Category Archives: Community

Welcome!

Since 2003, my husband Rob and I have gathered, shared, and preserved stories of neighbors creating community. For us, community is a continuum of past, present, and future. We believe that being a good neighbor is a creative process—one that matters. Our project, Voices of the Violet Crown, includes: Our blog. The website, regularly updated, also includes features, films, photos, and community resources (right) and more information about our project (top). Our community/history exhibits. Described … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People, Places, Streets

WABAC Machine, Part 7

Copyright 2020 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. (What’s a WABAC Machine? Find out here.) 2020 • A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER Below is a snapshot of 2020 in the Brentwood/Crestview area of Austin. Treasured neighbors passed away and are fondly remembered; a few of them are mentioned below. By March, everyone’s lives were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, with hope on the horizon by the end of … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, More

Crestview Minimax IGA—63 Years of Local Service

Copyright 2016 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. On February 29, 2016, a new grocery store, Arlan’s, opened in the space that was the longtime home of Crestview Minimax IGA. Minimax (and Crestview Food Mart before it) was owned by the Prellop family—beginning with Herb Prellop, right—and part of Crestview Shopping Center for 63 years. It was the last Minimax IGA store in Austin. In 2014, Minimax … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People

Neighbors-in-History, Part 3

Updated September 25, 2023 Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. Final blog post in this series, in which we introduce a few special neighbors-in-history who have contributed to our sense of place here. (See links for more info.) KOENIG • McCULLOUGH By 1946, Dr. Joseph Samuel Koenig (1885-1951) and Clarence McCullough (1898-1992) developed Section 1 of Violet Crown Heights, between Payne and Ruth in the … Read more

Posted in Community, People, Places, Streets

Neighbors-in-History, Part 2

Updated October 1, 2023 Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. The second in a three-part series, in which we introduce a few neighbors-in-history. (See links for more information.) HANCOCK • WICKS Rubin Hancock (about 1835-1916) was an enslaved person (and possibly a half-brother, according to at least one source) of Austin Judge John Hancock (more about him here). Rubin—and possibly other members of his family, … Read more

Posted in Community, People, Places

Neighbors-in-History, Part 1

Copyright 2012 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. As we researched the history of the Brentwood and Crestview area—in newspapers, abstracts of title, the census, various websites, oral history interviews, and many other sources—we discovered more special Austin neighbors who have contributed to our sense of place here. In the first in a three-part series, we introduce you to just a few of them. We provide links, … Read more

Posted in Community, People, Places

WABAC Machine, Part 6

Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. Our neighborhood history series continues . . . (What’s a WABAC Machine? Find out here.) 2006 • November 9: Brentwood Elementary held its tenth annual Veterans Day celebration, at which students wearing America-themed hats created a living version of the 1812 American flag. Photos of it were featured in the Austin American-Statesman. (More info about neighborhood veterans here.) 2007 … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People, Places, Wall of Welcome Stories

WABAC Machine, Part 5

Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. Our neighborhood history continues . . . (What’s a WABAC Machine? Find out here.) 1962 • Burkhart’s Motor Dining opened on Burnet Road; it became Top Notch (left) in 1971. 1964 • J. D. Harper became the owner of Crestview Pharmacy. 1965 • Ronnie and the West Winds—featuring Ronnie Prellop of Crestview Minimax IGA—performed at IBEW Hall on South Congress … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People, Places, Wall of Welcome Stories

WABAC Machine, Part 4

Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. Our neighborhood history series continues . . . (What’s a WABAC Machine? Find out here.) 1945 • After World War II, more and more young families moved to Brentwood and Crestview, and the landscape began to change from mostly farmland and wide open spaces to neat rows of well-kept homes. (See our film A Community Mosaic for images from … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People, Places, Schools, Streets, Wall of Welcome Stories

WABAC Machine, Part 3

Copyright 2012-2023 Susan Burneson. All rights reserved. Kindly talk with us before reproducing any website content. Our neighborhood history series continues . . . (What’s a WABAC Machine? Find out here.) 1881 • The Austin and Northwestern narrow gauge railroad—later Southern Pacific—was built between Austin and Burnet, through today’s Crestview and a stop called Abercrombie. EARLY 1890s • First known appearance in print of “City of the Violet Crown” to describe Austin. 1893 • Esperanza … Read more

Posted in Community, Events, People, Places, Schools, Wall of Welcome Stories