The carpets are all rolled up; the vendors have packed up and have left town after a successful Christmas Market in cheery Richland Springs. But wait, not everyone is gone. RS BoHo Unique, and now the 1910 Store, will remain open for all your Christmas shopping needs.
Don’t forget our local vendors. The Feedlot has a great new chicken menu, the Coyote Store has superior sandwiches and burgers, Skelton’s has all your hardware needs, Hair It Is can cut your hair, and McKinnerney’s can sell your property. Keep our little town thriving by shopping locally.
The Beautification Committee and the Preservation Society succeeded in presenting a wonderful day to the community. I had a couple from Georgia stop in because they saw the booths downtown. There was plenty of hot apple cider, cocoa, and luscious baked potatoes with Marcie’s famous chili. Carol Bryant told me she served 92 baked potatoes between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
The big game on Friday was a total attention-grabbing game.
Cherokee had two outstanding players, Valdez and Baugh. They continued to plague the Coyote defense throughout the game. Obviously, it takes more than two players to defeat a foe, but these two young men helped keep the Indians in the game. The Coyote team was a little deeper. Although the name Billie Perry, player of the game, was repeated, you could also hear Womack, Ethridge, Sutherland, Rogers, Usery, Norris, Meador, and several others mentioned by the announcer.
That diversity and good coaching helped carry the day. Richland 78 - Cherokee 54. My seat mates, Ann Alston and her daughter Reavis, endured the cold with me until the last few minutes of the game. Now we head out to the State Semi-Final Playoff Game. Richland will play the Oglesby Tigers (H) at Dublin HS, Saturday, 12/2/23 at 4 p.m. The cost for adults is $6.00.
Meanwhile back at the school, students are preparing for UIL Academic competition, San Saba County Youth Fair entries, state benchmarks, and numerous basketball games. This upcoming week will also be for progress reports. That means all grades need to be up to date. The girls basketball teams will be competing in a tournament at Bluff Dale, Thursday through Saturday. It looks like Monday and Tuesday as well as Friday will be busy with basketball games for junior high and high school. I love for our students to have athletic opportunities, but I also want them to excel at their studies. That means extra work for everyone participating in sports. So, parents, please make sure your student is keeping up with their schoolwork.
One of the interesting things that came out of the Christmas Market preparations was a pin that fell out of a bucket that Jason Lewis was moving. I’m honored he thought of giving it to me. Now, there is no telling how old this pin may be. The fact that it appeared is intriguing. You see, it’s a pin with the American and Israeli flags side by side. I’m thankful that our country is standing firm with Israel. I’m saddened that some of our college students and more radical compatriots are showing signs of antisemitism. That’s not what this nation stands for. We are not perfect, but our Christian beliefs are not based on hate and violence. It makes it imperative that we close our borders to hostile forces.
Please pray for our President, our deeply divided Congress, our open borders, and the wars in Ukraine and Israel. I’m thankful that some of the hostages are being released even though the price is high. I can’t imagine the pain of the parents whose loved ones have been kept in darkness for almost two months. Please pray for the restoration of our economy.
I want to send kudos to the Food Bank in San Saba and a thank you to HEB for their amazing generosity. I saw families leaving with the equivalent of two to three shopping baskets full of groceries. What a blessing.
Lastly, pray for our families that are spending the holidays without loved ones and those with serious sicknesses. I heard the ambulance pass my house a few minutes ago. I ask the Lord’s protection on that person. Most of all pray for our emergency personnel, enforcement officers and our precious troops and their families.