October 17, 2017

Earl & Joyce Carr have recently completed another travel quest with the Huntington State Bank travel club. These two along with HSB coordinator Patsy Weaver and several others traveled by bus to Dallas and flew to Minneapolis, MN. Another bus ride took them to Duluth for the beginning of a 10-day Lake Superior Circle Tour. Day 2 was spent taking a lunch cruise around the Duluth harbor and visiting the historic Glensheen Mansion and Estate. The tour continued along the north shore of Lake Superior to Split Rock Lighthouse where the group enjoyed a gondola ride to Moose Mountain for lunch. Then it was to Ontario, Canada to Thunder Bay where the group visited the public monument commemorating cancer research activist Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. The monument offers a panoramic view of Thunder Bay and its surroundings. The next day brought them back into the US to Sault Ste. Marie to observe the Soo Locks that have been referred to as one of the great wonders of the world and are still the largest and one of the busiest waterway traffic systems on earth. That day they also crossed the Mighty Mac bridge to board a ferry to Mackinac Island, a Victorian village limited to transportation of horse and buggy, bicycle or foot, surrounded by water, it has escaped the vast changes of time. The group explored the the Grand Hotel, famous for the movie “Somewhere in Time.” Back to the mainland, they visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and spent the night in Marquette. At the Da Yoopers Tourist Trap they saw the largest chainsaw and working rifle and toured the shrine of Bishop Baraga. In Ashland, Wisconsin they observed several historic murals depicting the people and the history of that town. The Apostle Islands cruise in Bayfield, a visit to an apple orchard and winery completed the circle tour. Joyce said Earl was so glad to be back in Texas he slept 20 hours when they finally got home.

Wilber Teer enjoyed telling me about his and Margie’s recent trip to fulfill an item on her bucket list, seeing the colorful leaves in New England in the fall.  Although it is the wrong direction, the trip began with them flying to Colorado Springs to visit with their grandson, Rand Teer who was accepted into the Air Force Academy last June. After a good 2-day visit with Rand, the Teers boarded another plane to Providence RI where they rented a car and began to enjoy several days of “leaf viewing”. Locals told them their timing was perfect. Driving through the beautiful countryside, they came to an apple orchard where Margie picked apples. They saw lighthouses, beautiful harbors, lots of boats and covered bridges. Driving across Connecticut into Vermont, they felt lucky to find a small spotless motel where parking is at the front door of the room. The single proprietary was a German man who is a “baker” but also handles all the duties of the motel plus other jobs. He prepares breakfast for the guests and he and Margie had a great discussion about pumpernickel bread. Margie told him she has tried and tried to bake the bread but hers always “falls”. Being an experienced baker he knew what her problem was…she was using the wrong kind of flour and it was killing the yeast. Leaving there happily, they traveled other roads across New Hampshire and into Maine visiting Bangor and Kennebunkport which is the summer home of the 41^st President of the US, George H. W. Bush. The home is located on Walker’s Point which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Driving around Boston they arrived at The Kennedy Compound which consists of three houses on six acres of waterfront property on Cape Cod along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. After more sightseeing it was time to fly back to Texas and cherish the memories of this trip that included 17 wonderful days.

According to Gary Gores, Ricky Medina has confirmed that his family will be opening their locally famous gourmet potato store with expanded menu soon on Temple Drive (highway 59 next to the Donut Palace). This is good news for those driving 25 miles round trip for a “potato fix”. The Medina family is well known in Diboll and the Medina Brothers are close to opening soon. Most of the needed equipment is here and being installed. Ricky Medina has had much pressure to open as the news has spread of the opening of a third Spud location in our area. Permits are obtained and equipment installation is almost complete. Ricky Medina’s ‘Spud concept’ has a big fan here in Diboll; Gary Gores will save over a hundred miles a month driving back and forth to his Frank Street location. Diboll’s retail is growing and the Spud is a great addition to the local demand for food service operations.

Mark Hafernick shared with the round table the news that he and Ann are grandparents again. Carter Brian Johnston was born October 12^th in Colleyville, Texas. His parents are Lauren and Judd Johnston and his big brother, Cooper, is 2 years old. Judd is a veterinarian with a practice in Colleyville and Lauren works as an event planner for Sky Ranch Ministries. Baby Carter Brian’s paternal grandparents are Jerry and Tracy Johnston of Corpus Christi. He was named after his uncle Brian Hafernick who is also a DVM and owner of Pineywoods Veterinary Clinic in Lufkin. His aunt is Dr. Angela Hafernick.

The Diboll Business Association is planning a scavenger hunt during the month of November for their Christmas Cash Give Away this year. Those who want to enter this fun event will go into participating businesses to have their playing card stamped to be eligible to win as much as $300 in Cash plus lots of chances to win other gifts. More details next week.

Come see us…’round the table.