Each February, in celebration of Black History month, Brazos Valley residents have the opportunity to meet, know, and learn about many of our residents who were instrumental in African American community historic preservation. In 1999, area residents Mr. and Mrs. Willie (Mell) Pruitt had the idea for an African American Heritage Museum. The photo below is courtesy of the BVAAM from a prior gathering.

Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt were beloved educators of many years here. Mrs. Pruitt preceded her husband in death in 2009, and Mr. Pruitt, a former Asst. Principal at Bryan High, died earlier this week on February 21 ^st
.

On July 22, 2006, the Museum’s doors opened to the public, thanks to the generous donations from across our community—individuals, churches, and civic leaders. Today, the Museum is built on the original site of the first school for people of color in the Brazos Valley, founded in 1886, which later burned. In 1930, the school was reopened as Washington Elementary School and stood until, again, a fire burned it down. The school’s final principal while standing was O. W. Sadberry, Sr.

Coincidentally, that same evening as Mr. Pruitt passed, Bryan ISD Trustees revealed that the third Bryan ISD Intermediate School under construction will be named in honor of educator O. W. Sadberry, Sr. Most fitting, this naming opportunity for his father
was the dream of longtime area educator and civic leader, Oliver Wayne Sadberry, Jr. The new Maintenance and Transportation facility will also be named in honor of the late BISD driver, Ms. Ruby Halliburton.

The unanimous decision was announced just 47 days after Wayne’s passing, at the age of 78. Poignantly the announcement would come just a few short days after we held his Life Celebration and Home Going in our Funeral Center last month.

Completing the circle, last night, on February 26, the Annual Appreciation Banquet
was held at the Brazos Valley African American Museum, and the historian’s torch passed forward onto O.W.’s great-granddaughter, BISD student Miss Jaden Eleiz Twitty, as she spoke on the occasion of the family. In her remarks she noted the impact that her grand-father and great-grand-father had made in the Brazos Valley, as educators, historians, role models and encouragers, which are individuals that younger people need most. Miss Twitty noted that it’s important for younger persons her age take an interest in who their family members are, where they came from geographically and personally, and only by learning their stories can this generation relate to what it was like “back then.” Dr. Albert Broussard, a close friend of Wayne Sadberry’s through the years, also spoke about his excellent contributions to the Brazos Valley African American Museum.

The full program from Saturday’s Fund-Raising Event is shown next. Reviewing the list of organizers and participants, you’ll see the neighbors and friends who volunteered their time to make this appreciation event happen, even with the recent passing of two local icons.

Among the many elements of preserving history, the oral interview is one of the most important. Really, it’s the only way we have to keep track of our history as a community are in the words and photographs of those who will take the time to curate the collection with their stories throughout the generations. At Texas Christian University, there is a “Portal to Texas History” that includes an Oral History Interview with Wayne Sadberry
, July 8, 2015.

Many resources now exist, including one by Asst. Professor Andrea Roberts of the College of Architecture’s Urban Planning Department. Known as the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, the goal is to “help African-American Texans reclaim their unrecognized and unrecorded heritage. The mission of the project is two-fold: to help African-American Texans reclaim their unrecognized and unrecorded heritage and empower city planners to plan and preserve communities with unprecedented knowledge about the freedom colonies.” See more about it here
, including a photo of Wayne Sadberry with Prof. Roberts.

Did you know that as part of the City of Bryan’s 150th anniversary, an oral history project was created? It’s called “ Voices Past and Present
” and it contains interviews with longtime Bryan residents about “how things were here as they were growing up.” Within this compilation you will find historic jewels from our longtime city members. Take one for example:  “In 2012, Dr. Oswell Person, a leader in the field of higher education and E. A. Kemp Junior-Senior High School alumnus, spoke with Carnegie History Center oral historian Anne Preston about education in Bryan during segregation. Dr. Person is the author of two books on the African American experience in Bryan,  Moving Forward from Behind: Life and Times of African-Americans in Bryan, Texas from 1885 to 1971
, and  African American Bryan, Texas: Celebrating the Past. ”

And another question: did you know that KORA radio once broadcast from the Varisco building downtown? Or that a tornado blew through town in 1956 and destroyed The Finfeather Club? Local attorney Roland Searcy reflects on that topic. And the words of Sunny Nash, who would grow up to be an international journalist, photographer, and author, she described segregation as she was growing up and trying to access books to read in the library, as her cousin Margaret had already read all of the ones in the bookmobile. A group of three young ladies waited on the steps outside as Margaret had gone in to see about reading in the Carnegie Library. When she came out with a stack full of books in her arms that she had checked out, they all learned that day there was no segregation at least in the Carnegie Library, an exciting revelation and one long awaited.

We learn best from telling our stories. The history comes to life when we record our voices and provide an even greater layer and dimension to what we know, saw, did, and how we felt. It becomes, as Nash said, “a matter of taking every opportunity to improve something every chance you get,” a lesson she learned from her mother.

As we exit the month of February then, let’s all focus on telling our stories, of preserving history for future generations to have reliable, accurate information to pass on to future generations.

August 15 ^th
is the deadline you’re going to want to remember!

Have you and your family had the chance, recently, to visit College Station’s Veterans Park? In addition to Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and other national holidays, the chance to be present in a tranquil, reverent environment, shaded by trees even in this unbearable heat, is a chance to meditate on life.

At Callaway-Jones, we never take for granted the military service of our families. We honor the tradition of their service to country according to the wishes of the family. It can range from a U.S. flag-draped casket, to a 21-gun salute at our funeral center or at the graveside, along with the playing of “Taps.” We do this for every branch of military service with pride and great humility as we owe a debt of gratitude to those who went before us that we can truly never say “thank you” enough.

Beyond the ceremony that gives thanks for their life, the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial is an excellent place for a lasting commemoration of your loved one’s memory. They could be 18 years old when they enlisted, whether in 1944, 1964, or 2004, and they belong there. They do not have to have lived here in BCS. Instead, they just need to be part of your family or dear friends of your family. Where part of their love for you or your regard for them resides, their name qualifies to be here.

Every year at this time there’s a limited window of opportunity (by August 15th) to add the name of someone in your family or group of friends to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. Our community has been blessed with a beautiful red granite Wall of Honor in the center of the Louis L. Adam Memorial Plaza at Veterans Park in College Station.

As of July 2020, over 5,000 names of “veterans representing all periods of U.S. history who are family and friends of Brazos Valley residents” are on the Memorial Wall of Honor. The cost is only $150 to have their name and branch of service added to the wall. Information and a form you can download is here. Payments are accepted online with credit or debit cards and you can mail checks to the address found there.

An easy-to-use guided map of each soldier’s name is found in computer kiosks at the park or you can look it up online at home here. There’s something transcendant about standing in front of the red granite monument and tracing the name of your loved one with your finger. Some people bring a pencil and blank sheet of paper to do a rubbing, the way we used to do in school, just to have as a family keepsake, including photos of family members at the site.

[Photos courtesy Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial]

Because not all residents have these magnificent monuments in their original birth town, or town of longest residence, even if they have never resided here in Bryan-College Station or the Brazos Valley before, if they are in your heart, their name can be on this wall. The sign-up form asks only for Veteran Name and the service branch.

Service branch choices include: Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Public Health Service, Confederate States of America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the more recent Space Force. General information is all online at BVVM.org, Facebook.com/bvvets, and you can reach out to them at info@bvvm.org
or call (979) 574-7121.

One note for this year’s August 15 ^th
deadline to have your loved one’s name included: according to the website,

“Names submitted by Aug. 15 will still be recognized through our ceremony’s Honor Wall Roll Call and listed in the printed program. Once new names are engraved, we will contact applicants to let them know.”

This is because the engraving vendors had circumstances beyond their control and could not have the engraving completed in time for Veterans Day this year.

So, you have slightly more than 2 weeks to take action if you would like to add someone special’s name to the Wall of Honor. And to all who have served our country who we should honor every single day, please know you have our deepest respect and highest regard for your selfless gift on behalf of all of us.

Don’t forget — August 15th
is this year’s deadline!

As our son Rowen approaches his first birthday, Chelsea and I have been giving thought to the ways in which we engage in intelligent play with him, the resources we use, and the examples we set when it comes to books, pictures, music, and most of all, the words we use with him. That’s a lot to consider.

This morning no doubt we all faced challenges getting to our usual workplace. I am notoriously early when I have an appointment, thanks to my grandfather’s insistence on that in my life. It also makes me aware of the precious nature of time and how fast it flies.

I’ve enjoyed the tradition of seeing each of you posting your children, grandchildren, or dear friends’ children on their traditional “first day” of school. Who would have believed it was just 10 weeks ago that classes let out for Spring end of year, and today, they’ve returned in full force? What are your hopes for the children you love this year?

Beyond the fundamentals of reading, writing, and math, I think we are all most appreciative of teachers who make it their priority every day to meet our children where they learn best. Every child has a learning style as unique as a fingerprint and not everyone can learn the same way.

One secret to success I remember from years ago was the story a professor told about a teacher getting a printout (remember those?) of the test scores at the beginning of the year for her class. She stood in front of the class and said, “I’m very pleased to tell you that your class has the BEST standardized test scores in the school. That means each of you is ready to learn the most from our school year. When we take our exit tests, this predicts we will again be the best. From time to time during the year, the teacher would remind the class they were “best,” and she knew they were all doing wonderfully, based on their grades each six weeks.

At the end of the school year, their test results came back, once again, the top in the school. The principal came to the classroom to congratulate the class on their “amazing accomplishments” and smiled broadly. Privately she said to the teacher, “I don’t know how you did it, but your class went from worst in the school to best in nine short months!” The teacher was puzzled. Apparently, she’d been sent the wrong test scores and never knew her class tested out the worst of all the others.

Isn’t it amazing what confidence a teacher gives to a student? Parents play a large role in this effort as well. Education is not about parents’ doing their children’s homework for them. I’d say that only 30% of today’s parents even have time available to ask a child if they have homework. But, a note a parent writes to his or her child and puts in a lunch sack each day, a parent who writes a note on the wood of a #2 pencil of their child that encourages them, “Have a great day! Love, Mom” goes a long way to the child’s attitude towards learning and achieving.

Children don’t go into classes each year with new tennis shoes, a new notebook, and some new pencils where they expect to fail. They are usually excited to learn, to meet and see new friends, and to get through to the next class year and keep going until they graduate high school. How a child feels about kindergarten and first grade will determine whether they think college is for them. Maybe they want to take over a family business and want to study a trade plus business and finance and psychology to managing people. When your six years old, eleven years old, or even fourteen years old, it’s often still too soon to know what you want to be.

The best way to prepare a child for their future is to teach them how to work independently as well as in groups, to use the library and all the tremendous (and free!) resources that your tax dollars make possible, and teacher’s hours and fellow student tutoring hours are available to every student, if you look. Talking to other parents, finding outside tutors or affordable group sessions at places in town can help. If you find in talking to your children’s teachers and principals that they don’t really know your child, it’s a good measure to help you know their level of commitment to their success. Not every school can be A+ rated. But, here’s some good news.

If you’re in Bryan, you have Mounce Library
, and if you are in College Station, you have Ringer Library. For your pre-K and early learners, both branches have collections of books that you can check out that are perfect to encourage children to read. The love of reading leads to a love of spelling, increased vocabulary, and children who love books tend to be more successful throughout their school career than those who say, “I really don’t like reading.”

There’s a tutoring resource in the libraries but you need a library card. It’s often an exciting rite of passage when your youngster gets his or her first card! Visit tutor.com/bclpls
for details.

Parents who are involved in activities at their children’s campuses and who meet parents of other students have another advantage to staying aware of upcoming assignments, tests, bake sales, and other activities that are important for parents to attend. Again, when both parents work or in single parent families, it’s not always possible to be there in person, but perhaps you have a family member who can fill that role and be your student’s resource throughout the school year, a partner in learning.

Finally, for all of us who are relearning how to get to work each day with the new traffic flows and demand for passage through stop signs and street lights in and near school zones, it’s good to add in an extra 15 or 20 minutes every day until things settle in.

Don’t get too comfortable, though, because the Corps of Cadets students are already on campus, the coming week will be “Rush Week” for the fraternities and sororities for Texas A&M, the path to Blinn will be heavy and backed up as registration continues. First day of classes is Monday, Aug. 22 for Sam Houston, and Wednesday, Aug. 24 for Texas A&M and Blinn. Whether you are heading north, west, east, or south, practice defensive driving and assume the driver in front of you is on their phone, texting, or otherwise distracted. Those extra five or ten miles an hour faster that you don’t travel will give you plenty of time to slow down in an emergency, plus improved gas mileage.

Our entire community is officially built on the success, joy, faith, confidence, and productivity of the children and young adults who enroll in educational institutions to “become” that person they always wanted to be “one day.” Here’s to making their first days, and everyday after that a great experience. Prayers for all teachers and students this year for safety, for peace of mind, and for thanks for all the resources provided by the Educational Foundation nonprofits established to help. Welcome Fall, 2022 and to the newest members of the Class of 2026! Most of all, thanks to all who chose education as their profession. God bless all of our teachers, principals, and support staff.

Since 1986, the arrival of February 1 each year means
the remembrance of Black History Month, established by Congress passing Public Law 99-244, that year marking “the beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History.” Originally a celebration that was one-month-long, the focus on study and scholarship of African American history is worthy of a full month.

When you survey the Brazos Valley, one of the first places to learn about the accomplishments of our residents is the Brazos Valley African American Museum. Thanks to a partnership with Optimum Internet, admission to the BVAAM is free. Located is fitting as it is at 500 E. Pruitt Street, named for Mell Pruitt and her husband Dr. Willie Pruitt, names well known to all of us. That very site had once been “one of the original black schools in the Brazos Valley.” Since its opening in July 2006, the museum had only one curator, O. Wayne Sadberry, Jr., Texas A&M Class of 1971, who passed away in January 2022. Today, Barry K. Davis, Texas A&M Class of 1976 holds that position today and his wife, Mildred, is the current Chair of the Museum. For the month of February, admission is Free to all patrons thanks to the donation of a generous patron.

As another Black History Month celebration event, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 1pm at the Mounce Library in Bryan, Paula King-Harper, president of the Wilson Pottery Foundation in Seguin, TX, will “ share
the history of the Wilson family and H. Wilson and Co. Pottery, the first African American-owned business in Texas.” Check it out. You’ll be glad you did!

The museum is hosting its 22 ^nd
annual Appreciation Banquet on February 25 at 6pm at the College Station Hilton, where Jason Cornelius will moderate the evening many community leaders will be honored for all they have done for our city, state, or beyond. This event is the primary fundraiser for the museum each year. Tickets are available at the Museum and online.

Although February is Black History month, it’s valuable to visit the African American Museum regularly, as they have a rotating
exhibit devoted to families that have been in Bryan and Brazos County for several generations. Those participating have opened up long-ago scrapbooks and shared autobiographies that their family historians have penned so that our area youth, especially, can see their forefathers who made key contributions to the community over the decades.

The importance of history cannot be overemphasized. There’s an excellent online resource
from 2022 that the City of Bryan posted, “Celebrating Black History Month in Bryan.” In preparing the 150 ^th
Anniversary of Incorporation of the City of Bryan, several outstanding online resources were prepared and shared.

Fortunately, key interviews were obtained from the late O. Wayne Sadberry, Jr., founding curator of the African American Museum and son of O. W. Sadberry, Sr., who taught at the Rosenwald School for rural African Americans. Checking out the video
of Wayne Sadberry sharing the educational journey that his father inspired for so many area children to be able to attend (and pay for) college is inspirational.

How poignant it is that while Mr. Sadberry Jr. organized, together with community leader George Vaults and 250 key citizens, an effort to see Bryan’s new intermediate school named for his father, he died 5 weeks before the announcement was made. How fortuitous to have audio, video, and transcripts of the facts he was willing to share, as he’d studied and lived them firsthand here for years.

There are additional interviews of great interest: Bryan native and award-winning photojournalist Sunny Nash talks about breaking the segregation barrier at the Bryan Public Library as well as City of Bryan historian Randy Haynes about Bryan’s first Black Police Officer, Levi Neal, who was killed “in the line of duty,” also poignantly, 123 years ago, on February 24, 1900.

These dates, places, monuments, and markers are the key authentic original resources that family members can share to preserve, protect, and defend our local history? How can each of us, then, make a difference to Black History Month in the Brazos Valley?

Seniors can write, preserve, record, or video their memories and anyone with a smartphone can be a part of recording that history. Think of how important it would be to you to see, hear, or read the words (especially the handwriting) of someone who lived life during the days and times you only read history books about. To understand a person’s life, you must hear their voice. In days not so long ago, the only way to preserve a voice was an handwriting. That art has always been prized and even today, children spend less time learning handwriting in schools, because they don’t need it when they are keyboarding.

And yet, history—any way you look at it—is communicating personal experiences for future generations to know, recognize, and appreciate either just how much their lives were similar or different. Every generation wants their children to have it “easier than they did,” or to have things “better than they had.”

As we proceed through Black History Month, may we be ever mindful of the appreciation we owe to generations among us now passing away, and work to preserve our Black history here in the Brazos Valley.