Texas Co-Op Power • January 2020

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FAVORITES 5 Letters 6 Currents 18 Co-op News Get the latest information plus energy and safety tips from your cooperative. 29 Texas History Ghost Dogs of Orozimbo By Martha Deeringer 31 Recipes New Year’s Resolution 35 Focus on Texas Photo Contest: Fences 36 Around Texas List of Local Events 38 Hit the Road Must See Sequel By Chet Garner

Liz Cox pours a Mexican lager ONLINE at Bandera Ale Project. TexasCoopPower.com Find these stories online if they don’t FEATURES appear in your edition of the magazine. Texas USA Texas Feels a Draft Craft breweries bring entertainment One Corner of the Square 8 and economic opportunity to exurban communities. By Clayton Maxwell Story by Melissa Gaskill | Photos by Dave Shafer Observations Four Walls and the Truth Gordon’s Gold Architect James Riely Gordon flourished By Rhonda Reinhart 12 during the golden age of Texas courthouses. By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers NEXT MONTH A Tale of Texas Crawfish Tasty crustaceans create a feasting frenzy every spring. 31 38

29 35 BANDERA ALE PROJECT: DAVE SHAFER. CRAWFISH: BONCHAN | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

ON THE COVER Nearly 300 craft breweries operate in Texas, representing a $5.3 billion industry. Photo by Dave Shafer

TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Alan Lesley, Chair, Comanche; Robert Loth III, Vice Chair, Fredericksburg; Gary Raybon, Secretary-Treasurer, El Campo; Mark Boyd, Douglassville; Greg Henley, Tahoka; Billy Jones, Corsicana; David McGinnis, Van Alstyne • PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin • COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Marty Haught, Burleson; Bill Hetherington, Bandera; Ron Hughes, Sinton; Boyd McCamish, Littlefield; Mark McClain, Roby; John Ed Shinpaugh, Bonham; Robert Walker, Gilmer; Brandon Young, McGregor • 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; Elaine Sproull, Advertising Manager; Chris Burrows, Senior Communications Specialist; Grace Fultz, Print Production Specialist; Travis Hill, Com- munications Specialist; Qasim K. Johnson, Administrative Assistant; Jessica Ridge, Communications Specialist; Chris Salazar, Digital Field Editor; Ally Schauer, Intern; Jane Sharpe, Senior Designer; Shannon Oelrich, Food Editor and Proofreader

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Not 10 and 2? Great nostalgic writing [Ranch Fair Is Fair Hands on the Wheel, October Not only did my dad teach me 2019]. I can go further back when there were NO seatbelts how to drive a standard pickup and hands on steering wheel but also to change a flat tire position was 3 and 9. VIVIAN WILLIS | VIA FACEBOOK before I took driver’s ed [Ranch Hands on the Wheel, October Honor Our Vets Wreaths Across America 2019]. But when the high school [November 2018] prompted instructor said only us girls had me to donate wreaths for this nationwide organization. This to change one, I stated I knew is a fantastic opportunity to how and felt the boys should also. I wasn’t giving in (it was a requisite to take honor our vets, and I will be donating again this year. I am the written test), so in the end all the boys had to also. Even my cousin was hoping the follow-up article mad at me, but I felt fair was fair. [Leader of Kind Strangers, November 2019] about Ellen Fuller, co-chair of this state- PAMELA JONES MAASS | VIA FACEBOOK wide effort in Texas, will encour- age more people to donate. JOYCE HISER | CRANDALL TRINITY VALLEY EC derful to see it flying in front representative about having of the house again. a similar dues requirement in Stagecoach Secrets KAREN CASEY | CYPRESS MILL Texas for VFDs but have not I was once afforded access to PEDERNALES EC seen or heard of any action areas off-limits to the general being taken on this matter. public, including the rooms Value of VFDs JAMES TRUEMPER | FARMERSVILLE and attic of the original Stage- My wife and I own our home FANNIN COUNTY EC coach Inn building [Stopping and a 5-acre horse farm in rural by the Stagecoach, November Collin County. We also own a 2019]. That was neat enough, small cabin in Arkansas. Both but the real treat was a hidden houses are served by electric GET MORE TCP AT cave that was originally used Banner Day for Co-ops co-ops. Fire protection for both TexasCoopPower.com for vegetable storage back in Last year, I lost my husband, Bill dwellings is provided by volun- Sign up for our e-newsletter for the 1800s. It was where Sam Casey, and have been learning teer fire departments [Putting monthly updates, prize drawings Bass hid out before leaving how to do so many things on my Others First, October 2019]. and more! the next day for Round Rock, own. We had a strong windstorm Each property owner in where he met his demise. last spring, and my flagpole Arkansas served by a VFD is We want to hear from you!

I treated myself to a scrump- got dislodged from its concrete a member of the VFD and is ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share tious meal of fried catfish, mooring. Pedernales EC decided assessed dues annually by state EMAIL: [email protected] which included the wonderful to take this on as a public serv- law. Payment of the dues is MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, cornbread fingers that the inn ice, and on October 8, workers not mandatory, but if not paid 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701 is still famous for serving. Looks came out in their trucks and by the member and a fire Please include your town and electric co-op. like a trip down Interstate 35 reset and welded the flagpole occurs, the member will be Letters may be edited for clarity and length. is in order. back into position. billed for the cost of respond- BILL PEAKE | FRISCO Before they left, we put up ing to the fire. COSERV the Texas flag, and it was won- I have contacted our state D FE Texas Co-op Power

TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 76, NUMBER 7 (USPS 540-560). Texas Co-op Power is published monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical postage paid at Austin, TX, and at additional offices. TEC is the statewide association representing 75 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.20 per year for individual members of subscribing cooperatives and is paid from equity accruing to the member. 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 Elaine Sproull at (512) 486-6251. 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 2020 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohited

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 5 CURRENTS

HAPPENINGS LIFESTYLE Dinner With the Arts 2020 VISION Since 1980, the Greater New Braunfels Arts Council has supported C artists in New Braunfels and Comal County with events like last month’s Caroling on the Plaza and annual Cinco de Mayo presenta- tions in area schools. Another of the organization’s signature events is Dinner With the Arts, which in recent years has become a fundraiser. DINNER WITH THE ARTS, on JANUARY 18 at the McKenna Events Center Q X in NEW BRAUNFELS, will include a live band, visual arts, interactive exhibits and opportunities for patrons to sustain the organization through silent auctions, raffles and art sales. Lisa Heymann, president of the council, says as many as 400 people attend the dinner each year in support of programs such as the Fall Into Art Festival and art and poetry contests. 2020 doesn’t look exactly like some people predicted INFO a (830) 358-3480, gnbac.org it would many years ago.

Prediction: In 1967, The Futurist, then a newsletter, said humans WEB EXTRAS would breed apes to be chauf- a Find more feurs and perform other house- happenings hold chores. online. Reality: Apes are struggling just to be apes. Close to 60% of the world’s 504 primate species are threatened with extinction, and 75% of those species are in severe population decline, according to earthday.org.

Prediction: In 2020, humans arrive on Mars. So said Wired magazine in 1997. Reality: NASA says it hopes to send astronauts to Mars, which is an average of 140 million miles from Earth, in the 2030s.

Prediction: “There will be no C, X, or Q in our everyday alpha- bet. They will be abandoned “Courage, after all, is not being unafraid because unnecessary.” That’s but doing what needs to be done in spite of fear.” what engineer John Elfreth Watkins Jr. wrote in Ladies’ —JAMES L. FARMER JR., civil rights leader born January 12, 1920, in Marshall Home Journal in 1900. Reality: An exciting idea but

quite incorrect. CUPCAKE: REGINA JERSHOVA | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. SPACE: MARIA SKRIGAN | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. CONRADO: JESSICA RIDGE | TEC. SOCKS: VECTOPICTA | SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

6 Texas Co-op Power January 2020 TexasCoopPower.com TCP CONTEST a FOCUS ON TEXAS PHOTOS: FAIRS AND CARNIVALS Get dizzy just watching the Tilt-a-Whirl? Enter your photo online.

POWER OF OUR PEOPLE A Close-Knit Couple

ALTHEA AND JOHN CONRADO, Pedernales Electric Cooperative members since 1975, are in their seventh decade of marriage, have seven children and have together explored all seven continents. But Althea’s luck seemed less certain in 1944, when the then 11-year-old raised the eyebrows and ire of a Red Cross worker. The relief agency was at that time distributing yarn to volunteers to knit specialized gloves—with an open trigger finger—for Allied machine gunners overseas. Althea, who began knitting at age 5, wanted to contribute. But the aid worker she encountered pronounced her too young, to Althea’s deep disappointment. A phone call from her mother to the agency sorted it, and she returned. “I can still see her face,” Althea said. “She was so mad. And I came home with two big bags full of yarn!” She knitted the gloves, turned them in, then got some more yarn and kept knitting. Though the product of Althea’s knitting has today changed to blankets for Austin hospice patients, her pace hasn’t slackened. She averages 1½ to two blankets POWER OF OUR PEOPLE recognizes per week, each taking about 40 hours to make. Again last year, Althea was co-op members who improve their recognized by Travis County with a Spirit of Service Award, which honors community’s quality of life. volunteers for 2,000 hours of work—though she racks up more than 3,000 Nominate someone by emailing hours knitting annually. [email protected]. John marvels at his wife’s prolific output. “Some days it seems like they crank out of there faster, she’s doing pink and next thing you know it’s purple. What happened to the pink? It’s purple!”

FINISH THIS SENTENCE MILESTONE BIRTHDAY Everybody Look What’s I knew I was grown up when . . . Going Down

We think it will be fun to show a little bit of our readers’ personalities by asking you to finish a sentence that we start. As we collect For what it’s worth, musician a Now it’s your turn. your thoughts, we’ll share them in the magazine and online. Stephen Stills of Buffalo How would you finish Springfield and Crosby, Stills We tried this ourselves, and here’s what the writers and editors that sentence? Post & Nash turns 75 this month. on our staff came up with: your responses on He wrote three hit songs the Texas Co-op Power decades ago that can still Chris Burrows: ...I got socks for Christmas and was glad for it. Facebook page or get stuck in your head today: Travis Hill: ...my student loan servicer told me I’d be 60 before email them to For What It’s Worth, Suite: I paid off my debt. [email protected]. Judy Blue Eyes and Love the Jessica Ridge: ...I couldn’t move away from my college apart- Please include your One You’re With. ment without taking the heavily pregnant community cat with me. city and co-op. Tom Widlowski: ...I bought my parents dinner for the first time. We’ll share what He was born January 3, 1945, you send us. in Dallas.

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 7 Texas = FEELSA = Draft STORY BY MELISSA GASKILL PHOTOS BY DAVE SHAFER

Craft Breweries BRING ENTERTAINMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNITIES

cluding how much product n a sunny fall afternoon, a brewery can distribute, large overhead fans sup- Hare explains. plement a light breeze The Texas brewing in- blowing through open dustry comprises three tiers Odoors. Several couples —manufacturing, distrib- perch at a long bar, dogs ution and retail—with sprawled on the concrete specific rules for each. A floor nearby. People group manufacturing brewery around tables, deep into that produces fewer than spirited board games. Out 225,000 barrels annually the back door, others dig can operate a tasting room into plates of barbecue at and sell on-site only. A shaded picnic tables. brewpub, considered retail, Bandera Ale Project is can make and sell beer for one of a new breed of community gathering spots. All around consumption on-site or off-site but only up to 10,000 barrels per Texas, craft breweries have become destinations where folks year. Hops & Grain is about to reach that size, Hare says. “Do we bring the family and the dog, and play games or listen to music give up the ability to sell beer to go in order to make more?” or comedy acts. The adults taste new flavors and types of beers, Meanwhile, beer tourism has grown across the state, Hare observe the brewing process and even meet the brewmaster. points out, and that growth means more manufacturing jobs. Nearly 300 craft breweries now operate in Texas, representing “This is a manufacturing industry that employs a lot of folks,” he a $5.3 billion slice of the state’s economy. Texas produces more says. “The retail components of craft breweries, from live enter- craft beer than all but seven other states but ranks 46th in brew- tainment to food trucks and tour groups, create additional jobs.” eries per capita. Bandera Ale Project, a member of Bandera Electric Coopera- Josh Hare of Hops & Grain Brewing in Austin and chairman tive, stages music every Saturday and prefers to hire local artists, of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild board says several challenges says co-owner and brewmaster John Oliver. “We have music, have hampered the Texas industry. “When we opened Hops & comedy, open mic, karaoke. And we’re family friendly,” he says. Grain in 2011, it was not legal to operate a tasting room,” he says. “We cultivate that atmosphere; we’re not your typical bar.” “The beer you poured had to be free.” Brewers got around that The brewery, about 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, offers by selling the glasses into which they poured beer. Then legisla- free Wi-Fi, too, using Bandera EC’s high-speed fiber internet. tion passed in 2013 allowed brewers to sell beer on-site. Communication specialist Samantha Gleason says BEC Fiber “From 2013 forward, we went from a dozen or so breweries launched about the time the brewery opened. “Bandera Brewery to more than 70 just in Austin,” Hare says. added more of a community space to the area,” she says. “And The 2019 Legislature allowed they contribute to support of local businesses, instead of buying Opposite: John Oliver, manufacturing breweries to sell beer from a bar that gets its product from outside the community.” brewmaster at Bandera Ale to go. Before that, Texas had been Some craft breweries also play a role in revitalization efforts Project. Above: After a day the only state that prohibited sales by restoring old, abandoned buildings. In downtown Lockhart, of preparing their hunting camp, Jezire and Brent of six-packs or growlers (reusable Caracara Brewing Company occupies a formerly empty historic Akin treat themselves to bottles) for customers to take home. building. In the North Texas town of Nocona, Nocona Beer & Bandera Ale Project beers. Other limits remain, though, in- Brewery took over a former boot factory.

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 9 Craft brewing could bring Above: The old Nocona Boots jobs to the agriculture industry factory is now home to Nocona in Texas as well. Four basic in- Beer & Brewery. Right: Jody Jones serves conviviality by gredients go into making beer: the pint at Nocona. hops, barley, water and yeast. Craft brewers use more hops than mass-produced beers, according to Neil Reid, the “beer pro- fessor” at the University of Toledo. For example, an imperial India pale ale style of beer uses 4 pounds of hops per keg, while a traditional pilsner uses less than half a pound. Small brewers also use hops to create unique flavors, while mass-produced beers focus on hop varieties that provide consistency of taste. Even though most barley comes from outside Texas, Quentin Hart of the National Agricultural Statistics Service says that between 2012 and 2017, the number of acres of barley harvested in Texas increased nearly 93%. Barley used in beer is malted, which involves steeping the grain in water under controlled conditions, WEB EXTRAS allowing it to sprout, then drying it. a Read this story Cory Artho is co-owner of Maverick on our website Malt House, 20 miles west of Amarillo, to see a map of one of several malting houses operating small-town craft in the state. Price is his biggest chal- breweries in Texas. lenge. Malt from Canada, which produces millions of tons, sells for 40 or 50 cents a pound. “We have a 5-ton

10 Texas Co-op Power January 2020 TexasCoopPower.com “We have music, comedy, open mic, karaoke. And we’re family-friendly. WE CULTIVATE THAT ATMOSPHERE; WE’RE NOT YOUR TYPICAL BAR.”

machine, and if we ran it year-round, we might make 400,000 pounds,” he says. That smaller volume means Maverick must charge 80 cents a pound. Still, the idea of local ingredients appeals to Texas brewers. Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery in San Antonio makes the only all-Texas beer, Artho says. Texas Born and Bred, a pale ale, contains his barley, hops from Hank’s Hops in San Antonio, which grows the flowers hydroponically in a greenhouse, and yeast from Texas Yeast Lab in New Braunfels. Beyond hops and barley, going local becomes easier. Oliver says that for its honey brown ale, Bandera Ale Project uses Doyle’s Honey, produced by Kent Doyle, a member of Medina Electric Cooperative. Its coffee porter uses coffee beans from Texas. Jim and Carly Baroffio opened the Bandera brewery in November 2017, and Oliver joined shortly thereafter. “This location was the perfect place to put a brewery because we had access to the property behind for a beer garden,” Oliver says. “You couldn’t find a property big enough for the garden in San Antonio or even on Main Street in Bandera.” Bandera Ale Project offers barbecue from Busbee’s Bar-B- Que on Main Street. “We wanted someone from Bandera, to make it like a small second location,” Oliver says. “They cook all the food at the main location and bring it here.” All the fun aside, craft brewing is, bottom line, about the beer. Texas beers snapped up 29—including 11 gold—of the more than 400 medals awarded at the 2019 U.S. Open Beer Championship, where Fredericksburg’s Altstadt Brewery ranked as one of the top 10 breweries overall. Bandera Ale Project attended its first competition, the Great American Beer Festival, in Denver in October. “Back when we started, we had just two beers on tap, a blonde ale and a honey brown ale, and sometimes we ran out of one because we only had one fermenter,” Oliver says. “After a few months, we got two more fermenters and had four beers on tap, then eight. We bought two more and now have 14 beers on tap. It’s been a learning process. People still come by just for those first two beers, though.” That hard work has made From top: Bandera Ale beer a good reason for people to Project’s beer garden. Dave visit craft brewing establish- Young, Nocona’s head brewer, ments across the state. But cer- keeps a watchful eye on his 6,100-gallon tanks. Cans tainly not the only one. await beer at Fredonia See more of Melissa Gaskill’s work Brewery in Nacogdoches. at melissagaskill.blogspot.com.

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 11 BY SHERYL SMITH-RODGERS

ARCHITECT JAMES RIELY GORDON FLOURISHED DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF TEXAS COURTHOUSES

ramped and outdated, the 1892 Victoria County Court- and built by James Riely Gordon. Clockwise from above: The house faced demolition in 1961 to make way for a From 1889 to 1902, the prolific Ellis County Courthouse in new building in downtown Victoria. When historical architect designed 18 “temples of Waxahachie and exterior details; the Gonzales County preservationists got wind of the plan, they rallied sup- justice”—plus commercial, reli- Courthouse in Gonzales; port and presented a 13-foot-long petition to county gious, residential and other civic architect James Riely Gordon. C commissioners. Unfurling the scroll, they read aloud buildings—across the state. the names of 661 county residents who wanted the Ranked among Gordon’s out- courthouse’s exterior to remain intact. Following this citizens’ standing work is the Ellis County Courthouse, heralded as a directive, commissioners voted to make no outside changes to “masterpiece” by author James Michener. In his 1985 historical the three-story edifice, adorned with turrets, arched windows novel Texas, Michener likens the pink-and-gray granite building and a clock tower. in Waxahachie to a “… fairy-tale palace 10 stories high, replete Today, the former Victoria County Courthouse houses county with battlements and turrets and spires and soaring clock towers

offices and stands among 12 surviving Texas courthouses designed and miniature castles high in the air. It was a bejeweled treasure, ELLIS AND GONZALES COURTHOUSES: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

12 Texas Co-op Power January 2020 TexasCoopPower.com ASIDE FROM THEIR RESPLENDENT FACADES, GORDON’S COURTHOUSES HAD ANOTHER MAJOR SELLING POINT: IN BROILING SUMMER MONTHS, THEY FELT COOLER INSIDE.

structures that he adapted to the specific needs of anyone he could interest,” writes Chris Meister in James Riely Gordon: His Courthouses and Other Public Architecture. “A study of the architect’s known work finds most of his early structures in communities along rail lines connecting with San Antonio.” Gordon’s start as an architect couldn’t have had better timing. In 1881, the 17th Texas Legislature passed a bill that allowed counties to borrow funds to build public buildings. The earliest courthouses in Texas were tents, dugouts or simple log structures, according to The Courthouses of Texas, by Mavis P. Kelsey Sr. and Donald H. Dyal. Because these primitive affairs were often unsafe, the 1881 bill empowered county commissioners to build spacious, fireproof buildings that inspired awe and attracted commerce. The golden age of grandiose Texas courthouses had begun. In those days, counties often staged competitions to attract designs for courthouse projects. In 1888, Gordon entered an Aransas County contest in Rockport. His exotic Moorish concept, graced with horseshoe arches and onion domes, stood out among plans submitted by other architects, including the esteemed yet it was also a sturdy, massive court of judgments, one of the Alfred Giles and Otto Kramer. Gordon’s first courthouse served finest buildings in Texas.” citizens for 65 years before it was torn down. Born August 2, 1863, in Winchester, Virginia, Gordon moved For the next decade, Gordon embraced an architectural trend with his mother and civil engineer father to San Antonio in the called Richardsonian Romanesque. The massive, masonry early 1870s. He joined the civil engineer corps of the International- style—developed by Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson Great Northern Railroad at age 14. In 1881, Gordon worked under —features short columns; wide, rounded arches; conical or architect William K. Dobson and then as a draftsman with J.N. pyramidal towers; and sculpted ornaments. Gordon melded those Preston & Son. In late 1884, he opened his own San Antonio elements to create customized courthouses for Fayette, Bexar, office with established architect Frederick Shelton. In the coming Erath and Victoria counties. years, Gordon would go in and out of partnerships and would also Gordon’s professional reputation soared in 1893, when his run an office in Dallas. Texas State Building wowed visitors at the World’s Columbian Gordon traveled the state by train and buggy in search of Exposition in Chicago. One newspaper writer proclaimed the

GORDON: ALEXANDER ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVESclients. | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN “On these trips, he carried generic plans for a variety of building as “one of the most attractive at the Fair,” and it would

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 13 WEB EXTRAS a Read this story on our website to become the most widely publicized Clockwise from left: The zales, San Patricio (demolished), see vintage post- design of Gordon’s lifetime. By fall McLennan County Court- Ellis, Van Zandt (demolished), Wise, cards of Gordon’s 1896, the fair’s buildings had been house dome in Waco and Comal and Lee reflect his Richard- window detail; an archive Texas courthouses. razed or burned. photo of the Bexar County sonian Romanesque style. With Aside from their resplendent facades, Courthouse in San Antonio. Harrison (now a museum), McLen- Gordon’s courthouses had another ma- nan and Angelina (demolished), jor selling point: In broiling summer Gordon transitioned to the Beaux- months, they felt cooler inside. To maximize comfort, the architect Arts style that uses grand entrances and towering pillars. A low created a cross-shaped layout with a center atrium, a combined budget kept Callahan (demolished) sparse in architectural detail. shaft and tower, and corner entrance porches. The plan, which Gor- In June 1902, Gordon moved his practice and family to New don copyrighted and improved with subsequent projects, worked York. Shortly before his 1937 death, he designed a building for like a chimney, drawing cool air from the porches while venting hot the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The honor ended the 53-year air upward through the tower. Eleven courthouses followed Gor- career of the architect who signed his work J. Riely Gordon and don’s “Signature Plan,” according to a list in Meister’s book. got his start in Texas. After the 1893 fair, Gordon continued his work in Texas, design- Sheryl Smith-Rodgers of Blanco blogs about her gardening adventures

ing 13 more courthouses. Brazoria (demolished), Hopkins, Gon- at sherylsmithrodgers.blogspot.com. MCLENNAN COURTHOUSE: AMBER NOVAK. BEXAR COURTHOUSE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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*Offer valid on 3 Day Blinds brand products only, excluding shutters and special orders. Buy 1 qualifying window covering and receive the 2nd qualifying window covering of equal or lesser value at 50% off! Offer excludes installation, sales tax, shipping and handling. Not valid on previous purchases or with any other offer or discount. Offer Code BGXB. Expires 3/31/20. 3 Day Blinds LLC has the following licenses: AZ ROC 321056, CA #1005986, CT HIC.0644950, NJ #13VH09390200, OR #209181, PA #PA107656, WA #3DAYBDB842KS, Nassau County, NY Home Improvement License H01073101, Rockland County, NY #H-12401-34-00-00. © 2020 3 Day Blinds LLC. WOMAN INpower She argued before the U.S. Supreme Court as (NLC) for on-site training. Our safety and training the ﬁ rst female solicitor general for the state of staff are working closely with instructors from Texas. Now, she’s leading the country’s largest NLC on this effort. There’s a national shortage of electric cooperative as PEC’s ﬁ rst female CEO. journeyworkers, but we have a great opportunity to We sat down with Julie C. Parsley to talk about recruit right here in our service territory. It’s going to business, caring for PEC members, and what make a huge difference to our members and she enjoys most about the job. our employees.

You've been at PEC for two years and accomplished What are your hobbies outside of work? so much. What's your vision for the cooperative? I have always loved to create butterﬂ y gardens. In When I started, ensuring stability for employees and the spring, I like to plant nectar and larval plants, the co-op was of utmost importance to me. Looking and have even gone so far as to bring caterpillars forward, it's my goal to make certain that PEC indoors to protect them. That's why I’m excited about continues to be a strong, vibrant cooperative. We PEC's efforts to protect monarchs, including our need to be sustainable and have a resilient system new monarch way station at our headquarters in that can manage any changes in the electric market. Johnson City. This project features native plants and supports monarch migration through Central Texas. What's the best part of your job? I have to say, it’s working with our employees and You're from Baytown, Texas, but what do you like seeing their dedication to our membership. Everyone most about Central Texas? truly cares, and it’s a great feeling knowing we serve I love the Hill Country! It’s absolutely beautiful, the more than one million people in our footprint and people are great, and there’s always something fun to that all of our employees do their very best for them. do. We’re experiencing historic member growth, and it’s apparent that others are also recognizing this is a Is there a current project you’re most excited about? wonderful place to be. We have many, but what I’m really passionate about is our creation of a top-notch safety program and our partnership with the Northwest Lineman College Read the full proﬁ le at pec.coop/ceo.

18 Texas Co-op Power PEDERNALES ELECTRIC January 2020

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 2 12/12/19 1:42 PM JULIE C. PARSLEY PEC Chief Executive Offi cer

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 3 12/6/19 8:38 AM FULL STEM How the Science Mill is empowering learning with help AHEAD from a PEC Community Grant. Go to the heart of the Texas Hill Country, “These grants help further our mission to and you'll fi nd the Science Mill — a family create a world where all kids have equitable destination in Johnson City offering a fun, access to STEM programs and can aspire hands-on learning experience for all ages. to STEM careers,” Science Mill Director of In the spring of 2017, the Science Mill Operations Portia Marchman said. received a $5,000 PEC Community Grant that funded an exciting new interactive element at That mission explains how a world-class the museum. science museum ended up in the small town of Johnson City. “The Science Mill is The grant was used to purchase 30 tablets deeply committed to bringing opportunities to power the Science Mill’s virtual Avatar to students who have traditionally been Experience. The system uses face-morphing underrepresented in STEM fi elds — technology to let students create a virtual specifi cally kids living in rural communities, character of themselves that guides girls, minorities, and underserved and low- them through the exhibits in the museum income children,” Marchman said. — allowing them to “see” themselves in science, technology, engineering, and math For PEC, those communities are not just (STEM) careers. About 120,000 visitors have part of our service area, they're our homes. accessed the Avatar Experience since it That's why we award community grants to launched in June 2017. organizations that help make them stronger.

PEC AWARDS RECORD GRANT FUNDS IN FALL 2019 Thanks to donations from generous members through our Power of Change program, we awarded $30,000 in PEC Community Grants — the most ever — to these deserving recipients:

Austin Steam Blanco County Emergency Blanco Good Train Association Services Auxiliary Samaritan Center Power car Computer-aided Energy-efﬁ cient restoration project dispatching software lighting and insulation

CASA of Central Texas Hill Country Children’s Kempner Volunteer New training and Advocacy Center Fire Department support center IT equipment New volunteer and infrastructure EMS branch

Enroll in Power of Change today at pec.coop/power-of-change.

20 Texas Co-op Power PEDERNALES ELECTRIC January 2020

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 4 12/12/19 1:42 PM Science Mill Director of Operations Portia Marchman helps visitor Brantley Johnson navigate the Avatar Experience.

January 2020 PEDERNALES ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power 21

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 5 12/6/19 8:38 AM Team PEC at International Lineman’s Rodeo, from left to right: Jayce Johnson, Derek Morgan, Charley Goines, Asuncion Menchaca, Darren Donhauser, Nick Morris, Chris Gerchman, Evan Bradfield, Neil Dodson, Garrit Afman, Caleb Brodock, and Joshua Herrick. Strong showing for PEC at International Lineman’s Rodeo Apprentices shine against world’s best

On Oct. 19, PEC lineworker apprentices and PEC’s top-five finishes: journeyworker teams competed against the best in the world at the International Lineman’s Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Apprentice Best of the Best: Apprentices did particularly well, with seven top-five Darren Donhauser, finishes across five different categories. Apprentice third place Lineworker Darren Donhauser took home third place in the Best of the Best category; an incredible performance against more than 320 competitors. Overall Apprentice, Cooperative Division: Darren Donhauser, first place “It makes you so proud, walking across that world Caleb Brodock, third place stage to bring something home for your cooperative,” Garrit Afman, fifth place Donhauser said. “It’s a huge team accomplishment. Competing is something I do individually, but training Apprentice Speed Climb: is nowhere near an individual task. Celebrating with Garrit Afman, second place your team and seeing how excited everyone gets, it’s a feeling I really can’t describe.” Apprentice Mystery Event PEC’s strong performance demonstrates our No. 1, Rope Splice: lineworkers’ drive to excel in their work, and comes on Darren Donhauser, fifth place the heels of winning an incredible 18 trophies at July’s Texas Lineman’s Rodeo. Apprentice Mystery Event No. 2, Replace Insulator Armor Rod: Congratulations to all on a great rodeo! Darren Donhauser, second place

22 Texas Co-op Power PEDERNALES ELECTRIC January 2020

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 6 12/6/19 8:38 AM pec.coop

Switch to ENERGY STAR® Upgrade your home's fi ve most frequently used lightbulbs to ENERGY 1 STAR and save up to $75 per year.

Resolve Install a smart thermostat Buying and installing a smart to save thermostat can help cut your annual heating and cooling costs by as much in 2020 2 as 10%. Commit to energy savings with three Lower your water heater setting Set your water heater temperature easy tips. to 120 degrees, and install a timer to 3 turn off the unit when it's not in use.

PEC by the numbers

973 kWh November average residential use

It's space heater season! Our offi ces will be closed $106.36 Jan. 20 November average Follow these tips to stay safe in observance of residential bill and warm: Martin Luther King Jr. Day • Plug directly into the wall • When in use, never leave To report a service interruption, 328,360 unattended please call 888-883-3379. Active accounts • Keep at least 3 feet away from As of Nov. 30, 2019 ﬂ ammable materials • Set on a ﬂ at, stable surface

January 2020 PEDERNALES ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power 23

PEC TCP 2020 01.indd 7 12/6/19 8:38 AM Observations

Four Walls and the Truth

How do we define our possessions, and what do they say about us?

BY RHONDA REINHART In the fall of 1998, Lyle Lovett re- From artworks purchased on trips to leased a double album of cover songs writ- far-flung locales to heirloom furnishings ten by fellow Texas musicians. The title passed down through generations, the track, Guy Clark’s Step Inside This House, items that populate people’s homes are was one of my favorites, and I played it on windows into their personalities, values repeat. In the song, Clark’s narrator leads and histories. They’re so personal and a woman—a love interest, presumably— intimate that I’m honestly surprised every through his house, pointing out treasures time someone opens the door to me (a and giving brief but poignant explanations stranger with a tape recorder) and pro- of how he acquired each one. ceeds to release the secrets of his or her I listened to the song so many times belongings. that autumn that I had the man’s house As die-hard Aggies like to say, “From memorized, and even though I’d heard the the outside looking in, you can’t under- tune a hundred times, I felt the same sting stand it.” That’s true of Texas A&M culture, each time Lovett sang about the painting but it’s also true of houses. On the outside, a down-on-his-luck friend had given the they’re a mystery, but once inside those homeowner. “It doesn’t look like much, four walls, little—and sometimes big— I guess/But it’s all that’s left of him” still truths are revealed. gets me. The minimalists among us may argue Back then, I had just graduated from that material things are a distraction and journalism school at Texas A&M Univer- will never lead to happiness, but I’m not sity—Lovett’s alma mater—and I had no sure about that. When a homeowner on idea where my career would take me. As Long Island told me about the 12-foot- it turns out, many years later, I would long cabinet she dragged out of a barn become an editor for one shelter maga- in pieces, painstakingly refinished and zine, then another, then a freelance writer placed in her kitchen, her voice filled with focusing on interior design and archi- pride. From that short aside, I could tell tecture. that the cabinet, once a fixture in a local Maybe all those spins of Step Inside ice cream parlor, never failed to spark joy. This House were job training because, And when a homeowner in Dallas somehow, I now make a living listening as showed me a series of black-and-white people tell me stories about the treasures photos she had framed and displayed in their homes. While it’s true that no prominently in her family room, it was homeowner has given me a quote as forth- clear she cherished each and every one. coming as the one Clark wrote about a The images depicted work her grand- book of poems a young woman gave our father had done for NASA, where he was dear narrator—“It’s funny how I love that employed as an engineer. When he retired, book/And I never loved that girl”—the NASA gave him the photos, and they stories I hear often stick with me. were handed down to his granddaughter.

24 Texas Co-op Power January 2020 TexasCoopPower.com Looking around my house, I realize it’s it on to me. With titles such as Fairy the stacks of books that reveal the most Tales and Fables, Myths and Legends, and about me. Most of my shelves teem with Stories of Wonder and Magic, the rainbow- bulky volumes on architecture and inte- colored hardcovers enthralled this small- rior design—they’re tools of the trade, town kid whose books were windows to sure, but they’re also glimpses into how worlds far beyond the city limits of Liv- other people live. On other shelves in the ingston, Texas. From my most tattered house, you can trace my reading prefer- paperback to my heaviest coffee-table ences from elementary school. tome—and especially that set of children’s Over the years, there was a memoir stories—these books are among my most phase, a true crime phase and a thriller prized possessions. phase. There was also a Stephen King When I scan the shelves, I think of phase that started around 1988 and hasn’t Lovett’s voice and Clark’s words: “I’ll show ended yet. Some books I keep around for you all the things that I own /My treasures, sentimental reasons, such as my 1958 you might say/It couldn’t be more than 10 set of Collier’s The Junior Classics. The dollars’ worth / That brighten up my day.” 10-volume collection belonged to my Writer Rhonda Reinhart covers interior design

KIRSTEN ULVE mother when she was a girl, and she passed and architecture.

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JERRY REICHERT HOBBY CRAFTERS makes wooden toys as charity donations for children. POWER OF OUR PEOPLE | DECEMBER 2019 TEXAS CO-OP POWER GIFT SHOP POWER OF OUR Find Texas Treasures Online Texas food, music, housewares, gifts and more—find it all at TexasCoopPower.com/shop, PEOPLE along with great deals for Texas Co-op Power readers.

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Texas History Ghost Dogs of Orozimbo

The tale of a trio of dogs ‘guarding’ Santa Anna continues long past turning point in history

BY MARTHA DEERINGER

Orozimbo Plantation, a sprawling cotton farm in west central Brazoria County, was home to Dr. James Aeneas Phelps and his wife, who both arrived in Texas with Stephen F. Austin’s original colonists in 1822. In 1836, their mansion would serve as a prison for Antonio López de Santa Anna. Phelps had served as a surgeon for the Texian Army at San Jacinto and observed the capture of Santa Anna, whose ruthless executions of Texians at the Alamo and Goliad prompted demands for the Mexican general’s death. But Sam Houston recognized that the notorious prisoner was worth more to Texas alive, so Santa Anna was taken to Orozimbo, where Phelps man- aged his care after an attempted suicide. One wintry night, an officer of the Mex- told the description of the canines and glimpses of the dogs as they wandered ican military organized a group of riders claimed that the dogs had been the much- silently in the woods near Orozimbo. to free Santa Anna. Everyone at the plan- loved companions of a man who lived near Three ghostly dogs fitting the same tation was asleep, except the general, who Washington-on-the-Brazos. When the description reportedly were seen by a man had ostensibly received word of the plan. dogs’ owner left to join the fight for inde- and his wife as recently as 1974 near the Just before dawn, as the riders approached pendence, his dogs refused to eat or return cemetery and ancient oak tree that are the the plantation, a frantic baying of hounds to the house. When the animals disap- last remnants of the fabled plantation. disrupted the early morning silence and peared, neighbors told the story that they Nearly 150 years after the event, roused the guards. The riders withdrew, were looking for their master, who had Catherine Munson Foster wrote of the abandoning the rescue. been killed at Goliad. canine apparitions in the spring 1984 edi- But Orozimbo Plantation kept no dogs, For the next decade, settlers occasion- tion of Texas Heritage magazine. “There and for miles around, there were no neigh- ally spotted the dogs in the forest near are those who believe, or say they believe, bors who had dogs. A servant had purport- Orozimbo. Except for the night of Santa that the ghost dogs of Orozimbo are the edly seen the creatures and described Anna’s attempted escape, they were al- same animals still standing guard, alert them as strange, wild-looking animals ways silent. The legend of the ghost dogs to give the alarm should the specter of with frightening eyes. There were three and their desperate search for their master a long-dead Santa Anna make another of them, all a dingy white. Two had shaggy added an aura of mystery to the story of attempt to escape.” coats and one appeared hairless. Santa Anna’s imprisonment. Read more of Martha Deeringer’s writing at

EVA VÁZQUEZ Months later, a passing traveler was Residents of West Columbia caught marthadeeringer.com.

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Recipes New Year’s Resolution

A new year brings promises from most of our lips to make healthier choices. Food is an obvious place to start, and it can be an easy place, too, if you make just a few small changes. One of those can be simply adding more fresh vegetables to every meal. Megan Myers, a Texas foodie who will take over as Texas Co-op Power food editor next month, writes Stetted (stetted.com), a food blog. “I focus on fresh ingredients and uncomplicated flavors, with spins that keep mealtime interesting,” Myers says. “Real food is possible, even for busy moms like me.” For her, learning to cook healthier meals “was the evolution of figuring out the best flavors from the ingredients we have here in Texas. I also want to make sure my kids are experiencing a wide range of foods, and cooking healthier at home helps balance out those post-soccer and party meals.” Myers’ Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Chickpeas and Kale, served warm, makes a light, healthy meal or a flavorful side for a lean protein. Her Spicy Glazed Brussels Sprouts are another great way to add more fresh winter vegetables to your diet. SHANNON OELRICH, FOOD EDITOR

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Chickpeas and Kale 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided use ¼ teaspoon salt, divided use ⅛ teaspoon paprika 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas 2 cups packed torn kale 2 tablespoons minced red onion 2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

MEGAN MYERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 31 Recipes startsto brown. heat.Cook the diced onion in oil until it heat1tablespoon oil over medium-high 2. 1. ½ ¼ kale chopped cups 1½–2 use divided salt, teaspoons 1–2 2 2 1 2 VeggieNoodle Bowl Garlic-Parmesan Quick& Healthy topped with your choice of protein.of yourchoice with topped when satisfying especially and weeknightmeal healthy a greatfor is bowl veggie noodle this NewYear’s Resolutions ized butternut squash noodles squash butternut ized Add noodles, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt teaspoon ½ noodles,garlic, Add Inan extra-large nonstick pan or wok, and the name of the contestyouthe areentering. of name the and ENTER ONLINE ENTER 10. January is deadline The wine.cooked with dishes or pairings yourbest us HarvestSend . contestrecipeis June’stopic Colorado St., 24thFloor,Colorado78701;TXSt., Austin, Includeyour name, address and phone number, plus your co-op $100 Recipe Contest Recipe $100 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese gratedfreshlyParmesan cup basil fresh chopped cup clovesminced garlic, spiral- each) (10.7ounces packages diced onion, white use divided oliveoil, tablespoons at TexasCoopPower.com/contests;at IF YOUR RECIPE IS FEATURED, FEATURED, IS RECIPE YOUR IF YOU’LL WIN A A WIN YOU’LL THIS MONTH’S RECIPE CONTEST WINNER CONTEST RECIPE MONTH’S THIS already use them, you can add this recipe to yourrepertoire.torecipequick, this and Easyadd youcan them, use already you can use this month’s winning recipe as a great starting point. If youIf point. greatstarting a as recipe winning month’s this use youcan HALEY FEUERBACHER FEUERBACHER HALEY Spiralized noodles have been all the rage lately.rage the youthem, haven’tall haveSpiralizedIf tried been noodles TCP FAX TexasWine APRON! to (512) 763-3401.(512)to MAIL to 1122 to | COSERV COSERV | stirin Parmesan. sautéed,remove pan from heat and addmore salt if desired. evencooking. Taste for seasoning and spoonsalt, stirring thoroughly for addkale, basil tea- and another ½ nut squash noodles by using a spiralizer. a using by noodles squash nut COOK’STIP a 4. 3. browned noodles. softbe should with some crispy texture The cooked. thoroughly are noodles until or minutes 6 mately occasionally,stirring approxi-for Cook, oil. olive of remainder and Serves4. Inthe last 2–3 minutes of cooking, Oncethe noodles are thoroughly Youyourmakebutter-own can set aside. set and bowl large a into kale the Put drain. let and sink the over colander are done. are potatoes until heat low veryKeepover emulsified. is dressing until oil olive ing remain- in whisk slowly warmed, Once low.over heat and salt, teaspoon ⅛ remaining honey,and pepper black mustard, vinegar,juice, onion, lemon sauceis sticky and caramelized. panto the oven 5more minutes, until roastedsprouts and stir to coat. Return jang,honey and soy sauce. Pour over 18 minutes, stirring halfway through. halfwayminutes,stirring 18 Roast paprika. and salt teaspoon ⅛ with Sprinkle sheet. baking rimmed a on spread then oil, olive teaspoon 1 20minutes, stirring halfway through. andspread on abaking sheet. Roast bit. a softened has kale the once potatoes.Serve the mash not to the chickpeas.the over pour then time, more one dressing chickpeas.Whisk drained add then and it can be easily ordered online. ordered easily be can it and stores, grocery most of section foods Asian 4. 3. 2. 1. ⅛ 1 1 2 PAGEFROM CONTINUED 31 COOK’STIP a 3. 2. quarter. endsfrom Brussels sprouts and halve or 1. 2 1 2 2 1 Sprouts Brussels Glazed Spicy 6. 5. paste) Serves4. Preheatoven to 375 degrees. Trim Preheat oven to 400 degrees.400 to oven Preheat Pour cooked potatoes on top of kale, of top on potatoes Pourcooked Meanwhile, pour chickpeas into a into chickpeas Meanwhile,pour Inasmall bowl, whisk together gochu- Tossin sweetpotatoes diced TossBrussels sprouts with olive oil evenly,coat care to saladtaking Stir In a small saucepan, combine red combine saucepan, small a In teaspoon ground black pepper black groundteaspoon honeyteaspoon mustardcoarseteaspoon juice lemon teaspoons teaspoons soysauceteaspoons honey tablespoon chile (red gochujang tablespoons oliveoil tablespoons sprouts Brussels pound You can find gochujang in the in gochujang find You can a Serves2–4. TexasCoopPower.com

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3–4 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock, divided use ½ teaspoon dried thyme Salt and pepper, to taste Top Tips for a Healthy New Year Greek yogurt (optional) Resolve to make small changes, which your resolution 90% of the time, make are easier to maintain than sweeping your reward something related to it. 1. Heat olive oil in a stockpot over changes. For example, if you’re not Healthier diet? Get yourself a cool new medium heat. Add onion and cook until already a runner, don’t sign up for a piece of cooking equipment. Went on soft. Add carrots and cook another 5 min- marathon, but do resolve to go for a more walks? Buy new athletic shoes. utes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. walk three times a week. 2. Add 6 cups of stock and the thyme, salt Don’t beat yourself up if you stumble. and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce It’s easier to add things than take them If you break your resolution, try to start heat and simmer 20 minutes or until away. Want to make your diet healthier? it again as soon as you can. If you slip carrots are soft. Resolve to have at least two types of up on a weekend, start again on Monday. 3. Purée the soup in a blender. Add vegetables at lunch and dinner. If your blunder is midweek, use the additional stock for desired consistency. Reward yourself for progress. If you get weekend as your reset. Simmer an additional 30 minutes. Serve to the end of January and have kept SHANNON OELRICH hot with a dollop of Greek yogurt. a Serves 8–10.

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

g JESSIKA MORRIS, Navasota Valley EC: “This photo d TRAVIS LACOSS, Peder- was captured while my daughter Dixie was leaning nales EC: The Rita Blanca over a barbed wire fence so that she could get to National Grasslands in the know one of the newest horses on the farm.” Panhandle.

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UPCOMING CONTESTS

MAY FAIRS AND CARNIVALS DUE JANUARY 10

JUNE STATE PARKS DUE FEBRUARY 10

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Enter online at TexasCoopPower.com/Contests.

TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 35 Around Texas Event Calendar Surfside Beach Dunes Day, (979) 864-1152, brazosport.org 21 January Lufkin Ladysmith Black Mambazo, 11 (936) 633-5454, angelinaarts.org Kerrville Out of This World: Music of the Cos- mos, (830) 792-7469, symphonyofthehills.org 23 Richardson Todd Mosby and the New Horizons San Angelo Family Day Mystery at the Ensemble, (972) 744-4650, eisemanncenter.com Museum, (325) 653-3333, samfa.org

16 January 24–25 Corsicana Reflections of Patsy Cline, Jefferson (903) 874-7792, corsicanapalace.com Quilt Show Tyler An Evening With Rita Moreno, Legend of Stage and Screen; (903) 566-7424; Pick of the Month cowancenter.org Hill Country Gem & Mineral Show 17 Lubbock [17–18] Symphony Masterworks Fredericksburg January 18–19 Series: Grieg’s Beloved Piano Concerto, (325) 248-1067, fredericksburgrockhounds.org (806) 762-1688, visitlubbock.org This annual show by the Fredericksburg Rockhounds, at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, features dealers, demonstrations, rock 18 cutting and activities for children. The Rock- Brenham Uptown Swirl in Downtown Bren- hounds’ monthly meetings include rock ham, (979) 337-7582, downtownbrenham.com swaps and field trips for rock hunting and Luckenbach Blues Festival, (830) 997-3224, to museums. luckenbachtexas.com

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HILL COUNTRY ANTIQUE TRACTOR AND ENGINE CLUB FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS AROUND TEXAS EVENT CALENDAR

Gas Up and Go! Fairs, festivals, food and family fun! It’s all listed under the Events tab on our website. Pick your region. Pick your month. APRIL 18 Pick your event. With hundreds TRACTOR AND ENGINE SHOW Bluebonnet Tractor Ride of events throughout Texas listed GILLESPIE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS every month,TexasCoopPower.com has something for everyone. MAY 16 FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS NEW Featuring HWH Sled Modified Tractors and Trucks OCTOBER 10 Tractors, Engine Displays, Demos and More | Participants Welcome Fall Foliage Tractor Ride rustyiron.net | 830-889-0070 PLAN YOUR TRIP TODAY AT Facebook: Hill Country Antique Tractor and Engine Club TexasCoopPower.com

36 Texas Co-op Power January 2020 TexasCoopPower.com 24 February Marshall Farewell Angelina, (903) 934-7992, memorialcityhall.com 1 Jefferson [24–25] Quilt Show, Crockett Asleep at the Wheel, (903) 935-2235, jeffersonquiltshow.com (936) 544-4276, pwfaa.org New Braunfels [24–25] Patty Griffin, San Antonio Asian Festival, (830) 606-1281, gruenehall.thundertix.com (210) 458-2224, texancultures.com 25 4 Bandera Grace Lutheran Church College Station Steep Canyon Rangers, Wild Game Dinner, (830) 796-3091, (979) 845-1234, mscopas.org gracebandera.weebly.com Edna Brackenridge Winter Carnival 5 and Snow Day, (361) 782-5456, Laredo [5–8] Birding Festival, brackenridgepark.com (956) 718-1063, laredobirdingfestival.org Fredericksburg Hill Country Indian Artifact Show, (830) 626-5561, 7 hillcountryindianartifacts.com Grand Prairie [7–9] Trolls Live!, (972) 854-5050, theatregp.com Ozona Permian Basin Square and January 25 Round Dance Association Winterfest, Edna Ennis [7–8, 14–15, 21–23] Forever, (432) 685-3266, squaredancetx.com Brackenridge Winter (972) 878-5126, theatrerocks.com Carnival and Snow Day 30 Boerne Voctave, (830) 331-9079, Submit Your Event! boerneperformingarts.com 31 We pick events for the magazine directly from Galveston We the People, 1-800-821-1894, Canton [31–Feb. 2] Battle on the Mountain, TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event online thegrand.com (318) 455-4489, facebook.com/9thtexascanton for March by January 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar.

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TexasCoopPower.com January 2020 Texas Co-op Power 37 Hit the Road With Chet Garner Must See Sequel Hill Country Arts Foundation makes Ingram’s Stonehenge II accessible

I’ve found that the sequel is rarely better than the original. Movies like Jaws: The Revenge support this conclu- sion. But sometimes a second act sur- passes the first, and this happened when two Texans used a truckload of plaster to construct Stonehenge II, a monument that’s better than the original because it’s here in Texas. Chet checks out he looked at it and The Hill Country Arts Foundation pur- On a sweltering summer day, I tripped Stonehenge II thought, “Wow, that chased the entire installation and moved out to the Texas Hill Country, 5 miles west in Ingram. looks like Stonehenge.” it to its present location on the river. To of Kerrville, to visit Ingram. Most visitors Hill agreed, and soon make the site even more curious, it also come to splash in the Guadalupe River or they constructed the first arch out of plas- moved Shepperd’s replicas of the Easter to relax on its cypress-lined banks. But I ter and chicken wire. It looked so good Island stone heads, which now stand like was on a mission to see a Texas version of that they didn’t want to stop. Within a few guardians protecting Stonehenge II. one of the world’s iconic stone structures. years, the men had built Stonehenge II, Stonehenge I and II remain shrouded The original Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, and visitors came from all over the world. in mystery. With England’s Stonehenge, England, was built around 2500 B.C. It The hit TV show Friday Night Lights even we wonder how and why the ancient fascinates Americans, and there are two filmed an episode on-site. people built it. With Ingram’s Stonehenge dozen Stonehenge replicas in the United Standing near the arches, I was amazed II, we know the how but could still spend States. I wanted to know what separates by how much work went into building hours pondering why a couple of buddies Stonehenge II from the rest. these incredible structures. Even though would dedicate endless hours toward this I followed the Guadalupe and arrived it’s only 90% as wide as the original Stone- project. at the Hill Country Arts Foundation. henge and 60% as tall, all the arches are It may seem complicated, but for those There, in a crunchy field of dry grass, stood intact. And unlike the original Stone- of us who’ve spent enough time in Texas, 30 interlocking arches encircling five free- henge, there are no barriers restricting we know the reason. It’s simply the Texas standing ones. All were between 8 and 12 access. Anyone can walk among the be- heat, which can make our brains do some feet tall. hemoth “stones” and imagine the real mighty crazy things. And that’s enough My first question was “Why in the Stonehenge when its builders established explanation for me. world is this here?” The answer begins it millennia ago. Chet Garner shares his Texplorations as the with Al Shepperd, who received a large Stonehenge II was originally con- host of The Daytripper on PBS. limestone slab from his buddy Doug structed on Shepperd’s property in Hunt. Hill. Rather than use the stone as land- After his death, the family decided to sell . WEB EXTRAS a Read this story on our scaping, Shepperd dug a hole and stood the property and feared that the new own- website to see Chet’s video of his visit

the slab upright as a monolith. Every day ers might not appreciate this quirky art. to Stonehenge II in Ingram. TODD WHITE | COURTESY CHET GARNER

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