OUR TOWN
Did you know the worldfamous cartoonist who created Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and other popular cartoon characters that so many of us grew up watching on Saturday mornings was from Taylor?
Cartoonist Frederick Bean “Tex” Avery was born in Taylor on Feb. 26, 1908.
For many years, that’s the only thing I knew about this celebrity’s connection to Taylor: He was born here, and while he was still young, his family moved to Dallas where he graduated from high school in 1926.
I have always wanted to know more about this local legend.
A few years ago, I found a book on Amazon titled, “Tex Avery, King of Cartoons” by Joe Adamson. I was so excited when I opened it to the table of contents and saw the title of Chapter IV: Tales of Taylor, Texas.
While it was really cool to see Taylor mentioned in a biography about Tex Avery, confirming that we are both from the same hometown, the book gave no information about the Avery family’s activities during their time here.
Then a few months ago, as I was updating my “Famous People From Taylor” presentation for an upcoming speech in Georgetown, I decided to focus more intensely on my research to find out if there was more to Tex Avery’s story in Taylor than just being born here.
As a longtime Taylor Independent School District educator, I wanted to know if his family had been here long enough for little Tex to have started his educational journey in the local schools. I also wanted to know how involved his parents were in the community, and where the family lived.
So, I began researching the internet for basic family information and looked at old Taylor phone books and old Taylor High School yearbooks in search of fun local facts to add to my presentation.
I found out Tex Avery’s parents were George Walton Avery and Mary Augusta “Jessie” Bean Avery, and that’s when things began to get interesting.
When I looked at Taylor High’s first yearbook from 1916, I found that Tex Avery’s father served on the Taylor school board. Tex would have been 8 years old at that time, so he likely did start school in Taylor.
I also found an obituary for Tex’s older brother that stated George W. Avery Jr. was a native of Taylor, having been born here on Aug. 2, 1903. So, the Avery family had been in Taylor for at least five years when Tex Avery was born, and his older brother likely attended the Taylor schools as well.
According to old Taylor phone books, the family lived at 118 W. Eighth St. in 1910, just down the street from the three-story brick school building that held all of Taylor ISD at the time, including all grade levels. By 1914, the Avery family had moved to 1021 Hackberry St.
During their time in Taylor, the Averys owned the G. W. Avery Lumber Company, which was listed in a local phone book as being located in southeast Taylor. An ad in a phone book from a different year listed their business at 205-215 Fowzer St.
An ad in the 1917 school yearbook referred to Avery Lumber Company as “The Home Builders,” an “Independent Lumber Company,” with “Lumber and Everything in the Building Line.” It stated that “Geo. Avery sells it for less.”
I wonder how many homes built in Taylor during that time period were built with materials purchased from the Looney Tunes creator’s family?
After learning that Tex Avery’s father served on the Taylor school board, I found out his mother volunteered in the community as well. She is listed as the vice-president and treasurer of the Sesame Club in 1914. It was noted the Sesame Club “meets every Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.”
The Taylor Public Library website reports the “Sesame Circle” was known as Taylor’s first literary club. Its objective, as stated in the group’s constitution dating back to 1899-1900, “shall be for the purpose of studying such subjects as the Circle shall deem proper, and the founding of a public library in Taylor.”
Once the library was established, the website further states that it “was situated in the southwest corner of old City Hall.” It also states, “The members of the Sesame Club served as librarians, each member being allotted certain afternoons to stay on duty.”
So it appears that not only were Tex Avery’s parents local business owners, they were also dedicated volunteers, serving many hours to benefit the local school and literary opportunities in the community.
Taylor has held several Tex Avery celebrations, including Tex Avery Day in 2014 when a historical marker was installed at Heritage Square to honor his accomplishments.
He died from cancer at age 72 on Aug. 26, 1980, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, California. That is the same hospital where 14 years earlier another animation legend, Walt Disney, also died from cancer.
It’s interesting to note that Taylor also has a special connection with Disney. But, that’s another topic for another column. Stay tuned for that amazing story from our local heritage to appear in an Our Town column within the next month or two.
For more information about Tex Avery, visit the historical marker on the south side of Heritage Square. Also, stop by the Moody Museum, 119 W. Ninth St., one block over from where the Avery family once lived. In addition to learning about Dan Moody, Texas’ youngest governor, and Tex Avery, you’ll also learn about several other famous local names featured in the Taylor Room.
The Moody Museum is open 2-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays during the summer, as well as by appointment.
A wonderful opportunity to visit the museum is coming up 7 p.m. June 26 with a “Musical Memories” event featuring the Czech Melody Masters. The entry fee is a nonperishable item for Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry.
Join me here next week as we learn about the first principal of T. H. Johnson Elementary School, and his notso- positive interaction years earlier with then-Superintendent T. H. Johnson. That story involved a long-sleeve green shirt, a textbook and an open secondfloor window. Until then, make it a great week.
Crow is a longtime Taylor resident and retired from the Taylor Independent School District after 40 years of service. For a topic or suggestion, reach out to Crow via jason.chlapek@ granitemediapartners. com.
