Historic Munger Place
Smells often summon a flood of memories. Childhood recollections of another place and time. Warm peach cobbler, newly cut grass, the perfume of a person long gone. The sensation so strong it stirs the soul.
Freshly picked cotton is that smell for me. It smells of yesterday. Clean. Sweet. Youthful.
As the daughter of a cotton farmer, it’s fitting that Munger Place found me. Robert S. Munger developed the neighborhood in 1905. He was not only a real estate developer but also a cotton gin genius. Improving Eli Whitney’s invention and patenting several significant ginning devices, he helped shape Dallas into the largest inland cotton market in the United States in the 1890’s. Texas continues to lead the nation in cotton production.
Historic Munger Place is as unique as the smell of cotton. It has the feel and memory of another time. In 100 years, bridge parties have been replaced with wine walks, yet the stately houses appear unaffected by time, nourished by a string of devoted owners. We are only caretakers for the next generation.
I walk my dogs through the neighborhood several times a day. They strain on their leashes, never pulling in the same direction, while I study the porches and trees and yards. Even in my 10 short years here, I notice change.
The author, Munger Place resident Talya Boerner, playing in cottonseed.
The cute neighbor boy who was kicking around a soccer ball “yesterday” ran down the steps from his front porch this morning and drove off behind the wheel of his dad’s SUV. Stopping me cold in my tracks … How can he be driving already?
Babies are born, people move, new families settle into the neighborhood bringing new enthusiasm. As kids graduate and move away to college, a collegiate flag proudly pops up in the yard to signify the final choice: LSU, University of Texas, Arkansas, Texas Tech.
My home is no longer filled with Legos and Barbies.
What would Robert Munger think of his neighborhood? What would he think of the advances in cotton cultivation and harvesting, and the staggering expense involved in present day farming? A new John Deere round bale picker costs $600,000. More than today’s average Munger home sale price.
One thing that hasn’t changed — the smell of cotton.
Talya Boerner is a longtime Munger Place resident and a new Advocate writer. Find her musings on pieces of neighborhood history every week on lakewood.advocatemag.com, and read more frequent writings from Boerner at her personal blog, gracegritsgarden.com.
