In discussions with the Donal Gilstrap family over the weekend and last several days, it was revealed to them that the audio of the conversations we had back in 2014 with him to construct the article entitled, “A walk to remember” was saved.  Mr. Gilstrap’s son Patrick thought his students and friends might want to listen to some of the stories told directly from the longtime Howe High School principal.

Here he discusses a principal he had that made a huge impact on his administrative career.

Here he discusses how he was lucky to get an education and recalls an English teacher that stood out to him.

Here he discusses how he became a football player without ever seeing a game.

Here he discusses how he was recruited to Howe ISD and the process of getting the high school principal position.

Here he discusses how it took three people to replace him when he moved to high school principal and three people to replace him when he retired.

Here he discusses his lack of desire to learn about computers.

Here he discusses his retirement and working with Norman Farms.

Here he talks about meeting Barbara.

Services for Donal Gene Gilstrap, age 84, of Howe, Texas will be held at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 29, 2018, at the First Baptist Church in Howe. Private family burial will follow at the Hall Cemetery in Howe, Texas. The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at Scoggins Funeral Home in Van Alstyne, Texas.

Donal passed away on Sunday, March 25, 2018, at the Homestead of Sherman. He was born on July 14, 1933, in Breckenridge, Texas the son of Edmund and Martha Gilstrap. Donal enlisted and served in the United States Army becoming a First Lieutenant. He met Barbara Helen Mahan while at Fort Sill & married her on August 8, 1959, in Madill, Oklahoma. Donal received his degree from Hardin Simmons University and later got his Master’s Degree from Texas Tech. He taught & coached in Memphis, TX & Lubbock, TX, before moving to Howe, TX to be a Principal for Howe Schools from 1972 until his retirement in 1993. He was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church in Howe, Texas.
Donal was preceded in death by his parents, then his wife, Barbara Helen Gilstrap.

Survivors are daughter, Catherine Gilstrap; son, Patrick Gilstrap & his wife Loretta; Grand-daughter, Dallas Wilburn & her husband, Lonnie; great-grand-daughter Zoey Wilburn; step-grandsons, Aaron Williams & Colton Williams; brother James Gilstrap & his wife Delores.

Services are under the direction of Scoggins Funeral Home & Crematory, 637 W. Van Alstyne Parkway, Van Alstyne, Texas 75495. Pallbearers will be Sam Haigis, Buddy Baker, Ray Bledsoe, Charles Farris, Charles Loftice & Bill Loftice.

The online register book may be signed at www.scogginsfunealhome.com

 

To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Donal Gene Gilstrap, please visit the Tribute Store.

Viewing for longtime Howe High School principal Donal Gilstrap will be Wednesday, Mar 28, 2018, from 6 pm to 8 pm at Scoggins Funeral Home, 637 West Van Alstyne Parkway, Van Alstyne, TX 75495.

The funeral service will be Thursday, Mar 29 at 2 pm at the First Baptist Church, 100 Davis Street, Howe, TX 75459.

Services for Donal Gene Gilstrap, age 84, of Howe, Texas will be held at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 29, 2018 at the First Baptist Church in Howe. Private family burial will follow at the Hall Cemetery in Howe, Texas. The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at Scoggins Funeral Home in Van Alstyne, Texas.

Donal passed away on Sunday, March 25, 2018 at the Homestead of Sherman. He was born on July 14, 1933 in Breckenridge, Texas the son of Edmund and Martha Gilstrap. Donal enlisted and served in the United States Army becoming a First Lieutenant. He met Barbara Helen Mahan while at Fort Sill & married her on August 8, 1959 in Madill, Oklahoma. Donal received his degree from Hardin Simmons University and later got his Master’s Degree from Texas Tech. He taught & coached in Memphis, TX & Lubbock, TX, before moving to Howe, TX to be a Principle for Howe Schools from 1972 until his retirement in 1993. He was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church in Howe, Texas.
Donal was preceded in death by his parents, then his wife, Barbara Helen Gilstrap.

Survivors are daughter, Catherine Gilstrap; son, Patrick Gilstrap & his wife Loretta; Grand-daughter, Dallas Wilburn & her husband, Lonnie; great-grand-daughter Zoey Wilburn; step-grandsons, Aaron Williams & Colton Williams; brother James Gilstrap & his wife Delores.

Services are under the direction of Scoggins Funeral Home & Crematory, 637 W. Van Alstyne Parkway, Van Alstyne, Texas 75495. Pallbearers will be Sam Haigis, Buddy Baker, Ray Bledsoe, Charles Farris, Charles Loftice & Bill Loftice.
The online register book may be signed at www.scogginsfunealhome.com

To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Donal Gene Gilstrap, please visit our Tribute Store.

 

A walk to remember

Originally published in the Howe Enterprise, Monday, June 16, 2014 

Kids and newer residents of Howe have no idea who the heavily bearded, heavily clothed man is who walks continuously around the east side of town. They just might be shocked of the impact he made on countless individuals who call this city their home.

After the announced retirement of longtime Superintendent, Charles Thompson, the school had a vacancy for the position. Gilstrap, who was best friends with Ray Culp (brother of then-school board member Ned Culp), was asked to apply for the superintendent position.

“I knew I wasn’t qualified for it. I was still working on my master’s degree. But it was something that I was interested in and I thought I’d apply and if nothing else, it would be a mini-vacation,” said Gilstrap. Gilstrap was not hired for the job as it went to Glen Mitchell.

“They told me that I was not going to be the superintendent, and I knew that, but they said that we want you to be a high school principal in a year. The entire school board came out to Lubbock and I was in my shop working and they came out to my shop where I was welding and I couldn’t believe that they had driven all the way out there just to see me and to say ‘we want you’ and that made me feel good,” Gilstrap remarked.

Gilstrap became the middle school principal with the understanding that he would become the high school principal the following year. He was worried about replacing H.L. Linker, who was the current high school principal and wondering how that was going to work.

“I told Mr. Mitchell that I will never take somebody’s job and have him fired simply to please me,” said Gilstrap.

Mr. Mitchell set it up for Gilstrap to take the elementary and middle school principal position and also tax assessor in order for it to be an increase in pay from what he was already receiving in Lubbock.

“A lot of people thought that Mr. Mitchell and I knew each other, but I never knew him until I got here,” said Gilstrap.

When Mitchell left Howe and Arthur Boyle was hired as superintendent, Boyle named Gilstrap the high school principal when it opened up, knowing that it was in Gilstrap’s contract to be offered the position.

Gilstrap, as a principal, was a bit intimidating, although he only stood 5′ 9″. He looked like a man that was either a wrestler or football player. However, he was as caring and protective of his students as anyone could ask.

“There were a couple of boys that I kept out of serious trouble. And it was one of those where not a big deal was made of it. I told someone that it’s not me that’s keeping these boys out of serious trouble, it’s that old principal that I had in Colorado City, Texas.,” said Gilstrap.

He molded himself after his high school principal. In fact, Gilstrap was very lucky to even have a high school principal and an education altogether.

Gilstrap grew up picking cotton in the 1940’s and was not able to go to school until all of the cotton was picked, which was usually around November. His mother had a sixth-grade education and his dad received no education at all, but he was a hard oil field worker.

When Gilstrap went to school at Colorado City, his principal set him up, knowing he wouldn’t be there long. He took him to an English teacher who demanded excellence from him. She was upset at his showing up in November.

“She said, ‘young man, every student in my class is up to date. When Christmas starts, you will have said 100 lines of poetry and you will give me nine book reports. It will be done.’ I said, ‘yes ma’am.,’” remarked Gilstrap with a smile.

Gilstrap turned in three book reports in the first three days and completed all of her assignments by her deadline. She soon realized that he was an avid reader and had done literally two things in his life to that point – work and read.

That English teacher not only challenged him to push himself, but she also taught him how teachers would react to stressful situations like that which would help him down the road in his administration position.

It was also in high school that a coach told him that he needed to try out for football. Even though Gilstrap grew up in the hot-bed of high school football in West Texas near Midland and Big Spring, he had never played or even seen a football game due his constant working and reading.

With his mother insisting on him staying in school at Colorado City, his dad found a job nearby so that could take place. He did as his coach had asked and tried out for the football team in 1949, his sophomore year.

“On my first day, there wasn’t anyone who could show me how to put the football uniform on. If you think about it, it’s difficult. It took me 15 minutes to get the knee pads to stay in. I couldn’t figure out how to get the thing buckled. I just went out there without some pads,” said Gilstrap.

After having to explain to Gilstrap what the word “tackle” meant, the coach had him on the kickoff team and wanted him to tackle the ball carrier on the kick return.

“I grabbed him, picked him up and threw him on the ground. The other kids were clapping and carrying on and what I didn’t know was that this kid was the typical bully,” said Gilstrap. “The next time, I did the same thing. I picked him up and threw him down. The third time, he wouldn’t pick up the ball.”

Not knowing any football terminology, Gilstrap was a real-life Herman Munster on the field with little understanding, but amazing strength. He became the starting middle linebacker in the first game that he’d ever seen. His skills in football earned him an athletic scholarship to Hardin-Simmons University to play football.

After college, he went to The U.S. Army for four years, spending time in Korea, he made money for the first time of his life. Being an officer, he got paid more than the rest. After his duty to his country, he found himself working in Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he joined a church and on one particular church event, the young people walked up Mount Scott near Lawton, Oklahoma.

“About halfway up the hill, I looked up and there was a girl standing there and I never saw such pretty red hair. It was the reddest hair, you can’t believe how red it was. But she was with an enlisted man,” Gilstrap recalled. “I got her name – Barbara, but that was it.”

After calling a friend and confirming that “Barbara” was a college graduate and the church secretary. One evening after the church service was over, the group of younger people went for some coffee. Gilstrap told Barbara that he had a G.I. inspection the next morning and that he couldn’t go. That’s when she put her hand on his shoulder and said, ‘Aw, you’ve got time for a cup of coffee.’

“That was it. We got married really quickly. I could’ve been married a week or two later, but we waited a little while. It was one of those things where I just knew,” said Gilstrap. “I knew from the time she told me that I had time for a cup of coffee that I was going to marry her.”

They were married August 8, 1959, and spent 54 years never having an argument.

“She was the most brilliant person that I have ever encountered. She knew every spelling and definition of every word. I could never stump her. I used to try all of the time,” Gilstrap said.

He also recalled that she was so popular when they were dating. He had all of the little old ladies in the church telling him to be nice to her.

“Barbara had 50 grandmothers in the same church,” he said. “She was the pastor’s secretary so he would also look at me and make sure I was good for her.”

The pastor told them that he never knew a couple that didn’t need a conversation before marriage because he knew they were meant for each other.

They lived the dream marriage and had two children: Catherine and Patrick, who both graduated from Howe High School.

As a student, Barbara was the secretary to the Oklahoma Baptist University president and continued in that position after graduation. She later worked in the president’s office at Texas Tech University, and she retired in 1996 from the president’s office at Grayson County College.

As mentioned, Donal Gilstrap retired from Howe ISD after the 1992-93 school year. After retirement, he went back to his first childhood job. He worked in the fields. This time he used a tractor when he worked for Norman Farms.

“I loved it so much. I had hardly any responsibilities. I didn’t have to have a philosophy and everything. I was with very intelligent people, but we didn’t have to be intelligent. We just worked. It was so much fun,” said Gilstrap.

But one day, while working on the farms, he realized that something wasn’t quite right with Barbara. She had been driving to Oklahoma regularly to see her elderly mother, who had started to treat her poorly as if she were a little girl. However, if her husband were around, her mother would treat Barbara like an adult.

Gilstrap soon resigned from working for Jack Norman in order to make changes to the routine. Barbara was working non-stop to prepare weekend meals for her visits with her mother and soon because exhausted. She then started to get lost on her way to the Oklahoma destination that she had traveled so many times.

Gilstrap started trying to take some of the stress off of her by doing some of the cooking.

“When we’d come home on Sunday evenings, that would be the only time that she would relax,” Gilstrap said.

Gilstrap became worried about her forgetting what the doctors were telling her, so he requested they have their exams together. The doctor would ask her to spell things backward and then spell very tough words. Little did the doctor realize that this was her specialty. He cleared her and said that she was as sharp as a tack. However, Gilstrap knew that this wasn’t the case.

A few years later, she was in fact diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  In the early stages, Gilstrap made sure she had a cell phone everywhere she went so she could call if she would get lost. Those early stages, they often laughed about it, but the worse her condition escalated, it became nothing to laugh about. Always trying to please her, he would take her out to lunch or dinner anytime. However, she couldn’t think of what she wanted.  One particular afternoon they started in Howe and drove to Sherman and she refused each location they drove by. He drove to Denison to her favorite places to no avail. He continued to Durant and was told no, in which he drove her to Ada and told no. She finally decided on a place once they drove all the way to her hometown of Madill, Oklahoma. Another afternoon in the grocery store, Gilstrap found her talking to a young family and when asked, she said told the family that she didn’t have any kids and had never been married. She often would not remember being married and would take herself to a place in her life before marriage. She would often speak as if she were in college and with old college friends.

“All of the time I spent in college, 11 years in Lubbock, East Texas State, all of the counseling courses I took, I had to use all of it with Barbara,” said Gilstrap. “I told myself that I would never let it bother me. I don’t care what it is. I can do anything under any circumstance.”

Her suffering became his suffering. He would even listen to her say that she didn’t want to be married or want the responsibility of being married.

“She would say, ‘Don, I love you and I’m so happy with us, but you’re a good woman,’” (he laughed).

With that, he knew she wasn’t understanding what she was saying and he learned to take everything in stride as her condition grew worse and worse.

“I never allowed her to go to bed without being happy and I never left this living room without her giggling. To leave her there (Pecan Point Assisted Living) was the hardest thing to do.

Barbara passed away on a Saturday in November of 2012. It would have been about the same time of the year that Don Gilstrap would’ve finally been done picking cotton in West Texas and heading to school.

The man who walks in overalls, walking stick and long white beard resembles a picture of a shepherd from biblical days. He has seen a lot. He was the non-typical kid that had a great work ethic that was taught to him by his father. He also had a love of reading. All he needed was a chance.

Because of a hard-nosed English teacher that pushed him, a principal that cared enough about him to give him a chance, and a coach that bought him socks and shoes and taught him how to play football, Donal Gilstrap was able to use his work ethic to get through college, the Armed Forces, a long-standing career as an administrator and stick with the love of his life as she chartered in territory unfamiliar.

Gilstrap was brought here by six school board members who drove to Lubbock to make sure he came to Howe to help our kids grow in to being people that just might out-work the next guy.

His ability to endure without wavering can still be seen in the hot June sun every day on a trip from his home on Denny Street down to Duke, back of Hughes to Young, back to Denny to his house. Gilstrap has had a walk to remember.

The Howe Area Chamber of Commerce is once again hosting the Founders Day Festival and this year’s event could be the best yet if the number of street vendors is any indication.  The event which will take place on May 5, 2018, in downtown Howe from 2 pm to 8 pm has seen an unusual of early bird vendors reserve their spaces on the street.  Of the 42 street spaces, only two remain with six weeks to go.  The chamber has added an additional 20 overflow spaces which will be placed between City Hall and Abby’s Restaurant and behind the restaurant next to Stark Lane Farms Gift Shop.

Food vendors that have signed up so far are B-Dawgz Street Doggz, Magic Smoke BBQ, Pop Pop Popcorn, and Chill Out Shaved Ice.

There will be a Kid Zone with items including a bounce house (sponsored by Exalt Realty) and the chamber is seeking sponsors for the popular Interurban Kid Train and a 65′ inflatable obstacle.

“This is the chance we have to create positive lasting memories for our kids in this town and maybe one day when they start having families they’ll remember these great days and they’ll want to raise their kids here,” said Howe’s Economic Director Monte Walker.

Two bands will rock downtown starting with Bent Creek who performed at last year’s Founders Day Festival.  They will play from 2 pm – 4:30 pm.  Then Texas Flood will take the stage at 5:30 pm which is a free concert sponsored by Tomlin Investments.   Texas Flood is the highly-accredited Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band that will have the crowd amazed at the likeness of sound, look, and feel.  Texas Flood has become one of the premier blues bands in all of North Texas. Evolving from the original tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas Flood pays tribute to the legends as well as the future of the blues through their own music and style. With an in-your-face show and raw high energy playing, Tommy Katona takes the listener on a journey through the blues.

The chamber will also host a wine-tasting event inside the chamber office that will take place from 5 pm to 8 pm.  No alcohol is allowed to be consumed outside of the contained area.   Tickets will be $10 to enter the wine-tasting.

Register a vendor space by clicking here

 

Howe ISD announced this morning that they have a contract on a property for the new primary school that is set to open in August of 2019.  The 15-acre tract is located on the northwest corner of Summit Hill Parkway and US Highway 75.

Howe Superintendent Kevin Wilson said that the contract identifies the property, but nothing is finalized until closing.   Now that the property has been identified, the school can begin the final stages of site-plan development.

 

The Howe Youth Baseball non-profit organization is preparing for a preseason 12U tournament to be held at Bicentennial Park’s North Field starting Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 pm.  Howe has three teams in the tournament that will lead up to regular season play next week.

Tickets are $3 for adults at the gate and $1 for children.  Weekend passes will be available.  All funds go to improve Howe Youth Baseball including upgrades to ballfields, paying for umpires, uniforms, chalk, playing surface, and equipment.

 

 

It was May of 1983 and the City of Howe had just elected a new mayor named Jerry Kirby who ran on the platform of removing the position of city administrator. Kirby had defeated R.L. Cate on the April 2 election of that year and stated in the March 31, 1983 Howe Enterprise edition that he believed that the $19,000 per year salary of a city administrator was a luxury that he didn’t feel the Howe taxpayers needed and felt he, as mayor, along with the city council and city clerk could make up for the loss of the position.

Joe Fenton, who was the city administrator at the time immediately invited Kirby to city hall to show him the budget of half a million dollars that the city sent out and received. Fenton told him that if he took over, he would be accountable and responsible for every dollar of the million. That visit seemed to have changed the attitude and direction of his agenda.

Kirby’s first presiding city council meeting on April 21 became turbulent as then city council member Jack Berry had placed an executive session on the council agenda to help those new to the council to understand the “duties” of each of the 11 city employees. It became quite clear that the discussions were directed to Fenton and his position of city administrator. Fenton requested that any discussion of his position be done in open session.

Berry, who had many questions about street repair or the lack thereof, began to question Fenton and his abilities to manage a crew. That’s when Kirby stepped forward and said that he would take responsibility because he had Fenton on other jobs for the past 20 days.  Back in those days, the city crew were also gathering trash which took up a lot of time.

Kirby told the council, “If the council will give me authority to operate the street department, I’ll take the flack.” Councilman Sam Haigis responded, “You already have the authority.”

The city council called for a special meeting on May 5, 1983, to discuss the position of city administrator. In a shocking and surprising turn of events, Mayor Kirby turned over his mayor seat to Mayor Pro Tem Duward Mills so he could take part in the debate and vote on the matter before the council.

The meeting which was to discuss keeping the position of city administrator and or Fenton drew a crowd of 71 (which is roughly 70 more than currently attend council meetings). Due to the large turnout, the meeting was moved from City Hall to the Howe Community Center (former First Christian Church).

The mayor opened the meeting with some ground rules on questioning and then gave a reason for the action he was about to take and told the audience that he had no idea how the city would conduct business as usual without an administrator and said the council is not prepared to take on duties and he could not guess who would do it.

“This matter is too important to just leave to guess, so I will relinquish my chair to the mayor pro tem and take my place with the council so I can vote on the outcome,” said Kirby.

At that point, several members of the community spoke in support of Fenton including Mamie Watson, J.R.L. Hill, Ellan Cate, R.L. Cate, Virginia Baker, Buddy Baker, Glen Van Blaricom, Kenneth Ping, Fire Chief Jerry Parks, Walter Schulz, Tim Buchanon, Don Gilstrap, Leon Thornhill, Deanna Helms, Don Seeyle, Howe City Secretary Marilee Vaughan, and Joe Wallace, former president of Howe State Bank.

Wallace said, “As a banker, I feel like a business as large as the city needs a head.”

He said the good credit rating of the city was at stake and said that his experience with Fenton had shown him that he was quite capable of handling the job.

At this point, councilman Berry asked for clarification as to what rule would allow for a mayor to become part of the council. Mayor Kirby then quoted from the Roberts’ Rules of Order, article 10 (City Ordinance Book – Chapter 1, Section 15, which sets up procedures of council meetings to be in accordance with Roberts’ Rules).

Recently it has been discovered that Fenton masterminded the Roberts’ Rule insertion with help from Joe Wallace.

“I’d like to tell all these people that doing away with this position will save $19,000, but it’s not going to happen,” said Kirby.

He said he had checked into prices for part-time advisory help and the best price he could get was one day a month for $10,000 a year. “In my opinion, that’s not good money spent,” said Kirby.

Kirby said he ran for mayor saying the City of Howe did not need an administrator, but he admitted, “I had also not been down to city hall one single time to see what his job is worth and if we can operate without a city manager.”

More than likely coming to the realization that without an administrator all of the work he hadn’t accounted for would fall in his lap. With his sudden turn-a-bout, Kirby added, “I took an oath that I would look after the business of this town to the best of my ability.” He said he has plans to get the streets fixed and get the sewer project going. “We need to get busy and do the business of the city.”

Most of the citizens at the meeting loudly applauded the mayor’s statement.

Fifty minutes into the meeting, Berry made a motion to convene into executive session. The council went to city hall for their deliberation, leaving the citizens who wished to wait at the Community Center.

At 9:23 the meeting reconvened with Kirby sitting as a member of the council. He made a motion that Fenton’s work record and his public relations record will be evaluated by the council and he will be held accountable for those actions as laid out in his instruction. The motion carried as three voted in favor: Kirby, Jim Huckaby, and Haigis.

Jack Berry later gave his reason for the no vote. “I voted my conviction at that time,” said Berry, who spoke with the Howe Enterprise soon afterward. “Once the council makes a decision we need to forget the past and pull together to get this town going.”

William “Sonny” Burns who also voted no on the motion said afterward that he hasn’t changed his mind since the election. In his statement in the Enterprise on March 31, “I can’t see why a city the size of Howe needs an administrator…”

Needless to say, things that were that heated led to turbulent relationships with city leaders. In January of 1984, Kirby left a note on Fenton’s desk telling him to fire the Electrical Inspector Ken Nicholas due to “being hard to get along with” and accusations of Nicholas being in trouble with the law in Southmayd. He then reportedly told the inspector that he “Ought to fire Fenton for showing you that letter.”

At a council meeting, Kirby denied the statements, stood up and removed his jacket and had to be calmed by councilmembers. He then told Nicholas, “What could interest you in a job that pays $5.00 and you have to drive 20 miles for?

After several members of the community spoke favorably for Nicholas, Kirby said he would retract the order to fire him.

“If we do have a personality conflict or whatever. Never have I questioned his work…I will yield to the witnesses of this man and retract that order,” said Kirby.

After calming words from the council, Mayor Kirby apologized and the two men shook hands.

In February of 1984, Kirby again became upset with Fenton over an electrical inspection issue and within two weeks, Fenton left Howe for a better opportunity with Whitesboro. Cannon George was hired to replace him in March, but after only two months, he turned in his resignation citing pressures contributing to health problems. He was replaced with Ray Houston in July of 1984 who resigned in October of the same year. He was replaced the same month by Dick Britton.

In July of 1986, Kirby resigned as mayor for “personal business reasons” and it was reported that the council reluctantly voted to accept the resignation. Marion Allison, mayor pro tem took over until Ray Bledsoe eventually took over as Mayor of Howe for the next 13 years during which Howe was sued by the City of Sherman for breach of sewer contract. During those years, Ray Houston returned as city administrator and “The Two Rays” were credited and blamed for much of the collapsing local economy.

Kirby still resides in Howe and can be found at Quick Check frequently. He is the brother of Howe’s legendary serviceman L.B. Kirby.

Fenton now lives in Muenster but is seen in Howe from time to time. He helped initiate the format of the Save the Church auction back in 2016 that raised over $25,000. It was modeled after a fundraiser annually held by the Fire Department of Muenster.

It’s been 35 years since this interesting era of Howe politics took place. Today, Howe’s current mayor, Jeff Stanley has been in office for nearly ten years, Howe’s City Administrator Joe Shephard has been here for eight years, and the city council works together for the best interest of the city. The current administration financially saved the city and its credit rating through the most difficult time. It’s a good time to live in Howe. When they look back at our era of city politics, it should be a shining example of how to get things moving in the right direction without the drama that can sometimes hamper a city. The only thing that is the same is that people will still complain about streets. That will never change.

This story was made possible by the outstanding journalism of Lana Rideout who captured the entire era flawlessly with deep passion, accuracy, and concern. Her accounts now forever capture and give reflection to the history of Howe.

It’s the time of year again that runners show up to the Howe Middle School to participate in the Bulldog Run & Health Fair.

New this year for 5K participants in addition to the traditional registration method is that 5K participants may register online through active.com

Participants may pre-register however onsite registration will be available.

Vendors may also sign up with the forms below:

Easter. It’s the one Sunday of the year when anyone who has ever colored a picture of Jesus, sung Amazing Grace or put on a fancy hat might come to church. Easter Sunday is usually the highest attended worship service of the year for most churches.

There are several options in Howe for your visiting pleasure. Visiting a church for the first time can be intimidating. You often don’t know what to expect. You’d love to ask, but you’re not sure who to ask or even if your question sounds silly. It’s not. Probably others have the same question as you. Often times, people have key factors on choosing a home church when visiting a church for the first time on Easter. These questions are:

1. What will we do? What can I expect? 2. Will you embarrass me? 3. How long will the service last? 4. What time should I arrive? 5. Do you have something for children? 6. Can I only come one time? Really, for what am I signing up when I come Easter Sunday?

The Howe church of Christ will be celebrating their 85th year with a homecoming anniversary celebration on April 29. But it is business as usual on Easter Sunday for the church at 1205 N. Collins Freeway. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt, however, on March 17.

The First United Methodist Church of Howe at 810 N. Denny St. will hold a Good Friday Service on Friday, March 30 at 7 pm. On Saturday, March 31, the customary Community Easter Egg Hunt at Howe High School will take place from 11 am – 1 pm. Traditional Easter Sunday worship will be held on Sunday, April 1 at 10 am.

The First Baptist Church of Howe at 100 W. Davis St. will once again have their Easter service at Howe High School located at 200 Ponderosa Rd. The service will begin at 10 am Sunday, April 1 with coffee and donuts being served starting at 9 am.

Community Bible Fellowship’s calendar says they will have their Easter service starting at 10:30 am. CBF is located at 415 S. Collins Freeway.

New Beginning Fellowship will have Easter worship service starting at 10:30 am at the church followed by a brisket lunch and an egg hunt located at 910 S. Denny Street.

Bethel Baptist Church will have Easter service on April 1 at 11 am. The church has been in Howe since 1966 located at 905 E. FM 902.