Life in Grapevine, Texas during the 1920’s to 1950’s (from the Star-Telegram archive)
A while back I stumbled across this post from the Star-Telegram of photos from our little town back in the day. Because too much on the internet gets lost, I decided to grab a copy of it all as an archive for myself. Your mileage may vary.
A couple things I’ve noted looking through them:
- #1: We attend this congregation though neither the building or the location are the same as this photo.
- #7: This school building still stands and has been a place of education for both of my boys (currently the younger one still has 1.5 years left in it). It’s also a block from our house.
- #12: We’ve had the same mayor for over 40 years. The mayor before him? His dad.
- #19: The Lucas family has owned and operated a funeral home in Grapevine for decades. My current office used to be the place where they stored their caskets.
- #24: Ola Mae (Black) Hodges was one of our favorite Grapevine residents for years when we first moved here. She and her husband lived in the same house for almost 60 years and amazingly enough, had the same phone number for their entire time of owning the home. Her husband Bob was a war veteran, a varsity quarterback at Grapevine HS, and has forgotten more committed-to-memory scripture than I’ll ever be able to learn.
- #32: There are more cantaloupes in this picture than I’ve seen grown in this town in my entire time living here. I kind of wish I was around when we were a little more agriculture focused.
- #33: The tallest building on the left side of the street in this photo is my office (right above where it says Drugs).
- #36: This building is about 3 doors north of my office. No longer a bank, now it’s a steakhouse.
- #37: We live in the D.E. Box neighborhood of Grapevine. Prior to this photo, I didn’t know who D.E Box was.
- #43: Again, office on left side, tallest building.
- #44: A little more recent view of downtown to match it up with #43.
(more…)
Even more than the question of, “why should I vote for you?” I get asked about my reasoning for running in this election. I’ve given any number of different answers depending on my mood and the situation. As I sit here on the eve of Election Day, I am reflecting back on the last six weeks and all of the highs and lows that have come with it. Since I may never have the chance to speak to everyone directly here in town, I thought I’d list out a few of the reasons why I saddled up for this ride. The following list is probably not exclusive but it feels right for tonight.
1. I am running for myself.
This could come off sounding a little selfish but that isn’t my intention. I am running because far too many (including myself) live with an impostor syndrome that is really hard to shake. “You’re not smart enough.” “You don’t have enough training.” “You didn’t go through the right channels.” “You don’t know the right people.” These are the tricks we allow our brains to play on us to create self-doubt and often limit ourselves in terms of what we think we can accomplish. You aren’t alone, many people deal with it regularly. The best way I’ve found to shake the impostor syndrome? Push yourself into territories you never thought you could.
2. I am running for my city.
We chose Grapevine. Our decision to call it home was intentional. We plan on being here for a long time. It’s in our best interest to get involved and help Keep Grapevine Great.
3. I am running because I believe we are all called to serve.
You don’t have to be on the city council to serve. You can serve your neighbor, your family, your church, your co-workers, people living in distress, the less fortunate, or any number of other causes. When you serve, you get outside of yourself and gain perspective. The opportunities are endless, where do you find yourself feeling the desire to help out?
4. I am running for folks I don’t know.
I’ve noted several times during this campaign that there’s a disconnect between the average age of the current city council and the median age of the Grapevine resident. Almost thirty years. That’s a big deal to me. Families in this town deserve to be represented by somebody that understands them and their needs. I am running for my family and I am running for yours.
5. I am running because some people said I shouldn’t.
Who doesn’t love a little external motivation?
6. I am running because there’s a few things I’d like to see change.
An elected, representative government should listen to – and be held accountable by – the people that elected them. I believe we can do better. If you continue to allow the same folks to be elected, you will continue to get the same results. We can do better.
7. I am running to hear your story.
This wasn’t an original reason for me deciding to run but during this campaign I have had the privilege of meeting so many of you and hearing your great stories. Sitting down for meals, coffee, phone calls, emails, I’ve enjoyed them all.
8. I am running for my boys.
It’s a little counter-intuitive to think that taking on more responsibility is a good way to teach a lesson to my boys but hear me out. I want them to understand that they can do anything they want in life if they put their mind and efforts to it. The first step will be putting themselves out there and setting a goal. If I can’t model that, I don’t imagine they’ll pick it up all that well.
9. I am running for my business.
As a small business owner, it makes sense that I have a vested interest in the future of the city my business resides in. If Grapevine stays strong, my business has a better opportunity to stay strong. In addition, I have a vision for what the next Grapevine can look like business-wise and I’d love to be involved to help put that plan in action.
So there you have it, nine things that have motivated me at different points throughout this election season. I’m guessing if you ask me tomorrow, I could probably list out nine more.
Tomorrow you have one more chance to help direct the future of your city. Usually the voter turnout in Grapevine is less than ten percent of the population. Will you sit idly by and let others decide your future or would you be willing to take up a challenge from me and get out and make your voice heard?
If any of the above has resonated with you, I’d appreciate your support at the polls.
From the Fort Worth Star Telegram: Grapevine church gives away more than 1,000 coats, clothes and blankets
Proud to have been a part of the team that spent the last three months putting this coat drive together. In only our third year of doing so, we collected over 1400 coats from the community and distributed almost 1300 of them in a two hour span this past Sunday. The coat count doesn’t even include the kids clothing, blankets, hats and gloves that we also provided to try and help keep those in need warm this year.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in this work, especially to those who gave. Plenty of amazing stories to tell. Stories of parents who needed coats for their children but chose to bring their old ones to donate that were too small for their kids. Stories of people who traveled from cities all around to participate after seeing it on our website or remembering from years past. Stories of adults who used to attend our church when they were children and now realize that maybe they should be providing that opportunity for their kids as well.
Lives were touched and hopefully seeds were planted.
Although it took a lot of hard work and time spent, I’d bet that almost any group of people can put something like this together in their own neighborhood. A little sweat equity can keep the overhead low and you just never know how many people can be affected.
/PDF of the article for personal archiving
Knowing for several years about the Gainesville State School and their football team from both buddies in college and now the workplace, the story of the Tornadoes isn’t new to me.
What is new is that for the first time this year our local Christian school, Grapevine Faith, played the kids from up north (armed guards, as always) and served them up a little of what I call God’s grace.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373
Nice work, Lions. And LCS Warriors/LCHS Eagles/any other school that takes the time to host this team yearly. I guarantee even if the Gainesville players go 0-8 every year, they wouldn’t trade it for anything other than forgiveness and/or freedom.