SPRING 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Springtown's Ms. Frizzle BY MADELYN EDWARDS
Holly Lowe reflects on her time as Cubmaster
12 7
Company's product moo-ving fast BY DON MUNSCH
Volleman's Family Farm dairy expanding across Texas
Old Liberty Schoolhouse BY JESSICA MCKINNEY
Part of Azle's history
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Azle xylophonist Harlee Smith BY JEFF PRINCE
Conquering high school note by note
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A life well lived BY JESSICA MCKINNEY
Lynn and Terri Taylor's homestead
How Diet Can Help Treat Rhematoid Arthritis BY JESSICA BRACE, D.C., C.C.S.P.
Certain foods, herbs, and spices may be helpful for managing RA symptoms
COVER: The cows at Volleman’s Family Farm Dairy enjoying an afternoon snack. 2
Heritage Spring 2022
[COMMUNITY]
Holly Lowe reflects on her time as Cubmaster
Springtown’s Ms. Frizzle BY MADELYN EDWARDS
Springtown Cub Scouts Pack 303 Cubmaster Holly Lowe wears a safari hat and holds a baby kangaroo at a Cub Scouts meeting last year. COURTESY OF HOLLY LOWE
Holly Lowe is known to dress up at the Springtown Cub Scouts meetings. Last fall, the scouts in Pack 303 made boats out of recycled materials for the Rain Gutter Regatta, and Cubmaster Lowe showed up in a life jacket and skipper cap. Then, one of the meetings included a showing of exotic animals, including a baby kangaroo, and Lowe wore a safari hat. At January’s PineSpring 2022 Heritage
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wood Derby, Lowe wore socks designed to look like old-fashioned popcorn boxes. “I love seeing the smiles on the family’s faces when I come dressed in a goofy costume or channeling Ms. Frizzle with all my crazy socks at every meeting,” she said. “It’s like, what’s next? What can I do to give these families a memorable time?” Lowe’s inspiration comes from a desire to make the meetings fun for the families and keep them coming back for more. “Let’s give them something memorable and keep them laughing and keep them coming back,” she said. “If it takes me putting on a safari hat and a life vest, then that’s what I’m going to do. If I have to get up there and tell a silly story or sing a goofy song, I’m going to be the first person to lead that goofy song if that’s what brightens your day.” Holly Lowe’s husband, Bobby, has watched her seek out different outfits to go along with Cub Scouts events. He
At January’s Pinewood Derby, Cubmaster Holly Lowe wore socks designed to look like old-fashioned popcorn boxes. PHOTO BY MADELYN EDWARDS
Springtown Cub Scouts and their families watched and cheered from the sidelines at the annual Pinewood Derby in January at the First United Methodist Church in Springtown. PHOTO BY MADELYN EDWARDS 4
Heritage Spring 2022
Cubmaster Holly Lowe and the scouts paint roadway gates near the bridge on Lake Drive in Springtown.
recalled a time when she ran around a scouting event in a blow-up shark costume. “There was kids crying, laughing so hard, and like I say, that’s stuff that three, four years ago before we got into this, there was not a chance,” Bobby Lowe said. “I think she does it to try to embarrass me, but I don’t know what she’s got going. She has a lot of fun with it though now.” Holly Lowe, who moved to Springtown as a teenager, signed her son Jaxson up for Cub Scouts in 2018 when he was in first grade. She remembered there being a Cub Scouts recruiting booth at the meet-the-teacher event at her son’s school. “He had never really shown any interest in sports, so we were like, hey, why not try Cub Scouts,” Holly Lowe said. Cub Scouts is typically for kids in grades kindergarten through fifth. Scouts volunteer for community service projects, go on camping trips and participate in events like the Pinewood Derby, where the scouts and their parents create mini racecars for a contest.
Holly Lowe said her son’s participation in the Cub Scouts has given him more confidence, turning a shy boy into one who can look people in the eye and shake their hand, and taught him practical skills as well as life lessons. Being in Cub Scouts has also contributed to her growth, too. “When we first got involved, I was real standoffish. Maybe I didn’t have the knowledge that I do now,” she said. “It really grew on us, the atmosphere and just the family that you make along the way and the friendships that you’ll never lose, the knowledge that comes along with it. It’s something you can carry with you for the rest of your life.” Holly Lowe’s ascent to Cubmaster was a steady climb over about three years through leadership positions, starting out as a parent volunteer, then as den leader and advancement chairperson. Over a year ago, the pack’s leadership was trying to decide who would fill the open Cubmaster role, and she volunteered for the position. “I said, I think I would like to try. I’d like to give it a shot, and I think every-
PHOTO BY MADELYN EDWARDS
body was genuinely surprised when I said I wanted to do it,” she said. One of those who was surprised that she volunteered to be Cubmaster was her husband. Bobby Lowe is a leader in Cub Scouts alongside his wife, a position that he never thought they would be in. He described himself and Holly as people, before Cub Scouts, who wouldn’t normally be talking in front of crowds or teaching children. Bobby Lowe has seen the impact Cub Scouts has had in his wife’s life, and he commended her work. He said she spends about 40-50 hours a week volunteering for Cub Scouts. “She’s really outdone herself, and it’s really surprised me,” Bobby Lowe said. “It’s good for me to see that she gets out of her own bubble.” He lauded his wife’s creativity and ability to engage the kids. “She’s just doing great things with it,” he said. Holly Lowe described her role of Cubmaster as easy and fun. “It was almost like second nature. Get up there, have fun and give these Spring 2022 Heritage
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kids, these scouts, these families, a great program, something that they can remember,” she said. Bobby Lowe said that Holly has written songs for the scouts to sing and crafts that get the attention of the pack. “When she started doing the dens and stuff, like just the little craft things she’d do, all the other den leaders are always looking to go see what she’s doing because she could do the stuff for her den and then all the other kids are like, ‘Well, I want to do what she’s doing,’” he said. “She gets that stuff in her head and she goes through and plans it.” Being Cubmaster is no small feat. Holly Lowe presents advancement awards to the deserving Cub Scouts monthly and plans the programming at meetings for the year. She makes sure there are enough leaders in each den and works with the leaders to make sure they have enough supplies. She also does plenty of research for
Cub Scouts, Bobby Lowe said, including finding old books on scouting and patches. One of the biggest challenges in leading a Cub Scouts pack is getting parents to participate with the activities, Bobby Lowe said, especially since parents have a notable presence in Cub Scouts. “We’re all (working) 40-50-60 hours, some of us do, and run businesses and they don’t necessarily have any off time,” he said. “So, just trying to keep the parents involved and get them to keep participating and helping, and that’s probably the challenge, but I think she’s finally getting the balance to where a lot of the parents are understanding what her goal is.” Ultimately, her efforts are all about showing the kids a good time and teaching them skills and lessons that last a lifetime. “It’s about allowing these kids to come and have a great time and to be with other kids that they wouldn’t
normally get to see and learn things that they might not learn if they don’t have that outlet,” Holly Lowe said. “There are some kids that are not able to play sports. Some kids just don’t want to play sports; they are not athletic. We offer an outlet for those kids. Do you want to use your brain and your mind and figure out that next grade science experiment? That’s where you go; you go to Cub Scouts.” In the future, Holly Lowe said she’d like to have more leaders to help out, continued growth and more of a presence in the community. Holly Lowe said it’s never too late to sign up for Cub Scouts, and scouting can teach kids camping skills, life lessons and teamwork, among other things. Information about what the scouts do is available on the pack’s Facebook page. “There’s something for everybody to take away from scouting,” she said.
Cubmaster Holly Lowe presents Arrow of Light scout Andrew Langston with a yellow cord to symbolize that he had stepped up as a patrol leader. PHOTO BY MADELYN EDWARDS 6
Heritage Spring 2022
The original Liberty Schoolhouse was built to bring students from the surrounding area to a central location for their schooling from 1917-1942. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY
[HISTORICAL]
Old Liberty Schoolhouse BY JESSICA MCKINNEY
The face of Azle is changing every day with new homes, new businesses and new people moving into the area. But the heart of the city – and the stories of its roots – remain the same. You just need to know where to look. The Old Liberty Schoolhouse has been a part of Azle for more than 100 years. It served as a three-room schoolhouse for students in the area from 1917 until 1942. Two communities wanted to consolidate their money and build a new schoolhouse for nearby children, and they wanted to have it halfway be-
tween them. Using a wagon wheel on a string, they measured out the distance for the new schoolhouse and it landed on a property belonging to W.J. Younger. That’s where the red brick schoolhouse was built. Students would walk for miles from their families’ homesteads to learn. Many of them lived in the area that is now Eagle Mountain Lake, which was constructed 15 years after the school opened. Today, the original schoolhouse is still standing and has been transformed into a beautiful bed and break-
fast which has drawn visitors from around the world who are seeking peace and quiet away from the bustle of big cities. “We have people from all over the world stay here,” said Zan, owner of the bed and breakfast. “From Tanzania to China to South Korea to Melbourne, Australia, Norway. … We just feel so honored to have this and be able to do this.” Zan opened The Old Liberty Schoolhouse to guests in May 2017 and has worked to preserve the history of the property, sharing its story with guests Spring 2022 Heritage
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tudents at the i erty chool would wal from their homes miles away to a end classes. 8
Heritage Spring 2022
and area residents alike whenever they book a stay. Her husband Cash joined her after they were married in 8 and was surprised by how much he’s enjoyed it. “He laughs sometimes and says he can’t believe he would ever do this,” said an. “ ut he loves the small innkeeper lifestyle.” The original schoolhouse contains the couple’s private residence and one of the guest suites, called the iberty Suite. An addition was added to the old schoolhouse by a private owner years before, and now holds the suite called et Freedom ing. A third suite – the Schoolyard Suite – was just added at the end of , allowing more room for guests at Old iberty Schoolhouse.
o e tudents at the i erty chool. e The i erty uite is one of three uest suites at The ld i erty choolhouse for anyone loo in for a uiet etaway away from the hustle and ustle of near y ort orth.
There is a definite theme running through the suites at Old iberty Schoolhouse, which all feature patriotic d cor as well as names. uests can even find small copies of the .S. Constitution in their rooms. “The longest stay we’ve had was about a week in this suite (The iberty Suite), and the lady was, well, we call her a Constitution expert,” said an. “She studied the Constitution, and she went to the Wall uilders museum in Aledo. eah, it was just really neat listening to her talk about the Constitution.” uests will find copies of a “pocket” Constitution to peruse in their rooms. Other guests at the n include people who used to live at the school-
house after it became a private residence. “We have met several people that have lived here, and their lives were touched by this place,” an said. “One was this woman, she called and said ’d like to book a room for my daughter. She’s getting married and ’d like them to come there on their wedding night,’ and she said because she lived here with her daughter and her parents, and she just wanted to bring her back to this place. “So that night, the bride and groom pulled up here,” an said, pointing to the stone archway out front of the schoolhouse. “We had at ing Cole’s When Fall in ove, t’ll e Forever’ playing in the
background, and they walked up and, of course, she was crying.” The Schoolhouse receives a lot of referrals from local wedding venues, when the bride and groom want their families to have a nice place to stay in A le, or if the newlyweds want a uiet place to stay for their wedding night. an loves the connection between locals and the old schoolhouse. “We’ve had people come by and say, y uncle went to school there,” she said. ictures of school children adorn the walls of the different suites, old black and white photos showing the roots of the Old iberty Schoolhouse, when boys were sent out to kill snakes in the yard and hung them on the acting bar, which still sits out front. “ an, what a different day and time, teacher would get the students to go out and kill some snakes.” Visiting the Old iberty Schoolhouse feels like stepping back in time, which is what draws so many to their doorstep every year. For more information or to schedule a stay, visit www.theoldlibertyschoolhouse.com. T T To protect the owner s pri acy their last names ha e not een disclosed. Spring 2022 Heritage
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[PEOPLE]
Azle xylophonist Harlee Smith conquering high school note by note BY JEFF PRINCE
Harlee Smith plays xylophone during halftime at an Azle Hornet football game in December. PHOTO BY JEFF PRINCE 10 Heritage Spring 2022
Some freshmen worry about starting high school. They know they’ll be green compared to the older kids, and they’ll attend a bigger school with more hallways and people and face harder studies. Harlee Smith knows the feeling. At the beginning of this school year, the 15-year-old freshman left comfortable middle school behind and entered the comparatively cavernous Azle High School. An eighth grader goes from being among the oldest at kids at middle school to looking painfully fresh-faced at a place where kids drive their own cars and sport full beards. “High school was a big change,” Smith said. The change can be stressful, particularly for someone who views her surroundings from the low seat of a motorized wheelchair. Smith wasn’t bullied or harassed at middle school, but she worried about mixing with older strangers at high school. “I was thinking that I was going to get made fun of,” she said. The opposite happened. “Now that I started, I’ve been having a great time,” she said. “My first few days I was still confused on where to go, like any other person would be. The kids were amazing showing me around.” Smith has been handling health issues her entire life. As a baby, she was slow to walk. “They had to do testing, and I ended up having Ullrich muscular dystrophy,” she said. The disease doesn’t impact her intelligence but progressively weakens her muscles and joints. “It’s basically eating my muscles,” she said. When COVID-19 hit, Smith became ill. In 2019, doctors treated her for rhinovirus and intubated her. Ultimately, she received a tracheotomy. In 2020, she finished her final year of middle school virtually while undergoing treatment for heart problems. She tried to stay positive but dealing with a ceaseless array of health problems tested her resolve. “My feelings were off and on,” she said. This year, she feels better and is happy to be
back at school. “ like all my teachers,” she said. “ y favorite class is at the end of the day, and that’s band. have more friends in band than do everywhere else.” This is Smith’s fourth year to participate in the arching reen ride. She plays xylophone and marimba using mallets. uscular dystrophy “affects my hands a little bit, but over the years ’ve kind of gotten better,” she said. “ ow, have no problem. t actually helps me get stronger.” She has tried other instruments with limited success. “Wind instruments aren’t my go to,” she said, smiling in acknowledgment of her tracheotomy. “ can’t play the bass drums or the snare drums. can’t play any of the drums because of the movements.” Aaron artin, coordinator of performing arts at A le High, teaches
Smith about music. He learns from her, as well. “She has not allowed her D to dampen her desire to make music,” he said. “ have never seen her without a smile on her face, and she often motivates those around her including us directors with her positivity.” laying her instruments hasn’t always been easy for Smith, but she gives her best effort every time, artin said. The arching reen ride has provided safe sanctuary for Smith, said her mother, Stephanie eathers. Another creative outlet for Smith is drawing. “That’s her other big thing, and she is pretty good,” eathers said. “ nfortunately, her day is a lot of medical (necessities). and has been the ultimate blessing, and those band directors have accepted every bit of her.” artin credits percussion director ichael Strange for doing a “phenom-
BRACE
enal job accommodating and making sure that Harlee is able to be a part of this program.” After high school, Smith plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a phlebotomist, someone who draws blood from patients or donors. Heading out into the world after high school will probably make Smith feel nervous, just like she was on her first day of high school. ews media say myriad problems, including climate change, civil unrest and economic disparity, await. Smith envisions things working out. “ t can be solved eventually throughout the years,” she said. artin is among the many arching reen ride members who embrace Smith, and not just because of her xylophone notes. “ am grateful to have the opportunity to know her as a person,” he said.
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Pharmacy 817-406-4546
Spring 2022 Heritage 11
Company’s product is moo-ving fast across Texas 12 Heritage Spring 2022
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A closeup shot of Volleman's bottling process for its pasteurized milk. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY
[ENTREPRENEUR]
Dairy hopes to expand its bottled milk to more cities BY DON MUNSCH
Previous generations can remember growing up in homes where parents left empty milk bottles on their front stoop for the milkman to pick up. The milkman also would leave new bottles of milk. 14 Heritage Spring 2022
Volleman’s Family Farm dairy in Central Texas has revived two of those ideas – bottled milk and delivery. Milk from the dairy can be found in area supermarkets, at Brookshire’s stores in Springtown and Azle, and
delivery is now available in the DFW Metroplex. Home delivery began in the Metroplex in June 2021 and it functions in a similar manner as yesteryear, as a customer may leave empty bottles and set up a cooler box that
the new milk can be placed in by the delivery driver. Volleman’s dairy operations rest in Gustine, in an area a few miles south of Highway 36 in Comanche County. The creamery is located right off 36 in Gustine. Volleman’s is the official milk of the Dallas Cowboys. The dairy milks 5,000 cows twice a day, but company dairy manager David Volleman stresses that the dairy is a family farm with the whole family working in some part of the operation. His parents, Frank and Annette, started the operation with 50 cows. “They did everything themselves,” he said, and the operation continued to grow. “They would never dream that we would milk 5,000 cows. And, well, here we are.” The operation doesn’t want to grow anymore, he added. “We just think there’s better areas to focus on,” he said, noting those goals are Volleman’s bottling its own milk and connecting with the consumer. The company’s website explained
that Frank and Annette Volleman started dairying on the family farm in Luxembourg and then, in 1993, after reading about the opportunities in Texas, they decided to leave the country and head to America. Andrew Volleman, Frank and Annette’s son, said his grandparents worked in dairy in European countries, with his father’s side of the family working in the dairy industry in Holland, and his mother’s side of the family working in dairy in Luxembourg. All four of Frank and Annette’s sons – Andrew, David, Benjamin and Daniel – work in some capacity in the Volleman’s current operation, which started bottling in July 2020, while the family farm has been running for almost 30 years. With all operations combined, the company employees about 100 people. “We’re completely outgrowing this space,” said Shelby, Volleman’s marketing director and wife of Andrew, one day in the creamery, before a tour. “The team is growing really fast, which
is exciting. We have a really good team here and a good team of drivers and we’re always adding to that, too. We’re looking to expand and add more stores to Texas as well.” Volleman’s products are in around 220 stores, all of which are in Texas, and those stores cover quite a bit of the state. The company is looking to expand in Texas and increase the number of items in its product line. Customers may choose among whole milk, 2% milk, flavored milk, cream and other products. “The customers just fell in love with the product,” Andrew said. “We get store requests from customers probably five to 10 times a day – if not more. And then on top of that, we have actual stores who reach out to us and ask for our product in their stores. And then you kind of got the other side of things where we go and push and try to get (products) in the stores.” He said grassroots marketing helped his company as it started in smaller stores and then flourished to
Bec Tunnell, left, with his mom Jami and family touring the Volleman dairy. Spring 2022 Heritage 15
Cows waiting their turn to be milked in the 'parlor.' 16 Heritage Spring 2022
Cows are fed a core diet of corn silage, grains, grass silage and a bit of alfalfa.
larger supermarkets. The decision to put milk in glass helps preserves taste and quality, Andrew said. David said Volleman’s wants to connect with consumers and educate them and “tell them how great dairy is.” He said his company receives testimonials daily, such as the individual who had not drunk milk in 20 years and now drinks Volleman’s milk every day and loves the product. People should know how nutritious milk is, David added. Volleman’s offers tours for the public and school groups. Tours allow the dairy to educate students while they have a good time as well. David and Shelby gave a tour of the operation, including a barn, feed storage area and a building that has a circular platform machine, or carousel, in which cows are milked. Holstein cows are used at the operation, and Volleman’s does its own breeding with a closed herd. The barn has a consistent breeze and keeps cows cool, and they have access
to feed and water. During the summer, sprinklers spray the cows and then the breeze dries them off. “That process really cools cows down a lot,” David said. Cows can provide eight to nine gallons of milk a day on average, but there are cows that can give more, David Volleman said. “There are cows that can give up to 12 gallons or around that,” he said. As mentioned, cows are milked twice a day, and employees ensure their days have a certain rhythm. “Every cow is different,” David said. “We milk almost around the clock here. We milk 11 hours, clean everything and then milk again. So, cows all have their different times, but it’s always consistent, it’s always the same time. Cows really like consistency, routine. Fed at exactly the same time, milked exactly the same time.” The vast majority of the cows’ day is spent lying down – perhaps 18 hours – and twice a day they come into the par-
Annette and Frank Volleman
lor for about 30 minutes of milking, so an hour of the day is for milking. They spend the rest of the active day eating and socializing. Cows are fed a core diet of corn silage, grains, grass silage and a bit of alfalfa. Volleman’s does not inject any growth hormones. “We are a conventional farm,” David Volleman said. “I believe that there are Spring 2022 Heritage 17
Bec Tunnell pets a cow on one of the Volleman dairy tours.
things that have gotten a bad rap just for bad marketing. For example, we truly believe in being sustainable. One way for us to do that is (using) less herbicides, less pesticides and such on our fields.” He said antibiotics are used when absolutely necessary, and staff at the dairy are judicious in taking care of the animals. “So, for example, if a calf gets sick, and it’s going to suffer and maybe die if you don’t give antibiotics, we give it antibiotics to make it better,” he said. “Where an organic farm can’t do that and then they have to suffer, and we just feel that’s wrong. Those are one of the things that make us stand out.” Volleman’s contracts with a nutritionist, who holds a doctorate, who formulates the cows’ rations, based on their needs, Andrew said. A veterinarian is on staff who helps every day, coaching staffers and treating animals, including the special conditions afflicting animals. Cows can contract respiratory diseases. The dairy has been giving vaccines for coronavirus for a long time, to calves particularly, David Volleman said. He said the dairy conducts a lot of heat stress care for cows, because they get heat stress at 68 degrees. “So, you can imagine in Texas they’re heat–stressed a lot, or they can get hot a lot,” he said. Cows are kept in barns to keep them cool during their milking stage, or that stage of their life. The company has multiple barns. “So, when we don’t milk them, we’ll give them a break for a couple of months, between calves and milking, and they’ll go out to a pasture,” he said. 18 Heritage Spring 2022
FACILITY ID# 107301
Lynn and Terri Taylor in front of their home
PHOTO BY JIM STEVENS
[PEOPLE]
Life well lived at the Taylor homestead BY JESSICA MCKINNEY
Lynn Taylor is a romantic. He sits at his dining room table, wearing the same pink shirt he wore when he met his wife Terri for the first time almost 19 years ago. “We met on Match.com,” he said. “We met in February ’03 and married in June ’03,” Terri said. Well, that was fast. “Yeah, because we said, you know, we
were old,” she said. “We couldn’t waste a lot of time.” Terri was living in Mineral Wells and working as a behavior specialist at the time. Lynn was working for the attorney general’s office in Austin. “So, we met about halfway on Sunday afternoons,” Terri said. “But it was a sweet courtship. Sweet and fast.” That courtship has carried them on
to today, where the couple live together on their Parker County homestead — known as The Home Place — in matrimonial bliss. Lynn spent much of his time writing a memoir that will soon be published. It explores his time as a journalist — “the last honest job I had” — some key childhood memories, and moments in his adulthood that nearly broke him, all told Spring 2022 Heritage 19
with a wicked sense of humor that will leave his readers laughing and crying along with him. Terri spent many years at Azle schools as a specialist, working with kids who had more challenging disabilities and the teachers who served them. She found a way to bring a level of enhanced programming to her students that many did not have a chance to experience before. “Lynn and I ordered our first greenhouse because of those students,” she said. The students would be bussed to their home where they could get hands-on learning with how to groom and lead horses, how to get their hands dirty with plants in the greenhouse, and other activities that many students don’t get to take part in during their typical school days. After Terri retired from teaching, Cross Timbers Elementary second graders were brought to the Taylor homestead for an Earth Day field trip. “We had a station set up where we talked about erosion, we talked about
Children loved their visits to the Taylor’s Home Place, where they were able to get up close and hands-on with animals like horses and chickens. PHOTOS COURTESY LYNN AND TERRI TAYLOR
Terri Taylor enjoyed sharing her love of natural, sustainable practices – including raising bees for honey – with visiting students. PHOTOS COURTESY LYNN AND TERRI TAYLOR
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Great Smiles Start Here ynn Taylor shared in Terri s enthusiasm for ha in children out at their home to ha e uni ue learnin e periences with plants and animals. T T T T
recycling, mulch piles, reading seed packages, how to decide where to plant, looking for different owers, different leaves,” Terri said. “They got to taste honey fresh out of the beehives. And of course, that was wonderful. We were able to do that for two years.” They hoped to do it again for a third year, but COV D hit and it had to be canceled. “Terri is an incredible teacher,” said ynn. “ ’ve never seen anything like it. would go to her school and watch her teach ing and was just astonished.” re kids were not allowed to take field trips, but the Tay lor’s said, “Well, we’ll fix that.” The couple worked with the families of pre students and the schools and set up a re Family Day at their home, invit ing the families out for a cookout and to take part in different stations that were set up for the kids to dig for worms, have their pictures taken on saddles, and participate in other activ ities that they would enjoy. eing able to share those experiences with the younger gen eration is important to Terri because she remembers growing up in Wyoming and enjoying the freedom they had to explore the open and wild surroundings. “And children now don’t have (those experiences). t’s a real loss for those kids. And that was one of the beauties about being here is that, you know, the kids had more freedom of movement. They all got to meet the horses, they got to hold a chicken, all of that.” The Taylors hope to be able to welcome young folks to The Home lace again where they can teach them about plants, sustainable planting, erosion, and the ways we interact with the earth that can both help and harm it. For now, the couple fills their time tending to hundreds of plants in their multiple greenhouses, caring for two rescue horses living the good life in the pasture, and ensuring their honeybee hives are thriving. “From the very beginning, we recogni ed that we have to grow things,” ynn said. “And there are many times that if had not been able to grow, wouldn’t have made it. So we have room here to do that.”
Call to et our smile started toda 817-444-1763 • Smile reat.com
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CA
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SI
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A cup of green tea a day may keep the joint pain away.
of studies have shown that the following foods, herbs, and spices may be helpful for managing RA symptoms, but you’ll need to experiment to see which, if any, work for you. Blackstrap Molasses: Many people with RA swear by blackstrap molasses and have for years, but the scientific research is limited, Zashin says. One reason some suspect molasses may help relieve pain is that it’s rich in vitamins and nutrients, including magnesium, which helps preserve nerve and muscle function as well as joint cartilage, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Fresh Coriander: This green, curlyleaved herb goes by different names — coriander, cilantro and Chinese
J BY
Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in your joints. Along with following your prescribed RA treatment plan, you may find added relief by making changes to your diet. Approximately 1.5 million U.S. adults have RA. That’s why it’s important to understand your condition, so you can have meaningful conversations with your doctors and help make more informed decisions about your treatment plan. “There’s no one food that helps everyone with rheumatoid arthritis,” says Scott Zashin, MD, a rheumatologist at Presbyterian Hospitals of Dallas and coauthor of Natural Arthritis Treatment. But some people feel that eating or drinking certain things and cooking with specific herbs and spices can help reduce inflammation and ease joint pain. A variety
S. P .
How Diet Can Help Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
. BR ACE, D.C
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parsley. Some people say it also helps their RA symptoms. Coriander was among the many nutraceuticals (food extracts) shown to have a beneficial effect on chronic inflammatory diseases such as RA, according to a study published in September 2014 in the jour-
nal Toxicology and ndustrial Health. Fatty Fish Wild salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, trout, and other fatty fish are good sources of omega fatty acids, which decrease in ammation and reduce symptoms of A. Consider eating it twice a week or supplementing with omega fish oil capsules, which can potentially reduce in ammation and slow the progres sion of A. Ginger inger has long been recog ni ed for its ability to calm the stom ach, though it also contains chemicals that may improve A symptoms. Ac cording to a study published in ay 8 in the journal ene, supple menting with ginger may help improve immunity and reduce in ammation in people with A. Caution inger can thin the blood, so if you’re taking a blood thinning medication, such as warfarin, talk to your doctor before adding ginger to your diet.
Green Tea A cup of green tea a day may keep the joint pain away. reen tea has antioxidant properties, which are helpful in combating disease. ut green tea also contains small amounts of vitamin , which can counteract cer tain blood thinners. A study published in August in the journal Toxicol ogy and Applied harmacology found that green tea offers an anti in amma tory effect for people with A because it contains catechins, which are antiox idants. Turmeric Turmeric is a deep mus tard yellow spice from Asia that’s in the gingerroot family and used in many ndian dishes for color and taste. Turmeric’s main active ingre dient is curcumin, which has been shown to reduce inflammation at the cellular level. repared mustard is a good source of turmeric and proba bly the easiest way to get it. Though, like ginger, turmeric can thin your blood, so be sure to talk to your doc
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tor if you take blood thinners. Pineapple The stem of the pine apple is what is so great. That’s be cause the stem contains the most bromelain, a digestive en yme that has been shown to reduce inflamma tion in people with osteoarthritis or A. ecause the stem isn’t edible, though, you can boost your intake by taking bromelain supplements in capsule or pill form. sed in moderation, alcohol may ac tually prevent A from developing and can reduce in ammation. ed wine, for instance, contains resveratrol, which may have anti in ammatory properties. However, drinking alcohol when you take A meds may not be a good idea. xperimenting with diet can greatly in uence in ammation and therefore A. Find what works great for your body, your lifestyle and your chemis try. f you need any help, we are always around.
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