DFW News App

Erin Perkes sits in front of her house with her dog, Delany, on July 18, 2024, in the Mistletoe Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WhereILive_July18_CamiloDiaz1829-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/WhereILive_July18_CamiloDiaz1829-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>
By Erin Perkes

I am a Fort Worthian through and through. 

I love feeling intrinsically connected to the city I live in. Every day, I drive by various city landmarks and hospitals, and I tell my kids how their grandfather, great grandfathers and great-great grandfathers played a role in the building of these historical buildings. My grandfather worked in the Stockyards back when it still served its original purpose. 

Living toward the city center has always been a priority to us when selecting where to live. As a family with three small children, moving to Mistletoe Heights was a no-brainer. 

We love historical homes, as our first home was in Oakhurst. We fill our afternoons with walks on the tree-lined streets, visits to the Fort Worth Zoo, feeding the koi at the Botanic Garden, visiting the art museums, and supporting local businesses that line Magnolia and the rest of the Near Southside. 

All of these locations are within a five- to seven-minute walk or drive for us. 

We spend evenings on our front porch chatting with neighbors, while our children play with their friends and zoom on their bikes up and down the street. We also take advantage of the local entrance to the Trinity Trails, and we frequently check out the various wildlife living along the Trinity River.

I love being out and about doing errands, eating somewhere or just enjoying a late night drink at a bar and running into friends. We live in a city of almost a million people, and yet as I am typing this at a local coffee shop, I have already run into a friendly face. 

During these hot summer months, we have been frequenting our local library, the Ella Mae Shamblee Library. These librarians pour their hearts into the community, and my children have felt welcomed and excited to visit their librarian friends and enjoy their numerous community events. 

Additionally, what makes this little nook of the city special is the community built around Lily B. Clayton Elementary. The school itself is more than 100 years old, and is a testament of how a school can foster community and investment in the surrounding area when there is mutual support. I am passionate about public schools and what they can and already do for the community, and I am constantly trying to learn how to help drive equity in our public school system to ensure that all families feel the same network with their school and see growth being fostered with their children. 

It’s important to me that as our city continues its growth, that it doesn’t forget or overlook the aspects that make up the essence of Fort Worth. The city likes to highlight that “Y’all means all.” To me, some keys to maintaining that as our city grows include remaining a safe place for our LGBTQ+ community, taking care of our growing unhoused community, not becoming a safe haven for hate groups, and acknowledging and learning from our city’s racist past and how we as community members can be better allies and neighbors.

Mistletoe Heights is a small neighborhood with a long history. More than anything, it is interconnected to all different parts of Fort Worth, making it just another little patch on the large, diverse quilt that is our city, where the West begins.

Erin Perkes is a wife, mom of three and community activist. She currently serves as a Democratic Party precinct chair, returned Peace Corps volunteer and Leadership ISD Civic Voices Fellow. Erin and her family have lived in Mistletoe Heights for four years. 

Mistletoe Heights

Total population: 3,975Female: 54% | Male: 46%

Age0-9: 10%10-19: 7%20-29: 22%30-39: 15%40-49: 10%50-59: 10%60-69: 14%70-79: 7%80 and older: 5%

EducationNo degree: 8%High school: 15%Some college: 23%Bachelor’s degree: 31%Post-graduate: 23%

RaceWhite: 66.5% | Asian: 4.2% | Hispanic: 21% | Black: 4.9% | Two or more: 3.4%

Click on the links to view the Texas Education Agency ratings for schools within 1 mile:

Trimble Technical High School

Young Women’s Leadership Academy

World Languages Institute

Lily B. Clayton Elementary

Tarrant County JJAEP

Arlington Heights High School

Paschal High School

Daggett Middle School

Stripling Middle School

International Newcomer Academy

Texas Academy of Biomedical

Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center

Daggett Elementary

De Zavala Elementary

North Hi Mount Elementary

South Hi Mount Elementary

Daggett Montessori

Children’s Medical Center

Women’s Haven

Bridge Association

PK Satellite Centers

Tarrant Youth Recovery

Assessment Center

Insights Learning Center