DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to pass it along. Now, every city that keeps growin' eventually runs up against a hard truth: the living need places to live, sure, but the dead need somewhere too. Austin was no different.
As the city's population swelled in the early twentieth century, the need for a privately owned cemetery — one where the public could actually purchase plots — made itself plain. So in 1927, a private corporation called Austin Memorial Park stepped up and purchased farmland northwest of the city. The land came from Gladys and J.T.
Bowman, and what had been fields was set on a path toward something else entirely. The first recorded burial in Austin Memorial Park was that of M.A. Hanna, interred on April 26, 1928.
That date marks the beginning of the cemetery's real work. For over a decade, Austin Memorial Park operated as a private concern. Then in 1941, the city of Austin purchased it outright — fifty-six thousand dollars — and just like that, a private cemetery became a public one, open to serve the citizens of Austin and the surrounding area.
But a cemetery's boundaries, it turns out, are not as permanent as what rests inside them. Over the years, Austin Memorial Park shrank piece by piece. In 1933, one acre on the west edge was sold for the establishment of the Jewish Agudas Achim Cemetery.
Another portion was sold off by the city during the 1960s. Then came the construction of Loop 1 — Mopac Boulevard — during the 1970s, which claimed a segment of property from the extreme southwest corner. And in 1979, the city's own construction of the Northwest Recreation Center reduced the cemetery's size further still.
A piece here, a corner there — the years have a way of trimming things down. Even within the remaining boundary, the cemetery kept evolving. In 2004 and 2005, a separate section was reserved for Temple Beth Shalom, creating a Jewish section inside Austin Memorial Park itself.
Now, a cemetery accumulates stories the way land accumulates years — quietly, without announcement. And the names interred at Austin Memorial Park carry some weight. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist James A.
Michener rests here. So does Texas Ranger Frances Augustus "Frank" Hamer. Actor Zachary Scott, Jr. is here.
And four coaches who left their mark on the University of Texas: Dana X. Bible, William John "Billy" Disch, Bibb A. Falk, and Harvey Penick.
That last name — Penick — might make a golfer go quiet for a moment. And well it should. From farmland bought off Gladys and J.T.
Bowman in 1927, to a public cemetery holding some of the most recognized names in Texas history — Austin Memorial Park has been keepin' that northwest corner of the city since before most of Austin's living residents were born. Some ground earns its place on the map.
What the marker says
As the population of the city of Austin grew larger during the early 20th century, a privately owned cemetery with plots available for purchase by the public became necessary. In 1927, Austin Memorial Park, a private corporation, purchased farm land located northwest of the city of Austin from Gladys and J.T. Bowman. The first recorded burial in Austin Memorial Park was that of M.A. Hanna, who was interred on April 26, 1928. In order to provide cemetery services for the citizens of Austin and the surrounding area, the city purchased Austin Memorial Park in 1941 for the price of $56,000, making it a public cemetery. There have been several reductions in size of the cemetery throughout the years. In 1933, one acre on the west edge of the site was sold for the establishment of the Jewish Agudas Achim Cemetery, and another portion of the original property was sold by the city during the 1960s. The construction of Loop 1 (Mopac Boulevard) during the 1970s took away a segment of property in the extreme southwest corner of the site. Construction of the Northwest Recreation Center by the city of Austin in 1979 furthur reduced the cemetery's size. In 2004 and 2005, a separate section was reserved for Temple Beth Shalom for the creation of a Jewish section within the existing boundary of Austin Memorial Park. Well-known citizens interred in the cemetery include Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist James A. Michener (1907-1997), Texas Ranger Frances Augustus "Frank" Hamer (1884-1955), actor Zachary Scott, Jr. (1914-1965), and noted University of Texas coaches Dana X. Bible (1891-1980), William John "Billy" Disch (1874-1953), Bibb A. Falk (1899-1989) and Harvey Penick (1904-1995). Historic Texas Cemetery-2008