Waco History talks with Justice Matt Johnson on the history of the McLennan County's Courthouse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

The mission of Historic Waco is to preserve the heritage of Waco and McLennan County, Texas for future generations and to present enriching diverse historical experiences for audiences of all ages. Our mission is fulfilled through educational programming, community lectures, diverse exhibitions, and through our three interpreted house museums that …

Waco.. A Fantastical History with Ashley Bean Thornton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Dr. Sloan talks to Waco Civic Theater Interim Executive Director Kelly M. about upcoming and past events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

In August 1910 on the corner of Fifth & Austin in downtown Waco, construction began on a state-of-the-art, steel-frame office building. Founders and board members of the newly formed Amicable Life Insurance Company had originally planned a structure with eight stories, but that number soon rose to seventeen and then twenty-two. Construction on the …

During the Great Depression, newspapers struggled alongside other businesses throughout the country, as many of their customers were having to pinch pennies like never before. At the time of this 1974 interview, Harlon Fentress was chairman of the board of directors of Newspapers Incorporated, which owned the Waco Tribune-Herald. He recounts his da…

Even with its dry spells, wind, and blistering heat, Waco has enjoyed a bounty of flowers over the years. Mary Sendón recalls the Cotton Palace expositions held in the early 1900s in the Bell's Hill area: "They kept the grounds so beautiful. You never saw so many chrysanthemums in all your life as you would see at the Cotton Palace. They planted th…

This is Living Stories, featuring voices from the collections of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. I'm Louis Mazé. In 1881, Southwestern Telegraph and Telephone Co. formed with the purpose of operating exchanges in Arkansas and Texas. The company took over exchanges in Galveston and Houston and started several others across the stat…

Dr. Sloan talks with guest Rick Tullis about Wacoan WD Custead and his claim of being the first in flight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Dr. Sloan chats with Sean Sutcliffe about the history of the Waco Fire Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

The sport of basketball was created in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a teacher at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Since that very first game that involved a soccer ball and two peach baskets, the sport has undergone many changes. Baylor football coach Grant Teaff recalls when a high school coach in Snyder, Texas,…

The wedding industry, movies, and TV have created fantasies about lavish proposals and ceremonies that will ensure lasting marriages. But if the love and compatibility are there from the start, simplicity will get the job done. Gloria Young of Waco started dating F. M. Young, the brother of her best friend, the summer before she went off to college…

The 1911 Texas Almanac reported that approximately 15,000 automobiles were in service in the Lone Star State. The Almanac went on to say, "Although the automobile is counted a luxury and in the majority of cases, is used for pleasure, or as a means of transportation from the home to the office, the automobile is found in practical everyday life in …

Dr. Sloan continues talks with Ryan Holt, Assistant City Manager about the History of the Waco Police Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Traveling by train has become something of a novelty for most Americans, as the routes available from surviving lines are quite limiting. But during their heyday, passenger trains, with service offered in most cities, were the go-to mode of transportation for many Americans and offered the excitement of new faces and experiences. Mary Sendón of Wac…

Three years in to World War I, a $5 million construction project began on the northwest side of Waco. A few months later in September of 1917, the new training headquarters Camp MacArthur welcomed 18,000 troops from Michigan and Wisconsin. Throughout the rest of the war, the thousands of soldiers stationed at Camp MacArthur became a part of Waco's …

The worst drought in Texas in recent memory belongs to the 1950s. The seemingly never-ending dry spell started in '49. By the time it came to an end in 1956, all of Texas's 254 counties, save 10, had been declared federal disaster areas. Jess Lunsford, the founding administrator of South Texas Children's Home, describes how the dire conditions thre…

Dr. Sloan talks with Ryan Holt, Assistant City Manager about the History of the Waco Police Department Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Dr. Sloan wraps up his conversation with Historian John Kamanec about The Case and Execution of Roy Mitchell in Waco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Before their vaccines were made available, measles and rubella swept through towns every few years, mostly infecting young children. Everyone was expected to suffer through them at some point. Waco native Mary Sendón recalls her and her siblings' experience with the more serious of the two illnesses: "All of us—four of us—got measles at the same ti…

Dr. Sloan talks more with Historian John Kamanec about The Case and Execution of Roy Mitchell in Waco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Each autumn in the early part of the twentieth century, many Southerners made time for hog-killing. The slaughter offered a change in diet but more importantly, yielded enough food to help families get through the winter. Longtime Waco resident Louise Murphy recalls that hog-killing was a family affair, with even children given responsibilities: "T…

Dr. Sloan talks with Historian John Kamanec about The Case and Execution of Roy Mitchell in Waco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Junior high and middle school are not days that most people would want to relive. But awkward though they may be, these years influence the rest of our lives and hopefully provide some cherished memories. Woodrow Carlile of Waco reflects on his days at South Junior High School: "I'm left-handed, and I went in this class and I went to the blackboard…

In the early 1900s, Texas enjoyed nearly 500 miles of electric interurban railways. The bulk of the mileage, about 70 percent, was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A line to Waco opened in 1913. Interurbans provided frequent passenger service between urban centers, setting them apart from what existing steam railway systems offered. Interurban lines …

In the early 1960s, many Southerners fed up with racial discrimination were participating in restaurant sit-ins, hoping to change the status quo. Robert Cogswell of Austin, a social justice activist, recalls taking part in the movement in Houston: "It was customary for black people who were demonstrating to have a token white among them to show tha…

Dr. Sloan and Rick reflect on the Crossroads series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Guest: Sheriff Parnell McNamara Topics: McNamara Family Sheriff’s Department Early Law Officers John Wesely Hardin Sam Bass Judge Gerald Shootout Brann Shootout The Reservation Lorena Riots Bonnie and Clyde Kenneth McDuff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Dr. Slaon continues his talk 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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

Guest: Sheriff Parnell McNamara Topics: McNamara Family Sheriff’s Department Early Law Officers John Wesely Hardin Sam Bass Judge Gerald Shootout Brann Shootout The Reservation Lorena Riots Bonnie and Clyde Kenneth McDuff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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…

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…

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 co…

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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 wh…

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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 u…

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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 Hous…

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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 …

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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, enti…

By Rogue Media Network

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 …

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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 coordinat…

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/adchoicesBy Rogue Media Network

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