Country Lifestyles
Bravery and Resilience of a Marine – Carl Kirksey
By Jessica Crabtree
November 11 we celebrate Veterans Day. It is a day specifically intended for honoring and thanking all military personnel who served the United States in all wars, particularly living veterans. It is a minor way to express our appreciation to those who served in any capacity, living or since passed. These are the people cut from a different cloth, the people able to make the sacrifice you and I weren’t able to.
These are the people who carried the world on their shoulders, bravely forged on into enemy lines and fought for our freedom. Young and old, these people were husbands, sons, boyfriends, brothers and sisters, friends and family members. Some had dreams and aspirations that never came to pass after giving the ultimate sacrifice for you and me. This article honors each and every man or woman who served. We thank you today, and every day, for your unselfish attitude, unwavering courage and ability to lay your life down for your fellow man. You are the true version of a hero.
Carl Kirksey was born in Wichita Falls and raised at Amon G. Carter Lake in Bowie before it was even a lake. In fact, his family bought the first lot. His youth consisted of long summer days with his parents, siblings and cousins on the lake water skiing. He even recalled memories of making pyramids while skiing on the water, and always being on the bottom.
His raising was as American as they come: a mom, dad and large family sharing memories at the lake, barbecue and belief in God. Kirksey graduated from SH Ryder in Wichita Falls in 1964. That same year, on July 16, an 18-year-old Kirksey joined the United States Marine Corp.
“In 1964 there was a draft. You were just waiting for your notice to show up in the mailbox. Back then you had to show your draft status when applying for a job,” Kirksey explained. At the time Kirksey was a 1A to draft and working for a construction company when a new straw boss was hired and fired anyone younger than 25. His reason was because he thought anyone that young should be in college. “In a fit of inspiration, we flipped a coin and decided to get our time over with.” To the young Kirksey, he liked the outdoors, the military and was active in ROTC throughout high school.
In July of 1964, Kirksey reported to San Diego, Calif. A month later, the Tonkin Gulf affair occurred. It was the entrance into the Vietnam War. Attending boot camp, he said, “We didn’t watch television there. We were totally isolated. But after the Tonkin Gulf Affair our drill sergeant brought in a television, and we watched as President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed the situation,” Kirksey said. He went on to describe, “We knew our career had just changed. We were going from spit shine to combat. Everything took a more serious note.”
Kirksey was the first totally blind student to attend Midwestern State University, graduating May 12, 1990. (Photo courtesy of Jackie Kirksey)
Kirksey visiting with Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Herbert J. Sweet while at the hospital. (Photo courtesy of Jackie Kirksey)
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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