Author Archive
Sunset High School’s Sanger Trophy bragging rights
Never heard of the award? You aren’t alone. Neither had I.
The churches of Tenth Street
SLIDESHOW: We have wonderful houses of worship peppered all over. But in earlier days, there was only one main “ecclesiastic avenue” around.
Dallas’ first millionaire
She (that’s right, it was a woman) lived on our side of the Trinity.
The king of Oak Cliff barbecue
Most old-time Cliffites recall Red Bryan’s as one of the neighborhood’s most recognizable restaurants. And they would be right.
Our Back Story readers share bits of Oak Cliff history
One of the many perks of writing this column each month is the great people I meet and the great stories they share, to add to my own Oak Cliff experiences and stories from my parents.
Dreaming of Oak Cliff Christmas lights
Back when the Oak Cliff Bank Tower began beaming the building’s iconic, red- and green-lit NOEL, Cliffites knew the Christmas season had arrived.
Mini golf memories at Wee St. Andrew
A modern course — one of the then new-fangled Putt-Putt variety — might have been classier, but we all loved the aging old entertainment destination.
As Cliffites remember him, Harry Barton had rhythm
In fall 1938, Harry Barton traveled from his home state of Iowa to secure his position as the new band director of Boude Storey Junior High School. He knew no one in Oak Cliff, but one of the young majorettes at Storey, Bettye McGee, quickly determined that the handsome young man with the wavy hair would be perfect for her older sister, Eloise.
Oak Cliff’s street names
What is the rationale of naming city streets? I decided to do a little research and, in the process, came up with some interesting finds.
Horton family established the bygone Eagle Ford community
In 1844 Enoch Horton moved his family from Missouri to his 640-acre land grant, six miles west of Dallas on the West Fork of the Trinity River.
Gayla Brooks Kokel is co-author of the book “Images of America: Oak Cliff” and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cliff Advocate. She can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what was then called Eagle Ford. She was born at Methodist Hospital and graduated from Kimball High. Email gkokel@advocatemag.com.
