Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 44
Ronda and Wesley Dishon will once again open a restaurant on the water in Bridge City sometime this month. "I think we'll just open kind of secretly and people can come by word of mouth," said Ronda. She doesn't want the chaos of a grand opening hard date. The new restaurant will be named "Low Tides" as opposed to their former "High Tides" restaurant that was on the other side of the bridge. The former restaurant closed last year and was sold to Chevron Phillips. High Tides wa...
The eclipse wasn’t the only strange sighting in Orange County over the last few days. Saturday, pictures started showing up of local residents with four-time heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield at K-Dan’s in Orangefield. The champ was eating breakfast with his good friend Craig Stilley. He had flown in overnight to attend the retirement party later that night honoring Stilley’s father, Dan Stilley. Retirement party isn’t really accurate, because the older Stilley...
Bridge City Community Center was busting at the seams Monday night with a capacity crowd at the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. It was the biggest crowd they've ever had in attendance. "We've never had this many tables before," said Mandy Lyda, executive director of the chamber. "I had to turn a lot of people away." She remarked they may have outgrown the venue. Kirk Ellender, emcee for the evening recognized all the businesses that bought tables for the...
Evelyn Romero Kirby was born in New Iberia, Louisiana on March 21, 1933. She was joined by almost 60 family members and friends Saturday to celebrate her 90th birthday at Robert's Steak House and Meat market in Orange. Evelyn and her late husband, Harold Wayne Kirby, have five children-Susan Kirby Tomlin and husband Larry; Peggy Kirby Smith and husband Gary; David Kirby and wife Irene a.k.a. Winkie; Mark Kirby and wife Sylvia; and Joel Kirby and wife Susan. She also has 10...
Orange County students showed up and showed out Saturday at the District 19 – 4A UIL One Act Play competition held at Lamar University. Seven schools competed, four of which were from Orange County: Bridge City, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Vidor and West Orange-Stark. Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Vidor will be advancing to bi-district, along with Jasper. All the students should feel proud of their performances whether they advanced or not. Many of the performances were p...
Wednesday, March 1, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Bill and Ellen Nickum and their staff will be marking 50 years as a State Farm Agency in Bridge City with an open house at 1930 Texas Ave. Everyone is invited to stop in for a visit and refreshments. Bill Nickum started the agency with a card table in his bedroom in 1973, going door to door, building the agency one customer at a time. The four years before that, he was an insurance adjuster. "I was dealing with agents; with their clai...
When John R. Frederick Jr., of Mauriceville, learned about the Christian film production, "The First Step," being planned for Southeast Texas by Jerry Loncon and Studio 220 Films, he jumped in with both feet. He not only auditioned, but also offered to help in any way possible with the production. "I'm actually in a film coming up as a character but also Jerry blessed me with the capacity to be a producer," said Frederick in a podcast of "The Barefoot Director" recently....
The 62nd annual banquet of the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce was held Monday night at the Bridge City Community Center. Cil Dixon was named Citizen of the Year for her years as a CASA volunteer advocate and current board member. Her husband, Sherby, and three of her four children, along with other family members were present to witness the honor. "The children that we're serving don't have what we have," said Dixon. "I have a huge family. I have people that love me, support...
Soon, residents of Bridge City will be able to stop in after work for a glass of fresh brewed beer on the way home. After almost three years of planning, the first craft brewery will be opening its doors in February on Ferry Drive. Hop Avenue Brewing is the brainchild of Donny Delatte who lived in Bridge City for four years and currently lives in Nederland. He partnered with brew master Bill Mungai from Pittsburg, Penn. Mungai currently lives in Shreveport and plans to move...
For Jeffrey Perkins, Orangefield Class of '93, it IS rocket science. The former Orange Countian has been involved with the Orion program, helping to design the spacecraft that will take Americans back to the moon, since the design part of the project started in 2007. His involvement came about serendipitously. He happened to be in the right place, at the right time. After Perkins graduated from Orangefield, he spent two years at Lamar University, then transferred to A&M....
The Orangefield Fine Arts Boosters will reintroduce the “Christmas in Orangefield” event Saturday. “We are very excited to bring this event back to the community after it being absent for a few years,” said Chris Kovatch, treasurer for the organization. “We have a very active board and membership and felt this was something we would like to coordinate as one of our annual fundraisers.” All funds raised by the boosters will benefit their scholarship fund. “We are able to speak...
The Heritage House Museum located at 905 W. Division St. in Orange has been closed since sustaining damage in 2017 from Hurricane Harvey. They are happy to announce a grand reopening today at 4 p.m. Santa will make an appearance 6-8 p.m. for pictures and to listen to youngsters wish lists for Christmas. "We are excited to get to show the community once again inside the Heritage House Museum," said Adam Conrad, museum board president. "It has been closed since Hurricane Harvey...
There is not a better role on the planet for Adam Conrad’s return to the live stage after a 12-year hiatus than Buddy in “Elf the Musical.” He is excited to be cast as the lead character in Beaumont Community Player’s newest musical offering that opens this weekend for a three-week run. Those that know him are familiar with his over-animated antics which are the perfect embodiment of Buddy’s character. “I’m goofy and I’m crazy and this part is so much energy, so much fun (cl...
Yee haw! Orange Community Players, Inc. (OCP) is hosting a country music show Saturday, Aug. 20, at Orange Train Depot, 1210 W. Green Ave, Orange to raise funds to continue the renovations of the old movie theater. "We've worked hand in hand with the depot for years," said Paul Burch, president of OCP. They provide entertainment for events such as Depot Day in exchange for use of the venue for fundraisers such as the upcoming dinner and country music show. A barbecue dinner...
Debbie Pletcher is excited to be directing the Broadway musical "Newsies" for the Port Arthur Little Theater (PALT) which debuts this weekend. The story centers around "Newsies" aka paper boys that sold newspapers on street corners and their fight to battle price hikes in 1899 with Joseph Pulitzer and other publishers. "This is my bucket list show," said Pletcher. "It has been a dream for me since the movie came out in the 80s with Christian Bale." There are several Orange...
The Duke and Duchess of Urban Cowboy (Pam and Rusty Honeycutt) dance to the sounds of Jackie Caillier and the Cajun Cousins- (l to r) Benny Mueller, Jack Caillier, Ivy Dugas. Hidden from view: Jude Moreau....
It has been quieter the last few days at home. For 19 years there has been a TV blaring from the other end of the house, frequently joined by a country music station on the radio. I don't know how Bill could stand the two noises at the same time. It always made my brain hurt when I went in his room, with the TV and radio competing for attention. Bill's brain didn't work the same as ours, so it was music to his ears. Billy Wayne was my husband Gerald's younger brother. He was...
Did you know there is a coffee that comes from Alaska? Did you know the darker the roast, the less the caffeine? Did you know this Alaskan coffee is available in Orange? You can find it in an outhouse display at Sweet Creations located at 3515 Mockingbird, Suite 1. Coleen James built the display with the help of her daughter with 150-year-old wood from a house in Jasper that was being demolished. She rescued the wood because it was set to be burned. James decided to add the...
The city of Bridge City is sponsoring their first Christmas in the Park, 5-9 p.m., Friday, on the grounds of the Bridge City Community Center. Terri Gauthier is one of the organizers of the event, along with co-chairman Jeannie McDowel, BC city secretary. The event came about when several city leaders attended the Texas Municipal League. They were brainstorming ideas and asking other towns what they have done in their areas. "We just felt like our community needed something...
Quentin Tarantino doesn't have anything on Orange. He may have written "Pulp Fiction" but, Margaret Toal said, "Orange has Pulp History." Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction," and Orange's colorful past is certainly that. Last year the Pandemic canceled the Heritage House Ghost Walk, but it returns this year 4:30-6:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 23 with all new tales of Orange's checkered past. "Margaret Toal who serves as one of our board members was the driving force...
Gloria Marcelle Adams has had "a good life," though the last few weeks have not been what she planned. Since around Labor Day she has been in a rehab facility after a fall broke her hip. She fell in the garage, but luckily, she was discovered by her daughter she lovingly calls "Teesey," after only 30 minutes. "I'll be home for my birthday," she said excitedly. She turns 98 next week on Monday. Adams was born Oct. 11, 1923, at home in the East Texas Piney Woods. She later...
After being sidelined for a year and a half, first by the pandemic, then weather, the Depot Day midway will open for family fun Saturday at the Orange Train Depot Museum, 1210 Green Avenue in Orange. "Depot Day is an annual fundraiser for the Friends of the Orange Depot to help sustain this important building for the citizens of Orange and surrounding area," said Friends of the Orange Depot founder, Carrie Woliver. "This year, after two rainouts, Depot Day will be held this...
Shangri La's annual Scarecrow Festival will return Oct. 12 through Nov. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration for entries is now underway online at Shangri La's website. Deadline to register is Oct. 6. Participation is free and open to individuals (18+), youth groups, businesses, organizations and families. This would be a fun family activity, both to build a scarecrow scene, then later, check out all the creations from other families and organizations. It is also a great way...
Mandy Lyda is in her third week as the new director of Bridge City Chamber of Commerce. She's been busy learning all the procedures and gearing up for upcoming events, the first of which will be the monthly coffee to be held next Tuesday at COS Printing in Texas Ave at 8 a.m. Lyda is an Orange County native. She was raised in Mauriceville and graduated from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School. Lyda moved away from the area for 20 years when she and her husband ministered...
Allen Romero has hunted alligators, "since I was born." His earliest memories of going on hunts with his father and grandfather were at the age of 4. "My daddy and my grandpa hunted alligators all their life." Romero just celebrated his 79th birthday last week and currently lives in Bridge City. That equates to a lifetime of hunting. "My grandpa came over to Johnson's Bayou in 1924," said Romero. "My daddy was about 8 years old. Daddy was born in 1916. They lived there till...
