Texas Co-op Power • December 2014
Transcription
Texas Co-op Power • December 2014
CONTENTS NEXT DECEMBER 2014 CAPITAL CREDITS SHELL OUT! 50 and higher = check is in the mail $49.99 and lower = credit is on your bill Details … Page 20 $ CoServ_12-2014 TCP DC.indd 1 11/7/14 8:33 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT 3 QUESTIONS: CAPITAL CREDIT RETIREMENTS Q. What are Capital Credits? A. Capital Credits represent your allocated share of CoServ Electric’s margins (or profits) during the period that you are a CoServ Member. Each year’s margins are allocated to Members based on the amount billed per Member for electric purchases and the associated gross margin during that year. Q. Do I receive Capital Credit Retirements every year? A. You receive Capital Credits when the CoServ Board of Directors— democratically elected by the Members—votes to retire (pay) them. Since 2003, the Board has voted to retire $72 million in Capital Credits. Q. Is my Capital Credit Retirement taxable? A. Capital Credits for Residential Members are generally not taxable. We suggest you seek the advice of a tax professional for any specific concerns. For more details about Capital Credits, click on the Energy Solutions tab at CoServ.com. CoServ_12-2014 TCP DC.indd 2 11/7/14 8:33 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT CHEESE BALL 2 packages of Carl Buddig chopped beef 1 8-ounce package cream cheese 1 jar green olives with pimento Onion to taste Chop beef in small pieces, mince olives if you have a food processor (or use a jar of chopped olives) and mince real onions. Put all in a mixing bowl, mix with your hands and shape ball. Recipe courtesy of Colleen Stern If looking at this dish has your mouth watering and stomach growling, you should start following us at Pinterest.com/CoServ. You’ll find recipes by CoServ Employees that are coworker-tested and guaranteed to satisfy. CoServ_12-2014 TCP DC.indd 3 11/7/14 8:33 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT WHO WON THE $ 500 BILL CREDIT?!? We invited you to visit our new website and tell us what you liked best—and you did! More than 200 Members and Customers commented on the “Ready to win a $500 bill credit?” blog post and were entered into a random drawing for—you guessed it—a $500 electric-bill credit. And the winner is … wish we could tell you here, but our publication deadline prevented picking a winner in time to print. However, you can find the winner on—you guessed it—our Inside the Lines blog on CoServ.com. Just click on the Community category, where you’ll also find the names of the National Co-op Month prize giveaway winners and the CTSS $200 bill-credit winner. Find out what other people are saying about the new site and what they love most, including myecogridacccount, which tracks and compares near real-time usage, the Outage Map or Inside the Lines, our blog that features energy solutions and community, industry and company news. JOIN THE CONVERSATION TODAY! CoServ | 7701 S Stemmons, Corinth, TX 76210-1842 | (940) 321-7800 | contact@coserv.com CoServ_12-2014 TCP DC.indd 4 11/7/14 8:33 AM dec 14 local covers black 11/11/14 2:44 PM Page 1 PREVIOUS COSERV ELECTRIC EDITION Briscoe Center CONTENTS The Flatlanders NUTS PECANS for TEXAS Annual HOLIDAY RECIPE CONTEST WINNERS NEXT DECEMBER 2014 Santa’s Bank Heist PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT LAND OF OPPORTUNITY - Buildings that fit your lifestyle - AbSSZPcWZRW\UaVOdSQ][SOZ]\UeOgB]ROgeWbVbVS1V]WQS AS`WSaT`][;cSZZS`g]cVOdSbVS]^^]`bc\Wbgb]Q`SObSPSOcbWTcZ PcWZRW\UaeWbV[cZbW^ZSTc\QbW]\a1cab][WhSg]c`ab`cQbc`SeWbV bVSa^SQW¿QZ]]YaWhSO\RTSObc`SabVOb[ObQVg]c`ZWTSabgZS EWbV $UOcUSQ][[S`QWOZU`ORSabSSZSdS`g;cSZZS`PcWZRW\U Wa[ORSb]ZOab eee[cSZZS`W\QQ][ &%% ;C3::3@&%% $&!##! PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT December 2014 Since 1944 FA V O R I T E S Winedale, part of the Briscoe Center for American History, exhibits furnishings such as folk toys. 20 Local Co-op News Get the latest information plus energy and safety tips from your cooperative. 31 Texas History Santa is Naughty in Cisco By Martha Deeringer 32 Recipes Holiday Recipe Contest 39 Focus on Texas Bad Santa 40 Around Texas List of Local Events 42 Hit the Road Kemah Boardwalk By Suzanne Halko ONLINE TexasCoopPower.com F E AT U R E S 8 Cooperative Legislative Legends Briscoe Center museums house the legacies of two REA founders 14 The Flatlanders An excerpt from the book that chronicles three musicians’ rise from the flatlands of Lubbock Find these stories online if they don’t appear in your edition of the magazine. Texas USA Dawn of the Southwest Conference By Randy Riggs By Charles Lohrmann By John T. Davis Observations Gone But Not Forgotten By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers Around Texas The musicians in the Hill Country Youth Orchestra perform their free Fall Concert on December 14 in downtown Kerrville, Page 40. 39 31 32 42 TOY WAG O N I M AG E CO U RT E SY T H E D O L P H B R I S CO E C E N T E R FO R A M E R I C A N H I STO RY, T H E U N I V E R S I TY O F T E XA S AT AU ST I N . V I O L I N : © V L A D I S L AV G A J I C | D O L L A R P H OTO C LU B ON THE COVER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie by grand prizewinner Griffin Clarke of Heart of Texas EC Photo: Mary Pat Waldron TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Jerry B. Boze, Chair, Kaufman; David Marricle, Vice Chair, Muleshoe; Mark Tamplin, Secretary-Treasurer, Kirbyville; Debra A. Cole, Itasca; Mike R. Hagy, Tipton, Oklahoma; Robert A. Loth III, Fredericksburg; Mark Rollans, Hondo • PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin • COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Greg Henley, Tahoka; Bryan Lightfoot, Bartlett; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Mark McClain, Roby; Blaine Warzecha, Victoria; Jerry Williams, Paris; 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 Carlson, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Anna Ginsberg, Food Editor; Suzanne Halko, Staff Writer; Elizabeth John, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Jane Sharpe, Graphic Designer; Ellen Stader, Copy Editor; Ashley Clary-Carpenter, Proofreader TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 3 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Texas Precious Metals #1 Aggie Owned Company 2014 Texas Precious Metals Ranked #1 at 10th Annual Aggie 100 Texas A&M University recognized Texas Precious Metals of Shiner, TX as a member of the 2014 Aggie 100 honoring the fastest-growing companies in the world, owned or operated by Texas A&M University former students. Texas Precious Metals was ranked #1 with a compound annual growth rate of 371.9% from 2011 through 2013. The Aggie 100, a program created by the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship in Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, honors graduates from across disciplines for their entrepreneurial endeavors and success as business leaders. COMPLIMENTARY Sister Cities silver coin with your next order ! Size Silver Content (Troy oz) Denomination (AUD) Fineness (% purity) Minimum Gross Weight (g) 1/2 ozt Coupon Code 0.5 50¢ 99.9 15.9 aggie100 BUSINESS THE TEXAS WAY SINCE 1898! 361.594.3624 Shiner, TX 77984 Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm CST CURRENTS PREVIOUS Another Tree of Note Famous trees: In Waco, at Twin Rivers Golf Club, beside the 16th tee, is the largest, most beautiful live oak tree I have ever seen [“Tall Tales,” October 2014]. I don't know how to estimate age, 500 years or 1,000 years, maybe. NELDA OSWALT GRIMM EMMERT VIA FACEBOOK Oop and Our Family The V.T. Hamlin story [“Comics Caveman,” October 2014] reminded me that my late father, a young Army Air Force second lieutenant, was hospitalized at a California Bayarea military hospital in September 1942. His ward was visited by the Alley Oop creator, who gave him an original daily comic strip drawing of the cave man, his girlfriend, Oola, and Dinny, the dinosaur. It’s extraordinarily coincidental that my father later did petroleum property tax work in West Texas, including Iraan, where Alley and Dinny endure. That drawing hangs in our Highland Lakes home. JOHN DE LA GARZA | INKS LAKE CENTRAL TEXAS EC Texas’ Founding Fathers I read and enjoy your magazine. I felt a need to send in this clarification after reading the September 2014 Currents item “The StarSpangled Lawyer:” David Burnet was “appointed” as the first president of the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston was the first “elected” president of the Republic of Texas. RICHARD CURTIS | BERTRAM PEDERNALES EC Editor’s note: Burnet was elected interim president by delegates to the Convention of 1836. Later in 1836, Texans elected Houston president in a landslide. CONTENTS NEXT Letters, emails and posts from our readers Speaking of Books We really enjoyed the October 2014 issue. My husband loved “Tall Tales,” but I’m writing because of Juddi Morris’ Observations, “Making the Case for Happy Endings.” Good for her and her list of favorite books. I would love to sit down with her and discuss my favorite books: “Mrs. Mike” by Benedict and Nancy Freedman (Coward-McCann & Geoghegan, 1947) and anything by Mary Stewart (mostly written in the ’60s). I loved her romantic mysteries set in foreign lands, but my daughter favored her later historical books about Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table. “Mrs. Mike” was not written for young people, but my sixth-graders loved it when I read it aloud to them back in the ’80s, especially after I told them they might not like it because it was written for adults. A favorite for middle schoolaged kids was “To Yellowstone” (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975) an obscure, out-of-print book by Robert Scott McKinnon. VANDA POWERS | MIDLAND | FORT BELKNAP EC Harming Butterflies I was so happy to see in the September 2014 issue the well-written and timely article “Trouble in the Kingdom” about the declining population of the monarch butterfly. However, I was shocked and saddened that the author made no mention of the role that pesticides and herbicides, especially Monsanto’s Roundup, have played in this unfolding tragedy. A simple Internet search (“monarch butterflies” and “Roundup”) will bring up pages of articles about studies conducted all over the country linking the main ingredient, glyphosate, with the demise of the butterflies. Planting milkweed in your garden will do nothing to alleviate the problem if you are still dousing your plants with deadly chemicals. I urge your readers to do a bit of research on the topic and walk straight by those giant containers of Roundup or generically branded glyphosate. You’ll be doing the butterflies AND yourself a big favor. ANNE MARIE SAMPIETRO | CENTERVILLE HOUSTON COUNTY EC Making Headlines I enjoyed the article on smalltown newspapers [“Success Stories,” September 2014]. My greatgrandfather, J.W. Graves, started a newspaper in Cleburne after the Civil War, about 1867. He sold that newspaper to his brother and moved to Graham and started The Graham Leader in 1876. He owned that newspaper until 1903. I understand it is one of few papers with same name since organization in Texas. My grandmother used to set type for him, and the original typesetting equipment is still on display in The Graham Leader front office. They have won many awards over the years. JANICE RUYLE | DRIPPING SPRINGS PEDERNALES EC GET MORE TCP AT TexasCoopPower.com Find more letters online in the Table of Contents. Sign up for our E-Newsletter for monthly updates, prize drawings and more! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share EMAIL: letters@TexasCoopPower.com MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, 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 71, NUMBER 6 (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 76 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 available for $3 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Co-op Power (USPS 540-560), 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. Please enclose label from this copy of Texas Co-op Power showing old 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 2014 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission. Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2014 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 5 CONTENTS Energy, innovation, people, places and events in Texas O N T H I S DAT E Kit Was Here Frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson carved his name and the date December 25, 1839, into a boulder on Sawtooth Mountain in the Davis Mountains. Carson was a fur trapper at the time, roaming the mountains of what would become the Southwest United States. Engineers with the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation discovered the inscription in 1941. Texas-Grown Christmas Trees Christmas trees are taking their usual prominent places in homes as the holidays near, and the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association, an organization of more than 120 farmers who grow, sell and promote trees grown in-state, notes that its industry contributes $12 million each year to the Texas economy. Christmas tree farms produce about 200,000 trees annually. Christmas trees have been grown commercially in Texas since 1977. The growers association makes it easy for Texans to find the nearest tree farm online at texaschristmastrees.com/find-a-farm. 6 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 NEXT Reaching Out to Rural Writers With visits coming up in Comfort, Pearsall and Snyder, the Writers’ League of Texas concludes its second year of sending published authors to rural libraries across the state to discuss the craft of writing. The program known as Texas Writes lists 11 stops on its 2014 schedule, including events in Diboll, Alpine, Wolfe City and Llano. Each visiting author shares experiences and advice with local writers and would-be writers. Texas Writes is supported by a grant from the Tocker Foundation, which is dedicated to the support of rural libraries across the state. “This program comes at no cost to the libraries or the participants,” says Becka Oliver, executive director of the Writers’ League of Texas. “Topics covered at recent Texas Writes events include writing family history, creating believable characters, understanding metaphor, mastering dialogue and more.” Authors Christie Craig and Donna Johnson visited with about a dozen guests in September at Palacios Library. “I was really surprised because this is such a small town,” says Vikijane Mosier, library director. “To get that many people interested in writing, I was very happy.” Texas Writes visits the Comfort Public Library on December 6, the Scurry County Library in Snyder on January 22, 2015, and the Pearsall Public Library on January 28, 2015. In Pearsall, Greg Garrett, a professor of English at Baylor University, will be one of the featured authors. He has written or co-written three dozen published short stories, a dozen scholarly articles and 20 books. The title of his talk will be “Inspirational Fiction Do’s and Don’ts: Writing So That People Will Listen.” “This is one of the programs that we offer that I’m most proud of for its commitment to supporting the wonderful libraries that service our smaller towns in Texas and for its chief aim— to feed writers’ souls and build community,” Oliver says. If anyone wants to reach out to the Writers’ League of Texas with questions, phone (512) 499-8914 or email wlt@writersleague.org. TexasCoopPower.com C A R S O N : T I M C A R R O L L . B O O K : I M AG E CO PY R I G H T S E R G 6 4 , U S E D U N D E R L I C E N S E F R O M S H U T T E R STO C K .CO M CURRENTS PREVIOUS H A P PY WO R K E R S : T I M C A R R O L L . O R N A M E N T: I M AG E CO PY R I G H T J E R RY S L I WOWS K I , U S E D U N D E R L I C E N S E F R O M S H U T T E R STO C K .CO M . N U M B E R S : © J O HN VAU G H A N | D O L L A R P H OTO C LU B PREVIOUS Where Are Texas’ Happiest Workers? San Antonio and Austin ranked among the nation’s top 10 cities for having satisfied employees, according to Glassdoor, a jobs and career website. San Antonio placed at No. 9 and Austin at No. 10. Glassdoor compiled the list after reviewing overall employee satisfaction, number of employers hiring and business outlook expectations of employees in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The June report ranked San Jose, California, No. 1 and San Francisco No. 2. Glassdoor notes that the most indemand jobs in San Antonio are for customer service representatives, bartenders and restaurant managers. In Austin, software engineers, business analysts and staff accountants are in highest demand. TexasCoopPower.com CONTENTS NEXT Find more happenings all across the state at TexasCoopPower .com HAPPENINGS Grapevine Rules the Yule Find out just why Grapevine is the Christmas Capital of Texas. Here’s a hint: The town offers more than 1,400 Christmas events in 40-plus days. Shop at the International Christmas Market, get photos with Santa or go snow tubing. Hitch a train ride: for Mom and Dad, a Christmas Wine Train, and for the kiddoes, an excursion on the North Pole Express. You can create your own blown-glass ornament, enjoy a Grapevine Opry Show, watch the Twinkle Light Boat Parade and witness the brilliantly choreographed Light Show Spectacular. We’d go on, but we’ve got a tree to put up. INFO: 1-800-457-6338, grapevinetexasusa.com That date, December 13, 2014, marks the century’s final sequential calendar date—when the numbers for the month, date and year are in counting order. We’ll have to wait about 88 years for the next one—01/02/03, or January 2, 2103. December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 7 PREVIOUS 8 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 CONTENTS NEXT TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Cooperative Legislative Legends ONE MUSEUM MANAGES THE LEGACIES OF TWO FOUNDERS OF THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION BY CHARLES LOHRMANN STRIPE © GUDINNY, USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. A L L OT H E R I M AG E S CO U RT E SY T H E D O L P H B R I S CO E C E N T E R FO R A M E R I C A N H I STO RY, T H E U N I V E R S I TY O F T E XA S AT AU ST I N AnyTexan TexasCoopPower.com CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: This replica of Sam Rayburn’s office when he was speaker of the House is on display at the Rayburn Museum in Bonham; Rayburn with his farm truck in Bonham; Lyndon Baines Johnson and Rayburn; John Nance Garner eating watermelon; portrait of Rayburn. ABOVE: John Nance Garner shakes hands with President Franklin D. Roosevelt; above right, a gavel used by Rayburn on September 16, 1940, when he first became speaker of the House of Representatives. would expect an institution charged with preserving the legacy of two legislative titans like John Nance Garner and Sam Rayburn to house a significant collection on U.S. congressional history. But you might not expect its congressional history collection to be the largest outside Washington, D.C. And it is unlikely to expect that the landmarks symbolizing these two 20th-century American leaders would be 425 miles apart. But these widely spaced locations are essential components of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, which is headquartered at the University of Texas in Austin but oversees the Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham, the Briscoe-Garner Museum in Uvalde and Winedale near Round Top, about 21 miles west of Brenham. These three locations are in addition to the massive archive (including the papers of more than 60 members of Congress) at the center’s Research and Collections Division in Austin. Even the building that houses the Briscoe Center’s offices (but not its archives) is historic. It is now called the Arno Nowotny Building, and it is the oldest building on the University of Texas campus. In the mid-1800s, the building served as George Amstrong Custer’s headquarters when he served in Texas between the end of the Civil War and the Indian Wars on the Great Plains. December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 9 PREVIOUS When CONTENTS an institution takes on the documentation and preservation of the life work and legacy of a public figure, one persistent challenge is keeping the individual’s story alive and engaging for generation after generation. It’s not only important to attract a onetime tourist but also to encourage regulars to return for another visit—another conversation with history. In pursuit of keeping the collections and exhibits relevant for contemporary visitors, the staff of the Briscoe Center has completely renovated the Rayburn exhibits in Bonham and the Briscoe-Garner Museum in Uvalde. All the Briscoe Center’s museums hold particular significance for the co-op community. As Briscoe Center Executive Director Don Carleton explains, Rayburn and Garner were essential players in the early history of the cooperative movement. “If anyone can be called the father of the Rural Electrification Administration, it’s Rayburn,” Carleton says. “Along with Sen. George Norris of Nebraska, he was the one who created the legislation that made the REA happen as the institution that loaned money to the co-ops so they could get started. “After President Franklin Roosevelt established the REA with an executive order, it was Rayburn and Norris who sponsored that legislation,” Carleton adds. “It was one of the pieces of legislation Rayburn was most proud of. And Garner’s role as vice president for Franklin Roosevelt also was essential. As the presiding officer of the Senate, he had huge legislative clout in both houses. “Remember, Rayburn first taught school in a one-room schoolhouse with no electricity,” Carleton says. “We have a wonderful photograph of the co-op linemen setting up the pole that will carry electricity to the school.” The relationship between Rayburn and Garner was important to both men. “Garner was Rayburn’s mentor,” Carleton says. “And these are two of only three Texans who served as speaker of the House of Representatives.” Museum Connections: NEXT The Briscoe Center, formerly known as the Center for American History (its Web address still includes the initials “cah”), took on the name of former Gov. Dolph Briscoe in 2008. In changing the name of the Center for American History, the university acknowledged not only Briscoe’s gifts of more than $15 million but also his specific interest in Texas history as expressed through the center’s programs. In addition to the archive of his personal and gubernatorial papers, Briscoe’s legacy will be honored with exhibits on the second floor of the Briscoe-Garner museum. Even though Briscoe’s public service was in the Texas Legislature and as governor (he was elected governor in 1972 and served until 1979, after he was defeated in the 1978 primary), his legislative experience extended onto the national stage through his work with Rayburn and Garner. In the museum, the transition from the first-floor exhibits about Garner to the second-floor exhibits dedicated to Briscoe will be represented by a photograph of the two men together. (The Briscoe exhibits in the Uvalde museum are scheduled to open in April 2015.) And the other important location for the Briscoe Center, Winedale, also has a strong connection to an historic Texas political family, that of Gov. James Stephen Hogg, through his daughter, Ima. Lonn Taylor, former curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History who now lives in Fort Davis, started his professional museum career under the guidance of Ima Hogg in the early 1970s. “Miss Ima Hogg donated 180 acres along with the historic buildings there to the University of Texas in the mid-1960s,” Taylor says. “Winedale was designed to be a laboratory and classroom for the study of historic preservation. I became the first curator and director in 1970. This is what started me on my career as a museum professional.” “Miss Ima was a very knowledgeable and scholarly person, and she had a vision for Winedale as a research center,” WHERE TO SEE THE COLLECTIONS In addition to its offices and headquarters in Austin, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History administers the following sites: THE BRISCOE-GARNER MUSEUM Two floors of exhibits in the recently renovated house that was John Nance Garner’s home, at 333 N. Park St., Uvalde. THE SAM RAYBURN MUSEUM Includes a replica of Rayburn’s office when he Wagner House kitchen and smokehouse at Winedale. was speaker, at 800 W. Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham. While in Bonham, plan to visit the THE SAM RAYBURN HOUSE MUSEUM, administered by the Texas Historical Commission. The museum maintains Rayburn’s home as it was when he was alive and includes the now-restored Cadillac given him by his fellow representatives. Visit cah.utexas.edu for links and more information. 10 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com PARCHMENT: © SERGII MOSCALIUK | DOLLAR PHOTO CLUB WINEDALE A 200-plus–acre site near Round Top that includes 19th-century buildings as well as modern research and teaching facilities. PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT RAYBURN AND GARNER WERE ESSENTIAL PLAYERS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT. Taylor says. “She had been collecting American furniture since 1920, and she encouraged—no, she ordered—me and David Warren to write the book on Texas furniture.” The two-volume project that resulted from Ima Hogg’s “order” is “Texas Furniture: The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880,” published by the University of Texas Press in 1975, is a landmark in Texas history and publishing. Ima Hogg wrote the foreword to Volume 1, and Carleton wrote the foreword to Volume 2. One of the active programs at Winedale these days is Shakespeare at Winedale. Through this program, university students work long hours (the program suggests 15 to 18 hours a day) over three weekends at Winedale to thoroughly learn and stage performances of Shakespeare’s plays. The performances, all staged in the Winedale Theater Barn, offer a full immersion CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE LEFT: A page from the scrapbook assembled by John Nance Garner’s wife, Marietta, during the vice presidential years; Garner and Sam Rayburn; a gavel made for Garner from a branch and a rock found along the Nueces River near Uvalde. TexasCoopPower.com into studying Shakespeare and his work. The courses, held twice annually, in spring and summer, are open to students with different kinds of experience—no acting experience required—who are willing to make the commitment to an intense experience of Shakespeare. Younger students (ages 11-16) can apply to take part in Camp Shakespeare, a two-week study of the Bard’s work. This program, undertaken in two sessions each summer, is not as intensive as the university-level offering, but it does still include performances for the public. The collections of the Briscoe Center continue to grow along with its exhibit and project schedule. And it’s not just political leaders who donate materials to the center. Earlier in 2014, Willie Nelson donated a major part of his personal collection, including correspondence, awards and records, to the Briscoe Center. The center houses more than a dozen major collections and even includes a collection of archives related to Texas Co-op Power magazine. Charles Lohrmann, editor December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 11 PREVIOUS CONTENTS H H NEXT H H HOLIDAY Gift Guide H In the magazine and on TexasCoopPower.com, we make it easy to shop for friends and family. H Custom Crafted Personalized Gifts Customized Boot Jack 12 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 H Too Cool! Capture unique brands, logos & names on custom-made bootjacks, leather coaster sets, luggage tags & marble trivets. Lasting gifts for Christmas, weddings, birthdays & rodeos. 2006 Official Texas State Artist George Boutwell’s 2015 Calendar features paintings from the Texas portion of the Historic Bankhead Highway (America’s first coastto-coast highway). Lots of classic cars! Large size, 15" wide x 19 ½" high. $12.50 each plus 8.25% sales tax and $3.50 S &H. 1-888-301-1967 www.crawjacks.com 1-800-243-4316 www.gboutwell.com TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Fresh “New Crop” Pecans Texas Ruby & Rio Red Grapefruit New crop pecans, chocolatecovered nuts, bakers boxes, specialty gift baskets, fudge, pecan pies. Our very own specialty roasted and salted pecans & gifts galore! Juicy red grapefruit and sweet oranges from the Rio Grande Valley. Tree-fresh, hand-selected gifts delivered nationwide. Texas 1015 onions, smoked meats, nuts and candies. FREE BROCHURE. 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Call today for a gift catalog or visit our website and order online. 1-888-PECANS75 (732-2675) www.rattlesnakeranchpecans.com www.gandsgroves.com Award Winning Quality “We Are Impressed With the Quality...The Price is Incredible” – Car Craft Magazine 44", 13 Drawer Industrial Quality Roller Cabinet Lot No. 68784/69387/62270 14,200 cu. in. of storage • Weighs 245 lbs. • 2633 lb. capacity $369.99 with code 82050758 500+ Stores Nationwide 1-800-423-2567 • www.harborfreight.com TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 13 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT THE FLATLANDERS: NOW IT’S NOW AGAIN E XC E R PT A new book offers insight into one of Texas’ favorite homegrown bands BY JOHN T. DAVIS 14 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT THE FLATLANDERS —Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Steve Wesson, Tony Pearson, and in lesser roles, Tommy X. Hancock and the late Sylvester Rice—are not just any band of musicians. Not only are Ely, Gilmore, and Hancock distinguished songwriters on their own, but the band they formed had a seminal influence on many of the roots/Americana/singer-songwriter inheritors that permeate contemporary music. GENESIS JOE USED TO SAY that none of us had a thimbleful of ambition. But between the three of us, we had a towering lack of ambition. —Jimmie Dale Gilmore © ST E V E G U L L I C K T he thing that is startling to realize is that, for all the gravitas the Flatlanders and their music acquired over the years, their tenure as an actual, functioning, gigplaying band was startlingly brief. From the time they coalesced around the living room of the 14th Street house until they went their separate ways in the wake of their Nashville recording session was only a year, maybe less. The fact that they even got together is a study in serendipity. In the spring of 1971, Joe Ely had been knocking around in Europe; Jimmie Dale Gilmore had made a foray to Austin with his band, the Hub City Movers; and Butch had been studying architecture and photography in San Francisco. They just happened to all show up back in Lubbock more or less simultaneously. “I was in touch with both of them,” Jimmie told No Depression magazine. “And at one point I said to Joe, ‘You know, I’ve got this friend who writes some really good songs. You gotta hear him.’ So we got together and we stayed up all night playing together and laughing. And that was the beginning of the Flatlanders.” The core of the group was, of course, Butch, Jimmie, and Joe, along with Tony Pearson and Steve Wesson and, to a much lesser extent, Sylvester Rice. Others drifted in and out of the loosely knit group for short periods, maybe just a handful of times. There was guitarist John X. Reed and the reclusive songwriter Al Strehli, from whom Jimmie plucked some lovely songs, including “I Know You” and “Keeper of the Mountain.” There was also a drummer named Tom Jones, an artist named Jim Eppler, and accordionist Ponty Bone, who would go on to join the Joe Ely Band. It was Bone who would describe the Flatlanders’ tiny but select group of followers with a wonderful phrase: “small circles of good taste.” Syl Rice, Country Lou D, and Royce Clark might have been eyeing the group in terms of record deals and radio play, but there wasn’t much thought given among the principals to building commercial momentum, or any sort of a music career in the sense that the public tends to OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM LEFT: think of it. Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and “We weren’t perceiving it Jimmie Dale Gilmore first played through the eyes of someone together in 1971 in Lubbock. trying to get into the music business,” said Jimmie, laughing at the very thought. “The band was never created as a commercial entity, even though Joe and I were already set on professional [music] careers,” he continued. “That band came out of a circle of friends that had some musicians in it that liked playing together. We were beatniks!” Speaking in 2013, he said, “In some people’s eyes, it’s sort of miraculous, the whole deal that we’re not only a functioning unit, but that we’re still friends. But it’s pretty natural, because the whole band worked that way from the beginning. The Flatlanders came about because we liked each other so much to begin with. Going off to Nashville and making the record was just a tangent.” One struggles, in looking at their story then and talking to them now, to find any hint of discord or rancor or ego-driven one-upmanship among the trio. Journalist Richard Skanse gave it a good shot, though, in a cover story for Texas Music magazine in 2000: … 30 years of friendship and not a bump in the road? It’s just too good. Out with the skeletons. “Well,” offers Hancock, “there was that nasty credit card scandal of Jimmie’s … ” “Oh, and that Eskimo girl,” Ely adds cryptically. “And Joe stealing a steamroller—when I got blamed for that,” continues Hancock, “there was some friction there.” “We were in prison for a couple of years in Costa Rica,” offers Ely. “We were in the same cell, but we didn’t talk to each other for weeks.” “That,” says Gilmore, “was Butch’s fault.” T he camaraderie ran deeper than just intersecting musical tastes or similar temperaments or happy geographical proximity. They are bound by a shared search, a yearning to, as the Hindu teacher Ram Dass and a latter-day Flatlanders song say, be here now. “The three of us have always had a desire to understand everything we can understand,” said Joe Ely to the Statesman. “And to be very awake and conscious of everything that’s going on. That’s really all you can do in this universe. You can’t be certain of anything. But you can be present.” That deliberate choice—to be awake and conscious and all on the same wavelength—gave the guys a level of creative intimacy that was almost subatomic. Joe might wake up and jot down a song that he had dreamed the night before … but in his dream, Text by John T. Davis excerpted from “The Flatlanders: Now It’s Now Again,” used by permission of the University of Texas Press. Copyright © 2014. For more information visit www.utpress.utexas.edu or http://utpress.utexas.edu⁄index.php⁄books⁄davflp TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 15 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT ‘The Flatlanders came about because we liked each other so much to begin with,’ Jimmie Dale Gilmore says. 16 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 fessional polish, they more than made up in repertoire. Ely’s background, and natural inclination, were rock ’n’ roll. Gilmore was grounded in classic country and Western Swing, and Hancock came out of the wordy, Dylan-esque folk music universe. When they came together, each brought something to the table that the other two had largely not experienced. “Between us, we had hundreds of songs that we knew, and we’d sit up all night and play them,” said Ely, speaking at his home in 2012. “It was a vast repertoire of songs. The musicians in Lubbock were from all different worlds. There were the rock guys and the folk guys and I kind of went in between them. I went to Europe for a year, then came back and got with the Flatlanders and I had a whole other repertoire than Jimmie or Butch, and I found their repertoires fascinating.” He searched around on his computer and came up with a scanned image of a couple of Flatlanders set lists to illustrate his point: Here’s Daddy Dave Dudley’s truck-driving anthem, “Six Days on the Road,” and Hank’s “Honky-Tonkin’ ” and Willie Nelson’s “Bloody Mary Morning.” Over yonder is the Cajun waltz “Jole Blon,” an untitled schottische, Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” and Flatt and Scruggs’s “Salty Dog Blues” and Buddy’s “Peggy Sue.” Mix that stuff up with the Lloyd Price/Elvis hit “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Black Snake Moan,” and Townes Van Zandt’s “Waitin’ Around to Die.” Throw in some originals (mostly by Butch), and you have a pretty good idea of the Flatlanders’ home range. “Vast,” as Ely says. With Jimmie singing most of the lead vocals (though not all; their demo and Nashville album tracks give a false impression), Ely’s rudimentary learn-while-you-earn Dobro playing, Steve Wesson’s ethereal, oscillating musical saw, and Tony Pearson’s jaunty mandolin licks, they sounded like nothing going on in the commercial country or pop music worlds in 1971. If they are to be placed in context at all, it would be more fitting to rank them with contemporary Americana groups like the Lumineers or The Civil Wars. I never thought that I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high —“Hopes Up High” by Joe Ely WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Watch the band perform ‘I Know You.’ TexasCoopPower.com STAG E P H OTO © P E T E R D E RV I N P H OTO G RA P H Y Butch had written the song and Jimmie was singing it. It came out in their performances, too. “Their voices sound great individually, but they also blend,” said Lloyd Maines, who has played with and/or produced all three men individually and together. “They sound so different when they’re singing by themselves, but when they do harmonies it’s almost like they’re brothers.” The Flatlanders played informally pretty much every night— hundreds of shows for friends, Ely recalled. But their paying gigs were sporadic and their crowds sparse. “There’d never be more than ten people whenever we’d play somewhere,” said Ely, exaggerating for effect. “But we’d meet other musicians.” Memories can be hazy things, and the Flatlanders shows that folks can recall seem almost maddeningly random in retrospect. They played at Tony’s and Laura’s Supernatural Health Food Store, a place called the Attic in the basement of an ice cream shop, and such coffeehouses as Tech’s microscopic bohemian population could support, including a place called Aunt Maudie’s Fun House. Debby Savage (aka “Little Deb”) said they performed at “maybe the Elks Lodge.” Tommy Hancock recalled them playing at the Unitarian Church and one time, he thinks, a state school for, as he put it, “retarded children.” One picture in the booklet included with “The Odessa Tapes” CD shows them playing on the commons at Texas Tech. Their favorite venue, according to Hancock, was a place called the Town Pump. “It was in a little old strip mall on 4th St.,” he said to No Depression magazine. “It was sort of a seedy place—gambling, and they say a prostitution ring ran out of there. But it turns out the only trouble we ever ran across down there was from the tenants next door. It was one of those success groups—motivational training, you know. One of them stabbed somebody in the alley one time. I guess they got motivated.” “Syl Rice told me, ‘You’ve got to come hear these guys, they’re real unusual, totally off the cuff,’ ” said Maines. “So, Syl took me to the Town Pump [to see them]. I knew there was something there, but it sort of took me aback. They appeared a little disorganized, and the songs didn’t really have arrangements. At the time, I was used to playing in a rehearsed, arranged situation, but I thought it was great.” But what the Flatlanders lacked in big-time shows and pro- PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT How to GUARANTEE a White Christmas Warm her heart with this sterling silver DiamondAura® Snowflake Pendant, yours today for only $1225! W inter is the season for romance. Nothing brings couples closer than freezing temperatures and a dash of holiday spirit. 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Or, in some cases, credit them to Member accounts. This month, CoServ is retiring a record $12 million in Capital Credits. Retirements $50 and above will be delivered in the mail in the form of a check; retirements below $50 will be credited to Member accounts. Not a bad way to start the holiday season, eh? Capital Credits are margins annually allocated to each Member’s Capital Credit account based on kilowatt hour purchases, and they’re the most tangible benefit of cooperative membership. If you were a Member last year, you received a notice of your Capital Credit Allocation for 2013 in September 2014. Each year, after Allocation Notices are mailed out, the CoServ Electric Board of Directors—democratically elected by its Members (you)—votes on whether to retire (pay) Capital Credits, and if so, how much. This year’s retirement will mark $ 72 million put back into our Members' hands since 2003. We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to your nest egg, and we love being able to shell it out. If you have additional questions regarding Capital Credits, please visit CoServ.com or email contact@coserv.com. CoServ Electric 20 Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted Texas Co-op Power COSERV ELECTRIC December 2014 CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 20 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR CAPITAL CREDITS? “We send it to the Cherokee Home for Children northwest of Fredericksburg out in the Hill Country. The Cherokee has a real good success rate of kids graduating high school. That’s one of the reasons we contribute to them.” —Retired high school football coach and Era Church of Christ Member BOB GRUNDY (Above) Established in the late 1870s, the Era Church of Christ building was constructed in 1910. In 1937, the church became a Member of Denton County Electric Cooperative (now known as CoServ Electric). The Cherokee Home for Children is one of several worthy causes to which they contribute. For more stories about Capital Credit Retirements and to share yours, click on the Community tab of the Inside the Lines blog on CoServ.com. CoServ Electric The Era Church of Christ building was constructed in 1910. Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted December 2014 COSERV ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 21 21 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT AT&T 1:53 PM outagemap.coserv.com 2 BOOKMARK THIS ON YOUR SMART PHONE When the power is off, your charged smartphone is still on. Check the mobile-friendly Outage Map on CoServ.com to monitor service disruptions and estimated restoration times. You can also set favorite locations, view current/historical summaries and assess weather conditions. Visit CoServ.com or scan the QR code to bookmark today! CoServ Electric 22 Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted Texas Co-op Power COSERV ELECTRIC December 2014 CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 22 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT CoServ Members and Customers have a shot at taking three friends or relatives to family-friendly Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco to watch the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League basketball team, the Texas Legends! Now through March 15, visit the Texas Legends page under the Community tab at CoServ.com to enter a random drawing for four tickets and concession vouchers. There’s nothing to lose and a whole lot of fun to gain. Good luck! CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 23 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT It’s your energy. Make the most of it. Dashboard 1,113 Account # 0000000000 MEMBER NAME... (Acct 0000000000) SERVICE ADDRESS, CITY, TX 00000 Charts Data kWh billed Oct (9/3–10/2) Property 26% Lower compared to Sep bill 146 Notifications 1 View/Pay Bill $135.00 0% Profile Complete Balance kWh Week of Oct 12 35% Lower Details compared to week of Oct 5 Electric Daily Zoom 2w 1m 3m 1y legend marker 2y Dashboard 75 O F Notifications 1 View/Pay Bill Account # 0000000000 70 F O kWh 30 Temperature 40 MEMBER NAME... (Acct 0000000000) SERVICE ADDRESS, CITY, TX 00000 Charts 65 F O 20 Data 1,113 146 26% Lower 35% Lower kWh billed Oct (9/3–10/2) kWh Week of Oct 12 compared to Sep bill compared to week of Oct 5 Property $135.00 Balance Details 60 F O 10 Electric Zoom 2w Daily 1m 3m 1y legend marker 2y 0 18. Sep 20. Sep 22. Sep 24. Sep 26. Sep 28. Sep 30. Sep 2. Oct 4. Oct 6. Oct 8. Oct 10. Oct 12. Oct 14. Oct 16. Oct 18. Oct 75 O F 70 O F kWh 30 Comparison Average Temperature Comparison None Comparison None Comparison Temperature 40 65 O F 20 None 10 60 O F 0 Contact CoServ | MyMeter Feedback Data & alerts Alerts and meter data are accessible across many different devices and our mobile alert system keeps you up-to-date even when you’re on the road. Customizable markers Track important events and monitor associated energy changes with handy markers. Using markers helps the system know how and when to provide important alerts. CoServ Electric 24 v4.1.1.4 Powered By: MM Logo Track & compare usage Track your usage against local temperatures to see how weather affects your energy consumption. E-Bill preference Enroll your account(s) to receive electronic billing notifications. Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted Texas Co-op Power COSERV ELECTRIC December 2014 CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 24 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT COSERV HOSTS NORTH TEXAS REGIONAL SAFETY DAY Hundreds of employees and contractors in the excavation and construction industries visited CoServ recently to attend the third annual North Texas Regional Safety Day. The North Texas Damage Prevention Council presented the event as part of its mission to promote public safety and protect the environment through stakeholder education and communication in 16 counties. Representatives of several utilities, including Oncor, Atmos Energy, Access Midstream, Time Warner and AT&T, attended several hands-on sessions and safety demonstrations, and heard from several guest speakers and panelists, including Flower Mound Fire Chief Eric Greaser, who delivered the keynote address. For more details and photos from the event, click on the Safety category of the Inside the Lines blog on CoServ.com. CoServ Electric Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted December 2014 COSERV ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 25 25 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT 15,000 REASONS TO APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP In 2015, CoServ’s W. Tip Hall, Jr. Scholarship Program will award scholarships worth $15,000 to five graduating students. Eligible students from CoServ Member households who plan to pursue higher education in Texas are eligible to win scholarships in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. And the upcoming holiday break is the perfect time to apply because the deadline is Jan. 30, which will be here before you know it. Your teen's photo here! Know graduating seniors who fit the bill? Encourage them to click on the Community tab at CoServ.com and apply today! WANTED: 2 TEENS TO VISIT 2 CAPITOLS For one week every summer since 1964, more than 50,000 teenagers have represented hundreds of electric co-ops in Washington, DC, as part of the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. In 2015, CoServ will again sponsor two teens on this trip-of-a-lifetime experience—and next June’s trip is extra special because two capitols are involved. This year’s trip starts and ends in Austin and includes a tour of the state Capitol. Two high school students—either juniors or seniors—from CoServ Member households will also tour the U.S. Capitol and visit their representatives’ offices. In addition, participants will visit the Smithsonian Institution, Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery, which includes a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The all-expenses-paid trip is coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), and it is designed to give students a hands-on view of their government in action, and hear about the vital role the political process plays in the electric co-op business model. Do you have a travel-hungry teen in your home? Click the Electric Co-op Youth Tour page under the Community tab at CoServ.com for more details. The application deadline is Jan. 30. CoServ Electric 26 Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted Texas Co-op Power COSERV ELECTRIC December 2014 CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 26 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT CoServ Mission Statement To deliver excellent service to our Members and Customers by providing safe and reliable energy solutions. Contact Information CoServ.com contact@coserv.com (940) 321-7800 Open Monday—Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Telephones answered 24 hours a day Board of Directors W N — WHAT? During the December through May billing periods, you'll notice a line item called the Weather Normalization Adjustment (WNA)—which affects the monthly Ccf1 usage charge. WNA is standard within the natural gas utility industry and protects both the customer and the gas provider. The calculation is based on normal temperatures, and it provides an adjustment if temperatures are colder or warmer than normal. When weather is colder than normal, the WNA will reduce the Ccf usage charge to a normal level. When weather is warmer than normal, it will increase the Ccf usage charge to a normal level. For more questions, click on the Gas Rates & Tariff link under the Customer Service tab at CoServ.com or email contact@coserv.com. 0.5629 Anne Vaden Vice Chairman Argyle, District 5 Richard Muir Secretary/Treasurer Sanger, District 1 Leon Pelzel Pilot Point, District 2 Clint Bedsole Frisco, District 4 Gas Service Detail PGF Customer Charge City Sales Tax Gross Receipts Tax Usage Charge 0.19771 Municipal Franchise Fee WNA Clyde Geer Chairman McKinney, District 3 $126.65 $7.00 $3.50 $1.89 $44.48 $7.08 –$10.13 Bill Ragsdale Flower Mound, District 6 Curtis Tally Justin, District 7 Ccf equals the volume of 100 cubic feet (cf ) of natural gas. 1 CoServ Electric Reliable • Safe • Local • Trusted December 2014 COSERV ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power CoServ_12-2014 TCP.indd 27 27 11/7/14 8:32 AM PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT 140x MILITARY Zoom Binoculars NOT JUST GOOD. POWERFUL GOOD. 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(512) 263-6830 • www.brushshark.com Call Toll Free 800-228-1265 www.atlanticservice.com 6525 Baker Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76118 (;;,5;065 46)03,/64, 6 > 5,9 : ,?7,9; 05:;(33(;065 05:<9(5*, *9,+0; 30-,;04,>(99(5;@ 9,+<*,+ ,3,*;90* )033 05*9,(:,+ /64,=(3<, : ; 6 7 3,(2: 56469,966-9<4)3, :PUJL YVVMV]LYJVT ® TexasCoopPower.com December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 29 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT 79 S Y E ARR SERY OF NU ESS BUSIN 150 varieties of fruits and pecans for the Southwest. Family-owned and grown. 40 x 50 x 10 = $8,637.00 40 x 60 x 12 = $10,362.00 50 x 75 x 12 = $14,376.00 60 x 80 x 14 = $18,153.00 100 x 150 x 14 (M-1) = $46,824.00 PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. 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ADVERTISE IN THE MARKETPLACE CALL MARTIN FOR MORE INFORMATION ( 512 ) 486-6249 F a x : 9 4 0 - 4 8 4 - 6 7 4 6 e m a i l : info@rhinobldg.com Website: www.RHINOBLDG.COM Toll Free 1-888-875-8233 LOW L OW COST COST M Mobile obile Home Home Insurance Insurance Complete coverage Superior service Easy payment plans (Including the option of Credit Cards) Low deductibles Free & easy online quotes w www.stdins.com ww.stdins.com C Call all F For or A C Custom ustom Q Quote uote 8 8005220146 00 522 0146 Start Saving 30 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 g Mobile wners 961 TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Texas History Naughty Santa Jolly disguise turns 1927 bank robbery first into hapless spectacle then into deadly shootout in Cisco J O H N KAC H I K BY MARTHA DEERINGER On december 23, 1927, a man in a santa Claus suit got his name on the naughty list. How? He held up the First National Bank of Cisco, in north-central Texas. The crime reached astonishing heights of infamy and ineptitude. The thief, Marshall Ratliff, had been jailed previously for bank robbery but was pardoned by Gov. Ma Ferguson after serving only one year. Ratliff persuaded Henry Helms, Robert Hill and Louis Davis to assist in the heist. He borrowed a Santa Claus suit from his landlady in Wichita Falls, stole a car and set out with his cronies for Cisco. Ratliff considered the Santa suit a perfect disguise. His decision was proved wrong soon after he got out of the car and headed for the bank. Several children on the street spotted Santa Claus entering the bank and trooped along behind, hoping to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Meanwhile, Hill and Helms parked the stolen car in the alley behind the bank. The men entered the bank. In the crowded lobby, bank employees heard someone shout, “Stick ’em up!” Guns were drawn. Six-year-old Frances Blasengame dragged her mother into the bank for “one last wish for Santa” just as guns appeared. Frances burst into tears, crying, “They’re gonna shoot Santa Claus … they’re gonna shoot him!” according to A.C. Greene in “The Santa Claus Bank Robbery” (The New American Library, 1972). Blasengame headed for the back door, pushing Frances in front of her. One of the bandits yelled, “Come back here, lady!” but she kept going right out the back, where she ran across a vacant lot to city hall and alerted the police. Santa had filled a cloth sack with cash and started for the back door just as one gunman noticed movement outside the bank. He fired. A fusillade of bullets TexasCoopPower.com answered, ricocheting around the inside of the bank. Excitement surged through town as folks yelled “Bank robbery! First National!” Clerks in the hardware store passed rifles and shotguns out to customers. Police Chief Bit Bedford and two deputies took up positions in the alley just as the robbers bustled out of the bank with hostages. They shoved Laverne Comer, 12, and Emma May Robinson, 10, into the getaway vehicle. As the car sped away, Bedford charged around the corner of the bank and fired a shotgun blast before falling to his knees, mortally wounded. Within moments, the getaway driver noticed a serious problem: No one had put gas in the car, and its tank was nearly empty. Outraged citizens of Cisco were in hot pursuit. Near the intersection of 14th Street and Avenue D, the bandits flagged down the driver of a brand new Oldsmobile. The bloody men dragged the frightened family out of the car and climbed in, not noticing that the driver, 14 year-old Woody Harris, pocketed the key as he ran away. The posse, stopped a block away, fired repeatedly as Santa ordered everyone back into the getaway car, leaving Davis, hit by a shotgun blast, behind. Within blocks, Santa realized they had left the loot, $12,200 in cash and $150,000 in securities, in the Oldsmobile with Davis. Distracted by the unconscious robber and the cash, the posse lost sight of the getaway car. Laverne and Emma May remained in the car when Santa warned them they would be shot if they got out. Ratliff didn’t realize that Laverne had recognized him when he took off his mask. When the posse arrived, she identified the crook, but the outlaws had disappeared. A massive manhunt commenced. Two of the three robbers were wounded. They had no food, and a blue norther had arrived with icy winds and sleet, but the last of the Santa Claus bank robbers evaded lawmen until December 30, when they were reunited in the county jail. The Santa Claus bank robbery might seem comical were it not for the six people killed and eight injured. Ratliff later escaped from jail and was lynched by an angry mob, considered the last mob lynching in Texas history. Martha Deeringer, a member of Heart of Texas EC, lives near McGregor. December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 31 PREVIOUS CONTENTS $500 WINNER SWEET CATEGORY Texas Pecan Praline Cheesecake $2,500 GRAND PRIZEWINNER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie NEXT PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Recipes 2014 Holiday Recipe Contest SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS PECAN BOARD $500 WINNER SWEET CATEGORY Choosing a winner for the 2014 Holiday Recipe Contest was challenging, with so many tasty pies and other desserts, not to mention surprising savory dishes, all featuring Texas pecans. After multiple rounds of testing the top entries, we determined the winners in three categories—Savory, Sweet and Pecan Pie—as well as a grand prizewinner, Griffin Clarke of Heart of Texas EC. He collects $2,500 in prize money for his Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie, a delicious and densely flavored chocolate pecan pie spiced with cayenne and cinnamon. The winner for best pecan pie, the two winners for best savory dish and the two winners for best sweet dish each claim $500 in prize money. The Texas Pecan Board sponsored this $5,000 contest. For more on Texas pecans, go to texaspecans.org. Apple Pecan Upside-Down Pie ANNA GINSBERG, FOOD EDITOR $2,500 GRAND PRIZEWINNER Ultimate Chocolate Pecan Pie GRIFFIN CLARKE | HEART OF TEXAS EC Griffin Clarke “always loved Granny’s pecan pie and decided he wanted to make pecan pie as good as Granny,” says the prizewinner’s mother, Arla H. Clarke. Building on the family recipe, the 23-year-old experimented with chocolate and spice, seeking the “ultimate” pecan concoction. CRUST ½ 2 1 ½ 4-6 cup Texas pecan halves cups all-purpose flour teaspoon kosher salt cup shortening, cut into chunks tablespoons ice water, as needed FILLING 3 ½ cups Texas pecan halves cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips 5 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup sugar 1 cup light Karo corn syrup ½ cup Grade A dark amber maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper M A RY PAT WA L D R O N CARAMEL SAUCE ½ cup butter (1 stick) 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Salt to taste 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch or 9 ½-inch deep-dish pie dish. 2. Toast all pecan halves—3 ½ cups—in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Stir often to avoid burning. Set aside ½ cup toasted pecan halves for pie crust. Pulse remaining 3 cups of toasted pecans in a food processor until finely chopped, and set aside to use in pie filling. 3. CRUST: Pulse ½ cup toasted pecan halves with flour and kosher salt in a food processor until combined and the pecans are finely ground. Add shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water 1 teaspoon at a time and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate 1 hour, then roll out and press into pie dish. Refrigerate while making the pie filling. 4. FILLING: In a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate chips until fully combined. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large glass bowl, combine eggs, sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir in salt, cinnamon and cayenne. Add the December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 33 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Recipes melted chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated. Stir in the remaining 3 cups of finely chopped toasted pecans. 5. Pour filling mixture into the pecan pie crust and bake 50 to 70 minutes or until the pecans have formed a crust on top and the filling is nearly set. Let cool completely while making caramel sauce. 6. CARAMEL SAUCE: Combine butter and brown sugar in a cast iron skillet and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved. Add the heavy cream and boil, stirring often, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and salt and mix well. 7. Chill pie before serving so that it slices neatly. Serve with whipped cream and warm caramel sauce. Store pie and extra sauce in the refrigerator. COOK’S TIP To save time and labor, a premade pie crust may be used. A premade caramel sauce may also be used, although it won’t be as good. Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 1,129 calories, 12.07 g protein, 81.99 g fat, 88.56 g carbohydrates, 7.62 g dietary fiber, 568 mg sodium, 54.10 g sugars, 150 mg cholesteroll $500 WINNER: SWEET CATEGORY Apple Pecan Upside-Down Pie FERN W. GIDDENS | FAYETTE EC Fern Giddens’ recipe came from experimenting with streusel. “I had seen when you make things like cinnamon rolls, you put the stuff on the bottom,” she says. “Why don’t we turn it around and do it the other way? And that’s what we did.” ¼ 2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed tablespoons butter or margarine, melted ¾ cup coarsely chopped Texas pecans 2 rolls refrigerated pastry dough 2 pounds tart apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced (yields about 5 cups) ⅔ cup sugar, or more to taste 2-3 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9inch pie dish, combine brown sugar and butter or margarine and spread over the bottom. Sprinkle pecans evenly over 34 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 sugar mixture. Roll each roll of pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully line prepared pie dish with 1 pastry circle. Do not press into nut mixture. Trim dough even with the edge of the pie dish. 2. Combine apple slices, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon, and place mixture in pie dish. Cover with remaining pastry circle and prick with fork. Trim top crust even with the edge of the pie dish and seal crust edges with water. Roll edges toward center of pie so that crust edge does not touch rim of pie dish. 3. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on bottom oven rack to catch drippings. Bake on center rack 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. 4. Let stand 2 minutes. Carefully run knife tip around edge of dish to loosen pie. Invert onto serving plate. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired. Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 524 calories, 5.57 g protein, 35.39 g fat, 46.47 g carbohydrates, 4.43 g dietary fiber, 134 mg sodium, 22.29 g sugars, 5 mg cholesterol $500 WINNER: SWEET CATEGORY Texas Pecan Praline Cheesecake CLARISSE BLAIR | NUECES EC Clarisse Blair’s mother, who developed this recipe in the ’60s, shelled pecans from 50-pound bags given to her by a grower in Carrizo Springs. “After our parents are gone, things as simple as recipes bring back the sweetest memories, and my mother would be so proud that the cheesecake won.” CRUST 1 3 3 cup graham cracker crumbs tablespoons sugar tablespoons butter, melted 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. CRUST: Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, bake for 9 minutes and remove from oven. When cool, wrap the bottom of the pan with heavy-duty foil to ensure that it is totally leak-proof. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. 3. CHEESECAKE: In a stand mixer or with a strong hand mixer at medium speed, combine cream cheese, brown sugar and flour, scraping down sides as needed. Continue beating and add beaten eggs slowly. Blend in vanilla, and stir in chopped pecans. Pour filling into foilwrapped springform pan, set it in a larger pan and pour water into larger pan to about halfway up the sides of the springform. 4. Bake in 450-degree oven 10 minutes, then turn temperature down to 325 degrees and bake an additional 50 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, set on a cooling rack and cool completely. 5. When cheesecake is completely cooled, brush maple syrup over the top of cheesecake, allowing some to seep down the sides. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. 6. DO NOT REMOVE SPRINGFORM RING. Cover with foil and chill for several hours or overnight before serving. Remove ring when you are ready to transfer to a cake plate and serve. Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 721 calories, 10.59 g protein, 55.35 g fat, 41.87 g carbohydrates, 4.71 g dietary fiber, 246 mg sodium, 32.86 g sugars, 131 mg cholesterol $500 WINNER: SAVORY CATEGORY Holiday Brunch CHEESECAKE packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), softened 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed 2 teaspoons flour 4 large eggs, slightly beaten 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup finely chopped Texas pecans JENNIFER LANGNER | GRAYSON-COLLIN EC 3 Family members at Jennifer Langner’s house are treated like royal guests. “I see that the sons-inlaw and the grandsons have the best,” she says. For them, she rolls out the finery—dough, creamy cheese and rich greens—for dishes such as this comfort creation with Southern flair. “Of course, pecans to me go with everything.” GARNISH 2 2 tablespoons maple syrup tablespoons finely chopped Texas pecans ½ 2 8 pound chopped pancetta (optional) cups Texas pecans, chopped large eggs TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT $500 WINNER SAVORY CATEGORY Holiday Brunch $500 WINNER SAVORY CATEGORY Texas Pecan Bacon teaspoon salt teaspoon pepper box frozen chopped spinach (9-11 ounces) or 1 can mixed greens (27 ounces), drained and pressed dry 10-12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed as directed on package ½ cup salted butter (1 stick), melted ¾ pound Havarti cheese, sliced thin ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper M A RY PAT WA L D R O N ¼ ¼ 1 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 12inch nonstick skillet, cook the pancetta (if using) over medium heat about 5 minutes or until edges start to brown. Add pecans to skillet; cook pancetta and pecans 2 minutes more, or until pancetta is fully cooked and pecans are lightly toasted. Remove from skillet. 2. In the same skillet, scramble eggs with the salt and pepper. Add the drained spinach or greens to the scrambled eggs, mix well and remove from heat. 3. Set a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan in front of you so that 10-inch sides are on TexasCoopPower.com top and bottom. Open the roll of phyllo and lay two sheets of phyllo crosswise over the upper and lower half of the pan, overlapping slightly about 2 inches so that the pan, including the sides, is covered with phyllo. Brush the two sheets with melted butter and repeat, layering and buttering phyllo until you have five layers of phyllo (10 sheets total) covering the pan. You should still have some butter left over at this point. 4. Arrange the egg-and-spinach mixture lengthwise down the center of the phyllo, leaving about 2 to 3 inches on the long sides and about ¾ inch on the ends. Lay pancetta-pecan mixture and Havarti cheese slices over the egg mixture. Fold long ends of phyllo over each other and pinch closed the short ends, then brush with remaining butter to make a big, smooth log. (If your phyllo tears, just throw another sheet of phyllo over the log and smooth it with a little more butter.) 5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper on top. Make a small perforation with a knife to release steam. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly. If desired, decorate with fresh rosemary sprigs and grape tomatoes to resemble holly. Cut into triangles and serve. COOK’S TIP If you are not using pancetta, heat the pecans over medium to medium-high heat, stirring often, until they become aromatic and begin to release their oils, about 2-5 minutes. Servings: 12. Serving size: 6 ounces. Per serving: 480 calories, 12.68 g protein, 42.59 g fat, 11.69 g carbohydrates, 4.92 g dietary fiber, 304 mg sodium, 1.98 g sugars, 154 mg cholesterol $500 WINNER: SAVORY CATEGORY Texas Pecan Bacon RITA WILLIAMS | FARMERS EC Rita Williams’ grandma, with help from Pillsbury, inspired Texas Pecan Bacon. “My grandmother loved to cook and taught me so much,” says Williams, whose food service career introduced her to bacon-wrapped Pillsbury cornbread twists. Now a grandmother herself, Williams makes the bacon without the bread for a treat she says her grandchildren like anytime. December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 35 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Recipes thick slices bacon, maple flavored tablespoons chopped Texas pecans tablespoons brown sugar teaspoons fresh ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and apply cooking spray. Arrange bacon on foil-lined baking sheet. 2. Mix pecans, sugar and black pepper. Press mixture into bacon, covering well. 3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until crisp but not too dark. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Servings: 10. Serving size: 2 slices. Per serving: 144 calories, 6.41 g protein, 10.23 g fat, 4.96 g carbohydrates, 0.71 g dietary fiber, 356 mg sodium, 3.73 g sugars, 17 mg cholesterol $500 WINNER: PECAN PIE CATEGORY White-Bottom Caramel Cream Cheese Pecan Pie WHITE LAYER 3 2 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon heavy cream at room temperature teaspoons sugar ounces white chocolate, chopped CARAMEL MIXTURE 34 caramels, unwrapped ¼ cup butter (½ stick) CREAM CHEESE LAYER 8 ¼ 1 1 ounces cream cheese, softened cup sugar teaspoon vanilla extract large egg, room temperature PECAN FILLING 3 1 ¼ ¾ 2 large eggs, room temperature teaspoon vanilla extract teaspoon salt cup sugar cups whole or chopped Texas pecans JOE PHILLIPS | BRYAN TEXAS UTILITIES When Joe Phillips says his pie is a mouthful, he’s referring to the name. His rendition of pecan pie also fills the senses for a twist on the traditional. “I love to bake,” he says. To support his culinary experiments, Phillips says he keeps a freezer “full of shelled pecans all the time.” 1 refrigerated roll-and-bake pie crust or homemade pie crust $500 WINNER PECAN PIE CATEGORY White-Bottom Caramel Cream Cheese Pecan Pie 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 ½-inch glass pie dish. Set crust in pie dish and crimp edges. Set in refrigerator to chill. 2. WHITE LAYER: Combine cream, sugar and white chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until white chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Spread the white chocolate mixture quickly and evenly over the bottom of the chilled pie crust. Place pie crust in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes or until set. 3. CARAMEL MIXTURE: Place caramels, ¼ cup water and butter in a microwavesafe bowl and microwave on high, removing and stirring at 30-second intervals until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool. 4. CREAM CHEESE LAYER: In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg. Blend with electric mixer, starting with low speed and increasing to high, whipping until smooth. Remove pie crust from freezer. Fold cream cheese mixture over white chocolate layer and spread evenly. Return to refrigerator to chill. 5. PECAN FILLING: In a separate bowl, beat eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar, blending until well mixed. Add the melted caramel mixture and beat on high speed until well blended. Stir in pecans. Remove pie crust from refrigerator. Slowly pour caramel pecan mix over cream cheese layer, being careful not to disturb the cream cheese. 6. Bake on cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 and bake at least 20 minutes (up to 45 minutes) or until sides are set and center is slightly jiggly. It should set as it cools. When the edge of crust starts to brown, place a crust ring or foil around outside of crimped crust to prevent burning. 7. Remove from oven and let cool completely. When thoroughly cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours to thoroughly chill. Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 slice. Per serving: 700 calories, 9.61 g protein, 47.60 g fat, 57.26 g carbohydrates, 3.87 g dietary fiber, 275 mg sodium, 41.18 g sugars, 101 mg cholesterol WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com See past winners and their recipes. $100 Recipe Contest May’s recipe contest topic is Beyond Pepperoni: Pizza Your Way. Pizza purists may not like to hear it, but there are as many ways to ways to make pizza as there are people to make it—and folks often have surprising ideas about how. Share your creative pizza recipes with us. The deadline is December 10. 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. TexasCoopPower.com M A RY PAT WA L D R O N 20 4 4 3 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT No Other Fruitcake Comes Close! ! EE FR rs e d r o ping on Ship 0 over $50.0 ou haven’t tasted REAL fruitcake until Y you’ve tasted Collin Street DeLuxe® Fruitcake! It truly puts ordinary fruitcake to shame. This is why people around the world have come back to us year after year, ordering our fruitcake as gifts for their families, friends—and themselves! We honor that No. trust with every single order, using the same No. time-honored recipe we started with in 1896. Every shipment guaranteed fresh, moist and No. No. delicious. Our Customers Say – No. No. "…It outstrips all cakes I have ever tasted (including my mother's)." No. "Throughout the office it was unanimous that No. none of us had ever met a fruitcake we liked. We had one of your FABULOUS DeLuxe Fruitcakes at work this past week and changed our tune." “It is made just the way I like Christmas cakes to be, rich and moist, and totally packed with fruit and nuts - I am almost ashamed to say that I consumed one whole one myself - in the space of a week I hasten to add." 101 Regular Size DeLuxe (1 lb. 14 oz., serves 16-20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Medium Size DeLuxe (2 lbs. 14 oz., serves 24-30) . . . . . . . . . . 113 Apricot Pecan Cake (1 lb. 14 oz., serves 16-20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Apricot Pecan Cake (2 lbs. 14 oz., serves 24-30) . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Pineapple Pecan Cake (1 lb. 14 oz., serves 16-20) . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Pineapple Pecan Cake (2 lbs. 14 oz., serves 24-30) . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Apple Cinnamon Pecan Cake (1 lb. 14 oz., serves 16-20) . . . . . 188 Apple Cinnamon Pecan Cake (2 lbs. 14 oz., serves 24-30) . . . . .$27.95 .$40.90 .$37.75 .$49.70 .$33.50 .$47.50 .$35.70 .$48.55 FREE STANDARD U.S. SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $50. For orders under $50, please add $5.95 per U.S. shipment. Not valid on orders previously placed. Not valid with other offers. Offer expires December 10, 2014. Since1896 Call Toll-Free 800-292-7400 or visit: www.CollinStreet.com Name ? Visa ?MasterCard ?American Express ? Diners Club ?Discover FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $50.00 Please send order/gift list to: Street City Card # Signature State Zip Exp. / ?Check ? Money Order ?Credit Card PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT HARBOR FREIGHT QUALITY TOOLS AT RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES How Does Harbor Freight Sell GREAT QUALITY Tools at the LOWEST Prices? SUPER COUPON FREE 20% OFF 4 We have invested millions of dollars in our own state-of-the-art quality test labs and millions more in our factories, so our tools will go toe-to-toe with the top professional brands. And we can sell them for a fraction of the price because we cut out the middle man and pass the savings on to you. It’s just that simple! Come visit one of our 500+ Stores Nationwide. R ! 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PRICE $219.99 LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. R ! PE ON SU UP CO 2500 LB. ELECTRIC WINCH WITH REMOTE SAVE WIRELESSCONTROL $80 $ 49 99 LOT NO. 68146 61258/61297/61840 Item 61258 shown REG. PRICE $129.99 LIMIT 8 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. R ! PE ON SU UP CO R ! PE ON SU UP CO 4-IN-1 JUMP STARTER WITH AIR COMPRESSOR LOT NO. 60666 69401/62374/62453 Item 69401 shown $ SAVE 25% 59 REG. 99 $79PRICE .99 LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. • DOT certified $269 LOT NO. 90154/62170 $ SAVE $ 29999 REG. PRICE $399.99 t be used with other discoun s last. calling 800-423-2567. Cannot or HarborFreight.com or bypurchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplie per day. LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores one coupon per customer es after 30 days from original or coupon or prior purchascoupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit Non-transferable. Original • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed • Over 25 Million Satisfied Customers R ! PE ON SU UP CO 35 REG. 99 $59PRICE .99 Item 69381 shown POWDER-FREE NITRILE GLOVES PACK OF 100 Item 68498 shown YOUR CHOICE! SAVE 45% 80 Item 69340 shown LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 99 Item 90154 shown Welder and accessories sold separately. LOT NO. 69340/60790 90305/61316 $ 1195 LB. CAPACITY 4 FT. x 8 FT. HEAVY DUTY FOLDABLE UTILITY TRAILER R ! PE ON SU UP SAVE $ 130 CO 900 PEAK/ 700 RUNNING WATTS 2 HP (63 CC) 2 CYCLE GAS RECREATIONAL GENERATOR R ! PE ON SU UP CO MIG-FLUX WELDING CART SAVE 40% LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 6 $ 49 REG. PRICE $11.99 • 5 mil. thickness MEDIUM LOT NO. 68496/61363 R ! PE ON SU UP CO LIMIT 8 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. • No Hassle Return Policy • Lifetime Warranty On All Hand Tools 99 REG. PRICE $179.99 17 FT. TYPE 1A MULTI-TASK LADDER LOT NO. 67646 LARGE LOT NO. 68498/61359 $ $9999 129 t be used with other discoun s last. calling 800-423-2567. Cannot or HarborFreight.com or bypurchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplie per day. LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores one coupon per customer es after 30 days from original or coupon or prior purchascoupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit l Non-transferable. Origina LOT NO. 68497/61360 X-LARGE LOT NO. 66619/60338 69381/62472 SAVE $80 • 300 lb. Capacity • 23 Configurations $ 11999 REG. PRICE $199.99 LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day. • 500+ Stores Nationwide • HarborFreight.com 800-423-2567 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Focus on Texas Bad Santa With his big fluffy beard, twinkling eyes and sack full of presents, what could possibly go wrong? We asked for your favorite moments with Santa and, well, these at least made us smile. a SHARON BALCH, Lamar County ECA: Twin grandsons, Camron and Devon, 2, are ‘enjoying their yearly visit to Santa.’ GRACE ARSIAGA WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Grab another cup of eggnog, cozy up to the fire, and let’s see what else Santa left us. o MICHELLE RYAN, Wood County EC: She joins sister Dana Ryan Perez, left, and brother Jim Ryan, right, in 1957 and notes that they look like deer caught in the headlights. o SARAH ALLEN, Pedernales EC: Addy Grace takes her third Christmas picture with Santa, and ‘Momma was getting her picture no matter what!’ UPCOMING CONTESTS MARCH FURRY FRIENDS DUE DEC 10 APRIL IN BLOOM DUE JAN 10 MAY HEROES DUE FEB 10 All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op affiliation, plus the contest topic and a brief description of your photo. ONLINE: Submit highest-resolution digital images at Texas CoopPower.com/contests. MAIL: Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included if you want your entry returned (approximately six weeks). Please do not 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. TexasCoopPower.com o CORRIE SWENSON, Grayson-Collin EC: Blake, 2, and sister, Emerson, 1, sitting on Santa’s lap at daycare became the favorite Christmas card to send that year. g GARY YOUNGLOVE, Pedernales EC: Triplet grandaughters, from left, Piper, Andi and Bella Younglove meet Santa for the first time, and ‘after a long wait in the line, the beard and the ho-ho-ho proved to be too much for them.’ December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 39 PREVIOUS CONTENTS Get Going > Around Texas Pick of the Month NEXT This is just a sampling of the events and festivals around December Annual Christmas Tree Lighting 5 Stonewall [December 21] Cleburne [5-14] “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” (817) 645-9255, www.carnegieplayers.org (830) 644-2252, tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks This event at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site continues a Texas Hill Country tradition started 45 years ago by President and Mrs. Johnson. Visitors can enjoy carolers, a live nativity, a visit with Santa Claus and refreshments. 6 December 20 Lake Jackson Bird Banding Huntsville Downtown Christmas Fair, (936) 291-5920, facebook.com/COHmainstreet Roby Roby’s Christmas Parade, (325) 776-2809 The Woodlands [6, 13, 20] Caroling on the Square, (281) 363-2447, visitthewoodlands.com 7 Garrison Christmas on the Square, (936) 347-2316 Seguin Yulefest Arts & Crafts Show, (830) 876-8980, seguinartleague.com 10 Cedar Creek Bell Concert and Dinner, (512) 303-1393, cedarcreekumc.org 12 Luling Cocoa & Carols, (830) 875-3214, lulingcc.org 13 Athens Bird and Nature Walk, (903) 676-2277, athenstx.org Bastrop Christmas in the Pines Lighted Christmas Parade, bastropdba.org Bulverde Living Christmas Drive Through Presentation, (830) 228-5928, redroofchurch.org GIRL: CHA SE FOU NTA I N, T PW D. B I R D: © M T R U C HO N | D OL L A R P H OTO C LU B One solution for oxygen at home, away, and for travel INTRODUCING THE INOGEN ONE It’s oxygen therapy on yyour terms NO MORE TANKS TO REFILL.. S. NO MORE DELIVERIES. NO MORE HASSLES WITH TRAVEL.. Only 4.8 pounds! O Covered by Medicare C The INOGEN ONE portable oxygen concentratorr is designed to provide unparalleled freedom forr oxygen therapy users. It’s small, lightweight, t, clinically proven for stationary and portable e use, during the day and at night, and can go o virtually anywhere - even on most airlines. s Inogen accepts Medicare and many private insurances! FAA Approved for F Airline Travel A FR EE INFO KIT Reclaim Your Freedom and Independence Call Inogen Today to Request Your FREE Info Kit 1-800-978-2490 40 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 TexasCoopPower.com PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Texas. For a complete listing, please visit TexasCoopPower.com/events. Canyon Lake Canyon Lake Christmas Parade, (210) 865-1705, clnoonlions.com Flower Mound Live Nativity Hayride, (972) 539-5200, log.org Palestine 1st Annual Palestine Main Street Wine Swirl, (903) 723-3014, visitpalestine.com Springtown Christmas on the Square, (817) 220-4834, cityofspringtown.com Vernon 9th Annual Christmas on the Western Trail, (940) 553-3766 Waco Big Texas Christmas Present, (254) 750-8631, texasranger.org 20 21 Lake Jackson Bird Banding, (979) 480-0999, gcbo.org Washington Sod and Thatch: Prairie Home Construction, birthplaceoftexas.com McKinney Woods in Winter Walking Tour, (972) 562-5566, heardmuseum.org 28 Johnson City [20-21] Lights Spectacular Hayrides, (830) 868-7684, johnsoncity-texas.com Bastrop Men Who Cook IV: “Singin’ in the Rain,” (512) 332-9880, facebook.com/mwcbastrop December 13 Waco Big Texas Christmas Present January 1 Wimberley Winter’s Eve—A Christmas Festival, (512) 847-3333, wimberley.org Kyle 2015 Polar Bear Splash, (512) 262-3939, kylepard.com 14 Terlingua Black-Eyed Pea Off, (432) 371-2234 Houston MacGregor Area Christmas Home Tour, (713) 748-6006 Kerrville Hill Country Youth Orchestra, (830) 285-9781, hcyo.org Submit Your Event! 15 We pick events for the magazine directly from TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for February by December 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar! Port Aransas [15-19] Enchanted Holiday Forest, (361) 749-5919, portaransas.org © L I G H T K E E P E R | D R E A M ST I M E .CO M Giving Y ou the Power to Build Today BE SHORE TO TAKE TIME TO COAST. 100% FINANCING FOR QUALIFIED BUYERS ubh.com 888.562.4824 Texas T e exas Austin Beaumont Cleveland Corpus Christi Dallas Fort W orth Worth Houston Rosenberg Rosenberg San Antonio Sher man Sherman Te errell Terrell Te exarkana Texarkana Tyyler Tyler TexasCoopPower.com W ant to build a ne w Want new home on your your land? Wee ca W cann help! h e l p! Custom Design | Flexible Financing Quality Construction | Af fordable Insurance Affordable Personalized Service WHOOPING CRANE FESTIVAL MAKE PLANS TO MIGRATE HERE FEBRUARY 19-22 2015 December 2014 Texas Co-op Power 41 PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT Hit the Road Deck the Bows at the Kemah Boardwalk Lighted boat parade past amusement park helps kick off holiday season BY SUZANNE HALKO 42 Texas Co-op Power December 2014 From the Kemah Boardwalk, visitors can watch a Christmas parade that truly is made up of floats. amusement park’s nearly dozen restaurants. I opt for a table at The Flying Dutchman, a waterfront seafood house. I can still see the boat parade while dining on yellowfin tuna and ceviche. Warmed by the food, I venture back outside to explore the boardwalk’s amusements. A ride on the C.P. Huntington Train gives an overview of the park’s restaurants, rides, shops and attractions. From a wooden bench on the garland- and bowlined replica train, I inhale the aroma of saltwater and funnel cakes. I glide through tunnels and among swaying palms, rubbernecking at rides including a doubledecker carousel, Ferris wheel, Pharaoh’s Fury pendulum ride and Drop Zone 140foot free fall. The lighted rides stand out brightly against the night sky. “What we offer here is diverse,” says Jim Doering, general manager of the Kemah Boardwalk, which is built in the former shrimping community named for an indigenous word, “kemah,” loosely translated today to mean “wind in the face.” He describes how the old-timey carnival-like atmosphere attracts people of all ages—children, dating couples and older folks walking hand in hand. With just a few minutes until the rides close, I buy a ticket for what’s billed as the “Coolest Coaster on the Coast.” The park’s classic wooden roller coaster stands 96 feet tall and reaches a top speed of 51 mph. Just before the ride’s first plunge, I glance over my shoulder at the bay below where I had earlier watched the boat parade. The nowdark water stretches out to the twilight sky, and the Kemah Boardwalk sparkles at its edge. Then the coaster dives 92 feet, rumbling and clattering around bends and over crests for a ride that leaves me breathless. Blinking wind-induced tears from my eyes, I descend into the December night ready for rest. I’ve reserved a quiet room a couple of blocks away at the Seaside Inn Bed and Breakfast. There, I take an evening soak in a private indoor hot tub, sleep in a king-size bed and then greet the morning from the inn’s private pier—enjoying a partial view of the boardwalk, sunshine and once again, a bay breeze in my face. Suzanne Halko, staff writer IF YOU GO For more information, visit clear (281) 488-7676; or kemah . lakearea.com, boardwalk.com, (877) 285-3624. WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com View a slideshow with more photos. A P P H OTO/ T H E CO U R I E R , K I R K S I D E S I feel the wind in my face on a december evening on the Kemah Boardwalk, an old-fashioned amusement park on Galveston Bay. With a crowd of fellow spectators, I huddle up to a rail overlooking Clear Creek Channel, waiting for the annual League City Christmas Boat Lane Parade on Clear Lake to commence. “It kicks off the holiday season down here, and it’s been a long tradition,” says Shari Sweeney, vice president of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, which produces the event. The first twinkle of holiday lights approaches on the water at dusk, and a procession of wind- and motor-powered boats slowly churns into view. They flaunt their holiday decor and vie for about 50 prizes. The 53rd annual lighted boat parade is slated for December 13 this year. “Some get really competitive. They start planning a year before,” Sweeney says of the longtime serious competitors she calls “old salts.” The old salts put in among 100 participating boats at the South Shore Harbor Resort in League City, shoot through Clear Creek Channel and take a U-turn in Galveston Bay near the amusement park’s northeast corner. From the Kemah Boardwalk, I watch the boat lights gleam against the darkening horizon and reflect on the water. The participants’ fun-loving dedication is on full display. Captains and passengers— some dressed up as Santa Claus or the Grinch—wave and shout “Merry Christmas!” to the cheering audience. Creative boats include one disguised as a cartoonlike space shuttle. Another serves as a stage for an onboard song-and-dance troupe showboating to Elvis tunes. And the “Boardwalk Fantasea Yacht” sprouts a decorative Christmas tree farm on its roof. Several watercrafts spray snowflakes over the crowd. When the wintery bay breeze gets too cold, parties retreat into some of the PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT ONLY: 13800 $ CIAL GOV E R N SPE ME N T T GOLD OFFER EN SP NM R E E MARKUP-FREE PRICE R FE M VERN ENT GOL GO D OF AL I C EACH ER SPECIA OFF LG LD OV GO <:.V]LYUTLU[.VSK*VPU9LSLHZL ,_WLY[Z7YLKPJ[Va.VSK)\`5V^>OPSL6US`Va TODAY - U.S. Money Reserve has scheduled ^OH[ JV\SK IL [OL ÄUHS YLSLHZL VM <: .V]»[ Issued $5 gold coins previously held at the U.S. Mint at West Point. These Gov’t-Issued Gold *VPUZ HYL ILPUN YLSLHZLK VU H ÄYZ[JVTL ÄYZ[ZLY]LKIHZPZMVY[OLPUJYLKPISLTHYR\W MYLLWYPJLVMVUS`WLYJVPUPlease be HK]PZLK!6\YH[JVZ[<:.V]»[.VSKPU]LU[VY`^PSS be available at this special price while supplies last VYMVY\W[VKH`Z+VUV[KLSH`*HSSH:LUPVY .VSK:WLJPHSPZ[[VKH` 0M`V\»]LILLU^HP[PUN[VTV]L`V\YOHYKLHYULK TVUL` PU[V WYLJPV\Z TL[HSZ [OL [PTL PZ UV^ [V JVUZPKLY[YHUZMLYYPUN`V\Y<:KVSSHYZPU[V<UP[LK :[H[LZ.V]LYUTLU[.VSK;OL.VSKTHYRL[PZVU [OLTV]L\WHZT\JOHZ V]LY[OLWHZ[ `LHYZV\[WHJPUN[OL+6>5(:+(8HUK :7 *HSS PTTLKPH[LS` [V VYKLY `V\Y <UP[LK :[H[LZ .VSK *VPUZ KPYLJ[ MYVT V\Y =H\S[ -HJPSP[` H[JVZ[MVY[OLHTHaPUNWYPJLVMVUS`WLY JVPU:WLJPHSHYYHUNLTLU[ZJHUILTHKLMVYNVSK W\YJOHZLZV]LY6YKLY`V\YNVSK[VKH` +\L[VZ[YPJ[SPTP[LKH]HPSHIPSP[`[LSLWOVULVYKLYZ ^PSSILHJJLW[LKVUHÄYZ[JVTLÄYZ[ZLY]LK IHZPZHJJVYKPUN[V[OL[PTLHUKKH[LVM[OLVYKLY :7,*0(3(99(5.,4,5;:*(5), 4(+,-697<9*/(:,:6=,9 1 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagle........$138.00 5 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagles......$690.00 10 – Gov’t-Issued Gold American Eagles...$1,380.00 Prices may be more or less based on current market conditions. THE MARKETS FOR COINS ARE UNREGULATED. PRICES CAN RISE OR FALL AND CARRY SOME RISKS. THE COMPANY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE U.S. MINT. PAST PERFORMANCE OF THE COIN OR THE MARKET CANNOT PREDICT FUTURE PERFORMANCE. SPECIAL AT-COST OFFER IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO ONLY ONE LIFETIME PURCHASE OF 10 AT-COST COINS (REGARDLESS OF PRICE PAID) PER HOUSEHOLD, PLUS SHIPPING AND INSURANCE ($15-$35). COINS ENLARGED TO SHOW DETAIL. PRICE NOT VALID FOR PRECIOUS METALS DEALERS. ALL CALLS RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE. OFFER VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. COIN DATES OUR CHOICE. FULL REFUND IF NOT 100% SATISFIED.* *RETURNS ON ADVERTISED COINS MUST BE MADE WITHIN 30 DAYS PERSONAL CHECK =H\S[*VKL!;? ;633-9,,/6<9:(+(@! © 2014 U.S. Money Reserve BANK WIRE PREVIOUS CONTENTS Want W aannt a place ant place to to enjoy enj njoy a silent sililent night? nigh ight ? 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