Kudos to the Texas Historical Commission for recognizing Albertine Hall Yeager’s accomplishments with a new historical marker in Galveston.
The marker will be erected at the former Yeager Children’s Home, founded by Charlie and Albertine Yeager in about 1917, at 1111 32nd St. in Galveston.
This important piece of Black history and Galveston history was chosen as part of the commission’s Undertold Marker program, which honors neglected Texas people and stories.
Yeager and her husband opened the orphanage and day care center initially for Black families during a time in the United States when Jim Crow laws were the norm in the South. At its beginning, it was one of only six private orphanages for Black children in Texas.
The orphanage also operated a day care center for mothers working in the war industries during World War I. In the 1940s, during World War II, the business was expanded to provide care to children regardless of race or religion — more than a decade before desegregation was required under the law.
“What Yeager accomplished boggles the mind,” said Marsha Wilson-Rappaport, director of community development at The Children’s Center, which traces its roots back to Yeager’s creation.
Wilson-Rappaport, along with Julie Baker, marker chairwoman for the Galveston County Historical Commission, helped to bring Yeager’s story to the forefront — and it’s one that should be told for years to come.
We at The Daily News know how important it is to ensure news and historical facts about all walks of life are chronicled and recorded for the public to see.
The collaboration between the historical commission and residents who worked to uncover Yeager’s story should be commended.
Her story is one of perseverance, courage and passion.
Yeager died in 1969 and a new shelter was named in her honor in 1975 at its current location, now run by The Children’s Center.
The story of Albertine Hall Yeager is a beacon of light for all of us. It’s a reflection of the ideal that no matter what life may throw at us during the good or bad times, if we look at putting others before ourselves, good is sure to follow.
That’s what this story is about. The good in people. The good in all of us.
And when Yeager’s marker makes its way to Galveston, we’ll be there to celebrate. We’re hoping you’ll be there, too.
Galveston County Daily News
