By Richard J. Gonzales – Star-Telegram.com – Photo: Courtesy Of Gethsemane Presbyterian Church.
Fort Worth, Texas — In 1925, the Presbyterian Church, spearheaded by the Women’s Presbyterian Auxiliary, reached out to the Mexican and Mexican American residents of La Corte, formerly known as Battercake Flats. Purchasing a building at 501 N. Florence, in the heart of the barrio, they opened a daycare center to teach English and Americanization lessons to preschool children. With the hiring of the Rev. Guillermo Alexander Walls and his wife Raquel in 1925, the center’s services soon offered medical, job search, skills training, citizenship application, veteran help, and a curio shop.
