Most of us go to White Rock Lake for a bike ride, a jog or to spend time with our kids. But if neighborhood resident Kurt Kretsinger has any say, we’ll soon be able to add history and culture to our list of reasons.
Kretsinger is the leading force behind the drive to open a White Rock Lake Museum at the Bath House Cultural Center later this year.
If successful, the museum will open this fall in an approximately 12-by-20 foot room currently used as storage. The museum will include a detailed photo timeline and a looped plasma screen presentation detailing the natural and human history of White Rock.
“The presentation will include old and new photos of people and buildings, wildlife, fauna, nature and interviews about the lake’s history.” Kretsinger says.
Kretsinger decided to devote himself to the museum to help preserve the lake’s natural and human history before it is lost.
“Every decade, something interesting has happened at White Rock Lake,” he says, “And we are starting to lose the generation [that’s been here] since the lake was built, so we need to do something now to preserve that history.”
To do that, Kretsinger selected a group of people known for making things happen.
“The Advisory Board is a group of citizens and professionals with a sense of community who have supported White Rock Lake in the past and share a common direction for the future,” Kretsinger says.
The museum’s 13-member advisory board consists of residents such as city councilman Gary Griffith, former Mayor Mary Poss, longtime lake supporters Marci Winter and Jeannie Terilli and lake historian Steven Butler.
But, Kretsinger says, they also need help from others.
“We want this to be a community project, with input and contributions from everyone who has a love for White Rock Lake,” he says.
Betty Switzer, director of the City of Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs agrees, adding that she’s glad residents such as Kretsinger are around to get the ball rolling.
“I think it’s wonderful that we have citizens like Kurt and those on the advisory board that have a vision like this and a can-do attitude to make it happen,” she says. “They’re the kind of people that make our city a nicer place for everyone to live.”
Visit www.whiterocklakemuseum.org for information about how you can help.
