MY AUSTIN: REMEMBERING
THE TEENS AND TWENTIES

by EMMETT SHELTON, SR.
1st edition, paperback, 84 pages,  $12.95
ISBN 978-0-89641-268-2 

 

Emmett Shelton's life spans the first automobile on Austin's streets, the first airplane in its sky to man's walking on the moon. He remembers Haley's Comet in 1910, the construction of the Congress Avenue Bridge in 1912 and reading about the first shots of World War I.

My Austin: Remembering the Teens and Twenties begins with a brief history of how Austin was chosen to be the new Capitol of the Republic of Texas. The construction of the Capitol building brought many artisans to Austin to build what was then recognized as the "seventh largest structure in the world." Emmett writes about the people, businesses, churches and schools which made up South Austin in the early teens and twenties. Then he crosses the river and acquaints the reader with the people, businesses, churches and schools "in town." He compares the racially integrated South Austin community to the segregation across the river. He relates Booker T. Washington's appearance at Wooldridge Park, the Ku Klux Klan incidents at the Baptist Church in South Austin, and some of the the political problems with Governor Jim Ferguson and The University of Texas. My Austin: Remembering the Teens and Twenties is filled with personal incidents which often escape the pens of historians.

About the Author

Emmett Shelton, Sr., was born in 1905 on Liveoak Street in South Austin. He began his formal education at Fulmore School in 1912 and graduated from Austin High School in 1921. After he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1925, he entered The University of Texas School of Law where he received his law degree in 1928 and began practicing law in Austin. Emmett joined the U.S. Marine Corp in 1944 at the age of 39. He saw combat in the South Pacific and attained the rank of Captain. In the 1930s Emmett became involved in local politics and real estate development. In 1953 he founded the Village of West Lake Hills and has watched it grow into a community of over 4,000 citizens. The bridge over Town Lake at Red Bud Trail was named in his honor. While attending school in San Marcos, Emmett played on twelve athletic teams, football, basketball and track and was awarded ten letters. Emmett is now a member of the Athletic Hall of Honor and a Distinguished Alumnus of Southwest Texas State University. In the mid seventies, Emmett lost his sight. At that time he began recording the incidents of his life including many stories about Austin and its people. This is the first book in his series My Austin.