Make It A ‘Record’ Christmas! H Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians H
County Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 34
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, December 21, 2016
City sets parade for state champs Dave Rogers
For The Record
The City of Orange will honor West Orange-Stark’s back-to-back state football champions with a parade and civic celebration Saturday, Jan. 28, the city announced Tuesday. The event will be called the Back 2 Back WOS State Championship Parade and Celebration and will be held at the Riverfront Boardwalk and Pavilion from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The parade will begin at noon in downtown Orange, the city’s news release said. West Orange-Stark won its second straight state football title last Friday, defeating Sweetwater 24-6 for the Class 4A Division II crown. It was the fourth state championship for the Mustangs in their school’s 40-year
history. They are 31-1 over the past two seasons. Registration forms will be available at the Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau, 803 W. Green Ave. You may also call the Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau for an application at 409-8831011 or 409-883-1010. Immediately following the parade, Mustang players and coaches will be acknowledged. There will also be performances by the Mustang band, drill team, and cheerleaders. Food and drink vendors will be on site, but no alcoholic beverages will be allowed. No dogs or pets will be allowed at the Riverfront Boardwalk and Pavilion. For additional information, please contact the Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau at 409-883-1011 or 409883-1010.
BC Chamber names Chiasson top citizen ‘Taste of the Bayou’ set for Jan. 9 Dave Rogers
For The Record
She shined a spotlight on her hometown and now Bridge City is returning the favor. Historian Charlotte Schexnider Chiasson, whose latest work – “The History of Prairie View – Bridge City” – is undoubtedly sitting under many Orange County Christmas trees, has been named Citizen of the Year by the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce. Chiasson will be honored at the Chamber’s Taste of the Bayou annual banquet set for 6 p.m. Jan. 9 at Bridge City Elementary School, 1031 W. Roundbunch Road. Bridge City Radiator & Auto Repair is being honored as Business of the Year. Local restaurants will provide the food and the Gulf Coast Playboys Band will handle the entertainment at the
banquet, a family-friendly event open to the public. Tickets are $15 per person. Sponsored tables for eight people are $160. Chiasson For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Chamber at 150 W. Roundbunch Road between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., call 409-735-5671, email bcchamber@bridgecitychamber.com or download the printable reservation form at www.bridgecitychamber.com. In an interview in advance of her book, Chiasson said it was her work at a former Orange County newspaper named “The Orange Countian” that developed her passion as a story teller. Prairie View was the name CHIASSON Page 2A
Jacob Anderson, left, Jagger McCollum, Mark Pesek and Caleb Granger, students at St. Mary Catholic School, join Peggy O’Leary with some of the 2,000 oranges they picked from O’Leary’s trees and delivered to Orange Christian Services as part of a recent school service project.
Students’ service teaches Holy Land holiday lesson Dave Rogers
For The Record
Fruit from the Holy Land taught a Christmas-time lesson to several Orange students whose recent service to their community did not go unnoticed. The short version is that an Orange resident donated fruit from three bounteous orange trees to a local food bank and four teenagers donated their time picking the fruit and delivering it to Orange Christian Services. “Our students enter to learn, and they leave to serve,” Cynthia Jackson, principal of St. Mary Catholic School, said when asked about the efforts of eighthgraders Caleb Granger, Mark Pesek, Jacob Anderson and
Jagger McCollum. The longer version begins with Doug Pruter, Jr., who along with younger brother James ran Orange’s Pruter Flowers for many decades. Doug Pruter built the house on Adams Bayou where Peggy O’Leary now lives. In the yard are three huge orange trees, special orange trees, O’Leary learned. Her next-door neighbor, the late Dr. Howard Williams, a noted Orange historian, told her the trees were special, not of the homegrown variety for which Orange was named. “Dr. Williams repeatedly said, ‘Ah, the orange trees. Those oranges’ birthplace was in the Holy Land. They were very lovingly transplanted by Doug and they
were his legacy to Orange,’” O’Leary said. The Holy Land, of course, is that area of the Middle East between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea which is considered holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. It was home to Jesus, whose birth Christians celebrate as Christmas. The transplanted orange trees took off in their new home in Texas. “They were the most abundant producing orange trees I’ve ever seen,” she said. “They do it every year, regardless of the neglect I’ve shown them.” A year ago, O’Leary’s trees yielded more than 2,000 oranges and she decided to donate them to Orange Chris-
tian Services, which operates a food pantry at 2518 West Park Ave. O’Leary knows there were 2,000 oranges last year – because she picked them all. “It’s just such a blessing, a wonderful thing to add to our food orders,” Judy Jensen, executive director for Orange Christian Services, said. So for 2016, her second year to donate her orange crop to OCS, O’Leary came up with a better way to pick her mini-orchard. “I decided I needed some help, so I mentioned it to a boy at church.” From church, the request made its way to St. Mary Catholic school and art STUDENTS’ SERVICE Page 2A
Christmas special for snow-loving transplant Dave Rogers
For The Record
This week’s freezing temperatures reminded Colleen James of her roots in Utah but the long-time Orange County resident knows better than to expect a white Christmas. She’ll still have snowmen, though. With Colleen, there are always snowmen. “Christmas is the most special time in my life,” says the owner of Orange’s Sweet Creations Etc., 3515 Mockingbird Lane, a Texan for 31 years. “Being from Utah, I enjoy the snow, so I’m trying to make
everything snowy. “Snowmen are my favorite.” Sweet Creations Etc. features plenty of snowmen and faux snow. “Not only is Christmas a happy time, but it’s a time we remember Christ,” James said. “I just enjoy Christmas. But then I enjoy all holidays. “I decorate my house for all holidays. Some people probably think I’m crazy, but that’s OK. It’s what I like.” James even has a bit of a side job decorating other people’s houses. “If people need some help, I’m going to try to help them,” she said. “I do their plant
stands and stuff like that. I help do the decorations at church. “Whenever people need help, I do what I can. I like to help the elderly people. They’re my favorite.” Finding someone who can’t find something they’d like in Sweet Creations Etc. would be a challenge. James has been in business in Orange County for 27 years and her store is stocked with things you didn’t think you needed but can’t live without after the discovery. “We’re trying to get something from every state, so people can come in and find
something they enjoy from where they grew up,” she said. The inventory includes handmade soap from Illinois, coffee from Alaska, soup mixes from Louisiana. Every Friday and Saturday, her store hosts tastings for coffee, candied jalapenos, cheese balls, dip, bread or muffins. But James’ specialty is her plant stands, which use many out-of-the-ordinary objects. Her No. 1 seller is “Incredible Plant Stand” which can be used to store plants vertically indoors during the winter. “I spend my spring and summer (working) on my plant stands,” she said.
Colleen James is surrounded by snowmen and other seasonal decorations and gifts in her Sweet Creations Etc. shop in Orange. A Utah native, she has been in business in Orange County for 27 years but she still likes her snow.