Houston County Living Spring 2023

HOUSTON COUNTY

“In five years, this place is going to be rockin’ and rollin’. The wave is coming, we just have to be ready for it.”

– Robin Ogg, Filthy Gringos

Owner: Bobbie

song at the top of their lungs,

Imagine, if you will, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee flying down a red dirt road, windows all the way down, country mu sic or classic rock turned all the way up. here are cornhole boards, an ice chest full of cold beer, and pool noodles weigh ing down the back, hair blowing in the wind, and my little fami ly screaming every word of the song at the top of their lungs, with the occasional air drums and guitar, bound for ouston Coun ty ake. his is what my family has deemed, lake mode.

I feel like every year, I can’t wait for cold weather, campfires, hol idays yet, come ebruary, I’m ready for lake mode, gardening, crawfish and sunshine. I always have my fingers crossed for snow, but now that we’re nearly past that point, I could really go for a cool dip on a hot day. It’s a vicious cycle, yearning for another season.

idays yet, come ebruary, I’m crawfish and sunshine. I always

In January, I accepted the position of advertising director at olk County ublishing Co., the publisher of the ouston County Courier and C magazine. I wanted the promotion, so I went for it. I’m in ivingston two days per week, in Crockett the remaining time, the leader of our company wide sales team, and able to broaden my horizon and my network. It’s a lot, I stay very busy, but I’m finding my groove. I’m in a different season. nd, as always, we don’t know what the seasons bring. I’m unsure at this point if the new position will still allow me to totally submerge myself into ouston County iving magazine like I’ve done for the last three editions and maintain my editorship. y deadline really snuck up on me with this one, and I ust barely made it out alive.

It’s all uncertain. e’re here today, gone tomorrow. ne thing, if anything, I’ve learned is that you must welcome the seasons. I love this magazine. rom the mustard seed it started, to the success it’s grown into, it’s my baby. his, too, has broadened my horizons. he process of creating and building a magazine, start to finish, is not as easy as it looks, especially when you care as much as I do. or the time being, though, I am only looking forward to lake mode with my family. ut I won’t hand the torch to someone without my same vision for C . nd, who knows, maybe you’ll see me again in the fall. If I was betting on myself, I’d double down. very time.

Ashley Keenan

HOUSTON COUNTY

Amanda Besch Design Editor

Jan White Copy Editor

Ashley Bankhead-Keenan Ad Director/Editor

Miguel Benavides Contributing Writer

Elizabeth Guzman Advertising Sales

Kelli Barnes Publisher

Haley Garner Contributing Photographer

Debra Purcell Ad Designer

Jolene Renfro Contributing Writer

Houston County Living

“The way small-town living should be.”

Editor | Advertising Director Ad Designer

Ashley Bankhead-Keenan ashley@hccourier,com

Copy Editor Jan White jan@hccourier.com

Publisher Kelli Barnes kelli@polkcountypublishing.com

Ad Designer

Debra Purcell debra@polkcountypublishing.com

Design Editor | Amanda Besch

Advertising Sales Elizabeth Guzman elizabeth@hccourier.com

Contributing Photographer

Haley Garner, Reverie Photography

Contributing Writer

Miguel Benavides

Jolene Renfro

Mailing Address: PO Box 551, Crockett, TX 75835

Physical Address: 102 S. 7th St., Crockett, TX 75835

TABLE

5 Letter from the Editor

6 Staff & Contributors

7 Table of Contents

9 2023-24 Events

10 Salmon Lake A summer tradition in a traditional place

18 First Untied Methodist Church A treasure-trove of history

22 Words From a Motorcycle Rider Miguel Benavides

26 Residential Restoration he first of many for downtown

32

Millennial family, pioneer living

Advertising Inquiries ashley@hccourier.com elizabeth@hccourier.com

Website & Social Media www.easttexanews.com

Laissez les bon temps roule It’s time for crawfish

July 4th Fireworks at Houston County Lake

2023-24 EVENTS

UPCOMING

September

– Myrtis Dightman Rodeo

– Labor Day Annual Salmon Lake

Bluegrass Festival

– CACC Business Expo & Job Fair

– World Champion Fiddler’s Festival

October

– 77th Peanut Festival

– 4th Annual Courier Cook-O

– Trick-or-Treating on the Square

November

– Lighted Christmas Parade

– Christmas in Crockett

December

– Christmas on Main Street in Grapeland

– Christmas in Kennard & Christmas Parade

January

– MLK Parade

February

– Annual Lovelady Lovefest

– Lovelady Calf Show

April

– Houston County Fair & Livestock Show

May

– Crockett Lions Club PCRA Rodeo

– Davy Crockett Festival

– Sale on the El Camino Trail

– Houston County Youth Talent Show

– Bluegrass Gospel Music Festival at Salmon Lake Park

June

– Piney Woods Fine Art Association Summer Concert Series

– Missoula Children’s Theatre

– Juneteenth Celebration & Parade

July

– Annual July 4th Parade on the Square

– Annual Boat Parade on Houston County Lake

August

– Annual Glenn Cunningham Memorial Scholarship Rodeo

Live Music: Pineywood Fine Arts Association

Camp Steet

Bear Hall

The Loft

Creuder’s Cajun Cookin’ Lovelady Live Events

RECURRING

•Every Tuesday – Crockett Noon Lions Club meets at Hilltop Café at 12:00 PM

•Every Thursday – Disc Golf in the park at 5:30 PM

•1st & 3rd Monday – Crockett City Council meeting at 6:00 PM

•1st & 3rd Weekend – Crockett Trade Days on HWY 7 W

•1st Thursday – Crockett Garden Club meets at 9:30 AM FUMC of Crockett

•2nd Monday – Kennard City Council meeting at 7:00 PM

•2nd Monday – American Legion meeting at 7:00 PM

•2nd Tuesday – Lovelady City Council meeting at 5:00 PM

•2nd Tuesday – Latexo City Council meeting at 6:30 PM

•2nd Tuesday – Grapeland City Council meeting at 7:00 PM

•2nd Tuesday – Houston County Amateur Radio Club meeting at 7:00 PM at 600 Bradshaw Crockett TX 75835

•2nd Thursday – Latexo ISD School Board meeting at 6:00 PM

•2nd Thursday – Kennard ISD School Board meeting at 6:00 PM

•3rd Monday – Produce Box Distribution

5-7:00 PM rain or shine at the Civic Center

•3rd Monday – Grapeland ISD School Board meeting at 6:45 PM

•3rd Monday – Lovelady ISD School Board meeting at 7:00 PM

•3rd Thursday – Crockett Area Chamber of Commerce hosts Mid-Morning Co ee at 9:30 AM at various locations

•3rd Thursday – Downtown Crockett Association meets 3rd Thursday at 5:30 PM

•4th Monday – Pineywoods Lions Club meet at the First Methodist Church of Crockett in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 PM

•Last Monday – Crockett ISD School Board meeting at 6:00 PM

Houston County Lake Fishing Tournament

Peanut Festival

Bluegrass Gospel Festival

Salmon Lake A summer tradition in a traditional place

By Ashley Keenan

Tradition and travel. Two things that I knew, at a young age, that I would, one day, like to intentionally offer my family. Now that one day has arrived and the gang is all here, I can say, with certainty, that I have included tradition and travel in the raising of my family.

In the summer of 2016, I’d visited a friend who was staying in Cabin #4 at Salmon Lake. I’d spent many adolescent days at Salmon Lake, but as an adult, it had never even crossed my mind to rent one of the many historic cabins that surround the two-acre spring-fed lake. I’d never even been inside any of the cabins. I immediately fell in love with the cabin’s simple aesthetic, the amount of people it could sleep, and the price, which was not much more than your average hotel room.

I booked Cabin #4 the next day.

In late August, my sons were two months and 18 months old, I was able to offer tradition and travel for the first time. My family of four, along our siblings, parents, and a few friends, kicked off a one-night retreat at Salmon Lake. At this point, there were five children under the age of eight. None were strong swimmers, so we stayed on the banks and in the shallow water that was directly in front of our cabin. In the mostly stocked kitchen, we went all out with fajitas, but with lack of communication, we ended up with enough cilantro, avocado, tomatoes and jalapenos to feed an army. The downstairs bedroom hosted a queen bed, upstairs in the open loft, was an array of full and twin beds. Total, the cabin slept 16. An exterior, lower-level porch had a picnic table for our traditional family jam sessions, board games, dominoes, and a perfect sunset view over the lake.

We learned two things that year: we need to meal plan, and one night is not enough.

August 2016

August 2022

So began tradition.

On December 7, 2019, my husband and I were o cially married at Salmon Lake. We rented multiple cabins to allow for the wedding party and out-of-town guests to stay the night. e hall of the Sunshine Inn was decorated with a minimalistic, rustic, boho theme. e cedar tables were lined with pine sprigs, eucalyptus, brass candle sticks, and burgundy accents. e capacity was perfect for a medium sized wedding, our 75 guests t comfortably. A stage for the DJ and speeches from our loved ones, a small dance oor, a full kitchen that allowed for prepping of a soup and sandwich bar, and a re pit outside to keep our guests warm a er the reception.

e park was established in the 1960s when Floyd Salmon and his wife, Fannie, purchased 50 acres. e lake was initially built as a watering hole for cattle. e park became open to the public years later and the family began the transformation of the park as we know it. Some of the old buildings and cabins that scatter throughout date back to the 1900s. Today, the park totals 100 acres of history, recreation, and camping.

In 2018, when Mr. Salmon passed away, the park was sold. e establishment has changed hands twice since. In 2019, the building known as the Schoolhouse caught on re and was destroyed. Another re, in February of 2021, destroyed the white house commonly known as the Museum, at the entrance of the loop. Later, in 2021, the dam broke due to extremely heavy rains, destroying the diving board, water wheel and mill, Lemon Shine, and the bridge. Yet, the park continues to prosper. e park hosts a nationally known Bluegrass Festival on Labor Day that originated in 1976 and put Grapeland on the bluegrass map. In 1997,

the Memorial Day Gospel Bluegrass Festival began. Dozens of family reunions, some dating back to the park rst opening, are traditions for other families. Summers at Salmon Lake are busy, book in advance when you can, otherwise you might miss out.

Over the years, our annual weekend has changed too. And so has our family. We went from having ve kids in attendance in 2016, to two dozen kids in 2022. I distinctively remember, last summer, as my siblings and I recalled the evolution of our yearly retreat. Most of the kids are swimming to the dock in the middle of the pond, sliding down the intimidating slide, paddling on the paddle boards, and going to the park without an escort. We plan the menu for the weekend a month in advance with the easiest cooking methods and shortest ingredient list, to allow for more relaxing. More than anything, the expansion is what’s most impressive. In the summer of 2022, we had our beloved Cabin #4, plus three additional cabins in order to t our family. And one thing we’ve done for the last several years, late check out.

Salmon (not pronounced like the sh) Lake is nestled between pine trees and sandy pasture, right in the middle Grapeland, yet it’s peaceful and secluded. And this where it started. My rst opportunity to give my little boys tradition and travel. We’ve traveled to Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, and in-between, but if I had to choose tradition over travel, I would. Salmon Lake has become a staple in our family history, and I can only hope that the tradition carries on for years and I’m able to watch my children o er the tradition to their children. I hope this one particular tradition carries on long a er I’m gone, even if it means that the annual Christmas Eve pajamas never happen again.

The First United Methodist Church of Crockett

A treasure trove of history

By Jan White and Jolene Renfro

Houston County is well known as the rst county created under the newly minted Republic of Texas. But what you may not know is that the First United Methodist Church of Crockett, established in 1839, is the oldest protestant church in the town and the second oldest Methodist church in the state of Texas.

It was Colonel William B. Travis who rst initiated interest in establishing Methodist churches in Texas. In 1835, Travis wrote to the Advocate, a New York newspaper, lamenting the lack of religious instruction for “upwards of sixty-thousand destitute souls.” Travis chastised the church, saying that they had sent “pioneers of the Gospel” to almost every destitute portion of the globe,” but neglected “this interesting country.” He concluded his letter with the plea, “In sending your heralds to the four corners of the Earth, remember Texas.” Colonel William B. Travis didn’t live to see his request ful lled. Seven months later, he was killed at the battle of the Alamo. But in 1837, the rst Methodist missionaries rode into the piney woods of East Texas — Martin Ruter, Littleton Fowler, and Robert Alexander. Fowler, who established several other churches in East Texas, was the founder of the Methodist Church in Crockett.

How it all began

In his recollection of the church’s history written in 1954, Jim Foster, who was 95 at the time, said, “ e rst church was a long wooden building. It was a one-room structure across the street from the present building on Goliad and Seventh Street. In yesteryears, it was called Church Street because all of the churches were on this one street.” Foster joined the church in 1870, and in September of that year, the wooden building was destroyed by re. e congregation built a second wooden church, which they occupied until 1901, when the current brick church was built.

e auditorium of the new brick building was constructed using the ‘Akron Plan,’ a

popular layout found in many 20th-century churches. Named for its city of origin, the design was similar to a renaissance theater, with semi-circle seating and no center aisle. It was meant to allow children to move from large groups into small separate Sunday School rooms located around the periphery of the auditorium.

e building’s white marble cornerstone reads “M. E. Church South Erected 1901.” In 1968, the church was recognized with a Texas Historical Marker, and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

The Meneely bell

In 1859, the church purchased a tower bell from Meneely’s Foundry in Troy, New York. e founder of the company, Andrew Meneely, was just 15 years old when he apprenticed for Julius Hanks, one of the earliest bellfounders in America. In 1826, Meneely founded his own company, described as “casting some of the most important bells, pads, and chains used in this country and abroad.” Meneely’s most famous creation was the replacement for the original Liberty Bell that now hangs in the bell tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The Estey Organ

e church’s pipe organ is over a hundred years old. It was speci cally built for the church by Estey Organ Company in Vermont. e organ, installed in 1915, contains more than 800 pipes. A quick search in the online Pipe Organ database shows that at the time, only 23 organs were located in Texas –six were in theaters, two were in schools, one was in a residence, and 14 were in churches. But there was only one pipe organ in Houston County – and it was located at the First United Methodist Church in Crockett.

Almost a decade ago, a water leak damaged some of the original bellows used to supply air to the pipes. e organ underwent repairs and upgrades and now has a modernized pumping system. While many contemporary churches have replaced organs with a piano or other musical instruments, the Methodist church still enjoys the rich

“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden”

On window in memory of John McConnell, Sr.

sound that only their treasured pipe organ can create.

Stained glass windows

e tradition of using stained glass windows in churches dates back to the early Middle Ages. e windows not only o ered color and light to the houses of worship, but they also served a practical purpose. Many members of the congregation had little to no formal education. So to reach the primarily illiterate crowd, religious lessons were illustrated in the church’s stained glass windows. Obviously, that’s not the case today, but the tradition has continued in churches of all faiths.

e windows in the Methodist church were made in Bavaria around 1902, shipped to Great Britain, and then on to Galveston before being carried by rail to Crockett. ere are 19 windows in all, and they are insured for over half a million dollars.

In keeping with a practice common to the stained glass trade at the turn of the century, the three largest windows in the sanctuary each have hand-painted sections. Many of the windows were memorial gi s from family members of the church; each tells a story, not only of the Bible reference but of the faith of those who donated them.

e South East window is a patriotic window given in memory of 26-year-old First Lieutenant Edward E. Downes, who died in 1901 in the Spanish-American War in the Philippine Islands. He believed that his mission as a Christian was to share the gospel.

e Lieutenant was such an in uential gure that Camp Downes, on Ormoc, Island of Leyte in the Philippines, was named a er him.

George and Gary Burnett donated the South Central window in memory of their mother, Catherine, who perished in the devastating hurricane of September 8, 1900. While the brothers were saved by clinging to oating timers, their mother, wives, and children died. e image of Christ clinging to the wooden cross might have been chosen to represent how clinging to their faith

helped the brothers survive their terrible loss.

e West Central window was given in memory of Pattie Smith and little Ernest Smith, wife and son of Ellis Smith, pastor of the church from 1900-1902. Both mother and child passed away in 1901. e window reminds us of Jesus’ words, “Su er the little children to come into Me.”

“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden” is the theme of the North Central window. is beautiful window was given in memory of John McConnell, Sr., who le his homeland in Ireland at 21, eventually making his way to Crockett, where he settled around 1847. He owned a blacksmith shop and a hardware store and was highly regarded by his fellow citizens. McConnell died in the u epidemic of 1918. His sons, Robert and John Jr., were active church members and gave the window in memory of their father.

e North East window was given in memory of William and Mary Isabella Johnson, great-grandparents of Charles Edmiston and Florence Arledge King, whose families have been actively involved in the church for over 100 years. e window reads, “In memory of our mother and father. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”

Other windows were given by their families to honor W.J. Foster, Nora McCarty, William and Mary Isabella Johnson, and Mary Jeter Murray for their years of service to the church.

Over the years, some of the windows have sustained damage, and portions had to be replaced, which might be seen by some as an allegory for the broken lives that have been put back together by the grace of God.

Currently, the Crockett Garden Club o ers private group tours of the Bible garden and the historic Methodist church. To arrange a tour, contact Jolene Renfro at 936-687-2917 or email her at jrenfro@hcecwildblue.com.

JUST A GUY WHO RIDES

I’ll start by saying this: I am in no way, shape, or form a writer, just a guy who was asked to write about motorcycles.

I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 21 years old. I learned how to ride, when in Athens, Texas, on a 1998 Suzuki Marauder. e bike belonged to a friend, Ethan. It was loud, black and had ape hangers that seemed touch the sky. I remember be ing scared to death that I was going to crash and be forced to pay for damages. Ape hang ers (high handlebars) can be incredibly intimidating when you’re starting out, and in timidated I was. Ethan o en le his bike at my house, and would insist that I practice, so I did. O en. I had brief les sons on riding and safety, the rest was self-taught. I only dropped it once, in the grass, and no one saw. It’s quite embarrassing when you drop one, trust me, I’ve dropped a few over the years.

I learned rather quickly that people are oblivious to motorcycles. As earlier mentioned, I learned in Athens. Not a large town, but a large population, I assume the community college attributes to that. Learning on city streets was scary. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was doing it. I rode through town, up and down US 175, SH 31, and SH 19. It was a month or so before I nally got the courage to go outside of the city limits.

I pulled out of the gas station, headed east on SH 31 toward Tyler. I remember telling myself that if I go 15 miles out, it’s 15 miles back home. Away I went, all the way to Chandler, about 25 miles. I wasn’t brave enough to go into Tyler, yet. I turned around in a parking lot and headed home. I made it, in one piece. I wore the an awkward helmet that was too big, and I was exhausted, but I was alive.

Fast forward two years, I moved back to Houston County, “Paradise in the Pines.”

I bought myself a small Yamaha. Feeling like a king, I drove that bike all over. It was too small, so eventually, I sold it. Come to think of it, I wonder where it ended up.

I went without a bike for a few years until my buddy was selling a Yamaha Roadstar Silver Edition, with a 1600cc engine. I was sure it would be the nicest bike I’d ever own. On a test ride

with my best friend, we went to Nacogdoches for breakfast, continued on to Livingston, rode all around the lake, even hit a few farm-to-market roads along the way. Being back in the wind, on two wheels, was just what I needed.

e following Saturday, I went into an ‘S’ curve too fast, straightened it out, and ended up in the ditch. I was sore, sad and, embarrassed. I didn’t own the bike yet, but I was about to. With my tail between tucked between my legs, I called my friend. I asked if the bike was still for sale, he said that it was, to which I replied, “Great … I’ll take it, in pieces.” e pretty black Yamaha sat in my friend’s garage for about six months. at was enough time to gather the courage to x it and ride again. We ordered everything we needed and got it back on the road, and this time, it was mine. I rode many miles on that motorcycle. And still, every time I got on, I noticed that people don’t look out for motorcyclists.

Over the years, I have met cars merging into my lane from the side, nearly meeting head on while they’re passing another vehicle, and countless people who pull out in front of you.

Stopping isn’t easy because you have so many things working against you. Especially, if the ground has any moisture. e last thing you want is to go down because you’ve locked up your brakes to avoid hitting someone or getting hit yourself.

ere are many dangers out there to look for: cars, pedestrians, animals, items or debris in the road. All of those things work against you, so you have to be on high alert at all times when on two wheels.

e best thing to do is to learn to communicate with hand signals if you’re riding with a group. I ride with people who I’ve ridden with for many years. We can almost read each others minds when it comes to hazards to look out for.

A helmet will be your best friend. Not any helmet, the right

helmet. Many retailers work with you to get the best comfort, t, and style. Better to be protected than not. Anything can happen at any time. Always be prepared for the worst, but have fun still.

I thought buying a bigger, louder motorcycle would be an end to being scared on the road, but it wasn’t. My current bike is a 110th Anniversary Ultra Limited Harley — 892 pounds of American-made awesomeness. But the dangers are still there, not matter how big, loud or shiny you are, you have to stay diligent, watching everything around you. If they don’t see you, at least you can see them.

With spring approaching, motorcyclists will hit the road and, it’s every motorist’s job to be cautious of other motorists, including those on bikes.

Two on the ground. Always.

— Miguel A Benavides

“Being back in the wind, on two wheels, was just what I needed.”

Residential Restoration

By Ashley Keenan

If you would have told me when I was a teenager playing hide-and-seek on and around the square, on top of buildings, in the hidden courtyards, that downtown Crockett would become a tourism hotspot, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, real estate is moving, construction is underway, Saturdays on the square are a sight for sore eyes, and residential occupancy is no longer forbidden. For decades, West Goliad Street was a ghost town with Whitley’s Resale and Knox Furniture being the only consistent businesses. In the last two years, the west side of the square has grown to be the busiest part of downtown Crockett. e Arnold Cotton Co. building, built in 1901, had a vintage neon sign that captured the attention of some, but most thought the building was a lost cause. at is, until Robin and Ronnie Ogg passed through, or so they thought.

“We were driving through Crockett, and we saw the Tchoupitoulas Hotel. We were on our way to a chopper show, so we said on the way back let’s stop in Crockett and check it out. We’d already sold our house in Seabrook, and we were looking all over the country to buy. We wanted a space where we could do our motorcycle parts, essentially, we could be anywhere, because we ship those all over the world. We looked at Tchoupitoulas, but it didn’t really t our needs. We walked two buildings down and looked inside the Arnold Cotton Co. building. It was huge! I learned a er that that it was 5,000 square feet and about 40% caved in. However, the ticket price was just right.”

With chill hop music in the background, di users lling the air with a calming and natural aroma, gigantic windows allowing beams of sunlight into the open concept home, it was impossible not to be utterly impressed. e windows were salvaged from the old Crockett High School that was torn down last year, but so were the doors. And, the rst thing that caught my eye when I walked in, a large bookshelf, lled with books but also acting as a wall, also from the old school. She regrets not buying the ooring before demolition. One of the most impressive things about the home, the bathroom is in a bank vault.

“I just happened to see the two guys that own Bear Hall, the whole entity across the street, they mentioned that they were going to have a music venue, in essence. I thought, this could be the perfect location.”

e Ogg’s stayed that Sunday night and Robin put in a contract the following Monday morning.

“Two months later, it went through. We pulled up in an old RV that we had restored, because that’s what we were living in for the time being while our other home was closing. We pulled into town like the Clampetts and got to work the day we signed the contract. We did 90% of the

work. e remaining 10% was with friends who were willing to come up and put their hands on the building. e budget didn’t allot for hiring a contractor. Ronnie and I had done a lot of restoration as far as vintage campers go, but nothing on this scale.”

It was clear, as I looked around the room, each time my eyes nding something even more unique, that each piece in the home was vintage, hand created, repurposed, and aesthetically unlike anything else I’d ever seen in Houston County. Modern, earthy, and sophisticated.

“We have our workspace to the street, which we really wanted to preserve that natural building there. en breaking o what is the home, which is 1,500 square feet, and into what is the patio, which is 1,000 square feet. e patio will have an outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower, hot tub, brick oven. I’m from the coast. I love

foliage. I’m looking into doing aquaponics. Instead of fertilizing your water like with hydroponics, you use sh to cycle through their habitat and they, in turn, fertilize your plants.”

When I asked about the hurdles of having a residence downtown, a er downtown was zoned as non-residential years ago, Robin said, “Before putting the contract in, I called John Angerstein at the City of Crockett, I told him my plans and my rst question was, ‘What is the living situation downtown? Can we do residential commercial?’ He said that it hadn’t passed yet, but it was already in the process.”

“ e Masonic Lodge building will also be residential commercial. I believe that one oor, I may be wrong, but one oor will be commercial, one oor will be residential, one oor will be Airbnb.

e Beasley building is also going to be Airbnb. ere are so many

nooks and crannies that could be really, really cool spaces in this town. It just takes folks that are open to vision, looking past what is there right now and evolving the space.”

Since purchasing the historic building in October of 2021, Robin has become the Vice President of the Downtown Crockett Association, and could be cited as one of the driving forces behind the progress Crockett is seeing.

“A few years ago, I read an article in Texas Monthly about how my generation was coming back to towns like Crockett, bringing their businesses, and helping bring them back to life. is is still a small town. ese businesses and the squares are going to thrive o tourism. When I got here, as a tourist, I thought, ‘ is place is cool. Why? Why have I never been here before?’ I kept asking myself that. Well, there was no online presence. e City of Crockett website, but I don’t need to pay a water bill. e Chamber of Commerce website, but unfortunately the chamber can’t encompass everything because they’re obligated to host their members. at’s why I jumped into helping the Downtown Crockett Association build discovercrocketttx.com.”

Robin recently attended a Texas Music Trail event in Galveston in hopes of placing Crockett on the trail. “I’m huge into blues, jazz music, I got that from spending every Sunday in New Orleans with my mom listening to the music on the street. It’s pretty much the same concept in Galveston. I thought, to by a live music spot, especially with Camp Street having so much music history, I’d love to help the city get on the Texas Music Trail.”

Robin, Ronnie and their two children aren’t nished with the restoration of their property. eir next step will be the oors of the home, raising the living room and primary bedroom space up two steps. In the meantime, they’ll continue to work on their patio area and bring that space to life.

As far as their commercial space, Robin has a plan.

“We want to evolve half of our commercial space into an art gallery. We build two to three bikes and one or two hot rods per year, generally. We build parts, sissy bars, they’re 30 inches tall. What I realized is, and this is part of the evolution of business, there’s a lot of money stopping here every weekend. ey aren’t coming into our space because they see motorcycles. If they aren’t into motorcycles, why would they? I understand that. I told my husband that I’d like put the motorcycles on one side and evolve the other side into a metal art gallery. I’ll open both doors on the weekend, put a really rad, vertical, art deco, metal sign out front and get people to start walking in.

“ e goal is to have three separate spaces that are really unique in one large space.”

Robin has many irons in the re (no pun intended). Her plans for Crockett’s growth are evident. Choosing Crockett, when they could have chosen anywhere. Robin and Ronnie both agreed that no “day o ,” is actually a day o . e work continues on their property, but plans for the prosperity of Crockett are always in the back of Robin’s mind, and raising a family is no easy task. Her e orts, enthusiasm, and her vision of possibility for Crockett can only be compared to breathing fresh air.

“In ve years, this place is going to rockin’ and rollin’. e wave is coming, we have to be ready for it.”

SEYMOUR FARMS

Millennial family, pioneer living

By Ashley Keenan

President Abraham Lincoln signed e Homestead Act in 1862 and said the act was, “worthy of consideration, and that the wild lands of the country should be distributed so that every man should have the means and opportunity of bene tting his condition. To li arti cial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.”

In 1976, the act was repealed, but not before millions of Americans gained deeds and became the landowners. While the idea of e Homestead Act was a brilliant theory, there were loopholes, un lled promises by the people, and Native Americans who were forced o of their lands and pushed into reservations.

Growing, raising or hunting food, healing sickness with natural means, and not being dependent on cash ow to survive was the only way of living. While the term “homestead” gained its title through the act, the act itself is still an active lifestyle for many. e land is no longer “free” but the idea of living o the land remains the same.

It’s no secret that some millennials have reverted to this lifestyle to raise healthier, independent families. e Ritter family, owners of Seymour Farms in Pennington, have not only embraced the lifestyle, but they’re also sharing it with others. I sat down with Chelsea on a windy, overcast day, at a picnic table in the middle of her garden to nd how their homesteading journey came about.

Chelsea and her husband, Kyle, met 10 years ago through mutual friends in Waller, Texas. is is where they built their dream home.

“I told Kyle that I wanted to live in a fancy neighborhood. Gated community, 4,000-square foot home, I wanted to live high end. We lived there for six months. ree months in, I said, ‘I need to be in the country.’”

e Ritters, now with two young children, decided that it was time to adjust their focus, and search for acreage to live self-su ciently.

“I wanted to live in Alabama because I enjoy all seasons. It snows, I can go to the beach and Alabama will always be a red state. We could live anywhere in the United States but my husband said we were staying in Texas, so it was between this house here or a house in Rusk.”

e family purchased a newly built, Seymour house on 10-acres Southeast of Crockett in 2018. At that point, the only development on the land was the home itself.

Fast forward to 2023, Kyle and Chelsea now have three children, Violet (7), Benjamin (5), and Amelia (4), and they all contribute to their successful homestead. roughout their ownership, they’ve fenced portions of the land, added a barn, water well, green house, dozens of trees, raised gardens, and made it their own. eir goal is getting their farm fully running so that Kyle

can retire from welding. Chelsea said, “He misses so much.”

From 2020-2022, the gardens produced food the family harvested to supply 60 local families with fresh, organic vegetables. is spring, they are planting a three-acre “you pick” garden for the community, and in late summer, their church will plant a pumpkin patch.

Chelsea said, “ ere are so many chemicals in food. I buy what I can’t grow from Azure Standard.” Azure Standard is a family owned and independent company providing families with nonGMO, organic foods and household items. “I was able to set up a drop location in Crockett and there are eight families who buy from them. Azure is farm-to-fork. Our orders are due Wednesday, they deliver the following Friday. ere’s no GMOs, no arti cial coloring, everything is all-natural and grown in the United States. If we don’t grow it, that’s where we buy it. We only eat what’s in season. If it’s cool, it’s soups, squash. You don’t want to eat tomatoes or cucumbers in the o -season because they’ve been modied to grow.”

During our interview, Kyle and Amelia prepped a home for a pig that was on the way. Soon, the family will have a milk cow.

“We only drink raw milk. I pick up raw milk every Friday.”

“We buy a half cow that’s grass fed, no soy, no nisher feed. We raise our own pork. We keep one pig at a time and use them to till our pumpkin and watermelon patches. We raise and process our own chickens. We have individual freezers for chicken, pork, beef and vegetables.”

e Ritters use soil from their property and fertilize with rabbit droppings, which is a natural Miracle Grow for crops.

“We don’t pay for health insurance. We each have a holistic medicine kit. Violet was bit by a black widow, I gave her septa. I had anxiety and depression, I cured it by taking snake venom for six months. My children are not vaccinated. We live a completely holistic lifestyle.” A er Violet, their oldest daughter, su ered from a vaccine injury, the family was sent to Texas Children’s hospital.

“A woman, who is now hugely famous on Instagram, came into our hospital room and says, ‘I want you to read Texas Vaccine of Choice. You do not have to vaccinate your child and I would not vaccinate your child anymore. is is a reaction.’”

Violet, Benjamin and Amelia are raised with their feet in the dirt, sunlight on the skin, and a diet consisting of nutrients that can only be found in a garden like theirs. e children are happy, healthy, and thriving.

“We raise bees, because without bees we cannot live. We have four colonies and there are 80,000 bees in each one. ose bees

will pollinate for two miles. My seven-year-old daughter is our beekeeper. We help her harvest the honey in May and August, but she does all the other work.” Aside from harvesting the honey, and using the bees for greater harvests, they use the bees’ pollen in capsules to eliminate the dreaded allergy season.

e Ritter children were homeschooled until this year. Violet and Benjamin attend public school this year. “ ird grade was eating me alive. I didn’t have a great education growing up in Ohio. I had dyslexia. I’ve overcome that just from homeschooling my kids.”

Chelsea attributes everything that she has learned to her love of reading.

“We don’t have a microwave, we don’t have Wi-Fi in our house, we don’t have a dishwasher. My electric meter is up to be changed but we hope to be completely solar by then.”

As I walked through their beautiful two-story home, with cast irons and garlic braids hanging from the walls, books in every corner, Kombucha fermenting on the counter and a meal worm farm growing in the window, I felt a feeling of envy for such a simple and conscience life. As Chelsea ipped through sketch books lled with pages of maps and plans from over their time there, she gleamed with pride as she reminisced on the progression of Seymour Farms.

e growing homesteading movement proves that there are many levels to self-reliance through traditional skills. No single de nition quali es someone as a homesteader. In rural Alaska, popular reality shows depict pioneers who live a lifestyle that would be dangerous and frightening. e Ritter family’s vision of homesteading is comfortable to most, if you can live without WiFi. In 1862, when President Lincoln signed e Homestead Act, pioneers travel by wagon, with butter churning in the back with every jolt, to obtain land to build a hopeful future. Today, more resources are available to us that can allow families to homestead, at any level, with just a bit of hard work and dedication. But all the same, homesteading li s arti cial burdens from shoulders, just like Abraham said nearly two centuries ago.

Canodling with chickens

By Jolene Renfro

e current price of eggs (in some places now more expensive than beef) has caused city folks to go country by installing a small ock of chickens in their yard. is is some helpful advice for them.

According to an article in the Boston Globe, “Kissing Chickens is Bad for Your Health.” Why would this be? I wondered — do you catch chicken pox? End up with “fowl” breath? Suffer from “cooping” cough?

No, close contact with your chickens may result in a case of salmonella poisoning. Of course, the article did not say what the chickens might catch from you (I have o en read that the human mouth is lled with all kinds of germs). So how do folks get salmonella from chickens?

It seems that many people love their chickens so much that they are bringing them inside to live. is results in bacteria normally found on chickens that live outdoors being transferred indoors to the beds, furniture, car- pet, kitchen, and bathrooms. Consequently, humans are being inoculated with these noxious bacteria that can make you sick and in extreme cases, kill you.

Here at the farm, we have a small ock of chickens that occasionally give us eggs (when they are in the mood), and they certainly keep us entertained with their chicken antics. More like pets than livestock, our favorite hen is the oldest, a Bu Orpington named Marilyn Monroe by the grandchildren for her blonde good looks. She is about four years old and has gone through “henopause.” But despite the lack of egg production, we cannot bring ourselves to relegate her to the frying pan because she has such a sweet personality.

Part of the reason the chickens ock

to Jim (pun intended) is that he brings them apple slices. They love that treat more than the cracked corn and occasional dried mealworm snacks supplementing their laying mash. You may be able to catch more flies with honey, but you can certainly entice more hens with apple slices.

Besides being well-fed, the hens live in a poultry palace. A er losing so many of our original group of chickens to predators (everything in the country loves chicken — snakes, hawks, owls, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, skunks, and stray dogs), I made the decision that if we were going to have chickens that survive, they need to have a safe place to live — hence the purchase of the Egg Cart’n (which is a size bigger than the Yolks Wagon).

e Egg Cart’n is a chicken tractor that can house up to 10 hens, and can easily be moved from spot to spot in the yard, providing the girls with fresh grass to scratch and bugs to catch. is movable pen is made by a Mennonite family in Kansas and shipped down to Texas. It has every conceivable hen luxury, including a chicken ladder to climb from the ground to the second story, nesting boxes, and hardware wire sides to allow the breezes to blow through in the warm summer. It also has insulated sides that slide in place when winter winds blow to make it nice and cozy in cold weather. What did this predator-protection chicken condo cost us? A measly $1,200. at makes each egg we have gathered for the last four years worth about $30 each. Have you ever had a $30 egg? Delicious! Yes, it is evident that we love our chickens, but bring them into the house? Absolutely not! I don’t enter their domain, and they are not allowed to enter mine either.

Familiarity may breed contempt, but it also breeds salmonella. What does all this have to do with gardening? Nothing, it is just a friendly reminder not to kiss your chickens.

FRONTIER

By Jan White

For some, the words “summer camp” bring back memories of awkward kids, spending the week away from home for the rst time — thrown in with a bunch of relative strangers, sleeping in lumpy bunk beds in cabins with no air conditioning, plagued with mosquitoes, obligated to eat unfamiliar food or go hungry. Some campers couldn’t handle it and bailed out mid-week. But some were strong and stuck it out, returning home as victors who survived the fray, vowing to return to conquer the quest again next year.

Others have a di erent view — they saw camp as an opportunity to make new friends, learn new skills, experience new adventures, and walk away with a lifetime of happy memories of some of the best summers of their lives.

Hans Meinardus is rmly in the second category of summer campers.

Meinardus is the executive director of Frontier Camp — a local

Changing kids’ lives for over fifty years

Christian Camp and Retreat Center located on Houston County Lake. As a camp alumnus, Meinardus is well acquainted with its history.

“It all started with ve churches that had what they called a Christian Service Brigade, their version of Boy Scouts,” Meinardus said.

e Brigade, as it was known, provided a discipleship ministry for boys and young men to learn about God and how to lead and serve their families, churches, and communities.

“ ey [the churches] bought the property as a place to hold their jamborees.”

Although chartered in 1969, the concept never really got o the ground. e camp’s rst director, Arthur Betz, did his best, but it was a challenge to keep the camp alive.

“One summer when they were struggling to nd campers, Betz took the camp van to one of the underprivileged areas of Crockett and just loaded kids into it and brought them out here for a week of camp.”

e summer camp languished for years until organizers decided they needed someone who understood camping but also had theological and nancial experience. In 1980, they hired Wes Woodard, and under his leadership, additional cabins and buildings were added. Programs and activities were developed for both physical and spiritual growth.

Frontier Camp had nally come to life.

Meinardus praised Woodard’s work as camp director, listing o names of former and current sta members who had attended Frontier Camp as kids and teenagers.

“It was Woodard’s idea,” said Meinardus, “to go through the

previous camper rolls and see who might come back and work as sta members.”

Meinardus had attended Frontier Camp in its early years when he was nine years old and returned for several more summers. He recalls the day he got a letter from Reverand Wesley Woodard.

“I was in high school and had forgotten about camp.” Nevertheless, he showed the letter to his dad, who approved the idea, “And here I came,” said Meinardus. “A junior counselor at age 14. And that was the beginning of eight years of summer work at the camp.”

“Wes mentored a lot of young men, and I was one,” Meinardus

said. e credited Woodard for encouraging him to attend A M so I could learn some discipline and direction.

ver the years, Meinardus stayed in contact with Woodard, at one point serving on the camp’s board of directors. Woodard had asked Meinardus to work for him as an assistant director. At the time, he didn’t feel like the Lord was leading him in that direction.

ut when Woodard retired in 200 , his successor, Matt aines, wanted Meinardus to be his new summer camp director. So, in 2004, Meinardus relocated his family to rontier Camp, from suburban Austin to rural ast Texas, and took on the position where he served for eighteen years. When aines resigned in 2021, after 18 years as executive director, Meinardus stepped into the role.

ecause of his history, Meinardus knows a lot about the camp and can tell story after story about the early days of the camp and how it differs from today’s version.

In the 0s, we didn’t have one of these at all, Meinardus said, referring to the little retail space where campers can purchase drinks, snacks, and camp memorabilia. y the time I became a staffer, there was just a little space in the corner of the dining hall with some tables set up. They called it a trading post,’ and we could buy soft drinks.

The current Trading ost is a building made of two conjoined boys’ cabins with shelves full of t-shirts, ball caps, and water bottles, all sporting the rontier Camp logo. ointing to a framed photo hanging on the Trading ost’s wall, Meinardus said,

This is from the early 0s, maybe ’ or ’ 4. See this kid right here in the corner That’s me.

When I was a summer staffer, the cabins were just wooden boxes. We call them legacy cabins’ now, and they’re used for storage. ut back then, they were just a box with an air-conditioner that held seven bunk beds. They housed 14 kids in all. There was no indoor plumbing. We had to walk down to this long house with bathrooms and showers in it. ut that’s a thing of the past. Now it’s a weight room and a washateria.

While the newer cabins still hold 14 people a combination of 12 campers and two staff members the accommodations are clean and organi ed and probably twice the si e of the original cabins, complete with central heat, air, and their own A A-compliant bathrooms and showers. And the bunkbed mattresses aren’t your typical summer camp mattresses, Meinardus said, these are much softer and bedbug free.

There are over 60 activities for campers to choose from, and they get to create their own recreation schedules. The list includes woodworking, a giant swing, a tube slide, ropes courses, archery, horseback riding and trail rides, waterskiing, wake-

boarding, swimming, ible dramas, evening campfires, cookouts, banana boats on the lake, laser tag, whi e ball, dodge ball, foursquare, basketball, tomahawk and slingshot classes, skeet shooting, climbing walls, a jump pad, a ip line, and the camp’s world famous shaving cream slide. They also hold their own rodeo every Thursday night and recently hired an equestrian director who offers a free therapeutic riding program during the off-season.

The unior Camp is comprised of seven weeks of activities for ages -12, and features an action-packed but structured camp schedule. The Teen Camp, for ages 1 -1 , is also a seven-week program at the portion of the encampment called ossil Creek. The teens also have their choice of activities they can do the same thing all week or try something new every day.

The camp also offers one unior Camp week and one Teen Camp week specifically for homeschoolers. The staff, made up of mostly homeschool graduates, and homeschooled campers from across Texas, join together for a week full of activities and programs targeted at their unique demographic.

The camp offers outreach programs for boys and girls who need a positive role model in their lives. In 2004, rontier Camp partnered with rison ellowship and ran its first Angel Tree Week of summer camp for children and teens with an incarcerated parent. The camp also teams up with salm68five Ministries to offer Timothy Week a week of free summer camp for children who are growing up without a father in their lives. And in anuary 200 , a group of staff members traveled to aiti to run a day camp at acob’s Well, which was the start of a ministry in aiti that continues today.

With its multiple meeting multiple-use buildings, rontier Camp offers a variety of family weekend retreats based around Christ-centered programs. They hold Mother and aughter etreats and ather and Son etreats, all designed to forge meaningful relationships between family and friends in the beautiful iney Woods of ast Texas.

In 201 , rontier Camp celebrated its 0th Anniversary, but the camp isn’t resting on its laurels. Meinardus has plans for upgrading some of the old facilities and is always open to new and creative ways to improve the camp, but more than that, to reach out to boys and girls who need to hear about the love of od. To help reach that goal, the camp has a robust scholarship program and offers significant discounts for kids who live in ouston County.

If you would like to explore all the camps and programs offered by rontier Camp, visit www.frontiercamp.org, call 644- 206, or email info frontiercamp.org.

Laissez les bon temps rouler

It’s crawfish season

By Ashley Keenan

y early ebruary, I’ve got an envie ahn-vee for some crawfish. Texans may call it a hankering but in Louisiana, when they’ve developed a craving for a specific food, it’s called envie. olks in ast Texas are no strangers to a backyard crawfish boil. I’ve been to do ens of crawfish boils in my lifetime, and now as an adult, my husband and I host at least one per season. And like our Cajun neighbors, we know how to pass a good time. utside of traveling to another city, boiling crawfish in the backyard was the only way to cure that envie but finally, the bayou has come to Crockett.

In April of 2022, arry Credeur opened Credeur’s Cajun Cookin’ in the building formerly known as owl-er’s or Wild ill’s, on the ast side of Loop 04, directly across the street from Whataburger. This was his second location, the first being in asadena. Credeur’s in asadena was open for 10 years, when their lease was up, he was ready to buy but they couldn’t come to terms, so they closed the doors in asadena and focused their efforts on building Crockett.

arry was born and raised in Lake Charles, he’s sure enough a born and bred Cajun. ringing langniappe lahn yop , something extra, to ouston County. I’ve been cooking crawfish for about 48 years. I started when I was a kid, helping my daddy, brother and uncles.

Crawfish also known as mud bugs, crayfish, crawdads are a fresh water crustacean that resembles a lobster. They’re a delicacy in the south and, in my opinion, Louisiana’s gift to the rest of the nation. Too cook, you simply boil. ecipes vary depending on who you ask, but they’re typically spicey and commonly served with corn and potatoes that were boiled in

the same water as the crawfish.

arry said, Anyone who wants to see how I cook crawfish, come see. I won’t show you my recipe, but I’ll show you how I cook em. It’s an authentic Louisiana boil, we don’t sprinkle the outside, we soak, and the avor is inside the meat and the shell. verybody can pretty much eat them. There is some heat to em. ou can’t request mild or spicy, we only do it one way. Some people would look at my crawfish and say, there ain’t nothing to these, until they crack it open and eat the tail meat, then they’ll say, amn, they pretty good.’

social

ones, now, on a good day, you’re at

e also explained that something most people don’t know is, once you cook crawfish, the weight decreases. ou start with a 0-pound bag of crawfish, pick out the dead ones, now, on a good day, you’re at 20 pounds. Cook em and you lose weight. There’s not really a lot of money to be made in crawfish. It’s a social gathering, that’s what it really is. ut, this is why people are jacking their prices up.

arry expressed that he was shocked at how much crawfish people in ouston County could eat.

When we started in May last year, I brought three employees with me from asadena. The boy who helps me do the crawfish said, Why are they buying just one pound ’ I said, They’re trying it.’ Next thing you know, the same tables are buying five pounds, 10 pounds. e said, Well, they must like them.’ I said, I told ya.’

arry said they struggled at first.

Anytime you open a new restaurant, you can look at three years for it to peak. ou just have to hang in there and hope you can survive.

A lot of ol’ Louisiana cooking is going away. ery few restaurants are doing home cooking anymore, from scratch. I do it all from scratch. I’ve taught my son. eople say to just hire somebody but it ain’t that easy. I can give someone my recipe they cook it and it doesn’t turn out the same. It took my son probably about three years to learn the way we do things.

arry claims that one of his specialties is crawfish etouffee. A lot of our dishes, sauce piquant, chicken fricassee, in asadena, people wouldn’t try it. All of my gravys and rouxs are authentic. There’s a lot of things we haven’t cooked here because we’re still testing the water.

sing fresh vegetables collards, squash, black eyes, okra makes a difference in the taste. Credeur’s also boasts of a ribeye that doesn’t need steak sauce and a chicken fried steak that isn’t rolled in our, staying crunchy and crispy, even when ordered to-go.

A lot of people have been asking me about snow crab and crab legs I may try it. I want to offer something good and different. The guy that shrimps for us is like, od dang, they eat some shrimp in Crockett

The way we do our lunch, it’s a cafeteria line. That’s a big thing in Louisiana. Styrofoam containers instead of a plate lunch that’s the way it done in Louisiana.

arry talks of serving on plates rather that paper in the future due to the increase in pricing.

I have big plans for the back. I’m going to keep that hush-

hush for now, but it will be family oriented and fun.

A lot in the bar area has changed. What was once a dark, smoky room, is now non-smoking and full of air and natural light due to the contemporary glass garage door.

arry is waiting for the right time to o cially have his grand opening, but when it does happen, he wants to cook gumbo outside, roast a whole pig, have live music by his cousin orace Tahan, who sings in Cajun and rench.

We used to have some big parties in asadena we haven’t even scratched the surface here.

usiness is building. Word of mouth has really been good to us. We’re looking forward to what the future has in store for us.

Whether it’s gumbo or etouffee, there’s no doubt that this springtime crustacean is king. Crawfish and all things that accompany it, are filled with joie de vivre jhwa dad veev joy of living. e quick though, because two things about crawfish season: it’s short, and not to be missed. While you can, stop by Credeur’s Cajun Cookin’, I have a feeling that you’ll be saying, Ca c’est bon

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The Old Crockett Wine Emporium

Offers new choices for wine enthusiasts

By Jan White

One of downtown Crockett’s more recent additions to its infusion of retail shopping is e Old Crockett Wine Emporium. e store, located at 233 East Goliad, is owned by Michael and Abbey Nucci, relative newcomers to the area.

“We were living in the city, and I was getting restless. I knew that there was something bigger and better for our family — for what God had planned for us in life.”

At the time, Michael and Abbey Nucci had no idea that the bigger plan was to put down roots in a small East Texas town. e Nucci family moved here from the Dallas area about two years ago, where Michael was a high school football coach and Abbey a school teacher. e couple had discussed moving to a smaller town when Michael got a call from a friend about a coaching position that had just become available in Crockett.

“I’ve lived my whole life in Texas, and I’ve never heard of Crockett,” Abbey admitted.

But the couple took a chance and visited on what Abbey calls a “date with the town.”

“It’s a coach’s wife’s term for scouting out the possibilities for a new position to see if it would be a good t to live there.”

A er spending some time in Crockett, Abbey said, “I knew in-

stantly that this was where I wanted to be. We returned to Dallas with two signed teaching contracts and an o er on a house, which was accepted while we were on the road back.”

ree months later, they moved into their home on Memorial Day weekend. But once the Nuccis settled in, they realized there wasn’t access to some of the things in a larger city.

“In any direction, it’s at least a 30 or 40-minute drive to get the things we wanted or were accustomed to cooking with.”

One day when the couple was relaxing over the weekend, they ran out of their favorite wine. Since they couldn’t just run to the store and get what was wanted, Michael suggested they open their own wine shop.

“I think we’ve met enough people now that would be interested in it.”

It was the end of June 2022 when Michael came up with the idea. Although it was challenging to get the shop rolled out during football season, they were open by October.

“And that,” said Abbey, “is how e Old Crockett Wine Emporium was born.”

When talking about shopping in a small town, Abbey describes losing sales to other cities and towns as leaks. “We know that there are leaks — people are going other places to get things. And we felt like this was one of the ways Crockett was losing money. Peo-

“The Old Crockett Wine Emporium is an homage to the vintage vibe of the downtown area. And we are pretty proud of our store. We hope it brings value to the community and people’s lives.”

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ple were going elsewhere to get gourmet food and wine options. Why not stop the leaks

The Nuccis put a lot of thought into their wine selection.

We’ve been to most of these places, Abbey said, indicating the bottles perched on the wall shelves. We take vacations incorporating wine into them. We’ve been to Italy, so we have Italian wines. We’ve been to Napa. And there’s this great tasting wine from the north fork of Long Island that’s where my husband’s from , so we’ve got that. And we’ve visited all the Texas wineries too. It’s almost like a personal collection, but expanded a little bit.

The Nuccis brought in wines that they personally loved. And for the wineries they haven’t been to, they did their research to make sure they were really high-quality wines and rated well on the Wine nthusiast list.

All of our wines are 88 points and above, Abbey said. n a high-school grading scale, that would be a .

She also emphasi ed that they try to provide wines for all the different price scales.

We try not to offer wines and products that can be purchased at Walmart or - - or rookshire’s. We’re trying to get some more variety to our customers because that’s what we believe they want.

esides selling select wines, the emporium carries its own private-label infused oils and balsamic vinaigrettes.

We import our olives from Tunesia, which is south of Sicily. The company we used to infuse them wanted the highest quality of olives on the market. And the balsamic that we sell, like the dark balsamic, is the highest sugar content you can put into a balsamic without it becoming some other product. It’s thick and good, and it’s not runny. The cherry balsamic is perfect on peaches and really good on salads. I can’t wait until the spring and summer months when we can use it with local ingredients for salads.

The emporium also sells a variety of other gourmet foods, which you won’t find in local grocery stores. And, of course, there’s the pasta.

My husband is Italian, so we really try to dig deep into the Italian side of things. e’s very passionate about food, so he makes a lot of it himself. e’s got all these sauce recipes. Then he got into making his own pasta.

Abbey says that some of their best memories have been made around making pasta.

e got our kids involved, and it became like a whole event. ur kids wanted to do it for birthday parties, so that’s how we got the name Nucci family kitchen.’ We’ve made all these memories with Italian music blaring and pasta and our everywhere. It’s the one time I don’t care that our’s all over the oor.

The pasta they sell is as close to what they make in their kitchen as possible.

We are educators, said Abbey, and we care about people. We want to give them information and understanding about what we sell here when they walk through the door.

She credits her valuable assistant, ade obes, for helping keep the shelves organi ed and informative. obes’ handwritten notes on the various wines and their nuanced avors help customers choose exactly what wine they want. The first question they ask when a customer enters the shop is, What kind of wine are you looking for o you like white wines or red wines And more importantly, what are you planning on serving it with, because that,

emphasi es Abbey, can be a game changer.

There are people with knowledge about wines, but who don’t understand wines. Wine is actually food. ou pair it with food purposefully, and it can change the entire meal. rinking wine isn’t just about having a good time. It’s about enjoying what’s on the plate in front of you. The wine choice is intentional.

The emporium has hosted several wine tastings and hope to offer more in the future.

As a new business owner, Abbey said that one of the things they love most about Crockett is that the community is unique in that they want to see small businesses thrive.

They like to reach out and help you. They want to see the square grow. They have visions of what it used to be and want it to return to what it was.

Abbey says that the name The ld Crockett Wine mporium is an homage to the vintage vibe of the downtown area.

And we are pretty proud of our store. We hope it brings value to the community and people’s lives.

enjamin ranklin once said, The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation.

Why not visit The ld Crockett Wine mporium and make some great discoveries of your own

Spring Cocktails

Mint Julep

- ounces our on his e

- mint sprigs, lea es onl

- sugar cu es, or ounce simple s rup

- int sprig, or garnish

lace mint lea es, sugar cu es or simple s rup into a julep cup. uddle ell to dissol e sugar and release mint oil. dd our on. ill glass ith crushed ice and stir ell until glass ecomes rost . dd mint sprig or garnish and enjo .

Lemon Drop

- ounces od a - ounce triple sec

- ounce reshl s uee ed lemon juice

- ounce simple s rupe

- ugar, or garnish

et the rim o a coc tail glass, dip is sugar and set aside. dd od a, triple sec, lemon juice and simple s rup to a sha er and sha e until chilled. train into prepared glass and enjo .

Cla ic Mimosa

- ounce spar ling ine or champagne, chilled

- ounce triple sec

- ounce reshl s uee ed orange juice

- range heel, or garnish

In a champagne flute, add the orange juice and triple sec. Tilt the glass and slo l pour spar ling ine or champagne. arnish ith orange and enjo .

Lemon Drop

Classic Mimosa

rawbe y Gin & Tonic

- ounces gin

- ounce reshl s uee ed lime juice

- oounce stra err s rup

- uic grates o orange peel

- ounces tonic ater, to taste

- tra err , or garnish

In a high all glass lled ith ice, pour gin, lime juice, stra err s rup, and orange peel. tir ell, then slo l ll glass ith tonic. dd stra err or garnish and enjo .

New d-Fashioned

- ounces our on

- ta lespoon simple s rup

- peach slices

- lac erries

- splash spar ling ater

In an old ashioned glass, add one peach slice and simple s rup. uddle ell to relsea juice rom the peach. dd the our on and ll glass ith ice cu es. dd the seonc peach slice, lac erries, and spar ling ater. tir to com ine and enjo .

Mai Tai

- ounces hite rum

- ounce orange cura ao

- ounce reshl s uee e lime

- ounce orgeat

- ounce dar rum

- ime heel, or garnish

- int sprig, or garnish

dd hite rum, curacao, lime juice and orgeat into a sha er ith crushed ice and sha e lightl . our into dou le roc s glass. loat the dar rum o er the top. arnish ith lime heel and mint spring. njo .

Limeade Margarita

- ounce te uila

- ounces limeade

- ounce triple sec

- ime edge, or garnish

- alt, or garnish

et rim o coc tail glass then dip in salt. ill glass ith ice then add te uila, limemade and triple sec. tir and enjo .

Sa y Dog

- ounce gin or od a

- ounces reshl s uee ed grape ruit

- alt, or garnish

- rape ruit slice, or garnish

et the rim o a high all glass and dip in coarse salt. ill the glass ith ice, then add the gin or od a and grape ruit juice. tir to com ine. arnish ith grape ruit slice and enjo .

Thinking of Moving to Houston County?

City of Crockett

936-544-5156

200 N. 5th St., Crockett www.crocketttexas.org

Mayor Dr. Ianthia Fisher mayor@crocketttexas.org

City of Grapeland

936-687-2115

126 S. Oak St., Grapeland www.grapeland.com

Mayor Mitchell Woody

City of Kennard

936-655-2248

310 W. Main St., Kennard www.cityofkennard.com

Mayor Jesse Stephens

City of Lovelady

936-636-7313

130 N. Commerce St., Lovelady

Mayor William Shoemaker

Crockett Chamber

936-544-2359

1100 Edminston Dr., Crockett www.crockettareachamber.org

Grapeland Chamber www.grapelandareachamber.org

Houston County Sheriff’s Department

936-544-2862

700 S. 4th St., Crockett Sheriff Randy Hargrove www.co.houston.tx.us

Crockett Police Department

936-544-2021

200 N. 5th St., Crockett Chief Clayton Smith smithclayton@crocketttexas.org

Grapeland Police Department

936-687-2115

126 S. Oak St., Grapeland Chief Kody Stephens

Houston County Courthouse

936-544-3986

401 E. Houston Ave., Crockett www.co.houston.tx.us

Houston County Electric Coop

1-800-657-2445

Outage Hotline: 1-800-970-4232

1701 SE Loop 304, Crockett

www.houstoncountyelec.com

Consolidated Water Supply Corporation

936-544-2986

401 NE Loop 304, Crockett

www.consolidatedwsc.com

Houston County Senior Citizen Center

936-544-7507

716 Wells St., Crockett

Houston County Work Force Solutions

936-544-7859

1505 S. 4th St., Crockett www.detwork.com

Huntsville Antique Shows

ANTIQUES, VINTAGE, COLLECTIBLES, JEWELRY, FURNITURE, TOOLS, TURQUOISE, COINS, GLASSWARE, ANDMORE!

Thank you advertisers! to our

e re so than ul or the opportunit to present ou ith a li est le maga ine that highlights the people, places and things in ouston ount . This pu lication ould not e possi le ithout the ad ertisers elo .

or mar eting opportunities in the all edition please email shle an head eenan at ashle hccourier.com

A&B Oil & Lube

Absolute Carpet Cleaning

Absolute Washing Service

Aurora Concepts

Bartee Construction

Bella Gifts from the Heart

Betty Boop’s Diner

Bill Fick Ford

Bruner’s Economy Car Center

Burns Forestry

Cattleman’s Café

Central Baptist Church

Coldwell Banker, Pat Dickey Realty

Crockett Independent School District

Crockett Insurance

Crockett Springs Real Estate

Cutshaw Chevrolet

Davy Crockett Drug

Davy Crockett Grill

Dehart Veterinarian

East Texas Livestock

East Texas Tree Service

Eastgate Family Church

First United Methodist Church of Crockett

Good Shepherd Fellowship

Hargrove-Neel Heating & Air, LLC

Harvest Church

Houston County Family Medical Clinic

Huntsville Antique Show

Jake’s Dozer

Jim Thomas, CPA

Karen Rice, Realtor

Kitties Kloset

Knox Furniture

LaWanda Pennington, Realtor

Lawrence Realty

Los Ranchos Mexican Restaurant

McClain Pest Control

Morris Luker, Pct. 1 Constable

New Image Salon

Precision Tractor

Sonny Tunstall, Realtor

Stetsi Brewing & Beer Garden

Stowe Lumber Company

Westside Baptist Church