June 30, 2026 - The community is invited to celebrate patriotism, history and family fun during a special Shelby County Stars and Stripes Morning on Saturday, July 11, from 10am to 1pm on the Historic Courthouse Grounds.
The morning will feature, Shellie O’Neal presenting a special one-woman performance, God Bless America: WWII Radio Hour, at 11am until noon insider the historic Courthouse.
Dr. Shellie O’Neal grew up in Carthage, Texas and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Tyler and her Ph.D from LSU. She is the daughter of the late historian, Bill O’Neal and the proud graddaughter of Ordria Gipson, a U.S. Marine who served in Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal and Bougainville during WWII and who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his bravery.
Dr. O’Neal served as the Chair of Theater at Navarro College for 24 years and directed 94 NC Theater Productions. She has written 28 plays, two of which have won Texas state play writing competitions and three of which have been published.
She has performed several different one-woman shows over the past 13 years. In 2019, after researching our nation’s anthems, Shellie started performing God Bless America: A WWII Radio Hour. She has performed it on the East Coast as well as in many Texas cities.
In God Bless America: A WWII Radio Hour, Shellie O’Neal portrays Sally Brennan, a fictitious radio show host. Throughout the course of the 54-minute performance, Sally sings six of our nations anthems and provides historical background for each anthem.
The morning will also include, the Historic Jail Marker dedication, tours of the historic Courthouse and pork sandwich lunch plates.
The event is hosted by the William Carroll Crawford Chapter of the DRT, the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and the Shelby County Historical Society. The Shelby County Fire Fighters Association will be cooking the lunch. Join us as we celebrate America and our community.
