REMEMBER HISTORY
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The sky was bright with a scattering of clouds on Saturday morning as hundreds of people gathered at Bates M. Allen Park in Kendleton to celebrate the dedication of the new African American Heritage Monument, the centerpiece of a park that pays homage to the lives and legacy of Black Americans.
Kendleton, at the far southwestern edge of Fort Bend County, was founded shortly after the Civil War by formerly enslaved people and is one of the oldest of the so-called “Freedmen’s Towns” in Texas and the nation. Numerous descendants of the the city’s original founding families were gathered for the ceremony, which also served as a kind of homecoming and family reunion.
The park project, years in the making, encompasses two historical Black cemeteries – Newman Chapel and Oak Hill – and will ultimately include a new Black Cowboy Museum (which saw its own groundbreaking ceremony a few days before) and, in
By Juhi Varma CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fort Bend County officials, veterans, and community members gathered Monday afternoon at the Gus George Academy in Richmond for the county’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony, hosted by County Judge KP George.
The event honored the service and sacrifice of the nation’s veterans and included a special recognition of the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, celebrating the legacy of Marines who have defended the nation under the motto Semper Fidelis, or “Always Faithful.”
The U.S. Marine Corps’ birthday on November 10 is on the day before Veterans Day.
“I learned early on in that duty isn’t that it’s not just a concept,” said keynote speaker Greg Babst, the county’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “Duty
is what happens at 3 a.m. when the alarm goes off, when the seas are breaking over your bow, when you’re decked and you know lives are depending on your training, your decisions and your willingness to die.”
Before taking his current position, Babst served 24 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, reaching the rank of chief warrant officer. He described his own role as a coxswain, or boat leader, while ac-
Fort Bend County officials and others “turn dirt” during the official groundbreaking of the new home of the Black Cowboy Museum in Bates Allen Park in Kendleton. Photo by Ken Fountain
Members of the families descended from the original founders of Kendleton gather at the base of the new African American Heritage Monument in Bates M. Allen Park on Saturday. Photo by Ken Fountain.
The new Books & More in Missouri City is owned and operated by brother-and-sister team Michael and Marissa Matherne. Contributed photo
by Juhi Varma
“Being called a ‘veteran’ every day has a different impact,” said Lt. Commander (Ret.) Sheltric Peterson of the U.S. Navy, reflecting on the meaning of service. “If you ask what it means, you’ll get 100 answers – but all of them come back to the same
values that stay with you long after the uniform comes off.”
Peterson illustrated his message by assigning a value to each letter in the word
park, which sits in the historic community of Kendleton, one of the earliest communities founded by formerly enslaved people following the end of the Civil War.
The museum will sit near the county’s just-completed African-American Monument, which saw its own well-attended dedication ceremony on Saturday. According to a news release from the office of Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy, 9,780-squarefoot, two-story facility on a 1.5-acre site will include a showroom gallery for artwork and historical artifacts, an outdoor dining and kitchen area, and 50 visitor parking spaces. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026, with completion anticipated in 2027.
Callies, who grew up in the cowboy life with his family, worked for decades for the U.S. Postal Service and also for a few years as a saddle-maker at the George Historical Ranch in Richmond. He also had a decade-and-a-half career as a country-and-western singer in the mold of legendary Black singer Charley Pride before losing his voice in 1990. He shared a manager with George Strait and Travis Tritt, among other C&W luminaries.
veteran: V for Victory, E for Endurance, T for Truth, E for Expectation, R for Resilience, A for Accountability, and N for Nobility.
“Veterans don’t serve for glory,” he said. “They serve because it’s right. Their actions, big and small, reflect courage, humility and willingness to put others first. So, what does it mean to be a veteran? It means living these values every day. It means continuing to serve even after the mission changes.”
“I signed up because I be -
lieved in the simple truth:
when your county or when your country asks you answer,’ said Babst. “When I think back on my service, I just don’t think on the medals, the deployments, the accolades. I think trust was placed in me, that responsibility to be ready to lead to train to serve this nation.”
In honor of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 250th birthday, all Marine personnel were invited to come forward as two elaborately decorated cakes were ceremonially cut with
swords. The long- standing Marine Corps tradition symbolizes their identity as warriors: the first slice is presented to the guest of honor, and the second to the oldest Marine, who then passes it to the youngest – representing the transfer of wisdom from one generation to the next.
Following the formal program, attendees greeted veterans and shared personal stories.
Varma can be reached at juhi.varma@gmail.com.
To this day, Callies speaks in a soft but strained voice that belies the enthusiasm he brings to recounting the history of Black cowboys who – outside the image most often portrayed in Hollywood westerns – comprised the backbone of the cattle industry that arose in Texas and other parts of the Southwest in the late 1800s and into the 1900s.
As McCoy put it at last week’s groundbreaking ceremony, “Cowboys were Black men and boys on ranches and plantations who were serving as the background for our agricultural heritage. They were the ones wrangling cattle; they were the ones ... creating this whole cowboy culture that we know and love here in America. They were the ones that created the American identity.”
“You may ask why are we investing so much money in this work here in honoring and highlighting these sto -
ries. One, because we have to, we need to. We’ve got to preserve this history so that people for generations to come know where these origins are,” McCoy said.
The second reason, he said, is that the museum will ultimately help drive tourism and other economic development to that still mostly rural part of Fort Bend County.
“Hundreds of thousands of people every year are going to come to this site. And that means great things for the identity of our community and the identity of this space
we call home,” he said.
In his own remarks, Callie – in that same soft but arresting voice – expressed awe at the turnout for the event.
“I come here today with a heart full of gratitude and joy for God. And that’s why I opened up the museum,” he said. “I owe all this to my mom and my dad. They taught me the values of being a good person.
“I can’t believe this many came,” he said.
Among the attendees were two retired Black cowboys and old friends of Callies,
Gary Richard of north Houston and Tex Williams, whom Callies credits as his mentor and who traveled from San Antonio for the event.
“It’s long coming,” Richard said of the museum.
Richard’s father was also a professional rodeo cowboy during a time when rodeos were segregated. Richard said he spent his career trying to fulfill his father’s dream of performing in major rodeos.
“It means a lot,” Williams said. “People are learning about Black history, and there are places where you can come see it.”
A few days later, sitting in one of the two adjacent spaces in a Rosenberg strip center which comprise the current home of the Black Cowboy Musuem, Callies said that after he opened his own saddlery store after leaving the George Ranch, he was told by God that he should open a museum honoring Black cowboys. After some thought and encouragement by others, he did just that in 2017 at his saddle store, before moving to the current location a few months later.
The small museum is jam-packed with ranching artifacts and other memorabilia that Callies, an inveterate collector, has gathered over the years.
Kendleton and Bates Allen Park, which is home to three historic Black cemeteries, lie within McCoy’s precinct, but it wasn’t always thus.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage noted that when he was first elected to Commissioners Court, Kendleton was part of his precinct.
“Life is a relay race, and we all play a part and run our leg. My leg in this race started in January 1991 when I became County Commissioner. And I represented Kendleton. Kendleton was very important to me, and still is. My part of the relay race was to get this race started,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony. Prestage credited Ken DeMerchant, McCoy’s immediate predecessor as Precinct 4 commissioner, with first proposing a permanent home for the museum with an initial $1 million from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prestage said that DeMerchant, who is white, thought that Prestage would be the more natural person to lead the charge, which he later passed on to McCoy, who like Prestage is Black.
“I gladly handed the baton over and he has been a good steward of this project,” Prestage said.
“Let’s do our part in this relay race,” he told attendees. “It’s not going to end right now. The very unfortunate thing would be if this facility is built and it doesn’t come to fruition. It’s up to all of us right here to make it happen. Spread the word. Talk to your friends and neighbors and family members. Promote this thing. Be that ambassador to make this a success,” he said.
Editor’s note: See more photos from the groundbreaking event and the museum at fortbendstar.com.
Photos by Ken Fountain
In honor of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 250 th birthday, all Marine personnel were invited to come forward as two elaborately decorated cakes were ceremonially cut with swords. Photo by Juhi Varma
Scaring the daylights
“You get to ask yourself one question. Do you feel discombobulated? Well, do you, punk?” Dirty Harry may have asked you that question, because these days following our last disruption we are still hungover. It is an unpopular change in all our lives, particularly among dairy farmers. It’s daylight saving time. Yuk. No one likes it. There have been countless attempts by Congress (whenever it works) to do away with it. First, it is daylight saving not savingS. No plural. We only save, not saves. In this last re-setting of time we fell back, not forward. As the old saying goes, we fall back in fall and spring forward in spring, except in February which has 28 days. Another mistake: as with summer, winter and e.e. cummings, the term daylight saving time is not capitalized. Its abbreviation, DST, is capitalized. People get it wrong all the (saving) time. But here’s the problem: I can never remember whether we go on or off DST. Does it
Staff Reports
More Houston-area households were able to buy a home in the third quarter of 2025 as home prices eased and mortgage rates held steady, according to the latest Housing and Rental Affordability Report from the Houston Association of Realtors.
HAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) shows that 39% of households in the Greater Houston area could afford a median-priced home in the third quarter of 2025, which is unchanged from the second quarter. It is an improvement from 37 percent during the third quarter of 2024. The median home price declined 1.9% year-over-year to $341,600, while the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate held steady around 6.5% in the third quarter. The monthly mortgage payment
Lynn Ashby Columnist
ASHBY2@COMCAST.NET
really matter? For the record, we just went off DST, I think. In any event, on November 2 at 2 a.m. we made the fall change. But going forwards or backwards messes up our circadian clock. (Circadian means “biological processes recurring naturally on a twenty-four-hour cycle, even in the absence of light fluctuations.” I had to look it up. I thought a Circadian was someone from the Canadian province of Circadia.)
What difference does it make? Well, DST does make a difference in us, according to experts who study circadians, and I don’t know if they are Canadian circadians. Even an hour gained or lost can make you discombobulated, throw off sleep schedules. The time
(including principal, taxes and insurance) was $2,510 compared to $2,550 last year. To purchase a medianpriced home in Houston, households needed to earn a minimum annual income of $100,400, which is down 1.6% versus the same time last year.
Houston’s trend aligns with statewide gains. Across Texas, 42% of households could afford a median-priced home, up from 39% this time last year. A household needed a minimum annual income of $92,400 to qualify for the purchase of a $337,500 home. Nationwide, home prices continue to climb. The national median home price grew by 1.7% year-over-year to $426,800, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. NAR reports that home prices increased in 77% of metro areas in the country in the third
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re-alignment also influences things like stress hormones and metabolism. We are now dealing with the fall change, but the spring change to DST can be a little rougher as darker mornings and lighter evenings make it harder to fall asleep on time. Those first few days have been linked to increases in car crashes and an uptick in heart rate, blood pressure and even heart attacks. (This sounds like those TV ads for medicines that warn: “XXorp can cause broken legs, massive hair loss and a dreadful fear of Oldsmobiles.”) Other problems: dairy cows don’t have clocks so the farmers have all kinds of difficulties, and solar panels lose an hour which means your lights go out. Again quoting the experts, some people may struggle with a problem called seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter. A time change can add pressure on shift workers whose schedules already are out of sync with the sun, or those regularly sleep-deprived. About one in three U.S. adults sleeps less than the recommended seven-
plus hours nightly, and more than half of U.S. teens don’t get the recommended eightplus hours on weeknights since they lie in their beds for hours playing video games. How did we get into this mess? As we noted years ago, in 1784 the idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin, apparently after making sure the U.S. Postal Service worked perfectly. His actual observation was: “One hour early to bed and one hour early to rise makes a man hungover, confused and hastens his demise.” Britain went on DST during World War I to save electricity. Here in the U.S. on March 19, 1918, Congress tried to pass the Standard Time Act which established time zones and daylight saving. I guess until then we didn’t have official time zones. The U.S. Senate passed legislation to make DST permanent. The bill passed by unanimous consent. However, the legislation was never brought to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. I think they were all asleep. We jacked around with DST over the years, with each state
doing its own thing. Indiana, for instance, split itself into two zones. That ended on August 8, 2005, when President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. Part of the act extended DST starting in 2007, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, which is what we have now. This does not explain why all of Texas is on Central Standard Time except for El Paso, which is on MST. That sounds like an illegal drug but actually stands for Mountain Standard Time. Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t change their hours, neither do the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and American Samoa. About 70 countries around the world observe DST.
A question: If a train leaves Dallas for Houston at 1 p.m. going 60 mph, and another train on the same track leaves Houston for Dallas at noon going 120 mph, where will they collide? This brings us to Amtrak. To keep to their published timetables, trains cannot leave a station before the scheduled time. So, when the clocks change one hour
in the fall, all Amtrak trains that are running on time stop at 2:00 a.m. and wait one hour before resuming. At the spring time change, trains immediately fall one hour behind schedule at 2:00 a.m., but they just keep going and do their best to make up the time. This would be easier if Amtrak was ever on time. Not many airlines fly at 2 a.m. but maybe those that do just circle an hour.
Here’s a good story. Wonder if it’s true? A man, born just after 12 a.m. DST on (or before) New Year’s Day in Delaware, was drafted during the Vietnam War. He argued that standard time, not DST, was the official time for recording births in Delaware. So, under the official standard time, he was actually born on the previous day and year. That previous year’s draft lottery number would exempt him. He won the argument, and avoided the draft. You get to ask yourself one question. Why do we still have DST? Do you feel lucky?
Ashby is discombobulated at ashby2@comcast.net
quarter. Thirty-five percent of households nationwide could afford the median-priced home.
“We’re encouraged to see homebuying become a bit more attainable again,” said HAR Chair Shae Cottar with LPT Realty. “Lower mortgage rates and home prices are helping open the door for more Houstonians. While affordability is still a challenge, especially for first-time homebuyers, Houston and Texas continue to be among the more affordable markets nationwide. Continued rate relief will be key in helping even more buyers achieve their goals of homeownership.”
Rental Affordability
Update
Due to steady pricing and growing wages, 45% of Houston-area renters could afford the average lease price for a single-family rental
home in the third quarter, according to HAR’s Rental Affordability Index. That is up from 43% the prior year. The average lease price for a single-family home was statistically unchanged at $2,200. This does not include the security deposit or cost of utilities. Highlights of the Q3 2025 Housing & Rental Affordability Report:
• 39% of households in the Greater Houston area could afford a median-priced home in the third quarter of 2025, which is up from 37% last year.
• The median home price was $341,600, which is down 1.9% year-over-year.
• The monthly mortgage payment on a 30-year fixedrate loan, including principal, taxes and insurance, was $2,510 compared to $2,550 last year.
• Households needed to make a minimum annual
income of $100,400 to buy a median-priced home, which is down 1.6% year-over-year.
• The median lease price in the Houston area was statistically flat at $2,200.
the second phase of the project, an African American Learning Center.
The monument is a massive, three-story edifice with curvilinear edifices reaching into the sky, bisected by empty spaces that allow visitors to walk inside. They represent the “fractured diaspora” of African people who were taken from their homelands to be enslaved, according to Daiman Hines, lead architect for the project. The monument, as well as all of the walls and pathways of the surrounding plaza, are in red, meant to symbolize the blood and suffering of those people and their descendants, Hines said.
A number of prominent voices spoke to the audience sitting in chairs on the massive lawn extending from the base of the monument, including Veronica Melton-Harris, the newly elected mayor of Kendleton and a granddaughter of Willie Melton, the lead plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court which eliminated whites-only political primaries.
“It fills my heart with joy to see our community gathered here today with friends, family, neighbors and supporters to honor the history, legacy, and remembrance of those who came before us. This monument will stand as a powerful, and I do mean powerful, reminder of the strength, the
BOOKSTORE FROM PAGE 1
The store carries over 2,500 titles. Visitors are first greeted by a colorful children’s section before moving into rooms dedicated to adult fiction, non-fiction, and used books for bargain hunters. Books & More also sells puzzles, games, writing utensils, and seasonal and gift items. Bringing the community together
In an age where online sales dominate the book market, Michael sees Books & More as a reminder of what digital platforms can’t replicate – community.
“Online book sales and ebooks have certainly grown in popularity over the last several years,” he said. “However local bookstores are essential community hubs, and digital sales cannot replace the community space that brick-and-mortar stores can provide.”
To attract visitors, the store focuses on creating a warm, welcoming environment.
“Books & More strives to provide a clean and safe environment for the community to visit, meet authors and attend community events, while looking for their next good read,” Michael said.
In January, the store plans to launch a membership program with discounts. For customers looking for titles not currently in stock, Books & More partners with
courage, and faith that built Kendleton and continue to guide as forward,” MeltonHarris said.
Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy, who led the effort to secure $4 million in bond funding for the project in 2023, said that Saturday’s event “is a day that is long overdue.”
“We gather today to dedicate a monument unlike any other in this state, in this nation, and dare I say in this world. One that brings our history out of the shadows, shining and stretching toward the light,” McCoy said.
“This monument and park is our commitment to tell the stories, the full stories of this nation, not just about the comfortable parts of our history, but to tell the central truths that define who we are,” he said.
“This is sacred ground, y’all, where untaught histories meet the human story of struggle and success, the struggles that echo throughout communities throughout this nation,” he said.
“May this monument stand forever tall as a reminder that in Fort Bend County, this is a place where common ground meets higher ground. A place that despite our greatest tragedies, our people overcome incredible tragedies to reach incredible triumphs,” he said.
One of the featured speakers was Henry Douglas King, Sr., 92, the grandson of a formerly enslaved man who was
one of Kendleton’s founders, who had come from his home in Los Angeles to attend. After graduating as valedictorian of his class at Kendleton’s Powell Point High School, King went to college at the University of California-Berkley and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force before embarking on a long career as an executive in the defense industry.
Wearing a tailored suit and a Stetson cowboy hat and alligator shoes, King charmed the audience with his recounting of life growing up in the mostly rural Kendleton.
“We were not slaves, but we were sons and daughters of slaves. We were not sharecroppers. We were the owners of the land that we farmed, and we came from a farming community with our own store,”
King said.
“I can say proudly today that I stand on this solemn ground wearing alligator shoes custom-made for my feet. And I proudly wear a Stetson honoring my dad who wore his Stetson until he was too old to wear it to church, but he wore it to the fields that he owned,” he said.
Lucy Bremond, president of the African American Memorial Conservancy, which serves to oversee and raise funds for the park, said “We stand on the shoulders of giants, and this monument honors those giants. We exit to preserve, promote, and sustain this monument and park so that future generations will learn and reflect, and inspire people long after this celebration.”
She implored the audience
members to get involved and spread the word to help raise funds for the planned second phase of the project, the construction of an African American Learning Center which will provide learning resources for scholars and the public. The event also included several soul-stirring songs performed by gospel artist Kirisma Evans, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” long considered the Black National Anthem, and “Amazing Grace.” Naomi Mitchell Carrier, founder and CEO of the Texas Center for African American Living History, presented a moving spoken-word performance in the character of an elderly Black woman recounting her life in rural Texas.
TOP: Since its soft opening in late September and grand opening in October, Books & More has begun making its mark as a community hub. BELOW: The new Books & More in Missouri City’s Township Square carries over 2,500 titles. Contributed photos
bookshop.org, an online retailer that donates proceeds to independent bookstores. The store has already
started connecting with local schools and nonprofits.
“We host story time and author visits regularly,” he
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said. “We recently had New York Times bestselling author April Henry in the store. We have events scheduled with Settlers Way Elementary, Bhuchar Elementary and St. Laurence in November and December, and we look forward to partnering with more groups in the future.”
True to its name, Books & More also celebrates local talent. The store carries works from authors across Stafford, Missouri City, and Sugar Land.
“I prefer to meet with the author and get an understanding of their work, and we take it from there,” Michael said.
As a former teacher, children’s books remain especially close to his heart. “I’m excited to carry a variety of seasonal picture books – my favorite is
Spookley the Square Pumpkin – and share the fun of learning through reading with my customers,” he said.
A hometown connection
Choosing the right spot for the bookstore was easy – or, as the Mathernes put it, the spot chose them.
“I was born and raised in Missouri City, and Township Square has always held a special place in my heart,” Michael said. “Growing up, we enjoyed going to BlackEyed Pea, Sweet Mesquite, Old Hickory Inn and Orient Café, and we still enjoy visiting the square. Now, we’ve added Brandani’s, Fellowship and 16 Handles to that list, so it was only natural to open a bookstore in Township Square where we spent countless hours and enjoyed
After the main festivities, numerous members of Kendleton’s original founding families gathered for photos at the base of the 40-foot monument, while other folks walked around the park, reading the numerous markers describing such subjects as the slave trade, the foundation of Kendleton, the often violent history of race relations after the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, Black music in Texas and the history of convict leasing. Among them were Calvin Kirkland, a retired Fort Bend ISD history teacher and his wife Vivian, of Richmond. Calvin Kirkland said the monument and surrounding park were long-needed. “It’s important that people learn this history,” Calvin Kirkland said.
countless meals with family and friends. It’s a wonderful place where the community comes together, and Books & More seemed like the perfect addition.”
Michael graduated from Dulles High School and Marissa graduated from Elkins High School. Both went on to the University of Houston for undergraduate studies, and Michael went to the University of St. Thomas in Houston for graduate school. Michael taught at Ridgemont Early Childhood Center and Colony Meadows Elementary before leaving teaching in May.
Since its soft opening in late September and grand opening on October 17 held in conjunction with the City of Missouri City, Books & More has begun making its mark as a community hub.
A local author event will be held on November 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring several area writers including Peggy Bell, Michael and Cleo Franklin, Michael Hernandez, Cheryl McClamrock, Shalonda McFarland, Anil Mehta, Kay Melbrell, Alicia Searl, Regina Sims, Carole Smith, and Elizabeth Trent. Whether you’re hunting for your next novel, introducing a child to the joy of reading, or just looking for a quiet corner to unwind, Books & More is a cozy reminder that stories – and community – are best enjoyed together.
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The new African American Heritage Monument in Kendleton’s Bates M. Allen Park, depicted a few days before its official dedication. Photos by Ken Fountain
Calvin and Vivian Kirkland of Richmond read about the history of Black music in Fort Bend County, including the famous folk singer Leadbelly.
Henry Douglas King, Jr., with Washington “Rey” Alton beside him, speaks during the ceremony. Both men are descendants of Kendleton’s founding families.
Gospel artist Kirisma Evans performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” considered the Black National Anthem, at the start of the ceremony.
Texas author to headline libraries' Annual Book Festival on Nov. 15
Community Reports
Fort Bend County Libraries’ Annual Book Festival 2025 will take place on Saturday, November 15, from noon-4 p.m., at George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond. This year’s event features “FBCL Community Reads” author Amanda Churchill, as well as festive activities for all ages.
The festival highlights the talent of local authors – both professional and amateur – while bringing together readers of all ages for a day full of activities, performances, and bookish fun celebrating the art of writing, literacy, storytelling, creativity, and community.
certain aspects were fictionalized, and she “colored in” empty spaces with extensive research of places and time periods.
A resident of Keller, Texas, Churchill was a Writer’s League of Texas 2021 Fellow, received support from Tin House and Community of Writers, and holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas.
The festival will also feature activities designed to encourage aspiring writers of all ages and genres. Creative and inspiring programs are planned for children as well as adults who dream of becoming published authors.
nated in Kouchi prefecture in southern Japan. It combines traditional and modern song and dance and is iconic for its use of naruko, wooden clappers held in the hands Readers will have an opportunity to visit with local authors at a meet-and-greet area in the lobby throughout the event. Interact with published writers Taki Zyngtara, Rebecca Torellas, Marcus Sabom, and many others who will all be available for questions, autographs, and photographs. Books will be available for sale and signing.
In her talk, Churchill will share the background of “The Turtle House,” her debut novel, which is inspired by her own grandmother’s memories, lucky turtles, and her discovery of the true meaning of
The keynote address by Amanda Churchill will take place from 3-4 p.m., in the Meeting Room of the library. Churchill is the author of “The Turtle House”, the book selected for Fort Bend County Libraries’ 2025 “Community Reads” initiative, which encourages readers throughout the county to read and share their thoughts on the year’s chosen novel by a Texas author.
finding and defining oneself despite what society thinks. She will also talk about the process of building a family-history novel and the importance of documenting family stories so they can be shared with future generations. While her family stories formed the basis for the novel,
In keeping with the Japanese-American themes in “The Turtle House”, a “Yosakoi Dance Performance” - featuring the Clements High School Yosakoi Dancers – is scheduled in the Jodie E. Stavinoha Amphitheater behind the library. Yosakoi is a dance form that origi-
A Kids’ Book Carnival – featuring games and activities for the younger book lovers – will be set up in the Bohachevsky Gallery on the lower level of the library. Also in the Bohachevsky Gallery, festival-goers will be able to visit with local groups and organizations who will be sharing information about their community resources. A Book Lovers Raffle will take place at 3 p.m., in the
Meeting Room, just prior to the keynote address by Amanda Churchill. Attendees can enter to win books, swag, and must-have goodies for readers! There will also be a bonus raffle drawing for readers who participated in Fort Bend County Libraries “Community Reads” initiative by reading “The Turtle House” and attending one of the library system’s bookclub meetings in September, October, and November. Visitors are invited to eat lunch while enjoying the festive atmosphere of a live dance performance in the outdoor amphitheater. The Book Festival is free and open to the public. For more information, see Fort Bend County Libraries’ website (www.fortbendlibraries. gov), or call the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734). The event is made possible by the Friends of the George Memorial Library.
November 14-20
Tree Lighting
Holiday Photoshoot Friday, November 14 | 5pm-7pm
Ho-ho-hosting for the Holidays Workshop
Festive Finale Sunday, November 16 | 10am-4pm
Tuesday, November 18 | 10am-4pm Thursday, November 20 6pm-9pm
Amanda Churchill, author of the family-inspired novel
“The Turtle House,” will be the featured speaker at Fort Bend County Libraries’ Annual Book Festival on November 15 at the George Memorial Library in Richmond. Photo by Thaddeus Harden via Fort Bend County Libraries
Calmecac Tonantzin Yolilitzyotl Aztec Dance & Drum Group will perform at First Colony Library on Nov. 15 at part of the library's celebration of Native American Heritage Month. File photo
ONGOING
LOVING FRIENDS IS A GROUP
967-0718
QUAIL VALLEY GARDEN CLUB
The Quail Valley Garden Club is very busy, not only with meetings, but with some fun “stuff” for our members and the community. Please find our fall schedule of events that the QVGC will be involved with this fall leading up to the holidays. FBJSL IS ACCEPTING CAF GRANT APPLICATIONS We provide grants of up to $5,000.00 to charitable causes serving Fort Bend County with requests to fund a critical need, pilot a program, or expand a significant service to the community. If your agency or organization is interested in applying for a CAF grant, please visit the Request Support page of the FBJSL website (www.fbjsl.org/request-support). All applications should be submitted via e-mail to brccom@fbjsl.com.
THE SANCTUARY FOSTER CARE SERVICES
We are a child placing agency that provides wrap around care support for foster children and foster families. We provide free therapy services, 24 hr. crisis intervention, respite/alternative care services and community-based support. For more info, www.sanctuaryfostercare.org
ALIEF AARP CHAPTER 3264
Meets the first Thursday of every month at 10:00 a.m. at Salvation Army Church, 7920 Cook Road, Houston, TX 77072. Educational Program/Entertainment at each meeting. Bus Trips every month. Seniors 50 and above invited. Call 281785-7372 for more information.
SUGAR LAND ROTARY CLUB
Sugar Land Rotary Club, the nation’s oldest community service organization, wants you to be its guest at a meeting that could turn out to be the best fit for getting involved with a local, non-political, humanitarian service organization with a global presence to satisfy your passion. We’re on a quest for new members! Call or email Dean Clark,
LEADER PUZZLER SOLUTIONS
