Boomtown

Don’t give up on oil yet, Texas. Come along to Pearsall, deep in the brush country, and learn how the new oil boom is different from the old.

by Paul Burka

I Was Mandarin...

Clues left behind by a former Dallas cop convinced his son that he killed President Kennedy—but that’s just the beginning of the mystery.

by Gary Cartwright

Fine Tuning

From the Panhandle to the Bayou City, homegrown classical music ensembles are our best-kept secret.

by Chester Rosson and W. L. Taitte

Earley Texas

Dallas painter Sean Earley moves to Italy and learns to paint Texas.

“I’m Just Me”

When country singer Charley Pride isn’t on the road, chances are he’s puttering around a Dallas golf course—or riding herd on his business holdings.

by John Morthland

Native Nativities

All is clam, all is bright in folk-art manger scenes.

by Helen Thompson

Behind the Lines

Rhoads Scholars

by Gregory Curtis

Family

The New Santa

A Christmas story for all you kids out there.

by Lawrence Wright

Art

Golden Oldies

San Antonio’s new ancient-art gallery takes you back a few millennia.

by Michael Ennis

Books

Back in the Saddle

Larry McMurtry returns to the mythic West and spins a thoughtful and touching tale.

by Suzanne Winckler

Lifestyle

Growing Pains

My daughter’s first day of kindergarten was hard—on me.

by Jan Jarboe Russell

Sports

Mr. March

By running-and-gunning down opponents in the NCAA tournament, Tom Penders has jump-started UT basketball.

by John Anderson

Reporter

State Wide: Lookin’ Back, TX

PR and nostalgia keep the legend alive. But will the town survive?

by Joe Nick Patoski

Reporter

Combo Invasion

Nuclear polka blasts Japan! Brave Combo basks in the radioactive afterglow.

by Joe Nick Patoski

Reporter

Killer Buzz

The Africanized bees have arrived, and Anita Collins can’t wait to take them on.

by Joe Nick Patoski

Roar of the Crowd

Stumping Across Texas

State Wide Business

Man at Work

Now that Drayton McLane has sold his family company to Wal-Mart, he has no intention of retiring from the daily grind.

by John Anderson

State Wide Business

Dressed in Peace

When it’s time for that final fashion statement, a Fort Worth clothier has just the thing—complete with Velcro.

by John Anderson

State Wide Business

Two-way Radio

With a sweet leasing deal, Austin sister stations KASE and KVET pack a one-two punch on the FM dial.

by John Anderson

State of the Art

Still The Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

Photograph by William Coupon

State Secrets

Family Ties

Edited by Paul Burka

Bouche de Noelle

State Fare

by Patricia Sharpe