Legendary Playwright: Jackie Mills Brings Salado’s Story to the Stage

By Elizabeth Finkenbinder | Photo from Tex Appeal archives and courtesy of Jackie Mills

Jackie Mills is a legend in her own right. This gracious, elegant lady is 89 years young, and she has been a foundational part of the success of the Salado community theater and many other city projects for decades. She is the owner and operator of the Tablerock Goodnight Amphitheater in Salado, as well as the creator of an historical play.

This year marks the 29th annual performance of the famous “Salado Legends” production, which highlights the colorful history of the Central Texas village. Salado is already an epicenter for arts and creativity, housing many art galleries, restaurants and shops full of handmade goods. People come from miles around to visit Salado and partake in all it has to offer, including the well-known Salado Stroll around the holidays.

Mills and her family have lived in the area for more than 30 years, and they all love the community. Mills lived in Texas as a young girl, but she began moving all around the country due to her stepfather’s job. When she met and married her husband, Denver Mills, during the Korean War, they first lived in Kansas but were given an opportunity to move to Texas. They lived in the Dallas area for many years before heading south to Salado.

Jackie spent much of her time supporting her husband, who was a civil engineer, and raising her two children. Her leadership qualities shone through, however, and she became an alderman for the city council In Salado. Because of her writing ability and her experience with theater at a young age, city officials asked Mills if she would take over the Tablerock Amphitheater. They gave her exactly $1.34 to begin the extensive project. With her wits, a wing and a prayer, Mills worked hard to raise money for reconstruction of the theater. She also began an extensive writing project that would retell the history of Salado and named it “Salado Legends.”

In 1993, the first performance debuted with Mills as an actress. It had taken her nine months of extensive editing and rewriting. She and two other friends all enjoyed writing in various genres and would meet and look over each other’s work.

Her tried-and-true test of her final draft would be to stand in front of the mirror and perform the scenes. “If I cried when I was supposed to cry and laugh when I was supposed to laugh, then I knew it was good,” Mills said. She later taught elementary students about theater and writing plays and gave them this same wise advice.

She directed for a few years as well, but she finally decided to hand the reins over to other directors. For many years, the show has been sold out except for the pandemic years. Her theatrical accomplishments were recognized in the early 2000s by the Library of Congress, which immortalized her play with an exhibit including costumes and scripts. She took one of her daughters and a granddaughter to be a part of that day, and she received an award for outstanding work in outdoor theater productions.

The play retells the history of the area, including cattle drives, founding fathers of the village, and relationships with the Native American tribes in the area. She took a great deal of historical background from actual letters sent by her family members during the Civil War era which delineates the atmosphere in Texas at that time.

The actors are mostly local and include Dr. Howard Horton, who has played Sam Houston for over 20 years, and local meteorologist Andy Anderson and many other talented performers. Other well-known events take place at Tablerock such as A Christmas Carol during the holidays and a newer event called “Fright Trail” in October. All these take place due to the ingenuity and initiative of the illustrious and talented Mills.

Her husband, Denver, served on a city council for many years, which involved lots of time, energy and resources. Jackie asked him once why he did it, and he replied that he wanted to give something back. When asked why she gave so much of her own talent, time, and energy to her town, the arts, and people, she replied that she took his words to heart and wanted to pay it forward to the wonderful village.

Salado owes much of its culture and beauty to this gifted lady, and its citizens will be forever grateful for her ongoing contribution to making it a wonderful place to live.

This season’s final production of “Salado Legends” is Aug. 6. Dinner will be served at 7:15 PM for $13 (adult or child) and must be purchased in advance. Tickets for the performance are $25 per adult, $10 for high school or college students with ID, and $5 for children 12 and younger.

Tickets may be purchased at CentralTexasTickets.com or 24 hours in advance at various shops in Salado and Horizon Bank.