1802_local covers custom.qxp 1/15/18 10:16 AM Page 4

BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE FEBRUARY 2018 Thursday Night Lights Chocolate + Peanut Butter Hotel Settles

HOPES OF HARMONY East Texas freedom colony fostered integration

SEE PAGE 18 BLUEBONNET NEWS COUNTTRY LIVING MADE EASIER WITH MUELLER STEEL BUILDINGS 2018 Since 1944 February

FAVORITES 5 Letters 6 Currents 18 Local Co-op News Get the latest information plus energy and safety tips from your cooperative. 29 Texas History The Rope Walker of Corsicana By Gene Fowler MARION “JAP” JONES LES RITCHERSON JR. ANDREW PENNS 31 Recipes Peanut Butter + Chocolate 35 Focus on Texas Photo Contest: Jailhouses 36 Around Texas List of Local Events 38 Hit the Road Hotel Settles Standing Tall By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers

ELDRIDGE DICKEY JOE WASHINGTON JR. DAN HASKINS ONLINE A new book shines a light on Prairie View TexasCoopPower.com Interscholastic League football stars. Find these stories online if they don’t FEATURES appear in your edition of the magazine. Observations A Vision of Harmony Grant’s Colony outside Huntsville Busted at Bee Cave 8 offered integrated community for former slaves. By Clay Coppedge Story by LaDawn Fletcher | Photos by Julia Robinson Texas USA Dark Corner and High Hill Thursday Night Lights Book tells the largely unknown By Lonn Taylor 12 story of segregated African-American high school football. By Michael Hurd NEXT MONTH What the Devil? Exploring Lucifer’s pointed influence on naming Texas places, plants and critters. 29 35

31 38 PLAYERS: COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS. HORNS: KOSTSOV | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

ON THE COVER The settlement for former slaves founded by George Washington Grant in 1866 has all but disappeared. Photo by Julia Robinson

TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Bryan Lightfoot, Chair, Bartlett; Blaine Warzecha, Vice Chair, Victoria; Alan Lesley, Secretary-Treasurer, Comanche; Mark Boyd, Douglassville; William F. Hetherington, Bandera; Mark Stubbs, Greenville; Brent Wheeler, Dalhart • PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin • COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Jerry Boze, Kaufman; Clint Gardner, Coleman; Rick Haile, McGregor; Greg Henley, Tahoka; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Mark McClain,Roby; Gary Raybon, El Campo; Kathy Wood, Marshall • MAGAZINE STAFF: Martin Bevins, Vice President, Communications & Member Services; Charles J. Lohrmann, Editor; Tom Widlowski, Associate Editor; Karen Nejtek, Production Manager; Andy Doughty, Creative Manager; Grace Arsiaga, Print Production Specialist; Chris Burrows, Senior Communications Specialist; Christine Carlson, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Paula Disbrowe, Food Editor; Travis Hill, Communications Specialist; Taylor Montgomery, Digital Field Editor; Jessica Ridge, Communications Specialist; Jane Sharpe, Senior Designer; Ellen Stader, Senior Communications Specialist; Shannon Oelrich, Proofreader

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 3 Win a Galveston Getaway

Garages | Hobby Shops | Farm Buildings | Equestrian | Commercial | General Purpose | Homes

When you build with Morton, you build something that lasts. The quality of our materials, our craftsmen, and our industry-leading warranty will ensure your satisfaction for generations to come.

Buy now and save during our annual Building Value Days sale!

GET DETAILS AND ENTER ONLINE AT 800-447-7436 | mortonbuildings.com ©2018 Morton Buildings, Inc. A listing of GC licenses available at TexasCoopPower.com mortonbuildings.com/licenses. Certain restrictions apply. Ref Code 606 Visit Galveston.com for visitor information.

4 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com LETTERS

Pop and Spike on Purpose What a heartwarming story Hanging With John [Pop and Spike, December What a surprise to read your story 2017]. It gives me hope that I, too, will find purpose in my [John the Baptist, December 2017] retirement years. God bless that sparked memories of a special Spike and Pop. I hope they have many happy, joyful and time and place from my past. purposeful years together. As kids back in the late 1950s, my BARBARA STOHLER VIA FACEBOOK friends and I lived near and often We all need a purpose. I think visited the woods where John left his it’s a benefit of living. And Mama’s probably looking on, notes with Bible scriptures. We always referred to him as Crazy John. being happy as well. We met him only once and visited for about a half-hour. He seemed like KATHLEEN DAVIS | NACOGDOCHES DEEP EAST TEXAS EC a normal guy, although definitely a hermit. John had a small campfire going and was drinking coffee from a tin cup. I remember him being unshaven Head of the Table The Cornsilk Pudding Pie and with dark, piercing eyes. [Recipes, November 2017] was the hands-down favorite JOHN SIMMONS | STREETMAN | NAVARRO COUNTY EC on our Thanksgiving table! JOY MILLER VIA FACEBOOK | CIBOLO GUADALUPE VALLEY EC homes for wounded veterans. I wonder, though, could you also the arduous sea voyage, It was an inspiring article. maybe change the name to just suspended in a leather harness SARAH METSCHAN | AUSTIN Co-op Power? in the dark cargo hold of a PEDERNALES EC LUKE D. JESSUP | SNYDER, OKLAHOMA Spanish ship for nearly 57 days. SOUTHWEST RURAL EC MIKE HARDAWAY | MCKINNEY OK With Us COSERV Let me preface this by stating Hearty Buffalo that I dislike all things Texas— After reading the plight of geography, teams, towns, etc. the American bison in Buffalo About a year back, Southwest Bilked [November 2017], I was GET MORE TCP AT Rural Electric Cooperative immediately struck with how TexasCoopPower.com [based in Tipton, Oklahoma, long it must have taken to sail Sign up for our E-Newsletter for with some members in Texas] from Texas to Spain in the late monthly updates, prize drawings started sending us Texas Co-op 1700s. and more! Power in addition to Oklahoma Using sea-distances.org, I was Living. On accident, I opened able to determine the distance WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! it and read a couple of things by sea between Corpus Christi ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share and enjoyed them, so I ended and Cadiz, Spain—approxi- Helping Veterans EMAIL: [email protected] We learned so much about up reading the entire magazine. mately 4,800 miles. Sailing MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, the Gary Sinise Foundation Well, I read Texas Co-op ships of that time could barely 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, [Welcome Home, November Power cover to cover the first make 100 miles a day. Austin, TX 78701 2017] and its work with other day it arrives. It’s very well- I’m astonished that the one Please include your town and electric co-op. charitable organizations and cor- written and contains interesting wild female buffalo survived Letters may be edited for clarity and length. porations in providing individual- topics. You folks produce a not only capture and the over- ized, adapted, mortgage-free great magazine. land drive from La Bahia but D FE Texas Co-op Power

TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 74, NUMBER 8 (USPS 540-560). Texas Co-op Power is published monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical postage paid at Austin, TX, and at additional offices. TEC is the statewide association representing 75 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.20 per year for individual members of subscribing cooperatives. If you are not a member of a subscribing cooperative, you can purchase an annual subscription at the nonmember rate of $7.50. Individual copies and back issues are available for $3 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Co-op Power (USPS 540-560), 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. Please enclose label from this copy of Texas Co-op Power showing old address and key numbers. ADVERTISING: Advertisers interested in buying display ad space in Texas Co-op Power and/or in our 30 sister publications in other states, contact Martin Bevins at (512) 486-6249. Advertisements in Texas Co-op Power are paid solicitations. The publisher neither endorses nor guarantees in any manner any product or company included in this publication. Product satisfaction and delivery responsibility lie solely with the advertiser. © Copyright 2018 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohib-

HERMIT: YAO XIAO. VETERAN: JULIA ROBINSON VETERAN: XIAO. YAO HERMIT: ited without written permission. Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2018 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 5 CURRENTS

BY THE NUMBERS

Texas Co-op Power’s circulation hit 1.54 million in December. It has the highest circulation of any magazine in the state.

HAPPENINGS Who Wrote CO-OP PEOPLE the Book of Love? RED HATS UPDATE

The Round Top Festival Institute combines a love of books and a love It’s been two years since we first put the word out that of romance with its VALENTINE’S CONCERT WITH DICK SMITH AND FRIENDS Nancy Johnson, a member of on FEBRUARY 10. Southwest Texas EC, has the After the performance, featuring popular songs celebrating sweet- dream of providing all babies born in Texas in February with hearts, guests may sponsor a book and bid on silent auction items red hats. Johnson volunteers as to benefit the institute’s library. the Texas ringleader for the American Heart Association’s Concert pianist James Dick established the institute, a member Little Hats, Big Hearts project of Fayette Electric Cooperative, in 1971 to nurture aspiring young to raise awareness of congenital heart defects. February is musicians. It has grown to encompass a campus of more than 200 American Heart Month.

acres, featuring the 1,000-seat Festival Concert Hall. Johnson’s home in Sonora is the de facto headquarters for INFO a (979) 249-3129, festivalhill.org her efforts, and thousands WEB EXTRAS of handmade hats—knitted, a Find more crocheted and loomed—have | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM happenings passed through it since that online. first Currents item in 2016 and a cover story in 2017 were pub- lished. Hundreds of volunteers have contacted Johnson after learning of her quest through Texas Co-op Power.

Johnson arranges for hospitals to participate in the program. She says she added 20 hospi- tals to the program in the past year. “I am covering many rural, small-town hospitals where most of the co-op people go for their health care,” she says. She also added Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.

To learn more, donate or make hats, contact Nancy Johnson at (325) 226-3659 or 19nanjo41

@gmail.com, or visit heart.org. NERTHUZ NOZZLE: | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. OLHA CHERNOVA TORCH: EC. VICTORIA DONATION: | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. & PIANO: AFRICA STUDIO YARN

6 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com SPORTS SECTION Passing the Torch

When the Olympic torch passed through Dallas on December 12, 2001, on its way to Salt Lake City, Mayor Ron Kirk chose 89-year-old Dorothy Franey Langkop to carry the torch up the steps of City Hall. Who better than one of Texas’ greatest-ever ice skaters?

Langkop was born in Minnesota and won bronze in women’s speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics before setting 12 world records in the sport. But she’s best known for The Franey Ice Revue, her figure skating show that ran 14 years at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas beginning in 1943. Langkop died in 2011.

CO-OPS IN THE COMMUNITY Hurricane Harvey

IN TRUE COOPERATIVE SPIRIT, folks in Virginia and Louisiana sent emer- gency supplies to Texas co-ops after Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, based in Chase City, Virginia, sent Other former Winter Olympics greats, an 18-wheeler packed with hundreds of items, including water, personal including Chad Hedrick, Brian Leetch hygiene products, cleaning supplies and handwritten messages of faith and and Tara Lipinski, also have called encouragement 1,300 miles to Victoria EC. the Lone Star State home at points “Cooperation Among Cooperatives is the sixth founding cooperative in their lives. principle on which we operate, and I cannot think of a finer example of seeing this principle put into action,” said Blaine Warzecha, general man- So while Texas isn’t known for its snow ager of Victoria EC. or ice, Texans still may be in the mix Employees from Dixie Electric Membership Corporation in Baton when the 2018 Winter Olympic Games Rouge, Louisiana, sent cleaning supplies, paper goods, diapers, water and kick off February 9 in Pyeongchang, $100 gift cards to Sam Houston EC. Center of Hope, a charitable organiza- South Korea. tion sponsored by churches in the Livingston area, distributed the relief supplies. Employees at Dixie Electric, who experienced major flooding in 2016, wanted to return the favor after they received financial help from Sam Houston EC employees during that crisis. WORTH REPEATING HURRICANE HARVEY created a rush on gas stations around “Education is the key to unlock Texas in the days after the storm the golden door of freedom.” pounded the state. The gas shortage, fueled in part by social media, created lines 10 cars deep, causing —GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER, concern at CoServ, which needed to keep its fleet of a former slave turned botanist who vehicles rolling. revolutionized agriculture by inventing So the co-op set up a fuel tanker at its main office in Corinth new uses for such crops as peanuts and and bought 3,600 gallons of diesel and 3,200 gallons of unleaded, soybeans, producing adhesives, bleach, which kept its vehicles on the road and out of lines. buttermilk, ink, shoe polish, synthetic “People may have panicked because of social media, but CoServ didn’t,” rubber, pavement and more. February 11 said Randy Hall, CoServ’s director of job training and safety. is National Inventors’ Day.

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 7

“The creek is the worst one I ever saw. It rises very suddenly and its channel changes frequently. It is near our house, but out of sight. One day last week it was very rainy and toward evening, Harry Stratton went down on foot to cross the creek but it was too high, so he came in here, and while he was here the rain poured down. Father was over at the schoolhouse, and not before dark Mother felt anxious about him, and as it had started she went down to the creek and just as she got there he came up on the other side but although he was on horseback it was impossible for him to cross, so he turned back. It had stopped raining and the creek had fallen as fast as it had raised.” —SARAH WILLIAMS, October 12, 1875, courtesy of the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College A VISION OF HARMONY

GRANT’S COLONY, AN EAST TEXAS FREEDOM COLONY, OFFERED INTEGRATION FOR FORMER SLAVES

he creek rose and fell, like the fortunes of the former South. Others were created when philanthropic whites donated, slaves who lived in Grant’s Colony near Huntsville or sometimes opportunistic whites sold, land to the newly freed during and after Reconstruction. In small settlements slaves. Those created by blacks on unincorporated parcels of land T that sprang up after the Civil War, newly freed blacks often had very little interaction with whites. Grant’s Colony was made their homes and learned to navigate as free peo- different, however. ple in what we now call freedom colonies. It was founded by George Washington Grant, a wealthy, white Zachary Doleshal of Sam Houston State University didn’t slaveholder and landowner who had a spiritual awakening after intend to study freedom colonies. He first discovered Grant’s marrying his beloved wife, Mary Jane, a charter member of the Colony not as a history professor but as a newcomer to Huntsville. First Christian Church in Huntsville, now known as Disciples of His wife was hired as a math professor at Sam Houston State Christ. The religious conversion first, and he set out to explore his new hometown. He traveled STORY BY LADAWN FLETCHER was swift and his conviction deep. down Grant Colony Cemetery Road east of Huntsville and found PHOTOS BY JULIA ROBINSON He made a fortune in the himself on a gravel road surrounded by forest. At the end of the 1850s ferrying passengers by road, true to its name, he found a cemetery. stagecoach on the two-and-a-half-day journey from Austin to “When I saw it, I thought ‘What is this place?’ ” Doleshal says. Houston, and he plowed the profits into purchasing more than His curiosity was piqued, and when he was assigned to teach 11,000 acres of land in Walker and Grimes counties. public history, he knew discovering who Grant was and how he The Civil War exposed tensions over the issue of slavery in came to have a colony named after him would be a focus. religious denominations such as the Quakers and the Disciples Freedom colonies developed in varying ways in Texas. Histo- of Christ. Many members and their churches were strict pacifists rian Thad Sitton, author of Freedom and often abolitionists. They believed that the church and nation A logging and gas lease Colonies, says some communities should be unified under Christ. Through their church, the Grants road winds through Sam sprang up organically as families look- had ties to a Quaker congregation, called “Friends,” in Ohio. This Houston National Forest near the site of Grant’s ing to escape life on the plantation friendship would prove fortuitous for Grant’s Colony. Colony. New growth has created homesteads in unincorpo- George Grant had a vision for bringing his newly discovered

SARAH WILLIAMS LETTER: COURTESY FRIENDS HISTORICAL LIBRARY OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE COLLEGE OF SWARTHMORE LIBRARY HISTORICAL FRIENDS WILLIAMS LETTER: COURTESY SARAH choked the once open site. rated parts of counties throughout the religious ideals to life. In 1866, he dedicated 6,000 acres around

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 9 GEORGE GRANT HAD A VISION FOR BRINGING HIS NEWLY DISCOVERED RELIGIOUS IDEALS TO LIFE. IN 1866, HE DEDICATED 6,000 ACRES AROUND HARMON CREEK TO CREATE A COMMUNITY.

OVER THE YEARS, HE ADVERTISED PLOTS OF LAND FOR LEASE OR SALE TO ANYONE AND EVERY- ONE. HE ENVISIONED A COLONY IN WHICH BLACKS AND WHITES LIVED TOGETHER IN HARMONY.

Harmon Creek to create a community. Over the years, he advertised Grant donated land to build two churches and a school. The plots of land for lease or sale to anyone and everyone. He envisioned school attracted more than 100 students ranging from ages 6 to a colony in which blacks and whites lived together in harmony. He 20. With the school built, Grant turned his attention toward called his colony “Harmony Settlement,” and he worked with the securing teachers using his connections with Quaker congrega- Freedmen’s Bureau to make it happen. Freedmen’s agents were tions in Ohio. After the war, Quakers were dispatched to the almost universally despised in the South, and partnering with them to help create an integrated colony in the 1870s was perceived by HE CALLED HIS COLONY “HARMONY SETTLEMENT,” almost all as a ludicrous idea. But the newly freed slaves were very interested, even if white citizens were not. South to run schools for newly freed slaves. The Williams family, The integration experiment Grant conducted is especially Edward, Hannah and daughter Sarah, had met Grant before, and intriguing in light of what was happening in Texas at the time. he persuaded them to manage the New Harmony School. The late 1870s were particularly treacherous for blacks in Texas. The school grew under their tutelage. Dozens of letters written Gains made by blacks in the years immediately after the war primarily by young Sarah Williams to family still living in Ohio cat- were rolled back by Gov. Richard Coke and the Democratic Party, alogued daily life in the colony over six years. At its peak, in the which aligned itself with white supremacist groups such as the 1870s and 1880s, more than 400 people called Grant’s Colony home. Ku Klux Klan. Violence and intimidation were so pervasive that They grew sorghum, cucumbers, tomatoes and peaches, which they many black Texans joined freedmen from Louisiana and Missis- canned or dried and sold. They built the school and all the furnish- sippi or migrated to Kansas to seek equality and escape Jim Crow, ings for it. The town had a mill, cotton gin and post office. voter disenfranchisement and the Klan. Grant’s Colony also spawned leaders. It was run by an all- Grant’s Colony, although certainly not immune to the inequal- black, 12-person council. The community’s leadership extended ity and terror beyond its borders, did enjoy some protection. beyond the boundaries of the settlement when Richard Williams, “In many cases, having a white benefactor was enormously a former slave and member of the council, was elected to the helpful to the freedom colonies,” Sitton says. “It gave the com- Texas Legislature in 1870 and re-elected in 1872. He is mentioned munity a spokesperson on their behalf to the white citizens. ” with admiration in the letters Sarah Williams sent home. In his research, Doleshal found very little unrest in the colony. For a few decades, the colony thrived. But by the 1900s, it “Not to downplay the violence that did happen, but Grant’s began to falter. Grant died in 1889 with substantial debts. In his Colony was a place of peace, more or less,” he says. will, he asked for the colony to remain intact and only the remain-

10 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com ing land sold. The sale of the remaining land was not enough to property deeds from a Walker Opposite: Author LaDawn satisfy his creditors, and, in 1900, all the property was sold. Home- County Appraisal District map. Fletcher, left, and Sam Hous- steads remained, including the Grant family’s, but by then the The students pieced together ton State University professor Zachary Doleshal visit Grant’s school and the post office were gone. where the old roads had been. Colony Cemetery, which is still The decline of the colony is chronicled by the headstones Things took a positive turn when used. Above: The cemetery is in the cemetery. “The 1880s and 1890s tombstones were not they received a 1936 aerial pho- the final resting place for resi- elaborate by any stretch, but they were nice. Legible. Clearly tograph from the Forest Service. dents of the freedmen’s town. professionally made,” Doleshal says. “But in the 1910s and 1920s, Walter Kingsborough, archae- you see gravestones that are poured with rough concrete and ologist for the Forest Service, joined the search. Armed with aerial photos and old maps, the students were AND HE WORKED WITH THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. able to determine where key struc- tures, such as the school, existed. The the name written with fingers.” Forest Service provided metal detectors, and the group scoured Around 1910, the bridge over Harmon Creek that connected the area for remnants of lives long forgotten. They found a few the two sides of the colony washed away. The school was moved things but not much. from the property in the 1920s, signaling the end of the commu- Artifacts lend context, but they rarely tell the stories—people nity. In the late 1930s, the land was sold to the U.S. Forest Service, do. Doleshal still is looking for descendants of the residents of and any remaining families left the area. The earth reclaimed Grant’s Colony. His students have managed to find some using what was left of the colony, and the area sat undisturbed for genealogical studies, but those who remember hearing about life almost 80 years. in the colony have proved elusive. In 2016, Doleshal’s students stood in the forest outside In the meantime, Doleshal hopes the work he and his students Huntsville, looking for anything left of are doing will provide a nuanced picture of Reconstruction in WEB EXTRAS Grant’s Colony. “All we had to work with Texas. For blacks, it was an alternately heady and terrifying time a Read this story at the beginning was the cemetery. That to be an American citizen. But buried among those oft-recounted on our website was our starting point. I had students just struggles in our nation’s history, there are also stories of great to see one of walking around in the woods. I hate to say courage and imagination. Sarah Williams’ it; I told them, ‘Just walk around and For Doleshal, Grant stands out in Reconstruction-era Texas, handwritten maybe you’ll get lucky,’ ” he says. “They even if he isn’t well-known. He is proud to share with others the letters and text did not,” he adds ruefully. story of the man who dared to build a community reflective of from others. The class then found an old topo- his faith and the promise of a newly reconciled nation. graphic map, which they matched with LaDawn Fletcher is a Houston-area writer who enjoys writing about Texas.

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 11 Book tells the largely unknown story of segregated African-American high school football programs in Texas

BY MICHAEL HURD

FROM 1920 TO 1970, the Prairie View Interscholastic League ton (Lufkin Dunbar). In Houston, from the 1940s to 1960s, the served as the governing body for athletic, academic and music Jack Yates Lions and Phillis Wheatley Wildcats met on Thanks- competitions for segregated black high schools in Texas. Founded giving Day in the largest prep school game in the country, drawing at Prairie View A&M University as the Texas Interscholastic standing-room-only crowds that reached 40,000. League of Colored Schools, the PVIL mirrored the University In this excerpt from my book, Thursday Night Lights (Uni- Interscholastic League (founded at the University of Texas at versity of Texas Press, 2017), I write about my motivation for Austin), which directed the same activities for the state’s white telling the story of black high school football in Texas. high schools. From its inception in 1910, the UIL denied mem- bership to African-American schools. EXCERPT [Jeppesen Stadium in Houston] sat on a 60-acre tract After integration, the two leagues merged in 1967, and the bordered by Holman Street to the north, Cullen Boulevard to majority of the PVIL’s 500 schools closed. Only eight remain as the east, Wheeler Avenue to the south, and Scott Street to the members of the UIL. White schools played their football games west. Scott was a major artery of asphalt potholes connecting on Friday and Saturday nights; PVIL games were on Wednesday the growing black communities from the Third Ward south to and Thursday nights. Yet the underpublicized PVIL produced a Sunnyside. The stadium and its field house were one block east who’s who of high school, college and pro football talent, includ- of the all-black high school named after the minister, community ing Otis Taylor (Houston Worthing High School), Bubba Smith leader and former slave, John Henry “Jack” Yates—who was also (Beaumont Charlton-Pollard), Jerry LeVias (Beaumont Hebert), the first pastor of the first black Baptist church in Houston, Anti- Dick “Night Train” Lane (Austin Anderson), “Mean Joe” Greene och Baptist Church, established in 1866. The crimson-and-gold

(Temple Dunbar), Abner Haynes (Dallas Lincoln) and Ken Hous- Jack Yates High School Lions had a perfect home-field advantage PRESS OF TEXAS UNIVERSITY COURTESY PLAYERS: | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. SKYLINES LIGHTS:

12 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com This is most likely the 1909 team from Dallas Colored High School, which played in one of the first games between black high schools in Texas.

and a walking commute to observe competing PVIL teams and Besides the players and coaches, what I knew about high even Friday night action. school football were the Wednesday and Thursday night games Alphonse Dotson, a lineman for Yates, talked about those I saw at Jeppesen. So I was puzzled the first time I heard the gatherings: “We would go over to Jeppesen and watch the [white] phrase “Friday night lights.” And as I researched this book, I schools play on Friday nights. Hell, we could play with them and found that I was not alone in that reaction, since most of the for- play well, hold our own. We would have done well against them, mer PVIL players and coaches I spoke with around the state but that they kept us separate was for a different reason. We’d agreed the term had little to no meaning for them. Most black also have some camaraderie with guys from [PVIL schools] across high schools in Texas played on nights other than Fridays unless town, might have a fight. But as long as you weren’t courting a they had their own facility, as only a few did, such as Texarkana girl from somebody else’s neighborhood, you were fine. You Dunbar. Its Buffalo Stadium was located behind Theron Jones wanted to win when you played against them, but you wanted Elementary School, and during lunchtime my classmates and I them to do well afterwards.” chased one another around the field. The stadium stood as a buffer between the Houston College On game nights, I would wander through the gravel-and-red- for Negroes, just getting its start by holding night classes at Yates, clay parking lot, look for my parents, and pass visiting players in to the southwest on Wheeler, and segregated University of Hous- dirty, sweaty togs kissing their cheerleader girlfriends before ton, immediately to the northeast on Cullen. By 1947, the College boarding buses for the trip home. (I thought that was pretty cool.) for Negroes had begun developing its own campus, and Wheeler White schools had priority for the Friday night use of public sta- ran through the center of what would become Texas Southern diums shared with black schools. Asked about Jeppesen Stadium’s University. use, a stunned former PVIL football player responded as though

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 13 the place was the PVIL schools’ private domain: “You mean they in his own world around the school track on a hot spring day to used that stadium on Friday nights?” whatever groovy tunes were streaming through his transistor I remember a cold, drizzly December night in 1961 at Jeppe- radio earplug, and Taylor, back in the ’hood, sitting at the wheel sen. I was 12 and sat bundled up next to my dad in the stands as of his brand-new candy-apple-red Thunderbird convertible as Orsby Crenshaw and the Austin L.C. Anderson Yellow Jackets the fellas in Reedwood took a break from playing basketball to won a 20-13 contest against Yates for the PVIL Class 4A state crowd around and admire the vehicle, which he bought after he championship. Anderson was coached by Raymond Timmons, signed his rookie contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both guys who that night bested the great Andrew “Pat” Patterson, whose would show up on the big stage. Lattin threw down a monster

1958 PVIL champion- ship team from Livingston Dunbar High School team had come into the game undefeated. It would be the last of dunk to set the tone for Texas Western’s destruction of Adolph four state titles for the Yellow Jackets, and the only state cham- Rupp’s Kentucky Wildcats in the 1966 NCAA championship game, pionship game I ever witnessed. an upset for the ages that is credited with ushering in the recruit- That was my high school football experience growing up, ment of more blacks by previously all-white programs. Taylor, a attending segregated schools in the 1960s. strong but graceful receiver, was among the cadre of players from It had nothing to do with Friday night lights. historically black colleges who helped bring the American Foot- More to the point, as one PVIL alum put it, “Friday night ball League to life. In Super Bowl IV, Taylor, a prototypical big, lights? That’s white folks.” fast receiver, caught a short pass from Len Dawson, broke tackles This book is about “black folks” who coached and played high by cornerback Earsell Mackbee and safety Karl Kassulke, and school football behind the veil of segregation in Texas for half a high-stepped down the right sideline to the end zone, securing century, 1920–1970, as members of the all-black Prairie View the Chiefs’ 23-7 upset win over Minnesota. Interscholastic League, whose games were played primarily on Lattin and Taylor were local heroes, and I followed their careers, Wednesday and Thursday nights in most towns, Tuesdays in oth- but I had a vested interest in following other PVIL football players ers, some on Saturdays, but rarely on prime-time Friday nights, from the Houston area, too, as a fan and when games for white schools were played. The book’s title, then as a sportswriter. I read team depth WEB EXTRAS Thursday Night Lights, is not just a riff on “Friday night lights” charts and player bios, noted high school a Read this story but also identifies a defining reality of high school football games affiliations, and had flashbacks of sitting on our website played in racially charged times when even the midweek sched- in the stands at Jeppesen while watching to find resources uling of games for black teams carried a “less than” feel. some of those teams play. Thursday Night to learn more The PVIL’s genesis was as the Texas Interscholastic League Lights reveals the PVIL quilt that was a about the PVIL. of Colored Schools, organized three years after white policemen patchwork of athletic, academic and social and citizens’ mistreatment of black soldiers from the 24th U.S. achievements pieced together for a black Infantry led to the horror—17 people shot and killed—of the community striving to succeed, to take Camp Logan mutiny and Houston riot of 1917. The league folded care of its own despite the era’s racism. For me, its history became in 1970, one year after the University of Texas fielded its last all- a simmering narrative bred in familiarity, born from segregation. white football team. I had to tell this story. Emotionally, I have been writing this book since adolescence Michael Hurd is director of the Texas Institute for the Preservation of and the first time I saw PVIL greatness up close and personal in History and Culture at Prairie View A&M University. He is a Houston native David Lattin and Otis Taylor, Worthing and Sunnyside heroes. and former sportswriter for the Austin American-Statesman, USA Today and

I remember a profusely sweating “Big Daddy D” jogging coolly Yahoo Sports. PRESS OF TEXAS UNIVERSITY COURTESY PLAYERS:

14 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com Steel of Approval At $49, this blade of Damascus steel is a real steal amascus steel is legendary. Tales of its unmatched strength, sharpness and Ddurability ring through the ages. There are stories of gun rifles being sliced in two by Damascus steel swords and individual strands of hair being sliced in half, even if they gently floated down on to the edge of the blade. Now, you can be a part of the legend. The Legend Knife boasts nearly 4” of famed Damascus steel with it’s signature, wavy pattern. Damascus steel blade knives can cost thousands. So, at $49, the price itself is almost legendary. Cast Damascus steel, known as wootz, was popular in the East and it’s an exacting process that’s part metalwork, part chemistry. It's produced by melting pieces of iron and steel with charcoal in a low oxygen environment. During the process, the metals absorb carbon from the charcoal and the resulting alloy is cooled at a very slow rate. The outcome is a beautiful one-of-a-kind pattern of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Once a lost art, we sought out a knifemaker who has resurrected the craftsmanship of Damascus steel to create the Legend Knife. The genuine Damascus steel blade folds into a tri-colored pakkawood handle that’s prepared to resist the ravages of the great outdoors. When not in use or on display, The Legend Knife stays protected in the included genuine leather sheath. “If you have a Damascus steel blade knife, you have a knife blade with unique beauty. With its historical reputation as the metal used for the best swords over hundreds of years, and its distinctive wavy design, Damascus steel is a beauty to behold.” –– knifeart.com With our limited edition Legend Knife What customers are saying you’re getting the best blade money can buy. about Stauer knives... What you won’t get is the inflated price tag.  We know a thing or two about the hunt–– like how to seek out and capture an out- “Good value. Great looking. standing, collector’s-quality knife that won’t Sufficiently sharp. Overall cut into your bank account. Priced at an an "A" purchase and amazing $49, we can’t guarantee this knife I ordered three.” will stick around for long. So call today! — B. of Maryland Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Feel the knife in your hands, wear it on your hip, inspect the craftsmanship. If you don’t feel like we cut you a fair deal, send it back within 30 days for a complete refund of the item price. But we believe that once you wrap your TAKE 67% fingers around the Legend’s handle and experience OFF INSTANTLY the beauty of its Damascus steel blade, you’ll be ready ! to carve out your own legend. When you use your INSIDER Legend Knife $149* OFFER CODE Offer Code Price Only $49 + S&P Save $70

1­800­333­2045 Not shown Your Insider Offer Code: LGK17͘­01 actual size. You must use the insider offer code to get our special price.

® 14101 Southcross Drive W., Dept. LGK17-01 Stauer Burnsville, Minnesota 55337 www.stauer.com of *Discount is only for customers who use the offer code versus the listed original Stauer.com price. Rating A+

• High quality, etched Damascus steel lock back blade • Pakkawood handle with steel bolster • Open: 7 ¾"L; blade: 3 ½"L • Includes genuine leather sheath Stauer…Afford the Extraordinary.™ Limited Mintage Striking... LOW AS $ The Masterpiece Returns 89 EA 2018 $100 SILVER PROOFS

1 Collectible Mirrored proof Larger Franklin Liberty Bell, quill pen Minted in one Troy ounce Actual size is 6" x 2 ⁄2" 2018 date background portrait & July 4th date of .999% fine silver

GovMint.com Announces the Limited Mintage One Ounce of 99.9% Silver Buy More and Save More! Return of an Extraordinary Silver Proof— Best of all, this stunning Silver Proof is even Substantial additional discounts are available the Newest United States $100 Bill Struck more beautiful than the original because it’s for serious collectors who wish to acquire in Pure Silver. As low as $89 each! struck in precious silver! A landmark of proof more than one of these exquisite Silver Proofs. minting, it combines unprecedented weight This extraordinary piece of with extraordinary dimension. Just look at Year 2018 $100 Silver Proof pure silver has a surface area these unparalleled specifications: 1 proof - $99 each + s/h that exceeds 15 square inch- 2 proofs - $99 each + FREE SHIPPING es...and it contains one Troy • Struck From 99.9% Fine Silver. 3-4 proofs - $95 each + FREE SHIPPING ounce of pure silver! • Weighs One Troy Ounce. 5+ proofs - $89 each + FREE SHIPPING • Surface Area Exceeds 15 Square Inches. Just two years ago, we • 31.10 Grams of Pure Silver. Qualify For FREE SHIPPING! released One-Ounce Silver • Individually Registered and Comes With a For a limited time, orders over $149 qualify Proofs featuring the new $100 design— Numbered Certificate of Authenticity. for standard domestic shipping! Not valid on and the response was staggering. You wanted • Fully Encapsulated to Protect Its Mirror- previous purchases. more, and so we’ve returned once again with Finish for a Lifetime. new 2018 dated Silver Proof, available from • Arrives With a Deluxe Presentation Case. Only 9,999 Available GovMint.com at a special discount price—as GovMint.com will limit striking to only 9,999 low as $89! For a limited time, you have the special One Troy Ounce Silver Proofs for the year opportunity to acquire this giant silver proof 2018. Once the edition is sold out, no more Exquisite Detail for as low as $89 each! 2018 silver proofs can ever be struck. We urge The 2018 $100 Silver Proof is an exquisite you to call today. Don’t miss out on this historic adaptation of the United States Treasury’s NOTE TO COLLECTORS: When you place your and massive silver masterpiece! recently redesigned $100 Federal Reserve order for the 2018 $100 Silver Proof, it will be Note—only the third new $100 bill design in processed immediately, and the earliest orders will Call today toll-free for fastest service 100 years. It is a true artistic masterpiece that receive the coveted lowest registration numbers. will always be treasured by numistmatists, his- 1-800-973-3058 tory enthusiats and artists alike. Offer Code FSP188-04 Please mention this code when you call.

GovMint.com • 14101 Southcross Dr. W., Suite 175, Dept. FSP188-04 • Burnsville, MN 55337

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Facts and fi gures, including market values and the current population of specifi c graded, autographed or pedigreed coins are deemed accurate as of December 2017 and may change signifi cantly over time. NOTE: GovMint.com® is a private distributor of worldwide government coin and currency issues, and privately issued and licensed collectibles, and is not affi liated with the United States government. GovMint.com is not an investment company and does not offer fi nancial advice or sell items as an investment. The collectible coin market is speculative, and coin values may rise or fall over time. All rights reserved. © 2017 GovMint.com. FREE SHIPPING: Limited time only. Product total over $149 before taxes (if any). Standard shipping only. Not valid on previous purchases. This product was minted privately and is not legal tender in the U.S. THE BEST SOURCE FOR COINS WORLDWIDE™ Beachcombing at home. Texas Co-op Power presents an illustrated Seashells of Texas poster by artist Aletha St. Romain, 20x16 inches, suitable for framing. Order online at TexasCoopPower.com for only $20 (price includes tax, shipping and handling). Bonus offer: Get 2 posters shipped to the $20 same address for just $30. or 2 for $30 From the publishers of

If North Texas Is Your Market, We’ve Got You Covered.

Target custo mers close to home with the North Texas advertising section of Texas Co-op Power. We know that now, more than ever, it makes sense to target your audience with a trustworthy name—a name like Texas Co-op Power, which creates more advertising options for regional and local businesses like yours. Our North Texas advertising section targets homeowners living around Texas’ largest metropolitan area. With a regional circulation of 527,000 and a readership of 1,212,100, Texas Co-op Power delivers a huge audience that’s loyal and responsive. Be part of a statewide magazine—without the st atewide cost. Reach North Texas customers with Texa s Co-op Power. Call or email today.

NORTH TEXAS AUDIENCE Circulation 527,000 • Readership 1,212,100

Call: Martin Bevins at (512) 486-6249 Email: [email protected]

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 17 Two Bluebonnet linemen travel 3,400 miles to electrifying bring power to remote, rural villages

Electrification project PANDO BOLIVIA

BRAZIL

PERU H La Paz BOLIVIA South America CHILE PARAGUAY

ARGENTINA

Sixteen Texas linemen — including Bluebonnet's Jeremy Lynch, right, and Kyle Kasper — spent 10 days installing power poles, lines and meter wiring in the Pando region of Bolivia, seen in the map above. Below, the linemen worked alongside villagers who were building new homes with government-supplied materials like red brick.

Photos by Eric Hubbard, Mid-South Synergy

18 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE February 2018 bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 16 1/9/18 1:51 PM electrifying BOLIVIA By Lisa Ogle inemen Kyle Kasper and Jeremy Lynch are used to working in Bluebonnet Electric Coopera- tive’s rural areas. But they had never seen anything like the Lthree tiny, unwired South American villages of San Antonio de Maty, Batraja and Jerico in far northern Bolivia. ey arrived there in November 2017 to work with 14 line- men from ve other Texas electric co-ops. eir jobs for 10 days: install power poles, attach elec- trical lines across ve miles and connect meters to bring electricity to 125 families and two schools in the Amazon jungle. e villages are in one of the poorest parts of Bo- livia, the northern state of Pando with 55,000 residents. Kasper, 34, of Giddings has worked at Bluebonnet for 12 years. Lynch, 38, lives in Red Rock and has worked at the co-op for ve years. Kasper and Lynch are the rst Bluebonnet linemen to participate in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s interna- tional program, which has been bringing electricity to remote areas around the globe for more than 50 years. “We are really proud of Kyle and Jeremy for volunteering,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “ eir hard work and sacrice to help communities and families in need exemplies our values and represents what we truly believe in.” Long after the linemen’s trip, the reverberations of their work will be felt for generations in the tiny villages, paving the way to cleaner water, improved health, and access to better educational and economic opportunities. Getting there For the trip, Kasper and Lynch were each limited to two 50-pound travel bags for personal items plus linemen gear. ey had to get multiple vaccina- tions and pretreat their clothes with the insecticide permethrin for mosquito protection. After a day and a half of ights, layovers and a ve-hour bus ride Continued on next page

From top: In the three small villages where linemen worked, children were a regular presence; transportation in the region is often a family aair on motorcycles along red dirt roads; small homes in the villages are typically made of wood and corrugated metal and lit with kerosene lanterns, candles or battery-powered lights; Bluebonnet linemen Kasper, left, and Lynch with two of their fans (Photo from Kyle Kasper). Many children were fascinated with the linemen’s tools and equipment.

bluebonnet.coop February 2018 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 19

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 17 1/9/18 1:51 PM Above, a girl from the village of Batraja and her pet monkey (Photo from Kyle Kasper). At right, Kasper at work in Bolivia. He and Jeremy Lynch are the first Bluebonnet line workers to participate in an international program. Below, students at a school in Batraja, one of two schools that got electricity.

Continued from previous page packing the soil around them with sticks. To 8-year-old son, Kaden. Lynch has two grown their surprise, the wood was much sturdier children and is set to marry his ancée, Kalli through Bolivia’s swath of the Amazon rain than it appeared despite being smaller in di- Meuth, in April. forest, the U.S. team arrived in the small ameter than Texas power poles. “We had to town of Puerto Rico. e team was provided drill a hole to get a nail in,” Lynch said. with modest cabins and a central building Their biggest fans Climbing was a challenge. Some poles were where food was served. curvy, and others were so hard the hooks on e Bolivian villages consisted primarily of Kasper was anxious to arrive. Lynch admit- linemen’s boots couldn’t penetrate. Additional homes, a few schools and rudimentary medi- ted, “I was more anxious to gure out what concrete poles that couldn’t be climbed posed cal facilities. Batraja had a candy store at one we were getting ourselves into!” particular problems. Without a bucket truck end and a small convenience store on the On the road to reach the top of concrete poles, the crews other. Interpreters helped the linemen com- climbed long ladders held steady by others municate with residents. Every day, the team took an hour bus and tied in place on the ground. Once at the When they weren't in school, the village trip to one of the three villages. At rst, top, they tied the ladder to the pole, donned children seemed overjoyed that the workers rain turned the unpaved red dirt roads into fall-restraint gear and began work. were there and were keenly interested in every- muddy messes. One day one of the buses slid e rst half of the Bolivia project called thing they did. “Some of the kids helped lay into a ditch and was stuck until a truck driver for installing poles and power lines in each out the material we needed at each pole, and helped pull it out. After the rain stopped, the village. en, the linemen built meter loops sometimes they would bring material to us if roads dried and transformed into clouds of (conductive wires that connect meters to we were short of something,” Kasper said. red dust that ew into the buses and coated homes) and the local utility distributed me- Some youngsters were fascinated by the the crews before the day’s work even began. ters to residents. linemen’s drills. After hearing the loud tools As the linemen worked, locals were build- After a hot, humid workday of up to 13 for the rst time, the kids — in ip-ops or ing concrete roads alongside them. “It’s kind hours, linemen returned to home base to re- no shoes at all — would run around, mimick- of amazing,” Kasper said. “ eir whole road lax, play dominoes in one of a handful of air- ing the sound, Kasper said. system was under construction.” conditioned rooms or take a shower in cold Spending time with the kids was one of e Bolivian government is investing in in- water pumped from a nearby river. Dinner Lynch’s favorite parts of the trip. One day, frastructure in rural areas earmarked for elec- was served around 8 p.m., and was typically a preschool-age girl walked up to him and tricity to help the local economies grow, said beef, chicken or sh with beans and rice. made clear she wanted to be picked up and Zuraidah Homan, NRECA International Before bed, the linemen called their fami- hugged, he said. Despite the language barrier, communications manager. e highway lies. Kasper and his wife, Laurie, have an the children “showed the most appreciation project is expected to take about 10 years. Eventually the paved roads will connect the remote villages to one another, as well as to nearby towns and larger cities. On the job Days started at 7 a.m. for the linemen, with a breakfast of eggs, bologna, bread, pineapple and papaya. When Kasper arrived at the rst job site in Batraja, his rst thought was, “Surely, those aren’t the poles we have to climb.” e poles were thin, wobbly and made of eucalyptus, an unfamiliar wood. e crews tried to stabilize the poles by

20 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE February 2018 bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 18 1/9/18 1:51 PM CoServ Electric’s Christopher Hammonds, kneeling, and Bluebonnet’s Kasper, right, build a meter loop, the conductive wires that connect a meter to a home.

for the work we were doing,” Lynch said. e linemen spent a little time playing sports with the children and introduced them to American football. “Most of the kids didn’t even know how to hold or throw it,” Lynch said. Life in the village Villagers’ homes are lit by kerosene lan- terns, candles and battery-powered lights. Cooking is done outdoors in open-re wood stoves. A typical village home is made of wood with a corrugated metal roof. It usu- ally has a bedroom, kitchen and sometimes a primitive toilet area. e small rooms have dirt or wood oors, sheets hanging as door- ways and open-air windows. New, improved homes are being built, though, with materials supplied by the gov- ernment. ose new houses have concrete oors, red brick exteriors, mortar walls and septic systems. Without electricity, residents have no ap- pliances. Without refrigerators, fresh food is necessary. Children snack on fruit all day. Pigs and skinny dogs roam freely in the vil- River adventure lages. A few families have pet monkeys. On their one day o, the Texas linemen and the interpreters were all smiles at the Being in a South American jungle, the line- start of a surprise fishing trip up the local river, courtesy of an interpreter and the men came across some interesting bugs and Bolivian River Navy. They split up evenly on each side of the 30-foot, bare-bones animals. In addition to plentiful mosquitoes, wood boat in order to stay upright. The day got late, expected fishing gear still the area is home to poisonous snakes, huge hadn’t arrived and it seemed like a good time to return to their base. Then the tarantulas and big, colorful, furry asps with engine stopped. Passengers had to pry boards from the boat and grab sticks to paddle back, until a villager came to their aid. (Photo from Kyle Kasper) Continued on next page

bluebonnet.coop February 2018 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 21

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 19 1/9/18 1:51 PM Continued from previous page stings that pack a wallop. About the project Most family incomes come from culti- Mid-South Synergy, the electric vating Brazil nuts or constructing the new cooperative that borders Bluebonnet’s highways. Other locals spend their days service area to the east, led the Texas maintaining life in linemen on the Bolivia project in the village: fetching partnership with NRECA International. water from the riv- The nonprofit NRECA International seeks er, washing clothes to improve the quality of life for rural and cooking. Most communities in developing economies. villagers travel on It has helped establish 250 rural utilities dirt bikes and a in Africa, the Philippines, Haiti and other common sight is a countries and has been working with whole family piled Bolivian cooperatives for more than 50 onto one. years. e linemen’s Each year, NRECA International partners A beautiful but nished work will with American electric cooperatives to poisonous asp connect to a 20- send an average of 75 line workers and caterpillar was one amp breaker at other employees to remote parts of the of the many bugs, world. snakes and creatures each home, provid- encountered in the ing enough electric- Go to electrifybolivia.coop to learn more. jungle (Photo from ity for a few outlets Pedernales, CoServ, Bartlett and United Jeremy Lynch). and a couple of electric cooperatives also participated. lights, or possibly even a long-awaited refrigerator. “ ey won’t have to rely on candlelight,” Lynch said. It’s another step toward economic growth The villagers put on a closing ceremony and that will eventually allow them to start buying celebration to thank the crews for their work. The event included traditional dances, above appliances, radios and TVs, Homan said. left, and a skit in which the children donned the linemen’s gear to imitate them, left. The Saying goodbye crews from all six Texas electric cooperatives, below. Their work will improve the lives of the On the team’s last day in Bolivia, residents residents in the region for many years. from each village attended farewell festivities in San Antonio de Maty. Locally produced Brazil nuts were central to the food and danc- es. e children put on linemen shirts and hard hats and pantomimed the work they had watched. e role of Bluebonnet’s Kyle Kasper was played by the tallest, skinniest kid in the crowd. en the children pulled the linemen in for a traditional dance. “Seeing their way of life, the dierence between what they have and what we have,” really left an impression, Lynch said. “It really makes you grateful for what you have here,” Kasper added. at last night came to a most tting end: A breaker was turned on at a house in the village, and there was light — powered by electricity. n

Application deadlines are near for Board seat candidates, scholarships n Candidates for three seats on Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors n Bluebonnet will award 60 $2,500 scholarships to must submit petitions, filing fees and completed application for graduating high school seniors planning to pursue nomination forms by 4 p.m. Feb. 7, at any of our five member service higher education at academic institutions or trade and centers in Bastrop, Brenham, Giddings, Lockhart and Manor. The seats technical colleges. The deadline to apply is March 9. up for election are District 1, Caldwell, Gonzales, Guadalupe and Hays Applications are at bluebonnet.coop: click Community, counties; District 2, Travis County; and District 3, Bastrop County. Get then Scholarships. information about eligibility and the application on bluebonnet.coop: click on About, then Leadership, then the Becoming a Director link or If you have questions, call Karen Urban at 512-332-7961 call a member service representative at 800-842-7708. or email her at [email protected].

22 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE February 2018 bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 20 1/9/18 1:51 PM Shana Whiteley brings her entrepreneurial drive, deep local roots to Board By Janet Wilson hana Whiteley of Travis County, a successful businesswoman known forS her deep local roots and enthusiastic support for the community, has been appointed to Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s 11-member Board of Directors. Whiteley represents District 2, which in- cludes the co-op’s service area in eastern Travis County, formerly represented by Su- anna Tumlinson. “We are thrilled to welcome Shana to Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors,” said Ben Flencher, Board chairman. “Bluebon- net’s members, particularly those in Travis County, are very fortunate to have Shana joining the organization. She made quite an impression on the Board and clearly cares Sarah Beal photo deeply for and believes in serving her com- Shana Whiteley was named to Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative's Board of Directors in munity. I am confident she will have an im- December to represent District 2, which includes eastern Travis County. She is a busi- mediate positive impact on the co-op.” ness owner and community leader in Manor. Behind her is Manor's historic water tower. Whiteley grew up on a 100-acre corn farm between Pflugerville and Manor in Boat House Grill near Lake Travis. keys on the family farm. Her son is in 4-H Travis County, where she still lives with her In 2007 she wanted a challenge – and got as well and she continues supporting the son, Wesley Bocanegra, 12, and her father, one. She began fulfilling a long-held dream program today. James Whiteley. She owns two restaurants of owning a restaurant. She chose a 10-acre Whiteley also contributes to the Travis that serve casual comfort food: the Good site on FM 973 just north of Manor and County Youth Show, Rodeo Austin and a Luck Grill in Manor and the Lucky Duck opened the Good Luck Grill, handling ev- long list of other nonprofits. She is a mem- Cafe in Taylor. ery detail, including working as the general ber of the Taylor and Manor chambers of At times, her business experience has contractor. In 2015 she opened a second commerce, and served as president of the taken her far from home. After graduat- restaurant, the Lucky Duck Cafe in Taylor Manor chamber in 2012. ing with a bachelor’s degree in restaurant, in Williamson County. Whiteley is delighted to serve Bluebon- hotel and institutional management from “I’m a project person,” Whiteley said, de- net and wants co-op members to know she Texas Tech University and a master’s de- scribing some of the skills she will bring to is extremely hard working, a person of in- gree in business administration from Texas the Bluebonnet Board. “When I get a proj- tegrity and a dedicated mother to her son. State University, she traveled to Ukraine as ect, I’m going to make it happen.” “I love what Bluebonnet is doing, their a business development volunteer for the She’s also a philanthropist. She learned involvement in the community, their schol- U.S. Peace Corps. She studied the Russian the importance of giving back from her arship programs and their can-do attitude,” language and helped Eastern Europeans mother, Nadine Whiteley, a passionate vol- she said. “I want to be part of that. improve business skills as Ukraine, former- unteer and founding member of the Friends “It’s a privilege to serve others and being ly part of the Soviet Union, transitioned to of the Pflugerville Library who was instru- on the Board seems like a natural progres- independence after the Cold War. mental in the creation of the Pflugerville sion, another way for me to serve and do Whiteley returned to the United States in Public Library. She died in 2010. great things for my community.” 1998 and worked as a sales executive for As a child, Shana Whiteley was active Whitely, who is serving out the District 2 the Lubbock Convention and Visitors Bu- in 4-H, excelled in its leadership programs unexpired term, will be up for re-election in reau. Later, she was general manager of the and raised pigs, chickens, sheep and tur- May. n bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop February 2018 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 23

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 21 1/9/18 1:51 PM At Bluebonnet's call center, well-trained sta ers Thanks Date the co-op opened are ready with its call center in Bastrop answers & solutions 161,656 Calls handled in 2017 Want for to talk to us? Speak to a member service representative at 800-842-7708 from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. If you'd rather email us, send it to [email protected]. But if you need to report an outage, call 800-949-4414. calling!

t Bluebonnet, members come first. At the co-op’s call center, they come at the rate of about 700 calls a day. Between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, the busy center buzzes with telephone conversations about bills, Aoutages, setting up new service, discontinuing service, ways to reduce power use and save money, payment assistance or even how a solar array is connected to our electric grid. These member service representatives are not just well-versed in the co-op’s operations Sarah Beal photos — they work and live in the communities Bluebonnet serves. The Fab Four Bluebonnet is growing at a rate of almost That's the nickname given to this quartet of Bluebonnet 580 members a month, but last year the co-op representatives. They've worked in the call center since it handled 3,000 fewer calls than in 2014. That’s was created in 2005. From left, they are Crys Revetta, Eva Jo because of automated features on our website, Kieschnick, Theresa Kuhn and Laura Henson. bluebonnet.coop, on our mobile app and our automated phone system. That gives us more time to handle more complex telephone The call center representatives who have worked at Bluebonnet conversations. the longest have a cumulative 83 years of employment with Some representatives specialize in certain the co-op. They are Sharon Paul, Jerry Krchnak and Kieschnick. aspects of the business, such as helping members who want to install renewable energy sources or those with property in need of new poles, lines and equipment. But every representative is expected to be able to answer Back in the day most any question. A temporary call center, left, was New representatives go through six weeks of created in 2005 in a conference classroom training and several more weeks of room of Bluebonnet's original on-the-job training before they begin to answer headquarters in Giddings while calls on their own. Even then, it can take about the current location was being a year for a representative to become familiar built in Bastrop. Decades earlier, with all the resources within the cooperative right, Bluebonnet’s calls were and to confidently answer questions. answered by any available — Lisa Ogle administrative employee.

24 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE February 2018 bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 22 1/9/18 1:51 PM By the numbers

Employees when Sept. 19, 11 call center opened 2005 19 Employees today Thanks Date the co-op opened its call center in Bastrop We love hearing from members, 4:19 :48 161,656 minutes seconds but to save you time … Calls handled in 2017 ... sometimes a call isn’t the best way to take care of Bluebonnet (Mondays and the Average Average business. These tasks can be handled quickly online at days after holidays call length wait time bluebonnet.coop or via our mobile app on your smartphone: are the busiest.) in 2017 in 2017 l View and pay your bill l Monitor your energy use l Report an outage l Set up a payment arrangement Call center representatives speak l Request security light repair or tree trimming 5 Spanish to assist a growing segment of our membership

I feel like I make a difference when I am able to help a member with a ‘deferred payment, give someone an agency telephone number or just be calling! Call center FAQ: someone to talk to. What’s a capital credit? — Rosemary’ Gutierrez Every May, most co-op members will get capital credits on their electric bills. Those credits are the revenue collected by Bluebonnet above what is required to run the cooperative. Members are owners, and that is one way It’s automated! an electric cooperative is different from other types of Use our automated telephone system, 800-842-7708, but utilities. Also, co-op members elect the Board of Directors, have your account number handy. Then you can: and at the Annual Meeting in Giddings in May, members l Make a payment l Find the amount of your most recent can meet leaders of the cooperative, learn what’s going bill, any past due amounts and due dates l Get office on at Bluebonnet and win prizes. locations and business hours l Submit a request for new construction

If you don't have time to The best part of my job is being wait on hold, that's no problem. able to help members understand You can leave a call-back name their statements, explain Bluebonnet ‘and number on our automated ‘ policies or resolve high bill phone system and we'll call you inquiries. right back! — Joanie Walker — ’Elizabeth Herschap ’

New service, Back in the day new team A temporary call center, left, was If we are installing new poles, created in 2005 in a conference electrical lines and equipment at a room of Bluebonnet's original location, a new service coordinator headquarters in Giddings while is ready to guide members the current location was being through the multistep construction built in Bastrop. Decades earlier, process. Speak to one of these right, Bluebonnet’s calls were representatives by calling answered by any available 800-842-7708, option 3. administrative employee. bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop February 2018 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 25

BLUEBONNET MAG FEB 2018.indd 23 1/9/18 1:52 PM SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON

800+ Stores Nationwide • HarborFreight.com FREEWITH ANY PURCHASE SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON 1" x 25 FT. LIFETIME WARRANTY 21 GALLON, 2.5 HP, 125 PSI RAPID PUMP® 1.5 TON TAPE VERTICAL OIL-LUBE ALUMINUM RACING JACK MEASURE 20% AIR COMPRESSOR • 3-1/2 pumps lifts most vehicles • Air delivery: COMPARE TO • Lifts from 3-1/2" to 14-1/8" KOMELON 5.8 CFM @ 40 PSI, • Lightweight 34 lbs. $ 98 4.7 CFM @ 90 PSI 6 NOW NOW Customer Rating MODEL: L4825HV Customer Rating 99 • ANY 99 Thumb Lock SINGLE $149 $59 $ 99 • Rubber Wrapped Case ITEM 797 ITEM 69030/69031 shown OFF COMPARE TO $219 SAVE COMPARE TO $ 99 SAVE $ 99 $ HUSKY MODEL: C201H 69 $ 99 DURALAST MODEL: T815016L 40 1691 LIMIT 1 coupon per customer per day. Save 20% on any 1 item purchased. *Cannot be ITEM 69091/ 61454/62803/63635/67847 shown ITEM 68053/62160/62496/62516/69252/60569 shown LIMIT 1 - Cannot be used with other discount, coupon or prior purchase. used with other discount, coupon or any of the following items or brands: Inside Track Club Coupon good at our stores, HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. membership, Extended Service Plan, gift card, open box item, 3 day Parking Lot Sale item, compressors, fl oor jacks, safes, saw mills, storage cabinets, chests or carts, trailers, Offer good while supplies last. Shipping & Handling charges may apply if not trenchers, welders, Admiral, Ames, Bauer, Cobra, CoverPro, Daytona, Earthquake, Fischer, picked up in-store. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Hercules, Icon, Jupiter, Lynxx, Poulan, Predator, Tailgator, Viking, Vulcan, Zurich. Not valid on Valid through 6/7/18. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day. prior purchases. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 6/7/18. LIMIT 3 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18*

SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON 8750 MAX. STARTING/ Customer Rating POWDER-FREE Customer Rating 6.5 HP (212 CC) OHV 1 TON CAPACITY 7000 RUNNING WATTS NITRILE GLOVES HORIZONTAL SHAFT FOLDABLE SHOP CRANE 13 HP (420 CC) GAS GENERATOR • 5 mil GAS ENGINE • Boom extends from • PACK OF 100 GFCI outlets Customer Rating thickness 36-1/4" to 50-1/4" SUPER NOW • Crane height adjusts QUIET NOW NOW 99 from 82" to 94" SAVE $2170 99 SAVE 99 $99 SAVE 29 $5 $80 NOW COMPARE TO $5 55% 99 HONDA $ 99 $99 $2,700 $ 99 COMPARE TO $ 99 119 MODEL: EM6500SXK2AT 599 VENOM 7 Wheel kit and battery sold separately. $ 32 $ 99 SAVE ITEM 60363/69730 Customer Rating shown 13 COMPARE TO shown ITEM 68530/ 63086/69671/63085 ITEM 61363, 68497, 61360, 329 $230 ITEM 69727 $ 99 ITEM 68525/63087/63088, CALIFORNIA ONLY MODEL: VEN4145 61359, 68498, 68496 shown HONDA MODEL: GX200UT2QX2 CALIFORNIA ONLY ITEM 69512/61858/69445 shown 1791

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 3 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON COUPON 16" x 30" Customer Rating Customer Rating TRIPLE BALL TRAILER HITCH Customer Rating MECHANIC'S 4-1/2" ANGLE GRINDER TWO SHELF STETHOSCOPE STEEL SERVICE CART NOW SAVE 99 25% NOW $29 NOW SAVE 99 99 61% $9 • 220 lb. $19 NOW $373 99 capacity $299 COMPARE TO $ 99 SAVE Customer Rating $ 99 $ 80 $ 99 59 $ 99 SAVE $ 99 COMPARE TO 25 ARCAN MODEL: ASC8003 50% COMPARE TO 3 14 49 60% 333 PERFORMAX MODEL: 2411-1 ITEM 69645 /60625 shown ITEM 60390/5107 shown REESE MODEL: 7068833 ITEM 61914 ITEM 63296/69913/63691/41966 shown

LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 7 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 8 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER COUPON SUPER SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON COUPON 10 FT. x 20 FT. Customer Rating 4 PIECE ANTI-FATIGUE 1/2" COMPOSITE PRO EXTREME 24 FT., 18 BULB, 12 SOCKET PORTABLE CAR CANOPY FOAM MAT SET TORQUE AIR IMPACT WRENCH OUTDOOR STRING LIGHTS Customer Rating 1190 TORQUE SAVE FT. LBS. BOLT BREAKAWAY Customer Rating 22% NOW NOW 99 Customer Rating 99 NOW $129 NOW $99 99 99 $6 • Weighs $19 $ 99 4.4 lbs. COMPARE TO $20599 SAVE $ 99 1491 ITEM 63483 $106 • $ 98 SHELTER LOGIC MODEL: 23522 129 Each pad measures 25" x 25" COMPARE TO $52495 SAVE COMPARE TO 39 SAVE $ 99 $ 99 $394 50% ITEM 63054/62858 shown 8 ITEM 61607/62389/94635 shown SNAP-ON MODEL: MG725 ITEM 62891 PORTFOLIO MODEL: SLC12BK 24

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 8 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 7 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON 18" x 12" 12" SLIDING COMPOUND 10" PNEUMATIC TIRE 40 VOLT LITHIUM CORDLESS MOVER'S DOLLY DOUBLE-BEVEL • Customer Rating MITER SAW Laser guide 14" BRUSHLESS CHAIN SAW Customer Rating Blade sold separately. • 300 lb. working load NOW NOW • 99 99 SAVE 51% 1000 lb. NOW capacity $129 $3 99 COMPARE TO Customer Rating Customer Rating BUFFALOSAVE NOW $149 TOOLS 99 $ 999 COMPARE TO $3998 SAVE ITEM 63287 $1659%43 $7 1991 $ 99 $ 99 $ FARM & RANCH MODEL: FR1055 90% COMPARE TO $ SAVE MODEL: HDFDOLLY COMPARE TO 299 SAVE 5 179 $ 10 $ ITEM 61969/61970 KOBALT MODEL: KCS 120-06 29 $ 99 KOBALT MODEL: SM3055LW 169 ITEM 69385/62388/62409/62698/30900 shown 1691 ITEM 61899/63095/63096/63098/63097/93888 shown 69684 shown

LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 8 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON 46" MOBILE WORKBENCH FULL-MOTION TV WALL MOUNT 3-POINT QUICK HITCH Customer Rating Customer Rating WITH SOLID WOOD TOP 20 VOLT LITHIUM CORDLESS Customer Rating Customer Rating • 2000 lb. capacity • 27-3/16" 1/2" COMPACT DRILL/DRIVER KIT Clearance • 450 in. lbs. of torque • 1.5 amp hour battery SAVE • NOW • $ Fits most 99 Weighs 3.4 lbs. 30 37" to 80" $79 NOW NOW COMPARE TO NOW 99 99 PORTER-CABLE 99 $23 9 ITEM 64037 $39 $ 99 $99 $64 63155 shown 999 SAVE MODEL: PCC601LB COMPARE TO $14999 SAVE COMPARE TO $19999 $ $ $ 99 $110 $ 99 120 SAVE 34 $ 99 2692 ITEM 64023/64012 shown ROCKETFISH MODEL: RF-HTVMM170C 49 DOUBLE HH MODEL: 10712 ITEM 97214 74 ITEM 63531

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 3 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON Customer Rating 2/10/50 AMP, 12 VOLT TRI-FOLD ALUMINUM 72" x 80" Customer Rating STEP STOOL/ BATTERY CHARGER/ • MOVING NOW ENGINE STARTER LOADING RAMP 1500 lb. capacity 99 WORKING PLATFORM Customer Rating BLANKET $19

NOW 99 $292 99 NOW $74 COMPARE TO • 350 lb. SAVE 57% 99 BLUE HAWK NOW $29 $1999 99 capacity Customer Rating COMPARE TO $6999 COMPARE TO $149 SAVE $ 99 MODEL: 77280 $5 $74 94 $ 99 COMPARE TO $ 55 SAVE SCHUMACHER ELECTRIC MODEL: SE-1250 $ 99 REESE MODEL: 74554700 SAVE 70% 8 57 65% ITEM 62515 ITEM 60581/60653 shown 49 ITEM 69595/60334/90018 shown ITEM 69505/62418/66537 shown GPL MODEL: H-21 66911 shown

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 7 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER Battle Tested SUPER SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON COUPON COUPON Customer Rating 12,000 LB. ELECTRIC WINCH ATV/LAWN MOWER LIFT 1500 WATT DUAL TEMPERATURE 29 PIECE TITANIUM DRILL BIT SET WITH REMOTE CONTROL • 300 lb. capacity HEAT GUN (572°/1112°) NOW AND AUTOMATIC BRAKE • Weighs 72.5 lbs. • Customer Rating 99 Weighs 86.4 lbs. Customer Rating $9 • 21" L x 10-1/8" H NOW NOW 99 99 299 NOW $8 $1799 $ $7999 COMPARE TO SAVE DEWALT $ 99 67% $60 $3993 99 $ 99 14 MODEL: DW1369 898 COMPARE TO $2806 COMPARE TO $69999 SAVE ITEM 64046 COMPARE TO $17999 SAVE ITEM 60395 ITEM 62340/62546 SAVE 83% $400 64045 $100 62325/62493 BLACK & DECKER MODEL: HG1300 63104/96289 shown ITEM 62281/61637 shown WARN MODEL: 56467 63770 shown PRO LIFT MODEL: T-5350B 61523 shown

LIMIT 8 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON COUPON Customer Rating 1750 PSI ELECTRIC Customer Rating Customer Rating WIRELESS SECURITY AIRLESS PAINT Customer Rating PRESSURE WASHER 1.51 CUBIC FT. SOLID STEEL ALERT SYSTEM SPRAYER KIT NOW • 1.3 GPM ELECTRONIC DIGITAL 99 • Adjustable FLOOR SAFE NOW NOW spray nozzle 99 $79 NOW $9 $16999 $8999 $ 99 999 SAVE 22-3/4" $151 99 $21499 SAVE $99 $ 99 $ 1191 85 SAVE 58% SAVE $129 COMPARE TO $ 33 COMPARE TO $ BRIGGS & 179 175 COMPARE TO $ 99 COMPARE TO $ STRATTON MODEL: 20600 SENTRYSAFE MODEL: SFW123GTC 23 ITEM 69590/61910 299 ITEM 63255/63254 shown ITEM 91006/62678/62977 shown SWANN MODEL: SWHOM-DRIVEA 62447/93068 shown GRACO MODEL: 262800 ITEM 62915/60600 shown

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON SUPER COUPON Customer Rating 16 OZ. HAMMERS WITH 40 PIECE, 1/4" AND Customer Rating 3/8" x 50 FT. FIBERGLASS HANDLE 4" x 36" BELT/6" DISC SANDER 3/8" DRIVE SOCKET SET RETRACTABLE Customer Rating • AIR HOSE REEL LIFETIME WARRANTY NOW SAE and metric 99 LIFETIME WARRANTY TYPE ITEM $59 CLAW 69006/60715/60714 Item $ 99 47873 79 NOW RIP 69005/61262/47873 shown 99 NOW SAVE $39 $3 99 YOUR CHOICE Customer Rating 99 COMPARE TO $59 $2 GENERAL $ 99 $ 99 INTERNATIONAL 4 $ SAVE 4 $99 COMPARE TO 99 SAVE COMPARE TO $1997 $39 $ 99 COMPARE TO $ 98 MODEL: BD7004 SAVE 80% KOBALT MODEL: SGY-AIR184 79 9 70% KOBALT MODEL: 89809 ITEM 69265 /62344/93897 shown KOBALT MODEL: 62742 ITEM 62502/97181 shown ITEM 63015/ 61328 /47902/62843 shown

LIMIT 4 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 9 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 5 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18* LIMIT 8 - Coupon valid through 6/7/18*

+ At Harbor Freight Tools, the “Compare to” price means that the specifi ed comparison, which is an item with the same or similar function, was 800 Stores Nationwide • HarborFreight.com advertised for sale at or above the “Compare to” price by another national retailer in the U.S. within the past 90 days. Prices advertised by others *Original coupon only. No use on prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase or without original receipt. Valid through 6/7/18. may vary by location. No other meaning of “Compare to” should be implied. For more information, go to HarborFreight.com or see store associate. MARKETPLACE BUY• SELL• TRADE• ACROSS TOWN• ACROSS TEXAS

BURN SAFELY

with the Stainless Steel BurnCage™ PERFECT FOR: • Sensitive fi nancial documents • All burnable household waste* • Old leaves and branches What if STAINLESS STEEL CONSTRUCTION your smoke alarm is lightweight, durable, and portable (it folds for easy storage). PERFORATED LID and sidewalls maximize doesn't wake you up? airfl ow and trap embers. Original 1600° NEW TEMPERATURES BurnCage™ XL mean more MAX thorough burning 2X THE VOLUME with less ash. OF THE ORIGINAL Now In * Always check local 3 Sizes! ordinances before burning. 18759X © 2018 No more UNSAFE and UNSIGHTLY rusty barrel! Call for FREE Information Kit and Factory Direct Coupon! TOLL-FREE 877-200-8321 BurnCage.com

Our Hearing Loss Alarm Clock uses scientifically proven WE PAY TOP PRICES FOR COLLECTIBLES technology to wake you up, giving you the best chance to escape Coins • Banknotes • Gold & Silver Jewelry & Scrap a fire emergency. The HLAC151: is a UL Listed low frequency Vintage Costume Jewelry • Watches • Stamps sounder, comes equipped with a vibrating bed shaker, and functions Tokens • Historical Documents • Other Collectibles TEXAS BUYERS GROUP • FREDERICKSBURG, TX as a bedside alarm clock. All transactions private, confidential & secure. 830-997-6339 • [email protected] Who Benefits: Deaf or Hard of Hearing 1.800.582.2276 People Taking Medication www.lifetonesafety.com Heavy Sleepers NATIONT AL BARN Call Us Toll-Free: 1-800-648-7923 Young Children COM P ANY NATIONALBARN.COM FLOATING FISHING PIER On your pond or lake, with or without roof. All sizes—installation available. 45 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE Call for Free Information •(979)820-3000 POLE, HORSE, HAY BARNS • ALL SIZES www.ellisonmarine.com • Ellison Marine, Franklin, TX. CALL ANDY • 512-563-5237

28 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com Texas History The Rope Walker of Corsicana Unraveling the mystery of a one-legged tightrope performer

BY GENE FOWLER

A curious grave site in the Corsicana Hebrew Cemetery has puzzled historians and fueled local lore for more than a century. A fragmented narrative and the words “Rope Walker 1884” chiseled on the head- stone provide the only information about these mortal remains. However, the mys- tery at long last may have been unraveled. The story tells that a traveling, one- legged tightrope walker came to town in 1884. One account has the rope walker hired by Meyers & Henning Dry Goods Emporium, which conducted business under the motto, “The Biggest Shovels to the Biggest Bodices, We Have It.” However he came to Corsicana, the ae- rial ambulator wore a peg leg with a notch Sun repeated these details, as related by real name and that De Houne was a show- on the bottom to help him balance. Legend Rachel Mae London, daughter of the late biz alias. An 1873 article in the New York suggests that he had a heavy iron stove Max London, keeper of The Perpetual Evening Telegram stated that, just before tied to his back when he ascended to the Record Book. Rachel Mae had witnessed the Civil War, De Houne immigrated to rope stretched across Beaton Street, the the tragedy as a girl. Texas from Berlin, where he had performed town’s main business thoroughfare. Frank X. Tolbert, author of the Dallas for 13 years with a circus. Fighting for the “He had a long bar in his hand to help Morning News’ Tolbert’s Texas column, Kansas 7th Cavalry in the Civil War, he balance himself,” according to an account investigated the rope walker’s saga in 1958. lost his leg at the Battle of Middleburg in preserved in The Perpetual Record Book Ten years later, Tolbert ran into artist and 1862. To support his wife and six children of the Jewish Cemetery, Corsicana. “When author Tom Lea in El Paso. Lea told the back in Texas, he took his showbiz stunts about halfway across he lost his balance columnist that he had come across an on the road, swallowing swords, swinging and fell to the street from a 2-story height. account of a one-legged tightrope walker on a trapeze and dancing with a table bal- He was badly crushed by the weight of the billed as “The Great Professor Berg” in a anced on his teeth. stove on his back.” late 1870s Mesilla, New Mexico, newspa- Appearing in Fort Worth a month The injured performer was carried per story. Lea immortalized the professor before his fatal fall in Corsicana, Professor to a nearby hotel, where Dr. J.W. Gulick in his 1952 novel The Wonderful Country. De Houne ballyhooed that he would even attended to him. When the man declared A 1998 Corsicana Daily Sun report cook pancakes on the stove while walking his Methodist faith, the evangelist Abe figured that Tolbert and Lea had cracked on the rope. Mulkey was summoned. But when the the case. Then came the internet. Massa- Not all Corsicanans accept Yarin’s evi- rope walker sensed he was near death, he chusetts genealogist Jim Yarin ran across dence. Babbette Samuels, who took on the announced that he actually was Jewish. the rope walker story while researching a responsibility of caretaking the Jewish With no rabbi in town, a Jewish merchant Corsicana family, and through digital div- cemetery with her husband in the 1990s, was summoned and heard the funambu- ing in vintage newspaper databases, he says, “Logically, a Jewish husband and list’s recitation of a Hebrew prayer. unearthed two names for a one-legged father’s dying words would mention his No one could persuade the dying funambulist who toured the U.S. from 1868 family, especially since he was risking his man to state his name or whether he had to 1883, Professor Daniel De Houne and life to support his family. For 133 years, no any family. He remained an enigma even Professor Moses Berg. family member has shown up to claim him.” as he was lowered into his place of final A 1969 Pittsburgh paper Yarin found Gene Fowler is an Austin writer who special-

DAVID JOHNSON DAVID rest. A 1936 article in the Corsicana Daily confirmed that Berg was the funambulist’s izes in Texas history and music.

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 29 7ZR6WRU\ *DEOH *DUDJHV Family owned, Texas-built Lifetime guarantee against leaks Great for circulation, arthritis, stiff joints and relaxation

Now Offering ONYX  [  6WDUWLQJ DW  Custom Showers 6KRZQ[  URRI SLWFK WZR CALL FOR PRICING [*DUDJH 'RRUV (we give approximate pricing for the tubs and showers) 2QH6WRU\ *DEOH *DUDJHV If you have any questions, please give us a call. Visit Our Showroom 3411 E. Hwy. 377, Granbury

Granbury Chamber of Commerce Member

888-825-2362 www.bestbuywalkintubs.com  [  6WDUWLQJ DW  b 6KRZQ [    URRI SLWFK  [  JDUDJHGRRU FRQFUHWH ODS VLGLQJ 0HWDO*DUDJHV  6KRSV

 [  6WDUWLQJ DW  6KRZQ [     [ *DUDJH 'RRUV   'HOX[ &XSRODV

Purchase or Refinance 8OULFK*DUDJHV 0HWDO %XLOGLQJV  Hobby Farm, Ranch or Ranchette &OHEXUQH7; 9 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage 9 5 to 160+ acres  9 Loan amounts from $50,000 - $2,000,000 )LQDQFLQJ$YDLODEOH 9 Outbuildings, Livestock, Schedule F allowed )UHH'HVLJQ &RQVXOWDWLRQ ,QGXVWU\/HDGLQJ :DUUDQW\ )LUVW6RXUFH&DSLWDO0RUWJDJH,QF   )032%R[9DQ$OVW\QH7; 2Q6LWH &RQVWUXFWLRQ 'DQ&XQ\XV10/6 )DPLO\2ZQHG IRU  GDQ#IVFDSFRP 3KRQHRU *HQHUDWLRQV &RUS10/6 Apply today at www.fscap.com ZZZ8OULFK*DUDJHVFRP

30 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com Recipes Peanut Butter + Chocolate: A Love Story

Long before a successful ad campaign launched a candy’s fame with the line “two great tastes that taste great together,” the perfect union of chocolate and peanut butter was a force to be reckoned with. Each flavor enhances the other’s best qualities: salty, nutty peanuts anchor and elevate chocolate’s silky texture and sweetness. So, for this month of valentine giving, we share your best peanut butter and chocolate recipes. In the following recipe, chunky peanut butter provides a great crunch, and brown sugar adds a delicious butterscotch flavor. PAULA DISBROWE, FOOD EDITOR

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies 1 ¼ cups flour ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup chunky peanut butter, at room temperature ¾ cup sugar ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 egg, at room temperature 1 tablespoon whole milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup peanut butter chips ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chunks 1 tablespoon sprinkling sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 3. In another large bowl, beat the but- ter and peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the white and brown sugars

MELISSA BRISKO MELISSA CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 31 Recipes

Peanut Butter + Chocolate: A Love Story CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 and beat until smooth. Add the egg and THIS MONTH’S RECIPE CONTEST WINNER mix well. Stir in the milk and vanilla. 4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet SANDRA NICHOLS | GUADALUPE VALLEY EC mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in This recipe hails from Nichols’ 89-year-old Aunt Delta. “Growing up, she the peanut butter chips and chocolate always had good sweets to eat at her house. I think of her when I make chunks. these,” Nichols says. Topped with chocolate and peanut butter, the bar cook- 5. Place a tablespoon of sprinkling sugar ies are perfect for lunchboxes, potlucks and parties. in a small bowl. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar then place on baking sheet, leaving sev- Aunt Delta’s Peanut 2. Cream together butter and sugars eral inches between for expansion. Butter Fingers until light and fluffy. Add egg and 6. Bake 10–12 minutes until lightly beat until combined. Add peanut but- golden. To maintain a chewy texture in DOUGH ter and vanilla, and beat another the middle, do not overbake. (Cookies ½ cup (1 stick) butter minute until smooth. may appear to be underdone, but they ½ cup sugar 3. In a separate bowl, whisk together are not.) ½ cup dark brown sugar flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt. 7. Cool the cookies on the sheets 1 egg Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter stir the dry ingredients into the wet completely. a Makes about 24 cookies. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ingredients. Spread the batter to the Adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old- 1 cup flour edge of the prepared baking sheet, Fashioned Recipes From New York’s Sweetest Bakery by 1 cup oatmeal and use a wet hand to smooth evenly. Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey (Simon & Schuster, 1999) ½ teaspoon baking soda 4. Bake 20 minutes or until golden ¼ teaspoon salt brown and a knife inserted in the 1 cup chocolate chips (dark or milk) center comes out fairly clean. Scatter Peanut Butter Chocolate chocolate chips over the top, allow Cupcakes PEANUT BUTTER ICING them to melt 5 minutes and then RITA H. ADDICKS | FAYETTE EC ½ cup powdered sugar spread the chocolate evenly. Addicks suggests refrigerating these cupcakes ¼ cup creamy peanut butter 5. ICING: Whisk together powdered to help set the buttery frosting and create a 2 tablespoons milk, or more for texture sugar, peanut butter and enough milk fudgy texture. to make a soft icing. (It should have 1. DOUGH: Preheat oven to 350 the consistency of honey.) Use a FILLING degrees. Grease a 10-by-15-inch whisk or fork to drizzle the icing over 3 ounces cream cheese, softened rimmed baking sheet (or 9-by-13-inch the chocolate topping. Allow to cool ¼ cup creamy peanut butter DIO | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM for thicker bars) with completely (or refrigerate), then slice 2 tablespoons sugar butter or nonstick into bars. a Makes 36–60 bars, depending 1 tablespoon 2% milk spray. on baking sheet and bar size. BATTER COOK’S TIP Old-fashioned oats or the thick- 2 cups sugar cut variety will give these bars the best tex- 1¾ cups flour ture. If you like your desserts with a salty ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder edge, double the salt—or top the peanut but- 1½ teaspoons baking powder ter drizzle with flaky Maldon sea salt. 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda IF YOUR RECIPE IS FEATURED, 2 eggs YOU’LL WIN A TCP APRON! 1 cup water $100 Recipe Contest 1 cup 2% milk ½ cup canola oil July’s recipe contest topic is How Do 2 teaspoons vanilla extract You Like Your Shrimp? Nothing beats the sweet flavor of fresh Gulf shrimp. FROSTING Share your best recipe (from tacos to ⅓ cup butter, softened pasta to spicy Creole). The deadline is 2 cups powdered sugar February 10. 6 tablespoons cocoa

ENTER ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL 3 tablespoons 2% milk, or more for to 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701; FAX to texture PEANUT BUTTER: AFRICA STU | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. CHIPS: M. UNAL OZMEN CHOCOLATE | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. STOCKER OODDYSMILE BACKGROUND: (512) 763-3401. Include your name, address and phone number, plus your co-op and the name of the contest you are entering. TexasCoopPower.com 1. FILLING: In a small bowl, beat cream tor until you’re ready to serve. a Makes 24 ¼ cup flour cheese, peanut butter, sugar and milk regular cupcakes (or 12 jumbo cupcakes). 1 tablespoon vanilla extract until smooth, then refrigerate while you 4 eggs make the batter. COOK’S TIP The peanut butter filling is easier to 2. BATTER: In a large bowl, combine work with if it chills for at least 30 minutes before- 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Com- sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt hand. For a deeper flavor, consider substituting bine graham cracker crumbs, melted and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk strong, room-temperature coffee for the water. butter and ¼ cup sugar in a medium the eggs, water, milk, oil and vanilla. bowl. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture Stir the wet ingredients into the dry for topping, and press the remaining ingredients until just moistened. Chocolate Peanut Butter mixture evenly into the bottom of a (Batter will be thin.) Cheesecake Bars 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Combine 3. Fill paper-lined cupcake tins with MARJORIE GRUNEWALD | FAYETTE EC chocolate and peanut butter morsels half the batter. Drop a generous tea- These bars are a snap to assemble and deliver a then sprinkle ¾ cup over crust. spoon (or a scant tablespoon for jumbo perfect blend of creamy filling, chocolate-and- 2. Beat together remaining sugar, cream tins) of peanut butter filling into the peanut butter goodness and graham cracker cheese, flour and vanilla in large mixing center of each, then cover with remain- crust. They’re best enjoyed cold. bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a ing batter. time, beating until smooth. 4. Bake 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick 2½ cups graham cracker crumbs 3. Pour the batter over the crust and inserted into the center of cake comes out ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted morsels. Sprinkle with reserved crumb clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire ¾ cup sugar, divided use topping and remaining morsels, and bake rack, then remove from pan and cool 5 ounces milk chocolate morsels, 25–30 minutes or until set. Cool com- completely on wire rack. divided use pletely on wire rack, then refrigerate 5. FROSTING: In a large bowl, whisk 5 ounces peanut butter morsels, until well-chilled. a Makes about 24 bars. together butter, powdered sugar, cocoa and divided use milk until smooth. Frost cupcakes and 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream WEB EXTRAS a Read this story on our web- serve immediately or store in the refrigera- cheese, softened site to get the scoop on cocoa powder.

Give friends and family the Best of Texas.

THE BEST OF TYPICALLY Texas Co-op Power presents a collection of best-loved recipes from two of our most popular cookbooks ever, the Typically TEXAS Texas Cookbook The Second Typically Texas Cookbook OK— and . — C OOKBO This cookbook is filled with more than 700 recipes, including more than 300 dessert recipes.

Contact your local co-op today, or place your order online at TexasCoopPower.com and put The Best of Typically Texas Cookbook in your kitchen for only $29.95 (price includes tax, shipping and handling).

To order by mail, send a check or money order payable to TEC for $29.95 to Best of Typically $29.95

CO-OP POWER OF TEXAS PUBLISHERS Texas Cookbook, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, FROM THE Austin, TX 78701.

From the publishers of Texas Co-op Power

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 33 You Choose... FDA Registered Hearing Aids ONLY $299 45-DAY PER AID FREE Buy direct from manufacturer TRIAL 100% Risk-FREE off er  45-day home trial FREE shipping EarMate-4220 Payment plans available Licensed professionals Apollo-6200

Th e EarMate®-4220 and the Apollo-6200 are the perfect FDA registered digital hearing aids if you want the BEST technology for the BEST price. Both models are perfect for those with mild to moderate hearing loss and feature American Made electronics to give you advanced technology for crisp, clear sound. Conversations remain clear in noisy environments with layered noise reduction technology and feedback cancellation virtually eliminates squeal. Th e EarMate-4220 and Apollo-6200 both feature a discreet design giving you the most natural sound with total comfort.

High-quality American Made Advanced technology O100% Digital electronics

Th e typical hearing aid costs at least $2,000 but your price is nowhere near that with this special off er! Try the EarMate-4220 or the Apollo-6200 with NO MONEY DOWN completely Risk-FREE for 45 days in the comfort of your own home. You decide if it’s everything we’ve promised. Call today: 1-888-847-1189 and mention promo code 28-211. Try our EarMate-4220 or Apollo-6200 hearing aid risk-free for 45 days. Since 1979 Professional and aff ordable hearing help, for life! • Hearing aids by mail for 39 years If you like it then pay only $299 per hearing aid!

• Over 750,000 satisfi ed customers By phone (Mon-Fri • 8 am - 5 pm Central Time) Off er expires: 4/30/18 Promo code: “It picks up sound from across the room. 1-888-847-1189 28-211 Loud and clear! I haven’t been able to hear this well in a long time. Very good product. Order online Th ank you for the 45-day trial.” www.HearingHelpExpress.com/28211 R.W. – Houston, TX © Hearing Help Express®, Inc

A+ 100% Rating AR LIMI 45-DAY Licensed hearing aid Satisfaction 1 YE TED RRANT WA Y PROTECTION RISK-FREE Better Business Bureau dispensers on staff RANTEE UARANTEED GUA D HOME TRIAL G Focus on Texas Jailhouses Hole, slammer, clink, pen, joint, lockup, calaboose ... whatever you call it, it’s no place you’d want to be, especially in the old days. Check out these arresting photos of old jails around the state. GRACE ARSIAGA

WEB EXTRAS a See Focus on Texas on our website for more photos from readers.

o BUDDY PARK, Pedernales EC: The original jailhouse of d HELDEN HOIERMAN, Trinity Valley EC: “The Texas flag in the background is to be a metaphor Flatonia, dating to 1890 for the vast, open and free land of Texas that is just out of reach” of the jail in Royse City.

o CHARLIE PRESLAR, Comanche EC: The Old Jail a LISA GRIFFIS, Mid-South Museum was Gonzales’ jailhouse, which had gallows Synergy: An old jail in Leon in full view of the prisoners. County, now in restoration

UPCOMING CONTESTS

JUNE TRACTORS DUE FEBRUARY 10

JULY OPPOSITES DUE MARCH 10

AUGUST SCHOOL’S OUT DUE APRIL 10 All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op affiliation, plus the contest topic and a brief description of your photo.

ONLINE: Submit highest-resolution digital images at TexasCoopPower.com/contests. MAIL: Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included if you want your entry returned (approximately six weeks). Please do not submit irreplaceable photographs—send a copy or duplicate. We do not accept entries via email. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannot be responsible for o RAMON SAN LUIS, Pedernales EC: Abandoned Kent County Jail in Clairemont, built in 1895 photos that are lost in the mail or not received by the deadline.

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 35 Around Texas Event Calendar February 10 Spring PuppyUp Pick of the Month February Hug-In and Valentine’s Ball 8 Port Arthur [8–11] Mardi Gras Southeast Luckenbach February 9–10 Texas, (409) 721-8717, mardigrasportarthur.com (830) 997-3224, luckenbachtexas.com Two nights of country music at the Gillespie County dance hall kick off with the 43rd 9 Burnet [9–10] Highland Lakes Quilt Festival, annual Hug-In dance, featuring Jesse Dayton. (830) 693-2173, hlqguild.blogspot.com Gary P. Nunn takes the stage for the Valen- tine’s Ball, which draws 400–500 people, including a group from Pennsylvania that 10 shows up every year. Beaumont Symphony of Southeast Texas: The Elegance of Elgar, (409) 892-2257, sost.org Big Spring Symphony: Winter Wonderland Concert, (432) 263-8235, visitbigspring.com Henderson Mardi Gras Gumbo Cook-Off, (903) 657-6551, visithendersontx.com La Grange Valentine’s Dinner & Concert, 1-888-785-4500, czechtexas.org 12 Spring PuppyUp, (281) 636-1436, Tyler Million Dollar Quartet, (903) 566-7424, puppyupwalk.org/spring www.cowancenter.org Fredericksburg [10–11] Texas Hill Country Home & Design Show, (830) 469-2381, 13 hillcountryhomeshow.net Beaumont Taste of the Triangle, 1-800-782-3081, beaumontcvb.com

GUITAR: SUPACHITA KRERKKAIWAN | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. PUPPYUP: NATURE DOG PHOTOGRAPHY | COURTESY PUPPYUP. CZECH DANCING: KOJIN | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM 7XIIP1SFMPI,SQI6SS½RK /HDNV"+LJKHQHUJ\ELOO"5RRIUXPEOH" 'SRXEGXYWEXSV 81 YEARS URRIRYHUFRP OF NURSERY BUSINESS

150 varieties of fruits and pecans for the Southwest. Family-owned and grown. For our 2017–18 Season Catalog, call or visit us on the web. 855-993-6497 0RELOH+RPH5RRIRYHU6\VWHPV 6LQFH [email protected]

TEXAS MEDICAL PLANS

MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT COVERAGE 1-888-888-6698

GET THE TEXAS CO-OP POWER E-NEWSLETTER

SIGN UP TODAY AT TexasCoopPower.com

36 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com Austin [2–3] BBQ Austin, (512) 919-3000, 15 26 rodeoaustin.com The Woodlands [15–19] Inspire Film San Angelo Yamato: The Drummers Festival, (281) 705-1623, inspirefilmfest.com of Japan, (325) 284-3825, sanangelopac.org Dallas [2–4] North Texas Irish Festival, (214) 821-4173, ntif.org 17 Denison Celebrate With the Presidents, 3 (903) 465-8908, visiteisenhowerbirthplace.com March Clifton Bosque Animal Rescue Kennels Gala 2018, (254) 675-7712, barkrescue.org Pine Springs Pioneer Prosperity, 1 Round Top Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet (915) 828-3251, nps.gov/gumo Waco Stars Over Texas Jamboree, with James Dick, (979) 249-3129, festivalhill.org (254) 755-7257 San Saba A Night at the Museum, 22 (325) 372-8807, sansabamuseum.org Kerrville Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, 2 (830) 792-7469, symphonyofthehills.org Lake Jackson Turtle Island Quartet, Lago Vista [3–4] 27th Annual La Primavera Race, (512) 267-7952, lagovista.org Lufkin Dailey & Vincent, (936) 633-0349, (979) 230-3156, brazosport.edu/clarion thepines.visitlufkin.com Washington [3–4] Texas Independence Day Celebration, (936) 878-2214, 23 wheretexasbecametexas.com Beaumont Travis Tritt, (409) 838-3435, beaumontcvb.com 6 Crockett The Great Gatsby, (936) 544-4276, 24 pwfaa.org Arlington Iron Cowboy, (817) 332-2972, pbr.com Corpus Christi South Texas Polkafest, (361) 215-9163, chssouthtexas.org Submit Your Event! We pick events for the magazine directly from Crockett The Guess Who, (936) 544-4276, February 24 TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for pwfaa.org Corpus Christi South Texas Polkafest April by February 10, and it just might be fea- tured in this calendar.

AROUND WD METAL BUILDINGS TEXAS EVENT CALENDAR

Gas Up and Go! Fairs, festivals, food and family fun! It’s all listed under the Events tab on our website. CONCRETE SLABS EXPERIENCED CREWS OVERHEAD DOORS Pick your region. Pick your month. Pick your event. With hundreds of events throughout Texas listed every month, TexasCoopPower.com has something for everyone. WD ADVANTAGE We make it easy for you by offering an erected metal building built on a reinforced concrete foundation. PLAN YOUR TRIP TODAY AT Instant Pricing @ wdmb.com TexasCoopPower.com STEEL BUILDINGS • BARNDOMINIUM HOMES • AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS

TexasCoopPower.com February 2018 Texas Co-op Power 37 Hit the Road Standing Tall Once Again Hotel Settles, revived and modernized, casts glow upon downtown Big Spring

BY SHERYL SMITH-RODGERS

Hotel Settles rises 15 stories above downtown Big Spring. Step through the glass doors, and the years fall away. Antique reproduction furnishings, dark paneling, floral tapestry rugs and crystal chandeliers adorn the open lobby. From the terrazzo floor, a double marble stair- case topped with carpet runners splits and rises to the iron-railed mezzanine, embel- lished with golden “S” motifs. Big-band Grand lobby of the music in the background completes the 1930 Hotel Settles 1930s ambiance. Stories galore permeate the tan brick high-rise, once billed as the tallest building back on, once again proclaiming “HOTEL tlers. Today the spring flows artificially. between Abilene and El Paso. Ranchers SETTLES” in red neon letters. Next, we explore nearby Big Spring State Park, W.R. and Lillian Settles used their oil Like many locals, Tiffany King grew up a day-use getaway. From a limestone bluff, money to build the art deco hotel in 1930. knowing Hotel Settles as an abandoned we take in panoramic views of Big Spring For two years, the couple operated the ritzy building with broken windows. Homeless and surrounding landscape. hotel until oil prices plummeted, forcing people slept inside, she says. Now, King runs Before supper, we order drinks in the them into bankruptcy. Subsequent owners the immaculate front desk and escorts vis- Pharmacy Bar and Parlor, named after the managed the 150-room hotel, which housed itors on hotel tours. “We have older people hotel’s original drugstore. At a cozy booth a ballroom, men’s club, coffee shop and drug who come and remember the hotel as it was in Settles Grill, we relish our artfully grilled store. Such notables as President Herbert when it was originally open,” she says. salmon and herb-roasted chicken. Later, Hoover and Elliott Roosevelt, a son of Pres- “They talk about weddings and high school we peek into the Grand Ballroom, opulently ident Franklin D. Roosevelt, stayed there. proms that were held here.” detailed with ornate gold molding, crystal The hotel’s boom years continued Thirteen Heritage Rooms on the third chandeliers and replica 1930s wall fans. through the 1950s. Then passenger rail level reflect the 1930s floor plan, complete Such attention to detail earned the Settles service ceased, a nearby Air Force base with original tile floors in the compact listings on the National Register of Historic closed and Interstate 20 bypassed down- bathrooms. Modestly sized, the rooms Places and Historic Hotels of America list. town. Hotel Settles closed in 1980. Owners come with traditional furnishings and Buoyed by the hotel’s rebirth, empty sold everything they could. Vandals, weather lavish bedding. downtown storefronts have begun to fill. and pigeons damaged the remains. Floors 4–13 were configured to accom- “We now have two new boutiques, a restau- Enter Dallas businessman G. Brint modate five spacious suites each. For the rant, furniture store and cigar bar,” says Ryan, a Big Spring native who bought the night, my husband and I are staying in a Hayley Lewis, a native who works as tour- run-down property in 2007 and spent $30 Tower Room on the 13th floor. Our lofty ism coordinator at the Big Spring Visitors million on renovations. Drawing from corner windows overlook Big Spring to Bureau. “It’s going to take time, but, thanks original blueprints and vintage photos, the south and eastward to Signal Peak, a to Hotel Settles, downtown will come back.” Ryan’s restoration team incorporated distant mesa used as a landmark by early Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, a member of Peder- upgrades including a swimming pool, spa, cattlemen. nales EC, lives in Blanco. meeting rooms and fitness center. Two For a few hours, we slip away to drive wooden phone booths in the lobby are through the city’s Comanche Trail Park to see . WEB EXTRAS aRead this story on our original. At the hotel’s relaunch in Decem- the namesake “big spring” that provided website to learn more about the

ber 2013, its iconic rooftop sign flickered water for Native Americans and early set- Hotel Settles. | TPWD EARL NOTTINGHAM

38 Texas Co-op Power February 2018 TexasCoopPower.com I stand on cement fl oor Do You Suffer From: eight hours a day, but my body just can’t take the · Plantar Fasciitis · Bunions pounding of walking or Joint Pain Heel Spurs even standing. After trying · · Gravity Defyer shoes, · Heel Pain · Arthritis I can keep my job and enjoy it pain free. I am · Back/Knee Pain · Neuropathy Bobby S. Gravity Defyer’s #1 fan.

G-DEFY ION (QMR\WKHEHQH¿WVRIH[HUFLVHZLWKRXW KDUPIXOLPSDFWRQ\RXUMRLQWV Boost energy Combat health issues Increase mobility Relieve pain

X-ray view ION simulated. Men Sizes 7.5-15 Our patented VersoShock® technology provides the ultimate protection - Red/Gray TB9022MRG for the entire body in a way no other shoe can. It is designed to absorb - Black TB9025MBB harmful shock from the ground up, converting the shock into renewed Women Sizes 6-11 - Black/Blue TB9022FTL positive energy for your next step. Having this kind of cushioning - Gray/Teal TB9022FGU allows you to not only physically feel better, but improve your posture and be on your feet longer without any restrictions holding you back. $150 $120 00 WITHOUT GRAVITY DEFYERS... 9% CA sales tax applies to orders in California. $ 00 OFF PAIN 30

PROTECTION _ GravityDefyer.com/MQ8CKD6 Absorbs Harmful Shock Stores Energy Returns Energy Gravity Defyer Corp. 10643 Glenoaks Blvd. Pacoima, CA 91331

Don’t Forget to check out our other products to relieve discomfort: Men’s Dress Women’s Flats G-Comfort Insoles Londonian $170 Maddison $145 TF501, TF502 VersoShock® U.S Patent #US8,555,526 B2. This product has not been evaluated by the FDA. Not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. $30 off applies to orders of $100 or more. Shoes must be returned within 30 days in like-new condition for full refund or exchange. Credit card authorization required. See website for complete details. (but lots of discounts)

Academic Achievvement | Advanced Quote Multi-Car | Anti-locck Brakes | Defensive Driving Companion Policy | Claims Freee | Driver Training Passiive Restraii|nt | AiAAnti-Thfheft |H| Homeownershihip Drug & Alcohol Defensive Driving New Vehicle | Renewal | Studdent at School

wwww.GermaniaInsurance.com/co-op