APRIL 2022, Vol 2 l Iss. 3
SPIRIT OF JOY
CY
How a group of eclectic individuals built a church
Distillery
ICYMI
MAKING LIQUOR LIKE YOUR GRANDPA DID!
A tribute to the life and work of a Cancer Warrior
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THIS ISSUE
APRIL 2022, Volume 2 l Issue 3 We hope this magazine feels a little more real each time you pick up a new issue. Seguin’s catchphrase, ‘It’s Real,’ is as often celebrated as it is poked-fun-at and has become ubiquitous around town as locals take ownership of it and breathe deeper meaning into it. This month’s issue of Seguin Today features two stories that, at surface level, seem as un-related as they could be. One is about a church, and the other….a liquor distillery. As you read the stories, however, you’ll take in the quotes of real people put on paper by real writers –– all of whom care deeply for this community. All of whom want to see it continue developing and thriving so that it can be an environment where dreams become REAL. It’s cliche to say, “You can achieve anything,” and perhaps slightly tone-deaf. Still, the fact is, with the right people around you, that which might otherwise have been out of reach can become attainable. People in this community prove that every single day. ‘It’s Real,” for all its glory and despite its flaws, is a great slogan because it can become whatever it needs to be. However, when you try thinking of it, not so much as a statement as an invitation, your perspective will shift, allowing you to see the possibilities held within this community.
facebook.com/KWEDradio kwed.seguindailynews @kwed
COVER COVERSHOT Brent Covey & distiller Travis Durben raise a drink to Seguin with a shot of CY Distillery’s handcrafted vodka. CY Distillery products are available across Seguin and the state of Texas.
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7 SPIRIT OF JOY
How a group of eclectic individuals founded a church based around the idea of inclusivity
13 CY DISTILLERY
Step inside the distillery and find out how liquor is produced the old-fashioned way
21 COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Community events and special promotions happening this month
23 WELCOME TO PECANTOWN
This month Tess Coody-Anders focuses on progress and development in downtown
27 DIY: RECIPE TO TRY
A perfect treat for a spring picnic
Photo by Lizz Daniels
29 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A tribute to the impact of S’adi Reyes’s fight to raise breast cancer awareness
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APRIL 2022, Volume 2 l Issue 3
GENERAL MANAGER Darren Dunn CREATIVE EDITOR Lizz Daniels WRITERS Cindy Aguirre-Herrera, Mike McBride, Lizz Daniels, Tess Coody-Anders
Mon-Thu 11am-8pm, Fri & Sat 11am-9pm
PHOTOGRAPHER Jarred Kindles
IT’S ALL ABOUT GOOD FOOD &
Delicious Flavors
SALES MANAGER Nick Spence ADVERTISING Laurie Cheatham, Linda Duncan, Mary Jane Windle OFFICE MANAGER Priscilda Rodriguez Seguin Today is published once a month by: KWED, Seguin Daily News in Seguin, Texas. www.seguintoday.com
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Celebrating the SPIRIT of
Joy
Building a
DIFFERENT
kind of church
one wall at a time Special by Bobbie Maddox with courtesy photos
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hey are a mixed lot of Christians: teachers, doctors, landscapers, accountants, laborers, librarians, construction workers, program coordinators…even a geologist… and many of them “retired.” They turned out to be just the right combination of the faithful service and skills needed to answer God’s call. After 11 years of searching and setbacks, the eclectic crew of people at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church is creating a whole new community of faith that is LGBQT affirming, focused on worship and hospitality, and devoted to love and service in their new home that was once Juan Seguin Elementary School. And while they may not have spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, members of Spirit of Joy have been tested. “It was a confusing time in many ways, and we sometimes became impatient and disheartened,” Retired Pastor and congregational president Stan Meyer said, speaking of the congregation’s early years. “We found we had little choice but to learn to trust God and God’s promises about our well-being and future. We used the years that we were a mission to come together as a community to practice our ideals of welcome, inclusion and service to others, “ In 2011, those ideals led this congregation-without-a-home to form Lutheran Mission of Seguin. Along with their pastor, Tim Bauerkemper, the group was already affiliated with the very benevolent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), but also wanted to up their own spiritual game. They knew that meant embracing the “church is not a building” philosophy. “Although we wanted our own church home, we were immediately focused on service, mission and ministry,” Marvel Maddox, a Transition Team member said. So, Spirit of Joy did not wait for a “real home” to put their mission in motion. As another Transition Team member Karen Wallock tells it, “We
have consistently had a high percentage of our budget going to outreach. We also started a fifth Sunday benevolence. We have been very active with the Christian Cupboard and a mission church in Las Milpas. Many have also worked with Habitat for Humanity, Water to Thrive, our camps and many other outreaches. Our women started the WIN Purse Project, too.” Now, two years after purchasing the Juan Seguin Elementary campus from the Seguin ISD, and with the first phase of repurposing the property complete, the Transition Team is helping Spirit of Joy turn its focus from preparing a physical church home to serving God and the community. It’s all about the future now for this mission-minded group. “We did not want to adapt our mission to fit a building; but rather a building that would fit our vision, mission and service. After a massive amount of searching, the historic Juan Seguin Elementary School campus fit the bill,” Maddox said. It is that vision that carried the congregation through its difficulties and on to the excitement of building their dream. The Koehler Company of Seguin was contracted for the repurposing of Juan Seguin’s cafetorium into a worship space, then some real dirty work began for the congregation which, despite a successful capital campaign, knew its members would have to pitch in to keep costs down. “When we started our capital campaign, we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into but Spirit of Joy members came through, despite a pandemic, with a bigger pledge than we could have hoped for,” remembers Nancy Hartfiel. “Members came out and proved that we were up to the task of demolishing and landscaping. We spent countless hours ripping out wire and ceiling tiles, tearing out shelves, and getting the building ready to be renovated. Now we are finishing up the irrigation and landscaping. We have a beautiful building and wonderful memories,” she said.
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Jennifer Ehlers underscores that account. “I cannot put into words what it has meant to me to work beside my fellow church members as we ‘destroyed’ everything in the building that we could, repurposed what we could, cleaned, painted, moved, planted, packed, unpacked; you name it, we probably did it, and mostly all with JOY. The outcome, the wonderful ‘home’ we now have, is so much more than I ever thought it would be. It is truly us; it is Spirit of Joy.” Worries that all this work would go unnoticed and the church unattended because of its “hidden” location are dismissed by SOJ’s financial team member Heidi Franzen. “The Walnut Creek walk and bike path passes right through our property. The Lizzie Burges school has been purchased and repur-
posed, and the city has plans to build a park on Dolle Ave. right next to our property. How exciting is that!” she said. “And people will get to know us by the work we do in our community. Our church offered to provide teams to the Christian Cupboard so that they could open on Saturdays to offer assistance to those who work, but still need food assistance. To this day, the Christian Cupboard is open on the first and third Saturday of each month.” In true ministry outreach fashion, Grace Mueller wears many hats for Spirit of Joy, and reveals that it is the call to service that binds her to this church. “I am stirred to serve others. The more excited I get about a service opportunity, the more focused I am on extending God’s grace, be it snacks for a community run, food for the pantry, clean ups in the neighborhood,
Kettle Bell ringing in December, or the support of children’s services. The opportunities are endless,” she said. “I can thank God each day for my blessings by being a good steward of his varied grace.” While excited about their accomplishments, members are well aware of God’s hand in making this dream a reality. They know God put in the midst of the mission a person who, although he may not have realized it at the time, was trained for just this project. Building Project Manager Jim Dyess, retired geologist, and his wife Chris have spent summers for many years, traveling the country as Mission Builders to help in the construction of churches and other related building needs. He has directed much of the volunteer effort and served as the conduit between Spirit of Joy and the construction company.
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“I wonder if God called me to the Mission Builder program to develop the knowledge and experiences to lead the SOJ building project. When I say that, I actually am thinking about the ministries and community-impacting (goals) we can seek to achieve in the Juan Seguin space,” Jim said. Although the Spirit of Joy wanderers have now found their base of operations, Jim said they continue on the journey God has called them to, with a purpose to Welcome, Worship, Love and Serve. “For ten years the (SISD) campus was unused, but SOJ members were able to see the potential in the building, and especially the location in the West End area of Seguin as a place for developing relationships with the neighbors that could result in engaging together in the community,” he said. Along the way, the congregation faced many other challenges such as calling a new pastor when in 2015 Pastor Bauerkemper was called to serve First Lutheran Church in San Marcos. A Call Committee member, Wallock recounts that Pastor Megan Elliott flew in from her home in Westerville, Ohio to be interviewed and meet the congregation. When she returned to Seguin in April of 2016, she became the pastor for Spirit of Joy and joined the search for a place to call service central. She said she literally ran across it one day on an exercise outing with SOJ member and video technician Denise Crettenden. She remembers, “It was spring of 2017. We were on a run on the new hike and bike trail in Seguin, on a portion of the trail that went onto the road and cut through the property of an unused and closed down elementary school. Suddenly, Denise stopped: ‘Just think about the ministry we could do in this place if Spirit of Joy bought this school!’ It was the first time I’d ever seen the former Juan Seguin Elementary School campus, but as we walked around what we could access and peaked into windows, I began to see what she saw: possibility.” Now, looking back, Building Team member Sharon Villalpondo almost considers the effort a miracle. “We are so blessed with talented, dedicated, and experienced members who have worked so hard to stretch our dollars. Jim Dyess worked closely with the Koehler Company to value engineer some of the design ideas that appeared to be out of reach. Former member Kaitlyn Hunt volunteered her services as an acoustic engineer to make an old school cafeteria come alive with the gifts of our musicians. So many people have worked on this project, it is impossible to try to name everyone,” Sharon said. But as Design Team member Cathy Cordes notes: “The bigger challenges lie ahead. We are so proud of the new building and would love for everyone in Seguin to be able to see it and hopefully be inspired by it,” she said. “However, our programs and ministries for the Seguin community and beyond will determine our success. Our enthusiasm to develop the east side property (of the campus) is through the (patched) roof. We will be looking for partners and programs to help individuals and families in a variety of ways.” Church secretary Cynthia Points added, “We are so much more than a building,” she said. “We are hope, we are spirit and we are faithfulness. If anything, we are determined. We hit roadblocks in our journey of faith. More than once, we thought we had found our future home only to be thwarted by events, money angst. Thank goodness we listened to our heads and hearts as God was calling us elsewhere.” Having opened its doors to worship in early March, this mixed lot of Christians is ready for the next phase of God’s work, and they want to reach out to all. Chris Frels, member and a manager for the new facilities, perhaps best sums up the story of Spirit of Joy’s journey: “SOJ stepped away from a secure and comfortable home to more closely follow what we believe are His teachings about love for all persons. We wandered all the while, confident in His love. We chose a pastor who eloquently delivers His word to us. SOJ faithfully, patiently and deliberately waited to be planted where He needs us. SOJ is doubting Thomas, Peter the denier, the Good Samaritan, the Woman at the Well, Abraham the Faithful, Noah. SOJ is Samson.” • 11
Liquor &
LEGACY
CY DISTILLERY The craft of making liquor the way your grandpa did Story and Photos by Lizz Daniels
L
iquor is so mainstream in our society that its true impact is often overlooked. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States lasted from 1920 to 1933 and brought about colorful historical stories from Rum Runners to gangsters like Al Capone. People use liquor to celebrate, to grieve, and of course, to have fun. They drink it in wine glasses, in bottles, and as shots, but the alcohol itself is produced a single drop at a time. CY Distillery owner Brent Covey understands the intricacies of liquor, from the nuanced differences in flavor to the social implications of its use. Covey’s background is in the oil and gas industry, but a by-product of his world-travels for work was learning a lot about global alcohol culture. His first interest in distilling, however, began at home.
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“My dad and I made beer and wine growing up, so I got a pretty good understanding of that process,” said Covey. “Then when I lived in Saudi Arabia, well, it’s a dry country, so you make do and you make what you can. So we made bath tub gin and vodka.” Much like Americans found ways to get their liquor during the prohibition, influential Saudi Arabian locals could access what otherwise might be impossible via the black market. Covey and the friends he met while there were sometimes lucky enough to gain access to the illegally imported products. “We’d have big tastings where everybody would bring their tastings and its all the ex-pats all hanging out together,” said Covey. “That’s where I really cut my teeth on it. It gives me shivers thinking about it.”
A lot has changed in the world since Covey’s adventures in the Middle East. Life led him away from his position as a Global Manager for one of the world’s largest oil service companies and down a very different path. “I always told my teams if you don’t enjoy it, if you don’t love it, get out,” said Covey. “So, I got out, and here I am. We’re a totally unconventional distillery. Our business isn’t - have a bar - our business is: make good whiskey. Make good vodka. Have some fun –– that’s what it’s about. We over 20 times distill it, but also, while we’re distilling it, we have an intense filtration process that we use afterwards to clean any particular batter out of the vodka. We like it and everybody says it’s smooth, it’s clean. That’s what we are.”
That’s where I really cut my teeth on it. It gives me shivers thinking about it. -Brent Covey
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Brent Covey works with distiller, Travis Durben, to perform a quality control check on the still’s output. This process occurs multiple times during the distillation to ensure the product comes out exactly how they intended it.
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The graphic which forms the CY Distillery logo is Covey’s family brand and came from his grandfather and his family, an immigrant from Northern Ireland. The same simple cattle brand they brought with them all those years ago now adorns CY Distillery bottles, which are designed to reflect Covey’s past in the oil industry. “The still is named George after my grandfather,” said Covey. “When he was a child, he came over from Northern Ireland and brought the brand to North America and that’s why we named it George. My kids will be the fourth generation to hold the brand. That is near and dear to my heart because my dad has eleven brothers and sisters, and this is their legacy as well as my own and my kids’ legacy, so any-
thing I put it on, I get really protective of.” To that end, Covey takes tremendous care in the crafting process, tasting the product multiple times during the distillation to make sure that the flavor profile is correct to provide a smooth final product. Heads, hearts, and tails might sound like a simple thing to understand, but in liquor production, they have specific meanings and roles in the process. Heads are the first part of the alcohol collected and often have a fruity taste. Hearts are the primary distillate collected during distillation. They are crucial because they contain the most desirable flavor profile. Finally, tails come at the end and are much heavier than the rest of the alcohols with higher water content. The wrong combination of heads, hearts and tails can yield unwanted results.
A Distillery Destination?
Seguin may just be on its way to becoming a distillery desination with multiple local places either open, or in the works. Johnny Pickles Distillery is coming soon, and owner Jen Forman can’t wait. “Johnny Pickles Distillery is making great progress toward opening,” said Forman. “We’ve been working with many local contractors on our land development and building renovations to get ready for production. We will be thrilled to open to the public this fall to share our grain-toglass whiskey.” You can stay up to date on their progress by following Johnny Pickles Distillery on Facebook.
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“We cut out the heads and the tails and only keep the hearts,” said Covey. “When you’re buying some ten buck Chuck at the liquor store, you taste that burn, get that headache, that’s from the bad liquors being left in the mash because that’s a volume game. Twenty-five percent of what we make turns into liquor. Seventy-five percent turns into cow feed, and we feed our cows on the property. We sell halves of beef from the farm side. Now, I take out, two to three times a week, three hundred gallons of grains. I feed them out and they lap it up and my cattle are the fattest cows in Texas.” And it’s not just that the grains feed the cattle; they are purchased from a farmer in Seguin –– the coffee beans for their coffee liquor are from Seguin Coffee Co., and now, CY Distillery products are available in liquor stores across the area. It’s a farm-fresh production from start to finish, and the public is invited to check it out. It truly isn’t a “bar” as you know it - it’s an experience. The still is open-air, so visitors can see, hear and smell the liquor as it is made. “If people want to come out here and they’re good people, then by all means, come on out,” said Covey. “Enjoy it. Bring a horse if you want to. Bring your family, bring your kids. I got kids. We have a waiver we have people sign so that if they want to go climb hay bales –– that was one of best things growing up on a farm like I did –– and so that’s what we want. You know Seguin’s logo is ‘It’s Real,’ I think we’re as real as you get here.” While cows graze and cowgirls work their horses in the arena, George (the still) runs dutifully in the background producing CY Distillery’s latest batch of vodka, a single drop at a time. •
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Events and special promotions happening locally this month!
APRIL April 30th 10am-3pm Earth Day and Trade Days 80+ Vendors, Green Info Booths, Children’s Activities, Music, Entertainment, Demonstrations! Downtown Central Park, 201 S Austin St
www.visitseguin.com 830-401-5000
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FeaturedEvents Events Featured
Master Gardeners Plant Sales April 30, 2022 The Guadalupe County Master Gardeners (GCMG) will have Plant Sales from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30 at the Seguin Trade Days/Earth Day at Central Park in downtown Seguin. The GCMG is also having an online plant sale at www.gcmgtx.org. For more information call 830-379-7203.
Badges, Bikes & Tikes May 21, 2022
The Seguin Police Department will have its Badges, Bikes, & Tykes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Large Pavilion at Max Starcke Park. There will be games, prizes, bike raffles, face painting, music, and more.
Apr. 18 Parent Education Class
The Seguin Public Library will offer a free Budding Babies Parent Education Class at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 18. This class will cover early stimulation of important developmental milestones, parent-infant attachment, and managing parental stress. Free baby books will also be given to participants. Registration is required by calling 830-401-2422 or visiting www. library.seguintexas.gov.
Apr. 29
Apr. 30
The Teartro De Artes De Juan Seguin will have its 40th Anniversary Viva Tearto Recital and Celebration at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 29 at Jackson Auditorium, on the campus of Texas Lutheran University. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free. For more information visit, www.teatrodeartes.org, or call 830401-0232.
The 9th Annual Geronimo and Alligator Creeks Cleanup Event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 30. There are two meeting locations to choose from, the Irma Lewis Seguin Outdoor Learning Center, located at 1865 US 90 in Seguin, or Oak Creek Elementary School, located at 3060 Goodwin Ln., in New Braunfels. Ceanup supplies (gloves, bags, and grabbers) will be provided. There will be free breakfast and coffee. To sign up, visit http://geronimocreek.org.
40th Anniversary Viva Teatro Recital
Apr. 30
May 14
Buck-A-Roo Sweetheart Dinner & Dance
Relay for Life Tournament
The Seguin Sunrise Rotary will have its Scholarship Bash, Buck-A-Roo Sweetheart Dinner & Dance at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 30 at the Big Red Barn, located at 390 Cordova Rd. in Seguin. Event/table sponsors are available or individual tickets are $50. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 830-660-9286, 210-834-1149, 210-8341240, or 210-232-1417, or visit Court Street Coffee Shop.
Geronimo and Alligator Creeks Cleanup Event
May 15 Cornhole
The Relay for Life of Guadalupe County will have a Cornhole Tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14 at The Backyard, located at 225 N. Saunders St. in Seguin. The cost is $40 per team/$20 per person. There will be food and drink vendors on site. To register, email Jimjudyjohnson46@ gmail.com, or call 830-305-1654.
First Responders Fit for Duty 5K/10K/1-Mile Race
The City of Seguin first responders will have a Fit for Duty 10K, 5K, and 1-Mile Run/Walk for all ages at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 at Max Starcke Park East. Register at www.athleteguild.com/ running/seguin-tx/2022-seguin-firtsresponders-fit-for-duty-5k10k1mi.
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Welcome to Pecantown
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Seguin’s identity is perhaps most accurately represented when local crowds come out for events such as the July 4th Parade or Holiday Sip ‘n Stroll. These are just a couple of countless community activities local look forward to that help define Seguin.
Trading HOPE SO for
LET’S GO! Hope is not a strategy, but it is a necessary condition for change Column by Tess Coody-Anders Photos by Lizz Daniels
P
erhaps for the first time in a long time, there is a collective feeling of hope in Seguin. Our schools, our workforce, our citizenry - we’re ready to accept that we deserve more and better. Yet, even as we fill our lungs with the fresh air of optimism, this is not enough for us to succeed. Without a vision-driven plan shared across public and private entities — we’re just holding our breath under water. We are fortunate to have current and past leaders with the foresight to preserve critical assets in ways that better position our community for what’s coming. From our incredible library to the $5.1 million expansion of the Walnut Springs Hike/Bike trail, we have signaled that our community cares about quality of life. The Seguin Economic Development Corporation is active and successful. Our Downtown is embracing its role as a destination. Now is the time to build on this strong foundation and embrace our difference-maker: collaboration. When civic, business and educational leaders work together toward a shared strategic vision, the rising tide will raise all ships. The City of Seguin is in the midst of developing master plans for the community and for downtown specifically. These plans are interdependent and nested, even as they require specific visions. Consultants from Freese and Nichols, an engineering and planning firm, are guiding residents and leaders through the process now. Having completed initial economic, demographic and physical assessments, the effort has moved into the most critical,
make-or-break stage: VISIONING. As the community receives the first draft of this work, it’s important to reflect on the purpose of a vision statement, and review some examples from cities near and far. A powerful vision inspires and engages.
Let’s begin by agreeing on a vision that’s exciting and forward-thinking. And let’s not limit ourselves. We must believe that we deserve more, and that we can be more. Seguin has the potential to be a model 21st-century small city, with advantages in three key areas: • We have abundant natural resources: affordable land, human capital, water, including our recreational lakes and river. • We are diverse – a strength in a global, interconnected world that is rapidly changing to look more like us. • We are geographically positioned in the fastest growing corridor in the country. As an example, here’s San Marcos vision statement:
“We envision San Marcos with economic, educational and cultural opportunities that develop a stronger middle class and grow our local economy. We foresee a vibrant community that strategically leverages the university and all available community assets to support environmentally sustainable industry, technological excellence, local business development and the arts.”
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And San Antonio, building on its SA2020 Master Plan, has updated their vision and comprehensive plan to carry the fast-growing city to 2040:
“San Antonio is a dynamic city with neighborhoods that are complete with unique places that define their character and celebrate our history. Our corridors unite our residents and our businesses, using cutting-edge multimodal options that connect our neighborhoods to vibrant regional destinations. Our infrastructure supports a healthy and safe lifestyle while making San Antonio an efficient, resilient city. Our economy is the envy of the country, with a thriving and ever expanding business sector. San Antonio maintains an elite status in the country, supporting the military missions that keep our country safe while supporting the vast number of military personnel that call San Antonio home. We nurture our future, with a thriving natural environment as well as quality education and opportunities for all children…they will inherit a truly great and sustainable city. San Antonio is a diverse and thriving community, with a local government that’s accountable, innovative and responsive. This is the story of a great American city…SA Tomorrow.” If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far - go together.
Ultimately, the City and Downtown’s vision statements cannot stand alone - and cannot stand apart. Business, educational, civic and non-profit organizations must work together. Imagine each entity’s strategic sphere 24 as interconnected. Where we all overlap in the
center is where we can get shared buy-in and work together to do more and go farther. With a clear vision in hand, we will begin the real work of creating a community plan with intentionality, and collaborate across civic, business and educational organizations. Without a shared destination, we will invariably go in different directions. To that end, how will the strategic plans of the following critical entities complement and support a shared vision for city and its downtown?: • City of Seguin • Guadalupe County • Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) • Seguin ISD (SISD) • Texas Lutheran University (TLU) • Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (GRMC) • Seguin-Guadalupe Chamber of Commerce • Seguin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce • Downtown Business Alliance When we all pull in the same direction, we can achieve great things for our community.
A vision-centered master plan is not the responsibility of city officials and elected leaders alone to develop and implement; it is our plan, and it takes all of us to realize a future that lifts everyone. Learn more about the City’s master planning efforts for Seguin as a whole at www. planseguin.com and for Downtown Seguin at www.planseguindt.com. •
Tess Coody-Anders is a serial small-towner, having spent most of her adult life in towns where everybody knows your business. A Seguin High School graduate, Tess currently serves as Vice President for Strategy and Strategic Communications at Trinity University. Welcome to Pecan Town is Tess’s column which seeks to explore opportunities and challenges from explosive growth in our area.
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RE/MAX River Cities
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DIY: Recipe to Try
Sweet
TART
Strawberry TREAT! E
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ntertaining comes easy when the weather is pleasant. Many people welcome the chance to host in warm weather, and with hosting comes the need to provide tasty foods and refreshing beverages. While grilling is often the method of choice when hosting warm weather gatherings, following up tasty grilled fare with an equally pleasing homemade dessert can set any soiree apart. “Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp” from “Crock-Pot: 365 Year-Round Recipes” (Publications International, Ltd.) from Crock-Pot test kitchens creates a cobbler-esque dessert chockfull of comforting flavors. It can be enjoyed on its own, or topped with a dollop of cream or ice cream.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Makes 8 servings 4 4 1 1/2 2 1 1/2 1 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
cups sliced hulled strawberries cups diced rhubarb (about 5 stalks), cut into 1/2-inch dice cups granulated sugar tablespoons lemon juice tablespoons cornstarch, plus water (optional) cup all-purpose flour cup old-fashioned oats cup granulated sugar cup packed brown sugar teaspoon ground ginger teaspoon ground nutmeg cup butter, cut into pieces cup sliced almonds, toasted
Coat a Crock-Pot® slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place strawberries, rhubarb, 11⁄2 cups granulated sugar and lemon juice in the crock and mix well. Cook on high 11⁄2 hours, or until fruit is tender. If fruit is dry after cooking, add a little water. If fruit has too much liquid, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and stir into liquid. Cook on high an additional 15 minutes, or until cooking liquid is thickened.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. For the topping, combine flour, oats, sugars, ginger, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in almonds. Remove the lid from the Crock-Pot slow cooker and gently sprinkle topping onto fruit. Transfer the stoneware to the oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until tipping begins to brown.
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MARION LOCATION 830-914-2572 129 W. San Antonio St. Marion, TX 78124
Whether it’s our Hibachi grill, or our specialty sushi rolls...there is something for everyone! Japanese Sushi & Steak 830-433-9805 110 E. Court St. ebiebisushiseguin@gmail.com
SEGUIN LOCATION 830-433-4201 921 S. Hwy 123 BYP Seguin, TX 78155
In Case You Missed It
Remembering
a cancer
WARRIOR
27 year-old ends her fight, but leaves legacy to help others
Story by Cindy Aguirre-Herrera with courtesy photos
T
he following is not your average October Breast Cancer Awareness story. Instead, it’s about one warrior who is speaking from the trenches as she not only fights for her life but the lives of our wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. Next month will mark one year since 27-year-old S’adi Gonzales first learned that she had Stage 3 Breast Cancer. After a successful treatment and a couple of months of breathing room, Gonzales found herself back in battle and is now diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer -- a cancer that has also spread to her bones and liver. Despite the roller coaster of a year, it was Gonzales who reached out to the Seguin Daily News. Gonzales says she felt it was important to share her journey so that hopefully, others would be able to navigate through their own should that day ever come. In fact, it was her experience at the very beginning of her diagnosis that prompted her to advocate for others. “I’ve always just checked my breast in the shower when showering so I was checking it and then there was a little lump and I was ‘oh, no!’ and then I said maybe I strained myself because I took my dog a bath so I was like maybe he jumped on me and hit my breast but then, I had noticed about two weeks later that that bump had started getting bigger and it started getting very painful. That’s when I realized I needed to see the doctor. It was hard for the doctor to confirm what I had because they kept pushing that it was an infection and they kept giving me antibiotics for about two months and within that two months, the original doctor was no longer helping me because they wanted to keep pushing antibiotics but at that point, I had refused and I ended up seeking a second opinion and I ended up seeking my second opinion which ended up being with my breast surgeon and she took one look at my breast and she was like ‘no, we have to get you a biopsy now!’ And so then they finally got me the biopsy and A Tribute to Community Impact
S’adi Nicole Gonzalez Reyes worked tirelessly to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the community. Reyes passed away on March 23, 2022 after her long battle with cancer. As a tribute to her life and dedication to raising awareness we are re-running this story originally published in October 2021.
confirmed that it was cancer,” said Gonzales. The young mother says she doesn’t want women especially young women like herself to discredit any pain or symptoms that they may be experiencing. “I would like to say that it’s very important that everybody self-checks themselves even if they are only 20 through 30 because mammograms don’t start till 40. The earliest that some people can even be seen for mammograms because of family history of breast cancer is about 35. So, when you are 20 and older, you are on your own and you really have to continue to check on yourself because you are the only person who is going to get to say ‘oh, this does not seem right,” said Gonzales. Gonzales says unfortunately, it can be difficult for health professionals to place an emphasis on young women especially if they are already a mother or have no family history of cancer. “I trusted my doctors for those two months and within those two months, that lump took over my whole breast. I was 26 and I was already Stage 3 because it was already in the skin, and it was already 9 cm and I often go back and I’m like I wish I would have gone back and pushed for the biopsy from the very beginning. But I can’t always be like I wish I would have done that. I’ve just got to keep moving forward so that’s why I think it’s very important for me to tell everyone ‘If something doesn’t feel right and they just want to brush it off which most doctors do brush it off because we are young, most of us don’t have family history of breast cancer but it happens. It just doesn’t happen to women over 40,” said Gonzales. Gonzales says her best advice for breast cancer or any health condition is to be persistent and to rely on their intuition. “The type of breast cancer that I have, it does often get mistaken as mastitis which is the breast feeding infection as well but even at that, I had always thought it was weird because I did breast feed my daughter when she was younger and I have had mastitis before and I didn’t have a fever but they kept pushing that on me and they didn’t want to give me the biopsy because I was too young,” said Gonzales. Gonzales says the type of pain she experienced should also be noted although symptoms can be different for everyone. “It was a shocking strike of pain. I would always describe it to my doctor as a woman who had given birth, it’s kind of like a contraction in your breast. It’s just a striking sharp pain,” said Gonzales. Gonzales her fight thus far has been anything but easy. Yet, she is grateful to have come this far. “I had to do five months of chemotherapy and during that five months, it went down all the way to two centimeters and it was working but then, it had stopped working so it started growing which lead to me getting an emergency surgery mastectomy and so then, I had to get a single mastectomy. I ended up getting into a wound vac (vacuum) because with Inflammatory Breast Cancer which is the type of cancer that I have, it takes over your skin and when it takes over your skin, you have to take off all of that skin and so I have a large portion of my breast skin taken out so I need what is called a wound vac to shrink the wound -- that way it was possible for my next surgery and my next surgery was called a DEIP flap where it takes your stomach skin and it moves it to your breast and then, when I had that, that’s when they had seen my results and they said that I was clear of cancer, but then a month later, I started noticing redness on my skin and that was the cancer back and unfortunately, they had found it in my bones and in my liver,” said Gonzales. She says thanks to current chemo treatments, the pain in her bones has lessened, and it appears as though the evidence on her liver has disappeared. However, the overall job of the chemotherapy is apparently not working as well as they want it to and for that reason, Gonzales says she will soon be at MD Anderson (Cancer Center) in Houston with the next
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step maybe being clinical trials. It’s vital Gonzales says that younger women, especially, be vigilant in protecting their bodies. “I know that when I had breast cancer, mostly everyone thought oh okay, you can have a surgery, you’ll be fine and then if you need chemo, you’ll get chemo and you’ll be fine. But that’s not the case. Typically, with younger women people that get diagnosed with cancer and they are under 40, they get diagnosed with aggressive cancers. That’s something that people also don’t realize that sometimes people believe that ‘oh, you are younger. You’ll be able to beat it. It’s so much easier. You are healthy’ but we also get diagnosed with more aggressive type cancers. They have aggressive grades that are given. That’s why it’s also so important for people to always check themselves. Also, for the older women who are over 40 and able to get mammograms, I think it’s also important because something that I didn’t realize until I joined my breast cancer Facebook group is that there are so many women that are over 40 that because of these mammograms, they found their cancer and it is at an early stage,” said Gonzales. Also, breast cancers don’t all come with a lump. And some don’t offer any symptoms at all. Those are a couple of other points that Gonzales shares as she encourages women to listen to their bodies and to schedule those mammograms as soon as possible. On top of the chemotherapy and radiation, Gonzales believes her number one source for strength and healing comes from positivity and her ability to advocate for others just as she has done by sharing this story. “I’ve always been a very positive person, so I think that that helps. Before when I was Stage 3 and I thought of that scary thought of ever becoming Stage 4 would happen to me, I thought I’d be crying every day. I thought I’d be going insane, but I haven’t. I’ve been good for the most part. I’ve just been going by it day by day because that’s all you can really do so
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like even though, it’s scary – I still stay pretty positive because that’s really all you can do whenever you are faced with something so scary so I’m doing good. I have a great support system that keeps me going. I have my sad days sometimes, but I have my daughter, my mom and my boyfriend and they keep me pretty strong and help me through it,” said Gonzales. According to statistics, one in eight women will develop breast cancer over the course of their lives. It is also not an illness that only women can get. About one percent of those affected are men. •
S’adi Gonzalez’s last wish was to marry the love of her life Steven Reyes. The couple tied the knot on March 12, 2022 one week before passing away. She leaves behind her daughter Valencia De La Fuente. Courtesy photo
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CHOOSE
ADVANCED
women’s imaging. grmedcenter.com/choose
3D MAMMOGRAPHY
GRMC-1381-SeguinToday-9x11-Womens-Imaging.indd 1
BREAST MRI
PELVIC STUDIES
BONE DENSITY EXAMS
BREAST BIOPSIES
3/7/22 11:50 AM