If you look at the folio of this page (the tiny type at the top of the page that tells you the date and page number) it will read THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. It seems only fitting on the eve of Christmas Eve that we thank the people who help us create the newspaper’s content, week in, week out.
It might surprise our readers to know how truly local the talent in their newspaper is. For example, Angela Lopez, our food columnist known as Angelina LaRue, lives and works in Idalou, and grew up near White River Lake. When I was still with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 2012, I became aware of a writer who was pitching the idea of a local recipe column to the A-J. I read Angie’s recipes and columns and loved them, and we started her first column then.
In the meantime, this talented cook created, pitched and sold the idea of a cookbook to Pelican Publishing, a leading book publisher in the South.
Since then, the list of newspapers where her columns run has grown to include The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, The Post Dispatch, The Idalou Beacon, The Crosby County News, The Texas Spur, The Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon and The Caprock Courier.
Retired horticulture professor Dr. Ellen Peffley and I got to know each by being a part of a gardening hobby group in Lubbock. Through that process I learned that she was an editor, working with Neil Sperry, a popular Texas horticulturist who had published numerous books. When at the A-J, I asked her if she’d be interested in writing a gardening column, and when my partners and I acquired The Texas Spur in 2018, I asked her if she’d like to run her column in it.
The Library Notes column has been a part of The Texas Spur for decades, and relatively new librarian Donnice Carruth continues to serve its legacy well with her behind the scenes sharing of events and offerings at the Spur library. She faithfully generates this column as a volunteer initiative to serve the library, and we appreciate it.
Across our three newspapers, we have decades of service from volunteer contributors serving their communities. In the Caprock Courier, Joy Stodgill of Silverton reports the going’s and doing’s of her quilting group and neighbors. Every week she composes her column on a manual typewriter and her readers, including us, admire her insights and dedication. Similar dedication can be found across the county line into Motley County where Earlyne Jameson compiles Flomot News with editorial assistance by Carol Campbell. Motley County’s librarian, Carla Meador, contributes Library Journal, and Carol Campbell writes the Campbell Soup column.
Emily Teegardin, an attorney from Quitaque, and her mother, Linda Russell Roy from the Hotel Matador, work together to bring readers the Cattle Market Report.
In the fast-moving world of sports, Fred Cervantes of Lockney is our newest contributor and photographer. He and photographer wife Gracie Cervantes have a whole county of basketball to keep with up, including boys and girls teams for Lockney and Floydada. Fred chronicled high school football for us as well.
In Spur, Steve Bridges, Jayton pastor Jake Edwards and Philip Presson provided eyewitness coverage of the all the varsity football games for Jayton, Spur and Patton Springs.
Ever since 2018 we’ve gotten great photos from sporting and civic events from Jayton from Amanda McGee and in recent years, Johnna Reynolds has assisted in chronicling Jayton events via photography as well.
From time to time, we get great photos our readers that send them to us via email or social media and we run them— appreciative of the historical record they help us provide the public.
Sue Jane Sullivan, who grew up in Snyder and taught at Borden County Schools for many years, provided weekly commentary for us for several months, and readers gave her articles high praise. She is taking a break from writing at the moment and promises to return in the spring.
Hanaba Munn Welch is a woman of many talents, and we appreciate sharing her clever observations weekly in “The 501,” in The Caprock Courier and the Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon.
Throughout most of the year we were lucky to have the “Back Stage” column by Liz Adams, who spun music-related titles into observations about local news, life and culture. You’ll continue to see her byline from time to time.
It’s not always easy to fill the pages of a weekly newspaper, and there are plenty of places to get “canned” copy, but for our three publications editor Barbara Brannon and I maintain a commitment to keeping our content as local as we can.
We are always looking for stringers in both reporting and photography, and if you have an interest in either, email us at spur@thetexasspur.com
Thank you to all of our content contributors. You have made our newspapers better and you have made our communities better. Your efforts are a gift worthy of this holiday season.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from this corner of the page.
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