RT NEWS January 2, 2017
A good thing about the holidays is seeing and visiting with friends and family. A dear friend, Carolyn (Kelly) Steinberg from Little Elm called to say she and two of her grandchildren wanted to stop by the store after Christmas and visit on their way back home. With that, JR got on the phone and started calling some of her DHS classmates and friends to stop by and visit with Carolyn last Friday afternoon. She was later than we anticipated and missed the first visitor, Betty Ann (Wilkerson), who couldn’t stay because of another appointment. Next was another classmate, Frances (Johnson) Thompson who was truly happy to see Carolyn and shared with us that Carolyn let her borrow a beautiful yellow prom dress when they were in junior high. The prom was in the “old” gym where the present primary school is located today. Alma (Wilkerson) Breazeale, stopped by; she brought her 1957 DHS annual with her which brought about lots of memories of other classmates. Kenneth and Ginger Capps both enjoyed listening and contributing stories at the round table. Although Nita (Ramsey) Hurley was much younger, she and Carolyn both took piano lessons from Mrs. W. F. Purdy as did I and we all shared our anxieties associated with piano recitals. Nita also remembered hearing Carolyn sing a solo at her church, Diboll United Methodist, which was also the site for most of our recitals during May when Mrs. Purdy would line the bannisters with fresh cut magnolias. Sisters, Donnie Smith and Charlene “Polly” (Weeks) Leavell also contributed memories from school and First Baptist Church where Carolyn was a member. Polly and I refreshed Carolyn’s memory of being our chaperone for summer camp at Pineywoods Encampment between Corrigan and Groveton. Fran McGilvra came in for her daily afternoon coffee and although she attended school in Hudson remembered sharing a dorm with Carolyn at Pineywoods. JoNell (Vaught) Placker stopped by as well as Bettye Greer who remembers everybody that attended school in Diboll since she worked there beginning when they moved to Diboll for her husband Bill to teach science in the early ‘50’s. It was a good afternoon. Carolyn had two of her grandchildren with her; 9-year-old Devin and 7-year-old Alexis.
Leonard Robison joined the round table that same afternoon for coffee. He and Billie and his sister Erna had spent part of the Christmas season at their grandson’s new house in New Elm and learned from Carolyn that his house joined her subdivision in Little Elm near the fast growing area around Frisco. Carolyn was able to earn a music degree from SFA with music scholarships. She continues to teach piano and is a Degreed Teacher National Federation of Music. While in high school, she also worked for Mr. Schinke at his nursery and florist and shared with me “tips” she learned from him about how to care for house plants.
One DHS classmate that Carolyn hated she missed seeing was Kenneth Ashworth who stopped by earlier that morning with his wife Ann on their way to Houston to fly back home to Ireland where they have served as missionaries for 32 years. They have been married for 54 years and have two sons that are pastors; a daughter who spent three years in the underground church in China as a missionary and six grandkids. Kenneth and Ann are very devoted and live by faith of a vision of a European Revival in the center of Ireland where they have been living. They work with the Jerry Smith Ministries in Oklahoma and they welcome anyone to contact them especially if you would like to donate to their ministry. Their home address is: Ashworth Family Ministries, Rehoboth, Barrymore, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Ireland. The custom in Ireland is to give your home a name. ”Rehoboth” is the name of the Ashworths’ home. They found “Rehoboth” in the book of Genesis and it means “The Lord has made a place for us and we will be fruitful in the land”.
Sherri Paresa came in the store on the recommendation from WilberTeer to try Colorado Pinto beans. He loves them. Sherri bought a large bag that day and after Christmas she came back for another bag. She gave the first bag away with a Dutch Oven as a gift. Someone really got a nice gift and here’s hoping Sherri will be back for more beans.
Darrell Chapman is married to Kim (Placker). They live in Bullard and Kim sent Darrell to Poulands to buy jelly and cattle feed for their longhorns, horses and dogs. We truly appreciate their long-distance shopping with us. Of course, being in Diboll gives Darrell an opportunity to check on his mother-in-law, JoNell.
Retired Judge Barry Bryan came in specifically to buy “Cobbler in a jar”. He and his wife Lynn (Courtney) had been here for the Christmas holidays and were returning the next day to their home in northern California. They built a new home “in the woods” and enjoy seeing bucks roam nearby. It rains a lot but seldom thunders and the temperature hardly ever dips below 36 degrees or reaches higher than 65. The locals say it is unbearably hot if the temperature gets above 70 degrees. Barry enjoys working in his wood working shop and has taken some creative writing courses. Lynn enjoys weaving, knitting, and crochet and has gotten into mosaics which are displayed in their home. There is no need for air conditioning and they use wood to heat the house; a cord of wood is about $300.
Ted Lankford came in with his son Barrett to buy corn for their deer feeders. Mark Hafernik was in buying tractor tires. Billie Lamb was in getting keys made and news is that Sue Johnson got an 8 point buck.
Dianne and Mike Gibson and granddaughter, Lena Tate spent a day in Huntsville visiting with grandchildren. They met at the Café Texan. Dianne’s granddaughter, Chelsea was there with her two sons, Gavin and Nolan. Her grandson and his wife, Zachary and Brittani Tate were also there with the new great-granddaughter, Maisie who was born around Thanksgiving. They also brought Maisie’s older twin brothers, 2-1/2 year old Jude and Lennon.
Enjoyed meeting Bryan Perry who is married to Ave Marie (Rodriquez) who graduated from DHS in 1999. They live in Frisco where he works in the IT department of Wing Stops. Her parents are Jesse and Rosemary Rodriquez of Diboll.
Don’t forget Project Graduation is still selling $100 tickets with the opportunity to win $10,000. Tickets are available here at Poulands.
Come see us…’round the table.