Hogenson

continued from page 4 been to other libraries and they didn't feel as welcome They had crying babies and were asked to leave It was, “Hush Hush Be quiet Be quiet ” And people have told us that they appreciate the welcoming atmosphere Now, granted we have run off some people because it wasn't real quiet I think it is more an evolution process And it changes all the time We never know what the next need will be And our staff has been so amazing. Mrs. Joyce (Park) and Terry McLaughlin have been so good at helping people get services

I've seen people come in that were homeless and Joyce Park will get on the phone and find a place for them to stay for the night, and help them get food and put them in touch with people who can help them get what they need We have a lot of poverty in our community and I don't think folks realize that.

Question: You've had a long friendship with Terisa O'Dowd, HISD's former Technology Director? Answer: Terisa O'Dowd and I have known each other since first grade in Pottsboro. We had a teacher who seemed like she was 100years-old and we would sit in the back and make little puddles of glue on paper and then we'd take crayons and put the shavings into the glue and set it on the window sill to dry And finally one day, she found us and said, “What are you girls doing?” she laughed But we used to have a lot of fun We went all the way through Pottsboro School District together and then graduated together, went out to Grayson County College together I was going to be a nurse I was a candy striper in high school and I come from a family of nurses And then chemistry at Grayson made me change my mind And Terisa was going into education and somehow she talked me into it I thought little kids were cute So she's the one who talked me into that We went to North Texas together, although it was called North Texas State University at the time We roomed together in the dorm there and an apartment We graduated together in December I was able to get a teaching job and she subbed that next semester And then we both got full-time jobs starting that fall, me in Denison and Terisa in

Gunter We've stayed friends all through the years She's the one who let me know about this job She was here in Howe and let me know when this job came open It's been awesome to work with my best bud We go eat lunch together and go to conferences together And we get to retire together, too It's exciting

We were roommates and we still stayed together We suffered through dorm together Oh my gosh We got to Denton and not all the dorms were air conditioned We wanted air conditioning and it turned out to be the freshman dormitory and here we were juniors. We came home every weekend, every weekend And then we'd go back

Question: Did you and Terisa live near each other? Answer: Terisa lived in the town of Pottsboro I lived between Pottsboro and Denison Her parents had a gas station and a little store, too Talk about being the hub of the community They were Everybody went to Shorty's. People would get their gas. They'd make a sandwich for you there People could get their candy, soft drinks Everybody knew Shorty's

Question: Didn't your parents own a tree farm? Answer: Yes, it was called Elliff Christmas Tree Farm on 120 between Denison and Pottsboro and they started that after I had already graduated college Mama read an article about how to trees, let them grow, cut th Well, it doesn't work that w is very labor intensive My the farm for a while and th called “Elves Christmas Tr neighbor and her husband b interesting that my parents brother went into forestry a Austin University in Nacog forester in Louisiana and n in horticulture Go figure I in it before, so I don't know came from Maybe it is in m

Can We Ever Thank Her Enough?

So, we offer a HUGE thank you and “Happy Retirement” to Becky Hogenson for giving so much of herself, for creating a library that we treasure, and for helping make Howe a wonderful place to live and raise our children