By Elizabeth Sims
Staff Writer
Recently, I was driving down the streets of Coppell and looking around at all the half-empty strip malls, numerous fast food restaurants and sub-divisions. I became very troubled. I began to notice that familiar streets with older homes were now leveled by bulldozers and under construction to make more subdivisions.
When the news that Old Town Coppell was under renovation came about, I started to question just how much of it was actually original to the city and had not been replaced or revamped at some point.
Then the horrible realization hit me, we are losing our value of history. We travel to places like San Antonio or even overseas to Greece and admire their history rather than preserving that in our hometown. A developmental and “keep moving forward” mindset has distracted us from the fact that history is equally as important and should still be valued. It is history that tells our story, helps us learn from mistakes and allows us to reminisce about the past.
While development does improve a city, it is the history that lays its foundation. If all of our history and stories are bulldozed or moved, we lose the very thing that made us who we are today. Without people who care about at least preserving our history, there is nothing to stop our stories from being lost to the sands of time.
I want to see what is left of our city’s history restored and preserved so we can tell our story for years to come. We should not let our origins and city pride be covered up by more subdivisions, strip malls and fast food restaurants.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit two amazing places, each with their own intriguing stories and significance. The first was San Antonio, where just strolling down the Riverwalk and touring the Alamo are history lessons all on their own. The second was the Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club, a private hunting club in Eagle Lake, Texas that has been operating since the 1920s. Being a history nerd, I was captivated by the stories and the unique qualities that each of these places possessed.
The huge significance San Antonio played in the history of the Texas Revolution was incredible to me. I was fascinated by the way the history had been preserved even though modern stores and businesses had been built up around the relics. You could walk into a Subway restaurant and look out the window to see the Alamo just down the street.
After visiting San Antonio, I was eager to visit Eagle Lake because I had heard so many stories about it from my father when he and my grandfather would go hunting when he was young. When I arrived and met up with my grandfather, who recently became the general manager of the club, I was instantly swept back in time. As I toured the club and listened to the stories my grandfather told, I was awestruck by the condition of the building; it was in remarkable condition and nearly everything in it was original though it has been around for over 90 years.
Quickly I discovered that this had not always been the case. The club had been left in disrepair because neither the members nor the previous manager had kept up with the maintenance. When my grandfather took over, it was his first priority to restore the place to its former glory.
We need people like my grandfather in Coppell who will work to preserve our city’s history. Do not allow our railroad town origins, established by businessman George Coppell, to be lost. Make sure the Bethel Road Barber Shop, which was featured earlier this year by staff writer Nikki Dabney, is not torn down and turned into another Sonic. Take pride in our small town’s history and help it live on.
