Stay ConnectedDr. Stephen Sloan of Baylor’s Institute for Oral History and Department of History explores the people, places, and stories that have shaped Waco, Texas.
Through interviews, local-history insights, and narrative storytelling, the podcast highlights both well-known events and lesser-told community histories—helping listeners learn more about Waco and its place in broader Texas history.
On this episode of the Waco History Podcast, Dr. Horace Maxile, Associate Professor of Music Theory at Baylor University, joins us to talk about Jules Bledsoe.
Julius “Jules” Bledsoe’s extraordinary musical talent transcended racial discrimination of the nineteenth century and established him as a pioneer in American music.
Bledsoe was born on December 29, 1897, to Henry and Jessie Bledsoe in Waco. Even as a young child, he loved to sing. Bledsoe first performed publicly at the age of five at New Hope Baptist Church, a church founded by his grandfather in 1866. In 1914, Bledsoe graduated from Central Texas Academy as valedictorian, and travelled to Marshall, Texas, to study liberal arts and music at Bishop College. After graduating magna cum laude in 1918, Bledsoe served as a civilian chaplain for an ROTC program at Virginia Union University in Richmond from 1918 to 1919.
About the podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Learn more about Waco's history at wacohistory.org.
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
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On this episode:
Historian Tye Williams tells talks about Waco's response to 9/11. Tye's father served on the SWAT team that coordinated with the Secret Service detail that protected President Bush on visits to his ranch in Crawford. He tells how the SWAT team's training prepared them for a day like no other.
About the Waco History Podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On this episode:
For our second-ever live podcast recording, The Dr. Pepper Museum hosted us to talk about Prohibition in the South. The event kicked off their Prohibition exhibit: Spirited. Catch the exhibit until January 7th at the Dr. Pepper Museum.
We had two guests on this show: Dr. Joe Coker teaches in Baylor University's Religion Department. He's studied and written about Prohibition extensively. Pick up his book Liquor in the Land of the Lost Cause: Southern White Evangelicals and the Prohibition Movement.
Andrew Anderson is the Front of House Manager at Balcones Distilling. He talks about the production of different alcohols, and tells us what life as a bartender would've looked like during Prohibition.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Support the show here.
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode:
Bradley T. Turner returns to the studio to talk about William Cowper Brann: Waco's first troll. Brann was a provocative writer born in 1855. His highly opinionated style made him an infamous figure in Waco. So much so that it ended up costing him his life.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
---
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On this episode:
Randy and Stephen talk with Dr. Andrew Oestreich, a local chiropractor, about another well-know Waco chiropractor: Dr. Charles Lemly. In that time, practicing Chiropractic wasn't licensed medicine. Charles ended up in jail more than 60 times!
Thanks to Dr. Oestreich for telling about this historic Wacoan. Dr. Andrew Oestreich runs Landmark Chiropractic at the corner of Bosque and Wooded acres, right in front of Target in Waco.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
---
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode:
In our first ever live podcast recording from Pinewood Public House, Author Mike Cox talks with us about the deliberate, high-speed, head-on collision between two locomotives. His recently published book tells the story of American’s deadliest publicity stunt and dispels some of the myths.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode:
Dr. Katherine K. Walters of the Texas State Historical Association tells us about the 100-year-old Waco court case that sparked civil rights reforms around the country.
Follow the TSHA on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TexasStateHistoricalAssociation/
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
---
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Listen as Historic Waco Homes Expert Dr. Ken Hafertepe talks about the Austin Estate located at 2114 Austin Ave. Book the Austin Estate for your next trip to Waco at austinestatewaco.com.
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode:
Dr. Ken Haftertepe takes us on a tour of Waco’s famous houses and lesser-known homes. Dr. H just released his book: Historic Homes of Waco, Texas.
In this tour of 120 historic homes in Waco, Texas, Dr. Hafertepe gives readers a glimpse of the surprising variety of styles and stories captured in the houses built by and for Wacoans. Focusing on the period from the 1850s to about 1940, Hafertepe provides not only snapshots of the dwellings in which the people of Waco lived, but also informed hints about how they lived: everyone from the wealthiest merchants to the humblest day laborers.
Ken is professor of museum studies and chair of the department. He has taught at Baylor since 2000, before which he was director of academic programs at Historic Deerfield, a museum of New English history and art. He is an authority on the material culture and decorative arts of the United States, especially of Texas.
About the podcast:
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
---
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode
In one afternoon, 114 people lost their lives and Downtown Waco’s skyline was forever changed. Eric Ames, Assistant Director for Marketing & Communication for the Baylor University Libraries and ITS, walks us through the day the 1953 tornado touched down. We talk about the damage the storm caused, stories of hope in the aftermath, and ways the tornado’s effects are still felt today.
You can find Eric’s book on Waco on Amazon, and most places books are found.
Be sure and follow Waco Walks to learn about other historic walks in town.
The photo in the album artwork for this episode was used with permission by the Texas Collection at Baylor University. The Texas Collection is Baylor University's oldest special collections library and serves as the University Archive that collects, preserves, and provides access to materials on the history, heritage and culture of Texas. Learn more on their website.
About the podcast
The Waco History Podcast is co-hosted by Randy Lane and Dr. Stephen Sloan. Randy Lane is the great-grandson of Waco architect Roy E. Lane. He’s also a former American Forces Network Radio DJ and is currently the host of the High Performance Leadership and Charity Champions Podcasts.
Stephen heads the Oral History Institute at Baylor University. He’s authored several books and created and developed WacoHistory.org, a website and free mobile app for learning more about Waco’s history.
Together they’re telling the known and unknown stories of Waco’s past.
Find out more at wacohistorypodcast.com.
Follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wacohistorypodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wacohistorypodcast
Support the show here: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
---
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/waco-history-podcast/support
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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