Cross Timbers Trails Spring 2016 by Cross Timbers Trails

Cross Timbers Trails Volume 5, Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2016

Haley Painter: “[I] fell in love with the power of the bike and knew I was made to race dirt bikes.”

Gl a mping:

A Fancier Way To Camp

Your guide to the eight counties of the Cross Timbers Area

Bluff Dale’s Cajun Cuisine in a shabby, chic shack

Foreign roots lead to Stephenville’s Eclectic bistro

What’s Inside 6

Top 10 ways to help your local animal Rescue

8 The Liquid Gold of Bosque County

Features

The Gift of Life

Life at Full Throttle

Stills in the Hills

Ghosts and Gravy

The Bayou in Bluff Dale

Cover Story

18 Small Town Bistro, Big International Flavor

Food

Meat Me in Hamilton and Bite My Butt!

22 For the Love of God, Coffee and People 23

Coffee With A Twist

24 Granny Clark’s Serves Home cooked Hospitality 25 Hard Eight SAvors Its Smoky Success

Outdoors

Places of Interest

26 A League of Their Own 28

Glamping in the Texas Safari

Riding the River

31 Storiebook Cafe: A Novel Experience

32 Where the West Was Painted 34

Cowboys and Romance Come Together at Circle T Ranch

Cover photo by Randy McCamey, Shea Creek Photography

Reliable. Local. Broadband. High-speed Internet • Digital TV • Home Phone High-speed Internet – With speeds up to 24 Mbps

Digital TV – With online programming from TV Everywhere included *

Unlimited long distance & local calling

Bundle & get Roku® + HD DVR included FREE

Call us today! (254) 968-4189 975 N. Lillian in Stephenville

e l d n u B ! e v a S and

getnorthland.com/stephenville

*Speeds are approximate. Must subscribe to Northland Internet to lease Roku®. Access to TV Everywhere content requires a Northland Television subscription. May require credit check, deposit and/or payment by credit card. Unlimited calling limited to direct-dialed domestic calls. May not be available in all areas. See getnorthland.com/offers for full terms and conditions.

Letter from the Editor

Harley Brown Cross Timbers Trails Editor-in-Chief As I reflect back on my time serving as the editor in chief of the Cross Timbers Trails Magazine, I can’t help but think how thankful I have been for this experience. Texan News Service welcomed me with open arms my second semester at Tarleton and, three years later, I’m still a member of the team. They trusted me to take on the position as editor in chief of Cross Timbers Trails after only being the ad sales manager for one semester. If it weren’t for my advisers pushing me to take on a position I didn’t believe I was ready for, I would still be doubting myself, believing that I wasn’t good enough. So thank you, Texan News Service, for taking a chance on me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do what I love these last three years, and helping me improve my journalism skills each and every day. Thank you for assuring me that I chose the right career path, and becoming more like a home for me than a job. Although my time with Texan News Service comes to an end this semester, I will carry the memories made and lessons learned through this experience with me forever. So please, enjoy my last publication through Texan News Service. I’ve watched the Cross Timbers Trails magazine grow each issue that I’ve been here, and I have to say this is the one I’m most proud of. I hope that as a reader you will see the amount of time and effort put into this issue reflected through each page. So if you’re just now becoming a reader of the Cross Timbers Trails, welcome! I hope you enjoy your guide into the Cross Timbers Trails. And for those who have followed the magazine throughout my journey the last three years, thank you for being faithful. You readers make all the hard work worth it.

Samantha Wight Cross Timbers Trails Art Director Copy Editors and Fact Checkers Makensie Anderson Morgan Little Katie Armstrong Riley Odom Savannah Baxter Lura Rylant Cameron Cook Joshua Sexton Austin Farrar Arantxa Sosa Rebekah Gilligan Landon Stanley Morgan Gilliland T.R. Varnado Bayli Gregory Renee Warner Sean Hargrove Dalton Wolverton Photo Editor Cameron Cook Photographers Cameron Cook Rachel Tuggle Harley Brown Hilaree Foreman Anthony Strother Nick Bruner Denise Harroff Randy McCarney Heather Sims Mark Mallory Sara Honeycutt Adviser Kathryn Jones-Malone

Top 10 Ways To Help Your Local Animal Rescue Story By Denise Harroff Photos By Denise Harroff and Harley Brown

If you’re an animal lover and adoption supporter, you may think to yourself, how can I give back to my community and help the local homeless pet population? Well, you’re in luck, because I have 10 answers to that exact question.

10. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT ADOPTION So many people in today’s society have no idea how beneficial it is (both to the person and to the animal) to adopt a rescue pet. Good rescues save animals from euthanasia in kill shelters, abandonment, and homelessness. They have the animal nursed to health, fully vaccinated, treated for any illnesses, spayed/neutered, microchipped, and many times trained for basic good behavior in a foster home. They know the animal’s ins-and-outs—if they’re kid friendly, dog friendly, cat friendly, housetrained, crate trained, etc. When most people consider getting their first animal, they may Google Basset Hounds for sale in my area without a clue that there may be a Basset Hound rescue in their area with plenty looking for homes. The only way for them to know that there are wonderful adoptable animals in their area is if you tell them!

9. SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA Many rescues have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages in order to advertise their adoptable pets. Share these posts like wildfire! Like I said before, the only way for someone to know their future pet is with a rescue is if you show them! Sharing posts and tweets and pictures gets exposure for adoptable animals. They get so much more exposure than they would by just sitting in a shelter, being seen only by shelter visitors and volunteers. By sharing an animals post, people who were not considering adopting an animal before may just fall in love with their picture and spark interest in adopting! Social media is a great tool for rescues, and sharing their posts is truly helpful!

8. SPONSOR AN ANIMAL’S ADOPTION FEE Some of us are maxed-out with animals. There is no way we could adopt one more, even if we wanted to. In this sort of a situation, it is so helpful to pay (or partially pay) an animal’s adoption fee without actually adopting them. It’s just like when something at the store goes on sale; you weren’t interested in buying it at full price, but now that it’s half off, you’re considering taking it to the cash register! A discounted or covered adoption fee can be make-or-break for an animal. Paying or helping pay for an adoption fee can bring light to an animal that wasn’t getting enough attention before.

7. SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR OWN PETS The reason this action is so important is because of the effect it has on homeless populations. Rescues are always full. They always have plenty of animals, and there is hardly ever any vacancy. This is because there are always more adoptable pets than there are responsible adopters. In order to help dwindle the homeless pet populations and decrease the amount of overflow rescues are constantly dealing with, spaying and neutering your pets guarantees that your pets will not be a source of the problem.

6. DONATE FOOD AND SUPPLIES Rescues’ expenses are never ending. Vet bills, grooming fees, transportation fees, food bills, they all add up. There is no profit in rescue. By donating necessary food and supplies, you can alleviate the expenses rescues constantly face. This includes but is not limited to pet food, dewormer, pet beds, collars and leashes, ID tags, blankets, brushes, toys, treats and shampoo. These are all items that rescues are constantly supplying for the homeless animals they care for to live happy, healthy lives. There are never too many donation items.

5. VOLUNTEER Adoption events can be hectic. Transporting animals from their foster homes or facilities to the adoption event can be a lot of work when they’re located in so many different places and all have to be set-up and crated by 10 a.m. Then, when interested potential adopters start asking questions about adoptable animals, volunteers are the ones to answer their questions. They also clean crates and litterboxes when animals have accidents, help adopters understand the adoption contracts they sign, take the dogs out on leashes when they have to potty, take donations and put them in the right place, and help kids to understand which cages they can stick their hands in and which ones they can’t. Volunteers can also help by driving animals from the shelter they’re saved from to the vet or their foster home. They can transport animals from foster homes to the vet or adopter. Volunteers are extremely necessary to the constant hustle-and-bustle of animal rescuing.

3. DONATE TO VET BILLS Vet bills are constantly piling for rescues. Most animals pulled from shelters, found on streets, or surrendered by owners are not up to date on vaccinations, not spayed or neutered, and very often not completely healthy. A puppy that breaks with Parvo can cost a rescue $1,500 to treat. A cat that has been hit by a car and is need of a leg amputation can cost $500. Sterilization surgery can cost anywhere from $50-$300, depending on the size of the animal and location of the vet clinic (big city vet clinics tend to be more costly than vet clinics in rural areas). Vaccinations alone cost an average of $45. With animals constantly in and out of the rescue, this can all pile up over time. Rescues do not profit and are almost always in debt. Donations are what keep rescues functioning and able to help animals in need. It is one of the most important things to a rescue’s success.

2. ADOPT

Adopt your next companion! It’s amazing all the animals rescues have. I’ve seen cats, dogs, horses, donkeys, miniature pigs, roosters, guinea pigs, ferrets, mice, frogs, and even fish surrendered by owners to shelters. By letting your local rescue know the species and/or breed of pet you’re looking to adopt, they can surely find it somewhere. There is an abundance of homeless animals in the United States, especially in the south. By adopting a pet, you are allowing a space to open up in the rescue for another animal to be given a chance to live, you’re saving that particular animal’s life, and 4. FOSTER you’re giving an animal a second chance that someone at one point A foster home is a middle-place where an animal stays between the in their life gave up on. Also, by adopting a spayed/neutered and time they spend in the shelter or on the streets and in their forever vaccinated pet, you’re helping decrease the homeless pet population home. In their foster homes, animals heal from necessary surger- and common animal diseases in your area. ies, learn basic commands in order to help them get adopted, learn that people are loving and not around to hurt them, learn socialization skills, go to vet appointments to be fully vetted and approved 1. ADOPT! as healthy for adoption, food, water, shelter, TLC, and exposure I cannot say it enough. Adopting a pet is one of the most rewarding through photos and videos. Foster homes are vital for the success of things you can do in your life, in my opinion. It is such a selfless, a rescue. Without them, rescues would practically be non-existent; helpful, economical, logical, and beneficial thing to do for yourself, animals would have nowhere to go. Fostering is a valuable volunteer the animal, the rescue, and your community. It is something you method and one of the top ways to help a rescue. won’t regret, and it’s the most helpful thing you can do for your local animal rescue.

H AT R E

The Liquid G ld of Bosque County Story and Photos By Hilaree Foreman

Cranfills Gap, a small town with a population of under 300 located outside Clifton in Bosque County, boasts a proud Norwegian history and a sweet, golden secret. The welcome sign reads, “Velkommen to Cranfills Gap.” Visitors get another kind of welcome in the town’s historical Norse District. As you turn into the property of Norse Gold Honey and drive up the dirt road, you are first greeted by Buddy, Bob and Emily Miller’s affectionate white Great Pyrenees. He barks and alerts Bob and Emily that they have a visitor. Emily, in true Southern hospitality, offers a glass of sweet tea. Bob, who was born in Meridian, Bosque County’s seat, had previously lived in Galveston and Rosenberg, a Houston suburb, when his father began working with the Chevrolet and Ford Motor companies. Bob and Emily decided to move back to Cranfills Gap in 2009 after selling his family’s Ford dealership after 37 years. Initially, Bob wanted to run cattle on his land, but knew he couldn’t keep up with them properly while still commuting from Rosenberg. He decided to get into beekeeping while scouring the Texas Department of Agriculture website looking for agricultural tax exemptions. Bob discovered that beekeeping ventures are considered

tax-exempt. However, in 2011, the Texas Legislature decided that a maximum of 20 acres was required for beekeeping. This posed a problem because Miller’s land covers 84 acres. He’s now getting ready to welcome cattle, too. Bob admits he had zero experience in beekeeping before he decided to pursue it. “I took a one-day class in Houston from a lawyer who had two hives in his backyard,” he said. He began reading all of the literature he could absorb to prepare himself for his beekeeping venture and admits the book that taught him the most was Beekeeping for Dummies. The Millers at one time had 16 colonies, but are down to four functioning hives due to Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. The disorder is defined by the Centers for Disease Control as a phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen. While some cases are natural, the cause of CCD has been narrowed

down to certain pesticides that treat many GMOs, or genetically modified plants or foods, to resist the pesticide so that only the weeds are affected. The bee then lands on the plant and the pesticide that is treated on the plant attacks the bee’s nervous system. The bees become disoriented and often wander around, never going back to their hives, leaving the queen bee and many immature bees in the colony vulnerable to pests such as small hive beetles and wax moths. When the colony becomes

too small, the queen bee will then gather up the remaining bees and swarm somewhere else to make a new hive. Bob’s first species of bee was the Buckfast bee, which is a manmade,

cross-strain of bees developed in the 20th century to be gentle and hardworking with queen longevity and less prone to swarm. His first harvest was in 2011, which was one of his strongest harvests and hives, producing roughly 70 pounds worth of honey, with about 60,000 to 70,000 bees. This is the average amount of bees for a successful hive. With the first harvest, he was able to bottle, package, and sell 22 1 ½ lb. bottles to a local store, Sulak’s, in Clifton. I experienced beekeeping up close, putting on Emily’s beekeeping suit and getting in on the action. The suit is not for anyone who is claustrophobic. Your entire body must be covered because bees will find any crack or crevice to get into and sting you. I was covered with a white jumpsuit, rain boots that go under the suit for further protection, thick gardening gloves and a straw hat cloaked in a black veil that goes completely around your head and neck, and tied around the waist. Just wearing the suit gave me a newfound respect for beekeepers, as it was only around 75 degrees and I was already sweating bullets. I couldn’t imagine doing this in the

middle of a Texas summer. As we made our way toward the four hives, which are about 300 feet south of the Millers’ home, you hear and feel the buzzes get stronger with each step. When we approached the first hive, the buzzing was so loud that Bob had to yell everything he said to me. He first must use a hive tool, which is essentially a mini crowbar, to pry apart the frames because of the strong substance of beeswax. In its purest form, beeswax has the ability to basically glue all of the frames together. He then pulled one frame out of the brood chamber, where the nectar is cultivated into honeycomb. The frame is about 75 percent covered, so it’s not ready for harvesting just yet. Once the honeycomb is ready, it is capped by beeswax and is ready for harvesting. By this time, the bees were not happy. Bees will basically do anything to protect themselves from what they perceive as a threat, and opening up and prying through their hive had them very angry. Bob noted that bees are naturally attracted to dark things, so my black veil and black camera captured their attention.

We then closed the first hive and headed over to the next one. It was only about 25 percent full, nowhere near ready for a harvest. We skipped over the third hive and headed over to the fourth hive, which proved to be a dead hive. We made our way back to the shed, and it took almost the entire walk back for the bees to drop off and head back to the hive. When asked how many times he’s been stung, Bob said he’s lost count, but explains that bees will only sting for two reasons: “They will sting if you get aggressive with them. And they will sting to protect the hive, and also with swarms.” He added, “If you’re just walking around and see a bee flying, as long as you don’t swat at it, you’ll be just fine.” Bob and Emily have settled in at Cranfills Gap for their second phase of life. They both have integrated themselves as mentors into the community, with Emily and Bob helping the local kids out in the area with many FFA and 4H projects. Bob takes pride that his hives are 100 percent organic, meaning he doesn’t treat them with anything to keep away pests. “Let them do their own thing,” he said. “These pollinators are vital in nature and responsible for helping turn flowers into fruit and vegetables.” While Norse Golden Honey hasn’t had a successful harvest since 2014, Bob is confident that will change. He hopes that when more people learn about CCD and the dangers of certain GMOs and pesticides, they will take action in helping save the bees – and that in turn helps us all.

U SQ

The Gift of Life Why should someone who has more than they need withhold something from someone who needs it more? Be the Match, the National Marrow Donor program, is a registry that gives opportunity to those who have a desperate call for humanity. This opportunity can save and allow an individual to experience a life full of potential greatness.

o Ph

Focused on the donation of bone marrow and stem cells, the Be the Match program is a last chance for those with life-threatening blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma. But there is one negative side to the opportunity they provide to patients nationally, and in some cases internationally.

by ry

r Te k

o Co

Even though they have millions of people involved within the registry, a crucial percentage of “registered donors” do not go through with their commitment after signing up. A vast majority turns away this opportunity of saving a life instantly. The reasoning behind that is beyond my understanding, because in my eyes, what is more important than a human life struck with a potentially fatal cancer with so much left to live? Fortunately, my patient and significant others were informed that they were matched with a donor. That donor was me. Nothing is more important than a life. But I will tell you from the other side, the patient’s perspective, that without the generosity and humanity of blood and organ donors, my newfound brother would not be here today. I was first contacted by Be the Match in October 2015 for being one of many matches for a specific individual. At the time, the program staff did not disclose any information about the patient or why they needed the donation. All they asked of me was for eight vials of blood for further testing. After the program notified me about receiving my blood work, they said they would know who the “perfect match” would be in two to three months. Three months later, January was about to turn into February when I received another call from Be the Match. This time it was to confirm my

Story and Photos By Cameron Cook

consent, for I was the “perfect match.”

The preparation of the donation procedures immediately began to take place. Be the Match created a fine-tuned schedule for the processes leading up to the donation and the donation itself -- “fine-tuned” meaning they synced my donation procedures with the chemotherapy procedures of the patient, killing off the cancerous stem cells that my healthy stem cells would be replacing. Three days after the call, I drove to San Antonio for a physical examination. Ten days later, I drove to San Antonio again to begin the actual donation process. I began four days before the donation with a Filgrastim (fill-grass-tim) injection in the triceps of both arms at a set time every day, which made my bones mass-produce stem cells. This increase in stem cells produces side effects such as flu-like symptoms and achy bones. But through it all, I knew it was worth it. When donation day came, I was very nervous, but extremely excited, making it easier to go in and do the procedure. I was hooked up to a machine that from one end removed blood from my body using my left arm, and sent it through a series of different filters, filtering out my stem cells. After being filtered as much as possible, the red blood cells and other properties were pumped back into my bloodstream with a connection on my right arm. This process of extracting and replenishing went on from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which is considered very quick for the procedure because it depends on the donor’s blood flow speed. After hearing the procedure, it does not seem so bad, right? Yet still, people have no interest in hearing the process before turning down a life-saving opportunity. Is a small sacrifice of your time, a few days of side effects and a specific biological property that your body constantly replenishes worth saving another human’s life? That is for you to decide. The patient, who I have personally seen endure this challenge and whom I call my brother, is 24 years old, but he isn’t your typical mid-twenties life enthusiast. At

ERATH the age of 4, Landon was diagnosed with Chromosome 22 Ring, a chromosomal abnormality where a deletion of genetic material on each end of the chromosome causes the ends to attach and create a ring. This causes learning disabilities and other complications with biological functions. Throughout Landon’s life, he has endured health issues, but with his lofty disposition, he is not only the most genuine, selfless, enthusiastic, thoughtful, compassionate elevator of joy, but also the most humble lover of people. Anyone who has met Landon, and/or heard his story, has had tears brought to their eyes by his enduring strength, or left with a smile of gratification from his purity of heart. But as all people know, the strongest hearts endure the toughest circumstances.

that changed everything Landon exhibited as a person before the storm. But then, on top of all these inevitable circumstances, things took a turn for the worse.

Landon had to have specific transfusions from only O-.

One of the reasons Landon’s miracle occurred was because of the generosity and selflessness of strangers willing On Christmas Eve 2012, 20 days to donate their time and God-given after turning 20 years old, Landon was necessity of life. This led Landon to go struck with a stomach ulcer from an through eight successful blood transallergic reaction to the medicine he fusions, and leave the hospital just two was taking. This ulcer induced extreme days later. internal bleeding, leaving Landon with Having been a part of the family side eight units less of blood. To put this of the patient

perspective, I had no doubt in my mind about donating when I was contacted about being a “perfect match.” I first did it for Landon; then, I did it for the unidentified individual. For uncertainty of life is an unnecessary burden to place upon someone already undergoing strenuous circumstances. A phone call can be put on hold, but a life cannot wait.

Again I say; When Landon when you have was 15 years old, more than you his life changed need, why not forever. His trial give to someone Landon and Cameron enjoy spending time together. began with an who needs it more? Photo by Nick Bruner out-of-the-blue If you would like seizure, which had to become involved in the Be the Match into perspective, eight units of blood never happened before in his life. This program and place yourself on the is approximately 4,000 ml of blood, one seizure sparked a line of illness registry just in case someone somewhere which is close to almost the average spanning over the next 7 ½ years. needs you, and only you, you can visit amount of blood a single human Through the first years, Landon experienced wretched health complications being possesses in the entire body. The the website bethematch.com to register doctors and nurses watching over him online. You can also use the website to that you wouldn’t even wish upon find out where and when a registry drive your worst enemy. Hundreds of sleep- said Landon was the most amazing miracle they have ever seen. With him will be happening near you. less nights, constant pain from head to toe, uncontrollable impulses, things also having the rare blood type of O- ,

Life at Full Throttle By Deb Alexander From the moment she mounted her first motorcycle, Haley Painter knew she had found her calling. At age 14, this 5-foot-1-inch tall girl decided that she wanted to race dirt bikes. Two years later, she became a champion in the male-dominated sport of flat track racing in the Vintage Dirt Track Racing Association. Haley sprang this new passion on her parents when she was recovering from tonsil surgery two years ago. “When I had surgery they gave me like a 50 percent chance to live because I had a bad heart problem with it,” she explained. She has a heart murmur and her tonsils were infected and affecting her vocal chords and Eustachian tubes. But the initial evaluation to determine if surgery was necessary to remove her tonsils found other complications that made her condition more life threatening.

It turned out that the infection from her tonsils was draining into a pocket that had formed near Haley’s heart. The surgery was successful and the experience left her with a desire to live life to the fullest. Haley said that after her three-week hospital stay, her dad wanted to give her something for being so brave. “I was very sick and my dad asked me what would make me happy and I said I want to race dirt bikes,” she recalled. Although Haley had never ridden a motorcycle before, she had been on her dad’s three-wheeler and knew she enjoyed the thrill of this type of sport. With a big grin on her face, Haley said, “My dad raced three-wheelers while I was growing up and I just thought I want to do what my dad does; I even took his racing number, 52.” Bill Painter took his daughter to the shop where he purchased his own motorcycle, thinking they were just going to look at bikes that day. But it didn’t turn out that way. When Bill brought Haley into the shop to look at bikes, the salesman turned out to be longtime racer Patrick Tharp, the shop’s general manager.

Patrick’s father, Jim, opened House of Wheels in Brownwood in 1962 after serving in the military. Years later Jim sold the shop to Terry McDonald,

who happened to be Bill Painter’s racing coach. “The House of Wheels isn’t just another motorcycle shop, it’s like a family tradition,” Bill Tharp explained. “I grew up in this business. And he worked me through junior high, high school. I worked here after school,” Tharp said about his father. “Putting motorcycles together and sweeping floors to general manager. My life has done a complete turnaround.” Despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago, Patrick still competes and currently leads two championship divisions. Although multiple sclerosis ended his career with the city of Early and as a U.S. Air Force reservist, it brought him back to his roots as general manager of House of Wheels in Brownwood. While talking with Haley at House of Wheels about her desire to race dirt bikes, Patrick noticed how intently she listened to him. “I was taking to her about the ugly side of racing and most kids would stop listening, but through all the commotion Haley never stopped listening,” he recalled. Haley selected a Yamaha YZ8,5 calling it “a special type of bike” because her dad and Tharp initially adapted it to ride motocross, off-road motorcycle racing on tracks. Haley said her dad and Tharp “taught me the basics, you know, what I should and shouldn’t do.” She took her first ride behind House of Wheels. After that, Haley said she “fell in love with the power of the bike and knew I was made to race dirt bikes. It didn’t even scare me, which surprised my dad and Patrick.” Although Haley started out on dirt bikes, she said after she tried motocross racing she knew she loved the dirt bike, just not that type of racing. So they transitioned her to the sport of flat track racing. “I placed third in my first race in Sherman, Texas, and that’s when I knew

cC am ey M an dy sb yR to Ph o I was going to be pretty good at it,” she said. Flat track racing is “getting back to the basics -- where motorcycle racing really started and what motorcycle racing used to be.” Riding with number 52 on both of her Yamaha bikes, Haley races with the Vintage Dirt Track Racing Association in the DTX 85 class and the DTX 250 class on what are called “short tracks,” which are quarter-mile and half-mile long oval tracks. To help her better control her racing, her bikes have been lowered as much as 10 inches, which helps when running average speeds of 95 to 100 mph. But Haley said that flat track “isn’t as much about speed as it is about skill and control.” Unlike her mother, Cindy Painter, who played sports all her life, Haley was really never into athletics before she discovered racing. She didn’t like team sports because “you have to depend on the other teammates to play, but in racing I only have to depend on myself.” Her mother never imagined Haley would want to race dirt bikes.“Being in sports all my life I never even thought my kid wouldn’t like sports,” Cindy said. “But motorcycle racing never even entered my mind as something my daughter would be doing and I couldn’t be prouder of her right now.” Haley and her family know she has chosen a dangerous sport, but she

HOOD

she said. Her most serious wreck occurred in her last race at Mesquite’s Devil’s Bowl Speedway where another racer’s bike came too close to hers and his handlebars pulled Haley off her bike. Haley’s mother said she was going about 85 mph when she flew off her bike. said that “you just have to do it and there’s nothing I love more than racing and all of my family and race family.” Part of what she likes best is getting to meet people from other cities, states, and countries with different cultures, but still with something in common. At a Vintage Dirt Track Racing Association race in Colby, Kansas, which was the second race of her first year, Haley witnessed a horrific wreck. The accident occurred just before her race and one of the racers was tragically killed. It drove home the hazards of her sport, but it didn’t deter her from what she loves. Cindy wasn’t sure how her daughter would react to seeing such a terrible accident, but to her surprise Haley didn’t let it stop her from competing. She did, however, decide to invest in life insurance, which most teenagers don’t even think about. Haley is no stranger to wrecks herself. She has had several minor accidents. “Luckily, I usually just bounce and tumble without breaking any bones,”

“I saw her trying to get back up and saw that she wasn’t getting up very good so I went walking out there trying not to panic because I didn’t want to scare her little brother,” Cindy recalled. Haley was taken to the hospital by ambulance to make sure she wasn’t seriously injured. But after she was checked out, “all she wanted to do was to get right back out there,” Cindy said. Despite the wreck that could have ended Haley’s racing career, she has placed first, second and third places at speedways in Kansas and in Texas at North 40 Cycle Park in Sherman, the Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club in Waco, the Superbowl Speedway in Greenville, and five first places, two second places, and the championship win at the 85 DTX class at her annual week-long racing trip to Kansas. Haley’s racing skill shows that she’s found her calling as she enters her third year of racing in 2016. It won’t be too long before she starts putting her pro card to use and enters in the professional classification of flat track racing.

Stills in the Hills: Glen Rose’s moonshine past lives on

L EL V ER Consisting of 192 square miles, two M SO rivers and two highways, Somervell County is the second smallest county in Texas. Even though it’s small, its history is larger-than-life with dinosaur tracks running through the Paluxy River at Glen Rose and a colorful past as the “Moonshine Capital of Texas.”

In the 1920s, the county’s top industry involved the illegal production and selling of alcoholic beverages, namely moonshine, a high-proof distilled spirit that often is produced illicitly. With its high limestone hills and tall cedars, the county made the perfect place to hide over 20 fast-producing stills throughout the trees along the Brazos and Paluxy rivers. Gas stations at the edge of Glen Rose were the hot spots for pick-up locations. Not only were townspeople involved with this, but the county sheriff and county attorney were arrested on August 25, 1923, in one of the largest Prohibition busts in Texas. On that Saturday morning, Texas Rangers from Waco converged on Glen Rose to catch the bootleggers. They confiscated 66 gallons of whiskey, 84 bottles of beer, eight gallons of wine and 550 pounds of sugar, and made over 30 arrests. All of the confiscated items were put on display at the courthouse. Six months later on February 20, 1924, Dick Watson, a Texas Ranger involved in the Somervell Moonshine bust, was shot in the back of the head and neck through a window while visiting a friend in Glen Rose. While six men were taken into custody, there was an insufficient amount of evidence against them

By Christian Rocha and the case was eventually dropped. Even though this industry caused mass mayhem in this small Texas county, it was up and running again later that year. Today, the main square of Glen Rose is lined with small unique antique shops, stylish boutiques, and the limestone Somervell County Court House. Across the street, the former First National Bank of Glen Rose houses the Paluxy Valley Archives & Genealogy Society, which was the town saloon before 1942. It’s much less rowdy today. Inside the archives, a man was sitting at a computer at the front of a room filled with rows of bookshelves, color and black-andwhite photos of people, landmarks, buildings covering the walls, and numerous filing cabinets in the very back. After reading through the newspaper clippings and speaking with Betty Gosdin, the editor of the society, I could picture the Rangers throwing all of these “illegal” confiscated items on the courthouse steps just yards away from me. The Glen Rose Convention and Tourist Bureau has been wanting to bring back a Moonshine Festival, said Kelly Nobles, director of the Glen Rose Convention and Tourist Bureau. She said the Moonshine Festival has been scheduled for the summer of 2017. “We have had Moonshine Festivals in the past, and we are researching everything that was done to have a successful event,” she said. “The idea is to bring light to that part of history by showcasing the stills and having everyone involved dress from that era,” she added.

Photos courtesy of Paluxy Valley Archives & Genealogy Society

Ghosts and Gravy Thurber’s SmokeStack Restaurant Fires Up Homemade Fare Story and Photos By Mark Mallory Just off of Interstate 20 in a ghost town called Thurber, a smokestack rises next to a weathered brick building. In this town with a population of five, the SmokeStack Restaurant has been, as its motto says, “the only place to eat in downtown Thurber for over 44 years.” Thurber once was a thriving coal-mining boom town at the turn of the 20th century. The local Thurber shale provided suitable material for making bricks and in 1898 a smokestack was built for the brick plant. Historical photos show a line of black smoke spewing from the stack.

cantile building made of original Thurber bricks from the late 1890s. The structure is one of the last remaining buildings in Thurber. Bright red neon lights display the restaurant’s logo in a sequential pattern. No two bricks in the building’s walls are alike. The only thing that appears uniform on each of them is the stamped “TP” union logo.

The SmokeStack claims it has “no prissy food here.” Bacon-wrapped filet mignon, loaded baked potatoes, buttermilk biscuits with gravy and homemade buttermilk are the big draws. I’ve been coming here for the past 15 years and always choose the old-fashioned cheeseburger with bacon. The burger consists of a thick patty on a giant sweet roll with your choice of toppings. Other items on the menu include “Texas toothpicks” (jalapeño and onion strips fried, and served with ranch dressing), a variety of chicken sandwiches, burgers and chicken-fried steaks. No matter which day of the week you decide to stop in, there is always a blue plate special, too.

The Bennett family started the SmokeStack Restaurant in 1979 in the old drugstore. Andrea Bennett said the building was leased out to several individuals to manage the eatery in the early part of its life. Eventually, Andrea and her late husband, Randy Bennett, decided to run it themselves with the help of their children. “We got baptized by fire,” she recalled. “I didn’t know how to make a schedule and just sort of fell into it.”

Not long after the Bennett family took back ownership, the original drugstore burned down in 1992. The family rebuilt the restaurant in the Texas & Pacific Mer-

H AT R E

“When we had the fire, we had lost all of our pictures, so when we moved into the mercantile building we had hired a photographer to go out to Tech and take pictures of the originals,” Andrea explained. Though the photos are copies, they have an aged tone. “Until the museum came, we really were the in-house museum for Thurber,” Andrea added. She plans to leave the business to her children, who want to keep the family business going.

After the railroad switched from coal to crude oil to fuel its engines, the mines closed, workers quit and the 10,000 residents that once called Thurber home left. The brick plant closed in 1930. By the end of that decade. Thurber was all but abandoned.

The restaurant was originally called “The Thurber Inn,” a name that caused some confusion. “We would always get calls from people asking about a room for rent because they would always just assume it was like a Holiday Inn,” Andrea said.

covered when the restaurant first opened are currently preserved at Texas Tech University.

Following the Thurber-manufactured brick walkway to a weathered door with a rusty handle, customers entering the restaurant will see a profusion of antique artifacts that hang on the walls. Some of the items are original to the area while others are things the Bennetts have found throughout the years. Several pictures dis-

The next time you travel that familiar interstate and see a lonely red brick smokestack, take the exit to Thurber for local flavor and a taste of one of Texas’ most famous boomtowns. The SmokeStack Restaurant is located at 239 Private Road 741; take exit 367 off Interstate 20. Open Sunday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call or visit www.smokestack.net.

About 15 minutes northeast of Stephenville on U.S. Highway 377, a building painted in bright colors contrasts with Bluff Dale’s historical stone structures. Turquoise, orange, yellow, green, red and yellow make Wilfong’s Cajun Shack and Oyster Bar jump out to passersby.

With all seating outside, customers get the feel of a traditional Louisiana-style crawfish boil. Diners drive in from miles around, owner Stephanie Wilfong said, for the food and the upbeat atmosphere. “Main thing is, just coming out and having fun over here,” as she put it.

Wilfong’s has a shabby chic setting and a fun, friendly and family-oriented atmosphere. Large colorful signs draw the eye and string lighting illuminates the dining area. The aroma floating on the breeze created by fans smells of spices and seafood.

The tables also are painted with loud colors and made of wood, metal and some that resemble plastic card tables. There is just enough room for a little under 100 people who sit on a first come, first serve basis. As Wilfong said, “We didn’t put a lot into it, slapped up a roof and put some tables under it and threw a kitchen together.” The kitchen was made from an old barn, so it fits with the thrown-together appearance. However, Wilfong considers herself a stickler on cleanliness. Everything in the kitchen is deep cleaned once a week, from the grills to the walls and plugs. She explained, “Even though it’s outdoors out here, that’s one thing, but in your kitchen where you’re doing your prepping and cooking, it really matters. I mean, yeah, there’s dust and leaves and stuff outside,” like being on a picnic. Wilfong learned the art of cooking Cajun food from one

TH ERA

The Bayou in Bluff Dale

By Kelsey Pharr

of her father’s previous girlfriends, who owned a Cajun restaurant in South Texas, as well as a few of her friends from Louisiana who taught her how to make some old family recipes. The rest she “figured out on her own.” The menu includes items such as crawfish bisque, shrimp etoufee, oysters, shrimp, gumbo, Cajun chicken and boudin sausage. Wilfong’s food is all made fresh and from scratch; in fact, she makes the boudin herself. Some items even include a Cajun-inspired potato salad. Hot dogs and cheesecake are available for those who do not crave Louisiana cuisine. Koozies are for sale for those souvenir lovers. Wilfong’s is only open from early April to the beginning of October. She has no intentions of opening the restaurant full time, no matter how busy it gets. The restaurant closes just in time for deer season, prime time for next door’s Kenny Fred’s Bluff Dale Deer Processing, which Wilfong also owns. Kenny Fred’s Bluff Dale Deer Processing is a meat wholesale company that provides a number of processing services. Kenny Fred’s also makes and sells jerky, as well as different kinds of sausage such as pan chorizo, summer sausage and breakfast sausage. The processing business also offers meat cuts such as regular cuts (tenderized steaks, backstrap cuts), tenderloin, butterflied, or whole, along with hamburger cuts, chili cuts and half-and-half cuts. Meat for stew

and roast is also offered. How Wilfong got her start with Kenny Fred’s is a gumbo of experiences. After growing up on a ranch in Aquilla north of Waco, Wilfong moved away from home to attend college. She was a member of the Hill College rodeo team in Hillsboro and then transferred to Tarleton State University. She was not a member of the Tarleton rodeo team, but she was still active with rodeo in the area. Shortly after arriving in the college town, Wilfong began working for a man who quickly ran out of work for her to do. This is when she was introduced to the original owner of the butchering company himself, Kenny Fred. She started working for Fred, who taught her how to “butcher the right way.” After working for Fred for about four years, Kenny Fred’s was sold. Wilfong decided to venture off and go her own way as a mobile butcher. She worked in South Texas for a while, then came back to Erath County. During this time Kenny Fred’s was up for sale again. Wilfong made the business decision to purchase the

relies on her rodeo friends who have nothing to do when they come to town, so they help out. The same people who help Wilfong run the restaurant also help her run the deer processing company.

Photos by

Harley

Brown

meat market and butchering company. In 2013, she also was inspired to open a restaurant because she did not have a whole lot going on during the butchering off-season. She decided to open Wilfong’s Cajun Shack and Oyster Bar. “I realized that the Cajun food wasn’t around here, and I like to cook Cajun food, so we thought we would just try it,” Wilfong said. “We didn’t advertise or anything, just through some flyers out to let them know we were opening. And it kind of took off from there.” Wilfong has a lot of help when it comes to running her restaurant. She has helpers who are friends and who work for nothing. “I got a couple of my good buddies, where I help them out they help me out,” she said. She

Both of these businesses have been a major success for Wilfong. “We’ve just been fortunate that they put the word out,” she said of patrons. DzAs long as you’re making enough money to make a living, then I guess you’re succeeding.dz She added, “I’m more about making enough money to get by and being happy.” Looking at those bright colors, hearing laughter under the twinkling lights and watching plates of boiled crawfish being devoured, it’s easy to catch Wilfong’s happy vibe. Wilfong’s Cajun Shack and Oyster Bar, 28601 U.S. Highway 377 in Bluff Dale, is open from April to October, Friday 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant is cash-only and B.Y.O.B. Kenny Fred’s Bluff Dale Deer Processing is located at 28595 U.S. Highway 377 in Bluff Dale. Call 254-7283238 for more information about either location.

SMALL

Town Bistro, International Flavor

BIG

Bringing different cultures to a relatively conservative town is not the easiest thing to do, especially through a small business. However, Oliver Weir, owner of Big O’s Simply Delicious, in his own way has introduced a variety of international flavors and cultures to the Stephenville community. Weir was born in Spain to a French mother and a Scottish father. His father was an engineer headquartered in Las Colinas, which caused his family to move around a lot. He only spent the first three years of his life in Spain; afterward, Weir’s family spent three years in Japan, five years in the Middle East, five years in Dallas and then three more years in the Middle East. He eventually found his way back to Texas, where he has spent the last 26 years. Although Weir still has a strong European accent, he said, “I consider myself a Texan.” He originally lived in Austin, where he stayed for 15 years. It was around this time when Weir met his future wife, Sherry. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Sherry was a student at Tarleton State University, which helped Weir make the decision to move to Stephenville. “I decided to move to Stephenville to see if it was right for us,” he explained. Then he jokingly added: “As you can tell by the ring, it was.” When Weir first moved to Stephenville in May 2008, he decided to open his first bistro, Simply Delicious, on the downtown square. After four years, the bistro was so popular that Weir moved his restaurant to another spot. Simply Delicious moved into the Rocking P, also located on the square, where the restaurant ruled by day and the bar took over at night. While at the Rocking P, Weir decided to expand his busi-

By Kelsey Pharr

ness and opened a second restaurant, Big O’s Gyros. This Greek-inspired establishment was located in a small shopping strip across the street from the Tarleton campus. After two years inside the Rocking P, Weir decided to move Simply Delicious into the same Washington Street location as Big O’s Gyros. After the move, he fused the restaurant’s names together and renamed the business Big O’s Simply Delicious at the new location, where it has been for one-anda-half years. “We love this location,” Weir said. “Being close to campus, it’s nice, a lot of diversity.” Inside the narrow space, the aroma of freshly baked bread, soups brewing, and the sweet smell of cookies and crepes mixes in the air. The walls are painted an aqua blue and metal tables are placed by the front window and against the wall. A glass counter holds homemade cookies and cupcakes. Weir grew up eating the different foods of all the places he has lived because his parents were locavores. He got the idea to open a restaurant because he wanted to live in Stephenville. “If you ever look at the classifieds of Stephenville, all they are looking for are truckers and nurses, and I am neither,” he noted. Weir did not have any professional culinary background experience so he had to start from scratch. “It’s not so easy, I’ve had to learn the hard way,” he said. “It is gratifying. It is always good to have people saying they enjoyed their food or make comments about how good it is. So that helps drive me on.” Weir’s unique style portrays all of the flavors and cultures he has experienced. “I like to have people experience new and different kinds of foods that they might not have ever tried before, but in a controlled environment so you don’t feel like you have to buy a whole bunch of H

k Co o sb yC am er on to Ph o something you won’t like,” he added. He tries to enhance the flavors he likes and meld them with other flavors. He will even take ideas that customers have shared and collaborate with his style. For example, the chicken salad was an idea that was given to Weir by a local and it has become one of the more popular items on the menu. Weir said his role model would be his mother. “My mother is a very good cook,” he said, “My mother for sure is my biggest inspiration, food-wise.” His mother’s cooking resembles her French background and plays on herbs and spices.

Big O’s Simply Delicious offers a wide range of food that is all made from scratch -- quiche, gyros and a variety of deserts such as crêpes, cookies and blintzes. Salads include the house, chicken salad, smoked chicken, ham, turkey and a chef salad. Soups include tomato basil, cream of mushroom, chicken Florentine, twice-baked potato, lobster bisque or whatever Weir is feeling that day. Different kinds of sandwiches are made with homemade bread, such as turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken salad, French Dip and specialty sandwiches. Weir said he enjoys making quiche, which he describes as “a lot of fun,”

and bulgogi, a Korean classic dish of marinated beef tips. He also is planning to add cruissants filled with Bavarian cream and more items for dinner. “What really inspires me is there’s a lot of people here that haven’t had the same culinary experiences and I want to project it,” Weir said. “I want to share it, because there are so many flavors out there that will blow your mind.” Big O’s Simply Delicious is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 1350 W. Washington St., Suite 1150, Stephenville. Call 254-965-1920 for more information.

Meat Me in Hamilton and Bite My Butt!

Story and Photos By Rachel Tuggle

The process that created the “Bite My Butt” pulled pork butt sandwich represents the heart and soul of Wenzel Lonestar Meat Company and its founder Kent Wenzel -- both a little unorthodox and inspired. “I was drinking too much Jack Daniels for sure,” Wenzel said. “I sat here and I thought and I prayed. All of a sudden -- bite my butt! I don’t know if it was God telling me something or the Jack Daniels -maybe a little bit of both. Maybe Jack was talking to God and saying, “Hey, we need to help this guy out!”” The 13-year-old small country restaurant and meat processing company fit right into Hamilton’s hometown atmosphere. In the small front room that serves as the restaurant, shelves overflow with Bite My Butt products and pig knickknacks. Both the skulls and stuffed heads of bison look down upon customers from high up on the wall. A picture of Wenzel’s father, Ronny, hangs in the corner. Beers and freezers of meat and other food line the walls. The American flag hangs on the wall next to the door. In a deli display, meats and cheeses make mouths water in anticipation. The smell of cooking meat wafts from the kitchen in the back and one can hear the hearty laughter of Wenzel in his office. Today, Wenzel sells “the finest quality meats and cheeses available,” according to its website, including bison, beef and the pork. The company also processes deer and creates a variety of different products like “Bite My Trashy Butt” trash trail mix and “Bite My Nuts” buttrub flavored peanuts. “We brought the bison to Central Texas,” Wenzel said. “We were the forerunners for bringing pork and classifying it as barbecue to central Texas.” Locals and visitors alike drive from all around every day of the week to eat the deli sandwiches and specials from the restaurant. Hamilton resident Kathy Murphy, who comes every Friday for the Bite My Butt pork barbecue sandwich, was celebrating her sister’s birthday, and ordered the Bite My Butt special. “It is delicious,” Murphy said. “It’s huge. Friday is our day to be here.” ‘Huge’ is hardly a big enough word for the barbecue pork sandwich.

HA MI ON LT

“Ginormous” or “colossal” more aptly describe the sandwich. Tender pork covered in butt-rub and sauce overflows from a toasted bun that is easily bigger than most hamburgers. The plastic fork that comes with the sandwich is laughable; it would snap in half if used. As a beginner Bite My Butt sandwich eater, my hands and face were covered in sauce within moments. But a man nearby, clearly an expert at eating these pork sandwiches, wound the wrapper that the sandwich came in neatly around the sandwich and corralled the sauce and meat before beginning. “[Here] people are going to get bigger portions and a better product than at any drive in,” Wenzel said. “I’m talking about the franchises-- the drive through of death.”

Wenzel clearly becomes frustrated as he describes the experience behind this motto. After a long day at a gun show in Flatonia several years ago, he was hot, tired and dehydrated, so Wenzel went to McDonald’s. There, he was awed by a picture of a delicious looking burger, which he ordered and brought back to his hotel room.

“I opened that thing up. I was so upset. I mean, I was more than upset,” Wenzel recalled. “I told myself right then and right there that anything that comes out of Wenzel’s is going to be better made and a bigger portion than what I am exhibiting right here.” Despite Wenzel’s commitment to quality, the road to success was long and paved with difficulty. Getting to the point he is at today took years of work. But it is not in Wenzel’s blood to give up when the road gets difficult. He is one of several Wenzels who have created their own businesses, including the Dutchman’s Hidden Valley, Wiseman House Chocolates and Wenzel’s Woodworks. “We’re not afraid of hard work, being creative with the help of Mom and Dad, who got us all started in these businesses,” Wenzel said. But Wenzel’s sense of humor endured through it all. His merry blue eyes sparkled with tears as he laughed at his jokes over and over again. “You know I’m a vegetarian, right?” was one of many. “Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I don’t know what to think of me,” Wenzel said. “In some countries I would have gotten my head chopped off long ago just for being this crazy. In a good way. It’s just not easy being me. It’s a lot of hard work involved.” Wenzel Lonestar Meat Company is located at 209 N. Bell in Hamilton and is open from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The pork butt sandwiches cost $5.95 apiece. Prices for other items are listed along with more information at www. wenzellonestarmeat.com.

For the Love of God, Coffee and People

By Harley Brown

When you move from Oregon to Stephenville, you may notice a difference in the weather, the accents and the lack of coffee – or at least that’s what Kate Mote noticed. That inspired her to start her own coffee shop. With her only prior experience with coffee shops being simply working at them and growing up around them, Mote opened Rodeo Grounds, a coffee shop based on a love for God, coffee and people. Mote left her home in Oregon to come to the “Cowboy Capital of the World” for rodeo and has let her love for rodeo shine through her business, as each drink is made with specialty blends and named after a bucking horse or bucking bull. Mote says she has a few customers who come in and are gradually making their way down the list of drinks offered, but says their most popular one is the toasted marshmallow. “We have two toasted marshmallow blends. We have a Simply Marvelous, a mocha with caramel, and the Mulin Rouge is a latté with caramel and toasted marshmallow. The toasted marshmallow is probably the most popular,” said Mote. In addition to their regular menu items, Mote says they also have little bit of a “secret menu.”

“We have a local Barrel Racer, Molly Powel. She’s been to the NFR multiple times and she has her own drink. It’s not on the menu, but it still gets ordered a lot. It’s called the Good Golly Miss Molly,” said Mote. “You’d only know about it if you knew Molly or if you saw her Facebook post. And Good Golly Miss Molly is a bucking horse, so we kinda named it after the horse and her.” “And we also have another drink on our secret menu drink that’s named

Photo by Harley Brown after a guy that works through the city. His name is Jimmy Finny so we have a ‘Skinny Jimmy’,” Mote added. Rodeo Grounds serves more than just coffee. The shop offers an assortment of breakfast foods such as muffins and homemade cinnamon rolls, and even have a bacon jam they make themselves. “We have our bagel sandwiches, which are our breakfast sandwiches. One is just a ham egg and cheese and one is with our own blend, a bacon jam.” Mote says the bacon jam is made with bacon, onions, garlic, coffee, brown sugar and maple syrup and

is considered one of their specialties. “For lunch we have another sandwich with the bacon jam, roast beef and blue cheese cream cheese and we also have a Turkey Pesto that has turkey, cheddar cheese, roasted red peppers and pesto,” said Mote. Rodeo Grounds also serves smoothies as well, which are made up of a cold brew shot of coffee, protein powder, ice and peanut butter. Mote says it’s a good “smoothie-coffee combo.” All protein powders used at Rodeo Grounds are allergen free, dairy free, gluten free, and vegan friendly so anyone can have them. They also use the cold brew for all cold drinks served, as Mote says the cold brew “isn’t so bitter, a little smoother and easier on your stomach.” Rodeo Grounds has recently moved to a new location off Graham Street, in a building shared with Woodrows Barber Shop and Coconut Hut. The owners of Woodrows and Coconut Hut bought the building together, and soon approached Mote about Rodeo Grounds joining them in the same building. “A good friend of ours had suggested to Woodrow to ask me since he knew that we were in at the square and we didn’t have our drive-thru,” said H Mote. AT R E

The location off Graham Street is their third location in Stephenville, as they started as a drive-thru only trailer parked in front of Ranger College then later moved to share a location with The Cellar on the square in Stephenville. The current location was the building Mote had been wanting to move their business to all along. According to her it was a “God thing” that she was able to eventually move her business there.

yC am

er on

Co o

“We went from being drive-thru only at our first location in our trailer, to brick and mortar. And we were so thankful to be at The Cellar because we loved it, but it just didn’t have that drive-thru. And 80 percent of your business is from the drive-thru so when they came to us and said they were doing this, it was such a blessing for us because this was the building we originally wanted,” said Mote.

Ph o

“We’re all about the love of God, coffee and people. That’s our motto and so we try to help that shine through when you’re coming through to get your coffee. I think that when you come to Rodeo Grounds, you will feel like someone special.”

Rodeo Grounds is located at 620 S. Graham and is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 8 p.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information, call (254) 434-2000 or like their Facebook Page “Rodeo Grounds”.

COFFEE WITH A TWIST BY STORIE LEEANN GADBERRY A sign above the door at Waverly’s Coffee Shop in downtown Cisco reads, “It’s a beautiful day.” Yes, it is, especially if it starts with a coffee, latte, frappe, chai, shake, float, a smoothie or a customer favorite, the TEXpresso. Located in a preserved historic building with weathered red windows, Waverly’s Coffee Shop is about far more than coffee. Locals rave about the blueberry cobbler waffles and turkey cranberry salad sandwich. The shop also offers cinnamon roll waffles, as well as additional selections for breakfast and grilled PBHR (peanut butter, honey, raisin) for lunch. The interest continues upstairs where there is an art studio that offers affordable art parties for all ages. For $25 a person, a party of up to 20 friends can enjoy a drink from the coffee shop, a two-hour instruction of mixed media art and a take home canvas and all art supplies. All art sessions are taught by Kasity Grose, an art professional of eight years. The newest addition to the art studio is the mixed media art parties, which are booked for birthday parties, mom-and-daughter dates or just a simple day out with friends and loved ones to make unique art together. Waverly’s Coffee Shop is located at 610 Conrad Hilton Blvd. in Cisco. Call 254-334-9150 or visit waverlystexas.com. EASTLAND

TH ERA

Granny Clark’s Serves Home-cooked Hospitality By Alejandra Arreguin The next time you’re traveling through Dublin and crave a home cooked meal, look for the red building on the main highway. Granny Clark’s is well known for its country food buffet, although customers can also order off the menu. “Chicken fried steak, real mashed potatoes, catfish, meat loaf, you name it down the line and we got everything,” said Miles Gilman, the restaurant’s manager. Contributions to the menu come from the cooks themselves, the customers or the manager. Customers come from as far as El Paso and make sure to take U.S. Highway 377 just to stop by Granny Clark’s. About 50 percent of the customers are local and the other half are from out of town. Many of the customers are typically families, people in their early or mid-30s or even a younger crowd. “If the customer thinks the food is good the first time they visit, then it will be the same the second time. If they don’t like it the first time, they won’t like it the second time, but the ones that do like it will come back and repeat, repeat, repeat,” said Gilman. The décor is laid-back and homey, with booths and tables and advertisements hanging on the walls. In the future, Gilman hopes to open a second restaurant in Stephenville. Originally the restaurant was named after Gilman’s grandmother, whose last name was Clark. Gilman was an only child who was very close to his grandmother. She passed away four years before the restaurant was opened in March 2007. Customers feel at home when they visit. “We are not uptight, we are not upscale, we don’t have the prettiest restaurant, we don’t go for the high end look,” Gilman said. “It just feels like you are at home. You’re not afraid to make a mess when you come in here and have a good time.”

A recent post on its Facebook page illustrated that point: “If someone tells you biscuits and gravy isn’t a meal, stop talking to them,” it read. “You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.” In another post, a regular customer grinned and held up his coffee cup shaped like a toilet. Gilman as well as his employees meet and greet with their customers and overall just have a good time. “What our customers like the most about us aside from the food being good, is that we know their names,” Gilman said. “We know their children’s name and their grandchildren’s names.” Granny Clark’s operates like a big family, Gilman explained. “I’m one of the few people and bosses that keeps up with their employees on the daily basis,” he said. Gilman helped a girl get her teeth pulled and others with their rent. Aside from the buffet menu, specials continue throughout the week. Tuesday’s specials include the “blue plate” for $4 with a drink. Wednesday night’s special is “beat the clock,” meaning whatever time you get to the restaurant starting at 5 p.m. is how much you will pay. “If you get here starting at 5 p.m. then your total will be $5,” Gilman excplained. “If you get here at 8:59 p.m. then your total will be $8.59. But if you get here at 9 p.m. we are closed.” Thursday nights is burger night when Granny Clark’s will serve 700 to 1,000 hamburgers. The busiest times of the day for the restaurant are from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for breakfast; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch; and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner. Most popular meals for the week include Friday night’s fish, Saturday night’s steak and shrimp and Sunday’s lunch. Granny Clark’s is located at 213 N. Patrick St. in Dublin, call 254-445-3444 or visit the Facebook page for more information.

Photos by

Cameron Cook

Hard Eight savors its smoky By Sydney Burns success

The smell of smoke and meat on the grill tempts customers as they patiently wait to fill their watering mouths with good ole’ Texas barbecue.

Big red neon letters let people know they have reached their destination, Hard Eight BBQ just off U.S. Highway 281. As you approach the green building, smoke slowly rises out of the smokers and the line to order usually wraps outside the building. Hard Eight is a family-owned business started by the late Philip Nivens and his wife, Vicki, along with their daughter Carie and her husband, Chad Decker. Hard Eight currently has four locations, with Stephenville being the first to open in February 2003. The other three are in Roanoke, Coppell and their newest location, The Colony. Vicki Nivens said Hard Eight started “with a dream, a lot of sweat, tears and hard work from a family focused on quality, traditions, putting family first and sharing the love of good food. To this day it is with the guidance from Phillip Nivens, who got this adventure started, that helps us grow and thrive as we continue to keep his spirit alive.” What makes Hard Eight stand out from other barbecue joints is its one-of-a-kind serving and Texas style, Nivens said. “We offer our customers the ability to choose their specific meats directly off the pit, as well as providing a fun family-friendly environment,” she added. “We pride ourselves in bringing traditions, putting family first and representing true Texas style in all our locations.” While each of Hard Eight’ s locations has its own uniqueness, the restaurants all have one thing in common, the juicy and flavorful barbecue. “All our meats are smoked in our custom-made smokers using only mesquite wood for a subtle, smoky flavor,” said Nivens. With no hostesses or waiters at Hard Eight, when you arrive you will be served straight from the person who cooked your food, the pit masters. They start their days around 5:30 a.m. and cook all day long. Nivens said that depending on the location and time of day, up to five pit masters can be working at a time, if not more.All the meats sold at Hard Eight are “sourced daily from multiple merchants for the best quality, cuts, price and overall processing by our in-house buyer,” said Nivens. Hard Eight offers much more than just traditional barbecue, though, with over 15 different kinds of meat ranging from brisket and pork chops to chicken and shrimp poppers. After reaching the front of the line, customers will choose the assortment of

meats and amounts they want of each before taking their trays of meat inside for the rest of the fixins’.

Customers have their choice of bread, barbecue sauce, sides and desserts, which are made in-house daily. Sides range from potato salad and cole slaw to fresh fruit bowls and assorted pies and cobblers. Nivens said some of the most popular items on the menu include cooked-to-order ribeyes, 2-inch thick pork chops, regular and smoked sausage, cornbread salad, jalapeno cream corn and mac ‘n’ cheese. And if that still isn’ t enough food to fill your plate, don’ t forget to help yourself to their complimentary pot of pinto beans. From the moment you walk up to order food at Hard Eight, the smiling staff makes you feel right at home. The rustic decorations inside make it feel as if you’ re eating dinner with friends and family in a big log cabin. Nivens said Hard Eight hopes to create “a relaxed, family-friendly, and welcoming environment. We like to invite you into our restaurant as if you are a part of our family as in that place that evokes memories of good food, great people and much happiness,” said Nivens. Nivens said the restaurant is busiest on weekends, evenings and when events are going on in town. “A draw, in addition to great barbecue, is during the evenings on weekends when we host local musicians to play live music on our patios,” Nivens said.The Stephenville, Roanoke and Coppell location all offer live music every Friday and Saturday night. This year marks Hard Eight’s 13th anniversary of being in business and the opening of the newest addition in The Colony to its small chain of restaurants. “We are excited, grateful and blessed to be a growing family here at Hard Eight and look forward to new opportunities in the future,” Nivens said. “Our locations are chosen as a personal family decision and we look for locations that connect with our values of quality, convenience and family friendly environments.” Hard Eight, 1091 Glen Rose Road in Stephenville, is open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hard Eight also has a website where customers can purchase fresh and smoked meats, seasoning and sauces, apparel and H AT R much more. These items can be found at hardeightbE bq.mybigcommerce.com. Call 254/968-5552 for more information, or visit www.hardeightbbq.com.

e u g Lea of Their Own

Story and Photos By Sara Honeycutt Steve Mitcham was watching ESPN several years ago and saw a story about a softball team made up of veterans who were wheelchair-bound. That sparked an emotional reaction. He and his wife, Darlene, started thinking about whether something similar could be brought to the Granbury area. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could offer the game of baseball to kids that don’t play baseball due to disabilities?”” they wondered.

pray and ask for direction. After extensive research, they found the Miracle League website. The Miracle League first began in 1999 in Rockdale, Atlanta. It is a baseball league that was formed to give individuals with mental disabilities the opportunity to play baseball. Through her tears, Darlene told her husband she wished they could do something like the league. Steve responded, “Why couldn’t we?”

Steve, 53, and Darlene, 52, are high school sweethearts from Weatherford. They moved to Granbury in 1989 to open the first franchise location for a new quick-service restaurant, Chicken Express. But they wanted to do something to give back to their community. “When Steve and I first married in 1981, we talked about some long-term goals for us to work towards,” Darlene

The Mitchams had opened a sports training facility in 2011, Texas Edge Sports, and built five baseball fields. They began to offer baseball lessons for the surrounding youth to learn fundamentals and techniques to compete at a higher competition level. Texas Edge also formed multiple teams to compete at the select baseball level. Once they decided to found a Miracle

2014. Construction began immediately on their Miracle League field. To help cut costs, they decided to renovate one of their existing baseball fields that is equipped with a special rubberized surface over a concrete base. The surface makes it safe for wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and other aids for disabled people. The renovation was finally complete by summer 2015. The recruitment for players and volunteers began soon afterward. The Mitchams are taking donations as a 501(c)3 nonprofit company. The family paid for the field renovations, but has used all of the donation money thus far towards buying uniforms, insurance and other needs. All of the money that is raised for the Miracle League is “100 percent to making sure [their] players get an authentic baseball experience,” said Darlene. There currently is no charge for players. The Miracle League has no employees, just volunteers used for coaches, team moms, concession stand workers, fundraising positions and buddies. A buddy is there to assist the player while hitting and fielding and for encouragement.

said. “We didn’t know how it would happen, but one of the things we both felt passion for was helping those in need.” Not knowing how or if their idea could become a reality, the couple began to

League in Granbury, they contacted the Miracle League corporate office by email. The reply was an invitation for a phone interview. After they passed the interview they sent an 18-page application and were approved in November

On Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, the Miracle League held its first “open house” for the public and the first game. The smell of fresh, buttery popcorn and grilled hot dogs filled the air as each player was treated following the game. The Mitcham family, volunteers and fans were overcome by joy on the faces of the players. Their players ranged from seven to 16 years old. They strive to meet each player’s ability to play regardless of their mental or physical disability. “Our mission is to make the accommodations so that the players and their fans can put

For more information on the Miracle League of Granbury, visit www.miracleleagueofgranbury.com.

the focus on the player not the disability,” Darlene said. Fans cheered as loud as they could in the stands. Tears rolled down the faces of the parents of each player as the name of the player was called out by the loud speaker. One mother said of her son, “I never thought he would ever be able to play baseball. This has changed his life!” Other parents who had simply come to watch expressed with tears of joy that they had wished this had been available for their children. Unanimously, everyone agreed that they had been touched by this event. A young man who was timid from the start about swinging the bat by the end he was wondering, “When can we do this again?” By the third week of the fall season that same young man was pitching from his wheelchair. “The experience is so much bigger than the two of us,” Darlene said of herself and her husband. “We are humbled by the opportunity.” The spring 2016 season for the Miracle League kicked off on April 2. Ten games have been scheduled for this upcoming season. Each player gets to bat one time each inning, each batter

is safe on all bases, each player gets to round all of the bases and score a run each inning, the last batter on the line-up hits and gets to round each base for a homerun. Each play is adjusted to meet the abilities of the player. In the near future the Mitchams plan to buy equipment that will allow players who are blind to be able to play baseball. As they said, “This facility is where those with special needs can play baseball in a stadium of their own -- where the rules are limited, the love unconditional and the joy infectious.”

HOOD

Glamping in the Texas Safari

Story and Photos By Heather Sims

Tucked away in the hills of Clifton lies a small piece of Africa called Texas Safari Ranch. This family-owned and operated safari ranch features almost 1,000 animals on over 1,000 acres of rolling Texas landscape. In 2001 owner Jack Harvard purchased Texas Safari Ranch from its previous owner, A.C. Parsons. The ranch originally opened in 1975 and was a drive-through safari that enchanted tourists from all over the country. Today, the property is a luxury ‘glamping’ location with 16 species of animals. ‘Glamping’ is a new way to camp and is defined as glamorous camping. With three different lodging options on the property, Texas Safari Ranch is the ideal location for anyone looking to get away and enjoy nature. Harvard’s granddaughter, Stormy Ramsey, described the ranch as, “The perfect place to get close to nature while getting close to family.” The entire ranch can house up to 27 people at one time, and it is possible to have the entire ranch to yourself if you so choose. One of the three available houses is the Log Cabin, a beautiful three-bedroom cabin, which overlooks a lovely creek. The average price for

renting the cabin is $400 per night and includes WiFi and a fully functional kitchen. Just a mile away from the Log Cabin is another lodging option called the Bunk House. This four-bedroom, three-bath furnished house will sleep up to nine people. What makes this location unique is it is in the same area where some of the animal’s roam. Imagine sitting on the back porch watching the sunset and seeing some of the ranch’s exotic animals grazing right in front of you. Not only does the ranch offer lodging options, but also houses an old fashioned ‘Saloon’ that is available for guests to rent out for events. The saloon is styled like those in an old Western movie, with animal heads on the walls and a dance floor fit for a party. The event hall can fit up to 350 people and features a fully equipped kitchen and bar. The ranch’s main attraction, though, is not the lodging; it’s not called a ranch for no reason. The species living on the property include Grevy Zebra, New Zealand Red Deer, Wildebeest and a camel that is affectionately called Marsha. “These animals are our number one priority,” said Harvard. “Guests are always surprised

when I say that they aren’t the biggest priority. These animals depend on us so we have to take care of them.” Taking care of this many animals is no small task, and Harvard explained how the Texas weather can be very unforgiving for these exotic animals. “Nature is very cruel, it will chew you up and spit you out if you aren’t prepared,” Harvard said. Perhaps the ranch’s biggest project is its artificial insemination program for the New Zealand Red Deer. “There are very few ranches in the U.S. that are doing artificial insemination for Red Deer,” Harvard explained. The program’s goal is to continue the lines of bigger and better deer. “We want to continue breeding the males that have the biggest horns. Our goal for the future is to have a male

with 600-inch horns,” said Harvard. Harvard described why this property is so unique and what makes it special. “We have a number of animals that are on the endangered species list as well as a few that are actually extinct in the willd,dz he said. The ranch has two species of animals that are extinct in the wild--the Pere David’s Deer and the Scimitar Horned Oryx. “There is no other park in the U.S. where you can go to a drive -through game park and have the entire place to yourself,” Harvard said. “Perhaps the only other place you can experience this is in Africa.” If you’re wanting an African safari experience without traveling across an ocean to another continent, Texas Safari Ranch is a short drive offering the wonders of wildlife -- along with WiFi. Texas Safari Ranch is located at 192 PR 4293 in Clifton; call 214-384-3000 or visit www.texassafari.com for more information.

Q OS

Riding the River The oar grazes the water, dips beneath the surface and propels the timeworn kayak forward on the shallow stream. In the distance a pink marker counts the mile I have traveled on the Brazos River. I search for my next mile marker, a well-known house at the top of a hill. Buddy Rochelle, a fourth-generation member of the Rochelle famiy, mentioned to look out for this marker earlier in the morning when he was mapping my 10-mile adventure. Approximately 840 miles long, the Brazos River wanders south through Texas until it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico near Freeportin Brazoria County. The Brazos has flowed through Texas history since the early 1700s, and Rochelle’s Canoe Rental has been part of its most recent history since 1928. “They already had acreage here on the river and had cattle, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, guineas they raised and sold milk and butter,” said 85 year-old Joyce Rochelle. Joyce met her husband, Bud Rochelle, at her family’s local grocery store in Lubbock. “When he go out of service, he went to Lubbock to visit his uncle who had a restaurant in downtown Lubbock, and my parents had a grocery and market next door and that’s how we met” in 1976, Joyce recalled. After leaving her banking career in the concrete jungle of Houston, she married Bud and went up river to Graford to live and work at Rochelle’s. Joyce has worked and enjoyed most of her life on the Brazos ever since then and now runs the family business with her son, 30

Buddy Rochelle, and his daughter, Katie Rochelle. “It’s one of the most interesting occupations that anybody could have because you’re dealing with people from all over the world that hear about us and who come here,” Joyce said. One person in particular her family is most proud of meeting is John Graves, the beloved author of the 1960s Texas classic “Goodbye to a River”, a book about a canoe trip he made down the Brazos before dams were built. Graves made a stop at Rochelle’s along his journey. In a business dependent on having water in the river, Rochelle’s has had to

PALO PINTO

By Lura Rylant

night campout on the first bank of the river. It’s primitive just like the Indians made.” After a massive rain swept over the Cross Timbers in February 2016, the Rochelles have been back in business and opened their gates in March. Joyce said, “We have people from all over the state as well as people who fly into the airport and meet others who live in Texas and come to the canoe rental.” Since then renting canoes and kayaks has been steady, and Joyce has had little time to enjoy the water. “We have a boat with a motor to check out the river and look at different areas that may need to be noted,” Joyce said. Although Joyce may not be able to spend as much time on the river, she advises people to do so.“Take the advantage of being out with Mother Nature because it’s good for the soul,” she said.

Photos courtesy of Rochelle’s Canoe Rental adapt to Mother Nature and her ability to give or deny the river its much-needed water. “The water fluctuates so therefore the business fluctuates,” said Joyce. After Palo Pinto County suffered four years of drought, the Rochelles struggled to keep their business afloat, but even drought didn’t stop them from opening their doors, Joyce said. “We have trips from 10, 20, 30, to 40 miles, but with the water levels at that time no trips could be made. So in order to stay open, we let people out right here at the canoe rental. You could either go up or down river and they could do that in an hour, a day, or an over-

As my kayak touches the river’s bank, my muscles ache from a nonstop journey down the unforgiving Brazos. I take a deep breath and enjoy the gift of nature, just as Joyce advised me to do. It is, indeed, good for the soul. Rochelle’s Canoe Rental is located at 7024 Farm Road 4 at the Brazos River by the Dark Valley Bridge near Graford. Rentals are by reservations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 940659-3341 or 940-659-2581. For more information, visit www. rochellescanoerental.com.

Storiebook Cafe: A Novel Experience

STORY AND PHOTOS By Anthony Strother

The smell of ink, paper, and books waiting to be cracked open and read greets the visitor at Storiebook Café a short walk from the Glen Rose downtown square. So does the aroma of food. A lunch bell dings, a shout of “Order up!” comes from the kitchen and fresh spinach wraps and Ruben sandwiches head to a hungry diner at the combination bookstore-café.

and dumplings are offered every day.

held book signings at her store.

The adjacent rooms to the main café seating are filled wall-to-wall with teacups, books, toys and even a friendly photo or two of Sharp and her family. In the back past the kitchen is a party room vividly decorated accordingly to the holidays and seasons.

Sharp loves books so much because she also has worked as a writer. In Sonora, she was the publishing editor for the Devil’s River News; after moving to Glen Rose, she was the lead writer for the Glen Rose Newspaper, which has since ceased publication.

Sharp wanted to give Storiebook Café a home-away-from-home feeling because “our guests are our friends and

The Storiebook Facebook page describes owner Sharp as a balance of all the best book characters such as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, and the Wicked Witch of the West to make sure “every guest enjoys a truly ‘novel experience’ and everyone leaves with memories that last Happily Ever After!”

Owner Storie Sharp describe her business as “my own personal ‘Never Neverland’” where “I don’t have to grow up.” The café has the atmosphere of a place where customers, too, can relax and not worry about their day. Instead, they can read a book and enjoy a tasty and healthy meal of wraps, sandwiches or salads.

The small but lively café has been mentioned in the tourist guide Unexpected Texas, which has drawn people from all over the state, all over the country and even some foreign visitors to stop by when they drive through Glen Rose. Whether craving a light lunch, a good book, or a friendly face, patrons of Storiebook Café can spend a few hours in this unique space and write their own happy endings. As the sign over the door reads, “Enter as strangers, leave as friends.”

The old rock building that houses the cafe was converted from an old gas station. “We actually started as a book store; all these shelves were full with only new books,” Sharp said. “We offered one sandwich a day and one soup a day.” However, the bookstore did not fair as well until the café “took over,” as Sharp put it. “We found our niche with the lunch crowd” of locals and out-of-town visitors, she said. “We are still a book store but now we have new and used [books] and do special orders.” The café offers “good stuff and we aren’t fast food,” Sharp said. “Nothing is fried.” Lunch specials such as summer squash with Texas “caviar” and chicken salad and tasty soups of the day such as vegetable, turkey noodle and chicken SOMERVELL

our family. A lot of people we know by name.” Certain customers are so loyal that their orders are waiting for them when they arrive at the cafe. “We know what they want when they walk in,” Sharp said. Sharp, a woman with a contagious smile and curly blonde hair, comes across as a charming conversationalist and book lover. She’s added used books and shelves of children’s books to her offerings of new titles. Authors have

Storiebook Café is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is located at 502 NE Barnard St., Glen Rose. The café also provides catering and hosts parties. For more information, call 254-897BOOK, or you can find Storiebook Café on Facebook.

Where the West was Painted

By Lainey Smith

When you pass through the glass doors to L Bar Western Art Gallery, it’s like stepping back in time. Paintings cover the walls; sculptures decorate the ledges. They all tell the same story-- the story of a time when the West was still wild.

For Bill Lowrance, owner of the Stephenville gallery, art capturing the Western lifestyle is second to none. Lowrance keeps the West alive by displaying and selling its history in his gallery. Lowrance got his start in the Western industry at a young age. Growing up, he showed horses in a variety of disciplines-- from halter to pleasure to cutting. Though he himself was never an artist, the genre of Western art drew him in.

There are still some pretty good-sized ranches.”

While those embracing Western art may be seen as the typical clientele, people from all walks of life are drawn to this genre. “You just meet some really nice people,” Lowrance explained. “Some are ranchers. Some are oil and gas people. Some are small business owners. Some are corporation CEOs. It’s a varied selection of people that enjoy Western art.”Lowrance estimateds that 70 percent of his art purchases come from customers who just walk into the gallery.. His clients come to him from all over the world. What could draw such a variety of people to the Old West?

“It’s Americana,” Lowrance explained. “They can’t buy it, sell it, steal it, or give it away. It’s ours. And it’s just awesome.” Another draw is the raw authentic nature that Western art captures. Western art is not just scenery. It loads the canvas or sculpture with passion and heritage.

Built from the ground up 24 years ago, the gallery began in Kerrville, home of the Cowboy Arts Museum. Originally, Lowrance worked at his father’s exterior painting business. Done for the winter, Lowrance was contacted by friends in search of the art that he would later be selling.

“Basically, it is art history,” Lowrance said. “A lot of artists that I have, like Russell and Remington, they focused on their era. It has saved a point in time of the Western lifestyle in places like Montana and the Northwest.”

“I had some friends of mine and they said, ‘We’d like to buy some Western art. Why don’t you get some from (the cowboy artists) and we’ll buy it from you,’” Lowrance recalled. “That is basically how it all started.”

Not only doviewers come face to face with the history of the West, they also are able to visit a world where the West still exists. “There are quite a few ranches that are doing it old style,” Lowrance said. “They are still using chuck wagons. They still use fires to heat the irons. Some use pots.

“When times get tough, a lot of people want to slow things down,” Lowrance responded. “Go back to an era where it was a lot more peaceful, more tranquil, and it wasn’t so hectic. Not like it is today.”

From there, Cowboy artists like Tom Ryan sent Lowrance pieces and he found permanent homes. Soon, Bill and his wife, Linda, took the Photos by Cameron Cook

throughout its 147-year history. “It records history,” Lowrance said of Western art in general. “It was a time in history that was all Americana.” In addition to Lawson, the gallery features over 47 artists that create in sculpture, oils, watercolors and pencils. It is important for Lowrance to have pieces that will fit the bill for his clients in terms of quality and price. “I strive to have pieces that are high quality, award winners, when somebody has something, they can be extremely proud of it,” Lowrence said. “It makes it an heirloom. I want affordability, but I want high quality as well.” gallery on the road. “We did a lot of equine trade shows,” Lowrance said. “We did Quarter Horse Congress, The World Show, Paint Horse World Show. We did all of the cuttings in Fort Worth for about 15 or 18 years. We did a lot of big shows.” Five years ago, Lowrance moved the gallery to Stephenville. Currently, his gallery sits in the heart of the town square across from the history Erath County Courthouse. “I like Stephenville, Texas, because it is the Cowboy Capital of the World--the best of the best are here,” Lowrance saidexplains. “I’ve had the gallery about five years now up here and it’s been just awesome. The people you meet ere are just incredible.”

He fills the need, sometimes searching outside the gallery for the sought-after piece or artists. The process is the same, whether it’s an avid collector or somebody new to the Western art scene. “I get a lot of people in here that don’t have any Western art. They’ll come in and find a piece that they really like and wonder why. I don’t buy this, I buy this other stuff,” Lowrance added with a chuckle. “But they really like it and they come back. It’s kind of like a potato chip. Once you have one you come back to get another one.” “Down the line,” he continued, “I hope that 200 years from now that there is some art that they bought through me that is hanging on the wall somewhere.”

Western art covers a wide variety of subjects and is seen in every style and medium. Artists such as G. Harvey fell in love with oils and capturing booming towns like Denver. Mehl Lawson found his passion creating sculptures of the cowboying life. Lowrance’s eyes sparkle when he talks about the history of his artists and their work, He pointsto a small sculpture, titled “Sixes Sunrise,”by Lawson. “He’s considered one of the best contemporary Western sculptors in the world--his work, the detail, is out of this world,”Lowrance said. “I’ve had him (featured in the gallery) for 20 years now,” Lowrance added. “He approached me about handling his work, which I was blown away, because I hadn’t been in business that long. To have somebody of that caliber was just unbelievable.” “Sixes Sunrise”was inspired by an annual ride that the Cowboy Artists of America take every year. On the trip, the group was at the legendary Four Sixes ranch. The sculpture features a ranch horse that is hobbled while the crew enjoys their coffee, breakfast, and the sunrise. After the sunrise, the crew bridled and went off to gather cattle, just as it has been done on the Four Sixes ranch TH RA

L Bar Western Art is located at 200 W. Washington St. in Stephenville. Call 254/918-5227 or visit www.lbarwesternart. net for more information.

Cowboys and Romance Come Together at Circle T Ranch Nestled in a valley a few miles past Hamilton city limits on Highway 36 lies a cowboy’s paradise. Thirty-two acres of state of the art horse facilities, a luxurious hotel, cantina, steakhouse, and resort amenities make Circle T Ranch the top destination for equine enthusiasts.

With a world renowned reputation and chatter from those who have experienced its magic, Circle T sees visitors from all over the world. It has a fan base that extends past just its visitors. Participating in an event held at Circle T has landed on virtually every horse lovers’ bucket list.

your thirst at the Crossfire Cantina. According to Circle T Ranch owners, the cantina boasts on having the longest granite bar in the state of Texas. A great place to grab burgers or grab a drink, the Cantina has a great grill to serve the adults or the children. Perhaps a sit down meal is what will tickle your fancy. Circle T boasts of a prime steakhouse with nightly specials fit for the king of the cowboys. An elegant evening and rodeo are usually two phrases not muttered together, but it has been made possible in Hamilton County.

Being a Texas transplant myself, I heard the rumors of the 5 star horse facility that hosted events spanning from rodeos, team ropings and cuttings to concerts, conferences and weddings. I had to see it for myself. Folks, the rumors were true and then some.

Walking through the grand entrance, a false white rock front, gives a sense that Texas history is alive. With grand details like the spiral stair case to the arena’s top viewing deck, stamped stained concrete, and hand carved furniture, it is clear that this is more than an equestrian center; it is a destination resort. And everything is bigger in Texas, y’all. Two climate controlled 145x300ft indoor arenas keep weekends comfortable in blazing heat or sleeting snow. 175 full RV hook up sites and 480 covered stalls allows a family to settle in for a weekend or longer. Comfort and quality is Circle T’s standard while they strive to make any event a memorable experience.

In between runs, quench

Ci rc

Ph o

guests, exercise facilities, conference halls, and a gift shop full of Circle T apparel and hand crafted goods. With Circle T being a one stop shop, families can enjoy quality time together while participating in events they enjoy. While one competes, children can enjoy the salt water pool, volleyball, or a host of lawn games like horse shoes, bean bag toss, washers, or ladder toss. Adults can pull up a chair arena side and enjoy the Crossfire Cantina, shoot some pool, or shop and the newest boutique Punchys. Speaking for first class hospitality, Amanda Johnson, Cross Timbers resident and barrel racing competitor says, “Circle T (Ranch) has such a family friendly atmosphere. Kids can be let lose to have fun while us adults have fun as well. How many places can you go where everybody in the family is happy?”

Circle T Ranch reflects the pride of Texas. A false white rock entrance gives the feel of history behind a relatively new establishment. Built in 2008, current owner Marvin Herb purchased the ranch in 2008 and began construction on the second indoor facility in 2013. Just this past October, Herb made another bold move in establishing Circle T’s legacy by adding The Inn at Circle T to the ranch family.

BY LAINEY SMITH

Texas summers can mean unbearable heat. While the indoor arenas are climate controlled, taking a dip in a pool can be the perfect pick me up. Luckily, Circle T Ranch has a saltwater pool just yards from the cantina and arena. Wrought iron fencing with the Circle T brand, white rock retaining walls and stairway leads down to a lounging area, wading pond and beach chairs to extend the cowboy paradise experience. For overnight guests, The Inn at Circle T offers relaxing tranquility. A classic Remington bronze statue highlights the parking lot leading to the grant entry. No detail is spared. Rustic lodge meets 5-star castle, cozy up to the wood fire place or by the pool and spa out back. Art work is prominently displayed in every room, including two murals of the wild West in the foyer. Luxury does not fall short in the amenities department. The Inn boasts of a complimentary eat in breakfast for

This summer, Circle T will be hosting a variety of events worth kicking your boots up at. On the rodeo side, organizations like Texas Senior Pro Rodeo, Central Texas Barrel Race, World Series of Team Roping, and Ultimate Calf Roping will be calling Circle T home. The Performance Horse industry will be getting a piece of the action as well. West Central Texas Cutting Horse Association will be hosting cutting events from May through August. Stock Horse of Texas, Miller Reining, and Performance Horse Ranch Sorting will be taking over the arena to bring crowds to its feet as well. If these events are not enough, Texas Red Dirt bands will be performing on Friday and Saturday nights. A perfect Texas weekend away starts at the Circle T Ranch. Would you like to see the ranch for yourself? Check out their website www.circletarena. net. Keep up with news and events through their Facebook page www.facebook.com/ circletarena. Lodging reservations can ON be made through ILT www.inn-at-circle-t.com. AM

Email: editor@crosstimerbstrails.com

$300

$75

4 inches

1/4 Page

8 inches Inside Front Cover/Inside Back Cover $700 Back Cover $900

5.5 inches

Tel: (254) 968-0519

Business Card

11 inches

Are you interested in buying an ad for this magazine? Contact us either via phone, email to learn more.

Full Page

4 inches

5.5 inches

Advertise with Cross Timbers Trails

2.75 inches

8 inches

Half Page $225

$125