Pescatore Avrit Team

North Texas History Center exhibit recognizes that one thing hasn't changed much ... a woman's work is never done

Running the vacuum and loading the dishwasher are chores few of us like, but it's a far better gig than our pioneering sisters endured. They worked their fingers to the bone sewing and hand washing their families' clothes, cooking, cleaning, gardening, canning ... no wonder women in turn-of-the-century photos are rarely smiling.

Sarah Hatcher, Curator of Education for the North Texas History Center in McKinney, has great insight into these pioneering souls. Families from the east - primarily Kentucky, Tennessee and a few families from the Carolinas - trekked to North Texas to make a living. Land here was fertile, plentiful and cheap, even free in some cases. New towns were in need of doctors, store owners, school teachers, and farmers. So they came.

"People don't think about Texas as being part of the Wagon Trail," Sarah said. "They usually think of Oregon or California as part of that westward travel, but they also came here in wagons.

"The wagons could carry about 2,000 pounds worth of household goods - that was the cutoff for what the oxen and horse teams could pull. They had to make some hard choices as to what they would bring with them."

Once here, erecting shelter was of primary importance. In the mid- to late-1800s, wood houses called "dog trots" were quite popular. These houses were designed to allow maximum airflow to circulate during the scorching days of Texas summers. Often, two big rooms would be built on either side of a covered breezeway running through the house.

Fireplaces were often built in each room. Some rooms had windows, some did not. Because glass was so expensive, enclosed windows were not common to many houses; instead, wood shutters would be used to cover the openings. Long porches and shade trees provided the coolest seating.

What "conveniences" did the women have to help in their housework? "The sewing machine was huge. This particular model is from 1900," Sarah said, pointing to a sewing machine in the museum display case.

"There's a fantastic letter from a woman named Kathryn Coit (of the Coit Road family). It was written in 1858, just before the Civil War, to her Aunt Henrietta in South Carolina asking if it was worth her time and money to buy a sewing machine. Her aunt wrote back saying, "Yes!"

Keeping clothes clean was another big job, one aided through the years by machinery. Pioneer women were accustomed to washing clothes on streamside rocks and later washboards. But around the turn of the century, simple washing machines were introduced. Large metal basins held the water throughout the wash process. Then the wringer mangle (rollers) extracted the water from the clothes as they were fed through to the other side.

Ironing was another labor-intensive chore. Common to most households was the heavy little black iron with a wooden handle. To use, the iron would be placed directly on a heat source such as the stove or on glowing coals in a fireplace. Some women had two irons. While one was in use, the other could be heating.

The Sad Iron was invented by Mary Potts in 1871. A removable handle exposed a water well inside the iron. By pouring boiling water into the iron, it would stay hot longer.

Talk about hot - those cast iron stoves were surprisingly low to the ground and dangerously hot to the touch. They were fueled by wood, coal, or cow chips if that's all they had. Two "burners" were common, as were tall round pots, or kettles, used for soup, heating water, and making stock. Dutch ovens were also in constant use.

Sarah said that it is anecdotal history rather than documented fact, but she has been told that young children, age 7 to 8 years old, would be given the chore of keeping the younger ones away from the hot stove.

"Another oral history I read said that all babies, boys or girls, were dressed in long gowns in part because the gown slowed them down when they were trying to crawl and you had something to tether them with," she said, mimicking a stomp on the hem. "There are still days that a tether sounds like a mighty fine idea!"

In the late 1800s, electricity and telephone lines began to transform towns. Museum placards record, "On May 1, 1889, McKinney became the first city in the county to receive electric street lights." The first telephone was installed in 1878, but that was only one line that communicated between the local hotel and the train depot. The first exchange wasn't installed until several years later.

This month, on September 29, the North Texas History Center is celebrating their Silver & Gold Anniversary Gala. Gold because this marks the 50th anniversary of the organization of the historical society; silver because this is the 25th anniversary of the museum.

The gala, which will be held at Plano Centre, will include cocktails and a silent auction at 7 p.m.; dinner at 8 p.m.; and dancing from 9 - 11 p.m. Special guest and keynote speaker Congressman Sam Johnson will share his memories of living in and serving Collin County.

The museum is located on 300 East Virginia in McKinney. For more information, visit http://www.northtexashistorycenter.org/ or call 972-542-9457.

McKinney

The annual Artistic Krewe of Barkus parade in downtown McKinney is a canine-oriented Mardi Gras celebration which includes prizes for pet costumes and float designs, as well as servings of jambalaya and king cake.

Description
McKinney, 30 miles north of Dallas, boasts gently rolling hills, tree-lined neighborhoods and a historic downtown. City leaders estimate the population at around 112,000, more than double the number counted in the 2000 Census, making McKinney one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.
The original Collin County Courthouse - now the McKinney Performing Arts Center - stands at the center of McKinney's downtown square. Collin County Regional Airport, at the convergence of U.S. 75 and State Highways 121 and 380, is emerging as a regional corporate airport.
With its slogan "Unique by Nature," the city has supported a "green" initiative, encouraging local businesses to build environmentally friendly facilities. Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney, the nation's first LEED-certified automobile dealership, joined Wal-Mart's "McKinney Experiment" as high-profile, environmentally friendly businesses operating in McKinney.

History
McKinney was named for Collin McKinney, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The town is the county seat of Collin County, also named for Mr. McKinney.
On March 24, 1849, William Davis, who owned 3,000 acres where McKinney now stands, donated 120 acres for the town site. Ten years later McKinney was incorporated, and in 1913 the town adopted the commission form of government.

For the first 125 years of its history, McKinney served as the principal commercial center for the county, providing farmers with flour, corn and cotton mills, cotton gins, a cotton compress and cottonseed oil mill, as well as banks, churches, schools, newspapers and, since the 1880s, an opera house. Farmers and manufacturers were able to ship their goods on the Houston and Texas Central Railway, which reached McKinney in 1872, and, beginning in 1881, on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. From 1908 to 1948 the Texas Electric Railroad, running from Denison to Dallas and Waco, served McKinney. By 1953 McKinney had a population of more than 10,000 and 355 businesses. The town continued to serve as an agribusiness center for the county until the late 1960s, but by the mid-1980s, the town had become a residential area for commuters working in Plano and Dallas.

McKinney: Anchored by it's past

When it came time to put down roots, Jay Halderman and his wife, Lori, considered several cities: Seattle, Austin, Houston, Las Vegas and the town of Angleton, near Houston. But they decided on McKinney. The clincher was a visit to the city's historic downtown. "The area has this heart that had been preserved," said Mr. Halderman. "It reminded me of the little town in Ohio where my dad grew up."

McKinney has a small-town feel, he says, yet offers proximity to "big-city amenities" such as shopping and culture. The couple moved from Los Angeles in 2000. Lori Halderman, an obstetrician, has established a busy practice at McKinney Medical Center; Mr. Halderman works from home as a freelance video producer. The Haldermans have two children, ages 6 and 4, and consider McKinney a good place to raise kids.

Many families think likewise. City leaders estimate the population at about 112,000, more than double the number counted in the 2000 U.S. census, making McKinney one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. "A lot of young, middle-class families are moving into the area," said Chris Harden, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty and a McKinney resident. "It has every kind of shopping you could want, but there is also a quiet, country feel."
McKinney is home to a 289-acre wildlife sanctuary and has many biking and hiking trails. "You see rolling hills here," said Mr. Halderman. "I almost feel like I'm in Vermont."

McKinney residents face a hefty commute into Dallas, which is 30 miles south. But many residents work in McKinney - home to Blockbuster, Raytheon and other big employers - or at one of the many corporations headquartered in nearby Plano. The area east of Central Expressway includes historic neighborhoods as well as the downtown, with the original Collin County Courthouse at the center. The courthouse was reborn in 2006 as McKinney Performing Arts Center, a 480-seat theater. An assortment of specialty shops, antique stores, galleries and wine shops offers shoppers a wide variety, but the area feels more "lived-in than touristy. Most newer developments are west of the expressway and offer properties ranging from starter houses to large homes in upscale country-club communities."McKinney is a place where first-time buyers can get in," said Mr. Harden, who estimates the general new-home price range at $100,000 to $2 million. Small, fixer-upper homes can still be priced as low as $50,000 in parts of McKinney.

New shopping and dining places "are popping up nearly every day" at the intersection of Eldorado Parkway and Central Expressway and throughout the western half of McKinney, notes the city's Web site. Kathy Burt, who moved to McKinney from Dallas in 1988, said it's nice to have choices, but she worries the growth could get out of hand. "When we moved here, Steak Country and the Dairy Queen were the main restaurants," she said. But she says the city government is doing a good job of managing the influx. When fire struck her 100-year-old home while the family was traveling two years ago, neighbors alerted the Burts. When they arrived home around midnight after a 14-hour drive, dozens of people were waiting on their front lawn, ready to help. "Our neighbors offered us unbelievable support we'll never forget," she said. That kind of story wouldn't surprise Mr. Harden, who says, "McKinney is just a very friendly, down-home place."

Most potential homebuyers don't start out shopping in Melissa. But when they discover it, J.J. Chapa says, they fall in love with the northeast Collin County town of 4,300.

Mr. Chapa, a broker-associate with Keller Williams Realty, sold 10 homes in Melissa last year to families originally looking to buy in Allen, McKinney or Frisco.

"I asked, 'Would you be willing to look a little farther up the road?' he said. "For an extra five-minute commute, you can get a lot more house for your money."

That extra five-minute commute involves going north on U.S. 75 - Melissa is seven miles north of McKinney and 35 miles north of downtown Dallas. State Highway 121 also bisects the city, connecting Melissa to major roads in Dallas and Fort Worth.

And like the other Collin County towns along that corridor, Melissa is growing. Mayor David Dorman expects Melissa's population to top 5,000 easily in 2008. But he's focused on the community that his grandchildren, who also live in Melissa, will experience in the coming decades.

"I think Melissa could become the next Frisco or Richardson," he says. The city has enough space for a population of more than 100,000.

Plans under way now, he says, will create an infrastructure to support a community of that size. In March, the city will break ground for a town center that will feature a new city hall, a farmer's market and parks. A parcel of land is set aside for a DART rail station in the town center area.

Those plans could put Melissa back on track for a future that derailed in the early 20th century. When the Houston and Central Texas Railroad came through Melissa in 1872, prominent Texas families with names such as Throckmorton and Fitzhugh settled there. Eventually, the population grew to 1,200. But in 1921, a tornado struck.

"Melissa never quite recovered," said Mr. Dorman. "When I moved here in 1990, the population was around 300."

But the Collin County growth engine has pulled into Melissa, and so have the homebuilders. Virtually all of the homes available in Melissa are new or nearly new. Prices in the half-dozen new subdivisions range from the $100,000s to half a million dollars, with a few topping $1 million.

"It's very rare to find a home built before 2000 in Melissa," said Mr. Chapa.

Julie Anderson was happy to find a new home in the Liberty subdivision. She discovered Melissa two years ago while looking online as her family planned to move to Texas from Kansas.

A big attraction was the city's small school district. Melissa schools were rated "exemplary" in nearly every category and earned some of the highest test scores in Collin County. The school system has purchased $7 million in land to build five additional elementary schools as the need arises.

But Ms. Anderson says that what she couldn't see on the Internet was the town's close-knit atmosphere.

"I think it started with the people who have lived here the whole time," she said. "You go to the gas station or to the doughnut shop, and there's a friendly conversation everywhere."

businessnews@dallasnews.com

TOUR more than two dozen Dallas-Fort Worth communities.

dallasnews.com /neighborhoodprofiles

History: The town was laid out in 1872, after the railroad arrived. A deadly 1921 tornado caused much damage; a 1929 fire destroyed a lot of what had been rebuilt.

2007 estimated median home value: $169,231

2007 home sales*: $40,000 to $1.19 million

Shopping: Stonebriar Centre in Frisco

Schools: Melissa ISD

2007 crime: No murders, 1 rape, 7 aggravated assaults, 23 burglaries, 57 larceny thefts, 2 auto thefts

More information:

www.movetomelissa.com

*Reported sales prices of homes listed through MLS

SOURCES: Melissa Web site and Police Department; J.J. Chapa, Keller Williams Realty, Coppell