Raising children the Oak Cliff way

by Sara Kitto of Cliff Dweller

OAK CLIFF — “The most important thing in the universe is to rock and sing to a child because that is the bond that holds civilization together,” says Paula Craig, known to most of us as simply, Ms. Paula. She continues, “I am ambitious; I want my life to be dedicated to the most important work.”

Paula Craig sees herself as an entertainer and we appreciate her entertaining qualities, but it is Ms. Paula’s deep devotion to mentoring families for which we praise her. It is her calling to pass on the spirit and truth of family values, and to help Oak Cliff maintain its continuity and remain one of the best places to raise children in North Texas. “I have the ideal life,” Paula says, “I get to learn with the children just discovering themselves. I get to mother young parents as they do the real work of life. I get to mentor future Montessori guides. I get to mother the community by working with my neighbors to create the Twelve Hills Nature Center for the child in all of us. And I get to contribute to the myriad of loving projects undertaken by the Oak Cliff Lions Club.”

Paula Craig was born in 1938 and her parents built a home outside of the city limits in Elmwood, the first house on the west side of Edgefield Avenue, when Oak Cliff was like a small town. As a child, Paula was molded by her parents’ willingness to create community. They helped found the Elmwood Methodist Church where Paula was the first baby to be baptized. The Dad’s club and PTA at Henderson Elementary School, and many other organizations, came into being as their family grew in leadership. Paula has very fond and vivid memories of growing up in Oak Cliff. She says, “The end of the world was at Mountain Lake road: Tyler on the east, the railroad tracks and the creek.” She still has very close ties to her Sunset High School graduating class of 1956.

Still living in the area, Paula remains dedicated to Oak Cliff and has concerns about the current redevelopment. She wants the area to maintain the social capital that makes it such a unique and caring community. “That social capital can be squandered by the tearing down of places and relationships,” she explains, “especially if the re-building occurs without continuity. Such a dynamic would erase the essence of Oak Cliff.”

After graduating from Sunset, Paula attended the University of Texas at Austin, studying Drama and English. Her ventures into being an entertainer started at the age of 2 and a half, and she continued seeking opportunities every chance she got, ultimately starting the very first theatrical booking agency in Austin. She booked herself, her husband’s band and a few major acts there. Paula and David’s first child was David Craig Williams. This beloved boy took her down the path to eventually find her best life’s work.

When Davy was 2, Paula attended the first meeting of the Austin Montessori Society and was introduced to child led developmental education. Davy began school, but one month before his third birthday, he was diagnosed with cancer. The family struggled through the illness for 18 months. Out of Davy's death, Paula and her husband found the strength to memorialize their son by founding the David Craig Williams Memorial Montessori School A.M.I. in Oak Cliff. “Our family business was entertaining. We played the major supper clubs in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Ft. Worth, aka ‘the wedding and bar mitzvah circuit.’ That’s how Dave Williams and I earned the money to found the memorial school. Montessori was our ‘art.’”

For 22 years the school flourished and Paula, the administrator of the school, took on the role of Montessori Mentor. When the school closed in 1994, Paula found Musikgarten, a lively blend of music and Montessori for babies through adults. She currently offers Musikgarten to the neighborhood as well as working as a developmental consultant for families and schools.

Embracing the lives and development of so many Oak Cliff families, Paula says, “The children we learn through do not have to be our blood children, they can be our spirit’s children.”

Paula and David had two more children, Brandon and Meghan, who now live on the West and East Coasts, respectively. Both are married, and Paula is the proud grandmother of baby boy Val Keepin.

Despite her many professional achievements, Paula Craig maintains that her role is simply mother. She remembers a special conversation with her daughter: “When Meghan was about 6 and we spent a great deal of time at DCW Montessori School where I directed an international staff with 6 lively classrooms, did parent education and fronted bands on weekends, I asked her one evening what she wanted to be when she grew up, what work did she want to do. She hemmed and hawed and said she didn’t know. Trying to get some ideas going, I said, ‘Well, what kind of work do I do?’ She looked at me like I was crazy and said, ‘well, you’re a mom!’”

As she has continued to mother so many in Oak Cliff over the years, the community could not be more grateful.