Now_Staff_Writer


Menu Madness

ENNIS, TX — What started as a dare in the fall of 1999 quickly turned into something Ennis Lions fans look forward to year after year. Gary Macalik and his dad, Joe Ben, found a unique way to support the Ennis Lions during football season. They don’t use poster board and crepe paper streamers to cheer […]


Acting Out

CORSICANA, TX — With a cast and crew of 20, the Warehouse Living Arts Center began in 1971, housed at Navarro College’s Arena Theatre. The award-winning community playhouse, now a fixture of downtown Corsicana, is celebrating its 40th anniversary, a history rich in local culture and an influence that has extended to Broadway, Vegas, TV […]


A Circle of Friends

BURLESON, TX — It was a wintery day in 2008 when Mary Slaney and Peggy Harkins invited eight women to join them for lunch. The date was February 14, Valentine’s Day, and everyone arrived at Peggy’s home eager to sample her chicken enchilada soup and share the dishes they brought. “After lunch, we gathered […]


Main Street Matters

Downtown Corsicana saw a number of new business openings this spring and summer. Chickadee’s Embroidery Shop moved from their previous location on Second Ave. to 314 N. Beaton. They embroider for all occasions, including baby showers, horse shows and rodeos, corporate recognitions and golf tournaments. Cowgirl Click at 101 S. Beaton offers contemporary women’s clothing and costume jewelry, plus a […]


Nature at Our Fingertips

CEDAR HILL, TX — Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center at Cedar Hill is pretty excited to be opening its 205-acre facility next month, and no one is more excited than center director, Dr. Patty McGill. “We now have the facilities to connect children and families with nature, providing an opportunity to appreciate animals and plants within […]


The Mane Event

WEATHERFORD, TX — On most days at Greenwood Farms near Weatherford, you can spot a lady riding a thoroughbred with a black Labrador retriever at their heels. Mary Hirsch is an event rider — a sport that became an Olympic competition in 1912. However, up until 1954, women were banned from Olympic equestrian eventing because […]


Be Inspired

WAXAHACHIE, TX — Marilyn Simmons has always loved gardening. She grew up watching her grandmother. But her gardening gloves were put aside when she and Donnie, her husband of 38 years, left the farm in Gary, Oklahoma. “I started gardening at a young age, that’s true, and I did work alongside the best gardener I know,” […]


Restoring Reality

RED OAK, TX —  It began in a garage. More hobby than career goal, this inventive mind spent countless hours working, tinkering and creating. After many trials and many errors, he has learned the secret to making beautiful works of art from the refuse others have left behind. Four decades later, the hobby that […]


The World in a Box

MIDLOTHIAN, TX — The box from the post office carried great promise. Eagerly, Patty Ozga, her sister, Carol Adams, and the ladies of the Creative Quilters Guild of Ellis County opened their treasure box — and the world came to visit. They had the grand idea to collect squares from quilting clubs around the world […]


An Unscripted Journey

MANSFIELD, TX — “I guess I’m the Scotty McCreery of Mansfield,” Todd Murdock said, with oh-so-straight a face, referring to the recent winner on the hit TV show, American Idol. Todd is the only bass in his choir at Central Baptist Church. Because of the clear, powerful ring of his voice, he gets volunteered for […]