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Brooklyn Rose Tansil, 5, points to the line on a measuring cup held by her great aunt Bobbie Shaw Monday as they double check the amount of water needed for their practice cake baking run before the annual Juneteenth Cake Auction. Their practice cakes will go to a very special arrival, their father Ray Tansil in the U.S Air Force who was to arrive that evening from Qatar. Daily Record photos by Denise Cathey

BAKING FOR JUNETEENTH

Family tradition raises dough for scholarships

It’s a tradition that now spans generations for both a family and a community: The Garland Warren, Nelvia L. Burleson and Charles Callihan Memorial Cake Auction. The event, which raises money for scholarships for local students, is the first of several local Juneteenth events and will be held at the San Marcos Activity Center tomorrow from 6-8 p.m.

Local volunteering dynamo Rose Brooks was one of the founders of the cake auction, along with Burleson and Johnnie Armstead. Earlier this week, her great-grandchildren got together with her daughter, Bobbie Shaw, to practice baking for the cake auction by baking cakes for their father, Ray Tansil, who returned home from deployment in the Middle East on Monday.

Shaw said that the family enjoys spending time in the kitchen. Five-year-old Brooklyn Rose and her sister, Bailey Rae, who turns 4 tomorrow, even have special aprons they put on to bake.

“We usually dress up when we cook,” Shaw said.

Brooks’ family members aren’t the only ones baking up a storm for the cake auction. Brooks said there are plenty of supporters in the community, including Res-Care, who bake and donate cakes. Last year, she said, the auction had about 50 cakes, and she is expecting about the same number this year.

“I’ve been getting calls from people saying they’re going to bake cakes,” she said.

But baking is only part of the work; community members and organizations need to bid on the cakes to raise funds for scholarships.

“I need to raise at least $4,000,” Brooks said. “I’ve got nine students this year.”

Brooks said that the scholarship money goes to the students, not the schools, and can help pay living expenses.

“Students need a lot of personal stuff,” Brooks said, like furnishings for their dorm rooms and other items.

Brooks said it is always difficult to choose scholarship recipients, and she does not limit recipients to Black students. This year, one recipient graduated third in her class, and another is a young woman who is working full time and taking care of her mother along with attending school.

“When you look at it, you wish you had enough to give them all a little something,” she said.

Brooks said that since people have called and promised cakes for the auction, she is going to focus on getting people to bid. Brooks plans to look up some students who have received scholarships in the past and encourage them to contribute.

“They need to come back and kind of pay back,” she said.

Brooks is known for her tireless volunteer work in causes ranging from politics to education. She has been a delegate to the national Democratic convention eight times and plans on returning to the state convention later this summer. She encourages voter registration and participation, serves on the San Marcos Housing Board, has been involved with the San Marcos Education Foundation since its inception, and she is involved with the United Way and the Calaboose African-American Museum. Last year she received the first ever San Marcos Community Senior Citizen Volunteer Award from the San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department and the San Marcos Senior Advisory Board. And besides all of this, she is active in her church and helps out friends and family members whenever there is a need.

“And I do have time to play bridge sometimes, two or three times a week,” she said. “I’m pretty good at that, too.”

Of all the activities Brooks is involved in, what makes the cake auction so special?

“It’s helping young people,” she said.

Brooks said she grew up in the country, in Redwood, and eventually her father moved the family into San Marcos because it was easier for the children to get to school. Brooks graduated from the Dunbar School and then went on to Huston-Tillotson College in Austin, where she graduated with a business degree in 1958.

“I worked my way through school,” she said.

However, it was a pastor at her church who helped her find a job and a place to live.

“Nobody gave me anything. … but I had those relationships. I had that support,” she said. “… That’s why I so want to give back to young people.”

Besides the cake auction, local Juneteenth events include a barbecue cookoff and a parade. The two-day cookoff will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday at San Marcos Plaza Park. On Saturday morning, the parade will start at the Dunbar Center at 10:10 a.m. and wind its way through downtown. The cookoff will continue at the park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Soul Praise II will take place on June 19 at Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church on Centre Street from 7-9 p.m. For more information about the Juneteenth celebration, visit www.juneteenthcharityfoundation.orgor see the Facebook event at https://bit.ly/2LGaocv.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666