A vision of creating a state-of-the-art community center for the west side of Cuero grew closer to becoming a reality after more than a decade of planning in a ceremony Friday, Jan. 23.
Community supporters and local government officials turned out to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first phase of the Daule Schoolhouse renovation project. The improvements to the 23,000-square-foot building that has sat empty for decades but once housed Cuero’s 1940s-era African American school will
Tri-City Empowerment Council Executive Board member Paul Harper, Cuero City Manager Wayne Berger, Mayor Emil Garza and Tri-City Empowerment Council founder Viola Holman break ground on phase one of the Daule Schoolhouse community center renovation project Friday, Jan. 23. The community center when complete will be a state-of-the art facility on the city’s west side, serving residents of all ages, according to the organization’s plan.
Photo by Vickie Romero begin with a new roof and eventually progress from there to fulfilment as a service facility for residents of all ages, according to the plan.
“I take on projects here in the community that mean something,” said Paul Harper, a member of the Tri-City Empowerment Council Executive Board sponsoring the renovation who is guiding the engineering effort. “This definitely means something to the community by the turnout that we have this morning on a foggy winter morning just before the ice storm commes in.”
The project is the vision of community children’s activist Viola Holman who along with her now deceased daughter, Ethosha Lynn Holman, founded the nonprofit Tri-City Empowerment Council in 2011. The nonprofit was formed to provide enrichment services to the community, and the filing papers identified the old school as the physical site of the operation.
The building was owned by the Cuero Independent School District and used as a storage facility at the time. Holman asked the school district to donate the building to her project but was “politely told no,” she said. In 2018, the school district advertised the building for sale, and Holman bid $10 after being told by an advisor it would probably take about $150,000 to purchase the building and its four acres of land.
To her surprise, Holman learned she would be the new owner of the property when she called a few weeks later to inquire about the results of the bids opening.
“No one else bid on it, said Holman, whose home for years has served as a meeting place for all the volunteers who help her carry out charitable work. “I think it was just a God thing,” Holman said she and others in the community spent about 18 months cleaning out all the stored items in it by donating desks to schools as far away as Africa and Mexico, selling stuff for whatever people would pay and just giving it away.
City officials told Holman she would have to make some improvements to the building to bring it up to minimal standards that included patching the roof, but she could use it after that. Holman replied she had other ideas.
“Why not give people on this side of town something nice—not just whitewash it?” she said. “We decided we wanted to make this a state-of-the-art facility, beautiful inside and out. It’s going to take a lot of money.”
Much of the community center’s operation will focus on providing opportunities for residents of all ages to improve their lives regardless of social or economic standing, Holman said.
Mayor Emil Garza said he is confident Holman’s compelling vision will become a reality.
“Cuero is blessed to have so many citizens like Viola Holman who unselfishly give their time and efforts to make Cuero better for all,” Garza said. “Once the Daule School project is completed, the building will be a focal point for many community activities for young and old alike. I applaud Ms. Holman, Mr. Harper and many more stakeholders and organizations for their efforts. I can’t wait for the ribbon cutting.”
Holman said she has learned how to write grants and approach people for help on the project. A new roof has been paid for by the generosity of the M.G. and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation, deceased local philanthropist Robert Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Weldon and Staton Weldon. Phase two of the project will focus on windows, doors and security measures when it comes to pass. There is not a timeline for the phase two and the completion of the project on the organization’s website.
Holman notes she has the support of the city and the National Historical Society. There will eventually be an extension of the city library and the museum in the building, and there will be extension offices of the fire and police departments, she said.
“It’s been a long journey, but it is going to manifest itself,” Holman said. “I hope I’ll be able to see it but if not, others will benefit from it.”
For information see tricityec.org
