Quilters like to hop around the state to visit quilt shows. This month’s stop: Bonham. Gold lovers soon will have a state-administered depository for their valuables. Cherished as gold are souvenir tokens that San Patricio Electric Cooperative bestowed upon all who helped the co-op with Hurricane Harvey recovery last year.
Let’s Go to the Hop
They do the hop every year in Bonham, but it’s not the dance sensation that was sweepin’ the nation 60 years ago. Rather, the Bonham Quilt Hop involves more than 300 quilts displayed at nine sites around town plus one in nearby Honey Grove. Visitors are encouraged to hop around and check them out.
The Quilt Hop started as a springtime event—held around Easter—about a decade ago. With Easter bunnies in mind, the event got its name, which stuck even as the event moved to midsummer—July 27–28 this year.
McKinney master quilter Alice Wilhoit is the guest speaker this year.
The Fannin County Barn Quilt Trail, which features dozens of painted squares in and around Bonham, is an added attraction for those hopping around the area.
Visit visitbonham.com or call (903) 583-9830 to learn more.
Tokens of Appreciation
Believing thank-you notes weren’t enough and knowing how linemen enjoy collecting and trading tokens emblazoned with co-op logos, San Patricio Electric Cooperative awarded tokens to all who helped with Hurricane Harvey recovery last year.
The Category 4 storm blasted the coast with 130 mph winds, leaving 98 percent of the co-op’s more than 11,000 members in the dark. Co-ops and contract linemen from across the state answered San Patricio EC’s pleas for help and rushed to Sinton to pitch in, restoring power to most members within days.
“We had an overwhelming response to our request,” General Manager Ron Hughes says. To express his gratitude, he had 250 commemorative Hurricane Harvey tokens made and distributed them among all San Patricio EC employees and the six co-ops and outside contract crews that helped with restoration.
Gold in That Thar Hill Country
Construction of the nation’s first state-administered gold depository begins soon, with a 60,000-square-foot facility planned for an undisclosed location in Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s service territory in Leander.
Developed partly in response to the 2008 recession, the Texas Bullion Depository is scheduled to open in 2019 and will provide secure storage of gold and other precious metals for companies and individuals while operating under state comptroller oversight.
The facility will include high-definition security cameras, a tactical training area, an on-site gun range and advanced perimeter defense, in case any would-be bandits harbor Bonnie and Clyde-inspired fantasies.
By the Numbers: 656
That’s the average consumer credit score in Texas, which ranks 46th in a tie with Oklahoma among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national average is 675. Minnesota ranks first at 709.
Happy Birthday to Two Football Legends
Jimmy Johnson, who replaced the venerated Tom Landry as Cowboys coach and won two Super Bowls for Dallas, turns 75. Johnson was born July 16, 1943, in Port Arthur.
Andre Ware, who became the first black quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy after setting 26 NCAA records for the University of Houston in 1989, turns 50. Ware was born July 31, 1968, in Dickinson.
