Events

Howdy,

My name is Parick Lewis. I have been working with youth programs and activites most of my life. My main goal is to provide opportunities to make treasure memories that will last a liftime with the people who visit, work, or attend our program. 

Beverly is a Bryan native and a 1998 Texas A&M graduate. She is married to Kyle who is from Corpus Christi but arrived in 1988 to attend Texas A&M. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets graduating in 1992. They have three homeschooled children, ages 16, 19, and the oldest, 21, currently attending Texas A&M.

As entrepreneurs, Kyle and Beverly have had many businesses but the most notable being BMI Defense Systems employing hundreds of Brazos County residents during the height of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their life saving seating and restraint systems and soft armoring kits are still being purchased and used in military vehicles all over the world today. In addition, they are a valued supplier to John Deere dealerships across North America, Europe, and Australia.

Beverly and Kyle are residents of eastern Brazos County who, along with over a thousand of their neighbors, are involved in a project called No East Loop. Numerous historic family farms and ranches are in the path of a proposed highway east of Highway 6. While still in the early stages, Beverly has uncovered information that hasn't been promoted to the citizens in a public manner. There are many concerns they have with this project and have formed the No East Loop group along with starting a PAC, Brazos Roofs and Ranches. More information can be found at the noeastloop.com website.

Rachael Altman
Carnegie Library
Rachael Altman will be speaking to us about the Carnegie Library in Downtown Bryan.

For those interested in learning more about the Carnegie Library:

It’s one of the most distinctive buildings in Downtown Bryan. With its neoclassical-revival-style red brick, tall windows, white exterior finishes, and four tall columns climbing the height of the two-story building, it’s certainly the most distinguished looking.

Just inside the double-door entrance are two narrow wooden stairways—one to the right, the other to the left. About ten steps ahead is the central help desk, the heart of the first floor. The space surrounding it is cozy in the best possible sense of the word. Except for a couple of large study tables and some chairs, the entire floor is packed wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with books, photos, art, and historical artifacts, many relating to real estate in the region. Upstairs is more of the same. The building smells pleasantly of old wood and even older books. The atmosphere is conducive to the building’s intended purpose: historical research.

Welcome to the Carnegie History Center.

Originally the Carnegie Public Library, the building is now a repository for rare historical materials (although the name on the structure has not changed). The center’s holdings are astonishing. They include family Bibles, old court records and school records, countless photos and maps spanning the early 19th century through the 20th century, and collections of documents donated by some of the city’s founding families. Some materials document aspects of the area’s history that are unpleasant but no less important. For example, the center has a zoning map from the ’50s showing how schools were segregated and original bills of sale from the slave trade (one written on what appears to be stationary from a London hotel).

Armed with such a rich treasure trove of documents (plus a little time and a lot of patience), even the most amateur history buff could piece together a respectably detailed history of the Brazos Valley, its real estate, and its people. That’s why the library’s resources are used largely for genealogical research.

Learn more about the Carnegie Library here!