 |
Dear ORM Friends,
This is the last letter I will be writing to you as Old Red’s President. |
 |
I recently accepted the position as Chief Operating Officer of the Museum of Nature & Science. While I am looking forward to new challenges, I will greatly miss Old Red’s staff, volunteers, visitors and members who make it such a special place.
In my two years at Old Red, there have been many changes to our city and county. However, Dallas remains a vibrant place with a bright tomorrow – just as those visionary citizens believed in 1892 when Old Red opened her doors.
May 2010 bring you good health, great happiness and grand success in all that you do. Please visit Old Red in the coming months.
Warm regards,
 |
|
|
|
Get
Involved!
Membership is one of the best ways to become involved in the Old Red community. Members receive advance notice about Old Red programs, exhibits and classes. We offer both Museum Memberships for individuals, couples, and families as well as Corporate Memberships at several different levels. Memberships start at just $50. Members at the Family level and above also receive FREE parking while at the museum. See Guest services for a parking voucher.
Old Red is pleased to announce a new benefit for our members! Through the Time Travelers reciprocal program, your Old Red Museum membership now grants benefits at 270 museums and history centers in 41 states in the US. Benefits vary: some give free or discounted admission, discounts on parking, gift shop or restaurant purchases, or complimentary publications. Simply show your Old Red Museum membership card to get the perks. Happy Time Traveling!
For a list of
participants, go to
www.mohistory.org/
membership/
timetravelers. |
|
|
Guest
Services |
We’ve added more presence and warmth
to our main lobby by adding two greeters. They occupy the desk by the Main St. and Market St. entrances. These friendly greeters are eager to welcome you, answer any of your inquiries and direct you to your destination.
After you visit our exhibits, stop by our Gift Shop to purchase a copy of Dallas Iconography, by photographer and author Barry Doyle. This unique compilation of photographs captures the city’s diverse “character as well as the beauty found across this vibrant urban landscape”. Doyle provides a map to assist readers in locating each of the more than fifty sites, including Old Red. We still have a few autographed copies available for $19.99.
Old Red has a number of items featuring the Old Red logo that will remind you of your link to Dallas.
Mugs with Old Red Museum Logo; $7.99 Colors: red or white, size: 12 oz.
Keychain: Lady Justice
Keychain with Old Red Museum Logo and Gavel; $4.99
Souvenir Spoons with Texas Flag, Boot and
Texas Map; $5.99
Wall Clock with Old Red Museum image; $19.99
If you drive, don’t forget to purchase a parking voucher when you visit Old Red. This $2 voucher is a big savings off of the $9 fee in the County underground parking garage. This offer is only available with the purchase of a Museum admission at the Guest Services Desk. If you prefer to ride DART, we are located two blocks from either the West End or Union Station rail stations. Please visit our website for driving directions and additional parking information. |
|
|
| |
|
 |
| On Saturday, January 30 celebrate the opening of Behold the People at an Old Red Discover Dallas Day. Tours, talks, and performances will shed more light on these turbulent years in Dallas history while children can participate in crafts and activities commemorating African-American history. |
|
|
|
|
| Join us for Discover Dallas Days at Old Red for performances, tours, lectures, crafts and other activities that focus on Dallas’ unique history. Each month features a different theme that will enhance your knowledge of your city. Discover Dallas Days at Old Red are usually from 11 am to 3 pm on the 2nd Saturday of every month. This varies occasionally, so be sure to check out the scheduled dates below. Admission is FREE for Old Red Members. Admission is discounted to $5 per person for non-members. There are activities that the entire family will enjoy. |
|
|
Saturday, January 30
11am – 3pm, Reduced admission all day -
$5 per person and FREE for Members
To celebrate Black History Month, Old Red will present a wonderful exhibit by former Dallas Star Post photographer, R.C. Hickman. Hickman's photographs document the black middle-class life in Dallas and the celebrities who visited Dallas from 1949 to 1961. View these powerful images of lives prior to and in conjunction with the Civil Rights Movement. Special tours, talks, and performances will shed more light on these turbulent years in Dallas’ history while children can participate in crafts and activities commemorating African-American history. |
|
|
Saturday, February 13 –
11am – 3pm, Reduced admission all day -
$5 per person and FREE for Members
Cupid’s arrow has struck Dallasites since the 1840s, and not just on Valentine’s Day. From Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow to J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing, Dallas County has been home to some of the most dynamic power couples in the nation’s memory. Learn about the famous, infamous, historical, and fictional couples who have called Dallas home over the decades. Creating vintage valentines completes this story of love, Dallas style! |
|
|
|
Saturday, March 13 –
11am – 3pm, Reduced admission all day -
$5 per person and FREE for Members
Old Red reveals a few of the women who shaped North Texas history. From lesser known women like Sarah Cockrell and Frances Gale to more recognized icons like Mary Kay and Erykah Badu, the influence of these women shaped our history. Experience history from a different point of view during this fun family event as we uncover the stories of Dallas County women who defined who we are today. Fun family activities include celebrating the women in your life by designing a scrapbook page highlighting a woman who has been a strong influence on you and reliving what women did long ago in fun, interactive crafts such as quilting and weaving.
|
|
Harlemwood and
African-American
filmmaking in Dallas
|
When Spencer Williams, African-American actor, writer and performer met Dallas-based film distributor Alfred Sack, they struck a partnership that would produce an opus of historically significant films and offer Dallas its most unusual nickname yet: Harlemwood.
Williams, from Vidalia, Louisiana, had been a successful singer and recording technician at the time talkies began replacing silent films. He began writing and acting in Hollywood films featuring African American actors in the 1930s. |
|
Dallas was among few cities making films with an all black cast. |
|
Sack had started his company, Sack Amusement Enterprises in 1920, moving it from his native San Antonio to Dallas also in the 1930s. Sack specialized in films for African American audiences, and became a major producer of these through the 1940s.
Working together, Williams and Sack produced ten films, shooting primarily in the Dallas area. With subject matter ranging from religious drama to mysteries, to comic farce, and including many musical performances, the films have become more important than their entertainment value. They document the culture, lifestyles and living conditions of the African American community. Film critic Thomas Cripps has written that The Blood of Jesus, for example, is "an exemplar of Southern Black fundamentalism, untrammelled by white intrusion."
Following the social changes of the late 1940s, ‘race films’ ceased to be a viable industry, and their existence slowly ebbed from cultural consciousness. Many of these films were lost to posterity, until, three decades later, a twist of local fate brought them back to life. In 1983, SMU professor and film historian G. William Jones received a call about a stack of films turning to dust in a Tyler, Texas warehouse. A quick trip out to the warehouse brought back exciting news – a number of the films were reclaimable and were potentially the work of the “Harlemwood Studios,” the name Sack gave to his production company.
For more information about Harlemwood and to see clips of Harlemwood films, visit Old Red’s World Crossroads gallery. |
Norman Washington Harllee was a pioneer in the field of education for the African-American community in Dallas. He devoted his life to educating both youth and adults, and to improving the quality of life for Dallas County citizens in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Harllee arrived in Dallas in 1885 to teach in the new Dallas Public School system. Within fifteen years, he served as principal for Colored School No. 3, two elementary schools, and the Dallas Colored High School. Although he worked within a segregated and unequal school system (Harlee earned $60 a month while white teachers received $80), Harllee strived to provide the best education possible for his students.
N.W. Harllee also provided vocational training for adults. He urged African-Americans to learn a trade, and was instrumental in opening a domestic arts school at the Plymouth Congregational Church, teaching sewing, cooking, and kitchen hygiene. He also helped open night schools in Oak Cliff, where
young African-Americans who
worked during the day could learn at night. Harllee instructed summer teaching |
training schools for African-American teachers.
In 1900, Harllee persuaded Booker T. Washington to speak at the Texas State Fair, of which Harllee was Superintendent of the annual “Colored People’s Day.” Harllee regarded this as an educational opportunity, encouraging students from Dallas County and beyond to come and learn at the fair.
Also an author, Harllee published numerous pedagogical and educative booklets; he also wrote articles for the weekly African-American newspaper, the Dallas Express.
N.W. Harllee retired in 1927 after decades of service to Dallas County’s educational system. He strived to educate his community despite the hardships facing African-Americans in the early 20th century. Today, N.W. Harllee Elementary School in Oak Cliff is named for this influential educator.
For more information about Norman Washington Harllee, visit Old Red’s Trading Center gallery.
|
|
|
|
R.C. Hickman’s Photographs of Black Dallas, 1949-1961
January 30 - April 25, 2010
Behold the People:
R.C. Hickman's Photographs of
Black Dallas
January 30, 2010
Love Dallas Style February 13, 2010
Famous & Infamous Women of Dallas
March 13, 2010
Lyrics, Lingo, and
Letters: History Speaks
April 10, 2010
|
|
Old Red’s original Grand Staircase was removed by 1920 in order to increase floor space for additional offices as Dallas County expanded in population. At that time, one section was left somewhat intact, while two large sections were removed completely.
Old Red staircase before
and after renovation. |
Today, the Grand Staircase has been completely restored
to its original 1892 appearance. Original remnants of the staircase are restored with reconstructed sections to create Old Red’s most impressive physical feature. |
|
|
