Published: May 14, 2008 11:41 am         

Letters to the Editor - May 14

Dear Mr. Bob Wright:

We are very concerned and upset citizens of Mexia. My mother and I live near the Mexia Cemetery and go up there almost every day to care for flowers and plants on my grandmother’s and uncle’s graves. We’ve done this for over 13 years now.

We have had a few problems in the past with someone’s stealing things, but not this bad. Someone has stolen all of our containers of plants - among them one particular plant we have kept living from my great-grandfather’s house in Illinois. He passed away before I was born and I have always been partial to it.

Now it and the others are gone. I wanted to let you know so you could warn people who have family buried in the Mexia Cemetery that someone is stealing things off the graves.

Thank you for your time.

The Watson, Marsh and Scott Family

***

Dear Bob,

Tehuacana has something new, our own “Trail of Tears.” It would be appropriate to put a sign up at the historical marker on Main Street going into town saying: WANTED: THE STATE OF TEXAS, CRIME: ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO KILL STATE SHRUBS.

Several years ago Betty Shelton at the Tehuacana Store took the initiative to obtain a grant from the state to obtain a couple hundred trees and shrubs, mainly redbud and crepe myrtle, to plant at the Main Street entrance to Tehuacana and all up Main Street going into Tehuacana on both sides, to the historical marker and the Findley’s house. A few Tehuacana volunteers helped Betty plant them at this very time of the year, digging holes between the rocks (imagine what a hard time we had doing that on the rocky hill of Tehuacana) wide enough and deep enough to plant the large-size potted plants, every 20 feet or so, spacing out two or three crepe myrtles and then a redbud, all the way to the entrance on Highway 171. At the historical marker extra landscape plants of various types were planted around the marker itself. At the highway entrance, more than fifty plants were put out to make a pretty entrance to the town. The planting was finally done by summer, and then they had to be watered all that summer and into the fall. It was a huge job, but the result made us happy. What is left of those plantings on the east side of Main Street can be seen at the Findley’s house only. The rest have been mostly wiped out by state crews.

The first blow came the next summer, when state mowers mowed the entrance to Tehuacana, apparently forgetting that the previous summer they had been told not to mow in the area of the planted trees and shrubs. All the plants along the Highway 171 entrance to Tehuacana at Main Street were wiped out. Nothing was done about it. Tehuacana never even received an apology, as far as I know.

Week before last came the worst blow. A state crew armed with a machine that cuts off tree limbs came down the east side of Main Street, cutting down all the crepe myrtles and redbud trees that had been planted and were well over head high. Even at the historical marker, which is mowed and maintained, the crepe myrtles were cut down. Two redbud trees were spared, sad sentinels of this “Trail of Tears” going from the marker all the way out to the highway along Main Street. You are invited to come and see. Wreaths have been placed on five of the more prominent crepe myrtle stumps at the historical marker. What can be done? Mayor East has been trying to talk to the state about this. The area around the historical marker has been left unmowed so that hopefully a state inspector can come and see what took place. We are praying for a rainy summer and for the ability of crepe myrtle and redbud trees to come back from the roots.

Sadly,

Margaret Day