The fact that most of Mr. Whitmore's original buildings remain standing is a testament to history as Lewisville goes through a new wave of development. But Mr. Whitmore plays down the mark he has left.

"This is the thing. It had nothing to with the color of their skin," he said. "These were hardworking families who deserved to own homes. They just weren't given the opportunity." AND.............remember this was many years ago, at the dawn of the Civil Rights time. A story of a white man ....and.....

........think about this every time you see a "public housing" SLUM where your tax money went down the drains.

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The home maker Developer proud of providing housing to black families

08/31/2000

By Mikki Kirby / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

LEWISVILLE  In 1961, Woody Ennis never imagined he would own a home  much less a new custom-built, three-bedroom house on a tree-lined street. At that time he couldn't even find a mortgage company that would extend a loan to a struggling black man.

Andy Scott / DMN Woody Ennis (right) still lives in the Lewisville home that R.E. Whitmore built and financed for him in 1961.

So, when the Grapevine man heard that someone was willing to finance a home for anyone who was a hard worker, he went to Lewisville to check it out.

"I could hardly believe it when I heard this white fellow in Lewisville was financing homes for blacks," said Mr. Ennis, 86. "It was a dream come true."

That fellow was R.E. Whitmore.

Mr. Whitmore used 25 acres he bought in 1959 to change the face of Lewisville  building homes for blacks in a segregated town. He was 41 years old and armed with only a four-man crew and good intentions.

The Lewisville man said that there were people in town who didn't agree with his vision for the land but that overall he didn't encounter resistance.

Michael Mulvey / DMN R.E. Whitmore, shown on his land near Lewisville, says, "You can't help but do things for people who really appreciate it."

Blacks "were living in run-down shacks with no sewage systems," Mr. Whitmore said. "I saw that I could change that."

Now, at age 82, Mr. Whitmore stands proudly as he looks down Ash Street, where Mr. Ennis lives.

Ash and Birch streets are lined with quaint houses nestled in shaded trees, south of downtown Lewisville. All but two of the 48 homes Mr. Whitmore built still stand.

"Most of these families would have never owned a home," Mr. Whitmore said while walking down Ash Street recently, inspecting his two- and three-bedroom creations. "I did it for me, but mostly for them."

Lewisville native Bud McDaniel, 70, remembers discussing the development plans with Mr. Whitmore over coffee in 1959.

"It was the best thing ever done for the black community at the time," said Mr. McDaniel, an authority on the city's history. "It was just like Whit to come up with something like that."

Mr. Whitmore "wanted to make them a part of the community," he said. "It was the best way he knew how. He's still always looking for ways to stay busy and help someone else at the same time."

Mr. Whitmore said each home cost $7,500 to build. For a $350 down payment, a buyer could pick a floor plan and color scheme and Mr. Whitmore and his crew would start building.

"If they didn't have the down payment, I'd say, 'OK, start paying me and when you get $350, we'll start building you a house,'" Mr. Whitmore said.

Mortgage payments were set at $65 a month. Mr. Whitmore financed the homes on a sale contract, paying the taxes and insurance on each.

All but two homes have been paid off.

There was one condition before Mr. Whitmore would take out a loan in his name for construction. The borrowers had to promise to pay what they could each month.

John Ennis, 61, who lives next door to his father, Woody Ennis, fell ill a number of years ago and was unable to work for close to three years. Although he worried about feeding his family, Mr. Ennis took comfort in knowing he would never lose his home.

"The only thing you have done wrong, Whitmore, is you have been too good to me," John Ennis told Mr. Whitmore one day recently.

Mr. Whitmore said he thinks he has broken about even financially over the years. Interest payments have made up the difference. But he said the emotional rewards are abundant.

"You can't help but do things for people who really appreciate it," he said. "The more you give, the more you receive. Isn't that how it goes? I'm here to tell you, that's a fact."

To make additional money, Mr. Whitmore used part of the land to build a strip mall on Mill Street.

The retired Army sergeant has been building things most of his life. The things he has wanted but couldn't afford, he learned to build. He started at age 5 with a wagon to pull his dogs. Two years later he was driving a team of horses around his father's farm. After spending his life building homes and businesses, he retired 10 years ago to build carriages.

Mr. Whitmore and his son Randy build horse-drawn vehicles for funerals, weddings and other special events. Mr. Whitmore drives the teams and trains his horses.

The fact that most of Mr. Whitmore's original buildings remain standing is a testament to history as Lewisville goes through a new wave of development. But Mr. Whitmore plays down the mark he has left.

"This is the thing. It had nothing to with the color of their skin," he said. "These were hardworking families who deserved to own homes. They just weren't given the opportunity."

Mikki Kirby is a Dallas-area free-lance writer. http://dallasnews.com/metro/160089_whitmore_31met.html

-- cpr (buytexas@swbell.net), September 01, 2000

Answers

It's good to hear about some one building a community vs. the latest crime stats.

Thank you r

-- r (r.1@juno.com), September 01, 2000.

Mr. Whitmore sounds like a fine man. On a different note, I wonder what it would be like to have either Mike Adams or Michael Hyatt as a landlord?

-- Butt Nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), September 01, 2000.

Nice post, CPR, but what does it have to do with public housing?

-- J (Y2J@yahoo.com), September 01, 2000.