Last Saturday, February 20, was the annual “Testing of the Bulls”. This event was held at The Bar None Cowboy Church in Tatum, Texas. Vic Bass, Buddy Jordan, Dale Frost, Jim Kitchen, Dale Fioux and Curtis Kelly attended and carried 900 cedar “Jesus is Lord” crosses with them. “Testing of the Bulls” is for men only. The Duck Commander himself, Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty, was one of the speakers along with foremost historian, David Barton. The meeting presented opportunities for men and boys to discover the spiritual background of the United States of American as a nation and to learn Phil Robertson’s views on patriotism and the role of rural men in the world of faith. It is a time when men ask themselves if they have the inner strength to stand up for Jesus. More than 4000 men attended the event and all the crosses were taken and delivered all over Texas and some in Louisiana.

“Keeping up with the Joneses” used to be a common saying but now it’s keeping up with Othal Lowrey and her shadow, Deshae Franks. Traveling in a van a couple of weeks ago, these two picked up more ladies and headed toward Beaumont to celebrate Bobbie (Havard) Goolsbee’s birthday. Their destination was the home of Bobbie’s sister, Jean McClammy in Nederland. Aboard the bus were Bobbie, her sister from Nacogdoches Deb Cheek, JoNell Placker, Kay Harrison, Othal and Deshae. More family members met them in Nederland. Almost 20 guests including Bobbie’s three daughters, Delisa Riley from Lindale, Trish Hopson and Jeannene Bunn and other family members had reservations to celebrate Bobbie’s birthday with a seafood dinner and birthday cake.

When the van safely delivered all the ladies back to their cars in Angelina County, Othal and Deshea picked up Johnnie Simpson and drove to Dibolll where they met Othal’s grandson and his wife, Austin and Sarah Clark and her granddaughter, Leslie Clark and her boyfriend, Austin Parker and his mother Shirley. They came to Diboll to attend the Black Tie Bingo at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club. They enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Bodacious BBQ and had multiple opportunities to bid on silent auction items and play Las Vegas style games and six games of bingo. Their table had two Bingo winners: Austin Clark won several restaurant gift cards and Leslie won an Outback gift card and a fitness bracelet. Reports were they really enjoyed the fun-filled evening.

Speaking of fitness, several couples traveled to Galveston during the Valentine Day weekend to demonstrate their determination to stay fit. Matt Amason, his brother-in-law, Michael Dorman, Julie and Tom Baker ran a ½ Marathon which is 13.1 miles! It began on The Strand, headed toward the seawall, to the East Beach and back to the Strand. Matt was disappointed and hoping to improve his time of 2 hours and 22 minutes. Sisters, Lorrain Dorman and Allison Amason ran a 5K which is 3.1 miles. After it was all over, the group celebrated a Valentine Dinner before returning home.

Lee Allen lives on several acres near the Angelina County Airport with his wife, Desirae; 3-year-old Brooklyn and 6-year-old Emilee. Both girls have their own ponies and love to ride. Lee works as a mechanized welder tech for Michel’s and when he has a few days off, enjoys taking flying lessons. He is working toward the 40 hours needed for his pilot license and has already completed his first solo flight last Friday. His flight instructor is Matt Courtney who owns Courtney Aviation with his dad, Chad Courtney, who is a pilot. Matt’s grandfather, Newt Courtney, is also a pilot. While Lee was visiting at the round table, John Ralph introduced him to Barley Lenderman whose first and only job was working his way up as manager of the Angelina County Airport. Barley has been retired for a few years.

Kendra Bray came in holding something very small in a colorful blanket. I could see a small white head and discovered it was a six-week-old Toy Chihuahua & Miniature Boxer puppy named “Kevin”. He barely weighed a ½ pound.

Poor trusting Earl Carr. He never dreamed someone would go into his open garage and take his almost brand new Stihl blower. But they did and he came back to buy another new one.

Jake Havard came in for weed eater string and Roundup. He’s getting ready for spring. Mike Gibson can hardly wait for the ground to dry up enough to put his new orange tractor in the dirt to do some serious plowing. For all you gardeners and handy men, we carry a variety of handles for axes, hoes, etc. For the crafty and creative souls, we also have a few clean and colorful burlap feed sacks as seen on Pinterest.

The historic Ryan Chapel Church began in 1866 in a 16×20 log building with dirt and stick chimney. The last building constructed in 1937 was the fourth to be erected on the same site. If you remember that building was totally destroyed by fire last year in May. The church has plans to rebuild for the fifth time and The Friends of Ryan Chapel Rebuilding Fund is sponsoring a bingo this Saturday, March 5th at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center in Diboll. The doors and concessions will open at 5PM and the games begin at 6PM. There will be 10 games and 2 blackout games with great prizes that include cash and gift cards. Attend, have fun and support a great cause.

Come see us…’round the table.

 
Rich and Sarah Wallace planned a Valentine’s Day golfing trip to the beautiful gulf coast of Pensacola, Florida. They again invited Gary and Melba Gores to join them as they have for 8 years celebrating Valentine’s Day. My thanks to Sarah and Gary for this news about their trip. This year the Wallaces decided to stay in his dad’s golf course home and meet up with some close high school friends. Golf was the key activity planned around seafood feasts. We played golf at Marcus Point Golf Course in Pensacola, FL, Tiger Point Golf Course, on Santa Rosa Island, A. C. Read Golf Course on Pensacola Naval Air Station, and Perdido Bay Golf Course at Perdido Bay, FL.

Rich and Sarah met in high school and married after college. Their close friend, Hugh Fones, was a key ingredient in the trip. His constant coaching on the best golf courses (with the best green fees) was invaluable. He also provided recommended eateries for the best area seafood. Some of those included Atlas Oyster House in downtown Pensacola, Chet’s Seafood Restaurant in Pace, FL, Sunset Grille at Peridido Key, Seville Quarter, Grand Marlin and Peg Leg Pete’s on Pensacola Beach. No friend could have been more supportive of the itinerary than Hugh. He would show up on the golf course, at the restaurant, and Rich Wallace’s dad’s home in time to add information and recommendations. Hugh also is a great golfer with awards from his college days to the present. Besides several meals with classmates each evening Hugh also arranged a seafood luncheon on the water with 5 classmates to discuss old times and antics of their days together. Sarah was the only female classmate attending and had many stories aimed at her. The trip was made more comfortable as Rich drove his new Ram Eco Diesel 4 door pickup with plenty of room for the golf clubs and required wardrobe. With 1500 round trip miles logged, it was a great experience made even better by a sunset on the way home that was a most spectacular colorful event.

Andrea was pleased to visit with a real “Reality” celebrity from the Catfish Kings TV show which appeared on the Animal Planet channel. The object is get into the water and catch catfish with their hands. Ronald Murdock from Martinsville was the star of this TV show and is the nephew of Judy Poe whose husband, Larry, taught Ag at Diboll ISD for several years. Andrea asked Ronald if he ever worried about snakes in the water, he replied, “No, not snakes just BIG turtles.” When Ronald is not living dangerously catching catfish, he works as a logger.

We also had another TV celebrity that comes by on a regular basis, Kevin Carter, who works at The Campbell Group located catty-cornered across Hwy 59 from Pouland’s. Kevin is a well-known “fiddle” player and has played with some great country-western bands including Gene Watson. Almost every weekend he is “fiddling” with some group on some stage. Last week he performed with singer, Landon Dodd, at the Western Kountry Klub near Midlothian. The movie Pure Country was filmed on this location with George Strait playing the part of “Dusty”. Kevin said they ate at a haunted restaurant in Waxahachie and said it was disturbing that a certain door would not stay closed. Kevin will be playing this weekend, February 27th, at Ogden’s Country Jubliee in the Polk County Commerce Center in Livingston. Tickets are $15. For more information call 936-933-5852.

If you are interested in this restaurant in Waxahachie, the name is “The Catfish Plantation” which specializes in catfish, Cajun and Down Home Cookin’. It is located in an 1895 “gingerbread” Victorian house with a big front porch and yard that is enclosed by a white picket fence. It was bought by the Bakers in 1984 to be used as a home and restaurant, having no idea that the place had ghosts.

Betty Hendrick, along with neighbors Judy Hughes and Donna Enlow, took advantage of a sunny February day last week to drive to Timpson. They made a shopping stop at Miller’s Country Market to pick up freshly baked cinnamon-raisin bread and other specialty items such as F. R.O.G. jam. The store is operated by Mennonite families living in the Timpson area and has a wonderful bakery and deli as well a good assortment of jellies, various kinds of mixes, and other items shipped in from Amish groups in Ohio and other states. While the website mentions more operating store days, the market is open only Thursday-Saturday from 9-4.30. The best day to pick up bakery items is Thursday. The market is located just off Highway 59 at the corner of 1st Street. The gracious employees, in typical Mennonite dress and manners, were delightful and shared more information. Following the shopping tour, the three travelers circled through old downtown for lunch at The Frontier Café, which is operated by relatives of those folks who own the café on Appleby-Sands Road out from Nacogdoches. If you can keep from getting rattled going through the 59 construction, the visit to Timpson is well worth the travel!

Congratulations to Hunter Linton, son of Melvin and Sandy Linton, Jr. who live in Beulah. Hunter participated in the San Antonio Rodeo Calf Scramble. 24 kids scrambled around the arena chasing 12 calves. Hunter was the first to cross the line with a calf. He won a $1,000 certificate, a plaque and an additional $200 for being the first. Hunter will scramble again at the Houston Livestock Show on March 8th. Good Luck!! Andrea (Swor) is a member of The Angelina County Go Texan Committee and wants to encourage everyone to mark their calendars for April 2nd when this group will be having a $5,000 Steak Dinner. Actually, it’s an opportunity to win $5,000 in cash when you purchase a $100 ticket for two that includes the steak dinner. There will also be live and silent auctions and remember, the proceeds will benefit the local scholarship fund. April 2nd, 6:30 PM at Shelton’s Place on FM 2108. Andrea will have tickets available here at Pouland’s.

Come by and see us…’round the table.

WOW! What an honor to share Best News Reporter/Columnist with Burlon Wilkerson. The award was from The Diboll Free Press’s “Best of 75941”. Thank everyone that voted this year and please note it says “News Reporter”. I would love for more and more people to call and give me “news” to report. People who read this column love to read about other people and what is going on in their lives. Please, please send me your news especially about people who live in Diboll or those who attended school or worked here and moved away. My email is sandra@poulands.com. Thank you again!

Former pastor, Jeff Stull, stopped by to visit us while on his way to a church conference. He is presently the pastor of Buna Methodist and was pastor at Diboll First Methodist from 2000 – 2007. He and his wife Debbie and son, Jacob were very active in our community. While here Jeff also served the Diboll Police department as their Chaplain. He had already visited with Police Chief Steve Baker who was on staff during that time. Jeff had already been to the History Center to catch up with happenings with Louis Landers and Patsy Colbert before arriving at the round table. We enjoyed reminiscing while he ate a piece of cake; he always loved Geraldine’s bread pudding with her special sauce. Debbie had given him instructions to be sure and visit the Temple Credit Union where she worked when they lived in Diboll. Jeff and Debbie are busy helping with wedding plans for Jacob who plans to marry next September in Round Rock at the Rabb House. Jacob met his bride-to-be when he went to work as part of the Dell Global Security Team.

As Jeff was about to leave he shared a story about a family in his congregation while serving a church in Alba-golden, Texas. The Musgraves family came to church with a young pre-teen daughter who would bring her karaoke machine and sing specials at church. As she grew older she continued to sing more and more and today you may recognize her as the Grammy Award Winning Kacey Musgraves from Mineola. One of the best stories about Jeff Stull is when he was new to Diboll and came to drink coffee. John Ralph introduced Jeff to Charles Wilson who was sitting at the round table. We all smiled and snickered as Jeff sat down, he asked, “And what do you do, Mr. Wilson?”

Last Tuesday, Feb. 9th, Jayla Finley, a fifth grade student took Mrs. Miller’s place as principal of intermediate school for the day and Aiden Morris, a first grade student took Mrs. Dover’s place as principal for the day on the elementary campus. Mrs. Dover and Mrs. Miller let them do several activities that they enjoyed. These two got this honor because their great grandmother, Sandy Hendrick, won the silent auction bid last Feb. at the Black Tie Bingo Dinner. Mrs. Dover and Mrs. Miller offered this as a silent auction to raise money for the Boy’s and Girl’s Club. Black Tie Bingo is Sat. Feb. 20th look for this item on the silent auction list and bid for your child to be Principal for a Day. There is a possibility that Mr. Martel will have an auction item for your child to be Superintendent for a Day.

Congratulations to Don and Sandy Hendrick on their 53rd wedding anniversary this week. We attended their wedding but it certainly doesn’t seem like it should be that many years ago. Where does the time go?

Alice (Davis) Kilgore’s 80th birthday was February 8th but none of her family said anything until they surprised her and Ray at home last Saturday by bringing lunch and a birthday cake with 80 candles! Their daughter-in-law, Nelda, had come to visit and all of a sudden the house filled with well wishes bringing food to celebrate Alice’s birthday. Those attending included Nelda’s children: Gloria and Casey Dunlap and son, Garen; Michael and Allissa Kilgore with their three children, Cassidie, Tristan and Nicholas. Alice’s daughter, Dianna & Ino Perez and their daughter, Katie. Daughter-in-law, Billie Ann and her son and daughter-in-law from the Spring area; Patrick and Linda and two sons, Wyatt and Rieley. Billie’s daughter Alicia Hernandez and children; Allee, Zack and Maddy and Megan Baldree. On Friday morning Alice and her sisters, Ruby and Annis, did their traditional birthday breakfast at IHOP with her husband Ray Kilgore and brother-in-law, Joe Goins, also attending. In July, Ray and Alice will celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary.

Spring will be here before we know it, hope you will come by Pouland’s and let Andrea help you with whatever you need to get ready for Spring. Our bulk vegetable seeds are here plus seed potatoes, fertilizer, etc. Some that came in to buy potatoes were Roy Smith, Raymond Bounds, Robert Stephenson and Keith Spencer. Wanda Torbert was happy to be out and about after being sick and confined to her home since December. She was beginning to get spring fever and depending on her sons, Mark and Tommy to help get the garden ready. She also enjoyed visiting with a former DHS classmate, JoNell Placer, who was visiting at the RT.

The FISH TRUCK will be in our parking lot on March 2 between noon and 1PM for those that want to stock your ponds. They will have channel catfish, bass, crappie, bluegill and minnows and more.

Beginning in March Vintage Blooms will serve sandwiches, baked potatoes and homemade cupcakes for lunch. Vintage Blooms is located in J.R.’s Barn about 1 mile north of Diboll. It is also a florist, gift shop and antiques. Miss McGillicuddy’s unique boutique is now open in the building that was formally Simple Simon’s.

Margie Bass is always doing for others and we appreciate her thoughtfulness in baking and bringing us homemade cherry muffins to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Sunday evening at 7:30 in the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center, the Temple Library is sponsoring “Voice from the Past” with Hope Shiver. FREE soup, cornbread and desserts will be available.

Send or call me your news and come see us…’round the table.

It’s getting closer to the time for the Diboll Civic Club’s annual Operation Clean-Sweep. It will be April 9th but the last day to nominate a home that needs assistance will be March 11th. Only exterior work is done by the dozens of volunteers which includes repairs, outside painting, yard work and other “fix-up” projects for community members in need. Churches, school groups, businesses, organizations and individuals are needed to form work teams for the day. There is also a need for donations of building supplies, tools, food items, drinks and CASH always helps. If you would like to volunteer, donate or need more information, please contact Fran McClain 829-2779 franmc@consolidated.net or Trey Wilkerson 637-3418 or 366-7215 treyw@suddenlink.com.

Committee members for this important Operation Clean-Sweep project include: Gerry Boren, Ginger Capps, Elvia Esteves-Garza, Margie Harrell, Steve Jackson, Gary Jones, Daniel Lopez, Gary Martel, Fran McClain, Johnny McClain, Richard Nelson, Burlon Wilkerson, Jan Wilkerson & Trey Wilkerson.
Keep Diboll Beautiful will sponsor the Texas Trash Off on Sat. April 9th also. This allows the younger children to be part of the day. City of Diboll Curbside Pick-Up Week will be Monday, April 11 – Friday, April 15.

Keep Diboll Beautiful has nominated the Diboll Civic Club for the Keep Texas Beautiful Organization Award for Operation Clean Sweep 2015. The OCS 2013 received an Honorable Mention, while the OCS 2014 received 2014. Hopefully. OCS 2015 will receive 1st place. Winners are announced in March.

The Lufkin Pilot Club invited the Diboll Pilot Club to an exhibition of how service dogs are trained to help veterans. The TADSAW, Train a Dog Save a Warrior, mission is to provide for the training of a Medical Alert Service Dog, as designated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, for any Wounded Warrior, Active Duty or Veteran, surviving with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), in order to restore and improve the Warrior’s Quality of Life with a canine ‘Battle Buddy’, at no charge to the Warrior. Mike and Dianne Gibson attended and were very impressed.

Sue Johnson was excited about watching her great nephew, Zack Haney, play basketball on TV. Zack is the youngest son of Chuck and Lori Haney of Humble. Zack is 6’ 11” and plays for Nevada State. Sue said he scored several times but it wasn’t enough for them to win.

Gary Jones, Andrew Bass and William Weeks were in buying potatoes and getting ready to plant. Curtis Windsor was trying to get to Longview to visit with his son on his 30th birthday but had to stop here because of a flat tire. John Richard was in getting Carolyn’s fishing license. Edna King enjoyed visiting with Andrea when she came in and bought Colorado pintos, chow chow and peach preserves. Millicent Irish stopped by after having breakfast at the airport to buy hand cream and candied pickles. We carry a variety of gourmet foods and will be getting in fresh garden seeds in bulk.

Haley Thompson, a DHS 2014 graduate, was in getting dog food and plans to graduate in May from Angelina College with a degree in Diesel Technology. Were we ever glad to see Billy Jones when he brought us fresh cabbage, turnips and onions from his garden. We had a wonderful lunch the next day with hot cornbread. Thank you Billy.

You may have noticed we have another new business in Diboll in what we old folks would say, “in the village”. It’s actually near the Temple Credit Union and across from First Bank & Trust and it is Lionheart Fitness & Martial Arts. Jimmy Sill of Diboll is co-owner with husband and wife instructors, Richard and Angela Russell. Altogether, there are 11 trained instructors with levels of Black Belt or the equivalent. Jason Burrous of Diboll has been with this group and is very involved in training kids, ages 4 to 7 in Kempo Karate; someone else trains kids ages 8 and above. Jason also has a background in Martial Arts geared to those in law enforcement. There is another husband and wife team, Clay and Brittany Hall and Clay’s twin brother, Cody. Thomas Pilcher, Marine Roger Mayorga, Army Vet Josh Brown and 15-year-old Nathan Grace are all part of this highly trained team. Martial Arts may seem a bit frightening but when you realize it can build confidence and increase your awareness it makes sense. There are all levels and some include cardio and high intensity training capable of weight loss. The instructors have the experience to recognize the needs and abilities of each individual member and work with them accordingly. Lionheart also offers classes in Yoga, Muay Thai and Krav Maga. I had to “google” to learn more about this and if you are interested, call 936-465-9601 for information about membership packages that begin at $19 and learn what is available. Their address is 203 N. Temple Dr. in Diboll.

There’s lots going on in Diboll, so mark your calendars and plan to support some of these worthwhile events.

February 13th is the “Dining Delight by Candlelight” evening of good food and entertainment 6:30 to 8:30 at Diboll First Baptist. The cost is $25 for individual or $40 a couple for your choice of rib eye or chicken breast. For more information contact Chantea Allen 936-229-9777 or Liz Monroy 936-645-3162.

February 20th is the Fifth Annual Fabulous Black Tie Bingo although you don’t have to wear a black tie to this “Heart to Heart Vegas Style” event at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center in Diboll. For more information call 936-560-6844 or Patsy Colbert at 829-3543.

March 4th will be the date to draw for two lucky winners of a Date Night Basket that includes 2 movie tickets, four food gift cards totaling $90 and more. Proceeds go toward the Diboll Junior High annual 7th grade Palacious trip. Tickets are $1 or 6 for $5. I bought mine from Christi Quarles, whose son Reed hopes to take the trip. Contact Christi at 465-0169. Tickets are also available at Diboll Jr. High, Diboll Intermediate or at the Administration Building.
We have received our first shipment of the new RTIC insulated tumblers so,

Come see us…’round the table.