Texas Country Reporter
January 19, 2023
A Visit to This Is It, Houston’s Soul Food Staple
Texas Country Reporter interviews Craig Joseph, grandson of the restaurant’s original owners.
Texas Country Reporter
Every week, we share dispatches from Texas Country Reporter, the long-running TV show that invites you to hop in and travel along to explore the back roads of Texas.
Art
January 19, 2023
A Forester Turned Artist Creates Wire Sculptures of Trees
Retired forester Mike Woody lives in a log cabin in the Piney Woods creating intricate tree sculptures. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Tacos
January 18, 2023
Meet the Couple Behind the Tropical Taqueria in East Texas
Rogelio and Carrie Tellez combine the cuisines of their Mexican and Pacific Islander roots at a restaurant that serves tacos unlike any others in Texas.
Books
January 17, 2023
The Lone Bookstore in a Town With No Library
Heidi Frazier opened 40 Acre Wood over ten years ago with a mission to make books accessible to any and all readers in the small town of Lexington.
Texas History
January 10, 2023
The Black Cowboy Museum, in Rosenberg, Fills an Important Gap
Former roper and country music singer Larry Callies was always a cowboy at heart, but when he was growing up, he rarely saw any representations of Black cowboys, despite a rich history. So in 2017, he founded the Black Cowboy Museum, which features a collection of
Texas Country Reporter
January 9, 2023
This Austin Burger Joint Blends Two Texas Cultures
Mo Pittle set out to capture his Jewish heritage and upbringing in El Paso on the menu of JewBoy Burgers.
Art
September 30, 2022
A La Grange Artist Creates Hyperrealistic Wildlife Art With the Flick of a Pen
Sally Maxwell’s images, made from thousands upon thousands of hairline scratches, are impressively detailed.
Texas Country Reporter
September 29, 2022
Guardian of the Whooping Cranes
One of our most important TCR stories involved a surprise encounter with an early advocate of whooping crane conservation efforts.
Music
September 28, 2022
The Magic of Doug Smith
After a terrible car accident, the self-taught pianist’s reprise was nothing short of amazing.
Style & Design
September 28, 2022
Meet the College Station Couple Flipping Airstreams Left and Right
The waiting list is long for the husband-and-wife duo who rebuild, redesign, and reimagine the iconic, retro travel trailers.
Texas Country Reporter
September 27, 2022
This Rusty Scrapyard Off Route 66 Is a Hot-rodder’s Playground
In the rolling plains of the Panhandle, Bob Owen tears up what’s left of old vehicles so that some classic cars get a chance at a new life.
Libations
September 27, 2022
Harrel’s Kingsville Pharmacy Near King Ranch Hasn’t Changed a Bit
Since 1916, the drugstore and soda fountain has maintained its retro charm and service to the community.
Texas Country Reporter
September 22, 2022
The Crazy Kolache Lady of Calvert
Jody Powers ran a bakery with her grandmother’s kolache recipes, and when business would slow down, she would resort to unusual promotion tactics.
Hunting & Fishing
September 21, 2022
Meet the Patron Saint of Texas Game Fish
Years ago, Kenneth Henneke helped develop a feisty catfish, and now he stocks a variety of species for anglers across the state.
Texana
September 20, 2022
The Legend of Old Rip Was Pretty Unbelievable
I’m not sure I ever bought the story of the Texas horned lizard that survived thirty years in a courthouse cornerstone, but it’s a tale that reminds me why I love storytelling.
Texas Country Reporter
September 19, 2022
Wildorado Cattle Company Is Not Your Average High School Gig
Far in the Panhandle, an upstart ag program at a small-town school has become a start-up business run by the students.
Texas Country Reporter
September 16, 2022
This Boys Ranch ISD Teacher Is Building a Reputation for Rocketry
Barre Wheatley leads an ambitious program that encourages students to shoot for the moon.
Business
September 15, 2022
Antique Auto Supply Had Nine Warehouses, a Million Parts, and One Memorable Owner
Stacy Brown of Arlington was just the character to reignite my love of muscle cars.
Style & Design
September 14, 2022
Inside the Shop With the Skillet Man of Paint Rock
At the edge of the Hill Country, Randy Kiser creates handcrafted carbon steel wares for the kitchen.
Sports
September 14, 2022
This Houston Nun Waited Decades to Root for Her Home Team
In 2007, Texas Country Reporter met Sister Damian, the Houston Astros’ most patient and faithful baseball fan.
Travel
September 12, 2022
The Story Behind a 70-Foot Concrete Arrow Near Odessa
A hundred years ago, U.S. airmail pilots depended on a coast-to-coast bread-crumb trail of arrows—though most have been destroyed, buried, lost, or forgotten.
Style & Design
August 19, 2022
Meet the Man Behind the Museum of Measurement and Time
In this video, Texas Country Reporter interviews the curator of the wide-ranging collection in Jefferson, one that merely begins with 550 vintage clocks.
Art
August 18, 2022
The Blind Sculptor From Beaumont Who Broke the Mold
Michael Gregory faced many hardships, and his unlikely path as a sculpture artist and teacher is a powerful story of resilience.
Critters
August 18, 2022
The Texas “Moth Man” Is Retired But Still Clicking
Stuart Marcus has spent years identifying and photographing hundreds of species of moths near the Trinity River, but he still has more to go.
Texas Country Reporter
July 28, 2022
The Tiniest Bank in Texas Didn’t Deal in Change
For decades, Roddy Wiley ran the only bank in the small town of Oakwood, which happily resisted modern technology well into the twenty-first century.
Texas Country Reporter
July 27, 2022
Two Brothers in a Texas Kitchen Want to Take on the World
Teenagers Nigel and Shane Mushambi started a baking business that combines go-getter ambition with do-gooder optimism.
Art
July 26, 2022
The Texas Artist Who Turns Dirty Cars Into Intricate Art
Scott Wade’s dusty windshield paintings are a temporary art form that makes a lasting impression.
Texas Country Reporter
July 25, 2022
He’s Fourteen Years Old. He Also Runs a 25-Acre Farm.
Beau Burns doesn’t need limits on screen time, because his favorite place to be is out working in the field.
Texas Country Reporter
July 22, 2022
Quinta Mazatlan Is a Mansion With a Mission
The 1930s estate in McAllen is home to a fifteen-acre wildlife sanctuary that invites visitors to foster conservation corridors in their own backyards.
Texana
July 21, 2022
This Quirky Hog-Callin’ Champ Was 100 Percent Herself
In 1998, Texas Country Reporter did an episode about Roxanne Ward, a champion hog caller who was quirky, kind, and so unapologetically herself we’ll never forget her.
Texas Country Reporter
July 20, 2022
A Visit to Vera’s, the Last Bastion of Barbacoa de Cabeza
An interview with Armando Vera in Brownsville, who owns the only restaurant in Texas to offer traditional, buried-in-the-ground, coal-smoked barbacoa.
Texas Country Reporter
July 19, 2022
The Last Graduate of Spade School
Sixteen years ago, a small town’s only public school closed its doors. But not before the final graduating class invited a former POW to walk the stage, finishing what he started nearly six decades before.
Texas Country Reporter
July 18, 2022
Step Inside a Time Capsule for the Golden Age of Video Games
Texas Country Reporter visits Maniac’s Mansion in downtown Wichita Falls, offering unlimited play steeped in eighties and nineties nostalgia.
Music
July 15, 2022
In Marathon, Happiness Is a Two-Chambered Wood Flute
Bob Freeman is a craftsman who carves, plays, and sings the praises of the traditional Native American instrument.
Texas Country Reporter
July 14, 2022
The “Garlicmeister” of Central Texas
Bob Anderson says the self-inflicted title is for amusement only, but the quirky farmer sure seems serious about garlic.
Texas Country Reporter
July 13, 2022
Hankering for a Sweet Story? Look No Farther Than a High School in Beaumont
Two special-education teachers at West Brook Senior High launched a school-wide cookie-baking program that brings together students of all kinds.
Business
July 12, 2022
The 175-Year-Old General Store That Came Back From the Brink
I’ve visited the T. C. Lindsey & Co. General Store multiple times over the years, but our most recent visit was a surprise in the best possible way.
Texas History
July 11, 2022
Mister McKinney Is the Ms. Frizzle of Houston History
Okay, so it’s not a magic vehicle, but the fast-talking tour guide covers Houston’s neighborhoods from an open-air school bus.
Business
July 8, 2022
Mineola Was Home to the Oldest Female Barber in Texas
Getting a haircut in a small town used to be a story-finding strategy for Texas Country Reporter, but the tale of Blanche Harris is one of my favorites.
Style & Design
July 8, 2022
Jimmy Pierce Can Tell a Lot About You From Your Hat
The Hutto-based hatmaker uses decades-old equipment to meticulously customize every hat.
Business
July 7, 2022
Come for a New Muffler, Stay for the Vintage Toy Collection
Performance Plus in Odessa is an auto shop that doubles as an archive of the toys of yesteryear.
Style & Design
July 7, 2022
For This Lubbock Jewelry Artist, No Two Pieces Are the Same
Dawna Gillespie’s handcrafted earrings and necklaces are truly one of a kind.
Business
July 6, 2022
The Lone Locksmith Serving 14,000 Square Miles of West Texas
No matter the time of day or night, Victor Laramore will make keys, rebuild locks, and open doors for a desperate Texan who is having a bad day.
Small Towns
June 1, 2022
The Scrap-Metal Artisan I’ll Never Forget
Bill Richardson’s creations from discarded metal were featured numerous times on Texas Country Reporter, but our friendship remains near and dear to my heart.
Style & Design
May 31, 2022
An Inside Look at Lee Miller’s Legendary Boot Shop in Austin
The bookmaker apprenticed under the famous Charlie Dunn and is now training a new generation of talented craftspeople.
Texas Country Reporter
May 31, 2022
He’s an Urban Birder, Photographing Birds of Prey in Downtown Austin
Chris DuCharme is self-taught, armed with a telephoto lens and words of encouragement from his late wife.
Texas Country Reporter
May 27, 2022
A Group of Veterans in Port Arthur Honors Those Who Served
Pastor Buddy Blake led volunteers who help step in for the Department of Defense to honor fallen soldiers with a proper military burial.
Books
May 26, 2022
Inside the Oldest, Largest Independent Comic Book Store in Texas
Third Planet Sci-Fi Superstore in Houston is home to hundreds of thousands of comic books and collectibles.
Critters
May 25, 2022
My Lifelong Dream Came True at South Padre’s Sea Turtle Inc.
Texas Country Reporter paid a visit to the world-class wildlife preservation center, where a rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley turtle made a return to the sea.
Small Towns
May 25, 2022
An Internationally Renowned Concert Hall in Small-town Texas
Pianist James Dick has turned a rolling pasture outside of Round Top into a haven for classical musicians from around the world.