Rounding on Retta

Eons ago, when I was very young, my parents needed something for me to do during the

Retta Baptist Church with original bell

summer. In many southern towns the main activity to keep out-of-school children busy was Bible School. And that was how I was introduced that that far off and exotic place called Retta, a whopping two miles from home. I think I went to three or four of these entertaining and instructional week-long events, but what I remember most from my sojourn to Retta was that we were outside most of the time to do crafts and sing songs since none of the buildings of the Retta Baptist Church was air conditioned.

Home of the Bulldogs

Near-Normal Traveler, Vince, began his career in education teaching science, coaching, and

Open field on the outskirts of Everman

picking up classes that no one else was available to teach at the Everman School. Once he even got to teach an art class because he was the only person who had instruction: it was a class he had in high school! A few years after he taught at this school, I began my education in this district. However, long before we entered the picture, the area was common to the Apache, Kiowa and Wichita tribes until the mid-1850s when the first Anglos arrived. They established two little hamlets, Oak Grove and Enos. Although Enos is long gone, Oak Grove (see Flying in and out) is still around.

Flying in and out

Many of my formative years were spent with a couple of families who lived in Oak Grove,

A part of the Graham homestead

Texas. At the time both of my parents worked and getting me to school was sometimes an issue of timing. At the Graham’s I was inducted into a family of six children, which, being and only child, was much like being dropped into a three-ring circus. This organized chaos was a great preparation for public school. While Oak Grove used to be an independent farm community it’s now one of the multitude of suburbs of Fort Worth. Named by three brothers from Kentucky in 1866 for its large stand of oak trees, there wasn’t much more than farming and ranching in the area for another ten years.  At that time a post office branch opened and in 1885 Missouri Pacific railroad came to the area. However, as soon as rail service cease, the community failed to grow. It wasn’t until the 1960s that excitement returned to the area: the Oak Grove Airport was established.

It’s Itasca

Left to Right: Lina & Sol Smith, Hige & Fleda Smith -1948

When I was very young my grandmother, Fleda Starr Smith, talked about having friends a long way away in the big city of Itasca. Vince says he remembers going there to see them, but he doesn’t remember who they were or where they lived. He’d not been back since, and I’d never been, so we were off on the road to Itasca. This small town, at head of Richland Creek, is on a natural watershed that divides the Brazos River and Trinity River basins. It is named after Lake Itasca, at the head of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. Railroads played an important part in the creation of the town when a station for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad was needed in 1881; four years later, Itasca was incorporated.

Covering Covington

Many little towns in Texas sprang up because of rail lines crossing the state. This part of the state was short-grass prairie. This means that it’s a good place to raise cattle and that the

Cattle country

land will support crops. Farming, ranching, and the ability to get produce to larger distribution centers let towns such as Covington thrive. Covington, in the north central Hill County, began its life through the efforts of James J. Gathings. This Mississippian came to Texas in 1852, buying thousands of acres of land, then building a large and successful farming and ranching concern. He set aside 100 acres of his ranch for the town of Covington, which he had named for his wife. Any family who agreed to make a home in the area and to help build a school was offered a lot in town. They were also offered jobs in Gatherings’s other businesses. Quickly the town, and the businesses, grew generating a factory that produced boots, clothes, flour, saddles, wagons, and pretty much any other items the settlers needed. A steam mill and gin made Covington an attractive place to do business and made Gathings wealthy.

Ricordi Italiani

The Plastino family having a party

It’s been an unusual week. I’ve spent most of my time with my head stuck in a computer rather than out on the road experiencing interesting places. So what does an addicted traveler do when she can’t travel? I think about trips I’ve taken! And just to add fuel to the memory fire, a friend asked if I’d help her son with a report on Italy. My first trip to that wonderful country was in 1985 and I’ve been in love with the people, food, and history ever since. That year I met my relatives who live in Cleto, a small town in the Calabria region located on the instep of the boot, and although I’ve been back to Italy several times for work, I’ve not gotten to see them in Cleto since.

Beaders on the Road

It was a beautiful winter day in Texas, bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s,

Interesting door design,
downtown Temple

when three of us hit the road to Temple, Texas for fun with likeminded artists and artisans. Temple is a relatively small town fairly close to the center of the state; most of its ‘good stuff’ is hidden from the view when you’re on the freeway. Last year we nearly missed the town because of the highway construction; this year the construction seems worse but we found the correct exit with only one detour. What can you expect from an area suffering/benefiting from a rapid growth in population?