Acknowledgements

Lyda White, wife of Hugh White, rancher and business man, gathered information for half her lifetime on Keller area families. Some she crafted into narratives; some appeared as information from others or what she knew of the town herself. Almost all of it was written in hand on yellow legal pads. The materials, including photos, documents, family trees, and such were given to me after her death. She asked only that I write a book making use of her valuable first hand research materials. This I did. Wild Rose: A Folk History of a Cross Timbers Settlement was published in 1996 on the occasion of the Keller State Bank’s 25th anniversary. A second book, The Little Town That Could, Westlake, Texas: Origins and Legacies, published in 2009, made use of Lyda White’s files once again along with pioneer family publications especially from the Joyce and Medlin families. The collection containing original transcriptions and memorabilia are now in Special Collection at the University of Texas, Arlington and may be viewed by appointment with the library. Lyda Smith White was historian in the best, truest and finest tradition of the word. She would be delighted to know that her history is available to families, genealogists, historians and friends.