COUNTY LIFE
‘One big family:’ Nocona Thanksgiving feast a true community project
By DEBRA DUNLAP
About 13 years ago, Belinda Hendrix had an idea. That idea became a vision. She shared that vision with members of her church and they embraced it and made it a passion.
Once implemented, that passion became a Nocona tradition.
Belinda and her husband, Don, founded and became pastors of Christ Community Church in Nocona 14 years ago. Like many churches, when the holiday season came around, the congregation donated food and made up baskets to deliver to the least fortunate of the community. After having done that for two years, Belinda came up with a different plan.
“It always kind of bothered me that we were taking all the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to the families, instead of taking the meal itself,” recalled Belinda. “I had worked with the poor before, and I know that there are sometimes circumstances where there are not facilities to prepare the food that we take to them.”
She pondered many of these people may not have propane to heat their homes or bake a turkey, water to wash potatoes or even have anything to cook with. Hendrix said the food they deliver is worthless if that is the situation.
Her idea was to actually prepare a Thanksgiving feast and invite the community to join in, along with delivering meals to anyone who requested it. Read in your mid-week News. how this idea has evolved into a major community event with hundreds being fed.
Pictured: Folks enjoyed last year’s Thanksgiving Community Dinner. (Courtesy photo)
Don Hendrix and his wife Belinda gave life to the idea of a community Thanksgiving feast in Nocona. (Courtesy photo)
The 22nd annual July Jam returns on July 27 to the Bowie Community Center West Hall, 413 Pelham Street in Bowie.
There will be a “chickin’ pickin’ fiddling fun time” as guests will be entertained by amazing fiddling tunes and enjoying a chicken meal with delicious homemade jams because it wouldn’t be July Jam without it.
Tickets are just $15 with the event starting at 6 p.m. The funds raised help provide awards for the Championship Fiddler Competition during Chicken and Bread Days Heritage Festival on Oct. 5.
This attracts talented musicians from all over to visit downtown Bowie to test their fiddling skills on stage in the Bowie Fire Hall on Oct. 5.
Along with the live fiddling entertainment, come hungry and be ready to outbid your neighbors at the silent auction or just stop by for a great meal, fellowship and soak in the air conditioning.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
The Nocona City Council met this past week making plans for budget and tax rate hearings.
Councilors received a brief update on the 2024-25 budget preparations. City Secretary Revell Hardison said the final proposal is almost complete and they now await the arrival of the no-new revenue tax rate that will be reviewed by the council after it is calculated by the tax collector.
The proposal includes a tax rate increase of about 3% similar to last year and there will be a small increase in water and sewer rates, but Hardison said the final crunch on those will come after the tax rate projections arrive.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
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