Browse Items (344 total)

Portia Ross Taylor was a longtime and beloved teacher at the Hamilton School, a school that served students in the Black community from 1924 until Frisco ISD integrated in 1964.

Mrs. Taylor was one of two teachers and taught students in grades…

Polly Tadlock taught in Frisco schools from 1968 to 1989, working at both Acker and Rogers elementary schools. Mrs. Tadlock was known for following her students as they entered adulthood, Polly tried to be there for her students at the various…

Angela Poen is the Founder and Board President of Community Garden Kitchen of Collin County, the first free kitchen in the area serving freshly prepared meals to children, college students, seniors and anyone else in the community who is experiencing…

Bertha Bailey was a well-loved cornerstone of the educational system in McKinney. Mrs. Bailey served MISD for 30 years before her passing with many students considering her as a second mother.

During her career, she was responsible for creating a…

Judy Gay has been a prominent supporter of the McKinney Public Library System for many years.

In 2008, the John and Judy Gay Library was named in honor of the couples’ service to the community.

Mrs. Gay taught English and creative writing at…

Iola Lee Davis was born in McKinney, Texas, on January 28, 1927, to Lonnie and Artishia Young Davis. She grew up in the era of segregation, attending McKinney’s E.S. Doty School and was Valedictorian of her graduating class.

When she began her…

Kathryn Heard-Craig is the namesake of the Heard-Craig Center for the Arts. She was the founder of the Art Club of McKinney in 1914, served as president, and co authored a fifty-year history of the organization.

It was her wish that upon her…

Bessie Heard is known for the creation the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary and Museum in 1964 with the purchase of 207 acres of land. In her earlier years she obtained a charter for the McKinney Library and helped raise funds to buy books and purchase a…