Carl Gene Young Sr. Park
Carl Gene Young Sr. (1948-2007)
Carl Gene Young Sr. Park, situated in Southeast Denton, was leased from the estate of Dr. M.C. Sheppard in 1971 and for a time was known as Sheppard Park. The city purchased the land in 1979.
Soon after that purchase the name was changed to Phoenix Park after the nearby Phoenix Apartments, an affordable housing complex built in the 1970s that replaced the Dreamland Apartments. The Phoenix Apartments and park were plagued by much the same issues as the Dreamland Apartments and Sheppard Park, an abundance of litter, inconsistent management, crime and drug use that led former City Council Member Mike Cochran to refer to it as "the city's greatest failure in public housing." A "rotting hulk, reeking of wet drywall and failed aspirations," became to some a "metaphor for all that was wrong with the neighborhood around it." In 2005, the Phoenix Apartments were razed and were replaced by Rennaisance Courts the following year.
Seeking to disassociate Phoenix Park from the legacy of the Phoenix Apartments, City Council Member for District 1, Charlye Heggins pushed to have the park renamed for Carl Gene Young Sr., a former District 1 City Council Member and resident of Southeast Denton. The change was unanimously approved by the Park Board on April 2, 2007.
Carl Gene Young Sr. was born to George Alfred Young and Dorothy Nell Sims Young in 1948 and raised in Denton. A disabled American veteran, Young served in the 1st Air Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War. He returned troubled by post-traumatic stress and the lingering effects of Agent Orange before rising above that adversity to become an advocate for his community. He made sure there were annual community celebrations for Juneteenth, the Martin Luther King Jr. March in January and an Easter Egg hunt at Fred Moore Park in honor of 16 soldiers killed in Vietnam on Easter Day, 1968. In 1995 he began the first of three consecutive terms as Council Member for District 1.
Known for his candor, Young is remembered as a "fiery crusader for Southeast Denton," a constant advocate for affordable housing, diversity in city hiring and better law enforcement. On the occasion of his passing in 2007 a resolution was passed during the 80th Texas Legislature in his honor: "WHERAS, Carl Young was unfailingly forthright and honest, a fiery advocate for the ordinary citizen; his was a classic American story of triumph over adversity, as he rose to become a champion for his community; his passionate dedication to the service of others earned him the lasting respect of all who knew him..."
Sources:
- H.R. No. 1505, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/HR01505F.htm
- Brown, Lowell, "Former councilman Young dies." Denton Record-Chronicle. January 11, 2007.
- Editorial, "Carl Gene Young." Denton Record-Chronicle. January 12, 2007.
- Brown, Lowell, "Cookout on Carl Young Day to celebrate his life, IF YOU GO." Denton Record-Chronicle. July 19, 2009.
- Tabor, Britney, "Event to offer taste of Young's giving nature Second cookout planned at park named for late City Council member COMMUNITY COOKOUT." Denton Record-Chronicle. July 13, 2010.
- Breeding, Lucinde and Greg Russel, "The hunt is on Local parks are packed with eggs this weekend - bring your own baskets MORE EASTER EVENTS." Denton Record-Chronicle. April 5, 2007.
- Taylor, D.J., "Yesteryear." Denton Record-Chronicle. June 14, 2020.
- Brown, Lowell, "From 'fiasco' to a tribute PLAN would honor civic servant, erase park's tainted name PROPOSED PARK NAME CHANGE." Denton Record-Chronicle. March 31, 2007.
- Editorial, "Phoenix Apartments." Denton Record-Chronicle. August 3, 2005.
- Monet Franklin, Southeast Denton Neighborhood Association.