August 1, 1933 - September 14, 2024
Doug Fincher was a contributor to Shelby County Today
from August 2011 through August 2024.
His writings often reflected memories of life in East Texas
with family, friends, and God.

To read his obituary, click here.

“Taking Our Medicine” by Doug Fincher

February 11, 2018 - "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

"Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

That Aint for Publication (By Doug Fincher)

February 5, 2018 - “Bridle your tongue….” James 3:4

When deacon chairman Oscar Adams spoke confidentially to our deacons, he’d conclude by saying, “Now men…that aint for publication”. Fortunately most of them honored his requests.

Remember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me”? Factually, the shores of history are littered with the skeletal remains of people slain by words. The sage Bias called the tongue the best and worst part of the body.

“J. D. Murphree” (By Doug Fincher)

January 29, 2018 - Soon after I became pastor of The First Baptist Church of Mauriceville, Texas in 1963, Deacon Thamar Dickerson asked me if I knew J.D. Murphree. “I sure do,” I said. “We both graduated from high school Center, Texas in 1950. I haven’t seen him since then”.. “Well, he’s our Game Warden…everyone likes him and we would like to get him in our church.” J.D.’s family lived a short distance from our church and I drove out the next day to visit him.

"Poss" By Doug Fincher

January 22, 2018 - Pam and I trapped our resident opossum ("Poss") yesterday and took him to his new home on Highway 21. His last meal at our house was an apple we used to bait the trap and when we found him in it he didn't seem to know he was trapped.

“Bayou Seipe” (By Doug Fincher)

January 15, 2018 - Before Toledo Bend Reservoir was ever built, the Bayou Seipe near Huxley, Texas was a ten-mile “no boat” creek- fisherman’s paradise and when my friend Hollis Peavey and I heard about it, we were soon addicted to it. Busy little Harris Branch ….spring-fed and ever-flowing… intersected the Bayou Seipe on its ten-mile run to the Sabine River. And this gorgeous branch/creek stretch of water became a favorite for Hollis and me.

“My Bull Frog Lessons” by Doug Fincher

January 1, 2018 - When we were kids, we grew up with frogs. We caught them, played with them, and ate them. Three encounters with bull frogs helped me make lifetime decisions about them.

“The Broken Pencil” by Doug Fincher

December 26, 2017 - The year 1939 was a particularly memorable year for me. I was six years old, and waiting for my first pair of shoes. Mother couldn’t buy my shoes but did buy my brother Bill and me a Big Chief Writing Tablet and an Eberhard #2 pencil.

“Joe’s Squirrel Hotel” (By Doug Fincher)

“The Brick Yard” by Doug Fincher

December 4, 2017 - When Daddy moved our family to East Center (Texas) in 1947, my brothers and I immediately began exploring our new territory. A four mile walk down the railroad took us to Mill Creek and a half mile walk in the opposite direction took us to our closest fishing place, The Brick Yard.

Brandon’s “Shot Shorts” by Doug Fincher

November 27, 2017 - When we caught wild hogs in our garden again recently, a quick blast from my rifle sent them stampeding wildly back into the woods. Later that evening, Pam called me to our backyard clothes line. “Look at Brandon’s new underwear, she gasped.

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By Doug Fincher