High Points| from El Camino Real

Love is in the air along El Camino Real as lovers race to buy that special person in their lives bouquets of roses, boxes of chocolates, and a cheap card from the rack at the Dollar Store.

I guess the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen for sale in Alto was at the Pic-N-Go on the corner. One year they had lace panties shaped into a rose on a long plastic stem. These romantic heart stoppers were in a vase on the counter by the fried chicken. Nothing spells love like rose shaped lace panties that smell like greasy fried chicken.

You do whatever is best for your Valentine and I bet you’ll be fine. But, if you forget, trouble is on the way. I guess I better quit on all the romantic stuff and move on with my six bits worth of news.
We said good bye to two people from the Bulah and Sardis Communities this past week.

We lost Robert Holcomb on Feb. 5 in Bulah at the age of 71. The Bulah Community is a close knit bunch and family and Adams Chapel Methodist Church members, so not only does Robert’s family mourn, so does the entire community. Please keep his wife Elizabeth, his father Emmett, his children, and all the rest of the family in your prayers during this difficult time.
I’m venturing a little north this week, but I lost a dear friend with the passing of Joyce Ann Turner on February 4 at the age of 89. The funny thing was I didn’t even know her first name. She was always Ms. Turner to me. She was Russell Turner’s mom that worked down at All Star Barbecue on occasion helping her son Russell out. We always argued over whether I ordered potato salad or cole slaw, even though it didn’t matter we were going to argue just the same. She was someone who always brightened my day when I had a chance to visit with her. The world will be a little sadder without her in it. I know I ordered cole slaw. Please keep Russell and his family in your prayers as they mourn her passing.
Bill Hanson passed away in Sardis on Feb. 6. Bill was 86 years old. I first met Bill when he and Tom Ball had the gun store and pawn shop in Rusk. It was a regular hangout for guys to go and hear all the latest gossip and spend money they didn’t have on guns they didn’t need, but it was a great place to visit with friends. Bill was one of those people that you always knew where you stood and I liked that. He loved hunting and gardening and we talked about that a lot. His health started failing a year or so ago, but he kept going in spite of it all. He will be missed in our area. Please keep his sweet wife of 67 years, Virginia in your prayers as she mourns his passing, also his children Mike and Patti. I know what a special bond Bill had with his grandchildren and the attachment that they had to him, so throw in a prayer or two for them.
On Saturday evening the Salem Baptist Church Fellowship Hall was lit up with smiling faces as ice fell off the trees and darkness fell. These folks all got out in the cold to wish a very special lady an enthusiastic Happy Birthday. Our Cherokee County Clerk Laverne Lusk turned 60 this week. Jerry escorted Laverne in the door to cheers that quickly broke into the “Happy Birthday Song.” Being with Laverne on her birthday reminds me of why I love old people so much. Happy Birthday, Laverne!
On Feb. 1, our Sheriff James Campbell celebrated his 25th anniversary as Cherokee County Sheriff. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him for all 25 of those years as sheriff and some when he was still on the Highway Patrol. Sheriff Campbell is the longest serving sheriff in the history of Cherokee County.

That in itself is a testament to his integrity and the trust the people of Cherokee County place in him. I’m not going to go out and buy him a big present for his 25th anniversary as sheriff, but this ink is cheap so I decided I’d just give him a big thank you and congratulations for his years of service to all of us.
A sweet, sweet lady, Ms. Freddie Mack celebrated her 83rd birthday on Feb. 6. Her granddaughter, Brittany Welch surprised her with beautiful flowers and a new hair do. Ms. Freddie wanted me to be sure and thank Brittany for the wonderful surprise. Happy Birthday Ms. Freddie. We love you!
It’s Black History Month and you can’t talk about black history without mentioning the back bone of any black community, the church ladies. I’m not talking about just any black lady that goes to church, I’m talking about the black ladies that dress in their very finest on Sunday mornings. The ones that have been showing up in big elaborate hats like the queens of England for years. Dr. Richard Hackney of the Cherokee County Historical Commission loaned me a book to read entitled; Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, by Michael Cunningham, Craig Marberry, Maya Angelou. An excerpt of the book reads, “Countless black women would rather attend church naked than hatless. For these women, a church hat, flamboyant as it may be, is no mere fashion accessory; it’s a cherished African American custom, one observed with boundless passion by black women of various religious denominations. A woman’s hat speaks long before its wearer utters a word.
It’s what Deirdre Guion calls “hattitude...there’s a little more strut in your carriage when you wear a nice hat. There’s something special about you.” If a hat says a lot about a person, it says even more about a people-the customs they observe, the symbols they prize, and the fashions they fancy.
They’ve captured a captivating custom, this wearing of church hats, a peculiar convergence of faith and fashion that keeps the Sabbath both Holy and glamorous.” Because of the Bible the hats are more than just a fashion statement. 1st Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 5 says: “Every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, dishonor her head, it is even all one as if she were shaven.”
Those big hats were kind of scary to a little kid and as I grew older and on occasion attended services at the Weeping Mary Baptist Church. I know why. Under those beautiful hats was a stern faced black woman with a hickory switch in her hand that kept all the children in line during church. The hatted church ladies stood like samurai swordsmen wielding a switch more accurately than any swordsman. The ladies in the big hats built or beat faith, family, and respect into the behinds of many a questioning young believer.
Ms. Bessie Parker my 96 year old friend from the Weeping Mary Baptist Church said, “That even though they wore hats working in the fields all week long to protect themselves from the hot Texas sun they still had to put on a nice hat and dress in their best every Sunday before they went to the Lord at Church.” Ms. Parker was handy with a switch, too. If somebody wanted to step off that straight and narrow path that she had in mind for her children and grandchildren, they had to pay a price for it.
I can remember as a child having to polish my shoes before church on Sunday. We were brought up that you wore your nicest things to church because you gave the best you always had to look your nicest in Church. I don’t think the black ladies wear the big fine hats as much as they use to, but they still dress in their best to go to church. I think that is where a whole lot of our churches are missing out these days. We’ve tried to dumb down church. We just don’t give our best to the Lord anymore.
My Sunday shoes hurt my feet, I don’t care how much they shined, but I knew I had to wear them because they were the best I had. When you think of Black history, you think of people like Martin Luther King, Justice Thurgood Marshall, and Barbara Jordan, but I say behind everyone of these people there was most likely standing a strong Christian woman in a fancy church hat.
If I wore a hat it would be off for the church ladies who have always gone the extra mile to look their best on Sunday. I sure hope that you ladies who pin three or four strands of braided purple hair to your head and think that is a church hat don’t think I’m talking about you, cause I’m not.
Well, I’ve gone hog wild writing this week, so I’m going to have to stop now or they’ll start cutting stuff out. Happy Valentines Day!
I’ll see ya next week!
And remember, There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.—Elizabeth Kubler-Ross