January 5, 2015

On December 29^th Ruth Mullins celebrated one of those milestone birthdays that end in zero although she certainly doesn’t look it or act it! Her daughter and favorite son-in-law, Diane and Bob Pennington invited her to eat at one of their favorite places, Los Jarritos. When Ruth walked in she was pleasantly surprised to hear “Happy Birthday Mam Maw” from 4-year-old great-granddaughter, Tinley Mullins and her 11-year-old brother, Tanner. They are the children of Josh and Kaylan Mullins who were also present along with Mary Mullins, Greg’s wife. Ruth was handed a huge gift bag filled with lots of tissue paper. At the very bottom was an envelope with tickets to see Neil Diamond’s last tour when he comes to Houston in May. That will be Ruth’s fourth and final time to see one of her favorite entertainers. Earlier in December Bob and Diane had given Ruth tickets for them to see Celtic Thunder in February, another of Ruth’s favorites. Earlier that day Ruth received a call from her son Ted and his family in Jeffersonton, Virginia with more “happy birthdays” from three granddaughters. It was a good day and the next day Peggy Burt, one of Ruth’s close friends treated her to another favorite place to eat, Tokyo’s.

Lena Coody celebrated her 80^th birthday and was treated to a very nice reception at Diboll First Baptist Church where she has served as a children’s teacher and church hostess for many, many years. In addition to family and members of the church, a couple of Lena’s DHS classmates attended: Shirley (Whitworth) Terrell and Frank Cavanaugh with his wife, Elizabeth.

We enjoyed visiting with former Dibollians between Christmas and New Year’s. Larry Porter and his wife Jan from Galveston and Linda Kay (Harrison) McDougal from Manhatten, Kansas. Linda’s parents were Charles “Chok” and Winona Harrison and Larry’s parents were Leroy and Willie Dell Porter who befriended many people when they lived in Diboll and operated the family-owned “Porter’s”, a full service gas station. The Porters moved to Texas City in the 50’s and after high school, Larry graduated from Texas A&M. Linda’s parents including her younger sister, Mary Gail who has passed away, moved to Durant, Oklahoma. Linda presently works as a House Director for a sorority at Kansas State and Larry and Jan enjoy being retired. They were on their way to Marshall to see the Christmas lights. JoNell Placker stopped by while they were here and enjoyed visiting with them as her parents, Avis and Jack Vaught, used to baby sit Larry and Linda Kay.

          Los Jarritos is a very popular Mexican restaurant in Diboll. The food is consistently good and there is usually someone there you know; sometimes celebrities, Brandon Belt for one. If you don’t recognize the name, Brandon is the young man from Hudson who is the first baseman for the San Francisco Giants. He was recently interviewed by The Journey magazine, “Every time I come home I have to eat Tex Mex and since I have been home I have probably been to Los Jarritos in Diboll 10 times.” So, look around when you are in Los Jarritos, you just might be able to get an autograph.

You might see a familiar face from Diboll at the new Berzerkerz Cajun Seafood located at The Shade Tree Food Vendor & Flea Market near Sherwin Williams on Timberland Dr. in Lufkin. The owner is Josh Stifle and his dad, Jeff and his brother Jacob are helping with the new eatery. Actually it isn’t new, just relocating from Mexia, Texas. The menu includes boiled shrimp and crab by the plate or by the pound and a variety of fried seafood including frog legs and gator. They are open Wednesday through Saturday 11AM until 9PM. For more information, call 635-1330.

On New Year’s Day to get away from the rain, John and Gloria Ogden took a day trip to Lake Charles, LA and enjoyed eating at Steamboat Bills at 1-10 and Lakeshore Dr. Gloria said, “We were tempted to try several new things: pistolettes, boudin, cabbage/tasso soup for appetizers and then shared a seafood platter of shrimp, gumbo, their wonderful rolls and sweet iced tea. It was all very delicious!” After lunch they went to the Margaret Place Historical District and saw all the beautiful old homes along Lakeshore Drive and other historical streets in the area. Most of the homes were built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They were all still decorated for Christmas and must be really pretty at night during the Christmas season. They decided not to take the horse drawn buggy tour. They also walked through the elaborate new Golden Nugget casino with its many restaurants and shops.

Some families were still having Christmas well into January such was the case with Gene and Francine Carter. On December 21^st the Carters along with granddaughter Niki Quillen and her three children; Amy, Chesney and Brylie left in one vehicle for Denver, Colorado. The next day in a second vehicle, the Carters’ daughter and family, Denise and Dale Childress with their daughter Dayla and granddaughter Delani left for Denver. Their Christmas destination was the home of the Carters’ granddaughter, Natalie and Todd Kirkland and their three dogs. They spent several days with people sleeping everywhere and enjoyed some of Francine’s good cooking and a great Christmas Day. Gene and Francine and all these family members left Colorado and were all at the Carters’ home on January 4^th for another Christmas that included Dianne Register, her daughter, Shanna, Clayton and their 8-month-old twins, Harper & Hallie. Dianne’s son, Klint and Nicole Register and daughter, Emmersyn. Drew and Leslie Childress and son, Carter. Niki and Will Quillin and children and Smokey and Joan Davidson. Please forgive me if I left someone out or put them in the wrong family; there were 21 people present that day.

February 14^th is the date to mark your calendar to treat your sweetheart to a Valentine’s Dinner, an annual event sponsored by DHS Project Graduation. The main course can be your choice of steak or chicken and entertainment will be provided along with a dessert auction. Feel free to call Andrea Swor 829-4040 for more information. It’s so hard for me to think that my granddaughter is a senior and will be graduating this year from DHS.

Friday, January 16^th, this same group is having a Baked Potato sale. Each potato will come with separated condiments and a choice of taco meat or chipped beef. The cost is $7 and that includes a dessert. The potatoes can be picked up between 11AM – 1PM at the back of Diboll Housing Authority. PRE ORDERS ONLY. Contact Velma Aguilar at 936-635-5532 or email vaguilar@dibollisd.org to place orders. The seniors of 2015 gratefully appreciate your support.

Please send me your news and come us…’round the table.