He remembers Barton Springs before the cement
Stan Brooks’ chances of surviving toddlerhood were slim. Now, at 102 years old, he may have the earliest memories in Austin of any resident alive today.
“Congress Avenue at that time, I could walk anywhere,” Brooks said. “Of course, Austin has lost me. I mean the Austin I loved – there was a population of about 38,000. When we got to 75,000 I thought, 'This is perfect.’” Brooks remembers the work trucks for the furniture store, because he’d help his older brothers deliver furniture in them. He also worked at Barton Springs one year. “I remember the ’36 flood flooded up to that second floor of the pavilion and mud that deep,” he said and motioned with his hand. “Me and some other kids got a job cleaning the mud off, and they gave us a season pass, which amounted to about $4 or $5.
During the war, he wrote his mother more than 385 letters. “Mine are not historically very interesting because I sanitized it. I did not ever talk about the tragedies, the deaths, that part,” he said. “My mother had the toughest time in the war, tougher than her kids. She lost her husband in ’44 and had three kids overseas. She had it tough. Dad said I wish I could live to see my kids come back. Pretty sad. But all of us came back.” He said that was incredible.
Austin High Barton Springs Segregation World War II
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