SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
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JEFFERSON HIGHWAY PERSON OF THE REGION
Shelley Brookins turns purpose into possibility at Bee Happy and The Hive Creamery
100 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD
PUMPKIN PATCHES Making Memories that keep area families returning each fall
Music | Fall Decor Tips | Events | Autumn Spectacular Colors | Festivals
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPERSIDETX.COM • 1
FROM THE PUBLISHERS Dear Readers, There’s something about fall that makes us ready to get out and explore. Maybe it’s the promise of cooler weather, the return of festivals and football, or simply the thought of pumpkin-and-spice everything. In this issue, there truly is something for everyone. Fall festivals are filling calendars across the Upper East Side of Texas, from art festivals and live music to pumpkin patches, hayrides and even a little pumpkin rolling. It’s a season made for taking the backroads, discovering a new community and enjoying the people and places that make this region special. Our featured story takes us down one of those roads, although this one has been bringing travelers through our communities for more than a century. The historic Jefferson Highway once stretched from Canada to New Orleans, running right through the heart of the Upper East Side of Texas. And despite the name, it doesn’t actually go through Jefferson. Go figure! Along the way, this issue introduces you to some remarkable people and places. You’ll find stories about artists and musicians, people making a difference in their communities, pieces of East Texas history worth preserving and plenty of ideas for getting out and experiencing the region for yourself. That is what we hope each issue of UESTX becomes, a reason to discover someplace new and perhaps look at a familiar place a little differently.
Please feel free to send us your comments. Upper East Side Texas Magazine 705 Griffith Ave. | Terrell, Texas 75160 email: info@uppereastsidetx.com Find us on Facebook & Instagram
feeling there will be plenty of delicious reasons to open your Tuesday morning email. We also want to hear from you. UESTX is about the people, places and stories of this region, and we know there are many more stories waiting to be told. We welcome submissions of poetry, essays and short stories. Are you knowledgeable about wellness, interior decorating, history, the outdoors or another subject our readers would enjoy? Have a story idea you think belongs in our pages? Let us know. We love collaborating with writers, photographers, artists and people who simply have a great story to share. Some of the best discoveries begin when someone says, “Have you ever heard about …?” As the holidays draw closer and, hopefully, the temperatures finally begin to cooperate, we hope you’ll slow down long enough to enjoy this wonderful time of year. Visit a festival. Listen to some music. Wander through an art show. Pick a pumpkin. Take the backroads. Try one of Beverly’s Corner recipes. Most of all, we hope to see you out and about in the Upper East Side of Texas. Beverly Gentry & Sharon Harper Publishers COVER: The Jefferson Highway running through the heart of beautiful downtown Denison. Photo courtesy of Discover Denison. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
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And while the magazine comes out every other month, we don’t want to wait that long to visit with you. Our free UESTX enewsletter arrives every Tuesday morning with ideas for the week ahead, including events, places to go, things to see and stories we think you’ll enjoy. There’s something else cooking in the newsletter, too. Beverly’s Baking Corner shares a recipe each week. You will want to add those to your recipe collection. As the holidays approach, we have a
™
JEFFERSON HIGHWAY PERSON OF THE REGION
Shelley Brookins turns purpose into possibility at Bee Happy and The Hive Creamery
100 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD
PUMPKIN PATCHES Making Memories that keep area families returning each fall
Music | Fall Decor Tips | Events | Autumn Spectacular Colors | Festivals
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPERSIDETX.COM • 1
SEE WEBSITE EXTRAS! www.uppereastsidetx.com 2 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
CONTENTS
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PUBLISHERS & MANAGING EDITORS Sharon Harper Beverly Gentry CONTRIBUTORS Sharon Harper Beverly Gentry Kristy Dooley P.A. Geddie Cassie Ham Jennifer Ross Lindsey Lasko Denis Rottler Roger Bell Jefferson Highway Association Chris Stoll Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA Darrell Lindsey Toni Stratton Paul Bellinger Jesse Vise Vanessa Legatowicz Jason Bowie Bethany Browning Beth Brown James French ADVERTISING beverly@uppereastsidetx.com kristy@uppereastsidetx.com
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
The Jefferson Highway
THE ARTS VISUAL ARTS | STAGE | MUSIC
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Over 100 years old the Pine to Palm Highway still offers an interesting way to travel through the Upper East Side of Texas and discover its storied past. By Sharon Harper
Magic of Edom
14 For decades artists have flocked to Edom for the creative atmosphere and yearly art festival. By Sharon Harper
Autumn’s Spectacular Show
20 Hit the road to witness the beautiful colors only autumn brings.
24 Cowboy Music & Poetry Festival 26 Matthew McNeal Comes Home 29 Miranda Lambert releases new album 30 Mount Vernon Music begins new season 32 Shakespeare Under the Stars
EVENTS
34 Event Listings
PERSON OF THE REGION
38 Shelley Brookins creating a place for all to belong in Kaufman County.
Pumpkin Patches
LITERARY
Hero Honored
WELLNESS
52 Visit four family owned and operated pumpkin patches sure to become an annual fall tradition. By Sharon Harper 66 A Palestine park offers a place to play, walk and remember a hometown hero. By Cassie Ham
SUBSCRIPTIONS info@uppereastsidetx.com
44 Early Reading Program 46 Poetry by Toni Stratton & Darrell Lindsey 47 Book Review - Opal Lee
48 The Benefit of Peptides
INTERIOR DESIGN & RENOVATION 58 Fall Home Refresh
FOOD & DRINK Upper East Side Texas is published every other month, 6 times a year. Contents COPYRIGHT 2026 UPPER EAST SIDE TEXAS MAGAZINE all rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without written permission. Opinions expressed in articles or advertising appearing in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Mailing address: 705 Griffith Ave.Terrell,TX 75160 Phone: 972.757.8120. E-mail: info@uppereastsidetx.com. Website: www.uppereastsidetx.com. Free listings are entered on a space available basis. Advertising space may be purchased by calling 972.757.8120. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement we deem incompatible with our mission.
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62 Hamburgers & Homecoming Queens 64 Bev’s Baking Corner
HISTORY CORNER
70 The Story of the No. 1 BFTS
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Small Town. Big Personality.
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ABOVE: A historic postcard depicts the proposed Jefferson Highway through Longview, part of the ambitious Pine to Palm route connecting Winnipeg, Canada, and New Orleans. OPPOSITE PAGE: 1920s-era map of the Jefferson Highway route from Canada to New Orleans. Illustrations courtesy of Roger Bell, Jefferson Highway Association.
100 Years Down the Road
Celebrating the Lone Star Portion of the Pine to Palm Highway By Sharon Harper The first thing travelers noticed entering Texas from the north wasn’t a welcome sign. It was the Red River. For generations, the river marked the northern gateway to Texas, carrying steamboats, freight trains and, eventually, automobiles between Oklahoma and the Lone Star State. In 1926, as motorists crossed the Red River Toll Bridge into Denison, they weren’t simply entering Texas. They were continuing south on one of North America’s most notable early automobile routes. Known as the Jefferson Highway, the route stretched more than 2,300 miles from Winnipeg, Canada, to New Orleans. Nicknamed the Pine to Palm Highway, it connected the pine forests of the 6 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
north with the palm tree landscapes of the Gulf Coast. The highway was named for Thomas Jefferson, honoring his role in the Louisiana Purchase. The road’s north-south route ran through much of the territory the United States acquired in 1803. The Jefferson Highway Association organized in 1915, and communities spent the next decade establishing, improving and promoting the route. By 1926, those efforts had reached an important milestone. On February 4 of that year, Winnipeg Mayor Ralph Webb arrived in New Orleans, where he was welcomed by New Orleans Mayor Arthur O’Keefe in a celebration of the completed highway connecting the two cities. A century later, that milestone is being celebrated again. The anniversary is
worth remembering not simply because of the road itself, but because of what it meant to the communities it served. Long before Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 75 carried travelers swiftly across Northeast Texas, the Jefferson Highway invited them to slow down. Every town along the route offered a reason to stop. It could be a meal, a night’s rest, a courthouse square or simply a conversation with someone who called that community home. For East Texas, the highway became a road to opportunity. A Road Built by Communities The Jefferson Highway wasn’t built by the federal government. It grew from an idea shared by business leaders, civic organizations and communities that believed better roads would shape their future.
In the early years of the automobile, dependable highways were still a luxury. Travelers relied on local directions, railroad maps and guidebooks. Roads changed from pavement to gravel to dirt with little warning, and a heavy rain could bring a journey to a halt. Organized in 1915, the Jefferson Highway Association promoted a continuous international route linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico. Rather than constructing an entirely new highway, the association connected existing roads, encouraged improvements and worked with towns eager to become part of the route. Communities quickly recognized what was at stake. A place on the Jefferson Highway meant visitors, an increase in business and a place on one of the country’s earliest great road trips. Bonham’s enthusiasm for the highway was unmistakable. In the January 1918 Jefferson Highway Declaration, a representative speaking on behalf of Bonham and Fannin County thanked the association for its consideration and offered a memorable declaration: “May Bonham live a thousand years less a day, for Bonham would not care to be on the map should the Jefferson Highway go some other way.” Following the “JH” Modern travelers depend on GPS. Motorists in the 1920s looked for something much simpler: white and blue “JH” emblems painted by volunteers on telephone poles, bridges and buildings along the route. Imagine leaving Denison on a spring morning in 1926, the road stretching through open farmland toward Bonham. Every few miles, another painted marker appeared to assure motorists they were headed in the right direction. There were no interstate exits or overhead signs, just a ribbon of road connecting one community to the next. The journey required patience. Flat tires were common. Roads turned dusty in summer and muddy after a rain. Gas stations weren’t found at every intersection, so travelers planned their days around the towns ahead. That dependence on the next community became part of the Jefferson Highway experience — and East Texas was ready to welcome them.
Towns Along the Way In Denison, motorists entered Texas at a city already shaped by transportation. Railroads had helped build the community, and automobiles were opening another chapter. Its position near the Red River made Denison a natural gateway to the Texas portion of the Jefferson Highway. From there, travelers made their way toward Bonham, where the enthusiasm for the highway reflected just how important automobile traffic had become. Reminders of that early era are still found there, including the 1918 Magnolia Oil Co. station and the 1921 Powder Creek Bridge. The courthouse at the center of town was another reassuring landmark for travelers making their way across unfamiliar country.
burg, they had settled into the rhythm of the road. This wasn’t a highway built for speed. It encouraged people to stop, stretch their legs, visit a town square and strike up conversations with people they had never met. From Pittsburg, the route continued toward Gilmer, another important link in the journey south and east through the region. That may be one of Jefferson Highway’s greatest legacies. Long before “road trip” became part of the American vocabulary,
The road eventually carried motorists to Greenville, already one of North Texas’ important commercial centers. Railroads and cotton had helped establish the city, but automobiles brought travelers who arrived on their own schedules. They could shop downtown, stop for dinner, spend the night and leave when they pleased. Hotels welcomed motorists, service stations multiplied and merchants discovered customers who might have come from across Texas or far beyond it. The Jefferson Highway didn’t create Greenville’s success. It introduced Greenville to more of the world. From Greenville, the journey continued east through Sulphur Springs, where the courthouse square and surrounding businesses offered the kinds of services road travelers depended upon. The highway gave motorists a reason to stop rather than simply pass through, a pattern that repeated itself from one community to the next. Beyond Sulphur Springs came Mount Vernon and Mount Pleasant, two communities that helped carry travelers farther into Northeast Texas. With each mile, the landscape began to change. The broad prairies gradually gave way to more heavily wooded countryside, and the pine forests associated with the highway’s Pine to Palm nickname became increasingly evident. By the time motorists reached Pittscontinued page 8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 7
ABOVE LEFT: The Jefferson Highway today in Denison, Texas, where signage marks the historic route through the city. Photo courtesy of Discover Denison. ABOVE RIGHT: The official mascot of the Jefferson Highway Association, Stinky the donkey, makes his home at the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site in Bonham. Photo courtesy of JHA. OPPOSITE PAGE: An early map of a section of the “Lone Star” leg of the Jefferson Highway and a 1920s-era filling station in Greenville. Photo courtesy of the JHA. The Jefferson Highway runs through current day Greenville where the historic Texan Theater is located. Photo courtesy of Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Pines to Palms continued from page 7
the highway encouraged travelers to experience the country one community at a time. For towns that once relied heavily on railroad traffic, the automobile opened new possibilities. Visitors were no longer limited by train schedules. They could linger, take another road or decide to spend the night simply because they liked what they found. The highway itself was evolving, too. The Jefferson Highway was not a single strip of pavement laid down at one moment in time. Roads were improved, connections changed and portions of the route shifted as better roadways became available. That evolving route brought Jefferson Highway travelers through Gladewater, which would soon find itself at the center of one of the biggest economic transformations in Texas history. Then came oil. The East Texas Oil Boom changed Gladewater almost overnight as workers, investors and visitors poured into the region. The Jefferson Highway didn’t create the boom, but the road system that had been developing through East Texas helped connect communities like Gladewater to a nation increasingly traveling by automobile. 8 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
Today, Gladewater is known as the Antique Capital of East Texas, where historic storefronts continue to welcome people looking for something they can’t find just anywhere. The reasons for stopping have changed. The tradition of welcoming travelers has not. From Gladewater, the journey continued toward Longview, a city where transportation had long played an important role in growth and commerce. Railroads connected Longview with distant markets, but the automobile promised a different kind of traveler — one who could arrive on his own schedule, stop along the way and explore communities beyond the railroad depot. A 1921 postcard showing the proposed Jefferson Highway through Longview captures that moment particularly well. Long before motorists could follow interstate signs or pull up directions on a phone, communities were promoting their place on the developing highway and imagining what increased automobile travel might mean for local businesses and residents. More than a century later, the postcard is more than a souvenir. It offers a glimpse of the anticipation surrounding a new era of travel and a highway that was still taking shape. From Longview, motorists continued toward Marshall, a city that understood the
importance of transportation perhaps better than most. Long before automobiles, railroads helped establish Marshall as one of East Texas’ leading commercial and cultural centers. The Jefferson Highway added another layer to that history. Motorists drove beneath mature trees, past handsome neighborhoods and into a downtown shaped by decades of commerce and growth. Hotels, restaurants and merchants welcomed a new generation of travelers arriving not by train, but behind the wheel. For motorists continuing south and east, Marshall became another important stop on a journey that would eventually carry them into Louisiana and toward New Orleans. The Road Is Still There A century later, the original blue-andwhite “JH” markers no longer guide motorists along most of the route, but efforts are underway to make the historic highway more visible again. Portions of the historic route can still be traveled, while bridges, early automobile-era buildings and downtown business districts remain as reminders of the highway’s past. The road is still there, and so are the communities that believed in it. So, too, is the Jefferson Highway Association. Revived in 2011, today’s association works to identify, preserve and promote
the historic highway while encouraging a new generation of travelers to discover the communities along its route. Denison and Bonham have installed Jefferson Highway signs in their communities, and the association hopes more towns along the Texas route will follow, creating a more visible trail for travelers interested in retracing the historic highway. This fall, that work takes on special significance as association members and highway enthusiasts gather in Joplin, Missouri, September 19-22 for the Crossroads of America Centennial Celebration. The event coincides with the centennial of Route 66 and includes activities with the Route 66 Association of Missouri Fall Motor Tour, bringing together travelers with an interest in two historic highways that helped shape early automobile travel. The celebration is also an extension of the association’s continuing mission of preserving the Jefferson Highway’s history while encouraging travelers to get back on the old road. There is a temptation to remember the Jefferson Highway simply as an important transportation project, but it deserves more than that. The highway represents a time when communities looked beyond their city limits and worked toward a common goal. Local leaders understood that the success of one town strengthened the entire route. The Upper East Side of Texas continues to offer what made the route worth traveling in the first place: friendly people, historic downtowns, and interesting stories waiting around the next bend. To find more information on the Jefferson Highway and the Crossroads of America Centennial Celebration visit jeffersonhighway.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 9
When Texas and Oklahoma Went to War
ABOVE: Texas Rangers guard the free bridge during the Bridge War of 1931. Photo courtesy of Frontier Village Museum Denison. Opposite Page Top: Oklahoma Gov. William “Alfalfa Bill” Murray inspects Oklahoma National Guard on the Red River Toll Bridge during the Bridge War. Photo Courtesy of Jefferson Highway Assoc. OPPOSITE Bottom Left The closed bridge became a popular location for local curiosity and Bottom right Oklahoma National Guard on toll bridge. Photos courtesy of Frontier Village Museum Denison.
The Story of the Red River Bridge War By Sharon Harper The Red River became the scene of an unusual interstate showdown in 1931, when a newly constructed free bridge between Denison, Texas, and Oklahoma became the center of what newspapers dubbed the Red River Bridge War. The new bridge was intended to provide a free alternative to the privately operated toll bridge that had carried Jefferson Highway travelers across the Red River. Historic photographs of the toll bridge even show the familiar “JH” marker on its truss. Before the new bridge could open, however, the company operating the old toll bridge went to court, arguing that the free crossing would destroy the value of its business. A federal injunction prompted 10 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
Texas Gov. Ross Sterling to order barricades placed across the Texas side. Oklahoma Gov. William “Alfalfa Bill” Murray responded by opening the Oklahoma side. When Texas continued to block the new bridge, Murray raised the stakes by ordering the Oklahoma approach to the old toll bridge torn up, effectively stopping traffic there as well. Motorists suddenly found themselves caught in the middle, with Texas blocking the new free bridge and Oklahoma cutting off access to the old toll bridge. The dispute escalated further when Murray called out the Oklahoma National Guard, while Texas Rangers were sent to enforce the closure on the Texas side. For several tense days, Rangers and Guardsmen faced one another across the river as newspapers around the country followed
the standoff. Despite the dramatic name, no shots were fired, and the legal issues were eventually resolved. By then, the Jefferson Highway corridor was becoming part of the numbered state and federal highway system, and the new free bridge carried the growing stream of traffic between Denison and Oklahoma. Interestingly, the old toll bridge did not immediately disappear. Texas acquired it, and it continued carrying southbound U.S. 75 traffic for years before being permanently closed. The 1931 free bridge remained in service until it was replaced in 1995. Although the original Red River crossing is gone, a section of the historic bridge was preserved and relocated to a park in Colbert, Oklahoma.
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ABOVE: Sundown settles over the main street through Edom, an Upper East Side Texas community with a long tradition of art and creativity. Photo by Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA. OPPOSITE: Festival founder Doug Brown, center, gathers with artists at the first Edom Art Festival in 1972, beginning a tradition that continues more than five decades later. Photo courtesy of Beth Brown.
THE MAGIC OF EDOM More than half a century after potter Doug Brown helped turn a little East Texas crossroads into an artists’ community, the Edom Art Festival continues to bring people back and introduce new generations to the beauty of things made by hand. By Sharon Harper There is something about Edom. Beth Brown felt it the first time she drove into the little Van Zandt County town in 1990. She was living in Dallas then and making handbags, a craft she would pursue for more than two decades. She had never been to Edom before, but almost immediately something about the place caught her. “This feels magical to me,” she remembers thinking. Years later, Beth still has trouble explaining exactly what it is. Maybe, she jokes, it has something to do with the iron ore beneath the East Texas soil. Whatever the reason, she knows she isn’t the only one who has felt it. “There’s a magnetism that’s here,” she says. “I’ve heard this from so many people.” Long before Beth arrived, another artist
apparently felt it, too. Her late husband, potter Doug Brown rode into Edom on a motorcycle in the early 1970s, stopped at the intersection and looked across the road at a town with little more than a service station and a handful of buildings. According to Beth, he knew. “This is it,” she recalls of his reaction. “This is where I’m going to start a community.” Doug opened Potters Brown in 1971, becoming the first of a new generation of artists who would make the tiny community their home. Jewelers, glassblowers, weavers, painters and craftspeople interested in making a living with their hands helped establish Edom as an arts destination, an unlikely identity for one of Van Zandt County’s oldest and smallest communities. In 1972, Doug had another idea. He wanted to create an event where art-
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ists could gather, show their work and, importantly, sell it. The first Edom Art Festival drew about 3,000 people, an impressive turnout for a first-year event in a tiny East Texas town. Word spread, media attention followed, and what might have been a one-time gathering became a tradition. More than five decades later, the Edom Art Festival remains one of the region’s enduring celebrations of original art and the people who make it. Part of its appeal has always been Edom itself. Artists found inexpensive old buildings here, opened studios and shops and invited people to see what they were creating. Visitors weren’t simply buying pottery, jewelry or paintings. They were meeting the people who made them. Beth remembers that connection. Cuscontinued page 16
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The Magic of Edom continued from page 14
tomers supported the artists because they liked their work, she says, but there was more to it. “They did it because of the experience that they felt when they came here. They felt that it was someplace special, and it was someplace that they wanted to remember.” Perhaps nothing illustrates that connection better than the years the festival left town. After problems surrounding the 1998 event, organizers decided they were done. The Tyler Museum of Art offered its grounds, and after taking a year off, the festival moved to Tyler, where it continued for several years. It was a beautiful setting, but something wasn’t quite right. “They wanted to come to Edom,” Beth says. “They wanted that feeling.” Eventually, the festival came home, and it is difficult to imagine it anywhere else. The experience is as much about place as it is about art — wandering the festival grounds, stepping into studios and shops, talking with artists and hearing music drift through the grounds. It’s discovering something you weren’t looking for and deciding you can’t leave without it. The festival has grown through the years without straying far from its original purpose. Art remains at its center, joined now by a singer-songwriter stage, food trucks and activities that encourage visitors to linger. Organizers look for ways to add something new each year while protecting the character that has kept people returning. That includes making room for the next generation. Across the street from the festival grounds, the nonprofit Edom Art Lab gives young people ages nine and older an opportunity to explore art in a much broader way. Students create, write and perform, but they also learn what goes into making a creative endeavor work — from budgeting and producing pieces to sell to developing and staging a production. Beth has seen children arrive at the program shy and hesitant and, by semester’s end, step forward as leaders. Par16 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
ABOVE: A ceramic vase by exhibiting artist Merrie Wright showcases her use of form, texture and bold geometric design Photo courtesy of Merrie Wright.
ABOVE: “Old Town Palestine” by David Tripp. Working in transparent watercolor, Tripp a long time festival participant captures small-town American places that may be fading from the landscape but remain vivid in memory. Photo courtesy of David Tripp. BOTTOM: Colorful handwoven scarves showcase Audrey Legatowicz’s mastery of fiber, blending rich color, texture and timeless craftsmanship. Photo by Vanessa Legatowicz.
ents have noticed the difference, too. “It honestly can be life changing,” she says. During this year’s festival, Edom Art Lab will become part of the experience, with children’s activities moving into its space across the street. It seems particularly fitting. The festival began because one artist understood that creativity flourishes when people have a place to practice it, share it and make a living from it. More than 50 years later, children in Edom are being given their own place to discover what they can create. Keeping an artists’ community alive, however, isn’t always easy. The inexpensive rents that once allowed young artists to take a chance on Edom are largely gone. Insurance on old buildings is costly, and a town this small doesn’t have a steady stream of customers walking past its storefronts. Edom is a destination. People have to decide to come.
That makes the festival important well beyond a single October weekend. It brings longtime visitors back and introduces Edom to people who have never experienced the town before. Beth hears it each year from first-time visitors who arrive surprised by what they find. The community is also creating more reasons to return, including a Second Saturday Art Walk that invites visitors into Edom’s studios, shops and creative spaces throughout the year. Still, festival weekend is when the spirit Doug Brown helped set in motion more than half a century ago is easiest to see. The 2026 Edom Art Festival takes place Oct. 10-11, bringing artists and visitors together again in the community where it all began. Beth is retired from making art for sale now, but not from the community she and her husband helped nurture. She isn’t continued page 18 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 17
The Magic of Edom continued from page 17
paid for the work she puts into the festival. She does it because she wants artists to have a place to sell their work and because she wants Edom to remain a place where people make beautiful things and others come to appreciate them. “It’s my purpose at this point,” she says. On festival weekend, Beth can walk
through the grounds and see artists sharing their work, visitors discovering Edom and another generation beginning to understand the value of creating something with their own hands. “It brings me joy,” she says. “It just fills my heart.” Maybe that is the magic of Edom. Doug Brown found it at a stop sign more than half a century ago. Beth felt it when she first drove into town. Artists have followed it here, and generations of visitors have returned looking for it. For a full list of this year’s artists and musicians visit edomarts.com.
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ABOVE & BELOW: Larry Pile’s whimsical woven glass wall pieces, created through kilnforming techniques that transform glass with heat, gravity and imagination. Photo courtesy of Larry Pile.
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Make Plans Now for Autumn’s Spectacular Show ABOVE: Ruby M. Mize Gardens in Nacoghoches in full fall colors. Photo by Paul Bellinger. OPPOSITE: Caddo Lake State Park shows off its colorful side on a beautiful fall day. Photo by Nicolas S. Media.
Catching the turning of the leaves in the Upper East Side of Texas requires paying attention to the show Mother Nature presents on her own time. Some close watchers are saying as early as the end of October to mid-November is peak season in the region, others say late November to early December. Some of the timing depends on the types of foliage so one might enjoy vivid colors in one part of the region in November and others into early December. Taking a drive along the winding country roads of this most-forested area of Texas is an annual must-do for many. Meandering through just about any of the backroads of the region you’re bound to see nature’s beauty. In addition, here are a few recommendations from our friends at Texas State Parks and a few other notable locations to enjoy the full color of the season. Cooper. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/cooper-lake Daingerfield. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/daingerfield Martin Creek Lake. tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/martin-creek-lake Lake Bob Sandlin. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-bob-sandlin Tyler. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/tyler Caddo Lake. www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caddo-lake East Texas Arboretum. www.easttexasarboretum.org Piney Woods Wine Trail. https://www.pineywoodswinetrail.com Fall Foliage Driving Trail: Athens to Palestine. www.visitpalestine.com Davey Dogwood Park. Palestine. www.visitpalestine.com Fall Harvest Lunch Train. Palestine. Texas State Railroad. www.texasstaterailroad.net Winnsboro Autumn Trails Driving Tours. www.winnsboroonlineguide.com/trails Ruby Mize Azalea Garden. Nacogdoches. www.sfasu.edu/gardens/explore/azalea-garden Deep East Texas Fall Foliage Trail. www.visitnacogdoches.org/tours-and-trails
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WINNSBORO, TEXAS At the Crossroads of Our Story & Yours
Vibrant Downtown • Culture & Creativity • Live Music & Local Flavor
Plan Your Visit Today! VisitWinnsboro.com
Open Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the museum welcomes visitors of all ages with self-guided exploration and guided tours, with advance reservations available for large groups. Admission is free but donations are welcome in person or on our website at www.winnsborotxmuseum.com/donate.
100 E. Broadway | Winnsboro, Texas 75494 | 903-347-2668 | www.winnsborotxmuseum.com 22 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
JAMES MCMURTRY JAMES MCMURTRY TWO CONCERTS Evening Valentine Evening Valentine Evening Saturday Saturday Evening February 14 February 14 February 15 February 15 Autumn in Historic Downtown Winnsboro, Texas • A Designated Texas Cultural Arts District JAMES MCMURTRY 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Valentine Evening Saturday Evening February 14 February 15NEW for 2025 NEW for 2025 CONCERT CONCERT THEATER THEATER TICKETS SEASON TICKETS 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. SEASON
SUSAN GIBSON SUSAN GIBSON
4 Shows - 1 Discounted 4 Shows Price! 1 Discounted Price! Season tickets Season available tickets for a limited available for a limited time - Jan. 4 -NEW Feb. timefor 15 - Jan. ONLY! 4 - Feb. 15 ONLY! 2025 Glass Menagerie, Glass Romeo Menagerie, And Juliet Romeo And Juliet THEATER SEASON TICKETS Barefoot In The Barefoot Park In The Park 4 Shows - 1 Discounted Price! A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol NOVEMBER 7 Season tickets available for6a& limited
Saturday Saturday CONCERT March 8 March 8 7:30GIBSON p.m. 7:30 p.m. SUSAN SEPTEMBER 25 & 26 Saturday time - Jan. 4 - Feb. 15 ONLY! Glass Menagerie, And JulietMIC COMMUNITY COMMUNITY March 8 LEARNING Art, Wine, Cowboy Culture, Specialty Foods, LiveRomeo Music OPEN MIC OPEN LEARNING Barefoot In The Park NIGHT CHOIR AUDITIONS CHOIR7:30 AUDITIONS NIGHT EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES p.m. Boutique Shopping, Local Restaurants A Christmas Carol
January 9 and 14 atJanuary 6 p.m. 9 and 14Come at 6 p.m. Every second Thursday. Every second Thursday. have fun experiencing Come havethe funarts experiencing the arts Visit website for details! Visit websitethrough for details! a variety of through classesaand variety workshops. of classes and workshops. Register online! Register online! COMMUNITY
CHOIR AUDITIONS January 9 and 14 at 6 p.m. Visit website for details!
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Come have fun experiencing the arts through a variety of classes and workshops. Register online!
OPEN MIC NIGHT
Every second Thursday.
PRESENTED BY: WINNSBORO CENTER FOR THE ARTS. SPONSORS: DOOR CONTROLS USA, TYLER TODAY, FIRST NATIONAL BANK, COUNTY LINE MAGAZINE, CITY NATIONAL BANK. WinnsboroCenterForTheArts.com WinnsboroCenterForTheArts.com EMBRACE THE SPIRIT EMBRACE OF CREATIVITY THE SPIRIT OF CREATIVITY
www.WinnsboroArtAndWineFestival.com
WinnsboroCenterForTheArts.com
EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF CREATIVITY
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THE ARTS | POETRY, MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL
Saturday’s toe-tapping continues with a 4 p.m. concert on The Bowery Stage featuring the popular Kristyn Harris Trio, poet Teresa Burleson and singer/ poet Ed Meyer. At 7 p.m., Andy Hedges, Chris Ryden and Rod Taylor take the stage. At 8:30, the boot-scootin’ moves inside the new Creative Learning Center to the second floor for Western Swing Dancing with Miss Devon and the Outlaw’s Amigos. Guests here are encouraged to kick up their heels and celebrate music that has become a treasured part of Texas culture. A highlight of the event is Cowboy Tales, a free art exhibition at WCA September 23 through November 14 that illustrates the theme of western culture and imagery.
ABOVE: “Kindred Spirits” Charcoal by JD Cole past Cowboy Tales placing entry. OPPOSITE: “Fancy Shawl Dancer,” an oil painting by Laura Motley, won Best of Show in the 2025 Cowboy Tales art exhibition that takes place during the annual Winnsboro Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering on September 25 and 26.
Saddle Up for Winnsboro’s Annual Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering Celebrate cowboy culture with songs, stories, cowboy grub and Western Swing Dance The 5th Annual Winnsboro Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering returns to historic downtown Winnsboro Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26. The event, hosted by Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA), celebrates the rich traditions, music, poetry and storytelling of the American West and ranch life. It includes both ticketed performances and free family-friendly activities, open mic opportunities and Western-themed vendors. All activities and performances take place in downtown Winnsboro, one of Texas’ designated Cultural Districts, which features the Bowery pedestrian zone, charming boutiques, quaint eateries, and WCA and its new Creative Learning Center. The event kicks off with one of the
weekend’s most popular events. Friday’s Cowboy Gathering Chili Cook-off and Tasting at 5 p.m. gives attendees an opportunity to sample award-winning chili while enjoying live music and fellowship. Friday evening brings the first of four concerts, all featuring nationally recognized cowboy poets, musicians, storytellers and artists for an experience honoring cowboy heritage. At 7:30 p.m., award-winning cowboy performers Joel Nelson, Pipp Gillette, Lloyd Wright and Joel Alden White take the WCA Bowery stage, bringing with them music that reflects combined decades of experience as both working cowboys and performing artists. Saturday’s afternoon features two openmic performances with cowboy poets, Western musicians, storytellers and performers who celebrate the spirit and heritage of the American West.
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“The Winnsboro Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering has become one of East Texas’ premier celebrations of Western heritage,” said Delyse Hart, event chair. “Whether you’re a lifelong cowboy poetry enthusiast or experiencing cowboy culture for the first time, you’ll find outstanding entertainment, warm hospitality and authentic Western traditions throughout the weekend.” The event is expected to draw about 1,500 guests. “Appreciation for Western and cowboy heritage runs deep in our East Texas community,” said Mary White, WCA executive director. “And this annual gathering offers a space where tradition is not only revered, but brought vividly to life through storytelling, music and shared experiences.” WCA plays a key role in bringing cultural programming, exhibitions and entertainment to Winnsboro and East Texas. WCA is supported in part by grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Winnsboro’s Cultural District is recognized by the Texas Commission on the Arts for its vibrant arts scene. Winnsboro is also recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a Texas Main Street Community and an accredited member of Main Street America for its successful downtown revitalization. For more information on the event and other cultural events, go to visitwinnsboro.com
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THE ARTS | MUSIC
Terrell native Matthew McNeal returns to his hometown for his first local performance in 10 years. Photographed along the railroad tracks in Terrell, McNeal is back where his musical journey began. Photo by Jesse Vise
The Music That Brings Us Back Home Terrell native Matthew McNeal finds inspiration in the people, places and relationships that continue to shape his music. By Sharon Harper Coming home has a different feel when Matthew McNeal steps onstage in Terrell. It has been about 10 years since McNeal and longtime friend and musical collaborator Andre Black performed together in their hometown. A lot happens in those years. Music takes them well beyond Terrell, and McNeal builds a career around writing, recording and performing. Lately, that journey gives his hometown another reason to celebrate. McNeal’s fifth studio album, HIGHLONESOME, earns the Terrell High School graduate the inaugural JAMBALOO Music Prize, recognizing the best full-length album released by a Dallas-Fort Worth-area artist. McNeal co-produces the album with Black.
It’s a significant moment in McNeal’s career, but when he talks about the path that brings him here, the conversation quickly turns to the people who travel it with him. Black is one of them. McNeal calls his fellow Terrell native his “constant collaborator, drummer, best friend, brother.” They grew up together, write together and tour together, building a musical partnership on a friendship that begins long before either knows where music might lead. That history makes returning to Terrell to perform together something special. McNeal comes home often to visit his mother, Missy Wallace, but a show brings a different kind of homecoming. There are familiar faces in the audience and people who remember McNeal and
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Black when they are just two young musicians finding their way. The night isn’t only about looking back. Proceeds from the performance benefit a local family in need, something that fits naturally with McNeal’s view of what music can do. “It’s not just getting up there and having, like, ‘look at me moment,’” McNeal says. “It’s really just creating an experience that we can all share together and connect.” That idea of connection runs through much of McNeal’s story — in his music, his friendship with Black and the community where it all begins. Growing up, Terrell is simply home. Only after traveling and experiencing life elsewhere does McNeal begin to see more
clearly what the small Texas city gives him. One of those gifts is a sense of community. Terrell is small, but it is also diverse. With one public high school, students from different neighborhoods, cultures and backgrounds share classrooms, friendships and experiences. Looking back, McNeal sees that as an important part of his upbringing. “It really felt like a community,” he says. Terrell’s location adds another layer. Close enough to Dallas to feel the influence of a major metropolitan area, it still offers the relationships and familiarity of a smaller town. For McNeal, that combination opens the door to different people, ideas and experiences. More importantly, growing up among people from different backgrounds gives him an early understanding that people often have far more in common than the outside world suggests. Music expands that world even further. Country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll are among McNeal’s early influences, along with artists such as Michael Jackson. As his own tastes develop, the search for music beyond what is familiar leads somewhere unexpected. Punk music finds him. The attraction isn’t simply the sound or its countercul-
ABOVE: Matthew McNeal performs a benefit concert at the Lyric Performance Center in historic downtown Terrell, with longtime friend Andre Black on drums. BELOW: McNeal with his mother and bigget supporter Missy. Photos by Jesse Vise.
ture reputation. It’s the community surrounding it. Small venues introduce McNeal to an entire musical world operating outside mainstream radio. Bands create their own music, people show up to listen and, for a few hours, everyone in the room shares an experience. For a young musician from Terrell, it is a powerful discovery. One artist who makes a particular im-
pression is Canadian musician Dallas Green, who performs as City and Colour in addition to his work in punk music. Green’s ability to move between two seemingly different musical worlds — one loud and visceral, the other quiet and intimate — shows McNeal that an artist doesn’t have to fit neatly into one category. “You can draw a room with both a whisper and a yell,” McNeal says. Encouragement also comes from close to home. McNeal’s mother, Missy Wallace, and Black’s mother, Lori Blair, believe in what the young musicians are doing well before anyone knows where it might lead. Blair becomes something of a second mom to McNeal, and he describes the two women as “the pillars of it all.” Years later, those early relationships still matter. Black remains a constant in McNeal’s musical life, but their creative circle grows to include other musicians they trust as friends, writers and collaborators. Making music becomes less about one person bringing a finished idea into the room and more about being open to what can happen when creative people work together. McNeal doesn’t believe songwriting becontinued page 27 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 27
The Music continued from page 27
gins only when someone sits down with a notebook or turns on a microphone. Creativity is always there. “The faucet of creativity is never really closed,” he says. A recent trip to West Texas puts that philosophy into practice. McNeal and his band pack up a mobile studio and head to a property outside Marathon, near Big Bend. Rather than arriving with songs already written and ready to record, they start from scratch, spending several days writing, playing and creating together. By the time they leave, they have nine new songs. The experience reflects the way McNeal approaches songwriting now: listen, pay attention and trust the people around you enough to see where an idea leads. That same philosophy shapes the way he thinks about success. It’s an interesting subject for a musician who has just received one of the biggest recognitions of his career. A career in music comes with plenty of numbers attached to it — money, streams, ticket sales and audience size. McNeal doesn’t dismiss the practical side of making a living. But numbers aren’t his final measure of whether a creative life is successful. Fulfillment matters more. Success isn’t a finish line reached after the right song, the right crowd or the right career milestone. The goalpost, as McNeal sees it, is always moving. What matters is continuing to create, finding joy in the work and making something authentic enough to share. “If you feel called to share art with others that connects and is true and authentic, I don’t think it really matters the size of the audience,” McNeal says. Whether five people listen or 5 million, the purpose remains much the same. For McNeal, that idea reaches all the way back to Terrell — to playing music with Black, helping put together small shows, being encouraged by two mothers who believe in them and discovering what can happen when music brings people into the same room.
By Sharon Harper Coming home has a different feel when Matthew McNeal steps onstage in Terrell. It has been about 10 years since McNeal and longtime friend and musical collaborator Andre Black have performed together in their hometown. A lot happens in those years. Music takes them well beyond Terrell, and McNeal builds a career around writing, recording and performing. Lately, that journey gives his hometown another reason to celebrate. McNeal’s fifth studio album, HIGHLONESOME, earns the Terrell High School graduate the inaugural JAMBALOO Music Prize, recognizing the best full-length album released by a Dallas-Fort Worth-area artist. McNeal co-produces the album with Andre Black, his longtime friend and musical collaborator. McNeal and Andre Black record music in the remote landscape of West Texas near Marathon. It’s a significant moment in McNeal’s caPhoto by Jesse Vise reer, but when he talks about the path
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THE ARTS | MUSIC
wanted to go, trusted our instincts and ended up with something that feels really fun and really honest to who I am.” Besides making music, another thing close to Miranda’s heart is her nonprofit foundation she founded with her mother Bev Lambert in 2009. MuttNation’s mission is to support the adoption of shelter pets, advance spay and neuter, educate the public about benefits of these actions, and provide assistance to shelters during times of natural disaster. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $13 million and assisted more than 1,000 shelters. The foundation benefits from a line of pet toys available exclusively at Tractor Supply Company (TSC) stores across the country. Since 2018 TSC and MuttNation have teamed up for a program called Mutts Across America where they give $5,000 to one shelter or foster-based rescue in each state. Sulphur Springs Animal Shelter, SPCA of East Texas Adoption Center, Friends of Marshall Animals, and Dog Ranch Rescue in Anna are among past year’s recipients.
Miranda Lambert’s new album, Crisco, releases on October 2. Courtesy MCA
Miranda Lambert Releases New Album By P.A. Geddie The most awarded artist in Academy of Country Music Awards history, Miranda Lambert, is set to release her new album, Crisco, on October 2 via MCA. The Lindale, Texas, native produced the album with Jesse Frasure including a dozen tracks featuring a 70s-inspired title track along with “Till the Going’s Gone,” both already on major streaming platforms. The album also includes “A Song to Sing,” her Grammy-nominated duet with Chris Stapleton released last year. The complete Crisco track list includes 1. “Snakeskin Boots,” 2. “Crisco,” 3. “Cowgirl Curtsy,” 4. “Two Things Can
Be True,” 5. “Cuttin’ Onions,” 6. “Till The Going’s Gone,” 7. “To Everything,” 8. “Whiskey Business,” 9. “Right Where We Left It,” 10. “A Song To Sing” (with Chris Stapleton), 11. “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” (Jim Croce cover), and 12. “Sunset Marquis.” With themes sticking close to her southern country roots, the album covers a full range of emotions. “I’ve always loved every corner of country music,” Miranda said in a statement. “The heartbreak songs, the honky-tonk songs, the songs that make you think and the songs that make you dance. Making this record reminded me that those things don’t have to be separated. We followed the songs wherever they
“Mutts Across America is one of my favorite MuttNation programs because it lets us show our appreciation to the people at the shelters who are doing the hard work every day,” Lambert said in a statement. “And to make it even more special, the grants are always a surprise — there’s no way to apply or be nominated. Tractor Supply has been such an amazing partner, and we’re so grateful for their commitment to MuttNation and to shelter pets across the country.” This year in addition to the 50 organizations to receive the $5,000 grants, MuttNation picked a Wildcard shelter, surprising Animal Preservation of East Texas (APET) located in Mineola with a $5,000 check a few weeks ago. APET serves all of Wood County, having provided care and found homes for more than 1,500 animals since opening in 2012. Among her Crisco tour dates this year Miranda performs October 6 at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. Get more information on her new album, touring schedule, and MuttNation on www.mirandalambert.com.
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THE ARTS | MUSIC
ABOVE: Musicians take the stage at Mount Vernon Music, where intimate performances bring audiences closer to the music and the artists who create it. Courtesy photo. OPPOSITE: Mount Vernon Music brings live music into area schools, giving students the opportunity to experience professional musicians and performances firsthand. Courtesy photo.
A Place for Music
Mount Vernon Music offers audiences in rural East Texas the opportunity to experience classical music in a welcoming, intimate setting By Sharon Harper There are some experiences people living in small communities might expect to travel to Dallas or Fort Worth to find. An evening listening to professional musicians perform Mozart, Mendelssohn or Schubert in an intimate concert hall might be one of them. In Mount Vernon, that experience is much closer to home. For more than two decades, Mount Vernon Music has worked from a simple premise: Where someone lives shouldn’t determine whether they have access to exceptional live music. From its home in this small Franklin County community, the organization brings accomplished
professional musicians and thoughtfully chosen programs to East Texas audiences while also taking music beyond the concert hall and into schools and longterm care facilities. Its philosophy is summed up in a few words: “Because music belongs to all of us.” That belief carries Mount Vernon Music into its 21st season and shapes much of what the organization does. Chamber music is at the heart of Mount Vernon Music, an art form that depends on musicians listening and responding to one another without a conductor guiding the performance. Each musician has an individual voice, but the music succeeds when those voices come together.
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Mount Vernon Music President Mark Miller sees something larger in that relationship. In introducing the organization’s 2026-27 season, Achieving Harmony, he describes chamber music as a model for collaboration. Musicians depend on one another for every aspect of the performance, much as people depend on one another to build successful communities. “As in life, we succeed when we work together and look out for each other,” Miller writes. That sense of connection extends to the relationship between musicians and audiences. Mount Vernon Music wants people to feel that they belong in the concert hall, whether they have lis-
Other programs range from Under the Spell of Song, featuring the return of bass-baritone Leon Turner, to Masters of Harmony, with works by Haydn, Mozart, Richard Strauss and Mendelssohn. Not every Mount Vernon Music experience happens inside the concert hall. In October, Jazz on the Prairie takes music outdoors to the 900-acre Daphne Prairie, where a hayride and barbecue supper lead into an evening of jazz at sunset. In April, the Family Concert invites children and adults to become part of a multimedia performance of Benedikt Brydern’s The Town Musicians.
tened to classical music all their lives or are hearing a string quartet for the first time. For some, classical music can carry an air of formality that creates an unintended barrier. People may wonder what they should wear, how much they need to know about the music or whether they will feel out of place. Mount Vernon Music works to remove those concerns. There is no expectation to dress up. Come comfortable. Come curious. The idea is simply to listen, experience the music and enjoy being there. That welcoming approach is an important part of making the arts accessible in a rural community. Bringing accomplished musicians to East Texas is only part of the equation. People also have to feel that the experience is meant for them. Mount Vernon Music carries that philosophy well beyond those who purchase a concert ticket. Through its Youth Engagement programs, professional musicians take Music Tells a Story performances into East Texas schools, giving children an opportunity to experience live music performed by professional musicians, sometimes for the first time. The organization also offers instruc-
tional clinics and awards annual Mount Vernon Music Scholarships, providing financial and performance support for promising young East Texas musicians. Through another outreach program, Musical Lifelines, professional performers take music into long-term care facilities throughout East Texas, bringing the concert to listeners who may no longer be able to travel to one themselves.
The variety reflects the organization’s larger purpose. Audiences can hear composers whose names have been familiar for centuries alongside musicians and composers they may be discovering for the first time. They can hear jazz on an East Texas prairie, introduce a child to live chamber music or simply walk into the Mount Vernon Music Hall one evening without worrying about whether they know enough about classical music to be there. There may even be an advantage to experiencing chamber music in a place like Mount Vernon. The setting is intimate, the musicians are close and there is little distance between performer and listener. Music written hundreds of years ago—or by a composer whose name is entirely new to the audience— can become immediate and personal.
Together, those programs broaden the definition of what a community music organization can be. A child sitting in a school audience, a young musician learning from an accomplished professional, a resident of a long-term care facility and an audience gathered for an evening concert all become part of the same mission.
For 21 seasons, Mount Vernon Music has been building that connection in this corner of East Texas, demonstrating that meaningful arts experiences do not have to be reserved for major cities or grand concert halls. They can happen in a small town, in a school classroom, beside a resident in a long-term care facility or on a prairie as the sun goes down.
The 2026-27 season provides another opportunity to carry that mission forward.
In a season devoted to Achieving Harmony, perhaps that is the harmony Mount Vernon Music has been working toward all along: bringing musicians, listeners and communities together and making sure there is room for everyone to listen.
Achieving Harmony begins in September and continues through May, bringing together familiar masters, lesser-known composers, contemporary works, jazz, song and a family program. The season opens with Music’s Transformative Power, exploring how composers have responded to tragedy, prejudice and life’s challenges through music.
Because music belongs to all of us. For information about Mount Vernon Music’s 2026-27 season, concert dates, tickets and programs, visit mountvernonmusic.org. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 31
THE ARTS | STAGE
Shakespeare Dallas returns to Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre this fall with a reimagined production of “Titus Andronicus”. Photos by Sydney Cornelius + Paris Marie Productions.
Shakespeare Under the Stars Titus Andronicus The outdoor setting offers a relaxed way Shakespeare Dallas brings one of William Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies to the stage this fall with Titus Andronicus, the final Shakespeare in the Park production of the year at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre in Dallas. Directed by Dr. Danielle Georgiou, the production reimagines the tragedy as “Club Titus,” a glamorous but decaying nightclub where wealth, power and spectacle collide. Beneath the glitter is Shakespeare’s brutal story of revenge, as Roman general Titus Andronicus returns from war with four prisoners who set in motion a bloody rivalry.
to experience Shakespeare, with picnicking encouraged and beer and wine permitted. Audiences can bring dinner, settle in under the stars and enjoy a North Texas theater tradition that Shakespeare Dallas has continued for more than 50 years. Titus Andronicus runs Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 16-Oct. 18, at SamuellGrand Amphitheatre, 1500 Tenison Parkway in Dallas. Gates open at 7:30 p.m., with performances beginning at 8 p.m. General admission is $20, with $15 tickets available for students and seniors. For tickets and additional information, visit shakespearedallas.org or call 214559-2778.
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THEWARRENHOUSEBB.COM
705 Griffith Ave., Terrell, TX | 469-929-8579 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 33
EVENTS | SEPT./OCT. 2026 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 26 Tyler Museum of Art, Keith Carter’s Peaceable Kingdom. Drawn from the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, these photographs visually explore the animal kingdom and its inhabitants. Furthermore, the images examine our relationship with animals as well as the dynamic between members of different species. tylermuseum.org THROUGH OCTOBER 17 Traversing Lines: a Narrative on the American Landscape by Winter Rusiloski on display at the Museum of East Texas. Lufkin. metlufkin.org THROUGH DEC. 12
ABOVE: A visitor takes in a work on display during the Cosmic Comix exhibition at the Longview Museum of Fine Arts. Courtesy photo. BELOW: Concertgoers enjoy live music outdoors during the San Jacinto Music Series in downtown Rockwall. Photo by Bethany Browning.
Cosmic Comix, an exhibition by acclaimed Texas artist Lee Baxter Davis. Filled with intricate drawings, imaginative narratives, and playful details, Davis’s work invites viewers to slow down, explore, and uncover stories within every composition.Longview Museum of Fine Art. lmfa.org
SEPTEMBER 3-6
SEPTEMBER 4-5
First Monday Trade Days. Canton. Explore the World’s Largest Flea Market. firstmondaycanton.com
Ike’s History Fest. Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site, Denison. thc.texas. gov/historic-sites/eisenhower-birthplace
SEPTEMBER 5-OCTOBER 31
SEPTEMBER 4 - OCTOBER 30
SEPTEMBER 4-6 & 11-13
San Jacinto Music Series. Rockwall. Downtown. Live Music. www.rockwall. com/mainstreet_music.asp
Downtown Live. Longview. Friday Night. Free Concert. 5-8 p.m. visitlongviewtexas.com/258/downtown-live
The Cottage. Greenville Theatre Works. GMA. 7:30 p.m. gmalive.org/events SEPTEMBER 5 Hatch Chili Fest 2026. Paris. Fiesta at the Paris farmers and artisan market. 8 a.m.1 p.m. visitparistexas.com East Texas Songwriters: Kevin Tinney, Chris Rasco, Cole Allen, and Zach Maberry. Winnsboro. Winnsboro Center for the Arts. 7:30 p.m. winnsborocenterforthearts.com Water Lantern Festival. Plano. Haggard Park, events.visitplano.com/event/waterlantern-festival-2026 Wesley Pruitt in concert. Ben WheelerMoore’s Store. mooresstore.com/home. html SEPTEMBER 10 Book talk and Q & A. with best selling author, Emma C. Wells. We Already Dug the Grave. Dallas. Bishop Arts District. Whose Books. whosebooks.com
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SEPTEMBER 11 Neal McCoy in Concert. Whitehouse. Blackhawkcreekgrill. 7 p.m. blackhawkcreekgrill.com/live-music Cody Paul in Concert. Ben Wheeler. Moore’s Store. http://www.mooresstore. com/home.html SEPTEMBER 11-12 Paris Balloon and Music Festival. Paris. parisballoonandmusicfestival.com Old Town Rig Down. Nacogdoches. Downtown Tracy Lawrence in concert. oldtownrigdown.com SEPTEMBER 11-27 Dallas Theater Center (DTC) presents the world premiere of Reykjavik86. Dallas. Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. dallastheatercenter.org
The world premier of Reykjavik86 will run September 11-27 at the Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Set during one of the most consequential meetings of the Cold War, Reykjavik86 brings Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev face-to-face at a moment when the threat of nuclear conflict looms over the world. Courtesy photo.
SEPTEMBER 12 Salsa on the Square. Paris. Fiesta sounds and flavors spotlighting Hispanic and Latino culture. 7-10 p.m. visitparistexas. com Earth, Wind, & Fire Tribute Band. Lufkin. Pines Theater. angelinaarts.org Rhythm and Rails Music Festival. Denison. Downtown. facebook.com/downtowndenisoninc Fleetwood Journey in Concert. Corsi-
cana. The Palace Theatre. Tribute band celebrating the music of Fleetwood Mac and Journey. corsicanapalace.com Music’s Transformative Power. Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Music. 7:30 9:30 p.m. mountvernonmusic.org SEPT. 16 - OCTOBER 18
Cotton Patch Challenge Bicycle Rally. Greenville. cottonpatchchallenge.com Arts Festival. Lucy Kidd-Key Park, Sherman. scptheater.org Midtown Playboys. Ben Wheeler. Moore’s Store. mooresstore.com/home. html
Shakespeare Dallas presents Titus Andronicus. Dallas. Samuel Grand Amphitheater. Th-Sun 8:00 p.m. shakespearedallas.org
Texas Songwriters on the Rise. Longview. LMFA. lmfa.org
SEPT. 17-20
Tracy Byrd in concert. Corsicana. The Palace Theatre. corsicanapalace.com
Balloon Festival. Plano. Oak Point Park / Red Tail Pavilion Plano. shows.events. visitplano.com/event/2026-plano-balloon-festival
SEPTEMBER 24
SEPTEMBER 25 The Music of John Williams. Greenville. GMA. gmalive.com/events
SEPTEMBER 18
SEPTEMBER 25- OCTOBER 4
Mark Chesnutt in Concert. Whitehouse. Blackhawkcreekgrill. 7 p.m. blackhawkcreekgrill.com/live-music
East Texas State Fair. Tyler. etstatefair. com
SEPTEMBER 19 Iron Horse Heritage Days. Mineola. mineolachamber.org Lee Street Jamboree. Greenville. 4-9p.m. Free admission featuring Randall King in concert. greenvilletx.gov/jamboree
SEPTEMBER 25- OCTOBER 18 State Fair of Texas. Dallas. bigtex.com SEPTEMBER 25- 26 Bois D’arc Bash. Commerce. George Strait Tribute Band in concert Sat. at 8:30 p.m. commerce-chamber.com/bash continued page 36
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EVENTS continued from page 35 Winnsboro Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering. Concerts & Swing Dance. Winnsboro. winnsborocenterforthearts. com/cowboy-music-and-poetry-gathering/Con SEPTEMBER 25- 27 Oktoberfest. McKinney. mckinneytexas. org SEPTEMBER 26 Farming Heritage Day. Bonham. Sam Rayburn Historic Site, https://thc.texas. gov/historic-sites/sam-rayburn-house Indian Summer Days & Dutch Oven Cook-Off. Sulphur Springs. Hopkinsmuseum.org A Wine Dinner Experience. Palestine. Queen St. Grille. 6 p.m. visitpalestine. com Masterpieces & Martinis Gala. Longview. LMFA. lmfa.org OCTOBER 1-4 First Monday Trade Days. Canton. Explore the World’s Largest Flea Market. firstmondaycanton.com OCTOBER 2 Easton Corbin in Concert. Whitehouse. Blackhawkcreekgrill. 7 p.m blackhawkcreekgrill.com/live-music
Traditional German dancers perform during McKinney Oktoberfest, celebrating the music and culture of Germany. Courtesy photo.
OCTOBER 3 Great Pumpkin Roll. Longview. visitlongviewtexas.com Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Terrell Downtown. Celebrates its history as a hub of transportation firsts. discoverterrell.com. Montalba Music Festival. Palestine. Wesley Pruitt Band. 8 p.m. visitpalestine.com The Wall Experience. Greenville. GMA. An immersive theatrical recreation of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. gmalive.org/ events OCTOBER 3-25 Autumn Trails. Winnsboro. Actvities throughout the month of October. winnsboroautumntrails.com 36 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
OCTOBER 7-10 Fannin County Fair. Bonham. The Fannin County Fair Grounds. fannincountyfair.net OCTOBER 10 - FEBRUARY 7 Waltz Across Texas, an exhibition of oil paintings by Gail Wendorf. Longview. LMFA. Inspired by the historic dance halls that have served as gathering places, cultural landmarks, and centers of community across the Lone Star State. lmfa. org OCTOBER 10 Darrell Scott. Winnsboro. The Bowery Stage. 7:30 p.m. winnsborocenterforthearts.com Kilgore Oktoberfest. Kilgore. Downtown. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. visitkilgore.com
Main Street Uncorked. Sulphur Springs. 1 – 7 p.m. uncorkedsstx.org Fire Ant Festival. Marshall. marshalltexas.com/fireant-festival 80’s Kids. Greenville. GMA 7:30 p.m. gmalive.org/events Aaron Watson in Concert. Whitehouse. Blackhawkcreekgrill. 7 p.m blackhawkcreekgrill.com/live-music OCTOBER 10-11 Edom Art Festival. Edom. 54th celebration with art, wine, music and food trucks. edomarts.com OCTOBER 11 One Night in Memphis. Greenville. GMA. 7:30 pm. Tribute to Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. gmalive.org/events
OCTOBER 20-24 Sweet Potato Festival. Golden. goldensweetpotatofestival.org OCTOBER 22 East Texas Oilman’s Chili Cook-off. Kilgore. visitkilgore.com OCTOBER 23 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Athens. TVCC. 6 - 8 p.m. Purchase tickets in advance. Tickets on sale soon. tvcc.edu The Bellamy Brothers in Concert. Whitehouse. Blackhawkcreekgrill. 7 p.m blackhawkcreekgrill.com/live-music ABOVE: A past Texas Rose Festival queen is crowned during one of Tyler’s most treasured and long-standing traditions. Courtesy photo. BELOW: A contestant takes careful aim during Longview’s annual Great Pumpkin Roll. Photo by James French.
OCTOBER 14-17
Piney Woods Wine Trail Festival. Lindale. visitlindale.com
East Texas Yamboree. Gilmer. yamboree. com
OCTOBER 17
OCTOBER 15-18
Van Oil Festival. Van. Van City Park. vanareachamber.com
OCTOBER 23-25 SFA Homecoming. Nacogdoches. visitnacogdoches.org OCTOBER 24 Crossroads of Texas Country Festival. Waxahachie. 9 a.m – 7 p.m. texascountryfestival.com
OCTOBER 15-22
Brunch and Conversation with artist Brenda Bogart. Longview. LMFA. 10:30 a.m. lmfa.org
TVCC Family Day and Homecoming Tailgate. Athens. Bruce Field from Noon to 2:00 p.m. Stay to watch the Cardinals take on Blinn College at 2 pm. tvcc.edu
Hopkins County Fall Festival. Sulphur Springs. visitsulphurspringstx.org
Tobaccodoches Cigar Festival. Nacogdoches. visitnacogdoches.org
Hopkins County Stew Contest. Sulphur Springs. sulphursprings-tx.com
OCTOBER 16-17
Jazz on the Prairie. Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Music.. 6:30-8:30 p.m. mountvernonmusic.org
OCTOBER 24-25
Texas Rose Festival. Tyler. texasrosefestival.org
Athens Jamburgeree. Athens. Neal McCoy in Concert. athenstxchamber.org/ jamburgeree
Hollis Brown in Concert. Longview. LMFA. 6:30 p.m. lmfa.org
Fall Feral Hog Festival. Ben Wheeler. ben wheelertx.com OCTOBER 30 TVCC Trunk or Treat. Athens. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Horseshoe Parking Lot TVCC campus. tvcc.edu The Magic of Four Hands at the Piano. Greenville. GMA. 7:30 p.m. The music of Disney. gmalive.org/events OCTOBER 30-31 Hot Pepper Festival. Palestine. visitpalestine.com NOVEMBER 6-7 Winnsboro Art & Wine Festival. Winnsboro. winnsboroartandwinefestival.com Bob Wills Fiddle Festival & Contest. Greenville. bobwillsfest.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 37
PERSON OF THE REGION | SHELLEY BROOKINS
A Reason to Bee Happy
Creating a place to work, grow and belong in Historic Kaufman Downtown Square
ABOVE: Bee Happy Day Program participants take part in activities to further social skills and foster belonging and independence. Photo by Jason Bowie OPPOSITE: Brookins and Meghan prepare for a shift at The Hive Creamery, making sure the checkout and payment systems are ready for customers. Courtesy photo.
By Sharon Harper There are moments at Bee Happy that founder Shelley Brookins measures differently than most people might. A first job. A new friendship. Someone finding the confidence to speak up. A belly laugh from someone she has known for years but has never heard laugh quite like that before. At Bee Happy, a Kaufman nonprofit serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, those moments are signs of something bigger: belonging, independence and the chance to be part of a community. That mission extends into historic downtown Kaufman through The Hive Creamery, an ice cream shop created by Bee Happy to provide opportunities for adults with special needs to work, volunteer and interact with the community. The night before The Hive opens, 38 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
Brookins gathers the families and employees for a practice run. Katrina, a woman in her 40s, is preparing to begin her first job. Overcome by the moment, she starts to cry. “Thank you,” she tells Brookins. “Thank you for giving me this job. Thank you for giving me this place.” Brookins still remembers what those words do to her. For many people, she says, getting a job is simply getting another job. For Katrina, it is a first. “That’s success to me,” Brookins says. It is the kind of success Brookins never imagined she would be measuring. What begins when she discovers a need she never knew existed grows into the Bee Happy Day Program, where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities find friendship, activities, personal growth and pre-vocational training.
The Hive becomes another piece of that mission, taking those opportunities beyond the day program and into the heart of the community. None of it is the life Brookins originally plans for herself. It begins with a man named Richie. Richie is 36 and has intellectual and developmental disabilities when Brookins and her family are asked to take him to church. As they get to know him, he talks about wanting to attend a day program. Brookins starts making calls. What she discovers changes the direction of her life. There is no local program that meets Richie’s needs, she says, and his access to state-supported services is still years away. As Brookins digs deeper, she begins asking a larger question: What happens to adults with developmental disabilities in communities after they leave the public school system?
For many families, she learns, the answer is not much. Parents may leave jobs to stay home. Adults who spent years developing social and life skills in school can suddenly find themselves isolated, without the same opportunities to interact with friends or participate in their communities. “I was going on with my life, working on my master’s in counseling,” Brookins says. “And I felt the calling to be a solution to his problem.” She begins talking to people throughout the community, asking if they understand what happens when these young adults age out of school services. She re-
searches. She raises money. A nonprofit is formed. In 2022, Bee Happy opens its doors. At first, Brookins sometimes wonders why she is the person doing it. She is not a retired special education teacher. She does not have a child with special needs. Her plan is to earn a master’s degree in counseling and eventually counsel women. “I can remember walking with my daughter and being like, ‘I don’t know why I was chosen for this,’” she says. “I couldn’t sleep. It literally was a calling on my life.” Then life provides an answer she never expects. Brookins’ second granddaugh-
ter, Delilah, is born with Down syndrome. The mission that begins with Richie suddenly becomes deeply personal. “Okay, now Nana’s on the case,” Brookins remembers thinking. Bee Happy is still for Richie and all the adults and families Brookins has come to know. But now it is also about Delilah’s future. “It got my voice louder,” she says. Looking backward, Brookins can see pieces of her life that seem to have prepared her for work she never anticipates doing. continued page 40
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PERSON OF THE REGION | SHELLEY BROOKINS Bee Happy continued from page 39 She finishes that master’s degree in counseling. Although she does not practice in the way she once envisioned, the training comes into play every day as she works with individuals and their families. Years spent in corporate management and logistics prove useful as Bee Happy grows. Even raising six children provides its own kind of preparation. She laughs about being a “chaos coordinator” both at home and at Bee Happy. Mostly, though, Brookins is an encourager. Instead of beginning with what someone cannot do, she and the Bee Happy staff ask another question: How can they? Participants take karate. They go skiing. They develop friendships and learn new skills. Staff members talk to them about goals and dreams, then look for ways to make those dreams possible. “What has surprised me the most is the growth we’re seeing in our individuals as we empower them and as we take down the walls that the world has put on them,” Brookins says. Sometimes that growth is obvious. Sometimes it takes years. One participant arrives quiet and reserved and gradually becomes far more vocal. His mother jokingly blames Bee Happy for teaching her son to be loud. Another man has been with the program for about three and a half years when Brookins hears something new one day—a full belly laugh. For someone else, it might be an ordinary sound. For Brookins, it is a milestone. “That was a huge success,” she says. As the day program grows, Brookins begins noticing something else. Many of the adults want to work, but opportunities are limited. So she starts thinking again. Bee Happy’s day program closes at 3 p.m. What if the same space could become something else afterward? Something Kaufman needs. Something that
could create jobs while bringing people from the community through the doors. The answer is ice cream. The Hive Creamery is born. Brookins does not want to simply serve packaged ice cream. If they are going to do it, she wants it to be good. They learn to make homemade ice cream on site, and The Hive becomes both a sweet stop in Kaufman and a public-facing extension of Bee Happy’s mission. The creamery provides employment and volunteer opportunities for adults with special needs, including people receiving their first paychecks. There is Gunner, whose famously generous servings become known around the shop as the “Gunner scoop.” There is Katrina, happily working the register and serving customers after waiting decades for her first job. Brookins’ favorite flavor is banana pudding, originally planned as a seasonal offering until customers make it clear it needs a permanent spot on the menu. Yet the most important thing served at The Hive may have little to do with ice cream. It is visibility. Customers walk through the door because they search online for ice cream. Then they notice the photographs on the walls. They meet the people working behind the counter. They learn why the creamery exists. “They walk in and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is more than that,’” Brookins says. For visitors, The Hive is also one more reason to linger in historic downtown Kaufman. The Kaufman County seat has the kind of courthouse square that invites a slower pace, with local shops, restaurants and small-town character surrounding the heart of the community. A stop for a scoop of homemade ice cream fits easily into an afternoon spent exploring downtown, but a visit to The Hive comes with something extra. Travelers may walk through the door looking for a sweet treat and leave knowing
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a little more about the people who call Kaufman home. That interaction matters because Brookins believes adults with developmental disabilities are too often forgotten once they reach adulthood. Communities rally around children. Services, programs and advocacy are often built with children in mind. But children with developmental disabilities grow up. “They’re not kids anymore,” Brookins says. “But they still have the same needs.” Those needs can become more frightening as parents age. Brookins hears the worry from families: Who will care for my son or daughter when I no longer can? It is one reason her vision has grown again. The long-term goal is Bee Love Villages, an affordable, safe housing community designed to provide adults with developmental disabilities greater independence while giving families confidence that their loved ones are surrounded by people who know and care about them. The idea comes, as so many of Brookins’ ideas do, after encountering another problem. When an individual loses his housing, she tries to find an affordable and appropriate place for him to go. The options are painfully limited. “So I’m like, what do we do?” she says. Her answer is to start imagining what does not yet exist. It is the same approach that led to Bee Happy and The Hive. Brookins also hopes to bring the model to Forney, where she says the need is already evident. But she does not envision building enormous centers where families drive long distances for services. She wants programs rooted in their communities, where participants shop, work and see people they know. In Kaufman, Gunner can walk around town and people recognize him. “Gunner is Mr. Popular,” Brookins says with a laugh. That is the point. Belonging is not simply having somewhere to go during the day. It is being known. The work is not easy. Bee Happy depends heavily on volunteers and fun-
OPPOSITE PAGE TOP: The Hive Creamery in Kaufman’s Historic Downtown Square is a place where you can enjoy ice cream and help an underserved community. OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM: A Hive employee showcasing his product. ABOVE: Brookins with employees before the day’s opening of creamery. BELOW: Katrina, Bee Happy client enjoying her accomplishments. Courtesy photos.
draising. Brookins estimates eight to 10 volunteers regularly assist with programs, training and fundraising efforts. And there are days when the weight of keeping everything moving feels enormous. Has she ever thought about quitting? “All the time,” she admits. But then she looks at the photographs hanging inside The Hive. She sees the faces of the people depending on the mission. She watches an employee proudly serve a customer. Someone accomplishes something that once seemed out of reach. And she keeps going.
She did not begin Bee Happy because she had all the answers. She began because Richie needed somewhere to go. Ask Brookins what brings her joy, and for a moment she struggles with the answer. Then it comes. Seeing other people happy. A customer who loves the mission. An adult proud of the work they have done. One of her children having a good day. Someone walking through the doors and realizing they have found a place where they belong. Maybe, after all, the name says it best. Bee Happy.
Brookins hopes her story encourages communities to support organizations serving adults with developmental disabilities. She hopes younger generations grow up understanding inclusion so they become employers, community leaders and voters who recognize the needs of this population. But she also hopes there is something more personal in her story for anyone who has felt called toward something for which they did not feel qualified. “If she can do it, so can I,” is what Brookins hopes someone thinks after hearing her story. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 41
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LITERARY| READING READINESS
Through its K-16 Literacy Center, part of the university’s School of Education, UT Tyler works to strengthen literacy from a child’s earliest years through college. The center partners with educators and school districts, but some of its work begins with an even more fundamental partnership, the one between a young child and a parent or caregiver. The Parent-Powered Literacy Project grew from that understanding. Rather than waiting until children arrive at school to begin thinking about reading readiness, the program helps parents recognize the learning already taking place during the first years of life and gives them practical ways to encourage it. That might mean reading together, but literacy at that age is about much more than books. Conversation matters. Songs matter. Asking a child what he or she sees matters. So does listening to an answer, even when it takes a while to get there. “Neuroscience research highlights the critical role of early brain development, especially during infancy and early childhood,” said Dr. Kouider Mokhtari, UT Tyler Anderson-Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor and director of the K-16 Literacy Center. “Enriched home environments, quality caregiving and educational stimulation significantly impact young children’s developmental learning outcomes.”
ABOVE & OPPOSITE: Paz Torres reads with her two children and explores books provided through The University of Texas at Tyler’s Parent-Powered Literacy Project, which helps families build early language and literacy skills at home. Photos courtesy of Paz Torres.
A Love of Reading Starts at Home By Sharon Harper A child’s first library may be a small stack of books beside the bed. The first storyteller may be a parent making funny voices while reading a picture book. The first lesson in vocabulary might happen in the grocery store, on a walk through the neighborhood or while pointing out cows from the back seat on an East Texas country road.
Long before children learn that reading is something they do at school, they are learning about words, sounds, stories and conversation from the people around them. At The University of Texas at Tyler, that simple idea is helping shape an approach to literacy that reaches beyond classrooms and into homes and communities across East Texas.
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It sounds scientific, and it is. But in a family’s daily life, those enriched environments can look wonderfully ordinary. A trip to the grocery store provides new words. Cooking together introduces measurements, sequences and instructions. A walk outside brings questions about bugs, birds, trees and clouds. Nursery rhymes introduce rhythm and sounds. Family stories teach children how one event follows another. And, of course, there are books. Through the Parent-Powered Literacy Project, families receive children’s books along with resources and guidance designed to help parents support early language and literacy development at home. The goal isn’t to turn the kitchen table into a classroom. It is to
help adults recognize opportunities for learning that are already there. Parents can sometimes feel pressure to prepare a child for school by recreating school at home. Early literacy can be much more natural than that. A child curled up beside a grandparent listening to the same story for the fifth night in a row is learning. So is the preschooler who wants to stop on every page to ask a question. Even that request parents and grandparents know so well — Read it again — has value. The work also reflects something larger about literacy itself. Learning to read opens the door to nearly everything that follows. Books eventually become history lessons and science experiments, instruction manuals and road signs, novels and newspapers. Reading gives children a way to learn independently, explore ideas and understand lives and places beyond their own. UT Tyler’s literacy work recognizes that schools do not build that foundation alone. Families, educators, universities
and communities all have a place in it. Partnerships with East Texas school districts, including Chapel Hill and Longview ISDs, allow that work to move beyond the university campus and into the communities the K-16 Literacy Center serves. Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, director of early childhood and K-2 parent engagement at Longview ISD, describes the ParentPowered Literacy Project as a way of equipping parents to create stronger language and literacy environments at home while helping prepare children for school. Helping a child become a reader doesn’t require knowing all the right answers. It begins with talking and listening. With noticing what captures a child’s curiosity. With keeping books within reach and making time for stories. Across East Texas, those moments happen every day. They happen in living rooms and kitchens, in pickup lines and rocking chairs, at grandparents’ houses and around family dinner tables. They may not look like reading lessons. But that is often where readers begin.
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LITERARY| POETRY
Photo by Kim Hunt
The Season of Dusk
Pretty Tears
Rocking back and forth on the front porch in my grandfather’s old rocking chair, I notice how the motion keeps in perfect rhythm with the beating of my heart. Time and the elements have caused the paint to chip away, making it appear so much older and fragile on the outside than it is, only I know it is still resilient.
Those sure are pretty tears as strange as that sounds ‘cause they come from a pure heart in a blue night gown
A small white feather catches my eye as it floats down from a nest in the old oak tree, spiraling as it falls; dancing, like a delicate waltz carried in the wind. The fog has risen from the warmth of the earth on this cool, crisp morning and I know that soon the new season will bring grayer days to The Season of Light. Lush green trees have slowly traded their foliage for an array of glorious warm colors as Nature assumes its command of each season changing beyond our control. This season, The Season of Dusk, reminds me that soon after another season follow that will bring even more changes with its darkness and cold north winds. I pull my sweater tighter around me as I feel a chill from a cool breeze as it sweeps through the trees and causes the dangling leaves to fall and blow across the yard. These old bones will start to creak a little louder with each passing day, but I welcome this time because it will be full of memories to be made and stories to be told. I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I imagine how the years have gone by so quickly and how loved ones have also traveled through these seasons with me. I daydream of the smell of holiday food as it drifts from the kitchen to a table full of loved ones busy with conversation amid the mischievousness laughter of children. In every season, new memories are born as past ones become priceless. This is the season, The Season of Dusk.
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I don’t recommend them to you or anyone else but those sure are pretty tears if I do say so myself I’d rather see you smiling at one of my corny jokes than to see you crying with your world up in smoke But to tell you the truth I wouldn’t change your ways ‘cause there’s a sweet deepness in your teardrops today I don’t recommend them to you or anyone else but those sure are pretty tears if I do say so myself Darrell Lindsey Nacogdoches
SUBMIT YOUR POEM or SHORT STORY for possible inclusion in a future Upper East Side Texas Magazine editor@uppereastsidetx.com
Toni Stratton Lindale
LITERARY| BOOK REVIEW The Grandmother of Juneteenth
OPAL LEE A Committee of One How Faith + Action = A PurposeFULL Life By Opal Lee, with Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts Foreword by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize Winner/1619 Project There are memoirs that recount a life, and there are memoirs that invite readers to live with greater purpose. A Committee of One: How Faith + Action = A PurposeFULL Life accomplishes both. Published as Marshall, Texas, native Opal Lee celebrates her 100th birthday, this deeply personal memoir offers something more than the familiar story of the woman known around the world as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” It reveals the principles that shaped her remarkable life: unwavering faith, quiet perseverance, compassion for others, and the conviction that one person truly can make a difference. Many readers know Opal Lee for her campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. They know about the hundreds of miles she walked to bring national attention to the cause and the historic day in 2021 when she stood beside President Joe Biden as he signed the legislation into law. But A Committee of One reminds us that those accomplishments were the culmination of decades spent serving her community long before the cameras arrived. Lee reflects on a life marked by both hardship and hope. She writes candidly about childhood trauma, including the racist attack that destroyed her family’s home in Fort Worth, personal disappointments, and the many challenges she faced as an educator, mother, and community leader. Yet these experiences never become stories of bitterness. Instead, each chapter becomes a lesson in resilience, forgiveness, and purpose. The book is organized around practical life lessons rather than a strictly chronological biography. Lee encourages readers to serve where they are, care for their neighbors, remain steadfast during adversity, and recognize that meaningful change often begins with one individual willing to act. The title itself captures her philosophy: sometimes the most effective committee is simply one person who refuses to give up. During their interviews, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts, a New York Times bestselling author and experienced literary collaborator, skillfully helps preserve Opal Lee’s conversational warmth. Reading the book feels much like sitting across the table from Ms. Opal herself, listening as she shares stories, laughs gently at life’s surprises, and offers wisdom earned through a century of experience. Her words never feel preachy or self-congratulatory. Instead, they reflect humility and gratitude, qualities that have long defined her public life. Nikole Hannah-Jones’ foreword provides thoughtful context, placing Lee’s achievements within the broader story of American
history while celebrating the extraordinary impact of one determined citizen. Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project and a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. The forward serves as an appropriate introduction to a memoir centered not on fame, but on faithful service. Perhaps the greatest strength of A Committee of One is that it challenges readers to ask themselves a simple question: What can I do? Opal Lee never suggests that changing the world requires wealth, power, or political influence. Instead, she demonstrates that lasting change begins with consistency, kindness and the courage to keep walking, even when the destination seems impossibly far away. In an era often defined by division and discouragement, Opal Lee offers a refreshing reminder that hope is not passive. Hope is action. Hope is service. Hope is believing that one person, guided by faith and purpose, can inspire a nation. A Committee of One is more than a memoir; it is a guide for purposeful living. Readers will come away inspired not only by Opal Lee’s extraordinary journey, but also by the realization that each of us has the ability, and the responsibility, to leave our own community better than we found it. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPERSIDETX.COM • 47
WELLNESS | PEPTIDES
What’s All the Talk About Peptides? From weight management to recovery and healthy aging, peptides are becoming part of wellness conversations. But what are they, and what should you know before considering them? By Lindsey Lasko Wellness trends have a way of finding their way into everyday conversation. A treatment that was once discussed mostly in medical offices or research circles suddenly comes up over lunch, at the gym or during a conversation with friends. Lately, peptides are having that kind of moment. Interest has grown alongside the popularity of medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, which have brought new attention to the role certain peptide-based medications can play in the body. But the world of peptides extends well beyond weight management, and that has more people asking questions about their possible roles in wellness, recovery and healthy aging. So, what exactly is a peptide? In simple terms, peptides are short chains of amino acids, the same building blocks that make up proteins. The body naturally produces many peptides, where they act as messengers involved in a wide range of biological processes. Some are involved in regulating hormones and metabolism, while others play roles in immune response and other functions throughout the body. The growing wellness conversation centers on whether certain peptides or peptide-based medications can be used to influence some of those processes. Weight management is probably the most familiar example. GLP-1 medications have changed the conversation surrounding obesity and metabolic health. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are now familiar names to many people, with FDA-approved formulations available for specific medical uses, including Type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management. 48 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
Beyond weight management, interest in peptides has expanded into conversations about sleep, recovery, body composition, skin and hair health and healthy aging. You may hear names such as sermorelin, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, BPC-157 or GHK-Cu as you read or hear about peptide therapy. NAD+ also frequently appears in the same wellness conversations, although it is not itself a peptide. This is where the subject becomes a little more complicated. Not every product commonly discussed under the broad umbrella of “peptide therapy” has the same level of scientific evidence, regulatory approval or established medical use. Research into some compounds is ongoing, while others remain experimental or are not FDA-approved for treating particular conditions. That distinction can easily get lost in the enthusiasm surrounding a new wellness trend. Perhaps one reason peptides have attracted so much attention is that the larger conversation about wellness itself is changing. Increasingly, people aren’t only asking what to do when something
goes wrong. They are asking questions about sleep, energy, strength, metabolism and how they can continue feeling well as they grow older. Those are worthwhile conversations, but they also call for realistic expectations. Peptide therapy isn’t a substitute for the things we already know contribute to good health: nutritious food, regular movement, adequate sleep, stress management and appropriate medical care. Nor is every peptide appropriate for every person. Age, medical history, medications and individual health concerns all matter. If you are curious about peptide therapy, a good first step is a consultation with a licensed health care provider who can review your medical history, current medications and overall health goals. That conversation can help determine whether a particular therapy is appropriate and provide an opportunity to separate what is supported by medical evidence from what may simply be the latest wellness claim. From there, questions may be more valuable than promises. What exactly is being recommended? Is it FDA-
approved for the proposed use? What research supports it? What are the possible side effects or risks? Where does the medication come from? And who will be monitoring its use? Those questions are especially important in a wellness marketplace where information travels quickly through social media and the latest health trend can become a household name almost overnight. There is genuine and growing scientific interest in the way peptides function in the human body, and research continues to explore their potential applications. That makes them worth learning about. It doesn’t mean every claim made about them has been proven. For now, peptides are another example of how rapidly the worlds of medicine, science and wellness are changing. Staying curious is a good thing. Staying informed may be even better. Lindsey Lasko is the owner of LL Aesthetics in Sherman, Texas, where she works in aesthetics and medically supervised wellness services. llaestheticstx.com ABOVE AND OPPOSITE PAGE: Photos Courtesy of LL Aesthetics.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 49
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On the Brick Streets 124 N. Fourth St. Wills Point (903) 873-4546 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 51
ABOVE: Blase Family Farm welcomes families from across the Upper East Side of Texas to their pumpkin patch. Courtesy Photo. OPPOSITE: Flat Cozy Antiques offers customers a wonderful selection of pumpkin varities. Courtesy Photo.
Where Fall Memories Grow
At family-owned pumpkin patches across the Upper East Side of Texas, pumpkins may be what bring families through the gate, but the experiences they share are what keep them coming back. By Sharon Harper There is, of course, the pumpkins. Finding just the right one is part of fall. It might be perfectly round and orange, tall and crooked, white or green, or just small enough for a child to carry proudly back to the car. But spend a little time talking with the families behind some of the Upper East Side of Texas’ pumpkin patches and it becomes clear that pumpkins are only part of the story. What these families really seem interested in growing are memories. At farms from Rockwall to Wills Point and from Terrell to Greenville, owners talk less about attractions and more about experiences. They want children to feed an animal, run through the woods, ride behind a tractor, pick a pumpkin
from a field or catch a fish for the first time. They want families to spend an afternoon together outside, away from electronics and the routines that seem to fill almost every minute of modern life. Perhaps most telling is that no two places do it exactly alike. At Blase Family Farm in Rockwall, that experience unfolds beneath trees that could easily have disappeared as the surrounding community grew. The family has preserved 22 wooded acres tucked into a residential area of Rockwall, one of the fastest-growing communities in the Upper East Side of Texas. Rather than seeing the property cleared for another development, the Blase family maintains it as a working farm and a natural place for people to gather.
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During pumpkin season, children can visit animals in the petting zoo, find their way through a child-sized hay maze, take a hayride through the trees and walk a wooded trail telling the story of Spookley the Square Pumpkin. School field trips are also part of the season, giving children an opportunity to learn and explore outside the classroom. It feels surprisingly removed from the city growing around it, and that may be part of its charm. There are rocks, roots, hills and uneven ground because this is not a paved attraction made to look like the outdoors. It is the outdoors. The 2026 pumpkin season runs Sept. 19Nov. 1, with visits by reservation. Admission is $12 per person, with children age 1 and younger free. continued page 54
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Pumpkins continued from page 52
ABOVE: The hay maze at Blase Family Farm. Courtesy photo Blase Family Farm. BELOW: Pumpkins fill the outdoor pavilion at Flat Cozy. Courtesy photo Flat Cozy. OPPOSITE: Families at Walls Family Farm enjoy a hayride to the pumpkin patch, where children show off the prize pumpkins they selected from the field. Courtesy photo Walls Family Farm.
For current hours, reservations and additional information, visit blasefamilyfarm.com or follow Blase Family Farm on Facebook. A little farther east, Flat Cozy Antiques and Farm outside Wills Point offers a completely different fall experience, and its pumpkin tradition began almost by accident. The owners opened Flat Cozy in 2019, and the original idea was simply to decorate the front porch with pumpkins. Then the owner’s husband found a pumpkin supplier, the same source used by the Dallas Arboretum, and announced that he was ordering an 18-wheeler load. A porch decoration suddenly became a pumpkin business. Today, families find pumpkins and gourds in an assortment of colors, shapes and sizes spread around the rustic property, creating natural places for fall photographs. Some families return every year specifically during pumpkin season and have photographed their children 54 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
there season after season. But one of Flat Cozy’s most memorable offerings does not involve a pumpkin at all. There is a stocked fishing pond on the property. At first, families simply came by to feed the fish. Then the owners began realizing how many children had never caught one. So during pumpkin season, when he is available, the owner opens the pond to children who want to fish. It is catch and release, and adults leave the fishing to the kids. The pond is intentionally well stocked, too. The idea is not to have a child spend an afternoon staring unhappily at a bobber. They want that first fish to bite. It is a small thing until you think about the number of children growing up without easy access to a pond or creek. For one child, a visit to pick out a pumpkin might also become the day he or she catches a first fish. Flat Cozy Antiques and Farm is located along U.S. Highway 80 between Wills Point and Edgewood. For current pumpkin availability, hours and other information, visit flatcozyantiques.com. At Walls Family Farm, between Terrell and Quinlan, family is woven into almost everything. Dale and Marilyn Walls purchased the property in 1964. Dale was an electrical engineer and Marilyn a third-grade teacher, but both had grown up in small rural communities. They wanted a way for people to get out of the city, and eventually the family began selling chooseand-cut Christmas trees in 1976. What began as something Dale jokingly considered his version of a golf game became a family tradition. Their son Winston later returned to help continue it. After spending a year working with orphans in Russia, he came home with an even greater appreciation for the difference family interaction can make in a child’s life. He began thinking about how the farm could give parents and children a place to spend time together outside what he calls the “concrete jungle.” Today, Winston and his wife, Melody, continued page 56 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 55
ABOVE: A fall sunset creates a picture-perfect backdrop among the sunflowers at Walls Family Farm’s sunflower maze. Courtesy photo Walls Family Farm. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE: A train ride winds through the pumpkins at Kadee Farm in Greenville; pumpkins are plentiful and ready for picking at Kadee Farm’s pumpkin patch. Courtesy photo Kadee Farm. A young visitor enjoys the pumpkins and fall festivities at Walls Family Farm in Terrell. Courtesy photo Walls Family Farm.
Pumpkins continued from page 55 have nine children of their own, and generations of the Walls family have worked on the property. During the fall, visiting children have plenty of room to do what children do best: play. There is a large playground, a jumping pillow, swings and tire swings, tricycles big enough for parents to race their children, tetherball, duck races, tug of war and other games. A sunflower maze adds another place to explore. The family continues adding activities, not simply to make the farm bigger, but to give visitors something to discover throughout their time there. Safety is part of the design. Fencing surrounds the children’s activity areas, allowing youngsters some freedom to run while giving parents and teachers a little room to relax. That consideration comes naturally in a family filled with educators. Winston’s mother, sister and grandmother all worked as teachers. There is an educational side, too. Hayrides can include lessons about pumpkins, agriculture and what grows on the
farm. Walls Family Farm has about 100 acres of producing pecan trees, and in years past also grew peaches and blackberries commercially. The family grows its own pumpkins whenever the weather cooperates, including different cultivars that give children a chance to see that pumpkins extend well beyond the familiar orange jack-o’-lantern. At the end of the hayride, children head to the patch, choose their own pumpkin and write their name on it. Then, Winston says, they are usually more than ready to take off for the play area. The Walls family has watched some visitors return for decades. Years ago, Winston painted an old tractor and invited anyone who had been visiting for more than 10 years to sign it. Before long, virtually every available space was covered with names. Some visitors returned the following year and simply added another year beside their signatures. That tradition meant a great deal to Marilyn Walls. Near the end of her life, she repeatedly asked her son to promise that he would keep the farm going. She knew families who had first brought their children were returning years later with
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grandchildren of their own. Winston made the promise. It also explains why he says a family farm like theirs needs a reason bigger than money. “If you’re doing it for the money, you’re going to go do something else,” he says. The work lasts far beyond the few weeks visitors see each fall. For the Walls family, the reward comes from watching families spend time together and seeing the difference that kind of attention and connection can make in children’s lives. For current fall dates, hours and activities, visit Walls Family Farm on Facebook. Near Greenville, Kadee Farm has built another family tradition around getting children outside and onto the farm. Its annual Pumpkin Patch returns Sept. 26-Nov. 1 this year, bringing families to the property for the kind of uncomplicated outdoor fun that is at the heart of these family-owned farms. Children can climb aboard a train ride, visit the animal barn, explore a corn maze, play on the playground, jump in
the hay and dig into a corn pit. There is even a pumpkin water race. Pumpkins come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors, and photo settings around the property give families a chance to document another fall together. Kadee Farm’s 2026 Pumpkin Patch is open Fridays from 4-7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sundays from 1-6 p.m., Sept. 26-Nov. 1. For current information, visit kadeefarm.com or follow Kadee Farm on Facebook. Together, these four places make an interesting case for the family-owned pumpkin patch. At one, a child walks through preserved woods in the middle of rapidly growing Rockwall. At another, that child might catch a first fish. At Walls Family Farm, there is room to race Mom or Dad on a tricycle, pick a pumpkin from the field and then run off to play. At Kadee Farm, a train ride, animals, corn maze and other activities give children another opportunity to experience a little bit of farm life. They are also relatively simple experiences, which may be part of why families love them. There is no screen required to catch a fish. No app is needed for a hayride. A child does not need instructions for exploring a maze, feeding an animal or deciding which pumpkin is the perfect one. And behind each of those experiences is a family that spends much of the year preparing for a season that lasts only a matter of weeks. The pumpkin may be what everyone carries home.The experience is what they remember.
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INTERIOR DESIGN | FALL
Fall, Layered In
Add warmth, texture and a little of the outdoors to what you already love. By Jennifer Ross Fall decorating doesn’t have to mean packing away everything you love and starting over. In fact, some of the warmest, most inviting rooms simply layer the season into what is already there. Start by looking around your home. The colors, furniture and accessories you live with every day can become the foundation. Then add fall a layer at a time. Layer in color. Rust, amber, caramel and cream are natural choices for autumn, but don’t be afraid to add something unexpected. Here, a bold blue appears alongside traditional fall colors, while touches of green help connect everything. Repeating those colors from room to room, even in small doses, gives the home a collected feel. Layer in texture. This is where fall decorating really begins to feel cozy. Add big, fluffy throws, velvet or textured pillows and soft fabric pumpkins. Mix smooth ceramic pumpkins with chunky fabrics, natural pinecones and greenery. The contrast between hard and soft, polished and natural, makes a room more interesting. And don’t make it too perfect. Let a throw tumble across the corner of a bed or sofa. Mix round pillows with square ones. Group pumpkins of different sizes and materials. Fall should feel comfortable and lived in. Layer in nature. Before you buy another decoration, go outside. Your own yard may be full of things you can use. Interesting branches, pinecones, acorns, seed pods, dried grasses and colorful leaves can become some of the prettiest fall accents in the house. Fill a favorite continued page 60
ABOVE: A kitchen bar gets a simple fall refresh with warm autumn colors, small pumpkins, dried florals and candlelight layered into everyday pieces. Courtesy photo. OPPOSITE: Fall layers fill the living room with warmth as fabric pumpkins, pinecones, natural branches, candles and cozy textiles mingle with the room’s existing furnishings. Courtesy photo.
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Fall, Layered In continued from page 58
vase with branches for height and movement, scatter pinecones among fabric pumpkins, or tuck a little greenery into a tabletop arrangement. Natural pieces add texture and keep seasonal decorating from feeling too staged. Dried flowers are another easy choice. Their softer colors and imperfect shapes work beautifully with the warm tones of
fall, and unlike fresh flowers, they can carry you through the season. Layer in the little things. A kitchen island doesn’t need an elaborate centerpiece. Start with a wooden tray and add a vase, a few small pumpkins, greenery and a candle. Bring in a fall-colored towel, favorite mug or warm-toned dishware. Suddenly, an everyday space feels different. Finally, add the glow. Candles and warm lamplight soften a room as the days grow shorter and make all those textures and colors feel even richer.
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The best part is that there really are no rules. Shop your home. Shop your yard. Then add a few things you love. Fall decorating isn’t about changing your home. It’s about layering in the season. Jennifer Ross is owner of Sweetheart Giftery in downtown Wills Point. For more information visit Sweethearts’ facebook page. facebook.com/ SweetheartsGiftsWillsPoint BELOW: Rich rust and bold blue pillows, cozy throws and fabric and ceramic pumpkins layer autumn warmth into the bedroom, while framed seasonal art ties the fall palette together. Courtesy photo.
LIVE
Music
LIVES HERE
Big stages. Small venues. Symphony performances. Texas country concerts. Blues, Rock, acoustic nights, and hidden gems you’ll stumble upon only in the Upper East Side of Texas. From headline acts to one musician with a guitar and a story to tell, live music is everywhere across the region.
Discover performances and music listings at www.uppereastsidetx.com
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 61
FOOD | AMERICANA
Backroads, Burgers and Homecoming Queens
ABOVE: Generations of Colmesneil High School homecoming queens look out from framed photographs lining the walls at Backroads Burgers, beginning with the school’s first homecoming queen and continuing through today. OPPOSITE TOP: TA classic burger and a generous helping of crispy onion rings are among the hometown favorites served at The Burger House in Colmesneil. OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Matt Trahan, nephew of Backroads Burgers’ founder, carries on the family tradition at the Colmesneil restaurant. Photos by Beverly Gentry.
The Ultimate Nostalgic Stop in Colmesneil By Beverly Gentry Fall comes with its own traditions in small-town Texas. Friday night lights shine over football fields, homecoming mums grow bigger by the year, and former students make their way back to the places where they grew up. In Colmesneil, those memories aren’t confined to the school yearbook. Some of them have a place of honor on the walls of a favorite hometown restaurant. About three and a half hours southeast of Dallas, Colmesneil is one of those small East Texas towns that welcomes friends, family and curious travelers with the easy hospitality the region is known for. The scenic drive through some of the most beautiful forests in the Lone Star State leads to a culinary and cultural treasure: The Burger House. The Burger House is not just a place to grab a bite to eat; it is a living scrapbook of the community. Step through the front doors and your eyes are immedi-
ately drawn to walls filled with decades of cherished memories, including photographs of local Homecoming Queens dating back to the 1930s. Smiling across the dining room, the black-and-white and color portraits tell the story of generations of small-town royalty. At any time of year, the collection is a nostalgic look at Colmesneil’s past. But come fall, when football and homecoming season roll around again, the photographs seem especially at home. Across Texas, homecoming is more than a football game. It is a reason to come back, reconnect and remember. There are pep rallies and mums, class reunions and familiar faces in the stands. For locals at The Burger House, the wall of queens is something of a community family album. For travelers, it offers a glimpse into a Texas tradition that has connected generations. That deep connection to the past is no accident. The Burger House is rooted in family, built on a foundation of hir-
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ing local employees and enjoying the decades-long support of the Colmesneil community. The restaurant was founded in 1982 by Jimmy McMahon, who envisioned a family-run staple for the town. That dream became a multigenerational legacy when, in 1993, Jimmy’s sister, Virgie Trahan, purchased the restaurant and ran it for many years. Today, Virgie’s son, Matt Trahan, carries on the family tradition. Since the early 2000s, Matt has helped guide the business through changing and sometimes challenging economic times. He managed the restaurant through the COVID-19 pandemic and has served multiple generations of locals and visitors. Through it all, he has maintained the core business principles established by his uncle and then his mother. That continuity matters in a small town, particularly during a season built around coming home. The Burger House remains a gathering place for young and old, the kind of spot where someone who
left town years ago can walk through the door and find something reassuringly familiar. During football and homecoming season, when communities such as Colmesneil fill with returning alumni, families and fans, places like this become part of the tradition, too. Trahan makes guests feel welcome the moment they arrive, greeting travelers with the same warmth he’d show a lifelong neighbor. “We’ve always wanted everyone who walks through the door to feel like family,” Trahan said. Of course, a destination road trip requires destination-worthy food, and The Burger House delivers. The food honors time-tested traditions over fast-food shortcuts. Burgers are formed by hand using a secret savory recipe handed down through the generations. Then there are the onion rings. Each is hand-dipped in house-made batter and fried until crisp and golden brown. The sound of burgers hitting the flat top and fresh onion rings bubbling in the fryer are part of the experience — and for generations of customers, part of the memory. The Burger House is a reminder that some of the best travel discoveries are found along the backroads, where food and community are often inseparable. And fall may be one of the best times to go. Take the scenic drive through the East Texas pines, catch the glow of Friday night lights along the way and stop in for a burger surrounded by nearly a century of Colmesneil homecoming memories. Bring a little cash — The Burger House doesn’t take credit cards. Guests may come for the burger and onion rings, but the homecoming queens on the walls tell another story — in small-town Texas, there’s something special about coming home. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 63
FOOD | BEV’S BAKING CORNER
Ginger Peach Muffins 1 Dozen
It is still warm in Texas, but autumn is slowly making its way toward us, and there is nothing quite like that first crisp breeze to make us yearn for sweaters, socks, and all the comforts of fall. One of my favorite ways to welcome the season is to warm up the entire house with the sweet, spicy scent of something good baking in the oven. Cinnamon, ginger, almond, and vanilla fill the kitchen with the unmistakable fragrance of fall. Now, I know folks usually link peaches to lazy summer days, but dress them up with a generous pinch of ginger and warm cinnamon, and they turn right around. These Ginger Peach Muffins are a cozy treat for a crisp fall morning. Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, tie on your favorite apron, and let’s get to baking something special.
MUFFINS:
INSTRUCTIONS:
•
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
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¾ cup sugar
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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½ teaspoon ground ginger
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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½ teaspoon salt
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⅓ cup vegetable oil
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1 large egg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Add the peaches and toss to coat the peaches with the flour mixture. In a measuring cup, combine the vegetable oil, egg and then add the milk to make a total of 1 cup of liquid. Add vanilla and almond extracts after measurement. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring just to combine.
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⅓ to ½ cup milk or half-and-half (place egg and oil in a measuring cup, add milk until 1 cup liquid measurement)
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1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
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½ teaspoon almond extract
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1 ¼ cups chopped peaches (leave the skin on)
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Paper muffin liners, optional
TOPPING: •
¼ cup sugar
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¼ teaspoon cinnamon
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⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
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In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients and set aside
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Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Bake 1520 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
More delicious recipes can be found in Southern Hospitality, Texas Style AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPERSIDETX.COM • 65
More Than a Name on a Sign A Palestine park offers a place to play, walk and remember a hometown hero By Cassie Ham On any given afternoon, Steven Bennett Park looks much like a community park should. Children climb on the playground, walkers follow the nature trail and a soccer game may fill the field while families gather beneath covered picnic areas. During the warmer months, the city pool adds the familiar sounds of summer. But there is another reason to slow down when visiting this 22-acre park on the north side of Palestine. Take a moment to read the name on the sign. Steven Logan Bennett was born in Palestine in 1946. He grew up to become a U.S. Air Force captain and, at just 26 years old, made a decision in the skies over Vietnam that would cost him his life and save another. Today, his hometown remembers him with a place devoted not to war, but to life. Steven Bennett Park offers visitors a boardwalk nature trail, playground equipment, covered picnic areas, fitness stations, a basketball court and fields for soccer and other sports. The city pool at the park brings another generation of Palestine children and families to the grounds each summer. It would be easy to enjoy all of those things without ever thinking about the man whose name welcomes visitors, but his story gives the park another dimension. On June 29, 1972, Bennett was flying an OV-10 Bronco as a forward air controller near Quang Tri Province in Vietnam. Enemy troops were gathering to attack a friendly unit on the ground. Bennett requested tactical air support, but none was available. Artillery support was also denied because friendly troops were too close to the target, so Bennett went in himself. He made repeated low strafing passes over the enemy position. After four passes, the troops began to retreat. Bennett continued the attack, and on his fifth pass, his aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile. The plane
ABOVE: Steven Bennett, whose life of service and dedication to his community is remembered through the Palestine park that now bears his name. OPPOSITE: Family members, community leaders and guests gather for the dedication of the new Steven Bennett Park sign during Palestine’s America 250 celebration in July. Photos courtesy of Visit Palestine.
was badly damaged and recovery at a friendly airfield was impossible. Bennett told the observer flying with him to prepare to eject. He then learned the man’s parachute had been shredded when the missile struck the aircraft. Bennett’s own parachute was intact. He could save himself, but doing so would leave the other man with virtually no chance of survival. Instead, Bennett remained with the
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aircraft and attempted to ditch the damaged OV-10 in the Gulf of Tonkin, despite knowing that no pilot of that type of aircraft had survived such a water landing. The aircraft cartwheeled on impact. Bennett was trapped inside the front cockpit, while his observer escaped and was rescued. Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. On Aug. 8, 1974, Vice President Gerald Ford presented the medal to his family. More than half a
century later, the story has a permanent place in the city where Bennett was born. A new sign at Steven Bennett Park helps ensure that visitors don’t simply recognize the name, but understand the sacrifice behind it. At a recent Medal of Honor tribute ceremony, Bennett’s daughter, Angela, returned to Palestine and shared the story of her father’s service. Those attending also had an opportunity to see his Medal of Honor. The ceremony lasted an afternoon, but the park and the story behind its name remain for visitors to discover every day. That may be what makes places such as Steven Bennett Park particularly meaningful. Memorials are often destinations we intentionally seek out, while community parks become part of the ordinary course of life. We bring children to play, meet friends for a walk, sit beneath a shade tree or spread lunch across a picnic table. At Steven Bennett Park, those everyday moments take place on ground named for an extraordinary act of courage. As Veterans Day approaches in November, the park offers another way to think about remembrance. Honoring those who served doesn’t have to be limited to ceremonies, monuments or a single day on the calendar. Sometimes it can begin by learning the story behind a familiar name and understanding why a community chose to preserve it. For travelers, the park can also become part of a larger exploration of Palestine, a city where outdoor spaces and history frequently overlap. A walk through Steven Bennett Park can be paired with time in the city’s historic downtown and a visit to Veterans Memorial Park, where engraved bricks and plaques honor local veterans and a replica of the Angel of Grief stands as a symbol of remembrance. Steven Bennett Park tells its story in a quieter way. Life continues around the name of a man who gave his own so another could return home. Visitors can walk the trail, bring a picnic, let the kids play and, before leaving, take a few minutes to read the sign. To get more information go to visitpalestine.com. Cassie Ham is Tourism Marketing Manager for the City of Palestine SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 67
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History Corner Royal Air Force cadets share a relaxed moment in Terrell at flight school, far from home while training to become pilots during World War II. Courtesy photo.
The Airfield That Helped Save the World
In Terrell, Texas, young British pilots trained far from the battlefields of World War II and became part of a remarkable story of courage, friendship and victory.
By Denis Rottler In 1941, young men from Britain began arriving in Terrell, Texas, a long way from home and from the war that was consuming Europe. They came to learn to fly. Britain was desperately training pilots for the Royal Air Force, but doing so at home had become increasingly difficult and dangerous. German attacks, crowded airspace and unpredictable weather made flight training a challenge. The wideopen skies of Texas offered something Britain badly needed: room to train. Terrell was ready to help. Local businessmen raised $35,000 in just two days to purchase land for an airfield, helping bring the No. 1 British Flying Training School to the community. It became the first and largest of six ci70 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
vilian flying schools in the United States dedicated to training British pilots during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, more than 2,200 British, Canadian and American cadets trained in the skies over Terrell. They learned the skills they needed before heading into combat, progressing through increasingly demanding stages of flight training. But their time in Terrell was about more than airplanes and flight instruction. For many of the British cadets, Texas must have seemed like another world. They were young, far from their families and living in a place very different from the communities they had left behind. Terrell residents welcomed them into their homes, invited them to dinners and dances and included them in everyday family life.
Friendships formed. Romances did, too. Some of the cadets married local women, creating connections between Terrell and Great Britain that continued long after the war ended. It is one of the most interesting parts of the story. World War II was being fought an ocean away, yet its presence could be felt on the streets of a small Texas town. There was also loss. Twenty young men associated with the school died during their time in Terrell, most in training accidents or from illness. Those deaths were a painful reminder that learning to fly military aircraft carried its own dangers, even thousands of miles from the battlefield. The cadets who died in Terrell were laid to rest at Oakland Memorial Park. Their graves, marked in the tradition of the Royal Air Force, remain one of the most
ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show life at No. 1 British Flying Training School. Rows of training aircraft fill the Terrell airfield as British cadets prepare for the work that will eventually take them to war. Training is demanding, but life at the school also brings ceremonies, friendships and time spent with the Terrell residents who welcome the young airmen into their community. More than 2,000 cadets train at No. 1 BFTS during World War II, creating a bond between Terrell and Great Britain. Courtesy Photos by No. 1 BFTS Museum.
tangible connections between the community and the young men who came here more than 80 years ago. Today, their story is preserved at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum at Terrell Municipal Airport. Walking through the museum puts names and faces to a chapter of history that can otherwise feel very far away. Photographs show cadets standing beside aircraft or gathered with friends. Uniforms, flight equipment, logbooks, letters and personal belongings help tell the individual stories behind the larger history of the school. That personal side is what makes the museum especially compelling. These weren’t simply pilots in a history book. They were young men learning a difficult and dangerous skill while adapting to life thousands of miles from home. They wrote letters, made friends, fell in love and wondered what awaited them when their training was finished. Many eventually returned overseas to serve in the war. Others remained connected to Terrell for decades, returning to visit or bringing children and grandchildren to see the Texas community that had become part of their family’s story. The museum continues to welcome descendants of former cadets, some traveling from Great Britain and other countries to learn more about a father, grandfather, uncle or other relative who
trained in Terrell. For those families, the museum’s photographs, records and artifacts can make a story they have heard all their lives suddenly very real. For Terrell, the museum preserves something equally important. It tells the story of a community that found itself unexpectedly connected to a global war and responded by opening its doors to thousands of young men who needed a place to train. More than eight decades later, that connection remains. The airplanes are no longer circling above the training fields, and the young cadets who once filled Terrell’s streets belong to another generation. But inside the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum, their photographs, letters and stories are still here.
Rottler is Chairman of the Board of the No.1 British Flying School Museum. To Find more information on the museum and operating times visit bftsmuseum.org. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 • WWW.UPPEREASTSIDETX.COM • 71
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