COUNTY LIFE
Feistiness, determination drive local centenarian
Bernice Newberry in her wedding dress.
By DANI BLACKBURN
Bowie’s Bernice Newberry claims she doesn’t know the secret to a long life despite her upcoming 100th birthday on May 11.
However, if you sit with her for just a moment, the answer is clear. Her feisty personality, and as she calls it, determination, have kept her on the go for a century.
The Montague County native has called this area home nearly her entire life. The daughter of Edward and Sally Prater, she was born on her family’s farm, the second of four children, which included three girls and one boy.
Newberry’s father farmed cotton, corn, green beans and sweet potatoes, just to name a few. As a child, she walked two and a half miles every day to attend school at Bird Holler, east of Bowie before attending Bowie Schools through her sophomore year.
The 99-year-old is still sharp as a tack and recalls many stories of her childhood, each one seeming to include her getting into mischief.
Read the full feature in the mid-week News.
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12 in the County Courtroom at the Courthouse Annex in Montague.
Commissioners are scheduled to consider issuing a proclamation declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month within Montague County.
The court also will consider accepting $850 in unanticipated revenue for the sheriff’s office generated during National Night Out activities, alongside interlocal cooperation contracts between the Texas Department of Public Safety and Justices of the Peace for Precincts 1 and 2.
An executive session is scheduled to discuss personnel matters pertaining to sewer/septic inspector for the county. Any action would be taken back in open session.
The Oct. 9-11 Art of the Song Music and Art Festival opens Friday night for three days of art and entertainment in downtown Nocona.
The festival opens on Oct. 9 with a Chisholm Trail Art Association Preview Party from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the H.J. Justin Building.
Come see all the entries for the adult show, which formally opens at 10 a.m. on Oct. 10.
Live music will be played by Full Circle Band.
Also on Oct. 9 enjoy a Nocona Nights Street Dance from 7 to 9 p.m. with the Mark Murphey and Highway 82 Band. Cost is $10 per ticket and $200 for a table seating eight. Bring your lawn chairs.
Read the full schedule of events for the festival in your Thursday Bowie News.
These students are nominees for the 2026 homecoming court at Gold-Burg High School. Homecoming royals will be crowned in pre-game ceremonies before the Bears take on Throckmorton at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9. Pictured are: Freshmen: Kenzley Foster and Jackson Allen, freshmen; Yareli Aguirre and Jojuan Grace, sophomores; Zara Andrade, junior and Brayden Odom, Kaylie Duncan, both seniors. Not pictured: Caleb Epperson, junior and Keelyn Case, senior.
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