Dick Hudgins

Dick Hudgins is the Hudgins part of Hudgins-Groover Real Estate. But he also is an expert roper and deeply involved in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. And he got his picture in the Houston paper.

He's on the front page of Wednesday's Houston Chronicle city/state section. It's a great photo; he's giving a  roping demonstration at Todler Tuesday at Houston's Discover Green. Dick is a life-time Vice President of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The rodeo is going to start on Monday.

Now let's talk about food. And the museum.

Do you like to cook Cajun? If so, you should sign up now to cook and share at Gourmet Guys.

Cajun cusine will be the theme of the return of the Gourmet Guys at Wharton County Historical Museum. It will be Saturday, April 2. We are told they are looking for cookers. If you are interested, call the museum for details at 979-532-2600.

Sandra and I have been at several of these events, and it's always fun. You go around tasting interesting and tasty dishes; the cooks are proud to serve you, and everyone is proud to support the museum.

In the coming weeks, we will start sharing some new initiatives we will undertake to help Wharton's business community. And we hope to see you at the 103rd chamber banquet on Tuesday, March 3.

There is much to celebrate. And there is much work to be done.

"Players win games, but teams win championships."

Making Connections, January 2022

Beni's Italian received the most referrals from the chamber's website, whartonchameer.com in January with 26.

The referrels are from our on-line membership directory, where people click on a member listing to call on the phone, or click to their websites to find the business or ask them more information. Here is the rest of the top 20 (ties count as one):

Boys & Girls Club of Wharton, 24.

Branded Bliss Boutique, 23.

Jetstream RV Resort at Wharton, 23.

Sylvan Learning of El Campo, 21.

DesignerISH,  20.

M. Rae West Boutique, 19.

BSR Properties, 18.

Spherion Staffing, 17.

Stacie's Storage, 17.

Trailer Place, 17.

V8 Ranch, 15.

3 Strands RV, 14.

Country Pride Real Estate LLC, 14.

Friends of Wharton TX Animal Control, 14.

Gary Krenek Farmers Insurance, 14.

Livipops, 14.

Monterey Square Wine & Arts Fair, 13.

R2G Waffle-Wings & More, LLC, 12.

Sacred Care Home Health, 11.

Wharton Training High School & Ex-Students Association, 11. 

Caney Creek Nursing & Rehab, 10.

Johnna Sheek, CPA PLLC, 10.

Stockwell Construction, 9.

Wharton Civic Center, 9.

Pilot Club of Wharton, 8.

Collaborative Communities Managment Co., 7.

Exelon Colorado Bend Power Plant, 7.

James Simmons Jr. Juneteenth Committee, 7.

Wharton Knights of Columbus, 7.

Big Country Home Inspections, PLLC, 6.

Gracie James Boutique, 6.

Hungerford Community Center, 6.

Sparklight, 6.

The Orchard at Caney Creek, 6

Bohemian Rhapsody Shoppe on the Corner, 5.

Honey Do It LLC,  4.

WC, 5.

And, Great Western Dining, 4.

Thank you, Wharton. "Players win games, teams win championships."

Destination Wharton

Linda King,Victoria Ritter at Destinations Galore.

                                   

     Linda King, Victoria Ritter and I went to the Humble Civic Center on Tuesday to present Wharton to those who operate bus tours and those who like to go on bus tours. It was the 2022 Destinations Galore travel show.
    It was a long, long day, but very, very productive. We shared ideas with other towns, made contact with old friends, made new friends, and got to explain what Wharton has to offer to travelers.
We brought a box (weighing 3 tons) of the chamber’s brand new 2022 Visitor’s and Newcomer’s Guide, fresh off the press. The Wharton Journal-Spectator produces the guide for us, and a couple of boxes were taken to us just the day before the show.
    Among the other stuff, we also brought new fliers about the myths and legends surrounding the historic Monterey Square, plus a piece that gives snapshot of some of the most popular things to see and do in Wharton.
    Many of our visitors are folks who wanting to get out of the big city. The Wharton vicinity is a joy to them. It makes their day just to see cows with humps, and then it goes over the top with the Tee Pees, the dinosaur, the museums, the historic buildings, the great stories and tall tales, food, and with the great people who live and work here. 
    And then there’s the shops, including many new shops, with young people in charge with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

Galentine’s Sip N Shop

    Which brings me to the Galentine’s Sip N Shop on Thursday night. Let’s use the word, “joy” again.              

    That’s a great thing to see ^__ businesses pulling together for a common goal (cash registers ringing).
    The participating businesses included: Branded Bliss, the Colorado River Market & The Sweet Spot, Selections on the Square, Gracie James Boutique, JT's This and That, Collector's Alley, Bohemian Rhapsody II, Bohemian Rhapsody Shoppe on the Corner, Kapeesh Marketing, Mattress Discounters, Montgomery Gallery and Frame, M Rae West, and Beni's Italian.
Thank you.
    “Players win games, teams win championships.”
 

Black History, Wharton County

February is Black History Month, and here is story that started sad but was uplifting in the end. I have told this before, so, sorry in advance for telling it again. It is the story about the cornerstone on the Wharton County Courthouse.

Long ago,  the names of two county commissioners had disappeared from the building's original cornerstone. Julie Freeman, in her 2015 master's thesis, writes: 

The original stone bore the names of the county’s first two black county commissioners, who were elected during Reconstruction. They resigned amid racial tensions after the White Man’s Union Association took political control of Wharton. The story is told that the original cornerstone was dropped and its pieces dumped into the Colorado River during the 1935 renovation to obscure the significance of blacks in Wharton’s history. 

That excerpt is from "Up She Rises: The Birth and Legacy of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program," published by Baylor University, 2015. 

As the courthouse was being restored, the cornerstone was replaced with a replica of the original. In the ceremony to dedicate the correct cornerstone, the descendants were present to see a wrong made right for their ancestors.

I know there are many uplifting stories out there. But this one will outlive all of us. It is an edifice to what's right in the world that's all too often the opposite.

"Players win games but teams win championships."