Waco History Podcast

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/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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: "They give me the intestines. I had to go get me s...

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/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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 and started writing with my left hand on the boa...

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 were highly sought after, as  Martha Howe  recalls...

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 that they weren't exclusivists. And I was often the...

Dr. Sloan and Rick reflect on the Crossroads series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-...

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/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-...

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...

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 See Priv...

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...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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,...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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 pneumoni...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-...

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...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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 in...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pr...

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, Bel...

Guests Ashley Cruseturner and Marlene McMichael Topics: McClennan Community College Texas State Technical College Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .