LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION DECEMBER 2014 Briscoe Center The Flatlanders Santa’s Bank Heist

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FAVORITES Winedale, part of the Briscoe Center for 20 Local Co-op News American History, Get the latest information plus exhibits furnishings such as folk toys. energy and safety tips from your cooperative. 31 Texas History Santa is Naughty in Cisco By Martha Deeringer

32 Recipes Holiday Recipe Contest 39 Focus on Texas Bad Santa 40 Around Texas List of Local Events 42 Hit the Road Kemah Boardwalk By Suzanne Halko

ONLINE TexasCoopPower.com FEATURES Find these stories online if they don’t Cooperative Legislative Legends Briscoe Center appear in your edition of the magazine. 8 museums house the legacies of two REA founders Texas USA By Charles Lohrmann Dawn of the Southwest Conference By Randy Riggs

The Flatlanders An excerpt from the book that chroni- Observations 14 cles three musicians’ rise from the flatlands of Lubbock Gone But Not Forgotten By John T. Davis By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers

Around Texas The musicians in the Hill Country Youth Orchestra perform their free Fall Concert on December 14 in downtown Kerrville, Page 40. 31 39

32 42 TOY WAGON IMAGE COURTESY THE DOLPH BRISCOE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTORY, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. VIOLIN: © VLADISLAV GAJIC | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB

ON THE COVER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie by grand prizewinner Griffin Clarke of Heart of Texas EC Photo: Mary Pat Waldron

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, Staff Writer; Elizabeth John, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Jane Sharpe, Graphic Designer; Ellen Stader, Copy Editor; Ashley Clary-Carpenter, Proofreader

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 3 Texas Precious Metals #1 Aggie Owned Company 2014

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Another Tree of Note Speaking of Books Famous trees: In Waco, at Twin We really enjoyed the October 2014 issue. My husband loved “Tall Tales,” Rivers Golf Club, beside the 16th but I’m writing because of Juddi Morris’ Observations, “Making the Case for tee, is the largest, most beautiful Happy Endings.” Good for her and her list of favorite books. live oak tree I have ever seen [“Tall Tales,” October 2014]. I don't know I would love to sit down with her and discuss my favorite books: “Mrs. how to estimate age, 500 years or Mike” by Benedict and Nancy Freedman (Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, 1947) 1,000 years, maybe. and anything by Mary Stewart (mostly written in the ’60s). I loved her roman- NELDA OSWALT GRIMM EMMERT tic mysteries set in foreign lands, but my daughter favored her later historical VIA FACEBOOK books about Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table. “Mrs. Mike” was not written for young peo- Oop and Our Family ple, but my sixth-graders loved it when I read it The V.T. Hamlin story [“Comics aloud to them back in the ’80s, especially after I Caveman,” October 2014] reminded told them they might not like it because it was me that my late father, a young written for adults. A favorite for middle school- Army Air Force second lieutenant, aged kids was “To Yellowstone” (Holt, Rinehart was hospitalized at a California Bay- and Winston, 1975) an obscure, out-of-print area military hospital in September 1942. His ward was visited by the book by Robert Scott McKinnon. Alley Oop creator, who gave him an VANDA POWERS | MIDLAND | FORT BELKNAP EC original daily comic strip drawing of the cave man, his girlfriend, Oola, and Dinny, the dinosaur. It’s extraordinarily coincidental Harming Butterflies You’ll be doing the butterflies GET MORE TCP AT that my father later did petroleum I was so happy to see in the Sep- AND yourself a big favor. TexasCoopPower.com property tax work in West Texas, tember 2014 issue the well-written ANNE MARIE SAMPIETRO | CENTERVILLE including Iraan, where Alley and and timely article “Trouble in the HOUSTON COUNTY EC Find more letters online in the Dinny endure. That drawing hangs Kingdom” about the declining pop- Table of Contents. Sign up for in our Highland Lakes home. ulation of the monarch butterfly. Making Headlines our E-Newsletter for JOHN DE LA GARZA | INKS LAKE However, I was shocked and I enjoyed the article on small- monthly updates, CENTRAL TEXAS EC saddened that the author made no town newspapers [“Success Stories,” prize drawings mention of the role that pesticides September 2014]. My great- Texas’ Founding Fathers and herbicides, especially Mon- grandfather, J.W. Graves, started a and more! I read and enjoy your magazine. I santo’s Roundup, have played in newspaper in Cleburne after the felt a need to send in this clarifica- this unfolding tragedy. A simple Civil War, about 1867. tion after reading the September Internet search (“monarch butter- He sold that newspaper to his 2014 Currents item “The Star- flies” and “Roundup”) will bring up brother and moved to Graham and Spangled Lawyer:” David Burnet pages of articles about studies started The Graham Leader in 1876. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! was “appointed” as the first presi- conducted all over the country link- He owned that newspaper until ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share dent of the Republic of Texas. Sam ing the main ingredient, glyphosate, 1903. I understand it is one of few EMAIL: [email protected] Houston was the first “elected” with the demise of the butterflies. papers with same name since MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, president of the Republic of Texas. Planting milkweed in your gar- organization in Texas. 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, RICHARD CURTIS | BERTRAM den will do nothing to alleviate the My grandmother used to set Austin, TX 78701 PEDERNALES EC problem if you are still dousing type for him, and the original type- Please include your town and electric co-op. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. your plants with deadly chemicals. setting equipment is still on display Editor’s note: Burnet was elected I urge your readers to do a bit of in The Graham Leader front office. interim president by delegates to research on the topic and walk They have won many awards over the Convention of 1836. Later in straight by those giant containers the years. 1836, Texans elected Houston presi- of Roundup or generically branded JANICE RUYLE | DRIPPING SPRINGS dent in a landslide. glyphosate. PEDERNALES EC Texas Co-op Power Magazine

TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 71, NUMBER 6 (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 2014 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission. Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2014 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 5 CURRENTS Energy, innovation, people, places and events in Texas ON THIS DATE Reaching Out Kit Was Here to Rural Writers

Frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson carved With visits coming up in Comfort, Pearsall and Snyder, the Writers’ League of Texas concludes his name and the date December 25, 1839, into a its second year of sending published authors to rural libraries across the state to discuss the craft boulder on Sawtooth Mountain in the Davis of writing. The program known as Texas Writes lists 11 Mountains. Carson was a fur trapper at the time, stops on its 2014 schedule, including events in Diboll, Alpine, Wolfe City and Llano. Each visiting roaming the mountains of what would become author shares experiences and advice with local writers and would-be writers. Texas Writes is the Southwest United States. supported by a grant from the Tocker Founda- tion, which is dedicated to the support of rural Engineers with the State Department of High- libraries across the state. “This program comes at no cost to the ways and Public Transportation discovered the libraries or the participants,” says Becka Oliver, executive director of the Writers’ League of inscription in 1941. Texas. “Topics covered at recent Texas Writes events include writing family history, creating believable characters, understanding metaphor, mastering dialogue and more.” Authors Christie Craig and Donna Johnson visited with about a dozen guests in September at Palacios Library. “I was really surprised because this is such a small town,” says Vikijane Mosier, library director. “To get that many people interested in writing, I was very happy.” Texas Writes visits the Comfort Public Library on December 6, the Scurry County Library in Snyder on January 22, 2015, and the Pearsall Public Library on January 28, 2015. In Pearsall, Greg Garrett, a professor of Eng- lish at Baylor University, will be one of the fea- tured authors. He has written or co-written three dozen published short stories, a dozen scholarly articles and 20 books. The title of his talk will be “Inspirational Fiction Do’s and Don’ts: Writing So That People Will Listen.” “This is one of the programs that we offer that I’m most proud of for its commitment to Texas-Grown Christmas Trees supporting the wonderful libraries that service our smaller towns in Texas and for its chief aim— to feed writers’ souls and build community,” Christmas trees are taking their usual prominent places in homes as the Oliver says. holidays near, and the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, an organ- If anyone wants to reach out to the Writers’ ization of more than 120 farmers who grow, sell and promote trees grown League of Texas with questions, phone (512) in-state, notes that its industry contributes $12 million each year to the 499-8914 or email [email protected]. Texas economy. Christmas tree farms produce about 200,000 trees annu- ally. Christmas trees have been grown commercially in Texas since 1977. The growers association makes it easy for Texans to find the nearest

tree farm online at texaschristmastrees.com/find-a-farm. SERG64, USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM COPYRIGHT CARSON: TIM CARROLL. BOOK: IMAGE

6 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com Find more happenings all across the state at TexasCoopPower Where .com

Are Texas’ HAPPENINGS Happiest Grapevine Rules the Yule Workers? Find out just why Grapevine is the Christmas Capital of Texas. Here’s a hint: The town offers more than 1,400 Christmas events in 40-plus days. San Antonio and Austin ranked Shop at the International Christmas Market, get photos with Santa or go among the nation’s top 10 cities for N VAUGHAN | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB | DOLLAR PHOTO N VAUGHAN snow tubing. Hitch a train ride: for Mom and Dad, a Christmas Wine Train, having satisfied employees, accord- and for the kiddoes, an excursion on the North Pole Express. You can create ing to Glassdoor, a jobs and career your own blown-glass ornament, enjoy a Grapevine Opry Show, watch the website. San Antonio placed at Twinkle Light Boat Parade and witness the brilliantly choreographed Light No. 9 and Austin at No. 10. Show Spectacular. Glassdoor compiled the list after We’d go on, but we’ve got a tree to put up. reviewing overall employee satis- faction, number of employers hiring INFO: 1-800-457-6338, grapevinetexasusa.com and business outlook expectations of employees in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The June report ranked San Jose, California, No. 1 and San Francisco No. 2. Glassdoor notes that the most in- demand jobs in San Antonio are for customer service representatives, That date, December 13, 2014, marks the century’s final sequential calendar bartenders and restaurant man- agers. In Austin, software engi- date—when the numbers for the month, date and year are in counting order. neers, business analysts and staff

HAPPY WORKERS: TIM CARROLL. ORNAMENT: IMAGE COPYRIGHT JERRY SLIWOWSKI, USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. NUMBERS: © JOH USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. SLIWOWSKI, JERRY COPYRIGHT IMAGE TIM CARROLL. ORNAMENT: WORKERS: HAPPY accountants are in highest demand. We’ll have to wait about 88 years for the next one—01/02/03, or January 2, 2103.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 7 8 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com Cooperative Legislative Legends

ONE MUSEUM MANAGES THE LEGACIES OF TWO FOUNDERS OF THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION

BY CHARLES LOHRMANN AnyTexan would expect an institution charged with preserving the legacy of two legislative titans like John Nance Garner and Sam Rayburn to house a significant collection on U.S. congressional history. But you might not expect its congressional history collection to be the largest outside Washington, D.C. And it is unlikely to expect that the landmarks symbolizing these two 20th-century American leaders would be 425 miles apart. But these widely spaced locations are essential components of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, which is headquartered at the University of Texas in Austin but oversees CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: This replica of Sam Rayburn’s office when he the Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham, the Briscoe-Garner was speaker of the House is on Museum in Uvalde and Winedale near Round Top, about 21

ALL OTHER IMAGES COURTESY IMAGES ALL OTHER display at the Rayburn Museum in miles west of Brenham. These three locations are in addition to Bonham; Rayburn with his farm the massive archive (including the papers of more than 60 mem- truck in Bonham; Lyndon Baines bers of Congress) at the center’s Research and Collections Divi- Johnson and Rayburn; John Nance Garner eating watermelon; sion in Austin. portrait of Rayburn. Even the building that houses the Briscoe Center’s offices (but not its archives) is historic. It is now called the Arno Nowotny ABOVE: John Nance Garner shakes Building, and it is the oldest building on the University of Texas hands with President Franklin D. campus. In the mid-1800s, the building served as George Roosevelt; above right, a gavel used by Rayburn on September 16, 1940, Amstrong Custer’s headquarters when he served in Texas when he first became speaker of the between the end of the Civil War and the Indian Wars on the THE DOLPH BRISCOE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTORY, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN AT OF TEXAS THE UNIVERSITY AMERICAN HISTORY, CENTER FOR THE DOLPH BRISCOE STRIPE © GUDINNY, USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. © GUDINNY, STRIPE House of Representatives. Great Plains.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 9 an institution takes on the The Briscoe Center, formerly known as the Center for Amer- Whendocumentation and preservation of the life work and legacy of ican History (its Web address still includes the initials “cah”), a public figure, one persistent challenge is keeping the individ- took on the name of former Gov. Dolph Briscoe in 2008. In chang- ual’s story alive and engaging for generation after generation. ing the name of the Center for American History, the university It’s not only important to attract a onetime tourist but also to acknowledged not only Briscoe’s gifts of more than $15 million encourage regulars to return for another visit—another conver- but also his specific interest in Texas history as expressed through sation with history. the center’s programs. In pursuit of keeping the collections and exhibits relevant for In addition to the archive of his personal and gubernatorial contemporary visitors, the staff of the Briscoe Center has com- papers, Briscoe’s legacy will be honored with exhibits on the pletely renovated the Rayburn exhibits in Bonham and the second floor of the Briscoe-Garner museum. Even though Briscoe-Garner Museum in Uvalde. All the Briscoe Center’s Briscoe’s public service was in the Texas Legislature and as gov- museums hold particular significance for the co-op community. ernor (he was elected governor in 1972 and served until 1979, As Briscoe Center Executive Director Don Carleton explains, after he was defeated in the 1978 primary), his legislative expe- Rayburn and Garner were essential players in the early history of rience extended onto the national stage through his work with the cooperative movement. “If anyone can be called the father of Rayburn and Garner. In the museum, the transition from the the Rural Electrification Administration, it’s Rayburn,” Carleton first-floor exhibits about Garner to the second-floor exhibits says. “Along with Sen. George Norris of Nebraska, he was the one dedicated to Briscoe will be represented by a photograph of the who created the legislation that made the REA happen as the insti- two men together. (The Briscoe exhibits in the Uvalde museum tution that loaned money to the co-ops so they could get started. are scheduled to open in April 2015.) “After President Franklin Roosevelt established the REA with And the other important location for the Briscoe Center, Wine- an executive order, it was Rayburn and Norris who sponsored dale, also has a strong connection to an historic Texas political that legislation,” Carleton adds. “It was one of the pieces of legis- family, that of Gov. James Stephen Hogg, through his daughter, Ima. lation Rayburn was most proud of. And Garner’s role as vice pres- Lonn Taylor, former curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s ident for Franklin Roosevelt also was essential. As the presiding National Museum of American History who now lives in Fort officer of the Senate, he had huge legislative clout in both houses. Davis, started his professional museum career under the guidance “Remember, Rayburn first taught school in a one-room school- of Ima Hogg in the early 1970s. “Miss Ima Hogg donated 180 house with no electricity,” Carleton says. “We have a wonderful acres along with the historic buildings there to the University of photograph of the co-op linemen setting up the pole that will Texas in the mid-1960s,” Taylor says. “Winedale was designed carry electricity to the school.” to be a laboratory and classroom for the study of historic preser- The relationship between Rayburn and Garner was important vation. I became the first curator and director in 1970. This is to both men. “Garner was Rayburn’s mentor,” Carleton says. “And what started me on my career as a museum professional.” these are two of only three Texans who served as speaker of the “Miss Ima was a very knowledgeable and scholarly person, House of Representatives.” and she had a vision for Winedale as a research center,”

Museum Connections: WHERE TO SEE THE COLLECTIONS In addition to its offices and headquarters in Austin, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History administers the following sites: THE BRISCOE-GARNER MUSEUM Two floors of exhibits in the recently reno- vated house that was John Nance Garner’s home, at 333 N. Park St., Uvalde. WINEDALE A 200-plus–acre site near Round Top that includes 19th-century buildings as well as modern research and teaching facilities. THE SAM RAYBURN MUSEUM Includes a replica of Rayburn’s office when he was speaker, at 800 W. Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham. While in Bonham, plan to visit the THE SAM RAYBURN HOUSE MUSEUM, administered by the Texas Historical Commission. The museum maintains Rayburn’s home as it was when he was alive and includes the now-restored Cadillac given him by his Wagner House kitchen and fellow representatives. smokehouse at Winedale. Visit cah.utexas.edu for links and more information. PARCHMENT: © SERGII MOSCALIUK | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB © SERGII MOSCALIUK | DOLLAR PHOTO PARCHMENT:

10 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com RAYBURN AND GARNER WERE ESSENTIAL PLAYERS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT.

CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE LEFT: A Taylor says. “She had been into studying Shakespeare and his work. The courses, held twice page from the scrapbook assem- collecting American furniture annually, in spring and summer, are open to students with dif- bled by John Nance Garner’s since 1920, and she encour- ferent kinds of experience—no acting experience required—who wife, Marietta, during the vice presidential years; Garner and aged—no, she ordered—me and are willing to make the commitment to an intense experience Sam Rayburn; a gavel made for David Warren to write the book of Shakespeare. Garner from a branch and a rock on Texas furniture.” Younger students (ages 11-16) can apply to take part in Camp found along the Nueces River The two-volume project Shakespeare, a two-week study of the Bard’s work. This program, near Uvalde. that resulted from Ima Hogg’s undertaken in two sessions each summer, is not as intensive as “order” is “Texas Furniture: The the university-level offering, but it does still include performances Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880,” published by the for the public. University of Texas Press in 1975, is a landmark in Texas history The collections of the Briscoe Center continue to grow along and publishing. Ima Hogg wrote the foreword to Volume 1, and with its exhibit and project schedule. And it’s not just political Carleton wrote the foreword to Volume 2. leaders who donate materials to the center. Earlier in 2014, One of the active programs at Winedale these days is Shake- Willie Nelson donated a major part of his personal collection, speare at Winedale. Through this program, university students including correspondence, awards and records, to the Briscoe work long hours (the program suggests 15 to 18 hours a day) Center. The center houses more than a dozen major collections over three weekends at Winedale to thoroughly learn and stage and even includes a collection of archives related to Texas Co-op performances of Shakespeare’s plays. The performances, all Power magazine. staged in the Winedale Theater Barn, offer a full immersion Charles Lohrmann, editor

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TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 13 THE FLATLANDERS: NOW IT’S NOW AGAIN

EXCERPT A new book offers insight into one of Texas’ favorite homegrown bands BY JOHN T. DAVIS

14 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com THE FLATLANDERS—Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Steve Wesson, Tony Pearson, and in lesser roles, Tommy X. Hancock and the late Sylvester Rice—are not just any band of musicians. Not only are Ely, Gilmore, and Hancock distinguished song- writers on their own, but the band they formed had a seminal influence on many of the roots/Americana/singer-songwriter inheritors that permeate contemporary music.

GENESIS trying to get into the music business,” said Jimmie, laughing at the very thought. JOE USED TO SAY that none of us had a thimbleful of ambition. “The band was never created as a commercial entity, even though But between the three of us, we had a towering lack of ambition. Joe and I were already set on professional [music] careers,” he con- —Jimmie Dale Gilmore tinued. “That band came out of a circle of friends that had some musicians in it that liked playing together. We were beatniks!” he thing that is startling to realize is that, for all the Speaking in 2013, he said, “In some people’s eyes, it’s sort of gravitas the Flatlanders and their music acquired over miraculous, the whole deal that we’re not only a functioning unit, the years, their tenure as an actual, functioning, gig- but that we’re still friends. But it’s pretty natural, because the playing band was startlingly brief. From the time they whole band worked that way from the beginning. The Flatlanders Tcoalesced around the living room of the 14th Street came about because we liked each other so much to begin with. house until they went their separate ways in the wake of their Going off to Nashville and making the record was just a tangent.” Nashville recording session was only a year, maybe less. One struggles, in looking at their story then and talking to The fact that they even got together is a study in serendipity. them now, to find any hint of discord or rancor or ego-driven In the spring of 1971, Joe Ely had been knocking around in Europe; one-upmanship among the trio. Jimmie Dale Gilmore had made a foray to Austin with his band, Journalist Richard Skanse gave it a good shot, though, in a the Hub City Movers; and Butch had been studying architecture cover story for Texas Music magazine in 2000: and photography in San Francisco. They just happened to all show … 30 years of friendship and not a bump in the road? It’s just up back in Lubbock more or less simultaneously. too good. Out with the skeletons. “I was in touch with both of them,” Jimmie told No Depression “Well,” offers Hancock, “there was that nasty credit card scan- magazine. “And at one point I said to Joe, ‘You know, I’ve got this dal of Jimmie’s … ” friend who writes some really good songs. You gotta hear him.’ So “Oh, and that Eskimo girl,” Ely adds cryptically. we got together and we stayed up all night playing together and “And Joe stealing a steamroller—when I got blamed for that,” laughing. And that was the beginning of the Flatlanders.” continues Hancock, “there was some friction there.” The core of the group was, of course, Butch, Jimmie, and Joe, “We were in prison for a couple of years in Costa Rica,” offers along with Tony Pearson and Steve Wesson and, to a much lesser Ely. “We were in the same cell, but we didn’t talk to each other extent, Sylvester Rice. Others drifted in and out of the loosely knit for weeks.” group for short periods, maybe just a handful of times. There was “That,” says Gilmore, “was Butch’s fault.” guitarist John X. Reed and the reclusive songwriter Al Strehli, from whom Jimmie plucked some lovely songs, including “I Know he camaraderie ran deeper than just intersecting musi- You” and “Keeper of the Mountain.” There was also a drummer cal tastes or similar temperaments or happy geograph- named Tom Jones, an artist named Jim Eppler, and accordionist ical proximity. They are bound by a shared search, a Ponty Bone, who would go on to join the Joe Ely Band. It was Bone yearning to, as the Hindu teacher Ram Dass and a who would describe the Flatlanders’ tiny but select group of fol- Tlatter-day Flatlanders song say, be here now. lowers with a wonderful phrase: “small circles of good taste.” “The three of us have always had a desire to understand every- Syl Rice, Country Lou D, and Royce Clark might have been thing we can understand,” said Joe Ely to the Statesman. “And eyeing the group in terms of record deals and radio play, but to be very awake and conscious of everything that’s going on. there wasn’t much thought given among the principals to building That’s really all you can do in this universe. You can’t be certain commercial momentum, or any sort of a music career in the of anything. But you can be present.” sense that the public tends to That deliberate choice—to be awake and conscious and all on OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM LEFT: Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and think of it. the same wavelength—gave the guys a level of creative intimacy Jimmie Dale Gilmore first played “We weren’t perceiving it that was almost subatomic. Joe might wake up and jot down a together in 1971 in Lubbock. through the eyes of someone song that he had dreamed the night before … but in his dream,

© STEVE GULLICK © STEVE Text by John T. Davis excerpted from “The Flatlanders: Now It’s Now Again,” used by permission of the University of Texas Press. Copyright © 2014. For more information visit www.utpress.utexas.edu or http://utpress.utexas.edu⁄index.php⁄books⁄davflp

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 15 ‘The Flatlanders came about because we liked each other so much to begin with,’ Jimmie Dale Gilmore says.

Butch had written the song and Jimmie was singing it. It came fessional polish, they more than made up in repertoire. out in their performances, too. Ely’s background, and natural inclination, were rock ’n’ roll. “Their voices sound great individually, but they also blend,” Gilmore was grounded in classic country and Western Swing, said Lloyd Maines, who has played with and/or produced all and Hancock came out of the wordy, Dylan-esque folk music uni- three men individually and together. “They sound so different verse. When they came together, each brought something to the when they’re singing by themselves, but when they do harmonies table that the other two had largely not experienced. it’s almost like they’re brothers.” “Between us, we had hundreds of songs that we knew, and The Flatlanders played informally pretty much every night— we’d sit up all night and play them,” said Ely, speaking at his home hundreds of shows for friends, Ely recalled. But their paying gigs in 2012. “It was a vast repertoire of songs. The musicians in Lub- were sporadic and their crowds sparse. bock were from all different worlds. There were the rock guys “There’d never be more than ten people whenever we’d play and the folk guys and I kind of went in between them. I went to somewhere,” said Ely, exaggerating for effect. “But we’d meet Europe for a year, then came back and got with the Flatlanders other musicians.” and I had a whole other repertoire than Jimmie or Butch, and I Memories can be hazy things, and the Flatlanders shows that found their repertoires fascinating.” folks can recall seem almost maddeningly random in retrospect. He searched around on his computer and came up with a scanned They played at Tony’s and Laura’s Supernatural Health Food Store, image of a couple of Flatlanders set lists to illustrate his point: a place called the Attic in the basement of an ice cream shop, and Here’s Daddy Dave Dudley’s truck-driving anthem, “Six Days such coffeehouses as Tech’s microscopic bohemian population on the Road,” and Hank’s “Honky-Tonkin’ ” and Willie Nelson’s could support, including a place called Aunt Maudie’s Fun House. “Bloody Mary Morning.” Over yonder is the Cajun waltz “Jole Debby Savage (aka “Little Deb”) said they performed at “maybe Blon,” an untitled schottische, Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” the Elks Lodge.” Tommy Hancock recalled them playing at the and Flatt and Scruggs’s “Salty Dog Blues” and Buddy’s “Peggy Unitarian Church and one time, he thinks, a state school for, as he Sue.” Mix that stuff up with the Lloyd Price/Elvis hit “Lawdy put it, “retarded children.” One picture in the booklet included Miss Clawdy,” Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Black Snake Moan,” and with “The Odessa Tapes” CD shows them playing on the commons Townes Van Zandt’s “Waitin’ Around to Die.” at Texas Tech. Throw in some originals (mostly by Butch), and you have a Their favorite venue, according to Hancock, was a place called pretty good idea of the Flatlanders’ home range. “Vast,” as Ely says. the Town Pump. With Jimmie singing most of the lead vocals (though not all; “It was in a little old strip mall on 4th St.,” he said to No Depres- their demo and Nashville album tracks give a false impression), sion magazine. “It was sort of a seedy place—gambling, and they Ely’s rudimentary learn-while-you-earn Dobro playing, Steve Wes- say a prostitution ring ran out of there. But it turns out the only son’s ethereal, oscillating musical saw, and Tony Pearson’s jaunty trouble we ever ran across down there was from the tenants next mandolin licks, they sounded like nothing going on in the commer- door. It was one of those success groups—motivational training, cial country or pop music worlds in 1971. If they are to be placed in you know. One of them stabbed somebody in the alley one time. context at all, it would be more fitting to rank them with contem- I guess they got motivated.” porary Americana groups like the Lumineers or The Civil Wars. “Syl Rice told me, ‘You’ve got to come hear these guys, they’re real unusual, totally off the cuff,’ ” said Maines. “So, Syl took me I never thought that I would ever wonder why to the Town Pump [to see them]. I knew there was something I ever said goodbye there, but it sort of took me aback. They appeared a little disor- I had my hopes up high ganized, and the songs didn’t really have arrangements. At the —“Hopes Up High” by Joe Ely time, I was used to playing in a rehearsed, arranged situation, but I thought it was great.”

But what the Flatlanders lacked in big-time shows and pro- WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Watch the band perform ‘I Know You.’ PHOTOGRAPHY © PETER DERVIN PHOTO STAGE

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20 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com Know How To Use Fire Extinguishers

PLAIN AND SIMPLE: Fires can happen anytime, anywhere, and bilities of your equipment fire extinguishers can save lives. before using it. Nearly 30 percent of home electrical fires begin with igni- The correct use of fire extin- tion of wires or cable insulation, according to the National guishers in an office, workplace Fire Protection Association. And almost half involve some type or home can make the difference of electrical distribution equipment such as outlets, switches between life and death. or lamps. The three main components of a fire are fuel, oxygen and Remember PASS heat. This is called the fire triangle, and all three components The acronym PASS stands for must be present to produce fire. The fourth component is the Pull, Aim, Squeeze and Sweep: chemical reaction of converting the fuel into vapor gas. To Pull the pin. Aim the nozzle at extinguish a fire, one of the components must be removed. the fuel source—the base of Fires are classified according to the fuel source they con- the fire, not the flames. sume. There are four main classes of fires: Squeeze the handle, maintain- a Class A fires consume ordinary combustibles: wood, paper, ing a constant spray. Sweep plastic, etc. back and forth across the fire a Class B fires are fueled by flammable liquids: gasoline, oil, until it is completely extinguished. paint, etc. Once an extinguisher has been a Class C fires are electrical fires. discharged, either completely or par- a Class D fires consume flammable metals. tially, it must be replaced or recharged. Many extinguishers, Fire extinguishers are rated according to the type of fires but not all, are rechargeable. Check the label. they can be used on correctly. Some extinguishers can be used Is your fire extinguisher handy and ready? for different types of fires. Extinguishers will indicate on the Do not underestimate fire’s capability. Fires can double in label the classes of fires for which they are intended. size every 30 seconds. They can go from controllable to out of Also, look for the Underwriters Laboratory symbol on the control in a very short time. label. Near that you’ll find a classification such as 2A, 10B, C, Fire extinguishers must be accessible. Recommended loca- etc. This coding represents the capabilities of the extinguish- tions include the kitchen, bedroom and garage. It would be ers. For example, 2A means the extinguisher is capable of best to have one in each of those places. Keep one in your putting out 2 square feet of class A fire; 10B indicates that 10 vehicle, too. square feet of class B fire can be extinguished. Know the capa- Inspect fire extinguishers at least monthly. This should include checking the nozzle for obstructions and checking the charge indicator. Be sure the pin is in place and hasn’t been tampered with. Most household multiclass extinguishers use a FIRE SAFETY BY THE NUMBERS fine chemical powder as the extinguishing agent. Shake these A fire department responded to a fire every 23 seconds extinguishers vigorously during inspections to prevent the in the U.S. powder from settling or solidifying. An outside fire was reported every 46 seconds. Contain Kitchen Fires A structure fire was reported every 66 seconds. One of the leading causes of home fires is cooking. Many of these A vehicle fire was reported every 156 seconds. are initially container fires. If an extinguisher is aimed into the Civilian fire deaths in 2012: 2,855 container, the fire likely will be spread instead of put out. One of the best ways to deal with a container fire is to cover Civilian fire injuries in 2012: 16,500 it with a lid or any nonflammable cover, such as a cookie sheet. Never use water on a flammable liquid fire. If water hits burn- Source: 2012 statistics by the National Fire Protection Association ing oil, a superexpansion of the water molecules will occur,

EXTINGUISHER: © SONIAK | DREAMSTIME.COM EXTINGUISHER: causing a violent eruption.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 21 Texas USA

Dawn of the Southwest

Sports conference that became the hottest thing going in Texas got its start 100 years ago

In the early 1900s, john heisman, an the SWC dominated Texas for 82 years. BY RANDY RIGGS iconic coach whose name remains synony- The driving force was football, which held mous with college football, predicted that then and still holds a vice grip on the pas- the sport was doomed to mediocrity, at sions of the region’s sporting public. South- least in the Southwest. west Conference teams also set standards “You’ll never have great football played of excellence in men’s—and later women’s by the southwestern teams,” Heisman —sports across the board. declared. “The climate won’t permit it.” It was, essentially, the only collegiate Ironic, isn’t it? After all, five players brand in the state, and discussions of its from the athletic conference alluded to teams dominated talk at the water cooler by Heisman—the Southwest Conference— from Dalhart to Brownsville, El Paso to won the prestigious trophy named for Texarkana. People who never saw a game him, presented annually to the nation’s in person could still follow their favorite best college football player. football teams via the play-by-play word Heisman, whose long coaching career pictures painted by the legendary Kern ended in the late 1920s after a short stint Tips and his fellow announcers on the at Rice University, probably should have statewide radio network. known better than to ever say never. The “I still remember listening to Kern Southwest Conference didn’t last forever, Tips,” says Jody Conradt, the former but its lengthy lifespan included some of University of Texas women’s basketball the greatest teams and players that col- coach who grew up in Goldthwaite and lege athletics has ever seen in many coached the Longhorns to the first unde- sports—particularly in football. feated NCAA women’s national champi- The roots of the Texas-based South- onship team in 1985-86. “It was the only west Conference were established 100 conference I knew. The Southwest Con- years ago, finalized in a December 8, 1914, ference just seemed like what college meeting at the Rice Hotel in Houston. The sports was.” original schools that agreed to the con- The SWC dissolved for numerous rea- stitution of what first was called the sons, not the least of which was an out- Southwest Intercollegiate Athletic Con- break of rules violations in recruiting and ference were the University of Texas, other areas. At one point in the 1980s, all Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Baylor, Arkansas, but two conference schools had athletic Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), programs penalized for NCAA infractions. Southwestern in Georgetown and Rice, Ironically, playing by the rules and clean- as a provisional entry. ing up college athletics a century ago were Additions and subtractions to the mem- two reasons why then-new University of bership came and went before the confer- Texas athletic director Theo Bellmont led ence finally disbanded after the 1995-96 the charge for the creation of the league academic year. Despite the changing cast, in the first place.

22 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com President Richard Nixon declared the Texas 2002. Slocum likened the league to “an McWilliams says. “Guys from other teams Longhorns the national champions December extension of Texas high school football,” would come into Austin in the off-season, 6, 1969, after their 15-14 victory over Arkansas the lifeblood of the college programs. and we’d find a place for them to sleep in in a battle of Southwest Conference unbeatens. “It was intense because the high school the dorm. football was intense,” he says. “This was “You just knew everybody. It made for In addition, television marketers found just a continuation for those who had great rivalries, but friendly rivalries. ” it difficult to sell a national viewership on played at Brownwood, Breckenridge, Indeed, the proximity of the schools games dominated by Texas teams. Amarillo, Port Arthur, Orange, wherever. helped contribute to the unique passions Even so, between its birth and demise, “Yes, it was very competitive, but there of the various fan bases. the Southwest Conference provided mem- were a lot of friendships,” Slocum adds. That point was driven home to Teaff ories that will never fade. “So many kids [knew each other]. They’d in 1972 when he arrived at Baylor, cen- The accolades were many. Southwest just play each other one day a year, but trally located in Waco. Conference teams won 64 national cham- then they’d all wind up at South Padre or “On a Saturday morning, you’d see pionships in 17 sports and five Heisman somewhere during spring break. lines of cars heading south to Austin, Trophies (Texas Christian University’s “It’s totally different now.” southeast to College Station and north to Davey O’Brien in 1938, Southern Methodist Slocum recalls many of the SWC SMU and TCU,” he says. “You don’t see University’s Doak Walker in 1948, A&M’s coaches from his era grew up in Texas and that anymore.” John David Crow in 1957, Texas’ Earl played high school football. Grant Teaff, And Teaff, like many others, still Campbell in 1977 and the University of the architect of Baylor’s 1974 “Miracle on misses it. Houston’s Andre Ware in 1989). the Brazos”—the Bears’ first victory over “I was so deeply immersed in it and But the SWC was a way of life that tran- UT in 17 years, leading to their first SWC loved it so much,” he says. “It was so over- scended the stadiums and arenas, from championship since 1924—was raised in powering in my psyche as someone who the smallest of towns to the biggest of Snyder. David McWilliams was a star at grew up around it. cities in the southwest. It was ingrained Cleburne before earning All-America “It was sort of everything to us.” in the sporting and cultural DNA of the honors at Texas, playing on Coach Darrell Randy Riggs, former sportswriter for the state and its citizens. Royal’s 1963 national championship team, Austin American-Statesman, lives in Austin. “Basically, our world was the Southwest and going on to be the head coach at both Conference,” says R.C. Slocum, who grew Texas Tech and UT. WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com up in Orange and went on to serve as the “In college, you’d play against guys that Read more about the history of the SWC and its

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ATHLETICS OF TEXAS UNIVERSITY COURTESY head football coach at Texas A&M 1989- you played with or against in high school,” championship teams.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 23 Observations Gone But Not Forgotten

Childhood memories sometimes clash with today’s science

My father despised the bald spots in ping for long. Even from my lofty vantage, BY SHERYL SMITH-RODGERS the grass that defined our yard. Somehow, their beady black eyes and pincher-like the bare patches of dirt and rocks repelled mandibles stood out prominently. his swatches of St. Augustine grass, Careless though I seemed, I did regu- planted like quilt squares across our cor- larly monitor my white socks and beat-up ner lot. Those 3-foot-wide crop circles sneakers. Angry ants could bite hard. I didn’t complement the boxy ligustrum and knew! But hot tears, throbbing welts and pittosporum hedges that he kept so neatly Mother’s admonishments of “Stay out of trimmed along the front and sides of our those ant beds!” couldn’t keep me away brick home on Corpus Christi’s Dogwood for long. Soon I’d return to follow my six- Street decades ago. legged friends as they marched along My father did what he could to get rid of beaten forage trails that radiated away the ant beds dwelling in those dirt patches. from the beds. They simply didn’t belong in his yard. Like I especially loved to give them seeds most homeowners in our neighborhood, he from the yellow-flowered clover that grew regularly mowed, watered and fertilized the in prolific mounds around the beds. grass. He trimmed the shrubs into perfect Although my father hated the weeds, he’d boxes, edged along the street curb and shown me how to unwind their prickly treated the ant beds with pesticides. burs and eat the minuscule beans inside. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems Crouching near a red ant bed, on guard were not top of mind in suburban settings for imminent attacks, I dropped the green during these times. Author Douglas W. beans near the entrance. To my delight, Tallamy promotes biodiversity in his book, most passed inspection and were carried “Bringing Nature Home” (Timber Press, into the hidden lair. 2007). But in the years of my childhood, If only we had been more aware and most homeowners cared more about known that those red ant beds sustained appearances. the chubby Texas horned lizards (scientif- As for me, then a kid of 6 growing up in ically called Phrynosoma cornutum) that northwestern Corpus Christi, I found the my friend Sandy and I would chase down harvester ant beds both fascinating and in grassy lots in our subdivision. Like most dangerous. Crouched on my haunches, people, we called the reptiles “horny toads.” usually nursing at least one skinned knee Another common name, horned frog, from a bike crash, I’d watch the square- comes from the Greek words phrynos headed workers—dark red and nearly half (toad), soma (body) and cornutus (horned). an inch long—scuttle in and out of the “They can spit blood from their eyes,” small opening that led to their under- Sandy would warn after I’d capture one with ground colony. They moved about quickly, my hands. But I didn’t believe her. Of the waving their short antennae, sometimes many we caught (and let go), none ever did. bumping into one another but rarely stop- (However, I did later learn that a horned

24 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com lizard can indeed shoot a stream of blood Now, many years later, I recall those and far West Texas. Several factors are to from its eyelids as a defense. The species bygone playtimes with sweet nostalgia. blame, says state herpetologist Andy can also inflate itself, making it difficult for But more often, I look back on those years Gluesenkamp with the Texas Parks and a predator to swallow its spiny body.) with deep sadness. Yes, if only we had Wildlife Department. Fire ants, invasive Cupped in my hand, a horny toad would known how the life cycles of the harvester nonnative grasses, development, road often close its white-ringed black eyes ants and horned lizards interconnected. kills, domestic cats and even weather have while I gently rubbed its hard snout, How they, not the foreign ligustrums and negatively impacted horned lizards. spiked head and broad spiny back. It usu- St. Augustine, both absolutely belonged in Yet if we’d known, what would we have ally didn’t mind my strokes on its soft the landscape. So did a lone chile pequin done differently, I wonder. Right away, the white belly either. In our explorations, bush that poked up through one of our pit- answer’s clear: Let the bald spots stay in Sandy and I found palm-sized adults as tosporums and those sunflowers that for our yard. But certainly we had no power well as babies no longer than an inch. a season covered the vacant lots. to stop the inevitable growth and con- Horned lizards and red ants plus tad- Those native species—surviving rem- struction that quickly wiped out the native poles, pill bugs and woolly bear caterpillars nants of a vanishing ecosystem—provided habitat in the old neighborhood. were the ready-made toys of my child- fruit, seeds and shelter for resident birds, So it’s impossible to know the true hood. We also stomped down secret pas- insects and other wildlife. impact of my father’s private war against sages through towering colonies of I’m not alone with my regrets. Many the red ants. In the larger sense, few kids common sunflowers and floated stick Texans like me remember when horned growing up in Texas these days can say boats in a nearby drainage ditch. Back lizards—now listed as a threatened species they’ve played with wild horned lizards in then, transistor AM radios, vinyl records in Texas and designated as our official their neighborhood. What a huge loss. At and three TV channels, the sole extent of state reptile—once populated much of the least I have my memories. our modern “electronics,” couldn’t com- state. Since the early 1970s, their range Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, a member of Peder-

SCOTT DAWSON SCOTT pete with the alluring outdoors. has shrunk to the Panhandle, South Texas nales EC, lives in Blanco.

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30 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com Texas History Naughty Santa Jolly disguise turns 1927 bank robbery first into hapless spectacle then into deadly shootout in Cisco

BY MARTHA DEERINGER

On december 23, 1927, a man in a santa Claus suit got his name on the naughty list. How? He held up the First National Bank of Cisco, in north-central Texas. The crime reached astonishing heights of infamy and ineptitude. The thief, Marshall Ratliff, had been jailed previously for bank robbery but was pardoned by Gov. Ma Fer- guson after serving only one year. Ratliff persuaded Henry Helms, Robert Hill and Louis Davis to assist in the heist. He borrowed a Santa Claus suit from his landlady in Wichita Falls, stole a car and set out with his cronies for Cisco. Ratliff considered the Santa suit a per- fect disguise. His decision was proved answered, ricocheting around the inside of a shotgun blast, behind. Within blocks, wrong soon after he got out of the car and the bank. Excitement surged through town Santa realized they had left the loot, headed for the bank. Several children on as folks yelled “Bank robbery! First $12,200 in cash and $150,000 in securities, the street spotted Santa Claus entering the National!” Clerks in the hardware store in the Oldsmobile with Davis. Distracted bank and trooped along behind, hoping to passed rifles and shotguns out to customers. by the unconscious robber and the cash, tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Police Chief Bit Bedford and two the posse lost sight of the getaway car. Meanwhile, Hill and Helms parked the deputies took up positions in the alley just Laverne and Emma May remained in stolen car in the alley behind the bank. as the robbers bustled out of the bank with the car when Santa warned them they The men entered the bank. In the crowded hostages. They shoved Laverne Comer, 12, would be shot if they got out. Ratliff didn’t lobby, bank employees heard someone and Emma May Robinson, 10, into the get- realize that Laverne had recognized him shout, “Stick ’em up!” Guns were drawn. away vehicle. As the car sped away, Bed- when he took off his mask. When the posse Six-year-old Frances Blasengame ford charged around the corner of the arrived, she identified the crook, but the dragged her mother into the bank for “one bank and fired a shotgun blast before outlaws had disappeared. last wish for Santa” just as guns appeared. falling to his knees, mortally wounded. A massive manhunt commenced. Two Frances burst into tears, crying, “They’re Within moments, the getaway driver of the three robbers were wounded. They gonna shoot Santa Claus … they’re gonna noticed a serious problem: No one had put had no food, and a blue norther had arrived shoot him!” according to A.C. Greene in gas in the car, and its tank was nearly empty. with icy winds and sleet, but the last of the “The Santa Claus Bank Robbery” (The Outraged citizens of Cisco were in hot pur- Santa Claus bank robbers evaded lawmen New American Library, 1972). Blasengame suit. Near the intersection of 14th Street until December 30, when they were re- headed for the back door, pushing Frances and Avenue D, the bandits flagged down the united in the county jail. in front of her. One of the bandits yelled, driver of a brand new Oldsmobile. The The Santa Claus bank robbery might “Come back here, lady!” but she kept going bloody men dragged the frightened family seem comical were it not for the six people right out the back, where she ran across a out of the car and climbed in, not noticing killed and eight injured. Ratliff later vacant lot to city hall and alerted the police. that the driver, 14 year-old Woody Harris, escaped from jail and was lynched by an Santa had filled a cloth sack with cash pocketed the key as he ran away. angry mob, considered the last mob lynch- and started for the back door just as one The posse, stopped a block away, fired ing in Texas history. gunman noticed movement outside the repeatedly as Santa ordered everyone back Martha Deeringer, a member of Heart of

JOHN KACHIK bank. He fired. A fusillade of bullets into the getaway car, leaving Davis, hit by Texas EC, lives near McGregor.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 31 $500 WINNER SWEET CATEGORY Texas Pecan Praline Cheesecake

$2,500 GRAND PRIZEWINNER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipes 2014 Holiday Recipe Contest SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS PECAN BOARD

$500 WINNER Choosing a winner for the 2014 Holiday Recipe Contest was challenging, with so many SWEET CATEGORY tasty pies and other desserts, not to mention surprising savory dishes, all featuring Apple Pecan Texas pecans. After multiple rounds of testing the top entries, we determined the win- Upside-Down ners in three categories—Savory, Sweet and Pecan Pie—as well as a grand prizewinner, Pie Griffin Clarke of Heart of Texas EC. He collects $2,500 in prize money for his Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie, a delicious and densely flavored chocolate pecan pie spiced with cayenne and cinnamon. The winner for best pecan pie, the two winners for best savory dish and the two winners for best sweet dish each claim $500 in prize money. The Texas Pecan Board sponsored this $5,000 contest. For more on Texas pecans, go to texaspecans.org. ANNA GINSBERG, FOOD EDITOR

$2,500 GRAND PRIZEWINNER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie GRIFFIN CLARKE | HEART OF TEXAS EC

Griffin Clarke “always loved Granny’s pecan pie and decided he wanted to make pecan pie as good as Granny,” says the prizewinner’s mother, Arla H. Clarke. Building on the family recipe, the 23-year-old experimented with chocolate and spice, seeking the “ultimate” pecan concoction.

CRUST 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a ½ cup Texas pecan halves 9-inch or 9 ½-inch deep-dish pie dish. 2 cups all-purpose flour 2. Toast all pecan halves—3 ½ cups—in a 1 teaspoon kosher salt large cast iron skillet over medium-high ½ cup shortening, cut into chunks heat about 10 minutes or until fragrant. 4-6 tablespoons ice water, as needed Stir often to avoid burning. Set aside ½ cup toasted pecan halves for pie crust. FILLING Pulse remaining 3 cups of toasted pecans 3 cups Texas pecan halves in a food processor until finely chopped, ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), and set aside to use in pie filling. cut into chunks 3. CRUST: Pulse ½ cup toasted pecan ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips halves with flour and kosher salt in a 5 large eggs, lightly beaten food processor until combined and the 1 cup sugar pecans are finely ground. Add shortening 1 cup light Karo corn syrup and pulse until the mixture resembles ½ cup Grade A dark amber maple syrup coarse meal. Add ice water 1 teaspoon at 1 teaspoon vanilla extract a time and pulse until the mixture forms 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon paper and refrigerate 1 hour, then roll ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper out and press into pie dish. Refrigerate while making the pie filling. CARAMEL SAUCE 4. FILLING: In a double boiler, melt but- ½ cup butter (1 stick) ter and chocolate chips until fully com- 1 cup brown sugar, packed bined. Set aside to cool slightly. In a 1 cup heavy cream large glass bowl, combine eggs, sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract corn syrup, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir

MARY PAT WALDRON PAT MARY Salt to taste in salt, cinnamon and cayenne. Add the

December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 33 Recipes

melted chocolate mixture and stir until sugar mixture. Roll each roll of pastry 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. incorporated. Stir in the remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully 2. CRUST: Combine graham cracker 3 cups of finely chopped toasted pecans. line prepared pie dish with 1 pastry cir- crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press 5. Pour filling mixture into the pecan cle. Do not press into nut mixture. Trim into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pie crust and bake 50 to 70 minutes or dough even with the edge of the pie dish. pan, bake for 9 minutes and remove until the pecans have formed a crust on 2. Combine apple slices, sugar, flour, from oven. When cool, wrap the bottom top and the filling is nearly set. Let cool lemon juice and cinnamon, and place of the pan with heavy-duty foil to ensure completely while making caramel sauce. mixture in pie dish. Cover with remain- that it is totally leak-proof. Increase 6. CARAMEL SAUCE: Combine butter and ing pastry circle and prick with fork. oven temperature to 450 degrees. brown sugar in a cast iron skillet and Trim top crust even with the edge of the 3. CHEESECAKE: In a stand mixer or with cook over medium heat until butter is pie dish and seal crust edges with water. a strong hand mixer at medium speed, melted and brown sugar is dissolved. Roll edges toward center of pie so that combine cream cheese, brown sugar and Add the heavy cream and boil, stirring crust edge does not touch rim of pie dish. flour, scraping down sides as needed. often, approximately 5 minutes. Remove 3. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on bot- Continue beating and add beaten eggs from heat, stir in vanilla and salt and tom oven rack to catch drippings. Bake slowly. Blend in vanilla, and stir in mix well. on center rack 40-45 minutes or until chopped pecans. Pour filling into foil- 7. Chill pie before serving so that it golden brown. wrapped springform pan, set it in a slices neatly. Serve with whipped cream 4. Let stand 2 minutes. Carefully run larger pan and pour water into larger and warm caramel sauce. Store pie and knife tip around edge of dish to loosen pan to about halfway up the sides of the extra sauce in the refrigerator. pie. Invert onto serving plate. Serve springform. warm with ice cream, if desired. 4. Bake in 450-degree oven 10 minutes, COOK’S TIP To save time and labor, a premade then turn temperature down to 325 Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: pie crust may be used. A premade caramel sauce 524 calories, 5.57 g protein, 35.39 g fat, 46.47 g degrees and bake an additional 50 min- may also be used, although it won’t be as good. carbohydrates, 4.43 g dietary fiber, 134 mg sodium, utes. Remove springform pan from 22.29 g sugars, 5 mg cholesterol water bath, set on a cooling rack and Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 1,129 calories, 12.07 g protein, 81.99 g fat, 88.56 g cool completely. carbohydrates, 7.62 g dietary fiber, 568 mg sodium, $500 WINNER: SWEET CATEGORY 5. When cheesecake is completely 54.10 g sugars, 150 mg cholesteroll Texas Pecan Praline cooled, brush maple syrup over the top Cheesecake of cheesecake, allowing some to seep $500 WINNER: SWEET CATEGORY CLARISSE BLAIR | NUECES EC down the sides. Sprinkle with chopped Apple Pecan pecans. Upside-Down Pie Clarisse Blair’s mother, who developed this recipe 6. DO NOT REMOVE SPRINGFORM RING. FERN W. GIDDENS | FAYETTE EC in the ’60s, shelled pecans from 50-pound bags Cover with foil and chill for several given to her by a grower in Carrizo Springs. “After hours or overnight before serving. Fern Giddens’ recipe came from experimenting our parents are gone, things as simple as recipes Remove ring when you are ready to with streusel. “I had seen when you make things bring back the sweetest memories, and my mother transfer to a cake plate and serve. like cinnamon rolls, you put the stuff on the bot- would be so proud that the cheesecake won.” Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: tom,” she says. “Why don’t we turn it around and 721 calories, 10.59 g protein, 55.35 g fat, 41.87 g do it the other way? And that’s what we did.” CRUST carbohydrates, 4.71 g dietary fiber, 246 mg sodium, 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 32.86 g sugars, 131 mg cholesterol ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons butter, melted $500 WINNER: SAVORY CATEGORY melted Holiday Brunch ¾ cup coarsely chopped Texas pecans CHEESECAKE JENNIFER LANGNER | GRAYSON-COLLIN EC 2 rolls refrigerated pastry dough 3 packages cream cheese 2 pounds tart apples, cored, peeled and (8 ounces each), softened Family members at Jennifer Langner’s house are thinly sliced (yields about 5 cups) 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed treated like royal guests. “I see that the sons-in- ⅔ cup sugar, or more to taste 2 teaspoons flour law and the grandsons have the best,” she says. 2-3 tablespoons flour 4 large eggs, slightly beaten For them, she rolls out the finery—dough, 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract creamy cheese and rich greens—for dishes such 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup finely chopped Texas pecans as this comfort creation with Southern flair. “Of course, pecans to me go with everything.” 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9- GARNISH inch pie dish, combine brown sugar and 2 tablespoons maple syrup ½ pound chopped pancetta (optional) butter or margarine and spread over the 2 tablespoons finely chopped 2 cups Texas pecans, chopped bottom. Sprinkle pecans evenly over Texas pecans 8 large eggs

34 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com $500 WINNER SAVORY CATEGORY Holiday Brunch

$500 WINNER SAVORY CATEGORY Texas Pecan Bacon

¼ teaspoon salt top and bottom. Open the roll of phyllo steam. Bake 20-25 minutes or until ¼ teaspoon pepper and lay two sheets of phyllo crosswise golden. Cool slightly. If desired, decorate 1 box frozen chopped spinach over the upper and lower half of the pan, with fresh rosemary sprigs and grape (9-11 ounces) or 1 can mixed greens overlapping slightly about 2 inches so tomatoes to resemble holly. Cut into tri- (27 ounces), drained and pressed dry that the pan, including the sides, is cov- angles and serve. 10-12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed ered with phyllo. Brush the two sheets as directed on package with melted butter and repeat, layering COOK’S TIP If you are not using pancetta, heat ½ cup salted butter (1 stick), melted and buttering phyllo until you have five the pecans over medium to medium-high heat, ¾ pound Havarti cheese, sliced thin layers of phyllo (10 sheets total) covering stirring often, until they become aromatic and ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated the pan. You should still have some but- begin to release their oils, about 2-5 minutes. or shredded ter left over at this point. Servings: 12. Serving size: 6 ounces. Per serving: 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 4. Arrange the egg-and-spinach mix- 480 calories, 12.68 g protein, 42.59 g fat, 11.69 g ture lengthwise down the center of the carbohydrates, 4.92 g dietary fiber, 304 mg sodium, 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 12- phyllo, leaving about 2 to 3 inches on 1.98 g sugars, 154 mg cholesterol inch nonstick skillet, cook the pancetta the long sides and about ¾ inch on the (if using) over medium heat about 5 ends. Lay pancetta-pecan mixture and $500 WINNER: SAVORY CATEGORY minutes or until edges start to brown. Havarti cheese slices over the egg mix- Texas Pecan Bacon Add pecans to skillet; cook pancetta and ture. Fold long ends of phyllo over each RITA WILLIAMS | FARMERS EC pecans 2 minutes more, or until other and pinch closed the short ends, pancetta is fully cooked and pecans are then brush with remaining butter to Rita Williams’ grandma, with help from Pillsbury, lightly toasted. Remove from skillet. make a big, smooth log. (If your phyllo inspired Texas Pecan Bacon. “My grandmother 2. In the same skillet, scramble eggs with tears, just throw another sheet of phyllo loved to cook and taught me so much,” says the salt and pepper. Add the drained over the log and smooth it with a little Williams, whose food service career introduced spinach or greens to the scrambled eggs, more butter.) her to bacon-wrapped Pillsbury cornbread twists. mix well and remove from heat. 5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and Now a grandmother herself, Williams makes the 3. Set a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan in cracked pepper on top. Make a small bacon without the bread for a treat she says her

MARY PAT WALDRON PAT MARY front of you so that 10-inch sides are on perforation with a knife to release grandchildren like anytime.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 35 Recipes

20 thick slices bacon, maple flavored WHITE LAYER crust. Place pie crust in the freezer for 5 4 tablespoons chopped Texas pecans 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon to 10 minutes or until set. 4 tablespoons brown sugar heavy cream at room temperature 3. CARAMEL MIXTURE: Place caramels, ¼ 3 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper 2 teaspoons sugar cup water and butter in a microwave- 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped safe bowl and microwave on high, 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a removing and stirring at 30-second baking sheet with foil and apply cooking CARAMEL MIXTURE intervals until caramels are melted and spray. Arrange bacon on foil-lined bak- 34 caramels, unwrapped mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool. ing sheet. ¼ cup butter (½ stick) 4. CREAM CHEESE LAYER: In medium 2. Mix pecans, sugar and black pepper. bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, Press mixture into bacon, covering well. CREAM CHEESE LAYER vanilla and egg. Blend with electric 3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until crisp but 8 ounces cream cheese, softened mixer, starting with low speed and not too dark. Let stand 5 minutes before ¼ cup sugar increasing to high, whipping until serving. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract smooth. Remove pie crust from freezer. 1 large egg, room temperature Fold cream cheese mixture over white Servings: 10. Serving size: 2 slices. Per serving: 144 calories, 6.41 g protein, 10.23 g fat, 4.96 g carbo- chocolate layer and spread evenly. hydrates, 0.71 g dietary fiber, 356 mg sodium, PECAN FILLING Return to refrigerator to chill. 3.73 g sugars, 17 mg cholesterol 3 large eggs, room temperature 5. PECAN FILLING: In a separate bowl, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract beat eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar, blend- $500 WINNER: PECAN PIE CATEGORY ¼ teaspoon salt ing until well mixed. Add the melted White-Bottom Caramel ¾ cup sugar caramel mixture and beat on high speed Cream Cheese Pecan Pie 2 cups whole or chopped Texas pecans until well blended. Stir in pecans. JOE PHILLIPS | BRYAN TEXAS UTILITIES Remove pie crust from refrigerator. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease Slowly pour caramel pecan mix over When Joe Phillips says his pie is a mouthful, he’s and flour a 9 ½-inch glass pie dish. Set cream cheese layer, being careful not to referring to the name. His rendition of pecan pie crust in pie dish and crimp edges. Set in disturb the cream cheese. also fills the senses for a twist on the traditional. refrigerator to chill. 6. Bake on cookie sheet for 30 minutes. “I love to bake,” he says. To support his culinary 2. WHITE LAYER: Combine cream, sugar Reduce heat to 300 and bake at least experiments, Phillips says he keeps a freezer “full and white chocolate in a saucepan over 20 minutes (up to 45 minutes) or until of shelled pecans all the time.” low heat and stir until white chocolate is sides are set and center is slightly jiggly. melted and mixture is smooth. Spread It should set as it cools. When the edge 1 refrigerated roll-and-bake pie crust the white chocolate mixture quickly and of crust starts to brown, place a crust or homemade pie crust evenly over the bottom of the chilled pie ring or foil around outside of crimped crust to prevent burning. 7. Remove from oven and let cool com- $500 WINNER pletely. When thoroughly cooled, cover with PECAN PIE CATEGORY plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for White-Bottom Caramel a minimum of 6 hours to thoroughly chill. Cream Cheese Pecan Pie Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 700 calories, 9.61 g protein, 47.60 g fat, 57.26 g carbohydrates, 3.87 g dietary fiber, 275 mg sodium, 41.18 g sugars, 101 mg cholesterol WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com See past winners and their recipes.

$100 Recipe Contest May’s recipe contest topic is Beyond Pepperoni: Pizza Your Way. Pizza purists may not like to hear it, but there are as many ways to ways to make pizza as there are people to make it—and folks often have sur- prising ideas about how. Share your creative pizza recipes with us. The deadline is December 10. There are three ways to enter: ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL to 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701; FAX to (512) 763-3401. Include your name, address and phone number, plus your co-op and the name of the contest you are entering. MARY PAT WALDRON PAT MARY

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With his big fluffy beard, twinkling eyes and sack full of a SHARON BALCH, Lamar presents, what could possibly go wrong? We asked for your County ECA: Twin grandsons, Camron and Devon, 2, are favorite moments with Santa and, well, these at least made ‘enjoying their yearly visit to us smile. Santa.’ GRACE ARSIAGA

WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Grab another cup of eggnog, cozy up to the fire, and let’s see what else Santa left us.

o MICHELLE RYAN, Wood County EC: She joins sister Dana Ryan Perez, left, and brother Jim Ryan, right, in 1957 and notes that they look like deer caught in the head- lights. o SARAH ALLEN, Pedernales EC: Addy Grace takes her third Christmas picture with Santa, and ‘Momma was getting her picture no matter what!’

UPCOMING CONTESTS

MARCH FURRY FRIENDS DUE DEC 10

APRIL IN BLOOM DUE JAN 10

MAY HEROES DUE FEB 10 All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op affiliation, plus the contest topic and a brief description o CORRIE SWENSON, Grayson-Collin EC: Blake, of your photo. 2, and sister, Emerson, 1, sitting on Santa’s lap at daycare became the favorite Christmas card ONLINE: Submit highest-resolution digital images at Texas to send that year. 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 g GARY YOUNGLOVE, Pedernales EC: Triplet (approximately six weeks). Please do not submit irreplaceable grandaughters, from left, Piper, Andi and Bella photographs—send a copy or duplicate. We do not accept entries via email. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannot be Younglove meet Santa for the first time, and responsible for photos that are lost in the mail or not received ‘after a long wait in the line, the beard and the by the deadline. ho-ho-ho proved to be too much for them.’

TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 39 Around Texas Get Going > This is just a sampling of the events and festivals around

Pick of the Month December Annual Christmas Tree Lighting 5 Stonewall [December 21] Cleburne [5-14] “ ’Twas the Night Before (830) 644-2252, Christmas,” (817) 645-9255, tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks www.carnegieplayers.org December 20 This event at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park Lake Jackson & Historic Site continues a Texas Hill Country 6 Bird Banding Downtown Christmas Fair, tradition started 45 years ago by President Huntsville (936) 291-5920, facebook.com/COHmainstreet and Mrs. Johnson. Visitors can enjoy carolers, a live nativity, a visit with Santa Claus and Roby Roby’s Christmas Parade, refreshments. (325) 776-2809 The Woodlands [6, 13, 20] Caroling on the Square, (281) 363-2447, 12 visitthewoodlands.com Luling Cocoa & Carols, (830) 875-3214, 7 lulingcc.org Garrison Christmas on the Square, 13 (936) 347-2316 Athens Bird and Nature Walk, Seguin Yulefest Arts & Crafts Show, (903) 676-2277, athenstx.org (830) 876-8980, seguinartleague.com Bastrop Christmas in the Pines Lighted Christmas Parade, bastropdba.org 10 Bulverde Living Christmas Drive Through Cedar Creek Bell Concert and Dinner, Presentation, (830) 228-5928, (512) 303-1393, cedarcreekumc.org redroofchurch.org

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40 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com Texas. For a complete listing, please visit TexasCoopPower.com/events.

Canyon Lake Canyon Lake Christmas Parade, (210) 865-1705, clnoonlions.com 20 21 Lake Jackson Bird Banding, Washington Sod and Thatch: Prairie Home Live Nativity Hayride, Flower Mound (979) 480-0999, gcbo.org Construction, birthplaceoftexas.com (972) 539-5200, log.org McKinney Woods in Winter Walking Tour, 1st Annual Palestine Main Street Palestine (972) 562-5566, heardmuseum.org Wine Swirl, (903) 723-3014, visitpalestine.com 28 Johnson City [20-21] Lights Bastrop Men Who Cook IV: Christmas on the Square, Springtown Spectacular Hayrides, (830) 868-7684, “Singin’ in the Rain,” (512) 332-9880, (817) 220-4834, cityofspringtown.com johnsoncity-texas.com facebook.com/mwcbastrop Vernon 9th Annual Christmas on the Western Trail, (940) 553-3766 December 13 Waco Waco Big Texas Christmas Present, January Big Texas Christmas (254) 750-8631, texasranger.org Present Wimberley Winter’s Eve—A Christmas Festival, (512) 847-3333, wimberley.org 1 Kyle 2015 Polar Bear Splash, (512) 262-3939, kylepard.com 14 Terlingua Black-Eyed Pea Off, Houston MacGregor Area Christmas Home (432) 371-2234 Tour, (713) 748-6006 Kerrville Hill Country Youth Orchestra, (830) 285-9781, hcyo.org Submit Your Event! 15 We pick events for the magazine directly from Port Aransas [15-19] Enchanted Holiday TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for Forest, (361) 749-5919, portaransas.org February by December 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar!

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TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 41 Hit the Road Deck the Bows at the Kemah Boardwalk Lighted boat parade past amusement park helps kick off holiday season

BY SUZANNE HALKO

I feel the wind in my face on a decem- ber evening on the Kemah Boardwalk, an old-fashioned amusement park on Galve- ston Bay. With a crowd of fellow specta- tors, I huddle up to a rail overlooking Clear Creek Channel, waiting for the annual League City Christmas Boat Lane Parade on Clear Lake to commence. “It kicks off the holiday season down here, and it’s been a long tradition,” says Shari Sweeney, vice president of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, which produces the event. From the Kemah Boardwalk, visitors The first twinkle of holiday lights can watch a Christmas parade that approaches on the water at dusk, and a truly is made up of floats. procession of wind- and motor-powered boats slowly churns into view. They flaunt their holiday decor and vie for about 50 amusement park’s nearly dozen restau- close, I buy a ticket for what’s billed as the prizes. The 53rd annual lighted boat rants. I opt for a table at The Flying Dutch- “Coolest Coaster on the Coast.” The park’s parade is slated for December 13 this year. man, a waterfront seafood house. I can still classic wooden roller coaster stands 96 feet “Some get really competitive. They see the boat parade while dining on yel- tall and reaches a top speed of 51 mph. Just start planning a year before,” Sweeney says lowfin tuna and ceviche. before the ride’s first plunge, I glance over of the longtime serious competitors she Warmed by the food, I venture back my shoulder at the bay below where I had calls “old salts.” outside to explore the boardwalk’s amuse- earlier watched the boat parade. The now- The old salts put in among 100 partic- ments. A ride on the C.P. Huntington Train dark water stretches out to the twilight sky, ipating boats at the South Shore Harbor gives an overview of the park’s restaurants, and the Kemah Boardwalk sparkles at its Resort in League City, shoot through Clear rides, shops and attractions. From a edge. Then the coaster dives 92 feet, rum- Creek Channel and take a U-turn in Galve- wooden bench on the garland- and bow- bling and clattering around bends and over ston Bay near the amusement park’s lined replica train, I inhale the aroma of crests for a ride that leaves me breathless. northeast corner. saltwater and funnel cakes. I glide through Blinking wind-induced tears from my From the Kemah Boardwalk, I watch tunnels and among swaying palms, rub- eyes, I descend into the December night the boat lights gleam against the darkening bernecking at rides including a double- ready for rest. I’ve reserved a quiet room a horizon and reflect on the water. decker carousel, Ferris wheel, Pharaoh’s couple of blocks away at the Seaside Inn The participants’ fun-loving dedication Fury pendulum ride and Drop Zone 140- Bed and Breakfast. There, I take an evening is on full display. Captains and passengers— foot free fall. The lighted rides stand out soak in a private indoor hot tub, sleep in a some dressed up as Santa Claus or the brightly against the night sky. king-size bed and then greet the morning Grinch—wave and shout “Merry Christ- “What we offer here is diverse,” says from the inn’s private pier—enjoying a par- mas!” to the cheering audience. Creative Jim Doering, general manager of the tial view of the boardwalk, sunshine and boats include one disguised as a cartoonlike Kemah Boardwalk, which is built in the once again, a bay breeze in my face. space shuttle. Another serves as a stage for former shrimping community named for Suzanne Halko, staff writer an onboard song-and-dance troupe show- an indigenous word, “kemah,” loosely boating to Elvis tunes. And the “Boardwalk translated today to mean “wind in the IF YOU GO For more information, visit clear Fantasea Yacht” sprouts a decorative Christ- face.” He describes how the old-timey . lakearea.com, (281) 488-7676; or kemah mas tree farm on its roof. Several water- carnival-like atmosphere attracts people boardwalk.com, (877) 285-3624. crafts spray snowflakes over the crowd. of all ages—children, dating couples and When the wintery bay breeze gets too older folks walking hand in hand. WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com

cold, parties retreat into some of the With just a few minutes until the rides View a slideshow with more photos. KIRK SIDES COURIER, AP PHOTO/THE

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TODAY - U.S. Money Reserve has scheduled +\L[VZ[YPJ[SPTP[LKH]HPSHIPSP[`[LSLWOVULVYKLYZ ^OH[JV\SK IL [OL ÄUHS YLSLHZL VM<:.V]»[ ^PSSILHJJLW[LKVUHÄYZ[JVTLÄYZ[ZLY]LK Issued $5 gold coins previously held at the U.S. IHZPZHJJVYKPUN[V[OL[PTLHUKKH[LVM[OLVYKLY Mint at West Point. These Gov’t-Issued Gold :7,*0(3(99(5.,4,5;:*(5), *VPUZHYLILPUN YLSLHZLK VUHÄYZ[JVTL 4(+,-697<9*/(:,:6=,9  ÄYZ[ZLY]LKIHZPZMVY[OLPUJYLKPISLTHYR\W MYLLWYPJLVMVUS`  WLYJVPUPlease be 1 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagle...... $138.00 HK]PZLK!6\YH[JVZ[<:.V]»[.VSKPU]LU[VY`^PSS be available at this special price while supplies last 5 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagles...... $690.00 VYMVY\W[VKH`Z+VUV[KLSH`*HSSH:LUPVY 10 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagles...$1,380.00 .VSK:WLJPHSPZ[[VKH` Prices may be more or less based on current market conditions.

THE MARKETS FOR COINS ARE UNREGULATED. PRICES CAN RISE OR FALL AND CARRY SOME RISKS. THE COMPANY 0M`V\»]LILLU^HP[PUN[VTV]L`V\YOHYKLHYULK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE U.S. MINT. PAST PERFORMANCE OF THE COIN OR THE MARKET CANNOT PREDICT FUTURE PERFORMANCE. SPECIAL AT-COST OFFER IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO ONLY ONE LIFETIME PURCHASE OF 10 AT-COST COINS (REGARDLESS OF PRICE PAID) PER HOUSEHOLD, PLUS SHIPPING AND TVUL`PU[VWYLJPV\Z TL[HSZ [OL [PTLPZ UV^ [V INSURANCE ($15-$35). COINS ENLARGED TO SHOW DETAIL. PRICE NOT VALID FOR PRECIOUS METALS DEALERS. ALL CALLS RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE. OFFER VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. COIN DATES OUR CHOICE. JVUZPKLY[YHUZMLYYPUN`V\Y<:KVSSHYZPU[V

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