News From The Round Table At Pouland's

Wasn't it a beautiful Easter Sunday? We at First Baptist Church in Diboll were thrilled to have our pastor, Gary Fannon, back in the pulpit. It's been five months since his accident and a wheelchair certainly didn't keep him from sharing God's word. His topic was about faith, something he's learned to rely on. Our sanctuary was full of families who had gathered together to celebrate this special occasion.

Leonard Windsor was able to attend after missing months of being confined to his house and the hospital. The family of Cleon Murry has always attended church together and although he was present in spirit only, his family was there to support his sweet wife, Charlene. Spending time with her during the holiday were: Reggy and Cindy Saxon; Missy Cobb and Slade; Bobby Murry and son Chris, Meagan and Mason Murry; Jay and Kaye Wyatt and son JJ along with Misy Kwapick, Chad, Chaney and Chloe; Jayce and Randall Murry and Gina Holder; Mick, Mona, Kenzie and Kendall Murry; Rodney, Carole and Cameron Cheshire.

The annual McGuire Easter Egg Hunt, held at Jerry and Judie McGuire's home, was a hit this year. Jerry worked over the pit all day smoking the pigs and sausage and they were well worth the wait. There were over 200 eggs hidden this year and all the kids had a blast…as did the adults. The families that joined were: James and Lillie Mea McGuire, Trevor and Jacquline Schelp, Judy and Clayton McGuire, Michael and Pat McGuire, Jamie, Brandi, Bill and Kateline McGuire, Jon, Kimberly and Carly McGuire, Mark and Glenda Shepherd, Jane and Hazel Shepherd, Paul Shepherd and girlfriend Elizabeth, Wayne and Janette Harris, Audra, Alec and Ashton Forney, Daniel, Carrie and Hunter Harris, Loretta and Alicia (back home from Omaha, Neb.) Garrett, Linda and Madison Neyland, Trey, Brittinee and Presley McWilliams, and Margret Landry.

During the holiday season several churches had special Easter programs. John Ralph and I enjoyed attending on Good Friday, Lufkin's First Baptist Church choir, orchestra and actors portray scenes from the life and death of Christ. We sat with Earl and Joyce Carr; Billie and Leonard Robison and Gerry and Raymond Dunkin. Gerry had just gotten out of the hospital and was told NOT to go to church but she did anyway.

We also enjoyed attending the Lufkin First Pentecostal Church's Easter play where we sat with former Dibollians, Joyce "Puggin" (Wilkins) and husband Charlie Horton and their daughter and son-in-law from Jacksonville, Susan and Ben Heisler. We also saw J.T. Hambrick, Chick Havard and her daughter, Sandra Beauchamp and several others in the large crowd. The character of Jesus was played by former Dibollian Steve Maynard who was impressive with all the biblical text he quoted from memory. One of the disciples was a new friend of ours, Jubal Cannon, who owns a cultured marble and sile stone solid surface cabinet top business in Diboll across from the hotel. We also recognized Jody Cook and David Mc- Call as two of the conniving chief priests. We were so glad we attended the play, it was very, very good.

Jeff Cannon (Jubal's brother) was one of many who came in for garden seed on "Bloom Day." He and his wife Lori have bought the new house in the Brookwood Addition. Jeff is a biology major at SFA, works in surgery at Memorial Hospital and helps his brother Jubal in the cultured marble business. When he isn't busy he and his dad Joe have a couple of gardens. (They are still pulling turnips from last year's crop.) Jeff's wife is Lori and she also works at Memorial Hospital. The patriarch of the Cannon family, Joe and his wife Barbara, live in the 100-year-old plus Fairchild home on Morris road in Burke.

Joe Donald and Emma Lee Smith spent a few hours with their son and daughter-in-law, Joe Henry and Diane, one evening when the lights went out at their home in Brookwood and then they spent a couple of days with their son Bill at his home in Grand Prairie. Bill has been dealing with a detached retina but seems to be doing better. His dog, Cheyenne, was glad to see Emma Lee and was very protective of her and even slept close by.

It was a joy to see Paula Parrish in the store. She and her husband have bought the Beulah Store (corner of FM1818 and Texas 58) and it was good to know that she does have a little free time of her own. Paula says they have truly enjoyed their store. She cooks breakfast and lunch and Amber Cox and Kevin Wise cook the hamburgers and grill items in the evenings. All of their food is hand battered. Mark Hines fries fish every Friday evening from 5:30 until 8 p.m. Wednesday's lunch always includes chicken and dumplings and banana pudding. Lunches are served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Paula makes the homemade pies and says coconut seems to be the most popular. She bought a Round Table cookbook while she was here. Give them a call at 829-3232 for more information. Lanny Parrish runs the grocery store and fuel pumps. As far as we can tell, they have the cheapest gasoline and diesel in the county.

Our thanks to Tina and Hal Hawthorn for sharing with us some of their fresh yard eggs. We also got a dozen eggs delivered by Bobby Cheshire from his daughter's egg business. You can certainly see and taste the difference in really fresh eggs.

It was nice during the holiday to see so many couples come in TOGETHER that we normally see individually. Gary and Susie Martel took time to sit down together and visit at the round table. They reported that Kendall Martel has moved to Nacogdoches where she is attending SFA and working at Starbucks. Carolyn and John Richard came in together to buy Carolyn a fishing license. Eric and Lacy Chandler came in together for horse feed. Terry and Manonne Johnson also came in together, for horse feed. Terry is ready to get back in the saddle again after being thrown several weeks ago. Terry said it was his fault that the horse "bucked," the cinch was too tight; Manonne had just gotten off the same horse. Meli and Augustine Enriquez came in for plants and seeds. Meli won second place in a photography contest that showed she and her daughter planting a flower garden. Now they are getting ready for a vegetable garden. Louise and Benji McKinney came in and bought two cookbooks, one for their daughter Suzanne who lives in Tyler. Bess Andrews also stopped by for a cookbook. Her husband Roy is a temporary resident at Trinity Mission until he is strong enough to go back home. Bess has nothing but good to say about the staff and facility.

Dick and Linda Miller came together, can't remember what for, but was happy to hear that their almost 5-year-old granddaughter, Sydney Horak, was chosen "Little Miss Wheelchair Texas." Linda says she is a confident child with personality plus. She is not shy and never meets a stranger. Congratulations

Louis Rodriquez was sent by his wife Fran (Miranda) to pick up cookbooks when he brought her car in and then she came later for another cookbook. Charlie Mann was in buying squash seeds and had orders from one of the grandchildren to buy carrot seeds. Isn't that encouraging?

It's time for BINGO! The annual Angelina County 4-H Bingo Bash is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Lottie and ArthurTemple Civic Center.

Lots of prizes and food. Cost $2 a card for 10 games, $2 a card for blackout. Some of the prizes are a Nintendo Wii; 20-inch LCD TV with DVD player; card table and chairs; dining certificates; digital camera; MP3 player; two yard swings; wood picnic table; 26- inch bike; firepit; gas grill; microwave; ice cream makers; fishing rod and reels and many other prizes.

Enjoy the spring time and come see us…'round the table