With their knowledge, their experience, and their
memories, older people are naturally the best storytellers of any
community. There’s a lot to be learned from talking to those
who remember segregation, World War II, or the old blues clubs and
rockabilly joints of East Eleventh Street and other parts of Austin.
Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, for example, can point out the
clubs on East Sixth Street where he used to play his innovative
Spanish-language rock and roll.
Older people know the value of place like no one
else. When Señora
Lopez talks about her home and why she won’t sell to developers,
no one can deny that there are some things that are worth a lot
more than money.