Texas Country Reporter
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.
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.
Texas Country Reporter
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.
Texas Country Reporter
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.
Texas Country Reporter
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.
Texas Country Reporter
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.
Texas Country Reporter
May 24, 2022
Three Brothers Bakery in Houston Is a Story of Survival
Founded by Holocaust survivors, the bakery is known for Jewish specialties rooted in 200-year-old family recipes.
Texas Country Reporter
May 24, 2022
Remembering the Texas Town That Did, Indeed, Start the Fire
A museum in San Felipe, 40 miles west of Houston, commemorates the unique history behind Stephen F. Austin’s founding colony.
Texas Country Reporter
May 23, 2022
97-Year-Old Lucy Dean Record Is a Queen of Western Swing
The piano teacher turned touring musician from Lockney has been inducted into several halls of fame across the U.S.
Texas Country Reporter
May 23, 2022
The Art of Making Tamales
The Comanche Tortilla & Tamale Factory has been making tamales since 1947 and wants to help inspire and educate a new generation of home cooks.
Texas Country Reporter
May 20, 2022
You’ll Find Oodles of Noodles at the Wendish Fest in Serbin
The community 50 miles east of Austin celebrates its Slavic heritage each year with music, crafts, and lots of buttery, handmade noodles.
Texas Country Reporter
May 13, 2022
Viva la Guadalupe Bass! The Comeback Story of the Texas State Fish
Decades of conservation have helped save the native fish, now iconic to Central Texas anglers.
Texas Country Reporter
May 12, 2022
The Marathon Motel & RV Park Has Out-of-This-World Views
The small motel has a sliding-roof observatory where people can enjoy some of the darkest skies on the planet.
Texas Country Reporter
May 11, 2022
Check Out Kilgore’s Treasure Trove of Vintage Cameras, Radios, and TVs
From the obscure to the historically significant, the Texas Broadcast Museum tells a uniquely twentieth-century story.
Texas Country Reporter
May 6, 2022
The Poison Lady in Gatesville Doles Out Deadly Advice
Luci Zahray is an expert on poison and is a consultant to mystery writers around the world.
Texas Country Reporter
May 5, 2022
This West Texas Couple Has Gone Off the Grid—Pioneer Style
On a remote ranch south of Alpine, Bonnie and Dick Cain have carved out their ideal lifestyle, without electricity, refrigeration, or running water.
Texas Country Reporter
April 29, 2022
After a Paralyzing Accident, This Texan Gets Back in the Race
Chris Morris broke his back during motocross practice, but that didn’t stop him from finding a new source of adrenaline and drive.
Texas Country Reporter
April 28, 2022
Calder Kamin’s Art Redefines What is Trash
The Austin-based artist recycles discarded plastic into beautiful animal sculptures and hopes to inspire others to eliminate waste.
Texas Country Reporter
April 28, 2022
You Can Lead Cows to Water, But Can You Make ’Em Swim Across the Colorado River?
In Matagorda, the Huebner Brothers Cattle Company has been leading a semiannual cattle drive for more than a hundred years.
Texas Country Reporter
April 27, 2022
A West Texas Roundup, Without All That Hoopin’ and Hollerin’
After Becky Smith took over the B-C Ranch in Alpine, her all-women team took a different approach to wrangling cattle.
Texas Country Reporter
April 26, 2022
Chicken-fried Steak, Just Like Mama Made
After fifty years on the road, the host of Texas Country Reporter recalls his favorite dish at Mary’s Cafe in Strawn.
Texas Country Reporter
April 22, 2022
Future Welders of America: This High School in Boerne Is Forging the Path
With clients including barbecue joints and the USDA, the welding program at Sam Champion High School is a template for vocational programs across the U.S.
Texas Country Reporter
April 21, 2022
In Cedar Park, the Pralines Are Known as “PRAH-leens”
A fifth-generation New Orleans native, Sharon Richardson never imagined leaving Louisiana for Texas, but when Mother Nature strikes with a hurricane, plans change. After evacuating to Austin, with her life turned completely upside down, Sharon said she just did what she knew how to do: cook.Her business started with homemade
Texas Country Reporter
April 20, 2022
Frank’s Cafe in Hebbronville Is a 100-Year-Old Texas Treasure
The Gutierrez family still runs the South Texas cafe, specializing in Mexican recipes passed down for generations.
Texas Country Reporter
April 19, 2022
Step Inside Z Bar Trading Company, a 30,000-Square-Foot Mercantile Maze
In downtown Sanderson, shoppers can get lost in aisles overflowing with eclectic items, old and new.
Texas Country Reporter
April 19, 2022
For Enedina Vasquez, Life and Art Were Inseparable
Texas Country Reporter remembers the late artist, whose San Antonio house was covered from corner to corner in art, memories, and poetry.
Texas Country Reporter
April 18, 2022
This Texas Caterer Is Taking on Childhood Hunger, One Meal at a Time
Seeing a need in the community, Willa Johnson started Feeding Kids Right, a mobile meal delivery service in Athens.
Texas Country Reporter
April 18, 2022
The Best Fried Chicken in Beaumont Was an Underground Secret
In the courthouse basement, dozens of lawyers, judges, and jurors lined up for Esther Rollins’s famous fried chicken.
Texas Country Reporter
April 8, 2022
A Former Migrant Farmworker From Weslaco Puts His Memories on Canvas
Roel Flores’s folk art paintings are poignant and colorful, and his work is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection.
Texas Country Reporter
April 7, 2022
In Abilene, Generations of Carpenters Are Behind Central Texas Tool Co.
The Carpenter family, featured in this classic episode from ‘Texas Country Reporter,’ has operated the industrial machine shop since 1937.
Texas Country Reporter
April 6, 2022
A Vast Military History Archive Is Hiding in Plain Sight on This Texas Campus
The Texas Heritage Museum at Hill College has grown into a nationally recognized collection specializing Civil War history.
Texas Country Reporter
April 5, 2022
Forget the Trailer. Weldon Wilson Drove Cattle the Old-fashioned Way.
Across U.S. highways and country roads, Wilson was determined to move cattle in a way that honored the men that came before him.
Texas Country Reporter
April 4, 2022
Cane Syrup Isn’t Just a Thing of the Past
Every year, Floyd Boyett takes a break from his routine to gather with friends and participate in the old-world process of making syrup from raw sugarcane.
Texas Country Reporter
April 1, 2022
The West Texas Jewelry Store Famous for Teeny, Tiny Western Spurs
Born out of the Great Depression, the pieces are still handcrafted in San Angelo and are in as much demand as ever.
Texas Country Reporter
March 31, 2022
The Story of Buckshot Fuqua: King of Hot Carrots
On a farm in Grimes County, one man unexpectedly stumbled upon his life’s passion—double-aught, two-fisted, skull-and-crossbones, hot pickled carrots.
Texas Country Reporter
March 31, 2022
The Man Known as the “Big Bend Photographer” Reflects on His Life’s Work
Texas Country Reporter revisits James H. Evans after thirty years. His long career has taken different turns, but his unwavering commitment to the people and places of West Texas defines his legacy.
Texas Country Reporter
March 28, 2022
Lessons Learned From the Chicken Lady
Mary Ann Fordyce is a straight-talking chicken farmer calling for a return to country roots.
Texas Country Reporter
March 24, 2022
Nature Is Metal for This Welding Couple in Houston
From inside their shop, the wife-and-husband duo explain how they capture the universe in spiraling steel structures as tall as four-story buildings.
Texas Country Reporter
March 23, 2022
Claire Mestepey Is a Prolific Puzzle Book Author With a Unique Approach
Claire Mestepey has built a steady publishing business around her unique approach to word search puzzles.
Texas Country Reporter
March 22, 2022
Inside the Eclectic Home of Hill Country Sculptor Jonas Perkins
In Fredericksburg, Perkins’s creative approach to life can be seen in every inch of his one-of-a-kind retreat.
Texas Country Reporter
March 21, 2022
The Hardest-Working Man in Del Rio
For years, “Chito” Martiarena has devoted himself to mowing grass along public roadways.
Texas Country Reporter
March 18, 2022
This Costumed Brownsville Historian Will Warm Your Heart
Gene Fernandez has an outfit for every story, but his infectious love for local history is the star of the show.
Texas Country Reporter
March 18, 2022
Why Does the World Need Bottle Cap Art?
Years ago, I learned an important lesson from a family in West Texas—happiness can be found in the simplest places.
Texas Country Reporter
March 17, 2022
Big Doobie’s Is the Life of the Party in Port Arthur
Joshua Rodrigues opened a food truck to serve up good times and classic dishes to a community hungry for Cajun flavors.
Texas Country Reporter
March 16, 2022
Meet the Mr. Rogers of East Texas
I’ll never forget Herman “Train” Gates, the man who collected junk on an empty lot in Carthage, helped fix bikes for neighborhood kids, and wrote poetry.
Texas Country Reporter
March 15, 2022
John Wayne Wasn’t a Texan. But His Legacy Lives On in Fort Worth.
In a video interview, Ethan Wayne, the film star’s son, explains how an exhibit at the Fort Worth Stockyards began with a storage unit full of his dad’s untold stories.
Texas Country Reporter
March 11, 2022
Colorful Quilts Crafted by an Artist Who’s Blind
One of the most inspiring subjects I’ve met in five decades of interviews is Diane Rose, an acclaimed quilter who sees life through the eye of a needle.
Texas Country Reporter
March 11, 2022
In Fayetteville, Step Into the Shelby Store and Step Back in Time
Founded in 1946, the Shelby Store is a relic of what retail once was for many small Texas communities.
Texas Country Reporter
March 9, 2022
Two Guys in Houston Are Bringing Back 100-Year-Old Mosaic Tile Street Signs
Joey Sanchez and Eric Maier are behind the Blue Tile Project, a movement to locate and restore the original tile street signs across the Bayou City.