Etc Magazine Winter 2022

Winter 2022

Etcetera

Kilgore’s people, places — and the rest

COVER STORY KEEPER OF THE LIGHTS

The history of the annual Lighting of the Derricks, held each year in downtown Kilgore for decades

Happy holidays, Kilgore!

BY MEREDITH SHAMBURGER mshamburger@kilgorenewsherald.com

This year sure has flown by, hasn't it? That means only one thing: Christmastime is here again. And in Kilgore, Christmas is a time to celebrate, to switch on every twinkle light you've got and spend the next few months making cherished memories with your loved ones.

Christmas has always been a bit of a production in Kilgore, but as we detail in our "Keeper of the Lights" story, those thousands of downtown lights that shine bright today are the end result of the dedication of a handful of people who decided to bring back a piece of the town's history. Gem Meacham recalled the late Charles Miller was the longtime caretaker. Today it's Longview Lights and volunteers.

“It takes a team of volunteers and the electrician and someone willing to actually climb up the towers,” she told reporter Lucas Strough.

I, for one, am thankful someone is brave enough to climb all the way up those derricks. That's something I could never do, but wow oh wow does it make the city's holiday spirit sing each year.

Keeper of the Lights: A look at those who keep the iconic oil derrick Christmas lights shining.

According to Mayor Ronnie Spradlin and City Clerk Rachel Rowe, the city owns and maintains downtown lights on sidewalks and streets, but the lights and letters on the derricks are maintained by Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation.

Keeper of the Lights

BY LUCAS STROUGH | lstrough@kilgorenewsherald.com

It’s a sight as familiar as any in Kilgore: the blazing bright neon letters spelling out “Merry Xmas” and “Happy New Year” mounted high up on oil derricks at the World’s Richest Acre.

They are the focus of the annual Lighting of the Derricks, held each year in downtown Kilgore for decades.

According to Mayor Ronnie Spradlin and City Clerk Rachel Rowe, the city owns and maintains downtown lights on sidewalks and streets, but the lights and letters on the derricks are maintained by Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation.

KHPF was chartered in January 1987 by organizing board members Mayor Mickey Smith, City Commissioner Rob Schleier and at-large member Ronnie Spradlin.

In February of that year, the first steel derrick was erected at the Acre and work continued on several more. When the holiday season rolled around, the derricks which had been built were decorated with Christmas lights, and KHPF, along with the Kilgore Improvement and Beautification Association, placed the first holiday banner on the derricks.

“It was the tradition back in the ‘30s,” KHPF board member Gem Meacham said of the Christmas decorations on the derricks.

“With the stars on top and ‘Merry Xmas’ and ‘Happy New Year,’ all of that was historical and all of that was recreating what was done.”

By the early 2000s, many more derricks had been built and Kilgore was really getting into the holiday spirit with a Trail of Lights, a fireworks show and downtown events. Soon after that came the much-beloved inclusion of Rangerettes and other dance and drill teams to add some dancing flair to the derrick lighting. Rangerette Director Deana Bolton Covin directed the event for several years after retiring from leading the team, and the Chamber of Commerce eventually assumed the leadership role of the derrick lighting and oversees it to this day.

KHPF is in charge of making sure the lights are maintained, repaired and, most importantly, flicker to life when the time is right.

Interest in reviving the holiday traditions and decorations of yesteryear came from an article describing the simple majesty of the derrick lights.

“When Gary Ford was working for Southern Living, he wrote a story about coming home at Thanksgiving and seeing lights on the stars,” Meacham said.

Ford, a native son, worked for the magazine for decades, and his article in the early 1990s sparked some of the original interest in restoring the city’s historic skyline, a nod to its roots in the East Texas Oil Boom.

Additionally, KHPF selects a person each year to “throw the switch” at the derrick lighting, powering up the light fixtures on

the derricks and ringing in the Christmas season Kilgore-style.

KHPF selects a person each year who has gone to extraordinary means, through volunteerism or investment, of supporting the foundation and its goals of historical preservation in the city.

Last year, Darryl Gilcoat was chosen to throw the switch in recognition of his many years as a chairman on the derrick board.

Meacham said KHPF relies on charitable contributions to keep up with the maintenance of the Christmas lights and also make use of grants from the city from its Hotel Occupancy Tax fund, because the derrick lighting and other holiday attractions draw so many out-of-town visitors.

But whose job is it to actually scale up the towering derricks and replace a fizzled-out bulb or misaligned letter?

“It used to be volunteers. Ronnie Spradlin climbed it once and he said never again,” Meacham laughed.

“Charles Miller, he’s now deceased, but he was the man who put most of the derricks in the air, and he would climb the derricks every holiday season,” she said.

Now a local commercial firm, Longview Lights, handles the high-flying portions of the job.

“It takes a team of volunteers and the electrician and someone willing to actually climb up the towers,” she said, noting the derrick board has discussed plans to upgrade some of the current lights (some of which have been in use for over a decade) to LED bulbs, which are brighter.

The famous “Merry Xmas” and “Happy New Year” signs are stored by the city until it’s time to deck the halls, or the derricks in this case.

“It’s quite a deal to get them up!” Meacham said of the holiday decorations.

“The derrick committee works year round to get that up.”

The late Charles Miller put most of the downtown derricks up in the air and would climb them every holiday season to check on the lights.

Sue Brown, the 2022 Kilgore Citizen of the Year, spoke with Etcetera Magazine from her downtown Kilgore office about her impact on the city over the years. The city is proud to honor Brown, who has been involved in the formation of many city organization and continues to serve as a great volunteer for the city.

Brown was named Kilgore's "Citizen of the Year" in February of this year for her unending contributions to the community. In 1987, she was instrumental in establishing the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation. Her generosity continued when she helped establish the Texas Shakespeare Festival Guild in 1994

"I’m not a person who wants my picture in the paper," said Brown. "I don’t do anything for that. If I do something I think that’s worthy for the town, I get the satisfaction. I don’t need the world to know. My husband and I both liked to do what we could, and we do it in the closet."

Brown was surprised earlier this year when she won Citizen of the Year. "I was going that evening to support another lady that I had helped with a nomination, and I assumed that I would be in the presence of the nominee and not the person honored," Brown recalled of that evening. She remembered that night as a rainy and messy night, which she usually wouldn’t travel in but decided to travel in it that night to support a friend. "Little known to me, I was the honoree of the evening."

Citizen of the Year SUE BROWN

dedicates her time to Kilgore

SADIQ KING | scooper@marshallnewsmessenger.com PHOTOS

BY SADIQ KING

PRESERVING HISTORY

In the late 1930s, stars were placed atop Kilgore's oil derricks. These stars would illuminate the night, transforming the town into a picturesque one. The Kilgore oil derricks would be demolished by 1969, leaving the town in decline. It wasn't until the 1980s that Mayor Mickey Smith set out to improve the downtown Kilgore area.

Brown said the city had lost some of its promise at the time. Kilgore was once a town where products and services were abundant and shopping was a daily pastime. Without the derricks, it turned into an oil smell, mud sludge and rundown town.

"I thought it was the dirtiest town I’ve ever seen," Brown said of her time as a child. "It had all that oil spilled all over that World’s Richest Acre. That looked horrible and smelled terrible."

When she was just 10 years old, she would ride past the town and would think to herself, "It's filthy!" Brown recalled.

Smith, on the other hand, had a vision of reviving the town's tourism industry. He was given the idea to reinstall the derricks. So, along with Ronnie Spradlin, a councilman at the time, and city attorney Robert Schleier, Smith established the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation. Brown was honored to be selected as one of three citizens-at-large to serve on the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation in 1987.

The group was given the task of restoring Kilgore's skyline. To complete this challenge, the team had to first locate a derrick,

dismantle it and transport it to Kilgore. Then they'd have to find a location given to them to re-erect the derrick. Finally, they required a $7,500 donation from a donor in order to re-erect the derrick.

Things moved slowly at first, but in the mid-1990s, the board learned that oil derricks in Louisiana's North Caddo Oil and Gas field were being demolished and that they could have as many as they wanted. Charles Miller was put in charge of restoring all of the derricks. Later, he would broaden his scope of work to include the construction of World's Richest Acre Park and the restoration of two old movie theaters, the Crim Theater and the Texan Theater.

The derricks cost $5,000 to build at the time. A $15,000 endowment fund was established, but prices rose over time, and the last derrick was astronomically more expensive to re-erect than the first.

"KHPF has many donors who are to thank," Brown said. "We were only a body of a few people working to find those derricks, find the sites and find those donors. These are people to be honored. I was pleased to be a part of that."

However, the city refused to allow KHPF to erect the derricks in their original configuration because they were too close to existing structures. Brown's assistance has resulted in 53 derricks standing tall in the city today. Once again, stars have been placed atop the derricks. At their request, stars are currently lighting up the city. These stars are always illuminated for special occasions and the holiday season. Brown is no longer on the KHPF board of directors, but she remains chairwoman of the Book and Archive Committee.

LIFETIME OF SERVICE

Brown was born Sue Martin in Troup, about 30 miles southwest of Dallas. She graduated from Troup High School in 1951 and then went on to Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (now Stephen F. Austin State University), where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1954. Brown began working at Kilgore High School in September 1955.

"I fell in love with Kilgore," said Brown. "It was a town like no other. So friendly, so progressive, you didn’t have to go to Dallas or a bigger city like Tyler for entertainment. The Crim was open. The Texan was open. You could buy anything you wanted

downtown. The women had the model shop, the toggery... The men had the hub and maples and Wineberg.

"Drug stores on every corner," Brown recalled.

Brown directed the drama department, taught public speaking and coached debate at the high school. She felt that her students needed to be in front of people. It was during her tenure at Kilgore ISD that her service to the community began.

She worked with the youth at St. Luke's United Methodist Church while teaching at the high school, but when she married; she joined a Presbyterian church and quickly began working with the church's women. She earned her master's degree in 1958, and in 1962, she met Frank Brown. Frank was a Kilgore native who graduated from the Class of 1947. The couple would later get married, but their first meeting was right before she left to teach in the speech department at SFA.

"I told him he was my ticket back to town," she gushed when talking about Frank. The couple shares a son, Brent Brown, who is a Dallas architect, and a grandson in eighth grade, Elliot Brown.

Brown's first volunteer position in the city, however, was as the Education Committee Chairwoman of the Kilgore Chamber of Commerce in the 1970s. She was there when the procedures for the first Teacher of the Year Award were established. Brown also enjoys the performing arts, and she demonstrated this by serving on the board of directors of the Kilgore College Children's Summer Theater for many years. The summer theater would stage plays from the college's Van Cliburn Auditorium.

It was the duty of the Kilgore College Theater instructor to direct the program. Once Raymond Caldwell arrived as the new theater instructor, he told Brown and others that he did not want to continue the Children’s Summer Theater program.

"He was going away to get another degree," Brown remembered Caldwell telling her. "And when he came back, he would have another idea, and that was to start the festival."

When the Texas Shakespeare Festival was founded in 1986, Brown served on its board of directors. A former student approached her in 1992, asking if she would form a guild for the festival. Brown gladly accepted the challenge. The festival staff felt

LADIES GROUP: A group of the First Ladies of Kilgore gathered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church for their annual Valentine luncheon sponsored by Beta Sigma Phi in 2017. Among the First Ladies present were (front row, from left) Jo Hancock (1979), Virginia Wallace (2001), Betty Renshaw (2009), current First Lady of Kilgore Lavada Thomas (2016), Evelyn Bolding (2008), Sue Brown (2002), Nina Fern Nichols (1999), (back row, from left) India Stroope (2005), Carolyn Martin (2012), Linda Sartor (2014), Betty Jo Mobley (1976), Pam DeCeault (2015), Wanda Bittick (1998), Martha Clark (2006) and Ellen Watson (1954). OKTOBERFEST: Sue Brown taps the keg at this year’s Kilgore Octoberfest.

they needed someone to assist them with the artists' hospitality. Sue Brown was joined by four other volunteers, and together they established the Texas Shakespeare Foundation and Guild in 1994 through hard work and dedication.

After 25 years of service to the board, Brown eventually retired. "There comes a time when one needs to just bow out and become an advisor," she said.

OTHER COMMUNITY WORK

Brown has always been interested in history. She used to be a member of the Gregg County Historical Commission. Until 2014, she was a member of the Kilgore Coterie Club. She is currently a member and Chair of the Daughters of the American Revolution's Samuel Paul Dinkins Chapter. "It was my privilege to be a part of publishing four books," said Brown of the KHPF Book and Archive Committee. "Just this year, we’ve partnered with the city to create a coloring activity book for kindergarteners through fifth-graders to provide the history to children," she shared.

The Boomtown story is told in a play called "Boom," which was produced by KHPF. The committee is working with Overton Films on a two-hour documentary about Kilgore's history called "Voices from Forgotten Streets," which will premiere on Dec. 28 at the Texan Theater. This is to remember the Lou Della Crim No. 1 that blew on Dec. 28, 1930, and forever changed the quaint cotton lumber town of Kilgore.

The city makes every effort to honor Brown. From "Kilgore First

Lady" in 2002, awarded by Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, to "Kilgore Citizen of the Year" in 2022, awarded by the Kilgore Area Chamber of Commerce and presented by Kilgore Mayor Ronnie Spradlin and fellow KHPF and TSFF member Gem Meacham, Brown is humbled and grateful for the support she has received over the years.

Today, Brown is delegating many of her responsibilities and cleaning out her office; she used the word "tossing." She and two other KHPF members, Meacham and Amanda Pratt Nobles, decided that only one set of minutes should be kept at her office. As a result, they have compiled two historical filing cabinets to be sent to the old post office, which is owned by KHPF, for safekeeping. Original financial statements and handwritten minutes from some of the first meetings can be found in some of the cabinets. Her office walls appeared to be bare, as many of her pictures had been given to the old post office.

When asked what’s next for this ambitious model citizen, her response was, "I hope I get to take my shingle down," she said without hesitation. "I mean that I really don’t want to be on the board. Hopefully, the Book and Archive committee will be finished by then.”

She is looking to close her office, but as long as she can take a breath, she’s still going to be involved.

"I don’t want any more phone calls after December 31st. We show the documentary on the 28th... and here’s hoping,” she said with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. “In 2023 I will only be here to help as needed.”

Liberty City farm sells HOT SAUCE

to benefit veterans

SADIQ KING | scooper@marshallnewsmessenger.com PHOTOS BY SADIQ KING

Pepper Rick Farms is a farm in Liberty City that produces hot sauces for sale at local farmers' markets, with proceeds benefiting veteran services and organizations. Pepper Rick’s founder Richard Knetsch’s military experience and friendships with those injured, lost or killed in action inspired him to turn his chili-making hobby into something that benefits others.

Knetsch started Pepper Rick Farms in 2019.

Knetsch is dedicated to making sure his donations reach veterans and military families. "Sitting here, I’ve actually got to see through friends and colleagues in the army that I’ve served with, what [direct donations] do when you have somebody that needs that," said Rick. "When they’ve lost somebody or they're injured or lost a leg or something like that, and you see where your money actually went, to be able to help somebody and see the smile it puts on their children’s faces. That’ll keep you going."

Knetsch has been growing peppers for about 15 years. His hobby was turning his harvest into high-quality sauces. He used to just give sauces and salsa to friends and family. From 2000 to 2004, he was in the army, working as a signals intelligence analyst in a pineapple field in Hawaii, listening to bad guys. He came home and watched another army buddy, Adam, serve in Afghanistan, come come and then have a friend die in action.

Knetsch says he witnessed firsthand what his friend Adam was going through, and he would tell himself, "You know, I make this stuff, and if I'm going to do it, it has to be bigger than me." He saw this as an excellent opportunity to assist someone. In 2020, he established Pepper Rick Farms, which donates to the Gary Sinise Foundation. They also belong to the Longview American Legion Post 280, the Veteran Farmers Coalition and the Vietnam Veterans Association. Wounded heroes, active duty service members, veterans, first responders and their families are all supported by these programs.

The farm donates in honor of a veteran or fallen soldier on a military holiday every year. All proceeds go to veterans.

"I don’t make any money off of it," said Knetsch. "Everything either goes back into making more chilis; buying the ingredients, the labels, and the bottles; and then whatever’s leftover, we save up and donate it."

Knetsch’s wife does all the merchandising for the company. "This is just kind of my labor of love," Knetsch continued. "I love making chili. I had up to like 400 plus plants."

Pepper Rick Farms grows their food without the use of GMOs, chemicals or insecticides, instead relying on natural minerals, fertilizer and pest control. The ingredients in their sauces share the same commitment to healthy eating. The company collaborates closely with the community to support the brave men and women who risk their lives to protect the country.

While running his business and being involved in veteran relief efforts, Knetsch discovered how beneficial and necessary these services are for the families of U.S. soldiers and veterans.

"When you make a donation to something, sometimes you don’t actually really know what it does," said Knetsch. "You hope it goes to a good cause. You may never check on that.”

Knetsch wants people to be aware of the country's homeless veteran problem. The Vietnam Veteran Association assists in removing homeless veterans from the streets.

"We have disabled veterans who can’t get around; they have a hard time getting rides to the VA hospital," Knetsch explained. "There are people that are in need… Some of those guys and

women have been forgotten, and a helping hand is always needed."

The farm brings awareness to causes like this, in return giving away free bottles of hot sauce and chili salsa.

"I would say East Texas is very veteran-friendly, which is cool to see."

Customers can buy Pepper Rick Farms chili and sauces at select farmers markets: Operation Unbroken in Longview, The Watchmaker in Tyler, The Ranch Farm and Home in Henderson, and online at pepperrickfarms.com.

Kilgore High School

Then & Now

BY LUCAS STROUGH | lstrough@kilgorenewsherald.com

After 90 years of faithful service, Kilgore High School is passing the academic torch to a new generation as the venerable structure is replaced with a larger, state-of-the-art campus.

Thousands of students, many of whom have raised their own families here, earned their diplomas in these halls.

Years of ideas and proposals became reality last year when Kilgore voters overwhelmingly approved $113 million worth of bond measures designed by the KISD school board to fund the construction of a new high school building and complete a number of campus improvements.

Just last month, the KHS Bulldogs defeated Hallsville at the homecoming game in the newly renovated R.E. St. John Stadium.

For many Bulldog fans, it was a first chance to admire renovations at the stadium, where a new entrance sign, turf and bleachers had been installed over the summer.

The original high school building, erected in 1932, was built to last — but the architects who laid it out could not have predicted how much the Kilgore population would grow over the next 90 years nor how much technology would change in that time. Additions were installed in the mid-90s but the student body has continued to grow since then.

The building has been outdated and outgrown, but many of the folks who still live here earned their diplomas under that red tiled roof and have expressed support for keeping the spirit of that landmark look alive.

KISD Superintendent Andy Baker said the school board knows how much the community values the original building and is aiming to pay homage to it in the new structure.

“We’ve been talking about trying to keep a lot of architectural aspects from the existing campus and trying to keep some of those details in the new structure. They’re trying to get that same look. We’re trying to keep that visual tradition and that concept. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. That red-tiled roof, it won’t be that same red tile, but it will be the same look. As you drive by (the original building) that’s really eye-catching, so this will be that same look,” he said.

The designs do bear a resemblance to the original building: the familiar red roofs, tiled archways over entrances and the friendly stone bulldog mascot are all there. The new KHS takes a page from the past as it moves into the future.

LEFT: KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 1940S. RIGHT: RENDERING OF THE NEW KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL

NOWKHS Students 2022 Homecoming Princesses

THENKHS Students

Junior Class, 1936

TOP: KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 1940S. BOTTOM: RENDERING OF THE NEW KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT: KHS STADIUM PLAN

Kilgoreites have always had that holiday spirit

Angie Bockman, left, and Janice Galaviz were elves on a Vertex RSI during Kilgore's Christmas parade in 2002. On the right, A replica derrick in the Crim Mercantile-Miss Lou Della’s Tea Room building was lit up for the holidays.

hat would the Christmas season be without lights? n the cold of the winter night, it would, no doubt, be a cheerless and solemn occasion – one ill-befitting a celebration of the birth

hristians have always had a special feeling for the warmth and symbolism of lights at Christmastime. Perhaps it is because the Scriptures tell of a light among shepherds, of a shining star over Bethlehem. They tell of a King who came to bring light to a dark

e might think on these things when we enjoy the cheer that owntown Christmas lights provide. Too often we take for granted

ilgore’s Christmas lights, which have received national recognition for their uniqueness and beauty, were begun in 1935

by merchants of the Chamber of Commerce…

A committee of merchants in the Chamber of Commerce felt so good about the outlook they met to plan something extravagant for the season… It was the first time Christmas lights had been put up in Kilgore. They started with a few strings across Main Street. The next year, lights were added on N. Kilgore and North Street. In 1937, someone stole all the lights from storage, and the men had to start all over again.

The following year, 1938, Elmer Driggers and Clady Glenn, servicemen with Southwestern Electric Power Co., got together with Southwestern’s Mgr. Oscar McCary and came up with the idea of placing a lighted star atop one of the many downtown oil derricks. The idea was accepted by merchants, and Southwestern’s men built and placed a star on a derrick between Main Street and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad depot…

Now there are 80 strings of lights and 30 derrick stars. The whole system contains 12,000 feet of wire, 7,500 colored light bulbs and is valued at about $60,000.

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