Hello, November!

October was glorious! My favorite time of year is fall, and my harvest has been the memories made at fun and newsworthy events in the community.

In the first week of October, I walked around Celebration Plaza at the Alzheimer’s Awareness “Walk to Remember” fundraiser for Terrific Tuesdays. That same week, I met the officers of the Hopkins County 4-H Council at a roundup event at the Hopkins County AgriLife Extension office. Rylie Carroll, a senior, is a president whose leadership and public speaking skills will take her far. She plans a future in the agriculture industry. Rylie’s grandmother, Grace Teel, was a school teacher for many years.

Another educational project, Ag in the Classroom, involved over 800 fourth-graders who got to meet farm animals and learn how we are all connected to agriculture.

The next weekend, the Uncorked Wine Festival and the Texas Gospel Music Association convention were both held in the downtown area, and yielded interesting interviews for my podcast.

On Oct. 12, I snapped a photo as the Mel Haven Cemetery Society received the gift of a new book titled, “Mel Haven Cemetery,” an important work of history with photos and grave listings. It was presented by Mayor John Sellers and author Rhonda Beachhold, both of the Hopkins County Genealogical Society.

Meanwhile, the annual Hay Bale Decorating Contest was going on across the county, and several artistic entries were pictured in our October issues.

And, it was a pleasure to be invited by Commander Gerald Heard to the 25th Anniversary banquet of the Hopkins County Military Coalition. Watch for the story of the coalition and of individual veterans in a special insert to be distributed in the News-Telegram for Veterans Day.

October’s 16th annual Help-a-Child Benefit was again a huge success. The genius of this agriculture- based fundraiser by Wade Bartley and his crew is that the blessings of giving can flow through two or more organizations before reaching the two major benefactors: Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center. It’s a successful win-win for all.

That same day, Oct. 14, the Fall Festival Parade carried with it more of the down-home, good-neighbor flavor of our town and county.

During the final days of October, the annual Hay Show took place, sponsored by the Hopkins/Rains Soil and Water Conservation District. With each producer's hay samples on display in feed sacks, Max Palmer and Tommy Long of the north side of the county, and Shawn Moore from the south side were named the top three producers of Bermuda hay, according to the crude protein analysis done by the lab at the Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op. Following the show and a Wright’s BBQ lunch, an auction of the winning samples took place with proceeds to support scholarships for Hopkins and Rains County students whose degree plan is in agriculture.

As you know, October wrapped up with the Hopkins County Stew Contest and a state UIL send-off for the Sulphur Springs High School marching band. Both will become scrapbook moments and good memories for us who call Hopkins County home.

November is now here! Until next week, be thankful and be good to your neighbors.