December 2019

Hoopla December 2019

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

Hoopla December 2019 Volume 3, Issue 1 © 2019 Hoopla. All rights reserved.

Hoopla is published monthly and available at more than 45 locations in Parker County, including the Weatherford Senior Center. For a complete list of distribution points, go to our website at www. hooplamagazine.com. We no longer offer home delivery.

You can contact us at Hoopla, P.O. Box 305, Weatherford, Texas 76086.

817-894-1822

seniors@hooplamagazine.com

Publisher Cynthia Henry

Contributors

Debbie Arwood • Kay Burleson Lara Cook • James Carroll Martin Rick Mauch • Neil Sperry

A ride back in time Remember riding the subway at Leonard’s Department Store in Fort Worth? Originally known as the Leonard’s M&O Subway, it consisted of one underground station beneath the store and four stations in the parking lots. Between 1962 and 1966, Leonard’s acquired a total of 15

COURTESY

Copy Editors Sandra Davis • Jean Henderson

PCC streetcars from DC Transit in Washington, D.C. These had been manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company in the 1930s and 1940s. At Christmastime, children anxiously waited to board Santa’s Rocket Express monorail (pictured below).

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COURTESY

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December 2019

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Adults 55+

3

nSUDOKU Sudoku Difficulty: Easy

7

4 1 7 2

9 3 6

9 4 6 2

1 8 5 6 7 1

COURTESY

Owens crowned

Barbara Owens (center) was recently crowned Ms. Senior Parker County. Owens’ first appearance was at the Veterans Day parade. Look for her at community events throughout the next year. Others pictured are, from left, Myra Hall, third runner up; Peggy Franklin, first runner up; last year’s winner Pat Fulfer; and second runner up Jimmie Ayres. Congratulations to all!

Edited

(Puzzle solution is on P. 16.)

9 1 8 4 2

3 8

Copyright 2019 by The Puzzle Syndicate

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must also contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Candlelight

Tour of Homes December 14 from 11 to 7

Tickets to visit all 10 historic properties are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and children.

Purchase tickets in advance at the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce, The Doss Center, or online at.parkercountyheritagesociety.com and pick them up on tour day at the Doss Center.

Proceeds benefit community preservation projects.

Solution to Sudoku:

8 9 7 3 1 6 4 5 2

2 4 3 9 8 5 6 7 1

1 5 6 7 4 2 9 8 3

9 8 5 1 2 7 3 4 6

7 6 4 8 9 3 1 2 5

3 1 2 5 6 4 7 9 8

6 7 1 4 5 8 2 3 9

4 2 8 6 3 9 5 1 7

5 3 9 2 7 1 8 6 4

Sponsored by First National Bank of Weatherford

HOW

Ea conta 1 to 9 mus numb each boxe the n

(Answ whe

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

It isn’t always like the movies, but Roberta Furman’s had

a wonderful life

by Richard Allen Hoopla Correspondent For some, escaping the “real world” can be as simple as closing our eyes and imagining one of our favorite movies.

For Roberta Furman, she opens her eyes – and her scrapbooks.

Then, she takes a trip back in time to when she and her parents were entertainment moguls in Weatherford and Parker County.

Scrapbooks are all Roberta has these days to remind her of the glory days of cinema in downtown Weatherford. Her father, C.H. Jones,

opened the Plaza Theater in 1941, where now sits a boarded-up space, waiting, hoping, for someone to purchase it and return it to glory like it once knew.

“At one time there were four movie theaters on the square,” Roberta said. “And my daddy ran three.”

C.H. owned the Plaza, which was his pride and joy. He took over management of the Texan and the Palace. A fourth, which he did not run, the Princess, closed in the mid1940s.

“Those were wonderful days growing up. I did just about

everything except run projectors, because dad was old school and said women didn’t belong in the projector booth,” Roberta said. “As soon as I could reach the popcorn kettle I started working at the theater, around age 8.

“The Plaza was his baby. That’s the one he came to town for.”

Roberta’s grandfather had a movie theater in Sanger, where C.H. helped as a kid himself. He would stand on an apple crate and operate the projector.

Then came the day C.H. decided to start his own theater. He came to Weatherford, though the city

already had two theaters on the north side of the downtown area (the Palace and the Princess).

“Daddy went to Mr. Cotton and asked if Weatherford handle another theater. Mr. Cotton asked, ‘Do you have the guts?’ And here we are,” Roberta said. “Daddy had to show third-run movies for a while, but he made it work because he knew how to get people to come to the theater.”

The family business expanded in 1948 when they opened Jones Drive-In on the highway toward Mineral Wells. Roberta, an only See WONDERFUL, P. 5

December 2019

WONDERFUL From Page 4

child, her mother Bertha, and later Roberta’s husband Jim Hollingsworth, and her daughter Carla, all worked in the theaters.

“The drive-in was hot. We had great movies, a great concession,” Roberta said. “After a couple years, the film companies saw daddy was here to stay.”

Roberta also did her share of work at the drive-in. Of course, she still couldn’t go into the projection booth – for another reason.

“At the drive-in you had to go through the gentlemen’s restroom to get to (the ladder to) the projection booth,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t want up there that badly.”

Unlike her friends, who would come to the movies on weekend nights, Roberta was there working.

She said she never regretted being unable to join them, always serving them with a smile because she truly did love her job – though she has never really called it work.

“Dad always had a midnight show on Saturday, and they’d fill it up. I’d be down there until 2 o’clock, sometimes later. I got pretty good at finding money on the floor,” she said. “People would gather on the square for the movies. It was wonderful to see people visit and have such a great time.

“I’d have to shush the kids who would come in. Other kids thought I had everything – and I guess I did.

Roberta Furman with her parents.

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Adults 55+

Sometimes I’d see movies three times, even more.”

The family also worked to make Christmas a joyous time of year, she said. Roberta said it was her father who first came up with the idea of speakers on the courthouse to broadcast music, and he always put a star on top of the Plaza.

“Christmas was a big time to him.

There were lights coming down the side of the courthouse, and he thought music would be a good idea,” she said.

Roberta and her family were very involved in the community. For example, the Pythian Home brought their children every Friday night for a free movie, she said.

“If we had a big movie, it didn’t matter. I had to find a place for those children. Dad insisted,” she said.

In addition, Easter egg hunts behind the drive-in were a popular event. And Roberta and her family popped many tubs of popcorn for area schools sell at their carnivals.

In fact, many stories were shared around the popcorn machine. Roberta recalled one in particular that still makes her laugh, though it was not funny at the time.

“One night I said to mom, ‘Your diamond is gone.’ I guess it was in the popcorn. She’d been working the popcorn machine,” Roberta said. “We never found it and no one turned it in. They either ate it or got a special prize from that popcorn.”

C.H. sold the theaters in 1975 and

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5

Roberta Furman reminisces while looking through scrapbooks. later passed away in 1997, but not before he got to see what he taught Roberta about business and being good to customers resurface within her when she opened Roberta’s Hallmark store in College Park Center. The store had a two-decade run before closing in 2002 following the passing of her husband.

“It was the hardest thing I had to do,” she said, battling back tears.

Just like her father’s business, Roberta made more than customers.

She made friends.

“We had a bridal fair in the store.

I see my brides today with their children, and it makes me feel so good,” she said. “It was a beautiful store. People say they really miss it.”

And, just like her dad, Roberta had special touches that made coming to her store a unique experience, one that brought warmth and a feeling of true appreciation.

COURTESY

“I learned from the best how to help the community and make folks feel good about their experience,” she said. “I thought about going into the movie business and carrying on his legacy, but I guess I did that with Roberta’s.”

Roberta would love to see an art house theater go in where the Plaza once stood. She believes that even though Weatherford has a multiscreen theater (Film Alley), and there’s another in nearby Hudson Oaks (City Lights), the city could support an art house theater. She’d also like to see a live theatre group.

“It hurts every time I go down on the square and see that building boarded up,” she said. “There’s no resemblance of the square I grew up with, but I have memories - and they are special. I believe it could be special again.”

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

A Heavenly Christmas Parker County, Texas December 24th, 1864

Immediately Sarah went to him.

“My husband is off to She opened her purse and with saddened eyes, war and since I can’t help she counted the few coins she had left. him, at the very least I can “Aye, Sarah O’Brien,” she whispered, “two dolhelp you.” lars and eleven pennies won’t be buying much He shifted his body a little for the wee ones on this Christmas.” and his head hung down in Tears cascaded down her cheeks and with a shame. downcast face, she carefully placed the coins “Ma’am, I don’t like to beg, but back in the purse. me an’ my daughter there ain’t had Patrick O’Brien, her husband of five years had nothing to eat but a cup of coffee and gone off to war with the 19th Parsons Brigade, some hardtack. That was yesterday morning leaving her alone with two small children. ma’am. We ain’t had a bite since. I’m begging They had been told the war was only going to not for me, but for my little girl. I just can’t last a few months, but now years were dragging stand to see her so hungry.” by and her money had dwindled away.

Sarah opened her purse, took out a silver dolThe sun was just peeping lar and gave it to the soldier. over the horizon when she With only sixty-one cents left bundled up her children and to her name, she entered the loaded them into the waggeneral store. on. Sarah slapped the reins “Hmmm,” she thought, “mayand headed into the frontier be I could get enough cloth and

by James town of Weatherford, Texas. ribbon to make the girls a couCarroll Martin Steam came from the ple of dolls for Christmas.” mules’ mouths as they Taking a small amount of strained in their harness to pull the wagon to the suitable cloth and ribbons to the counter, she top of the hill overlooking the town below. noticed the storekeeper was tabulating up an old There on the top of the hill sat an old man couples bill. without a coat. It was obvious to Sarah, the wrinThe old man opened his purse and emptied it kled old gentleman was freezing to death. out onto the counter.

Taking the quilt she had used to keep her legs Quickly the storekeeper counted out the warm, she placed it around the old man and led coins. him to her wagon. With the old gentleman load“You’re forty-nine cents short,” he bellowed, ed into the back of her wagon, she headed down “an’ I can’t give out any more credit.” the hill to Weatherford.

Placing the cloth and ribbons aside, Sarah The wagon lumbered down the street past a withdrew her purse and handed the storekeeper row of houses and the old man raised up while five dimes. pointing at a house.

“I have the money, give them their goods.”

“Stop,” he said, “for I have loved ones and shelThe old couple thanked her profusely and ter here.” went on their way.

After helping the old gentleman down and Sarah had twelve cents left to spend on Christinsisting he keep the quilt, Sarah gave him fifty mas. cents and went on her way.

“I’ll be for the wantin’ of ten pennies worth of Pulling her wagon up to the General Store, flour and two penny pieces of candy.” she noticed a Confederate soldier in tattered This then, was all the Christmas her children clothing. He was standing on crutches with one were to have. leg amputated at the knee. Beside him was his Back home at their old log cabin on Grinddaughter with a tin cup in her hand. stone Creek, with the children tucked into bed,

Campfire Stories

Sarah made herself a hot cup of sassafras tea.

Worried about her husband and what was to become of her and the children, tears began to form in her eyes.

Sarah was still sobbing when there came a loud knock on the cabin door.

“Why on earth would somebody be out on a night like this?”

She went to the door and slowly opened it. To her astonishment there was nobody there!

There were, however, baskets laden with toys, candy, blankets, clothing and foods. Flour, sugar, salt, molasses, hams and bacon abounded.

“How and where did all this come from?” she asked of herself.

The clouds parted and a shaft of light came beaming down.

A voice came from nowhere, “You gave me warmth when I was cold.

“You gave me means to buy food when my child was hungry.

“Then you gave me money when I and an old woman had a need. Take these gifts inside your home, child, for all of Heavens bounty shall be yours for all the days of your life.”

The voice became faint, but she clearly heard the last words before the light grew dim.

“Fear not my child, for on the morrow, your beloved Patrick will be delivered to you unharmed. Go now, child, for you have earned my eternal blessings.”

December 2019

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

Operation Christmas Child “You must have a lot of grandchildren,” said the cashier as she rang up dozens of toys, school supplies and clothing items.

“I do,” said Shirley Riebe, “but these are gifts for the shoeboxes I am packing for Operation Christmas Child.”

Tears filled the cashier’s eyes, as she recalled two times when, as a child in the Philippines, she had been the recipient of a Christmas shoebox.

Prayer and miracles are part of each box packed for Operation Christmas Child, and Shirley and Al Riebe have heard many heartwarming stories over the years.

In 1997, the Riebes, along with Florene and Glenn Westenhover, were the original Santa’s elves who began packing shoeboxes at North Side Baptist Church for Operation Christmas Child.

The OCC is an off-shoot of Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational organization run

by Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, which delivers the boxes to children around the world who have no

expectation of receiving a gift at Christmas or any other time.

The Riebes and the Westenhovers led the project for 11 years, but after Florene’s death, Glenn and the Riebes handed over the reins of a growing ministry to others.

Today, Sandra Moss coordinates the program that has grown enormously over the last 22 years. She has worked with Operation Christmas Child for about ten years. This year, the church collected 2,443 boxes from North Side and processed a grand total of 11,799 from the community as a whole. The boxes will be sent to Coppell, one of several distribution centers for Samaritan’s Purse.

Founded in 1993, Operation Christmas Child delivers shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, hygiene articles, sports equipment and a book about Jesus Christ in their own language to children who live in areas that have suffered war, famine, or natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods. By 2013, OCC had delivered 100 million Christmas boxes to children in over 100 countries.

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Sandra and the Riebes are three members of North Side Baptist Church who not only pack individual boxes each year, but help organize the local collection center out of the church facilities.

After the deadline to return boxes on Nov. 25, they are packed into large trailer trucks that will take the Weatherford area donations to a processing and collection center in the Metroplex from where the boxes will continue their journey.

Weatherford is one of thousands of collection centers working with

Operation Christmas Child.

Each year the number of shoeboxes grows. But North Side is not the only donor in this endeavor.

Other churches and organizations in the area send their shoeboxes to the collection center at North Side.

There are also collection centers all over the world.

Many lives are touched by a filled shoebox, especially those lives that originally pack the little cartons.

Shirley Riebe says, “Working for Operation Christmas Child has been the most memorable time of my life.”

This Christmas, unwrap the beautiful gift of peace For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6 Peace on earth. Peace seems to be a universal desire; something everyone can relate to no matter where they are. We talk a lot about peace this time of year,

Life in Grace

by Lara Cook North Side Baptist Church

but what about peace in us? With all the hustle and bustle, peace might be the first thing crowded out of the Christmas season.

Through the birth of Jesus, God gave us a beautiful gift - the gift of peace in the Prince of Peace. It is one of the key themes of Christmas as we sing about it in carols, light an advent candle for it, and a heavenly host proclaimed it in the Christmas story in Luke - Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! Luke 2:14

Christmas is the dramatic reminder that Christ came into this world to redeem us and to bring peace to our troubled souls.

Christmas Brings Us Peace with God Christmas is all about Jesus.

Jesus Christ came into this world to set us right with God. He came to save us and to bring us back to

See GRACE, P. 9

December 2019

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

GRACE From Page 8

God beginning with His birth and culminating with His death on the cross, which gave us the gift of eternal life. The Prince of Peace came to bring us peace through the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with God. The first step toward the peace of Christmas is receiving the forgiveness of God. Christmas Brings Us Peace with Others The whole history of redemption, including the birth of Christ and His death and resurrection, is God’s plan to bring about peace between God and us, and then between us and others. We should be willing to make sacrifices for peace the way God did. Because we have peace with God, we can do His work of peacemaking, and peacemaking cannot take place without forgiveness.

At Christmas the often elusive “peace on Earth” can become even more aloof due to situations such as difficult family members, the death of a loved one, financial problems, isolation, and loneliness. Christmas offers us the gift of peace within and the gift of peace with others, but we have to accept the gifts.

If you want to have a “peace-full” Christmas,

go in the spirit of love and fix those broken relationships in your life. If you are alienated or estranged or cut off or at odds with any other person, go in the spirit of Christmas and make peace. Don’t put it off any longer… drop your pride, drop your resentment, drop your grudges, and go set it right.

The biblical word for peace is Shalom which means completeness. Nothing broken, only wholeness, unity and reconciliation. Isn’t that exactly what the Christmas message is about? The world is broken into many fragments, as are our lives. God stoops down beside us, picks up the pieces and makes something beautiful and whole out of the broken. In the same sense, Christ has come down to this earth to help us get back together with God who made us… and who loves us. That’s what that word Emmanuel means - God with us!

God comes as the Christ Child to seek and save the lost. He makes us beautiful, whole, and complete in Him. He embraced the world through His Son bringing healing, reconciliation, and peace, all wrapped up in a bundle and lying in a manger. That little bundle is where we can find the peace this world so desperately needs, in The Prince of Peace. Go to

the manger this Christmas and unwrap the gift of peace.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33

9

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

Christmas in the Guild

by Kay Burleson Hoopla Correspondent Christmas is a wonderful and busy season!

Creativity comes to the forefront in decorating, gift wrapping, and making handcrafted gifts. Along with cookies and sugar scrubs, quilted items are popular handmade gifts.

Members of the Quilter’s Guild of Parker County are talented quilters who start long before Christmas making quilts, stockings, tree

Cindy Ross

COURTESY

skirt, and decorations.

Through the years of having children and grandchildren, Cindy Ross had a tradition of making a stocking for each one. Family members drew names and then had to fill the stocking of that person with goodies, always including a new toothbrush.

Jean McBride has been a Guild member for quite a few years. She enjoys making small things and shared some pictures of her decorations. She also mentioned that the patterns and sewing instructions are readily available on YouTube.

Another Guild member, Beth Collins, shared COURTESY a whimsical cowboy Jean McBride Santa quilt.

A beautiful bargello style table runner was made by Dixie Ehrhorn the first Christmas she

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Beth Collins

COURTESY

December 2019

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

11

GUILD From Page 10

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The Daughters of the American Revolution WEATHERFORD CHAPTER Ceremony at East Greenwood Cemetery 400 Front St. Weatherford, TX 76086 11:00 am Saturday 12/14/2019 For more information, contact Harriet Helm 817-247-9957

was married. It brought holiday cheer to her new home.

Paper piecing is a quilting technique that most quilters try at least once. Usually it is a case of “love it or hate it.” The tree pattern of Dixie’s wall hanging uses that technique because of having many pieces with sharp angles in the design.

After losing her mother in 2013, Dixie made her “Christmas tree,” decorated it with her mother’s pins and brooches and continued to use it for several years as her only tree.

I created Sir Frosty from a collage pattern. He cheers up the room.

Wishing you the most wonderful Christmas holiday season! Get quilting!

Dixie Ehrhorn

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COURTESY

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COURTESY

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019

A historic Christmas not so long ago Courthouse tree lighting is relatively new event that now draws thousands Years ago, County Judge Mark Riley started a Facebook page asking folks to recall fond memories of the Parker County Historic Courthouse.

There was tremendous response including some memories of the Christmas traditions of years past. Someone posted about the Christmas star atop the courthouse wondering whatever happened to it. Roberta Jones Furman posted about how much she missed the Christmas music that came from the courthouse.

Turns out, in the late 1980s to early 1990s the courthouse roof was replaced requiring the removal of the Christmas star and lighting.

The Facebook posts certainly must have sparked something in Judge Riley’s heart which he would later title “Lighting of the Courthouse

DEBBIE ARWOOD

MACK DOBBS

Christmas Tree Event.” In the spring of that year Lifetime resident, Mrs. Venita Winston, best Judge Riley asked Donna Tillman if she would describes the event that evening in her recollecagree to head up a committee to see the project tion: “When we got to the downtown area that through. Candles, which would light all the win- night it was packed with people and cars. It was dows in the county courthouse, would be pura very festive atmosphere; the air was crisp but chased in honor or memory of local citizens. All not cold. Every window of the courthouse had donations were to cover the cost of the tree and candles lit in them. The names of each giving lights. Judge Riley never could have anticipated family were read. The program was broadcast the response of the Weatherford community through speakers for all to hear. Businesses suras funds poured in. The 321 rounding the square were decocandles not only covered exrated. The choir made the night Remember penses for the tree but, also, so special and Christmassy. the new star atop the court“Around the west side of the When house! courthouse was the Nativity

by Debbie On the night of the LightScene. I felt transported back Arwood ing of the Courthouse to my youth as I remembered Christmas Tree Event, Judge coming to town and gathering Riley announced that Christmas music would around the square and courthouse. again be heard from the courthouse – Satur“It was that social contact that made me feel days and every evening from 5 to 10 p.m. He so connected to my little town and I felt it again! also stressed the separation of this event from This whole event really conveyed the Christmas Christmas on the Square during his introducspirit that night as so many people were there tion that night, “this is not the same as Christshoulder to shoulder around the Christmas mas on the Square.” tree.”

The project was a success. Folks were packed Venita, now member emeritus to the Parker around the square and lined up and down North County Historic Commission, had been asked to and South Main streets as Weatherford citizens help flip the switch lighting the Christmas tree sought to connect hometown past to future and stars atop the courthouse the night of the generations. event – November 30, 2013.

December 2019

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Adults 55+

n Neighbors We’ll Miss nCrossword Crossword Puzzle n Johnny Kirkland Nov. 12, 2019 n Max Cameron Ratheal Nov. 12, 2019 n Sylvia Marybeth Brown Nov. 12, 2019 n Mary E. Vaughn Nov. 12, 201 n Orland Jack Murphy Nov. 11, 2019 n Sondra Anne Nelms Nov. 10, 2019 n Eleanor McKee Nov. 9, 2019 n Kimberly Ann Knight Nov. 9, 2019 n Charles D. Sturdivant Nov. 7, 2019 n Marcus Dean Turner Nov. 7, 2019 n Carolyn Sue Born Nov. 6, 2019 n Billy Ralph Francis Nov. 4, 2019 n Lanetta Gwen Johnson Nov. 1, 2019 n Norma Ruth Gibson Nov. 1, 2019 n Virginia Lynn Thomas Nov. 2, 2019 n Daniel Mize Nov. 2, 2019 n Janet M. Liles Oct. 31, 2019 n Joyce Jones Moore Oct. 31, 2019 n Marie Hauff Oct. 31, 2019 n Warren Thomas Gillum Oct. 31, 2019 n Judy McVeigh Cordell Oct. 29, 2019 n Gregory James Hager Oct. 29, 2019 n Dorothy Mae Marshall Oct. 29, 2019 n Joyce Vermillion Oct. 28, 2019 n Thomas Guy “T.G.” Willie Oct. 25, 2019 n Jerry Moon Mullins Oct. 25, 2019 n Dorothy Louise Whisenant Oct. 25, 2019 n Marie Lucille Leath Oct. 22, 2019 n Kevin Marshall Cravens Oct. 20, 2019

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(Puzzle solution is on P. 16.)

1 2 3 4 5 ACROSS 1 Tapering 14 hairstyles 17 6 Donations for the poor 20 10 Track assignment 24 14 Bungling 26 27 28 15 Cut the crop 16 One more time 31 17 Heart chambers 37 38 18 Reid of "American Pie" 41 42 19 "___ la France!"

45 20 Antique photo 22 Scam artist 48 49 50 24 Icy coating 25 Eavesdroppers, 53 say 58 26 In _____ (not 62 present) 30 Moral misstep 65 31 Tuckered out 32 Sun. sermonizer 33 Minor quake 37 Polish off 62 Shakespeare, 38 Bitty bouquet the Bard of ___ 40 She played Jan 63 Math course, on a 60's sitcom briefly 41 Bone-boring tool 64 Cake topping 43 Decompose 65 Canvas cover 44 Film spool 66 Pantyhose flaw 45 Classifieds 67 Golf attendant 46 Deodorant or shampoo, e.g.

DOWN 48 Three1 Italy-based car dimensional company 52 "General 2 "Nay" sayer Hospital", e.g.

3 "Jurassic Park" 53 Flat grassland actress 54 Hemmed-in 4 "The Terrible" territory for Ivan, e.g.

58 Folk stories 5 Decide not to 59 Church center quit 61 Ready for a nap 6 Vital vessels

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Copyright 2019 by The Puzzle Syndicate

7 Grazing spot 8 Alligator's haunt 9 Skylab was the first U.S. one 10 Penny played her on TV 11 Japanese cartoons 12 Now or _____ 13 Decorative pitchers 21 St. Jude and St. Joseph, et. al.

23 Like Sasquatch 26 Assist, in a way 27 Kodiak, for one 28 Fill to excess 29 Turn away 34 Place for a hurdle

35 36 38 39 42 44 47 48 49 50 51 55 56 57 60

____ the edge Count (on) Lowest point Zero on the scoreboard Role for a "Grey's Anatomy" extra Model plane, e.g.

Milk-related Comic strip sound Put to the test Hank of baseball Find out Dry-as-dust Peddle Nervously irritable By way of

December 2019

by artist Diane Brown

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g oup

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Open Mic Night 7 p.m., R&K on Santa Fe

Mobile Food Pantry 10 a.m., South Main Church of Christ, 201 S. Main Street

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Chandor Garden Open House, 2 to 4 p.m.

Christmas at the Castle 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Candlelight Tour of Homes 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Christmas on the Square - Weatherford 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Parade at 10 a.m.

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SAT

n Bible Study Ages 55+, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m., First Baptist Church Chapel, 222 W. Church Street

n Wednesday Paint Group, Wednesdays, noon to 3 p.m., Hobby Lobby.

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New Year’s Eve

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Downtown Night Out 4 to 8 p.m.

Weatherford

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Holiday in the Park 6 to 10 p.m.

Heritage Park

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FRI

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

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Santa’s Senior & Socks Charity Breakfast 9 a.m. to 10:30 Providence Title, 102 Houston Ave. Bring new socks/slippers for area seniors.

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THU

Book Club 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Weatherford Public Library

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20th Century Club Noon potluck 321 S. Main

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Needlework Group 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Weatherford Public Library

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Evergreen Potluck, 10:30 am, North Side Baptist D.A.R. Christmas Social 2 p.m., North Side Baptist

Parker County Retired School Personnel, 11:30 a.m., Doss Heritage & Culture Center

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TUE

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Weatherford Art Association Christmas Party 6 p.m., Boo-Rays (Hudson Oaks)

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MON

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Annual Holiday Memorial Service Galbreaith Pickard Funeral Chapel, 3 p.m.

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First Monday Trade Days 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SUN

2019 DECEMBER

1 8 16

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

Not too soon for end-of-year financial moves We’ve still got a couple of months until 2019 draws to a close, but it’s not too early to make some endof-the-year financial moves. In fact, it may be a good idea to take some of these steps sooner rather than later.

Here are a few suggestions:

take these RMDs, you must take them by the end of each year thereafter. If you don’t withdraw at least the minimum amount (calculated based on your age, account balance and other factors) you face a penalty of 50% of what you should have taken out – a potential loss of thousands of dollars. So, take your RMDs before Dec. 31. The financial services provider that administers your IRA or 401(k) can help you determine the amount you must withdraw.

Boost your 401(k) contributions. Like many people, you might not usually contribute the maximum amount to your 401(k), which, in 2019 is $19,000, Think about next year’s opby Mary H. McDow or $25,000 if you’re 50 or older. portunities.

It happens to almost Edward Jones Adviser Ask your employer if you can inall of us: A year has passed, and we crease your 401(k) contributions haven’t taken the actions we had in 2019, and if you receive a bonus before the year planned. So, start thinking now about what you want ends, you may be able to use that toward your 401(k), to do in 2020 from a financial standpoint. Can you too. afford to ratchet up your investments in your retireAdd to your IRA. You have until April 15, 2020, ment plans? If you have children or grandchildren, to contribute to your IRA for the 2019 tax year, but have you started saving for college? Have you considthe more you can put in now and over the next few ered ways to protect your financial independence if months, the less you’ll have to come up with in a huryou ever need some type of long-term care, such as an ry at the filing deadline. For 2019, you can put up to extended nursing home stay? If these or other items $6,000 in your IRA, or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older. are on your financial to-do list, start planning now to get them done next year.

Review your portfolio. It’s always a good idea to review your investment portfolio at least once a year, Time goes quickly – so don’t get left behind without and now is as good a time as any. But don’t make any having taken the steps to keep moving toward your judgments based solely on your results over the past financial goals.

10 months. Instead, look carefully at how your portfolio is constructed. Is it still properly diversified, or has it become overweighted in some areas? Does it still fit your risk tolerance, or do you find yourself worrying excessively about short-term price swings? These are the types of factors that might lead you to make some changes, possibly with the help of a financial professional.

Money Matters

Don’t forget about your RMDs. Once you turn 70½, you generally need to start taking withdrawals – the technical term is “required minimum distributions,” or RMDs – from your traditional IRA and your 401(k) or similar plan. After the first year in which you

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Adviser, Mary H. McDow, 102 Houston Ave., Suite 203, 817-598-0882. Member SPIC

F I A T

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December 2019 5 9 6 to Crossword: Solution Crossword: Solution to 7 4 2 3 1 8 D E R N

E S A L M S L A P T R E A P A N I A T A R A V I T Y P E S C H E M O by A The R Puzzle H ESyndicate A R E CopyrightH2019 A B S E N T I A S I N B E A T R E V T R E M E A T N O S E G A Y E T R E P A N R O T R E A D S T O I L E T S O A P S P A T I A L P R A I R I E E N C L A N A V E T I R L O R E T R I G I C I A V O N S N A G C A D T E N T

N E V E R

E W E R S

O V E R

R E L Y

V E N D

E D G Y

Solution to to Sudoku: Solution Sudoku:

8 9 7 3 1 6 4 5 2

2 4 3 9 8 5 6 7 1

1 5 6 7 4 2 9 8 3

9 8 5 1 2 7 3 4 6

7 6 4 8 9 3 1 2 5

3 1 2 5 6 4 7 9 8

6 7 1 4 5 8 2 3 9

4 2 8 6 3 9 5 1 7

5 3 9 2 7 1 8 6 4

Who found the frog?

The winner of last month’s hidden frog contest is Sandra Patton, who found the frog on page 12 .

To enter this month’s contest, submit your name, address, phone number, and a brief description of where you saw the hidden frog (not the frog on this page) to Hoopla, P.O. Box 305, Weatherford, Texas 76086 or e-mail seniors@ hooplamagazine.com.

Contestants will be entered into a drawing for one of three $25 gift certificates.

Read next month’s issue to see if you’ve won.

Winners must contact Hoopla within 90 days to claim their prize.

December 2019

Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Adults 55+

Fit to be tried

My son bought me one of those watches that tracks your daily number of steps, monitors your heartbeat, and I think it can you tell you the correct time, but I haven’t gotten that far in the directions. I’d like to “walk you through” what has happened since I received the gift. That’s probably not the appropriate expression, but I’m trying to trick my watch into thinking I’m actually exercising.

In order for it to record steps, your arms have to swing back and forth. I spent half an hour in Kroger the other day pushing my cart, but it showed I had not taken a single step because my hands were grasping the cart’s handle.

At one point I was so frustrated, I just started flapping my arms like a bird. The manager must have as-

Carry On

by Dick Wolfsie Humorist sumed I didn’t speak English because he led me over to where they roast the chickens.

Since I received this present, several stories about the devices have been published, which have given me pause — which I can’t enjoy for very long because any prolonged period of inactivity sets off a little alarm. It’s a good thing I am a restless sleeper.

A story in Prevention magazine said that the idea of 10,000 steps per day, the conventional goal often cited as a guideline, has no

17

scientific basis. Apparently, someone just made this number up. It’s probably the same guy who made up eight glasses of water a day, and eight hours of sleep. I have always questioned the three-meals-a-day concept, so I’ve gone to five, which at least involves moving my right arm a lot more.

By the way, my dentist told me during my last visit that the conventional wisdom suggesting you see your dentist twice a year also has no basis in research. He thinks (no surprise here) that you should visit your dental office three times a year. However, he recommended I see him four times a year because I have deep pockets. I’m not sure if he was talking about my gums or if it was because I told him I made a few good investments last year.

One final odd occurrence worth noting. When I looked at my watch this morning, I had walked 1,267 steps while I was asleep. The cookie jar was empty and someone had

mown the lawn in the middle of the night. Two Ambien before bed might be one more than I need.

Personally, I think I get plenty of walking in each day. Here are a few examples from just this past week: 1. I walked to the mailbox to get the pound of lox I ordered from a NY deli.

2. I walked downstairs to our second freezer to sneak a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, which I had hidden from my wife.

3. I walked from the living room where I was taking a nap to the bedroom to get a good night’s sleep.

4. I walked from the pro shop to my golf cart.

5. I walked into the garage several times to get on my riding lawn mower.

I plan to walk to my office every day. It’s not my fault I work out of my house, but it’s at least taking steps in the right direction.

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

Giving my best winter tips

December 2019

n Plant of the Month: Christmas Cactus You’ve been seeing these in bloom for the past several weeks. They’re great tropical plants that are often handed down for generations. But how do they grow? More importantly, how do we grow them successfully?

The quick facts…

• Members of the Cactus family.

I’m hoping the second half of too. Buy from reliable sources • Native to Winter 2019-2020 turns out to be such as independent retail garden tropical junlittle gentler than the first half becenters or Texas-based mailorder gles of South gan. With that in mind I’ve chonurseries.

America. sen some topics that should be of • Grow interest here in and around Parker Prune: suspended in County.

• Peach and plum trees to retrees where move strongly vertical growth. their seeds Plant: Your goal is to encourage bowland stem • Living Christmas trees, but I shaped branching. There will be sections get NEIL SPERRY may take you to a place you didn’t a sizeable amount of vertical new caught in Christmas Cactus expect. Most of growth to remove debris in the the types you’ll each year. crotches of see sold (Alberta • Grapes to retree limbs. spruce, Coloramove as much • They’re very efficient at capturing moisture from incident rainfall and do blue spruce, as 80 to 85 perfrom the organic matter around their roots. even Eldarica cent of the cane

by Neil Sperry • Nutrients come from the decaying organic matter of the fallen leaves. pines, etc.) end growth. In doing Gardening Expert • Like mums and poinsettias, they are “photoperiodic.” They measure up not being well so your vines will the length of their dark periods, and when nights become long enough suited to our produce fewer they will start producing their flower buds. area. Consider a conical holly, pref- clusters of grapes, but they’ll be of • What some may call “leaves” are actually stem segments. New plants erably an Oakland or Willowleaf far greater quality. can be started by pieces of the stems containing two or three segments of holly that’s been specially trained.

• Shrubs to remove erratic the stems.

Or, for a smaller space, one of the shoots, but save major reshaping • Give Christmas cacti bright, indirect light. Use a loose, highly organic improved Japanese boxwoods. until the second half of the winter. planting soil. Keep water off the stems, especially if the sun is heating • Pansies and violas, pinks, snapthem up. dragons, sweet alyssum, “hardy” Fertilize: • Protect from temperatures below 45F and certainly anything cyclamen and ornamental cab• Cool-season annual color with approaching freezing. bage and kale for container color a water-soluble, liquid product at your entry or patio. each time that you water them.

Less Money + More Service = Knight Propane • Tulips and Dutch hyacinths • Houseplants, by comparison, that you’ve had chilling in the rewill need only two or three feed• Very Competitive Pricing & NO FEES BEST VALUE frigerator for at least 45 days. Plant ings over the entire winter. for Fast, Friendly, • FREE Gas Safety & Leak Checks PROPANE DELIVERY during the final two weeks of De• Local Family Owners cember. Remember that massed On the Lookout: Leslie & Sherry Knight plantings show up better in the • Giant bark aphids will be preslandscape than long, single-file ent on branches of pecans and rows. other trees. You’ll see drips of their • Fruit and pecan trees thrive in sticky honeydew on surfaces beParker County. Buy recommended low. It’s hard to justify treating, varieties for your best chance of however. success. Your county office of the • Watch houseplants for signs of REFILL PRICES Texas AgriLife Extension will have insects such as mealybugs, scales, 20 lb. (BBQ) - $15 30 lb. (RV) - $21 a list on its website, and Texasaphids and whiteflies. Treat imme2915 Ranger Hwy. • Weatherford based gardening references will, diately if they appear.

Timely Tips

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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+

December 2019