Read it to learn, or just reminisce

Ever want to tell someone from out of town how great the Lakewood area is, but just couldn’t find the right words to describe it? Now you don’t have to, because longtime Lakewood residents Jeanette Crumpler and Jim Davis have done it for you.

They co-authored “Lakewood — Memoirs and Spirit,” a book about the history of our area and its people.

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The pair wrote the book as a fund-raiser for Disciples of Trinity, a charity that serves terminally ill patients and their families. But they also wrote it to preserve our neighborhood’s history for future generations.

“I’m so interested in preservation, especially here in Dallas, where they seem to be tearing things down a lot faster than saving them,” Crumpler says. ”And I think documenting is one of the most important things you can do, because everyone has a story. If you can just get it recorded in some way, it will be important for somebody. Someone will want to read it.”

The book is the second co-authored by Davis and Crumpler, who previously wrote “Lakewood Star Walk,” a history of the Lakewood Theatre, including the Star Walk plaza around the fountain outside the building.

The pair invested more than two years of research in the book, gathering every story about the area they could find. Some came from libraries and historical societies, but most came from the people who live, work and grew up here.

When it was all said and done, Crumpler and Davis had talked to more than 60 individuals, 19 churches and many other organizations and businesses for the book. Since both have lived in the area for more than 50 years, the authors already knew many of the people they interviewed.

“It was a delightful project. We wanted to get people’s personal memories and feelings about East Dallas, and I think that comes through again and again, very beautifully, in this book.”

“Lakewood — Memoirs and Spirit” can be purchased at the DOT thrift store, 5810-12 Live Oak, or by calling 214-826-4099.