Richard Selcer

2 weeks ago | star-telegram.com | Richard Selcer

Those who have lived in Fort Worth long enough remember the early days of Barber's Book Store as a downtown institution - a treasure house of volumes that put all the department store book sections to shame. Long before there was Border's or B. Dalton's or Barnes & Noble, there was Barber's Book Store. I started working at Barber's in the summer of 1967 before my senior year at Paschal High School.

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Richard Selcer

Our Uniquely Fort Worth stories celebrate what we love most about North Texas, its history & culture. Story suggestion? [email protected]. Hollywood was in Fort Worth news earlier this year with the nomination of Fort Worth’s Abraham Alexander for an Academy Award for Best Song of the Year (from the 2024 movie “Sing Sing”). The Nigerian-born Alexander attended Texas Wesleyan University before launching a musical career.

2 months ago | star-telegram.com | Richard Selcer

Willa S. Benton, right, and friends at New Trinity Cemetery, circa 1948. Courtesy Fort Worth Library History Center Few Black women of Fort Worth have made history. That’s not because they didn’t have what it takes but because the deck was stacked against them. Opal Lee and Hazel Harvey Peace rise to the top as exceptions. There is another name that deserves inclusion on that short list: Willa S. Benton. Her platform was education. Her early life is largely a cipher.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Richard Selcer

Few Black women of Fort Worth have made history. That’s not because they didn’t have what it takes but because the deck was stacked against them. Opal Lee and Hazel Harvey Peace rise to the top as exceptions. There is another name that deserves inclusion on that short list: Willa S. Benton. Her platform was education. Her early life is largely a cipher. She was born either in 1876, 1881, 1884, 1886, or 1888 depending on what Census you consult.

Mar 15, 2025 | star-telegram.com | Richard Selcer

Hardin D. Gunnels was what they used to call a “hard case,” the kind of Western lawman who lived by his own code and occasionally strayed over the line. But he got results, and that was generally good enough for the people of Fort Worth. He was known as “Hard” Gunnels, which may have been short for “Howard,” or perhaps “Harvey” or “Harry,” all of which appear in contemporary reports of his activities. Regardless of the name on his birth certificate, he was a “hard” man.