Otologist's concern

Mixed-Up Moe

Takes Sandwich Orders

You’re up for a big prize if you win the Fastest Sandwich Maker in Texas contest! You’ve memorized the ingredients for every popular sandwich. You’ve brought along your lucky bread knife. The only problem? You’ve been paired with MixedUp Moe, and he has shuffled the letters in every judge’s sandwich order! Can you unscramble the orders before the you lose out on a lifetime supply of baloney?

1. GEG DSALA

2. DLEIGRL EECEHS

3. ARSTO FEEB

4. REDCNO EFEB NO ERY

5. EINKCHC ERSAAC

6. EMFATTLUFA

7. LLEPDU OKPR

8. NCBAO UELECTT NDA MTAOOT

9. ALELAMBT ARNMAIAR

10. CISYP NAITALI

11. IEVGRENAAT

12. CCKIEHN RIEYTKIA

Turn Upside Down For Answers

11. Vegetarian 12. Chicken Teriyaki 9. Meatball Marinara 10. Spicy Italian 7. Pulled Pork 8. Bacon Lettuce and Tomato 4.Corned Beef on Rye 5. Chicken Caesar 6. Muffaletta 1. Egg Salad 2. Grilled Cheese 3. Roast Beef

Crossword

(Puzzle solution is on P. 19)

by Margie E. Burke

ACROSS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Cut a rug 6 Otologist's 14 15 16 concern 17 18 19 10 Tolkien creatures 20 21 22 23 14 Squirrel's stash 24 25 26 15 Bird feeder fill 16 Brazilian soccer 27 28 29 30 31 32 legend 33 34 35 36 37 38 17 Sci-fi extra 18 Ivan the Terrible, 39 40 41 42 e.g. 43 44 45 46 19 Declare 20 Has a hunch 47 48 49 50 22 Juliet, to Romeo 24 Scenic view 51 52 53 54 55 26 Headed up 56 57 58 59 60 61 27 Trail the pack 30 Like some 62 63 64 65 heartbeats 66 67 68 31 African grazer 33 Not theirs 69 70 71 35 Pack of paper Copyright 2022 by The Puzzle Syndicate 36 Water lily 39 Speeder stopper 65 Decided 8 Naval officer 38 Distort, in a way 41 Skater's hangout 66 Frosted a cake 9 Pull strings? 40 Maze choices 43 Hot spot 67 Pipe thread type 10 Australian gem 42 Funny fellow 44 Bushy coif 68 TV host Couric 11 Prince's backing 45 Metal cap on a 46 Pie à la __ 69 Like grass at band stick 47 Big Apple paper, dawn 12 Section of garlic 49 Pretzels and briefly 70 Whole lot 13 Used a Singer such 48 Pacers and 71 ___ preview 21 Trapper's device 51 Overzealous

Pistons 23 Top scout 52 Chilling, say 50 "___ what?" DOWN 25 In working order 54 Physics particles 51 Former slugger 1 June honorees 27 Quite a few 55 Hawke of

Carew 2 Farmland unit 28 Distinctive air Hollywood 53 Type of fracture 3 Palindromic time 29 Airport workers 57 Circular current 56 Forefather 4 Fresh, as lettuce 32 Vera's husband 59 Score unit 58 Short snooze 5 Win the favor of on "Cheers" 60 Kyrgyzstan's 62 Magpie or 6 VA time zone 34 PlayStation continent macaw 7 "The Sound of maker 61 Sneaky look 63 Load to bear Music" setting 37 Edit menu option 64 Clinch, with "up"

(Puzzle solution is on P. 19)

COURTESY Rozanne Gann, Diana Warren and Jerry Hall from Azle Arts Association Popcorn Players. The Azle theatre will perform ‘Harvey’ in the month of May.

Popcorn Players draw fans from Parker, Tarrant, Wise counties

by Rick Mauch

Hoopla Correspondent

Who says popcorn doesn’t get better with age?

There’s nothing stale about the Azle Arts Association Popcorn Players, who have been going strong since 1998, providing quality community theatre entertainment to the area.

It was in August 23 years ago that the original Popcorn Players took the stage with a production of “Dogsbreath Deveraux, The Dastardly Doctor.” From that cast of 10 actors, a director, and a piano man, who took a leap of faith, five are still active today.

“We had no building and no money for the production. A local group let us use their field, and with borrowed lights, borrowed tent for dressing/ backstage, and borrowed risers for a stage we produced our first Popcorn Players production,” Monica Goth, spokesperson for the group, remembered. “The audience brought their own quilt or lawn chair, and a member set up a concession stand.

“The audience loved throwing popcorn and any other concession item. The villain had to make an announcement to throw popcorn only, lemon drops, and pickles were not to be thrown.”

The Popcorn Players put on six shows each year, including mysteries, some interactive productions, melodramas, and, of course, comedies.

“I believe our success is due to providing quality entertainment in an intimate environment and keeping the patrons’ wants at the top of our thoughts when planning each season,” Goth said. “We strive for a professional and entertaining production. Most of our first-time patrons return and soon become a part of our extended family.”

They’ve also performed a couple of shows that were written by members

POPCORN

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of the Popcorn Players. They also have each one fundraising production each year.

Among their most popular shows was the musical “Godspell” several years ago. It sold out nearly every production, Goth recalled. Melodramas are also always exceedingly popular.

“We allow the audience to boo and hiss the villain, cheer the hero, aah at the heroine, and throw popcorn,” Goth said.

Over the years, multiple productions have been major hits and bring out the crowds, such as “Steel Magnolias,” Goth said. Also, several actors are crowd favorites and many patrons come to see them perform.

“Greater Tuna” was another hit, with four gentlemen performing all the parts, Goth added.

If you do want to see a popular show, you’d better come see it during its current run. The group waits at least five years before repeating a production. Shows typically run for two weekends, Friday and Saturday evenings and a Sunday afternoon matinee. Also, they will, on occasion, have a special dinner type show on a Thursday evening the second weekend of a production.

Patrons come from all over to see productions from the Popcorn Players. That’s what happens when you have over two decades of consistently successful shows. While the bulk are from Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, Goth said folks come from all over the Fort Worth-Dallas area, and even from out of state.

And, of course, that not only benefits the theater, but the Azle community as a whole, Goth said.

“Many of our patrons meet prior to a show and eat lunch or dinner and then come to the show,” she said.

When Goth stops and reflects on the growth of the group since that original production in 1998, a melodrama, she finds herself somewhat in awe of how far they’ve come. “After the first melodrama, we were loaned a building a pharmacy owned by a local hospital but not in use at the time. We had to clean out the building and make a stage and seating area – again no funds,” Goth recalled. “Each member brought a few plastic lawn chairs, and the audience was given a discount if they brought a white plastic lawn chair as a donation to the theatre. We had seven wonderful years in that building.

“Fortunately, the building had a basement area that was right under part of the stage. One of our shows was ‘Matchmaker,’ and the audience was so surprised when the actors popped up from the floor in one of the early scenes.”

Next, they rented a small space for seven years. With it was limited dressing space, which led to a comical situation for one of the performers during a production of “Nunsense.”

“One of the actresses chose to dress in her nun’s costume at home. After one of the shows, she was pulled over by a policeman for speeding,” Goth said with a chuckle. “He apologized to the ‘sister,’ but asked that she slow down in the future.”

About seven years ago, the group purchased its current location at 1012 Southeast Parkway in Azle.

“Our core group of actors put in much manual labor getting to turn the building into a theatre,” Goth said.

The group continues to work hard to entertain the audience, despite any hardship or surprise. “At one performance one of the actresses was ill and needed to get off stage quickly. The actor on stage with her saw that she was ill and leaving,” Goth described. “He then proceeded to have a ‘discussion’ with himself and gave both of their lines until the next actor’s entrance. The audience was never aware.”

As the old adage says, “The show must go on.”

Shirley Mixon Crawford’s childhood memory encapsulated on Mineral Wells mural

byRose Jordan

Hoopla Correspondent

“Well, you left me and you went away, you said that you’d be back in just a day.”

Sound familiar? It’s a line from Ernest Tubb’s “Walking the Floor Over You,” a song that was very much a part of little Shirley Mixon’s life.

When she was only three years old, Shirley’s parents owned the Depot Café across the street from the train depot. When the train came in, she would stand on the corner and salute the soldiers as they deboarded the train. “That was just my fun thing to do. I didn’t have anything else to do. I just played with anybody that came up and down the street.”

Then, the train engineer and brakeman would come over to the café. “They would always swing me around and play with me every day. They became my good friends. They would come in and eat and when they got through, they would give me a penny, stand me up on the counter and ask me to sing. The two songs they always had me sing were “Walking the Floor Over You” and “You Are My Sunshine,” Shirley recalled with a chuckle.

Shirley Mixon, now Crawford, was born in Mineral Wells in 1939. Her childhood memories are filled with life on the block where the Depot Café was located, a bustling street full of activity. “My mother ran that café and my father had a touring service. Back then, everybody in town looked after me,” she said.

She recounts each business and family that occupied the remaining spaces on the block,

“Harvey’s Transfer and Storage, Goodbar’s, Hughes Grocery Store (owned by the family of the famous

COURTESY

astronaut, Millie Hughes). And on the other side of that was a feed store and a mattress factory, all on that one block. That was my playground.”

“I had a very good friend from the bank when I was very young. I believe he was the president. And when I’d go with daddy to the bank, daddy’d go in there to do business and I’d go in Mr. Wilke’s office and have a talk with him. They knew me by name.”

“It was a different world then,” she shared.

“All the businesspeople in Mineral Wells were my friends. And so were the engineers from the train. That was my life when I was a little girl.”

“I’m nobody special at all,” Shirley is quick to say, which might make you wonder why there’s a life-sized mural of her in downtown Mineral Wells.

Her older brother, B.C. Mixon Jr,,

Shirley Mixon Crawford next to a downtown mural depicting her as a child saluting soldiers at the train depot. The original photo of Crawford is shared below.