Page 8 - 2018 Spring Newsletter

joy, great evening

Rollin’ through decades with an iconic Texas dance hall

Author Donna Marie Miller and James White, owner of the Broken Spoke entertained us with their all-time
favorite stories from Miller’s newest book The Broken Spoke: Austin’s Legendary Honky-Tonk, at the
Friends of the TCU Library annual dinner.

It was an evening filled with lots of laughter, enjoyment, and for some, fond memories of Texas’s most definitive dance
hall. On a Thursday night in March, complete with western decor and attire, the evening kicked off with a performance
from all-around cowboy musician and singer Ben Stafford Rodgers followed with one of the most delightful evenings
of storytelling from our guest speakers; author, Donna Marie Miller and the owner of Austin’s most famous honky-tonk,
James White.

Miller captures history telling the story of a famous dance hall in Austin in her book, The Broken Spoke: Austin’s
Legendary Honky-Tonk. She also tells the story of James and Annetta White, owners of the Broken Spoke. Because
of Miller’s spirit for the famous Texas dance hall and White’s first-hand experience as well as celebrating its 50th
anniversary, the two shared some great stories.

Their stories captured the essence of the Broken Spoke from each decade; the 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s
and the 2010’s, beginning with 1964 at the age of 25 when the James White and his wife opened the Broken Spoke, and
paying thirty-two dollars to their first opening act, D. G. Burrow and the Western Melodies. We also learned how the
dance hall played a major role in introducing many musical genres to Austin: country music, western swing, rockabilly,
outlaw music and much more.

8 | TCU Library