Category Archives: Uncategorized

Throw Back Thursday, August 6, 2015 – Wonderful Great Grandmothers

I was so blessed to have a wonderful mother and a wonderful God Mother. Each of them now has wonderful great grandchildren who carry on their love and craziness in many ways.

Everyone should have a photo of their great grandmother. So to the Buckalews and the Groves families, this one is for you – shared with great love and wonderful memories of all three of these beautiful ladies.

The beautiful little doll that are admiring so much is ME!

These two would stay up all night and play canasta.

Ophie Lewis and Mama (aka Nanny)

My Mama and my Godmother – Doy Duffey and Sarah Groves

One of the first things I want to do if I get to Heaven is have coffee and smoke cigarettes with these two. Lucky Strikes and Pall Malls if I recall.

When HB and Cecil served on the Magnolia school board, Sarah would come to our house (next door to the school), yes, in her bathrobe . Me, Mama and Sarah would play Chinese checkers until they made me go to bed.  Chinese checkers is still my favorite game because of such wonderful memories. BTW – Sarah was very good at this game.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015 – Free Advertising for Buckalew Chevrolet

Remember those little kids in the picture a few days ago? Here they are all grown up with three spouses and four of the seven great nieces/nephews. Very proud of all of you.

From The Houston Chronicle

Don Buckalew, Montgomery County native and owner of Buckalew Chevrolet, recently celebrated his golden anniversary, marking 50 years of business with his dealership.

As the celebration continued, Buckalew received hundreds of congratulations of local residents and industry leaders alike. However, the 81-year-old family and business patriarch continued his lifelong ethic as he made two announcements. First, in an initiative he announced as “50 for 50,” Buckalew presented a check totaling $50,000 that would be divided among six Montgomery County charities. Additionally, he presented another check for $50,000 that would be shared among a vast majority of his employees. The two checks and their combined value of $100,000 had a profound effect on the attendees of the event.

“Don Buckalew has always been a hero of mine,” said Bruce Tough, chairman of The Woodlands Township board. “I knew I had arrived — politically speaking — when I received his support when I ran for — and was elected to — trustee for the Conroe school board in 2003. The honor was even greater because my daughters attended Buckalew Elementary School — which was of course named after him — in The Woodlands.”

State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, also spoke of his appreciation for the lifelong Montgomery County resident.

“Don Buckalew has always been a great asset to the community. We are blessed to have such great leaders in Montgomery County,” Metcalf said.

“We are honored to present this Congressional Record to such an esteemed member of the community,” said Tracee Evans, communications director for Congressman Brady. “The benefits he has provided to Montgomery County are longstanding and far-reaching.”

Believing that a strong living ethic begins early in life, Buckalew and his family are strong supporters of local education efforts and are involved in numerous youth organizations that support education, athletics and family structure. Additionally, he has served in leadership roles in many community and charity organizations in the area, including the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

In early August, Buckalew will present checks to the directors of the six nonprofit organizations that he chose to receive the donations from his “50 for 50” initiative. Additionally, he is offering various “50 for 50” incentives on his inventory throughout the month.

Buckalew Chevrolet is located at 1100 Interstate 45 S. in Conroe. For more information, visit www.buckalewchevrolet.com or call 936-756-5581.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015 – I am Ready for My Close-up or News in Brazos Valley

Today I am going to the Texas A&M Golf course. KBTX, the TV station here, is doing a story on the newly formed, College Station, Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA). Golfers for background footage (B roll, as it is called) are needed.

In the 15 months I have lived here, my photograph was on the front page of the Sports section of The Bryan Eagle. I was sitting behind the women’s basketball team during the NCAA selection show.

I have been on TV twice. Once at last year’s SEC kick off party (see above pic) and once at a Gary Blair luncheon. I was not photobombing; I was going through the buffet and somebody was being interviewed in front of the line.

My picture has been on KBTX’s Twitter feed at the Bryan Farmer’s Market.

So one can deduce there is not much news that goes on in the Brazos-Valley. A nightly newscast might look like this:

Lead Story – The Aggies win.

Next Story – The price of cows is up.

Next Story – Reveille takes a walk around campus.

Next Story – The United States has been invaded by aliens from outer space.

Happy Tuesday.

Saturday – August 1, 2015 – If You Grew Up in Magnolia, Texas in 50’s and 60’s

Today I have a guest blogger. My sister. While I certainly agree with her that we should remember Walter, I think we mean Robert and Edna too.

Robert and Edna were the parents. I am quite certain their only child, Walter, was left on the doorstep, found under a cabbage or was actually delivered by a skinny-legged stork. We will need Celeste and Tarvah and maybe Little Cecil to confirm our theory, but I am confident you are correct that Robert’s sack became Walter’s invention that changed the world.

FYI the Sawmill was only half a mile from our mill house, so Alethia Switch was only a few tenths of a mile. It probably seemed longer on a bicycle.

But now – from the memories banks of Dale.

THE SACK

Growing up in the small sawmill town of Magnolia, Texas, (actually Alethia Switch….about a mile from the town of Magnolia) during the 50’s and 60’s, we met many different kinds of people.

One was Robert Seymour.  You never saw Robert that he did not have a brown paper sack with him.  He walked everywhere.  Well, back then almost everyone walked or rode a bicycle. There was only one family car and your daddy usually took it to work.

I would put my dog, Ringtail, in my bicycle basket, and we would ride to the commissary (the store at the sawmill) to get an ice cream cone.  Ringtail liked the cone as well as the ice cream.  But that’s another story.

Back to Robert. I asked him why he carried that sack with him. His reply was that he always carried something to eat in case he got hungry….or he might find something interesting to pick up while he was walking.

Today, I always carry a “sack” with me….in addition to my purse.  But we have come a long way from Robert’s brown paper sack.  I change sacks from time to time but my sack of the present is red with white flowers on it.  It is water proof; has a draw string top; and a zipper on the side.  I usually have a bottle of water (now that’s another story, also….what would Robert or folks from that generation think about BUYING water in a bottle instead of getting a glass of water from the faucet)….a package of crackers; my Kindle; a book in case my Kindle runs out of battery; some napkins; and sometimes something that I have picked up.

Little did we know back then that Robert’s sack was the first of the backpacks, fanny packs, or the like.

Thank you, Robert.

________________

Back to me – I currently own three full-size backpacks, one small draw string backpack, and numerous canvas book bags and grocery bags. Even my “purse” is a small backpack. Thank you, Robert and Edna and Walter.

Friday, July 31, 2015 – Snarky Friday – Millard Fillmore for President

My sister called me the other day and asked me if I was running for President of the United States. Since everybody else seemed to be running, she wondered if we should run. After a bit of discussion, we both decided against it. She said she is slow and did not want to move around that much. I do not care for a group larger than six. If the group is larger than that I usually have to take a chill pill. And a steady diet of road food would throw our gastro intestinal tracts into more chaos that usual. But we came up with another suggestion. Why don’t some of the old presidents run? Not Carter or Clinton or either of the Bushes. The old presidents. The dead ones.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it say the President of the United States must be alive. According The Constitution, one must be:

• Natural born – Born in the USA (B. Springsteen.)
• 35 years old
• A resident of the United States for 14 years.

We could bring back Abraham Lincoln. Maybe Eisenhower from the 1950’s since many appear to want to return to those golden (NOT) days of yesteryear. How about Franklin Roosevelt for the liberals? Maybe Teddy Roosevelt for the environmentalists? Maybe even George Washington himself. Why not? I am pretty sure many of the candidates today are brain dead any way. Most of the dead presidents have been a resident of and IN the United States for over 114 years.

If a presidential speech is needed, just use a hologram or some animatronics from Disney or Universal Studios.

My personal favorite for president is Millard Fillmore. He is the only one whose initials are actually MF.

Why aren’t all of the debates on The Comedy Network?

Keep your voter registration card current and

Vote Early and Vote Often.

Thursday, July 30, 2015 – Throw Back Thursday – SFA – 1971

Someone asked me the other day what my family did. I told them “We go to college. Then we go to college graduations. Then we go to and/or watch on TV our alma mater’s football teams.”

While the first to go to college was Big Don, I was second. Here is my beautiful family at my Stephen F. Austin State University graduation in 1971. Ax ‘Em Jacks!

The rest, as they say, is history. Nice hair, Dale. It is all yours?