Yearly Archives: 2012


Protect, Honor, Serve

MIDLOTHIAN, TX — When Navy Hospital Corpsman First Class Robert Cato’s Black Hawk helicopter went down, his first thoughts were not of the Iraqi insurgents, who were most assuredly searching for him, but of his child. “We were flying over the north side of the Iraq and Iran border,” Robert explained. “You have to understand that the […]


Serving through Their Sons

MANSFIELD, TX — When George and Roberta Dennis go out wearing their hats, they are often stopped by passersby who inquire about the patches adorning them. The hats are a testament to the service to their country of their sons and son-in-law. They have a patch for each of their sons’ deployments in the Middle East, and each patch has been […]


Courtship in Words

ENNIS, TX — Books are a wonderful escape. Words in those same books can take you away to places both far and near. Rocky Denton’s latest installment, Warhawk: Letters From Out of the Blue, takes the reader back to the time when World War II was raging, but love was still very much in […]


A Moment of Remembrance

CORSICANA, TX — Memorial Day weekend traditionally heralds the beginning of summer with its picnics, baseball games, camps and school vacation that’s just over the horizon. Family and friends gather for fun and fellowship with cookouts and trips to the spray parks, swimming pools or Lake Richland Chambers. Nestled amongst the hustle and bustle of activities […]


Sweet Sounds of Home

BURLESON, TX —  Odds are, Cisco and Heather Roberts would have met somewhere down the road had they not met and married when they were very young. Theirs is a partnership inspired by purpose and, as evidenced by the commercial bus in their driveway and the trailer sporting a bold logo and the name “Heather Roberts Band,” theirs is clearly […]


A Man and His Tools

WEATHERFORD, TX — After World War II, the hospital in Mineral Wells filled with wounded veterans, the bottom floor of the Crazy Water Hotel became a maternity ward. Artisan knife maker, Jack Crain, was born there in 1946. Growing up and going to school on the south side of Mineral Wells, Jack learned carpentry, hunting and […]


Nature’s Rainbow

WAXAHACHIE, TX — When David Smith and his wife, Pat, moved to their home on Main Street in March 2003, they had a slight difference of opinion. While Pat wanted their belongings moved in first, David had a strong desire to go looking for compost. “Compost was his priority,” Pat recalled with a smile. […]


Unmasking Ray

CEDAR HILL, TX — Cedar Hill resident, Ray Schufford, is a master multitasker, juggling family, career, writing, upstart business and his charity. He is a firefighter and a paramedic for Dallas, a profession he truly feels blessed to have been able to do for the last 17 years. Twelve years ago, Ray met and married […]


A Lasting Impact

RED OAK, TX — Born in a logging camp in 1928, Donald “Don” Shields got used to moving very early on. As the seasons changed and the availability of lumber shifted, his father, who supported the family by driving an eight-wheeled log wagon up and down the hills, moved with the work. During the time they lived […]