On this day, December 14, 1918, Leonard Brothers Department Store opened in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. This video was made for our friends who love and remember the iconic department store that serviced a greater community on Leonard’s 100th Anniversary in 2018. Thank you to the many participants of Fort Worth who added pictures and shared how their lives were touched through this pictorial treasure. We hope you enjoy this look into the world of Obie & Marvin Leonard. Thanks for the memories Leonard’s Department Store!
Made for Leonard’s 100th Anniversary in 2018.
*Special thanks for photo courtesy: Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collections, UTA Library Special Collection, and numerous people who donated their Santa pics.
In August of 1967 a group of U.S. soldiers hunkers down deep in the steaming jungles of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, 9,000 miles from home. War-weary minds, clouded from months of sleep deprivation and constant enemy fire, search for threads of hope in the dismal situation.
In the darkness, one lone young soldier scrawls a selfless letter, seeking some sort of encouragement, some token of acknowledgement to raise the morale of his comrades.
The letter soon finds its way to DeWitt McKinley, Mayor of Fort Worth. Touched by the simple humility of a hometown soldier in the throes of war, asking for nothing but a glimmer of hope, the Mayor and the people of Fort Worth respond to the heart-felt plea with great compassion.
In September, Fort Worth’s reply to the letter arrives in Vietnam. Duffel bags stuffed with cookies, cakes, and letters of support arrive weekly. Churches, schools, lodges, and Scout troops all confirm their support of the soldiers. Some people offer prayers for the soldiers’ safe return; others just want the troops to know that someone really cares about them. Tucked among the letters and desserts are proclamations declaring that the City of Fort Worth has officially adopted the soldiers, formally known as Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate).
For the soldiers, the flood of reassurance comes at a time when morale is particularly low. One soldier later commented…”You have no idea how that compassion turned us around.”
Memorial plaque in Botanic Gardens for Charlie Company containing the story quoted here.
Thirty-four years later… July 6, 2001. Twenty-nine surviving members of Charlie Company convene at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to again say “Thank You” to the people of Fort Worth who lifted them up in their time of need. Sadly among the missing is James David “Shorty” Haas, the soldier who, at 18 years of age, wrote the letter that touched so many lives.
Memorial tribute to Charlie Company located in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.
This memorial stands as a tribute to all those who unselfishly served their country, and as a reminder to us all of the enduring importance of compassion.
Symbolism of the Memorial: *The Circle illustrates both the cohesion of the band of soldiers and the perpetual nature of time, with no beginning and no end. *The Seven Pillars express wholeness and perfection. *The Broken Pillar laid awkwardly askew pays homage to the soldiers who fell in service to their country. *The Bur Oak epitomizes strength and endurance.
The 1907 O’Keefe home once stood on Summit Ave. Fort Worth. Demolished in 1950, the limestone columns were salvaged. Some of these columns can be seen standing at the Charlie Company Memorial in the Botanic Gardens.
The stately 1907 Quality Hill home owned by Cattlemen Col. O’Keefe, 520 Summit Ave. served dual purposes first as a home and then ultimately as a tribute. Upon demolition of this house in 1950 some of the limestone columns were rescued from doom, saved by C.L. Richhart (a dedicated Fort Worth Star Telegram reporter to Amon G.Carter) and stand at this memorial of Charlie Company in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
December 25th, 1988 Charlie Company members send greetings via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to their adoptive “home”.
Members of Charlie Company never forgot the compassion and goodwill shown to them at a time most needed by the Fort Worth community. In December 1988 they would send Christmas greetings of appreciation to Fort Worth through the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
1897 Photo Credits: Fort Worth Library and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, Special Collections University of Texas at Arlington
The parade route lines up in front of the old Fort Worth jail (built 1884) that was located behind the Tarrant County Courthouse. The Labor Day parade is headed east down the 100 block of Belknap Street past the Tarrant County Jail. “John A. Mugg, Jr. is seated on the left in the 1st buggy; his son M.E. Mugg is the small boy in the wagon. John A. Mugg, Jr. was grandson of Archibald Franklin Leonard and Mary Ann Foster Leonard.”
Two interesting points about this photo. One is that the Mugg family pictured here (my third cousins 3x removed) are the grandchildren of Archibald Franklin Leonard. In 1849 Leonard and Henry Clay Daggett (1 of 3 Fort Worth Daggett brothers) became partners in a business of great historical significance. They built a log cabin under a big live oak tree a mile northeast of the original fort (Fort Worth) and opened Fort Worth’s first business: a trading post. That big live oak lives on today in Traders Oak Park on Samuels Avenue.
Trader Oak Park on Samuel Avenue
Second interesting point: We see the first Tarrant County Jail pictured at 100 Belknap. This first permanent jail was built in 1884, directly behind the County Courthouse on Belknap Street (north of the Courthouse). The new County Jail was a magnificent structure, the building was three stories high plus a basement, constructed of brick in a “Victorian” style. The interior doors of the building were steel, the windows and cells had steel bars. The wooden exterior doors had large steel plate coverings. An underground tunnel connected the County Jail and the Courthouse basements, and was used to take prisoners to trial without exposing them to the public or an unsecured area.
Tarrant County Courthouse (right) with old city Jail located behind it off the then Belknap Street.
Take some time out today to step into the past. Visit Turner Oaks Park on Samuels Ave. Sit a spell under the old oak tree and imagine the conversations of sell or trade with the boys at the Fort. Then enjoy a drive behind the courthouse and picture the old jail sitting there and the Mugg family lined up for the 1897 Labor Day parade.
Crystal Springs Dance Hall – The Birthplace of Western Swing (5653 White Settlement Rd) credited as the pre-honky-tonk birthplace of Western Swing. With the help of such Western Swing pioneers as Bob Wills and Milton Brown, the huge old time dance hall became the most popular night spot in the state of Texas for dancing, drinking, and listening to a new music genre that fused West Texas Fiddle with Hillbilly Hokum, New Orleans Jazz, Mississippi Blues and even Mariachi.
The pavilion got its start as a Trinity Riverfront swimming hole in March 1916 under the proprietorship of “Papa” Sam Cunningham and continued to remain under family control until fire consumed it in December 1966. It was named for the natural springs at the site. The dance hall was set up from a discarded building moved from nearby military Camp Bowie. In 1930, the Lightcrust Doughboys featuring Bob Wills with his amazing fiddle breakdowns and Milton Brown’s melodic vocals, attracted thousands of dancers and their families who came to swim in the clear crystal springs and hear this awesome new fusion of hot dance music.
The music venue grew and in 1932 moved into a new building constructed on the premises. This structure had a capacity of about 1,000 persons and could accommodate approximately 800 on its dance floor. By 1933, people at the Crystal Springs Dance Hall could hear Milton Brown singing popular tunes of the day after he formed his own band, the Musical Brownies, they became the featured performers there. People walked, drove, and even took the Crystal Springs shuttle bus from downtown Fort Worth to hear Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies play a totally new kind of dance music called cowboy string jazz, where Milton’s innovative steel guitarist (Bob Dunn) literally invented the world’s first amplified electric guitar. In addition to Brown’s famous group, the hall had a modestly successful house band called the Crystal Springs Ramblers. Look up these groups on YouTube for a step into the past!
