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Saturday, Feb. 20, was a very special day for Russell “Rusty” Pasket. Rusty was ordained a deacon during a Mass and Ceremony officiated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo at the Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in Houston that morning. Rusty began the diaconate program in January 2015, a 6-year commitment. When I asked what possessed him to start this journey he said, “I just felt the call and had the desire to serve.” He has volunteered in numerous capacities at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Anderson for many, many years. He is a very devout Catholic and has served his church well. A letter he received from the Cardinal on Saturday stated his permanent assignment as deacon will be serving at St. Stanislaus in Anderson and Christ Our Light in Navasota under Fr. Eli Lopez, pastor of both parishes.
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Phyla nodiflora, synonym Lippia nodiflora, is native to South America and the southern U.S. It’s known as frog fruit, mat grass, matchweed and other names. The name mat grass refers to the fact that it grows in mats in the lawn at a height of 3 to 5 inches. The inflorescence has a dark purple center surrounded by small white to pink flowers. It resembles a match which explains the name matchweed. One of the most interesting common names is the one used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, turkey tangle fogfruit at plants.usda.gov. Notice it is not “frog” but “fog”. Fog often settles near the ground in the morning. After farmers mowed their fields, frog fruit was one of the first plants seen over the fog. The plant became known as fogfruit. Over time, in some places, the name morphed into frog fruit. I don’t know where the “turkey tangle” part of the name came from.
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It is hard not to say enough about this early Grimes County settler. Ira Malcom Camp, his wife Eliza and children arrived in Grimes County from Mississippi in the mid-1840s. They first settled near Anderson, but soon purchased land just to the east of what is now Navasota.
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The big news this week is the cold spell that came into the area. It was cold Saturday, Feb. 13 when I was at the Iola Dump Site, but at least that was for only four hours. The following day it began to freeze. Several area churches were closed including Evergreen Baptist Church. The road crews were out all-night Saturday prepping roads with sand. Iola schools were out for the week. It has been a long time since we have had such bad weather. I hope all this bad weather will be over soon.
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Winter is still with us. I hope no one says we didn’t have a winter this year. Snow was in our area once again and this time there were several inches. Some thought it would only last one night, but it was around for multiple days.
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There is not much to offer as news from Whitehall since everyone else in the county has the very same news. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, no power and no water are all that I have seen this week. This week included cancelled jobs, cancelled church services, and cancelled meetings. We all have something to add to the history of Texas.
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The Anderson Knights of Columbus has two fish frys scheduled during the Lenten season. The first one is set for Friday, Feb. 19 at St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Plantersville and the second is set for Friday, Feb. 26 at the KC Hall in Anderson. Serving times will be from 5-7 p.m. The dinner’s cost is $12 per plate which consists of Fried Fish, French fries, hush puppies, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. Due to COVID-19, all food will be packaged in take-out containers. Dining tables will be set up with appropriate social distancing for those who want to eat onsite. Please come out and support this K of C Council who supports charities in our area.
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Upcoming events in the area include the monthly meeting of the Iola-North Zulch Order of the Eastern Star No 458 which will meet in North Zulch at the Pyramid Masonic Lodge Feb. 22. The meeting will begin with a meal at 6 p.m. followed by the meeting. All members of the Fastern Star are invited to attend. Members are expected and visitors are always welcome.
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