By the time this edition of the “News” hits the street & stands, the 1st month of this new year will just about be in the books. We’ve had a bit of ol’ Man Winter around our parts this past week with the likelihood of more to come. I think R. Barker said they registered a low of 12 degrees off the back porch up at Liveoak last weekend and yrs. Truly helped fill in for Peggy with the feeding one of the cold afternoons. Barker & I had been easing around the pastures, checking on the cows, feeding, and trying to finish off the tail end of deer season. We were somewhat successful, but seems like the does become a bit more evasive toward the end of the hunting season. Of course they’ve been choused a good bit by then as well as the moon phase not being advantageous to afternoon hunting. If you want to go deer hunting anymore, it would definitely be to your legal advantage to have a youth under 16 that needs to harvest some Venison. It’s about time for folks to pull out the sausage mill and get it all cleaned up and sanitized for this season’s grinding & stuffing. Pork ought not be much of a problem as there have been lots of reports of feral porkers running all over the County. I spied a big ol’ black sow & seven lil’ pigs going through the fence coming in off the China Creek Rd. yesterday about dark at Fuzzy & Betty Martin’s junction catty-cornered from the Crain Bottom. The ol’ Slough there along the road down below China Knob is still a haven for feral hogs as it still holds a little water. There was also a big ol’ black hog beside the road past Big D Gilger’s just across the River that some unlucky driver had deposited in the bar-ditch. It might have caused some vehicle damage due to the size of the hog, but it was rumored that Officer Brown might have some information on the complete report.

It would seem apparent that the County Agent and local Vo. Ag. Teachers are probably proud that our recent edition of the San Saba County Livestock Show is in the record book. From all reports, everything went off well and the 4-H & FFA youth all did a good job as was evidenced with the support of the Community businessmen at the Livestock premium sale. Lady Z had her first initiation with the show helping Carolyn McDowell with the Youth Fair portion of the Show over in the American Legion building. It takes a lot of support from all areas of the County to support our annual livestock show with all the volunteer help and the Young Farmers as well as the 4-H Adult Leaders and some member of the Extension Home Ec. Clubs. I think this year’s Show was the 76th Annual affair for San Saba County and if the Angelo Standard Times had it right, that puts our San Saba Show a couple of years ahead of the San Angelo Show in the longevity department.

Looking back at some old editions of the “News,” they were having the local show about the same time in ’68, with Billy Kidd serving as our County Agent back then and the Vocational Ag. Instructors were Oliver Burk at Richland Springs and Larry Letbetter at San Saba. The Swine showmanship winners that year were Charley Kuykendall, Jr. Showman and Mike Gage, Sr. winner. I seem to remember back about 11 years prior to that one, when the Show was held in the W.F. & J.F. Barnes Lumber Co. building, where City National Bank is located now, as the weather was so bad that we couldn’t have it on Rogan Field. That was the 1st year I showed pigs as a young 4-H’er from Algerita and Todd Oliver had the Grand Champion Market hog that year, winning with a Berkshire gilt that turned into a sow prior to the end of the show as she had a litter of pigs in the pen the next morning following the Swine show. Thomas Bowden & I went head to head in the hog showing for a couple of years, but he always came out ahead.

If you really want to get on back in History, back in the 1st month of ’48, the “News” listed some team members of that season’s Armadillo Basketball team. Team members included Alfred Dacus, B.C. McDoniel, Odean Gage, Bobby Wilson, Glenn Neeper, Billy Frank Nalls, Graydon Caveness, Billy Moore, Bill Owen, jr., Dougal Cameron, jr., & James Reavis, coached by Charley Chrane. I’d bet they were pretty scrappy, too.

I visited with “Yellow-Cat” Sutton out at the new Church last Sat. morning as they were all doing a good bit of renovation on the old horse stalls. We brought up the fact that the time of year is fast approaching when one’s mind might turn to pinning perch on some throw-lines to try a catch a big ol’ Flat-head. That sort of fishing is pretty weather-specific for me, as I’d soon not go fishing when it’s miserable. Anyhow, guess the Mayor & I will try to do our best out around——————Harkeyville!!!!!