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PG-13. Movie ends 9:20pm
Coming Soon:
Gabby's Dollhouse - Oct. 24
Closed Wednesdays, Thursdays
Box office opens at 7:00pm. Showtime at 7:30pm.
Admission is $8 for adults and $7 for children.
Senior Citizen's Night
Mondays - $6 Admission
Around Town
From left: Volunteer - Dani Camp, Board Member - Shelby County Representative Tammie Luman, and Board President - Stephanie Elswick
April 18, 2024 - Happy Tails Adoption Center hosted a pet adaption event during the Spring Fling event at White Cottage Mercantile on Tuesday, April 16. If you missed it, the next live adoption event is Saturday, May 4th at Tractor Supply in Center from 10am until 2pm.
You can also show your support at the "BBQ Cause 4 Paws" fundraiser on Friday, April 19, 2024 from 5pm until 7pm on the downtown square. Dinner plates are $20 and includes pulled pork, beans, and potato salad. There will be raffle tickets to win a Ruger American .243 rifle with a black synthetic stock and optics ready, a 48 quart Yeti Cooler with wheels, and a win basket. Purchase tickets at www.happytails.org. Raffle winners will be drawn at the BBQ Cause 4 Paws event.
Be Blessed BBQ will be there as well as a bake sale items available for purchase!
April 16, 2024 - The Miss Shelby County Pageant 2024 Honors The Pageant Legacy of Mrs Tonya Simmons Bailey Saturday, April 20th at The John D. Windham Civic Center at 1pm.
Tonya Simmons Bailey started competing in pageants when she was a toddler. The first time she was on television was when she was four years old. Tonya and her mom, Lila, were flown to New York City to talk about kids and pageants on The Art Linkletter Show. Tonya was always a natural when it came to being the center of attention, which led to modeling for several department stores, including Macy's.
When she was a high school senior, she decided that Center needed something more for the young girls of Shelby County and started the first Miss Shelby County Pageant. She looked forward to the pageant every year; she loved the planning, production, and overseeing every aspect of the pageant. She was not only the director but also an inspiration for so many young women all over the county, giving them the opportunity to make new lifelong friends while sharing their inner and outer beauty. She was a legend.
So many children were part of the Miss Shelby County Pageant, Miss And Mr. Pumpkin Patch, Little Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. Happy Holidays, The Watermelon Festival Pageant, and Toddlers and Tiaras. The Pageants were not only for the kids but also for her. She loved giving her time and attention to them; for that, she will always be a legend in Shelby County.
Tonya passed away on July 1, 2018, from Cancer, but she is loved and remembered for what she shared with the community.
April 5, 2024 - Hope Community Medicine held and open house and ribbon cutting for their Mobile Clinic on Friday, April 5, 2024, in Center.
Brandi Emanis, Marketing Director, welcomed everyone to the event and introduced Mike Belgard, CEO - Hope Community Medicine. Belgard thanked all present for attending the open house event and he stated the mobile clinic has been made possible by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, most of you know about Temple Industry, they’re a big forestry group here in our area and they have a foundation that provides support for non-profits like Hope Community Medicine to help expand healthcare and to help expand access to internet service in rural areas.
“So they gave us a grant to buy this bus and put it into operation, and so we want to for sure thank them for the opportunity to do this,” said Belgard. “As you can tell, if you've been on a tour, we can do anything in this mobile clinic that we can do in our clinic over here on Tenaha Street or in any of our other clinics.”
Belgard listed many of the locations they visit including Panola County: Beckville, DeBerry, Gary, and Deadwood, and in Shelby County: Patroon, Joaquin, and Huxley, and in Sabine County: Milam, and Broadus. He said they are intending to expand that range as much as they can and maintain a routine to be consistent.
Not only does the bus help provide healthcare in the areas they visit, Belgard described their attempts and bringing nutrition to those in need as well, “We also not only provide medical care on this bus, we also bring food out to every place that we go. Make sure that everybody that walks in the door, when they leave, we give them a little sack of groceries that'll provide them three or four meals.”
Belgard said they want to continue to expand in working with food banks to bring food out. Hope Community Medicine now has an in-house pharmacy and they are expecting to integrate that into their mobile unit to shorten the distance for those individuals that may not be able to easily obtain their medications due to the distance of their residence from their medical provider.
“We're also working with our pharmacy staff that we just opened our pharmacy, our in-house pharmacy at the Center clinic. We actually provide low-cost medicines to anybody who's our patient,” said Belgard. “Regardless of your income, it doesn't matter that's not an issue with the medication and whether you have insurance or not that doesn't matter we provide good low-cost medicines to anybody who is our patient. We're also gonna expand that service to the bus, hopefully before too long. And actually, be able to bring out people's medications to them from the pharmacy.”
Belgard gave praise to God for bringing the project together and calling them to perform their mission.
“God has blessed us tremendously through all of this and continues to, and that's all we're here to do. We're just trying to make sure that we're doing what God has called us to do,” said Belgard. “That's our mission, that's our ministry, because this truly is a ministry. I think it's one of the best kept secrets in East Texas, but God has put all of this together, and I'm just, thankful to be a part of it.”
Belgard said Shelby County is the hub of operations for Hope Community Medicine, with 54 employees and service provided to five counties.
To contact Hope Community Medicine and make and an appointment call 936-598-2717. (See April calendar below)
April 2, 2024 - On the square in downtown Center the Center Garden Club will be having their annual fundraiser flower sale. The sale will be Friday, April 12 from 8:30am to 12:00 noon and there will be lots to choose from!
Submitted by Marsha Ann Barnett
Pictured are (from left) Richard Lundie, Kenneth Ramsey, Jan Ramsey, Joy Hutto, Mary Fausett, Carolyn Umbrell, Larry Hume, Mike Wulf and Riichard Roddy.
April 1, 2024 - VFW Post 8904 Veterans and Auxiliary members honored those veterans who served in Somalia, “Operation Restore Hope” during a ceremony held April 1, 2024.
The program was opened with a prayer led by Kenneth Ramsey, Jr. Vice, and the ceremony was led by Mike Wulf, Post Sr. Vice.
"Americans consider themselves to be a compassionate people, and the United States military has a long standing tradition of humanitarian relief operations both within and outside the continental United States. Never has this humanitarian impulse proven more dangerous to follow than in 1992 when the United States intervened to arrest famine in the midst of an ongoing civil war in the East African country of Somalia."
Wulf continued, “Ultimately hundreds of thousands were saved from starvation, but unintended involvement in Somalian civil strife cost the lives of 30 American soldiers, four Marines, and eight Air Force personnel during the years of 1992 to 1994. The American military had established the conditions for peace in the midst of a famine and civil war but unlike later in Bosnia, the factions were not exhausted from the fighting and were not yet willing to stop the killing of each other and anyone caught in the middle. There was no peace to keep and the United States withdrew all military combat troops in March of 1994.
“The American G.I. had as always done their best under difficult circumstances to perform a complex, and often confusing mission, but the best military in the world can only lay the foundation for peace; they cannot create peace itself."
In honor of the Veterans who served in Somalia, Post member Kenneth Ramsey placed the the memorial wreath. Taps was then sounded as presented by Post Commander Richard Lundie in honor of those lost in Somalia and those who served and survived, but have since passed.
Pictured are (from left) Gene Hutto, Jan Ramsey, Kenneth Ramsey, Mary Fausett, Richard Lundie, Joy Hutto, Linda Lundie, Joyce Johnson, Dr. Jane Todd, Carolyn Umbrell, Larry Hume, Ike Reeves, Neil Woodfin, and Mike Wulf.
March 29, 2024 - VFW Post 8904 and Auxiliary members gathered at the Shelby County Veterans Memorial at the Shelby County Historic Courthouse in honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day on Friday, March 29, 2024.
Larry Hume, Post Quartermaster, led the program and Kenneth Ramsey, Post Sr. Vice, offered the opening prayer.
Hume stated March 29 is the 51st anniversary since the last combat troops left Vietnam in 1973, now known as National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day.
Larry Hume, Post Quartermaster, led the program on Friday.
“Today we have the opportunity not only to pause and reflect, but to remember and honor the memory of more than 58,000 men and women who gave so much, paying the ultimate price,” said Hume.
The occasion is also an opportunity to honor and remember more than 3.4 million military personnel who served in the Republic of Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in support of military operations.
Hume remarked that Vietnam veterans are everyday people who were made extraordinary by events beyond their control. They did their duty because they had a deep and abiding love for their country.
Several Vietnam veterans gathered for a photo, include Joyce Johnson (councilwoman) whose brother was also in Vietnam. Pictured are (from left) Kenneth Ramsey, US Army; Joyce Johnson in honor of her brother Mac C. Buckley, US Army, KIA Vietnam; Neil Woodfin, Ike Reeves, US Navy, Larry Hume, US Air Force, and Mike Wulf, US Army.
“Our Vietnam veterans performed the highest form of public service. When it all came down to it, they stood strong and when it was needed, they answered the challenge. And the best way we can honor them today is to ensure that every new generation of veterans is appreciated and receives the dignity, the respect, and welcome home that they have earned,” said Hume. “Making sure that every veteran receives the benefits and entitlements they deserve is one way of maintaining a link to the thousands of men and women who help secure so many blessings for us.”
There were also problems unique to Vietnam, explained Hume. One chemical, one psychological.
“The use of Agent Orange resulted in a 15-year fight for presumptive compensation. Post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD, produced a need for veteran centers, which finally became a reality in 1979. And before we leave here today, let's pause to honor those who have selfishly sacrificed to protect and defend our freedom by recommitting ourselves to our families, our communities, and to our country.”
Joyce Johnson attended the program and brought with her photos of her brother, Mac Curtis Buckley.
During the program, Hume invited all Vietnam veterans present to raise their hand and as they did he stated, “Welcome home brothers.”
In honor of all those who served in the Vietnam War, those who have passed and those still living, US Navy Vietnam veteran Ike Reeves will placed the memorial wreath.
“Shelby County, Texas as in previous wars and since answered the calls of duty and paid the price. We lost seven soldiers and one sailor and another marine. Marine while preparing to report with his unit to Vietnam,” said Hume.
The names that were read are as follows:
- Adams, Ted W. - Private First Class - Born in Beaumont, Texas, July 31, 1944. Inducted into the US Army November 14, 1965. Killed in action November 15, 1966, age 22. Buried in the Tennessee Cemetery, Timpson, Texas. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 12 E, Line 76.
- Andrews, William L. "Shorty" - Specialist Fourth Class - Born in Shelby County, Texas, October 25, 1945. Inducted into the US Army in 1965. Killed in action February 16, 1967, age 21. Buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas. Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 15 E, Line 38.
- Barnett, Jimmy D. - Private First Class - Born in Joaquin, Texas, February 28, 1943. Inducted into the US Army May 1967. Killed in action March 26, 1968, age 25. Buried in the Jackson Cemetery, Joaquin, Texas. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 46 E, Line 28.
- Buckley, Mac C. - Private First Class - Born in Center, Texas, July 11, 1945. Inducted into the US Army 1967. Killed in action July 5, 1968. Buried in the Westview Cemetery, Center, Texas. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 53 W, Line 16.
- Byford, Larry S. "Possum" - Private First Class - Born in Center, Texas, May 1, 1945. Inducted into the US Army October 1965. Killed in action June 23, 1967. Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas. Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 22 E, Line 52.
- Chatelain, Ray A. - Seaman First Class - Born in Louisiana May 6, 1946. Joined the US Navy October 1965. Killed in an explosion aboard the USS Forrestal. Buried in the Longstreet Cemetery, Longstreet, Louisiana. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 24 E, Line 50.
- Eaden, William H. - Sergeant - Born in Timpson, Texas, August 12, 1939. Joined the US Army December 13, 1961. Career soldier killed in action November 12, 1965. Buried in the Mount Gillion Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 3 E, Line 42.
- Hughes, Jerry L. - Sergeant - Born in Center, Texas, July 17, 1946. Inducted into the US Army May 1966. Killed in action July 12, 1967. Buried in Oaklawn Memorial Park, Center, Texas. Awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 23 E, Line 59.
- Johnson, Taylor D. "Sonny" - Major - Born in Joaquin, Texas, December 15, 1929. Joined the US Army 1953. Career soldier. Killed in action January 28, 1966. Buried in the Joaquin Cemetery, Joaquin, Texas. Awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 4 E, Line 103.
- Lightfoot, John B. - Corporal - Born in Shelby County, Texas, July 27, 1952. Joined the US Marine Corps June 14, 1971. Killed in a training accident in Louisiana while preparing to deploy to Vietnam. Buried in the McClelland Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas.
- Lynch, Samuel R. - Specialist Fourth Class - Born in Nacogdoches, Texas, May 26, 1949. Inducted into the US Army 1969. Killed in action December 12, 1970. Buried in the White Rock Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas. Awarded the Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 6 W, Line 130.
- Patrick, Calvin R. - Private First Class - Born in Houston, Texas, November 23, 1950. Inducted into the US Army November 30, 1968. Killed in action May 25, 1969. Buried in the Wimberly Cemetery, Shelby County, Texas. Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Vietnam Memorial Panel 24 W, Line 106.
March 28, 2024 - M&M Insurance Agency held a new location ribbon cutting for their second Center office on Thursday, March 28, 2024, hosted by the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.
Deborah Chadwick, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce President, introduced Luzdivina Ramos who is the branch manager for the location.
Ramos said she has been working with the agency for 13 years and Ron Masterson is the owner. In 2003, M&M Insurance Agency was incorporated by Masterson an us currently under the direction of himself and his wife Linda.
A second office was opened in Hemphill office in the fall of 2005 and the San Augustine branch was opened in 2007. In the summer of 2016, the Nacogdoches office was opened.
“In 2023, it was decided to open a second location here in Center to better serve the community,” said Ramos. “We are proud to be one of the areas leading agencies. We provide our customers with a vast range of insurance.”
She mentioned options of insurance for automobile, homeowners, commercial, farm, life, as well as bonds.
Other staff members then introduced themselves, and they were Esmerelda Ramos, and Alaina Arcibar.
The new Center office is located at 510 Shelbyville Street, and they can be reached by phone at 936-590-7967.
March 25, 2024 - As the month of March proceeds with a lot of news reports on International Women History Month, let us remember the group of women who made history for working on the C. H. Daniels School Reunion in Center, Texas. In spite of the school being closed for many years, the original group of women brought years of enjoyment for Daniels graduates and friends throughout the years. Many are gone now but will be saluted for their hard work in keeping the legacy of the school alive. Scholarships were presented to seniors from profits, classmates were brought together from different cities and some states, and an opportunity for relatives to visit each other existed.
In 2010, after several years of absence of the reunion, another group of women formed the committee that worked for ten more years to continue the reunion. They were very successful and students from surrounding areas did receive scholarships upon graduation from high school. The pandemic in 2021 was the cause of discontinuing the reunion. The last one was in 2019 and plans were being made for the next one in 2021. The reunions have not resumed but the women who made history should be remembered as people who cared and worked hard to keep the legacy alive for the closed C. H. Daniels School.
There are many more stories to be told about many women in Center and Shelby County who have made history with their businesses, their concern for health issues, their achievements, and their hard work in the community. Happy International Women History Month.
March 22, 2024 - VFW Post 8904 and Auxiliary held a remembrance program Friday, March 22, 2024, to honor those who served in Kosovo and who were a part of Operation Allied Force.
The program was led by Post Commander Richard Lundie, and he offered the opening prayer.
Pictured are (from left): Derrick Roberts, Gene Hutto, Mary Fausett, Teresa Hume, Carolyn Umbrell, Larry Jones, Mike Wulf, Richard Lundie, and Larry Hume.
“25 years ago today, on March 24th, 1999, NATO launched an air campaign called Operation Allied Force, the halt the humanitarian devastation that was then unfolding in Kosovo,” said Lundie. “The decision to intervene followed more than a year of fighting within the province, and the failure of international efforts to resolve the conflict by diplomatic means. NATO announced the suspension of the air campaign on June 10, 1999.”
Once it was concluded, a Military Technical Agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was signed between the International Security Force and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia.
NATO casualties were light and allies suffered no fatalities as a result of combat operation.
“Two American Army helicopter pilots, Chief Warrant Officer David Gibbs and Kevin Riker died when their AH-64 helicopter crashed in the early hours of May 5, 1999. The crash was not due to enemy fire, but two of America’s finest died in the early hours of May 5, 1999. died that day serving their country,” said Lundie.
In honor of those who served, and those who lost their lives, Post member Larry Jones placed a memorial wreath upon the Shelby County Veterans Memorial.
Taps was then played as presented by Gene Hutto, Past-Post Commander.
The program was concluded and it was announced the next program hosted by VFW Post 8904 will be held Friday, March the 29, at 10am, to honor Vietnam Veteran Memorial Day and the 51st anniversary of the last combat troop to leave Vietnam.
March 22, 2024 - “When I talk to schoolchildren, I tell them to close their eyes and remember what it was like when they left to go to school that morning. What is your house like? Was your room clean? Did anyone kiss you goodbye? Now, open your eyes. What would it be like if you never saw any of that again? Not your house. Not most of your family. They usually get very quiet.” This is how Hans Polk began his account of what happened to him as a six year old Jewish boy in Amsterdam in 1943 for the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society last Wednesday.
The Netherlands had fallen to the Germans and anti-Jewish pogroms had been instituted. “The Nazis had begun arresting Jews and sending them to concentration camps. Our neighbors, who were not Jewish, had agreed to take me, my parents' only child, if the Nazis came for them. Late in the day on June 20, 1943 my father handed me over to our neighbors and he and my mother were taken away shortly thereafter. They arrived at the Sobibor concentration camp on July 2 where then were later executed,” Polk recalled.
“Our neighbor took me to an orphanage which was run by Jews dressed as Catholic priests and nuns who were trying to hide Jewish children. Polk was adopted by a Christian family later and raised as their own. “Two weeks after I was adopted from the orphanage, the Nazis were told about the Jews in the orphanage and forty of them were taken away to the camps.” On May 5, 1945 the liberating American and Canadian forces rolled into Amsterdam. “They were throwing slices of bread to the people lining the streets. This was something we had not seen for a long time. Previously, we had had to eat soup made from the leaves of trees.”
Polk immigrated to the United States in 1956, later becoming a naturalized citizen and marrying an American Catholic. Their children were reared as Catholics and Polk eventually converted to Catholicism himself. He has visited the Netherlands a few times since he came to the U.S., even seeing his parents' names on a memorial at Sobibor. “Do I hate the Germans? No. They are good people but they allowed themselves to be misled by an evil person,” Polk concluded.
TAGHS meets at 2PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library, located on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The public is always welcome. The TAGHS Library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9AM until 5PM weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
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