Fall/Winter 2015

Cross Timbers Trails Your guide to the eight counties of the Cross Timbers

Fall/Winter 2015

The Mystical meaning behind Clark Gardens “She is the garden, the garden is her. You cannot separate the garden from Billie.” — Max Clark

Hood county eats: prime steaks and homemade italian

Dairy Farms, cattle Ranches and now Windmill farms in comanche

An abundance of museums, just take your pick

Tour the outdoor art of Eastland

passion in the pages

Susan Stoker finds her true calling in romance novels

Making an impact.

STudEnTS anticipated higher future income of $3.40 for each dollar invested in education, an annual rate of return of 14.2%.

REgiOn

receives $512.1 annual added income —equivalent to creating 8,393 new jobs

TExaS receives a present value of $4.4

billion in added income during students’

working lives, and communities will benefit $470 million in reduced crime, lower unemployment, increased health and well-being.

TaxpayERS gain $8.40 for each tax dollar invested due to reduced demand for government services, and increased taxes and output from student careers and employers.

Explore Tarleton. Experience the difference.

| Fort Worth | Midlothian | Waco | Online (800) 687-4878 | www.tarleton.edu/learnmore

Stephenville

In This Issue 4

Letter from the Editor

Features

12 16

Comanche County windmill farm generates power and controversy.

Cover Story: Passion in the Pages

Day in the Life of a State Trooper Behind the scenes with State Trooper B.J. Hill, who says writing tickets isn’t what the job is all about.

27

Veterans Experience the Healing Power of Horses

Welcome to the Doll House A Walk with the Best of the West Eastland Art Scene

Food

A New Spin on Power

When Susan Stoker left her job in the registrar’s office at Tarleton State University to devote herself full-time to writing romance novels, she found her own happy ending.

26

22 24 28 30

Eighteen Ninety: Fine Wine, Prime Steaks and Spices To Go

32

Farina’s: Where Old and New Friends Meet

34

What’s Your Flavor?

36

From Bourbon Street to Strawn

38

Last Page Cross Timbers Trails By the Numbers Cover photo by Justin Pack

A Tarleton equine therapy program works wonders with wounded warriors.

Departments Style

6

Boutiques of the Cross Timbers: Shop ‘Til You Drop

7

Fashion on Wheels

Places

10

Love Stories and Flowers Flourish at Clark Gardens

14 18

History in Reel Time Classic Chassis: Putting History in Park

20

Dublin’s Hole-in-One Museum Honors Golf Legend

NOW LEASING 1, 2 & 3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS

SummitStephenville.com • 254-965-RENT

Ashley Ford Editor-in-Chief

Letter from the Editor Writing has always been therapeutic for me growing up. Since junior high, I have filled hundreds of pages with classic journal entries, poems and even prayer. Analyzing my writing style and reflecting on past experiences have shaped me into the journalist and human being I am today. Enjoying language arts my whole life, I had figured my future was in English studies. But I needed more than that, my drive and vision is too real. I felt that a bachelor’s in English would restrict my career moves after college. I needed to be out in the world, writing real life stories.

My passion for writing has allowed me to continue to grow as a person, as I am able to sit down with strangers and hear their accomplishments or their biggest fears, and write about them. Printing these remarkable stories on these glossy pages, makes this experience all real to me. It has been a full year for me working with the magazine and my first semester to call all the shots as editor-in-chief, which is such a rewarding feeling. I’m proud to know that my career influences people, educates them and hopefully cultures them too.

My mother always told me I was going to do something great, be a brain surgeon, an architect, an engineer or even president. I always had that feeling too, but it was all up to me to make that decision. The opportunity of working with Texan News Service was dangled in front of me a year ago and I knew, this was my first step to be a great journalist.

Sara Gann Art Director

Writers Misty Bollman-Browning Rebekah Gilligan Denise Harroff Kasey Burgan Bethany Kyle Tyler Christensen Chanda Neal Shelby Clayton Megan Peterson Toni Evans Michael Squires Ashley Ford Kira Zimmerman Bertie Gardner Katlyn Gast Photographers Misty Bollman-Browning Rebekah Gilligan Tyler Christensen Bethany Kyle Shelby Clayton Morgan Little Laurie Cogburn Chanda Neal Cameron Cook Justin Pack Ashley Ford Kelsey Poynor Katlyn Gast Advisor Kathryn Jones Malone

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Shop ‘Til

Story and Photos by Ashley Ford

You Drop

Photo by Laurie Cogburn

Hip Chick Boutique

Photo by Kelsey Poynor

With a degree in accounting and an interest in the New York fashion district, Laurie Cogburn opened her boutique to share current styles with locals and visitors. Hip Chick Boutique opened in 2008 after Cogburn had been in the tanning bed business, and yes, this shop includes four tanning beds, one red light therapy bed and spray tans. Cogburn prides her business on its customer service. “We are very easy to work with and want to make everyone happy,” she said.

Hip Chick Boutique is also user-friendly online. Customers can go to hipchickboutique.net to browse what is in stock and purchase items to be shipped to home. “We have a wide range in style, prices and sizes,” explained Cogburn.

The boutique’s taste is current in name brand apparel. Some of Cogburn’s favorite brands include Big Star Denim, Uncle Frank, Ivy Jane, Yellow Box Shoes, Gypsy Soule Footwear, Grazie Footwear, Kut from the Kloth Denim and Fossil handbags and accessories. Pricetags range from $5 earrings to $50 jeans to $400 Gypsy Soule sandals.

Certain lines of clothing reach out to different customers, but Cogburn tries to offer something for everyone. The shop features a contemporary bohemian look mixed with modern attire. “I like everything bright so there is hardly ever anything that’s monotone or on the boring side. It’s usually pretty wild and fun,” she added. “I don’t buy anything for the store that I wouldn’t buy myself.”

Cogburn enjoys having fun with her customers and wants them to feel good about themselves when they walk out. Hip Chick Boutique’s motto is, “Where shopping soothes the soul.” If in need of some therapeutic shopping, this is the place.

Hip Chick Boutique is located at 112 W. Commerce St. in Eastland. To contact them, call 254-629-3300 or with the hashtag #hipchickboutique.

Eastland - 6

Clot muc item

Clothes and shoes vary in price but not by much. Here you will find resonably priced items that are still fashionable.

Kickin Colt Tarleton State University alumn Cameron Keeth opened his shop, Kickin Colt, in December 2008.

He wanted to cater to the Tarleton crowd, keeping price points low and bringing in a different style other than Western.

Keeth grew up around the fashion industry. His mother ran a wholesale business in the Dallas-Fort Worth Trade Center. When the boutique was opening, Keeth’s wife at the time was pregnant with their son, Colt. One day while painting the boutique, baby Colt started kicking, which influenced the boutique’s name, Kickin Colt.

Keeth travels around the Metroplex and the nation to visit fashion shows and all-day events to keep up with current fashion trends. His favorite show to attend is Magic in Las Vegas. Keeth noted that some trends take up to two years to appear on racks in outskirt cities like Stephenville. Keeth said he strives to be the first to have the latest fashion.

“I like the Southern boutique style, it’s very classy and very nice.

I like the Texas style because it’s unique and different as of being apart from all the rest. My style is a mixture of everything with a Southern flair, turquoise, boots, while adding a little texture,” said Keeth.

Kickin Colt’s current brands include Umgee, Double Zero, Entro, Ya Los Angeles and Turqoise Haven Jewelry. The casualness of the attire varies. Kickin Colt

carries a variety of brands and prices throughout the seasons; the later in the season, the higher the prices get.

Apparel ranges from $25 to $45, shoes range from $35 to $75.

Jeans are priced at $30 with white stitching and a destroyed wash.

When customers walk through the boutique, they will notice that it is easy to mix and match outfits with the clothes on the floor. Also, boots and jewelry pair perfectly.

Keeth prides his boutique on the customer service provided by his sales associates as they work as fashion experts. They are knowledgeable about the store’s apparel and style and can put together outfits for customers. Keeth trains his staff to give honest feedback so customers get their best buy. Keeth also makes his boutique unique from all the others by not following what every other boutique carries.

“Customer service is one of the cornerstones we go by,” Keeth said.

“To provide good customer service, we always want a fun atmosphere. I grew up in that as far as my mom, she’s very loud, fun, gaudy and all the above. She’s the life of the party and she brings that atmosphere as far as when she’s working. I see the benefits of it from the costumers.”

Kickin Colt Boutique is located at 150 Belknap St., in Stephenville. To contact them, call 254-918- 2059 or visit one of their many social media outlets.

Instagram: @kickincoltboutique Twitter: @kickincolt Snapchat: @kickin_colt Facebook: Kickin Colt Boutique

Cricketts

Brown built the clothes racks out of rod iron and transformed a chicken coup into a display area.

Somervell - 8

“Cricketts is a chic boutique with all the latest styles run by a small-town girl from Texas,” said Kristie Brown, owner of Cricketts.

Brown established her boutique in 2008 in Glen Rose to fulfill her hobby of crafting and her interest in fashion. Brown is happy she was able to branch out her taste in apparel to three other locations, a total of two in Glen Rose and two in Granbury.

Brown’s mother’s nickname and style influenced the name and style of the boutique.

Her father’s work as a pipe fitter influenced the handcrafted decorations in the store, which give it an industrial feel. She also has an eye for refurbishing antiques. Hand-crafted props and decorations allow her shop to feel like home.

Cricketts’ style is modern and vintage with a touch of bohemian. While browsing, a customer will come across floral patterns, high-neck dresses, fringe boots, stylish jeans, long necklaces, textured vests and lots more. This boutique is full of fun and trendy pieces that are current with today’s everyday fashion. Cricketts markets apparel “to both young ladies and established women,” said Brown.

“Cricketts carries both affordable brands and a few posh brands such as, Big Star pants, Deer John, Freeway, Seychelles, Judith March, BC, Sbicca, PPLA and much more,” she added.

All types of apparel vary in price, but everything sold is of high quality. What a customer paid for is going to be fair in value. The shoes are priced on the higher end, ranging from $24 to $299.

“Cricketts aspires to be unique and carry stylish clothing, trendy shoes, bags to die for, sassy jewelry and other adorable accessories,” said Brown.

Cricketts Boutique has locations in Granbury and Glen Rose.

For Glen Rose, 1207 N.E. Big Bend Trail or 202 N.E. Barnard St.. For Granbury, 113 E. Bridge St. or 820 Fall Creek Hwy. You can follow Cricketts on Instagram at crickettsdesigns.

Fashion on Wheels Story by Misty Bollman-Browning Imagine a clothing store coming to you instead of driving to it.

No salesperson, no register, just racks full of clothes with your own personal shopper. You enter a bus, try on clothes and come out with hot styles at a reasonable price.

This new take on shopping in the Cross Timbers area began with JoAnn Parker, the founder and owner of Beach Hut Mobile Fashion Boutique. The rolling clothing store brings the latest fashions to customers in a converted church bus. Parker sells everything from pants, leggings, and tops to a large variety of accessories.

Parker got the idea of Beach Hut from working at a boutique in Granbury, where she lives. "I would sit all day and no one came in,” she said. “There were all these cute clothes and no one was coming in. I knew that if I could get out and bring the clothes to the people, that women would want to buy them.”

Parker also knew she wanted to get on the trade show circuit. She had a love for fashion and putting outfits together. She started the company in October 2014, selling clothes out of the back of her Toyata Solara. In early 2015, she received an old church bus and converted it into her own mobile store with clothes racks and a private dressing room.

Parker hasn’t always worked in fashion. She worked in the business world for about 30 years with jobs including marketing and selling insurance. Working in business helped teach her how to dress professionally without looking stuffy. Parker said her passion

is to teach women how to dress not only casually, but also professionally for their body type.

Parker was so well known for her fashion sense that her friends would call her to help them match outfits for events. She showed women of all ages how to dress for their jobs and not lose themselves in the clothes.

"You can dress professionally and not lose your personality," Parker said. "I teach women how to dress with class, but keep your sass."

Parker loves to sell fun clothes that won’t break the bank – the highest priced item on the bus is $60. But she also stresses to women that having a statement piece is important for your wardrobe.

"You don’t have to buy clothing that will cost half a mortgage payment, but having a statement piece is important," said Parker.

"You want one thing that will be a showstopper in your wardrobe.

You want something to pop or stand out in any piece."

Among the fashion trends that will be hot this fall and winter are the colors burgundy and navy, Parker said. For college-age women, ripped jeans are popular and a big selling item. Fringe, including on shoes, also is expected to be a hot item.

Parker orders her clothes directly from a warehouse. She doesn’t stock big-name brands, but she said the clothes are of the highest quality. Beach Hut has attracted some loyal customers.

“Beach Hut clothes are always in fashion at an affordable price,” said Mandi Bane, a Beach Hut

customer. “Not only is the price fair and very reasonable, but the quality of clothing has been nothing but high quality and very durable for repeat wear. JoAnn also guarantees that if you have an issue with fit, size or issues with the item purchased, she will be glad to exchange or help fix the issue at hand.”

To get the Beach Hut to your doorstep, all you have to do is invite her -- she goes to any business or home that asks. She does have some locations around Parker and Hood counties that will let her come on a consistent basis and she makes a loop to those businesses.

If she sells out of a popular item, Parker said she can quickly get it.

“If I run out of something on my bus, I can re-order it in any size and color for the customer. I want to eliminate the stress of shopping and make it more fun for my customers,” she said.

Parker concluded that she has found her calling running the Beach Hut bus. The business combines her love of fashion with helping others look their best.

"God has given it to me to do what he wants me to do with it,” she said. “I will go where he tells me to go," she said.

For more information or to ask the Beach Hut bus to visit a particular location, call Parker at 817-694-3467 or visit the Beach Hut Mobile Fashion Boutique’s Facebook page.

Photo by Misty Bollman-Browning

The boutique features a unique style that attracts an array of different customers throughout the Cross Timbers.

Photo by Cameron Cook.

Love Stories and Flowers Flourish at Clark Gardens Story by Kira Zimmerman photos by Morgan Little

“She was the girl I didn’t know I had been looking for my whole life.”

— Max Clark

In 1972, the Clarks bought 35 acres of land covered with mesquite trees east of Mineral Wells.

Palo Pinto - 10

In July 1950 Max Clark, who was 22 at the time, went on a blind date with Billie Buck, a beautiful 16-year-old girl.

“It was love at first sight. Or at least it was for me, I don’t know about her!” Max Clark said with a laugh while recounting their first date. Two months later the couple was married. “She was the girl I didn’t know I had been looking for my whole life,” Clark said. It was the start of a lifetime filled with love.

In 1972 the Clarks bought 35 acres of land covered with mesquite trees east of Mineral Wells. Soon after their home was built, the Clark’s eldest daughter, Deborah, asked her parents if she could have her 1974 wedding in their backyard.

“I guess that’s what really got us started,” Max said while describing the beginning of the gardens. Billie got right to work, transforming their yard from a mesquite patch to a floral paradise, including an herb garden and an orchard. That first gardening experience sparked a passion for the Clarks that would last a lifetime.

Every day the Clarks would work in their gardens, cultivating and improving them with their own hard work. “We never had a plan. We’d build one bed, and then another; it just grew,” Max recalled. “By 1985 we got to the part where I thought we would stop, but that was just half the garden.”

Billie had other plans for the gardens. On a trip to England she was inspired by the majestic gardens at the castles they visited, and soon she asked Max to build her a channel garden and a white garden. “Billie was not a dilly-dallier, once she made up her mind, she never changed it,” Max said of his late wife’s frequent requests for additions to the gardens.

“Nobody designed any beds out here besides Billie and me,” he added. “And if they did, they did it under our instruction. There is no one else’s ideas in this garden except ours, good or bad. Nobody else had anything to do with either financing or building this garden.”

The Clarks never set out to build a public botanical garden; they simply built a garden for their own personal pleasure, but decided that the public should be able to enjoy its beauty, too. In 2000 Clark Gardens opened to the public for the first time. It has since grown to be a

sought-after event venue. Two tents on the property are frequently used for weddings and corporate and social events. Clark Gardens also holds nonprofit events such as Chili for Charity, Father-Daughter Dance, Bags, Bingo & Badges, and Garden a Glow.

Upon entering the gardens, the first feature visitors see is the channel garden surrounded by brick pathways and tall trees. A large white event tent is set up close by, making this area a picture perfect venue for weddings.

Every path leads to some lovely feature. The entire garden is clearly a labor of love; every bed is filled with something more stunning than the last.

In 2012 Billie Clark passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. After her passing the Clark family set up the Billie Y. Clark Fund to help educate and assist those affected by Alzheimer’s in the rural North Central Texas region. Clark Gardens also partners with the Alzheimer’s Association and hosts an annual fundraiser to raise money for the association.

Max concluded by summing up the ultimate meaning and purpose behind Clark Gardens: “She [Billie] is the garden, the garden is her. You cannot separate the garden from Billie.”

Clark Gardens is located at 567 Maddux Road between Mineral Wells and Weatherford. The garden is open in the fall through Nov. 29. It will reopen March 4, 2016, through July 4, 2016, and Sept. 2, 2016, through Nov. 27, 2016.

During this time no appointment is necessary and the gardens are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Off-season is Nov. 30, 2015, through March 3, 2016, and July 6, 2016, through Sept. 1, 2016; visitation is by appointment only during this time. Entrance fees are $9 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children. Visit the website at www.clarkgardens.org, call 940-682-4856, or email info@clarkgardens.org for more information.

Upon entering the gardens, the first feature visitors see is the stunning channel garden surrounded by brick pathways and tall trees.

Palo Pinto - 11

A New Spin on Power Story and Photo by Shelby Clayton

Looming

440 feet tall with three blades, the wind turbines make a rhythmic “whoosh” on top of the hills outside Comanche. It’s an unexpectedly quiet sound. This new wind farm, called Logan’s Gap, brought 87 turbines to Comanche. Most of them - 57 - stand on the property of Dudley Bros. Ranch.

Dudley Bros. is a commercial Hereford operation in Comanche County. “It’s a partnership of many different people all in the family, brothers and cousins, there’s a lot of us involved in it,” said John Dudley, one of the ranch’s partners.

The Dudley family has been in the registered Hereford business since 1938. The partnership of Dudley Bros. was started by John’s father, Eltos, along with his brother Gail and Tom, in 1927. Before that the Dudleys’ great-grandfather bought property in Comanche County in 1885. The Dudley family has strong ties to the area.

“We’ve been ranching here a long time,” John Dudley said.

The biggest part of the operation is the annual production sale in October where they sell 2-year-old bulls. This past October marked their 54th year to hold the sale. Besides raising cattle, they also lease their ranch for hunting. “We have a lot of hunters that hunt whitetail deer and turkey and quail,” Dudley said. Now they have added wind energy to their business.

“Several years ago we began to be involved with companies having to do with wind energy. It took a number of years to come to an agreement about building a wind farm,” Dudley explained.

The 200-megawatt wind farm began construction last December and was completed in September 2015. The wind farm was developed by Pattern Energy, an independent power company that owns and operates 16 wind power facilities - four of them in Texas - in the United States, Canada and Chile. Based out of San Francisco with an operation center in Houston, Pattern Energy owns Logan’s Gap. The wind farm’s turbines are manufactured by Siemens Energy, a sustainable energy.

The turbines in Comanche are three-bladed, horizontal-axis, 2.3 megawatt power machines that turn on and off automatically.

Wind turbines are the opposite of fans. Fans use electricity to make

wind, turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades around a rotor to spin a shaft inside of the turbine. This shaft is connected to a generator that makes electricity. A far cry from the standard windmill, turbines are, on average 13 feet wide and 250 feet tall. The ones in Comanche are 10 feet deep, 6 feet in diameter at the base, are over 400 feet tall and weigh just under a million pounds.

The electricity from the turbines in Comanche is enough to power 500,000 homes in Texas annually. All of the electricity that is generated goes to the same substation that is located on Dudley Bros.’s land. A substation is the place where the power is transformed from high to a lower voltage. “All the electricity from all 87 turbines is taken to that substation and then that power is put on the overhead and sent to an Oncor substation which is also on our land and then that power goes up the country to the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Dudley explained. Oncor is an electric transmission and distribution service provider with over 10 million customers across Texas.

The majority of the power produced from Logan’s Gap has been purchased by Walmart under a 10-year agreement.

Walmart is buying 58 percent of the energy and has a goal of reaching seven billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy by 2020. The energy Walmart receives from Logan’s Gap accounts for nearly one-fifth of the goal.

The wind farm’s construction took a lot of time and manpower. “At one time they estimated that there were 500 people working at peak activity level. It’s unbelievable that that many people could do what they did in the amount of time that they did it,” Dudley said.

The Dudleys aren’t the only people who were in on the deal.

“There are nine landowners all together who have turbines on this farm,” Dudley said. The process of involving the other land owners was done discreetly, he added. “They were very, not secretive, but they were very confidential about going to each landowner they wanted to be involved. They had this thing mapped out on paper and they were pretty confidential about which owners they were talking to and what kind of leasing arrangement they had going,” Dudley said.

The landowners involved didn’t talk to each other about the deals that they were making. There was no such thing as all the landowners getting together and saying “‘hubba, hubba, hubba, what are we gonna get paid’ and all that,” Dudley said.

As far as the Dudleys’ practices go, the addition of the wind turbines hasn’t changed their operation. “It doesn’t change our life any, it doesn’t change anything about what we do and how we do it. It does, presumably, give us another income stream in addition to the hunting and the typical cattle operation,” Dudley said.

The Dudleys continue to run cattle in the pastures where the wind turbines are located. “They don’t even know [the turbines] are there,” Dudley said of the livestock. “They bed down under them in their shadow. We never moved our cattle in the building of the turbines.”

The decision to put wind turbines on their property came down to the facts. “Comanche County is a county that doesn’t have any oil or gas exploration, no leasing, none of that so there’s no nice land owner bonuses. That was the prevailing

reason for us to do it,” Dudley explained.

Wind farms have proved controversial, with some opponents saying the turbines devalue their land, disturb livestock and mar the natural beauty. Dudly said for his family the decision boiled down to property rights.

“From my point of view and my family’s point of view, it’s our land. We believe in private property rights. If we want to build a wind farm on it, that’s our business,” said Dudley.

He added: “In reality, it does change the landscape if you look out and see the turbines over here and say, ‘Those look beautiful, they look like green energy, they look very progressive, they look modern, they look like a good idea, they look like they’re gonna help with global warming equation, that looks like a great thing,’ then you’re happy with them. But if you look over there and say, ‘Oh gosh, that doesn’t look how it used to look,’ then maybe you’re unhappy. If you’re a neighbor that wasn’t involved in it, maybe you’re unhappy, maybe you don’t care. But it’s like any other deal. Would you rather live next to a wind turbine or a hog farm?”

Social media played a role in what the detractors of the wind turbines had to say about the farm. “With the ability of social media now, if people were unhappy about it, then without calling me on the phone and saying, ‘John, may I come speak to you about it,’ they can just get on there and say whatever that want to say,” said Dudley.

“Won’t Feel Like Home,” a group of citizens from Brown and Comanche Counties, opposes wind farms. They believe their “well-being and way of life are threatened by industrial wind farms being built around and nest to our homes and land,” according to the Won’t Feel Like Home website. “They had strong, vocal opposition, again mainly on social media, I think they did go to the commissioners court and try to make a big commotion about it, but that’s all water under the bridge, [the farm] is out there now,” Dudley said.

“Part of what the naysayers say is that it changes the dynamic of the value of their land, but there is no evidence of that in the whole scheme of things,” he added. “These wind turbines are now everywhere and as far as actually damaging the adjacent land owners value, there is no evidence of that being true.”

Some people were in favor of the wind farm, he pointed out.

“The entire farm is in Comanche County so that makes a nice entity to tax,” Dudley said. “It adds a lot to the tax base, also the school district, also the hospital. So put these things together and the first thing that has to happen is that these companies have to come and make a deal with the county and the school district and the hospital district and the taxing authority. The commissioners and people involved with the taxing authority were very favorable. They are looking for something to tax.”

The turbines are expected to bring an estimated $130 million in taxes over 25 years.

For Dudley, wind energy looks to the future and can help ranchers diversify. “I think it’s important to realize that it is an opportunity for landowners to develop, to utilize their land in another way instead of just strictly farming and ranching,” he said.

Comanche - 13

The smell of popcorn and chatter of moviegoers fill the air.

Framed ticket stubs from the early 1920s and photographs of the theater marquee over the decades give the lobby nostalgic charm.

This isn’t your regular multi-screened, big-box movie experience. This is the CLIFTEX Theater, the oldest, continuously running movie theater in Texas.

“Well, ideally, I’d like it to last forever,” said long-time CLIFTEX employee and Tarleton State University graduate Scott Seargent. “I can see it lasting for several more decades. I think one of the biggest things going for us are the really good prices as compared to the big-box theaters, both concessions and tickets. You can get a large popcorn, a large drink and a movie ticket for $10 here.”

The CLIFTEX is the only remaining of three theatres that were founded by D.C. Caraway in the early 1900s. It has been in business since 1916. The original name was "The Queen Theatre," which was later changed to "CLIFTEX Talkies."

According to the theatre website, “upon its inaugural year in 1916, the CLIFTEX operated two theatres, one at the current-day site and the other on the other side of The Clifton Record building. The films, on multi-reels, were started at the CLIFTEX and then ‘bicycled’ to either the Gem or the Cub theatre (whichever it was called at the time), as the reels were completed at the CLIFTEX, to begin there for a separate audience.”

The theatre transitioned from silent to sound films and with those came the Western genre. While some might enjoy the gunfights and bar brawls on screen, one day in CLIFTEX history the feeling became all too real. The history posted on the theater website shared this story about what happened one time when the theater had a long line for a movie: “Many years ago, a drunken cowboy was waiting in line and waving his gun around when a constable decided enough is enough and tried to wrestle it from his hand. Upon doing so, the gun went off and the bullet passed through the leg of a man waiting in line.

The bullet also struck the side of the (Leon's Floor Covering) building, leaving an indention in the wall that can still be seen today.”

Seargent, a Clifton native, said the theater’s history inspires people of all generations. “It’s exciting. We’ll be going on our centennial next year.”

Hist ry in Reel Time

The oldest, continuously running movie theater in Texas celebrates 100 years Bosque - 14

Story and Photos by Tyler Christensen

After restorations in December 2008, the theater was returned to its 1935 glory. The concession area was expanded and new chandeliers were installed. Movie memorabilia and old film documentation was found during these renovations, including a popcorn machine from the 1950s, a movie calendar from the 1930s, ticket stubs from the 1920s and wrapper of “Beechnut” bubble gum, which was launched in 1910.

Legendary outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow paid Clifton a visit after one of their many bank robberies in Texas.

“Little did they know that in the 1970s their story would be told across the street, at the CLIFTEX,” the theater history noted.

Former CLIFTEX Theater owner Leon Smith recalled a successful experiment to play older, classic movies on a regular basis every other week to appeal to an older generation of moviegoers. “One of the movies that we showed was ‘The Man Who Shot

Liberty Valance,’ that came out in 1962 starring John Wayne,” Smith said. “I sat on the balcony and just listened to the people talk about the film and felt the excitement in the room. It received a standing ovation at the end.”

Smith, who remains involved in Clifton, would not only run the theater but the town itself. “I owned the theater, ran the Clifton Record and was also mayor at the time,” he said Smith, after turning over the theater’s reins to Phyllis Gamble and Mechelle Slaughter in May 2008, said the historical landmark is far from retirement. “I can see the theater lasting, well, not forever, but for a very long time, he said. “It’s part of this town and it’s drenched with history.”

The CLIFTEX is located at 306 W. 5th St. in downtown Clifton.

Admission is $5 with show times starting at 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The popcorn machine dates to the 1950s.

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Passion in the Pages Story and Photos by Bethany Kyle

“Look at me, Shy. Watch yourself take me over the edge. Watch what you do to me. You. Only you.”

Photo by Justin Pack

Susan Stoker loves happily ever afters.

A

fter 15 years of working in education, the last two at Tarleton State University’s registrar’s office, Stoker is now a full-time self-publishing contemporary romance author.

The office in her Tolar home brims with books, keepsakes and the “swag” she gives away to readers, such as pens and bookmarks. She offers one of her “naked man pens,” just like any other ink pen except this one had a secret picture of a bare-chested man, similar to the ones on the cover of her books. The picture rolls out of the pen when a tab is pulled.

Stoker published her first book in May 2014 with a small online publisher while she was still working at Tarleton. It became the first of her “Beyond Reality” series.

The concept involved normal people who found themselves on reality television,

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Protecting Cheyenne, book five in the Seal of Protection series

with an element of romance. The books sold a bit, but never really took off.

“They really got lost in all the other books out there,” Stoker said, commenting on the vastness of the online book market.

However, this didn’t stop her. In September 2014, Stoker started a new self-published series, “SEAL of Protection,” with Protecting Caroline. This series centers on characters who are Navy SEALS and the love lives that surround them.

The concept and the books took off.

“Navy SEALS, who knew?” she joked. By spring she had written two more books and a novella just by writing part-time on the weekends.

After writing a few books for the series, she had a book hit The New York Times bestseller list and began to think seriously about becoming an author full-time. Making the bestseller list spiked her book sales.

When this led her to her first six-figure month as an author, she decided it was time to pursue her writing.

“In one way it was a tough decision because a full-time job is a sure thing with insurance and set income, but I had been

so successful that I kind of just made the leap,” she explained.

Stoker has written books for three series so far: “Beyond Reality,” “SEAL of Protection” and her latest, “Badge of Honor.”

The inspiration for her series comes from her love of the “damsel in distress” trope.

“I’m kind of mean to my heroines,” Stoker said. “They’re all really strong, but I kidnap them, strap bombs to them, they get beaten up and all this stuff, and then their man comes in and saves the day.”

The characters themselves are inspired by the world around her: things that happen on TV, on the Internet and to herself and the people she knows. They just end up a bit more dramatized in print.

“I always tell my friends to be careful what you tell me, your stories may end up in one of my books,” Stoker said.

She noted that it is hard to keep the stories fresh because of so much competition in romance fiction in the book market. In the end, it’s just “all about how you write… and if you can capture an audience.”

Susan Stoker has written three romance series, her most known is the Seal of Protection series with her most recent installment of the series, Protecting Melody, ranking No. 7 on The New York Times bestseller list.

When it comes to actually making the story happen, Stoker said she writes in a way that she calls “odd.” She just sits down and writes the entire book in a week. It might be months before she comes back to it. Sticking to a schedule where a book is being released every month is no problem—Stoker already has two-anda-half-years of books planned out and the next six written, each being around 275 pages long.

This routine gives her time to work on the other components outside of the writing, including social media, marketing and attending book events.

“It’s not just about writing it and throwing it out there; you have to find people to read it,” Stoker explained.

Occasionally, Stoker will use the time to write something a bit out of her usual types of books. Annie George is the pen name

Stoker uses when writing erotica. She has published one novella, Stepbrother Virgin, which she calls flat out “just a book of sex.”

The novella didn’t sell nearly as well as her books and is more of a fun side-project for Stoker. Plus, when her friends and editors read it, not to mention her mother, “It’s completely awkward!” she exclaimed.

Stoker is always striving to sell more books and increase her base of readers with each publishing. And, of course, make sure the guy always gets the girl. She summed it up this way: “There’s so much negativity in our world today that it’s really nice to sit down and read a book where you know something is going to happen in the book, but they’ll end up together in the end and it will all be okay.”

Seal of Protection Protecting Caroline Protecting Alabama

Beyond Reality

Protecting Fiona

Outback Hearts

Protecting Summer

Flaming Hearts

Protecting Cheyenne

Frozen Hearts

Protecting Jessyka Protecting Julie Protecting Melody

Badge of Honor Justice for Mackenzie

Justice for Mickie

Coming March 2016 - Justice for Corrie Check out Susan Stoker’s website, www.stokeraces.com

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Classic Chassis

Putting History in Park Take a drive down the main drag of downtown Clifton and a long building with an aqua metal roof and glass picture windows stands out. What’s inside, though, is even more unique.

What used to be an old Brookshire’s grocery store building is now a center of attraction for classic car lovers all over the world. Clifton Classic Chassis is a nonprofit auto museum filled with classic cars from the 1950s through the ‘70s along with other historical memorabilia.

It all started when owner Terry Watson bought his first classic car, a black 1957 Fleetwood, in 1976 from a used car lot in Dallas. Friends and family knew of his passion for classics. They would inform him of someone they knew who had a classic car for sale and Watson became the new owner.

Several of the cars Watson purchased had rusted paint on the exterior and interiors

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that were either ripped to shreds or completely gutted out when he first bought them, but he has restored each one to mint condition.

“I got an inspiration to open an auto museum since I had this auto collection sitting in a warehouse in Dallas where no one could see them or enjoy them,” Watson said. “So I moved them to this old building when I found out it was open.”

He became a member of the Classic Chassis Car Club in Dallas 25 years ago and named his museum after it -- Clifton Classic Chassis. Over the years, he has accumulated 30 classic automobiles for his museum.

One of the cars in the collection is particularly special to Watson -- a gray 1951 Chrysler Plymouth. He went to the University of Texas in Austin driving a 1968 GTO that he was very fond of, but after his

Story and Photos by Rebekah Gilligan roommate totaled it when he borrowed it one day, Watson ended up with his grandmother’s old beat-up Plymouth for the next three years.

“That car was in terrible shape when I got it with my dad in Mart,” he said. “My mom used to call it the gray ghost.” Even though it may have been an embarrassment to Watson for three years, he kept it in storage and had it completely restored by 1992 and made it a part of his museum today.

Not only does the museum display classic automobiles, but it also has a “Clifton Memories Room” containing artifacts from the town during the classic car era.

One large piece is the 1935 movie projector from the historic CLIFTEX Theater just down the road. There is also a long mermaid displayed high above the room that is from the sign of the old community swimming pool that opened in the 1920s,

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called the Mermaid Pool. “The pool was the hub of the town on the weekends,” according to Watson.

Also displayed are seats from the old Clifton College that is now the Bosque Arts Center.

Watson mentioned that “a big part of what draws in the people to the museum are the many events the town holds on weekends in the square.” People come from all over the state to spend the weekend in Clifton and stop at the museum. Not only does the museum attract state travelers, but visitors from out of the country have made their way into the museum.

“We had four guys come in from Argentina that were looking to buy land in the area. They did not speak any English, but they just so happened to come through the auto museum while they were passing time,” Watson recalled. “Every once in a while, people who are retired and out to travel hear about the town and intentionally visit the auto museum.”

Clifton Classic Chassis is now the headquarters for the annual “Cruisin’ Main Street” Fall-Fest Car Show. The Fall-Fest Car Show is part of Clifton’s Downtown Main Street Fall Fest, which is held every third Saturday in October. Classic cars fill the streets and the entire front parking lot of the museum.

Town officials even block off State Highway 22 so townspeople can show off their classics on the street.

The festival includes vendors, live music and all sorts of arts and crafts. According to Watson, about 3,500 people show up for the festival each year. “It’s really gotten to be a big attraction for the town,” Watson said. People who want to have their classic cars be a part of this event can pre-register them online. The morning of the festival, the registered classic car owners can come out to the museum and enjoy some donuts and coffee and get a custom T-shirt, designed by one of the local paint artists.

“My hope for the future of this museum is to continue showing off these classic cars.” Watson concluded. “I want this to continue to serve as an attraction for Clifton.”

Weather permitting, the museum is open every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5p.m. throughout the year.

Admission is $3 for adults and free for children. It is located downtown across the street from the post-office at 406 W. 5th. Because it has a large open showroom, the museum also will host private parties, luncheons, special tours and car club events upon request. The art club in town has its annual Christmas party in the showroom and every November, the annual Wine Swirl that brings wineries from all over the state holds its registration in the museum. The once-grocery-store parking lot is large enough that many functions are held outside there.

The Clifton Memories Room contain historic Clifton items from a 1935 movie projector to a mermaid pool.

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Ben Hogan not only won numerous tournaments and championships, but also the hearts of his fans and supporters.

Deep in the heart of downtown Dublin in Erath County, a passerby can find a variety of interesting attractions. There’s the Dublin Bottling Works on Patrick Street, home to dozens of flavors of soda, such as black cherry soda, orange cream and retro grape. You can also find Old Doc’s Soda Shop and Museum, the Rodeo Heritage Museum, and the Dublin Veteran’s Memorial. Another unique attraction is the Ben Hogan Museum.

The museum opened on Aug. 13, 2012, on what would have been Hogan’s 100th birthday and 15 years after the famous golfer’s death. It belongs to the Dublin Historical Society and was developed with help from the Fort Worth-based Ben Hogan Foundation, as well as the Hogan family and specifically Mrs. Hogan’s great-niece who lives in California and who also is the heir to the Hogan estate.

Museum Director Karen Wright said that the museum has so many exhibits and such little display space that everything else must be stored in a bank vault. They even have items that Wright knows the United States Golf Association Museum would “love to have.” The museum has been featured on television shows such as “Texas Bucket List” and “The Daytripper.”

The board of directors who run the museum also host an annual golf tournament every year, typically in the summer, to raise money for the museum. The tournament is called the Ben Hogan Legacy Golf Series and it is in its sixth year. It has attracted what Wright calls “recognizable names” in the golf world – such as Bruce Devlin, Steve Elkington, Lindy Miller and Jennifer Alexander. They come from all different factions of the golfing universe and make their way to the tournament and

Dublin’s hole-in-one Museum Honors Golf Legend Story by Kasey Burgan Photos by Cameron Cook

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compete almost every year.

Who exactly was Ben Hogan? Many golf fans, young and old, consider him to be the greatest ball-striker who ever played the game. He was known as “The Hawk” and “Steely” and was as an inspiration and a hero to many fans. “I believe the Ben Hogan Museum tells the story of a man, not a golfer,” Wright said.

“A child, a young man, who went through some terrible circumstances, and I think he left life lessons about courage and determination and literally playing through pain.”

Hogan was born in 1912 in Dublin. By all accounts he lived a very happy life in the town for the first nine years of his life. Then his father ended up taking his own life, which affected young Ben’s personality and marked the end of his childhood because he had to drop out of school to support his family. After his father’s death he moved to Fort Worth.

As he grew older, Hogan would make frequent trips down to Dublin to play on the golf course, which led to his desire to become a professional golfer.

There was a problem with this decision, however. As Wright put it, “He wasn’t any good. He was really, really bad.”

During the first nine years of

his golfing career, Hogan did not win a single thing. When he did start getting good at the game, World War II came along. Despite not competing during his time in the service, he came back from war and began winning almost every competition he entered. “He was enjoying that success he had worked so hard for,” Wright recalled.

Then tragedy struck, Hogan and his wife, Valerie, were involved in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus. Hogan threw himself over Valerie, and his hips and legs were crushed in the accident while she came away with a scratch. His doctors didn’t think he would ever walk again, let alone play golf, but as Valerie said, “They didn’t tell him that.”

Around two months later he left his hospital, and 16 months later, he won the U.S. Open.

This was the event that sportscasters called his “comeback.”

Three years after that, Hogan won what was then called the Triple Crown, meaning he won the three most famous golf tournaments: the U.S. Open, the British Open and the Masters. “He is the only golfer ever to win those three majors in the same calendar year,” said Bob Bowen, one of the museum’s many volunteers. “No one else

has done it since.”

Hogan ended up winning six additional majors after the car accident. In 1953, he opened his own company, the Hogan Golf Co., “making what were probably the finest golf clubs ever made during that period of time,” Bowen recalled.

His metal engineer actually told the museum’s board that he had never seen anyone with such an understanding of metal tolerance, which definitely made his clubs stand out.

Hogan continued to play golf whenever he could for the rest of his life. “The fact that golf was his game is the P.S. to the story,” Wright added. “The story is about Ben Hogan.”

Wright believes that the small town of Dublin has been influenced by the fact that Ben Hogan called it his hometown.

“I have a theory that as long as someone is living he’s not necessarily understood or appreciated,” Wright said.

Hogan has definitely left a lasting legacy, both on Dublin and the golf universe. Dublin’s citizens are proud to have someone with a recognizable name call their town home.

Not only has Hogan continued to influence Dublin, but his name also is still mentioned by major sportscasters around the world. His story, his attitude

and his determination continue to inspire many in Dublin.

Wright said she has seen many visitors tear up during the tour while listening to his story.

People of all ages come to the museum, golfers and non-golfers. Wright said that she even sees school-aged children in complete awe at his story. Bowen added that many women are interested in hearing the Ben Hogan story, showing that the museum truly is for everyone.

As Wright pointed out, there is simply a “fascination with the Ben Hogan story” that draws people into the museum.

Wright also mentioned that while Hogan himself never got to see the museum, one of its visitors, who happened to be one of Hogan’s best friends, commented that, “Ben would have been so proud of this museum.” Wright concluded by saying, “You don’t have to be a golfer to love this museum.”

The Ben Hogan Museum is located at 121 E. Blackjack St., Dublin. Admission is free. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday by appointment only. For more information, call 254-445-4466, or visit the website at www. benhoganmuseum.org.

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D

olls of all kinds line the stairwell of the Granbury Doll House Museum and wait with gleaming eyes for another day of play. The wooden floor creaks throughout the 100-yearold house and beams of sunlight illuminate glass cases filled with painted faces.

“Hello” came from the back of the house as co-owner Kathy White greeted me.

“Dolls can be made of just about anything,” White said as she pointed to the first glass case. She explained the types of materials dolls have been made from -- cornhusks, rubber, porcelain, and celluloid, to name a few. She approached a doll that was nothing more than a rolled-up wash cloth with a face. “My mother would make these for me because they were so simple!” she exclaimed.

White is one of three owners of the Granbury Doll House Museum. Two sisters, Jane Sharp and Barbara Gray-Williams, run the museum with her. The trio grew up together in West Texas and all share an appreciation for dolls. Influenced by their mothers, the girls began collecting dolls from a young age and have amassed more than 2,000 in the museum.

Gray-Williams, who had moved to Granbury, thought opening a display in the tourist town would be a hit. After obtaining the historic house and becoming a nonprofit, the Granbury Doll House Museum was open to the public in time for the Candlelight Tour of Homes in 2013. The gabled house, built in the early 1900s

by J.N. Nutt, a member of one of Granbury’s founding families, resembles a doll house and is a fitting home for the museum.

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The first floor displays the collection, while upstairs is a workshop where Sharp works as a doll restoration and repair specialist. Proceeds from her services go back to the museum.

The museum features dolls of all ages and makers. Famous names like Madam Alexander, Jumeau and Kestner share space with more modern brands like Mattel and Hasbro. “We have always loved dolls and collecting them,” White said as she moved on with the tour, pointing out the famous Kewpie baby doll collection and two life-sized ballerina dolls sitting in rockers and ready to pointe at any time.

The tour proceeded to the Celebrity Room, which features celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, and Bill Clinton.

“Jane collected celebrity dolls and so that’s how this room came to be,” White explained.

“They fell into groupings, international being the largest, and we organized the museum based on the groups.”

Walking into the kitchen, White mentioned how space was becoming an issue. “We’ve even played with the idea of putting a collection of Eskimo dolls in the freezer for display,” she said with a chuckle. Dolls lined the counters, sat on top of appliances, and stared down from shelves of cabinets. The Advertising Room is where visitors can find “brand” dolls like Little Debbie and the KoolAid girl.

In the next room, Mother Goose flying on a goose hung in the corner along with Humpty Dumpty, who sat on a small brick wall. A doll with an extremely long neck turned out to be a giraffe adorned with a large green dress and bonnet. “We never know what we are going to get in donations,” White quipped.

Interesting pieces in the

Photo by Katlyn Gast

“Au doll they um Photo by Katlyn Gast

Welcome to the Doll house

Story by Katlyn Gast Photos by Justin Pack

Kathy White and sisters Jane Sharp and Barbara Gray-Williams pose on the steps of the Doll House Museum.

atlyn

st

“Autumn” a seasonal doll greets visitors as they enter the museum.

museum include two large dollhouses embellished with miniature furniture, clothes and accessories.

A small white patio table and chairs adorned its front lawn and glasses of lemonade as small as a pen point rested on a serving tray. White explained that the donor frequently visits to decorate the house by the season.

The largest room houses Native American, Asian, Indian, and even Amish dolls that have no faces. White explained that the dolls in the International Room come from all over

the world and some from her personal travels. The Antique Room houses dolls that date to the 1800s but are still in excellent condition. A popular doll in this room, Lady Grace, is actually a 5-foot-tall mannequin and is a frequent subject for selfies. She wore a dark blue dress that hugged a waist too small for a modern woman’s body, and blonde curls framed her porcelain-like face.

The museum owners want to share their passion for dolls with younger and older generations.

“Older people will bring their grandchildren. I love seeing the

love of doll collecting being passed down to the children,” White said. As I left with a greater appreciation for dolls, a thousand luminous eyes bid a silent goodbye.

The Granbury Doll House Museum, located at 421 Bridge St. in Granbury, is free and open to the public every Saturday and Sunday when the flag is flying.

For more information call 817894-5194 or visit www. http:// www.visitgranbury.com/directory/ granbury-doll-house-museum/.

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A Walk with the Best of the West Story by Megan Peterson Photos by Justin Pack

A plaque honors professional cowboy Tuff Hedeman, just one stop on the Walk of Fame.

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Hundreds of people chatter in their metal seats waiting for the next competitor in the arena.

Clowns sport oversized overalls with red, blue, green, and purple handkerchiefs spilling from different pockets. The clowns run from one end of the arena to the other to grab the bull’s attention. They hop over a 4-foot-high wall just in time to escape the charging bull from attacking them.

The clowns are there to entertain, but the serious action comes when the announcers introduce the next bull rider. He climbs the wooden fence that separates the walkway and the bull, which is trapped in a 6-by-4 foot chute, already trying to buck off the rider.

The cowboy gets his grip, looks up at the gate openers and clock runner, and nods. The gate opens and the clock starts.

Rodeos such as this one celebrate Western heritage. So does the “Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame,” a downtown Stephenville memorial that recognizes individuals, both locally and nationally, who have achieved worldwide honors. The memorial was placed in Stephenville because it is known as the “Cowboy Capital of the World” and the Cross Timbers region enjoys a rich history of Western heritage that started centuries ago.

Located a block southwest of the Erath County Courthouse square, the Cowboy Capital Walk

of Fame wraps around a parking lot. Plaques are embedded in the sidewalk a yard apart from each other. They bear the names of rodeo and Western heritage luminaries such as Everett and Eva Colborn, Chick Elms, Walt and Debbie Garrison, Tuff Hedeman, John Justin, G.K. and Nita Lewallen, Ty Murray, Cody Ohl and Harry Tompkins.

The Walk of Fame stopped inducting individuals in 2004, but hopes to induct future candidates in the next couple of years.

Large rodeos took place in New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden, but the first indoor rodeos were held in Fort Worth, at the Cowtown Coliseum. Much of the expertise of the indoor rodeo and its buildings came from the Cross Timbers region, which also was home to the cutting horse business.

In 1946, Dublin held the first cutting horse show. Cutting horses are trained to separate, or “cut,” a calf from the rest of the herd and keep it from returning to the herd.

According to the National Cutting Horse Association, cutting is one of the fastest growing equine sports in the nation.

“It’s bringing the Western way of life to a lot of people. A lot of people probably want to see it just as a sport and not so much to do with the heritage,” said Bob Doty, former head rodeo coach

Plaque commemorates Dallas Cowboy and actual cowboy Walt Garrison and his wife, Debbie, an accomplished rodeo athlete.

The main pavilion in the center of the Walk of Fame.

at Tarleton State University and a Walk of Fame inductee. “It isn’t just a sport, it’s what the core fathers did, the people that settled this country – it’s how they made their living.”

Planning a rodeo can take weeks or even months to organize and involves finding a facility, advertising the event, hiring employees, attracting contestants and acquiring stock, if necessary.

“You have to have added money so you get the best contestants.

You have to rent the facility, pay for the stock, and then you have the production,” Doty explained. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of energy and it costs a lot of money.”

One of the production team’s most difficult tasks is to ensure the rodeo has enough livestock. If a rodeo host doesn’t own enough horses or bulls, then that person must subcontract -- go outside of their business to employ someone else for their assistance. Subcontracting animals can be challenging because the animals must weigh the same, have equal experience, and be fair for the contestants.

“You have to be particular to be sure to choose someone who has an even set of cattle,” explained Delia Walls, a Walk of Fame inductee. “The animals need to be all even -- by that I mean approximately the same weight and that the cowboys will like them, so it’ll give them a chance to win.”

The Western lifestyle likely wouldn’t be as popular today if it weren’t for the people who portrayed the heritage. Hollywood produced Western movies that showed cowboys and cowgirls working hard gathering cattle and harvesting their crops as the real people who lived that lifestyle did.

“The Western way of life is defined by the people who live that life,” said Walls. “They’re honest, hardworking, caring people who will give you the shirt off their back if you need it. You don’t find that in just every walk of life.”

Rodeo is more than a sport and the Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame recognizes that the Western lifestyle is and will be a way of life for years to come.

“It means keeping alive what the cowboy way of life is -- the ranches, cattle, skills of a cowboy,” Doty said. “It was the backbone of the economy.”

The Cowboy Capital Walk of Fame is located in downtown Stephenville along Washington Street across from the Stephenville Chamber of Commerce and L Bar Western Art. Western Heritage Week every September recognizes cowboys and cowgirls in the area.

For more information, visit www. stephenvilletexas.org/community/rodeo.

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A Day in the Life of a State Trooper Story by Michael Squires

State Trooper B.J. Hill says one of the most satisfying parts of his job is pulling over a drunk driver and preventing a potential accident.

Photo by Mikka Hill.

It’s 7 p.m. Saturday and you’re driving down Main Street in Stephenville. You see flashing lights in your rearview mirror, so you pull to the side of the road. Your heart starts to rush, you turn the car off and roll down your window as the officer approaches.

State Trooper B.J. Hill calmly explains that you were traveling a little fast, asks for your license and registration then returns to his car. When he comes back he hands you a warning, asks you to slow down in the future and sends you on your way.

Many drivers have experienced that gut-wrenching moment when you are driving down the road and a law enforcement officer pulls you over. This moment has the potential to either ruin your week or make your day.

Trooper Hill isn’t looking to do either. He is just doing his job.

Hill has been serving Texas

for six years, doing whatever he can to keep the streets safe.

When asked why he originally decided to go into law enforcement, he responded, “I have been called to serve people, and the job of a state trooper is to serve the people.

It just works out that I get to do what I am called to do and get paid for it at the same time.”

The job of a state trooper goes far beyond handing out tickets and drinking coffee, however. “We are not ticket cops,” Hill said. “Our pay does not increase or decrease depending on the number of citations we hand out.

Our mission is to keep the streets safe. If we believe that someone’s compliance will be gained voluntarily then they receive a warning. We hand out tickets to people when they are endangering others through their actions, or if we think that forced compliance will be necessary.”

According to Hill, one of the most satisfying parts of the job is when he can pull over a drunk driver and prevent a potential wreck. “When I stop someone from driving drunk, it’s more than just enforcing the law. I am also saving a life,” he said.

One of Hill’s favorite parts of the job is to investigate vehicle crashes. These involve inspecting a crash site to determine what the cause was or who was at fault. The officer doesn’t have to witness the crash itself to be able to tell what happened. By looking at skid marks, the officer can determine the speed the vehicle was traveling, when the driver hit the brakes, and even what actions were taken to prevent the crash from happening.

This involves a lot of science, observation and training to do effectively. “All the evidence is there, you just have to look for it,” Hill explained.

Texas state troopers are also

responsible for maintaining the border between Texas and Mexico. Every month troopers rotate from wherever they are stationed to provide border security. One of these trips in particular stands out in Hill’s memory.

He recalled an incident when troopers were responding to a tripped camera. The cameras on the border are similar to the ones that hunters use to watch game because they are activated by motion.

Whenever Hill and the other troopers on patrol at the time went to investigate, they found four individuals who had backpacked across the border. They began pursuit of the individuals but lost three of the backpackers whenever they ran through some thick brush.

They were able to recover the backpacks, since the backpackers had dropped them when the pursuit began. In the bags were 415 pounds of marijuana. They also apprehended one of the backpackers and took him into custody.

State troopers’ jobs never really stop, from the moment they take the position to the day they retire.

Their goal is to protect the roads and the people who drive on them.

California Senator Barbara Boxer once said, “Law enforcement officers are never 'off duty.' They are dedicated public servants who are sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened.”

With law enforcement officers being shot at or even killed for wearing uniforms in several incidents this year, many communities are holding rallies of support for city, county and state law enforcement. So next time you see a state trooper, thank him or her. As Hill said, “We are here to serve.”

Veterans Experience the Healing Power and Photo by of Horses Story Chanda Neal The smell of horses, manure and the rhythmic squeak of a leather saddle greet visitors to the Tarleton State University Equine Center. Two of the almost 20 volunteers drag a large white set of three steps with a hand rail from the storage room into the arena. Two more volunteers lead one of the six saddled horses to the side of the steps as the first rider, Judith Dowd, approaches.

“He’s a beauty!” she exclaims as she nears the steps.

“His name is Cash,” one of the volunteers tells her.

As Judith mounts the 20-year-old horse, she smiles and says, “Yes, I’ve met Cash a few times.”

With a volunteer on either side of her and one to lead Cash, Judith starts walking the horse at a steady pace around the arena as her daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters wait for the volunteers to bring around more horses.

As Judith and her family begin to ride, Dr. David Snyder, director of Tarleton’s Equine Assisted Therapy program, or TREAT, walks by with a high-backed saddle in his hands.

TREAT in June 2014 began providing a horseback riding program for veterans and their families.

Many of the eight to 10 veterans that are usually present have health issues or are unable to come for other reasons. On this night when I visited, there is only one veteran in attendance, Judith’s husband, Dick. He served as a Marine in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1969.

Two more riders arrive. Mike and Pat Stewart are the founders of the Wet Veterans in Granbury. The Wet Veterans was started in 2012 as a support group that offered water therapy classes for veterans at the Hood County YMCA in Granbury, Texas. They meet every Friday night for coffee,

cookies and fellowship.

After hearing about the benefits of the TREAT program, they wanted to give their veterans an opportunity to be involved. The Stewarts spoke with Snyder and Shelby Price, Tarleton riding instructor and coordinator, almost a year-and-a-half ago about becoming a part of this special TREAT program.

Now it’s a monthly event.

Judith’s and Dick’s granddaughters, Emmaline and Jocelyn, are shooting a basketball horseback in the arena while their parents continue to ride.

Judith dismounts her horse just as her husband enters the area. With a slight smile on his face, he sits in the high-back saddle Dr. Snyder had been carrying earlier.

“That new saddle has really helped,” Judith says. “That’s the longest he’s ever ridden. He just wouldn’t stop today.”

Due to a spinal cord injury from a car accident in recent years, Dick has been confined to a motorized wheelchair.

“When we came home from the accident, we didn’t have a way to get out of our house,” Judith said. “And he couldn’t even go throughout the whole house, so he spent the first few months just in the bedroom.” The doctors and nurses at the spinal cord injury hospital encouraged her to help Dick get involved in a hobby, but without a special van, this proved to be a difficult challenge.

“The first time I did get him out I was singing in the civics choir and we were doing the 4th of July concert and the Methodist church, I found out, had a bus, a handicap vehicle,” Judith said. “I asked if they could please bring out my husband and they did. That interaction with people is what helps, especially with depression.”

Judith started bringing Dick to participate in the TREAT program

Wet Veterans joined TREAT in early 2014 for therapeutic horeseback riding. after the Wet Veterans joined in early 2014. She heard about therapeutic horseback riding while she and her kids were walking their dogs. Though she was skeptical to let her children participate due to cost, three of her daughters and two of her sons started volunteering for a program near their house in Weatherford and later gave lessons.

“They [the Weatherford program] worked mostly with kids,” Judith said. “I didn’t know there was such a thing for adults. So when I heard about it I was like, ‘Let’s go for it,’ especially after I heard the benefits.”

Therapeutic horseback riding has been proven to help strengthen the upper body, breathing, balance, coordination, and even help improve speech and patience among many other benefits.

Snyder started TREAT in 1995 as an after-school program. Tarleton TREAT still holds after-school riding sessions for kids in local foster homes, members of Rock House and anyone else interested, every Monday through Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for a small fee.

For more information about the TREAT class, Special Kids Rodeo, TREAT for veterans program or the benefits of equine assisted therapy, contact Price at sdprice@ tarleton.edu or Dr. Snyder at snyder@tarleton.edu.

Erath - 27

The renowned Campbell’s tomato soup can is the starting point of the artistic hunt throughout Eastland.

Throughout the town, the art is placed with backdrops contrasting the buildings.

Eastland - 28

Eastland’s Art Scene

Story by Toni Evans Photos by Cameron Cook

A giant Campbell’s soup can looms next to the Dairy Queen on the Interstate 20 service road when driving into Eastland. It represents artist Andy Warhol, the iconic artist who used pop culture images, including the soup can, in his works.

Getting off the interstate and heading into town, it becomes apparent that Eastland has become an outdoor art gallery. On the side of Farmers and Merchants Bank is a replica of “American Gothic” by Grant Wood, while a copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” adorns Pizza Heaven.

The project of bringing art to the buildings around town was suggested by Cathi Ball, a teacher at Eastland High School. Area artists helped complete the project over six years.

Now a tourist attraction, the outdoor art exhibition includes 41 pieces, from a copy of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Starry Night” and Michelangelo’s dramatic touching fingers in “The Creation of Adam” to sculptures such as the “Horned Toad Sculpture” located near the Eastland Chamber of Commerce.

Visitors can grab a map of the outdoor artworks at the Chamber of Commerce at 209 W. Main Street. Every artwork has information that describes the piece and the original artist, making for a fun and interesting cultural driving or walking tour.

For more information about the outdoor art museum, visit http://www.eastlandfoundation.com/ outdoorArt.html.

The art exhibits not only highlights famous painters, but also features familiar notable icons.

Eighteen Ninety Story by Denise Harroff Photos by Justin Pack

Fine Wine,

Prime Steaks and Spices To Go

Customers browse through a variety of different spices and oils on the first floor market.

On

the second story of a historic building on the Granbury square, a table by a window overlooks the plaza. The atmosphere is warm, inviting, peaceful and private.

The bar across the room from the window is decorated in dark woods and offers a variety of unique drinks, such as a Godiva chocolate liquor martini.

A small area features leather chairs sectioned off by hanging wine bottles strung together and lit by lightbulbs.

This unique place is the best seat in the house at Eighteen Ninety Grille & Lounge.

Jason Emerson, owner and creator of Eighteen Ninety, began his idea of a “polished casual” restaurant in 2011. Then, the building was split in two—one restaurant downstairs and another on the second story.

Emerson said he visited

Hood - 30

these restaurants and saw potential in the building where the restaurants were located.

“I could see all the work that could go into the building and make it beautiful,” he said. “There was no one in the immediate area that did anything for special occasions, for birthdays, anniversaries, date night. In order to have one of those great experiences, you would have to drive into Fort Worth.”

Eighteen Ninety consists of three dining rooms: two with 15 tables each and one reserved for large parties and special occasions. This creates a more spacious, private atmosphere for customers.

Downstairs, the room has bare stone walls. Emerson said the lack of artwork was intentional. “There was a bar downstairs, and we took it out and made it a private dining

room. Instead of covering up the walls, we kept up all the stone walls with their original stone. These walls are art in themselves. They have beautiful colors in the stone. They’re from the 1800s,” said Emerson.

Eighteen Ninety’s dinner menu includes steak, chicken, duck, lamb, salads, desserts and appetizers, including the “Texas Trilogy”—chicken, quail and beef with a sliver of jalapeno, all wrapped in applewood smoked bacon.

Emerson encouraged all customers to try something new at Eighteen Ninety, although steaks are the signature dishes.

“All of our steaks are certified Angus beef aged a minimum of 27 days. They’re the top 7 percent of all Angus cattle. They have extremely well, evenly distributed marbling

throughout the steak. That definitely is our focal point,” he said.

“However,” he added, “we have such a small, limited menu that we don’t put anything on the menu that we don’t back up 100 percent. I always recommend people to try something new. If you’ve never had duck before, we recommend to try duck. It’s going to be presented excellently. It’s going to have great flavors, and if it’s something that you don’t enjoy, let’s take it off the bill and get you something that you do enjoy in front of you.”

While customers wait for their table at the upstairs bar, they can sample some of Eighteen Ninety’s custom drinks.

Emerson even has a few on the list named after his family members. “Some of them are named after my children,” he said about the drinks available

at the bar. “There’s a Jule-tini, which is named after my oldest, Julian. That’s because she really likes fruity drinks.

My wife’s last name is Tai, so we have a drink named a Royal Tai. My wife loves champagne and she loves raspberries. It’s a champagne with a raspberry liquor. The youngest one, her name is Mai. So, we just have a Mai Tai.” An award-winning wine list six pages long—which includes their most expensive bottle of red wine, a bottle of Napa Valley Phelps Insignia from 2010 for $573—sits on the tables for customers to thumb through. The available wines come from all over the world, including Italy, Argentina, Spain, Chile, France and three local wines from Granbury.

“The wine list is always evolving.

We started off with about 50 different varieties of wine. We are now over 200.

The majority of them are Napa Valleycentered,” said Emerson. “Most of them are from California. We currently do not have many Texas wines. We are actually growing our international selections of

wines right now. A lot of those will be coming from Italy and France and a few from Argentina and Spain.”

Emerson also said Eighteen Ninety is “the only restaurant in the area (except for Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose) to win the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence outside of the Metroplex,” he said.

Another unique quality about the eatery is its marketplace next to its front doors. This marketplace began because of Emerson’s father’s famous steak rub.

Eighteen Ninety uses this secret-formula rub, Buddy Emerson’s House Blend, on their steaks that customers crave. After being asked to sell the spice, the restaurant began bottling it and selling it in a small store downstairs.

“My father created this rub about 20 years ago, and ever since then we’ve just been winning competition after competition after competition on the barbecue scene,” he said. “It was always really popular. Whenever I brought that seasoning in and (began) using it on the steaks, people kept asking me for the seasoning.

A sample of Eighteen Ninety’s signature house blend of spice.

Of course, I would never give away my father’s secret recipe. We started selling it in the bottles.”

As the business grew, more spices and oils began flowing into the store, all of which are created with larger distributors and bottled/packaged at Eighteen Ninety, except for the house rub.

Emerson said that many of his customers never even know Eighteen Ninety had a restaurant inside.

“It’s really surprising how many people do not know that we have a restaurant next door. They come in just for the spices and the olive oils and vinegars,” he said.

Not only are spices and oils available in the marketplace but so are the meats that Eighteen Ninety cooks. Two deep freezers in the store make the same meats the kitchen uses—steaks, duck, pork chops and other meats—available raw for customers to enjoy cooking at home.

“We decided we were going to get refrigeration and freezer units and start selling all of our products, our steaks, our quail, our pork chops, our rack of lamb.

Everything that we use in the restaurant, you can actually purchase it in the marketplace,” said Emerson.

However, the availability of these meats will not last forever.

“In order to expand on that front, we are actually taking the refrigeration and freezer units out. You can still order all of our products online at eighteenninety.com, but we will be taking out the retail refrigeration unit and expanding it to more oils and vinegars,” he said.

Although Granbury is currently the only place to find Eighteen Ninety Grille & Lounge, Emerson said that he is looking into expanding the marketplace aspect of the business and hoping to branch out as far as Missouri.

“We’re talking to different real estate brokers now about expanding our marketplace concept, but not the restaurant at this time. We’re just looking to open our second—possibly third—location within the next year.”

Eighteen Ninety is located at 115 E. Pearl St. in Granbury. The hours of operation are Tuesday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Hood - 31

Farina’s Winery

Where Old and

New Friends Meet Story and Photos by Ashley Ford

Owner Gary Farina furnishes and decorates his restaurant with antiques. French tapastries hang from the original brick walls.

The Siena Suite features a solid walnut, Italian queen size bed.

Hood - 32

L

ocated on the Granbury square, Farina’s Winery welcomes customers with this motto: “Not only do friends meet here to catch up and enjoy a bottle of wine together, but new friends meet here too.”

After a long day at work, friends can meet at Farina’s for a glass of wine and lunch or dinner. Farina’s Winery is the perfect place to dine for an intimate night or even for group dinning. People come to Farina’s Winery for the warmth of the environment influenced from a Sicilian background. Surrounded

by French tapestries, American antique tables, an Italian marble statue makes guests feel as if they have traveled back to the 1900s era.

With Farina’s Winery orig-

inating in Grapevine, Sicilian owner Gary Farina was presented the building space in Granbury and had a vision for another Farina’s Winery. The building was divided into four long, narrow “shotgun” shops that were built in 1893. When Farina redid the building he tore all the plaster off the walls, exposing the

original stone and brickwork.

Tall archways now connect each shotgun room together, creating the romantic feel Farina wanted, and antique furniture picked out and bought by Farina decorate the building.

Unique English pub tables are scattered throughout the dining area. A semi-private

balcony area overlooks the main dining area. Farina’s Winery offers private and group dining for lunch and dinner, with an event room that can seat up to 70 people, a private room seating up to 25 people, and an outside patio seating up to 60 people. These eating areas are well suited for weddings, showers, birthdays and cooperate meetings.

Menu items range from salads and sandwiches to pasta, steaks, fish and pizza with prices varying from $10 to $30. “We do everything in house from scratch from sauces and dressings, to mashed potatoes. Only top quality is served and that is only done by not cutting corners,” head Chef Mike Eubank, said. The menu is also kid-friendly with pasta dishes for the little ones. Farina’s Winery also offers food for wheat allergens, such as gluten-free pizza with and gluten-free bread chips for spinach dip.

For dessert, chocolate Kahlua cake, an assortment of pies, cheesecake and tiramisu are made daily by the chef, “but the pies are made specially only for Farina’s Winery by an 80-year- old woman in Grapevine” added Farina.

While dinning in I had the salmon as the feature item with a side of aspar-

agus.

The salmon was caramelized on top and garnished with an orange slice providing a hint of flavor. With the salmon so thick and juicy, every bite I savored.

As its name implies, Farina’s Winery is known for its wine. Thirty-nine wines by the glass are available and 94 different wines are available by the bottle, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Texas reds, pinot noir, merlot, zinfandel, syrah/shiraz, chardonnay, other whites, ports, sweets and frozen wines. The wines come from Texas, California, Germany, France, Argentina, Chile, Spain and Portugal. Farina’s Winery serves happy hour Monday through Friday 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and offers a variety of beer from Belgium, Italy Texas, and locally.

Not only is the restaurant open to the public, but also to the people staying in the bed and breakfast upstairs. Casa Farina includes three luxurious suites: -- Jesse James Suite, Siena Suite and Renaissance Revival Suite – with restored antique furniture and modern amenities such as Jacuzzi tubs and showers. All framework and trim is original. All the suites have a French Gothic theme with

French pieces dating from 1880 and an Italian bed from 1700. In the Renaissance Revival room, the queen-sized bed and armoire date to 1860, surviving the American Civil War. Gary Farina’s vision of the nostalgic 1900s can be enjoyed by guests with a variety of superb wine and delicious Italian dishes. As a place for old friends to meet and new ones to come together, Farina’s Winery is the home of taste.

Located at 202 N. Houston Street in Granbury. Farina’s Winery is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday from 11a.m.-8p.m. For a reservation call 817579-5300. For more information logon to http://www.farinaswinery.com

Hood - 33

Featuring a sample bar of many of the flavors, Hico Popcorn Works is a popular stop for road trip snacks for the tourists and locals it attracts. So pop in anytime.

What’s Your Flavor?

Story By Ashley Ford Photos by Cameron Cook

Hamilton - 34

Donna and Steve Douglas moved to Hico 10 years ago to find a home to call theirs. Donna’s dream house was something she could play with and put back together. With a picket fence, tin roof and wrap-around porch, the house they found was the perfect place where they felt they could get away.

Steve was no longer working for Apple Inc. and Donna had done her part as a medical social worker for Texas Health Resources in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A nurse she worked with gave Donna the idea of making and selling popcorn. Donna thought it could be sold in different quantities as a versatile product.

Six years after going into the popcorn business, Hico Popcorn Works’ owners look back on how they started. They learned a lot by

traveling to other popcorn shops. But it was in Southlake, at Julie’s Gourmet Popcorn, where they found their best resource. “Steve worked elbow to elbow with Hobey (one of the owners) for two to three weeks. They are both very precise and careful. As you can see, our equipment looks brand new. They (Julie’s Homemade Popcorn) shared recipes and resources,” said Donna.

The shop moved buildings a year ago last April. Donna said she was not too thrilled about being located so far down the street, but she felt Blue Star Trading Co., located across Pecan Street, would be an asset to bring in more customers. The popcorn’s scent lingers on the main street, taking passersby by the nose. Even their business cards carry the shop’s sweet aroma.

Donna originally started with only making and selling popcorn, but not everyone liked popcorn. She brought in some pralines, brittle, cookies, brownies and pretzels. Almost two years ago, Barbra Ferguson closed her fudge store down the street, Serendipity. Ferguson later sold her fudge operation to Donna. “I didn’t realize how lucky I was at the time,” Donna recalled. “Because not only did I get the kettle, the recipes, the contacts to get supplies and things, but I also got Barbra.

She came and worked with me and showed me all the things she has learned making fudge.

And of course I inherited all her fudge customers.”

Fudge is sold in hunks (quarter-pound), bites (an eighth of a pound) and scraps are sold as “baby bites” for 50 cents.

The shop’s outreach has expanded over the years, selling popcorn wholesale to other retailers. “We didn’t think we could sustain with just the customers in the store, but the walk-in traffic with us is phenomenal!” Donna exclaimed. “We get the locals because they do all the weddings and birthday parties, you know, school events. We do team colors for the surrounding towns. Hico is such a drive-by, stop-off place for people tripping on the 6 or 281 that we get. And through events we have: the state steak cook-off, the Billy the Kid car show and antique fair. Anyone of those events is a big day for us.”

Customers can sign the shop’s guest book by the register. Flipping through the pages, one can see that customers come from all over the nation and foreign countries such as Japan, The Netherlands and Germany.

“I enjoy the people first and the creativity second; it’s fun to always be thinking of new things to do with the popcorn,” said Donna.

The popcorn flavors vary in taste and texture: caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, white cheddar cheese, yellow cheddar cheese, kettle corn, cinnamon toast, backyard grill, dill pickle, salt and vinegar, garlic parmesan, buffalo, ranch, sweet jalapeño and movie theatre.

The shop also offers seasonal flavors. For the spring the shop sold Texas wildflower; in the fall, “Shades of Autumn” and camouflage. For Christmas the owners always try to do something different. This year it is “Holiday Spice,” a flavor consisting of seasonings in pumpkin pie, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. It even looks like potpourri. “It cracks me up because people will come in and taste everything at our sample bar and I’ll listen, ‘Oh that’s so good, did you taste the dill pickle?’ and then they will

Steve Douglas pouring a new bath of “baby girl pink” vanilla popcorn, one of the more popular products, also including “baby boy blue.”

buy ‘Movie Theatre,’” said Donna.

The shop pops mushroom popcorn and butterfly popcorn once a week. For their topof-the-line sellers, the Douglases keep 60 gallons of Movie Theatre, kettle corn, and caramel, 30 gallons of toffee and buttercream, which were made as an experiment and accident, and 10 gallons of white cheddar.

The Douglases still travel frequently and look in popcorn shops all over to compare. But “we always come away thinking ‘we are better,’” Donna said.

Hico Popcorn Works is located at 111 Pecan St. To contact, call 254-7964125.

Hamilton - 35

AnJanette and Gregory Jones moved to Strawn from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Strawn Cakes and Bakes became an official business in November 2012.

Few people stumble

into running their own business like AnJanette Jones of Strawn Cakes and Bakes did.

The Louisiana native hadn’t considered turning her baking skills into a career until after she moved to the small town of Strawn. However, once her daughter found that kids at her school were willing to pay $1 for her mother’s cake pops, Jones found an opportunity too good to pass up.

Despite lacking formal training, Jones has been able to decorate cakes since she was 16 years old. An old boyfriend had taken a class with his mother. Even though he didn’t enjoy the class, he passed on the knowledge to AnJanette.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Jones was working in the

Palo Pinto - 36

real estate business as a title abstractor. She evacuated with her family, only to be called back into work as essential personnel once the worst had passed. During the years after Katrina, Jones felt that New Orleans was becoming less and less like home. None of the schools AnJanette attended survived the storm. People used to be able to work their way up from the small end jobs to a more established position. However, the new chapter of New Orleans saw her abandoning her real estate job when she was a year away from becoming a supervisor.

A new wave of people were coming to live in New Orleans and there was a noticeable change in the culture. Her “partner in cake,” and husband, Gregory, had previously lived in Texas for

seven years and had expressed interest in wanting to move back into the state. AnJanette was a little comprehensive, but after several small trips, she agreed to the move.

She found more acclaim when she entered a cake into a local cakewalk upon moving to Strawn. Her neighbor, who had requested the cake, thought it was store bought and couldn’t believe what AnJanette could do with a Duncan Hines cake mix and frosting. It wasn’t until she found her daughter, Silence, could sell her cake pops at school for $1 that demand began to pick up. They sold cake pops at the home football games. Then people began ordering cupcakes. Then someone ordered a sheet cake.

AnJanette laughs as she recalls that the first “custom

cake” she sold was a ‘plain Jane’ sheet cake with brown frosting and simple lettering.

However, that prompted her to register Strawn Cakes and Bakes as an official business back in November 2012.

A cottage industry, Strawn Cakes and Bakes is run out of the Jones’s home in Strawn.

They have a separate kitchen that they use for the bakery business, as well as a separate store room for all of their equipment. AnJanette saves her baking for an 1980s era German made stove that sits along the far wall of her baking kitchen. The walls are decorated with many character cake pans, with more waiting inside the cabinets.

They are currently renovating their home to be able to fit in more business. She and her husband both have a food

From Bourbon Street to Strawn Story by Bertie Gardner Photos by Kelsey Poynor

handler’s license, as required by the state, and their kids are also in the process of obtaining their licenses.

AnJanette notes that what sets them apart from other cottage bakeries is a sad fact.

“People have come to me, hesitant to order because another small baker took an advanced payment and never delivered their cake….I like to treat people as if they’re digging ditches for their money. [They] work hard and they deserve to get what they paid for.”

An expert in paying attention to detail, she is always throwing in “upgrades” as she strives to make the cake unique to the person. Fondant toy giraffes, unique butterflies painted on rice paper, and real buttercream ruffles are all a labor of love.

“I don’t want them to find a dozen different images of their cakes on Pinterest,” she said. “I want them to have their cake... and eat it too!”

As Strawn Cakes and Bakes grows, they begin to offer more options like sugar free and gluten free, as well as other small baked goods that they sell

at their vendor table in different Texas markets.

“People ask why I don’t have a traditional storefront. I want to keep it small. My customers prefer it small. If I had to worry about making donuts to fill the case, I wouldn’t get to work on the custom cakes.”

Some of her cake projects have taken a few days because of the detail she wants to put in them, as well as time needed for cake to set. Her famous toy giraffe made of fondant took her two days to make. Zombie cakes, which are zombie heads made of cake, can take up to a day and a half without breaks.

Some projects require a month’s advance notice.

You can see more of Strawn Cakes and Bakes cakes and more on their Facebook page. They often put up where they will be out selling on the weekend so you can have a taste of what they offer. They serve the surrounding area, from Strawn to Dallas-Fort Worth and out towards Abilene.

You can reach AnJanette Jones at (254) 672-5358 for a free cake consultation.

The first 'custom cake' AnJanette sold was a ‘plain Jane’ sheet cake with brown frosting and simple lettering.

Palo Pinto - 37

Cross Timbers Trails by the Numbers

Comanche 15 Number of different hunting seasons in the county.

238 Days in the county’s growing season.

Compiled by Sydney Burns, Mary Cage, Dillon Craig, Darhyl Eubank, Austin Farrar, Rebecca Hernandez, Traivohn Jefferson, Erica Melendez, Trevor Myres, Brittany Scott, Lainey Smith, Megan Stevens and Garrett Talavera. Based on publicly available information.

Eastland Somervell 1897 The year when the famous horned toad known as “Old Rip” was placed in the cornerstone of the third county courthouse.

3

Number of major waterways in the county — the Brazos and Paluxy rivers and Squaw Creek.

Hood 1 The first Texas Centennial Marker is on the site of Elizabeth Crockett’s cabin.

$150 million The average county income from agriculture.

Hamilton 5 Number of Indian burial mounds in the county

1859 The year WIlliam “Brushy Bill” Roberts, who claimed to be Billy the Kid, was born.

31 Number of years “Old Rip” slumbered in the cornerstone before the time capsule was opened and he was still alive.

Erath 34, 45 and 220 40 Number of local men arrested, including the county sheriff and county attourney, in 1923, for moonshining after a move to clean ou illegal alcohol operations.

Bosque

11,200

Number of years ago the burial of a man and a girl took place in the Horn Shelter, an ancient Lowest temperature record- archeological site. They were ed in the county at Whitney the first known inhabitants of Bosque County.

Dam on Feb. 2, 1951.

-3

34 Cemeteries throughout Hood County.

32.7 Minutes Average travel time to work, workers ages 16 and up.

Palo Pinto $1.2 Million Cost to build the Baker Hotel, which opened in 1929.

Number of foreign countries, states, and counties, respectively, represented at Tarleton State University.

120 Years Dublin Bottling Works has been bottling sodas. It is the oldest soda facility in Texas.

1 The Baker Hotel, rising 14 floors, was the first skyscraper built outside of a metropolitan area and the first to house and Olympic-sized swimming pool.

N

e

easons

ason.

m

states, esent-

per itan and pool.

Cross Timbers Trails is published by Tarleton State University Department of Communication Studies Box T-0230 Stephenville, TX 76402 (254) 968- 0519 editor@crosstimberstrails.com www.crosstimberstrails.com

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