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Serving the People of the Bi-Stone Area Since 1899 • PROUDLY PRINTED IN LIMESTONE COUNTY

County proposes slightly higher tax rate Vol. 113 No. 97

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 — Mexia, Texas

By Roxanne McKnight Staff Writer

Ground broken for new Mexia Senior Center

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Property owners in Limestone County will have to pay about $58 more in taxes next year if the proposed new tax rate Commissioners agreed upon Monday is approved in September. The Court is proposing a tax rate increase of an additional 8.55 cents per $100 property evaluation, taking the tax rate from its current $0.468 per $100 valuation to a proposed rate of $0.5535. According to estimates from Tax

Assessor-Collector Charlene Black, the average property value after exemptions in 2011 was $61,028 and had a tax bill of $285.61. Under the new rate, the average taxable value after exemptions in the county is estimated to be $61,986, with a tax bill of $343.09, an increase of $57.48. County Judge Daniel Burkeen said they had to raise it because of lower property evaluations and less income from the Limestone County Detention Center. “The higher tax rate is necessary because of several factors,” Burkeen

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said in a press release. “Appraised values of taxable property in the county dropped by over $98 million, mainly due to depressed prices for natural gas. Higher oil prices, however, have had a serious impact on fuel costs for the sheriff’s office and road and bridge department, as well as the cost of road oil. “Also, revenues from the prison are substantially lower than they have been in the past. On the positive side, the county still receives $1.5 million annually from the prison, while many counties with such facilities are strug-

gling to survive with empty beds. And the current contract with the Bureau of Prisons has added over 70 high paying jobs at the prison, so while the revenue actually going to county government is down, the added jobs have certainly brought more money into the county.” The vote on the new proposed rate was 4-1, with Commissioner William “Pete” Kirven casting the lone nay vote. Afterward he said that while he realized the tax rate needed to rise to CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 SEE COUNTY

It’s a zoo in there Game pits alums vs current Lady Cats

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Weather

Tue

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8/14

Sunshine and some clouds. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible.

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Partly cloudy with a stray thunderstorm.

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Sunshine. Highs 98 to 102F and lows in the low 70s.

Fri

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92/69

8/17

Madison Newshouse and Olivia Eves pet a Bearded Lizard brought to Gibbs Memorial Library by the Cameron Park Zoo's Zoomobile. The visit was sponsored by the Annette Parker Trust and was part of the library's Summer Reading Program. To see more photos from various recent library activities, turn to Page 12 Courtesy photo

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By Brenda Sommer Managing Editor

Parents who haven’t finished off their back-toschool lists aren’t the only ones who can save money once the annual sales tax holiday weekend starts up Friday. Shoppers can save up to $8 on every $100 they spend on everything from pens, jeans and shoes to backpacks and other items priced under $100 during the state’s annual event, scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17-19. The list of eligible items includes almost anything an elementary or secondary school student would need to head back to school, including backpacks, binders, book bags, lunch boxes, calcu-

lators, notebooks, pens, pencils, glue and more. Items must cost under $100. However, if a customer buys four shirts that cost $98, they would not have to pay sales tax. But if they bought a shirt that cost $100.01, then tax would be assessed. Clothes and shoes used first and foremost for athletics or as protective wear – like cleats or football pads – are not eligible to be exempted. But athletic clothes and shoes that also are everyday wear do qualify, so tennis shoes, ball caps and jogging suits, for example, will be taxexempt. Jewelry, watches, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 SEE HOLIDAY

the memories of Mary

Raglin Blocker Shelby

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of features The Mexia News will run from time to time that will highlight the memories of a seasoned citizen who grew up in or near Mexia.

beck, to Lester and Ada Raglin. Her father made bricks right across the street from the family home, at the Barron Brick Company, Ada Raglin, a maid and laundry woman in best known for making the “Groesbeck Reds” 1920s Groesbeck, watched with a stern eye as bricks still seen all around Limestone County her six children, led by the eldest, Mary Mar- 90 years later. He would continue working shall Raglin, walked up the there as a brickmaker the rest street then up the steps of the of his life. Methodist church where they “My mother only Lester’s mother, Ann attended services each Sunday. Raglin, was the midwife for Even before that, when finished the sixth her daughter-in-law Ada Mary was still the only child, grade, but she Raglin when Mary was born. Ada had started her daughter “She had the job of deliverwas the wisest ing children – white, black or along a path in which church would be important in her life. whatever,” Mary Shelby said. person you’ve “I can remember she would “That was the way she made ever seen in stand out there until I crossed her living. They called her this bridge, until she saw me Aunt Ann, my daddy’s mothyour life.” crawling up on the steps of the er.” church,” Mary said. Ada was what was called at Ada’s watchful care of her children and that time a day worker, which meant she went insistence that the family be involved in to different homes in town to clean and do church were strong influences in the life of laundry. Mary Raglin Shelby, now 91 and living in Mexia. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Shelby was born Sept. 16, 1921, in GroesSEE REMEMBER By Roxanne McKnight Staff Writer

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“I enjoyed her; I believed had to do that. She was stern in her,” Shelby said. “She about things like that.” Ada made her children’s didn’t keep any secrets from Continued from Page 1 me, and I didn’t keep any clothes, and they were proud secrets from her. I could go to to wear her handiwork. “Oh, Momma could sew,” “My mother only finished her for everything.” Ada kept that stern eye on Shelby said. “I got my first the sixth grade, but she was the wisest person you’ve ever all the children and left them machine, and I learned to do seen in your life,” Shelby little room for mischief. For it, too. She made most of ours example, she would keep a out of feed sacks. Then we said. finally got Because her mother spent keen watch up to (buyso much time at work, young on the street “She kept us ing) three Mary was in charge of her in front of five younger siblings as each the family doing something yards for a dollar that home and came along. all the time, if it we could After Mary came Harry could tell to Waco Lester, whom they called when the wasn’t anything go and get.” “Bo,” then Frank (who died teachers had L i f e at age 15), Wilmer, Henry passed by on but sweeping was full of their way to and Patsy. up the yard hard work “My job was to take care the school. back then. “ Y o u of the children because she or raking.” “ W e had to go to work,” Shelby don’t go any used to go said. “I had to be responsible place – you for the others. I used to carry don’t even go to school – pick cotton,” Shelby said, Henry around on my hip. My until all the teachers have “and Daddy would say, ‘I mother said, ‘You’re going to passed by (and are at work),” want you to bring in so many be hip-shot,’ I think she Shelby said. “That meant you pounds.’” Mary would finish hers so called it. Lopsided, I think stayed out of trouble.” Sometimes Ada would she could help her brothers, she meant.” As Ada Raglin was going have Mary join her after taking on her shoulders some to work, she would tell her school to help with the laun- of their responsibilities as neighbors, “Care for them. dry at the home where she well as hers. “I didn’t want them to get Don’t wait until I come was working. By doing extra home. You get them before I washing, Ada Raglin was fussed at,” she explained. “We started picking cotable to provide piano lessons get here.” Shelby translates those for Mary, which would prove ton in August; school started in September. She kept us words to mean: “Take care of to be a life-changing skill. “I started taking music doing something all the time, them. Go get them. And if they need a whipping, do from Mary Phillips, of Groes- if it wasn’t anything but beck,” Shelby said. “She sweeping up the yard or rakthat.” “We were smart enough taught music when I was 10 ing. We had to pick reeds and that if we were going to or 11. I was so glad when she make a broom out of them.” She doesn’t remember church, we would go on the taught me how to do ‘Jesus north end of the thing so that Loves Me, This I Know” and having any pets. “They had a hard enough the neighbors wouldn’t see I could play for my Sunday what we were doing,” she school. That thrilled me and time trying to feed us,” she said, laughing at the memory. my family. I’ve been doing said of her parents. “They had “I could get by with any- things in the church all my hogs back there, but those were food. We had a smokething,” Shelby said of her life because of that.” The main principle her house there that they would relationship with her father. “I’d ask him, and you know I mother told her was that she put the hams in. I don’t think was the eldest. My mother had to be an example for the they do that anymore.” “Everybody had to take was 30 when she had me. He other children. “That’s what I have care of his own clothes,” she would say, ‘Go ask your mother,’ because he knew I done,” Shelby said. “I was said. “I never had to wash any didn’t need to. He was always called bossy; I’m still called boys’ clothes. They washed that way. He was always by that, but that’s the reason their own; they kept up themselves. me, and I felt real sheltered why. “When we’d get our “She would always around my dad.” She remembers her moth- encourage us about obeying, baths, we had a No. 3 tub. and respecting people. We The No. 3 was a round tub. I er as stern but kind. could go first because I was the oldest.” “My grandmother lived across the branch (creek) from us. She had some of the firsts in the family: She was the first with television, and before that the first with electricity. You could hardly see because the bulb was so small, but she had it.” Blackshear, a facility that offered first through 10th grades, was the Groesbeck school for black children during those days of segregation. In her class there were three boys and three girls. Her favorite teacher was Harriet Evans, an English teacher and a member of her church. That was about sixth grade. “She came from the other side of town,” Shelby said of Evans. “We felt good about going to school. She was such a beautiful person. She was over the (Christmas and Easter) programs and played the piano. We saw a lot of her. She was always interested in children. She kept candy, suckers, that type of thing. “‘When you start home,’ she would say, ‘you be sure not to go along the trail that leads alongside the jailSome of Mary Shelby’s favorite memories are of fam- house.’” ily reunions, such as this one above, possibly in the Though quite responsible 1970s. Her mother, Ada Raglin, center, and others for her age, Mary also had an enjoy the shade beneath the trees while barbecue is independent streak. Once cooking elsewhere. Mary not only went near the Courtesy photo jailhouse but all the way into

Remember

Mary Shelby is visited recently by her brother Henry, 10 years her junior, the one she used to carry on one hip so often their mother predicted Mary would end up ‘hipshot.’ Roxanne McKnight photo

THE MEXIA NEWS

the Courthouse basement. “I wanted to go down in the basement of the Courthouse so I could get a taste of the ‘white’ water,” she said. “We had a ‘colored’ fountain, and we had a ‘white’ one over here. My brothers Harry and Frank went with me, but they wouldn’t tell. I wanted to taste the difference in the water. “I was always a big girl. Then I was tall, big; I weighed 202. We went down in the basement. There were three of us. I got a taste of both of them – and I couldn’t tell the I difference. always wanted to know the difference, and I couldn’t understand it. “I said, ‘This is what it’s about: they just divided us.’ We were separate.” Ann Raglin, sh ow As an older wife in Groesbe n here in this undated photo, was a mid ck around the ea child, Mary dren to women of all races ther rly 1900s, delivering chile, even during se Shelby would Her granddaugh babysit for for many years. ter, Mary Shelby, taught in Mex gregation. ia schools some of the white families Courtesy photo in Groesbeck. much, “I watched (the children) while their mothers played her memories of her child- own bridge,” Shelby said. “They hood are warm at the thought thing.” Another type of reunion would pay me and I would of her family. “We were so close,” she she liked was the Juneteenth babysit for the younger children. I would carry them to said of her family members. celebration. The June 19 the Limestone Theater to the “We’ve been a close-knit observation of Texas’ emanmovie. I had to go upstairs family; we were just a togeth- cipation of blacks from slav(because of segregated seat- er family – looking out for ery was huge in Limestone ing) and they were down- each other and loving each County, with thousands attending. other and that type of thing. stairs.” “We would go to Com“We would walk to Back at their homes, the young children would take church, but my mother’s manche Crossing for the 19th naps. When her charges brother would not let us walk of June,” she said. Comanche awoke, Mary would take at night by ourselves. He Crossing was a tract of blackowned land on the Navasota them to Cayton’s Drugstore would drive us in his car.” River near where Mexia Dam Her favorite memories are in Groesbeck. There were no was later built. “We rode in of being with family, espebackdoors for blacks to enter, so she would just go sit on a cially for reunions. On those Vernon Cotton’s pickup stool because she was respon- occasions, she remembers truck. He’s been dead forevthem “doing a little bit of er. He would get us there and sible for the children. Despite segregation, she everything, just enjoying each get us back home safely.” could go inside because Cay- other,” she said. “We had Note: This story will conplenty of food and barbecue, ton’s was a bus stop. in our next issue. tinue and everybody was doing his Despite having to work so

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Serving the People of the Bi-Stone Area Since 1899 • PROUDLY PRINTED IN LIMESTONE COUNTY

Mexia man arrested on child molestation charges Vol. 113 No. 98

By Michael Dillin

Special to The Mexia News

Volleyball season now under way

Thursday, August 16, 2012 — Mexia, Texas

A Mexia man who’s also pastor of the Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church was arrested Friday on child molestation charges allegedly involving a 15-year-old girl. Freestone County Sheriff Ralph Billings said Anthony Lynn Thibodeaux was arrested at his home in Mexia, following a three-week investigation. Thibodeaux, 36, was charged with sexual assault of a child and indecency with a

child. Both are second degree felonies. “(He) is alleged to have had inappropriate sexual relations with an underage 15-year-old female,” Billings said. Thibodeaux was arraigned Monday before Freestone County Justice of the Peace Theresa Farris. She set bond at $250,000. Thibodeaux had not posted bond and was still in jail as of Tuesday morning. Prosecuting attorney Chris Martin said legal counsel for Thibodeaux would ask for a reduction in bond. Thibodeaux had been working for the

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ office in Waco. “Anthony Thibodeaux was a tax enforcement officer in the Waco field office,” said R.J. DeSilva, spokesman for the Comptroller’s office. “He has been terminated as a result of his arrest and criminal investigation by law enforcement officials in Freestone County. The agency will provide assistance with any information investigators may request.” Freestone County Sheriff’s Deputy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SEE ARREST

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Anthony Lynn Thibodeaux

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Check out the hot topics in 1924 Mexia

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A musical trio formed by Wallace High on drums, Karen Hulsey on piano and Michael Phillips on guitar performs a variety of popular and Gospel tunes at the Mexia State Supported Living Center Volunteer Councilʼs annual gala fundraiser, held Saturday evening at First Baptist Church, Mexiaʼs Christian Life Center. See more photos from this event on Page 10 Roxanne McKnight photo

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Budget cuts cause friction among officials a $1.3 million payment we’ve got to make on the new jail – but Staff Writer it’s our responsibility to keep Part of Monday’s Commis- these taxes down as low as possisioners Court meeting was a ble.” budget workshop, and the subject Beaver noted that the of the cost of motor vehicles for Sheriff’s Office has been getting the Sheriff’s Office arose again. four or five new vehicles each Commissioner Morris Beaver year yet his car repair budget is broached the subject first. the same. Beaver proposed “cut“I think we all agree that this ting this out of the budget” since is going to be a lean year,” “it’s not working.” Beaver said. “The money is just County Judge Daniel Burnot coming in. Like the judge keen agreed with Beaver that the said, we’ve got a 13 percent Sheriff’s Office expenses need to decrease in minerals, the deten- be cut somewhere, but said the tion center is not bringing in as county could not get out of its much money as it did, we’ve got contract with the company that provides new vehicles. “I think we’ve gotten the Limestone County Sheriff Sheriff’s Office in pretty good Dennis Wilson waits to shape with vehicles, so I think we speak at Mondayʼs can cut back some, but I think we Commissioners Court need a plan that doesn’t involve meeting. He argued us reneging on that contract,” strongly against cutting the Burkeen said, suggesting the budget for his office. next time the contract comes up for renewal they look at other Roxanne McKnight photo By Roxanne McKnight

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I remember when… By Roxanne McKnight Staff Writer

In Part 1, we read about Mary Shelby’s childhood growing up as the oldest of six children in a black family in 1920s Groesbeck. She attended Blackshear, the school in Groesbeck for black children in those days of segregation. Part 2

In the 1930s, high school students sometimes graduated when they finished the 10th grade, and Shelby was salutatorian of her class. Also in her class was Edward Washington, after whom the Enge-Washington Intermediate School was named. She also knew Elwood Enge, the school’s other namesake, as he belonged to the Meth-

options. He also said that many of the Sheriff’s Office’s vehicle expenses come from the vehicles used to transport jail inmates, and that addressing that problem would solve some of the money issues. Sheriff Dennis Wilson disagreed strongly with the suggestion to cut his vehicle budget, telling the court that a number of citizens have told him they want strong law enforcement and are willing to pay for it. “When you take a whack at us with our vehicles, that’s our key to safety. That’s how we move around. That’s how we provide service. We’ve taken our hits, too, Mr. Beaver. We’re not in this by ourselves. So when you point to us and say we have not taken a cut in our budget, that’s not right. I’m telling you, I can go out and muster enough supCONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SEE COUNTY

the memories of Mary Raglin Blocker Shelby

odist Church she attended. Washington belonged to the Baptist church. She remembers Enge teaching under Washington when he was the principal at Blackshear.

Teaching before integration After high school, Shelby went to St. Phillip’s Junior College in San Antonio for two years, graduating in 1940 with a six-year certificate to teach. She did not have the opportunity to go home the entire two years, because to make a living she worked in the cafeteria and dressed women’s hair. Her parents also helped financially by sending a modest amount to the college each month. Shelby got her first job in 1941 at Sims Colony, a six-month-term school in Freestone County where she was

paid $50 a month. She didn’t stay ried her first husband, Wonzer Blockthere long because in 1942 she got an er, in 1941 and was married for seven years, until he died in offer to teach in Mexia 1948. Many of her at Douglass Elementary, the school for black “I can’t do without older students remember her as Mrs. Blockchildren. Douglass held you – because er. classes through eighth She poured her engrade and was looking there are too ergy into the children for someone who many things that she taught. could play piano. Shel“That’s what I by mainly taught secI can’t do that I have spent my life and ond and third grade. have to depend time on,” she said of Every summer, she teaching, “because I would take out a loan on you for.” didn’t have children.” at the bank to take “I couldnt’ find courses at Sam Houston College, in Austin, until she my comb,” a boy might say, coming to earned her bachelor’s degree in ele- school with his hair messy. Shelby mentary education. She still had her maiden name of CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Mary Raglin back then, and she marSEE SHELBY

Shelby

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would find him a comb and have him go to the bathroom and comb his hair. She would even cut children’s hair sometimes when they needed it. “I always felt that I was responsible for them,” she said. During lunch break, she and the other teachers would help in the lunchroom. “We would give them beans and rice – fattening stuff; they were full,” she said with satisfaction in her voice. Teachers would take the students on a field trip each summer and during the school year, too. “We would leave early and the parents trusted us with them,” she said. They went to Six Flags over Texas, the State Fair in Dallas, the state capital in Austin and other places. “We carried the children to every place we thought they would enjoy and get something out of,” she said. Teachers would show movies at the school to raise money. They would obtain inexpensive films and charge those who attended. Shelby would take her makeup and powder the faces

of the girls and make sure the tion.” There was tension among boys had their hair neat. She would also lavish her the teachers; while some love on her many neices and accepted integration, others nephews, the children of her were distrustful of blacks or simply unused to being on a siblings. In 1962, she married relatively equal status with Madison Shelby, whom she them. Often if something negamet in Houston while she was tive happened, working on her black teachers master’s in elewould be mentary educaShe remembers accused by tion at Texas R.Q. Sims, the those who did Southern accept University and principal of Ross not them, Shelby he was working Elementary at said. “I was at the airport. T e a c h i n g that time, being very frank – but you have after integration very fair with to be particular Integration in Limestone black teachers. about what you say.” County was not She reachieved until 1976. That year, Mexia’s members R.Q. Sims, the prinwhite and black schools com- cipal of Ross Elementary at bined, and Shelby was moved that time, being very fair with to Ross Avenue Elementary black teachers. Once in the teachers’ School, Mexia‘s elementary school before the current A.B. lounge, one of the first-grade teachers remarked to Shelby, McBay Elementary. “A lot of people thought it not so much in malice as in was the thing to do and laws ignorance, “Y’all’s hands had changed, and it was going look dirty all the time.” “I would expect that from to have to come,” Shelby said of integration. Even so, the a child,” Shelby said, “but not new set-up was unfamiliar, from an adult. “My mother was a lot of and consequently distressing. “I was the most disap- help during those days for pointed person in the world,” me,” she said. “She always she said candidly. “You know told me I was as good as anyhow we are about change; I body else. ‘All you have to do was coming into a new situa- is prove yourself,’ she told me. I taught second grade, and I declare I was the best second-grade teacher there!” she said, laughing. Like her mother, Shelby was frugal, often making her own clothes. She also worked in the summer with Headstart to earn extra income to buy herself a piano. When A.B. McBay Elementary opened in 1978, she transferred there. Years later, Shelby was visiting a friend in a retirement home for teachers. While there, she realized the teacher who had made the hurtful remark in the teachers’ lounge was living there and went to see her. By then years had passed, and times had indeed changed. “We did done a lot of apologizing (to each other),” Shelby said graciously, the other teacher for her insensitive remarks and Shelby for her spirited response. “I was always kind of outspoken because I was the oldest. They just weren’t used to it.”

Mary Shelby, a Mexia retiree and member of the Retired Teachers Association, makes a presentation at one of the clubʼs meetings.

Older years Shelby retired from McBay in 1985, mainly to take care of her mother, who had been living with her for some time. The two women lived alone, as by then Shelby’s second husband had been dead five years. “My mother stayed with

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 - PAGE 5

me until she passed,” Shelby said. “I was able to keep her right here. She would sit on the porch and wait for me to come home from (teaching) school. I would have to get her prepared for the day because everybody knew she was here. She just sat on the porch, looking for me. “I had planned to teach until I was 65, but I was 63 when I retired because I couldn’t do the two jobs successfully.” Though Shelby is retired, she stays active in a variety of pursuits – Habit for Humanity, Walk to Emmaus (a Methodist church program of spiritual renewal), a story-telling group called Bluebonnet Scops Storytelling Guild of Limestone and Freestone counties, and the Red Hat Society. She was with the Friends of the Though the photo is damaged, the face of Mary Shelby Library for many when she was awarded her Bachelorʼs Degree in Elementary Education from Sam Houston College in 1940, years, too. “Anything that’s in Austin, reflects her determination to excel. Though good, for the sake of already teaching with a two-year degree from a junior colthe children and to lege, Shelby would make personal loans from Farmers inspire us, is what I’ve State Bank to study in Austin each summer until she completed her bachelorʼs. been in,” she said. Courtesy photos She sometimes thinks of those days can’t do without you – ter. when the transition was made because there are too many “We made it through to integration and how it things that I can’t do that I those days, so let those old affected her life. have to depend on you for. memories be memories. I’m “It was a battle,” she said. That’s what I tell them in not too good about looking for “But, the more we understand Bible study. We need each the future. If I can make it a person and are around them, other. It’s getting better, through today, I’ll be all the more we can enjoy them. I though. It has gotten a lot bet- right.”

In her retirement years, Mary Shelby enjoys volunteer work, such as reading to an elementary school class, a program sponsored by the Mexia Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mexia schools back-to-school events By John Turpin

Mexia ISD Superintendent

School is just around the corner and Mexia ISD is ready to welcome back the best students in the state of Texas. Each of our main campuses will be having special back to school events to welcome students and parents to their campus.

The schedule of those events is:

R. Q. SIMS “Meet the Teacher” Night R. Q. Sims will host our “Meet the Teacher” night Thursday, Aug. 23, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. McBAY Meet the Teacher Event The “Meet the Teacher”

Blood drives coming up There are several local opportunities to donate the “Gift of Life” coming up locally, to help patients across the region in need of blood transfusions. On Friday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at each facility, Mexia LTC Nursing & Rehabilitation and Groesbeck LTC Nursing & Rehabilitation will hold a blood drive challenge. The community is invited to donate inside the Carter BloodCare bus in the parking lots of each location: at Mexia LTC at 601 Terrace Lane, or Groesbeck LTC at 607 Parkside Drive. Also, the city of Mexia is hosting a blood drive Wednesday, Aug. 29, from noon to 7 p.m. in the Civic Center Auditorium at 101 S. McKinney Street. For more information or to schedule an appointment time at any of the three locations, contact Kristin McGinty at (254)

297-4004. Summer is the most challenging season to maintain the community blood supply. Donors are fewer in number and the need for blood by local hospitals is higher than usual. Giving blood often is the best way to maintain a quality and sufficient local blood supply. Whole blood donors may donate every 56 days. Potential blood donors can volunteer beginning at age 16 with a parent’s consent, and 17-year-olds can give independently. There is no upper age limit for giving. All donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good general health and present a photo ID each time. For more information about donor eligibility and to make an appointment, call Carter BloodCare at 1800-366-2834 or visit carterbloodcare.org.

event at McBay Elementary will be held Thursday, Aug. 23 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.. Parents and students can come and meet their teacher for the 2012-13 school year and get a chance to drop off school supplies before the first day of classes which will be Aug. 27. MJHS Locker Night Mexia Junior High will be holding their annual back-toschool “Locker Night” Thursday, Aug. 23, from 5-6 p.m. The halls and classrooms will be open for parents and students to meet teachers, visit classrooms and pick up their

schedule for the new school year. Schedule Pick-up for MHS Students On Aug. 23, MHS students can pick up their schedules for the 2012-13 school year during the following times: • 10th-11th-12th grade students may pick up schedules from 8 a.m. to noon. • 9th grade students may pick up schedules from 6-7 p.m. that evening. Classes begin for the 2012-2013 school year on Aug. 27.

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The Mexia News Good Morning, Neal Bowe!

Serving the People of the Bi-Stone Area Since 1899 • PROUDLY PRINTED IN LIMESTONE COUNTY

Election filings heat up for MISD, Council Vol. 113 No. 24

Saturday, February 25, 2012 — Mexia, Texas

By Brenda Sommer Staff Writer

As the filing deadline gets closer, all open races for spots on the Mexia ISD board and City Council have all drawn candidates. In the City races, all three incumbents have filed for re-election, and none has drawn an opponent as of Friday morning. The open spots are for District 2, currently held by Laura Rothrock; District 5, held by Arthur Busby and District 6, now held by Bobby Jack Liles.

At MISD, neither board President Richard Duncan, in Position 6, nor Position 7 incumbent Willie Herring has so far filed for re-election. Both beat out incumbents to join the board in 2009. As of Friday morning, Place 6 had drawn two candidates: Ed Rhodes and Ron Fowler, both of whom have or still do work at the state school here. The Place 7 race also has drawn interest, with three candidates already having filed: retired teacher Don Beene, former MISD teacher Judy Mulholland, and H-E-B employee

Jackie Craig. The deadline to file for either race is 5 p.m. Monday, March 5. To file to be on the ballot for City Council, go to the office of the city secretary Christi Shivers at 206 E. Main, across from City Hall and the Civic Center. Candidates for the MISD board may file between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays at the Mexia ISD Administrative Office at 616 N. Red River through Monday, March 5. On the last day candidates have until 5 p.m. to file. Those wishing to file by mail may

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send their application for a place on the MISD ballot to P.O. Box 2000, Mexia, TX 76667. The election will be held May 12. The first day to apply for a ballot by mail is March 13, while the last day to register to vote is April 12. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail – ballot received, not postmarked – is May 4. Early voting begins April 30 and ends May 8. Local elections are not affected by the redistricting battle that has twice delayed spring party primary elections.

City OKs water meter replacement program

End of an era

No injuries in three-vehicle wreck See Page 2

By Brenda Sommer Staff Writer

Art student headed to state competition See Page 3

Weather

Sat

61/36

2/25

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afte.

Sun 2/26

62/38

Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s.

Mon 2/27

64/48

Sunshine. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the upper 40s.

Tue

66/54

2/28

Few showers. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Wed 2/29

70/51

Isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s.

Crews from Total Demolition Inc. of Waco begin this week to tear down the old three-story Mexia Senior Citizens Center on West Sherman Street, which burned and collapsed June 22. Bids for a new center have been received but the board of directors of Limestone County Senior Services, which owns the facility, has not yet decided if they will accept any of the bids. That board meets March 8 at 6:30 p.m. at 510 W. State in Groesbeck and is scheduled to discuss the fate of the Mexia center. Brenda Sommer photo

County asked to rename airport for Korean War casualty Mexia News Staff Report

A Del Valle man originally from Groesbeck has contacted the Limestone County Commissioners Court asking that the Commissioners name the airport after his deceased relative. Benson Pollock wrote County Judge Daniel Burkeen with the

Mexia once home to historic black college Staff Writer

request, and the judge says he will bring up the subject at Monday’s meeting. The man Pollock would like the airport named for is Charles Melvin Andrews, a Groesbeck High School graduate who was killed in action while serving in Koriea in 1951. No action will be taken on this issue at Monday’s meeting, but

In honor of Black History Month...

By Roxanne McKnight

This newspaper is recyclable. Do your part to protect our future.

It won't all happen at once, but over time water meters in Mexia will be replaced with updated models that should be more accurate and easier to maintain, all done without budget wrangling. City Council agreed to begin the transition during their Tuesday night regular monthly meeting. The current water meters were installed city-wide in 2005 at a cost of $400,000, and have a seven-year life expectancy, meaning they're at the end of their usable life. They use magnets to mechanically measure water usage, but new meters now have no mechanical parts, he said. Matt Lindvay, water superintendent, told Council his department had to put new registers in 208 water meters last year, items which cost $149.50 new or $67.50 rebuilt. New meters of the same kind as the city currently uses are $185, he added, and 60 of those were installed last year. New non-mechanical meters cost $120 each but require a $60 transponder to send a signal to be read. With soft-

One of the main ways blacks organized socially in the United States following the end of the Civil War was through churches, and from there, black society struggled mightily to establish colleges and other institutions of learning to help its people advance. Mexia was the site of one black college, the only visible remains now said to be some bricks and rubble so overgrown by weeds and sitting behind a locked gate that even those remnants are rarely seen. However, from the 1920s through 1950s, men and women of vision, who valued

education and knew it was the key to a prosperous future, worked together to raise the money needed to build and eventually open and run this school that taught and trained black men and women. St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute began as an idea in 1906 in the minds of some members of the Primitive Baptist Church in Texas. Although that denomination existed across the United States, this story involves three districts – Providence, Sinai and Macedonia – of black Primitive Baptist churches that met in Bastrop in November of that year with three goals: to form a state association of black Primitive Baptist churches, to

Burkeen is looking for input from residents. “I’m going to get input from people before we take any kind of action one way or another,” Burkeen said. On another subject, the county will consider and possibly take action on issuing fleet gas cards for using with County vehicles. The gas cards could be used at any

elect representatives to a national church convention in Alabama the following July and to start an institution of higher learning run by the church. A fourth district, called Zion Rest, which had not been an active participant at the original meeting, joined the CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 SEE COLLEGE

Thornton Carter was born in slavery in 1858. He is shown here with an unidentified woman, possibly an employee, around 1921 in the door of the factory he built on Palestine Street, in Mexia. Courtesy photo

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SEE METERS

gas station. “We’re just going to get rid our old gas tank at the old sheriff’s office and use a fleet card instead,” Burkeen said. “This would be for Road and Bridge and everyone else.” The new gas tank installed near the Sheriff’s Office would still be used for Sheriff’s Office and county jail vehicles.

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PAGE 10 - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2012

Annie Buchanan

Lloyd Carter(?)

Earline (?) Livingstone

THE MEXIA NEWS

Dream and the Goal:

The Dorothy Proctor

Education

Rev. L.W. Thomas

Elijah Rev. J.C. Carter Daniel

W.A. Smith

Rev. Whitaker (?)

Rev. Joe Ollie Proctor and son Frank

Rev. Forrest L. Livingstone

Rev. Sam M. Britt

When the Primitive Baptist Church paid off the notes on the loans they made to finance St. Paul College and Industrial Institute, the members held a note-burning ceremony in front of the school. The Rev. Sam Brit can be seen in front burning the notes. Others who are recognized are noted. Courtesy photo

College Continued from Page 1

original meeting, joined the group by the following November. The new group was called simply “the State Association,” but after several years was renamed the State Educational Convention of Colored Primitive Baptists of Texas, with its main goal to build the school the members envisioned. In those days, a mere 41 years after the end of the Civil War and slavery, there was little support, structure or funding for black education. But education was recognized as the key to the rise of black people. During the days of slavery, slaves were not allowed to learn to read. Once their freedom was obtained, many sought out this prized ability. For the first few years after the war, white teachers from elsewhere came to Limestone County, as well as other places in the South, and taught the newly freed slaves. After a while, the black community worked together to create its own black schools, usually around churches, and eventually its own colleges. “As ex-slaves, and descendants of ex-slaves, education for their children was a priority and their churches were the vehicle for the development of the schools; and the education of their children,” said Sydney Carter Duncan, whose grandfather Thornton Carter was born in slavery and later played a large role in the creation of St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute. The Primitive Baptist Association got help to start its college from a prominent Corsicana resident, former Texas Lt. Gov. George T. Jester, who donated a city block in Corsicana to the purpose. He stipulated, however, that the school be built by a certain date or the donation would revert to the donor – and that is what happened. The associa-

tion raised several thousand dollars and started building in 1908, but their plans came to an abrupt halt. “Foundation was begun and barely reached above the surface of the earth, when money gave out,” said the Rev. L.W. Thomas, of Muskogee, Okla., but originally from Limestone County. He had benefitted from the 1920s oil boom and was instrumental in the eventual building of the school. “After burying three thousand or four thousand dollars in the earth, this project was left to lie dormant,” he said. There was a clause in the donation that the church group could buy back the Corsicana property for $500, so the trustees of what was then called St. Paul Primitive Baptist College did that. They were issued a warranty deed for the property on Oct. 16, 1916. Nothing happened for several years, and the group eventually bought a different property, 76.5 acres of land in Doyle. Again no progress was made; and several more years later, the group bought 33 acres of land on a hill just northwest of Mexia. On Oct. 24, 1924, the college was incorporated, with Thornton Carter, A.R. Foreman and Sam M. Britt the original members of the charter of incorporation. They secured a loan of $7,000 from Julius Nussbaum, a German Jewish immigrant, merchant and philanthropist in Mexia, to buy the materials needed for construction. The ground was broken that same month, and construction on Mexia’s St. Paul College began. However, in June of 1925, when the building was almost finished, the funds ran out and the dream was halted in its tracks again. Three long years passed. Then, in September 1928, work on the college began again, as J.F. Denning, of Mexia, was contracted to complete the work. The Rev. L.W. Thomas personally signed for

a loan to purchase the material needed to finish building the school, and it was finally completed in February 1929. In September of that year, classes began. The school’s first dean was the Rev. E.M. Cooper. The first teachers included Edith J. Boston, Joanne Cooper, Maggie Pulliam, Janie Stout and P.M. Williams. During that part of its history, the college taught regular college classes, first as a fouryear college, later as a twoyear school, or junior college. Blanche Curry, who graduated from Dunbar High School as salutatorian around 1930, was awarded a two-year scholarship to St. Paul College to major in English. Unfortunately, she did not have the funds to complete her degree. She later married Dee Whorton and together they ran a grocery store and cafe, the only such business on Mexia’s east side, for 40 years. Ironically, she also worked as household help for the Julius Nussbaum family. Though technically open and running, St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute’s financial situation was precarious. Its bills were constantly paid late, teachers were sometimes not paid their complete salary and the school’s debt increased and got further behind. “Our obligations continued to increase and for years we were unable to keep up on the interest on the principal of the main debt,” Thomas said later. In 1940, the property was foreclosed upon by their creditor, the estate of Julius Nussbaum, the man who had made the loan, and the Primitive Baptist Association lost the property. Claude Nussbaum and J. Harold Nussbaum, executors of the estate of their father, Julius Nussbaum, would not let the property be refinanced back to the college but said they would allow the Rev. L.W. Thomas to sign for the indebtedness. At Thomas’ request, the deed was made not just to him but to two other trustees, the Rev. A.R. Foreman and the Rev. Sam M. Britt. “In this negotiation, it was necessary that I assign all my oil royalty interests in the Mexia oilfields as additional security for this indebtedness,” Thomas said. The notes, which totaled $9,127.33, were approved in October 1941. Thornton Carter died in 1941, but his son, Elijah Carter, Elijah Carter, at 15 years of age, had had to quit school three years earlier to go to work to support his family, as his father was sick. His daughter Sydney Carter Duncan said this picture was taken when he had gone on a ‘cotton pick.’ His hair style was called a ‘high-low.’ Courtesy photo

Blanche Curry made a deathbed promise to graduated around be the group’s secretary-treas1930 from Dunbar urer. He kept that promise and guided the college and associ- High School, Mexia’s school for blacks in ation financially. the era of Though the notes had a 10segregation, and year term, the members of was awarded a many Primitive Baptist scholarship to St. churches worked very hard to Paul Normal and raise money, many contributIndustrial Institute. ing a single dollar toward She attended two funds to settle the debt. One years, but could not stand-out was Annie West continue for lack of Butcher, who raised $5,000 to funds. Later she pay toward the note. The group succeeded in paying off married Dee Whorton, and the couple ran a the notes in just three years, successful cafe and and the college held a noteburning ceremony in front of store on Mexia’s east side for 40 years. the school to celebrate. Continued in next issue Courtesy photo

The Mexia News Classifieds 201 Legals

201 Legals

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) NOTICE

Sealed proposals will be received at the Business Office of the Mexia Independent School District, 616 N. Red River, P. O. Box 2000, Mexia, Texas 76667, Thursday, April 5, 2012, until 10:00 a.m., for the following: Food Service Management

All interested parties must attend a Pre-proposal conference and district tour on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at the Mexia ISD Administration building.

Proposals received after this time, whether delivered in person or mailed, will not be accepted. Proposals will be opened publicly and read aloud.

Proposal forms and specifications may be obtained from the Mexia Independent School District Business Office or by calling (254) 562-4008 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

Mexia Independent School District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or to waive formalities of the proposal. In case of ambiguity or lack of clarity and state of compliance in the proposal, Mexia Independent School District reserves the right to consider the most advantageous interpretation thereof or to reject the proposal.

AMENDE D ORDINANCE NO. 2008-01-02

An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Mexia, Texas, directing that signs be erected directing no parking signs and designation tow away zones in the following areas: All blocks of North Preston street; the 100 and 200 blocks of North Belknap; both sides of Palestine Street from the railroad tracks west to Belknap; the 300 block of West Commerce Street to Herman Street; and the north side of the 300 block of West Main Street to Herman Street, the south side of the 300 block of West Palestine to Herman Street that signs be erected restricting parking along Commerce Street from the railroad tracks westward to Belknap; providing a severability clause; and declaring an emergency. PU BLI C N OT ICE : January 12, 2012

After the review of the city’s 2011-2012 budget, it was determined by the Wortham City Council that increasing garbage rates by 3% is necessary.

The Wortham City Council approved amending Code of Ordinances Article A5.000 Utility Fees and Charges, Section A5.002 Solid Waste Fees at a Regular Meeting held on January 10, 2012.

The new garbage rates will be included on the March 1, 2012 billing. A copy of the amended ordinance may be obtained from the Wortham City Hall. Kelly Craig, Mayor

201 Legals

The Mexia News Good Morning, Jan Jackson!

254-562-3232 Must mention ad #TACLA27770C

Inside

Boys basketball playoff hopes ended by Athens

See Page 7

MISD now has robotics teams

See Page 3

Local Weather

Weather

Tue

75/58

2/28

Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms.

Wed 2/29

74/46

Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Thu 3/1

76/62

Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 60s.

Fri 3/2

76/46

Isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Sat 3/3

62/39

Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s.

Serving the People of the Bi-Stone Area Since 1899 • PROUDLY PRINTED IN LIMESTONE COUNTY

3 teens charged in Freestone explosion Vol. 113 No. 25

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 — Mexia, Texas

Mexia News Staff Report

Three juveniles have been charged in an arson case in Freestone County that destroyed a storage unit and started multiple fires. On Feb. 20, a resident of FCR 502 called the Freestone County Sheriff’s Office that three juveniles had apparently set off a “pipe bomb” behind his residence, on another person’s property. Responding to the situation were

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 SEE BAILEY

third young man emerging from the woods. This turned out to be the third suspect.” Two of the youth’s parents were contacted and agreed to meet at the Sheriff’s Office, with their offspring, who were advised of their rights by Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Theresa Farris. “The young men confessed to their involvement and provided written CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 SEE ARSON

A group effort...

Greg Cheney of Mexia does a bit of spring prep with help from a pair of loppers and three of his dogs, Chester, Sadie and Marlie. The were working on the property line between the St. Mary’s Catholic Church parking lot and an adjacent home. Brenda Sommer photo

New Mexia Steele’s store to open Thursday New discount retailer Steele’s opens its doors Thursday, adding another choice for shoppers in the Mexia area. Located at 1007 E. Milam St., Steele’s offers apparel, accessories and home decor at 30 to 60 percent off department store prices, with new merchandise arriving daily. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, March 1, with doors opening at 9 a.m. The first 100 shoppers to arrive at the store that

military discount and a frequent shopper program. “We think Steele’s will soon be a favorite shopping destination for Mexia customers who are looking for great fashion at sensational prices with the convenience of one-stop shopping,” said Lisa Seigies, chief marketing officer of Steele’s. Steele’s is headquartered in New York City and operates as a stand-alone division of Stage Stores Inc., the nation-

morning will receive a free tote bag along with breakfast snacks. The store will hold activities for the entire family during the week, including a Music Mania day with radio remote and a Sunny Sun Day where the first 25 customers get a free pair of sunglasses. More details on the events will be available at the store. Steele’s offers a variety of reward programs for loyal shoppers, including a discount for customers 60 and over, a

al retail company that operates department stores under the brands Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage. Stage Stores, Inc. brings nationallyrecognized brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics and footwear for the entire family to small and mid-size towns and communities through more than 805 stores in 40 states. For more information about Stage Stores, visit stagestoresinc.com.

Mexia once home to historic black college By Roxanne McKnight

This newspaper is recyclable. Do your part to protect our future.

Staff Writer

In 1928, a college for blacks was being built on ‘the hill’ about a mile west of Mexia on what is now U.S. 84. Courtesy photo

2012 Sorento

alone at the time. “A few minutes later this same young man was observed in a vehicle with another, leaving his residential area,” Sheriff Ralph Billings said in a press release. “The vehicle was stopped by Deputy Shipley, and when asked a second time …, (the young man) admitted his involvement in the explosion, as well as that of the passenger. The deputies followed the young men back to one of their residences, and immediately observed a

Deputies Diana Willis, Jeremy Shipley and Rick Howerton as well as the Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department. There were multiple fires and one destroyed storage unit. The resident gave descriptions of three young men, ages 15, 16 and 17, allegedly involved in the explosion and deputies began searching for them. Contact was made with one of the young men, who denied knowledge of the incident, saying he was at home

Work moves to west side of Bailey Street The Texas Department of Transportation will open all intersections on the east side of FM 1365 (Bailey Street) and route traffic to the newly completed portion of the roadway, on Thursday, March 1, weather permitting. Simultaneously, all intersections on the west side of Bailey Street will be closed as the contractor begins excavating that side from the south end of the project area towards U.S. 84. The intersections on the west side of Bailey will be reopened as the project progresses along the street, with the Tyler Street intersection expected to be reopened by mid-March. The 1.1 mile-long project is meant to increase safety and improve drainage along FM 1365, widening the existing shoulders and upgrading storm drainage with the construction of curb and gutter, from

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3000 IH-35 South • Waco

Part 2 In the last issue, we read about the beginnings of St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute, and how the Primitive Baptist Church, which owned the school, finally raised the money to pay off the notes that financed it. Some time in the 1940s, the college began to fail, probably for financial reasons, but while it was open, it presented opportunities for hope and a stepping stone to a better future for those who attended. The Rev. Henry Chambers, who has been a pastor at Alexander Chapel, in Mexia, for nearly 60 years, said he attended St. Paul for one semester around 1945. He

remembers taking three courses at St. Paul, all in religious studies. “All that was going on then was the religious (classes),” he said. “The other part had just about faded out.” The Primitive Baptists held a weeklong revival at St. Paul College once a year, he said, with many attendees planning their vacation for that week. Every day for a solid week, various pastors would take turns preaching, with only a break in the afternoon. Later, Chambers attended Paul Quinn College, in Waco, before returning to Mexia. Carolyn Anderson, whose father, the Rev. Joe Ollie Proctor, was a teacher at St.

A new way to roll. ® www.MoveToMiller.com Warranty is a limited powertrain warranty. For details see retailer or go to kia.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 SEE COLLEGE

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PAGE 10 - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012

College Continued from Page 1

Paul, recalls that her older brother, Frank Proctor, said their family lived at the college while a house was built for them on campus. Willis Slaughter, formerly of Mexia but now living in Dallas, did not attend St. Paul, but his older brother Woody Slaughter did. Woody Slaughter graduated from Dunbar High School in 1938 and played football for St. Paul. Willis Slaughter graduated from Dunbar 1940, and he recalls St. Paul College’s football squad practicing against Dunbar. “They had a little football team out there in the mid-’30s, until the war broke out” Willis Slaughter said. “They had a football team when I went to Dunbar, and we used to scrimmage with them... They had two dormitories, one for girls and one for boys.” Later, when St. Paul College’s regular classes ended, Elijah Carter succeeded in obtaining federal contracts to fund the teaching of shoe repair and cabinet-making for veterans returning from World War II. The school had applied to teach sheet metal work, too, but this third area of training did not get approved. A 1951 catalogue and map of the school indicates the first floor was used for teaching shoe repair while the second floor was for woodworking and

THE MEXIA NEWS

cabinet-making. Emmit T. Wilborn taught shoe repair. The Rev. J.O. Proctor taught cabinet-making, while Warren Hawkins was the instructor in woodworking. “It was a good thing for veterans, to train for employment, especially after we had been released from service,” said Hawkins, who still lives a few miles outside Mexia. “There were many job opportunities for people who had some type or form of training and education.” Proctor taught the morning class, and Hawkins taught in the evening. The VA paid the students to attend and would also pay the teachers’ salaries and the students’ tuition, as well as furnish the supplies. Each student had to do both classroom and lab work, completing a number of projects so they got practical experience. The courses lasted six months, and those finishing the lessons successfully were given a certificate. Many started their own businesses from the training, Hawkins said. “Elijah Carter, I knew him very well,” Hawkins said. “He was the secretary of the Baptist Association. He was very nice. He was a very religious guy, very attentive to the Baptist Association business. I can just see him now with that old big satchel with papers and all. He was a very organized secretary. You didn’t have a computer where you could be online and put everything in its various compartments. Hawkins also remembers

Even after many years of marriage, Henry Chambers can make his wife Edith laugh. Chambers, a former student of Mexia’s St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute, has been pastor of Alexander Chapel, in Mexia, for nearly 60 years. Roxanne McKnight photo

Carter as being concerned with the welfare of people as well as the college and church. “He attended the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church here out in the country,” Hawkins continued. “ He was very dutiful about attending and bringing water. I can see him now bringing big coolers of water for the people when we had service. People knew to go out to Brother Carter’s truck and get water. That was a little after the horse-and-buggy days. People still came to church on a horse.” He remembers Carter always greeting him the same way: “Brother Hawkins, it sure is good to see you.” “(The college) was his heart,” Hawkins said. “He loved the operation, and yes, he really wanted to see it go to the best of its potential.” When Hawkins moved to Colorado in 1952, classes at St. Paul had ceased, but the school officially closed in 1953. Hawkins’ memories of his days at St. Paul are positive. “I felt like it was a job and also I was helping the community, not so much as a race, I was just helping the community. I’m still grateful that I did have the opportunity to be a help and service in the community.” Elijah Carter’s daughters, Sydney Carter Duncan and Barbara Carter, remember visiting St. Paul with their father when they were children. “My earliest memories of St. Paul are of this beautiful and stately red brick building on the hill,” Duncan said recently of the college just west of Mexia on what is now U.S. 84. “It loomed very large, built on what I believe is the highest point in Mexia.” Barbara Carter remembers the wide steps on the front of the building, where she used to play while her father was inside. “It felt like this wonderfully huge building. with all of these steps, these long, wide steps,” she said. “I have memories of going inside the building and seeing tools and tables.” As women, Elijah Carter’s daughters continued the family legacy of education begun by their grandfather Thornton Carter. Duncan completed her master’s degree

and is considered a BELOW LEFT: Warren Hawkins, of Mexia, is shown here with pioneer in black adop- his ‘45 submachine gun’ just before he got out of the Army tion, and Dr. Barbara in 1945. He then returned to his hometown and began directCarter earned a Ph.D. ing the training program from Brandeis Unifor veterans at St. Paul Inversity and is a profesdustrial Institute and Colsor of anthropology lege, and also taught and sociology at woodworking there. Spellman College in Courtesy photo Atlanta. St. Paul College closed in 1952. It stood empty for a long time, and was torn down, possibly around the late 1970s or early 1980s after it was declared dangerous. Chambers helped take down the building, but he recalls that he and the others firmRIGHT: Now in his 90s, Warren Hawkins spends most of his time these days at his home near Mexia. Roxanne McKnight photo

ly believed that they would eventually rebuild it. The secretary’s desk from St. Paul Normal College and Industrial Institute is at Alexander Chapel, where Chambers preaches, a solid piece of memorabilia of the plans and dreams of those who worked so hard to make the college a reality for those who were taught and trained there. Note: Credit is due Carolyn Anderson and Sydney Carter Duncan for obtaining much of the material and contacts for this article. The information for this write-up is based in part on information from the book Juneteenth at Comanche Crossing, by Doris Hollis Pemberton; History of Negroes of Limestone County: From 1860 to 1939 by Walter F. Cotton, Report of First Semi-Annual Convention of Primitive Baptist State Educational Convention, May 17-18, 1945; Primitive Baptist General Convention of Texas 100th Celebration, Souvenir Journal, 1907-2007; the Texas Historical Association Online (www.tshaonline.org/ handbook/online/articles/ khb01), and interviews with those indicated as well as Frederick Mosley and Harold J. Nussbaum.

LEFT: Elijah Carter’s younger daughter, Barbara Carter, went on to get her Ph.D. at Brandeis University and is now a professor of anthropology and sociology at Spellman College, in Atlanta. Courtesy photo

RIGHT: During the winter months, Elijah Carter’s daughter Sydney Carter Duncan usually stays in a small apartment she owns in Mexia. She is shown here studying family history in an old newspaper. Roxanne McKnight photo

CCongestive ongestive Heart Heart FFailure ailure Clinic Clinic Located in Located in the the Specialty Specialty Clinic Clinic at at Limestone Limestone Medical Medical CCenter enter iinn Groesbeck. Groesbeck.

What W hat the the CHF CHF CClinic liniic Offers... Offers... s Education Educ u ation on on symptoms, symptoms, nutrition nutrition and and medication medication s Patients Patients will will have have diet diet education, education, handouts handouts and and dietary dietar y consults consults s Patients Patients will will have have a better better understanding understanding of of their the eir illness illness and and b ee ducated o nh ow tto om anage iit. t. be educated on how manage s Patients Patients will will be be educated educated on on medications, medications, proper proper dosage, dosage, what they they are are used used for, for, and and side side effects/adverse ef fects/adverse reactions reactions what s Exercise Exercise and and activity activity levels levels will will be be determined determined for for each each patient patient s Smoking Smoking cessation cessation education education offered of fered to to patients patients in in the the program. program.

Why W hy ddrive rive to to a bbig ig city city when when you can can get get the the care carre you you need need for for you CHF rright ight here here in Groesbeck? Groesbeck? CHF Clinic M Clinic Manager: anager: JJudy udy W Wright right Cardiologist Cardiologist Consultant: Consultant: Dr. Dr. Sherwin Sher win Attai Attai

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The Mexia News Classifieds 079 Medical

079 Medical

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201 Legals

AM ENDE D ORDINANC E NO. 2 0 0 8 -0 1 -0 2

This Texas Lottery Commission Scratch-Off game will close on March 18, 2012. You have until September 14, 2012, to redeem any tickets for this game: #1367 Black Onyx 7’s ($5) overall odds are 1 in 3.84. These Texas Lottery Commission Scratch-Off games will close on May 2, 2012. You have until October 29, 2012, to redeem any tickets for these games: #1373 Season’s Greetings ($10) overall odds are 1 in 3.35, #1374 Armadillo Cash ($1) overall odds are 1 in 4.69, #1366 Quick 6’s ($1) overall odds are 1 in 4.56, #1371 Holiday Gold ($2) overall odds are 1 in 4.23, #1341 Loteria® Texas ($3) overall odds are 1 in 3.99, #1342 Bonus Break The Bank ($5) overall odds are 1 in 3.81, #1356 Texas Lottery® Black III ($10) overall odds are 1 in 3.32. The odds listed here are the overall odds of winning any prize in a game, including break-even prizes. Lottery retailers are authorized to redeem prizes of up to and including $599. Prizes of $600 or more must be claimed in person at a Lottery Claim Center or by mail with a completed Texas Lottery claim form; however, annuity prizes or prizes over $1,000,000 must be claimed in person at the Commission Headquarters in Austin. Call Customer Service at 1-80037LOTTO or visit the Lottery Web site at www.txlottery.org for more information and location of nearest Claim Center. The Texas Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets, or for tickets lost in the mail. Tickets, transactions, players, and winners are subject to, and players and winners agree to abide by, all applicable laws, Commission rules, regulations, policies, directives, instructions, conditions, procedures, and final decisions of the Executive Director. A Scratch-Off game may continue to be sold even when all the top prizes have been claimed. Must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a Texas Lottery ticket. PLAY RESPONSIBLY. The Texas Lottery Supports Texas Education.