Background & Bio Born and raised in Oplin, Texas and a 1984 Clyde graduate, Darrin Black’s Big Country roots run deep. After high school, Black jumped straight into the plumbing business and joined the Abilene Fire Department a few years later. Serving the fire department three days a week, and plumbing on his days off, Black worked to gain his master plumber li- cense … [Read more...]
Fruits of Their Labor
Several retired Abilene physicians have found a second career in winemaking. Take it from four local health professionals – winemaking is not for the faint of heart. Dan Munton, Vince Viola, Ed Brandecker and Roberta Kalafut Brandecker can attest to that. The Brandeckers are retired. Dan is retired from full-time practice but still monitors neurosurgeries remotely from … [Read more...]
Abilene’s Golf Master
Charles Coody reflects on career, love for golf Charles Coody says he still remembers it as if it were yesterday. His uncle, Roland Kelley, took the aspiring young golfer from West Texas to Fort Worth to see Ben Hogan play in the Colonial National Invitational golf tournament in 1950 at Colonial Country Club. Hogan, a native Texan and one of only five players to win all … [Read more...]
Day in the Life of a Pre-K Teacher
As Patsy Rodriguez reads “Goldilocks and The Three Bears” to her Head Start class at Long Early Learning Center, she is doing more than simply sharing a children’s tale. “The word of the week is ‘culture,’” she reminds her young listeners before delving into the story, explaining that the fairy tale is an example of a “traditional tale” that ties generations … [Read more...]
Abilene Influencers: Alex Russell
Alex Terrell Russell grew up in Abilene, attending Wylie schools through middle school, until she moved to Nashville with her mom. She began college at the University of Tennessee but transferred to Texas Tech University and graduated in 2014. She had a political science internship lined up in Fort Worth when her grandmother, Abilene restaurant owner Sharon Riley, sat her down … [Read more...]