Author: Joe Lovelace

Recognition of Linden Volunteer Fire Department

~ Joe Lovelace

At some point in their lives, almost every child wants to be a firefighter and for good reason:  They are modern-day heroes, best known for their willingness to risk their lives to save others.

At the Linden Wildflower Trails in April the Linden Heritage Foundation Booth was organized to recognize that child’s dream.  The Linden Volunteer Fire Department provided the City’s 1957 Chevy Firetruck as a backdrop for photos.

To inspire fire safety, over 73 “junior” fire department hats were given to children with many taking photos with the fire truck.

Linden Kildare High School student, Morgan (Lizzie) Guy, created a drawing of a fire truck given to each child to color.

The 1939 Linden Firehouse was named by Preservation Texas to the 2016 Most Endangered Places list in the local public building category.  The Linden Heritage Foundation is actively supporting the restoration of the Firehouse, with plans to bring the building back into service as a commercial asset.

For more information on the 1939 Firehouse go to its page on our website and take an opportunity to donate to the Linden Old Firehouse Rescue Fund.

Special thanks for the Wildflower Trail success goes to Mary Jo Eller Ellison (for use of her building), Linden Volunteer Fire Department and Linden Heritage Foundation Vice President for Marketing & Development, Sandra Westbrook Skoog.

 

 

 

Welcome to Texas Main Street – Re-Imagine Linden’s Downtown

Image ~ ~ Joe Lovelace ~ 1 Comment

Have you thought about how to re-imagine Linden’s Downtown?

If so, your dreams came true when First Lady of Texas, Mrs. Cecilia Abbott, in official ceremonies on April 18th recognized Linden as a Texas Main Street.  Mrs. Abbott delivered a congratulatory address to Linden citizens and then unveiled an architectural rendering of a more vibrant and consumer-friendly street scene on the west side of the Courthouse Square. 

Entitled “View Along Main Street,” the rendering is the first of a series to be created for Linden by the Texas Main Street Design Team.

The Texas Main Street Program (TMSP) provides historic downtowns the opportunity to re-develop through public and private investment.  Operated in Texas by the Texas Historical Commission, TMSP is one of the oldest and largest in the nation, with 89 fully-designated communities.

After a rigorous and competitive application process, Linden was chosen in January 2017 as one of two designated Main Street communities.  In Texas, Linden is among the three with the smallest populations in the entire program.

TMSP’S mission is to provide technical expertise, resources and support for Texas communities in the preservation and economic revitalization of historic downtowns and commercial districts.

The First Lady was joined by state and local officials, local business owners, volunteers, and dozens of residents eager to see the Main Street vision for Linden. Ms. Abbott commented that Linden’s commitment to historic preservation is apparent, pointing out that the historic Cass County Courthouse was restored with funding assistance from the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Courthouse Preservation Program.

Texas Historical Commission (THC) Vice Chairman John Crain  stated in his remarks that “historic preservation isn’t just about the past – it’s about developing economic opportunity for the future”.  He announced that the Linden Heritage Foundation has qualified for a grant from the Preservation Trust Fund, also managed by THC, to develop a professional restoration plan for the Old Linden Firehouse.

Mr. Crain then announced THC’s new “Town Square Initiative” which uses an online portal – Downtowntx.org – to attract potential real estate investors/developers and business owners/entrepreneurs from other places who may want to consider under-utilized or vacant historic properties in Texas Main Street towns.  Linden has its own dedicated page on this website to feature available Main Street properties.

Twelve Main Street cities, including Linden, will help celebrate and promote DowntownTX.org by hosting local Imagine the Possibilities tours.  Linden’s tour will begin at the Linden City Hall on Friday, May 19th at 5 p.m..

Selected properties featured on each city’s DowntownTX.org page will be open and accessible to the public, and tour attendees can obtain additional information on downtown development and business resources at a central gathering point.

To get the Main Street ball rolling, the Linden Heritage Foundation hosted a series of field trips and community forums with Mount Vernon and San Augustine to spark initial interest for the program.  Main Street staff and board members from those two cities fielded a range of questions about how they have turned historic buildings into unique entrepreneurial successes, attracted tourism to their town centers, dialed up local sales tax revenues, and supported the property tax base.

By fully committing to Texas Main Street, Linden also can imagine – and ultimately realize – a whole new world of progress, success, and economic development for our downtown.

 

Bob Swisher’s “Linden Update” for June 2016

~ Joe Lovelace ~ 1 Comment

Linden City Administrator, Bob Swisher, gave the Linden Heritage Foundation permission to republish his June 2016 Linden Update.  Information which may be of special interest to Foundation members has been highlighted.

“Linden has made some strides in May!  First of all the City Council unanimously passed the resolution to apply for the “Texas Main Street” program.  The program is designed to revitalize the historic downtown commercial area.  We will put together a first rate package and hope that the Texas Historical Commission sees what a gem Linden really is.  You will hear rumors about mandates and requirements, this is a voluntary program for downtown business owners.  It comes with free architectural and design assistance for the front of the building.  The person that will manage the program will also help with events and event planning.

“LINDEN 2025” is the 10 year plan for the City of Linden. It touches on everything from child care to sewer, water and streets. There will soon be a copy on the Linden Texas Facebook page and the Linden website for you to read. We are already engaging in areas that the LINDEN 2025 plan recommended. We have a new police station opening the first of June and are having fiber optic cable brought to the City Hall and new Police station. Fiber optic lines will transmit data at the speed of light,
much faster than copper wire and are buried to ensure function. As Linden businesses grow, they will demand this level of internet capability and we will be ready.

With a great amount of assistance from the Linden Heritage Foundation the City council approved a package to be sent out to request proposals to use the water tower and old fire station for commercial ventures. They are both historic and could lend themselves to an economic enterprise of some sort.  We will wait to see what kind of proposals we get. Expect to hear more on this in the fall.

We are asking people to please monitor the amounts of grease you allow to go into the sewer. Most of our sewer blockages are caused by household cooking grease building up in sewer pipes. Often it will collect on small roots or debris and cause backups. Several people commented on how many blockages there are during the holidays, when we are cooking turkeys and large meals. Please pour the grease in a container let it cool and place it in the garbage. We could reduce man hours by 10% to 20% if we could get more cooperation from residents on this one item.

Last, but not least, the Linden Volunteer Fire Department has started the process to place on this Novembers Ballot an initiative to create an Emergency Services District. This would mean that everyone within the response district would be taxed to help upgrade the Fire Department. The plus side of this would be that all would share the cost of the Fire Department and the additional funds  would be used for upgrades to equipment that would save you money on your home insurance. We are currently an ISO 7, Atlanta is an ISO 3. If we can get to an ISO 3 it would save a homeowner with a $100,000 house approximately $200 a year. The new tax would only be $100 on that house. More importantly we would have an increased capability when it came to saving lives and fighting wild fires, which we all know is one of our major threats.

Bob Swisher, Linden City Administrator”

 #LindenHeritageFdn

Barbara Teachey – Foundation Board Member Recalls 2014 Walden Woods Global Environmental Awards

~ Joe Lovelace ~ 1 Comment

Barbara Teachey was elected to the Linden Heritage Foundation’s Board of Directors in January 2016 for a 2-year term.  With encouragement from Joe B. Lovelace, she agreed to share an exciting time in her life after entering the “Don Henley Walden Woods Sweepstakes” sponsored by chideo.com in 2014.  Barbara won a prize package consisting of a two-day trip to Boston to attend the Walden Woods 2014 Global Environmental Awards dinner/reception, a “meet and greet” with Don Henley, awards presentation, and a benefit concert by the Eagles. The event took place on September 16, 2014 at the Wang Theater.  Her memories of the event follow.

The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization founded by Don Henley that is committed to “preserving the land, literature, and legacy of Henry David Thoreau through conservation, education, research and advocacy.”  The Project uses the land it has protected in Walden Woods to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility, both cornerstones of Thoreau’s philosophy.

Robert Redford, Jerry and Barbara Teachey, and Don Henley (2014)
Robert Redford, Jerry and Barbara Teachey, and Don Henley (2014)

In 2014 my husband, Jerry, and I had the honor of attending the Walden Woods Global Environmental Awards dinner/reception at which Mr. Robert Redford received the Global Leadership Award.  He is an ardent conservationist and environmentalist; and a man who stands for social responsibility and political involvement, as well as an artist and businessman who is a staunch supporter of uncompromised creative expression.  Mr. Redford’s life-long passion for nature and issues of justice has resulted in him being widely acknowledged as a highly effective and dedicated political and environmental activist.

I have been an Eagles fan for many years; and found from my experience with the Walden Woods Project, that Don had a high school teacher, Margaret Lovelace, in Linden, Texas who introduced him to the writings of Thoreau and Emerson.  He developed an early appreciation for the natural world that evolved into a lifelong commitment to the preservation of open space and wetlands, and environmental advocacy on a wide range of issues.

In 1989, while watching the news on CNN, Don learned of two major commercial development threats to historic Walden Woods.  He immediately offered support to a local grassroots organization in Concord, MA that was coordinating the opposition to a proposed office park and condominiums in Walden Woods.  Mr. Henley founded the Walden Woods Project in 1992; and is also the Founder and Chairman of the Caddo Lake Institute in Northeast Texas.   The Institute is a nonprofit scientific and educational corporation with the mission of “protecting the ecological, cultural and economic integrity of Caddo Lake, its associated wetlands and watershed.”

Barbara and Jerry Teachey live in Richmond, Virginia.  Barbara visited Linden in September of 2015 with several other members of the Don Henley Appreciation Group.  She is planning a return trip for June of 2016.

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Linden’s 1939 Firehouse on Preservation Texas’ Most Endangered Places List

~ Joe Lovelace ~ 3 Comments
Aerial photo of 1939 Linden Firehouse by Kerry and Erin Wells.
Aerial photo of 1939 Linden Firehouse by Kerry and Erin Wells.

Linden’s 1939 Firehouse has been chosen by Preservation Texas for its 2016 Texas’ Most Endangered Places list in the local public building category.  The fourteen sites being added to the 2016 list will be announced formally at Wooldridge Park in Austin on Thursday afternoon as part of Preservation Texas 2016 Summit.  The following statement was posted on PreservationTexas.org.

Preservation Texas posted the following information on their website on 18 February 2016.

“The sites on the 2016 list represent cultural, architectural and historic places that are at risk, and represent the types of sites that are endangered across Texas. Local grassroots organizations have been working tirelessly in support of these sites.  By including them on the list, Preservation Texas hopes to rally Texans statewide to step up and save them. Historic preservation has a $4.6 billion economic impact in Texas. Historic sites named to the list of Texas’ Most Endangered Places represent some of the best opportunities to make a positive economic impact on local communities through preservation, particularly through the use of the new state historic preservation tax credit.”

Preservation Texas supports sites on its Most Endangered Places List providing advocacy support, publicity and assistance and assistance in fostering and building community partnerships.

Representatives of the Linden Heritage Foundation are attending the awards ceremony in Austin.

#LindenHeritageFdn