Anna Living Magazine Issue 2

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

YOUR

HEALTH

MATTERS!

Dr. Janet S. Wheat, DNP, APRN, FNP-C Jan loves caring for her patients and providing “family healthcare” in Anna and the surrounding communities.

She earned a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2019. She has served as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, NICU Educator, Care Flight Transport Nurse, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) for the state of Texas, Hospice Nurse Practitioner and Texas Woman’s University Adjunct Professor

Jennifer Musharbash, MSN, APRN, FMp-C Jennifer received her master’s degree in Family Nurse Practitioner Studies at Texas Woman’s University. She completed a Medical/ Surgical Nursing Fellowship at Parkland Hospital and has worked in several different areas of healthcare including Medical/Surgical, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Community Health, Internal Medicine and Hospice.

Anna Family Healthcare is an independently owned practice that focuses on preventive care for your whole family through all stages of life. From diagnostic tests and sick visits to chronic disease monitoring and minor surgical procedures, Anna Family Healthcare serves as the first stop for your healthcare needs.

MISSION

OUR LOCATION

The mission of Anna Family Healthcare is to promote the health and well-being of the community’s needs by providing accessible highquality medical care for people of all ages.

Anna Family Healthcare 813 West White Street #100 Anna, Texas 75409 T: 972.924.8224 F: 972.924.8226

SERVICES

813 West White Street #100, Anna, Texas 75409 T: 972.924.8224 F: 972.924.8226

• • • • • • • •

Annual Wellness Exams Child Exams Diabetic Care Dietary and Nutrition Guidance Hypertension Immunizations Newborn Care Weight Loss

OUR HOURS Business Hours Monday: 8:00-5:00 Tuesday: 8:00-5:00 Wednesday: 8:30-5:00 Thursday: 8:00-5:00 Friday: 8:00-5:00 Clinic Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00-4:15 Lunch Hours: Monday-Friday 12:00pm -1:15pm

ALL OFFICE VISITS ARE

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

CONTENTS

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18 6 16

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

Anna High School Graduation

Anna ISD met its challenges to provide a graduation exercise in spite of the COVID-19 requirements.

Anna Unity March

Amid social and racial unrest across the country, Anna youth set an example for how to have a peaceful protest.

Neighbor to Neighbor

Anna resident Sara Baker shared the story of how she and her husband came to select Anna as their home.

New businesses for Anna area

The Gar Hole has opened in historic downtown Westminster with an interesting story of how iit came to be.

News from the city of Anna

A new development was announced this month as well as a grant extension for businesses and fireworks delayed.

IN EVERY ISSUE A BIT OF ANNA HISTORY

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LIFE A LITTLE SIDEWAYS

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LIBRARY JOURNEY

27

MOVIE REVIEWS

25

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

11

JAMIE’S KITCHEN

28

PASTOR’S CORNER

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ALL ABOUT THE YARD

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Anna Living Magazine

ABOUT THE COVER: Anna High School Valedictorian Marianna Bert (left) and Salutatorian Emily McDonald delivered their respective speeches May 22 during special graduation exercises that followed a parade thorough the streets of Anna.

Photo by Joyce Godwin

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from the

EDITOR W

elcome to the second issue of Anna Living Magazine. We had such great feedback from readers on our first issue that it encourages us to do more.

PUBLISHER

Joyce Godwin EDITOR

Joyce Godwin AD SALES

Jamie Roubinek, Joyce Godwin

This issue is dedicated to the Anna High School graduates for 2020 recognizing the special circumstances of the way their senior year wrapped up. COVID-19 has caused problems for every level of life and continues to do so. But I believe the leadership of Anna is doing a great job in navigating the pitfalls. Just tune in to the city’s Facebook page for timely updates.

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jordan Keel, Xaviar Jukes, Joyce Godwin DESIGNER

Open Look Business Solutions DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS

In this issue we have stories about the unusual graduation exercises, the peaceful unity march through the streets of Anna, a new business in Westminster and news from the city of Anna.

Amy Jukes 469-532-5677 amy@annalivingmagazine.com CONTRIBUTORS

Be sure to put August 29 on your calendar to participate in the Slayter Creek Park Community Clean-up Day. Again, check the city’s Facebook page as well as the one for Anna Living Magazine as we get closer to the event date.

Don Eldredge, Bryce Runge, Lynette George, Alexia Swanepoel, Jamie Roubinek, Jimmie Gibson and Jennifer Sexton

Thank you to the people of Anna for accepting our magazine so favorably. We hope you’ll continue to like what we do and be interactive. This is your magazine.

Nominate a great family you know to be on our cover, or tell us about a special teacher whose story needs to be told. Tell us what we are doing right and what we need to change. Submissions are welcome.

Anthony and Terry Mitchell, Alonzo Tutson, Emily McDonald and Marianna Bert

Also, I hope you enjoy our new columnist Jimmie Gibson. He is so knowledgable about things that grow and good at writing about it. I’m sure you’ll live his information in All About the Yard.

The next issue of Anna Living Magazine will focus on getting back to school and what that is going to look like for Anna ISD. The issue is scheduled for September.

SPECIAL THANKS

FOR ADVERTISING QUESTIONS OR EDITORIAL REQUESTS

please email joyce@annalivingmagazine.com MANAGING OWNER

Joyce Godwin 903-815-0044

Be sure to let us hear from you.

Contact me at 903-815-0044, and if no answer, leave a message and I’ll get back to you quickly. I’m okay with texts as well. Email is annalivingmagazine@gmail. com.

Enjoy your summer.

P. O. Box 341, Anna TX 75409

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Anna Living Magazine

Sherley Brothers Hardware, Farm Supplies, Mortuary, and Museum Written by JAN SHERLEY MILLER

L

ewis Sherley and his family moved to Texas from Kentucky in 1853 and settled six miles north of McKinney, TX. Grandsons of Lewis and Paulina Keller, Andrew Lewis (6-19-1858: 11-10-1945) and Frederick Henderson (7-8-1871: 5-6-1941), later settled in Anna, TX (established soon after the H&TC railroad was built in 1872).

Andrew Sherley and William Y. Barnet established a general store in a building erected

by J.F. Greer and Wm. Y. Barnet, located west of the H&TC Depot. In 1881 A. Sherley and his brother William Meredith (6-5-1866: 11-1-1894) established A. Sherley and Brother, at which time the store was moved east of the railroad station and set up on the corner of the present (2017) park in a frame building. Then in 1889 the Sherleys built… …” the first brick building in town slightly north of the previous location (across the street) of their store. They sold a complete line of goods, including furniture, and later added a lumber yard and funeral parlor to the complex

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of buildings. They also sold livestock and had large holdings of farm land.” (Chester Howell, A Town Named Anna) The Sherley family history reveals that Wm. Meredith (Uncle Bunt to the younger generation) lived in a petitioned-off room upstairs in the south room of the store. He was a favorite of all the nieces and nephews because he always had fruit and candy for them at Christmas.

After his death in 1894, another and younger brother, Frederick Henderson, became a partner in A. Sherley and Bro. In 1925 Mr. Fred bought his brother’s share of the store. His daughter Lorraine recalls that Mr. Fred paid Andrew $33,000, part of which came through the release of Fred’s land near Lazbuddie, TX. He named the store Sherley Bros. for his sons George Edwin (10-23-1903: 4-16-1914) and Wayne Hanson (12-04-1907: 4-7-68) Mr. Fred operated the store almost until the year of his death, devoting almost 50 years of his working life to the store. He left Sherley Bros. as part of his estate to his two living children Lorraine and Wayne.

Anna Living Magazine

When Fred purchased the store in 1925, his son Wayne was attending Texas Christian University majoring in pre-med. Fred encouraged him to return to Anna after graduation in order to help in the business. He followed his father’s wishes. Wayne’s step-mother John Evelyn Goforth Sherley helped in the store when needed. When her health prevented her from working. Wayne’s wife Janet Largent Sherley began filling in. Also their three girls could be found sweeping and helping clerk. Janet filled Wayne’s shoes when he died in 1968. She ran the store until she broke her hip in 1979, and she later died in 1983. When the final division of property among the three girls was completed in 1989, Jan Sherley Miller, oldest daughter, received Sherley Bros. It has since been deeded by her and her husband to the three children.

The building constructed of red brick is a fine example of an early Texas commercial building, retaining the original canopy and painted signs. Minimal Victorian-era detailing includes corbelled brickwork in the parapet and paneled kick plates on storefront display win-

This is a current photo of the Sherley Brothers building as it appears today.

PHOTO BY JOYCE GODWIN/ANNA LIVING MAGAZINE

dows. The sign on the south wall in the original yellow lettering advertises “Beechnut Sliced Bacon.” The front of the building has window panels framed in white painted wood. The iron pillars supporting the edifice are painted black. The overhang is crimped tin, which has had to be repaired but is basically just as it was originally. The porch area which was originally wooden has been replaced with concrete.

Above the canopy on the upper wall (facing the railroad) are white letters saying “A. Sherley and Bro.” In front of the building was a scales for weighing wagons some carrying goods from as far away as Jefferson, Texas. These scales were removed when the construction of a Farm to Market road widened the original street and covered some of the area where the scales were.

The two-story brick building…” measures 30 X 80 feet, has a seventeen foot ceiling, and all the ornamental work was done on the grounds.

The railings, or banisters, with ornamental posts, were turned on the job as needed.

Following the design of that day, a deck was built near the 17 foot ceiling on the north and

kitchen ware was shelved on that deck. Below the deck the wall was covered with drawers for small hardware items, and small tools, including bits, wrenches, files, etc. counters with shelves and nail bins are just as they were built then. The ceiling of the old building, and ends of the counters were finished with beaded ceiling (beaded across each board). The flooring was of 6-inch edge-grain pine variety. A balcony for some items (furniture) was built across the east and south side of the 30 X 80 foot building and the stairway is ornamental just like the deck banister,” (M.A. Webb, “Modern Store in Anna Has Historic Features” Sherman Democrat, April 19, 1939.)

For nearly a century, this community store has made available hardware, leather goods, including saddles, bridles, and collars; household furnishings ranging from pianos and sewing machines to wall paper; farm machinery that came from Newton, Springfield, Peter Schutler and John Deere, who also supplied wagons; binders from Deering, McCormick, John Deer, Moline; implements from Rock Island, Emerson, Brandingham, Hunimer, J.I. Case, B.F. Avery & Son, Oliver, P&O; tractors from Case Peerless, Woods Bros., Titian, Avery

Black, Rock Island, Minneapolis and International. Funeral services, including first the use of a horse-drawn hearse, then later a motor hearse of 1924 from Sayers and Scovill Co., operated until about 1938. Also, the store sold fuel supplies; coal, kerosene, and wood which was bountifully available; lumber and building supplies. These were housed first south of the store and later to the north of the one-story double annex that was added to the original brick structure. Behind the store was a large granary. Sherley Bros. provided the only source of dynamite (fuse and caps) in the North Texas area.

Sherley Bros was not only a business but a social gathering area. When farmers had any extra free time, which was rare, they often gathered around the wood stove (if winter) or some cool spot to visit and discuss the topic of the day. The Sherleys had farms around Anna which were worked by share croppers. They would come to the store to buy groceries or other supplies, and would hitch their wagon teams to the hackberry trees across the street.

Some might even cross the railroad to conduct business with other merchants.

Farmers would charge their bill of goods and then pay these accumulated bills when their crops came in. Some ledger entries state that a loan was issued for the debt because the farmer probably had a crop failure. Often notations of payment were in eggs, butter, other foods, and even socks.

Mr. Fred would have Christmas gatherings in the large north one-story room for his farming families. People have reminisced about the special times everyone had. When Fred was dying of cancer, he requested that his wife and daughter-in-law serve chili to all his farmers and families.

The entertainment aspect of Sherley Bros. has lived on. When Fred’s twin sisters had their 75th birthdays, Lorraine organized a family reunion at the store with elaborate decorations and a roasted young pig with an apple in his mouth to highlight the dinner celebration.

As years have passed, fund raisers held here have contributed to many good causes. The store received its Registered Historical Texas Landmark on April 8, 2000, and the marker unveiling also was celebrated with a cat fish dinner for all who attended.

This story is reprinted here with permission from the Anna Area Historical Preservation Society. “The Spark that Ignited the Town of Anna” is a wonderful effort on behalf of the historical society that includes the stories of Anna’s leading families through the years. Any- one who may have had a curiosity about how things have happened in Anna, will likely find answers in this book. Families and descendants have shared their stories and pictures of early Anna and the result is spellbinding. The book may be found online at www.amazon.com or by contacting the historical society whose website is http://aahps.org.

Anna Living Magazine

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THE

Gar Hole OPENS FOR BUSINESS IN HISTORIC WESTMINSTER

By UNCLE SPIDER For Anna Living Magazine

A

Google search will tell you that a gar hole is a “bad fishing spot.”

But my first gar hole experience had nothing to do with fishing, even though we were on Lake Texoma. It was almost fifty years ago that a boat-load of college kids pulled up to a dock after water-skiing, and two of us were dispatched to locate some cold beverages to replenish our empty cooler.

Not knowing the area well, Jeff and I traveled the back roads for a while before finding what appeared to be a shack with a large sign that said, BAIT AND BEER, and pulled in.

If Norman Rockwell had lived in Southern Oklahoma this would be the kind of place he would have painted, with live minnow wells out front, a creaky screen door, and three elderly gentlemen in fishing caps sitting at a table playing Moon inside.

We grabbed a case of beer, paid at the counter, and were departing when one of them, without looking up, asked, “Wha’ chu boys up to?” The next thing I know, we’ve pulled up stools and listened as story after hilarious story was told.

I love stories. My heroes are the great story-tellers, like the humorist Mark Twain, Luckenbach Mayor Hondo Crouch and novelist Larry McMurtry. I’m also insanely curious, having learned over the years that the ability to take the most mundane of situations and turn it into a good story is what has made my life such an adventure. Once, after reading a book about Africa, I loaded my wife and three small 6

children (eventually we had six) and hauled them to the tiny nation of Malawi for a couple of years. She’ll be the first to tell you that if I say, “Trust me, it’ll be okay,” it’s time to worry.

As we left that bait store, I turned and looked back at the screen door and noticed a JAX BEER sign and underneath it the words, THE GAR HOLE. That fall I returned to Austin College for what would be my sophomore year. My roommate, Gary, and I were moving in to the hundred-year-old dorm called Luckett, a concrete, Alamo look-alike that could best be described as spartan; i.e. no A/C, no phones in the rooms, and a single community bathroom for each wing. As we moved into our room at the end of a first floor hall we found that another friend, Jon, who lived across the hall, had not been assigned a roommate. He had a single room to himself.

The wheels in my brain began churning. It took some convincing, but a few hours later Gary, Jon and I were moving all the beds, chests of drawers and desks into Jon’s room.

Meanwhile, in our room, the transformation began. A huge remnant of shag carpet, beads on closet doors, bean-bag chairs, black lights, posters, guitars, and British Union Jacks for curtains were added. The crowning touch was a 1,000-watt stereo system with four 15-inch speakers that, when turned to ten, could be heard at the intramural field on the other side of campus. An added benefit? We were on the first floor, which meant that, even after visiting hours, coeds could easily slip behind the hedges outside our room and enter through the window. It was the ultimate party room, and rarely a night went by that it wasn’t full of people. No one tried to study in Luckett anyway, especially on the first floor. Its occupants were a combination of athletes and frat guys who knew that academic efforts were best pursued by going to the library.

Anna Living Magazine

Uncle Spider

All that was left was to name it, and I immediately thought to myself, THE GARHOLE. And so it was, for the remainder of my college career, that room was called the THE GARHOLE. Stories that originated there have reached mythical status, a reminder of the Mark Twain quote: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Somehow, that group of immature boys that lived in the basement of Luckett and frequented the GARHOLE graduated from college, started careers, married, raised families and became solid contributors to society. But the spirit of, if not a physical GARHOLE, survived.

Last November those same boys found three, one-hundred-year-old, concrete buildings for sale on the square of the Collin County burgh of Westminster. The structures were just as austere as Luckett had been. The group pitched in, bought the structures, and remodeled them, although the décor now is more like Gruene Hall than “That 70’s Show” (no shag carpet).

It opened three weeks ago with live music nightly, tasty BBQ and burgers, and cold beer.

Is there any doubt we would call it … GARHOLE? THE GARHOLE is located at 106 W. Houston, 75409, in Westminster and open weekly, Thursday – Sunday.

Check our Facebook page, The Gar Hole, or garhole.net for hours and entertainment schedules. Stay tuned for more GARHOLE MUSINGS from UNCLE SPIDER.

At Coyote Nutrition our mission is to provide the members of the community with an opportunity to become a healthier version of yourself.

We serve protein/meal replacement shakes and vitamin-packed energy teas along with other delicious items.

Our wonderful sales associates will point you in the right direction to reach your weight loss or weight gain goals.

Bring your kiddos in for sweet and safe alternatives as well! Be sure to contact us, or simply just stop by. We are looking forward to helping you start your journey and motivate you along the way!

Anna Living Magazine

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Anna youth organize, lead unity march

By JOYCE GODWIN Anna Living Magazine

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n the middle of unrest among all races across the globe, as racial groups struggle to find a place of equal standing in today’s society, young people in Anna stepped up and stepped out to be heard. In leading a city to join in peaceful unity, Anna youth, residents of all ages and city leaders set a strong example for the rest of the world to follow, proving unity can be achieved peacefully.

Anna High School graduating senior Terry Mitchell said he wasn’t looking to be in the spot light, but when the responsibility for organizing came to him, he didn’t back away.

Through it all, his dad Tony Mitchell stood shoulder to shoulder with the younger Mitchell as a partner and advisor, ever watchful.

Close to 500 people met on a hot Sunday June 7 to organize for a Unity Walk. They came with signs bearing inspirational messages and declarations aimed at achieving justice for everyone. They gathered at the Anna High School parking lot and marched through the streets with a police escort arriving at the Walmart parking lot on U.S. Highway 75.

Among the walkers were police officers and folks of all ages including small children and elderly standing together. One resident, Lamar Dillingham, wrote on Facebook after the event: “Not really sure what I expected today, but I was very impressed by the turn out in Anna, Texas for the Unity March. This was the community coming together to show support and letting the Black residents know, our lives matter to them. Our youth organized this event and we are proud of them. No looting,

PHOTO BY JORDAN KEEL

Alonzo Tutson, chairman of Anna’s Planning and Zoning Committee, speaks to the crowd gathered at the Anna’s Unity March.

PHOTO BY JORDAN KEEL

Anthony Mitchell speaks to the crowd gathered at the Anna’s Unity March.

PHOTO BY JORDAN KEEL

Leaders of Anna’s Unity March share a happy moment. From left are Saniya Meyer, Diamone Will, Nadikah Simmons and Terry Mitchell.

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Anna Living Magazine

PHOTO BY XAVIAR JUKES

PHOTO BY JORDAN KEEL

Anna’s Police Chief Jeff Caponera was on hand to march among the crowd. He is seen here speaking words of encouragement.

no violence, no conflict. For the residents who didn’t come out we respect your decision, but we want you to know you were really missed. If those in attendance keep this same fire in their hearts, and not get influenced by counter agendas, Anna, Texas will be a great place to live for generations to come. #AnnaStrong.”

Terry Mitchell was one of the featured speakers. “The events that transpired on May 25 [referring to the George Floyd murder in Minnesota] are not only tragic as well as inexcusable but has sparked an international wave of love support and also outrage,” Mitchell said.

“No matter how we feel on the topic we can all agree on one thing. That there is a problem, and that problem creates a choice to either sit back and neglect the issue until another tragedy strikes, or we can take steps together to not only prevent said incidents from happening again, but build and grow a community together.

“This is a call to action. there is no better time then now, after watching the video, I felt numerous ranges of emotions. After deciding that I’d be a part of a team leading a demonstration on such a large scale, there was fear. Fear that I’d be hated; fear that I’d be condemned, and for my family as well. But I knew we needed a change, and I’m tired of watching people who look like me be tried and prosecuted in the streets because the cause is greater than concern. It will always be that way, not only in this community but in life as well. I understand that tragedy will strike, but we have to strike tragedy back. The people aren’t happy with us and what we are doing, those are the ones we need to reach.”

Mitchell quoted text from Matthew 22:3640, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All 10

PHOTO BY JORDAN KEEL

the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mitchell continued, “It’s important to understand how we got to where we are, but it is also important to focus on where we are going.

I was in a meeting and a gentleman said that this is the first time he’s seen a united front like we have. We are together. We are one. We are united. the only race I see here is the human race, and we must act as trailblazers for those who follow us.”

Mitchell said it’s important to understand that a badge doesn’t make killers just as his skin color doesn’t make him a criminal.

Anna Mayor Nate Pike, who also participated in the march, posted on Facebook that the day was amazing. “I am so proud of our youth that organized this event,” he said. “A true demonstration of unity that0opend he door for future dialogue on solving the issue. Blessed to call Anna my home!”

Another featured speaker of the day was Alonzo Tutson, chairman of Anna’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He shared parts of the U.S. Constitution that refer to all men being created equal. In a later interview Tutson said, “It was neighbors walking with neighbors; people who knew each other. These are our students who actually organized it,” he said with pride. “Kids don’t care what color you are.”

Tutson explained how beneficial it is if police are in the community more than when they answer a service call. If the police are already familiar with the city’s youth, they can Anna Living Magazine

more easily de-escalate a situation before it becomes dangerous. “I am not for additional police training because they have been trained enough,” Tutson said. “No amount of training can teach you to care for humans. We need cops that care.”

Tutson also said he was touched by the support of the community. People handed out water and popsicles on the side of the roadways, and in general, encouraged the march participants.

Kelly Patterson-Herndon, a member of the committee working toward a library in Anna, said she felt the march went a long way to solidify the people of Anna.

Elden Baker, who is a volunteer with the Anna Area Historical Preservation Society, also participated in the march. He said he was pleasantly surprised by how many Anna neighbors come out to participate. “I was even more impressed to learn that our neighborhood youth were the organizers,” he said. “They put together a top-notch community event. They are the citizens who are responsible for our future, and it’s so heart-warming to know that we are in good hands. They really did a great job of putting together a successful, peaceful march.”

Baker went on to say “Anna is a growing community and so many of our new neighbors come from different backgrounds. As we continue to grow, we must remain as one united community; not segregated by our differences but, strengthened by our tenacious individuality.”

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Your business card can be on this page in our next issue.

For more information, email Joyce Godwin at joyce@annalivingmagazine.com or call 903-815-0044.

CLASS OF

2020

holds graduation in spite of COVID-19 challenges

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Photos and story by Joyce Godwin

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arents, teachers, family and friends of the 2020 graduating seniors from Anna High School lined the streets Friday May 22 to congratulate, encourage and cheer for students as they passed in a parade of vehicles. They were on their way to graduation; an event that many thought would not happen in 2020.

They gathered just off U.S. Highway 75 south of Walmart to line up vehicles. The graduates were ferried by family members and fiends and often accompanied by family and friends as they followed Anna city officials, city councilors and Mayor Nate Pike who led the procession. As they moved

through the streets, they were met with crowds of onlookers cheering them on and shouting their names. Some used megaphones, others shook pom poms and still others raised signs with encouraging messages. This was a first for Anna ISD but the special activities didn’t stop there.

The graduation procession ended at the high school where cars were admitted to the parking lot and families were finally able to see their graduates walk across the stage to accept their earned diplomas. Safe distancing and masks were employed to stay in line with COVID-19 regulations as families remained in and around their cars, still able to watch the graduation.

Anna ISD professionals and educators worked hard to produce a ceremony of which graduates and families could be proud, and one they will likely never forget.

A lot of people may say the class of 2020 has been robbed of an award ceremony, a senior breakfast and senior trip to name just a few. But Valedictorian Marianna Bert expressed a different take on their circumstances. “During a time like this, it is easy to focus on everything that has been taken away from us and miss what has been given to us. We were given the rare

Anna Living Magazine

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Anna Living Magazine

chance to slow down, reflect upon ourselves, and prioritize what is truly important in our lives,” Bert told her fellow students. “So now we have a decision to make. Are we going to let the current world define us? Or are we going to be inspired by it to be better, do better, and raise our own expectations. One thing is for sure, as we enter this new chapter in our lives, we must never take anything for granted again.”

Bert also shared advice about opportunities.

“Life is not going to throw every opportunity right in front of us,” she said. “We have to put ourselves out there and find the opportunities, and when we do we must not hesitate to take

them. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not and if we don’t seize our chances, they will pass us by.

“Do not let today, our high school graduation, be your defining achievement in life. Yes, this moment right here, right now, is a great milestone for each of us, but it is not an end. It is a beginning. Be extraordinary in all that you do and make yourself proud.”

Salutatorian Emily McDonald also talked about the day being a beginning for graduates and she compared their journey to the game of Minecraft. “Yes, Minecraft. Be honest, all of you have played this at least once,” she said. She talked about the terrain of the game filled with hills, mountains, caves and ravines. “While the mountain tops may be the safer place to hang around, we have to go into the caves and ravines for supplies such as iron and diamonds even though there will be monsters to fight off,” McDonald said. “Similarly, in life, the low points are blessings in disguise. They may feel like a fight, but we learn more about ourselves and

others. We come out stronger. Here are my final thoughts.

Please remember Covid is only temporary, and there will be many more temporary times like this. Practice this idea of looking up in the valley and see the good. Find the beauty. You have a choice, you always have a choice. See for yourself what the world has to offer.”

Following the ceremony, students complimented individuals of the school district who made special efforts to provide a profound graduation exercise. Bert and McDonald both said they thought it was better than the traditional exercise held each year.

Serving Anna for 21 years

Anna Living Magazine

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To find regular updates about Anna’s government, visit the website at www.annatexas.gov.

City approves agreement for major west side addition Project will eventually add almost 1,000 new residential units

By CITY OF ANNA STAFF

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n a unanimous vote at the June 9 meeting, the Anna City Council approved a development agreement that clears the way for expansion of the city’s footprint west of US 75, solidifies its commitment to sensibly-planned growth, and boosts its reputation as a residential and commercial destination.

Phase 1 of the Villages of Hurricane Creek North, a 325-acre tract west of US 75 and north of SH 455, will contain about 350 single family homes on some 70 acres and will begin construction in 2021.

The remaining 255 acres will include a variety of single and multi-family residences, commercial and retail establishments, restaurants, common area parks, amenity centers, trails, enhanced lakeside access, botanical and community gardens, and a hotel. The schedule for construction of the larger portion of the development is yet undetermined.

“The overall project is right in line with several components of Anna’s strategic plan,” says Mayor Nate Pike. “The growth and development of the city is being carefully and thoughtfully guided by adhering to an approach that will result in a community where every Anna neighbor will be proud to call home.”

Anna’s strategic plan includes four sections entitled: Growing Anna’s Economy; Sustainable

Proposed Villages of Hurricane Creek – Anna, TX

Anna Community Through Planned, Managed Growth; Anna – A Great Place to Live; and High Performing Professional City. The agreement to proceed with construction was granted to the highly respected development firm of Centurion American and fits neatly into each of the four overarching areas of the strategic plan.

“Anna is one of the fastest growing towns in North Texas, and we’re proud to be a part of the positive growth story there,” says Centurion American president and CEO Mehrdad Moayedi. “The Villages at Hurricane Creek North will offer a diverse collection of housing and the kind of community amenities that will make it a sought-after community.”

The development agreement includes the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) as well as a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ). Annexation of the property located in the City’s extra-territorial

Anna extends COVID-19 small business grant program Phase two introduces changes that expand eligibility

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n the heels of what officials call a very strong response, the city of Anna is extending the COVID- 19 Recovery Grant Program with some significant tweaks, chief among these is a broader category for eligible recipients.

The city’s program, funded through Anna’s allocation of CARES monies provided by Collin County’s COVID-19 relief program, provides temporary financial assistance to qualified enterprises that have suffered because

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of the pandemic’s effects on shopper traffic.

“With the first phase of the program under our belt, we’re now in a position to refine the program’s structure to more accurately address those areas of greatest need,” says City Manager Jim Proce. “Because the negative effects of the pandemic have hit the city’s entrepreneurs disproportionately, the program’s next phase will cast a somewhat wider net.”

As in phase one, the program will provide a one-time award of up to $5,000 to companies Anna Living Magazine

jurisdiction is also part of the agreement.

The completed Villages of Hurricane Creek North project will ultimately incorporate 984 single-family homes, 400 multi-family residences, 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, as well as a community and botanical garden, hiking trails and an amenity center for residents. Last year, the Anna City Council approved a development agreement for Villages of Hurricane Creek South that includes 654 single-family lots.

“The Villages of Hurricane Creek project will kick off development on the western side of US 75 and provide diverse housing options and amenities for Anna neighbors,” added Pike. “We are also excited about the commercial and entertainment options that our community desires.”

Information on the project can be reviewed by visiting the June 9 City Council agenda at www.annatexas.cov. and businesses that meet certain criteria.

Applications for phase two grants must be submitted by close of business on Tuesday, June 30.

Qualifying businesses include those with a storefront presence within the city limits and which are in full compliance with local ordinances. Companies may not be in arrears in taxes and fees to the city, county, or state, and have fewer than 20 employees. Unlike phase one, however, companies are not required to have ANNA EXTENDS COVID-19 SMALL BUSINESS GRANT continued on page 17

Mayor recognizes Anna youth for organizing Unity March

By JOYCE GODWIN Anna Living Magazine

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Heroic Actions Recognized

PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF ANNA

Mayor Nate Pike takes a moment for the camera with the young people honored at the June 23 city council meeting. From left are Saniya Meyer, Terry Mitchell, Pike, Diamone Wil and Nadikah Simmons.

hroughout the recent months of turmoil with COVID-19 and then with racial unrest, Anna youth have stepped up to help, whether constructing masks to help with nurses and doctors or organizing a march through the streets of Anna.

During the June 23 Anna City Council meeting Mayor Nate Pike awarded certificates of recognition to Terry Mitchell, Diamone Wil, Saniya Myers and Nadikah Simmons who were all instrumental in organizing the successful June 7 Unity March.

Also, in the June 9 city council meeting, Pike said he had been inspired by the June 7 Unity March

and suggest the council look into the formation of a diversity council consisting of members of the community along with staff members, individuals from the police department as well as city council members.

He said he wants to make sure dialogue exits on important issues to guard against the possibility of anything happening in Anna like the incidents that launched protests in Minneapolis.

Anna’s Assistant City Manager Ryan Henderson reported that the city council approved the diversity team during the July 14 council meeting. Applications to fill out to qualify for a place on that board will be available at a later date.

ANNA EXTENDS COVID-19 SMALL BUSINESS GRANT continued from page 16

how the funds will be used. A copy of the company’s IRS W-9 form is also part of the application requirements.

“The successful implementation of phase one provided sufficient evidence of both the need for the program, and the beneficial lifeline that the program can provide,” says Anna Mayor Nate Pike. “Small businesses are like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Their wellbeing and vitality are important barometers for our city’s overall economic health.”

More information on this program and other resources for local businesses may be found on the Community Development Corporation’s website https://opportunityannatx.com/covid-19/.

submitted sales taxes to the city.

Another major change from phase one is the eligibility criteria.

Deemed eligible to apply for phase two grants are non-profits, franchisees of regional or national chains, grocers, unprepared food or produce vendors, alcohol or tobacco outlets, pawn shops, gas and convenience stores, health providers, financial lenders, and service providers. Only home-based businesses remain ineligible for the grants.

A performance agreement with the city of Anna is required along with a brief statement showing

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he City of Anna took time during their July 14 Regular Meeting to honor the heroic actions of three individuals who came to the aid of Anna Police Officer Timothy Thomas who was struggling with a suspect. Police Chief Jeff Caponera (left) and Mayor Nate Pike (right) presented (left to right) Martin Nolan, Gordon Haynes, and Erik Rodriguez with official certificates of appreciation for their efforts. The actions of the three employees of Vitz Metal helped the officer subdue the belligerent and aggressive suspect

who appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance. The suspect resisted arrest and bodily attacked the officer.

He appeared to have intentions of causing further harm by attempting to take the officer’s service weapon. The three bystanders helped contain the suspect and thereby helped avert a tragedy.

Chief Caponera also presented each with a commemorative coin while the Council offered a standing ovation to the recipients. Neither Officer Thomas nor the three good Samaritans were injured in the altercation.

Lifesave Award Presented to Police Officer

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nna Police Officer Wesley Davis (right) accepts the Lifesaver Award he was presented at the July 14 Anna City Council meeting in recognition of his actions last fall.

Officer Davis was responding to a one-car accident in which a vehicle crashed into a freeway concrete abutment. The car contained the driver and two other occupants, one of whom was an infant. The passenger and infant had been pulled from the vehicle prior to Officer Davis arriving on the scene, but the driver was still trapped in the vehicle, which had ignited. Working with two State Game Wardens who had

Anna Living Magazine

extricated the two passengers, Officer Davis assisted in freeing the driver and pulling him to safety before flames engulfed the vehicle. These actions prevented a potential loss of life and earned Officer Davis recognition locally and at the state level. Police Chief Jeff Caponera made the award presentation.

17

WHERE

CARDINALS FLY

This is a current photo of the First Christian Church of Anna. Pioneer Collin McKinney was a founding member of the congregation which began meeting in his home and by 1850 they had 69 members according to a story written by Jan Sherley Miller and Linda O’Neal and published in “The Spark that Ignited the Town of Anna.”

PHOTO BY JOYCE GODWIN/ANNA LIVING MAGAZINE

by Sara Etgen-Baker Anna Neighbor

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ravel crackled under our tires as Bill and I crept down a meandering country road on the outskirts of Collin County. The countryside stretched before us like a great quilt of golden, brown, and green squares held together by the thick green stitching of the hedgerows. The sun overhead was radiant, its light bathing the scenery in a welcoming glow. We slowed our car to a near stop and rolled down our windows, taking in the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells.

Hay bales dotted the landscape. A tractor kicked up dust in a nearby field. Wildflowers, dandelions, and purple thistles covered the

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road’s shoulder, filling the drainage ditches with an array of color. We heard the whicker of horses, the braying of donkeys, and the burble of water running along a small stream. We inhaled, the sweet aroma of tress, grass, and earth filling our nostrils.

The road turned abruptly, replaced by a narrow, two-lane county road. We continued driving, finding our way onto Highway 5 and downtown Anna where we discovered some historical buildings—the Sherley General Store, the First Christian Church, and an old train depot. We paused, both feeling inexplicably drawn to the town. We drove a bit further north making a right onto County Road 1106. Much to our surprise, we saw a housing subdivision under construction on the outskirts of town.

Anna Living Magazine

Pictured is the historical marker designating the area as having once been the Collin McKinney homestead. The marker is located on the northeast side of Anna at the intersection of McKinney and Collin streets.

PHOTO BY JOYCE GODWIN/ANNA LIVING MAGAZINE

“Who would’ve thought there’d be a subdivision out here in the middle of nowhere,” my husband said. “I know we’re not looking for a home right now, but I’m curious. Let’s take a look.”

We parked our car and entered the sales office where a folksy, sales rep greeted us and walked us through the existing model homes in North Pointe. We found a floor plan we liked and before we knew it, we’d put down a contract on a home, believing we’d been guided to do so. Three months later we moved in. After settling in, we often sat on our front porch, amazed at the number of cardinals congregating in our trees and in the open fields behind our home.

One afternoon, my aunt called wanting our new mailing address. “You moved to Anna!” she exclaimed. “What a coincidence.”

“Coincidence? Whatever do you mean?” I asked.

“Didn’t you know that your great, great grandmother, Rebecca and her husband, James Snavely, moved from Tennessee to Anna with their daughter, Sara Virginia, around 1892 or so.”

“What?! No, I certainly never knew.”

“According to family history,” she continued, “the Snavelys worked off the land growing cotton and raising their children. Rebecca died in Anna around 1894 and was buried in a small cemetery outside of Savoy in Fannin

County. James died in 1935 and was laid to rest alongside her. Anyway, when you were born, your grandmother insisted you be named “Sara” after her mother, your great grandmother. You remember your great grandmother, don’t you?”

“Yes, but my memories of her are vague, and no one ever told me I was her namesake.”

What an odd coincidence I thought as I hung up the phone. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Roughly three years later, the Anna Area Historical Society placed an historical marker within the North Pointe subdivision just onehalf mile from our home documenting that

ANNA NEIGHBORS SUBMIT THEIR STORIES This is your section, Anna neighbors. Our first story was submitted by Sara Baker. It’s a charming report of how she and her husband came to live in Anna as well as coincidental family ties to Collin County. If you have a story to tell, email to joyce@ annalivingmagazine.com. Don’t shy away if you feel your writing skills aren’t as good as you think they should be. We will edit for grammar, punctuation and spelling. Just tell your story and send it in.

Amy Jukes joins Anna Living Magazine

By Joyce Godwin Anna Living Magazine

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nna Living Magazine is excited to announce a new member who joined the ranks last month. Amy Jukes is the new Director of Business Development and Special Events, so residents of Anna will likely see her around the area in several roles for the magazine.

Her experience in and understanding of first responders comes from her 13 years in various roles in emergency management and emergency response. She is a CERT trainer and holds multiple certifications through FEMA. In 2016, Jukes received a recognition from Collin County for her work in the response to the December 2015 Garland/Rowlett tornado.

In a recognition ceremony, County Com-

missioner Susan Fletcher said, “I just want to say thank you to my friend Amy Jukes who is a constant encouragement to me. I see this woman out and about in the community working hard with all of the folks.”

About her work responding to the tornado damages Jukes said, “I got to basically go out with the first responders. We were there as the sun rose and saw the devastation; what they couldn’t see in the middle of the night. We spent a lot of hours out there.”

Anna Living Magazine

the land and surrounding area was the original homestead of Collin McKinney, a pioneer who helped draft The Texas Declaration of Independence and later the Constitution for the Republic of Texas.

We’d known for years that Collin McKinney was my husband’s great, great, great grandfather, but we had no idea we were actually living on a piece of land that was once his homestead.

Another coincidence? Maybe.

I’m convinced, however, that living in Anna was part of a grand, synchronistic plan nudging us to return to the land of our ancestors; and we feel quite at home here. As for the cardinals, they still congregate in our trees, bearing witness to this quote: When a cardinal appears in your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven.

I’d like to believe that Rebecca, Sara Virginia, and Collin McKinney are such visitors, and we delight in seeing them.

SARA ETGEN-BAKER is a former educator and entrepreneur. After retiring from Anna ISD in 2010, she began writing short stories, memoirs, and personal narratives many of which have been published in magazines and anthologies including Good Old Days Magazine, Guideposts, and several Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. She and her husband, Bill, moved to Anna in 2014. She may be reached by email at sab_445@yahoo.com

Jukes’ husband Dave of 22 years goes out with her and they work as a team.

Although Jukes considers her primary job and biggest joy being mother to six youngsters, she has somehow found the time to work in non profit organizations serving as volunteer to executive director in various groups. She was able to build four non profit groups from the ground up.

She spent the first half of her working career in banks and mortgage companies, but found it to be unfulfilling. So, she started to produce large events for various organizations.

She also spent some time building websites and social media campaigns for the non profits to help them get their message out and raise funds.

Jukes says her success comes from having a strong, supportive husband. “Dave is literally with me at all these things I do. I couldn’t do it without him and his support.”

The magazine is looking forward to what Jukes will do in Anna.

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Committed to

Inconvenience

By Bryce Runge

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n December 1938, a young London stockbroker was packing his bag to ski the fresh powder on the Swiss Alps, when he received a request from a friend urging him to cancel his trip to Switzerland and come to Prague.

The friend needed help with something, which required more of a sacrifice and not skis.

If I had an expensive vacation planned and received a call from a friend who wanted me to abandon my trip to help him, I could honestly say that I would decline his request. I mean, what a crazy request. This young stockbroker seemingly saved up for this trip over a long period and had a tremendous amount of excitement as he looked forward to his trip.

However, to the London stockbroker, canceling a trip wasn’t an inconvenience, and what many [including myself ] would see as an inconvenience, he saw as a deliverance. Leaving the skis behind led to an opportunity to 20

sacrifice and save hundreds of lives. Sir Nicolas Winton saved over 600 children from perishing in the Holocaust by successfully arranging to have them transported by train from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to the U.K.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 25:37-40 C.S. Lewis once stated that “Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is.” We are all going to experience inconveniences on our journey through life, but how we respond to those inconveniences will determine the Anna Living Magazine

position of our heart and the mindset in which we operate. A Commitment to Inconvenience requires selflessness, a different attitude, and a renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2).

How many times have you experienced vehicle troubles, for example? And how often did you respond with aggression toward that inconvenience? For me, quite a bit. It’s easy to react with aggravation and stress out over the trouble, but have you stopped to think that maybe the inconvenience was a lesson or, better yet, perhaps a blessing in disguise?

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND WHEN EXPERIENCING AN INCONVENIENCE? Our maturity is unveiled during times of inconvenience, and if we never remove the blinders and allow frustration to distract us, we run the risk of missing out on what God is trying to teach us or even more so, how He can use us. The Bible is full of stories of people encountering inconvenience, and through each

of those inconveniences, astonishing things occurred. Even now, we are experiencing a worldwide pandemic, which is a considerable inconvenience, yet I believe there is a lesson to be learned, but I think too many [including myself ] are playing the poor me card while allowing frustration to ruin opportunities of growth and being a blessing to others.

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. May the God who gives

endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:1-7 Jesus was committed to inconvenience every step he took on his way to the cross, knowing that the ultimate sacrifice was on the horizon.

Jesus showed us the most significant demonstration of self-sacrifice, and He was willing to do so for the glory of God. Inconveniences can teach us so much, but we must come to the end of ourselves to understand and learn what God is teaching us. If we see inconvenience as a lesson, we open the door that leads to a deeper, more intimate relation-

ship with Jesus. Instead of allowing inconveniences to frustrate you, view them as opportunities in disguise that lead to blessing others.

With the right perspective, inconveniences can teach us how to manage anger better and control things that we have control over. All of life’s inconveniences can show us something powerful, but that requires us to trust God and accept His teachings.

Don’t allow inconveniences in life to confine you. Be committed to life’s inconveniences by pressing in and developing your prayer life because prayer is the catalyst that leads to transformation.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

If you’re struggling with overcoming life’s inconveniences, let me encourage you to pray a simple prayer: God, help me to see inconveniences as opportunities for growth. Help me to see inconvenience as a blessing. Please help me use any inconvenience I encounter to trust you more and develop patient endurance on my journey in life, Amen.

BRYCE RUNGE is a husband, father, educator, Hope Squad Advisor, and aspiring educational administrator. He is a former Division-1 football player, retired professional skater, passionate culture developer, and motivational speaker. He seeks to serve and enrich the lives of others through his inspirational messages and speaking engagements. For more info visit brycerunge.com and follow @thebrycerunge.

Thornton and Associates FARMS RANCHES

ACREAGE

LAND DEVELOPMENT

BILL GODWIN

Realtor

Cell: 214-356-5244 wwgodwin@gmail.com P.O. Box 1429, 33 FM 3356, Van Alstyne, TX 75495

Anna Living Magazine

21

New beginnings come during uncertain times

W

e have all seen the reference to the beloved television show Friends: SENIORS 2020: The One Where They Were Quarantined.

The graduating Seniors of 2020 have been launched into a world that is unpredictable and uncertain in so many ways. Not only were they unexpectedly required to leave behind their normal day to day activities, clubs, sports seasons and friendships but they were forced into a world of isolation and e-learning few ever imagined. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unclear, ongoing and unpredictable changes. These have eliminated many of the traditional celebratory rites of passage and replaced them with socially distanced, heart felt attempts by family, friends, and school staff to commemorate their achievements. Graduates have entered a challenging economy with limited employment opportunities and many of those planning to attend college continue to attempt to understand what it will look like in this ever changing world.

Paramount through much of the past months and significant for the future is the emotional and mental health of our young people. As anxiety and depression rates rise, how can we best support them during this time while we too are seeking our “new normal” as many have called it? There have been so many losses and during what is supposed to be an exciting time of celebration, they have been forced to leave the world they knew without warning during the first global pandemic in nearly a century. What is essential is to help our young people understand transitions and 22

what can be done to navigate them successfully.

Doing so can help them not only during their current experience with uncertainty, but serve to prepare them for the future. Stress is experienced throughout life with positive, negative, and unexpected changes. The more prepared we are to face and cope with transitions the more successfully we will cope with them.

One of the best resources on the subject is a book written by William Bridges, PhD entitled, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes.

In it, Dr. Bridges helps us conceptualize transition by seeing it in three stages: an ending, a neutral zone, and a new beginning. These stages are fluid and can be experienced in varying degrees and even at the same time. These stages can be caused by external circumstances (such as the pandemic) or developmental changes (the transition from adolescence to young adulthood).

Both leave young adults feeling uncertain, different inside, and seeking answers.

An Ending - Honoring the process Seniors are going through while experiencing the natural change/loss of who they have been or identified as throughout recent years is part of the ending. It helps to understand how they have defined themselves and consider what is ending. What it is that they desire to leave behind and what they would like to carry forward.

Identifying, understanding, and experiencing the loss is essential to move forward.

A Neutral Zone - Dr. Bridges identifies this second stage as, “the place from which creative seeking, problem solving and trying new ideas can emerge.” This can be an exciting time when the world feels full of possibility and at Anna Living Magazine

the same time may feel chaotic and unsettling.

During this time it is helpful to create some temporary boundaries and structure to offer life predictability and consistency. Critical to this time is creating space for reflection. Journaling is an excellent way to allow oneself to have the emotional space to express and reflect upon the shifting perspectives, grief and hopes being experienced. New objectives, perspectives and goals emerge during this time which serve to carry one forward.

New Beginnings - Our bodies do not understand the difference between good and bad stress. This is the reason that while they are exciting, beginnings can also be accompanied by fear. Bridges clarifies that to be successful one must do more than persevere. To have a genuine chance at transitioning successfully in a new beginning one must understand the places they have come from and the self doubts involved. This along with the development of tangible and achievable steps allows for success.

If there is one thing we know it is that life guarantees change. There are hills and valleys and if we are not in a transition we are likely coming out of one or will be entering another shortly. The Seniors of 2020 will have stories they will tell their children’s children. The COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020 is going to be a significant episode in the history of the world. Let us support them in becoming the generation that is known for being faced with unheard of challenges and learned to successfully negotiate and transition through them.

Let us help them understand and develop the characteristics of persistence, self awareness, and dedication to their personal growth. Let us teach them that an intentional life dedicated to purpose will carry them through life’s transitions with a true ability to hope and invest in their future.

JENNIFER SEXTON, MSW, LCSW is a Yale Medical School trained clinician devoted to her work in mental and behavioral health for 25 years. After receiving her Master’s degree Jennifer was chosen for a competitive fellowship program at Yale Medical School. This training has aided significantly her ability to provide treatment to clients & develop/ work collaboratively with other professionals across a variety of settings and with various concerns. Currently Jennifer is an individual therapist in Frisco and also acts as the Executive Director of Clinical Services for Anam Cara of North Texas, a 501c3 non profit devoted to supporting families with special needs.

CARES Act Offers Help for Investors, Small Businesses

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s we go through the coronavirus crisis, we are all, first and foremost, concerned about the health of our loved ones and communities. But the economic implications of the virus have also weighed heavily on our minds. However, if you’re an investor or a business owner, you just got some help from Washington – and it could make a big difference, at least in the short term, for your financial future.

Specifically, the passage of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act offers, among other provisions, the following: • Expanded unemployment benefits – The CARES= provides workers with an additional $600 per week for four months, in addition to what state programs pay. The package will also cover the self-employed, independent contractors and “gig economy” workers. Obviously, if your employment has been affected, these benefits can be a lifeline.

Furthermore, the benefits could help you avoid liquidating some long-term investments you’ve earmarked for retirement just to meet your daily cash flow needs.

• Direct payments – Individuals will receive a one-time payment of up to $1,200; this amount is reduced for incomes over $75,000 and eliminated altogether at $99,000. Joint filers will receive up to $2,400, which will be reduced for incomes over $150,000 and eliminated at $198,000 for joint filers with no children. Plus, taxpayers with children

will receive an extra $500 for each dependent child under the age of 17. If you don’t need this money for an immediate need, you might consider putting it into a low-risk, liquid account as part of an emergency fund.

• No penalty on early withdrawals – Typically, you’d have to pay a 10% penalty on early withdrawals from IRAs, 401(k)s and similar retirement accounts. Under the CARES Act, this penalty will be waived for individuals who qualify for COVID-19 relief and/or in plans that allow COVID-19 distributions. Withdrawals will still be taxable, but the taxes can be spread out over three years. Still, you might want to avoid taking early withdrawals, as you’ll want to keep your retirement accounts intact as long as possible.

• Suspension of required withdrawals – Once you turn 72, you’ll be required to take withdrawals from your traditional IRA and 401(k).

The CARES Act waives these required minimum distributions for 2020. If you’re in this age group, but you don’t need the money, you can let your retirement accounts continue growing on a tax-deferred basis.

• Increase of retirement plan loan limit – Retirement plan investors who qualify for COVID-19 relief can now borrow up to $100,000 from their accounts, up from $50,000, provided their plan allows loans.

We recommend that you explore other options, such as the direct payments, to bridge the gap on current expenses and if Anna Living Magazine

you choose to take a plan loan work with your financial adviser to develop strategies to pay back these funds over time to reduce any long-term impact to your retirement goals.

• Small-business loans – The CARES Act provides $349 billion to help small businesses – those with fewer than 500 employees – retain workers and avoid closing up shop. A significant part of this small business relief is the Paycheck Protection Program. This initiative provides federally guaranteed loans to small businesses who maintain payroll during this emergency. Significantly, these loans may be forgiven if borrowers use the loans for payroll and other essential business expenses (such as mortgage interest, rent and utilities) and maintain their payroll during the crisis.

We’ll be in a challenging economic environment for some time, but the CARES Act should give us a positive jolt – and brighten our outlook.

This article was provided by Edward Jones and your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones. Member SIPC. ROBERT FRANZE is Anna’s Edward Jones Financial Advisor. He is passionate to help clients with retirement plans. setting financial goals, savings for education and more. He may be reached at robert.franze@ edwardjones.com.

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E

xperts stress that to be mentally healthy we need to continually learn new things. I do my best to follow that advice and, on occasion, I actually do learn something. Unfortunately, it’s often such a shock to my system that I promptly forget my newfound knowledge. Not so this week and it revolves around graduation presents.

There are approximately 3.7 million U.S. teens who completed their high school experience this spring. Another 3.8 million U.S. college students met their graduation requirements as well. The high schoolers went through 13 years of mental strain and pain, plus the stress of no naps after kindergarten, playground bullies, the unthinkable horrors of head lice, gym showers and cafeteria food, just to mention a few. We won’t even get into the puberty years which their parents somehow let them live through. College grads went through all that and chose to continue the anguish on a whole new level at institutions of higher learning.

Most were set to mark this momentous occasion in the same way that graduates have for generations - walking across a stage and receiving that coveted diploma in front of their proud (or shocked in a few cases) families and friends. Of course, this tradition also includes lots of well-deserved, congratulatory gifts, or at least it did until this year.

Enter Covid 19 and those graduation ceremony plans and gifts that should have come with the achievement went up in flames faster than a marshmallow in a blow torch.

This year’s high school and college graduates not only came up a few sandwiches shy of a picnic, but didn’t even get to have a picnic! To say they got a raw deal would be an understatement.

Thanks to “social distancing,” I knew that all graduation ceremonies were cancelled, at least until maybe July of 2050. However, that shouldn’t have affected gift giving since people were still allowed to drop things off on porches or send them in the mail. Apparently I thought wrong and I found that out when I questioned a few of the 2020 high school and college graduates I work with.

I asked what gifts had been showered on them for completing the tough task. I expected to hear enthusiastic responses such as a car, jewelry, a trip, maybe all their first year college expenses taken care of. Heck! Even a gift card

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to the local, fancy coffee shop or discount store would’ve been okay. Instead, they sort of hung their heads and, separately, said, “Nothing.”

What? I couldn’t believe my ears so I pressed them on the subject. Surely they’ve received more than that.

One especially studious high school grad continued his answer after some thought.

“Well, I got a few cards and a little bit of money,” said the hard-working young man who excels at his 40-plus-hour-a-week job AND school. “But I got myself a gift — a bass guitar.

Maybe I’ll get something after we have graduation in a few weeks.”

Another laughed and said she got a free meal from the grocery store where we all work. In fact, all the grads I work with got a free meal there. A third added that she’d gotten “a little bit” of cash but that was all.

Nothing big or exciting. All were in hopes that, after they physically cross the graduation platform in front of witnesses — all seated the required six feet apart, of course — there might be some gifts.

I was stunned! Granted, I only got hot rollers for my graduation, but that may have been my fault. Never mind the details. My point is, these kids deserve presents but may not be receiving them if they don’t officially walk across a stage.

If I were them, and all that was standing between me and getting all the goodies was Anna Living Magazine

crossing a stage, I’d have already built one in the yard. A picnic table, two barrels with a board laid across them, a trampoline, anything at all that could hold two people’s weight for about 45 seconds. I would dig through the nearest resale shop for a graduation ap and gown and make my “diploma” via my home computer and printer. I’d invite the most important person I knew whether it be a judge, preacher, grandma, my favorite convenience store clerk, to be the presenter. I’d then set up lawn chairs for the family, light a few tiki torches and let the commencement begin!

That counts as a graduation ceremony in my book. Now, bring on the gifts!

Oh, and in case you’re interested, those hot rollers lasted about three or four years, so I guess they weren’t such a bad gift after all.

LYNETTE GEORGE is the former lifestyles editor and some times reporter for the Herald Democrat in Denison/Sherman for about 20 years. Her sometimes zany outlook on life gives her an enviable sense of humor like no other. She lives in Denison and her love of animals prevents her from ever passing an animal in need. She may be reached at nettiegeorge79@gmail.com.

Let’s talk about graduation on film.

It was cap-and-gown time a year ago when “Booksmart” swarmed theaters to high critical acclaim and so-so box office success. The film is among the latest in the coming-of-age genre, and like many over the past 30 years, the makers found it appealing to push the sex-language-drugs envelope just a little further. The director has been quoted as saying she wanted a picture that included language teens use today.

The result is disheartening. Still, there are many funny sequences in “Booksmart,” about a couple of intelligent kids who want to learn what they’ve missed in sticking to school books instead of concentrating on party time. The kicker is, they want to do it all in one night. *** Two years earlier, Greta Gerwig made her solo directing-writing debut with “Lady Bird.”

Gerwig has proven to be a major talent through her previous writing (and starring) effort “Francis Ha” and her later remake of “Little Women,” which was a major hit this past year.

“Lady Bird” is about a strained relationship between a newly-graduated daughter and her mother. As in “Booksmart,” frank language is used, but the story is a powerful one concerning coming-of-age, and it ends on a positive note.

The celluloid subject of growing up is as old as film itself. But mention “graduation” movies to someone 65 years old or older and that person is likely to bring up “The Graduate.” After it hit theaters during the Christmas holidays in 1967, it dominated talk on high school and college campuses alike. Not only was it funny and relatable, but it was among the early major studio films that incorporated current popular music into its soundtrack.

It wasn’t like the 1950s rock-’n’-roll pictures that featured on-screen performances by stars of the day. “The Graduate” soundtrack was background music that related to the story. But there was only one original song used. The rest were previous releases from Simon and Garfunkel. *** One can’t help but believe that a young George Lucas, several years prior to “Star Wars,” was influenced by “The Graduate” when he chose the pop music soundtrack for his own graduation story, “American Graffiti” (released in 1973, set in 1962). These 47 years later, some still consider it the quintessential photograph

of teen-age life in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Set at summer’s end, as a new school year is about to begin, recent high school graduates are contemplating their future — whether that be college or staying home for awhile. Ron Howard was chosen as a lead in the film based on his part in a television pilot that was unsold at the time. Because of the popularity of “American Graffiti,” ABC-TV regained interest in picking up the proposed series, “Happy Days,” which went on to become one of the most popular sit-coms in TV history. *** Released just two years later (and set in 1964), featuring a vibrant Motown music soundtrack, and focusing on the black experience in both comedic and dramatic terms, “Cooley High” is a film often compared to “American Graffiti.”

This time the setting is Chicago’s North Side, and its mixture of comedy and drama is still a subject of strong discussion among hard-core movie fans.

Two “Cooley High” stars, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Garrett Morris, were at filming time on the verge of stardom in television series “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Saturday Night Live,” respectively. *** The 1970s benchmark title usually goes to a Texas-based, drug and alcohol infused comedy, “Dazed and Confused.” It was released in 1993 and set on the last day of school in May 1976.

Unlike “American Graffiti,” it was not a hit at the box office. But upon finding its audience and success on home video, it surpassed cult status to become a late-arriving blockbuster.

Matthew McConaughey, a Texan from Longview, was an unknown college student when filming started, but his line, “alright, alright, alright,” is now one of the most quoted from movies over the last 30 years. It is written that the movie put Austin, Texas, on the national map. That’s debatable. Not debatable is that it put McConaughey on the map. ***

Anna Living Magazine

“Say Anything” in 1989 paired John Cusack and Ione Skye in Cameron Crowe’s initial move into the director’s seat.

Crowe was earlier responsible for the story behind “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and later for “Almost Famous,” which included his own absentee graduation from high school.

Also from 1989 was academic-based Dead Poet’s Society,” which solidified Robin Williams as a two-medium (television and movies) star, and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” which was among the so-called Brat Pack films featuring the young, upcoming stars of the day. *** There are so many more, including both high school and college students on the verge of new life experiences: “Splendor in the Grass” (1961); “To Sir, With Love” (1967); “Grease” (1978); “Breaking Away” (1979); and “Legally Blonde” (2001) among them.

Most mentioned here are available on DVD, Blu-ray or through streaming. And there isn’t a throwaway in the bunch.

DON ELDREDGE is the retired editor of the Herald Democrat newspaper (ShermanDenison, TX) and resides in Sherman. E-mail him at eldredgedon@gmail.com.

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Introducing Your Children To Gardening

H

as this year 2020 been a tad different that what you had planned? It has been for our family and most I talk to and connect with through personal and work relationships. A bit challenging to say the least and a lot of folks are at home with their children all the sudden! Like waking up in a new world huh? Hopefully by the time your reading this our Stay at Home Quarantine has been lifted and things get somewhat back to normal. However, they may not and this is the new normal for a while. If so, why not take advantage of this priceless time and introduce your children to gardening? Here are some tips below to help you!

• Get good quality child-sized garden tools.

• Have the child make a special ornament for his/her garden.

• Pick seeds that are easy to handle and plants that are easy and reliable such as Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Zinneas, Scarlet Runner Beans, Sunflowers, etc.

• Plant the children’s garden over several days, if necessary, to maintain attention.

• Start seeds inside under florescent light for slow growing flowers, Kids enjoy having

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things growing.

• Plant the child’s name using alfalfa seed or grass seed planted in a tray of cotton fluff or potting soil • Have child decorate a Styrofoam cup as a face. Fill the cup with dirt and plant it with grass seed. As the grass grow the child can give it “haircuts”.

• Make stepping stones for the children’s garden that feature their hand &/or foot prints from concrete (add fiberglass filaments to strengthen for cold weather durability).

• Grow a carrot tops by cutting off all but 1” of the carrot (potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables work as well). Stick 4 toothpicks into carrot around sides and place over a cup of water with the carrot slightly into the water. Plant orange seeds to start an orange (grapefruit or lemon) tree for in your home.

• Save seeds of flowers (marigolds, sunflowers, etc) or vegetables (beans, pumpkins, etc.) to plant next year. Place seeds on paper plates until dry and store in a sealed jar until planting season. It is good to learn that we don’t have to buy seeds; we can find them and save them.

Anna Living Magazine

• Take cuttings together from ivies, geraniums, or other easy to root plants. Plant a terrarium together in an old aquarium or large glass bowl.

• In the garden, children like extremes. Plant huge sunflowers and other large plants in one area. In another area grow tiny plants-maybe make a “fairy garden”!

MINI-GREENHOUSE You can make a mini greenhouse to start your plants using empty pop bottles. Use green soda bottles if you can. If you only have clear soda bottles punch some extra holes in them or they will get too hot inside and cook your plants.

• Cut the bottom off a 2 L plastic soft drink bottle. Remove the label and the cap.

• Place the bottle right side up over your seedling and push it far enough into the top hold it upright.

• Once your plants have grown tall enough to touch the top of the inside of the bottle, remove the bottle.

INTRODUCING YOUR CHILDREN continued on page 27

Library Progress Despite Pandemic D espite the challenges of the first half of 2020, our Friends Of Board for the Anna Community Library and Education Resource Center has continued to work on program development, future annual fundraising ideas, and community outreach.

We are obviously thrilled that our city council continues to see the establishment of our library as a priority item and our local support continues to rise as well. Our original goal was to have 500 people join our Anna Community Library Facebook page. We have now exceeded this goal. This pandemic has not slowed us down; we are just conducting our business differently.

Back in April, I made a post in our Anna Community Library Facebook page about

INTRODUCING YOUR CHILDREN continued from page 26

• Don’t let the plant grow through the top you won’t be able to remove it and your plant will not thrive.

MAKE A WEATHERSTATION It’s important to pay attention to the weather in the summer as the weather affects the growth of plants. We have different weather patterns every year, so our plants grow differently every year. It is easy to put together a few things that help keep track of the weather so that you can write it down in a notebook (your very own weather journal). It’s important to keep the journal going so you can compare this year to last year or several years before.

You will need: • outside thermometer • minimum/maximum thermometer (optional) • sturdy pinwheel • rain gauge • Snow measuring stick (make your own with a yard stick mounted to a stake. The stake can secure it into the ground. Make sure the yard stick is touching the ground at 0.)

• Notebook or journal with pencil or pen attached with a string (so it doesn’t get lost).

both our Mayor Nate Pike and our Greater Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Hall being granted the ability to use our page as a safe place to provide community-based updates and information on upcoming events. This permission was granted way before the pandemic and in hindsight, I am so pleased that this relationship was already established. It proved over and over again just how important a Library is to a town; it is the heart of the town.

A library literally wears many hats. It maintains These items can be purchased inexpensively at many home supplies stores. Once you have purchased them, decide where your weather station will be.

You may have to spread a few items around to have them in the ideal position. When placing the thermometers, make sure they are not in the sun. A place on the north of the house or in a shady area may be best. The pinwheel needs to be placed out in the open where the breeze or wind will blow on it. The rain gauge and the snow measuring stick also needs to be in the open for best measurement.

Once everything is in place take measurements daily. Check the rain gauge each morning. Check the temperature when it is at the hottest (about 4 pm). The minimum/maximum thermometer is great for telling the highest and lowest temperature each day. Look at the pinwheel to see how strong the winds are, do they change during the day or evening?

As you collect the information (or data), record it in your journal. Each day could have a piece of a page with all the information written out. Have fun with your weather station. Maybe you’ll become a meteorologist!

Question: Jimmie, my favorite color is Blue!

I never see any Blue flowers? Does this flower exist? If so, can you lead me in the right direcAnna Living Magazine

a community “bulletin-board” both online and within an actual physical space. I can’t tell you how many people have thanked our mayor on his posts directly and have thanked me for providing this opportunity. It is vital that this library, our library, be the place for reliable information.

So how can you help? Join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/1949222625109713/. This is where you will hear all the latest information on what we are doing. For now, just knowing that we have the support of our local citizens is so incredibly important. The biggest gift any of us can give to our community is literacy.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

- Maya Angelou ALEXIA SWANEPOEL is the President of the Friends Of Board of the Anna Community Library and a published writer.

Join her writing page and learn more about her book Bohemian Swan by visiting bit.ly/2JwWHNO.

tion or am I asking for the impossible? Thank You for your time, I know you are a busy man!

Lindsey in Prosper Answer: Hi Lindsey, well believe it or not you’re in luck! check out Blue Daze, Plumbago, Balloon Flower, Victoria Blue or Evolution Blue Salvia, and even A Blue Hydrangea! (But with our alkaline soil it will eventually turn Pink!) Hopefully you can fulfill your “Blue” flower craving with one or more of those choices!

Until next time…Happy Gardening with those kids and many blessings to all!

Jimmie Send your landscaping and gardening questions to Jimmie Gibson Jr. at http://www. absolutelybushedlandscaping.com or jimmie@ absolutelybushed.com JIMMIE GIBSON is a Prosper resident and the owner of Absolutely Bushed Landscaping Company, an award winning, family and veteran owned and operated business created in 1980 to provide the highest quality custom Outdoor Renovation available to homeowners in the Dallas Ft. Worth area.

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Texas Caviar W ith summer on the horizon and the COVID-19 shelter orders behind us, hopefully, many afternoon get-togethers with friends and family are in our near futures. Aside from the so-cialization, my favorite thing about those afternoons with friends is the food! Who doesn’t LOVE a good spread of snack foods?!

I have one recipe that’s sure to be a hit among your friends! You may have heard of it before, but I have found everyone who has made it, makes it a little bit differently. I can only speak for my own version, but let’s just

say I’ve never left a get-together with any leftovers in this dish.

The best part is, as long as you don’t mind a little veggie chopping, this is so easy to put together!

Don’t have a get-together to attend? No problem! Your family will love having this snack available at home!

TEXAS CAVIAR • 1 can black beans • 1 can black eyed peas with jalapenos • 1 bell pepper

• • • • • • • • • •

1 white onion 2 tomatoes 3/4 bundle cilantro 1 fresh jalapeno without seeds 1 can corn 1/4 c medium salsa 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp jalapeno salt olive oil apple cider vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and pour a bit of olive oil over the top.

2. Add and mix apple cider vinegar to taste.

3. Serve with corn chips or any other kind of chip.

It’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

I'm JAMIE ROUBINEK and I’m the girl behind this little corner of kitchen inspiration. I find great pleasure in always learning something new. I was never confident in the kitchen but I love learning new things and trying them out. Doing that experimenting has led to a lot of happiness around the kitchen table at my house.

Fortunately, the key to my husband of 13 year’s heart is through his stomach and he is easy to please. With our five kids, on the other hand, that hasn’t always been the case. I love fine-tuning recipes and making adjustments to make everyone smile. I hope that I can help you see how easy it can be to bring that same happiness to your kitchen table! Submissions and suggestions from readers are welcome. Send to jroubinek@yahoo.com.

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Anna Living Magazine

Visit the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum Located in Historic Downtown Hobart, Oklahoma!

The Museum offers galleries with historical audio and unique artifacts not available in any military museum, memorabilia and objects from General Tommy Franks’ 38-year military career, a traveling exhibit space and Museum store. We also have leadership programs to grow our nation’s future leaders as well as events to involve the entire community!

Meeting facilities available upon reservation.

Follow us on social media for Museum highlights and programming updates! @GenTommyFranksMuseum @FourStarLeadership @GenFranksMuseum @FourStarLeader @FourStarLeader

507 S. Main Street Hobart, Oklahoma 73651 (580) 726-5900 TommyFranksMuseum.org FourStarLeader.com

PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID FULTON, MO PERMIT 38

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The 10% discount is only valid at the Anna store location and may not be used with any other discount.

Customer needs to bring the ad to receive the discount.

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