that HELP

The Service Clubs That Charm Our Neighborhood

Lakewood has always felt like a small town tucked into a big city. Even with its pockets of crime, its tightknit sense of community keeps many families roosting here. The fact that you always see someone you know at the grocery store or local watering hole is due, at least in part, to our neighborhood’s service clubs. They may require an application to join, but these groups regularly find ways to make our neighborhood better, whether through providing scholarships for Woodrow seniors, beautifying our common space or promoting neighborhood businesses. Some clubs are part of a national campaign while others stem from homegrown efforts, but all chip in to make our neighborhood more desirable and connected. Here, you can read a bit more about who they are, what they do and how to get involved.

Growing gardens

The Dallas County Master Gardeners beautify all of the city, but they are especially active in East Dallas. That includes assisting 10 public schools in maintaining their gardens.

Back in 1995, the service club turned a weed-riddled lot into a thriving green space for Dallas ISD’s Multiple Careers Magnet Center (MCMC) a part time school in East Dallas for students with special needs. The curriculum is modeled to look like a job, and the garden plays a role in the students’ development, teaching them real world skills. Students grow vegetables and herbs in the garden, which are then harvested and used in the culinary arts program or donated to families.

“The group was so welcoming and enjoyable, after the first visit I was hooked,” says Marilyn Waisenan, who has been volunteering with the Master Gardeners at MCMC for 12 years. The students come from different backgrounds, but Waisenan says she sees the connection and bond grow quickly through their work together in the garden. “It has been extremely rewarding.”

Master Gardeners also help maintain the garden at Lakewood Elementary. Cynthia Jones, an East Dallas neighbor who is president of the Dallas County Master Gardener Association, says they focus on plants that are good for pollinators and butterflies. “The kids are just fascinated,” she says.

All members must give back through service or education. The group provides horticultural information for Dallas County residents, about everything from keeping your lawn green and managing pests, to raising vegetables in the backyard. They host demonstration classes and have developed teaching gardens all over Dallas. They even have a helpdesk neighbors can call weekends from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to ask gardening questions (214.904.3053).

Year established: 1986

Number of members: Over 400

Main purpose: To educate the public and provide research-based horticultural information and projects throughout the county.

Annual events: There is a portable help desk at the Texas State Fair for the entire length of the fair. They also host garden-related children’s activities at the Home and Garden Show in the fall and spring.

How to join: Attend Master Gardener School, which begins in January. Applications may be downloaded by visiting the website.

Biggest non-cash need: Much of the funding comes from the Dallas County Master Gardener Association (DCMGA), the nonprofit funding arm of the organization. Attending garden tours and plant sales also helps contribute.

More info: dallascountymastergardeners.org

Student supporters

The East Dallas Exchange Club’s focus is on helping kids, and specifically kids in Dallas ISD schools in the neighborhood. In addition to collecting coats, books and eyeglasses, the group gives away over $80,000 a year in scholarship funds, providing three, four-year $5,000 scholarships and one four-year $10,000 scholarship to Woodrow Wilson High School seniors.

Last Spring, Abraham Saldana was awarded that $10,000, and last month he started as a freshman at Iowa State. He is studying agricultural engineering with plans of running his own business and helping others become more environmentally conscious.

Saldana thought he’d go to El Centro for a couple years and then transfer to A&M, but earning the scholarship opened doors for him.

“I feel like winning the East Dallas Exchange Club scholarship gave me confidence, and I was rewarded for aiming high,” Saldana says. “It gave me momentum in other areas of my life, applying resources to my education and see where I take it and where it takes me.”

In addition to his agricultural engineering curriculum, Negrete is taking leadership classes, so that he can come back and inspire his community.

“I am here on a mission,” he says. “The scholarship really touched me. And not just the scholarship, but the message behind it. If they are willing to contribute in such a way, I want to be selfless and give back to see someone else succeed in that way. I want to see my whole community make that leap.”

Year established: 1948

Number of members: 50 members

Main purpose: To serve kids through a wide variety of programs, including Coats for Kids, Books for Kids and programs that increase literacy; help kids go to college and prevent child abuse. Annual events: The Exchange Club scholarship fundraiser at Pour House on Oct. 14, and includes a band, pizza and a mug for $30.

How to join: Membership is limited to 50 members and is invitation only.

Biggest non-cash need: Donations of books, coats and attendance at fundraising events for scholarships. More info: exchangeclubofeastdallas.org

70 Years Strong

The East Dallas Rotary Club celebrates seven decades in the neighborhood this year, and continues to increase its impact on the local community. The organization was founded for humanitarian purposes, with a global mission to help eradicate polio, which it has more or less accomplished.

The East Dallas Rotary club has members of all ages from diverse backgrounds, says Jason Kendall, a past president and East Dallas neighbor. “It’s a neat way to do good and not feel overwhelmed,” he says. “But it is not about us feeling good, but about making a difference.”

The Rotary Club helps gather supplies and donate to Dan D. Rogers Elementary, and also works with Family Gateway, a homeless shelter for families with educational and social services. Last year, the East Dallas Rotary Club donated $2,500 for school uniforms, allowing the nonprofit to outfit 100 children, says Kathy Kidwell of Family Gateway.

“They are absolutely fantastic,” Kidwell says.

Rotary also partners with For the Love of the Lake, where they help with shoreside cleanups.

“It’s not just a bunch of old whitehaired men talking about the good old days and making business contacts. It couldn’t be further from that,” Kendall says. “Some of those folks have a lot more in common with you than you think.”

Year established: 1947

Number of members: 20

Main purpose: There are over 35,000 Rotary Clubs that share a goal to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, serve mothers and children, support education and grow local economies.

Annual events: In September, Pints for Polio at Deep Ellum Brewing Company. In October, they host a 5k to end Alzheimer’s, and in November, the Rotary organizes Men Who Cook in Deep Ellum.

How to join: Attend a meeting and express interest in the club to receive an invitation.

Biggest non-cash need: The public can donate through the website, come to a meeting, assist in future service projects or attend a social event.

More info: eastdallasrotary.org

Everyone’s pool

Dallas Fraternal Order of Eagles offers more than just one of Dallas’ best pools. The clubhouse that’s popular with young families, old-timers and everything in between on summer weekends is actually part of a national network of Aeries.

The first Fraternal Order of Eagles was founded at the turn of the 20th cen- tury when some theater owners met to determine how to end an actors’ strike. Out of that meeting came an organization that now donates $10 million dollars to charity nationwide and claims seven presidents as past members.

The Fraternal Order of Eagles clubhouse has an old-school vibe: unpretentious and welcoming.

The East Dallas location, nestled behind Forest Hills, is Aerie 3108, and is nearly all volunteer run. The cheap beers and burgers sold every weekend at the pool benefit numerous charities, and members donate their own time to maintain the grounds.

Last year, F.O.E. 3108 donated over $80,000 to various charities, some of which are local, like the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which helps victims of child abuse, and Maggie’s House, which supports those dealing with alcohol addiction.

The facility also goes above and beyond via their taxes. Although the nonprofit isn’t required to pay property taxes, the Eagles decided to pay anyway in order to help the children at Dallas ISD and have done so since 1973.

Year established: 1952

Number of members: 243 members and 250 auxiliary (women’s) members

Main purpose: To promote peace, prosperity, gladness and hope.

Annual events: There are chili-cook-off fundraisers and a Luau that benefits the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.

How to join: Two sponsors must recommend a person to complete an application. Hanging out at the Aerie is recommended in order to get to know sponsors, and volunteering always helps. Biggest non-cash need: The F.O.E. is always looking for more members, especially people who are able to lead service projects.

More info: foe.com

We build’

Lakewood Kiwanis will celebrate 75th anniversary in East Dallas year, and still offer an active way neighbors to serve their community. Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 in Michigan, and its name comes from an Algonquin word for “We build.”

In East Dallas, the Kiwanis sponsor Woodrow Wilson High School’s Key Club, a service organization, and host a pancake breakfast fundraiser for the school’s marching band. They also provide a $600 scholarship for one Sophomore of the Year.

Local Kiwanis members also support Mi Escuelita, an English immersion preschool housed in St. Matthew’s Cathedral on Ross. Mi Escuelita serves over 600 children, most of whom could not afford pre-school otherwise. Kiwanis donate supplies and books and throw a Christmas party. But their most important contribution to the school is a reading partnership.

Every Friday, Kiwanis members read to the children after lunch. “What they do is vital to the growth and development of our children,” says Executive Director Gayle Nave. “[The students] don’t have many chances to develop a relationship with anyone outside the family, and this socially prepares our children to meet different kinds of people.”

While the children are wary at first, Nave says they quickly grow attached to their Kiwanis mentors. “By the end of the year, I tell volunteers you will need 15 minutes for hugs at the beginning, and 15 minutes at the end,” she says.

Year established: 1943

Number of members: 15

Main purpose: To serve the children of the world.

Annual events: Kiwanis host a winter pancake breakfast to benefit the Woodrow Wilson High School band, as well as a Christmas party for the Boys & Girls Club of East Dallas and Mi Escuelita, a pre-school in East Dallas. They also host fundraising bingo at the Lakewood Country Club four times a year.

How to join: Meetings are open to the public every first and third Thursday at the Lakewood Country Club, and dues are $115 per quarter. Prospective members should fill out an online application. Biggest non-cash need: In addition to new members, the club is always looking for attendees at their events.

More info: kiwanis2.wordpress.com/ lakewood-kiwanis-club/

For love of Lakewood

The Lakewood Service League (LSL) is about consistent service to the neighborhood. Rather than one flagship event, LSL provides numerous opportunities for women to serve on a Saturday morning or after work. Members speak of a quiet impact, which may not be flashy, but that makes a difference.

Better business

“If you want to change the world, start with the person right next to you.” This is Chuck Kobdish’s take on the impact of the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce (GEDCC). Kobdish is a chiropractor and boardmember of GEDCC, who speaks highly about the organization’s impact. Kobdish’s boutique chiropractor’s office isn’t on medical provider lists because they don’t take insurance, so he has depended on word-of-mouth recommendations and networking that GEDCC provides.

“Through the chamber and connections, I have built my practice, and become what I have always meant to be: a neighborhood chiropractor taking care of his neighbors,” Kobdish says.

Jesse Simmons, also a GEDCC board member who runs his own air conditioning, heating and appliance repair company, walked out of his first chamber meeting with three service calls, and there were just 12 people at the meeting. “Because of the chamber, the people I met were embedded in East Dallas, and when you do good work, word spreads fast,” Simmons says.

When he first started his business, he served the entire metroplex. “I’d go anywhere for a dollar,” he says. But the GEDCC allowed him to reduce his service area by connecting him with customers closer to home. “For the first four years I was involved, my business doubled every year. Everything I need is right here, and I keep it local. I haven’t been to Plano in four years.”

Year established: 1948

Number of members: 167 member businesses

Main purpose: To promote the cultural, educational and industrial interests of East Dallas.

Annual events: The chamber presents an annual Economic Summit — essentially a “state of the union” with respect to the neighborhood’s economy. How to join: One-year memberships range from $75-$2,500.

Biggest non-cash need: For businesses to join its membership and attend regular networking events. More info: eastdallaschamber.com

Women saving history

The women of Dallas have never been satisfied staying at home. A group of ladies who wanted to better themselves and their gambling, when the owner told him he might want to make a call before he did anything to this establishment. Huntley made the call and a man answered.

“You better get down to my place,” the voice warned.

“Where is your place?” Huntley asked.

“Campisi’s,” Joe Campisi said.

Huntley could only think, “Oh shit, I am going to get shot.”

Huntley heard that Campisi had mob connections, though Campisi would deny it in a 1989 D Magazine piece. The older businessman took a shine to the young thug. Huntley says he became one of Campisi’s most trusted associates and learned many tricks of the criminal trade. He remembers standing in the kitchen with twin shoulder holsters loaded with two handguns while Campisi stirred a pasta sauce. “He let me do things that he would never let his family do,” he says.

Huntley remembers interacting with Jack Ruby at Campisi’s but never thought much of him. “I had the wrong heroes in my life,” he says, “but Jack Ruby wasn’t one of them.”

The troubled teen did well the rare times he attended classes at Woodrow. He was a basketball standout, but chasing money kept him on the streets. East Dallas was his playground. He frequented a strip club where 504 Grill stands today on Greenville. It had a real lion, he says. He also was known to sneak into Hockaday School, which sat at Belmont and Greenville at the time.

“I was more than welcome there,” he says. “I had problems with women but not in obtaining their affections.”

In 1964 Huntley was first shot, then arrested after a fight at Lakewood Park on Williamson. The bullet remained in his body after surgery (a friend cut it out one drunken night in New Orleans, years later). He appeared before Judge W.E. Richburg, who was known as “The Law west of the Trinity,” despite the fact that the Trinity ran west to east through Dallas. Huntley says Campisi greased the wheels during a 20-minute conversation with the judge before his trial, which ultimately saved him from jail time. The businesses he extorted, however, were granted restraining orders. He was 17 years old.

After graduating high school in El Paso and heading back to Dallas, he found a crew and began robbing banks. Throughout his early 20s, Huntley says he robbed 12 banks and made about $2 million, much of which was laundered through Stan’s Blue Note on Greenville, he says. But he didn’t escape his crimes unscathed. He once was sprayed with buckshot from a police shotgun.

Locked Up

The life of crime caught up to him in 1970 when he was caught robbing a bank depot and sentenced to McKinney Prison. He hit a doctor and ended up in Eastham Unit in 1973, where he was incarcerated for nearly a decade says Robert Hurst, public information officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The unit was named by Newsweek magazine as one of the deadliest prisons in the country at the time. When inmates broke the rules at other prisons, they went to Eastham.

“The state owns three things: Land, livestock, and convicts, and that puts you at the bottom of the list,” he was told by a corrections officer when he arrived.

“It was like a slave camp,” Huntley says.

Huntley worked in the cotton fields of the sprawling East Texas prison, called the Ham, for two years. It felt like a lifetime. The prison sits in unincorporated land north of the Trinity River in Houston County, out of sight and out of mind for most. He still has scars on his back from whippings in the fields. Fighting, rapes and stabbings were the norm at Eastham.

“It was hell on Earth,” he says.

Huntley fought anyone and everyone at the 13,000-acre prison, and it earned him the respect of other prisoners and even the staff. But prison transformed him. He found religion. He wanted to do things differently.

“It didn’t break me. It changed me,” he says.

Huntley eventually became a building tender, which was an infamous role in certain Texas prisons. These prisoners were given special privileges and even weapons to keep order on the cellblock. It was cheaper than hiring more guards, and the violence at Eastham made it unsafe for guards.

During his tenure as a tender, Huntley quelled a riot at the still-segregated prison when overcrowding led other inmates to burn their tents and mattresses in the yard. An Oct. 6, 1986 Newsweek story to make a drug bust. Eventually, more than 100 criminals were indicted in what Huntley says was one of the largest drug seizures in Texas history.

Huntley worked in narcotics with the Texas Department of Public Safety, various federal agencies, and police departments for over 30 years. He was a legal agent of the department and not a criminal informant. He worked all over Texas, including East Dallas.

“Covert operations were my expertise,” he says. “And I had a 100 percent conviction rate.”

Huntley trained other officers to work undercover, which requires a lot of quick thinking.

“I had the gift of gab; there is a psychology to it,” he says. “But you can’t learn that in a psychology class in college. I learned it on the streets and in prison.”

But Huntley couldn’t protect everyone.

In December 1988, Huntley was part of drug bust near the intersection of Columbia and Carroll in East Dallas. Huntley and Cpl. Lawrence Cadena of the Dallas Police Department were working undercover, buying drugs in the parking lot of a convenience store, when someone got spooked. One of the assailants opened the car door and shot Cadena several times, killing him, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit to remember fallen officers. Officers who were positioned nearby swarmed the area, and a gun battle broke out. Police shot and killed the assailant. Huntley tried not to work jobs in East Dallas after that, where he was haunted by memories of his old neighborhood.

The narcotic agents he worked with herald Huntley’s accomplishments. In a 2016 letter, Corwin Schachlin, major of the Drug Section of Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division, wrote, “Mr. Huntley put his life at risk on numerous occasions during these investigations. I appreciate the assistance that we have received from Mr. Huntley.”

Now 70, Huntley stays busy running an import and export business with his wife. He still enjoys cruising the streets of East Dallas and a plate of pasta at Campisi’s, though he is a very different man than he was on his first trip into the Egyptian eatery.

He says of working with law enforcement, “I wanted to pay my state back for the mistakes I made as a kid, and I did, many times over.”

Our City

By ANGELA HUNT