Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 43, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Page: 3 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Singletary Memorial Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
EDITORIAL BOARD
Whitehead Enterprises Inc.
publisher
Marie Whitehead
editor
Terrie W. Gonzalez
managing editor
Texas' Oldest Continuously
Published Weekly Newspaper
Established as the
Cherokee Sentinel, Feb. 27,1850
Consolidation of The Cherokeean,
The Alto Herald and
the Wells News & Views
COLUMNS
cherokeean
HERALD
Page 3A
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
www.thecherokeean.com
From The Top
If you could pick your
parents, your birth-
place and your child-
hood, what would you have
selected? I probably would
have decided to be born to a
father who was very impor-
tant in American govern-
ment, who was married to
a supermodel. I would have
grown up rich, with many
opportunities ahead of me,
with my father s good name
to get me places.
I certainly would not have
decided to be born to a poor
couple who were going to
give birth to me in a stable,
of all places. That is why
God's wisdom is unmatched.
You see, had I been born
to those rich and famous
parents, you would probably
be reading about me in the
National Enquirer, not my
columns in the Cherokeean
Herald.
God, on the other hand,
decided to be born (Imman-
uel... God with us) to a faith-
ful woman and a just man.
The humble setting made
Him accessible to all. It also
made His birth unique, thus
further making it a sign
from God.
LELAND ACKER
chreporter@mediactr.com
Had Christ been born to
the ruling family. He would
have had a father or grand-
father who was killing his
own sons to keep them from
taking the throne (King
Herod). One of His brothers,
uncles or cousins (depending
on what end of the family
He was born in) would have
divorced His wife to marry
His brother's wife (Another
King Herod).
Instead, Christ was born
to a humble family, which
was conducive to the up-
bringing of the only begotten
Son of God. How amazing
is that? And how important
it was for the young Christ
Child to get off to the right
start, for as Matthew 1:21
put it, "He shall save His
people from their sins.''
Luke 2:51 reports that
Christ was obedient to His
parents. Luke 3:52 says He
"increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with
God and man.''
On Easter, we commemo-
rate the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ
for our sins according to the
scriptures.
On Christmas, we cel-
ebrate the beginning of God
unfolding His plan of the
Gospel. We celebrate the
birth of Christ, the child-
hood of Christ and even the
hfe of Christ.
The birth, childhood
and hfe of Jesus Christ is
important, because there we
learn of Christ's humility.
His keeping of the law. His
sinlessness and the example
He gave us to hve by (T
Peter 2:21).
Christianity is not just
about not drinking, smok-
ing. cussing, or indulging
one's self. It's not about
voting Repubhcan. It's about
the worship and admiration
of Jesus Christ.
Jim Hogg
City Park,
Rusk
Caddoan Mounds
State Historical Site,
Alto
Texas State Railroad
American Heritage
Park, Rusk
Now, mATsWMAT
I CALL a BIRTÍ-1
ANNOUNCEMENT!
Ul NtCJkWh crU&M¿l£
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Scene In Passing
Past. Present. Future?
I tend to shift my
thoughts from the past
and then go forward.
Recently I remembered the
birth date of a memorable
person in our community's
history. Jewl Bagley Cou-
pland was born Dec. 14,
1890. She hved to see her
102nd birthday. This year
she would have been 117.
She was quite remarkable
in that she arrived at a time
when many first things hap-
pened. She was born in the
same house that Gov. James
Stephen Hogg was born in,
a property that her father
purchased after the Hogg
family relocated. A rephca
of it stands today at the Jim
Hogg City Historical Park on
U.S. Highway 84 east. She
was the first woman in Rusk
to drive a car in Rusk, the
first woman to own her own
business. A hat store (milli-
nery) for laches.
Her family hved in a house
MARIE WHITEHEAD
herald@mediactr.com
built by her father at the cor-
ner of Sixth and Lone Oak
just off the square of down-
town Rusk, Mr. J.E. Bagley
Was a leader. He built
numerous buildings around
the square, some of which
stand today. Their home was
among the first to receive
running water from the city.
As time passed, a son was
born to Jewel and her hus-
band, Frank. He was named
Frank Polk. Time for him
passed, too. He finished high
school and subsequently
entered the military service.
He became a remembered
Veteran at his death. Frank
spent most of his latter years
at the highway department.
His sister, Addie, was the
wife of the well known Dr.
T. H. Cobble, One of their
daughters, Mary, became
the wife of our friend Knox
Ray, whose men's Wear store
continues today under the
ownership of another friend
Mike Crysup. In her later
years. Jewel accompanied
Gene Gregg Meyers when
bus tours were conducted
for visitors to the East Texas
Regional Arts and Crafts
Fair. Jewel probably had
more knowledge of the vari-
ous properties around here
than anyone. She was also
the person responsible for
flowers each Sunday at the
Presbyterian Church. The
area of flowers and garden
shows was her love and
passion. Her cuhnary skills
included her specialty, ma-
hogany cakes. She would be
so pleased today if she could
drop in for a visit in her
beloved home, so beautifully
maintained by Dr. and Mrs.
Charles Plyler.
Why this space to remem-
ber one woman? Because
she was one. but there were
many. And it is on their
labors of yesterday that we
enjoy the great hfe in Rusk
today. Our labors today will
predicate the yet-to-come for
generations tomorrow.
Now to the present. It
doesn't get any better for one
team of athletes than it did
Saturday for the Alto Yellow
Jackets. Winning a state
championship is quite com-
mendable. Winds estimated
at 40 to 50 miles per hour
blew out of the north. Run-
ning against the wind, the
Alto Jackets gave everyone
an "all Alto'' afternoon of
play at Midlothian, A second,
consecutive state champion-
ship trophy is an earned
honor by these young play-
ers for their school. All of
Cherokee County and East
Texas can share in the pride
that comes by way of the
great athletes in Alto, their
coaches, family, friends, fans.
Now to the future. Let it be
said that this area has never
looked more promising. How
much is accomplished will
depend on us.
What are we going to do
with our blessings? We must
apply knowledge and strat-
egy embedded in teamship.
If we believe "together we
can, then we will manage
to leave this world a better
place. I look forward eagerly
to this challenge. May we
count on you?
Please look on pg. 8Afor a
schedule of local programs
to be rebroadcast Christmas
Eve on KTLU-KWRW radio
stations. It is our endeavor
to share the "sounds of
Christmas," The last issue
of your newspaper for this
year will be mailed Wednes-
day, Dec, 26.
May you continue to be
surrounded by Angels.
Listen quietly and you may
hear them sing. Keep smil-
ing.
High Points From El Camino Real
Folks along El Camino
Real are finally
setthng down a bit
after all the excitement on
Saturday. Our Alto Yel-
lowjacket football team
brought home their second
Class A Division 1 football
state championship trophy
by defeating the Seymour
Panthers with a score of 22-
0 in Midlothian. If you don't
want to read about some
great kids and some great
coaches then you probably
threw away four bits' this
week.
Last year when the Alto
Yellowjackets brought home
the very first football state
championship in Cherokee
County history, folks in Alto
were so proud they were al-
most bursting. We lost some
great guys to graduation
last year and many folks, in-
cluding myself, figured that
we would have a rough time
pulling off a repeat of that
season. Thank goodness our
coaches and kids didn't have
that attitude. They just
reloaded the empty spots
with new faces and prac-
ticed hard for the upcoming
season. We have had some
really good players, but
altogether they made up a
great team that supported
each other.
We faced some pretty
awesome opponents and it
seemed at every game we
were thinking we could be
looking at the end of our
winning streak. I'd ask
Clayton Scott every week
if we were going to make it
and he always gave me the
same answer: "We got it. Fat
Boy don't worry!'' I kept
CHRIS DAVIS
elcaminoreal@consolidated.net
on worrying right into the
playoffs. I was even worried
when the "Back-2-Back" T-
shirts went on sale. I guess I
just like to worry.
After we defeated Granger,
We had to take on the win-
ner of the Seymour and
Sunray game. If Sunray
had won then we'd have to
go all the way to Wichita
Falls for the championship.
So I cheered for Seymour, so
we could play in Midlothian
because I figured it would be
warmer. I didn't worry too
much because I had bigger
problems. My mother-in-
law, Juanita Holcomb, in-
formed me that she was the
only person left in Alto last
year during the state cham-
pionship and that I would
be taking her to the game.
We all figured that we could
handle the cold if we didn't
have to deal with the rain
hke we did at the Groveton
game. On Saturday morn-
ing we headed up to the gym
about 8 a.m. for a pep rally
before the boys left, on the
charter bus. A big bunch
showed up to cheer the boys
on and it took my mind off
of having to go pick up the
mother-in-law. When we got
to my mother-in-law's house
she came outside in a snow
white coat with a fur collar
around the hood. (They don't
always wear black and have
pointy hats, the real ones
wear all sorts of different
things.) She told me that
she didn't want to get her
coat dirty. When I turned
onto Hwy 287 in Elkhart,
she said I was slinging her
all over the back seat and
that she was going to get
the swimmy head. I just
kept chiving. We stopped at
Chili's to eat in Corsicana
and the wind was blow-
ing so hard that the pansy
plants were breaking off in
the flower beds and blow-
ing across the parking lot.
We made it inside — then
she made me take her white
coat back out to the car
because she didn't want it
to get dirty. When I went
back outside with the coat
I remember thinking that
Hell was supposed to be hot.
Then she said that I was
rushing her while she ate. I
looked around to make sure
that anyone who knew the
Heimlich maneuver minded
their own business in case
there was trouble.
When we arrived at the
game the wind hit us when
we opened the door and I
thought that it cut me in
two. We grabbed everything
warm and headed into the
game, All of Alto and half
of East Texas was there,
but you couldn't tell who
anyone was because they
were so wrapped up. Some
folks who had been hold-
ing off a bathroom stop ran
into the stadium resl rooms
in coveralls and velcro-at-
tached gloves and frantically
fumbled with zippers. You
can't ask for help with your
zipper in a restroom, no ma-
ter how cold it is. It's just
not clone. Outside the wind
was blowing so hard that
hats would fly off of people's
heads like bottle rockets and
shoot into the sky and out of
the reach of its wearer. We
finally got seated and pre-
pared to watch our Yellow-
jackets battle for the cham-
pionship. I looked clown at
the mother-in-law and she
looked almost comfortable
in her white coat with the
fur-trimmeel hood. She is no
spring chicken(more of an
albatross, I'd say), but She
was making it pretty well. I
looked clown in the stands
and saw my little nine-
week-old cousin Ross Davis
wrapped up in several blan-
kets. He didn't stay long but
he can say that he saw Alto
win a state championship.
We aren't all crazy we just
love our Yellowjackets and
support them all the Way.
The boys played a gruel-
ing game in the frigid wind.
They weren't able to show
the Seymour Panthers all
their fancy moves but they
were still able to show them
more than they wanted to
see. When the Panthers
punteel the football into the
air and the wind caught the
ball and sent it six yards
behind the kicker. I knew
the game was over. When
the final whistle blew we
poured onto the field to
congratulate our boys. The
colcl didn't seem so bad
when it was mixed with the
warm tears and hugs. We
picked up the mother-in-law
on our way back through the
stands and headed our half-
frozen bocheS for Alto.
The town began filling
up with folks around 9:45
p.m. and the crowd grew in
anticipations of our team's
return. The charter bus was
leel into town by the pohce
and fire trucks with sirens
blaring. Cheerleaders leel
the crowd in cheers and
everyone pressed the panic
buttons on their key rings.
Horns blew and lights
flashed to celebrate our
boys' return. The charter
bus stopped in front of the
Dollar Store in the middle of
town and the boys stepped
off the bus with their state
championship trophy.
It just doesn't get any
better than this, until next
football Season that is.
Spring is just around the
corner and the Alto Yellow-
jackets will be reloading for
a three-peat. The Yellow-
jackets will start next year
with a 28 game winning
streak — just seven wins
away from a Class 1A state
record. Congratulations to
the Alto Yellowjackets for
bringing back-to-back state
championships home to Alto
and Cherokee County.
If you want to know the
technical stuff you better
read what the sports writ-
ers have to say. We've got
great kids, great coaches
and some of the best fans in
the world. A special thanks
to our seniors for the joy
you have brought as we've
watched you play. I'll see ya
next week!
And remember. Life's
battles don't always go
to the stronger or faster
man. But sooner or later,
the man who wins is the
man who thinks he can.
- Vince Lombardi.
Cljcrokecai}
HERALD
Published weekly on
Wednesday by
WHITEHEAD
ENTERPRISES, INC.
Texas' oldest continuously
published weekly
newspaper,
established as the
Cherokee Sentinel,
Feb. 27, 1850
Consolidation of
The Cherokeean,
The Alto Herald and
the Wells News & Views
USPS 102-520
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to:
CHEROKEEAN HERALD
P.O. BOX 475 • RUSK, TX
75785
Periodicals Postage Paid at
Rusk, Texas 75785
CONTACT US:
Newspaper office located
at 618 N. Main in Rusk.
(9.03) 683-2257
(903) 586-7771
(903) 729-6889
(936) 858-4141
FAX (903) 683-5104
herald « mediactr.com
Marie Whitehead
editor, advertising sales
(903) 683-2257 ext. 105
herald@mediactr.com
Terrie Gonzalez
managing editor
(903) 683-2257 ext. 107
herald@mediactr.com
Robert Gonzalez
advertising sales
(903) 683-2257 ext. 102
rgonzalez@mediactr. com
Gloria Jennings
general news
(903) 683-2257 ext. 106
news@mediactr. com
Leland Acker
general news
(903) 683-2257ext. 109
chreporter@mediactr.com
Tara Crosby
classifieds, subscriptions
(903) 683-2257 ext. 100
classifiedads@mediactr.com
Sam Florian
advertising sales
(903) 683-2257 ext. 103
sales@mediactr. com
Loans or CDs
Cheek our rates 1st:
903-683-2277
Citizens 1st
BANK
Member F.D.I.C.
EQUAL HOUSING LENDER
K
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View three places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 43, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 19, 2007, newspaper, December 19, 2007; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152813/m1/3/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.