Piney Woods Live October 2013

Live

TREE OF LIFEMUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL

ONCE UPON A CIRCUSLEAVE IT AT THE ALTER

DAY OF THE DEADDARE TO BE SCARED

AND MORE!

october 2013priceless -– take one

october 2013 - page 2 PineyWoodsLive.com

email:[email protected] | facebook.com/visitjeffersontexas

Visit our many restaurants, antique stores

Other Events

Lake O’Pines Biker Rally - October 4-5City Wide Rummage Sale - October 5

Cypress River Airport Fly-In - October 5Fright Train - October 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, 31

Mustang Car Show - October 19

Boo Benefit

October 11, 12, 13

Medieval Wine FairOctober 4-5

Taste of JeffersonOctober 20

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OOOOnnnnccceee UUppppon a CircusOnce Upon a Circusby Jan Statman

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by Dawn Renée-Rice

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by Jan Statman

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TTTThhhheee GGGGeGeennnneral MercaaannttiileleelThe General Mercantileby Tony McCullough

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This month’s issue centers around the Day of the Dead. The cover shot was taken at the Kilgore Cemetery by Shawn Douglas Shawn Douglas Lindsey,Lindsey, with hair and make-up done by aspiring make-up artist Raina Baughman, Raina Baughman, 10th Grader at East Texas Charter School.

Painting courtsey of How Great Thou Art Studio by Art World. Model: Andrea Johnson

AAAArrtiiisssttt’s’ss WWW Wooorlldddby Jan Statman

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by Claudia Lowery

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by Ben Valencia

DDDaaaarrree TTTo o BBe ScaredDare To Be Scaredby Tony McCullough

AAAA BBoBoooookokk RRReviewA Book Reviewby Jan Statman

FFFFaaaallll FFFeeesttitiivalsFall Festivals

EEEEaaaasstt TTTeexxxaas Music AwwawaarrddddsssEast Texas Music Awards

TTTThhhhooommmmaass FFalls ZiplineeThomas Falls Ziplineby Tony McCullough

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by Robbie Goodrich


ONCE UPON A CIRCUS

DARE TO BE SCAREDAND MORE!

october 2013priceless -– take one

Join us as we take a trip to Nacogdoches to The Cole Art Center, where Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Fine Arts and School of Art present Dia de los Muertos: The Art of the Living and the Dead as part of the 2013-2014 University Series Live Out Loud. We’ll learn about their upcoming exhibition and what “Dia de los Muertos” is all about.


Publishers / EditorsTracy Magness & Gary Krell

PublicistsAndrea Johnson & Ben Valencia

Advertising DirectorSuzanne Warren

Contributing WritersBen Valencia, Jan Statman, Tony McCullough,

Randy Brown, Dawn-Renée Rice, Claudia Lowery, Andrea Johnson, Robbie Goodrich

Graphic ArtistsJeremiah Shepherd, Joni Guess, Tracy Krell,

Ben Valencia, Andrea JohnsonSales

Ben Valencia, Andrea Johnson,Carolee Chandler, Kathy Hollan, Cookie Bias, Suzanne Warren,

Lori Martin, Shea Vogel, Tracy Stopani

How to reach us:

STAFF

903-758-6900 or 800-333-3082 [email protected]

Fax 903-758-8181100 W. Hawkins Pkwy., Suite C.

Longview, Texas 75605

Sign up for our newsletter by going to our website: PineyWoodsLive.com

© 2013 by Piney Woods Live. All rights reserved. This publication, its associated website and their content is copyright of Piney Woods Live. Any reproduction of part or all of the contents

in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

www.facebook.com/PineyWoodsLive

“A treasure chest fi lled with all of the arts in East Texas.”

- Ruth Drayer, Tyler

“I pick up Piney Woods Live to keep informed of local talent and ways to enjoy the arts in our area!

-Lisa King, Marshall

Come on, oh baby, don’t you want to goOh come on, oh baby, don’t you want to goBack to that same old placeSweet home Chicago

I have had many memorable music experiences as a spectator. Seeing Jerry Lee Lewis hammering on an up-right piano when I was about sixteen or so, watching the great B. B. King a couple of decades ago, and so on.

But in September, along with a couple hundred others, I had a chance to witness something truly remarkable, forming an impression that will stay with me for a long, long time. It happened at the ETX Music Awards ceremony in Bullard. At the end of the scheduled music performances, after the fi nal set by the Wes Jeans Band with Tyler Lenius, and after a good part of the crowd had departed, a jam session developed that was jaw dropping. We had already heard an eclectic series of performances by some very talented musicians that ranged from bluegrass to hip-hop. To cap it all off, Jeans and Lenius were joined on stage by guitarists Donnie Pendelton and Jason Helms. Consider how rare it is to see these four guys on stage at one time: they all have busy music careers, and even though they are all from East Texas, because of scheduling, I would venture to say that it is probably diffi cult for them to even see each other play, let alone play together. But when they launched into an extended Blues Brothers version of “Sweet home Chicago,” it was as if they had been playing together for years. It was a testimony to the depth of talent that springs from the Piney Woods that I feel privileged to have witnessed it. You can see pictures of this event on the Photobooth page in this issue, or go to pineywoodslive.com /photos for even more shots. October is the big month for fall festivals in the Piney Woods, and this year brings a bumper crop for our enjoyment. Dawn-Renée Rice brings us a report on the fi rst ever Tree of Life Music and Art Festival, while we present a complete list of area festivals on our Events page.Also in this issue, Tony McCullough reports on our desire to be “scared out of our wits” and the entertaiment industry that has grown up to support this need. Beyond Halloween and Hollywood, the traditional “scary” celebration has not escaped our notice, as Robbie Goodrich covers the upcoming Day of the Dead art exhibit at SFA’s Cole Art Center. We are proud to have Robbie as a contributor to our magazine. You can read her bio below. Robbie Goodrich is a journalist whose writing career in East Texas has spanned more than 30 years. She worked for The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches, Texas, for 30 years as a reporter and editor before leaving the newspaper industry in 2012 to assume her current position as director of arts in-formation for the College of Fine Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University. As managing editor of The Sentinel, she led the reporting team during coverage of the tragic Columbia space shuttle explosion and as hurricanes Rita and Ike swept through East Texas, and she assisted colleagues in earning nu-merous Associated Press writing, photography and page de-sign awards over the years. Today, she markets and promotes the many events that occur within the SFA Schools of Music, Theater and Art. She is an active volunteer in her community, serving on the boards of the Nacogdoches Treatment Center, Nacogdoches Crime Stoppers and Keep Nacogdoches Beauti-ful. Looking a little further ahead, Jan Statman previews the November performance by New York City Ballet members in Once Upon a Circus. One last tip: Don’t miss Jan Statman’s Artist’s World column this month. It is an imaginary delight. To keep up with all that is going on in the Piney Woods, consult our comprehensive events calendar at pineywoodslive.com/events. As always, we want to hear your thoughts, concerns, complaints and suggestions about the magazine and art topics in general. You can comment on individual stories at pineywoodslive.com or at Facebook.com/pineywoodslive. Email us at [email protected], or just give us a call at 903-758-6900.

NOTEPublisher’s

Gary KrellGary KrellCo-Publisher

WHAT OURREADERS ARE SAYING



Celebrate Día de los Muertos

in skull prints, bling and bright

colors. Add a bit of jewelry and an accesory or

two, and let the celebration begin!

1.

(1) Multi-Colored Black Skull Shirt by Gypsy Soul, $56, Calamity Jane’s War Bag. Multi-Colored

Chevron Pants by Cream 2, $32, Calamity Jane’s War Bag. Blue Necklace, $50; Blue Earrings, $29 – both from That Girl’s Boutique. Multi-Colored Bracelet, $18, Just Add Jeans. Makeup Bag, $16; Purse, $65

– both from Ellie Bee’s. (2) Black Leather Vest, $88; Black Skull Shirt, $28.60; Black Leggings, $15 – all

from Crystal Spur Boutique. Scarf, $20; Boots, $75; Bracelet with Cross Charms, $20 – all from That Girl’s

Boutique; Flower Bows, $5; Studded Blue & Silver Bracelet, $14 – both from Just Add Jeans.

Fashion inspired by Culture

by Ben Valencia& Andrea Johnson

2.I


3.

4.

5.

6.

(3) Black Dress, $44; Rosary, $7; Red Jeweled Necklace, $19 – all from Just Add Jeans. Vintage Sears Blazer (A good thrifty fi nd @ Goodwill), $8. (4) Floral Crossover Bag, $85, Ellie Bee’s. (5) Bohemian Cowgirl Navy Skull Shirt, $47.30; Sassy Bling White Skirt – both from Crystal Spur Boutique. Necklace, $80, Ellie Bee’s. (6) Heart Hips Coral Skull Shirt, $18, Calamity Jane’s War Bag; Karma Sugar Skull Scarf, $27.98; Karma Sugar Skull Cap, $24.98; Karma Sugar Skull Purse, $43.98; Karma Sugar Skull Umbrella, $23.98 – all from J&Co.

I


Heritage Syrup Festival25th Annual

November 9, 2013 • 9am–5pmHenderson, Texas

The only Folk Life Festival in East Texas!“Sweetest Festival in Texas”

All Day Hay Ride Shuttles between the Depot & Downtown

Downtown EntertainmentHeritage Square

Visit us on the web!

www.visithendersontx.com

• Old Time Syrup Making• Folk Artists• Antique Tractors• Folk & Bluegrass Music• Re-enactments• Children’s Activities• Dulcimer Music

Depot Museum514 N. High

• Arts & Crafts• Retail Vendors• Antique & Classic Cars• Children’s Section• Melodrama (Henderson Civic Theatre)• Musical Entertainment• CASI Chili Cook-off• Cloggers & Dancers

Downtown100 E. Main St. 10 Blocks

9:30am & 1:10pm: Lori Tyson10:25am & 2:05pm: Shana Strange with Lifebridge Worship

11:20am & 3:55pm: Brooze Brothers

12:15pm & 3:00pm: Shake Rattle & Roll

2013schedule

in Historic Downtown Winnsboro, Texas a Texas designated Cultural Arts District

Patrons’ Dinner and JAZZ CANVAS entertainmentTickets - $50.00 per person

Fine Art Marketplace with over 40 professional artists and exhibitorsFREE to the Public

Saturday 10 am – 5 pmSunday 11am – 4 pm

Saturday, November 2, 2013Author’s Showcase, 10 am – 5 pm

Art Exhibition, 10 – 5 pmFREE TO THE PUBLIC

Winnsboro Center for the Arts200 Market St. Winnsboro, TX, corner of Market Street and Texas Highway 11

Wine and Cheese ExtravaganzaSilent Art Auction

JAZZ CANVAS Raffle

Art MarketFREE TO THE PUBLIC

eventsPatrons’ DinnerMeet the ArtistsDinner with Entertainment by Seattle based, nationally recognized JAZZ CANVAS – LIVEfine art painting set to jazz musicWinnsboro Civic Center, City Park on Wheeler DriveOPEN TO THE PUBLIC

$50.00 per person for dinner and entertainmentCALL for Ticket Reservations: 888-559-4333

Juried Fine Art MarketplaceJuror: Renee Hawkins, Director of the Longview Museum of Art.

FREE to the PublicSaturday 10 – 5 pm

Sunday 11 – 4 pm

Wine and Cheese Extravaganza featuring Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards and Crump ValleyVineyards serving east Texas fine wines.

Cover Charge - $5.00Wine purchases benefit the Winnsboro Fine Art Market and the Winnsboro Four

CornersFoundation

Silent Art AuctionJAZZ CANVAS Raffle

Winnsboro Center for the Arts, 200 Market St., Winnsboro

FOR PATRONS’ DINNER TICKETS, CALL

EMAIL:

CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB: Come Home to the Crossroads of East Texas where Hwy. 37 and Hwy. 11 meet between Interstate 30 and Interstate 20.

Enjoy our fine restaurants, antique shops, vintage boutiques, and bakeries.


DOWNTOWN TYLERTickets are $20 in advance

$25 at the gate

Tickets are available at:www.FestivalOnTheSquare.com

Gallery Main Street: 110 W. Erwin

Proceeds of Festival on the Square benefit Tyler Main Street, a City of Tyler Department dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Tyler, Texas.

by Jan Statman

Longview artist Jeannie Davis has enjoyed many well-deserved successes this year. September ongview artist Jeannie Davis has enjoyed many well-deserved successes this year. September was particularly eventful for her. Her pastel drawing was particularly eventful for her. Her pastel drawing Jars & EggsJars & Eggs was exhibited in New York City was exhibited in New York City during the during the Enduring BrillianceEnduring Brilliance exhibit hosted by the Pastel Society of America. This was the soci- exhibit hosted by the Pastel Society of America. This was the soci-ety’s forty-fi rst exhibit and was seen during the month of September at the National Arts Club in ety’s forty-fi rst exhibit and was seen during the month of September at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park in New York City. Gramercy Park in New York City. Summer Refl ections,Summer Refl ections, a collection of twenty-fi ve of the artist’s works, is exhibited by the Bossier a collection of twenty-fi ve of the artist’s works, is exhibited by the Bossier Arts Council in Bossier City September 28 through October 30. In describing the exhibit, Davis Arts Council in Bossier City September 28 through October 30. In describing the exhibit, Davis said, “said, “Summer Refl ectionsSummer Refl ections is a collection of glass canning jars, fruits, vegetables, fl owers and found is a collection of glass canning jars, fruits, vegetables, fl owers and found objects that bring back secure thoughts of having plenty, including food, safe environments and objects that bring back secure thoughts of having plenty, including food, safe environments and the love of family and friends.” The works in the exhibit not only refl ect the way light shines on the love of family and friends.” The works in the exhibit not only refl ect the way light shines on glass objects, it also refl ects the comfort these things bring to her. “I had the luxury of growing glass objects, it also refl ects the comfort these things bring to her. “I had the luxury of growing up in the South where there was always an abundance of home grown produce in the summer.” up in the South where there was always an abundance of home grown produce in the summer.” she continued. “The items not only show a realistic interpretation but a symbolic one as well. she continued. “The items not only show a realistic interpretation but a symbolic one as well.

Although I grew up in a middle class, Norman Rockwell type family, I have learned that my Although I grew up in a middle class, Norman Rockwell type family, I have learned that my greatest wealth is actually in the many blessings and abundance of love that was shared through greatest wealth is actually in the many blessings and abundance of love that was shared through the art of friends’ gardens and gifts.”the art of friends’ gardens and gifts.” Her work won the Merchant Award for Her work won the Merchant Award for Jars & CarrotsJars & Carrots at the at the Richardson Civic Art Society Richardson Civic Art Society Forty-Seventh Regional Juried Art ExhibitForty-Seventh Regional Juried Art Exhibit at the Eisemann Center in Dallas in May of 2103. at the Eisemann Center in Dallas in May of 2103. Jars & EggsJars & Eggs was not only accepted but also received the second place award for drawing in the was not only accepted but also received the second place award for drawing in the Texas & Neighbors Twenty-Eighth Regional Art ExhibitionTexas & Neighbors Twenty-Eighth Regional Art Exhibition, which included works by Texas , which included works by Texas artists and artists in the states surrounding Texas. It was seen at the Irving Arts Center in Irving, artists and artists in the states surrounding Texas. It was seen at the Irving Arts Center in Irving, April 21-May 27, 2013.April 21-May 27, 2013. Davis was awarded the Verilux/F&W Publications Pastel Journal Award in the Davis was awarded the Verilux/F&W Publications Pastel Journal Award in the For Pastels For Pastels Only 2012Only 2012 exhibit at the South Yarmouth Museum of Art in Cape Cod. She has also won sec- exhibit at the South Yarmouth Museum of Art in Cape Cod. She has also won sec-ond place in Pastels or Graphics for her pastel, ond place in Pastels or Graphics for her pastel, Summer TomatoesSummer Tomatoes, at the , at the Richardson Civic Richardson Civic Art Art Society’s 46th Regional Juried Art Exhibit Society’s 46th Regional Juried Art Exhibit at the Eisemann Center in Dallas. at the Eisemann Center in Dallas. Three Jars of Three Jars of Jelly

DAVIS by

ARTIST’S INTERVIEW WITH

JDJJPineyWoodsLive.com october 2013 - page 11

was awarded a merit award, and Three Peaches was awarded a Still Life/Floral award in The Pastel Society of the Southwest 2011 Annual National Juried Show exhibited at the Eisemann Center in Dallas. Jeannie Davis lives in a world of light. The light that comes through her kitchen window re-fl ects on her collection of everyday glass objects. The light that falls on Mason jars, cups, saucers and bottles at different hours of the day inspires her paintings. She says, “I get inspiration from all over the place. Sometimes I don’t even know what I am going to do with all the inspiration that comes to me.” It is through the source of light that her imagination fl ows. She has always been inter-ested in the way light refl ects on and refracts off glass ob-jects. She explained that even when she was in high school, she collected interesting glass bottles with different colors and shapes. She kept them on shelves in her room, and she always took the time to draw them. “I think we are born knowing we are art-ists,” she said. “But sometimes we don’t accept the idea for one reason or another. Maybe it is because we don’t think we are good enough. Maybe it is because other things come into our world.” Of course, those high school collections are gone now, but as an adult, she said she has started collecting glass bottles again. She sur-rounds her artistic vision with the way light comes through glass and bounces into a vision that is beautiful. Davis grew up in Shreveport. While she was in high school, she participated in a com-mercial fi ne arts program called “Caddo Career Center.” Students were given time from their regular school hours to take part in the pro-gram. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La., where she graduated cum laude with a fi ne arts degree in art education with certifi cation to teach kinder-garten through twelfth grade in Louisiana. She later completed certifi cation from the University of North Texas at Commerce in order to be able to teach in Texas. She completed two separate certifi cations for art educators and completed an AP certifi cation class at the University of Texas at Austin in order to teach AP studio art classes. The artist shares her talents with her stu-dents at Hallsville High School where she is the Fine Arts Department chair and Art Club spon-sor. “Since I started teaching at the high school, the visual arts program has doubled in students,” she said. “I also introduced the AP courses and have seen my students’ scores increase with each year of experience. I introduced a 3-D Sculpture

class and a Pre-AP drawing class. My students continue to be my inspiration for teaching. Their creativeness and enthusiasm for learning keeps me interested and engaged in teaching.” At the beginning of every school year, she begins her classes by saying, “Art is not merely copying a photograph or recreating something one has seen, but it is the ability to translate what is seen in an artistic, creative impression.” This holds true in her own work as well. “Simple objects caught in the afternoon light bring great joy to me,” she said, and added that they capture memories of light and summer. She said, “My goal has been to recreate these snapshot memo-

ries through ‘comfort objects,’ much like comfort food, or things that make me feel secure and hap-py.” The soft-spoken artist chooses to paint in a manner of magic realism because she feels a great joy in being able to recreate the beauty of all the gifts life has given to her. She said, “It has become a type of ‘comfort food’ for my soul. Watching the afternoon light change as it shines through my kitchen window and illuminates ran-dom objects is exciting to me. I enjoy playing with color and have found soft pastels to be a medium that allows me to experiment with layers of color. Making little marks of bright hues jump as they hit the complimentary background that I often create with an acrylic or oil wash on paper can become challenging but also satisfying.” She has had the opportunity to work in multiple media and processes, and considers her favorite to be pastels. She also enjoys working with clay, drawing and painting. “My recent work depicts a focus on how light hits certain ob-jects and landscapes, creating a strong emphasis on contrast and intensity in color and value,” she explained. When she is not able to use pastels, she enjoys drawing with a pen and painting with watercolors. She also enjoys offering students as many chances as possible to explore their own strengths and weaknesses, and she attempts to have them focus on their own personal marks and style. Her teaching career has given her the op-portunity to become versatile in her career as a creative artist. She said, “When my art starts to become routine or too easy or safe, it is time to take it to a new edge. Being well-versed in the use of media and style helps me help my students fi nd their niche. Drawing and creating is an obsession

“I think we are born knowing we are artists,” she said. “But sometimes we don’t accept the idea for

one reason or another. Maybe it is because we don’t think we are good enough. Maybe it is because

other things come into our world.”

with me. Teaching and learning from my students is a gift. The dessert is realizing the many ingre-dients I have available to me through family and friends.” In describing her painting In a Pig’s Eye, the artist said, “My dad collected pigs because we had a pig roast once a year in our backyard. The fi rst one he had was to celebrate the completion of our house. People who attended thought the idea was so much fun they all started giving him pigs for gifts.”

As Time Goes By is an image of milk bottles from when I was growing up in Shreveport,” she said. “We drove to Hamill’s Dairy to buy our milk and would trade in our milk bottles. Color and light always captivates my attention.” When she talked about her work titled Seize the Day, she said, “When I bought these eggs at the Historic Farmer’s Market in downtown Longview, I knew I had to draw them.”

Art is not merely copying a photograph or

recreating something one has seen, but it

is the ability to translate what is seen in an

artistic, creative impression.”


The East Texas community is invited to come together on October 5, 2013, at Teague Park in Longview from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. to celebrate music and art at the Tree of Life Music and Arts Festival. This is the fi rst year for this free event, which is open to the public. Attendees will enjoy a variety of Christian and Gospel musical performances, live art

experiences, a treasure hunt and a fun community-wide art project.There will be three large art canvases on-site so festival goers can help create one

vast community-wide masterpiece which, when fi nished, will be auctioned off with proceeds benefi tting the Tree of Life Outreach Ministries.

According to festival director Cheyenne Bussey, “One of God’s purposes for this festival is to create a picture of what the church is really supposed to look like,” said Bussey. “It’s about breaking down the walls of religious institutions so that His chil-dren can come together as one church.”

“It is a place for our community to come together without judgment and be loved right where we are at in life. Outreach organizations will be available for anyone in need of the loving guidance God has to offer all of us,” she said. “But it is also an outreach for churchgoers to stand together united in their love for Him.”

The Festival and its activities are free of charge and any proceeds raised that are not used to take care of this year’s expenses for the event will go towards the Tree of Life Outreach Ministries.

The event takes place October 5 from noon to 6 p.m. and features musical perfor-mances by Humble Heart Band (blues/rock), Blazz (rap), Lee Flowers (bluegrass), Tom Brewington (violin), Hiway 80 Band (rock), Bowing Branches (classical-alternative), Deborah Gilbert (Broadway-pop), A.B. Da Disciple (rap), Jack Hopkins (country-vintage), Bryan Price (old-time gospel), St. Michael’s Band (folk-rock), Ekko (rap), and Melanie Watson (contemporary pop).

Festival goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and creativity for the community-wide art project. Short testimonies will be given throughout the day during set changes, and community outreach resource tables will also be available at the event.

For more information about the Tree of Life Music and Art Festival, call 903-738-0349.

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Music & Arts Festival

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth

the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,

Abba, Father.”

12:00 Humble Heart Band Blues/Rock

12:30 Bowing Branches Classical/Alternative

1:00 Flowers & Akin Gospel Ministry Bluegrass/Rockabilly

1:30 Julia Howard, Ernest William Old-Time Gospel

2:00 Blazz, A.B. Da Disciple, Ekko Rap

3:00 Deborah Gilbert Broadway/Pop

3:30 Bryan Price Old-Time Gospel

4:00 Jack Hopkins Country/Vintage

4:30 St. Michael’s Band Folk/Rock

5:00 Hiway 80 Band Rock -Galatians 4:6

by Dawn-Renée Rice


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2516 US HWY 271 N | Pittsburg, Tx 75686


Sometimes we just need a little TLC and comfort food to get us through the day, and for new res-taurants, that’s the prescription that nudges them along to robust health in an otherwise challenging business. Restaurant turnover rates are enough to deter potential own-ers to the point that sometimes a good idea or opportunity just drifts right out of sight. Despite that fact, Juli Jameson has decided to breathe some life into an overwhelming-ly large space on the courthouse square in Marshall, knowing that there are well-established and suc-cessful eateries nearby. Formerly a Mexican food res-taurant, the building sat unoccu-pied for a length of time just waiting for someone to take on the daunt-ing challenge of preparing it for a new business. Ms. Jameson began by creating a fun, retro look with bright colors, fl owers, and original artwork fi lling the enormous walls. This is where new businesses often struggle, trying not to sink ev-ery dime of start-up costs into reno-vation. When I visited, I observed a few areas that are still a work in progress as Juli pointed out with care and attention all her plans for the future. Her ingenuity proves she’s on a path toward success with an inviting outside arrangement of funky, orange vintage furniture interlaced with trailing vines and greenery that capture your imagi-nation. The menu is casual and af-fordable with sandwiches, salads, stuffed spuds, and the “thing” that makes them oh, so sweet – cup-cakes. To Juli’s surprise, cupcake sales have taken off. Every week the restaurant sells 20-25 dozen, and so far they have become the go-to favorite for offi ce parties and other events. Each day they create a variety of assorted fl avors, but for special orders they will prepare just about anything you want. When I visited, I had a maple caramel cup-

cake for dessert that melted in my mouth. Looking over the menu, I opted for The Big Green with hummus, ol-ive spread, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and cucumber in a wrap, enjoying it to the last bite. The olive spread is made in-house. I also sampled the cranberry chicken salad and a tasty surprise that I normally would nev-er order – chili. I “like” chili, but it would not be something I’d usually order. Well, here’s a real news scoop for our readers. As I tasted Sweet Sa-bine’s chili, I thought, “Wow! This has GREAT fl avor!” I expressed my pleasure to Juli, and she smiled, sharing that her chili was a winner in the local division during the re-cent chili cook-off. Her face beamed with pride as I congratulated her. Then she shared a secret and gave me permission to share the secret with

you. Her chili is vegan… meatless. “Seriously? What did the judges say about that?” I exclaimed. Her smile broadened. “Yes, it is all plant based and as for the judges, there were no rules requiring a list of ingredients. I won based on taste and never said a word,” Juli divulged. I couldn’t tell that it was meatless, but then, I’m no chili expert. As I scraped out the last morsel, my brain was already think-ing ahead to a cool autumn day and a tasty bowl of Sweet Sabine’s chili… and I’m no vegan. I love meat. There are actually two menus: a regular menu and one that offers veg-etarian or vegan items with healthy options. Both menus offer choices for every taste like The Courthouse Croissant with turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese and avocado spread; The Big Tex with ham, turkey, roast beef, and bacon; the American Cheese on

White; and a Hot Link Sandwich with links cooked in beer. There are also standards like the PB&J or grilled cheese sandwiches. Salads in-clude chicken salad, The Big Salad, a hummus plate and more. The giant spuds can be loaded up with all your favorites. One item unique to Sweet Sabine’s is Bellini peach tea, a fresh concoction served from a large urn with fresh peaches fl oating inside. The fl avor is “amazingly addictive.” When a business strives to reach out to a community with food that is affordable and tasty, it is worth a try. The part I love about writing this column is that it causes me to get out of my little comfort zone and try new places. It doesn’t always work, but at Sweet Sabine’s, you’ll fi nd that for a new business, it’s doing alright and constantly evolving. They are keeping two lunchtime delivery staff members busy daily. Delivery is free for any amount you order – a sand-wich and tea or two dozen cupcakes – it’s what they do. So, I want to encourage everyone to take your appetite to new places and help local restaurants that are trying to get established. Be support-ive and encouraging by returning oc-casionally to sample new menu items and give the local economy a boost. In other words… be sweet… and en-joy a cupcake along the way. Sweet Sabine’s is located at 111 E. Houston on the Marshall court-house square. Phone: 903-702-7933. Find them on Facebook under Sweet Sabine’s. Hours: M-F 11:00-2:00. Catering and delivery are available.

The opinions expressed here were based on the writer’s personal experi-ence. Please be sure to visit and form your own opinion.

C | U | I | S | I | N | EA Taste from Near or Far

with Claudia Lowery

Sweet Sabine’s ~ How Sweet It Is!


PRESENTS

Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Join us as we showcase samples of our local restaurants’

favorite meals.

Music by The Darby Warrren Project

2nd Annual Waiters Race at 2:30 p.m.

Downtown Jefferson$12Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

D ff

JeffersonTaste of


DAYofthe

DEADMust-haves to make your own altar

byBenValencia

Just before Dia de Los Muertos, families will clean and remove furniture from a certain area of their home to provide space for an altar. This altar, which will be used for remembering those who have passed, will consist of a covered table, a few crates to create shelving and, more than likely, a picture of the Virgin Mary and/or religious crosses. The altar is then set up with appropriate ofren-das, or offerings, for this celebration. The ofrendas include several objects like soap and a basin that will provide the means for the traveling spirit to clean up after their journey home. Pictures of those remembered are placed on the altar, as well as personal belongings of the deceased. Other items that the deceased may have enjoyed while living will also be placed on the altar. Certain foods are also placed there to nourish the traveling soul. Some of the offerings at these altars can represent the four elements of nature: fi re, wind, water and earth.

Velas(Candles)are used as a means

to provide a guid-ing light, “guid-

ing” the souls back home. This candle and others can be

found on etsy.com.

Papel PicadoLiterally “perfo-rated paper,” is used for holiday decoration, in-cluding secular and religious. You can fi nd this pa-per at most paper crafting outlets.

Coated with sweet icing and decorat-ed with elaborate designs, the sugar represents the sweetness of lives as the skull itself represents death and its sadness.

SugarSkull


Photos/Frames

Decor

Photos of the deceased are

placed on the altar to honor them.

Some use ornate frames such as this

one. Frames can be found at most

retail outlets.

A skull lantern such as this one can be

used for extra deco-ration for the altar. When it comes to

making an altar, use creativity – the sky is

the limit. This par-ticular lantern can be

found on etsy.com.

placed on the to honor th

Some use orframes such as

one. Framesbe found at m

retail out

Favorite foods of the deceased be-ing honored are also placed on the altar.

FoodMarigolds are also

placed on the altar, because they rep-

resent death. Al-though beautiful,

they smell horrible.

Flowers


By Jan Statman

The Circus is coming to Longview with its sights and sounds, including the music, the dancing, the clowns and... ballet. Ballet? Yes indeed! Longview Ballet Theatre and seven principal dancers from New York City Ballet will present Once Upon a Circus Nov. 9 and 10.

The Belcher Center’s stage will come alive with all the joy and ex-citement of the circus as interpreted for the ballet by Pat George Mitchell, artistic director of the Longview Bal-let Theatre. There will be only three performances: a matinee at 2:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. on November 9 and a 2:30 p.m. matinee on November 10. Mitchell promises the gala performance “will have you smiling from the beginning to the end.”

The Longview Ballet Theatre moved the date of their annual gala to November so that Stars of the Ameri-can Ballet could come to Longview. Stars of the American Ballet, orga-nized by Daniel Ulbricht, is a dance ensemble devoted to presenting high caliber dance performances, as well as education and outreach programs.

Stars of the American Ballet con-sists of principal dancers from ma-jor New York ballet companies and has had a busy traveling schedule of performances across the globe, including St. Petersburg, Fla; Buf-falo, N.Y.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Ulaan Baator, Mongolia; and the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Dallas.

“Rarely do cities the size of Longview have the opportunity to see this many world-class ballet dancers perform locally,” Mitchell said.

The seven principal dancers include Daniel Ulbricht, Lauren Lovette, Teresa Reichlen, Amar Ra-masar, Megan Fairchild, Tiler Peck, and Robert Fairchild.

Longview audiences will remem-ber the once-in-a-lifetime experience as they watch Daniel Ulbricht soar to impossible heights in his spectacular performance as the Prince in the bal-let’s performances of The Nutcrack-er, and in the title role as Peter Pan.

Ulbricht joined the New York City Ballet in 2000, where he was pro-moted to soloist in 2005 and princi-pal dancer in 2007. He has danced principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon,

Longview Ballet Theatre Presents

Once Upon a Circus

and others. He performed at the Ken-nedy Center to celebrate the Balanchine Centenary, and he has danced at many national and international festivals and galas, including a performance for the Royal Family in London and a gala at the White House.

He is the artistic advisor of Manhat-tan Youth Ballet and serves as an artis-tic consultant to a number of national schools. He’s a guest teacher at SAB and Ballet Academy East in New York City and at recognized schools and universi-ties throughout the United States.

Lauren Lovette became an appren-tice with New York City Ballet in 2009 and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2010. She has been featured in such ballets as Jerome Rob-bins’ Interplay, 2 & 3 Part Inventions, West Side Story, Balanchine’s Apollo, Rubies, The Nutcracker, and Christo-pher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, and Mer-curial Manoeuvres. She was promoted to soloist with the New York City Ballet in 2013.

Teresa Reichlen became an appren-tice with the New York City Ballet in 2000, and in 2001 she joined the com-pany as a member of the corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of solo-ist in 2005, was promoted to principal dancer in 2009 and has been featured in a number of ballets since that time.

Amar Ramasar was invited to become an apprentice with the New York City Ballet and joined the company as a mem-ber of the corps de ballet in 2001. He was promoted to soloist in 2006 and was promoted to principle dancer in 2009.

Megan Fairchild was promoted to the rank of soloist in 2004 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2005. Since joining New York City Ballet, she has performed in a variety of works.

Tiler Peck was promoted to soloist in December 2006 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2009. She has per-formed in many Balanchine ballets and has been critically acclaimed in works choreographed by Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon and Susan Stroman. Ms. Peck is a 2004 recipient of the Princess Grace Founda-tion - USA Dance Fellowship, the 2004 Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise, and was the Janice Levin Hon-oree for 2006-2007.

Ms. Peck also received the Princess Grace Statue Award, given to distin-guished previous Princess Grace Award winners, in 2013.

Robert Fairchild is Megan Fairchild’s brother. He was promoted to soloist with the New York City Ballet in 2007 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2009. Mr. Fairchild has danced nu-merous roles in the company’s vast rep-ertoire.

He has also performed and originat-ed roles in works created by Alexei Rat-mansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Peter Martins, and Jerome Robbins. He and his sister are both recipients of the Mae L. Wien Award at the School of Ameri-can Ballet. They are the only sister and brother to share this distinction

The Longview Ballet Theatre con-tinues to involve local people in its pro-grams. In addition to the Stars of the

Ballet ensemble of New York City Ballet principal dancers, Once Upon a Circus will include the talents of Kathryn Har-ris, a senior member of the Longview Ballet Company and Lara Warren, who was with the trainee program at the Boston Ballet. The Longview Ballet Theatre’s young ballet students will ap-pear as “The Children of The Circus,” and also as “The Ponies of the Circus.”

“What is a circus without a magi-cian?” Pat George Mitchell asked. “Blake Erskine will appear as Merlin the Magician. Chad Neuman will per-form as The Sailor and as The Juggler. Rebecca Rowe will be the Circus Ac-robat. And then we will bring on the clowns! Gene Jordan, Dr. Randy Wil-liams and John Rowe will be onstage as the circus clowns,” she said.

The East Texas Symphonic Band un-der the direction of Dr. James Snowden will be the Special Guest Orchestra playing Barnum and Bailey’s favorite marches. They will also play a medley from the musical Carousel, as well as popular music from the 1940s.

Pat Carmack will be the pianist. Cindy Perkins will not only be the vo-calist, she will also take the reins as Ringmaster for this particular circus.

Pat George Mitchell said, “This will be a quick moving, lively time fi lled with wonderful music and brilliant dancing.”

For further information, call the Longview Ballet Theatre at 903-758-3822. To purchase tickets, go to www.belchercenter.com or call 903-233-3080.


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hile some view the subject of death with sorrow and melancholy, today’s traditional Day of the Dead

observances are brighter, with empha-sis on honoring those who have passed on in the belief that death is not the end, but rather a new beginning. It is a celebration of life.

Day of the Dead traditions will come to life Nov. 1 in The Cole Art Center at The Old Opera House in his-toric downtown Nacogdoches when the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art present Día de los Muertos: The Art of the Living and the Dead as part of the 2013-2014 University Series, Live Out Loud.

The exhibition, featuring 13 altars created by North and East Texas area artists and “non-artists,” will explore traditional Day of the Dead observanc-es through different cultural, ethnic and religious/non-religious perspec-tives, according to John Handley, SFA galleries director.

“This exhibition explores tradi-tional and reinterpreted household altars,” Handley said. “One aspect of this exhibition that I believe will bring a new dimension to this folk art tra-dition is that the artists are of various ethnicities and religious/spiritual back-grounds.

“For many years, the Oakland Museum of California has hosted a similar exhibition each Nov. 1, and it has grown to become its biggest event, attracting thousands of visitors to the museum annually,” Handley said.

“I was very moved by many of the installations when I saw them,” he said. “I have been networking to seek

out a variety of artists whom I felt would bring depth and variety – and even a little humor, which is an important aspect to the celebration – to the exhibition.”

Unlike Halloween, the Day of the Dead observance is considered a joyful celebra-tion of life, honoring the souls of the de-ceased. Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is a Mexican term derived from the Roman Catholic All Saints’ and All Souls’ days, traditionally observed Nov. 1 and 2. An array of activities, from deco-rating graves to creating home altars to carnival-like performances, are highlights of the celebration that can last for days.

Perhaps the best-known imagery that comes to mind with the Day of the Dead is the animated skeletons made famous by Mexican artist and cartoonist José Posada (1852-1913), who is remembered today as the greatest printmaker in Mexico’s history.

“The Day of the Dead altars in Cole Art Center will be created in a variety of media, made by both trained and un-trained artists,” Handley said. The fi rst al-tar patrons will encounter when entering Ledbetter Gallery in the art center will be a traditional altar presented by the Robles family of Lufkin.

For Lupita, Javier and Yamilex Robles, creating a Día de los Muertos altar is an annual occurrence that brings their His-panic culture to their East Texas home. It’s a tradition that has passed from gen-eration to generation in their family, ac-cording to Yamilex, 16. In the weeks lead-ing up to Nov. 1, Yamilex and her family begin gathering photos of their deceased loved ones, food items that they used to enjoy when they were alive, and fl owers and candles to begin preparing the altar in their home.

“The reason behind the Day of the Dead is to celebrate that they have gone Artwork by Wally Knight

ome view

Day of the Dead Exhibit to feature 13 altars created by North and East Texas artists

hile the death and today’sDay o

by Robbie Goodrich

Artwork by Wally Knight

Artwork by Wally Knight


on to a better place, and during this period, they come and visit, which is why we put the food items there – so they can enjoy them like they did when they were alive,” Yamilex said. “It’s a moment to celebrate – not their passing away but that we’ve moved on but still remember. We’re cel-ebrating their life.”

“Patrons will see a variety of altars, some more conceptual and some that might not seem like an altar at all but are the artist’s interpretation,” Handley said. “Some of the altars will have interactive components, in-cluding sound and light, and some will be several feet in dimension. There will also be a community altar where visitors will be encouraged to pin a small (non-returnable) copy of a photograph of a deceased relative or friend, and also write a short memento about them.”

Upstairs in the Reavley Gallery will be the art of John August Swanson, a Mexican/Swedish artist, along with Day of the Dead masks made by area high school students. A documentary highlighting the various art-ists and their work in Día de los Muertos: The Art of the Living and the Dead will also be featured. It is produced by SFA cinema-tography student Kat Garcia.

“In keeping with the idea of traditional Day of the Dead altars, artists are encour-

aged to make their works ‘as personal as possible,’” Handley said.

“Innovation is welcome,” he said. “Art-ists are also welcome to visit, by appoint-ment, their altar and make changes regu-larly.”

“It’s a great subject,” Nacogdoches art-ist Wally Knight said of the altar he is creat-ing. “It’s the elephant in the room people try to ignore, steeped in folklore, supersti-tion and religion.”

A self-described “outsider artist,” Knight works with “found objects” to cre-ate unique works of art. For this exhibition, Knight plans to create an enclosed walk-in structure with antique wood to make an al-tar that’s “creepy cool” with a “House-of-Spirits theme,” he said.

Lufkin artist Denise Stringer Davis’ love of Mexican art grew from the similar inter-est of Charles D. Jones, her mentor and art professor at SFA, in the art of that region. Jones is professor emeritus in the School of Art and currently is master printer for the LaNana Creek Press in the SFA College of Fine Arts.

“My interest in the intersections of tradi-tion, culture, religion and art meshed per-fectly with this,” Davis said of the subject of her altar. “Over time, my interests might shift slightly, but I always seem to come

back to these ideas. These topics fi t well with a body of work I did exploring identity based on where I come from.

“As a young person, we often rush to get away from where we come from as quickly as we can,” she said. Forcing herself to step back and take a thought-ful look at what shaped her life, based on her connection to place, culture, tradition and ancestry, was the focus of a series created by Davis. “This exhibition brings all of this together,” she said.

Her altar will feature cast plaster cup-ping hands that will create one level in a half circle around three chairs that will create another level of horizontal surface.

A third level will be created by two chairs facing one another, balanced on the seats of the lower three. Objects will be placed on the seats of the chairs uti-lizing them like shelves. A large lace el-ement will hang behind that, creating a semi-transparent screen.

“Behind the screen will be prints that I have created that represent different peo-ple from my life who have died,” Davis said.

Phillip Shore, associate professor of sculpture at University of Dallas, said he was “intrigued” by the idea of creating an altar.

“I had been reading authors who ad-dress the relationship, or the diminish-ing nature of that relationship, humans have with the physical world,” Shore said. “My work looks at this topic, and I felt it would be interesting to create a work that explored this from the form of a sacred object, the altar, and to do it at a scale that relates to the human form.”

Shore’s altar will incorporate items “found/taken/raised from the land that exhibits our relationship.” Some of these items consist of a large slab of sycamore wood that becomes the surface of the al-tar and spiraled carvings that are reminis-cent of elements found in nature, he said.

Adriana Martinez-Gonzales is creating an installation “devoted to one familiar relationship that marked by childhood: my grandmother,” she said.

“Traditionally, personal objects belonging to the dead are used in the altar,” she said. “In this case, I will use objects that recall my memories of everyday spaces and moments at my grandmother’s house. Some objects deal with meaning, some with formal qualities and others with symbolism from a typical altar.”

Other works in the exhibition are by Alo-ma Marquis, Maki Hajikano and Gary Park-er, SFA art faculty, and Irma Martinez Sizer, Stanley Bohon, Byron Lacy, Tina Medina and Merci Nicklas.

As people have learned about the exhibi-tion and an accompanying fundraiser on Nov. 9, Handley said that interest in viewing the work and participating has grown.

“People are generally excited,” Handley said. “I think they appreciate the fact that the exhibition will have a certain ethnicity to it, includes some local artists and touches on religious and spiritual ideas. As a holiday, the Day of the Dead is growing in popularity across the United States and Europe.”

Día de los Muertos: The Art of the Liv-ing and the Dead opens Friday, Nov. 1, and runs through Jan. 4. This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humani-ties Texas, the state affi liate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A mariachi band, traditional Hispanic food and colorful storytelling will accentuate the Day of the Dead altars on display when the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts hosts a Day of the Dead Fiesta and Art Auction at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at The Cole Art Center at The Old Opera House in downtown Nacog-doches.

The fundraiser will benefi t both The Cole Art Center and School of Art student scholar-ships.

The art auction will feature papier maché Day of the Dead sculptures and skulls, two-dimensional art such as paintings or woodcut or linocut prints in Day of the Dead themes, Day of the Dead masks and jewelry.

Gabriela Miranda-Recinos and José N. Recinos, both assistant professors of modern languages at SFA, will lecture on Day of the Dead traditions during the event.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main Street. For additional information, call 936-468-1131.

“ It’s the elephant in the room people try to ignore, steeped in folklore, superstition

and religion.”

Artwork by Posada, José Guadalupe, Calaveras del Monton, 1910


by Tony McCullough

R emember back to your childhood when you were lying in bed in the dark before falling to sleep, and your young body trembled as your scared eyes searched the shadows of the room in

fear of the monster who had emerged from un-der your bed, come out from behind the closet door, or had discreetly crept in through your locked window? You were so sure they were there because you probably had been told ghost stories by your older brother, sister or favorite uncle. You may have gone out of your way to catch just a glimpse of a scary movie on TV before your parents caught you and changed the channel. Still, you had absorbed every ghoul ridden detail and then got into bed, cau-tiously sneaking an occasional peek over the covers prepared to witness your own demise. Eventually you fell asleep, and after surviving a bad dream or two, you awoke safely to the sunrise of the morning, tucked safely in your bed. Would you watch another scary movie or listen to another ghost story after experiencing the trauma of the previous night? Many of you would and even more intently next time. This typically is how most of us had our fi rst introduction to fear. We experienced sleep-less nights, nightmares, and fear of the dark, yet we came back for more. As Halloween approaches, my question is, “Even as adults, why do many of us like to be scared out of our wits? What is the appeal of being scared?” I once heard a lady say, “I would rather have an appendectomy with no anesthesia than watch a horror movie.” At the time, I thought the average American adult probably shared the same opinion, although probably not to that extreme, but after reading through page after page of research, I’ve found that national sta-tistics show otherwise. Let’s look at the fi lm industry, often the trendsetter for pop culture. When you look back to the origins of the industry and its time-less classics, there, nestled in between Gone

with the Wind and Casablanca, you will fi nd titles like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Curse of the Werewolf. In 2011, Paramount pictures released the low budget horror movie Paranormal Activity 3. Although the picture’s budget was less than $10 million, a very low budget in comparison to most other box offi ce releases, this movie broke records with $54 million in sales its fi rst weekend on the big screen. Due to the success of this fi lm, there will be a steady stream of horror movies released over the next few years. Since the fi lms mostly have an R rating, the audi-ence is not just made up of teenagers, and the screams that are heard from the audience are not from children. The screams belong to adults that have paid for their tickets just to have this experience. More proof that people are lining up to be scared are the popular ghost walks that are pop-ping up in historic cities across the nation. From Savannah on the East Coast to New Orleans all the way to Los Angeles, each Friday and Satur-day evening you will fi nd a group of paranor-

mally intrigued tourists lining up behind a tour guide to show them through the area’s haunted locations and cemeteries. There are several ghostly tours here in East Texas. Perhaps the longest running ghost tour is the Historic Jefferson Ghost Walk, started and operated by Jefferson native Jodi Breckenridge. “We do tours every Friday and Saturday evening year round.” The groups get larger in October, but there are sizeable groups each weekend year round. Even those that “aren’t believers of that sort of thing” still buy their $13 tickets and tag along. Jodi says, “Whether you believe in ghosts or not, everyone loves a good ghost story.” George Jones, owner and operator of Jericho’s Ghost Tours in Tyler, shares the same successful story. Another popular venue dishing out ample servings of Halloween horror are haunted attrac-tions such as “spook houses” and even large scale Halloween parks. Some of these attractions are corporate owned. At one of these horror exhibits in Dallas, the patrons pay on the average of $30 each to have the daylights scared out of them.

byybybyy TTTTTTTTTTTonoooooo y McMcMcMMM Culloug

The newest attraction in DFW will be the Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus, featuring big top Halloween entertainment, live bands, and an intricate haunted house. Reportedly, investors have dedicated millions of dollars to promote this event in hopes that attendance will be in the thousands nightly. That’s a lot of people paying good money for the thrills of fear. One of our local haunted houses is the long-running Doc Wilkes House of Horrors in Longview, owned and operated by Eugene and Laura Wilkes. Although Doc Wilkes has built a reputation for being top of his league in scares per dollar value at $13 per ticket, Laura Wil-kes reports that, during the weeks before Hal-loween, it is not uncommon for 400-500 scare seekers to go through their facility nightly, some waiting in line an hour or more. When people line up to pay for tickets to be scared, fear can become a good business. When asked why, Lau-ra replied, “It’s for the adrenaline rush.” My question still was, “Why do we like to be scared out of our wits? What is the appeal of being scared?” After sorting through replies from several individuals, I turned to a few psy-chology and medical internet sites to try to fi nd my answer. My research concluded that Laura Wilkes had answered the question correctly - it’s the adrenaline rush. According to the Psychol-ogy Today website, when an individual faces fear, they experience a rush of adrenaline, which includes an increased heart rate and breathing, muscle tension, anxiety, and intensifi ed focus. Why would anyone want to experience those things? For the same reason people ride roller coasters, bungee jump off towers, or sky dive. It’s the after effects that create a total ex-perience. When your body faces the fear of falling, shares the horror of the leading lady onscreen trying to escape the psychopathic killer, or faces the monster from under your childhood bed face-to-face in a haunted house, your body produces adrenaline, and you face that rush. Once you are out of possible risk and back to your comfort zone or safe ground, your brain overrides your anxiety-ridden body and stops

The Entertaining Experience of Fear


producing adrenaline. As the adrenaline is expended from your veins, your nervous system and muscles relax suddenly, feel-ing almost as if a stimulant had been ad-ministered and completing an emotional and physical circle. The end result is a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, and victory over personal challenges. Simply put, we enjoy the feeling of over-coming danger and feel wonderful that we are safe once again. Many publica-tions say this can become addictive for some personality types: people who are thrill seekers, who ride the roller coaster time after time, who don’t mind almost being beheaded by the psychopath with the machete who chased them down the spook house halls. The next time you spend the night alone and are awakened by your closet door opening by itself or the sound of footsteps down the hall, just think for a moment – some people would pay $30 or more to experience this. Then imagine how relaxed you will be once you get the lights on, and it’s safe again… then jump out of the bed and hit the light switch be-fore the thing under the bed grabs you by the ankle!


Raina Howerton was recently named executive director of the Gregg County Historical Museum. “I’ve always loved history,” she said, adding that she has a particular fondness for the museum’s building, its collections and its volunteers.

“At the Gregg County Historical mu-seum, our volunteer staff is the heart and soul of our daily operation,” she said. “Week after week, these hard-working and dedicated individuals offer their knowledge and hospitality to museum visitors of all ages.”

Even though she was born and raised in Dallas, Raina considers herself to be an East Texas girl because her mother Con-nie Howerton is an East Texas native. She has happy memories of visiting relatives in the area when she was a child. When the time came to choose a college, she decided to attend LeTourneau University where she earned bachelor of arts degrees in History, English, and Political Science. During her undergraduate years, she served as an intern at the Gregg County Historical Museum. “I was so impressed with the quality of education offered by my school that I decided to return there to do my graduate work,” she said. She earned a masters of business administra-tion degree from LeTourneau University where she was an honors graduate.

Her professional experience includes working for the Upshur County gov-ernment where she held a position with the Upshur County Clerk’s offi ce. She then worked for the federal government, where she was a contact representative for the Social Security Administration’s Longview offi ce.

“I just love history, and I love this museum,” she explained. “The building itself is beautiful. The museum and its collections are beautiful. It’s a very im-portant part of this community.” How-erton added that she felt “honored and humbled” when she was chosen to lead the museum she had long admired. She said, “The board of directors interviewed quite a few people. There were a lot of highly qualifi ed applicants before they decided to choose me. I look forward to being a part of what they are doing here

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Raina Howerton is the new executive

director of the Gregg County

Historical Museum

“I just love history, and I love

this museum.”-Raina Howerton

by Jan Statman


and making the museum known in Gregg County.”

For their part, museum offi cials are delighted to have chosen her as executive director. After considering several appli-cants, they chose Ms. Howerton because of her outstanding energy and profes-sionalism, as well as her understanding of technology. The offi cial statement that announced Howerton’s appointment stated that, “Her considerable experience in government, management, events, and computer programs gives her the qualifi -cations to enhance and improve the cur-rent operations of the museum.”

Howerton comes to the museum dur-ing its two-phase, three million dollar “New Century Capital Campaign” de-signed to renovate and upgrade the facil-ity. The fi rst $100,000 phase of the cam-paign has already been completed. The second phase includes major renovations, some of which are planned to include making the third fl oor of the 102-year-old Everett Building accessible to the pub-lic. Howerton described the third fl oor area of the landmark building as being “like a time capsule that has been kept unchanged during more than a century.” Unfortunately, that area is presently closed to the public. When the third fl oor becomes accessible, she believes that the fi ne details of Victorian wood and fi nish, as well as tile work and carefully designed fl oors will help visitors gain a better un-derstanding of the life people lived in this area in time gone by.

Howerton said, “The Gregg County Historical Museum should be considered to be a perfect gem in the heart of down-town Longview. The institution and the many wonderful dedicated volunteers are an important part of the museum and of the community.”

Museums offer collections of valuable artifacts. The Everett Building at 214-216 N. Fredonia Street in downtown Longview is a valuable artifact in and of itself. It was originally built as the Citi-zens National Bank Building in 1910. It is listed in the National Register of His-toric Places and boasts a Texas Historical Marker. The building became the Gregg County Historical Museum and was of-fi cially opened to the public on June 2, 1984.

The main entrance is reached by an impressive staircase fl anked by columns, which lead to double doors of paneled wood and antique glass.

Beyond the doors, the handsome lobby still has the original teller’s cage that was part of Citizen’s National Bank. Looking down, visitors see the original inlaid tile fl oors. Looking up, they see the original, elaborate pressed tin ceiling that is ornamented with the sculptural faces of cherubs.

Howerton explained that unfortu-nately, most of the museum is not handi-cap accessible at the present time. She said, “This has been “grandfathered” because of the building’s historical im-portance, but it is not the most desirable

circumstance. The ability to provide handicap accessibility would be a major improvement.”

She also hopes to be able to properly exhibit several of the outstanding arti-facts the museum is not presently able to display. She particularly mentioned the remarkable collection of Caddo In-dian artifacts, a massive antique printing press, a large weaving loom, the Arthur Northcutt Brown military collection, and many other signifi cant and fascinat-ing items which are now kept in storage.

When the historical museum opened in 1984, its stated goal was to offer ex-hibits that described the history and de-velopment of Gregg County, including its growth fi rst as a center of timber har-vesting and farming, followed by rail-roads and later the oil industry, schools, businesses, and commerce. Exhibiting the displays that are now in storage will help to realize that goal.

Howerton plans to increase the num-ber of traveling exhibits, many of which have been displayed in the museum’s education building. The popular Sports Legends of East Texas exhibit was re-cently seen in that location. She wishes to make museum offi ces more available to the public and to expand the muse-um’s education program, which reaches more than four thousand third and sev-enth grade schoolchildren each year.

She is careful to mention that the museum also promotes local tourism with its permanent and traveling exhib-its. Some of the most important among these are Black History Month exhibits, the Dalton Days/Wild West Show and the Architectural Lecture Series, which brings noted architects to the com-munity. The Cemetery Tour, in which museum volunteers dressed in authen-tic costume discuss the life and experi-ences of the pioneers who are buried in Longview’s historic cemeteries, is sched-uled for October 12 . The Historic High-ways exhibit is scheduled for the month of October. The exhibit will highlight the famous Route 66 and include scenes from Highway 80, which passes directly through Longview.

Also important is the Historic Homes Tour, during which residents open their homes to visitors as a benefi t to the or-ganization, and two extremely popular holiday exhibits: the Living History Christmas exhibit and the Christmas Vil-lage and Model Railroad exhibit, both of which will be on display December 7 through January 4. It will be closed for the holidays.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tues. - Fri. and noon - 4 p.m. Sat. Ad-mission is $2 for adults and $1 for senior citizens and students.

For further information about the museum or to make an appointment to meet and visit with the new director Raina Howerton, please call the Gregg County Historical Museum at 903-753-5840. You can visit the museum’s web-site at www.gregghistorical.org

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Longview Bonsai Society to feature fall exhibit


Bonsai is a living art form that began in ancient China, later mi-grating to Ja-pan in the 12th century. After World War II,

many of those in the military who had learned to admire and appreciate the miniature trees and landscapes while stationed in Japan, brought bonsai to the United States.

The trees can come from many sources – they can be gathered in the wild, adapted from nursery stock or specifi cally grown for bonsai devel-opment. Designed to depict an aged tree as found in nature, the plantings strive to follow several stylistic tradi-tions while maintaining their diminu-tive stature, usually under three feet high. These range from the juniper cascade and windswept forms popu-larized by the movie Karate Kid to extremely formal uprights.

This illusion is created by encour-aging the development of surface roots supporting a weighty trunk with carefully arranged branches

and foliage. Directing the branches includes the use of many types of wiring and pruning techniques. The roots are then carefully pruned. Up-per growth control helps maintain the overall appearance once the ba-sic shape is established. While most bonsai do best outdoors year-round, many tropical plants can live indoors provided the correct balance of light and water is provided.

There are bonsai in both pub-lic and personal collections that are over 400 years old! Longview Bonsai Society members have a number of presentations that are in the 50 – 75 year range. The society will feature many of these during their fall exhib-it, Thurs. through Sat., October 17 – 19, in The Artists’ Gallery at Shan-non’s Beading Basket, 207 North Horaney Street. This exhibit will display 60+ trees and plantings and is free and open to the public. The hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day and LBS members will be on hand to discuss the various bonsai and an-swer questions.

For more information, please call 903-242-9944.

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by Randy BrownThe

“B” “B”side ofmusicofmusic

You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd

Ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd Ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd

Ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd But ya can be happy if you’ve a mind to

Written and performed by Roger Miller

This month’s song lyric goes way back to when I was in junior high school in Houston. Roger Miller was a bit of an odd duck as far as songwriting goes, which could be the reason that I identify with his music. He wasn’t really a coun-try writer, but country singers embraced him because he sold records. He wasn’t really a pop writer either, but pop sing-ers welcomed him for the same reason. And even though many considered him a novelty song writer because of songs like “Buffalo Herd,” “Dang Me,” “Do Whack-a-do” and “Reincarnation,” he was genuinely a great songwriter and artist. His voice and vocal ability were exceptional and unique, his me-lodic sense was awesome, and his lyrical depth and variety was jaw dropping. “Buffalo Herd” at fi rst seems like a throwaway. With its references to ri-diculous situations regarding things that you can’t do and ending with “but ya can be happy if you’ve a mind to,” the song seems too lighthearted. But then there’s the bridge: “All you gotta do is put your mind to it. Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it.” So, even though it seems like a carefree song, it gets to the heart of the matter and the subject of this column, which is choosing happiness in a business that requires the approval of others. Happiness is an elusive thing for me, and I suspect it is for many. That doesn’t mean I am not happy, but I am often so involved with internal dramas like writing songs, booking shows, and promoting CDs that I often forget my happiness.

So what does this have to

do with you? I suspect many of you are like me to some

extent. Like me, you get wrapped up in the minutiae of career, creation and everyday life and forget to savor and enjoy the moment. I become especially aware of this when I see those around me struggling to fi nd their place in the world. They are making, breaking and remaking their relationships with their art, friends, career, health and some-times themselves, becoming lost in the details. Like me, they forget to look up from the to-do list and appreciate how lucky they are to alive and to be artists. I know the path can be diffi cult, but there are not a lot of people brave enough to pursue their passion. Tho-reau was correct when he said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” As an artist, doesn’t that statement res-onate with you? We all have our mo-ments of “quiet desperation,” but we get to transform our discouragement into art. Even our darkest thoughts can be spun into art and diminished, or even dissolved. Art is a redirection of emotional and sometimes intellec-tual energy into creation. Mahatma Gandhi defi ned happi-ness as, “when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in har-mony.” It sounds like the defi nition of a real artist: someone who is truly and deeply in touch with their inner and outer selves. Genuine artists have integrity; they are consistent in their thoughts, words and deeds. Isn’t that what we all desire in the end – to be our true self without apology or com-promise?

Actually, until I started writing this particular column, I never really thought much about the real defi nition of happiness. When I found Gandhi’s quote in my research, I realized I had hit pay dirt. I learned how to deter-mine and even measure happiness for myself. I had always viewed “happy” as a weird little word with no real meaning or at least very little to do with real life. I have always been driven and fo-cused – goal oriented. But I fi nd that reaching a sought-after goal almost never brings me happiness or even mild satisfaction. Instead, I spend my time mentally debriefi ng myself, ex-amining my progress and determining how I could have done better. I have fi nally realized that happiness and sat-isfaction do not lie in achieving goals, but rather it lies in the pursuit of the goal. The goal itself is only a land-mark to reach and forget as I head forward to yet another goal. I encourage you to honestly look at yourself and your work and fi nd your personal path to happiness. Latch on to it, and never let go. Let it become your mantra for life and creation. To be perfectly honest, I am not sure exactly what I have revealed about happiness and how to achieve it. This happens to me a lot these days. I talk or think about something almost to exhaustion, and then realize I am no closer to uncovering the secret than I was when I started. So, I will end like I started, with the bridge lyric from this month’s song.

Remember what Roger said, “All you gotta do is put your mind to it. Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, it.” Tenuous and vague as that ad-vice is, it is the best I can give. I know that fi nding your happiness sweet spot is important to your physical, emo-tional and artistic life and it is certainly worth the effort. Besides, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, so what else do you have to do? As always, thanks for reading, and if you have comments, sugges-tions or criticisms about this or any of my columns, feel free to send them to me: [email protected]. If you ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does, go to www.brownrandy.com/music. Listen to a few songs and let me know what you think. See you next issue.

Randy Brown is retired from a real job, though he still manages to func-tion as a singer/songwriter living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, opera-tor of a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He remains a shining example of the old adage that “those who can, do, and those who can’t write columns.”

I know the path can be diffi cult, but there are not a lot

of people brave enough to pursue their passion.


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Piney Woods Live magazine was given the opportunity to be included in the the Second Annual Ink Life Tour held Aug. 23-25, thanks to Regan St. Peter, the event’s guru. The three day event hosted over 200 of the nation’s top tattoo artists, including several local talents. Film crews from top television stations were there, as well as performances by the Texas Hippie Coalition and L.A. Guns. It was a special event. Coincidentally, since the Day of the Dead is featured in this month’s mag-azine, I actually had a Day of the Dead experience at the Ink Life Tour. It was day two of the event. The whole weekend I was determined that I would not let myself be tempted to get another tattoo. But never say never. I was walking around scoping out the talent, talking to people, taking pic-tures and just being my normal publicist self. It was around 1 p.m., and I returned to the Piney Woods Live booth. As I was talking with one of my co-workers, Joni Guess, and her daughter Aundrea Guess, an image on a table in a booth directly behind ours caught my immediate atten-tion. It was a sugar skull.

A few years ago, I had the op-portunity to visit Mexico and was introduced to sugar skulls. They are beautiful and colorful. I did some research, and discovered that the meaning behind sugar skulls helped me deal with death in a whole new light. At the time, I had no way of knowing that years later my precious grandfather would pass away from a massive heart attack. I always want-ed to get a tattoo in remembrance of him, and the sugar skull seemed per-fect to help me honor his memory. It would allow me to celebrate his life and legacy. How can I walk around for two days and not even notice this drawing laying before me on a table directly behind our booth? The idea to get the tattoo hit like a ton of bricks. I spoke with the artist, Stephen Thompson, with Art with Heart Ink from Auro-ra, Co. We edited the image, and he drew up a stencil. It was as if I was meant to fi nd this artist from miles away to make my dreams of a memo-rial for my grandfather come true.

Fifteen minutes later, I am on a black reclining chair, and the art-work has begun. The pain was actu-ally somewhat bearable. Yes, it did feel like several bee stings at fi rst, but after the initial pain subsided, I could feel a peace come over me. I felt like I was in the last phase in the mourning of my granddad. Two and a half hours later, the masterpiece was completed on my left calf and beautiful in color and de-tail. Stephen included my favorite col-ors, teal and pink, and added fl owers and even a diamond in the center of one of the fl owers. It was absolutely perfect and wonderful. The different elements of the tattoo were symbolic to me and is a piece of walking artwork. Tattoos and skulls typically have a bad connotation and reputation, but they go beyond skin deep. They are a means of self expression and can help people cope with emotional obstacles that aren’t always apparent. The Ink Life Tour was a huge suc-cess, and I feel very thankful that Piney Woods Live magazine got to be a part of this great event.

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by Tony McCullough

Sometimes you meet someone that just seems out of place in our fast paced, technologically ad-vanced, modern society – someone that, if you looked deep enough into their eyes, you might actually see the refl ection of a simpler time when things were much less complicated. Steve Hartz, owner of the General Mercantile and Oldtime String Shop at 216 East Pillar Street in Nacogdo-ches, is one of those people. If Steve were given the chance to board a train that would take him back in time 100 years, I think he would only need a moment to take his wife Sheryl by the hand, grab one of the custom banjos he has built and anx-iously head for the open seat by the window of the passenger car. Steve lives his life today a lot like they did in the early days of Nacogdoches.

Many say that when you step through the door of the General Mercantile and Oldtime String Shop, it feels more like you are entering a museum than an actual business. But here the pot bellied stove isn’t just for looks, it actually provides heat during colder weath-er. As Steve explained, “There are general stores in many of the old towns, but they are franchises. They are not real.” Steve and his store are very real. You won’t fi nd repro-duced products that take you back to when you were kid, but you will fi nd a vintage musical instrument, and a book of music history com-plete with CD soundtrack, and if you need to use the phone, you’ll do so on an early 1900s crank phone, not something cordless or cellular.

Today, when we see a banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and a fi ddle together, we usually think bluegrass, which was Steve’s favor-ite when he was a young man. But he is quick to point out that the “old timey” music he plays today is not bluegrass. Bluegrass music is trademarked by the “picking” of the strings, such as with a fi ve string banjo. It was a regional genre that spread from the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1800s. The

music Steve Hartz plays dates back historically before Appalachian music became widespread. Instead of the picking of the strings on the banjo, the technique was more of a hammer strum, which was histori-cally common in American popular music. The songs of Stephen Foster, such as “Oh Susanna” or “Camp-town Races” are good examples. The music was simple and fl owing so that anyone could hum or sing along.

In the 1970s, Steve started build-ing traditional type banjos patterned after those built before 1900. As he became known for his instrument building skills, many musicians started bringing him instruments for repair. Steve opened a shop upstairs in a building across the street from his current location in 1977. There he built banjos, did repair work, sold vintage instruments, and gave lessons. His business grew, and he eventually bought the historic build-ing across Pillar Street, which had been the home of one the men who had signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Steve then expanded his shop to include an old time gen-eral store.

The Oldtime String Shop carries their own brand of strings. Steve explains, “They are a nickel wound string more suited to acoustic in-struments in the outdoor climate of East Texas.” This is a great product for musicians that perform outside or prefer an open window and a fan over air conditioning.

Steve is nationally know for his historic music books. He writes about the history of music from over a century ago. These books are illustrated with Steve’s original art-work and come with an audio CD that includes songs of the time and some of his original music that fi ts that style.

The music kept alive by The Old-time String Shop can be heard live outside of the General Mercantile building. Steve and Sheryl Hartz perform with the Attoyac Valley String Ensemble, which consists of a fi ddle, mandolin, guitar, cello, bou-zouki (similar to a mandolin with

an extended neck), and a banjo. The group performs at weddings, par-ties, and special occasions. You can also catch performances of the Old Time Medicine Show, complete with music and actors pitching the “heal-all bottles of fi re water.”

It is interesting that music that was historically part of everyday life, when played today, seems so unique; what once was so com-mon in America is now a nov-elty. But that just doesn’t really matter to Steve Hartz – it’s just business as usual. If you would like to visit Steve’s Oldtime String Shop & General Mercantile, it is highly recommended that you make the trip to Nacogdoches on a Saturday afternoon. The Sat-urday afternoon jam session has been a tradition for 35 years as musicians throughout East Texas gather around the old pot bellied stove on cooler days to share in the music of days gone by. Every-one’s welcome, so grab your fi ddle or grab the family and head out to the musical museum of real life at 216 East Pillar Street.

To view their website, go to www.mysteryridge.com and click on General Mercantile and Old-time String Shop.

The General Mercantile& Oldtime String Shop


by Jan Statman

Company’s coming! How do you fi x that Artichoke Dip? Where is the recipe for that Easy Beef Burgundy that tastes just like that fancy Boeuf Bourguignon that every-body is so impressed with because they think the cook slaved over it in the kitchen all day? What to fi x for dessert – the Pineapple Cake or the Apricot Cream Pie? And what about an appetizer? The answers can always be found in that little red book or in that little red and white striped book. They are easy to fi nd on the kitchen shelves because they are the cookbooks with worn out pages and grease spots. The coffee table cookbooks with the

beautiful photographs are a joy to read, but the really good and well-used cookbooks are always those with worn out pages and grease spots. So, how did Barbara Richardson Mc-Clellan’s two recipe books, From My Kitch-en, and From My Kitchen Once More! be-come the go-to cookbooks of choice in many kitchens, not only in East Texas but beyond the piney woods? The author insists that the answer is sim-ple. These are recipes for good, comfortable, mostly healthful, southern cooking. She set out to write “user friendly” cookbooks. “I tried very hard to eliminate all the things that

frustrate me in other cookbooks,” she said. “I always put the cooking time and the size of the pan where they should be, right up there next to the name of the recipe. That way you know exactly which pan or casserole dish you are going to have to dig out of the cabinet. More than that, all the in-gredients are printed in bold print right at the start of the recipe so you know which things you ought to have in the pantry before you begin. And most importantly, people tell me the ingredients are always the kind of items you might have on hand in your kitchen, not the exotic spices and delicacies you have to write off to far away, strange places to get.”

Barbara Richardson McClellan’s From My Kitchen and From My Kitchen Once More!

www.MusicLongview.com

[email protected]

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Althoughshe doesn’t mention it, another major advantage of her cookbook writing philosophy is that a good cook doesn’t have to drag out every pan in the kitchen to prepare wonderful food. If it takes too many pans and too many steps, it probably isn’t worth the trouble. Each of these cookbooks has the added pleasure of being something of a personal memoir. They are kitchen table autobiog-

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raphies with comments about whose recipe is being prepared, how that recipe came about, and what was going on in the au-thor’s life when she fi rst prepared it. We follow her from her busy life of raising her four children to her days at the Atrium res-taurant. We share the shocking, sudden loss of her fi rst husband Ken Richardson. We learn how she re-connected with child-hood friend Joe McClellan and how they married and moved to the Rio Grande Valley for many years before returning home to East Texas. We learn how she happened to become the food columnist who writes the popular weekly “From My Kitchen” column for the Longview News Journal. Since she once enjoyed reading lo-cally written newspaper food columns when she lived in the Houston area, she wondered why there was no homegrown East Texas food column in Longview. She picked up her telephone and called Ellie Hopkins, who was editor of the Longview News Journal at that time. When she asked why the paper didn’t have a local food column, he told her there was no one available to write it and asked if she would like to do it. She told him she was not a journalist, her degree was in music, and her only homemaking course had been the “bride’s course” she took at Baylor University. He suggested she write a food column and bring it to him. She sat down at her typewriter, and two days later she was surprised to see her fi rst food column appear in print on the same page as the grocery ads on Thursday morning. She has been writing the week-

ly food column ever since. She said, “I will be eternally thankful to the dear man, Ellie Hopkins, who had faith in me and who encouraged me through the years.” Both cookbooks are specifi c about describing the size of the container to be used. They tell the cook whether the recipe should be prepared covered or un-covered, whether canned goods should be drained or undrained, and whether butter or margarine should be used to best ad-vantage. The author insists that the idea for writing From My Kitchen and From My Kitchen Once More! came about because she had to clean up her own kitchen. In those days, the best recipes were collected by visiting with the ladies at the beauty shop or the PTA. Like most good cooks, Barbara’s kitchen had shoe boxes and cabinet drawers fi lled to overfl owing with newspaper clippings, magazine articles, scraps of paper handwritten by those la-dies at the beauty shop or the PTA, and favorite recipes tucked here and there where she had to search for them to fi nd them. “I wanted to stop having to spend more time looking for a recipe than cook-ing that recipe,” she said. She believes her interest in cooking is largely inherited because she comes from a family where all the women cooked, except for the good-looking aunt who worked at a paying job and didn’t have to do that sort of thing. But even that good-looking aunt enjoyed eating good food as much as everyone else. Her mother was an excellent cook, and her grandmother was the best cook in the group. It was common in those days for a grandmother

to live with her children and their fami-lies. Barbara’s grandmother always came to live with the family that had the young-est child. Since Barbara was the youngest child until a cousin came along when she was ten years old, she had a good time following her grandmother around the kitchen. Since everybody in her family liked to cook, Barbara thought it was a good idea for herself. Unfortunately, her fi rst attempt in the kitchen did not turn out well. Her father died when she was only eight years old, which meant her mother had to spend much of her time away from home. One afternoon when her mother was away, Bar-bara told the family’s outdoor helper, a gen-tleman named “Booker,” that she wanted to bake a cake. He thought that was a fi ne idea, and he let her get the ingredients to-gether. Unfortunately, nobody had ever told her to turn the mixer off before she raised the beaters. She said, “That cake batter was still on the kitchen ceiling many years later when they tore the house down!” That par-ticular recipe is not included in either cook-book. Chapters in both books provide for all the staples. From My Kitchen has a chapter for Appetizers, Breads, Soups and Salads, Main Dish Casseroles, Meats and Seafood, Vegetables, and Desserts. It also has a Quick and Easy section in which the recipes really are as quick as they are easy. There is a Microwave Cooking section that covers everything from taco casserole to pralines, and the most amazing Catch-All section for all those delights not fi tting into any of the other categories. The book also includes de-lightful line drawings by Betty Lyn Collier.

From my Kitchen Once More! has all the reasonable chapters for staples, but it is expanded to include a chapter on Vege-tarian Main Dishes to accommodate veg-etarian and vegan lifestyles. There is also a section on Quantity Cooking for those occasions when recipes must be expand-ed to feed a large crowd, which includes such offerings as Mexican Hot Sauce by the Gallon and Vegetable Beef Soup for Fifty. This is followed by a chapter that is simply called “HELP!!!” It not only has a table of equivalent weights and mea-sures and microwave tips, it has a section of commonly asked and answered cook-ing questions. Why does piecrust get tough during baking? Why does brewed tea cloud? Is there a perfect way to boil eggs? And how can I clean silver? The author hesitated to answer when she was asked which were her favorite recipes among the many recipes in her books. However, she did say, “I forgot to put Nancy Wright’s corn biscuits in the first book so I had to write a second book.” Look for it on page 203. While you’re at it, you can find the Artichoke Dip on page 7 of the first book. The Easy Boeuf Bourguignon, sim-plified to Easy Beef Burgundy because that’s what it really is, can be found on page 67 of the second book. The amazing Pineapple Cake is on page 11 of the first book. The Apricot Cream Pie is on page 180 of the second book. From My Kitchen and From my Kitchen Once More! are available at Lou-is Morgan Drugs #4, Barron’s, and the Bargain Box. For more information, con-tact the author at [email protected]


Awards 2013Congratulations all 2013 East Texas Music Award Winners!

BLUEGRASS BAND OF THE YEARLacie Carpenter & the Southern StringlineBLUES BAND OF THE YEARWes Jeans BandCHRISTIAN BAND OF THE YEARKindredCOUNTRY BAND OF THE YEARJason Helms BandELECTRONIC ACT OF THE YEARZach C JAZZ BAND OF THE YEARPurple Velvet FoxLATIN BAND OF THE YEARLos Guerreros de la Musica (LGM)METAL BAND OF THE YEARJohnny Pecker & the Beaver-Bustin’ Pickle WeaselsPUNK BANDThe Beer MunkeesRAP GROUP OF THE YEARTexicano EntertainmentR&B/SOUL GROUP OF THE YEARLady Chazz and the TrampsROCK BAND OF THE YEARThe Truman SyndromeAMERICANA/FOLK BAND OF THE YEARLacie Carpenter & the Southern StringlineBASSIST OF THE YEARGreg CagleDJ OF THE YEAR (NON-RADIO)Robert Eitelman “Handsome Rob”GUITARIST OF THE YEARWes Jeans

DRUMMER OF THE YEARBoomer TackettENTERTAINER OF THE YEARTyler LeniusFIDDLER OF THE YEARLacie Carpenter FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEARJulia BeersKEYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Chip BrickerLIVE ACT OF THE YEARTyler LeniusMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEARJason HelmsSINGER/SONGWRITER OF THE YEARJedidiah CrispSINGLE OF THE YEARSee You Again - Jedidiah CrispALBUM OF THE YEARLeave a Reply - Maegan BrooksPRODUCER OF THE YEARFrank PryorRADIO DJ OF THE YEARKidd KraddickVOCAL GROUP OF THE YEARLacie Carpenter & the Southern StringlineVENUE OF THE YEARDouble C Steakhouse & Saloon of Winnsboro, TexasVIDEO OF THE YEARTexas Strong - Gary Kyle

See more at etxmusic.com/east-texas-music-awards-offi cial-winners-list-p229-122.htm#sthash.hzsZN3lj.dpuf

OCTOBER 3, 2014Longview Fall ArtWalkDowntown Longview

OCTOBER 5, 2013Tree of Life Music and Art Festival

Teague Park AmphitheatreLongview

Medieval Wine FaireDowntown Jeff erson

Downtown LIVE! at 5 Heritage Plaza, Longview.

Fridays, weekly through Oct. 25

Runaway Fright Train and Halloween Festival

Our event starts on Oct. 5 and runs every Friday and Saturday in October, and

also on Halloween.Jeff erson

OCTOBER 11, 2013Boo Benefi t - Th e Farewell Ride

Jeff erson

OCTOBER 12, 2013Festival on the Square

Tyler

Marshall Main Street Second Saturday

Fireant Festival 2013Downtown Marshallthrough October 13

OCTOBER 1619, 2013East Texas Yamboree

Gilmer

OCTOBER 1619, 2013Marion County Fair

Jeff erson

OCTOBER 19, 2013Marshall Main Street ‘ART’ Event

Marshall Visual Arts Center 208 E. Burleson Street

Marshall

Edom Festival of the Arts - through October 20

Edom

2013 Multicultural FestivalMaude Cobb Exhibition Building

Longview, TX

Howl-O-Ween Haute Dog Costume Contest & Pumpkin

Carving ContestArtWorks: Creative Learning Center

Longview

OCTOBER 20, 2013Taste of Jeff erson

Jeff erson

OCTOBER 2426, 2013Harvest Festival and Livestock Show

Maude CobbLongview

OCTOBER 2526, 2013Fall Feral Hog Festival

Ben Wheeler

OCTOBER 26, 2013Hot Pepper Festival

Palestine Main Street District

OCTOBER 31, 2013Trick or Treat

Downtown Kilgore

Downtown Jefferson


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ACTIVITIES:Downtown Halloween CarnivalTrick-or-treat from 4-6pmFree Carnival rides until 8pmGames provided by the Lions Club

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Halloween is prime time for ghosts and gob-lins and things that go bump in the night. But it is also a time for fantasy and imagination running wild. It is a time for fairy tales. “Ra-punzel! Rapunzel, Let down your great golden Art.” Art? What do you mean Art? What kind of fairy tale is this anyhow? Who exactly is that up there in that ivory tower? Actually, that would be me, or at least that would be me if I could get away with it. Face it, what most artists would really like to have, deep down where we would never admit it, would be a nice, comfortable ivory tower hid-den somewhere in the woods where we could do our work in peace and quiet. While we’re at it, why not toss in a good-sized moat, one without crocodiles so we could take a morning swim, and oh yes, how about a fi re breathing dragon? It’s always a good idea to have a dragon. If we are going to have a dragon, we defi nitely want a fi re-breathing dragon be-cause they are the best kind. The dragon, of course, would have to be carefully trained to check the credentials of visiting artists, as well as the Good Witch of the East and whichever generous leprechaun was appointed to serve as art agent. Maybe a card reader would work? Maybe we could have a fi re-breathing dragon with a cell phone? That way the dragon at the moat would let the agent at the wall visit the tower in the woods without breathing fi re and smoke, or possibly eating him alive. Art agents, even make-believe art agents, usually do not care to be eaten alive, or even slightly singed. I’m pretty sure they would never exhibit any art created by

artists who keep ill-mannered dragons.

The leprechaun would appear

on a more or less regular

schedule. I could toss the paintings down to him from my tower studio, or he could harvest the armloads of paintings I’d hang around in the pine trees, or maybe even those I’d aban-doned Cezanne-like in the pasture. He would carry them away to happy homes, and it would never be necessary for me to worry about them or carry them from one museum to another, or from one gallery to another, or from one art show to another, because I often start to feel like I am an art moving service instead of a working artist. I would never have to care for them, or store them, or catalog them, or make sure they were named, framed, and hung in a clean well-lit place. The problem is that completed paintings represent time gone past. They are emotions where the books have been sealed. They are visions that are already viewed. They are not as challenging as the pure clean canvas that is sitting bare and unpainted in the studio or the work that is still half fi nished on the easel. These are the images of an artist’s today and tomorrow, while the fi nished paintings are mir-rors of the artist’s yesterday. The hope is they will fi nd new homes where they become the art collector’s joy for every day. In exchange for collecting and selling these creative changelings, the leprechaun would leave me a nice pot of gold of appropriate di-mensions. Possibly also a couple of thick prime ribs and a sack of homegrown tomatoes? What could be better than life in that fabled ivory tower? It would have perfect north light. The artist who hates giving lectures would nev-er be forced to open his mouth. The artist who dislikes teaching would never have to show anybody how to do anything. The artist who doesn’t like corresponding would never have to spend time exchanging letters and phone calls with faceless, distant gallery representatives who have hard to pronounce names. As for me, I would never have to hammer another nail into another crate or wrestle those crates into the big blue van or ship heavy ship-ments or attend uncomfortable openings or pose for photographs by unkind photographers who add ten pounds per photo. I would never have to fi gure out what to say to the pretty, young wives of wealthy men. Most of all, I would nev-er have to explain why I do whatever it is I do or what I mean by it when I do it. I would never have to be polite to anybody who asks whether hot pink is a personal symbol of innate mysti-cism or is it simply a color I happen to like. I would never have to do anything but make art.

by JANSTATMAN

Artist's WorldArtist's WorldArtist's WorldArtist's World The only trouble is that life in that ivory tower would be horribly lonesome. A fi re-breathing dragon could be fun for awhile, but its conversation would be mighty limited. Pretty soon the artist who teaches would discover she misses the give and take of the teaching experience. Her enthusiasm for her work is contagious. A teaching artist is forced to share her own understandings. Sharing brings understandings into focus. By doing this, her own real-ity gives a growing life to her work. The artist who gives lectures would realize that his talks are essential to his own understanding of life. Those faceless, distant gallery representa-tives with the hard to pronounce names become friends with ac-tual faces once the exhibits are arranged and the pictures are packed and the artist has traveled out to meet them. Those pretty wives of wealthy men often work up such an honest in-terest in the artwork they see that they eventually become serious and thought-ful art collectors. The ritual of the one-artist show, like all human rituals, was invented to fi ll a need. When all the “show busi-ness” of the art business is swept aside, the one-man show really does offer se-rious insight into what a particular art-ist is doing at a particular time. More important, it gives the artist the chance to remove the work from the familiar studio and look at it in a different place. The artist can stand in a room full of the unvarnished self and see what the art is doing right now and why it is doing what it is doing. Where are its strengths? Where are its weaknesses, its satisfactions and its directions? And if you really must know, I happen to put a bit of hot pink somewhere in every painting be-cause when I was a child, my moth-er always dressed me in tailored and respectable shades of blue. Pale blue for spring and summer, navy blue for fall and winter. My friends wore pretty pink, but all I ever got was blue. I’m still rebelling. That is all the aesthet-ic symbolism and mysticism there is to that. More important, life in the ivory tow-er would be artistically unlivable. With nothing to stimulate the senses there would be no connection with reality and no basic human experience. You can’t create in a vacuum. Whether the view-ers like the art or not, whether they think they “understand” the art or not, art has to function as a real part of real life, and life is with people. So lets dispense with the dragon. Send the leprechaun away to hide his pot of gold. Pull the stopper in the moat. Let down the drawbridge, and get on with the art.

Jan Statman’s paintings are owned by museums in Europe and by pub-lic and private collections across the USA. She is author of several books and is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of Ameri-can Women, and various other professional publications.


by Tony McCulloughJust a few miles north of Longview

on Highway 259 nestled in the beauti-ful woods located between Diana and Ore City, you will fi nd Thomas Falls Zipline Challenge Course. Passing by the small gravel paved entrance road, one would never imagine the beautiful trails, the outdoor facilities for par-ties, group picnics and weddings, or the challenging zip line course that lies hidden just over the hill.

Thomas Falls is the creation of East Texan Stan Thomas. Several years ago, he and his wife purchased the property, which was formerly home of an old sawmill, with the intentions of developing and opening a nine hole golf course that would weave its way through the rolling hills and valleys of the property. But Stan’s vision soon fo-cused on something larger scale. The current goal is to develop the largest non-amusement ride, outdoor theme park in East Texas, featuring the tall-est waterfall in the state of Texas, Thomas Falls.

Stan’s fi rst phase of development for Thomas Falls is one of the most exhilarating and challenging zip line courses in the state, featuring eight zip lines, suitable for all ages. To set up the course, a team of professionals were brought in to determine the ap-propriate angles for the safety of zip line riders - most zip line injuries result in private lines being set at angles too steep. As the lines were set, there were a series of ongoing tests to determine proper tension of lines. Only the best equipment was purchased and fol-lowed by appropriate training. “It’s all about safety.” The result: an adrena-line rushing, suspended, high speed ride through beautiful oak and pine treetops, over two ponds on the prop-erty, over the covered picnic and party pavilion, above the covered bridge and by spring 2014, off the cliff of what will be the tallest waterfall in the state.

Zip line riders must be at least 4’2” tall with the average weight lim-its from 70 to 275 pounds, although weight exceptions can be made. Stan said his eldest rider was an 81 year old lady, who told him she was “there because zip lining was on her bucket list.”

Before setting out for two or more hours of thrills, the well-trained profes-sional guides of Thomas Falls give every single rider a training course on a short zip line that barely allows their feet to clear the ground. Once the guides feel everyone can proceed safely, a tractor drawn wagon takes the group through the valley, across the covered bridge and up the hill atop “the falls” where the adventure begins over what is pos-sibly one the prettiest natural settings in East Texas.

“The most fun you’ll ever have in zip lining is going through the course with a group of friends,” says one of the Thomas Falls guides. “It’s all about having safe fun, doing things you don’t get to do in just everyday life. The adrenaline’s rushing, everyone’s smiling and ready to go again. It’s great.” Spe-cial rates are offered for groups, organi-zations and birthday parties. It’s a great outing for anything from a small group of friends to a school or offi ce fi eldtrip.

In addition to some of the highest rated zip lines in the state, Thomas Falls also plans to offer a Halloween attrac-tion for the month of October with the Flying Zombie - Headless Horseman production. Visitors to the Halloween park will venture down the haunted trails to the valley of the ponds and cov-ered bridge, where they will be caught in the middle of a battle between the headless horseman and fl ying zombies over possession of the horseman’s lost head. “It should be exciting Halloween fun for the whole family”.

Thomas Falls is also available for weddings, private parties, company or group picnics, and may be the fu-ture location for concerts or festivals. A large pavilion complete with tables

has just been completed with restroom/changing rooms close by and a conces-sion area literally built into the hillside. Thomas points out the island within the large pond (not a true island; it can be walked onto without a boat or bridge). It is a picturesque setting for a wedding with a covered bridge in the background. He is also considering fu-ture concerts in the crater type valley. In addition, Thomas plans to have a Christmas attraction at the park featur-ing Santa and his reindeer fl ying in and out over the falls, and it is probable that in the future, their will be either state or national zip line competitions on the zip line challenge course.

Thomas Falls has a lot to offer East Texas for outdoor entertainment; everything from peaceful settings to holiday settings to heart pounding high speed zip line thrills. It’s the type of en-tertainment venue that will continue to grow and develop. If you’d like to ex-perience East Texas from the tree tops, would just like a tour of the park, or need more information on holiday at-tractions, give them a call at 903-968-6924 or fi nd them online at www.ziptf.com.

LIVE MUSICFRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT!

OPEN MIC NIGHT1ST TUESDAY EACH MONTH

Call or Email to book.

106 W. Main St. • Henderson, TX

903-392-8200

Mon.-Thurs. 7am-10pmFri. 7am-12am • Sat. 8am-12am

Email: [email protected]

ZIP LINE Experience the beauty and adventure

of Thomas Falls Zipline Challenge



ONCE UPON A CIRCUS

october 2013

priceless -– take one

PHOTO BOOTH

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3

4

5

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7

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Check out all of our photo galleries at pineywoodslive.com/photos or scan the QR code below.

t

This month’s Photo Booth This month’s Photo Booth was taken at the East was taken at the East Texas Music Awards on Texas Music Awards on September 19, 2013, at September 19, 2013, at KE Bushman’s in Bullard, KE Bushman’s in Bullard, Texas.Texas.

1- Hanging out in the 1- Hanging out in the VIP Area.VIP Area.

2- Tracee Patterson on 2- Tracee Patterson on the Red Carpet.the Red Carpet.

3- Nathan Hunnicutt, 3- Nathan Hunnicutt, producer of East Texas producer of East Texas Music.Music.

4- The crowd watches 4- The crowd watches as awards are being as awards are being presented.presented.

5- Terry Miller and 5- Terry Miller and Sonney James present an Sonney James present an award.award.

6- Wes Jeans wins 6- Wes Jeans wins Guitarist of the YearGuitarist of the Year

7- Lauren Alexander 7- Lauren Alexander performs with soul at performs with soul at the awards ceremonythe awards ceremony

8- Boomer Tackett 8- Boomer Tackett receives an award for receives an award for Drummer of the YearDrummer of the Year

9- Julia Beers wins 9- Julia Beers wins Female VocalistFemale Vocalist

10- Laci Carpenter 10- Laci Carpenter wows the crowd with wows the crowd with her vocals and fi ddling her vocals and fi ddling skillsskills

11- Lady Chazz and the 11- Lady Chazz and the Tramps wins Best R&B/Tramps wins Best R&B/Soul GroupSoul Group

12- Tyler Lenius and Wes 12- Tyler Lenius and Wes Jeans jam out on stageJeans jam out on stage

& Wes Jeans pose for a photo op after their fi nal & Wes Jeans pose for a photo op after their fi nal performanceperformance

EVENTSEVENTS

MORE EVENTS ONLINE AT MORE EVENTS ONLINE AT PINEYWOODSLIVE.COM/EVENTSPINEYWOODSLIVE.COM/EVENTS

FINE ART EXHIBITIONS

American Legacy: Our National Parks at Mi-chelson Museum Of Art, through Oct. 6.

Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945 at Tyler Museum of Art, through Oct. 20.

Tejano: Contemporary Latin American Artists of Texas, Longview Museum of Fine Arts, through Oct. 26.

International Portrait Photography Exhibition, SFA Griffi th Gallery, Nacogdoches, through Oct. 31.

Women in the Arts, Winnsboro Center for the Arts, through Nov. 3.

Earth, Wind & Fire, Mar-shall Visual Art Center, Oct. 3 through 31.

Winn Morton: Festivals, Pageants & Follies, Tyler Museum of Art, Oct. 6 through Dec. 1.

Lone Star, SFA’s The Downstage Theatre, Nacogdoches.

LIVE THEATER

Pride and Prejudice, East Texas Baptist University. Performances Oct. 3 through Oct. 8.

Our Town, Jean Browne Theatre, Tyler Junior Col-lege. Performances Oct. 3 through Oct. 13.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone, SFA’s Turner Audito-rium, Nacogdoches. Performances Oct. 9-12.

Red Velvet Cake Wars, Texas Theatre, Palestine. Performances Oct. 4-13.

Beauty and the Beast, S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center, Performances Oct. 5-6.

FESTIVALS

Oct.5- Medieval Wine Faire, Downtown Jef-ferson

Oct.5- Jefferson Fly In and Open House, Cy-press River Airport 24F

Oct.5- Downtown LIVE! at 5, Heritage Plaza, Longview. Fridays, weekly through Oct. 25.

Oct.12- Marshall Main Street Second Saturday

Oct.12- Festival on the Square, Downtown Tyler Square

Oct.12- 13- Fireant Festi-val 2013, Marshall

Oct. 16-19 - East Texas Yamboree, Gilmer

Oct. 18-19- Marion County Fair, Jefferson

Oct. 19 - 2013 Multicul-tural Festival, Maude Cobb Exhibit Building, Longview

Oct.19-20- Edom Festi-val of the Arts, Edom

Oct. 24-26- Harvest Festival and Livestock Show, Maude Cobb Agricultural Pavilion, Longview

Oct.25-26- Fall Feral Hog Festival, Ben Wheeler

Oct.26- Hot Pepper Festival, Palestine Main Street District

FILM

Oct.3- Rosemary’s Baby at Liberty Hall, Tyler

Oct.5- Movie Matinees for Teens at Tyler Public Library

Oct.5- Iron Man 3 at Heritage Plaza, Longview

Oct.10- The Exorcist at Liberty Hall

Oct.12- The Giant Me-chanical Man at The Old Firehouse, Edom

Oct.12- Radio at Berg-feld Park Ampitheater, Tyler

Oct.17- Alien at Liberty Hall

Oct.19- Splat the Cat at Liberty Hall

Oct.24- The Thing at Liberty Hall

Oct.31- Halloween at Liberty Hall

COMEDY

Oct.5- Girls Night Out with Monique Marvez, 8:00 p.m., Liberty Hall, Tyler

Oct.28- Kinky Fried-man’s Texas Liberation Tour, 7:30 p.m., at Cross-roads Music Company, Winnsboro

MUSIC

Oct.5- Brad Davis Guitar Clinic, 1 p.m., Crossroads Music Company, Winnsboro. Concert follows at 7:30.

Oct.12- Longview Symphony Concert Series, Classic Movies and Spooky Tunes, with Guest Conductor Dr. James Snowden, 7:00 p.m., S.E. Belcher Jr. Cha-pel and Performance Center

Oct.26- East Texas Symphony Orchestra Jazz Spectacular, trumpeter Wayne Bergeron, 7:30, Liberty HallOct.26- Tom Kimmel, singer/songwriter, 7:30 p.m., at The Old Firehouse, EdomMISCELLANEOUS

Oct.5- Art & Soul Po-etry Group discussion, 1:00 p.m., Longview Museum of Fine Arts

13

PineyWoodsLive.com october 2013

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Piney Woods Live October 2013