From Wolf to Wolfwood

About the Book

Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe was born in Emory, Texas, (in the “Wolf Community”) the only daughter of A.C. and Modis McMillan. She attended Sand Flat School (in Emory, Texas), St. Paul High School (in Hunt County), and graduated from Rains High School (in Emory). Among the first of Sand Flat (a Rosenwald school) students to graduate from Rains High School (the county’s only white high school), she graduated third in her class. Her favorite teacher, Mrs.Audie Shiflet, taught her shorthand. Because of Mrs. Shiflet, she pursued a career in teaching—majoring in business and teaching shorthand and typing. From Rains High School, Gwendolyn attended and graduated from Henderson County Junior College and East Texas State University where she received a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree. Following in the footsteps of her father, Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe became a teacher in the Dallas Independent School District at Hillcrest High School. She later transferred to Thomas Jefferson High School, where she is today. Being a teacher is paramount in the writer’s professional career; however, she co-founded and served as director of College Bound Tours. She conducted workshops and tours to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for young people interested in attending college (1989-2003). She also co-founded the A.C. McMillan African American Museum where she serves as the director. Her volunteer work with several organizations is extensive. In 2003, she received a fellowship to study at the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. While at the Smithsonian, in her spare time she researched her family’s history and the history of African American educators in her hometown. Her assignment at the Smithsonian was to research the United States Supreme Court Decision Brown v Board of Education for the upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration and exhibit (2004). Most recently, the writer has dedicated her time to documenting the history of the education of African Americans in Rains County and researching Rosenwald Schools in Texas and throughout the South. She has first-hand knowledge of the importance of the Rosenwald Schools in the education of African Americans prior to the desegregation of the schools. She attended two. Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe documents the advantages and disadvantages of growing up in a segregated southern East Texas town and being a part of the desegregation and integration of many institutions and organizations. In this book, she describes her travels from Wolf to Wolfwood.

About the Author

Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe was born in Emory, Texas, (in the “Wolf Community”) the only daughter of A.C. and Modis McMillan. She attended Sand Flat School (in Emory, Texas), St. Paul High School (in Hunt County), and graduated from Rains High School (in Emory). Among the first of Sand Flat (an African American only elementary school) students to graduate from Rains High School (the county’s only high school), she graduated third in her class. She was a member of the Beta Club (the honor society), the choir, treasurer of the senior class, Who’s Who, and a UIL winner in shorthand during her senior year. Her favorite teacher, Mrs.Audie Shiflet, taught her shorthand. Mrs. Shiflet was very instrumental in causing her to pursue a career in teaching—majoring in business and teaching shorthand, just as Mrs. Shiflet had done. From Rains High School, Gwendolyn attended and graduated from Henderson County Junior College (now Trinity Valley Community College). After two years at Henderson County Junior College, she continued her education at East Texas State University (now Texas A & M Commerce) where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education and a Master’s Degree in Guidance. Following in the footsteps of her father, Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe became a teacher in the Dallas Independent School District—teaching business subjects at Hillcrest High School. She later transferred to Thomas Jefferson High School, where she is today. As a business teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, she has served as department chair, member of the Faculty Advisory Committee, Sponsor of the African American Culture Club, Student Council sponsor, Senior Class sponsor, served on the Ethnic Committee, and founded a mentor’s program, which she received a grant from American Airlines. Because of rapid changes in technology, she now teaches computer classes (instead of shorthand, typing, etc.). She also teaches the computer segment of the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Thomas Jefferson High School. Being a teacher is paramount in the writer’s professional career; however, she co-founded and served as director of College Bound Tours. She conducted workshops and tours to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for young people interested in attending college. She is also the co-founder of the A.C. McMillan Scholarship fund (in memory of her father), which gives scholarships annually to students at Rains High School. Among her organizational affiliations include: member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, The Dallas Theater Center Guild, The African American Museum, New Hope Baptist Church, American Baptist Women, Classroom Teachers of Dallas/Texas State Teachers Association/National Education Association, Dallas Metroplex Council of Black College Alumni Associations, Texas Business Teachers Association, Texas College Alumni Association, The NAACP (life member), South Dallas Business and Professional Women’s Club, The Rains County Genealogical Society, Black Dallas Remembered, The East Texas Historical Association, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She also serves as the chairperson for the A.C. McMillan Scholarship Committee. Her volunteer work with these organizations and others is extensive. Some of her awards and recognition include: winner of the NAACP Juanita Craft Award for Community Service, the Elks Award for Community Service, recognized as Outstanding Ex-Student/Trinity Valley Community College (1992), and Community Service Award from the Dallas Metroplex Council of Black College Alumni Associations (1995). In 1999, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority honored her as “Teacher of the Year.” In 2000, she was a winner of the “Women of Wonder,” a national award given for community service by the Quaker Oats Company. She received a Visiting Professional Fellowship from the Smithsonian Institution and studied at the Smithsonian during the summer of 2003, in Washington, D.C. In 2004 and 2005, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and Portland, Oregon, respectively. In 2007, she was recognized as a role model by Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and in 2010 by the South Dallas Business and Professional Women’s Club during Women’s History. Gwendolyn McMillan Lawe is married to Theodore M. Lawe, a Dallas entrepreneur and civic leader and the inspiration for her continuing the family history project. They live in Dallas, Texas (“on Wolfwood”). One daughter, Sylvia Gwen (Lawe) Williams and her husband Jerry and sons Preston and Blair live in Longview, Texas. Her mother, Modis McMillan, resides in Emory, Texas. She has three brothers, Alfred Clifton McMillan, Jewel Henry McMillan, and Harold Dale McMillan. Alfred resides in Emory; Jewel lives in Lake Jackson, Texas; and Harold and his son Hayes Michael live in Austin, Texas.