Jamie Durham, daughter of Suzy and Darrell Durham, received the Most Outstanding Junior Daughter of the American Revolution Member for the State of Texas at the state convention in Houston. Along with Suzy and Darrell attending were Tempe and Jerrell Durham and Kathryn Siegling. It was s surprise for Jamie who has been the State President for the CAR and page for DAR Regents at the state and national levels. I know that her grandmother Rachel Dowling would be proud of Jamie who is in Austin and a legislative aid and assistant office manager for freshman representative Patricia Harless from Harris County.
Patsy and Tommy Hines have a bluebonnet!!!! Tommy wanted to mulch the leaves, but the drive belt on the mower broke and he had to order a new one. Since that, the bluebonnet plants have popped up under the leaves. Patsy says “but for the grace of God” and the broken mower belt she has bluebonnets.
Jan and Tommy Deaton, Lindsay and Drew Gillen with Will, Blake Deaton, Ryan and Jenny Deaton with Caroline, Charlie and Charlotte, Barbara and Dan Carter, Jason and Nicole Carter, Adam Carter, Nancy Carter, Mike and Carolyn Bell with Kate spent part of their spring break at Stetson's on the White River in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.
Angie Reece, catering and banquet manager at Crown Colony Country Club, has put up with us for 15 years on March 23. She must have been a “baby” when she came to Crown. Eric Pruitt, interim club manager, has over 15 years with several ins and outs but always coming back to us at Crown. We appreciate all that they are doing until the new manager arrives in April.
Jerry and Donna Hill had grandsons Paul and Nicholas over spring break with their mother Kim Duggan from San Antonio. Jerry is the golf caddy for Nicholas. Paul has to carry his clubs.
Elma Alexander had Clarice Pasierb in Lufkin during her spring break.
Jan Anderson-Paxson's MFA Candidacy Exhibit “Quite Reflection” opens March 20 to 23 at Griffin Gallery second floor room 208 at Stephen F. Austin State University. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Sunday 12:30 to 5 p.m. The opening reception will be Tuesday, March 20 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Rod Pittman told Darlene and me that this was grandson Jeremy Pittman's “last spring break” from Texas A&M University. He will graduate May 12. He is the son of Debbie and Lane Pittman. Rod and Darlene surprised their son Lane at the Topping Out Ceremony in Jessup, Georgia where Lane is head of construction for Robins & Morton who are building a hospital there. I learned that “Topping Out” is when the last steel beam is put in place and a leafy tree is tied to it. They think it is an American Indian symbol for good luck. Have you heard of Topping Out?
LHS Class Reunions are being planned. A multiple reunion for the classes of ‘65,'66','67,'68 is planned for September 29 at the Civic Center. Gay Parker, Libby Stapleton, Wanda Wankan, Mary Jane West and Len Medford are working on their classes. The Class of 1947 is planning one for September 22 at Crown Colony with Hilton Quine checking addresses for their group. The Class of 1967, with Mary Jane Medford West heading it, will meet on June 30 at Crown Colony. The Class of 1977 has set their date for July 20 and 21 at Crown Colony. The class of 1997 has set their date for October 12, 13 and 14. Katie Friesen is heading this group. The Class of 1987 has yet to set a date. Barbara Atkinson Mathis' class of 1957 will meet on Friday, September 7 before the LHS Alumni Association has their Tail Gate Party at the Civic Center on September 8 where they will be honored as the 50th anniversary class.
Libby and Cy Stapleton went to Enterprise, Alabama for the first birthday of their granddaughter Samantha Van Horn, daughter of Jennifer and Greg. Libby was talking to Jennifer over the telephone when the tornado hit the Enterprise High School.
On Saturday, April 14 there will be the Don't Mess with Texas Trash-Off for Angelina County. At 8:30 a.m. the cleanup will began as a part of the Great American Cleanup. There will be $300 in prize money in each community based on the number of active participants in the group. The top three active groups/organizations will win the prize money. You must be registered by April 9 to win the prize money. For information contact Tony Moline, Executive Director, Angelina Beautiful/Clean at 63CLEAN.
Mark your calendar for the 5th Annual Student Art Sale and Silent Auction benefiting the Angelina Alliance for Children, Inc. on Tuesday, April 3 from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center front lobby. If you have an item to donate, contact Cathy Pavlic at 634-1999.
Happy Birthday: Vickie Boren, LaJune Bradley, Jay Jackson, Grayson Weiss, Don Prendergast, Jo Ann Hobbs, Jane Fischer, John Duncan, Patsy Hopper, Alannah Russell, Gene Havard, Linda Daniel, Zelma Hughes, Gene Nerren, Jessica Harrison, Chuck Hines, Nancy Carter, Charlie Poland, John Pope, Colby Greenville, Brax Turner, Dorman Forrest, Mary Russell, Catherine Rich, Helen Tullos, Hunter Haglund, Cole Corley, and Harmon Moore.
Happy Anniversary: Nancy and Charles Hamilton, Lynda and Chuck Zimmerman.
I called Bernice Maberry on her St Patrick's birthday and told her that I could not find my harmonica and had to sing to her. She is so faithful to remember all of us on our birthdays and anniversaries with her playing of the harmonica. Keep it up Bernice. We love you.
Betty Pruitt sent me a hummingbird article from the San Marcos paper. I put my feeders out on March 13 and I am waiting. I thought Betty was in Austin, but I was wrong. She is in San Marcos. Joyce and Glenn Wallace saw their first humming bird on the 16 th. Pat Brown called that she had her first on the same day.
Rebecca West went to San Diego to visit Jim's brother Mel West and family and while she was there went into Los Angeles to find contacts to send her resume to be a set designer for TV shows. Her major is interior design, and she will graduate in the summer.
The Museum of East Texas will host Mr. Todd and Professor World in “Tour the Earth” on Sunday, March 25 from 2-4 p.m. in the Mrs. E. W. Leach Performing Arts Center. The 15-foot diameter globe displays land and water images taken by satellite sensors.
Cathy Todd told me that Christopher and Tricia Todd are living in Lufkin with their son Jackson and Chris is working for Temple Inland. She also said that her mom, Peachy Koch Denman, taught Pete Runnels to play baseball when they lived in the same neighborhood growing up in Lufkin. Peachy takes credit for Pete's baseball career with the Red Sox.
Debbie Wilson has moved to 911 S. Chestnut, Suite 301 in the building owned by Keith and Donna Green between the Lufkin Lanes and The Spud. She is happy to have her own shop called Nails by Debbie, telephone 639-6200.
Martha Carswell filled me in on their spring break with Jon and Jill Carswell, Emma and Abby at The Woodlands. Martha and Ray along with Jon, Jill, Emma, and Abby went one day to Brenham to tour the Blue Bell Creamery with Nancy Berghauser, Susan and Todd Fink with Tyler Boehm, Nita Ramirez with Austin and Kay Lee, and Karen Ramirez. They ate at Must Be Heaven in Brenham.
Juanita Hines and family would like to thank all of her friends, customers and especially the “Lufkin Board of Realtors family” for all of their calls, cards, visits and prayers during her lengthy hospital stay. Juanita has been selling real estate for 30 plus years around Lufkin. She is glad to be able to return to work at Gann Medford and be able to again sell houses. Also, a special thanks goes to Deborah Mullins for all of her support.
The Pineywoods Cultural Association's 1st Street Arts Center will host a Downtown at Sundown on Saturday, March 31 for art, music and a movie for the whole family. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the fun. The exhibit “Celebrating the Pineywoods Experience” will open at 5 p.m. The painted banners designed by local artists will line the streets. Local musicians will provide the live music. The free movie will start at dark.
Liz and Kenneth Jeffrey attended the Coldwell Banker Convention in Las Vegas with owner/broker Becky Stanbery and her husband Troy. Ken Jeffrey has just received his real estate license and will help Liz when she needs it but will not be giving up his current occupation as co-owner of Jeffrey Dental Lab. Daughter Leigh (Martin) and her husband Bryan Tyler have sold their house in Nacogdoches and are moving to Lufkin with Liz's grandson 7-month-old Cole. Leigh works at Temple and Bryan is opening Pinnacle Mortgage Company. Wonder who sold them their house in Lufkin?
Scotty West, son of Mary Jane and Jim West, received an intramural football injury and will be in an ankle brace for four weeks. He is determined to not have a vacation from Texas A&M. At Christmas, he and friends were in the panhandle snowed in on their way skiing. Now, at Spring Break, he is home nursing a bad sprain.
Visiting with Madelyn Porter, I found out that daughter Meagan Porter Smith had run in the Chicago Marathon in the fall. Madelyn, David and Brian Porter along with Meagan's husband Joel were there to cheer for her as she finished. Meagan had a Texas flag on her shoulder and watchers along the route cheered “Go Texas” as she ran. She teaches Kindergarten and husband Joel is an accountant in Dallas. Brian Porter has bought a house on York Drive and moved to Lufkin to work with his dad, David, in oil and gas land exploration. Madelyn says everything has to be orange and blue, Auburn University colors. I know about Auburn. Go Tigers/War Eagles!!
Beverly Slaughter's Relay for Life team, Positive Pink Dynamites, is selling chances on an autographed Nolan Ryan baseball in a clear protected container with a value of $175.00. Raffle tickets are $1 each. Her telephone is 635-1937 if you want tickets.
Ernest and I left from Houston on Thursday, March 1 for Washington D.C. Dulles Airport for Charlie Jumper's promotion ceremony. Oscar Dillahunty took us to Continental Airlines Terminal C. Julie Jumper Morris met us in Houston flying from Dallas. Charlie met us and took us to Alamo Car rental where we rented a 7 passenger Jeep Commander. Shari had dinner ready when we arrived through the 5 p.m. traffic. Julie spent the night with Marcy. Friday, we had an 8:30 a.m. tour of the White House arranged through Representative Louie Gohmert's office. We left at 7 a.m. for the Metro and caught the blue line to Federal Triangle downtown DC in the rain with umbrellas. We started the self-guided tour at 9 a.m. with strict security, no purse, backpack, lipstick, camera or bottles of liquid, only could take a wallet. Tour was about 40 minutes. We went in the Visitor Entrance on the east side and toured the Vermeil Room, Library, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and State Dining Room and exited on Pennsylvania Avenue. Charlie went back to the car and got our purses, stroller, and cameras while we went to the Daughters of the American Revolution House featuring objects made in America prior to 1840. We toured for an hour looking at the 31 different period rooms sponsored by the states' DAR chapters. There were old dresses, quilts, beds, and pottery on the three floors. The Texas Room was much like a hill country multi cultural settlement of the American West with the recreation of a German immigrant home found in Alleyton, Texas. The decorative motifs and furnishings evoke the Germanic contributions to American decorative arts. The walls are hand stenciled with designs found in the Texas farmhouse. The genealogy library is second to the Mormon Library, but the DAR's have things that the Mormons do not have. We called Nancy Jumper Herde to see how many generations we were back to the American Revolution. Nathan Atkinson was our revolutionary DAR ancestor and I am a 6th generation, Charlie, Julie and Nancy a 7 th and the grand children are 8 th generations. We are all members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution. We walked around the Ellipse where the protesters usually gather and ate a hotdog from a street vendor for lunch. We heard a helicopter come overhead and it was President George Bush coming back at noon from the Gulf Coast inspection. We waved at him as he landed at the White House. The Capital tour was at 1:00. Representative Louie Gohmert's employees J.D. from Tyler and Laura both TexasA&M grads were in the office. J.D. did our tour for over an hour starting in the basement. We went into the House Chamber and thought it looked smaller than on TV. He said that everyone says that. As we were coming down some stairs he said, “There goes Nancy Pelosi”. We all did not see her passing. The rotunda was huge with two statues from each state. Texas had statues of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. Tamesha Jumper and Bill Vernon were coming in at Dulles, and we met them to go to the Jumper's house for dinner.
Saturday morning we went to Tyler's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby race. Each car was timed for three races. Marcy raced her Dora car.
Saturday afternoon Ernest, Julie, Tamesha, Bill and me took the hotel shuttle to Franconia-Springfield Metro station and stopped at the food court at Pentagon City Metro stop. We arrived at Arlington National Cemetery at 3 p.m and went to tour the Kennedy grave sites and saw the flame. Then it was on to the Arlington House, home of General Robert E. Lee, for a tour. They are remodeling it and the furniture was gone. Then we circled back to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers for the Changing of the Guard at 5 p.m. We took the metro back to Franconia-Springfield Metro and went to TGI Friday's for dinner. I will finish our week's activities next week. Catch you around town.
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