December 25, 2019 Issue

Mason Bank’s Thom Canfield Holds Leadership Position with Largest State Community Banking Association in the Nation AUSTIN, TX—The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) is proud to announce the addition of Thomas Canfield, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Mason Bank, to its board of directors for 2019-21. He was appointed to this two-year position by IBAT Chairman-Elect Brad Tidwell of VeraBank in Henderson immediately following the association’s 45th annual con ...

SAN ANGELO, TX (12/20/2019)-- Angelo State University conferred 452 undergraduate and 188 graduate degrees during its 2019 fall commencement exercises on December 14 in the ASU Junell Center/Stephens Arena in San Angelo, Texas. A full list of the graduates is available on the ASU website at angelo.edu. Videos of the two commencement ceremonies are also available. Local graduates include: Madison Anderson of Mason, TX, cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies ...

MCALLEN December 13, 2019 -- Minds on the Move, L.L.C. has been selected for the 2019 Best of McAllen Award in the Business Services category by the McAllen Award Program. Minds on the Move is a professional continuing education and consulting firm that specializes in training pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapists along with parents, educators, counselors and other professionals nationwide in cutting edge neurodevelopmental, feeding and sensory processing therapies for childr ...

The 2020 Mason County Livestock Show & Expo will be here soon! Come out and support Mason’s youth Friday and Saturday, January 3-4 at the Fort Mason Park Community Building. Building on a rich tradition spanning many decades, the stock show will feature cattle, swine, sheep and goats as well as the Food and Nutrition Show, the Eldon Kothmann Memorial Ag Mechanics Show and the Fastest Torch in Mason County competition. This year’s event is dedicated to long-time supporters Jay Lee and ...

INGRAM, TX – December 19, 2019 – HCTC, headquartered in Ingram, Texas, announced today that they gathered nearly 150 toys for less fortunate children in the Texas Hill Country through their “Giving Spirit” campaign and distributed those toys through several charities, including K’Star’s Emergency Childrens’ Shelter, Bluebonnet CASA, and Sutton County Food Pantry and Resource Center. “We are overwhelmed in the best way by the giving spirit here in the Texas Hill Country,” s ...

Mason County was represented at the meeting of the state’s largest farm organization in December. Six delegates from Mason County Farm Bureau traveled to San Antonio where they helped shape the future of Texas Farm Bureau (TFB). “Texas Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization. Every county matters, and the needs of the entire state are considered by the voting body,” Will Frey, Mason County Farm Bureau president, said.

I love December for all the reasons many of us do: cool weather, celebrations, and all the special foods, music, decorations, and lights that accompany Christmas in our part of the world. Since coming to Mason, my husband Glover and I have appreciated the warmth of small scale in so many ways.

December 17 was the date of the annual Mason Lions Club Christmas party. Boss Lion Michael Murphy called the meeting to order at noon followed by a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, Texas Oath, and “My Country Tis of Thee”. The steak fingers meal was catered by Nachos Café. The party was held at the Eckert Center. IMPORTANT NOTICE: This is the last Lions club meeting of the year.

Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?... Even novices in US History know that discovery of our part of the world was made by Christopher Columbus in 1492. On a far more personal note, Beverly Hindman--an 82-year-old widow in Burleson, TX--has collected important “puzzle pieces” this year to greatly clarify her family history. Now, 527 years after Columbus landed, she’s made a discovery of her own.

The 2020 Mason County Livestock Show & Expo will be here soon! Come out and support Mason’s youth Friday and Saturday, January 3-4 at the Fort Mason Park Community Building. Building on a rich tradition spanning many decades, the stock show will feature cattle, swine, sheep and goats as well as the Food and Nutrition Show, the Eldon Kothmann Memorial Ag Mechanics Show and the Fastest Torch in Mason County competition. This year’s event is dedicated to long-time supporters Jay Lee and ...

Varsity Cowgirls vs. Bandera Tuesday, 12/17 Mason 16—10—21—12 = 59 Bandera 11—2—2—12 = 27 Scoring—Smith—4, Keller—16, Hanscheck—4, Guice—8, Olson—19, Armstrong—3, Cano—5. Rebounding—Smith—2, Stockbridge—1, Elliott—5, Adams—1, Keller—4, Hanscheck—3, Guice—4, Olson—10, Armstrong—2, Cano—8. Assists—Smith—2, Adams—1, Keller—2, Hanscheck—1, Guice—2, Olson—1, Armstrong—2, Cano—4. Steals & Deflections—Smith—1, Stoc ...

Love LEGOS? Come to the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library on Monday, December 30, at 1 00 P.M. and join in the Legomania fun! Carol Lampman will give you a bag of miscellaneous pieces to see what you can put together in an hour! We’ve seen some really amazing creations!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours. It is our wish that you have a blessed holiday with family and friends. We hope you will have a feast to celebrate. And, we wish you a happy and prosperous New Year. Put the Patriot Warriors Lunch on your calendar. It will be Friday, January 10, at 11:30. Happy Anniversary to Fred and Joan Kettner on December 30. Make yours a good week.

Thursday, January 9, 2020 7:00 PM the Mason County Republican Party will be hosting a forum for Republican United States Congressional candidates at the St. Paul Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Mason. To date, seven of the 10 announced Republican candidates have confirmed attendance. During the summer, Congressman Mike Conaway announced his retirement from Congress.

For their monthly Classic Movie Night the Odeon theater presented the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life last Wednesday night to an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. Ranked #11 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest Movies it is considered one of the greatest films of all time.

The Heart of Texas New Years Celebration will be held on Monday, December 30 and Tuesday, December 31, at the new Brady Civic Center in Brad, Texas. Tickets for the dances are now on sale at www.heartoftexascountry.com or by calling (325) 597-1895. On Monday, December 30, Johnny Bush and The Bandoleros will headline the dance at the Brady Civic Center. Johnny Bush began his musical career in Houston.

May Beth Evans Chew earned her heavenly wings on Thursday, December 20, 2019, at the age of 88. She was born on October 20, 1931, in Fredonia, Texas, a small community in Mason County. Her family moved 15 miles down the road early in her life and she grew up in Katemcy, Texas.

"Angels We Have Heard on High..." Since Halloween, people have been preparing for this week. On the way back from a football game, I stopped at a store in Llano where I was greeted by some employees wearing Santa hats. Their lack of enthusiasm for the early show of Christmas spirit only made the situation more humorous. As we slid through November, Christmas decorations began appearing along the main thoroughfares in neighboring communities.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours. It is our wish that you have a blessed holiday with family and friends. We hope you will have a feast to celebrate. And, we wish you a happy and prosperous New Year. Put the Patriot Warriors Lunch on your calendar. It will be Friday, January 10, at 11:30. Happy Anniversary to Fred and Joan Kettner on December 30. Make yours a good week.

The "X" in Christmas You have probably heard it, seen it , or maybe even said it yourself -- "Let's put Christ back in Christmas." Prompted by over commercialization and the general disregard of the original reason for the season this phrase seems to reappear every year. For those who are really serious about such a proposal I would suggest one way to "put Christ back in Christmas"

Mexican Chocolate Cookies courtesy: FOOD.com These are great cookies, nice and soft, and a bit gooey. You and your family or friends will not be able to eat more than 10-12 of these at a sitting, so you may wish to make more than one batch! Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus one tablespoon 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar, plus two tablespoons 1 ¼ cups vegetable shortening, plus two tablespoons 2 eggs 2 tablespoons cocoa 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla ...

Merry Christmas, everyone! We’ll be open tomorrow, and next week we will only be closed on New Year’s Day. Wishing you all a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2020! DVDs: Marjorie Morningstar The Goldfinch Chapter Two Indian Horse Audiobooks: Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock (CD F BLA) The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods (CD F WOO) Fiction: (all quotes from publishers’ summaries) The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen (F KLA) “After a humiliating mistake, lawyer ...

Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?... Even novices in US History know that discovery of our part of the world was made by Christopher Columbus in 1492. On a far more personal note, Beverly Hindman--an 82-year-old widow in Burleson, TX--has collected important “puzzle pieces” this year to greatly clarify her family history. Now, 527 years after Columbus landed, she’s made a discovery of her own.

Nacho Cheese Bugles Hot Mexican Dip This is one of the countless recipes my mom would cut out and save. She had a couple of drawers full of recipes that had been cut out of magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes, I can spend hours looking though these. I am terrible about cutting out recipes from magazines or printing them off of the computer, screen shooting recipes, I guess I got my addiction to recipes from my mom I can tell this particular recipe she cut off a “box” of Bugles and I don ...