Talk: Thur., Feb. 28, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX

Sarah Sudhoff has kindly asked me to be a guest lecturer at the Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. If you are near Nacogdoches, please stop by!

Thursday, February 28, 2008, 5-6pm
Stephen F. Austin State University
2124 Wilson Drive North
Art Building, Room 106
Nacogdoches, Texas

Gladys Cundiff Morrison

Gladys Cundiff Morrison with picture of first High School for black students in Yadkin County, Boonville, NC

Today I found an article written about Gladys Cundiff Morrison and her late father, E. L. Cundiff. Mr. E. L. Cundiff, who died at the age of 102 in 1999, was the leading force behind establishing the first School for black children where the grades went through High School, in Boonville, N. Carolina.

From the Winston-Salem Journal, 02-27-08:

"Gladys Morrison lived within a half-mile of several schools that she couldn’t attend. Her textbooks, often secondhand, were missing pages. Yet, as a child in the 1930s, she says, she didn’t know that she was missing out. She had dreams that took her far beyond segregated Yadkin County.

Her one-room school in Boonville went to only the seventh grade. Most students left to find menial jobs, something her father, E.L. Cundiff, couldn’t bear. So, he pushed the General Assembly to pressure local officials to provide money for a new school. And in 1941, he donated land for the Yadkin County School.

Morrison and her friends didn’t fully understand the full meaning of segregation. 'Back in those days, there was no animosity. There were white students, and we knew each other, and when it was time to go to school, they went one way, and we went another,' she said. 'Back then, they didn’t teach hate. It took a long time before we knew why.'

Her father was a teacher and would have educators from Philadelphia and other big cities in their home. He was always looking for ways to encourage black students and broaden their horizons, Morrison said." (This is edited, read the whole article here)

I spent many hours with Gladys at her home while I was in NC. All day actually. The time spent with her was memorable. She is extremely active in the surrounding communities, just as her father was before her. If I remember correctly, Gladys is the director of the local arts organization in Elkin, NC, and was a former director at a halfway house for woman. She also acts as a mentor to many woman in the area. One of which came by during my visit, seeking her advice. With all this -- and many other things, I'm sure -- she still has time for current politics. She was reading Barack's biography and had just finished Hillary's, when I came to visit. Something I don't have the patience for.

I recently received a wonderful letter from her: "Are you eating well? (smiles) The Loaf Bread you liked so well could very well be repeated. Do let me know." Gladys Cundiff Morrison is a truly special person. And like many of the other people I have encountered along the way, I am honored to know her.


Gladys, Boonville, NC, 2007

P. S. See a few more images from the project here.

Camping

Bryan Lake, Bryan, TX, Feb. 23, 2008

Save Boonville

Still camping, have not showered since I was in Dallas on Monday, cut my finger chopping wood, had to find a cheap clinic to get a tetanus shot, and I've been kept awake by loud kids and bonfires for the last three days. But on to the important part...


2002 aerial photo of old Boonville property with original survey markings laid over top (click for larger view).

This morning I went to a talk at the local Heritage Center. Mr. Henry Mayo gave a presentation on the property where the former Town of Boonville sits, and its historical relevance. The majority of the "old Boonville" property has already been optioned by a firm to put in a commercial center -- adding a Best Western, as well as other businesses. Mr. Mayo is trying to get the city to purchase a piece of land to add a small park in the old town square. He is not even trying to deter this "progress" from happening. He just wants a small park. But nobody seems to be listening.

Boonville was officially registered as a town in 1844, but was first settled in the 1830s or so. It became extinct in 1866, but there were probably people still living there and calling it Boonville until the early 1900s. Old Boonville was the FIRST town and the FIRST County Seat of Brazos County. It is rich with history, and it has never even been the subject of a proper archaeological dig. And as we speak, bulldozers under contract from the commercial firm are further destroying its history. Granted, they are most likely just simple artifacts, but isn't that important? Or are they just artifacts? Isn't it also a statement on our current values in a largely quick-and-easy and corporate society? I don't know who's misstep it was, but shame on them (the City of Bryan, Texas?) for never making old Boonville something more then a future shopping center.

This project has never really been about the history of the towns. But that doesn't mean I am not invested in it. I've researched each towns origins and history for years, and I continue to do so when I arrive into each new community. TX is no different, except maybe that I am a bit more interested, seeing that it's all that's left.

Today I met some wonderful people that are very interested and passionate about old Boonville. It is amazing how many people don't even know about the former town. And as one person put it to me today, "Most people think the Boonville Cemetery is named for Boonville Road." If Mr. Mayo and the dedicated "old Boonvillians" of Bryan, TX do not succeed, then will people in 50 years think the Cemetery was named for the "Boonville Town Center," the name of the new Best Western commercial property?

Seriously, if we don't even preserve our beginnings, then what should we preserve?

Boonville, Texas

Cracked Gravestone, Boonville Cemetery, Bryan, TX

I'm currently camping near a lake in Bryan, TX. I was wrong in my previous post, Boonville became extinct around the late 1860s, and it looks like, from the map I got yesterday, that the town was less then a square mile.

There are a lot of different things going on in that small space. In the former town limits there is now an expressway, two car dealerships, a few broken and abandoned homes, a farm, and the outer edges of three or four different subdivisions. The Boonville cemetery is the only remaining sign that a town existed there, and it is huge.

I've been racking my head trying to figure out how to approach this town, and I think I got it. But it is early, and it has been a rough start. Camping hasn't been great. I was rained out last night and a few kids decided to party till 2am near my tent. I'm in good spirits though and have already made many contacts with the people who own the "old boonville" land. Still more to go. To be continued...

P.S. I was on the local news. Watch it here. It's very short.

Interview

There is an interview by Noel Rodo-Vankeulen about me and the project on his very nice blog, We Can't Paint (what a great name!). Read it here.

Home-Cooked Meal, #22

Oklahoma Joe's BBQ, Kansas City, MO

Thanks to Kevin and Tiffany (below) for the hospitality while in KC! They didn't make me a home-cooked meal, but we sure did stuff our faces while I was there.

Bryan/Boonville, Texas

View Larger Map


Above is the area in which Boonville, Texas once inhabited. The only remaining sign of Boonville's existence is Boonville Road, and the Boonville Cemetery. Boonville was incorporated and became the County Seat of Brazos County in the late 1870s. By the early 1900s it was a ghost town.

Just as many traditional American values are suffering today because of our need for convenience, so too was Boonville, TX. In the late 1890s the railroad came into Bryan, TX, the neighboring community, and everyone but a few deserted Boonville for the new form of transportation, and ways of receiving goods.

I arrive tomorrow morning. We are currently looking for the person in charge of the Cemetery so I can have full access, and I have an appointment with an area judge whose great-grandfather is buried there. I am very curious about this forgotten town. I've been thinking about it for a long time now, and I am still unsure how I am going to approach it. Tomorrow should be very interesting.