News from the Round Table at Pouland's

Written by Sandra Pouland
Published by The Diboll Free Press

February 17, 2014

February 17, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

What writer wouldn’t be pleased to know they have 22 million readers? Tracy (Maxey) Cox can say that after her thoughts were read on February 19^th in the Methodist daily devotional, The Upper Room. According to the Internet this little book has been translated around the world and has more than 22 million readers a day. Her devotional was taken from Matthew 17 about faith that can move mountains. Tracy’s application is different than most. “In my vision, I am pushing a wheelbarrow and carrying a shovel. I’m moving my mountain one rock at a time. If it is God’s will we can call on our faith in God’s power to move mountains, rock by rock.” That’s good!! Tracey’s proud parents are Clyde and Linda Maxey who raised her in the Diboll United Methodist Church. She is married to Jim Cox and they have two children; Kelsey, age 11 and Gavin, age 8. They live in North Ft. Worth and attend Alliance Methodist Church in Keller, Texas.

The most unusual Valentine’s gift would have to be Christi Quarles’. It seems Christi loves donkeys and hopes one day to own a real miniature donkey. So, on Valentine’s Day she was thrilled, even though it was “yard art”, to find a little white donkey in her flower bed.

The most thoughtful Valentine’s gift was for Darlene Kee when her husband Donnie prepared a candlelight dinner for two of filet mignon, baked potato and coconut pie for dessert. Donnie had been at the round table earlier in the day visiting with Woody Ingram and John Ralph about his gliding experiences. Valentine’s Day was absolutely beautiful and when asked, “Why aren’t you gliding today”, Donnie said, “I know better than to choose gliding over Darlene’s day.” Donnie Kee sold his insurance agency and is now fully and joyfully retired. For years he loved scuba diving and trained many people how to dive including Darlene who eventually loved it and actually chased a shark. Darlene does not share Donnie’s love for gliding. He keeps his glider near Katy and goes every opportunity he can. On his Facebook page, he has a short video from a camera inside the cockpit; it’s very impressive! Although he’s never had to use it, I heard him say, “Parachutes are required to be “repacked” every 180 days and replaced every 20 years”.

Enjoyed visiting with James and Amber Paulette from Angleton when they stopped by for him to buy a new Spin cast feeder. They are retired and came to “help out” at a ball tournament for their granddaughter who plays on Hudson’s Junior Varsity. Her parents, Bo and Paige Paulette were both having to work so her grandparents volunteered to work in their place. Before they left the store, James was surprised to see and visit with an old friend, Sandy Bate.

Andrea cooked a hefty amount of “Firehouse Spaghetti” one day; enough for the “Teacher Appreciation” meal at the high school and also for our lunch. Joining us for lunch that day was DOT Trooper Joe Cole who was off duty. Joe grew up in Beulah and enjoyed visiting at the round table with brothers, Barley and Dennis Lenderman, who also grew up in Beulah. They all reminisced about eating “moon pies” at C.B’s Grocery store. Tom Squyres was also sitting at the table and remembered the boys sitting in his lap when he played “Santa” at the Beulah Community Center.

Sue Baker also helped with the Teacher Appreciation dinner at the high school and after eating the Firehouse Spaghetti, came by later for the recipe.

Donnis Bergman, a 1942 graduate of Corrigan high school stopped by one cold day looking for an insulated vest. While visiting with him he said he remembered in his younger days coming to the Antler Hotel to dance with the pretty girls.

The DHS Alumni Association needs help in locating past DISD Employees. A reception to honor both past and present DISD Employees will be held on Diboll Day, October 4, 2014. The event will precede the “All Years’ Reunion Dance. Please let the association know if you can provide addresses or contact information on any of the following employees. From the 60’s: John Beasley, Cecil Couch, Mary Christopher, Nancy Cummings, Saddie Davis, Vivian Hickerson, Lucy Hill, William Johnson, Mrs. Billy Latham, Raymond Manchester, Jerry Modisette, Claude Redman, Lynette Walker, Stephen Wheeler. Employees from the 70’s: Joe Barron, Pam Clayton, Barbara Hall, Mary Ann Hall, Kathryn Holberg, Lavine Howard, Maderia Latham, Taddy Maddox, Richard Sheridan, Gloria Singletary, Ginger Smith, Mylinda Smith, Chery Sutherland, Frances Terry, Gloria Webb and Alice Wyatt.

If you have information on any of these, please call Fran McClain 936-829-2779 or email her at fr****@**********ed.net or send her a message on Facebook.

Thursday evening, February 20^th at 5:30 in the Temple Library, The Diboll Business Association invites everyone to attend the results of The Diboll Free Press’ “The Favorites of 75941 Survey”. The recipients of the awards will be announced with a reception to follow. Come find out “Who is the Favorite….”

Just have to brag a bit about my granddaughter, Hiliary Cheyenne Swor. I can’t believe she’s already 16 and a veteran at exhibiting her animals but her heifer named “Katniss” (from the Hunger Games) “brought home the bacon” for Cheyenne. At the San Antonio Stock Show “Katniss”, an American Registered Breed, was 1^st in her Class; 1^st in her Division and was Reserve Grand Champion winning a $10,000 scholarship for Cheyenne. We are very proud for her and her parents, Kevin and Andrea Swor.

Aran Greene and Dalene Merrel have been out in the county advertising the upcoming PINEYWOODS CHILDREN’S CONSIGNMENT SALE. It is a children’s clothing sale of gently used spring and summer clothes, shoes, toys baby furniture, nursery décor, outdoor play equipment, books, movies, maternity items and much more. So, shop and save on great deals at great prices. The event will be February 20-22 at Abrams in downtown Lufkin. Thursday and Friday 10AM-6PM and Saturday, 8AM-3PM

This Saturday, February 22^nd is the date of Moye’s Catering Going- Out-of-Business Auction at their kitchen facilities on Highway 59. The auction will be from 10AM until 2PM and it will be the last time to enjoy some of Moye’s good BBQ as they plan to serve lunch.

You might want to mark your calendars on April 5^th for the Angelina County Master Gardeners Annual Plant Sale which will begin at 8AM until 2PM at the Farmers Market on the loop in Lufkin. According to the member that sent me this notice, Carol Chalfant, it will be a good time to replace those plants that did not make it through our many freezes this year. I will remind you readers again as the time approaches.

A more recent date to remember is next Wednesday, February 26^th if you need fingerlings to stock your pond. The Fish Truck will be in our parking lot from noon to 1PM.

Come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: February 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

February 10, 2014

February 10, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

Jessie Conner celebrated her 87^th birthday on February 8^th at home with almost all of her family members present. The theme was “Marti Gras” and Jessie enjoyed wearing the typical mask. Daughter Carolyn Smith was sick and had to depend on her sister-in-law, Diane Conner, and sister Glenda Richardson, to tend to the details. Enjoying the birthday cake, pizza, fun and festivities were Robert and Diane Conner; Glenda and John Richardson; Arlie and Autumn Conner; Crystal and Josh Ellis and children; Ashley, Stephen and children; Darina, Brad, Laurie and Kevin Delaney and children. Special guests were Jessie’s brother and sister-in-law. Pete and Ernestine Conner.

Denise Wilson, owner of The Cowboy and the Princess stables, was thrilled that her sister, Val Sinke, from Canada arrived during a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid 50’s. Denise has lived here 20 years and this was Val’s first visit to East Texas. These two along with four other sisters lived in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Four of the sisters grew up equestrians and continue to enjoy horses. In fact, that’s what brought Val and three of her young riders-in-training to Texas, to participate at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. Traveling with her were her niece 15-year-old Taye; 13-year-old Lilly and 11-year-old Kate, all are trained Hunter-Jumpers and will be competing for the pony finals.

Val Sinke and her husband and family live outside Woodstock, Canada on their Eden Ridge Farm above their Hunter-Jumper Show Barn which is quite common in that area. Canada is experiencing the coldest winter since the blizzard of 1976. The morning the girls left, it was -40 Celsius with snow drifts as high as their flag pole. All five horses they brought had 5 blankets each and were in a fully enclosed trailer. The trip with four girls and 5 horses from Woodstock to Burke took two 12 hour days. In Nashville, Tennessee the temperature allowed them to remove one blanket from each horse and a few hours later removed a second blanket and by the time they arrived here they didn’t need any blankets, it was 55 degrees! The girls said East Texas is not at all what they expected and are looking forward to spending two weeks seeing as much as they can.

Brooke Colwell had the day off from her nursing duties at Memorial Hospital when she came in with her son, Lewin who just celebrated his 1^st birthday on the 5^th day of February. Our 10-month-old great-granddaughter, Bristol with her beautiful red hair, was playing in the floor. Lewin was in the floor with Bristol when Brooke’s scream scared us; it was nothing bad, she was just excited to see Lewin stand up and take his first two steps!!

Marcellos Jones came in and bought SIX pounds of Spanish peanuts. He was sending them to his sister-in-law, Rhoda Faye, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I couldn’t resist asking more about her. She was a sister to Marcellos’ wife, Vera. There were three girls, Vera, Mary and Rhoda Faye; daughters of Winston and Maddie Brown and known as the “Brown girls”. They were very active at H.G. Temple School where they played basketball and Rhoda Faye was a cheerleader. I later spoke to Rhoda Faye and there is no doubt that she is proud to be from Diboll. Her mother worked for the Chandlers and named her after Rhoda Faye Chandler. They attended Shiloh Church where Rhoda Faye became an Usher and after moving away and having nine children was honored on her 80^th birthday as ”Usher of the Year for the state of Minnesota”.

Marion Abner loves to fish and better than that, he loves to cook and eat fish and invite hungry eaters to join him. We volunteered a cooker, a helper and a place to cook…here! The day just happened to be between J.D. and Sue Johnson’s birthdays, February 10^th and 12^th, so we celebrated their birthdays. J.D. helped Wayne Ward and Andrew Bass with frying the fish, French fries and hushpuppies. Those eating were: J.D. and Sue Johnson; Marion Abner; Skeeter Scarborough; Delbert Reynolds, Fran McGilvra, Bill Dean Yates, Newt and Chad Courtney; Glen McDaniel, Gary Jones who took a plate to his mother, Vera Jones and Woody Ingram who carried a plate home for Mary.

I learned that Newt Courtney and J.D. Johnson went to first grade together in Beulah. After school they would go to Steve and Margie Johnsons’, J.D.’s parents, where they would rope and try to ride Mr. Johnson’s steer calves. In later years, J.D. was a “pick up” man for local rodeos and Newt rode with the Angelina County Mounted Patrol.

It was my first time to meet Chad Courtney, who certainly favors his mother, Jeannene. Chad is like his father, a pilot, who flew 30 years for Lufkin Industries. His wife is Vicky and he also helps her in their new successful venture, Silent Partners EMR (Electronic Medical Records) Management; a service to doctors that helps with new patients’ information. They have three children; Grant and Emily live in Nacogdoches County; Matthew and Lindsey live in Big Sandy and have a 2-month-old baby daughter, Ada Marae; their daughter Annelise recently moved back from Longview and is working at Studio 319 in Lufkin.

It’s always good to visit with Billie Lamb who knows so many people from working in the school and other places. She sat at the RT while getting new tires on her car. Jim McClain showed us a picture of Judy’s valentine gift that she bought for herself; a little ball of fuzz named “Buster” who is a Maltipoo puppy.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Ken Holt. They have birthdays one week apart and both celebrated their 86^th birthday last week. Happy belated birthday to two great people.

Paula’s Pearls & More will be having a Jewelry Party on Saturday, February 22^nd 10AM-1PM at Vintage Blooms located in JR’s Barn. Vintage Blooms is now open just in time for Valentine’s Day. Stop by and look around at the gifts and flowers or call them 829-5556.

Stay warm and dry; come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: February 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

February 1, 2014

February 1, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

Richard and Jo Ann Rainwater decided to try out the newest ship in the Princess line over New Years. The Royal Princess was christened in June 2013 by the Duchess of Cambridge and is newly designed from the previous Princess ships. It features an expansive piazza area and a skywalk where you can literally walk over the water – from 16 floors above.

Setting sail on December 29 from Fort Lauderdale, the first stop was the private island of Princess Cays. New Year’s Eve was spent on the sea with the first formal night being a huge celebration topped by hundreds of multi-colored balloons being dropped three stories onto the piazza area at the stroke of midnight. When they awoke the next morning on January 1, the ship was docked at St. Thomas. Jo Ann was “convinced” by Richard that she didn’t need to be looking in any of the multitude of jewelry stores, so instead they found a great spot for lunch that was owned by a couple from Missouri. That night they watched Jo Ann’s alma mater, Baylor University, play in the Fiesta Bowl via a giant movie screen on the 16^th deck. The night was as chilly on the deck as the Baylor football team was on the field, with an unexpected loss to the University of Central Florida.

January 2 the ship docked at St. Maarten. Again, it was a time to ignore all those pleas to come into their jewelry shops and just stroll around. Having visited these islands in the past, the Rainwaters were just happy to relax and enjoy the beautiful ship. Jo Ann had to have her nightly “fix” of listening to a fabulous pianist, Ray Coussins, who dazzled the audience with amazing speed and precision on the keys, always ending with an over-the-top rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue” that brought a standing ovation each time.

Two full days at sea on the return to Fort Lauderdale on January 5 ended a nice, relaxing Caribbean cruise for the Rainwaters and began 2014 with a splash, so to speak. They highly recommend the Royal Princess and the soon-to-be christened sister ship, the Regal.

Some folks enjoy relaxing on a cruise ship while others enjoy duck hunting. Danny Havard had the cutest picture of 7-year-old Cooper Horton taken after his first successful hunt using decoys. Cooper got both a mallard hen and drake. Also hunting with them was his dad, Rayburn. The group went back before the season was to close for one more hunt but the ducks must have gotten wise and didn’t show up. Cooper also had successful year deer hunting but got his first deer when he was six!

Dwayne Harris, Kenneth and Ginger Capps’ son-in-law, came in from Dallas to enjoy the last two days of duck season. Dwayne was happy to see his Labrador retriever named Emmitt who had to leave Dwayne in the city and move to the Capps’ home in the country. Emmitt seems to enjoy living in the country and also seemed to enjoy the duck hunt as well as Dwayne and Kenneth.

Bobby Chandler, Jr. and Stephanie came in with their neighbor, Nick Willmann who lives across the street from them. Nick had the day off from Quad Graphics and had his precious 18-month-old daughter Emily with him. His wife Deanna teaches 7^th and 8^th math at Diboll ISD. Bobby Chandler, Jr. has gotten out of the classroom into the great outdoors. He owns American Lawn Services and is presently working mainly in Nacogdoches but would love to add new clients here in the Diboll area. Stephanie helps out by doing the bookkeeping. Give him a call at 936-526-0021.

Former DISD Ag teacher, Larry Poe, was in town with his wife Judy and country neighbor, Doug and Pam Spivey. All of them live in the Martinsville area out of Nacogdoches. Doug lived in Diboll until the 6^th grade; moved away and grew up to be a Game Warden although he is now retired. The foursome was in town to visit Jack and Donnie Jenkins. Donnie’s son is married to Larry’s sister.

Last weekend Angelina Animal Hospital had a vaccination clinic in our parking lot. As some of you may not know, Dr. Daniel Salas retired and sold his clinic to Dr. Lindsay Syler, a DHS, Texas A&M graduate and doctorate of veterinarian medicine. Lindsay was present of course along with others on her staff including her mom, Linda Syler and Lee Gilstrap. Lee works at Texas Timberjack and her son Clay Gilstrap is engaged to Lindsay Syler. Lee tried to explain to me about Ultra 4 Racing which Clay and his little sister Shelby have been involved in since she was 16 (she’s now 22). This type of racing is unlimited 4-wheel drive endurance and a brutal challenge racing up to 120 MPH and down to 1 MPH using gear ratios for technical rock crawling. Shelby and Clay both qualified for the Ultra 4 King of the Hammers race in in Johnson Valley, California (google it) which is February 7-8^th. The race is only 190 miles and the starting line is also the finish line. It’s expected to take 7-8 hours to finish. Lindsay is not only Clay’s fiancée but she is also his co-pilot in this race. She has been training and working out in fireproof suits which are required. As co-pilot she is the one that has to jump out and manage the winch cables when the 4-wheeler gets stuck. We wish them luck!!

Congratulations to Thomas Jones of Huntington who came in with his wife, Bobbie, to get a Case knife for his 80^th birthday.

Come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: February 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

January 27, 2014

January 27, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

It’s so seldom East Texas gets to experience a Winter Wonderland. Last Thursday night it began snowing and Friday morning everyone woke to a beautiful sight; THREE INCHES of snow! The words from the song, Winter Wonderland, are a perfect description: “In the lane snow is glistening, a beautiful sight, we’re happy today (tonight), walking in a winter wonder land, in the meadow we can build a snowman….” It was awesome with everything looking so clean, pristine and quiet except for the laughter and fun of kids playing in the snow and building snowmen. Lots of pictures were shared of snowmen around town and people playing in the snow. Jo (Roach) Smith had the day off from Brookshire’s and spent it playing with her granddaughter, Mary Catherine. They made snow angels, a snowman and had a snowball fight. Delbert Reynolds used a 4-wheeler to pull his 12-year-old son, Weston, on a homemade snow board. It was hard to stand on the board and when Weston laid on it he got a shirt full of snow. His mom Jennifer had to go to work and miss all the fun.

Jonathan Smith built a homemade sled out of a wooden pallet for his wife Bridgette and their 3-year-old son, Cole; they had a blast! Ruby Medina and her daughters, 16-year-old Bianca and 13-year-old Leslie, enjoyed using the snow on their vehicle to make a small snowman. Friday morning they made a much larger green-eyed snowman that lasted throughout the day. Thursday night when it began to snow Charlie Mann took his 12-year-old grandson Eule outside and raked enough snow off his vehicle to make a small snowman. The next morning, Eule and his twin sister, Ellie, played in the snow with their dad, Chuck Mann, and didn’t want to go to school. Bro. Kenny Hibbs made a large snowman in the backyard for granddaughter, Maddie Pesek. His wife Carrie wasn’t too crazy about Kenny waking her up during the night to get up and look at the snow and yet Carrie denies throwing a snowball at Kenny while he was still in bed.

They were home to enjoy the snow but Jan and Burlon Wilkerson have returned from a 5-day cruise out of Galveston on Carnival’s Triumph into Mexico where the climate was much warmer. Jan sent me the following details. First port of call was Progresso. We visited the Mayan Ruins of Dzibilchaltun. It was amazing to walk through the ruins and see the work these people did hundreds of years ago. Burlon climbed several of the ruins. We both got to put our feet into the water of a huge sink hole on the property. Both of our guides that day were Mayans. Following the tour we did some shopping along the pier. On Thursday we were in Cozumel for the day. Our tour that day included a trip to the Discover Mexico Park. This park is filled with miniatures of all the ruins within the country. The tour guide provided some very interesting information on the development of the country. While at the park we enjoyed a “Taco Tasting” and were able to watch a show of “Flyers.” Five men in costumes dived from a 30 foot high pole and “flew” to the ground attached to ropes that unwound as they came down. The stop also included an hour or so of shopping in the fantastic shops of Cozumel. Serious money can be spent on that island. On board the ship we enjoyed several shows, including a great magic show with the Magician “Anders.” A private party on board opened one of their performances by Matt Gumm to everyone. This was a wonderful show filled with impersonations. Of course, the food was WONDERFUL! It was a great relaxing trip and after Burlon decided he could not drive the boat or do repairs, he relaxed and had a good time. I am already planning our next trip!

Mystery “Baby D” has arrived. From the time Cassi and Stacey Davis learned they were going to be parents they made the decision not to learn whether it was a boy or a girl, so the baby was referred to as “Baby D”. The mystery was solved January 22^nd when Jase Mikel Davis made his debut at Herman Hospital in The Woodlands. He weighed an even 8 lbs. and was 20-1/2” long. His proud maternal grandparents are Karon and Dennis Lenderman. Great-grandparents are Raymond and Sophie Lenderman and Marlon and Jean Register. With all the women in that family Jase will be one spoiled little boy!!

Enjoyed visiting with Larry and Jan Porter who live on Galveston’s West Beach. They were excited about attending The Southern Heritage Ball in Houston which is sponsored by SCV, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, of which Larry is a member. When their granddaughter, Grace Edwards, was born Larry applied for her membership into the UDC, United Daughters of the Confederacy. This year, 18 years later, Grace was to be one of the four debutants introduced at the Heritage Ball which is always held in commemoration of Robert E. Lee’s birthday in January. Grace’s great-great-grandfather, William Porter was a 4-year veteran of the Civil War and also the Mexican War of 1844.

Jan Porter has retired from marketing with the Salvation Army but is directing the 4^th Annual Salvation Army of Galveston County Style Show and Luncheon. It will be March 20th at the Galveston Convention Center. Tickets are $100. For tickets or more information contact Jan Porter at 409-763-1691.

We are so happy that Andrew Bass works here at Pouland’s because his grandmother, Margie Bass, is constantly bringing him homemade goodies that she shares with us. One morning she brought an entire breakfast for everyone. She is always trying new and old tried-and-true recipes and is a wonderful cook. We also want to thank Earnest and Connie Rast for the fresh cabbage from their garden.

Sue Johnson managed to prepare us a delicious chicken and spaghetti dinner between all her visits to the hospital with her sister Mollie and brother, Bo. While Sue was gone, she left instructions with J.D. when to turn the oven on. Everything turned out perfect! While in the waiting room at Woodland Heights, she visited with friends and family of Clyde Maxey who was having surgery to replace a knee. Others there included Linda Maxey, their pastor Keith Broyles, Joe Gage, Milford Ruby, Becky Donahoe and Charles Poindexter.

Good friends to Diboll, the Jimmy Moyes, have finally retired their “Moye’s Catering Service” after spending 35 years in the business. They are having an auction at 1310 N. Temple Dr. on February 22 to sell the restaurant equipment and supplies.

Pouland’s has tickets available for the 16^th Annual National Wild Turkey Federation Banquet which is February 7^th at the Nacogdoches Civic Center. We also have $25 tickets for the 10-gun raffle.

Don’t forget to come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: January 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

January 20, 2014

January 20, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

Chris and Joe Capps both have January birthdays; hers is the 11^th and his is the 31^st. The tradition has been to have a “get together” sometime near the 31^st to celebrate both birthdays… until this year. Chris realized her birthday, January 11^th was on a Saturday and decided to throw herself a party. She invited Joe, their daughter Carmen Nerren and her daughter Helena (who’s 9 going on 29). She also invited two of Joe’s brothers and their wives, Donald and Billie Jean Capps; Kenneth and Ginger Capps; her “English” friend, Isabelle Hardy and her best friend from their home country of Germany, Brigitte Stachurski. Gerrysue Williams was also invited; she is Chris and Brigittes’ personal hair dresser.

In place of a traditional birthday cake, Chris made an authentic German cheese cake just like her mother always made for her while growing up in Germany. She said it’s better than Sam’s and NEVER put a topping on it; that would be an insult! Chris said the attendees were made up of mixed cultures and religions: There were 2 Germans; 1 English and rest Americans; there were Baptists, Methodists and Catholics and all participated in a toast with wine or ginger ale to everyone’s birthday in 2014. The party lasted all afternoon with the guys watching ballgames and the girls solving all the world’s problems and everyone agreed it was the “best party” of the year.

Cooper Horton, 7-year-old son of Kellie and Rayburn Horton rode his first bull at a Bull Riding event sponsored by the Cross Timbers Church and scored 77 points. Way to go Cooper! Loree Olson came in to buy lime for her garden and shared she got a nice 15-point buck this season. Melvin Linton, Sr. sat at the round table while having new tires mounted on his “mule”. Bill Dean Yates was in getting electrical parts when we learned he celebrated a birthday on the 18^th. Butch Parish was buying local honey. Jan Allbritton, who teaches at St. Cyprians and also writes a column for The Free Press, was in getting a flat repaired on her car. Jimmy McCall came in to buy hen scratch for the hungry birds around his house.

Three guys came in the store that we’ve never seen. They were passing through and decided to stop and see what “The Everything Store” had to offer. They were Merl Dickson, Ed Honeycutt and Richard Perot. Of course when I learned they were from West Monroe, Louisiana, I had to ask if they knew the renowned Duck Dynasty family. They did know them and Mr. Dickson who is a commercial salesman for Ryan Auto Group was involved in filming the episode where Willie’s son, John Luke, wrecked his dad’s pickup and they came to Ryan’s Auto to rent a pickup. During the filming in his small office, Mr. Dickson said there were 32 people, 5 cameras and 2 makeup artists for 8 hours to film a small segment of the 30 minute episode. He said they would film for about 30 seconds, stop, redo makeup, change clothes and film another 30 seconds or so.

Merl, Ed and Richard were all very familiar with the Robertson family and told me about Phil Robertson, the father, who attended Louisiana Tech on a football scholarship. He was a quarterback starting ahead of a guy named Terry Bradshaw but wouldn’t show up for practice. The coach told him to choose between football or hunting; he chose hunting! The saying around Monroe is “Terry Bradshaw went for the bucks; Phil went for ducks.” It was not all rosy for Phil back then. He owned a bar and was pretty bad when Mrs. Kay suggested he visit with a preacher. Phil says, “I was blown away by the story of Jesus Christ, his teachings and resurrection from the dead”. It was after becoming a Christian and getting his wife and family back together that he offers his two suggestions to a good life: 1) Love God and 2) Love each other because “at the end of the day, you’ll be “happy, happy, happy”.

Angelina Animal Hospital will be hosting a Rabies Clinic here at The Everything Store this Saturday, January 25^th, in the parking lot from 2 until 5PM. All dogs must be on a leash.

Vintage Blooms located in J.R.’s Party Barn is a new venture for Teresa Pouland. The Party Barn has been remarkably transformed into a gift shop with unique items and antiques, a flower shop and a beauty shop for now. Coming a bit later will be a sandwich shop and Roho plans to have boiled crawfish and shrimp in the back. The flower shop is taking orders for Valentine’s Day. Stop by or call 829-5556.

It’s not too early to begin thinking about gardening and getting ready for spring. Don’t forget we want to be your garden store so; come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: January 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

Former Dibollian, Dr. Ted Mullins, was home during the holidays visiting with his mom, Ruth Mullins and his sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Bob Pennington. The three were waiting for him at the airport and anticipating Ted’s flight to arrive in Houston at 10PM. He texted to let them know his plane was not going to be able to land in the stormy weather and because of fuel shortage was directed to Louisiana to refuel. It was 2 AM before his plane actually made it back to Houston and landed. The group had reservations in Austin and drove on in the wee hours of the morning. Diane was the tour guide and had planned four days of activities in Austin. They arrived back in Diboll on Christmas Eve where Ted and Ruth enjoyed Christmas dinner at I-HOP.

Sunday, December 29^th, was Ruth’s birthday. After church, Ruth, Ted and Diane (Bob was working) drove to Tyler and enjoyed a delicious birthday meal at Rudy’s BBQ and then did shopping. While he was here Ted found time to drive to Livingston to Manny’s for his favorite… hot boiled shrimp. Ted is just “Ted” when he comes home but his work staff calls him Dr. Mullins (Ph.D., Bio Services).Ted lives in the community of Jeffersonton and works for ACC in Mannesse, Virginia. Simply stated but highly classified, Ted serves as a liaison between his company and CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta, GA and Homeland Security in Washington, DC. A lot of the people Ted works with in VA look forward to his return from Texas because they love and expect him to bring them lots of peanut butter logs and Chick’O sticks from Atkinson Candy.

Saturday, January 11^th was Emma Lee Smith’s birthday. She and Joe Donald met with friends and family to celebrate with lunch at the airport. Those enjoying the food and fellowship with them were her niece and husband, Mary and Jerry Clark; longtime friends, Geraldine Pouland, Mary Lou Havard and a surprise visit from a special friend, Othal Lowery, who brought her fresh flowers. Others present were Fran McGilvra, Kathryn Chuke and DeShea Franks.

Jesse and Suzanne Bradford left for an eight-day cruise aboard the Carnival Magic on Sunday, December 8. Tuesday was the first stop in Key West, Florida. Boarding the Old Town Trolley, it took them on a tour of the island. Their drivers told all about Key West. They visited the Butterfly Conservatory and Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. One stop was to the southernmost point of the U.S.

Wednesday the ship docked in Freeport, Bahamas. They had booked a tour called “The Bahamas Seafood Culinary Experience”. They were told all about Freeport as minibuses took them to one of the beach areas. The driver said there are no taxes in Freeport. There is also no government subsidizing or welfare on the island. The crime rate is very low. There they watched a demonstration and then cooked their own island rice dish, fried conch fritters and fried conch. The group went down to the beach to listen to one of the divers tell how they dove for the conch, showing them how to get the muscle out and then made an appetizer dish out of raw conch.

Thursday was a day in Nassau, Bahamas. They booked the Atlantis Adventure Day tour. They tubed the River Rapids, rode a tube through the shark tank which Suzanne says she will never do again because it was too rough. The day ended relaxing on one of the beaches and enjoying a great aquarium there. They ran out of time for the 45-minute lazy river tubing ride.

Once they left the 40 degree weather in Galveston, most days were in the high 70’s and mid-80’s. The food on board the Carnival ship was outstanding and the service was great. Sunday it was back to reality. Suzanne said Sunday evening she kept waiting for someone to cook her dinner, pull the bed covers back and put chocolate on her pillow; it never happened!!

We have received lots of goodies from the folks running for office when they come to visit the RT. Bobby Cheshire made a hit with the homemade tea cakes that his mom, Ruth Cheshire, baked for him. He carried them to the original round table at Lufkin Farm Supply first and brought us what was left. Bob Brown, Charles Kent and the others guys must not eat like we do or else Ruthie made an extra amount of cookies. They were very good and did not go to waste.

Gabriella Roberts, a 6^th Degree Black Belt with 20 years’ experience in martial arts will be teaching a Self Defense and Spiritual Warfare class on January 25^th. It is “Art of Survival” for mothers and daughters 12:30 – 2:30 at the Clawson Assembly of God Church on Hwy 69 in Pollok.

We have tickets available for the upcoming Turkey Banquet, February 7^th, 6PM at the Nacogdoches Civic Center and we also have tickets for the 10-gun raffle.

Vintage Blooms, a flower shop and much more, located in J.R.’s Party Barn on Hwy 59 is pushing to be open by the 20^th of January in time to place orders for Valentine’s Day. It will also be a gift shop with antiques and more.

Our deepest sympathy to the family of Joe Carter Denman, Jr. He left a big footprint on Diboll and all who knew him or worked with him learned from him.

Come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: January 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's

January 6, 2014

January 6, 2014 by Sandra Pouland

December 20^th was a big day in the life of Zach Lenderman. That’s the day he graduated, along with 101 others, from being a recruit to a Texas DPS trooper. There were more than 4,600 applicants; 139 were recruited and only 102 made it to graduation. For 24 weeks the recruits endured intense training, living at the academy on a college-like campus in a military-type dorm with one small closet and one footlocker. Zach’s parents, Dennis and Karon, were present the evening before graduation for the “family night” activities. Arriving on Saturday were Zach’s grandparents: Jean and Marlon Register and Raymond and Sophie Lenderman; his sister and family, Ashley, Raul, Kylie, Kyna and Raul, Jr. Rios; his expectant sister and husband, Cassie and Stacey Davis; retired trooper and family friend, Dewayne and Gay Pruett; his cousin Mandy and Brandon Burris and sons, Mason and Tyson Burris and Jarrod Christmas, his best friend and college roommate. Barrett Duren, son of Mr. & Mrs. Dave Duren, also graduated with Zach. Retired Trooper, Rocky Thigpen, traveled to Austin, to present Zach and Barrett and one other with a special key ring. After the graduation, almost everyone drove to College Station where Dennis treated everyone to a meal at the Texas Road House. Zach and Barrett will begin their new careers on the 13^th and both will be working in Polk County so, drive safely so you won’t get stopped by these guys. Thank you to troopers and law enforcement people who put their lives at risk to protect us at home while our military personnel protect us around the world.

We just thought it was cold here in East Texas. In Phillipsburg, NJ where Ricky Brasher is living, the temperature had risen from 3 to 9 degrees on the day I was visiting with him. Ricky is a Catastrophic Adjuster for State Farm and has a minimum of two years to live in New Jersey. If his wife Debbie learns to love it as much as Ricky, they might decide to live there for awhile. In the meantime, Debbie is working for Dr. David Fees in Lufkin and will be traveling to see Ricky sometime in the near future. Ricky’s neighbors love him because he is fascinated with operating a snow blower and went all around the block blowing snow off the sidewalks. Ricky said when it snows, property owners have to shovel the snow off the sidewalks in front of their property within 24 hours or be fined by the city.

Ricky and Debbie’s son, Josh Brasher, currently a manager in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World, is getting a new position. In February Josh will be working for the Disney University traveling around the world to all their sites implementing a program he started that interacts with managers. Josh has been with Disney World almost 7 years when he went to work for them in their college intern program. One of his first jobs was being the Disney character, Chewbacca, from the movie Star Wars. Congratulations Josh!

Visited with Geneva Ard who shared she was happy to take care of her almost 4-year-old grandson, T. J., for a couple of days. His mom Allison (Ard) Gilmore traveled with family to the University of Oklahoma to watch her cousin, Justin Barley, receive his Master of Arts with a major in Museum Studies. Justin started the online study within weeks of his graduation from Texas A&M and also worked at the TLL Temple Memorial Library. He completed the work in a little over two years. Others that were there proudly watching Justin were his mother, Karen Barkley, his brother Clint who attends the University of Houston and his little sister, Brittney, a junior at Diboll high school; his cousin, Kallen Treadway, a freshman at Diboll; his grandmother, Joyce Treadway, Bruce Thompson and his 9-year-old son, Nathan. Allison’s husband, Dennis, kept their youngest son, almost 2-year-old Case to allow Allison to travel to Oklahoma. Congratulations to Justin!

The home of Glenn Price was packed with family members when his sister Janet came with her family from Illinois to visit during the holidays. Janet moved to Chicago years ago to study voice and met her husband to be, John Brockman, a native of Illinois. They married and continue to live there where the winters are so cold. Their home is about 45 minutes from Chicago. Traveling to Texas with John and Janet were: Hannah, age 17; Mitch, age 13; Emme, age 11; Mia, age 10 and Nathan, age 8. Glenn drove to Shreveport and brought their Aunt Nell (Melba Price’s sister) to his home to spend a few days with family members. Glenn and Nell were doing “The Hanky Panky” when Janet’s family walked in the front door. No, it didn’t really surprise them because they were anticipating an unusual welcoming and weren’t disappointed. John’s work keeps him busy in maintaining CH/A units. Janet is very active in their church where she is responsible for 3 children’s’ choirs and she also is a substitute teacher. Her day really gets busy when school is over and all the kids have to go in different directions with their many activities. It’s been a big help now that Hannah is driving. All of them came to the RT mainly to visit Geraldine Pouland who was a good friend of Melba Price.

I missed meeting Randy Birch and his wife, Eileen, when they came by to leave us a sample of their championship pinto beans. Randy is the son of Shelia Scoggins from Huntington where he graduated in 1979. After spending almost 30 years traveling as a sound technician putting up and taking down stages at concerts for popular singing artists, he continues to travel as the Corporate Chef and representative for Allegro, Fine Foods, Inc. While in the music industry they cooked part time and were 12 times Champion BBQ cookers and have won many 1^st Places with their pinto beans. He loves to cook and now gets paid to do what he loves. He and Eileen make their home in Nashville, TN but Randy still claims his Texas heritage. Be sure to look for the ALLEGRO brand and also for BLUES HOG BBQ sauce that they also promote; it’s a recipe from an old cooking friend in Missouri.

Let’s hope this cold weather is gone by the time you read this and it will be more comfortable to get out and come see us…’round the table.

Filed Under: January 2014, News from the Round Table at Pouland's