Texas Co-op Power • February 2016

Transcription

1602 local covers black 1/12/16 11:31 AM Page 1
SOUTH PLAINS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION
Home Design Resources
First Texans?
FEBRUARY 2016
Touchdown Party Foods
TEXAS
MASTER
GARDENERS
Volunteers nurture
love of horticulture
FINANCING TEXAS FOR 100 YEARS
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when
hen y
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ou’re trying
trying to
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pace
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ith a growing
growing nation.
nation. So
So when
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he time
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p
urchase land
land or
or expand
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February 2016
Since 1944
FA V O R I T E S
5
Letters
6
Currents
18 Local Co-op News
Get the latest information plus energy
and safety tips from your cooperative.
29 Texas History
The First Texans?
By Martha Deeringer
31 Recipes
35 Focus on Texas
Photo Contest: Better Together
36 Around Texas
List of Local Events
38 Hit the Road
Mason: A Hill Country Gem
By Lydia Saldaña
Patty Zohlen is one of the
more than 6,000 master
gardeners in the state.
ONLINE
TexasCoopPower.com
Find these stories online if they don’t
appear in your edition of the magazine.
F E AT U R E S
8
12
Texas USA
Texas Master Gardeners Texas A&M Extension
program cultivates cadre of green thumbs around the state
Making of a Coach
By Eric Celeste
Story by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers • Photos by Wyatt McSpadden
Observations
Home Design Innovation Energy-efficient strategies
go easy on homeowner expenses and the environment
The Original Crooner
By John Morthland
By Dan Oko
NEXT MONTH
Birthplace of a Nation
Texans at Washington-on-the-Brazos
pledged independence 180 years ago.
35
29
31
38
G A RDENER: WYATT M C S PA DDEN. FL AG : S O M A RT I N | DO LL A R P H OTO C LU B
ON THE COVER
Master gardeners such as Patty Zohlen share their expertise in more than 100 Texas counties. Photo by Wyatt McSpadden
TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: David Marricle, Chair, Muleshoe; Mark Tamplin, Vice Chair, Kirbyville; Bryan Lightfoot, Secretary-Treasurer, Bartlett; Mike R. Hagy,
Tipton, Oklahoma; William F. Hetherington, Bandera; Mark Rollans, Hondo; Anne Vaden, Corinth • PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin • COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES
COMMITTEE: Jerry Boze, Kaufman; Rick Haile, McGregor; Greg Henley, Tahoka; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Mark McClain, Roby; Blaine Warzecha, Victoria; Kathy Wood, Marshall • MAGAZINE STAFF:
Martin Bevins, Vice President, Communications & Member Services; Charles J. Lohrmann, Editor; Tom Widlowski, Associate Editor; Karen Nejtek, Production Manager; Andy Doughty, Creative Manager;
Grace Arsiaga, Print Production Specialist; Chris Burrows, Communications Specialist; Christine Carlson, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Paula Disbrowe, Food Editor; Suzanne Halko,
Communications Specialist; Jane Sharpe, Senior Designer; Ellen Stader, Communications Specialist; Karen Taylor, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Shannon Oelrich, Proofreader
TexasCoopPower.com
February 2016 Texas Co-op Power
3
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LETTERS
Relative Infamy
When I read the article by
Stephen Sharpe [Endangered
Places, September 2015], I saw
the name of a relative in the
“Lost” segment. Ben “Tall
Texan” Kilpatrick’s great-grandfather and my great-greatgreat-grandfather were one and
the same, so I guess that makes
us cousins.
I first became aware of this
infamous cousin when I read
Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies
(Henry Holt and Co., 2015). Ben
is mentioned in the book and is
even pictured in the famous
“Fort Worth Five” photograph
(he is seated in the middle
between Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid). The photo, incidentally, became the beginning
of the downfall of the whole
gang—kind of an early mug shot.
Seeing Ben’s name in the
article was yet another verification that my family tree has a
few termites in it!
VIVIAN BARRINGTON | JASPER
JASPER-NEWTON EC
Dobie Is Mr. Texas
The article by Lonn Taylor on
J. Frank Dobie tells it like it is
[J. Frank Dobie Rides Again,
October 2015]. I disdain naive,
politically correct or pandering articles.
S O N GW R I T I N G : A N DY D U N AWAY. G AG E H OT E L : ST E V E K RA B L I N
BARBARA DUVALL-WESOLEK | HOUSTON
After my discharge from the Air
Force, I attended Sul Ross State
University in my hometown of
Alpine. One of my history professors was Dudley Dobie, first
cousin of J. Frank Dobie, and
another professor, Clifford
Casey, was a friend of both
Dobies and taught history of
the Spanish Southwest.
Inspiring Songwriter
Thank you for the wonderful article written by
Darden Smith [The Next
Song, November 2015]. I
am a big fan of his music.
It was a nice surprise to
see the article and read
about his inspiring songwriting work with military
service members.
LINDA SECRIST | MAGNOLIA | SAN BERNARD EC
Casey lectured entirely
from memory, and I took every
course he taught. A couple of
times, I had the honor to meet
J. Frank Dobie. I shared a couple of tales I had heard all my
life about old-timers, a couple
of whom were still alive at the
time. I went with one of the
old-timers’ granddaughters
when I was in high school and
got even more old stories.
Travel Companion
Here is a picture of me at
the historic Gage Hotel taken
September 15 with the magazine featuring an article about
the hotel [Big Bend Baron,
September 2015].
MARY KRABLIN | SPRING
SAM HOUSTON EC
out their priorities. When did the
NFL schedule become the criteria to determine whether a law
should pass or not? It makes no
sense to keep a law that nobody
wants and serves no purpose. I
don’t even want to hear the reasoning behind the failure to pass
the no-text, no-talk law.
SANDRA N. LORENZ | PLANTERSVILLE
MID-SOUTH SYNERGY
GARRY HENDERSON | COMANCHE
COMANCHE EC
GET MORE TCP AT
TexasCoopPower.com
Helping in Haiti
I was glad to see that co-op
people have gone to Haiti to
help with its infrastructure [The
Power of Your Cooperative,
October 2015]. Since September 2013, I have been going to
Haiti on a regular basis and am
involved in teaching the residents to build earthquake- and
hurricane-resistant homes.
HERB NORDMEYER | CASTROVILLE
MEDINA EC
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ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share
EMAIL: letters@TexasCoopPower.com
MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power,
Tick, Tick, Ticked Off
I could not believe what I read
in Daylight Saving Time Law
Intercepted [Currents, November
2015]. These people need to sort
1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor,
Austin, TX 78701
Please include your town and electric co-op.
Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
Texas Co-op Power Magazine
TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 72, NUMBER 8 (USPS 540-560). Texas Co-op Power is published monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX, and at additional offices. TEC is the
statewide association representing 75 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email editor@TexasCoopPower.com. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.08 per year for
individual members of subscribing cooperatives. If you are not a member of a subscribing cooperative, you can purchase an annual subscription at the nonmember rate of $7.50. Individual copies and back issues are
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address and key numbers. ADVERTISING: Advertisers interested in buying display ad space in Texas Co-op Power and/or in our 30 sister publications in other states, contact Martin Bevins at (512) 486-6249. Advertisements
in Texas Co-op Power are paid solicitations. The publisher neither endorses nor guarantees in any manner any product or company included in this publication. Product satisfaction and delivery responsibility lie solely with
the advertiser.
© Copyright 2016 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission.
Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2016 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
TexasCoopPower.com
5
CURRENTS
HAPPENINGS
How To Spend
a Midwinter Night
KERRVILLE’S SYMPHONY OF THE HILLS pays tribute to William Shakespeare,
who has dominated the literary scene of Western civilization for the 400 years
since his death in 1616. The symphony performs ShakespeareFest: A Musical
Tribute to the Bard the evening of February 25 at the Cailloux Theater in Kerrville.
The event features five performances, including Felix Mendelssohn’s
acclaimed score for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cole Porter’s jazzy
Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate,
loosely based on the comedy
The Taming of the Shrew.
INFO a (830) 792-7469,
symphonyofthehills.org
C O O P E R AT I V E
P R I N C I P L E N O. 6
COOPERATION
AMONG
COOPERATIVES
When a winter storm of historic
impact is forecast for the Texas
Panhandle, keeping the lights on
takes a special kind of preparedness—and a special kind of followthrough. Co-ops follow the
Seven Cooperative Principles,
and the sixth principle is Cooperation Among Cooperatives.
When one co-op in North Texas
experienced 1,700 downed utility
poles in its service area, other
co-ops were standing by to
send in linemen and materials.
It’s never easy to forecast where
the damaging weather will hit,
but it’s always easy to know
that the co-op family is ready
to take care of its members.
Find more
happenings all
across the state at
TexasCoopPower
.com
BY THE NUMBERS
1
,
,
February 18 is NATIONAL BATTERY DAY,
which shines a light on the more
than 10 billion batteries produced
annually worldwide.
6
Texas Co-op Power February 2016
,
( 10 BILLION
THAT ’S A LOT OF ZEROS!
)
As the popularity of mobile devices that rely on cuttingedge rechargeable cells continues to grow, batteries
increasingly rely on the electric grid to keep cellphones,
laptops and even cars humming along.
TexasCoopPower.com
I CE: OLEKSII AKH RI MENKO | D OLLAR P HOTO CLUB . SH AKESPEARE: DAV ID MOOR E. BAT T ERI ES: S EEN | D OLLAR PH OTO CLUB
In this case, half a dozen
co-ops responded to the call
and were prepared to send
resources, one from as far away
as the Texas Gulf coast.
CO-OP PEOPLE
A L M A N AC
Cap-ital Idea
STAR OF A NEW
FRIENDSHIP
A doctor in San Angelo ended up helping more
H AT: COURT ESY N ANCY JOHN SON. YARN: P ICSFI VE | D OLLAR P H OTO CLUB. FLAGS: SIDESIGN1 | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB. PLASMA: DAVID MOORE
than one heart when he inserted a stent
into Nancy Johnson’s artery in May 2015.
A grateful Johnson, who’s been a member of Southwest Texas Electric Cooperative for 57 years, turned to knitting to help
get the word out on heart health.
Johnson already had been contributing
knitted red hats to the American Heart
Association’s LITTLE HATS, BIG HEARTS program, which raises awareness for what the
organization says is the No. 1 killer of
Americans—heart disease—and congenital
heart defects, by providing babies born in
February with keepsake red hats. Johnson
and other donors from all 50 states sent
more than 30,000 hats to Chicago hospitals in 2014.
But she saw an opportunity closer to
home: “I just said, ‘Why not here? Why not
in Texas?’ ” So she founded the first Texasbased Little Hats, Big Hearts group, which
has grown to include 19 craftspeople. By
October, they had amassed more than 400
caps crafted by knitters as young as 9 and
as old as 79.
“It doesn’t matter who made it; it’s the
cause behind it,” says Johnson of Sonora,
whose husband, Jerry, recently retired
from Southwest Texas EC’s board after
43 years.
170 Years Ago: The lone star
joined 27 others when the
Republic of Texas flag was lowered and the U.S. flag raised in
a ceremony at the Texas Capitol. On February 19, 1846, the
young state’s Legislature convened for the first time, about a
year after the U.S. Congress—
with the support of President
John Tyler—passed a bill to
admit Texas as the 28th state.
Their initial goal was to make enough hats
to adorn the heads of all babies born in
nearby San Angelo in February, American
Heart Month, but they’ve since eclipsed
that expected mark. Now Johnson has
eyes on sparking a statewide movement
for Texas-born babies.
“If we can get this to spread, then eventually we can cover the whole state,” says
Johnson, a proud mother and grandmother
herself, who guesses she’s made at least 50
caps. “It makes your heart feel good.”
WANT TO HELP? a Visit heart.org or call
(325) 226-3659.
Out-Of-This-World Quote:
Texas’ last president, Anson
Jones, who is sometimes called
the Architect of Annexation,
addressed the crowd at the
Austin ceremony. Near the end
of his speech, he referenced the
symbolic joining of the former
nation’s flag with that of the
U.S. “The Lone Star of Texas …
has culminated, and, following
an inscrutable destiny, has
passed on and become fixed
forever in that glorious constellation, which all freemen and
lovers of freedom must reverence and adore—the American
Union.”
ENERGY INFO
Plasmas
Cost Plenty
PLASMA TVS
consume about twice
as much power as LEDs
—more than 1,400
kilowatt-hours each
year, which can add
up to $150 to your
electricity bill, according to the Mother
Nature Network.
TexasCoopPower.com
Did you know?
;
TEXAS OFFICIALLY
BECAME THE 28TH STATE
DECEMBER 29, 1845.
FLORIDA HAD BECOME
NO. 27 EARLIER
THAT YEAR.
IOWA BECAME NO. 29
AT THE END OF 1846.
7
TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION program
sows cadre of green thumbs around the state
By SHERYL SMITH-RODGERS
Photos by WYATT MCSPADDEN
GROWN
with weeds and brush, 23 acres of city-owned
property in the East Texas town of Quitman stood neglected. That is,
until Pam Riley, one of 78 current members of the Wood County Master
Gardeners Association, an offshoot of the county's extension program,
proposed a project to preserve the area’s diverse flora and teach others
about horticulture.
Eight years later, the Quitman Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
attracts hundreds of visitors who stroll the walking paths, tour the gardens and attend workshops. In May, Science Day at the Arboretum,
hosted by the master gardeners, teaches local third-graders about vegetable gardening, plant propagation and honeybees.
“We’re the only arboretum in Texas that’s managed completely by
volunteers,” Riley says. “The community supports us in other ways, too.
Wood County Electric Cooperative, of which I’m a member, has donated
plants and a gazebo and installed electricity where we’ve needed it.”
Debbie Robinson, Wood County EC general manager, says she
admires master gardeners for their willingness to volunteer, learn about
gardening and share their knowledge with others. “Across Wood County,
their work gilds our town squares, libraries and parks,” Robinson says.
“We love to support our master gardeners.”
From planting demonstration gardens to fielding questions, giving
presentations, working with kids and writing articles, approximately 6,160
master gardeners in more than 100 of Texas’ 254 counties share their
gardening know-how within their communities. Annually, they contribute
550,000 hours of volunteer work worth $11 million toward a common
mission: to assist county agents with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Service in disseminating gardening information.
The idea for training grassroots gardening experts originated in the
1970s when two extension agents in Washington state became overwhelmed with gardening questions from the public. To relieve the pressure, they recruited and trained volunteer assistants who, once trained,
earned the title of “master gardener.”
Today, master gardener programs exist in all 50 states. The concept
spread to Texas in 1978 when the late Sam Cotner,
an extension vegetable specialist, shared the proFrom left, Patty Zohlen, Terri
gram’s success with his colleagues. Doug Welsh,
DeBusk, Barbara Elmore and
an extension horticulturalist, was soon hired
Anne Brown are members of
Hill Country Master Gardeners. to work as the first state coordinator. In 1979,
9
This page: Blanco master gardener Jim
Meadows; opposite page, from left: Hill
Country master gardener Terri DeBusk,
and Rebecca Henricks at a plant sale
25 trainees attended the first class, held in Montgomery County.
Galveston and El Paso counties started their own programs in
1981, followed by five more by the end of the decade.
Jayla Fry, statewide coordinator in College Station, has overseen the Texas program since 2008. “What really sets master
gardeners apart from other home gardeners is their special training in horticulture,” she explains. “In exchange for their training,
those who become master gardeners work as volunteers through
their Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office.”
Basic training, which varies by county, covers botany, soils,
composting, vegetables, plant diseases, lawn care, water conservation and more. Most volunteers join a nonprofit county association. Most associations and county programs raise funds
through plant sales, but some partner with other groups or companies to obtain funding or grants.
Though they share the same vision, Texas master gardeners
affect their neighborhoods in ways that vary as widely as the
geography where they live.
A mere 10 inches or so of rain falls annually on Ector and
TEXAS MASTER GARDENERS
AFFECT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IN WAYS THAT VARY AS WIDELY
AS THE GEOGRAPHY WHERE THEY LIVE.
Midland counties in West Texas, where the flat, mostly treeless
terrain stretches to the horizon. So the 164 volunteers with the
Permian Basin Master Gardeners Association strongly stress
water conservation.
“Our master gardeners teach workshops about rainwater
harvesting,” says Extension Agent Jeff Floyd. “We charge a fee,
but participants go home with a 55-gallon drum. Our hope is
that they’ll get hooked on rainwater collection and buy a bigger
collection tank.”
Among their many projects, Permian Basin volunteers partner
with the city of Odessa to maintain a compost demonstration
garden that teaches how to recycle yard waste. They also help
maintain the George and Milly Rhodus Sculpture and Sensory
Garden at the Ellen Noel Art Museum in Odessa.
“It’s so neat to be able to spread my enthusiasm for gardening,”
says Barbara Porsch of Midland, the association’s president, who
trained in 1992 and writes about herbs for the group’s monthly
newsletter. “My grandchildren even call me ‘Pepper’ because
that’s what I love to grow.”
Farther west, 100 volunteers with the El Paso Master Gardeners Association tend a public rose garden, pick up trash along
the Woodrow Bean Transmountain Road and host Saturday gardening classes. At a demonstration garden in El Paso’s Ascarate
Park, they show residents how to use raised beds, containers and
rainwater barrels to grow vegetables in the Chihuahuan Desert.
“We receive less than 8 inches of rain annually,” says retired
school administrator Jan Petrzelka, association president. “We
10
can’t raise heirloom tomatoes here! So we research what grows
best and share what we learn with the public. What we raise goes
to our local food bank. Last year, we donated 1,594 pounds of
vegetables.”
On the Gulf Coast, master gardeners in Aransas and San Patricio counties visit with property owners to answer questions and
offer advice. “Our coastal live oaks here are so important to us,
and many of them are declining,” says Extension Agent Ginger
Easton Smith in Rockport. “Our trained ‘tree team’ checks oaks
for hypoxylon canker and offers pruning advice.”
Every month, the master gardeners host brown bag seminars,
where participants can learn about composting, pruning, waterwise landscaping and controlling invasives. “Our master gardeners also answer gardening questions on our hotline and help with
the annual HummerBird Celebration,” Smith says.
In the five Hill Country counties of Kerr, Kendall, Gillespie,
Bandera and Real, approximately 100 volunteers form the Hill
Country Master Gardeners Association. They assist with 10
community gardens, award scholarships to horticulture students and sell plants at Kerrville’s monthly Market Days.
“Our oak wilt specialists make home visits, which helps me
out,” says Extension Agent Roy Walston, who’s a member of Central Texas Electric Cooperative. “Our master gardener network
definitely expands the capabilities of Texas A&M AgriLife.”
In April, the gardeners sell plants and rain barrels at their
annual Blooms & Barrels event. “We’ve expanded the day to include
public education programs and demonstrations,” says Patty Zohlen,
TexasCoopPower.com
a retired registered nurse and the association’s president. “Once
you learn about gardening, you want to talk about it!”
In Houston, people struggling with chemical addictions find
healing in a therapeutic greenhouse tended by the Harris County
Master Gardeners Association. Horticulture Specialist Jeanie
Dunnihoo, who’s also a master gardener, oversees the greenhouse
and Serenity Gardens at the Memorial Hermann Prevention and
Recovery Center. “Stress often leads to drug or alcohol abuse,”
Dunnihoo explains. “We teach people how gardening and being
with nature relieves stress.”
Although Madison County lacks a master gardener program,
three certified volunteers work in Madisonville’s Restoration
Community Gardens. The 6-acre project, sponsored by the
county and Texas A&M AgriLife, consists of raised vegetable
beds, a rainwater collection system and an aquaponics system.
Fun Fridays, a children’s summer camp at the gardens, includes
a gardening component hosted by master gardeners. “We teach
kids about vermiculture, composting and keyhole gardening,” says
TexasCoopPower.com
Leslie Lazenby, a master gardener who first
envisioned the community gardens. “Ultimately, we want to empower our residents
by teaching gardening fundamentals and
self-sustainability.”
Extension Agent Jennifer Herrera works
with the 35 members of the Cameron
County Master Gardeners Association. “In
our demonstration garden, they teach the
public about vegetable gardening, rainwater
harvesting and attracting butterflies,” she
says. “In the Valley, we have two growing
seasons for vegetables, so we help people
select the best plants for each season.”
Master gardener Elizabeth Garcia, who
works full time at a Brownsville charter
school, volunteers at five vegetable gardens in low-income
communities where diabetes and obesity run high, and healthy
foods are difficult to obtain. As part of the Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities program, the gardens were funded
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and implemented by Texas
A&M AgriLife.
“We’re teaching adults and kids how to grow their own food,”
Garcia says. “Each family has its own plot, and we provide everything they need. The program is making a huge difference. I know
one man in his 70s with diabetes who’s going to the doctor less
and taking less medication, all because he’s eating fresh vegetables.”
“As a master gardener, I love to teach,” Garcia adds. “It’s
thrilling to hear people tell me, ‘This was a seed in my hand, and
now I’m eating a carrot!’ ”
Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, a member of Pedernales EC, lives in Blanco.
WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Find out how to become a master
gardener, and discover gardening publications and resources.
11
Responsive Envelope Design
(quality insulated walls,
windows, doors and roof)
Active Technology
(solar, geothermal and smart
monitoring systems)
Proper Orientation
and Natural Ventilation
Xeriscape, Rainwater
Collection and
Grey Water Reuse
HOME DESIGNS, BUILDING PRACTICES AND
OCCUPANTS’ CONSERVATION EFFORTS CAN
MAKE OPTIMAL USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES.
12
TexasCoopPower.com
Home Design Innovation
ENERGY-EFFICIENT STRATEGIES GO EASY ON
HOMEOWNER EXPENSES AND ENVIRONMENT
CARL WIENS
B Y DA N O KO
When veteran Austin architect Scott Ginder drew up plans for the custom home his
family would live in, he knew it would take more than a high-tech thermostat and
energy-efficient lightbulbs to make the house stand out. He wanted to create a model
of sustainability. With that goal in mind, Ginder, who founded Forge Craft Architecture
+ Design with partner Rommel Sulit in 2013, needed not only to embrace the latest
technology but also satisfy his family’s expectations for comfort.
“Ten years ago, you could not have convinced me that you could actually design
and build a net-zero house,” says Ginder, using the industry phrase for a home that
produces as much energy as it uses. “But if we were going to build a home with our
values, and propose that to clients, I needed to walk the walk.”
Those desires led him to think beyond traditional design elements and explore new
technologies that are not yet commonplace in most American homes. He installed a
state-of-the-art HVAC system, a multizone heating and cooling system that employs
what’s known as variable refrigerant flow. This VRF technology can improve HVAC
efficiency by about 25 percent. With no gas connection to his house, Ginder also relied
on a 66-gallon electric water heater that recirculates the home’s interior warm air to
heat the water and then channel cool, dry air into the air-conditioning ducts.
“In a typical house, hot water is about 20 percent of your energy costs,” says Ginder.
“With the system we used, I expect to lower that by a third.” It all adds up to substantial
savings, he notes.
To further save on energy, Ginder kept the size of his home—which accommodates
him, his wife, Andrea, and their two young children—to 2,000 square feet. Doors and
windows were scaled and positioned to limit the effect of outdoor temperatures. Ginder further boosted energy efficiency by heavily insulating the interior with foam
panels and adding spray-on barriers between the attic rafters, thereby sealing the
building envelope. The finished house was airtight.
But you don’t have to head for Austin or other big Texas cities to find homeowners
who embrace green-building technology in the hopes of having an energy-efficient household. Town residents and ranch families served by electric cooperatives across Texas
pursue strategies to improve energy efficiency for new homes as well as older homes,
installing solar panels and individual wind turbines, and upgrading climate controls.
As of 2015, the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade group, ranked
Texas the 10th state overall with 387 megawatts in cumulative solar capacity—roughly
the capacity to energize 41,000 homes, though the majority is used commercially. Even
so, the cost of residential solar installation has dropped about 8 percent since 2014.
Some cooperatives have taken steps to demonstrate innovative building options.
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative completed its demonstration Eco-Home on the
outskirts of Brenham in 2012. The house boasts solar panels and a wind turbine
mounted on a 40-foot pole, capable of generating 2.4 kilowatts. There’s a geothermal
system that uses Earth’s temperature for heating and cooling by pumping water into
TexasCoopPower.com
13
Even as green
construction grows
more popular, however,
agree that home
Energy
conservation
efficiency requires
requires that
more than technology.
consumers educate
green-building experts
themselves about
opportunities for
saving electricity.
ENERGY-EFFICIENCY UPGRADES
If you’re not in the market for a new home, boost
the energy efficiency of the one you’re in. A home
energy audit, available from many electric co-ops,
can help identify where to start. After that, here
are some solutions to consider.
BIG PROJECTS
Update your fireplace with tempered glass doors
and a heat-air exchange system to warm your home
more efficiently.
Add energy-efficient, well-sealed windows that let
in more or less energy based on the amount of sun
they receive.
Upgrade your older appliances with newer, more
efficient ones. New refrigerators, for example, are 60
percent more efficient that those made 20 years ago.
the ground and then circulating it through the house. “It shows
what you can do on your ranch and farm,” says the narrator of
the co-op’s online video.
Will Holford, manager of public affairs at Bluebonnet EC, says
it makes sense that rural Texans would be attracted to energy
conservation and the promise of technology to improve energy
efficiency. In addition to the financial incentive to build homes
that create their own energy, Holford notes that co-op membership
statewide has its roots in farming and ranching communities with
deep ties to the land, and they have an abiding interest in sustainability and preservation when it comes to natural resources.
The money that can be saved by generating one’s own electricity is another aspect of energy-efficiency standards touted
by Ginder, who has a 7.2-kilowatt solar array on his Austin roof.
“There’s a great interest in this not just from our members,
but from all across Central Texas,” Holford says of Bluebonnet
EC’s Eco-Home. “Not a day goes by that we don’t have two to
three drop-ins, as well as regularly scheduled tours.”
Business is booming for Lloyd Lee, owner of Native, a Bastrop
firm that builds custom homes and retrofits established homes
with energy-efficient amenities. He did not work on the Ginder
house, but Lee takes a similar approach to home efficiency. To
help people transform houses into what are sometimes called
“passive homes,” which marks improved energy efficiency, Lee
installs federally Energy Star-certified windows to cut back on
thermal loss, uses spray foam to better seal building envelopes
and mounts solar panels.
Native takes a similar approach regarding water, integrating
rainwater catchments and providing additional filtration so that
the water provided by these systems is of a superior quality for
drinking and cooking. “People who live on rainwater,” he testifies,
“it’s almost like a cult.”
Even as green construction grows more popular, however,
green-building experts agree that home efficiency requires more
than technology. Energy conservation requires that consumers
14
WEEKEND UPGRADES
Install a programmable thermostat that adjusts
temperature levels based on the time of day to cut
usage by up to 10 percent annually.
Add ceiling fans to rooms that tend to be warmer, so
the air feels cooler and the air conditioner can run less
in warmer months.
Replace faucets and showerheads with low-flow
models, which can lessen your home’s water heater load.
SMALL CHANGES
Caulk or add weatherstripping to small holes and
cracks around ducts, pipes, exhaust fans, vents, sink
and bathtub drains, fireplaces and under countertops.
Tape a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet to the inside
of window panes to reduce heat loss in the winter.
Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact
fluorescent lamps or light-emitting diodes.
educate themselves about opportunities for saving electricity.
Even Ginder faces an uphill battle when it comes to persuading
his family members to eschew air conditioning in favor of opening
a window, or trade the convenience of the clothes dryer for a
clothesline to dry their laundry.
“Energy is quantifiable, and that’s why we tend to talk about
it,” Ginder says. “But we tend to forget there is a user component
to all this. A five-star green house can be a two-star home if the
people living there don’t understand all the passive aspects.”
Dan Oko is a Houston writer; his website is danoko.com.
WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Check out resources for energy-
efficient home design.
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Co-op News
SOUTH PLAINS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
C
Bunny, Jan, and Derek served as Operation
Round Up directors for six years.
Cooperative Honors Operation
Round Up Directors for their
Dedicated Service
They worked for cookies and cokes—
and an occasional steak.
Three Cooperative members retired
from the Operation Round Up Board of
Directors at the December 2015 meeting
in Lubbock. Each director can serve a
maximum of two terms for a total of six
years.
Bunny Keeney of Shallowater, Jan
Havens of Kalgary, and Derek Kitten of
Slaton, all served the board faithfully for
six years.
Filling the vacant seats are Shea
Adrian of Shallowater, Lou BoylesBruster of White River and Jane
Bednarz of Slaton.
The Operation Round Up Board seats
10 directors representing our entire
18
Feb.indd 18
service area. They serve on a voluntary
basis without per diem.
Like you, these people are Cooperative members participating and believing in Operation Round Up. But what is
Operation Round Up?
It’s a community service program
funded by the members of South Plains
Electric Cooperative. As a participant,
your electric bill is rounded up to the
nearest dollar each month, and the few
extra cents go into the Operation Round
Up fund. Your average annual, taxdeductible contribution is about $6 per
account enrolled.
For example, if your monthly bill was
$95.64, it is automatically rounded up
to $96.00. Current Operation Round Up
Texas Co-op Power SOUTH PLAINS EC February 2016
participants generated about $23,000 in
2015.
If all Cooperative members were participating in Operation Round Up, the
fund would accumulate $150,000 annually! Just think about how many people
and organizations would benefit from
Operation Round Up.
The Cooperative implemented Operation Round Up in 1993 as another way
to give back to our local communities.
The funds accumulated are the responsibility of the Operation Round Up Board.
South Plains Electric Cooperative
belongs to every member it serves,
and collectively, we are responsible for
improving the quality of life in our communities whenever possible.
www.spec.coop • Like us on Facebook
1/7/2016 6:01:58 PM
(806) 775-7766 | WWW.SPEC.COOP | LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
CO-OP P WER
PrePay
Can
save you
MONEY!
“I’m on PrePay metering, and one
weekend I noticed my kilowatt
hours increased to double what I
normally use. I also noticed that
my heating unit didn’t seem to
shut off at all. I called a heating
repair company to take a look.
This photo shows what they
found. Thankfully, PrePay metering alerted me of my usage. If I
didn’t have PrePay it could have
been a month until I noticed the
increase in my usage. It saved me
a lot of money. I’m so happy I have
PrePay metering.”
-Debbie Ruedo
SPEC Member and Employee
What is
Co-op Power PrePay?
Co-op Power PrePay is a pay-as-you-go
plan that allows you to pay when you
want, in the amount you want. Instead
of receiving a paper or an electronic bill
each month, usage is calculated daily.
Co-op Power PrePay members never pay
a deposit, late charge, disconnect fee, or
reconnect fee.
How does PrePay work?
PrePay works similar to a prepaid cellular
phone. You put money into your PrePay
account, and as you use electricity, the
cost of the usage will be deducted daily
from your PrePay account balance.
Sign up by calling
Member Service:
806-775-7766
or online at
www.SPEC.coop
$934,634 Saved
on Prescriptions by Members using their Co-op Connections Card
In December, 213 prescriptions were filled and members saved $6,751, averaging 45 percent off the retail price.
This valuable
member benefit is
absolutely free!
Go online at www.SPEC.coop or call
806.775.7766 to request a free card.
Want to do some price checking on your
prescriptions? Visit www.rxpricequotes.com to
see the discounted price at local pharmacies.
Feb.indd 19
Even if you have medical coverage, compare your
coverage to the discounts. The Co-op Connections
discount may be better than your medical insurance!
The pharmacy will need the group and member numbers on the back of the card to process the discount.
February 2016 SOUTH PLAINS EC Texas Co-op Power
19
1/7/2016 6:02:35 PM
Co-op News
Get To Know Your
Co-op Network
UNI T E D COOPE RAT I VE S E RVI CE S
The power behind your power
MESSAGE FROM
DALE ANCELL, GENERAL MANAGER
EVERY DAY, SOUTH PLAINS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE is hard at
work making sure all of our members have the electric power
they need at the best possible price. Behind the scenes, we
work with a network of cooperatives to make that happen. We
are such believers and supporters in the cooperative business
model, we take every advantage possible to work with other
cooperatives. Here are just a few examples of our cooperative
connections that allow us to serve you with reliable electric
service at the lowest possible cost.
One unique characteristic of South Plains Electric is having our service area in two separate electric grids. We also buy
wholesale power from two generation and transmission cooperatives. Golden Spread Electric Cooperative serves our Lubbock Division and Brazos Electric Power Cooperative serves
our Rolling Plains Division. We cooperated with other local
distribution co-ops in creating these second-tier co-ops so that
we would have more control over power supply and pricing.
Running an electric co-op requires a lot of money, so when
Working with other electric
cooperatives, we gain better
pricing for key materials.
we need to borrow capital, we often turn to the National Rural
Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation or CoBank. Both of
these organizations are also cooperatives. CFC is collectively
owned by electric co-ops throughout the country, and CoBank
is owned by electric and agricultural co-ops nationwide.
Operating an electric co-op also takes a lot of equipment,
such as poles, wires, transformers and other items that our
members might never see. This is why we take advantage of the
products and services offered by Texas Electric Cooperatives,
our statewide association, which offers a shared inventory
of products to ensure that its 75 member organizations have
quick access to all the materials needed at the best possible
price. They also help us produce this magazine each month to
provide information about South Plains Electric Cooperative.
Although you are a member of one electric co-op, you are
actually connected to a host of others. Connecting to this cooperative network helps us ensure that your needs are met in the
most efficient and cooperative way possible.
Thank you to the
CHILDRESS CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
For selecting South Plains Electric
Cooperative as their December
LARGE BUSINESS
OF THE MONTH
20
Feb.indd 20
Texas Co-op Power SOUTH PLAINS EC February 2016
1/7/2016 6:03:36 PM
Youth Tour Recipients
High school juniors and seniors competed in three local contests for a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to Washington,
D.C., from June 8—17. The students interviewed with a panel of judges to convincingly explain why they should represent South
Plains Electric Cooperative. The students were also asked questions testing their cooperative knowledge. Our four recipients
will join about 100 other Texas youth before heading out to Washington. The Texas contingency will be part of about 1,400 young
adults from across the nation participating in the annual Youth Tour.
Payton Steed
Childress • Daughter of
Chuck and Paige Steed
Guthrie • Son of
Daniel and Teresa Sandoval
Chandler Sarchet
Ryan Smith
Shallowater • Son of
John and Jennifer Sarchet
Feb.indd 21
Noe Sandoval
Frenship • Son of
Matt and Jennifer Smith
21
1/7/2016 6:05:00 PM
Operation Round Up
Scholarship applications are
now available online.
If you are a high school senior, you can request an application by
contacting Whitney Bryant at 806.775.7829, wbryant@SPEC.coop,
complete the application online or download and print a copy at
www.spec.coop.
22
Feb.indd 22
Texas Co-op Power SOUTH PLAINS EC
February 2016
1/7/2016 6:05:23 PM
Operation Round Up Offers
Mini-Grants to Teachers
The Operation Round Up Board of
Directors created a mini-grant program
to help teachers with classroom projects
or educational field trips. Operation
Round Up approved another three-year
cycle of teacher mini grants.
There are 10 mini-grants of $500
each available during the 2016-2017
school year. Entries must be submitted by May 15, 2016. This year’s grant is
available to any K-12 math or language
arts teacher if any of the following criteria are met:
• the teacher is a member of
(receives electric service from) South
Plains Electric Cooperative. The list
of qualifying schools includes: All
Lubbock ISD schools, Abernathy, Anton,
Aspermont, Childress, Chillicothe,
Cotton Center, Crosbyton, Crowell,
Floydada, Frenship, Guthrie, Hale
Center, Idalou, Jayton-Girard, Lorenzo,
Lubbock-Cooper, Motley Co., New Deal,
New Home, Olton, Paducah, Patton
Springs, Petersburg, Plainview, Post,
Quanah, Ralls, Roosevelt, Ropesville,
Rotan, Shallowater, Slaton, Southland,
Smyer, Spur and Wilson. If you are
teaching at a private school, your
application will be subject to eligibility
verification.
• at least one student in the class is a
member of and receives electric service
at their home or family business from
South Plains Electric Cooperative.
Ten teachers received grants for their
science and art/music classroom projects for the 2015-2016 school year. Their
stories will be published in this magazine and will be available at www.SPEC.
coop under the Operation Round Up tab.
Feb.indd 23
Operation
Round Up
Neighbors helping
Neighbors!
How will the applications be
judged?
All applications will be screened by a
volunteer committee related to education to select the finalists. The Operation
Round Up Board will select the 10 winners from the finalists.
A project or educational field trip
should offer an expanded learning
opportunity for the students that compliments and reinforces daily classroom
studies. This is an opportunity to do
something extra for students.
Teachers receiving grants must submit a written, final report with pictures
on their project or educational field trip.
Applications may be completed and
submitted online, or download a PDF at
www.SPEC.coop under the Operation
Round Up tab.
The grant application deadline is 5
p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2016. All of the
Operation Round Up funds come from
Cooperative members volunteering to
participate in the program. The average
annual contribution is only $6.00, and
we need your participation!
If you want to participate, just call
our member services department at
806.775.7766. You can also enroll online
and learn more about Operation Round
Up at www.SPEC.coop.
23
1/7/2016 6:06:06 PM
AGRICULTURE
CONSTRUCTION
Fresh eggs. Brown, large, free range. Hens have
never had medicated feed. 790-3479.
Tim McCann Painting. Interior and exterior
painting, fence and deck staining. 10% off final
bill with Co-op Connections card. 549-8923:
Fresh local grown, shelled pecans. $9/lb. or
$25/3 lb. Lubbock 781-4697 or 781-7296:
Sheep shearing by Kevin, a graduate of Abernathy & Mr. Kelly’s ag class. Comes to Texas &
Oklahoma twice a year. 806-470-2121:
Farm fresh eggs. $3/18 pack. Call 871-4239:
Used John Deere tractors, some with front-end
loaders. 745-4060:
Farm fresh eggs. $2 a dozen. Call 775-4260:
Shredders, blades, plows, tractors and more.
Call for pricing. 778-9919:
Tanks repaired. Plastic, fiberglass and metal.
Rainwater collection systems. 548-0959:
Adams Farm Equipment Company, since 1976.
Cultivator knives, sweeps & spikes, sand fighters, offset disks on sale. 762-1876:
Bozeman Tire, new and used auto, truck and
farm tires. Service trucks available for on-site
repairs. 765-6308; 470-3855 cell:
AUTOS, RVS, BOATS
2010 Ford F-150 King Ranch Crew Cab. Leather,
navigation, sunroof, 86,000 miles, in great
condition. 543-9911.
2005 Chevrolet Aveo; clean; good tires, hatchback; automatic transmission; cloth seats.,
sunroof. 325-574-5488.
DH Auto is Lubbock’s newest auto repair shop.
LCU alum owned and operated. Great rates,
honest service. dhautotx.com or call 441-6485.
Fleming Spray Foam Insulation. Offices in
Lubbock and Childress, serving rural areas. Joe
Stalcup 543-5103:
Concrete Randy. Driveways, sidewalks, slabs,
patios, dirt work, asphalt repair. Free estimates,
call 448-1148:
Professional tile installation, references available, 30 yrs. experience. Andrew 544-3958 or
873-3647; Gilbert 778-4095; Carrie 559-6554:
We do all types of fence work from repair to
replacement, ag and ranch a speciality. Free
and honest bids, call Les at 438-7859, 470-7782:
Home, Auto, Life. Free child kit with policy. Jim
Welch Ins. Agency, 783-0290. www.FarmersofLubbock.com:
Shredding lots & acreage. Call anytime 778-7092.
Cactus Creek Firewood. Oak, pinion, mesquite,
pecan, hickory. From a few sticks to a cord.
Delivery or pick up. 392-4004. 4124 E FM 1585:
Burial insurance: Lincoln Heritage Funeral
Advantage. Call Darin Tetens, 632-0104:
Need auto, life, commercial, home, health, call
for free quote. Victor Gamez Ins. 791-2892 or
www.victorgamezinsurance.com:
HEALTH
Bobbys’ mower repair. Get your mower ready
now, call Bobby at 470-7392:
Todd Anderson Lawn/Tree. Specializing in weed
control, deep-root fertilization, diagnose &
treat diseases & insects. Licensed/ins. 797-1770:
Lone Star Fence. Wood & chain link installed.
lonestarfencelubbock.com call Jimmy at 806778-1942. LIke us on Facebook:
Brian Harper Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.
TACL#A22184. 445-0020:
Luna Construction. Steel buildings, welding,
concrete, fences, free estimates. 781-1232,
781-1786:
Learn what essential oils are all about. Classes
online and in person. Email or call for schedule.
832-0531, info@useoilsinstead.com:
Small tractor shredding, blade work. Also,
trenching, sandblasting & mobile welding.
239-9894:
Ford Insulation & Fireplaces. Fiberglass or
cellulose insulation. Monessen fireplaces, gas
logs and outdoor grills. 548-2750:
Enjoy the best massage in town. Patti Hill, LMT,
swedish, deep tissue, hot stone, mother-to-be,
reflexology; evenings & Saturdays. 239-4208:
MISCELLANEOUS
Victor Jimenez Concrete and Dirt. Patios, sidewalks, driveways, flower beds, curbs. 317-3288:
Super Blue Stuff, pain relief of arthritis, back
pain, carpal tunnel, sports injuries, specials.
253-3040, 786-5356:
John Garrett, LLC, building, remodeling and
masonry. 789-0742:
Straub Masonry: In business over 40 yrs. Brick,
stone, pavers, glass block, pointups, mailboxes,
repairs. 795-5681:
Smith Construction: carports, metal buildings,
remodels, metal roofs and fences. 893-6905:
Armor Auto Glass of Lubbock. Windshields, rock
chip repairs, door glasses, back glasses, mirrors.
Locally-owned, free estimates. 778-3710:
All types of roofing and all phases of remodeling, windows, siding, roof additions, free estimates, Roof Master & Construction, 780-7663:
Bryan’s Auto Parts Locator. 9-6, M-F. Nationwide
parts locator, new and used. Delivery and installation available, warranty on all parts. 745-2050:
Western Implement Company, featuring
Kubota, Bush-Hog and Land Pride. 321 19th St.
765-0900, kubotalubbock.com:
Jay’s Home Auto Repair, mobile mechanic. 8AM8PM, Monday-Saturday. I still make house calls.
Over 30 yrs. experience. 773-8622:
Premier Home Exteriors. Steel siding, overhangs, storm doors, storm & insulated windows.
798-2482:
Truck accessories; service and restoration on
Scouts; Scout Madness Truck Outfitters. www.
scoutmadness.com. 745-7475:
Roy Reese Construction. Remodel or new construction, metal roofs, barns, fencing. 839-2174:
Feb.indd 24
Edge to Edge overall long arm machine
quilting, pick-up and delivery. Call Marlene
Hildebrandt 787-3334:
Patio Creations: Casino portable bars, custom
built: refrigerator, CD player, lights, game &
bar. Cedar wood, drink & chip holders. 783-8351:
Colbert Painting. 35 yrs. in business, interior
& exterior, residential & commercial, specialty
faux painting, free est. 441-8898:
24
3-D-S Lawncare, mowing, edging, trimming.
8805 25th St. Call: Freddy 448-0368 or Latika
448-9234:
It’s no longer about losing weight! Get healthy,
shed extra pounds w/Plexus Slim. 778-5393.
http://bjmassingill.myplexusproducts.com:
Polyurethane foam roofing & insulation. Best for
flat roofs and inside metal buildings. Over 40
yrs. experience. 781-4041; 253-0205:
Logan’s Auto Repair, for all your automotive
services, 13th and Q, Lubbock, 749-3488:
Local author writes true adventure book.
Confessions of a Bible Salesman...An Exciting
Adventure with God. $13, www.kelleylitsch.com:
Your agent for business, home, auto & life
insurance since 1982. Keith Potts, State Farm,
794-5084 or www.keithpotts.com:
High Plains Gardens. Native plants and grasses.
Vegetable/herb plants (in season). Cactus &
succulents. 778-9333:
Spray foam insulation. Metal buildings or barns.
New or existing structures. Free estimates.
441-1553; 787-5699:
BOOKS, VIDEOS, CDS
Used utility poles, 30’, no cutting on site, must
sign release of responsibility, make donation to
Operation Round Up, call 775-7793 to make appt:
Stressed out, tight muscles, reached the boiling
point? Relaxing massage; swedish & deep
tissue. Specials availabe, call Rayna 470-9665:
Blue Sky Custom Shutters. Dealer for O'Hair
Shutters. Interior window treatments and
exterior shutters; shadow boxes. 535-0456:
JNJ Customs. Retro mods, light restorations,
custom fabrication and general auto repair.
Contact Jim 778-3776 or Jay 500-0061:
Precision Auto Repair, engine overhauls, brakes,
alignments, chassis, rear axles, cv-joints,
electrical. 866-9021:
Shredding, tilling, disc & blade work. Medium
size tractor with 6ft equipment. Call for estimate
241-6658:
Lubbock Pergola & Deck; Full service designbuild company. Free consultation and design.
549-9258; www.lubbockpergola.com:
Reduce your energy bills summer/winter with
full vinyl replacement windows. Low installed
price. Also do metal buildings, free est. 787-7690:
Competitive Auto Repair Service, 30 years
experience, light truck, light auto, reasonable
rates. 392-5487:
Sig Dansby & Assoc. Insurance Services. Auto,
home, renters, life, annuities, disability, IRAs.
Independent agents. 785-0840, 432-770-0197:
Diane’s Magnetic Jewelry. Why hurt? Stop the
pain! Lubbock 781-4239:
B&R Auto Parts. New and used parts, mechanic on staff, six month warranty on all parts.
4401 Ave. A, Lubbock, 762-0139:
Windshield repair/replacement, rock chip repair,
all auto/truck glass, mirrors, mobile & shop service. 7415 82nd St. Clear Vu Auto Glass 791-4311:
MEMBERS’ MARKET CLASSIFIEDS
Absolute Security, prewires, structured wiring,
gate operators, cameras, all types of security
and whole home audio. 795-5656:
FINANCIAL & INSURANCE
Medicare advantage and medicare supplements. Superior service. Jim Hoodenpyle,
778-1106:
Texas Co-op Power SOUTH PLAINS EC
HOUSEHOLD
Oliver’s Cleaning Service. Home, office, lawn,
etc. Mistie, 466-8500:
Grace Mobile Home Repair. 473-7470. Owner
Joe Beck. 10% discount when mentioning ad:
S&K Furniture Repair. Specializing in recliner
frame work, wood reglue and touch-up repair.
www.skfurniturerepair.com. 798-2471:
Jordan’s Carpet Cleaning. 806-300-6622.
Carpet cleaning, countertop refinishing, water
extraction:
J&P Mobile Home Movers, serving all of Texas.
445-6370; 445-2178:
LANDSCAPING
Approx. 300’ x 5’ chain link fencing materials.
Slats, 4 pedestrian gates, 1 drive-through gate.
$2,000 OBO. 757-2145, 549-7249.
Pink Zebra Sprinkles, Sales consultant: Marrelle
Thomas. Phone: 466-2428.
APC battery back-up by Schneider, 500va, 3-yr.
warranty. Never removed from box. Ordered by
mistake. $100. 795-4673.
Long-arm quilter, t-shirt quilts, pieced quilts.
368-5684.
I will pick up leftover garage sale items when
your sale is complete! 474-6688.
High Plains Firewood, seasoned & split Pinion,
Oak, Pine, Mesquite & Pecan. Pick-up or delivery
available. Call or text 786-0281.
Restore old quits to make beautiful keepsakes!
Also finish quilt tops. 789-5840:
All-over, long-arm quilting. Call Deanna at
Connecting The Pieces. 787-4083:
Weddings, family, monthly specials, etc. Seasonal Mini Sessions and all your photo needs.
549-1651. mjohnsonphoto.net:
Military Surplus-Antiques-Collectibles, now
open at 2405 34th St., 10-5:30 M-Sat. Glory B.
470-0330 or 368-5264:
All your photography needs. Monthly specials.
Weddings, family, sports, etc. 559-7796.
www.wgalavizphotography.com:
Macrame plant hangers & hanging tables. Made
to order, variety of designs & colors. www.macremaedecor.com or jeff@macramedecor.com
Vicki’s Crafts. 445-2921. For fall, Christmas and
every day. 4108 E 3rd. Thurs.-Fridays:
TX Concealed Handgun Class: $100, includes
meal & range fee. Complete class in one day.
Rockhill Arms & Mercantile. 940-663-6180:
Authentic Chuck Wagon Catering. Award winning cooks. Delicious Old West meals cooked on
site. 798-7825. 789-5929. www.hxwagon.com:
Affordable event rentals for DIY. Check out
website at www.renteventforme.com. 777-7015:
D Productions mobile DJ service with DJ Debbie
D for all occasions, all styles of music. 407-2470:
Roy’s Mobile Home Service. Moving, installation,
local and long distance. 791-5485:
Parties, weddings, or just for fun! Mike Pritchard
for your live entertainment needs. From solo
to duo or full piece band. 797-1573; 773-2215:
Long arm quilting, quilt piecing, complete tshirt quilts, Lesa Ann’s Quilting Studio. 787-3735:
DJ with TJ. DJ for all occasions. Reasonable prices. 632-6086 or go online to www.
DJwithTJ.com:
Golf clubs, woods, irons, putters, wedges,
bags and new drivers. Stonegate Golf Course.
786-7077:
Watkins Products Associate, Wilda Pruitt.
741-1154. jrwatkins.com/consultant/wilda.pruitt:
Have old houses to be moved to your location.
Bigham Housemoving. 781-7841, 781-7843:
Jones Tire. We buy and sell used tires, 13, 14 &
15. Flats fixed $5.00. 102 E Broadway. 762-8112:
Concealed handgun class. Serving the South
Plains since 1996. Sat. class, call for details.
Fred’s Gun Emporium, 3003 Slide Rd. 799-3838:
The Carpet Barn. All types of flooring. Low
overhead means low prices. Visa/MC. Financing
available. 132nd & I-27. 745-7977:
Members’ Market Advertising Form
Category _____________________________________________________________
Deadline for ads in the March magazine is February 4, 2016.
Email ad to lsimmons@SPEC.coop or complete form and mail to:
SPEC, Attn.: Lynn Simmons, P.O. Box 1830, Lubbock, TX 79408
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
In Texas
call: 811
Name __________________________________________
Phone __________________________
February 2016
1/7/2016 6:06:56 PM
If you need a personal computer tech to install
hardware, software or perform repairs, David
Sanders 470-6336:
Stud service for AKC registered Rottweilers.
Boarding services. 317-9494; leave message:
Small acreage equipment for rent or sale.
Safety supplies. DR equipment dealer. 543-9911:
Ruben’s Head Shop, haircuts, 6409-A University
Ave. near Pets Plus. Walk-ins.
Check it out! LubbockSaddleClub.org. Play day
dates for 2015 for Lubbock Saddle Club and
other events. www.LubbockSaddleClub.org:
Heavily wooded RV spots on private fishing
lake, hiking trails, outdoor activities. One hour
from Houston & Beaumont. 936-365-2267:
SignPro Electrical Sales & Service. Ask for Debi,
Full service sign company. 10% off for mentioning this ad. 798-7446:
Registered working border collies from champion bloodlines. www.abbordercollies.com.
806-492-3456:
Home for you & your horse! 2 & 3 bdr. Ranchplexes with private paddocks for horses &
fenced dog runs. 50th & CR 1305. Call 687-0029:
PEST CONTROL
Small breed puppies, Chihuahua, long/smooth
coat, Yorkies, Dachshund, Poodles, others, shots
& wormed. (940) 937-8392:
RV spaces for rent, clean, country living. 1 mile
W. of Tahoka Hwy. on Woodrow Rd. $175/mo.
rent & deposit. No outside pets. 789-7874:
Dog grooming. FuzzBusters offers professional all breed dog grooming in a friendly environment; plus small dog boarding. 749-2547:
Need to rent a home or a property managed
in Lubbock? Call Wayne at WestMark Leasing,
776-4217, www.lubbock4rent.com:
ABC Pest Control, certified, licensed, insured
for roaches, ants, silverfish and mice. Free
estimates w/75 mile radius of Lubbock. 319-1869:
Pest Management Services. 794-4567. For
general pests, animals, rodents, termites (liquid
or bait), lawns, trees & shrubs. Lubbock area:
Good pest control costs no more. Free estimates.
20 yrs. of know how. West Texas Pest Control,
W.L. Matheny (m) 778-0225:
PETS & LIVESTOCK
AKC Miniature Schnauzers. Great Valentine
gifts. Vet health checked, first shots. Lubbock.
543-1699.
Like riding horses? Check out West Texas
Drifters Riding Club at www.westtexasdriftersridingclub.com. Accepting new members now.
Pawsitively Purrfect Grooming Salon. All dog
and cat breed grooming. Over 50 years combined experience. 54th & Aberdeen, 795-3323:
Dog Grooming. Sheila’s Country K-9 Grooming
offers full-service bathing and grooming for all
dog breeds. Call 704-0002:
Custom-made pet collars with rhinestone name
and charm sliders. 11 collar styles and charms.
Text or call: 781-1587 or 791-0241:
Do your horse good! Certified equine sports
massage therapy. Beneficial for performance,
competition and leisure horses. Angie 928-1403:
Furever Friends and Rescue placing rescued
dogs and cats in new homes. Serving the Childress area, donations accepted. 940-585-6035:
Like driving your horse and buggy? Check our
website to see what the Llano Estacado Driving
Society is doing. www.born2buggy.org:
Spur Veterinary Hospital serves both small and
large animals. We specialize in equine health.
Brandon or Ali Broyles, DVM. 271-3355:
Adopt a dog from Morris Safe House, a no-kill
facility; vaccines, spayed/neutered, socialized,
ID chip. 239-0156. www.morrissafehouse.org:
REAL ESTATE
1+ acre of land, horses considered. Restrictions
apply. Call Ray after lunch at 620-3807.
Over 2.5 acres of land with 2-stall barn with
tack room. Fenced, room to store trailers, Min.
6-month lease. $600/month. 702-1135.
2 acres $10,000 per acre, no improvements.
Hwy. 114 and Mason Rd. East Hockley County.
Call 928-7530.
10.98 acres unimproved land with deed restrictions on N. Milwaukee, N. of Erskine. Spike
Wideman C21 John Walton Realtors 787-9969.
RESTAURANTS, CATERING
Double B Party Barns, near Reese Center. Nightly
rentals, catering available. Call Brian. 781-4892.
www.doublebpartybarns.com:
Four-Bar-K Inside, ½ mile E of Tahoka Hwy. on
82nd, BBQ lunch Fridays 11:30-2PM, live music &
free beer. Parties & catering. 789-8682:
Cagle Steaks. Reserve a room for your next
special occasion. 795-3879:
TREE CARE
10.2-acre tracts or larger. $2,500/acre. 1/4 mile
west of intersection of FM 2528 and CR 5800.
No improvements. Call 392-5944 after 5pm:
Hildebrandt Tree Tech. Complete tree care
services. Insured. www.mytreetech.com Free
est. Certified arborist, TX 3791A. Casey 441-7722:
R&R Home inspections, serving the West Texas
area, protecting peace of mind. 786-4175:
Noey’s Tree Services. Been in business for 30
yrs. Specialists in all trees: shaping, trimming
and take down. Free est. 632-2926; 777-3926:
Buying or selling real estate in Lubbock &
surrounding area? Call Linda Scott, Realtor at
Stephens Realty at (806) 781-5314:
Free market evaluation of your home, no
obligation. Call Teresa Richardson, Realtor at
Century 21 John Walton Realtors, 781-4864:
We list and sell homes in Lubbock and surrounding area. Mark & Amy Franco; mark@
exitlubbock.com. 441-4998:
Looking to buy or sell your home ? Call Debby
Tullis at 777-6863. WESTMARK, Realtors:
Richburg Horticulture. Professional, prompt tree
care services. Old school integrity, new school
technology. BS degree. 793-1586:
West Texas Trees, locally grown, thousands
of trees to choose from, wholesale prices.
863-4922:
Treelovingcare.com provides all tree care
services. Call or e-mail for free e-mail newsletter. James Tuttle, Certified Arborist, 785-8733:
WANTED
County Line Inspection. Real estate, new
construction, building, mechanical, electrical
and plumbing. Lic. #10599. 445-1685:
Riding lawn mowers for parts. L.R. Burleson,
730-9573:
RENTALS
Buying all coins; silver, gold and currency
collections. Ken’s Coins, 795-4058:
Hillside RV Park, full hook-ups; three miles
south of Roaring Springs on FM 3203; 348-7519:
Need six- and five-feet chain link fencing.
300-5252:
Give friends and family
the Best of Texas.
The Best of Typically Texas Cookbook features
more than 700 best-loved recipes from two of
our most popular cookbooks.
Now available at South Plains Electric
Cooperative offices. Come by and purchase
your copy today!
Feb.indd 25
Advertising Policy
Advertising in the Members’ Market is a free service offered
to co-op members. All ads are limited to three lines and only
one ad per month per member. Ads must be renewed monthly
unless other arrangements are made with Lynn Simmons by
phone 775-7826, fax 775-7851, mail or e-mail lsimmons@spec.
coop. This information is provided by SPEC on an informational,
“as is,” basis. SPEC does not endorse, examine or warrant any
businesses listed and makes no representation or warranties of
any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of the businesses
or the quality of their services. To the full extent permissible by
applicable law, SPEC disclaims all warranties, express or implied.
SPEC will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from
the use of this information, including, but not limited to, direct,
indirect, punitive and consequential damages.
South Plains Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
P.O. Box 1830, Lubbock, TX 79408
24-hour automated outage reporting
(806) 741-0111 Lubbock local
(888) 741-0111 toll free

New Service/Account Inquiry
M-F 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. • (806) 775-7766
After 5 p.m. and on weekends • (806) 775-7732

24-hour Pay-by-Phone
(806) 775-7811

24-hour Online Bill Pay
www.SPEC.coop
can you
dig
it?
Before you dig, get the
dirt. Underground
utilities exist everywhere,
even in your yard. Digging
without knowing where
it’s safe to dig can cause
tremendous damage
and even loss of lives.
In Texas call: 811
25
1/7/2016 6:08:01 PM
Electric Notes
CONSERVATION AND SAFETY INFORMATION
You Can
Prevent Burns
THERE’S NO REASON for anyone in your
family to suffer from an electrical burn or
any other kind of burn.
The first week of February is Burn
Awareness Week, and that’s a good time
to take an inventory of your home’s burn
hazards. Spend some time this week to:
a Replace smoke detector batteries,
which need changing at least once a
year.
a Put away any extension cords left
over from Christmas. They’re not made
for permanent use and can burn you or
your children if they overheat because of
overuse.
a If any electrical wires are hiding
under rugs, move them. Stepping on
them can cause damage and turn them
into a burn hazard or fire risk.
a Teach your children to stay a safe
distance away from the stove.
a Turn pot handles inward when you
cook, and place them on rear burners if
you have children.
a Lower your water heater thermostat
to 120 degrees, a comfortable temperature that won’t scald.
a Replace traditional candles with
realistic-looking, battery-operated ones.
a Forbid your children from lighting
matches and playing with lighters.
If you feel a temperature change around a window or door, seal the perimeter with caulk.
Save With a DIY
Home Energy Audit
18
MARTI NASP HOTOGRAP HY | ISTOCK .COM
Children should never be left unsupervised
when stovetop burners are on.
B LU E _ C U T L E R | I STO C K .CO M
WHETHER YOUR HOME IS OLD OR NEW, it’s likely that you’re spending more on energy
than necessary.
You can conduct a baseline energy audit of your home to identify where you are
losing energy (and money). Use a checklist and take notes on problems you find as
you walk through your home. Here are some ways to get started:
Insulation and air leaks/drafts: Improving your home’s insulation and sealing air
leaks are the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy waste, according to the U.S.
Department of Energy. Is there sufficient insulation in the attic? Are the openings
that contain piping, ductwork and the chimney sealed? Are there changes in temperature where walls meet ceilings or floors, or around windows and outlets?
Electronic devices: Take an inventory of the electronic devices you have and how
often you use them. Computers, printers, DVD players, phones and gaming consoles
are notorious “vampire power” users; they drain energy even when not in use. If
items can be turned off without requiring a lengthy reboot, plug them into a power
strip that can be turned off.
Lighting: Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs or
light-emitting diodes. Install motion-sensor lights in any low-use area such as a
closet, porch or garage. Consider replacing night-lights with LEDs.
Thermostat/indoor temperature: Do you have a programmable thermostat? When
was the last time it was programmed? Is it set so the temperature is lower during
times when no one is home, and at night when people are sleeping? Consider lowering the temperature a few degrees.
Appliances, timing and maintenance: If your appliances are more than 10 years old,
they are likely not as energy efficient as today’s options. How and when you use them
also makes a difference. Do you wash clothes in hot water, or can you use cold instead?
Consider running your washer, dryer or dishwasher at night, during off-peak times.
Does your water heater have a blanket? If not, consider insulating it. Make sure the
dryer vent isn’t blocked; this will save energy and also could prevent a fire.
Evaluation: Once you have completed the audit, take a look at your findings. Prioritize actions you can take based on your time and budget, weighing where you can get
the most impact for your investment.
TexasCoopPower.com
Smart Appliances
Battery-operated candles
can help set a romantic
mood safely.
Convenience on the horizon
phones—and appliances.
When the term “smart appliance” comes up, the Jetsons’ fully automated home
immediately comes to mind. Their dinner was cooked, laundry done and dishes
washed by a smart machine. In reality, smart appliances use modern communications technology to make their functions faster, cheaper and more energy efficient.
Even though today’s smart
appliances can be expensive,
experts predict these new technologies will deliver major benefits for energy efficiency,
convenience and maintenance.
For example, from the smart
screen on your dazzling new
refrigerator, you can check the
weather while grabbing your
orange juice. You can even browse
the Internet for recipes—all on the
conveniently placed touchscreen.
Remotely monitor your oven to
turn it on and adjust temperatures. Running late from work and
need to get the kids somewhere?
Stop for a frozen pizza on the way
home, and preheat the oven so you
can pop it in upon arrival.
Got a load of clothes in the
Smart appliances and a smartphone allow you to
washer
you forgot to start? Log in
control your home’s thermostat and appliances
and
start
the cycle from the golf
from anywhere.
course. Or show off your smarts by
taking advantage of your electric cooperative’s lower-cost off-peak rates and scheduling it to run during evening hours.
How about this one? Wi-Fi-connected appliances with clocks will reset themselves for daylight saving time. That’s fewer digital devices to adjust twice a year.
A refrigerator that reads the bar codes of what you put inside and tracks consumption could recommend a shopping list if it notices something getting low or out
of date.
Maintenance is another area of huge potential. Let’s say one of your smart appliances needs repairs. Someday, it might be able to call the manufacturer and get a
diagnosis. You won’t have to wait at home for a technician who may or may not find
the problem—or have the right parts. With your permission, the tech can show up to
your home with everything necessary to make the repair.
Finally, from an energy-efficiency and load-management point of view, smart
appliances present an opportunity to manage energy load more effectively in the
quest to give co-op members the highest possible quality of service at the lowest possible price.
Sure, the Jetsons’ flying car might be a long way off—but not their appliances.
TexasCoopPower.com
Have an
Energy-Wise
Valentine’s Day
P K- O G ST U D I O | D O L L A R P H OTO C LU B
G E N E RA L E L EC T R I C
IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYTHING IS “SMART” THESE DAYS: cars, the grid, watches, houses,
A ROMANTIC DINNER FOR TWO at home
can save you more than the price of a
fancy restaurant meal. It can save energy.
Here are five ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with energy efficiency in mind:
1. Turn off the lights and enjoy a candlelit dinner. Don’t want open flames in
your home? The latest battery-operated
candles have moving “wicks” and “flames”
that look so natural, nobody will be able
to tell they’re artificial.
2. Prepare your feast for two in the
microwave, which uses less energy than
the cooktop and oven, especially for
small meals. Other ideas: Use an electric
grill for fish or meat. Or skip the cooking
altogether and fill up on strawberries
and chocolate melted in a fondue pot
over a candle.
3. Take a long walk after dinner, even
if it’s cold outside. When you get home,
snuggle up under a thick blanket and sip
cocoa heated in the microwave.
4. At bedtime, lower the temperature
on your thermostat a few degrees and
throw an extra blanket on the bed.
5. As long as you’re in the mood for
love, show some to your water heater,
too: Wrap it in a water heater blanket to
insulate it.
19
Texas USA
Making
of a Coach
Photographer Tadd Myers’ Portraits of the American Craftsman
spotlights stagecoach maker in Paradise
EXCERPT BY ERIC CELESTE
20
It was 2007 and Jimmy Wilson’s mentor told him he was ready.
Jay Brown—Wilson’s father-in-law,
owner of Jay Brown Stagecoach Works,
and maker of sixty stagecoaches—asked
Wilson to take over the business. “Jimboy,” Brown told Wilson, “I’m tired of
making stagecoaches. I’m gonna let you
have the orders.”
Wilson felt the rush of pride and responsibility Brown’s decision gave him;
he had been learning the craft for years
alongside Brown, who first fell in love
with stagecoaches when he drove one
for a hold-up scene in a Wild West show
at Six Flags Over Texas. Not long after,
Brown was coincidentally asked to do
restoration work on one. Brown began
studying the history of stagecoaches and
working on his own designs; he eventually
was asked to build one. Brown would
describe it as “a hobby that got out of
hand.”
Not for long. It soon was a full-fledged
business. Wilson had been helping his
father-in-law in his spare time for decades,
first building buckboards (four-wheeled
wagons pulled by a horse, like on The
Rifleman) and finishing his own coach in
1992. “You have to make every piece and
part,” Wilson says. “There are no stagecoach parts at Home Depot.”
Over the next twenty years, while keeping his day job doing custom millwork,
Wilson “tooled up,” stocked his own shop,
and helped Brown as much as possible.
When he took over making the coaches,
he quit his day job, of course, as it takes
many months to build a single coach.
The wheels are still built by Amish
tradesmen, but everything else today is
handmade by Wilson. He makes a Concord, or western-style, stagecoach: “the
Cadillac of coaches.” Once the wheels are
ordered, he begins the ironwork to construct the running gear (the base of the
coach). It’s an exacting process of assembling for fit, then disassembling to prime
and paint, then reassembling.
Next he makes the leather straps that
cradle the body (the cabin area) on the
running gear. It works better than springs
for shock absorption (the idea came to a
TexasCoopPower.com
TA D D M Y E R S
stagecoach designer watching a baby carriage on a bumpy sidewalk). The body is
constructed either out of fiberglass for
durability or wood for authenticity.
Once the body is built and painted, he
completes the interior upholstery work
(usually leather). The painting and pinstriping artwork on the wheels, running
gear, and body are the final touches before
the coach is “born.”
Wilson built two stagecoaches for Wells
Fargo last year. They were Brown’s best
customer, and when he passed away in
2011, the company signed a contract with
TexasCoopPower.com
Wilson. He’s working on his fifth coach
now, waiting on his next order. Hollywood
is always a possible customer—Brown’s
coaches have been seen in movies like
Maverick and Night at the Museum.
Wilson says he takes great pride in how
“square and true” his coaches ride. “On
level ground, you can pull that coach with
two fingers,” he says. “Jay always stressed
that. Square and true.”
WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com
Learn more about Portraits of the American
Craftsman (Lyons Press, 2013) online.
21
Observations
The Original Crooner
Texan Gene Austin created a singing style copied by the stars
BY JOHN MORTHLAND
22
He’s credited with creating the vocal
style known as crooning, and during the
six-year peak of his career in the late 1920s
and early ’30s, he sold some 86 million
records. Several of his songs became standards that are still sung today. Known as
“The Voice of the Southland,” he was an
iconic figure to an emerging Southern
middle class. Gene Austin, born Lemuel
Eugene Lucas in Gainesville, Texas, in
1900, was a towering figure in early 20thcentury American pop culture. Yet today,
he’s barely remembered.
Austin rode new technology to the top
of the charts. He cut his first record, the
self-composed When My Sugar Walks
Down the Street, a duet with Aileen Stanley, in 1925, the year after electronic
recording was introduced. Acoustic recording until that time required a fullthroated vocalist to belt lyrics into a
cone-shaped device called a horn, which
couldn’t fully catch the sounds.
The electronic system allowed the
vocalist to sing into a microphone, which
more accurately captured not only different volumes (allowing singers to raise and
lower their voices for dramatic effect) but
also the nuances of an individual’s voice
(so they could phrase lyrics more subtly).
The radio-friendly result sounded
warm and intimate, as if the vocalist was
singing directly to each listener, and it
proved a perfect foil for Austin’s delicate,
high tenor. He and others, including Rudy
Vallee, ran with this new technique, which
was later perfected by the likes of Bing
Crosby and Frank Sinatra (both of whom
credited Austin with initiating the style).
Crooning remained the dominant form of
pop singing until rock ’n’ roll took over in
the mid-1950s.
Before his breakthrough, Austin led a
vagabond life. His parents divorced when
he was 6, and his mother soon married a
blacksmith named Jim Austin, who gave
the child his own surname and moved the
family to swampy Yellow Pine, Louisiana,
about 30 miles east of Shreveport.
To avoid his belligerent stepfather,
Austin began sneaking off to the AfricanAmerican area known as “The Quarters,”
where he embraced a mentor he called
Uncle Esau and fell hard for black singing
styles. At 16, he fled home for good, hoboing around the South. Then came two
Army stints, followed by time in Baltimore
studying dentistry and law.
Finally, after he sought to crack vaudeville as one half of the comic duo Roy and
Gene, he had a hit with the 1924 original
How Come You Do Me Like You Do? That
took the team to New York, where they
broke up. Then, Austin hired on with Irving Mills Music as a songwriter and song
plugger, with the job of inducing other
artists to perform material from the company’s catalog.
Once his own singing career began,
Austin’s familiarity with the Mills inventory enabled him to find good tunes that
other vocalists were ignoring. That’s how
he unearthed early hits he didn’t write,
including Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue and
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby, and that’s how in
1927 he became the first to cut My Blue
Heaven. That hit went on to sell at least
5 million records (some estimates go as
TexasCoopPower.com
DAV I D VO G I N
high as 12 million) and became his signature song. Austin also put Bye Bye Blackbird on the map in ’26 and Ramona in ’28.
The Lonesome Road, a secular spiritual
he wrote in 1927, was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s favorite song and eventually found
its way into the musical Show Boat. Americans, especially in the South, couldn’t get
enough of the soft, seductive style of the
“Genial Texan,” as he was sometimes
dubbed, and if they listened closely to
some hits, they could even detect a bit of
an accent. Performing in a suit and tie, he
lent respectability to Southern singers,
who’d previously been stereotyped as
blackface minstrels and vaudevillians or
working-class country and blues bums.
But almost as soon as he began hitting,
TexasCoopPower.com
Austin discovered the high life. He claimed
he began drinking to excess to buffer the
phoniness of show biz and because he was
unhappy his record company wouldn’t let
him record the black material he wanted
to expose to white America (though he did
release his friend Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ even before Waller did). Whatever the case, he lived it up in Harlem
speakeasies, developing a reputation as a
hard man to work with, as wives began to
come and go—five in all. Between that and
the Depression, his snowballing career
began to melt instead.
He fell back on his fondness for the
South, moving to New Orleans and then
Charlotte, North Carolina, and eventually
running a traveling tent show. He then
went out to Hollywood, taking roles in
three movies and opening a nightclub,
My Blue Heaven. There were regular radio
shows, and periodic attempts at a national
comeback, none more than moderately
successful.
In 1962, with a new My Blue Heaven
anchored in Las Vegas, he ran for governor
of Nevada but was roundly trampled. By
the time he died of lung cancer in Palm
Springs, California, in 1972, he’d been virtually forgotten. But Southerners like
Austin were the backbone of American
popular music.
John Morthland is an Austin writer.
Learn more about Gene Austin online.
23
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This is a solicitation of insurance, an agent (In OR & WA: producer) may contact you. These policies contain benefits,
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Texas History
The First Texans?
Recent archaeological discoveries change understanding of earliest inhabitants
A L E T H A ST. R O M A I N
BY MARTHA DEERINGER
Anthropologist Michael R. Waters
did not believe his 2006 dig along Buttermilk Creek would fundamentally alter the
understanding of the first humans in Texas.
Excavations had unearthed tools that
detail almost continuous habitation of the
site near Salado for thousands of years.
Waters, the director of the Center for the
Study of the First Americans at Texas
A&M University, wasn’t surprised to find
these artifacts. They proved the evidence
of the Clovis people, who inhabited the
areas 12,800 to 13,100 years ago. Scientists
had long held that Clovis people were the
earliest humans in the Americas.
The real surprise for Waters and his
team came when further excavation unearthed more primitive tools beneath
the Clovis level. Roughly 15,000 artifacts
appeared: blades, flakes and end scrapers,
left by an unknown people who lived along
Buttermilk Creek 2,500 years before Clovis.
Who were these pre-Clovis Texans
who left behind signs of double-sided
toolmaking that would be refined about
2,000 years later by Clovis artisans?
“They were probably hunter-gatherers,
passing through the area from time to time
over thousands of years,” Waters says.
“The artifacts make up a mobile toolkit,
easily transported to the next campsite.”
Waters knew that his discovery would be
controversial and supporting materials
essential, but the absence of organic matter at this deep level made traditional
radiocarbon dating impossible.
Instead, he called in experts Steven L.
Forman, Lee Nordt and Steven Driese of
Baylor University to use optically stimulated luminescence dating, a method that
measures the time since crystals in sediment were last exposed to sunlight. The
samples from the Buttermilk Creek site
consistently yielded the same ages: 13,200–
15,500 years.
TexasCoopPower.com
“We were all surprised at the antiquity
of the site,” Forman says, “but duplication
of observations and ages supported a new
view on paleo populations of the Americas.”
“The sediment layers were remarkably
intact,” says Nordt. “The ancient floodplain
sediments were clayey enough to mitigate
against bioturbation [disruption by animals or roots] and mixing of artifacts from
different time periods, but not so clayey
as to cause churning and mixing.”
In the mid-20th century, most archaeologists jumped aboard the Clovis-first
bandwagon. The consensus is that the Clovis people, named for the town in New
Mexico near where their spear points were
first discovered, arrived in the New World
from Asia over a land bridge and spread
through North and South America. The
discovery of pre-Clovis populations shoots
holes in this long-cherished view.
Other traces of pre-Clovis peoples have
cropped up in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania
and Oregon, and as far south as Monte
Verde, Chile. Alternative migration theories suggest that early settlers may have
come down both coasts, either on foot or
hugging the shoreline in small boats. DNA
samples confirm that early Texans are of
Asian ancestry, but confirming a precise
date for their arrival is difficult.
Because no Clovis artifacts have ever
been discovered in Asia, the fluted spear
point technology that marks Clovis occupations must have developed after the new
settlers arrived in this hemisphere. However, Waters points out that stone tools
may represent only 5 percent of a culture’s
material relics. Others, such as textiles,
animal skins, wood, bone and antler tools
disintegrate over time. “We have to be
careful,” Waters says, “about how we interpret the small amounts of evidence.”
Archaeology is subject to controversial
discoveries and interpretations. Although
most archaeologists accept Waters’ findings, a few hesitate, even when faced with
compelling evidence.
“We continue to work as a team,” Forman says, “to provide geologic context critical for dating. New discoveries are almost
certain at Buttermilk Creek in the future.”
Martha Deeringer, a member of Heart of Texas
EC, lives near McGregor.
29
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Recipes
Touchdown
Party Foods
A sheepish confession: I’m not what
you’d call a die-hard sports fan. But I do
love an excuse to get together with
friends—around a table or television—
and make a meal out of a mix of spicy,
fun-to-eat appetizers and cold libations.
When it comes to big, game-winning
flavors, Chris Shepherd is in a league of
his own. His menus feature ingredients
from around the globe. He serves Crispy
Ham Ribs With Sorghum Mustard Glaze
at his four Hay Merchant restaurants on
the club level of NRG Stadium during
Houston Texans games.
“This dish puts two of the greatest
things on the face of the planet together:
ham and ribs,” he says.
PAULA DISBROWE, FOOD EDITOR
Crispy Ham Ribs With
Sorghum Mustard Glaze
BRINE
1
2
1½
1½
gallon water
cups light brown sugar
cups kosher salt
ounces curing salt No. 1
RIBS
2
slabs pork ribs
GLAZE
M A RY PAT WA L D R O N
¾ cup sorghum
½ cup Dijon mustard
1
tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon fish sauce
Sliced scallions for garnish
1. Combine the brine ingredients in a
large pot over medium heat and stir
until the salts and sugar melt. Let the
brine cool and submerge the ribs. Weigh
the ribs down to keep them completely
submerged in the liquid, and then refrigerate 4–5 days.
2. When you’re ready to cook the ribs,
remove them from the brine and pat
dry. Heat a smoker to 225 degrees, and
smoke the ribs 5–6 hours or until almost
31
Recipes
THIS MONTH’S RECIPE
CONTEST WINNER
JENNIFER RIECK | MEDINA EC
No matter how your team fares on Super Bowl Sunday—February 7
this year—these crowd-pleasing appetizers will make your gathering
a winner.
Cowboy Caviar
4
A tumble of beans and fresh vegetables,
perked up with a zippy vinaigrette or salsa, is
a time-honored Texas tradition. Rieck says this
“addictive” dip is best served with tortilla
chips or “scoops.”
1
1
1
1
3
2
1
1
NOTES Sorghum (or sorghum syrup) is a
1. Combine all ingredients except
avocadoes in a large bowl and toss
to combine.
2. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight for better flavor) to allow the
ingredients to marinate in the dressing.
3. Add the avocadoes just before
serving and toss to combine. Makes 2
generous quarts.
molasses-like table syrup made from ground
sorghum cane. Fish sauce is a condiment popular
in Southeast Asia made from salted, fermented
fish. It has a pungent “umami” flavor and is used
much like soy sauce.
Buffalo Chicken Spread
CHARLIE DASHIELL | NUECES EC
8
2
2
1
2
½
½
¼
½
1
½
$100 Recipe Contest
SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS
PEANUT PRODUCERS BOARD
July’s recipe contest is Primo Pasta—
hot or cold, meat or vegetable, traditional
or modern. Send us your favorite pasta
recipes by the February 10 deadline.
There are three ways to enter: ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL to 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor,
Austin, TX 78701; FAX to (512) 763-3401. Include your
name, address and phone number, plus your co-op and
the name of the contest you are entering.
ounces light cream cheese
tablespoons hot sauce
teaspoons garlic powder
teaspoon onion powder
teaspoons Spanish paprika
teaspoon ground ginger
cup finely diced cooked (or smoked)
chicken
cup sliced green onions
cup shredded cheddar cheese
tablespoon finely chopped pickled
jalapeño peppers, or more to taste
cup sour cream, or more as desired
for texture
1. Thoroughly combine cream cheese,
hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder,
paprika and ground ginger in a mixing
bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
2. Stir in the chicken, green onions, cheddar cheese and jalapeños. Stir in enough
sour cream to reach a desired consistency.
3. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow the
flavors to meld.
4. Serve with sturdy chips, or spread the
dip on extra-thin bread to make wonderful party sandwiches. Makes about 2 cups.
TexasCoopPower.com
M A RY PAT WA L D R O N
1
cans black-eyed peas (15 ounces),
drained and rinsed
can black beans (15 ounces),
drained and rinsed
can corn (10 ounces), drained
can sliced black olives (2.25
ounces), drained and chopped
jalapeño peppers, seeded and
finely chopped
small red onion, finely chopped
green bell pepper, finely chopped
red bell pepper, finely chopped
bottle Italian salad dressing
(16 ounces)
chopped avocadoes
tender. Remove from heat, cool briefly
and refrigerate. Once the meat has
chilled, slice the slab into single ribs.
3. To make the glaze, combine all the
glaze ingredients in a saucepan over
medium heat. Bring the mixture to a
boil, stirring, and then reduce heat to
low and simmer 20 minutes.
4. To finish the ribs, heat a grill to
medium-high and grill the ribs so they
have a nice char and are warm through
(or you can broil the ribs). In a large
bowl, combine the ribs and enough glaze
to generously coat them, and toss well.
Arrange ribs on a serving platter and
garnish with thinly sliced scallions.
Serves 6–8.
Jalapeño Popper
Deviled Eggs
CARLY TERRELL | UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICES
To make these eggs particularly devilish, Terrell
does not seed the chopped jalapeño (but you
can trim the seeds for a less intense fire). She
suggests discarding two of the yolks, but using
all of them creates a rich and creamy filling.
6
3
hard-boiled eggs
heaping tablespoons softened cream
cheese
2
tablespoons mayonnaise
3
strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1
jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
Pinch salt
Pinch ground black pepper
GARNISH
1
1
jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
strip cooked bacon, crumbled
1. Peel the hard-boiled eggs. Slice each
egg in half lengthwise and carefully
scoop out the yolk. Arrange the egg
whites onto a serving tray and set aside.
2. Place yolks in a mixing bowl. Add cream
cheese, mayonnaise, crumbled bacon, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Using a fork, stir the
mixture until well-blended and creamy.
3. Spoon the filling into the egg whites or
transfer the yolk mixture to a pastry bag
(or a plastic bag with a small tip cut off
the corner) and pipe into the egg white.
4. Garnish each egg with a thin slice of
jalapeño and a bit of bacon. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate until party time. Makes 12.
Sweet and Salty
Chili Peanuts
JAMIE PARCHMAN | MAGIC VALLEY EC
½
1
½
½
½
½
¼
cup light brown sugar
teaspoon chili powder
teaspoon salt
teaspoon ground black pepper
teaspoon cumin
teaspoon cinnamon
teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼
1
4
cup water
tablespoon butter
cups salted cocktail peanuts
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a
rimmed baking sheet with foil and apply
cooking spray or vegetable oil.
2. Combine all ingredients except
peanuts in a small saucepan over medium
heat until butter is melted. Continue to
cook, stirring, for an additional minute.
3. Pour hot butter mixture over peanuts
in a large heat-proof mixing bowl and
toss until well-coated.
4. Transfer nuts to prepared baking
sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake
10 minutes, then stir to redistribute the
spices. Spread the nuts back into a single
layer and bake until fragrant and sticky,
about 5 more minutes.
5. Cool completely before serving.
Makes 4 cups.
Need more to make your bash live up to its
Super Bowl hype? We have more recipes online.
we are
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Focus on Texas
Better Together
In groups or paired, these Texans know life is meant to be shared.
GRACE ARSIAGA
WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Find other photos to bond with online.
Better yet, look at them with a friend.
o MOLLY PRICE, Grayson-Collin EC: Matthew, 8,
enjoys a soft drink with his best pal, Reggie, after
church on a Sunday afternoon.
d CRYSTAL MOUNT, Trinity Valley EC: Bullfrogs
seem to hold a meeting at a water tank.
o BECKY WESTMORELAND, Big Country EC:
Twin calves born October 1, 2015
g MIGNONE BISHOP, Mid-South Synergy:
Jaxon Bishop, 3, snuggles with his best friend,
Jake, a silver Lab pup.
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All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op
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g JUDY THACKER, Farmers EC: Granddaughters
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/contests. MAIL: Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX
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submit irreplaceable photographs—send a copy or duplicate. We do
not accept entries via email. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannot
be responsible for photos that are lost in the mail or not received by
the deadline.
35
Around Texas
Get Going >
Pick of the Month
This is just a sampling of the events and festivals around
February
Gault Site Tour
Belton [February 13]
6
(254) 933-5243, bellcountymuseum.org
Amarillo Brundibar, (806) 372-7464,
amarilloopera.org
The Gault Site, in southwestern Bell County,
is recognized as one of the most important
archaeological sites in America. James E.
Pearce, the first professional archaeologist in
Texas, excavated there in 1929. The 2½-hour
tour covers about 1 mile of gentle terrain.
February 19–20
Laredo
Jalapeño Festival
Goliad The Green Flag of Gutierrez and
Magee, (361) 645-3752, presidiolabahia.org
Magnolia Mardi Gras on The Stroll,
(281) 356-2266, ext. 3; cityofmagnolia.com
11
Below: Michael B. Collins, Texas State University
Lufkin Sandi Patty, Forever Grateful:
The Farewell Tour, (936) 633-0359,
thepineslufkin.com
Terlingua [11–13] Chihuahuan Desert Bike
Fest, 1-888-989-6900, desertsportstx.com
12
Marble Falls [12–13] Quilt Show: Quilts
Made in America, (830) 598-7539
19
Crockett Driving Miss Daisy, (936) 544-4276,
pwfaa.org
13
Henderson [19–28] Little Women,
(903) 657-2968, hctonline.org
Ennis Czech Music Festival, (972) 875-7959,
ennisczechmusicfestival.com
Laredo [19–20] Jalapeño Festival,
(956) 722-5528, wbcalaredo.org
GAULT: EA RL NOT T I NG HA M | T PW D. JA L A PEÑO : S I LVY 78 | D OL L A R P H OTO C LU B . LOT U S : K L AGY IVIK | D OL L A R P H OTO C LU B
(;;,5;065
The Friends of
GILLESPIE COUNTY
46)03,/64,
6 > 5,9 :
COUNTRY
SCHOOLS
,?7,9;
05:;(33(;065
Living Histories Museums
Country Schools
Driving Trail
05:<9(5*,
*9,+0;
30-,;04,>(99(5;@
9,+<*,+
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)033
05*9,(:,+
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56469,966-9<4)3,
6 Historic Schools Open
Saturday, April 2, 2016
10 am to 5 pm
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Discuss
with formthe history of th
es
er teache
rs and stuchools
dents
Family Style BBQ Fund Raiser
:PUJL YVVMV]LYJVT
®
American Legion Hall • Hwy 87 S, Fredericksburg • LIVE Polka music
w w w. H i s t o r i c S c h o o l s . o r g
36
TexasCoopPower.com
Texas. For a complete listing, please visit TexasCoopPower.com/events.
20
27
Blanco Clarinetist Victoria Luperi,
(409) 504-2397, blancoperformingarts.com
Gainesville North Texas Farm Toy Show,
(940) 736-9966
21
Luling American Legion Chili Cook-Off,
(830) 875-9329, discoverluling.com
San Angelo West Texas Jazz Orchestra:
Play It Again, (325) 653-3333, samfa.org
Fredericksburg [27–28] Texas Hill Country
Home & Garden Expo, (830) 992-5074,
hillcountryhomeandgardenexpo.com
Star Harbor Star Harbor Watercolor Society
Show, (903) 451-4016, starharborws.org
23
San Antonio Tuesday Musical Club Artist
Series: Tenor David Portillo, (210) 392-9047,
satmc.org
March
2
Huntsville General Sam Houston Birthday
Celebration, 1-800-289-0389,
huntsvilletexas.com
4
Cypress [4–5] Quilt Show: If Quilts Could
Talk, (281) 894-3900, tcqgtx.blogspot.com
February 27–28
Fredericksburg
Hill Country
Home & Garden Expo
Brownsville [4–6] Texas Scholastic
Chess Championships, (956) 698-2019,
2016texaschessscholastics.com
5
Abilene [23–24] Texas Farm, Ranch
and Wildlife Expo, (325) 677-7241,
abilenechamber.com
Washington [5–6] Texas Independence
Day Celebration, (936) 878-2214,
wheretexasbecametexas.org
24
Brenham [24–27] Annual Used Book Sale,
1-888-273-6426, visitbrenhamtexas.com
Submit Your Event
25
We pick events for the magazine directly from
TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for
April by February 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar!
Boerne TAO: Seventeen Samurai,
(830) 331-9079, visitboerne.org/calendar
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37
Hit the Road
Hill Country Gem
Mason combines history and natural treasures for a laid-back getaway
BY LYDIA SALDAÑA
38
ies one of the best examples of Italianate
architecture in the Hill Country. It features
22 rooms, 15 fireplaces, a third-floor ballroom and glowing stained glass throughout.
The house, like the entire Mason courthouse square, is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
In 2014, Seaquist House was named one
of the most endangered historic structures
in the state by Preservation Texas. Once
again, Mason residents rallied. The Seaquist
House Foundation was created, and the
structure is now on the road to restoration.
Jan Appleby chairs the Mason County Historical Commission and is spearheading
the effort to reopen the mansion for tours.
“Longtime residents of Mason remember coming to dances here back in the day,”
she says. “We’re working to make these
memories come alive again and share them
with visitors to Mason.”
Mother Nature is also a big attraction
around Mason. Paddling the tranquil
Llano River provides a more restful experience than navigating rivers closer to
Texas cities and interstate highways.
Stargazers are also drawn here; Mason has
joined with the cities of Llano and Fredericksburg to partner on a dark-skies initiative that is designed to reduce light
pollution and keep night skies dark.
We end our Mason visit with a thrilling
wildlife viewing experience: watching the
dawn return of millions of Mexican freetailed bats to the Eckert James River Bat Cave
Preserve. The Nature Conservancy property is stewarded by Vicki Ritter, whose
knowledge of bats is surpassed only by her
enthusiasm for them.
She offers an opportunity to view the
bats’ early-morning return on the third Saturday of every summer month. Visitors also
can view the bat emergence at dusk Thursday through Sunday from May to October.
“This is such a different experience
than a bat emergence,” Ritter says. “It’s
like the cave is vacuuming the sky!”
Mason may be a bit off the beaten path,
and that’s what makes it special.
Lydia Saldaña is a Fort Worth writer.
.
See more photos of the Mason area
online.
TexasCoopPower.com
BILL ORCUTT
Mason retains a quiet charm, minus
the crowds of visitors that flock to other
Hill Country destinations.
My partner and I start our visit on the
town square in the 1910 Classic Revival
Mason County Courthouse.
We meet County Judge Jerry Bearden,
who gives us a quick tour. The courthouse
is in line for a grant from the Texas Historical Commission’s preservation program. In 2013, an emergency grant allowed
for roof repairs and new paint for the
porches and porticoes. “Our courthouse
is the focal point for our citizens and
tourists alike,” Bearden says.
After a tasty lunch of sandwiches and
German potato salad at the Square Plate Deli
across Fort McKavitt Street, we stroll the
square. First stop is the Mason Square Museum,
a well-appointed repository of colorful
local lore. The area was settled after Fort
Mason was built in 1851. Gen. Robert E.
Lee served at Fort Mason before the start
of the Civil War, just one of a long list of
distinguished generals who served here.
The mid-1870s brought bloody strife
between German immigrants and American settlers over cattle rustling, defining
a little-known chapter in Texas history
called the Hoodoo War.
Mom-and-pop stores line much of the
square, along with the restored Odeon
Theater. This 1928 gem is one of the oldest
continually operating movie theaters in
West Texas. In 1957, it hosted a premiere
of the Disney movie Old Yeller, based on the
novel by Mason native Fred Gipson. Residents rallied when the theater was almost
sold in the early 1990s. The Odeon Preservation Association was born, and the theater
has been rejuvenated. First-run movies
still play once a month, and live music often
emanates from beneath its neon sign.
A few blocks from the square, the
Reynolds-Seaquist House, a remarkably lavish
Victorian residence built in 1891, embod-
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Texas Co-op Power • February 2016

Transcription

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