__________________________
Sometime back, long ago, we published a response to the question, "…How did Nolana Boulevard (in McAllen, Texas) get its name?".
This condensed missive will attempt to explain how it happened. Nolana was named for my mother. Back when McAllen, Texas was in fairly rapid expansion the poobahs and shamans of city management tried to stay ahead of planning necessities. As they platted the possible / probable extension of the city, especially north and south (the only alternatives), it was necessary to do mundane things like naming the streets in order to keep to the theme of "alphabetised east-west streets and numerical for north and south streets".
They wanted to avoid the disaster that occurred with the naming of La Vista through to Harvey Drive… four east-west streets that were foolishly named in a heater-skelter manner in north McAllen. Some lazy-boned City poobahs failed to think ahead to find really good alphabetised trees that could
be used for the X,Y, and Z streets.
So anyway…one day, while at the barber shop, the City Manager, Bill Schupp, was jawing about the the problem of the "streets straddling North Tenth" when their number for naming would come up. Northern expansion was inevitable for the City. As they went it had been planned that the naming in this stretch had to be of flowers, while always being mindful to name the streets alphabetically when their number came up. As they went, when it came to the "N-word", and the flower's name had been chosen to be "narcissus".
During those days, the far north of McAllen still lay in county domain. The street that would be named "narcissus" was still a gravel road, under the maintenance of the County of Hidalgo. The commissioner of that area was the horribly horrible Commissioner Charlie Curtis.
Mr. Schupp inferred to all that the naming that particular conduit would need a military name or something very neutral because it was something very big since it was slated to become a major East - West corridor through near-north McAllen.
Supposedly, all these important men…professional barbers, businessmen, high city officials, Latin and Anglo, commence to jaw and speculate for a long while. Finally the barber shop's Bootblack, a Mr. Henry Wright (blacker than an 8-ball on a pool table), says, "You all are trying' to make somethin' really easy into somethin' really complicated." (Henry is talking while going about his regular duties, sweeping up hair on the floor, arranging the last used chair, etc. and generally keeping the place looking clean, businesslike, and pleasant.)
"You all need to think…. there's a lady who sits on the City's Traffic and Safety Commission...she ran the March of Dimes for the County...she did most of the last Census for the County...she's the past President of the McAllen Parents and Teachers Association, she volunteers at the Episcopal Church up on Tenth Street, she works at the Electric Power company now, she's raised up three boys, she helped her husband in their big grove care business for 20 years, an' that's Mrs. Newton."
And the City Manager responded,"Then we name the street 'Newton', as in Sir Isaac Newton?" somewhat dismissively.
My older brother and I held our tongues because Mr. Schupp, the City Manager, was a very highly regarded figure in McAllen.
My older brother and I held our tongues because Mr. Schupp, the City Manager, was a very highly regarded figure in McAllen.
NOW HERE WE DIVERGE A BIT:
Henry White was easily in the top five or ten personalities in McAllen; it was neither because of his Black African ancestry nor in spite of it. He was, simply stated, just a truly good man, husband, father, friend, and community member. He backed down from no one, and he helped anyone. Besides working at the barber shoppe, he and his wife owned and operated a janitorial service. They had essentially permanent contracts with the Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the McAllen State Bank, and several other top-drawer businesses.
Henry and his wife had the keys to all the above, and several others. It was such that when there was a need to enter one of the above buildings due to a possible breach during the wee-early morning hours, the Police would come to Mr. Henry to have him open up the facility under concern.
So now, back to the main story. He started, "Well, now Mr. Manager, there is a plant or a palm, I don't know which, but it will serve the purpose. Miz Hendricks says it be a palm, but Mr. Knops says it might be a purslane or a moss rose that grows under the citrus after an irrigation. But it is called a Nolana flower and you gentlemen could kill two big birds with one little stone if you would just name the street, "Nolana". We could make a small honour to Miz Nola, and a small, classy change for McAllen, if you would just call your fancy new street of the future, "Nolana".
It is very necessary to understand that Mr. Henry Wright, was a black man where there were very few (less than 1% of the local population). He was already famous as the father of sons who were commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the United States Army, and of two daughters who were Registered Nurses. When younger, these children helped in the janitorial business without complaint, and later, one-by-one, joined the ranks of responsible professionals because of that discipline and investment by their parents.
Once again we state that Mr. Wright and his wife were easily among the top ten couples of distinction in the city of McAllen at that time. They were something along the lines of "Uncle Bill" Whalen…one of McAllen's most important businessmen.
IN QUICK ORDER:
 |
| A bedding of Nolana flowers in full bloom |
He then called my mother to the "big table" and advised her that the City of McAllen was changing the designation of the name of the gravel road temporarily designated as N - street. It had been determined that the designation of the name of the street would be a name that would honour both the person who inspired the naming and the attractive flower, the Nolana.
That much, that session, I can attest to because I was present when it occurred…as a somewhat bored, somewhat interested eleven year old "pre-delinquent". My mother feigned distress about the whole matter being done without her previous knowledge. She said it wasn't fair and one thing or another, to which Mr. Shoup and Mr. Dean told her to be quiet and accept the accolades that she certainly deserved. They also agreed that the recommendation had originated with one Henry Wright, great citizen, McAllen, Texas.
And that, Virginia, is the whole story of the naming of what is now one of McAllen's main boulevards.
________________________
In 1966, seven years after all the above and 24 years after buying and building a farmstead on the property, the family sold their 22 acres at what is now the Southeast corner of 10th Street and Nolana, and moved to Austin, Texas. There my father established himself as a professional psychologist and where I took a degree at what was then Southwest Texas State University in nearby San Marcos, Texas. It was also where my mother continued her activity and service as a Robin at St. David's Hospital and as the manager of St. David's Church (Episcopal) "Next to New" shoppe in downtown Austin.
And yes, I still remember running up and down the gravel road out front of our rambling house in the country, with my cats chasing after me and our dogs chasing after our cats and rabbits. It was a wondrous time.
___________________________
