Columns

One of my favorite T-shirts simply has the word “Tetelestai” on the front.

This was the last thing Jesus said in John 19:30 before he died on the cross.

“Tetelestai” means “It Is Finished” in Greek.

It’s extremely important to know that Jesus spoke in the perfect tense when He said “It is finished.” Speaking in the perfect tense is very rare in the New Testament and there is no English equivalent.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

Did Mansfield ever have a rail streetcar? This writer as a 2-year-old boy thought so as he came down McEnery Street on U.S. Hwy 84 and turned left up Washington Ave. to Polk Street. There were the tracks and they were bright and shiny which showed daily use. Later it was found out the tracks were for the Mansfield Railway and Transportation Company (M.R.&T.).

According to the “Biographical and Historical Book of 1890” of which this writer has a copy- the MRT was organized in 1880 with B.F. Jenkins Pres., Boling Williams Sec., and M.R. Ricks Treas. to connect the downtown area with the Texas and Pacific R.R. south of Mansfield. It is rumored the ladies of Mansfield did not want the loud and stinky T&P railroad to come through Mansfield, therefore, it by-passed Mansfield about two miles to the west. The story goes that Mr. Sank Pegues bought 200 acres where the tracks crossed Hwy 171 south of town to prevent merchants from leaving Mansfield to be near the R.R.

I was told that I have a “Rain Crow” in my yard. I thought that I was hearing a woodpecker or a hawk but my ole friend, Van Griffith, said no that was a Rain Crow and they were very secretive and hard to see. Well, I’m kinda a birdwatcher and looking into what that curious bird was I found out that its real name is a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. I do remember my Dad pointing out one to me when I was nine or ten so I was really on the watch now.

On that same bird watching subject a chart on the Internet showed that the first wave of Hummingbirds were due in this area early March. I put my feeders up and saw my first Ruby Throat last week – what fun! I usually don’t put them up until the middle of March so this is the earliest one yet. Because I had posted on Facebook that I’d seen my first “Hummer” several of my friends joked and asked what he was humming? I volleyed that Def Leppard song back, “Put some sugar (on it)…”

I recently read that “if comm o n sense was lard, most people couldn’t grease a pan.”

Let’s admit, that rings true especially currently.

When you think about things such as the recent cancelation of the cartoon character Pepe Le Pew by people who complain about the objectification of women, you wonder how these exact same people can support Cardi B’s performance of “WAP” at the Grammys on March 14.

It’s disillusioning to witness the inconsistent philosophy of so many who claim that they stand for one thing, but in the same breath support a variation of that exact same disdain.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

April 11, 1997 is the day Mansfield made the Guinness World Record Book. A downtown parade got underway with eleven Parade marshals of Veterans, longtime residents whose ages totaled 930 years. They were Evans Calvert, Ralph Fraser, Roger Silver, Hughes Jordan, R.U. Johnson, Cecil Flanders, Jack Lowery, J.C. McLaurin, P.E. Dixon, R.C. Bridges and W.T. “Billy” Pegues. Records reveal that Calvert and Fraser were the senior members among the longtime citizens. This writer has wondered down through the years how Claude Roberts was not included as one of the Parade Marshals. The only logical conclusion is that Claude didn’t want to be put in the same group of “Old Men”!

One of my sons forgot his lunch the other day, and since he rarely forgets anything, I decided to bring it to the school.

I donned my mask and walked to the appropriate door of the high school.

They wouldn’t let me in nor accept the lunch “because of the pandemic.”

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

Ole Breaux

That’s what my friend and brother-In-Law, Bill Love, and I affectionately called each other. I first met Bill when he married my sister Nan back in the 80’s and I really hit it off with him. He was funny, talented on the guitar, a good singer and always seemed to have a positive outlook on things - with a big grinning smile always ready. As we got to know each other better he became like a little brother to me and we did a lot of things together – I really enjoyed his company. We had a lot of fun adventures together.

We stayed in touch even after I left Mansfield to began working in south Louisiana and when I returned here he began stopping by Ivey Lumber where I had worked. As good friendships do we fell right back into our mutual appreciation of each other.

It’s difficult to cover a profound and serious topic like this in the space of a column, but I feel it’s necessary to try.

The reason it’s important for me to address this issue is that, in past columns, I have spoken about the late Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias, who passed away in May 2020. Over the years, Ravi’s talks and books have helped me and many others better understand the robust philosophical arguments for Christianity.

However, shockingly and sadly, Ravi was recently accused of horrendous sexual assault allegations that have proven to be true. I won’t go into the details here, but you can read the full, unedited report on www.rzim.com.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

Gombeaux

I guess this would be the kinda correct way to spell Louisiana’s State Soup if you “cook” it from one of the pre-packaged mixes? AND with the two snowed-in episodes from the Polar Vortex we’ve had I got the chance to try several. For many years now I’ve told friends that the best Gumbo was Blue Runner’s canned Seafood Gumbo. I would tell them that they could stand over the stove all day and chance burning the roux or you could open up a can of Blue Runner and heat it up in 15 minutes. When I noticed a package of Louisiana Kitchen’s Seafood Gumbo base I thought I would try that as well. It was pretty good and when I discovered that there were several in the local grocery store I decided to try them.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

Several people mentioned Hendrix Manufacturing Co. and wished they knew the history of the plant. Piecing together bits of information from various people finds that the plant has more than a 125 year history in Mansfield. Brothers Fred and Frank Kavanaugh chartered the DeSoto Foundry and Machine Co. on March 13, 1906. The purpose of the company was to establish and conduct a general foundry to make and sell parts for sawmills. The first board of directors for the DeSoto Foundry listed Frank Kavanaugh as president, Walter Perkins as sec/treasurer, Joe R. Brown and O.V. Sample. Stockholders were S.G. Sample, S.A. Kidd, C.W. Elam, M. Ricks, J.W. Porter and Hollingsworth. The first agreement was with DeSoto Land Co. to rent 3 ? acres on Railroad St. and to provide parts and machines for the sawmill there.