Mark and Donna Rivers had an exciting Easter gathering of 77 people at their home in Beulah. This is the 21st year they have been having this family gathering. There are nine brothers and sisters in Mark’s family and eight in Donna’s. They came from Houston, Rusk, Madisonville, Alexandreria, LA and Diboll to enjoy good food and fellowship. Mark and Donna provided the brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken and hamburgers and everyone else brought a covered dish in an Easter basket. There was more than 300 candy-filled eggs to hunt, two piñatas to break while others pitched washers or horseshoes. It was a good day.
Bettye Greer and Garvis Baldree enjoyed seeing fields of Dutch tulips in Texas. Texas-Tulips is located at Pilot Point close to the DFW area. You’ll never believe this Texas farm is a result of the TV show, Dallas. The story of the farm begins 40 years ago and more than 5,000 miles away in Holland. Pieter Koeman, owner of Texas-Tulips said, “Every Friday night (in Holland) we would sit with my mom, dad and sisters and I thought to myself, when I grow up I want to live there.” At that time his family grew millions of brightly-colored tulips for the flower auctions in the Netherlands. After his father died, the family decided to change their course. Four years ago they visited Texas for the first time and after miles of searching, Texas Tulips was born in an old peanut field in the heart of horse country between Aubrey and Pilot Point. Check out their website at Texas-Tulips.com
“Congratulations” is not politically correct to say to someone getting married, so “Best Wishes” to Kevin Carter and Rhonda Flowers who were married in a private ceremony on Rhonda’s grandfather’s birthday. Her grandparents are Arthur and Mary Ricks. Some may remember Mr. Ricks who worked for Montgomery Ward after retiring from the Texas Foundry. Mr. Ricks gave his wife Mary a beautiful diamond ring on their 25th wedding anniversary. That special ring was passed on to Rhonda and is now her wedding ring. The wedding was in Pennington and their close friend, Dennis Ivey, performed the ceremony. Kevin Carter and Dennis Ivey are well known names in the music world. Kevin has “fiddled” with several popular singers and bands including Gene Watson, Johnny Bush and Darrell McCall, dueled with ‘lit Red Hayes and has been inducted into the Western Swing Music Society. The wedding reception will be at a later date with lots of talented musicians some of whom will be Landon Dodd, Bryan Harkness, Glenn Lenderman, Steve Nelson, Dennis Ivey and others. After the party is over and things settle down, Kevin and Rhonda look forward to living in their “barndomium” on their land in Evergreen.
It was good to visit with Cody Bettes who taught Ag at DHS for a while before managing ranch properties and putting into practice some of the Ag principles he once taught. Cody is now married to his Ag Teacher wife, Brittney, who teaches in the Central ISD. They have two children, Lila and Rory. Eddie and Carolyn Smith came in for more seeds to feed their birds. A couple of hummingbirds have been spotted in the area so it’s time to put out the feeders. Andrea has some beautiful red and blue glass- bottle hummingbird feeders and of course, the concentrated feed they love. Judy Hale enjoyed looking over our selection of garden plants and decided which ones she needed. Leonard Robison is trying a new style of gardening this year that he saw on TV using pallets and says his garden is “looking good”. I’ve already turned in my order for tomatoes. Jack and Donnie Jenkins came in to get new fishing licenses and also bought apricot jelly. Ima Weisinger and Jane Horn couldn’t resist planting caladiums. Bobby Cheshire was in buying lime to put in his garden. Rhonda and Mike Shivers bought vegetable bedding plants after having raised broccoli, cilantro and Brussel sprouts.
Shirley Ivey accepted the invitation to spend a week in Branson when her son, Brad, was unable to go with his family. Shirley traveled with her daughter-in-law Tabitha Ivey who lives in Many, LA and her grandchildren: Dylan and his cousin Carter; Breeanne and Paige. On the way, besides stopping at bakeries they spent time in Hot Springs visiting and attending church services with friends that Shirley and Lewis met when they lived there. Their accommodations in Branson was a beautiful condo. The group was thoroughly entertained at Dolly Parten’s Dixie Stampede where guests are seated in a rodeo-like arena with long tables and served a full course meal of soup, biscuits, pork loin, a Cornish hen, corn on cob and an apple turnover for dessert; everything except eating utensils. It’s hard to imagine but they all successfully managed the task of eating. At the Sight and Sound Theater, the entire group was amazed at seeing the Old Testament come to life in the biblical epic of MOSES with the parting of the Red Sea, the Burning Bush, the Plagues, the Ten Commandments; it was hard to describe except “wonderful”. Another day was spent at the Bass Pro Shop eating at their restaurant over the water on Table Rock Lake. Shirley was disappointed she couldn’t convince anyone to zip line with her. The group also enjoyed Mel’s Hard Luck Diner where wait staff sings to you; attending Easter services with good gospel singing; visiting the home of Laura Ingle Wilder; Silver Dollar City and Legends with Johnny Cash Tina Turner, Blues Brothers, Elvis and Michael Jackson. Shirley wasn’t ready to come home and could have stayed and seen more shows.
Othal Lowery made a special trip to the round table to tell us about the Huntington Garden Club’s Scholarship Tea Party. This special event will be held at the First Baptist Church’s Family Life Center in Huntington, April 23 at 3PM. The $15 admission fee includes assorted finger sandwiches, quiches, desserts and teas on beautifully decorated table. The entertainment will be provided by “Strings of Grace” and there will be door prizes and a silent auction. To make it more fun, “tea party” attire and hats are encouraged but not required. The proceeds will benefit their scholarship fund.
If you haven’t had the chance to help support Ryan’s Chapel Church’s Rebuilding Fund, you can send your donations to Shirley Terrell, 1410 N. Hendrix Street, Diboll, 75941. Members had a ground breaking ceremony last Sunday afternoon and are getting close to starting construction on the site where the historical landmark burned about a year ago.
Attention to all who enjoy running. The Livingston High School Alumni Association is having a Green/White 5K Fun Run/Walk, Saturday April 16, 8 AM at Livingston High School. The proceeds will benefit the Alumni Scholarship Fund. For more information, call Patricia Snook, 936-328-0128
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