Fort Worth Magazine - January 2023 by fwtx

HOW THE TEXAS RANGERS BECAME THE BADDEST BUNCH OF GUNSLINGERS

BEEF: IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER IN THE STOCKYARDS / RODEO ROYALTY: THE STORY OF TAD AND MITZI LUCAS

The City's Magazine

LIFE IN THE SIDESADDLE

The Escaramuza Prepares to Take This Year's Stock Show and Rodeo by Storm

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VOLUME 26 ISSUE 01

43 The Steakyards

Despite a serious case of the meat sweats, this assignment of putting knife and fork to eight Stockyards steakhouses was a serious delight to the palate.

BY BRIAN KENDALL

¡Fuerza! The Ballet on Horse Wearing dresses and petticoats and riding sidesaddle in unison, the escaramuza have earned their rightful place as one of the Stock Show’s standout events. Don’t mess with them.

BY JOCELYN TATUM

Of Grit and Guns

They’re legendary! The Texas Rangers are celebrating 200 years in service to the state and all that looks like — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the glorious.

BY JOHN HENRY

Private School Guide

A guide to the area’s private schools and the state’s colleges and universities.

: know

12 Buzz

The stat lines, national acclaim, and the Davey O’Brien Award were all worthy of admiration. But Max Duggan became part of TCU lore this year for one reason: He didn’t quit.

18 Calendar

It’s legendary. The best damn three weeks west of the Mississippi is upon us. The 127th incarnation of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo starts Jan. 13.

22 Fort Worthian

New Fort Worth School Board member Wallace Bridges is leaving an imprint in his world that’s every bit as big as his famous son’s.

24 Legends

Three generations of fearless riders from Fort Worth left their mark on the rodeo world.

: live

32 State Lines

In our exploration of smalltown Texas, we take a drive 90 minutes northwest to Graham and the biggest courthouse square in America.

: eat

36 Restaurant News

In the place of the revered Sausage Shoppe, which closed last year, is more than consolation for foodies. Fort Worth, meet Renelle Davis, founder of R&R, a soul food and barbecue spot.

: snaps

78 The Texas Women’s Foundation’s annual luncheon at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, featuring Olympian Allyson Felix, had one objective: Transforming Texas.

DREAM STREET

80 The Builders.

CLOSE

88 Leather is Steven Parker’s livelihood, making boots his labor of love. A saddle in the corner of his shop caught the creative eye of Crystal Wise, our imaginative director of photography.

They Call Him ‘Ranger Ray’

For this issue, a story right up my alley fell into my lap.

The bicentennial celebration of America’s most acclaimed law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers, kicks off at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which begins its annual three-week run on Jan. 13 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center and the adjacent Dickies Arena.

I struggled with how to tell the story while taking into consideration the recent light shone on well-documented allegations of misdeeds over the years. Some of those charges, no doubt, have legitimacy. Others were failed attempts by activists who deliberately left out desperately needed context in order tell a political narrative, not actual history.

No one, not even the Texas Rangers, believes in their infallibility.

I was discussing the Rangers and this story while eating lunch one day at Angelo’s with my good friend John Flores.

“Hey, didn’t the guy who killed Charles Whitman eventually become a Ranger?” he asked.

That jogged my memory.

Ramiro “Ray” Martinez, now 86, was indeed a Texas Ranger, joining the elite division of the Department of Public Safety seven years after Whitman rode an elevator to the top of The Tower on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, Whitman killed 14 people down below and wounded more than 30 others.

The incident marked the first mass shooting, something that has become akin to an epidemic.

John Henry CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

So, I immediately set out to find Mr. Martinez, my writer’s eye set on telling a story about life as a Ranger from his unique perspective. Through the tool of a Google search, I found that he had written an opinion piece in June for the Austin American-Statesman, advocating for gun control legislation in the state Legislature that, except for police and military, would make it a felony to possess a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

I sent an email to the Statesman’s editorial director, asking if he could facilitate a contact.

The next day, Mr. Martinez called my cell phone.

For about an hour, we discussed his journey in law enforcement and the Texas Rangers. I told him that when I got back down there, I’d buy him a cup of coffee.

He said he preferred beer. A deal was struck.

“It was something that had to be done,” he said of his — and three others’ — confrontation with Whitman in 1966. It became immediately clear to me that Ray Martinez is representative of the overwhelmingly good and honorable men and women we ask to confront society’s most loathsome ills.

ON THE COVER: Your eyes aren’t fooling you. No, those clouds aren’t real. Our director of photography, Crystal Wise, snapped some phenomenal photos while the escaramuza team, Las Coronelas, practiced on a Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth. Crystal then dropped in a sky to create the beautiful pieces of art you’ll find on the cover and in the feature beginning on page 48.

Corrections? Comments? Concerns? Send to executive editor Brian Kendall at bkendall@fwtexas. com.

NEXT MONTH

The History of Sepia Magazine

Fort Worth Gives Charity Section

Tim Love

Building a future without cancer

Angela McDonald didn’t know how to tell her two teenage kids she had stage 3 breast cancer. She waited until she had her full team in place at UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center. That’s when she knew she would be OK.

At Simmons Cancer Center, our care is built on a foundation of science and discovery and delivered by teams of the top cancer specialists in the country. Here, along with our experts, you’ll ﬁ nd innovative therapies, advanced clinical trials, state-of-the-art facilities, and more.

It’s all focused on your good health.

“I knew I had the best of the best,” Angela says. “Today, I live cancer free.”

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Let’s Chat

A few words from our readers

Met him and his wife (briefly) in Vegas this week. He was there on football duties. My kid begged me to get an autograph. And even though they were seated for lunch (not eating yet), they couldn’t have been nicer. Thanks, coach.

Tim Lumpkin

Wow, I didn’t know he came out of Tarrant County. That doesn’t surprise me the casket in front of the mayor’s home just speaks volumes about where our beautiful city has come from and the realization that change is coming and necessary than ever… zaisalinas18

owner/publisher hal a. brown

president/director of sales mike waldum

EDITORIAL

executive editor brian kendall

contributing editor john henry

contributing writers hannah barricks, malcolm mayhew, jessica strange, jocelyn tatum, shilo urban

copy editor sharon casseday

ART

creative director craig sylva

senior art director spray gleaves

advertising art director ed woolf director of photography crystal wise

ADVERTISING

advertising account supervisors

gina burns-wigginton x150, marion c. knight x135

account executive tammy denapoli x141

territory manager, fort worth inc. rita hale x133

client services manager julia martin x116

MARKETING

director of digital robby kyser

marketing director sarah benkendorfer

content marketing specialist grace behr

events & partnerships manager melissa mitchell

marketing intern madison baker

CORPORATE

chief financial officer charles newton

founding publisher mark hulme

main line 817.560.6111

subscriptions 800.766.5550, fwmagsubscriptions@omeda.com

©2023 Panther City Media Group, LP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Fort Worth Magazine (ISSN 1536-8939) is published monthly by Panther City Media Group, LP, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd., Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Periodicals Postage Paid at Fort Worth, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices and undeliverable copies to Panther City Media Group

DIGITAL EDITION: The virtual editions of both current and previous issues are available on our website. Flip through the pages to read more about the great city of Fort Worth by visiting fwtx.com.

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An Ode to Max Duggan

The TCU QB is first in the hearts of his fellow Horned Frogs because he refused to quit.

BY JOHN HENRY

The year 2022 served as affirmation for the words a wise man once dropped on a team so many years ago: It’s amazing what can happen if you just show up.

For your consideration: Max Duggan, devoted knight of TCU football.

The achievements this year of Duggan, the Shakespearean protagonist in our college football season who takes on would-be tacklers the way a Marine operates in a bayonet assault course, truly merit cheer, even a standing ovation.

In accounting for more than 3,700 total yards and 36 touchdowns, and only four interceptions in 368 passing attempts, Duggan was named the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year.

That was followed by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, as well as the Davey O’Brien Award, the nation’s most coveted award presented to college quarterbacks.

He also finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting and, quite frankly, through a process of objective and prejudicial reasoning, I believe he should have won the damn thing.

Oh, and as part of a 12-1 record, he led the Horned Frogs to victories over both Oklahoma and Texas for the first time in the same season in school history. All on the way to the College Football Playoffs, an unthinkable place — a veritable neverland — for a team picked to finish seventh in its own conference.

He was as good and tough of a competitor as we’ve seen.

That alone makes for the best letter Duggan ever won in his life as a football player.

However, that’s not why Duggan became a part of TCU lore in 2022. Duggan became a legend because of who he is, and that is something college football needs more of.

This all happened because Duggan bothered to continue showing up.

Duggan could have quit and left TCU in the face of a bunch of adversity, a heaping helping of hardship, and more than a dollop of disappointment. That seems to be the name

of the game for many college athletes these days.

The transfer portal is a platform to flee to perceived greener pastures.

Before this season, Duggan had had his share of unfulfilled hopes.

Heart surgery before his sophomore season is documented. Underperforming football teams were, too. Just last season, the Frogs went 5-7 while he played with a broken foot so painful his doctors were in wonder that he was able to get around, much less run around. That same season, his head football coach was sent to the figurative guillotine at midseason.

This was not the hopes and dreams fulfilled when he left Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the Big 12 in Fort Worth.

And things didn’t exactly look much better when he found himself No. 2 on the depth chart, the backup to Chandler Morris to start the season. This after three seasons as the starter. Even then, Duggan didn’t consider quitting. Many of his peers in the same position would have packed for the portal. Instead, Duggan vowed to do what was best for his team in his new role.

And, he said, he would do it well.

That mentality brought head coach Sonny Dykes to tears when discussing the situation after the SMU game. By that time, with Morris hurt in the season opener, Duggan had established himself as the starter after three games.

“I’m probably as proud of Max as any player I’ve been around,” Dykes said then. “He never had a bad practice. He never pouted. He never thought of himself one time. How many people can you truly say that about? I’m kind of emotional about it, honestly. He’s the way you’d want your son to handle that situation.”

There are very few people you can say that about, and

not simply in college athletics, but anywhere in any profession.

That mentality is why he has been such an effective leader on the field.

“It’s just our guys’ undying belief in him and our guys trying to play their tails off for him because they have so much respect and admiration for what he brings to our football program every day,” Dykes said at a media gathering in November.

The Big 12 Championship Game wasn’t Duggan’s finest game, but it turned out to be his finest hour, again, because he refused to quit. He struggled finding receivers and was off the mark at times when he did find them. He threw a bad interception in the end zone that turned the momentum back to Kansas State.

Yet, he led them back from two scores down.

Down 28-20, Duggan singlehandedly drove his team 80 yards, accounting for 75 himself, a touchdown, and the 2-point conversion pass. If you account for penalties backing up the Frogs, Duggan accounted for 90 yards on the drive.

The effort — along with the picturesque finish, Duggan on his knees in exhaustion as he crossed the goal line — was nothing short of John Wayne Hollywood heroism.

The game came down to the longest half-yard, as it turned out. As one of our favorite sports philosophers — he managed majorleague baseball here and went by “Wash” — once said: Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

In the postgame press conference, Duggan was in tears over the loss and his role in the outcome. He was overcome by all the emotions, not just of that game, but of the journey itself.

“I wanted that one really bad,” he said before breaking down.

“There’s nothing more that I want than to bring this school a championship. Today we fell short. I didn’t make enough plays to help us offensively that kind of put us in that spot. There’s nothing more than I want for us than to get to a school championship.”

Max Duggan: First in the hearts of his fellow Horned Frogs.

HONORING THE LATE DON SIRATT »

HONORING THEIR FAMILY’S PATRIARCH, the man who created the Montserrat development in West Fort Worth, Donnie and Colby Siratt, along with their mother, Gloria Siratt, revealed a sculpture dedicated to the memory of Don Siratt, who died in 2017.

The sculpture, titled “God Winks,” was designed by Jana Tidwell Studio and had its unveiling, with the Siratt family in attendance, Nov. 6.

A press release, sent our way by the Siratt brothers, includes the inscription that will accompany the art. “Two hearts forever joined and the butterfly … a symbol of life, hope, grace, and joy,” the inscription reads. “The large butterflies represent our children, Colby and Judy, Donnie and Julie, Juli and Jana, and the 45 small butterflies reflect each year of our marriage the love we shared.”

The sculpture now rests in the Montrachet development, which borders Montserrat and was the site of Fort Worth Magazine’s 2022 Dream Street.

»

‘Star-Telegram’ Employees March in Protest

Fort Worth Star-Telegram newsroom employees hit the streets in December as labor strife enveloped the city’s oldest news source. The Fort Worth NewsGuild, a union that has been in negotiations with the Star Telegram’s parent, McClatchy, for two years, is alleging unfair labor practices and demands for a fair contract, including higher salaries.

McClatchy answered the demands by revoking striking employees’ benefits and listing their positions on job boards.

The union wasn’t confident workers would return to their jobs anytime soon. A GoFundMe page had raised more than $46,000 as of midDecember to help off-set strikers’ lost wages.

“This is my second gig as a writer out of college, and I could barely make ends meet with the pay,” says Isaac Windes, a Star-Telegram reporter and president of the Fort Worth NewsGuild. “What makes this situation worse is that McClatchy hasn’t really responded to our proposed articles to try and fix these issues.”

Star-Telegram president and editor, Steve Coffman, said in an email to Fort Worth Magazine: “We continue to bargain in good faith and look forward to reaching an agreement.”

— Stephen Montoya

According to Windes, McClatchy has shown a pattern of unfair bargaining practices when it comes to the union’s requests. In fact, the Fort Worth NewsGuild filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in August, stating that McClatchy violated federal labor law by refusing to negotiate fairly. This is just one of several complaints against the California-based company regarding alleged unfair labor practices.

» TCU Announces Athletics Center Expansion Project

TCU is paving the way for a multimillion-dollar athletics facility makeover fit for a college football playoff team.

And all 21 other sports as well.

Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati announced in December a lead gift of $10 million from the Jane & John Justin Foundation for a renovation of the existing Bob Lilly Performance Center, construction of a new state-of-the-art Football Performance Center, and development of a Restoration and Wellness Center for all TCU student-athletes.

The estimated $40 million Athletics Human Performance Center Renovation and Expansion project was unanimously approved for design development by TCU’s Board of Trustees. Construction is targeted to begin in early 2024.

The project will be funded exclusively through private donations, the university said.

All 22 sports in TCU’s athletics program will utilize the facility.

The focus of the renovated Bob Lilly Performance Center will be to update and modernize the 20,000-square-foot training facility. It will also provide a studio for the women’s triathlon program, a yoga/ stretching room, expanded free weight and cardio space, expanded nutrition center, and addition of an outdoor warmup area.

According to a press release, as student-athletes enter the new 10,000-square-foot Restoration and Wellness Center, they will begin a posttraining restorative routine featuring state-of-the-art technologies designed to accelerate recovery and an emphasis on injury prevention. The facility will connect to the Walsh Physical Performance Complex and the football locker room below the Morris Practice Fields.

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THROUGH

JAN. 8

Lightscape

Cowtown has joined the likes of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York in welcoming the jaw-dropping event that features over 1 million Christmas lights strewn about the beautiful Botanic Garden. Join your friends who have already shared their experiences on social media and check it out.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. fwbg.org

JAN. 6 – 7

Fort Worth Symphony Performs Prokofiev, Beethoven, Mozart, and Stacy Garrop

The Fort Worth Symphony will serenade attendees with classical and neoclassical works from some of the most well-known composers (heck, wellknown human beings) in history.

Bass Performance Hall 525 Commerce St. basshall.com

JAN. 6 – 29

Inspired by Murillo: Student Showcase

You just might catch a glimpse of the next Banksy or Claude Monet at this exhibition that features a selection of paintings created by FWISD high school students. The show will include works inspired by the recent special exhibition “Murillo: From Heaven to Earth.”

Kimbell Art Museum 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. kimbellart.org

JAN. 13

Eric Hutchinson

The McCartney-esque singer/songwriter is on tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of his debut album, Sounds Like This, taking a cue from The Shins and Modest Mouse who have also recently toured around anniversaries of standout albums. Expect to hear the album in full with some recent songs sprinkled in.

Tulips

112 St. Louis Ave. tulipsftw.com

Larry the Cable Guy

You might hear the catch phrase “Git-R-Done” more than a few times during what’s sure to be an hour-or-so standup routine. But the blue collar comedian will also undoubtedly treat the audience to his very Southern brand of self-deprecation and political satire.

Will Rogers Memorial Center 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., willrogersmemorialcenter.com

JAN. 13 – 14

Cowtown Coin Show

Whether you’re a collector, investor, or you’d just like to peruse some cool old coins, this two-day event will be chock-full of fascinating currency. Expect a lot of multi-jointed office lamps and use of magnifying glasses.

White Settlement Event Center

405 N. Las Vegas Trail, White Settlement

JAN. 14

Bloody Marys, Butterflies, and Boots Brunch

Enjoy a delicious brunch courtesy of Del Frisco’s and, of course, some bloody marys to kick your Saturday morning off right. Cost is $150 and all proceeds will benefit local charity a Wish with Wings, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical diagnosis.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse 812 Main St., awww.org

JAN. 14

Asleep at the Wheel

The Austin-based, ninetime Grammy Awardwinners will perform their very Texas brand of American Western swing at the Stockyards’ hottest new spot. Be sure to grab some eats at the venue before the show.

Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall

122 E. Exchange Ave. tannahills.com

JAN. 14

Kolby Cooper

The East Texas country singer comes to the world’s biggest honkytonk in support of the recent release of his second fulllength album, Boy From Anderson County to the Moon. Billy Bob’s house band kicks off the festivities.

Billy Bob’s Texas 2520 Rodeo Plaza billybobstexas.com

JAN. 17

Bulls’ Night Out Rodeo Pre-Party

Heim Barbecue, craft cocktails, live music, and American art — if you’re not already sold, we’re stripping you of your Fort Worth credentials. The party lasts till 7:30, when you can hop over to Dickies Arena for the PRCA Xtreme Bull Riding.

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

3501 Camp Bowie Blvd. cartermuseum.org

JAN. 18 – 29

Disney’s ‘The Lion King’

JAN. 13 – FEB. 4

The popular animated film, which turned into an even more popular Broadway musical, makes its way to the Bass Performance Hall.

Bass Performance Hall 525 Commerce St. basshall.com

JAN. 19 – MARCH 18

‘The Space Between’ by Matt Clark and William Greiner

A mixed-media exhibition that is a collaboration between painter Matt Clark and photographer William Greiner. The show will include stunning photographs of the American West paired with stunning acrylic patterns.

Artspace 111 111 Hampton St. artspace111.com

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

The greatest damn three weeks west of the Mississippi — just try to argue with us. The 127th incarnation of the event, which has gone through quite the evolution over the past century, will include bronc riding, bull riding, and mutton busting.

Will Rogers Memorial Center and Dickies Arena 3401 W. Lancaster, fwssr.com

JAN. 21

In Her Boots 5K Run and 1-Mile Walk

Don’t sweat it, this event does not require one to run a 5K in cowboy boots. But, if you so choose, you can don a pair for the 1-mile walk. The race, presented by the Junior League of Fort Worth, begins at the Panther Island Pavilion and will blaze along the Trinity Trails.

Panther Island Pavilion

395 Purcey St. juniorleaguefw.org

JAN. 27 – FEB. 26

‘Moon Man Walk’

Written by Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright James Ijames, the Jubilee Theatre will perform this tale of a man who, while returning home for his mother’s funeral, gets lost in a world of magical realism where he falls in love and discovers the truth about his absent father.

Jubilee Theatre 506 S. Main jubileetheatre.org

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Wallace Bridges

School Board Trustee – District 4

BY HANNAH BARRICKS

PHOTO

CRYSTAL WISE

Wallace enjoys telling a funny story about a time he attended a Leon Bridges show. To his surprise, a couple of concertgoers recognized him and, in a fit of starstruck rambling, started thanking him for everything he does for local children — the positive changes he’s made to the school system and the crucial fights he’s willing to wage. It wasn’t until after these words of gratitude that they realized Wallace Bridges is Leon Bridges’ dad. Yeah, that’s right, Leon Bridges’ dad is a grassroots community leader and member of the FWISD school board. And Wallace admits he’s repeated this story a few times — jokingly submitting this as evidence that he’s equally as popular as the Grammy-winning artist.

Wallace and I are chatting at Black Coffee, where he talks enthusiastically about changes he’s made to the Fort Worth school system after his recent appointment to the school board as Trustee of District 4.

“Pardon my ADHD!” Wallace says, waving his hand excitedly as he resumes speaking. His apology is unnecessary. It’s refreshing speaking to anyone about their passions, especially when that person can channel their exuberant energy into tangible action for the good of their community. “I listen to people,” he says — a simple yet lost skill that Wallace credits for almost all of his success. “When I was a kid, a man from my neighborhood would stop to ask me how I was doing in school, and we would throw the football together occasionally.”

This memory would ultimately inspire Wallace to become invested in the lives of Black and Brown children, just like himself.

“I got my start in public service over 30 years ago when I moved here from New Orleans,” Wallace says. When he packed his bags for the Fort, he had gotten a new gig working at Bethlehem Community Center in Southeast Fort Worth, where he grew the program from 10 kids to over 200. “I know for a fact that young people want a safe place to be,” he says. “I can’t hand them a key to a house, but every Friday, I would talk to them about how to stay safe and give them a place to catch their breath.”

HANGOUT

In his new position as a school board member, Wallace makes sure to interact and engage with all of the children who are affected by the decisions he’s charged with making. Whether high-fiving or asking how their day is going, Wallace wears his commitment on his sleeves. When it came time to interview candidates for the vacant superintendent position, it was the children who were front and center in his mind. “I checked off specific boxes,” he says. And, after the school board announced Dr. Angelica Ramsey as the new superintendent of FWISD, Bridges says the sky is now the limit for the school’s achievement. “She gets me excited to hit the ground running!” And Fort Worth can rest easily knowing Wallace is by her side, fighting for the marginalized youth who captured his heart.

1. Meeting his rock ‘n’ roll idol after his son, Leon, opened for the Rolling Stones in the Netherlands.

2. Giving out 500 new books and backpacks at a back-to-school event. 3. Meeting his favorite congresswoman, Jasmine Crockett. 4. Hanging out on Magnolia Avenue with his son, Leon. 5. Celebrating the holidays with his family. 6. First graduation ceremony as Fort Worth ISD trustee.

7. Getting his first

Texas boots.

Rodeo’s First Family

How three generations of fearless riders from Fort Worth left their mark on the rodeo world

BY JESSICA STRANGE

Tad Lucas, born Barbara Ines Barnes, was the youngest of 24 children. She crawled around quickly as a baby, almost more of a slither, earning her the nickname Tadpole (later shortened to Tad) from her father. Small in stature but large in spirit, Tad ignited a spark of rodeo royalty that’s spanned

three generations, earning fame and notoriety for her family, who call Fort Worth home.

In 1902, Tad was born on a pioneer ranch in Cody, Nebraska. She grew up training horses, but rodeo was not yet a family business. Not far from Cody was the Rosebud Reservation. Tad and her Sioux friends would ride steers together. For her first performance, she rode bulls on the main street of Cody to raise money for the Red Cross during WWI.

She entered her first rodeo at the Gordon, Nebraska, fair when she was 14 and won first place in the steer riding event. This was just the beginning of her passion for performing and competing.

From a young age, Tad embodied the cowgirl spirit. Her exuberant moxie and appetite for competition led to her becoming a professional cowgirl by age 20. She moved to Texas in 1921 and joined “California” Frank Hafley’s Wild West Show. She traveled the U.S. and Mexico performing as a bronc rider, entertaining audiences during what was the original golden age of rodeo.

While performing with the Wild West Show, she met a group of Cossack trick riders who taught her how to perform daring acrobatic feats on a horse. Her petite frame and fearless nature made her a natural, and before long, she was vaulting onto her horse’s saddle, performing a variety of stunts.

“She was a small woman, but she was really athletic,”

Mitzi Lucas standing on a horse at the Southwestern Exhibition and Fat Stock Show in January 1938.

Tad Lucas, on horseback, with Elliott Roosevelt and Tarrant County Sheriff J.R. “Red” Wright in 1933.

her grandson, Kelly Riley, recalls.

Tad would hang from her saddle, upside down, off the back of her horse (a Back Drag). Then, she’d flip herself under her horse’s belly, coming up on the other side of the saddle (an Under the Belly Crawl). And as her horse galloped out of the stadium, she’d stand upright in her stirrups with her arms stretched to the sky (a Hippodrome Stand). Audiences were amazed by the small but mighty cowgirl.

Tad met fellow rodeo cowboy James Edward “Buck” Lucas while competing in Fort Worth. Buck was a WWI veteran, ranch homesteader, Hollywood stuntman, champion bulldogger, and saddle bronc rider from Nebraska.

“My mother was riding a bronc,” Tad’s daughter, Mitzi Lucas Riley, says in an interview for the Rodeo Historical Society Oral History Project. “When she handed her reins to the pickup man, he dropped them. She was going to bail off, but my dad jumped off the wall and caught her.”

Mitzi went on to say the story of how Tad and Buck met admittedly sounds hokey, but nonetheless, it’s true.

Both Tad and Buck were rodeo stars selected to compete at Wembley Stadium, an international competition in London. The couple married in Madison Square Garden in 1924 while waiting for their steamboat. The rodeo was their honeymoon—and Tad’s debut as a competitive trick rider.

Once they returned stateside, they settled in River Oaks and built their family home, complete with a practice pen in the back.

“It had a high fence around it because she didn’t want anyone to see her working on new tricks,” Kelly Riley says of Tad’s competitive nature.

Tad continued her rodeo career as a trick rider, bronc rider, and relay racer. She won just about every award in women’s rodeo.

She retired the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $10,000 silver trophy by winning it three times in a row and won the Cheyenne Frontier Days trick riding competition for eight consecutive years. Her many accolades earned her the title “Rodeo’s First Lady.”

When it became apparent that Tad could win more prize money than any other cowboy, Buck decided to retire from rodeo to manage his wife.

“He figured out very early on that Tad was a partier,” Kelly says. “She liked to have to have fun, and Buck was just the opposite. He was a family guy, took care of stuff. He drove; he took care of the horses. He had to back off of his competition and manage Tad.”

Even while competing, Tad and Buck started a family. Their first-born daughter, Dorothy Lynn, showed no interest in the rodeo. Instead, their second daughter, Mitzi Ann, got a taste of cowgirl fame and became Tad’s trick-riding partner.

Mitzi was born prematurely, weighing only 2 pounds and 12 ounces. Her first bed was a small shoe box lined with cotton and a warm water bottle. Tad would stick baby Mitzi in the crown of her cowgirl hat and ride around the arena

Tad Lucas astride horse at the Southwestern Exhibition and Fat Stock Show in 1938.

Tad, sitting in chair, and Mitzi Lucas

Tad Lucas and rodeo clown Homer Halcomb spin a little gossip and enjoy the sunshine at the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show in 1945.

to show her off. Horses were Mitzi’s babysitters, and saddles were her playpen.

Mitzi grew up riding with Tad and practicing tricks together. After an accident at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair (where Tad won the champion all-around cowgirl title), Mitzi quite literally took the reins when her mother shattered her arm.

“She was performing the [Under the Belly Crawl] in Chicago, and there was a little rain shower that morning,” Kelly says. “She was riding her favorite horse. Just as she started to move, he stumbled because of the slick ground. She got caught up in his legs, and he just drove her around the track. It was a compound fracture; the bone was sticking out.”

So, 6-year-old Mitzi took over. There were contracts to fulfill, and money was on the line. Doctors told Tad she’d never ride again and could possibly lose her arm. She wore a cast for the next three years and, in true cowgirl fashion, defied the doctor’s prognosis — getting back in the saddle to continue riding as a mother-daughter duo.

Tad and Mitzi traveled the country for 20 years performing as celebrity trick-riding cowgirls, rubbing elbows with the Hollywood elite and other famous riders.

The two tiny cowgirls made their own ornate costumes, inspired heavily by charro fashions that Tad admired while touring Mexico with the Wild West Show. Tad always rode in her iconic, red leather lace-up boots and a large silver cuff bracelet on her arm to cover the scar from her injury.

“The Navajos made that for her,” Kelly says of the bracelet on display in the National Cowgirl Museum, along with Tad’s boots.

Mitzi and her mother were inseparable. Mitzi once said she couldn’t see herself marrying because she could never love a man more than her horse. But at age 19, she proved herself wrong and married calf-roper Lanham Riley.

“Dad had to be real careful because Buck was very protective of Mitzi and didn’t let just any guy come around,” Kelly says.

“My dad was a really good horseman from West Texas. I think he figured out pretty quickly that he had to get Buck on his side if he was going to court his daughter.”

Mitzi and Lanham rodeoed together for the first few years of their marriage. They started their own family in 1948, welcoming their first son, James Kelly. They went on to have four more children — Harold “Buzz,” Lana Sue, Lisa Ann “Sano,” and Lanham Tad “Beaver.”

Lanham continued to work the rodeo circuit, but Mitzi eventually hung up her spurs to stay home in Aledo and raise their family around the time Kelly started school.

“I think early on, it was really tough for her,” Kelly remembers of his mother’s transition from celebrity cowgirl to stay-athome mom.” There was an adjustment period there. But she did it. I don’t ever remember her complaining about it.”

Kelly was the only child to carry on the Lucas Riley rodeo lineage. He grew up traveling with his father during the summers from rodeo to rodeo. In high school, he started competing as a calf roper and bull rider and rodeoed all through college.

Kelly says he wasn’t built for bull riding but was still infatuated with it. He eventually became a suit-and-tie man, working for R.J. Reynolds, managing their rodeo (and later NASCAR) sponsorships.

Tad didn’t retire until 1958 (and only because her horse was getting old and she didn’t want to train a new one). But, even though she was no longer riding, she was still involved in rodeo. She served as a charter member of the Girls Rodeo Association, a board director of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and a founding member of the Rodeo Historical Society.

Buck, Tad, Mitzi, and Lanham are all honored in the National Rodeo Hall of Fame for their contributions to rodeo. In addition, Mitzi and Tad are also honored in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, while Tad was additionally inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame — making her the first person awarded all three honors.

After Tad died in 1990, Mitzi established the Tad Lucas Memorial Award, given to women who exhibit Tad’s same grit and talent while upholding and promoting Western heritage.

Mitzi has her own namesake award. The National Cowgirl Museum awards the Mitzi Lucas Riley Award to young adults who promote Western heritage in the community through education and volunteerism.

Lanham, who passed away in 2006, and Mitzi have one grandchild, Bonnie Lucas — a stark difference from the 24 children Mitzi’s grandparents raised.

“If Bonnie has children, that’s our last shot,” Kelly says of their rodeo royalty lineage. “If I live to be old enough to teach them how to [rodeo], I’ll do it.”

Amon G. Carter awarding Tad Lucas the Gordon Selfridge Trophy for All Around Champion Cowgirl in 1929.

No one knows Fort Worth like The Schweitzer Group.

Experts in every neighborhood and nuance of this city, these four agents know Fort Worth’s homes, schools, shops, restaurants and attractions.

■ Between the four of them, these agents have spent a combined 126 years living and working in Fort Worth.

Barbara wins with 44 years in Cowtown, while Thurman has been here 37 years. Trey has called Fort Worth home for 23 years and Shelly has been a resident for 22 years.

RAVE REVIEWS

The Schweitzer Group gets a lot of love from clients — whether they are buying, selling or just dreaming big. What are they saying?

Thurman

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817-475-4060

tschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com

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Barbara Schweitzer

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bschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com

Shelly

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■ Barbara and Thurman are passionate about the community and support local education through their involvement in Fort Worth Country Day School. In 2022, they served as the ambassador family at the Signature Chefs Auction for the March of Dimes.

■ When they’re not hard at work, these agents have a wide range of interests. Barbara is a lifelong tennis player; Thurman is active with the Boy Scouts of America; Shelly is a professionally trained chef and yoga instructor; and Trey devotes his free time to his two young sons and volunteering at Trinity Valley School.

We used Barbara to purchase our house in Fort Worth. She was very accommodating from the start — she arranged a showing with very little notice and had documents prepared by that evening so we could provide the seller with an oﬀer, which was accepted. We have never had an easier experience purchasing a home and we owe it all to Barbara.” —John A

“Thurman created a detailed, thorough marketing plan for our house. Once the negotiations began, he kept us informed every step of the way. After closing, he helped handle all the details involved in selling a home and aﬀecting a smooth transfer to the new owners. I would highly recommend him to anyone contemplating selling — or buying — a home.”—Chuck B

connections.

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State Lines: Graham, Texas

Population: 8,618

BY SHILO URBAN

The biggest courthouse square in America lies not in New York or Los Angeles but in a small town 90 minutes northwest of Fort Worth: Graham, Texas. With a circumference of about a mile, this 50-acre square loops past colorful murals, 19th century architecture, and boutiques with the owners behind the registers. Church bells ring out religious songs at high noon; a line of Hells Angels joins the chorus as they rumble down the red brick streets. A lone archway from the 1884 courthouse (all that’s left) anchors the record-setting square, which also encircles the Young County Courthouse, Graham’s City Hall, and the old post office-turnedmuseum and art gallery. Why so

big? The broad streets were designed to accommodate U-turns by horsedrawn wagons, which proliferated after oil was discovered here in 1917.

But Young County was on the map long before that — and before Fort Worth, according to the 1882 book, Comprehensive Geography, displayed nearby at Fort Belknap. Its map of the U.S. shows only six locations in Texas: Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Fort Chadbourne, and Fort Belknap. Fort Worth (and that other city, Dallas) are conspicuously absent. Established in 1851 to protect frontier settlers from Comanche and Kiowa raids, Fort Belknap anchored a dusty line of outposts that stretched from the Red River to the Rio Grande.

Visiting the small collection of stout stone buildings (13 miles north-

west of Graham) still feels a bit like a trip to the Texas frontier. Grasshoppers vault across the quiet, shaded enclave while a soft-shouldered breeze slips through the branches of oak trees above. The restored and reconstructed barracks, powder magazine, and corn house hail from the era when Texas as we know it was taking shape. Cannons rest beside the commissary’s store, now transformed into a museum of frontier necessities: building tools, shotguns, and Bibles. Ancient mammoth tusks and thousands of arrowheads remind us that we’re just the latest to pass through this red dirt, prairie landscape. Far-

PHOTOS BY SHILO URBAN

The National Theatre of Graham, built in 1919

One of several murals that dot the historic town of Graham.

ther ventures down the road reveal oddball attractions like a giant fishing bobber, giant wheelbarrow, and giant chicken yard art — as well as ghost towns like Gooseneck and Bullock, now just whispers on the wind. Back in Graham, talk of last night’s high school football game is in the air at Down Home Bakehouse, where everyone seems to know everyone. Walker-wielding seniors sit by tots wearing soccer cleats and teens saying, “Yes, ma’am,” to their mothers. The age-diverse socializing continues at the Saturday morning farmers market, where a dozen-ish vendors have gathered to sell sweet lemon squash, homemade jellies, and

freshly butchered meats, with signs like “Eat More Lamb – 10,000 Coyotes Can’t Be Wrong!” The 4-H club shows off big-eyed rabbits and shiny horses while cows low in a pasture close by. Cattle created Graham’s other claim to fame: This is the start of the legendary Goodnight-Loving Trail, which launched in 1866, one year before Fort Belknap was officially closed for business. The frontier had moved on, but the age of the great cattle drives was just beginning. Eventually spanning more than 2,000 rugged miles from Texas to Wyoming, the Goodnight-Loving Trail was immortalized in the bestselling novel and TV series Lonesome Dove — and in a playful sculpture by the old post office downtown. A cowboy squats beside a metal campfire, his saddle momentarily forgotten behind him, as he watches the pot on the flames and waits a hot cup of “brown gargle” or “dehorned belly wash” (translation: coffee). The cowboy’s trail heads north — but in Graham, all roads lead back to the capacious town square, where secret bits of history mingle with friendly hellos and the spirit of the Texas frontier sings on the wings of the grasshoppers.

Savor: Down Home Bakehouse dishes out artisan espresso drinks, toothsome breakfast sandwiches, and house-made baked goods still warm from the oven. Stop at the old-school drive-in, KN Root Beer, for a frosty mug of its molasses-heavy brew or head to Brothers Smokehouse for inventive specials and hot rolls with cinnamon butter. Local favorites also include rustic-chic Neri’s and 526 Pizza Studio for creative pies (both found on the square). For fine dining, the steakhouse/social hub at Wildcatter Ranch is known for its smartly cooked ribeyes and chicken-fried sirloin steak.

Shop: Hilltop Home is the place to go for upscale housewares, including locally made Design Undone Candles in scents like sea salt + jasmine or amber + tobacco. Here & Now is the fashion boutique par excellence for fun youthful looks, and grandparents wanting to spoil their grandkids with cute outfits should drop by Krazy Kow. Antiquers can hunt through the “Geegaws, Whatnots and Whatsits” and Crazy Cora’s Emporium, situated in the surprisingly spacious 1878 Young County Jail.

Enjoy: Peruse contemporary works and rotating exhibits at the Old Post Office Museum & Art Center, which also houses artifacts and photographs from the region’s storied past. Climb up Standpipe “Mountain” in the middle of town for a different perspective or catch a flick at the restored 1920 National Theatre (complete with old-fashioned love seats). The Food Truck Championship of Texas brings 50 competitors together every June, and for outdoor enthusiasts, the huge cliffs at Possum Kingdom Lake are just 14 miles up the road.

Snooze: Perched on a breezy ridge about 10 minutes outside of town, Wildcatter Ranch & Resort offers Western luxury with sweeping views of the Brazos River Valley and themed activities like trail rides, archery, and longhorn feedings. A little farther out is La Casa Tierra, a four-bedroom ranch house that sleeps 10. You’ll also find a smattering of stylish digs on Airbnb and Vrbo, plus an above-average Holiday Inn Express & Suites that was renovated in November 2021.

How to Get There: For the most direct route, head west out of Fort Worth and follow I-30 W or I-20 W to US-180 W to Mineral Wells, where you’ll turn right onto TX-337 W. In 21 miles, TX-337 becomes TX-16 N. Continue on this road for 15 miles to reach Graham’s celebrated town square.

PHOTOS BY SHILO URBAN

The Old Post Office Museum and Art Center

Courthouse archway in Downtown Square

Eat Here First

R&R Soul Food, a new comfort food spot in far south Fort Worth, should be where

you have your first meal of 2023.

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

We should all bow our heads to mark the passing of the Sausage Shoppe. The long-running barbecue joint, run for more than a quarter of a century in three locations, by Fort Worth’s Chambers family, quietly closed last year.

But the Chambers’ store was quickly snagged by another cook adept at both soul food and barbecue. Fort Worth, meet Renelle Davis.

A native of Long Island, New York, and a business analyst at Wells Fargo, Davis is a first-time restaurateur with a box full of recipes that go back years.

“Decades and decades, I’d say — dishes my grandmother used to make, my mom

used to make, my aunts, plus my own,” she says. “There’s a little bit of all of us in these dishes.”

R&R’s menu includes smoked brisket, oxtails, housemade sausage, meat loaf, and what Davis calls her signature dish, smothered pork chops.

Sides include collard greens, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and candied yams. Her candied yams are the stuff of our childhoods, she says, all butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows.

Davis and business partner Randy Harrison, who make up the R&R in the restaurant’s name, had wanted to open a restaurant for years, even though neither had much experience in the restaurant industry. Still, when a friend turned them onto the newly vacated Sausage Shoppe space, they met with the owners, then, with very little hesitation, signed the lease.

“I just packed up everything and moved here, just for this restaurant,” she says. “Some people move for love or to get married. I moved for this restaurant.”

Since opening the restaurant in May, Davis and Harrison have spent their time building a following through social media and word of mouth.

All the while, Davis is perfecting recipes. In particular, she often toys with the sausage, ensuring it’s the perfect combination of snappy skin and smoky flavor.

“I know Sausage Shoppe’s sausage was fantastic, and those are hard shoes to fill,” she says. “But wait till you taste ours.”

3329 Alta Mesa Blvd., facebook.com/rrsoulfoodfortworthtexas

Native New Yorker Renelle Davis moved to Fort Worth to open R&R.

Oxtails over rice with green beans and sliced sweet potatoes at R&R Soul Food.

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Time to show your heart some love

February is Heart Month. And heart disease is the leading cause of death in our community and across the country. So, let’s do something about it, together. Every week during Heart Month we’ll be sharing heart healthy tips, from early warning signs to recipes and exercise ideas. Caring for the heart health of our friends and neighbors. That’s community and why so many people Trust Methodist.

The Purrr-fect Burger

Big Kat Burger, a food truck parked in the South Main area, may be the unlikely savior of good, cheap burgers in FW.

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

Long before we came along and long after we’re gone, burgers have been and will be this city’s unofficial official dish. What changes, of course, is where to find the best.

For the past several months, it’s been in somewhat unlikely places — under-the-radar food trucks, restaurants, and pop-ups run by people who have more passion than experience, more creativity than money. Gusto’s, Burgers N’ More, and a couple barbecue trucks/soon-tobe-brick-and-mortars, Brix BBQ and Dayne’s Craft BBQ, help make up

Kat got our tongue: A burger and fries at Big Kat.

this group of burger-makers who are putting fantastic burgers, priced reasonably and created imaginatively.

This group also includes Big Kat Burger, a truck run by two friends, Mike Sugg and Bryce Blackburn, who’ve been in the burger business since 2017. For adventurous eaters, their menu includes a burger swiped with peanut butter, another stuffed with an entire grilled cheese sandwich. Others are topped with booze-infused sauces. Traditionalists can get theirs topped with mushrooms, bacon, American cheese, and fresh lettuce, tomato and onions.

The patties are expertly cooked on a flat-top grill, giving them a smoky, cookout flavor.

Sugg, who studied liberal arts, accounting and business before entering The Culinary School of Fort Worth, did a stint at Rodeo Goat, one of the first burger joints in Fort Worth to popularize crowning burgers with unusual toppings, which rubbed off on him. “Bryce also comes up with a lot of the toppings,” Sugg says. “He’s always thinking of crazy things to put on our burgers. We have rotating burger of the month that he pretty much dreams up himself.”

Most of Big Kat’s burgers are in the $12-$13 range, although a few specialty burgers are a few bucks more. “We’ve been good about keeping our prices reasonable compared to other places that are charging more,” Sugg says. “You get your money’s worth. Our burgers aren’t small, by any means.”

Big Kat has already won kudos from the Fort Worth Weekly for their excellent burgers and sides, which include hand-cut fries and beerbattered onion rings and jalapenos, and they’re past participants in the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival. The next logical step would be a brickand-mortar. To that, Sugg says, “Maybe.”

“It’s something we’ve thought about, but right now, we’re happy just doing the truck, keeping things simple,” he says.

Bits and Bites

Those of you kicking off the new year with a resolution to eat healthier, cleaner, whatever, take heed: There are a few more details about a trio of new vegan restaurants opening in Fort Worth and Arlington this year. All three come from the same team behind Spiral Diner & Bakery in Fort Worth.

First to open will be Dreamboat Donuts and Scoops, an ice cream and doughnut shop that makes its namesake dishes with vegan ingredients. With pink Formica countertops and white tile floors, the interior will hark back to midcentury, but Spiral Diner executive chef Parker Howard’s menu is planted in the here and now, with soy milk- and plant-based ice cream, doughnuts and other pastries, including apple fritters. Look for other items such as Earl Grey lavender doughnuts, doughnut ice cream sandwiches, and doughnut cakes. Located at 1204 Sixth Ave. and slated to open early spring, Dreamboat will be a part of the new PS1200 mixed development space on the Near Southside. dreamboatdonuts.com

Opening this summer will be Maiden: Fine Plants & Spirits. What sounds like a nursery with a bar in it, Spiral Diner founder Amy McNutt’s vegan fine dining restaurant is the first of its kind in Texas. There’s no menu yet, but there is a press release with a lot of trendy keywords such as “global flavors,” “modern cooking techniques,” and “imaginative experience free of pretension and full of beauty.” Maiden will also be a part of the PS1200 development. maidenvegan.com

Finally, a new location of Spiral Diner & Bakery will open in Arlington late ‘23, at 500 E. Front St., in downtown Arlington near Hurtado BBQ and Legal Draft Beer Co. The menu at the Arlington location will be similar to that of the Fort Worth original, with items such as pancakes, burgers, and nachos, all made with vegan ingredients. spiraldiner.com

Jube’s BBQ, a terrific east side barbecue joint run by local pastor Patrick Joubert (whom I profiled in these pages back in ‘19), closed recently due to problems with the longstanding building where the restaurant was located, Joubert says. “It’s just an old, old, old building that continuously needed a lot of work,” he says. Joubert says he may reopen somewhere in Arlington. In the meantime, his excellent food is still available via catering orders, for groups both small and large. Call 817-779-0235.

Restaurant news written and compiled by Malcolm Mayhew. You can reach Malcolm at malcolm. mayhew@hotmail.com or on Twitter @foodfortworth.

The Big Kats themselves: Mike Sugg, left, and Bryce Blackburn.

PHOTO BY CRYSTAL WISE

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THE STEAKYARDS

THE MAGAZINE’S EDITOR GOES ON A CARNIVOROUS CRUSADE TO EAT AT EVERY STEAKHOUSE IN THE FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS. WHAT DID HE LEARN? NOT ALL MASHED POTATOES ARE CREATED EQUAL.

BY BRIAN KENDALL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL WISE

I’m not sure what an overdose on beef might look or feel like, or if such a thing is even possible. It was a few years ago when I learned one could overdose on water and surmised one could probably overdose on anything. I bring up this possibility — of indulging in steak to the point of ill effects — because I’m about to complete a meaty marathon, of sorts: to eat at all eight places that serve steak within the Fort Worth Stockyards. That’s right, eight beef-filled meals at eight different steakhouses. And, to make this a true test of endurance, I elected to do it all within one week.

When one roams Exchange Avenue, flashy neon signs do their darnedest to promote one of two things: Western wear and steaks. With every turn of your head, your eyes will land on a spot that serves the greatest meal known to man because, in the Stockyards, beef is inescapable. I can’t tell you which city holds the distinction for most steakhouses within a square mile, but with the Stockyards possessing no less than eight, I challenge Guinness World Records to make a proclamation that Fort Worth holds such a record.

As I’ve recently been asserting, if you wanna gamble, you go to Vegas. If you want a Broadway show, you go to Broadway. But if steak is your vice, you come to the Stockyards.

And, with that in mind, I had the bright idea of eating at every single one and reporting back on my experiences. Meat sweats and hemochromatosis aside, I was determined to complete the mission.

To grade each steakhouse, I first had to come up with a system. I decided I would judge each place based on six different criteria: whether it was cooked according to my requested medium-rare, quality of the steak, the overall flavor of the steak, the restaurant’s ambiance, the side potato, and a cup of whatever soup it offered.

Keep in mind: No steakhouse in the Fort Worth Stockyards is bad. In fact, they’re all excellent. And they’re all excellent in their own distinct ways. It’s difficult to compare a four-course meal at Lonesome Dove with a lunchtime ribeye at Star Café, but that’s exactly what I’m attempting to do in my humorous

gluttony of red meat. As is the case when any judging, whether for real or for fun, occurs, to each their own. Just remember to finish your sides.

97 West

Since we’re doing this in alphabetical order, I have no choice but to start at the top (numerals always take precedence over the alphabet, in case you were wondering). While this list is not meant to rank the restaurants I visited this past week, I will admit that 97 West was, despite a close race, my personal favorite.

Located in the lobby of Hotel Drover — a place that’s transformed into a hangout for locals and tourists alike — 97 West has quickly become one of the city’s flagship restaurants. And for good reason. The interior, carefully curated by local stalwart designer, Sally Brumbaugh, is a tasteful Western chic, and the menu offers a perfect combination of outof-the-box exotic offerings (antelope, pheasant) and dependable classics (New York strip chicken-fried steak, rack of ribs). And, naturally, the restaurant sells six separate cuts of prime-grade beef — from tomahawks to prime rib.

You might call me out for being cliché, but cutting into the lunchtime filet was akin to slicing through butter. Is it the most tender steak I’ve ever had? Perhaps. Maybe. I think so, yes. The flavor, like the mediumrare temperature I’d ordered, was on point. To add to the restaurant’s appeal, the

West

prices are also a surprise. Considering the restaurant’s buttoned-up presentation, its cuts aren’t any more expensive than what you would find at Riscky’s or H3 Ranch.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★★

POTATO: ★★★★

SOUP: ★★★★ (creamy spiced cauliflower)

PRICE POINT: $$$

DO: Fingerling potato crisps (also known as potato chips to the layman)

DON’T: Sit at the center bar. They weren’t well versed on the lunch menu, and it’s just not the best way to experience the restaurant.

AWARD: Best in show

200 Mule Alley 97westkitchenandbar.com

The Brand Room

West on Exchange Avenue — like, on-theedge-of-the-Stockyards west — rests one of the most elusive restaurants in Fort Worth. Like an inverted speakeasy, The Brand Room feels like a bar that secretly doubles as a great steakhouse. Open only Thursday through Saturday after 5 p.m., The Brand Room is a spot for regulars. And, really, its business model targets those who frequent the place. The bar/restaurant rents lockers to members of its “club” that the renters fill with bottles of their favorite booze. The

Brand Room, for all intents and purposes, serves as a cozy spot for these renters to relax, eat, watch TV, and shoot the breeze while indulging in their favorite libations. If you come for dinner, its menu — given verbally by the bartender or waitress — typically has three to four items and is served after 7 p.m., so don’t come early. And among the offerings is always a tenderloin and a rib-eye. I ordered the rib-eye, and I was awakened as to how this spot has regulars. Its food is incredibly tasty. The steak was cooked to perfection, and the side of mashed potatoes was of the silkysmooth variation that practically melted in your mouth. I don’t wanna let the cat out of the bag, but this is one of the best spots in the Stockyards. They might’ve just found a new regular.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★★

POTATO: ★★★★★

SOUP: N/A

PRICE POINT: $$$$

DO: Jam on your biscuits, which come with your meal

DON’T: Look up. The hundreds of cast-iron brands hanging from the ceiling — while no doubt secure — managed to make me slightly uncomfortable. AWARD: Hidden (very hidden) gem

212 W. Exchange Ave.

Cattlemen’s Steak House

When I first kicked off this assignment, chowing down on my first of what would be many steaks, no less than three people asked if I’d tried Cattlemen’s. Lonesome Dove, 97 West, and even H3 Ranch got little attention. Why? Because Cattlemen’s is the most well-known steakhouse in Fort Worth, and there’s nothing any other steakhouse can do about that. Like the large sign out front says, Cattlemen’s is world famous. But is it deserving? It’s hard to argue against it. Compared to the other spots on this list, Cattlemen’s serves a decent steak that’s a little on the smoky side for my taste. It came cooked correctly and was flavorful if slightly gritty. Of course, compared to other steak places across the globe, it’s a damn five-star restaurant as far as I’m

concerned. The interior is dated, with the chairs and tables seemingly stuck in 1978, but that’s half the restaurant’s charm. Regardless, there are clearly others who see the potential and marketability of the wellknown joint. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently reported that a financier behind some of Taylor Sheridan’s biggest projects (“Yellowstone,” “1883”) purchased the historic steakhouse. What this means for the future of Cattlemen’s menu and indoor décor, we can’t say. But one thing is for sure: It ain’t going anywhere.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★

POTATO: ★★★★

SOUP: ★★★ (a heavily salted baked potato soup)

PRICE POINT: $$$

DO: Texas toothpicks

DON’T: Eat in the dining room. It’s bar is one of the city’s best.

AWARD: The OG. The most recognizable

2458 N. Main St. cattlemenssteakhouse.com

H3 Ranch

As Fort Worth homers, it was slightly disappointing to learn that H3 Ranch is technically named after three brothers (Hunter being the last name) from Nebraska. But we assume descendants have ties to the area and choose not to hold their cornhusker origins against them. Located on the busy corner of Exchange Avenue and N. Main Street, the building occupied by H3 Ranch might be Fort Worth’s single greatest piece of prime real estate. And the horseshoe-shaped neon sign has become iconic.

Lonesome Dove

When I arrived, I sat right behind the backside of a bison. This is not an idiom. I literally sat behind a giant taxidermized bison that shoots out of the wall in their adjacent bar called Booger Red’s. H3 plays up the Western vibe more than any restaurant in Fort Worth but does so in a way that’s not overly clownish. It feels organic and authentic. It feels like a place where Butch Cassidy or Jim Courtright could feel right at home.

Its menu opens with a vague “Voted Best Steakhouse” message, something common among most of the steakhouses in the area. Who the authority on best steaks might be, I don’t know, but they seem to have decided all Stockyard steakhouses are deserving. H3 famously offers a hickory wood-grilled steak. As mentioned before, smoky steaks aren’t my favorite despite it being a preferred method of cooking among this batch of restaurants. The steak itself came out overcooked (medium), but the flavor kept me engaged. The bartender even commented how much I must’ve liked it given how quickly it disappeared. I suppose the pairing with the scrumptious skillet potatoes made the whole meal more than passable.

COOKED RIGHT? Nah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★★★

POTATO: ★★★★★

SOUP: ★★★ (Wife of Kit Carson [aka tortilla] soup)

PRICE POINT: $$$

DO: Skillet potatoes

DON’T: Straddle the saddle at the bar. Again, this is not an expression. Literally, don’t sit on the saddles that double for stools behind the bar. It’s weird.

AWARD: Best interior

109 E. Exchange Ave. h3ranch.com

Lonesome Dove

Tim Love’s flagship restaurant (it’s still his flagship, right?) is also one of the city’s go-to spots for fine dining. If one is looking for a candlelit dinner with mood lighting, a quaint atmosphere, and incredible food, I wouldn’t hesitate to point them in the direction of Lonesome Dove — so long as neither is vegetarian.

I wouldn’t classify Lonesome Dove as a standard steakhouse — or a standard anything, for that matter. It’s more of a meat house — a place where you can have your selection of cuts from a plethora of warm- and cold-blooded critters. For the adventurous palate, this spot is a gold mine. But, we’re here to try one type of meat and one type of meat only (I can’t, unfortunately, call myself an expert on wild game): beef. And, concerning beef, the steaks are pretty darn good. The restaurant

currently offers three variations: a roasted garlic-stuffed tenderloin, chicken-fried steak, and a Wagyu tomahawk rib-eye. I tried my hand at the tenderloin, and the flavor, enhanced by a black garlic and gorgonzola spread, made each slice a bite to look forward to. My sole complaint: The steak was a tad tough and chewy, but the taste more than forgave its lack of tenderness.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★★★

POTATO: ★★★

SOUP: ★★★★★ (best dang chili I’ve ever had)

PRICE POINT: $$$$$

DO: Date night. I don’t think there’s a better spot in town for a romantic evening.

DON’T: Get the mashed potatoes. Considering the adventurous nature of the menu, the starch portion of the meal was a little ho-hum.

AWARD: Menu that makes you wanna try everything

2406 N. Main St. lonesomedovebistro.com

Provender Hall

Out of all the restaurants featured, Provender Hall is the oddball. It’s a great joint that serves steak, so its inclusion is no doubt deserved, but it deviates from the other restaurants on this list in very obvious ways. First, while it’s a very Fort Worthy (if I may use that as an adjective) spot, it doesn’t indulge in the cowboy/ western chic quite like the others. Its vibe is clean, minimalist, and slightly boho. And, aside from Lonesome Dove, it’s the only other restaurant on this list that doesn’t advertise itself as a steakhouse. It’s a newage comfort food spot with a diverse and delicious menu that offers new takes on old staples like fried green tomatoes and the now ubiquitous shrimp and grits. But we’re here for steak, and only steak. They only offer one cut of meat that complies with our standards: the daily butcher’s cut, which, today, is a New York strip. And it was a solid cut of beef cooked exactly as ordered. The taste was substantially less smoky than the steaks offered by the likes of Cattlemen’s and H3 Ranch, which, for my palate, was preferred.

Riscky’s Steakhouse

My only qualm: the fries were OK. Wanna get a better side? Go with the cheese grits.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★

POTATO: ★★★★

SOUP: ★★★★★ (chicken and andouille sausage gumbo that’s incredible)

PRICE POINT: $$$$

DO: Cheese grits

DON’T: Fill up on their amazing appetizers, even though it’s very tempting

AWARD: Best beards. Seriously, all of their male servers had impressive facial hair.

122 E. Exchange Ave., Ste. 110 provenderhall.com

Riscky’s Steakhouse

Riscky’s, strangely enough, has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. It was the first steakhouse I tried in the Stockyards, so I’ve placed in my tried-and-true category of local fare. I’ll admit that I still haven’t tried the world-famous calf fries, but the appetizer remains on my bucket list of things to try; perhaps my concern is that I’ll like them.

Despite the brand dabbling in barbecue and burgers throughout the city, I think tender and juicy steaks might be its greatest accomplishment.

Located between Love Shack and Provender Hall, smack dab in the middle of the Stockyards’ hubbub, Riscky’s might get more foot traffic than any restaurant in the city. Unless they’re busy and taking names outside, you’ll have to walk pass the bar to see the hostess, but I’d recommend snagging the first seat you find at the bar rather than trailing off to one of the rooms — yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of their décor.

The steak itself is a giant 14 ounces, juicy, and rarely ever not cooked to perfection. It’s what my dad would call a down-and-dirty steak — nothing fancy and no tricks applied to its seasoning or cooking method, but it’s delicious, nonetheless.

COOKED RIGHT? Yeah

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★

POTATO: ★★★★

SOUP: ★★★★★ (kapusta)

PRICE POINT: $$$

DO: The kapusta soup. If you’ve got a “sour tooth,” you’ll thank me.

DON’T: Order the lunch rib-eye. As my colleague, John, told me, “It tastes like a $5.99 strip club steak.”

AWARD: Under-the-radar tasty

120 E. Exchange Ave. risckys.com

Star Café

The people at Star Café, a small(ish) diner on the western side of Exchange Avenue, do a damn good job of making you feel at home. Between its friendly, almost maternal-like service; no frills dining room with a tin ceiling; and a payat-the-register-type vibe, you can almost meditate in the restaurant’s quaintness. Heck, even its steak tastes like something I would cook at home. And if you conduct a Google search of the joint, you’ll notice that its website also shows a great deal of simplicity: It’s been coming soon for a few years now.

Not open on Mondays or Tuesdays, I

dropped in for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon and was the only patron in sight. For a small space, its menu has plenty of sandwich, burger, and steak options, and my finger landed on the 12-ounce rib-eye. There’s little doubt in mind that the delivered steak was closer to 16 than 12 ounces, but I wouldn’t dare complain. The steak was a bit rare for my taste, but I argue it’s better than overcooking my meal. Sometimes, you just want a steak and a potato, you know? Just a place to check all the boxes and get a little protein in your system. This spot checks those quintessential boxes.

COOKED RIGHT? Kinda

QUALITY OF BEEF: ★★★

OVERALL STEAK: ★★★

AMBIANCE: ★★★★

POTATO: ★★★

SOUP: ★★★ (your good ol’ basic bowl of chili)

PRICE POINT: $$

DO: Raise the percent you choose to tip

DON’T: Come here with a full stomach … their portions are mighty.

AWARD: Quality servers who call you “honey”

111 W. Exchange Ave. starcafefortworth.com

Star Café

The Ballet on Horse ¡FUERZA!

Wearing dresses and petticoats and riding sidesaddle in unison, the escaramuza have earned their rightful place as one of the Stock Show’s standout events. Don’t mess with them.

BY JOCELYN TATUM PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL WISE

She’s an escaramuza. That’s how they say it when referring to each other. Before mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, she’s an escaramuza. It’s her primary identity. Why wouldn’t it be? These women train on horseback several days a week all year, and after long days at work, some drive hours to practice with their horses in tow, all to preserve their heritage dating back to the Mexican Revolution. But few outside of the male-dominated charrería world know about these women, their athletic abilities, horsemanship, and their history. That is all changing.

The term “escaramuza” is a call back to the early 1900s Mexico when the women would ride alongside the men in battle, the adelitas or “women of the revolution,” often acting as the decoy distracting the enemy by riding in circles. Or when an enemy would come to the camps, the women would huddle the children together and ride around them at high speeds kicking up a dirt shield. The English translation for escaramuza is skirmish — kicking up dirt to create a charade.

The escaramuza charra is a team consisting of eight women riding sidesaddle on horses in a synchronized fashion while wearing traditional Mexican dresses. It is the only female event in the charreada — think rodeo in the U.S. — and the charrería became Mexico’s national sport in the 1950s. It tells a story of ranch life, heritage, and the Mexican Revolution while also displaying skilled horsemanship. It is usually a weekend event where six to 12 teams of charros, the cowboys, compete for two days, and the escaramuza charras get either 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon as a finale performance or they are allotted a moment entertaining the dwindled lunchtime crowds while the charros rest.

that has defined and healed her called her back. “Because you can only stay away for so long. It lives in you, the competition and the adrenaline. You miss it after being gone for so long,” Carrasco says. They currently compete in independent competitions all over Texas because Carrasco says this offers her team more opportunities to participate as they are not limited to three federated state competitions, one U.S. national and one Mexico National. But they have big plans to one day make it back to the big competition in Mexico where the best of the best are invited to compete.

Lily Castañeda and her two daughters — Clarisa Castañeda, 21, and Alejandra Castañeda,17 — are already at practice. Clarisa is on one side of the arena training a horse new to the escaramuza charra competition as most horses are not used to having to work so close to other horses. These women are judged on the amount of equal and close distance they keep between the horses when riding.

“Riding sidesaddle is very difficult and almost unheard of in contemporary horsemanship in the United States. Being able to perform maneuvers that require that level of precision and teamwork while riding sidesaddle is certainly remarkable.”

These skilled horsewomen accomplish rigorous feats on horseback that require horsemanship and athleticism that few outside their world could comprehend — and all while staying in sync with their mirroring team members. One tiny mistake could mean disaster. One second off could lead to horses colliding, dirt flying, injury, or worse. And these women do it all in dresses, following a rulebook the size of the Bible. “The women involved in the escaramuza are exceptional riders,” Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo horse show director Lauren Lovelace Murray says. “Riding sidesaddle is very difficult and almost unheard of in contemporary horsemanship in the United States. Being able to perform maneuvers that require that level of precision and teamwork while riding sidesaddle is certainly remarkable and is made even more remarkable by the level of horsemanship these women possess.”

Practice Makes Perfect

It’s 9:30 on a 40-degree morning the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The team Las Coronelas has practice at their usual spot on the North Side in Fort Worth. While they have history in Fort Worth dating back to 2006, they were inactive for three years starting in 2019 as their team captain Mirna Carrasco endured a difficult divorce. They came back full force in January 2022 when the sport

“Shit,” a teammate swears in practice. It’s scary. It’s hard. That’s usually the moment they realize they messed up, and it will take a lot to correct it. And if they mess up, it’s on them. It’s only their fault, Carrasco explains. Because it is a team sport, and they have to constantly make sure they are focusing on the escaramuza they mirror. There are a million things going on at any given time when riding with a team in this way — the coordination, the courage, the physical strength. They are a part of something bigger than themselves — the giant creature they are on top of, and the team that depends on them.

Horses can weigh 1,000 pounds on average and have the power to run at 55 mph. A lot of personalities are at play, horses included. The rider’s energy becomes the horse’s energy, so they’re careful getting too nervous around these magnanimous animals. It is mental, emotional, and even spiritual. These women must stay confident when achieving complex choreography, weaving in and out of their teammates at full speed. Team captain Carrasco brings in coaches to help the girls channel those nerves into positive excitement.

“Suave!” one girl yells at her eager horse. “Punto! Punto!” another yells. This means to point. The ring is divided up in a pie of eight slices for eight team members, Carrasco explains. They yell “point” to remind the team to focus on where they are going and where their next move is.

“Uno. Dos. Tres. Quatro.” The girls on horses run circles around their mirroring teammate. “Use more left leg! Your circle is too big!” Carrasco yells in a firm tone of a team captain, of a mother.

Carrasco, 35, is a first-generation escaramuza and has been riding since she was 11. Nearly 10 years later, she formed the team Las Coronelas. Coronelas is plural for Coronela, which is the female plural for a high-ranking officer, a name inspired by Carrasco’s mother. “She wanted something with a meaning we could embody something powerful to represent us as a whole,” Carrasco says. “Coronelas is plural because we are a team.” Carrasco’s 17-yearold daughter, Naydalyn Rios, rides with her and has been an

escaramuza since she could walk. The team is federated through Rios’ father’s team, Los 3 Rios.

Part of their practice that morning is training the horses new to escaramuza. Horses are used to being preyed upon in the wild; they sense everything including the horse inches away from them and even the smallest shift in their rider’s energy. “If you ever watch a horse and a fly lands on them, they shake their skin. They feel everything on a very small level,” team member Lupita Chavez says. “They can sense if you’re scared, if you’re having a bad day, if you’re happy. They can sense every little movement. If you’re scared, they are looking for what you’re scared of,” Carrasco adds, standing tall on the back of her horse with her team. Horsemanship is so much more than athleticism; confidence, strength, and calm are necessary for not only success but for survival.

Upholding Traditions of the Adelitas Carrasco loves the tradition and history of the sport because it brings her Mexican heritage to life. “How our ancestors did things and lived things that we have absolutely no idea of what they went through, and just seeing how we hold a little piece of that history, it just fascinates me,” she says. Everything on the saddle has a purpose — the attire, the earrings, and the sash they wear around their waist, which was also used as a sweater or small blanket when riding in the cold during the Mexican Revolution. “It isn’t just there to make the dress look pretty; there is a reason it’s there,” she says.

The escaramuza charra event is tightly regulated and steeped in traditions that haven’t changed since the turn of the 20th century. The women must wear traditional metal earrings that are often handmade to meet the rulebook standards. The petticoats, or crinolina, and leggings must be made out of an antiquated and heavily starched canvas-like material that can weigh what feels like

10 pounds under their dresses. No tattoos can be visible. Dresses and hats must match and meet strict regulations, too, like the shoulder puff must be one inch and the sashes have to be tied just so in the back. They do not get a leather whip like the charros but have a wooden stick not unlike what you may pick up to toss out with the other twigs when cleaning up the yard. The tiniest infraction could lead to disqualification. And these are just a few of the rules.

Amber Alcalá is the captain of another local escaramuza charra team called Tierra Azteca and says it is a way for her to be closer to their parents and grandparents. “It is hard to explain that. It is a pride thing, and we want our parents to be proud of us. That pride of where you came from. Because for me, I am not like other captains of teams because I am not fluent in Spanish. I am half white and half Hispanic,” she says.

Alcalá’s mother, Christina Morrison, known in the charrería circles as “La Güera” or “the white lady,” was an escaramuza creating one of the first teams in North Texas. She got into sport because her single mother trained racehorses in California. Her mother got with a Mexican gentleman who was involved in the charrería when Morrison was a baby. Morrison got a team of girls together to present but not compete as they were not given the space then to compete. Morrison remembers in these early days her team didn’t have its own name but was with the Charros of Dallas, so it was called the Escaramuza Charros de Dallas. “As far as I knew, we were the only team. This was 1985 or ’86,” Morrison says. Alcalá’s father Jose “Alfredo” Alcala grew up in Zacatecas, the birthplace of the charreada, and has been a charro his whole life. They met at a charrería in Dallas.

“I think really overall, the reason why most of us girls do ride in the U.S. is to keep in touch with that Hispanic side of that culture,” Alcalá says.

Carrasco upholds the traditions passed down from her mother. She presents the dresses, the sashes, and bows and makes sure they are washed and folded. “It is pretty, everything is intact.” But the moment they get on the horse, the dirt and mud fly. Just days before their practice on that cold Sunday morning, Ana “Barbie” Gomez was thrown from a horse and landed in the mud. Her bright red dress tore. They embrace their femininity, but underneath those petticoats and dresses are strong legs and an even stronger spirit.

While they wouldn’t trade their dresses for pants, they seek their

rightful place as athletes among the men, the charros, beyond the halftime show.

Leading

the Way for the Charrería in the U.S. Among the Men “The charros always have something to say,” one girl says with a coy smile at the Las Coronelas practice among the group. “They think it’s easy compared to what they are doing and that the women are getting in their way,” another team member continues. The escaramuzas can’t form a team or qualify for an event unless federated by the charros. “It is like back in the day when you had to be escorted somewhere,” Chavez says.

Alcalá’s team Tierra Azteca is federated with a team over an hour and a half away, and she makes it her job to be diligent about reaching out to the charros as she said it is imperative for the success of her team. “I try to stay in contact with the charros so we can get put out there and be included in their events. [The escaramuza charras] can’t do anything on their own. They have to be involved with the guys to do anything,” Alcalá says.

“One of the things that sets this sport apart from other sports is how feminine yet masculine it is.”

But she says they’re lucky. They have been friends with these charros since 2015, and they care about their success as escaramuzas. “Out of all the charros out of DFW area, they actually care about the girls and what we are doing. That is rarely the case. Not everyone treats us like this [takes them seriously]. The only inconvenience is that when they [the charros] have an event going on there, we are their team; we feel it is right to go present for them at their place because they are federating for us, so out of respect we have to present for them,” Alcalá says.

Chavez of Las Coronelas says a vulnerable charro may say, “We can do everything you are doing, but we couldn’t do it in

those dresses riding sidesaddle. “It’s a whole other level [of horsemanship],” she says. In addition to using the reins, having your legs wrapped around a horse is where a lot of the ability to control and communicate with your horse comes from. Want them to go faster? Squeeze them with your inner thighs and gently push your heel into the horse’s girth. Even faster? Maybe a little kick … on both sides. Need them to turn left? Push them with your inner left leg. They can’t do that when their legs are off to the side and they have 10 pounds of formal wear between them and the horse. You get the point — with both of their legs on one side, the ability to communicate with their horse, and the ability to stay on, is a lot more challenging.

“One of the things that sets this sport apart from other sports is how feminine yet masculine it is. You have to have the strength of a man to ride and to control and to dominate an animal this big. At the same time, we are very delicate. We are in dresses. We have our old school undergarments. We don’t lose the feminine aspect because we are in the dirt and in the sun,” Carrasco says. To never lose her femininity is something her mother ingrained in her and something she passes onto the team. “The girls know, your hair needs to be done, your makeup needs to be done, your earrings need to be presentable at all times,” she says.

FWSSR charro events producer Dora Tovar says, historically, the escaramuza charras have always been undermarketed and undervalued, and their show was a hidden gem because in Mexico, they are a halftime show, an afterthought. She says that sometimes they aren’t even mentioned on the charreada’s promotional flyers. “They are kind of left at the end and undervalued [next to the

charros]. Let’s level the competition and only have the escaramuzas. This is the U.S., and we get to change the rules,” Tovar says.

Once people got to see them in the U.S., Tovar says audiences loved them.

For FWSSR president Bradford Barnes, it was love at first sight. He decided that they needed to produce an escaramuza competition after he spent some time in Zacatecas, Mexico, the charreada capital. “When I first saw them, I was blown away by the skills displayed by the riders and their horses. They needed their own place where they could be highlighted, and I felt our historical and authentic Will Rogers Coliseum was the perfect venue,” he says.

They introduced the Escaramuza Charra Competition in 2020 to intentionally draw the family while bringing visibility to these female horse riders, Tovar later wrote in an email. “He saw that women were the draw, and he wanted to support them. He saw how little attention they got in Mexico,” Tovar says.

Together Tovar and Barnes with their board members and committees, made sure it became more than a mere halftime show and made it a competition among the rest of the rodeo athletes. In 2020, Tovar says the FWSSR became the first rodeo in the U.S. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to create a competition for the escaramuza charra. The team that wins gets a performance in The Best of Mexico night in front of a huge

audience the following year, and Alcalá’s Tierra Azteca won the Escaramuza Charra Competition at the 2022 FWSSR. “We push and push. We have a goal. We don’t compete with the other teams. We compete with ourselves,” Alcalá says.

Tovar realized she was creating change. “[It] was the first escaramuza competition. They were on their own. No charros. No, it is not about you. It is about escaramuzas,” Tovar says. The conversation went something like this:

Charros says to Tovar, “Hey, why are you only focused on women?

“You’ve had 200 years to be in the spotlight, and you have all day Saturday and Sunday and throw these girls at the end,” Tovar says.

“So, when are you going to do something for men?”

“Maybe next year,” Tovar says.

That the escaramuzas were first to make their way into a rodeo as old and as legendary as the FWSSR is a big deal for the entire sport of the charrería. And the women are leading the way for the men by bringing recognition of the charrería as a sport to the U.S. “That is where we are changing the rules. They’ve been given a platform now to showcase their horsemanship skills. The dresses cover up the most challenging aspect, the sidesaddle. If the audience could see all of their maneuvers in jeans, they would really see how difficult it is,” Tovar says.

Barnes agrees that the women’s horsemanship is as good as a man’s, but with this reference, maybe he thinks they’re even better.

“Didn’t someone say something about Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did except backwards and in high heels? Well, it’s pretty much the same with these women riding sidesaddle and performing horseback maneuvers that a man would be doing riding in a traditional saddle,” Barnes says.

The expression goes, there is power in numbers. But it seems that when those numbers involve a team of eight women who train together, ride together, cry together, laugh together, eat dirt together, and bleed together, they’re finding power in leading the way for others in a world where women will no longer stand to be the halftime show or an understated afterthought while still nodding to the heritage that brought them here.

You can see the escaramuza perform at this year’s Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Will Rogers Coliseum.

Ask The Expert

PROTON THERAPY EXPERT

By Andrew K. Lee, M.D., MPH

WHAT IS PROTON THERAPY?

Proton therapy delivers targeted radiation to tumors, guided by the center’s advanced, accurate imaging equipment. Texas Center for Proton Therapy uses a 30-foot-tall, 110-to machine that rotates 360 degrees to enable precise positioning of the proton beams on a patient’s tumor. Physicists and engineers have meticulously calibrated the proton beam equipment to extreme accuracy. A 220-ton cyclotron is the centerpiece of this proton beam equipment. This machine accelerates protons to two-thirds the speed of light extracted from hydrogen atoms. It then creates a proton beam line traveling nearly half the length of a football field with accuracy within 1 millimeter. The protons delivered to the tumor destroy cancerous cells, while minimizing damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.

WHERE IS PROTON THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER OFFERED IN NORTH TEXAS?

For six years, North Texas has had an advantage in the fight against cancer by having Texas Center for Proton Therapy in its own backyard. It’s the first proton therapy center in Dallas-Fort Worth and the most technologically advanced in the state and region. The 63,000-square-foot facility, located in Irving/Las Colinas, is one of approximately 38 proton therapy treatment centers in operation in the United States and is the first stand-alone LEED-Certified proton therapy center in the country. We have accomplished one of our goals, which was to improve the overall level of cancer care for Dallas-Fort Worth patients, and we have done this through a combination of technological advances, hard work, and gaining expertise on

how to better utilize the technology we have. For instance, the center is the only one in Texas with three pencil-beam scanning proton machines and the only center with the ability to do volumetric on-board cone-beam CT imaging when a patient is on the treatment table. We use an ultra-fine proton beam with pencil-point precision across each layer of the tumor. Essentially, we delicately paint the tumor with radiation. It’s the ideal technology for irregularly shaped tumors near sensitive areas. Additionally, pencil beams of protons can be combined to treat large tumors as well. There is a significant advantage of pencil beam proton therapy for larger tumors.

WHAT TYPES OF CANCER CAN BE TREATED WITH PROTON THERAPY?

As of March 2022, the center has treated more than 3,000 new patients, and about 17 percent of those have been pediatric patients. Any solid tumor that requires radiation as a treatment component could likely be treated with proton therapy—brain, head and neck, lung, prostate as well as other gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers. We also treat breast cancer, whether it’s part of breast conservation therapy or after a mastectomy and we need to irradiate the chest wall. Proton therapy is also a good option for patients in need of treatment for adjacent lymph nodes. Any patient who has been told that they need radiation therapy should look into proton therapy as an option for primary treatment or in combination with other therapies. A doctor’s referral is not needed to schedule a consultation at Texas Center for Proton Therapy.

Andrew K. Lee, M.D., MPH, is the medical director for Texas Center for Proton Therapy.

OF GRIT AND GUNS

The Texas Rangers are celebrating 200 years in service to the state and all that looks like — the good, bad, and ugly.

BY JOHN HENRY

Ramiro “Ray” Martinez’s journey to the famed Texas Rangers law enforcement agency began in earnest with a perilous ascent to the top of one of the state’s most recognizable symbols.

From the observation deck of The Tower on the 40 acres of the University of Texas in Austin, the devil’s wrath rained down in the form of the most vengeful sharpshooting madman, who picked off his victims with the accuracy of a well-trained carpenter hammering nails.

The innocence and idealism of the university was suddenly transformed into Mephistopheles’ battlefield, a paradise lost. For almost 90 minutes, Charles Whitman killed 14 people, not including his wife and mother, and wounded 31 others.

Martinez, “Ranger Ray,” as he would eventually be known, two other Austin police officers, and a civilian with a rifle did what the good guys do — put down this rebellion against good by killing the bastard. Martinez and Officer Houston McCoy killed Whitman with Officer Jerry Day and Allen Crum providing cover.

The selfless servants governing good and evil had ultimately won the day. “Your training takes over. You have a mission, so to speak,” Martinez says by phone recently. “And the mission is to protect and serve the population you’re serving. It was something that had to be done. Someone needed to go there and confront the killer.”

Martinez’s acclaimed law enforcement career wound around to a place on the most famous law enforcement unit of them all — the Texas Rangers. It was there that he confronted more wicked forces of society, the Duke of Duval and all his incendiary devices of graft and corruption, whose germs were so widespread that 50 years of law enforcement efforts had failed to unroot it.

We’ll find out about all of that, but in 2023 the Texas Rangers, started by Stephen F. Austin, the empresario who created his own force of 10 men to protect the population from attacking Native American warriors within his colony, turns 200 years old. He paid them out of his own wallet, this force designed to supplement the Mexican government’s militia patrols, which, in reality, were not only unsatisfactory but, in some cases, nonexistent.

The Texas Ranger Association and two other nonprofits, the Texas Department of Public Safety Foundation and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, are using 2023 to celebrate the bicentennial. “It can be argued that without the Texas Rangers in the first place,

we would not have had the Republic of Texas or the state of Texas,” says Gov. Greg Abbott at the Fort Worth Stock Show kickoff announcement on March 2 — Texas Independence Day — at Dickies Arena.

“In order to have an organized society, to have a nation, a state, or country, you must first have law and order, and it was the Texas Rangers who provided the law and order that provided the foundation that led to the Republic of Texas and that led to the greatest state in the history of this country.”

To be a Ranger, one must first be a DPS trooper. That’s the way it’s been since 1935. The Rangers, since that year a division within the Department of Public Safety, have led investigative responsibility for major violent crimes, unsolved violent crimes, serial criminals, public corruption, public integrity offenses, and officer-involved shootings. The division is also responsible for the state’s border security operations program and DPS tactical operations.

They are more often than not called in to jurisdictions that don’t have the resources to investigate.

A little more than a year from now, emerging from the ground at DPS headquarters in Austin will be a new Texas DPS Memorial. The existing memorial is inadequate, as well as incomplete, missing more than 100 Rangers who gave their lives in service to their state and country before the formation of the DPS in 1935.

The memorial will depict a Ranger in the same granite as the state capitol.

It is part of the $10 million fundraising goal of the Texas Ranger 2023 Bicentennial.

The objective is to fund the memorial, a mobile Texas Ranger museum with approximately 1,200 square feet of exhibit space that will tour the state, and a scholarship fund for children of active Rangers, and a relief fund for active and retired Rangers.

At the Stock Show, the Rangers will have exhibits space and DPS and Rangers assets on display. There will be lectures and different educational components, including historians dressed in regalia.

“One of the things we want to show is there’s more to DPS than being just a trooper,” says Russell Molina, chairman of Texas Ranger 2023. “That’s what everybody sees, but there’s so much more behind that.”

In other words, the DPS is not simply out writing speeding tickets on the Chisholm Trail Parkway, despite a seemingly 24/7 presence there.

“And then we’ll be taking that show on the road,” says Molina, of the exhibits at the Stock Show. The bicentennial celebration will head to each of the six company jurisdictions of the Rangers in Texas: In addition to Fort Worth-Dallas, they’ll be in Houston, El Paso, Lubbock, the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and, lastly, headquarters in Austin.

“We’re going to all of those areas for four-day, five-day exposure where we have a display of assets,” Molina says. “Every division of DPS will be showcasing what they do: forensic, aircraft, finance and IT, and criminal investigation.”

There has been in recent years quite a bit of panting over the history of Rangers as politically correct revisionists put the organization in their scope of targets.

It’s true that the Rangers are seen as the crest of Texas, a heraldic device of its bigness and exceptionalism. That representation is supported through the mechanisms of popular culture.

I grew up watching the “Lone Ranger” in syndication. Chuck Norris, of course, put his stamp on the franchise, starring in the acclaimed “Walker, Texas Ranger,” whose shoots occasionally took the cast through Fort Worth. Sammy Baugh, the legendary TCU quarterback, was a Ranger in film, too, in “King of the Texas Rangers,” released in 1941.

A cursory examination of ol’ reliable IMDB. com — the database for everything Hollywood — shows dozens of films on the Texas Rangers, including one starring John Wayne himself and others featuring Audie Murphy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and even Clint Eastwood in the early 1990s. That one has slipped through the cracks of my memory of Eastwood films.

More recently, “The Highwaymen,” starring venerable Hollywood showpieces Kevin Costner, portraying famed Ranger Frank Hamer, and Woody Harrelson, depicts two Texas Rangers successfully pinning down notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana.

Not every successful mission caught the eye of screenwriters, however. A lesser-known story involves a Ranger successfully interrupting an assassination attempt of U.S. President William Howard Taft and Mexican President Porfirio Diaz in 1909 at the shared border in El Paso.

ready and able soldiers in combat, make no mistake about it, though, he added, “some could be savage in peace.”

Over the years, from that period until into the 1930s, the Rangers acquired the nickname Los Diablos Tejanos for what some would call remorseless repression controlling the border regions.

A controversial book published in 2020, Cult of Glory, by Doug Swanson was unyielding in scolding the historical Rangers.

“The Rangers were the violent instruments of repression. They burned peasant villages and slaughtered innocents. They committed war crimes. Their murders of Mexicans and Mexican Americans made them as feared on the border as the Ku Klux Klan in the Deep South. They hunted runaway slaves for bounty. They violated international law with impunity. They sometimes moved though Texas towns like a rampaging gang of thugs. They conspired to quash the civil rights of Black citizens.

“For decades, the Rangers operated a fable factory through which many of their greatest defeats, worst embarrassments, and darkest moment were recast as grand triumphs. They didn’t merely whitewash the truth. They destroyed it.”

The Rangers en brochette.

One incident Swanson features — and uses to make a sweeping censure — is the attempt to integrate schools in Mansfield. The author makes a condemnation of the Rangers’ actions there — or rather inaction — specifically the condemnation of Ranger Jay Banks not assisting Black students to enroll in school.

The Secret War in El Paso tells the story of Ranger C.R. Moore interceding, grabbing the suspect by the arm, and finding that a Mexican revolutionary posing as a newspaper reporter was carrying a “pencil pistol,” intent on killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, ending the decades-long rule of Diaz and likely making James Sherman the 28th president of the United States.

Critics disapprove of Hollywood’s romanticism of the Rangers, whose tactics in some cases, particularly in those early frontier days, mirrored those of zealous warriors.

Some would say overzealous warriors.

U.S. Army General Zachary, commanding general in the Mexican War, liked the volunteer Rangers, “brave and gallant in war.” They were

Banks, of course, in reality had been prohibited by Gov. Allan Shivers from doing so. This wasn’t a situation like Little Rock where Eisenhower’s direction to the troops was to assist in integrating the schools. The Rangers were tasked with preventing violence, a mission the Rangers successfully accomplished.

To that end, Banks allowed safe passage for a priest on-site to advocate for the admittance of the Black students.

That book was what led to the city of Dallas taking down the “One Riot, One Ranger” monument in Love Field — the Ranger statue is Banks — over what the statue might represent for some people.

It was a curious thing, this removal of the statue, to those with ties to the Rangers, who noted that one of Banks’ biggest admirers is Earl Pearson, the first African American chief of the Texas Rangers. Pearson later recounted how, as a young DPS trooper, he met Banks, who encouraged him to apply to become a Texas Ranger.

Banks even wrote him a letter of recommendation.

Some academics have pounced on Swanson’s tome. North Texas history professor and author Richard McCaslin denounced the book as having sacrificed historical accuracy after the author “abandoned objectivity and deep research.

“Perhaps this is a good book if you want to understand the violence that swirled around the early settlers of Texas, and the legal conflicts that wracked the Lone Star State in the 20th century, but the Rangers are not the most common source of this brutality,”

Ramiro “Ray” Martinez

McCaslin wrote in a review.

That’s not to say bad stuff didn’t happen. The Rangers and their supporters don’t even deny that.

“I thought it was just a rehash of old stuff,” says Martinez. “He wasn’t discovering anything new. Just rehashing old criticisms. If you go into the history of the Rangers, yes, there were the dark days. Hell, they were not perfect.”

They also weren’t always Rangers, Martinez says. At least not full Rangers. Some were so-called “Special Rangers” or reserve Rangers, which designated one a “Ranger” for the purpose of carrying a gun. Some of these people worked in the railroad or were cattlemen.

“They were all ‘Special Rangers,’” Martinez says. “They didn’t come under the scrutiny of the values or [train in an] academy. Therefore, you pay for what you get sometimes. We paid dearly because some of those people, especially along the border, they were just gun happy, so to speak, and needless to say they didn’t know the first thing about law

enforcement. I’m sure there was a lot of stuff that went on that was illegal or shouldn’t be condoned.”

The first thing Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, a paragon of corruption, did when she took office in January 1933 was fire all the Rangers for the sin of supporting her opponent, Ross Sterling. Incoming Rangers, too, saw a reduction in salaries, and the Legislature further reduced the Rangers’ force.

That didn’t attract the best and brightest. It also served to attract the ignobles, such as Bonnie and Clyde who without the Rangers saw Texas as a sanctuary for their pursuit of ill-gotten gains. That’s why Ma, as depicted in “The Highwaymen,” recalled Rangers Frank Hamer and Maney Gault to find Bonnie and Clyde.

It’s also true that those early Rangers were formed by the brutal frontier, characterized by savage attacks by Native populations unsparing in their determination to see settlers out of Texas by any means necessary.

Revisionism is full of magnifying glasses exploring and judging past events using the criteria of the 21st century. Certainly, we wince when examining what happened at Porvenir in 1918. We also, on the other hand, have never been subjected to the terror or machinations of Villistas.

Sadly, no one, in those days in that time and space, considered just anyone part of the same human family.

“We want to tell the history correctly and in full context,” says Molina, the chairman of the Rangers bicentennial celebration. “The good, bad, and the ugly. We’re doing it all, but most importantly, it needs to be accurate.”

words were the beginning of healing for a terribly broken woman. His sister-in-law went on to tell him that the woman, not knowing she was related to Collins, opened up about the crime and the Ranger who was working the case.

“She said, ‘I knew when he told me they were going to find the people who did this that it was going to be OK. I just felt it was going to be OK.’”

That’s the kind of stuff that’s worth a year’s salary.

Martinez, a student at UT before leaving for the U.S. Army, like former Earl Pearson, the first Black chief, was a native of Rotan, a three-hour drive west of Fort Worth and just a smidge, 62 miles, northwest of Abilene.

“I really never saw myself,” Chance Collins says before pausing, “you hear people say, ‘I always wanted to be a Ranger.’ I really never saw myself at that level. My sights were set on being a highway patrolman. I wanted to be with DPS, and I wanted to wear the uniform of a highway patrolman because I saw that every day in what they did and who they were.”

Collins, though retired, will be a Texas Ranger until the hue of health has left his cheeks.

Collins retired as chief after 4 1/2 years in September after 20 years with the Rangers and eight years before that with the DPS.

His brother-in-law, DPS Trooper Daniel Higdon, stationed in Tyler, was killed in the line of duty in 1983.

“He was the brother I never had,” Collins says. “I went to his funeral, and here were all these people, just a mass of people from across the country. And I thought, ‘You don’t even know him.’

“I think we all want to be part of something greater than ourselves. That really solidified it for me. All I ever wanted to do was wear that uniform.”

One of his first cases as a Ranger was a gang-related mass killing in Edinburg. That resulted in death sentences. As a major, he worked the shootout between bikers at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco in 2015. He was also involved in the mass shootings at Sutherland Springs and, more recently, Uvalde.

“There are individual cases that really touch you,” Collins says. “It’s one thing to have a homicide, it’s another to have a living victim you talk to.”

He recalls a conversation with his sister-in-law, a nurse, who asked him about a case.

“I never talked in detail about cases,” he says. But his sister-in-law asked him about a case and mentioned the name of the victim. He said, yes, he did indeed know of the case and the remembered it well. The lady worked as a nurse with his sister-in-law.

The case involved a woman in her 60s who had been sexually assaulted repeatedly in her home by three men who had broken in and tied up her and her husband. Collins went to the hospital to investigate.

“She reminded me of my mother,” Collins says. “But I looked at her and said, ‘We are going to find the people who did this to you.’ The look on her face was so — she was in such pain obviously, emotional pain — thankful. You could see the trust that, ‘I know you’re going to help me.’ That drives you. It’s hard to explain. And we did find them.”

It was a moment he wasn’t imagining. His presence and reassuring

“I didn’t know Mr. Crum,” says Martinez of the civilian who joined him and two other officers at the top of the tower. “He had a rifle in his hand. When I started going up the steps, he said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said I’m going to look for the shooter. And he said, ‘You’re not going alone. I’ll cover you, you cover me.’ I said, ‘Well, c’mon.’

When they got up there, they were joined by McCoy and Day.

“I went out the door, and of course a lot of friendly fire was coming up,” Martinez says of other civilians on the ground doing what they could do to take out Charles Whitman. “It wasn’t very friendly, but anyway. They didn’t know we were up there.”

Martinez was carrying his six-shot revolver, a Smith and Wesson 3844 Heavy Duty revolver, and McCoy, a shotgun when they stepped out onto the tower’s lookout deck in 1966. When Martinez turned a corner, he spotted Whitman crouched down at the end of the other tier.

Martinez fired all six shots, hitting the killer. McCoy followed with a shotgun blast that finished him off and another to make sure. The two officers, perhaps letting out the angst of a city, got their money’s worth. Martinez grabbed McCoy’s shotgun and fired again.

Sadly, the incident was merely the first of the phenomenon known as the American mass shooting.

Martinez, only the third Hispanic on the Austin police department when he was sworn in, in 1960, was up for promotion at the time of the tower massacre. He was soon promoted to sergeant investigator, a job he had held for two years before leaving for the proverbial greener pastures and greener bank account.

He went in with a partner to open a restaurant.

Martinez had only been there about two weeks when he knew he had made a mistake. “But it was too late. I was already committed.” After eight months, he had had enough. An application to the Department of Public Safety was successful. He was hired on in 1969 and appointed as an agent to its narcotics division.

“I had known about the Rangers, and I admired them,” Martinez says. “Bill Wilson was the Ranger stationed in Austin. I had contact with him; I knew him. I thought, maybe, one day.”

A very convenient opportunity to join the elite department fell in his lap. It turned out to be too good to be true, for Martinez anyway. In the mail was delivered a personal letter from Texas Ranger Senior Captain Clint Peoples. It was an invitation to take the promotional test for Ranger.

At the time, the DPS was under political pressure to add more Hispanics to the Rangers. Martinez discovered that that’s where the interest lay in his becoming a Ranger. He wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to compete and earn a position on an even playing field.

“I felt that I could have made it then, but I didn’t want to be a token,”

Martinez says. “I didn’t want to be given anything I didn’t deserve. I wanted to compete. I sent him [Peoples] a nice letter declining the invitation.”

Two years later, in 1973, Martinez became “Ranger Ray,” beginning a career that would last 18 years.

High-profile cases were in his future. Martinez and a team of Rangers were sent to investigate how guns and ammunition were smuggled into the Huntsville state penitentiary in the days after the prison uprising led by convicted South Texas drug kingpin Frederico Gomez Carrasco.

The Texas Rangers had been after George Parr for literally generations when Martinez’s team of Rangers was sent back in under the direction of Texas Attorney General John Hill in 1975. Parr was known as the “Duke of Duval County.” His machine politics ran Duval County and neighboring counties since his father’s days in the 19-teens. Parr, beginning with his father, was the patrone, and graft and corruption were the name of the game.

Among Parr’s patrons was Lyndon Johnson, who likely owed his ascent to the presidency to the Duke. Without the mysterious, suddenly discovered Box 13, where vote counters found the necessary 87 votes, LBJ never would have won election to the U.S. Senate. Well, not in 1948 anyway.

During the fight, Allee and Archer Parr both went for their guns.

“I thought for sure there was going to be a killing,” said Caro Brown, a reporter for The Associated Press, told the Morning News.

Archer jerked out his gun. Allee, a 200-pound veteran of tough border country patrols, twisted the pistol out of the slender Parr’s hand.

At this point, “chubby” George Parr jumped into the fight, but he didn’t have time to swing. Allee hauled off and landed the blow to poor George’s left ear.

After the 20-minute talk inside the courtroom, they all emerged, and Allee said George Parr had promised to stop pistol whipping and otherwise carrying Winchesters in Duval County. However, mere months later, Allee said the Rangers uncovered a Parr plot to kill him — the Parrs, it was alleged, were not above murder to maintain their power.

In addition to the proverbial iron fist and intimidation, George Parr ruled with bullets.

And this is how the system worked: Parr put his own people in the leverage-heavy positions, gutted his enemies wherever and whenever possible, kept as many of the citizens as possible in an appreciative slavery, and stole as much as he could for himself.

One anecdote from the Dallas Morning News from the 1950s describes such, as well as the tension and lengths the Rangers went in stopping him. The Rangers pursued this guy for years.

“One Ranger bloodied George Parr’s left ear in a courthouse brawl Monday and said he made the South Texas political kingpin promise to stop ‘carrying Winchesters over there in Duval County.’”

It was Capt. Alfred Allee who belted Parr — by that time, no one doubted he deserved it —during a brief fight in the Duval County courthouse that started as an argument between Ranger Joe Bridge and Parr’s nephew, Archer Parr, who was — get this — the sheriff of Duval County. George Parr was waiting to plead innocent to a charge of illegally carrying a gun.

George Parr and another, ahem, gentleman had been charged with brandishing guns at a meeting of Freedom Party members in San Diego — not that San Diego. San Diego, Texas, is the seat of government of Duval County, predominantly Mexican-American country. The Freedom Party opposed the reign of Parr, and with that kind of opposition came risks.

“I am here until this thing is over with — me and my six men. I think my company can handle it. We are all for one and one for all,” Allee said, with a not-so-subtle warning to the Parrs, “If anything happens to me or my men, we will get you.”

It wasn’t until 1974 that the Parrs finally fell, with the help of the feds, who nabbed both Parrs for income tax evasion.

George Parr, out on appeal but due in court for a bond revocation hearing, went missing. The Rangers found him on his ranch slumped over and dead of a self-inflicted gun-shot wound. Archer Parr was already in a federal penitentiary.

However, the germ of Duval County — corruption — was still everywhere.

Texas Attorney General John Hill sent in the Rangers. On that task force was Ray Martinez, along with Rudy Rodriguez, and Gene Powell, all working under Capt. John Wood.

What they found was staggering. Corruption in every government institution, including the school district.

“The schools, the city, the county, you name it,” Martinez says. “They had their hands in it, defrauding the public coffers.”

Seized in one raid were missing school records that were found in a well between the ceiling and roof of the Benavides school district administration building. The records had been sought since the previous year in connection with the Internal Revenue Service probe of the Parrs.

“The records included letters and other documents dealing with the operation of the school district,” a newspaper account recorded. “They were apparently thrust into the space hurriedly.”

That investigation netted 300 state indictments against school and county officials.

“I’m proud of the Duval County investigation,” Martinez says. “I was real proud of that investigation.”

Score another for the good guys.

2023 School Guide | private

All Saints Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.624.2670, ascsfw.org

All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth, 817.560.5700, aseschool.org

Anderson Private School for the Gifted, Talented and Creative, Fort Worth, 817.448.8484, andersonschool.net

Bethesda Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.581.5131, bcsfw.org

Burleson Adventist School, Burleson, 817.295.6812, burlesonadventistschool.net

Calvary Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.332.3351, calvaryacademy.com

Cassata Catholic High School, Fort Worth, 817.926.1745, cassatahs.org

Children's University, Arlington, 817.784.6655, childrensuniversity.com

Chisholm Trail Academy, Keene, 817.558.4404, ctanet.org

Covenant Christian Academy, Colleyville, 817.281.4333, covenantchristian.net

Covenant Classical School, Fort Worth, 817.820.0884, covenantfw.org

Creme de la Creme, Colleyville, 817.416.3683, cremedelacreme.com

Cristo Rey Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.720.3023, cristoreyfw.org

Crown of Life Lutheran School, Colleyville, 817.251.1881, colschool.org

Ekklesia Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.332.1202, ekklesiachristianschool.org

Fellowship Academy, Kennedale, 817.483.2400, fellowship-academy.org

Flint Academy, Arlington, 817.277.0620,

Fort Worth Academy, Fort Worth, 817.370.1191, fwacademy.org

Fort Worth Adventist Junior Academy, Fort Worth, 817.370.7177, fwaja.net

Fort Worth Christian School, North Richland Hills, 817.520.6200, fwc.org

Fort Worth Country Day School, Fort Worth, 817.732.7718, fwcd.org

Fort Worth Montessori School, Fort Worth, 817.294.9850, fortworthmontessori.com

Fusion Academy Southlake, Southlake, 817.416.0306, fusionsouthlake.com

Grace Preparatory Academy, Arlington, 817.557.3399, graceprep.org

Grapevine Faith Christian School, Grapevine, 817.422.1605, grapevinefaith.com

Harvest Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.485.1660, hcasaints.org

Hill School of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.923.9482, hillschool.org

–

2023 School Guide | private

Holy Cross Christian Academy, Burleson, 817.295.7232, hccaburleson.com

Holy Family Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.737.4201, hfcsfw.org

Holy Trinity Catholic School, Grapevine, 817.421.8000, holytcs.org

Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Denton, 940.381.1155, catholicschooldenton.org

Joshua Christian Academy, Joshua, 817.295.7377, joshuachristianacademy.org

Key School, Fort Worth, 817.446.3738, kcld.org

Lake Country Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.236.8703, lccs.org

Liberty Christian School, Argyle, 940.294.2000, libertychristian.com

Lighthouse Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.237.7641, lcafw.org

Messiah Lutheran Classical Academy, Keller, 817.431.5486, mlcatexas.org

Montessori School of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.732.0252, msftw.org

Mosaic Academy, Fort Worth, 817.204.0300, mosaicacademy.org

Nazarene Christian Academy, Crowley, 817.297.7003, fwf.org

Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, 817.457.2920, nolancatholichs.org

North Park Christian Academy, North Richland Hills, 817.498.8456, northparknow.com

Pantego Christian Academy, Arlington, Mansfield, 817.460.3315, pantego.com

Park Row Christian Academy, Arlington, 817.277.1021, parkrowchristian.net

Primrose School of Bedford, Bedford, 817.545.5485, primrosebedford.com

Primrose School of Columbus Trail, Fort Worth, 817.423.4000, primrosecolumbustrail.com

Primrose School at Eagle Ranch, Fort Worth, 817.236.6760, primroseeagleranch.com

Primrose School of Grand Peninsula, Grand Prairie, 817.477.0077, primrosegrandpeninsula.com

Primrose School of Hall Johnson, Grapevine, 817.416.0404, primrosehalljohnson.com

Primrose School at Heritage, Keller, 817.741.5044, primroseheritage.com

Primrose School at Hidden Lakes, Southlake, 817.337.4666, primrosehiddenlakes.com

Primrose School of Keller, Keller, 817.337.0717, primrosekeller.com

Primrose School of Mid-Cities, Hurst, 817.485.8993, primrosemidcities.com

SCHOOL THAT WORKS!

2023 School Guide | private

Primrose School of NE Green Oaks, Arlington, 817.543.2626, primrosenegreenoaks.com

Primrose School of Parkwood Hill, Fort Worth, 817.281.5322, primroseparkwoodhill.com

Primrose School of Southlake, Southlake, 817.421.8087, primrosesouthlake.com

Primrose School of Walnut Creek, Mansfield, 817.477.0880, primrosewalnutcreek.com

St. Andrew Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.924.8917, standrewsch.org

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, Keller, 817.431.4845, seascs.net

St. George Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.222.1221, stgeorgecatholicschool.org

St. John the Apostle Catholic School, North Richland Hills, 817.284.2228, stjs.org

St. Joseph Catholic School, Arlington, 817.419.6800, stjosephtx.org

St. Maria Goretti Catholic School, Arlington, 817.275.5081, smgschool.org

St. Paul Lutheran School, Fort Worth, 817.353.2929, stpauleagles.org

St. Paul's Preparatory Academy, Arlington, 817.561.3500, stpaulsprep.com

St. Peter's Classical School, Fort Worth, 817.229.4675, stpetersclassical.org

St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.246.2032, spsfw.org

St. Rita Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.451.9383, saintritaschool.net

Southwest Christian School, Fort Worth, Elementary: 817.294.0350; Preparatory: 817.294.9596, southwestchristian.org

Temple Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.457.0770, tcseagles.org

The Clariden School, Southlake, 682.237.0400, claridenschool.org

The Montessori Academy of Arlington, Arlington, 817.274.1548, tmaonline.org

The Oakridge School, Arlington, 817.451.4994, theoakridgeschool.org

Trinity Baptist Temple Academy, Fort Worth, 817.237.4255, tbta.tbtchurch.org

Trinity Christian Academy, Willow Park, 817.441.5897, tcaeagles.org

Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, 817.321.0100, tvs.org

Waypoint Montessori, Colleyville, 817.354.6670, waypointmontessori.org

– $25,800

2023 School Guide | college & university

Abilene Christian University, Abilene, 800.460.6228, acu.edu

Amberton University, Garland, 972.279.6511, amberton.edu

Angelo State University, San Angelo, 800.946.8627, angelo.edu

Arlington Baptist University, Arlington, 817.461.8741, abu.edu

Austin College, Sherman, 903.813.3000, austincollege.edu

Baptist University of the Américas, San Antonio, 210.924.4338, bua.edu

Baylor University, Waco, 800.BAYLORU, baylor.edu

Concordia University, Austin, 512.313.3000, concordia.edu

Baptist University, Dallas, 214.333.7100, dbu.edu

DeVry University, Irving, 972.929.6777, devry.edu 174

East Texas Baptist University, Marshall, 800.804.ETBU, etbu.edu

Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, 325.670.1000, hsutx.edu

Houston Baptist University, Houston, 281.649.3211, hbu.edu

Howard Payne University, Brownwood, 800.880.4HPU, hputx.edu

Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, 512.505.3028, htu.edu

Lamar University, Beaumont, 409.880.8888, beacardinal.com

LeTourneau University, Longview, 800.759.8811, letu.edu

Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, 806.796.8800, lcu.edu

McMurry University, Abilene, 325.793.3800, mcm.edu

Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, 800.842.1922, mwsu.edu

Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, 210.434.6711, ollusa.edu

Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, 936.261.3311, pvamu.edu

St. Edward’s University, Austin, 512.448.8400, stedwards.edu

St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, 210.436.3126, stmarytx.edu

The 2023 School Guide Is Online

Fort Worth Magazine’s School Guide is on our website fwtx.com.

You will find a comprehensive list of private schools, colleges, and graduate programs in the area. From fine arts academies and faithbased schools to Montessori academies and schools focused on accelerated learning for the gifted and talented, the 2022 School Guide gives parents a glimpse at each school, including studentto-teacher ratio, cost of tuition, and enrollment.

We hope you will find this quick reference to the area’s schools and colleges helpful as you explore the possibilities of your child’s education.

School Guide |

2023 School Guide | college & university

Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, 936.294.1111, shsu.edu

Schreiner University, Kerrville, 800.343.4919, schreiner.edu

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, 214.768.2000, smu.edu

Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, 800.433.2240, swau.edu

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, 817.923.1921, x 2700, admissions. swbts.edu

Southwestern University, Georgetown, 800.252.3166, southwestern.edu

Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, 936.468.2504, sfasu.edu

Sul Ross State University, Alpine, 1.888.722. SRSU, sulross.edu

Tarleton State University, Stephenville, 254.968.9000, tarleton.edu

Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, 817.515.8223, tccd.edu

Texas A&M University, College Station, 979.845.3211, tamu.edu

Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, 1.888.868.2682, tamuc.edu

Texas Baptist College, Fort Worth, 817.923.1921, texasbaptistcollege.com

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 817.257.7000, tcu.edu

Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, 830.372.8000, tlu.edu

Texas Southern University, Houston, 713.313.7011, tsu.edu

Texas State University, San Marcos, 512.245.2111, txstate.edu

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 806.742.2011, admissions.ttu.edu

Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, 817.531.4444, txwes.edu

Texas Woman’s University, Denton, 940.898.2000, twu.edu

Trinity University, San Antonio, 800.TRINITY, trinity.edu

University of Dallas, Irving, 972.721.5000, udallas.edu

University of Houston, Houston, 713.743.1000, uh.edu

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, 800.727.8642, umhb.edu

$50

$35

University of North Texas, Denton, 940.565.2108, unt.edu

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, 817.272.2011, uta.edu

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 512.471.3434, utexas.edu

University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, 972.883.2111, utdallas.edu

University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, 915.747.5000, utep.edu

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, 210.458.4011, utsa.edu

of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, 210.829.6005, uiw.edu

Weatherford College, Weatherford, 817.594.5471, wc.edu

Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, 806.291.1000, wbu.edu

2022 School Guide | graduate program

School Guide | graduate program

Baptist University, Houston, 281.649.3269, hbu.edu/GRAD

Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, 214.768.2550, law.smu.ed

South Texas College of Law, Houston, 713.659.8040, stcl.edu

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, 1.877.GO.SWBTS, swbts.edu

Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, 936.468.2807, sfasu.edu

Sul Ross State University, Alpine, 1.888.722.SRSU, sulross.edu

Tarleton State University, Stephenville, 254.968.9104, tarleton.edu/graduate

Texas A&M University, College Station, 979.845.3211, tamu.edu

Texas A&M University - Commerce, Commerce, 903.886.5163, tamuc.edu

Texas A&M School of Law, Fort Worth, 817.212.4144, law.tamu.edu 698 $55

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 817.257.7515, graduate.tcu.edu

2023 School Guide | graduate program

Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Houston, 713.313.4455, tsulaw.edu

Texas State University, San Marcos, 512.245.2111, gradcollege.txstate.edu

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 806.742.2787, depts.ttu.edu/gradschool

Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, 806.742.3791, law.ttu.edu

Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, 817.555.4444, txwes.edu

Texas Woman’s University, Irving, 972.721.5000,

of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton,

umhb.edu

Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.735.2000, unthsc.edu

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, 817.272.2688, uta.edu/gradschool

of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, 972.883.2111, utdallas.edu

University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, 915.747.5000, utep.edu

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, 210.458.4011, utsa.edu

University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 512.471-5151, utexas.edu/law

University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, 210.829.6000, uiw.edu

Annual Luncheon

Texas Women’s Foundation

Texas Women’s Foundation raced to raise funds in support of women and girls at its 37th Annual Luncheon on Oct. 6 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. With the theme of Transforming Texas, the event featured Allyson Felix, the most decorated American Track & Field Olympian of all time. The Annual Luncheon is the foundation’s principal fundraiser in support of its work to advance women’s economic security, leadership, education, health and safety in Texas through research, advocacy, programs, and grantmaking.

The award-winning Garland High School step team fired up the attendees with their energetic routines and chants to much applause, followed by a conversation moderated by Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall with Felix.

Ashley Harris, Jennifer Stimpson, Tricia Watson, Cousia Towns, Arnetta Harris

Mike Ireland, Bonnie Clinton, Shrini Arole

Lily Brown, Shonn Brown, Ryan Brown, Samantha Ward

Clarissa Luckey, Catherine Helm, Ashley Slaughter

PHOTOS BY KIM LEESON

Tiffanie Rice, Rebecca Bennett, Trenessia Smith, Sophia Swalbach

THE BUILDERS : dream street

Dream Street 2023: Introducing the Builders

Three master builders for three multimillion-dollar luxury homes. It’s a match we can only dream of.

BY BRIAN KENDALL

Much like every film needs a director, every home needs a builder. Someone must be at the helm of a project so massive, directing traffic and ensuring the beams are raised, the small details don’t go unnoticed. It’s their baby; the buck stops with them.

The third iteration of the Fort Worth Magazine Dream Street, like years past, brings together three of the area’s top builders to construct three separate state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar homes. The homes will also showcase three distinct,

eye-catching styles: Mediterranean, English Arts and Crafts, and Tuscany. The builders will work with an allstar team of different subcontractors (flooring, landscape, roofing, kitchen, lighting, etc.) to ultimately build homes to inspire future projects.

The three homes, already under construction, will open for touring in October 2023 in the new Oak Alley development in Colleyville. Proceeds from touring will go to a Wish with Wings, a local nonprofit that grants wishes to children with life-threatening conditions.

This year’s Dream Street, like last

year’s (and the year before) has a familiar face: John Webb of Heritage Custom Homes. Webb returns for the fourth time to take part in a Fort Worth Magazine home project — he first jumped onto the scene with the magazine’s 2019 Showcase Home. Of course, Webb’s been in business far longer than the magazine’s dream projects. With over 30 years of building experience, Webb formed Heritage Homes in 2014 and mostly concentrates on the Southlake and Colleyville areas.

So, why does he keep returning?

“It’s a huge amount of exposure, and I enjoy doing it,” Webb says. “I’m able to show off what we can do and what we’re capable of doing as far as the creativity. It’s nice to show off what all the talented team members are able to accomplish.”

This will mark the first Dream project for the other two builders: Brian Michael Demma of Brian Michael Distinctive Homes and Nick Smith of Kensington Custom Homes.

While Demma’s resume is chock-full of work in information technology, he always found time to dive into his passion: purchasing, managing, and remodeling homes. While this work was initially constricted to the weekends, Demma eventually managed to morph this hobby into a full-time position.

Smith’s story begins in London, where he lived in a 400-year-old Tudor home and first cut his teeth in property development. While he initially worked on commercial projects, Smith eventually moved to Dallas, where he switched to residential development and founded Kensington Homes, a boutique builder that enjoys a large presence in the Southlake, Westlake, Colleyville, Keller, and Grapevine areas.

These three master builders with over 70 years of industry experience between them will combine to create a trifecta of jaw-dropping homes. We hope you’re as excited as we are.

Dream Street 2023 Project Partners

FortWorthMagazine’sDream Street wouldn’t be possible without the partnerships of local home industry professionals. Our project partners bring talent, passion, and experience to the project and are an integral part to bringing the homes to life.

HERITAGE HOMES

Appliances: The Jarrell Company

Architect: Arch House Collaborative

Artificial Grass: Wintergreen Synthetic Grass

Cabinets Kitchen: The Kitchen Source

Cabinets Closets: Closet Factory

Counter Top Fabrication: Absolute Stone & Tile, Inc.

Counter Top Materials: Klz Stone Supply, Inc.

Drywall And Texture: Alliance Drywall Inc.

Fireplaces Interior: Fireside Hearth & Home

Flooring Wood & Carpet: Premier Designs Flooring

Flooring Tile Material: Daltile

Framing: Lone Star Framing & Construction Llc

Garage Doors & Openers: Open Up Garage Doors

Glass (Shower-Mirror-Etc): Galactic Glass

Gutters: Loveless Gutters

Hvac (Materials And Labor): Interior Climate Experts

Insulation: Texas Insulation

Interior Designer: Susan Semmelmann Interiors

Landscape/Irrigation/Grade: Guardado Landscaping

Low Voltage/Security/Av: Multimedia Solutions

Patio Furniture: Yard Art Patio & Fireplace

Plumbing Labor & Supplies: Pro Serve Plumbing

Roofing/Flashing: Tarrant Roofing

KENSINGTON CUSTOM HOMES

Appliances: The Jarrell Company

Architect: Heritage Design Studio & Interiors

Cabinets Kitchen: The Kitchen Source

Counter Top Fabrication: Absolute Stone & Tile, Inc.

Counter Top Materials: Klz Stone Supply, Inc.

Drywall And Texture: Alliance Drywall Inc.

Electrician-X: Prewitt Electrical Services

Fireplaces Interior: Overhead Door Company of Fort Worth

Flooring Wood And Carpet: Vintage Floors

Flooring Tile Material: Daltile

Front Door & Gate: Silverado Custom Door & Window

Garage Doors & Openers: Overhead Door Company Of Fort Worth

Glass (Shower-Mirror-Etc): Galactic Glass

Insulation: Texas Insulation

Interior Designer: Heritage Design Studio & Interiors

Landscape/Irrigation/Grade: Guardado Landscaping

Low Voltage/Av/Security: H Customs

Patio Furniture: Yard Art Patio & Fireplace

Plumbing Fixtures: The Jarrell Company

Pool: Claffey Pools

Roofing/Flashing: Texas Tile Roofing

BRIAN MICHAEL DISTINCTIVE HOMES

Cabinets Kitchen: The Kitchen Source

Counter Top Materials: Levantina

Drywall And Texture: Alliance Drywall

Fireplaces In/Out Isokerns: Fireside Hearth & Home

Fireplaces Interior: Fireside Hearth & Home

Flooring Wood & Carpet: Galvan Floors

Flooring Tile Material: Daltile

Glass (Shower-Mirror-Etc): Galactic Glass

Insulation: Texas Insulation

Interior Designer: Elements Of Design

Landscape/Irrigation/Grade: Guardado Landscaping

Patio Furniture: Yard Art Patio & Fireplace

Plumbing Labor & Supplies: Pro Serve Plumbing

Pool: Blue Water Pools

Understanding the value of heritage is a belief we don’t take lightly. Fort Worth is our home and has been since 1925. The memories we’ve made and the community we share is what we believe to be the driving force behind this great city we call home. For more than 90 years we have grown with you and will continue to for many years to come.

Thank you, Fort Worth.

Give Back

There’s nothing more rewarding than giving back and making a difference in the lives of people in this great community. As the city’s magazine — which has the eyes and ears of some of Fort Worth’s most affluent and philanthropic citizens — we feel a responsibility to give back to the people of the city that is our namesake, which is why Philanthropy is one of our core values.

Every year, Fort Worth Magazine sponsors more than 100 charity events, which range from luncheons to black-tie galas. The following promotional section is devoted to these charities and their fundraisers. We invite you to consciously peruse and consider lending a helping hand by either making a donation or attending these events.

Jan. 7

Grand Entry Gala

Junior League of Fort Worth

Jan. 21

Beyond the Bag

Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation

BARRETT HAVRAN MEMORIAL

Presenting Sponsor

The

Andrea

Honorary Committee

Grant Coates

Richard Connor

Olivia Eudaly

Kelly Fuhrman

Andrea Harkins

Adam Jones

Greg Kalina

Sarah Knotts

Richard Minker

Shayne Moses

Carole Murray

Scott Murray

Emily Paslay

Marcus Paslay

Charles Pierson

Norman Robbins

Dwight Ruddock

Nada Ruddock

Jerry Scott

Gloria Starling

Event Committee

Larry Anfin

Brittany Bargholz

Billy Biffel

Jon Bonnell

Brad Bloxom

Danielle Boyd

Camille Brown

Hal Brown

Cortney Craft

Ryan Craft

Nick Davis

Alexz Harrison

Michael Harrison

Blake Havran

Ben Hood

Cyndi Jochum

April Knight

David Knight

Jackie Kuehl

Amanda Malone

Bond Malone

Natalia Mendoza

Melissa Mitchell

Maggie Moore

Rachel Pillar

Courtney Radcliffe

Will Radcliffe

David Werner

Joy Ann & Bob Havran

Dorothea Leonhardt Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas

Harkins, Donor Advisor

Scan Here

the 68 th

Jewel Charity Ball

AMON G. CARTER JR. EXHIBITS HALL 3 • 4 • 2023

BECOME AN AND JOIN US

Angel

Expect an evening of elegance and celebration with surprising details around every corner. Since 1954, the Jewel Charity Ball has honored the hearts of Angel donors. Their generosity helps us provide for the patients at Cook Children’s. Please visit our website to learn more.

Steven Parker works in leather — like, a lot of leather. You see, every day, Parker works with his bare hands making some of the city’s best cowboy boots. And, considering that city is Fort Worth, it’s really saying something. Crystal Wise, our magazine’s director of photography, snapped this photo while at Parker’s shop, Morris Boot Company, for a feature we ran in April 2021. The saddle that caught Crystal’s eye is in the corner of his boot-making shop and serves as a catchall for ropes and rogue pieces of leather. (Note: You might also recognize Steven from our October feature on cowboy hats, where he served as a model for the story’s opening page.)

@crystalclearphotographytx

Get your photo on this page and win a $100 gift card to Fort Worth Camera. Just tag Fort Worth Magazine (@fwtxmag) and Fort Worth Camera (@fwcamera) and use the hashtags #fwtxmag and #fwcamera on all your amazing Cowtown images. main line 817.560.6111 | subscriptions 817.766.5550 | website fwtx.com

PHOTO BY CRYSTAL WISE

Family owned and operated. Purchase online or in-store and deliver to your door step. New state-of-the-art showroom coming soon.

We Drive the Difference:

¡ Triple Crown Lincoln Promise which includes:

- 2 years of oil changes, tire rotations, & multipoint inspections.

¡ Triple Crown Lincoln Valet Service which includes:

- Online or over the phone sales purchase and delivery

- Service pick-up and delivery

Family Owned and Operated since 1986. We tailor the purchase experience to fit your needs, not ours; because we don’t just want to sell you a vehicle, we want to build a relationship and become your trusted advisor for all purchases and service.

Pictured: Stephen Gilchrist, Dealer Operator; Dustin Rodgers, GM, Triple Crown Lincoln.

Opulent Transport

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter moves people in comfort, safety, and style. For Vicki Nivens, a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 Cargo Van 170” Wheelbase High Roof from Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth meets her transportation needs in the hospitality industry. “Park Place really took my vision of what I had in mind for the Sprinter for our businesses and our family and helped me select the perfect vehicle to accommodate us all,” says Nivens, owner of Hard Eight BBQ, with five DFW locations, and Hotel Lucy, a boutique hotel in Granbury. Nivens says the Sprinter is used for both business and some personal use. “It is used as a shuttle for Hotel Lucy guests to take wine tours around Granbury and serves as an airport shuttle for hotel guests,” she says. And Nivens enjoys occasional travel with granddaughter MayCee Decker and family in the van. “Our family made great memories piling in

the Sprinter and going to Beaver Creek all together for a family vacation last year.” Exceptional customer service is the No. 1 thing she instills in her employees, and she appreciates that about working with Park Place. “I am a repeat customer because they have always taken great care of me and my businesses,” she says. “Park Place is My Place because of their attention to detail and exceptional customer service! They’re great people who sell a great product. What’s not to love?”