Taylor Press | 2019 Taylor Our Town Magazine

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your community. your newspaper.

r o l y a T OUR TOWN

SPRING • 2019

INSIDE

90 YEARS OF FAMILY PRACTICE TAYLOR ISD TAKING FLIGHT

THE LEGEND OF THE HOXIE BRIDGE

A PICTURE OF OUR TOWN TAYLOR BACKDROP DEPICTS LOCAL HISTORY

BY JASON HENNINGTON • NEWS@TAYLORPRESS.NET

T

aylor has a deep, rich history, and it would be hard to capture it all in one place. However, Tim Crow at Taylor ISD has found a way to show the history, the present and the future of the community with the YouTube series, “Taking Flight.”

The background for the videos is a three-tier panel with images of Taylor’s history.

“This really is our town of Taylor,” Crow said.

The images include everything from the Moody Museum to the white elephant on Main and Eleventh streets.

Taylor Our Town 2019

“There is not really a story behind the elephant, but growing up in Taylor and talking to people who have visited Taylor, they all know about the elephant,” he laughed.

The panels were painted by Suzanne Huser, who was given direction by Crow on what to include.

Crow said he wanted her to capture everything Taylor.

In the painting you can see a train, which represents Taylor’s contribution to the railroad industry. The iconic Cotton Town Taylor sign is included.

Iconic Taylor High School graduates Rip Torn, Jimmy Heap 3

and Dan Moody are all depicted on the panels. Heap can be seen in the window of the KTAE Building, the legendary Taylor radio station.

In the middle of the panels is a building that has “BBQ” on the top.

“Taylor is known for our barbecue, and that represents all of the great barbecue places we have here. We could not just mention one,” Crow said.

Legendary cowboy Bill Pickett is also in the painting, along with the Kolache Shop on Fourth St. Crow said there was some thought put into the depiction of the Howard Theater.

“The two movies on the marque were filmed in Taylor, and the coming soon poster, Men in Black, features Taylor graduate Rip Torn,” Crow explained.

There are many other references to iconic pieces in Taylor, including the Taylor Daily Press.

“I delivered the Taylor Daily Press as a kid,” Crow said with a smile. “I used the same style of bag on my bike until my customer list got too big. I guess you could say that is me in the picture.”

TAKING FLIGHT Taking Flight a new series on the Taylor ISD YouTube channel and features Taylor High School graduates who have found success after high school.

“I wanted interview graduates who are soaring high and making their mark in the world,” he said.

Prior to Taking Flight, Crow introduced the series, “The Duck Hall of Fame,” which focuses on people inducted into the Duck Hall of Fame.

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Taylor Our Town 2019

Taylor graduate, Dana Mohel Moehnke, talks about a career in floral design and her local business, Taylor’d Flowers for You. Photos courtesy of Taylor ISD

The Architecture of the 1890s The Comfort of the 21st Century Irene Michna talks about her love for Taylor and Williamson County as well as being a proud Taylor Duck in the Taylor ISD You Tube series, Taking Flight.

“But there are a lot of interesting folks who have done really cool things that haven’t been inducted into the Duck Hall of Fame yet,” he said. “I didn’t want to be too limiting because there are a lot of Taylor graduates that would be wonderful interviews.”

The first season of Taking Flight has eight interviews that includes recent gradTaylor Our Town 2019

uates and graduates from many years ago.

“It features a graduate of Taylor High School, and it also features careers and career awareness and what we have to offer for students who want to go into that career,” Crow explained.

The first episode of Taking Flight debuted Sept. 9. Since then, seven other episodes have been released.

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Taylor High School floral design teacher, Haley Kelly, talks in the You Tube series, Taking Flight, about the career path available for students who are interested in floral design careers.

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Santa Claus appeared on an episode of Taking Flight. In this interview, Santa shares his Top Ten Tips for staying on the Nice List.

The most recent episode features a 2009 graduate who has become a doctor in family medicine.

“She is an example of a more recent graduate and a new doctor talking about the career path from graduation of high school to becoming a doctor,” Crow explained.

The interview also features the current Health/ Career education teacher at the high school, who talks about what is offered for students’ interested in pursuing a medical career.

The upcoming episode is also in the medical field and features a 1968 graduate.

“He’s been in the medical field for a long time and has actually changed the world on how doctors all over

the world do shoulder surgery,” Crow said. “Dr. Steve Burkhart is the one that invented arthroscopic shoulder surgery.”

T he v ideo w i l l tel l Burkhart’s story from graduation through his success as a doctor.

“We have so many interesting people from Taylor,” Crow said. “We have so many wonderful stories coming out of Taylor . . . and those are the stories I want to share with the community and beyond.”

Episodes of Taking Flight, as well as other Taylor ISD video projects, may be found on the Taylor ISD You Tube channel.

Crow said he already has a list for season two and hopes to start filming soon.

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Taylor Our Town 2019

Burow Chiropractic is a family owned business operated by Paul (right) and his son Nathan.

According to Paul, the practice began in the early 1900s.

Photos by Jason Hennington

LONGTIME LEGACY CONTINUES LOCAL CHIROPRACTORS PRACTICE FAMILY

BY JASON HENNINGTON • NEWS@TAYLORPRESS.NET

H

elping people and making them feel better has been a practice of Dr. Paul Burow, DC, and his family for many years - close to 90 years in fact.

A 1982 graduate of Taylor High School, Burow continues a legacy began by his grandparents in the early 1900s.

His parents owned a grocery store and he began working when he was 6-years old. After high school, he went to horseshoeing school.

Burow’s grandparents opened a chiropractor practice in Bartlett and later moved to Taylor, where they practiced for about 40 years.

“What got me interested were my grandparents, my grandfather especially. I just thought the world of him,” Burow said.

Taylor Our Town 2019

A four-year letter in football for the Ducks, Burow said he was in the chiropractor’s office every week.

“There’s not a lot that comes through my office that I haven’t had myself, so I can appreciate it better,” Burow said. “It helps me with the experience of what the patient is going through as well.”

His grandparents, Doctors Mary and Herman Matetzschk, retired and referred their patients to Dr. Glenn Lee, who started around 1963. Burow bought the practice from Lee in 1990.

“When I was 16 I had a choice, I was either going to become a coach or a chiropractor to help athletes,” he said.

“I think I chose the right direction because I can help them more as a doctor.”

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Dr. Paul Burow looks at his grandparents’ degrees from Texas Chiropractic College.

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Now there is a third generation in Taylor, Paul’s son Nathan, which bring close to 90 years of the family practice in Taylor.

The Burows vow to continue to provide the same honest and friendly service in the future.

Paul said he stands for honor and integrity, and it shows in his work.

“When you sit down with me in my office, one thing you’re going to get is my best guess and my best honesty,” he said. “I’m going to shoot straight with a patient.”

Paul believes there are good chiropractors and doctors in Taylor, and he will always have the patient’s best interest at heart.

“We find ways to approach [treatments] that are more common sense, more cost effective and actually promote a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

“I’m not going to steer you

the wrong way, I legitimately just want to help,” Nathan added. “However I can do that, whether it’s telling you to go somewhere else, whether you need nutritional help or whatever it is, I’m going to be totally honest with you.”

Both believe that in a small town such as Taylor, it’s only right to make patients feel comfortable in the office.

“You have to create a staff and an atmosphere that is inviting,” Paul said.

He said once all of the important questions are answered, the goal is to treat patients and uplift their spirits.

“It should be a small town feel when you come in the office. We’re in Texas, everyone should be welcome and homey,” Nathan said.

Nathan graduated from Taylor High School in 2009.

He too was an athlete, playing basketball and running track and cross country in Taylor Our Town 2019

According to Nathan, he is uses some of the same techniques his father does, except Nathan is more gentle. high school. He later went to Texas A&M, and then to Texas Chiropractic College.

“I always wanted to be like dad when I was little,” Nathan said. “When I went to school, that’s the only thing I thought about was being a chiropractor.”

He said his father never pressured him to become a chiropractor, but was always supportive.

“He never pushed me. He did try to talk me out of it when health care was going down,” Nathan said. “I did it because I wanted to.”

“I started seeing that he was passionate about it and ways that I could make things work as well, so I started embracing it,” Paul said.

Nathan considered other professions, namely something in agriculture, but decided to pursue his family’s profession.

“I realized I could help Taylor Our Town 2019

a lot more people with my hands than I’m going to do anywhere else,” Nathan said.

“I saw what the profession was and it clicked in my head. It’s been awesome.”

In December, Nathan received his degree from Texas Chiropractic College.

The guest speaker was a classmate of Paul’s, and the president of the school was in one of his technique clubs.

Now that Nathan is fully licensed, he works alongside his father in the office.

“Chiropractic offers an alternative to the use of drugs and surgery,” Paul said. “It’s an alternative health care . . . we can help a lot of people.”

He said the approach is to change biomechanics and function by loosening the body up so it can heal itself.

“It’s a concept that has no real side effects. It’s very safe even though there are risks, just like there is in any kind of treatment,” Paul said.

Dr. Paul Burow (left) and his son Nathan practice out of the same office in downtown Taylor.

Dr. Paul Burow checks a patient’s ankle to provide the proper diagnosis.

Courtesy photo

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Particularly for athletes, injuries can linger and Burow said once they are identified, chiropractors can “fix them and get them back out on the field faster.”

During football season, Paul is on the sideline in case of an injury to a player.

He said with his knowledge in the profession, he helps get injured players back on the field sooner. Last season, Nathan joined his father on the sidelines.

“It’s a functional establishment to try to get the patient back to sport,” he said.

Nathan compared chiropractic to servicing a vehicle.

“Are you going to just change the oil to get it to last a little longer . . . or are you going to go in and fix the issue that was causing the problem in the first place?” he said. “We are trying to get the tissue out to where you’re actually functioning right, so that you can get through the day without pain.”

Taylor Our Town 2019

According to Nathan, as chiropractors, they are not giving patients potentially harmful chemicals with medicines.

“We’re literally changing the way your body is functioning so that it is functioning right,” he said. “You’re doing all the work, we’re just setting the lines so that your body can fix itself.”

Paul said he has interacted with olympic chiropractors during seminars and events, and believes his techniques and skills are on par with others.

“The information we have here in Taylor, TX, is the cutting level,” he said.

Although Nathan is continuing the family business, Paul said this is not a passing of the torch, at least not yet.

He said he plans to continue practicing alongside his son for many years to come.

Dr. Paul Burow applies pressure to the back of a patient during a treatment.

Courtesy photo

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Taylor Our Town 2019

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A HOXIE “WHO’S WHO” FROM STAFF REPORTS

W

hile the usual Taylor creation story begins with what happened after the I&GN Railroad laid its tracks to the location where cattle trails from South Texas joined the Chisholm Trail, the REAL story may be what went before that.

The Hoxie Bridge was moved to this location on a hiking trail in Taylor Park in 1979.

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Taylor Our Town 2019

Every wide spot and every small town in Texas wanted to be on the rail line. Was it simply a happy circumstance that a Chicago railroad man named Hoxie came to Taylor just when the I&GN did? Or was it that his cousin, a railroad man from Ohio, came to Texas six years before that to join I&GN rail baron Jay Gould.

With railroad companies vying for the chance to carve up Texas, should we be surprised when International & Great Northern lays track straight to Taylor Station?

The story seems simple enough. A small community of early farmers and merchants becomes Taylor Station in 1876, when blessed by the arrival of the railroad line. Another beneficent entity, the Texas Land Company, coordinates with the carrier,

lays out the land and sells lots, and Taylor is born.

Around the same time, a rich Chicago fellow named John Hoxie came to town, bought lots of land from a relative, became president of the new bank, built “The Taylor Mansion”, and stayed mostly in Chicago. One source reports that he was a mayor of Chicago, and he never visited his Texas holdings, though there is no evidence to support either claim. Another reports that he lived quietly here and liked to visit in Ft. Worth. So they say.

The devil is in the details.

Turns out that John Hoxie and his cousin, Herbert, grew up fewer than five miles from one another in New York State, hiking distance for John, who reported walking to Rochester to save the fare. Herbert was older by a

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DO GHOSTS FOLLOW HOXIE BRIDGE? Taylor Daily Press Oct. 28, 2004 Although the spirit that haunted Hoxie Bridge near Granger Lake was supposedly put to rest by a priest’s prayers, according to a marker at the bridge’s current site, there are still ghostly things happening in the area.

Hoxie Bridge was built at the turn of the last century across the San Gabriel River about three miles east of Circleville, according to a marker at the bridge’s current site in Taylor Park at Granger Lake.

According to a longtime resident of the area, there are still unexplained things happening out at Granger Lake.

“There’s a ghost out through there,” he said. “I’ve been hunting there at night and I faced it. I had two dogs with me and those dogs were jumping on me not to go any further.”

The resident also avoids the water on Granger Lake.

“I’m telling people not to go fishing there,” he said. “I tell them don’t go fishing out there, they might not come back.”

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Taylor Our Town 2019

year, outgoing, adventurous, opportunistic, bright, but undirected except vaguely toward success. John was studious, painfully frugal, intensely directed toward business and finance from an early age, and brilliant in retaining business details.

They were almost alter-egos.

Herbert moved away when he was around twelve, but they apparently remained very close.

John began building his empire while in his teens, foregoing his formal education to work for a rail line.

He took over management the Michigan Southern Railroad in 1857, when he was only 25. He also dealt in livestock, and owned the Lake Shore Stockyards, later merged into Union Stockyards. He invested and saved, and built a rep-

utation for “unswer ving integrity and uprightness of character”, a devout Quaker and family man, remarkably prescient in business details.

Meanwhile, Herbert (or Hub) tiptoed on the edge of daring-do and don’t. He worked briefly for a young rail line named Union Pacific in Iowa. He tried his hand at other enterprises before beginning an adventure to the gold fields in California.

He returned to rejoin the Union Pacific Railroad, an interest of the Gould’s. He was named Superintendent, the railroad equivalent of “boss”, in Iowa.

There was a scandal involving Credit Mobilier and price rigging, or at the very least, sleight of hand.

Hub needed an exit.

Gould was working on Texas plans. Hub moved to

Palestine, Texas, in 1870, and joined the Gould interest that became International & Great Northern.

John and Herbert Hoxie knew railroads. The land their relative owned seemed ideal, a natural crossing for cattle headed to market on the Chisholm Trail. He could be persuaded to sell, and John could be persuaded to buy. If they played their cards well, it could become valuable land. Hub was in a position to influence the I&GN to build in that direction. It wasn’t illegal...just timing, and quiet, careful planning.

It went well for the cousins. The railroad laid the track in 1876. The Texas Land Company, a dollar churning invention of I&GN also headquartered in Palestine, designed Taylor

Station, surveyed, sold the lots and collected the money.

John closed on around 17,000 acres, and announced that his nephew, Mortimer Hoxie, would manage the majority of the property, 10,000 acres along Pecan Creek. The smaller section, 7,000 acres closer to town, would be maintained as a country home for him and his guests, and would be managed by W.W. Mumford, who lived at Flag Springs.

John invested time developing his new holdings, and became president of the new First National Bank of Taylor.

It was the first national bank chartered in Williamson County, in 1883.

In Ft. Worth, the last stop on the Chisholm Trail, John pursued his long standing interest in stockyards, shipping and finance. He became

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According to Google Maps, the Hoxie Bridge is at Granger Lake.

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Taylor Our Town 2019

president of another bank, and opened the Fort Worth stockyards as president in 1890, advertising “12 lines of railroads, 260 acres of land, 75 acres of covered yards and pens, and consignments to yards in St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago.”

He then formed the Fort Worth Packing Company to compete with those of Swift and Armour. At his death, in 1896, he was 65 years old and had dedicated over 20 years to his Texas investment.

Meanwhile, Herb, or Hub, became the “virtual head of Gould interests” in Texas.

He arrived in Palestine in 1870, and In 1874, before I&GN arrived in Taylor, he was made Genera l

Superintendent of what became I&GN. In 1883 he became First Vice President of Gould’s Southwestern System of Railroads. The Texas Land Company, the one that laid out Taylor’s plan and sold the lots, was a money churning scheme of I&GN’s. It ultimately sold thousands of acres that the state ‘paid’ to the rail lines at 10,000 acres for each foot of track laid. Herbert Hoxie played an integral part in operations and in subsequent acquisitions. He influenced major northern investors to look to Texas.

Cousin Mortimer managed Hoxie House, the estate by Pecan Creek. A settlement nearby became known as Hoxie, with a pop-

ulation of 322 at one time.

The estate was broken up into small parcels and sold in 1910; the palatial home burned in 1934, and from 1943 to 2000, the population of Hoxie was reported as fifty. Mortimer died in 1921. Gilbert, John’s son, lived in the area for a time, but died, at age 35, near Hoxie, Arkansas, another railroad town.

The railroad elimination derby to determine f inal winners excluded local lines like the Bartlett Western, known as B.W., or “Better Walk”, and the Four Gospels line, with 4 flag stations: “St. Matthew” in Schwertner, “St. Mark”, serving Jarrell, “St. Luke” in Atkinson Community,

and “St. John”, for the A r mst rong Com mu n it y.

This was abbreviated to the “Bullfrog Line” because it jumped the track so often.

Coupland, Rockdale, Round Rock, Georgetown.

No more small lines for small towns.

Fi n a l l y, f r om w h at appeared to be chaos, emerged today ’s Union Pacific, second largest system in the nation. After many purchases, bankruptcies accessions and reorganizations, today’s Union Pacific can still trace its lineage to the I&GN that originally built Taylor. The large regional switching yard and maintenance facility still anchor Taylor, and their train horns rule the night.

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Wilco Grain store manager Dustin J. Owen handles a phone call in his office.

Photo by CA Powers

THE LAND THAT FEEDS US

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rain helps feed the world and silos help producers bring food to your table.

That’s why the towering white iconic silos south of downtown Taylor have been a symbol of agricultural production and prosperity for nearly 44 years.

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Williamson County Grain, Inc. – known as WmCo to the local population - is the largest granary near Taylor. Since 1975, it has served area farmers and ranchers with grain and feed storage services, and essential farm and ranch supply sales.

Taylor Our Town 2019

WMCO TODAY It’s harvest time.

Some 58 local producers are bringing their wheat, corn and milo to weigh, store and sell. WmCo General Manager Dustin J. Owen and his staff are busy manning weigh stations, unloading grain, tracking deliveries, selling feed, seed and fertilizer products.

“It started with just a handful of producers in the 70s,” said Owen, who has been general manager since May 2017. “They wanted their own elevator for corn, milo and wheat. Now, our retail store sells more farm and ranch products than just about anywhere else in the area.”

WmCo’s storage capacity is about 3.7 million bushels, mainly for corn. Over the years, it has expanded by building new storage tanks and acquiring a fiveacre facility in Elgin, Texas.

WmCo also works with nearby Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC that sells agricultural chemicals to prevent pests from damaging crops.

“We try to get everything sold before the next harvest. Last year was a tough, hot dry year and the yields suffered. We only stored 1.7 million bushels of the 2018 crop,” said Owen, who oversees a staff of about 12 who load feed and fertilizer, maintain equipment, manage counter sales or handle bookkeeping. He also hires local high school students for parttime help.

Owen earned an M.S. degree in Agricultural and Consumer Resources. Part of his job is to track daily cubic bushel prices, so he can advise growers about market conditions. He also Taylor Our Town 2019

links growers with buyers, whether it’s a local deer corn purchase or larger conglomerate sales to Cargill or a Texas cattle feed lot.

“We can have as many as 40 or 50 trucks lined up – some are 18-wheelers. I like the chaos at harvest time. It

rents crop production equipment, such as spreaders, nurse tanks, seeders, broadcast rigs, renovators and grain vacs. It also serves as a local hub for retired farmers and ranchers who like to stop by in the morning for a cup of coffee and to chat.

ious veteran groups in the area and show our support on Veterans Day with an ad in the paper,” he said.

He said that WmCo also supports and invests in the community by sponsoring school groups and fundraisers. On a part-time basis,

MARKET KNOWLEDGE

Determining the best time to sell a crop takes market knowledge and the ability to analyze commodity trends over time. According to Farm Progress, the “basis” price for a crop is the difference between the cash price paid for grain and the “futures” price, determined by the Chicago Board of Trade, home of the global grain and oilseeds marketplace. Basis is often called “the voice of the market” because it’s an indication of whether the market wants your grain.

keeps you busy,” said Owens.

“A good amount of sales occurs at harvest. You will also see them sell when a note is due or if farm supplies or equipment are needed.”

Most WmCo producers hire a vendor to transport crops but some run their own tandem trucks into town to weigh and dump their payload. Over the years, local growers have opted to build storage on their own land.

“Bigger farmers are putting their own tanks up,” said WmCo Bookkeeper Ashley Schroeder. “They are doing it on their own. Also, some producers are moving toward cotton because the price of grain has dropped over the years.”

AG COMMUNITY HUB Besides its weighing and storage services, the 44-yearold commercial operation

“It’s just cool to hear how much farming has changed over the years. Listening to them talk about their first tractor or first truck and how they wish they had kept them; hearing their stories about their military service or how much the area has changed,” said Owen, who enjoys the nostalgia of farmers and their stewardship of the land.

A BLEND OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY SERVICE Owen says that WmCo is a pro-veteran local business that focuses on individual customer needs. Their Google reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

“We appreciate the service of our military. We have lots of producers who are veterans. We show our appreciation by supporting the var-

WmCo employs special education students so they can gain valuable work experience.

“We are involved and work hand-in-hand with the Extension Service to offer agricultural education courses to help producers find and use products that they learn about in those meetings,” Owens said.

A LOOK BACK In 1976, Joe Mueck came to WmCo as a hired hand.

After studying agronomy at Texas A&M University, he served in the military and then worked at a local fertilizer plant until it closed. Over the years he worked his way up to become WmCo’s general manager until April 2017.

“Believe it or not, I started as a peon,” said Mueck, who saw WmCo through many transitions and stages of growth. “A lot of changes took place. We had 23 shareholders at first and 49 when 21

Part of the Texas Blackland Prairie, with its rich, fertile, clay-like soil, Williamson County became an agrarian community for most of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1880 and 1920, cotton was the dominant crop and Williamson County was a top Texas cotton producer, while Taylor became a hub for cotton production, cotton ginning and compressing cotton bales for transport by rail. As the county became more urban, the farming, dairy and cattle ranching gradually made way for commerce, business and retail services.

3302 West 2nd Street • Taylor, TX 512-352-5248 tbcpropane.com

Serving Taylor, Hutto, Granger, Coupland & Surrounding Communities for 58 Years

Family Owned Since 1960

AGRICULTURAL HISTORY

I left. We didn’t have sick leave or paid holidays.”

Mueck pioneered some of WmCo’s expansion, got health insurance and uniforms for his staff, started record-keeping on area farms for their soil tests and fertilizer use. Growing up on a cattle and cotton farm in Cameron, he was drawn to the work.

“Being raised on a farm, I enjoyed watching things grow,” Mueck said.

He reflected on how agriculture has changed.

“Farmers these days can spend a fortune on equipment, but they also can do more now with precision farming,” Mueck said.

“You’re using every tool possible to pinch out everything you can from the soil. Seed has improved through genetics. Crops are more resistant to cold and drought with the improvements of seed.”

Taylor Our Town 2019

TAYLOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 3101 N. Main St., Taylor, TX 76574 www.taylorisd.org Phone: (512) 365-1391 Fax: (512) 365-3800

• Graduation rates consistently surpass regional and state averages.

• High-performing Early College High School also recognized by College Board for high SAT scores.

• Nationally-ranked Academic Decathlon • Nationally-ranked Color Guard • "Leader in Me" initiative • Athletic state qualifiers • New athletic complex

• Career preparation with certifications in numerous areas including Welding, Culinary Arts, Automotive, Floral Design and Plumbing.

• Every high school student is issued a laptop.

• Sweepstakes bands • State-ranked Hi-Steppers • Free and tuition-based Pre-K • After-school programs • Parent and community involvement

The economic development successes just keep coming for Taylor, Texas. A new hotel is nearing completion. The 50,000 sq. ft. “spec” building built by the Taylor Economic Development Corporation recently was purchased and now will house a national distribution center. A developer has purchased 700 acres on which they plan build a logistics and rail park. Several residential projects have broken ground or are in the planning phase. More retail is on the drawing boards.

Recently the Taylor EDC was successful in getting large tracts of land designated as an Opportunity Zone which has created national interest in the area. Momentum is building.

Success is leading to more success.

Give the TEDC a call to find out more about doing business in Taylor.

THINK BIG | THINK TAYLOR Taylor Economic Development Corporation PO Box 975 / 112 West 2nd St., Suite 203 Taylor, Texas 76574 p. (512) 352-4321 f. (512) 352-3252