July 8, 2020 Issue

It was a fun day at James River Crossing this past Thursday, July 2nd watching 200 rubber duckies race across the finish line at the first annual Mason County Rubber Ducky Race! The Mason County Chamber of Commerce would like to congratulate the lucky ducky winners, first place #60, second place #79, third place#147 and last ducky #71.

Why do some grasses grow in the winter, but others in the summer? If you have gone walking through some Mason County pastures this past month, you may have admired the fresh green growth of some of our warm-season grasses. Indiangrass, Little Bluestem, Sideoats Grama, Silver Bluestem, and many other native grasses are putting up vigorous new leaves among the dried dead leaves they produced last year.

This past weekend’s celebration of July Fourth was perhaps a bit less “social” than past years, and with the activities of Round-up mostly cancelled for this next weekend the visitors and gatherings are certainly going to be limited. I would hate to guess what the new “rules” will be by the end of this week, but one thing that I do know is that the City will continue to function and work to serve our residents.

Second Lieutenant James Durst graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday, June 13 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. James was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant within the Engineer branch. He will report to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for the Basic Officer Leader Course in August, after which he will post to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii for his first assignment. James was awarded the Brigadier General Shilling Award for the high ...

The Texas FFA Convention, annually held the first week after the July 4, will continue as planned. However, this year’s event will be held virtually due to COVID-19. FFA members from Mason are encouraged to log on to the convention website and be a part of the continued leadership efforts of our state officer team.

Members of First Baptist Church & River of Life Church are holding a Worship in the Park event to bless the community of Mason. The event will be held at Heritage Park (behind the library) on Saturday 25th July at 6 p.m. Come and sing along or listen to some of your old favorite hymns as well as some newer modern songs.

Our article entitled Mason Businesses Speak Out last week began by focusing on businesses located on Mason’s Square. But it soon spread throughout our town and many more businesses wanted to show their involvement and support for the Shop Local theme! The companies below missed our deadline for last week’s edition, but we wanted to be sure to include them this week for your support! Eloy & Bernarda Rico - Rico’s Cafe Justin & Missy Crocker - MTX Beef Jeff & Margaret Durst - The ...

Mason Community Kitchen will provide frozen meals for kids during July and early August, while school is not in session. The meals will be distributed weekly at St. Joseph Catholic Church, every Tuesday from 12 P.M. till 1 P.M. The first date will be July 14, and the last distribution will be on August 11.

The Texas FFA Convention, annually held the first week after the July 4, will continue as planned. However, this year’s event will be held virtually due to COVID-19. FFA members from Mason are encouraged to log on to the convention website and be a part of the continued leadership efforts of our state officer team.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has altered some summer professional development events for educators, Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) wants to inspire teachers to bring agriculture to life in their classroom through interactive lessons. “We wanted to find a way to still engage with teachers this summer and give them an opportunity to develop lessons that incorporate agriculture in the classroom,” Jordan Walker, TFB director of Educational Outreach, said.

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I hope some of you had a few raindrops. I watched the radar on my phone. It would get dark. Then, the sun came out. I never saw any rain. My yard is getting dry. If God doesn’t send water, I will have to pay the city for their water. We had a quiet Fourth of July.

Members of First Baptist Church & River of Life Church are holding a Worship in the Park event to bless the community of Mason. The event will be held at Heritage Park (behind the library) on Saturday 25th July at 6 p.m. Come and sing along or listen to some of your old favorite hymns as well as some newer modern songs.

Finally Appreciating Fruit... Last November, I turned 60. It's one of those milestone birthdays that encourage one to examine choices and behaviors. Maybe it's time to start getting more sleep. Perhaps cutting out alcohol and tobacco is warranted. A change in diet might do me some good. I could eat more fruits and vegetables! I can't say that I've really done those things yet.

Finding Peace Dear Gerry, Because of the extensive civil unrest (with strong racial overtones) currently going on in the country, it might be easy for us to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ In our haste to make things ‘right’, we may be in danger of overlooking all of the ‘good’ that’s already out there.

Put Out to Pastor This is the time of year many Seminary graduates are “put out to pas tor ;” As a member of the Class of 1960, I would like to pass on to these “Rookie Reverends” a few things I have learned, either from personal experience or the wisdom of others, in those 60 years: Church members grade on a different scale than Seminary professors. People don't care how much you know, they want to know how much you care. It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have ...

Cheddar-Scallion Buttermilk Biscuits courtesy:LUTZFLCAT Did I ever mention that I think a person cannot have too many biscuit recipes? If I haven’t, let me assure you that every time I see a new recipe, I’ll grab it and try it! 90% of the time they produce a wonderful product; the other 10% of the time, the biscuits turn out OK and I just eat 8-10 of them and mark them down as “not so good.” This one is particularly attractive because it is a drop biscuit concoction, so no need to ...

We have received multiple phone calls about the statue of Old Yeller. There is no discussion now, nor has there ever been of removing the statue. It is simply rumor. If you have any additional questions, then please call us at the library (325)347-5446. In other library news, Summer Reading is here!

No Broken Bones…Yet Give me a break. There are pitfalls when one is in tall weeds trying to determine the origin of expressions. I’m “old school,” still delighting in reading newspaper comics. A recent Bizarro panel from the fertile mind of cartoonist Dan Piraro struck a chord. (I tend to communicate best at a fourth-grade level, so I miss the point of many Piraro cartoons.

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I hope some of you had a few raindrops. I watched the radar on my phone. It would get dark. Then, the sun came out. I never saw any rain. My yard is getting dry. If God doesn’t send water, I will have to pay the city for their water. We had a quiet Fourth of July.