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Deep in the
HEART SPRING 2015
The Culture of Central Texas A BAYLOR UNIVERSITY STUDENT PUBLICATION
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS MART HIGH SCHOOL: AS BIG TIME AS SMALL TOWN GETS
HE'S GOT SOLE
LOCAL BOOTMAKER HANDCRAFTS OUT OF LIFELONG PASSION
WESTERN COLOR
CLIFTON ARTIST CREATES HOW THE WEST WAS DRAWN
HOWDY Y'ALL
contributors
from the editors
Constance Atton constance_atton@baylor.edu
A pair of broken-in boots, the look of a perfect spring sunset, the sweet twang of country music on the radio. The Texan mindset varies throughout the state, so what makes the Heart of Texas region “uniquely Texan”? In this issue of Focus, the definition of Central Texas is explored, dissected and celebrated. While the actual area can extend as south as San Antonio, we concentrated on the dead center of this region, from north of Austin and south of Dallas with our home in Waco the hub. The flavor of the culture in this area is so vast, and we were pleasantly surprised to find such rich stories and photo opportunities to illustrate what makes the Heart of Texas unique in its own right. By flipping through the pages, we hope to give you a glimpse into Central Texas' beauty and why the area means so much to us.
Magen Davis magen_davis@baylor.edu Skye Duncan sydney_duncan@baylor.edu Trey Gregory gregory_hollingsworth@baylor.edu James Herd james_herd@baylor.edu Shehan Jeyarajah shehan_jeyarajah@baylor.edu
Sincerely,
Kate McGuire kate_mcguire@baylor.edu
hannah neumann
taylor griffin
hannah_neumann@baylor.edu
taylor_griffin@baylor.edu
Laura Beth Moore laura_b_moore@baylor.edu Jonathon S. Platt jon_platt@baylor.edu Elizabeth Starr elizabeth_starr@baylor.edu official setup
Travis Taylor t_taylor@baylor.edu
special thanks Dr. Clark Baker Curtis Callaway Paul Carr Julie Freeman Macarena Hernandez Cover Photo by Hannah Neumann Back Cover Photo by Skye Duncan
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WESTERN COLOR
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CZECH MATE
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GOD’S COUNTRY
16
STEP BY STEP
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CEN-TEX COUNTDOWN
Clifton artist Bruce Greene "creates" how the West was drawn By Elizabeth Starr
Is there a battle of the best in West? By Rae Jefferson
The natural pageantry of Central Texas ranches Photo Story by Constance Atton
A how-to line dance for your two left feet By Magen Davis
The sights, sounds and little-known facts of this region By Taylor Griffin
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TOUCHDOWN TRADITION Mart, Texas: As big time as small town gets By Shehan Jeyarajah
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ROUGE TUNES
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HE’S GOT SOLE
30
SAVORY SUCCESS
32
HEROIC INFLUENCE
35
FINAL THOUGHT
Red Dirt: Country music or the color of our mud? By James Herd
Local bootmaker crafts from a lifelong passion By Laura Beth Moore
Regional sausagemakers prove Texas is more than just brisket By Kate McGuire
Pearl Harbor serviceman Doris Miller’s impact on a modern-day Navy vet By Trey Gregory
A pair of Wrangler jeans and a 10-gallon hat doesn’t mean you're a Texan Column by Jonathon S. Platt
F O C U S
PHOTO BY HANNAH NEUMANN
BAYLORFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
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color
YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT IN
central texas artist creates from the age of cowboys and the world outside his window
by elizabeth starr photos by travis taylor
BRUCE
GREENE
“ I want them to feel connected to the Western world and get a sense of that freedom.” - Bruce Greene
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Driving north of Waco on Highway 6, it only takes about 30 minutes for the landscape to change dramatically. Flat fields give way to steep inclines of earth, and the road obediently twists and bends to fit the landscape. At about mile 35, a diminutive town named Clifton rests on both sides of the highway. Nestled comfortably between the hills that surround Clifton is a ranch where a cowboy artist paints for a living and lives what he paints. Bruce Greene’s studio is exactly where you’d imagine a Western painter would do his work. A cheery wood stove warms the room, the walls of which are stacked high with books on art and cowboy culture. The scents of oil paints and sawdust combine and produce a welcoming fragrance. Paintings and sketches stand in their frames, forming a little maze of walkways. On the back wall of the studio, a large window opens to an unblemished view of the pasture to the north, framed on both sides with trees and brushy grass. This bewitching land suits Greene and his work well. Many artists document scenes they observe, but not many cowboys paint and sculpt their interpretations of daily life on the range. This is what sets Bruce Greene apart from his contemporaries. “What I’ve built my career on is the documentation of the contemporary cowboy life,” he explained. “I combine that cowboy experience with a whole other world, which is art. What I bring to the table is kind of this unusual mixture of two worlds.” Greene certainly looks the part of a painter, sporting a green polka dot kerchief tied around his neck, cuffed jeans and a smock embroidered with his name near the left lapel. He didn’t always know whether he would end up here, peering through bifocal lenses at a canvas as he thoughtfully mixes paints with a long-handled brush. Greene’s background in art began with parents who lovingly fostered his natural talent. One day, while visiting an aunt in San Antonio, the Greenes sat young Bruce before a French easel and “it was like a light turned on,” he remembers. Though he’s been drawing and painting since before he
could read and write, the Mesquite native was unaware at first where his talent would take him. “I didn’t think you could make a living doing this,” Greene said, claiming that he only majored in art as a student at the University of Texas at Austin because he didn’t think he’d finish school studying anything else. While at the university, Greene did rodeo portraits on commission. His cowboy paintings and drawings were not widely admired by his professors, however, he didn’t have much support for the style of art that he loved most. “The thinking there was very abstract, and what I wanted to do was not popular with them,” says Greene. Greene didn’t let these opinions obstruct his pursuit of a true passion. After graduating from UT, he continued making Western art. But he was married with a young child and was running out of ways to pay the bills. A friend told Greene about an art show happening on the square in Rockwall County, so Greene packed up some paintings and traveled to the show. He sold six pieces for $132.50 total, “but that bought groceries.” After the show in Rockwall County, Greene felt he might be onto something. He began selling his pieces at art shows around the state until art buyers gradually realized the cowboy paintings were worth more than a hundred bucks apiece. “By then, we’re talking about the ’80s,” Greene recalls. “The oil was good, and then it fell off, but my stuff was still so cheap at that point that I was able to stay with the business.” The artist continued painting on commission into the late 1980s until he began to study at the Cowboy Artists of America Museum, taking every class they offered for seven years. Then, in 1993, Greene was elected to membership in the Cowboy Artists of America, a highly esteemed organization of Western artists dedicated to preserving the culture of cowboy art. “That had a really huge impact on my career,” Greene says. “It’s very exclusive, and so it carries with it a brand that is recognizable in the art world. It has a tremendous impact on representational art in America in the last 50 years.” OPPOSITE PAGE Greene gazes out the window of his studio for inspiration from the land. BOTTOM LEFT The artist touches up a piece of his Western art. MIDDLE A rustic pair of broken-in boots adorn Greene's feet in his rocking chair. RIGHT Some of his brushes and tools create a piece of art on their own.
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 7
TOP Two of Greene’s artworks depict his love of the ranching lifestyle. SECOND Greene puts the finishing touches on another piece of his work. THIRD A work-in-progress statue of a cowboy atop his horse shows Greene's diversity in art. BOTTOM A stack of books which he draws inspiration and guidance attests to the artist's well-roundedness.
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to become one of the most well known Though Greene’s art mainly takes the Western artists in the country. Fittingly, form of paint on canvas, he also sculpts this cowboy artist humbly credits all of his scenes of life on the range. However, one success to God. of his most famous pieces isn’t a sculpture “There’s no day that I don’t allow of a cowboy on his horse, but a memorial myself to show up to work. Some days you for a devotee of America’s favorite pastime. feel more confident and creative, but a lot On July 7, 2011, Shannon Stone, a of that to me is spiritual. It’s a matter of firefighter from Brownwood, fell 20 feet prayer and of confidence that this is what from the stands onto concrete during a I’m supposed to be doing.” Texas Rangers home game. Stone died From election to the prestigious later that day from injuries he sustained Cowboy Artists of America to taking on from the fall, the result of a failed attempt commissions by celebrities like Nolan to catch a ball thrown into the crowd by Ryan, Greene has earned plenty of former Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. bragging rights. But it’s clear that the fame Former Rangers CEO and President hasn’t gone to his head. This cowboy artist Nolan Ryan, a good friend of the Greene is still as down to earth as they come, family, commissioned the Western artist and he’s always looking to further his to sculpt a piece to be unveiled at Stone’s knowledge. memorial service. “I keep a stack of books about “We had just had a death in the family, knee-high next to my bed,” Greene said, so [Ryan] thought we could work with stooping and holding a flattened palm near the [Stone] family well. That was a huge his knee, “because I’m determined to look concern for him to do that as gently as at art every day that I think is on a higher possible. But it was a tremendous honor level than my own.” and a very emotional project,” Greene said. Greene’s willingness to expand his The sculpture depicts Stone and his horizons defies a young son, Cooper, common belief he grasping hands and BAYLORFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM sees among critics of walking together, Western art. See more photos of Bruce Greene’s no doubt discussing “I think there’s scenic home and work. the highlights of a community of art a game they have people out there that just watched. A would say that [cowboy art]’s old hat and baseball glove covers Cooper’s right hand all been done before,” Greene said. “I don’t and he gazes adoringly up at his father. agree with that.” The bronze piece, titled “Rangers Fans,” His paintings depict cowboys of today is located at the entrance to the AT&T in their environments. Men in jeans Ballpark in Arlington. In the aftermath of and chaps sit astride horses, peering out tragedy, Greene’s sculpture is a permanent toward the imaginary horizon as the sun tribute to a life that was lost. disappears and leaves its mark in the pink Another of Greene’s works hits of the sky. Snowy pastures surround dimly closer to home for the Waco and Baylor lit tents where cowboys are undoubtedly communities. In 1995, Baylor student bunked in for the night. body president Chase Palmer’s job was to “Those are guys that I stay on the find a senior class gift to the university. wagon with on the big ranches and work After brainstorming with fellow students, with, and I’m recording what I see. These Palmer commissioned Greene to sculpt a are friends of mine. I’m recording what tribute to the Immortal Ten, the group of I’ve lived, basically,” Greene said. basketball team members who were killed Some of the paintings and drawings in a bus accident in 1927. are studies of individual subjects – a horse Greene’s sculpture clearly displays with no rider or a cowboy preparing to the personalities of each of the men who saddle up. All are vibrant representations were lost in the accident. It’s a constant of a dying way of life. Greene describes reminder to Baylor students and faculty his reasons for creating a window into the that grief over a great loss often gives way world of the cowboy — his world — before to beautiful memories. the opportunity slips away from him forever. Greene’s ability to translate scenes “I want them to feel connected to the of life into works of art is clearly Western world and get a sense of that not restricted by dimensions or by freedom. I want to touch them with that. circumstances. Coming full circle from I want to connect them to that world that where he began as an artist, the twists and they won’t get to see.” bends of Greene’s journey have led him
WEST, TX
CZECH IT OUT
WEST KOLACHES
EUROPEAN INFLUENCE CREATES
KOLACHE GOLDMINE
KOLACHES northbound to Dallas or
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour.
back down to the South,
Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
Texas natives and tourists alike traveling on I-35 have
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
plenty of options when it
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
Whether you’re driving
comes time for a tasty pit stop. Czech out our list
Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
of the tastiest and most
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface.
popular stops, located in West — nearly halfway between Austin and Dallas
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size — about an hour.
entertain your inner Czech.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off eggsized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Slovacek’s
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
— and a recipe for those of you bold enough to
214 Melodie Dr., West
Czech Stop
104 S George Kacir Dr., West
Village Bakery 113 E Oak St., West
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling and sprinkle with posypka. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
1 package of active dry yeast 1 cup of warm milk 1/4 cup sugar 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 eggs 3/4 cup of melted butter 1 teaspoon of salt
FILLING 1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes. Sugar to taste 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon Lemon zest Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours. When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.
POSYPKA
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon Mix all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over kolaches.
Brush with melted butter out of the oven and serve warm.
PHOTOS BY HANNAH NEUMANN | RECIPE FROM HOMESICKTEXAN.COM
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 9
THIS
LAND
Photo Story by Constance Atton There are many people outside of Texas who envision ranching as a lifestyle only made up of baling hay and sipping sweet tea on a front porch swing. ¶ However, what they don’t see is the privilege that these families have. ¶ While Texas continues to modernize and grow, filling itself with concrete and skyscrapers, ranch owners have managed to contain the unique beauty that is Texas right in their backyards. ¶ These ranches on the following pages offer a glimpse into exactly what that beauty is and the little treasures hidden behind their entrance gates.
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CENTEX RANCHES
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1. 1: Behind the house is a small barn, which used to only house the cows but has recently become home to a few horses as well. 2: A shed holding various tools and pieces of wood stands in front of a large field behind the Bryan residence. The Bryans have lived on their property since 2010, but the home has been in the family since 1965.
2.
3: Off to the left side of the home, a few sheds come into view as you wander toward the back of the residence. 4: Sun rays beam through the trees of the Bryan residence. 5: The Bryans' ranch sits off the side of Leroy Parkway and is made up of 350 acres of land. The ranch sits approximately 15 minutes outside of Waco in Elm Mott.
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3.
4. 5.
ELM MOTT JAMES AND JORETTA BRYAN 350 ACRES
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1.
HILLSBORO
1: A rustic red bridge jets out onto a pond set at the Johnsons' ranch.
BRYAN JOHNSON 200 ACRES
1: One of Johnson’s cows gazes as it chews the cud.
2. 3.
3: A pair of boots worn by Johnson pause in the mud while wandering through Johnson's property after a rainy evening. 4: Cattle gather around a barn as they await feeding time on Johnson's ranch.
4.
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1.
2.
3. 1: Johnson holds a goat skull that now hangs on his fence. "The donkeys were supposed to be the ones to protect the goats," Johnson explains. "But as you can see they weren't too bright at their jobs." 2: Ranch owner Rusty Johnson gives a brief tour of his property on his “gator." Johnson and his wife have lived on their property for 18 years now. 3: Johnson drives his "gator" down Rogers Hill Road on the way back to his ranch as his day comes to a close.
WACO RUSTY JOHNSON
2: A heifer stands in front of a pond in the depths of Johnson's ranch. Johnson has a variety of cows and horses that roam his ranch along with a new set of calves.
50 ACRES
BAYLORFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
See more photos of the beauty of Central Texas ranches.
4.
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 15
LINE DANCE
1
HOW TO LIN a texan primer for two left feet Stand with your hands on your hips and a smile on your face. Line dancing requires no partner, so this is your time to shine.
5
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In grapevine fashion, put your right boot behind your left and prepare to move left.
6 Repeat step three.
PHOTOS BY MAGEN DAVIS
2
Lift your right leg behind your left and tap your right boot heel with your left hand.
NE DANCE 3
7
Use your right foot to shift your body left. Be sure to move with the group; the worst line dancing accidents happen when someone is not moving with the traffic.
Lift your left leg in front of your left and tap your right boot heel with your left hand. This step works in the opposite direction throughout the song.
4
Top 5 Country Line Dance Songs 1. Watermelon Crawl by Tracy Byrd 2. Good Time by Alan Jackson 3. Chattahoochee by Alan Jackson 4. Boot Scootin’ Boogie by Brooks and Dunn 5. Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus
Top 5 Country Dance Halls Repeat step two.
8 Return to standing position.
1. Wild West 115-119 Mary Ave. Waco 2. Bo’s Barn Dance Hall and Club 4984 Farm to Market 93 Temple 3. Whiskey River 7524 Bosque Blvd., Suite H Waco 4. The Cowboy Western Club 400 South Highway 14 Mexia 5. Rockies 1016 Texas Ave Bryan
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 17
1 DID YOU
KNOW? The original capital of Texas was not Austin. Columbia (now West Columbia) was named the first capital of the Republic of Texas in 1836. The following year, the seat was moved to Houston by state president Sam Houston. Mirabeau B. Lamar, the state’s next president, named Austin the permanent capital in 1839
No
2 FAMOUS FACES
A few celebrities who claim roots in Central Texas
willie nelson Country music legend • born in abbott • frequents his "Luck, Texas" ranch near austin
steve martin actor/comedian • born in waco • Starred in "Father of the Bride," "Three Amigos" and "Cheaper by the dozen"
jeff dunham master ventriloquist • graduated from baylor in 1986 • known for ACTS WITH his puppets, INCLUDING "achmed the dead terrorist" and "Peanut"
lone star
state of Mind mind
quick facts from deep in the heart of texas
by taylor griffin
3 PRAIRIE CHAPEL RANCH Often called the "Western White House," former president George W. Bush calls Crawford home, a 1583-acre space that has greeted international dignitaries as well.
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4.
MIGHTY BIG FOR A SMALL FLOWER
Standing at an average height of 12 inches, the bluebonnet — the official flower of Texas — boasts the majesty of the state and signifies the start of spring, blooming between mid-March and mid-April. Historian Jack Maguire relates the significance of the flower to "what the shamrock is to Ireland" or "the tulip to Holland." The city of Burnet, just northwest of Austin, calls itself the Bluebonnet Capital of Texas. PHOTO BY SKYE DUNCAN
O
nly found in Mason County, the brilliant state gem of Texas also occurs naturally in other colors, including pink. green, orange and brown. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROB LAVINSKY
LIVIN’ IN A FARMER’S PARADISE
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As a whole, Texas is the state with the most usable farmland, with about 130,500 acres to cultivate. The top five agricultural products are cattle, cotton, young chickens, nursery stock and dairy products. FROM NETSTATE AND LEARN FARMING NEWS PHOTO BY CONSTANCE ATTON
you may all
Hell,
go to
PHOTO FROM MINETTE LAYNE VIA WIKICOMMONS
5
BLUE TOPAZ
and i will go to
TEXAS -Davy crockett PHOTO FROM WIKICOMMONS
7.
SOUTHERN SIPPING
While it made its 1885 debut in Waco, the original Dr Pepper formula made with real cane sugar is only manufactured and distributed from Dublin and is so called "Dublin Dr Pepper." BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 19
MART FOOTBALL
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DEFENDING
THE FRONTLINE FRIDAY NIGHT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: AS BIG TIME AS SMALL TOWN GETS STORY BY SHEHAN JEYARAJAH PHOTOS BY HANNAH NEUMANN & TRAVIS TAYLOR
From the boom of the opening kickoff to the final whistle’s shriek, time stops on Friday nights in towns across Texas. By this point, football is a way of life. But while financial and population behemoths like Lake Travis or Allen are always looking toward sending athletes to the next level, Texas small town football is where legends are made. “You don’t catch many people around here wearing Tony Romo or Peyton Manning jerseys,” Rusty Nail said, head coach of 2A powerhouse Mart High School. “Here, everyone wears Mart purple.”
Welcome to Mart.
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 21
M
art is a small town, the type that hasn’t changed much in a generation. The only visible chains are a Dairy Queen near the school and a few gas stations near the entrance to the town, adorned by silos on the other side. Drivers traveling down Highway 164 pass Leon’s Junction Country Store on one side and Read’s Food Shop on the other. “We’ve been here for eight years, and people still consider us ‘New Mart,’” Mart High School principal Betsy Burnett said. “I’m originally from Marlin, but the town looks almost the same as when I visited in high school. Anytime development comes, it’s a big deal.” The town itself is only 1.3 square miles and houses fewer than 2,000 residents according to recent estimates, down almost 16 percent from the 2000 census. The average income is under $31,000, and the biggest employer in the town is the local juvenile correctional facility. “We don’t have much; Mart’s on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder,” Burnett said. “There’s a lot of shift workers. Others work in Waco and may be gone during the week and only here every other weekend.” But there are many things that set Mart apart. Despite the economic downturn, unemployment stayed right around 5 to 6 percent. Thanks to its blue-collar nature and homey feel, Mart boasts crime rates well below other comparable cities, earning it the nickname, “the city with a heart.” “It’s just home,” said Willie Joiner, who’s lived in Mart for almost 70 years. “But more than anything, it’s a football town.”
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS In a town where the school structure is built like a sturdy latemodel Honda, the football field glimmers like a new Porsche. The complex is about a quarter of a mile down the road from the high school, but the stadium lights are readily visible from down the road. When walking into the stadium gates, fans are greeted by decals
PHOTOS BY HANNAH NEUMANN
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listing state championships, state runners-up and the names of coaches who led them there. They’re guarded by a ferocious statue of a panther, Mart’s mascot. The stadium rivals any other from around the state. The metal bleachers are well-maintained, the press box is clean and the field is impeccable, with “Mart” emblazoned in the north end zone and “Panthers” in the south. “We built this field only seven years ago, two years after I arrived in town,” Nail said. “And this wasn’t oil money or outside donors; hardworking people around here gave donations to build this. And we also got a grant from the government to help. But this is where it all happens.” Where it all happens is right. On Friday nights during football season, the town virtually shuts down as everyone makes their way to the stadium. “Even though the town is under 2,000, we pack this place,” Nail said with a grin. “We have people filling up the stands and standing all the way along the fences.” He estimates around 3,500 people come to every game to watch the Panthers go to work. Almost everyone in the town is there, but people drive from as far as Dallas to get a glimpse of the action. “There are people here all the time who don’t have connections to Mart, who just come here on Friday nights and want to see some great high school football,” Burnett said. In a school of only 170 students, more than 50 play football. When taking into account half the students being girls, around 60 percent of the boys at Mart are involved with the football team. “Sometimes I don’t know how we have the manpower to do it on Friday nights,” Burnett said. “In addition to the players, we have a marching band, cheerleaders and flag twirlers. We have students in the agricultural program running concessions and other students running the parking lot. “And if they’re not involved in the logistics, I’d guess almost all the rest of them are in the stands cheering along.” But the biggest draw is simply the product on the field. The Mart Panthers are consistently one of the best teams in the state at their level. The team has qualified for the state semifinal five years
running and has won two state championships under Nail. “You’re expected to do well,” said Michael Terry, a 1986 graduate who played offensive line and linebacker. “It’s tradition.”
DEFENDING A LEGACY Every Mart resident brings up that same word: tradition. “Nobody takes it lightly; you grow up dreaming of playing for Mart football,” Terry said. “You don’t just play football just to do it, you play because you want to win.” Walking the grounds at Mart High School is like having a history lesson. Around every corner, there are reminders of Mart greats. Outside the school, a giant purple sign proclaims the lofty accomplishments of the program, including state championships in golf (1961), track (1970, 1973), basketball (1976) and five in football (1957, 1969, 1999, 2006, 2010). All over town, it’s impossible to hide the success Mart football has accumulated over the years. A mural on the side of the local Cozy Café reads “Home of the Panthers,” with a list of the state championship years. There is still plenty of room to add more. The lessons start at a young age. Mart’s elementary and high schools are connected by a mutual lunch room, so the youngest children get plenty of interaction with the high schoolers. “They idolize the older students,” Burnett said. “And if you’re a football player, you’re a superhero. You don’t have to be [Super Centex Offensive Player of the Year] De’Narian Thomas. You may play only a couple of series. It doesn’t matter.” From there, the kids go to Mart Middle School, which is behind the school’s stadium. Those who sign up for athletics train in the same on-site weight room and track as the high school, while wearing shirts
"
adorned with “P.I.T.” for Panthers in Training. Then in high school, there are reminders everywhere. At the entrance to the basketball gym, Mart’s state championship trophies are displayed prominently. On the opposite wall, there are references to players who eventually went on to play at the next level, including former Texas Longhorns’ great Quan Cosby. On the wall of the gym, there are blown-up pictures of the state championship winning football teams. In addition, Nail likes to keep Mart legends involved. On occasion, he’ll bring out former state championship teams (almost completely intact) to come and impart wisdom to current players. Even 1969 state championship head coach Cotton Lindloff, now 97, has been known to frequent Mart games. Nail often brings these former champions to practice to give their own bits of advice. The alumni also hold an annual golf tournament to bring together Panthers of yore. “We want to keep people involved,” Nail said. “We want people to come back.”
Nobody takes it lightly; you grow up dreaming of playing for Mart football. You don't just play football just to do it, you play because you want to win.
"
BUILDING ATHLETES
Even with tradition, sustaining a program at Mart is not getting any easier. The school continues to get smaller; the Panthers were just relegated to 2A-Division II, the smallest level of Texas high school football. The team is only about 30 kids each year, which means that several will play on both offense and defense. Even the star quarterback doubled as a free safety in 2014, Nail said. “When kids get hurt, it’s mostly stress-related injuries,” Nail said. “So many of them are just playing and training all year long.” But even though the numbers are limited, the program keeps pushing out more successful players.
PHOTOS BY TRAVIS TAYLOR
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 23
"IF YOU'RE A FOOTBALL PLAYER, YOU'RE A SUPERHERO."
PHOTO BY TRAVIS TAYLOR
“These kids just love to play and all of them seem to have talent around here,” Richard Green said, a 1995 graduate who played running back and linebacker. Not surprisingly, tradition is at the forefront of training too. The sign in the weight room reads: “We play for those who came before, we set the standard for those who follow.” To keep every kid accountable, aspiring athletes wear white t-shirts whenever they go and lift. On the shirt, each student has his maximum lifts written in Sharpie. Building continuity is important, Nail explained. Many of the coaches who lead Mart’s varsity team will show up at 8:15 a.m. to work with the middle school students to try and mold them into varsity greats. The coaching continues straight through junior varsity and to the highest level of high school football. The head coach also keeps a watchful eye over his future stars, a level of hands-on leadership that really cannot be paralleled at bigger institutions.
As the sun sets on Nail’s tenure, all can be certain Mart’s football success isn’t going anywhere. It’s tradition. BAYLORFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
See more photos of the Mart High School's football legacy.
NEXT GENERATION In fall 2015, Mart will take the field with a new head coach for the first time in a decade. Nail announced in January that he is leaving the football program to go into private business. The Panthers also lost several key senior leaders, so Mart has a new team on the horizon. Nail’s replacement, offensive coordinator Kevin Hoffman, has been a part of Nail’s staff for years and emphasized early that most of his job will be simply continuing the groundwork that has already been set into place.
24 | SPRING 2015
TOP Players De’Narian Thomas, Trevian Medlock and Collin Nail lock hands as they stand in the center of their field. ABOVE Kenneth Lehrmann with grandson Tracer, Richard Green with son Elijah, and Michael Terry with son Jace, all of whom have played football at Mart.
PATGREEN.COM
TEXAS RED DIRT ARTISTS
Pat Green THECODYJOHNSONBAND.COM
I
magine a genre of music that didn’t identify with country but couldn’t really be defined as rock ’n’ roll, or any one genre in particular, for that matter. Such a genre exists, and it goes by the name of Texas music or Red Dirt country music. “Twenty years ago, fifteen years ago, there was a new sound that came out called Texas music. Wouldn’t call it country, wouldn’t call it Red Dirt, it was called Texas music,” recalled Zack Owen, who serves as the Central Texas regional programming manager at COURTESY OF WADE BOWEN iHeartMedia, the media conglomerate formerly known as Clear Channel. Owen gives examples of artists like Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Wade Bowen and Cody Canada – many of whom have been known to perform the Texas Music sound from the 1980s, with others entering the scene in the 1990s and 2000s. With such a populated genre, however, where did it begin? “I don’t think anybody knows where it really started,” said native Wacoan and Lubbock-based country music artist Bowen. “I guess Oklahoma people say it started there, and I’ll assume Texas people say that it started in Texas. They call it Texas Red Dirt, and they call it Texas music.” According to a 2006 column on the Country Music Television website, Red Dirt gets its name from the Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia area where iron oxide gives the soil a red color. Chet Flippo, the writer of the CMT column, asked Texas writer Joe Nick Patoski about the significance of Red Dirt music, and his reply confirms this assumption. “Significance? Can you say ‘Outlaw Country’? It’s Texas Music minus the geographic specificity, a nice way of saying Oklahoma music, which doesn’t have quite the ring of Texas music, but sure is better than citing Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater.” said Patoski. If that’s true and Texas music is Red Dirt without the link to Oklahoma, then perhaps there is a better name for the genre, to further separate it from its roots. There is, according to Owen, who says he has been working in the industry for 38 years, a common confusion and generalization of the Texas music genre. “I think a lot of people just kind of throw it under one big, giant genre,” Owen said. “Which actually, the Texas music sound, if you look at a lot of the trade magazines, that all falls under what’s called Americana music….A lot of festivals that take place across Texas are Americana festivals and a lot of the Texas guys are on the lineup there.” So the next time that country music is playing on the radio, keep in mind that there’s more than just one style and form to it, but it all comes together to form a universal image of artists who just love to perform the music that they love for the people they love. “We like to play rock ‘n’ roll, we like to play country, we like to play honkytonk; we like to play it all,” Bowen said. “I’ve always been a fan of country music, ever since I was a little kid. My family always listened to it, it was always around and always on. I just…I love it. I think it’s good.”
Cody Johnson STONEYLARUE.COM
rougetunes
Stoney LaRue AARONWATSON.COM
RED DIRT
the shade and soul of texas country music
Aaron Watson JOSHABBOTTBAND.COM
By James Herd
Josh Abbott Band
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 25
CARMACK’S
BOOTS
HE’S GOT SOLE From his upbringing to a lifelong passion, Greg Carmack creates masterful leather goods from the heart BY LAURA BETH MOORE PHOTOS BY HANNAH NEUMANN
26 | SPRING 2015
I
nhale, as the whiff of leather seeps in deep, powerfully
full-time. After a summer as a welt sewer, Jackson realized
transporting one back in time to the days of saloons, gun
Carmack had a knack for bootmaking.
smoke and back when the West was still wild. As the door
to the shop closes, beating rings out and bounces off the tin walls. The clash of tools ricochets off the concrete floors and behind the
“You could tell he wanted to learn, and he never failed to learn,” Jackson said. “Greg didn’t want to make mistakes.” Carmack continued working for Jackson through high
aged wooden counter hunched over, concentrated on his work
school and college before stepping into the corporate world,
stands Greg Carmack, owner of Carmack’s Custom Cowboy
which frustrated him, “You could discuss the issue, but no
Boots. Located off Highway 6 in Central Texas, just down the
action was taken quickly to solve the problem. You couldn’t
road from where he grew up, is the place where he first learned
make a change when a change needed to be made. I like to hear
the craft of boot-making at age 11. An old craft, Carmack says, is
people’s ideas and perspectives. I don’t have to be right, but if we
diminishing quickly.
know there’s a change that needs to be made, let’s make it.”
Growing up on his father’s ranch in Central Texas,
After discussing this with his mentor one day, Jackson
Carmack worked on the farm during the summer at age 10.
said, “Then why don’t you just buy me out?” Shortly after
When the next summer came around, 11-year-old Carmack
Carmack purchased the business from Jackson and made
spoke up saying, “I don’t think I’m cut out for this kind of work.”
improvements to the boots. He said the improvements he made
The local boot maker, Larry Jackson, went to church with the
focus around geometry, material construction, technique and
Carmack family in Walnut Springs and little Carmack asked
design.
if he could sweep the floors of the shop. While Jackson said
“I didn’t invent any of this,” he admitted. “This business
he didn’t need a sweeper, he taught Carmack to become a welt
is old, old, old, but a lot of stuff gets forgotten. So I just went
sewer—the process of stitching a strip between a shoe sole and
back to the boot that was built in the 50s, 60s and 70s and put a
upper portion of the boot. At the time Carmack didn’t know he
few things back into that boot that took too much time for large
would own Jackson’s store one day and become a boot-maker
manufacturers to produce.”
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 27
C
ARMACK’S CUSTOM COWBOY BOOTS
6020 N State Hwy 6, Waco, Texas 76712
CARMACK’S CUSTOMIZATIONS
Carmack moves the weight bearing into the arch eliminating pressure on the long bridge of the boot causing feet to become tired. This modification holds and supports the arch of the foot making the boot more comfortable. For a man who stands on concrete 10-12 hours a day in leather soles, “My feet are happy,” he said. “It’s not magic it’s just time and understanding.” None of the factory boots can provide that modification, “they just don’t have the time. They’re just trying to compete to the dollar, and it’s a race to the bottom.” With an emphasis on an “American born
28 | SPRING 2015
and bred” culture surrounding many boot-wearers’ there’s actually only one piece of U.S. leather in Carmack’s boots—the top lining. The lack of U.S. material grieves Carmack who wants to create a truly authentic American made boot, but now it’s impossible. There are no tanners in the nation making sole leather for boots. There’s no sole leather to be found. When Carmack began only two tanners existed within the U.S., and now there’s no U.S. sole leather and no calf skin—a staple to the boot. The last U.S. tanner of sole leather went out of business in 2005. Carmack explained the reason these tanners go out of business is due to the costs large boot manufacturing companies save by purchasing leather from a South American tanner compared to a U.S. tanner in Pennsylvania. With time he watched as the Pennsylvania tanners—the last U.S. sole leather tanners—went out of business. Over the thirty years he has built strong network of people who help him find what he needs. Carmack sources his own calf out of France and sources another piece of calf out of Poland. “I’m lucky enough that my exotic friends of mine can get whatever ostrich or alligator I need. Mainly it’s just difficult to get quality material,” he said. The strength of his network led to acquiring the finest French calf to make his boots. A partnership with a representative for a French tannery—owned by exclusive leather goods maker Hermes—changed the entire quality of Carmack’s boots. Now he actually stocks the leather upstairs and sells it to other bootmakers as an agent for the representative based in Connecticut. As the only bootmaker in the shop, trying to balance 30 percent of his time sourcing materials and the remainder of time making the boots remains quite a balancing act. “You want to know the fastest way to insult me is to say, ‘You know I’d like to come a couple of weekends and learn how to make boots.’ So insulting. I could have been a surgeon faster than I was a bootmaker, and I could have made a lot more money,” said Carmack. “You don’t get to be bootmaker in a day, a week, a month or two months, a year or two years. It’s a slow, learned, repetitive, ‘do-it-in-your-sleep’ thing, and most people don’t have the want to do that.”
THE BOOT BUYERS It’s his dedication to detail and perfecting the bootmaking process that brings customers flooding in to order their own pair of Carmack’s Custom Boots. People who knew Carmack when he was a kid sweeping the floors at the shop still come in to buy boots from him, and now their sons and grandsons come in to order their own pair of
LEFT Carmack holds a shoe worn by multiple generations in his family, an inspiration to him in his craft. ABOVE Carmack uses the machine he originally learned to sew on.
Carmack’s Custom Boots. “I’m not so great with names, but if I built your boots, I could look at your boots and know I built them, and remember the boot go to the order in my head and look at the name blank—and know your name,” said Carmack. While a majority of the clientele are Texas customers, Carmack has customers in all the states; he’s even shipped boots to France, Germany and China. When customers are choosing a boot design, Carmack says they go through a careful process. He keeps lots of pictures and examples for them to see. As far as if they’re going to use it for a dress boot or a work boot, he steers them to the leathers that work best depending on the use of the boot. “It’s a sense of accomplishment, when you take raw leather and combine it with someone’s idea put it all together and in the end you’ve got a finished product. They smile, put it on and say, ‘that’s exactly what I wanted,’” he said—a phrase that causes a smile to turn up across his face. “In the end if the bootmaker and the customer aren’t both smiling… then you’ve got trouble,” Carmack said.
FROM ITALY TO TEXAS Over the years, the unique machines Carmack uses have been rebuilt with new parts from wear and tear, but to purchase new machines, Carmack would have to go to Italy and pay around $50,000 for just one piece. OPPOSITE PAGE, LEFT Carmack uses his curved awl, from West Germany, as he works on a customer’s boot. RIGHT The curved awl is used to poke holes into the welt, which allows Carmack to sew the stiches easily through them.
BAYLORFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
Read more about Carmack's custom bootmaking and see more photos.
“A company named United Shoe Machinery Corporation built all the shoe equipment, but they didn’t sell a piece of it, you could only lease the equipment from them. You never owned their equipment, until a little company named Landis came along and started making shoe equipment with the tag line, ‘Own your Own.’ They would actually sell the equipment to you,” he said as the machine rattles. “I just love this machine because it’s so old, and it just works and works.” Walking over with a brisk in his step, eager to show off the only piece of equipment left from when he first bought the shop—the sewing machine he learned how to stitch on. “The faster you go, the more you get done,” Carmack said while the needle rapidly blazed a trail of thread upon the tanned leather.
THE PRIZED CURVED AWL Along with the rare equipment, Carmack’s tools for bootmaking are hard to come by. New boot-making tools cannot be accessed in America. He must travel to South America to purchase them. His tools worn with smoothed handles from the 40s he purchased from West Germany. “A curved awl,” the tool he sews welt with allows him to poke holes into the welt to then sew the stitches through. As his tools began to dull, he made a partnership with a guy in Ecuador to make some cowboy boots. In passing through a market where he buys leather, the “curved Awl” tool caught Carmack’s eye. Immediately he recognized the tools were from Germany stamped with the brand, King, “best curved awl tools you can get.” The tools were a buck a-piece. “Buy them all,” he said. “Now I have enough to last me and even for my kids if they want to pick up the business.”
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 29
savory SMOKEY SUCCESS
sausage The rest of the state has brisket. We have sausage. Story by Kate McGuire Photo by Constance Atton
It is no doubt that German and Czech heritage run strong within the communities of Taylor and Walburg and can be seen most prominently in the delicious smoked and summer sausages that are made in Central Texas.
30 | SPRING 2015
e
It's a Family Thing No matter how famous the sausages get, Tim Mikeska stays true to his family’s roots. “We have such a strong Czech influence,” Mikeska said, recalling their history. “All of our recipes have been handed down for decades, even centuries.” Humble yet proud, Mikeska is one of the most well-known barbecue players in the business. With more than six restaurants and multiple TV and festival appearances, Mikeska knows a thing or two about smoked and summer sausage. His family is dubbed as “The First Family of Texas Bar-B-Q” by both the Travel Channel and Texas Monthly. Mikeska said his family has been making Czech styled sausage since the early 1880s, when his family immigrated to Galveston. In the 1920s, his family moved towards rural Taylor. “During the Great Depression, they butchered animals for money and as part of being paid, got to keep parts of the butchered animal so our family never went hungry,” Mikeska said. Since then, fourth-generation Mikeska has taken over the business as CEO of Mikeska Bar-B-Q. Located in Temple, Killeen, Cameron, Belton, Columbus and El Campo, Tim prizes his family’s success
solely on their Czech-styled sausage. “In the 1950s my dad sold sausage to beer joints in Taylor. One of the owners told him, ‘Mr. Rudy, if you could make this sausage a bit more spicy, I would have more business and so would you.’ My dad added more cayenne red pepper and it was great. This was now a hot sausage. His profits doubled as more people requested more beer,” Mikeska said, laughing. Mikeska’s best-selling sausages in Texas are made by cutting and grinding beef or pork meat, seasoning the meat to the desired taste and smoking it to perfection. Smoking sausage brings out flavors one wouldn’t get from gas or electric cooking because different woods have different aromas that seep into the sausage. Mikeska uses natural gut casing to hold the sausage, which makes their sausage unique from competitors. Their most popular sausage is pork sausage, followed by jalapeñoand-cheese-filled sausage. Mikeska’s sausages have grown so popular that Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern featured Mikeska and his family on their Texas Episode in 2008. Mikeska’s sausages have won numerous awards and now Tim travels to Chicago, speaking at barbecue festivals and conventions.
A Fest of Culture Only 30 minutes northwest of Taylor lies the even smaller community of Walburg, home to authentic German sausage and good hospitality. Every year in November, around 200 volunteers bear the cool outside temperatures to soon be surrounded by rows of hot and ready-to-cook barbecue pits. This annual event, given the name “Wurstbraten,” is celebrated by hundreds of citizens of Walburg and thousands in the surrounding communities. Wurstbraten stems from the more commonly known German sausage, brätwurst; “wurst” meaning to pan fry and “bräten” meaning sausage. Wurstbraten began in 1972 during the first week of November when the women’s group of Zion Lutheran Church and School needed to earn money to carpet the church, as Ethel Micken recalls. Micken, now 79, was one of the first women to begin Wurstbraten in the church group and remembers the fundraising event as if it were yesterday. “We butchered two hogs, smoked them on Saturday and Sunday and served about 400 people on Monday,” Micken said. Micken doesn’t let out many secrets about cooking the summer sausages, but did reveal that the meat is smoked with only live oak because of its aroma. Beginning Saturday morning, the volunteers flock to Zion Lutheran Church and School to cut, grind, cube, season and smoke the sausages. On Sunday, the sausages are hung in a smokehouse and on Monday are served to the hungry thousands.
When asked about the unique flavor of their sausage, Micken laughed and answered, “Our recipe is not given out; it is for old-timer’s use only.” Micken’s own grandfather was the founder of Walburg. In the early 1880s Henry Doering settled there and opened a general store, adding a post office years later. Other Germans later immigrated to that area, such as her husband, Ray Micken, owner of Micken Motor Co. in Walburg. “It is a wonderful event,” Micken said. “We have people from all over the state to buy sausage and to buy plates. Some profit goes to the church and other profits go to the community.” Today, more than 4,500 people are served 12,500 pounds of smoked sausage within four hours on the first Monday of November. The homemade menu includes many German influences: summer and smoked sausage, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, potato salad, coleslaw, green beans, bread and pickles. “It is wonderful to see the generous folk of Walburg come and serve good food to good people,” Micken said with a smile. Taylor isn’t only the home of the Mikeska family, it is the known as “The Heart of Texan Bar-B-Q,” according to their chamber of commerce. While the Mikeska family shares their rich Czech heritage, Taylor Meat Co. has risen in popularity by selling various meats from different ethnic backgrounds.
German and Czech Traditions In 1947, two brothers saw the rising popularity of barbecue in Central Texas and founded Taylor Meat Co. Since then, there have been more than 84 different types of smoked and summer sausages drawing from German and Czech influences. All recipes have been passed along since 1947, but new spins on old classics have become instant favorites among routine customers. Ron Ivy, president of R.L. Ivy Management and partner in Taylor Meat Co., described the ethnic smoked and summer sausages they sell. “Our summer sausage is called cervelat, which can be eaten cold or heated, mostly as finger food,” Ivy said. Cervelat (pronounced “serve-a-la”) stems from Swiss, French and German influence and is actually derived from the Latin word, “cerebellum,” for brain. Cervelat used to be made from the brains of pigs mixed with pork and beef, but that soon became unpopular. Taylor
Meat Co. uses pork rind, pork and beef with spices for flavoring. Two additionally popular sausage choices are liver ring, which is a German classic, and head cheese, which became popular around the Middle Ages in Europe. Liver Ring is made by chopping up the intestines of a pig, flavoring and smoking it, and hanging in a smokehouse, after which it can be served heated or cold. “We use pork liver, kidneys and pork tongue smoked over hickory wood,” Ivy said. “After it’s smoked and pulled, we case it in gelatin to set.” Head cheese is another summer sausage popular at Taylor’s Meat. Head cheese refers to using the head of the pig to make the meat of the sausage and the jelly found in the skull as a casing. Ivy said Taylor’s Meat uses the snout, ears and tongue of the pig for their head cheese. “We are primarily a German and Czech community, and our food matches the town’s culture,” Ivy said.
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 31
DORIS
MILLER
Photo from Wiki Commons
32 | SPRING 2015
HOME of the
BRAVE
modern-day u.s. navy veteran connects with pearl harbor hero’s local roots by trey gregory
I
moved to Waco from the D.C. area after my wife and I separated from the military in the summer of 2013. I visited Waco many times the previous decade to visit my mother and sister, but I didn’t know much about Waco outside of Baylor and the infamous story of David Koresh’s deadly siege. One day my wife and I were driving through town when I noticed the YMCA was named after Doris Miller. My jaw dropped. I grabbed my phone and searched Miller’s name to confirm my suspicion: Waco is the hometown of the Navy legend Doris Miller. How was it possible that I didn’t know this? Miller’s name is well known in the Navy community because he was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross. After living in Waco for only a short time, however, I felt as though few people from Waco knew who he was or what he did. I also realized few people in the Navy know where Miller came from. The unpleasant truth of the matter is that Waco, and even the U.S., hasn't always been proud to boast the accomplishments of African-Americans. Today, Miller is commonly referred to as one of the first heroes of World War II, but that wasn’t always the case. Miller’s valor at Pearl Harbor was reported to D.C., but only as an unnamed black man. Instead, the government tried touting the actions of white service members so a white man could become the first hero of World War II. However, the sailors and other service members present at Pearl Harbor knew the truth and wrote home about the actions of Doris Miller. At first the media refused to pick up Miller’s story, and it was only due to the efforts of the black press that the story of Miller’s valor was kept alive. So-called black publications, such as the Pittsburg Courier and the New York Black News Paper, covered the story until the rest of the country was forced to recognize Miller and his heroism. At the same time, the NAACP lobbied Congress and President Roosevelt to award the Navy Cross tothe unknown black sailor for his courage at Pearl Harbor, and it eventually paid off. On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz personally awarded Miller aboard the USS Enterprise. NimFlag Photo by Skye Duncan
itz, a Navy legend in his own right, grew up about three hours southwest of Waco in Fredericksburg. The two Central Texas natives stood on the deck of the massive aircraft carrier together that day. Even though I learned of Miller through movies like “Pearl Harbor,” and especially through history lessons in boot camp, I don’t think I truly appreciated what Miller did until I experienced combat for myself. Many of us romanticize about how brave or heroic we may have been had in historical battles, but experiencing combat in any form lends perspective to what heroes like Miller actually did. The first time I experienced combat was in Afghanistan. I was a Corpsman (combat medic) assigned to a Marine Corps Embedded Training Team. Along with three U.S. Marines, I was embedded with the Afghan National Army and we were on a mission in the Tegab Valley. One day a meeting between the local villagers and some Afghan officers went bad and our Afghan counterparts were ambushed. The Marines and I responded as a quick reaction force with the Afghan National Army. After about 30 minutes of fighting, cobra helicopters showed up for air support, the enemy ran for cover and the fight was over. It was my first brush with combat and I did nothing worthy of being called a hero, but I did gain perspective. I believe that experience, and others I had during my time in Afghanistan, helped me understand just how heroic Miller was at Pearl Harbor and is a big reason I respect him so much. The gunfire I was exposed to was minimal compared to the torpedoes and machine gunfire from Japanese aircraft that Miller experienced. Miller also witnessed far more casualties than I did, and many of them more gruesome. I kept my head fine for the situation I was in, but I can only imagine how much more intense the confusion and fear would have been if I were present at Pearl Harbor. Before my own experiences in a combat zone, I may have thought it normal for any service member to do in the same situation, but I assure you that it is not. Miller acted with extreme valor that day and disregarded his own safety so that his peers could live.
BAYLOR FOCUS MAGAZINE | 33
Another thing I didn’t truly appreciate about Miller until I was a little older was how an African American put his life on the line so many times for white sailors in an era with very tense race relations. Being an African-American sailor in 1943 was tough, to say the least. The Navy was one of the last services to integrate, and African-Americans were not allowed to have many jobs other than cooks and stewards. There is a real chance that the men Miller helped called him awful names and treated him subhuman at some point, but he continued to risk his life for them, and I think that is a huge testament to what kind of a person he was. Miller was the kind of man who helped people regardless of how they may have treated him in the past. Maybe it was nature, maybe it was the result of his upbringing or maybe it was both. Unfortunately, Miller died in battle only two years after Pearl Harbor and didn’t provide many unscripted interviews as a way for us to better understand him. However, through reading the available information about him and talking to historians with knowledge of Miller, especially Baylor’s professor of journalism Robert Darden, I believe growing up in Waco had a huge impact on the man that he became. Miller grew up in Waco in a neighborhood close to Baylor’s campus. His childhood home has since burned down, but it was located close to where Baylor’s McLane Stadium now stands. Miller’s family was not wealthy and Miller never finished the eighth grade. Miller’s mother and siblings said he was an outdoorsy and active man and he loved to hunt along the Brazos River. His family described him as a great shot, excellent hunter and a big kid. Miller played fullback for Waco’s A.J. Moore Academy until he dropped out around age 18. Back then, one of the only avenues to a better life that a young black man had was to either play football or join the military. Since Miller’s football days were over, he proceeded with the latter. It is unclear why Miller chose the Navy. The U.S. was not engaged in any wars at the time and the Navy didn’t have nearly as many African-Americans as the Army. Waco had a
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rather flourishing black culture in the 1930s and 1940s. There was Paul Quinn College, an all-black institution; The Gem Theater, a live performance theater for American-Americans; and a thriving black music scene. But Miller probably got most of his education, guidance and world perspective from the leadership at his church, New Hope Baptist. New Hope was, and still is, one of the oldest African-American churches in Waco and the Miller family was very active in the church. Looking back on the little that is known about Miller, I have to conclude that his church and community contributed to him being the hero we know from Pearl Harbor. A good decade before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, Miller had a big enough heart to see all men as his brothers and did everything he could to protect them. Waco was slightly progressive for a southern city, but still had plenty ignorance and racism. For a long time some members of the community would have rather forgotten that Waco was the home of an African-American hero, and I believe that is why so many still don’t know that this great man grew up there. Thankfully, things change. There are many people trying to get Miller posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and the city of Waco has taken steps to honor and promote their hometown hero’s legacy. After years of rejection from the Texas Legislature the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital was finally named after Miller on Feb. 19, 2015. About 200 people gathered outside the VA hospital on a chilly and windy morning to honor Miller. About 30 of Miller’s family members were seated at the front of the ceremony and proudly watched their late relative receive a long overdue honor. Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr., state Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson and other prominent Texans were among the honored guests that made speeches to honor Miller, and it seems Waco is finally embracing the hometown hero that was ignored for too long. There are many parts of U.S. history that are hard to digest. Although there are many great stories from the WW II and civil rights era, there are also many that are terrible. Miller’s story, however, is a wonderful bright spot along this checkered history and deserves to be celebrated. I hope Miller’s story is someday common knowledge and that everyone knows the role that Central Texas played in shaping him as a man. That may not happen, however, unless the people of Central Texas embrace him for the local hero he is. Thankfully, it seems Waco and its residents are putting the wheels in motion to make this happen. When Nimitz presented Miller with the Navy Cross, he said, “This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I’m sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts.” Nimitz was correct. Many other African-American men and women have been awarded for their courage, but Waco is home to one the first African-Americans to be awarded for his actions during battle and, more importantly, one of the first true heroes of World War II.
Miller was the kind of man who helped people regardless of how they may have treated him in the past.
Photo from Wiki Commons
34 | SPRING 2015
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FINAL THOUGHT
A COLUMN BY JONATHON S. PLATT
remember when no one was lookin’ I was puttin’ peanuts in my coke. I took a lot of kidding cause I never did fit in. Now, look at everybody trying to be what I was then. I was country, when country wasn’t cool.” These words from Barbara Mandrell’s song “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” oftentimes sum up my life. I grew up outside of a small Texas town with a dad who loved working horses and cattle and a grandfather who spent his days on a tractor. We were Texans, but not because we did these things. Because “Texan” is larger than that. Texans are known 'round the world because we’re larger than life. We’re tougher than tough. And we welcome anyone to become a part of our crew because the honorable status of Texan is not earned by what you wear, what you do or where you were raised. Being a Texan means being who you are with pride. Some of the most historic and famous Texans weren’t from this state at all. Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin were born in Virginia. Davy Crockett was a senator from Tennessee. Our beloved former President George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Conn. Very few of the movie-dwelling western icons of yesteryear came from Texas. Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, Sam Elliott, Lee Van Cleef — none of these men, whom our fathers and grandfathers idealized for their machoness, were “true” Texans. Heck, not even John Wayne was born on Texas soil. Yet their swagger — their sense of who they were or are — makes them one of us. However, it seems that Texas has become popular in recent culture. A growing population now sports artificially faded Wrangler jeans, flannel shirts and flat-brimmed trucker hats. To me, as someone who actually grew up in dirty jeans and scuffed boots, it’s done ironically and disingenuously. Being a Texan doesn’t come down to what one wears or drives or says with a certain accent. Texan is a state of mind and a sense of pride. Simply showing up, purchasing a cowboy hat and kicking on some boots does not in any way make you a Texan. The beautiful culture I was raised in is no trend or laughing matter, and artificially stepping into it brings out what Merle Haggard calls “the fightin’ side of me.” If you don’t normally wear a cap and boots, please don’t pretend to. Be yourself. What you wear does not make you a Texan — your heart does.
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This outfit does not make me a Texan PHOTO BY HANNAH NEUMANN
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