Katy Magazine 2022

Explore

KATY

W W W. E X P L O R E K AT Y. C O M

FM 1463 & FULSHEAR BEND DR | FULSHEAR, TX

The Market at Cross Creek Ranch Welcomes:

713.782.9000

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P ublisher LETTER FROM THE

PUB LISH ER LETTER

04

Jaclyn Ritter

The cooler temperatures are pushing out the relentless summer heat, school is in full swing, and the holidays are fast approaching.

This time of year always seems so magical.

Growing up outside of Chicago, I always looked forward to playing in the leaves on my early morning walk to the bus stop, which often resulted in my new saddle shoes being covered in dew. My eyes frequently gravitated toward the outdoors during school lessons, of which I was not particularly interested. The way the leaves would change color, then drift to the ground, mesmerized me. On the coldest afternoons, I would scurry home quickly from the bus stop to find my mom greeting me with a lit fireplace and an indulgent cup of hot chocolate.

Those were magical days!

Jaclyn at age 8

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These issues of Explore Fulshear Magazine and Explore Katy Magazine have something for everyone! From the avid traveler to the nature enthusiast, the art admirer to the selfproclaimed foodie, you will find something of interest within these pages.

In the spirit of the season, I want to personally thank our advertisers. It is because of your unwavering support that we have had the privilege of highlighting the beauty of our city for so many years. Thank you to my team for turning your creative ideas into a beautiful reality, time and again. Lastly, thank you to our readers - new and old. I really love hearing your thoughts on each issue and seeing both magazines atop coffee tables all over town.

Now it is time to light that fireplace, settle into a comfy chair with a mug of hot cocoa, and dive into this new issue.

Photo by Gabriel Ritter

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6 TOWNE LAKE

290

HOUSTON METHODIST in Katy and West Houston

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EMERGENCY CARE

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WEST HOUSTON KINGSLAND BLVD.

MEMORIAL CITY

8

KATY

6

VOSS RD.

BINGLE RD.

HOUSTON METHODIST WEST HOSPITAL

MEMORIAL GREEN WESTHE IMER RD.

MEMORIAL

99 PRIMARY CARE

CINCO RANCH

1093 AY WESTPAR K TOLLW

PRIMARY AND SPECIALTY CARE EMERGENCY CARE

Convenient Locations — Close to Home Houston Methodist is growing to meet the needs of our community. We offer a full range of care across Katy and West Houston, including: • Primary and specialty physician offices, imaging, labs, and physical therapy • Easy to access emergency care and transfer to Houston Methodist West Hospital, should you need it • A team of experts using the newest technologies • Personalized care tailored to your unique needs Your health and safety are our priority. We are taking every necessary precaution to keep you safe.

Visit houstonmethodist.org/katy-west to find a Houston Methodist doctor or location near you.

Find a Location

NEAR YOU

MAGAZINE STAFF JACLYN RITTER Publisher

KATIE MECHAM Art Director

SUSAN LOWE-STRICKLAND Editor

RHONDA KUYKENDALL Staff Photographer

DANIEL MCJUNKIN Publisher Emeritas & Co-Founder

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DAWN BENJAMIN APRIL CANIK ROBIN FERGUSON ANDY GOERDEL JACLYN RITTER SUSAN LOWE-STRICKLAND BROOKE WALKER

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS DAWN BENJAMIN ROBIN FERGUSON RHONDA KUYKENDALL GREG LAVATY BRYAN MCAULEY KEN OSBORNE JACLYN RITTER BROOKE WALKER

EXPLORE AMERICA, LLC GEORGE LANE Chariman & CEO

EXPLORE MAGAZINE 281-973-0633

EXPLORE.US © Copyright 2022 - Explore America, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

Cover Photo:

istockphoto.com/Anna-av (Fulshear) istockphoto.com/leekris (Katy)

Contents Photo:

Rhonda Kuykendall

contents HARD ROW TO HOE From Red Potatoes to High Cotton

18 cross creek west Crafts Connections

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44 STUDIO 1093 The Art of Matching the Hatch

54 chappell hill texas The True Meaning of Texas

60

katy prairie

local history close to home

Did You Know

San Felipe de Austin State/Historic Site

28 UP...UP...and Away Local Resident Shares his Passion

34 the gayle bowen team A Fixture of Fulshear

40 Shar•koo•tah what?

Charcuterie!

66 unwrapping the gift of Experiences

72 My name is shay Meet Shay Abigail, Author

76 FALL recipe One Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

your guide to Explore Fulshear

EX P LOR E.U S

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07

S E RV I N G O V E R

500 TEXAS

C O M MU N I T I E S

(832) 437-2807 • 24757 KATY FREEWAY, KATY, TX 77494 • KATYVIBES.COM

H A RD ROW TO H OE

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HARD

ROW HOE

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TO

From Red Potatoes to High Cotton

A History of

FARMING in Our Neck

of the Woods WRITTEN BY SUSAN LOWE-STRICKLAND

F

arming and ranching have been the central focus of Fort Bend economy and culture since the county’s inception. In the early 1820s, under land grants conveyed by the government of Spain, Anglo-American colonization of Texas began with the arrival of Stephen F. Austin’s original colony of 300 families. Fifty-three of those land grants were issued to those who chose to settle and farm in Fort Bend County. In the 1880s and 1890s, railroads opened the county to new settlers and new ways of farming. Through social and cultural evolution, agriculture changed from antebellum plantations to productive small farms, which formed the central focus of economic and social life through World War II. Farming in Texas has never been easy. Over our agricultural history, farmers have had to contend with rudimentary tools, social and political upheaval and, of course, Texas weather. Anyone who has attempted to plant and grow crops in our area has clashed with dry spells and gully washers, twisters and hurricanes, heat scorchers and blue northers, marble-sized hail and gust storms. And yet, with grit and entrepreneurial spirit, the settlers, planters, and ranchers have weathered the storms and turned our fields into a thriving and profitable landscape in which to live and prosper.

Fort Bend

Topography

The Brazos River flows diagonally northwest to southeast through the coastal plains of Fort Bend, The county is comprised of slightly rolling terrain, Normal temperatures range between 94 degrees in July to 44 degrees in January, Rainfall is slightly more than 45 inches a year, The growing season is approximately 296 days.

Photo Credit: iStochphoto.com/valio84sl

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The following communities have each played an

indispensable part in our county’s agricultural landscape :

FULSHEAR Churchill Fulshear—one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300— established a plantation and raised cotton, corn, rice, pecans, and livestock. Churchill Fulshear Sr. died on January 18, 1831, with the plantation ownership passed onto his son, Churchill Fulshear, Jr., who added a cotton gin and flour mill that flourished in Fulshear well into the late 1880s.

SIMONTON In the 1840s, James Simonton and his brother Theophilus bought 4000 acres of land and built a plantation next to the Brazos River where they raised cotton. The census of 1860 shows that the Simonton family reportedly owned one of the largest and most prosperous plantations in Fort Bend County. Later, through entrepreneurial farmers and planters who moved from Kansas, the town of Simonton became known as “The Red Potato capital of Texas.”

FOSTER In 1822, John Foster, one of Austin’s original colonists, was granted about 12,000 acres, the largest Spanish land grant in Fort Bend County, where his family grew cotton, rice, pecans, and sugar cane. Following his death in 1837, his son Randolph established the community of Foster and increased the family yield of sugar cane. The production of local sugar was so great that, in the 1920s, Imperial Sugar Company built a railroad between Foster community farms and Imperial’s profitable sugar mills in the town of Sugar Land, Texas.

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KATY In 1901, German immigrant Fredrick William Eule dug Katy’s first rice well and planted the town’s first rice crop.

For many years, rice fields stretched for miles beyond the town and dominated the landscape. In its heyday, the town of Katy boasted 300 rice farmers and 75,000 acres of the finest long grain rice in the country.

RED

POTATOES In 1905, an entrepreneur named D.H. (Dave) Mullins came to Texas from Kansas with his brother Tom Mullins. They had heard that there was good land down near the Brazos River, and, when they discovered the town of Simonton’s rich soil, they started a red potato farm. “Uncle Dave,” as he was known in the area, planted 150 acres of potatoes the first year and later, with his partner J.R. Spencer, who was also from Kansas, expanded to more than a thousand acres. This business venture quickly established Simonton as the potato capital of Texas.

Their partnership was the first to initiate railcar shipments of potatoes from South Texas, with products going to markets in Kansas City, Chicago, and Cincinnati. During one of Spencer and Mullins best years, 800 railroad cars of potatoes were shipped out of Simonton.

A few years after the 1913 Flood, a potato blight infected the red potato crops and caused a significant decline in local potato production.

Because of the flood, the blight, and the growing popularity of the white potato, demand for the red potato dwindled.

Alfalfa, cotton, pecans, and pure-bred cattle ranching soon replaced the acres of potatoes that had dominated the Simonton area.

RICE Amidst a sea of grass, Katy began as a wide-open and endless prairie known as Cane Island, named after a branch of Buffalo Bayou that had been seeded with sugar cane plants by earlier explorers or Indians. After the devastating 1900 storm in Galveston that claimed 8000 lives and wrecked havoc on far inland towns, Katy crops struggled to take root and flourish.

In 1901, German immigrant Fredrick William Eule dug Katy’s first rice well, found Gulf aquifers beneath the ground, and planted the first acre of the town’s rice crop. Despite Eule being limited to a primitive pump and hand-held tools, rice fields began to dominate the area that stretched for miles and that later included 300 farmers and 75,000 acres of long-grain rice.

Early rice farming was hard work. After 90-100 days of growth, early Katy farmers harvested their crops with mule-drawn binders. Rice was picked wet, bundled and gathered into groups to form a shock, then left in the field to dry. Once dry, rice was threshed to separate the grain from the stalks.

Potatoes were dug up and put in sacks before being taken to a warehouse at FM 1489 and Bessie’s Creek. From there, the sacks of potatoes were loaded onto railcars in Simonton and shipped to Houston and, eventually, on to Galveston.

Photograph courtesy of the Dave Mullins Family Collection

For a number of years, buyers from the markets up North were stationed in boarding houses in Simonton.

Photograph courtesy of the Dave Mullins Family Collection

The Historic 1913 Flood inundated Simonton and surrounding areas. In the photo are the flooded seed house, gin, water tower, and train loading platform, with train depot behind gin.

Photograph courtesy of the Dave Mullins Family Collection

Rice Harvesting Equipment Harvesting rice with mule-drawn binders. The mules sink deep in the wet Katy rice fields.

August 1919, Photograph courtesy of the Katy Heritage Society

Threshed rice was put into burlap bags and sewn shut.

After threshing, the large stack of straw by-product seen in the photo would be used for animal bedding and other farm needs.

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“In natural richness of its soil and latent possibilities of productive wealth, there is no section of Texas superior to the Lower Brazos Valley.”

H A RD H OE TO ROW

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EX P LOR E.U S

- FRANCIS WHITE JOHNSON* -

Rice Dryer in Katy In the early 1940s, the first of Katy’s distinctive driers was built to protect the crop from predation and spoiling in the wet climate.

Photo by Rhonda Kuykendall

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1940 Combine, Photograph courtesy of the Katy Heritage Society

As prices climbed in the post-World War II era, Katy rice became vital to the regional economy. Rice dryers made the process of harvesting easier and, when dryers were operating, Katy locals could hear the hum of the giant fans in the rice driers for miles around.

Over the years, new homes took the place of rice paddies, and the rice market dwindled. The total acreage in Katy devoted to rice has decreased from a high of more than 60,000 acres in the 1970s to around 6,000 today, and the town’s rice driers are now dormant.

PECANS

cotton, and the wood was used for making wagon parts and farm implements. By 1904, pecan trees had been cut to such an extent that laws to prevent their complete destruction were considered. The financial value of the crop was soon recognized and pecans became one of the leading money crops in the state.

Pecans are gathered by mechanical shakers. Some growers spread sheets under trees to catch the nuts, and some use sweep machines to gather them. Pecan trees are susceptible to several insects and to flocks (or murders, as they say) of crows. They are frequently struck by lightning and, due to heat and rainfall, the pecan crop varies substantially from year to year.

Pecans are one of the most difficult crops to grow.

Growing pecans involves a lot of physical labor. The heavy equipment used to harvest the nuts is expensive and, unless pecans are produced in huge quantities, the payback is low.

As one local grower once declared, “You have to be partially insane to do this.”

The origin of the pecan can be traced back as early as the 1500s and was named by Native Americans. The word pecan is derived from the Algonquin tribe’s word “pacane” which translates to “nuts requiring a stone to crack.” Native Americans were the first to cultivate and utilize wild pecans, grinding them into meal and pressing them to get oil for cooking.

The value of the pecan in our area was not fully recognized for many decades. Many trees were cut to make way for

Pecan Barn in downtown Simonton

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Throughout Katy’s rice growing years, fields were prepared for planting in the spring. When the rice had grown 8-10 inches tall, irrigation and levee watching began. Farmers worked 12-15-hour days during the growing season. Water levels had to remain uniform from one bay of rice to the next. A constant flow of fresh water needed to be maintained throughout the growing season. When the fields turned yellow, irrigation was stopped, the fields were drained, and combines were moved in for the harvest.

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Photograph courtesy of the Dave Mullins Family Collection

COTTON Cotton is the leading cash crop in Texas, and is grown on 5 million acres, generating $1.6 billion for farmers, with a state-wide economic impact of $5.2 billion. Cotton has been a major crop in the state for more than a century and, since 1880, Texas has led all states in cotton production, accounting for roughly 40% of the total production in the U.S. The morally and ethically abhorrent institution of slavery (until the slave trade in Texas was finally abolished June 19, 1865) made it possible for plantation owners in the state to raise and harvest their huge crops of cotton.

Also, in the years between 1942 and 1964, because of a diplomatic agreement between the US and Mexico, there were thousands of migrant workers from Mexico, known as Braceros, who provided the potential for Texas farmers to raise and harvest immense fields of cotton and other crops.

EX P LOR E.U S

When early settlers in Fort Bend County began farming in the area, growing cotton and raising cattle were top priorities. The 1869 census showed the Texas cotton yield to be about 350,000 bales. Ten years later, the census showed that yield to be 805,000 bales. Baled cotton was then shipped to Galveston where it was compressed more and sent to the mills.

The cotton crop in our area is planted from mid-May to mid-June and harvested October through December.

Irrigated yields average 750 to1300 pounds of lint per acre depending on climate and irrigation capacity; dryland yields average 350 pounds of lint per acre.

According to one Simonton farmer, farms in our area in the 1930s and 40s could produce ¾ bale per acre.

During those years, cotton seed was also sold to the State of Texas for planting on state prison farms.

1952 Cotton Gin in Simonton (2 years before it closed).

The building was torn down in 1978.

FROM THOSE STALWART OLD 300 COLONISTS WHO CAME TO TEXAS IN 1822, AND FROM ALL OF THE ENTREPRENEURS, SOWERS, AND HARVESTERS WHO FARMED THIS SOMETIMES UNFORGIVING GROUND ---THROUGH TUMULTUOUS SOCIAL AND CULTURAL UPHEAVAL, THROUGH THE MUCH-NEEDED EVOLUTION OF FARMING TECHNIQUES, AND THROUGH THE UNPREDICTABLE TEXAS WEATHER---

WE OWE OUR GRATITUDE. WHILE OTHER INDUSTRIES IN THE AREA WILL RISE AND FALL, FARMING HAS SUSTAINED OUR COMMUNITIES AND WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE AS THE MAINSTAY OF OUR ECONOMY. REFERENCES: TSHA, Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association. *A History of Texas and Texans, Volume 2 By Francis White Johnson (Published by American Historical Society, 1914) Transcribed by Veneta McKinney).

Wharton’s History of Fort Bend County.

1880 Census, Volumes 5 and 6, Agricultural Descriptions of the Counties of Texas. Brazos Alluvial Region. Page 112. Abstract page 770.

The Portal to Texas History.

Houston Chronicle, Feb 10, 2005. Quote from Claude Pawelek, who started growing pecan trees over 50 years ago between Fulshear and Brookshire.

Photographs of the town of Simonton, the Flood of 1913, and Red Potato farming all courtesy of the Dave Mullins Family Collection.

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CROSS CREEK W EST

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Crafts Connections

Cross Creek West, Fulshear’s newest master-planned community, promises more than relief from the hustle and bustle. The 1,258-acre community is set to help homebuyers make connections to family, friends and nature.

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Located along FM 359 a stone’s throw away from acclaimed master-planned community Cross Creek Ranch, Cross Creek West will accommodate more than 3,500 homes.

Like its sister community, Cross Creek West will feature native plants chosen for their sustainability, meandering trails and waterways, sophisticated amenities and a focus on building community.

BUILDERS Trails and pathways will connect to neighborhoods composed of beautiful homes priced from the $300,000s and built by nationally recognized builders such as Lennar, Newmark Homes, Highland Homes, Perry Homes, Village Builders and Westin Homes.

“We are pleased to have so many outstanding builders on board,” said Rob Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cross Creek West. “Each offers an array of floor plans, options and upgrades sure to capture the heart of any homebuyer.”

Designs are situated on 45-, 50-, 55- and 60-foot homesites.

Floor plans crafted for the way modern families live feature large living spaces, gourmet kitchens and areas set aside for work or play. Most builders offer home automation packages that include smart door locks, smart thermostats, smart garage door openers and more. Cat 6 wiring allows for faster internet speeds and ensures virtual calls and videos aren’t dropped in the middle of a meeting for those who work from home.

Play RIGHT

AWAY

Amenities allow new neighbors to connect to each other.

Unlike residents of other brand-new master-planned communities, Cross Creek West residents will not have to wait for their amenities to be constructed. They will be members of the Cross Creek Ranch Community Association, allowing them access to all of their sister-community’s amenities the day they move in.

Cross Creek West has planned onsite amenities of their own, including the Waterhole Amenity Center, slated to open late 2023, which will be the heart of the community. It will feature a resort-style pool, fitness room, event lawn, tennis courts and playground. Trails and pocket parks will be found throughout Cross Creek West giving families places to play, picnic and meet up with friends.

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These include more than 35 parks, three pools, 60+ miles of trails and 400 acres of catch-and-release lakes, Canine Commons dog park, onsite Italian Maid Café and more.

Residents of Cross Creek West will also be able to enjoy events planned by the onsite community lifestyle director.

CROSS CREEK W EST

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“We are excited about these upcoming amenities,” Bamford said. “Everyone in the family will enjoy the gorgeous pool. We love the idea that neighbors will become life-long friends as they enjoy everything Cross Creek West has to offer.”

AWARD-WINNING

District,

AWARD-WINNING

Schools

EX P LOR E.U S

Cross Creek West students attend schools in the Lamar Consolidated School District. One of the fastest growing districts for its size in Texas, Lamar CISD currently serves more than 40,000 students across 46 campuses throughout Fort Bend County.

“Access to great schools is at the top of the list for families when they purchase a new home,” Bamford said. “They can rest easy knowing that their children will attend highly regarded schools in Lamar CISD, schools that have been recognized by both the Texas Education Agency and Niche.”

Recently, Lamar CISD was one of a handful of districts to receive an ‘A’ Rating from the Texas Education Agency

(TEA). Based on student scores on state-mandated tests, this is the highest possible academic the state awards.

Niche.com routinely awards Lamar CISD an overall A rating on its list of top school districts in Texas. This year, Lamar CISD was named the No. 3 best school district in Fort Bend County and the No. 12 best district in Houston.

Out of 1,018 school districts reviewed in Texas, Lamar CISD ranked No. 106.

Cross Creek West students are zoned to Huggins Elementary, Roberts Middle School, Leaman Junior High School and Fulshear High School. Huggins, Leaman and Fulshear all received an A rating from the TEA. Roberts is still too new to receive a rating.

The middle school, junior high and high school are located on nearby adjoining campuses. Huggins is located minutes away from the community. Lamar CISD also owns a 15-acre tract within Cross Creek West for a proposed future elementary school.

Move on

DOWN THE ROAD A suburban location in one of the fastest growing areas of the country does not mean hours spent commuting to and from work. Cross Creek West benefits from proximity to the Westpark Tollway (FM 1093) and Texas Heritage Parkway.

“Nobody wants to spend most of their time sitting in traffic,” Bamford said. “Our location will speed Cross Creek West residents to Interstate 10 and beyond. All of which is to say that when the big city calls, it’s easy to answer.”

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A DEVELOPER

You Can Trust

Cross Creek West is a Johnson Development community.

An award-winning company known for responsible, sustainable development, Johnson Development is dedicated to building communities with beautiful homes, spectacular amenities and unparalleled lifestyles. As one of the largest residential developers in the country, Johnson Development has had more top-selling masterplanned communities than any other developer in the nation over the past five years.

“Johnson Development is a name you can trust,” Bamford said. “When you move into a Johnson community, you can be sure the homes, amenities and lifestyle will be of the highest quality. We are proud to be part of the family.”

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LEARN MORE ABOUT CROSS CREEK WEST AT

(281) 346-8379 pier36seafood.com

We provide catering for parties, fundraisers, business meetings, weddings and receptions Call us to cater your next special event

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Katy Prairie

WRITTEN BY ANDY GOERDEL Coastal Prairie Conservancy Volunteer

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Did You Know

Photo Credit: Coastal Prairie Conservancy

K ATY PRA IRIE

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Indiangrass Preserve Photo Credit: Don Pine

EX P LOR E.U S

If

you’ve ever visited the Katy Prairie, you might remember the rustling of native grasses in the wind, the vibrant colors of wildflowers dotting the landscape, and the captivating calls of wildlife across the prairie. Once a vast ecosystem throughout southern Texas and Louisiana, the coastal prairie is now a threatened ecosystem with remarkable importance to the wellbeing of our communities – animal and human alike.

For 30 years,

the Coastal Prairie Conservancy, formerly the Katy Prairie Conservancy,

has worked to protect and restore what remains of the coastal prairie to its original brilliance, and it’s a breathtaking sight to see.

The Coastal Prairie Conservancy’s Indiangrass Preserve, a 55-acre showcase of successful prairie restoration, sits about 15 miles outside of Katy, TX and provides scenic views, educational opportunities, and almost three miles of walking trails, complete with a fully-accessible concrete loop and dock. This restored preserve has over 2,500 observations of plants and animals in the wildlife monitoring app iNaturalist. iNaturalist is used by many scientists and conservation groups to monitor the familiar and the sublime, the threatened and the threatening.

Anyone can add information to iNaturalist or provide verification of observations to increase the value of the information. It’s a great way to learn about the flora or fauna nature offers in our own community.

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Over 700 species have been observed on the Indiangrass Preserve, and they can generally be categorized as follows:

Photo Credit: Coastal Prairie Conservancy

Basketflower

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Dragonfly Roseate Skimmer

54 birds, 14 mammals, 24 arachnids, 219 insects, and 344 plants!

Photo Credit: Coastal Prairie Conservancy

K ATY PRA IRIE

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For the familiar, we have grasses like sideoats grama, switchgrass, three bluestem grasses, and more - these may be common, but they are critical to a native prairie.

For the sublime, there are larger birds like the red-tailed hawk, crested caracara, sandhill crane, barn owl, blacknecked stilt, and dowitchers. Some of the smaller birds include the vermilion flycatcher, red-winged blackbird, marsh wren, and barn swallow.

There are several rare species including the reddish egret and wood stork that use the prairie as a safe location for a migration visit or as a permanent residence. In addition to these welcome inhabitants, the Indiangrass Preserve is home to a few invasive species, or species that have little or no value to native animals and threaten to crowd out native plants. One such species, Chinese tallow, is well known in our area and is a frequent target of volunteers removing invasive species for the Coastal Prairie Conservancy.

Sunflowers

Photo Credit: Coastal Prairie Conservancy

If your slant is more towards wildflowers, you will not be disappointed with over 150 species available to enjoy on the prairie such as the Maximillian sunflower, basketflower, black-eyed Susan, passion flower, and many more! If butterflies and dragonflies are more your speed, there are about 20 butterfly and 10 dragonfly species to be appreciated.

There are many more species to be found on the Coastal Prairie Conservancy’s Indiangrass Preserve, and you might even be the first to identify something new! The Indiangrass Preserve is just one of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy’s locations that are open to the public. You can visit their website at www.coastalprairieconservancy.org to check hours and plan your visit today. If you can visit, I encourage you to enter your observations on iNaturalist. You’ll be helping researchers with their projects as well as helping everyone learn about the coastal prairie’s fabulous flora and fauna.

Reddish Egret

Photo Credit: Greg Lavaty

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5615 Kirby Drive, Suite 867 | Houston, TX 31975 Hebert Road | Waller, TX www.CoastalPrairieConservancy.org (713) 523-6135

Sandhill Cranes Photo Credit: Tommy Kibodeaux

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UP...UP...A N D AWAY

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UP…UP…AND

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WRITTEN BY JACLYN RITTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RHONDA KUYKENDALL

Bayou City Flyers Club

Fulshear resident, and membership coordinator for the Bayou City Flyers, Jack Raymer is an avid RC plane enthusiast. His longtime love of planes began with his father, an engineer at an airplane design and manufacturing firm. “When I was young, I loved going to work with my father on the weekends when he had a project in need of monitoring. Even more so, I loved when he took me to the end of the local airport runway to watch the planes take off and land.” As a teenager, Jack and his brother bought and built u-control line

airplanes, airplanes that are connected to a handle by two wires allowing the flyer to control the pitch. His brother would hold the plane, while Jack ran out to the center of a circle and grabbed the handle. “To make things more interesting, we sometimes flew combat, meaning we both would be in the center of the circle with a plane at the end of our wires, and we tried to cut the crepe paper streaming behind the tail of the other’s plane with our propellers.”

In May of 2014, one year away from retirement, Jack remembered how much fun he had flying those u-control line planes, and how he and his brother dreamed of one day owning an RC plane. With extra free time on the horizon, Jack knew this might be the perfect time to fulfill his teenage wish. “I bought a very small RC plane that came with a cheap radio, battery, and battery charger. I crashed that plane repeatedly until it was unrecognizable as a plane. I cannot believe that I did not lose my desire to fly.”

After visiting a local hobby shop, Jack was told that the planes he was looking at would only frustrate him, not help him learn. The salesperson grabbed an E-Flite

EX P LOR E.U S

RC plane, or radio-controlled aircraft, is a small machine that flies with the help of a radio transmitter controlled by an operator on the ground. These smaller scale planes were invented in 1937 by twin brothers, Dr. Walter Good and Bill Good.

Big Guff, their 8-foot free flight model plane, made its inaugural flight at the Kalamazoo, Michigan, airport.

Just a few years later, during World War II, the U.S. Army used RC planes, called Radioplanes, as artillery targets.

Today, flying RC airplanes is a popular hobby, with RC clubs located all across the United States. With sailplanes, gliders, pylon racers, jets, helicopters, micro planes and more, this hobby has something for everyone.

UP...UP...A N D AWAY

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?

I SAT DOWN WITH JACK FOR A Q&A TO ANSWER SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS… 1.5 Meter Trainer and Apprentice STS by E-flite

Q: HOW DOES ONE GET STARTED? Apprentice off the shelf and walked outside. Jack told him that he wanted a racy plane. “The one he was holding was dorky.” Without hesitation, the salesperson tossed that dorky plane upside down into the air and flew it up and away. He demonstrated all three flight modes and the panic button, informing Jack how the plane would change as his ability grew. By the end of the demonstration, the man was flying wicked maneuvers in advanced mode. “I bought the plane on the spot and never regretted it. That plane set me up to fly other types of planes with ease and confidence.”

EX P LOR E.U S

To enter this hobby requires very little understanding of airplanes and the technology behind them. That said, there is so much opportunity to tinker around and make great improvements on aircrafts. For example, if you want to replace the original motor with a bigger, more powerful one, it is important to consider its effect on the plane’s center of gravity, as well as the potential for overloading the battery. Bottom line, owning an RC plane can just be about flying. However, as Jack advises, “It can also be about continuous improvement and repair, which allows you to dig as deep as you would like into the supporting technologies. This hobby can be a never-ending learning session. I love that part of it.”

The other part Jack loves about RC flying is being able to share his love of the hobby with his grandson, Greyson.

When they are not at the field flying, they are in Jack’s garage repairing the latest damage – a sign that fun was had. “It is not just one thing that draws me to RC flying,” continues Jack. “I believe that is why my interest has not wavered over the years. I guess I love airplanes in general, but it is the technical challenge, as well as the camaraderie at the field, that I love the most.”

A: The best way to get started is to visit your local

RC club. (For a list of local RC clubs, see chart) There you will see people fly, get a chance to talk to them about the hobby, ask questions, and see different types of aircraft and equipment. If you want to move forward, you may find that the club has trainers and airplanes who can get you into the air to see if you enjoy flying before any major expense on your part. Many trainers will use a buddy-box to get you up and flying. This is where you and the trainer each have separate radios, where their’s is able to override your’s if troubles arise. This is a worry-free method of flying that will give you some experience and confidence before setting off on your own.

Q: WHAT IS A GOOD STARTER PLANE? A: If you want to make the plunge and get your own

plane and gear, I recommend an RTF (ready-to-fly) purchase with “SAFE” technology. An RTF plane typically comes with a mostly assembled plane, a basic radio, charger, and battery – essentially everything you need to get started flying. The RC plane that I learned on, and my grandson learned on at the age of eight, is an Apprentice by E-flite.

For approximately $400 you get a “smart,” 1.5m (wingspan), high-wing, foam plane and everything you need to get started, including a charger and battery, as well as “SAFE” technology. Good for the beginner, a high-wing plane is the most stable in the air, and a 1.5-meter wing is large enough to be easy to see in the air. Also important, in case of a crash, the foam plane is the easiest to repair, typically requiring only a fast-acting CA (cyanoacrylate) glue that is safe for foam.

31

Joe Chauffe - Scale WWI Planes

Jack & Greyson working in the garage - Photo: Jaclyn Ritter

Jessica Haskell - Combat Spitfire

Greyson holding his radio transmitter - Photo: Jaclyn Ritter

Jacqueline Haskell - Royal PT-40 Trainer Plane

EX P LOR E.U S

Glen Murray

32

Q: CAN YOU FURTHER EXPLAIN “SAFE” TECHNOLOGY?

UP...UP...A N D AWAY

A: A “SAFE” receiver gives you three modes of operation and a panic switch. The three modes of operation are controlled by a three-way switch. The beginner and intermediate modes limit the plane’s ability to pitch and roll, allowing a beginner to feel more at ease. The advanced mode allows full movement of the aircraft making loops, rolls, and other advanced maneuvers possible. The panic button is available in all three modes, so that if you lose control of the aircraft at any time, you can push the panic button, and the plane will immediately right itself and begin to climb. The panic button takes the pressure off the beginner, so that learning to fly is without the fear of crashing the plane.

Q: SHOULD I CONSIDER PURCHASING A COMPUTER SIMULATOR? A: For the beginner who is not ready to make the cash

outlay for plane and equipment, a good way to move forward is with a computer simulator. Often RC clubs will make a simulator available at no cost to the beginner. The simulator allows the beginner to get comfortable with the radio interface and to fly trainer planes and an array of aircraft, including helicopters, quadcopters, and more, without the fear of damaging equipment. A simulator can be useful for a beginner, but it can also benefit an experienced pilot. Simulators are a great way to try new maneuvers before attempting them on the plane itself.

If you want to purchase your own simulator, RealFlite is a common flight simulator used. Both my grandson and I enjoy taking turns with the flight simulator on those rainy days that keep us indoors.

Q: WHERE CAN I FLY? A: The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) determines

where one can fly RC aircraft. A simple application on your phone called B4UFLY will tell you if you are in an FAA controlled or uncontrolled airspace. Controlled airspace is typically near airports or where airspace is controlled for some special event, such as the President of the United States flying into town. In order to fly in controlled airspace, the operator must have prior authorization from the FAA. If you plan to fly at an RC club, you must follow their rules which will be posted at the site. Chances are that an AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) membership will also be required by the club to fly at their site.

If you are flying on approved private property or flying a very small plane on approved public land (park, soccer field, etc.) away from other people and their property, you do not have to get an AMA membership prior to flying. However, I highly recommend, in general, that you get a membership to the AMA which provides you with liability insurance. The AMA can be found at www.modelaircraft.org. The current cost for an adult AMA membership is $85 per year. A senior membership is $75. A youth membership is $15.

I think it is important to note that if you are flying a plane heavier than 0.55 pounds, you must register with the FAA prior to flying. FAA registration is fast and easy to do online. To register, go to https://faadronezone.faa.gov/#/.

If you are flying RC aircraft lighter than 0.55 pounds, you are not required to register with the FAA.

To fly under the FAA’s (Federal Aviation Administration) RC airplane rules, you must:

EX P LOR E.U S

Have a current FAA registration Fly only for recreational purposes Follow the safety guidelines of a community-based organization Keep your drone within your visual line of sight Give way and do not interfere with any manned aircraft Fly at or below 400’ in controlled airspace and only with prior authorization Fly at or below 400’ in uncontrolled airspace Comply with all airspace restrictions Pass The Recreational UAS Safety Test

FUL SHEAR/KAT Y 33

DICK SCOBEE MEMORIAL AIRFIELDS George Bush Park, 17260 Westheimer Parkway, Houston, TX 77082

125 Klauke Rd Rosenberg, TX 77471

(HELICOPTER) 2300 Klauke Road Rosenberg, TX 77471 Just west of Fort Bend Fairgrounds south of Hwy 59 on Hwy 36 29 deg 31 min 10 sec N 95 deg 49 min 08 sec W

SPACE CITY RC CLUB 6332 Katy Hockley Rd Katy, TX 77493

Private Must join club to fly

BOMBER FIELD USA 13917 FM 1887 Hempstead, TX 77445

Public No club Membership required to fly

Private Must join club to fly Can fly as guest 3 times

Private Must join club to fly

N/S 630’X80’ Paved Separate areas for multi-rotor, gliders, & control line

830’X50’ (N/S) 520/50’ (E/W) Both Paved

600’X 50’ Paved

800’ Grass

700’X50’ Paved, 800’ Grass, & 600’X100’ Pond for Seaplanes

CLUB NAME & WEB LOCATION

Bayou City Flyers https://www. bayoucityflyersrc.com/ & Houston Hawks RC Soaring Club (gliders)

Fort Bend RC Club https://www. fortbendrc.com/

Fort Bend Helis RC https://fortbendhelis. com/

Space City RC Club Space City RC 281-651-8922 Find them on Facebook

Bomber Field USA https://www. bomberfieldusa.com/

CLUB ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP COST

Adult $75 Youth $20

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Max Burton 832-641-2983 burtomm01@gmail.com

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TYPE OF FIELD (Public or Private)

AMENITIES

FORT BEND RC CLUB

FORT BEND HELIS RC

* No camera mounted aircraft is allowed at the field.

Private Must join club to fly Can fly as guest 3 times

COVERED STAGING AREAS ELECTRICAL POWER SAFETY FENCING AIR CONDITIONED CLUB HOUSES REST ROOMS

RC STRENGTHS

TYPE OF RUNWAY AIRPLANE JETS HELICOPTER MULTI-ROTOR GLIDERS U-CONTROL LINE

CLUB PRESIDENT

$50

Adult $250 Senior $100 Youth $15 Youth

(w/adult mem) $5

Diego Martinez

Josua Borel 281-651-8922 joshua.borel1991@ gmail.com

Adult $150 Youth $30 Barry Rayborn 713-826-4256 bwraborn@icloud. com

34

A Fixture of Fulshear WRITTEN BY APRIL CANIK

R

E/MAX Realtor® Gayle Bowen remembers when the population in Fulshear, TX crossed the 600 mark. Now that 6.2k folks call Fulshear ‘home,’ she feels a sense of pride knowing that The Gayle Bowen Team has played a role in that impressive growth and success.

“With new schools and grocery stores, expanded highways, oversized lots and excellent upscale culinary additions,” says Gayle, “Fulshear pretty much sells itself.” Families also flock to Fulshear for the small town charm that few other communities can match.

Those amenities add up to a dream come true for buyers, sellers -- and realtors alike. A third generation Houstonian, Gayle joined RE/MAX in 1988 and consistently enjoys recognition in the RE/MAX Hall of Fame as a Top Producer. Recently, the team landed on the 2022 Texas Top 500 list. “The Gayle Bowen Team has been finding and selling homes for so many decades that our longtime clients are sending the next generation our way,” she adds.

EX P LOR E.U S

Speaking of next generation, Gayle’s daughter Stephanie Bowen Sykes is now one of the powerhouse team members propelling them to the top. “Since her dad and I were both in real estate,” shares Gayle, “Stephanie seemed to be destined to do this for a living. She went to our open houses, listings and meetings in her baby carrier, and spent countless hours my real estate office over the years. She jokes with people by saying that she grew up either at a closing table or inside an attic with her father!”

Stephanie initially opted for a teaching degree from Texas State, and followed that path for the first eight years of her adult career. After becoming a mother, she was reintroduced into real estate after becoming co-owner of a construction company with her husband, and the rest is history. In fact, this adds value via an additional layer of service to The Gayle Bowen Team.

When Stephanie isn’t busy helping her clients all around town, she spends much of her time scoping out and purchasing properties to renovate and build with their company, White Oak Homes. She shares, “I love being a part of the whole building process!

From picking out the lot, perfecting the plans, making design decisions, all the way to the finished product— it truly is my dream job!”

And then there were

THREE

Thanks in part to Stephanie’s teaching and mentorship gifts, the Gayle Bowen Team welcomed their newest REALTOR® member of the team in 2021. “I taught Pearl Nguyen for two of her elementary school years in Fort Bend ISD,” shares Stephanie, “and kept up with her throughout graduation.” Pearl set her sights on a real estate career early on, and Stephanie helped her navigate the path to join The Gayle Bowen Team at the age of 18. Within her first few months, Pearl landed a top listing and continues to add to our strong client base.

“Pearl grew up in a Vietnamese household and relates well to diverse markets that we’ve now added to our client mix,” explains Gayle. “She is the consummate professional and has enjoyed many successes in her first year, in spite of the challenging economic conditions we find ourselves in.”

Pearl appreciates her mentors having decades of real estate experience. “I am excited to be working on a team with so much knowledge and success, and I’m excited for what lies ahead for the team and our clients,” Pearl shares.

T r i f e c ta o f

Expertise The three realtors on The Gayle Bowen Team can work with anyone, anywhere, but have specialized in four of the most popular regions: Katy, Fulshear, Memorial, and the Heights. “This doesn’t mean that we don’t spend our days driving to Conroe, Sugar Land, Friendswood, Magnolia, and other great suburbs around Houston— because we truly do it all!” states Stephanie.

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- Phyllis Chaney -

Photo by Rhonda Kuykendall

EX P LOR E.U S

“I could not imagine having any other Broker represent us in any real estate transaction.”

TH E GAYLE B OW EN TEA M

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Gayle & Stephanie - Mother/Daughter award winners.

EX P LOR E.U S

Stephanie & happy customers at a closing.

Gayle & Stephanie in the RE/MAX balloon at an event.

Gayle and Stephanie support and hug several special residents at Hope Village.

G ay l e i s q u i c k t o s h a r e s e v e r a l

37

Keys to Success: • Go the extra mile

Special requests are an important part of the job, whether that be finding a home with a room and bathing area for the family dog. Maybe you’re looking for extra acreage for equestrian use— whatever you’re searching for, the team can make it happen.

• Have a great team

In addition to three successful realtors, the team includes Kristin Cady, who has managed the office and generated excellent marketing initiatives for decades.

Stephanie Sykes - agent

• Give back

The Gayle Bowen Team has long supported the Coastal Conservation Association, The Graeme McDaniel Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network and serves as a cheerleader for the Fulshear Farmer’s Market, among other amenities in each flagship communities.

• Stay involved

“Our team has a strong presence in local schools, Chambers, parades and other activities as time allows. We also stay in touch with all of our clients over the years, and often help them sell properties we helped them buy decades before,” adds Gayle.

• Be honest

“We value relationships much more than profits,” says Gayle, “I will advise people to wait if I think there is too much volatility in the market, for example. We consider each interaction much more than a financial transaction.”

Pearl Nguyen - agent

Lifelong relationships are the cornerstone for The Gayle Bowen Team success. Phyllis Chaney echoes that sentiment, sharing, “I was introduced to Gayle Bowen over two decades ago while purchasing our ranch. She was the buyer’s representative, but made the transaction so pleasant for both parties. Now after all these years, because of her knowledge, professionalism and kindness, we have reached out to her to represent us in the sale of our ranch when we decide to downsize.” Adds Phyllis, “Gayle is a wonderful human being, professional and has the experience to handle any real estate transaction, large or small. I could not imagine having any other Broker represent us in any real estate transaction.”

Looking ahead Being a stickler for details and consistent follow through has been a winning strategy for Gayle and her RE/MAX Superstars. “It is hard to believe I was there from the beginning when the community of Remington Trails first opened and was built out, and then being a part of Fulbrook, which is now fully developed! All three of us are still very involved in these areas, and are excited to take on current and new adventures.”

Kristin Cady - marketing

THE GAYLE BOWEN TEAM (713) 822-4539 2877 Commercial Center Blvd Katy, TX 77494 www.gaylebowen.com

EX P LOR E.U S

Looking back,

to join the

Explore Magazine

team?

We are looking for

Freelance W riters

eager to meet the fantastic people of fulshear & katy and share their stories. If interested, please email jaclyn at

Jaclyn@explore.us with your resume and two examples of your writing.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Hey readers!

Photo by Rhonda Kuykendall

Want

GOLF IT’S NOT JUST A

SPORT

It’s A Li festyle

GATED COUNTRY CLUB COMMUNITY | GOLF | TENNIS | FITNESS | DINING | MEMBER EVENTS

Not Your Ordinary Community

Tucked behind the guarded entrance along FM 1093, the EXCLUSIVE 1,400-ACRE COMMUNITY of Weston Lakes remains one of the BEST KEPT SECRETS in the Fulshear area. Many long-time area residents drive right past it every day and don’t realize all that this community has to offer.

(281) 346-1967 | WESTONLAKES.NET | 32611 FM 1093 | FULSHEAR, TX 77441

EX P LOR E.U S

SH A R• K OO• TUH W H AT?

40

Charcuterie board by R + Brie Charcuterie

Shar•koo•tuh What?

Charcuterie!

41

WRITTEN BY DAWN BENJAMIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY RHONDA KUYKENDALL

The British Dictionary definition of this word is cooked cold meats. But the term actually means preserving meat with salt to keep it from spoiling. This process dates to 3000 BCE. However, we know it is as oh so much more!

And, of course, I’m sure the French would agree; they coined the word in the 15th century, as they stylishly hung and displayed their prepared meats in their well-appointed shops for their well-dressed customers.

Nevertheless, in the 19th and 20th centuries in America, hosting casual dinners and cocktail parties, with appetizer trays being passed around, became more and more popular.

Yes, yes, but what is all the fuss about now you ask (?)

The Art of the the Board

Adriana and Sophia Ramos

EX P LOR E.U S

In the past couple of years, there seems to be a renewed desire for charcuterie products or charcuterie boards, appetizers or “finger foods” typically served on a wooden board.

These selective boards may feature a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts, fruits and jams, veggies; you name it! The beautifully crafted boards or spreads have taken on a life of their own and can be quite filling and mouthwatering to look at and admire. If you are not a fan of cooking, stress at the thought of entertaining house guests, find yourself pushed for time, or wonder what on earth to feed picky kids, the “Board” may be the answer to your prayer! You can order and purchase theme boards for all occasions - from New Year celebrations, super bowl

Charcuterie board by Sophia’s Charcuterie Boards

SH A R• K OO• TUH W H AT?

42

parties, ghost & goblin gatherings, elves on a shelf, birthday and baby shower surprises, and for everything and everyone in between! Again, you name it, there is a board that can be designed for it, and board creators who love to do it! One can also purchase favorite and desired goodies from the local grocery store or weekend farmers’ market and create their own. DIY, or do it yourself boards, can be a fun activity to do with children of almost any age, if you have the time and patience!

A Family Affair

During the 2020 pandemic, Adriana Ramos, a mother of three, began experimenting around the kitchen, making small charcuterie boards for her family. “I love to be in the kitchen creating new things, and my husband Jorge and children Andre, Sophia, and Matteo – well, we love to eat!” she said. Adriana began to share some of her board creations with friends and, after receiving so many compliments, she began to brainstorm.

Adriana’s professional background is in business administration and human resources. She researched and gathered more information and ideas and found a window of opportunity, as she called it. “In our area of town, this was something different and innovative. I decided to start a small business called Sophia’s Charcuterie Boards with my daughter Sophia, who was 13 years old when we began on Fathers’ Day of 2020.” One of their business goals was to learn about the principal market trends and tastes of the Katy - Richmond area. “As a mother, I wanted to include Sophia so she could learn about responsibility, customer service, and taking care of business.”

Mother Daughter Time

Adriana also has fun working with her daughter in their kitchen at home.

Most of their customers place an order within the week of an event.

The customers are sent a list of food products to choose from, and the boards are prepared fresh within two hours of delivery or pick up time.

Adriana and Sophia love to cater to all their customers’ needs. The occasions range from small intimate home gatherings to three-day grand opening business events; and the requests also pour in for breakfast boards, vegan boards, and the ever so - loved Valentines’ boards. Adriana and Sophia are so grateful for their community base and look forward to expanding their catering business with wedding and corporate events.

Twice As Nice

Another local family business duo are Rebeca and Nicole, of R + Brie Charcuterie. Not only do they share a business together, they are also sisters. They each have two children and a pet dog. Rebeca and husband Gerardo have two girls, Valentina and Viviana, and their dog Vitto. Nicole and her husband Bernardo have a daughter Madilyn and son Xavier, and family pet Maxie. Rebeca enjoyed creating boards for family and friends, and Nicole became enthusiastic about her sister’s hobby. The sisters had always dreamed about starting a business together and finally their dream came true with the creation of R + Brie Charcuterie. Over the course of grazing from charcuterie boards, they have learned a lot, cried a lot, laughed a lot, and have eaten a lot of cheese, all while working their day jobs. Rebeca is a chemical engineer, and Nicole is an information systems technical program manager.

Where Do They Find the time?

EX P LOR E.U S

The bulk of the sisters’ orders fall on the weekends. But there are times when they must prepare the boards early, before leaving for work and while the children are being scooped up for school. As with Sophia’s Charcuterie Boards, Rebeca and Nicole agree that the holidays are the busiest for them. Theme boards are popular with their clients throughout the year, as well. Rebeca and Nicole have fun creating keto boards, book character boards, Baptism boards, and graduation boards, just to name a few. They also offer board - creating

Rebeca and Nicole Mejia

classes for special corporate events and girls’ night out fun. Their future endeavor is to eventually open a “Grab & Go” charcuterie store in Katy, sell their popular fun - size boxes, and continue to grow their business. They are so appreciative of the west Houston patronage, and they look forward to celebrating their two-year anniversary December 2022.

Yes, charcuteries, deli, appetizer trays, and hors d’oeuvre displays have been around for a very long time. But these local artisans have taken the boards to new, creative, and delicious heights!

Bon Appetit !

Discover More About Charcuterie: www.facebook.com/SophiasCharcuterie sophiascharcuterie@gmail.com (832) 819-1074 www.facebook.com/R+BrieCharcuterie RnBrieCharcuterie@gmail.com (225) 939-2531

Other Worthy Notables: www.facebook.com/@bellacharcuterie www.facebook.com/thecheesechika www.facebook.com/tk.charcuterie www.facebook.com/GraciasgrazingCo www.southernliving.com/food/drinks/charcuterie-board-wine-pairing www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/recipes/2019/06/grazing-boardsare-the-coolest-way-to-serve-dinner-this-summer

Charcuterie board by Sophia’s Charcuterie Boards

“Beautiful Boards” – by Maegan Brown “That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life” – by Marissa Mullen

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STUDIO 1093

44

STUDIO

1093 THE ART OF

EX P LOR E.U S

Matching the Hatch IN PHOTOGRAPHY WRITTEN BY SUSAN LOWE-STRICKLAND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN OSBORNE

Image by Rochak Shukla on Freepik

A serene and composed fisherman, legs and feet anchored hip-wader deep in a frigid high country trout stream, the morning light filtering through green needles at the tops of the pines, his fly rod held comfortably in his right hand, his gaze, a quiet study of both the drift of the river current and a single fish’s relationship to a new hatch of insects.

This moment in the day of a trout fisherman, when he matches the perfect fly nestled in his tackle box to the fish in the water, might just be the most complicated, exasperating, and satisfying experience in fly fishing.

At Studio 1093 in Simonton, photographer Ken Osborne has turned that trout-fishing process, “matching the hatch,” into a unique form of archival photography.

Ken knows that matching the product you want to create with the perfect film, the right chemicals, the most well-built camera, and the highest quality paper will give you the best that photography has to offer. By his own definition, you will then successfully

“Match the Hatch.”

The subjects of his photography range from the natural world around us to historical structures that still maintain a foothold in our modern environment. He is also working on projects that include antithetical themes of a Civil War soldier’s diary,* the human need for religion, and child trafficking across the world.* In addition, many of his

EX P LOR E.U S

THE SNAPSHOT:

45

Many of the precious metals that he uses in his photography are mined in South Africa and Russia. He gets his Palladium and Platinum from Santa Fe, England, and France, and his specialty calf-skin vellum paper from England.

STUDIO 1093

46

Many of his cameras are antiques, while some are custom made. For long travels, he opts for custom-made rather than the precious antiques.

The Gallery

LIKE AN ALCHEMIST OF OLD, KEN OSBORNE HAS TURNED HIS TALENTS AND HIS PHOTOGRAPHIC CREATIONS INTO GOLD - 24K GOLD, TO BE EXACT.

Studio 1093 is not a walk-in business; clients’ and patrons’ visits are almost always made by appointment. With a huge international clientele, his advertising comes from his mailing lists, Facebook, and by word-of-mouth. Many of his commissioned pieces are direct results from art reps who promote his work. Through semi-annual open-house Sip and Strolls, Ken entertains guests to his gallery. In recent years, Covid has curtailed some of these activities but, because of their popularity, Ken will probably resume the showings in the near future. While Covid lockdowns did not cause all the changes in the photo-gallery world, it did escalate many changes. “I love art shows and art galleries,” Ken said, “but computer-generated art shows are probably now the way of the future.”

With his antique cameras, as well as with digital cameras, Ken explores a variety of subject matter, from nature, to historic and architectural structures, to portraits. “I do a lot of different things in photography. That’s what keeps this gallery open.”

photographs are shot with large format cameras (both antique and custom made), using antique 8x10 film, and often developed in his darkroom on calf-skin vellum with overlays of the rarest precious metals on Earth—24K Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium.

Ken decides ahead of time the end product he wants to create. He visualizes the photograph and the chemicals he wants to use before even pulling out his camera. “I want to use this type of film on this type of subject to get this type of look.” Warm tone photographs, for example, use warm tone chemicals and paper. “There is quite a chemistry to it. In fact, it’s all chemistry!”

Yet, shooting with old 8x10 film is what he most loves. “It’s not just that these antique cameras look cool; there is so much more that you can do with them.” Digital cameras cannot create a permanent image. Photographs, especially in color, will fade pretty quickly, and color has always faded faster than black and white. In fact, according to Ken, most high-end galleries will only take photographs filmed in black and white and on archival paper. “With old film and silver calf-skin vellum paper, you’re getting archival photographs that will last for centuries.” In addition, metal does not fade, even in full sun. His gallery showcases a 100-year-old courthouse, the negative taken with expired infrared film and overlayed with copper and zinc, giving the photograph a shelf-life of well over a hundred years.

EX P LOR E.U S

“WHAT YOU SEE THROUGH THESE LARGE FILM CAMERAS IS WHAT YOU GET.”

SOME OF KEN’S ANTIQUE CAMERAS

With large format, the size of the back of the camera is the actual size of the film. The plate on the back of the camera has two sheets of film. The plate goes inside the camera. This is the only proper way to make this type of precious metal printing. In a darkroom, the large negative is developed on calf-skin vellum and coated with an emulsion of Platinum-Palladium. On the back of the print, 24K Gold is then applied with a roller, and the metals blend together on the vellum.

47

EX P LOR E.U S

KEN OSBORNE’S WORK INSIDE THE STUDIO 1093 GALLERY

STUDIO 1093

48

ABOVE: KEN, TOMAS, AND THEIR GUIDES IN FRONT OF THE GATE OF CHARKENT

EX P LOR E.U S

BELOW: KEN PHOTOGRAPHING “WAR SHOES” IN AFGHANISTAN

49

KEN WITH ONE OF HIS CAMERAS

The Million Dollar Print

Ken and Tomas Ramos, both successful photographers, have been friends and business partners for 20 years.

Their professional portfolios contain landscapes, portraits, and even weddings. But what they dreamed of doing was photojournalism--photography that tells a story. In particular, they were interested in filming war photographs and the effects of war on children.

In 2019, Ken and Tomas traveled to Afghanistan to take a picture that has become known as the Million Dollar Print.* After a year and a half in the planning stages, six months to obtain the necessary visas, seven tense and dangerous days in Afghanistan, and nine months to complete the development of the film...Ken and Tomas almost abandoned this project and moved on to another print subject. It simply became that difficult.

On their trip to Afghanistan, they carried hand-made 4 X 5 cameras and a portable dark room in roll-on luggage.

Ken had to make a list of every chemical and every

piece of equipment and what they were used for, in hopes of satisfying airline security protocols. He recalled one security agent who dangerously manhandled his camera in an attempt to deconstruct it to see exactly what it was.

Working with Afghan guides near the city of Mazare-Sharif---where whole families and neighborhoods had been wiped out by the Taliban---Ken and Tomas interviewed five families living fearfully and suspiciously under Taliban control. They often had no more than a short 15 minutes to conduct their interviews before being forced, for the family’s safety and their own, to move on.

Looking for a way to symbolically represent the devastating effects of the war in Afghanistan on these villagers, Ken and Tomas asked for and were given shoes of the injured or deceased children.

They photographed the shoes of some of those children in front of the Gate of Charkent, a 12th century walled opening through which Genghis Khan had ridden with his Mongol army to destroy the original town and shrine of Mazur. During the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, Russian troops used the wall’s opening as a gateway to a strategic base for the Soviet Army. Presently, the wall and the gate are under Taliban control.

EX P LOR E.U S

Ken admits that many clients just want pretty pictures, photographs that will accentuate the decor of their homes or offices. But sometimes a photograph, while not pretty, can tell a story that needs to be told.

STUDIO 1093

50

Here, at this historic battle-scarred wall, a pile of kids’ shoes became an iconic image of the consequence war exacts on its most vulnerable victims. “War Shoes” is a photograph of shoes belonging to children lost to war.

Once home from Afghanistan, the painstaking process began of choosing the right negative to reveal the subject matter, the right paper on which to develop the film, and the right chemicals to raise the image of shoes from mundane to sublime.

The unveiling of “War Shoes”---a 30 x 38 print, overlayed with Platinum, Palladium, and 24K Gold---was scheduled for March 14, 2020. Unfortunately, that date was also the day a pandemic shut the world down. Five hundred attendees had registered for the event. Media, with teams of reporters and camera crews, were poised to film for network news programs. Charitable foundations* were set to receive the proceeds from the event. On

that day, all would be cancelled. On the morning of the anticipated unveiling of the Million Dollar Print, the world essentially shuttered.

The event, however, was not a flop. Not by a long shot.

A press release, detailing the photo shoot and the developing process that went into making the Million Dollar Print, was issued to 177 news organizations around the world. Calls about the print and its availability still come to Ken and his representatives regularly. In fact, just recently, a representative from the Afghanistan embassy in Washington DC was flown down to view and report on the photograph. While awaiting its final curtain call, the print remains carefully covered and protected in Ken’s studio.

There is often an indefinable and elusive thing that makes something art, and when Ken and Tomas went to Afghanistan, this photograph became more than just

“Matching the Hatch”

EX P LOR E.U S

CAMERA, FILM, CHEMICALS, PAPER...

ALL CHOSEN TO PERFECTLY MATCH THE VISION

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THE LARGEST PRINT EVER MADE

BY THIS PROCESS - 30 X 38 INCHES CHILDREN'S SHOES IN FRONT OF THE GATE OF CHARKENT - DEVELOPED WITH PLATINUM, PALLADIUM, AND 24K GOLD

War shoes ” “ THE DRAPED MILLION DOLLAR PRINT marketable and pretty wall decor. They traveled there to capture an image that would tell a true story of war’s horror. That truth is what makes this photograph art.

REFERENCES:

The photograph also exemplifies the art of matching film, camera, paper, and chemicals to achieve a result that might, as in high mountain trout fishing, just be the most complicated, exasperating, and satisfying experience in photography--a successful attempt at “matching the hatch.”

Link to the Diary of a Union Soldier https://www.milliondollarprint.com/diary-of-a-union-soldier

He may be right. It’s not a pretty picture.

Link to a video about Human Trafficking https://www.milliondollarprint.com/human-trafficking * Proceeds from the sale of the Million Dollar Print are to benefit the Wounded Warrior project, Fight For Us, and other families and children affected by war.

EX P LOR E.U S

Standing before the draped photograph of the shoes of children killed and maimed in the war in Afghanistan, Ken shrugged and said, “Many people won’t like ‘War Shoes’.”

Link to a video of the Million Dollar Print https://www.milliondollarprint.com/afghanistan

EVEN IN THE “BIG CITY”, YOU CAN STILL SUPPORT “LOCAL”!

Buzz into our Hive for a memorable, one-of-a-kind shopping experience. Enjoy chic apparel & accessories, unexpected gifts and statement pieces for the home all from different curators, designers and artisans, including four from our very own area!

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CH A PPELL H ILL TEX A S

54

EX P LOR E.U S

Chappell Hill

Texas Photo Credit: iStochphoto.com/kanonsky

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Photo by Natalie Lacy Lange for @VisitBrenham

The True Meaning of

TEXAS

is Practiced Here

Chappell Hill

Texas

WRITTEN BY ROBIN FERGUSON

T

he word “Texas” is believed to have come from the Native American Caddo word, Tejas, meaning “friends” or “friendship.”

This definition perfectly describes the people of Chappell Hill, Texas. Just west of Katy and Fulshear on Highway 290, this town embraces strangers as friends from the first meeting. The atmosphere the town exudes makes for a wonderful day trip or even a weekend away from the city.

Today’s main street is situated on the Independence Trail, the route Texians took to escape the advancing Mexican army during the Texas Revolution against Mexico. The couple donated their land to Chappell Hill Female College in 1850, which educated young ladies for about sixty years. A boarding house was built for the college students and, because the building once served as a stage coach stop, it is now called the Stage Coach Inn. The Inn was originally called Hargrove House after Mary Haller’s family name. Her mother ran the inn until they sold it in 1859. The inn had several more owners and, in 1976, Harvin C. and Elizabeth Moore restored it to its original form. It is now listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

chappell hill post office

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In 1839, Mary Elizabeth Haller bought the land where Chappell Hill sits.

She designed the plots of the town and sold them to businesses and homeowners who wished to live in town. The area began with settlers from Alabama who grew cotton on their plantations. Mary named it after her mother’s grandfather, Robert W. Chappell, who had come to the area after Texas won its independence and before it became a state, a time known as the Republic Era. Her husband, Jacob Haller, was Chappell Hill’s first postmaster. The present day Post Office has an incredible garden that is maintained by the Chappell Hill Garden Club.

the kitchen from Ann in 2001. Alejandra specializes in home-style cooking. Her chicken fried steak has gained its own reputation. Go with an appetite, because the servings are generous and well worth finishing. The restaurant’s motto is “Try the Pie,” so save room for dessert! Alejandra varies the pies she makes daily. The cream pies have meringue that is three inches high, and her fruit pies are made with fruits that are in season.

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There are many places to visit along Main Street, such as clothing shops, post office, bank, garden shop, leather store, and ice house. One shop not to miss is the art store. Fifteen local artists display their works here, which are for sale. Some of the artists frequently stop by to tell you about themselves and their work. The gallery director and owner is TJ Jones. He displays his work of sculpting, painting, photography, and mixed media. He is a fifth generation Texan and is a wealth of information on the area around Chappell Hill and on Texas history. Another artist is Anthony Caporina. He is known for his watercolors of Chappell Hill, and they do not stay long in the gallery. Both of these friendly gentlemen love to share their time with customers. Anthony likes to describe how he does his work and what inspires him.

Painting courtesy of Robin Ferguson

Baptist Church Watercolor by anthony Caporina The Chappell Hill Historical Museum, supported by the Chappell Hill Historical Society and located on Poplar Street, is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. It houses a fascinating collection on the history of the town and the areas surrounding it. The docents are truly knowledgeable and friendly and will answer your questions, as well as guide you to other sites of interest. You can pick up a selfguided tour brochure inside the museum or at the kiosk on Main Street next to the Providence Baptist Church.

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Providence Baptist Church, founded in 1842, is the white church on the east side of Main Street as you enter Chappell Hill from Highway 290. The original building was destroyed in a storm, and the present structure was erected in 1873. In September 2022, the church opened its doors to the “Airing of the Quilts.” Quilts were draped over the backs of the pews for visitors to view. The theme for this year was patriotic quilts. After the event, the quilts were donated to veterans in the area out of the friendship and kindness of the Friendship Quilt Guild.

Because there is so much to do and see while visiting Chappell Hill, lunch provides a nice a break. Bevers Kitchen, located across the street from Providence Baptist Church, is a cottage built in 1907. Ann Bevers bought the building in 1981, sold it in 1982, and repurchased it in 1984.

She originally opened the cottage as a real estate office and café.

Alejandra Ray was hired for her culinary skills, and she was able to buy

historical marker at providence Baptist Church

Photo courtesy of Texas Star Winery

Above: Texas star Winery prickly pear wine, left: Chappell hill historical museum, RIght: bevers kitchen

Photo by Natalie Lacy Lange for @VisitBrenham

Photo courtesy of Bevers Kitchen

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Photo Credit: iStochphoto.com/fokaszara

enjoy the lavender fields at the chappell hill lavender farm Several historic sites are within a few miles of downtown Chappell Hill. Barrington Farm is a living history farm just up the road in Washington, Texas. Washington on the Brazos contains the Star of the Republic Museum and Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site. At these sites, a Revolution and Republic Historic Sites Passport is available for free. The sites have their own stamps to mark the passport. Collect all twelve site stamps for a keepsake of Texas History and a fun adventure for children and adults.

Make sure to spend time at Texas Star Winery. It is just behind the Stage Coach Inn on Old Chappell Hill Road.

Jim and Susan Chisholm own this award-winning winery, and Jim is the winemaker. There is a huge market for sweet wines in Texas and the winery produces two types of wines: Texas Star wines are their fruit wines and Chisholm Cellars are their red wines. Their bestselling wine is their Wild Mustang, a red wine made with mustang grapes. But their cranberry wine is so popular that they have trouble keeping it in stock. Blueberry wine is also one of their fruity blends, as well as mango wine.

Because of the drought this year, there were no grapes available, and the Chisholms decided to grow their own mustang grapes. The vines are hard to find, but they are experimenting with whether the mustang grape vines will produce in their area. They presently have an outdoor pavilion attached to the building where they harvest their grapes. They are moving the winery warehouse further behind its present building. The hopes are to use

the old winery building for indoor events and to expand the present pavilion. The Chisholm’s hope to have live music at their venue on the last Saturday of each month.

Susan is often seen visiting with guests and extending a friendly smile. Check their website for updates.

Another site away from town is Chappell Hill Lavender Farm. Located closer to Brenham, you may want to save this for the drive back home. This farm was started in 2003

by Jim and Debbie McDowell. Beginning their adventure with just twenty plants, they experimented to see how they would survive the Texas climate. The lavender fields cover three or four of the twenty-three-acre farm.

Blackberries and fruit trees are also planted near the lavender bushes. When in season, visitors can pick fruit for purchase. The gift shop houses lavender in all forms: soups, cooking seeds, kitchen tools, and local craftsmen also display their works for sale here. The fields are open March through November. Hours and holidays vary, so please check the website for updates, calendars, and events. Admission is free.

Chappell Hill has lots to offer. It is close enough for a day trip and just far enough away for a weekend getaway.

There are many local B & Bs in the area. Events include the annual Bluebonnet Festival in Spring and the Scarecrow Festival in Fall. All events can be found on the Chappell Hill Historical Society website.

shop, Dine, and Explore

EX P LOR E.U S

this delightful and friendly bit of Texas

TJ Jones, Artist, tjjonesartist@gmail.com • Anthony Caporina, Artist, p.caporina@hotmail.com Texasstarwinery.com • Chappellhillhistoricalsociety.com • Texas State Historic sites - Texas Historical Commission at thc.texas.gov Bevers-kitchen.com • Texasbb.org • Chappellhilllavender.com

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Local History Close to Home

San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site WRITTEN BY ROBIN FERGUSON PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BRYAN MCAULEY

L EX P LOR E.U S

ess than an hour from downtown Fulshear and Katy is San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site. Not only is this the former capital of Stephen F. Austin’s original colony, but it is also a well-planned and well-designed historical park. Many tourists visit Stephen F. Austin State Park on highway 1458 in San Felipe, Texas. Just east one mile is the entrance to this state historic park and archaeological site.

None of the original town buildings in the original town stand today because General Sam Houston, commander of the Texian army, ordered the militia to burn the town to the ground in 1836 when the Texian army fled General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican troops. This time period between the fall of the Alamo and the victory at the Battle of San Jacinto is referred to as the Runaway Scrape. Settlers and town’s people

abandoned everything they had and owned to safely get out of harm’s way. The state historic museum has and is in the process of building replica structures for visitors to experience. The Texas Historical Commission preserves the site and oversees its design and growth.

The present buildings consist of the Farmer’s Hotel, a schoolhouse, a courthouse and convention hall, and bakehouse. The museum curators have added signs of “Things to Do” in these buildings so that the experience on the grounds is interactive. There are live guides to answer questions and, in some instances, to guide the visitors through activities of the time period when this town was booming. These sites can also be viewed in the museum section of the building with an interactive and informative map.

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One of the structures rebuilt on the site is the courthouse and convention hall; it was the only framed building in San Felipe de Austin. Political meetings were held, and laws were voted on in this building.

The Farmer’s Hotel has an unusual brick cellar built beneath. One can see it through the slats in the floor.

One of the occupants of the rooms was a tailor who conducted his business from his chambers. Most

EX P LOR E.U S

The schoolhouse was started by members of the protestant faith, and the teaching focused on religion.

Tuition was private. One of the artifacts in this building is a “sand desk.” Similar to our present-day Etch-A-Sketch, students would practice writing and math in the sand and then wipe out their answers when they were finished.

A modern wedding was held in this building in 2022.

LOCA L H ISTORY CLOSE TO H OM E

62

EX P LOR E.U S

- The Print Shop “renters” would pay for space on the floor to sleep upstairs. The hotel was originally constructed in 1830 and included merchandise from the owner’s store next door.

Merchandise had to travel a long way to get to San Felipe de Austin. Goods usually traveled by boat, from the east coast to New Orleans and then up the Brazos River to various settlements along its shores. Occupants ate in the dining room. The food was prepared in the kitchen building and bakehouse. This was run by a slave named Celia, who was jointly owned by Laughlin Mclaughlin and John M. Allen. McLaughlin and Allen ended their partnership amidst several disagreements, including whether Celia should be freed for her service.

Allen intended to do so and McLaughlin’s untimely death opened the opportunity for him to do so. However, McLaughlin’s estate contested the ownership of Celia, and therefore, the legality of her granted freedom.

Celia was able to hire William B. Travis, of Alamo fame and aged 23 at the time, as her lawyer-representative.

The legal process took a few years, and she eventually gained her freedom, as well as that of her children. One of her daughters, born after she received her freedom, was called “Free Ann.” Bobby Byars, the present mayor of San Felipe, Texas, is a direct descendent of Celia’s.

Celia and her children did not leave during the Runaway Scrape, and they may have maintained the bakehouse during the Mexican Army’s occupation of the burnedout town of San Felipe de Austin. All her children took the surname of Allen after her former owner.

volunteer Michael Moore demonstrating at the print shop at San Felipe de Austin

William B. Travis practiced law in San Felipe de Austin.

Since San Felipe de Austin was situated on a Mexican land grant, all documents were written in Spanish.

Nearby, on what is thought to be private land today, is an area referred to as Spanish Town. Travis would go there to learn Spanish and get help in translating documents.

He also frequented Spanish Town with his good friend, William H. Jack. There they would play gambling games, such as Euchre, Three-Card Monte, and Faro. Notations in his personal diary list his wins and losses. In the museum, there is a three-dimensional map of the town as it was before 1836. Travis’ law offices are pinpointed on this map at lot 50, and there is an interpretive panel on the walking tour outside that further details his interactions in the town. Travis left to command the Texian troops at the Alamo and meet his final fate.

At this historic site, there is also an outdoor walking tour of former buildings and events on the grounds. The path is lined with interpretive panels that give information on the buildings, businesses, and activities that happened on or near the spot of the panel. It is a nice walk on a gravel path that winds through local vegetation. This pathway leads tourists on a self-guided tour and is well worth the adventure.

San Felipe de Austin is an active archaeological site just south of the outdoor replica buildings where the museum is planning to construct spaces for educational

Folks in the Katy/Fulshear area are invited to support San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site with its many volunteer possibilities. Educational programming, events, and visitor services are the most requested areas of service but the staff on site can fit almost any interest, skill, or talent into their broader mission. Contact site assistant manager Jordan Anderson for more information at jordan.anderson@thc.texas.gov.

Acknowledgments & References: I would like to give my deepest thanks to Bryan McAuley, site manager of San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, for all his information, access to the museum and grounds, guidance, time, as well as suggestions on places for updated and relevant research. Bryan also shared his photo collection to enhance this article.

A special thank you to Nicole Shadle who guided me through the buildings. She is an encyclopedia of information and trivia on San Felipe de Austin.

Thank you to Sarah Chesney, PhD, for the information on the archaeological site that is in progress.

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The San Felipe de Austin State Historical Site is open 9 AM-5 PM Wednesday through Sunday. The site is closed on Monday and Tuesday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Admission Fees: Adult - $10, Child (5-14) - $5, Seniors/ Veterans, Austin &Waller County Residents $8, Family ticket (2 adults/2 children) - $22, additional adults - $5, additional children - $2.

• Active military and families are welcome for no admission fee • School field trips are available: connect at visitsanfelipedeaustin.com • A calendar of events is accessible at visitsanfelipedeaustin.com

Celebrate with us! nov 12, 2022

classrooms and archaeological workspaces. Since this is a historical site, archaeological detail must be completed beforehand. Site staff generally conduct two dig seasons each year, usually in early Spring and the Fall. If interested in further information concerning the archeological activities and opportunities, please contact Dr. Sarah Chesney at sarah.chesney!thc.texas. gov.

For almost 100 years, the town of San Felipe and the historic site associated with Stephen F. Austin have celebrated Austin’s impact on Texas State History with an annual celebration. Join the celebration on Saturday, November 12, 2022, from 9 AM to 5 PM, for this year’s festivities. Opportunities include living history programs and demonstrations, themed tours, and lots of family-oriented activities.

EX P LOR E.U S

- The Sand Desk -

volunteer Caroline Green in the schoolhouse using the sand desk

Calling All Student Writers!

EXPLORE FULSHEAR MAGAZINE and EXPLORE KATY MAGAZINE want to publish a local student’s writing in their upcoming spring issue. This is the opportunity for your work to be read by a large audience and serve as a great resume booster. Additionally, you will be professionally photographed!

Who:

All Fulshear & Katy area students grades 6-12

Subject:

“WHAT I LOVE ABOUT FULSHEAR AND/OR KATY” Tell us why you love your city in 500-700 words

Details:

Please email your Microsoft Word document to JACLYN at JACLYN@EXPLORE.US no later than MAY 10, 2023. One article will be chosen to be published in the next issue of EXPLORE FULSHEAR MAGAZINE, and one for EXPLORE KATY MAGAZINE. Those not chosen will still be considered for future publications.

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UN W RA PPIN G TH E GIFT

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Unwrapping the Gift of

EXPERIENCES WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY BROOKE WALKER, OWNER OF HAPPY TRACKS TRAVEL

A

round this time each year, a proverbial starter pistol fires, and we race towards the holiday finish line. Plans are made, groceries are gathered and cooked into a frenzy, and boxes containing whoknows-what pile high on the porch. We sprint through the season with our hair on fire and, before we know it, we wake up in January exhausted, surrounded by clutter, and feeling disconnected.

Here’s an idea - why not change things up this year and give experiences as gifts – something Amazon doesn’t sell and something your loved ones will never outgrow or forget?

PRESENCE

Over Presents

EX P LOR E.U S

A few years back, I struggled to find a gift for my niece and nephew. They did not necessarily want or need anything specific (or if they did, they did not tell me), and

I could not think of anything tangible worth spending my money on. I knew they loved to travel, so I made the decision to take each kid on a trip with me for some quality one-on-one time.

My niece, who lives for cold weather, had a friend who had just moved to Boston. I’d never been to Boston, so I decided to make that our destination. My nephew, on the other hand, does not like cold weather, so I decided on San Diego, a great, fun-filled city with something for everyone.

The kids had no clue about my ideas for them. After gaining their parent’s permission to steal them each away for a few days, I went to work on finding small items to wrap up for Christmas morning. After all, they both typically had a hefty haul of presents under the tree, and I did not want them to panic at the sight of an empty tree on Christmas morning.

I ordered a unique San Diego pocket map for my nephew (map skills are under-appreciated these days) and a whimsical Boston puzzle for my niece. I wrapped each, along with a note that explained their deeper meaning, and anxiously awaited Christmas morning.

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- Houston -

- San Diego -

EX P LOR E.U S

- Boston -

Photo Credits: iStochphoto.com/Julia_Sudnitskaya, Sean Pavone, LUNAMARINA, joejsg

UN W RA PPIN G TH E GIFT

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SAN DIEGO - Boat Harbor -

EX P LOR E.U S

I will never forget the look of bewilderment when each kid opened their gift and read the note I had placed inside.

They were thrilled, a bit surprised, and immediately filled with new anticipation. With tears in my eyes, I knew I had succeeded in wrapping up the one thing everyone wants and needs – meaningful experiences.

Each trip came and went, leaving all of us more emotionally connected than we had been and with a pocket full of new favorite memories. My nephew fondly remembers touring the USS Midway, as much as the monster-sized ice cream sandwich he personalized at The Baked Bear near the beach with the wild tide. My niece recalls the Boston coffee shop where she met her friend for breakfast before practicing her photography skills along The Freedom Trail. I remember nearly every moment—the planned and the unexpected—along with the indescribable feeling I had exploring both cities with each kid. We all locked in new memories that will last a lifetime.

QUALITY Over Quantity

WHAT IF A SURPRISE TRIP IS NOT IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR? TRY BEING TOURISTS IN YOUR OWN TOWN.

This time, I planned the day for them and gave them no hints as to where we were going. I researched neighborhoods and low-cost activities I knew they had not experienced before. We started our day in Houston’s incredible Chinatown, stopping for fun photo ops in front of murals along Bellaire, and arriving in Lee’s Sandwiches, a multi-cultural coffee shop abuzz with elders playing chess. The kids found some yummy pastries, I grabbed some caffeine, and we headed to our next stop, an Asian-owned health spa, which has sadly closed since our visit.

A few years after our big trips, I had left my corporate job to start my business, Happy Tracks Travel, and money was tight. With a love for travel in my bones, I wanted desperately to repeat another trip with my niece and nephew. Knowing I could not financially swing a full trip, I surprised them with a coupon good for a future day spent with me right here in Houston.

After three affordable and uber-relaxing leg massages, we sampled some Korean candy on our way out the door and headed towards Rice Village. I could not wait to introduce the kids to the walk-up window at Tiny’s Milk & Cookies on Rice Blvd., after we made a quick stop to wander through the intriguing Murder By The Book bookstore on Bissonnet.

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HOUSTON

EX P LOR E.U S

- Wall Murals -

UN W RA PPIN G TH E GIFT

70

Stuffed with some of the city’s finest chocolate chip cookies, we made our way to the Galleria area, where we practiced head stands and cartwheels on the lawn next to the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park on Post Oak, a Houston icon that neither kid knew existed.

favorite Houston establishments, Star Pizza. After filling our bellies with goodness and laughter and cheese, we made our way to The Heights, where we topped off the night with ice cream and a few photos of the many wall murals on 19th Street.

A ton of fun photos later, we headed to the Art Car Museum. Nestled along the side of Heights Blvd., only the fruit-covered vehicle parked outside provides a glimpse at the indescribable, creative displays inside this free museum. We took a whirlwind tour, promised to return soon, and then made our way to one of my all-time

Not only did the kids and I spend an entire day together without our heads in our phones, catching up on life and exploring new neighborhoods together, but we also taught each other how to find happiness in our own backyards for the cost of some cookies and one huge pizza.

CONNECTION Over Clutter

These days, the holidays are way less stressful in our family than they used to be. We still bake and fill our calendars with fun events, but the added pressure of buying and gathering “stuff” is gone. Instead, our time together around the tree is often spent discussing our next adventure, whether at home or abroad, or simply reminiscing about the quality time we have already spent together.

EX P LOR E.U S

www.happytrackstravel.com

USS MIDWAY - www.midway.org • THE BAKED BEAR - www.thebakedbear.com/pacificbeach/ THE FREEDOM TRAIL - www.thefreedomtrail.org • LEE’S SANDWICHES - www.leesandwiches.com TINY’S MILK & COOKIES - www.tinyboxwoods.com/location/tinys-no-5/ • MURDER BY THE BOOK - www.murderbooks.com GERALD D HINES WATERFALL PARK - www.uptown-houston.com/experience/parks/waterwall-park/ ART CAR MUSEUM - www.artcarmuseum.com • STAR PIZZA - www.starpizza.net WALL MURALS - www.houstonmuralmap.com/community/heights/

DISCOVER

c u l t u r em a p .c o m

m a e N I y s M

72 M Y N A M E IS SH AY

Shay

Meet Shay Abigail, author of My Name Is Maya WRITTEN BY DAWN BENJAMIN

In

2011, when she entered the seventh grade, Shay moved to the Katy area from San Antonio, Texas, along with her mother Marilyn, and three sisters Shelby, Sierra, and Emma. It would be the first time the girls attended public schools and were not being home schooled by their mother under one roof.

During this time of reflection and settling in, Shay’s mother Marilyn, a chemical engineer, authored and self-published a book called, But I Like it Here. The book was inspired by her daughters’ emotional experience relocating to a new city. Shay describes her mother as inspiring, and at times, just simply magical.

Now, well-adjusted to her surroundings, Shay kept herself busy in many school club activities, including Peer Assistance Leadership, (PALS), a mentorship program in which a high school student is paired with an elementary student to serve as a positive role model, and with Best Buddies, an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of students with intellectual and physical challenges.

CAMP LIFE

- Inclusion Matters While on spring break, Shay felt emboldened to volunteer at a program in San Antonio called Camp CAMP, an acronym for Children’s Association for Maximum Potential. She was not sure what to expect and had only been told that it was a camp for children with special needs. Shay loved children and had enjoyed being involved with the PALS and Best Buddies programs. She had thoughts of even becoming a teacher one day; therefore, she was ready for the challenge.

EX P LOR E.U S

Shay was encouraged by the way each child was treated with DIGNITY, INCLUSIVENESS, ENTHUSIASM, and CARE at the camp.

She noticed that all the campers were treated like superheroes, with individual superpowers who had much to contribute to society. Camp CAMP was indeed a special place with fun activities; even the name of the camp was fun to say! However, there was one little girl who caught Shay’s attention and tugged at her heart.

The girl was deaf and needed a camp counselor who could communicate with her through sign language.

This prevented the little girl from participating in as many activities as the other campers. Shay was determined to assist this little girl in feeling more included, and she began

EX P LOR E.U S

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- Shay Abigail with her book “My Name is Maya” Photo by Dawn Benjamin

M Y N A M E IS SH AY

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- Aubrey & Shay at Camp Smiles -

EX P LOR E.U S

Photo by Emma Stegemann

to ask the girl’s personal counselor to teach her simple signs, so that she could greet the girl and communicate with her. Shay remembers her first introduction to sign language was when one of her older twin sisters had taken a class in high school. Shay was inspired, and this newfound interest would begin to change her life’s trajectory.

more about ASL after graduating from high school, and decided to attend Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where a curriculum and major piqued her interest.

More Focused

During one of her deaf education classes at Lamar, her professor, Dr. Marchut, challenged the class to produce a final exam project that would include how they would introduce themselves or a friend to a person who was deaf. So right away, Shay began thinking of what would be appealing to children. “How could I teach a hearing kid about a deaf kid? I knew I wanted to use something colorful and bright for my project, and yet have it be interesting enough for anyone who wanted to use it as a teaching tool. That was my audience.” She began

When Shay returned home, ready for her senior year, and the first ever graduating class at Tompkins High School, she immersed herself in learning everything about American Sign Language (ASL). She checked out library books, did research about deaf culture, and enthusiastically taught herself how to sign. Shay was determined to learn

The Process…

clipping art, using construction paper, and stringing all the pages together. Her mother took one look at her project and said “Shay, this has the making of a book!”

Shay began collaborating with the illustrator, Coleman Reyna, whom her mother had used for her own book.

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“Writing a children’s book is not as easy as you might imagine!” Shay said.

“Even getting the characters’ facial features in the book can be tricky.”

For her book, Shay based the main character’s image on the little girl she had met at Camp CAMP. Shay began the book-writing process her sophomore year in college, before the COVID pandemic hit. The book, My Name Is Maya, took Shay two years to complete. She chose the name “Maya”, because it is easy to sign, short, and phonetically fun to sound out. Throughout this process, Shay also knew it was important to rely upon the reallife experiences of the families, and of deaf professors, whom she admired and respected. Shay received an A for her project from Dr. Marchut, who now teaches at Gallaudet University, a world-renowned university for deaf education in Washington DC. Not only was Shay’s book published in 2021, but she also received her undergraduate degree in American Sign Language.

- Shay & Aubrey Photo taken by Aubrey’s mother

New Beginnings Shay is currently studying at Lamar University to obtain her master’s degree in speech pathology. This past May, she wed Colton May in her mother’s backyard in Fulshear.

She now also has a cool name - Shay May! She may write another book in the future, but only time will tell. However, she does know that she wants to be a speech therapist and work with children in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and eventually work for Easter Seals of Greater Houston (ESGH). She would equally love to continue being the caregiver for Aubrey, another sweet girl, whom she met and befriended four years ago, while volunteering at Camp Smiles, a summer program hosted by ESGH. Aubrey was also the flower girl in the May’s wedding.

GIRL POWER A Family of Community Service

Mother Marilyn can rest assured that she passed on some of her magical, superpower dust onto her four daughters.

Shelby is a pediatric physical therapist, Sierra is an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapist who works with autistic children, and younger sister Emma works with guide dogs for the blind.

Shay and her sisters dream of one day opening a business together and spreading a little magical dust of their own.

- Colton & Shay (Abigail) May Photo by Toni Cogbill - tonicogbillphotography.com

http://andonthisfarmbooks.com http://instagram.com/andonthisfarmbooks? https://www.bestbuddies.org/ https://campcamp.org/ https://www.eastersealshouston.org/Programs/camps.html https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/AAc/ https://www.lamar.edu/ https://gallaudet.edu

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FA LL RECIPE

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Shepherd’s

PIE

ONE SKILLET

Shepherd’s

PIE WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY JACLYN RITTER

Shepherd’s Pie IS A WARM AND

HEARTY MEAL THAT THE

Whole Family can Enjoy!

This classic dish has many variations, but no matter how you prepare it, it is sure to hit the spot.

This recipe is for all of you with hectic schedules who still want to settle down at the end of the day with a home cooked meal. Many of these ingredients are household staples. No need to wander the aisles of your local grocery store in search of an elusive ingredient. And yes, you read that right, the recipe calls for instant potatoes.

Sure, you can whip up a fresh batch of mashed potatoes, but remember, this recipe is all about quick and easy. Rehydrate those potatoes and call it a day! Even better, this recipe is prepared and baked in an oven-safe skillet, making for easy cleanup. It doesn’t get much better than that!

-

2 large carrots, diced 1 small white onion, diced 3 small cloves garlic, minced Salt and pepper, to taste 1 ½ to 2 pounds lean ground beef ¼ cup worcestershire sauce ¼ cup BBQ sauce 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 1 tablespoon cumin 1 can (14.5 oz) no salt added diced tomatoes, drained 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste 12 oz bag frozen peas 2 pouches (4 oz each) instant potatoes Parmesan cheese, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Heat an oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil. Add carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir till soft and onion is translucent. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add the ground beef. Once browned, drain excess fat. Add worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, mustard, and cumin. Simmer for a few minutes, then add diced tomatoes. As the tomatoes cook down, they will produce a lot of liquid. Now is the time to add tomato paste.

This will add a richness, but also thicken the sauce.

4. Stir in frozen peas. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

5. Prepare mashed potatoes package directions.

according

to

6. Time to assemble. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to divide or save the excess mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over ground beef mixture.

7. Place skillet in oven, on center rack, for 2025 minutes. In the last few minutes of baking, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Turn oven to broil for a few minutes. Watch closely and remove skillet when the potatoes turn a nice golden brown.

8. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE

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ONE SKILLET

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ONE SKILLET SHEPHERD’S PIE

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