A Little Digging? More on Betty Baker

Dear Editor,
   Thank you for the informative articles on Betty Baker and the state of Austin's historic preservation efforts ["Betty Baker Rules," News, April 2; and "New Rules for Old Buildings," News, April 2]. However, a little digging would have turned up some lovely, and enlightening, comments by Baker in 1977 regarding Clarksville's efforts to preserve their historic houses and community. In The Daily Texan published July 25, 1977, Baker is quoted as saying "the buildings (in Clarksville) have no architectural or historical significance and attempts at historic zoning are ludicrous." She also claimed to not understand why a white person like John Henneberger, a University of Texas student who studied local black history, would be "so involved with the tiny black community." Additionally, at a Landmark Commission meeting in July 1977, when Henneberger asked the commission to allow the Clarksville Advisory Board to present its case before issuing demolition permits in the district (in response to the demolition of the home of former slave Seymore Washington, a blacksmith recognized by the Texas Senate as an important figure shortly before his death and one of the original settlers in Clarksville), Baker's reply to Henneberger's plea was, "Let HUD take care of this and let this historical preservation stuff alone."
   Granted, the article is nearly 27 years old, but it certainly sheds some light on Baker's concept of historic preservation. It also serves to illuminate a potential reason why Austin's historic preservation ordinance is so far out of date (kudos to Barbara Stocklin's April 23 letter) ["Postmarks"]. If the person claiming to have launched and kept afloat the "preservation ship" believes historic preservation should be left alone, what hope does Austin have of maintaining, much less encouraging, the historic preservation of buildings and structures from all socioeconomic levels? This raises a brace of questions, like why is she heading the Historic Preservation Task Force; why is there such animosity between her and many historic preservation professionals; how can people point to her efforts at saving the Woodburn when at the same time she was denouncing the 100-plus year history of Clarksville as not worthy; and why on God's green earth is she still even remotely involved with historic preservation in Austin? And don't even get me started on her decisions regarding building over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.