Kicking around Keene

When I was really young I loved to listen to the stories my grandparents

Texas Bluebonnets and shadows

told about their lives in Texas. As I got older, I didn’t pay as much attention and time slipped away. Thinking back I wish I had listened more closely or had written down some of the things I was told. Looking at pictures in old albums, I wonder who some of the people were and if they were the ones who lived at Keene.



Keene, about five miles northeast of Cleburne, is another one of the Texas communities that probably would have disappeared if not for the

Original entrance to the campus

railroads.  Jeremiah Easterwood and his family came to the area in 1852. Shortly after arriving, he built a Methodist church that also served as a school. At that time the community was called Elm Grove. Almost forty years later the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway made it to the town, bringing with it a general store. There were 836 acres available in the community that attracted the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists who opened a school to train ministers in 1894. That same year an assembly hall was built on the campus of Southwestern Union College (which was actually a high school). With this new influx of settlers came a post office and the officials called the town Keene.

Two years later, Southwestern Union College became a twelve-grade academy with new buildings added that contained a cannery, a broom

Front of the university

factory, and a laundry. Over the next six years, the population of Keene had risen to 500. The town continued to grow so that by 1915 the college's curriculum was expanded an additional two years making the institution the Southwestern Junior College. The population waxed and waned until by the 1960s there were 1,532 people. In 1963 Southwestern Junior College became a four-year college, the Southwestern Adventist University. The school’s operating budget is stilled financed by a collection of campus industries producing furniture, brooms, and baked goods. They also operate a car wash, a motel, and a graphics company. Students come from around the world to study here, getting degrees in businesses, sciences, nursing, mathematics, and religion. It’s an interesting campus, not too far from downtown.

Three carrots

Our destination from lunch (for information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews) was the 360 Degree Restaurant and Lounge (111 Old Betsy Rd, Keene, TX 76059, 817-202-9731). This place has an international menu – Italian, Mexican, Asian, Middle Eastern, American. While the staff of the restaurant were very nice; service was painfully

Top L to R: Chips/salsa, BLT, Club
Bottom L to R: Bandeja Tipica, Menu

slow. Our waitress brought us some chips and salsa to make the wait seem shorter. Vince had the Bandeja Tipica, which is a Colombian dish served with ground beef, white rice, pinto beans, plantains, 1 egg, 1 small arepa (small bread-like disk) and avocado;  there were sides of fried okra, and corn on the cob. There was lots of food; it all was freshly prepared and pretty good (the beef wasn’t particularly tasty). Dave had a Turkey Club that included sliced turkey breast, turkey bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and Swiss cheese with mayo on Texas toast with a side of chips. Again, the food was fresh and well plated. I had the Chicken Salad BLT made of chipotle walnut chicken salad on a crispy croissant with lettuce, tomatoes, turkey bacon and avocado; my side was sweet potato fries. I was delighted. If the service had been a bit quicker, we’d have rated this restaurant more highly. We would go back, again, but only if we had lots of time.

Bastard Cabbage - pretty but invasive wildflower

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