DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Albertine Hall Yeager, out there in Galveston County. Now, some people leave a mark on a place. And then there's Albertine — Mama Yeager — who left something closer to a foundation.
Literally. She was born in 1897 in Palestine, Texas. And in 1917, she made her way to Galveston Island.
That same year — same year — she married Charles Yeager, and the two of them got right to work. Together, they founded the Yeager Children's Home at 1111 32nd Street. No settling in, no waiting to see how island life suited them.
Just: here's a problem, here's an address, let's go. The home started by keeping the children of war widows while those mothers worked. Then it opened its doors to homeless children.
By the 1930s, it was running as a nursery and kindergarten, with over sixty regulars — but on any given day, up to a hundred and eight children might come through that door. A hundred and eight. Because the Yeager Children's Home did not turn away children needing help.
That was the policy. That was Mama. And here's the thing that set Albertine apart in ways that went well beyond the number of children fed and sheltered — she accepted children regardless of race or religion.
In the Galveston of the 1930s, that was not a small decision. And it drew support from across racial and religious lines in return. People recognized something real when they saw it.
By the 1950s, that support had grown into something organized and prominent. The board of the Yeager Children's Home counted among its members Dr. Henry Jameson, T.D.
Armstrong, Randall Sterling, and Dorthea Lewis Wynn. Backing also came from the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, and from a man named Milton Fleming — known around town as Steamboat — a veteran and entrepreneur who threw his weight behind the cause. Albertine Yeager died in 1969.
By that point, the organization she and Charles had built had helped over a thousand children. Over a thousand. Six years later, in 1975, the American Legion Post 614 dedicated a tree and a plaque in her honor — on behalf of, as they put it, their gold star mothers.
That memorial sits behind what is now the Yeager Youth Cultural Center. And the work didn't stop. In 1988, the Yeager Children's Home merged with the Galveston Children's Home, the Lasker Home, and the YWCA of Galveston to become The Children's Center, Incorporated — TCCI — offering childcare, foster care, and shelter for Galveston youth.
The Yeager Children's Home itself became the Yeager Youth Crisis Center, focused on homeless and runaway youth. TCCI is still out there today, carrying forward what the marker calls the legacy that Mama Yeager had begun over a hundred years ago. A woman from Palestine, Texas, who arrived on an island in 1917 and just... never stopped helping.
That's the whole story. And somehow, that's enough.
What the marker says
Born in 1897 in Palestine, Texas, Albertine "Mama" (Hall) Yeager was a beloved African American philanthropist who devoted her life to helping Galveston's children. Albertine moved to the island in 1917. That same year, she married Charles Yeager, and together they founded the Yeager Children's Home at 1111 32nd Street. The home kept children of war widows while they worked and then opened to homeless children. By the 1930s, the children's home functioned as a nursery and kindergarten and had over 60 regulars, but often had up to 108 children a day as it did not turn away children needing help. Yeager accepted children regardless of race or religion, which garnered support across racial and religious lines. By the 1950s, Yeager Children's Home began to attract more supporters and held a diverse and prominent board with members such as Dr. Henry Jameson, T.D. Armstrong, Randall Sterling and Dorthea Lewis Wynn. Support also came from the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund and Milton "Steamboat" Fleming, a veteran and entrepreneur. When Albertine died in 1969, the organization had helped over 1,000 children. In order to honor her contribution to the community, a tree and plaque were dedicated in 1975 by the American Legion Post 614 "on behalf of our gold star mothers" which sits behind the Yeager Youth Cultural Center. In 1988 the Yeager Children's Home merged with the Galveston Children's Home, the Lasker Home and the YWCA of Galveston to become The Children's Center, Inc (TCCI) to provide childcare, foster care and shelter for Galveston youth. The Yeager Children's Home became the Yeager Youth Crisis Center which focused on helping homeless and runaway youth. The TCCI continues the legacy that "Mama" Yeager had begun over a hundred years ago helping children in need. (2021)