, Home goods, decor, and gifts, oh my! After dedication and lots of sewing, Gatsie’s Grace cut the ribbon for their brand new location. What started as a simple joy for sewing grew into something more. The owner, Clair Terrell, said, “This all started because our family grew quickly. We had five little great nieces and nephews born within a couple years. So I just started sewing and I love it. It’s my passion and I just wanted to turn it into a business.” The name of the business is inspired by Terrell’s grandmother, Gatsy Grace. Clair and her husband are both...

On Tuesday, April 9, Ounce of Prevention and allied organizations filled the hall at the Church on the Rock in Daingerfield to discuss how to further prevent child abuse and spread awareness. These included the Department of Family Protective Services, CASA of Titus, Camp, and Morris Counties, the Child Advocacy Center in Texarkana, Family And Youth Program, and SAFE-T. On the agenda were updated changes for 4Kids4Families. Kaitlyn Kading with the DFPS said, “Now we contact CPS and we also have online reporting and reports to the hotline as well. Krystal Homer with CASA encouraged the community to volunteer, “These kids need...

, Expertise has its own rewards. In the case of history essays at Northeast Texas Community College, the reward might be something greater than an ‘A’. For the ninth straight year, the history professors of NTCC will feature the Bonnie Spencer Awards for the best three research papers in non-honors classes. The first-place winner will receive $100, the second place, $50, and the third, $25. Essays should be at least 1,000 words with correct historical citations. The names of the author and mentoring professor should be omitted from the manuscript. Professors may nominate their top student essays, or students may nominate...

, A native of Daingerfield cut the ribbon of the brand new office for her business, Chism Investment Properties LLC. Tegra Chism said she earned her real estate license after her parents died. “They had rental properties, so I actually had to figure out what to do from there. I went to real estate school and got my license. Then I dived in,” Chism said. Chism expressed how valuable she believes it is to take care of your neighbors and give back to the community. “We invest in the children here. We have scholarship programs. We are just looking to build into that, continue...

My journey to the streets included a glimpse of a friendship I never wanted to take for granted, especially when this person offered me wisdom for walking out my life journey. I was driving my car from a spot after visiting some of my homeless friends near downtown, and I hoped to find someone else to talk with before going home. I drove down a street next to a restaurant where patrons ate outside, and to my left on the walkway, a towering tree of an older man (not homeless, but out and about walking a lot) caught my attention, and I...

, , , New pecan tree growers, this is for you. The same home gardening guidelines on pruning to a proper bottom limb height generally apply to all other tree species. As fellow pecan growers, we relate to those who invest in a harvest they may never see. Disclaimer – we are not arborists. We have had training in advanced tree care offered by the Texas Master Gardener Association. Please check with your local authorities before any tree pruning, especially if you or the falling limbs may touch or fall on live power lines. Look carefully before you prune. Our pecan adventure...

, Sometimes it’s refreshing to invest time with children in learning environments. It isn’t convenient, there is no financial reward, and it might look like the kids don’t get it, but there is learning going on, and it’s fabulous! A local education administrator contacted us and asked if we would participate in her elementary school’s careers day. “Of course! Yes! Are you interested in our business backgrounds, our corporate international ex-pat years, or our reflections on doing business in other languages and cultures?” “No,” she replied, “we want you to talk about being beekeepers.” So, we did. Roger dressed as Mr. Beekeeper:...

, , Local author Tom Collins said he started writing his book ‘Justice Denied: The Cursed Destiny of Gus Finley’ in 2018. However, the research for his novel took 40 years. A signing for that book was held recently at the Daingerfield Public Library. “I started researching the story in ‘79 when we first moved here,” Collins said. “ That’s 40 years. And the first few years, I found little. It really was after Google came along and I was able to do computer searches that I was able to locate graves, locate sites, and the story happened about a quarter of...

When one thinks of dollar movie theatres, it is almost a given that typical results would be less than favorable. But Daingerfield’s Morris Twin Cinema is anything but “typical.” Built in 1949, the Morris Twin Cinema, or Morris Theatre, has remained a family- owned and operated business ever since. Originally built by W.W. McNatt, the theatre remains a source of entertainment for those in the Daingerfield, Lone Star, Hughes Springs are and beyond. McNatt’s grandchildren, Walter and Beverly Bass, continue to operate the family business in downtown Daingerfield. The Morris Theatre has been open almost daily since it was built, with the...

AUSTIN — The moon will throw some serious shade next month, and TxDOT is preparing for a major increase in traffic as Texans and visitors across the state travel to witness this rare total solar eclipse. Responding to a call for help along the road, TxDOT Highway Emergency Response Operator team lead Martin Lazo saw the sky get eerily dark right before noon. It was the annular eclipse in Oct. 2023, and it stopped him in his tracks. He took a second to experience the unusual phenomenon, but then he was back to work, helping drivers return to the road safely. “We’re...

Over twenty days of filming and a summer filled with research, scripts, and organizational maneuvering were not in vain. Recently at College Station, Texas State Historical Association Education Director, Lisa Berg awarded NTCC its sixth Chapter Project of the Year Award, for the best endeavor in Texas history performed by any college or university group. The award comes with a jade-glass trophy, and $600. A joint effort between the NTCC Webb Society, Allen Herald & Co. Motion Pictures, and Honors Northeast in the recent film about the traveling preachers of early Texas made such recognition possible. The award itself, however,...

The items I had with me were a camera, where I snapped family photos and candid shots of the day as inmates met with their families and enjoyed hours with each other, which included pizza, games, handholding, eye contact, sitting at a table together, and continuous memory-making moments. One inmate stood with his wife for a candid embrace, asking their 20-something son to move aside for that shot, and I grabbed the young man’s arm. “I’ll take you. I’m old enough to be your grandmother. So I could use another grandson, and I’ll take you.” Little did I know that this young...

A northeast Texan received a one in a million chance and went for it. Maria Lucy Beyonce will be showing us her survival skills on the hit television show ‘Naked and Afraid’. Better known as ‘Malu’ to friends and family, this Pittsburg native said it all started because she watches the show and discusses the episodes on her own podcast called ‘Oh Heck Naa’. “I’d watch the show and say ‘Oh, these guys are tapping out. There’s no tap outs in real life’,” Malu said. “And so I did a podcast about this, because I thought people are tapping out way too...

, , , , , ust two years removed from the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, it is safe to say that the local communities have weathered the storm. In mid-2020, it seemed that small towns like Daingerfield, Lone Star, Hughes Springs, Avinger, and more would see a sharp decrease in businesses. It seemed inevitable that more businesses would shutter than hold grand openings. However, as the area continues to move even more normalcy, it appears that the previous statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Daingerfield has seen a changes over the past year: the old Jones Shopping Center was...

The Hughes Springs Area Public Library is holding an ongoing book sale during library hours. Suggested donations are one dollar per hardback and twen- _________________ paper back book. Proceeds will be used for the library __________________ plies. Community Blood Pressure Clinic Thornton Healthcare Management will be hosting a Community Blood Pressure Clinic the second Thursday of each month at the community city in Hughes Springs. The clinic will be from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Sack lunches, dessert, and drinks _________________ APRIL 25-27 Art & Photography Show and Treasure Hunt Art & Photography Show and Treasure Hunt, April 25-27. _____________________ & Photography Show: adult and youth categories, cash awards, art de- ____________________ lic show April 25-27. Three-day Treasure Hunt, new clue daily, cash prize. Visit _________________ org for details. APRIL 27 Wildflowers & Wine Wildflowers & Wine Saturday, April 27, ____________________ Starts at 10 a.m. Art & Photography _____________________ food trucks, kids’ ___________________ ty parade. Wine garden and wine-tasting open 11 a.m.-6 __________________ wineries, $10 entry _____________________ bag. Jeep Shine and Show. Hot dog eating contest planned. Music by 92.3 FM, _________________ T-shirts for purchase in April. Visit _________________ org for details and ____________________

, , , Honeybees and beekeepers are both at their busiest this time of year. Some honeybees are returning from almond pollination in California. Their keepers bring them to East Texas, because we have abundant pollen, the honeybee’s protein, available to support new bee growth and development. Keep an eye out along the roads for 50 to 100 colonies placed in temporary apiaries. Soon the keepers will split the strong colonies into two or three new colonies of bees. The keeper does this to reduce the swarming instinct in honeybees and to make an additional product, new honeybee colonies, to sell....

, Ever walked by a tree or bush and heard a roar like a freight train? No? Then you are in for a treat! Head to a large oak or holly tree in bloom this time of year, and you will hear – and probably see – thousands of honeybees and other pollinators gathering nectar and/or pollen from the blossoms. Their collective buzz really can be quite unnerving, until you recognize that this as a work of God in your garden. Here is a photo of a blooming American holly in our landscape. How many honeybees and other pollinators can...

The Morris County city council approved the hiring of contractor JSG Homes LLC for the Daingerfield home program. The contractor is based out of Atlanta, TX and has already built several homes for the Morris County home program. They have also built homes in Hughes Springs, Pittsburg, and Cass County. A representative for KBB Consulting, Kathy Boils, was present at the meeting and said, “ The TDHCA, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, funds the program. They have a maximum of about $135 per square foot they can spend per house.” Also approved was the act to elect judges to set...

Nicole Kimball has joined the Mount Pleasant Tribune and Daingerfield Steel-Country Bee as a staff reporter. Kimball was born and raised in Mount Pleasant and attended Mount Pleasant High School. “As a Mt. Pleasant native, I’m happy to work at the Tribune and Bee,” Kimball said. “Not only is it great to be closer to family, but coming back to this town and seeing how much it’s grown is wonderful. I’m excited for this opportunity to tell the stories of my hometown.” After attending Northeast Texas Community College, she attended University of Texas - Tyler, where she studied Mass Communications. Kimball has worked in broadcast news at stations in Tyler and Wichita Falls. “Nicole is going to be a great asset to these papers,” general manager Miranda Oglesby said. Kimball can be reached at the Mount Pleasant office, via phone at (903) 572-1705, or via email at nicole@steelcountrybee.com.

, Aren’t you glad God created springtime? Friends in Wisconsin wrote recently that they just received 4 more inches of snow. Friends in Nigeria reported more days of seasonal dust storms. Friends in New Zealand said that they are considering moving to NZ’s South Island, where 4 in 10 days are cool and overcast. We are grateful for Northeast Texas’ short winters, long summers, and too-short spring and falls. We finished pruning last week, so orchards, berries, fruit vines, roses, and flowering perennials look great. Light green leaves pop everywhere, and the landscape changes every day. Mexican wild plum has bloomed,...