Submitted by Susan Garry:
The Coupland Volunteer Fire Department will hold its 28th annual chili supper fundraiser this evening in the Coupland Fire Station. Serving will begin at 5 p.m. and goes until the chili runs out, with dine in or take out. Chili comes in mild, medium, and hot and is offered for donations. Desserts are also available.
This older female Chihuahua followed my husband and son this evening from County Road 460, and is now in our garage. We think she belongs to someone on County Road 460. She is not very social, but is probably scared.
Thanks,
Jennifer
512–809–5262
Yes, that’s right. The Coupland Times is up for sale, just like our home. Circumstances beyond my control make it necessary for me to relocate. I will dearly miss our home and my friends here. However, that doesn’t mean the Coupland Times has to go away.
So, if you would like to take over the Coupland Times and try your hand at providing content that you think Couplanders and fans of Coupland will enjoy, let’s talk.
Posting stories and pictures is easy. Linking it to your Facebook account is easy too. And if you are feeling adventurous, you can do much more. To make it easy, there is no need to set up your own website hosting or move the domain registration. You can pay the minimal cost to me and I’ll take care of all the behind the scenes work.
I will provide ongoing technical support and show you how to do the basics and how to learn more if you want to do more. I have a few simple conditions for the sale that I’m sure you will find agreeable.
Everyone wants to leave a lasting legacy. I’m proud of the role that the Coupland Times has played in this community and I feel honored that so many of the leaders as well as the respected elders of Coupland are subscribers to this endeavor.
If you are interested, send a private message to me by clicking here.
Stewart Dale Spencer
Editor’s Note: For such a small town, Coupland seems to be a witness to many unusual things. Mostly good things. Two weeks ago, scenes from an upcoming movie, with which Willie was involved, were filmed over a two-day period in downtown Coupland. Last week it was this bizarre story. I passed by on the way home and there were many, many more police and emergency vehicles than can be seen in the two photos taken from a cell phone video. I was having to dodge incoming police cars so I didn’t get any pictures but I saw multiple vehicles at the a home and many more around the stock tank down the hill. At that time, the vehicle was completely submerged and not visible but I could tell something was attracting attention. At my request, Jennifer Dollins submitted the following story and the video from which the images were captured. Thanks Jennifer!
On, Thursday, March 12, 2015, we smelled smoke outside at around 6:30 pm and then heard the sirens, we were going to soccer practice, but instead headed west on CR 458 to follow the fire truck – we thought it was a fire, but when we got to the first ‘S’ curve at Charles and Wynne Keating’s house, we found out that there was no fire, but a 17 year old boy had stolen his mother, or sisters car, after having a fight with his girlfriend, and somehow lost control, most likely due to speed. The car ran through the Keating’s fence and into their pond. When I got there it was already totally submerged, people were telling me that the boy ran off toward Brushy Creek. Law enforcement were everywhere and going through the Rohlack’s property to try to find the guy. A DPS officer put on his scuba gear and swam down to hook the car to the tow truck, but nobody seemed to be in any hurry. I heard that the Keating’s talked to the guy, and when they told him they had called the law, he ran off, but not before telling them that he was alone in the car when it wrecked. Then the helicopter came and searched for an hour or so, and found him at Brushy Creek, from what I am told. Granted, this is all hearsay, but I’m thinking the kid was lucky to have gotten out of the car and not drowned. – Jennifer Dollins
This wonderful, old home at 100 Polzin Street in Coupland is for sale. It has four bedrooms and an office. I use one of the upstairs bedrooms as my study. There are two full bathrooms, one downstairs and one upstairs. There is plenty of storage space in the attic as well as a two-room building in the back yard and an old barn, both of which are fixer-uppers but are basically sound.
Sitting on about 2 acres of land, the home is surrounded by grazing pastures on three sides. Plenty of room for just about anything.
It has a nice front porch with a great porch swing, although because it is white and almost edge-on to the camera in this picture, it is nearly invisible on the right side of the porch.
The back yard has a patchwork patio, is completely fenced, and is a great spot for dogs and children with lots of shade.
From my windows upstairs, looking south I can see downtown Coupland and the steeple of St. Peter’s Church. To the north, through the branches of a beautiful, old oak tree, I have a view of Scott Ging’s herd of Black Angus cattle and the tree-line of Brushy Creek in the distance. There’s nothing quite like watching newborn calves frolicking in a green pasture. The stock tank in the middle of the pasture attracts some beautiful birds.
To the northeast, east, and southeast are fields cultivated by Max Marosco. To the south and west are wonderful, helpful, and quiet neighbors. They have been very understanding of the wanderings of our cat, Blackie the Christmas Kitty, who was abandoned by a family that had moved out from across the street. We adopted her when she showed up on Christmas Day in 2012 with an injured leg. We thought she had left with the family a few days before. She’s a good mouser and a survivor.
One of the most valuable features of the home, to me anyway, is its location in a remarkably predator-free area. We have raised a flock of free-range chickens here for two years now and have not lost a single adult chicken to predators. A rat snake got a chick once (and then he couldn’t get back out through the chicken wire) and we think an owl got another chick that was out after dark but that’s about it. One of our dogs got a few pullets from our first generation of chickens but we broke her of that predilection and now canine and poultry co-exist with only the occasional spat.
The neighbors also patiently indulge our chickens, who wander around consuming every bug in sight. An occasional gift of excellent, free-range eggs makes up for the occasional garden plant-tastrophe. (I just made up that word.)
There are five fruit trees in the chicken/garden yard, which is separate from the back yard. One fruit tree is new this year (a plum tree) but the other four (another plum tree, two peach trees, and a fig tree) are well-established and look like they might bear some good fruit for the first time this year. There are several areas of improved soil where we planted vegetables in past years. They are covered with grass now but it wouldn’t take much to make them productive again. There is a faucet in the middle of the chicken/garden yard.
By strategic opening and closing of windows and curtains, we use air conditioning only from June – September and even then, most nights you can open up after it cools down outside. There is very good air flow through the house.
The home is not officially listed yet but if you want more information, call Loretta Patschke at 512-797-5842. This isn’t everything there is to know about this property . . . just everything that is important to me. I’m grateful for the time I had in this home and I’m sorry to have to say good-bye to it. Were it up to me, I would sit tight, raising chickens and pursuing other dreams and possibilities right here. Alas, I must move on but I hope that a new family will come to love it as much as I have.
Submitted by Lisa Hammond:
In case you don’t recall the original story, click here. Lisa says that cookbooks can be ordered from her for $20. Call her at 512-406-1623.
Dear LISA HAMMOND,
The moment you’ve been waiting for…announcement of the winners of our 2014 Morris Community Cookbook Awards!
First place and $2,500 is awarded to Maine Family Favorites from the Bangor Federal Credit Union of Bangor, ME. Prize money goes to the Campaign for Ending Hunger in Maine.
Second place and $1,000 is given to Treasured Recipes and Projects from Boise, ID. Award money will be used to support The Junior League of Boise.
Third place and $500 is awarded to Giddy Up N Cook from The Event Staff Buyers Group of Coupland, TX. Prize money will go towards Youth of Texas.
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all the organizations who submitted a cookbook for consideration. This was the final year for the contest. We want to thank all the organizations who submitted an entry over the past 15 years. During that time, Morris Press Cookbooks awarded more than $116,000 in prize money. It has been an honor and privilege to have been a part of your fundraising efforts.
