Juneteenth festivities in Marshall feature historical tribute
Juneteenth is a celebration that marks the day, June 19, 1965, that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed slaves there that they had been freed. Official Juneteenth celebrations began the very next year. As black Texans began to move across the country, the celebration traveled with them, unofficially being used to commemorate the end of slavery.
All smiles at upcoming Juneteenth celebration in Queensborough
The Marshall-Harrison County Juneteenth Committee is presenting Freedom Day events.
June 14 will feature a Commemoration program at the Wiley University Julius S. Scott Senior Chapel at 10 a.m., followed by a Juneteenth parade beginning at the Alumni Gym and concluding at the George Washington Carver Center at 11 a.m. A four-wheeler competition follows the parade at the George Washington Carver Center at noon, a business expo and Wiley Financial Literacy Kick Off at 12:30, and the Bo Green Domino Tournament concludes the day's events at 2 p.m.
Juneteenth Jam celebration with storytelling, dance
On June 19 at 8 a.m., there will be a Freedom Walk at the Harrison County Historic Courthouse.
The Marshall Juneteenth Freedom Day events are sponsored by Wiley University and supported by the Marshall Regional Arts Council, Top Ladies of Distinction, Top Teens of America, the Carver Center, Greens Professional Services, and the East Texas Chapter of Links, Incorporated.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
The Texas floods washed away their possessions. Volunteers are helping reunite them.
Matthew Rafferty was scouring the flooded riverbanks of Texas Hill Country last weekend when he stumbled on a mud-soaked baby quilt. Rafferty, a Virginia firefighter who was deployed to hard-hit Kerr County to help with search and recovery efforts, folded it up and took it back to his hotel. He rinsed it off in the bathtub. He worried the drain might clog because of all the filth, tree roots and rocks that came out. But the tub survived and, after a trip to the laundromat, the quilt was virtually good as new. He posted a photo of the blanket on a Facebook group where people across central Texas are keeping track of things they've recovered from the devastation: waterlogged clothes, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, marriage licenses, family photo albums. Rafferty eventually connected with the quilt's owner and hand-delivered it to her. 'I'm a father of 3-year-old twin boys. I know if I'd gone through something like these quilts, I'd want it back,' said Rafferty, 34. Rafferty is part of a loose network of first responders, volunteers and good Samaritans who have fanned out across the region to help reunite Texans with the cherished belongings, family heirlooms and everyday household knickknacks that were swept away when floods ripped through Kerr County over Fourth of July weekend, killing more than 130 people and leaving at least 100 missing. This week, NBC News spoke with people in the region about the objects that have turned up in the floods' aftermath — and why they matter. In some cases, seemingly trivial items have taken on far greater emotional significance in the wake of the deadly floods. These are some of their stories. The jewelry Patty Hyatt was inside her mobile home with her 8-year-old grandson and her new beagle puppy early July 4 when her son called. The floodwaters were rising fast and they needed to get to higher ground as soon as possible, he told her. Hyatt, a 67-year-old retired teacher, loaded everyone into her Toyota Tacoma and headed to her son's house, leaving most of her things behind. When she returned to the Old River Road RV Resort the following morning, her 42-foot Forest River home was gone, washed away by the floods. She was heartbroken. 'I just lost stuff, not loved ones,' she said — but most objects in her home were associated with special 'memories' and she was sorry to see them go. That's where Dondi Persyn stepped in. Persyn, 54, posted a photo of some of Hyatt's jewelry on 'FOUND on the Guadalupe River,' a Facebook page she created that she runs with the help of friends. The jewelry had turned up in Center Point, roughly 10 miles from Kerrville. Persyn, who used to own a vintage store, spent a night untangling and cleaning Hyatt's necklaces and bracelets by hand, restoring some of their luster. It turned out that during the flash flooding, Hyatt's orange clamshell necklace and other pieces had been fortuitously held together by a pink string — a bracelet that a student had made for Hyatt more than a decade ago. In that, Hyatt saw rich symbolism. 'The children have always held me together,' Hyatt said. 'They're still holding me together.' The totem pole Ten years ago, Shelby Johnson bought something on a lark from a merchant in San Antonio: a hand-carved and painted totem pole. She named it 'Oonka Oonka.' The totem pole was a highlight of her annual spring break parties, and it stood proudly on the back porch of her boyfriend's house, located on a secluded stretch between Center Point and the town of Comfort. Flash-forward to the chaos of July Fourth: Johnson, 53, and her boyfriend, J.R. Haas, fled to higher ground in their trucks before the floods deluged his house. When they returned, they discovered most of their possessions were destroyed, the house reduced to a 'disgusting, muddy mess.' They found the remains of one of her three cats, a kitten named Fancy, and realized Johnson's Volkswagen Jetta had floated down the road. Apparently, so had Oonka Oonka. The totem pole was found off a riverbank in Comfort by Cory Nicholson, a 40-year-old volunteer searcher and roofing contractor who posted his discovery on the Facebook page. The wooden sculpture had emerged intact and mostly unscathed. 'It was in close to perfect condition,' Nicholson said. Oonka Oonka has been returned to Johnson, who sees her 10-year-old purchase in a different light. 'He's turned into a symbol of survival now,' she said. The camp sign Brandon Hamrick and his wife, Shanndel, volunteered to help search for bodies just a day after raging waters tore through the region. They were combing through a riverbed near their home in Center Point on July 5 when they found a 2-by-2-foot wooden sign in the shape of a heart. It was a remnant of Heart O' the Hills, a summer camp for girls in the flood-battered community of Hunt. Hamrick, 47, wiped mud off the face of the sign. The white paint was torn and chipped in some spots, but he could make out inscriptions from campers — including one apparently dated 1992. 'I could see the names of all these girls on there. I felt joyous, in a way, because I knew I could bring it back to them,' Hamrick said. He believed returning the sign to Heart O' the Hills could bring a small measure of solace to a community mourning the loss of Jane Ragsdale, the camp's co-owner and director, who died in the floods. (The camp was not in session during the disaster.) Brandon and Shanndel, who build custom pickup trucks for a living, found children's toys along the riverbed, too — a tiny doll with long blond hair, a 'Paw Patrol' stuffed animal. They gathered up as much as they could. The Hamricks plan to drive out to the camp to hand-deliver the sign to the surviving owners. The memorial bench Four years ago this month Patricia Jernigan's daughter Shannon died from breast cancer. She was 50. The two women lived together in Texas Hill Country. They enjoyed their lives in the area; Shannon was a material program manager for the supply chain at A7 Defense & Aerospace and in her spare time admired Kerr County's population of white-tailed deer. In honor of Shannon's life, Patricia installed a commemorative bench at Lehmann-Monroe Park, a 27-acre patch of land west of the Guadalupe River. The park was thrashed during the floods, and the bench was apparently swept away to nearby Louise Hays Park. That's where it was discovered by Orlando 'Orly' Ayala, a 38-year-old volunteer searcher. Ayala was digging through piles of debris when he spotted the bench at the base of a cypress tree on the night of July 10. 'I cleaned it off and I realized, 'Wow, this is really something,'' said Ayala. Patricia, 77, said she wants the bench to be reinstalled in Kerrville after the area is cleaned up. The plaque that had been affixed to the bench has gone missing, but she hopes it is found. That way, passersby and animal watchers can read the poem under Shannon's name — five rhyming lines Patricia wrote in her daughter's memory: When it comes to God's critters big or small she wanted to feed them one and all But when it came to deer, such gentle souls she loved to feed them with hands and bowls Forever we will love the heart of this baby girl. This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
14-07-2025
Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods
COMFORT, Texas -- It began with a stranger asking 'Do you need help?' 'Yes,' Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, 'I desperately need some help." A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas' July 4 floods. The devastated property looked like a construction site Saturday after operators started clearing debris with mini-excavators and skid steers. An Army unit from Fort Hood scraped mud out of the cabin while other people tore down drywall. A Bible study group from San Antonio hand-washed tools from Welch's barn. His niece carefully wiped old negatives, hoping to preserve some of the couple's memories. Texans are leading flood recovery even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues. Mass cleanup across Kerr County — about 1.5 hours northwest of San Antonio — came Saturday before heavy rain pelted the region again on Sunday. For Welch and Elizabeth Hastings, the July 4 floods sent water to their ceiling, wiped out their RV and ruined most of the items in their barn. "Up until yesterday, it was pretty bleak,' he said. Then, Welch said the man in the truck — Huntly Dantzler of Fredericksburg, 20 miles away — 'he showed up.' 'I thought that is just too good to be true," Welch said. "We have hope now.' In many places, volunteer labor includes debris removal and remediation often done by hired contractors and out of reach for households lacking insurance. Many survivors said it was simply too expensive. 'It's impossible here in the floodplain,' Welch said. 'Paying $10,000 a year for flood insurance doesn't make sense.' The survivors who spoke with The Associated Press said they didn't have insurance but had already applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That money is rarely enough to cover all the costs of replacing, remediating and rebuilding and only 116 FEMA applications were approved as of Sunday. Many of those working together didn't know each other before the disaster — they've connected over social media, in public spaces or just by driving around looking for places to help. 'There's thousands of volunteers out here, more than needed, honestly. It's wild, and everyone is just lending a hand,' said Dave Isaacs, who came from San Antonio with his wife and daughter to help. Three people arrived at Daniel Olivas' home in Guadalupe Street in Kerrville last week with a skid steer and an excavator to clear debris. Water from the Guadalupe River overtook his house on July 4, leaving fish and crawdads floating in the bedrooms. Soon after, "33 angels descended' onto the property, said Olivas, removing furniture, scrubbing floors, and tearing out drywall. 'It's just amazing because I didn't ask for it,' said Olivas. 'They just showed up.' Some even insisted on leaving him cash, stuffing it into his pocket when he resisted. The help has come from businesses, too. The RV seller Camping World donated a pre-owned RV for Welch and Hastings to sleep in as long as they need. A plumbing company installed a new water treatment system for their neighbor for free. 'We're all heartbroken, and everyone's just pitching in,' said Monica Watson, a hopsice worker helping Olivas' neighbor, an older man who depended on a wheelchair. 'He was just waiting for help,' she said. She said she had no connection to her collaborators other than a shared desire to contribute. 'One guy just said 'I'm Ben, I have a Bobcat (tractor),' and that was it,'' she said. A woman drove by asking if they needed another trailer to haul away trash, and returned with one minutes later. Volunteering can help people cope with trauma, said Dr. Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University and an expert in post-traumatic stress. 'When something awful happens, a powerful human response can occur called 'purposing,'' said Heinz. 'This is when we rise to meet moments of sorrow and adversity with action that is meaningful and values-aligned.' Purposing 'offers a buffer against hopelessness and despair and can set the stage for post-traumatic growth and transformational resilience,' said Heinz. For those impacted, seeing the care flow in from all over the world is also healing. 'I cannot express how much I appreciate everything that they have done for us,' said Colleen Lucas of Ingram, as staff with the international charity Operation Blessing helped her husband, Dave, repair one of their cars that had been submerged in water. The staff members from Mexico, Honduras and Chile, along with 42 members of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, hauled out Lucas' destroyed belongings and packed and stored their salvageable items. She is unsure whether her home will need to be demolished, or how and when they will rebuild. But she's already thinking about how to pay forward the help they got. 'We lost a lot but we're going to be donating when we're up and going,' she said. —— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit .
Hamilton Spectator
14-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Armies of Texas volunteers dig out, clean up, after fatal floods
COMFORT, Texas (AP) — It began with a stranger asking 'Do you need help?' 'Yes,' Paul Welch told the man in a pickup truck, 'I desperately need some help.' A day later, dozens of people pulled up outside the modest cabin where Welch and his partner lived overlooking the Guadalupe River until Texas' July 4 floods . The devastated property looked like a construction site Saturday after operators started clearing debris with mini-excavators and skid steers. An Army unit from Fort Hood scraped mud out of the cabin while other people tore down drywall. A Bible study group from San Antonio hand-washed tools from Welch's barn. His niece carefully wiped old negatives, hoping to preserve some of the couple's memories. Texans are leading flood recovery even as more flooding hits and the search for the missing continues. Mass cleanup across Kerr County — about 1.5 hours northwest of San Antonio — came Saturday before heavy rain pelted the region again on Sunday. For Welch and Elizabeth Hastings, the July 4 floods sent water to their ceiling, wiped out their RV and ruined most of the items in their barn. 'Up until yesterday, it was pretty bleak,' he said. Then, Welch said the man in the truck — Huntly Dantzler of Fredericksburg, 20 miles away — 'he showed up.' 'I thought that is just too good to be true,' Welch said. 'We have hope now.' One ruined home In many places, volunteer labor includes debris removal and remediation often done by hired contractors and out of reach for households lacking insurance. Many survivors said it was simply too expensive. 'It's impossible here in the floodplain,' Welch said. 'Paying $10,000 a year for flood insurance doesn't make sense.' The survivors who spoke with The Associated Press said they didn't have insurance but had already applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That money is rarely enough to cover all the costs of replacing, remediating and rebuilding and only 116 FEMA applications were approved as of Sunday. Meeting post-disaster Many of those working together didn't know each other before the disaster — they've connected over social media, in public spaces or just by driving around looking for places to help. 'There's thousands of volunteers out here, more than needed, honestly. It's wild, and everyone is just lending a hand,' said Dave Isaacs, who came from San Antonio with his wife and daughter to help. Three people arrived at Daniel Olivas' home in Guadalupe Street in Kerrville last week with a skid steer and an excavator to clear debris. Water from the Guadalupe River overtook his house on July 4, leaving fish and crawdads floating in the bedrooms. Soon after, '33 angels descended' onto the property, said Olivas, removing furniture, scrubbing floors, and tearing out drywall. 'It's just amazing because I didn't ask for it,' said Olivas. 'They just showed up.' Some even insisted on leaving him cash, stuffing it into his pocket when he resisted. The help has come from businesses, too. The RV seller Camping World donated a pre-owned RV for Welch and Hastings to sleep in as long as they need. A plumbing company installed a new water treatment system for their neighbor for free. 'We're all heartbroken, and everyone's just pitching in,' said Monica Watson, a hopsice worker helping Olivas' neighbor, an older man who depended on a wheelchair. 'He was just waiting for help,' she said. She said she had no connection to her collaborators other than a shared desire to contribute. 'One guy just said 'I'm Ben, I have a Bobcat (tractor),' and that was it,'' she said. A woman drove by asking if they needed another trailer to haul away trash, and returned with one minutes later. Volunteering helps everyone Volunteering can help people cope with trauma, said Dr. Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University and an expert in post-traumatic stress. 'When something awful happens, a powerful human response can occur called 'purposing,'' said Heinz. 'This is when we rise to meet moments of sorrow and adversity with action that is meaningful and values-aligned.' Purposing 'offers a buffer against hopelessness and despair and can set the stage for post-traumatic growth and transformational resilience,' said Heinz. For those impacted, seeing the care flow in from all over the world is also healing. 'I cannot express how much I appreciate everything that they have done for us,' said Colleen Lucas of Ingram, as staff with the international charity Operation Blessing helped her husband, Dave, repair one of their cars that had been submerged in water. The staff members from Mexico, Honduras and Chile, along with 42 members of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, hauled out Lucas' destroyed belongings and packed and stored their salvageable items. She is unsure whether her home will need to be demolished, or how and when they will rebuild. But she's already thinking about how to pay forward the help they got. 'We lost a lot but we're going to be donating when we're up and going,' she said. —— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . 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