My grandmother, they said she was in jail almost every weekend. They take her to jail; my mother have to find somebody to go bail her out, you know. But that was survival. They had—they needed money, so they would make the moonshine. And these bachelors were all living with people. You know, they worked in the mine. And

Dr. Sloan talks to Jayme Lynn Blaschke about the storied history of the Infamous Chicken Ranch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Slaon talks with Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe who is a professor and chair of the Department of Museum Studies at Baylor University about buildings around Waco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the scorching months of a Texas summer, there's nothing quite so refreshing as playing in the water or at its edge. Wilma Bunton of Houston lived for five years in Galveston as a child. We would go to the beach and we called it bathing. My aunt brought her bathing suit. It was one of those old fashioned, looked like a short skirt. And had white, three rows of white braids around the bottom, it came just below her knees. She had black stockings that went up above her knees and bloomers around her. Doesn't sound real comfortable. No, she had bathing shoes on. And then she had a bathing cap, as it was called, that looked like a dust cap. And if she had fallen down in the water, we wouldn't have been able to save her. But the ladies at that time didn't swim. They even had puff sleeves, of all things. So that that would fill up with water, too. But we'd go down and we'd beach comb. Early in the morning it's easy to find the shells and you can even find the sand dollars that are not broken. If you pick them

Dr. Sloan talks with Buck Cole about the Evangelia Settlement that he helped achieve a state historical marker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Home remedies have been around for thousands of years, passed down from one generation to the next and utilizing common products to treat illnesses. In early 1900s Waco, these treatments abounded. Mary Sendón recalls home remedies her family used: "They would use coal oil and rock candy. It was supposed to be for coughs and chest colds. Then they used mustard plasters for chest pains and pneumonia. My—that's what they used on my grandfather in pneumonia. And this is a funny story about that: my grandfather really was a—they thought he was dying. He was having what they call sinking spells; you know, he'd just get so weak. It was during the Prohibition days, and the doctor could order whiskey from a drugstore with a prescription. Well, the doctor ordered a bottle of whiskey from Old Corner Drug Store. "And he told my—all of my aunts—everybody came together to help—and he said, ‘Get him an eggnog every thirty minutes.' And he told them how to do it: put a tablespoon of whiskey in a glass and fill it with egg be

This special episode covers the music of Jules Bledsoe, Hank Thompson, Johnny Gimble, Mercy Dee Walton, and Billy Joe Shaver. Guest: Jim Holmes, Waco City Councilman, District 5, investment banker, and music lover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Great War came to an end in late 1918, a cloud hung over the jubilation; the world was suffering the worst pandemic in history. From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish Flu killed more people than the fighting did in World War I and infected more than a quarter of all Americans. Educator Wilma Buntin describes the flu striking her family in the Houston area: "And I remember my older brother Louis was the only one who didn't get sick. So he'd try to fix something for us for breakfast, or he'd tried to fix something for supper. None of us were interested whatsoever. They didn't have a doctor there, so you just had to do what you thought you could. And they knew to drink fruit juices and rest. Then he'd cry when he'd fix something. He said, ‘It's because I can't do a good job of cooking you all are not eating.' And he didn't—(laughter)." In a 1987 interview, Louie Mayberry recalls how the virus changed everyday life for children: "When we moved to San Antonio I started to school. I hadn't gone to school but a few

Guest(s): Fiona Bond Topics: Waco Auditorium Cotton Palace Hippodrome Waco Hall Circle Drive-In Katy Park Walker’s Auditorium HOT Fair and Rodeo Magnolia Market Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Formed separately in the mid-1800s, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association have since collectively been at the forefront of most major social movements, such as women's, civil, and human rights. The YMCA and YWCA are more commonly associated with promoting physical activity and education and offering safe lodging. Gladys Casimir describes her mother's involvement with the Waco YWCA prior to Prohibition: "When they went to their meetings they wore little white ribbon bows or rosettes, whatever you want to call it, on their left shoulders. They marched. The women were very active in trying to promote the abolition of liquor. City of Waco had a lot of saloons before they had to close down." Tom Charlton, former director of the Baylor Institute for Oral History, recalls the Y in Beaumont in the 1940s and 50s: "The YMCA played a—a big role in my life from the time I learned to swim at the YMCA when I was about nine. My mother and dad always made sure I had a membership at

Guest(s): Kris Collins Topics: Texas economy Booms – Cattle, Cotton, Lumber, Oil Early Waco economy Businesses in Waco New industries Waco Industrial Foundation SpaceX  Industrial and logistics powerhouse 3 hours from 22 million people Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Graduating from a school and starting a new chapter in life at another campus can be a bittersweet moment. Charles Armstrong remembers his last days at Bell's Hill Elementary School in Waco: "They asked everybody that wanted to, to write a little something about the school, what they—what they learned or didn't learn. So I wrote a little poem, entitled ‘Good-bye, Bell's Hill.' Said: Good-bye, Bell's Hill, good-bye.I'm leaving you now, but I won't forget,The time I've spent with you.The boys and girls and teachers great,My memory will be with you.I've journeyed with you for days and years,And now we drift apart.The pleasant memories of things gone by,Is written in my heart.Good-bye, Bell's Hill, good-bye."Mrs. Armstrong: "It's darling." Interviewer: "That's nice." He recalls a time in 1941 when he and his wife Ruth, who also grew up in Bell's Hill, returned to the school: "They'd vote up there at the school; they still do. And I was voting for the first time, and she was. I walked down the hall there. I was go

Guests Ashley Cruseturner and Marlene McMichael Topics: McClennan Community College Texas State Technical College Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Dr. Kenna Lang Archer, author of "Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River," joins us to talk about Waco's most prominent river. We talk about its history all over the state, and the many attempts to tame it. Check out Dr. Archer's website at kennalangarcher.com. You can find Kenna's book on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. Special thanks to ACT Music for letting us play "Brazos River Breakdown" at the end of this episode. It's by the Nils Landgren Funk Unit from the album ACT 9455-2 License to Funk. About the Waco History Podcast The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.  Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobi

Early Texas Colleges Waco Female College Waco University Baylor University Paul Quinn Hill’s Business Colleges Add-Ran College Toby’s Business College 4C Higher Education Tangents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Kim Patterson. Over the years, Central Texans have celebrated a variety of Easter customs. Dr. Delta Hafford of De Leon managed the clothing program at the Methodist Children's Home in the 1950s and later served as school coordinator. She describes Easter at the Methodist Home in a 1977 interview: "Easter Sunday was always such an exciting time because this was the time when every little girl had a new dress and a new pair of shoes, and they were so proud to wear them on Easter Sunday. This was probably the only day of the year that everybody had a brand-new dress on the very same day. Otherwise, the clothing was renewed, you know, at specific—at—on a staggered basis over the year. But on Easter Sunday, every little girl had a brand-new dress and a brand-new pair of shoes. And that was an exciting time. And it was really a time of pride, I think, for the children. This was also coincided with

Guest(s): Brady Taylor Topics: Climate v. Weather Rainfall Weather Events Floods Droughts Freezes Tornados Historical Impact on Waco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prof. Sloan talks with Benna Vaughan about the Horace Sherman Miller Collection Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices