Brazos 360

INSIDE Meet Shane Lechler and Lester Banks, try holiday party tips from Kelly Anthony and get a peek inside the kitchen at Kyle Field.

WINTER 2018

FAMILY TIES

How Bryan-College Station became home for The Remnant of Nawlins THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Inside

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EVENT CALENDAR

Get ready for Christmas and New Year’s fun, The King and I, Something Rotten! and My Fair Lady.

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BY THE NUMBERS

Fun figures on pricey Christmas shopping and the original Mary Poppins.

360 PROFILE

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Meet Shane Lechler. Not “that” Shane Lechler.

COVER STORY

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How Bryan-College Station became home for the family behind The Remnant of Nawlins restaurant.

HOLIDAY HOSTING

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Kelly Anthony’s how-to guide on throwing a December party.

HOLIDAY FUN

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The big addition at Santa’s Wonderland this year: snow.

360 PROFILE

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Lester Banks talks about his efforts to help children at Bryan High.

PARTY PICS

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Photos from the Rob Childress Charity Golf Tournament, Texas A&M tailgating and Business After Hours.

WHAT’S IN YOUR OFFICE? THE LAST WORD

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The latest Grinch has big shoes to fill.

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Staff Crystal Dupré publisher

Rob Clark MANAGING editor

Darren Benson editor

Linda Brinkman advertising manager

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A peek at the Kyle Field kitchens.

Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

10 Dave McDermand Laura McKenzie photographerS

ON THE COVER Korey and Tyisha Thomas with their children, Khyjian and Sherman, nieces Kamiah Dixon and Gynasis Crouch, and nephew Josh Stewart at The Remnant of Nawlins.

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Local Events

‘WHO’S HOLIDAY’ The one-act, one-woman comedy tells the story of a middle-aged Cindy Lou Who, now living in a trailer and planning on hosting a Christmas party for her friends, but she gets caught up in reminiscing.

Details: Dec. 20-21 at 7 p.m. at The Theatre Company, 3125 S. Texas Ave., Suite 500, Bryan. $20. theatrecompany.com.

QUEEN’S BALL Downtown Bryan Association presents an evening of dancing, hors d’oeuvres, drinks, casino games and more to celebrate the new year.

Proceeds benefit the Queen 4

Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

Eagle file photo by Laura McKenzie

CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK College Station presents its annual array of holiday lights, including the 90-foot tall tree with more than 14,000 lights.

Details: Stephen C. Beachy Central Park. The lights will be up through New Year’s Day.

Theatre.

Details: Dec. 31 from 9 p.m. through 1 a.m. The Stella Hotel, 4100 Lake Atlas Drive, Bryan. $65. For ages 21 and older. downtownbryan.com.

‘SPIES, TRAITORS, SABOTEURS: FEAR AND FREEDOM IN AMERICA’ The exhibit provides historic perspective on threats within U.S. borders, exploring how the government and public responded along with counterintelligence and homeland security efforts.

Details: Jan. 26-May 28 at the George

H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. bush41.org.

GRAND CANYON PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park, this exhibit features a variety of photographs, and a 4K digital monitor that will loop a time-lapse video that compresses the changing lights of the Grand Canyon.

Details: Feb. 1-April 30 at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. bush41.org.

Special advertising section

HOLIDAYS

AT THE GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

By David Anaya George Bush Presidential Library and Museum

G

et into the holiday spirit this year at the Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Throughout the month, people are encouraged to take their family pictures in front of the Christmas tree located in the Presidential Rotunda. The 19 foot tree is magnificently decorated and will make a great Christmas card photo.

“Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” is an interactive exhibition now on display at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. The exhibition provides a number of hands-on displays of large-scale replicas of Leonardo’s machines based on his famous codices. The exhibit includes over 30 actual-sized working machines, as opposed to miniatures or static displays.

Highlights include a revolving crane, a full-size armored tank (large enough for several visitors to explore inside), a working robot, and an oil press. Other displays include the auto feed hydraulic saw, pillar lifter, floats for walking on water, parachute and machine gun. The exhibit will be on display through January 6, 2019.

Mapping Texas: From Frontier to the Lone Star State exhibit will be on display at the Bush Library and Museum through January 2, 2019. The exhibit features maps dating from 1513-1957. The works in this exhibition are reproductions from the archival collection of the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and Houston map collectors Frank and Carol Holcomb. As Texas took its current shape, the space changed from an extensive, unexplored, and sparsely settled frontier under the Spanish Crown to its iconic and easily recognizable

outline today. This exhibit traces the cartographic history of Texas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, through 26 maps and documents. The exhibit also features many of the most important, influential, and rare maps of Texas, the United States, and North America.

The Bush Library and Museum will be closed at 12:00 p.m. on December 24, all day December 25, 2018 and January 1, 2019 in observance of the holidays.

For more information about these exhibits

THE GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM

SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS WITH US! EXHIBITS Mapping Texas

From Frontier to the Lone Star State thru Jan. 2, 2019

Leonardo da Vinci Machines In Motion thru Jan. 6, 2019

Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs The Bush Library and Museum will be closing at noon on Dec. 24, 2018 and closed all day Dec. 25, 2018 and Jan. 1, 2019 in observance of the holidays.

Happy Holidays!

Fear and Freedom in America Jan. 26, 2019 thru May 20, 2019

MORE AT BUSH41.ORG 979.691.4000 • bush41.org @bush41library 1000 George Bush Dr W College Station, TX 77845

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‘THE KING AND I’ MSC OPAS presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical, which is based in the 1860s in Bangkok, where an unconventional relationship develops between the king of Siam and a British school teacher.

Details: Feb. 5-6 at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. $28 to $90. mscopas.org.

Courtesy of MSC OPAS

FROM CLASSICS TO JAZZ The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra performs with a jazz quartet that will feature original music by Chicago-based composer and jazz pianist Rob Clearfield.

Details: Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. $16 to $45. bvso.org.

‘MY FAIR LADY’ The Theatre Company presents the musi-

cal about Eliza Doolittle as she struggles to learn how to speak “proper English” from vocal professor Henry Higgins.

Details: Feb. 22-March 3 at The Theatre Company. $7 to $20. theatrecompany. com.

BRAZOS VALLEY CHORALE The Chamber Singers event will feature choral music written since 2000 and

Gwyneth Walker’s Love Flows from God. Details: Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. at A&M United Methodist Church. $20. bvchorale.org.

‘FRANKENSTEIN’ MSC OPAS presents the theater production, which pays homage to the original writing of Mary Shelley.

Details: Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. $30 to $56. mscopas.org.

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

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‘SOMETHING ROTTEN!’ MSC OPAS presents the Broadway hit about two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play and end up writing the world’s first musical.

Details: Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. $23 to $85. mscopas.org.

RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS The band combines bagpipes and rock ‘n’ roll while covering popular songs from all genres, including Queen’s We Will Rock You and Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water.

Details: March 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. $30 to $56. mscopas. org.

BOSTON POPS Known as “America’s Orchestra,” Boston Pops will perform works of conductor John Williams, including his scores from E.T., Harry Potter, Star Wars, Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Details: March 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. $36 to $176. mscopas. org.

MOZART FOR MARCH The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra takes on two works from Mozart: The Oboe Concerto in C and Requiem, featuring soloists and the Brazos Valley Chorale.

Details: March 24 at 5 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. $16 to $45. bvso.org.

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Special advertising section

CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital Earns American Heart Association Awards for Heart Failure and Stroke Care

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arlier this year, the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association presented CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital (SJHRH) with four awards, recognizing the hospital’s commitment to compliance with quality measures and delivering rapid and life-saving medications and treatments to their patients.

• Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor RollSM Elite Plus is an advanced level of recognition, acknowledging SJHRH for consistent compliance with Quality Measures embedded within the Patient Management Tool, and to qualify for Target: Stroke Honor RollSM Elite Plus, SJHRH had to meet quality measures also associated with rapid delivery of stroke medication and treatment. The SJHRH team met the program’s highest standard, giving tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat stroke, within one hour to more than 75 of acute stroke patients.

• Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award recognizes SJHRH’s commitment to ensuring heart failure patients always receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence. The goal is speeding up

recovery and reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

• Mission: Lifeline NSTEMI Bronze Achievement Award is awarded for meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of NSTEMI heart attack patients by providing emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries when needed.

• Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center – Bronze Plus Award is awarded for implementing measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. This means that SJHRH meets very specific standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.

CHI St. Joseph Health’s Regional Hospital stroke program was the first Joint-Commission-accredited Primary Stroke Center in the Brazos Valley, and the hospital is the only hospital in the region that offers endovascular treatment for stroke patients. This means that the hospital is able to successfully treat stroke patients up to twenty four hours following the initial onset of symptoms. This marks the third consecutive year that

SJHRH has won awards for stroke care.

As the region’s first dedicated heart failure clinic, SJHRH offers some of the most advanced heart failure treatments. This marks the second consecutive year that the hospital has won awards for heart failure care, but the first year to win the silver award.

Get With the Guidelines is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. This program is used widely by more than 1,500 hospitals across the country, including many CHI hospitals.

Since 1936 CHI St. Joseph Health has been caring for the communities of Bryan, College Station, Brenham, Hearne, Navasota, Caldwell, Madisonville and Bellville.

With the area’s only Level II Trauma Center, the first Joint Commission-certified Primary Stroke Center and the first accredited Chest Pain Center in the Brazos Valley, CHI St. Joseph Health is a leader in critical care and the largest provider of cardiovascular care in the region.

Serving our neighbors

CHI St. Joseph and Texas A&M Health Network CHI St. Joseph Health and Texas A&M University have a shared history of serving the Brazos Valley. And now, we’re coming together to achieve our vision of a healthier tomorrow. Together, we can prioritize your preventive health, reach your wellness goals, and further meet your healthcare needs.

We’re your partners in health.

And the most important member of your care team is you.

Find a physician at CHI.TAMUHealth.org 8

Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

By the Numbers

$687.87 billion That eye-popping number is the amount Americans spent during the holidays in 2017, according to the National Retail Federation. It’s a 5.3 percent increase over 2016.

And for 2018, the federation expects a holiday season increase between 4.3 and 4.8 percent, which would translate into $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion. “The holidays are just around the corner and consumers are ready to shop,” federation CEO Matthew Shay said in an October press release.

“Confidence is near an all-time high, unemployment is the lowest we’ve seen in decades and take-home wages are up. All of that is reflected in consumers’ buying plans.” The federation’s annual survey shows consumers expect to spend an average of $1,007.24 this season: $637.67 on gifts, $215.04 on food and decorations and $154.53 on nongift purchases.

4 The new Mary Poppins film calls for a look back at the original.

The 1964 Disney classic won four Academy Awards, including Julie Andrews’ best actress honors. (How Dick Van Dyke was not nominated for his role as Bert is an Oscar travesty.

Sure, best actor was a crowded field with Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Anthony Quinn and Peter Sellers. But you could also argue that Van Dyke could sneak into the supporting actor category. Problem solved.) The film also earned Oscars for editing, visual effects and original song (Chim Chim Cher-ee). Mary Poppins missed out on best picture and director, losing both to My Fair Lady. But after all these years, it’s still a highly entertaining film. So a toast of rrrrum punch to the original, and let’s hope that Mary Poppins Returns, which hits theaters on Dec. 19, can come close to that kind of movie magic.

$7.1 million All I want for Christmas is the 74-foot Serenity Solar Yacht, which is the most expensive item in Nieman Marcus’ annual Christmas catalog. If the $7.1 mill bill is beyond your range, others in the “fantasy gifts” section include a trip to India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives ($630,000), and a Fantastic Beasts-inspired outfit and outing with costume designer Colleen Atwood ($300,000).

For mere mortals, there are slightly more reasonable offerings.

On the lighter end is a 16-ounce bag of Texican Hot Chocolate Almond Brittle, which will set you back $40.

Then there’s a limited edition Nativity set by Michael Aram, with “oxidized nickel-plated metal with golden metal accents.” Because nothing says “giving birth in a manger” like a $1,950 Nativity scene.

15 million

How popular was A Charlie Brown Christmas when it debuted in 1965? It attracted 15 million viewers, according to The Los Angeles Times, and 45 percent of televisions in use were tuned in. Of course, this was way before we had hundreds of channels to choose from, but that initial audience helped establish the special as annual must-see TV. An odd note: The Times reported that there was an effort to incorporate a laugh track — an awkward cartoon trend at the time (see: The Flintstones) — but Peanuts creator Charles Schulz (above) won that battle. And another fun fact: Producer Lee Mendelson was responsible for employing Vince Guaraldi for the memorable jazz score, including the classic Linus and Lucy. According to the Times, Schulz was not a jazz fan.

23 New Year’s Eve is party time for many, but plenty of people don’t bother. Twenty-three percent of Americans don’t plan on celebrating, according to a 2017 survey by Wallet Hub. And 30 percent can’t hang till the new year arrives, and go to bed before midnight.

Many choose to party at home (49 percent), 18 percent go to a friend’s house and 9 percent choose an event, bar or restaurant. As for the celebration in New York City, the Times Square ball weighs 11,875 pounds, Wallet Hub says, and has 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles attached. The confetti scattered at midnight weighs in at 1.5 tons. And with all those revelers brings the need for lots of law enforcement — 7,000 police officers, according to the survey.

— ROB CLARK

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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360 Profile

Shane Lechler (the pharmacist) graduated from Texas A&M in 2002.

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

SHANE LECHLER

A comical case of mistaken identity Story ROB CLARK

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Photo LAURA MCKENZIE

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t’s a daily occurrence at H-E-B at Tower Point in College other goodies. A staff member thanked the couple for coming in, Station. Customers walk up to the pharmacy, see the name and asked them how things were in Houston. and photo of the pharmacist on the wall, then ask the same “We were like, ‘Ohhh. This isn’t how you treat your regular question when that pharmacist appears behind the window. anniversary guests,’” Jennifer says with a laugh. “‘You think it’s that “Are you the football player?”

Shane.’ ... Anywhere you make a reservation in this town, usually He is not the football player. He is Shane Lechler, a 39-year-old somebody comes out and they think it’s that Shane Lechler.”

Texas A&M graduate who shares the same name as the 42-yearOne situation took an odd turn. While attending pharmacy old Texas A&M graduate and football player. school, Lechler frequently played golf, sometimes joining in The latter Lechler with random players on starred at punter for the the course. One day he A&M football team received a phone call from from 1996 to 1999, and a man who said they had in the NFL with the played together. That Oakland Raiders and the seemed plausible, until Houston Texans until the man said Lechler had earlier this year. Lechler pledged to help his son the pharmacist attended with his kicking. When A&M from 1998 to Lechler clarified that 2002, graduating with he’s not that Lechler, it a biomedical sciences angered the man, who degree. He graduated thought the punter was from the University of blowing him off.

Houston’s pharmacy “I told him, ‘You are school in 2007. His wife, more than welcome to Jennifer, graduated from come over,’” Lechler A&M in 2003. They have recalls. “‘I can show your three children. son how to kick, but Customers at H-E-B you are going to be very often think the punter disappointed.’” retired to become a The name has even pharmacist. Jennifer says allowed Lechler to pull a one encounter rankled fast one on his children. her husband a bit, when a He told them one day customer asked if he was that he used to play the punter’s father: “He’s football. Then he turned like, ‘No! He’s older than AP photo on a Texans game he had I am!’” recorded, cued up to a Shane Lechler (the punter) earned All-Pro status six times and made seven Pro The first major case of punt play. The announcer Bowl teams during his years with the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans. mistaken identity came in said, “Here comes Shane an A&M classroom. Lechler had a professor who had previously Lechler,” and the kids were “going crazy,” Lechler says. taught the punter in another class, and knew this Shane didn’t “Kids are gullible,” he says. “So it was easy.” look like that Shane. The professor investigated the matter, Lechler The two Shanes have never met, but do have a few mutual says, to verify that there were no academic shenanigans involved. friends. Lechler says the punter signed a golf towel that was passed There have been perks. Lechler says he got out of a speeding on to him. It read: “To Shane Lechler. From Shane Lechler.” ticket on campus because of his name, “so that was nice.”

“There’s not a better person to be confused with,” Lechler says.

Some unusual moments have come from making reservations for “He’s a Christian guy. He’s a family guy. He’s had a great career in an anniversary dinner. Jennifer recalls one instance in which they the NFL. And he’s an Aggie. So if people confuse me with him, were “treated like royalty,” with a special table, a free appetizer and I’m OK with that.”

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Cover Story

Tyisha Thomas prepares a dish at The Remnant of Nawlins in Bryan.

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

Korey and Tyisha Thomas with their children, Khyjian and Sherman, at The Remnant of Nawlins in Bryan.

Home cooking with a focus on family Story KENNY WILEY

T

wo days before Thanksgiving, the atmosphere in the joint is festive. The Remnant of Nawlins’ owner Korey Thomas whirls from table to table, bantering with customers new and old.

Gary Kent is a regular from the restaurant’s earliest days; Gary’s wife, Judy, is a Remnant first-timer. Two tables over, four young men from Epic Movement, a Texas A&M University Christian ministry group for Asian-American students, chat with one another and Thomas, long after they’ve finished eating.

Cashier Tasha Yancy rings up two customers. A playlist oscillates between 2000s R&B and hits from Motown’s heyday: Alicia Keys, James Brown, Usher, Martha Reeves & The

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Photos LAURA MCKENZIE

Vandellas. Gerald Burnett, the Bryan assistant fire marshal who helped Thomas with the current building’s inspections, eats a bowl of gumbo.

The concept of home, according to Thomas, has not just a look but also a smell, a taste, a sound. Home is an idea. A feeling.

For Thomas, the concept of home means everything. The restaurant at 1416 Groesbeck Street in Bryan smells like home — jambalaya and gumbo and dressed po’ boys cooking in the kitchen. It also represents both a home lost and a home found.

“Two days before Katrina, I’d never heard of College Station,” Thomas said. “I’m glad we made it here, though.”

Thomas and 17 family members fled their

home city of New Orleans on Aug. 28, 2005, as the hurricane approached. In five cars they drove west, stuck in anxiety-inducing traffic as they inched along on I-10 toward Houston.

Korey, then 28, drove with his wife Tyisha and her children, along with Deborah Miller, Tyisha’s mother; Korey’s mother Karin Thomas; and nieces, nephews, cousins and siblings. In Houston, they couldn’t find a place for all of them to stay, so they kept driving. On the 29th, as the storm hit Louisiana and Mississippi, they decided to try a place 440 miles west of their home city called College Station.

Continued on Page 14

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Eagle photo by Laura McKenzie

Korey Thomas works on a batch of boudin balls at The Remnant of Nawlins in Bryan.

Continued from Page 13

“We were at the brink of running out of gas,” Thomas said. “The Motel 6 on Texas Avenue was the only place that had rooms.

We didn’t have a change of clothes to put on when we got here. Not knowing the storm would cause that much destruction — I didn’t have a house to go back to — people came to feed us. Twin City Mission and the Lincoln Center helped us.”

Thomas described the forced move to the Brazos Valley as culture shock: “But the people were warm and welcoming — that’s the truth.”

Tyisha said she applied for jobs on the East Coast as well as in Texas, but it became clear that it made more sense for the family to stay in Bryan-College Station. The kids had started school, and she began applying for local jobs.

“We said, ‘OK, let’s try it out, and if it doesn’t really work for us, there’s no issue, because we have no attachments to this place,’” she recalled. “And then, before we know it, 12 years later, my son is about to graduate

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

from A&M. … We planted our roots here.”

She now works for Texas A&M’s College of Engineering as its HR and payroll coordinator.

Korey said the Remnant came to be because people would ask members of his family — especially Miller, his mother-inlaw — to cook certain Cajun dishes during the holiday seasons early on in his family’s time in the Brazos Valley.

“People told us we should start a restaurant, and folks from barber shops and other places in the area would request plates,” he said.

“Locals would ask us to fix certain dishes at Thanksgiving and Christmastime, especially gumbo, stuffed bell peppers, cornbread and dressing, done our style.

“We thought about it and prayed about it, and here we are, four years, going on five years, later.”

The initial Remnant was inside the Checkers Food Mart on Holleman in College Station, which opened in 2014. Thomas said it proved quite popular with A&M students and staff, including former football coach Kevin Sumlin. The family opened a second

location inside a Food Mart in Bryan in 2016. They closed both convenience store spots and opened their Groesbeck location in 2017.

For James Yen, who moved to San Francisco seven months ago after graduating from A&M, a return to Aggieland meant reconnecting with friends from Epic Movement, and visiting the Remnant. Yen first went to the Holleman location early in his time at A&M, and was joined on his latest visit by friends Josh Fan, Brian Park and Joseph Yeh. The quartet named the Remnant’s boudin balls as a particularly strong draw.

“When we come here, there’s a family vibe to it,” Yen said. “We get to know the owner and the servers. We can talk with them and it’s a lot more personal.”

Gary Kent, one of the Remnant’s earliest customers in 2014, said his rapport with Thomas meant as much as the food. They laugh together often and give each other a playful hard time, both men said. “You just walk in and feel at home,” Kent said of the Remnant.

Thomas is the owner today. Miller was

the initial owner and lead chef. She sold the Remnant to Thomas in 2017 but remained involved with the restaurant until falling ill earlier this year. She is currently in and out of the hospital battling kidney ailments. Tyisha said her mother put her all into the Remnant, making sure everything was in order, from food preparation to its plate presentation.

Both Thomases said the holiday season has always been full of traditions for their families, from opening presents at midnight on Christmas Eve to their favorite Christmas songs by Teddy Pendergrass and The Temptations.

This holiday season, however, will be tough. Korey’s mother, Karin, died last year on Christmas Day at age 69 after an extensive battle with lung cancer. His brother, Kerry Thomas Sr., died Aug. 21 at age 46 — exactly 15 years after Korey and Tyisha’s wedding in 2003. Korey said he has been moved by the support that his family and the Remnant have received from community members.

“We try to know our customers and talk to them, and people would come in and give words of encouragement and support after those deaths,” he said. “I’ve found solace in working.”

Bryan assistant fire marshal Gerald Burnett, Korey said, has strongly supported both him and the Remnant. Burnett said he also spent part of his childhood living in New Orleans.

“The way I grew up, food is central to community and to family — and family is central to everything,” Burnett said. “Their personality and approach is what makes this such a good place to eat.”

Tyisha and Korey’s son, Sherman Wilder, now 22, will graduate from A&M next year.

He remembers Aug. 28, 2005, vividly —

Gumbo is a popular item at The Remnant of Nawlins in Bryan.

especially the traffic and the uncertainty in his family members’ voices — but said the Brazos Valley afforded him experiences he may not have had otherwise.

“As challenging as it was at times, the move helped us a lot,” Wilder said. “It gave us perspective to know a different area and culture. I got to take honors classes here and grow as a student.”

Korey expressed a similar perspective on the move that was borne of tragedy and afforded opportunity — and community. He

said he feels blessed to be in Bryan-College Station, and to give back to the place and the people who helped his family in the hardest of times.

“We’ve been fortunate. One thing we offer is that we give people the opportunity to taste New Orleans cuisine, to get New Orleans-type food without having to pay the gas to get there,” he said with a laugh. “I want us to give people a chance to taste my culture, our culture, what we were raised up on.”

Life is special.

It’s not about how long we live, it’s about how we live.

Thank you for helping Hospice Brazos Valley make life special for our patients and their families.

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Rachel Driskell Photography

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

Rachel Driskell Photography A Christmas cookie exchange can be a fun theme for a holiday party, and the preparation can get the whole family involved.

Holiday hosting takes planning, advance work

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have loved holiday parties for as long as I can remember. My mother loved to cook, and she welcomed the entire family and friends in for festive occasions.

Maybe it was a learned behavior, or maybe it’s an inherited trait, but the desire to host a party and feed people seems to be ingrained in my soul. Some aspects of hosting came naturally, and others were lessons learned. Here KELLY are some of my most ANTHONY valuable and practical theanthony party planning tips. kitchen.com Timing Before you decide whether you’ll throw a holiday party, sit down and take a good look at your calendar. This will

help you to determine whether you can actually take on another event, let alone host one.

If you’re free and clear, I suggest you find a week where there are few other obligations.

As far as the day of the week goes, think about your day-to-day life, and choose a day and time that is the least hectic. If you work until 5 p.m. on Friday, Friday at 7 might not be the best choice for throwing a party.

Budget For many of us, things get tight around the holidays, and before you know it, parties can start to add up. Determining what you can comfortably spend for your party will help to cut back on stress in the end. Consider things like decor, paper goods (if using them), types of beverages and food.

The budget will also determine what kind of party you’ll throw and how many guests you’ll invite.

Holiday theme Before you can plan your party, you need to determine what route to take. How do you envision it? Is it dark and elegant, with candlelight flickering and Champagne glasses in hand? Are people sitting at a table, with place cards in front of their plates? Or, is it light, cheery and casual, while guests walk around with nibbles on decorative paper plates?

Consider a cocktail, potluck or dinner party, or a themed event like a white elephant gift exchange, a Christmas cookie exchange or a wine-pairing party.

Guest list If you’re throwing an elegant dinner party, you should only invite as many people as you can comfortably fit at your table. If you’re throwing a cocktail party, not everyone will Continued on Page 18

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Continued from Page 17

be sitting at the same time, and the same goes for a potluck party.

With those two, you won’t be as restricted by seat numbers, so you can invite more people.

When considering the number of guests, consider the size of your space and how many people can fit into it without feeling cramped. If you plan to entertain indoors and outdoors, this is not as much of an issue.

Invitations You want your invitations to arrive three weeks before the date of the party. This is typically far enough in advance for people to still have an opening in their calendar, yet not so far out they might forget altogether.

These days, getting an invitation in the mail is typically reserved for showers and weddings, but I think it makes an extra special touch for a holiday party. Evites and the like are extremely convenient timesavers and make RSVPs a dream.

Speaking of RSVPs, be sure to include an RSVP date on your invitations, and if you have not heard from a guest by this date, do not hesitate to follow up with them. The more secure you are in your headcount, the less stressed you’ll be when it comes to bringing everything together for your holiday party.

Menu Planning the menu is one of my favorite aspects of party planning.

Depending on what kind of party you’re throwing, you may have quite a bit of prep work to do when it comes to the food.

To create your menu, consider how many dishes you can realistically make without feeling overwhelmed. Next, keep in mind the cook

Ronny D. Baker B.S., A.C.A.

times and oven space required. If every dish you make requires time in the oven, and each cook at different temperatures, you may find yourself in a bind. Instead, choose an assortment of dishes that cook on the stovetop and in the oven.

Once you know what you’re making, it’s time to make the grocery list. When I am creating a grocery list, I do it in the kitchen and I take it one recipe at a time. Double check both your refrigerator and pantry items before you choose not to add an item to the list. When constructing your list, try to envision the setup of your grocery store, and add items to your list under categories such as produce section, baking aisle, dairy, etc.

Work ahead Do as much as you can in advance. Study the recipes and pick out items that can be prepped anywhere from one to four days before the party.

The best way to plan your cooking schedule is to work backward from serving time. For example, let’s say I am going to serve my roasted beef tenderloin with crostinis, baby arugula, shavings of parmesan cheese and a creamy horseradish dressing for an elegant appetizer platter at my annual Christmas party. The party will start at 7 p.m. on a Friday.

As a rule of thumb, I like to have all the food set out at least 15 minutes before guests arrive. This way, I am not scrambling at the last minute to get food on the table, rather than greeting my guests.

• 6:30 p.m.: Set up the platter for serving and place on the table.

• 6:15: Slice the beef.

• 5: Roast the beef and allow to rest.

• 4:15: Prepare and toast the crostinis.

• 4: Prepare the horseradish sauce for topping.

• 3:50: Prepare the parmesan shavings.

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

So, when I take all of the prep time, cook time and the time it will take to set up for serving, I can see from working backward that if I want to serve beef tenderloin at a 7 o’clock party, I need to (realistically) start preparing the ingredients at 3:50. Always give yourself more time than you think you will need for any particular dish.

For anything that can be made a day or two in advance? Well, you get a double bonus for those recipes. For example, if I were to toast the crostinis, make the horseradish sauce and prepare the parmesan shavings the day before, I’d save myself a good 30 minutes the day of the party. Also, I’ll be purchasing prewashed arugula, because no matter how small it may seem, anything I can take off my plate when it comes to preparing for a party, I’ll gladly do.

If this concept seems overwhelming, a dinner party might not be the best idea. Instead, throw a potluck party, and ask your guests to contribute their favorite dishes.

Give yourself some time Remember to give yourself time to get ready. Ladies, I’m talking to you. Remember when we were envisioning the ambiance of your party? During this exercise, did you envision yourself scrambling frantically at the last minute to get yourself ready? Certainly not.

After all that strategic party planning and prep work, you’ve earned a few moments for yourself anyway. It’s best if you designate a time in the day dedicated to this and this alone.

Hosting a party is most definitely an undertaking, but the payoff is so worth it. If I could give you one last piece of advice, it is this: Remember that your gathering is more about the people and the time you’ll spend with them than anything else. Take the time to slow down, enjoy your party and the guests that came to celebrate with you.

Happy hosting.

Kelly Anthony’s roasted beef tenderloin

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

Belle Bonvillian, 8, rides down Frostbite’s Mountain at Santa’s Wonderland. At left, Brittany Baysinger takes in the lights aboard the hayride.

Sliding in a winter wonderland Story CHELSEA KATZ

N

o matter the temperature, there is one place in the Brazos Valley where people of all ages can find

snow.

The newest attraction at Santa’s Wonderland is snow in the form of Frostbite’s Mountain and the Snow Playground.

“Each day we are constantly pumping snow,” says Santa’s Wonderland spokesperson Sarah Callaway, “so 24/7 we have snow that’s being made and put out onto that mountain and into our little snow play pit.”

Frostbite’s Mountain is 15 feet tall, with a 100-foot slide down to the base. Guests must be at least 38 inches tall and at least 3 years old to tube down the slide.

Callaway says it may be a similar experience to sliding down the ice chutes created at ICE! at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, but Frostbite’s Mountain is powdery snow rather than slick ice.

“The other difference is ours is completely outdoors versus theirs being indoors,” she

|

Photos LAURA MCKENZIE

says. “I know that it’s very cold in their environment, versus with us, you’re just kind of dealing with whatever Texas has to offer.

Sometimes you go snow tubing and it’s like 70 degrees, and sometimes you go snow tubing and it’s like 40.”

A large snow machine behind the scenes creates snow and sends it through a large tube out onto the attractions. Callaway says a company from Dubai, which made an indoor ski mountain, helped to make the snow attraction work.

At the Snow Playground, visitors can throw snowballs and make snow angels and snowmen, Callaway says. For some, it might be the first time they’ve experienced snow.

“They’re excited,” Callaway says of children’s reactions so far. “They are so psyched.

They just go grab a tube and run up the steps and they just keep sliding down. I’ll watch parents try and get their kids to go away from the mountain, and you’ll just see the kids skirt around their parents, grab

another tube and run back up the hill. It’s really funny to just kind of watch them.

They’re just seriously psyched. Literally all you’re doing is sliding, but it just blows those kids’ minds.”

Other new attractions this year are additions to the Trail of Lights hayride, and new walkways to make it easier for guests to maneuver throughout the park.

“It’s not as exciting as snow, but if you have a stroller, it’s like life-changing,” Callaway says.

A new gift shop item is the Merry Texas, Y’all Country Christmas album featuring original music created by musicians who perform in the park.

“We’ve never kind of crossed into that territory,” Callaway says. “Our musicians have created house music before, and they use it at the park, but this is the first time they’ve really taken it to the next level where guests can take it home with them. That’s definitely an exciting feature for this year.”

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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360 Profile

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

LESTER BANKS

Making a difference B

in students’ lives Story CHELSEA KATZ

|

orn and raised in Bryan, Lester Banks has made his career about the students he works with as a campus monitor at Bryan High School.

A 1984 graduate of BHS, Banks attended Blinn College on a full scholarship and graduated in 1987, then returned to the high school hallways as an employee.

As a campus monitor and community service coordinator, Banks, 54, supervises staff members to provide for the safety of students, faculty and staff and assists with maintenance to keep a safe school environment.

Banks is also a self-described “jack of all trades.” He helps with parking, selling football tickets, working security and supervising students completing community service on Saturdays.

He sees those Saturdays as an opportunity to get the students thinking about their goals and their futures.

“You try to put that influence and make that difference in them,” he says. “It’s hard, but if you let people know that you’re out there and you care for them, they’re going to respond to that.”

Photo LAURA MCKENZIE

Banks is a member of Central Baptist Church and volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of the Brazos Valley and elsewhere in the community. He says he tries to show students the importance of volunteering, and the blessings that come from it in the long run. He also established the Lester Ben Banks Sr. Scholarship in honor of his father, who died in 1994, as a way to give back to students at all three Bryan high schools.

“I got a free education,” he says, “so I want to be able to give it back to somebody else.”

The scholarship has grown from eight to 31 awards, and Banks says he sets aside a bit of each paycheck to put into the scholarship funds.

Banks says people ask him why he is not married. His response is that if he were married, he would be divorced.

“I’m never at home,” he says. “From 6:30 in the morning to 10, 11 o’clock at night, I’m constantly busy doing something.

And when I get home at night, I’m ready to go to bed, get up the next day and go back at it.”

Q&A How would you describe your role at Bryan High?

My role is to try to be an influence to kids. … I challenge the kids today. I ask them, “Who are you when no one’s looking?” And when I ask them that question, my challenge to them is that when you get up in the morning, you are somebody.

Can you honestly say, “I am somebody,” because there’s always somebody out there that’s watching you, no matter what you do. There’s people out here in the community that watch, and I guess, basically, I want to try to be that role model.

Growing up through high school, a lot of people look up to me and respect what I do, and I guess one of my goals was to set goals for myself and my standard. My goal was one day I can be able to come back and give back to my community, and it’s amazing that I end up working with the high school that I graduated from.

I want to be the role model that people

can look up to me and say, “Hey, that guy made a difference in my life.” As long as I can make a difference in one person’s life, I feel like I’ve done my job.

One of my main big goals is I want a child to feel like when they come to school that they feel safe, and they’re welcome, and they’ll always have somebody they can look to and talk to if they have a problem or a need. ... Like I tell people, it’s not about money.

It’s about you giving back, giving your time. … I just challenge people to try to give back to their community because you look at it, we’ve got many kids in our school district, many kids in our home that really and truly don’t have a family. … I have kids that honestly can call me 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning and say, “Hey I need to talk to you.”

Who was it in your life that had an influence on you?

I have to say Coach Larry Brown, who was our basketball coach here at Bryan High

School, and Coach Ruth Whiteley, she was our girls’ basketball coach here. …

Larry Brown has really made a difference in my life because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to give those scholarships to go to college, because I wasn’t even thinking about going to college till the year we won the state championship. … [After Brown urged the importance of college] I went home, prayed about it, and I said, “Well, I’ll start out at Blinn in Brenham.” That Monday afternoon, the head basketball coach from Blinn College was here and offered me a full scholarship. That’s why I do what I do. I was able to get a free education, and that’s why when my dad passed away in ’94, the Lord just put it on my mind.

Could you imagine yourself doing anything else?

No. I didn’t think I would be able to get this far and do what I do. I really didn’t. … I’m just thankful that really and truly, I can make a difference in somebody’s life. That’s the whole key.

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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WINTER fashion preview Brazos 360’s seasonal guide to a more stylish you!

Maddie Joy: All items under $100.

New arrivals just in time for the holidays.

See store for pricing.

TEXAS ROSE BOUTIQUE: Shimmery/sparkly sweater and silver jeans paired with Jforks jewlery. See store for pricing.

TEXAS ROSE BOUTIQUE: Sequin top and Silver Jeans.

See store for pricing.

TEXAS ROSE BOUTIQUE: Shimmery/sparkly jumpsuit with a L&B concho belt and West & Co. Jewlery. See store for pricing.

TEXAS ROSE BOUTIQUE: Gold painted sweater and Silver jeans. See store for pricing.

Maddie Joy: All items under $100.

New arrivals just in time for the holidays.

See store for pricing.

BEER & BURGERS

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

ExpEriEncE thE tradition

Maddie Joy: All items under $100. New arrivals just in time for the holidays. See store for pricing.

Maddie Joy: All items under $100. New arrivals just in time for the holidays. See store for pricing.

Maddie Joy: All items under $100.

New arrivals just in time for the holidays.

See store for pricing.

Witt’s End: French Dressing Jeans Cable detailed Sweater and Velvet & Gem Patch Oliva Slim Ankle Pant.

See store for pricing.

Witt’s End: Rain + Rose Sweater.

See store for pricing.

Witt’s End: Ronaldo Journey bracelet See store for pricing.

two Locations serving You!

1741 University Drive East, College Station, TX

979.846.3600 Sunday-Thursday: 11am to 12am Friday-Saturday: 11am to 1am 1740 Rock Prairie Road, College Station, TX

979.680.0508 Sunday-Thursday: 11am to 11pm Friday-Saturday: 11am to 1am

PAPAJOHNS.COM THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Business After Hours November 8  CHI St. Joseph Health

C

HI St. Joseph Health hosted a Business After Hours on Nov. 8 at its College Station emergency center.

The free networking event for Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce members and prospective members included food, drinks and prizes.

Photos Laura McKenzie

TOP LEFT: Mike Greene, Tom Maynard and Gracy Harmon TOP RIGHT: Lou Ellen Ruesink and Anne Martini LEFT: Walter Hinkle and Chuck Konderla MIDDLE LEFT: Dr. Kia Parsi and Tony Morelos Bottom left: Tony Perry, Wade VanDerBoom and Matt Pitre bottom Right: Sister Penny Dunn, Judy LeUnes, Sister Lois Anne Palkert and Mary “Mike” Hatcher

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

TOP LEFT: Lisa Howard, Faye Lane and Jenny Atherton-Jesson TOP MIDDLE: Dennis and Brandy Norris and Jeff Dean TOP RIGHT: Chase Davis, Cherish Sussman and Zack Morgan ABOVE: Heather Bush, Steve Fullhart and Colby Street ABOVE RIGHT: Denise and Robert Upchurch and Beverly Welch RIGHT: Saad Hassan, Brad Ayers and Scott Rolfsmeyer BELOW: Karen and Glenn Boone, Nicole Becka and Libby Wall BOTTOM RIGHT: Jordan Ferrell, Katelyn Jumper, Conner Maines, Tori Wittman and Raquel Gonzales

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Rob Childress Charity Golf Tournament November 6 ď ˆ Miramont Country Club

G

olfers converged on Miramont Country Club Nov. 6 for a charity golf tournament. The tournament, which was rescheduled because of rain on the original date, was part of a two-day event featuring Texas A&M baseball coach Rob Childress. Proceeds from the 13th annual event go toward Voices for Children, a nonprofit that trains and recruits volunteers to advocate for children who have been removed from their homes and are in the foster care system.

Photos Laura McKenzie

TOP: Derek Broaddus, Tom Aly and Matt Bode ABOVE: Shirley Dane, Debbie Phair, Carol Huff and Anna Janne RIGHT: Lindsey Woods, Mike Laue and A.J. Renold BELOW: Crystal DuprĂŠ and Greg Parker BELOW RIGHT: Brian Perry and Mike Stoll

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

RIGHT: Tyler Gordon and Juan Cancino FAR RIGHT: Dave Martin, Brian Hallam and Keith Williamson BELOW: Carson Aldrich and Miller Aldrich BELOW RIGHT: Ryan Swope, Bret Richards, Tom Patterson and Mike McBerty

ABOVE: Ruby Harris, Ella Johnson and Briscoe Elliott ABOVE RIGHT: Jim Dixon, Jared Salvato, Jordan Januse and Michael King RIGHT: Sam Bennett and Bill Bennett FAR RIGHT: Rex Janne, Daniel Coffey

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Texas A&M Tailgating November 10  Kyle Field

T

exas A&M and Ole Miss fans met on the Texas A&M campus Nov. 10 for some tailgating fun prior to the football game between the two SEC schools at Kyle Field.

Photos Laura McKenzie

TOP LEFT: Caitlyn Keehan, Elizabeth Holberg, Alix Von Behren and Emily Sisk TOP RIGHT: Kim LaVern, David “DL” LaVern, Riley Overstreet, Kirby Koster, Caroline Bruce and Walk Bruce MIDDLE RIGHT: Shelly Dixon, Brooke Dixon and Brad Dixon MIDDLE LEFT: Susan and Rick Lawson and their daughter Shannon LEFT: Matt and Cassie Kaehr ABOVE: Jonanna Arnold, Kimberlin Arnold, Cristina Bills and Darcy Clark

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

TOP LEFT: Jonathan Vargo and Mark Vargo TOP RIGHT: Christie Bean, Lawton Bean, Brian Bormann and Trevor Burchett MIDDLE LEFT: Joe Garza, Sarah Garza and Spike Mosman MIDDLE RIGHT: Hannah and Kenny Cambiano, Craig Trahan and Jessica Garrett ABOVE: Hope Kuklin, Taylor Kuklin, Chase Audas, Melissa Audas and Conner Audas RIGHT: Brooke Townsend, Corbin Klempnauer and Dano Townsend FAR RIGHT: Kennedy Mayo and Lauren Izydor

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What’s in your

OFFICE? DAVID PICOU Executive chef at Texas A&M

T

he executive chef ’s office at Texas A&M is a small room in Kyle Field with a desk and a computer, the usual office trappings. It’s nothing special. But that’s not where the chef ’s work really happens.

Connected to that room is a sprawling complex of kitchen areas, which continue in many other parts of the stadium.

It takes a lot to feed the masses on game day, David Picou says. Try 1,400 to 1,600 pounds of pork a week, and 1,200 pounds of brisket. He estimates about 30,000 hot dogs are sold on game day. The food is prepared during the week by about 130 people, he says, and presented and sold by about 1,500.

Picou, 50, hails from the New Orleans area, and started working in restaurants in South Louisiana. He eventually caught on with Levy Restaurants, which handles food for many stadiums and arenas. Picou made stops at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay and the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. He came to Texas A&M in 2014, and describes the experience throughout the week as an exciting one.

“It changes from minute to minute,” he says. “You get the electricity, the vibe going. We start work on Monday to prep for a game on Saturday. On a Monday, you’ll see worker bees going crazy and getting ready.”

Picou’s time at A&M has just ended, as he is moving on to the executive chef position at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi. When asked about his notable memories from his time in Aggieland, one at the top of his list is his first game at Kyle Field in September 2014, when lightning caused a two-hour delay in the start time.

“We went through so much food that day,” he says. “We brought in food for three games and we went through almost all of it.”

That is bookended by his final game, A&M’s epic 74-72 win over LSU in seven overtimes on Nov. 24. Picou says it “seemed like the perfect ending.”

“It was one helluva going-away party,” he says. “In with a lightning flash and out with a roar. I’ll never forget — best game ever.”

Story ROB CLARK | Photos LAURA Mckenzie

Know an interesting nominee for a future office feature? Email us at brazos360@theeagle.com.

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

We have our magic ovens, as I like to call them.

These are combi ovens, combination ovens.

You can do anything out of this oven. You can roast, you can steam, you can fry to a certain extent — it’s greaseless frying. You can just warm stuff up. You can cool stuff down. Let’s say when we take the briskets and pork butts that are cooled down — we’ll put a thermometer in them, set the temperature, hit “heat through.” Usually with pork butts you want to bring it up to 175 degrees. We’ll put the thermometer in it, stick the probe in there, close the door, set it and forget it. The alarm will go off and tell you when it’s done.

This is the prep sheet for a game. That’s just for the clubs. Suites will be about eight times that. … It breaks down what each individual item is, and then how much stuff you have to prep that is associated with it. So for the brisket sandwich, how many we’re going to serve, and then it’ll break down how many pounds we need. And then how many tortillas you need, how many buns you need, how much sauce you need. All that is broken down on here.

A lot of the magic with [meat] happens in this little thing right here. This is the one.

This smokes 400 pounds of meat at a time. We have three other smokers that we can smoke 200 pounds of meat in each.

So we can smoke right around a thousand pounds a day. … We try not to do that because we don’t want the smoke to get all around it, so we probably do about 600 pounds a day. We have a guy that comes in early in the morning — he’ll rub all the meats, he’ll load the box. We’ll have a guy come in the afternoon and he’ll unload the box for that day and reload for the night.

Something that a lot of people don’t realize about a football stadium or a baseball stadium or a basketball arena is the amount of dishes that have to get washed. The kitchen downstairs will have 12 guys working after the game ends until about 8 o’clock in the morning, just washing dishes and putting stuff away.

We use stainless steel paddles.

They kinda look like canoe paddles, but they’re a little more streamlined. A lot easier to clean. When you’re working in a tilt skillet [a large drawerlike pan], you don’t want to get in there with a spoon. You need something with a little length, so you can really work it. You get too close to it, you get splashed. Those burns don’t go away too quick. Every cook in here, any cook you ever meet in any kitchen, is going to have an arm full of them, just from reaching in the oven. Any tool you can use that’s not going to let you get burned is what you want to use. Queso, beans, gumbo, jambalaya, you name it, we use it for that.

When we built this, it was the biggest [pizza] oven in the country. Then it became just the biggest one in Texas. Now everybody, you know, in Texas, has said, “I gotta have mine bigger,” so now we’re like second or third. But it’s still the best one, because when we put it in here, we got the heat up, this thing makes the best pizza you’ll ever eat. … This thing gets really hot really quick. When we first did it, we got it up to 850 degrees without even trying. We put the doors on, and when we came back it was super, super hot. So when we put the first pizza in there, it burnt. Then we figured out you gotta keep it around 475. We got it right where we want it, and it makes good pizza.

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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Brazos 360 | Winter 2018

Waxing nostalgic

O

Revamping longtime favorites can be a tricky business

n a recent trip to one of BryanCollege Station’s many trampoline parks, while the kids were climbing the walls and trying out the ropes course, I found myself staring at a disposable cup. The object of my interest was the Icee polar bear, the logo mascot of the frozen treat that has been around since the 1960s.

What was once a charming cartoon bear in my childhood is gone. Now it’s a cartoon bear riding some kind of ice snowboard and wearing sunglasses.

My nostalgia made me bristle, and I pictured a brainstorming meeting in which this jazzed-up bear was conjured as an Rob Clark improvement. rob.clark@ Granted, I’m not the theeagle.com target audience for this particular bear. The image will catch kids’ eyes, and sugary drinks aren’t a hard sell for them anyway. But it reminded me of a classic “Old Army vs. New Army” debate at Texas A&M, like when older Aggies grumble about rap being played during football games at Kyle Field, while the current students hop and dance around.

It’s not for you. It’s for them.

When things we love from our youth are tweaked, updated or rebooted, it can be hard to accept. Just ask any die-hard Star Wars fan about George Lucas’ three prequels. (Throw in a Jar Jar Binks reference, and then duck.)

One passion that never faded for me was Dr. Seuss. I’m a certified nerd — a word he coined — when it comes to the great Theodor Geisel. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my favorites, and I’ve always thought the 1966 animated special is a perfect piece of art. Seuss’ style, rhymes and wit can transcend age and demographics, like how the best Pixar films can bring laughs and tears equally from kids and adults.

So the recent Grinch movie

by Illumination naturally had my attention. I

figured it couldn’t possibly be as awful as the 2000 live-action Grinch movie, in which Jim Carrey turned the character into an insufferable, blabbering game-show host.

Seuss’ world just isn’t meant for live action, as Mike Myers confirmed three years later with the disastrous Cat in the Hat film.

The new Grinch movie’s efforts are better. It puts a more sympathetic spin on the source of the Grinch’s evil, and he even shows affection for his dog Max. The film is a visual feast, and it does right by Seuss’ curvy style.

The Whos look much better in animated form than strapping an awkward prosthetic nose on human actors.

Benedict Cumberbatch was an interesting choice to handle the Grinch’s voice, though his vocals strangely focus on the high end of his range when the low would have been a more sinister fit. (He voiced the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit, after all.)

The film isn’t particularly funny, though there is plenty of slapstick, and adding in a screaming goat ensured giggles from the kids. Overall it’s a pleasant Christmas movie, and there are far worse ways to spend an afternoon.

But can it come close to the 1966 animated special?

Not with a 39 ½ foot pole.

Universal/AP

The combination of Seuss and Chuck Jones, legendary animator from the Looney Tunes gang, was a magical one. For starters, the cartoon is gorgeous: No sky is as blue as a Seuss sky.

It’s funny, from Seuss’ fantastic creations (floo-floobers and who-whoobas, tartinkers and gar-ginkas) to Max’s bewildered expressions. Watching the Grinch slither through Whoville is a hoot, swiping items big (trees, wreaths, gifts) and small (canned goods, ice cubes, crumbs).

This Grinch is also a little dark, which makes it more intriguing. The close-up of his shriveled heart is an eye-opener for a family Christmas cartoon, as is the realization of his “wonderful, awful idea,” which leads to his wicked grin absorbing his entire head.

The twisted lyrics in You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch add to the appeal (“You’re a nasty, wasty skunk / Your heart is full of unwashed socks / Your soul is full of gunk”).

Even the voice of the narrator and the Grinch had a dark side, courtesy of Boris Karloff, best known for playing Frankenstein’s monster and other roles in early horror films.

That darkness makes the ending — when the Grinch comes to his senses and realizes that Christmas “doesn’t come from a store” — especially effective and joyful.

It’s as good as it gets, and I’ve probably seen it a hundred times. There is little chance that will happen with the new Grinch film. It is squarely aimed at the kids in the crowd, not the skeptical adult thinking, “Too much cute, not enough creepy!”

But any quibbling I wrestled with as a Seuss purist was quickly dashed by the reaction of my children. As we left the theater, they squealed, “That was awesome!” and “Can we see it again?”

Despite my longtime affection for Seuss’ story, this one’s not meant for me. It’s for them. But enough of Seuss’ original spirit is there, and that’s a good thing.

I can always watch my favorite version on DVD. No screaming goats required.

THE EAGLE | BRAZOS360.COM

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