Wes McClain is putting Diboll on the map again! Wes is on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica along with Sam Fidone from Lufkin. These two kids grew up about 11 miles away from each other and are tied for the lead heading into the final round of the 58th Abierto Mexicano de Golf. These two Texans and long-time competitors go way back to playing little league baseball together, competing in golf in high school and college and now in the final group of this PGA tour. Wes said, “I know there’s a lot of people back home pulling for us. If either one of us comes out on top, it’s a great week for us and East Texas so I’m really excited, It’s going to be special!”
Jimmie Woodard has returned from another trip. This time she went to Anaheim, California with her friend, Vivien Standridge, who had to attend a business conference. While Vivien was in conference Sunday and Monday, Jimmie says, “I went to Disney Downtown, California Adventure and Disneyland. At Disney Downtown, I made some purchases and enjoyed great food. At California Adventure, I got to see the World of Color, an electrifying water and colored light show, depicting Walt Disney’s life starting with a mouse named Mickey and ending with the theme parks that now exist. At Disneyland we rode some rides, had some snacks, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful electric lighted parade at 9 p.m. followed by fireworks to close the park. A fun adventure, an exciting journey and a fast paced few days!!!! LIFE IS GOOD!”
Richard and Jo Ann Rainwater rendezvoused recently with friends Chick and Lollie Bever of Tampa, FL at Natchitoches, LA for a two-night stay at the beautiful Samuel Guy House B&B before motoring together to Diboll for more visiting. The Bevers wanted to make a road trip in their new Corvette Stingray. Lollie was concerned that the trunk would not hold enough for the 10-day round trip, but she was amazed that she still had three outfits that she never wore. Jo Ann needs an SUV to haul her “stuff” on trips!!! The girls did manage to buy a few items at Jo Ann’s favorite clothing store in Natchitoches, The Hall Tree. As Lollie says, pack light and then you can buy more! The group arrived in Diboll on Thursday afternoon in time to attend that night’s performance of “Mamma Mia” at the Temple Theater which they all enjoyed very much. The four-night stay at the Rainwaters was “laid back” with hours spent on the patio enjoying the cooler weather and watching the birds – all they wanted to do in addition to having one of Richard’s famous steaks grilled to perfection.
Lots of you will know Janet Purcell Kilgore of Diboll from working at Memorial Hospital for 33 years. She worked everywhere but in the nursery but mostly as a surgical nurse. Janet started working in 1975 as a nurse’s aide and continued her education to complete her nursing degree. Now that she is retired Janet is fighting cancer for the third time and was having a good day when she stopped by the store to show us her latest ancestry project. She loves tracing her ancestors and has done quite well on her mother’s side. In fact when she was fortunate enough to visit the large collection in Salt Lake City, Utah, she was disappointed they didn’t have much and asked for copies of her information.
This past February Janet’s youngest son flew her to Portland, Oregon to visit him and his family. Of course when they asked what she would like to do, it was to visit cemeteries. After visiting three of the oldest cemeteries she was shocked and emotional to find five of her dad’s brothers. (At five years old, Janet’s mom remarried and she never saw her dad again until she was grown but her mother had given her five names of her dad’s brothers). When Janet returned home she got busy and traced her “Purcell” ancestors all the way back to 1083 to her 11th great-grandfather, William Shakespeare; yes, the one from Stratford on Avon. Her 19th great grandfather was Archbishop Canterbury, John Kempe and her 20th was Lord of Weston, Allen, Kempe. Needless to say she is quite proud to have found deep roots of her Purcell heritage. She is also quite proud of her five sons: Lonnie; twins Ronnie and Donnie; Tommie and Jonnie. What a legacy!!
Matt Amason with friend and co-worker Will Jones, will have a story to tell their grandchildren. This modern-day Lewis and Clark launched a boat at the Livingston dam and traveled down the Trinity River to Interstate 10. They did not fish, just floated. It was hard to find camp sites with all the excess water from the recent rains but each night they ate grilled steaks. They have already explored the Sabine River from Toledo Bend to Deweyville so hope to keep you informed of their next adventure.
Trey Denman came in with couple of old guns to show John Ralph and Andrea. The guns had belonged to Sally’s father. He told about one of his dad’s gun that was a handheld Marksman that looked like a service revolver but was actually a BB gun. Trey could not find anyone that could show him how or where to load the BB’s. After several people couldn’t help him someone suggested he look at You Tube. Sure enough, he found a video of a boy about five or six that showed him exactly how to load the gun. Trey bought him a box of BBs before he left.