Snobby Tours ®, Inc. LIVING HISTORY TOURS OF WACO© A "Wild Over Waco" ("WOW") Tourism Initiative™ Guided themed heritage tours covering the past 170+ years, gathered through personal stories, written records, oral accounts, and even some local "legends and lore". EACH OF THE SEVEN (7) "LIVING HISTORY TOURS" LISTED BELOW MAY BE GUIDED BY EITHER A LOCAL HISTORIAN OR BY A COSTUMED HISTORICAL RE-ENACTOR PORTRAYING A CHARACTER FROM WACO’S COLOURFUL PAST. LISTING OF TOURS (1) CAPTAIN THOMAS BARRON / MOZELLA BARRON TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Pre-Historic to 1865) Born in Kentucky in 1796, Capt. Thomas Barron was active in the defense of the frontier for his entire life. He moved to Texas in 1821, one of the first of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old Three Hundred” colonists. In 1837, while commanding a group of Texas Rangers, he was sent to establish Fort Fisher at Waco Village on the Brazos River. This reconstructed fort now serves as the headquarters of Company F of the Texas Rangers and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Barron went on to settle in Waco, where he opened a steam mill, served as the first Court Clerk of McLennan County, and the County tax assessor-collector. Born in 1850, Mozella Barron was one of Capt. Barron’s 22 children. She was the first non-Native American child born in Waco Village, and grew to see Waco become a thriving frontier town known as “Six Shooter Junction”. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: Early settlement of Waco (pre-historic to 1865) Included with the Basic Tour: Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Mayborn Museum Bill and Vera Daniel Historic Village Mammoth Site (opened in 2009) Cameron Park/Cameron Park Zoo OR Lake Waco Wetlands (2) GENERAL SUL ROSS / KATE ROSS TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Post-Civil War Reconstruction, 1865-1890) An early native Wacoan, General Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross, was a Brigadier General for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He served as Sheriff of McLennan County, claiming to have jailed 700 outlaws in two years. While Governor of Texas, Ross was the first Governor to actually occupy the Capitol Building. He later served as President of Texas A&M University, and to this day, is one of the most admired figures in Waco history. Born in 1851, Kate Ross was Sul Ross’ sister, and is credited with being the first non-Native American child born within the city limits of Waco. In 1867, Kate was one of only 8 women to graduate from Waco University, which in 1863 had become the first institution in Texas, and one of the few in the nation, to open its doors to co-education. Very sociable, she was honored as Waco’s favorite hostess when the Suspension Bridge was dedicated in 1870. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: “Six Shooter Junction”/ Post Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1890) Included with the Basic Tour: One Historic Waco Foundation Museum Home The Dr Pepper Museum Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attraction Available For Expanded Tour: Homestead Heritage (3) JACOB DE CORDOVA / REBECCA DE CORDOVA TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Mid-1800's to present) Born near Kingston, Jamaica in 1808, Jacob De Cordova, was descended from Spanish Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition and came to the New World with Christopher Columbus. Educated in England, he spoke five languages fluently. After he reached adulthood, De Cordova joined his father, who had moved to Philadelphia. He migrated to Texas in 1839, and was elected to the Second Texas Legislature in 1847. Thereafter, he traveled extensively throughout Texas, acquiring large amounts of land, including what is now Waco. He helped compile the Map of the State of Texas, first published in 1849. De Cordova was persuaded to establish a town at Waco Indian Village. His wife, Rebecca, was very instrumental in Waco becoming a family-oriented community. It was Rebecca who urged her husband to set aside free lots in Waco for schools and houses of worship, which he did once Waco was named the seat of the newly-formed McLennan County. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: “The Athens of Texas” (Mid-1800’s to 1950) Included with the Basic Tour: Historic Houses of Worship and Schools (First Baptist Church, St. Francis Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church, and Temple Rodef Shalom) Baylor University Campus Armstrong-Browning Library Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: The Art Center (William Cameron Home) McLennan Community College Campus (4) JULES BLEDSOE / ESTELLA MAXEY TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Early to Mid- 20th Century) With the gift of a rich baritone voice, Jules Bledsoe, born in 1897, was a world-renowned opera singer and composer. While a medical student at Columbia University, he began taking voice lessons. He debuted in 1924 at New York City's Aeolian Hall, singing compositions by Handel and Bach. He is best known for creating the role of Joe in Jerome Kern’s “Show Boat” in 1927. During his illustrious career, he also sang with the Italian Opera, made movies, and performed in BBC programs in London. As a child, Estella Maxey was fascinated by the music she heard at Second Baptist Church. She astounded her music teacher with a natural ability, and was proclaimed a musical prodigy. In addition to playing by ear, she also learned to read music, and eventually taught piano lessons. During the Great Depression, she organized an orchestra, “Stella and her Boys”, which performed for society parties, as well as in nightclubs. Stella bridged the gap between the races, and was well respected by the entire Waco community. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: African-American Heritage, Culture, and Achievement Included with the Basic Tour: Historic African-American Houses of Worship Historic Elm Street District Paul Quinn Campus Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Texas Sports Hall of Fame McLennan County Courthouse (5) NEIL McLENNAN TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Late-1800's to present) Born on the Isle of Skye in 1777, Neil McLennan emigrated from Scotland to the U.S. in 1801. Although he sailed from Florida to Texas on a three-masted schooner, the Caledonia, in 1834, and joined George B. Erath in 1839 on a scouting and surveying trip to the Bosque River near present day Waco, he did not bring his family to settle in the area until 1845. His double log cabin on the South Bosque, with its airy “dog trot” hallway down the center, was a famous landmark. He and his family were hospitable to new settlers, often inviting them to stay at the cabin until their homes were finished. Waco is the seat of McLennan County, so named for this early settler. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: "Around the County – the Famous and Infamous” Included with the Basic Tour: Oakwood Cemetery (subject to size of motorcoach) Heritage Square Area "Two-Street" Area Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Improved Order of Red Men Museum (National Headquarters) Masonic Grand Lodge Lee Lockwood Library Scottish Rite Museum (6) JAMES and HENNIE HARRISON / HALLIE EARLE TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Late 1880's to early 1960's) Fluent in the Choctaw and Creek Indian languages, James Edward Harrison was commissioned to deal with the Indians for the state, prior to becoming a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, Harrison returned to Waco, where he was prominent in local affairs and in the Baptist church, serving as a trustee of Baylor University. After the Civil War, his wife Hennie helped her husband to build a plantation house at Tehuacana Retreat, now on land belonging to the Tehuacana Creek Winery. Hallie Earle, chose none of the common paths for women upon graduation from Baylor University, and instead followed both of her grandfathers into the practice of medicine. She became the first female physician in McLennan County, opening her office in the Amicable Building, Waco’s newly-built skyscraper. She died in 1963, at the age of 83, still the only female physician in Waco. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: "A Celebration of Days Gone By" Included with the Basic Tour: The Earle-Harrison House and the breathtaking Pape Gardens Amicable Building Warehouse District Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch and/or dinner Additional Attractions Available for Expanded Tour: Wine Tasting and Touring at Tehuacana Creek Winery, located on the former Harrison Plantation homestead (7) TEXAS GUINAN DINNER AND CULTURAL ARTS PERFORMANCE TOUR** (Historical Time Frame: The Present) **(Subject to the schedules and ticket availability of the local performing arts organizations) A born entertainer, Mary Louise Cecelia ("Texas") Guinan, at the age of 14, convinced her parents to allow her to ride the train alone to Chicago to enter a singing contest sponsored by department store owner Marshall Field. Winning first place, she took her prize money and returned to Waco to finish school, and begin her show business career. She moved to New York City, where she became better known as “Texas”. Always ambitious, "Texas" became a headliner in nightclubs, soon attracting the attention of a Hollywood film producer. Lured by the new moving pictures industry, she moved to California where she became the first gun-toting cinema cowgirl, starring in over 200 silent films. She eventually moved back to New York, where she owned speakeasies during Prohibition, and became a hit with the after-theatre crowd as a Mistress of Ceremonies. Raucous, flip, and jovial she moved from on stage into the audience, and began greeting customers as they arrived with her trademark phrase “Hello Suckers”. Basic Tour: 4 to 6 hours, including a seated dinner at a local restaurant featuring a menu specially-selected by the Chef, plus tickets to a performance by one of Waco’s many cultural arts groups, or to a "private showing" at a local art gallery. Focus Group: Adult Groups Itinerary Focus: "Culture and Cuisine – A Waco Sampling" Included with the Basic Tour: Selection depends on performance schedules and ticket availability to ONE of the following: Waco Hippodrome Theatre, Waco Symphony, Waco Chamber Symphony, Waco Civic Theatre, Baylor Theatre, Bosque River Stage, McLennan Community College Theatre, The Waco Art Centre, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIVING HISTORY TOURS of WACO© A "Wild Over Waco" ("WOW!") Tourism Initiative™ SUITABLE FOR GROUPS OF ALL TYPES CONVENTIONS, REUNIONS, HERITAGE SOCIETIES, TRAVEL CLUBS, SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, CORPORATE RETREATS, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFIT FUNDRAISERS, SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, etc.) A minimum of 10 adults over 18 years of age is required per group on each of our Living History Tours of Waco©. Family tours and School tours require one (1) adult chaperone per ten (10) persons under age 18 years of age. Reservations must be made, and payment received, at least 21 days in advance of your requested Tour date. Tour Costs (effective September 1, 2011): Tour Costs for Tours 1 thru 7 (except the 2-hour "Sightseeing Overview") are "ALL-INCLUSIVE" of: One "Living History" step-on local historian guide, one designated meal (either Lunch or Dinner), non-alcoholic beverages while on Tour, all venue admissions, all private docent-guided tours at the selected venues, theatre or concert performance or event ticketing (where applicable), special souvenir "Gift Bags" with local shopping coupons for each person, and all taxes and gratuities. The following Tour Costs do not include charter of motorcoach or limousine transportation for the Group. 1) For a 2-hour "Sightseeing Overview" Living History Tour of Waco© ("Sightseeing Overview" contains highlights of Tours 1 thru 6, but with NO meals and NO venue stops, and the Group provides its own transportation suitable in size, with a microphone for our step-on local historian guide): $495. Flat rate for 10-25 person group -- (average per person cost: $29.) $645. Flat rate for 26-40 person group -- (average per person cost: $20.) $825. Flat rate for 41-55 person group -- (average per person cost: $17.) (NOTE: If one meal and/or one or more venue stops which require admission fees are requested by the Group, these expenses will be added to the overall Tour Cost. 2) For a 4-hour (1/2-day) Living History Tour of Waco© (Selected from Tours 1 thru 6): From $55. to $70. per person** 3) For a 7-hour (full day) Living History Tour of Waco© (Selected from Tours 1 thru 6): From $85. to $105. per person** 4) For the "Texas Guinan Dinner and Cultural Arts Performance Tour" (Tour 7): From $135. to $165. per person** **Per Person Tour Costs for Tours 1 thru 7 vary slightly depending upon the specific Living History Tour selected. For Tours 1 thru 6: Per person cost varies depending upon number of touring venues selected by the Group, admission costs applicable to the selected venues, private docent-guided tours at the selected venues, and the designated meal included during the selected Living History Tour. For Tour 7: Per person cost varies depending upon restaurant selected for the designated Dinner meal, and the event ticketing price for the applicable theatre or concert performance included on this Living History Tour. For Groups requiring a motorcoach or limousine charter for one of our Living History Tours of Waco©, there will be an additional charge. The cost of a motorcoach or limousine charter for the Group varies depending upon the size and type of transportation required based upon the total number of persons in the Group, the Group's selected Living History Tour, and the applicable fuel surcharges, local taxes, and gratuities. NOTE: Requests for changes or modifications in any of our seven (7) published Living History Tours of Waco©, or requests for the custom-creation of Living History Tours of Waco© which are different from our seven (7) published Itineraries, are subject to a minimum 50% additional per person or group surcharge above the published per person or group tour cost, whichever is greater. |
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| Snobby Tours®, Inc. Tour and Event General Policies apply to all itineraries and reservations. All itineraries herein have been custom-created by Snobby Tours®, Inc., and are protected under applicable Copyright Law against copyright infringement. No itinerary may be copied nor used in any manner in whole or in part by any person or entity without prior written consent from Snobby Tours®, Inc. Copyright infringement by any person or entity will be subject to prosecution under all applicable federal, state and/or international copyright laws and to all statutory, civil and criminal legal remedies, including punitive damages. SNOBBY TOURS®, INC. DONATIVE MISSION STATEMENT A portion of the net proceeds for any Snobby Tours® Itinerary which includes events or activities of a 501 (c)(3) arts or other nonprofit organization which is relevant to the focus of the subject Tour Itinerary, may be donated to each such 501 (c)(3) arts or other nonprofit organization by Snobby Tours®, Inc., at the sole discretion of Snobby Tours®, Inc. All such donations are strictly confidential and protected by the Privacy Act. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY Some aspects of the Tour itinerary may change, depending on local conditions. Choice and selection of transportation, lodging and other Tour Components may vary depending upon final Tour size and other factors, and generally do not affect Tour scheduling or published Tour fee. Trip arrival and return times are approximate, and may vary due to weather and/or other travel conditions. Where local or other circumstances necessitate itinerary variations and/or adjustments, such alterations are adapted into the Tour and generally do not affect the published Tour fee. There is always at least one (1) designated meal per day which is part of the applicable Tour Package Price. Specially pre-arranged Group Tour dining may or may not include desserts. Alcoholic beverages are not included in the Tour Package except when “samplings” or “tastings” are part of specifically-designated food-pairing dining events. Deviations during the Tour by any tour participant(s) from the stated Group Tour Itinerary are at the sole risk and expense of such tour participant(s), and Snobby Tours®, Inc. assumes no liability therefor. Long-distance charges, toll calls and/or Internet usage by tour participants while on Tour are not covered in published Tour fee. Cancellations must be sent in writing by certified mail to Snobby Tours®, Inc. Cancellation of a reservation prior to date of tour or event, a “no-show”, or an early return from the Tour or event, may result in forfeiture of 100% of the individual published Tour fee or guaranteed group booking fee. Trip cancellation/Trip interruption insurance coverage is highly recommended. See Snobby Tours®, Inc.’s Tour and Event General Policies herein for all terms and conditions of travel. |
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