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Letters to the editor
Letters submitted to the Taylor Daily Press: Some things change, others come back around Dear Editor, I have always heard what goes around, comes around. Look at our fashions. I well remember back in the year 1929-1932. The dresses for ladies were beautiful; some shoes had extremely high heels, baby doll toes and a bow on the instep. I was only a small child, but I loved to open the wardrobe and look at Mother's pretty dresses. She could see a garment and could make it. Now look how things are. I watched the Oscars on TV and some of those ladies looked like all they had on was a dress. Today, the news said that cloth diapers are coming back in use. I did not have children, but I had nieces and nephews who stayed with us and I remember using bird's eye diapers and washing them and hanging them in the sun, when it was shining, to dry. They smelled as good and diaper rash was not near as bad. More coming. Hair is going straight! Most women now wear slacks and, in summer, it's shorts for both women and men. That is a good thing; our state gets very hot. Our schools are changing also. Now the teachers must be fingerprinted. Well, not so bad. I was fingerprinted working at Austin State Hospital years ago. Lots of schools have guards around now. Well, I am sure that is now necessary, but (not) when I was cafeteria manager at Hutto Public School - we only had one. Now they are preparing to float a several million dollars bond to build two more elementary schools and one new high school and enlarge some areas of the high school they now have. Hutto is big now and Taylor is also growing. Our churches have changed; I suppose to fit the lifestyles of now. But I sure liked them then better. Blessings, Lois Gainer Former THS band member recalls integration of schools Dear Editor, I'm writing this to inform you of an incorrect date in the article about O.L. Price (High School) in the Thursday, Feb. 28, edition of the Press (“Former students remember O.L. Price”). The article says, “When schools began to integrate in 1967 ....” President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. I played tuba in the Taylor High marching band from 1964-1966. My first year, 1964 - pre-integration - the THS band had one very battered brass tuba. The next year, 1965 - post-integration - when the O.L. Price band members came over to join THS band, they brought their instruments with them, including two lighter and nicer fiberglass tubas, much to my delight. Mr. (Jerry) Givens came over, too, so I had two band directors: Mr. Givens and Mr. Whitlow. I can confirm what a fine gentleman he was and a very accomplished jazz trumpet player, also. Integration was not an easy transition, but speaking for myself, it was a positive step in my experience as a member of the THS marching band. My graduating class (of) 1966 was the first integrated class to graduate from THS. Thank you for your time. Happy trails, Sam R. Love Taylor Replica of 1905 city hall should replace old city hall Dear Editor, When I saw the question of the week in the paper concerning how much to spend on refurbishing the old city hall in Heritage Square, there was not a choice I would have picked. After checking your Web site, I saw that you had added a “none of the above” choice. I selected that option and could see that early in the voting, about 40 percent of people responding were voting with me. I wonder why the magnificent city hall built in 1905 was demolished in 1935 to make way for the present drab and uninspiring version. Perhaps it had been badly damaged by fire or storm and could not be saved. I certainly hope that was the reason, because that structure was much more worthy of being renovated and saved than the current building is. To put it bluntly, the building is downright ugly, and since it is in such bad shape, the only money spent on it should be what is needed to tear it down. In its place, a scaled-down replica of the 1905 city hall should be built. That would truly be something the city could be proud of and it would be an historical reminder of the vibrant city Taylor once was and could be again. Anyone interested in seeing a picture of the 1905 structure can go to the public library and find Ruth Mantor's book, “Our Town.” Douglas Stauffer Taylor
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