SANCO COMES ALIVE AT HOMECOMING - June 11, 2006, Coke County, TX Contributed by Jo Collier June 24, 2006 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/tx/txfiles.htm *********************************************************************** The Observer/Enterprise, Robert Lee, Coke County, TX - June 23, 2006 SANCO COMES ALIVE AT HOMECOMING By JANE AUSTIN BRUCKNER Sanco Village came alive with 115 visitors, on Sunday, June 11, 2006 in the Village Tabernacle, on the banks of Yellow Wolf Creek, ten miles north of Robert Lee. GAYLON PITCOCK, Master of Ceremonies opened the gathering with prayer. BILL CARWILE gave the devotional. I was there, sitting on the wooden benches, with my brother, ISHAM AUSTIN of Robert Lee beside me, singing the old time hymns with the crowd, thinking of my grandparents, JORDAN and ARMINTA DELONG AUSTIN who were among the earliest settlers here in 1874. JUNE MCKINLEY(Mrs. BOB)GULLEY is continuing a tradition began by her Grandmother Mrs. IRA A. BIRD of honoring guests with corsages who fit the descriptions of: who came the greatest distance, the oldest man and woman present, the oldest person born at Sanco and youngest child present. At lunch the long table was quickly filled with delicious food each family brought, to be served cafeteria style. There was so much beef brisket, fried chicken, many vegetables, casseroles, salads, all kinds of bread pudding, banana pudding, chocolate cake, carrot cake, cream pies and so on. A. J. and DEONE ROE furnished iced tea. The photocopied pages of Sanco Village Recipes were available. During lunch some of the people I met were: RAY and BILLIE WHITESIDE ALDERMAN from Winters, JILL and DON FRIZZELL from Colorado City, Mrs. EVA MAE ADKINS STROUD of Ranger, Texas and her daughters, BEN WHITESIDE of Brandon, Mississippi and his mother, LOUISE WHITESIDE of Evant, Texdas, STEVE DEVOLL from Pampa, Texas. Also, saw ANNICE and CURTIS WALKER, WINNIE PITCOCK, LONNIE BLOODWORTH of Silver, LVON REID of San Angelo with her mother, among others. MRS JOSEPHINE BIRD, of Rockport, age 97, came with friend and driver, Mrs. MARY ANN GOSS THIELEN, bringing her book: Our Sanco People. Many purchased books to have Josephine autograph them. On display were digital photographs of the village buildings by MRS. LETA CASTON. Mrs. Caston has the framed photos in her This'n That Shop in Robert Lee at 711 Austin Street. During the Sanco gathering, the topic of discussion was the poor condition and need for restoration of the Sanco Tabernacle, built in 1924. Several local families volunteered to do the work gratis, if money is raised to purchase the materials. Anyone who has roots in Sanco must step up to participate in this restoration, to maintain the heart of the village. To donate, send your checks and ideas to LVON REID, Treasurer, 1621 Hassell St., San Angelo, Texas 76901. Permission granted by The Observer/Enterprise for publication in the Coke County TXGenWeb Archives.