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Erika Mayorga See age 8 for more about Erika.

Thank you for picking up a copy of our Spring 2022 edition of Down Home East Texas agazine. With arch being ational Women’s History onth, we are focusing this edition on women. Since 198 , arch has been the month where we celebrate women’s contributions to history, culture and society. We have some amazing women on our sta and here in Hopkins County and it would be impossible to showcase each and every one of them, but hopefully this issue of DHET magazine shows how much we honor and respect them. Stories in this issue are either written by women or are about women and we hope you en oy reading it. I have two grown daughters, ages 29 and 2 and they were raised to believe that they could do anything a man could do and probably better. y oldest is a egistered urse and is married to a reen Beret, while my younger daughter works in the male dominated field of professional hockey. Watching them both thrive and succeed fills me with pride, so it warms my heart to dedicate this issue of Down Home East Texas agazine to all the women of Hopkins County. En oy!

D , dave@ssnewstelegram.com

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

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DOWN HOME Spring 2022

Down Home Magazine’s Staff

D W anaging Editor

D Sports Writer

D M Advertising Sales

eporter

W raphic Designer

Contributing Writers Lezley Brown

Carey Gable

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

Erika Mayorga

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

an ing

in Sulphur Springs

By D

When you walk into one of the newer downtown attractions, The lant iche, you are greeted by all of these things a smile from Stella, Erika’s daughter, a tail wag from Blue, one of Erika’s dogs, some good tunes playing over the speaker, a “Hey, how are you ” from Erika herself, and a breath of fresh air from the surrounding of plants as you step in the door. Walking into The lant iche, you can feel the upbeat vibe. I know from being friends with Erika that she strives so hard to keep her store a place where you can come in the doors and feel the positivity. Erika learns your name, the types of plants you like or dislike, if you own plants already, and will more than likely know where your windows are placed in your home so she can tell you the proper lighting and placement for which-

ever plants make their way home with you as you shop her store. As a plant lover myself, I met Erika the day she opened her doors here in Sulphur Springs in August of 2021. Don’t let the term “plant lover” fool you though – I may love plants, but until I met Erika, I would have considered myself what people in the plant world call a “Black Thumb,” meaning everything I try to grow, ultimately dies. Things have slowly changed for me since I met Erika though. Erika is one of the most knowledgeable individuals that I have ever met in the plant world and if there is something that she doesn’t know about a plant or a plant problem, she will research until she has a full understanding of any issue. Since I started buying plants from Erika, my plants have stayed alive and are

oo s

thriving. One of the things Erika has taught me over the past couple of months is how to propagate my plants, which is where you use cuttings from your current plants and use those to make multiple houseplants. I have taken one plant, and had it multiply over and over again. When propagating plants, you can share with friends and family, which can bring your plant family closer together or you can keep adding to your own collection. One of the stories Erika has told me about her childhood growing up is about her dad and how talented he was in propagation. He once cut a degree lemon octopus stem, and grafted it onto a degree cut on a grapefruit tree, placing them very meticulously together, adding rooting hormone mud, a 2 liter bottle for humidity, and saran wrapping

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

theplantniche.co the branches together. She told me that a year later, the tree bared fruit that when cut in half, each segment was yellow and yellow pink, and tasted wonderful. Erika has never been shy to talk about where her love from plants stemmed from good pun, huh and it goes back to as a child watching her father with his plants. Erika has always talked about her father’s love for plants spilling over into her life and how thankful she is to him for teaching her throughout her life everything he knows about exterior plants. She watched and learned from her dad throughout her childhood, as he grew herbs, tropical fruit trees, and as he propagated his plants, he would sell his plants to friends and neighbors, and then eventually at local flea markets. As she grew older, she realized she wanted to move over to house plant world, which is completely di erent than exterior plants. Erika told me she took a ob as a greenhouse su pervisor which was what started her ourney into being a houseplant expert. There she learned names, how to groom plants, how to plan a watering schedule, how to fertilize specific plants and how to prevent pests. The ourney from Dallas brought her to Sulphur

10 DOWN HOME Spring 2022

Springs where she has opened up her store, which has always been a dream for Erika. The lant iche has quickly become a downtown destination for weekend shoppers who want to browse through new and exciting plants that not many have seen before. aybe there is a plant someone has been too intimidated to purchase before, and feel as if they aren’t educated enough to bring home what they think is a “complicated” plant, but I promise, after talking with Erika, they will feel much more at ease and equipped to care for the plant than ever before. She makes sure all your questions are answered, you have all the tools needed to properly care for any plants that end up making it out of the store with you. She’s turned her store into a houseplant activity workshop, where you can schedule a girl’s night with friends, or a night by yourself to go in and be taught by the lant ueen her self on a multitude of topics. Her store is a place where you can go in and ask questions about a current “sick” plant you may have or what plant might be best for the lighting or location in your house or o ce. With her being a single mom to sweet Stella, Erika’s

biggest goal with The Plant Niche is to have her store be a safe, affordable, and fun place for the parents in our community to be able to come in and be involved with their children and teach them about plants. I feel like involving your children in a new and healthy hobby that not only brings family together, but also bares great benefits with a healthy home due to oxygen increase, better moods all around, and makes your home look more aesthetically pleasing is a win win situation in my book. One of the most rewarding things about being a plant lover is plants are always giving back to you, if you are nurturing them the way you should be. If you are showing them the right amount of attention and love, they will give you new leaves and blooms over time. For me, it is so satisfying to put hard work into taking care of a plant, and then seeing that hard work paying off and finding new blooms.

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

The Baseball Beaning By Carey Cable

I have a deep and abiding love for all things baseball. I grew up watching “The Baseball Bunch” with Johnny Bench on ESPN. I knew every superstar on every team. I immolated Kent Tukulve and his wild sidearming delivery. I attempted to field like Sandberg and stuck my front leg out when batting like Dawson. I was obsessed every Spring Training with the new pitchers coming up. I can clearly remember the buzz when Kevin Brown was being called up by the Texas Rangers. This has been my life every Spring since 1985. I was raised in a town so small that we did not have little league baseball. In fact, we had no youth sports except for those that would randomly show up at my house from time to time. When my son expressed an interest in little league, I was more nervous than he was at sign ups! Over

the course of several seasons, I helped coach and my son improved. Each step was a new challenge, from changing rules to who was pitching. T-ball to coach pitch to kid pitch, each stage had a new set of lessons to learn. Having never played, I had to learn with him. The first season of kid pitch little league is when it really starts to become competitive. I had no idea just how competitive until our first game. It was… intense. As a result of that intensity, i.e. yelling, my son and I decided to ramp up the practices. No longer was a couple of times a week in the backyard enough. Instead, we started going out to the fields around town and taking everything more seriously than we previously had. This included me throwing live batting practice and him taking sharp grounders. This became our routine throughout the season.

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Titus, my son, was always a discerning hitter. He had a knack for finding a way to get on base. He was the Scott Hatteberg of little league! He would take one for the team, draw a walk, slap a single. Occasionally, he could put a charge into one, but that wasn’t really his game. Unfortunately, he was also not a speed demon on the bases, so his Rod Carew style of hitting was not often what was appreciated. Thus, I resolved to add some thunder to his approach. We made the quick little journey out to a ballfield near our home after school on a windy Wednesday afternoon. The field was just a little taller than usual, but no one was around and we had the entire place to ourselves. It was peaceful and serene in a Field of Dreams sort of way. We warmed up by playing catch. It was just like any other father/son practice. We chatted and talked while tossing the ball farther and farther apart. It was a bonding time that would soon be shattered! After playing long toss, we moved on to hitting. Titus grabbed his bat, fastened his helmet, and began taking practice swings to warm up. I reminded him of his footing in the box and to turn with his hips. I did the usual father coaching where I pretended to know more than I actual knew but wasn’t going to let him know that I actually didn’t know anything. Then I threw the first pitch. I began with soft underhand tosses. He was easily roping them across the outfield. First to left, then to center, then to right, as I pointed out the areas for him to direct his hits. After twenty-five of these, I lost my grip and soft tossed an underhand throw well inside… so far inside that it plunked Titus right in the ear! He shook it off, laughing. This didn’t bother him, so we kept on practicing. That was when I upgraded to throwing overhand with a bit more pace. It was also when I got wild! The first pitch was right down the middle, Titus looked at it to gauge the speed. The second pitch, however, was up and in to the point that it brushed him back! The third was also inside and he had to spin out of the way! Then for the next fourteen pitches, it was like Titus had a baseball magnet stuck

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

to him. Fourteen pitches were thrown. Fourteen times he was beaned! Whether I threw it soft, hard, way outside, way inside, no matter where I threw it… it hit him! Somehow, I managed to plunk him with an Ephesus pitch! I dropped down to my more natural sidearm delivery, hoping that this would break the streak. Titus, showing grit, was still standing in with dirt covering him from his attempted dives to evade my heatseeking pitches. The first attempt slung wildly off to the visitor’s dugout, some thirty feet away from it’s intended target! The second pitch rolled, literally, across home plate. That was when I decided to be done with batting practice. Evidently, I had the yips and Titus had been beaned over twenty times in the process! It was Titus’ turn to pitch to me! I was anticipating payback. However, his jerky Kevin Appier style delivery produced nothing but strikes on that day! Time after time the ball was fired into the strike zone. This repeated often enough that I then started asking him to better position himself to field his position after the pitch. That was when it was time for me to swing, so… I bunted. I was a good bunter. It was the one thing I had actually learned in all of my years of sandlot baseball. I could put the ball on the ground. I did just that, it was a solid bunt back to the pitcher. Somehow, some way, that baseball found the only rock in the entire infield dirt! Just as Titus bent to scoop it, the ball shot up like a projectile, careening off his forehead! He looked at me in stunned silence. The ball dribbling down the first base line. Stunned, I recalled the old comedy videos of “Dorf on Golf ” and the like. This had to be a “Dorf on Baseball” scenario! There was no way that the ball would just keep finding a poor kid and torturing him so! Yet that was exactly what I just saw! I contemplated surrender. Titus moved back to second base to take grounders. This was the common order of our practices. I picked up the spare bat and began to hit balls, gingerly, out to him. He would pick it cleanly and make the throw to where the first baseman would have been. He got into a good groove

of picking and throwing. Just like always, I started to hit them a touch more sharply and a touch more out of range to make him stretch. It was on the third of these more sharply hit grounders that the ball somehow found an odd clump of dirt and bounded into the air at a ninety-degree angle! Titus, running full on, plowed right into it… with his face! The ball smashed into his lower lip and chin. This time I knew it had finally gotten to him because instead of chasing after the ball to make the throw, Titus just sat down in the dirt. Holding his puffy, but not bleeding lip, he was dejected. Honestly, I couldn’t blame. He was more beaten up by this practice than I was after some high school football games! I went over and sat in the dirt with him. After a long while, he asked to take a few fly balls so we could “leave on a positive note.” He moved out to right field and I popped a few up. Easily, he moved under them to make the catch. Titus had always struggled with pop flies and I had advised him to use the two-hand method of catching. This normally worked well. But it was not to be on this day. The fourth pop-up was lost in the sun, however briefly, Titus, being gun shy by this point, started to panic. He had lost the ball! Instead of looking for it, he ducked him head while holding his glove up with both hands. Then, just like Jose Canseco in 1993, the ball plunked right off his head! Titus threw his glove into the air! He was done! We collected all of our gear, rubbed (more) dirt on our wounds, and limped back to the truck. It was the last year that Titus played baseball. I believe I somehow beat the love of the game out of him that day. The baseball gods had turned against us and in one single Spring afternoon made us humble with a small ball and a bit of leather. It took me several summers to get over that one practice and that final season. It made me happy when this last Spring, the first in years, Titus sat down with me to watch a re-run of the 1988 World Series. For a moment, I thought that surely Kirk Gibson’s heroics would rekindle any flame of passion for that game. Yet, when it was over, I asked, “Want to sign up for baseball?” Titus replied, “No thanks. That ship has sailed.” With a shrug and a frown, I knew that the great hope of Spring and Spring Training had passed. Here is hoping that maybe this year, he will change his mind.

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

A Gift from Lady Bird By Lezley Brown

Here’s a little story that you might know something about… maybe you’ve forgotten, and maybe you never even knew. And it’s a beautiful one. Every April, Texas bursts into bloom, with one simple purpose… to bring beauty to this place we call home. They break through the earth very small, only to become mighty and beautiful as the season marches onward. Hues of blue, purple, and green spill over the landscape. Occasionally they completely wash over a field or fill the entire side of the roadway. It is not uncommon to see a family stepping though them to snap a quick picture, although careful not to step on them or damage them in any way. We know and love them as Bluebonnets; named our state flower as far back as 1901. Bluebonnets are a natural wild-

flower in Texas. The reason, though, we see them as prominently as we do, is because of a lady named Claudia Alta Johnson – better known as Lady Bird. Lady Bird Johnson is probably best known as one of our former first ladies as she was married to Lyndon B. Johnson. She was a second then first lady, but before those years, and for long afterwards, she was known as a successful businesswoman, investor, entrepreneur, and mother to two daughters. During her time as first lady, she forcefully pursued a dream. It was a dream to make beautification a priority. One that made sure we were taking care to go back and beautify our roadways with our state flowers and other native wildflowers. As first lady, she began the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital. The goal of this

organization was to begin projects that served to beautify our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. On October 22, 1965, the Highway Beautification Act, nicknamed Lady Bird’s Bill, was passed. The bill did not concentrate only on Washington. It spread across the entire nation. The intention of the bill was to limit billboards, outdoor advertising, and junkyards to make our roadways more beautiful. The clearing and building of roadways were completely stripping the land of beauty, so this bill focused on limiting the bad things and planting the good ones. From there… the seeds were sown! You guessed it, friends, that’s when Bluebonnet seeds, as well as the other natural wildflower seeds, were planted along roadsides. Lady Bird Johnson was quoted DOWN HOME Spring 2022

saying, “We are obligated to leave the country looking as good if not better than we found it.” Her visionary thinking is why Bluebonnets still thrive today. TxDOT plants 30,000 pounds of seeds on Texas roadways every year. They believe supporting Johnson’s work fosters what they were already doing. TxDOT works tirelessly building and renewing roadways, so seed sowing always fell right in line with their mission. The Lady Bird Bill, on the surface, makes the concept seem merely cosmetic. Lady Bird Johnson made sure to emphasize that it involves much more than that. It entails clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal, and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas. The wildflowers were the icing on the cake of her mission, and what beautiful icing it was! In 1982, the Wildflower Center was founded in Austin, Texas, by Lady Bird John Johnson and Helen Hayes. It was later renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The center concentrates on

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research narrowly focused on Texas Wildflowers. The center has a wonderful website that will inspire you to care for your wildflowers right at home. You can visit in live person, too! To make reservations, visit www. wildflower.org. The website is loaded with wonderful information about our loved Texas blooms. Lady Bird Johnson once said, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” What a beautiful mindset to take with us into the Spring. Where there are flowers… there is hope, too. Let that sink in for a minute. Flowers provoke such a beautiful stirring inside with their array of color, their powdery feel, their intoxicating scent. Each one more unique than the next – no two alike. One finds it hard to look at something so beautiful and unique and not find appreciation with a sense of whimsy. There’s a reason we look forward to the days of planting in the flower beds and staging some lovely color on the back patio. Flowers welcome us home. There’s a reason we send flowers to show love, concern, and sympathy. They initiate smiles and bring welcomed comfort. Amazingly simply put, flowers bring hope. And a life lived in hope is a life lived well. Tell your friends about the Lady Bird Bill. Send your loved ones some flowers and tell them how much they mean to you. Think about the vision of this woman who saw what things could look like instead of what they actually looked like. There’s power in vision. And the power that came from Lady Bird Johnson’s vision is seen every Spring along our Texas roadways. It’s something we can all be proud of; and even more than that, it can be a reminder of the beautiful good in this world.

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” ~ Claudia Alta Johnson

DOWN HOME Spring 2022

Step into Spring with The Plant Niche EASY STEPS TO TRANSITION YOUR PLANTS FROM WINTER TO SPRING:

By Erika Mayorga

Grooming Prune any dead leaves or stems, including dead roots. Dust all foliage and check for pests. Be sure to add more soil if any roots are exposed.

Repot

It’s time for new shoes!

Signs that let you know it’s time to repot your plant: • Broken pots (Busted roots)

• Root bound – coiled roots towards the bottom of the grow pout • Little to no soil and only roots

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Fertilizing s ur h us pl r ili r i hin r ili r s h ir n sus ining i hh gr n pl i rs in in h

1. itrogen 2. hosphorus 3. otassium

n s s r gr ing h n spring gins n r r r n r high r p r ur s n in ul i i in r pl n s l n s in h il h r ili r r h r r h u h is n h s n s n h h lp i h su s i u i n r il l h h us pl n

promotes plant growth formation of roots, flowers, and fruit resistance to disease and stress, and hardiness for winter dormancy

These 3 nutrients are called “macronutrients” and are the most essential to your houseplants leading a happy and healthy life! To look for these nutrients on the label, they will be in the form of a numeric ratio. Example 10 3 means the fertilizer contains 10 parts itrogen, parts hosphorus, and 3 parts of otassium. Other beneficial nutrients to look for that are found in fertilizer are calcium, magnesium, and iron. These nutrients are referred to as “micronutrients” on the fertilizer labels.

p i n l r p g i n Spring is the perfect time to propagate your plants. You need extra sun exposure, high humidity, fertilization, and daily weekly observation. Think about your plant as if it were in IC , and it will need continual care to be sure it is staying healthy. Dividing oot balls and propagate from there. You can possibly divide one plant into two or more plants! Some easy plants to divide and propagate this way are the plant, Spider plant, or the Sansevieria. ooting a leaf ooting from a leaf can be very interesting and requires patience. It is very important to sanitize your pruners and make clean cuts on your leaves so the cuts will scab over and heal to avoid absorbing a lot of water. A couple of great plants to root from a leaf are Sansevierias or a type of succulent. If you are lucky, you can root a Ficus or eppermonia as well! ooting a vine or stem cutting ropagation can be initiated by two techniques – either soil or wa ter. Both techniques are e ective by multiplying your vine stem. any people en oy propagating vines via water because they are able to see roots burst out gradually day by day. A stem may grow a bit slower in water, but they do root well. When using soil, after potting the cut, immediately water and fertilize. Each week, gently tug on the main vine, and if you feel resistance, that is your greenlight that roots have been initiated and you are well on your way to a healthy plant! It’s an exciting feeling that your plants survival rate increases week by week! lants that can be propagated from vines or stems are hilodendrons, Dracaena, othos, and Dei enbachia. r is so u h or at rial that an o r d on this su t and lant i h ill hosting a ropagation 0 lass starting in ar h oo our lass toda at th plantni h o

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h l n i h i uh n u h g ur pl n s spring DOWN HOME Spring 2022

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Dinner Bell has been feeding souls for

By D The Dinner Bell has been ringing loudly for 10 years. The free meal from the First nited ethodist Church has become an establishment in Sulphur Springs. The volunteers all seem to get more out of the program than some of the people who dine on the restaurant quality full meals packaged each week. The dozens of volunteers at First ethodist Church toil hours chopping and cooking, packaging and transporting meals for anyone in need. The group came up with the idea a decade ago and started feeding a complete full meal, complete with salad and dessert. The first week less than 10 people showed up. ow the program, known throughout the community and county, turns out 200 meals each week. Sue Ann Johnson proudly says she’s been with the Dinner Bell since, “day one.” She said, “We have made so many longtime friends here. We’re feeding more than people’s stomachs. We feed their souls.” T.C. Hamilton and his wife Sally. Hamilton helped start

24 DOWN HOME Spring 2022

W the program when Hamilton was a member the church back in 2012. Hamilton, who now lives near c inney, said the need arose for the program and he cleared it through then pastor ete Adrian. Hamilton secured a donation of 10,000 from a church benefactor in Dallas and with matching funds by the church, the Dinner Bell began. Hamilton said, “That gave us 20,000 to start and they probably have the same balance now. They also have been running o charitable donations and help from businesses and individuals in and around Sulphur Springs.” The first week only a handful of persons were on hand to eat the lunch of meat loaf, mashed potatoes and all the trimmings. The program now serves close 200 meals each Wednesday that are handed out in a drive thru fashion at the church. It is estimated that over 20,000 meals have been given

out over 10 years. “I got it going and with help from Jimmy Jones, it was successful,” Hamilton said, “The real leader of it is Judy ilreath, she’s keeping it going, she’s the energizer bunny,” Hamilton said with a laugh. Local businesses and individuals currently contribute to the program. ilreath, the ring leader of the merry volunteers, who give cheerfully of their time and talents marvels at the progress of the Dinner Bell. ilreath headed a team from a Sunday school class that took the idea to Hamilton. The first meals were served Feb. 1, 2012 under the blessing of Hamilton and the church. To line up volunteers and prepare the menu each week falls to ilreath and the talented volunteers. ilreath for years has been the driving force in making sure the program runs smoothly. Over the years the Dinner Bell has grown and now is one of the top programs of its kind. When asked, “Did she know when they served five people the first week, that it would turn into such as a success ” She smiles and said, “Yes, I had faith!” “I’d seen the statistics for the county and I knew there was a need for it,” ilreath said. “When we first started we’d serve them inside. ow it’s a grab n go deal with people driving through and picking up the meals. We’re filling the community’s needs and giving others the desire to volunteer.”

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Gilreath said over the years many churches and organizations have helped out at the program. “We’ve had volunteers from several churches and we appreciate them all,” Gilreath said. “That includes the county jail trustees. They are a tremendous help, at first they just came to clean up, but now they do more and we’re grateful.” Gilreath and other long time volunteers said it was a tight-knit group that came for the meals in the early

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days. Strangers soon became friends as they shared not just food, but fellowship in the basement of the church. Bob Cody, a volunteer for three years, now takes on the role of distribution helping others hand out the food which comes in a styrofoam container. “We don’t question need, we just give them food,” Cody said. “We give them what they want. We give out over 100 meals in line, some is delivered to the homebound. It’s

good food, it’s a lot more than people can eat for one meal and it’s a good variety.” Donnie Godfrey, a regular in line at the Dinner Bell said he looks forward each week to Wednesday. “It’s good food and I like all of it. I’ve been coming here for quite a while.” Another person in line, riding a scooter was gleeful Ginger Maddox. Maddox said her favorite is chicken spaghetti. Maddox said, “They used to have

soup a few years ago, back when they served food inside. This food is good.” The quality of the food is something that the group has never cut corners on. Each meal prepared by volunteers from scratch. “We used to keep up with how many people who ate, what they ate and all that, many years ago,” ilreath said. “We want to our food to be good restaurant quality.” An example of the menu is this meal from Jan. 2 exican lasagna, seasoned pinto beans, exican corn salad, tortillas and so papilla cheesecake. ilreath said, “Back when we ust started, we had one lady who would come dressed to the nines. She wore high heels and dress clothes. She recently died, I can’t remember her name, but she was one of our favorites.” ilreath said you could tell she got oy from attending the weekly luncheon back before Covid . “She brightened up our days ust by seeing her each week,” ilreath said. The people who cook the food and glad people who consume the meals, bonding over breaking break together. The food comes out on Wednesday, but it’s a labor of love which takes hours to coordinate. ilreath said some of the work begins onday and prep work continues through Tuesday with cooking starting at a.m. Wednesday for the 11 a.m. distribution at the church drive through line. “It’s a real meal,” ilreath said. “I never put out food that I would not serve my family and everyone else who volunteers here feels the same way. The people who get our food are an extension of our family.” Beverly Haygood, a retired .S.

postmaster from Brashear, said she was looking for something to do and contacted Judy. She said, “Come on aboard and I have been here for six or seven years.” Haygood said, “I ust like to help others. I think I am the happiest when I am volunteering.” Haygood for years designed salads for the Dinner Bell, but now does anything and everything to help the cause. “I’d miss it if I didn’t come, I’d miss seeing the people.” Her husband, icky Haygood, echoed her thoughts, “It’s all about the teamwork, doing something to help others and giving back. It’s a great group that volunteers here.” Jerry oss has been a volunteer for all 10 years. He was around when the program started. oss said, “To see people who really need it, reach out and take the food and say thank you’ means so much. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. eople in the community have come to depend on this food. Over the years we have fed thousands and it makes me feel good.” Susan cCary is another member of the original group of volunteers at the church. She said, “This is nothing new, I have been a volunteer for other groups. This make me feel wanted. I am retired, I would ust be sitting at home putting on weight or spoiling my pet. I’m a widow, my kids are grown, this gives me something to do and I like helping people.” Bernie Beers knows his way about the church, he should, the part time dishwasher has been a member at First nited ethodist Church for more than 0 years. “This is my family,” Beers said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m one of the older class now, when I first came here I was one of the youngest. olunteering is something I have

done my whole life, in the church, with the scouts and all in Sulphur Springs.” Terrie eid, a five year veteran of the Dinner Bell as a volunteer said she loves serving and using her talents to help others. “I’m retired, I have the time. I like to talk to people, it makes me feel good doing something for the Lord,” eid added. Linda Christian loves volunteering so much, she comes every week and doesn’t even belong to the church. “I’m go the Episcopal church,” Christian said. “But I have been volunteering here for over nine years. I taught middle school special education for 30 years. I have to be doing something. I have also been involved in prison ministries. I ust like to serve od’s people.” Sulphur Springs’ mayor John Sellers often takes time to serve at the Dinner Bell on many occasions. “Community ational Bank is a quarterly sponsor and we always send people to help,” Sellers said. “It’s a good feeling to help people. They turn out a good nutritious meal and give back to the community.” Sellers continued filling plates and turned, saying, “Coming over to volunteer ust puts me in a good mood!” The Dinner Bell celebrated their 10th anniversary with a special reception honoring all supporters and volunteers at the church on Feb. 2, 2022. A large crowd was on hand, cake and punch was served. The participants sang “Happy Birthday” and then meals were distributed ust as they have been for 10 years. olunteers and people getting meals were all wearing smiles. Happy knowing the Dinner Bell continues to ring.

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They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse By Dave Shabaz

Hopefully by now, with all of the times I’ve written about my eating habits, most of you should know what I’m like. For those who don’t, let’s do a quick recap. According to every woman in my life and the list includes, my late-mother, two daughters, two sisters and two ex-wives, I’m a 59-year old man with the eating habits of a 7-year old boy. What this means is, I don’t try anything new. I don’t try anything that “looks funny or icky.” I don’t try anything that “smells weird.” I think you’re getting the picture. So recently, a Sulphur Springs restaurant came back 28

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after a seven-year absence. San Remo Italian Restaurant was a Hopkins County institution when they closed in 2015. They always had plans on re-opening, they just didn’t know when. In January of this year, they re-opened their famous restaurant in Downtown Sulphur Springs and the buzz from everyone I spoke to was incredible. So, when I decided to try it, I wasn’t worried. It’s a short walk from our office Downtown and it’s Italian food, so I’ll get lasagna or spaghetti or if I’m feeling kind of wild, I’ll have some Chicken Marsala. Then, a couple of hours before

I was going to leave for lunch, our Graphic Artist, Faith Whittle, threw a monkey-wrench into my plans. She said to me, “I used to work there years-ago, and you have to have their Julio Caesar.” I immediately thought it was a salad, but Faith told me it wasn’t. Salad it too healthy and my body will immediately reject it. No, this dish, according to Faith, was a chicken and pasta plate. So of course, I told her what I tell everyone who wants me to try new food, “no way.” But she persisted and of course, I made her list every single ingredient in the dish. The list included pasta, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, some fancy sauce and then I saw the word that almost killed my entire lunch plan, SHRIMP! That word is a deal-breaker for

me. I don’t eat fish or seafood of any kind. The closest I’ve come to eating fish or seafood is a Filet-o-Fish sandwich at McDonald’s when I was a kid. And I’m fairly certain McDonald’s isn’t flying fresh fish in daily from Maine for that sandwich. Our server, Alexandra came over and I immediately said this, “I’m a 7-year old boy disguised as a grown man, so ordering isn’t going to be easy for me or you.” She laughed and when I told her that I was writing a story about my experience there, she was all too happy to help out in any way she could. I decided to go ahead a try what Faith recommended, the Julio Caesar and I asked Alexandra if I can have it without the shrimp. Our sales rep Daylan Millard, who accompanied me to lunch, said, “can you put the

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shrimp on the side, and I’ll eat it ” I said, “you have to put the shrimp on another plate. I don’t want it near my food, it can’t touch my food, in fact, can you bring them out five minutes apart ” I said it with a straight face, and she wasn’t sure if I was oking, but then she realized I was oking. Daylan ust shook her head and said, “Are you allergic to shrimp Is that the reason why it can’t touch your other food. ” I said, “no, ust the thought of it touching my food is icky.” Daylan cracked up hearing a grown man say “icky.” It’s the best way to describe it, sorry. Our server then turned her atten tion to Daylan and when she asked her what she would like to order, Daylan said something to the serv er that not only had I never heard before, but something that would never come out of my mouth, she said, “Alexandra, you pick whatev er you think is good.” I said, “are you serious You’re going to let her bring ust anything out here and you’ll eat it ” I thought I was ust having lunch, but apparently, I was on an episode of Fear Factor.

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Daylan was still mad at me from earlier when she found out that I was going to try something new. You see, Daylan has been trying to get me to try new foods for the past year and I’ve always said “no.” As we waited for our food, we en oyed the atmosphere and the vibe at San emo, it was really nice. It was bright and warm, which is what I like. I’m not into dark restaurants. I know to some that may seem romantic, but I like a lot of light. They brought our food out and of course I had to take a photo of it for the story. It looked good and smelled good, so we were one step away from this becoming a eatloaf song, Two out of Three Ain’t Bad , was it go ing to taste good Well, it took ust one bite and the verdict was in…. it was delicious!! I cleaned my plate and I will definitely be eating there a lot. Daylan got her plate, which the server Alexandra picked for her. She got a plate called arios. She absolutely loved it. Don’t ask me what was in it, I don’t pay atten tion to other people’s plates. Day

lan then introduced me to the two sisters who own San emo, esha ala and ynel ala. I had a chance to sit and talk with both of them and they were both extreme ly warm and gracious. I told them about my eating a iction, being a year old boy and they said that they can accommodate almost anyone’s eating habits. Some dishes aren’t meant to be messed with and they will tell the customer that “they wouldn’t recommend doing that,” when the customer asks for something unusual, but they always try to accommodate every one who dines there. It’s so nice to see women owned and women op erated businesses. aybe it’s ust because I’m a “girl dad,” but I love seeing women succeed and San emo Italian estaurant will defi nitely succeed. eople in our town are happy to have them back. So, thank you Faith, Daylan, esha, ynel and Alexandra. You ladies all helped this chubby man child discover a new dish at the age of 9, and that’s quite an accom plishment.

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Lead to Heal By Ariel Phillips

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25 years of building trust “There’s no end to what God has planned for me,” Kimberly Roberts, local business owner, said as she sat in the lobby of her business, the Hands of Life Day Spa. Surrounded by plants, decorative crosses on the wall and a peaceful atmosphere, it’s easy to feel comfortable and welcome at Kimberley Roberts’ spa. After two major vehicle accidents within four years, one in high school and one at the age of 20, Kimberly shared she felt lead to heal others and help them feel better through massage therapy. Suffering major bodily injury, Roberts shared that she met a dear friend, Donna Gill Gregory, who worked on Roberts as a massage therapist to help her get better. As a friendship grew, Gregory became a mentor for Roberts who discovered a gift for helping others. “The Lord lead me to become a massage therapist,” Roberts said. “When I first opened, Donna sent me clients and I continued to grow.” After training with the Hands On Therapy in Mesquite and receiving training in the CORE Release technique also known as myofascial release and structural integration.

The training provided over 1,000 hours of hands on work specializing in helping her clients feel better. Opening her spa March 7, 1997, first under the name Hands of Life Wellness Center, Roberts has served thousands of clients in the Sulphur Springs area during her 25 years of being open. Roberts shared that she always knew she wanted to be helping others with her hands but she didn’t want to be

like the other spas in the area. At the beginning, there were tanning beds, body wraps and even a nail technician for around 13 years. In 2000, Roberts attended Ogle Beauty School in Arlington to receive training in skin care which Roberts shared opened a door to a whole new clientele. During that time, Roberts kept her own shop open while she attended training. In 2002, Roberts became a Master

Permanent Cosmetic Technician and received training in piercings. “When you get out of school they say ‘oh, you’re lucky if you have one a week. You’re just getting started’,” Roberts commented. “I didn’t ever have to worry about that. I was always very blessed with business and the lord has sustained me all these years, as a single mom, a single woman.” During her first week open, Roberts shared that she had around 19 clients.

“There’s no end to what God has planned for me.” ~ Kimberly Roberts The name changed in 2000 to the Hands of Life Day Spa as Roberts was phasing out the tanning beds and body wraps and becoming an aesthetician. “Once I started with the facials, having tanning beds didn’t make any sense,” Roberts shared. “So I moved the beds out and changed the name to day spa.” “I finally reverted back to the wellness part after 25 years,” Roberts commented. “As someone who has struggled with weight issues all my

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life, I hired a nutritionist to help and learned to combine portion control with knowing what to eat and how much to eat. I went online to take a course to learn the benefits of vegetables and a healthy balance of fats, fibers and proteins and become a coach.” Roberts shared that she has had other technicians in the business along with her but Roberts has always been the sole proprietor. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart,” Roberts said. “In elementary

or high school, or whenever we did those fundraisers selling magazines, I took the town by storm. I worked so hard that I won the top prize, a small black and white television, because I sold so many.” Roberts shared that she would even take snacks from her grandfather’s store to sell to friends at school who couldn’t make to to the store. “I come from a long list of business owners,” Roberts

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Backstory Brewery

Growing under Iris’ leadership By Don Wallace

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Backstory Brewery has already carved out a place in the market after a few short years. Since 2018 they have been led by a female owner/ director of operations. Iris Carr is in charge and sales keep climbing under her leadership. How Iris and her husband Dr. Robert Lenington got into the brewing business in Sulphur Springs is the backstory. Dr. Lenington, a successful general surgeon, started the business. He became interested in craft beer while he was a student at Texas Tech University. “We made beer and took it to parties and people loved it,” Carr said. “We continued making it. My husband was a hobby crafter for about 10 years.” Dr. Lenington was asked to open a brewery in Sulphur Springs. The brand took off and has never slowed down. They are currently housed in a 10,000 square foot building at 211 Magnolia Street in Sulphur Springs. The building has housed many businesses over the years including Pratt’s Ice House. The thick concrete walls and heavy doors in the structure are a living reminder of its past.

“This has been educational, it’s something I really like doing,” Carr said. “It certainly is less stressful than the medical field.” Carr, a native of Tennessee, got her radiology degree from the University of Texas-Tyler and worked decades in the field before making the drastic change to run a brewery. “My husband’s pleased with the way I run the business. I’d been in corporate medicine for more than 25 years,” Carr said. “This job is more creative, I really like it.” The taste and whole culture of craft beer changed the lives of the Lenington family. BackStory Brewery has more than 20 varieties on tap and soon will be canning four favorites for distribution around the state. Getting canned will be: Paper Chase, the most popular of the brands, an India pale ale with a 7.1 alcohol content by volume; Bright Star Blonde, Double Drop Kick, a hazy IPA with a 10.3 alcohol content and Nacho Lagre, a brew with lime and citrus notes. “We’re expanding with the canning lines, we will be in 135 locations between Tyler and Fort Worth,” Carr said. “This puts us on a different level.”

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The canning machine pumps out 50 cans a minute to fill orders which are already coming. They plan to make 11 pallets a month, each pallet is 100 cases of the tasty brews. The building not only houses the brewery, but also a taproom which is rated by the state to hold up to 469 people. “We’re very community-minded, we want this to be a safe place,” Carr said. “We’ve been involved with school charities, the Bright Star Baseball League and some other groups.” Carr said, “We’re proud of what we’re doing here. We want people to come here, sit down and talk. We all have a backstory.” The company employs nine people led by head brewer Grayson Wing. Wing, an Army veteran, is a Hopkins County native and former hobby craft beer brewer. He graduated from the Journeyman Brewers School and has the education and training to go with his desire to produce a quality product.

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Open Tues-Thursday, Noon to 10 p.m. Fri-Sat. - Noon to midnight Sunday - Noon to 4 p.m. Outdoor seating is available Pacific Station Seafood Truck is on the grounds, five days a week.

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M By D

Ice Cream for breakfast. That might sound silly at first, but studies show that eating this cold, sweet treat for breakfast is good for a person’s overall health. Beginning on Jan. 31, The agic Scoop, a local business in Downton Sulphur Springs, began encouraging this phenomenon by beginning to open their doors at 8 a.m. “We wanted to bolster our co ee bar, as well as o er a unique alternative to breakfast,” owner Lara Colby said. “It’s our hope that people will start their morning with agic pun intended .” While many people assume that ice cream isn’t something to include in a healthy diet, ice cream actually contains many essential nutrients. Two of the main ingredients in ice cream milk and cream are good sources of calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin A, and phosphorus. Each of these ingredients are essential for good health. To emphasize the benefits behind ice cream for breakfast, The agic Scoop uses real ingredients when preparing their products, such as using real

Oreo cookies in their cookies and cream flavor and real vanilla wafers in their banana pudding flavor. “We don’t use o brand products. If we don’t have the real product, we won’t make that particular flavor,” Colby said. For those looking to limit the amount of sugar they eat, the agic scoop has introduced three sugar free flavors Sweet Cream, exican anilla, and Double Shot Espresso. On top of having essential vitamins and minerals, studies have shown that other positive e ects of eating ice cream include boosting immunity, boosting energy, stimulation of the brain, strengthening bones, making people happier, increasing libido, preventing breast cancer, and assisting in weight loss. “It aggravates me when people come into the shop and say they can’t eat ice cream because of their dieting, because they can in fact eat ice cream and lose weight,” Colby said. Colby noted that di erent kinds of ice cream have varying amounts of sugar depending on density.

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“Softer ice creams tend to have more sugar, while denser ice creams tend to have less sugar,” Colby said. The ice cream o ered at the agic Scoop is generally healthier than other brands such as Blue Bell, Blue Bunny, and Ben and Jerry’s. The key reason for this is because agic Scoop uses High 1 butter fat in their recipes. Health wise, the closest big box brand to agic Scoop, in terms of healthiness, is H agen Dazs. Studies also show that ice cream has an awakening e ect on the brain, which results in higher alertness and quicker response time. This, in turn, can lead to decreased irritability. In order to maintain a healthy weight while eating ice cream, it is recommended to keep tabs to the serving size. One should eat no more than two scoops at the maximum. Another key recommendation is to not consume ice cream more than twice a week. Low

sugar and homemade ice creams are also recommended because those options are usually more nutritious and one can manage what goes into making it. Studies have also confirmed that ice cream has strong psychological

impacts on people and can help break bad moods. If one feels like trying something new for breakfast, give the agic Scoop a try. It can help boost health and put someone in a great mood.

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