By Jan Vaughn
William and Joyce Dodd had their family over for lunch on Thanksgiving Day. They had a total of 17, including Michael McNiel, Jerry and Tonja Lucas, Alyssa and Ethan Shelton, Rob, Brad, Tanya, Trenton, and Matthew Dodd, Stuart, Tiffany, Emery, Ellianna, and Eadon McPherson. They visited with their granddaughters, Maegan Shelton and Mandi Owens, also
grandson Gavin Shelton, by phone, because they were unable to make it home for the holiday.
Evelyn Horne hosted a Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday for her son Derek & his family from Southlake and her daughter Alisa and her family from Dallas. She reports, “We had fun driving the kids around in my wagon, pulled by my lawnmower. The guys and I did some target practice on my shooting range. Had my fire pit blazing in the back yard. My daughter
Stacy and her family from Sugar Land didn’t get to come.”
Thanksgiving week was very busy for Martha Payton. On Tuesday she had lunch at El Fenix in Greenville with a sister, Ann Sullivan from Longview, and brother, Von Honzell from Wylie. Regina Payton arrived that evening for a Thanksgiving visit. Martha and Regina had Thanksgiving lunch with Ann Sullivan at Cracker Barrel. Martha reports, “The lunch was delicious and no dishes to wash. We returned to Ann’s home, set up a surround speaker system and enjoyed the Cowboy game.” She adds, “On Tuesday our dear neighbor Mary Rawson was laid to rest. She had a brilliant mind and a lot of history that she took with her. Mary had lived her entire life in the Sandhill area [of Tira], with only a short period of time in Dallas when
Danny was a boy. She will be missed. Regina returned home on Sunday morning, following a good time together.”
Georgia Smith and Danny and Judy Rawson expressed their appreciation to the ladies (and men) who helped with the family lunch at the Tira Community Center, prior to the funeral of Mary Rawson. Georgia commented, “You all made an unpleasant day the best it could be.”
The Weir family celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday. Yvonne shares, “Everyone was able to come, except Natalie who was working. We ate and visited. When it got dark we took the kids to the Christmas at Heritage Park. Destri and her family spent the night.”
Our family members were all gone in different directions on Thanksgiving day, so Chip and I drove around “leaf peeping” along the roads around Winnsboro and on to Lindale for lunch at Posados Café. There were many patches of beautiful fall colored trees. Our family came for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday evening. We enjoyed turkey and dressing and all the fixings! Our guests included our daughter, Tiffany, and son, Delayne, grandchildren Jaidyn, Kenden, and Landon and his family, Laiken, Dixie, Rylan, Brailon, and Slaiden, Grace and Linda Ellen Vaughn, and Kenden’s friend, Whitney.
Be sure to remember the Tira Community Christmas Party, which is coming up on Saturday, December 8th . It will begin at 6:00 with a meal. Brisket will be provided. Please bring a side dish and/or dessert to share. Also, we are collecting canned meats for the Tira Food Pantry. We are expecting Santa to stop by for a visit! Bring the kids and come spend some time visiting with neighbors.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected] .
