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BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION APRIL 2015 Santa Anna Dinner for Two Rockin’ Out in Llano

IT’SWILD OUT THERE Introducing the Natives and Taming the Invasives

SEE PAGE 20 BLUEBONNET NEWS We are pioneers. Our mornings, our nights and the waking hours in between — this is when we discover what we can achieve. We are determined to grow and build and cultivate the life of our dreams. Because this is our ground. Our opportunity. Our responsibility. Our life to lead.

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20 Local Co-op News Get the latest information plus energy and safety tips from your cooperative. 33 Texas History Santa Anna’s Complex Character By Martha Deeringer

35 Recipes Dinner for Two 38 Focus on Texas In Bloom 40 Around Texas List of Local Events 42 Hit the Road Llano: Between a Rock and a Hard Place By Helen Thompson

ONLINE TexasCoopPower.com SPECIAL FEATURES Find these stories online if they don’t appear in your edition of the magazine. It’s Wild Out There Despite the exuberant show Texas USA 8 they put on every spring, wildflowers don’t have it Owl Wisdom all that easy. Plus, find best-bet drives for wildflower By Martha Deeringer watching and tips on how to make your own meadow. Observations By Helen Thompson Breakdown on the Tahoka Circle By Clay Coppedge

NEXT MONTH Jump into Summer! In Texas, a summer getaway means finding water. We’ll tell you where. Also, explore breakfast landmarks. 33 38

35 42 LARKSPUR: WILL VAN OVERBEEK. BOY: © DARYL MARQUARDT | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB ON THE COVER Sunflowers and Indian blanket wildflowers in early dawn light. Photo © Dean Fikar | TDF Photography

TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Jerry B. Boze, Chair, Kaufman; David Marricle, Vice Chair, Muleshoe; Mark Tamplin, Secretary-Treasurer, Kirbyville; Debra A. Cole, Itasca; Mike R. Hagy, Tipton, Oklahoma; Robert A. Loth III, Fredericksburg; Mark Rollans, Hondo • PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin • COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Greg Henley, Tahoka; Bryan Lightfoot, Bartlett; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Mark McClain, Roby; Blaine Warzecha, Victoria; Jerry Williams, Paris; 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 Carlson, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Anna Ginsberg, Food Editor; Suzanne Halko, Copy Editor; Elizabeth John, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Randall Maxwell, Videographer/Photographer; Jane Sharpe, Graphic Designer; Ellen Stader, Copy Editor; Shannon Oelrich, Proofreader

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 3 For stunning beauty combined with superior strength, choose a Mueller metal roof for your home. Our roofs are extremely durable, offering resistance to wind, hail and fi re. And get the look you desire by choosing from more than 30 designer colors. At Mueller, we’ve got you covered.

www.muellerinc.com 877-2-MUELLER (877-268-3553) CURRENTS Letters, emails and posts from our readers

Life Jackets Flying With Lindy The article about the University of Thank you for the story about “Unlucky Lindy” in your February 2015 issue. Texas Marine Science Institute It was especially interesting [“Immersed in Learning,” January for me because my dad, Homer 2015] covers a great learning pro- gram for middle students, but Fitzgerald, was a teen when something is missing in one of the Lindbergh stayed in their family photographs: It looks like someone hotel/home for a number of days missed the importance of wearing until the plane was repaired. a life jacket on the boat. It appears Lindbergh even gave my dad that three adults are not wearing a short plane ride that was more them, just the students. Safety first scary than fun for my dad at the starts with the instructors! time, but the experience pro- JERRY AND TISH SWIGGART | CANTON vided a great story for many TRINITY VALLEY EC years to come. Response from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute: | KINGSLAND | Safety is our top priority. Our educa- JO ANN FITZGERALD EASTMAN CENTRAL TEXAS EC tion programs on the research vessel Katy require all persons under the age of 13 to wear life jackets while my attention. This uprising was for a flour sack dress. How hard it not remember how many times on board. We also strongly encour- probably the reason my grandpar- was to choose just one from all of those big red ants bit me. My father age older youths, adults and chaper- ents, John and Eula Black Harding, the pretty printed sacks! or grandpa would put tobacco juice ones to wear life jackets, but by law and their three sons, Otis, Dixie and We finally made our choices on the bite to help with the pain. this is not required on vessels as Travis, left almost everything behind and hurried home ready to wear That was back in the 1940s. large as Katy, and we respect per- except the old family Bible and evac- our new dresses. It seemed an eter- I still have a recollection of when sonal preferences. uated from Sinton by train in 1915 to nity before all of that flour had electric power came to our farm- Inez, where they lived on the Bald- been used and we could actually house. Thank you for the memories. win property south of Inez. My dad wear our special dresses. CHARLES SKWERES | MAGNOLIA and grandmother always told stories ANN BOST | ELKHART SAN BERNARD EC of how they had to hide in the fields HOUSTON COUNTY EC because of the raids going on. | HOUSTON I was one who wore feed sack JEANNETTE MULLENIX GET MORE TCP AT VICTORIA EC dresses and underwear. I was always so happy to see the new prints and TexasCoopPower.com Fashion Sense on the Farm loved them. After I married, my Find more letters online in the Iguana in New York I enjoyed “Feeding Their Fashion first maternity dress was feed sack Table of Contents. Sign up for While visiting a friend in New York Sense” [February 2015]. It reminded material. That was the good old our E-Newsletter for monthly in October of 1998, I took this picture me of one time in the early ’50s that days. If you never had that privilege, updates, prize drawings and more! of this giant iguana. It looks like the my sister and I went to the store you don’t know what you missed. same one in the February issue of with Mama for something special. NELL LARREMORE | VIA FACEBOOK WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Texas Co-op Power [“The Curious Would it be an ice-cold Grapette ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share Creations of Daddy-O Wade”]. from the box by the door or maybe Bitten by Memory EMAIL: [email protected] | SCHERTZ PETE LARRIEU a Baby Ruth candy bar? No, Mama “Gone But Not Forgotten” [Feb- MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, GUADALUPE VALLEY EC had something else in mind. ruary 2015] really brought back 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, We entered the store, and she memories from long ago during Austin, TX 78701 Remembering the Uprising steered us toward the back corner, my childhood on my grandparents’ Please include your town and electric co-op. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. The article about the San Diego where there was a mound of flour- farm in Brenham (serviced by Blue- uprising [“Plan of San Diego Upris- filled cloth sacks on pallets. Mama bonnet EC). There were many horny ing,” January 2015] certainly caught wanted each of us to choose one toads that I played with, and I can- Texas Co-op Power Magazine

TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 71, NUMBER 10 (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 76 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.08 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 2015 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission.

LINDY: JOHN KACHIK. IGUANA: PETE LARRIEU IGUANA: JOHN KACHIK. LINDY: Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2015 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 5 CURRENTS Energy, innovation, people, places and events in Texas

KIDS CORNER Five Rules for Kids and Electrical Safety

Touchstone Energy and Kids EnergyZone.com offer five important lessons to share with youngsters to help them stay safe around electricity. “Teaching electrical safety from the very earliest of ages ensures a healthy respect of this resource to help prevent accidents and injuries,” says Debbie Robinson, CEO and general manager of Wood County Electric Cooperative. “Resources like Kids Energy HAPPENINGS Zone make learning fun and drive home lifesaving points.” Poteet Salutes the Strawberry 1. Always ask a grown-up for help when you need to use For 67 years, Poteet has held a festival to celebrate strawberries and their growers something that uses electricity. on Atascosa County farms. The Rotary Club organized the first Poteet Strawberry 2. Don’t yank or pull electric Festival in 1948 as a way to encourage World War II veterans to return to area cords from a wall. Pulling cords can damage the outlet, appli- farms. That party drew about 5,000 visitors. ances or plug. Since then, Poteet has become synonymous with strawberries, and the festival 3. Never overload outlets with lures more than 100,000 people to town for a weekend of contests, strawberry too many plugs. dishes, children’s entertainment, dancing, and a carnival and rodeo. Country singer 4. Keep electrical stuff away norteño conjunto Kevin Fowler and and star Ramón Ayala, the “Accordion King,” from water. Water and electricity headline the musical lineup for this year’s festival, April 10–12. don’t mix. Most electrical acci- Many strawberry growers who partake in the Poteet festival are members of dents in the home happen when Karnes Electric Cooperative. The co-op contributes $1,000 to the scholarship people use electricity near water. fund for the festival’s Taste of Texas Food Show and Auction. 5. Watch out for power lines. Find more Never touch a power line, happenings all especially if there is one that INFO: (830) 742-8144, strawberryfestival.com across the state at has fallen down. TexasCoopPower .com

Honeybees must visit 2 million flowers and travel over 55,000 miles to produce 1 pound of honey.

—According to the National Honey Board | BIGSTOCK.COM BSANI SUNFLOWER: | BIGSTOCK.COM. BEE: TOBKATRINA JOHN KACHIK. STRAWBERRY:

6 Texas Co-op Power April 2015 TexasCoopPower.com FOLLOWING UP Texans Can Help Track Milkweed

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department encourages citizen scientists to help monitor milkweed, the only plant that monarch butterflies eat. The project was prompted by a significant decline in the monarch population, attributed in part to widespread decline of milkweed in the United States. Volunteers can join the “Texas Milkweeds and Monarchs” project at iNaturalist.org and download the app to their mobile device. When they see milkweed, they can get a picture of it, post it and provide information on the app. This will help biologists from TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program learn where milkweed CO-OP PEOPLE is growing, how much is out Grow Your there and whether monarchs are using it. Millions of monarchs Own Tall Tale migrate through Texas twice a year (“Trouble in the Kingdom,” September After reading “Tall Tales” [October 2014], Jim Kolkhorst alerted Texas Co-op Power 2014). A decline in milk- to another special tree—La Bahia Pecan at weed in Texas could Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic threaten that migration. Site. The tree overlooks the historic ferry “We do not feel that the crossing where the Navasota and Brazos loss of this species is rivers meet, and it witnessed the begin- realistic; however, we are ning of Texas as Texas. Seedlings from La Bahia Pecan are available for purchase. concerned about the poten- Tests confirmed the tree stood when tial loss of the migration,” delegates drafted and adopted the Texas says Mark Klym of the Wildlife Declaration of Independence in 1836, says Diversity Program and a Bluebon- Kolkhorst, president of the Washington-on- net Electric Cooperative member. the-Brazos State Park Association and a member of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. Jim Ellison, a Bluebonnet member who owned Ellison’s Greenhouses for 44 years, came up with the idea to sell La Bahia Lineman Appreciation Day seedlings to raise money for the park asso- ciation. With help from Texas A&M Univer- sity, pecans were propagated. Almost On National Lineman Appreciation Day, April 13, co-ops and their 2,000 seedlings have been sold, and members recognize the men and women who keep the lights on. another 2,000 are available this spring. In December, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Bluebonnet EC has sent bucket trucks designated the second Monday of April each year for this purpose. and crews to harvest the pecans (shown “It gives us a rallying point for our linemen,” says Kerry Kelton, the NRECA’s Texas above). “For us at Bluebonnet, that’s an director and Mid-South Synergy CEO. easy request,” says Wesley Brinkmeyer, the The text of the resolution, which the board adopted unanimously, includes: “Whereas co-op’s manager of energy programs. linemen leave their families and put their lives on the line every day to keep the power on; “We’re a co-op, and nothing beats helping whereas linemen work 365 days a year under dangerous conditions to build, maintain and out our members.” repair the electric infrastructure; whereas linemen are the first responders of the electric The seedlings sell for $100, and the cooperative family, getting power back on and making things safe for all after storms and proceeds go to the park association and accidents; and whereas there would be no electric cooperatives without the brave men and A&M. To purchase a seedling, contact women who comprise our corps of linemen; therefore be it resolved that NRECA recognize

TREE: JIM ELLISON. MILKWEED: JOHN KACHIK. HARDHAT: IMAGE COPYRIGHT IAREMENKO SERGII, USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM IAREMENKO COPYRIGHT IMAGE HARDHAT: JOHN KACHIK. TREE: JIM ELLISON. MILKWEED: Ellison at (979) 451-9187. the second Monday of April of each year as National Lineman Appreciation Day.”

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 7 IT’S OUT THERE

BY HELEN THOMPSON

very spring, pastures, rights-of-way, easements and meadows along Texas roadways erupt into Technicolor splendor. View- ing wildflowers preoccupies enthusiasts all over the state. Searching out, ogling and photographing lavish fields of Eyellow black-eyed Susans, red-and-yellow Indian blanket, luminous-purple winecups and deep red Drummond phlox becomes a spectator sport. Two hotlines (one from the Texas Depart- ment of Transportation, the other at the Lady Bird Johnson Wild- flower Center) keep callers apprised of new flower sightings from March 1 through the middle of April. The holy grail of wildflowers is, of course, the bluebonnet, which is the Texas state flower. So popular is the prolific lupine, whose blue petals resemble the shape of a bonnet worn by pioneer women, that it has generated artistic genres unique to Texas: the bluebonnet paint- ing and the family photograph featuring a child nestled into billowing swaths of the flowers. Don’t, however, leap to the conclusion that all is well in the wild- flower world. “The robustness of the spring bloom is not an indicator of the general health of their environment,” notes Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Senior Botanist Damon Waitt. The fact that the flowers bloom at all is a barometer of the gracious cooperation of tem- perature, rain, sunshine and the plants’ genetic hardiness. It is also a testament to the determination of a small battalion of people who work endlessly to improve the ever-shaky odds that winecups, Indian paintbrush, bluebonnets and other native flowering plants will survive. This task is challenging. Despite the show of vigor these wildflowers muster once a year, the threat to their well-being is constant, and it’s right in their midst. “People assume that all wildflowers are native to Texas,” Waitt says, “but the flowers have become less native over the

last 20 years.” The reason? The relentless influx of invasives—plants | TDF PHOTOGRAPHY © DEAN FIKAR Despite the exuberant show they put on every spring, wildflowers don’t have it all that easy. THE FACT that the flowers bloom at all is a barometer of the gracious cooperation of temperature, rain, sunshine and the plants’ genetic hardiness.

Native American Seed’s crop of standing cypress “People assume that all wildflowers are native to Texas,” says Damon Waitt, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center senior botanist.

like the aptly named bastard cabbage, which appears in clusters with partnered with the Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Parks and pretty little yellow flowers. The plant flourishes from Port Aransas Wildlife Department, Texas Master Naturalists, Department of to Fort Worth and is hell-bent on pushing westward to El Paso. Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and “Bastard cabbage is opportunistic,” says Waitt. “It loves road- other environmental groups to create texasinvasives.org. Coordi- sides and disturbed areas.” There’s plenty wrong with that scenario. nated at the Wildflower Center, the website partnership allows “It’s pre-empting the native wildflowers and taking up space where government agencies, nonprofits, academia and conservation they would ordinarily grow.” organizations to share best practices and information with the If bastard cabbage were just an isolated offender, there might public. “This is a problem that demands the public’s help,” says GEORGIA | BUGWOOD.ORG. STANDING CYPRESS: COURTESY NATIVE AMERICAN SEED COMPANY NATIVE COURTESY CYPRESS: STANDING | BUGWOOD.ORG. GEORGIA be less cause for alarm. But the influx of invasives has become so director Justin Bush, emphasizing the immensity of scope. “It cataclysmic that in 2005, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center affects every section of land and every waterway in the state.”

exas depends on grassroots support to fight this fight. And that’s where texas invasives.org’s Citizen Scientists program comes in. About 2,400 volunteers have Tcompleted the training necessary to seek out and report outbreaks of the 79 envi- ronmentally harmful invasive plant species tar- geted. Citizen scientists contribute important data to local and national resource managers who, in turn, coordinate appropriate responses to control the spread of unwanted invaders. “The premise Invasives such as bastard is simple: To move all of us beyond awareness and cabbage, above, pre- into action,” Bush says. empt native wildflowers. One such citizen scientist taking action is Mark Staerkel of Spring. The semiretired plumbing and Citizen scientist Mark hardware manufacturer’s representative joined Staerkel pulls down inva- sive Japanese climbing Citizen Scientists as part of the 40 hours of service fern at Jesse James Park time required for master naturalist certification.

WAITT: TOM UHLENBROCK | ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. STAERKEL: WILL VAN OVERBEEK. BASTARD CABBAGE: KARAN A. RAWLINS | UNIVERSITY OF | UNIVERSITY A. RAWLINS KARAN CABBAGE: BASTARD OVERBEEK. WILL VAN STAERKEL: POST-DISPATCH. LOUIS UHLENBROCK | ST. TOM WAITT: in Spring, Texas. Scouting for invasives had a familiar ring: “It

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 11 reminded me of what I did as an assis- tant Boy Scout master for 30 years.” Although Staerkel has always been out- doorsy, he isn’t a gardener. You can spot Staerkel at one of his favorite haunts, Jesse James Park in Spring. He’s the one carrying a big plas- tic bag and pulling up the vine-like Japanese climbing fern, which, if left uncontrolled, will smother entire trees. The fern also produces a thick ground- cover that thwarts native seed germi- nation. “I’d never even heard of it,” says Staerkel, “but it was easy to identify and is everywhere in Houston.” The program has changed Staerkel’s view of what he sees in the landscape. “I used to enjoy looking at some of these plants, like the crepe myrtle or the Japanese mimosa,” says the citizen scientist. “But now that I know that Wildflowers have a they prevent natives from growing, and symbiotic relationship in his nursery to native plants. He sowed his first seed farm and birds and insects can’t eat them, I don’t with other wildlife. had his first harvest in 1988. In the summer of 1995, Neiman and think the way I used to.” his family moved to the Hill Country, on the Llano River just outside of Junction, and founded Native American Seed. The company harvests native seeds there and at other farms on the Coastal either does Bill Neiman. Throughout the 1970s to the Prairies and in the Piney Woods for a range of seeds to suit all mid-1980s, Neiman ran a successful landscaping busi- areas of Texas. Apache Plateau, Bee Happy, Hummers & Singers, ness that addressed the needs of urban Dallas as well Deer Resistant and other mixes offer options to suit personal tastes as the burgeoning suburbs that were scraping flat the and geography. Some, such as Lady Bird’s Legacy Wildflower mix, Nplains north of Dallas. Neiman and his crew of 45 built are rebranded in packets by civic, nonprofit, academic and business hardscapes, planted big trees and installed vast irriga- groups (including Texas Electric Cooperatives), with profits going tion systems. But then the drought of 1980 hit, and Neiman noticed to the Wildflower Center. TxDOT also is a customer, seeding state something: “Those intensive landscapes I’d installed in Highland roadways with the mixes when Neiman is the low bidder on the Park were failing.” contract. “What we are doing,” says Neiman, “is providing our cus- At the time, no one thought of Asian jasmine, Japanese box- tomers with an ecosystem in a bag. It’s a way to save the legendary wood, Pakistani crape myrtle and African Bermuda grass as DNA of these flowers.” nonnative, much less as invasive. On the road home one day, Neiman saw the light. “I pulled over on the side of the road to stare at flowers that were blooming despite no rain and temper- he battle to save Texas’ wildflowers has become more urgent atures over 100 degrees,” he recalls. “I realized that these plants in the past two decades, as Wildflower Center botanist Waitt were all natives. They’d noted. But people have responded to the call for action. evolved here without There are more than 2,000 other volunteers like Staerkel fertilizer, herbicides, Tchopping down, pulling up and ripping out invasives all pesticides and irriga- over the state. And there are gardeners, inspired by tion systems.” That real- Neiman’s unrelenting message urging awareness, who are replacing ization changed every- their boxwood-lined gardens with Texas native meadows. Neiman thing Neiman had lived is optimistic. “It’s all in the dialogue,” he says. “It’s the only way we for. “I realized I was are going to do it. And that’s something one person can do.” part of the problem.” There are plenty of ways a person can continue the dialogue. In Neiman went home fact, there’s a license plate that helps: The horned lizard plate funds and shifted everything texasinvasives.org and conservation efforts in the state. And, new this year, a wildflower license plate delivers 100 percent of its profits to the Wildflower Center. Affixing one of these plates to your car or Bill Neiman built his busi- ness, Native American trailer lets your vehicle do the talking—and it’s just in time for wild- Seed, around Texas wild- flower season, when what’s blooming is the season’s hottest topic.

flowers. Read more of author Helen Thompson’s work at seeninhouse.com AMERICAN SEED NATIVE NEIMAN AND WILDLFE: COURTESY

12 Texas Co-op Power April 2015 TexasCoopPower.com BEST-BET DRIVES FOR

FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE INFORMATION, the Texas Department of Transportation has a wild- flower hotline at 1-800-452-9292. These routes are longtime favorites confirmed by multiple sources, including wildflowersightings.org. WILDFLOWER CORRIDORS FLOWERS a I-35 between Dallas-Fort Worth and South Texas a I-10 between San Antonio and Brookshire

CENTRAL TEXAS BLANCO AND BURNET COUNTIES a U.S. 281 between Johnson City and Marble Falls BLANCO, COMAL AND BEXAR COUNTIES a U.S. 281 between Blanco and San Antonio GILLESPIE COUNTY a Willow City Loop (near TX 16 off FM 1323) a Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site, U.S. 290 east of Stonewall LLANO COUNTY a Around Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake, along FM 1431 MASON COUNTY a Mason County Loop (from U.S. 87 southeast of Mason, take RR 783 south to Threadgill Creek Road, turn left, and go back to U.S. 87) TRAVIS AND BASTROP COUNTIES a U.S. 290 between Manor and Paige a TX 71 between Austin and Bastrop WILLIAMSON AND BURNET COUNTIES a TX 29 between George- town and Burnet

EAST TEXAS ANGELINA AND NACOGDOCHES COUNTIES a U.S. 59 between Lufkin and Nacogdoches BOWIE, MORRIS AND TITUS COUNTIES a I-30 between Texarkana and Mount Pleasant HOUSTON, TRINITY AND POLK COUNTIES a U.S. 287 between Crockett and Corrigan MARION, CASS AND MORRIS COUNTIES a TX 49 between Jefferson and Dainger- field MONTGOMERY COUNTY a I-45 and TX 105 near Lake Conroe NACOGDOCHES AND CROCK- ETT COUNTIES a TX 7 between Nacogdoches and Crockett TYLER COUNTY a Around Woodville

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS BASTROP, LEE AND BURLESON COUNTIES a TX 21 between Paige and Caldwell DALLAS COUNTY a I-45 just south of Dallas, near Hutchins FAYETTE COUNTY a I-10 between Schulenburg and Flatonia FAYETTE AND AUSTIN COUNTIES a TX 159 between La Grange and Bellville WALLER AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES a U.S. 290 between Hempstead and Brenham WASHINGTON COUNTY a Most anywhere in Washington County Get planting with FREE Wildflower Seeds from Texas Co-op Power! WEST TEXAS Send a SASE to Free Seeds c/o BREWSTER COUNTY a Big Bend National Park, Texas Co-op Power, 1122 Colorado St., around Study Butte and Panther Junction 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701 CHASE A. FOUNTAIN | TPWD CHASE A. FOUNTAIN

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 WMake Yourill Own Meadow:f A wildflowerlowers project you can do at home

By Helen Thompson | Photos By Will van Overbeek “I have always heard that wildflowers do well in bad soil,” he says, “but even so I had a truckload of dirt brought in for the fall seeding.” ven if you love to drive around the state looking at wild- When planting your own wildflower garden you can also flowers in the spring, it’s easy to grow your own meadow refer to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website, where you can see the array of blooms at any wildflower.org, which is encyclopedic in time. That’s what photographer Will van Over- Will insists he is not an expert, but scope. The database includes “how to” Ebeek did on an irregular swath of ground that here’s how he plants his wildflowers: articles on large-scale wildflower plant- runs a couple of hundred feet along the curb 1. Pick a good site with full sun. ing, recreating a prairie, planting a in front of his house in South Austin. It was for both meadow garden, how to grow bluebon- 2. Sow seeds to bare, loose dirt. sentimental reasons as well as environmental. “I love nets and a lot more. Plus, as van Overbeek “That means preparing the ground,” wildflowers,” says van Overbeek, who grew up in Cali- notes, “Every bag of seed has directions he says, “either by covering it with clear fornia where his father, an amateur botanist, taught on the back. They are easy to follow and plastic for a couple of months to kill the biology at California Institute of Technology. “We used all you have to do afterwards is pray for weeds or by using a broad-spectrum to drive into the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Modesto rain.” That’s a factor beyond our control. herbicide that doesn’t run off and is to see the flowers and to take photos of them.” “You are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” not harmful to plants or animals.” It was only natural that van Overbeek decided to plant he says. “But the reward is wonderful.” a meadow when he and his family moved to a new house 3. Broadcast the seeds by hand— in 1997. “There was no lawn in front,” he says. The soil don’t bury them. SHARE your own experience of growing wild- was also very poor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 4. Plant in the fall. flowers in Texas on our Facebook page.

Will’s wildflowers: “I shot them in a way that reminded me of the old framed botanical samples you see,” he says.

Oenothera speciosa, pink evening primrose Engelmannia peristenia, Engelmann’s daisy Gaillardia pulchella, Indian blanket or firewheel

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By Ricardo Gándara ometimes, geography and opportunity converge to S create a colorful history. The rich farmland of Central Texas is close enough to Galveston that it became the new homeland for European immigrants coming to America by ship in the 1800s to escape hardship and religious persecution. The fi rst came as scouts and sent word back home: Texas was gold. Land was fertile and affordable, and there was plenty of it. People were free to worship in church. Opportunity was up for grabs. And so they came. Czechs, Wends, Poles and Germans established small settlements like Hranice, Courtesy Texas Wendish Heritage Museum Serbin, Chappell Hill and Maxwell. Bigger Unlike today’s elaborate white wedding dresses, Wendish brides, like Anna towns such as Brenham and Giddings Pietsch, were draped in black, a symbol of the grief and hardship they believed thrived, too. Hispanics and African- marriage would bring. Anna married Wilhelm Lehmann in 1905 at Holy Cross Americans also played signifi cant roles in Lutheran Church in Warda. shaping Texas. The settlers brought cultural practices and beliefs so strong and enduring they celebrate their German heritage with a Antonio. Immigrants continue adding survive today. Across the region served by meal including sauerkraut, sauerbraten to the quilt of diversity in Texas, with Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, you can or sausage. a Hispanic majority on the horizon. still fi nd Czech polka bands luring dancers The European settlers “brought a But it’s evolving, Andera said. New with the squeezing of accordions. Stores sell fl avor, a culture and a language that immigrants are from places like noodles like those made by the Wends and makes Texas what it is today,” said Jo Afghanistan and Indonesia. “And farmers eat Polish dumplings stuffed with Ann Andera, who has organized the there’s been a cross of cultures due to potato and cheese. Friends and neighbors Texas Folklife Festival since 1981 for marriages. It’s what makes Texas a gather in a community clubhouse to the Institute of Texan Cultures in San blend of cultures,” she said.

20 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE April 2015 bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 20 3/9/15 10:20 PM MAXWELL AT THE INTERSECTION of Main and Third streets, Ronnie Duesterheft’s memory drifts back to the 1950s, when he was a boy and it was Maxwell’s heyday. “W.T. Best, the postmaster, lived there,” he points out while driving through the neighborhood. He remembers busy times at Germer’s Grocery — one of 14 beer joints that Maxwell boasted back then (nearby towns did not sell alcohol). Three cotton gins operated overtime. Maxwell, 10 miles west of Lockhart, drew Germans to its cotton fi elds in the late 1880s. They established Lutheran and Methodist churches and a school. Mexican immigrants played an important role in the cotton fi elds, too. “We’ve only been here more than 100 years,” said Duesterheft, 72, born and raised in Maxwell. He is one of the founders of the Maxwell Volunteer Fire Department and a former Caldwell County commissioner. His family ties to this town are deep. His grandfather, William Schulle, owned two car dealerships here in the 1920s. Maxwell once thrived. The railroad knifed through the heart of downtown in 1887, Inside fueling more than a dozen businesses. In the 1960s, the FEATURES Nagle Manufacturing and Supply Co. gained renown for making WASHINGTON, D.C., BOUND a good portion of the world’s Youth tour winners announced 25 wooden coat hangers. Hollywood arrived to make the 1981 fi lm GO PAPERLESS “Raggedy Man,” starring Texas Save time. Save money. Win a tree! 26 native and Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek. COMMUNITY GRANTS In 2010, the town had 500 Aiding two area nonprofi ts 27 residents, according to the Texas Almanac, but people have been MONTHLY MEETING leaving. The registry at Ebenezer Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m. Lutheran Church is dominated April 21, at Bluebonnet’s Headquarters, 155 Electric by family names like Schneider Ave., (formerly 650 Texas Hwy. 21 East), Bastrop. and Schulle. Today, a drive Find the agenda and last-minute updates April 17 at around the area shows a Hispanic bluebonnet.coop. Hover your cursor over ‘next board infl uence with many relatives meeting’ on our home page. of the well-known Yanez and Continued on next page HOW TO REPORT OUTAGES Call 800-949-4414 if you have a power outage. Keep up with outages 24/7 at bluebonnet.coop. Hover your cursor over ‘outage report’ on our home page. You can also send us a text message: to get started, text BBOUTAGE to 85700 and follow the prompts. Save that number in your contacts, perhaps as “Bluebonnet Outages.” If your Ronnie Duesterheft, whose power goes out, text OUT to that number. If you have our German ancestors settled in free mobile app for Android or iPhone, you can report an Maxwell in the late 1800s, sits in outage on your smartphone. front of a stained glass window in Ebenezer Lutheran Church, near his home. The historic CONTACT US church was dedicated in 1924. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative produced the blue- bordered pages 20-27 in this issue of the magazine with content that is of specifi c interest or relevance Go to bluebonnet.coop/roots to see more photographs to Bluebonnet members. The rest of the magazine’s with this story. content is distributed statewide to any member of an electric cooperative in Texas. For information about the magazine, contact Janet Wilson at 512-750-5483 or email Jay Godwin photo [email protected]. bluebonnet.coop April 2015 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 21

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 21 3/9/15 10:20 PM DIME BOX

JEAN BLAHA DAVIS, 80, Jean Blaha Davis, a founder is always on the lookout for a of the Dime Box Heritage funeral. She is not maudlin; she’s a Society Museum, is proud of historian. the metal mailbox that was “I approach people at funerals sent to President Franklin and ask, ‘Can I be there when you Delano Roosevelt filled with go through your parents’ house?’ local contributions to the March of Dimes campaign. It You can’t believe what I fi nd. I was returned to Dime Box and have to keep this going,” she said. is displayed at the museum She’s keeping Czech culture along with an 1880s-era Czech alive in the Lee County town of First Communion prayer book, Dime Box, which in 2010 had a shown at left below. population of 381, according to the Texas Almanac. As a founder of the Dime Box Heritage Society Slavnost May Fest and Museum, she collected many Czech Tribute to the Immigrants is May 17 at 250 Fairgrounds items on display: a photo of teacher Road, La Grange; get Alice Etzel’s 1925 class at Hranice information at czechtexas.org School, a 1927 property tax bill for or 888-785-4500. $11.38 and an unarmed 100-pound bomb from World War II. Blaha Davis’ grandparents, Jan Sundays because it was the and Marie Hejtmancik, settled in Czech thing to do. The men sat this area after emigrating from on the right and the women on Moravia, now part of the Czech the left.” Republic. In the late 1880s, the Before Czechoslovakia was fl ourishing Czech settlement of established in 1918, these Slavic Hranice overlooked Yegua Creek people from Bohemia, Moravia here. Now, all that’s left is the old and Silesia came to Texas in school’s well pump a few yards 1850, according to John L. from St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. Davis’ book “Texans One and But Blaha Davis’ childhood All.” The Czechs focused on WHILE HATTIE SCHAUTSCHICK bags memories from the 1940s are fresh. establishing self-suffi cient farms. homemade spaghetti-like noodles, she recalls “A few families grew maize, sugar The cornerstone of Czech a childhood story of how the geese got tipsy cane and cotton. We grew food to communities was the Slovanska on her family’s farm in this small Lee County feed the animals that fed us,” she Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas community. said. (SPJST), a fraternal benefi t “There was homemade wine in the barn, and A sensible co-op called The Beef society created in 1897 in La the geese pecked at the cork in the bottles,” she Club – a group of 25 families that Grange to ensure the fi nancial said. The geese stumbled like drunks in a bar took turns butchering a calf or hog security of members through life in a scene so funny it still makes her laugh. – fed the community. “The family insurance. But SPJST Lodges Schautschick and her friends gather before that butchered shared the meat,” she served as community centers for 7 a.m. every Monday in the Texas Wendish said. “The next day, it was another dances, community projects and Heritage Museum’s kitchen to make noodles family’s turn. One day you’d have summer camps. Today, there are and share memories. In this unincorporated steaks and the next soup bones.” almost 100 chapters in Texas still community 9 miles south of Giddings, the A specialty of the community was promoting Czech heritage. museum and St. Paul Lutheran Church next always kolaches, hefty fruit-fi lled Blaha Davis fi nds comfort in door are cornerstones of the community. The pastries. “We grew up appreciating history and her heritage. During museum preserves the history of Texas Wends, everything we had because others a recent visit to St. Joseph Slavic immigrants from Lusatia (in present- had less,” she said. “We were cemetery where Hranice once day Germany near the borders with Poland taught to be kind and not to bicker. stood, her thoughts went to her and the Czech Republic), according to Anne When adults talked, we listened. ancestors. “I’ll be right there Blasig’s book, “The Wends of Texas.” “We never missed church on Jay Godwin photos next to my parents,” she said. The colony of German subculture was established in 1854. Schautschick, 88, fondly remembers Continued from previous page Scheele, who was superintendent of schools. link to the past. Members meet monthly to growing up in Serbin, which in 2010 had a Scheele also noted events of the day: “It socialize. Potluck meals sometimes feature population of 109, according to the Texas Gutierrez families living in the community. seems that church, school and community German favorites, including sauerkraut and Almanac. “We got homemade pecan ice cream Changing names is nothing new in Maxwell. picnics were enjoyed by all. Many dances sauerbraten. after the hay was picked,” she said. And, at The town was known as New Martindale until were held in homes. The places were Koerbel Duesterheft follows his ancestors’ ways. His Easter, she and the other children made small 1845, when Thomas Maxwell received a large and Schawe pastures.” German-style sausage is made of venison and nests of plants, leaves and twigs from the tract of land from the Republic of Texas’ last Today, the active Maxwell Social Club, pork. Smoking and drying the meat takes up garden. The children hid the homemade nests president, Anson Jones, according to a 1953 a community center established in 1953 to to a month. “It’s just something we do,” he hoping their parents would fi ll them with story in the Lockhart Post-Register by B.E. host monthly suppers and celebrations, is a said. candy and colored eggs.

22 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE April 2015 bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 22 3/9/15 10:21 PM SERBIN

Jean Blaha Davis, a founder of the Dime Box Heritage Society Museum, is proud of the metal mailbox that was sent to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt filled with local contributions to the March of Dimes campaign. It was returned to Dime Box and is displayed at the museum along with an 1880s-era Czech First Communion prayer book, shown at left below.

Slavnost May Fest and Tribute to the Immigrants is May 17 at 250 Fairgrounds Road, La Grange; get information at czechtexas.org or 888-785-4500.

Sundays because it was the Czech thing to do. The men sat on the right and the women on the left.” Before Czechoslovakia was established in 1918, these Slavic people from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia came to Texas in 1850, according to John L. Davis’ book “Texans One and All.” The Czechs focused on WHILE HATTIE SCHAUTSCHICK bags On Monday mornings, friends establishing self-suffi cient farms. homemade spaghetti-like noodles, she recalls gather in Serbin to make The cornerstone of Czech a childhood story of how the geese got tipsy noodles the old fashioned- communities was the Slovanska on her family’s farm in this small Lee County Wendish way. From left, Nancy Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas community. Lambert, Zelda Richards, Hattie Schautschick and (SPJST), a fraternal benefi t “There was homemade wine in the barn, and Carolyn Jurk gather around society created in 1897 in La the geese pecked at the cork in the bottles,” she a noodle-drying rack in the Grange to ensure the fi nancial said. The geese stumbled like drunks in a bar kitchen at the Texas Wendish security of members through life in a scene so funny it still makes her laugh. Heritage Museum. The Kilian insurance. But SPJST Lodges Schautschick and her friends gather before cabin, left, is a restored served as community centers for 7 a.m. every Monday in the Texas Wendish portion of a two-room building dances, community projects and Heritage Museum’s kitchen to make noodles built by Wendish immigrants summer camps. Today, there are and share memories. In this unincorporated Jay Godwin photos after arriving in Texas. almost 100 chapters in Texas still community 9 miles south of Giddings, the promoting Czech heritage. museum and St. Paul Lutheran Church next St. Paul’s church was built in 1871. The Wendish Fest is Sept. 27 at 1011 Blaha Davis fi nds comfort in door are cornerstones of the community. The County Road 212, Serbin; get information “Wends have always been guided by the history and her heritage. During museum preserves the history of Texas Wends, at texaswendish.org or 979-366-2441. Good Lord, and that never goes away,” said a recent visit to St. Joseph Slavic immigrants from Lusatia (in present- Joyce Bise of the Wendish museum. Among cemetery where Hranice once day Germany near the borders with Poland the museum’s cultural artifacts are vintage stood, her thoughts went to her and the Czech Republic), according to Anne While other immigrants sought prosperity, photos of Wend brides in black dresses — ancestors. “I’ll be right there Blasig’s book, “The Wends of Texas.” Wends wanted religious liberty and the right symbolic of a dour message that marriage next to my parents,” she said. The colony of German subculture was to speak the Wendish language instead of brought grief and hardship. established in 1854. German. Serbin’s Wends endured a diffi cult When the railroad came to Lee County in Schautschick, 88, fondly remembers journey that included a voyage across the 1871, Giddings prospered and Serbin shrank. link to the past. Members meet monthly to growing up in Serbin, which in 2010 had a Atlantic on the Ben Nevis sailing ship. Some Today, a few families remain. Schautschick socialize. Potluck meals sometimes feature population of 109, according to the Texas of the original 588 passengers lost their lives lives on some of the original 25 acres that her German favorites, including sauerkraut and Almanac. “We got homemade pecan ice cream to cholera. Led by Pastor Johann Kilian, the grandfather Johann Mitschke received for sauerbraten. after the hay was picked,” she said. And, at Wends landed in Galveston in December fi ghting in the Civil War. The Rev. Kilian’s old Duesterheft follows his ancestors’ ways. His Easter, she and the other children made small 1854. log cabin sits next to St. Paul’s church, which German-style sausage is made of venison and nests of plants, leaves and twigs from the They overcame hard economic times and serves 300 families and 80 children in its pork. Smoking and drying the meat takes up garden. The children hid the homemade nests yellow fever to build Serbin, which fl ourished parochial school. to a month. “It’s just something we do,” he hoping their parents would fi ll them with in the late 19th century. Rev. Kilian’s log cabin It’s home, Schautschick said. “No place like said. candy and colored eggs. also served as a school and church. The current it.” bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop April 2015 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 23

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 23 3/9/15 10:21 PM CHAPPELL HILL

RIDING HIS FOUR-WHEELER, Pete Ma- zurkiewicz, 82, watches the hungry calves on his rolling pasture 60 miles northwest of Houston. He feels good despite bypass surgery, hip replacement and a bum leg. “This is fun,” he said. “It’s all I’ve ever done.” He sounds a horn and the calves faithfully follow him to troughs where he easily empties 50-pound bags of feed. This 50-acre farm is a portion of the larger 176-acre farm that belonged to his grand- parents, Lorenz and Anna Mazurkiewicz, who emigrated from Poland in the late 1880s. Most Catholic Poles The Bluebonnet came to Chappell Hill Festival is April 11-12 at to work cotton planta- 9060 Coplar St., tions after Texas slaves Chappell Hill; get were freed in 1865, information at according to a history chappellhillmuseum.org written by Virginia or 979-836-6033. Hill and the Rev. Jozef Musiol in celebration of the 125th anniversary of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. The church was founded in 1889 in Chap- pell Hill. Back then, Chappell Hill was known as a “Methodist center,” home to the Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute, a nondenominational school founded in 1852. The Texas Methodist Conference changed the school to Soule University, a private college for boys, in 1854. It was expanded to add Chappell Hill Female College in 1856, according to the Handbook of Texas online (tshaonline.org). Pete and Pauline The railroad soon came and Chappell Hill became a Mazurkiewicz live small but important business center. and work on a Pete Mazurkiewicz and his wife, Pauline, work portion of a farm the family farm today, just like the original Polish in Chappell Hill families who lived off the land. “A poor but rich that was formerly life,” Mazurkiewicz said, taking a pinch of Red Man owned by his chewing tobacco. He’s still driven by a strong work grandparents, who emigrated ethic. “If you stop, it’s all over,” he said. from Poland in His Polish upbringing meant 25-cent days in the the 1880s. cotton fi elds. Work defi ned his life. “If you were thirsty, my dad would say, ‘No, you fi nish chopping the hay fi rst.’ ” Jay Godwin photo “Two good mules and a plow, that’s all we needed,” he said. Today, his four-wheeler is a reliable and domowy chleb (homemade bread). land around them and building second substitute, but many of the old ways don’t change. At But things are changing in the community homes. “Land that was $2,500 an acre 15 lunch, his wife prepares Polska kielbasa (homemade that in 2010 had a population of 750, accord- years ago is now $30,000. When I’m gone, Polish sausage), parzona kapusta (steamed cabbage), ing to the Texas Alamanac. The Mazurkie- all this family land will be fi lled with houses. pierogi (dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese) wiczs feel crowded by Houstonians buying That makes me sad,” he said. n

BRENHAM — Maifest, one of the oldest festivals in Texas, celebrates its 125th Maifest marks anniversary and Brenham’s German heritage May 1-3 in Fireman’s Park, 901 N. Park St. The festival keeps alive the traditions of immigrants who settled in the area. It even has its own Texas Historical Marker. Maifest, a celebration of spring, was started 125 years of in Brenham in 1881 by the local fi re department and has been held every year except during World Wars I and II. In medieval times in Europe, houses and churches were celebrating decorated with fl owers and villagers danced around a maypole, believed to have symbolized a tree. Now, maypoles are festooned with long, colorful streamers that German dancers weave into an ornamental pattern as they circle the pole. Brenham’s festival includes a children’s maypole dance, a parade, German music, home-brew contests, maifest.org children’s activities, coronations, a Polka church service, a Royalty 5k run, beanbag Maifest has been celebrated in heritage tournament and food. Admission to the festival grounds is free; tickets are required Brenham since 1881. This float was for some activities. For more information go to maifest.org. a highlight of the 1929 parade.

24 Texas Co-op Power BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE April 2015 bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 24 3/9/15 10:21 PM Tomorrow’s leaders are D.C. bound Bluebonnet’s student representatives will learn the ropes during annual government youth tour

By Lisa Ogle Olivia Weiss, left, of nspired to find a cure for cancer and Brenham, and Isabella changed by a mission trip to Guatemala, Stasulli, right, of the winners of Bluebonnet Electric Coop- Paige, will represent Ierative’s 2015 Government-in-Action Youth Bluebonnet during the Tour seem ready to take on the world — or at annual Government- least Washington, D.C. in-Action Youth Tour in Isabella Stasulli, a Bastrop High School senior, Washington D.C. and and Olivia Weiss, a Brenham High School junior, Austin in June. Joel were selected to represent Bluebonnet during the Benoit, center, of Cedar annual tour of our nation’s capital June 10-19. Creek, was chosen This year, winners will start the trip with a visit alternate and will step to the Texas Capitol and the Bullock Texas State in if one of the other History Museum in Austin. Joel Benoit, a junior winners cannot attend. who is homeschooled in Cedar Creek, is the alter- nate and will join the tour if one of the winners is unable to attend. and works part time at The three were among six finalists, who each a tree nursery. He hopes gave an oral presentation to, and were inter- to attend the University viewed by, Chamber of Commerce leaders at of Texas or A&M and Bluebonnet’s Headquarters on March 2. The major in engineering or winners were determined based on a total score mathematics. for an oral presentation, personal interview, letter Stasulli and Weiss of recommendation and essays about leadership, will be among about 125 the biggest influence in their life, their favorite young people represent- president and how they want to change the world. ing Texas co-ops and Stasulli, 17, has been heavily involved in about 1,500 teens from dozens of extracurricular and volunteer activities, across the country in the from National Honor Society, student council nation’s capital, where and Class of 2015 secretary to participating and they will tour historical volunteering in Relay for Life and walking dogs sites, visit with members at the Bastrop County Animal Shelter. She wants of Congress and attend to become an oncologist after seeing family events hosted by the members battle cancer, she said. National Rural Electric Stasulli wrote that she admires President Sarah Beal photo Cooperative Associa- Abraham Lincoln for issuing the Emancipation tion, an organization that Proclamation in 1863, which freed the slaves, After graduation, Weiss plans to attend Blinn represents more than 900 electric cooperatives and ending the Civil War. College and transfer to Texas A&M University, across the nation. “I am a firm believer that no matter your skin where she wants to study business or The youth program was created more than 50 color, who you are inside as a person is what mat- marketing. years ago. A 1957 speech by then-Sen. Lyndon ters,” her essay said. “I have always had an interest in Johnson inspired electric cooperatives to send Jay Godwin photo When asked about her interest in government, how the government works and in groups of young people to work in his office dur- she said, “It’s very diverse and there’s so many politics,” Weiss said after learning ing the summer. In 1958, an electric cooperative land around them and building second aspects of it. What they teach us in school is very she was one of the two winners. She in Iowa sent 34 young people to Washington, homes. “Land that was $2,500 an acre 15 vague. With this trip to Washington, D.C., I’ll be is looking forward to experiencing D.C. And in 1964, the NRECA began to coordi- years ago is now $30,000. When I’m gone, able to see it firsthand and see the history of the it firsthand, she said, adding that nate activities to draw even more state delegates, all this family land will be filled with houses. United States.” she’s most excited about visiting with more than 400 students from 12 states That makes me sad,” he said. n Weiss, 16, has been a player and now manager the Smithsonian, the world’s largest attending that year. of her school’s volleyball team, serves on student museum and research complex. Stasulli and Weiss will each receive a $500 council, has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and Benoit, 16, attributed the eloquent scholarship and join an alumni base of more has participated in a number of church activities. delivery of his oral presentation to than 50,000 — an impressive group that boasts During her mission trip to Guatemala last year, his Thesis & Rhetoric class, which CEOs and U.S. senators. For more information “it was a challenge communicating and working includes a public speaking compo- about the Government-in-Action Youth Tour, in a totally different culture, but it had a huge nent. He is writing his senior thesis visit bluebonnet.coop, hover your cursor over the impact on me,” she wrote in her essay. “The on the debate over capital punish- Community tab and click on Scholarships. n exchange of ideas and lifestyles is a big step in ment. Benoit was captain of his changing the world.” baseball team last year, tutors in math maifest.org Maifest has been celebrated in Brenham since 1881. This float was a highlight of the 1929 parade. bluebonnet.coop bluebonnet.coop April 2015 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 25

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 25 3/9/15 10:28 PM Sarah Beal photos Unless otherwise noted, those pictured are with the McMahan Community Women’s Club. From left: Sherry Gonzales, Manny Gonzales, Milton Shaw (Bluebonnet Board member), Annette Wells, Jean Williams, Darlene Jeffrey, Rick Arnic (LCRA), Martha Aiken (holding check), Betty Holfer, Rhonda Gilpatrick, Lori Berger (LCRA Board member), Joyce Buckner (Bluebonnet), Eddie Moses, Sue White, Herb Decker, Nell Berry, Sue Shephard, Tony Martinez and Kimberly Martinez. Bluebonnet mails almost 63,000 paper bills a month. Bluebonnet, LCRA grants improve area communities Each one costs 55 cents to produce and mail. wo nonprofi t groups in St. John Colony and McMahan were awarded community develop- That’s $415,800 of co-op members’ money annually. ment grants totaling $40, 292 from Bluebonnet ElectricT Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River It’s 2.29 million pieces of paper that weigh about 11½ tons Authority. The money will be used to help build a civic center and make buildings more energy-effi cient. and consume nearly 300 mature trees. St. John 19th Body, which hosts one of Texas’ longest running Juneteenth celebrations and honors historic St. John Colony in Caldwell County, received Paperless billing is simple, fast, convenient and secure. $25,000 to help create a community event center. The grant will pay for concrete to be poured in an existing building and to wire it for electricity. The center is on Any Bluebonnet member who is paperless by June 1, 2015, a 7-acre site that also includes a historic church and school. is entered to win one of three $250 gift certifi cates for a tree The McMahan Community Women’s Club plus a $100 gift card from a home improvement store. Get details at bluebonnet.coop/paperless.

Unless otherwise noted, those pictured are with St. John 19th Body. From left: Karen Rankin (LCRA), Eula M. Carter, Gracy Hill, Luerece Hill Tennon, Milton Shaw (Bluebonnet Board member), Doray Hill, Marshall Hill, Teagan Olive (holding toys), James Carter, Jermaine Hill, James Roland, Joyce Buckner Questions? Email us at [email protected] (Bluebonnet), Rick Arnic (LCRA), Kyren Olive (striped green shirt), Charles Franks, Johnny Sanders or call a member service representative at 800-842-7708. (Bluebonnet), Lori Berger (LCRA Board member), Joyce Bennett and Mary Hill. bluebonnet.coop

BLUEBONNET MAG APR 2015.indd 26 3/9/15 10:21 PM MEMBER SERVICES Q&A

I’ve been a Bluebonnet Q:member for a few years now and recall receiving a credit on my bill Sarah Beal photos around this time last year for “capital Unless otherwise noted, those pictured are with the McMahan Community Women’s Club. From left: credits.” I love getting money back, but Sherry Gonzales, Manny Gonzales, Milton Shaw (Bluebonnet Board member), Annette Wells, Jean I’d like to know more about how this Williams, Darlene Jeffrey, Rick Arnic (LCRA), Martha Aiken (holding check), Betty Holfer, Rhonda benefi t works. Gilpatrick, Lori Berger (LCRA Board member), Joyce Buckner (Bluebonnet), Eddie Moses, Sue White, Herb Decker, Nell Berry, Sue Shephard, Tony Martinez and Kimberly Martinez. “Benefi t” is a great way A:of describing capital credits. One of the benefi ts of being Bluebonnet, LCRA grants improve area communities a member of an electric cooperative like Bluebonnet is that you’re also an wo nonprofi t groups in St. John Colony and received $15,292 to make the McMahan Community owner. When the co-op takes in more McMahan were awarded community develop- Center’s heating and air conditioning system more money than is required to run the ment grants totaling $40, 292 from Bluebonnet energy effi cient. Other building improvements will business, the excess is returned to its ElectricT Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River include a new porch roof, attic ventilator, insulation, members in the form of capital credits. Authority. The money will be used to help build a ceiling tiles and a storage closet for the kitchen. The Any active member who has bought civic center and make buildings more energy-effi cient. community center in Caldwell County is a meeting electricity from Bluebonnet in the past St. John 19th Body, which hosts one of Texas’ place for the women’s club, classes, meetings and year will receive a credit on his or her longest running Juneteenth celebrations and honors events. May bill, while former members who historic St. John Colony in Caldwell County, received The grants are part of the LCRA’s Community are owed a capital credit will receive $25,000 to help create a community event center. The Development Partnership Program, which provides a check in May or June. The amount grant will pay for concrete to be poured in an existing economic development and community assistance each member receives depends on how building and to wire it for electricity. The center is on grants to cities, counties, volunteer fi re departments, much electricity he or she used in the a 7-acre site that also includes a historic church and regional development councils and other nonprofi t previous years and how long he or she school. organizations in LCRA’s electric and water service has been a Bluebonnet member. The McMahan Community Women’s Club areas. The total amount paid out depends on factors such as the impact the amount of money returned to members will have on electric rates and the fi nancial strength of the co-op. Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors will weigh those factors before making a decision at this month’s meeting. Last year, the board returned $3 million to members, and in the past six years, members have received more than $24.9 million in capital credits. If you have any questions about capital credits, contact a member service representative by emailing [email protected], call 800-842-7708 during business hours or stop by one of our fi ve Unless otherwise noted, those pictured are with St. John 19th Body. From left: Karen Rankin (LCRA), member service centers in Bastrop, Eula M. Carter, Gracy Hill, Luerece Hill Tennon, Milton Shaw (Bluebonnet Board member), Doray Hill, Brenham, Giddings, Lockhart or Marshall Hill, Teagan Olive (holding toys), James Carter, Jermaine Hill, James Roland, Joyce Buckner Manor. (Bluebonnet), Rick Arnic (LCRA), Kyren Olive (striped green shirt), Charles Franks, Johnny Sanders — Nikki Ahlbrandt, (Bluebonnet), Lori Berger (LCRA Board member), Joyce Bennett and Mary Hill. member service representative bluebonnet.coop April 2015 BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE Texas Co-op Power 27

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Santa Anna’s Complex Character The Mexican general occasionally contradicted his well-documented brutality

BY MARTHA DEERINGER

Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, dictator, tyrant, self- styled Napoleon of the West, waged a vicious war against rebellious Texians during the Texas Revolution of 1836. He ordered a take-no-prisoners policy at the Alamo and directed the execution of all Texian soldiers captured at Goliad. Glimpses into the dictator’s well-hidden personal life only surfaced occasionally. In the aftermath of the Alamo, Santa Anna sent for Susanna Dickinson, wife of artilleryman Almeron Dickinson, and offered to take her and her 15-month-old daughter, Angelina, with him to Mexico. There, he promised they would live in the palace, and baby Angelina would be reared as his daughter with aristocratic privileges. Susanna refused. Santa Anna sent her with a military escort toward Gonzalez and gave her a handwritten ultimatum for Sam Houston that detailed the Texian defeat at kindness. During the ill-fated Mier Ex- After their capture at Mier, the captives the Alamo and warned of further reprisals. pedition in December 1842, their son, attempted to escape. An infuriated Santa A few weeks later, on April 21, 1836, the Orlando Phelps, was captured. When Santa Anna ordered every 10th prisoner shot. By Texian army overwhelmed Santa Anna’s Anna confirmed the young man was the then Mexican Gen. Pedro de Ampudia had forces at San Jacinto. When he perceived son of his former host, the general ordered taken Hill, the youngest of the captives, that defeat was inevitable, the general him released. He sent the youth into the under his wing and sent him to Mexico City, attempted escape but was taken prisoner. city with an escort. The younger Phelps was where he reported directly to Santa Anna. After negotiating the Treaty of Velasco, a then outfitted with new clothes and moved Young Hill’s courage won the admiration wounded Sam Houston, aware that many into the palace. of the general, who offered to adopt, edu- loyal Texians wanted the Mexican dictator Santa Anna said he felt fortunate to have cate and provide for the boy. Santa Anna executed, decided to move him to a safe it in his power to return, in some measure, also released Hill’s father and brother. place. Houston chose Orozimbo, a secluded the kindness Phelps had shown him when Santa Anna treated Hill as a son, sending plantation owned by James Aeneas E. he was a prisoner in Texas. Santa Anna gave him to mining school in 1850. Although he Phelps, a doctor. the younger Phelps money and sent him occasionally returned to Texas to visit his From July through November of 1836, back to Texas by stagecoach. For many family, Hill spent the rest of his life design- Santa Anna remained at the Phelps plan- years, the Mexican dictator regularly sent ing mines and railroads in Mexico. This was tation under heavy guard. The Phelpses Christmas presents to the Phelps family. one more example of how, in spite of Santa treated their notorious guest with respect. In about 1900, school principal Sarah S. Anna’s disastrous leadership and dictatorial When a rescue attempt by a bold Mexican King of the Bowie School invited John behavior, some reported that the Mexican officer failed, Santa Anna sank into depres- Christopher Columbus Hill, another sur- general had an engaging personality. sion and drank poison, but Phelps nursed vivor of the Mier Expedition, to speak to Martha Deeringer, a member of Heart of him back to health. Phelps’ wife was said her students about his experiences. King Texas EC, lives near McGregor. to have saved the general’s life a second time recorded the talk as Hill told his story. He by begging for his life when a Texian soldier had set off for Mexico at age 13 with his WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com broke in and attempted to execute him. father and older brother as part of a volun- If you’re interested in further research regarding

SCOTT DAWSON SCOTT Santa Anna would repay the Phelpses’ teer Texian force to fight Mexican troops. Santa Anna, see our list of resources.

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 33 SHARING SUCCESS

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34 Texas Co-op Power April 2015 TexasCoopPower.com Recipes

Caprese Toast Bites for Two about 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Dinner for Two In a small mixing bowl, combine the ¾ teaspoon unsalted butter cream cheese with the Parmesan For some, dinner for two means 1 small clove garlic, minced cheese. flowers, candles and romance; for others, ⅓ cup canned petite diced tomatoes 4. Spread warm bread slices with soft- it’s TV trays and dinner on the couch. (drained), or chopped fresh tomatoes ened cream cheese mixture, and then Whatever the case, the average house- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil spoon warm tomato mixture over the hold size is shrinking, and dinner for two ¼ pound sourdough bread (2–4 slices), cream cheese. Sprinkle evenly with is more common than ever. Still, most thickly sliced shredded mozzarella. recipes are designed to feed four to six, 1 ½ tablespoons cream cheese 5. Return bread to oven and bake until leaving singles, empty-nesters and small 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. families with leftovers that may last up to ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese a week. Given the scenario, we asked our COOK’S TIP from Kitchen Kimberly: Another readers to share recipes that serve two. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. way to prepare this recipe is to slice the loaf of Our featured dish is a scaled-back 2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium- bread in half horizontally, and then spread the recipe from “Dairylicious! Cooking with high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring mixtures as directed over each half. Slice the Dairy” by Kitchen Kimberly and the constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. halves into the desired serving size and enjoy! Southwest Dairy Farmers, available Mix in tomatoes and fresh basil. Reduce at southwestdairyfarmers.com and heat to medium and cook about 1 minute. Servings: 4. Serving size: 1 slice toast. Per serving: 174 calories, 8.57 g protein, 6.51 g fat, 19.02 g carbo- Amazon.com. Remove from heat. hydrates, 1.09 g dietary fiber, 394 mg sodium, 1.84 g

SOUTHWEST DAIRY FARMERS DAIRY SOUTHWEST ANNA GINSBERG, FOOD EDITOR 3. Toast bread slices on a baking sheet sugars, 20 mg cholesterol

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 35 Recipes

Dinner for Two Steak for Two DENA ZIZZO | BLUEBONNET EC THIS MONTH’S RECIPE CONTEST WINNER CARLY TERRELL | UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES 1 ½-inch-thick rib-eye steak When you’re not feeding a crowd, you can enjoy the freedom to Salt and pepper splurge a little, either with ingredients or attention to detail—or ¼ cup butter (½ stick), divided use both. From chicken and steak to crab, dessert and beyond, our 4 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle readers showed us that dinner for two may be a small affair, but it with cooking twine can turn out to be a big hit. 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled 4 ounces sliced mushrooms 1 small onion, thinly sliced Chicken Cordon and piece of seared chicken on the ½ cup dry red wine, plus more Bleu en Croute dough diagonally and fold the dough as needed ends over the stack to form a pocket. 2 large boneless, skinless chicken Turn seam side down and place on 1. Season the steak on both sides with breasts parchment-lined baking sheets. salt and pepper. Melt half the butter in a Salt and pepper to taste Repeat with remaining pieces of cast iron skillet over medium heat. Place 1 tablespoon olive oil cheese, ham, chicken and pastry steak in pan and cook on one side for 1 tablespoon butter dough. Place two croutes on each 4 minutes. 1 sheet puff pastry dough baking sheet. 2. Add the remaining butter and the 4 slices Swiss cheese 5. Brush tops with egg wash. Place bundle of thyme. Turn the steak over 4 thin slices ham both baking sheets in oven and bake and cook another 4 minutes, spooning 25–30 minutes or until golden the melted butter on top of the steak as EGG WASH brown. Let cool about 5 minutes. it cooks. Turn the steak again and spoon 1 large egg, beaten with a splash 6. SAUCE: About 15 minutes before the the butter on top for one more minute. of water chicken is done, start the sauce. On 3. Remove steak from pan and set on medium-high, heat butter in the same serving platter. Sprinkle the blue cheese SAUCE pan used to sear the chicken. Add the on top of the steak. 2 tablespoons butter (¼ stick) minced shallot. When shallot starts to 4. Remove the thyme bundle from the 1 small shallot, minced soften and brown, add the flour, stir- pan and add the mushrooms and onion. 2 tablespoons flour ring constantly to make a golden roux. Cook 3–4 minutes until soft. Add the ½ cup dry white wine Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, wine and cook another 2 minutes. 1 cup chicken broth then add the broth. Stir continuously 5. Slice the steak. Pour the mushroom until reduced by about half. mixture over the steak and serve. 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 7. Spoon sauce onto plates and set Servings: 2. Serving size: ½ steak. Per serving: two baking sheets with parchment two chicken croutes on each plate. 402 calories, 9.24 g protein, 29.53 g fat, 12.98 g paper. carbohydrates, 3.58 g dietary fiber, 552 mg sodium, 2. CHICKEN: Cut each breast horizon- COOK’S TIP If you don't have a shallot, you 4.18 g sugars, 82 mg cholesterol tally through the center to create a can use ¼ of a red onion. total of four pieces. Place pieces Servings: 2. Serving size: 1 breast. Per serving: between two sheets of plastic wrap, 1,076 calories, 89.70 g protein, 57.20 g fat, 24.58 g pound gently to an even thickness, carbohydrates, 1.30 g dietary fiber, 1,674 mg then season with salt and pepper. sodium, 1.88 g sugars, 395 mg cholesterol 3. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place two chicken breast pieces in pan at a time and cook 2–3 minutes on each side to brown. Repeat with $100 Recipe Contest remaining chicken, then set aside to cool (no need to fully cook the September’s recipe contest topic is Five Ingredients or Fewer. Sometimes chicken). Keep the skillet handy for if you can’t get to the store, you have to make do with what’s on hand … and further use; do not clean. the results can be terrific. Send us your favorite recipes with five ingredients 4. Cut the sheet of puff pastry dough or fewer. Oil, water, salt and pepper don’t count. The deadline is April 10. into four squares. On a floured surface There are three ways to enter: ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL to 1122 Colorado St., 24th using a floured rolling pin, roll each Floor, Austin, TX 78701; FAX to (512) 763-3401. Include your name, address and phone number, plus your square until doubled in size. Layer a co-op and the name of the contest you are entering. slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of ham

36 Texas Co-op Power April 2015 Classic Lump Crab Servings: 2. Serving size: 2 patties. Per serving: Chocolate Mint Pudding Cakes for Two 519 calories, 46.40 g protein, 28.40 g fat, 13.13 g | BIG COUNTRY EC carbohydrates, 0.82 g dietary fiber, 1,432 mg NANCY PUMPHREY | BARTLETT EC ELVIS & GINGER MCQUINN sodium, 1.28 g sugars, 269 mg cholesterol 6 ounces firm silken tofu 1 large egg, beaten Lamb Chops for Two ½ cup sugar ½ teaspoon yellow mustard SUSAN LAVERY | FARMERS EC ¾ cup baking cocoa 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon vanilla soy milk 3 teaspoons parsley flakes 2 lamb chops 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning 2 teaspoons olive oil melted (such as Old Bay) Salt and pepper to taste ⅛ teaspoon mint extract 2 slices white bread, crumbled 1 clove crushed garlic, or more Dash salt 1 pound lump crab meat to taste 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence 1. Combine all ingredients in a food 2 lemon wedges processor. Cover and process until 1. Rub lamb chops with oil and season smooth. 1. Mix the egg, mustard, mayonnaise, both sides with salt, pepper, crushed gar- 2. Divide mixture between dessert parsley, seafood seasoning and crumbled lic and herbes de Provence. Let sit about dishes and refrigerate until serving. bread until well blended. 15 minutes. 2. Gently stir in crab meat and shape Servings: 2. Serving size: 4 ounces. Per serving: 2. Grill chops about 6 minutes on each 320 calories, 6.56 g protein, 9.59 g fat, 68.96 g into 4 patties. side or until center reaches 145 degrees carbohydrates, 10.74 g dietary fiber, 155 mg 3. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium for medium doneness. heat and cook the crab cakes, turning carefully, until golden brown on both Servings: 2. Serving size: 1 chop. Per serving: 462 WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com calories, 16.52 g protein, 40.66 g fat, 0.39 g carbo- sides. Serve 2 to a plate and garnish each hydrates, 0.23 g dietary fiber, 136 mg sodium, You'll find a couple more menu options for Dinner plate with a lemon wedge. 0.02 g sugars, 86 mg cholesterol for Two online.

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TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 37 Focus on Texas Focus on Texas a NIKKI DICKERSON, Pedernales EC: This American white water lily was photographed at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. In Bloom Just living is not enough ... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. —Hans Christian Andersen

In the wild and in the garden, spring flowers are in full bloom. Texas Co-op Power readers sent in photos of some real beauties. GRACE ARSIAGA

WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Brighten up your day with more blossoms online. a PAT DUNNUCK, Sam Houston EC: Raindrops adorn this rose. d SHARON REGAN, Magic Valley EC: You have to get up early to capture this night-blooming cactus.

d PAUL GARCIA, Medina EC: When the flowers come in spring, so do the butterflies.

UPCOMING CONTESTS d REBEKAH BONGATO, Sam Houston EC: Purple thistle attracts a butterfly. JULY MY FIRST CAR DUE APR 10

AUGUST AROUND THE FARM DUE APR 10

SEPTEMBER MY FAVORITE TEACHER DUE MAY 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 Texas CoopPower.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 photos that are lost in the mail or not received by the deadline. o DAVID COHEN, Guadalupe Valley EC: Taken at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, this hibiscus is a favorite of monarch butterflies.

38 Texas Co-op Power April 2015 TexasCoopPower.com d MARIA HERNANDEZ, SHELBY GORDON, Bluebonnet EC: This passion flower’s bold bloom speaks for itself.

d CANDY LOVINS, Nueces EC: Candy shares her coral vines in full bloom.

d CAMMY HATZENBUEHLER, Grayson-Collin EC: A purple iris stands tall in the sun.

o CHARLES ASCHENBECK, Jackson EC: Bluebonnets cover the ground on either side of this bridge in La Grange that spans the Colorado River.

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 39 Around Texas Get Going > For a complete listing of the events and festivals across

Palacios Patchwork of Life Christian April Women’s Conference, (361) 972-6068, patchworkoflife.com 8 Rockdale Relay For Life of Milam County, Canton [8–11] Van Zandt County Fair (512) 760-7194, relayforlife.org/milamcotx and Rodeo, (214) 732-9811 Texarkana Ark-La-Tex Challenge: One Ride, Three States, (903) 276-6267, 9 arklatexchallenge.com Brenham Art in Blossom Flower Utopia Community Auction, and Art Show, (979) 277-4023, (830) 966-2435, [email protected] bluebonnetgardenclub.com Possum Kingdom Lake [11–18] Arte de los Marble Falls [9–11] Paint the Town, Brazos, (940) 779-2424, artedelosbrazos.com (877) 638-3927, paintthetownmftx.org

April 11 10 Kemp Pick of the Month Blanco [10–12] Wild Woman Weekend, Wildflower Caddo Culture Day (512) 750-6362, wildwomanweekend.org Festival Alto [April 11] (936) 858-3218, visitcaddomounds.com 11 Decatur Glitzy Girls Trailer Park, Experience the real life and story of the Caddo (940) 210-9169 Indians from the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma Kemp Wildflower Festival, (903) 498-3191, through a live performance of their cultural cityofkemp.org music. Take part in clay bowl making, corn- husk dolls and natural dyes, flint knapping, Lampasas Hillacious Bike Tour, atlatl throwing and guided tours of the Caddo (210) 326-8892, lampasashillaciousbiketour.com Mounds State Historic Site.

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April 19–24 17 New Braunfels 26 Grandview [17–19] Antique Alley Texas Texas Woodcarvers Guild Lake Jackson Taste of the Town, and 30+ Miles of Shopping, (817) 240-4948, Spring Seminars (979) 285-2501, visitbrazosport.com AntiqueAlleyTexas.com 30 18 Helotes [30–May 3] Cornyval and PRCA Bryan Downtown Street and Art Fair, Rodeo, (210) 695-2103, cornyval.org (979) 822-4920, downtownstreetandartfair.com Denison Big Texas Breakfast Open House, (903) 465-8908, visiteisenhowerbirthplace.com May Huntsville Margaret Lea Houston Birthday Celebration, (936) 294-1832, 2 samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com Boerne Heal the Soul 5K/10K Trail Run, (830) 331-8950, kcwstexas.org Brazoria [18–19] Migration Celebration, (866) 403-5829, migrationcelebration.com Stephenville Cowboy Capital MS Trail Ride, Lamesa [24–26] Chicken-Fried Steak (254) 592-1895, mstrailride.com Festival/Balloon Rally, (806) 777-1171, 19 ci.lamesa.tx.us Victoria Cinco de Mayo Celebration, New Braunfels [19–24] Texas Woodcarvers (361) 573-5277, visitvictoriatexas.com Guild Spring Seminars, (940) 484-9395, texaswoodcarversguild.com 25 Canadian Block Party and Canadian’s 24 Got Talent, (806) 323-6234, canadiantx.com Submit Your Event! Granbury Annual Acton Nature Run, We pick events for the magazine directly from Kirbyville Kirbyville Public Library (817) 326-6005, actonnaturecenter.org Local Author Event, (409) 423-4653, TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for kirbyvillelibrary.org New Ulm Art Festival, (713) 446-6348, June by April 10, and it just might be newulmartfestival.org featured in this calendar!

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TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 41 Hit the Road Llano: Between a Rock and a Hard Place This Hill Country town comes by its many assets naturally

BY HELEN THOMPSON

“You could be blindfolded and driven around for hours,” says Terry “Tex” Toler, “but you’ll know exactly where you are the minute you take the blindfold off.” Toler refers to his adopted hometown of Llano, where he manages Llano’s Main Street Pro- gram. He attributes the area’s rock-solid unique identity to geology, which is quin- tessential Hill Country with a mighty dose of moonscape thrown in. The city of Llano sits amid modestly mountainous terrain. Round Mountain, Packsaddle Mountain and Dancer Peak are A jumble of massive pink granite boulders high points on the Llano Uplift. The uplift characterizes the distinctive Hill Country is an island of granite that got superheated geography around Llano. about 2.5 billion years ago and then cooled, leaving giant bubbles of granite now exposed by millions of years of erosion. ite on a road cut on Texas Highway 16 B-Que are contenders, but Cooper’s BBQ Enchanted Rock, the massive pink granite about 9 miles north of town. reigns supreme. Whiff the aroma of brisket, dome just 15 miles south of Llano, is a You also can buy llanite at Enchanted pork chops, ribs, chicken and sausage cook- conspicuous upshot. Enclosed in a state Rocks & Jewelry, owned by Frank Rowell and ing in the huge pit in front of the restaurant. park, Enchanted Rock is a mecca for rock his wife, Patricia Felts, who is a jeweler. Some connoisseurs go so far as to insist that climbers who revere the dome’s diverse Rowell knows all the best places to look Llano is the real barbecue capital of Texas, climbs, with names such as Raw Meat, Fear for rocks, but one of his favorites is the but you can decide for yourself. of Flying and Stranger Than Friction that Llano River, not far from the courthouse. Deer season is big in Llano, which also evoke a sense of what’s involved in ascend- Wade into the stream downhill from the calls itself the deer capital of Texas. But the ing the 425-foot tall batholith. intersection of East Sandstone and Ash city is a year-round happy hunting ground The igneous excitement is reflected streets, where swimming also is allowed. for more diverse events, including the Llano everywhere in this town of 3,232 people You can’t miss the river: It flows through Art Studio Tour, Fiddle Fest, Crawfish that’s anchored in its historic square, the heart of Llano, underneath the beautiful Open, Blue Bell & Bluegrass Festival, Open presided over by the two-story sandstone, Roy Inks Bridge, a four-span, steel, 1930s- Pro Rodeo & Parade, Rock’n River Fest and marble and granite Victorian-style county era truss bridge that connects downtown Starry Starry Nights. There’s also Llano courthouse. The courthouse faces Ford proper to the rest of the city. That’s where Heritage Weekend, where Toler is planning Street on the east (which becomes Besse- you’ll find the other half of Llano, including to add a national rock-stacking contest to mer Avenue north of downtown) and the outdoor music venue behind the his- the other events such as the chuck wagon Sandstone Street on the south. The street toric Badu House bed-and-breakfast. It fea- meal, shoot-out, author extravaganza and names are reminders that Llano had an tures two decks and a patio with two team roping. Rock stacking is similar to iron-mining boom in the 1890s and still fireplaces for heating up chilly winter sand castle building, but practitioners use enjoys something of a rock boom. nights. This is a soulful place that would bigger elements and get taller results. From its vantage point at the top of the inspire a bit of jealousy in many an Austin They are coming to the right place: uplift, Llano is front and center for all sorts hangout. For more live music, Fuel Coffee Llano, it turns out, was made to rock. of precious stones and minerals (including House (just off the square) perks nightly Read more of author Helen Thompson’s work at gold) that were kicked up over the volatile with music ranging from the Ukulele Club seeninhouse.com. Precambrian years. That includes one-of- to the Lake Bottom Jazz Band. a kind llanite, a type of granite sparked No visit to Llano would be complete WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com with blue quartz crystals that is found only without experiencing the fine barbecue. . You’ll find details about lodging, dining,

in Llano County. You can see a dike of llan- Laird’s and Inman’s Kitchen and Brother’s Bar- historic sites and maps. | TPWD EARL NOTTINGHAM

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