by Elaine Thomas | May 5, 2023 | Old Times, Rural Texas, Saving Stories
When Great-Aunt Myrtle lost her husband, Clarence, in 1950, she picked up the fractured pieces of her life and returned to work. For the next 36 years, she was the no-nonsense proprietor of McAllen Upholstery Shop in McAllen, Texas, a woman ahead of her time. Born in...
by Elaine Thomas | Apr 21, 2023 | Rural Life, Rural Texas
What better time than spring to put the urgencies of everyday life aside and slip into an old Texas cemetery. Wandering between the rows of graves, many very old and some more recent, we feel the rugged tranquility of this quiet place. New Life Amid the Markers An...
by Elaine Thomas | Mar 10, 2023 | Old Times, Rural Life, Rural Texas, Saving Stories
Jimmy Helms is the old philosopher of New Dubina, Texas. He’s also his rustic little town’s sheriff, mayor, dentist, postmaster, banker, cobbler, bartender, preacher, teacher, etc. As the 84-year-old retired Houston dentist makes the rounds at his 1857-1900-era...
by Elaine Thomas | Feb 17, 2023 | Family, Old Times, Saving Stories, Western Canada
When our pristine 160-acre property south of Calgary, Alberta, went on the auction block recently, the top bid came in below our expectations. Therefore, we won’t need to bid farewell to the farm any time soon. The memories that my siblings and I share of...
by Elaine Thomas | Jan 20, 2023 | Family, Old Times, Rural Life, Western Canada
In February 1973, the days of hauling small bales on a wooden hayrack pulled by a team of heavy horses to feed the cows were almost past. However, Millarville, Alberta, rancher Winston Parker still adhered to the old tradition with help from my brother, Art. I jumped...
