ETC Magazine Spring 2023

Etcetera Spring 2023

Kilgore’s people, places — and the rest

HOUR GLASS

Highway 135 Youth Sports Complex continues to be a community effort

FEATURE

Kilgore Mercantile and music provides a special community hub

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FROM THE EDITOR

How will you be spending your summer, Kilgore?

T

here’s no end of things to do during the upcoming summer months, and I’d like to take this time to highlight some of them for our readers while you’re reading this.

First there are the staples: the city’s pool and splash pad. As I write this, both are about to open for the season. The city just announced a new dive-in movie planned, where kids can watch a film and enjoy the pool at the same time: Lyle Lyle Crocodile will be screened June 24 from 8 to 10 p.m. at the pool.

Don’t forget the Kilgore Public Library, which should also be kicking off its summer reading program soon. They also host activities for people of all ages, like adult book clubs, LEGO clubs and bilingual storytimes, in addition to offering free books and other items available for check-out. Some of my favorite summertime memories are entirely of my mother taking us to our local library to grab a new stack of books for us to devour that afternoon.

Juneteenth and the Fourth of July are two of the can’t-miss Kilgore summer events. The Kilgore Legacy Foundation has already announced it will host its annual Juneteenth festivities on June 17, with a 10 a.m. parade and then a fun day in the park.

The city is also looking ahead to its Fourth of July celebration, 4 Etcetera | Spring 2023

fireworks and all. We’ll have info on both events in the paper as it gets closer to the day.

And what would a Kilgore summer be without the fabulous Texas Shakespeare Festival? Tickets are available to purchase online for the 38th season of the Texas Shakespeare Festival at Kilgore College.

The festival will run from June 29 to July 30 in Van Cliburn Auditorium on the Kilgore campus.

This year’s productions include: “The Comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare; “Lear” by William Shakespeare; “Something Rotten!” (musical) by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, with music and lyrics by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick; “Pride & Prejudice” by Jane Austin, adapted by Melissa Leilani Larson; “Charlotte Collins” by Grace Abele; and “Todrick the Not-so-Terrible” (children’s show) by Grace Abele.

For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.texasshakespeare. com.

There’s plenty more planned this summer, and I hope to see you there.

MEREDITH SHAMBURGER, Editor

Etcetera Spring 2023 Vol. 6 | Issue 2

PUBLISHER

Alexander Gould • agould@mrobertsmedia.com

EDITOR

Meredith Shamburger • mshamburger@kilgorenewsherald.com

ADVERTISING SALES

Linda K. Ballard • lballard@kilgorenewsherald.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kimberley Bailey

CONTACT US

(903) 984-2593 • news1@kilgorenewsherald.com

CONTENTS Spring 2023

6

6 8

10

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Kilgore Mercantile and Music provides a community hub

FEATURE PHOTO GALLERY

Bulldogs, Books and Brews serves up coffee to KHS students

10 FEATURE STORY

Local music artist Jenn Ford releases a new album paying tribute her favorite American icons

16 PET TALK

What you need to know about backyard chickens

18 GARDENING

Grow easy-care mandevillas for season-long color

20 HOUR GLASS

Highway 135 Youth Sports Complex continues to be a community effort

22 SEEN & BE SEEN

ON THE COVER Longtime volunteers, city officials and dozens of local youth athletes pitched in on May 18 to lift shovels and begin work on a major revitalization plan for the Highway 135 Youth Sports Complex in Kilgore.

RECEIVE A $20 GIFT CARD to be used on next visit with purchase of $100 or more.

(Excludes gasoline, lottery & stamps)

FOR DAILY SPECIALS! OPEN 7 DAYS 6:30 A.M. - 8 P.M.

Look up our weekly ad at SkinnersGrocery.com

PHOTO BY LUCAS STROUGH

All contents of the magazine are copyright © M. Roberts Media, LLC. No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner without prior written consent of the publisher. The publisher and editors are not responsible for any changes in event dates after the deadline. Etcetera is published by M. Roberts Media.

1708 Judson Rd., Longview, Tx PH: 903-753-4930 Spring 2023 | Etcetera 5

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

THE PLACE TO BE

Kilgore Mercantile and Music

provides a special community hub

BY JESSICA HARKER | jharker@marshallnewsmessenger.com PHOTOS BY LES HASSEL AND JESSICA HARKER

6 Etcetera | Spring 2023

Owners Vivian and Fred Gebhardt of Kilgore Mercantile and Music.

Left − Various guitars line the store wall. Customers are encouraged to try out instraments before purchase. Right − Kilgore Mercantile and Music is also home to Rosie the Gerbhard's dog.

A

lmost everyone in the City of Kilgore has heard of Kilgore Mercantile and Music for one reason or another.

Whether on the hunt for a perfect Blue Bell Ice Cream sundae, looking to pick up a new guitar or just to purchase freshly ground coffee, the store has a lot to offer.

However, owners Fred and Vivian Gebhardt said that the space not only functions as a business for the family, but also a service; with both finding their own ways to serve Kilgore through their portions of the store.

“This is our home,” Vivian said, “We love it here. The community has been amazing since day one.”

Vivian runs the front portion of the shop, which includes a unique country store and a full ice cream parlor, serving Blue Bell ice cream and Dublin Soda.

“I really wanted to have that 1950s ice cream parlor look, except brand new,” she said, “Like someone plucked it out of the 50s and dropped it here.”

The country store is full of unique toys, gift items, Texas-themed merchandise, canned goods and other items you won’t be able to find anywhere else close by.

Vivian said she makes a point to travel to trade shows in the search for unique items catered to the community here in Kilgore, including the recent addition of fresh full coffee beans.

The store offers coffee beans, which can be ground for customers, as well as chocolate covered

coffee beans to snack on.

“Vivian is really good about going out and finding unique items that people want to buy,” Fred said.

Additionally, the ice cream parlor offers a huge range of unique treats to the community, as well as the ability to create our own concoction with what the store has to offer.

Everything from sundaes, to milkshakes, to frappes can be found at Kilgore Mercantile and Music, with a huge range of add-ons for customers to enjoy.

The ice cream parlor and store attract community members from all ages and backgrounds, offering Vivian the chance to make special connections with every person who enters the store.

“We know almost all of our customers by name, and if we don’t know their name we at least know their face, and their order,” she said.

One such group is a few members of the Kilgore High School Hi-Steppers team, who come into the store occasionally to meet with Vivian and get themselves a treat from the ice cream parlor.

“I mean those girls are in high school and they come in and they talk to me and fill me in on all the gossip,” she said, “It really is wonderful to have those connections.”

One of those young women even considered picking up music lessons, which she would be able to do on her weekly visits to the shop, just by

CONTIUNED ON PAGE 12 Spring 2023 | Etcetera 7

Musicians perform at Kilgore Mercantile and Music Saturday during the A Very Derrick Christmas celebration in downtown Kilgore.

stepping into the back room.

Fred runs the back portion of the store, which functions as both an instrument store as well as a space for music lessons.

The store offers a range of instruments for sale, including a wide selection of guitars, violins, ukuleles and more. He said he also is sure to keep a stock of all of the instruments any of the high school band students in the Kilgore area could need.

The store also employs a number of teachers who offer lessons in guitar, bass, violin or fiddle, ukulele, banjo, piano, accordion and the drums.

While some instrument stores may be wary about customers taking down their products to use, Fred interrupted an interview to greet a new customer with a free guitar pick, encouraging them to try out any instrument they liked in the open soundproof booths in the back.

“The violin has always been my instrument,” he said, “I have been giving lessons since before we had this store, for years.”

He referred to giving music lessons as his ministry, offering community members, often young adults and children, the chance to not only try their hand at a new skill but also to find confidence, building self-esteem, and much more.

Over the years, Fred has given thousands of lessons to students all over, and continues to offer that and expand it through Kilgore Mercantile and Music.

Not only through teaching music, but by offering a place to play it during the businesses regular Second Saturday Pickers event held at the store.

Every second Saturday of the month from 4 to 8:30 p.m., musicians from all over come together at the store to jam together and play music as a group.

Fred said that the event is very come and go, though many people end up staying throughout the whole thing playing music and enjoying visiting with fellow musicians and music lovers alike.

“We have people go and get food and sit outside and enjoy the music, or people who just are walking by that jump in and stay,” Fred said, “But we also have people who have traveled from all over the state and even from Shreveport to come be here.”

The music session touches people so much that it has even 8 Etcetera | Spring 2023

Summer time treats were dished up to a group of the Boys & Girls Club due to the kindness and generosity of Mike Clements.

Door prize winners are announced outside of Kilgore Mercantile and Music during Downtown Kilgore’s Mingle & Jingle in 2020.

inspired one man to donate over $1,000 to the store on more than one occasion to be sure they can continue the event and expand it.

Fred said that using that money he was able to install a large glass door, which allows the space to open to the full store, and offers more space for musicians and music lovers to gather on second Saturdays.

“He wasn’t from here, but we found out later he was in town to take care of his brother who was very sick,” Vivian said, “Well his brother passed, and he said that his brother really would have loved our jam nights, and wanted to be sure we did something to keep that alive.”

The Gebhardts continue to serve the community through their store, Kilgore Mercantile and Music, and encourage everyone who hasn’t ever stopped in to do so and say hello. The store is located at 105 N. Kilgore St., and is open each Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

We’ve Got Your Back!

•

(903) 983-9314

• • •

208 N. Henderson Blvd. Kilgore, TX 75662

•

rrenshaw@cblenhart.com | www.cblenhart.com

“I’m your REALTOR REALTOR..

WELCOME HOME.”

Selling East Texas for 44 years!

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Rehab Therapy - In & Out Patient Skilled Nursing Wound Care Third Eye, preventative after hours program It’s Never TOO Late Modality Music & Memory Program LSVT-BIG Treatment, Specific techniques for people managing Parkinson’s disease

Dedicated Community Servant

RANDY RENSHAW

BROKER ASSOCIATE, OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

Tel: 903.983.7775 • Referral fax: 888.522.6604 1901 Whippoorwill Lane, Kilgore, TX 75662

Family Owned and Family Friendly Mexican Restaurant

211 S Commerce St Overton, TX 76584

(903) 834-3679 Spring 2023 | Etcetera 9

FEATURE PHOTO GALLERY

BULLDOGS AND

Brew

1

2 Photos by Michael Cavazos Bulldog Brooks & Brews is a new venture at the Kilgore High School library that will fund special events for teachers and students by selling coffee and hot chocolate.

KHS students help run the shop, giving them valuable work and service hours. Pictured is a day at the coffee shop as students spend their time making coffee for others to enjoy while they study or read.

1. Rosalyn Cardoso, 17, and Amauria Hollis, 17, visit the Bulldog Books & Brews, on Wednesday May 3.

2. Arlteh Zuniga, 15, spends her afternoon working at Bulldog Books & Brews, on Wednesday May 3.

10 Etcetera | Spring 2023

1. Rosemary Rodriguez, 17, takes an order from Miguel Amaya, 18, while working at Bulldog Books & Brews.

2. Arlteh Zuniga, 15, spends her afternoon working at Bulldog Books & Brews.

3. Rosemary Rodriguez, 17, stamps a loyalty card for Xsavier Ortiz, 16, while working at Bulldog Books & Brews.

1

2 3

Spring 2023 | Etcetera 11

2

1 3

4

12 Etcetera | Spring 2023

Food, Board Games, Game Room, RPG’s, TCG’s

Dragon’s Grill

903-987-2516 | 302 E. Main St. | Kilgore, TX. 75662 www.dragonlootz.com | Nat20@dragonlootz.com Owner: Stevan Beets

(Game Room Rental Available) Spring 2023 | Etcetera 13

FEATURE STORY

Kilgore recording artist

JENN

FORD releases new album STORY AND PHOTOS SPECIAL TO ETCETERA

K

ilgore Recording Artist Jenn Ford released her newest creation, “Americana Radio” in April to radio and all digital streaming platforms via B&G Records.

Jenn Ford is a U.S. Army veteran-turned singer songwriter who is known for co-hosting the Texas Country Music Awards from 2017-2019 for The Texas Country Music Association.

Ford grew up in Carthage, and after 11 years of military service she returned to the Piney Woods, where she now calls Kilgore home. It’s there she has spent the last 10 years building a career in music. Fans call her “The Woman in Black” after her song by the same name hit the airwaves in 2021. It stayed on the Texas Country Music and internet charts for several months in 2021.

14 Etcetera | Spring 2023

Her newest album is a collaboration with producers Kyle Roop and Leif Shively, co-owners of Steel Records Studios, based out of Grand Cane, Louisiana. It will be released by B&G Records Nashville, owned by U.S. Army veteran, executive producer and Film artist BJ Mezek.

'Americana Radio' contains powerful vocals on all 10 tracks, and has a southern rock, bluesy, roots sound with cinematic styling; and on some tracks, real dramatic edge.

The album contains Ford’s versions of Angel From Montgomery (John Prine), Nutshell (Alice In Chains), Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix), and more from Stevie Nicks, The Eagles, Prince, Chris Cornell and The Allman Brothers.

The project arose from Ford’s idea to pay tribute to her favorite iconic American artists that shaped her love and appreciation for storytelling through music.

Clancy Ferguson Stewart is a featured Louisiana fiddler on several tracks, with Leif Shively and Kyle Roop splitting guitar licks and steel guitar.

Since 2017, Ford has continued to implement her musical approach with maturity and experience, and confidently chose to feature traditionally acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitars, banjo, dobro, baritone guitar, steel guitar, fiddle and harmonica.

The twist is she added in sound effects that pay a nod to Clint Eastwood films like “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” and soundtracks from famous composer Ennio Morricone.

“My dad loved Clint Eastwood and was a big influence on my musical taste growing up. I wanted this album to have some flair and be something people listen to front to back, like a movie.”

“All of these songs were like fairy tales growing up. I remember listening to the Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers in his truck since I was a child, and then laying awake thinking about the lyrics as a little girl. I always got mesmerized by that.”

“My mom loved Stevie Nicks, but she also loved old hymns. This album is 100 percent a reflection of my influences, and my heritage.

I chose the name 'Americana Radio' to reflect the influence of my family, my military service, and also to acknowledge every single thing I have overcome to be able to make music.”

Ford openly discusses her battle with PTSD, and asserts that music is a necessary tool for self expression and creativity to deal with her mental health.

“Music is a healer. It’s the first language a mother speaks to her children, and is universally understood. It always comforts me and helps me be the best version of myself,” says Ford.

Ford has over 24,000 followers on Facebook, and performed all over the world as a featured vocalist for US Army Bands during her service.

Now as a solo artist, she has opened for Doug Supernaw, Bri Bagwell, Jack Ingram, Mike and The Moonpies, and is scheduled to open for popular Austin-based band Uncle Lucius in June.

Her music is a blend of rock, country, and blues. She was awarded Grand Champion of the Texas Country Music Showdown at the 2019 Texas Country Music Awards, and represented TCMA with performances during National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in 2021.

Spring 2023 | Etcetera 15

PET TALK

EVERYTHING you need to know about

BACKYARD CHICKENS STORY AND PHOTOS SPECIAL TO ETCETERA

A

fter egg prices hit record highs in late 2022 and early 2023, having a flock of backyard chickens to provide a personal supply of eggs can be tempting.

Dr. Isabelle Louge, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, offers tips for designing coops and researching hatcheries before bringing chickens home and keeping them healthy and happy.

First, Louge suggests that owners prepare a spacious coop with fencing to prevent overcrowding and predation, which is the act of one animal killing another for food.

“Overcrowding can lead to disease, aggression and even deadly injury among the chickens,” Louge said. “Additionally, poor fencing and housing can lead to predation; a single mink could come in through a hole barely larger than half an inch and kill an entire flock at once.”

The coop should have at least 3 square feet per standard heritage breed chicken such as Barred rock or Australorp, according to Louge. Smaller breeds need at least 2 square feet per bird, while giant breeds need 4 or 5 square feet per bird.

Providing ample space within the coop makes it easier for owners to clean as well, which is necessary to keep chickens healthy.

“The buildup of droppings leads to poor air quality and increased rates of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases,” Louge said. “Owners should clear out the coop frequently, at least every two days.”

Louge explained that combining a deep bedded pack system with appropriate ventilation, or the movement of fresh air in a 16 Etcetera | Spring 2023

closed space, can reduce how often a coop requires cleaning. A deep bedded pack system is created by turning over the soiled bedding repeatedly and adding a new layer of bedding to allow the droppings to decompose.

This ventilation is necessary to maintain healthy chickens, according to Louge.

“The best ventilation systems circulate air at the level of the bird’s heads when they are roosting and standing on the floor,” Louge said. “This will help keep the air fresh, prevent harmful gas buildup produced by droppings, and help keep the birds cool when it is hot out.”

For owners who buy layers, or hens suited for regularly laying eggs, Louge advises owners to provide at least one nest box per four birds, with nesting materials such as straw or shredded paper.

Once owners are prepared to house their chickens, they should research the best place to buy chicks or pullets, female chickens under a year old who have not started to lay eggs.

Louge encourages prospective bird owners to buy chickens from commercial hatcheries that vaccinate for Marek’s disease, a common and highly contagious disease among chickens. There is no cure or treatment for the disease, so prevention is critical.

“Chickens can only be vaccinated in the egg or at 1 day of age, since vaccinating later in life does not ensure protection,” Louge explained.

Some hatcheries also are certified to protect chickens from other dangerous diseases.

“The best sources for chicks and pullets are hatcheries that are National Poultry Improvement Plan certified for, at minimum,

Salmonella pullorum and, ideally, monitored or certified for mycoplasma and avian influenza,” Louge said.

Salmonella pullorum, a bacterial disease, and mycoplasma, a chronic respiratory disease, are infectious among chickens, but Louge points out that avian influenza is an important problem in chickens.

“All chicken keepers should contact a veterinarian if they notice respiratory issues in their flock or if they have multiple birds that die in a short period of time,” Louge said.

Louge also recommends owners familiarize themselves with tips from the United States Department of Agriculture on recognizing and preventing avian influenza.

Before joining the family, backyard chickens should be healthy in a comfortable environment designed with their needs in mind.

Once they are at ease in their new home, they’ll become eggcellent additions to the family.

MAINTAINING HEALTHY BIRDS After researching, preparing for and buying healthy chickens, first-time flock owners will need to know all that is involved in keeping their birds healthy.

Louge encourages owners to first contact their veterinarian after bringing home their chickens to discuss resources for maintaining flock health.

“Because there is a shortage of veterinarians who are willing to see poultry in backyard flock scenarios, it is important to reach out to clinics before you have a problem to ensure that you can find reliable information and help with managing the health of your flock,” Louge said.

Among the most basic considerations to keeping flocks healthy, backyard chickens should always have clean water and a nutritional diet, according to Louge.

“Water and its container should be checked daily to ensure that they are clean,” Louge said. “Containers should also be cleaned out, disinfected fully, and rinsed out thoroughly at least twice a week to prevent bacteria buildup that can make your birds sick.”

PROPER DIET For a nutritional diet, Louge advises owners to match the correct feed with a chicken’s life stage. This will depend on if you are raising a flock of laying birds, or chickens that lay eggs; broilers, or chickens raised for meat production; or a combination of the two.

“Chicks require specially formulated diets before they are transitioned to a layer feed, for layers, or a finishing diet, for broilers,” Louge said. “We are very fortunate to have many commercially available, well-balanced chicken feeds, which should be fed as per label directions and be the main source of the chicken’s food.”

Owners can also feed their chickens treats, such as mealworms or chicken scratch, but Louge specified that treats should make up less than 10 percent of a chicken’s diet. Additionally, Louge encourages owners to be cautious when feeding chickens table scraps because moldy and spoiled food can make them sick.

In addition, owners should avoid foods that are poisonous for

chickens, including avocados, dried beans, uncooked potatoes, tomato plants, salty foods, onions, pits of stone fruits like peaches and rhubarb.

Louge recommends owners also provide laying birds with extra calcium, which is needed to make eggshells and can be found in free-choice crushed oyster shells or commercial calcium supplements made for laying hens.

TENDING TO INJURIES Finally, new flock owners should be aware of common injuries caused by other chickens or predators that enter the coop, such as snakes, raccoons and coyotes, and understand how to address those injuries.

“As basic first aid for wounds no deeper than the skin, owners should clean the surface of the wound with warm water and dilute iodine or betadine,” Louge explained. “Owners should also separate any injured birds until they fully heal to prevent flock mates from pecking at the wound and making it far worse.”

Louge suggests placing the injured chicken in a small-sized seethrough cage in the coop to keep them with their flock while they recover but also to prevent bullying from other chickens. This can prevent bullying when the healed chicken re-enters the flock as well.

But if the wound appears deeper than the skin or the wounded chicken seems sick, Louge advises owners to seek veterinary help as soon as possible to determine the best treatment plan.

Sick chickens tend to hold their head low, appear fluffed out, are lethargic, have no appetite, lose weight and limp.

Ensuring Healthy Owners In addition to looking out for the birds’ health, it is also essential that owners protect their own health when caring for their chickens, which carry salmonella, a bacterial infection that can cause humans to experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach pains.

“It is very important for human caretakers to always wear gloves when cleaning out a chicken coop, avoid breathing in any dust produced by the birds or found in the coop, and wash your hands thoroughly after handling chickens or chicken products like eggs,” Louge said.

Since chickens carry diseases that can make humans very ill, Louge recommends supervising children when interacting with chickens and discourages kissing chickens and touching faces after handling chickens.

To raise a healthy chicken flock, you should follow good chicken management that can protect the health of your flock and you as a chicken caretaker, leading your chickens to have egg-ceptionally healthy lives.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be found on the Pet Talk website. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to editor@cvm.tamu.edu.“We all hated to see Halliburton leave Kilgore,” he said, “but I think we were all surprised when we continued to experience growth in spite of their departure and the COVID quarantines.”

Spring 2023 | Etcetera 17

GARDENING

GROW

easy-care mandevillas for season-long color

BY MELINDA MYERS | Special to Etcetera PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUNTORY FLOWERS

B

old color, tropical beauty and easy-care mandevillas make excellent additions to patios, decks and gardens.

Train them onto a trellis, allow them to cascade from a hanging basket or combine them with other plants.

Enjoy summer-long blossoms and the butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators that stop by for a visit.

Once divided into two different groups, dipladenias and mandevillas, the botanists now consider them all mandevillas. You will find both names still in use, with dipladenias referring to those with a more mounded, shrub-like habit and mandevillas being more of a trailing vine. Whatever you call them you are sure to find one or more that complement your garden and container designs.

Mandevillas are grown as annuals in all but zones 10a to 11b where some varieties are hardy. They flower best in full sun but will tolerate some shade. These South American native plants thrive in 18 Etcetera | Spring 2023

the hot humid weather of summer. Wait for spring temperatures to remain in the 60s before planting them outdoors.

Select a potting mix or location with organically rich, welldrained soil. Use a slow-release fertilizer at the start of the season and make a second application, if needed mid-season. Read and follow the label directions when using fast-release liquid fertilizers.

Mandevillas are usually flowering when you purchase them at the garden center. They will continue to bloom on new growth throughout the summer and fall until frost kills the plant.

The well-behaved vining mandevilla will not strangle nearby plants. Just give it a trellis or obelisk for the vines to wrap around and climb. Their slightly woody stems provide greater stability than other vines that regularly need to be secured to the support.

Just tuck any new tendrils through the trellis, pointing them in the desired direction as needed.

Use vining varieties in a container of their own or as a vertical accent on a trellis in mixed containers or flowerbeds. Set pots by an entrance to your home or garden for a colorful welcome or use them to dress up a bare wall or fence.

The more compact shrubby types can be planted with other annual flowers in the garden, grown in hanging baskets, or used as a filler in mixed container gardens. Just prune off or tuck any wayward branches behind neighboring plants.

Disease-resistant Sun Parasol mandevillas offer an array of colors including white, yellow, apricot, pink, crimson, and even red and white striped flowers. The original shrubby Sun Parasol mandevillas are available in the widest range of colors while the garden group makes excellent hanging baskets. Grow the vigorous climbing Giant group varieties for the largest flowers and the Pretty group when looking for a vine with the most flowers, dense vigorous growth, and more cold tolerance.

Include them on your patio, deck, or balcony, and situate a few outside your windows. You will enjoy the flowers and winged visitors whether inside looking out or relaxing in your outdoor spaces.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD and instant video series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine.

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Spring 2023 | Etcetera 19

HOUR GLASS

Highway 135 Youth Sports Complex continues to be a

community effort

BY MEREDITH SHAMBURGER | mshamburger@kilgorenewsherald.com PHOTOS FROM KILGORE NEWS HERALD ARCHIVE

20 Etcetera | Spring 2023

B

y the time this issue of Etcetera goes to press, the City of Kilgore will be gearing up for a groundbreaking ceremony for major renovation work at the Highway 135 Youth Sports Complex.

It’s the culmination of a yearslong process. The city first began to develop a master plan for the park in 2018, began discussing renovation plans in 2019, got sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2023 finally OK’d a contract for work to begin.

City officials from the beginning were committed to the improvements.

“We’re willing to come in, take ownership, put a massive investment into these facilities then hand it back to them to operate,” Kilgore City Manager Josh Selleck said in a 2019 News Herald article. “This is different from how most cities do this.

Honestly, though, we think it’s the best of both worlds.

“You’ve got the passion of the parents to take care of the leagues and the facility, and you have the assistance of the city to build it without requiring a long-term tax commitment to maintain it, which can sometimes be more costly.”

That sense of community spirit has been there since the park’s establishment in the mid-1990s to serve both the Kilgore Youth Softball Association and the Kilgore Soccer Association..

The planned groundbreaking coincides with a big anniversary: 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the Kilgore Youth Softball Association first using the sports complex and their 40th anniversary as a nonprofit organization.

“KSA closes season with ceremony; ushers in new era at Sports Complex” was the headline of a 1995 article, and what’s notable is not what was said (very little was reported about speeches given), but instead who was there: The people who helped make the complex a reality.

“April 15 may have served as the closing ceremonies for the Kilgore Soccer Association, but it also marked a grand opening at the same time.

Ceremonies and the final games for the spring campaign were held at the Kilgore Youth Sports Complex, located just off Highway 135.

The Sports Complex, a joint venture of the Kilgore Soccer Association and the Kilgore Youth Softball Association, has already expanded from the original 9 acres to 45, according to Steve Brown, president of the Kilgore Youth Sports Complex association.

Brown, who addressed those in attendance, boasted of the new facility and recognized the board members, James Repasky, Scooter Huckabee, Tommy Gooch, Tom Sartor, M.L. Carlton, Ricky Beets and Kenny Mobbs.

Approximately 375 boys and girls ranging in age from 6-19 years old participated on 28 teams.

The fall season at the Maude Laird Middle School soccer fields attracted 419 boys and girls on 33 teams, 10 of which qualified for the Tournament of Champions in the Metroplex last December.

Among those introduced at the ceremonies by KSA board president Repasky were Anne Hale, first vice president; Carlton, second vice president; Cheryl Clower, secretary; and Rocco DeSantis, treasurer; directors Rachel Wood, James Bell, Brown, John Kulak, Huckabee, Doug Swaim and Brian Weaver; referee coordinator Doug Smith; and commissioners Latrisha Pennington, Sam Weaver, Dale Jordon, Sherry Reeher, Chris Raymond, John Kulak and Tony Beason…”

The joy of the day was evident. News Herald reporter Buck Ringgold, writing in the May 21, 1996 edition of the paper, recalled the Kilgore Soccer Association ending its first full season at the new sports complex.

“What I remember the most about that was some of the kids were still playing on the fields as the closing ceremonies were about to begin,” he wrote. “It was as if they didn’t want the season to end, they just wanted to get their kicks in a little bit longer.”

When the Kilgore Youth Softball Association opened its season the following May, both then-KYSA President Steve Brown and then-District 34 state softball commissioner Lugene Rogers spoke.

“Rogers told the crowd that she was impressed with the new complex and would also try to make a bid for Kilgore to host a state tournament in the near future,” the News Herald reported.

WHAT’S NEW Here’s what the city approved back in March at the sports complex, as described by Parks & Facilities Director Keith Yorgason: “The first $700,000 of the $1 million budget would be spent on lighting. Four new light poles around the soccer fields and 12 new poles around the softball fields will be replacing the old lighting system. This will include three security lighting modules to help light up the parking lots.

“Field 1 is going to be pushed out to make room for a competition-sized field,” he said. “That’ll be a brand new baseball field from the ground up. That will be $160,000. The remaining $140,000 is going to be a contingency for the remaining three fields. In conjunction with the Kilgore Youth Sports Association, we’re going to do our best to make the most of that money. It will go towards Field 3’s backstop repair, fence repair and replacement and also irrigation repair and replacement as that comes up and as that’s necessary.”

Spring 2023 | Etcetera 21

SEEN & BE SEEN

First Lady of Kilgore PHOTOS BY LUCAS STROUGH

Ruth Anne Camp was named First Lady of Kilgore at a ceremony in April hosted

by Beta Sigma Phi sorority at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

Camp, a longtime Kilgore resident, earned the nomination for a lifetime of service to this community and its residents. She is the fifth woman in her family to receive the honor of being First Lady of Kilgore. Three of those women have lived in the same house, including her grandmother, two great aunts and her cousin.

Every year, Beta Sigma Phi recruits nominators to seek out “exceptional ladies in our community who have spent many years serving others, sacrificing personal time to make a difference in the life of our community and contributing to making the Kilgore area better,” member Ursula Plaisance said.

“Our First Lady is always someone special in her own right. She is the kind of person we should all aspire to be. This year’s First Lady is certainly that kind of person, and we are proud to have her recognized for her contributions.”

Cruise for Success PHOTOS BY LES HASSELL

Kilgore College awarded a brand-new Chevrolet Malibu to one lucky student at the fourth annual Cruise for Success Car Giveaway in April.

KC sophomore Michele Hart, of Longview, was the lucky winner of the car giveaway, driving away in the new car — courtesy of Patterson Chevrolet of Kilgore.

The event not only featured the car giveaway, but also included a college-wide crawfish boil in the Lee Mall/Mike Miller Plaza. Aramark grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and DJ Juice and Charlie’s Sno-Balls kept the party going — courtesy of the KC Campus Life Office.

22 Etcetera | Spring 2023

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