Story by Julie Morris, Photos by Mary Jane Farmer

Hobbies can help children in many ways. There are educational—mentally and physically—beneficial activities that build self-confidence and help kids establish a sense of identity. Parents have a unique opportunity to steer a child’s interests in healthy and constructive ways by helping them find a hobby they can enjoy. This covers a very broad field—hobbies are much more than stamp or coin collecting (though those are wonderful hobbies). Consider the child’s personal interests and skill set—find a hobby that caters to his abilities and interests, and that will help him grow and develop many useful skills. Here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Create a hobby room

You can help a child get the most out of whatever hobby he shows interest in by creating his own hobby room, a safe space dedicated to his favorite pursuits. Include a table large enough to accommodate all the tools and objects he needs, and hang a display space (like a corkboard) where he can post samples of his work and track new ideas. Don’t forget storage space, including boxes and plastic bins for pens, scissors, and any other loose objects that could get lost or accidentally thrown away.

Music

A creative and sensitive child with a good ear for music is an excellent candidate for learning an instrument. Music helps children develop cognitively, improves memory and concentration, and can even strengthen math skills. Music is also a tremendously effective stress-relieving hobby and terrific for youngsters who suffer from a lack of self-esteem. Instilling a love of music in a young child can help him become a more successful student and a more self-assured individual.

The outdoors as hobby

Mother Nature offers a rich and varied list of hobbies for young people, from rock collecting and hiking to bird watching and stargazing. A hobby that gets a child outdoors is sure to benefit him physically (fresh air and physical activity are good things). Gardening can be an especially enriching hobby, because it imparts a love of growing things and a basic knowledge of botany and horticulture.

Woodworking

If the youngster loves making things with his hands, he may find woodworking to be an especially rewarding hobby. Woodworking is an excellent way for young people to sharpen their math skills, learn tool safety, improve their hand-eye coordination, and develop manual dexterity. Woodworking also enhances creative thinking, problem-solving, imagination, and creative thinking.

Bird watching

It’s important to instill an appreciation of our natural environment and an eco-friendly respect for nature conservation. Identifying species of birds, describing them and learning about their habits is an educational hobby. Kids learn about the importance of habitat preservation, what species endangerment and extinction mean, and how they impact the world around us. Consider investing in a kid-friendly pair of binoculars so the little one can observe wildlife up close and personal without disturbing any critters.

Science

What hobby could be cooler than one where you can turn a glass container into a lava-spewing volcano? Well, that’s the beauty of chemistry, one of the most interactive branches of science and a source of hours of fun for generations of young aspiring scientists. Kids learn principles of science, mathematics, and how to observe safety among chemicals and laboratory tools. With a glass beaker, food coloring, a little vegetable oil, a pinch of salt and some water, you can create a lava flow that’ll get plenty of hits on YouTube and dazzle their (and your) friends.

Encouraging a child to engage in a new hobby is a matter of paying attention to his/her personal interests and skills. Kids gravitate to what they enjoy most, so support the youngster’s interests, even if it means listening to him learn the drums by playing along to a YouTube video or letting him create a mess every now and then with the latest science experiment.

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

For the next several months, drivers going north on U.S. 75, to Sherman, should plan for the possibilities of delays, because TxDOT is beginning work on a project they call ‘ramp reversals.’

Texas Department of Transportation officials announced Thursday that work begins this week on ramp reversals on U.S. 75 at FM 1417 in Sherman.

Contractor Ed Bell Construction Company got the bid and has 149 working days, weather permitting, to complete this project valued at more than $2.3 million. The project will extend from the intersection of FM 1417 and U.S.

75 to approximately 1.1 miles south. They began putting up construction barricades and signs earlier this week. TxDOT said the target date for completion is July.

Motorists who may at times encounter temporary lane and shoulder closures while this work is underway. TxDOT asks drivers to pay special attention to all signs, barricades and traffic controls, and reduce speeds as they approach the area and to drive cautiously through work zones. And please, TxDOT added, “avoid distractions such as cell phones, eating, drinking, or adjusting of car audio or navigation systems.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus usually bring up the rear of the Van Alstyne Christmas Parade, as shown here in 2017, then scoot on over to the gazebo to visit and have their photo made with children.

Story and photo by Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

It’s that time of the year again — the time to celebrate the Christmas season with family and friends, time to listen to bells jingling and carolers singing, and feel that tingling when Christmas tree lights are turned on for the first time.

A group from both city departments and corporations and volunteer organizations have been meeting and throwing around ideas to make the Christmas season 2018 the best one this town has ever experienced. Van Alstyne Community Development Corporation, Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, and Keep Van Alstyne Beautiful have met time and again, and, although they haven’t thrown any ideas in the junk heap, they have narrowed this year’s activities down to the first three Saturdays of December. Churches and the schools have joined in with their special programs. And the city’s retail stores are filled with all sorts of merchandise that could count as Christmas gifts or decorations,  and which could help start new family traditions. Many of those will be open on those nights when special activities will be going on. Altogether, it promises to be one joyous season

The first Christmas Town event was the Christmas Tree Lighting festivities at Dorothy Fielder (gazebo) Park in downtown, Saturday. Involved this year were Matt Nix, the youth minister at a church just a little south of Van Alstyne, who brought songs and the birth of Christ story for the younger set, Abby Parker with a special song for everyone , dancers from Fierce Motions in Dance. And hot chocolate, provided by 100% Construction, and best of all — good old-fashioned Christmas spirit and fellowship.

The tall Christmas Tree which graced Dorothy Fielder Park for many years had to be removed, as it was no longer healthily-alive and could have created a fire hazard. The Community Development Corp purchased a new tree, completely made of lights, and the city’s Public Works Department installed it in the same location near the gazebo. Keep Van Alstyne Beautiful decorated the downtown park. The city has already hung “Christmas Town” light-pole banners in the downtown area.

This Saturday, Dec. 8, will be the Christmas parade, with ‘Christmas Town’ as its theme. Line-up will be at the Van Alstyne Middle School at 1 p.m., with step-off at 2 p.m. The parade will go southward on Waco Street, twist and turn until it ends up on Main Street and crossing past the gazebo at Dorothy Fielder Park. Prizes will be given in three categories, including “Best Use of Theme.”

The (click here) Van Alstyne is Christmas Town Facebook page hosts event invite people can share with those they know will be interested. So, the Christmas Town committee encourages everyone to consider whether they want to enter a float, a walking group, live music, cars… whatever is the pleasure… except for Santa. Only one Santa in the parade — after all, there is only one Santa — and he’ll be riding toward the parade’s end.

To sign up as a parade entry, go Online to (click here) VanAlstyneChamber.org, click on Events, and use the ‘2018 Parade Entry Form and Waiver’ to sign up.

Then, everyone gathers at the Gazebo for ‘Santa and The Kids’ photos that’ll begin just as soon as Santa and Mrs. Claus can get there and get settled in to greet the kids. Those photos will be made available for downloading and printing within a week after the parade, and each parent will be given a card with instructions on how to download the keepsake photos. No charge for those photos.

On Saturday, Dec. 15, the Christmas Town committee will be hosting the Christmas classic move “Polar Express” at the Railcar Stage. Free, of course, lawn chairs a definite advantage. Texas Haircut Co. is taking its popcorn machine to the park, and there will be hot chocolate and maybe water available, too. Oh, and gifts to every child there in his extra-warm Christmas pajamas, but only if they are good protection against the cold. Watch the Van Alstyne Christmas Town Facebook for more details here. Again, there is an event invite with details and available to invite friends, on that same Facebook page.

The Van Alstyne ISD bands are hosting several concerts during the Christmas season. The first happened last week. The remainder are listed here.

Here are a list of the Christmas Town event dates still to come, as provided so far to the committee. These and all future additions will be posted on the Van Alstyne Is Christmas Town Facebook page. (No commercial sales, please.) Additions can be sent via Email to VACDC@gcecisp.com.

Christmas Town future dates 2018

Thursday, Dec. 6 — 6 p.m., WEE School Christmas Program, First United Methodist Church Sanctuary

Saturday, Dec. 8 — 2 p.m., Christmas Town parade and ‘Santa and the Kids’, downtown and gazebo

Saturday, Dec. 8 — 6 p.m., “Love Has Come: A Whiting Christmas Concert, Elmont Baptist Church, West FM 121, Van Alstyne

Sunday, Dec. 9 — 6 pm, Children’s Christmas Play “Arrest These Merry Gentlemen, First United Methodist Church Sanctuary

Sunday, Dec. 9 — 2-6 pm, Tour of Homes, along Waco Street, tickets available at the doors. (see previous article for addresses)

Thursday, Dec. 13 — 7:30 pm, VA school bands, 6^th-12-grade VA, Christmas concert, at Van Alstyne High School.

Saturday, Dec. 15 —6 p.m., Christmas movie, “Polar Express,” free, outdoor at Railcar Stage

Sunday, Dec. 16 — 7 pm, Chancel Choir Christmas Cantata, First United Methodist Church Sanctuary

Monday, Dec. 24 — 5 pm, 7 pm & 11 pm, 5 pm is children’s candlelight service; traditional candlelight services and Holy Communion at 7 pm and 11 pm.

And the Christmas Town committee —representatives from so many groups around town — is already working on ideas for 2019, hoping to create even more Christmas traditions and memories.

Story by Mary Jane Farmer, courtesy photos

Van Alstyne was established in 1872, for settlers to be near the railroad stop
of the Houston and Texas Central Railway. Eighteen years later, Van Alstyne
became incorporated. And it was in 1890-ish that the first of three historic
Van Alstyne homes in this year’s Van Alstyne Friends of the Library Tour of
Homes was built.
The Tour of Homes is scheduled for 2-6 pm, Sunday, December 9, and the cost
is $20 to take the tour. The proceeds benefit the Friends of the Van Alstyne
Library, and that group in turn provides considerable help to the Library, by
funding special programs that otherwise might not be possible.

The Neill Home

The Neill Home

Built in the mid-1890s, this historic two-story house at 160 E. Paris Street was
originally built by First National Bank (Now Texas Star Bank) director R.L.
Bowen. It was 1916 when the John Neill family purchased the house. The
original walls of the 4,000 square foot, balloon-frame home were made of
cypress wood siding and the interior walls also being shiplap, tongue-and-
groove siding. Downstairs ceilings rise to 12 feet and the floors are of heart of
pine. The major renovation done early on, when the Neill family purchased
the house, included the addition of the front living room, upstairs porches, and
square column details. During World War II, there were other major changes

made, tradition says it was to impress the Alabama southern bell that John
Neill Jr. was courting. The Neills lived there until 1969, and the current
owners, Mark and Suzon Crowell, purchased it in 1992. Since then, the
Crowells have been busy with more renovations, from utilities to window
treatments, the addition of two garages, a raised garden, and replacement of
the original wrought-iron fence.

The Creed Taylor Home
On Feb. 18, 1911, the Van Alstyne Leader announced that Creed Taylor had
plans from a Dallas architect for a brick home to be built about two blocks
from the railroad tracks. That location is now identified as 904 S. Waco Street,
but was a dirt road 107 years ago. The house was to have cost $10,000 to
build. Construction began in April and Creed and Margaret Evans Taylor
moved into it on Oct. 11, 1911. The couple, both 19 years old and they lived in
that same house all their lives. Their daughter, Ruth-Lee Taylor Cason,

inherited and lived there most of her life, until she sold it to the current
owners, Steve and Karen Riley. Karen said it was instant love for both of them
when they saw the house.
Unique to Van Alstyne, this house was the first brick house built in the town,
and has brick frame, 15-inch thick exterior walls. It was also the first house
built with electrical wiring inside. Its breaker box, set in marble, in still in the
house. In 1973, the Leader mentioned that one of the original light bulbs was
still burning. Creek had purchased it when traveling on the train to Dallas in
1911. It was built with a two-room basement, two bathrooms, and each of the
four bedrooms had built-in closets. At that time, closets were taxed as
additional rooms.
Not a bad construction project for a couple of 19-year-old newlyweds.
The Rileys have spent four years remodeling the home, and being diligent to
maintain its original integrity and design.

The Fielder Home
Now owned by Wilson and Desi Leftwich, this house at 823 S. Waco, the
corner of SH 5 and E. Paris St., was built in 1941. Dorothy Umphress Taylor
was born to Spencer Leslie Taylor and Maude Umphress Taylor in 1908 and
she grew up in a nearby house known as the Umphress Taylor House. She
married Robert E.B. Fielder in 1928 inside Dorothy’s childhood home. They
moved away for a few years, had two children —Julie and James Fielder —
and moved the family back to Van Alstyne in 1941. That when they built the
home being shown on this tour.
The current owners purchased the home in 2015 and spent the next year in
renovations. They uncovered two windows in the front of the house when
removing paneling in two of the bedrooms, and found many charred boards.
Those were the result of a kitchen fire of 2001, when James was still living in
the room. At the time, it was reported that the fire started when the gas-
powered hot-water heater ignited cleaning supplies in a nearby closet.
The living and dining rooms still have the original horsehair and plaster
crown molding And, in the den, the only change is that the carpet has been
removed, otherwise it, too, is in its original state. The backyard still has the
bomb shelter built in 1961, now called the wine cellar.
Dorothy passed away in 1986. And if that name, Dorothy Fielder, sounds
familiar, her family donated the downtown land at East Jefferson and North
Main for a pocket park, complete with gazebo and active water fountain.
There is so much more to learn about each home on this annual tour, and each
home’s host and hostess will be on hand to answer questions and point out
the uniqueness of these classic iconic homes.

Tickets can be purchased at the Van Alstyne Library, 151 W. Cooper St. It is
open from 10 am-6 pm on Mondays-Wednesdays; Noon-8 pm on Thursdays;
and 10 am-2 pm on Saturdays. They will also be available at the door of every house on the tour.
The Friends of the Van Alstyne Public Library, a non-profit 501(c)3
organization, also raises money for their charitable work with their first-
Saturday breakfasts at the Community Center, a yearly book sale, a car show, and other social and fun events.