The weather was amazing last weekend. You think Bill Holston stayed indoors? Heck no. Obligations kept him from trekking farther afield, so he did Bachman Lake and Lake Cliff Park. Enjoy
Dallas Outside the Stereotype
By Bill Holston
This weekend, I wasn’t able to do my usual wilderness walk. I did, however, have two excellent walks in local parks. I had never been to either one before, and both were really interesting, if not filled with the exposure to nature that I really enjoy. Both walks caused me to focus on three separate terrific communities I’m privileged to be a part of here in Dallas.
Human Rights Initiative, the organization I take pro bono asylum cases from, had its first 5K run. Well, for me it was a walk. I’d never spent any time on Bachman Lake, so I was looking forward to it. Besides, it’s a great way to support a really worthwhile organization. Since it was founded in 1999, Human Rights Initiative has provided pro bono (fancy Latin for “clients don’t have to pay”) legal services to refugees to our country seeking asylum. I’ve been doing this work since the mid ’80s. It is extremely rewarding work representing people who have been tortured and imprisoned for their political activism, religious beliefs, or social class. HRI is one of the best agencies in the country doing this sort of work. So, combining this with a walk is a great way to spend the day.
Bachman Lake has an interesting history. The lake is formed from Bachman Creek, which was originally called Browning’s Branch in the 1840s. It was renamed after brothers John B. and William F. Bachman, who settled the area on a 256-acre farm. John Bachman was a Methodist lay preacher and farmer. The Bachmans were among the first members of the Cochran Chapel Methodist Church and are buried in the old historic cemetery next to the church.
Bachman Lake’s history is tied to Dallas’ ongoing quest for water. I’ve been thinking a lot about water and how critical it will be in our future. I was listening to Charles Fishman (The Big Thirst) on NPR’s Fresh Air. He was talking about how odd it is that we treat water to be clean enough to drink and then use that potable water to flush toilets and water our Bermuda lawns. Fishman says the future will see a change in our usual practice of unlimited use of potable water for every purpose. In the future, there will be lots of different waters for different purposes. It’s one of the reasons I plant only native plants in my lawn that really do not require any additional water.
The primary water source for Dallas had been Browder Spring (now buried under R.L. Thornton Freeway), which was prone to drying up in the not infrequent periods of drought. In 1887, Dallas built a dam and pumping station on the Trinity near Turtle Creek, below the mouth of the West Fork of the Trinity River. Raw river water was not treated but simply allowed to settle. The main problem with this was the Stockyards in Fort Worth, which polluted the water. The city then built a dam and pump station upstream on the Elm Fork of the Trinity, known as the Record Station. A wooden pipeline carried water to the Turtle Creek basins, and in 1913 a new pump station and filtration plant was built. The building is now the Sammons Art Center on Harry Hines. The Elm Fork also stopped running about August each year, so to gain another source of water, the city acquired the land and built a dam on Bachman’s Creek in 1903. Water could then be released down the river channel to the Record Station. By 1910, Bachman Lake was not sufficient for Dallas water needs, and the city began the process of building White Rock Lake, Bachman Lake’s richer first cousin. By the 1930s the area was a haven with boating, fishing, picnic tables, and tennis courts.
Saturday was a beautiful morning and started off very cool. We began by having some very good coffee from a race sponsor, It’s a Grind. The trail is a 5K trail and circles the lake. It’s a lovely lake. As you walk the trail, it’s fun to watch the rowing teams gracefully making their way across. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife. Although I did see a great egret (Ardea alba) and a scissor tail flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus). This is a beautiful park, with lovely shade from towering old bur oak trees (Quercus macrocarpa). It’s right on the flight path for planes landing at Love Field, but, honestly, I barely noticed the planes. I’m told the park is filled with families on Sunday afternoons.
The primary attraction of this walk wasn’t nature, though; it was the wonderful human rights community we have here in Dallas. Several fellow members of the Pro Bono Committee for Human Rights Initiative also walked the event. These are all very competent and experienced lawyers, with some of the best law firms in our city. They not only handle pro bono cases but take the time to promote pro bono in their firm. Most important, they are inspiring younger lawyers to continue the work. Laura O’Rourke, Eva Turner, Kelley Conaty, Lauren Grau, and Diane Couchman all walked with me — albeit much faster. I mean, they are a LOT younger than I am. I have hope for the future of our profession, when I spend time with these passionate young lawyers.
My law school friends Barb Kennedy and Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan joined the walk. Barb is a marathoner but was happy to support Human Rights Initiative and participate in a shorter race for once. Jeff did the walk with their good-natured dog Marley. I’m lucky to have friends like this.
As soon as I started walking, I ran into my friend Natalia, whom I met over 10 years ago, when we were both handling asylum cases through the now defunct agency Proyecto Adelante. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, now. She is a very progressive person. She tells me, though, how tired she gets of people in Wisconsin stereotyping Dallas, and that she misses Dallas and the progressive human rights community that lives here. At the end of the race, I saw Betsy Healy, who is one of the co-founders of Human Rights Initiative. She left a lucrative practice in a big law firm to pursue her passion for human rights. She founded one of the premier asylum projects in the world. She was there with her husband and their two young children, and she’s passing on that passion for human rights to the next generation. As I crossed the finish line for the walk, I ran into my friend Rachel, whom I met when I spoke at Pecha Kucha last year. She signed up for the walk and did it to support human rights, not knowing anyone else there. That’s the sort of city I love to live in.
My favorite moment of the walk involved my lovely bride, Jill. She is a schoolteacher and never met a crowd she can’t control using her second-grade playground voice. This was chip-timed race, so the runners put computer chips on Velcro straps on their ankles to record their time. My son Will was working the event, as part of his Americorps service at HRI. Knowing her take-charge attitude, he asked his mom to collect the chips at the end of the race. Jill saw a young man walking away with something strapped to his ankle. She walked over and was about to yell at him for the return of the chip when she realized the crowd of young men were all wearing ankle monitor bracelets. Apparently youthful offenders were doing their community service along the shoreline. Wisely, she retreated.
After the run, Jill, Will, and I went down to Good Records for National Record Store Day to see our friend Jonathan Jackson play drums for the terrific local band Bravo Max. I had a great conversation with Zac Crain there. He was there with his young son, as he often is. I loved seeing them walk together holding his hand listening to music. After the show, we had a long talk with Max Hartmann, a local actor and musician whom we love seeing at Kitchen Dog Theater. He’s back in Dallas from Los Angeles. We talked at length about the arts community here in Dallas, how thriving it is, and also how close the people are. To illustrate the point, Jonathan walked up and hugged Max. Yeah, they already knew each other. Max’s dad was Merrill Hartmann, who was one of the fathers of pro bono work here in Dallas.
Sunday, I volunteered at the Master Naturalist table at the Oak Cliff Earth Day. Lake Cliff Park is a very pretty park. According to the Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association, the lake was excavated in 1888 and was part of a private club. The land was sold to the city in 1913. At one time there was a large amusement park at the park, along with a huge pool. The WPA built a pergola and other improvements. There’s a lovely Rose Garden tended by local Master Gardeners. A bevy of volunteers have worked with the city to restore this park. The entire park is wooded, and the lake is a terrific spot for picnics. I walked the perimeter of the lake, which seems to be about a mile. It’s a lovely stroll. I did see a great blue heron (Ardea Herodias) and a couple making out (homo sapiens neckicus). There’s a terrific view of downtown Dallas from the park. Lots of people were fishing on the banks of the pond.
The Master Naturalist table featured the animals and plants that make their home in the Blackland Prairie Region. Our goal is to educate people of the mission of the Master Naturalist program, which is to enhance public awareness of local ecosystems and natural resources. We displayed fox and coyote fur, a bull snake skin, diamondback rattler skin, box turtle shell, wren nest, honey locust seek pods, and various other things for kids and grown-ups to look at and touch. We also had literature on backyard habitats, birding, hummingbirds, and butterflies. As if on cue, a dragonfly flew just over our heads on occasion. We had a couple hundred people stop by our table over the course of the beautiful afternoon. There were lots of kids, which was really encouraging.
This was an extremely well-done event and there were tons of exhibitors. There were young people there, volunteering to help us carry the tables and exhibit materials who were extremely helpful and friendly. The Master Naturalist Table was next to the Citizen Forester booth. On our other side was the Oak Cliff Community Garden booth. The Sierra Club was there. I spent some time at the Texas Land Conservancy table. This fine organization was, according to their website, founded by Ned Fritz, the father of Texas conservation and a real hero to anyone who knows anything about Texas ecology. The Land Conservancy owns the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, which I have yet to visit, but will as soon as I can. I’ll be writing more about them, as soon as I manage to get over to the Preserve and check out its 120 acres. I saw booths for Native Plant Society of Texas, Trinity River Audubon Center, Downwinders at Risk, Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association, and Dallas Residents for Responsible Drilling. I also met the great folks at the Jefferson Median Beautificaton Project, who are working with several other groups to plant native plants in a once barren median. Once you attend an event like this, you realize just how many people in our area are interested in nature, preservation of natural areas, and environmentalism in general.
This is the sort of weekend that illustrates why I love Dallas. There are so many communities here that do not at all fit the popular image of Dallas. It’s why I tire of criticisms that begin, “That’s so Dallas.” Well, not the Dallas I know.
