In this episode
In one afternoon, 114 people lost their lives and Downtown Waco’s skyline was forever changed. Eric Ames, Assistant Director for Marketing & Communication for the Baylor University Libraries and ITS, walks us through the day the 1953 tornado touched down. We talk about the damage the storm caused, stories of hope in the aftermath, and ways the tornado’s effects are still felt today.
You can find Eric’s book on Waco on Amazon, and most places books are found.
Be sure and follow Waco Walks to learn about other historic walks in town. 
The photo in the album artwork for this episode was used with permission by the Texas Collection at Baylor University. The Texas Collection is Baylor University's oldest special collections library and serves as the University Archive that collects, preserves, and provides access to materials on the history, heritage and culture of Texas. Learn more on their website.
 About the podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support


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On this episode:
Dr. Kenna Lang Archer, author of "Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River," joins us to talk about Waco's most prominent river. We talk about its history all over the state, and the many attempts to tame it.
Check out Dr. Archer's website at kennalangarcher.com.
You can find Kenna's book on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.
Special thanks to ACT Music for letting us play "Brazos River Breakdown" at the end of this episode. It's by the Nils Landgren Funk Unit from the album ACT 9455-2 License to Funk.
About the Waco History Podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support

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Dr. Robert Elder, Assistant Professor of History at Baylor University, joins us about life in Texas leading into the Civil War. We also talk about Sam Houston’s fight to keep Texas in the Union.
Dr. Elder specializes in the American South, especially religion, slavery, and intellectual history. His research focuses on the cultural, intellectual, and religious history of the American South in the 19th century.
Learn more about Dr. Elder on his Baylor faculty page.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 
Stephen heads the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  Learn more at wacohistorypodcast.com

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On today’s episode, Stephen goes on Downtown Depot with Austin Meek.
On our last podcast we did a collaboration with a couple of other Waco podcasters: Garrett Simmons of the Wacoans Podcast and Austin Meek of Downtown Depot. Well, Austin recently had Stephen on his show. They talk about how the Wacoan History Podcast got started, the Waco History App, and, because it just won Best Picture at the Oscars, Green Book locations around Waco.
If you aren’t already subscribed, I highly recommend finding Downtown Depot in your podcatcher of choice. Or listen to the show on the first and third Fridays of the month at 11:30 AM on 103.3 KWBU. And now, here’s Austin and Stephen.
Follow Waco Business News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About the Waco History Podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support


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Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
East Waco is a side of Waco that many locals don't know much about. With recent development in the area, we thought it was a good time to put together a Waco podcasting "dream team" to learn more about where this part of town has been and where it's going. Randy and Stephen welcome local podcasters Austin Meek and Garrett Simmons into the studio to discuss the past, present, and future of East Waco. Austin hosts Downtown Depot, a podcast and radio show produced in Waco. Garrett and his wife host The Wacoans Podcast, and show about people, news, and events in Waco.

Immediately following the round-table discussion, listen to interviews with people who live in and work in the East Waco. First is Carla Dotson, Owner and Operator of Boardwalk on Elm, a favorite food truck in East Waco. And lastly, we talk with Doreen Ravenscroft about the Doris Miller Memorial that stands on the East banks of the Brazos. 

More about Downtown Depot: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/494243086/downtown-depot
More about The Wacoans Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/TheWacoansPodcast

About the Waco History Podcast:

Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan host the Waco History Podcast. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 

Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 

Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  

Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast

Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support




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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support

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In this episode
Millions of years before anyone lived here, nature conditioned Waco as a major crossroads. Dr. Joe Yelderman of Baylor's Department of Geosciences tells us how geology and natural history played a role in shaping Waco.
Learn more about the mammoths here.
About the podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. 
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. 
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support



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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support

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Before Elvis was Elvis, Radio DJ Eddie Fadal befriended the entertainer. Elvis was stationed at Fort Hood in the late 50s. He traveled up to Waco almost every weekend to spend time with Fadal and his family. Eddie's daughter Janice talks to us about growing up with Elvis. We talk about where he went, what he did, his favorite foods and more!
Interested in where The King spent his nights in Waco? Stay there when you visit! The Elvis House is listed on AirBnB, so support our guest and stay where Elvis stayed. More info at https://www.theelvishouse.com. Book via AirBnB here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20571659
Learn more about the Waco History Podcast at wacohistorypodcast.com. Learn more about Waco's history at wacohistory.org.
Like the show? Support us here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support


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On this episode: Haunted Waco, Part 2. On episode 5, Brad Turner laid the groundwork by telling us some of Waco’s most well-known supernatural stories. On this episode, Paranormal Investigator Cindy Little tells us about searching for ghosts in Waco. 

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A 1926 football game between Baylor and Texas A&M went from rowdy, to riot, to murder. Author T.G. Webb spent years putting together a book on the dispute. He gives us background on how it happened, and talks about potential suspects.
Get the book at tgwebb.com
 Learn more at wacohistorypodcast.com/battle-of-the-brazos

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Randy and Stephen sit down with Amy Balderach to talk about "The Reservation." During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Waco was the 2nd city in the United States to have a legal red-light district. From wacohistory,org:Though not uncommon to late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century cities, red-light districts were regarded as areas of ill repute where madams and prostitutes worked outside the law. Yet in 1889, Waco—a city lauded for its multitude of educational institutions and churches—became only the second city in the United States to legalize such an area. This district, known as the Reservation, or sometimes as Two-Street, brought in thousands of dollars of revenue to the city while serving as a source of controversy for many years.Learn more by reading the full entry here.The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts. Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history. Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.  Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.

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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support

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