Cooper Review (Cooper, Tex.), Vol. 130, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 14, 2010 Page: 2 of 6
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Cooper Review - Page 2 Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bob Bowman's East Texas
By Bob Bowman
On The River
With ET
Laughs with a lawman
I suspect that the best-read column in the
Buffalo Press, a weekly newspaper in East
Texas, is Sheriff Ralph Billings’ report on
criminal activity in Freestone County.
When the local 911 dispatcher received a
call from a young caller, she told her that her
five-year-old brother had shot their Dad with
a BB gun, killed him “graveyard dead,” and
had buried the father in the back yard. The
caller wanted someone to come to the home,
arrest the five-year-old and dig up Dad.
The 911 dispatcher finally located the
boys’ mother and found that Dad didn’t even
live in Texas, and there was no homicide.
Billings reported that seven dead hogs
were found on U.S. Highway 84 between the
Country Club and the Boyd prison unit. He
said a Texas Department of Transportation
employee was enroute “to perform graveside
services.”
Billings also wrote that a young lady
reported that her ex-boyfriend called her and
wanted to come over. She explained she had
company. The ex boyfriend broke her window
and fled on his bicycle.
In another report, Billings commented
that Oakwood had a goat problem, but noted
that it had been alleviated when six or seven
goats were found loose in the downtown area
and had been were arrested by the chief of
police.
In the community of Wortham, a driver
took a spin around the local nursing home,
ended up crashing through a fence, and
was apprehended by the Wortham police
department. The man, it turned out, was
wanted on a parole violation from Austin.
A police office told 911 he was trying
to pull over a woman motorist, but she said
she would pull over only when she got to a
street light at Streetman. Stopped by another
policemen, the womon said she would
pull over when she got to a service station.
“Heard no more on this,” wrote Billings, “and
assumed she eventually stopped somewhere...
further assume it was where she wanted to.”
Billings also reported that a lady from
Wortham said a possum had gotten into her
deep freeze, and wanted to know what to do.
Billings advised her to “keep him cold, serve
him with potatoes and carrots and onions, cook
him at 325 degrees, and serve with cornbread
on the side and Blue Bell for dessert.”
(Bob Bowman of Lufkin is the author of
more than 40 books about East Texas. He can
be reached at bob-bowman.com)
1
n Years Gone By
From the files o f The Cooper Review
Ten Years Ago
In the upcoming
Democratic and Republican
county primaries, it appeared
a number of offices would
go unopposed. However,
officially there are seven
offices that wifi be
contested and four wifi have
opponents.
The City of Cooper
Housing Authority has been
designated as a successful
performing agency by the
United States Department
of Housing and Urban
Development in the
Washington, D.C.
Delta County Farm
Bureau has joined the
Chamber of Commerce.
Billy Reynolds of Cooper
has been awarded a certificate
for his service at Texas A&M
University-Commerce.
The award was announced
at the President’s Holiday
Reception held Wednesday,
December 15. Reynolds,
who is a building attendant
III for maintenance at A&M-
Commerce, was recognized
for his 25 years with A&M-
Commerce.
Twenty Years Ago
The Cooper School
Football Banquet is scheduled
for 7 p.m. Thursday in the new
facility on the school campus
and wifi feature highlights of
the season. Football players
and cheerleaders wifi be
honored.
Thirty Years Ago
The twenty passenger
mini bus for which the
Delta County Association
for Handicapped Children
has been waiting for almost
two years arrived in Cooper
Saturday.
The Cooper City Council
in a special called meeting
Monday night hired Charles
Cates to serve as City
Marshall.
Slivered glass was all that
remained of the plate glass at
Carl McDonald’s Insurance
Agency on the West Side of
the square Thursday morning.
McDonald was notified shortly
after 1 a.m. that unknown
persons had shattered the
window.
Forty Years Ago
The Sunday closing policy
went into effect January 1,
1970 for Cooper drug stores,
Miller’s Pharmacy and Hooten
Drug Company.
John Bartley Silman,
who has been on a thirty day
leave with his wife visiting
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jack
Silman and other relatives
will leave today for Oakland,
California and from there to
Vietnam.
Fifty Years Ago
H.E. Pete Bledsoe and
Elden Frazier announced as
candidates for the office of
Sheriff of Delta County.
Drilling was scheduled to
start this week on a test well
just west of Kensing in east
Delta County.
Cooper boys and girls
basketball teams remained
undefeated in district
competition with wins over
Farmersville and Honey
Grove.
Please Remember
Deadline is 4:00
pm Monday!
Cnnper iRmtmi
Owners - Jim and Sally Butler
JimB@Cooperreview.com
Publisher/Editor - Roger Palmer
Roger@Cooperreview.com
Office Manager/Staff Writer - Kimberly Palmer
Kim@Cooperreview.com
THE COOPER REVIEW (UPS 131940) is printed weekly, except the
fourth week in December. Second Class Postage is paid at Cooper, Texas
75432.
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MEMBER
2009
TU“
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
A DOG AND 3700 POUNDS
Saturday, January 2, grandson Casey and I
traveled to Roxton to our first ever dog pulling
contest. Like a tractor pull but with dogs. I’ve
been to several tractor pull contests but this
was my first dog pulling contest. Dogs, mostly
pit bulldogs, are fitted with a special padded
harness and trained to pull a weighted wagon
over a smooth, level, sixteen foot course. Very
cold weather caused a change of location from
the outdoor pavilion to the Fine Arts Building
at the school. That’s what I love about little
towns like Roxton. Imagine going to Dallas
to a big dog contest and seeing a sign, “Hey,
because of the weather we decided at the last
minute to take all the dogs to the symphony
hall.” How much red tape and how long would
it take to make a move like that in a big city?
Saturday’s event was sponsored by the
Red River Weight Pullers and has a lot of
strict rules, mainly for the protection of the
dogs. Speaking as someone that’s had many
a pit bulldog I understand both sides of the
pit’s “bad dog - good dog” controversy.
Pits are like many breeds that have a lot of
energy. Simply tying them up and not raising
them properly causes many breeds of dogs to
become aggressive. No pit I ever raised was
aggressive toward people. Give them love and
exercise and you have a great pet. The sport
of pulling is perfect for these muscular and
strong willed dogs, providing an outlet for
their legendary power and determination.
A rubber tired wagon about the size of
a lawnmower trailer is hooked to the dog’s
harness. The event started with four hundred
pounds which all dogs were able to easily pull.
After all the dogs have pulled, three concrete
blocks weighing thirty five pounds each were
added to the wagon. This is a fast moving
sport, taking less than a minute usually for the
workers to pull the wagon back to the starting
line, hook up a dog, make the pull, and unhook
the dog. A family event with young kids having
their own dogs and competing against adults,
sometimes their own mama and daddy. The
dogs are not forced to pull; they seem to love
showing how they can get down low and gain
all the leverage they can while pulling toward
their owner.
Weight continued to be added at the rate
of a hundred and five pounds after each round
until all were eliminated except one. About a
hundred people attended and cheered as the
dogs strained to please their owners. I have
some hog dogs that are hard to hold as I lead
them through the woods, almost dragging me
down. I think I wifi get one of those harnesses
and teach my dogs to help drag hogs out of
the woods.
Many of the dogs were red nosed pits
but there were lots of other pits and even two
poodles, dogs with names like Tough, Liberty,
King, and Punkin. Casey and I watched only
the morning contest for dogs up to sixty one
pounds where the winner was able to pull 2330
pounds. Yes, I said 2330, over a ton. Later, I
received word about the larger dogs’ results.
Mattie, shown by twelve year old Justin
Hawkins from Scurry, received first place by
pulling 3700 pounds.
One dollar would buy a ticket for a
drawing. Lots of paper sacks were on tables
on the side. In the sacks were items like dog
collars and many other things for dogs. You
could put one or more of your tickets in any
sack you chose. That way, if you won, it would
be something you wanted. First drawing like
that I ever saw. Seems like a very good way
to do. Mid way through the contest one of the
dogs “had a little accident” in the middle of
the tile floored, band hall type, building. The
contest was put on hold as folks scrambled
to open doors, grab mop buckets, and spray
deodorant. Don’t tell the superintendent. I
predict that in a few years these events wifi
become much more popular and you wifi
see them at county and state fairs as well as
other places. Seems like Roxton always has
something going like a strong sports’ program,
July 4 fireworks, pancake breakfasts, and such.
Roxton is like some of those smaller bulldogs
that participated in the pulling, little but strong,
lots of heart, determined and proud.
Jupiter was the brightest planet in the sky
all during the fall. Soon it wifi get lower and
dimmer in the southwest. Mars is now rising
in the east each night and wifi be very bright
about 9:00. Still, it won’t be as bright as Sirius
in the southeast which wifi be far to the right
of Mars.
A little first grade girl had been going to
school for three weeks and came home to tell
her mom, “I’m just wasting my time. I can’t
read, I can’t write, and they won’t let me
talk.”
A teacher was reading “The Three Little
Pigs” to her class and came to the part about
one of the pigs going to a farmer who had a
wheelbarrow full of straw and asking for some
of the straw to build a house. The teacher
paused and asked the class what they thought
the farmer said. Little Johnny answered, “I bet
he said—oh my, a talking pig.”
Tom and his wife, Sally, went to Reno,
Nevada and while Tom was checking in at the
hotel, his wife sat in a lounge chair nearby.
Very attractive Bambi, a “working girl” walked
up and stood very close to Tom, causing his
wife to later fuss at him. Tom told Sally not
to think anything about it because Bambi was
just a working girl and approached all the men
that way. Sally didn’t believe her husband so
he said he would prove it. Sally would hide
in the closet and peep out while he called the
lobby and asked Bambi to come up. Sally hid
and Bambi entered the room, saying she got
one hundred dollars for her work. Tom said
he guessed they could not do business because
he was thinking more like twenty five dollars.
Bambi left, Sally came out and everything was
fine. Later Tom and Sally were eating in the
hotel restaurant and Bambi walked by. As she
passed the table she said to Tom, “See what
you get for twenty five dollars.”
etra327@embarqmail.com
That Wonderful Year 1965
According to the Thursday,
January 14, 1965 issue of the
Cooper Review:
The announcement made Monday by
Texas Governor John Connally that a special
election was being called for February 13 to
elect a State Representative from the 11th
Legislature District caused much excitement
among aspirants for the office especially in the
Hopkins and Titus County area. The district
is composed of Delta, Hopkins, Franklin and
Titus counties.
Dr. Olen G. James was elected president
of the Lamar-Delta Medical Society Thursday
evening, January 7 at a dinner meeting of the
society at the Paris Golf and Country Club.
The sale of poll taxes in Delta County
is somewhat slow, according to Wayne
Templeton, Tax Collector, with only 474 sold
so far.
Texas Research Foundation’s long-term
demonstration of its Renner Farming System
in Delta County is being moved to the farm of
Vernon Thompson near Lake Creek.
The Cooper Future Farmers of America
Chapter wifi sponsor Rabies Vaccination
program Monday afternoon 3 to 5 o’clock in
the Cooper High School agriculture building.
The community of Enloe and Lake Creek
has joined forces in developing a water system,
the second such project in Delta County being
financed under FHA new water systems loan
program.
The Delta County Commissioner’s Court
is in the process of obtaining deeds for 43.15
acres of land north and northwest of Cooper
city limits for the Texas State Highway
Department to serve as a right-of-way for SH
24, when completed wifi by-pass downtown
Cooper.
Two members of the Cooper High School
Band were in Commerce last Saturday to
participate in the reading band of Region XV.
They were Linda Vandiver who plays B Flat
Clarinet and Glen Hevron who plays Bass
Clarinet.
Joe Chapman, prominent state legislator
and attorney from Hopkins County, was sworn
in as judge of the Eighth Judicial District
Monday afternoon in ceremonies at Sulphur
Springs, approximately six hours after he was
notified in Austin by Governor John Connally
of his appointment to the bench.
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Palmer, Roger. Cooper Review (Cooper, Tex.), Vol. 130, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 14, 2010, newspaper, January 14, 2010; Cooper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth805171/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Delta County Public Library.