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Hidden Texas
Travel & Outdoors|
February 23, 2017

Sights Unseen

From a high-end winery in Coleman and an art deco hotel in Big Spring to a bookstore in Alpine and an art museum in Canadian, some of the best places to eat, stay, and shop are in our small towns. You've just got to get out and find them.

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Feature|
August 31, 2004

Reversal of Fortune

Eight years ago, 42 people in the West Texas town of Roby—7 percent of the population—pooled their money, bought lottery tickets, and won $46 million. And that's when their luck ran out.

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Being Texan|
July 31, 2001

Queen of the Rodeo

For teenage girls in the Hill Country town of Llano, life can be short on glamour and excitement—except at the annual rodeo, when one of them gets a rhinestone tiara and a rare, thrilling moment of glory.

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True Crime|
July 31, 1999

Evil

How serial killer Rafael Resendez-Ramirez struck fear in the hearts of the men and women of Weimar, a tiny Texas town that will never be the same.

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The Stand Up Desk|
April 30, 1999

Small Talk

ISSUES LIKE YOUR LATEST, “The Best of Small-Town Texas” [March 1999], are why we moved back to Texas.Gary SalyerArlingtonI CANNOT IMAGINE LIVING ANYWHERE ELSE but Hico. I love this town. Everything you said about small towns is so right. The ambience makes up for the lack of malls.Anita MuellerHicoYOUR

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The Inside Story|
March 1, 1999

Let’s Get Small

For this month’s special issue, twelve writers and five photographers took to the back roads of Texas in search of the things to do and places to go in the little towns of our vast state. All told, they covered more than 41,000 miles in 169 days, taking in everything

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Business|
December 1, 1997

Weekly, Strongly

Why are small-town Texas newspapers thriving? Because unlike big-city dailies, they know their readers, and they give them what they want.

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Border & Immigration|
April 1, 1997

The Crossing

If U.S. officials put an end to illegal trips across the Rio Grande at Boquillas, the enchanting border town will find itself caught between countries and cultures. Of course, that’s where it has always been.

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True Crime|
February 1, 1997

Brenham’s Paradise Lost

An idyllic small town confronts a controversial rape case involving four high school boys and a thirteen-year-old girl and discovers that nothing is certain—except that its children can’t escape the big-city culture of teenage sex.

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Being Texan|
June 30, 1996

Stone Phillips

MY EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SON is named after a town in Texas. His given name was Daniel Streeter Phillips. When he was born, my wife, Debra, and I broke out the map of Texas and our finger kind of stopped at Streeter. It was actually going to be his middle name, but

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Art|
May 31, 1992

Picture Perfect

As the sole studio photographer in Granger from 1924 to 1955, John Trlica recorded on film most of the important occasions—public and private—in the Central Texas farming community. Because Trlica kept meticulous records and saved every negative, his shop became the repository for an intensely documented history of a small

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Business|
September 30, 1989

The Day Leroy Died

When a small private bank was closed on August 7, depositors lost all of their money, a pillar of the community came tumbling down, and the town’s trusting way of life was shattered.

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True Crime|
August 31, 1988

A Legacy of Evil

In the town George Parr once dominated, a nineteen-year-old mother was gang-raped by her neighbors. In the aftermath of the crime, the old horrors of San Diego have surfaced anew.

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Being Texan|
May 31, 1984

Last Respects

The death of Uncle Henry saddened my whole far-flung family, but the gathering at his funeral was an occasion for telling stories and recalling the joys of a small-town upbringing.

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Politics & Policy|
January 1, 1983

God’s Happy Hour

Every year communities scattered across Texas hold wet-dry elections. Each one pits the forces of fundamentalism against the forces of realism. This is the story of one such election.

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Texas History|
April 30, 1977

The Other Texas

Rio Grande City Michael Patrick Houston Suzanne Paul Austin Harry Boyd Rosenberg Joe Baraban Ingram Harry Boyd Hillsboro Nicolas Russell Martindale

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