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Kilgore’s Oil Museum

October 22nd, 2010
Kilgore Oil Museum

Kilgore Oil Museum

The Oil Museum in Kilgore Texas is a reminder of how East Texas became known and how the people of East Texas were able to endure The Great Depression by the discovery of “black gold”. The museum recreates the way people lived during the discovery of the largest discovery of oil in the United States. The museum is located on the campus of Kilgore College.

As you walk into the museum you are lead into the first doom shaped room that portrays some history of the oil fields. The Oil Museum brings you back in time by showing you some treasures from the 1930’s. The museum has a display of old furniture, 1930 cars, antique jewelry, and old radios. As you walk into the final room you are sent back into time as you walk through an old town. Walk through old restaurants, grocery stores, jails, and post offices. They display how the roads were affected by the oil boom, with cars, people, and animals sinking in the black mud. Not very much has changed through all the years that I have visited the museum. They have a small theater that shows the same short movie that was played when I was young. The movie shows the life styles of the people and the changes that happened after the founding of the oil in Kilgore and even has some real footage. Your little children will love the fun “elevator” ride. Take a trip under ground through the different levels of earth and rock. Fun puppets will put on a show to educate children of the different levels of rocks, and how people get oil out of the ground. As you are leaving you can visit the gift shop to get a shirt, candy, or a small gift to remember the fun time you had at the museum.

People travel to visit the Oil Museum. It is a fun place to bring your family and learn an important history of Kilgore, Texas. Although the museum has not changed very much, it does not really need to change. It is a great place to bring an elementary class. The Oil Museum is very fun and educational.

YMCA in Tyler Texas

April 21st, 2010

YMCA Tyler

www.tylerymca.org
Phone: (903) 593-7327

As we begin to see this year quickly fly by, it gives us less time to actually start our New Year resolutions. Wanting to loose weight is the biggest New Year Resolution. What better way is there to loose weight than to do an exercise that you enjoy?

At the end of the Industrial Revolution, the social conditions became extremely unhealthy in London England. In response to this crisis the Young Men’s Christian Association opened on June 6, 1844. George Williams was 23 when he and a group of men organized Bible studies and prayer groups for men to substitute living life on the street. The idea of the YMCA quickly spread through out Great Britain. In 1851 the first YMCA came to Montreal. The YMCA crossed lines in the separation of social classes. George Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria, and was buried under St. Paul’s Cathedral among other national heroes. The YMCA has been around through the hardest times throughout the world. Many leaders of the YMCA were awarded for the great changes that they have made in the community.

The YMCA has been a big part of the growth of our nation. During the Civil War most of the members were at war, so the YMCA started a program that housed soldiers and delivered food and Bibles to the soldiers. During World War I, John Mott, a YMCA leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, involved the Y in running military canteens. The Y led fundraising campaigns and also took on war relief for both refugees and prisoners. During the Great Depression the YMCA opened its doors for the poor and many of its volunteers and leaders housed, fed and clothed the poor. During World War II the YMCAs around the world along with the National Council of the YMCA began to assist prisoners and soldiers in 36 nations around the world.

Most of the history of the sports world came from the YMCA. Volleyball was invented at Holyoke YMCA in 1895. Racquetball was invented in 1950 at the YMCA Greenwich. Softball was given its name by Walter Hakanson of the Denver YMCA in 1926; prier to this softball was called sissy ball or kitten ball. Even professional football began at the YMCA. At the International YMCA Training School the president asked James Naismith to invent a new sport because he felt that football was to physical and dangerous. Naismith came up with the sport basketball. It only had thirteen rules one of which was “no contact allowed”.

Today the YMCA has classes to help people of all ages get into shape. They offer workout rooms and trainers to help you loose the most in each session. Water aerobics and swimming classes are offered for ages 3 months and older. The YMCA also offers Zumba classes. What is Zumba? It is a workout/dance class that will help you shed off pounds and you will leave feeling sexy, energetic and you will have had a fun time.

It is great to have a place for your children to be involved in sports, and to allow your children to meet new friends. They will have a great time and will learn the values of life through having a strong body and mind. They will learn a healthy way of life through the many different sports and opportunities that your children may not have else-where.

In Tyler the YMCA my need some help. One time I was standing in the gym watching a basketball game when a tile fell from the ceiling and landed two feet from me as the loud bang echoed through the building. The pool may need a little extra chlorine and the floor may need some sort stain remover, and the bathrooms need to be cleaned a few more times; but the price of a membership is cheap and they have great classes. You can find what is best for you and the YMCA helps

Elder Care and How To Keep Contributions Remembered

February 26th, 2010

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In our last article, we talked about ways to help our elderly loved ones restore their voice in society through simple volunteer opportunities. Today, we want to offer some simple ensure that their contributions to our families and communities are not lost after they are gone.

Give seniors a platform in our schools.

A shocking number of children have never been to a good old-fashioned farm, and don’t even know they still exist. Meeting Old MacDonald’s real-live, hard-working counterpart could give them some new ideas on work ethic. And who better to share our world and country history than one who’s lived it? Grandma’s story about the Great Depression was far more memorable than the one in my textbook. Who, after meeting a Nazi-prison camp survivor, has been able to forget it? Could we ever erase 9-11 images from our own minds? Our world has changed so much in the past century, our children need to know the value of their own ease and convenience.

Honor our veterans.

These are the people to whom we owe our freedom. Make every effort to attend and bring veterans to local celebrations where they will be recognized and honored for their service.

Encourage seniors to write letters to our troops.

So many young men and women serving our country and experiencing long absences from home eagerly anticipate mail time. These physical reminders of home and assurances of support go a long way to sustain and encourage them during their service.

Record your family history

Our elderly loved ones are a living record of our family’s history. After my aunt retired, she remained active in her community senior center, and started a financial investments group for senior women. She also had an urge to research and record our family’s history and lineage. Her research led her to travel to Europe to visit cousins and other relatives of whom I was completely unaware. Her report and connections gave us a treasured record of our heritage.

So record Grandma’s stories. Ask for her perspective on world events that occurred during her lifetime. I had read about people moving west in covered wagons, but until I met, Hazel, a warm, 98-year old woman, who had moved with her family from Chicago to St. Paul by wagon, it seemed like a fairy tale. Our most intimate portrait of my own father’s childhood was painted one afternoon when the camera was rolling. So sit down, and start asking questions.

We’ve got to do it. Take the time, unearth these treasures, listen to their wisdom, and allow our elderly citizens to contribute in ways they are able. If we do this, our lives and our country will never be the same. We will work harder, smarter, and more diligently knowing what has been built and given on our behalf.