1881: Rangers ambush Apaches at Hueco Tanks On this day in 1881, a company of Texas Rangers ambushed a group of fugitive Guadalupe Apaches at Hueco Tanks, thirty miles east of El Paso. Hueco, Spanish for “hollow,” refers to the hollows in the rocks that collect rainwater, which has long been oneContinue Reading
1836: Italian hero of San Jacinto arrives in Texas On this day in 1836, Prospero Bernardi arrived in Texas aboard the schooner Pennsylvania as a member of Capt. Amasa Turner’s volunteer company, raised in New Orleans. Bernardi was born in Italy in 1794 and was a notary by trade. He enlisted inContinue Reading
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Success in business is often a combination of timing, determination, and imagination. One Houston businessman, Jesse H. Jones had all these qualities and an innate sense of enterprise to build a fortune that changed the landscape of Texas’s biggest city. Jones became a giant in Houston business circles,Continue Reading
Shalom mishpacha and friends, We are heading off into another year of life. Old things pass away and new things ahead. I would like to encourage everyone to really live this new year looking ahead and remember the good things in this life God has done for us. Let theContinue Reading
Before you truly become a Christian, before you are truly born again, you have a heart that is loaded down with sin. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” But once you take a good honest look at Calvary andContinue Reading
1939: Texas Memorial Museum opens On this day in 1939, the Texas Memorial Museum opened on the University of Texas campus in Austin. The museum was established as part of the Texas Centennial Celebration Bill of 1935, in which funds amounting to $225,000 were allocated for “gathering and preparing materialsContinue Reading
1942: War effort proceeds as huge Texas base is activated On this date in 1942, Camp Hood was activated. The temporary camp, named for Confederate general John Bell Hood, is now one of the largest military installations in the world. It was officially opened on September 14, 1942, and hasContinue Reading
Staff Reports Jefferson’s Martha McCraw DAR chapter named Carsyn Thomas as this year’s DAR Good Citizen. The annual contest was created in 1934 and is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. It recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership,Continue Reading
Meetings MLK Activities Annual Parade The MCDCSCO is preparing a slate of activities in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday next week. The fun will kick-off Sunday, January 15 with the annual MLK Day Parade. The public is encourage to bring cars, trucks, wagons, horses, bicycles, floatsContinue Reading
Ken Bridges The borders of the United States have expanded considerably since independence was declared. As the nation grew, newer and more detailed maps were needed so the country could plan ahead and utilize the landscape and resources available. Gen. William Emory, an army cartographer, was a vital part ofContinue Reading
Dan Eakin Back in the 1930s, a controversial minister named Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote a book titled, “The Power to See It Through.” Although I disagreed with a lot of his theology, I found that book to be very accurate and inspiring. He said a lot of people have startingContinue Reading
Marion County resident Frank Hick is making a return appearance on the Discovery Channel show “Moonshiners: Master Distiller”, this month. This time it’s a competition show where the stars of the hit show “Moonshiners” judge distillers from across the country as they create a moonshine from raw ingredients. Frank isContinue Reading
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Many Texas musicians have become legendary figures for not only their great talents as musicians but also for their colorful lives. Huddie Ledbetter, known to his fans as “Leadbelly,” was a pioneer blues musician starting in East Texas in the early 1900s, just as rhythm and blues wasContinue Reading
By David Wall Onions are a fun crop to grow, requiring some soil preparation, but very little maintenance. They tolerate most soils and transplanting extremely well. Onions have a history possibly exceeding 5,000 years, so they’ve been around awhile, and it’s hard to imagine many foods without them. I haveContinue Reading
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Once Christmas has passed, the world looks to a new year. Many wonder what the new year will bring while planning their own ways of ringing in 2023. It will be a year marked with war in some nations and peace in others. There will be triumph, andContinue Reading
1852: The railroad comes to Texas On this day in 1852, the first railroad locomotive in Texas was placed in service by the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway. It was named for Gen. Sidney Sherman, one of the owners of the railroad. The engine, believed to have been builtContinue Reading
Several local churches are planning holiday services this weekend: First Baptist Church: Candlelight Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. Saturday. Worship service only at 11 a.m. Sunday St. Paul UMC: 5p.m. today. Shun Mitchell will be special musical guest. No services on Christmas Day Heritage Baptist Church: Candlelight Service 6Continue Reading
The Jefferson ISD band program presented its annual Christmas Concert on December 15 in the High School Gym. The Junior High and Intermediate band performed first followed by the High School Band. Jimplecute photo by Laura AllenContinue Reading
Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languagesContinue Reading
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Charles M. Schulz created a comic strip that captured the hearts of millions in the nearly 50 years that Peanuts ran in thousands of newspapers around the world. Schulz, an amiable and soft-spoken Minnesota native and World War II veteran, had been drawing the daily strip since 1950. Fifteen years later, heContinue Reading