Shelby County Today

Pictured are (from left) Mary Roberts, Derrick Roberts, Joyce Johnson, and Larry "Dude" Jones.

December 5, 2025 - VFW Post 8904 members gathered at the Shelby County Veterans Memorial on a cold December 5, 2025, to honor those who served and those who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, 84 years ago.

Mary Roberts, Post Quartermaster, led the program and offered an opening prayer.

"It began when the Japanese aircraft appeared in the air above Pearl Harbor Hawaii just before 8am on a Sunday morning. When the attack ceased shortly before 10am, less than two hours after it began, American forces had paid a fearful price," said Roberts.

She stated 18 ships were either damaged or sunk, 180 aircraft destroyed, 2,403 were dead and thousands of others were wounded.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke with forewarning words when he stated, 'No matter how long it may take for us to overcome the premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through absolute victory. With the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help me God," said Roberts.

Larry “Dude” Jones, Post Member, then placed the memorial wreath upon the Shelby County Veterans Memorial.

Taps was then played as presented by Derrick Roberts, Post Commander.

December 4, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, December 4.

The older we get, the more we worry about our legacy, about what we’ll leave behind, about how we’ll be remembered. Chester Greenwood was born on December 4, 1858, in Farmington, Maine, and he’s remembered as the guy who invented... ear muffs.

It gets really cold in Maine. Tonight’s forecast in Farmington is for a low of ZERO! So Greenwood’s invention wasn’t a small accomplishment. Well, it was small - just two clumps of fabric and a piece of wire - and who would even guess that ear muffs was a thing that had to be “invented,” like the telephone or the internet. Greenwood actually called them “ear protectors.” He was an inventor, not an adman.

But enough jokes about Chester Greenwood - and, believe me, I’ve got a few more - but I like to keep these devotions short. His invention may seem a bit trivial, but we’re still talking about it, and him, over a century later. And this Saturday, and the first Saturday in December every year, there’s a parade in Farmington, Maine, to celebrate Chester Greenwood Day. That’s a nice legacy.

Abraham is considered one of the mighty men of the Bible, a patriarch of the Old Testament, a hero of the faith. But when you look carefully at his life, you find that it was dotted with failures, and full of regrets. In the end, this was his epitaph - “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”(Genesis15:6)

That’s a nice legacy.

Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com

December 3, 2025 - The Center square before the Historic Shelby County Courthouse was full of Christmas spirit Tuesday, December 2, 2025, as residents and visitors gathered for the 2nd Annual Community Christmas Tree Lighting.

The town square echoed with Christmas carols performed by the First Methodist Church Choir who were also accompanied by the jack-of-all-trades himself, Chris Watlington, as emcee and pianist.

Refreshments were available for those in attendance to help warm the chill of the night air before the highly anticipated event.

The historic courthouse was open for everyone to come in out of the cold as well as explore the 1885 Irish style castle. Docents of the courthouse, the William Carroll Crawford Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, welcomed all and served delicious cookies to the many who took advantage of the experience. Little children and many young-at-heart adults placed ornaments on the main Christmas tree located in the Gibson room.

Once the choir had imbued the audience with a sense of holiday spirit, it was time for the lighting of the 20-foot Community Christmas tree. Receiving the honor of pushing the button and lighting the tree were the Farmers State Bank tellers. Together, as the audience counted down from 10, the tellers pushed the magic tree lighting button and the crowd exploded into cheers as the area lit up!

Everyone attending enjoyed viewing the many new decorations added to the downtown square including a horse carousel, a family of reindeer, and a Hallmark Card frame for photos sponsored by none other than Hallmark.

November 28, 2025 - The Timpson Volunteer Ambulance Service (VAS) – the only free-standing, 100% volunteer EMS organization left operating in Texas and surrounding states, received the 50 Women Impact 4th Quarter Grant for 2025 in the amount of $10,900. The TVAS has been serving the area since 1977, and also sponsors the Timpson Community EMS Training Program – a licensed school to teach EMR’s and EMT’s.

The 50 Women Impact group was formed to bring together women whose goal is to assist Shelby County non-profit organizations by combining their financial resources into one donation for a common purpose… "the power of giving as one!" To date, the organization, with over 100 members, has awarded/invested $350,000 in Shelby County non-profit organizations who, in turn, improve the quality of life in Shelby County. New members are welcome!