Clay Dunn flirted with the odds, walked on the edge on a quick rise to the top. By the time he was 27 he had been to hell and back. Lady luck rode with him.

Clay Jackson Dunn was the product

A Cajun boy’s Irish roots. My family helped settle the state. They left their mark on Texas and me.

My great-grandfather, Stephen James Dunn, was killed during a battle with the Union troops in South Texas. He left behind a young

Raised like John Boy and the Walton’s, Harry shared their core values.

I learned of Harry Waddell’s death about the time his graveside service was taking place Sunday. Harry died April 13. His health had been deteriorating for sometime. He had

Marking 57 Years - Life Revolves
I hope your holiday season has been going good and Christmas was everything you wanted it to be. As for Phyl and I, it was wonderful. The large amount of vittles and

My youth is part of who I am; I can’t separate from it.
More than at any other time, when the holiday season rolls around, my thoughts drift back to the days of my youth. My thoughts of Christmas

Pastor Leo Anderson, age 71, passed away Sunday, Dec. 18, from complications with pneumonia. Rev. Leo was a longtime friend and the last person I would have thought wouldn’t make it through the month of December. He was a charter

It’s come on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Prior to the attack, life in the little Cajun community of Abbeville was slower and more country than any Norman Rockwell painting. Our home was a one-room grain storage shed that

From my viewpoint
In January of 1963, John Connally became governor of Texas. Orange County lawyer Gene Hoyt served as his county campaign chairman. Although other volunteers did more to promote Connally for governor in Orange County, Hoyt, who

Ten years ago, Oct. 24, 2001, was an eventful day at the Orange County Court House. That’s the day my late friend, constable Parker “P.T.” Thompson, who passed away Sept. 2, 2007, averted a potential court house disaster.

If life is what you make it, he made it good, the best he could.

Throughout this journey I’ve been most fortunate to have known and made friends with wonderful, unique people from all walks of life. Everyone has

An early life in the hot days of August on bad cotton land has kept me humble and my feet firmly planted.

The roots of my raising are never too far away. The hot summers of long ago

Editors Note: This column has been printed for each graduating class for the last 40 years and will be printed for many more years to come.

Childhood memories will last a lifetime, but, life will never again be

I came from a proud Irish family culture. Like the white boy raised by an Indian tribe, I was raised a Cajun boy and couldn’t speak English prior to attending school. The loving people who raised me spoke only French. I had an

There were no big balls in Abbeville, no gown clad women or tuxedo wearing men, no kings, no queens.

Celebrating Mardi Gras has changed a lot since I was a boy living on the outskirts of Abbeville, a small Cajun

Fifteen years have passed, time moved on for her five boys.

Starting with my young life and throughout adulthood I’ve been blessed to have met and known some remarkable people. Many left lifetime impressions on me. I was deeply touched by