07-20-2013-Weekend - Wise County Messenger

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4A WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Saturday, July 20, 2013OPINIONThe human condition, rats and ReunionBY BRANDON EVANSbevans@wcmessenger.comThe spectrum of Reunionranges from raucous innocenceto depraved debauchery.Children scream shrillyas water balloons rain downlike hail. Some burst inslow motion atop pigtailsand crewcuts, while othersbounce harmlessly acrossdirt paths, brightly-coloredgelatinous globules gushingonto dry ground. Thechildren run like a pack ofjackrabbits in a grassfire beweenrows of dusty cabins.One row over, inside aabin, drunken hoots andollers bellow forth likeisplaced war cries. A fistounds a table as a ring oflazed-over eyes watches aair of dice settle on a wornable. Rising coils of smokeingle with the stench ofour beer.The full range of the humanexperiencebelchesitself out duringthe organizedchaosdelicatelyreferred to asEVANS Wise CountyOld SettlersReunion.Teenage girls fall in andout love in the course ofa week, left forever withfaint emotional scars etchedon young, burning hearts.Young men high on testosteroneand Natty Lightresort to fisticuffs amid asea of trucks in a dirt- andgrass-covered parking lot.It’s that last full week inJuly when the summer sunhas dried out the earth likebeef jerky. Families, descendantsand friends scatteredacross the continent returnto ramshackle cabins linedamong twisted old oaksbeside a barely bubblingcreek. The creek cuts deepinto the earth, exposinglayers of the past — thesame earth laid bare whengrizzled Civil War veteransmissing limbs and teethgathered their wagons underthose same trees, firingcannons and sharing warstories.Water balloons havereplaced the cannons, andwashers and dominoes havetaken the place of war storiesand political speeches.And the moonshine hasbeen replaced with ... well,more moonshine.Locals say it can’t be understoodby outsiders. ButI think everybody can get itif they try. It delves into theantiquity of social evolution.It’s humankind in a base,communal, almost tribe-likestate. There are no lockeddoors. Everything is shared,from ice-cold beverages toMaw-maw’s casseroles. It’sWise County’s version ofBurning Man — that annualfestival in Nevada’sBlack Rock Desert.For children there areno clocks, no alarms, nobedtimes. They run arounduntil they’re so exhaustedthey can actually collapseinto a deep sleep in the openair on a dingy, probably mildewedold mattress in Texassummer heat so intensethat even at night it mightbe 90 degrees.And for a week, thechildren actually functionjust fine without Xboxesor episodes of “Wizards ofWaverly Place.”Like all tales covering thehuman experience, theremust be legend. There mustbe magic. And the legend ofReunion is Roscoe the Rat,a now-mythical creature onpar with Runaway Bay’schupacabra.Roscoe was once a celebrityat Reunion. He ranhis own version of redneckroulette. Every year, whenthe carnies set out theirrides and games, his gamewas the most popular.He lived in a box undera large wheel. The wheelwas sliced into colors of red,green and blue. At the largeend of each colored slice wasa hole. Players of the gameplaced a bet onto which holeor color Roscoe would diveinto. For those few momentswhen Roscoe dashed aroundthat multi-colored wheel, hewas a star.Most people can’t recalla time before Roscoe — butsadly, they know of a timeafter.You see, in Texas, youcan’t run a gambling operationif the house takes inany money. And in this case,Roscoe and his carnie buddieswere racking up somemoney on this game. So thelaw shut him down — drovehim underground.But like any real legend,Roscoe won’t die.As long as there is Reunionthere will be Roscoe.He’s out there, dartingamong cascading waterballoons, hiding beneath thehat of the man betting it allon a lucky dice roll.His legend completesthe spectrum of the humancondition, the guiltyand the innocent foundamong the dusty camps,beneath the stars and theoaks, among the briars andspiders and snakes and thekind, sharing hearts of goodpeople — the storytellers,cooks, jokesters, pranksters,dancers, singers, drinkers,gamers and gamblers thatmake up Wise County OldSettlers Reunion.Brandon Evans is a Messengerreporter.Follow adventures ofRoscoe on Twitter @Roscoe_the_RatAbout thatWise Countybear...BY GERRE JOINERI recently referenced a Wise County incidentinvolving a bear. After the column was published,I noted that this story was worthy of more attentionand detail.Here’s more information regarding the WiseCounty bear: Young Truitt Hodges Jr. (age16) and his father, Truitt HodgesSr., were working on the farm oneday when Truitt’s grandfather,Thomas, drove up in a panic. Hesaid he’d just seen a bear!Junior and Senior were skeptical.After quite a long discussion,they (Jr. and Sr.) were still unconvinced thatJOINERGrandpa had seen a bear. They decided to leave itat that. (“Let’s just not talk about this any more.Maybe Grandpa’s just confused.”) Not many days afterward, Loyd Jackson’s father,Loyd Jackson Sr., saw the bear on his place.He rubbed his eyes and re-focused to make surehe was seeing a bear in the pasture with his cows.He had no gun, so he went to find a friend.Waymon Pannell had a gun, came to the Jacksonplace and shot the bear.Word spread that a bear had been shot at theJacksons, and people came from far and near tosee the dead animal on display in the bed of Mr.Jackson’s pickup. Newspapers from Fort Worthand Dallas came to cover the story. Nobody inWise County had heard the term in 1957, but“traffic jams” were created by the hubbub. Much speculation was offered about how thebear got to Wise County, Texas. Some say the bearescaped from a circus train on its way throughDecatur. Others say it was a pet that got too bigto handle, prompting the owners to release theanimal.One speculation is that the bear was owned bya rodeo clown in the Fort Worth area and escapedon the way to (or from) a rodeo. It’s difficult to findan old-time Wise County resident who doesn’tremember the bear.Let’s return to Grandpa Hodges. How do youthink he felt when he saw what he saw, thencame to the people (his son and his son’s son) whohad always believed everything he had ever toldthem?After he got the news of the bear killin’, herushed out to the farm and instructed “Senior”and “Junior” to get in his pickup. He had somethingto show them! They countered with, “We’remighty busy here on the place. We don’t havetime right now.”After some discussion/coercion, the three mendrove to the Jackson place to see the bear andhear the story of the one-sided shootout. By thetime they arrived, Pannell had skinned the bearand was trimming off bear meat for the passersby.Ross Mueller chose not to eat the stuff. His sonBart ate a man-sized portion of bear meat at theripe old age of 6 years.Moral to the story is this: When Grandpa tells awhopper, you’d better act like you believe it evenif you don’t. He might be right.Gerre Joiner is a semi-retired church musicianand has lived in Decatur since 1999.Perry for President (just not of Texas A&M)BY KRISTEN TRIBEktribe@wcmessenger.comOh, happy day.Monday, July 8.I was home when I got thenews. I was standing at the barscrolling through my Twitterfeed, scarfing down a sandwichwhen I saw the breaking story.Gov. Rick Perry announcedhe would not seek a fourthterm as leader of the Lone StarState.Jubilation bubbled inside me.Within minutes, a friendtexted to see if I’d heard thenews. That was quickly followedby notification from myhusband. Throughout the weeka few other friends mentionedit, all in gleeful celebration.In December 2011, abouta month before he withdrewfrom the presidential primaryrace, I wrote a column detailingmy “Perry experience”over the years and surprise athis implosion in the nationalspotlight.Even though I wasn’t a politicalreporter, through variousstory assignments I had runinto the governor on severaloccasions since he took officein 2000. Every conversation orinterview over the years deepenedmy disdain for Gov. SexyHair, as we refer to him in theTribe household.I took pleasure in his presidentialcampaign follies butwas somewhat disappointedwhen he withdrew becausethat meant he was cominghome to Texas.Of course, hewas welcomedback by the farright while themiddle-of-theroaderslike meTRIBE and those onthe left cringed.Citizens for Responsibilityand Ethics and Washington(CREW) has actually namedhim one of the worst governorsin the United States. The nonprofit,legal watchdog group reportsthat since January 2011,Perry has taken advantage ofan obscure provision in Texaslaw that allows him to collecthis pension benefits from thestate, along with his governor’ssalary.The group also points outthat Perry has demonstrated alack of transparency throughouthis tenure by maintaininga policy that his staff deleteemails every seven days, andby keeping records closed thatdetail his daily schedule orguests who stay overnight atthe governor’s mansion — recordsthat were previouslypublic.The list of complaints goeson and on: his tendency to letneeded legislation die on hisdesk if it offends a donor, hisgenerosity to big business fromhis slush fund, and the habitof appointing donors to statepositions and raising campaigndollars from state appointeesand their families.Until last week it seemed wewould never get rid of him. Buthis announcement was a littleray of sunshine.Then just days later, newsbroke that R. Bowen Loftin wasstepping down as presidentof Texas A&M University, myalma mater. I got a catch in mythroat. Would Perry, who is alsoan Aggie, slide into this prestigiousposition? There havebeen rumors that he would oneday assume a post within thesystem.I was nauseous just thinkingabout it, but the timing seemedtoo coincidental. Our governor,A&M Class of 1972 andinfamous yell leader, decides toleave the top post in the stateand Loftin, who by all accountsis beloved and has done a goodjob, resigns, seemingly out ofnowhere.I didn’t want to see whathappened next. Of course,as friends reminded me: It’sdoubtful he would get theA&M presidential post becauseit’s a real job. Actual work isinvolved, which doesn’t seem tobe Perry’s forte.But the question remains:What will he do now?After reading a July 15Washington Post article, I wassurprised to find out he’s stillconsidering a run for presidentof the United States.I guess a presidential campaignis like childbirth. Godmakes you forget all the horriblemoments; otherwise you’dnever do it a second time.In the article, reporter DanBalz asks Perry “how his lousyintroduction to the nationalstage would affect his chancesif he were to run again.”Perry’s response: “America’sbeen a country of secondchoices.”Huh?Balz asks if, in fact, he meant“second chances.”The article quotes Perry assaying, “Both. Second choicesand second chances ... If oneperformance or a series ofperformances pretty muchblackballs you, then it does.But I don’t think that’s whatthis country’s all about.”There you have it, folks.Although I would argue thatRick Perry could best servethe people of this great nationby becoming a hermit, Irealize that’s unlikely. His egowouldn’t allow it.So after much consideration,I’m led to believe that a Perryrun for the White House mightnot be so bad.It would cost us a few milliondollars for his DPS securitydetail, but it would physicallyremove him from our greatstate and keep his nose out ofthe A&M system.And it would be an absolutewindfall for the comedy writersat “Saturday Night Live.”So, get out there on the campaigntrail and quit messingwith Texas. Perry for presidentin 2016!Kristen Tribe is news editor ofthe Wise County Messenger.
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Saturday, July 20, 20135AJames Hudson Vanderbeck II1970-2013James Hudson VanderbeckII, 42, died, Monday,July 15, 2013, in Decatur.Graveside service wasJuly 19 at DFW NationalCemetery in Grand Prairiewith the Rev. GarySessions officiating. Pallbearerswere Jeff Crossley,Brian Leverett, ChadKevin Clay “Casey”Caldwell, 50, of Haskell, diedThursday, July 11, 2013, at hishome.Graveside service was July15, at Slidell Cemetery withthe Rev. Bobby Cates officiating.Burial was under thedirection of Smith Family FuneralHome.Casey was born July 26,1962, in Dallas to Kennethand Monisa (Rinker) Caldwell.He married Marva DeniseSomerhalder, GeorgeSomerhalder and BobKempsell.James was born Aug. 21,1970, in LaGrange, Ind., toJames Hudson and MaryAnn (Wilson) Vanderbeck.e married Michelle Raeomerhalder Dec. 6, 1999,n Fort Worth. James reiredfrom the Unitedtates Navy as a chief afermore than 20 years ofervice.He is survived by hisife, Michelle Somerhalderandd a u g h t e rC e l e s t eVanderbeck,both of Decatur;fatherOBITUARIESBobbie Ruth Shannon1926-2013Bobbie Ruth Shannon, 87,died Tuesday, July 16, 2013, inDecatur.Funeral is 10 a.m. Saturday,July 20, at the First BaptistChurch of Decatur with theBobbie wasa very lovingwife, motherand friend. Shewas a longtimePatsy R. Briscoe1932-2013Patsy R. Briscoe, 80, areal estate agent, diedWednesday, July 17, 2013,in Decatur.Funeral is 11 a.m. Monday,July 22, at HawkinsShe waspreceded indeath by herparents, onesister andone brother.Survivorsinclude herhusband of15 years, Rodney Briscoeof Runaway Bay; son BudSingleton and wife, Debbie,of Houston; daughterDebbie Singleton; stepsonShawn Briscoe of Dallas;member of theJames HudsonRev. Ken May officiating. Buri-First Baptist Funeral Home in Bridge-VANDERBECKVanderalwill be at Paradise Cemetery SHANNON Church in Deportwith the Rev. Gary BRISCOEbeck and under the direction of Coker-catur.Sessions officiating. Burialwife, Patty, of Kalamazoo,Hawkins Funeral Home. She is survived by sons Brett will follow at 2 p.m. atMich.; sisters Mary Pallbearers will be Sam Shannon and wife, Dot, of De-Highland Cemetery inMurray of Sturgis, Mich.,and Emma Vanderbeck ofKalamazoo; and brotherGavin Vanderbeck, also ofKalamazoo.Memorials may be madeto the family in support ofCeleste Vanderbeck’s futureeducational needs.James was preceded indeath by his mother, MaryRenshaw III, Brian Gage,Bill Merritt, Eddie Sampler,Michael Overton and RexHoskins. Honorary pallbearersinclude Sam Renshaw Jr.,Jim Bradshaw, Russell Reynolds,Bob Wadsworth and HaroldMosley.Bobbie was born Jan. 12,1926, in Decatur to Claude L.and Lottie (Albritton) Thompson.catur and Brian Shannon andwife, Melissa, of Katy; grandchildrenCharlie and MaryElizabeth Shannon of Decaturand Mackenzie and JacobShannon of Katy; numerousnieces, nephews and a communityof friends.Memorials may be made tothe First Baptist Church BuildingFund, 1200 West Preskitt,Iowa Park. Visitation is 4to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeralhome.Patsy was born Dec. 9,1932, to Benjamin and Carrie(Davis) Steed in IowaPark. She married RodneyBriscoe March 30, 1998, inTrophy Club. Patsy was amember of the RunawayBay Womens Bridge Club.stepdaughterAnn Wilson.She married C.B. Shannon Decatur, TX 76234.Feb. 5, 1949, in Fort Worth, andWise County Messenger, they were married 50 yearsWise County Messenger,July 20, 2013until his death Aug. 11, 1999.July 20, 2013Kevin Clay ‘Casey’ Caldwell1962-2013CALDWELL(Holmes) BirdMay 8, 2002,in Haskell. Shepreceded himin death June8, 2005.Casey wasa caring, compassionatesouldedicated to helping thosein need. He was loved andrespected and will truly bemissed as a dedicated paramedicfor Haskell and HaskellRobbie Gene Graves1932-2013Robbie Gene Graves, 81,died Thursday, July 18,2013, in Wichita Falls.Funeral is 11 a.m. Saturday,July 20, at AuroraBaptist Church with RandySlimp and Jimmy Withersofficiating.Graveside service willfollow at 4 p.m. at KerensCemetery in Kerens withburial under the directionof White Family FuneralHome of Bowie.Robbie was born March3, 1932, to Floyd and Zella(Coleman) Graves in Kerens.He graduated from KerensHigh School and laterfrom Texas Tech Universitywith a master’s degree inrange nutrition.Robbie served in the U.S.Coast Guard during the KoreanWar. He was a lifelongrancher in Rhome and Bowie,and he also worked forthe Bureau of Land Managementfor five years inColorado. He enjoyed flyinghis plane and raising cattle.He will be rememberedwith love and appreciationfor his devotion as a husband,father and grandfather.He was preceded in deathby his parents, Floyd andZella Graves; son KentGraves; brothers VirgilLee Graves and Billy BobGraves; and sister LamarlysGilson.Robbie is survived by hiswife, Norma Jean Gravesof Wichita Falls; sons KeithGraves and wife, Rebecca,of Bowie and Kurt Gravesand wife, Thelma, of Rhome;grandchildren LyndsieSmith and husband, Joe, ofTrophy Club, Robyn Petersonand husband, Robbie,of Ardmore, Okla., KelsieJones and husband, Jason,of Trophy Club, Kyle Gravesof Austin, Kody Graves ofAmes, Iowa, and Ethan andEmma Graves of Rhome;great-grandchildren Dominicand Birkleigh Graves;brother-in-law Robert Gilsonof Arlington; and numerousnieces and nephews.Wise County Messenger,July 20, 2013County.He was also preceded indeath by a brother, GaryCaldwell.He is survived by his son,Coleton Caldwell of Seymour;his parents, Kenneth andMonisa Caldwell of Decatur;brother Curtis Caldwelland wife, Brenda, of Corinth;sister Sherrie Caldwell ofGainesville; and three nephews,Marshall, Ty and WillCaldwell.Donations can be made inCasey’s name to the AmericanHeart Association, 7272Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX75231; or to the National KidneyFoundation, 5429 LyndonB. Johnson Freeway, Ste. 250,Dallas, TX 75240.Online condolences can beshared with Casey’s family atwww.smithfamilyfh.com.Wise County Messenger,July 20, 2013Gladys Irene Cadenhead Gott1915-2013Gladys Irene CadenheadGott, died Thursday, July 18,2013, in Mineola.Visitation is 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday,July 21, at Beaty FuneralHome in Mineola. Funeral is10 a.m. Monday, July 22, at thefuneral home with the Rev. VanChristian officiating.Burial will follow at 3:30 p.m.at Paradise Cemetery in WiseCounty.Gladys was born Aug. 29,1915, in Proctor, the youngestchild of Rosa Dallas and JamesClanton Cadenhead. She grewup in the country with twobrothers and three sisters.She married Charlie GottNov. 26, 1932, in Erick, Okla.,and remained his bride for 63years.Gladys was a happy homemaker,who enjoyed cookingand sewing for her husband,three children and her onlygranddaughter. She workedfor Hemphill-Wells in the giftwrapping department and didtesting for the Cotton Co-op inLubbock.She was a dedicated Christianand kept her children inchurch and taught them byexample to love and serve theLord.Charlie and Gladys movedto Paradise in 1978 to be closeto their son and his family.Charlie died May 26, 1996, andGladys moved to Mineola inOctober 1997, spending the lastyears of her life at Wood MemorialNursing Home.She was preceded in deathby her parents, three sisters,two brothers, a son-in-law anda granddaughter-in-law.She is survived by her children,Betty Leming, Earleneand Gary Brown and Butch andSue Gott, all of Mineola; fivegrandsons; one granddaughter;three great-granddaughters;four great-grandsons; severalnieces and nephews; and manygood friends.Wise County Messenger,July 20, 2013SharoynBriscoe of Plano; threegrandchildren; other familymembers and a host offriends.Wise County Messenger,July 20, 2013Nelda Faye Giles Lambert1938-2013Nelda Faye Giles Lambert,74, of Pottsboro diedTuesday, July 16, 2013.Funeral was July 19 atParkside Baptist Churchwith Dr. Chet Haney, theRev. Thomas Beall and theRev. Jerry Coffman officiating.Burial was at ThomasCemetery in Bridgeportunder the direction ofBratcher Funeral Home inDenison.Pallbearers were hergrandsons.Nelda was born Nov. 9,1938, in Halfway to J.E.and Alma Faye Giles. Shewas valedictorian of hergraduating class at BridgeportHigh School and graduatedfrom Decatur BaptistCollege (now DallasBaptist University).She married the love ofher life, Floyd (Stack) W.Lambert Aug. 10, 1956,at Pleasant View BaptistChurch in Bridgeport. Theyhad their first daughter,Denise, and shortly thereaftermoved to McKinneywhere their second daughter,Michelle, was born.Nelda retired from AustinCollege in 1998 after 32years. She was awarded theHomer P. Rainey award forOutstanding Achievementand Service to Austin College,one of the first nonfacultyrecipients. Uponher retirement, a scholarshipfund was establishedin her name.Nelda and Stack were devotedto their faith, servingat Parkside Baptist Church.They organizedandled 17 missiontripsin the const r u c t i o nLAMBERT of churchesthroughoutthe United States. She wasalso a dedicated Sundayschool teacher.She was preceded indeath by her parents; onesister, Sue Rowe, one brother-in-law,Jimmie Hefner;and nephew-in-law DavidRedmerski.She is survived by herhusband of 56 years;daughters Denise Vree andhusband, Paul, of Odessaand Michelle Robbins andhusband, Britton, of McKinney;grandchildren Johnand Krista Robbins, Michaeland Erica Robbins,Aaron and Amanda Vree,Andrew Vree, Adam Vree,Alex Vree and Abby Vree.She recently welcomedthree great-granddaughters,Kate and AnneliseRobbins and Holly Robbins.She is also survivedby two sisters, Jean Fowlerand husband, Johnny, andJo Linda Garrett and husband,Robert, as well as 11nieces and nephews.Memorials may be sent toParkside Baptist Church,Recreation Outreach Center.Online condolencesmay be made at www.bratcherfuneralhome.com.Wise County Messenger,July 20, 2013We honor most all funeral plansoffered by any funeral home.We honor mostpre-arranged funerals.WCMESSENGER.COM/SUBSCRIBERoyalChristianAcademywww.rca-boyd.comNOW ENROLLING2013 - 2014 School YearPrivate Christian School(Pk-6 th Grade)ABeka Curriculum • PhonoGraphixOther Christian Curriculum • Small ClassesOur goal is to maintain a maximum student-teacher ratio of 10 to 1. Small classes allowthe teacher to focus on the needs of each child and his/her academic and learning styles.Day Care Also Provided For Infants and AfterSchool Program up to 12 Years of AgeEarly Childhood Education In A Loving Environment940-433-2147451 Rock Island Ave. • Boyd, TX1401 Halsell • Bridgeport940-683-1704BRIDGEPORTIRON & METALWE PAYTOP PRICESFOR ALL METALSState Certified ScalesAccurate WeightsMONDAY - FRIDAY8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.SATURDAY8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.3261 S. HWY 101 • BRIDGEPORT • 940-683-2005
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07-20-2013-Weekend - Wise County Messenger

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