Hackberry - Premiere Issue

Hackberry

The soul of the rural living

Feature Article: Lofty Aspirations

Urban living in the country

PLUS! Hay Bale Gardens The Makers and MUCH MORE!

Premiere Issue

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Contents

Industrial and farmstyle meet in this incredible Childress, Texas loft.

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Cover Feature

John and Arica Lott had their eyes on building a new home on rural property. A business decision and a twist of fate led them in a dierent direction. Check out their story on how they found an urban style of living in a small town.

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Contents 24 Spring Decorating A touch of color goes a long way to sprucing up your spring decor.

26 Fried Baloney Here's a classic childhood snack with an upgraded twist.

8 Lofty Aspirations

They live in a small town but their home deďŹ antly has an urban vibe.

16 Property Watch

View some top rural properties and get a feel for where the market's headed.

20 The Makers

He's a rancher by day but writes songs that celebrates underdogs..

28 Straw Bale Gardens A few bales of straw hay is all you need to create a no-fuss, maintenance free garden.

30 Backroads Photos from the backroads.

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HOW TO REACH US

MAIN OFFICE PO Box 68, Childress, Texas 79201 PHONE NUMBER 940.585.7772 EMAIL info@ruralrealtygroup.com WEBSITE www.ruralrealtygroup.com © 2018 by russellgraves.com. All Rights Reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Magazine Name is a registered trademark of Publisher. Printed in the United States of America. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Welcome!

W

elcome to a brand new experience.

For months now we’ve thought and conjured a couple of ideas in regards to creating a property in an

already crowded media space. Here is one thing we know: the media landscape is littered with a litany of dramatic and arguably negative influences that argue politics and the state of the world on a daily basis.

We wanted to be different.

We wanted to create a small respite in your day that will actually entertain and inspire you. As such, this publication was born.

"We wanted to create a small respite in your day that will actually entertain and inspire you. As such, this publication was born."

When we were thinking of a name, simplicity ruled.

I’ve lived a rural lifestyle and love the simplicity of the country. Living in and raising our children in a rural area was a lifestyle choice that my wife and I made a long time ago and it is a decision that we’ve never looked back on. Now that they are growing up, we have some flexibility on where to live and the kind of lifestyle to live and we choose to keep on keeping on - living simply.

Beside our country home is a single hackberry tree.

When we pioneered this new piece of ground and built our home, it was one of the few trees that was spared the dozer’s blade. It was unique among the mesquite trees that surrounded it and just stately enough to be noticed.

That tree has stood strong through numerous West Texas thunderstorms and has played host to nesting roadrunners, doves and numerous other birds. It is a part of our family. So when we were brainstorming a name for this publication and what it stood for, we saw that tree. Thus Hackberry was born.

We hope you enjoy and if you have any ideas for stories or other bits of information, our ears are always open.

Russell A. Graves Editor-in-Chief

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Lofty Aspirations

A Childress, Texas family turns an old industrial loft into their dream home.

In the loft, original flooring is spread throughout the entire space.

Downtown Childress, Texas isn’t the first place that you’d think about when you think of loft apartments and urban style living. New York City style loft apartments typically conjure thoughts of places like, well, New York City.

Smack dab in the middle of Childress, Texas overlooking antique brick streets that were laid as part of a grand New Deal project back in the 1940’s, is the home of John and Arica Lott.

Childress is a typical West Texas town -

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a little bit sleepy with just enough buzz going on to keep the town interesting. Unlike most Texas downtowns, Childress is devoid of a town square.

Instead, its 1950’s era art deco style courthouse faces south and overlooks downtown’s two

primary streets that each run south away from the courthouse to where downtown proper terminates at the railroad tracks. Each street is lined with buildings from various eras (from the 1890’s to the modern era) and in various conditions from completely

razed to completely restored and some that are in between.

As such, each downtown street has its own eclectic mix of buildings but are commonly laid with brick streets and aging curbs.

Mid-town is the old WTU building. A sprawling, two-

Overhead, open trusses in the ceiling are painted black to give the ceiling a uniform and less obtrusive .................................................................................................................................................................................................... look.

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We get to see the sunrise and the sunset every day from up here...

story corner building with an open floorpan and a history of tenants that’s included a utility company, a builder’s supply store, and, originally, a car and agriculture implement dealership. Now, the Lotts call it home.

“We had sold our house with plans of building on some land that we have south of town,” says John,

sitting in the kitchen of the immense and open floor plan on the second story of the building. “We were in a 700 square foot house that my sister owns and were waiting to see if we’d be able to get water to our land south of town.

It wasn't happening.”

About the same time, John says he was trying to buy a warehouse that was connected

to a furniture store he owns. In Childress, the Lott family and the retail sales business are synonymous.

For more than a generation they’ve ran retail stores of various iterations over the years.

Currently he, along with his wife, owns a number of stores throughout town.

They own Lott’s Home Center (a True Value affiliated home and auto store),

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Gordon's Furniture, Ballyhoo (a home decor, housewares, gift, and coffee shop), and their newest business, The Corner of Inside and Out is located in the immense street level space that’s beneath their home.

“At the time, the warehouse came with the building we are in now,” explains John. “At the time, I didn’t want the WTU building. I just wanted the warehouse."

A local banker convinced the Lotts, however, that the space would fit their

needs. With three boys and a growing family, the 700 square feet in which they were living was getting tight.

“We had older boys in a small place. So we decided to give this place a try. We thought that if it doesn't work, we can still build a new house at some point. “ So they bought the entire building including the warehouse next door. The upstairs loft, which had been previously developed and subsequently occupied and

We had sold our house with plans of building on some land that we have south of town... developed by the previous owner, was move in ready but didn’t have the couple’s touches on it.

“Living up here took a while to get used to," confides Arica.

“I was looking forward to a farm in the country and raising chickens,” she says.

“There are no chickens here.

There's no yard. It just seemed kind of different.”

Arica, who was raised in Childress was influenced by the rural town’s sensibilities as well as her father’s involvement in farming and ranching, adores the farmhouse style.

If she wasn’t going to live on her own farm ,she surmised, she’s bringing the farm to her new home.

“I really like the farmhouse

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style,” she says, surrounded by the homey and warm touches of antique wood flooring, shiplap, and galvanized vessels adorned with cotton - the region’s top producing crop.

Throughout the 8,000-plus square foot loft, eclectic and unique decor seemingly causes pause through every step of the space. So much of the decor is a conversation piece: including the dining room table. It’s an immense table top that was made from a vintage trailer that was once used to haul cotton from the field to the gin. The trailer was used on her dad’s Oklahoma farm and was sitting in the field when Arica rescued it and gave it new life as an item in which her family communes around.

From the ground floor of the warehouse space you can get to the loft via stairs or in the immense freight elevator that used to move cars up and down to the showroom. In the loft, original flooring is spread throughout the entire space. Overhead, open trusses in the ceiling are painted black to give the ceiling a uniform and less obtrusive look. The whole ceiling and roof structure is supported by brick-wrapped columns that support whitepainted beams to which the ceiling members run perpendicular. In totality, the entire space is a genuine clash of industrial, historic, and farm style that play effortless off one another.

The whole experience of the home is delightfully curated by John and Arica.

“When we first got the place, there was carpet through out and more open areas but you could see the potential,” says John.

“I guess we really didn't have a definite idea of what we wanted to do at first,” he says.

“But you know we moved in, got settled, and we decided that we wanted to do a little remodeling.”

Once they removed the carpet and found the original floors underneath (complete with the scars from a previous fire), the couple says that find shifted their design focus.

“So we started pulling up the plywood and we saw the floors,” says Arica. “They were very rough and unfinished. They had been painted on, rained on, whatever it may be.”

After some sanding by their contractor and a simple coat of polyurethane, the old wood 12

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floors came back to life.

Now, the floors and immense ceilings are the ties that bind the whole space together and provides cohesion to the space.

Despite the space’s vastness, it feels downright homey.

John and Arica say their boys often have people over and the space is ideal for hosting church groups.

“I mean the concept of living above your business is not a new one,” says John.

“That's the reason these buildings were built. People lived above their establishments. And so definitely not a new concept just probably more of a restored concept.”

When you are in the Lott home, you’d never know that business is being transacted below. In their newest store, The Corner, John’s sister LeeAnn is busy selling home decor and garden furniture.

Despite not having a yard, Arica says that there are benefits to living in the space.

“You know one thing that is probably my favorite part of the whole house are all those windows. We get to see the sunrise and the sunset every day from up here.”

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Engaging decor prints and a ďŹ nely curated collection.

russellgraves.com

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Property Watch Here's a rundown of some great rural properties currently on the market.

The Horse Ranch Childress, Texas

To learn more about this and other properties, check out www.ruralrealtygroup.com

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Y

ou may not find another home with this level

of customization. This huge, 4,700 +/- square feet ranch style home is unique in many ways.

This four bedroom, five bathroom home features a finished out basement, three car garage, family room, utility room, walkin pantry, and an open concept living room and kitchen.

From the exterior, the treelined, paved driveway brings you in from US Highway 287 through a custom, overhead gate entrance. The stoneveneered home features a portico, metal roof, sprinkler system, and paved driveway that encircles the house.

In the landscaped backyard is a huge covered patio and a custom built pool. The pool features a kids splash area, a sitting pool, and a rock ledge in which to escape the summer heat. The backyard is surrounded by a privacy fence that compliments the home’s

rustic design.

Aside from all that, this house is a feature-rich property that includes numerous amenities including: Living Area Kitchen Dining Area Master Suite Backyard Pool Three car garage Basement Roping Arenas and Stall Barn Shop

This home includes an expansive kitchen and living room area and plenty of space for the biggest families.

In the landscaped backyard is a

huge covered patio and a custom built pool.

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Property Spotlight

The inventory of great rural properties continues to grow. Available are homes with acreage, raw land, or homes in town with a variety of architectural styles and amenities.

Click on each property to learn more including a virtual reality tour, property video, and complete property information.

4br, 2ba manufactured home on huge lot Childress, Texas $92,000

Historic Home in Childress, Texas $83,500

39.16+/- acres, Hedley, Texas $46,992

Red Plains Ranch, 325+/- acres with home Motley County, Texas $519,200

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34+/- acres with home and extras 1321 Jeries Street Lindale, Texas $839,900

This is a beautiful, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3,400+/- square foot, 1 1/2 story home on 34.9+/acres of land is located just 15 miles from Tyler and located conveniently tied-way between Dallas and Shreveport along Interstate 20. It's also in close proximity to medical complexes including Christus Mother Francis Hospital, UT Health System, and East Texas Medical Center.

This is country living right at the edge of town. The home, which was built in 1981, features an open living room, kitchen, four bedrooms, three baths, and plenty of room for a growing family. This home has two patios, a porch across the front of the home, and a sunroom on the back.

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The Makers Josh Burnett - Musical Storyteller Recently, 38-year old singer/songwriter and rancher Josh Burnett recently spent a little time in the Redlands Ranch studios where he talked about life, music, and why he does what he does. Here is his story is his own words: Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in East Texas. Royce City is what I call home and rode bulls out there through high school and part of college and then became an Ag science teacher for 10 years and now I'm a rancher and singer/songwriter.

We raise cattle here just outside of Childress in a little town called Carey. I also write music and have a band called the Josh Burnett Band I've got three kids and have been married almost 17 years.

How long have you been involved in music?

Yeah I got started in music in my first year at Texas Tech, I taught myself how to play guitar. And I've always wanted to write music because that's my therapy. So I started to write music, taught myself how to play the guitar and since then I've written 20 to 25 songs. I also taught myself how to play keyboard as well.

Many people are happy just playing music.

Why did you want to write?

It was a self-expression for me. It's how I express myself and it’s how I get my thoughts on paper and share them with others. I started with cowboy poetry and then once I taught myself how to play guitar, I moved on to songwriting. I grew up a little rough and have a story behind everything.

So all my songs are based on pretty much

things that I've gone through in my life and it really relates to people.

What is your niche?

The way I base my songwriting revolves around the things I've been through. As a teacher I saw a lot of kids that went through the same things I did when I was a kid. I take those feelings and those emotions and I write songs about it.

When I write a song that's a very emotional song, many people contact me and say, …”hey that's exactly how I feel. I just didn't know how to say it or I can relate to that.”

I've got songs about domestic abuse. I've got songs about special needs. I have a daughter with Downs syndrome. So that's dear to my heart there. I've got a song called, "I Back the Blue" which brings awareness to police officers. And you know the importance of backing our heroes that put their lives on the line everyday. You know I try to write with emotion and things that I feel. And it just tends to relate to people. So some of my songs sounds a little Western Swing-ish, others sound a little country and then some are just flat rock and roll.

How does your day to day job relate to your music? Being a person of the land and being someone who lives in a rural area. Does that play any kind of influence on the kind of music and your sensibilities that you put into your music?

I write a lot of music about being an underdog or an underdog situation. We get up every day and we do drive tractors and work cattle and we know what hard

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Josh Burnett taking a break in between sets at the Redlands Ranch Studios. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................

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work is about and that's what I tend to put into my songs. I'm for the common man that knows what it's like to be broke and to have to work for what you have in life. And on the same side respecting what you have in life and not taking it for granted. I try to put that into my songs and I try to really reflect my music towards the working man or the underdog when I write.

You've gotten a little bit of traction with the song I Back the Blue. Tell me how that came about and tell the people that haven't heard it what the story was behind the song.

The story behind I Back the Blue started Thanksgiving of last year. I came in from eating dinner with my family. And I clicked on the news to find out that state trooper Damon Allen was killed on Thanksgiving. He was killed by a man that should have been put away. The judge had released him and he got out and killed an officer. He left behind a wife and kids and you know on Thanksgiving.

I just sat down and I said, "Man this just isn't right. All these officers are passing away and it seems like every day and nobody's backing them. I said that I just feel like I need to write a song about it and that's how I Back the Blue came about.

My main goal with the song was to show a different side of the the police officers lives.

That these people are real people. They're real people with real families and just like me and you. I want to bring awareness to what police officers are and what they do and the respect level that they deserve.

Where can people learn more about what you do?

I have Facebook, my personal page Josh Burnett. I've got Josh Burnett Band. One song, "I Back the Blue" is on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play. In the next few weeks, I should have two or three more songs out for digital downloads as well.

My main goal with the song was to show a different side of the the police officers lives.

That these people are real people....

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We believe that your property is more than just a listing.

At Rural Realty Group, we know that your property is important to you. That's why we are upfront and honest with our clients.

We employ the latest in visual technologies, print advertising and leverage the internet in ways most agents can't or won't.

We use award winning photography and cinematography to showcase your home, farm, or ranch; we advertise in print and on the web; and we'll bring the latest in marketing technologies so your property gets the exposure it deserves.

It's a new day for rural realty. Come see the difference.

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A TOUCH Of COLOR is just enough to add a touch of spring to any decor.

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Spring Decorating A touch of color can add a pop to your spring decor

By Kristy Graves With Spring approaching you might be thinking of decorating your home for the season. I always like Spring because I like the vibrant colors that you can use in your decorating and the renewal of things such as plants, flowers, etc. There are all sorts of ways to decorate for Spring and I want to share some of those ways with you.

1. You can use real or faux seasonal flowers in vases, cans, baskets or almost any container. I mix faux seasonal flowers with my everyday faux flowers in the house. My personal favorite is the bright yellow flowers but of course you could use what colors you choose.

2. If you use blankets or heavy throws during the winter, you could change them out to some lighter weight throws in bright colors.

candles can also add a nice smell.

7. Decorating the outside of your home can be as exciting as decorating the inside. You could put a spring wreath on the front door and add brightly colored outdoor pillows to an outdoor bench/chairs. One thing I do on the outside of our home is put faux bright yellow flowers in 2 different small crates (that have been treated for weather) and sit each crate on the front porch on either side of our front door. I also add other vivid colored faux flowers to other vases and containers on the porch.

Since Easter is in the Spring, you could add some Easter decor to your Spring decor, which I do. One example would be add plastic colored eggs along the mantle with a garland, add a vase full of fresh flowers in the middle of a tray with plastic colored eggs around the vase in the tray, or add Easter ornamentation to a wreath for the front door.

3. Changing your throw pillows on your couch, bed, or wherever else you may have throw pillows with pillows of vibrant colors may make your home feel more springlike.

4. Decorating a mantel for Spring could be done by adding a faux garland of spring flowers across it. If you like lights, you could add a string of white lights with the flowers to showcase them better at night.

5. Putting a centerpiece of fresh tulips or your choice of flower on a kitchen table, side table, or sofa table could add color and a pleasant scent to your home.

6. Speaking of scents, spring scented ....................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Fried Baloney Sandwiches

By Russell A. Graves

Here’s a great recipe that may take you back to when you were a kid. Many a southern child was raised on the easy lunchtime meal of fried baloney on white bread. Here we’ve kicked it up a bit and added a little sophistication to a forgotten meal.

Ingredients Deli sliced baloney (ask your deli to slice it on the #9 setting for extra thick slices) Sour dough bread Butter or margarine American cheese (optional) Mayonnaise (make this at home if you want a fresh and tangy treat) Green leaf lettuce Garden grown tomatoes (we like the Roma variety) Directions In cast iron skillet add a bit of olive oil and warm to a medium heat. Prepare the baloney by making four short slits that radiate from the middle of the baloney. I make the slits about an 26

inch or so. These slits help keep the baloney from curling up in the pan.

Fry the baloney in the olive oil until slightly browned on each side. For added flavor, we put the cast iron skillet over a wood fired grill. The wood smoke gives the meat a bit of smoky flavor that adds just the right flavor to the deli meat.

While the meat is finishing, lightly butter one side of the bread and in another pan, place the bread butter side down. The trick here is to slightly grill one side of the bread for an extra bit of crunchiness. While I like the bread slightly browned, you may want to brown it a little more.

As the baloney is finishing in the pan, top it with a slice of American cheese. Give the un-browned side of the bread a generous slather of mayonnaise and add the baloney and cheese.

Top it all off with a leaf or two of lettuce and some fresh sliced tomatoes and enjoy.

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Straw Bale Gardening Ready for an innovative way to garden? Read on...

Want an easy way to grow vegetables but don’t want the hassle of tilling ground or pulling weeds, straw bale gardening may be the ticket. While there is a whole science behind what makes this work, here are a few steps to get you started: 1. Choose straw bales from your local feed store. Opt for wheat straw and not grass hay. Straw has the correct structure as a growth medium and generally lacks seeds that will re-sprout once you water.

2. Set up the straw bales on edge for maximum working height and arrange in any configuration that works for you. The sides of the bales are also the cut edge of the straw thus you’ll get better water and nutrient infiltration.

place over a couple of weeks so plan accordingly. In short, you’ll water each bale to saturation every day for two weeks.

Every other day sprinkle three cups of organic fertilizer on top of each bale and water it into the bale.

The fertilizer will kickstart the microorganisms living in the bale and the bales will begin to decompose from the inside out. The decomposition process feeds your garden vegetables and the structure of the bales provides a growth medium that’s weed free.

While this a quick start guide to straw bale gardening, we’ve found the best source to learn about the technique is to check out the book Straw Bale Gardens by Joel Karsten.

3. For the bales to serve as a growth medium, they need to be conditioned prior to planting.

Conditioning takes

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"Choose straw bales from your local feed store.

Opt for wheat straw and not grass hay."

Carrots and other low growing vegetables are a great addition to a straw bale garden. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Backroads

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Country Store Elwood, Texas

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In the next issue: Restoring Texas Wood fired pizza and much more!

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