Historic village rebuff

Tim Woods’ Feb. 27 article, “Baylor to revitalize history on the river,” was most informative. However, the Trib’s March 6 editorial (“Hidden away from sight”) prompts me to explain our plans to revitalize the Bill & Vara Daniel Historic Village, which is an integral part of Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex.

Baylor officials and the museum staff have spent more than a year evaluating the public impact of the village and reshaping it to better meet the needs of our visitors. We talked with visitors, teachers and students and incorporated their ideas into the plan. The Daniels’ daughters also have been active in discussions. We will indeed more fully utilize the site through special activities but that must come after the necessary renovations.

The editorial says that the “village could benefit from new location, strategy.” The village was strategically placed in its current location for several reasons.

The village was always part of the vision of a permanent home for the Strecker Museum and Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center. The building was placed in front of the village, bringing the three separate entities together to form the Mayborn Museum Complex. The museum’s natural history exhibits tell the story of “Waco at the Crossroads of Texas” and are designed so that visitors progress through the exhibits to the dawn of the 20th century which is illustrated by the village in its beautiful and tranquil setting.

With 100,000 visitors annually to the complex, there is already great potential to increase the village’s visibility and utilization. The revitalization plan builds on this potential by fully integrating the village into the overall museum experience, increasing visitor engagement.

Ellie Caston, director

Mayborn Museum Complex

Liberals: Get over it

In response to Kitty Maxwell’s March 11 letter accusing the Trib of a “Republican slant,” it seems liberals can’t stand to read anything they don’t agree with. One word from a different opinion and they accuse the Trib, or other news sources, of being unfair and unbalanced.

Maxwell’s letter, incidentally, appeared on the same page as Bloomberg News columnist Ann Woolner’s appeal to reverse the Second Amendment — an idea that I certainly disagree with.

I almost cancelled my Trib subscription before the Robinsons bought it because there was never anything positive in the paper about conservatives. Now that the Robinsons are trying to make it fair and balanced, some Democrats are upset that they can’t control the news Wacoans read. Democrats need to get over themselves and stop trying to control all aspects of our lives.

B.D. Marshall

Hewitt

Free dental care

Thanks to Central Texas Dental Care for their free dental day recently. Everyone was treated with kindness and professionalism. It was such a treat to get my teeth cleaned. With money tight, I’m sure many people like me are choosing to go without dental care.

And thanks to the young man who gave me his place in line. I had my disabled child with me and was prepared to wait several hours in the cold, but this kind man traded places with me so we could be seen earlier.

Shelley Hoelscher

Robinson