LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION JUNE 2009 ROCK ART 101 BONEHEAD MEDICINE HOMEGROWN TOMATOES THE QUEBE SISTERS Old-Time Music Today “I had a lot of questions about metal roofs. Mueller had all the answers.” At Mueller, customer satisfaction is our primary goal. That’s why our sales representatives are always available to you – before, during and after your purchase. With Mueller, you can be certain you’re getting a premium-quality metal roof for www.MuellerInc.com online color selector your home, plus a solid company for your peace of mind. Call us today, or drop by one of our 27 locations across 877-2-MUELLER the Southwest. (877-268-3553) June 2009 VOLUME 65 NUMBER 12 FEATURES 8 The Quebe Sisters: Old-Time Music Today By Jeff Tietz Photos by Wyatt McSpadden Western swing fiddlers Hulda, Sophia and Grace Quebe are 18, 21 and 23 years old, respectively, but the youngest song they play is about 50 years old. They learn their material by ear from old phonograph records. 14 Rock Art 101 By Elaine Robbins One international expert says that Texas’ primitive rock art is second to none. Take a look at 8 samples of rock art on the Pecos River and at Hueco Tanks State FAVORITES Park and Historic Site. Footnotes by Gene Fowler Bonehead Medicine in Texas 25 Recipe Roundup Homegrown Tomatoes 26 Focus on Texas Stained-Glass Windows 35 Around Texas Local Events Listings 36 Hit the Road by Jane Bouterse Los Dos Texarkanas 38 25 26 38 14 TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Ray Beavers, Chair, Cleburne; Darren Schauer, Vice Chair, Gonzales; Kendall Montgomery, Secretary-Treasurer, Olney; James Calhoun, Franklin; Steve Louder, Hereford; Gary Nietsche, La Grange; Larry Warren, San Augustine PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin Texas Co-op Power is published by your STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Bill Harbin, Chair, Floydada; Robert A. Loth III, Vice Chair, Fredericksburg; Roy Griffin, Edna; Bryan Lightfoot, Bartlett; Melody Pinnell, Crockett; Anne Vaden, Corinth; William “Buff” electric cooperative to enhance the qual- Whitten, Eldorado ity of life of its member-customers in an COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Martin Bevins, Sales Director; Carol Moczygemba, Executive Editor; Kaye Northcott, Editor; Suzi Sands, Art Director; Karen Nejtek, Production Manager; Ashley Clary, Field Editor; Andy Doughty, Production Designer; educational and entertaining format. Sandra Forston, Communications Assistant; Kevin Hargis, Food Editor; Camille Wheeler, Staff Writer; Monica Vasquez, Intern COVER PHOTO The Quebe Sisters by Wyatt McSpadden June 2009 TEXAS CO-OP POWER 3 letters POTTERY ABOUNDS In your April 2009 Hit the Road article “Tyler to Marshall,” you POWERTALK say Marshall Pottery is the only company in Texas still produc- ing wheel-thrown utilitarian CO-OP YOUTH HAS EYE ON INTERNATIONAL WORK gray stoneware. That is so untrue! We own Little did 19-year-old Daniel Sanders of Education Initiative, said international Bluebonnet Pottery near Madison ville know when he applied for the programs such as those sponsored by elec- Brenham at the entrance to 2008 Government-in-Action Youth Tour tric cooperatives can dramatically improve Lake Somerville and have been that it would light the path pointing him people’s lives. For example, he said that if in business here since 1983. toward a potential career of supplying elec- the NRECA placed a single electric light We have been producing tricity to other countries. post in any part of the country, an entire wheel-thrown utilitarian gray Sanders’ adventure village would be built stoneware for 26 years here in began last June when he around that light source Washington County. We have was chosen by Mid-South within six months. been told we are the best-kept Synergy to attend the Many electric coopera- secret in Washington County! Youth Tour in Washington, tives in Texas have indeed Although we aren’t as large D.C., alongside 1,500 other supplied equipment and as Marshall Pottery, we do students from co-op fami- expertise to electrify vil- make our own pottery right lies around the country. lages in Africa and other here in our studio, and it is just After his first trip to the parts of the Third World. myself and my husband who do nation’s capital, Sanders “It’s amazing what the all of the work. We invite peo- earned a return trip when little things can do for peo- ple to stop in at our studio and Texas Electric Cooperatives, ple,” Sanders says. “These see the work being done right the statewide association DANIEL SANDERS people are waiting for any here. There are a lot of other representing electric coop- sign of hope, and I want to potters in Texas who also make eratives, named him its representative on help provide it for them.” wheel-thrown utilitarian gray the Youth Leadership Council of the Since his trip to New Orleans, Sanders stoneware. National Rural Electric Cooperative has returned to Texas A&M University BONNIE TODEE Association (NRECA). This honor entailed with the goal of earning a business admin- Brenham an additional trip to New Orleans in istration degree and a dream of someday February for the NRECA annual meeting. working for the NRECA International Editor’s note: We apologize for There, Sanders had a life-changing con- Foundation. the oversight. versation with former Sudanese refugee “My dream job is to work with the We want to hear from our readers. Send let- Abraham Awolich, one of that country’s NRECA providing electricity to developing ters to: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, 1122 Lost Boys who were orphaned or displaced countries,” he says. Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701, e-mail us at [email protected], or submit by civil war. In 2001, after living in refugee Sanders encourages all youths in rural online at www.texascooppower.com. Please include the name of your town and electric camps, Awolich was relocated to Vermont, Texas to take advantage of the scholarship co-op. Letters may be edited for clarity and where he lived with an American family, opportunities that electric cooperatives length and are printed as space allows. Read additional letters at www.texascooppower.com. and in 2008 he returned to Sudan to help offer, saying, “It’s a unique experience that open a secondary school. I wish more kids could be a part of. It has Awolich, co-director of the New Sudan changed my life.” Time magazine reports that organizations with four-day workweeks Beware of Subsidy Scammers report several advan- tages, including Scam artists are taking advantage of publicity con- credit card numbers to exploit. reduced energy cerning generous new government energy rebates Government spokespeople point out that energy- costs. A college and subsidies. They are calling consumers offering to conservation rebates and subsidies are administered that went to four- link them up with subsidized energy programs for a by official agencies and community grant programs, day weeks for employ- slight fee. And if the fee is paid with a credit card as well as designated utility companies. Don’t be ees saved $268,000 in number, so much the better. Thieves can walk away fooled by telemarketers or door-to-door hucksters energy costs over the year. not only with money for doing nothing but also with trying to sell you something that’s free. 4 TEXAS CO-OP POWER June 2009 HAPPENINGS If you speak cow—Soooook cow! Soooook cow!— then mooove yourself into the lineup at WHO KNEW? the 60th annual NATIONAL COW CALLING CONTEST, set for June 5-7 in the tiny Panhandle town of Miami. The actual cow-calling contest will take place Saturday, June 6, as the centerpiece of this weekend extravaganza—essentially a town reunion—that begins with a community sing-along on Friday and ends with cowboy church on Sunday. Cow callers of all ages compete for first-, second- and third-place cash prizes. Judges stand in a creek bed a few hundred yards away and adhere to one simple rule: Whoever they can hear the best wins. For more information, call (806) 868-4791 or go to www.miamitexas.org. WHERE THE COMANCHE ONCE ROAMED Once the raiding grounds of the Comanche Two hundred thousand U.S. and later part of the historic Chisholm Trail households are “off the grid,” cattle drive, Cleburne State Park makes for meaning they are not con- a prime adventure. Named after the city of nected to electric power lines. Cleburne—which is named for Gen. Pat Although still a very small per- Cleburne of the Confederate Army—the centage of households in the park was built by the Civilian Conservation United States, these go-it- Corps in the late 1930s. The densely wooded aloners have been growing by 528-acre park is southwest of Fort Worth. one-third every year for the One of the park’s most enjoyable features is EARL NOTTINGHAM, © TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT past decade, according to New the 116-acre lake of clean, clear, calm water flowing from the surrounding natural springs. Scientist magazine. Many visitors explore the park’s rugged terrain and rolling hills on the 5.5-mile mountain bike trail. Others discover the park’s beauty by fishing, from shore or from boat. The park offers tent camping, recreational vehicle hookups, screened wooden shelters, and day-use Texas Co-op Power (USPS 540-560) is pub- picnic areas and campsites. New men’s and women’s group barracks, complete with a din- lished monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX ing room, are scheduled to be available for rental in the fall. For more information, call and at additional offices.